I’ve never done this before, and you all might tell me you hate it, in which case I’ll probably never do it again.
But my ‘interesting stuff I’m not sure what to do with” email folder has gotten pretty full, and my calendar has gotten super tight, and I’m quite candidly not as diligent about Twitter as I should be, so I thought I’d give this a try.
Here are some links that I don’t want you to miss. I’d love to hear your reaction to them, and I’d be delighted to discuss them, but I just don’t know how to pull each into a coherent blog post of its own.
So, instead, a sort-of early holiday present:
some links, from me to you.
What do you think?
- All-In Nation, a report from PolicyLink and Center for American Progress about the policy changes necessary to build a society of racial inclusion and economic justice, and the benefits that would accrue to all of us, from such a shift
- Social Work Helper post questioning the retreat of social workers from the forefront of the struggle for civil rights
- Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator, a really helpful tool for illustrating just how far minimum wage doesn’t stretch–it’s pretty stunning, really, to imagine what it is like to try to make the math work, when the stakes are as high as your children’s well-being.
- Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap interactive tool, for anyone who thinks that no one could possibly be hungry in their community
- Social Work Helper post on hate speech on Twitter–really, really scary stuff
- Bolder Advocacy post from the 4th of July (so, yeah, I really haven’t cleaned this out in awhile) about how nonprofit advocacy is patriotic. I couldn’t agree more!
- Storify from my live Twitter chat last spring on political advocacy for social workers–I can’t believe I never posted this!
- U.S. Census Bureau announces decline in public school expenditures in 2011, for the first time in nearly 40 years
- Insightful e-politics post about how ‘big data’ is really just listening to people–what social workers, of course, do best!
- Article debating the merits of online advocacy, aka ‘slacktivism’–is the jury still really out? What do you think?
- Bolder Advocacy post about moms’ activism to pass paid sick leave ordinances–I love moms, I love paid sick leave, and I love Bolder Advocacy!
- Idealware report on cutting-edge social media
- From my backyard, an article on ideas for reducing suburban poverty
- Economic Policy Institute report on King’s unfinished march, complete with some of the most discouraging infographics I’ve seen lately–we should all be doubly resolved to finish the campaign for jobs and equality
- Washington Post report on rising poverty among older Americans, highlighting the risks to seniors, in particular, if entitlements are cut–we often forget that the comparatively low rates of poverty among older adults is a policy victory, not an accident of fate, and it’s one that could easily be undone
- New tools for evaluating community organizing and advocacy
- Idealware report on creating infographics
