A Random Assortment

~ Subsidizing Spouses:

A closer look, however, shows that pro-marriage policies are not necessarily pro-family policies, because they don’t consistently reward effort devoted to caring for dependents such as children and the elderly.  

A stay-at-home spouse who redecorates the living room, prepares gourmet meals and greets his or her partner at the door with a martini receives the same federal income tax treatment as one who raises several children and cares for sick, disabled or elderly family members.   

        ...

Whether or not we shift toward individual taxation, we should consider adding new pro-family features to our tax policies, including an expanded child tax credit, a similar tax credit for care of an ill, disabled, or elderly family member (recently proposed in New Jersey),an increase in the deductibility of child and dependent care expenses (currently capped at far below actual expenditures) and caregiver credits that would minimize the loss of Social Security retirement benefits for individuals taking time out of paid employment to care for family members.

~ This description of visiting Whole Foods made me laugh (and fits right in with my skepticism of dietary restrictions--I'm not saying that some people don't have them; I'm just saying I start from the place of doubt that you are one of them):

Next I see the gluten-free section filled with crackers and bread made from various wheat-substitutes such as cardboard and sawdust. I skip this isle because I'm not rich enough to have dietary restrictions. Ever notice that you don't meet poor people with special diet needs? A gluten intolerant house cleaner? A cab driver with Candida?  

~ Hannah Arendt, Augustinian.  (What I'm writing about, too, these days.) (via Hopkins)

~ From the Pope's recent interview (I give you so many quotations because the whole thing is wonderful):

Belonging to a people has a strong theological value. In the history of salvation, God has saved a people. There is no full identity without belonging to a people. No one is saved alone, as an isolated individual, but God attracts us looking at the complex web of relationships that take place in the human community. God enters into this dynamic, this participation in the web of human relationships 

.... 

“I see clearly,” the pope continues, “that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds.... And you have to start from the ground up. 

... 

“We must not focus on occupying the spaces where power is exercised, but rather on starting long-run historical processes. We must initiate processes rather than occupy spaces. God manifests himself in time and is present in the processes of history. This gives priority to actions that give birth to new historical dynamics. And it requires patience, waiting. 

... 

“Yes, in this quest to seek and find God in all things there is still an area of uncertainty. There must be. If a person says that he met God with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then this is not good. For me, this is an important key. If one has the answers to all the questions—that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble. Uncertainty is in every true discernment that is open to finding confirmation in spiritual consolation.

He's smart and loving and loves art. This is wonderful.

~ Arendt in contemporary art.