Today’s Frills Were Yesterday’s Comforts

 

It’s easy for me to look at what we indulge in today and feel guilty, comparing our time to the austerity of the past. However, historical narratives and artifacts tell me that our luxuries–excluding advanced technologies such as iPhones–are nothing new.  I’m not including in this comparison the sumptuous lifestyles of the past’s wealthy families, who spent millions of dollars on multiple homes, handmade dresses, and fancy furniture and art. Rather, this post is about regular middle-class folks who pursued some of the same comforts you and I enjoy today.

Christmas Gifts. Sometimes, I feel a little weird shopping around late in the year to find an item for an individual who has already been blessed with many possessions. And with our entire extended family swapping gifts, our living room gets pretty full of brightly wrapped things. I do see that we often get plenty of use and appreciation for these, but have wondered sometimes whether we’re going too far.

Data or Delusion?

 

It’s been bothering me all day. What data was the Harris Campaign running on?

It came out that before the Coup, Biden would lose the general election by 400 electoral points. But he still insisted he could beat Trump again—clearly a delusion.

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview New Hampshire Governor Christopher Sununu. Gov. Sununu discusses his upbringing in a well-known political family and how the influence of his father, a former governor and White House chief of staff, and his brother, a former U.S. senator, has shaped his public service. He reflects on attending a competitive STEM-centric magnet high school and MIT, where studying engineering shaped his approach to policy, particularly K-12 reform. Gov. Sununu also highlights how his wife, a special education teacher, has deepened his knowledge of school choice, early literacy, and expanding opportunities for students with disabilities. He describes his efforts to support school choice within New Hampshire’s strong K-12 public education system; and the importance of empowering communities, parents, and state leaders to drive education reforms and create more equitable school options for students.
Stories of the Week: Alisha discussed an article from Commonwealth Beacon on how Massachusetts voted to end the MCAS graduation requirement, Albert shared a story from Forbes on understanding the results from three school choice referenda.

Join Robert Chernin and Ericka Redic as they welcome tech journalist, marketer, and global speaker Hillel Fuld and John Sitilides, Principal at Trilogy Advisors and Senior Fellow, National Security Program, at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Robert, Ericka, Hillel and John will discuss the evolving geopolitical landscape in the Middle East, the Israel-Iran conflict, and the role of the United States post-election.

Jeff is joined by presidential historian Dr. Vincent Cannato, of the University of Massachusetts-Boston to discuss the elections of 2024, with particular focus on the presidential election. What happened? Why? How? What might it all mean?

#trump2024 #harris2024 #elections2024results #elections2024

Cognitive Dissonance in the Medical Field

 

Marty Makary, M.D. has written a fascinating and frightening book about the Blind Spots that people in the medical field are subject to—the kinds we saw especially play out during Covid 19. But the reason for the lies and deceptions run much deeper than experts running amok and exerting excessive power. Dr. Makary has done the research—that’s right—real scientific research—to explain the crippling effect that cognitive dissonance has on medical and research professionals. I plan to review the book fully when I finish it, but I couldn’t resist explaining the impact of cognitive dissonance. What is cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by inconsistency which most of us are then motivated to try to reduce. In particular, it can be a feeling of hypocrisy or a realization of having made a mistake, and it’s unpleasant. Or it’s supposed to be unpleasant.

Was it really a red wave?

 

The legacy media are full of reports of the impending demise of the Democratic party, while the alternative right-wing media are self-congratulatory and happy.  I would warn against smugness and complacency.  We really did not win by that much.

Kamala was a historically poor candidate, as has been litigated endlessly this last week. The Dem message does not resonate with the voting public.  People are unhappy with the direction of America and with the status of their leadership. (Etc, etc.)

A Brief History of SCOTUS Confirmations

 

I wanted to comment on Ben Sears’ post about recess appointments, but I decided to turn it into a post instead. Reticulator opined that SCOTUS hearings were a recent development, so I decided to look it up. And that is indeed the case.

SCOTUS nominations were only referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee starting in 1868, and it held its first hearing on a nomination in 1873 when President Grant nominated George Williams for Chief Justice. But he was accused (correctly) of using government funds while he was Attorney General to pay for his wife’s expensive carriage. Although he later replaced the funds, it was enough to prompt the Judiciary Committee to hold its first recorded SCOTUS hearings, albeit behind closed doors. As a result, Grant withdrew Williams’ nomination.

After My Father’s Estate Auction….

 

I know, I’ve been away quite a while. Too tired to post anything, too tired to read anything, since July 8. That’s the day the auction company came to my dad’s house and spent most of the day, with family help, taking my dad’s Coleman collection out of the basement. I took pictures, each family member chose a lantern to keep, and the rest was taken to the auction house to be cleaned, photographed, cataloged, and listed for an online auction (it goes live 12/7.) I’d been telling people for years he had over 300 lamps. The auction house listed 477 lots of lamps, chandeliers (yes, Coleman chandeliers), camp stoves, heaters, irons, military stoves, torches, parts, advertising — you name it. The company was also able to complete lamps with parts my dad had. (The auctioneer is Ron Stricker, if you’re interested. Look for Frank Weiner.)

Since then, my husband and I have borne the brunt of getting ready for the estate auction, which was held on 11/9. My sister and brother are both still working, so they could only help on the weekends. My sister’s husband had at least 2 surgeries, and several hospital stays, so her time was involved elsewhere. My other “brother,” who lives in Florida, came on and off, until his employer said he couldn’t. Seems he wasn’t ‘working from home’ as much as he was supposed to be doing. Just as well, he was useless when he was here. He found Dad’s stash of old silver coins, and spent 3 days on the internet ‘researching’ numismatic values as opposed to silver value (while the rest of us were working on the auction). He spent most of the time going to auctions and dragging stuff back to Dad’s until the rest of us put our foot down. Trying to sort out Dad’s stuff from his junk made for very short tempers, believe me.

The NFL Should Define “Political”

 

Is “Black Lives Matter” a political slogan? Is “End Racism” a political slogan? How about my favorite, “Say Their Stories”? Whose stories exactly? The stories of conservatives or pro-life advocates targeted by the Department of Justice and the FBI, or parents objecting to transgender indoctrination in schools, or the families of victims who were raped or murdered by illegal aliens? Their stories? The preceding are approved slogans by the NFL, meaning that the professional sports league not only has no problem with them but is content that they are emblazoned on the back of football helmets and along the borders of end zones on the playing field. This is also the same NFL that visually and emphatically endorses the LGBTQ+ movement with LGBTQ+ rainbow baseball caps and other apparel, you know, that movement that seeks to indoctrinate young children in public schools. Is that political messaging? Is it permitted to discuss whether the LGBTQ+ movement is a net positive for America or something more vile? If a football player puts the message “Men Cannot Be Women” on his helmet, would this statement of fact be permitted? Not likely. If a player speaks openly in front of the press that he vehemently disagrees with the NFL in its support of LGBTQ+, would he be fined and kicked out of the league?

Apparently, the message “Make America Great Again” is an obvious political message because, yes, it’s the slogan of the Trump campaign and the motto of a political movement whose adherents wish to restore law, order, and common sense in America. The aim is that Americans can prosper, but that has been characterized by Democrats, including Joe Biden, as an extremist movement that endangers the nation and is somehow akin to fascism and white supremacy.

NFL rules forbid the display of any message it deems political – even after a game has been played. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, one of the most tenacious defensive players in the league, proudly wore and pointed to his Make America Great Again cap behind other 49ers players who were being interviewed after the team’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL has fined Bosa $11,255 for violating their rules on displays of political messaging. Bosa doesn’t seem to be concerned about the fine (he probably commands a decent salary). He clearly knew that his overt political display would result in a fine. But he may have felt that getting the message out over the air prior to the election was more important and perhaps even because it shows that NFL players haven’t all bought into the groupthink of the NFL when it comes to political causes and movements.

Childless Ana Navarro Gives Parenting Advice to Trump Voters

 

So in the last few days, I got a call from a couple of people, friends of mine, people very close to me in Miami, big Trumpers, who are worried now about what’s going to happen to their undocumented nannies that help them raise their children. So I told them that I suggested they learn how to clean their kids’ a**. –Ana Navarro

First of all, I doubt that Ana Navarro has any “big Trumpers” who are close to her. And I doubt that they would call her to bemoan their supposed impending loss of their illegal nannies. So this whole reported conversation is probably BS.

Trump Bankruptcy, Looming Imprisonment

 

The FEC, after closely examining the data, has declared the entire Biden/Harris campaign expenditure to be an “in kind” contribution to Trump’s election.  He must pay off the entirety of their expenditures, plus a fine of five billion dollars, in cash due next Thursday, with imprisonment at the Colorado supermax until the total is paid.  Trump attempted to head off this decision by offering to pay off the Biden /Harris debt, but that attempt has failed.  Marc Elias is rumored to have prepared a damning document that revealed the nefarious machinations of the Trump election team.

1918: Death Valley, near Mont St. Martin

 

A few years ago I found the history of the 28th Infantry Division, and started to assemble the history pertaining to my Grandfather, who was in the 109th Regiment.  I never finished, but here is an excerpt:

On the night of 3 August 1918, the 109th was ordered to take up pursuit of German forces who were retreating toward the Vesle River. They marched through that night and the next, rather than during the daytime. On the third night, they came under artillery fire. The Germans had crossed the river and taken up positions on the hills beyond, and from these heights, were shelling the roads over which the Americans had to advance. Most of the time the rain fell in torrents and so the nights were completely dark. At times, each man would grasp the end of the rifle belonging to the man in front so as not to lose contact. It was necessary to leave the roadway to avoid the shelling.

Cease Fire Message

 

My late dad was serving on the Sand Lance when the ceasefire message was sent to US submarines in the Pacific. He was 19 years old and had completed four war patrols when WWII ended. He asked the radio operator for a paper copy of the ceasefire message.

We still have that message and my dad’s ribbons, and his submarine combat pin.

In Flanders Fields

 

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:

Ordinary people, placed in extraordinary situations, did extraordinary things.

 

SILVER STAR, awarded for actions during World War II to First Lieutenant Clarence O. Pratt under General Orders No. 32 (August 29, 1944).

CITATION: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Clarence O. Pratt (ASN: 0-342954), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the (redacted) Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division, in action against the enemy from 7 August 1944 to 12 August 1944, in (redacted), France.

Lieutenant Pratt displayed outstanding devotion to duty and conspicuous bravery in leading his company in the attack against the city of (redacted).
The entire action was carried out under extremely heavy enemy small arms and artillery fire.

We’re past the election so today we present a collection of interviews Ann has done with true champions of freedom: Jay Bhattacharya, Peter Thiel and Nadine Strossen.

Videos of each interview are available at Ann’s Substack and audio versions at Ricochet.com.

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

 

That simple question has been profound in the life that my wife and I have achieved together. Just a few years after we were married, we found ourselves alone at Thanksgiving. We had moved to Winston-Salem, NC a few months earlier so that I could start my pediatric training after medical school. Our only child at that time was a toddler. We had not made plans to spend that day with anyone else and no one had asked us to join them. So we went to the K&W cafeteria and joined about two thousand other patrons for a somewhat celebratory meal. There were two long lines extending out of the door, slowly moving through the cafeteria. The food was as tasty as it could be, but it was a sad day.

We swore that that would never happen again. Ever since that day we always asked anyone who we think might be alone what they were doing for Thanksgiving.  Every year has been a revelation and a renewed joy. Some years we have had over twenty people sharing chaos and good food. Each year is different but every year is special.

Fluoride in Drinking Water

 

Trump and America had a great week. The honeymoon is over. I hoped, prayed, and voted, for Trump to win this election. Now that we won, it’s time to be critical of the person we hired to lead this great country. Let’s not fill the swamp just to drain it.

I’m referring to RFK Jr’s promised position in the Trump administration. It seems he made a deal for an endorsement in exchange for leading the DHHS, or the FDA. His big push is to remove fluoride from municipal water supplies.

We are the Resistance

 

I went to bed Friday night at close to three o’clock in the morning, just as the first images of the unfolding pogrom in Amsterdam were hitting X (and, yes, it was a pogrom. People were being targeted not based on the football clothes they were wearing, but based on whether they were unable to speak Arabic or Dutch). I woke up this morning and opened the Wall Street Journal app. I saw reporting on the challenges of UNRWA being pushed aside. There was no mention of a pogrom. The AP wrote that “Maccabi Tel Aviv fans clash with reported pro-Palestinian protestors.” The New York Times reported: “Violence Tied to Soccer Game Prompts Dozens of Arrests in Amsterdam.”

DNC to Challenge McCormick PA Senate Win

 

The Dave McCormick PA Senate race victory is not secured yet. It appears the DNC has brought in Democrat go-to lawyer Marc Elias to draft a challenge to the result and request a recount (link here). Long-time Dem incumbent Bob Casey, Jr. has still not conceded the election, instead a fundraising email has been sent out urging “every vote to be counted.”

The state law trigger for a recount is less than a 0.5% margin. McCormick has a margin that exceeds this, but not by much. So it appears some legal wrangling is in order for the Democrats to keep Bob Casey, Jr. in office. The first step is to somehow get around the recount obstacle to get the recount going, then who knows what? Attorney Marc Elias appears to have experience with partisan fighting, so I imagine he’s a good candidate to handle the task. It appears part of the legal strategy is to include provisional ballots in the recount.

Can the Deep State really be diminished or defeated?

 

President Trump, Elon Musk, RFK, Jr. and others have stated in the aftermath of the election victory that they will be going after the “Deep State” — the seemingly permanent, entrenched, and increasingly sprawling federal bureaucracy.  But remember what Chuck Schumer said back during Trump’s first term in regards to any attempt to diminish the power of the administrative state, and in particular the intelligence apparatus: “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.”  While Trump may be able to change the person at the top of the pyramid of various agencies, can a new person really change the culture and priorities of a group of lifetime civil servants who know where the bodies are buried and, regarding the security agencies, possess budgets and data that are shielded from the executive, legislative and judicial branches?

I hope the Trump 2.0 administration can restore the government to something that more closely resembles what the Founders had in mind.  But I worry about them and their efforts.  The CIA, FBI, Pentagon, Secret Service, IRS, FDA, etc. aren’t just going to sit back and be downsized.  To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “When you strike at a king, you must kill him.”  Trump and his team must know this.  I hope they are ready.

Knights With Guns

 

In 1643 Britain fielded its last regiment of fully armored cavalry.  Myke Cole describes them as knights with guns.

Steel Lobsters: Crown, Commonwealth, and the Last Knights In England relates the history and fate of that unit. It also places them in their historical context.

The regiment, known as “the Lobsters,” was raised during the English Civil War of 1642 through 1651. The unit was not made up solely of knights — men belonging to orders of knighthood — although several of its soldiers were knights.  Its members did wear the full armor that medieval knights wore, although their weapons were those of 17th-century cavalrymen, including carbines and pistols. Ironically, despite an appearance appropriate for nobility, it was a Parliamentary unit fielded by rebels in arms against King Charles I.