Some Brown students interrupted the speech of Ray Kelly, New York Police Chief. Then people argued about it on twitter. Then the Nation ran a point-counterpoint style forum for some of the key actors. Half think it is OK to interrupt and effectively shut down the speech. Half think it is not. Long time readers… Continue reading A simpler rule for questions of when to interrupt speech
Kati Haycock: wrong on Pay It Forward, wrong for America
I don’t actually know if Kati Haycock is wrong for America, but she is definitely wrong on Pay It Forward. Pay It Forward is a plan that levies a time-limited graduate tax to fund free tuition for Oregon public schools (so like, 3 percent of graduate income for 24 years or some such). Per the… Continue reading Kati Haycock: wrong on Pay It Forward, wrong for America
Salon: Social conservatives’ enduring myth: Women just want to stay home
Elizabeth Stoker has a new piece at Salon that I contributed on. The title is a bit odd. The point of the piece is that most women work because they absolutely have to. You need money to live. Of course, most women don’t like working. Most men don’t like working. You do it because you… Continue reading Salon: Social conservatives’ enduring myth: Women just want to stay home
The Atlantic: How to Cut the Poverty Rate in Half (It’s Easy)
I have finally made some use of my basic income calculator by posting this at The Atlantic. Read it.
Elitist theory of social change and the DREAMers
In the fallout from Russell Brand’s advocacy of egalitarianism socialism, some folks complained about the attention paid to him, arguing that really it is the most exploited and most oppressed that make social change. Others pushed back, Doug Henwood leading the charge, arguing that, as an empirical matter, social movements have often been comprised of… Continue reading Elitist theory of social change and the DREAMers