Motley Moose – Archive

(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?

(cross posted at kickin it with cg)

For the last few days I have been glued to my TV, washing my hands compulsively and been trying to stand a safe distance away from people.  Not that its helped much since, in my city there are 4 confirmed cases of swine flu today.  

At the same time as the Toronto cases were confirmed, Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, was busy suggesting that President Obama was to blame for the swine flu crisis. Bachmann implied that swine flu epidemics are a Democratic phenomenon that date back to President Carter.

“I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter. And I’m not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it’s an interesting coincidence.”

Sadly Bachmann’s facts are not quite right. As Republican President Gerald Ford, not Carter, was in office during the last outbreak of the virus.

In the meantime, before you get back to stockpiling water, vaccinations and food, you may want to take a look at this.

There is a storm being caused by gay marriage and we are all in serious trouble.

Better get under the umbrella.

(cross posted at kickin it with cg)

Matt – one of the reasons I started my site is because I know so many on the so-called left who secretly admire Sarah Palin for various reasons but can’t reconcile it politically or acknowledge it publicly.

There are a LOT of us.

I think there is a way to do both – critique her whackadoodle aspects and enjoy other things about her, the diva/pretty tomboy notwithstanding.

She is something totally new down here. I’d rather deal with it than try and repress it away, because we know where repression lands us.

Plus, she’s just flat out totally sexy. Just because I say so doesn’t mean I’m ever going to vote for her lol

Well – that pretty much sums up how I felt about Sarah Palin up until about 5 minutes ago. True that I often cringed with the winking, Clinton references and the strange phrasings – but usually it was with a smile.  I despised the sexism Palin was a subject to and was saddened to see my fellow progressives go so far astray from their values when it came to ‘Bible Spice’ and ‘Caribou Barbie.’

But it would appear that I was dead wrong about this horrible person.

Wayne Anthony Ross, her choice for attorney general, has an alleged fondness for rape jokes and doesn’t like homosexuals.

Ross, who once described gay people as “immoral degenerates,” was quizzed this week about how he would view cases involving homosexuality as the state’s top legislator.

“Let me give you an analogy – I hate lima beans,” Ross told a legislative hearing into his nomination.

“I’ve never liked lima beans. But if I was hired to represent the United Vegetable Growers, would you ask me if I liked lima beans? No. If I disliked lima beans? No. Because my job is to represent the United Vegetable Growers.”

A letter from Leah Burton, a lobbyist on children’s issues and domestic violence, has caused an uproar, hogging headlines and infuriating some of Alaska’s most outspoken bloggers, who play a critical role in reporting politics in the remote and far-flung state.

Burton alleges that in 1991, she heard Ross say at public meeting that domestic violence “wouldn’t be an issue if women would learn to keep their mouth shut.”

At the hearing, Ross denied making that statement, and also denied making the suggestion in the same conversation that it was acceptable for a man to rape his wife.

For the sake of Alaskans I only hope that she is out of office soon enough. To my fellow progressives – I apologize for the folly of my ways.

Everywhere I turn it seems Rush Limbaugh is. Much as I try and avoid the inanity, he is everywhere.  Say for instance even today, I was reading an article about Michael J. Fox and Parkinsons’s disease, and wouldn’t you know it…

(cross posted at kickin it with cg)

Billy Bob Thornton, in perhaps one of the most entertaining moments in recent memory has become a viral hit.  The interview took place on Wednesday in Toronto on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation’s radio show “Q.”

In other news, the don’t-call-me-actor and his band the Boxmasters were loudly booed on Thursday at Toronto’s Massey Hall while opening for Willie Nelson. “Boo all you want, but I want to say something…. We’re really happy to be here, but I need to say something. I talked to this asshole yesterday,” Thornton told the crowd according to the Toronto Star.

(cross posted at kickin it with cg)

A gunman, reportedly an immigrant from Vietnam, took hostages and opened fire in a U.S. immigration center in New York yesterday. 13 people were killed. The man later killed himself.

After the incident, Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah Mehsud claimed credit for the attack.  Reuters reports:

“Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah Mehsud claimed on Saturday responsibility for an attack on a U.S. immigration center in New York state in which 13 people were killed.

“‘I accept responsibility. They were my men. I gave them orders in reaction to U.S. drone attacks,’ Mehsud told by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Reports claim the FBI have ruled out the Taliban’s responsibility in the attack and a Fox Pakistani security analyst “dismissed Mehsud’s claim as a publicity stunt.”  

What do you think?

“This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed, a lot of these people should be fired, not awarded a bonus. This is horrible. It’s outrageous.” President Obama

Amidst a global economic meltdown in which millions have lost their, homes and hope – corporate greed continues.

Even though I believe in capitalism its crystal clear that the guys and gals that got us into this mess still don’t have a clue.  That’s right – I’m talking about executives who do not care/understand the implications of taking large bonuses without regard to what it will do to the economy as a whole and are certainly a major factor in getting the world into this mess.

In celebration of Conficker Day, and before a virus overtakes all the computers in the world, I thought it would be a wonderful time for a bit of brevity and to take a look at the origins of 04/01 and some of the better laughs to be had on this day.  But first….

What is All Fools Day?

The origin of April Fools’ Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar, which it replaced.

In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signaled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely. Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called “April Fools” and were taunted by their neighbors. In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah.

An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April.A possible reference to April Fools’ Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun’s Priest’s tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd.

And now – in no particular order – some great April Fool’s day gags.

1) The Amazing Flying Penguins: In 1957 the BBC produced a video documentary on the little known “Swiss Spaghetti Harvest.” and in 1996 ran a report claiming that red heads were susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.

Last year they out did themselves with a video about flying penguins that migrate to South America every winter. It’s classic.

2) The Taco Liberty Bell: In 1996 The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had acquired the famed American Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and that they were renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” Droves of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia to express their anger at such a grave insult to an American historical icon.

A few hours later, Taco Bell announced that it was all a practical joke. White House press secretary, Mike McCurry, was asked about the sale during a press conference. He announced that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

3) Alabama Changes the Value of Pi: An article in the April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter claimed that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the ‘Biblical value’ of 3.0.

The article went viral, and then rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. The article was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to prevent the teaching of evolution.

4) San Serriffe: In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer’s terminology.

5) The Left Handed Whopper: In 1998 Burger King ran a full page advertisement in USA Today heralding the launch of a new item to their menu. A specially designed burger for the 32 million left-handed Americans: a “Left-Handed Whopper.” The new whopper would include the same ingredients as the original Whopper, but all the condiments would be rotated 180 degrees. Thousands of customers had gone into Burger Kings nationwide requesting the new burger.

6) Sidd Finch: In 1985 Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record.

Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the “art of the pitch” in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the “great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa.” Mets fans celebrated their teams’ amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.

Happy March 32nd Mooses!