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.
I had one rummaging around in my shrubs recently (American Red Squirrel), and had not seen one here for years. Cute little guys, not often seen on the ground or away from good-sized conifer stands.
He (Sandel) fails to consider that substantial numbers of Americans are proud of their local way of life, have no yearning to live in Manhattan or Silicon Valley, and mostly want progressive elites to mind their own business. And for the most part he ignores the abundant evidence that the anger and the resentment of the people who live beyond urban centers and the wealthy suburbs that surround them stem from the political class’s faulty conduct: Many members of communities in red America believe that elites have recklessly opened the southern border and suspended immigration laws; promiscuously spent taxpayer dollars with little concern for the long-term effects on the nation’s fiscal health; tarnished America’s good name by bungling wars and diplomacy; converted much of the mainstream media into a propaganda arm of the Democratic Party; mobilized powerful government agencies—the IRS, the FBI, and the Department of Justice—against the conservative grassroots as well as its democratically chosen standard-bearer; and, not least, transformed the educational system—from kindergarten through graduate and professional education—into an assembly line for the reproduction of leftist ideology.
Despite the many causes for concern, including a few vague doubts that he himself raises, Sandel rejects the possibility that the primary problem with meritocracy in America is the failure of many members of our intellectual and political elites to perform their jobs well. Instead, he sets out to discredit the very idea that human beings deserve the fruits of their labor.
10:35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
10:36 And he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?"
10:37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."
10:38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
10:39 They replied, "We are able." Then Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
10:40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."
10:41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.
10:42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.
10:43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,
10:44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.
10:45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
CALIFORNIA’S CONTINUING COLLAPSE - There are several stories that can write themselves every morning, such as the failure of green energy, the failure of the Biden Administration, the failure of the wokerati to acquire any common sense, etc.And then there’s the ongoing failure of California...
Despite being a terrible person in some ways, White was not like Frank Gehry who always wants to make a Gehry statement. White just gave his clients whatever they wanted, and he knew how to do it. Shingle-style, neo-classical, whatever.
From our hike, Judson Memorial Church, just off Washinton Square. Mr. Rockefeller mostly paid for it, but White designed it. It's always been more service-oriented than Jesus-oriented, but it's still there.
Why Are Moms Like Me Being Called Domestic Terrorists? Showing up to dress down school boards over their dereliction of duty isn't a crime. It's good parenting and good citizenship.
Mrs. BD always wants new adventures, but in many ways I hate traveling. It's the process - airplanes, airports, rental cars, luggage, etc. I am always glad I did it after getting through the guards at JFK and headed back to my own place.
Mrs. is the travel planner, and she is darn good at it. She uses Karen Brown a lot, and knows how to use miles for first class. For me, long-distance air travel is torture regardless of the class. I try Ambien and hope not to wake up.
Scott Adams wonders whether it's a female thing, at just past the 23 minute mark: Podcast
Bored with their lives, maybe? Happy wife, happy life. I think mine is a good influence on me, but I never feel bored with life.