Following their victory in February’s federal elections, Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) under Friedrich Merz just reached a deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) to form a coalition to govern the country. The far-right group Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) finished second at 20.8% with a massive gain of 10.3 from the previous election; the SPD finished third …
by Calvin Mouw 
Recently, I was handed a series of cards by a cultural association to give to individuals instructing them on what to do if they are confronted with an immigration official or officer. This is what is on the card: I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you …
by Calvin Mouw 
The historic votes are in. On October 20, 2024 the EU referendum vote in Moldova passed by the exceptionally thin margin of 50.35% to 49.65%. On November 3, 2024, Maia Sandu won reelection to the presidency, defeating Aleksandr Stoianoglo in the runoff by a margin of 55.35% to 44.67%. Both of these are of great …
by Calvin Mouw 
“What makes people rebel against suffering is not really suffering itself but the senselessness of suffering.†Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic “Divisiveness affirms things in people.†Consuela Hendricks, People Matter 1919 Chicago Demographics were changing quickly in Chicago as blacks were streaming in from the South; 50,000 in a period of …
by Calvin Mouw 
Women and families from states with abortion restrictions, including Hadley Duvall, right, speak during the first evening of the Democratic National Convention on Monday in Chicago. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/08/21/abortion-ivf-dnc/ In the past one always got the impression that the Democratic Party’s message on reproductive rights was a bit muted. Now it appears …
by Calvin Mouw 
In 2023, the Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Claudia Goldin for her research on the gender pay gap. The difference between the average earnings of women and men in the workforce is referred to as “the gender pay gap.â€. This is an important and interesting area of research for numerous reasons, and it …
by Calvin Mouw 
Alina Șerban performed “The Best Child in the World,†a one-woman play sponsored by ARCHER at the Romanian Community Center on June 21 in Chicago. Alina is Roma, she grew up poor in Bucharest, she is a woman, and yet, she is a successful actor, writer, and director. People watch her films and come to …
by Calvin Mouw 
When I go to work out (be kind), I walk past a house where an excerpt from this quote below is painted on a chair in the front yard. The quote is from Kurt Vonnegut’s fifth novel, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Eliot Rosewater is talking to his wife Sylvia about how he must baptize …
by Calvin Mouw 
Self examination on the Redline I was waiting at a Redline stop on the north side of Chicago for a train to the Loop. The train arrives, I notice a car with seat openings at one end, I get on and quickly understand why. I see a “homeless person†sleeping across several seats, a common …
by Calvin Mouw