Daily Archives: 01/24/2013

Lawrence Wright on Going Clear: Reporting on Scientology

lawrence wright going clear(Community Matters) Very cool that Larry’s book – Going Clear – is finally out. If you missed the New Yorker article, here.

Spent a lovely afternoon in Marfa eating and drinking wine at Julie & Fran’s with Larry & Roberta discussing Scientology and new story ideas.

Battleground Texas

obama_texas-rtrs_605(Community Matters) Politico on Democrats bringing the knowledge/power/fundraising of the Obama/Biden campaign to Texas

“Do I think we’re going to turn Texas in two years? Probably not. Do I think we can turn Texas in four years? Absolutely” – Houston Mayor Anise Parker

(not sure about time frame but definitely a boon for ambitions of turning Texas blue)

US Medical Costs

(Community Matters) A stunning statistic – half of Medicare beneficiaries live with three chronic conditions and 20 percent live with five or more.

NYT, David Bornstein: When Paying It Forward Pays Us Back

 

European Bank Risk

(Community Matters) ughh, Moody’s and Fitch warning European banks they need more reserves against bad loans. The volatility could remain a drag on markets

The Science of Generosity

science of generosity(Community Matters) The University of Notre Dame has launched a research effort on the Science of Generosity. It was established in 2009 with a $5 million grant and grew out of Smith’s work on Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money

Generosity – the virtue of giving good things to others freely and abundantly.

some of their research:

In a September 2012 paper in Nature, Harvard University researchers David Rand, Joshua Greene, and Martin Nowak conclude that when given the choice, our innate first responder–intuition–is pretty generous. But in a span of just 10 seconds, a stingier impulse arises, and the cooperative impulse decreases dramatically.

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