So, President Pence, eh?

Last updated on: May 15, 2017 at 4:45 pm By Jane the Actuary

The latest report is that Trump revealed to the Russian foreign minister highly classified information (e.g., Vox, plus everywhere else). I’m not even going to talk about this, except to say that this shows that Trump has extremely poor judgement. Is it an impeachable offense — either objectively criminal or just stupid enough to lose the support of Congress? I don’t know. But it’s very dismaying. Readers, discuss among yourselves. Image: MAGA hat; https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/27149010964; Gage Skidmore via flickr. Read more

Girl Boy Scouts, update

Last updated on: May 12, 2017 at 10:17 am By Jane the Actuary

So you know that whole argument about whether the Catholic church must preserve its ancient teachings or conform its moral teachings to the times we live in, to get more customers in the door? OK, fine, they wouldn’t say “customers,” but it sure seems like those making the pitch for the latter approach think that way. That debate is apparently happening within the Boy Scouts, too, and I’m a bit peeved that it’s happening at the top levels without local scouting... Read more

From the library: The New Koreans, The Story of a Nation, by Michael Breen

Last updated on: May 11, 2017 at 7:13 am By Jane the Actuary

How much do you know about Korea? Had you asked me that, before reading this book, I would have been able to tell you that I once owned a Gold Star TV (black and white, bought for $50, and in my bedroom growing up) and was surprised to learn, many years later that this company, known at the time for being cheap, transformed itself into today’s high-end LG appliances. I would be able to tell you, in any event, about... Read more

What’s the purpose of an aquarium?

Last updated on: May 10, 2017 at 12:14 pm By Jane the Actuary

Is it to educate and inform, that is, is there a public service mission, in which visitors are better for the experience? That’s the rationale for public subsidies for and donations to museums, in general, that it’s an enriching experience to visit an art museum or a natural history museum, or the like. Zoos, too, full of entertainment as they are, are meant to be educational as well (and it seems to me that they go a bit too far on... Read more

So about “couples for whom NFP doesn’t work” . . .

Last updated on: May 9, 2017 at 5:34 pm By Jane the Actuary

How much money, if devoted to research with a different objective, would it take to solve the problem of extended-abstinence NFP? Let's think about this. Read more

What’s the deal with Trumpcare and pre-existing conditions?

Last updated on: May 7, 2017 at 5:14 pm By Jane the Actuary

It’s surprisingly difficult to get a good picture of what’s going on in the new GOP healthcare bill. Here’s a summary from CNN and another from the New York Times. Here’s a breakdown of winners and losers from NPR. Here’s commentary by Megan McArdle on death spirals, and from Charles Krauthammer on the seeming inevitability of single payer. There’s a lot going on in the bill, but the biggest question is, “what’s going on with pre-existing conditions?” According to CNN,... Read more

You won’t believe what I have to say in this post

Last updated on: May 5, 2017 at 7:47 am By Jane the Actuary

I am outraged, outraged, I tell you, at the fact that Donald Trump seemed to think that Andrew Jackson was alive at the time of the Civil War. Also, Sean Spicer denied the Holocaust, and you can tell, just by looking Steve Bannon in the eyes, that he wants to kill all the babies in the world. Also, the Pope is a bad, bad man because he’s a Marxist who wants to change church teaching on marriage and contraception, and... Read more

Please sign! A petition on NFP effectiveness

Last updated on: May 4, 2017 at 6:39 am By Jane the Actuary

The Catholic Church’s teachings on contraception is not something I’m inclined to get on a soapbox about. But I do believe that women should be given accurate information about the effectiveness of natural methods of family planning, because, no matter one’s religious beliefs, they can provide a valuable set of options, especially for women who do not wish to take artificial hormones, or even have had negative reactions to them. (Incidental fact: the secular Facebook group “Fertility Awareness Method of... Read more

Was the Civil War “worth it”?

Last updated on: May 2, 2017 at 12:03 pm By Jane the Actuary

So let’s talk about the Civil War. The simple explanation of the war is that “it was about slavery” but it is certainly not as simple as that. The South seceded in part because they feared that the North would ultimately take away their ability to own slaves, but that doesn’t explain why they chose to do so at the particular time that they did, and there were Southerners who genuinely believed they were fighting for independence and (yes, ironically)... Read more

The perils of the diversity crusade

Last updated on: May 2, 2017 at 11:22 am By Jane the Actuary

From the College Fix last week: According to a university [of Wisconsin, Madison] document obtained this week by The College Fix through a public records act request, here’s what happened, according to the complainant: There was a white female student that kept making glares at me and another student. She would glare at both of us and then continue to proceed on her phone. This proceeded for 2 hours. Both me and the victim were Asian American women. I don’t know... Read more