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.
I have long wanted to write a brief piece on the idea of "failure to launch", a term which has been in use for almost a generation now. I will try to keep it brief, but with not entirely-formed thoughts.
My main point is that many are not equipped to launch out into the big world to become world-beaters, or even to become well-adapted to current economic-psycho-social expectations. In my view, it is remarkable that so many are equipped and willing. It is a social expectation now but not a useful one.
Humans are tribal, family- and extended-family-oriented creatures. Every human has some gifts, and many shortcomings. Luck matters in life of course, but I do believe that "we make our own luck" if we have the temperament to do so. In my career, I have seen many flawed but talented flounder on the rocks because wealth, privilege, and family enablement made it possible.
A bit more than a century ago, and forever before that, most people worked on farms. Family farms. Life was hard before machines, but there was work for everybody in the family for generations. Occasionally, an ambitious kid would leave for the city for work or further education. With the industrial revolution, there was work for all (including kids) off the farm, at whatever level one sought to achieve. Not pleasant work in the mills until skills were achieved, but still work, contributing to the family...
"Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusets? And can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of it’s motives. They were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. God forbid we should ever be 20. years without such a rebellion. The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independant 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure."
Jefferson would have shrugged off today, much as he shrugged off Shay's Rebellion and (more or less) supported the Whiskey Rebellion (later repealing that stupid tax). He also supported the French Revolution, not for what happened, but for its original principles.
People can't always be well informed - and certainly with nonsense information spewing from not only the 'mainstream' media but also from myriad other 'sources' like Qanon - we need more than ever to look back through history and put things in perspective both ideologically and historically. Few people remember 1954 and Puerto Rican nationalists shooting up Congress. Today's events may have been wrong and lawless, but they are not at all unusual or necessarily misguided in the larger scheme of US history.
The real issue I see coming out of what's going on in DC is not what has happened. What occurred in DC is not that different from what's been going on all summer. It's not right, it's uncalled for, and it doesn't matter who you support. It's just lawless behavior and it should've been stopped in the summer - just as it should be stopped here (and I'm sure it will be). It's wrong that the media spent the whole summer telling us riots were 'peaceful' protests and didn't care about the destruction of businesses and livelihoods. That was wrong. The only thing we 'lost' here was a few hours and a slowdown to the certification.
As a result, the credibility of our journalists has reached a new low. Today was wrong - we cannot pretend that this kind of behavior is acceptable regardless of who we want in office. But we've been told all summer that rioting is fine. It just matters what you're rioting 'for', I guess.
The REAL problem, as I see it, is that finally the politicians have a taste of what they've wrought...and they will use it to insulate themselves further from the people. And that will be a very bad situation. These politicians have outsourced their riots to other cities for years. They've never felt the wrath of the people. Now that they have, they are blaming the people for the problems they, the politicians, have created. You can be sure they will find ways to continue to distance themselves from us rather than realizing this is just the start of the people demanding our PUBLIC SERVANTS act like what they are, rather than acting as our overlords.
Furthermore, I do not think Trump is doing himself any favors by talking the way he is. A graceful exit is the way to do it, and let history judge it all.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has given hospitals a conundrum. Fail to use all of your COVID-19 vaccines within seven days of receipt? That'll be a $100,000 fine. Vaccinate someone out of the state-designated order? That'll be a $1 million fine.
Old times. It's a tear-jerker. Last time we played Rabbie Burns' tune in our house was the year that both of my parents died with the whole countless family, at Thanksgiving.
Our dear friend played it on our pianny Sat. night for a smallish New Year dinner party. Mrs. BS made that wonderful Italian roast pork with a ton of peppercorns.
All I could think of is of my lost pals, died or moved away. Especially my tennis partners and beer partners. Parents and in-laws too.
Dancing in Bryant Park, NYC, this Thanksgiving weekend. Despite politics, what a great city. Everything interesting no matter what. The show must go on.
I don't support vandalizing anything, or anyone's property. But in this case, it's hard to deny that Nancy didn't somehow get what she deserved. Pelosi's apologist position, promotion of leftist causes, and general lack of interest in pushing back against the extremes of her own misguided ideology have repercussions, and if there is anything which is true in life, it's that leftists eat their own faster than they destroy their enemies.
Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but 'Cancel Rent' and 'We Want Everything' (presumed to be about stimulus checks, though I think it is more than that), are not what I'd expect to see from right-wing protests. I'm sure the media will spin it that way, somehow, because the Left is never dangerous or wrong when modern media analysis is engaged.
It's too bad she didn't see this coming. But I did believe a Biden win would embolden the Left to become more aggressive and violent, and that still seems to be true.
I'm sorry Nancy has to learn the hard way. Destroying property is always wrong. But she's done her fair share of damaging property throughout her tenure...but has done it 'legally'.
All our lives have been impacted. All our lives have changed.
Some more than others. But the most annoying and problematic part is economically. The US was a nation of small businesses. It may be again, but not nearly to the degree we were prior to Covid. The main outcome of the lockdowns and distancing is that larger firms have benefited.
When this started, and people commented how lockdowns would kill businesses (and, as I pointed out, hurt landlords and even renters, depending on legislation in your given state or locality), I read mocking articles, and heard statements from pundits which put forth a concept: "Isn't Capitalism about entrepreneurship, ingenuity and risk-taking? Won't these all come back, what are you worried about?" These were designed to taunt believers in Capitalism and push a misleading agenda of Leftist/Progressive economic thought.
Elite runners need a
Photo: Some things that were sold out at our fancy shop on New Years Day morning. And the wine shop was closed. So we had to make do. We did.
