scattershot Sunday

[tielan]

Assorted articles from everywhere and about everything.

Happiness Expert Declares Women Happier Without Children Or A Spouse

Generally speaking. Of course, the place where I saw this linked then had plenty of people who claimed they were perfectly okay, thankyouverymuch, along with several 'longing-to-be-married-with-children' woman saying this didn't apply to them. As a general rule a woman is more likely to be happy if she is unmarried and without children. The instant someone brings "but I..." then we have moved from the general to the specific and the generalisation no longer applies...

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50,000 Americans dead, and the president who refuses to mourn them.

And now it's double that.

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How Australia feels about the way their Government has handled the crisis

Mostly, Australians think Scott Morrison has been doing a pretty good job.

Thing is, that's mostly because the two most populous states - NSW and Victoria - moved ahead of the federal government to initiate distancing measures. NSW is rescinding their restrictions as of this weekend - including schools - and I guess we'll see about the COVID-19 related physical/health flare ups in children after that, but Victoria is holding the course.

Victoria's state government is of the opposite party to the NSW state government. And the NSW state government is the same party as the Federal government.

Do you see the pattern of politics here?

Oh, and our Federal Treasurer somehow managed to overestimate the amount that be needed for the JobKeeper payments to businesses to the tune of $60 billion dollars. So, haha, look, suddenly there's money for the Federal budget and they're in the black! THEY ARE THE PARTY OF "GOOD ECONOMIC MANAGMENT", PEOPLES!

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Pandemic, Parents, and Schools [coronavirus2020, edu, p/a/s, Patreon]

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The Art Of Dying

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Churches And Leaders Who Are Bullies

Yes, it happens. And yes it needs to be dealt with.

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Ravi Zacharias died last week. He was a big name in Christian circles around the place. There's also scandal and accusations surrounding his name - as there is with almost every leader ever. And amidst the glowing praise for him by many, and the complete running down of him by others, I feel that a truth is lost: he was a sinner and he hurt people; he was also a gifted evangelist and encouraged many. Neither of these things eliminates the other, both are important to who he was as a person, a Christian, and a leader.

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Prepare For The Ultimate Gaslighting

Regarding the change in the world during Coronavirus, before it's all lost.

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The Last Homage: Forensic Cleaners Pay Their Respects

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letters from Australia: Watching America in Horror From a Curve-Flattened Australia

Written in late April, it's just gotten worse since then.

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The prospect of a travel bubble

There were plans for a travel bubble between Australia and NZ. Could it work?

(For Australians and NZers...probably. For other countries....much harder. For regions of America...much harder.

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letters from Australia: racing against the virus

In the light of Australia's fairly successful initial response to the virus, I think this is particularly relevant concerning the likely 'second wave'. The rush that we were expecting - that we saw in other western countries - didn't materialise. But next week public schools in NSW go back almost universally - very abruptly, after only 1 week of a 'staggered return' when they were promised 3 weeks.

Interestingly, I have friends who think that the push is because of the parents appealing for schools to go back. And someone else I spoke  to (whose 2 kids are adults in their 20s) seemed worried about the kids 'missing out' on the learning they need...

Me? I think from the government's perspective, it's about the money. The parents may think it's for them, but mostly it's so the government can get them back to work and take as many people off the dole as possible. And I'm a cynic when it comes to western governments and who controls the legislation. It's usually who has the money.

Comments

[queenbookwench]

I’m glad you guys haven’t had such an awful time with the virus, especially after all the wildfires.

And I’m kinda jealous that your terrible PM hasn’t ruined _everything_. Like, I would like a Jacinda Ardern but I think I’d accept a Scott Morrison at this point...

I should read that article about Zacharias; I haven’t thought about him in ages, but he was a V Big Deal in my evangelical youth.

[tielan]

Well, we'd all like a Jacinda Ardern. :)

The settling of the death/infection rate has been a big relief to us - and is particularly apt on a day when the NYT is publishing 1000 names of people who've died from COVID-19. I can't imagine the frustration of having to watch my country implode - and demand their personal right to implode and take others with them. It's bad enough being frustrated with our state premier, who seems to be rushing things back to 'normal' simply because we 'have it under control'. If this thing comes back, we'll be fighting off the back foot and it won't be pretty...

The Ravi Zacharias turned up on my FB feed c/o a friend's FB post about how the church should deal with influential Christian leaders who've fucked up, specifically in a context of grace and godliness.

'Cancel culture' demands that they fall from grace and their body of work be buried and never spoken of again; the alternative seems to be eternal sainthood and not even the entertaining of such an idea or else it forever ruins their reputation.

[deird1]

I feel that a truth is lost: he was a sinner and he hurt people; he was also a gifted evangelist and encouraged many. Neither of these things eliminates the other, both are important to who he was as a person, a Christian, and a leader.

Wise and important words.

People are complicated, and messy, and terrible, and beautiful all at once.