Career Development
How getting laid off affected my views on workplace culture - Fast Company
Having been laid off twice — with little to no explanation — from jobs I really cared about, I can attest to the truth of Brothwell’s piece. The experience sucks but your life isn’t over ; So don’t act like it is.
Civic Renewal
Beyond Policy: Reimaging a family in the American psyche
Even if our nation dedicates itself to increasing birth rates with pronatal public policies and family-friendly workplace initiatives, these efforts to ease the path to parenthood will fall short if Americans don’t aspire to become parents. Therefore, tackling our demographic challenges requires a cultural transformation. We must cultivate a society that champions family formation by educating young Americans about its pivotal role in creating a meaningful and fulfilling life…
Given the cultural messaging that young Americans are receiving at the broad societal level and even in their own families, it should not come as a surprise that a growing number are choosing not to have children simply because this is not an important life goal for them. Surveys indicate a rising percentage of childless Americans who express unlikelihood of becoming parents. Critically, those who say they're unlikely to have children cite a lack of desire for offspring far more frequently than financial constraints or other concerns like climate change. This finding is corroborated by scholarly research indicating that the declining U.S. birth rate cannot be explained by economic or policy factors but instead appears to be the result of changing personal preferences.
Such statistics suggest that America’s declining birth rate is more deeply rooted in cultural and psychological factors than in economic challenges or issues that can be primarily addressed through policy solutions. Indeed, nations that have implemented pronatal policies in attempts to reverse demographic trends have largely failed to achieve their objectives, despite allocating substantial resources to these initiatives.
‘Dangerously unfair’: Male biology doesn’t concede to gender identity, and neither should schools - The Lion (readlion.com)
…there is no evidence [Imane] Khelif is transgender, which is apparently illegal in Algeria. And the boxer’s “female” designation on a passport was sufficient for her eligibility, said the International Olympic Committee.
This has fueled speculation the athlete was born with a condition that falls under Differences in sex development (DSD), which can leave a person with male XY chromosomes but with ambiguous or even female genitals.
But given the high testosterone levels and XY chromosomes, which led the IBA to pull Khelif from a gold medal fight last year, the athlete’s male biology is indisputable – and it’s dangerously unfair.
But for those unwilling to trust their eyes and common sense, consider a study on biological differences in sports from two professors at Duke Law School, who found “there is an average 10-12% performance gap between elite males and elite females.”
In fact, even boys (males under 18) regularly beat elite adult women in racing and jumping competitions.
Since boxing already has a history of dividing up fighters by weight class (presumably under the conviction that this really makes a difference for the individuals’ safety and chance of success), would it be possible to test for relative magnitudes of Y and X chromosomes in such a way as to allow intersex individuals to fairly compete in sports? In other words, rather than dividing by “male” and “female” categories, could the sports be divided into chromosomal classes?
Teaching Congress – Jordan T. Cash & Kevin J. Burns (lawliberty.org)
…Studying the US Congress provides unique insights into deliberation and republican self-government beyond what is normally taught by many classes on statesmanship. Courses on statesmen usually emphasize executives like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, or (in a course recently highlighted by the Free Press) Cyrus the Great. Such executives may also have been lawgivers, but the focus tends to be on the great deeds of individuals. Similarly, while study of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists is essential to understanding the American constitutional order, politics is rarely so theoretically sophisticated.
America surely needs great executive statesmen and an understanding of the abstract thought undergirding our republic, but it also needs to cultivate the talents of potential leaders who can take on the time consuming and often mundane work of routine politics. The cooperation, compromise, and mutual deliberation that permeates “average” politics in a republic is often overlooked…
The need to study Congress is driven home by any consideration of contemporary politics. Polling regularly shows that Congress is the least trusted branch of government. Although it ought to be the branch of government best suited to deliberating and representing the public, its public image is shameful. Congress has often failed to perform its most basic functions and some of its members seem to revel in public displays of immaturity. Former Senator Ben Sasse was not wrong to tell his fellow senators, “The people despise us all.” But if Congress has a unique role to play in our constitutional order, then the public and our political leaders need to understand that role…
Discipleship
Economics
The Car Dealership Monopoly: The Case for Competition (independent.org)
As I’m currently seeking another vehicle, I feel this frustration especially keenly.
The problem is that dealerships lack real market competition in the US, so they’re in a position to rent-seek.
One example of how they have captured such market power is the fact that every state in the country has implemented laws that prevent or restrict car manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers. A Goldman Sachs report (referenced in an economic analysis paper with the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division) once noted that a build-to-order system instead of a dealership could save new vehicle consumers $2,225 based on an average vehicle price of $26,000 in the year 2000. Some states have also gone so far as to ban direct manufacturer sales of used cars and basic accessories. The Federal Trade Commission has advocated for completely repealing these protectionist policies.