{"id":7888,"date":"2026-01-09T18:43:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7888"},"modified":"2026-01-09T18:43:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:43:58","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-537-hippo-poop-manic-complainers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/01\/09\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-537-hippo-poop-manic-complainers","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 537: Hippo Poop &amp; Manic Complainers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>\n<\/p><p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Noth\u00ading here about Min\u00adneso\u00adta or Iran. They\u2019re both in the news, but I haven\u2019t yet read any\u00adthing about them that I\u2019ve found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/marginalrevolution.com\/marginalrevolution\/2026\/01\/the-tyranny-of-the-complainers.html?utm_source=feedly&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=the-tyranny-of-the-complainers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Tyran\u00adny of the Com\u00adplain\u00aders<\/a> (Alex Tabar\u00adrok, Mar\u00adgin\u00adal Rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion): \u201cIn 2023, for exam\u00adple, 5059 sex\u00adu\u00adal dis\u00adcrim\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion com\u00adplaints came from a sin\u00adgle individual\u2013from a total of 8151 com\u00adplaints. Thus, one indi\u00advid\u00adual account\u00aded for 68.5% of all sex\u00adu\u00adal dis\u00adcrim\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion com\u00adplaints in that year.\u2026 These com\u00adplaints have to be inves\u00adti\u00adgat\u00aded so this sin\u00adgle indi\u00advid\u00adual may be cost\u00ading tax\u00adpay\u00aders mil\u00adlions. It\u2019s as if a sin\u00adgle indi\u00advid\u00adual were pulling a fire alarm thou\u00adsands of times a year, mobi\u00adliz\u00ading emer\u00adgency ser\u00advices on demand, and nev\u00ader fac\u00ading reper\u00adcus\u00adsions.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/what-ive-learned-from-watching-people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What I\u2019ve Learned from Watch\u00ading Peo\u00adple Wait to Have Chil\u00addren<\/a> (Sarah Pog\u00adgi, The Free Press): \u201cI\u2019ve known all of this for as long as I\u2019ve been a doc\u00adtor. So have my col\u00adleagues. That\u2019s why ob-gyn res\u00adi\u00addents, despite work\u00ading 80-hour weeks, are more like\u00adly to get preg\u00adnant dur\u00ading their train\u00ading than any oth\u00ader med\u00adical spe\u00adcial\u00adists.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is a med school prof at Johns Hop\u00adkins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crossway.org\/articles\/why-suffering-for-christ-is-more-than-just-a-necessary-evil\/?utm_source=Crossway+Marketing&amp;utm_campaign=fa4074e9eb-20260105+Gen-WhySufferingforChristIsMoreThanJ&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_-fa4074e9eb-325173805&amp;mc_cid=fa4074e9eb&amp;mc_eid=4593ac9484\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Suf\u00adfer\u00ading for Christ Is More Than Just a \u201cNec\u00ades\u00adsary Evil\u201d<\/a> (Matt Rhodes, Cross\u00adway): \u201cYou won\u2019t go far in evan\u00adge\u00adlis\u00adtic con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions in the West today before some\u00adone asks you to explain the prob\u00adlem of <em>theod\u00adi\u00adcy<\/em>: how it is that a good God could allow suf\u00adfer\u00ading in the world.\u2026 But we mustn\u2019t for\u00adget that ques\u00adtions can be loaded. Ask a defen\u00addant in court, \u2018Have you stopped beat\u00ading your wife yet?\u2019 and his lawyer is sure to object, \u2018Your hon\u00ador, the ques\u00adtion pre\u00adsup\u00adpos\u00ades my client <em>has<\/em> beat\u00aden his wife.\u2019 The ques\u00adtion needs to be reframed, not respond\u00aded to.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded by a stu\u00addent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2026\/01\/why-christians-ignore-bible-immigrants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Chris\u00adtians Ignore What the Bible Says About Immi\u00adgrants<\/a> (Rus\u00adsell Moore, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cThe Bible does not give a com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive pub\u00adlic pol\u00adi\u00adcy for migra\u00adtion or asy\u00adlum. Chris\u00adtians of good faith can dis\u00adagree on those things. But the Bible <em>does <\/em>give a com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive view on what we are to think of <em>human beings<\/em>, includ\u00ading migrants. The church has a mis\u00adsion to shape con\u00adsciences around how we min\u00adis\u00adter to scared and vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adble peo\u00adple, regard\u00adless of whether we think they should have stayed some\u00adwhere else. And Jesus has already tak\u00aden the ques\u00adtion of \u2018Who is my neigh\u00adbor?\u2019 off the table\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some Venezuela per\u00adspec\u00adtives:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/was-trumps-venezuela-attack-legal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Was Trump\u2019s Venezuela Attack Legal?<\/a> (Jeb Ruben\u00adfeld, The Free Press): \u201cUnder cur\u00adrent U.S. doc\u00adtrine and prece\u00addent, what Pres\u00adi\u00addent Don\u00adald Trump just did in Venezuela is almost cer\u00adtain\u00adly legal; in fact, the U.S. did the very same thing in Pana\u00adma four decades ago, and the courts upheld it after years of lit\u00adi\u00adga\u00adtion and care\u00adful con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion. But Trump\u2019s plan to \u2018run\u2019 Venezuela for the fore\u00adsee\u00adable future, declared at a press con\u00adfer\u00adence ear\u00adli\u00ader today, is much murki\u00ader.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is a pro\u00adfes\u00adsor at Yale Law School.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/why-the-venezuela-operation-wont-embolden-america-enemies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why the Venezuela Oper\u00ada\u00adtion Won\u2019t Embold\u00aden America\u2019s Ene\u00admies<\/a> (Eli Lake, The Free Press): \u201cIf any\u00adthing, a pre\u00adcise mil\u00adi\u00adtary oper\u00ada\u00adtion to seize a rogue tyrant in a predawn raid with no U.S. casu\u00adal\u00adties will cause Chi\u00adna and Rus\u00adsia to think twice about test\u00ading Amer\u00adi\u00adcan pow\u00ader. Venezuela count\u00aded on a Russ\u00adian-made air defense sys\u00adtem that failed to stop the U.S. Air Force from dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00ading its air\u00adspace. That sends a chill\u00ading mes\u00adsage to Rus\u00adsia and any\u00adone who has pur\u00adchased its mil\u00adi\u00adtary hard\u00adware. Chi\u00adna had invest\u00aded bil\u00adlions in Venezuela\u2019s oil sec\u00adtor only to see the man who cut those deals arraigned this week before a U.S. fed\u00ader\u00adal court in Man\u00adhat\u00adtan.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/03\/insider\/trump-interview-venezuela-nyt-reporter.html?smid=nytcore-android-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why I Cold-Called Pres\u00adi\u00addent Trump at 4:30 in the Morn\u00ading<\/a> (Tyler Pager, New York Times): \u201cI just called him direct\u00adly and he picked up. I wasn\u2019t that sur\u00adprised because the president\u2019s phone habits are pret\u00adty well-doc\u00adu\u00adment\u00aded \u2014 he reg\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly picks up calls from reporters.\u2026 This is the first time I have ever called the pres\u00adi\u00addent on his cell\u00adphone.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>That\u2019s a wild detail in a wild news cycle. How many reporters have Trump\u2019s num\u00adber and are just wait\u00ading for the right moment to call? <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2026\/01\/bible-embryo-screening-ivf-euthanasia-life-ethics-evangelical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">So What If the Bible Doesn\u2019t Men\u00adtion Embryo Screen\u00ading?<\/a> (Brad East, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cOpen up the glos\u00adsary in the back of your Bible, and you won\u2019t find Chat\u00adG\u00adPT, CRISPR, or IVF. There are no chap\u00adter-and-verse cita\u00adtions for lip fillers, egg freez\u00ading, or prac\u00adti\u00adcal ques\u00adtions like the \u2018right\u2019 age to get mar\u00adried or the \u2018ide\u00adal\u2019 num\u00adber of chil\u00addren.\u2026 Mature Chris\u00adtians, and espe\u00adcial\u00adly pas\u00adtors and whole church\u00ades, must there\u00adfore be able to give con\u00adfi\u00addent scrip\u00adtur\u00adal answers to new ques\u00adtions even when overt bib\u00adli\u00adcal teach\u00ading is lack\u00ading.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I hope these Fri\u00adday emails are of some small ser\u00advice in this regard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalaffairs.com\/publications\/detail\/case-prohibiting-vice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Case for Pro\u00adhibit\u00ading Vice<\/a> (Charles Fain Lehmann, Nation\u00adal Affairs): \u201cThis fram\u00ading of the vice issue\u2005\u2014\u2005as a mat\u00adter of per\u00admit\u00adting behav\u00adior that may be immoral but is more impor\u00adtant\u00adly \u2018harm\u00adless\u2019\u2005\u2014\u2005is so cen\u00adtral to our pub\u00adlic debate that both pro\u00adpo\u00adnents and oppo\u00adnents artic\u00adu\u00adlate their crit\u00adi\u00adcisms in its lan\u00adguage. They hag\u00adgle about which is more harm\u00adful, vice or its pro\u00adhi\u00adbi\u00adtion.\u2026 the fact that both pro\u00adpo\u00adnents and oppo\u00adnents of vice have resort\u00aded to appeals to harm actu\u00adal\u00adly great\u00adly under\u00admines the harm prin\u00adci\u00adple\u2019s util\u00adi\u00adty. Part of the pur\u00adpose of the prin\u00adci\u00adple is to sep\u00ada\u00adrate the tru\u00adly dam\u00adag\u00ading from the mere\u00adly unliked. But the dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion, it turns out, is far less coher\u00adent than pro\u00adpo\u00adnents once claimed.\u2026 [Vice] is intrin\u00adsi\u00adcal\u00adly a prob\u00adlem, because human well-being\u2005\u2014\u2005the good life\u2005\u2014\u2005is always threat\u00adened by it.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/HaQJWViiTe0?si=3Rn7DdRV0XM_QtLP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hip\u00adpo Blasts Poop At Hye\u00adna<\/a> (YouTube): ten sec\u00adonds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/teenager-confused-how-parents-still-dont-know-everything-when-it-only-took-him-16-years\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Teenag\u00ader Con\u00adfused How Par\u00adents Still Don\u2019t Know Every\u00adthing When It Only Took Him 16 Years<\/a> (Baby\u00adlon Bee)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/01\/09\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-537-hippo-poop-manic-complainers\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading, Vol\u00adume 537: Hip\u00adpo Poop &amp; Man\u00adic Com\u00adplain\u00aders\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[303,227,268,171],"class_list":["post-7888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-children","tag-immigration","tag-south-america","tag-theodicy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-23e","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7888"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7892,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7888\/revisions\/7892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}