Undercover Nun

Increasing blog readership in one easy step!

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:37:00 -0400

Increasing blog readership in one easy step!:

That step? Use one or more of the words that trigger the Department of Homeland Security to monitor your blog or web site. What might those words be? There’s a list… and it’s such a great list!

So next time you want to talk about viruses and malware on the Internet, to encourage people to be prepared for hurricanes or tornadoes, to recommend traveling by Amtrak instead of having to go through a humiliating body scanner at the airport, or even to apologize for not blogging because of your miserable bout of stomach flu that came on from eating bad pork — get as many of these keywords in as you can! Then you know that analysts at the Department of Homeland Security will be reading your blog. More hits! More pageviews! Maybe they’ll even click a banner ad or two! After all, if you do this right, those fractions of pennies of ad revenue could really pile up.

Happy Towel Day!

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:07:32 -0400

Happy Towel Day!

Obama spending binge never happened

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:52:28 -0400

Obama spending binge never happened:

Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending, an “inferno” of spending that threatens our jobs, our businesses and our children’s future. Even Democrats seem to think it’s true.

But it didn’t happen. Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s.

Even hapless Herbert Hoover managed to increase spending more than Obama has.

Here are the facts, according to the official government statistics:

In the 2009 fiscal year — the last of George W. Bush’s presidency — federal spending rose by 17.9% from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. Check the official numbers at the Office of Management and Budget.

In fiscal 2010 — the first budget under Obama — spending fell 1.8% to $3.46 trillion.

In fiscal 2011, spending rose 4.3% to $3.60 trillion.

In fiscal 2012, spending is set to rise 0.7% to $3.63 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.

Finally in fiscal 2013 — the final budget of Obama’s term — spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion. Read the CBO’s latest budget outlook.

Over Obama’s four budget years, federal spending is on track to rise from $3.52 trillion to $3.58 trillion, an annualized increase of just 0.4%.

There has been no huge increase in spending under the current president, despite what you hear.

Holy cow. It amazes me how many people do not know that every...

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:45:03 -0400

Holy cow. It amazes me how many people do not know that every year, heat kills more people than cold does.

And you wonder why I think air conditioning should be one of those inalienable rights in the D-of-I.

Amen.

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:40:44 -0400

Amen.

Study: The Objectification of Women Is a Real, Measurable Phenomenon

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:37:59 -0400

Study: The Objectification of Women Is a Real, Measurable Phenomenon:

PROBLEM: Women’s bare bodies are on display in billboards, movie posters, and many other kinds of ads. Though plenty of studies have looked at the ramifications of this pervasive sexual objectification, it’s unclear if we see near-naked people as human beings or if we really do view them as mere objects.

METHODOLOGY: Researchers led by Philippe Bernard presented participants pictures of men and women in sexualized poses, wearing a swimsuit or underwear, one by one on a computer screen. Since pictures of people present a recognition problem when they’re turned upside down, but images of objects don’t have that problem, some of the photos were presented right side up and others upside down. After each picture, there was a second of black screen before each participant was shown two images and was asked to choose the one that matched the one he or she had just seen.

RESULTS: The male and female subjects matched the photos similarly. They recognized right-side-up men better than upside-down men, suggesting that they saw the sexualized men as persons. On the contrary, the women in underwear weren’t any harder to recognize when they appeared upside down, indicating that the sexy women were consistently identified as objects.

CONCLUSION: People objectify women in sexualized photos, but not men.

SOURCE: The full study, “Integrating Sexual Objectification With Object Versus Person Recognition: The Sexualized-Body-Inversion Hypothesis,” is published in the journal Psychological Science.

anorable: this is literally exactly what I look...

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:32:26 -0400

anorable:

this is literally exactly what I look like

That’s right: Jesus died on the cross that we might have bacon, and have it abundantly. Praise God!

There is probably a parallel in scripture to the man who answers the phone at our regular...

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:31:35 -0400

There is probably a parallel in scripture to the man who answers the phone at our regular Chinese-delivery-place recognizing my voice, knowing where we live, and remembering that I always use a card to pay. However, I suspect many would balk at the idea of Jesus as the Good Chinese Delivery Restaurant.

Defense, the F-22, and the US Budget

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:16:35 -0400

Defense, the F-22, and the US Budget:

politicalprof:

So the hottest plane in the US arsenal is the F-22. There’s a picture of it below. Technically, it’s a marvel: it has stealth capacity; it can fly supersonic without afterburners — it’s a dominating machine. Indeed, it’s hard to call what would happen if the F-22 got into a fight with another aircraft a “dogfight”: the other aircraft would probably be destroyed before its pilot even knew a fight was on.

Unfortunately — at least now — the F-22 was built to shoot down Soviet fighters over central Poland, or Chinese fighters over the Taiwan Strait. It was most decidedly NOT designed to find and target enemy forces like the Taliban. It flies too fast and too high to be at all useful for such a mission.

Which is sort of a problem these days since, of course, there isn’t a Soviet Union anymore, and China has delayed producing its next generation of fighters for decades. So the F-22 is a plane without a mission. In fact, in the 11 years the United States has had forces committed in Afghanistan, the F-22 has flown precisely 0 combat missions. As in: none.

The thing is, the plane is ungodly expensive. Depending on how one accounts for it, it runs something like $400 million … each. (We’re buying more than 600 of them.) Plus, as is the way of things, super expensive technology is also super expensive to maintain. It’s a huge cost in the US budget.

Oh: and it turns out that the F-22 has just been grounded … or at least its operations have been severely restricted. As it happens, its oxygen system doesn’t work properly, and pilots have complained. (Running out of oxygen at 40,000 feet is a problem, I agree.)

What the F-22 is, then, is a $400,000,000 airplane with nothing to do that can’t even do that successfully.

So the next time you hear someone say we have to balance the budget with social welfare cuts but have to protect defense spending, just say “F-22” to them. When they complain and kvetch and insist we have to maintain our defense against enemies like the Taliban, just say “F-22” to them. When they promise that technology is the answer, just whisper, softly, “F-22.”

Not that it will work. Because now we’re building the F-35. At $130 million each (or so), they’re a relative bargain. So to enhance our savings, we’re planning to buy 2400 of the things.

But remember: there’s no waste or excess in the defense budget. It’s all necessary to keep you safe from underwear bombers.

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. — Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Every fighter jet that is ordered and built is a theft from our schoolchildren, from our homeless, from our widows and orphans.

May God have mercy on us all.

What is the meaning of life?

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:05:41 -0400

Well, that’s a great question! If we knew, we wouldn’t have to live it, right? Learning this is one of those pieces of work that takes a lifetime.

I know that sounds like a bit of a cop-out, and it probably is. If you’ve read me for a while, you know that my favorite heresy is universalism, believing that God will invite every single one of us into the kingdom of heaven, that nobody will be condemned. Many think that this — and its extreme polar opposite, predestination — implies that nothing we do in this world matters. If everyone will be saved (or if God has already decided whether each of us is saved or condemned), then the question isn’t so much what is the meaning of life, but is there a meaning of life?

Yes. Yes, there is. When God created humans, God looked at Creation and called it very good. We know that life has meaning because God calls life into being, breathes life into us all, and says that we are very good.

And while I don’t believe that our choices here in this world affect God’s extravagant love and forgiveness, I also reject the notion that these choices are meaningless. Everything we do in this world matters: in this world. Our choices shape who we are, affect the people around us, and change the world in which we live. Holding onto fear, anger, and grudges harms us more than it harms anyone else. Making good and godly choices for our thoughts, words, and actions has great effects on us and on the world around us. Sin still grieves God, when we do harm to ourselves and others. Living in right relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ brings rejoicing to God and to all the host of heaven.

So what is the meaning of life? God has called it very good. God has poured out life — abundant life! — for us, and gives us everything we need to reflect that very-good-ness to the world around us.

Whew!

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:45:04 -0400

So we’re back from our trip to Canada, to visit the Mister Sister’s family. It was a wonderful visit, and I’m exhausted.

One thing I learned is that, in Canada, Voltaren gel is available over the counter. Because it’s prescription-only in the US, I hadn’t ever tried it before. IT IS WONDERFUL. If I didn’t already have the Mr.Sr., I would marry it and have little Voltaren babies.

In other news, my brain gets silly when I’m exhausted. What a surprise!

"How do you write for children? I really have never figured that out. So I decided to just ignore it."

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:59:43 -0400

“How do you write for children? I really have never figured that out. So I decided to just ignore it.”

- Maurice Sendak, who died today at 83, discusses creativity and his latest work, ‘Bumble-Ardy,’ in an interview with The Atlantic. (via theatlantic)

"Live your Life. Live your Life. Live your Life."

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:58:54 -0400

“Live your Life. Live your Life. Live your Life.”

- Maurice Sendak has died. We’re changing the entire show today to remember him. This quote is from his most recent Fresh Air appearance last year. (via nprfreshair)

RIP, Maurice Sendak

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:57:07 -0400

Almighty God, grant eternal rest unto him; let light perpetual shine upon him

"Life is more than knowledge about the laws of life; and in the same way the fellowship of Christ and..."

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:26:17 -0400

“Life is more than knowledge about the laws of life; and in the same way the fellowship of Christ and fellowship with one another are more than knowledge about its conditions. The Lord’s supper takes place on the basis of an invitation which is as open as the outstretched arms of Christ on the cross. Because he died for the reconciliation of ‘the world’, the world is invited to reconciliation in the supper. It is not the openness of this invitation, it is the restrictive measures of the churches which have to be justified before the face of the crucified Jesus. But which of us can justify them in his sight? The openness of the crucified Lord’s invitation to his supper and his fellowship reaches beyond the frontiers of Christianity; for it is addressed to ‘all nations’ and to ‘tax-collectors and sinners’ first of all. Consequently we understand Christ’s invitation as being open, not merely to the churches but to the whole world.”

- Jurgen Moltmann (via azspot)

"It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their..."

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:25:08 -0400

“

It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls.

It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution.

It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small.

It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war.

It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes.

It is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation.

It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.

If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women’s rights - and women’s rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely - and the right to be heard.

”

- Hillary Clinton (from ‘Women’s Rights Are Human Rights’ Speech Beijing, China: 5 September 1995)” (via funny-bunnies)

*stands up and applauds*

reblog if you feel like it

Mon, 07 May 2012 09:04:42 -0400

Meh. It’s Monday morning. I don’t feel like anything, except going back to bed.

Monday? Undercover Nun is praying for your immortal soul.

Several of these appear to be recommendations for those on the...

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:59:00 -0400

Several of these appear to be recommendations for those on the autism spectrum rather than mere introverts. Many (most?) on the spectrum are introverts, but the opposite is not the case.

What the Data Actually Say About Illegal Immigration

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:53:58 -0400

What the Data Actually Say About Illegal Immigration:

We are not being flooded with illegal Mexican migrants. The total number of migrants from Mexico has varied very little since the 1950s. The massive influx many have written about never happened.

Net illegal migration has stopped almost completely.

Illegal migration has not stopped because of stricter border enforcement, which Massey characterizes as a waste of money at best and counterproductive at worst.

There are indeed more undocumented Mexicans living in the United States than there were 20 years ago, but that is because fewer migrants are returning home — not because more are sneaking into the country.

And the reason that fewer Mexican citizens are returning home is because we have stepped up border enforcement so dramatically.

Mull over that last point for a minute. If Congress had done nothing to secure the border over the last two decades — if it had just left the border alone — there might be as many as 2 million fewer Mexicans living in the United States today, Massey believes.

Sigh. I’ve noticed that it’s almost always counterproductive to make a spectacle of enforcing something. And we sure do love our security theater here in the US, don’t we?

Botanical sexism makes me miserable.

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:40:23 -0400

Botanical sexism makes me miserable.:

Yes, you read that correctly. Have you wondered why seasonal allergies seem to be so much worse? Blame your municipality.

There’s a biological war of the sexes raging in Ottawa’s trees, and people with pollen allergies are the casualties.

A huge majority of the trees here — and in many Canadian and U.S. cities — are male.

Female trees are messy. They are the ones whose flowers go on to produce nuts, seed pods, apples and other seed-carrying debris that people don’t like to sweep up off decks and patios or scoop out of clogged [gutters].

So growers have switched to supplying male trees, which don’t produce seeds.

Instead, the male trees produce pollen. And that aggravates allergies.

So how can we make it better?

Go with more female trees for a healthier environment, he suggests. Not only do they not produce pollen, but they attract it and clean the air of the tiny particles, and even smaller particles of airborne soot from vehicles that cling to them.

Male trees, Undercover Nun is praying for your immortal souls. :-)