Two big events today with respect to Trump and immigration: he’s scheduled to meet the President of Mexico, and then, subsequently, give what’s being touted as a Big Policy Speech on illegal immigration. So I thought it’d be a good time to pull together some of what I think on immigration. First, if the only issue were illegal immigration, we could solve that tomorrow. All that’d be necessary is to open the borders to anyone who wants to come, and,... Read more
A headline in today’s paper: “Social service agencies, homeless feel pinch of Ventra single-ride pass surcharge.” The story: several years ago by now, the CTA implemented a new payment system, Ventra, a reloadable card that costs $5 to purchase, with that $5 only converted into transit value if the card is registered online, a process that requires and address, phone number, and e-mail. It is still possible to travel without purchasing a Ventra card, but a single-use ticket has a... Read more
So a short time ago I wrote about Social Security’s indirect provision of benefits for women who leave the workforce to take care of children, and as an incidental comment, cited Clinton’s proposal to remedy the situation that The poverty rate for widowed women 65 or older is nearly 90 percent higher than for other seniors—in part because when a spouse dies, families can face a steep benefit cut. For a two-earner couple, those benefit cuts can be as much... Read more
That’s the message of a facebook post from a prolife group that floated across my feed yesterday. Specifically, it was a quote from a mother who became pregnant as a victim of rape, but spoke of love for her baby. It went something like this: “out of that horrible situation, God gave me this beautiful gift, a baby who gives me joy every day.” (No, I can’t find it any longer.) I’d seen similar items before, but I suppose it... Read more
Secularism, apparently. What, did you think that the fears of an Islamicist threat in Europe would bring the natives back to Christianity? I have yet to read any articles suggesting any revival in Christianity, either in belief or in practice, in Europe, as a result of the ISIS and Islamist threat (reports such as this one notwithstanding). To the contrary, the “burkini” ban is justified in language that could apply to anyone with distinctive dress due to religion (yes, even... Read more
So Trump has, unsurprisingly, softened his immigration talk until its about the consistency of the mushy bananas with when you make banana bread. (And, by the way, I accidentally learned the secret to seriously yummy banana bread muffins the other day: my son dropped the 2nd of the 3 bananas onto the floor, so I told him to cut the rest of the ingredients in half – but he forgot to reduce the margarine and the milk. They came out... Read more
So I have to say, I am not a big Costco/Sam’s Club shopper, but many of my neighbors are, and I remember browsing their aisles long before I had a family to shop for, back when you could have a fee-free membership and pay a modest upcharge instead. ‘Bout the only thing I remember buying were extra-giant-sized containers of chocolate chips, back in the day when I could eat all the chocolate I wanted and not gain weight. But the logic... Read more
Here’s something I was thinking about, from our European vacation: lessons on mass transit. Yes, it’s very difficult to make mass transit work in the U.S., with few exceptions, because of the low density here vs. the deliberate, zoned-for high density in Europe. (See this pic and commentary.) But there are a few noteworthy aspects of the various mass transit systems that sure had me wishing U.S. systems would adopt them. First, an integrated fare structure. Here in Chicago, fares are... Read more
So my youngest son turned 9 last May, which means that our two cars also had their ninth “birthday,” and we’re in the market for replacing them — or at least one of them. Vehicle #1 is a Chevy Impala, to be replaced by a full-size sedan. Remember: the boys are 9, 13, and 16, and we intend to keep the car long enough that it’ll need to fit three teen boys/young adults. Vehicle #2 is a Grand Caravan. I’d... Read more
She won the gold in the women’s 800 meter race Friday, with a time more than a second ahead of the silver medalist. That time, 1:55.28, set a record for South Africa, but was two seconds shy of the women’s world record. For comparison, the 54th and last place men’s finisher had a time of 1:54.67. Semenya’s participation in the Olympics raised quite a bit of controversy. While no medical records have been made public, the general understanding (from the Observer) is... Read more
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