As I remember it Beagles did quite well at Gage Park High. He was a smart guy and he didn't make any trouble, he was well-dressed and well-spoken and thus his current attitudes towards school are a puzzlement to me. I always thought of school as a gentler kinder version of the real world. If you worked hard on a project or studying for a test you would likely to be rewarded by a good grade, whereas in the real world while generally hard work on the job would get you a promotion, it also might get you fired because the boss might not like you, or even if you had one that did, he might be gone tomorrow and replaced by one who didn't,
You know you've gotta learn the three R's, you're not going to get ahead in the world if you don't know how to read and write and do your sums. and it's easier to teach it to a bunch of kids at one time then to teach each one individually, and they have to give you a test to see if you know it, so I don't know what Beagles is complaining about here. Maybe he isn't complaining, but he does sound like it's an awful lot of trouble, just to onerous to have to study up on anything and so much easier and freer to just shoot your mouth off without an idea in your head.
Well that makes things easy, Beagles is full of shit. There, I don't have to add anything to it or say why I say that because I am no longer in school and I can do whatever I want. Beagles, no longer under the grueling rigor of public education, is free to reply, No, I'm not, Uncle Ken is full of shit, and I can repeat what I said, and he can repeat what he said, and eventually one of us will get tired and we can examine what Old Dog has to say.
Old Dog does not post as often as the other two loudmouths in this Institute, which is seemly, makes him appear calmer and wiser, empty barrel makes the most noise and that kind of stuff. But that makes it harder to continue his threads, I'm still waiting to hear if he has listened to the entirety of that youtube video. I remember once Lithgow did a thing on a Newt Gingrich press release https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS5F8X11h5shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS5F8X11h5s and it was great. Newt, we just don't get to see much of him anymore.
I too wonder what particular song wormed Old Dog's ear. Their was a spate of pop pseudo Irish music that was popular in the late sixties. The most egregious of these was The Unicorn by The Irish Rovers. I said pseudo because I don't think that's what they listen to over there. I like the Chieftains
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Monday, July 15, 2019
I Don't Hafta
The difference between school and the Institute is that, in school, they tell you what to learn, how to learn it, when to learn it, when to complete it, and then they grade you on how well they think you learned it, and I don't hafta do any of that stuff here. My esteemed colleagues may do that stuff here if they want to, but they don't hafta any more than I hafta. So there!
We have discussed this thing about minorities before. I got nothing against minorities as long as they remain minorities. It's when a minority threatens to become the majority that it makes me nervous. I don't blame the minority for wanting to become the majority, I think that's just human nature, but it's also human nature to want to remain in the majority if you already are. Why would anybody want to be in the minority if they didn't hafta?
What Uncle Ken said about the Mueller Report is inconsistent with what I have heard about it. It was my understanding that no evidence of collusion was found, but that there was plenty of evidence of obstruction of justice. I suppose it doesn't matter because they ain't gonna do nothin' anyway, just talk about it forever.
We have discussed this thing about minorities before. I got nothing against minorities as long as they remain minorities. It's when a minority threatens to become the majority that it makes me nervous. I don't blame the minority for wanting to become the majority, I think that's just human nature, but it's also human nature to want to remain in the majority if you already are. Why would anybody want to be in the minority if they didn't hafta?
What Uncle Ken said about the Mueller Report is inconsistent with what I have heard about it. It was my understanding that no evidence of collusion was found, but that there was plenty of evidence of obstruction of justice. I suppose it doesn't matter because they ain't gonna do nothin' anyway, just talk about it forever.
the answer man lays his burden down
I wonder what Beagles has against school. Oh sure, I hated it through high school, but that was mostly I hated people telling me what to do all the time. I was not a good student at the U of I, on probation half the time I was there, and not really paying much attention to what I was supposed to be learning especially when I got to have a social life, and then those sixties. I was a better student when I took those data processing courses at the junior college in Champaign, and then some programming courses in Austin. Edukashun school was awfully boring and irrelevant, but then it was run by people who were like my high school and grade school teachers. The good thing about school is there is discussion which the self-taught scholar never gets.
I couldn't disagree more, could not disagree more, really could not disagree more with Beagles about just tossing stuff out to see what becomes of it, especially since it is then up to me to put in all the legwork of grueling internet research, and anyway who just says something without thinking about it? A person should have facts and reasoning behind everything they believe, else why should anybody listen to them? The unexamined life, as has been stated before in these annals, is not worth living.
Nevertheless, if the present trend continues, we will end up being a minority in our own country. I think this is what Beagles is primarily about in his arguments about immigration, his talk of laws and rights is just so much window dressing, this is all he is concerned with, like the way George Wallace blabbed on about state's rights, when what was really behind it was white people not wanting to have their kids sitting next to black kids in school..
And I'll disagree with Old Dog about topics that are too thorny and complicated, why that is perzackly what makes them interesting. Remember we went to the moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard.
I read the first half of the Mueller Report, and although it wasn't badly written it was a bit slow, lots of footnotes and stuff like that, and most of the material was in the newspapers in more easily digestible form. When it all began my ilk was enthusiastic because we thought it would prove collusion and thereby set the skids under the big orange baby, but while it did confirm the former it had no effect on the latter. Even before Barr's snappy two step of deception it became apparent that the forty percent don't care about collusion, and if the forty percent are not on their side the republicans remain toadies. That YouTube video looks interesting, but it's hard for me to just sit still and watch something for that long.
I get earworms all the time. I think the main culprit is those tv commercials where they slap a dash of a popular 60s or 70s song into their commercial. You don't even notice it at first, and even when the earworm has wormed its way in it's hard to recall where that song came from. I generally try to force another song on top of it, and even if that song becomes an earworm, at least it is a song that I like. Easy From Now On as sung by Emmylou Harris works most effectively for that.
I couldn't disagree more, could not disagree more, really could not disagree more with Beagles about just tossing stuff out to see what becomes of it, especially since it is then up to me to put in all the legwork of grueling internet research, and anyway who just says something without thinking about it? A person should have facts and reasoning behind everything they believe, else why should anybody listen to them? The unexamined life, as has been stated before in these annals, is not worth living.
Nevertheless, if the present trend continues, we will end up being a minority in our own country. I think this is what Beagles is primarily about in his arguments about immigration, his talk of laws and rights is just so much window dressing, this is all he is concerned with, like the way George Wallace blabbed on about state's rights, when what was really behind it was white people not wanting to have their kids sitting next to black kids in school..
And I'll disagree with Old Dog about topics that are too thorny and complicated, why that is perzackly what makes them interesting. Remember we went to the moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard.
I read the first half of the Mueller Report, and although it wasn't badly written it was a bit slow, lots of footnotes and stuff like that, and most of the material was in the newspapers in more easily digestible form. When it all began my ilk was enthusiastic because we thought it would prove collusion and thereby set the skids under the big orange baby, but while it did confirm the former it had no effect on the latter. Even before Barr's snappy two step of deception it became apparent that the forty percent don't care about collusion, and if the forty percent are not on their side the republicans remain toadies. That YouTube video looks interesting, but it's hard for me to just sit still and watch something for that long.
I get earworms all the time. I think the main culprit is those tv commercials where they slap a dash of a popular 60s or 70s song into their commercial. You don't even notice it at first, and even when the earworm has wormed its way in it's hard to recall where that song came from. I generally try to force another song on top of it, and even if that song becomes an earworm, at least it is a song that I like. Easy From Now On as sung by Emmylou Harris works most effectively for that.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
The Hungry Hordes
Okay, that thing about MS-13 was a bit of a stretch, possibly a flashback to my Bircher days. Nevertheless, if the present trend continues, we will end up being a minority in our own country. Of course, nothing says that the present trend has to continue. Last I heard, the numbers went down a bit in June after breaking the record in May. At this rate, we will only get about a million of them this year. But what about next year, and what about the millions that are already here? I have said more than once that my problem with the illegals is that there are way too many of them. That's why they are getting such "shameful" treatment you know. The facilities are over crowded and the staff is over worked. I heard on the news today that our guys are planning to erect another tent city and hire 50 more immigration judges. Better than nothing, but too little too late in my opinion.
I have said before that I reject the liberal guilt position that says we should pay for the sins of our predecessors. Whatever our government did in the past is not my fault and, if it happened in my lifetime, I probably voted against it anyway.
I have heard of that earworm thing, but I don't remember ever being troubled with it. I'm guessing that the Irish group Old Dog mentioned is either the Irish Rovers or the Clancy Brothers, two of my all time favorites. If you're going to be obsessed with music, you could do worse.
I have said before that I reject the liberal guilt position that says we should pay for the sins of our predecessors. Whatever our government did in the past is not my fault and, if it happened in my lifetime, I probably voted against it anyway.
I have heard of that earworm thing, but I don't remember ever being troubled with it. I'm guessing that the Irish group Old Dog mentioned is either the Irish Rovers or the Clancy Brothers, two of my all time favorites. If you're going to be obsessed with music, you could do worse.
Earworm infestation
Hey Old Dog, get us started on another subject.
You've discovered my secret plan, Uncle Ken. I was satisfied to watch you guys go back and forth on a few topics, like health coverage and the border situation, to the point of mental exhaustion and frustration, and then I'd casually stroll by and yammer about something completely unrelated and, possibly, off the wall.
I'm not saying that those issues aren't important; they are, but those topics are too thorny and complicated for me to fully understand; they are puzzles with missing pieces. There are a few things that I know for sure, though. The treatment of those illegals is shameful, bordering on the criminal. and the long term effects will not be good. Some of those folks will probably get the asylum they seek and our government is creating a new class of disgruntled (future) citizens. In some ways, I think that Trump has already overthrown the government. He is following his own rules and Congress does nothing to hold him accountable for anything. The Mueller Report has had no effect but maybe something toxic will come out of the Epstein investigations; there's a lot of wacky business and political connections associated with that guy. It's crazy that nobody knows how that guy has made all of his money; he's got a lot of it but it's source is unknown, and rumors abound. Apparently Epstein got that sweet deal years ago because Acosta was told to leave him alone because Epstein belongs to "Intelligence." I think this was from the newspaper research in Florida years ago but if Epstein was part of an intelligence network the nations(s) involved were not specified and blackmail should not be ruled out. This is tin foil hat territory, boys.
-----
The brief mention of the Mueller Report reminded me that Uncle Ken bought a copy but I haven't heard anything about it yet; I'm sure he's read it by now. There were online copies available, for free, but I figured the hell with it; wallowing through a government report is not my idea of a good time. But I now have a real good idea of the Report, at least the second half of it that deals with obstruction of justice. Some guy wrote a play, kind of, based on the Mueller Report, and it's terrific. It's titled The Investigation: A Search For The Truth In Ten Acts, and you can find it here. A strange bit of theater since most of the dialog is exact quotations from the report but worth viewing, in my opinion. It certainly helped me understand that there was a lot of obstruction of justice and it's worth it just for John Lithgow's performance in reading Trump's words; the guy can certainly chew the scenery and he captures the essence of Trump brilliantly.
----
Does Mr. Beagles honestly believe that it's likely that MS-13 will be pounding on his door? If it comes to that it is likely that he will be outnumbered (MS-13 prefers machetes and knives, or so I've read) and all of his efforts will have been in vain.
If those hungry hordes from Central America had guns, they might be able to resist evil in their homelands instead of running away from it.
Sounds good except for the fact that the United States is responsible for much of that evil. More than one government has been toppled to support US business interests; our record is not clean and we should assume responsibility for past misdeeds. If we destabilized and wrecked their country the least we can do is offer them a safe haven. Unlikely, I know.
----
Did you guys ever get an earworm, a tune that sticks in your head, that just won't go away? I've had a couple for the past week, courtesy of an Irish group and their songs from the mid Sixties. Not only do the songs stay in my head but I keep listening to them, too. And these aren't songs written in the 60s; most are from decades earlier, as early as the 20s. I remember liking the songs when I first heard them way back when but this is ridiculous. I'd name the group but earworms can be contagious and I don't want to drive you guys to distraction.
You've discovered my secret plan, Uncle Ken. I was satisfied to watch you guys go back and forth on a few topics, like health coverage and the border situation, to the point of mental exhaustion and frustration, and then I'd casually stroll by and yammer about something completely unrelated and, possibly, off the wall.
I'm not saying that those issues aren't important; they are, but those topics are too thorny and complicated for me to fully understand; they are puzzles with missing pieces. There are a few things that I know for sure, though. The treatment of those illegals is shameful, bordering on the criminal. and the long term effects will not be good. Some of those folks will probably get the asylum they seek and our government is creating a new class of disgruntled (future) citizens. In some ways, I think that Trump has already overthrown the government. He is following his own rules and Congress does nothing to hold him accountable for anything. The Mueller Report has had no effect but maybe something toxic will come out of the Epstein investigations; there's a lot of wacky business and political connections associated with that guy. It's crazy that nobody knows how that guy has made all of his money; he's got a lot of it but it's source is unknown, and rumors abound. Apparently Epstein got that sweet deal years ago because Acosta was told to leave him alone because Epstein belongs to "Intelligence." I think this was from the newspaper research in Florida years ago but if Epstein was part of an intelligence network the nations(s) involved were not specified and blackmail should not be ruled out. This is tin foil hat territory, boys.
-----
The brief mention of the Mueller Report reminded me that Uncle Ken bought a copy but I haven't heard anything about it yet; I'm sure he's read it by now. There were online copies available, for free, but I figured the hell with it; wallowing through a government report is not my idea of a good time. But I now have a real good idea of the Report, at least the second half of it that deals with obstruction of justice. Some guy wrote a play, kind of, based on the Mueller Report, and it's terrific. It's titled The Investigation: A Search For The Truth In Ten Acts, and you can find it here. A strange bit of theater since most of the dialog is exact quotations from the report but worth viewing, in my opinion. It certainly helped me understand that there was a lot of obstruction of justice and it's worth it just for John Lithgow's performance in reading Trump's words; the guy can certainly chew the scenery and he captures the essence of Trump brilliantly.
----
Does Mr. Beagles honestly believe that it's likely that MS-13 will be pounding on his door? If it comes to that it is likely that he will be outnumbered (MS-13 prefers machetes and knives, or so I've read) and all of his efforts will have been in vain.
If those hungry hordes from Central America had guns, they might be able to resist evil in their homelands instead of running away from it.
Sounds good except for the fact that the United States is responsible for much of that evil. More than one government has been toppled to support US business interests; our record is not clean and we should assume responsibility for past misdeeds. If we destabilized and wrecked their country the least we can do is offer them a safe haven. Unlikely, I know.
----
Did you guys ever get an earworm, a tune that sticks in your head, that just won't go away? I've had a couple for the past week, courtesy of an Irish group and their songs from the mid Sixties. Not only do the songs stay in my head but I keep listening to them, too. And these aren't songs written in the 60s; most are from decades earlier, as early as the 20s. I remember liking the songs when I first heard them way back when but this is ridiculous. I'd name the group but earworms can be contagious and I don't want to drive you guys to distraction.
Friday, July 12, 2019
I Don't Need No Stinking Research!
This is not school, it's supposed to be fun. Sometimes I look stuff up if I want to know more about the subject, but sometimes I just throw it out to the Institute and see what comes bouncing back. I seem to remember that was how people conversed before the internet was invented. Of course in those days you had to get dressed and go to town to engage people in conversation, unless you were into long telephone conversations, which I never was. The internet is more convenient and, if you do want to look something up, it's right there.
When I first brought up the census question, I didn't remember what the objection was but, the more I thought about it, it came back to me, although I still didn't think it was valid. If you remember, I also didn't think there was any valid reason to put the question on the census in the first place, just as I don't think there's a valid reason to ask us about our race or ethnicity. The original purpose of the census was to determine legislative representation and, in my opinion, that's all it needs to do.
You know, just because I read a few articles from the New York Times on my news app, doesn't mean I have to read the whole damn paper, which is another thing the internet is good for. I honestly never had heard of that dead guy, although I have heard a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth about gerrymandering. Michigan passed a ballot proposal last election that is supposed to make gerrymandering go away, but I think all it will do is take the power to gerrymander away from the state legislature and give it to a panel of unelected bureaucrats. Big improvement!
People had health care before Obamacare was passed, and they will still have it if Obamacare is repealed or amended. The only thing that changed is the way the bills are paid. One way or another, the people who can afford to pay will always be subsidizing the people who cannot afford to pay. Before insurance was invented, doctors charged their paying customers more to make up for the people they had to treat who couldn't pay. There also were free government hospitals and charity wards that were supported by the taxpayers.
No, we don't need our guns to obtain healthcare, but we do need them to fight off MS-13 when they come banging on our doors demanding tribute. If those hungry hordes from Central America had guns, they might be able to resist evil in their homelands instead of running away from it.
When I first brought up the census question, I didn't remember what the objection was but, the more I thought about it, it came back to me, although I still didn't think it was valid. If you remember, I also didn't think there was any valid reason to put the question on the census in the first place, just as I don't think there's a valid reason to ask us about our race or ethnicity. The original purpose of the census was to determine legislative representation and, in my opinion, that's all it needs to do.
You know, just because I read a few articles from the New York Times on my news app, doesn't mean I have to read the whole damn paper, which is another thing the internet is good for. I honestly never had heard of that dead guy, although I have heard a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth about gerrymandering. Michigan passed a ballot proposal last election that is supposed to make gerrymandering go away, but I think all it will do is take the power to gerrymander away from the state legislature and give it to a panel of unelected bureaucrats. Big improvement!
People had health care before Obamacare was passed, and they will still have it if Obamacare is repealed or amended. The only thing that changed is the way the bills are paid. One way or another, the people who can afford to pay will always be subsidizing the people who cannot afford to pay. Before insurance was invented, doctors charged their paying customers more to make up for the people they had to treat who couldn't pay. There also were free government hospitals and charity wards that were supported by the taxpayers.
No, we don't need our guns to obtain healthcare, but we do need them to fight off MS-13 when they come banging on our doors demanding tribute. If those hungry hordes from Central America had guns, they might be able to resist evil in their homelands instead of running away from it.
yet more answers from the answer man
I kind of hate getting into these political discussions with Beagles because it seems like a waste of time. I don't change his mind on anything and even though I often admire my own prose and cogent arguments I realize that only three people in a nation of 372 million people will read it. That's not one in a million, that's one in a hundred million. Kind of makes me want to buy a lottery ticket and not linger under that tree in the rainstorm.
The Republicans, as responsible citizens (Har), should have a healthcare plan because people will still need healthcare even if they abolish Obamacare. How do they plan on dealing with that? Oh, I'm remiss, Beagles has already supplied the answer. Nothing is more important in the destiny of our nation than a heavily armed citizenry. I guess we can shoot our way out of our health care problems.
What I said was democrat/migrant vote and what I was referring to was those migrants who have become citizens and are likely to vote democratic. The problem is not so much that naturalized citizens wouldn't respond to the census, as that non-citizens, the majority of whom are legal, will be spooked by having to declare that they are not a citizen. Beagles may not believe that but the Republican party certainly does and that's why they want it put on the census.
By seminar I was referring to The Institute. The Institute is a sort of a seminar, but I should have just said Institute. The thrust of the paragraph is that I was peeved that Beagles claimed that he did not know why people objected to the citizenship question, but then one post later admitted that he did know that. It just didn't seem very honest to me. I speak of his mysterious news feed because he claims to not know so many basic facts, Here is the article about the dead guy that he claims to know nothing about, but it was in the NY Times which is in his newsfeed and is pretty common knowledge. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/census-citizenship-question-hofeller.html
We were talking about squirrels maybe a week ago. One Christmas I got my squirrel-hating mother a book on squirrels. What prompted the author to write it is that he bought a bird feeder and the squirrels kept getting into it. After every foray he would make some modification to keep them out and when he got home from work they had figured out a way around it. Eventually he gave up and wrote that book on them because he realized that he had to work forty hours a week but those squirrels had 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to devote to breaking into the feeder.
I feel that way when arguing with Beagles. I have to do all the research and he just sits there and writes whatever pops into his pretty little head at the moment. It's just not fair.
Hey Old Dog, get us started on another subject.
The Republicans, as responsible citizens (Har), should have a healthcare plan because people will still need healthcare even if they abolish Obamacare. How do they plan on dealing with that? Oh, I'm remiss, Beagles has already supplied the answer. Nothing is more important in the destiny of our nation than a heavily armed citizenry. I guess we can shoot our way out of our health care problems.
What I said was democrat/migrant vote and what I was referring to was those migrants who have become citizens and are likely to vote democratic. The problem is not so much that naturalized citizens wouldn't respond to the census, as that non-citizens, the majority of whom are legal, will be spooked by having to declare that they are not a citizen. Beagles may not believe that but the Republican party certainly does and that's why they want it put on the census.
By seminar I was referring to The Institute. The Institute is a sort of a seminar, but I should have just said Institute. The thrust of the paragraph is that I was peeved that Beagles claimed that he did not know why people objected to the citizenship question, but then one post later admitted that he did know that. It just didn't seem very honest to me. I speak of his mysterious news feed because he claims to not know so many basic facts, Here is the article about the dead guy that he claims to know nothing about, but it was in the NY Times which is in his newsfeed and is pretty common knowledge. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/census-citizenship-question-hofeller.html
We were talking about squirrels maybe a week ago. One Christmas I got my squirrel-hating mother a book on squirrels. What prompted the author to write it is that he bought a bird feeder and the squirrels kept getting into it. After every foray he would make some modification to keep them out and when he got home from work they had figured out a way around it. Eventually he gave up and wrote that book on them because he realized that he had to work forty hours a week but those squirrels had 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to devote to breaking into the feeder.
I feel that way when arguing with Beagles. I have to do all the research and he just sits there and writes whatever pops into his pretty little head at the moment. It's just not fair.
Hey Old Dog, get us started on another subject.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)