NonprofitEye

Academic Aggrandizement: Green Republicans and Crunchy Conservatives by pam ashlund There are times when someone pens a really good title, where that title actually compels me to read that tome. Rod Dreher has written such a title, let it speak for itself: Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party) It even brings a smile to my face on re-reading. In 1995, when Keith Schneider wrote The Green Republican , I thought that was a great title. A Green Republican, yep, but a birkenstocked burkean crunchy con? How cool is THAT? Gordon Durnil tried his hand at the multi-adjective title with less effect “THE MAKING OF A CONSERVATIVE ENVIRONMENTALIST With Reflections on Government, Industry, Scientists, the Media, Education, Economic Growth, the Public, the Great Lakes, Act...

Whistle-Blogging by pam ashlund Amazing how quickly employment law can be formed. It all seemed so simple, thou shall not write about work on the web (I better write that on the blackboard a 100 times). The blog Dooce became famous when Heather Armstrong, the blog’s creator, was fired for publishing gossip about her employer. She now has her own catch phrase: To be " dooced " is to be fired for writing a blog. This from Heather: "I started this website in February 2001. A year later I was fired from my job for this website because I had written stories that included people in my workplace. My advice to you is BE YE NOT SO STUPID (emphasis added). Never write about work on the internet unless your boss knows and sanctions the fact that YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT WORK ON THE INTERNET. If you are the boss, however, please don’t be a bitch and talk with your hands. And when you order Prada online, please don’t talk about it out loud, you rotten whore (emphasis mine)." Look...

THE GRAFFITI PROBLEM IS A VERY SERIOUS ONE: & other excuses for inaction by pam ashlund Moved into the Lincoln Heights area of LA recently. The first thing I noticed about my building was a corner of Graffiti “art” gracing the wall. The second thing I noticed about the block were the much less artsy scrawls tagging almost every building in the vicinity. The tags on Michaels Furniture Store had been painted over, leaving only the rectangular square of a lighter shade of tan over the rest of the tan wall. The liquor store on the corner was painted with a mural, but every part of the mural was tagged. I counted over eight unique tag signatures. Some made reference to gangs in other areas; some seemed to be individual names. Whatever the meaning, the mural was completely defaced. After a month of pondering the graffiti, I decided to contact the City. I could have called the “311” graffiti hotline, but it seemed so impersonal, so instead I walked over to my local Councilman’s office. Th...