From the National Review Corner, citing the Heritage Foundation, on proposed changes to the census which are now in a comment period: Mike Gonzalez of the Heritage Foundation has done yeoman’s work on this matter. I quoted his issue brief last fall: “The two most significant proposals [are] creating a new ethno/racial group for people who originate from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and taking from those who identify as Hispanic the option to identify their race.” In... Read more
Some time ago, I wrote about the Japanese phenomenon of hikikomori, teen boys and young men who isolate themselves in their bedrooms, to a degree far greater than the stereotypical American “kid who just plays video games in the basement.” They spend all their time in their bedrooms, completely isolated. They neither interact with their families, nor do they have online relationships; they generally don’t even have computers, but instead they do such things as watch TV, draw, or just .... Read more
Here’s just a bit of a catch-up; as you might have guessed from my lack of posting, I was away over the weekend, specifically, at my parents’ in Michigan. (Note to readers: my parents do not read this blog, nor, to the best of my knowledge, do any relatives, and, since I blog under the name “Jane the Actuary” rather than my own last name, I feel comfortable that I’m not indirectly disclosing their identity and invading their privacy.) To... Read more
Take a look in your freezer. Is there ice cream in there? Or is it “frozen dairy dessert”? Look in your fridge. Do you have American cheese? Well, no, you don’t, according to the FDA. You have a “cheese product.” What about the reduced-sugar orange juice? No, that’s an “orange juice beverage.” Cranberry juice? No, it’s “cranberry juice cocktail.” Soy-based imitation nuggets are “chick’n nuggets.” If they’re buffalo-seasoned, they’re “wingz.” Vegan “cheese” is a “cheese alternative” and manufacturers tend to... Read more
That’s a post title that I wrote after Sean Spicer said, “even Hitler didn’t use poison gas,” then had to retract his statement multiple times, because, of course, what he meant to say was “. . . on the battlefield”, and he didn’t, seeming to discount the Holocaust. And the Washington Post was quick to publish a piece, by Michael S. Rosenwald, addressing that very question – except it turns out that there’s not really an answer. The Nazis had... Read more
Which is 65 more than I thought they did. Sure, this is just a bit of trivia, mostly, but I remember clearly the statement on their website (paraphrased): “All our students are super-smart and worthy of a merit scholarship. Therefore, we don’t offer any, and just provide need-based financial aid.” Of course, this was a long time ago. Not as long ago as my grad school days, when the notion of looking things up on a website was in its... Read more
Back years ago, when I drove into the office every day, before I had kids, and later part-time, when they were in daycare, I used to listen to the talk shows on WYLL, a local Christian talk radio station, specifically Hugh Hewitt, from 5 – 6, and the Bible Answer Man at 6:00. (Or thereabouts; it was a while ago). The Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaf, had a format of mostly answering listener’s questions on-air, either about doctrine generically, or... Read more
A United flight is overbooked. For some unidentified reason, the crew has allowed all the passengers, plus four extras, to board, rather than resolving the situation at the gate, but once they’ve realized that they need to straighten this out, they follow their usual procedures: offering their usual vouchers (in this case, $800) plus paid hotel for anyone willing to exit the plane. When only two people the vouchers, they, again, following the usual procedure, randomly determine two additional passengers who are... Read more
Because, you know, Jesus compared himself to a shepherd, leaving the 99 to search for the lost sheep. After my prior post, reacting to Cupich announcing more anti-violence and anti-poverty efforts by the archdiocese, I was visualizing Cupich defenders saying that he was going after the lost sheep, the prodigal son, as Jesus did, and that I had the Bad Attitude of the older son, whining that he wasn’t getting enough attention. But sometimes it feels like the reverse is true.... Read more
that is, if Chicago-area churches aren’t actively involved in anti-poverty programs in the city. (Per a press conference a couple days ago, as reported by the Tribune: With the blessing and prayers of Pope Francis, Cardinal Blase Cupich on Tuesday pledged a quarter of a million dollars to support grass-roots anti-violence initiatives and announced more parishes would invest in social services and youth programs to reduce poverty and violence throughout the city. “If we don’t do this as a church,... Read more
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