[kenberg]

pilowsky, on 2023-February-19, 17:20, said:

Excellent point.
There's a danger that children of Floridians will start building IED's, learn how to produce anthrax, or purify cocaine, if they're permitted to read instruction manuals like these books banned in Florida schools:

Cow on the Town: Practicing the Ow Sound, by Isabella Garcia
Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales
Dumpling Soup, by Jama Kim Rattigan, and Lillian Hsu-Flanders
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal

Perhaps 'dumpling soup' is some sort of code.

Practicing the ow sound(s)

When I am feeling low
I talk with my cow
And I dream of snow
It helps me somehow
The winds then blow
It's true I vow


I will now take a bow

[Winstonm]

In math
I was last
but fast enough
to know
where to go
to drop the class

[Cyberyeti]

kenberg, on 2023-February-20, 13:40, said:

I will now take a bow

This is the little word that tripped up a lot of continental Europeans in the Wellerman craze, almost all of them pronounced the bow of a ship as beau rather than bough.

[kenberg]

Cyberyeti, on 2023-February-20, 16:52, said:

This is the little word that tripped up a lot of continental Europeans in the Wellerman craze, almost all of them pronounced the bow of a ship as beau rather than bough.

And I could sit on a bough with my beau holding my bow and arrow.



English is a seriously strange language.

In the 1940s there was a comic book character Robotman. We (friends and I) had discussions about pronunciation. Row-boat-man or rob-bot-man? Or rob-boat-man?

[Czbornik]

'The Cow'
The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk

Ogden Nash

[pilowsky]

It might be too early to archive this thread.
Polling appears to suggest that Trump has a stonking lead against all-comers in the Republican primaries.
On the other side, Trump is running neck and neck with most Democratic (in both senses of the word) contenders.

Or as Miss Davis would say - "fasten your seat belts...".

Like Trump - she was also an actor.

[Winstonm]

pilowsky, on 2023-March-05, 02:50, said:

It might be too early to archive this thread.
Polling appears to suggest that Trump has a stonking lead against all-comers in the Republican primaries.
On the other side, Trump is running neck and neck with most Democratic (in both senses of the word) contenders.

Or as Miss Davis would say - "fasten your seat belts...".

Like Trump - she was also an actor.

He’s also running from the DOJ.

Winston

[Czbornik]

pilowsky, on 2023-March-05, 02:50, said:

Polling appears to suggest that Trump has a stonking lead against all-comers in the Republican primaries.

Please define "stonking".

[pilowsky]

Czbornik, on 2023-March-06, 20:33, said:

Please define "stonking".

Much bigger than is safe for democracy.

[thepossum]

Czbornik, on 2023-March-06, 20:33, said:

Please define "stonking".

I think it means the world is in a very sad place - the caliber of political options

I have my own very cynical (and likely not unique) view on the function of democracy, and the way some like to keep conflict and distrust and some like to prevent it
Some like to keep things extreme and some don't
I'm no expert. It's just what I observe and have experienced. It's a sad way to control a planet
I won't go any further on my views, for risks to my own safety and well-being

EDITED out rather long boring rant about the world

[kenberg]

Googling stonking I found

• used to emphasize something remarkable, exciting, or very large."a stonking 207 mph maximum speed"

Googling stonk:

VERB (transitive)
1. to bombard (soldiers, buildings, etc) with artillery

NOUN


2. a concentrated bombardment by artillery

See https://www.collinsd...y/english/stonk
So I suppose aggressive and substantial is about what it means as used in the above post. I had never heard the word before. That's not unusual.

The problem as I see it: A fair sized number of Republicans, perhaps 40%, have no problem whatsoever with Trump lying about the election and instigating an attack on the capitol. The other 60% have varied thoughts of whom to support. So 40% might get him the nomination. Many of the 60% who voted for someone other than Trump in the primary still will not vote for Biden, or for any D, in the general election. And then we have the Electoral College to further screw things up. And if this isn't enough, well, there is still election denial and mobs.

In short, we are up a serious creek.

[Czbornik]

kenberg, on 2023-March-07, 15:42, said:

In short, we are up a serious creek.

Would you care to expound?

[barmar]

kenberg, on 2023-March-07, 15:42, said:

In short, we are up a serious creek.

One bit of good news from the 2022 elections -- most anti-democratic candidates for state offices (governors and AGs) lost their elections.

[kenberg]

Czbornik, on 2023-March-07, 18:41, said:

Would you care to expound?

Well, I could try. I guess the Constitution is coming up on a 235th birthday. The design came from idealism, practicality and self-interest. The designers were neither stupid nor evil, but not perfect either, and designing a government is difficult. Cynicism and self-interest will always be with us, and it seems to be pretty dominant these days.

"Up a creek without a paddle" indicates that a solution is difficult to see. To be a solution, as I intend the meaning, there must be a plausible way to arrive at that solution, something that works even with people remaining as people are . I hope we will find it.

I don't know if this is even remotely what you had in mind with your suggestion to expound, and I don't claim it to be original thinking.

[Czbornik]

kenberg, on 2023-March-10, 14:21, said:

I hope we will find it.

So do I. But I'm highly skeptical. As I see it right now, the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.

[Winstonm]

Czbornik, on 2023-March-10, 19:58, said:

So do I. But I'm highly skeptical. As I see it right now, the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.

You are right. What is so odd is that this group is a minority. How can they wield such excessive power?
A lot of the reason is structural-the fact that in the senate states like Wyoming have the same voting power as California.
A second contributor is the gerrymandering of voting districts that assures one party of near absolute control of results.
A third reason is the electorate itself, who support more liberal ideas when presented in polls but who still vote for "lower taxes".

And long term, ultimately, the main cause of our demise is a veritible collapse of the public schools system. Without a secular education, bias is exaggerated and encouraged.

At least, these are my ideas.

[Czbornik]

Winstonm, on 2023-March-12, 09:16, said:

A lot of the reason is structural-the fact that in the senate states like Wyoming have the same voting power as California.

I agree wholeheartedly. It's almost as bad as Vermont having the same voting power as Texas.

[Czbornik]

Quote

And long term, ultimately, the main cause of our demise is a veritable collapse of the public schools system. Without a secular education, bias is exaggerated and encouraged.

Here I disagree to some extent. "secular" is defined as "of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred". I will agree that "religious, spiritual, or sacred" should be not be taught in the public schools system. My offspring have long since been out of public schools (thankfully). However, if I currently had children in the public schools I would be deeply concerned about modern-day curricula.

[Winstonm]

Czbornik, on 2023-March-12, 18:16, said:

Here I disagree to some extent. "secular" is defined as "of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred". I will agree that "religious, spiritual, or sacred" should be not be taught in the public schools system. My offspring have long since been out of public schools (thankfully). However, if I currently had children in the public schools I would be deeply concerned about modern-day curricula.

That is part of the collapse.

[pilowsky]

Czbornik, on 2023-March-12, 18:16, said:

Here I disagree to some extent. "secular" is defined as "of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred". I will agree that "religious, spiritual, or sacred" should be not be taught in the public schools system. My offspring have long since been out of public schools (thankfully). However, if I currently had children in the public schools I would be deeply concerned about modern-day curricula.

Define "modern-day curricula".