Daily Kos: State of the Nation
The 2010 Comprehensive Daily Kos/Research 2000 Poll of Self-Identified Republicans
Monday, April 26, 2010
FOXNews.com - Fox News Poll: 58% Think the Federal Government Is Broken
FOXNews.com - Fox News Poll: 58% Think the Federal Government Is Broken
A new Fox News poll finds 58 percent of American voters think the federal government is 'broken,' while 30 percent feel it’s working “just okay” and 9 percent say it’s working 'pretty well.' Voters are equally frustrated with Democrats in Congress as they are with Republicans in Congress.
It turns out, people like gays and lesbians more than they like homosexuals:
Sociological Images » Seeing is Believing
A recent CBS/New York Times poll reveals how words matter. They asked 500 respondents how they felt about permitting “homosexuals” to serve in the military; then they asked a different 500 how they felt about “gays/lesbians” serving in the military. It turns out, people like gays and lesbians more than they like homosexuals:
Friday, April 23, 2010
Similar Pressures, Different Contexts: Public Attitudes toward Government Intervention for Health Care in 21 Nations -- Kikuzawa et al. 49 (4): 385 -- Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Similar Pressures, Different Contexts: Public Attitudes toward Government Intervention for Health Care in 21 Nations -- Kikuzawa et al. 49 (4): 385 -- Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Our findings indicate that public attitudes cluster around the historical organization of health care, but also relate to current economic and demographic realities. Individuals in countries adopting the "National Health Service Model" (the state directly provides health care but complete state control is absent) or the "Centralized Model" (the state directly provides health care and has much control) are more supportive of government involvement in health care than those in the "Insurance Model" (the state is limited to maintenance of the system) countries. However, citizens in countries currently spending more on health care and having a greater burden of chronic illness are less supportive.
In the tech world, porn quietly leads the way - CNN.com
In the tech world, porn quietly leads the way - CNN.com
The announcement illustrates a widely acknowledged but seldom-spoken truth of the technology world: Whenever there's a new content platform, the adult-entertainment industry is one of the first to adopt it -- if they didn't help create it in the first place.
Technology Review: Brain Waves Predict Suicide Risk
Technology Review: Brain Waves Predict Suicide Risk
When Hunter examined the results, she found a striking effect: Those patients on antidepressants who indicated any increase in suicidal thoughts also showed a drastic decrease in activity in their MRF region just 48 hours after starting their meds--six times the decrease shown in subjects with no change in suicidal thoughts. But after one week, the two groups were nearly identical again.
The State of Our Unions, Marriage in America 2009: Money & Marriage
The National Marriage Project, U.Va.
The State of Our Unions, Marriage in America 2009: Money & Marriage
Breastfeed At Your Own Risk » Contexts
Breastfeed At Your Own Risk » Contexts
Scientific research on infant health is incredibly important. However, as these findings are reported to the public, shaped into recommendations, and developed into public policy, it’s important to view them with a critical eye. We need to consider the unintended consequences of breastfeeding promotion and other recommended parenting practices. These recommendations and policy based upon this science may inspire stress and guilt in mothers, especially poor and non-white mothers, when they don’t measure up.
Reinforcing Separate Spheres: The Effect of Spousal Overwork on Men's and Women's Employment in Dual-Earner Households -- Cha 75 (2): 303 -- American Sociological Review
Reinforcing Separate Spheres: The Effect of Spousal Overwork on Men's and Women's Employment in Dual-Earner Households -- Cha 75 (2): 303 -- American Sociological Review
This study examines whether long work hours exacerbate gender inequality. As working long hours becomes increasingly common, a normative conception of gender that prioritizes men’s careers over women’s careers in dual-earner households may pressure women to quit their jobs. I apply multilevel models to longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to show that having a husband who works long hours significantly increases a woman’s likelihood of quitting, whereas having a wife who works long hours does not appear to increase a man’s likelihood of quitting. This gendered pattern is more prominent among workers in professional and managerial occupations, where the norm of overwork and the culture of intensive parenting are strong. Furthermore, the effect is stronger among workers who have children. Findings suggest that overwork can reintroduce the separate spheres arrangement, consisting of breadwinning men and homemaking women, to many formerly dual-earner households.
Who Benefits Most from College?: Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to Higher Education -- Brand and Xie 75 (2): 273 -- American Sociological Review
Who Benefits Most from College?: Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to Higher Education -- Brand and Xie 75 (2): 273 -- American Sociological Review
In this article, we consider how the economic return to a college education varies across members of the U.S. population. Based on principles of comparative advantage, scholars commonly presume that positive selection is at work, that is, individuals who are most likely to select into college also benefit most from college. Net of observed economic and noneconomic factors influencing college attendance, we conjecture that individuals who are least likely to obtain a college education benefit the most from college. We call this theory the negative selection hypothesis. To adjudicate between the two hypotheses, we study the effects of completing college on earnings by propensity score strata using an innovative hierarchical linear model with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. For both cohorts, for both men and women, and for every observed stage of the life course, we find evidence suggesting negative selection. Results from auxiliary analyses lend further support to the negative selection hypothesis.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
BBC News - Stay-at-home fathers 'up 10-fold'
BBC News - Stay-at-home fathers 'up 10-fold'
The number of stay-at-home fathers in the UK has risen 10-fold in the last decade, a survey suggests.
The results of the survey of 1,000 parents suggest around 6% of fathers, or 600,000 men, are now their child's primary carer, up from 60,000 in 2000.
birth rate of religious fundamentalists of practically any stripe is far above replacement level
BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Thinking Allowed, 07/04/2010
The idea that modernity leads to a lessening religious belief is being abandoned by theorists in America and Europe. Figures like Richard Dawkins and AC Grayling argue that increasingly religion seeks to impinge on science, and now the first systematic study of European cultural groups predicts that fundamentalists of all religions are out-breeding moderates and atheists, and will eclipse them quite soon. In Israel the Ultra Orthodox will form the majority as soon as 2050. Since the birth rate of secular people in the West is way below replacement level (2.1), and the birth rate of religious fundamentalists of practically any stripe is far above (roughly between 5 and 7.7 children per mother), through the sheer force of demography, academic Eric Kaufmann claims they will become a much bigger force in the Western World. Is that inevitable? Should people be worried?
Laurie Taylor discusses the anxieties of atheists and the predictions of demography with three theorists of different perspectives.: The Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, Tariq Ramadan; Eric Kaufmann, Reader in Politics at Birkbeck College and author of Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? and Rebecca Goldstein, philosopher and author of 36 Arguments for the Existence of God; A Work of Fiction.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Obama's 'tea party' complex / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com
Obama's 'tea party' complex / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com
The comment – which brought him rousing applause at a fundraising speech in Miami Thursday night – is, on its face, accurate. A New York Times/CBS News poll says only two percent of tea party protesters realize that their taxes have likely gone down this year (compared to 22 percent of the general population who understand that). Given college tax credits, making work pay, college loan relief, and home buyer credits, 90 percent of Americans got a tax break this year. The average tax refund is 10 percent larger than last year.
BBC News - Glee triumphs at gay media awards
BBC News - Glee triumphs at gay media awards
US musical TV series Glee has been named best comedy series at the Glaad media awards in the US for its positive portrayal of gay characters.
Creator Ryan Murphy revealed that Kurt, played by actor Chris Colfer, would have a boyfriend in the next series and the pair would be school prom kings.
Jennifer Knapp Comes Out | Music | Christianity Today
Jennifer Knapp Comes Out | Music | Christianity Today
Seven years ago, while at the top of her game, Jennifer Knapp announced what seemed to many a sudden decision: She was stepping away from Christian music, taking an indefinite hiatus. Rumors began to swirl—she was burned out, she needed a rest, she was upset about something, she was gay. Turns out that all the rumors were true, as Knapp reveals in this rambling, exclusive interview with Christianity Today.
On the Outs | The American Prospect
On the Outs | The American Prospect
But it's worth stepping away from the cable-news chyrons and juvenile jokes to ask: Who are we really shaming when we mock politicians who are outed as gay? Are we training a spotlight on how America is still so homophobic that politicians in many areas of the country must keep their gay identities under wraps? Or are we doing the opposite and actively fueling a broader, more pernicious narrative that being gay is something to be ashamed of?
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