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.
At this time of year, we either join with our families or yearn for our families. That's one kind of home. But, there's another home that is always there, available and welcoming. "Lift yourself up higher and you'll find your way back home." The song is multi-denominational, open for all.
Freud did not discover the unconscious territory of the mind, but he was a pioneer in making a methodical study of it and in proposing theories about how it worked.
I am not sure why this is a "crisis." It is unwise to ever borrow - or lend - money if there is a reasonable concern about repayment. Nonetheless, people often do it.
Now that politicians have defined it as a crisis, they want to pander and to throw OPM at it and to do all the things pols do.
As Reynolds and many others have been explaining for years, there is a bubble in the pricing of higher ed. There will never be enough money to satisfy them, and loans and grants perpetuate the situation. It is a scandal, really, between the pricing and the little return from so many schools which are little more than diploma mills for recreating youth.
I would propose two simple solutions: eliminate federal loan guarantees, and permit student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy. This would normalize the debt and lending mess in higher ed, and would force pricing downwards.
Have you ever pored over the balance sheet of an institution of higher ed? If you get the chance, prepare to be shocked.
Why is college so expensive? Three main reasons. First, because colleges, with enthusiastic support from politicians of all stripes, have convinced Americans that higher education is the ticket to success. While a college degree is no longer a badge of the upper class, it is still viewed as a luxury good and is priced accordingly. Second, colleges have joyfully suffered from what Andy Rosen, CEO of the testing and online-education company Kaplan, has called “an edifice complex.” Colleges, including lots of state schools, continue to build luxury dorms, gourmet dining rooms, and lavish athletic centers to attract students—almost as if academics were an afterthought. Staffs have become bloated, too, not with more professors, but with administrators. Third, colleges have been playing with other people’s money. Washington has pumped trillions into financial aid programs. Low-income families get outright grants; everyone else qualifies for easy-to-obtain loans.
Below is the letter I received today from my good friend, fellow USMC Vietnam veteran, Del Vecchio. The contribution can be made at the website of the Vietnam Healing Foundation (www.thevhf.org ) :
Well, here it is, December again, Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas coming up fast. This is the time I send out my end of year appeal for support for the charity that brings badly needed help to the crippled old South Vietnamese veterans still eking out their lives in Viet Nam.
We are now supporting directly 100 vets and their families, and also providing partial support to 30 others who have come to us with desperate requests for some help. Our work has become more difficult because of the police taking an ever worse view of us. In February on my last visit, I was "busted" in Hue for the crime of giving money to people the top cop of that region doesn't like, and told to leave and never come back. So my days of visiting the old vets to give them some real recognition from a former comrade and raise their spirits have come to an end. This is a bitter thing for me, it was such an important thing to them to have someone come from the US to see them, and I was so deeply honored to be able to give that service.
But our work goes on, the men get older and sicker and need more medicines, and now every month or so another one passes on. But we have a long list of those waiting for help, so we go on running events to raise some funds, and of course depending heavily on donations from others who understand the plight of these men and wish to help. Please consider if you can contribute anything this year. Our overhead remains under 5%, so you know the money you give will end up right in the hands of those who need it. You can send checks or use PayPal, and all contributions are tax deductible. (If there are others you know who might have any interest in this cause, please feel free to pass this on.) Thanks again, and best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.
Del Chairman, Vietnam Healing Foundation
Here I am on my last trip, with some of the new candidates for help from us. Eight men with three operating legs between them. (Faces are blocked out for their safety, since we know too well that all our activities are watched.)
Was San Bernadino Islamic Terrorism, Workplace Violence or just a run-of-the-mill shoot 'em up? For some, it doesn't matter, as long as guns were involved, the evil isn't in the who and why but the how (while the Daily News has every right to offend, their cover today was disgusting).
There's no law that can keep us safe. After all, there are laws against bombs. Still, the Bath School Massacre, Oklahoma City, Boston Marathon and a host of others, are all examples of how mass death can take place without guns. When deranged people have a goal, they will usually achieve that goal regardless of the laws in place.
Misguided folk, who believe laws can keep us safe, feel there are ways to keep guns out of the hands of 'deranged' people. Unfortunately, the definition of 'deranged' is likely to be open to political maneuvering. I know, because of my deep distrust and dislike of government, that I could easily land up on a politicized list of 'deranged' people. I don't want to invoke Godwin's Law, but it suits this discussion...the Nazis classified political opponents as 'mentally unstable'. Is it so hard to conceive of a future where people like climate skeptics (who are already hearing calls for their views to be criminalized) would be classified as 'mentally unstable' and have their guns taken?
Even more misguided is the belief that banning guns will make us safe. Because strict gun laws always make us perfectly safe. Like in Chicago. Or California. Or France.
To make a case compelling, you have to make it seem like science, so you'll call up data and misuse it. Which is what WaPo did on this blog. Alternatively, you can pick and choose your data to suit your meme. It doesn't have to be scientific. It just has to look scientific.
Cardio plus total body stress - and fat-destruction if needed. Masochist that I am, and over 45, I like the stress and mental challenge of total body calisthenics. They do not build strength, but they require that you build strength to do them. They build fitness and endurance, and it feels good when you stop. If you can breathe. Humbling, painful, and a source of despair. Good stuff.
Notice how prosperous people in the US look strong and trim into their 70s and 80s? It's not automatic. They work at it to stay fit for life, and they do not pig out despite wanting to give in to comfortable slobbery like the last generation. Giving up on vitality because of lack of will and effort (aka laziness). Sex life, too.
Jumping rope and jumping jacks are great calisthenics that belong in any fitness routine, but it's the heavier, intense ones that test your body and character, that try to kill you. What fails to kill you makes you fitter.
My program (and Mrs. BD's program which is roughly the same but she does yoga too) includes 3 sets of squat/presses, or burpees, or heavy ball smashes, or lunges with weights, or step-ups with presses - all with planks between sets. That's a Superset. Looks easy but it's a killer. Doing 3 sets of one or more of the above five days/week adds good intensity and variety to a fitness program. Thing is, you have to push it to the limit and that takes mental discipline because it is HARD WORK and IT HURTS and YOU WANT TO STOP. Thus the character factor.
No pain, no gain.
Right now, for example, I do the squat-presses with a 30 lb. heavy ball. If you can easily do 20 reps, raise the weight and God bless. Take a 1-minute plank to "rest" between sets and get right back to it.
(nb, As I have said, we do mainly heavy weights 2 days/wk for an hour, heavy calisthenics 1 day/wk for an hour, and cardio intervals 4 days/wk for 40-70 minutes depending on how much time I have free. To ramp up intensity, my boss wants 3 of any one of these supersets daily. Call me insane. It pays off. I fit into my age 32 tux except the shoulders are tight now. If it kills me, I'll be a fit corpse.)
Nothing much to do or see in Casablanca so we took the long drive to Marrakesh. Hours of farm fields, scattered herds of goats or sheep with shepherds. Almost desert. An occasional mud hut or minor kasbah scattered around, and some large farm towns. Plenty of donkeys working, few tractors.
Jewish humor is well known for poking fun of the pompous. Even when it's us. Readers know how opposed I am to so-called recreational drug use. But, this video will be enjoyed by recreational drug users as well as those of us not too pompous.
We, the Students of Hamilton College, demand the end of the inevitable tokenization of all marginalized bodies at Hamilton College. Hamilton College cannot continue to overwhelmingly perpetuate narratives that center whiteness, able-bodied individuals, colonization, heteronormativity, and cisnormativity. The faculty, administration, staff, and student body at Hamilton College almost ubiquitously encompass a single population that continues the exclusion of historically underrepresented communities.
Good grief. That is not even English. Hamilton would barf.
I understand the historical reasons that Christmas is on the winter solstice/Saturnalia in western Christianity, but I'd like it later. That's just one thing. Most of my grinchiness has to do with the feeling of pressure to pack everything in. I hate pressure and hassle, love serenity.
- Mid-winter gets dreary in New England unless you ski a lot, or go away. A later Christmastime would brighten it all up. They say Jesus was probably born in April anyway.
- We are not too big on giving presents at Christmastime at the Maggie's HQ now that the kids are older - and my extended family has banned them. How about if we all agree to quit with the gift-giving or just limit it to home-made jam, cookies, and pies or a bottle of something, and honor the season by getting together, singing carols, and with gifts to charities and churches? As a compromise, keep kids' stockings for chocolates and candy canes and things like that. Maybe some cash for the older ones.
- Last year, Mrs. BD's present to me was Torture: A trainer 3 days/wk and a 6 day/wk exercise program. Some gift! I have stuck with it, though. She likes to feel the bulging muscle and appreciates the lack of fatigue climbing mountains. A year of squats with presses? At 5 am? Lovely gift!
- Which is worse? Putting the decorations all around the house, or taking them down in a few weeks and packing them away?
- Which is worse? Dragging in and putting up a live dead pagan tree with all of the family mementos on it, or getting rid of it before it burns the house down? (I simplified some of this chore years ago by keeping all tree stuff in drawers in the parlor.)
- Outdoor Christmas lights. They all seem to commit suicide while being stored in the attic, but not before they writhe around in the dark to create annoying tangles. Yes, they are cheery though. I keep mine lit all through January because of the trouble, and just throw them in the trash after.
- Christmas Cards. OK, they are a good way to stay in touch with people we care about. But there is so little time in which to do it, and you have to find a decent photo. Plus updating one's address book is a major pain. We've missed a year or two, and I hope nobody took it personally...
- Parties. Too many, too jammed together. A normal fellow wants just so much social festivities, like one per week - and not more. Party-hopping to fulfill obligations is not really fun, but more like a duty. It is not misanthropy - if I were willing to drink more, it might be jollier. Must admit, though, I do like to touch base with all of my pals, fellow-church people, colleagues, and acquaintances at Christmastime. It might not happen much, otherwise.
- Charity events. Why do so many of them now? Well, having run a large conservation charity for about 12 years (as a semi-involuntary volunteer), I know why: people feel more generous and more festive now - and drink more. So it's about $.
- Mrs. BD has, and goes to, all of these festive Christmas teas and luncheons. I think that's great because guys are not invited. I believe she is in charge of a big fancy luncheon today with dressed-up ladies and carols and, if I heard her right, Santa hats or reindeer horns required to make it less stuffy. You can get them at CVS. Sorry to inform the loony campus feministas, but normal ladies still like to get dolled up for Christmas luncheons and teas, and to enjoy a cocktail or two with their buddies.
- Just one black-tie event per Christmas season is plenty. I will resist two.
- Wife says "Hey, BD, let's throw a casual party here on the Saturday before Christmas. We can invite 70 or 80 of our best friends, and get a pianist." Sheesh. Great idea, in theory. Do I have to vacuum and move furniture?
Does the idea of baby Jesus mean a lot to me? You betcha. To me, it means the promise of a birth, or re-birth, of the spirit of Christ in my heart. There is great power, great significance, in that. I really do come from Yankee Puritan stock, and I guess some of that sticks.
There is something wrong with the general state of education in the US today, and part of it seems to be some lack of grown-ups with integrity and maturity. What do adults do when kids stage tantrums?
If you want the chaplain to tell you you’re a victim rather than tell you that you need virtue, this may not be the university you’re looking for. If you want to complain about a sermon that makes you feel less than loving for not showing love, this might be the wrong place.
If you’re more interested in playing the “hater” card than you are in confessing your own hate; if you want to arrogantly lecture, rather than humbly learn; if you don’t want to feel guilt in your soul when you are guilty of sin; if you want to be enabled rather than confronted, there are many universities across the land (in Missouri and elsewhere) that will give you exactly what you want, but Oklahoma Wesleyan isn’t one of them.
A few stereotype observations from our recent trip:
- They all smoke too much, and everywhere. Strange to see everybody smoking in bars and restaurants. Sort of fun, too.
- They drink too much
- Except for Germans, they tend to be thin. Germans seem to think they look good as overweight people. They do not, and they should not wear thongs or take their clothes off at the beach. Stop that, you Germans.
- Europeans do not work out. Only Americans use gyms. Europeans think going to the spa, stretching, taking a steam bath or a sauna is a work-out.
- Italians do not travel much. But why would they?
- Brits and Germans like to go to sunny climates, get drunk and fall asleep in the sun and burn their pasty skin.
Columbia University has called in the emergency diversity squad after a sorority hosted an Olympics-themed costume party featuring students dressed as members of various nations. You can guess what happened next.
Closed Minds on Campus - Today’s student protesters start with valuable observations, writes John H. McWhorter,
but then they drift into a mistaken idea of what a university—and even a
society—should be
Students
Referred to Counseling Services to Deal With Trauma After Seeing
Confederate Flag - See more at:
http://moonbattery.com/?p=65769#sthash.my6lkdz2.dpuf
Oklahoma Wesleyan is not a “safe place”, but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn’t about you, but about others; that the bad feeling you have while listening to a sermon is called guilt; that the way to address it is to repent of everything that’s wrong with you rather than blame others for everything that’s wrong with them. This is a place where you will quickly learn that you need to grow up!
Doctors are physicians, not "care-providers." If your doctor does things by the book, then he/she is not focusing on you.
Dr. Accad wrote a letter to medical students, but it captures most of the sorts of things that thoughtful phyicians think and worry about all the time, through their careers.
Researchers: 
UMD
I understand the historical reasons that Christmas is on the winter solstice/Saturnalia in western Christianity, but I'd like it later. That's just one thing. Most of my grinchiness has to do with the feeling of pressure to pack everything in. I hate pressure and hassle, love serenity. 
Kitchen of Shakespeare’s last home found
From Vanderleun, 