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.
Do you have enough clothes? Enough footwear? Enough for the rest of your life?
I understand that women need to keep up with fashion to some extent to avoid appearing non-serious (appearance counts!) so I am talking more about casual wear, outerwear, hiking gear, hunting gear, more than about professional wardrobes.
One of our end-of-summer rituals is to go through all of the closets and all of the clothes shelves. It's mostly getting rid of excess stuff.
It's difficult to anticipate one's life span, but it's easy for me to see what I will never run out of regardless of how active I remain:
I will never wear out my hunting gear. I will never wear out my casual sport jackets I will never wear out my 2 wool suits (weddings and funerals, not needed in court anymore) I will never wear out my Tux I will never wear out my misc. hiking and hunting boots I will never live to wear out my fall/spring outwear I will never wear out my more formal rain wear I will never wear out my sporting rain gear I will never wear out my casual shirts (not including polo shirts and tennis shirts) I will not wear out my collection of gloves I will not live long enough to wear out my fleeces and sweaters
I will wear out another blazer or two, God willing I will wear out more work/dress shirts (I like the Brooks non-iron ones) I will wear out some jeans and casual trousers I will wear out the socks in my sock drawer. Underwear too.
One of my tricks is to keep near my age 35-40 weight. It is do-able.
Do our readers have enough clothing stuff for the rest of their lives? If so, what? I wearing out clothes a good measure of an active and fulfilling life?
(Addendum: seems like much of this does not apply to women, except for the outdoor clothing. Women have to stay up to date to look right.)
Can anyone be taught to be a writer? I sort of doubt it, but anybody can learn to structure a coherent essay, and if that's interesting to read then that's a good start. Many lines of work require that. For writing, talent helps, so does IQ, curiosity, observational power, and wit.
I have always (like so many, because music is harder) aspired to be a fine writer, but I lack the talent. I can do simple declarative, mostly grammatical sentences, but that's all.
Yes, depoliticizing the judiciary and toning down our confirmation process is a laudable goal, but that’ll happen only when judges go back to judging rather than bending over backward to ratify the constitutional abuses of the other branches.
The judiciary needs to once again hold politicians’—and bureaucrats’—feet to the constitutional fire by rejecting overly broad legislation of dubious constitutional warrant, thus curbing administrative-agency overreach and putting the ball back in Congress’s court. And by returning power back to the states, and the people. After all, the separation of powers and federalism exist not as some dry exercise in Madisonian political theory but as a means to that singular end of protecting our freedom.
These structural protections are the framers’ best stab at answering the eternal question of how you empower government to secure liberty while also building internal controls for self-policing. Or, as Madison famously put it in Federalist 51: “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men [because men aren’t angels], the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
The reason we have these heated court battles is that the federal government is simply making too many decisions at a national level for such a large, diverse, and pluralistic country. There’s no more reason that there needs to be a one-size-fits-all health-care system, for example, than that zoning laws must be uniform in every city. Let federal legislators make the hard calls about truly national issues such as defense or interstate commerce, but let states and localities make most of the decisions that affect our daily lives. Let Texas be Texas, California be California, and Ohio be Ohio. That’s ultimately the only way we’re going to defuse tensions in Washington, whether in the halls of Congress or in the marble palace of the highest court in the land.
A US Social Security card is specifically not to be used for identification. All it means is that you are enrolled in a forced government retirement program. They are easily and frequently faked. So I am confused.
Does anyone have one anymore? Of course, I have a number. But a card? That little piece of paper? That little piece of paper that you are not allowed to laminate? Are you kidding me? I always thought that thing was just to inform me about my gummint number. Why didn't they tattoo it on my forearm, or implant me with an ID chip?
Guess what? You need the card to get your REAL ID driver's license. And in 2020, everybody who is legit will need a REAL ID license. Only illegals will have trouble getting that.
To get your card, go to the Social Security website, fill out the form, and print it out. Then you have to go in person to a local SS office with other ID info and they will eventually mail you a replacement card.
Then, with your brand new SS card, you can go to your DMV, wait in line, and get your REAL ID license. Fun.
I do not mind much that the US wants to determine who is legit and who is not, but who can take off work time for this gummint BS? Time is money. Really, at this point the gummint knows everything about me anyway.
I already spent an hour getting my TSA Pre-check number. That cost me money - $85 plus loss of billable hours. Global Entry? That's even more of a hassle. I'd like to have it, but take a day off from work to get it? Not gonna happen. Alas, I just do not spend that much time in airports.
To make my case, I next show how the EU evolved from a constructive European community to an overbearing, undemocratic force that acts as if people have ceased to identify with their national communities and are already loyal citizens of the EU.
I've known, learned from, and respected the views of Fr Paul Mcnellis SJ for over four decades. Whenever he has something to say, he's worth listening to. If you are in the greater Boston area tomorrow, Fr Paul, an assistant professor of philosophy at Boston College, will be addressing an important subject tomorrow evening. Free and invaluable.
"I may be a bully, a dick, a jerk, obnoxious, and immature, but if I am, I am a bully for America, a jerk for America, immature for America; a dick for you, a bully for you, etc. You don't have to like me personally. If you like the results, I'm good with that."
Our Skulls Are Out-Evolving Us 
What do you 
Ben Stein: 
A US Social Security card is specifically not to be used for identification. All it means is that you are enrolled in a forced government retirement program. They are easily and frequently faked. 
