Culture

One Million Homeless Children in America's Schools

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The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) recently published a report showing that there are nearly 1,000,000 homeless children enrolled in U.S. schools. This represents an alarming 41% rise from just a few years ago. Most people don’t imagine a child’s face when they think of the face of homelessness, but the average age of a homeless person in our country is nine! Click here to read a report by NAEHCY with more details. When my husband and I launched Reach And Teach, one of our first areas of focus was homelessness.

General News

We the People: Are We in Charge?

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And who is in power, anyway: the elected officials or those who finance their campaigns? How do We the People hold our economic and political elite accountable? Voting? Petitioning? Lobbying? Demonstrating? Do these time-honored/worn methods still work?

General News

Markets and the Real World

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If … Médaille’s review does it justice, then How Markets Work should be in every progressive’s library. The reason is that it seems to offer a paradigm shift in thinking about how supply and demand determine prices and, most importantly of all, wages.

Politics & Society

Rethinking Economics: How Sam Daley-Harris inspires hope with citizen activism and microcredit for the poor

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Feeling lethargic or depressed? Take a look at this 20-minute video of Sam Daley-Harris talking about his work lobbying for social change and advocating for microcredit to help assist the poor. You will probably get a healthier jolt of inspiration and energy than from another espresso or Red Bull. [youtube: video=”t_LLCUQlB5E”]
It comes from his presentation in May at a TEDx New Jersey Libraries conference entitled “Poverty, Purpose, Pitfalls, and Redemption” which sums up more than 30 years of his thinking in citizen lobbying and microfinance for the poor. His own personal journey shows what hope and faith can do.

Culture

Six items of clothing for a month…

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When have I ever linked to a fashion article? But this is I like: Shoppers on a ‘Diet’ Tame the Urge to Buy. Sally Bjornsen, the founder of the Great American Apparel Diet, said she was prompted to stop buying clothes for a simple reason: “I was sick and tired of consumerism,” she said. Last summer, Ms. Bjornsen, 47, said she was thinking about how years of easy credit had led to overspending on cars, homes and luxury goods. Then, looking in her own closet, she realized that she was part of the problem, she said.

Culture

Unemployment, Fear, and What We Can Do

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A manager in a failing department store runs to the bathroom and throws up, consumed with the fear of losing her health benefits which, even with COBRA, will cost too much. A teacher wakes up multiple nights a week with his whole body clenched, dreading that California’s annual pink slip won’t be retracted this time. A factory worker grieves the loss of friendship and socializing at work as much as the lost income. Very likely everyone reading this knows someone who has recently lost a job. Unemployment is a strange word; defined negatively, it fails to convey the meaning of an often devastating experience (though one that, together, we can mitigate).

Gender and Sexuality

WBAI Radio on Right Wing "Feminism"

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Last Thursday July 15th Fran Luck interviewed Abby Scher and me about right-wing “feminism.” I wrote about it after our talk, and I just wanted you to know that you can hear us at http://archive.wbai.org. Just scroll down the page until you come to the “Joy of Resistance” on Thursday July 15 at 11:00am (the listing is in reverse chronological order). The first half of the show concerns current news about women around the world, and the interview begins at 31:17 (i.e. 31 minutes and 17 seconds into the program). Hope you enjoy it.

Culture

The Second Coming of Martha Coakley

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Having infuriated Democrats with her astonishing loss of Ted Kennedy’s long-held Senate seat to a suburban truck-drivin’ pin-up populist, Martha Coakley is back. But this time she’s racking up a series of impressive legal victories for liberals. She has won a $102 million dollar settlement against Morgan Stanley, taken on insurance companies for paying hospitals based on political clout rather than quality, and successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Athough unchallenged by the GOP in her November race for Attorney General, Coakley is campaigning vigorously. Could she be positioning herself to recapture the MA Senate seat from Scott Brown for the Dems?

Gender and Sexuality

Right-Wing "Feminism" Nothing New — More Thoughts

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This morning I had the pleasure of talking with Fran Luck on WBAI-FM , a Pacifica affiliate in NYC. Fran hosts the “Joy of Resistance,” a show that covers “the ongoing and world-wide struggle for the full liberation of women–as it continues to unfold dynamically in every country and culture on the planet.” She had read my original post about Sarah Palin and wanted to interview me about the parallels I saw between Palin’s “feminism” and the Nazi militants, about whom I wrote part of my dissertation. It was a great conversation. I’m a conversation junkie.

Culture

An Interdependence Day Celebration for July 4

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Faced with July 4th celebrations that are focused on militarism, ultra-nationalism, and “bombs bursting in air,” many American families who do not share those values turn July 4th into another summer holiday focused on picnics, sports, and fireworks, while doing their best to avoid the dominant rhetoric and bombast. This year that kind of celebration is particularly difficult when many of us are in mourning because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We in the Network of Spiritual Progressives believe that avoiding July 4 or turning it into nothing more than a picnic with friends is a mistake for progressives. There is much worth celebrating in American history that deserves attention on July 4th, despite the current depravity of those who lead this country, though the celebration-worthy aspects of our society are rarely the focus of the public events. We also acknowledge that in the twenty-first century there is a pressing need to develop a new kind of consciousness — a recognition of the interdependence of everyone on the planet.