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.
" The best argument in favor of Trump’s presidency is what Trump’s presidency has taught us about the character of the people who oppose him, and who would be wielding power if he weren’t."
Well, obviously. It almost worked. Boob-bait, "Russia Russia Russia". But wasn't she the one with the goofy and embarrassing Russia "Reset" button? The US should be cautious friends with Russia. Many common interests. Why look for enemies (except for political reasons)?
There isn't much to say about this, except what we all know. The press got it wrong by a long shot, is now incapable of winding it back, and the Progressives have latched on to a David Hogg-type character they can hate for a single reason. He smirked (no, really, that's their reason, it has nothing to do with a MAGA hat. I've already been told it has nothing to do with that hat. Nothing.).
Let's see where the basis of hating the smirk comes from.
"The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself – anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offence. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called."~George Orwell, 1984
I'll admit smirking can be criminal. I'm not sure a teen's confused smile is a 'smirk'. But if it is, it certainly can be criminal, as we've seen:
In the post-national world, that old definition of citizen no longer works. In a world where foreign people can just move in, claim the benefits and protections from the government, citizenship loses all value. At the same time, the state is increasingly alien to the people over whom it rules. In the European Union, the people are no longer ruled by their national governments, as all of the big decision are made in Brussels. In America, political offices are increasingly being filled by exotic weirdos with no connection to the natives.
The question then is what does it mean to be a citizen in a democratic empire?
...the roar of racist rage from the great and good directed at an innocent Kentucky boy is all about implementing the Democrats’ grand strategy, which is to assemble a coalition of the margins of American society: immigrants, welfare mothers, tech billionaires, transgenders, hedge-fund guys, black church ladies, gays, Jews, the unmarried, movie stars, felons, and so forth and so on.
In contrast, the more similar you are to a Minuteman of 1776, the more likely you are to vote Republican. The GOP appeals to Core Americans, the Democrats to Fringe Americans.
Mass immigration offers the Democrats good reason to hope to overwhelm their foes in the long run...
Seeming to equate maleness with sociopathic behavior is appalling to all normal people. I hated that disparagement of "boys will be boys" because, well, they will be. Sociopathic behavior is an entirely different topic.
Photo: My chilly Mockingbird, getting out of the wind. Doubt he'll survive the winter up here. About 30% of birds die each winter, whether by migration or by staying put.
The real and ongoing source of Democrats' outrage is that President Trump has continually and, it must be said, gleefully, skewered the establishment. He has challenged the conventional wisdom on nearly everything, revealing the shallowness of the group-think that has so long dominated our political discourse.
If the NYT understood infant mortality stats, they wouldn't make this claim. Most countries don't bother trying to save early premies or defective babies, so our stats look worse. It's like saying Memorial Cancer Hospital's stats make it look like the worst hospital in the US
Sheesh. Those people do not want housing. They reject housing, They are bums, addicts, mentally-ill, and vagrants. It's their preferred life style. Stats say 10% or fewer are normal people down on their luck
I am WAY behind on posting. I still have Iceland videos and pictures to post, as well as some from my recent Caribbean sailing trip.
However, for the last 2 months I've been very busy with a restructuring of my office. My job has shifted, as has my department, my management, and my co-workers. I'm essentially doing the same job, but I've dropped some of my duties to another, so I'm training them as I focus more on the important parts of my new role.
I'm sorry for not following up on Iceland yet, but I will.
That said, I returned from our Caribbean sail (no WiFi for 10 days, both a blessing and a curse, mostly a blessing) and turned around and flew to a conference to consolidate our restructure. At one point in the conference, we had guest speakers. One was Chris Christie (more on that later) and the other was Kobe Bryant.
On NPR this morning, 3 stories on the catastrophe of shutdown, a story about how low gas prices damage climate, and a long piece on how Trump has not kept his promises (eg no wall yet, no trade deal with China yet, NAFTA renegotiations not oked by congress yet), and a commentary that the economy and employment are good, but a recession is coming so people should not feel good. Their logo should be a late middle-aged woman with a worried frown, shaking her finger at you.
Here are a couple of easy immigration questions -- answerable with a simple "yes" or "no" -- we might ask any American of any political stripe: Does everyone in the world have a right to live in the U.S.? Do the American people have a right, through their elected representatives, to decide who has the right to immigrate to their country and under what conditions? I believe that most Americans, even today's open-borders people, would answer "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second.
The truth is, that the modern world of totalitarianism and material advance, is genuinely popular. It answers to that part of human nature which corresponds to animal nature. We want food, sex, indolence and sleep, and the less we must work for it, the better.
We're planning two group hikes for this Spring. One will be a Bob Memorial Hike for Friends Of Bob only (challenging or hazardous bouldering mainly, I think - maybe at Mohonk), and the other will be the 2019 Maggie's NYC Urban Hike to which everybody is welcome. Always a jolly crew from all over the country and some noted bloggers too.
Is this our 4th one? They have all been quite interesting but it's my turn to plan. No date set quite yet but it is always regardless of weather. We're tough.
I propose hiking Broadway from Columbus Circle or Lincoln Center up to The Cloisters. That's 8 miles without diversions - but Bulldog will doubtless find interesting historical diversions to add a mile or two. That takes us up the Upper West Side, past Riverside Church and Columbia Univ, through Harlem, through Washington Heights and its great Dominican restaurants, to Fort Tryon Park (maybe stop and see Hamilton's farmhouse up there. Yes, he commuted to his downtown law practice).
How does that sound, for starters? Broadway Line and another subway back to midtown or Times Square. Easy.
If we do this route, we definitely have to see the Palace Theater, Rev. Ike's old church. Amazing place with lots of 20th C history. My lad and I saw Dylan there one time. I wonder whether it's open for tourists. Maybe a C-note might work to get us in for a few minutes, because the whole place is a wonder to behold.
Apple's Tax Tactics Deserve Defending, Not Shaming. Is it moral to pay higher taxes, even if that hurts employees, consumers, and shareholders? David Brooks seems to thinks so.
That is, cannabinoids. I think there is already a bubble in publicly-traded companies, and that weed itself is a cheap commodity. I see a company making chewing gum. No, not a bubble-gum.
I do not like weed myself (beer is my vice of choice), but I will not object to an easy way to make money. My guess is that any promising businesses in the cannabinoid space will be bought out by the big boys in pharma or tobacco.
" The main thing is, the Dems don’t want Trump to have a win on his signature policy, because they figure that will cement his re-election. Everything else is noise."
Everything Trump wants is bad, even if they wanted it 3 years ago. It's about wins and losses, not policy.
What Was 
What the Press Missed About Vanguard Founder's Fortune: 
Photo: My chilly Mockingbird, getting out of the wind. Doubt he'll survive the winter up here. About 30% of birds die each winter, whether by migration or by staying put.
We're planning two group hikes for this Spring. One will be a Bob Memorial Hike for Friends Of Bob only (challenging or hazardous bouldering mainly, I think - maybe at Mohonk), and the other will be the 2019 Maggie's NYC Urban Hike to which everybody is welcome. Always a jolly crew from all over the country and some noted bloggers too.
