Remodeling My Brain

"When Is Speech Violence" asks professor of psychology Lisa Feldman Barrett. Prof. Althouse has more but I fell in love with this artful phrasing from the column:

But we must also halt speech that bullies and torments. From the perspective of our brain cells, the latter is literally a form of violence.

"[T]he latter is literally a form of violence". My Imaginary Sources tell me that the original submission read "the latter is literally metaphorical violence", which would have been perfect. Darn editors!

Let me try it this way - violence is not normally (or ever) defined as "an activity that rewires the brain in a predictable and undesirable way". That may well be a consequence of some types of violence, but brain re-wiring is also a consequence of all sorts of other things.

And regardless of her qualifier about "from the perspective of the brain", believe me - my brain feels fully capable of distinguishing between this violent assault on logic and a smack in the nose.

Yeah, yeah - I'm a victim of false consciousness, or false unconsciousness. Well, sue me. Or don't - that might stress me out and rewire my brain too.

Comments

[matt, deplore me if you must]

First!

[henry]

Or get addicted to sugar, or nicotine, or caffeine, or chocolate, or pot, or opiates, or MSM narratives. They all rewire your brain.

Maybe give yourself a blood clot over the eye from face palming after all your "muh Russia" schemes blow up in your face.

So many possibilities.

[matt, deplore me if you must]

The lunacy just gets loonier. These people have so little self awareness and sense that they would never survive outside of the hothouse, even if wrapped in bubble pak.

The Left has seized on NR's DJT Jr condemnation with no awareness whatsoever of their NeverTrump credentials.

The Times crows that there's a new sheriff in town with Mueller. I just have to laugh.

This isn't even Borgias and Colonnas. This Borgias and Colonnas ganging up on Sforza, maybe.

[rse]

Gosh I take a break from reading confessions of rewiring the brain only to discover that it's the current topic at jom.

At least I am on point with the thread.

[Frau Holzauge]

Face-palming as dangerous as exercise bands? Who knew, henry!

The re-educations camps envisioned by Billy the Bomber were to rewire our brains.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

One of the very interesting things about Trump is his ability to somehow inspire people to support him by making their own ads and memes and such.

And now I have run across a guy who is taking on the Don Jr. case and is making connections I have seen nowhere else. He seems to have found a connection to the Russians in that meeting and a woman in the State Department (pre-Trump).

Here is what he calls his "case file". I can't quite follow all of it because some of the print is small. Apparently he went through White House visitor logs.

http://www.0hour1.com/2017/07/16/the-anatomy-of-a-setup-of-donald-trump-jr/

[sbwaters]

Previous thread: I tried watching FNS and it was completely intolerable.

FNS is not Fox Business Network. FNS is unwatchable. FBN is sometimes unwatchable. Don’t like Cavuto.

[sbwaters]

Last page. Maybe first page, too.

[Frau Holzauge]

Miss M - with the now deceased Mr. Eberwein, the Clintons have checked off another on their Kick the Bucket list.
There seems to be an actual MSM blackout on Mr. Eberwein's death.

Will the Omen inherit the touch?

[Clarice Feldman]

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/07/16/bill-browder-full-interview-gps.cnn

Looks like CNN is starting to rewire its brain.

[Clarice Feldman]

And here are some others who need to rewire theirs:http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/267273/nevertrump-outrage-disappointed-elite-bruce-thornton

[emzed]

I second recommending Clarice's 01:40 link. Bruce Thornton is the co-prof on the VDH sponsored trips, and a brilliant historian and analyst in his own right. Well worth reading IMO.

[Thomas Collins]

Stifling speech also rewires the brain. Thus, restrictions on speech must be violence.

Lots of things rewire the brain. All violence.

But in a libertarian society, there would be plenty of opportunities for private interactions that rewire brains. All violence.

But as Orwell's Big Bro might say, some rewiring is violence, and other rewiring is wokeness. And we need Big Bro or Big Sis or Big Flu (fluid gender individual) to tell us which is which.

[Frau Holzauge]

emzed - a pleasure!

[BariJerry]

A posthumous degree for Trayvon...it will never end...

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/trayvon-martin-awarded-posthumous-degree?fb=lz

[maryrose]

Welcome Extraneus and I always love to read Neo.
Iggy:
You have it right.
Trump Jr.
Is all they have but Lynch will be fried for letting the Russian overstay her visa.
Had a wonderful reunion with my best friends in Troy New York.
Daddy:
Love your recent travel comments.
Clarice:
You knocked it out of the park today!
The comments were great as well!
Hope everyone has a great week ahead.
I ignore all the false negative news because it goes nowhere.

[Frau Holzauge]

Lynch get fried? I don't think so. With our opposition party, the buck no longer stops with the chief-in-charge, and the captain now leaves the sinking ship first.

[Frau Holzauge]

maryrose - I bet it's really beautiful in Troy. I stayed overnight with a college friend at her family's home on the Hudson. It was just outside NYC and high up on a bluff over the river.

[maryrose]

Frau:
It really is beautiful!
One year we took the train to New York City all along the Hudson River.
It was a wonderful trip.

[maryrose]

The untold story gradually getting revealed is the wiretapping of Trump Jr., Manacort, Lynch and others.
We need those FISA requests that Grassley wants.
None of this matters because President Trump is not implicated.
Hillary used this fantasy to save face.

[maryrose]

I can't wait to see Loretta Lynch under oath.

[Porchlight]

the latter is literally a form of violence.

And Trump is literally Hitler.

SJWs would be pathetic if they weren't so dangerous.

My SJW cousin is 100% okay with criminalizing speech that meets her definition of "incitement."

Which is: "anything I disagree with."

[henry]

The Chicago Skool of politics. Which engulfed soon to be bankrupt Illinois, and which Obama used as the model for his version of deep state.

Note, in Illinois, party is really "the machine" with little meaningful difference. Just like the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL/CIO play footsie under the bargaining table.

[Porchlight]

DrJ's 11:11 on the prior thread, by the CA woman "sending" her adult daughter to grad school at UT Austin, is one of the stupidest things I have ever read. I'm speechless.

[jimmyk]

I can't wait to see Loretta Lynch under oath.

She'll have to be subpoenaed.

[Dave (in MA) I❤️KF]

A stick is literally a stick and a stone is literally a stone.

[Beasts of England]

'Maybe give yourself a blood clot over the eye from face palming after all your "muh Russia" schemes blow up in your face.'

That's gonna leave a mark. :)

[DrJ]

Porch,

The stupid runs deep in this state. I thought that you would enjoy (?) it.

[Clarice Feldman]

Do you think it normal to do a tissue pathology test for a blood clot?

[DrJ]

And I'll go one step farther: that OpEd is one of the most bigoted screeds I have ever read.

[Porchlight]

It was enjoyable watching her make a fool out of herself, DrJ. Of course all my lefty coworkers share her opinions, so the stupid is here, too. However, they're not as ignorant about Texas as she is. The Austin airport, for example, is small but sleek and well-designed. Yes, they sell barbecue in it, but dumbass California lady obviously has no idea how hip Austin barbecue has become.

As you say, this is Austin we are talking about, not Texas. It's pretty funny when provincial coastal snobs reveal their ignorance so spectacularly.

[Clarice Feldman]

http://reason.com/blog/2017/07/16/mccain-and-the-trump-russia-dossier

Very detailed.

[Captain Hate]

There seems to be an actual MSM blackout on Mr. Eberwein's death

Why it's as if they don't want to provide the dots to be connected.

[jimmyk]

But Porch, I thought you were one of those "knuckle-dragging, heartless Texans." You're who that lady was afraid of. :)

[maryrose]

Lynch has already agreed to testify.
Flynn was probably wiretapped not Lynch in my previous post.

[maryrose]

Someone will highlight Eberwein's death.
All of this will come out.
Dems just hope it won't happen before the midterms.
I would much rather be President Trump right now then any of these jokers.

[Porchlight]

Hell yes, jimmyk. And I arrived here as a relatively liberal agnostic grad student from a blue state. And now I'm a hardcore Trump supporter who teaches Sunday school at a conservative church.

So maybe she's right to be worried about her daughter. She and my mom can commiserate. :)

[maryrose]

Tissue pathology test for McCain is routine because he has had skin cancer melanomas in the past .

[James D.]

Porch @ 3:21

That piece was appalling. But, sadly, it doesn't even make the top 10 for stupidest things I've read in the media this month.

[Captain Hate]

And I'll go one step farther: that OpEd is one of the most bigoted screeds I have ever read.

I had to check it out based on this comment and you weren't exaggerating.

[jimmyk]

Lynch has already agreed to testify.

Ok, had missed that, but these things are invariably disappointing. She can say "I don't recall," claim confidentiality, refuse to answer questions, or even outright lie about unverifiable things like what she and Slick talked about. Don't get your hopes up.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

maryrose,

True about the melanoma. I am wondering if they suspected something more than a blood clot. We will know if he returns in a week or suddenly has a setback.

[Clarice Feldman]

https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/13/glenn_greenwald_donald_trump_jrs_emails

FTA:Now, what the Democrats are saying is that the Trump administration and their defenders in the media at Fox News and the like are, quote-unquote, "moving the goalposts" by saying, "Well, this only shows that Trump Jr. was willing to get information from the Russian government about Clinton, but it doesn’t show there was actual criminal collusion." To me, it seems as though the people who are moving the goalposts are the Democrats. The claim all along, the reason why there’s talk of impeachment, the reason why there is a special prosecutor, the reason why people want to see Trump and his associates criminally prosecuted, is because of the claim that they committed crimes by colluding with the Russians with regard to the hacking. That’s what Harry Reid has always said. That’s what John Podesta has always said. That has always been the Democratic claim. This newest evidence doesn’t in any way suggest that. What it suggests instead is that Donald Trump Jr. was told that the Russian government had incriminating evidence about Hillary Clinton and wanted to give it to him. And he said, "Well, I’d love to get it. I’d love to have it." Now, I guess there’s some sense that it’s wrong for a political campaign to take dirt on your adversary from a foreign government. I don’t think it’s illegal at all to do that, but there’s a claim that it’s somehow sort of immoral.

And here’s what I don’t understand. The Steele dossier that everybody got excited about, that claimed that the Russians had incriminating videos of Trump in a Moscow hotel and other dirt on Trump, that came from somebody who was getting first paid by Republicans and then by Democrats, going to Moscow and getting dirt about Donald Trump from Kremlin-affiliated agents in Moscow. In other words, he went to Russia, talked to people affiliated with the Russian government and said, "Give me dirt about Donald Trump," and then, presumably, got it and put it in the memo. Similarly, there’s an amazing Politico article from January of this year that describes how allies of the Clinton campaign, including somebody being paid by the DNC, met with officials of the Ukrainian government, which was desperate to help Hillary Clinton win and Donald Trump lose, and get information incriminating about Trump from Ukrainian officials. In other words, Ukraine was meddling in our election by giving Democrats incriminating information about Trump.

Now, I, personally, although it’s dirty, think all of these events are sort of the way politics works. Of course if you’re in an important campaign and someone offers you incriminating information about your opponent, you’re going to want it no matter where it comes from, whether it’s Ukrainian officials, whether it’s anti-Trump people in Moscow or whether it’s pro-Trump people in Moscow. So, I want to hear the standard that we’re supposed to use to assess Trump Jr.'s actions. Is it that it's wrong in all cases to get incriminating information about your opponent from a foreign government? In which case, why is it OK for the Democrats to do it with Ukrainian officials or for their investigator to go to Moscow and get dirt on Trump? Or is it some other standard that distinguishes what Trump Jr. did in this case versus what Democrats did with the Steele dossier and with Ukraine?

[DrJ]

Porch,

So maybe she's right to be worried about her daughter.

Probably not in Austin, your example notwithstanding.

The daughter of my lead scientist spent her Junior year (HS) abroad in Denmark. She stayed with a wealthy family, and came back quite the socialist. Mom is not, so they had some difficulties upon her return home. Daughter was a big Bernie supporter, needless to say.

She moved to College Station after graduating from high school She loves it. And I think the socialist edge is coming off as she is exposed to more Texans. She starts A&M in the fall -- it took her a year to get residency.

[maryrose]

Jimmyk:
So true.
The right questions must be asked by Congress people.
However if she lies she is in a heap of trouble.
Close attention to what she said to Comey wrt Hillary email mess.
What she said to Bill on tarmac.
FISA requests which ones she was responsible for and why they were requested.
Who else requested wiretaps?
Did they get the info they wanted?
If FISA request denied why?
IRS scandal
Any knowledge about that?
No prosecution of Hillary why?

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

In the last thread I linked a site which had made connections between the Russians at the meeting and certain people in the Obama state department.

Other people are connecting now also connecting dots. Here is the guy's twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/__0HOUR1_

[Porchlight]

Glenn Greenwald making lots of sense. Things have sure changed. It's kind of fun not being boxed into Traditional Republican Mold anymore.

[maryrose]

Porch:
Totally agree!
We don't have to agree or defend anyone.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

About that bloodclot...

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/07/16/senator-john-mccain-undergoes-minimally-invasive-craniotomy/#more-135840

[Porchlight]

DrJ,

College Station is a good place for her to be. The SJWs have made advances there, but nothing like Austin. Spending time in Texas is the best antidote to anti-Texas sentiment.

[Porchlight]

Exactly right, maryrose. And that terrifies the left, because it's so unpredictable and uncontrollable, from their point of view. The Trump coalition is broad and not easily cowed like the GOP of old. Meanwhile, the Democrat coalition gets narrower and weaker by the day.

[DrJ]

College Station is a good place for her to be.

Agreed. I have a friend who is a Prof at Texas Tech in Lubbock. He and wife are both Floridians through and through, but they love it there. He'd like to move to a stronger University, to get stronger grad students, but his wife will have nothing to do with that.

I think Lubbock would do it for Daughter too.

[maryrose]

I am thrilled that the Dems have wasted all this time and have nothing to show for their attempts to undermine the Trump administration .

[Buckeye]

I posted this at the end of the last thread, DrJ's story about student coming back from Denmark is as expected:

Joan and MM

Frederik, my buddy in Copenhagen is the perfect stereotypical Viking. Blond, blue-eyed, 6' 5". World ranked power lifter. If there was ever a guy that looks the "badass" part, it is him. Educated as a lawyer, married to a physician and has 2 boys, ages 6 and 2.

He is a conservative who is an outspoken critic of Scandinavian socialism. As a small business owner, he has often told me about the challenges he faces on a continuous basis in Denmark's regulatory and tax climate. Ugly to say the least.

But he has also told me that he sticks out like a sore thumb in a culture that has institutionalized political correctness. Furthermore, he thinks he only reason he gets away with speaking his mind because he has such an intimidating presence.

I don't have much hope for the Scaninavians either.

[Beasts of England]

maryrose @ 3:36 and 4:11

{ { { golf clap } } }

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Buckeye,

The Brits might just barely make it. I would dynamite the Chunnel, put gunboats in the channel, and screen everyone coming into Heathrow and Gatwick.

Their problem is that they have a class of Muslims who arrived very early, when they were admitted as Commonwealth citizens. They have been joined by the refugees and through long association with the earlier Muslims, it's difficult for them to say anything bad against them. When you add to that the pressures of political corrrectness, it's pretty hard to change direction.

I will tell you, though, that in my opinion, having been in Britain for 10 days several years ago, that the #1 reason for Brexit was immigration, not EU rules and regulations. I talked to a lot of average folks because I had to smoke on the street with the rest of the outcasts.

[Clarice Feldman]

Speaking of rewiring:The ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40% is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2017

The poll is a complete sham, the percentage of voters polled included 35% Democrat, 35% Independent and another 7% that are neither Democrat or Independent. Only 23% of the poll participants identified themselves as Republican or leaning republican!

If this poll was weighted correctly with 33% GOP, Dems, and Independents then Trump would likely be around 50% approval.

These polls aren't made to realistically poll the American people, but to persuade. They are made to make Trump's supporters believe he has already lost the trust of the American people and try to stop his agenda.

As long as these pollsters keep using this magical 23% Republican sample, they are all garbage. Media propaganda. Nothing more. https://t.co/6lHu6f9kgp— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) July 16, 2017

[Extraneus]

I think Iggy's right:

Let's face it, this 10-15 minute nothingburger meeting is the genesis of and the entirety of this Russian collusion mania.

They've had this for a year, hoping the set-up would lead to more incriminating stuff. Unfortunately, even after wiretapping and unmasking the whole Trump team using the meeting as a pretext, the well was dry. So whatta ya gonna do?

Release the dogs NYT with this lame meeting angle.

[Clarice Feldman]

McCain's "blood clot" was over his left eye--the side of his face where he'd earlier had an invasive melanoma removedThe ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40% is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2017

The poll is a complete sham, the percentage of voters polled included 35% Democrat, 35% Independent and another 7% that are neither Democrat or Independent. Only 23% of the poll participants identified themselves as Republican or leaning republican!

If this poll was weighted correctly with 33% GOP, Dems, and Independents then Trump would likely be around 50% approval.

These polls aren't made to realistically poll the American people, but to persuade. They are made to make Trump's supporters believe he has already lost the trust of the American people and try to stop his agenda.

As long as these pollsters keep using this magical 23% Republican sample, they are all garbage. Media propaganda. Nothing more. https://t.co/6lHu6f9kgp— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) July 16, 2017

[Clarice Feldman]

wrong link--sorry

https://www.healthcentral.com/article/john-mccain-and-skin-cancer

[sbwaters]

McCain’s blood clot over his eye makes me wonder if he fell down and hit his head. That would explain the size of the clot, the fact that it was considered routine, and why it was found in a “physical” after the event.

[Comanche Voter]

You want to rearrange some brain cells, ask Mike Tyson to hit you with a right cross. That will scramble some eggs for sure.

[DrJ]

In other news, I filled up my car today. Turns out I drove it 220 miles over the last three and a half months.

Take that, eco weenies!

[maryrose]

DrJ
I hardly drive my car and because it is a Toyota I get great gas mileage.
It is a 2001 with 60,000 miles on it.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Sbwaters,

Gleaning information from the CTH link on McCain's blood clot, we learn that it was 5cm. (2 inches give or take) that it was removed with a craniotomy (opening of the skull) and it was sent to pathology.

It was also on the same side of his face as the original melanoma.

Also, discussions with his family, but not the patient, were referenced in the press release. That seems odd.

Also, why did he go to Mayo for a routine physical right in the middle of this stuff gong on in the Senate?

There is a lot of stuff we are not being told, in my opinion.

[DrJ]

I think it is the same for Clarice.

An irony is that the "eco friendly" people who live in the Bay and LA areas often have insane commutes. It is not unusual for them to put 25K miles on their cars per year.

Of course they want state subsidies for electric vehicles! Of course the Prius is a sign of environmental awareness!

But would any try to cut out their commute? Never!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Daughter just went to the emergency clinic and the poor thing has a bad sinus infection.

I think it stems from allergies.

[Clarice Feldman]

My Toyota is over 20 years old and I still haven't reached 21k miles. Filling station guys always want to buy it off me and the Toyota dealer where I took it in for routine serving claimed they put it on the left to take pictures of it.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Clarice,

Thanks for that link at 1:40. I heartily recommend reading not only the article, but also the comments.

I tried very hard to explain this stuff to Ron Fournier and Rick Klein on Twitter, both of whom ignored my suggestion that they get outside the Beltway and talk to average people. I can only conclude that they are like most of the press: they think if they toe the elitist line they will be admitted to the hallowed ground and become card-carrying members themselves.

We used to joke a lot about people wanting to get the cocktail party invites, but that isn't too far from the truth. It's wanting to be accepted by those who have carved out their ground as the ruling class. The rest of us are ignored.

I think this is the source of the Kevin Williamson nastiness. He is from the middle class and has clawed his way up to being a writer at NRO and hobnobbing with people like Will and Kristol. He's terrified of being sent back to the minors.

Meanwhile, I noticed that The American Spectator is noted in the comments as having NOT fallen into the elitist line. This might be because R. Emmett Tyrell went to INDIANA UNIVERSITY, not Yale or Harvard or Princeton. Ta-da!!

[Clarice Feldman]

*servicing* *lift*

[Captain Hate]

But would any try to cut out their commute? Never!

The disconnect is strong.

[Captain Hate]

Off

[Buckeye]

MM, I have suffered with chronic sinusitis for about 20 years. If she has reoccurring problems like I did, good chance it is allergies.

Since I started taking Loratidine (generic Claratin) and Fluticasone Propionate (generic Flonase) about 10 years ago serious infection flares have dropped from couple per year to one every two to three years.

Huge quality of life improvement.

[sbwaters]

MM, I have an 80+-year-old friend who fell and developed a clot just inside the skull but outside the brain itself.

Just saying that a visit to the doctor after a fall would be ordinary as would a precautionary brain scan.

[-peter]

If Caitlyn Jenner gets elected to the Senate, I am moving to the Ledge.

[lurkersusie]

Must read

"Leadership" (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
It is ironic, but somehow fitting, that the illness of one of the worst men in American political life should be the thing that might save the Republican Party from the ineptitude of its leadership and its own cowardly instincts. I'm referring, of course, to John McCain, a man who's been in the public eye since his Vietnam captivity in the 1960s and has contributed exactly nothing since to the country he professes to serve. So maybe inadvertently delaying the "health care plan" vote in the Senate, if that can enable its defeat, is the way McCain can finally make up for his years as a showboating, self-aggrandizing "maverick" who never met a political friend he didn't want to stab in the back, nor enemy he didn't wish to cozy up to.

https://pjmedia.com/michaelwalsh/2017/07/16/the-coming-gop-electoral-health-care-disaster/amp/

[DrJ]

From Legal Insurrection:

One thing that has turned out to be absent from the new version [of the Senate Health Care plan] is the Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) “Freedom Option” touted by conservatives and a lynchpin in scoring skittish conservative Senators’ votes.

I would sound like OL, but he does it better. The Cruz option made it palatable to me. Without it, just kill Obamacare and start over.

[Frau Wahlzettel]

Why wait on McCain? Can't "My Friend" vote from his hospital bed? A paper ballot is very safe, I've heard.

[Beasts of England]

My daily driver isn't even five years old and it's just shy of 100k miles. Don't y'all like to drive? ;)

[Buckeye]

Beasts, some of us don't have to make girlfriend runs :)

[lurkersusie]

The Lies of Donald Trump's Critics, and How They Shape His Many Personas

An in-depth analysis of the false allegations and misleading claims made against the 45th President since his inauguration.

http://www.snopes.com/2017/07/12/trump-lies/

[Clarice Feldman]

Michael Walsh forgets one thing--the worst people will get re-elected and some of the best would fall if his prediction comes true.

[Extraneus]

I believe they have to be wheeled in, Frau. Carrying or dragging are not allowed by Senate rules. Only wheeling is allowed, I'm pretty sure.

[DrJ]

OpEd, WSJ:

La Raza has decided to rebrand. The liberal political group announced last week that it would change its name from one suggestive of adversarial Chicano politics to something with broader appeal: UnidosUS.

Keep it in mind.

[Beasts of England]

My love life is not quite that dynamic, Buckeye, but I appreciate the thought. ;)

[Jane (Stand against the Coup)]

Ok, had missed that, but these things are invariably disappointing. She can say "I don't recall," claim confidentiality, refuse to answer questions, or even outright lie about unverifiable things like what she and Slick talked about. Don't get your hopes up.

Re Loretta Lynch

I could go on and on about this, but this is a woman who was essentially the #1 lawyer in the country. She took an oath, and the oath says she tells the truth

I'm naive I know, but the oath means everything to me. I officially resigned the democrat party when it became clear it was OKay to lie under oath if you were a president talking about sex.

It is never ever okay to lie under oath, particularly if you are a lawyer. The entire lawyer thing is predicated on the oath.

This is what is wrong with this country.

[Frau Schaps das war sein letztes Wort]

Wow, after reading lurkersusie's @ 5:58, let My Friend recover at his leisure. Hillary! can visit and reminisce about their glory days.

This also rewires the brain.

[DrJ]

Beasts,

I like driving OK. But around here, the roads are crowded and in terrible shape, the gas is expensive, the drivers are erratic and overall it does not seem to be a good time investment.

Couple that with eyes to do like like dusk or the dark, and that limits my driving distances and enthusiasm.

I note that you did not mention your daily driver. That might make a difference!

[DrJ]

*eyes that do not like...*

[Frau Steingehirn]

A gurney it is, extraneous.
Make it so.

[Frau Eid]

Jane, we shall see if honor or party win out with Loretta Lynch. So far I see party with more than 50%.

You and Lynch are different. It's her legacy on the line, false as it may be. Comey sure set her up, however, but it comes down to he said, she said stuff.

[Frau Eid]

Sorry, I meant to say "Queasy Comey" which suits him.

[David, Internet Deplorable]

Clarice,

About those polls: They can weight them however they want, it doesn't make any difference. Those who don't support Trump will cheer his low numbers, but probably wouldn't believe higher ones. Those who support him have long given up on polls, which are just another arm of the corrupt media that is 100% opposed to the President and his agenda. I keep saying that if the media really wants to freak the President's supporters out, it should publish some good news and some good poll numbers for him. Of course, the media's hate and contempt for the flyover rubes is so great that even if they changed their tune about the President, most of his supporters would probably be even more suspicious, wondering what kind of trick the media was trying to pull. At this point, they are in a no-win situation. There is nothing the media, pollsters, and the Deep State can do to bring about a reconciliation except complete surrender and wholehearted support of the President's agenda.

David

[Beasts of England]

An XJL, DrJ.

I'm with you on night driving. The new headlights in oncoming traffic - even on low beam - hurt my eyes something awful. To the point that I'll wear my prescription sunglasses at night if I'm driving more than a few miles.

[Extraneus]

Fake polls? "Fake" polls?

Make it so.

[DrJ]

Beasts,

I also find that the older I get, the more that driving takes out of me.

A decade ago, driving from here to Phoenix (or the reverse) -- a 12 to 14 hour drive -- was no big deal. These days a trip to San Jose and back -- about 350 miles, so six or seven hours -- really takes it out of me.

Of course the traffic congestion does not help. Straight highway driving outside of the metropolitan areas is quite nice. As are some of the country roads around here (wine tasting, anyone?).

[Buckeye]

Beast,

I had a flight instructor who educated me on managing long distance romances on somebody else's nickel.

Mike was ex Navy fighter pilot/instructor and was single. We did a few long instrument cross counties that turned into "girlfriend runs".

Flew to Pinehurst, spent the night and he ditched me. Flew to Charleston and got the same treatment. Always some hottie waiting for him at the FBO.

ManTran did some training with the same guy and I think he got his turn in the barrel too.

[Beasts of England]

That's hilarious, Buckeye!!

~ ~ ~

Four hundred miles is my limit, DrJ - and that gets me to the beach or New Orleans. Nashville and Atlanta are easy trips and that's about the extent of my distance driving these days.

[Buckeye]

I have same issue with night driving, started about when I turned 50.

Still really like driving. If I need to go someplace within 300-400 miles that would take 2 hops by air, I drive.

By the time you screw around with security and layovers, it will take as long, and you are bound to have to suffer a few nitwits in the process.

[Jim Eagle]

Back from Boston with the "new" Kid. Grew another inch or two, 10 more lbs., more muscle, more hair:) Camp did him good and his academics were interesting as were his workshops. Lots of other geeky, high achiever, teenage menaces from 40 different countries and more girls than boys. From what I am hearing lot of friendships made inter-sex IYKWIM.

I for some reason love to drive and long distances, no problem or even night driving. Today the drive had 3 spells for ferries, one long and two short ones. Plus we stopped in Sag Harbor for dinner at the inner harbor marina at Barron's Cove. Great break.

Had lunch in Mystic which was really buzzing with traffic, walkers, shoppers and sun seekers. Didn't have time for the Seaport or Museum but will do it on a weekday. Less crowds.

If it wasn't for Asians, Harvard Square would basically be deserted. So, Anonamom and others are right. Unless Frederick gets a crew or tennis or football scholarship they have no need for a white kid even if he has a 2400 SAT score.