2023/12/27

Todays Thought

Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey cafe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top. No wonder it costs so much. 

-Sarah Vowell, author and journalist (b. 27 Dec 1969)

2023/12/26

Todays Thought

I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a man who goes around with a little oil can and when he sees a breakdown, offers his help. To me, the man who does that is greater than any holy man in saffron-colored robes. The mechanic with the oilcan: that is my ideal in life. 

-Baba Amte, social worker and activist (26 Dec 1914-2008)

2023/12/24

California researchers gave homeless people $750 a month. Here’s what they found

 California researchers gave homeless people $750 a month. Here’s what they found

People who received the money also reported that they were closer to being able to afford all of their basic needs compared with people who did not receive the funds. More than a third of the money was spent on food, according to self-reported budgets given to researchers. Housing accounted for about 20% of the spending, followed by transportation at 13%, clothing at 12% and health care at 6%. About 14% was categorized as “other,” a category that included the 2% of funds that were spent on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

To Kevin Adler, the founder of Miracle Messages, the San Francisco nonprofit that helped distribute the funds, the findings were not surprising.

“People used the money better than we could have used it for them,” he said. “When we trust people, they can resolve their issues. They know what they need.”

BUILDING A MARBLE CLOCK - Pt. 3

Todays Thought

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.  -Edmund Hillary, mountaineer and explorer (20 Jul 1919-2008)