Second Links — 8.12.10

Our writer Mary Eberstadt asks “Is This Kid Making Me Miserable?” in a reflection on the errors of the new fad to claim that being a parent makes you unhappy. That, she argues, is to get things complete backward.

The New York Times looks at the world’s ugliest animals , which include the star-nosed mole, the proboscis monkey, and the sphinx cat.

The Washington Post reports that couples who share religious practices tend to be happier than those who don’t, referring to a study by Bradford Wilcox, who has written for First Things ( here mostly recently ).

Matt Hanley, who has also written for F irst Things ( here most recently ) argues that the world’s most dangerous idea is that you have dogmas, but I don’t .

And The Anchoress , Elizabeth Scalia, answers the question how Catholics can employ hope in times of economic uncertainty , in an expanded version of a weblog item.

In Outside the Magic Circle , a reference to an English journalist’s term for the English bishops, Michael Liccione reflects on R. R. Reno’s After the Scandals and notes that bishops need to be reminded “that they are servant leaders, and that they should expect no easier a fate on earth than that of the One they are called to serve through serving His people.”

In economic news, North Korea wants to use ginseng to pay its debts to the Czechs. The country owes $10 million.

In academic news, someone has compiled the top ten utterly ridiculous gender studies courses , like “The unbearable whiteness of Barbie.”