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.
Although modern societies have made extraordinary progress in solving a wide range of social problems, from poverty and illiteracy to violence and infant mortality, the majority of people believe that the world is getting worse. The fact that concepts grow larger when their instances grow smaller may be one source of that pessimism.
As social problems shrink, there is less need or demand for the Left. Then the challenge is to magnify smaller issues right down to the microscopic, invented, or imaginary ones. Raise the volume. They are gettng the hang of that. Especially Scare the Blacks, but I don't think that will work this time. The reparations deal might, though, because who does not like the idea of a free check in the mail?
Two years ago, I wrote about how Connecticut morphed from a low-tax state to a high-tax state. The Nutmeg State used to be an economic success story, presumably in large part because there was no state income tax. But then an income tax was imposed almost 30 years ago and it’s been downhill ever since.
The Republican Party’s prior role was to slow down the inevitable trajectory to European socialism, the end of American exceptionalism, and homogenized globalized culture. Losing nobly in national elections was one way of keeping one’s dignity, weepy wounded-fawn style, while the progressive historical arc kept bending to our collective future. Rolling one’s eyes on Sunday talk shows as a progressive outlined the next unhinged agenda was proof of tough resistance.
Like it or not, now lines are drawn. Trump so unhinged the Left that it finally tore off its occasional veneer of moderation, and showed us what progressives had in store for America...
With Justice Department investigators’ noses to the ground, it should be just a matter of time before they identify Brennan conclusively as fabricator-in-chief of the Russiagate story. Evidence, real evidence in this case, abounds, since the Brennan-Comey-Clapper gang of three were sure Hillary Clinton would become president. Consequently, they did not perform due diligence to hide their tracks...
Countless workout fads have come along since the heyday of Jazzercise: Tae Bo, Pilates, Zumba, boxing, spinning, pole dancing. And yet Jazzercise persists
Many or most people in the US have used opioids whether for surgical or dental procedures, cancer pain, etc. The number of those people who become addicts is extremely low, but I do not have the numbers.
I know that there is some recreational use too, which seems, intuitively, more likely to lead towards addiction.
The few times I have used opioids (prescribed, of course), I have found them to be sort-of ok for pain relief but generally unpleasant (sleepy, stupid, unsettling) so I switch to NSAIDs or Tylenol as soon as I can.
Others find opioids to provide a feeling of deep, warm well-being if not euphoria. That sounds appealing, doesn't it?
French Locals 
RIP, Steve Dunleavy: 
8 Fun (and Possibly Dangerous) Activities Enjoyed by Past Generations
Budweiser's Father's Day campaign 
Lovers