In the news. . .

Last updated on: December 10, 2013 at 8:39 am by Jane the Actuary

In the news. . . 2013-12-10T08:39:00-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It can’t have escaped the notice of my readers that there are topics about which I’m not writing, even though I am rather interested in them. And, for the most part, these are topics where I don’t think, at this point, I have anything to contribute to the conversation other than just a “what she said.” (It also doesn’t help that this is the busy season at work. . . )

But, just to establish my bona fides as a person who follows the news, here are some short takes on the major news events:

Obamacare: Yes, I think we’re all getting tired of this. Even Megan McArdle is slowing down. The Republican leadership isn’t trying to actively move towards a fix that incorporates any of the proposals that have previously floated around — presumably waiting to see what the end result is of the frantic coding and parade of waivers and deferrals.

The budget debate: isn’t there supposed to be some movement on this now? There’s virtually no reporting. Every now and again, something pops up, largely around Democrats wanting to end the sequester, and the GOP having the upper hand, potentially, but news is scant.

In Illinois, a new pension bill aims to reform and fund the system. Republicans mostly voted against it, in a protest that it doesn’t go far enough, but, with Democrats in power, it’s about as good as you can expect — and already unions are threatening to sue. (No one listened to my proposal that we amend the Illinois constitution to give the government more flexibility regarding future accruals, which I promoted not only on this blog but in a “write your legislator” exercise and as an unpublished letter-to-the-editor submission. . . )

In the Ukraine, protesters are protesting the regime’s move towards Russia and away from the EU. Really, it would be lovely if this were a new Velvet Revolution, but I don’t hold out much hope. Most likely, the government will just ignore the protesters, with a significant chance of a new post-Prague Spring Soviet (OK, Russian) intervention. Russia is not going to let its nearest neighbors align with the EU.

Immigration: this one worries me, that there are too many Republicans who are chasing the “moderate” label, who will happily alienate their base with an amnesty which pretends to trade legalization for enforcement, but with a toothless version of enforcement with promises rather than true triggers. Of course, given how eager Obama is to waive laws he doesn’t like, it’d be difficult to construct any sort of triggers that can be enforced if the president doesn’t want to (unless the law could be designed in such a way as to give ordinary citizens standing to sue when non-enforcement happens?).

Pope Francis: liberals love him because they are turning him into, well, them. They don’t see him as a figure who inspires them to lead a better life in any fashion, but as a figure who tells them that the way they lead their lives is just fine. They latch onto statements that conform with their own beliefs and ignore those that don’t, and see him as a sign that any day now, the Catholic Church is going to revise it’s doctrine on every teaching they don’t like. For that matter, his calls against greed are read as criticism of “the 1%” — never of the rest of us who ignore the poor expecting someone else to take care of them.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 9, 2013

Shocker: Illinois lottery failing to lure the affluent!

Next Post

December 10, 2013 "Adopt a family"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jesus David Paul Isaiah