Tariffs, gentlemen, English, Vance, & religion. Plus more comfort food!
RWL #433
Greetings from The University of New Hampshire! Have I mentioned it’s internship season? I got this cute idea of having the students pose with this sign with their internship site on it from my friend Joe T. who does this at Texas State. The locations are starting to roll in - I have 17/26 students placed as of this evening, with three more pretty much locked in - so I feel like I’m rounding the bend! My goal is to have them all placed by spring break, which is March 17, so I have just shy of 5 weeks to get the rest settled. If you’re looking for a fabulous, well-trained student to intern in your healthcare organization this summer, let me know!
We got hit with another 10 inches of snow last Sunday as I was writing my last post, and we’re expecting a significant storm tonight. This is a real New Hampshire winter. We’ve had a few climate-changy winters and I have to say, it’s a bit of a relief to be back to normal this year. I love the snow, once I have it off my driveway and the town has it off the roads. It’s just beautiful in a cozy kind of way. Speaking of cozy, I came across this recipe for a healthy(er), homemade version of Hamburger Helper! Hamburger Helper was one of my favorite childhood foods. My mom didn’t make it that often because it was obvious, even in the 70’s, that was hyper processed, industrial food-complex bad for you. But it was mmm-mmm-good! I hadn’t eaten it in a couple of decades, but then I found this recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Skinny Taste, and I was like, I have to make this. It was fantastic! All the greasy gooeyness of childhood, but kinda healthy. I even made it with whole wheat rotini! If Hamburger Helper was the taste of your working class childhood, check this healthy(er) version out! (I mean, it’s still fried ground beef…) Just don’t let RFK to near - he would totally ruin this reunion for me.
Things are actually a little challenging here at UNH right now. President Chilton announced a $20M budget shortfall. All of us are looking now for ways to find cost savings while maintaining the high standards of quality that characterize UNH. It’s going to be a couple of tough months. But that’s why they pay me the big bucks (ha ha ha ha ha…).
OK - let’s get to the links. As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: RealClearMarkets, Oren Cass Has Learned Just Enough Economics To Be a Nuisance
Why: An entertaining take down of tariffs. Tariffs are so stupid.
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What: The Free Press, How to Dress Like a Gentleman
Why: If you can get past the masculine language in this piece, the basic argument is that clean, classic, and well-fitting are the best bet. I’m always looking for good pieces on how to dress for success for my students. I’ve come across a number oriented toward women, but this was a nice piece especially for men, but easy to translate for women as well.
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Watch
What: How English sounds to foreigners (14 seconds)
Why: This totally cracked me up. When we were visiting London this past summer, we stayed with an American friend who is an ex-pat and her British boyfriend. We had an entertaining conversation with Boyfriend about how Americans sound to him (“harsh”). This take cracked me up. Especially because he’s not wrong even if he’s spouting a bunch of gibberish.
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What: VP JD Vance on the future of artificial intelligence at Paris AI Conference (15 min)
Why: A genuinely interesting, and if I may say, inspiring speech, by our vice president. Against overregulation, against allowing political manipulation of an incumbency advantage, focusing on supplementing, not replacing, the workforce, and recognizing that powerful tools are like swords - they can be a force for good or ill, depending on who wields them.
I’m still struck by HR McMaster’s tak on the first Trump administration - if only Trump could have gotten out of his own way, he could have been transformational. Will this time be different? It could be if he allows Vance and others to follow through on this sort of rhetoric.
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What: Conversations with Tyler, Ross Douthat on Why Religion Makes More Sense Than You Think
Why: Douthat is a conservative, Catholic thinker. Cowen challenges his worldviews. But ultimately, they demonstrate how hard it is to avoid religious belief.