As Mark Twain said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme”. Unlike the tobacco parallel, though, actively ignoring the facts behind anthropomorphic climate change and forging ahead as normal won’t just negatively impact you; it will negatively impact people you haven’t even met.
The Article: What Century Are You Living In? An Open Letter to House Republicans by Barbara Boxer in The Huffington Post.
The Text: With all of the incredible challenges facing our nation — the need to rebuild our infrastructure, create jobs, improve education and address the threat of climate change — one would expect that these pressing issues would be at the top of your agenda.
But last week I watched in disbelief as Republicans instead chose to ratchet up the War on Women.
First, there was Republican Congressman Steve Pearce’s memoir that argued that wives should “voluntarily submit” to their husbands. Then, former GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joined in, suggesting that American women could “control their libido” rather than receive contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
The tumult that has engulfed Syria for the past three years has provided a fertile breeding ground for terrorist initiatives. Watch this great VICE documentary (they’ve been provided access to Al Qaeda grounds in northern Syria) to find out more.
Your incomes have been falling for five years in a row even though you’ve likely worked harder to make up for all the layoffs at work. But don’t complain. You’re one of the lucky ones.
The Article: The Income Gap: How Much Is Too Much? by Yuki Noguchi in NPR.
The Text: In the debate over income inequality, the right and left seem to agree on one point: The U.S. is the land more of equal opportunity than equal outcomes.
But what’s the real relationship between the growing income gap and opportunity? A new report out last week has triggered more debate about the haves and the have-nots.
The study, led by Raj Chetty of Harvard University, says it’s not any harder to achieve economically in the U.S. today than it was 20 years ago. That flies in the face of growing criticism that the income gap is putting some opportunities beyond the reach of average Americans.
