bearing blog

Bipartisanship.

This blog post at the NYT has some fun graphs up showing how various cable networks, alcoholic beverages, cars, and fast food chains skew Republican or Democrat.  

It turns out that our family drives on the center-left side of the road, as we own a VW and a Toyota, both favored by Dems.  (I suspect the Toyota numbers vary a lot by model, and that the eight-seater Sienna we drive probably shows up to the right of, say, the Prius.)

I don't watch enough TV or eat enough fast food to register very well on those measures, and I don't have enough brand loyalty to Big Beer to register much on the alcohol spectrum as well.  

Being rather interested in bipartisanship, I was wondering what cultural forces can bring people together.  It turns out that we can all get along by watching HGTV, A&E, and Spike; driving Chevrolets; dining at Wendy's; looking up movie listings on the Internet; and, in the one behavior I think I can endorse with reasonable enthusiasm, drinking Guinness.  Now at least you know what to serve at those uncomfortable family get-togethers.

h/t Darwin Catholic, who drinks center-right

Reader question.

A few days ago I posted about NFP:

Any readers who have decided to go the no-charts route, did you find that there was a development over the years of your gut-level understanding or acceptance of Church teaching on human sexuality and procreation, or do you think you already "got it" before you set off on that route?

Reader Erin in KY comments:

I am so glad you posted this question...

My husband and I have been practicing NFP for only the last 5 years of our 11 year marriage. The first 6 were contraceptive. We feel so strongly about this now that we give a talk at the Pre cana session for engaged couples. Since we give the talks about 2-3 times a year we have to sit down and discuss our talk. We have had many discussions on this very topic.

We don't have the experience of putting it all in God's hands and not charting, but we have definitely known the sacrifice of using NFP and have aligned ourselves with Christ in that sacrifice. Like you said it is something that has taken years to fully appreciate. Along those years we have also learned to more fully put our fertility in God's hands and we are hoping to conceive our fourth child soon!

Since this is something that takes time and experience to appreciate, if anyone has input that might make this message more clear for engaged couples please let me know.

I am also collaborating with the author of the training manual for marriage sponsor couple training in our diocese. Just to let you know the audience, this is a couple who most likely doesn't practice NFP having to teach an engaged couple what the church teaches. They will likely have to admit that they don't practice it. As it stands the current training manual just has a Catholic Update in the back on NFP...

I told them these couples are coming to the church for marriage, they should get the truth from the experience. Also, the sponsor couples cannot be forced to practice NFP, but if they are in the ministry of sponsoring couples in the church, I don't think it is unreasonable that they be forced to learn what the church teaches on marriage.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Personally, I think it's a warning sign when a diocese selects sponsor couples for marriage preparation who are in a state of active dissent on the Church's teaching of marital sexuality -- let alone couples who don't even know what the Church teaches.  I applaud you for your efforts to improve the catechesis situation in your diocese.

Any suggestions, readers?

Pants. Pantyhose. Duck and cover.

Remember Simcha Fisher and the Great Pants Debate?

I was reminded of this the other day, because I think I have stumbled upon the Working Woman's Version of the Great Pants Debate.

It is this 2010 question about pantyhose at the popular business/HR blog Ask A Manager.

A reader writes:

"Perhaps my question is a bit trite, but do I have to wear pantyhose to an interview? I hate pantyhose. So much so that I haven’t owned or worn any in at least 10 years. I usually just wear slacks to an interview, but I bought this killer new suit, and it has a skirt, so the issue has come up again in my life."

Ask A Manager's blogger, human resources professional Alison Green, replied:

In general, no. But there are some industries — fewer and fewer of them — where women are still expected to wear pantyhose.  Are you interviewing in a particularly conservative industry? If not, bare legs are fine these days. Go with a closed shoe though.

If you’re not sure if the office is particularly conservative or not, you could play it safe and err on the side of pantyhose. (Or you could decide that if they have a problem with you not being squeezed into waist-to-toe nylon, it’s not the culture for you anyway.)

So far, so good, right?

Wrong.  Green had to close comments, and the controversy was forever after referred to as the "Great Pantyhose Debate of 2010.

Notable from the comments was Mike:

Well no one expects me or the other guys to be wearing the stuff so why should the rest of the office have to?

Are there still places that balk at the thought of women choosing to wearing pants as well?

Ah, Mike.  So refreshing, the naivete.