Random Notes from a Crank

Here are some provocative gleanings from the Harper's Index from the past few months:

• Portion of American who think it is safe to eat genetically modified foods: 2/5
• Of U.S. scientists who do: 9/10
• Percentage of deaths in the developing world caused by chronic diseases: 64
• Percentage of all medical development aid allocated to fighting chronic diseases: 1
• Percentage of evangelical Christians under the age of 40 who supported gay marriage in 2003: 20
• Who do today: 43
• Percentage of Americans who believe vaccines are safe and effective: 53
• Who believe that houses can be haunted by ghosts: 54
• Factor by which a Democratic senator is more likely  than the average Amercian to be a lawyer: 127
• Projected portion of global wealth that will be held by the richest 1 percent of the world's population by the end of 2016: 1/2
• Portion of high-school dropouts who say they left school to work: 1/4
• Portion of those dropouts who earn less than $10,000 per year: 3/5
• Number of the ten most challenged books at U.S. libraries last year whose main characters are non-white or LGBT: 8

One of the more depressing articles I've read in a while is "Rotten Ice: Traveling by Dogsled in the Melting Arctic" by Gretel Ehrlich in April issue of Harper's. 

It's officially lightning bug season here in east central Illinois. With all the wet weather we've gotten, they're thick as thieves at night.