Co-parenting with a rapist?

Last updated on: November 21, 2016 at 10:47 am By Jane the Actuary

Not news, but worth discussing: an article on CNN, “‘I have to text my rapist’: Victims forced to parent with attackers.” Exact stats aren’t tracked, but there are an estimated 17,000 to 32,000 rape-related pregnancies in the United States each year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. About 32% to 50% of impregnated rape victims keep their babies, according to various studies. In North Dakota, Minnesota, Maryland, Wyoming, New Mexico, Mississippi and Alabama, there are no specific laws... Read more

The Hamilton kerfuffle

Last updated on: November 20, 2016 at 8:44 pm By Jane the Actuary

So, raise your hands if you’ve seen the reports about the speech that a Hamilton cast member gave with Mike Pence in the audience. Yeah, at this point, far more people have heard about this than really should have — it just shouldn’t have been particularly newsworthy. For the small number who haven’t, the story goes like this: Vice-President-elect Mike Pence attended the musical on Friday night, and, at the curtain call, cast member Brandon Dixon read a brief speech,... Read more

One voter, one vote?

Last updated on: November 17, 2016 at 8:47 am By Jane the Actuary

Since I’m thinking about constitutional subjects, and yet do not want to address the stupidity of petitions for the Electoral College to “save” us from Trump: Should the total population of each state be the basis for determining how many congressional districts, and electoral votes, each state gets? Or should it be the number of voters, or voting-eligible persons? In 2016, that’s an issue due to states where there are disproportionately many non-citizens, though the Supreme Court rejected claims of... Read more

More effective than the pill. Wait, what?

Last updated on: November 16, 2016 at 9:15 am By Jane the Actuary

“Wait, what?” is my 13 year old son’s favorite line when something surprises him, and this definitely qualifies. Let’s start with this: if you look at the CDC resources for information on methods of family planning, you’ll see typical use effectiveness as follows (selected, expressed as failure rates): The combination pill: 9%. The minipill: also 9%. The condom: 18%. Natural family planning or fertility awareness: 24%. leaving NFP users stuck with explanations like, “well, that lumps in all types of... Read more

A little Article 5 question

Last updated on: November 15, 2016 at 10:23 pm By Jane the Actuary

Here’s Article 5 of the Constitution, in its entirety: The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions... Read more

Confirmation saint wanted!

Last updated on: November 15, 2016 at 3:26 pm By Jane the Actuary

For my eighth grade son. Requirements: should be someone fairly contemporary, and “relatable.” But not, he says, Maximilian Kolbe, because, although he’s “cool,” he was the subject of his saint report in 5th grade and he wants someone different. Suggestions? UPDATE: Maximilian Kolbe it is! And my son likes him not just because of the Auschwitz part of the story, but for what he did before then, too, so once he concluded that it was OK to have the... Read more

A few words on unity

Last updated on: November 12, 2016 at 2:00 pm By Jane the Actuary

Came across this today: By nature, people show favoritism toward those they perceive as part of their own tribe, so the key to positive relations between people from different groups is to bring them together under a unified group identity, to foster a sense of common humanity. As Leigh Ann Walls, an army veteran, recently told me, “there was so much diversity in the army, and it worked because we weren’t paying attention to it. We focused outwards, not inwards.”... Read more

What’s the purpose of the Electoral College? Plus: a bonus Jane Plan!

Last updated on: November 12, 2016 at 9:20 am By Jane the Actuary

Why do we have such a convoluted mechanism as the Electoral College? Here’s how Alexander Hamilton explains the purpose in number 68 of The Federalist Papers: It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any pre-established body, but to men chosen by the people for the special... Read more

Repeal and Replace?

Last updated on: November 11, 2016 at 8:48 am By Jane the Actuary

So that’s what Trump and Congress claim they’re going to do. What do they mean? What could they mean? Remember the three-legged stool: mandates, subsidies, and the pre-existing condition exclusion prohibition. And Obamacare is more than that: the requirement that the differential between old and young cannot exceed a specified ratio, far less than the actual difference in claims, the requirement that a government-defined list of “preventative health benefits” (including contraceptive drugs and devices) be covered, the prohibition of lifetime... Read more

Three Days After

Last updated on: November 11, 2016 at 6:57 am By Jane the Actuary

Folks, just a few words of perspective: November 8th was the election, and, yes, many people are angry and upset at the outcome, and others are simply saddened, or concerned. November 9th? The anniversary of the beginning of Kristallnacht, the two-day period of violence against Jews and the destruction of Jewish property, particularly synogogues, in Germany, in 1938. (For a refresher, see Wikipedia.) There was a comparison floating around on twitter that the election of Trump is just as bad as... Read more