The Pope visited the Mexico/US border and . . . (with bonus comments on the plane presser)

Last updated on: February 18, 2016 at 6:09 pm By Jane the Actuary

As you likely know, the Pope held a mass in Juarez, Mexico, not far from the border with the U.S., yesterday. What did he say? Let’s start with the idea that you could kinda sorta read the Pope’s statements at the border two ways: The first, the way everyone wants to interpret it, is a call for open borders, and for the US to let migrants cross easily, to take them in, and qualify them for residency based on claims... Read more

Marco needs a Beer Summit

Last updated on: February 18, 2016 at 9:21 am By Jane the Actuary

That is, with bloggers like Mickey Kaus and Ace at Ace of Spades HQ, and Mark Krikorian at the Center for Immigration Studies, and maybe a few others. The more I see of Rubio, and of the politics of this election season, the more I believe that it is the single issue of immigration that is preventing Rubio from succeeding in the polls, and ultimately in the primaries. He has simply not made a credible case that he will hold... Read more

Obama’s diagnosis and prescription for polarization – eh, not so impressed

Last updated on: March 26, 2016 at 4:04 pm By Jane the Actuary

Earlier I wrote out some explanations for why polarization and refusal to compromise appears to be such a significant and growing problem in the United States — the bottom line being that intransigence seems to work, on some level, if not for the country than for individual politicians. At the time I had intended to dissect Obama’s own prescriptions as well, so let’s have a go at this. First is to take, or at least reduce, some of the corrosive... Read more

“Planned Parenthood does great work” and other things heard at the Saturday night debate

Last updated on: February 17, 2016 at 9:24 am By Jane the Actuary

I did watch the debate on Saturday, you see — and even tweeted as a form of live-blogging/taking notes. But my Sunday consisted of church, trying to do some cleaning of my parents’ house (the fridge! oh, the fridge!), taking them to a matinee concert (the DSO’s tickets are a bargain compared to Chicago’s symphony), cooking dinner, and playing Hearts with the family. In any case, I still want to share my thoughts with you — the bottom line of... Read more

5 Thoughts on the new Supreme Court opening

Last updated on: February 15, 2016 at 10:42 pm By Jane the Actuary

Back from a long-weekend visit back to my parents, with no blogging despite the multiple bloggable events. 1. Three links: Slate.com‘s summary of the impact of an 8-8 court on the major pending case of this term — Little Sisters, DAPA, etc. Second, a Detroit News article that, regardless of “lame duck” issues, it’s exceedingly rare for a justice to die in office. Third, an analysis from SCOTUSBlog on cases of nominations in lame duck years. OK, maybe this isn’t... Read more

On partisanship and division in American politics

Last updated on: February 12, 2016 at 11:15 am By Jane the Actuary

OK, I lied — or, rather, changed my mind. This isn’t about the latest Society of Actuaries’ study on retirement readiness. And it’s got a dorky title, to boot. But Obama gave a speech about this topic on Wednesday, at the Illinois state capitol in Springfield, symbolically important to him as the place where Obama cut his teeth politically. Here’s the full text. Some of it is actually rather good, pointing out, for instance that the climate of partisanship and... Read more

F.A.Q. on late-term abortion

Last updated on: February 11, 2016 at 10:38 am By Jane the Actuary

Well, my post yesterday was a bit of a bust. I was hoping to spur some discussion on the implications of supporting an R&I exception (either in law or in personal opinion of what’s right or wrong), but I really don’t have the right audience for that among regular readers and couldn’t manage (at least yesterday) to attract others, since the group I really wanted to reach were those who either support the exception or who, while genreally supportive of... Read more

So about those hard cases . . .

Last updated on: March 26, 2016 at 4:05 pm By Jane the Actuary

Here’s what Chris Christie had to say at the latest GOP debate, as quoted by Time: “I believe that if a woman has been raped, that is a birth and a pregnancy that she should be able to terminate. If she is the victim of incest, this is not a woman’s choice. This is a woman being violated. And the fact is that we have always has believed, as has Ronald Reagan, that we have self-defense for women who have... Read more

Name that Bible verse: stainless steel pots

Last updated on: February 10, 2016 at 8:52 am By Jane the Actuary

I’m going to tell you a little story, then, just for fun, quiz you at the end. Back when I was in grad school, I was something of a church shopper — no, actually, a church tourist. Before I started RCIA, I went with friends, or by myself, to various churches around town. Even after RCIA, when I began to consider myself as bound to the Sunday Obligation of attending mass, I still did so occasionally, though either visiting a... Read more