It has been just over a year since I learned about the site Free Rice. I got addicted, then forgot about it. Now I am reminded of it again and getting readdicted.

Free Rice is fun and feeds the poor around the world. You play educational games and for every answer you get right, rice is donated to feed the hungry. Last night my wife and I had a nerdy good time with world capitals, chemical symbols and famous paintings, and in the process donated some 16,000 grains of rice to feed the hungry. Given that sometimes I get addicted to this kind of nerdy game anyway, it''s nice to be able to feed some people as well.

Do you know the capitals of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan? How about the difference between a Fanz Hals and a Bruegel? Learn math, science, Spanish, French, famous paintings, etc. while helping to feed the hungry. What could be better?

About a year ago I introduced readers to a neat little site called "Free Rice." Basically back then you could play a vocabulary game and for each answer you got right sponsors would pay for 20 grains of rice to feed the poor around the world. In their first month of operation last year this effort raised enough to feed 50,000 people for one day. Not a huge thing, but a nice little effort.
 more this way»

In 2006 I wrote about the idea of a "Community Candidate," a candidate who has already shown his dedication to the community before he even asks for your vote. I based this on a conversation I had with a UAW member who attended a political event in Brooklyn. He expressed frustration at the political process because it was so often based on nothing but hollow promises. He wanted to see more candidates that have an existing track record of serving the community. In other words, he wanted to see some results in advance. This led me to the idea of a "Community Candidate." This is also the idea behind the organization who operate in Michigan and New York State. Over in Oklahoma, Democrat Andrew Rice is showing the kind of dedication to his community that I am looking for in a Community Candidate.

Oklahoma State Senator Andrew Rice (also a candidate for US Senate in Oklahoma) was a driving force in setting up a task force to study hunger in Oklahoma...and the report is now out. Those of us who have watched average Americans get hit by the double blow of two Bush recessions AND the Republican "Drown America in a Bathtub" philosophy, it is no surprise that the report is a rather grim one. You can read the report here (PDF).
 more this way»