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.
There is no target. Just fishing for dirt anywhere they can find some or induce some to justify their existence. That is not the American version of law enforcement. Anyway, the Russia thing seems to have been left behind. Russia dirt seems to lead only to the Clintons.
Science is not about finding the truth at all, but about finding better ways of being wrong. The best scientific theory is not the one that reveals the truth — that is impossible. It is the one that explains what we already know about the world in the simplest way possible, and that makes useful predictions about the future. When I accepted that I would always be wrong, and that my favourite theories are inevitably destined to be replaced by other, better, theories — that is when I really knew that I wanted to be a scientist.
Read the utterly innocuous but useful piece. How the idea of debating scientific theories could be "high risk" is beyond me. Or maybe the very phrase "free speech" triggers people. If so, I feel depressed.
Details: Meet at Dunkin' Donuts, 64 Fulton St. in Manhattan, 3 blocks south of the Brooklyn Bridge. Well, it's Dunkin' Donuts or Ruben's Empanadas. Maybe it's both. I'm fairly certain there's a DD there, Google Maps is never wrong. Ever. I'm guessing we meet at 9:30 and get started ASAP. We'll leave a trail of donut crumbs for stragglers.
Weather report says high of 53, partly cloudy. Perfect for a 10-12 mile hike with some beer and pizza. Come one, come all. Exciting Brooklyn!
I have made one update, but the map was tapped out...so on to two maps (which Bing interestingly allows and Google does not). We are always open to suggestions for additional stops. At this point, the hike is about 12 miles long, close to 4 hours of walking without stops. We will have stops, however, so let's call it 5 to 5 1/2 hours right now. Maybe 6 with a stop for lunch. The map looks like this. It's a brisk stretch of the legs, and we finish at a chocolate shop (and distillery - Widow Jane's) near the Water Taxi back to Manhattan.
I believe (hope) this will be the biggest one yet. I got confirmations from people I know around here (6 people), and many have expressed great interest. I am sending them reminders, as well.
Remember - wear comfortable shoes and clothes, prepare for the weather, and if you have anything you'd like to see - suggest it now so we can add it!
Also, give us a heads-up if you want to come. No need to use your name, but we'd like to anticipate rough numbers. Right now, I've got 14 that I am 100% sure of.
I was asked this weekend "In what ways are Trump's policies any different from Bill Clinton's, and how is Trump's character any more reprehensible than Bill Clinton's?"
I replied that their policies were similarly moderate, and that Trump was not a rapist.
Probably a pointless gesture. I hope it is a parting shot. Re the commentariat, however, I consider that if Trump sent the bombs it would be "Insane warmonger Trump playing Wag the Dog," and if he didn't it would be "Proof he's working for Russia."
I see no compelling US interest in Syria. Assad is just one of 50 terrible rulers, but Syria probably needs him. And I do not care what Russia does. That crappy country is destroying itself anyway.
Facebook now admits that it is behaving more like a publisher, with an editorial view, than a neutral platform where users get to choose what they read. Its head of news partnerships has said that Facebook now has a “point of view” on the news, while Zuckerberg himself says that Facebook, not its users, will now determine what counts as a “quality” news source.
...
It is not as if news publications can go elsewhere. Facebook, with 2 billion users, has no serious competitor in social media. Other methods of distributing news on the internet are inferior, rapidly declining, or else controlled by one of the other tech giants, whose track record of arbitrary rule-changes is as bad as Facebook’s.
The guy may be an obnoxious amoral jerk with bad taste, no verbal filter and lacking in any deep curiosity, but consider what he has done and is doing and don't be a snob. Good instincts beat deep knowledge every time. Facing down the Chinese, North Koreans, and Russians, pushing back against Mexican invasion, growing jobs like crazy, lowering taxes, and driving the Left mad. Food stamp, "disability", and welfare numbers are going down fast. All good things for America. Keeping his promises as best he can. MAGA.
Hillary: America in a really bad spot. Really? I don't see that. She still does not get that many people voted for the lesser of two evils. Also, that many voted for him because he is fearless. He didn't need the job. He is doing remarkably well as an amateur, and his polls reflect that.
I'll vote for him next time, if he is willing to bother with more of this annoying and thankless job. My (Massachusetts "working class" Democrat) parents have come to admire him for what he has been doing despite his style not being their cup of tea.
Toy 
Last Man Standing: