Here is this week’s OpinionList.

POLITICS

Less Guns, More Money: ThinkProgress reports, “Emergency room and inpatient procedures related to firearm injuries cost $629 million in 2010 alone, according to a new study by the Urban Institute. Since a large majority of these injuries afflicted poor males from low-income regions, U.S. taxpayers subsidized over half the costs of the treatments through public insurance programs…The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has concluded that nonfatal gun injuries and gun-related deaths ultimately cost the U.S. $5.6 billion in medical spending every year. That number goes up to $64.6 billion when accounting for lost productivity due to the injuries.” It seems that guns kill people and the economy.

Let Them Eat…Nothing: The New York Times writes, “House Republicans narrowly pushed through a bill on Thursday that slashes billions of dollars from the food stamp program…The bill, written under the direction of the House majority leader, Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, would cut $40 billion from the food stamp program over the next 10 years…Critics of the measure said the cuts would fall disproportionately on children…According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly four million people would be removed from the food stamp program under the House bill starting next year. The budget office said after that, about three million a year would be cut off from the program. The budget office said that, left unchanged, the number of food stamp recipients would decline by about 14 million people — or 30 percent — over the next 10 years as the economy improves. A Census Bureau report released on Tuesday found that the program had kept about four million people above the poverty level and had prevented millions more from sinking further into poverty. The census data also showed nearly 47 million people living in poverty — close to the highest level in two decades.” I don’t have much to add to this except to say that the actions of House Republicans speak louder than their words. Shame on them over and over again.

Inside The Conservative Brain?: Salon has featured a rather long article on the “conservative” brain. For example, conservatives see the world in competitive terms while liberals see it in cooperative terms. Conservatives also believe that the world is a dangerous place and that it’s degenerating. I was actually surprised to learn that conservatives’ brains are wired differently. All this time, I just thought that they were brainless (heartless too).

TECHNOLOGY

From Here To IOS 7: Business Insider reports, “In honor of the release [IOS 7], Gadgetlove created this GIF that shows how the iPhone software has changed. It’s sorta nightmare inducing, as Forstall melts into Ive and the iPhone’s icons go from shaded to flat.” It is definitely weird, so don’t miss it.

My Life With IOS 7 So Far: I really wanted to wait before upgrading in case there was a major bug that would freeze my phone, and I wouldn’t be able to use it for weeks. But I just couldn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t. I upgraded my iPhone 4s and iPad 2 to IOS 7 and I’m really loving it. It looks fantastic on the phone, as if I had bought a new one, and I’m even starting to like the Reminder and Notes icons, even though they look like a child designed them. Anyway, the point is, don’t wait. There’s a lot to be said for instant gratification.

INCREDIBLE 

Pope Smart: “Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must shake off an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality and become more merciful or risk the collapse of its entire moral edifice ‘like a house of cards.’ In a dramatically blunt interview with an Italian Jesuit journal, Francis said the Church had ‘locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules’ and should not be so prone to condemn. I have two comments: 1. It’s a good thing that he has life tenure, otherwise he’d be in danger of getting kicked out and 2. I’m impressed. Catholics have finally gotten an intelligent, merciful pope or maybe he read my post Jesus Christ Was Pro-Choice…

Note: Original Publication Date: 9-20-13. Date has been changed for display purposes only.

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