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.
Heather on women in combat: "I am not aware of any comparable crusade to create gender-integrated football teams. At least America knows what’s really important."
However, we know that Leviathan's hunger for money and control is never sated. If you imagine that there is ever "enough," just ask a Leftist where the endpoint should be, the point at which government's task is complete.
There will always be a list, the job will never be done, and, still, utopia will never arrive because dystopia always arrives first.
Related: Gerard found that One Cosmos has reviewed Our Logophobic President, with his sarcasm button turned on. One sample:
"A great nation must protect its people from life's worst hazards and misfortune."
Hmm. Does that include protection from the most devastating hazard and misfortune of them all, the tyrannical and intrusive state?
Because if the 20th century taught us one lesson, it is that there is nothing more destructive than the all-wise and all-powerful state predicated on the fantasy that it will protect its citizens from all of life's unavoidable exigencies. I mean, just protect me from domestic and foreign enemies, okay? And stop violating with the Constitution. Then we'll talk.
What are life's worst hazards, anyway? Probably the same they've always been: war. Famine. Disease. Poverty. So, why don't we cure hunger by imitating the Soviet Union and putting the state in charge of food production and distribution? While we're at it, why doesn't the federal government create millions of pretend jobs and lavish its worthless employees with absurdly generous wages and benefits?
Oh, right. I guess Obama noticed how effectively that model is working here in California
Prof. of Philosophy and Law (NYU) Thomas Nagel's classic short essay What Is It Like To Be a Bat? (1974) is a fairly deep reflection on mind and consciousness. Take an extra Adderal before studying it. One key quote:
At the present time the status of physicalism is similar to that which the hypothesis that matter is energy would have had if uttered by a pre-Socratic philosopher. We do not have the beginnings of a conception of how it might be true. In order to understand the hypothesis that a mental event is a physical event, we require more than an understanding of the word 'is'. The idea of how a mental and a physical term might refer to the same thing is lacking, and the usual analogies with theoretical identification in other fields fail to supply it. They fail because if we construe the reference of mental terms to physical events on the usual model, we either get a reappearance of separate subjective events as the effects through which mental reference to physical events is secured, or else we get a false account of how mental terms refer (for example, a causal behaviorist one).
He is certainly one of the most provocative and interesting philosophers around today.
In Mind and Cosmos, Nagel continues his attacks on reductionism. Though the book is brief its claims are big. Nagel insists that the mind-body problem “is not just a local problem” but “invades our understanding of the entire cosmos and its history.” If what he calls “materialist naturalism” or just “materialism” can’t explain consciousness, then it can’t fully account for life since consciousness is a feature of life. And if it can’t explain life, then it can’t fully account for the chemical and physical universe since life is a feature of that universe. Subjective experience is not, to Nagel, some detail that materialist science can hand-wave away. It’s a deal breaker. Nagel believes that any future science that grapples seriously with the mind-body problem will be one that is radically reconceived.
Epistomology becomes a whirl, or a whirlpool. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." I'll put Nagel's new book on my 2013 reading list, which continously expands. Too many books, too little time.
"after the Sandy Hook murders I felt compelled to do something, even if it was only symbolic. So, last month, I joined the NRA, the nation’s most effective civil rights organization, for the first time."
"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be Rome’s, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious."
As I have mentioned here before, I don't know how it is possible to run a complex household effectively without two or more adults in it. We know that marriage has seen a marked decline in the lower socioeconomic strata, thus contributing to a vicious circle of poverty, malfunction and dependency. From what I have read, marriage is still going strong in the middle and upper-middle strata. I suspect that is because middle class people desire a coherent, orderly, busy life which is enriching to everybody in the family - and one reason why divorce is so traumatic: it's not just about money, it's about structure.
“The scale of marital breakdown in the West since 1960 has no historical precedent and seems unique,” the distinguished historian Lawrence Stone said a few years ago. “At no time in history, with the possible exception of Imperial Rome, has the institution of marriage been more problematic than it is today.”
Hitler's Germany has conquered all of Europe; all except for one resolute island nation. And, with his eye on Russia, Hitler has no interest in fighting Great Britain, he simply wants to relegate it to the inconsequential. This means stopping the supply convoys from America. A relatively simple task, given the right equipment.
Which he had.
The terrifying armada of U-boats had already caused the American supply ships to huddle in close-knit convoys; perfect targets for the long guns of a battleship. And even if the convoy was accompanied by a cruiser, or even a battleship, that's not much of a challenge when your own battleship is so big and new that you can outgun the enemy by five miles.
It was a fairly simple plan, really, and it should have worked.
And if it had?
Britain would have sat on the edge of starvation for the year or so it would have taken Hitler to conquer Russia, since now he wouldn't have to divide his forces, then would have easily fallen once he turned his eye upon it.
And that means, without a stepping stone or 'bridgehead' to gather our forces on, America never could have effectively invaded Europe.
And that means Hitler's Germany would have developed the atomic bomb long before we did. They were already working on it by the time we invaded, and it was only our intervention (like bombing the 'heavy water' facilities) that curtailed its development. Without that, Germany would have had the atomic bomb within a few years. At the time, they were considered the finest machinists in the world.
And then, after taking out Boston and Detroit, the same way we took out Hiroshima and Nagasaki — as a small warning of what's to come — what would our government have done? The same thing the Japanese government did when faced with certain annihilation.
That's how important this moment in history was.
So, why did this great plan fail? It was, after all, the maiden voyage of the largest battleship ever built, the Bismarck, and with four other battleships in the fold, there was simply no way Germany could have failed to wreak havoc on the convoys, isolating Britain and effectively curtailing any further involvement from America.
How did it fail? By a few great strokes of luck and an incredible number of blunders on Germany's part. And that's despite three major screw-ups by the Brits.
But the one major error on Germany's part, the one that signaled the end, was the one that created a situation that was perhaps the most surreal moment in the history of modern warfare.
When you picture the sinking of Bismarck, you're imagining the pounding of the large British naval guns and the brave aviators in their fast Hellcats launching deadly torpedoes at the massive warship, right?
This feisty little prodigy is Sugar Chile Robinson, aka Frank Robinson. Quite a youthful career, but he quit music, went to college, and became a Psychologist and had a radio show.
Harvard is looking for a woman to bear a Neanderthal child. She might need broad hips. They would probably gain plenty of applicants if the kid were guaranteed admission on a multicultural basis. Might be a threat as a linebacker on the Crimson team too or, given the brain size, a threat on the Chess Team.
I was disappointed that the post the other day about human migration excluded our Neanderthal brethren. They were made in God's image too, were they not?
Global cooling is a real threat for mankind's global future, obviously. One advantage of bringing back our Neanderthal brothers and sisters is that they know how to hunt the coming influx of Wooly Mammoths, as Steyn reminded us today on the radio. At some point, in the Northeast, the dang Mammoths will become pests, rooting around in our Rhododendrons in the snow along with the Polar Bears and those annoying and smelly Musk Oxen.
It's a very sad story, and it is due, in part but not entirely, to the Obama economy in my opinion because nobody is hiring anybody right now, and neither are we:
The belief that education is both good in and of itself, and also, is practically a guarantee of a good job, was never entirely true. But now it's clearly false in many fields, and insiders who blind themselves to this reality are doing naive kids a great wrong. Increasingly, getting the extra degree may actually decrease peoples' chances of finding jobs, partners, and satisfying lives, because of the debt and time that are poured into them.
What we really need around here are more good plumbers and electricians who do not abuse drugs. We have plenty of skilled, reliable masons, all clean-cut Mexican immigrants. In today's economic mess, it's time for people to get creative and to start their own businesses. Necessity is the mother of invention. Just make sure you don't hire more than 49 employees (same as they do in France). After 49, you get in deep government issues which nobody can comprehend but you just know you will make some error somewhere.
He has also recently written a short legal essay on a topic dear to my heart entitled HAM SANDWICH NATION: DUE PROCESS WHEN EVERYTHING IS A CRIME. Nobody knows what the criminal laws are anymore, especially the regulatory ones. It's like Alice's Restaurant. The Feds truly can indict anybody for anything if they want to.
There have been a couple of aviation stories in the news recently. Here's a quick update.
Pic: Doc's lifelong dream of flight begins to take shape
As noted in The F-35 Debacle, perhaps the goofiest weapon of war the United States armed forces has ever commissioned was the fastest, sleekest, most modern fighter jet in history — while requiring that it also have the capabilities of a helicopter.
The mind reels.
But, even though they now cost about 10 times the original estimate, this isn't to say that our money's not being put to good use. Sure, there are bound to be a few little glitches, but that's expected when developing a new breed of aircraft.
Little glitches like, say, turning into a fireball of death when hit by lightning.
The production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – the world’s most sophisticated and expensive combat aircraft – has been derailed after engineers discovered that the jet’s fuel tank could explode if struck by lightning.
But at least they're watching every dollar and not frivolously wasting it on unnecessary weight:
Attempts to increase fuel efficiency by reducing the jet’s weight have also made it more vulnerable to enemy attack than the generation of aircraft it was supposed to replace.
Or scaring innocent civilians on the ground by flying too low:
A design fault in the fuel tank has also prevented the JSF being able to rapidly descend to low altitude.
What's so sobering is that, after more than a decade, this thing's still in the developmental stage. It hasn't even been put to use and field-tested yet.
Let's hope the bad guys don't live in an area protected by lots of thunderstorms.
Speaking of fireballs of death, below the fold we'll get an update on the Boeing 787 and how our ever-vigilant MSM has handled the story.
America is being run by a Made in Indonesia leader whose performance is as bad as any of the Made in Indonesia, Pakistan or China crap you'll find in Wal-Mart. And it doesn't matter because he's a brand. The savvier younger and urban voters don't care what he's made of, they care how he makes them feel. They may lose their job the next day and their prospects for paying off their college loans may be missing, but if it makes them feel good at the point of polling, then that's what matters.
This sentimental series could keep going on, but this is enough for now. I hope Moms are still cooking these simple, filling things for their kids, because kids (and Dads) appreciate them and the homey, loving, and pedestrian nature of the food.
Man cannot live on take-out alone. Even if Mom has no talent in the kitchen, hot and home-made (even with the help of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) means a lot, says a lot.
Here's Moussaka. Very quick and easy to make. I've had it with ground beef, lamb, venison, even African antelope. All plenty good enough.
That's what Maggie's Mom's Home Cookin' is all about - good enough, loving enough, and cheap enough for a hungry, growing family.
(I deliberately left out many good Mom items which take more time to prepare - like Lasagna - or cost more - like ribeye steaks. And a good roast chicken can be got at Costco for $3.99. I left out Stuffed Cabbage and Shrimp and Grits, but I'll add them to the summary post.)
That theoretical eruption of Mount Toba 74,000 years ago almost might have wiped us out. The Ice Ages sure put a damper on things too. Changes in climate determined much of mankind's history.
Barring another Mount Toba, and with the help of some much hoped-for global warming, humans might populate the entire globe with cozy bungalows.
But we'll have another Mount Toba, for certain, sometime.
Unless you are some sort of immature free spirit like Elizabeth Wurtzel (with a guardian angel) who meanders through life aimlessly, you will have goals and will plot a course to attempt to reach them in the endless effort to feel content or satisfied, or at least to survive independently. Odds are that we will not reach the goals, but we give it our best shot. Always have a Plan B and a Plan C.
It remains a lighthouse on the sea of life: How to Win Friends and Influence People. It's the first book in my syllabus of my course Life 101, A Sunday Series this semester at Maggie's College. It's good to learn how to connect with people, but it is not automatic for most of us.
More of the syllabus later. It's a one-semester seminar course, one book per week is all - 15 books. It's not for credit because people are supposed to know these basics of life already, but many bright people never learned them because we got the mistaken impression that we were just wonderful without even trying. Including me. We aren't wonderful.
As Dr. Bliss often says, the life you desire must be constructed deliberately, thoughfully, while always being alert to opportunities that arise. Opportunities do arise if we just "Suit up and show up."
Raise it to 75. Americans are not like lazy European slackers. We like to be useful and productive, and it helps us respect ourselves. Any 65 year-old American will tell you that they are in the prime of life and ready to do anything. 65 is the new 45. The vast majority of Americans who retire at 65 have incomes at or below $20,000 per year. That's a bad plan.
Obama’s postelection arrogance and intransigence can put you in a fighting mood. I sympathize. But I’m tending toward the realist view: Don’t force the issue when you don’t have the power.
The irony is that over the last 30 years, the U.S. homicide rate has declined by 50 percent. Gun murders as well. We’re living not through an epidemic of gun violence but through a historic decline.
About the 
Prof. of Philosophy and Law (NYU) Thomas Nagel's classic short essay 
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There have been a couple of aviation stories in the news recently. Here's a quick update.
This sentimental series could keep going on, but this is enough for now. I hope Moms are still cooking these simple, filling things for their kids, because kids (and Dads) appreciate them and the homey, loving, and pedestrian nature of the food.
A hearty Coors Light toast to Assistant Village Idiot in 
National Geographic Links Snow And Cold To Globull Warming
Mayor Of Gun Violence Capitol Of America