Motley Moose – Archive

I am not a paleobiologist, or a physical/biological anthropologist, but as a cultural anthropologist trained in a four fields approach (cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics and physical anthropology) and as a teacher of introductory courses in anthropology on the undergraduate level, I teach evolution.  

As an observer of things cultural, I find it hard to believe (shaking my head) that in a world filled with scientific marvels, right here in the USA, a world leader in science, that a percentage of our population insists on resisting evolution, and that a leading political figure who was a Vice Presidential candidate became a poster child for absurdist ideations about humans romping with dinosaurs.    

Lisa Pond died alone. She collapsed on a cruise ship, and her partner and three kids who followed the ambulance weren’t allowed to see her.  And while there are some who argue that it wasn’t homophobia that kept this family apart in extremis, it can certainly be argued that a lack of compassion and a lack of empathy did…

Full credit for the article above to Joan Gerry of Lambda Legal.

Thanks to TheAdvocate for the picture  

(cross-posted at kickin it with cg)

There is nothing new about it – but here’s more proof – that the poor are the most generous givers.

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.

In terms of income, the poorest fifth seem unlikely benefactors. Their pretax household incomes averaged $10,531 in 2007, according to the BLS survey, compared with $158,388 for the top fifth.

In addition, its members are the least educated fifth of the U.S. population, the oldest, the most religious and the likeliest to rent their homes, according to demographers. They’re also the most likely fifth to be on welfare, to drive used cars or rely on public transportation, to be students, minorities, women and recent immigrants.

However, many of these characteristics predict generosity. Women are more generous than men, studies have shown. Older people give more than younger donors with equal incomes. The working poor, disproportionate numbers of which are recent immigrants, are America’s most generous group, according to Arthur Brooks, the author of the book “Who Really Cares,” an analysis of U.S. generosity.

What makes poor people’s generosity even more impressive is that their giving generally isn’t tax-deductible, because they don’t earn enough to justify itemizing their charitable tax deductions. In effect, giving a dollar to charity costs poor people a dollar while it costs deduction itemizers 65 cents.

Which leads to the natural question some might be asking themselves- why are generous people poorer than stingy ones?

Grover Norquist, the president of the conservative anti-tax Americans for Tax Reform, is a frequent contributor to Politico’s Arena, a page where political notables offer commentary on the day’s big political story.  With pundits buzzing about the GOP resolution to re-brand the Democratic Party as the “Democrat Socialist Party,” today’s topic is:

Multiple choice: An RNC resolution to rebrand the Democratic Party as “socialist” is:

A) Smart politics   B) Dumb politics   C) A joke

Testimony of Spc. Brandon Neely

Specialist Brandon Neely

On December 4, 2008, Specialist Brandon Neely approached CSHRA with testimony he wished to contribute to the Guantánamo Testimonials Project. He believed that insufficient attention had been paid to “the hell that went on at Camp X-Ray.” He would be in a position to know, as he arrived in Guantánamo while the cages of Camp X-Ray were still being welded, and escorted the second detainee to hit the prison grounds. In this interview, Specialist Neely provides testimony of the arrival of the detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, possible isolation regime of the first six children in GTMO, utter lack of preparation for guarding individuals detained during the War on Terror, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed.

I  have seen and done many horrible things,

either at Guantánamo or in Iraq, and I know

what it is like to try and move on with your  

life. It’s hard.                                                  

–Spc. Brandon Neely

Cross Post: FreeFlightNewMedia.typepad.com

First Lady Michelle Obama was in my hometown to honor the Arts yesterday

and though much of the NY fashion press coverage was focused on what she wore, like this piece from WWD: Purple Reign: Michelle Obama Makes a Splash at the Met

(she looked stunning in purple)

I was delighted to read that students from local Arts schools were invited to attend the event.  

Byron Dorgan (Dem. – North Dakota) was on C-Span this morning to discuss the elements of the Senate’s upcoming Credit Card Bill.  I’m not sure what he thinks he can accomplish, but at the very least, he is making us aware that the CC companies are big players in the screwing of the American Economy.

(Image courtesy of digado)

As many of you may already know, I have recently launched a community, collaborative blog: sexgenderbody.com.  In the last couple months, my content here had become a bit too higgledy-piggledy even for myself.  I found that I had a great deal to say on personal politics, the politics of self-definition.  This is not a conflict with the conversations I have been having here in the realm of Politics with a capital P, the politics of institutions and society at large or simply – groups.

(Cross-posted at The National Gadfly)

The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

Former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega has recently made news urging that we don’t rush into appointing a special prosecutor to investigate crimes of torture during George W. Bush’s presidency. In a provocative April 20th post entitled “Of Black Holes and Radio Silence,” Ms. de la Vega wrote:

Curse my inveterate curiosity, but I just had to join the Tacoma 9/12 Project Meetup group and attend their second meeting the other night. It was interesting, to say the least.