Ian Tyson was a Canadian Country musician from the '50s on. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan all recorded songs he wrote. Here's his most famous song:
Corb's new album is Cover Your Tracks.
Anyone going to see him in Dallas?
Ride On
Corb covers AC/DC:
Ian Tyson was a Canadian Country musician from the '50s on. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan all recorded songs he wrote. Here's his most famous song:
Corb's new album is Cover Your Tracks.
Anyone going to see him in Dallas?
Ian Tyson was a Canadian Country musician from the '50s on. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan all recorded songs he wrote. Here's his most famous song:
Corb's new album is Cover Your Tracks.
Anyone going to see him in Dallas?
Crazy Politics? Check Out France
How's this for a headline? "French firefighters set themselves alight and start fighting against police."
The pictures are kind of amazing. Even among the impeachment spectacle and Brexit marching out of the European Parliament, France has managed to top us all.
The pictures are kind of amazing. Even among the impeachment spectacle and Brexit marching out of the European Parliament, France has managed to top us all.
Nobody Cares if Nobody Likes You
A study on likeability, especially in politics but with ramifications for the workplace and in general.
I don't know if this is true or not, but maybe it is. It's hard for me to decide if my own experience is telling. Certainly I like Tulsi Gabbard, in many respects; I'm still not going to vote for her, because her opinions frequently suggest to me that she's dangerously disqualified for the position. Certainly I did not like Hillary Clinton, but I also didn't think she was qualified -- chiefly disqualified on ethics!
Perhaps it doesn't matter as much as the report suggests, since we often find ways to like people who are useful to us. Kamala Harris is well-liked by those who would vote for her, in spite of some very unlikable ethical lapses as a prosecutor and a Senator. If you were opposed to her anyway, it's easy to find something not to like; if you were inclined to support her anyway, maybe that means you'll find a way to like her.
I think perhaps the experience of Sarah Palin points that up. When she stood on the stage and winked, the shockwave of her likability ran through the nation. But by the end of the campaign, she was one of the most disliked people in the nation. People decided to dislike her, I infer, because they were afraid she would otherwise win. And so, even as she palled around with the Saturday Night Live crew that was mocking her, even as she offered them free babysitting (even as she said "there is much to admire about our opponent," a sentiment that it is hard to imagine hearing expressed today), they decided to despise her and worked hard at it.
It still may be unfair that women depend so much more on being liked, but if the results are right it is also women who are bringing the biggest weight on liking you (or not). Men at least give each other a break; women could do the same. Maybe men could learn to give women a break, but would women learn to give one to men? Equality is parity, is it not? (No; sometimes, but not always.)
According to a study published in The Economic Journal, likability matters among women and among mixed-gender groups but not among men alone. In other words, women want both sexes to be likable, and men want women to be likable, but they don’t care so much about other men.... In short, women always need to be likable, and men only have to worry about it half the time....What he said was actually much better than that: he said, "On a good day, my wife likes me."
For men, it can even pay to be unlikable. The fact that Trump is a pompous blowhard has somehow become a point in his favor. Sanders actually benefits from having the unlikable Clinton say, as she did last week, “Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him.” (Cleverly, Sanders shot back, “My wife likes me.”)
I don't know if this is true or not, but maybe it is. It's hard for me to decide if my own experience is telling. Certainly I like Tulsi Gabbard, in many respects; I'm still not going to vote for her, because her opinions frequently suggest to me that she's dangerously disqualified for the position. Certainly I did not like Hillary Clinton, but I also didn't think she was qualified -- chiefly disqualified on ethics!
Perhaps it doesn't matter as much as the report suggests, since we often find ways to like people who are useful to us. Kamala Harris is well-liked by those who would vote for her, in spite of some very unlikable ethical lapses as a prosecutor and a Senator. If you were opposed to her anyway, it's easy to find something not to like; if you were inclined to support her anyway, maybe that means you'll find a way to like her.
I think perhaps the experience of Sarah Palin points that up. When she stood on the stage and winked, the shockwave of her likability ran through the nation. But by the end of the campaign, she was one of the most disliked people in the nation. People decided to dislike her, I infer, because they were afraid she would otherwise win. And so, even as she palled around with the Saturday Night Live crew that was mocking her, even as she offered them free babysitting (even as she said "there is much to admire about our opponent," a sentiment that it is hard to imagine hearing expressed today), they decided to despise her and worked hard at it.
It still may be unfair that women depend so much more on being liked, but if the results are right it is also women who are bringing the biggest weight on liking you (or not). Men at least give each other a break; women could do the same. Maybe men could learn to give women a break, but would women learn to give one to men? Equality is parity, is it not? (No; sometimes, but not always.)
World Ending, Women and Children Hardest Hit
The Guardian may have set a record for closeness of approximation to that famous satirical headline.
Farage Rides Again
One last time at the EU Parliament, Nigel Farage makes his point about why the EU project is bad.
Then, just at the end, the chairwoman makes his point for him. Loud and clear.
Then, just at the end, the chairwoman makes his point for him. Loud and clear.
Corrupt research
Too much "research" is tax-funded resume-buffing and policy-bolstering.
This dilemma reminds me of the "government is the word for the things we do together" thinking. Government is also the word for ways to break all sensible links between the source of money and the reasonableness of the uses to which the money will be put. You think it's bad when tobacco manufacturers crank out research on lung cancer, or fossil fuel companies produce research on climate change? Just get unelected federal bureaucrats into the mix. There are no real brakes on that car. Nothing we've ever tried works better than decentralizing the decisions and leaving each contributor as much as possible in charge of his own decision whether to keep pointing his own resources at a particular goal.
As Richard Feynman said, "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled."
Related: with interesting tie-ins to Wuhan medical research and what appears to be the standard-issue $50K/month corrupt international gig, available only to those with appropriate access to the tax-and-influence machine.
This dilemma reminds me of the "government is the word for the things we do together" thinking. Government is also the word for ways to break all sensible links between the source of money and the reasonableness of the uses to which the money will be put. You think it's bad when tobacco manufacturers crank out research on lung cancer, or fossil fuel companies produce research on climate change? Just get unelected federal bureaucrats into the mix. There are no real brakes on that car. Nothing we've ever tried works better than decentralizing the decisions and leaving each contributor as much as possible in charge of his own decision whether to keep pointing his own resources at a particular goal.
As Richard Feynman said, "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled."
Related: with interesting tie-ins to Wuhan medical research and what appears to be the standard-issue $50K/month corrupt international gig, available only to those with appropriate access to the tax-and-influence machine.
Scots Wha Hae
A genetic map of the Scottish population, superimposed upon a set of maps of Dark Age kingdoms, shows that the population has changed little in a millennium and a half.
Warning Order: Þorrablót
If you want an experience less Scottish and more Icelandic, enjoy this video.
Be sure to watch the parts about the cuisine. I don't want to hear any more complaints about the haggis.
Be sure to watch the parts about the cuisine. I don't want to hear any more complaints about the haggis.
Progress in Indonesia
Women are overcoming their shyness and taking up positions of power in Aceh province:
Whether and how to address our objections with them is a difficult question.
Here, public whipping remains a common punishment for scores of offenders for a range of charges including gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, and having gay or pre-marital sex. But the job has always been done by men. Until now....Aceh is interesting because it's intensely Islamic, but has proven highly resistant to terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. Aceh's particular take on Islam is so deeply held that these foreign groups find their different orthodoxies around Islam aren't acceptable there. They're more successful in the urbane regions of Indonesia, where people are persuadable about what Islam is supposed to mean. Non-Muslims who happen to be there have the option of not being tried under the religious law, too, so to some degree this is inside baseball from a culture that is policing itself. Those standards aren't ours (in particular we object to rape victims being punished for the extramarital sex!), but they are theirs, and they enforce them in a way that holds down on extremism that threatens us. If we were to go and try to interfere with their practices, they'd become enemies rather than somewhat queer and very distant 'neighbors.'
But convincing women to participate has been no easy task, and it's taken years to assemble the first female squad, according to Safriadi, who heads provincial capital Banda Aceh's Sharia Implementation Unit.
Eight women -- all Sharia officers -- agreed to be floggers and were trained in the appropriate technique and advised how to limit injury.
Whether and how to address our objections with them is a difficult question.
Masks Selling Out
There's a news story that surgical masks are selling out across the US as people prepare for a feared incursion by the Chinese coronavirus. I'm not sure how helpful a mask really is in preventing transmission -- perhaps it does more to prevent you from infecting someone else than otherwise.
Still, surgical masks aren't your only option. You can also hit the hardware store. N-type masks are supposedly good against at least some biologicals, I don't know how well it works against this particular virus, of course, but if you're concerned and you can't get a surgical mask, try one that's made for particle filtration.
Still, surgical masks aren't your only option. You can also hit the hardware store. N-type masks are supposedly good against at least some biologicals, I don't know how well it works against this particular virus, of course, but if you're concerned and you can't get a surgical mask, try one that's made for particle filtration.
Endorsement: Bernie Sanders for Democratic Nominee
As longtime readers know, I am a life-long Democrat. The part of the party to which I was attached was the oldest part, but it has largely ceased to exist in the current generation. It was Jefferson's part, in other words, and Jackson's; lately it was Sam Nunn's and Zell Miller's. Jim Webb (war hero Marine, former Senator, former Secretary of the Navy, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, diplomat, scholar, author) made a run at the nomination in 2016 and failed, to the sorrow of the nation whether it knows it or not. His departure from the field led us into the contest in which our options were Clinton and, well, you know the rest.
At this time the Democratic contest has narrowed to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, with the other candidates seeming to be also-rans. I could hardly agree less with Bernie Sanders on public policy or political philosophy. Nevertheless, he is the better man.
He is the better man because he is a man of his convictions; Biden, as far as I can tell, has no lasting ones. Bernie was arrested with the Civil Rights marchers in the 1960s, visited with the Soviets on his honeymoon, and has been a self-declared Socialist since the era when most Americans viewed that as a synonym for both "Communist" and "Satanist." Bernie really believes what he claims to believe.
You may not be impressed by his convictions insofar as you think that the convictions are bad, since it will reliably mean that he will attempt bad things. That is a strategic error. Even if you are unalterably opposed to his convictions, an enemy of conviction is to be preferred. A man of conviction can be predicted; on the principle of 'know thy enemy as thyself,' per Sun Tzu, he is the better choice of an opponent.
But also, he is the better man because he does not seem to despise anyone. Jim Webb and he became friends, and supported each other at the first debate in 2016. Bernie took fire in that debate and elsewhere for being willing to avoid gun control; he said, rightly, that coming from Vermont he had to respect the wishes of the rural population. That sentiment will serve him and the nation well should he happen to be elected.
Finally, he is the right man to lead the Democratic field in 2020 because he is the purest advocate for their animating vision. They need to know now whether or not that vision can in fact take root in America; we all need to know it. The answer to that question will determine a very great deal of future history.
For all of these reasons, then, I endorse Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.
At this time the Democratic contest has narrowed to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, with the other candidates seeming to be also-rans. I could hardly agree less with Bernie Sanders on public policy or political philosophy. Nevertheless, he is the better man.
He is the better man because he is a man of his convictions; Biden, as far as I can tell, has no lasting ones. Bernie was arrested with the Civil Rights marchers in the 1960s, visited with the Soviets on his honeymoon, and has been a self-declared Socialist since the era when most Americans viewed that as a synonym for both "Communist" and "Satanist." Bernie really believes what he claims to believe.
You may not be impressed by his convictions insofar as you think that the convictions are bad, since it will reliably mean that he will attempt bad things. That is a strategic error. Even if you are unalterably opposed to his convictions, an enemy of conviction is to be preferred. A man of conviction can be predicted; on the principle of 'know thy enemy as thyself,' per Sun Tzu, he is the better choice of an opponent.
But also, he is the better man because he does not seem to despise anyone. Jim Webb and he became friends, and supported each other at the first debate in 2016. Bernie took fire in that debate and elsewhere for being willing to avoid gun control; he said, rightly, that coming from Vermont he had to respect the wishes of the rural population. That sentiment will serve him and the nation well should he happen to be elected.
Finally, he is the right man to lead the Democratic field in 2020 because he is the purest advocate for their animating vision. They need to know now whether or not that vision can in fact take root in America; we all need to know it. The answer to that question will determine a very great deal of future history.
For all of these reasons, then, I endorse Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.
Sorting out the front-runners
People are beginning to suggest this week that it's a race between Sanders and Biden to oppose Trump. There are signs the D establishment will pull out all the stops to kneecap Sanders in favor of Biden, the theory being that they're comfortable with Biden's crony capitalism but terrified of Sanders heartfelt (though reckless) anti-capitalism.
Here's how I frame the approach of the three candidates: Biden is a true-blue crony capitalist. Sanders despises the "capitalist" part of that equation, while Trump is at least skeptical of the "crony" part.
To adopt a different spectrum of organization: on a scale of enthusiasm for centralized command-and-control economies, Bernie is all in for control by an enlightened socialist elite, Biden favors control by cronies, and Trump genuinely prefers a more free market with distributed control in the hands of as many ordinary Americans as possible.
Here's how I frame the approach of the three candidates: Biden is a true-blue crony capitalist. Sanders despises the "capitalist" part of that equation, while Trump is at least skeptical of the "crony" part.
To adopt a different spectrum of organization: on a scale of enthusiasm for centralized command-and-control economies, Bernie is all in for control by an enlightened socialist elite, Biden favors control by cronies, and Trump genuinely prefers a more free market with distributed control in the hands of as many ordinary Americans as possible.
To the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns
We attended a Burns Night supper this evening.
Robbie Burns
That’s a haggis, in case you’ve never actually seen one. Note that the supper did not serve a choice of beer or wine or whisky. All three were served together.
To Fight Discrimination, Discrimination
On race and sex, but also national origin.
Wall Street's biggest underwriter of initial public offerings in the U.S. will no longer take a company public in the U.S. and Europe if it lacks a director who is either female or diverse. Asia is not yet included in the firm’s new policy.Soft bigotry of low expectations, that last.
Le quatrième pouvoir, c'est moi
Lots of good links from Maggie's Farm this morning. Here's one about Laura Ingraham's report that the New York Times quashed a story about a White House meeting on the eve of Trump's inauguration, involving Eric Ciaramella and Ukrainian officials, and addressing the problem of Hunter Biden's Burisma connections.
Ingraham asked the NYT why they quashed the story. The answer was, in effect, we did it because it's what we do.
Ingraham asked the NYT why they quashed the story. The answer was, in effect, we did it because it's what we do.
That's me, "fringe thinker"
Somebody better shut me down.
I like the term "anti-establishment conservative content." These days it turns out I get to be conservative and anti-establishment at the same time, a childhood dream fulfilled. This one's good, too:
“YouTube, Reddit and Facebook have allowed fringe thinkers to bypass traditional gatekeepers and reach millions of people directly.”I'm shocked to learn that conservative argument "gets clicks by generating fear and outrage, not by appealing to reason." That would never happen on the left.
I like the term "anti-establishment conservative content." These days it turns out I get to be conservative and anti-establishment at the same time, a childhood dream fulfilled. This one's good, too:
Senior CNN Reporter Oliver Darcy says citizens resist his reporting because they “just won’t digest facts.”You can believe me, because I never lie, and I'm always right!
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