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.
Citizen government was the original idea, not professional careerists looking for an easy unskilled government job for life. Thank God she's not a lefty. Quick as a whip, compelling and highly likable. I do not agree with her on everything, but so what?
She is an effective spokesperson, which is what she is running for.
Yesterday's NLRB ruling came as a surprise to nobody but the groups seeking to unionize, and it's not a decision so much as kicking the can. The NLRB decided it has no jurisdiction in the Northwestern case, but this non-decision has some interesting implications. While Northwestern, and other state-run universities, won't see players unionize any time soon, the case for unionization can be taken to private universities and did not outright rule against unionization. The union pushing for this has vowed to try again.
It's widely known that college football and basketball are de facto minor leagues for the NBA and NFL. But they are not true minor leagues, and while the athletes are not paid in the same fashion as professionals (they are 'amateurs', after all), they are actually paid quite a bit of money. Most of these payments are utilized at their own discretion, such as getting an education and not just taking Underwater Pottery 101.
At any major school, the education itself carries a cost of $18,000-50,000 a year. At some elite schools, it could be substantially more. Very few people in the 18-24 age range earn this much money, let alone are given the opportunity to supplement that 'payment' through the use of educational facilities.
There are other payments as well. 'Free' food (the players eat substantial portions at the school cafeterias), 'free' living facilities (not always 5-star quality, but I liked my college digs), 'free' health care and fitness facilities, travel to and from games, and the likelihood of a free meal at a host of local bars and restaurants (if you're the big star).
My neighbor's son is currently playing Wide Receiver at a major northeastern university. I've spoken with him many times since he's been up there, and he works hard. His freshman year was a bust, due to pulled hamstring (he tells me the workouts for injured players are harder than for those who are healthy, but you work on other muscle groups that usually go ignored). To hear his stories, however, you come to realize these young people have a very good lifestyle, even if they are not the rock-star QB.
The NCAA needs reform, no doubt. College athletics (and education - but that's a completely different matter), in general, needs reform. I don't think unionization will solve any of these issues, nor will any kind of governmental interference. It's fair to say these are well-compensated student/athletes (emphasis on athlete) for the level of play they are engaged in. If the players want to unionize, I really don't have a problem with that. I suppose if they did and pushed for more 'stuff', they'd find out just how important or unimportant they are (I'm thinking unimportant, at many schools, though not the big-sports ones).
It's also fair to say that, if some people have their way, and these athletes get paid, the Title IX athletics will disappear. The wide-ranging effects of unionization and paid student-athletes has never truly been investigated. My guess is the only logical end to this will be to turn major college sports into a true minor league. For now, however, the NCAA continues to hold sway.
New book: Thoughts on ‘The Devil’s Pleasure Palace’ - Subversion is Michael Walsh’s primary focus and the battle he describes is nothing less than a battle between good and evil
From
the UNEXPECTEDLY!!! Files: In the Wake of Proposition 47, California
Sees a Crime Wave - See more at:
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=57497#sthash.XI1BP41p.dpuf
The gals of UA's Alpha Phi strike back. Yes, they are in college, but they want friends, fun, dates, and a good husband at the end. But do not be fooled: some of them are math majors. I met one from this tribe, every bit as smart as the grouchy, unfeminine, poorly-dressed northern girls but full of charm, optimism, good cheer, and humor.
It's a big joke. But - The Countless Crimes of Hillary Clinton: Special Prosecutor Needed Now. Hillary finally hands over her server—after it's been professionally wiped clean.
Hillary! and Bill are schemers, sociopaths, bad people with a 40-year record. I know that politics often attracts low-skill sociopaths, but Dems can do better. True that this is all far worse than Watergate which had nothing to do with anything important. That was pure scalp-hunting as was going after Bill for his female-abuse.
The Countless Crimes of Hillary Clinton: Special Prosecutor Needed Now
Hillary finally hands over her server—after it's been professionally wiped clean
Read more at http://observer.com/2015/08/the-countless-crimes-of-hillary-clinton-special-prosecutor-needed-now/#ixzz3itlnH8ER
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That's not very good but, then again, we are Centrist, not Conservative. Do us a favor and let your friends know about us. They might enjoy our eclectic site.
The overwhelming cause of poverty in America today is family breakdown, not inadequate government spending on welfare programs or low wages. Children in single-mother households are over four times as likely to be poor as children raised by married parents. And an adult can avoid poverty by taking just three simple steps: graduate from high school, work full-time, and wait until marriage to have children. Only 2 percent of adults who followed those rules are poor, according to the Brookings Institution’s Isabell Sawhill; 75 percent of adults who obey the rules have entered the middle class, defined as making at least $55,000 a year.
Note to readers and to website proprietors: We frequently fail to give appropriate h/ts to link sources. We try to make up for that by linking their pieces when it makes sense to.
Anyway, thanks to those who send us interesting links, and thanks to some of our frequent but sometimes unacknowledged resources:
From Steyn: "A Disgrace to the Profession"- The World's Scientists - in their own words - on Michael E Mann, his Hockey Stick and their Damage to Science
Hillary Clinton has a $350 billion plan that she says will make college more affordable. Which has to be better than my parents’ plan to make college affordable: “Be good at sports.”
Hillary! says Marco Rubio is too young. Below the fold, a pic of Bill and Hill on a dreamy beach vacation...somebody was lucky to get that photo because those two have hardly ever been together for 8 years:
I'm an enormous fan of Jonathan Haidt's work. Nonetheless, I've always had two outstanding questions about it (and would note that these are not exactly questions of which Professor Haidt is unaware). The first is simply whether his surveys capture the actual moral reasoning that people do, or represent people pretending to do the sort of moral reasoning they think they ought to do.
... they laughed when I said how strange it was that I met many people who fell in with the wrong crowd but never any members of the wrong crowd itself.
Hillary and Cheryl and Huma ought to have one of those seances Hillary used to have with Eleanor Roosevelt's ghost, only this time contact Richard Nixon's ghost and ask about the wisdom of getting in a urination match with a federal judge.
O, Utopia. Why must your sweet governance always turn so quickly from the Edenic to the Stalinist? The college revolutions of the 1960s—the ones that gave rise to the social-justice warriors of today’s campuses—were fueled by free speech. But once you’ve won a culture war, free speech is a nuisance, and “eliminating” language becomes a necessity.
Cheryl Mills To Destroy Emails About Boss Hillary Clinton
Read more at http://observer.com/2015/08/breaking-cheryl-mills-to-destroy-emails-about-hillary-clinton/#ixzz3iDKgTMLl
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Hope y'all have as fun a summer weekend as I am planning - fishing and thriving on seafood and beer with my gal off Block Island on the usual shared Whaler. I still have no idea why the gal likes me. Yes, I do have a cooler with wasabi, fresh ginger, and soy sauce so we can have sushi fresh from the sea, still flipping, so that might be why. Sushi + Corona with some lime in it.
They predict good sized seas on the ocean this weekend. Ride 'em, cowboy! Carpe diem, friends.
Obama drives down coal company stocks, 
6 Things You Should Know About
Massive Study 
How To Slice A Bagel Along A Mobius Strip —
Notes on the Republican Presidential Debate