Separating children from their families

Rob Rogers

A reminder

Mobility Lab

Don't forget the joy of driving.

Barbara Pym

“Of course it’s all right for librarians to smell of drink." — Barbara Pym

Thanks to Dwight Garner.

How religion poisons everything #1

The abortion issue is a good example of how "religion poisons everything." One of our two major political parties has long been dominated by Christian fanatics who want to force women and girls to have babies for theological reasons.

Which reminds me of the minor kerfuffle the other day when it was reported that the Trump administration will be taxing churches for their parking lots.

Recall that churches in general in the US aren't taxed because...

Churches and religious organizations, like other charities, provide a social benefit to society. They minister to the needy and poor in their communities, and they provide an influence on society that helps to reduce crime and encourage good citizenship.

On the other hand, they encourage religious crackpots to indulge in the behavior described in the video above, not to mention encouraging a completely false sense of reality about human origins and development, based on so-called sacred texts written by men---always men---who thought the earth was the center of the universe and didn't know where the sun went at night.

Tax the churches on their income and their property. 

Make the True Believers support their superstitions without taxpayer subsidy.

Transit-induced gentrification

San Diego Union-Tribune

From the NRDC:

...In California, we can see how transit-induced gentrification works. One study recently conducted by the San Diego Union-Tribune looked at urban areas statewide (San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area) and found that over the past five years, nearly 400 new multifamily buildings had either gone up or were under construction within half a mile of a transit stop. Median family income in these neighborhoods averaged less than $64,000. 

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment, meanwhile, was more than $3,500. And in nearly 20 percent of these neighborhoods, the median household income was less than $30,000—but the average rent on a two-bedroom apartment was still more than $3,300. 

That, suffice it to say, is an untenable situation for the average renter and a recipe for displacement...

Thanks to Planetizen.