Friday, August 14. 2009
A post of the above title, by Auster. Good fun about the cosmos, first causes, the vertical dimension of existence, etc.
I never had any problem hypothesizing a Big Mysterious Something, but many times I have had problems with the idea of a personal God who would be interested in me, much less love me. Still, I know that that is intellectualizing, and that God does not reach out to us mainly on an intellectual plane.
He talks to us everywhere, inside and outside. I just need to listen more. BD taught me that.
Surber:
Senator Sanders asks "Why is there not a progressive television network?”
Technically, he is correct; “there is not a progressive television network.”
There are 6 (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and PBS).
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
George Washington
 Fastest-dying cities meet for a chat. What these folks do not get is that government policies (with the assistance of unions) chased the people and the jobs away from these once-prosperous and happy cities.
Sociologists upset that Obama isn't using them more. They are useful: they are able to give you the answer you want for any question you ask. As a group they seem more ideologically-motivated than truth-oriented, but I am sure some are not like that.
Skin and ethnic diversity damages "social capital," harms society. Yes, OK, but it's not the skin or the ethnic: it is the different cultures that cause the issues with trust, familiarity, and comfort. Everybody is more comfortable around their own peeps, because they know what to expect and know where they're coming from. We consider that to be wholesome, natural, and intelligent tribalism.
Via Phi Beta Cons, a new paper roasts three books favoring racial preferences in college admissions. I find racial preferences despicable, un-American, divisive, and overall damaging. I have no problem at all with cultural, sociocultural, talent, or experiential diversity as long as the basic standards apply to all.
Veterinary care in the UK more civilized and better than human care. Speaking of which, they won't let you buy your own medicines in England. How do Brits put up with this crap from their government?
This and other cool scorecard items at Surber:
President Obama took out a Craig’s List ad for $15-an-hour volunteers to Astroturf townhall meetings.
Wanted. Young man single and free. Experienced in protest, but will accept a new trainee.
Paglia, a big fan of the O, via Neoneo:
Obama’s aggressive endorsement of a healthcare plan that does not even exist yet, except in five competing, fluctuating drafts, makes Washington seem like Cloud Cuckoo Land. The president is promoting [a] colossal, brazen bait-and-switch operation…
You can keep your doctor; you can keep your insurance, if you’re happy with it, Obama keeps assuring us in soothing, lullaby tones. Oh, really? And what if my doctor is not the one appointed by the new government medical boards for ruling on my access to tests and specialists? And what if my insurance company goes belly up because of undercutting by its government-bankrolled competitor? Face it: Virtually all nationalized health systems, neither nourished nor updated by profit-driven private investment, eventually lead to rationing.
American College of Surgeons rightly blasts Obama's ignorance. As we often say, never mistake slick for smart.
More lies, this time about medical insurance profits.
More trickery. Why use tricks and lies? Why? Here'a another one re the fake doctor.
Chavez update. What a jerk. Who does he think he is? Stalin? I knew Joe Stalin, and Chavez is no Stalin.
The Kondratieff Wave looks bad for the US economy. Click the image to enlage.
Reid and Pelosi get into name-calling. That is mature debate. But polls say protesters motivated by fear of government control of their medical care.
Rove: Obama and the permanent campaign. "Turning critics into enemies is not presidential."
LaShawn has a Message for people who shamelessly invoke the old “legacy of slavery” excuse and view the government as some sort of savior
Rasmussen:
I think the Dem health care is what is driving this down so rapidly, but running around the world apologizing for America's existence probably didn't help. Thankfully, most Americans have not been contaminated by Howard Zinn.
From Megan McA in What Does It Mean To Have a Private Health Care System:
...they ask me how I can ignore the overwhelming evidence that national health care is superior to our terrible system. Now, what's odd about this is that all of those countries do precisely what I am concerned about: slap price controls on the inputs, particularly pharmaceuticals. Their overwhelming evidence indicates that I am 100% correct that a government run system in the US will destroy the last really profitable market for drugs and medical technology, and thereby cause the rate of medical innovation to slow to a crawl.
Valuable things that people want are expensive. Duh. That's one of the reasons people work.
From Sowell's latest Random Thoughts:
Political ideologies are fairy tales for adults.
As Sippican might say, "There is no Second Congregational Church." No, there isn't. Not yet, anyway.
I had the pleasure of shaking hands with the Rev. Norman Koop on the steps of the First Congregational Church of Woodstock, on Sunday morning. I had heard many good things about him and his congregation (including the Dartmouth folks who cross the river to attend), and had listened to some of his sermons online.
You can listen to his some of his preaching at Sermon Audio.
Here is the church's Statement of Faith. Yes, it is what I call a "strong dose" church in what polls say is the least religious state in the USA.
I have no time for weak dose churches. I like that old-time religion: The living Jesus and the living Word: straight up, no ice. As a sinner, Christ is what I need.
Glad to have met ya, Reverend.
Thursday, August 13. 2009
"All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: its one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him. If it be aristocratic in organization, then it seeks to protect the man who is superior only in law against the man who is superior in fact; if it be democratic, then it seeks to protect the man who is inferior in every way against both. One of its primary functions is to regiment men by force, to make them as much alike as possible and as dependent upon one another as possible, to search out and combat originality among them. All it can see in an original idea is potential change, and hence an invasion of its prerogatives. The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are. "
HL Mencken (h/t, reader)
If you missed Part 1, it's here (with a little bit of Vermont history).
In the early 1800s, few towns had architects. They did have builders. And they had Pattern Books.
Pattern books were like blueprints, produced by well-known or entrepreneurial archtects in the big cities, just the same as builders' development houses of today are built from patterns.
I like this one. People up there tend to their front gardens with loving care for their own pleasure and for the delight of passers-by:
More fun photos below the fold - take a minute to feast yer eyeballs.
Continue reading "Woodstock, VT architecture, Part 2"
 One of the Dylanologist's favorite topics: The crisis of ACD. A quote:
The continents rest on massive tectonic plates. Until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 18th century, these plates were fixed in place and immobile. However, drilling for oil and mining for minerals has cut these plates loose from their primordial moorings and left them to drift aimlessly. "The potential for damage is truly catastrophic," said Hans Brinker, a spokesman for the International Panel on Continental Drift (IPCD). "The continents are adrift due to the ruthless capitalist exploitation of the environment for profit. Unless immediate steps are taken to halt all oil and mineral extraction, we can expect a massive surge in earthquakes and volcanos by next Tuesday."
The chart is from the article.
 Who knew that Vermont has had a school voucher program since 1869?
Apple Cake! Why not make one today?
Michigan is determined to commit suicide. If they want to, nothin' you can do to stop 'em. It's a free country.
Jules on Boston fog.
Surging seas? What? Where? At the NYT, here we go again. Even worse, Bombay Mumbai is freezing. Time to burn some more rain forest jungle.
Obama as Hitler was a Dem plant to discredit the critics. Good stunt, jerks. I'm rubber and you're glue; it bounces off me and sticks on you.
Union orders to drown out opposition magically disappears from the web
Insty notes that American pols are unused to give-and-take. Brit pols seem to love it, as in Question Time. Dem terms protesters "political terrorists." What a weenie. The public seems to appreciate their challenging the pols. If the press won't, somebody has to.
The always-interesting Lefty Paglia on Pelosi
Via Kaus:
We should be having two debates. One should be about the obligation to ensure universal access to health care, which will directly benefit millions of struggling families and make this a better society. The other -- a more complicated, difficult and painful discussion -- should be about the long-term problem of out-of-control health-care costs, which would be a looming crisis even if President Obama had never uttered the word "reform."
Conflating the two has made the nation's nerves jump and its skin itch. And now, anything can happen.
Just for the heck of it, substitute the word "food," or "legal care," or "clothing," or "housing," or "ammo" or "car insurance" for the phrase "health care" in that paragraph.
The seasoned citizens are getting worried. They love their unlimited Medicare freebies. In Obamaland, Medicare will be folded into Obamacare.
From Human Events:
The notion that Americans may not want the federal government making health care decisions on their behalf appears to be truly beyond the comprehension of Democrats in Congress and the White House. So they have responded by slandering honest folks looking to have their voices heard.
The arrogance which the Democrats have displayed by name-calling and discrediting these people reveals their insolence and hypocrisy.
It appears that community organizing and grassroots are terms reserved solely for liberal activism. A number of taxpayer and patients rights groups post the location of town halls on the internet, and Democrats in charge act as though it is an abomination to democracy. Yet when then Senator Obama throws together an operation of a million liberal activists, so organic they created an iPhone app for it, that’s just good old fashioned political organizing. Right!
The less impact the government has on my life, the better. They can worry about the safety net, and leave the able-bodied alone.
But Q&O asks: What Does Parental “Education” Have To Do With Health “Insurance” Reform? Are there really experts on raising kids? If so, give me a chance first to check out their own kids.
Dorothy Rabinowitz on the O:
The president has a problem. For, despite a great election victory, Mr. Obama, it becomes ever clearer, knows little about Americans. He knows the crowds—he is at home with those. He is a stranger to the country's heart and character.
He seems unable to grasp what runs counter to its nature. That Americans don't take well, for instance, to bullying, especially of the moralizing kind, implicit in those speeches on health care for everybody. Neither do they wish to be taken where they don't know they want to go and being told it's good for them.
Who would have believed that this politician celebrated, above all, for his eloquence and capacity to connect with voters would end up as president proving so profoundly tone deaf?
Photo on loan from theo
Wednesday, August 12. 2009
I actively oppose ObamaCare for its many dangerous details and for its needless excess. At the same time, I regret that the tack taken by President Obama and Congressional Democrats has set back the prospects for constructive, needed reforms. They have bullheadedly and ideologically gone in wrong directions, too far, and inflamed natural and largely justified public doubts and passions.
We face some core problems, such as breakthrough technologies increasing medical costs – and survivals and comforts, about a quarter of the uninsured actually being citizens in need of help, individual insurance sometimes being difficult to get, payment rates tilted to discourage general practice doctors so specialists are overused and paid, inefficient paperwork, tort attorneys seeking largesse – sometimes more than justice – causing undue defensive medicine costs. Almost all agree they exist. Almost all agree they require remedy. And, almost all agree on the general nature of the remedies.
Strict focus upon these, with realistic expectations and clear details of treatment, would likely have led to broad consensus and rapid passage. They could be dealt with specifically, moderately, inclusive of proven ways, and incrementally to make adjustments.
The overreach by the president and Congressional Democrats, however, uses these core legitimate concerns to launch a wholesale reshaping of all of health care. Such overreach is inherently defective simply because it is impossible to run such a large-scale endeavor, in addition to how ill-defined or speculative much of it is. It is recognized as a major grasp for control over our lives by central government, arousing the fears and resentments of most Americans at being controlled by remote bureaucrats. When the enormous direct costs are calculated, and the major disruptions and restrictions imposed on most Americans are individually calculated, there is little payoff either to the economy, improved health care, or most individuals. To add to the debacle, some of the core ills are not even treated.
The lines of debate have been hardened into battle lines due to the sheer lies expressed by the president and leading Congressional Democrats, easily exposed by their own recorded words to the contrary, and the insults hurled by them and their minions against everyday Americans’ right to express their concerns.
Candidate for president Obama usually restrained from these excesses, broadly and amorphously referring to the broad consensus on the core problems, and his electoral supporters restrained their language and true intents in order not to undermine his election. Thus, President Obama began his administration with widespread faith for reasonable hope and change. President Obama and Congressional Democrats, and their ideological allies, have succeeded in near utterly destroying this faith, as demonstrated in the rapid large declines in their and their proposals’ poll ratings.
There are now three possible ways this may play out: The overwhelming Democrat majorities in the Congress may ignore their electoral fate in 2010 by ramming through their discredited and dangerous program. Unlikely. The entire enterprise may be abandoned or voted down. Most likely. Sane heads in Washington may come together to salvage and reshape remedies or improvements for the core issues. Possible, but not probable, as too much heat, resentment and distrust has been created by the course to now. But, possibly and hopefully, once the lessons have seeped in, saner heads come to the fore, and some of the angers cooled, the treatment of these core issues may come.
Now, for those who have read this far, what should health care reform look like?
First and foremost, each measure taken should be discretely restricted to a specific core issue. That will aid understanding and informed discussion. In itself, this will go a long way toward reforming the Congressional excess of loading down bills with hidden payoffs and extraneous issues, and contribute toward increased confidence in Congress’ intents and behavior.
Second, it must be recognized and accepted that some core issues may, thus, either be rejected or not go to the lengths that some may desire. Somes’ perception of the perfect should not delay or imperil the adoption of the good. Some reforms may be better than others, and some reform may be better than none. Again, in itself, this self-restraint and respect for a democratic and open process will go a long way toward restoring confidence in the sanity and trustworthiness of various policy proponents.
Third, all details must be widely published, with adequate time to read and discuss them. No more bums rush of the public.
Fourth, all such bills passed should contain a definite sunset provision, of say 5 years, upon which they must end or be readopted, and improved as experience may dictate. This will reduce the realistic fear that what may be bad legislation cannot be stopped and will continue to wreak its havoc.
I have a large collection of oldie 45 records, going back to Blue Suede Shoes and many favorite Doo Wops. But I no longer have a record player. So, Bird Dog's post below inspired me to look at YouTube for one of my favorites, and there it was. So, for your enjoyment, here it is, "He" by Al Hibbler.
Chris Kenner never made the charts with his (the first) version of this great tune. (H/T somebody. Maybe Sipp, but I forget):
Bird Dog is killing me with beautiful antique architecture. I needed a cleansing, ordinary, mis-spelled pizza joint to look at. I wonder how that little building started out. Shoe repair? Dressmaker? Hat shop?
Atlantic Salmon are returning to the Seine. Cool.
Stealing in childhood does not make a future crim.
What colleges are looking for in girls. Via Dr. Helen:
Selective schools are not interested these days in girls who like English and history, like to read and are able to write clearly and well. Those skills fill the bell curve for smart girls ... Selective schools have absorbed the folk myths of bobo culture. So cool girls are math smart, genetically destined to be hackers, risk takers, and into competitive sports. Cool girls for selective schools prefer engineering over history, math over English, computer science over political science, and economics over psychology. A touch of Asperger's isn't a bad thing for a girl, either. Actually, it's a great thing.
UN: We have only 4 months to save the planet. Will they promise to shut up after November, since it will be too late?
"It's free money." "Thank God for Obama. He's looking out for us."
The Seven Basic Plots. Love it.
Horseman, Pass By. Am Digest. Smart cops know when to leave well-enough alone.
Correcting the misinformation about Pelosicare
Faith is an alternate universe. Anchoress. Alternate to what?
A retreat on the public option?
Finally, the Prez himself brings up comparisons to the Post Office
How to screw up with your Alinsky tactics. Am Thinker
In the O's Potemkin Town Hall, even the little girl was a plant. She thinks I am mean. I am not.
We already know that gummint screws things up, then tries to come in as the savior. From the WSJ:
Mr. Obama does have a point about insurance security. If you develop an expensive condition such as cancer or heart disease, and then get fired or divorced or your employer goes out of business—then individual insurance is going to be very expensive if it's available. But what the President and Democrats won't tell you is that these problems are the result mainly of government intervention.
Because the tax code subsidizes private insurance only when it is sponsored by an employer, the individual market is relatively small and its turnover rate is very high. Most policyholders are enrolled for fewer than 24 months as they move between jobs, making it difficult for insurers to maintain large risk pools to spread costs.
Via Ace:
Health care in the US is covered by three main systems-- Medicare,
medicaid, and private insurance. Two of these systems are bankrupt, and will be unable to make payments beyond 2032 (insert correct date here, I don't know). The third is solvent, and can make all of its payments for the foreseeable future.
Barack Obama's plan is to take the one system meeting its obligations
and fold it into the two systems that are bankrupt.
Sissy gets it. Of course she does. A quote with her photo:
We had a Eureka Moment when we realized the affectless, top-down graphics of the "Health Care for America Now!" signs (above) are the precise visual equivalent of the statist's astroturf vision. Even as the we-know-best-what's-good-for-you, central-planning Utopianists and their fellow travelers in the media project their own top-down, Alinskyesque tactics upon us, Adam Smith's Invisible Hand is scrawling our grassroots messages upon a shining sea of one-of-a-kind protest signs. Check out our own efforts from Tea Parties past here, here, here, here and here. The Tenth Amendment lives:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people.
President Obama wants those who disagree with him to "stop talking" and "get out of the way." Begging your pardon, sir, but getting "out of the way" is not the America Way.
It's an excellent way to drive capital and jobs overseas. Via Tiger, the US keeps high corporate taxes while the rest of the developed world lowers theirs:
Tattooed quotes seen on a guy's forearms in a greasy spoon in CT, one line on each arm:
Every saint has a past.
Every sinner has a future.
Prison tattoos, I suspect. Pseudo-teutonic script, nicely rendered. Even if I had had a camera, I would not have asked this particular gent for a photo because he did not appear too friendly, nor did he appear to be one of my peeps. He had that lean and hungry look, if you know what I mean.
37% of Americans seem to want to entrust their medical care to Congress. The only person in DC I would trust for that would be Sen. Tom Coburn, MD.
Here's what the government did in Oregon (h/t, Dr. Clouthier) as a cautionary tale of how government and politics screw up everything they touch:
From Will Wilkinson on trust in government:
Our government — and by extension our fellow citizens — is capable of terrible things and proves it every single day. Is it really possible to love government so much, to invest so much hope in its benevolent efficacy, that we grow blind to its evident capacity for evil? Anyway, there must be some parts of the government that are not capable of madness. Ezra invites us to think about those when considering health care reform. Will you accept?
Related: "Don't you trust me?" Crowd shouts "No."
Roger Kimball has no particular faith in the virtuousness of government:
Why all the Sturm und Drang? What is it about the issue of health care, or, rather, the prospect of a government takeover of health care, that arouses such passions on both sides of the debate? Sure, there are important issues at stake. It is legitimate to ask whether the Democratic plan will lead to rationing of health care, especially for senior citizens. It is legitimate to ask whether it will limit choice, impede innovation, and lead to longer waiting times for various procedures. It is legitimate to ask about how the new system will be paid for.
But these concerns, while legitimate, do not really explain the level of passion that the prospect of government run health arouses. The real issue, I believe, concerns freedom.
and
Looking at the grinning rogues gallery of mountebanks yesterday — Ted “Chappaquiddick” Kennedy, Charlie “tax dodger” Rangel, and the rest — I thought of Ronald Reagan’s warning about how socialists so often use health care as a wedge to extract not only money but also freedom, including freedom of choice, from the citizenry. “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people,” Reagan observed, “has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it.”
The not-so-stealthy plan to eliminate Medicare, quoted at Powerline:
That's the basic issue with Medicare...it's single payer, universal for those over 65, permits unlimited demand and choice....and has no cost controls...and is bankrupting the government while simultaneously;y through cost-shifting wrecking the private market. Politically, it's the only way to control Medicare costs: fold it into a universal single payer plan with effective global budgeting and cost controls.
I guess I am unAmerican to doubt the intentions of politicians. Riehl
Tuesday, August 11. 2009
We had a tornado yesterday (yes, they do sometimes occur in New England), leaving us without power, internet, phone, etc. at Maggie's HQ.
My chat with the broadband guys working on the wires told me that a tree knocked the primary power line into the cable line and started a fire in the cable. They had to replace a long section of cable.
Vermont was settled later than most of New England, in the late 1700s by people from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Pioneers, attracted by cheap land. You could cut down all the trees and raise sheep, and the rivers provided endless power for mills. Woolen mills, stone-cutting marble and granite mills, lumber mills, etc. You could transport stuff down the rivers to the big Connecticut River.
They did cut down all the trees: by 1850 most of Vermont was denuded of forest, whether for lumber, grazing, charcoal, or firewood.
(In the 1700s, Vermont was considered part of the New York colony, but New Hampshire had claims on it. For a few decades, Vermont was the independent Republic of Vermont until they joined the union in 1792.)
After producing the woolen garments for World War 1, Vermont's mills slowly closed down, the Vermont wool biz (Big Wool moved west) dried up and was replaced by dairy for the distant cities when the trains came through. Now, with factory dairy, there isn't even much of that any more, and the trees have grown back (and so have the Moose, Black Bear, and White-Tailed Deer). The milk cows today spend all day in sheds until their productivity drops and they are turned into Mcdonalds burgers.
The wealth evident in the fine houses built in Woodstock from roughly 1800-1840 (replacing shacks, log cabins, and other humble dwellings) was a combination of its being a Shire town - a county seat with court and jail and lawyers - and the woolen mills. Those businesses attracted tradesmen and farmers, roads spread out, and the town thrived for a while. In 1830, this town of 3000 souls (then, and 3000 now!) had five newspapers.
Today, Woodstock is all about tourism, with endless interesting summer and winter events, and skiing, of course, in the winter. The village is preserved in amber by a fierce architectural review board and its designation as a National Historic District. Laurence Rockefeller had a lot to do with that (his Woodstock home is among the photos below the fold).
And, today, Vermont has the distinction of having the lowest per capita income in the US, having surpassed Mississippi a few years ago. The poorer they get, the further to the Left they move. It is not rational and it is utterly self-created (taxes and regs) and self-defeating, but it's a free country and, here at Maggie's Farm, we value the freedom of people to do stupid things if they want to. (I just hate it when people make obviously predictable mistakes on my nickel.)
The Wiki on Woodstock, VT here. Worth a visit. Bring camera.
I took the photos below early on Saturday morning. The temp was 48 degrees F at 5:30 when I typically go out to begin my exploring of a place (hence no people around in some of my photos). By mid-day, the temp got up to a balmy global warming crisis of 73 degrees.
I offer no architectural comments on the details of these structures. I don't have the time, and I lack the eye for detail that Mrs. BD has. My brain tends towards weight, balance, harmony, and emotional comfort - and only notices detail when it intrudes. However, I do know and believe that God is in the details. More on that later (maybe).
Many fun photos below the fold. All of these buildings are in town -
Continue reading "Woodstock, Vermont info and architecture, with some thoughts about old-time New England, Part 1"
It would be nice to simply wake up one day and suddenly be a mature Christian, but in order to grow up in God, we will have to go through trials. There is no other way to grow strong spiritually than to go through trials.
1 Peter 5:10 says, And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. You may not like trials, but this verse says that when you are going through trials after you have suffered a little while, you will grow to be firmly rooted and grounded (strong, firm and steadfast) in God.
Similarly, James 1:12 says, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. Here again, you don't get the rewards (the crown of life) until you have persevered under trial and stood the test.
So, learn to be thankful in your trials, because in order to get your breakthrough, you need a trial to break through.
Therefore, don't be discouraged during times of suffering. Know that after you have suffered a little while, God himself will make you strong, firm, and steadfast.
Monday, August 10. 2009
According to the latest Rasmussen poll, 32% of voters favor the government providing single-payer health care, and 57% are opposed. The 32% in favor is primarily Democrats, 62% of whom are in favor, while 87% of Republicans and 63% of Independents are opposed.
That 32% in favor of a government-run health care scheme aren’t too convincing, as only 13% believe care would improve and only 24% think lower costs would result.
So, here’s the solution to the debate: Let all who register as Democrats be automatically enrolled in a government-run health care plan, which must be fully supported by its members, and please leave the rest of us be to live.
 The Dylanologist and I used to joke about the notion of a Bob Dylan Christmas album.
But what's up with this?
Related, Dylan reciting The Night Before Christmas on his Theme Time Radio Show.
This is one of my favorite web characters. He's been doing a weekly show for a number of years and every episode is great. The best thing about him is that he does a very credible job of lampooning both sides equally. Uncle Jay's web site is here.
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."
H.L.Mencken (h/t, Am Digest)
 We have frequently opined here that too many Americans go to college, wasting time and money and extending adolescence in those who could and should be doing real things in the real world, and getting life experience instead of mastering beer pong and Leftist theory about how to remain a dependent throughout life on the effort of others. A solid high school education was good enough for Bill Gates, and ought to be a good platform for lifetime learning for them as wants it.
Anybody can go to the library and find a free book to guide them through Aristotle, Plato, Aquinus, Locke, Burke, and Hume. Anybody who doesn't feel moved to do so does not belong in college anyway: for them, it's just expensive day care as it was for Sebastian Flight.
Knowledge is cheap and readily accessible these days for all (thank God) - but learning is never easy.
The smart people I know just used their silly academic credentials so they could get a good apprenticeship in some useful and profitable line of work. That's what I had to do. My fancy law degree (which cost me lots of money) just gave me the chance to learn law afterwards. It is a dumb and/or corrupt system in which academic credentials, however empty or enriching, are required. Monopolistic, I believe, on the part of the Big Academia industry/cartel.
I have no trust in Big Academia. Like the tort bar, Big Academia is bought off and in the pocket of the Lefties. Follow the money...
Reason agrees (with a Reason video).
Photo: Harvard Yard. They can give you a pricey credential, but what you can do with it or chose to do with it, in the end, depends on you.
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