Couples Who Remain Childfree
Psychology Today reports: About one in four people choose to remain child-free, and surveys show they’re just as satisfied with their lives as parents are. The major difference: How they are judged by others.
I believe that “how they are judged by others” is changing rapidly, and that whatever stigma was once attached to “remaining childfree” has been greatly reduced if not completely eliminated in recent years.
My theory here is that world events: the pandemic, Russia, Trump/coup attempt, the environment, financial desperation, nuclear weapons saber-rattling, etc. are so disturbing that a decision not to bring kids into such a place makes a great deal of sense to many people.
Progressives in the United States, in general, wish they could fashion their country after Northern Europe. Scandinavians pay slightly higher taxes, but they have governments that work for all the people, not just the rich.
It’s nice to have parks in otherwise densely packed cities, but their absence isn’t ruining the planet.
Fittingly, Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt, career oil and gas lobbyist, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt, rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, and describes himself as a “leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda,” promptly went to work dismantling as much regulation as possible. 
I had a talk earlier today with an old friend who brought up the idea of letting the deep red states secede from the union.
Mark Meadows has been removed from North Carolina’s voter roll as state officials investigate allegations that he committed voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The ultra-right-wing Hillsdale College is known for its “surveys” that are essentially propaganda and fund-raising not-so-cleverly disguised as market research. Here’s a question from their survey on the Electoral College, which they favor, as it’s the only way that extreme conservatives have a chance of winning the presidency:
Here’s RMI’s 
In a recent post 
I know I’ve commented on this before, but I thought this defense attorney made a point worth repeating:
