Category Archives: Current Events
Gradually Losing Interest
In this article on burnout by Emily Guendelsberger, she discusses how research scientists induce depression in rats: It turns out you don’t need to traumatize them. The most reliable protocol is “chronic mild stress.” There are many methods of making the lives of experimental animals mildly but chronically miserable– a cage floor that administers random …
Etymology
W. Bush’s administration debated what really constituted “torture.” The Trump administration is concerned with the proper definition of “concentration camp.” I think it says something about our country that these are the words we’re splitting hairs over.
Pro-Life
So, according to his own tweet, Donald Trump was ten minutes away from launching a military strike against Iran when suddenly an idea struck him: “Wait a minute! These buildings we are about to blow up– are there any people in them?” Horrified to learn that there were, in fact, people inside, he called off …
Profiles in Courage
Digital artwork by Joe Casanova
H.R. 5
There is a bill in the legislature that would expand equal rights protections for gays (source)(text of bill). It is opposed by the Catholic, Baptist, and Mormon churches. They argue that discrimination is such a fundamental part of their religion that they will be unable to practice their faith without it. Most of us were …
The Things That Make Us Human
“This is the result of social collapse, a lack of education, the loss of values in our homes and in our institutions. In recent years this country has focused only on politics. We have forgotten about the things that make us human.” ~Jorge Liscano He was quoted in a BBC video about grave robbing in …
Tetris
Executives with multimillion-dollar stock packages often treat their employees like Tetris pieces, to be put into place as efficiently as possible, then promptly disposed of. That’s from an opinion piece about the video game industry Jason Schreier wrote for the New York Times (online HERE), but he could have been talking about almost anyplace.
Oh No
Saying rude and offensive things is hardly the badge of courage its practitioners believe it to be. WebComicName is on the web HERE.
The vast majority of immigrants crossing our southern border are motivated by hunger and desperation. The debate should be over the best way to help these people, not the most cost-efficient way to keep them out.
The “Very Stable Genius” has been arguing with a dead guy for the last three days.
Forever In Flux
“As human beings we share a tendency to scramble for certainty whenever we realize that everything around us is in flux. In difficult times the stress of trying to find solid ground– something predictable to stand on– seems to intensify. But in truth, the very nature of our existence is forever in flux. Everything keeps …
Emergency
“I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster.” (source) This quote puts the Supreme Court on trial. Their verdict will show whether they are impartial or packed with partisans. I know the way I expect this to go.
