This is the oldest senate in history, with an average age of 64. A recent poll found that a clear majority of Americans want an age limit of 70 for elected officials. If that limit were brought in now, it would force 71% of current senators to retire. YouGov.com, January 19, 2022
Global gross domestic product in 1900 was $3.4 trillion. In 2020 that figure was $112.7 trillion. During the same 120-year period, the world population grew from 1.6 billion to 7.8 billion. Less than five times as many people produced more than 33 times as much output. The Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2022
“Every generation, civilization is invaded by barbarians. We call them children.” Hannah Arendt
A government watchdog report found private Medicare plans routinely rejected claims that should have been paid and denied services that reviewers found to be medically necessary. The report discovered private Medicare plans denied 18% of claims allowed under Medicare coverage rules and turned down 13% of authorizations for medical services that Medicare would have allowed. USA Today, April 28, 2022
A new survey found that 32% of U.S. adults favored scientists attempting to bring back extinct animals. Of those, 39% favored giving the Dodo another chance, 20% the Saber-tooth tiger, and 10% backed reviving the Tyrannosaurus Rex. YouGovAmerica, April 22, 2022
Growing abuse from players and parents has led to a widespread exodus of youth sports umpires and referees, with shortages causing scores of canceled games and tournaments. From 2018 to 2021 an estimated 50,000 high school referees quit, after being followed to their cars, attacked by players on the field, and struck by objects thrown by spectators. The New York Times, April 21, 2022
Judith Love Cohen, a NASA engineer who helped create the Abort-Guidance System which rescued the Apollo 13 astronauts, took a printout of a problem she was working on to a hospital the day she went into labor. She finished the problem, let her boss know, then gave birth to the actor Jack Black. USA Today, June 30, 2021
