Not so long ago, heroin was a "black people problem," in that it mainstream culture viewed it as a drug that primarily affected people of color, and not white communities. Then, pop culture and news media started noticing white people dying from overdoses, and suddenly the opiate epidemic was something worth addressing. It appears that … Continue reading “Lets do something about Heroin. But not in Baltimore.”
Author: tgardnerh
Diversity vs Integration
Diversity is when the white kids get to go to school with just the "right" proportion of non-white kids, while integration is when the schools all reflect the broader population. In a district that's about 6/7ths non-white, if all the white kids go school that is half non-white, they will experience diversity, while, the system … Continue reading Diversity vs Integration
Peru Photos Part 2
After we got to Arequipa, we settled into our hostel. Here we have two night-time photos, highly desaturated because of the low light (I suspect they're badly underexposed, but I like the effect). I particularly like the one of Mita--you can tell it's a long exposure, because you can see the bench superimposed on her--it … Continue reading Peru Photos Part 2
First few days in Peru
If you know me and Mita, odds are we have old you, at length, about our trip to Peru! What you might not know is that I brought an awesome medium format camera, which uses a lens the size of a small soup can to take photos on a piece of film the size of … Continue reading First few days in Peru
Voter Suppression
I saw a post on FB today saying how the "voter suppression" in CA is starting--because if you register to vote by mail as "no party," you then need to send in a separate request to vote in the Democratic primary. This is asking that people who would like to vote in the Democratic primary … Continue reading Voter Suppression
Bad Science in the Media
According to the NYTimes and some researchers at the University of Washington, giving your kid a warning before turning off the TV doesn't help the transition go smoothly. Except that's not what the study found. They had parents keep diaries of children's screen time, and found that transitions that were preceded by warnings don't go any … Continue reading Bad Science in the Media
Redstate.com is with her
For those who don't spend any time in the fever-swamps of the right wing, redstate.com is one of the reliable standard bearers. As it's name suggests, it's pretty reliably right wing. And yet, in the wake of Trump's presumptive nomination, they are unambiguously throwing their weight behind HRC. Oh, don't get me wrong, they say … Continue reading Redstate.com is with her
The flight of the moderates
As Trump wins Indiana and with it the nomination, I hear rumblings of somewhat prominent republicans leaving the party. For pretty much this whole cycle, I've been saying that we're watching the dissolution of a coalition between plutocrats (rich people who want to set up the economy so they get richer) who want policy that helps … Continue reading The flight of the moderates
Something Happened To the Middle Class–They got Rich
A lot of political discussion over the last few months/years has been centered on the middle class--specifically how growing inequality has been rough, and the middle class has been "Hollowed Out". The Financial Times has a nice graph that shows just how true this is. Back in 1971, the income distribution looked almost like a … Continue reading Something Happened To the Middle Class–They got Rich
Free College For Northerners (or Why the South Votes Clinton)
As the primary season winds on, I hear a bit of dismay from Sanders supporters that he never seemed to get within 30 points of Clinton below the Mason Dixon line, without much thought about what this might mean beyond the electoral math. This is unfortunate, because while Sanders aims to fix the political system so it … Continue reading Free College For Northerners (or Why the South Votes Clinton)
The Clumsy Cook 