Thursday, January 19. 2017
 Dream weddings and the Christian vision
Brandeis Hires Anti-Semitic Islamist With Al-Qaeda Links
Insty likes Tom Price
The NYT on Tom Price
Trump talks stupid on trade
Trump is talking politics, not economics, Don
Hottest year on record
War on Betsy DeVos shows the left hates giving educational hope to poor kids
Martin Armstrong Rages: Ken Rogoff Is "An Elitist Who Has No Respect For The People"
Lagarde Urges Wealth Redistribution To Fight Populism
Genius. Pay off the hoi-polloi
Davos Elites Call For a Ban on Physical Cash... in the US.
The Elites are insane, drunk with arrogance and power. No wonder people rebel.
Oxfam's upside down inequality study
The Once and Future Obamacare Death Spiral
On the 20th of January, the dustbin of history will slam shut on the Utopian American Progressive Left.
Trump Faces Time Bomb in College Loan Program
Z-man on medical bills:
After a quarter century of chanting about health care, most everyone seems to buy into the belief that it is a fountain high up on Magic Mountain. It is guarded by the twin dragons of Big Pharma and Big Insurance. The keepers of the faith sent their paladin, Barak Obama, to slay the dragons so that the people could dip their cup into the fountain of health care, getting all they need. His failure to accomplish this is proof that the dragons are mighty and therefore the most extreme weapons must be deployed.
It’s all ridiculous nonsense, of course, but that’s where we are with the topic.
Pentagon readies aggressive ISIS proposals for Trump
The overweight American infantryman
How does China's first aircraft carrier stack up?
Why doesn´t Europe protect itself?
Wednesday, January 18. 2017
Complexity Theory fascinates me. I have always enjoyed math and physics as an avocation. Physics was, originally, my college major, but I soured on it in my second year. Classes were very cut-throat, and I didn't have that mentality. Today it's a fun hobby. Years ago, I attended a conference sponsored by the Santa Fe Institute, which sought to apply the principles of Complexity to a variety of industries. I managed to convince my firm to send me, and it was one of the more interesting conferences I'd ever attended.
I've wanted to apply several ideas I picked up there to business. Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity. I'd be interested to see what this recent discovery on the math of innovation can yield.
I'm sure there are some great applications of this concept. I haven't thought much about it, having just read the article. I can, however, see some bad applications. If innovation can be quantified mathematically some people may be lead to believe you can arbitrarily 'create' innovation. It's pretty clear the math doesn't work that way, since innovation seems (even in the equation) to spring more or less organically and its benefits are related more to acceptance rather than application.
Disappearing Puffins Bring an Icelandic Hunting Tradition Under Scrutiny
Pale penis people damage brown academic achievement
The Necessity of Self-Help Lit
Advice is always welcome
The Doomsayer is back: Paul Ehrlich Addressing Vatican Conference on Biodiversity: New at Reason
One Cosmos:
What I want to say is that Jesus (by which I mean the whole tradition that flows from him) saved my mind. From what? Well, for starters, from mountains of bullshit.
The Coming Crackdown On Free Speech: Facebook Takes Its ‘Fake News’ Fight To Germany
New Poll: Most Americans Back Parental Choice in Education
JEW-HATRED DRESSED UP AS 'JUSTICE' - A look at the hate group Students for Justice in Palestine.
New ABC / WaPo Poll Shows Drop In Trump Favorability Courtesy Of Aggressive "Oversamples"
Are terrorists crossing the US-Mexico border?
Woodward Says US Intel Should Apologize Over Trump Dossier
CNN's Resident Racist Called Steve Harvey and MLK III 'Mediocre Negroes'
There ain’t a word, thought, deed, symbol, piece of legislation, or news item that cannot be imbued with a racial angle when there’s a determined race hustler around
" I must myself be a very attractive person for, after all, I am very rightwing."
Obama legacy a big lie, let me count the ways
Trump time starts now
Blind Opera Singer Andrea Bocelli Backs Out of Inauguration After Receiving Death Threats
Jennifer Holliday Says She Received Death Threats for Agreeing to Perform for Trump
"Hillary is going to be very busy as President the next 4-8 years. Donald Trump is going to be very bitter. And the Republicans are just going to be gone. Good riddence."
Trump Considering Cutting Government Budget by 10%, Federal Workforce by 20%
Easily done - executive orders like Obama
WaPo: Trump presidency is doomed
The Republican Health-Care Debate: A guide for the perplexed
Why Obamacare’s ‘20 Million’ Number Is Fake
Trump met with Judge William Pryor on Saturday
How Rex Tillerson Got Even With Venezuela’s Socialists
Iran deal: A shameful day
Why the United States Is Losing Its Technological Edge
Israeli Technology Helps Giants Like Monsanto Feed the World
Last year was a gruesome one for Turkey, and this year is getting off to the worst possible start.
The Islamization of France in 2016
Tuesday, January 17. 2017
Is Trump Derangement Syndrome really any different from Bush Derangement Syndrome, or Reagan Derangement Syndrome, or even Nixon Derangement Syndrome?
I doubt it. It's an R-Phobia. Sensitivity training might help.
Monday, January 16. 2017
 Ringling Bros. circus to close after 146 years
Three-ring circus - Greatest Show on Earth - Saw it twice I think. Yuge!
A job: Topless trampoline health officer
Physician: American Children ‘Immersed in a Culture of Disrespect’
Americans have tried the kinder, gentler, let-me-be-your-friend approach to parenting for the last several decades. If the behavior problems in schools and the heightened level of sensitivity on college campuses are any indication, this parenting approach hasn’t produced the positive outcomes we were hoping for. Is it time for today’s parents to reverse course and begin teaching their children to respect others first instead of their own little selves?
Single Mom Builds An Entire House For Her Family Using YouTube Tutorials
California's bullet train is hurtling toward a multibillion-dollar overrun
Clinton Foundation Laying Off Workers – Shutting Down Global Initiative Amid Ongoing Investigations
" The Associated Press cites a study based on Federal Reserve data showing that "millennials earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated". They are on track to be poorer than their parents despite all that progress."
German Green Party Offers Publicly Funded Prostitution
Everything free in the brave new world
Toronto Sun Accuses Trudeau of Gross Green Hypocrisy
Whoever Puzder is, they’re against him
FAKE NEWS: WaPo Did Not Tell Whole Story on DC National Guard Chief’s Resignation
Obama and His Movement Prepare to Challenge President Trump
Donald Trump Invites Critics to Pray at Inauguration
How most doctors, patients will benefit from ObamaCare reform:
...private insurance was also responding to ObamaCare’s impact by squeezing physician payments, as well as by reducing the number of doctors and hospitals covered through their networks. Some insurers were dropping many of the best — and therefore most costly — doctors and hospitals altogether. With consumers having more choices and more control over their health care spending under Republican proposals, they may well demand more provider options as well.
Still, one shouldn’t get too excited. US health-care spending, the world’s highest, is not sustainable over the long run. Medicare is roughly $58 trillion in the red going forward. Changes, probably including reimbursement cuts, are inevitable. And if consumers are spending more of their own money for health care, they are likely to demand lower costs (and higher quality) the way they do for other goods and services. Not every physician will appreciate a more involved — and questioning — customer.
Klavan: My Strange Trumpian Glee
Kimball: A Modest Disposal
Does David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, really believe (as he wrote in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s victory) that “the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism”?
Sunday, January 15. 2017
Like Bird Dog, I was raised with one shoe in city life and one boot in manure and mud. I believe that Bird Dog grew up similarly, not the "mink and manure" set but the "LL Bean and manure set." Comfortable at the Metropolitan Opera and happy with country folk, horses, and farm animals, and in the wild woods with a 20 ga. shotgun and a dog.
I think VDH has a foot in both worlds. He discusses: Trump and the American Divide - How a lifelong New Yorker became tribune of the rustics and deplorables
I did vote from Donald Trump, not because I approve of him as a person but as an imperfect messenger. Messengers are always imperfect.
Saturday, January 14. 2017
 Why People Are Boycotting LL Bean Over Donald Trump
Linda Bean is quite the entrepreneur.
LL Bean is a wonderful store with excellent footwear and outerwear, fine hunting and fishing gear, etc. Not high end, and eminently practical stuff. Excellent return and repair policies. They will stand by their outerwear and footwear, even after ten years.
Their winter sale is on now.
Pic is their Maine Hunting Shoe. I have two pairs, one larger to fit heavy socks. They have already re-soled one, for free. I use them like Wellies.
Friday, January 13. 2017
 For the first time in decades, American voters explicitly rejected the Blue Church...
The country elected a bull for the effete china shop of the greedy federal government and all of its sinecures and parasites. At least, thought they did. Entertaining, too. Big cojones, a Honey Badger, a tough crude person for our times. A common-sense liberal, I believe, to restore some balance of sanity. Good circus for all news junkies and big $ for the networks. Reality TV.
Half the country, it seems, is glad to finally find somebody to really hate. I guess their lives lack a little something and I don't mean money. Many people need something to hate. Sad for them, but life is too short for that.
Going skiing. Nothing to hate at all. Another happy American tax-paying citizen having fun in the global cooling. Cold beer, pretty athletic girls, good pals from church. Good life. The whiners need to get with the program and make the most of it. Soon enough, they will be old.
Thursday, January 12. 2017
I am not delving into the psychology of empathy. I'm not trained in it, and I don't know enough to make a statement from that position. I can, however, write about its effect on my own experiences, from my own therapy, and from a recent event which sparked a challenging debate.
That event was Meryl Streep's Golden Globes acceptance speech. I watched about 5 minutes of it, then left. Because I can, and I chose to. While I agreed with a bit, there was far more there than I was interested in hearing. To begin with, I don't watch award shows, I happened to switch it on at just that moment and thought I'd like to see her receive her award. If I am going to watch an awards show, I want to be entertained, not lectured. I turned it off. I did read the text the next day when the brouhaha around it began. Mainly because New York, the center of 'if you disagreed with her, you're insane and wrong and must have something wrong with you' began to show its ugliness. In other words, "Hillary lost and WE STILL HAVE NO CLUE HOW AND WHY IT HAPPENED SO WE MUST LASH OUT!" Meryl was offered a moment to lash out, and she did. Following some kind of empathic tribal code, her supporters rushed to demonize anyone who didn't 'feel' the same way Meryl did.
Continue reading "Has Lack of Empathy Been Pathologized?"
Wednesday, January 11. 2017
Wall St. hates Trump, the elites look down on Trump, and the rich fear that Trump will put an end to crony capitalism. Trump was elected by Main St.: Will Donald Trump Embrace Main Street Capitalism?
The main job is to get government out of the way of job formation and growth especially in America's sad towns - and for small and start-up businesses.
Tuesday, January 10. 2017
Image via Never Yet Melted
Vibrating hot pants are the ‘smart’ invention no one knew they needed
America’s Kids Badly Need a ‘Chore Culture’
I Visited The Church Of Scientology. Here’s What Happened
The sad end of the Apple era
Inside Sears' death spiral: How an iconic American brand has been driven to the edge of bankruptcy
Choosing a new car
Pope Francis Now International Monetary Guru?
Lightbulbs: Blinded by Green Mania
California as Alt-America
Under any circumstances, the rest of the country -- with the exception of a few markets such as Manhattan and downtown Chicago -- could not absorb the costs for housing or the taxes California imposes on its residents and businesses. Part of the reason stems from the fact that California is indeed different; its climate, topography, cultural life cannot be easily duplicated in Kansas City, Dallas or anywhere else. People will pay for the privilege of living in California, particularly along the coast. Would they do so to live in Minneapolis or Charlotte?
We Americans are
ruled by a non-religious elite and we seem unbothered by it—and not just
in politics but in culture and education as well
Trump’s unexpected win has Democrats coping with a vastly smaller job market for their skills.
New York Jumps on the Free College Bandwagon
Missing from the Intelligence Report: The Word ‘Podesta’ - Disclosure of embarrassing information should not be confused with disinformation.
Barnes: Obamacare is incurable
Holding Obamacare Repeal Hostage for Replace Guarantees Its Defeat
After six years of resisting legislative changes to Obamacare, President Obama and Democrats now say they’re ready to work on fixes to the massive health law — so long as they expand the federal government’s role in health care.
Jane Sanders Praises Colin Kaepernick for Inspiring “Respect” by his “Dignified Actions’
No doubt she is a big NFL fan
Democrats silent as Israel-bashers get louder
The despicable Southern Poverty Law Center.
Celebrity-filled telethon set for Facebook Live on inauguration day
The Left Means to Break This President
Salon: Trump's oblivious denials on the Russia hack are delegitimizing his
presidency before he even takes office
Meryl Streep’s Speech Is Why the Left Wins
Farewell to a Decade of Media Drooling Over Barack Obama
White Media Outraged Over Tucker Carlson’s Prime Time Spot At Fox News
How softball coverage press hurt Democrats
Senate Dems Opposing Trump’s Ed Sec Nom Attended Private Schools
‘We Know in Alabama Who Jeff Sessions Is’: Black Pastors Defend Trump’s AG Pick Against Charges of Racism
A vote cast for Trump is kind of like a murder
#MAGA: Alibaba Talking To Trump To Create 1 MILLION New US Jobs!
Somebody must stop him!
Revealed: The Super Epic Battle Where 100 Australian Soldiers Defeated 2,500 Viet Cong
Protecting Palestine - Israel's unacknowledged role on the West Bank
iBig Stick: Review of Book by Eliot Cohen
Restoring America’s Defenses: A Memo to the President-Elect
Saturday, January 7. 2017
Everyone in 19th century New York loved oysters
Der Spiegel: Has political correctness backfired in America?
Peanut butter and political correctness
Liberal Arts for $5
Climate: The Greatest Scientific Fraud Of All Time -- Part XI
Man-identified people are encouraged to show up
"Depressed" Millennials Are Convinced The Trump Economy Is Going To Implode
“Scientist” says that Starting Work Before 10am is Torture
A hard-working scientist, no doubt
Obama builds a wall
Via Powerline:
...what the Obama administration did not say was that such cyber-crimes are by now old hat. Both the Russian and Chinese governments have been hacking into far more important U.S. records and government archives for years without earning retaliation. The administration also did not mention that the election hacking occurred largely because of Podesta’s own carelessness in using his security password. Moreover, it failed to acknowledge that the Republican National Committee was likewise targeted, but apparently had enough safeguards to prevent successful entry into its records...
Democrats can't just pretend ObamaCare is terrific
No, because more government control is needed
Conrad Black explains Trump
Friday, January 6. 2017
Image clipped from American Digest
Granny, the world's oldest known orca, is likely dead
I blame climate change
Earth Cooling At The Fastest Rate On Record
EPA's Clean Power Plan Lies Undermine Congressional Oversight
Where the Buffalo Zone - An innovative zoning code overhaul could help revive the western New York city and is already inspiring copycats.
Holiday Sales Expose Losers in a Changing Market
Sultan on the power of weakness:
Social inequity is the permanent emergency that the left uses to justify its totalitarian state and the perpetuation of social inequity is the means which the left uses to maintain a state of permanent emergency. If one form of social inequity diminishes, the left finds another. And another. This endless search leads to a deconstruction of every aspect of society and the destruction of every human system. Human ways of living are replaced with grafted on artificial modes that fail and destroy their users. And the worse the society becomes, the more the state of permanent social emergency is justified.
In civil societies, showng weakness can be a power play. In uncivil societies, signs of weakness are suicidal.
For University Endowments, There’s No Time like the Present
VDH: Chicago Is Breaking
The Real Housewives of Isis: "Another woman models her new suicide vest for her fellow jihadist wives. “What do you think?” she asks. “Ahmed surprised me with it yesterday.”"
The Most Epic “Epic Media Fail” of All Time?
Democracy and the bloodiness of mob rule
Gallup: Americans still overwhelmingly see big government as greatest threat
What the 'Women's March on Washington' Is Really About
Dave Barry on the Ephemeral Nature of the "Deeply Held Beliefs" Of the Coke and Pepsi Party
Pray for Jeff Sessions
President Obama's Legacy Follows His Shadow
Trump didn’t just beat the gentry liberals, after all. He also humiliated them.
House GOP, Trump team hatch border wall plan
Keeping promises
Washington Post Is Richly Rewarded For False News About Russia Threat While Public Is Deceived
Ireland and Brexit
Thursday, January 5. 2017
 Drudge announces that Tucker replaces Kelly. This will be fun, because he is all about making the smug and comfortable uncomfortable. Good circus.
Tucker is the quickest, brightest, slyest, and wittiest guy out there despite being a boyish prepster (St. George's).
 Boudreaux: The Lament of the Merely Decent Economist
KATZ: The World Needs More Men - Not Boys. Not Social Justice Indoctrinated College Weenies. Men.
Animals: The Wilding of America
Yes, we have lots of bears
Georgia Tech Climatologist Judith Curry Resigns over 'the CRAZINESS in the field of climate science.'
David Brooks Seems Pretty Upset That Trump Does Things Different Than Other Elected Leaders
David has always lacked testosterone. That's why he was hired.
The Ideological Reasons Why Democrats Have Neglected Local Politics - After losing many races in 2016, the party is looking to regain power outside the federal government. But in many ways, it’s not set up to make that change of emphasis.
New from Detroit: The $15 minimum wage is racist
Ted Kennedy Secretly Asked The Soviets To Intervene In The 1984 Elections
Carter, Democrats Asked Soviets to Stop Reagan
The Buster The Boxer Parody
Broken: The Sickening, Stale, and Worn Out Narratives of the Left:
Instead of picking apart mistakes by Trump, let's focus on the damage the Democrats have done. It's legion. In the guise of economic "fairness," they gave us the worst economic recovery since World War II. They simply ground to a standstill our economic engine, causing massive unemployment and a job market that gives no hope to Americans for the future. They ruined our alliances and fed our enemies under a horrifyingly stupid, feckless president and secretary of state. They laid the groundwork for ISIS to become a power and were virtually useless in dealing with that organization. They destroyed our borders under the idea that it is racist to have them, flooding us with illegal aliens who don't care a whit about American values of the past, and they steal from our kindness. They were on the way to destroying health care, paving the way for massive government control of doctors, insurance companies, and yes, us as patients. The evidence is in: Obamacare was a failure. They lied to get it passed, they lied to keep it, and they are lying about how good it is now. Thankfully, most people understand they now have a pig in the poke that costs a ton, and they can't use it. They corrupted our bureaucracies in Washington, destroying the faith the American citizens had in their government.
They did a lot more damage than this short list, but the point is that they ruined everything they touched.
Make the Inaugural Celebrity-Free!
In Departure from Obama, Trump Picks Qualified Ambassador to Japan
Obama's failures are Trump's opportunities
Three Bungled Stories On Russian Meddling All Demonstrate The Same Big Mistakes
Poll: Majority of Democrats Think Russia Manipulated Vote Totals
The lies work
PEOTUS TRUMP Knocks DNC For Cheating for Hillary During Debates
Julian Assange: Media Is Colluding with Democrat Party in America
Congress! Listen Up, Hollywood is Talking Here
Almost 1,000 Cars Torched Around France On New Year’s Eve: Government Insists It ‘Went Particularly Well’…
To Fix the Department of the Navy - Kill the Mabus Legacy
Palestinians face budget cuts after sharp fall in foreign funding
Wednesday, January 4. 2017
...and discovers that it doesn't feel too bad:
People babble on about how “Trump will never do anything about illegals” and “He’ll never repeal Obamacare.” Yeah, put your money on Trump failing – I did, and the guy I wrote checks to lost. News Flash: Donald Trump is not only going dance with the ones who brung him but afterwards he is going to take them to his limo to make out. This guy is interested in trying to please the people who elected him, not the urban swells who write for or read the NYT or WaPo – he knows they will never stop loathing him even if he somehow simultaneously cures cancer, brings world peace, and convinces Coldplay to disband.
No, he’s going to do what he said he will do – and I expect that when we hear the name of his Supreme Court nominee (Please, for many reasons, make it Judge Willet!) every conservative in America is going to seek a cigarette and a cuddle.
In The New Yorker, A rogue group of conservative thinkers try to build a governing ideology around a President-elect who disdains ideology.
Good essay. Trump is no Conservative. I see him as a moderate pragmatist and probably an old-style Liberal at heart. I still can not understand why progressives and lefties hate him so much. He seems to love America and Americans, and he is entertaining. And character flaws are de rigeur for politicians because normal people avoid that game.
I received a link this morning to an article which suggests readers should more or less 'be afraid' of a certain group of technology companies. Over the course of time, many firms have acted in an amoral or immoral fashion. These tech firms have all probably also behaved poorly at various points. But the value they provide is significant. Fearing them is not sensible. There is good reason to not fear them. History indicates they are likely to all be undone or greatly diminished at some point in time. For most of the 1980s, the 'company' I was supposed to fear was the entire nation of Japan. For most of the 2000s, it's been China. Funny how Japan has been in a 20 year funk while China is just now dropping like a stone (apparently, Bitcoin prices are soaring over there - a sure sign of instability).
I consider articles like the above link to be a form of fake news, because it's an emotional appeal based on faulty logic. Articles of this nature appear every 10 years or so about various companies. Aside from China and Japan, I've read articles like this about GM, GE, Exxon, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Bank of America, Citibank, AT&T, Coca-Cola, ITT, and a host of other large firms who, in total, represented large and innovative firms at various points in time. They were firms which happened to benefit from temporary blips in demand and consumer behavior. Point is, almost all are still fairly large firms, but their dominance has diminished, our fear subsiding as our interests and spending patterns change.
In every case, consumer behaviors shifted, innovation moved in different directions, or smaller more competitive firms caught up with these firms. But in almost every case, the dominant positions they claimed were lost. I see the same thing happening with Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft at some point. In fact, Microsoft is no longer the dominant company it once was - it, too, was part of the group mentioned above back in the 90's as a potentially dangerous 'monopoly'. I guess being downgraded from 'monopoly' status is just as frightening as being part of a group of large firms which all compete with each other?
The idea that there is something new and different happening with these tech firms is misguided. Railroads dominated the economic scene for many decades in the 1800s, then oil companies, then car manufacturers. Each one was demonized in similar fashion. Tech offers greater opportunity than any of these firms did, as well as great potential for abuse. But you take the good with the bad, and the good usually outweighs the bad in an overwhelming fashion. I'll take my chances with these firms as opposed to any government oversight and regulation, thank you. Their fear and dislike of each other will keep them on a far more even keel than any pinhead politician.
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Outside Truckee, big rig driver 
Academia
Photo: Salvador Dali and Walt Disney
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