Tuesday, November 26. 2013
 Who says Poodles don't hunt? Photo above and on right via Lakeland Hunting Poodles
A book: Arthur Herman's The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization
Obviously racist: Katy Perry Flagged as Racist After AMAs Performance
The FDA Wants to Ban Berger Cookies, the World's Most Delicious Dessert
Derbyshire on Stupid Wars
Fewer people want gun control
After 85 years,
antibiotics are growing impotent. So what will medicine, agriculture and
everyday life look like if we lose these drugs entirely?
Why The Fed Can't See A Bubble In Equity Valuations
From The New Republic's Obamacare's Threat to Liberalism:
Liberalism has spent the better part of the past century attempting to prove that it could competently and responsibly extend the state into new reaches of American life. With the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, the administration has badly injured that cause, confirming the worst slurs against the federal government. It has stifled bad news and fudged promises; it has failed to translate complex mechanisms of policy into plain English; it can’t even launch a damn website. What’s more, nobody responsible for the debacle has lost a job or suffered a demotion. Over time, the Affordable Care Act’s technical difficulties can be repaired. Reversing the initial impressions of government ineptitude won’t be so easy.
Senator Chuck Schumer promises more Iran sanctions, vows to ‘defeat’ Arab world and Palestinians
The 10 Corporations That Control Almost Everything You Buy
Daniel Henninger: Worse Than ObamaCare - Obama's biggest failure is that he hobbled the U.S. economy.
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Monday, November 25. 2013
In a short piece discussing shyness vs. Social Anxiety Disorder, Dr. Kristy Dalrymple has this to say (my bolds):
A “disorder” is a socially constructed label that describes a set of symptoms occurring together and its associated behaviors, not a real entity with etiological homogeneity. Labeling emotional problems “disordered” assumes that happiness is the natural homeostatic state, and distressing emotional states are abnormal and need to be changed. A diagnostic label can help improve communication and understand maladaptive behaviors; if that label is reified, however, it can lead to assumptions that the etiology, course, and treatment response are known. Proponents of the diagnostic psychiatric nomenclature have acknowledged the dangers of over-pathologizing normal experiences of living (such as fear) by way of diagnostic labeling.
That's what I've been saying for years, but she says it better.
 What's on your menu? (re-posted) -
Inquiring minds want to know. Here's ours, for around 23 people - family and friends:
Unknown hors d'oevres (my Sis brings) with Champagne.
Two turkeys, one in the oven with cornbread stuffing, and one on the grill. Extra stuffing. Gibier gravy. My Mom is making her famous artery-smoothing mashed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese and chives etc in them (mashed potatoes like that plus regular red wine intake have kept my 85 year-old Dad alive and kicking thus far). Brussel Sprouts sauteed with bacon and shallots. String beans with almonds. Creamed baby onions. Sweet potatoes done somehow by my Bro. Mountains of various forms of Cranberry sauces (The best? Orange-Cranberry Relish). Corn pudding (from good dried corn like Cope's) from my M-in-law. Good red wine, cider, along with lots of Martinelli's for the teetotalers and an assortment of really good beers including Palm and some of the German Weissbraus that I have become fond of.
Pumpkin Pie made by Mrs. BD from fresh pumpkin, and Squash Pie from fresh Butternut squash. Apple Pies made by another Sis. Indian Pudding. Pumpkin Cheesecake. Ice cream and whipped cream on the side. Some decent Port for after, with cigars for the gents (and for any women who want them. As far as I know, Mrs. BD has not smoked a cigar since the Macanudo she rebelliously enjoyed at our wedding reception).
The best part? Everybody helps clean everything up after, and nobody leaves until it's all done. It gets like The Cat in the Hat around here. The strong men scrub the pots and pans and carry the rental tables and chairs out to the driveway. Our family - families - are like that: they seem to enjoy work and effort, and seek it out. If they can't find any work at hand to be done or any mess to be tidied, they go for a five mile run or split some firewood or build a wall or do something useful. None of my own kin will watch TV. It's Yankee blood. We do not do idle very well, even on vacation. Or especially on vacation. Maybe it's a flaw - but mess and idleness are the haunts and playthings of the devil. We can rest and "relax" all we want when we're dead. Until then, it's "Hi, Ho, Go, Go" as long as we can.
With a world so full of wonders and challenges, why leave a legacy of a dent in a sofa?
Anyway, what are y'all cookin?
It is true. Student loans simply enable higher ed to raise costs. Economist Says Higher Ed Bubble Starting To Burst
Does higher ed produce a better product than it did 50 years ago? I very much doubt it.
Is it abuse of the system, or is it the Obama economy? As Disability Spending Surges, So Does Gov't Dependence
There was a time when anybody would be ashamed to take charity, and would knock themselves out to avoid it or to get out from it. The way some people talk nowadays, you're a chump if you don't take what you can. There is never gratitude towards the taxpaying neighbor. No Thank You notes for the charity.
People should never give up on engagement with life. Can you find dignity?
Final photo of our series of our pal's photos in northern Manitoba
Sunday, November 24. 2013
The comment section is good: The Stereotypes About Math That Hold Americans Back
I see no reason to accept the author's assertion that math education in the US is broken:
We need to change the way we teach math in the U.S., and it is for this reason that I support the move to Common Core mathematics. The new curriculum standards that are currently being rolled out in 45 states do not incorporate all the changes that this country needs, by any means, but they are a necessary step in the right direction.
What do readers think? What was Isaac Newton's math education like?
Re-posted
That's Nora Mill "Georgia Ice Cream" stone-ground speckled grits.
With Thanksgiving on the way, my thoughts have wandered to one of my favorite desserts - Indian Pudding. I don't know about the rest of the country, but up here old Yankees view it to be as essential as Pumpkin Pie and Winter Squash Pie on the dessert table. (I usually consider Mince Pie to be more of a Christmas treat.) Here's one good recipe. I think ice cream overpowers it, but a drizzle of heavy cream does not.
Since we're on the subject of corn meal, here are a few of my other favorites:
Cheese Grits. This would be good for Thanksgiving too. Cheese grits are good with game meat, and with barbecue too. I could live on cheese grits.
Baked Grits.
Jalapeno Cheddar Grits. Not for Thanksgiving, I feel.
Cornbread stuffing (esp for turkey).
Related, but not ground corn: Cope's Dried Sweet Corn. The best for corn pudding, which is a Thanksgiving necessity.
Almost forgot - Cornmeal pancakes. More interesting than ordinary pancakes.
The American Indians ground their teeth down to nubs from chomping ground corn (samp) - and especially from the stone particles in it from their stone mortars.
Ethical Questions Science Can’t Answer
I am not sure what science has to do with ethics, or what they mean by science. Everything is called "science" now - political science, social science, etc.
Also interesting: Male And Female Brains Have Different Gene Expression
Manias, Panics and ObamaCare Crashes - A reader's guide to the coming Affordable Care Act traumas.
A synopsis of what patients, hospitals and doctors have to look forward to, thanks to our moral and intellectual superiors who take pride and pleasure in forcing "our own good" down our throats.
Luke 23:33-43
23:33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
23:35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"
23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,
23:37 and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"
23:38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"
23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."
23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
23:43 He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Saturday, November 23. 2013
A reader sends this inspiring link, partly about ordination of women: 'Because Beset with Weakness . . . '
Let's give thanks to government this year for all of its benevolence:
Barack suggests we give thanks for obamacare at Thanksgiving
Bloomberg suggests we address gun control around the table.
Thanks for the handy social tips, geniuses. These are recommendations for intra-family mass murder.
Friday, November 22. 2013
Tesla electric cars look pretty cool. The owners of a Tesla (assuming it's an owner whose car didn't catch fire) love their cars and evangelize them.
I'm not sure I'm a Tesla guy. Nothing against the technology, but they are expensive to buy and maintain. They take too long to 'refuel'.
Regardless, these are cars that more or less sell themselves. So why in the world do they need to engage in false advertising and hyperbole? My father, a surgeon, never advertised even after the law was changed and he was allowed to. Why, I asked? His response was that good product and good service sells itself. His business was always strong. Sometimes, however, it pays to advertise if your product is very good. But it doesn't pay to create your own standards when you do it.
 My friend who I trust completely emails me: "Have you heard of this recipe? It was in the Chicago Tribune many years ago. I've made it several times. A labor of love, but soooo good."
Here: Morton Thompson's Turkey
I think I will try this, but not at Thanksgiving. Tradition must be observed here. I am one of those people who truly enjoys a roast turkey, as long as there is plenty of cranberry sauce, mashed rutabaga, creamed onions, and mashed potatoes to go with it. I like the dark meat.
Photo: I forget where that photo came from, but it's not a photo of Thompson's Turkey. Maybe from Dr. Bob.
 Over the past decade or two, the marketing of higher ed has been to sell it as a financial investment. Of course, financial investments are about supply and demand, and when the supply goes up and demand goes down, the proud grads with their marketing-inflated grades are SOL.
What is the economic value of a college degree today?
If they want to market higher ed to the masses, they need to either market as adolescent sex resorts as Club Ed, or as an opportunity be become a citizen who is more deeply rooted in their culture. I suspect the former, "the college experience", sells better to the youth.
As I think about it, there's also the social angle (non-college grads like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and Bob Dylan have trouble getting invitations to the nice parties and clubs) - and also the networking angle, but that mainly works well for high-prestige and high-visibility schools: Ivy League, Little Ivies, Big Ten, UT, MIT, Va. Tech, and so forth but many other colleges have established very tight networking for their grads. I'm thinking of USC, Connecticut College, Georgetown, Kenyon, and there are plenty of others where loyal alumni will do anything to help grads find a career track they want.
Make a guess before you check the answer.
The map is quite interesting. I thought the country was mostly Anglo in heritage, never saw that invasion coming.
 It's official: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich is Racist, Says Portland School Official
What about Fluffernutter?
Being a gentleman
No High School Diploma? No Problem: Here Are The Best Paying Jobs For You
The federal government's war on school choice
The War on Achievement
Sharpton Won't Apologize for Barneys Shakedown
Is the NY Times editorial board for the filibuster, or against it?
CEO: ‘When we go to the White House, we talk to people we wouldn’t hire.”
"Our check’s gonna come in the mail every month, and it’s gonna be on
time, and we get subsidized housing. We even get presents delivered for
our kids on Christmas. Why should I work?"
Living the reality of Santa Claus
PM Cameron: We need to get rid of all this green crap
ObamaCare Forced Mom Into Medicaid
Top Cancer Hospital Not Included on Obamacare Plans Sold in NY
Healthcare.gov can't tell consumers whether they can keep their doctors
Only a limited number of doctors and hospitals will be covered by insurance bought through the exchange. It doesn't mean you can't use them, but it's on your nickel. The Obamacare "system" seeks the cheapest "vendors."
Mead discusses The NY Times' turning against Obamacare:
Middle America isn’t frothing over Obamacare because we are a nation of racist policy wonks who did the math and hate the blacks. The public is angry first (as Edsall mostly seems to understand) because of the supremely infuriating blend of incompetent arrogance our Second Lincoln has brought to the greatest domestic challenge of his presidency. They are angry because an expensive and cumbersome new piece of social engineering looks badly engineered. But in the second place, they are angry because the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and its journalistic spear carriers in the MSM systematically misrepresented the nature of the new system.
Does Edsall or anybody else really think that Obamacare would have passed Congress if public opinion had understood back in 2010 that all those assurances about keeping your plan and your doctors were as bogus as the old line that the check is in the mail?
The UN and Israel: A History of Discrimination
From Kentucky, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited: Bird Dog Whiskeys
Yes, they make a plain, unflavored Kentucky Whiskey too.
Thursday, November 21. 2013
Hey Harry, remember that thing about protecting the rights of the minority? You know, avoiding the tyranny of the majority and other such nonsense? Yeah, just forget it. Nevermind. We're fine with your fascistic stylings.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): "As majority leader, I intend to run the Senate with respect for the rules and for the minority rights the rules protect. The Senate was not established to be efficient. Sometimes the rules get in the way of efficiency. The Senate was established to make sure that minorities are protected. Majorities can always protect themselves, but minorities cannot. That is what the Senate is all about. For more than 200 years, the rules of the Senate have protected the American people, and rightfully so. The need to muster 60 votes in order to terminate Senate debate naturally frustrates the majority and oftentimes the minority. I am sure it will frustrate me when I assume the office of majority leader in a few weeks. But I recognize this requirement is a tool that serves the long-term interest of the Senate and the American people and our country."
-Senator Harry Reid, Congressional Record, S.11591, 12/8/06)
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A book: