July 2012
5 tags
Mexico's Drug War Violence Increasingly Claims... →
June 2012
4 tags
How Unions Defend Our Political and Economic... →
There seems to be a correlation between the presence of unions and the overall prosperity of the American middle-class. While this doesn’t necessarily equal causation, it does suggest that an organized labor force is a key to stemming the inequality and wealth stagnation that are now plaguing this society.
5 tags
The 10 Most Absurd Anti-Gay Statements →
They’re both funny and sad at the same time.
5 tags
Why Big Government Works in Scandinavia. →
Yes, I know the Nordic model isn’t entirely translatable. But it still dispels the notions that big government *in principle* is always bad. It all depends on how that government is run and formulated, not so much it’s size. For example:
In the United States, unions are sector-specific, in the Scandinavian countries, unions are strong, centralized and multi-sector. This way, unions...
2 tags
Suffering Writer's Block? One Study Finds that... →
Presumably, a little distraction actually gets your brain thinking more imaginatively. So the next time you have writer’s block, opt to go to a cafe or other active area. It might stimulate your mind! It wouldn’t hurt to try.
4 tags
Study Finds Sharing Posts is Equivalent to the... →
It certainly could make sense, given how much most people seek out the attention of others. I imagine that receiving “likes” elicits the same reaction too. I think that would say a lot about how important social stimulation is to human beings.
6 tags
Every so often, the temptation to simply tune out of life becomes so overwhelming I’m almost paralyzed from functioning. It would be a kind of pseudo-suicide – taking a temporary break from life so as not to be continuously weighed down by all the obligations, pressures, negativity, worries, and other stressors that plague me by virtue of my existence. Sleep is the only reprieve I get from these...
4 tags
“…the individual is defined only by his relationship to the world and to other...”
– Simone de Beauvoir
6 tags
Vermont's "Socialist" Single-Payer Healthcare... →
While what works for this state may not necessarily work for all others (let alone the whole US), it gives us something to consider as far as the feasibility of this kind of arrangement. Our healthcare system is already the most expensive in the world despite giving us one of the lowest returns on investment.
4 tags
Anonymous asked: I think you`re a good person. Quite rare.
2 tags
Will Synthetic Meat Be a Reality? →
It’d be great if we could enjoy the taste of meat without the suffering and environmental degradation that comes with it.
4 tags
2 tags
“That terrible mood of depression…whether it’s any good or not is what is known...”
– Ernest Hemingway, in a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald
4 tags
“I wish the first word I ever said was the word “quote,” so right before I die I...”
– Steven Wright
4 tags
Universal Healthcare vs. Freedom?
There is a widespread notion that providing universal healthcare, or something closer to it, comes at great cost to economic and political freedom. However, empirical evidence suggests otherwise: most of the countries that are ranked high in both economic and political freedom - many of them above even the US - offer universal healthcare systems (not to mention bigger government, higher taxes,...
5 tags
4 tags
6 tags
Daily News Wire - 6/28/2012
Is a lack of good nutrition, and the subsequent obesity epidemic in America, due to economic reasons, or cultural ones? A Slate article argues, rightly in my view, that it’s all of the above.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Chief Justice John Roberts has saved “Obamacare” with his deciding vote to uphold it But did he have an ulterior motive in mind, namely to...
5 tags
Eleven Facts About the Affordable Healthcare Act... →
No doubt some of these figures are debated, but this seems to more or less comport with what I’ve read elsewhere. The article is a bit dated but more-or-less still applies. There are provisions in this law that are barely even known.
4 tags
Fun Fact About Native Americans
Contrary to popular belief, North America was hardly untouched and empty when settlers arrived: there were anywhere from 20 to 100 million people living on this continent, compared to around 70 million Europeans. Were it not for diseases wiping out around 90% of them, native people could have actually unified to fight us off, changing history considerably. They were also pretty sophisticated:...
When Religious Minorities Oppose Freedom →
lookoutsideyourself:
Among the many different reactions garnered by Obama’s historic announcement of support for same-sex marriage, one that flew under the radar of most people–at least, most non-Jewish people–was that of two prominent Orthodox Jewish organizations, the National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) and the Orthodox Union (OU).
In a statement, the NCYI wrote:
As members of a...
6 tags
The US Economy is Built on Worker Insecurity:...
I think Chomsky is spot on with this assessment. The average American is stressed out, indebted, and too busy to participate in their own political system. This ensures a vicious cycle in which our lack of involvement allows our politicians, in collusion with corporate interests, to impose the sort of policies that only make us more impoverished and busy. This may seem like conspiratorial...
4 tags
5 tags
New Jersey Senates Restores Funds For Family... →
In a rare bit of good news for women’s rights, the New Jersey Senate has reversed the cuts to family planning programs that had been made by GOP Governor Chris Christie.
Medicaid-eligible women to receive family planning services.
S-788 seeks to reverse the budget slashing of Gov. Chris Christie, who eliminated the state’s entire family planning fund soon after he took office two years...
4 tags
Speaking of the Dead
It’s always strange to read about someone who is dead, especially if their death was recent. I read a lot of history and international news, in which death is so common that it starts to lose meaning. It’s kind of unreal, as if we’re just reading a fictional story and they’re just numbers or names without any real weight or presence. Unless we know them personally, no amount of empathy can ever...
6 tags
Daily News Wire - 6/27/2012
Summer vacation can be a very big problem. There’s nothing wrong with a break, especially for younger people. But too much of a good thing always has consequences, and children who aren’t intellectually stimulated in some way during those three months suffer for it with reduced learning ability and memory retention.
Should parents spend less time with their kids? It’s an age-old...
2 tags
4 tags
5 tags
Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks to Record Lows →
To put things in a bigger perspective, the global temperature average in May 2012 was the second warmest in history. Records date back to 1880.
May 2012 also marks the 36th consecutive May and the 327th consecutive month—that’s more than 27 years—with a global temperature above the 20th century average, reports NOAA’s Environmental Visualization Laboratory.
3 tags
Letters To My Country: Solitary Confinement... →
letterstomycountry:
Via L.A. Times:
For most of his 12 years on death row, Anthony Graves lived in what he called an 8-by-12 “cage.” To see outside he would stand on top of his rolled-up plastic mattress and look through a small window at the top of the concrete wall in the back of his cell. He spent 22,…
2 tags
3 tags
Daily News Wire - 6/25/2012
One study has found a correlation between the presence of unions in the private sector, and the overall well-being of workers (including those not unionized). Most interestingly, the author defends unions on libertarian grounds, although he takes a much dimmer view of unions in the public sector.
With all this talk about the affordable healthcare act - and whether, as of this post, it’ll...
5 tags
Teen Lesbian Couple Found Shot in a Texas Park →
One of the poor girls has died of her injuries, while the other is in serious but stable condition. It’s unknown if their sexuality played any role in the shooting, as loved ones report that there wasn’t any apparent tension about the relationship. Given that they were shot in the head, it’s possible that they were specifically targeted - for what reason remains to be seen,...
4 tags
Letters To My Country: Study Finds Wrongful... →
letterstomycountry:
That’s according to a study from the Urban Institute, who is touting DNA exonerations of individuals who were found guilty:
Findings released today [June 18] indicate more people remain to be cleared by the Virginia project, a groundbreaking effort aimed at identifying persons wrongfully…
5 tags
How the Fast Food Industry Peddles Unhealthy... →
From Mother Jones:
Now, I take with a fat pinch of sodium a lot of this business about how the fast food industry is merely satisfying consumer desire. The industry has a fat war chest to help it shape consumer desire—according to the latest numbers I’ve seen, from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, fast food corporations spend upwards of $4 billion per year on...
1 tag
The Problem With Summer Vacation →
There’s nothing wrong with a little vacation, especially for younger people. But too much of a good thing always has consequences, and children who aren’t intellectually stimulated in some way during those three months suffer for it with reduced learning ability and memory retention.
“He spoke of human solitude, about the intrinsic loneliness of a sophisticated...”
– Nicole Krauss (via troubled)
The Political Notebook: Women in Combat and the... →
thepoliticalnotebook:
There is a beauty of an op-ed by one Stephen Kilcullen in the Wall Street Journal this morning about why women shouldn’t be allowed into the Army’s Ranger program. Mr. Kilcullen is a former Ranger himself, and while I genuinely thank him for his service, I want to also point out the…
7 tags
According to recent OECD data, Americans now work...
4 tags
We speak of death as an ending, but in a sense it...
This keeps me up many a night.
5 tags
“While the impact of this amendment would be far-reaching, it is not a panacea....”
– Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, speaking about the landmark amendment he introduced, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibited discrimination against women in educational institutions. It’s 40th anniversary was June 23. Even this small and sensible step was an uphill...
“Capital Punishment: them without the capital get the punishment”
– Last words of John Spenklink (d. 1979), executed in the electric chair, Florida (via ugly-nakedguy)
4 tags
New Zealand's Night Parrot Brought Back From the... →
It’s situation is still tenuous, so we mustn’t be complacent. But this is wonderful news considering how it’s more common to hear about so many species coming close to extinction.
6 tags
2 tags
Taking the Water Out of Bathing →
And the way the inventor pulled it off was pretty simple too. Remarkable!
3 tags
4 tags
“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to...”
– Anaïs Nin
3 tags
The Clergy Project: Religious Leaders Coming Out... →
