Eliminate unnecessary words:

The use prepositions is hardly important. One thing, they're difficult children learn and non-native speakers have lots trouble them. As me, I'm all it. Dumping prepositions trash basket would shorten my emails and this would save paper that we use produce books.

Barbara Ehrenreich on princesses:

In Princessland, the only career ladder leads from baby-faced adolescence to a position as an evil enchantress, stepmother or witch. Snow White's wicked stepmother is consumed with envy for her stepdaughter's beauty; the sea witch Ursula covets Ariel's lovely voice; Cinderella's stepmother exploits the girl's cheap, uncomplaining, labor. No need for complicated witch-hunting techniques--pin-prickings and dunkings--in Princessland. All you have to look for is wrinkles.

Of course I knew that our culture values appearance above just about everything else, especially for women. But I hadn't thought about how Disney associates physical beauty with moral goodness.

The Colorado Nonprofit Association just released their report on individual charitable giving. Because of previous research, I was ready to make fun of hypocritical Boulder, but it's really not that bad. Boulder's rate (3.8% of income) is better than the national average (3.6%) and a lot better than Denver. The winners are Colorado Springs (4.2%) and the zip codes inside the Air Force Academy (5.7%).

Too often I'm embarrassed by the public actions of Christians. But the recent stand of John Sentamu against the thug in charge of Zimbabwe is an important act of courage. Sentamu is the Archbishop of York, second in command in the Church of England, which is my church.

Before you click on the link, form a picture in your head of what the Archbishop of York should look like. There's more background here.

Local, independent businesses failing? Don't blame Wal-Mart. Blame your city council:

Local officials who simultaneously decry big box stores and national chains while doling out burdensome regulatory structures and complicated permit processes should understand that regulatory burdens hit the smaller, independent places hardest, because they're the places that have the smallest amount of discretionary cash to hire legal aid (or, if you're really cynical, to make the appropriate campaign contributions).

The article uses Alexandria, Virginia as an example, but he could be describing the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder.

Press release of the day:

Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) today announced its acquisition of Beliefnet, a Web site that enables consumers to better understand their faith and build diverse spiritual communities by providing content and tools for a broad range of religions and spiritual approaches.

"Consumers." That one word says it all.