In August, Science published a landmark study concluding that poverty, itself, hurts our ability to make decisions about school, finances, and life, imposing a mental burden similar to losing 13 IQ points.
It was widely seen as a counter-argument to claims that poor people are “to blame” for bad decisions and a rebuke to policies that withhold money from the poorest families unless they behave in a certain way. After all, if being poor leads to bad decision-making (as opposed to the other way around), then giving cash should alleviate the cognitive burdens of poverty, all on its own. Continue reading Your Brain on Poverty: Why Poor People Seem to Make Bad Decisions | The Atlantic
Category Archives: Readings from around the webs…
Watch: ReMoved: A powerful movie short on foster care
From the YouTube page for the movie:
Published on Mar 11, 2014
We made ReMoved with the desire that it would be used to serve in bringing awareness, encourage, and be useful in foster parent training, and raising up foster parents. .
If you would like to use the film for any of these reasons, the answer is yes.
If you need a downloadable version, you can download it here:
vimeo.com/ondemand/removed
Originally created for the 168 Film Festival, ReMoved follows the emotional story through the eyes of a young girl taken from her home and placed into foster care. Continue reading Watch: ReMoved: A powerful movie short on foster care
Edward #Snowden urges professionals to encrypt client communications | The Guardian
Alan Rusbridger and Ewen MacAskill
The NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, has urged lawyers, journalists,doctors, accountants, priests and others with a duty to protect confidentiality to upgrade security in the wake of the spy surveillance revelations. Continue reading Edward #Snowden urges professionals to encrypt client communications | The Guardian
Charles Rangel at his best | CNNCrossfire
Congressman Charles Rangel appeared on CNN’s Crossfire on July 15th to debate Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann on the Border Crisis in Texas and other issues. Continue reading Charles Rangel at his best | CNNCrossfire
@RonanFarrow: #GOP #BorderCrisis Hysteria
This segment aired July 16, 2014Fear mongering among anti-immigration groups and many Republicans have hit a new low with recent claims of unaccompanied minors carrying deadly diseases. Continue reading @RonanFarrow: #GOP #BorderCrisis Hysteria
(Updated) Koch High: How The Koch Brothers Are Buying Their Way Into Public School
I originally curated this post in 2014. Continue reading (Updated) Koch High: How The Koch Brothers Are Buying Their Way Into Public School
A Clinton approach for angrier times | POLITICO
By BEN WHITE and MAGGIE HABERMAN | 7/15/14
Hillary Clinton has a unique asset if she runs for president — Bill Clinton, who presided over a booming economy and an era of sunny Democratic centrism.
But she also faces a singular challenge: convincing voters who are skeptical of some Wall Street-friendly policies during his tenure that she can connect with their concerns at a time when the wealth gap is massive between the very rich and everyone else.
After a decade and a half of being tethered to her husband’s record, Hillary Clinton established her own political identity as senator and as secretary of state. But a string of questions from interviewers during her book tour about her husband’s tenure as president underscores the ongoing issue she will face reconciling their past with her future. Continue reading A Clinton approach for angrier times | POLITICO
Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says Hillary Clinton | The Guardian
The former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said Edward Snowden should have the right to launch a legal and public defence of his decision to leak top-secret documents if he returns to the United States.
“If he wishes to return knowing he would be held accountable and also able to present a defence, that is his decision to make,” Clinton said in a video interview with the Guardian on Friday. Continue reading Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says Hillary Clinton | The Guardian
#ThrowbackFridays: Dylan Ratigan’s “Network” moment, 08/09/2011 | MSNBC
Moyers & Company Video: Is the Supreme Court Out of Order? | BillMoyers.com
July 11, 2014
[vimeo]100472954[/vimeo]
The latest session of the US Supreme Court was especially contentious, with important decisions on the separation of church and state, organized labor, campaign finance reform, birth control and women’s health, among others, splitting the court along its 5-4 conservative-liberal divide Continue reading Moyers & Company Video: Is the Supreme Court Out of Order? | BillMoyers.com