Link Farm #5

This is why Social Security is so important by Brian from Incertus

this post explains in simple, stark terms why social security cannot be privatized. if people can withdraw their retirement savings from private accounts, they will do so even at great penalty. the reason we have social security is to provide a minimal level of support for people who reach old age with no savings, either through bad luck or bad decisions.

if you believe we shouldn't 'subsidize bad decisions', then you might as well own the consequences -- the elderly who were foolish with their money in their youth will be begging and dying in the streets without programs like social security. private charity will not solve this problem.

communitistic conservatisim by skippy from skippy the bush kangaroo

conservatives aren't actually against affirmative action and socialism!

Sexism in All Shapes and Forms - Africa Edition by SocProf from The Global Sociology Blog

SocProf shows why instituting religious law doesn't solve social problems. it just gives religious authorities power to persecute people by focusing on 'moral' issues instead. this post also addresses the horrific sexual abuse women face in war-torn regions around the world, though i'm not convinced that sexual violence as a tool of war is a new phenomenon.

Yet another way the soldiers in the field get screwed over by BlueGirl from Blue Girl, Red State

the armed services would not be able to meet their recruiting numbers without female enlistees. womens' interest in joining the military has dropped significantly because of the absence of family-friendly policies that accommodate women's needs surrounding pregnancy and childbirth.

Midnight in America...Waiting for the Other Shoe...And Considering Obama Among the Wreckage.... by Melina from Brilliant at Breakfast

change is a scary concept for most people. one reason that Obama unsettles a lot of people is that he talks a lot about change. Melina points out that settling for the familiar is what brought us to the critical juncture our country faces today.