Wednesday, May 20, 2009

wednesday reads

Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, Unexceptional Americans


Emptywheel: The CIA's Comedy of Briefing List Errors


America's poor are its most generous givers (McClatchy)

The generosity of poor people isn't so much rare as rarely noticed, however. In fact, America's poor donate more, in percentage terms, than higher-income groups do, surveys of charitable giving show. What's more, their generosity declines less in hard times than the generosity of richer givers does.

"The lowest-income fifth (of the population) always give at more than their capacity," said Virginia Hodgkinson, former vice president for research at Independent Sector, a Washington-based association of major nonprofit agencies. "The next two-fifths give at capacity, and those above that are capable of giving two or three times more than they give."

Indeed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest survey of consumer expenditure found that the poorest fifth of America's households contributed an average of 4.3 percent of their incomes to charitable organizations in 2007. The richest fifth gave at less than half that rate, 2.1 percent.



Darwinius masillae

Monday, May 18, 2009

monday reads

Chris Hedges: The Disease of Permanent War

A record number of suicides has prompted Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli to launch a massive house-cleaning plan with orders to garrison, installation and medical commanders to revive lapsed health and welfare programs, and restore discipline in the barracks.


Glenn Greenwald: The myth of the parasitical bloggers


Torture News Roundup


Unpaid wage claims on the rise in Austin.


Will Patrick Roy return to the Avs as head coach?