tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76249176091317822252024-03-05T06:19:43.128-05:00The Steiger Counter"Counter" views on social, political, and cultural issues.Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-34843330889940213202021-08-28T07:24:00.000-04:002021-08-28T07:24:06.487-04:00Population trends raise host of complex issues previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 28 August 2021Early results of the 2020 Census are out. One headline trumpets U.S. population grew at its slowest rate since the Great Depression. Many pundits see this as a bad thing because population growth is believed tied to economic growth. Yet, the economy was doing well in the 2010s, until 2020 (Covid). The Dow was 10583.96 at Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-42577039627038609862021-05-15T09:03:00.001-04:002021-05-15T09:03:20.247-04:00No Mistake: Our Nation Owns A Lot of Guns previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 5/15/2021These are things I held in my hand within the first two hours of the day: toothbrush, toilet paper, pants, shirt, jacket, dog leash, coffee cup, cell phone, wallet, glasses. Seems pretty boring, normal, nothing really noteworthy. Certainly nothing dangerous, right?According to some lists of items that police have mistaken for a Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-60326377555365881302021-01-16T07:14:00.000-05:002021-01-16T07:14:00.446-05:00Trump has no right to Twitter's audience Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 1/16/21When a social media company bans someone, for whatever reason, is that a violation of that person’s free speech rights?Seems that a lot of people might think so, and actually support it. In a November 2020 Gallup/Knight Foundation poll, 44 percent of Americans expressed support for restrictions on free speech on social media. ThatTom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-26445079895431501292020-05-17T07:27:00.000-04:002020-05-17T07:27:58.296-04:00Despite skeptics, science must lead the way
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 15 May 2020.
It’s no surprise that people, generally, don’t like uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a level of uncertainty for everyone, beyond what most people ever experience. Research into personality suggests that some people cope with uncertainty better than others. Nonetheless, generally, humans do what they can to reduce Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-4096602959609572272020-04-26T13:01:00.000-04:002020-04-26T13:01:51.978-04:00Your health vs. your work is a false choice
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 26 April 2020
Seeing protests against the “lockdown” orders of various states and framing of the problem as the cure is worse than the disease, the pitting of lives against the economy, especially the right to work, had me wanting to pull my hair out. As one who tries to observe events dispassionately, to view with as clear of eyes as Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-68165714154109078292020-04-12T07:59:00.001-04:002020-04-12T07:59:45.583-04:00A day-dreamer's diary of what's yet to come
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 12 April 2020
Day 20. I read somewhere that people are finally getting the sleep they need. A positive thing amidst the stay-at-home order. I quit setting my alarm in the morning. Woke up 10 minutes later than usual. Lay in bed thinking about all I had to do. Yet, somehow I feel I have all the time in the world now, but don’t get as much Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-40997298564630820832020-03-29T07:50:00.001-04:002020-03-29T07:50:16.058-04:00Pandemic projection numbers tell unnerving story
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 29 March
What if we just let the people with the highest risk die from COVID-19, as some appear to be suggesting?
Apparently even a cost-benefit analysis is nearly impossible because those most at risk already have “shorter” life spans and/or have underlying health issues that would just kill them eventually anyway. So, estimating Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-66204567435528849622019-11-24T09:08:00.000-05:002019-11-24T09:08:08.457-05:00Sondland learned enough to protect himself
previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 24 November 2019
So far, Ambassador Gordon Sondland has been my favorite witness. Not because he connects President Trump to the questionable (impeachable?) doings with Ukraine. Because he’s an example of a citizen completely over his head in the role he is playing. In contrast to the measured, “process” oriented Foreign Service Officers, Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-15438477362397816742019-11-19T14:46:00.002-05:002019-11-19T14:47:40.132-05:00Outing whistleblower: punishment, vilification
(previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 11/17/19)
Hurtling down I-70 I was half listening to the news and thinking about why President Trump and right-wing news and commentary operations are so fixated on outing “the whistleblower.” At this point, given the corroborating evidence, it would not make any difference. Somewhere around mile marker 57 it hit me: it’s about payback, Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-38797639085602821682019-09-01T09:44:00.002-04:002019-09-01T09:44:19.626-04:00Spin, or real change, from American corporations?
Recently, more than 200 chief corporate executives, leaders among the most pervasive corporations in American life, (Apple, Amazon, Marathon Oil, Pepsi, 3M, Walmart, etc), met and redefined the role of the corporation in society. They apparently hope to “redefine” that role away from one focused on building value for shareholders (making money for shareholders) to a more socially responsible Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-52425463324186934872019-03-03T10:08:00.000-05:002019-03-03T10:08:39.387-05:00Reflections on racism, forgiveness — and redemption
previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 3 March 2019
Now that the dust has settled regarding the blackface scandals among the Virginia Democrat political leadership, what’s come of it? Gov. Northam is still in power, though diminished. Several weeks ago a commentator remarked about how so many white people are no doubt trying to scrub their yearbooks, Facebook, and other sources Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-84127875811019033682018-12-18T13:46:00.000-05:002018-12-18T13:46:48.275-05:00Problems abound in Chinese gene-editing research
previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 16 December 2018
On Nov 26 Dr. He Jankui, a Chinese biomedical researcher, became (in)famous. He shocked the world by announcing that he had used a gene splicing technology to edit the genes of two embryos, who he claims have been born, thus ushering in the age of genetically enhanced human beings.
Why is this so controversial? There are Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-69808390582725282742018-10-04T10:47:00.000-04:002018-10-04T10:47:43.083-04:00What if Kavanugh had said something different?
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 4 October 2018
I believe Dr. Ford. I am skeptical of Judge Kavanaugh’s denial. It is clear he refuses to admit to things that are fairly obvious about his youth. He painted himself at that age and later in college in a manner that does not sound “right.” What I am stuck on is why. Why is he reluctant to admit to any tarnish on his past? Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-48343097811912420332018-04-22T11:25:00.000-04:002018-04-22T11:25:50.348-04:00James Comey, and the complexity of values
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 22 April 2018
I don’t know whether to admire former FBI director James Comey or feel sorry for him.
Last June I sat glued watching Mr. Comey testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It inspired me to write an essay about what was going on, revealed by his testimony.
This essay is more about Mr. Comey as he morphs, unwittingly, Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-81530282529736587802018-04-11T06:57:00.000-04:002018-04-11T06:57:34.730-04:00Demographic shifts disrupt majority-minority status
Previously published 7 April 2018 by the Terre Haute Tribune Star
Over the last month or so, I have read and heard stories about the changing demographics of the United States. The term “minority-majority” is common in those reports. Even Wikipedia has an entry for majority-minority: “A majority–minority or minority–majority area is a term used in the United States to refer to a jurisdiction Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-17558483471414846812018-02-18T08:40:00.000-05:002018-02-18T08:40:17.954-05:00Secularization in America? Not so fast
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 18 February 2018
Is America becoming secular like the rest of the western industrialized world? Most scholars of this topic would say yes as well as, I think, most people would. A recently published paper, using the same data that others have used to conclude that secularization is occurring, comes to a different conclusion.
People vary inTom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-67811773269589197242018-01-29T10:50:00.000-05:002018-01-29T10:50:16.384-05:00Diversity, inequality and foundering public trust
previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 28 January 2018
Last week I examined whether economic inequality could be undermining
US democratic values and concluded yes.
Economic inequality, however is a liberal concern. This week I examine a conservative concern,
the growing diversity of the population.
Last October Pew Research Center published a 38 nation study
on Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-4811823762858486682018-01-22T08:48:00.000-05:002018-01-22T08:48:02.644-05:00Faith in democracy shaken by economic inequality
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 21 January 2018
I believe that increasing economic inequality in the United
States may be undermining our values supporting representative democracy.
In October 2017, Pew Research Center published a 38 nation
study on support for democracy (http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/10/16/Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-33375450147724814782017-12-10T06:56:00.002-05:002017-12-10T06:56:45.751-05:00Culture still at heart of harassment claims
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 10 December 2017
Are we at a “cultural turning point” with the seeming constant eruptions of sexual harassment claims against media moguls, celebrity journalists and politicians? Not so fast.
It’s instructive to look at the last “cultural turning point” on sexual harassment 26 years ago. Don’t know what I am referring? The Anita Hill Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-35210353028279195782017-10-01T09:32:00.000-04:002017-10-01T09:32:01.767-04:00Demonstrating what free speech is all about
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 1 October 2017
I'm an unapologetic defender of free speech. However, free speech doesn't mean free pass. Colin Kaepernick is today's example of one using their platform to speak out on a controversial topic and to challenge the status quo and be harshly punished for it. He's unemployed in an industry that is desperate for his skills. He’d Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-70682239124776328802017-09-03T06:41:00.000-04:002017-09-03T06:41:02.294-04:00White supremacy a scourge to take seriously
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, 3 September 2017
The events two weeks ago in Charlottesville and the glee with which openly white supremacist leaders spoke of President Trump’s response really bothered me. It took me about a week to figure out why. I traced it back to ninth grade.
As I entered the seventh grade, Florida schools desegregated under federal court orders. Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-20627146370371122852017-07-09T07:05:00.001-04:002017-07-09T07:05:51.438-04:00A strange attitude concerning press censorship
I’ve been storing a truckload of my deceased parents’ stuff. This summer, after several moves and even more years, I decided to go through it and make the hard decisions about getting rid of (at least) some of it.
In one box was a clear plastic bag with newspapers in it. Tribune-Stars, haphazardly folded, but with a similarity; they were the D section of the Sunday Trib containing my essays. Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-67944191486157391112017-07-06T12:27:00.000-04:002017-07-06T12:27:40.915-04:00Letting the authoritarians lead the way
Previously published in the 2 July 2017 Terre Haute Tribune Star.
Today, the senior demon Authoritarian is meeting with
President Trump.
“Welcome, welcome, my friend, President Trump. Congratulations on your astounding victory
last November and most recently achieving your travel ban.”
“Thank you, Authoritarian.
America has lost its way. I will
turn her back on Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-61611095809711542732017-06-19T07:43:00.004-04:002017-06-19T07:43:43.350-04:00Cheers to celebrating the things we value. 8 May 2005
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star, May 8 2005
Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7624917609131782225.post-5688065345814254342017-06-19T07:23:00.003-04:002017-06-19T07:23:50.764-04:00Teaching Bible as literature? Be careful what you pray for, 18 March 2007
Previously published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, March 18, 2007
Tom Steigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09940243564837254629noreply@blogger.com0