Warm humid weather has prevailed during recent days in our little corner of W Va. The daytime outside temperature has been peaking in the '80's F. Yet so far, inside our house, we aren't feeling too warm; certainly I am not. With our high indoor temperature often only 65 F, I actually have been feeling rather cold and often wear a sweator I am usually home all day alone with just the dog and keep the central air conditioning turned off. I am definitely "friolenta," a Spanish term that Merriam-Webster defines as "some one noticeably sensitive to cold." Most men seem less sensitive. As soon as he comes home, my son
turns on the A/C full blast once again.
Here is a photo of a couple mentioned on the last posting, my Brazilian-born friend, 60-year-old Salvador,
withhis 40-year-old wife from Vietnam living together now in N Carolina after his 2-year effort to bring her
here.
What do you think about having Trump's face carved on Mt. Rushmore for future generations to see and to revere? That idea is being seriously floated by Mr. Trump and his advisers. Isn't it enough that we have to endure his presidency for 3 1/2 more years? If Rushmore were put to a vote, it would lose, at least, I would certainly hope so. (My Trump-supporting son has not offered his opinion.)
Mint, Donald Trump wants his face on Mount Rushmore—But experts reveal reasons it’s nearly impossible President Trump’s renewed push to add his face to Mount Rushmore faces overwhelming obstacles. Geologists warn that the rock’s cracks and fragile structure could destabilize the monument, while the National Park Service insists there
is no safe space left..
And do we really want to see Trump's face up there in perpetuity?
Polls show that Donald Trump's approval rating remains consistently underwater, but not so far under as to spark any widespread rebellion against him. The US is just sort of stagnating along, with many unhappy would-be voters like myself unsure quite what to do next. As mentioned last time on this blog, I've even considered leaving the US for the duration of Trump's presidency. That might be considered copping out, but I'm not alone in thinking about leaving.
PBS, Researchers warn U.S. is on the ‘precipice’ of brain drain as Trump cuts federal grants
Yahoo News
Reuters, Trump says he wants interest rate cut to 1%, would 'love' if Powell resigned
.
America's Trump-Fueled Brain Drain Benefits Canada
Trump has also called Powell "stupid,'' hoping that by loudly expressing such views, he will then influence the market and will also spur Jerome Powell's early resignation.
Not to worry in any case, because Trump has declared, "We can do whatever we want." But what exactly does he want?
NBC New, 'Insane and destructive': Elon Musk resumes attacks on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
This big bill's beauty is apparently in the eye of the beholder, in this case, that of Donald Trump.
Last-minute changes to Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' stun clean energy industry (and Elon Musk)
Musk has dubbed Republicans the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
Right after taking office in January, Trump, a harsh Cuba critic, revoked the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. He has also partially restricted the emtry of people fom Cuba.
We'd all be better off now if Mr. Trump spent more time out on the golf course.
Many single or divorced women have raised kids alone. I actually did so myself. The only men I've ever known raising kids alone have been gay, and often their kids have been deliberately conceived with a surrogate whose medical and other expenses were covered. I also have a daughter and her daughter who are both single mothers. Neither may have sought to have a child alone, but each took on the responsibility willingly without relying on any assistance from the father. (Since then, my granddaughter has said she wouldn't want to have another child unless a father would be sticking around to help. Her son's father had died young, leaving no benefits for his son.)
These days, it has become quite common for women to be raising kids without a father's help, nothing to arouse any particular notice. Several women working now alongside my son at the CoolFont resort always bring along their child or children (one or 2) to work with them on holidays or weekends, having no partner to take over child care. The kids usually read books or engage in drawing or other quiet activities. Yet if a single man were raising a child alone, that would invoke effusive praise. Of course, it takes both a man and a woman to produce a child and women should not be left with the entire or most of the responsibility, as so often happens. More needs to be done to encourage men to step up to do their part.
My son is a single father, but has not been the custodial father for either of his sons by 2 different marriages, although he has provided them both with financial support. It would benefit families and society to have more fathers take on both more financial and more emotional support for their kids whether born within or outside of marriage. Ideally, fathers and mothers would raise their kids together, but I'm not sure of how to facilitate more paternal involvement whatever the marital arrangement. Fathers' contributions need to be valued more both by men and by mothers.
Having combed through several online photo galleries of families with children, I have yet to see a family depicted there with more than 2 children. Two kids sems to have become a defacto maximum for many American families, even among most actual families of my acquaintance. Look around you. Do you know any families with more than 2 kids? Birth control, abortion, and mothers' employment have accelerated this trend. Only in Latin America have I met families with even 3 children. No longer are families now raising 12 kids as my own great-grandparents once did (10 boys, 2 girls) while living out on a farm in southern Alberta.
Though overpopulation has been a concern ever since the time of Malthus, that concern is no longer valid. Abortion and birth control have helped make smaller families possible, with many families overcorrecting and overcompensating now for the fears once expressed by Malthus. Depopulation is actually considered a greater threat now in several countries where bonuses and benefits are being offered for infant births. Whether such benefits are actually promoting more births is unclear. Probably family size these days depends not only on financial incentives, but on cultural factors, such as the social value of having children and whether women still regard birthing and raising children as something important and worthwhile.
Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total human population has continued to grow but projections suggest this long-term trend may be coming to an end.
Source:Wikipedia
As per the last blog posting, in the animal kingdom, we see many females, alone or in groups, raising offspring with no male in sight. Is that just a normal state of affairs, perhaps the result of evolution, or rather something calling for correction now when occurring even among people? Or should we just accept a more matriarchal society even among humans as the new normal? And does that mean that fathers' roles will diminish even further? Is Dad now just a sperm donor? While it has become more accepted everywhere for a woman to be raising children alone, a woman and her offspring dependent on a father certainly has a long history as well. Gender roles have differed sharply in the past, with mothers typically taking on the daily care of offspring and fathers providing financial support, although these days many mothers are doing it all by themselves, but usually for only one or 2 kids. It does seem that human families in the aggregate are undergoing major changes right now, not only by having fewer or even no kids, but also with less father involvement either financially or in the daily life of mothers and children. What does this mean for men and also for families? We are still finding out.
Beyond fathers' involvement in parenting, another uniquely human concern is suicide. As far as we know, no other creature tries to kill itself. However, some animals may refuse to eat during periods of apparent loss or stress.
And now for international news.
As one of his first acts after taking office in January, Trump, a harsh Cuba critic, revoked the Biden administration's decision to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. Trump has also partially restricted the entry of people from Cuba.
LA Times, Suicide car bombing in Pakistan kills 14 soldiers and wounds 25 bystanders
And here's some local news.
West Va. Metro News, Charges upgraded to murder in Berkeley County shooting case
When 2 young men under age 21 got into an argument while riding in a car in Martinsburg, just a stone's throw from where we live now, one of them, Elias Jenkins, grabbed a handy gun and shot the other in the head, which led to his death. Should a loaded handgun have been kept so readily available? I would certainly say no, as many suicides, accidents, and also impulse killings such as this one have taken place just because a loaded gun was there on hand. Now one young man is dead and the other faces murder charges. These 2 apparently had been close friends before.
