Hello My name is Jeff Muckensturm. I'm a freelance writer and web developer living in Philadelphia, PA. I write about urban issues and technology. Right now, I'm working for Healthcare-NOW--trying to get a single-payer healthcare bill (HR 676) passed--and looking for freelance writing or web development work. Contact me on my About Page. |
Sweeping the Homeless Under the Rug
July 16, 2008 | Filed Under homelessness | Leave a Comment
Recent “ Sweeps” in Seattle and San Diego Leave Those with Little, Nothing
City politicians, often pressured by the public, sometimes take drastic and dehumanizing measures to deal with homelessness. San Diego County’s “Operation Clean Sweep” is among the more sinister methods.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Sheriff’s deputies converged on several homeless camps in Spring Valley early yesterday, warning people to leave or be arrested.” Read more
New Cardboard Bike is Awesome
July 3, 2008 | Filed Under Transportation | Leave a Comment
According to Sheffield Hallam University’s website, “A student at Sheffield Hallam University has created a unique cardboard bicycle, which aims to reduce thefts and encourage people to get out of
their cars and ‘on their bikes.’”
The bike costs about $30 to make and its body is biodegradable. Unfortunately, the bike can’t get wet and it can only hold a person–Americans beware–up to 168 pounds.
Source: Cardboard Bike A Cheap Solution to Theft | EcoGeek
GOP: Homelessness is Among Top Concerns
June 25, 2008 | Filed Under Poverty, homelessness | 1 Comment
Besides pigeon dung, homelessness is among the top concerns for organizers of the Republican National Convention. Not because they want to solve the homelessness problem, but because it’s going to be right across the street from their convention.
This year’s Republican National Convention is being held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota directly across the street from one of the city’s largest homeless shelters, the Dorothy Day Center. The Center houses about 200 people and is clearly visible from the Convention steps. Read more
City Prosper is Over
June 25, 2008 | Filed Under Misc. | Leave a Comment
After about a year of work, I have decided to stop developing City Propser. My partner on the project recently quit, and I cannot continue to work on the site alone since it’s too much for one person to maintain and we found little funding.
Although it ultimately failed, I still believe that City Prosper is a good idea. We wanted to be Philadelphia’s news source for its non-profit sector. We were aggregating interesting news stories from major newspapers and websites, and planned on writing original news articles to supplement what was missing. I’m proud of the site’s design and that I built it with relatively little coding experience. At least I was able to hone my web development skills–so not all is lost.
Right now, my plan is to continue searching for writing and non-profit sector jobs. I’m still working for Healthcare-NOW, but it’s very part-time.
Working for Healthcare-NOW
May 14, 2008 | Filed Under Health Care | 1 Comment
I was recently hired by Healthcare-NOW to update their website–I know, it needs a ton of work. If the site isn’t confusing enough, you should see the code. Couple that with my non-profit endeavor, City Prosper, and I’m well on my way to becoming a real writer.
I’m thrilled to start working with Healthcare-NOW because I believe a single-payer health care system is far superior to our current, failed private health care system. Not only is single-payer humane, but it’s far cheaper than our current system, despite what the right would have us believe.
I don’t want to get into too many statistics, but I should mention that we pay twice as much, per-capita, than Germany (which has universal health care) does–$6,102 per capita vs. $3,005 per capita–and receive poorer service. Also, we leave about 45 million people without any insurance, causing about 22,000 needless deaths a year.
Poverty Facts Released
April 28, 2008 | Filed Under Poverty | 1 Comment
The Urban Institute recently released a report called “Poverty Facts, 2004.”
According to the report:
In 2004, 36.6 million people—or 12.6 percent of the U.S. population—were poor. The “poverty gap”—the amount of additional income required to remove all Americans from poverty—was $105.6 billion. Poverty rates were highest for African Americans, Hispanics, women, and persons under 25. Without government benefits, 61 million people would be poor. Social Security and other social insurance programs remove 21 million people from poverty. Means tested programs remove 3 million people from poverty. If food and housing assistance were counted as income for poverty purposes, an additional 7.6 million people would be counted as not poor.
Full report: Poverty Facts, 2004
Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in North America
April 17, 2008 | Filed Under Transportation | Leave a Comment
Portland has become an urban planner’s dream lately–with their urban growth boundary and celebrated environmental planning.
Now Portland’s considered North America’s most bicycle-friendly city.
Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, recently interviewed Scott Bricker, Executive Director of Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance and Elly Blue, a Portland-based transportation activist about what makes Portland so bicycle friendly.
Amy’s guests were there to promote the Towards Carfree Cities Conference coming up in June.
Interview: Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in North America
Above image from www.StreetsBlog.org.
Capitalism IS Charity?
April 15, 2008 | Filed Under Development | 1 Comment
On the Neoliberal Attack on Philanthropy
You would understand it if you heard a right-wing libertarian like Ron Paul or Paul Wolfowitz say:
I believe that ‘government,’ as we know it today, should pull out of most things except for law enforcement and justice, national defense and foreign policy, and let the private sector, a social-consciousness-driven private sector, take over their other functions.
But Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote that in his book Banker to the Poor. Read more
Air Powered Car in US by 2010
April 11, 2008 | Filed Under Transportation | Leave a Comment
According to www.BusinessGreen.com, “Fresh from securing a deal with Indian automotive giant Tata to build its innovative air powered car on the subcontinent, French green car firm MDI has revealed details of how it plans to crack the US market.”
The cars (the OneCat, pictured above, and the CityCat) run on air below 20mph and then begins to burn small amounts of fuel. It can travel 800 to 1,000 miles on one tank of compressed air and only takes an hour to charge.
We can expect the cars to cost around $17,800 when they release in late 2010.
Source: Air Powered Car Could His US Roads by 2010
The Plan to Gentrify DC
March 7, 2008 | Filed Under Development, Poverty | Leave a Comment
Last week, This American Life featured a segment on gentrification in Washington, DC. Gentrification in DC, residents say, is not led by market forces, but is rather an orchestrated plan to displace blacks from neighborhoods to make way for rich whites.
“The Plan” is incredibly moving and persuasive. It highlights gentrification signs like local government closing public schools, libraries, and hospitals to replace them with condos and, among other things, sushi restaurants. Others, from around the country, discuss how their cities purposely allowed neighborhoods to deteriorate so developers can buy land for cheaper prices.
Is “the plan” a conspiracy theory? Maybe. But the results are striking.
Full Episode: 350: Human Resources
