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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2023 17:47:44 GMT
re: our short human history... we are still infants/cavemen trying to leave our tribes and learn how to live with other tribes. We're not very good at it yet. Maybe in another 100 generations we'll make better progress. I'm not sure that another 100 generations of human existence will help. If you look back over the last 100 generations it appears that the tribes have just gotten bigger and the weapons a lot more dangerous. I shutter to think how much bigger the tribes will get and especially how much more dangerous the weapons will get to be. The question is - are we humans, as a group, really learning anything from all the mistakes of their past or will we continue to live them time and time again. Human brains and flesh will give way to mechanized beings with peace loving, unbiased software. Wait! There are hackers out there.
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Post by Chahta on Nov 28, 2023 18:08:38 GMT
re: our short human history... we are still infants/cavemen trying to leave our tribes and learn how to live with other tribes. We're not very good at it yet. Maybe in another 100 generations we'll make better progress. I'm not sure that another 100 generations of human existence will help. If you look back over the last 100 generations it appears that the tribes have just gotten bigger and the weapons a lot more dangerous. I shutter to think how much bigger the tribes will get and especially how much more dangerous the weapons will get to be. The question is - are we humans, as a group, really learning anything from all the mistakes of their past or will we continue to live them time and time again. I have believed for many years that the word “civilized” is over used. I’m not sure there really is such a thing as being civilized. Maybe it was just an unrealistic goal.
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Post by Capital on Nov 28, 2023 18:08:46 GMT
I'm not sure that another 100 generations of human existence will help. If you look back over the last 100 generations it appears that the tribes have just gotten bigger and the weapons a lot more dangerous. I shutter to think how much bigger the tribes will get and especially how much more dangerous the weapons will get to be. The question is - are we humans, as a group, really learning anything from all the mistakes of their past or will we continue to live them time and time again. Human brains and flesh will give way to mechanized beings with peace loving, unbiased software. Wait! There are hackers out there. hackers -- must be a new tribe OMG.
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Post by Capital on Nov 28, 2023 18:12:39 GMT
I'm not sure that another 100 generations of human existence will help. If you look back over the last 100 generations it appears that the tribes have just gotten bigger and the weapons a lot more dangerous. I shutter to think how much bigger the tribes will get and especially how much more dangerous the weapons will get to be. The question is - are we humans, as a group, really learning anything from all the mistakes of their past or will we continue to live them time and time again. I have believed for many years that the word “civilized” is over used. I’m not sure there really is such a thing as being civilized. Maybe it was just an unrealistic goal. Perhaps the word "civilized" is a relative term. == that sentence could be read multiple ways because "relative" has multiple meanings.
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Post by rhythmmethod on Nov 28, 2023 18:50:46 GMT
I've been constantly touring since summer but have a little more time to annoy people here. Given the ease with which so many become so easily annoyed, I can only say that you must not be trying hard enough! It appears I have the golden thumb. Too bad I can't bring that to my investments. 😆 Take care, -RM
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Post by richardsok on Nov 29, 2023 14:49:09 GMT
TRUE STORY.
My lovely young wife came to the US twenty years ago, barely understanding American politics, with a foreigner's early impression that many whites are prejudiced against blacks and latinos. Her first job was for a beauty salon in a generally left-ist neighborhood. As she was working for her permanent residency and later toward citizenship, she noticed a real effort was made by several women (who could not possibly have known each other) at work and at church, to turn her into a Democrat voter. What turned my wife Republican was the repeated warnings she got that if Trump was elected in 2016, she would be deported. These were salon CUSTOMERS, mind, so she always had to watch what she said and let the ladies have their full say. My wife would play sweet and curious. “But I'm a US citizen. I work. I pay tax. How can I be expelled?”
“ Makes no difference,” they warned, nodding ominously. “If Trump is elected you will be a target for racists.” She heard this several times from different customers.
Needless to say, it was all lies to frighten the immigrant into line. She asked me about it, but didn't really have to: she recognized fear-mongering political tactics from her old country.
Fast forward to November 2020; voting day. Me? I'm fed up with the whole saga. I'm sure either party will ruin the country through deficits, debts and monetary collapse. DT is a crude, untrustworthy blowhard unfit for office and “Lunchpail Joe”, fondler of little girls, and doddering tool of the Left, is corrupt to his eyeballs == two unspeakable disasters, the pair of them. – but my wife has her immigrant's fascination with the long gringo election process. I'm in bed, sawing wood by eleven. The wife stays up through the wee hours, glued to the TV as the returns come in.
Next morning I awake to find I'm married to Shee-Ra, The Avenger. She's practically screaming in rage and astonishment. “Is true! They stole the election! I SAW it.”
We lived near Philadelphia then so she was particularly interested in Pennsylvania. By the time I went to bed, Trump was ahead over a half million votes in PA. But around 2 AM she saw two massive dumps of about 300,000 each come in, almost 100% for Biden. This, she said, was just the sort of Colombian corrupt criminality she thought she'd escaped in the U.S.
So now, Karen, I'm married to a born again MAGA Republican who will NEVER be persuaded vote counting is honest. When the evening news is on, doors have been slammed and dinner plates hurled.
You Dems, (yes, YOU Karen ,!) created this fierce amazon warrior woman in my living room. Thanks a lot.
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Post by howaya on Nov 29, 2023 14:57:39 GMT
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Post by richardsok on Nov 29, 2023 15:57:40 GMT
Racq Cap, etc. No worries, as far as I'm concerned, I thought the conversation was pointed and interesting. Heck, I went a little poli myself. ----------------
To bend us a little back on course, I just completed COLLAPSE by Jared Diamond, a serious study how some civilizations adapt and thrive while others, more brittle, fall to ruin. The book is several histories of different mass calamities or successful adaptations: Easter Iceland, as they denuded their forests for wood to move their massive stone statues, The Mayans who collapsed, early Vikings on Iceland and Greenland, and so on
As one reads along it is not hard to infer lessons for our own modern challenges for the West. Though it's a little weighty at time, I thought the book well worth the read.
Most interesting, near the end, the author does a summary of problems that failing societies have neglected to address.
I include a few highlights:
ROAD MAP of DECISION-MAKING FAILURES
Groups fail to anticipate a problem before it arrives. Fail to extrapolate clear present trends as they are increasing in costs or dangers. We quickly forget prior experiences. The Arab oil embargo changed our perceptions of gas mileage for years. It is all forgotten now. Roads are clogged with massive pickups and SUVs.
We reason by false analogy, falling back on solutions to old problems that are, in fact, only superficially similar to current challenges. After WWI, France spent massively to protect itself from another trench war by building the Maginot Line, not appreciating advances in tank and airplane development.
Failure to address a problem even when it has already arrived. To date there are no serious proposals (and no serious political will) to reduce US government debts and deficits. Though no government in either North America or Europe was elected on a mandate to vastly increase third world immigration, the process continues apace, despite sustained & growing opposition. One reasons why problems of this sort are not addressed is that distant managers are not affected by the day-to-day costs. When difficult change requires effort, opposition and costs, distant managers find life easier by succumbing to the status quo.
Societies often fail to even attempt to solve a problem once it has been perceived. The commonest way in which societies fail to perceive or address a problem is when it takes on the character of a slow trend concealed by wide up-and-down fluctuations. Politicians use the term “creeping normalcy” for any process that shifts gradually until people see, with a jolt, that conditions were better several decades ago. (Think: student literacy rates, violent crime, obesity.)
Also “landscape amnesia” forgetting how a community looked a generation ago. (Think: dress codes and business attire, inner city vibrancy, esp minority communities like Detroit, South Chicago, disappearing ice caps in Montana, large airport hubs).
Societies often fail to even attempt to solve a problem once it has been perceived, frequently from clashes of interest. Some people reason they can advance their own interests by behavior harmful to others. Where laws or safeguards are weakly applied., a few may be motivated to reap rewards no matter the greater good. (Think teacher strikes, gov't subsidies for inefficient businesses.) or in the case of over-grazing or over fishing, each person will figure “If I don't do it, someone else will.) The losers have little incentive to fight back because each individual loss is so small. Senators in small swing states (or religious minorities in Israel) hold enormous power over government as a whole.
Interests of the ruling class clash with the common people. Throughout history, actions by self-absorbed “leaders” have been cause for collapse. Think: Enron.
Where leaders and commoners share similar risks, abuses are far fewer. Think: Holland where much of the country is below sea level. Foolish or selfish zoning or land-use laws would result in flooding the rich as well as the poor. Barbara Tuchman addresses similar failures as “Wooden headedness” and “refusal to draw inferences from negative signs” and “mental stagnation”.
Religious values are deeply held and therefore cause of disastrous behavior. Deforestation of Easter Island was driven by needing logs to move their giant stone statues. The Catholic church practically invited the Protestant Reformation by widespread abuses to continually raise cash, selling indulgences. Only recently has the Church muted its strident opposition to birth control as over-population & poverty became impossible to ignore. It is difficult to abandon values when they seem to be incompatible with survival. But which to hold and which to abandon? Britain and France did well to abandon their self image as world colonial powers. Japan successfully abandoned its warrior ethos. The United States has retreated from its traditions of racial prejudice and legalized homophobia. Crowd psychology plays an enormous role in failure to address problems. In moments of crisis, individuals may repress their doubts to be perceived as good team players – a key White House phenomenon that led to our involvement in Vietnam.
Lastly there is simple denial as an irrational failure to solve a problem. If something you perceive arouses painful emotions you may suppress or deny what you see to avoid pain (terror or grief) , even if the practical result of such refusal may be disastrous.
There have been studies of people living in a river valley below a large dam. As you would expect, people living far from the dam express little fear. But worry grows among those living closer to the structure – until you come to those who live directly beneath the dam – those people often express no fear at all !
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Post by gman57 on Nov 29, 2023 16:34:59 GMT
All this really won't matter in the 2024 election IMHO. Abortion/women's rights will make this a one topic election. The mid-terms were a glimpse of what is to come. It was supposed to be tilted red but it wasn't. Why, women's rights. If abortion makes it on the ballot in many states (and even if it doesn't) I expect women will tilt the election in their favor which will be blue. Once that is settled then future elections will start getting back to normal unless some other minority opinion is forced on half the population.
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Post by bizman on Nov 29, 2023 17:06:10 GMT
Perhaps this is a good place to offer a link to Charlie Munger's revised in 2005 section of the book Poor Charlie's Almanack, in which he adds to the insights from his classic speech on the Psychology of Human Misjudgment. We are all deeply flawed beings with imperfect judgment and psychological tendencies that distort our perception. No wonder we all get a bunch of stuff wrong but are certain we are right. Amazing we have made the progress we have made with such tendencies. RIP Charlie! The Psychology of Human Misjudgment
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Post by chang on Nov 29, 2023 18:47:06 GMT
Come on folks, the title of this thread is "What Are You Reading? Watching?" Let's try to stay somewhere within a hundred miles of that, huh?
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Post by richardsok on Dec 29, 2023 18:54:31 GMT
It's been a month since anyone posted their reading here. Hate to see this thread drift away. I've been reading a few things of little interest to most guys here, but can recommend this:
NELSON'S TRAFALGAR by Roy Adkins Greatly enjoyed this history with insights on naval life and technicalities of the age. Here's two: Trafalgar was the last big naval battle in history where both fleets were powered entirely by wind. One famous Brit ship was named Belleruphon – a name its sailors found too “frenchy” and impossible to pronounce, so they nicknamed her the Billy-Ruffian. Napoleon was a land general. He did not appreciate his naval officers, but he knew a trading empire was important and while he was fighting on the continent, the British kept seizing French colonies. Not since the Spanish Armada had Britain been threatened with invasion. Napoleon massed 200,000 troops along the French coast but Royal Navy had to be cleared before the invasion could start. Napoleon's plan was for one of his fleets to sail for the British West Indies. The Brit ships would follow. When they were long gone, Nap would invade. But only a few ships were able to break the blockade. The French raised a ruckus for a short while in the Caribbean but, against orders, sailed back as fast as they could. (No one wanted to tangle with the British fleet chasing them.) Oct 1805 Nelson was again blockading the combined fleets in Cadiz harbor -- a situation the risk-adverse Admiral Villeneuve was comfortable with. Things changed when he got word Napoleon was about to relieve him in disgrace -- so he threw caution to the winds and sallied out with his full fleet to face the English off Trafalgar. The Brits had advantages: their crews were better trained and could out-gun the foe in both accuracy and rate of fire. The French and their Spanish allies disliked and mistrusted each other. Third, in the coming battle Lord Nelson ordered his captains to "fight where you are and how you can." Villeneuve tried to keep tight control over his ships with flag signals, often confusing and difficult to see in the battle smoke. As everyone knows, the tactics of the time were to steer your ship so your guns faced either the enemy's, bow or stern. Failing that, you maneuvered your ship side to side against the enemy and blasted away. Nelson's genius was that he stood standard tactics on its head by arranging his fleet into two "follow the leader" columns (one led by his flagship 'Victory') and sailed straight ahead into the French/Spanish line, giving them every positional advantage at the start but slashing at them when the Brit ships burst through the French line one after another. At close range a cannon ball could blast all the way through a wooden ship. Brit gunners reduced their powder when close in -- a ball that went through just one wall and then bounced around inside did far more damage to flesh and wood than a ball that went in one side and out the other. Casualties were horrific. Medical care medieval. The French lost 14 ships -- but most of them were little more than floating wrecks which could hardly be kept afloat. After the fighting, the Brits worked to board their prizes, subdue and secure enemy survivors and pump water from the damaged hulks . But a terrible hurricane arose and the problem changed to getting people OFF the captured ships before they sank in the wild waves. Even many Brit ships had been de-masted and struggled throughout the night and next day to keep from crashing onto the rocky shore. Nap's idea of invading England was dashed. Nelson sailed into the battle with only one arm and was dead before fighting was over. Villeneuve was captured -- probably lucky to have avoided Napoleon's wrath.
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Post by Chahta on Dec 30, 2023 12:37:10 GMT
I finished watching The Pacific on Netflix. Now I am watching Band of Brothers. Both about WWII. It is interesting that WWII is being used for the topic of new movies. I wonder why? Who is the target audience? I was under the impression that younger people didn’t pay much attention to WWII.
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Post by steelpony10 on Dec 30, 2023 13:41:10 GMT
Cartoons, sports and the local community rag, 3 daily (Dem, Rep and general) newscasts to stay connected but protected from the stink, 3 or 4 online short version newspapers and a book of the month. Right now I’m reading “The Mysterious.Case of Rudolf Diesel”, the inventor of that engine including a lot of historical cultural, political etc. background of the 1800’s and early 1900’s mostly European some U.S. I like living in the past.
Also a variety of videos that I might come across researching anything. Link hopping as you know consumes a lot of time. You never know when a conversation about mid evil England might pop up at the gym or neighborhood cocktail hour down at the community center after the extensive medical reports. I want to be able to look like I know what I’m talking about so I try to be prepared. I don’t like to be blindsided.
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Post by steelpony10 on Dec 30, 2023 13:48:12 GMT
Chahta, The U.S. has a militaristic culture maybe that’s their niche.
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Post by keppelbay on Dec 30, 2023 14:01:09 GMT
some recent reads that I enjoyed:
Linda Grant - The clothes on their backs - When I lived in modern times - Upstairs at the party
Annie Proulx - Bad dirt (Wyoming stories)
Bertrand Russell - The conquest of happiness Although this was written in 1930, much of it still rings true in today's wierd world. Some clear thoughts from a clear thinker about what makes people unhappy and what to do about it. The first half of the book, on unhappiness, is more interesting.
now reading short stories by Ted Chiang - Exhalation - undecided about whether he lives up to all those Hugo and Nebula awards...
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Post by johntaylor on Dec 30, 2023 14:55:22 GMT
Perhaps WW II has appeal as the last with a goal of victory?
The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell (1967) is fascinating whether the reader happens to agree or not with Russell's views on various matters.
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sam
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Post by sam on Dec 30, 2023 18:17:29 GMT
Le Samourai
and Murder in Boston/HBO
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Post by richardsok on Jan 4, 2024 17:04:33 GMT
TEMPEST-jumbo.webp (64.48 KB) Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST is rarely produced these days. Tales with spirits, dark magic and conjuring don't generally sit well with modern adult audiences. But my wife and I were curious to see the Julie Taymor version, with Helen Mirren as the greatest Prospera ever, imo, and, if you have a big screen, the visuals, makeup and bold costumes are wonderful -- worth watching the film for that alone. Computer cinematography makes a big difference. Used too often on trashy kid flicks, here it brings fantasy and spiritualism to life. The African actor Djimon Hounsou was an inspired choice to play Caliban. In these politically correct days, you don't often see a black actor as a slave in a villain's role. Here he is fantastic in barely contained treachery and fury. The humorous lines were generally unfunny to my ear and young Ferdinand is kind of drippy but Ariel is properly sweet and lovely. Even my wife, with a sketchy understanding of earlier English vocabulary, loved the movie. The closed captioning/subtitles helped.
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Post by richardsok on Jan 10, 2024 12:03:17 GMT
Interesting article in the NYTimes on how to safeguard yourself when writing checks.
A few ideas:
Use only a gel ink pen in check writing. The gel seeps into the paper fibers rather than lying on it like the ink in many ball point pens,
Have a separate account solely for check writing, especially important if you habitually maintain a large balance in your check-writing account.
When mailing a check, leave it in a USPS collection box. Do not leave it out in your personal mail box with the little flag up and certainly never leave a check to be collected overnight.
Take a photo of any large check before you mail it.
Sign your name in exactly the same way every time you write a check. (Personal note. I have noticed in South America professional people sign their documents in a distinctive, highly elaborate personal manner to make forgeries difficult whereas here in the US many people have reduced their signature down to little more than a crude scrawl, not unlike the Nike "swoosh". Our latino friends may be on to something.
Some banks use sophisticated technology to alert customers when they spot a check that appears out of character. Bank America is one. Does your bank?
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Post by Chahta on Jan 10, 2024 13:32:21 GMT
richardsok , more than once I have mobile deposited (by a picture) a check with someone else's name on the check. Not once has it been questioned by the bank.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2024 14:12:20 GMT
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Post by rhythmmethod on Jan 11, 2024 20:52:40 GMT
Anyone interested in jazz (drumming) may enjoy the PBS documentary of Max Roach, who would have been 100 years old yesterday. The doc is "The Drum Also Waltzes". It is also available on Amazon Prime, I believe. Clip
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Post by mnfish on Jan 12, 2024 13:22:21 GMT
Anyone interested in jazz (drumming) may enjoy the PBS documentary of Max Roach, who would have been 100 years old yesterday. The doc is "The Drum Also Waltzes". It is also available on Amazon Prime, I believe. ClipHaven't seen that but did enjoy the "Count Me In" documentary. Made the treadmill much more enjoyable.
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Post by Norbert on Jan 13, 2024 7:13:16 GMT
What convoluted logic, to equate Nazi-era ghettos to the situation in Gaza! I'm beyond disgusted. Is it lost on Gessen that over 1100 Jews were butchered by Hamas on October 7? That Hamas has militarized Gaza and likes to hide under schools, hospitals, and mosques? That Israel departed Gaza almost two decades ago? That Gaza could have become another Singapore or Dubai if it invested in infrastructure instead of tunnels and missiles? That Israel has the right to defend itself? That Hamas has promised new attacks like October 7? What the phrase "Never again!" was intended to mean? Thanks for bringing this horrible person to our attention.
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Post by chang on Jan 13, 2024 9:00:31 GMT
I started fast-walking on the treadmill a while ago; I try to do 2x 30-minutes a day. A short time back I discovered that my BBC iPlayer app has 78 episodes of "Red Dwarf", which I've been going through (now in Season 8). One of the funniest BBC comedies ever, for those with a Monty Pythonesque sense of humor.
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Post by bb2 on Jan 13, 2024 23:57:20 GMT
Read somewhere the average person spends 78 hours/yr looking for something to watch on Netflix. Sounds like me - never finding anything to watch. Usually end up on Britbox.
But, a few TV series I found to be decent recently: (I only get Prime and NFLX and Britbox)
Fool me once - Netflix Tales from the Loop - Prime Payback - Amzn Prime Who is Erin Carter - Netflix
Oldies but goodies: Ozark, Breaking Bad (No idea how to watch these two.)
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Post by richardsok on Jan 14, 2024 0:57:04 GMT
Read somewhere the average person spends 78 hours/yr looking for something to watch on Netflix. Sounds like me - never finding anything to watch. Usually end up on Britbox. But, a few TV series I found to be decent recently: (I only get Prime and NFLX and Britbox) Fool me once - Netflix Tales from the Loop - Prime Payback - Amzn Prime Who is Erin Carter - Netflix Oldies but goodies: Ozark, Breaking Bad (No idea how to watch these two.) That's odd. I've been thinking that right now is a particularly good time to turn to Netflix. Have you really seen ALL of these;....? CHINATOWN, FRONT PAGE, MYSTIC RIVER, LA CONFIDENTIAL, BALLAD OF BUSTER, IMITATION GAME, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, CUCKOO'S NEST, THE GAMBLER (very noir), MARRIAGE STORY, SEA OF LOVE (with Pacino, John Goodman and the stunningly beautiful Ellen Barkin .... worth watching the flick to see her alone), THE OUTPOST, BAND OF BROTHERS (SERIES), THE PACIFIC (SERIES), OPERATION MINCEMENT, MAESTRO, HOUSE OF CARDS (SERIES), UNFORGIVEABLE (Bullock is wonderful) GRAVITY (Bullock is wonderful 2) In the unlikely event you've seen every one of these gems, go to youtube and enter THE DAWNS HERE ARE QUIET. The original version was filmed in the 1950s and, a typical Soviet drudge. But the Russians re-did it a couple of years ago in a four-part series... and it's superb: funny, tragic, suspenseful, beautifully filmed. Engages you right from the start. You'll be surprised. I certainly was. Don't say we never did nothin' for you.
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Post by richardsok on Jan 20, 2024 22:42:50 GMT
Going forward, I'm going to try to limit my READING/WATCHING posts to late Fridays & weekend time slots. I don't want to be a distraction to people focused on their investments.
I just finished THE DYING CITIZEN by Richard Davis Hanson. A brief synopsis:
The oldest form of government is the tribe, which frequently fell sway to the “strongman” king or warlord. Most history deals with those kings or strong men ruling over peasants, subjects, or tribes. The concept of the "citizen" is historically rare - and was, until recently, among the West's most cherished ideals. But citizenship as we know it, is weakening. It relies on the renunciation of tribal identity in favor of the state, but identity politics have eradicated the idea of a collective civic sense of self. .
Citizenship exists within a country's borders – but open borders and the concept of "global citizenship" weakens the idea of allegiance to a particular place. The young urban dweller with a basic job would scoff at the notion his citizenship is eroding. But however hip and techno-savvy he is, like a peasant he may never own property or a business, like a peasant he is in semi-permanent debt to his landlords and betters, like a peasant most regulations he lives under are written by an unelected administration who levy laws and fines he never voted for, residing permanently in de facto control, beyond the reach of elected officials who come and go.... thus rendering the ballot all but meaningless. Citizenship tends to thrive when there is a stout middle class owning its own assets and sources of income. It tends to weaken when large swaths of the people are (like peasants) dependent on government largess for their benefits.
Like a peasant, the struggling middle is usually priced out of resorting to the courts for redress of injury by the elite.
There are arguments in Hanson's often depressing book I would take issue with. In places I even found myself growing angry -- but I found him thought-provoking and well worth the read.
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Post by bb2 on Jan 21, 2024 0:07:41 GMT
Yes, Richard, all good stuff there on NFLX. I was trying to stick to series. My wife doesn't do war, so I guess if I had a long illness I could finally watch Band of Brothers. (For some reason Ellen Barkin never did anything for me.) Just finished Ann Patchett's Dutch House and started Tom Lake. If I've not mentioned it, one might try Cormac McCarthy's Passenger and Stella Marais. Might even re-read them both on the beach next month. Saving Richard Ford's last, "Be Mine" for that trip too. Only one of his I've not read. A buddy just emailed me that there was a ton of noir on YouTube.
And of course the Niners are on in about an hour!
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