Davestuff

Some of my friends have been on a campaign to unfriend the many closet racists who have popped up in the last few months. I've had the urge myself and was just about to start when I had a kind of revelation: It's exactly the wrong thing to do. It is by now obvious to all of us that many Americans live entirely in environments of like-minded people, so compartmentalized and isolated from other people's problems that it can seem as though they don't exist. It is devastatingly easy to surround yourself in a cocoon of talk radio and Fox news and never be exposed to any experience outside that. But this is a two-way street. It is equally easy to spend your time reading The Atlantic and reading Bernie Sanders quotes and dismissing what Ted Cruz is saying. The Liberal way isn't any less blind and rigid than the Conservative. Unfriending people contributes to that. You, the unfriender, are closing your eyes to something that angers and hurts you. But that doesn't ...

There's a lot of discussion on and praise for the John Oliver piece on Miss America Scholarships , and with good reason. But what I haven't seen is the actual scholarship amount awarded. It turns out that's an easy number to calculate, because Miss America lists the names and amounts of all their scholarship winners. It was $323,000 in 2013 (for 2012 contestants). $323,000 is not the amount actually distributed, however. For instance, MIss Vermont Chelsea Ingram was awarded $3,000, but she was ( and still is ) a college graduate with a full time job and according to the scholarship rules, unless she's enrolled in at least 9 credit hours a semester, she won't receive anything. Lop off Miss Illinois Megan Ervin 's $8,000, too, and keep working your way down the list. By my unscientific sampling, then, at least 15% of the scholarships weren't used, so generously, they awarded $275,000 in scholarships. Even John Oliver got it wrong. At $275,000 Miss A...

Two years ago, I had the rare privilege of seeing a dream come to life, when The Road Home was launched. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit is dedicated to finding social, vocational and employment opportunities for post-9/11 veterans in automotive restoration shops through short-term internships. With the help of a generous sponsorship, we've been able to help veterans, as well as do our little bit to create a new generation of collector car enthusiasts. But with the sale of American Collectors Insurance to NSM last month, The Road Home USA is losing its charter sponsor. This means huge challenges ahead if I want to keep the lights on--more than just paying the bills, American Collectors covered all the back end legal and accounting work. While I am willing to take (back) on the overall outreach and management work, I do not have the time, money or expertise to handle everything on my own. The only way to keep this running is to find a new sponsor. The good news is that TRH is no lon...