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.
Maggie's has run an "Urban Hike" for each of the last 3 years. We've gone north from the Battery and Delancey Street, in NYC, all the way up to as far as Grant's Tomb. We even have traveled south from Lincoln Center to Washington Square Park.
All along the way, we checked out interesting historical, literary, and geographic sites as we got to know each other just a little better. Maggie's audience is a fun and interesting group of people, and we get together because we enjoy learning and having a good time.
To that end, Bird Dog and I have loosely planned our Urban Hike for 2018 in late April. It should be warm and sunny enough. No date yet, we'll have that in a month or two.
Meantime - remember - BROOKLYN. If you have any fun facts or trivia that you'd like to share, post them below in comments. We'll start by hiking over Roebling's wonder, the Brooklyn Bridge, and after that? Who knows (yet)? I know if I can get the Red Hook or Brooklyn Breweries tacked on, as well as maybe Widow Jane's Distillery, I'll be in good shape to let Mrs. Bulldog drive home.
A lovely winter nor'easter today. Dark skies. Got in my hour with trainer anyway this morning. A mainly bench press and deadlift day. Haven't lost electric power so it's a normal work day for me. Kids love our winter nor'easters - "Snow Day!" Dads go to work.
The Cultural Revolution was largely perpetrated by young people told to feel oppressed by their country’s past. Social justice could be achieved only by the destruction of the weight of Chinese culture. Their slogan was “Smash the Four Olds”: old customs, culture, habits, and ideas.
The more government attempts to regulate businesses, the more those will in turn attempt to influence its decisions. (Paraphrase of Bowdoin Political Science professor Jean M Yarborough.)
The original civil war was fought by farmhands and factory workers, freed slaves and young boys turned soldiers; the new civil war is being fought by lawyers in blue or gray suits not with bullets, but with bullet points.
" The European Union is ignoring this trend and soldiering on with what Brussels calls “more Europe”, which often means more interventionism and central planning. And citizens are not happy with this."
Button Wars! It's juvenile, but Trump just punches back. That's why he was elected. And the experts say "Don't get Kim mad." What?
A better plan might be to not piss off Trump. As a natural bully himself, Trump knows how to deal with bullies like the Palis, the Pakis, the UN, and Iran. It's New York diplomacy: "F- you."
... all weather behavior—whether colder or warmer—becomes a confirmation that man made global warming is real. Or, as Dinesh D’Souza tweeted, “Since heat & cold are both taken as confirmation of global warming, what, if anything, can disprove this supposedly scientific hypothesis?”
Not a bad interview, but even McWhorter can be naive sometimes. These people are not earnest: they are engaged in a power play and if you give them an inch they will go for the next mile.
Imagine a new president whose first year saw: withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord; wiped out ISIS; reversed hundreds of Obama Administration regulatory overreaches; saw back-to-back quarters of 3 percent economic growth; a stock market gain of over 20 percent; illegal immigration plummeting by more than 50 percent; a sterling originalist appointed to the Supreme Court and a record number of similarly-minded judges to the lower appellate courts; and the most fundamental pro-growth tax reform in 30 years.
Four years ago, while I filled in for Bird Dog on the daily news update, I posted a few articles about Bitcoin, which back then barely garnered any attention.
2017 was the "year ofBitcoin" and many ordinary Joes became millionaires, as a result. Some people believe this ride is over. Perhaps with Bitcoin it is (I do not believe it is, though 1,000% returns are definitely over for it...perhaps not for other cryptos, though), and at least one 'expert' thinks it is. I'm not an 'expert', but I've heard if you speak enough publicly about something, you can become one (not a joke, this is definitely true). So maybe I should speak more about cryptocurrencies and be an expert.
This much is true - I suggested cryptos could represent a move away from standard currencies and represent a new reserve, particularly for nations which aren't fond of the dollar. This seems to be exactly what is happening. Amidst all the speculative excess which surrounds some of them, there are more and more real-world firms adopting them, as well as the technology which surrounds their development. In fact, I have begun to find uses for blockchain tech in my own field, and we are beginning to pioneer new uses for it to defeat fraudulent activity (funny, because the one reason people fear cryptos is that they are often used to engage criminal activity. My son told me many of his friends who used to purchase illegal substances via the web used Bitcoin. I asked him how much they had left. He said none, they'd spent it all. I said "shows you how much value you get out of using drugs.") Point is, Bitcoin does have uses. I am aware of several people who entered the Cannabis growing business (legally, in states that allow it) and cater exclusively to cryptocurrency clientele.
I would be remiss to neglect this: “I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration—and it’s a very effective form of promotion.”
What’s so frustrating about these election spectacles is that they have nothing to do with creating the good life. For that we have to look elsewhere, such as the newly emerging light we are seeing on the economic horizon. For the first time in decades, there is a chance that the job market is becoming active again, that incomes will rise, that inflation is solidly tamed, that the young generation will have new opportunities, that new products and inventions will continue to improve our lives.
None of this has anything to do with smears, epic struggles, revenge fantasies, and winner-take-all scenarios. ..
Most people reading this were trained to think hard work built character so a desire to work was a sign of good character. That’s a perfectly sensible belief in a world of scarcity. In a post-scarcity society, one where automation is increasing taking over human labor, maybe those sentiments about work are counter-productive. Maybe the way forward is self-actualizing leisure.
Russia is a crappy country with an economy the size of Italy's. Still, Putin seems to know how to put his paws on all sorts of things. Clever little scheming SOB. Can't blame him for putting his country first, though. That's his job.
From where I sit, it seems to be because of a lack of critical thinking combined with the simple fact that imagining mysterious forces and mysterious people is much more fun than ordinary humdrum life and ordinary people.
Wasn't there an old song about "your mother and me, we're just ordinary folks..."?
You Won't Be Able to Pay Taxes on a Postcard, and That's Exactly How H&R Block Likes It - The Republican tax bill means most Americans will keep more of the money they earn. But the process will still be frustrating and terrible.
Photo: 
NYT: 
Can you read the NYT blurb on the book? 
Genetically engineered ‘super-horses’ 
Yale Secular Humanists 
IAN MCKELLEN RECALLS ACTRESSES