Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Tuesday, September 8. 2020Why do some women lose their sex drive?Why Women Lose Interest in Sex. Loss of sexual desire is women's biggest sexual problem, and it's not all in their heads. Sex drive, which doctors prefer to term "libido," refers to a biological urge to mate, or to find sexual stimulation or release in non-relational ways. Sex drive, if not sexual interest, declines with age in men and women but I joke that a "dirty old man" is just an ordinary young man trapped in an older body and that there is no comparable term for women. I do not consider it to be a "disorder" when some post-menopausal women lose their youthful needs and desires because it is all variance of normal based on hormonal changes, relational issues, physical issues, fitness issues, etc etc. My ideal, though, is for women and men to maintain a fun sex life of some sort for a lifetime. PS: When in med school one time they showed us a video of elder porn. It was a couple in their 80s having fun with eachother and laughing in bed. It was eye-opening to us kids. A good thing.
Tuesday morning linksGun Smuggling and the Preservation of Domestic Bliss List of countries by overweight rates See any patterns? Never has the French mania for elaborating general ideas to transform society manifested itself so much as during the Covid-19 pandemic. Universities Circumvent New Title IX Regulations California Is A Failed State How Refusing To Wisely Manage California’s Resources Led To Incessant Blackouts Journalism’s New Propaganda Tool: Using “Confirmed” to Mean Its Opposite - Outlets claiming to have “confirmed” Jeffrey Goldberg’s story about Trump’s troops comments are again abusing that vital term. Atlantic Editor Admits Key Detail of Anti-Trump Hit Piece May Be Untrue "But journalism is not supposed to be grounded in whether something is 'believable' or 'seems like it could be true.'" Democrats’ new strategy for winning the White House: Threaten riots if they lose Via Ace: "The last thing we all need is a white guy telling a Black senator that he's not been a victim of racism." MSNBC Analyst Sneers at Tim Scott For Saying Dems Had Attacked Him as an "Uncle Tom" Historic: Two European Countries Will Open Embassies in Jerusalem After Trump Deal Monday, September 7. 2020Getting in shape for FallYour brain on barbells: Could strength training help improve your mood? Yes, mood and attitude are part of general fitness. Mens sana in corpore sano. Up here, it's hiking season, getting towards hunting season and skiing season. Carpe diem, readers. Life is short.
Media GaslightingRobin Stern wrote a semi-crazy book in the past about The Gaslighting Effect, which could make anybody in any intimate or close relationship feel like a victim if they want to. Still, this recent post is acceptable: "Have you ever asked yourself, “am I going crazy?” If you have ever asked yourself that, you’re not crazy. You’re most likely being gaslighted. Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse aimed at controlling a person by altering reality to the point where the person will doubt their own sanity. The term “gaslighting” comes from a 1930s play called Gas Light. The main character in the play literally tries to drive his wife crazy by gradually dimming the gas-powered lights in their home. When she notices the lights dimming, her husband not only denies that the lights are dimming, he convinces her that she is imagining it — to the point where she questions her own sanity. We are living in a perpetual state of gaslighting. The reality that we are being told by the media is at complete odds with what we are seeing with our own two eyes. And when we question the false reality that we are being presented, or we claim that what we see is that actual reality, we are vilified as racist or bigots or just plain crazy. You’re not racist. You’re not crazy. You’re being gaslighted. New York State has twice as many deaths from COVID-19 than any other state, and New York has accounted for one fifth of all COVID-19 deaths, but we are told that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has handled the pandemic better than any other governor. But if we support policies of Governors whose states had only a fraction of the infections and deaths as New York, we’re called anti-science and want people to die. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. We see mobs of people looting stores, smashing windows, setting cars on fire and burning down buildings, but we are told that these demonstrations are peaceful protests. And when we call this destruction of our cities, “Riots,” we are called racists. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. We see the major problem destroying many inner-cities is crime; murder, gang violence, drug dealing, drive-by shootings, armed robbery, but we are told that it is not crime, but the police that are the problem in the inner-cities. We are told we must defund the police and remove law enforcement from crime-riddled cities to make them safer. But if we advocate for more policing in cities overrun by crime, we are accused of being white supremacists and racists. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. The United States of America accepts more immigrants than any other country in the world. The vast majority of the immigrants are “people of color”, and these immigrants are enjoying freedom and economic opportunity not available to them in their country of origin, but we are told that the United States is the most racist and oppressive country on the planet, and if we disagree, we are called racist and xenophobic. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. Capitalist countries are the most prosperous countries in the world. The standard of living is the highest in capitalist countries. We see more poor people move up the economic ladder to the middle and even the wealthy class through their effort and ability in capitalist countries than any other economic system in the world, but we are told capitalism is an oppressive system designed to keep people down. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. Communist countries killed over 100 million people in the 20th century. Communist countries strip their citizens of basic human rights, dictate every aspect of their lives, treat their citizens like slaves, and drive their economies into the ground, but we are told that Communism is the fairest, most equitable, most free, and most prosperous economic system in the world. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. The most egregious example of gaslighting is the concept of “white fragility”. You spend your life trying to be a good person, trying to treat people fairly and with respect. You disavow racism and bigotry in all its forms. You judge people solely on the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. You don’t discriminate based on race or ethnicity. But you are told you are a racist, not because of something you did or said, but solely because of the color of your skin. You know instinctively that charging someone with racism because of their skin color is itself racist. You know that you are not racist, so you defend yourself and your character, but you are told that your defense of yourself is proof of your racism. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted. Gaslighting has become one of the most pervasive and destructive tactics in American politics. It is the exact opposite of what our political system was meant to be. It deals in lies and psychological coercion, and not the truth and intellectual discourse. If you ever ask yourself if you’re crazy, you are not. Crazy people aren’t sane enough to ask themselves if they’re crazy. So, trust yourself, believe what’s in your heart. Trust our eyes over what we are told. Never listen to the people who tell you that you are crazy, because you are not, you’re being gaslighted." Robin Stern, PhD, is the associate director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence where she works every day to make the world a more equitable and compassionate place for all. Robin is also a psychoanalyst with three decades of experience treating individuals and couples. My initial comment: OK, but we're all a little bit insane if willing to see it. TS Eliot: "Humankind can not bear too much reality." Final Daily book: Thomas SowellThe Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy " The Vision of the Anointed is a devastating critique of the mind-set behind the failed social policies of the past thirty years. Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and other social pathology." For Labor Day, the Maggie's theme songMonday morning linksIt's Labor Day in the US, meaning only truly essential people work at their jobs. Like your Editor. The Tech Monsters - Not all mergers are the same. The ones underpinning our biggest Silicon Valley companies are uniquely bad—and deeply un-American. Don't blame them for wanting to grow The Thought Police Come to Yale School of Medicine GWU Plans To Replace Jessica Krug, The Professor Who Admitted To Falsely Claiming Black Identity Wealthy NYC College Student Arrested at BLM Riots After Causing “$100,000 in Damages” to Manhattan Businesses Rich White Leftists Encourage Black People to Loot Their Neighborhoods U-Haul Trucks Set Ablaze By Protesters Owned By Black Man Who Placed ‘Black Owned’ Sign Outside. He’s ‘Livid’ Black Bloc Antifa March Through NYC’s Chinatown With “Death To America” Banner… Chinatown? Intelligence Gathering at Protests, by J.D. The Left Doesn’t Really Want To Abolish The Police. They Want To Be The Police Jacob Blake Releases Video Message From Hospital Bed — No Mention of the Woman He Sexually Assaulted American Airlines not having fun with BLM RUSSIAGATE DIDN’T WORK, IMPEACHMENT DIDN’T WORK, CRASHING THE ECONOMY DIDN’T WORK, CORONAPHOBIA DIDN’T WORK, RIOTS DIDN’T WORK, SO WHAT’S NEXT? Biden Fabricates Trump Social Security Cuts What's next will be lies, reapeatedly. Throw enuf s-it at the wall and some might stick Washington Post Threatens: No Biden, No Peace! Kamala Harris Spreads COVID Anti-Vax Paranoia: “I would not trust Donald Trump” Check Bill Clinton’s Face At Hillary’s Latest ‘Russia, Russia’ Rant "President Trump is moving to revamp federal agencies’ racial sensitivity trainings, casting some of them as 'divisive' and 'un-American'..." When Wish Replaces Thought - Here is the indigestible truth for the Democrats. Donald Trump has had the most successful first term of any president in memory, maybe ever. New York Times’ sleazy narrative on Trump is nothing but a joke: Goodwin President Trump’s big Balkan deal - Trump knows if you focus on creating jobs, it makes the political issues an awful lot more manageable Sunday, September 6. 2020Identify this beautyBook du Jour: Goodbye, DescartesGoodbye, Descartes: The End of Logic and the Search for a New Cosmology of the Mind by Keith Devlin In his intro, he asks "In what section of the bookstore or library should this book be placed? Science? Mathematics? Logic? Linguistics? Computer Science? Artificial Intelligence? Psychology? Sociology? Cognitive Science?" On Reading KafkaUgly "protest" turns into cheerful rally
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From today's Lectionary: "Where two or three..."Matthew 18:15-20 18:15 "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 18:16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 18:17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18:18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 18:19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Saturday, September 5. 2020Book du Jour: Words and Things
The book blends linguistics and psychology. It's not out of date. Why has everything become about race?
I think it's the November election. Trump's approval with African-Americans keeps rising, and that could be death for Democrats. One might imagine that the US is becoming more anti-black by the day. Wrong.
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Saturday morning links
Tom Seaver will live forever in New Yorkers’ memories I heard Tom had early dementia, not sure Black Lives Matter Idiots Try To Stop A Car In Times Square, The Car Wins… Idiot BLMs mess up a restaurant in Rochester, NY Wrong way to make friends Vanderleun: You do not want to be rioting in a city where the army is in the streets with fixed bayonets and full clips. Powerline's Week in Pictures Students said they love President Donald Trump's agenda, but only when told it was Joe Biden's. I still view Trump as a plain pragmatist with big cojones National Academy of Sciences head is 'quite excited' to investigate racism in academia USC Prof Placed on Temporary Leave for Using Chinese Word That Sounds Like Racial Slur in English Democrats Introduce Legislation To Declare Racism A Public Health Crisis Most Agree With Trump On Need for ‘Patriotic Education’ Extra: Newspapers are dead, just 3% get political news from them ‘The Atlantic’ Barfs Up 2020’s Worst Trump Hit Piece Yet. Anti-Trump Network Snubbed by the Commission on Presidential Debates Operation Legend Makes Over 2,000 Arrests Democrat Mail Fraud Will Take Us to the Brink The Dems Plan to Steal the Presidency Friday, September 4. 2020The American Psychological Assoc. figures it all outAPA Cites Psychologist Asserting: ‘Every Institution In America Is Born From The Blood Of White Supremacist Ideology And Capitalism—And That’s The Disease’ What are they trying to say?
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There is a wide spectrum from timid to adventurous: A book
Not with psychotherapy, not with meds, but with a determination to overcome his weaknesses: How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable: 43 Weird & Wonderful Ways to Build a Strong, Resilient Mindset
Friday morning linksSaliva COVID-19 Test as Good as, Perhaps Beats, Nasal Swab: Study University Investigates Claim That White Professor Pretended to Be Black Quillette: The Denial of Cancel Culture Will the New Title IX Be Sabotaged? US Adds 1.4 Million Jobs In August, Unemployment Rate Drops To 8.4% Florida population now predicted to grow by 307 million Americans Williamson on the mobs Democrats Introduce Legislation To Declare Racism A Public Health Crisis Cuomo: Trump "Better Have An Army" If He Comes To New York, "He Can't Have Enough Bodyguards" Barr: Mass Mail-In Voting Is “Playing With Fire” Democrats are telling us they will not accept a Donald Trump win. Are you listening? Thursday, September 3. 2020Novels du Jour: The novels of Mark HelprinWho he is: "Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford, MARK HELPRIN served in the Israeli army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of, among other titles, A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Refiner's Fire, Winter's Tale, and A Soldier of the Great War. He lives on his farm in Virginia." (I hate that term, "educated at...". No, that doesn't happen. Wherever in life, one educates oneself - or doesn't. Nothing against Helprin - remarkable guy, and a humble one.) I feel Soldier of the Great War is his magnum opus, but readers may differ. If you start with him, you will want to read all of them.
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Something different: Pine Cone PreservesA daughter sent me a jar but it broke in the mail. Thursday morning linksOne In Four Workers Say They Are Working Entirely From Home: Gallup Philadelphia Ordered Restaurants Closed. Then the City's Mayor Went Out To Eat in Maryland. Government is special Cancel Culture Comes For D.C. Monuments And Statues D.C. Antifa ‘commander’ with flamethrower burst into tears during arrest, cops say Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Is Moving Out Of His $800K Condo After Rioters Ransack His Home Since 9/11, The Government's Answer To Every Problem Has Been More Government Pentagon Report: China Now Has World’s Largest Navy as Beijing Expands Military Influence November Election Issues CNN Publishes a vicious and dishonest hit piece against Trump The Democrats' hairpin turns of narrative are only doable with the press in their back seat Biden Tries To Play Both Sides Of Green Energy Politics Bloomberg-Funded Group: Trump May Win Election Night, But Joe Biden Will Win Days Later Due to Mail-in Votes Vote fraud, etc: What could go wrong? Debate Moderators Announced for Presidential Debates — All Are Trump-Haters with Chris Wallace Being the Worst Dems planning to contest election Russian Trolls Spread False Claims of Trump Using Post Office to Stop Mail Voting Wednesday, September 2. 2020Rooftop tennis with Roger FedererSea Louse seasonBook du Jour: On Looking Into the Abyss
From an Amazon reviewer:
Wednesday morning linksThe Cancel Culture Checklist - Six signs that show you're not being criticized; you're being canceled. Academics Are Really, Really Worried About Their Freedom California To Set Up Task Force To Examine Slavery Reparations Watch Prominent Democrats Call for Violence CNN’s Chris Cillizza: Here’s Why Trump Is Calling The Protests ‘Riots’ (Hint: Because They’re Riots) THE DEMOCRATS EXPLAIN THEIR VOTER FRAUD PLANS Judge Rules 50,000 Iowa Absentee Ballot Applications Invalid The Intense Rules for US Marines Who Protected Mail from Gangsters Dem PAC to use military anti-terror technology to counter Trump’s campaign messages It's a war The Morning Briefing: Media Won't Be Able to Prop Up Drooling Train Wreck Biden for 2 More Months
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