Congress isn't broken – It's fixed by special interests

Seeded on Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:36 AM EDT (The NHPrimary.com)

"Barely 1 percent of our citizens fund campaigns today. In fact, less than a quarter of 1 percent (0.24 percent) provided 90 percent of campaign money in 2010, with lobbyists and special interests in Washington, D.C., alone accounting for more than 32 states combined."

congress, dc, lobbyist, politics, campaign-finance

USA becomes Food Stamp Nation but is it sustainable?

Seeded on Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:10 AM EDT (Reuters)

One can't increase national wealth with cheap labor and expect labor to survive on cheap wages.

economy, immigration, us-news, poor, wages, inequality

What If We Stopped Fighting for Preservation and Fought Economic Growth Instead?

Seeded on Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:16 AM EST (steadystate.org)

"Sir Peter Scott once commented that the World Wildlife Fund would have saved more wildlife if they had dispensed free condoms rather invested in nature reserves.

business, nature, loss, habitat, world-wildlife-fund, nature-conservancy

Microcredit: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Seeded on Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:16 AM EST (YES! Magazine)

"Both the microcredit experience and the aftermath of the 2008 Wall Street financial crash vividly reveal that the values and interests of Wall Street stand in fundamental opposition to those of Main Street.

business, wall-street, loans, lending, microcredit, predatory, financial-returns

We haven't fixed the "control fraud" that caused our financial crisis

Seeded on Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:48 AM EST (greenchange.org)

"None of the reforms to date addresses the fundamental criminogenic incentive structures that have produced recurrent, intensifying financial crises."

business, wall-street, fed, fraud, bank, reform, banking, regulation

The Financial Crisis Is the Environmental Crisis

Seeded on Thu Jan 6, 2011 3:46 PM EST (CASSE)

Debt is a fiction that has no limits in the physical world, but the creation of wealth to support debt is governed by those limits. Thus, debt must always be repudiated by a financial crisis rooted in the physical world.

business, crisis, economics, loans, banking, debt

Cities with Stable Population Outperform Fast Growing Cities

Seeded on Thu Dec 30, 2010 10:37 AM EST (growthbusters.org)

"This takes the wind out of the sails of many local economic development bodies who do the bidding of growth profiteers (real estate developers, homebuilders, construction industry, mortgage banking, etc.).

business, unemployment, economics, poverty, population, growth

Grow Outside! A call to pediatricians and others to prescribe nature

Seeded on Mon Dec 27, 2010 1:08 PM EST (psychologytoday.com)

Psychology Today carried this piece about getting kids to discover the outdoors, any way they can. Richard Louv coined the term "nature deficit disorder" to describe the lack of nature in the lives of children.

health, play, learning, nature, kids, exercise

Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction

Seeded on Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:54 AM EST (The New York Times)

This is interesting but it makes a common mistake of critical looks at kids and technology.

learning, education, school, attention, youtube, distraction

Harry Reid (D) Staffer Admists Sham Marriage

Seeded on Thu Oct 28, 2010 7:39 AM EDT (Roll Call Daily - Breaking News)

Another fine example of the deaf, dumb, and blind Congress and high paid political aides that always tell us what is "right."

immigration, politics, leader, democrat, reid, corrupt

Why Another Stimulus Might Not Help Us Rebuild

Seeded on Sun Oct 17, 2010 3:57 PM EDT (NPR)

Economists are fast becoming the most loathed professionals, approaching the level of lawyers...

business, treasury, economics, depression, krugman, roosevelt, stimulus

Cleric issues anti-terror fatwa - Europe

Seeded on Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:04 PM EDT (AL JAZEERA)

"A leading Islamic scholar has issued a fatwa in Britain condemning "terrorists" as the enemies of Islam, in a bid to deter young Muslims from extremism."

muslim, peace, religion, islam, fatwa, moderate, extremist, martyr, sufism

The Best Part Of Photography Is Getting To The Shot

Seeded on Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:30 AM EDT (thisibelieve.org)

This is an essay I wrote for the This I Believe series. This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Some of you may be familiar with This I Believe segments on NPR radio stations throughout the U.S.

nature, photography, arts, creativity, aesthetics, alfred-stieglitz, earthrise

Corn syrup producers want sweeter name: corn sugar

Seeded on Tue Sep 14, 2010 10:00 AM EDT (Yahoo! News)

Get the word out that "Corn Sugar" is just High Fructose Corn Syrup by another name. I always avoid products that use HFCS, and it looks like the personal choices of Americans are adding up to less money for HFCS producers.

diet, health, sugar, syrup, corn, fructose, sweetener

Burger King to stop buying oil from Indonesian co

Seeded on Sat Sep 4, 2010 9:18 AM EDT (Yahoo! News)

Way to go BK! All companies must open their eyes and ears and vote for the health and well being of earth and its inhabitants. Also need to remember that crime and lying should not pay.

environment, burger-king, palm-oil

Technique and Food: Why our Local Food System does not Feed Us

Seeded on Fri Sep 3, 2010 12:12 PM EDT (Front Porch Republic)

A nice thought piece about too much emphasis on Efficiency and its consequences. "Connecting the dots" in the way we choose lifestyles and products is a conerstone of my work to educate kids these days, and it's nice to find like-minded support out there. Amen

food, health, farmer, farming, efficiency, processing

14th Amendment: Is birthright citizenship really in the Constitution?

Seeded on Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:54 AM EDT (Christian Science Monitor)

For most in the know, the idea that new born babies of illegal immigrants are automatically citizens of the U.S. is not a settled matter. There has just never been the will to pursue the case. Could that situation change soon?

immigration, politics, citizenship, 14th-amendment

Global Warming Indicators

Seeded on Tue Aug 3, 2010 10:25 AM EDT (NOAA)

A picture is worth 1000 words. More than talking points in this beautiful graphic from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There is a story and report attached to the picture at the NOAA website...

environment, climate, change, national-oceanic, noaa, global-waring

Up to 6,600 graves mislabelled' at Arlington Cemetery

Seeded on Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:32 PM EDT (BBC News - Japan hit by massive earthquake)

This is a perfect example of the kind of government administration and leadership that is pervasive in the DC Metro area.

dc, politics, military, virginia, arlington, federal-government

City Council Salaries Spark Outrage In Calif. Town

Seeded on Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:09 AM EDT (NPR)

The saddest part of this story is that the highly OVERPAID city officials probably believe their pay was in line. $800K for the Chief Administrative Officer of "one of the poorest towns in Los Angeles County." A town of only 40K people.

politics, corruption, california, city-council, los-angeles, pay, bell-association

Israel jails Arab for 'deceit rape'

Seeded on Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:13 AM EDT (AL JAZEERA)

This reminds me of an old Jewish joke. A Jewish mother laments that she told her daughter to treat her body as a Temple, so the daughter let everyone in. Some in the U.S. may recall that a big motive behind segregation was keeping Black men away from White women.

israel, religion, arab, rape, jew

'Wall Street leads in phony reform'

Seeded on Tue Jul 6, 2010 10:36 AM EDT (AL JAZEERA)

Sadly, Obama and friends have not changed (and won't) the DC practice of governing by soundbyte, rather than substance. Financial reform is really financial misinform.

financial, wall-street, credit, politics, consumer, reform, finance, loans, obama