I think I would be in favor of free trade if it was really free, but I don't think that it ever has been. When the NAFTA deal was first formulated, I remember reading somewhere that there were 1200 pages of regulations associated with it. How can anything that involves 1200 pages of regulations be considered free?
One thing that Trump claims to concerned about is the balance of trade between the US and other countries. Remember "My Weekly Reader" back in elementary school? That's the first place I ever read or heard about this balance of trade issue, and I've been reading and hearing about it ever since. The only thing that's changed is that the country on the low end of the balance (usually us) no longer makes up the difference with gold at the end of each year. They must make it up with U.S. dollars now, because Red China seems to have more of our currency than we do. They don't mind because, if we run out, they will be happy to loan our own money back to us so that we can buy more of their stuff. Well, I know how to fix that. Instead of paying for our imports with money, they should pay with scrip that can only be used to buy stuff from us. I learned about scrip from the old "MASH" TV show. It seems that, during the Korean War, somebody was concerned that our soldiers were spending too much of their paychecks on the local economy, so they started paying them with scrip that was only good at US owned establishments like the PX. I don't think the practice was very popular back in the day, but maybe it's an idea whose time has come.
Our local newspaper has pretty good coverage of local issues. Just before an election, they usually run a series of articles about the candidates for local offices, often with a headline that announces how many "seats are up for grabs". (I am not making this up!) They don't take sides, they just reprint the information that the candidates give them. Our regular primary has been in August for as long as I can remember, although separate presidential primaries are held earlier.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
The worm has turned
Although I don't follow newspaper comics on a regular basis it seems to me that they aren't drawn as well as they used to be. I think the guys making the comics are better writers than they are artists. Is Dick Tracy still around? I used to like that strip with his weirdo criminals; Flattop always gave me the creeps. And whenever Tracy fired his gun there were two parallel lines showing the path of the bullet, which impressed me greatly as a child.
When the family made out of town trips I was always amazed at the different comics that would be in the local papers. The nuances of syndication were unknown to me. I thought all newspapers had the same comics as we did in Chicago with the Trib and Times/Daily News but no, they had a whole different group although some were shared. Henry, The Little King, The Katzenjammer Kids, and even Mickey Mouse showed up in those papers. Different syndicates, different comics. A newspaper can drop a comic strip but will replace it with another one from their syndicate pool. I don't know how it all works; the life of a comic strip is weird, often outliving the original artist who created it. Some guys are purists like Bill Watterson, the guy who drew Calvin and Hobbes. He decided he said all that he wanted to say and shut it down, refusing all the lucrative licensing and merchandising deals that came his way. There are no official cups, t-shirts, dolls, toys, or anything, quite unlike that dumb cat Garfield. I admire the guy and the way he kept the strip untmanyainted by commercial influence. But he's not hurting for cash as there are bound volumes of the strips being published, some of which are quite pricey.
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After following the news of the last few days it occurred to me that a certain lawyer needs a new nickname. How does Rudy "The Baffler" Giuliani sound?
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As a fan of science I am usually glad to see some news about recent discoveries but I think it can go too far. Maybe reviving 40,000-year old worms isn't going to prove to be such a good idea. There's a lot that go wrong, I think. The worms we have now are plenty good enough without needing to defrost worms from Siberia. Damn Russians are behind everything these days.
When the family made out of town trips I was always amazed at the different comics that would be in the local papers. The nuances of syndication were unknown to me. I thought all newspapers had the same comics as we did in Chicago with the Trib and Times/Daily News but no, they had a whole different group although some were shared. Henry, The Little King, The Katzenjammer Kids, and even Mickey Mouse showed up in those papers. Different syndicates, different comics. A newspaper can drop a comic strip but will replace it with another one from their syndicate pool. I don't know how it all works; the life of a comic strip is weird, often outliving the original artist who created it. Some guys are purists like Bill Watterson, the guy who drew Calvin and Hobbes. He decided he said all that he wanted to say and shut it down, refusing all the lucrative licensing and merchandising deals that came his way. There are no official cups, t-shirts, dolls, toys, or anything, quite unlike that dumb cat Garfield. I admire the guy and the way he kept the strip untmanyainted by commercial influence. But he's not hurting for cash as there are bound volumes of the strips being published, some of which are quite pricey.
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After following the news of the last few days it occurred to me that a certain lawyer needs a new nickname. How does Rudy "The Baffler" Giuliani sound?
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As a fan of science I am usually glad to see some news about recent discoveries but I think it can go too far. Maybe reviving 40,000-year old worms isn't going to prove to be such a good idea. There's a lot that go wrong, I think. The worms we have now are plenty good enough without needing to defrost worms from Siberia. Damn Russians are behind everything these days.
tariffs 101
The republican party has become the Trump party. Ninety percent of republicans back Trump, and no republican dares defy him. During the primaries it was remarked upon that Trump was bringing all these new people into the republican party. Well not exactly, they weren't republicans they were Trumpists, and they don't care anymore for the republican party than Trump does. Well you know I always thought a good many republicans were touched in the head and with those and the new Trumpists, as Beagles has noted, republican primaries have become all about who loves Trump more. Any republican who doesn't love Trump is a RINO.
Election day is only three months away, it's like Christmas, it is in the distant future and suddenly there it is right around the corner. Kind of late for Michigan to be having its primaries isn't it?
And of course the November election will be all about Trump. I read lately where all our local elections have become nationalized. Used to be there was a lot of local media, newspapers and radio, and even independent local tv stations. Anymore newspapers are dead and radio and tv stations are conglomerated and run from afar, so there is nobody much to kick around local issues, and everything is based on national issues. I'm sure there are a lot of local things going on in Michigan, but none of them will be spoken of much, it will be Trump, Trump, Trump.
Remember that Asian trade deal, the TPP.. I had a friend of mine, a liberal, who raged against TPP, it would cost American jobs, inspire tyranny, just all this bad crap. I am a real free trader (unlike those republicans who used to be free traders but now are for whatever Trump's last tweet was), and I asked my friend what exactly was in the agreement that would cause this and he didn't know. He didn't know any of the details. And now Beagles doesn't seem to know if other countries have tariffs against us.
I have to admit that I don't know much about existent tariffs myself, but I am sure they have always been around. Every industry wants tariffs to protect its products, and every country subsidizes some of its industries and that looks unfair to other countries. And then periodically there are conferences and things are hammered out. Trump would have us believe that all of these conferences and deals were made by traitors to our country who in every case made the worst deal the world has ever seen.
The idea that if they are tariffing us, why we should tariff them right back is kind of silly since of course they have some tariffs against us as we have against them. Tariffs are a pretty boring subject and you have to dig a little to find out what is going on, but it's probably wise to know some facts before you cast a vote.
Not that any of that bothers Trump at all, It is just another fight, headlines and something he can stomp around about at his beloved rallies. If everybody takes a hit because other countries don't want to trade with us (everything we are trying to sell they can get elsewhere), what does Trump care, he is getting way richer off his presidency from his emoluments. Remember when that was an issue? I think the case is still crawling up to the courts, but Trump's loyal lapdog, the republican party, will find a way to swat it down.
Right now looking at my Trib I like Dilbert and Mr Boffo. Looking through the Sun-Times I like Pooch Cafe, Monty, and Peals Before Swine. I liked Calvin and Hobbes and the Far Side, and that one with Bill the Cat, but the cartoonists stopped doing them, still not sure why, it's not like they went on to bigger things. I liked Peanuts when I was a kid, but it didn't grow well with me.
Election day is only three months away, it's like Christmas, it is in the distant future and suddenly there it is right around the corner. Kind of late for Michigan to be having its primaries isn't it?
And of course the November election will be all about Trump. I read lately where all our local elections have become nationalized. Used to be there was a lot of local media, newspapers and radio, and even independent local tv stations. Anymore newspapers are dead and radio and tv stations are conglomerated and run from afar, so there is nobody much to kick around local issues, and everything is based on national issues. I'm sure there are a lot of local things going on in Michigan, but none of them will be spoken of much, it will be Trump, Trump, Trump.
Remember that Asian trade deal, the TPP.. I had a friend of mine, a liberal, who raged against TPP, it would cost American jobs, inspire tyranny, just all this bad crap. I am a real free trader (unlike those republicans who used to be free traders but now are for whatever Trump's last tweet was), and I asked my friend what exactly was in the agreement that would cause this and he didn't know. He didn't know any of the details. And now Beagles doesn't seem to know if other countries have tariffs against us.
I have to admit that I don't know much about existent tariffs myself, but I am sure they have always been around. Every industry wants tariffs to protect its products, and every country subsidizes some of its industries and that looks unfair to other countries. And then periodically there are conferences and things are hammered out. Trump would have us believe that all of these conferences and deals were made by traitors to our country who in every case made the worst deal the world has ever seen.
The idea that if they are tariffing us, why we should tariff them right back is kind of silly since of course they have some tariffs against us as we have against them. Tariffs are a pretty boring subject and you have to dig a little to find out what is going on, but it's probably wise to know some facts before you cast a vote.
Not that any of that bothers Trump at all, It is just another fight, headlines and something he can stomp around about at his beloved rallies. If everybody takes a hit because other countries don't want to trade with us (everything we are trying to sell they can get elsewhere), what does Trump care, he is getting way richer off his presidency from his emoluments. Remember when that was an issue? I think the case is still crawling up to the courts, but Trump's loyal lapdog, the republican party, will find a way to swat it down.
Right now looking at my Trib I like Dilbert and Mr Boffo. Looking through the Sun-Times I like Pooch Cafe, Monty, and Peals Before Swine. I liked Calvin and Hobbes and the Far Side, and that one with Bill the Cat, but the cartoonists stopped doing them, still not sure why, it's not like they went on to bigger things. I liked Peanuts when I was a kid, but it didn't grow well with me.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Trumpier Than Thou
There have been a lot of political ads for the senatorial and gubernatorial primary races on our local TV lately. Sandy Pensler has been accusing John James of being a fake conservative who doesn't really support Trump or his policies, and James hasn't been responding. I'm not sure why, maybe he has run out of money. I have switched my allegiance to Pensler for now, but I might change back if James ever says anything in his own defense. I think Pensler is taking a big gamble here. Nobody knows if Trump is still popular in Michigan. If he is, Pensler is hoping to ride in on Trump's coat tails but, of course, that could backfire on him.
The two front runners for governor are Brian Calley, our current Lieutenant Governor, and Bill Schuette, former Attorney General, both of whom claim to have Trump's endorsement. I am leaning towards Schuette because I'm still mad at our current governor for raising our taxes and bailing out Detroit. While those two are trying to out Trump each other, there is an Indian immigrant and some woman, both of whom claim to be Trump's enemies, on the Democratic side. It seems clear that, whoever wins the nominations, the November election will be all about Trump.
I still don't know what to think about Trump's tariffs. If it's true that the other countries are already tariffing us, it seems only right that we tariff them back. If it causes a disruption in the global economy, so much the better. If it's not true that the others are already tariffing us, then Trump is barking up the wrong tree for reasons known only unto him. By the way, I do not like Trump, I just like some of his policies. As I have said before, I wish we could get the same policies out of a better person but, since we can't, Trump will have to do.
I still read the comics, even though the ones they have nowadays don't hold a candle to the old ones like "Peanuts" and "Calvin and Hobbes". I don't know why, it's just a habit I guess. I have the complete "Calvin and Hobbes" and the first 30 years of "Prince Valiant" in hardbound editions, although I don't have any "Peanuts" in my collection.
Possum Lodge was like the cornerstone of the "Red Green Show". We used to catch it on PBS back in the day, but our local station never bought all 15 seasons. After the show closed down in 2005, I found the complete collection in a catalogue, and we are now watching it for the second time. One never gets tired of those old classics.
The two front runners for governor are Brian Calley, our current Lieutenant Governor, and Bill Schuette, former Attorney General, both of whom claim to have Trump's endorsement. I am leaning towards Schuette because I'm still mad at our current governor for raising our taxes and bailing out Detroit. While those two are trying to out Trump each other, there is an Indian immigrant and some woman, both of whom claim to be Trump's enemies, on the Democratic side. It seems clear that, whoever wins the nominations, the November election will be all about Trump.
I still don't know what to think about Trump's tariffs. If it's true that the other countries are already tariffing us, it seems only right that we tariff them back. If it causes a disruption in the global economy, so much the better. If it's not true that the others are already tariffing us, then Trump is barking up the wrong tree for reasons known only unto him. By the way, I do not like Trump, I just like some of his policies. As I have said before, I wish we could get the same policies out of a better person but, since we can't, Trump will have to do.
I still read the comics, even though the ones they have nowadays don't hold a candle to the old ones like "Peanuts" and "Calvin and Hobbes". I don't know why, it's just a habit I guess. I have the complete "Calvin and Hobbes" and the first 30 years of "Prince Valiant" in hardbound editions, although I don't have any "Peanuts" in my collection.
Possum Lodge was like the cornerstone of the "Red Green Show". We used to catch it on PBS back in the day, but our local station never bought all 15 seasons. After the show closed down in 2005, I found the complete collection in a catalogue, and we are now watching it for the second time. One never gets tired of those old classics.
anybody read the funny papers?
I was thinking Dire Straits for stuck in the middle with you, if not them than somebody like them and it is Stealer's Wheel, who were maybe one hit wonders because I don't know anything about them. I noticed the misappropriation earlier but was assuming that the Scourge would get to it before me. I wonder if the Scourge is going soft. I hope not., we need the Scourge and the Razor to pry the truth from the tangled webs of bullshit, of which we are stuck in the middle of.
I can report that the left ball/right ball thing was as popular in Gage Park as it was on the north side. Probably should we stroll by the our old schools we would see that very thing going on without a word changed in fifty years.
I remember when Pogo first came out. I think it was before I could read because my grandmother told me she would read it to me every day. That went by the by, but I rather envied the denizens of the swamp, because they never had to go to school or work or anything, just hang around in the swamp and ride rafts and cool things like that. Later on I remember they had a character who was a draft dodger and they were down on him, and about that time I stopped reading it.
But I still read most of the comics in the Sun-Times and the Trib. Perhaps we could have a discussion of them, but not this busy Monday morning.
What I read is that the northern wall, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan is going azure in the 2018 elections, but that's the prediction for now. My guess is that the tariffs are what will bring the reps down in 2018, but I, like Beagles, have been wrong before, and as I think it was Eric Sevareid was fond of saying, only time will tell.
I've tried out my Avenatti theory in front of several of my liberal audiences and have found no takers. I would like to think this points to a high-mindedness among dems that you don't find in today's reps. But what about this scenario? Avenatti enters some of the primaries, maybe as kind of self-promotion, and the crowds go wild. Suddenly he is soaring in the polls, and he is attracting people who don't normally vote (perhaps the guys who voted for Trump, but who had voted for Obama in 2008 (an interesting slice of the electoral pie, I don't know why they aren't studied more). and the other candidates, say a social democrat and an old guard, and toss in a savvy centrist, are going nowhere. The polls show that they will lose to Trump in a landslide. They also show that Avenatti will win in a landslide. Whither do the dems drift?
And let's throw in some skeletons in his closet. The dems would never go for a guy who talked about grabbing pussies. or had suspicious investments and wouldn't reveal his taxes, but say some other lighter blemishes like drug addiction in his youth, would the dems go for him? Say he was the only one who could beat Trump. I would go for him. Beagles wouldn't because he likes Trump, but I wonder which way the savvy centrist would cast his vote.
There were no real changes coming out of that latest EU meetings. That European guy was just kissing up to Trump because Trump is a fool for flattery. There is really no making a deal with Trump because the only kind of deal Trump likes is where the other guy gets screwed. Eventually none of the real estate guys would make any kind of deal with him and that's when he went to the Russkies.
I can report that the left ball/right ball thing was as popular in Gage Park as it was on the north side. Probably should we stroll by the our old schools we would see that very thing going on without a word changed in fifty years.
I remember when Pogo first came out. I think it was before I could read because my grandmother told me she would read it to me every day. That went by the by, but I rather envied the denizens of the swamp, because they never had to go to school or work or anything, just hang around in the swamp and ride rafts and cool things like that. Later on I remember they had a character who was a draft dodger and they were down on him, and about that time I stopped reading it.
But I still read most of the comics in the Sun-Times and the Trib. Perhaps we could have a discussion of them, but not this busy Monday morning.
What I read is that the northern wall, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan is going azure in the 2018 elections, but that's the prediction for now. My guess is that the tariffs are what will bring the reps down in 2018, but I, like Beagles, have been wrong before, and as I think it was Eric Sevareid was fond of saying, only time will tell.
I've tried out my Avenatti theory in front of several of my liberal audiences and have found no takers. I would like to think this points to a high-mindedness among dems that you don't find in today's reps. But what about this scenario? Avenatti enters some of the primaries, maybe as kind of self-promotion, and the crowds go wild. Suddenly he is soaring in the polls, and he is attracting people who don't normally vote (perhaps the guys who voted for Trump, but who had voted for Obama in 2008 (an interesting slice of the electoral pie, I don't know why they aren't studied more). and the other candidates, say a social democrat and an old guard, and toss in a savvy centrist, are going nowhere. The polls show that they will lose to Trump in a landslide. They also show that Avenatti will win in a landslide. Whither do the dems drift?
And let's throw in some skeletons in his closet. The dems would never go for a guy who talked about grabbing pussies. or had suspicious investments and wouldn't reveal his taxes, but say some other lighter blemishes like drug addiction in his youth, would the dems go for him? Say he was the only one who could beat Trump. I would go for him. Beagles wouldn't because he likes Trump, but I wonder which way the savvy centrist would cast his vote.
There were no real changes coming out of that latest EU meetings. That European guy was just kissing up to Trump because Trump is a fool for flattery. There is really no making a deal with Trump because the only kind of deal Trump likes is where the other guy gets screwed. Eventually none of the real estate guys would make any kind of deal with him and that's when he went to the Russkies.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Left ball
Red Green is another one of those shows that I only have a passing familiarity with. I watched a few episodes when they were first broadcast and do not recall being impressed at the time but, since the passing years can greatly change one's perspective, it may be time to revisit them. Was Possum Lodge part of the show? The Latin motto reminded me of the words of the great possum philosopher Pogo and his statement, "We have met the enemy and he is us." We should listen to possums more often.
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The Michigan Republican senate primary is coming up soon and I read that the candidate Mr.Beagles likes, John James, has received the hearty endorsements of Trump and Pence. I don't know if that's good or bad for James since Trump's favorites don't always do so well when the votes are counted. Most of the other candidates have dropped out and it's down to two, James and Pensler, neither of whom have any previous political experience but lack of experience could be an asset in a senate race. I think most members of Congress have been tainted by their ineffectual behavior and can't wash away the stench. The good Republicans are lying low and going along with the program and the good Democrats are running around in circles, not sure of what they should do except sputter in their obvious frustration. It's quite a show.
I don't like that Avanatti guy. The qualities that make him a good lawyer are not the same qualities that would make him a good candidate for president. He's another guy with no political experience. Haven't we learned anything from Trump?
It pains me to say it, but Trump's strategies may be working. I read that the EU is coming around to some trade deals and some tariffs may be removed. That's the way Trump works, he leads off with belligerence and big talk, waiting for the other guy to blink. Sometimes they do, but then they lose any respect they may have had. Trump likes it better when they fight back and prove themselves worthy adversaries. At that point, it looks like everything is back on the table and they can negotiate in earnest, striking some kind of deal. Any kind of deal will make Trump happy, even if he gives up more than he gains. He wins, even if it is in his own mind; he is becoming the poster child for Pyrrhic victories. That's my working theory of today.
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That "stuck in the middle with you" reference reminded me of a gag from high school when I would be walking down the sidewalk with a couple of my buddies. Since we were three abreast, the guy on the right would invariably say "right ball," the guy on the left would say "left ball," and then they would both exclaim in unison, "Prick in the middle!" I guess you had to be there but I still think it's funny.
Should I be a scourge and point out an error in the attribution to Dylan? Naw, I'll let Uncle Ken have his turn.
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The Michigan Republican senate primary is coming up soon and I read that the candidate Mr.Beagles likes, John James, has received the hearty endorsements of Trump and Pence. I don't know if that's good or bad for James since Trump's favorites don't always do so well when the votes are counted. Most of the other candidates have dropped out and it's down to two, James and Pensler, neither of whom have any previous political experience but lack of experience could be an asset in a senate race. I think most members of Congress have been tainted by their ineffectual behavior and can't wash away the stench. The good Republicans are lying low and going along with the program and the good Democrats are running around in circles, not sure of what they should do except sputter in their obvious frustration. It's quite a show.
I don't like that Avanatti guy. The qualities that make him a good lawyer are not the same qualities that would make him a good candidate for president. He's another guy with no political experience. Haven't we learned anything from Trump?
It pains me to say it, but Trump's strategies may be working. I read that the EU is coming around to some trade deals and some tariffs may be removed. That's the way Trump works, he leads off with belligerence and big talk, waiting for the other guy to blink. Sometimes they do, but then they lose any respect they may have had. Trump likes it better when they fight back and prove themselves worthy adversaries. At that point, it looks like everything is back on the table and they can negotiate in earnest, striking some kind of deal. Any kind of deal will make Trump happy, even if he gives up more than he gains. He wins, even if it is in his own mind; he is becoming the poster child for Pyrrhic victories. That's my working theory of today.
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That "stuck in the middle with you" reference reminded me of a gag from high school when I would be walking down the sidewalk with a couple of my buddies. Since we were three abreast, the guy on the right would invariably say "right ball," the guy on the left would say "left ball," and then they would both exclaim in unison, "Prick in the middle!" I guess you had to be there but I still think it's funny.
Should I be a scourge and point out an error in the attribution to Dylan? Naw, I'll let Uncle Ken have his turn.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Stuck in the Middle
I am reminded of an old Bob Dylan song: "Clowns on the right of me, jockers on the left, and here I'm stuck in the middle with you." That's the only part of the song I remember, and I'm not even sure that it's relevant to this discussion, but it just came up from the dim distant reaches of my memory, so I thought I'd write it down before I forgot it again.
Uncle Ken would have been right at home in West Germany back in the 60s because they had three political parties, and they were all Democrats. The Social Democrats were the lefties and the Christian Democrats were the righties. Then there were the Free Democrats. I don't think they were the moderates, I think they were more like our Green Party. West Germany had a parliamentary system similar to the UK, so whichever party won the most legislative seats had to kiss up to the Free Democrats if they wanted to form a government. Then one year, it was either 1965 or 1966, one of the major parties won a solid majority and the Free Democrats went out of business. The only reason I know this is that this lady friend of mine was upset about it because she had always voted for the Free Democrats, and now she felt betrayed and abandoned. It might have been a coincidence, but it was about this time that she dumped me and went back to her old boyfriend, who had previously made her feel betrayed and abandoned, which was how she came to be my lady friend in the first place.
We've been watching the old Red Green Show on DVDs lately. We have all 300 episodes plus some movies and special features. You may remember the motto of Possum Lodge: "Quando omni flunkus moritati."- "When all else fails, play dead." That might be pretty good advice for living through troubled times like ours.
Uncle Ken would have been right at home in West Germany back in the 60s because they had three political parties, and they were all Democrats. The Social Democrats were the lefties and the Christian Democrats were the righties. Then there were the Free Democrats. I don't think they were the moderates, I think they were more like our Green Party. West Germany had a parliamentary system similar to the UK, so whichever party won the most legislative seats had to kiss up to the Free Democrats if they wanted to form a government. Then one year, it was either 1965 or 1966, one of the major parties won a solid majority and the Free Democrats went out of business. The only reason I know this is that this lady friend of mine was upset about it because she had always voted for the Free Democrats, and now she felt betrayed and abandoned. It might have been a coincidence, but it was about this time that she dumped me and went back to her old boyfriend, who had previously made her feel betrayed and abandoned, which was how she came to be my lady friend in the first place.
We've been watching the old Red Green Show on DVDs lately. We have all 300 episodes plus some movies and special features. You may remember the motto of Possum Lodge: "Quando omni flunkus moritati."- "When all else fails, play dead." That might be pretty good advice for living through troubled times like ours.
Avenatti goes to Iowa
The possibility of Avenatti running for prez, has hit primetime, or The Hill anyway. Some sort of shindig in Iowa where the potential candidates show their stuff. Even though I like the guy I am a bit alarmed, I mean we know nothing about him, well once he tosses his hat in the ring I guess we will know plenty. Actually I suspect just knowing he is going to Iowa will be enough to get the oppo researchers looking into his past. He is being sued by some other lawyers for well, something, but those guys do that kind of stuff all the time.
And also it is kind of odd that the guy who is prosecuting the prez could be running against him. Wait a minute, he's not prosecuting the prez, he's representing Stormy Daniels in her suit to. I'm not sure, I think it's to not be held to silence by that 130K. 130K. what a small amount of money to have such an impact. Anyway he sure looks like he is prosecuting Trump the way he pops up on the news shows, and even hobnobs with Cohen. What a casual dinner conversation that must have been.
Socialist is an odd term. I used to think it was kind of like commie lite, but back in the day the socialists were more aligned with the anarchists, thinking the commies were too damn organized. Anymore it can mean anything. I think the social democrats. chose that name because it sounded radical and exciting. The Middle Grounders (sounds like a coffee company) or Savvy Centrists, does not have the power to stir men's souls.
You know middle grounders, centrists, moderates, as a partisan dem when I hear a republican described that way I think well there may be a reasonable man, but when I hear a dem described that way I think blue dog traitor.
Unless I was really really sick, I never called in sick, because as long as I felt lousy anyway, I might as well go to work. Har, I remember one time, I had been taking a drawing class and I was getting pretty good at it so I called in sick one day and went up to the roof to spend the morning and afternoon drawing. When I came down for supper I looked in a mirror and I was beet red. I don't remember what excuse I used but I guess it doesn't matter, everybody knew it was a scam.
I don't even remember what was going on when the week began, I think it was bombing Iran, right now we are at Cohen's tapes, though the day is yet young. Who knows where we will be come Monday. If we ever live through Trump, I wonder if we will be able to adjust to normal life again. Maybe that's why we need Avanetti. He likes a good fight.
And also it is kind of odd that the guy who is prosecuting the prez could be running against him. Wait a minute, he's not prosecuting the prez, he's representing Stormy Daniels in her suit to. I'm not sure, I think it's to not be held to silence by that 130K. 130K. what a small amount of money to have such an impact. Anyway he sure looks like he is prosecuting Trump the way he pops up on the news shows, and even hobnobs with Cohen. What a casual dinner conversation that must have been.
Socialist is an odd term. I used to think it was kind of like commie lite, but back in the day the socialists were more aligned with the anarchists, thinking the commies were too damn organized. Anymore it can mean anything. I think the social democrats. chose that name because it sounded radical and exciting. The Middle Grounders (sounds like a coffee company) or Savvy Centrists, does not have the power to stir men's souls.
You know middle grounders, centrists, moderates, as a partisan dem when I hear a republican described that way I think well there may be a reasonable man, but when I hear a dem described that way I think blue dog traitor.
Unless I was really really sick, I never called in sick, because as long as I felt lousy anyway, I might as well go to work. Har, I remember one time, I had been taking a drawing class and I was getting pretty good at it so I called in sick one day and went up to the roof to spend the morning and afternoon drawing. When I came down for supper I looked in a mirror and I was beet red. I don't remember what excuse I used but I guess it doesn't matter, everybody knew it was a scam.
I don't even remember what was going on when the week began, I think it was bombing Iran, right now we are at Cohen's tapes, though the day is yet young. Who knows where we will be come Monday. If we ever live through Trump, I wonder if we will be able to adjust to normal life again. Maybe that's why we need Avanetti. He likes a good fight.
Thursday, July 26, 2018
The Deer of Beaglesonia
We didn't get paid sick days at the paper mill. We got vacation days and personal days, but we had to schedule those in advance. I have often marveled at how little I get done now that I'm retired. I think it has something to do with the Beaglesonian Corollary to Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Since time slows down as you approach the speed of light, it logically follows that time would speed up as you slow down. Since older people move slower than younger people, time passes faster for them and, consequently, they get less done in a day.
We don't have a wild pig problem this far north, but I understand that they are starting to in the southern part of the state. We are allowed, even encouraged, to shoot any wild swine we see at any time of the year, but I only know of one ever being taken in this area. That one had escaped from a game farm, and the owner suspected that it had a little help doing so. Michigan farmers are no longer allowed to keep certain wild breeds of swine but, last I heard, they were still arguing about that in the courts.
The deer in Northern Michigan are not such creatures of habit as they are in more intensely agricultural areas. The same deer do show up in the same places, but not with any predictable regularity. You might see them three days in a row, and then not again for three months in a row. With does it's hard to tell if you are even seeing the same deer because they all look pretty much alike. We have seen that injured one several times since spring, but she has healed up to the point that we won't be able to identify her much longer. Does commonly travel in groups of two or three, but you might not see all of the group every time it passes through because of the thick vegetation.
North Woods deer are also kind of migratory, frequenting different areas at different times of the year. Individuals have been tracked with radio collars covering over thirty miles between their summer and winter ranges. Some of these migrants undoubtedly cross Beaglesonia coming and going, but there are others that seem to hang around most of the year. If the snow gets over two feet deep, they usually avoid my swamp, which is puzzling because they are supposed spend their winters in swamps like mine. There must be a swamp they like better somewhere around here, but I don't know where it is.
Stable genius
That's a nice picture of the early morning deer, Mr. Beagles. Do the same deer show up on a regular basis, like they are taking a shortcut across your property on the way to someplace else? I don't have a clue about deer habits and behavior and I was wondering if they sleep in the same place every night or keep wandering about, always on the move. I may have asked this before but are feral swine a problem in your neck of the woods? I think they're a big problem in the southern part of Michigan, but I may be wrong. There was something I read about some captive Russian pigs that escaped and caused major issues with the local farmers once they started reproducing. The pigs, not the farmers.
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No need for me to borrow the Frontier book, Uncle Ken. My HTML copy is working out better than I expected and I can cut & paste any memorable passages for future reference. I haven't, yet, but maybe I will. Thanks for the offer.
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I have to admit that most of the sick days I've taken were for times I wasn't really sick, unless you count being sick of going to work every day. But this was only a few times a year; no sense in pushing it and never do it on a Friday. Those long weekends look suspicious. If we could have gotten paid for unused sick days I don't think anyone would have missed a day of work unless they were at death's door. Nowadays folks are told to stay home if they have the slightest symptom of a cold or flu, or so I've read. Used to be that everybody on the bus or train was hacking and wheezing like it was a tubercular ward but not anymore. I think we developed better immune systems back in the day.
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I think democratic socialism is just a label, like progressive,and not like a party ripe for bolting the dems.
You're right, they're not a party. They are an organization, and very real. I wish there was a better term than socialist, though. We've been conditioned to think of socialism as the first step on the way to communism, which is a false assumption. If a third party would ever develop I hope that it would be called the Middle-Grounders, or something like that. The Savvy Centrists?
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It was kind of funny to read that Melania was watching CNN on Air Force One, and you-know-who had a fit. What a chump. And Melania refuses to watch Fox News, which has got to hurt. What will the neighbors say when he can't keep his old lady in line?
For more humor, I found a video by a guy who is ready for his fifteen minutes of fame.
If you like Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance you may be amused. I thought it was pretty funny, with great wordplay. A very stable genius, indeed.
There's a certain kind of bitchy humor that only the gay guys can pull off. And it's amazing the kind of video you can create in your living room if you know what you're doing
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No need for me to borrow the Frontier book, Uncle Ken. My HTML copy is working out better than I expected and I can cut & paste any memorable passages for future reference. I haven't, yet, but maybe I will. Thanks for the offer.
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I have to admit that most of the sick days I've taken were for times I wasn't really sick, unless you count being sick of going to work every day. But this was only a few times a year; no sense in pushing it and never do it on a Friday. Those long weekends look suspicious. If we could have gotten paid for unused sick days I don't think anyone would have missed a day of work unless they were at death's door. Nowadays folks are told to stay home if they have the slightest symptom of a cold or flu, or so I've read. Used to be that everybody on the bus or train was hacking and wheezing like it was a tubercular ward but not anymore. I think we developed better immune systems back in the day.
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I think democratic socialism is just a label, like progressive,and not like a party ripe for bolting the dems.
You're right, they're not a party. They are an organization, and very real. I wish there was a better term than socialist, though. We've been conditioned to think of socialism as the first step on the way to communism, which is a false assumption. If a third party would ever develop I hope that it would be called the Middle-Grounders, or something like that. The Savvy Centrists?
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It was kind of funny to read that Melania was watching CNN on Air Force One, and you-know-who had a fit. What a chump. And Melania refuses to watch Fox News, which has got to hurt. What will the neighbors say when he can't keep his old lady in line?
For more humor, I found a video by a guy who is ready for his fifteen minutes of fame.
If you like Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance you may be amused. I thought it was pretty funny, with great wordplay. A very stable genius, indeed.
There's a certain kind of bitchy humor that only the gay guys can pull off. And it's amazing the kind of video you can create in your living room if you know what you're doing
memories of work
Nothing over the transom this morning. I've got a busy day ahead of me, doing the laundry, the farmer's market this morning, and the Newberry Library book fair this afternoon. Normally a retired person's busy day is when they have to do two things that require getting off their butt in the same day, but here I have three. Altogether they amount to less than four hours. I used to work eight hours a day and still had time to do the laundry, peruse the tomatoes at the farmer's market, and if the fair was going on I could drop by there in the evening and come home with a sackful of cheap good reads.
There were Saturdays and Sundays, but they were kind of part of the week, usually you had things scheduled then, and Sunday, I don't know, it bloomed so nicely in the morning, but by mid afternoon the gloom of the workweek had overcome the day.
I didn't really have a nine to five job until I was forty years old. At first it seemed daunting, the regimentation, those five solid blocks of eight hours. But then I learned there were holidays, in my case, working for the state, there were like ten of them. Columbus day, Casimir Pulaski Day, so cool. Then there were vacation days. I never did like two consecutive weeks, too precious to drink them all down like that, much better to sip at them a few days here, a single day there.
And then there were sick days. Some people were sanctimonious about them, but I abused them right from the start, I mean there they are ripe for the taking, who could resist? Not me. I would get up in the morning, select a time when the boss probably wouldn't be in,.put a cough in my throat and a whine in my voice, generally my ailment was stomach troubles because nobody is going to ask you for details on that.
The coworker who answered the phone was in on the scam, they knew I would and did do the same for them, would put a little sympathy in their voice, mutter you get better now you hear, hang up the phone and announce that Ken wouldn't be coming in today. Probably the reply was "Who gives a shit?" but I didn't care, I was free, free as a bird, a day to do anything or nothing if I wanted.
They are a dime a dozen now in retirement, I don't get that special thrill anymore. I miss the thrill of quitting time on Friday, but for some reason I still get the Sunday blues.
There were Saturdays and Sundays, but they were kind of part of the week, usually you had things scheduled then, and Sunday, I don't know, it bloomed so nicely in the morning, but by mid afternoon the gloom of the workweek had overcome the day.
I didn't really have a nine to five job until I was forty years old. At first it seemed daunting, the regimentation, those five solid blocks of eight hours. But then I learned there were holidays, in my case, working for the state, there were like ten of them. Columbus day, Casimir Pulaski Day, so cool. Then there were vacation days. I never did like two consecutive weeks, too precious to drink them all down like that, much better to sip at them a few days here, a single day there.
And then there were sick days. Some people were sanctimonious about them, but I abused them right from the start, I mean there they are ripe for the taking, who could resist? Not me. I would get up in the morning, select a time when the boss probably wouldn't be in,.put a cough in my throat and a whine in my voice, generally my ailment was stomach troubles because nobody is going to ask you for details on that.
The coworker who answered the phone was in on the scam, they knew I would and did do the same for them, would put a little sympathy in their voice, mutter you get better now you hear, hang up the phone and announce that Ken wouldn't be coming in today. Probably the reply was "Who gives a shit?" but I didn't care, I was free, free as a bird, a day to do anything or nothing if I wanted.
They are a dime a dozen now in retirement, I don't get that special thrill anymore. I miss the thrill of quitting time on Friday, but for some reason I still get the Sunday blues.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
the dem's candidate for 2020
I didn't realize that Old Dog was reading Frontier. If he would like a hard copy I could put mine in his hands at a seminar. I don't recall the French minister to the US calling American the born enemy of all European peoples. I tried the index in the book, and then I went to google and mostly what I got was like the whole book, but the eighth google response was The Beaglesonian Institute. I expect that was tailored to me, but still, a little recognition,
Oh there it is in the preface. I wonder about the context. The French revolution was still going on and I believe the US was appalled by how radical it was. Although Jefferson was a fan of the French, I think the US was more inclined to side with England in disputes.
I think we Americans have always looked down on Europe. They were just not straightforward like us, they were conniving and decadent. As befits a nation founded by Puritans we had the one true path and everybody else was going straight to hell. Early America had no literature or art or philosophy to speak of and the Europeans sniffed down their perfumed sleeves at us for not having no culture, and that had to rankle us. Even today it has that smirch. If you are against socialized medicine to bolster your point you call it European style socialized medicine.
I think democratic socialism is just a label, like progressive,and not like a party ripe for bolting the dems. I can see the lefts and the mods struggling to control the democratic party but I don't see either side bolting if the other side wins. Still it could get ugly. Right now the two wings are united against Trump, but when it comes to who gets the nomination in 2020 there will likely be a bloody battle.
But I may have a solution. I was watching Avenatti on one of his numerous appearances lately, and I noted how pleasing his appearance is. He looks and talks smart, takes that reasonable but forceful tone, doesn't contradict himself, never gives himself up to shouting as so many of those talking heads (male and female) find so manly.
Avenatti for pres. Hum, are others thinking that? Off to the google machine, and it has been whispered though it seems not to have reached prime time yet. Here is a man fighting the good fight, and with no history (so far) of scandal, and not a man of the left or the right and therefore an ideal compromise candidate. It's something to think about.
As for Old Dog's crackpot theory, I don't think Trump has stopped being useful to the Russkies. Why abandon a perfectly useful tool and risk the Trumpist and anti Trumpist forces uniting (we are in crackpot theory land here) against Putin?
Oh there it is in the preface. I wonder about the context. The French revolution was still going on and I believe the US was appalled by how radical it was. Although Jefferson was a fan of the French, I think the US was more inclined to side with England in disputes.
I think we Americans have always looked down on Europe. They were just not straightforward like us, they were conniving and decadent. As befits a nation founded by Puritans we had the one true path and everybody else was going straight to hell. Early America had no literature or art or philosophy to speak of and the Europeans sniffed down their perfumed sleeves at us for not having no culture, and that had to rankle us. Even today it has that smirch. If you are against socialized medicine to bolster your point you call it European style socialized medicine.
I think democratic socialism is just a label, like progressive,and not like a party ripe for bolting the dems. I can see the lefts and the mods struggling to control the democratic party but I don't see either side bolting if the other side wins. Still it could get ugly. Right now the two wings are united against Trump, but when it comes to who gets the nomination in 2020 there will likely be a bloody battle.
But I may have a solution. I was watching Avenatti on one of his numerous appearances lately, and I noted how pleasing his appearance is. He looks and talks smart, takes that reasonable but forceful tone, doesn't contradict himself, never gives himself up to shouting as so many of those talking heads (male and female) find so manly.
Avenatti for pres. Hum, are others thinking that? Off to the google machine, and it has been whispered though it seems not to have reached prime time yet. Here is a man fighting the good fight, and with no history (so far) of scandal, and not a man of the left or the right and therefore an ideal compromise candidate. It's something to think about.
As for Old Dog's crackpot theory, I don't think Trump has stopped being useful to the Russkies. Why abandon a perfectly useful tool and risk the Trumpist and anti Trumpist forces uniting (we are in crackpot theory land here) against Putin?
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Getting Away From it All
Uncle Ken's book report reminded me of something I discovered in my school bus driving days. People move to the country to get away from it all, and then they bring it all with them. They buy or build a house on a narrow dead end dirt road because they don't want to put up with a lot of traffic. Then they want mail delivered, snow plowed in the winter, high speed internet access, good cell phone reception, and the school bus to pick their kids up right at their door. Once they've gotten all those things, they complain that their taxes are too high. I met a guy in a bar once who was really worried about urban sprawl ruining our area. When I found out that he himself had just moved up here six months ago, I said to him, "Man, you are urban sprawl". It occurred to me that might have been what happened to the American frontier. Daniel Boone was always crying about "elbow room" but, as soon as he explored a new area, he would buy some land, subdivide it, and then blaze a trail back to town so the next batch of settlers would be sure to find the place.
Of course there were rules governing how states were admitted to the Union, but Uncle Ken asked me what the Constitution had to say about it. The Constitution gave the power, with some restrictions, to Congress, and then Congress made all the other rules.
Here's a picture of three deer on a misty morning:
Of course there were rules governing how states were admitted to the Union, but Uncle Ken asked me what the Constitution had to say about it. The Constitution gave the power, with some restrictions, to Congress, and then Congress made all the other rules.
Here's a picture of three deer on a misty morning:
Beaglesonian Book Club
The Frontier in American History is a leisurely read...
Indeed it is. Project Gutenburg has it available for download and I'm slowly making my way through the essays, wondering why I've never heard of this work before. I'm enjoying reading it and the way it fleshes out my skeletal understanding of the frontier expansion. The importance of salt is something that would never had occurred to me. But there was something in the forward that immediately grabbed my attention, a statement by the French minister to the United States in 1796: "An American is the born enemy of all European peoples." This is good stuff. Could he have foreseen the events of 2018?
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When Bernie Sanders ran for president much made of his being a socialist but I didn't give it much thought at the time. It wasn't like he was part of some official organization. I was wrong, there an organization called the Democratic Socialists of America, and it is growing. I haven't heard much about them before but I'm wondering if you guys have. It appears to be an insurgent group within the Democratic Party and I'm not sure if it could be the basis of the hypothetical third political party, attracting Independents, certain Libertarians, and other dissatisfied voters. The times, they are a changin'...
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Not all is well in Trumpistan, the empire may be startling to crumble. Today it was announced that Ivanka is shutting down her fashion line, and Daddy must not be pleased. It will be interesting to see where he places the blame; certainly he had nothing to do with it.
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I have another crackpot theory developing. Putin, having decided that Trump has served his purpose in proving Russian superiority in the cyber game, will spill all the beans and let Trump twist in the wind, tossing the American political system into further chaos. This will let him focus his attention on Europe and the dissolution of the European Union, which may have been his goal in the first place. It doesn't make a lot of sense but not much else does these days.
Indeed it is. Project Gutenburg has it available for download and I'm slowly making my way through the essays, wondering why I've never heard of this work before. I'm enjoying reading it and the way it fleshes out my skeletal understanding of the frontier expansion. The importance of salt is something that would never had occurred to me. But there was something in the forward that immediately grabbed my attention, a statement by the French minister to the United States in 1796: "An American is the born enemy of all European peoples." This is good stuff. Could he have foreseen the events of 2018?
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When Bernie Sanders ran for president much made of his being a socialist but I didn't give it much thought at the time. It wasn't like he was part of some official organization. I was wrong, there an organization called the Democratic Socialists of America, and it is growing. I haven't heard much about them before but I'm wondering if you guys have. It appears to be an insurgent group within the Democratic Party and I'm not sure if it could be the basis of the hypothetical third political party, attracting Independents, certain Libertarians, and other dissatisfied voters. The times, they are a changin'...
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Not all is well in Trumpistan, the empire may be startling to crumble. Today it was announced that Ivanka is shutting down her fashion line, and Daddy must not be pleased. It will be interesting to see where he places the blame; certainly he had nothing to do with it.
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I have another crackpot theory developing. Putin, having decided that Trump has served his purpose in proving Russian superiority in the cyber game, will spill all the beans and let Trump twist in the wind, tossing the American political system into further chaos. This will let him focus his attention on Europe and the dissolution of the European Union, which may have been his goal in the first place. It doesn't make a lot of sense but not much else does these days.
Frontier 2
The first guys pushing west of Virginia must have thought of themselves as Virginians, but it seems like the further away they got from that nebulous border the more their ranks were bolstered by folks from other states, so after awhile they probably had more allegiance to each other than Old Virginny. If Jackson Turner is to be believed the folks of old Virginny probably didn't like the idea of those uncouth butternuts (an old name for frontier folk because they used to dye their clothes with oil from the butternut.), having their own senators and whatnot, but likely as not the then rulers didn't want them to to take over their state so they didn't mind them voting in their own guys in their own state,
There must have been some rules, there had to be so much land and so many people before you could petition to be a state. There doesn't seem to have been much opposition to a territory becoming a state, except for that free/slave state thing just before the civil war.
I'm reading beyond the meat of the book now, they added a bunch of his speeches at the end and they are more florid and hence less interesting than the bulk of the book. He must have had some particular axe to grind though I don't know if it ever got so specific as to come down to favoring a presidential candidate. He is a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt though.
He does love those frontiersmen. I think he goes a bit overboard with how they were conquering the west to promote the ideas of democracy. Myself I think they were like all Americans of then and now, trying to get rich. He has no sympathy for the savages, they are just one more impediment, like drought and flood, for the pioneers to overcome. He looks down on slavery, but mainly because it was an impediment to the advancement of the frontier, not that he had much concern for human bondage.
Two things he doesn't like are socialism and big business, the forces that were fighting it out in the gilded age when he was writing the book. He seems to favor populism in the form of the granges and stuff like that, but not when it got too active politically.
One thing he points out is that the midwestern pioneers had a pretty good time about it where the land was fertile and mainly, wet. The guys on the plains didn't have it so easy because it was dryer and the distances were so vast, so they depended more on government aid in the form of irrigation I think, And they were dependent on big business in the form of the railroads, though the railroads got considerable government aid in the form of free land. Anyway he thought this was a problem, about how the west was not by nature as independent and democratic as he would like it to be. He didn't seem to have an answer to that.
Speaking of democracy, I have just been overhearing some speech by one of Trump's guys in relation to war with Iran, to wit how the US stands ready to aid the people of Iran where the shoots of democracy grow in the, I don't know, desert of tyranny. Iran is a democracy. They vote, just not the way we would like them to because they hate us because we put in that Shah asshole. But when the US promotes democracy abroad, what they really mean is doing what America wants them to do.
But that is all yesterday's papers now. We are on to security clearances this morn, and who knows what we will be on come the noon..
There must have been some rules, there had to be so much land and so many people before you could petition to be a state. There doesn't seem to have been much opposition to a territory becoming a state, except for that free/slave state thing just before the civil war.
I'm reading beyond the meat of the book now, they added a bunch of his speeches at the end and they are more florid and hence less interesting than the bulk of the book. He must have had some particular axe to grind though I don't know if it ever got so specific as to come down to favoring a presidential candidate. He is a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt though.
He does love those frontiersmen. I think he goes a bit overboard with how they were conquering the west to promote the ideas of democracy. Myself I think they were like all Americans of then and now, trying to get rich. He has no sympathy for the savages, they are just one more impediment, like drought and flood, for the pioneers to overcome. He looks down on slavery, but mainly because it was an impediment to the advancement of the frontier, not that he had much concern for human bondage.
Two things he doesn't like are socialism and big business, the forces that were fighting it out in the gilded age when he was writing the book. He seems to favor populism in the form of the granges and stuff like that, but not when it got too active politically.
One thing he points out is that the midwestern pioneers had a pretty good time about it where the land was fertile and mainly, wet. The guys on the plains didn't have it so easy because it was dryer and the distances were so vast, so they depended more on government aid in the form of irrigation I think, And they were dependent on big business in the form of the railroads, though the railroads got considerable government aid in the form of free land. Anyway he thought this was a problem, about how the west was not by nature as independent and democratic as he would like it to be. He didn't seem to have an answer to that.
Speaking of democracy, I have just been overhearing some speech by one of Trump's guys in relation to war with Iran, to wit how the US stands ready to aid the people of Iran where the shoots of democracy grow in the, I don't know, desert of tyranny. Iran is a democracy. They vote, just not the way we would like them to because they hate us because we put in that Shah asshole. But when the US promotes democracy abroad, what they really mean is doing what America wants them to do.
But that is all yesterday's papers now. We are on to security clearances this morn, and who knows what we will be on come the noon..
Monday, July 23, 2018
From Sea to Shinning Sea
I am aware of only one part of the Constitution that pertains to the formation of new states, Article IV, Section 3:
"New States may be admitted by the Congress to this Union; but no new State may be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned and of the Congress."
This would seem to have prohibited the formation of West Virginia, but Virginia had seceded from the Union by the time that West Virginia seceded from Virginia. Virginia tried to reclaim West Virginia after the war, but the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled against them.
Virginia was the first British colony established in America, its charter being issued by King James I in 1606. I don't think James knew exactly how wide North America was because he assigned all the land that lay between 34 degrees and 41 degrees N latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans to the new colony. Virginia's northern and southern borders were subsequently altered by other kings with the formation of the colonies of Maryland and North Carolina. There was some confusion about the western border following the French and Indian War. "After the (American) Revolution, the new United States government urged those states with extensive land claims to donate that land to the federal government." Some other stuff happened along the way, but that pretty well sums it up. I only looked up Virginia tonight, but there are likely a few other states with similar histories.
Source: "How the States Got Their Shapes" by Mark Stein
Frontier 1
The Frontier in American History is a leisurely read, as befits a book written just after the turn of the century when you could settle down in your easy chair, a damask pillow behind your head, a cigar and a snifter of brandy would be nice but not necessary, and you wouldn't have to worry about when your tv show would come on, and, unless you were a high techy of the time, no phone to ring. It's one of those books where the author makes his point over and over, and his main point is that the frontier was the making of the nation. Democracy may have been written into the constitution, but it was the free wheeling frontier where any man could pack up his junk and walk a few miles and start a whole new homestead. That made all men equal, something I have noticed Tocqueville talks about a lot, and even today people coming from England remark on our relative lack of class consciousness.
If you think about it our first pioneers came in big boats and were part of communities, used to a hierarchy, maybe a little pissed off at somebody telling him how to buckle his belt and what tilt the brim of his silly hat should have, and all that land lying there beyond the pale and all you had to do was maybe kill an Indian or two and you could fell a few trees and be king of your castle and wear your silly hat anyway you pleased, and maybe go beltless, because what the hell, who could tell you what to do? Nobody. certainly not that guy just up the hill who bolted just like you did anymore than you could tell him how to wear his hat.
I have to think the landed gentry did not mind so much, these guys were most likely rude and scalawags and didn't even know how to hold their teacup properly and good riddance to the lot.
Remember those old maps where Massachusetts and Virginia extend clear to the Mississippi river. I think there was something in the constitution, maybe Beagles, our constitutional scholar, would know, about how to divide up the rest of the continent. The old eastern gentry was sipping their tea in their drawing rooms when they heard that those rude scalawags out there now wanted to form their own states, states that would be ruled by the likes of those guys with the muddy, unfit for porcelain cups, hands, and the votes of those states would be equal to the civilized votes of the gentry. Outrageous.
I'll continue about Frontier in subsequent posts. In other issues I looked at Old Dog's searchable chart in wiki and I would call all those countries above the US second world at best. Actually according to this map:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page they are all third world. That whole first, second, third world thing is a remnant of the cold war and I think it's categories have slipped, but generally just the US and Canada, most of Europe, Australia, and Japan are considered first world.
Honor killing is when the relatives or hubby of a supposedly loose woman kill her. In Saudi Arabia they behead and it's just considered an execution.
If we haven't bombed Iran by tomorrow morning I'll be back to continue with Frontier.
If you think about it our first pioneers came in big boats and were part of communities, used to a hierarchy, maybe a little pissed off at somebody telling him how to buckle his belt and what tilt the brim of his silly hat should have, and all that land lying there beyond the pale and all you had to do was maybe kill an Indian or two and you could fell a few trees and be king of your castle and wear your silly hat anyway you pleased, and maybe go beltless, because what the hell, who could tell you what to do? Nobody. certainly not that guy just up the hill who bolted just like you did anymore than you could tell him how to wear his hat.
I have to think the landed gentry did not mind so much, these guys were most likely rude and scalawags and didn't even know how to hold their teacup properly and good riddance to the lot.
Remember those old maps where Massachusetts and Virginia extend clear to the Mississippi river. I think there was something in the constitution, maybe Beagles, our constitutional scholar, would know, about how to divide up the rest of the continent. The old eastern gentry was sipping their tea in their drawing rooms when they heard that those rude scalawags out there now wanted to form their own states, states that would be ruled by the likes of those guys with the muddy, unfit for porcelain cups, hands, and the votes of those states would be equal to the civilized votes of the gentry. Outrageous.
I'll continue about Frontier in subsequent posts. In other issues I looked at Old Dog's searchable chart in wiki and I would call all those countries above the US second world at best. Actually according to this map:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page they are all third world. That whole first, second, third world thing is a remnant of the cold war and I think it's categories have slipped, but generally just the US and Canada, most of Europe, Australia, and Japan are considered first world.
Honor killing is when the relatives or hubby of a supposedly loose woman kill her. In Saudi Arabia they behead and it's just considered an execution.
If we haven't bombed Iran by tomorrow morning I'll be back to continue with Frontier.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Numbers is Funny Things
Interesting set of numbers that Old Dog found for us. Another thing is that there are probably some countries in Africa and Asia that don't keep good records of stuff like that. If they stone a woman to death for adultery in Saudi Arabia, do they count that as a homicide or an "honor killing"?
Some years ago, a black kid was murdered, I believe it was in New York City, shortly after returning home from combat military duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. It turned out that it was done by his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend, but at first it was believed to be a random street crime. People thought it ironic that the guy survived combat only to be murdered in his own neighborhood. Some expert reported, however, that the kid was statistically more likely to be killed on the streets of that neighborhood than in a combat zone.
I don't know if I believe it, but I have read several times that the U.S. has more people in prison per capita than any other nation in the world. If it is indeed true, it doesn't necessarily mean that we have more crime than the others, it might mean that we have better law enforcement.
I don't have any photos of wolves or bears, although both are occasionally sighted in the area, but I do have a picture of a canine what appears to be a coyote, and I have several of racoons and possums.
Some years ago, a black kid was murdered, I believe it was in New York City, shortly after returning home from combat military duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. It turned out that it was done by his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend, but at first it was believed to be a random street crime. People thought it ironic that the guy survived combat only to be murdered in his own neighborhood. Some expert reported, however, that the kid was statistically more likely to be killed on the streets of that neighborhood than in a combat zone.
I don't know if I believe it, but I have read several times that the U.S. has more people in prison per capita than any other nation in the world. If it is indeed true, it doesn't necessarily mean that we have more crime than the others, it might mean that we have better law enforcement.
I don't have any photos of wolves or bears, although both are occasionally sighted in the area, but I do have a picture of a canine what appears to be a coyote, and I have several of racoons and possums.
Feeding time
C'mon who has a higher homicide rate than the USA? Dollars to donuts it is not a first world country.
According to Wikipedia there are about fifteen countries with a higher rate; not all the data is up to date but it is a good ballpark indicator. The US rate is 4.62 per 100,000, which is high compared to the rest of the industrialized world but many nations are dramatically higher. Mexico's rate is 7.64, the Philippines is 8.9, Brazil's is 21.9, and the Honduras is a whopping 60.0. Most of the nations with the higher rates are in the New World and I don't think its fair to call them all third world countries. It looks like folks went a little nuts when they left the Old World and stayed that way.
Although the US doesn't lead the world in firearm homicide rates, it is the undisputed champ when it comes to suicides with 7.1 per 100,000, significantly higher than the homicide rate.
I can't draw any conclusions from any of the numbers except that unknown factors are at play and gun ownership is only one of them.
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I don't take no truck in body language...
There is such a thing as non-verbal cues in conversation, isn't there? When I see those pics of Trump in his meetings with his arms crossed in front of him I think he looks awfully defensive, lacking his typical confidence and bluster.
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Any critter pics would be welcome, Mr. Beagles. I don't think there will be any wolves or bears any time soon unless you toss a pig carcass in the yard to see what shows up but that would be stupid.
According to Wikipedia there are about fifteen countries with a higher rate; not all the data is up to date but it is a good ballpark indicator. The US rate is 4.62 per 100,000, which is high compared to the rest of the industrialized world but many nations are dramatically higher. Mexico's rate is 7.64, the Philippines is 8.9, Brazil's is 21.9, and the Honduras is a whopping 60.0. Most of the nations with the higher rates are in the New World and I don't think its fair to call them all third world countries. It looks like folks went a little nuts when they left the Old World and stayed that way.
Although the US doesn't lead the world in firearm homicide rates, it is the undisputed champ when it comes to suicides with 7.1 per 100,000, significantly higher than the homicide rate.
I can't draw any conclusions from any of the numbers except that unknown factors are at play and gun ownership is only one of them.
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I don't take no truck in body language...
There is such a thing as non-verbal cues in conversation, isn't there? When I see those pics of Trump in his meetings with his arms crossed in front of him I think he looks awfully defensive, lacking his typical confidence and bluster.
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Any critter pics would be welcome, Mr. Beagles. I don't think there will be any wolves or bears any time soon unless you toss a pig carcass in the yard to see what shows up but that would be stupid.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
I Found It
I don't believe I've ever read "The Frontier in American History", but I looked it up on Wiki and it sounded familiar. Then I clicked on to one of Wiki's sources for the article, and I found the whole book. I started to read it last night, but it got late and I got tired. I'll never have time to read the whole thing on line, but it might serve as a reference for discussion. The book is also available from Amazon, so I might order it so I can read it at my leisure, since my computer is not portable and I do most of my reading in the bathroom and the garage (my smoking lounge). Here is the link:
xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TURNER/
I have heard before that Americans are a particularly violent people, but I don't know if I believe it or not. Violence certainly dominates the news, but it wouldn't be news if it was commonplace. I don't know about the national homicide rate, but Detroit was once called "the murder capitol of the world". I understand that title was usurped by Chicago some years ago. To be fair, Chicago is a lot bigger than Detroit, and the population of Detroit has been declining for decades.
xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TURNER/
I have heard before that Americans are a particularly violent people, but I don't know if I believe it or not. Violence certainly dominates the news, but it wouldn't be news if it was commonplace. I don't know about the national homicide rate, but Detroit was once called "the murder capitol of the world". I understand that title was usurped by Chicago some years ago. To be fair, Chicago is a lot bigger than Detroit, and the population of Detroit has been declining for decades.
Friday, July 20, 2018
The Frontier in American History
C'mon who has a higher homicide rate than the USA? Dollars to donuts it is not a first world country. Maybe most firearms are in the hands of responsible citizens, but many are in the hands of irresponsible citizens. See first sentence.
I don't take no truck in body language, but didn't I say that I thought the Russkies had dirt on Trump? And increasingly the non tinfoil hat pundits are coming out and saying so. I think it relates to the goo gobs of cash the Russkies lent him when nobody else would loan him any money, but that is just my guess.
I imagine he picked up Montenegro in his privy talks with Putin. Hard to believe he would have known it existed without that. I had a Montenegrin student when I was a student teacher. That was during the Balkan troubles when we were proud to be Americans and we let people in who would otherwise get killed. I also had an ESL class with Ukrainian kids, nice kids, and I had a lot of classes where one of the kids had just crossed the border and knew hardly any English, but his fellow students translated for him and the kid caught on quick and they were all good kids. It used to feel good to be an American. Kind of like before we took to torturing. It used to feel good to look down our noses at countries that torture, but that has gone by the by also.
I know about the caldera, probably going to kill us all before that asteroid with out name on it. Well, I may get hit by a truck crossing Irving and Ashland tonight on my way back from the Ten Cat. Hopefully on my way back as opposed to my way to.
Way back in Gage Park High we had a history teacher who was an actual liberal, though we didn't realize it at the time because I don't think we even knew liberals existed. He taught an advanced class on American history that you could take a test afterwards and get COLLEGE credit. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't take the test, but the class was kind of eye-opening. It wasn't the usual pantheon of American heroes. It was kind of objective which was something that seemed radical at the time.
I don't know if it was in that class, or somewhere else that I heard of The Frontier in American
History by Fredrick Jackson Turner. It seemed like it was a well-known book at the time, and it was in the back of my mind for like fifty years and last year I came across it at the Newberry Library book fair and picked it up for two bucks and fifty cents.
It was fifty years old when I first heard of it, and it was still talked about, a hundred years later maybe not so much. Just wondering if either of the Dawgs as read it or heard about it. More on it next week, if there is any time left after discussing whatever Trump gets himself into over the weekend.
Nice bird pics Beagles. I get doves up here sometimes. I kind of thought it was morning, not mourning dove, though now that I think of it I have seen it spelled in the second way, but maybe i thought those people were in error. They don't seem particularly morose to me, not as cheery as my finches, but then who is?
I don't take no truck in body language, but didn't I say that I thought the Russkies had dirt on Trump? And increasingly the non tinfoil hat pundits are coming out and saying so. I think it relates to the goo gobs of cash the Russkies lent him when nobody else would loan him any money, but that is just my guess.
I imagine he picked up Montenegro in his privy talks with Putin. Hard to believe he would have known it existed without that. I had a Montenegrin student when I was a student teacher. That was during the Balkan troubles when we were proud to be Americans and we let people in who would otherwise get killed. I also had an ESL class with Ukrainian kids, nice kids, and I had a lot of classes where one of the kids had just crossed the border and knew hardly any English, but his fellow students translated for him and the kid caught on quick and they were all good kids. It used to feel good to be an American. Kind of like before we took to torturing. It used to feel good to look down our noses at countries that torture, but that has gone by the by also.
I know about the caldera, probably going to kill us all before that asteroid with out name on it. Well, I may get hit by a truck crossing Irving and Ashland tonight on my way back from the Ten Cat. Hopefully on my way back as opposed to my way to.
Way back in Gage Park High we had a history teacher who was an actual liberal, though we didn't realize it at the time because I don't think we even knew liberals existed. He taught an advanced class on American history that you could take a test afterwards and get COLLEGE credit. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't take the test, but the class was kind of eye-opening. It wasn't the usual pantheon of American heroes. It was kind of objective which was something that seemed radical at the time.
I don't know if it was in that class, or somewhere else that I heard of The Frontier in American
History by Fredrick Jackson Turner. It seemed like it was a well-known book at the time, and it was in the back of my mind for like fifty years and last year I came across it at the Newberry Library book fair and picked it up for two bucks and fifty cents.
It was fifty years old when I first heard of it, and it was still talked about, a hundred years later maybe not so much. Just wondering if either of the Dawgs as read it or heard about it. More on it next week, if there is any time left after discussing whatever Trump gets himself into over the weekend.
Nice bird pics Beagles. I get doves up here sometimes. I kind of thought it was morning, not mourning dove, though now that I think of it I have seen it spelled in the second way, but maybe i thought those people were in error. They don't seem particularly morose to me, not as cheery as my finches, but then who is?
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Trump, Trump, Trump!
I don't know what to say about Trump that hasn't already been said, multiple times. After all, he's only the President of the United States. So what's the big deal?
I've got lots of trailcam pictures, taken both by night and by day. What do my esteemed colleagues want to see, deer, rabbits, racoons, possums, birds? Let's start out with these two shots of mourning doves. The dove is supposed to be the bird of peace, maybe these photos will inspire us to calm down a bit.
Keep your powder dry
But when we get violent with a knife it's not as bad as when we get violent with an AR.
Very true, but given the number of guns we have isn't it odd that more people aren't being killed? The US does not have the highest homicide rate which indicates to me that most firearms, including ARs, are in the hands of responsible citizens and those citizens are not the problem. Oh, I read a new word today that may useful in further discussions: ammosexual.
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Uncle Ken was wondering why Trump was such a Putin fanboy at that Helsinki Summit and there may be an answer. Some folks did a body language study and came to the conclusion that he is being blackmailed. But blackmailed for what?, you may ask. Although edging close to tinfoil hat territory, last year Politico had an article about Trump's first visit to Moscow in 1987 and he may have been a target of the KGB and GRU (Russian military intelligence). Those Russians make very long term plans and it is not impossible that Trump has been an unwitting dupe for more than thirty years. Not very likely, I think, but not impossible either. The article has good insights on how the KGB selects and cultivates its assets; they look for certain qualities and weaknesses and Trump fits the bill perfectly.
This ties in nicely with Trump's recent nonsense about Montenegro starting WW3. It seemed to come out of nowhere until you recall that the Russians have been trying to break up NATO for a long time and Montenegro screwed up those plans by joining NATO; more details here.
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Since there doesn't seem to be enough to keep us up at night, here's some volcano news closer to home: a fissure has opened up, close to the Yellowstone caldera, in the Grand Teton National Park. Sweet dreams!
Very true, but given the number of guns we have isn't it odd that more people aren't being killed? The US does not have the highest homicide rate which indicates to me that most firearms, including ARs, are in the hands of responsible citizens and those citizens are not the problem. Oh, I read a new word today that may useful in further discussions: ammosexual.
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Uncle Ken was wondering why Trump was such a Putin fanboy at that Helsinki Summit and there may be an answer. Some folks did a body language study and came to the conclusion that he is being blackmailed. But blackmailed for what?, you may ask. Although edging close to tinfoil hat territory, last year Politico had an article about Trump's first visit to Moscow in 1987 and he may have been a target of the KGB and GRU (Russian military intelligence). Those Russians make very long term plans and it is not impossible that Trump has been an unwitting dupe for more than thirty years. Not very likely, I think, but not impossible either. The article has good insights on how the KGB selects and cultivates its assets; they look for certain qualities and weaknesses and Trump fits the bill perfectly.
This ties in nicely with Trump's recent nonsense about Montenegro starting WW3. It seemed to come out of nowhere until you recall that the Russians have been trying to break up NATO for a long time and Montenegro screwed up those plans by joining NATO; more details here.
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Since there doesn't seem to be enough to keep us up at night, here's some volcano news closer to home: a fissure has opened up, close to the Yellowstone caldera, in the Grand Teton National Park. Sweet dreams!
shaking up Orangey
Everybody has been saying Trump is a loose cannon, it's part of his appeal. One theme you hear from Trumpists when you put a mic in front of their faces is they wanted him to shake things up. Well he certainly has done that much like Beagles would be shaking up Orangey if he drove her into a tree. Another thing you hear from the Trumpists is that he is doing what he said he was going to do. He said he was going to do maybe a thousand things and he has done maybe a hundred of them. Most of the things he hasn't done is replace programs with Trump programs that will be really great and people will love. Or anything that would hurt the fat cats, or anything that would hurt the Russkies. To say Trump is being Trump is circular reasoning and doesn't tell us a thing. Putin being a misunderstood swell guy, or Trump being a double agent secret commie, fail the Trump Razor. The idea that he is in it for the money has been evident but that doesn't explain why he coos to Putin. Because his actions can be explained by, and because their is ample evidence for it, makes the idea that the Russkies have something on him the winner of the Trump Razor award.
I seem to remember Beagles grousing about republican presidential candidates because they were all too moderate. Seems like Reagan was probably the last one he liked.
I guess that trail camera is where the photo of the deer came from. Has anything else been frozen in time by the lens?
I haven't gone so far as to install a birdbath but I have been thinking of it. I do feed the finches which is strictly against condo rules, Birdhit doess accumulate on the balcony floor beneath the feeder but it washes away everytime we get a good rain.
Collins and Murkowski seem to be on the Kavenaugh Kruiser so i don't see why those Pacs are raising so much money and putting on their commercials. Son O Rand has been a little prickly but that is his nature, and even without him all the reps have to do is pick off one of the three true blue dogs so it seems like a waste of money, but then they are awash in it, and it's a way they enjoy themselves.
The thing about guns and violence is that we are a violent people, we are the troublemakers who left other countries. We have always been violent, sometimes we are pretty proud of it. This talk about spending more money on mental health is maybe a good thing, but not likely to make us less violent. But when we get violent with a knife it's not as bad as when we get violent with an AR. That's where guns come in.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Trump is Trump
I've been saying all along that Trump was a loose cannon and that there was no telling what he might do. Nevertheless, he surprised me when he won the nomination, he really surprised me when he won the election, and he really really surprised me when he started actually doing what he said he was going to do. This latest bombshell from the loose cannon, however, shouldn't surprise anyone. Trump has been saying all along that this Russian thing was a witch hunt, and he has repeatedly expressed admiration for Putin. The only thing different is, this time, he said it with Putin standing right next to him and with cameras rolling. Now people are racking their brains trying to find a logical explanation. One possibility, however remote, is that the Russian thing really is a witch hunt and that Putin really is a nice guy once you get to know him. Another possibility is that, after saving this country from the Mexicans, Trump is planning to turn it over to the Russians and/or the North Koreans. Maybe he's a closet Communist, or maybe he's just in it for the money. I think, the most likely explanation, however, is that Trump is just being Trump, the loose cannon. Who knows what he might do next?
Some famous guy once said that the people get exactly the kind of government they deserve. I'm sure he didn't mean reasonable people like us, he meant all those other people. They knew what Trump was like, and they voted for him anyway. There were at least a dozen candidates in the Republican primary that could have done what the people wanted. Of course "could have" doesn't mean "would have", but the people didn't even give them a chance to try. Maybe next time the Republicans will come up with a decent conservative candidate who can win the hearts and minds of the rank and file without being such a loose cannon. One can only hope.
One does not take a $20,000 tractor and deliberately crash it into a tree. Even if one didn't care about the money, there is the potential for injury or even death to consider. I took those pictures with my trail camera, which means I had little control over them. I set the camera where it would cover my work area and then just went about my business. The camera is triggered by both motion and heat, so I get a lot of pictures with nothing of interest in them. I have it set so that it won't take pictures less than ten minutes apart, which keeps me from getting a bunch of pictures of the same subject. This was my first successful attempt to use it to take selfies, and I thought they came out pretty good, all things considered. I am not in the habit of giving names to my tools and equipment. I don't know why, I just never did. Of course I named all of my dogs, but that was different because they were alive.
Some famous guy once said that the people get exactly the kind of government they deserve. I'm sure he didn't mean reasonable people like us, he meant all those other people. They knew what Trump was like, and they voted for him anyway. There were at least a dozen candidates in the Republican primary that could have done what the people wanted. Of course "could have" doesn't mean "would have", but the people didn't even give them a chance to try. Maybe next time the Republicans will come up with a decent conservative candidate who can win the hearts and minds of the rank and file without being such a loose cannon. One can only hope.
One does not take a $20,000 tractor and deliberately crash it into a tree. Even if one didn't care about the money, there is the potential for injury or even death to consider. I took those pictures with my trail camera, which means I had little control over them. I set the camera where it would cover my work area and then just went about my business. The camera is triggered by both motion and heat, so I get a lot of pictures with nothing of interest in them. I have it set so that it won't take pictures less than ten minutes apart, which keeps me from getting a bunch of pictures of the same subject. This was my first successful attempt to use it to take selfies, and I thought they came out pretty good, all things considered. I am not in the habit of giving names to my tools and equipment. I don't know why, I just never did. Of course I named all of my dogs, but that was different because they were alive.
Trump's Razor
We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words and that would make Beagles' post this morning 4,000 words. 4,056 words if we include his intro. The previous post, by way of comparison, is 543 words long, so I guess that gives Beagles a pass. I would have preferred more action photos though, perhaps ramming the thing into a tree, or blasting away with Old Betsy while crashing through the swamp in the chase of some terrified woodland creature.
I guess Beagles must spend on a lot of time on Old Orangey, I guess that vehicle must have some kind of name, not to have heard about The Summit.
Before I left Champaign earlier this month I had breakfast with a couple of known Trumpists. Because we wanted to have a pleasant meal that subject never came up, but the subject of circumstantial evidence did. They were against people being convicted for that. Well I don't know, seems to me that sometimes circumstantial evidence is so compelling that there is no need for a smoking gun, but I didn't press it because they seemed pretty adamant.
I don't know that they were talking about Trump specifically, or more specifically about the beginnings of the Putin having Trump's pecker in his pocket theory. That phrase originally comes from LBJ speaking of having Humphrey's pecker and that image makes me far less squeamish than the latter.
Anyway I was speaking of this matter a post or two ago, and how it didn't seem like this had moved to the lamestream press as yet, but now it has, I saw several pundits presenting in it the wake of Trump's taking Putin's word over his own country's intelligence agents.
The main point was why. If Putin does not have Trump's pecker in his pocket, why does Trump toe the Kremlin line on all matters? What does he gain from it? His base hates Russia and it's not like Trump has trouble blasting people. I think here it is time for Trump's Razor.
I guess Beagles must spend on a lot of time on Old Orangey, I guess that vehicle must have some kind of name, not to have heard about The Summit.
Before I left Champaign earlier this month I had breakfast with a couple of known Trumpists. Because we wanted to have a pleasant meal that subject never came up, but the subject of circumstantial evidence did. They were against people being convicted for that. Well I don't know, seems to me that sometimes circumstantial evidence is so compelling that there is no need for a smoking gun, but I didn't press it because they seemed pretty adamant.
I don't know that they were talking about Trump specifically, or more specifically about the beginnings of the Putin having Trump's pecker in his pocket theory. That phrase originally comes from LBJ speaking of having Humphrey's pecker and that image makes me far less squeamish than the latter.
Anyway I was speaking of this matter a post or two ago, and how it didn't seem like this had moved to the lamestream press as yet, but now it has, I saw several pundits presenting in it the wake of Trump's taking Putin's word over his own country's intelligence agents.
The main point was why. If Putin does not have Trump's pecker in his pocket, why does Trump toe the Kremlin line on all matters? What does he gain from it? His base hates Russia and it's not like Trump has trouble blasting people. I think here it is time for Trump's Razor.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Helsinki?
It appears that I am not up to speed on Trump's latest shenanigans. I'm going to have to take some time to find out about it before I can discuss it intelligently. Meanwhile, here are some tractor pictures that I took with my trailcam. That vertical thing by the log pile is my hydraulic wood splitter.
For the birds
Gobsmacked, being so surprised that you cannot speak, is the perfect word for our troubled times. And here we go again, being gobsmacked by the fact of Trump actually stating that he misspoke and the assessment of US intelligence assets is correct and the Russians are, indeed, involved in some chicanery with the 2016 election. I've never seen him backpedal so quickly but then again, he's never faced so much heat before. Even his pals at Fox were calling him out on his Helsinki Fiasco Summit. And there has never, in my memory, been a time when the word treason was used so frequently in discussions of the behavior of a US president. Historical events are unfolding before our very eyes and because Trump can't keep his mouth shut, bullshitting his way through his own peculiar reality, he will hang himself. It will all be on the record, and the results of any investigations will merely be icing on the cake.
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I'm not surprised that Uncle Ken has so many avian visitors; his balcony is one of the few places in that area sporting any greenery. But I'd keep my eye on that raven, probably not the kind of bird he wants hanging around too frequently. Ravens are curious, very intelligent, have long memories, can have an attitude, and poop every ten minutes if my sources are correct. I wouldn't feed it or put out a birdbath. On the other hand, if he befriends the raven he may be rewarded with bright and shiny tokens of appreciation like rings or other jewelry.
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I heard something new yesterday while listening to CNN. There was an ad urging people to call their senator in support of Kavanaugh as Supreme Court justice. Political ads for judges are nothing new, but not at that level, and since Kavanaugh isn't running against anybody else I wonder where the money is coming from, and why.
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Ever the skeptical optimist, I don't think failed state is a good term to use for our current problems. The US isn't failing although some aspects are certainly out of whack. It's like the American body politic is in the grips of a fever, convulsing once in a while but something that can be endured, leaving us healthier with heightened immunity. That's my way to look at it for the time being although circumstances may change and I reserve the right to change my opinion accordingly.
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One of the things that bothers me about discussions of gun violence is the focus on the gun and not the violence. The gun is simply the tool for the many, too many, violent people in our society. Not a day goes by without hearing about some outrageous act of violence. Road rage is common, as are random beat downs and naked guys running around waving machetes. Is there something in our water, something we've eaten, or is it simply that we hear more about these things because of our increased communication capabilities? People have always gone nuts but we never heard about them because they lived across the river or a few towns over.
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I'm not surprised that Uncle Ken has so many avian visitors; his balcony is one of the few places in that area sporting any greenery. But I'd keep my eye on that raven, probably not the kind of bird he wants hanging around too frequently. Ravens are curious, very intelligent, have long memories, can have an attitude, and poop every ten minutes if my sources are correct. I wouldn't feed it or put out a birdbath. On the other hand, if he befriends the raven he may be rewarded with bright and shiny tokens of appreciation like rings or other jewelry.
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I heard something new yesterday while listening to CNN. There was an ad urging people to call their senator in support of Kavanaugh as Supreme Court justice. Political ads for judges are nothing new, but not at that level, and since Kavanaugh isn't running against anybody else I wonder where the money is coming from, and why.
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Ever the skeptical optimist, I don't think failed state is a good term to use for our current problems. The US isn't failing although some aspects are certainly out of whack. It's like the American body politic is in the grips of a fever, convulsing once in a while but something that can be endured, leaving us healthier with heightened immunity. That's my way to look at it for the time being although circumstances may change and I reserve the right to change my opinion accordingly.
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One of the things that bothers me about discussions of gun violence is the focus on the gun and not the violence. The gun is simply the tool for the many, too many, violent people in our society. Not a day goes by without hearing about some outrageous act of violence. Road rage is common, as are random beat downs and naked guys running around waving machetes. Is there something in our water, something we've eaten, or is it simply that we hear more about these things because of our increased communication capabilities? People have always gone nuts but we never heard about them because they lived across the river or a few towns over.
gobsmacked
At my 4th of July reunion with beer drinking buddies in Champaign I came across an old chum I had not seen in awhile and when I got back home befriended him on fb, and a couple days later there was a post from him, actually a post he took from some other wacko page (few people express themselves in their own words on fb, they take posts from somewhere else, like selecting a birthday card from the rack at Walgreens) that accused Obama of being an Enemy Of The State!
A few posts were exchanged, and it had settled into a bit of a lull, and then I came home from a morning walk and there was that post summit interview with Putin and his blonde boytoy. Holy fucken shit. I don't see any lamestream media types saying this but it seems clear as a bell to me that Putin has the goods on Trump and this private meeting was a means for Putin to tell Trump exactly what to do. Probably the dark web is full of this, but I'm too prim to go there. I suppose it could be just his love of dictators, who he favors more than western democracies (but why was no other American allowed in the meetings?).
If America has an enemy of the state, an enemiest enemy of the state, wouldn't Putin be enemy number one, and wouldn't that make Trump somewhere close to number two (number two, hehe)? CNN was of course as gobsmacked as me. When I checked on the Foxies I was surprised to hear that most of them were a bit of gobsmacked themselves. And that gobsmacked me. This is only the third time I have seen the Foxies not in lockstep with Trump. The first time was the pussy grabbing interview and the second one does not come to my memory just now. I was not so gobsmacked when I turned my eye to republican politicians in office who intend to run again. One or two of them did come out against him and the guy whose car got eaten by woodchucks hemmed and hawed, but other than that there was a lot of silence.
You don't get the impression that Putin is much of one for belly laughs, but I reckon he was biting his thin lips to keep from breaking into one.
I am continually gobsmacked a bit by Beagles', comments that this Trump thing is just the natural ebb and flow of politics. It's like going to the doctor with your arm hanging by a thread of skin and telling the doc, oh sometimes it's better and sometime it's worse.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore"
At first I thought that Uncle Ken's bird was a crow, but when he identified it as a raven, I tended to agree with him. Ravens are larger than crows, and they have sort of a raveny look about them, which I think this one does. Ravens also make different vocalizations than crows, the first time I heard one I thought it might be a pterodactyl. I know that they are supposed to be extinct, but this was in the Upper Peninsula, and you never know about that place. Ravens also like to imitate other sounds that they hear so, if it sounds like a crow, it still might be a raven. I once chased a pair of them all around the swamp for hours, thinking it was my beagles barking. Then I heard the sound directly overhead at the same time I could hear my beagles off somewhere else. I looked up to see a pair of ravens circling above the treetops. I might have been out in the swamp too long that day, but I thought I heard them laughing at me. Probably the best way to identify a raven is if it comes tap-tap-tapping on your door and, when you let it in, it says "nevermore". I must have read that somewhere because I don't remember that it ever happened to me. I have heard that both ravens and crows can be taught to speak English just like parrots, but I have never witnessed that either.
I have seen, in National Geographic, the term "failed state" applied to places like Somalia where, last I heard warlords were running the country because the central government had collapsed. I don't think we're that far gone, at least not yet. The author of Old Dog's link appears to be distraught because the US government is currently not doing what he wants it to. I heard the same thing from the other side after Obama was elected. The government is like the weather that way, if you don't like it, just wait awhile and it will change.
I have seen, in National Geographic, the term "failed state" applied to places like Somalia where, last I heard warlords were running the country because the central government had collapsed. I don't think we're that far gone, at least not yet. The author of Old Dog's link appears to be distraught because the US government is currently not doing what he wants it to. I heard the same thing from the other side after Obama was elected. The government is like the weather that way, if you don't like it, just wait awhile and it will change.
birdland
This is the most exciting birdwise that has happened here in the tower. I think it's a raven and not one of the other varieties of big black birds because of the hooked beak, though I am no birder. I've also had doves, full grown pigeons, a blue jay who hit the window with a thwack, and laid like dead for maybe half an hour before he picked himself up, dusted himself off and presumably went back the way he came. On a daily basis I have house finches, cheery little fellows.
As conquerors the Turks weren't bad, after the initial massacre. You could keep your king, your way of life, your religion, and other than paying a healthy tribute, life went on. As a matter of fact they didn't want you to convert because Christians paid taxes at a higher rate than muslims.
I think Beagles is saying that if the gummint demanded Old Betsy from him that would denote the demise of the once great nation so therefore its laws would be moot, so therefore none would be broken by Beagles holding Old Betsy with that death grip made famous by Charlton Heston.
I hear this term failed state bandied about much of late, and I am not a fan of it. It's definition seems to be fluid, meaning anything between a nation temporarily on the rocks to one that doesn't exist anymore. I don't see where it defines anything specific and I vote to oust it from serious discourse/
Not a big burger fan myself, but they are a handy go to item when nothing else on the menu is particularly interesting. I always selected medium because, well, that's what everybody else asks for. Then one day I got a wild hair up my ass and, since I like my bbq with a bit of char I selected well done. It was dry and tasteless. The next time I selected medium rare and I have to say it was quite tasty and the next time I have a burger that's what I will choose.
But I'm skeptical about these best burger in the world, or the country, state, county, city, or whatever claims. A dead cow is a dead cow, and a hot grill is a hot grill, how can one burger be that much greater than other burgers?
This whole states rights vs the feds seems a bit unwieldy. If you are talking about a specific law that might make sense, but the principle just seems too vague,. And usually the way the argument is made is it's just to protect some law they like, whereas if it's a law they don't like than the principle doesn't apply.
It's a little like the current war against regulations. To say there are too many without specifying which ones you oppose doesn't make any sense.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
States Rights
People have been arguing about states rights since before the Civil War. Personally, I think that the southern states should have been allowed to peaceably secede from the union. I know that slavery sucked but, since the states joined the union voluntarily, it seems logical that they should be able to leave the union voluntarily. The Constitution doesn't say anything about it either way, which I find surprising. Didn't it even occur to them that some states might want to leave someday? Speaking of the Constitution, the Tenth Amendment says: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Some other parts of the Constitution and some court decisions over the years seem to contradict that, but I suppose it's all a matter of interpretation.
The new tractor is working fine. All I've done with it so far is haul firewood, the real tests will be when I start mowing, tilling, and snow plowing, but I have no reason to believe it won't work well for those applications. It has more horsepower than my old one, so it seemed a little jumpy at first, but I'm getting used to it. They have made a lot of improvements since I bought my old one 19 years ago, and I like all of them so far. The old one had several issues, and I wasn't willing to put any more money into it. My old model had been discontinued long ago, and this was the closest thing to it that was available, but I have no regrets.
I have only been to Traverse City a few times in my life, and that was a long time ago. My daughter lives in Charlevoix, about halfway between here and Traverse, and she goes there often. That Slabtown place sounds familiar, although I'm sure I was never there, so maybe my daughter told me about it.
I have read before in National Geographic that firearms are way near the bottom of the statistical list of causes of death in this country. That didn't surprise me, but what did surprise me was that more people are killed accidently by firearms than on purpose.
The new tractor is working fine. All I've done with it so far is haul firewood, the real tests will be when I start mowing, tilling, and snow plowing, but I have no reason to believe it won't work well for those applications. It has more horsepower than my old one, so it seemed a little jumpy at first, but I'm getting used to it. They have made a lot of improvements since I bought my old one 19 years ago, and I like all of them so far. The old one had several issues, and I wasn't willing to put any more money into it. My old model had been discontinued long ago, and this was the closest thing to it that was available, but I have no regrets.
I have only been to Traverse City a few times in my life, and that was a long time ago. My daughter lives in Charlevoix, about halfway between here and Traverse, and she goes there often. That Slabtown place sounds familiar, although I'm sure I was never there, so maybe my daughter told me about it.
I have read before in National Geographic that firearms are way near the bottom of the statistical list of causes of death in this country. That didn't surprise me, but what did surprise me was that more people are killed accidently by firearms than on purpose.
The Eagle Has Landed
The following is copied from an email that I just sent to my daughter:
On Monday three eagles, two adults and one juvenile, landed on this old dead popple tree across the marsh. Even though it was as big as the adults, we knew that one of them was a juvenile because they don't get their adult plumage until the second year. The adults took off after awhile, but the youngster stayed in that tree for four solid days. We saw the adults come back a few times, possibly bringing food for the kid, but we couldn't tell for sure at that distance.
On Friday the robins and the blue jays were raising a ruckus because the kid had apparently gone out of his tree and landed in our old vacant dog pen. We didn't witness this, but how else could the kid have gotten in there? It would seem that, if it had flown in, it could have flown out anytime it wanted to, but the kid insisted that it would rather beat its brains out trying to walk right through the fence, completely ignoring the open gate.
I figured that if I entered the pen myself it might cause the eagle to either fly out or walk out the gate. I knew better than to push it hard, I just eased along the fence, stopping to take a picture now and then. This caused the kid to ease along the fence ahead of me, until it came to the gate and eased right on through it. It was nice of the kid to stop and pose for one last picture before flying away.
The flight was unimpressive, just a short hop over to the log pile, where it perched for awhile, driving the robins and blue jays nuts. We didn't see it leave, and it must not have gone far, because I saw it perched on the woodpile inside the barn later in the day. It did leave eventually, after I ran the chain saw for awhile, but I don't know if it flew away or walked away. The robins and blue jays talked about it for hours, which is understandable because they had probably never seen anything like this in their lives.
Nothing to see here
It's been a couple of months since Mr. Beagles acquired his new tractor and I wonder how it is working out for him. Are there noticeable differences between the old one and the new one, like being quieter, more powerful, more comfortable, and was it money well spent?
Another question for Mr. Beagles: has he ever been to the Slabtown Cafe in Traverse City? It was recently listed as one of the top-ten burger places in the US but I forgot where I read that. They serve up to 800 pounds of burgers per day so they must be pretty good. None of the burger joints in Chicago made the list which surprised me as some of them are exceptional.
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Sometimes I think there are too many federal, laws and many matters should be left to the individual states, counties, and communities. There should be more flexibility in the system allowing towns and cities to make their own rules as long as human rights aren't being trampled. We can buy alcohol almost anywhere yet many areas choose to be dry like some of the voting precincts in Chicago; possession is okay but not the sale or distribution. Ah, I'm not getting anywhere with this train of thought. Sorry.
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Owning guns is fine; I'm not as liberal as Mr. Beagles seems to believe. But I'd like to remind him that more people have been robbed by a stroke of the pen than by any gun.
Another question for Mr. Beagles: has he ever been to the Slabtown Cafe in Traverse City? It was recently listed as one of the top-ten burger places in the US but I forgot where I read that. They serve up to 800 pounds of burgers per day so they must be pretty good. None of the burger joints in Chicago made the list which surprised me as some of them are exceptional.
-----
Sometimes I think there are too many federal, laws and many matters should be left to the individual states, counties, and communities. There should be more flexibility in the system allowing towns and cities to make their own rules as long as human rights aren't being trampled. We can buy alcohol almost anywhere yet many areas choose to be dry like some of the voting precincts in Chicago; possession is okay but not the sale or distribution. Ah, I'm not getting anywhere with this train of thought. Sorry.
-----
Owning guns is fine; I'm not as liberal as Mr. Beagles seems to believe. But I'd like to remind him that more people have been robbed by a stroke of the pen than by any gun.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
The Rule of Law
My comments about the end of the world were in response to the article about America being a "failed state". I guess I should have made that more clear than I did.
I think the Byzantines started calling themselves Turks after the Turks over ran Constantinople. I'm sure that the Turks killed a lot of Byzantines, and the survivors started calling themselves Turks if they knew what was good for them. I don't know that for a fact, I just made it up, but it seemed logical to me at the time. I do know that the Byzantines called themselves Romans previous to the Turkish conquest. They called the European Romans "Latins", and the European Romans called the Byzantines "Greeks", but they both called themselves "Romans". I seem to remember reading that in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", by Edward Gibbon. Of course that was a long time ago, and a certain amount of memory loss is normal at my age, but I am not looking it up, you'll just have to accept it on faith.
While many people do indeed call abortion "murder", it was never that way under the law, and now abortion is not even a crime anymore. Of course that may change someday but, until it does, we're stuck with it.
I don't blame the illegal immigrants for breaking the law, I blame the lax enforcement of the immigration law which has made it easier to cross the border illegally than legally. Some people have been saying that it was time to crack down for a long time, and now they have elected a president who seems intent on doing just that. Of course the next president might turn around and go back to business as usual but, until that happens, youse guys are stuck with it. I personally believe that our borders should be secured and immigration brought under control, so I ain't stuck with nothing, at least for now.
I assumed that, when Uncle Ken hypotheticallized about the government taking away our guns, he meant all of our guns, not just the ARs. If it was just the ARs, I would bitch and complain about it, but I think I could live with it. Of course that doesn't mean I would vote for it. If I had any ARs at the time, I would probably turn them in, provided I was paid full market value for them. If, however, a law was passed taking away all our guns, it would signal to me that America was indeed a failed state, and that it was time to man the barricades.
I think the Byzantines started calling themselves Turks after the Turks over ran Constantinople. I'm sure that the Turks killed a lot of Byzantines, and the survivors started calling themselves Turks if they knew what was good for them. I don't know that for a fact, I just made it up, but it seemed logical to me at the time. I do know that the Byzantines called themselves Romans previous to the Turkish conquest. They called the European Romans "Latins", and the European Romans called the Byzantines "Greeks", but they both called themselves "Romans". I seem to remember reading that in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", by Edward Gibbon. Of course that was a long time ago, and a certain amount of memory loss is normal at my age, but I am not looking it up, you'll just have to accept it on faith.
While many people do indeed call abortion "murder", it was never that way under the law, and now abortion is not even a crime anymore. Of course that may change someday but, until it does, we're stuck with it.
I don't blame the illegal immigrants for breaking the law, I blame the lax enforcement of the immigration law which has made it easier to cross the border illegally than legally. Some people have been saying that it was time to crack down for a long time, and now they have elected a president who seems intent on doing just that. Of course the next president might turn around and go back to business as usual but, until that happens, youse guys are stuck with it. I personally believe that our borders should be secured and immigration brought under control, so I ain't stuck with nothing, at least for now.
I assumed that, when Uncle Ken hypotheticallized about the government taking away our guns, he meant all of our guns, not just the ARs. If it was just the ARs, I would bitch and complain about it, but I think I could live with it. Of course that doesn't mean I would vote for it. If I had any ARs at the time, I would probably turn them in, provided I was paid full market value for them. If, however, a law was passed taking away all our guns, it would signal to me that America was indeed a failed state, and that it was time to man the barricades.
Friday, July 13, 2018
barefoot in the car with Vicky in Cheeseland
I don't think I've said the world is ending. The world has its ups and downs however. Five hundred years of dark ages followed the fall of the Roman Empire. Things were pretty copacetic just after WW I, but it wasn't long before we found ourselves in WW II. The Byzantine Empire has an interesting story, sort of the Greek rump state of the Roman Empire, but I don't think Beagles knows that history if he thinks the Byzantines woke up one day and decided to call themselves Turks. They were conquered by the Turks who sacked Constantinople and made a mosque out of the Hagia Sophia and renamed the city Istanbul.
If Beagles doesn't know the difference between abortion and murder and armed robbery I don't know what to tell him.
What brought up the second thought question was we were discussing immigration and Beagles agreed with Jeff Sessions who maintained that the law was the law and had to be obeyed whether you liked it or not, and Beagles fell in line with that. So Beagles believes laws that he likes are to be obeyed without question, but when he doesn't like the law he can do whatever he wants.
I thought maybe Vicky from Eau Claire was just trying to get Old Dog's stinky feet back into his clodhoppers, but being an avid seeker of the truth I went to the google, and there is a lot of stuff on the subject. Too much to do proper research, but the trend seemed to be that it was the state of Indiana and the problem was with the the minor having her socks off.
Some elections have a rule that if no candidate gets a majority, the two top vote getters go on to face each other mano y mano. The presidential elections are not like that, and it's a good thing because nobody gets a majority in a close election and it would be silly to have a second election where nobody could vote for Ralph Nader or the Tarians!
I had trepidations about Old Dog's link when I saw that it was from Truthdig, (why no, exclamation mark??), not that I am familiar with that forum, but just the name, you know. And sure enough it was long and rambling, at one point I saw a reference to Jean Genet's The Balcony, not a sign that the author is in any hurry to make a point. I think it was about rotten boroughs, and I couldn't agree more that boroughs are rotten. I don't need no Genet quoting Truthdigger! (there doesn't that look nice?) to tell me that.
Hilary won't be done until a stake is put through her heart and she is buried a hundred feet deep with one of those Chernobyl shields put over that, and then there will still be whispering.
If Beagles doesn't know the difference between abortion and murder and armed robbery I don't know what to tell him.
What brought up the second thought question was we were discussing immigration and Beagles agreed with Jeff Sessions who maintained that the law was the law and had to be obeyed whether you liked it or not, and Beagles fell in line with that. So Beagles believes laws that he likes are to be obeyed without question, but when he doesn't like the law he can do whatever he wants.
I thought maybe Vicky from Eau Claire was just trying to get Old Dog's stinky feet back into his clodhoppers, but being an avid seeker of the truth I went to the google, and there is a lot of stuff on the subject. Too much to do proper research, but the trend seemed to be that it was the state of Indiana and the problem was with the the minor having her socks off.
Some elections have a rule that if no candidate gets a majority, the two top vote getters go on to face each other mano y mano. The presidential elections are not like that, and it's a good thing because nobody gets a majority in a close election and it would be silly to have a second election where nobody could vote for Ralph Nader or the Tarians!
I had trepidations about Old Dog's link when I saw that it was from Truthdig, (why no, exclamation mark??), not that I am familiar with that forum, but just the name, you know. And sure enough it was long and rambling, at one point I saw a reference to Jean Genet's The Balcony, not a sign that the author is in any hurry to make a point. I think it was about rotten boroughs, and I couldn't agree more that boroughs are rotten. I don't need no Genet quoting Truthdigger! (there doesn't that look nice?) to tell me that.
Hilary won't be done until a stake is put through her heart and she is buried a hundred feet deep with one of those Chernobyl shields put over that, and then there will still be whispering.
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