You Are Not So Smart (YANSS) 125 – How we rationalize unwanted changes to the status quo that we once resisted This podcast, recommended by someone on my professional association discussion list, is a fascinating exploration into the ability of the human mind to rationalize changes and new realities to protect itself. I highly recommend …
Here’s the thing about the rallies and marches taking place on Saturday: There are tons of them, more than one in every state in the nation. We already had plans to be in Santa Cruz that afternoon. Bummer, I thought initially. But then I saw there’s a rally in Santa Cruz that morning; we’re heading …
Uproar Over Purported Ban at C.D.C. of Words Like ‘Fetus’ (NY Times) • Diversity • Entitlement • Evidence-based • Fetus • Science-based • Transgender • Vulnerable When the Washington Post broke the story that officials at the CDC were instructing employees not to use these seven words, the uproar among advocacy groups and left-leaning individuals …
1) The most recent CBO score estimates it would add $1.4 trillion to the deficit. That’s $1,400,000,000,000 from the party that’s supposed to be committed to shrinking the deficit. 2) Corporate tax cuts are permanent, but tax cuts, such as they are, for individuals will expire in 10 years. 3) Many low-income people will see …
As a reminder, the HHS Strategic Plan is open for public comment until October 27th. Comments may be submitted through the web site, or via email to HHSPlan@hhs.gov. There was no way I could limit myself to the 1,000 character limit through the web site. Here is my submitted comment. Pick and choose and re-word …
Continue reading ‘Public Comment Submission re/ HHS Draft Strategic Plan FY 2018-2022’ »
Caleb Keeter’s change of heart about gun rights after the Las Vegas mass shooting has gotten a lot of press in recent days. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pro gun machine is turning on him with push-back that he was never a “real” supporter of the Second Amendment anyway. I’ve only seen one such article so far, …
Continue reading ‘A Little Research Keeps You From Being Played Like a Fiddle’ »
Re/ 2017, Word Counts and Writing Process (John Scalzi on his Whatever blog) It’s not just writers believe me. One thing I’ve recently noticed is that my lists of things to do, the lists that used to help me focus and get things done, the lists I used to cross half off of by lunch, …
Continue reading ‘When Lack of Focus Becomes the New Normal’ »
Dear President Obama, Happy birthday! I admit that haven’t felt particularly inspired to “sign” the many different birthday greeting emails being sent around by political groups these last few days. Throwing my name on such a digital file seems fairly thoughtless. It seems Mrs. Obama agrees; her message this morning to share something about how …
Continue reading ‘Daily Acts of Citizenship – A Message to President Obama on His Birthday’ »
Lacking White House plan, Senate focuses on infrastructure (The Hill) The president also defended his decision not to put a rebuilding proposal at the top of the agenda, telling The Wall Street Journal it would have been a “waste” because it’s a bipartisan issue. “A lot of people said you should have started with taxes …
Continue reading ‘Negotiation – I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means’ »
You will probably get depressed reading this article, but it’s worth it to stick with it to the end. It ends on a hopeful note, and a lesson for talking about climate change. The plight of the polar bears may hurt me in my soul, but lots of people have more immediate concerns. If you …
Continue reading ‘Pollution doesn’t respect borders, but climate change has to be made local’ »