San Jose opens first tiny home community for homeless

On By peanutgallerynhIn Infrastructure and Transportation,, Local Interest,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

In San Jose alone, more than 6,000 residents sleep in cars, shelters or on the streets every night.

After making your way past the 10-foot gate surrounding the property, 40 tiny homes — 80-square-feet rectangular structures with just enough room for a single bed, desk, shelf and air conditioning and heating system — are in neat rows with gravel paths, lined with potted plants, leading from one home to another.

…The community is open to people who are part of the county’s rapid rehousing voucher program and are in the process of securing permanent housing but need a place to stay in the interim to avoid homelessness. The city hopes to serve 120 residents on the VTA site during the first year, aiming to rotate 40 residents into permanent housing every four months.

…Only eight of the 40 sleeping cabins are currently occupied.

City officials attribute that to the stringent criteria placed on eligible residents, including a thorough background check, and the task of having to track people down.

“People get lost in the system,” Jacky Morales-Ferrand, San Jose housing director, said in an interview following the event. “And, that’s actually one of the benefits of creating these interim sites, because as we create housing opportunities for people to move in, we know that we can connect them very quickly.”

…In addition to the cabins, the community features shared bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities, a kitchen space and common areas with computers, internet access and job boards. The community is protected around the clock by a security guard who sits in a patrol station next to the front gate.

HomeFirst not only operates the community but provides a wide range of services to residents, healthcare assistance, personal finance advice and career readiness training.

To encourage residents to work with the organization to obtain permanent housing, they are each required to pay 10 percent of their income — or $20 if they’re not employed — for the first six months. Afterward, the rent will increase by 10 percent every six months, capping at 30 percent.

San Jose opens first tiny home community for homeless

hmmmmm

The Grooming Gap: What “Looking the Part” Costs Women

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Madison, who works a customer service job at an airport spa, has an employee handbook that says “makeup should be well maintained” and “hands and nails must be well manicured.” She says the few men she works with just ignore these guidelines “because they’re meant for women but [it] doesn’t explicitly say that.” Her wages ($13.25 per hour + 15% retail commission) do not include additional pay to purchase manicures or makeup.

…The grooming gap refers to the set of social norms regarding grooming and appearance for women, including the time women workers must spend to conform to these norms and the material consequences it has on their lives.

We’ve all heard the common advice to “look the part” at work. For men, that can often just mean business casual clothing and a short haircut. For women, it can mean hours spent each week on makeup, hair styling and curating an outfit that’s both attractive and professional.

…Physically attractive workers have higher incomes than average-looking workers, but that this relationship is eliminated when controlling for grooming in women. In other words, if you purchase the right clothes, makeup and haircut, higher wages are more within reach. It’s true that men need to abide by certain grooming rules, too, but they are less complex, less expensive and less time consuming.

…Studies confirm that, 42% of the time, products marketed to women are more expensive than comparable products targeted to men.

The grooming gap also results in a loss of free time: 55 minutes each day for the average woman, the equivalent of two full weeks each year.

The Grooming Gap: What “Looking the Part” Costs Women – In These Times

hmmm

The real cost of not wearing makeup at the office

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

While I rarely stray above the limit that I set for myself, I wanted to know if I was spending an appropriate amount on personal grooming for my income level. I also wanted to know if I was spending it on the right things.

Yet when I consulted personal finance websites and publications, many seemed to wave off these expenses as “nonessentials,” failing to consider the penalty that many women would pay by reducing (or cutting out) these expenses. Beauty blogs and women’s magazines—on the other hand—were helpful in suggesting cheaper alternatives, yet they also published beauty routines that seem unaffordable.

…While a male founder can pitch his expensive enterprise software start-up in jeans and T-shirt, “When it comes to women, we have to look the part of the market that we’re serving. If we’re selling designer bags, we have to be wearing designer everything,” Wrigley explains. 

…For Wrigley, the grooming expectation for a female CEO goes beyond raising capital. When asked about the impact of social media on such pressures, Wrigley says that there are a lot of image-related pressures for female entrepreneurs in the consumer-centric space. “The number of questions I got about my personal Instagram following is bizarre.”

…“The whole ‘Don’t wear makeup if you want to save money’ is not an option for a lot of people. It’s also demeaning. It pits this sort of ‘I’m the smart cool girl who doesn’t wear makeup’ to ‘Well, you’re the brainwashed girl who does wear makeup.’”

The real cost of not wearing makeup at the office

hmm

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells – Harvard Business School Working Knowledge

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Why do these gender appeals alienate the very audience they aim to attract? People resist being categorized—or made to feel like they are unwillingly reduced to a single identity—particularly when the product they’re being nudged toward evokes a stereotype about their gender.

Suggesting that women will clamor for a product wrapped in pink packaging just because some marketer assumes that all women love pink can come across as downright insulting.

…”There’s something very off-putting about feeling like you’re being reduced to a single category of membership.”

…“The moment you affix a gender identity label on the higher-value button, we see that people’s preference for the button goes down, suggesting that women were actually avoiding the very item that was trying to appeal to them,” Kim says.

In another study, the research team asked one group of participants to choose either a green or purple calculator to complete math problems, while in another group, they labeled purple calculators “for men” for male participants and “for women” for females. Among female participants, 51 percent chose the purple calculator when it had no gender labels, whereas significantly fewer, 24 percent, chose the purple one when it was labeled “for women.”

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells – Harvard Business School Working Knowledge

The author misses an obvious scenario for men choosing the gendered calculator: to choose the alternative was to choose one that was -by default- for women.

Confessions of a Slow Learner: American Politics Really Is Sexist

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

American politics, especially at the presidential level, remains shaped by sexist double standards. These are amplified by the prism through which much of journalism covers politics.

…She had twice won big in statewide races for attorney general. In 1993, she started her race for governor as an early and commanding favorite. She had a solid record, a conscientious work ethic, an impressive fundraising network and the backing of all manner of respectable establishment figures.

Her biggest obstacle, it seemed to me and many others, was her public persona—painfully cautious, almost purposefully dull. This was not how I experienced her in private settings, in which she was interesting and engaging.

I once asked her what explained the gulf—why was she so restrained and opaque and downright uncomfortable in public? She looked at me incredulously and asked me to put down my notebook. A quarter-century later I will paraphrase but not quote: ‘Do you honestly have no idea how difficult it is for a woman in public life?’

…Here’s a test. Imagine that “The Portable Bloomberg“ had contained equivalent lines resting on racial stereotypes or religion. Then ask yourself whether a candidate could successfully brush aside controversy by saying, as Bloomberg did last week, “maybe they didn’t like a joke I told.”

…One reason gender prejudice in politics is hard to grapple with is that the insidious nature of double standards can never be isolated as the sole factor, or even the primary factor, behind a candidate’s success or failure.

…Warren’s decline in the polls in late summer and fall of last year coincided with media coverage designating her a frontrunner. Much of the coverage of her debate performances (including some of my own, in a fashion not too different from my old stories on Terry) puzzled on the variance between moments when she seemed “commanding” or seemed to recede and saw her percentage of speaking time diminish.

…Jennifer Palmieri, an adviser to Hillary Clinton in 2016, wrote in her post-campaign book “Dear Madam President” about how the Clinton team grappled with the way some voters are turned off by ambitious women.

Confessions of a Slow Learner: American Politics Really Is Sexist – POLITICO

hmmm

Thousands of women are trapped in Lebanon. They risk jail time to leave

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Middle East,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,Leave a comment

Since October, Lebanon’s economy has buckled under soaring prices, a tanking currency, ballooning unemployment and a growing debt crisis.

…The Lebanese Pound has lost over 50% of its value, limiting migrant women’s ability to send financial support to their families. With plummeting demand for their work, many have stopped sending remittances and are sinking deeper into poverty.

…Growing numbers of women — who came to Lebanon in better economic times to earn a living and send money back to their families — are scrambling to return to their home countries. But many lack immigration papers, including their passports. 

…Rights groups estimate that tens of thousands of migrant women in Lebanon are undocumented. For these workers, the hurdles to leaving the country could amount to a dead-end.

… She left her job without retrieving her passport. Her boss had confiscated it when she started work, a practice that is illegal yet widespread.

…Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon are caught in a bind. The sponsorship system, known as Kefala, links legal residency to a work contract.

…If she tries to leave this working relationship, then her status in the country is illegal. If she tries to leave Lebanon, she will likely be detained, with undocumented workers accumulating fines for every year they spend in the country without contract.

…Lebanon’s security forces classify workers who leave their jobs without their sponsor’s consent as “runaways,” even if the employer violated the terms of the country’s standard contract for sponsorships, for example through overwork, withholding salary payments, or sexual and physical abuse.

…Like many other migrant women in Lebanon, she doesn’t believe her embassy will help repatriate her. She has decided to try to get herself deported, which will mean waiting out her departure in one of Lebanon’s notoriously overcrowded prisons where malnourishment and mistreatment are rampant, according to multiple reports by rights groups and local media.

It is ”common” for migrant domestic workers to voluntarily surrender to police, a diplomatic source in Lebanon told CNN.

…“My friends told me to get myself arrested. But then I heard the police aren’t arresting migrants anymore because their jails are so full.”

…The embassy worker told her that if and when she settles her fees, she would need to wait for another three months before she can go home.

…According to the International Labor Organization, ex-employers “frequently” press charges against domestic workers. Many demand that the worker reimburse them for recruitment fees.

“There may be a justified reason for that court case, but often, research shows that they are based on false accusations.”

…“If there is a court case it …(leaving the country) becomes a longer process and a more complicated process.”

Thousands of women are trapped in Lebanon. They risk jail time to leave – CNN.com

Sigh…

It’s 2020 and women are exhausted

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Because in our American patriarchy, when accomplished, outspoken women pursue positions of power, they are routinely painted as unreliable and unlikable — snakes in human form.

And so we are, once again, being asked to question whether a woman is “electable,” by which we really mean whether all of her qualifications for the job can outweigh the fact that she is a woman. 

…We talked about Brett Kavanaugh, and the gut-punch of his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. About watching Dr. Christine Blasey Ford speaking of humiliations and violations that rang incredibly true to all of us, her words landing on indifferent ears. Watching her throw herself in front of the train, knowing that it would make no difference, that she would be disbelieved and dismissed, that he would be confirmed anyway. Knowing that he now sits on the highest court of the land, for life, making precedent-setting decisions on how and whether women are allowed the rights to our own bodies.

…About how much it hurts to hear about the specter of “ruined” male lives, while so many men accused of misconduct have in fact remained in the public eye, and even begun resuming elements of their former careers, while the women who spoke out are forever defined by having done so.

And yes, we talked about “electability.” About how a man like Bernie Sanders can be as prickly and rumpled as he likes in public, relying on the substance of his politics and the strength of his convictions to impress. How a woman like Elizabeth Warren must always follow a moving target, presenting the perfect (impossible) combination of feminine softness and political edge. How we never hear men being called “likable,” because for men, being liked is not a prerequisite for being successful.

It’s 2020 and women are exhausted

hmmmm

Female high school hockey player taunted with gender reveal sign, chants she’s ‘a dude’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Alyssa Wruble, the only girl on the Northampton Area High School varsity hockey team, was playing in a championship game against Parkland High School of Allentown.

…A sign …read “Alyssa gender reveal?” with the signs for male and female.

…”When I skated over, all I heard was ‘Wruble, you’re a dude,’ and apparently my uncle and aunt and also my father heard them say I have a penis,” Alyssa told the station.

Alyssa, who scored two goals during the game, said she wants an apology from the people who were responsible for the sign.

“Any girl should be allowed to be as good as a guy,” she said. …”You shouldn’t bring them down for wanting to go do something they love.”

…”Bullying is out of control, but instead of working together to eliminate it, people on Facebook are using bullying to address bullying.”

Bilger said two female players on the Parkland team were called an offensive and obscene word on the day of the game by Northampton fans while they left the locker room.

Female high school hockey player taunted with gender reveal sign, chants she’s ‘a dude’

hmmmm

Nine out of 10 people found to be biased against women

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,Leave a comment

Despite progress in closing the equality gap, 91% of men and 86% of women hold at least one bias against women in relation to politics, economics, education, violence or reproductive rights.

…It found that almost half of people feel men are superior political leaders and more than 40% believe men make better business executives. Almost a third of men and women think it’s acceptable for a man to beat his wife.

…Of the 75 countries studied, there were only six in which the majority of people held no bias towards women. But while more than 50% of people in Andorra, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden were free from gender prejudice, even here the pattern was not one of unmitigated progress.

Sweden, for example, was one of several countries – including South Africa, India, Rwanda and Brazil – in which the percentage of people who held at least one bias increased over the nine years the data covered. More than half of people in the UK and the US held at least one bias.

Nine out of 10 people found to be biased against women | Global development | The Guardian

hmmmm

Family of opioid-addicted Vermont mother, 30, sues police over her death

On By peanutgallerynhIn Addiction,, American Injustice System,, Drugs & Drink,Leave a comment

Video of Linsenmeir after her arrest shows her asking for water and telling police that it felt like her chest was caving in and that she was in pain.

‘I might need to go the hospital,’ she said.

Instead of being taken to the hospital, Linsenmeir was taken to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center, the family says. 

The family says she repeatedly told staff there she was sick and needed medical help but was told ‘the situation was her own fault for using drugs’.

Family of opioid-addicted Vermont mother, 30, sues police over her death | Daily Mail Online

mmmhmmm, a culture that allows police to be self-righteous kills.

Judge orders review of unredacted Mueller Report, criticizes Barr

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

A federal judge issued an order on Thursday for the Justice Department to release to the court an unredacted version of the Mueller Report, which contains the findings of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into President Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

…Walton said the court had “grave concerns about the objectivity of the process,” noting the timing of Barr’s public statements and discrepancies with Mueller’s findings. 

…The inconsistencies, Walton said, caused him to “seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller Report in favor of President Trump despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller Report to the contrary.”

…Walton determined that the court should conduct a private review of the Mueller Report to validate the Department of Justice’s redactions and decide whether any information should be made public.

Mueller: Judge orders review of unredacted report, criticizes Barr

hmmm

Alabama Execution of Death Row Inmate Nathaniel Woods For Cop Killings Will Be a ‘Modern Day Lynching,’ Family Say

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Gulf Coast Region,, Race,Leave a comment

Spencer confessed to gunning the three officers down in the deadliest day in the Birmingham Police Department’s history. But he maintained that it had been an act of self-defense—a ‘”knee-jerk reaction”—when he saw Chisholm pointing a gun at him.

…Woods’ defenders say he is innocent—he never fired a weapon and there was no plot to kill the officers that day.

His attorneys say the surviving officer had testified that Woods surrendered to police before Spencer started shooting —but also changed his testimony from earlier statements to [belatedly] include a claim that Woods had threatened the officers before they were killed [one would imagine after the charges were chosen.]

…”The way that they convicted him on the theory of complicity, saying there was a plan to kill that day, it is completely not supported by the evidence,” she told Newsweek.

…”The evidence shows that Kerry Spencer acted alone, acted impulsively and confessed the day that he was arrested. He has maintained that story, that narrative, for the entire time that he has been sitting on death row.”

…Faraino added that the execution shouldn’t only be stopped because Woods is innocent, but also because there is evidence of witness and evidence tampering and use of improper tactics in the case.

…She and other attorneys representing Woods’ have collected evidence that they claim shows key witnesses in the case either testified falsely or didn’t testify after making deals with the police.

“There were many issues with his trial and the way that the prosecutors conducted themselves, there is evidence of witness tampering, there is evidence of moving the physical forensic evidence that was collected at the scene and overall, there were just improper tactics used to confuse the jury and lead to a guilty verdict,” she said.

The Appeal reported that two of the officers, Owen and Chisholm, “had a reputation for corruption and violence” and collected money from drug dealers in the neighborhood in return for protecting their operations, according to documents.

…”The prosecution constructed and managed a narrative of guilt. There is no denying that Nate was not always a law-abiding citizen. He had a record, admitted to selling drugs, and disrespected the four white police officers. But he did not commit capital murder.”

…”We know and the world knows that he’s an innocent man. We all know that he’s innocent. So for [Governor Ivey], and her staff, or whoever, the Attorney General, to want to execute him knowing this information, it’s just plain murder.”

Alabama Execution of Death Row Inmate Nathaniel Woods For Cop Killings Will Be a ‘Modern Day Lynching,’ Family Say

Jeezus…