Big Brother is HERE!

Talking Points Memo has a long, but very comprehensive post about the dangers of monopolies like Google.

Other Things of Interest:

Hamilton was NOT a fan of unrestricted immigration. Oh, NO! Will the musical be boycotted, due to unacceptable veneration of a HATER?

Hamilton - The Musical.

ALL attempts at biography get some things wrong. In part, this can be influenced by biases of the writer.

However, a more dominant impact is wielded by the fashionable cultural/social/political trends at the time. Biographies during the 50s tended to view subjects through an American lens - hence, Winston Churchill was analyzed via his connections to America - FDR, Jennie Churchill (his mother, an American), and other people in his life that might have influenced his life.

In the 60s, opposition to 'the Establishment' was the theme of several biographies, which played up those aspects of Jefferson's term that opposed a prior president's actions - The Alien Act, The Sedition Act - and downplayed those parts of his life that marked him as an Elitist, a slaveowner, and a traditionalist.

So, too, are the attempts to shoehorn Hamilton (an absolutely fascinating figure, literally a self-made man who came out of nowhere by sheer force of personality and intellect) into the current idea of a 'good person'.

People are more complex than that. Their motivations, beliefs, and actions may be, in part, explained by their heritage/ethnicity/culture.

But, not all. We are all capable of acting in unexpected ways, counter to what might be perceived to be our personal interests.

Speaking of Personal Interests, here is the Social Media for Those Unfortunate Few Who Can't Face Reality.

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Just for fun, I went to Verrit, found a post related to Protecting Our Children (did you know it's one of their Core Values - unlike those EVIL Deplorables, who eat children whole). I posted this:

Let's see if it manages to survive moderation. BTW, Verrit has a process before you can enter, allegedly meant to protect against DDOS attacks. Let's test it out for a few weeks, and see if it starts keeping us Deplorables out.

Views of the Proletariat

From England - what are African immigrants talking about? It's not what you might expect.

Hurricane Irma - barring a miracle, this will affect us in several possible ways. I would prefer these solutions:

• Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys, the Gulf, or the Carolinas get hit - this would require direct action by FEMA. Those places are our responsibility. Coming on top of Harvey, this will stress the emergency response systems.
• Other Caribbean islands - let the big disaster organizations assist with this. IF the CDC is not too busy, cut loose some of the staff to work with the local response forces. Otherwise, no action.
• Cuba - other than praying for the dictators and their helpers to die, do nothing. Do not accept escapees or refugees under any circumstances (other than enemies of that state).

IF we have ships in the area, they MIGHT provide some medical/logistical help, if they are near and able.

In the event of landfall in the Carolinas, I'm likely to be VERY wet for a few days. I've experienced hurricanes hitting areas nearby, and I've learned that the water continues dumping along the path even after it loses hurricane velocity. My first year in SC was 2005 (you remember that year, don't you?), and my whole yard looked like a swamp for ages.

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