This post’s title is incorrect, since Spring does not officially arrive until March 20. The title also contains a simple truism, since whatever
happens locally, nationally, and internationally will always bring surprises.
We can make all manner of careful predictions and preparations, but we and everyone
else will always fall short. When things do turn out exactly according to plan, then everyone marvels, but inevitably,
after that, enough quirks and surprises pop up to make life interesting and
keep us all on alert, and also to give me fodder for this blog. So, stay calm
folks, do your duty, let’s see what happens next. We cannot be sure of anything
except for our own eventual and inevitable demise.
A shoutout here to my daughter Stephanie, who lives too far away, but has always delighted me with her creativity, often based in nature, as she is a biologist, living and working in Hawaii.
Not only is Stephanie a biologist, but to my considerable
relief, she also helps prepare my tax returns, coming due very soon. Thanks, Steph!
My son Jonathan calls me daily. Thanks, Jon!
Daughter Melanie mostly keeps in touch by email because she is
so busy. Thanks, Mel!
Granddaughter Natasha sends email and also calls. Thanks,
Tash!
I am very grateful to have such a wonderful and attentive family.
St. Patrick’s Day has already come and gone.
In a Boston hospital, newborns there were outfitted for the day.
Birds are chirping, trees are blooming now, flowers have sprung up, but nights remain chill.
Still, after our clocks have sprung forward, we know that spring is here! The cherry blossoms on the Tidal Basin have appeared early this year, so the annual festival will be starting soon.
-Amnesty International will launch its 2022/23 Annual Report on March
28.
Wash. Post, First
Republic, SVB, Credit Suisse: The latest banks in trouble and why
In the wake of recent bank failures in the US, then in
Europe, it would be surprising if interest rates here would be raised much next
time around. Is it safer now to hide our money in the cookie jar or under the
mattress? Let’s not make bank failures a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Are there
actually more train derailments now in the US or have we just started paying
more attention? Wash. Post, Diesel
spill estimated at 2,500 gallons as train derails in Washington state
President Biden, now at age 80, has already reached and passed
the US average male life expectancy, yet he still travels everywhere and
apparently wants to keep on doing the job for 4 more years. I do admire his
stamina. But, as I am finding out, age is more than just a number.
Are those now asserting non-traditional gender identities
really “born this way”? Yes, perhaps to some extent, but not entirely. Culture—the
conduct and example of others--as well as individual inborn tendencies, have
always guided human behavior. In that respect, conservatives may not be too far
off the mark in trying to limit their children’s exposure to alternative sex
roles and expressions, something increasingly hard to do with so much media and
internet access.
Telegraph, Trans surgery ban for children is ‘close to sinful’,
says Joe Biden
Biden has chosen the camp he wants to support. But I would have
to disagree. Trans surgery may or may not be in a child’s best interest, even
if he or she may seem to want it at an early age. Sexual identity, like any
social construct, is strongly influenced by social factors, and is not
necessarily inborn. One of the main problems with cultural issues like this,
which for any given youngster may propel them toward undergoing major and
irreversible surgery, is strong disagreement within the American public about
the right path forward. If everyone, or almost everyone, were on the same page,
either there would be or not be such a ban and most people would simply accept that
as a fact of life. A child living in Saudi Arabia is not going to be seriously
exploring sexual identity or trans surgery. But here in the US, where we remain
sharply divided on the issue, a stark option, a binary choice, exists. Yet our
laws on this, like all others, are not written in stone and gender change may
or may not be advisable for a given individual. So, delay might be the wisest
course.
As a nation, are we moving in the direction of more harmony
or greater division? Right now, it looks like toward more division, certainly regarding
whether to allow early transgender surgery—and that’s not the only social issue
under sharp disagreement. That divisiveness alone might make it advisable to defer
irreversible gender treatment and surgery at least until age 18. By then, after
having reached legal adulthood, someone might be more convinced than ever about
wanting to change their gender expression, will have had ample time to consider
it, and also may have assembled a support group for their choice. We don’t
allow those under 18 to vote, get married without parental consent, or undergo independent
surgery or medical treatment, so 18 marks legal adulthood, after which such a
life-changing and irreversible decision can then be made by the now-adult individual
directly involved. Someone can always quit college, leave their job, give a
child up for adoption, get divorced, or move to another country, but a surgical
sex change would prove irreversible.
Fox, Detransitioning rally turns violent when Antifa shows
up, participants left 'afraid' to speak out: organizer In this rather complicated story, it’s
unclear who is on what side.
AP, Sanders signs Arkansas trans care malpractice bill into
law
Des Moines Register, Iowa Poll: Majorities support bans on gender-affirming care for kids, LGBTQ teaching limits
According to a 2021 report from the Williams Institute at UCLA, there are nearly 1.2 million nonbinary people between 18 to 60 living in the United States, three-quarters of them under 30, indicating that younger folks have explored changing their gender identity to an extent that older folks have not.
Similarly, a 2022
survey by the Pew Research Center showed that 3% of young U.S. adults (ages 18 to 30) identified as
nonbinary, while 2% considered themselves transgender (around 10 to 15 million
people in total). In contrast, trans and nonbinary adults aged 50 and older, both
taken together, accounted for only 0.3% pf that age group, (around 900,000
people) Is this because of peer influence on both cohorts? That is what culture
is. None of us is an island; our example always influences others and others
also influence our own behavior and beliefs. In that respect, red-state
residents are correct in trying to limit influences on their kids, though with
social media impacting us all, that’s pretty hard to do.
USA Today, 'It's just common sense': Biden signs new executive
action expanding gun background checks President Biden went as far as he could go without congressional
approval.
NYTimes, Aggressive Medical Care Remains
Common at Life’s End
Most older cancer patients
received invasive care in the last month of their lives, a study found. That
may not be what they wanted.
A Jewish friend had invited me to
this local protest, but I was unable to attend. https://mondoweiss.net/2023/03/hundreds-protest-bezalel-smotrich-visit-in-dc/ [photo]
Mr. Smotrich was
reportedly in DC to promote Israel Bonds.
According to Wikipedia, “Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל יוֹאֵל סְמוֹטְרִיץ׳, born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli lawyer and far-right politician who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022.” Jews both in Israel and the US have been protesting recently against the Netanyahu government. Ever since
World War II, Israel has been the largest recipient of
US foreign aid.
AFP, Israelis back on streets after Netanyahu rejects reforms compromise American Jews are not the only ones opposing Netanyahu.
|
NYTimes,
House GOP
quietly halts inquiry into Trump's finances |
Mr. Trump apparently paid no income
taxes in 2020, as he had reported zero
income then.
Today, Newborn baby hospitalized after being abandoned in a
California gas station trash can ,A
25-year-old woman has been arrested in California for attempted murder and
felony child abuse. (She would not have been arrested for a late-term abortion.)
No longer do most Americans
feel sorry for childless couples or single women. An increasing number of adults
are choosing to avoid both marriage and kids. Childless folks often refer to pets
as their “babies.” Parents’ commitment to their young children is often not valued
and their own parents and other relatives may live too far away to help out or participate
in their family’s daily life. There has also been an increased focus on parents
expressing misgivings or even regret about having had kids. None of them would
give up their actual children, mind you, and would certainly make any necessary
sacrifices for them. But they are finding parenting to be less rewarding, less
celebrated, and more difficult than expected. It does take a lot of time and
personal commitment to be a good parent. That’s often the case with assuming
any long-term responsibility, including marriage. Social support for marriage
and raising children has certainly diminished—and having children is no longer
a universal and expected part of adulthood, leaving many parents feeling they
are going it alone—as they often are. But without parents and children, a society,
a nation, quite obviously cannot continue to exist. Already, a reduction in
births in north America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China is having a
negative economic and social impact there, while higher birth rates in Latin
America, Africa, and southeast Asia hold the main promise for the survival and future
of humankind. Will there be a course correction in the more developed world, if
not by producing more children, then by accepting more immigrants from the
global south?
Both the US and Europe could actually use more
immigrants right now, just not quite so many all at once. And opening the
floodgates would surely create a torrent. What do new arrivals expect to find
when they cross that magic border?
Wash. Post, Dominican Republic sending children, pregnant migrants back to Haiti
Telegraph, El Salvador super prison for gang members takes in
another 2,000 suspects
Forget
about due process, Salvadorans of my acquaintance all approve
of this move, saying they are sick and tired of dealing with the gangs.
NYTimes, Britain Is Issuing a Call to Work, With More Child Care as an Incentive
Telegraph, Priests
may not have to be celibate in future, Pope Francis suggests Although the many gays who have entered the
priesthood may not be producing any offspring, they have hardly been celibate. In
contrast, most priests in the Eastern branch of the Catholic Church are married
to women and have fathered children. Ten years into his papacy, before he
leaves this mortal coil, Francis may be considering further extending permission
for priests to marry. He had once suggested allowing married priests in the
Amazon to confront a shortage there, but pulled back in the face of protests. It
may time now to revive and expand that idea before his time is up. (And, also, how
about some female priests, or is that bridge too far?).
Wash. Post, Protests
erupt in France as Macron bypasses Parliament to raise retirement age
Reuters, Polls show Erdogan lags opposition by more than 10 points ahead of May vote
Bloomberg, Erdogan Warns Turkish Voters of ‘Disaster’ If
Opposition Wins (Disaster in Turkey has
already occurred.)
Wash. Post, Turkey expected to back Finland for NATO membership, snub Sweden
In Belarus, a 60-year-old government opponent and 2022
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ales Bialiatski, has been sentenced to 10 years. 
Tablet, Biden Is Delivering the Middle East to China
NY Times, New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market
Wash. Post, With
Russia visit, Xi pursues effort to upend U.S.-led global order
Reuters, Can China broker peace between Russia and Ukraine?
If China can cement
its peacemaker role, that will greatly boost its standing on the world stage
and perhaps even facilitate its takeover of Taiwan. (But let’s not forget how Britain
and the world were lulled into allowing China’s total control of Hong Kong?) Xi,
at age 69, is a strategic, long-term thinker and a very careful planner. And unlike
Western officials, he has an unlimited term in office.
Fox, China flexes muscles in Latin America in latest
security challenge to US This
happening right in our backyard and should be of concern to the US.
In North Korea, according to observers, the
only role for a woman is as a wife.
However, with female members of the North Korean “royal” family now being allowed to assume more expanded roles, their example may change the prospects for other North Korean women.
In contrast to women in North Korea, slightly more than half of American women are now unmarried. I count myself among them, though in my youth, most women were married or hoped to marry. I myself was married for 24 years and never wanted or expected to become divorced. Because my late former husband was blind, I thought he would always need me. Nonetheless, after I had helped him achieve success, always staying quietly in the background, he divorced me to marry a much younger woman (a common pattern). I was then freed to revive my Latin American side, neglected when I got married. And despite a subsequent serious marriage proposal, I refused to tie the knot again.
Unfortunate personal events, in my case, first a divorce, then, the untimely deaths of my son and Cuban foster son, only one year apart, impacted me greatly, especially immediately afterword. After my boys’ deaths, I was just going through the motions, reporting to my job but coming home to cry alone. Yet time does tend to soften even the worst losses, as new activities and connections start to command our attention. Joining the Peace Corps helped me greatly—a new environment, new challenges, a different language—just as I had hoped it would. A tragedy such as a divorce or a child’s premature death then becomes part of the fabric of our personal history, interwoven with other more welcome events, such as starting a new job, having a new grandchild, or reconnecting with an old friend. I have certainly not forgotten my lost boys, especially my dear son Andrew, whose gravestone rests in my backyard. But I’m no longer shedding tears daily.
Other activities began to gradually fill my days. We humans always seek out goal-oriented endeavors and useful tasks, a trait we share with animals. Nothing would be sadder than mourning a terrible loss while facing too much empty time.
Telegraph, Watch: Hundreds of South Korean dogs rescued from meat farm Humane Society International arrived to rescue the dogs from this farm to transport them to new owners in the United States. The farm’s proprietor said that then he had decided to start growing vegetables instead.
PetHelpful, Dog Has Emotional Reunion with His Mom After Being Missing for 7 Years
I love to pet cats with their soft fur, but allergies often prevent me from doing so. I’ve owned dogs before, but not lately. So, I will just post photos of local lost and found pets, enjoying them only vicariously now.
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