The weather is certainly changeable. Last week we were ending a five day heatwave. This week the temperatures have been (mostly) below normal. We debated whether we should carry sweaters to the fair and the wind was cool coming off the lake. I overheard one other fair goer on her cell phone telling someone they should bring a jacket for the evening grandstand show. We hadn't decided what order to have the chicken soup Mom is making and the chef salad--which one today and which tomorrow. Well, the weather people say tomorrow's temperatures may not get out of the sixties. That decided the matter. Salad today (high 70s or low 80s) and soup tomorrow. I found a couple of nice cherry tomatoes that should be fully ripe and a couple of sweet peppers. Both will do well in our salad.
I pulled the beans yesterday--few flowers and fewer beans. I have never had such a low production. I definitely will not put beans in next year. I made some changes that did make it easier to reach some of the areas but I need to make some more changes. Oh, well--that is what the winter is for.
Mom read an article a while ago giving details of the eugenics/sterilization programs in several states and was surprised that the programs continued for a long time after WWII. The Nazi programs gave eugenics a blacker name among a broader segment of Americans than before the war. But several states, including North Carolina, continued to sterilize people--forcibly and/or without informing them of what was being done to them. Now North Carolina is providing some compensation to the victims after having apologized in 2002. Very little and way too late but at least some recognition of the injustice.
Another case of way too little and way too late. I wonder how the fines compare to a single day's profits.
So enrollments at for-profit and community colleges dropped by 2% last school year and are expected to continue for some time to come. The decline is expected to hit non-profit and traditional schools next year as well. They cite two factors: the decline in the college age population and the improving job market drawing away the non-traditional age students. First, I don't see an improving job market. Too many of the jobs "created" are low wage and dead end. Few require advanced education. I hope the decline indicates more people taking a hard headed look at the touted advantages of advanced degrees and deciding that they aren't worth the debt load. Second, I have seen some stories that indicate a shift among the families of college age kids as well. They are looking at more lower cost alternatives as well they should. The parents aren't willing to hock everything on the off chance (only a bit better than a lottery ticket) that the kids will find appropriate jobs with the kind of salary that will allow them to pay off the loan and live comfortably as well as provide traditional benefits. Maybe a "great re-evaluation" of higher ed is under way. I can only hope.
We have seen news stories for the last little while that indicated a plea deal for Ariel Castro was in negotiations. Mom wondered what he could possibly expect to gain. I thought it was likely a guilty plea in exchange for no death penalty and he would be sentenced to life without parole. I was right. I didn't expect life without parole plus 1000 years.
I found this on The Agonist. So appropriate.
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