November continued Red Brown and Blue’s commitment to deliver progressive political points of view and real solutions to today’s concerns. Here’s a quick review of stories from the month you may have missed or might want to read a second time. Continue reading “Red Brown and Blue’s November Review” »
How many times have we walked past a homeless person and tried our hardest to avoid eye contact? Why do we do that?
We often try to resolve issues without first developing a clear understanding of the situation and the parts that keep the system going. That’s human nature—we operate by limiting the information we perceive and make decisions based on those limited sets of information. Just because something may be human nature doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do something. Continue reading “How Can We Include the Voices of the Poor? Ask Them.” »
The day after Thanksgiving traditionally marks Black Friday, the start of the Christmas shopping season in the modern, hyper-consumerist American culture. People forgo sleep and sanity to crash the barricades of retail businesses who only encourage the madness with their specially-advertised, atypical business hours. Commercials convince shoppers that unbeatable once-in-a-lifetime bargains must be had on that day or will pass into the ether, never again to be seen.
The Black Friday moniker originated in 1960s Philadelphia due to the impenetrable traffic jams clogging the streets on the day after Thanksgiving. The term took on a different meaning in the early 80s as retailers realized most retail businesses operate in the red until the Christmas shopping season, when holiday shopping makes them profitable enough to operate the rest of the year. Continue reading “Black Friday or Buy Nothing?” »
The nature of progress demand continuous motion – that which stands still isn’t advancing. In the pursuit of progress, one might forget to appreciate achievements and victories won. Our nation suffers wide philosophical divisions and a depressed economy that demand improvement, but we have to remember positive change often comes in small pieces that accumulate into larger, perceptible shifts. Today provides an obvious opportunity to reflect upon recent success. With an off-year election just completed and the big election looming over the next twelve months, the progressively minded should be thankful for recent accomplishments. Continue reading “Thankful for Progress” »
The following appeared originally on November 17, 2011 at Appetite for Profit, the website of Michelle Simon. Ms. Simon focuses on the food industry and the influence big business exerts on our diet. Please visit AppetiteForProfit.com to read her blog, see other published work, or buy her book.
Over the last couple of days, news outlets have been having a field day with a proposal from Congress that pizza sauce be considered a vegetable to qualify for the National School Lunch program. Headlines like this one were typical: “Is Pizza Sauce a Vegetable? Congress says Yes.” (The blogs were a tad more childish; for example LA Weekly: Congress to USDA: Pizza is So a Vegetable, Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah.) Continue reading “School Food Politics: What’s Missing From the Pizza-as-Vegetable Reporting” »
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Red Brown and Blue examines issues affecting the people of the United States, the causes of those issues, and changes that could be made to improve the lives of the people impacted. Here on the site, we deliver articles of new, original thought to the conversation several times a week. But did you know that we collect stories from around the web generated by news outlets, creative thinkers,and progressive organizations that may be of interest to RBB followers? Those like-minded pieces can come to you by following us on Twitter @RedBrownandBlue and by liking our page onFacebook.
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