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Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas
June 21, 2022 The rapid gains Republican women have made since 2018 could be a signal for how the party fares in this year’s midterms Mayra Flores was sworn in on Tuesday, becoming Texas’ first Republican Latina to join Congress. Flores’ victory also sets a new milestone: A historic high of 147 women overall and a record 41 Republican women now hold congressional seats, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University. Born in Mexico to migrant farmworkers, Flores is a first-time candidate who defeated her Democratic opponent this month in Texas’s 34th congressional district, which is historically Democratic. Flores’ addition to Congress…
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What cicadas taught me about loss, mortality
By Jordan Hernandez May 25, 2021 Billions of Brood X cicadas are above ground for the first time in 17 years. After a year of loss, distance, and personal grief, it feels especially symbolic. The first time I saw a cicada, I wanted to eat it. I was 10, and well into my second summer in North Carolina after moving there from the Midwest. I had spent the day ripping holes in my denim shorts and playing in sprinklers with the neighborhood kids, and was walking home, barefoot and tired. It looked like a piece of candy. Before I could take a bite, it crumbled between my fingertips with a…
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How Back-to-School Shopping Is Like Modern Politics
Gary M. Galles August 21, 2019 As 2019’s campaign unpleasantness has accelerated (OMG—there’s still way over a year to go), many Americans have been going through another sometimes-unpleasant experience: back-to-school shopping. Seemingly overlooked, however, is that the frequent parent-child conflict of back-to-school shopping illustrates why politics expands Americans’ disunity. Parents and Children Have Different Values Parents and children value back to school items differently. And the difference is often large. That is because parents’ more practical considerations can be way out of line with children’s “where will this put me on the social pecking order at school?” concerns. And when their valuations differ substantially, requiring them to make decisions jointly…
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American Amnesia
I happen to love “today”. Little Orphan Annie sang about tomorrow, but I’m a “today” fan. Big time. We only get it once. You see, today is one unique day in all the days that will ever be. And according to actuarial tables, I don’t have many left. I want today to be peaceful, tranquil, and filled with joy. But you know, folks, I find this polarized, divisive country we live in to be incredibly annoying and distracting. I’m constantly amazed at the length people go to find fault, hate, and spew venom. All this poison attempts to invade my “today”, and although I’m pretty good at keeping it at…
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The psychology of roller coasters
BY RICHARD STEPHENS, SENIOR LECTURER IN PSYCHOLOGY, KEELE UNIVERSITY Can differences in brain chemistry explain the sensation seeking behaviour seen in theme parks? Roller coasters may seem like a very modern type of entertainment – constantly getting bigger, faster and scarier thanks to advances in technology. But they actually date back to the mid-1800s. Gravity-propelled railways built to transport coal from up in the mountains down to the town in Pennsylvania, US, were hired out at weekends by fare-paying passengers riding purely for the fun of it. Today theme parks are big business. But with queues occasionally as long as eight hours for an average ride of under two minutes – not to mention reports of…
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Friday reflections
October 19, 2018 My mom turns 74 today. A few weeks ago, my dad turned 76. Both of my parents are Libras. My brother and I are Geminis. I think my parents had a mating season-eww. Last night I got distracted on Youtube while looking for other information. I got trapped in a “Youtube vortex” and watched a video on Youtube of Vin Scully’s call of Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run for the Dodgers. The combination of Scully’s voice, Gibson pumping his fists in the air as…
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Friday Reflections-October 5, 2018
A few things I pondered on my way to work this morning: I have been under heavier surveillance since I was diagnosed with MS in 1995. Since then, someone always seems to know (or thinks they have to know) where I am, which makes sneaking around practically impossible-if I wanted to sneak around, that is. I can’t even sneak up on my own kid! Since Alex is now 16, it would be nice to be able to be less conspicuous when I need to find out what he’s doing. A point of contention for me: Even if someone, anyone, says he is listening to you, I think it’s rude for…
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How Public Schools Are Failing Our Kids
I recently read this article about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point: http://EzineArticles.com/?Life-Skills—How-Public-Schools-Are-Failing-Our-Kids&id=9765525 As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents. ************************************************************** I recently read this article about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point: As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents. about the problems public schools face, and while I agree…
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Mama, don’t let your baby grow up to be a snowflake…
I do not want to raise a kid that can’t do anything for himself. I want Alex to be able to function on his own when he goes to college in a few years, to do his own laundry-especially to get dirt stains out of baseball pants-and to manage his time so that he can study and also have fun. So far, Alex is learning most of the skills he needs, so now I am tackling the biggie-money management. One of the best lessons I did as a parent was during the summer when Alex was about 12 years old and he wanted to buy fast food all the time…
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This Cathedral for Boys, This Cathedral of Dreams
in the summertime,within the ivy-covered walls,upon the sun-drenched grass, the green, green grasswhere full grown boys lived out my dreams,in nine inning shares of timelessness,to hear the thunder of Ted Williams’ bat,to watch the smooth, smooth stride of Willie Mays,to sit in awe of lads once like me,but who grew up somewhere to become so much more,these mythic figures of a mythic game,a game once began on sandy backlots,now continued on fields in majestic ballparks,they are all grown up these once little boys,grown-up beyond the reach of mortals who wear tailored grey suits as they go to work,they live in realms of near perfection,they walk in air beyond our own,they…
