Government Walker’s Very Bad Plan

Know this for: Understanding why many of the budget cuts that Republicans push for are really, really bad for the country

I’m sure you’ve read articles discussing the pros and cons (mostly cons) of Governor Walker’s budget plan. But have you heard that it may lead to more deaths from cervical cancer? Because Walker’s proposal  eliminates $266,400 for cervical cancer screening, the risk for women contracting cervical cancer and having it progress to a lethal state will increase. These cuts are part of a larger elimination of $3.8 million in state funding for family planning services. Scary? Very. Scarier? That these kinds of cuts could end up being passed on a federal level if the Tea Party continues to exert itself.

The 60′s: a Really Tough Time for Priests

Know this for: keeping your knowledge about the Catholic Church up-to-date.

The Catholic Church asked for an investigation conducted on the trends in child molestation cases over the past few decades in order to “help identify patterns of abuse.”

Here’s what the report concluded:

The report from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice said the majority of molestation cases involved priests who were ordained in the 1940s and 1950s, at a time when seminaries did not properly train them to live a celibate life. These men were not equipped to withstand the social upheaval of the 1960s, which was a time of an increase in sexual deviancy and crime in society at large, the authors said.

Lets just reconsider what they’re suggesting.

These men were not taught how to deal with “new” sexual deviance and … rising crime…?

So… because they were uncomfortable with all that deviance during the 60′s… they sought for solace from young boys… who they then molested…?

OR as Gawker put it:

They forgot to “properly train” the guys back then by saying, “Hey, when you see dope-smoking teens having free love in the park in your town, don’t run back to the church and molest any children.” By the time they added that section to the priest-training curriculum, well, certain mistakes had been made. It could have happened to any group of deluded, horny pedophiles.

Jokes aside. Does this sound reasonable to you?

This is a sensitive topic. So I’m going to end the post right HERE and let you mull it over.

–Pragya

Nice People: Continue Being Nice

Know this for: if you’re caught between a nice boy/girl and a bad boy/girl, this may influence you

Pragya sent me this thought-provoking piece from David Brooks about the research being done on the evolutionary disadvantages of selfishness. Many people are now saying that humans have been able to become the way we are–cultured and such–because of our instinctual desire and need to cooperate. To quote one of the more interesting research results:

“An infant of 12 months will inform others about something by pointing. Chimpanzees and other apes do not helpfully inform each other about things. Infants share food readily with strangers. Chimpanzees rarely even offer food to their own offspring.”

If you have spent any time with toddlers, you also know that as we get older, we become even more helpful (though often for less innocent reasons). All of these findings are certainly optimistic–perhaps we humans are not as ruthlessly self-absorbed as we believe. History and sociology support these findings. After all, when has any major event or transformation been driven just by one person?

My one problem with the article itself is the conclusion Brooks comes to. He suggests that all of this research inevitably implies that if cooperation permeates our structure as humans, so does morality, which he connects to ethics and religion. The morality leap in itself is too much for me; the instinct to cooperate still comes from a basic need for the self to survive. This is not morality, but simply a desire to live. And religion? Seriously? Why do people still automatically connect religion with ethics or morality? That’s not to say that there aren’t morals or ethics within religion, but to unquestioningly suggest that religion as a general whole equates to ethics or morals is a stretch for me personally.

Men Deserve Bling Too.

Know this for: keeping up with all those blasphemous ideas circulating out there.

Washington Post has an annual “Spring Cleaning List” – things that society could really do without.

What’s on the list this year?!

Oh you know… the usual: democracy, leftovers, smartphones (but how will i check my email while talking to my mother while texting my honey WHILE paying my bills on the metro??), and engagement rings.

Someone has dared go AT IT with the engagement ring.

I know. I know. Many girls and women have long thought about the day they will receive that ring. The proposal, blah blah, etc etc. And  so many of us are really attached to the “romantic” idea of it all.

But what does it all really signify and why do we continue to partake in this?

Men write to me to say that they’re ready to get married, but given school debt and the depressed economy, they simply can’t afford a good enough ring, and they despair whether they’ll ever be able to pop the question. Here’s a secret that the folks at De Beers don’t want young people to know: All you need to do to become officially engaged is tell everyone, “We’re getting married!”

Did you know that? That’s all it takes. Literally. You’re like ONE Facebook status away from being engaged.

But seriously, the concept of the engagement ring makes a woman wait for a man to ask her to marry him. Why do I have to wait for him? What if he needs to wait for me?

But here’s the worst part: guys don’t even get to rock some bling to show the world that someone loves them. As an equalist, I am very troubled by this.

Perhaps the solution is NOT that we get rid of engagement rings. During this age of excess lets gender neutralize the engagement ring! I think my future fiancee totes deserves a rock to show the world how much I love him!

Hahaha… That’s a joke. Who actually wants to spend all that money?

–Pragya

(I’m not trying to say it’s wrong to want an engagement ring or to love the one you already have. I think its an interesting idea, and raises pertinent questions)

NYT Minute

Here’s your dose of NYT!

When you hear Obama talk about his tax plans, he often says that taxes need to be raised for those who make +$250,000. This article asks, why begin the tax bracket at 250,000? Is it fair? How will it affect many families? About 2% of US households make $250,00 or more a year. It’s suggested that the number 250,000 hearkens back to the Clinton presidency who started the tax bracket at 250,000 in ’93, but now economists point out that if we adjust for inflation the bracket should actually start at 386,075.

I’m all about whipping kids’ brains into shape, and pushing them to excel academically, but this is a bit much for me. NYT reports on these new programs run by tutoring centers such as Kumon. Their program is called Junior Kumon and here’s a description:

Parents pay $200 to $300 a month for their 2-, 3-, 4- or 5-year-old to spend up to an hour twice weekly being tutored at a Junior Kumon center — 20 to 30 minutes each on reading and math. Children are then expected to do 20 minutes of homework on each subject every day, with their parents guiding and grading them.

Child psychologists are shaking their heads in disdain upon hearing this. I’m sorry, but just click on the link and look at the picture of that poor little toddler who’s doing hw. I think even Amy Chua would soften at seeing her.

Miracle foods? Have you noticed how every time you walk down the aisles of a grocery store suddenly it seems as though eating Rice Krispies will cure cancer and the yogurt combats the common cold? Everything has 600 vitamins and minerals from the WATER to cheese to those fruit gummy snacks. We’re surrounded by food on steroids (you know what happens when you use steroids). NYT looks into the hype.

Consumer advocates and some nutritionists are equally blunt. They say shoppers are being bamboozled by slick marketing. Many people grab products with healthy claims on the front of the package and overlook crucial nutritional information, like calorie counts, in the small print on the back.

Food for thought? Corny pun?

Too much?

I think so.

–Pragya