“Americans making $70,000 or more dispensed a paltry 3.3 percent of their earnings to charitable cuases; in contrast, those making $50,000 to $69,999 gave 5.6 percent, and those making $30,000 to $49,999 gave 8.9 percent.”

From The Atlantic Monthly’s Primary Sources. via Paddling to New Zealand.

Just remember that the next time you support tax breaks that go more to the wealthy instead of the middle class. Or the poor for that matter. As Jane Eisner, in this Inquirer article explains, welfare reform has only gone so far.

I can’t believe I was able to capture this as a screenshot. They are on the right and left even. My stomach twists.

Will we ever learn? Just what century is this anyway?!?!?!

On the eve of the mayoral election – the blogosphere sleeps. A big city Democrat mayor – Philadelphia’s Mayor Street – has his office bugged, his associates raided, and rumors are flying.

Philadelphia Inquirer: 3 City Agencies Raided.

Philadelphia Inqurier: Longtime Supporter Raided.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Streets ratings are rising in face of the investigation.

CityPaper: The Mayor and the Media (a must read for behind the behind the scenes acrimony that exists between the media and the mayor).

This is almost (almost) funny.

Concerned about the appearance of disarray and feuding within his administration as well as growing resistance to his policies in Iraq, President Bush – living up to his recent declaration that he is in charge – told his top officials to “stop the leaks” to the media, or else.

News of Bush’s order leaked almost immediately.

Read the rest in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

There is a big thread at Metafilter arguing the merits of BusinessWeek’s article on Unmarried America. To some it is an eye-opener. Today CSMonitor has a story about The power of 1 and how singles shop. Lost in all this discussion (and it seems strange to be reading about it from multiple sources simultaneously) – is that human beings will seek out ways to satisfy the the needs that marriage met for previous generations no matter what.

We have unstoppable needs for community, for anchoring, for knowledge of self and the sharing of experience with others. Have many replaced marriage to spouses and families with marriage to work and the temporary community it provides? And where that doesn’t do the trick, with other temporary associations? For better and for worst?

Got to get back to work 🙂