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Of all, a few were amusing, many banal, annoying or just plain silly, but Jordan Peterson's I found to be the only offering of real value. Like Peterson, I am trying to be less contentious and a better listener. Which, having taken mediation training this year, is probably a good thing. Being a natural all around pain in the ass and bomb thrower, I will try to be more respectful of opposing views and more open to them. If I've offended over the year, I will try to do better. But I can't promise to do so all the time.

The most annoying of the posts was Ferguson's. Of course Trump is a dented vessel - vain, boastful and given to wild self praise and exaggeration. But his policies were almost all sound and his successor - the Pretender and imbecile in chief - is an unmitigated disaster and embarrassment whose incessant lies make Trump appear the essence of virtue in contrast. Trump should not run again because he will be too old. We've had enough "alter cockers" ruining our national life. But not because his policies were wrong and Ferguson is way too bright to not understand that.

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founding

“we really want to hear from you! Tell us how you’ve changed your mind this past year in the comments.”

——————————————————-

START OF YEAR:

“Honey, have you seen my mask?”

END OF YEAR:

“Honey, have you seen my pitchfork?”

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Jordan Peterson, Alana Newhouse, Leandra Cohen - all excellent stuff!

Niall Ferguson lets his cat out of the bag by failing to get Donald Trump’s enduring popularity among Republicans. Exactly. I’m no fan of Trump, the obnoxious person. But what’s REALLY important are policy choices, and in that arena Trump was oodles, miles, universes ahead of what the Biden Administration has wrought. Keystone pipeline, relations with Israel, responses to Iran and Russia and China, extrication from Afghanistan, approach to oppressive government regulations, handling of the border crisis, Operation Warp Speed versus foolish reliance on Fauci - I’m only scratching the surface here; it’s a very long list. The policy contrasts are staggering! Open your eyes to them and Trump looks a lot better.

Democrats in the ‘nineties overlooked Bill Clinton’s personal misconduct and voted for policies they liked. Republicans are doing the same with Trump. Find me a perfect politician, with both a winning personality and desirable policy moves, and I’ll vote for her. Until then, policies that benefit our nation will trump (sorry!) offensive personality every time.

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One wonders why Niall Ferguson expected MAGA to fade away. It was—or ought to have been—obvious that replacing Trump with an intellectual and moral zero like Joe Biden would never restore American political life to a healthy condition. In his own way, Biden is just as heinous as Trump. Our current president has no more respect for truth, facts, constitutional norms or the rule of law than Trump does. He is, if anything, less competent than his predecessor. Nothing that has happened since the day he replaced Trump has tended to restore people's faith in the country's governing institutions. And all Biden's personal defects are echoed by the party of which he's the nominal leader: a cabal of would-be commissars who regard the United States Constitution as an impediment to the maximization of their power.

Biden's enduring achievement is likely to be that he managed to make Trump seem not so bad after all.

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Niall Ferguson ought to take Jordan Peterson's advice and "seek first to understand". God gave him two ears and only one mouth for a reason.

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Niall - I would simply ask you one question: if you needed a heart transplant, would you prefer a competent surgeon whose surgical history included over a thousand successful operations in the past year - but was a horse's ass and a bully, or would you prefer an affable dunce who cheated to get into medical school and tied his own thumbs in the sutures? hmmm.....?????

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Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

I haven’t changed my mind in 2021. Rather, the events of 2021 have confirmed my belief that far left policies are very dangerous for the USA. Rampant inflation, a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, shutting down Keystone pipeline, removing sanctions on Nordstream 2, removing sanctions on IRAN and re entry in JPCOA, a worsening of the Southern border crisis, uncontrolled crime in our cities, parents being threatened by school boards for speaking their minds, people being fired from their jobs because of personal health decisions, and much much more. No, my mind is made up, I’m not budging.

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Easy favorite - Alana Newhouse. The virus has allowed us to pull the curtain back on our hollowed out institutions and see our surveillance state for what it is. Newhouse’s piece takes a bird’s eye view of what is truly frightening about the times we live in and it isn’t the virus.

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Note to Niall: any landslide will be mostly a repudiation of the notion that it's a good idea to put a person with advanced Alzheimer's Dementia in charge of the United States. Think about it, Niall--but don't hurt yourself...

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Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

Alana Newhouse: you lost me at the point where you stated that your father forgave FDR for his pitiful response to the Holocaust.

That generation of Jews established a precedent that we are still feeling the affects of today. What was the precedent you ask ?

It was letting ideology / worldview - in the case, supporting the New Deal, overtake your instincts of survival as a Jew. So much so, that you closed your eyes to the death and destruction that was happening in Nazi Germany.

This ideology / worldview supremacy was repeated again, when the Jewish State of Israel was being formed in 1948. And it is evident today when liberal American Jews remain silent when the far left engages in anti Semitism.

Today, more than 50% of American Jews are afflicted with this disease.

I’m sorry, please remind me what your essay was about ?

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They asked for our stories, bit long but here goes. In 1990 my first daughter was born, my second in 1993. As my first born approached kindergarten my father-in-law (FIL) suggested I homeschool her. I’m European, homeschooling was a cultural anathema, still is in some circles in Europe. My FIL might well have suggested I place her in a cult, I’m certain the look on my face told him as much. In fact, as a practicing Anglican/Episcopalian, homeschoolers and evangelicals were considered actual cult members (said half jokingly at tea while looking down one’s nose of course).

However, enquiring minds need to know, so I investigated homeschool, if only to prove my wonderful and so often wise father-in-law, wrong for once. What I found in the homeschooling communities I encountered was intriguing. They were inviting and open, rigorous and challenging, organized and encouraging centers of excellence. They were not some dark religious Salem I’d envisioned in my narrow little mind. I’m not saying this is everyone’s experience, but it was mine.

Over the years homeschooling led me and my young daughters down a path of tireless adventures of learning, from Native Indians and all they had to teach us about nature, to the Gold Rush, the 49ers and cannibalism, and to more than I cared to know about farming and cow farts. We went on more field trips than I could wave a stick at. But at the same time in study time I realized my oldest daughter could not be still to learn her times tables, she was a kinesthetic learner. So upside down with her head hanging over the seat of her chair in our tiny schoolroom was perfectly acceptable, we had the freedom to accommodate that. It did make her recitation somewhat garbled, but who cared.

Not that we were rule breakers, we weren’t. We were disciplined to our timetable in study. You have to be, or don’t homeschool. To this day my daughters, 31 and 28 now, are both conventional and adventurous, cautious and intrepid. It’s a good mix.

In the beginning I was told homeschooling was depriving my children of “socialization”, we were being overly protective, and later called “helicopter” parents. Sadly though, we only homeschooled to 5th grade. We were sent on foreign assignment to far off lands, and the girls then attended international schools. The locations we were sent to were borderline third world, so the accusations of over protective parents fell away to us now putting our children in “harms way”. Sometimes you can’t win can you. By the way, no, we were not missionaries, we’re not brave enough.

Regardless, both my daughters express their thankfulness for their homeschooling years. They have told us in no uncertain terms it set them on a sound footing for life. Especially it gave them confidence to fit in abroad in strange cultures not their own.

I certainly would not have missed the experience for the world. Call me a cultist any time I’m glad I changed my mind, not in 2021, long before. Don’t wait.

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Andy - I don't know any of your writing and had to look up "Caliphate." Meh. Please take this in the spirit it is offered: never apologize to the Cancelers. Never. If it means doubling down, do that. (cf. one Donald J. Trump) My mother used to say, "If somebody hurts you, never let 'em know. It would do them too damn much good." And never explain yourself. If you gave someone a backrub and they didn't like it, it is up to them to say so, not your responsibility to spend your days contemplating your navel over it. These people are predators of the worst kind; know that if you reverse yourself you are done; rather than forgive, they will use your own words to beat you harder.

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Listening. Asking honest, open questions. Trying to understand others. All great ideas.

Strongly disagree with Ferguson’s piece, he is still struggling with TDS.

We homeschooled and loved it, brought the family closer

I was thin when I was miserable and now am fat but content. I am more accepting of the gradual decrepitude of my body. I miss my 20-30 year old body, but love my 60 year old spirit

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An interesting take by Ferguson. The Trump situation going forward is tricky. I think he could beat Biden in a rematch but Desantis is a FAR better choice imo. Younger, better with policy and fighting back against the left without doing ridiculous things that drive away independents. But I wonder if he'll jump in the race if Trump is already declared. Or will he just bide his time. It's a tough decision; maybe he could do like Youngkin did and say that Trump has done a lot of good things, but keep his distance. Don't criticize but don't be his best friend either. Not sure if that would work or not, because obviously Youngkin wasn't running against Trump. Desantis would be in this scenario.

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I'm with Peterson. I listened to Boghossian and Lindsay's How to Have Impossible Conversations and highly recommend it. As a teacher, I've been placing more emphasis on how different people should be afforded the right to synthesize information as they see fit, but inherent in this is taking responsibility for absorbing a variety of viewpoints in order to actually synthesize. One unfortunate effect of social media is the assumption that the lens or source provided represents the provider's views and cannot be reckoned with -- especially in the classroom. Part of encouraging the quality of listening is to encourage opening up the discussion so that there is something to hear.

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This interest in Aella by a fair number of 'new' podcasters such as Bari Weiss and Coleman Hughes, both of whom command respect and admiration, is problematic. This woman takes drugs, engages in promiscuous sex and pornography. These actions are quite destructive to most any person who engages in them. Aella is further lacking in intellectual substance as can be witnessed in her frivolous article. And it must be asked--if she were not as beautiful as she is--would there be the same interest? Doubtful. Found all of other articles to be good (Alana Newhouse) to excellent (Jordan Peterson)

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