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.
In the successor ideology, there is no escape, no refuge, from the ongoing nightmare of oppression and violence — and you are either fighting this and “on the right side of history,” or you are against it and abetting evil. There is no neutrality. No space for skepticism. No room for debate. No space even for staying silent. (Silence, remember, is violence — perhaps the most profoundly anti-liberal slogan ever invented.)
And that tells you about the will to power behind it. Liberalism leaves you alone. The successor ideology will never let go of you. Liberalism is only concerned with your actions. The successor ideology is concerned with your mind, your psyche, and the deepest recesses of your soul. Liberalism will let you do your job, and let you keep your politics private. S.I. will force you into a struggle session as a condition for employment.
What happened to me? You know what I want to know: What on earth has happened to you?
He sees the nation's power institutions going crazy. He know these middle-class white lefties will be the first cohort to be hung from the lamppoles.
Where did the cultural habit of three square meals per day come from?
It's quite recent, actually, and really a European cultural concept. More specifically, a British aristocratic concept because even today an Italian breakfast (except for the tourists) is an espresso or latte and a biscotti, and a typical French breakfast is a cafe au lait and a croissant. Typical Italian supper? Soup and bread, or cheese and leftovers.
"Eating between meals"? I suspect people might feel better with 5 mini-meals - balanced snacks, really, because stuffed and lazy after supper is not an effective life plan. Stuffed and lazy after any meal is not a good plan except on Thanksgiving. Serious exercisers and athletes tend to discipline themselves to a 5 meal program to keep the nutrients flowing. They have to eat when they aren't hungry to maintain their level of fitness and power, and to keep their weight up.
A mini-meal for many can be something like a couple of slices of chicken and a handful of olives, or an apple and some cheese slices, maybe a slice of pizza or a cup of yoghurt or oatmeal with berries. Volume and details depending, of course, on total muscle mass, body frame, daily physical demands, physical goals, etc. Body-builders need 4-5 full meals daily to put on muscle mass, while the old-fashioned three squares/day will make most adults flabby if not obese.
To understand what your body needs, look at it nude in the mirror. One look will tell you what it needs in fitness and nutrition in terms of muscular development, leanness or fatness, posture, etc. When it comes to food, we can't listen to our body too much. It's a liar because it was programmed for scarcity a long time ago, before agriculture. Humans seem to have the instinctive inclinations (eat, nap, fight, play, sex, and repeat until dark when the predators come out) of monkeys, chimps, and gorillas but we have some added higher capacities, or so the scientists claim.
American Digest reminded of this opus by Pope(1688-1744) An Essay on Man (entire thing here)
KNOW then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man. Plac’d on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: With too much knowledge for the sceptic side, With too much weakness for the stoic’s pride, He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest, In doubt to deem himself a God, or beast; In doubt his mind or body to prefer, Born but to die, and reas’ning but to err.
... after a decade of teaching students from minimally educated, working poor families, I was thoroughly familiar with the difficulty of bringing unprepared or unmotivated students of any color or background up to anything like a college level. Many students lacked even middle-school reading competence. Many could not write a complete sentence. Some skipped classes and failed to turn in assignments—or just dropped out. But the college mission was to educate everyone. We were an “open door” institution, with a high school diploma or GED sufficient for admission. We were here to give students the chance none in their families had ever had before, and we believed in our mission. Toward the end of the meeting I raised my hand and asked how, given reading and preparation levels, we could possibly increase grades and graduation rates without lowering standards. “What do you teach?” he asked. “English,” I offered. “You don’t teach English,” he corrected me. “You teach White Studies.”
We typically do the hike in the Spring, but with Covid we've missed 2 events which involve traipsing amidst the urban confines of New York City.
This year, it appears we are going to be able to have an Autumnal Perambulation. While we've done parts of Greenwich Village, the conversation right now is that it's hard to really "do" the Village completely. So why not give it a shot?
I've already lined up about 20 stops which include a few interesting historical sites, architectural sites, restaurants, bars, and museums. We've enlisted our good friend, the Manhattan Contrarian, to assist us in finding the best stops. Some we've seen already (that's OK, I always enjoy visiting interesting places more than once, and I'm sure we'll be accompanied by new people who haven't seen these locations), and others will be newly 'discovered' by myself, BD, and MC.
We just need to pin down a date, but I'm guessing late September or early October will work best. Not too hot, not too cold. As usual, rain or shine (I still think the best hike was the last one, which was done in the rain and was very enjoyable, nonetheless).
Hopefully we can choose the date and start making solid plans early this year - hope we get to see all our regular attendees, and I'm hoping more will join us!
Readers know that we love Italy and Italian cuisine but we do not much care for pasta dishes as Primi - with a handful of exceptions. For one thing, I find tomato sauce to be close to disgusting which might make me a food snob and, for another, I find pasta to be a generally unpleasant experience except in very small amounts. I deserve some credibility because we have eaten our way through Italy from the Alps to the southern coast of Sicily.
Truth is, the cuisine of the Mezzogiorno is not exactly wonderful. Sicily, unlike southern Italy, is not big on pasta (more couscous and rice), but they make a few pasta Primis that are not bad: alla Norma, con le Sarde, and con Vongole (in order, with eggplant, with fresh Sardines, and with Little clams or cockles.
(The northern Italian pasta Primis I have liked have been Pappardelle con Funghi (only Porcinis) and alla Bolognese. Given a choice, I'd often prefer a gorgonzola risotto sprinkled with a red wine reduction instead. Or a small bowl of steamed mussels with wine and herbs.)
Reminder: In Italian cooking, Pasta and tons of other things serve as Primi, meant to be small amounts of tasty first courses before the meat or fish Secondi.
When I think of Sicilian food I think first of eggplants, lemons, grilled pork and seafood, and couscous.
Sicily grows lots of eggplant and it is used in lots of their poverty cooking. Many people think alla Norma is wonderful but I think it is just OK, in small amounts.
Most people are discriminated against in some ways. Scott Adams suggests adding intersection categories (such as too short, too fat, too white, too bald, etc), at the 23:40 point, at his podcast.
April Powers Condemned Jew-Hate. Then She Lost Her Job. The inclusion officer's identity as a black Jew should have made her unassailable. Instead, it was used to discredit her.
Nancy Pelosi Directs Capitol Hill Security Police Units to Regional Offices in California and Florida, Future Locations coming
This mathematical model offers key insight into our unbalanced sexual marketplace. The number and weight of a woman’s mate preferences is negatively correlated with the number of eligible mates that are available to her. Thus, the distance of a prospective mate to a woman increases with each new preference she adds. Put simply, the more you demand, the less you receive.
More generally, there’s a disconnect between what women want and what is actually available to them. Whereas greater male attainment increases the number of romantic options a man has, greater female attainment reduces the number of options a woman has.
Doing some reading, and musing, on this 245th year of the greatness which is our fine nation. Right now, we live in a world where we're supposed to be humble, and there are factions which would prefer to not tout American Greatness. Still others believe our best years are behind us. My view is some of our best years are behind us, but our very best is still ahead, as long as we understand where we've come from, and the principles for which we stand.
I don't believe in being humble about our national identity. No other nation has done many of the things our nation has. Our Constitution was one of the very first, and certainly the first that enshrined individual rights as primary over the predations of a government. Our Constitution started a period of constitutional revolution which spread around most of the world at that time. And while our nations' flaws are evident, we are among the few nations which air our dirty laundry, not proudly, but to learn and improve. Other nations can point to civil or human rights failings we have now, or have had in the past, but none of them have a track record better than ours improving these rights.
Where did the cultural habit of three square meals per day come from? 
High Cost But 
Textbooks say most birds can't smell. 
Readers know that we love Italy and Italian cuisine but we do not much care for pasta dishes as Primi - with a handful of exceptions. For one thing, I find tomato sauce to be close to disgusting which might make me a food snob and, for another, I find pasta to be a generally unpleasant experience except in very small amounts. I deserve some credibility because we have eaten our way through Italy from the Alps to the southern coast of Sicily.
The American General Store 
Doing some reading, and musing, on this 245th year of the greatness which is our fine nation. Right now, we live in a world where we're supposed to be humble, and there are factions which would prefer to not tout American Greatness. Still others believe our best years are behind us. My view is some of our best years are behind us, but our very best is still ahead, as long as we understand where we've come from, and the principles for which we stand.