We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
When was hard work a human value, other than in Northern Europe? A human necessity at times for most (other than the warriors and the princesses), but a "value"? InGenesis, wasn't labor a punishment?Those of us who love hard work and 14-hour work days may be the crazy ones.
Also, bear in mind the statistical fact that most people preoccupied with diet and food and health are a bit neurotic. "Health nuts," as they are termed.
DOJ
Declares Atheism A “Religious Movement”, Eligible For Religious Tax
Exemptions - See more at:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/insane-doj-declares-atheism-a-religious-movement-eligible-for-religious-tax-exemptions/#sthash.hU5WRAPA.dpuf
DOJ
Declares Atheism A “Religious Movement”, Eligible For Religious Tax
Exemptions - See more at:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/insane-doj-declares-atheism-a-religious-movement-eligible-for-religious-tax-exemptions/#sthash.hU5WRAPA.dpuf
The
Washington Post Oversimplifies The Value of College - See more at:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/08/the_washington_post_oversimpli.html#sthash.5tVG3Ced.dpuf
The
Washington Post Oversimplifies The Value of College - See more at:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/08/the_washington_post_oversimpli.html#sthash.5tVG3Ced.dpuf
The
Washington Post Oversimplifies The Value of College - See more at:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/08/the_washington_post_oversimpli.html#sthash.5tVG3Ced.dpuf
That Richwine article generated plenty of heat. Truth is, everybody talks about or at least thinks about IQ all the time. At the least, every time we see somebody do something stupid, or express something without basis or thought. We also think about it when somebody says something that opens our eyes.
IQ is just one of the many personal traits across which individuals vary. It happens to be a valuable trait, but it is never determinative in life outcome. However, there is no measure for life outcome anyway. Life's outcome is death.
People have been talking about an American general-purpose post-college exam, presumably open to all because I see no reason why a college degree should be a precondition.
I suppose it would be like a post-college SAT, including specialized AP or achievement-like sections. It would doubtless help employers weed out the bullshitters - but many jobs are perfect for good bullshitters (see Animal House).
It doesn't seem like a radical concept to me. Anyone who applies to grad school takes some sort of post-college exam to evaluate knowledge and skills acquired, and mental fitness for the task. Many jobs require both an interview and an exam designed by HR. The simplest example is (was) the typing speed and accuracy tests for secretaries, in the good old days. My first post-college, post-military job required that I take an IQ test. I guess I passed it. The military got me used to test-taking.
As we have preached before, life itself is one exam after another, one test after another of what we have going for us and of our ability to stretch our strengths and to exercise our frailties. The ultimate exam can not be scored by a machine. It's not even our credit rating. The ultimate exam measures how near we get to achieving our goals in life, whatever goals we choose.
"Those who inherited the leadership of the Civil Rights movement looked deep into the content of their character...and decided they'd best be judged by the color of their skin or they were in trouble."
A public school is a really expensive, but shabby and ineffectual, private school that collects their tuition with the threat of eviction from your house.
The assumption that historical processes align with a forward motion, that the liberalization of a society moves it forward, are so innate that it goes unquestioned. It is why democracy is held to be a good, entirely apart from its outcome. Even if democratic elections lead to a takeover by a junta of fanatical cannibals, the very act of holding an election moves a society forward through one hoop in the great circus of historical processes. The immediate result may be cannibalism, but in the long run, as Arab Spring advocates remind us from the editorial pages, the society moves forward.
The liberal understanding of history made it impossible to see the Muslim Brotherhood for what it was because its victory did not fit the march of progress. The victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in a democratic election meant that it was progressive. Because that is how the forward motion of history is meant to work. And its overthrow had to be considered reactionary, regardless of the issues...
Here at Maggie's Farm, where we use tractors and fossil fuel and the internet, we nonetheless tend to view the notion of "progress" as a false idol.
The oldest prominent participant in the (American) Revolution, by a wide margin, was Benjamin Franklin, who was 70 years old on July 4, 1776. Franklin was a full two generations removed from the likes of Madison and Hamilton. But the oldest participant in the war was Samuel Whittemore, who fought in an early skirmish at the age of 80:
On April 19, 1775, British forces were returning to Boston from the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening engagements of the war. On their march they were continually shot at by colonial militiamen.
Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat. Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling pistols and killed a grenadier and mortally wounded a second. By the time Whittemore had fired his third shot, a British detachment reached his position; Whittemore drew his sword and attacked.[3] He was shot in the face, bayoneted thirteen times, and left for dead in a pool of blood. He was found alive, trying to load his musket to fight again. He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Medford, who perceived no hope for his survival. However, Whittemore lived another 18 years until dying of natural causes at the age of 98.
It makes no sense to me for the Feds to be involved in primary education at all. These Washington experts and consultants are living in a dream world in which their fantasies can never be reality.
Seen on the street in NYC yesterday while delivering some necessary spare furniture to youngest daughter's new apartment in NYC. Three roommates, all of whom have been pals since grade school. I have known them since they were kids. They made an apartment compact - a Pilgrim Compact - designed to maintain harmony and to not damage their life-long relationships while sharing a miniscule apartment.
How cool is that? Who would not want to be young, beautiful (or handsome), talented, fancily-educated, and goal-driven in NYC today?
These three gals have plans, and they are deadly serious. We took the young BD gal out to a good brunch down the street after unloading the stuff. She took the steak half of her steak and eggs home in a doggie-bag for supper. That's being a smart youth in NYC. She only drank half of her horseradish-packed Bloody Mary but she ate the olives and the celery.
To some extent, yes. Every boy knew that when they were in school. On the other hand, some boys are natural, powerful scholars who are more driven by curiosity and competition than by pleasing teacher.
Co-education is a crazy idea. I am grateful that I was spared that for eight years, spared the social and sexual distractions which so dominated vacation time anyway. Most of our Masters were male, and each one had to coach a team on the side. The handful of lady teachers could never imagine what fantasies they were subject to regardless of their appearance. They did not coach: they worked in offices instead during sports time. I also hope the faculty wives were never aware of our terrible thoughts about them.
Yes, we had a couple of gay students and a couple of gay Masters, and everybody knew but nobody really cared. It was not a Big Topic in those days, just a subject of casual amusement. As far as I know, none of them acted on their desires on campus. However, I did know one prep school classmate who had a hot affair with a hot faculty wife. That did not end up well, for her or for her kids. He was the envy of all. Damn handsome, socially-precocious, rich, tall, blond Aryan quarterback. I still hate guys like that to this day. He went to Harvard, and made a ton of money after that and is still with wife #1. Big donor to the school, now.
A bit of an antique now. Bought it in Telluride. As I recall, it was high-end and rather expensive at the time. It came in handy during family skiing, when the kids needed to shed clothing as the days got warmer - and as the skiing warmed them up. Dad would carry the baggage, of course. We were a skiing family. Good times. I raised some fine skiers and tennis-players, but no golfers.
I've been looking for this for months. Need it now. We still must have too much stuff if it takes months to find the good old backpack.
,,,if your idea of your marriage contract requires you to stay exciting and
interesting, then it’s like a TV show that depends on its ratings, and
eventually, no matter how many cute kids you add, murder trials you
withstand, or sharks you jump in water skis, ratings will inevitably
decline.
Richard Vedder: The Real Reason College Costs So Much - The expert on the economics of higher education
explains how subsidies fuel rising prices and why there's a 'bubble' in
student loans and college enrollment.
Obama Holding Private Bi-Sexual Conference At White House
- See
more at:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/obama-holding-private-bi-sexual-conference-at-white-house/?ModPagespeed=noscript#sthash.mwt3jeMo.dpuf
A Republican, in a wheelchair, entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. The Republican looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus sitting over there?" The waitress nodded "yes," so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee, on him.
The next patron to come in was a Libertarian, with a hunched back . He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus, over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."
The third patron to come into the restaurant was a Democrat on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down, and hollered, "Hey there honey! How's about getting me a cold mug of Miller Light?" He too looked across the restaurant and asked, "Isn't that God's boy over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold beer. "On my bill," he said loudly.
As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him, and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Republican felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and began to praise the Lord. Jesus passed by the Libertarian, touched him, and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Libertarian felt his back straightening up, and he raised his hands, and he began to praise the Lord.
Then, Jesus walked towards the Democrat, just smiling. The Democrat jumped back and yelled, "Stand back... I'm on disability."
Some of our friends have a (volunteer, but expert) project to provide cheap and simple medical 911 systems to Third World countries. They plan to begin with Haiti and Latin America.
It's a good cause. Roll them a coin if you can, and tell friends who might be interested. It's not an app, it's a phone feature. God bless those who put their time, brains, and energy into such positive and inventive pursuits.
Few of us in the First World have any idea what it's like out there. And still people in America complain about medical care. They always will. Prosperity and the world's best medical care have turned us into babies.
A couple of years ago, Mrs. BD and I vowed to never replace a rotten piece of wood on the outside of our home - or of the Farm, for that matter - with real wood. Purists like Sipp might object, but we've had enough. Too expensive in the long run.
My father-in-law taught me this lesson, and recently re-did most of his home's exterior these ways. He is no longer thrilled with the DIY approach as he grows a little older.
Blame design, or Nature, or Entropy, or whatever. Dead wood and water do not mix. Not in Yankeeland, anyway.
In the past week, we had Anderson's custom replacement service replace 8 old custom-sized windows with their new fake, never-paint, never-chip, last-forever composite frames and good thermopane glass. Not anywhere as expensive as one might have thought, but still costly enough with all of the custom sizing. Including three casement windows. Their guys work fast, too. Did it all in one day, and put insulation in the edges of the new frames.
Any wood that rots - sills, etc. - all we will use is Azeks. If it rotted out once, it will do so again. We're gradually replacing all the dang wood columns for the pergola and the porches with custom fiberglass columns with 6X6" pressure-treated wood posts hidden inside.
These new "woods" never rot, never peel, never warp, and never need painting. Woodpeckers never peck holes in them, and wood-boring wasps leave it alone. Best thing of all: it looks like real wood.
You might say that we have been converted by maintenance cost.
Finally! One thing we can all agree on is that last-minute Christmas shopping is a real drag. The crowds, the noise, the confusion, the cold sleet or snow because you're in the middle of goddamn winter — in short, it sucks.
So, while we'd all appreciate just a few more days in the shopping season to help us out, the hands of the retailers are tied since there's an unwritten rule that they can't swamp the land with Christmas stuff until the official 'Thanksgiving timeline' is over.
However, with the help of the Department of Interior collaborating with the National American Turkey Council, they came up with a very clever solution:
For someone who grew up in an era when it was strictly verboten for businesses to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, it's been somewhat sad to see the commercial greed seep forth a little earlier every year since. I believe these days the decorations are going up just after the 4th of July. I hear Easter's the next goal.
In the writing biz, this is known as when fantasy meets reality.
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
13:11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment."
13:13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
13:14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day."
13:15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?
13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"
13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
With so many miles of empty beaches, every beach in Wellfleet is as private as you want. It's easy to find a place to plant your cooler and umbrella where you cannot see another soul, swim nude if you want. Still, a private one you can stroll to is pleasant sometimes.
If you live in a flood zone, you should expect floods. If you build in a forest prone to fire, you should expect fire.
Flooding is nature telling you that you should not build a house there. Fire, likewise. Fire is part of a forest's natural cycle. Fire suppression only makes the next one hotter and more violent.
Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires. Mother Nature is a harsh school-mistress. As the sea-captain said, "I love going to sea, but I do not love the sea. The sea is my enemy because it is always trying to find a way to kill me."
The same goes for the deep woods.
If you recall, the last big fire in Yosemite was a boon to wildlife and to the forest's health. It's like a natural ecosystem, ya' know?
Unfortunately, the advice to eat less saturated fat probably isn't going away anytime soon. Like the baseless ideas that calories are calories, or fat people simply lack willpower, fear of dietary fat has become entrenched in our thinking about nutrition, and won't die no matter how many times it's debunked. But if we're going to be lead to believe that saturated fat is harmful to our brains, the link should be based on more than observational research. I'm certainly not convinced that I need to eat less bacon, anyway.
This is part of why my high-meat, zero carb weight loss program (fixed) works: all calories are not handled the same way (and bacon and eggs are a good, healthy diet breakfast). More here:
There are and always have been populations around the world who are both poor and very physically active who have obesity rates very similar to those of the United States and other Western societies. Under this paradigm, there are certain foods — mainly carbohydrates — that stimulate an insulin response and cause weight gain. Avoiding these foods is probably a good idea for those of us who easily store body fat.
Like I said, if you want to lose weight, cut out the carbs and eat meat. Calory-counting does not work because it's the insulin that stores the carbs.
Nothing bothered me more, in local kids' sports, than the handing out of 'participation trophies'. I never got one as a kid, so I was really angry. It's just not fair! I didn't get one and my kid did!
Actually, the concept is so foreign to me I laughed the first time I heard about it, thinking it was a joke. I was always motivated to try harder if I didn't win. My mother always prodded me if I came in second with "if you studied/practiced/tried harder, you'd have won."
But we're in a brave new world where kids who try harder to penalized and told they win too much.
Why have completion times in the New York Marathon? Everyone who finishes is a winner.
I Say, How Did Hard Work 
Sipp 
Finally! One thing we can all agree on is that last-minute Christmas shopping is a real drag. The crowds, the noise, the confusion, the cold sleet or snow because you're in the middle of goddamn winter — in short, it sucks.
