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.
Most people, of course, don’t really care if partially hydrogenated oils fall out of the food supply. What they do care about is the unremitting efforts of politicians to micromanage their lives.
"Even if you never plan to consume a smidgen of trans fat ever again, note well: many public health advocates are itching for the FDA to limit allowable amounts of salt, sugar, caffeine, and so forth in food products."
A few suggestions from a reader on what things to promote to reduce material poverty around the world:
work ethic showing up on time frugality saving investing for profit enforceable contracts freely entered independent arbitration of disputes rule of law in which all persons are equal secure private property rights good education to high standards
All the same, I believe the Pope' s job is to worry about spiritual poverty, not material. St. Francis took a vow of poverty and rejection of secular matters to assist his spiritual development and preaching mission.
Were I to dare to write a note to His Holiness, it would include some phrases like these:
...putting aside your concerns about nature and the weather, which I think the Creator may control in some way which is beyond our comprehension...
...instead of trying to be an amateur meteorologist or amateur economist, why not focus on Christ and His offer of salvation? That's what people need.
...if money is one of your major interests in this transient earthly existence, one constructive path of inquiry would be to focus on and to promote what makes people prosperous instead of blaming others...not that has anything to do with your job or your expertise, but the sources of prosperity and material abundance are well-understood...while the sources of religious abundance always need instruction, guidance, support and help.
If touching is assault then I have been assaulted by hundreds of women who have amiably touched my arm in conversation, and hundreds of men who have given me pats on the back. On a few occasions I have even had the experience of women tentatively touching me under the table and, for a guy, that is difficult to resist but it is not sexual assault.
Rape is violent, forceful assault with sexual intent. It is a felony. It is not equivalent to hand-holding, to a touch, or to a try for a good-night kiss on the porch. Equating normal social behavior with assault can only trivialize the reality of true assault.
He thought he was being cute and ironic. There is no cute and ironic anymore, dude. Thank God, one more witch (on the right) brought to justice. The other person in the photo might be a collaborator requiring similar justice.
Why would anybody waste precious life time and money to go this completely phony craphole? Real life is free and far more interesting. Heck, Disney movies are pretty darn good though.
Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade Magic Kingdom. They do this twice daily.Theater, I suppose, so fine. The recorded music (sounds like modern evangelical church music) comes out of loudspeakers like North Korea. How do they find enough stoner losers to work at this place? Well, it is Florida, and stoner losers with jobs is better than without them however retarded the jobs are. Our lefty friend Carl Hiassen captured the reality of it perfectly. He did not overlook the air-conditioning units inside those suits.
Good grief. Has any single model prediction been realized? NYC and San Francisco real estate has never been more insane, so clearly nobody is frightened by water. Al Gore's new San Fran mansion is only a couple of feet above sea level but maybe it's an investment in future valuable ocean bottom. Nobody really believes any of this. Pure fear tactics for the low-information citizens who do not read.
Living in the Northeastern US, we pray for globalistical warmening but it never comes. Nice and warm today though, with a coolish breeze.
Via Pirate, a fearless human female (a climate model) daring to approach a beach:
ABC's ’08 Prediction: NYC Under Water from Climate Change By June 2015 -
See more at:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2015/06/12/flashback-abcs-08-prediction-nyc-under-water-climate-change-june#sthash.rnRtVJyK.dpuf
Commenter there: What the Times hopes is that the smarter people amongst the Left base realize that people like Rubio and Walker appeal to the public partly because they aren't elitist douche-bags. Being "born in a log cabin" has a long history of being an effective back story in America and Rubio and Walker both have plenty of that in its modern incarnation.
The Average Joe’s Proviso - Surprising numbers of white working-class voters will support the Democratic agenda—if Democrats promise to reform the government that would carry it out.
Democrats might want to re-think a counter-productive strategy of highlighting Rubio for being so middle-class, still residing in his childhood neighborhood near his mother in a 2,700-square foot home with four children and buying himself a boat for family outings.
Many American voters might just identify more with that lifestyle over a woman who admits not having driven a car in almost 20 years, you know, because of all the chauffeurs.
If
you aren’t terrified yet, wait until they start applying these lunatic
principles to surgeons and airline pilots. - See more at:
http://moonbattery.com/?p=59338#sthash.xsRYZDnX.dpuf
Re the Monty Python "Call me Loretta" posted below, I want to change my body too. I want to be 3" taller, I want 25 lbs. of truly disgusting daddy-fat gone, I want perfect teeth, I want 3" in length and 1" in girth added to my pepperoni, I want to be able to bench 200 lbs. And I want to be 20 years younger and handsomer too with a powerful chin and a bigger nose. (Secret fantasy: I really want to be black and to be an NBA star, but I do not want to over-ask.)
So is that too much to ask for? Am I mentally-disordered? Is it Body Integrity Disorder? Do I need government to fix me? Or is the only thing that is ok now for guys to desire is to be castrated into eunuchs?
What do you readers want to make yourself feel just right?
Connecticut has already been driving business and employers away for years, but government greed never ends until they kill the golden goose which CT has historically had. Until after WW2, Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury were wealthy industrial powerhouses. Today, remarkably, even New York is a better tax deal for business.
One by one, my prosperous friends who are among the 5-10,000 people in CT who pay the bulk of the state income taxes are establishing residence in Florida. It's not that they want to. It's because they feel it's stupid not to. They come back home for the summer.
Now even the huge employer, GE, is considering leaving CT and another big one, Sikorsky Aircraft, is cutting back local jobs.
For the first time ever a computer has managed to develop a new scientific theory using only its artificial intelligence, and with no help from human beings.
For
the first time ever a computer has managed to develop a new scientific
theory using only its artificial intelligence, and with no help from
human beings. - See more at:
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/06/ai-darwin.html#sthash.lhV1gdVX.dpuf
Everything 
Photo from 
The miracle
Kate Upton
Colonial Williamsburg
Image via 
Re the Monty Python "Call me Loretta" posted below, I want to change my body too. I want to be 3" taller, I want 25 lbs. of truly disgusting daddy-fat gone, I want perfect teeth, I want 3" in length and 1" in girth added to my pepperoni, I want to be able to bench 200 lbs. And I want to be 20 years younger and handsomer too with a powerful chin and a bigger nose. (Secret fantasy: I really want to be black and to be an NBA star, but I do not want to over-ask.)
Getting King John