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.
A baked or broiled chunk of Cod is a good test of a fine kitchen. Sad to say, Cod have been overfished to the extent that their historic populations may never be seen again - and I mean both the European and the western Atlantic populations.
Same issue with Haddock. Not sure I can tell the difference on a plate but a good Cod has thick flakes.
What about Fish 'n Chips? That means Cod or Haddock. For me, it has to be done right which means crispy but succulent, almost undercooked and fairly thick inside. It's easy to find terrible Fish 'n Chips and I have found lots of them. Worst ones in the UK, best one ever on the dock on Block Island. Malt vinegar, and beer are right with it.
What is life like for people like Kayla Mueller's parents to know that their daughter was abducted, kept as a sex slave by al-Baghdadi until he tired of her, then tortured including having her nails pulled out, and then beheaded?
I have spent many hours with parents whose children have had tragic experiences, catastrophic lives, or met tragic ends. Life must go on, but the mental images and the agony that accompanies them can never be erased.
A vale of tears. People like me can sometimes offer no relief, only companionship in suffering.
A parent wants their child to exceed the parent in life. I felt I'd succeeded on October 12 at the annual banquet of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation , the "the Nation's oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarship to military children. Their funding is provided by private supporters, including individuals, corporations, and other nonprofit foundations. The organization's mission is to "Honor Marines by Educating Their Children." "
My son Jason, and I, were invited as speakers about what the mission and generosity of the scholarships mean to us and to all the other Marines and their children among the 2300 awarded each year. I'm a pretty good and rousing speaker. Jason from his heart thanked the Foundation and me for the lessons of honor, commitment, courage instilled in him, and the importance of passing it on. Jason 's speech was better than mine. I felt I'd succeeded in his upbringing, and he'd exceeded me.
One of the strong supporters of the Foundation is David McCallum, star of Man From Uncle, NCIS, and a long career of performances. He is a very kind and pleasant man. In his speech he said the proudest moment of his life was becoming a US citizen. His lovely and gracious wife's father served in the Marine Corps at Iwo Jima and her brother lost his life in Vietnam.
Please reach in your pocket or ask your employer to contribute to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. The Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful, also applies to always being faithful to passing it on to the next generations to keep America strong.
VDH: Our Bankrupt Nomenklatura - Take all the signature brand names that the Baby Boomers inherited from prior generations—Harvard, Yale, the New York Times, NPR, CNN, the Oscars, the NFL, the NBA, the FBI, the CIA, the Rockefeller and Ford foundations, and a host of others. And then ask whether they enhanced or diminished such inheritances?
The sons and I went yesterday to the Gene Autry Museum Of The American West, in north Griffith Park in Los Angeles. I'd heard good things but in all my decades in Southern California hadn't been there. If you are looking for a truly wonderful experience, go. There are costumes and homages to all the Western film cowboys from the silents to recent, including many Black ones in films you probably never heard of. The museum has the complete Colt company collection of firearms from the 1800's forward, including those specially made for US Presidents. And much more.
There was one room showing clips from Gene Autry films. One clip only showed the song below, without the intro or follow-up. The jaws dropped among some of the women in the room, while the men (if they could get away with it) smiled.
Nat, a 47 year-old veteran of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. He is back in London with his wife, the long-suffering Prue. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him. Nat is to take over The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. The only bright light on the team is young Florence, who has her eye on Russia Department and a Ukrainian oligarch with a finger in the Russia pie.
Nat is not only a spy, he is a passionate badminton player. His regular Monday evening opponent is half his age: the introspective and solitary Ed. Ed hates Brexit, hates Trump and hates his job at some soulless media agency...
14:7 Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name's sake; our apostasies indeed are many, and we have sinned against you.
14:8 O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night?
14:9 Why should you be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help? Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us!
14:10 Thus says the LORD concerning this people: Truly they have loved to wander, they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them, now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
14:19 Have you completely rejected Judah? Does your heart loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We look for peace, but find no good; for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
14:20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD, the iniquity of our ancestors, for we have sinned against you.
14:21 Do not spurn us, for your name's sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not break your covenant with us.
14:22 Can any idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, O LORD our God? We set our hope on you, for it is you who do all this.
Blake was one of a kind. He completed his formal education at age 10 and became an engraver. However, later he attended the Royal Academy of Art for a while. Contemporaries thought he was mad. He had a wonderful life.
Why did the FBI etc take all the trouble to entrap, or whatever, the patriot Flynn, and destroy his life? That's my question. Gen. Flynn has been a better American than any of those dirty SOBs who wanted a scalp, any scalp connected to Trump.
If Powell is doing this work pro bono, God bless her. I believe Flynn had to sell his house to cover legal defence over a year ago. The General is broke.
About an influential book nobody reads anymore: 
From 1998, 
Photo from NYC: 
The Enduring Value of Herman Melville
Why this physician 
