Cuts in Food Stamps Hurt Rural Areas

November 25, 2013 / Matthew Clemente / 2 Comments

Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, All Things Considered a rather depressing story about how reductions in food stamp spending is expected to have a particularly deleterious effect on rural families.

Here is how the story (4 minutes) began:

One recent evening, some shoppers at the Countryside Market in Belvidere, Ill., were loading up on staples, like milk and eggs. Others, like Meghan Collins, were trying to plan Thanksgiving on a newly tightened budget.

“My work has been cut,” says Collins. “I’m working half the hours I used to work. So yeah, I’m making half of what I made last year.”

That could be bad news for stores like Countryside, which are already bracing for the ripple effect from the recent $5 billion reduction in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. It’s the first Thanksgiving since a temporary increase in those benefits expired on Nov. 1, affecting some 47 million Americans.

Teen Brains on Trial: Law, Adolescence and Neurosciece

November 14, 2013 / Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Teen Brains on Trial: Law, Adolescence and Neurosciece

Recently, NPR’s Morning Edition, ran a story about use of neuroscience and brain scans in court. Such evidence has been most effective in criminal trial involving adolescents, who scientists explain have brains that are not fully developed.

Here is a description of the segment:

It’s not just people who go on trial these days. It’s their brains.

More and more lawyers are arguing that some defendants deserve special consideration because they have brains that are immature or impaired, says Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University who has been studying the use of brain science in court.

About 5 percent of murder trials now involve some neuroscience, Farahany says. “There’s a steady increase of defendants seeking to introduce neuroscience to try to reduce the extent to which they’re responsible or the extent to which they’re punished for a crime,” she says.

Farahany was a featured speaker at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego this week. Also featured were several brain scientists who are uncomfortable with the way courts are using brain research.

When lawyers turn to neuroscience, often what’s at issue is a defendant’s competency, Farahany says. So a defense lawyer might argue that “you weren’t competent to have pled guilty because of some sort of brain injury,” she says, or that you weren’t competent to have confessed to a police officer after being arrested.

The approach has been most successful with cases involving teenagers, Farahany says. . . .

Teen Brains on Trial: Law, Adolescence and Neurosciece

November 14, 2013 / Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Teen Brains on Trial: Law, Adolescence and Neurosciece

Here is a description of the segment:

It’s not just people who go on trial these days. It’s their brains.

More and more lawyers are arguing that some defendants deserve special consideration because they have brains that are immature or impaired, says Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University who has been studying the use of brain science in court.

About 5 percent of murder trials now involve some neuroscience, Farahany says. “There’s a steady increase of defendants seeking to introduce neuroscience to try to reduce the extent to which they’re responsible or the extent to which they’re punished for a crime,” she says.

Farahany was a featured speaker at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego this week. Also featured were several brain scientists who are uncomfortable with the way courts are using brain research.

When lawyers turn to neuroscience, often what’s at issue is a defendant’s competency, Farahany says. So a defense lawyer might argue that “you weren’t competent to have pled guilty because of some sort of brain injury,” she says, or that you weren’t competent to have confessed to a police officer after being arrested.

The approach has been most successful with cases involving teenagers, Farahany says. . . .

California v. Texas

November 1, 2013 / Matthew Clemente / 1 Comment

Okay, that wasn’t quite the proposition being debated on the Intelligence Squared podcast, but that was essentially what it boiled down to. Instead, the proposition debatined was “For A Better Future, Live In A Red State.”

Moderated by ABC News’ John Donvan, the debate featured Hugh Hewitt–radio host of The Hugh Hewitt Show–and Stephen Moore–editorial board member of The Wall Street, who argued for the motion; and Michael Lind–co-founder of New America Foundation–and Gray Davis–37th Governor of California, who argued against the motion.

Here is description of the debate:

While gridlock and division in Washington make it difficult for either party or ideology to set the policy agenda, single-party government prevails in three-quarters of the states. In 24 states Republicans control the governorship and both houses of the legislature, and in 13 states Democrats enjoy one-party control. Comparing economic growth, education, health care, quality of life and environment, and the strength of civil society, do red or blue states win out?

Bringing Lincoln Back From The Dead: Luxury Cars and American Automaking

October 30, 2013 / Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Bringing Lincoln Back From The Dead: Luxury Cars and American Automaking

Today, NPR’s Planet Money podcast reran a story about how Lincoln is attempting to recapture its image as a cool luxury car and the economic implications of a successful re-branding.

Here is a description of the podcast:

Lincolns used to be the coolest cars in the world. They used to be driven by kings, moguls and celebrities. Today, Lincolns are driven by the old, the out-of-touch, and the guys hustling you at the airport.

On today’s show: How Lincoln is trying to regain its former glory — and how the story of Lincoln may be the story of the U.S. auto industry, for better or for worse.