@michaelspheres
Joyfully married to Rebecca. Passionate about justice. Love heirloom gardening, travel, coffee, and dark chocolate. Blog w/ a friend at www.intellectualroundtable.com. (Views expressed are my own.)
Essay on #Hope and #Justice, Pt. 2: To Achieve Justice, We Need More Hopeful People. You likely know people who are struggling. You should ask yourself: what do you want for them? What does that compel you to do? Active hope is not naïve—it is a form of resistance. #hope substack.com/@michaelsphe...
Hope and Justice, Part 1: Hope is not passive; it’s a decision.
Often, hope is treated as a passive wish—an unassertive feeling expecting things to improve on their own. Real hope demands deliberate persistence in acts toward achieving what can actually be accomplished. substack.com/@michaelsphe...
My answer is "hogwash."
Technology is not neutral. Its creator, or the person or corporation that paid for it, wants the technology to serve a purpose. There are also unintended consequences to technology. For instance, if you lay down a road somewhere, eventually you'll get roadkill. That is not neutral.
I love @daveandersonmn.bsky.social 's comment on the Intellectual Roundtable blog to this question.
Today, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released its annual "Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing" report. For 2025, NLIHC notes that a minimum-wage worker would need to work 101 hours to afford a 2-bedroom rental home in Minnesota. #NLIHC #affordablehousing
Rental assistance helps Minnesotans live near work, care for family, & stay housed. Cuts will push families into crisis. Congress must protect this smart investment in stable homes & strong communities. Even a 1% reduction would displace about 1,000 families. Call Congress now
#mnleg #HousingMatters
Tell Congress #HandsOffHousing! Cuts to rental and homelessness assistance hurt those with the greatest
needs in our communities: low-income seniors, veterans, ppl with disabilities, and those experiencing
homelessness. Contact your members of Congress here: p2a.co/nliqghj
If you know someone who is depressed/anxious and you want to help (or make yourself feel comfortable), do not attempt empathy by saying, ’Yeah, we all have our bad days.’ You will make the depressed or anxious person feel more isolated and, perhaps, less likely to seek help from someone they know.
See HOME Line’s Instagram page (homeline_mn) to see how tenants speak up for their rights. They are great advocates for source of income and just cause protections.
One of my colleagues, Fadumo, describes why Source of Income Protections are needed in Minnesota immediately. #renting #tenantprotections www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9n...
"Whoever is elected the 48th president won’t be able to easily rebuild what Donald Trump is busy destroying," @jerusalem.bsky.social writes:
Legal experts say states could help married women who have changed their last names by accepting documents like a legal decree or a marriage certificate, but it might not fix the issue for all.
After reading the NYT interview with Tracy Chapman, I wondered if a People's History of the United States course should be taught through a collection of songs. Thoughts?
Source of Income Protections ensure that renters using subsidies aren’t denied housing b/c of how they pay rent. Fartun, a Section 8 voucher holder, has repeatedly faced this barrier for yrs—landlords refusing to accept her voucher, limiting her housing options. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jsI...
Chart: "2017 Tax Law Did Not Create Growth in Nation's Economy as Promised"
The 2017 tax law didn’t deliver the promised economic boost — no meaningful gains in growth, investment, or wages. Now, plans to extend it, alongside cuts to #Medicaid & #SNAP and new tariffs, would raise costs for families while giving more to the top 1%. www.cbpp.org/blog/the-201...
Let's start creating coalitions w/o acronyms but w/ meaningful names people want to say. Acronyms create barriers to conversations, w/ the general public &, specifically, people w/ lived experience.
Somewhat related, why did we abandon saying "diversity, equity, & inclusion" & start saying "DEI?"
This is from the Minnesota Reformer today. Despite the anti-immigration rhetoric, these stats show how much undocumented migrants contribute to Minnesota and our nation.
The third quintile got next to nothing. The fourth highest quintile got a decent amount -- almost exclusively tax expenditures. And, as expected, the highest quintile received an enormous amount and exclusively through tax expenditures.
The bottom quintile received direct subsidies almost exclusively (and then less than 20% of the resources). The second quintile received almost slightly more direct subsidies than tax expenditures and less of the pie than the first quintile.
I only know the dollar amounts from way back in the early 2000s, when housing assistance was broken down by income quintiles by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, comparing direct subsidies (e.g., Section 8) and tax expenditures (e.g., the mortgage interest deduction).
For FY2024, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the mortgage interest deduction will reduce revenues by $25.4 billion. Nearly half of the deduction goes to households earning +$200K. Funding to address #homelessness pales in comparison.
As of September 2024, there were 801 billionaires based in the U. S. w/ a combined wealth totaling $6.22 trillion. They control significantly more wealth than the bottom half of American families. And wealth disparities are only increasing. Is this okay? intellectualroundtable.com/2025/01/12/s...
What a powerful evening I've witnessed. MN tenants are writing letters and getting videotaped to testimony about the problems they’ve had with source of income discrimination, and wrongful eviction. They want their legislators to pass protections so these issues never happen to renters ever again.
Campaign "experts" often turn aspirational ideas for change into insider-speak, thus creating a divide between them and their potential base. #housingjustice #justice #campaigns michaelspheres.com/acronyms-jar...
I just posted a new blog entry on Michaelspheres, "Why can’t I just love who I’ve become?" A major bout with #Depression and #Anxiety nearly ten years ago and the meds I take to address them changed me. Why can't I accept who I've become? #mentalhealth michaelspheres.com/why-cant-i-j...
My #garden photos calm my mind, make me feel grateful, and reduce the #Anxiety I sometimes feel. Follow the link if winter gets you down, or you just want to see some beautiful pictures. #gardentherapy
michaelspheres.com/favorite-gar...
This practice must end. It's an issue in Minnesota, too.
Mr. Bobo, a talented breakdancer, prepares for a head spin while the Gang cheers him on to "Axel F." michaelspheres.com/mr-bobo-is-a...