Monday, January 09, 2006

Today's reading

Maggie says:
Good reading on the Web today. Check these out:

  • 10 Worst Americans (Alterdestiny). Yay, Erik's back! M-pyre friend Erik is writing his ass off again now that's moved himself and his blog to Albuquerque. Here, Erik ponders who he thinks the ten worst Americans are; it's a must-read list. He has tons of great stuff up lately, including the best reflection on coal mining I've seen since last week's tragedy and a musing on the historical importance of the Clinton impeachment. Check him out, ABQ!
  • Goodbye, Suburbs (New York Times). Loneliness, unfriendly strangers, terrible commutes, weight gain... This is a really great article (thanks for the tip, Mikaela) on urban New Yorkers moving to the suburbs with their young children and then moving right back to the city, with less space and less money but a whole lot more happiness. Brings up some interesting points about choices, patterns, human nature, and lifestyle preferences.
  • The Truth, Exodus Style, in SC (Pam's House Blend). I discovered this North Carolina blogger recently and just love her. Here, Pam rails against a billboard in South Carolina promising to "fix" lesbians alongside billboards for strip joints. An excerpt:"It's clear that the level of bible beating in this state has to be tied to the level of guilt-ridden beating off in dark dank joints, along with the Sunday prayers to cleanse...and then the cycle starts fresh the next week."
  • Fair Share for Health Care Heats Up (Wake-Up Wal-Mart Blog). A great piece detailing the latest organizing in Maryland over fair share health care reimbursement for Wal-Mart. "We have the power to hold multi-billion dollar corporations accountable for their behavior and it starts with making sure Wal-Mart pays its fair share for health care. Because when they don’t, the results are disastrous. For example, 600,000 Wal-Mart workers have no company health care and nearly 1 out of every 2 children of Wal-Mart workers have no health care or are forced onto a taxpayer program at a cost of $1.2 billion every year."
  • Minutemen? KLANSMEN (Arvin Hill). Another m-pyre fave, Arvin does his thing here with a first-hand account of a Denton, TX counter-protest against the Minutemen, who were gathering to make a statement to Mexican day laborers lining up for jobs. Thanks, Arvin.
  • Love (and leave) Thy Neighbor (New York Times). An absolutely charming story about the tawdry lives of neighbors in NYC, where hookups are plentiful but can be much too incestuous inside an apartment building, where tenants are like family.