This and That

71% of Americans say they support legal same-sex marriage. When Gallup first polled about same sex marriage in 1996, 27% supported legalizing such unions.

In 2015 public support reached 60% and in in 2021support reached 70% for the first time. However, only 40% of Americans who report they attend church weekly support gay marriage while 58% oppose same sex marriage. [Gallup 5/22/22]


91% of U.S. households have air conditioning. In the United Kingdom only 5% of households have air conditioning. In Europe 20% of households have air conditioning but in Germany only 3% of households have air conditioning. [Time 7/20/22]


During June, 7.1% of American workers teleworked, down from 15.4% in January. The teleworking number has been hovering around 7% since April.

Remote work rates have varied from one industry to another: 20% of “information” workers, 19.7% of those in finance/insurance, and 17.6% in “professional and technical workers”.

No surprise, the number of workers in areas that do not have remote friendly roles is much lower; 2.2% in construction, 2.7% in transportation and warehousing and 3.6% in retail. [Bureau of Labor statistics]

There is a new term used by economists “shrinkflation.” Consumers are paying more for food, and restaurants and stores are shrinking portions. [NBC News 7/23/22]


A recently enacted California law requires that all forms of single use packaging, including paper and metals, be recyclable or compostable by 2032. California will require a 25% reduction across all plastic packaging sold in the state, covering a wide range of items including shampoo bottles, plastics utensils, bubble wrap or takeaway cups. [NYT 7/1/22]


Usually, around half of the Supreme Court’s rulings are unanimous. That was not the case in this term. 21% of rulings were polarized by party of the appointing president. Only 29% were unanimous. In a survey conducted in May 2022, 55% of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court while 44% approve. [538 7/5/22]


The following were created by Gerry Kauvar.

Texas Educational Proposals

A group of Texas educators proposed using the term ‘involuntary relocation’ rather than slavery when teaching 2nd graders. (CNN)

Also considered: the description of World War II as “A European Dust-up.” The Civil War would be described as “A family feud.” The sign “No Irish Need Apply” meant that Irish were hired without filling out paperwork. References to Jim Crow would be limited to Thomas Dartmouth Rice’s singing and dancing ability. Reconstruction would be described as: “Rebuilding Historic Homes.”

The holocaust would be described as: “Train trips to other European countries.”

The term “Native Americans” refers to vacationers who have adopted the way people from other countries dress or behave. The Battle of The Little Big Horn refers to a competition among brass players as to whether the trumpet or the trombone was the most useful musical instrument.

COMPARING

We used to joke about State mottos.
For example, Alabama’s is “At least we’re better than Mississippi.”
(true for football)
The U.S. motto is: E Pluribus Unum.
Time for a change? We aren’t doing so well on the Unum part.
At least we’re better than Sri Lanka.
At least we’re better than Italy (currently)
At least we’re better than Haiti.
How about E Pluribus Divisus?
Or “Furorum”
No Joke.

What the L?

Stollen: A sweet bread made from a rich dough usually containing nuts and raisins.
Stolen: An election made from rich people’s sweet dough usually contributed to craven nuts.
[Thanks to Gerry Kauvar]


The other day, someone referred to something as being the “full Ginsburg”. That was not a term with which WW was familiar. This is the description that WW found in Wikipedia.

The “full Ginsburg” refers to an appearance by one person on all five American major Sunday morning talk shows on the same day: This Week on ABC, Fox News Sunday, Face the Nation on CBS, Meet the Press on NBC, and State of the Union on CNN.

The term is named for William H. Ginsburg, the lawyer who was the first person to accomplish this feat, on February 1, 1998.

Purists argue that it is not a “full Ginsburg” if one or more of the appearances are not in a studio.