Right As Usual

The most influential theory about the collapse of the Western Christian world was that the Germanic tribes delivered the death blow to a civilization already weakened by invasions, decadence, warfare with invaders, rival would-be rulers within the Empire, and Christianity. At least, that's the standard history that most people learned when I was young (Pre-PC).  It was a typical distillation of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire books. I just heard today of another theory, from Declination blog , the Pirenne Thesis.  It was Pirenne's suggestion that, although the Germanic tribes sliced off the top level of governance, much of the basic structure remained, and that the Germans had largely been assimilated and absorbed into the Latin world. What Pirenne thought dealt the death blow to Western civilization was the invasion of Islam.   There's a fairly long pdf at the link that explains his thinking better than I could. Share

Not all, of course.  But, too many Islamic countries devolve into instability, violence, and chaos. This is why. Also from Sultan Knish, some words on Venezuela.  Why is Venezuela not hitting the headlines?  People are STARVING.  If this were a collapsing Capitalist economy, Leftists would be hounding Washington to make aid to Venezuela a priority. Why do Socialist/Communist/Leftist societies get ignored when they collapse? This takedown of the Leftist Media is priceless.   You do know that 90% of D.C. journalists vote Democratic , don't you? Among  Washington  correspondents, the ones who dominate national political coverage, it’s even more skewed, said Tim Groseclose, author of “Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind.” More than 90 percent of D.C. journalists vote Democratic, with an even higher number giving to Democrats or liberal-leaning political action committees, the author said. The trend to "professionalize" a...

Ya' know, there MIGHT be other reasons for not wanting mass importation of non-American peoples into our country.  Like: The Resettlement "Services" have ONE function - to get the responsibility of paying for those people off THEIR hands, and onto the Federal, State, and City governments - and, by extension, the taxpayers.  They do not, after the briefest time necessary to fill out the paperwork, pay for services themselves.   From their site: " The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) helps new populations maximize their potential in the United States by linking them to critical resources that assist them in becoming integrated members of American society."  This means - get them on Free Housing, Free Food, Free Medical Care, and Free Money - I really don't mean FREE, I mean - the taxpayer picks up the bill. These services encourage minors to make that dangerous trip by themselves, putting them at risk of sexual exploitation, slavery, and death. Ma...

There is a new meme on Facebook, that caught my attention: It was posted by the Libertarian Party.  My answer to the first part: Not Federal - it is not a branch of the government, as we normally think of it. It was created by an act of Congress. Its members serve 14-year terms, while the Chair serves 4 (but can be re-appointed). So, why do I not consider it Federal? (1) It is funded independent of the budget, collecting its fees from various non-governmental sources. That's one of the objections I also have to the CFPB - the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Their funding takes them outside of the normal channels, and makes it hard for the people of the USA to keep them from making regulations that cannot be challenged. (2) Its original reasons for existing were: maximize employment, stabilizing prices, and moderating long-term interest rates. NONE of these are proper actions, under the Constitution. Government doesn't make employme...

Brexit After-Thoughts Forget the Lifeboat... As I have been following the Brexit "crisis", I was musing on the effect of Merkel at the core of this mess. Merkel, as all the feminists like to remind me, is a woman.  And, like so many women, she suffers from a marked deficiency: She can't admit she made a mistake. To change course on immigration, the superiority of the EU, or blithe overlooking the Islamic threat, would require that she humble herself.  And, very few women can do that. They can admit that they made a mistake in trusting a man, following their heart, or believing in a friend.  In other words, where emotions are involved, women can say, I was wrong.  This, they can do, because they can tell themselves that they CARE too much.  Sort of like the job seeker, when prodded for his weaknesses, says that he just doesn't stop working.  It's a backhanded admission that: I'm better than you, even in my "weaknesses". What they just c...

Here is a video of the song "Hail Brittania", with lyrics shown.  Given the vote, I think it's appropriate, particularly the final words of the chorus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNfvJc99YY Share

The Brexit vote was not totally a surprise - I could see, from reading the Liberal News the same way that Russians read the Soviet Pravda, that there was a chance that it would pass. Debbie Schlussel just posted something critical of the Brexit vote, saying that it was a waste of time to focus on that, when the Islamic Cultural-Political Invasion was well underway in Britain. I have to disagree with you, Debbie.  You are preaching to the choir here.  The problem is that the average Brit, like the average American, is a long way from fighting for their freedom.  Like many Americans, the Brits just want to have a peaceful life, free of the heavy hand of government - whether foreign or domestic.  Most people in either country don't pay that much attention to the news, and calmly accept the conventional "wisdom" of the networks. Those wanting to bring in the Tea Party (or other) Revolution can easily become downhearted by political and cultural defeats.  They ...

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I was born in Cleveland. I moved to Lakewood at age 4 months, and lived there until my marriage at age not-quite 23. As my husband was the original Rolling Stone (not the band, the willingness to pick up stakes on a moment's notice), I tagged along for about 10 years in various cities in PA and OH. We finally bought a 4 bedroom house smack in the middle of Cleveland about 20 years ago (which we are trying to sell right now - anyone want a bargain large house, convenient to mass transit and major highways?). Eleven years ago, I moved to SC for work, and have settled in. Nonetheless, I remain a fan of Cleveland teams, as does the rest of the family. Last night, we watched LeBron James - the King - manage something I was beginning to think would never again happen - he took the Cavaliers to NBA champs. Now, excuse me, I'm going to have a conversation with God about the Cleveland Indians. It appears that this is the year to ask BIG.

Yes, I know that the quote is NOT what Stevenson said, but I stand by it.  I laugh because if I don't, I will cry - and it would be hard to stop. I've been on the web this morning (in between cleaning out my closet/drawers - I've been doing a section, then taking a break, repeat.....). I think there is a Law of the Internet.  That Law would state that when people start to make sense of events, agree upon some common ground, and reduce the acrimony, the CRAZY has to start up again, and Stop that $hit. That would be the only way to understand this New! Improved! Obama Plan to Stop Terrorism! The program is called CVE - Countering Violent Extremism - and it is designed NOT to find out that the core problem is Violent People Who Hate American Values, or Violent People with Foreign Ties Who Want to Destroy America, or Violent People Who Are CRAZY! Let's, instead, focus on the MANY Congregational and Church of God in Christ members who are using those churches to pl...

Why don't I call this Revolt of the Common PERSON?  Because it's largely spearheaded by MEN. Women get a lot of bennies from the state: Financial support Emotional stroking Preference on the dubious grounds that they are discriminated against Those benefits make single and divorced women less likely to complain about the over-reaching arm of the state.  The women that do complain are largely married, as they experience - indirectly - the tyranny of the state. It's happening in Not-So-Great Britain right now.   Brits may withdraw their alliance with the EU, and go it alone.   That action may serve as a catalyst for the dissolution of the EU, led by those nations that are stronger economically and culturally. The large nation-state, as it existed for much of the 20th century, may be dying.  Why did it fail? Insistence on adherence to Leftist social dictates Gender-bending Drug use of the RIGHT kind - pot, Viagra, birth control, Adderall No...

People might consider following this advice , which I found at Bastion of Liberty. I know, I know.  You ONLY watch 60 Minutes.  Well, and maybe the Super Bowl. But that's it. Well, except for your favorite show.  And the one that precedes it.  And the one that follows it. But that's it. Well, for that night anyway. And, you know, you just HAVE to watch Dancing with the Stars.  And Big Brother.  And True Blood. And on...and on...and on... I've been thinking about how much television/cable/HMC (that's my husband's favorite) I've been watching lately. And, I am frankly NOT happy about it. I'm wasting a substantial amount of MY LIFE.  Which, BTW, is getting shorter and shorter. Go, read what Ace has written at the link.  And, then, think about how you want to spend the last days of your life: Reminiscing about the hours you spent in front of the TV Hurrying a conversation because "your show" will be on in a few minutes Conte...

I was reading about Neuroscience in the 2011 Free nonfiction from Baen Books (REALLY good, along with the free fiction), and started thinking about brain and nerve development. One of the hard parts of implanting cochlear devices is that, sometimes, the brain of the person just hasn't any way of interpreting the sounds.  The nerves in adults are more resistant to growth than in younger patients.  There is, however, a treatment that has dramatic results in many cases - doses of amphetamines administered under a doctor's supervision. I started thinking about the implications for stroke and Alzenheimer's patients.  And, it happens, the researchers believe that Alzenheimer's may be treatable within the next 15 years or so. Do read the article - so that you might begin to think intelligently about the issue, and have some basis for understanding what is likely to become a very important target for research. ____________________________________________________________________...

I changed the template (never bothered to get it professionally done), made some small changes, and notified the host company that I would be dropping my site.  Haven't made a decision about the domain, but am leaning towards releasing it. Unless you have a physical product, securing your own domain may not be needed for most relatively small businesses.  There are those that buy up domains and squat, hoping that they'll hit gold when a business takes off and needs to secure the name.  I'm inclined to think those days are gone.  Most businesses can adapt fairly easily, due to the expansion of usable names in other countries (*.tv, *.ca, etc.). I had a VERY restful week - lazily browsed the news, visited with family, and didn't do all that much.  I didn't even write, except for a few comments on other sites.  Mostly, I read. I have found the Motherlode - Baen Free Books.   I hugely enjoyed reading the free science fiction short stories; I'm now wo...