Higher education is expensive. The cost is especially high for people who attend for a while, then drop out. They incur the costs but not the benefits, and it’s got to be demoralizing, too. Not everyone should go to college. Certainly, not everyone should go to college at age 18. I believe this. Still, it… [Read More]
Blog
Category: Political Discourse
Fashion Ephemera
I like to dress nicely and snag a bargain as much as the next lady. I also know that cheap clothing is bad for the environment and bad for workers. All the cognitive dissonance makes me crazy! Really, what does it mean to be fashionable? I can’t buy clothes in Chengdu, so the fashion I… [Read More]
Made in China, the Environment, Our Budgets, and Other Thoughts
It turns out that the Team USA Olympic uniforms are made in China, and that is creating all kinds of outrage about offshoring of different U.S. industries. This is, of course, big news in China, where the story is that Americans should be grateful that our economy has evolved beyond garment work. Certainly, America’s strength… [Read More]
Beyond Linsanity
ineBasketball is huge in China. Huge! And it’s not just Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming who get the fans. I’ve seen billboards featuring the Olympic team, commercials with Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Love, and, of course, Harbin NBA Beer sold almost everywhere. It’s pretty cheap; I can buy a 500ml bottle from the local market… [Read More]
Something that makes me mad.
On Monday, the friend of one of my students came up to me to tell me that my student would be out because of cramps. “Western women, I don’t think they have these problems,” the friend said. I laughed. “Oh, yes, we do, but we have medication for it,” I said. So on Tuesday, the… [Read More]
