Where Are the Tears for Pakistani Children?

President Obama should be crying over kids killed by drones in Pakistan, not just those slain on American soil; apparently some believe that the Sandy Hook massacre was God’s reckoning for our support of abortion and gay marriage; meanwhile, the open Internet comes to an end as the United Nations give governments power to cut off parts of it. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

In the US, Mass Child Killings are Tragedies. In Pakistan, Mere Bug Splats Barack Obama’s tears for the children of Newtown are in stark contrast to his silence over the children murdered by his drones.

How Walmart Helped Make Newtown Shooter’s AR-15 the Most Popular Assault Weapon in America When Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, December 14, inexplicably bent on ending as many lives as possible, he was carrying a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle and several high-capacity magazines.

In Fiscal Cliff Deal, Don’t Chain Grandma to Smaller Social Security Checks News is out that a deal to avert the fiscal cliff is nigh.

Great moments with John Kerry Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, voted for the Iraq war resolution in 2002 after weighing the political ramifications and being told by his future campaign manager that he would never be elected president in 2004 unless he sided with President Bush on the issue, according to a forthcoming book by Mr. Kerry’s former strategist. . .

Tortillameter The authors of the latest Monitor of Mexican Manufacturing (pdf) have come up with an ingenious device for measuring the purchasing power of the minimum wage in that country: the Tortillímetro.

How Christianity Became a Lucrative Brand Prosperity Christianity, or what some call “health and wealth” religion, is largely a North American religious movement, connected to Pentecostal Christianity and Word of Faith teachings, and is often tied to Oral Roberts and other evangelists who became well known in the 1980s and 1990s.

Connecticut Shooting was God Allowing ‘Judgment to Fall Upon Us’ for Turning Our Back on Him James Dobson dedicated his radio program this morning to discussing Friday’s tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut, which he attributed to the fact that God has “allowed judgment to fall upon us” because the nation has turned its back on him by accepting things like abortion and gay marriage.

Assault Rifle Company Issues ‘Man Cards’ There are lots of reasons to own guns: Hunting, self-defense, clinging purposes, but also to bolster your deflated sense of masculinity.

America’s First Big Digital Defeat A majority of the 193 U.N. member countries have approved a treaty giving governments new powers to close off access to the Internet in their countries.

Gut Instincts: The Secrets of Your Second Brain When it comes to your moods, decisions and behaviour, the brain in your head is not the only one doing the thinking

Guns Have Never Saved Us Second Amendment defenders misread history: Armed citizens did not win our freedom and would not protect it.

The Politics of Gun Control Have Changed, But Will Democrats Notice? Over the last four presidential elections, gun control has been as settled as any political question, with Democrats all but conceding the issue to Republicans in national elections.