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.
Mrs. BD has been traveling around Normandy with her Dad for the past week. Yes, they did it the high-end way.
Wherever they went, people walked up saying things like "Thank you, Americans, for what you did for us." Europeans of all types from all counties (not Germans) showing gratitude to Americans.
Very moving, obviously. Story goes that the old guy was too young to join the army. He lied about his age, but the recruiters phoned his Mom to check. His two older brothers were in the war (one on Omaha Beach), and both survived and went on to great educations, great careers, with fine families.
Photo is Mrs. BD's Monkfish supper last night in a tiny seaside port in Normandy. She says they poached it right, tender, juicy, delicate, and not chewy as in the US. Those French know how to cook.
My bike has a flat tire so cannot deliver the subversive news. Yet. In the meantime, George Papadopoulos is an impressive young guy. It's all about spies.
The Partner Chase - An elite law firm’s inability to promote enough minority partners exposes the unrealistic expectations of diversity mandates - Heather Mac Donald
I know it's a "Hallmark Day," but, just like giving thanks to God on Sundays, if we were better people we'd show some gratitude every day. I do try.
My Mom is gone, and Mrs. BD (a Mom of 3) is in France with her Dad. Still, I am going to cook up some pan-fried ribeyes for a Mom.
Better yet, if no kids at home, take the relevant Mom or Moms out for a fancy dinner (champagne, lobsters, oysters, etc). It's not easy being a good Mom, harder than being a good Dad. Often boring, frustrating, worrisome, disappointing or even heart-breaking despite the rewards.
This was our first urban hike with all-day cool (low 50s all day) rain. Very similar to northern Scotland. Undaunted, our team marched on despite some discomfort and got to see all sorts of cool things along with the always-interesting (or more interesting) street scenes.
Along with us we had famous website owners, family members, of course Dear Leader Bulldog and his adorable Mrs., and representatives from Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and NYC. Ages 22 to 70+. Such an enjoyable, interesting, amusing, adventurous, and high IQ group. Friends.
We covered 11.5 miles with all of our detours while trending north, with lots of uphill in Washington Heights.
The Maggie's Urban Hike tradition is to stop for pizza and beer around 1 pm. Victorio's on 145th St. had pretty good greasy pizza. Our team occupied every seat in that hole in the wall joint, deeply immersed in this amazing city.
Below, the elegant Victorio's Pizza Plus, in north Harlem near City College on 145th St. Very efficient pizza joint but no damn bathroom and no beer!
A daughter sent me this snap in a Berlin cafe. If you have been to Germany or Austria, you will see that everybody has a dog. Just like Italy. However, the German dogs are well-trained while the Italian dogs are untrained and feral.
While one of my daughters is in Berlin doing the cool things she does and reporting that she much prefers Berlin to LA, Mrs. BD emailed me her pic from her travels with her Dad today. You know where this is.
There is obviously a correlation between muscle mass and strength for the "strong men," but for ordinary men and for women, not so much. It's common for me to see young women in the gym, with no notable muscle mass, outlifting me in squats and even in deads.
What do we consider low reps? Low reps are when you can only do 3-8 reps. Higher reps are 10-20. I would never do high reps with powerlifts. Arms, yes. Calisthenics like pushups, for sure.
A conservative contemplating getting a Ph.D. in the hopes of becoming a U.S. professor would be foolish not to think her political views would greatly diminish her chance of getting professorship. Conservative college employees, furthermore, will take these incidents as reasons to hide.
(Even though I work at Smith College, I can write this article because I’m protected by tenure, a fancy law degree, and a neurodiverse brain that causes me to care less about what people think of me than is the norm. Almost everyone else in the Smith community has far less protection than I do.)
The bottom line for Democrats is that a strong majority (61 percent) of voters say “it's time for Democrats in Congress to move on to other issues now that the Mueller probe has failed to prove that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians.” If Democrats don’t get the hint, they most certainly risk the same kind of backlash the GOP experienced after impeaching President Bill Clinton.
Mrs. BD has been traveling around Normandy with her Dad for the past week. Yes, they did it the high-end way.
Jane Brody: 
Something strange has been going on with Maggie's for the past ten days or so. Mainly redirections or failure notices. 
Better than I could have done:
Why Do We Forget What We’re Doing
Pogo toon via 
thought I glimpsed a female yesterday, but today I saw a male picking weed seeds out of my lawn. If they are nesting nearby, I am delighted.