Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
In the “who could have seen that coming” department…. As cigarette taxes have risen across the country, so too has cigarette smuggling across state lines, causing billions of dollars of tax revenue losses for high-tax states. That’s according to reports from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation and a yearly analysis by the Michigan-based Mackinac Center … Read more
Collectively, Americans owe nearly a trillion dollars of medical debt, and Congress is trying to figure out a policy response. But in the meantime, economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on an unusual non-profit’s effort to relieve the burden of medical debt for those in need. . . . Paul Solman: And what almost no one … Read more
One ally in the fight to find real work-from-home jobs is a website called FlexJobs. It’s different from most job search websites because it charges a membership fee starting at $14.95 for a month. For that price, FlexJobs hand-screens every job in order to weed out all the junk, ads and scams. You only get … Read more
Divorces devastate many people’s finances. Yet because it is uncomfortable to discuss, we avoid the topic. Easier for me to write, and for you to read, another article about early retirement health care, safe withdrawal rates or tax planning. No risk there. . . . How A Marriage Contract (Pre-Nup) Can Protect Your Retirement Assets … Read more
Hackers have created dedicated software for breaking into Ring security cameras, according to posts on hacking forums reviewed by Motherboard. The camera company is owned by Amazon, which has hundreds of partnerships with police departments around the country. On Wednesday, local Tennessee media reported that a hacker broke into a Ring camera installed in the … Read more
The National Museum of American History display recognizes the throngs who helped enable America’s westward expansion. Tucked in a back corner of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., is a tiny case for curators to showcase “new perspectives” on topics that had previously gone overlooked. Through spring 2020, that space features … Read more
“Detroit did not need a Thomas Jefferson or a Mohandas Gandhi or another great political philosopher with a world-changing idea — it needed someone to fix the potholes, balance the books, keep order on the streets, see to the schools, and keep the city agencies orderly and honest and effective. Without that, all of Detroit’s … Read more
A nation as rich as ours can afford a great deal of stupidity, but hubris is expensive. You Didn’t Build That, by Kevin Williamson Related PostsThe Case of Roe v. Reason Cory Booker Protected the Terrorists Behind the Jersey City Anti-Semitic Shootings It’s an election year, so here comes a ‘manufacturing crisis’ that isn’t Actors … Read more
After our eldest daughter’s relatively sheltered elementary school life, my husband and I decided it was time for the “Great Equipping.” Our philosophy throughout her first decade of life had been focused on filtering out damaging ideas about worldview, gender, sex, etc. We strove to saturate her in truth and beauty during the phase wherein … Read more
A HIDDEN LIFE | Official Trailer [HD] | FOX Searchlight Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life is a cinematic monument of Christian apologetics. ‘The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts,” wrote George Eliot in Middlemarch, “and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might … Read more
The most important and most fruitful acts of our freedom are not those by which we transform the outside world as those by which we change our inner attitude in light of the faith that God can bring good out of everything without exception. He is a never-failing source of unlimited riches. Our lives no … Read more
If the SPLC lists WoLF next year, they can do another story about how hate is thriving under the hated Hater in Chief: “Hate groups reach record high: The number of hate groups operating across America rose to a record high – 1,020 – in 2018 as President Trump continued to fan the flames of … Read more
Yesterday, Joe Nocera penned an extraordinary column expressing his bafflement at the Trump administration’s drive to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two firms that purchase and guarantee around half of single-family mortgages in the United States, from government conservatorship. Nocera argues against such a move, writing that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it … Read more
3 Big Problems With Visa Gift Cards Clark doesn’t like retail gift cards either, but it’s these prepaid gift cards that are a real concern. Here’s why… Problem #1: Fees First, the cards aren’t cheap. Visa gift card purchase fees vary by card, but the Target Visa Gift Card carries a $5 purchase fee for … Read more
Divine Mercy Chaplet (2-page PDF) Love and Mercy: FAUSTINA – trailer The Divine Mercy Chaplet Prayer VERY POWERFUL Love and Mercy : Faustina | Beyond the Vision Related PostsOur Time of Damaged Thought The comedies of Preston Sturges w/ Anthony Esolen A Sad, Feminist Cry for Help Despite All the Hype, … Read more
From the hills of southern Appalachia to the Canadian border, there is a bizarre invasion conquering the land. Not the invasion of a foreign army with legions of militant soldiers, but swarms of tiny beetles, complete with red backs and black spots, affectionately known as ladybugs. Across the nation these otherwise cute and harmless creatures … Read more
Be of good cheer. Be not afraid. There is nothing to fear. The dragon is slain! Joseph Pearce “Actually I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect ‘history’ to be anything but a ‘long defeat’ – though it contains … some samples or glimpses of final victory.” —J.R.R. … Read more
Award winning photographer, punk-rocker, gives up everything to become a Catholic priest Related Posts“every human being has a soul fashioned in God’s image” Wronged Jesus, I trust in You! Book Review: Kevin Williamson’s Thoroughly Spectacular ‘Big White Ghetto’ The Chosen
Here are 6 simple ideas that take just a few minutes, easy recipes and even the printable gift tags. We had a blast whipping up these simple, yummy jar gifts in our office, and we think you’ll have fun with them, too. Rest assured, you won’t break the bank, and of course, everyone will love … Read more
On January 31, 1940, Miss Ida Fuller received a check for $22.54. She was the first person to retire under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) scheme, better known as Social Security. At the time of her retirement in 1939, she had paid just $22 in Social Security taxes. Ms. Fuller lived to be … Read more
Doctors must perform ultrasounds and have women listen to fetal heartbeats before performing abortions. . . . The Supreme Court on Monday [Dec. 9, 2019] left in place a Kentucky law, mandating doctors perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before they can perform abortions. The high court declined, without comment, to hear an … Read more
Uber’s stock market value fell by $1.4 billion Friday, on the heels of the company’s release of a safety report revealing that 3,000 incidents of sexual assaults took place during its U.S. rides in 2018. By the time markets closed, Uber’s shares had fallen by 2.7%, to end the day at $27.88, leaving the ride-hailing … Read more
Chris Arnade on dignity and alienation in America’s working class Dignity in an Alienated America, by Charles Marohn Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America, by Chris Arnade Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse, by Timothy Carney The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money, by … Read more
A mature person doesn’t blame anyone else. Ever. . . . The Immaculate Conception reminds us of the original problem with original sin: blaming others. When things go wrong the first thing we do is blame others. God: “Adam, did you eat the fruit?” Adam: “Eve gave it to me.” God: “Okay. Eve, did you … Read more
The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. from Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand When Everything is a Crime: … Read more