In defense of that Peloton commercial

Last updated on: December 4, 2019 at 1:17 pm By Jane the Actuary

Yes, you know the one. Husband gifts wife Peloton bike, she takes selfies of herself being nervous about riding the bike, being happy about managing 5 days in a row, getting up at 6 am, and having the Peloton instructor call out her name, then puts them all together, along with one last video clip saying she didn’t realize how much it would change her, which she watches with her husband to thank him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pShKu2icEYw&feature=youtu.be It’s being endlessly mocked. She... Read more

It’s Giving Tuesday. Let’s talk about giving.

Last updated on: December 3, 2019 at 4:37 pm By Jane the Actuary

Many years ago, I was a graduate student studying medieval history. Heck, I even got as far as doing some of the initial research on a doctoral dissertation (I didn’t make it very far), which would have been about medieval “hospital sisters,” who were unique in the religious landscape in providing active service “in the world” rather than being cloistered. Now, I never managed to really find a lot of sources, and didn’t really have a good angle on them... Read more

We’re burying people all wrong!

Last updated on: November 20, 2019 at 10:24 am By Jane the Actuary

So this morning, Pew published an article on consumer interest in “green burial” and the lack of available spaces, and the state regulations that get in the way of such options. And my first thought was, “hey, I wrote about that!” but then I couldn’t find the article, and ultimately figured out that it had been sitting in draft form for the past two years. (I had orginally hoped to publish it elsewhere, but couldn’t find any takers, and then... Read more

L’Eglise, C’est — Francis?

Last updated on: November 13, 2019 at 11:01 am By Jane the Actuary

What does it mean to be a part of the (Roman) Catholic Church? On Sundays, we recite a profession of faith via the Nicene Creed or, in special circumstances, the Apostles’ Creed, the latter of which our godparents also profess on our behalf if we’re baptized as infants. But those of us who went through the RCIA program recite a different profession: I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by... Read more

Notes on a visit to St. [Anonymous]

Last updated on: November 10, 2019 at 10:14 pm By Jane the Actuary

So here’s the deal: my local parish is shrinking, bit by bit. But I keep hearing, “boy, St. [Anonymous] is doing things so much better than we are” and am told that lots of people are jumping ship in order to start attending there instead (they’re only a mile up the road). So today I had someone else serving donuts and decided to check them out, and thought I’d share what I saw and solicit reader comments. First observations: they... Read more

Karmala Harris’s “aftercare” program and the importance of reading the text

Last updated on: November 10, 2019 at 5:30 pm By Jane the Actuary

An elementary school at which Family Friendly School policies are established shall collaborate with community partners to develop high-quality, culturally relevant, linguistically accessible, developmentally appropriate academic, athletic, extracurricular, enrichment, or community-based learning opportunities, for students from at least 8 am to 6 pm (or different hours if determined appropriate due to the needs of the community) Monday through Friday during the school year. That’s the key paragraph in the text of the Family Friendly Schools Act as introduced by Sen.... Read more

Animal cruelty: actually, you don’t have to make a federal case out of it

Last updated on: November 7, 2019 at 11:02 am By Jane the Actuary

Let me start by saying that I am not pro-animal cruelty. I object to the intentional injury of animals for sport. I’d even agree that it’s reasonable to criminalize such actions, though I think it’s an open question how harsh the punishment should be, especially since many of the objections cited are a sort of “pre-crime” (many murderers have a past of animal cruelty) and since the focus, in other respects, is reducing the degree to which we imprison people.... Read more

Yes, Warren’s Medicare-for-all Pay-for Plan Really Is Nuts

Last updated on: November 3, 2019 at 1:35 pm By Jane the Actuary

As a bit of preface, I write on three different platforms these days (four if you count my periodic Federalist submissions): this site, Forbes, and my personal JaneTheActuary website. And I’m writing this blogpost here because I’m not in the mood for crafting it super-carefully to be polished and insightful. But Elizabeth Warren released here proposal of how she’d pay for her “Medicare for All” proposal on Friday, after sidestepping the issue in the latest debate, and it’s, well, nuts.... Read more

Pachamama-worship isn’t over yet

Last updated on: October 28, 2019 at 10:26 pm By Jane the Actuary

Were Amazon Synod participants venerating a statue meant to represent Mary? Or were at least some of them worshipping a statue of a pregnant woman meant to represent “life” or “Mother Earth”? And were the defenders of this statue doing so under the belief that this was Mary, or that, on the other hand, the statue was not given any particular sort of veneration but merely one among other symbols of life in the Amazon? Or were they perfectly fine... Read more

STDs, part 3: Let’s talk about risk, baby

Last updated on: October 26, 2019 at 5:40 pm By Jane the Actuary

Yes, here’s where I get all Jane the Actuary on you, after having dug into the statistics of STD prevalence in the US. And as an initial caveat, of course, no one should be having sex outside of a marital commitment and nothing I write here should be understood as other than an attempt to understand what’s going on in the wider world — and, in fact, the consequences of a moral system in which sex is just a physical... Read more