Buddhism 2.0 | Trump Rings in Christmas ... in July

Ruma Roka is a practicing Hindu and visits temples. But for at least 20 minutes every morning and evening, the home of the 57-year-old in the Delhi suburb of Noida rings with the Buddhist chant nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The founder of a nonprofit, Roka works with hearing- and speech-impaired children and youth. It’s challenging work, but the chant has “helped me empower myself,” she says. It’s also helping one of the world’s major religions, Buddhism, regain lost ground in its birthplace.

Anne van Dam remembers the moment she realized that she was ready for life as a professional golfer. It was 2013 and van Dam, then a 17-year-old amateur champion, was holding her own in the Deloitte Ladies Open in her native Netherlands on the Ladies European Tour. She loved the large crowds and extra pressure that came with a professional event.

Then van Dam blasted a drive that veered into the trees. Standing 5-foot-11 with a swing as pure as you’ll ever see, van Dam possesses the type of enviable distance that, when unbridled, can lead to accuracy problems. Showing unusual poise for a teenager, she punched out of a difficult lie, parred the hole and went on to finish in the top 25. She belonged, and she knew it.

You don’t hear much from the fiscal conservatives anymore. In fact, you didn’t hear from them at all as the U.S. House breezed through a bill on Thursday to raise spending by $320 billion over the next two years and lift the debt ceiling for two years.

In an hour of floor debate before the surprisingly drama-free vote, not one person spoke against the bill, even though 149 souls (including about two-thirds of the Republican caucus) voted against it. Why? Well, President Trump was for it, so why make a fuss, and don’t we all want to talk about Robert Mueller instead?