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.
He makes good points. My main hobbies are shooting and hunting, boating, skiing, and hanging out in NYC pubs with pals and gals. Each can be dangerous to some degree. I am heading out to Big Sky tonight for 6 days of off-trail reckless tree skiing with old skiing pals, risking life and limb in deep powder. It's more dangerous than smoking.
We will have a blast, and drink lots of beer too. My theory is that safety is for pussies but, since I have a little sense, there are some things I just won't do. Cave scuba diving is one of them. I can handle fear, but cave diving scares me too much. Once was enough, at 65 feet. A very cool experience, though, and I am glad I did it.
... any extra energy you put into an object does not make it move faster but just increases its mass. Mass and energy are the same thing – this is a profoundly important result. But that is another story.
We have often wondered here what the end point of Progressivism is. It often seems to us to be the point at which the State controls most everything and provides all the things people minimally need - except for individual freedom.
Given history, and everyday experience, this sort of childlike trust in the wisdom, efficacy, and altruism of the State seems deeply misguided, and the endpoint usually consists of a sort of serfdom of the people and a sort of monarchy of the State. Eventually, people with backbones and spirit rebel against it if they are able. (However, since fully-developed State utopias are usually, necessarily, oppressive police states, and the rebellious people are disarmed and lacking in funds, it's difficult.)
Visions lead to utopias, but once utopia is achieved, there is no more room for vision. Visions, like viruses, are competitive creatures. When a Vision achieves a static order by killing all other visions, then vision dies, but that Vision remains with its dead hand on the wheel of history.
It's better to have three good suits or three good work dresses than to have closets full of mediocre stuff. If you have business or professional ambitions, look the part. I own only three good, conservative suits, but plenty of Brooks Brothers ties and shirts for variation. Forgot, also a summer suit. I have three sports jackets for "informal Fridays" and for church, etc. A blazer and two tweeds.
I have just three pairs of expensive dress shoes for work; brown, cordovan, and black. They ought to be good for 20-30 years at least. Somebody once told me that people always check out your footwear, and it is true. I never do that, but other people do.
If you look professional, chances are that you will be treated that way. It sounds shallow, but the way a person presents himself in public, comports himself, grooms himself, speaks, his posture, all makes a huge difference in a world in which people only have time for quick takes and generally are not very interested in you because they know enough people already. After all, how you look is your decision about how you have chosen to present yourself to others. If you look like a schlub, people will assume that that is what you are or what you aspire to. If you look too natty, or whorish, conclusions will also be drawn.
We identify ourselves, introduce ourselves, before we open our mouths. Do I appraise people on their appearance? Of course I do. Everybody does. It's termed "signaling." It's not always accurate for sure, but it's a rule of thumb for people with little time.
Heading up to Killington this morning with some buddies. I am expecting plenty of powder and plenty of Long Trail.
I think I had best bring my heavy-duty winter undies. Maybe get some runs in this afternoon with my new skis, bought (brand new Volkls, in wrapper) on eBay (last year's model, for 1/3 the price).
Poverty is the normal human condition. Comfort and affluence and cheap carbohydrates are the exception. We take it all for granted, don't we? Even our "poor" are wealthy and comfortable as heck by world standards.
If President Obama really wants to set us on a course to greater income mobility, he could confront head-on the problem of father absence, perhaps in his January 28 State of the Union address. But instead, after $20 trillion in real spending on the War on Poverty, I anticipate we’ll hear a public call for still more federal spending aimed at aiding “our neediest citizens,” or overcoming income inequality through new government-led reforms.
What were the programs proposed by Lyndon Johnson that envisioned an America without poor people? They included not one program that transferred wealth from one slice of society to another to reduce poverty. They were job programs, education and skill training and legal help to gain access to housing and jobs. These included Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA), Job Corps, Head Start, GED programs, and Community Action Agencies to bring the poor, with programs they helped design, into the mainstream. Whether these were the right strategies -- and I now have my doubts -- they did not include trillions for a bailout to help people stay self-sufficient. For us now to say the War on Poverty was a success because we handed out the financial resources to alleviate poverty is a gross misunderstanding of the war in order to support the conclusion the war was at least in part won.
Many people in America do not mind relative poverty. Money isn't everything; freedom and self-determination is a lot, and the most important thing in the US.
"Arms off the table; Sit up straight; Don't talk with food in your mouth; Don't pick your teeth; Don't touch your face or your hair; Don't start before others; You're not a pig at the trough - converse and eat slowly; Don't slurp your soup; Ask people about themselves and don't talk about yourself; Look people in the eye and give a firm handshake; Don't bring up religion or politics, etc., etc." I have it all memorized.
Word to the wise: Please don't tell me about your kids. I only asked out of politeness, not interest. Tell me jokes and lies, be entertaining, and tell me something interesting.
Heading up to 
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