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Monica Potts

Monica Potts is a senior writer for The American Prospect. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Connecticut Post and the Stamford Advocate. She also blogs at PostBourgie.

Recent Articles

Another New Light Bulb.

Monica PottsJan 19, 2010

On Friday, the Department of Energy announced that $37 million from the stimulus would go toward research and development projects for LEDs, the lighting normally found in TVs and computer screens that could also be used as more efficient home lighting.

From the New York Times's Green Inc. blog:

Making Law in the Wake of Tragedy.

Monica PottsJan 19, 2010

More than two years ago, two parolees allegedly broke into a Cheshire, Connecticut, home and brutally murdered the family inside; only the father survived. Among the many efforts afterward to address the crime, Connecticut's General Assembly passed a law making home invasion -- entering an occupied home with the intent to commit a crime -- a felony punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.="http:>

Taking Public Responsibility for Public Stands.

Monica PottsJan 18, 2010

The Supreme Court decided to hear a case Friday to determine whether the names of those who signed a petition supporting a referendum to overturn a Washington state law extending marriage benefits to same-sex couples should be released to the public. The petitioners say they have had threats made against them.

Vacationing Amid the Disaster.

Monica PottsJan 18, 2010

The Guardian reported Sunday that a cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International docked in a walled-off, private beach in Haiti. The ship's operators tried to justify it by noting the fact it carried aid supplies and were donating the proceeds from the stop, but some of the ship's passenger's stayed on board.

Via Boing Boing:

Spending on Children by the Numbers.

Monica PottsJan 18, 2010

Nancy Folbre, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has a great post at the New York Times's Economix blog today noting how little we spend in tax dollars on children compared to other age groups, especially the elderly. It's particularly important because study after study shows how critical investment in the first few years of life turns out to be, she writes.

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