Articles by David Roberts
David Roberts was a staff writer for Grist. You can follow him on Twitter, if you're into that sort of thing.
All Articles
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The things people do
Did you know that New York Times reporter Andy Revkin has a band that plays Americana and bluegrass? Me neither.
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Paradigms of poverty
When I read this bit of George Will's recent column --
The 1930s paradigm [of poverty] has been refuted by four decades of experience. The new paradigm is of behavior-driven poverty that results from individuals' nonmaterial deficits. It results from a scarcity of certain habits and mores -- punctuality, hygiene, industriousness, deferral of gratification, etc. -- that are not developed in disorganized homes.
-- I had to choke back a little vomit. And then I started composing an appropriately caustic, dismissive post in my head.
As Kevin Drum too-gently points out, the notion that the poor are poor because they're lazy and shiftless is hardly a new paradigm. It's very, very old.
But rather than heaping scorn on Will's head, I just refer you to Ezra Klein's substantive dismantling of the claim -- and, while you're at it, Klein's longer piece on poverty.
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Jesus ready to bolt?
Amy Sullivan has a piece in Washington Monthly called "When Would Jesus Bolt?" It's about growing strain between the evangelical Christian community and the Republican Party for which it has so long been a loyal foot soldier. There's lots of juicy stuff in the piece, but Gristies will be particularly intrigued to hear some of the backstory surrounding last month's climate declaration by evangelicals:
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350 families have tended the 14-acre plot for 13 years
Several readers have independently sent in word about this: "L.A. South Central Farm Receives 3-Day Eviction Notice."
Over 13 years, 350 families have been growing organic produce in a 14-acre garden plot in South Central Los Angeles. But now:
Two days ago the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department unceremoniously posted an eviction notice on the farm's gate calling for the farm to be vacated by March 6th (next Monday). That would leave current crops in the ground to be plowed under by a developer's bulldozers. The intended replacement for the farm is a warehouse intended to serve (primarily) Wal-Mart.
The linked story has information on how you can help, if you so choose. You can also check out the South Central Farmers website. I believe protests are ongoing -- if anybody in the area has an update, let me know.
