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.
This is not Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This is something heartbreakingly better: Tom Petty playing with Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr
Anybody must admit that Trump is fun to listen to, regardless what you think of him. Trump is a powerful schmoozer, maybe as good as Bill Clinton. Talks fast like a real New Yorker.
Ever heard a feminist woman say that she is looking for a low-energy guy who can't hold a job, make his own goddam sandwich, or defend the family with force, if needed? It quotes Paglia:
‘The women’s movement is rooted in the belief that we don’t need men. All it will take is one natural disaster to prove how wrong that is. Then, the only thing holding this culture together will be masculine men of the working class.’ The new middle-class clerisy, whose number includes Webb, would do well to remember this: your literary luxury to demean the virtues of masculinity is predicated on the fact that you live in a society in which masculine men, particularly working-class ones, will defend your life and your family in the face of a disaster that will hopefully never come. You are free to insult these people precisely because these people have developed the ‘masculine’ strength to defend the society you live in.
Also,
... there are many people out there, millions of people, who see their values as better than yours, and who indeed see your values as crazy or at least incredibly unuseful. People who think that emotional awareness is a ridiculous value and utterly unhelpful in the negotiation of daily life, daily work, and daily struggle. But these people don’t have book deals and don’t have Joanna Lumley and JK Rowling singing their praises — as Webb’s book does — and so we can sneer at them. They become ignorable, even morally inferior. That grates with some of us because we know that in the communities we grew up in, the ‘toxic masculine’ values that it has become fashionable to disdain are viewed incredibly positively, and actually are incredibly positive: they provide you with the armour for the unforgiving trials of life in a society in which nothing is given and everything must be fought for.
A Boeing 777 wide-body jetliner was lumbering along at 800km/hour at 33000 feet when a cocky F-17 fighter jet flashed by at Mach 2.
The F17 pilot decided to show off. On his state of the art radio that is part of his state of the art 3D & million dollar headset, the F17 youngster told the 777 pilot, “Hey Captain, watch this!”
He promptly went into a barrel roll, followed by a steep, unimaginable, vertical climb. He then finished with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier, as the F17 screamed down at impossible G’s before levelling at almost sea level.
The F-17 pilot asked the 777 pilot what he thought of that?
The 777 pilot said, “That was truly impressive, but watch this!”
The 777 chugged along for about 5 minutes at the steady 800km/hour, and then the 777 pilot came back on and said, “What did you think of that?”
Puzzled, the cocky F-17 pilot asked, “What the heck did you do?”
The 777 pilot chuckled and said, "I stood up, stretched my legs, walked to the back, used the toilet, then got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll and secured a date for the next 3 nights in a five star hotel paid for by the company"
Many Kosher Lower East Side delis have gone out of business, but Katz's is a survivor. There's nothing special about it - basic Jewish home-style and deli food in large portions. All the pastrami, matzoh ball soups, and latkes that gentiles love too.
Besides the place staying in the family, I think one of their secrets has been NOT to change. We've all seen popular little old funky places decide to expand, renovate, and go upscale. And then go bust.
"I'm so disorganized..." Yes, she's a lefty (h/t American Digest). This is almost unbelievable. Thanks for police camera. Nice patient cop, nutty lady.
Vote for Berky! She needs a job!
Update: She wanted a job with no work, but she lost. The police video didn't help.
Technically-speaking, we are still in an Ice Age (Ice Ages are when there is ice on the poles), so let's worry about the next glacial incursion: The Next Ice Age
Indeed. As we have been saying, there are always trade wars. EU tariffs on American imports have been a bad deal for decades. Time for pushback, and it takes a Trump to do that.
Yes, it's a must-read. Amusing too. I forgot how much the Euroland tariffs screw US products. Trump is right to push back.
Long sample:
"Trump’s voters get him because not only is he we, but we are he. We were not snowflaked-for-life by effete professors who themselves never had negotiated tough life-or-death serious deals. Instead we live in the real world, and we know how that works. Not based on social science theories, not based on “conceptual negotiating models.” But based on the people we have met over life and always will hate. That worst boss we ever had. The coworker who tried to sabotage us. We know the sons of bums whom we survived, the dastardly types who are out there, and we learned from those experiences how to deal with them. We won’t have John Kerry soothe us by having James Taylor sing “You’ve Got a Friend” carols.
The Bushes got us into all kinds of messes. The first one killed the economic miracle that Reagan had fashioned. The second one screwed up the Middle East, where Iraq and Iran beautifully were engaged in killing each other for years, and he got us mired into the middle of the muddle. Clinton was too busy with Monica Lewinsky to protect us from Osama bin Laden when we had him in our sights. Hillary gave us Benghazi and more. And Obama and Kerry gave us the Iran Deal, ISIS run amok, America in retreat. All to the daily praise of a media who now attack Trump every minute of every day.
So let us understand a few things:
NATO is our friend. They also rip off America. They have been ripping us off forever. We saved their butts — before there even was a NATO — in World War I. They messed up, and 116,456 Americans had to die to save their butts. Then they messed up again for the next two decades because West Europeans are effete and so obsessed with their class manners and their rules of savoir faire and their socialist welfare states and their early retirements that they did not have the character to stand up to Hitler in the 1930s. Peace in our time. So they messed up, and we had to save their butts again. And another 405,399 Americans died for them during World War II. And then we had to rebuild them! And we had to station our boys in Germany and all over their blood-stained continent. So, hey, we love those guys. We love NATO.
Some people term them "real jobs." This is kinda brilliant even if you think Mike is a twit. Peripitaeia is a good word. So is anagnorisis, but the most painful and tragic version of it is the reality of oneself.
The real FBI, and the real mob. Joe is one heck of a calm clever fellow. The wonder of this interview is, for me, that "Donnie" could have made a great mob boss. A wonderful story.
