Libertarian Paternalism: Not an oxymoron. Libertarian paternalism is a relatively weak, soft, and non-intrusive type of paternalism where choices are not blocked, fenced off, or significantly burdened. A philosophic approach to governance, public or private, to help homo sapiens who want to make choices that improve their lives, without infringing on the liberty of others. [...]

who doesn’t love free stuff?

I recently started downloading books from Wowio. They have a great business model: free books if you don’t mind ads on the front page.  The site is wonderful and easy to use; it’s creating an account that’s a bit more difficult.  You must verify that you are a real person by providing a non-anonymous email [...]

from the super playful and life-loving author/artist SARK

how did we end up in suburbs?

“Suburbia may be paved with good intentions, but mainly it is paved”
-architect Douglas Kelbaugh
Continuing on my previous curiosity about the decline of suburbs, I just finished architect professor Dolores Hayden’s book Building Suburbia. Did you ever wonder how we got this way in the first place? How big box stores and parking [...]

Just finished Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti. I read this book cover to cover (how else do you read a book?).
The author uses a conversational technique, woven with swear words and gramatical errors, to discuss issues of gender inequality in the US. She’s funny, honest, and real. It was a refreshing [...]

the upside of being down

I have friends that live their lives in consistent bliss.  I have friends who underscore their life with negativity and chagrin.  And of course, I know those who take Zoloft or Prozac to suppress their sorrow and live in an idyllic mindset.
What I have learned is that the tendency to be optimistic or pessimistic is [...]

“No Child Left Behind” is ruining our education system

I’m not a fan of the No Child Left Behind program.  I think it’s ruining our education system, degrading the teaching profession, and widening the gap between suburban children who learn to interrogate reality and inner city kids who are “trained for non reflective acquiescence”.
Jonathan Kozol, a remarkable teacher, activist, and writer is fasting in [...]

an offesive, although interesting, read

This weekend I read Alan Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa’s new book on evolutionary psychology. They make quite a few bold and brazen remarks about human tendencies.
The authors suggest that all human tendencies can be explained by the brain’s Darwinian instincts. And since most social structures have evolved in the past 10,000 years, we’ve [...]

White Guilt by Shelby Steele

One of my favorite interns this summer, who is now studying law and social justice at UCLA, opened my ears to the discussion of modern day race issues in America. The passion and emotion he displayed in our many conversations on the subject inspired me to pick up the book White Guilt: How Blacks [...]