Why inequality in America is even worse than you thought - U.S. Economy - Salon.com

Why inequality in America is even worse than you thought - U.S. Economy - Salon.com

A new report (.pdf) by the Bertelsmann Foundation drives this point home. The German think tank used a set of policy analyses to create a Social Justice Index of 31 developed nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The United States came in a dismal 27th in the rankings. Here, for example, is a graph of one of the metrics, child poverty, in which the U.S. ranked fourth-to-last (click for larger size):

DC Douglas' "Why #OccupyWallStreet? 4 Reasons." - YouTube

DC Douglas' "Why #OccupyWallStreet? 4 Reasons." - YouTube

Two Moral Framing Systems in Politics

How To Frame Yourself: A Framing Memo For Occupy Wall Street | Common Dreams

Two Moral Framing Systems in Politics

Conservatives have figured out their moral basis and you see it on Wall Street: It includes: The primacy of self-interest. Individual responsibility, but not social responsibility. Hierarchical authority based on wealth or other forms of power. A moral hierarchy of who is “deserving,” defined by success. And the highest principle is the primacy of this moral system itself, which goes beyond Wall Street and the economy to other arenas: family life, social life, religion, foreign policy, and especially government. Conservative “democracy” is seen as a system of governance and elections that fits this model.

Though OWS concerns go well beyond financial issues, your target is right: the application of these principles in Wall Street is central, since that is where the money comes from for elections, for media, and for right-wing policy-making institutions of all sorts on all issues.

The alternative view of democracy is progressive: Democracy starts with citizens caring about one another and acting responsibly on that sense of care, taking responsibility both for oneself and for one’s family, community, country, people in general, and the planet. The role of government is to protect and empower all citizens equally via The Public: public infrastructure, laws and enforcement, health, education, scientific research, protection, public lands, transportation, resources, art and culture, trade policies, safety nets, and on and on. Nobody makes it on their own. If you got wealthy, you depended on The Public, and you have a responsibility to contribute significantly to The Public so that others can benefit in the future. Moreover, the wealthy depend on those who work, and who deserve a fair return for their contribution to our national life. Corporations exist to make life better for most people. Their reason for existing is as public as it is private.

AFP: Materialistic values weigh couples down: US study

AFP: Materialistic values weigh couples down: US study

WASHINGTON — Less materialistic spouses are more likely to find themselves in happier marriages than those who dwell too much on money and possessions, a trio of US researchers say.

In findings published Thursday, the team led by Jason Carroll at Brigham Young University in Utah explored the impact that value differences about materialism could have on a marriage.

Previous studies limited themselves only to materialism in itself, and not the importance that husbands and wives placed on material things.

From data collected from 1,734 couples, they concluded that, even among spouses who shared the same materialistic values, "materialism had a negative association with marital quality."

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http://www.asanet.org/images/journals/docs/pdf/Faris_FelmleeASRFeb11.pdf

Sociology 101: Introduction to Sociology | Dr. Stephen J. Sills – UNCG Sociology

http://uncgsoc101.wordpress.com/

Wall St. protests: How reform happens - CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/09/sunday/main20117793.shtml

What Do Women Want? - Discovering What Ignites Female Desire - NYTimes.com

What Do Women Want? - Discovering What Ignites Female Desire - NYTimes.com

All was different with the women. No matter what their self-proclaimed sexual orientation, they showed, on the whole, strong and swift genital arousal when the screen offered men with men, women with women and women with men. They responded objectively much more to the exercising woman than to the strolling man, and their blood flow rose quickly — and markedly, though to a lesser degree than during all the human scenes except the footage of the ambling, strapping man — as they watched the apes. And with the women, especially the straight women, mind and genitals seemed scarcely to belong to the same person.

Is bisexuality the same in men and women? | Psychology Today

Is bisexuality the same in men and women? | Psychology Today

There has been a lot of scientific and cultural interest lately in differences in the sexuality between men and women. For example, my colleague Dr. Meredith Chivers has been publishing some fascinating research showing major differences in the ways in which men and women experience sexual attractions. She has found that men are fairly specific in what turns them on sexually, whereas women in general have more flexibility. Men who identify as heterosexual become aroused when watching films of women but not men. Gay men tended to be aroused by films of men. This is very different with the women in her research. No matter how they identified in terms of their sexual orientation, they were more likely to show the same pattern of arousal to men, women, and both. Her research was featured in a New York Times Magazine cover story.

Largest national sex survey ever publishes highlights sexual behavior and condom use among Americans ages 14 to 94 | Psychology Today

Largest national sex survey ever publishes highlights sexual behavior and condom use among Americans ages 14 to 94 | Psychology Today

Readers of the Sexual Continuum blog may be most interested in the findings about same-sex behavior and sexual orientation. I created the graph below, which shows the percentage of individuals who identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual by age and gender. As shown, 3.3% of males between the ages of 14 and 17 identified as gay or bisexual, whereas 8.4% of girls in the same age group identified as bisexual. The numbers increased with age for men and decreased with age for women. Similar to many previous studies, more women identified as bisexual than lesbian, whereas more men identified as gay than bisexual. Some have suggested this indicates that sexual orientation is different in men and women, as reviewed in one of my previous blog posts.