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.
Medical care, unlike Legal care (for which you could make a stronger civic case because legal rights are enshrined in the Constitution), has been inching towards government takeover in the US since Medicare was begun in 1966. Medicare is a single-payer, government-controlled system. It is a popular entitlement for those over 65 (is 65 "elderly"?) for obvious reasons. Later, Medicaid took over medical care costs for the poor and the disabled. It has been 50 years of incrementalism towards total government control over a large hunk of the American economy.
I'd like to suggest a resistance is already underway in America, and has been for quite some time now. The resistance is not to "anyone who isn't sufficiently leftist" as guys like Moore say. Its people sick of the system and demanding things be different. For the most part, Americans want to be left alone, and they want their representatives to listen to what they say. Not what lobbyists say, not what fat cats say, not what big money says, not what the news media and the entertainment community says, but what they want.
And the resistance is not to one policy group or another per se, but rather to the arrogance, dismissive attitude, condescension, and contempt they feel from their government. Americans are increasingly fed up with the crap they're being handed almost daily and want real change.
It is a government sickness. It is evil. Even those road cameras are evil. America does not deserve a Big Brother surveillance state. The CIA is legally prohibited from surveillance inside the United States.
An ex- Middlebury prof wrote last week about the stunning lack of intellectual curiosity among the pampered and privileged Middlebury students. That might very well be nothing new, and we all know that all education, in the end, is self-education.
On a related topic, Prof. Deneen is struck by the lack of knowledge about the fundamentals of history and culture among his students at elite institutions, HOW A GENERATION LOST ITS COMMON CULTURE. I suspect he is talking about the common elite culture, because I don't think the average guy or gal on the street in 1950 could tell you much about Magna Carta, Saul of Tarsus, or John Milton. I might be wrong about that.
In any event, the democratization of culture and of higher ed has resulted in the loss of basic cultural knowledge among the educated such that the numbers of those able to transfer the knowledge, as citizens and parents, shrinks. Or does it? Maybe it was always like that. I remember being confused once in high school social studies when the teacher joked that nobody cared about Plato's Republic and nobody read it. Confused because my Dad often referred to it. A quote from Deneen:
It’s difficult to gain admissions to the schools where I’ve taught – Princeton, Georgetown, and now Notre Dame. Students at these institutions have done what has been demanded of them: they are superb test-takers, they know exactly what is needed to get an A in every class (meaning that they rarely allow themselves to become passionate and invested in any one subject); they build superb resumes. They are respectful and cordial to their elders, though easy-going if crude with their peers. They respect diversity (without having the slightest clue what diversity is) and they are experts in the arts of non-judgmentalism (at least publically). They are the cream of their generation, the masters of the universe, a generation-in-waiting to run America and the world.
But ask them some basic questions about the civilization they will be inheriting, and be prepared for averted eyes and somewhat panicked looks. Who fought in the Peloponnesian War? Who taught Plato, and whom did Plato teach? How did Socrates die? Raise your hand if you have read both the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Canterbury Tales? Paradise Lost? The Inferno?
I had the advantage of attending a college where the cultural foundations were required, and came first. The result was that every grad knew the Inferno - and the Bible too. There are a lot of basics that the highly-educated youth that I interview know nothing about.
A good interview with the evil Charles Murray. He discusses social capital, industriousness, civic culture, community, and the stifling of civic life by government.
Most leg strengthening exercises stress more than legs alone, but we call them "Legs" anyway because they mostly engage lower body. Many guys neglect lower body strength in favor of chests and arms.
Cardio doesn't do it at all - runners, for example, tend not to have much leg strength. Also, distance running isn't really a cardio stress anyway - pure endurance. I used to run for miles and hike hills all day, but my legs became neither strong or powerful. Especially for women, lower body bone strength can only be maintained with resistance exercise.
For strength, (not talking about cardio or endurance here) I try to keep it simple. For functional fitness and to postpone muscle deterioration, I think all an ordinary person needs to do are five sets (with increasing reps and/or weights over time) of most or many of these basics, weekly. Some are more Calisthenics, some plain Resistance - R or C:
Barbell squats - R Squat with overhead press - R Plain squats or jumping squats - C Deadlift - R Lunges with and/or without weights in hand - C+R Step ups +/- step up and press - C Kettlebell swings - C Box jumps - C Stair machine intervals - C + cardio
Calf lifts - C, Leg press - R, and leg extensions and curls - R, are optional approaches to building up strength for the big leg efforts, but not substitutes
When you think about it, most of these exercises stress not only lower body but core too and sometimes arms and shoulders. Furthermore, they all are cardio exercises to some degree: A barbell squat routine of 5 sets will leave you gasping for a few minutes, as will just one set 15 of kettlebell swings.
I would not advise doing Deads and Barbell Squats, or any leg "R" - on the same day or more than weekly. Recovery time is needed for the big muscles. "C" lower body exertions can be done as much as you want. I tend to do calis as circuits, and Rs as dedicated efforts.
About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern.
But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final.
No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.
We were chatting with a couple of other people about this and that when someone she knew from the Times joined in. I then overheard him explain to her that she had to be careful about what she posted on Facebook, Twitter, etc., because anything too explicitly anti-Trump could be used against her when that glorious day came and "they" -- the conventional fraternity of groupthink scribblers -- finally took down that horrible, despicable man.
"We've got dozens of people working on it all the time," he explained, adding that it was only a matter of time before they got the goods on Trump and destroyed him.
There in a nutshell, I thought, is the existential imperative that has been so gloriously productive of fake news and its exacerbated allotrope, first delineated by Donald Trump in his famous media-bashing presser on February 16, "very fake news."
It's time to thank a few websites from whom we often borrow links, sometimes without enough attribution mainly due to time constraints or laziness. We try to, though. Often our fellow- travellers jump on similar links at the same time, but that is just the vast right-wing Nazi fascist conspiracy/echo chamber at work on the nickel of the Koch brothers and Dunkin donuts.
We are rarely amiss with the "content-producers" but sometimes miss the mark with other linkers. I think Maggie's is more linker than content-producer, but whatever.
Anyway, for any times we have stolen links without the proper hat-tipping, thanks to Insty, Hot Air, American Digest, Never Yet Melted, Drudge of course, College Fix, Lucianne, and maybe a couple of others I forget right now. Anyway, sorry for that.
And while on the topic of Maggie's, it's time for our biennial request that our readers spread the word about our eclectic and rational, libertarian-tinged, sane, centrist site to all of your friends, enemies, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, etc. A growing national and international readership is our only reward for this hobby, and we do seem to have that.
Speaking of Obamacare, it seems increasingly clear that it has moved the Overton Window on health care policy. You are not allowed to substitute individual responsibility for Obamacare. Instead, you must come up with a “better” system. The ground rules for any new health care system now state that responsibility for your ability to obtain health insurance ultimately rests with the Federal government.
Obamacare did create a new entitlement expectation.
- you to have to wait 72 hrs after you go out and buy a woman to have your background investigation completed - women to be banned from entering school and college campuses? - women to be banned from any establishment selling alcohol? - women to be banned from polling places on election days - women to be banned from any official government group meetings? - all women to be banned from all airports? - you to have to pay a fee to the state before you can carry a woman on your person? - some women to be banned outright simply because they look too scary? - all women to be locked up at all times that they are not in use?
Hmmmm. And does she think that all guys should have more than one?
The proof of this is the fact that the GOP has no plans ready for the 2017 legislative session. They have been talking for years about ObamaCare and now we know they never planned to do anything. The same is true of taxes, which is the one thing Republicans like doing. They have no plans for anything, not even something symbolic. They not only have no plans, they are still staggering around in shock, not sure what they should be doing. Suddenly nothing makes sense to the people inside the bubble and they are scared.
...
in a world where the scrupulous following of protocol is essential to maintaining the status quo, a break down in the rules puts everyone at risk. That seems to be Trump’s game here with the spying charges. The establishment has tossed out the rules in their effort to attack him, so he is threatening to further bust up the system, which works to his favor and to their disadvantage. it’s a foolish game the Left has decided to play as they have much more to lose in a world without rules.
There’s another aspect to this. Trump has fewer skeletons in his closet than any president in generations. In Washington, that makes him a very dangerous man.
Anybody can stroll for a few hours as long as there are things and people to look at, and almost anybody can walk all day, or at least for 6 hours, unless they are post-op or disabled. If out of shape, it is fatiguing but do-able. Tourist walking and urban "hiking" are no problem for most.
Hiking is not walking. Hiking is mainly about speed to destination, and hills at the least and gravelly scrambling at the most. Except for the steeps, hiking takes endurance and the steeps demand leg endurance if not strength too, especially with a pack.
We have two hiking trips planned in the next few months, one in Georgia (USA) and one in the Outer Hebrides. With 2 years of hard training, Mrs. BD and I are probably fitter than most people of our ages and life habits, but I am not sure about 6-7 hours of up and down the Highlands. Hills or mountains, whatever - serious hiking with poles and packs every day for ten days with no rest days.
The leg strength we build from deadlifts and barbell squats is great and useful, but it's not endurance. Our cardio intervals are probably most relevant for efficient endurance-building, but I think we ought to add to that plenty of stairmaster time and a weekly weekend 4-6 hr uphill hike on top of our usual fitness routine. Speed hike, not casual hike.
I think we ought to do Mt. Washington (if and when the snow melts). I am the rare outdoor person in New England who has not tackled the Presidential Range, and I should do it. Several pals of ours love to do the hut-to-hut thing up there, but I admit that I like a good bed and a good shower daily, and real good "unhealthy" food. Sheesh, I am the person who loves Urban Hiking because there is more to look at than trees and rocks, and there are fun food trucks with Falafel and stuff.
I hate myself when I need a sit-down on a serious hike.
What would you do to prepare for serious hiking trips?
4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
4:3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
4:6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
4:7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;
4:9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
4:11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Your current group of students have dishonored your elite, bucolic school. If police are not called in, and kids are not expelled, the school's reputation and image will suffer for years no matter how excellent the faculty. Forget the college rules of conduct because many laws were broken.
If this is a typical administration, nothing will happen unless the Board and the alums put pressure on a seemingly spineless, castrated administration. Typical administrators.
It’s been exactly 40 years since my late wife and I quit as English profs at Middlebury College, where hundreds of screaming students wouldn’t allow Charles Murray, one of the nation’s foremost conservative intellectuals, to speak to them yesterday, as a campus conservative group had invited him to do. Like everything else in America, no doubt much has changed at the now-trendy college, nestled in Vermont’s maple-clad mountains, in four decades. Back in the 1970s, the Arab-launched oil crisis forced school officials to choose between shutting off the electricity to the library or to the school’s private ski lift. After a student referendum, the library went dark.
... I remember two salient traits of the majority of students in those days. One was their extraordinary intellectual laziness and lack of curiosity, especially infuriating because so many were such intelligent kids. The other was their immense privilege. Shiny new BMWs filled the student parking lot, each fitted with racks holding the most technologically advanced skis for whizzing down the slopes. There were battered Volvos, too. They belonged to us teachers.
I believe that I have no talent and no skills at management. I wish I had. We had an after-church brunch last Sunday with pals, and my friend who is a management consultant challenged me to complete the %s on his simple matrix where R/W means Right Thing Done The Wrong Way, W/R means Wrong Thing Done The Right Way, etc.
I filled in the %s with my guesses, and he explained that my hypothetical business took a 70% cost in poor management. He said that my guesses were probably not too far off for many organizations but I might have the categories wrong. He said one reason for it is that, in organizations, most people have little real skin in the game and just hope to keep their paychecks coming but, in general, organizations are inefficient and one can only hope to keep it as low as possible.
Rush is right. It is a remarkable and disturbing situation, and the MSM is fully on board. Time for the trumpists to bring a machine gun to the gunfight.
Too Much Emotional Intelligence
Most leg strengthening exercises stress more than legs alone, but we call them "Legs" anyway because they mostly engage lower body. Many guys neglect lower body strength in favor of chests and arms. 
Image via 
It's time to thank a few websites from whom we often borrow links, sometimes without enough attribution mainly due to time constraints or laziness. We try to, though. Often our fellow- travellers jump on similar links at the same time, but that is just the vast right-wing Nazi fascist conspiracy/echo chamber at work on the nickel of the Koch brothers and Dunkin donuts.
Stuck Inside of Stockholm 
I guess that means...
11 
Robby Mook Can’t Really Confirm or Deny 