Were the French Writers "Needlessly" Inflammatory?

No.

Their fanning-the-fire writings were necessary.

From the National Ross Douthat:

But if publishing something might get you slaughtered and you publish it anyway, by definition you are striking a blow for freedom, and that’s precisely the context when you need your fellow citizens to set aside their squeamishness and rise to your defense.

Whereas far too often in the West today the situation is basically reversed: People will invoke free speech to justify just about any kind of offense or provocation or simple exploitation (“if we don’t go full-frontal seven times on ‘Game of Thrones’ tonight, man, the First Amendment dies”), and then scurry for cover as soon as there’s a whiff of actual danger, a hint that “bold” envelope-pushing might require actual bravery after all.

The idea that we need to tone down our speech/writing/atristic expression due to THREATS is the most profoundly ILliberal idea I've ever heard.  Should our people generally accept and tolerate other religions?  Yes.  But NOT because they threaten to kill us if we do not.  That threat, alone, would make them a fair target for ridicule, criticism, and contempt.

Focusing on the Most Important Things

1. Family - the major part of my energy for the next year will be to keep my far-flung family in my thoughts, and to show that by regularly calling, texting, emailing, and - yes - sending short notes in hard copy (there is nothing like the lift you get when you receive something in the mail WITHOUT a translucent window).  Family also includes my long-suffering husband, whom I need to make a top priority.


2. Financial - this includes selling our second house, organizing records, and reducing debt.  All of this is necessary, if I plan to make our goal of retiring in 2-1/2 years.


3. Work - setting up files (and weeding out old ones), making appointments for grade entry and planning, scheduling all mentor meetings, labeling my stuff and sub-dividing it into smaller boxes, with lessons inside.  I spend too much time trying to find stuff, and I'm tired of working in a cluttered environment.


4. Home - clean, organize, and repair.  Really, the biggest part will be weeding out junk.

Notice that there is nothing there about politics?  By necessity, I will have to carefully manage what little time I have left.  So, I will be scheduling my once a week posting, and only occasionally posting more.

The Gathering Storm...

...all apologies to Winston Churchill, who named his 1st of the WWII books that way.

No, we in America are preparing for a Storm - of Classic Proportions.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's beginning to look like a CORKER - and it's going to hit Barry's "natural constituency":

• Single women


• Part-time workers


• Artists, actors, musicians - anyone who works on a sporadic basis, and whose income fluctuates


• People who receive a regular paycheck, but may have received extra money outside of that - such as teachers

What is the cause of that storm?

Obamacare - or, for those who decided, after it turned out to be a stinker - ACA, the Affordable Care Act.

Ya' see, people got those subsidies because they entered information in the website, or told the person over the phone, what they were making.  I'm betting that MOST of them wildly underestimated - either through wishful thinking, or because the fools didn't understand the meaning of NET pay.  It's amazing how many people never think about how much they make; for most people, the amount they take home is what sticks in their minds.  So, I'm betting that most of the subsidy-receivers used the net pay as their earnings.

And, that's where the fun begins.

If they underestimated, they received MORE subsidy than they were entitled to.  And, unlike your mama, who would have said, "Oh, that's all right, honey, you can keep the money", the feds will take it back - with interest, if possible.  When these folks file their income taxes, they will find that they OWE Uncle Sam - and it will come in the form of a reduced IRS refund, or none at all.

Let the games begin.