As reported at PJ Media: Defense Secretary James Mattis said the U.S. is going to focus on killing remaining foreign fighters in the Islamic State. “Because the foreign fighters are the strategic threat should they return home to Tunis, to Kuala Lumpur, to Paris, to Detroit, wherever. Those foreign fighters are a threat,” he said. “So by taking the time to deconflict, to surround and then attack, we carry out the annihilation campaign so we don’t simply transplant this problem... Read more
As locals know, the legislature in Illinois is knee-deep in negotiations to actually pass a budget, finally taking the task seriously because of the deadline imposed by ratings agencies, that is, due to the need to come to some kind of agreement in order to avoid a junk-bond rating. Are Madigan and Rauner finally going to make a deal? I suppose it depends on whether each of them finally believes they need to give in, in order to finally fix... Read more
In the news this week, per the Daily Mail’s usual wordy headline, “Terminally ill baby Charlie Gard’s parents ‘utterly distraught’ after losing final appeal in European court – meaning their son’s life support WILL be switched off.” This is the case of a British baby whose parents had sought to take him to the U.S. for treatment, after raising private funds to do so. Not only would the British hospital not perform the experimental treatment, but they would not let... Read more
In the news: “Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook can play a role that churches and Little League once filled“: Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook groups to play an important role that community groups like churches and Little League teams used to perform: Bringing communities together. . . . Zuckerberg laid out his lofty ambition in a Chicago speech last week that suggested Americans are in need of something to unify their lives. “It’s so striking that for decades, membership in all kinds of... Read more
Did you know that we’re approaching the first anniversary of the release of Pokemon Go? According to Wikipedia, its “extended launch” was on July 6, 2016, which seems about right, if you think back to all of the kids gathered around, phones in hand, at various parks and other public places at all times of day, this time last year, and all of the articles about how this was going to be a game-changer in getting kids to be active... Read more
In the news on Tuesday (e.g., at The Hill): Just days before he resigns from Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said Monday that House and Senate lawmakers should receive a $2,500 per month housing allowance — something he explained would help ease housing costs for members who can’t afford two mortgages or rents. “I really do believe Congress would be much better served if there was a housing allowance for members of Congress,” Chaffetz told The Hill in an interview... Read more
Monday: “Missouri church wins playground case in Supreme Court,” in, well, pretty much everywhere, but in this case, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court overturned lower courts Monday and decided in favor of a Columbia, Mo., church, that had argued that its constitutional rights had been violated by the state Department of Natural Resources’ denial of scrap rubber for its playground. Writing for the majority in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer, Chief Justice... Read more
Yeah, this is a Thing I Do: start to think about a topic, even a relatively inconsequential one, and dig into it, and produce relatively useless information. Thing is, pre-blogging, I would just end up doing so for an overly-long period of time, then think, “well, that was stupid,” and X out of one or two dozen tabs. Now at least I have the illusion that I’ve done something of value. I wrote on Sunday that Marquette University’s meal plan... Read more
Did your children learn to ride their bikes with training wheels? As I recall, my sister had training wheels, but when my parents bought a bike for me, they decided on one that would last further into childhood, even though it didn’t have training wheels. Dad then did the ol’ “hold the kid on the bike while running alongside” approach. Now, I have no idea how long it took to learn, though it was presumably far less time than the... Read more
So we went on our first campus tour yesterday, to Marquette University. To be honest, it was underwhelming. And I don’t know to what extent it’s really anything about Marquette vs. our newness to this process as parents. As a mom, I’m looking for two things: I want to know that the university is being a good steward of our tuition money, and I want to know that my son is being taken care of. Yes, I know those two... Read more
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