http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer A law student's outlet for discussing anything but the law. Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:21:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've taken part in the "government vs. charity" debate far more times than I'm comfortable with. On the one hand, Conservatives and Libertarians argue that using the government as the primary mechanism for helping the poor is a hopeless, inefficient, and even dangerous task. One need not wholly agree with ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/11/29/uncharitable-capitalist-charity/ My expectation is that introverted marriages look very different from extroverted ones. See, we introverts don't socialize as much, so there are less opportunities for our personality 'wrinkles' to be ironed out through the subtle cues of socialization. The other day, as Sophie and I were having dinner, I started ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/11/24/my-happy-weird-marriage/ I think that people with personal attachments to developing nations have to be interested in the origins of material prosperity. One trip across the border into Mexico and anyone who is even moderately observant will naturally question why such disparities exist. The natural response of urbanites who've grown up surrounded ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/11/08/prosperity-theology/ Yesterday seemed like a fantastic day. Sophie got to hear our child's heartbeat, and we were told that it was strong and healthy for 11 weeks. She took it as a sign of security; that the greatest risks had passed. We've been classified as a "high risk" since the beginning ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/10/27/thy-will-be-done/ WSJ: GM Will Move to High-Deductible Insurance Plans It's about time that some of the most notorious contributors to escalating costs got with the program. Wanna know why union workers have absolutely no reason to care about healthcare reform? Look at the premiums GM workers pay: $5-75. Less than the cost ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/10/23/high-deductibles-real-insurance/ You'll often find that in long-term relationships, actions can fail to reflect your true feelings. There have been many times in which I've behaved in ways or even thought things that were irreconcilable with the deep love and respect that I hold for my wife; less so over time, thankfully. ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/10/20/tasting-the-honey/ Economist: Teenage Pregnancy is Growing Teenage births are nothing new and in 1960, pre-Pill, the rate in America was more than double what it is today. It is still well below its early-1990s bubble, but experts are getting worried about the trend line. Texas has the third-highest rate of teenage births, after ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/10/09/teenage-pregnancy-moral-pragmatism/ NYT - A Smarter (and Cost-Efficient) Way to Fight Crime Game theory meets criminal justice. Very sexy. The evidence suggests that when hardened criminals are reasonably sure that they will be caught and punished swiftly, even mild sanctions deter them. But not even the prospect of severe punishment is effective if offenders ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/10/03/criminals-effective-deterrence/ There are those untrained minds who may be led to believe that because billions of people in history have regularly enjoyed sleep, that it is of some value. They may even be deceived by the fact that those who sleep tend to live longer lives than their under-rested brethren. Children ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/10/02/on-the-evolution-of-the-perception-that-sleep-is-good/ 'Free will' was one of the areas that my philosophy coursework as an undergrad most focused on. To put it (extremely) succinctly, many philosophers who believe that true free will exists agree that it emerges out of inner turmoil. A lot of who we are and what we do is ... http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jancer/2009/09/13/finding-balance-in-an-unbalanced-world/