Wow. Ten Years Already.

10 years ago today my folks moved out of  Arthur Avenue and into their current place.  #TheDaysAreLongButTheYearsAreShort

PERSHING not Persian

They're PERSHING donuts, not "Persian," you barbarian.  Stop pis*ing on Black Jack's memory.

I Speak Up

It is inherently dangerous for a conservative to speak their mind on campus. That was true back in my first-go-round, and it's doubly true now, even in the entitled air of law school. But today, for the first time ever, I had to speak up. I was in a seminar, 20 people around a single conference table, discussing of all things Ben Franklin's autobiography. To my shock the professor and the class all berated the man. His success? No doubt due to exploitation. His lifelong study of character and its application to the self? A façade to hide his sins from view. His lifelong aversion to alcohol? A lie to cover addictions.  His voracious appetite for consensual sex? Misogynistic, sexist, and, there's that word again, exploitive. He was even blamed for delaying the onset of the American novel.

 Said the professor: "I would say we were all in a agreement, but from some of the facial contortions in the room I'd say there is opposition. Dan?" And boy, out it came. "This is the new Americanism, this cynicism. We aren't allowed to have heroes anymore. We worship failure and disparage success. We bat around labels that I doubt anyone here can actually define and slap them on everyone, even 300 year old dead men. I'm supposed to believe that anyone at this table can sleep with whoever they want, in what quantity and position they want, and it's ok - and I'm not saying it's not - but I'm supposed to judge a man for having sex 250 years ago?  We all absorb and repeat 90% of what society says is ok in 2018 but somehow magically think someone in 1740 should feel the same, or that we'd be any different? It's bunk. It's wrong, and it's unfair to a great man. And for the record, he writes 10x better than Melville."  Yeah, I said it. A few ums, a few stammers, a few commas in the wrong place, but I said it.  Cue silence. Then a guy across the table, who had nodded as I ranted, finally spoke up and agreed with me, and the guy next to him nodded his own affirmation. But let me tell you, the ride on the elevator with some of the other classmates was AWKWARD.

The Neighbor's Suicide

When I was in class the kids texted me about a shooting across the street. When I got home I asked the officer still on the scene what happened. Kevin, a neighbor we like a lot - the owner of the dog we've house sat, and the father of the kids LuLu babysits - attempted suicide, and may not make it. I ask that you keep him and his family in your prayers tonight.

update: he didn't make it 

Mayweather - McGregor

Where are you watching the fight?  I'm at Romaines, and the place has reached capacity and the doors are locked. 

My fellow boxing fans are aghast at the hoopla over Mayweather-McGregor, calling it a farce, an exhibition, and a circus. It is, but they are missing the point. The world is watching. They are watching BOXING. Floyd is once again bringing the sport to the masses. The correct thing to say is "Thank you sir. 

And yes, I think Mayweather will win. With luck, I hope he wins big enough to humiliate MMA and prove it a junk "sport." Maybe then MMA fans will realize that if they want to watch sweaty men in underwear roll around on top of each other, they should do it quietly on the web like the rest of us.

"Mayweather by TKO! 50-0 baby!

Floyd's camp said he planned to stop him in the ninth. They were off a round, but the plan was perfect: let him wear himself out early, then go hunting after the fifth.

I  think he played with him and gave the crowd a show until he got down to business. He didn't spar the last month, allegedly due to injury, but that's unheard of in boxing. It shows a lack of concern to say the least.

It was a fun fight to watch, all in all. 

Neill Simon

RIP Neill Simon.

RIP

My friend Mike's mother passed away today. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

John McCain

I do not mourn the loss of John McCain to the Senate or the party, but when the Good Lord puts his hands on a man I take mine off. Condolences to his family, and may he rest in peace.

My Thoughts

This is my honest opinion,  not a regurgitated tweet or meme: if you argue for an open border so as not to raise food prices because "no American wants those jobs," STOP  You sound like a slave owner in the old South.  "Free the slaves and cotton prices will soar,  no white man wants that job." The addition of a few cents to your precious organic squash is no rationale to keep someone working a field for two dollars an hour.  What a horrific debating point.

For the life of me, I can't remember how to pronounce the exchange student's name, earning me lots of anger from the wife. Madita, mah-dee-ta. Why can't I remember that?

It's some sort of block...he's even written it on his hand and gotten it wrong..lol. - Lisa

Why Poll Data Leans Left

Conservative don't trust polling numbers because of a) 2016, which I hold as an outlier and b) conservative reluctance to participate in what they see (correctly) as a biased media. Most conservatives I know go out of their way to avoid a political survey,  even hanging up on pollsters. 

Oh Boy

Normally,  Marquette Law slams you with reading and assignments that are due the very first day of class.  So as I start my final year tomorrow,  I was excited that two classes, per their class page,  had neither assignments nor textbooks to purchase (some classes rely on handouts or the web). And . . . then came the emails today from two profs saying the school was in error.  $400 of textbooks later,  I now have chapters of law text to wade through by tomorrow afternoon. Yay Marquette!

The Taurus is on the road!

Many thanks to Roy for coming to my house and giving me an honest (and super cheap) fix to a problem that had disabled the Taurus.

Facts

He was wanted for murder, it was a scheduled C section (on the taxpayer's dime) and she was more than capable of driving herself. The media seeks to divide. The media IS the enemy.

Me

Sounds accurate.

The exchange student and I were talking about how often her family travels to different countries.  She asked about my own travels. 

Me: We've all been to different countries. But traditionally,  the only way my family went overseas was when someone put them in a uniform and let other people shoot at them.

On Pearl Jam going too far

I'm aware of Pearl Jam's violent themed poster showing the White House in flames and the President dead on the ground (created at their own request).  It cost them my attendance in Chicago later this month, tho I am well aware that hurts me more than it does them. It is an unacceptable, juvenile and unpatriotic act that would draw my ire no matter what party was in office.

Let me be clear on another point: I've loved PJ since '91, and as with all celebrities, right and left, I've long ignored their political opinions. The ability to entertain doth not make you intellectually gifted. As much as I love Eddie Vedder, he's a high school dropout whose last "real" job was as a grocery bagger. Even as a senior in high school myself, I knew that wasn't the resume that screamed "all knowing sage."

Pet Peeve

Pet peeve: people who start out a post to a FB group by saying "Delete if inappropriate." You mean you give the admin permission to delete your crap that violates the TOS? How very mature and farsighted of you.

ANOTHER fire!

There was another fire in my Mom's apartment complex, this time apparently fatal. It was in the next building over and everyone in my family is OK.

An Update

My hip felt great for days, and in the absence of the pain I bust a$$ - two bike rides yesterday, including a long one with OJ, and I tackled starting to clean out the basement - but now the hip is killing me. I'll probably be crippled up for the start of my work week. Swell.

update: As predicted, the pain in the hip is intense and controlling my day. I wanted to go to the movies but don't think I can handle two hours in one spot. IDC. I'd rather climb the hill at Sheridan, ride my bike, and do whatever I like when the hip is good than live in fear of the mess it creates.

The First Day of the School Year (for the high school) and an end of summer celebration

Yesterday was the last day of summer here, with the two oldest returning to school today. The younger three and Madita spent the afternoon at the pool and the lake and then we treated everyone to Organ Piper Pizza before a last hour trip to Walmart.

My Thoughts

Let's make some enemies today,  shall we? If you or a loved one have a disability (even if you find that term inapplicable or objectionable) then you should advocate for and seek a cure by any means necessary. It doesn't mean the person doesn't have value as-is.  It doesn't mean they can't kick ass as-is.  But this trend of benignly accepting it as somehow intrinsic to their self not only denies them a complete (not necessarily full) life,  it negates their worth,  implying their value is tied to the disability and they would be less-than without it.  In effect,  it embraces the very same skewed values of "ableism" they purport to reject.

Me and my Grand Niece

Madita Arrives!

Madita, the exchange student from Germany, arrived Friday evening to great fanfare.

My Thoughts

I find it delicious that the same people who sit in moral judgment on the beliefs and opinions held by individuals decades, even HUNDREDS of years ago, are themselves merely echoing the prevailing wisdom of the day. So . . .  you absorb and repeat 90% of society's beliefs in the here and now, but somehow magically believe you'd be in the 5% who broke the mold while living in a cabin in 1734  Alabama? Yeah. That's a "no" my SJW, that's a "no."

The MSM

To be clear - the national media IS the enemy of the people, a tabloid propaganda service, centralized in the hands of a select few, that is dedicated solely to causes they believe in, few of which are pro-American or even driven by fact. The loss of local papers (MJS now regurgitating text from USA Today) has been a serious blow to truth and the power of the 1st Amendment.

Darth!

This massive metal sculpture is on display at a local jewelry store in Greenfield. 

YaYa Gets her Drivers License!

Guess who just passed her drivers test? Congrats Gracie!

Junie's Cake

Junie's Birthday Cake (cake by Margie S--ry)

A Dental Visit for the Kids

Took all four kids to the dentist yesterday. Not one cavity among them (yet again), which leads me to think I should order some paternity tests.

The More You Know

The First Floor Remodel is Complete

So the remodel of the downstairs is completed, minus some paint touch ups the painter left for us. Scheduled to take 5 weeks it actually took close to 20 weeks for many reasons. Our living room is much larger, Daniel Slapczynski and my bedroom is larger and has his/her closets. Most dramatic is the 125 year old kitchen that had no counters or cabinets and had been the most challenging part of the house for us now has cabinets, counters, and a built in dishwasher. Round out the remodel with new flooring, and first floor laundry room and things around here are updated to current day. Hoorah!

A Nero Wolfe Quote

"I demand an explanation! I intend to hold you to account for alienating the affection of my wife."

"Affections," Wolfe said.

"What?"

"Affections. In that context the plural is used." He lifted the glass and drank, and licked his lips.

Kearns stared at him. "I didn't come here," he said, "to have my grammar corrected."

"Not grammar. Diction."

-- "Method Three for Murder" by Rex Stout