Culture
Bob Plain tweeted a link to a story on a study showing that the “comfortable standard” of income for being happy is, generally, around $75,000 in the United States. But whereas Bob indicated “$75k is the income Mendoza Line for affording happiness”, that’s a mischaracterization of what the research shows (granted, it was a character-limited…
The Ocean State Current encourages readers to spend some time today reading the Declaration of Independence and considering its continuing significance in our times. Some of the particulars resonate as if addressing present issues: He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors…
In a recent story, the ProJo reported about the so-called “skills gap” in Rhode Island. Only 41 percent of the adults in Rhode Island have college degrees. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce predicts that by 2018, 63 percent of jobs will require at least some postsecondary education. Setting aside that there is…
In case you were unaware or unfamiliar, conservative journalist/blogger Andrew Breitbart passed away today. According to his Wikipedia page, Breitbart was an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, and occasional guest commentator on various news programs, who served as an editor for the Drudge Report Web site. He was a researcher for Arianna…
I know Michael Morse to be an insightful observer and often inspiring writer, and his recent op-ed in the Providence Journal was no exception… although it’s inspiring in a way that isn’t entirely expected based on past exchanges, particularly in the comments ’round here: People who say they are lucky to have a job have…
In further proof of his lax moral standards,* it took Mangeek too long to read my post responding to one of his recent comments for his own response to attract much attention, so I’ll reprint it here: … what I’m trying to say, Justin, is that I think conservatives (for the most part) are finding…
Saturday’s Wall Street Journal had an interesting piece about “The New American Divide“: People are starting to notice the great divide. The tea party sees the aloofness in a political elite that thinks it knows best and orders the rest of America to fall in line. The Occupy movement sees it in an economic elite…
Yes, Providence Mayor Angel Tavarares is, by all evidence, a straighter shooter than his predecessors, and he’s more willing than Rhode Island’s political average to make difficult decisions. Still, he shouldn’t get a pass for this: Congratulations to Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and his partner, Farah Escamilla. Their new baby girl arrived early this morning,…
For a moment, I’ve put down my smart phone and its apps so as better to type on my regular ol’ laptop on this ye olde blog thing. The inspiration for such a retro act (apart from the evening’s first two microbrews) was the appearance of Billy Joel’s Glass Houses album — yes, album —…
The annual battle over Christmas terminology isn’t a sport for which I have much enthusiasm, the lines having been drawn and a general consensus reached. As a matter of governance, I think that local governments ought to be able to reflect the makeup of their communities, if that’s what the folks who live there want,…