“Marriage can be understood as a kind of insurance policy that promotes economic and physical well-being,” writes William Harms in the University of Chicago Chronicle (September 28), summarizing findings of U. of C. sociologist Linda Waite. Among them: marriage prolongs life, especially for men. “Married men live, on average, 10 years longer than nonmarried men, and married women live about four years longer than nonmarried women. Married men live longer because they adopt less risky, more healthy lifestyles as a result of the commitment brought on by marriage, and married women live longer due to improved financial well-being as a result of marriage.” Also, “Married people have sex more often and enjoy it more.”
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Things Republicans don’t want anybody to know. “The so-called conservatives in this Congress claim to favor public policies based on ‘good science,’ yet they are hacking away the infrastructure of laboratories and institutes that, for decades, has done the nation’s scientific work,” reports Rachel’s Environment & Health Weekly (October 5). Current and prospective victims include the Office of Technology Assessment, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Hazardous Materials, chaired by Rep. Michael Oxley of Ohio’s 4th District, is refusing to reauthorize the [NIEH’s Superfund Basic Research Program] entirely, thus killing it dead. Mr. Oxley’s position is that Superfund money should only be used for cleanup, not for any ‘extraneous’ uses like determining how clean our cleanups need to be, and why. Like other so-called ‘conservatives’ who claim they want policies based on ‘good science,’ Mr. Oxley reveals his true intentions as he prevents any ‘good science’ from being funded and carried out.”
What a talent! From a recent Chicago Public Library press release announcing its Italian film series: “After Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman spent some time as a great Italian actress.”
