Today I took our toddler out of daycare (with his mom’s permission!) and participated in the Climate Strike in downtown Chapel Hill. It was a youth-organized, peaceful protest against climate inaction, featuring student and faculty speakers. The gathering started at Peace and Justice Plaza, where there was music, chanting, and some speakers. We then processedContinue reading “Why My Toddler And I Participated In Today’s Climate Strike”
Tag Archives: politics
The Paris Agreement
Much has been said recently about the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement and the vast majority of it has been highly politicized by people who have never even read the agreement. Opinions are quite polarized, ranging from “It was a perfect agreement and, now that we have pulled out, the sky is falling,”Continue reading “The Paris Agreement”
Uncomfortable Podcast
Stop what you’re doing and subscribe to this podcast right now. My intelligent, worldly high school classmate at ABC News has launched a series of uncomfortable conversations. There has only been one episode so far, but it is riveting. In the first episode she hosts an intelligent, articulate (the most dangerous kind) white supremacist whoContinue reading “Uncomfortable Podcast”
Processing the Election
It’s been three weeks since the US presidential election and I’m still processing what happened. It should be no secret that I am disappointed in the election result, but what is important now is to understand what happened (and why) and make some sense of it to inform the way forward. OUTCOME I didn’t supportContinue reading “Processing the Election”
Has Obama Changed the Economy for the Worse? Conclusion
Over the past three weeks I have evaluated nine specific claims made by an article purporting to show that “Obama has changed the face of our economy for the worse.” The article was presented to me as definitive proof that Obama has been “a train wreck” as President of the United States. Of the claimsContinue reading “Has Obama Changed the Economy for the Worse? Conclusion”
Is Trust in Obama’s Leadership at Historically Low Levels?
As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the ninth and final claim: that trust in Obama’s leadership and administration remains at historically low levels. Cutting right to the chase, I can’t find any support for this claim. I supposeContinue reading “Is Trust in Obama’s Leadership at Historically Low Levels?”
Was America’s Credit Rating Downgraded for the First Time Ever Under Obama’s Watch?
As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the eighth claim: that America’s credit rating was downgraded for the first time ever under Obama’s watch. Yes, America’s credit rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+ by S&P in 2011, soContinue reading “Was America’s Credit Rating Downgraded for the First Time Ever Under Obama’s Watch?”
Was There a Record Number of Home Foreclosures Under Obama’s Presidency?
As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the seventh claim: that there was a record number of home foreclosures during Obama’s presidency. This one is pretty easy to research. According to these data from RealtyTrac and the Federal Reserve,Continue reading “Was There a Record Number of Home Foreclosures Under Obama’s Presidency?”
Are Nearly 50 Million Americans on Food Stamps?
As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the sixth claim: that nearly 50M Americans are on SNAP (food stamps). According to the Food and Nutrition Service, ~43M Americans (~13% of the population) are on SNAP. This number (both absoluteContinue reading “Are Nearly 50 Million Americans on Food Stamps?”
Are 46 Million Americans Living in Poverty?
As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the fifth claim: that 46M Americans are living in poverty, First off, what does it mean to be “living in poverty?” According to the Census’s most recent data (2015), to be livingContinue reading “Are 46 Million Americans Living in Poverty?”