Panda trumps Pander

Give peace a chance!
(Public Domain)

Washington, D.C. has long been known for pandering to those who see things as either black or white.  It’s time for a change, and the symbol of such change has recently arrived.

China has loaned two giant pandas named Bao Li and Qing Bao to the Washington Zoo for the next ten years.  These “soft-power” furry “ambassadors” not only represent diplomacy between the two nations, but also personify the both/and possibilities of black-and-white mergers.

Many are wishing for these ambassadors to be fruitful and multiply.  Baby pandas would be wonderful, as would peace between the nations that nurture them.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/pandas-trump-back-washington-171512377.html

Testing the God Hypothesis

Dr. Stephen Meyer
(Public Domain)

Although belief in God has fallen out of favor within certain circles, Dr. Stephen Meyer is harkening back to the hypothesis that an intelligent Creator indeed exists.

During an 2021 Hoover Institution interview, Meyer declared, “We can judge the merits of a metaphysical hypothesis of a worldview by looking at the world around us, to see if it matches the expectations, what we think should follow if that hypothesis were true.”

Meyer has dedicated a huge chunk of his life to checking the God Hypothesis against the world around us.  After noting the profound intricacy of even a single human cell, he concludes that Richard Dawkins’ theory of a “blind pitiless” and fundamentally indifferent Universe seems out of kilter.

Meyer points out that the Big Bang had a beginning point, commonly called the Singularity.  He wonders what came before that... Did the Universe just suddenly and randomly arise out of sheer nothingness?

Meyer finds that to be highly unlikely, and questions the notion of nothingness itself.  He also notes that Darwin had no solid explanation for the origin of life, and no solid explanation for the complex evolutionary leaps that go far beyond mere adaptations and variations.  Meyer claims that intelligent design seems a much better theoretical match for such observations than does natural selection.

Resources

https://www.hoover.org/research/stephen-meyer-intelligent-design-and-return-god-hypothesis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISUynYz93zY

A penny saved is a penny burned

Public Domain

 

It’s kind of fitting that Lincoln is portrayed on the humble penny because he was kind of a humble president.  Today’s leaders do not seem to favor humility, and the penny might soon be extinct.

Thus speaketh Elon Musk, who claims that it costs three cents to produce every one-cent coin.  Translated into DOGEse, doing away with pennies could mean a governmental savings of almost $200 million per year.  

What then would happen with a purchase of, say, $4.51?  Theoretically, the shopkeeper would round it down to $4.50.  However, we’re talking human nature here.  Rounding up to the nearest nickel could easily become the norm.  In that case, consumers would likely be paying for the governmental savings.

It was Ben Franklin who originally claimed that a penny saved is a penny earned.  His monetary portrayal will likely last way longer than Lincoln’s since $100 bills are still coveted by the powers that be.

Resources

https://www.barrons.com/articles/eliminate-penny-elon-musk-doge-462b003b

 

One and Done?

(Fair Use)

Although cats are said to have nine lives, cat women may only have one.  It might therefore behoove them to utilize that singular gift wisely by focusing upon inner beauty.

That doesn’t seem to be what Jocelyne Wildenstein prioritized.  Also known as “Catwoman” due to the feline-looking results of her multiple cosmetic surgeries, Wildenstein recently died on New Year's Eve.  She had been napping in anticipation of dinner out on the Parisian town, then never woke up.

At age 79 and counting, her death was deemed “unexpected.”  Perhaps if death had been a bit more expected - or even anticipated - a profound inner life may have prevailed.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/entertainment/cosmetic-surgery-aficionado-jocelyne-wildenstein-190942270.html

 

Oh, HENRY!

Don't bite off more than you can chew...
(Public Domain)

As long as we’ve come up with stereotypical  Karens, we might as well add some HENRYs to the mix.

Whereas “Karen” is a caricature, HENRY is actually an acronym for “High Earners, Not Rich Yet.”  Although their annual salaries generally range from $250,000 to $500,000, this does not translate into substantial savings.

Considered to be “asset-poor,” HENRYs are often overwhelmed by locked-in debts and taxes.  Their keeping-up-with-the-Joneses lifestyle is by no means cheap.

So what’s a HENRY to do?  Can a simpler path be followed?  Perhaps not easily and perhaps not immediately, yet some movement toward economic and egoic downsizing might greatly help.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/finance/news/6-figure-salary-still-don-190220885.html

Dogged Resistance

Portraits of
Deceased Chernobyl Liquidators
(Photo by MHM55) 

There’s something to be said for dogged resilience, especially when coupled with dogged resistance to radioactivity.

Stray dogs have continued to inhabit the Chernobyl “radioactive wasteland” ever since the 1986 disaster.  Generations of them have passed, yet they continue to thrive. 

Scientific research has indicated that these canines have somehow developed a genetic resistance to toxic radiation.  And they are not the only ones…  “Mutant wolves” within that same locale “were reported to have developed cancer resistance,” and neighboring frogs had developed protective “darker skin.”

This could bode well for the chances of human survival under such deadly conditions.  Yet why tempt nuclear proliferation with this seemingly positive prediction?

Resources

https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/bya8vodvyl

 

Brown Snow

Look out, Frosty!
(Fair Use)

You don’t want to be playing around in yellow snow, and brown snow sounds worse yet.

The latter recently plagued folks living in Rumford, Maine.  As the nearby mill began spewing black liquor, “a byproduct of paper production,” the snow began turning tannish-brown. 

Although town officials claimed this byproduct to be “non-toxic,” they also warned about “skin irritation,” “touching the snow,” plus keeping “children and pets away from it.”  So why the concern if all is merry and bright?

Not to worry…  Subsequent rains will likely wash the stuff down river.  One region’s relief will then be another region’s concern.

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-12-11-residents-outraged-after-town-covered-in-brown-snow/?mid=1399727&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline5_readmore