URLs du Jour

2018-03-31

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  • Proverbs 14:14 strikes an optimistic note of eventual justice:

    14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
        and the good rewarded for theirs.

    I've said this before, but: to quote the last words of a book I've never read, "Isn't it pretty to think so?"


  • Joshua Holdenried writes at the Daily Signal of The Key Difference Between Conservatives and Libertarians, and Why It Matters. Let it be said that Joshua is a conservative. I think this paragraph encapsulates what he sees as "key":

    Despite our ongoing political alliance, it is becoming increasingly difficult for conservatives and libertarians to agree on the purpose of politics. Libertarians offer a reductionist solution that can be appealing in its clarity and in its conformity to liberal cultural norms. Questions over personal character, moral duty, and civic obligations are reduced to the singular doctrine of “live and let live.”

    I've described myself as a Schrödinger's-Cat conservative/libertarian; on a number of issues, I don't even know myself from day to day where I'm likely to land. Usually it's on the side of whatever plausible position I've read most recently.

    That said, I think Holdenried tends to oversimplify libertarian thought in this area. Consider the last two quoted sentences: can you imagine a libertarian accepting that as an accurate statement of his position?

    To be fair, it's also easy to imagine a libertarian oversimplifying conservative positions in a similar way.


  • I had never heard of "The Lost Kitchen" restaurant before, but this is kind of interesting: This famously remote Maine restaurant now only accepts reservations via mail

    When The Lost Kitchen (TLK), a 40-seat restaurant in a remote Maine town, opened for reservations last year, it received 10,000 calls in 24 hours, thanks in part to attention it received from national publications like Tastemade and Martha Stewart Living.

    This year, TLK owner Erin French will try something unconventional. Instead of taking reservations online or by phone, those interested in dining at the restaurant in 2018 must send their requests by mail.

    That's snail mail, gourmands.

    TLK is in Freedom, Maine, which is not that remote. The writer probably means "darn far from Maine places I usually go to". I suggest a trip to Baxter State Park for him.


  • At last, we have directions. How To Argue On The Internet: A Step-By-Step Guide. From the Babylon Bee, so… Step the first:

    1.) Do background research on your opponents’ position by finding lots of memes that reinforce your worldview. Whatever you do, don’t do any actual research into what your opponent actually believes and why. This might humanize them. Instead, create a wild straw-man caricature of their beliefs by looking up a bunch of memes designed to make their worldview look stupid and your worldview look awesome.

    I hope to follow this guide more closely in the future.


  • And finally, Greg Dennis of the Addison County [Vermont] Independent reports on scoring An interview with President Trump

    MIDDLEBURY AIRPORT, April 1, 2018 — Here’s a lightly edited transcript of my recent conversation with President Donald Trump.

    GD: Thanks for stopping on the Middlebury airport tarmac for an interview today.

    DT: Of course. It’s great to be back in New Hampshire. “Live free or die” and all that.

    GD: Actually, sir, you’re in Vermont.

    DT: Great place, Vermont. I won the primary here by the biggest margin anyone has ever won an election.

    Lest you (1) run off to Google to find the Vermont primary results (Trump won, but only by edging John Kasich 32.7% to 30.4%; meanwhile on the Democrat side, Bernie whacked Hillary 86.1%-13.6%) or (2) start wondering if Air Force One really landed at the Middlebury Airport…

    Yes, check the date on the article. And, yes, I got this article via a Google LFOD News alert.


Last Modified 2024-01-25 10:10 AM EDT