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 likely very few American blacks care about it at all, but there is a noisy group in New Orleans who want to get rid of a statue of Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans. While the entire impulse to erase history seems crazy to me, there is not a single reason to hold anything against Jackson.
His post is grimly amusing, but I think he misses three points: 1)These "rioters" are rent-a-mobs," paid rioters and 2) rioting is fun, especially when you feel you have some sort of legal immunity and 3) I do not know any American blacks who would act like that.
The Pew study shows that the endless repetition about climate, and blaming all bad weather on climate (while never blaming nice weather on climate)as in "Due to climate change, the US has gone 10 years without a hurricane") has had some impact, but people are not really too frightened.
For example, their survey indicates that climate-worriers do no more for "the environment" than anybody else. Of course, most of the cute greeny things people do "for the environment" are meaningless and pointless exercises in virtue-signaling and I have to suppose most people know that. More accurately, virtue-signaling and/or magical thinking.
That's on the advice of our NYC theatrical daughter, who thought Hamilton was a typical,schlocky, over-hyped pseudo-historical Broadway spectacle. We are generally off-Broadway if not off-off-Broadway people, but that daughter is discerning so I guess we ought to listen to her. Other daughter loved Hamilton.
Why bust your rear end when the government immediately will take at least 39.6 percent (actually more when you consider Medicare taxes, state taxes, and double taxation of interest, dividends, and capital gains) of your income, and then another 40 percent of what you’ve saved and invested when you kick the bucket?
Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton doesn’t seem to care about such matters. She actually just decided to double down on her destructive tax agenda by endorsing an even bigger increase in the death tax.
Kimball: One of the most conspicuous strategies to limit free speech on campuses
in the United States these last few years has been via the weaponization
of victimhood.
Demonstrating her devotion to purposeful, tactical race-baiting, Berry in 2010 endorsed the practice of gratuitously smearing conservative Tea Party political activists as racists. “Tainting the Tea Party movement with the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats,” she said. “There is no evidence that Tea Party adherents are any more racist than other Republicans, and indeed many other Americans. But getting them to spend their time purging their ranks and having candidates distance themselves should help Democrats win in November. Having one’s opponent rebut charges of racism is far better than discussing joblessness.”
It turns out that the future is not “a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” The future is a conference call on which a cheery 30-something says things like “progressively coordinate functional strategic theme areas” – forever.
At Drudge, more reasons to go Trump even if you disapprove of him. Why the anger with Trump? Get mad at the American voters instead, because Trump is gaining with them despite his abundant flaws:
Utopia has a class system. At the top are the thinkers, the philosopher kings who develop plans based on how things ought to be and then turn them over to lesser men to actually implement. They are the priestly class of an ideological movement whose deity is politics and whose priests are politicians.
Since The Very #Principled #NeverTrumpers Never Talk About the
Downside of Electing Their Preferred Candidate Hillary Clinton, I'll
Talk About It A Bit
Credit to Glenn Reynolds for coining the phrase for this year's peak campus and SJW insanity. Here's my favorite of the day: annual hike at Claremont Colleges canceled for not being inclusive. Apparently not everybody can hike up a mountain in revealing clothing. Or, probably, in any sort of clothing.
My solution is to ban everything, starting with the fun stuff.
In this election, Clinton’s honesty problem is not a big issue because her lying does not change the voter’s sense of where she stands on the big three items. On the other hand, Trump’s authenticity is a great benefit because it makes him trustworthy. You may not agree with his position on an issue, but you know what you are getting with Trump. His authenticity not only helps him on a personal basis, it helps him overcome the uncertainty issue all newcomers face. It makes him seem less of a risk.
I think the Likeability Factor is overrated in American national politics. It matters more in more local politics where dedicated schmoozers are the usual fare. However, I would rather have a beer with Donald than with Hillary.
Part of it is that I think Donald is educable (and has a long way to go), but she is not. She is a snotty know-it-all, and mostly wrong.
Also, he strikes me as being warm and interested in people, while I imagine Hillary would have half of her attention on the door to see if anybody more important than my deplorable self might come in. Somebody with more money or with higher social status. I think she is that sort of deplorable person.
Pic is from Mrs. BD. She is doing a project there this week, in Mwaukee. Interesting to me that she would never take photos, ever. Felt they interfered with direct experience. Since her iPhone, she takes snaps all the time.
The meaning of the cross is both deeply disturbing and deeply hopeful. I am not sure how it could be construed as offensive, tho, since my religion holds that Christ died on that thing as a human sacrifice to redeem humanity from its sins.
He's not fit for office. This guy doesn't have the temperament, doesn't have the qualifications. He's an embarrassment. He's dangerous. "We can't let this guy get near the nuke button. This guy is so off the wall, he has no business being in this business," is basically her point. "This guy is so gauche, this guy is so uncouth, this guy is so yuck, he has no business being in our business! He has no business being president; he has no business running for president. He's unfit. He's ill-tempered."
Right? Well, I'm sure Hillary thought she had ample opportunity to make that point last night, but she didn't, did she?
I was much younger then. The youth today need a similar song. I hate the way this group of giant rock stars turn the refrain into an insipid, zipless line, but otherwise, good fun. McGuinn's guitar sets the tone. Bob his usual humble self.
People who have only seen Trump in sound bites watched him go the distance without faltering. Were his remarks long on general observation and short on detail? Yes they were. Did Hillary know more than he did? Probably. Does it matter? Only to people who think the President should be a college professor. You don’t have to know how to do anything as President. You have to have the right instincts and you have to hire the right people.
Commenter here: "I expected more from him. I believe average citizens did too."
Can we say that many people hoped he would be commanding and dominate the discussion, but failed to do so? It seems easy for him to be a petty man at times.
The youth will not recall one of the more idiotic TV shows of the 1970s. Tonight's Really Big Show will not be a re-run. It will be live, and it will be exciting. The MSM has been building up the tension for days.
I will welcome your comments below before, during, and after the TV show (9 pm EST). Two deplorable people will compete for your affection or disgust.
So the weekend before the first presidential debate, four major news publications all print the same story, the content and tone of which (calling out one candidate over the other as a serial liar) Stelter concedes is “extraordinary,” and it’s all just a “coincidence” with no coordination between the publications and certainly none with the campaign? Uh huh.
I guarantee that she does not know a single Trump voter. Problem with the writing and talking heads: they observe the common folk from a distance, but they do not live in the world like we do.
Here’s how likely you are to crash into a deer
Greek
Pic: Bragging pal sent photo of his tomato vine in California growing onto his roof. I bet he waters it illegally...
Former Navy SEAL commanders explain why they still wake up before dawn every day — 
I think the Likeability Factor is overrated in American national politics. It matters more in more local politics where dedicated schmoozers are the usual fare. However, I would rather have a beer with Donald than with Hillary. 
Pic is from Mrs. BD. She is doing a project there this week, in Mwaukee. Interesting to me that she would never take photos, ever. Felt they interfered with direct experience. Since her iPhone, she takes snaps all the time. 