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See other politics and politicians Articles

Title: Libertarians smarter?
Source: Conservative News and Views
URL Source: https://www.conservativenewsandview ... ial/talk/libertarians-smarter/
Published: Feb 5, 2012
Author: Terry A. Hurlbut
Post Date: 2019-08-10 14:33:23 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 14647
Comments: 138

Are liberals really smarter than conservatives? Or are libertarians smarter than anyone else? A recent column in The Daily Mail suggests so. True or not, it shows that “liberal” and “conservative” are not the only two extremes of opinion. In fact, they are special cases of a far more general political landscape.

Traditional political labels

By tradition, “conservative” and “liberal” (formerly “progressive”) stand for two different sets of freedoms on one hand, and entitlements on the other. This linear graph of left-of-center v. right-of-center dates from the National Assembly of Revolutionary France. The only thing that defined the “left” and the “right” then was change. The “left” wanted sweeping change, and the “right” wanted to keep things as they were.

But neither side necessarily stood for more freedom than did the other. Instead, those things that a liberal wants to entitle some people to, a conservative does not. But: many of the things that a liberal wants people to be free to do, a conservative does not, either. The reason: a conservative favors a different set of entitlements that are not economic. The conservative would entitle most wives to expect their husbands to stay married to them, and not seek enjoyment elsewhere or end the marriage whenever they saw fit. “Moderates” are more likely to grant more entitlements in some areas, and more freedoms in others, than either side.

But this line is a very special case. In fact, the possible mix of entitlements and freedoms should have at least two dimensions, not merely one. Michael Hanlon of The Daily Mail came close to recognizing this:

The problem here is how we define ‘left’ and ‘right’ thinking, what this means socially and politically. A moment’s thought shows that the fault lines are not only blurred but they are legion, criss-crossing across traditional political strata and have changed through time.

A square political grid. Intelligence moves you up the scale. So are libertarians smarter on that account?

The square political leanings grid, from OnTheIssues.org.

True, but incomplete. Many theorists, from Rand to Rothbard, have recognized two different “freedom scales” with which to chart one’s attitudes. One is the economic scale. Zero on this scale is a complete command economy, with input-output analysis dictating who produces what, and with Five-Year Plans, government stores, collective farms, the whole nine meters. At this end of the scale, everyone is entitled to a minimum economic standard but are free to do nothing to break out of that standard, or to take on any task unless the authorities approve.

One hundred on this scale is total capitalism, with no role for government in production, distribution, or exchange. At this end, people are free to do anything but entitled to nothing. Whatever they want, they must work for.

The other scale is the social scale. Zero on that scale means: throw homosexuals in prison, punish criminals severely, forbid immigration (that is, membership is by invitation only), etc. One hundred means to let everybody in, take all comers, let roommates (same-sex or opposite-, whether they share bed or not) form whatever contractual unions they care to form—but also recognize freedom of association (including the freedom not to associate), and the right of self-defense.

Hanlon loses sight of one thing: many “social liberals” are damnably hypocritical along this line. They will not recognize freedom of association. They do not recognize a right of self-defense. They do not recognize any of the flip sides of increased tolerance of homosexuality, adultery, or criminality. As an example, they want to leave two men (or two women) free to be intimate, but then want to entitle this roommate pair to rooms, or an apartment, in any dwelling, whether the would-be host wants to offer them those rooms, or that apartment, or not. Once again: one person’s entitlement is another person’s loss of freedom.

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A libertarian, by contrast, would respect that host’s freedom. A libertarian would ask that the government leave those roommates free to be as intimate as they please, but not entitle them to rooms or apartment wherever they wish. For those, they must still make a voluntary arrangement with a host or landlord.

If one plots his attitudes on the economic and social freedom scales on a square grid, instead of on a line segment, and orient this grid like a baseball diamond, then that grid will yield five different positions, not three. Home plate (zero, zero) is populism, or the Communism of the old Warsaw Pact, or Nazism in Germany. Conservatism lies at first base (100, 0). Liberalism or left-wing-ism lies at third base (0, 100). “Moderate-ism” is at the pitcher’s mound (50, 50). And Libertarianism is at second base (100, 100). So the old left-to-right line passes from third base to first, across the infield, allowing more freedom in economic areas, but insisting on more entitlement on the social, as it goes.

Here is what Hanlon noticed: intelligence tracks with moving straight up on the political grid, and then tending toward perfect libertarianism. Lower intelligence tracks with falling straight down on the political grid, toward total populism. With the horizontal movement along the traditional left-right line, intelligence does not change.

The implied result: Libertarians are smarter than everyone else.

Are libertarians smarter than everyone else?

Purely abstract intelligence might track higher with libertarianism. That makes libertarians smarter than liberals or conservatives on that scale. A smart person (unless he hungers for power) wants to be free, either to make a living or to associate (or not) with anyone he pleases.

But does common sense make libertarians smarter? Not necessarily. Abstract libertarianism works fine—for a voluntary association of voluntarily consenting adults. It does not work well for children. A child is an inherently dependent, even helpless person. Common sense demands that a society entitle a child to food, water, shelter, and education, that the parents, not the government, should give it. The parents are more likely to have the child’s best interests at heart than faceless bureaucrats would. But in addition, that same society also entitles the parents to a minimum level of “good examples” from other adults.

That is why a sound society does not authorize two same-sex roommates sharing bed to adopt children. It is also why a business that caters to “the prurient interest” is not free to locate near enough to where a child might stray within sight. It is why a sound society classifies certain kinds of pastimes as “for adults only,” and recognizes a class of citizen or resident called the minor. As in:

Sales of cigarettes to MINORS are FORBIDDEN by law. We support this law. Parents are urged to help prevent violations.

The pure libertarian recognizes no such thing as a minor. That’s the equivalent of expecting a cub in the wild to fend for himself before he is ready. As any wildlife biologist knows, that’s not very smart.

But in matters of pure economic policy, libertarians might be smarter than most. A sound society does let its children imitate the adults in one key area: business. Whether this business is selling lemonade from a front-yard stand, or offering lawn-and-garden services to his neighbors for a fee, a libertarian would have no problem with this. Nor would a conservative, so long as the child is doing something that he or she has already safely done at home. But a liberal won’t allow this. A liberal wants to entitle a perfect stranger to sell lawn-and-garden services, usually for a higher fee, without having the neighbor’s boy (or girl) compete with that service. The same seems to hold for selling lemonade, though that is even harder to justify. This makes both conservatives and libertarians smarter than liberals. They are smart enough to know that some entitlements have no justification, but only excuses.

Summing up

Are libertarians smarter? In some areas, yes. In others, no. But conservatives are smart to engage libertarians in a debate on how a society ought to run. Liberals haven’t done very well. Libertarians and conservatives might each be able to teach the other something. (1 image)

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#1. To: Deckard (#0)

… are libertarians smarter than anyone else?

They sure as hell think they are

And do everything in their power to make everyone believe they are.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   14:36:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Gatlin (#1)

Purely abstract intelligence might track higher with libertarianism. That makes libertarians smarter than liberals or conservatives on that scale

A smart person (unless he hungers for power) wants to be free, either to make a living or to associate (or not) with anyone he pleases.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   14:42:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Deckard (#0)

Libertarians and conservatives might each be able to teach the other something.
That’s a really funny line.

For indeed, it is only a great misconception to think that libertarians can learn anything from conservatives – Since libertarians think they know it all anyway.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   14:44:06 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: Deckard (#2)

Purely abstract intelligence might track higher with libertarianism. That makes libertarians smarter than liberals or conservatives on that scale
You really should give attribution.

Since you did not – Here, let me do it for you:
https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2012/02/23/editorial/talk/libertarian s-smarter/

Getting desperate, aren’t you – It shows.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   14:52:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: Deckard (#0)


The square political leanings grid, from OnTheIssues.org.

If libertarians were smarter than everyone else, they would have dumped this crappy grid many years ago.

It has far less persuasive power than a Jack Chick tract. Or a state lottery commercial. And they thrust it at you constantly, like you will eventually succumb to the awesome power of a simplistic political Venn diagram. It's just been done to death.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   14:55:36 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Deckard (#0)

But in matters of pure economic policy, libertarians might be smarter than most.
Deckard –

As a proponent of libertarianism who is well versed in the actions libertarians have taken - Can you please list for me 10 sound economic policies the libertarians have placed in effect that are successful.

If you need some time – I can check back later.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   15:00:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: Tooconservative, Deckard (#5)

Now, that’s funny – I don’t care who you are.

Admit that it is – Deckard.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   15:03:53 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#8. To: Tooconservative (#5)


The square political leanings grid, from OnTheIssues.org.

If libertarians were smarter than everyone else, they would have dumped this crappy grid many years ago.

Yeah I agree there. The version I took asked only 20 questions and was from at least 8 or 9 years ago - society has changed dramatically in those years.

It's impossible to determine one's beliefs with just that few.

The questions didn't really cover a lot of the political issues of the day.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   15:09:45 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: Deckard (#8) (Edited)

I think libertarians really need some new sales brochures.

I think they have drifted politically somewhat from Murray Rothbard back in the Nineties to the ideas of Hans-Herman Hoppe at present.

You do need energetic thought leaders to write, to persuade. The libertarians aren't producing enough of these to begin with and some of the best prospects get co-opted into the Kochtopus libertarianish propaganda mills. The Kochs are, ironically, the greatest impediment to the advancement of libertarianism. And it is no accident, of course.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   15:18:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#10. To: Tooconservative (#9)

I think libertarians really need some new sales brochures.

They did have some pretty good response to the Ron Paul Revolution Campaign.

Alternate text if image doesn't load

Even though Congressman Paul ran as a Republican, I think this marketing strategy did much to recruit a new crop of libertarians to the cause of freedom.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   15:29:00 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#11. To: Deckard (#10)

Even though Congressman Paul ran as a Republican, I think this marketing strategy did much to recruit a new crop of libertarians to the cause of freedom.

But it hasn't accomplished much lately.

It may be that RP's podcasts, Rand's Senate speeches and amendments, Rockwell's Von Mises Institute will bring forth the leaders the libertarians need to achieve meaningful victories in elections. So far, it's missed the mark considerably.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   15:43:20 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#12. To: All (#6)

But in matters of pure economic policy, libertarians might be smarter than most.

Deckard – As a proponent of libertarianism who is well versed in the actions libertarians have taken -
Can you please list for me 10 sound economic policies the libertarians have placed in effect that are successful.

...9...?

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   15:45:54 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#13. To: Tooconservative (#11)

It may be that RP's podcasts, Rand's Senate speeches and amendments, Rockwell's Von Mises Institute will bring forth the leaders the libertarians need to achieve meaningful victories in elections. So far, it's missed the mark considerably.

All of that is meaningless without a charismatic libertarian candidate who can rally supporters like Ron did.

I'd like to see Rand run eventually, preferably as a Libertarian.

Justin Amash would be a good running mate. He has already exited the Republican Party.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   15:50:16 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#14. To: Deckard (#13)

I'd like to see Rand run eventually, preferably as a Libertarian.

Justin Amash would be a good running mate. He has already exited the Republican Party.

Amash is a loser. He is a supporter of terrorists entering the country. He went to court on behalf of terrorist sponsoring states having access to bring their people here. He lost thank God.

Rand Paul isn't stupid enough to pick Amash or run as a libertarian. You'll have to vote R.

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-10   16:06:41 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#15. To: Gatlin (#12)

Can you please list for me 10 sound economic policies the libertarians have placed in effect that are successful.

There are no libertarians currently holding office in either the house or the senate. But you knew that already.

Ironically, Trump has made some surprisingly libertarian moves.

Trump Administration Pushes to Deregulate With Less Enforcement

At the Environmental Protection Agency, where staffing has fallen to Reagan-era levels, there were 10,600 inspections last fiscal year, down from nearly 21,300 at the height of President Obama’s second term, and less than 60% of the annual average since 2001. Civil penalties and criminal prosecutions have hit the lowest levels in decades.

Steve Forbes: Trump deregulation boosting our economy – Here’s one example

Two big things have been propelling the U.S. economy forward in impressive fashion: the 2017 Trump tax cuts and the president’s relentless drive to reduce unnecessary regulations, which are another form of taxation.

One example of the president delivering his deregulation promise came in late May when the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration abandoned a costly regulatory proposal issued by President Barack Obama.

Deregulation explodes under Trump, 13 regulations killed for every new one, $33B saved

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   16:14:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#16. To: A K A Stone (#14)

Amash is a loser. He is a supporter of terrorists entering the country. He went to court on behalf of terrorist sponsoring states having access to bring their people here.

MYTH: Smith-Amash incentivizes suspected terrorists to come to U.S. ...


https://amash.house.gov/sites/amash.house.gov/files/NDAA%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

You'll have to vote R.

Not a chance.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   16:21:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#17. To: Deckard (#0) (Edited)

SmarTer

Wrong

180 over

higher up The fanTassy pole

Synchronized

WiTh assteroid liberals

Love
boris

If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !

BorisY  posted on  2019-08-10   16:33:03 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#18. To: Deckard (#15)

There are no libertarians currently holding office in either the house or the senate. But you knew that already.
Why do you think that is – that there are no libertarians in Congress?

After all, the United States of America was founded on July 4, 1776 and “libertarian” was first used in 1857 to describe a new set of political positions.

So after all these many years, there is not one single libertarian in Congress.

Doesn’t that tell you something?

Doesn’t that just throw shit in you face?

If not – Then it should.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   16:45:53 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#19. To: Deckard (#15)

Ironically, Trump has made some surprisingly libertarian moves.
Quit groveling.

Your acting obsequiously in order to obtain creditability for libertarianism by invoking Trump’s name is out of character for you.

Pathetic …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   16:51:59 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#20. To: Gatlin (#18)

Doesn’t that just throw shit in you face?

Keep your scatological fetishes to yourself freakshow.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   16:53:05 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#21. To: Deckard (#15)

here are no libertarians currently holding office in either the house or the senate.

No libertarians in Congress. It’s easy to understand why. It’s because you libertarians are categorically rejected since you are metaphysically mad. In not electing libertarians to Congress, the voters have shown that lunacy repels – and especially political lunacy.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   16:59:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#22. To: Gatlin (#19)

Your acting obsequiously in order to obtain creditability for libertarianism by invoking Trump’s name is out of character for you.

Heavens to Betsy - you're claiming that I invoked Trump's name in vain. What's the penalty for that form of blasphemy according to Trump cultists?

Oh, so you deny that Trump's deregulation policies are in essence libertarian.

If you say so Parsons.

Fewer laws, fewer regulations.

Sure sounds libertarian to me and anyone else who isn't obsessively posting spittle-flecked, tiny-fisted emotional tirades against libertarians or anything that remotely smacks of liberty.

Like you for instance.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   17:03:16 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#23. To: Deckard, hondo68, Vicomte13, Gatlin (#13)

All of that is meaningless without a charismatic libertarian candidate who can rally supporters like Ron did.

Sometimes, as with Churchill and a number of other Brit leaders like the Pitts and Disraeli, the time creates the man that history demands. And that seems like mere hindsights of dry historians but I think it really is true that, at times, a particular leader fits the times in which he/she lives. Such a person has the charisma to build confidence that great and unexpected victories can be won, even against a superior foe. Figures like Caesars Julius and Augustus, Constantine, Joan d'Arc, Napoleon, Churchill and others seemed almost to be chosen by history or fate to lead their nation at a crucial juncture. Others, like Hitler, tried to deliberately create that sense of themselves as a fated leader but I think at times a nation can come to see its ambitions and sensibilities uniquely reflected in just one leader who rules virtually by acclaim. At any rate, I think that is how people living at the time in those nations saw these leaders. That guy on the white horse, fulfilling national ambitions and a destiny as a Great Power, striding the earth as the British empire did rather uniquely.

Sometimes, you just can't get voters to vote for your policy alone. You have a better chance if you have the most appealing guy/gal, someone with a story the public connects with. Although he ran as a Republican, Trump is a good example of this. Trump had some deep appeal to a large segment of voters. And that was enough to win against Felonia Milhouse von Pantsuit.

Trump was, in many ways, the heir of the Ron Paul presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2012. Trump had considered running as a Reform Party candidate back in 2000 and in 2004 but decided against it. You still hear echoes of Ross Perot's speeches when Trump makes certain speeches and his actions on tariffs fits very well with both Perot and Ron Paul. And Trump, like Perot, focuses on trying to improve worker wages and employment. You may recall that Trump also flirted with a 2012 GOP run but chickened out on his maiden voyage as a candidate, up at an airport in NH where he apparently ordered his pilot to fly him back to NYC and Trump's first political rally with full press entourage was cancelled by Trump just deciding to fly away with no notice as to why. LOL

However, Ron Paul had demonstrated in 2008 and 2012 that a candidate could get a lot of attention and build a dedicated group of followers who would donate to the campaign if the candidate stood out from the pack of party-approved candidates. And Trump could not have failed to notice that Ron Paul did fairly well overall and had quite a nice little self-promotion machine. So Trump ran in 2016. I saw an interview with a few of his top campaign staff and they had delivered an estimate to Trump that about the best he could hope for in the GOP primary was to capture 12% of the GOP vote, maybe enough to give a speech at the GOP convention. And Trump and Stone were satisfied if they could get that 12%, perhaps hoping to parlay that into a political network that could rival Fox News, maybe with Trump on TV 24 hours a day, telling the world what he thinks of it. So, with the goal of 12% Or Bust, Trump charged into the primary, under attack from the first minutes of the first debates and his support quickly grew. Like cancer it grew. And he saw the structure of the field was weak and that he would win if he stayed aggressive. And that's what he did. The man, the era, the opportunity. You can't separate them.

It really is not a mystery to me at all why Trump likes to play golf with Rand Paul. They're both outsiders to the GOP swamp. Trump teaming up with Rand Paul to ridicule Lindsey Graham's warmongering right to his face on the golf course on a Sunday afternoon about a month back was a good example. Donald hadn't humiliated Lady Lindsey like that since the primary when Donald gave out Lindseys personal flipphone number at a press conference, just to be mean to him. Lindsey had to change his number and finally got a smartphone. It pretty much finished off any chance of Lindsey becoming our first non-binary gender-fluid president. Just think of the money we could save when Lindsey could be both president and his own First Lady, all at the same time!

And, no surprise, Trump is about as popular with the D.C. GOP and Dem establishment as Ron Paul was back in the day.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   17:04:23 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#24. To: Gatlin (#21)

yada, yada, yada - libertarians are bad, yada, yada, yada.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   17:04:32 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#25. To: A K A Stone (#14)

Amash is a loser.

A rare race with an unusual candidate.

I think Amash has at least 50% chance of beating both the GOP and Dem nominees for his seat.

Quite often, a congressman, like Bob Dornan or Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter Senior (or Ron Paul), manages to get established with the voters after a few elections and they can hang on to public office through some very tough times. The voters can be surprisingly loyal in some districts to independent candidates.

Justin Amash doesn't have to win an election in your district. And you don't get to vote in his district. And that is part of the design of the Founders in creating the Congress.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   17:09:46 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#26. To: Tooconservative (#23) (Edited)

Sometimes, you just can't get voters to vote for your policy alone. You have a better chance if you have the most appealing guy/gal, someone with a story the public connects with. Although he ran as a Republican, Trump is a good example of this. Trump had some deep appeal to a large segment of voters.

I disagree - it WAS Trump's policies that got Trump elected. Voters ignored the womanizing, the "grab 'em by the pussy" comments, whoremongering, marital infidelity and all of the negatives simply because he was "not as bad as" the alternative.

It really is not a mystery to me at all why Trump likes to play golf with Rand Paul. They're both outsiders to the GOP swamp. Trump teaming up with Rand Paul to ridicule Lindsey Graham's warmongering right to his face on the golf course on a Sunday afternoon about a month back was a good example.

Didn't know about the Lady Lindsey "incident", but you're right - The Donald and Rand do seem to share some common ground, with Trump even naming Rand as a special envoy to Iran in diplomatic talks with Iran's top diplomat amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

To me. that shows that Trump is trying his best to avoid getting involved in a military fiasco there.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   17:19:38 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#27. To: Deckard (#22)

Oh, so you deny that Trump's deregulation policies are in essence libertarian.

Trump is TRUMP.

Trump is the opposite of a Libertarian.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   17:21:26 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#28. To: Gatlin (#27)

Fewer laws and regulations are what libertarians wish and hope for.

Trump did that

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   17:24:03 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#29. To: Deckard (#28)

Fewer laws and regulations are what libertarians wish and hope for.

Trump did that

Under Donald Trump, it is: The Passing of the Libertarian Moment.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   17:46:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#30. To: Gatlin (#27)

Trump is the opposite of a Libertarian.

Of course there's no mention at your link concerning Trump's recent libertarian-ish deregulation.

The article does point out some of Trump's more rabidly totalitarian rhetoric however.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   17:50:23 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#31. To: Deckard (#30)

The Trump Administration Is a Libertarian’s Worst Nightmare

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   17:52:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#32. To: Gatlin (#29) (Edited)

The Passing of the Libertarian Moment. (The Atlantic)

Typical Gatlin - using left-leaning websites to bolster his non-existent claims.

At least you aren't posting links to Commie rags like you have done a few times in the past.

The Trump Administration Is a Libertarian’s Worst Nightmare

Although The Daily Beast maintains that they are “Independent,” their reporting has grown increasingly partisan. During the 2016 presidential election, AllSides started to note the shift, but waited to see if it was just a momentary phase. However, a year after the election of President Trump, the Daily Beast's articles are still heavily biased.

The results of a May 2017 AllSides blind bias survey placed The Daily Beast's media bias as Far Left. We followed up on these results by conducting an Editorial Review. Our team found that the media bias of The Daily Beast's articles, headlines and images all fall under the Far Left rating.

It’s unexpected to see a source's media bias jump so far in one update and in such a short period — this marks the first time this has happened with any of our media bias ratings.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   17:55:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#33. To: Deckard (#32) (Edited)

Ron Paul: From A Libertarian Viewpoint There Is No Difference Between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

Former Rep. Ron Paul tells CNN why a libertarian cannot endorse Trump's authoritarian approach.

"My biggest beef is, from a libertarian viewpoint, there is absolutely no difference, meaningful difference, between Hillary and Trump. They both support the military industrial complex, the Federal Reserve, deficits, entitlements, invasion of our privacy. And it's super nationalistic populism versus socialism. That is so removed from what we need to be doing. We need to remove ourselves from tyranny," Paul said Monday on CNN.

"From a libertarian viewpoint of limited government there is nothing they are offering that reduces the size and scope of the intrusion of government. Who offers any cuts in spending? Who offers protection of our liberty? Some of the top candidates want to carpet-bomb the world," Paul said.

[…]

ROTFLMAO ...

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   17:57:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#34. To: Gatlin (#33)

"From a libertarian viewpoint of limited government there is nothing they are offering that reduces the size and scope of the intrusion of government. Who offers any cuts in spending? Who offers protection of our liberty? Some of the top candidates want to carpet-bomb the world," Paul said.

Ron Paul: still speaking "truth to power".

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   18:01:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#35. To: Deckard (#34)

Then he is correct in assessment of Trump and Trump is NOT fulfilling the libertarians' wishes and hopes.

Glad you are learning ...

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   18:05:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#36. To: Gatlin (#35)

Then he is correct in assessment of Trump and Trump is NOT fulfilling the libertarians' wishes and hopes.

Not completely, but even a die-hard statist like you can admit that Trumps HAS embraced some libertarian ideas and policies.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-10   18:17:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#37. To: Deckard (#36)

Anarchy - liberTarianism

Is The Train - joy ride

To The concenTraTion camps

Udopians

Love
boris

If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !

BorisY  posted on  2019-08-10   18:38:13 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#38. To: Deckard (#36) (Edited)

... you can admit that Trumps HAS embraced some libertarian ideas and policies.

I can admit reading about the paltry hopes of the libertarian Moment.

Here are the carefully documented false hopes some libertarians originally had about Trump.

You’d expect more from those in the libertarian wing of the GOP, representing, as they claim to do, an unchanging body of principled beliefs about strictly limited government, the universal efficacy of markets, and the holiness of economic and (for some, at least) personal freedom. But after reading a meditation by Lucy Steigerwald about the greater meaning of Congressman Justin Amash’s libertarianish defection from Trump’s party, I can’t help but wonder about the future of any ideological tradition that depends for its vitality on a single House member in a single very unrepresentative district in Michigan.
The libertarian ideological tradition has never had any future.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-10   20:01:18 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#39. To: Deckard (#32) (Edited)

At least you aren't posting links to Commie rags like you have done a few times in the past.

C'mon, don't spoil this.

I like it when Gatlin is approvingly quoting the Daily Worker just so he can post one more thread to bash Ron Paul.

I keep hoping he'll unearth the story about the POW pilot in Vietnam who hated Ron Paul with every fiber of his being but who died at the hands of the Viet Cong but who managed to get his buddy to smuggle his watch out by keeping it concealed internally on his person for years until his eventual release from a POW camp and then finally giving the watch to the dead hero's young son back in America with a stirring patriotic lecture about duty and sacrifice. Kind of like a scene from the movie Pulp Fiction.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   21:01:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#40. To: Gatlin (#38)

The libertarian ideological tradition has never had any future.

Aren't you like 90 years old? How can you write something like that?

Obviously, Ron Paul has had a far more successful life than you have and he is, even in retirement as a House member, beloved to millions of Americans.

Face it, Ron Paul is America's sweetheart. And they've never heard of you.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-10   21:06:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#41. To: BorisY (#37)

I love you, Boris.

WWG1WWA  posted on  2019-08-11   7:56:43 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#42. To: Tooconservative (#40)

Aren't you like 90 years old?
No.
How can you write something like that?
Facts have always had an easy way with me.
Obviously, Ron Paul has had a far more successful life than you have …
By whose standard and how is that alleged “success” measured?

Some folks have a tendency to measure success using a comparison to others. But in doing that, their social comparison bias is a cognitive bias that skews their judgment. And some folks say that success should be measured in a way that informs you how to spend your time and effort. For if you measure success in any other way than in terms of what’s truly important to you – then you can’t work towards getting there. And remember to always focus on things that are within your control.

… and he is, even in retirement as a House member, beloved to millions of Americans …
Yes, where roughly four out of five Americans disapproves of Congress’ job performance. Twenty five percent approval should never be classified that as “beloved.”
Face it, Ron Paul is America's sweetheart -
You’re America’s sweetheart’s political career was a failure measured by having succeed in passing on one bill during all his many years in Congress and culminating with his2012 presidential campaign [being] a Disaster.

Your “baiting” post was not so subtle. With that in mind, you must remember that in dealing with me – you are not dealing with Deckard. Since I had spare time – you gave me something to do.

Catch you later …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   12:37:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#43. To: Gatlin, Deckard (#1)

They (libertarians) sure as hell think they are (smarter than anyone else?)

We don't "hang-out" on chit-chat channels as you (gatlin) demonstrate on a daily basis. Instead, we form business(es) around the planet making money to ensure our well being into the future.

buckeroo  posted on  2019-08-11   13:23:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#44. To: Gatlin (#42)

You’re America’s sweetheart’s political career was a failure measured by having succeed in passing on one bill during all his many years in Congress and culminating with his2012 presidential campaign [being] a Disaster.

He did get Rand interested in politics and retired after Rand got much more power in the Senate than Ron had ever had in the House.

Keep in mind, Ron Paul never wanted to run for prez in 2008 or in 2012. Everyone just kept nudging him to do it (except his wife) until he did. Ron Paul and his good buddy, Murray Rothbard, had always expected that success in electing libertarians to public office widely could only occur in the mid-2020s when the Millennial generation started to become more decisive in election outcomes. A lot of people pledged a considerable amount of money just to get RP to announce he was running. And RP pioneered the use of online money bombs where RP would just get a fresh $5 million or $7 million for his campaign in the early primary states.

Yes, Ron Paul is definitely a beloved politician even in retirement. A lot more so than losers like Dick Cheney or Bush Junior.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-11   13:43:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#45. To: buckeroo (#43)

They (libertarians) sure as hell think they are (smarter than anyone else?) We don't "hang-out" on chit-chat channels as you (gatlin) demonstrate on a daily basis. Instead, we form business(es) around the planet making money to ensure our well being into the future.
That’s nice.

But the discussions I have been involved in had nothing to do with “forming businesses or making money” – it had everything to do with discussing libertarian politics.

Therefore, while staying on topic – tell me, please, has there ever been a successful libertarian government? And why not?

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   14:46:19 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#46. To: Tooconservative (#44)

He did get Rand interested in politics and retired after Rand got much more power in the Senate than Ron had ever had in the House.
And how has that worked out?

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   14:56:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#47. To: Tooconservative (#44)

Yes, Ron Paul is definitely a beloved politician even in retirement. A lot more so than losers like Dick Cheney or Bush Junior.
“Beloved” – Yea.

Ron Paul Knew All About His “Beloved” Racist Newsletters.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   15:00:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#48. To: Gatlin (#46)

And how has that worked out?

Rand is relatively young with a national name. It isn't that hard to imagine him running for prez in 2024 or 2028 or 2032. So we don't know if Ron Paul will finally conquer America via his progeny for many years yet.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-11   15:21:03 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#49. To: Tooconservative (#48)

After Trump reitres in 2029 Rand should be President. Rand 2028

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-11   15:25:45 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#50. To: Gatlin (#47)

Ron Paul Knew All About His “Beloved” Racist Newsletters.

Yes, he did know all about them since he wrote them and distributed them for free without any copyright claim as a service to constituents. Lots of those tiny town papers didn't have much content available so a free regular article from the congressman was good for them, good for him. Later on, various websites and a few antisemitic took advantage of the copyright disclaimer found on RP's newsletters and they published his articles as well.

I recall that there was a stink over some antisemite newsletter that used to use his columns. I can't recall if RP denounced them or not. But he did refuse to stop them or anyone else from publishing his free newsletters just as he had always allowed any publisher to do.

Ron Paul, like Donald Trump, may have gone on Alex Jones a time or two but he did not willingly associate with antisemitic publishers. And it was never for their benefit that he started issuing his congressional newsletters to the public copyright-free.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-11   15:26:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#51. To: A K A Stone (#49)

After Trump reitres in 2029 Rand should be President. Rand 2028

Stranger things have happened. Like Donald Trump getting elected.

Never say never.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-11   15:56:34 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#52. To: Tooconservative (#50)

Ron Paul Knew All About His “Beloved” Racist Newsletters.

Yes, he did know all about them since he wrote them and distributed them for free without any copyright claim as a service to constituents.

Some of Gatlin's posts lately seem to coming from a leftist, self-hating-white SJW.

His attempts to diaparage those he hates with the "racist" moniker are getting more obvious.

Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

Deckard  posted on  2019-08-11   18:39:07 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#53. To: Deckard (#52)

Some of Gatlin's posts lately seem to coming from a leftist, self-hating-white SJW.
There you go again, making shit up.

George F. Will, a conservative American political columnist, wrote: "[White guilt is] a form of self-congratulation, where whites initiate 'compassionate policies' toward people of color, to showcase their innocence to racism."

And – White guilt has been described as one of the psychosocial costs of racism for white individuals along with empathy (sadness and anger) for victims of racism and fear of non-whites.

For you to say that I as a white person have guilt for harm resulting from racist treatment of ethnic minorities by other white people is a ridiculous fabrication. You have seen no such thing in my posts. This is just a term you read someplace that you now maliciously, carelessly and inappropriately try to apply it against me. That will not work – it never will.

The information for my posts is coming from sources, none of which can be classified by white guilt.

As an example – The article from July last year posted below was published in Jewish Telegraphic Agency. And oh, these articles and my posts seem to greatly bother you as a libertarian. Why is that?

The article -

(JTA) — Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul tweeted and then deleted a racist and anti-Semitic cartoon that he said was meant to explain “cultural Marxism.”

The cartoon shows four caricatures of different ethnicities – including a Jewish man with a hooked nose, a black man with exaggerated lips, an Asian man with slanted eyes and a man who looks like a Neanderthal – punching a cartoon of Uncle Sam with a shared red fist emblazoned with a hammer and sickle. The four men are shouting “Cultural Marxism.”

 

The beginning of the tweet reads “Are you stunned by what has become of American culture?

“Are you confused as to how every moral principle could be turned on its head so quickly?

“Well, it’s not an accident.

“You’ve probably heard of ‘Cultural Marxism,’ but do you know what it means?”

Though Paul deleted the image, it had already been saved by several social media users as a screenshot.

Paul, a former congressman from Texas, later tweeted and posted on Facebook the same rant against cultural Marxism but replaced the cartoon with the words “Political Correctness” overlaid with the “no” symbol, a red circle with a line through it.

The term Cultural Marxism has become a racist dog whistle claiming that the flood of nonwhite immigrants into America and Europe is causing a cultural decline.

The racist cartoon was created by doctoring an anti-imperialism, pro- communism cartoon by superimposing the racist and anti-Semitic images.

Paul was roundly criticized on social media for the image. Some draw parallels between the image and Nazi propaganda, according to The Hill.

In 2011, reporters exposed racist newsletters that had been sent out in Ron Paul’s name in the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as Ron Paul’s Political Report, Ron Paul’s Freedom Report, the Ron Paul Survival Report and the Ron Paul Investment Letter. The newsletters also had come to light during the 2008 campaign, when Paul said that he didn’t actually write the newsletters and they did not represent his views, but because they carried his name he was morally responsible for their content.

Source: https://www.jta.org/2018/07/02/united-states/ron-paul-former-presidential- candidate-tweets-racist-anti-semitic-cartoon

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   20:54:35 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#54. To: Deckard, Gatlin, Tooconservative (#52)

I've heard about these "racist" newsletters before. What did he write that was deemed "racist"?

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-11   21:16:38 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#55. To: Gatlin (#53)

I like Ron Pauls graphic you posted. It isn't racist.

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-11   21:19:35 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#56. To: WWG1WWA (#41)

The famous owk

I Told him on The fr

TwenTy years ago

GlibTarians

Trivia freaks

RealiTy losers

Love
boris

If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !

BorisY  posted on  2019-08-11   21:37:55 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#57. To: A K A Stone (#54)

I've heard about these "racist" newsletters before. What did he write that was deemed "racist"?

Maybe this will shed some light on what you asked ...

Ron Paul’s Racist, Homophobic Newsletters Gain New Life On Twitter"

It is but one source. There are many others if you care to look them up.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   21:53:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#58. To: A K A Stone (#55)

I like Ron Pauls graphic you posted.
Exactly whqt it It you like about seeing “images of a black man, a Latino, an Asian and a Jew punching Uncle Sam?”
It isn't racist.
Many others thought it was because It depicted cultural offensive images of a black man, a Latino, an Asian and a Jew punching Uncle Sam with a single red fist as they shout: “Cultural Marxism!”

And obviously Ron Paul also thought it was wrong since: Ron Paul Blames Shockingly Racist, Anti-Semitic Tweet On Staffer

Ron Paul replaced the post with the same attack on “cultural Marxism” but dropped the offensive cartoon.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-11   22:14:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#59. To: Gatlin (#58)

Exactly whqt it It you like about seeing “images of a black man, a Latino, an Asian and a Jew punching Uncle Sam?”

Well, it does sound like a remarkably accurate depiction of Facebook, Google and Twitter.

If these organizations and other want to band blacks, Latinos, Asians and Jews to beat up white people, then isn't that just another flavor of racism, just not the white flavor?

This is why that cartoon offends the Lefties and Silicon Valley so much. It is because it is accurate, not because it is racist.

BTW, that cartoon was something drawn by a Latino cartoonist but someone on 4chan (I think) edited it up with the minorities' faces. You can see the Uncle Sam is a more modern style and the four minorities are caricatures from mid-20th century. It looks wrong because it's a provocative 4chan/8chan fake meme.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   0:26:16 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#60. To: Deckard (#0)

"Many theorists, from Rand to Rothbard"

I am not sure if they are smarter, but they take bath less frequently. My sense of smell tells me that.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   2:25:38 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#61. To: A Pole (#60)

I am not sure if they are smarter, but they take bath less frequently. My sense of smell tells me that.

You sniff a lot of libertarians?

Rand died in 1982, Rothbard in the mid-Nineties. So you haven't sniffed those two in quite some time.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   2:58:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#62. To: Tooconservative (#61) (Edited)

You sniff a lot of libertarians?

I worked with two (in IT, they were quite competent), and I had a neighbor next flat (he was a biochemist). They all smelled from a distance.

Also I read that Ayn Rand was not so great about her personal hygiene.

Perhaps as greater and smarter individuals, they were above petty customs and rules. ;)

"Objectivism taught that intellectual parity is the sole legitimate basis for romantic or sexual attraction. Coincidentally enough, this doctrine cleared the way for Rand—a woman possessed of looks that could be charitably described as unusual, along with abysmal personal hygiene and grooming habits—to seduce young men in her orbit."

newrepublic.com/article/69239/wealthcare-0

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   4:29:47 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#63. To: A Pole, Vicomte13 (#62)

I worked with two (in IT, they were quite competent), and I had a neighbor next flat (he was a biochemist). They all smelled from a distance.

Maybe you just have a sensitive nose. Or they were single or lived with someone who had gone nose-blind to their body odor or they themselves had a poor sense of smell.

I recall reading articles about the Hollyweird elite, that many of them are accused of non-bathing. One of the more notorious is Johnny Depp and his wife. Supposedly they can go weeks without bathing, co-stars begging him to take a shower because he stand so much on those Pirates movies. This info was found on a lot of websites. If it was libel, it was major libel. They also included his wife in the stinker category.

I'm not sure why everyone always seems to believe that we all have exactly the same identical abilities to hear, see, smell, sense, etc. I know that I, for instance, don't have a strong sense of smell but I have exceptional hearing and always did. My skin is very sensitive to infrared heat. I know everyone is but my heat sensitivity is almost like a radar. I know that most people don't have that.

I have a friend who has an almost frightening sense of smell. He knows when women are menstruating, up to a block away if there's a breeze. He has a super nose. To me, it doesn't sound like much fun. I always thought being a dog would suck because then you'd know just how bad the world smells.

There is also a thing in recent years where some people are abandoning soaps and antiperspirants altogether. Including some doctors and science types.

I Stopped Using Soap & Shampoo Six Months ago. Why you Should too.

And it isn't unheard of here among LFers. Vicomte told us he gave up using these products years ago (unless he gets really dirty, like car grease kind of dirty). Maybe he wants to chime in. He was very early on this trend which is now becoming almost a movement. The No-Poo people who avoid shampoo has been around for a while now but the No-Soap and No-Antiperspirant movement are still growing. You'd be surprised how many videos you can find on this at YouBoob, how to transition to bathing with water only, how long until your body adjusts. It's familiar material for anyone who recalls Vic's posts on the subject, going back to several years before LP closed up. He's never gone back to using soaps or shampoos, thinks they're bad for his skin. Some people say their skin gets more oily and subject to blemishes using soap because it scrubs away natural oils which makes the skin go nuts trying to produce more oil, making the skin more oily than ever and subject to blemishes or even real acne. Supposedly it takes a little longer to get your hair to adjust to no-poo than it takes for your skin to adjust to no-soap. Apparently it does take weeks to get your body to adjust to no-antiperspirant but they claim their body odor is less once they get away from antiperspirant. They don't claim to 100% odor-free but they think they smell less without antiperspirant than they do if they use it, especially on a daily basis.

I know that I have curtailed my own use. I will use a little antiperspirant if I'm going out, especially in summer. Otherwise, I really try to avoid it. I try to avoid really soaping up my body and have a very lightweight liquid soap with tiny abrasive particles (Men's Dove) which I use a half-dozen drops on a loofah to scrub with. I am a lot more gentle about scrubbing my face and try to avoid using soap since I think it does make my skin more dry which then makes my skin more oily as a result of my skin trying to cope. And your skin producing more oil means more chances for blocked pores, leading to blemishing (even tiny blemishes you can barely even see).

Most of the no-soap/no-poo/no-antiperspirant types are very rigorous about daily showers with water. They claim that, other than sweating in warm weather, they have no problems and feel and look better. They say they like their hair and skin better or that they've solved some longstanding problems caused by using these products or at least overusing them. Look at YouTube, you'll find a lot of videos on this topic. And it is a lot harder to make money on YouTube selling people on the idea of using no products than it is to monetize videos by recommending the latest and greatest brand-name products. Yet the no-soaps movement just keeps growing.

Maybe these stinky libertarians that you know just aren't diligent enough with their daily shower routines. Or they're trying to get away from soaps and haven't mastered their routine yet.

I notice you don't mention liberals or conservatives or communists or fascists who smell bad to you. Are you saying that only libertarians smell bad? Are you saying that every libertarian you have known smells bad?

BTW, how do you know that you don't stink to (some) other people? Are you that sure that you don't?

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   6:18:02 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#64. To: A Pole (#62)

You sniff a lot of libertarians?
I worked with two (in IT, they were quite competent), and I had a neighbor next flat (he was a biochemist). They all smelled from a distance.
Also I read that Ayn Rand was not so great about her personal hygiene.
You are definitely onto something about libertarians in your assessment, but it is nothing new about them.

The problem of libertarians having strong body odor [“stinking”] appears to be a fairly common one.

So much so that libertarian Lee McKitrick felt the problem with libertarians’ body odor needed to be addressed.

Christopher did that when he addressed the problem of their body odor to fellow libertarians in his article: Libertarians Just Aren’t Cool, Deal With It..

Here is an excerpt from the article where he is instructs fellow libertarians to “please bathe.”

“As libertarians we must realize that our message is not mainstream yet, and therefore each of us is an ambassador when marketing it. Being an ambassador comes with a certain amount of personal responsibility to be self aware so that you do not completely disenfranchise someone you are engaging with. No one wants to be around a person who causes them discomfort, whether that is because they are a socially awkward basement dweller, a loud obnoxious internet troll, lack personal hygiene, or just generally unaware of normal human behavior.”

[…]

“Your personal hygiene matters as well. If I can smell your body odor when you are talking to me, it’s an issue. Please bathe. Dousing yourself with half a can of Axe body spray does not count as bathing."

Phew – What a disgustingly unpleasant smell that libertarian body odor must be. I can just imagine your disgust.

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   7:13:54 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#65. To: Gatlin (#58)

Exactly whqt it It you like about seeing “images of a black man, a Latino, an Asian and a Jew punching Uncle Sam?”

Because it accurately shows what foreigners are doing to our country.

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-12   7:23:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#66. To: Gatlin (#57)

Ron Paul’s Racist, Homophobic Newsletters Gain New Life On Twitter"

Homophobe is a word faggots use to put down people who know right from wrong.

Why do you use faggot terms. I mean you're not gay. Why are you siding with the degenerate weirdos using a made up term to go after Ron Paul.

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-12   7:28:00 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#67. To: A K A Stone (#66)

[The title of an article] - Ron Paul’s Racist, Homophobic Newsletters Gain New Life On Twitter.

Homophobe is a word faggots use to put down people who know right from wrong.

Why do you use faggot terms.

Stone, I did not use any faggot terms. I never used the word “homophobe.”

Here, let me help straighten this out.

All I was did was give a direct answer to you when you asked:

I've heard about these "racist" newsletters before. What did he write that was deemed "racist"?
Okay, you asked “what.”

And I answered:

Maybe this will shed some light on what you asked - then supplied you a link titled: “Ron Paul’s Racist, Homophobic Newsletters Gain New Life On Twitter."
I did not use the word “homophobe.”

I merely supplied you with “a link containing the word” as an answer to your question.

Are we now clear on this?

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   8:07:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#68. To: Tooconservative (#63)

I notice you don't mention liberals or conservatives or communists or fascists who smell bad to you

Indeed, I do not. All I knew did not stink. Only other group that often stinks, are the French, but not all of them ;)

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   8:50:40 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#69. To: A K A Stone (#66)

Why are you siding with the degenerate weirdos using a made up term to go after Ron Paul.
I side with no one and no group. I have my own reasons and I often express them freely, whether I am asked to or not.

But since you asked – and thank you for doing so – I will list my many reasons one at a time starting with this one first.

ABORTION: He claims to be pro-life, and says Right to Life is the foundation for all rights in the Constitution. He even says “life does begin at conception.” The truth is that he is really pro-choice on the state level. That is the purpose of his Sanctity of Life Bill.

He is essentially saying it is fine to kill a baby if a state agrees. During the 2008 campaign every GOP candidate had a zero rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, except Ron Paul. He received a 65% score in 2006, 75% in 2005 and 65% in 2004.

NARAL Pro-Choice America is an organization in the United States that engages in political action and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion and expand access to abortion.

Here you have a organization that wants to kill unborn babies – and engages in political action and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion and expand access to abortion – that strongly supports Ron Paul.

Why do you think that is, Stone?

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   9:28:59 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#70. To: Tooconservative (#63)

And it isn't unheard of here among LFers. Vicomte told us he gave up using these products years ago (unless he gets really dirty, like car grease kind of dirty). Maybe he wants to chime in. He was very early on this trend which is now becoming almost a movement. The No-Poo people who avoid shampoo has been around for a while now but the No-Soap and No-Antiperspirant movement are still growing. You'd be surprised how many videos you can find on this at YouBoob, how to transition to bathing with water only, how long until your body adjusts. It's familiar material for anyone who recalls Vic's posts on the subject, going back to several years before LP closed up. He's never gone back to using soaps or shampoos, thinks they're bad for his skin.

It is true. It must be 5 or 6 years ago now that I did the first of two 40 day water fasts. One was in the summer. the other, the following Lent.

At some point in the first fast, when I had had no food in me for quite awhile, and nothing but water in my system to dilute the impact of things, I noticed that the tap water tasted very strongly of the chlorine they put in it, and it started to disgree with me, so I switched to bottled water, and gradually found myself only able to drink Poland Spring, Evian and Distilled water, because everything else had an aftertaste or too much of some mineral or chemical to bear.

About the same time, I noticed that toothpaste was just overwhelming - made me sick to use it, and that shampoo and soap would hit me like a bad drug, so I stopped using those, and just took longer showers, scraping all of my skin and my scalp with my fingernails. My hair got really greasy for a few weeks, as the oils were no longer being stripped off daily by the shampoo, but eventually my scalp adjusted and stopped pouring out the oil, and the dandruff stopped, and I found myself just pulling the oil through my hair.

It stopped smelling, and my hair became noticeably softer and nicer.

The lady barber who always cuts my hair asked me what the new products I was using, because my hair was so much softer and healthier looking. I told her "nothing". Just a long daily shower and running my fingernails through my hair and all along my scalp, sort of scratching it (it doesn't itch).

I never went back to any hygeine products at all, except for toothpaste. Once I was eating food again I needed that. But no shampoo, no soap - though I'll wash with soap if I get greasy somehow, and I do wash my hands with soap if they get into nasty things - no deodorant or anti-perspirant - no powders or gels or anything.

There is one standby medicine when I don't feel good: aspirin (not tylenol, not acetominophin, not ibuprofen: aspirin), water and go to bed. Sleep seems to fix everything.

I generally do not smell at all, except in four circumstances:

(1) If I've been sweating a lot and am wearing polyester. Polyester really stinks after being moist with human sweat. Other clothes sweated in get a funky, mushroomy smell.

(2) If I wear the same clothes a couple of days in a row.

(3) If I don't eat enough carbohydrates and go into ketosis. Then I smell like acetone (printer toner).

(4) If I eat garlic, I smell like strong; if I eat a lot of dairy I smell sour and pass a lot of gas; if I eat a lot of meat, I get an acidic smell.

Oh, and I never did floss - and never have had a cavity either.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   9:47:11 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#71. To: Gatlin (#69)

During the 2008 campaign every GOP candidate had a zero rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, except Ron Paul.

I like Ron Paul very much. I hope that he takes bath ;)

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   9:49:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#72. To: A Pole (#68)

I'm French.

There is a strong odor in France on public transport on hot summer days, but it's obvious why.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   9:50:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#73. To: Vicomte13 (#70)

I noticed that the tap water tasted very strongly of the chlorine they put in it, and it started to disgree with me, so I switched to bottled water, and gradually found myself only able to drink Poland Spring, Evian and Distilled water, because everything else had an aftertaste or too much of some mineral or chemical to bear.

I recommend you a filter with activated charcoal. Should trap every active substance, not minerals.

Bottled water often is just filtered, you can do it better at home, just remember to change filters as in the instruction.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   9:53:13 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#74. To: Vicomte13 (#72) (Edited)

There is a strong odor in France on public transport on hot summer days, but it's obvious why.

They are libertarians? Or is it garlic?

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   9:54:04 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#75. To: A Pole, Vicomte13 (#68)

Even people who don't use soap or shampoo (or antiperspirant outside the hottest summer days) should not have a B.O. problem unless they have illness or disease. As long as they rinse and scrub with water every day or, at most, every other day.

Obviously, people who are plumbing or auto mechanics or laborers are in a different category and may need more soap to get clean because of oil and dirt. But your average office worker or retail worker really doesn't get sweaty enough to actually have B.O. if they shower with water daily.

I see some of the no-soap-shampoo-deodorant people are now also recommending cold showers year-round. I think that is a fad that is going to be slow to take off. Most people don't like cold showers, maybe cool showers in the heat of summer so you don't get out of the shower sweating. I try to shower cooler but it is hard to avoid turning up the temperature. I think some people can take cool or cold showers and be more comfortable with it than most others; having a layer of fat would help insulate your body core. And cold water does help to close up pores which is probably a positive because then your pores aren't just hanging there open and your skin will have a smoother look. A hot shower will open pores, a cold shower will close them. Possibly it might be worth trying a hot shower but ending with a rinse of a minute or two with cool or cold water.

Some people say cold showers promotes weight loss but I think you'd have to use a lot of water to induce fat cell dislocation in subcutaneous fat under the skin so it can be eliminated by the liver. For that to work, you also have to control your diet. Some people say the spot reduction with cold helps them shed extra pounds in the problem area of belly/buttocks/thighs. They have salon treatments for this and people also use cheap cold packs for 20-30 minutes. But you'd have to take very long cold showers for it to really get your skin and outer tissue cold enough to induce fat loss. If you used enough cold water running over your body to drop, say, your belly's temperature to 40-45°F and kept it that cold for 20 minutes, then you would definitely induce some fat cell conversion due to cold. Over the next week or so, your liver would be eliminating those fat cells from your body as long as you were careful with diet. NASA did comprehensive studies verifying weight loss in astronauts due to chilling the body back in the Sixties. So maybe cold showers could help you lose some extra pounds. But I think you'd have to take showers with very cold water for 20-30 minutes. And you'd still have to restrict your diet to avoid packing pounds back on.

Maybe no-soap-shampoo-deodorant and cold showers is just the latest fad for people to make themselves miserable with crap that they read on teh interwebs.     : )

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   9:54:44 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#76. To: A K A Stone (#65) (Edited)

Exactly whqt it It you like about seeing “images of a black man, a Latino, an Asian and a Jew punching Uncle Sam?”

Because it accurately shows what foreigners are doing to our country.

Nowhere does the cartoon make any reference to the citizenship of the four caricatures of different ethnicities depicted there.

Yet you automatically and instantly look upon the images of a black man, a Latino, an Asian and a Jew as being “foreigners.”

Tell me – please – why did you do that, make such an assumption?

Think about it for a minute or so …

Now, tell me – please – do you look upon everyone of different ethnicity than yours and classify them as being a “foreigner?”

Then give me – please – your definition of “racism.”

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   9:58:32 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#77. To: Tooconservative (#63)

Most of the no-soap/no-poo/no-antiperspirant types are very rigorous about daily showers with water.

Aren't all normal people "rigorous" about taking daily showers with water, at least? Who can even wake up in the morning without showering?

Wake up, drag self to bathroom. Sit down. Pee. Poo. Turn on shower, brush teeth while it gets hot, get into shower, and wash from nose to tail with water, hands and nails. Shave under the running water (no gels or shaving creams, just a disposable razor and the running water to wash the shaved hair away. No need for a mirror. Just feel your face with your hand, and shave anything you missed. Keep going until it's smooth as a baby's behind. Turn off water, dry.

Iron shirt and put on. Iron pants and put on. (Underwear is useless.) Put on belt and cinch it. Put on socks. Slip on loafers (shoes one must tie are a waste of time), go get eggs (with black pepper) and rye toast (with butter) and steamed spinach (with butter), and drink water (with a couple of slices of lemon in it). That is how the day begins for everybody, isn't it?

Who out there DOESN'T shower ever day?

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   9:59:16 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#78. To: Vicomte13 (#70)

(4) If I eat garlic, I smell like strong; if I eat a lot of dairy I smell sour and pass a lot of gas; if I eat a lot of meat, I get an acidic smell.

Something I hadn't mentioned in that previous post to A Pole. These stinky libertarians might be eating certain foods that can affect body odor and the composition of body fluids, affecting their smell and taste.

Our bodies are, after all, just chemical factories.

At some point in the first fast, when I had had no food in me for quite awhile, and nothing but water in my system to dilute the impact of things, I noticed that the tap water tasted very strongly of the chlorine they put in it, and it started to disgree with me, so I switched to bottled water, and gradually found myself only able to drink Poland Spring, Evian and Distilled water, because everything else had an aftertaste or too much of some mineral or chemical to bear.

I fasted (or near-fasted) for over a month a while back. And I have never been a faster at all. I did force myself to eat at least a small meal every several days. I kind of worry about allowing my digestive tract to empty out and stay empty for a long period. I mostly worry about getting a normal digestion to start again afterward. I don't know much about it other than reading some recommendations to restart eating with some olive oil, then after some hours a very easy to digest light meal. Like yogurt. I'm not sure if you ever mentioned exactly how you restarted eating after these (very long) fasts.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   10:05:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#79. To: Vicomte13 (#77)

Who out there DOESN'T shower ever day?

I know. Especially during warm weather. The funk builds up so much faster in summer. In hot weather, two showers a day isn't a bad idea. And some people need it more than others do.

I've read a few articles by doctors who say they don't shower every day in the colder months. It sounds like they do shower every day during hot weather, any time they've perspired.

As for deodorant, do you think the product actually produces armpit stains on clothing from sweat or are those stains left by deodorant use as it is carried out of the armpit by perspiration. Some people say that they don't get sweat stains on their clothing nearly as much if they don't use deodorant. Deodorants - modern aluminum-based ones - essentially try to plug the pores in your underarms so you can't sweat as much so you are blocking your body's attempt to cool itself and to give that part of your skin proper respiration. So do you get sweat stains on the armpits of your summer shirts or has stopping deodorant use left your shirts with fewer sweat stains on them? How long did it take for you to transition from using deodorant before you noticed a reduction in the ranker kind of perspiration that most people seem to get if they stop using modern deodorants. Anyway, I get the impression that many people think they perspire more and stink a little more for 2-3 weeks after they give up deodorant. And most people are now saying that the natural non-aluminum deodorants you can buy in the yuppie boutiques or make for yourself don't work and actually makes them stink of the natural deodorant mixture they use.

I know I'm being nosy but I have the feeling you're not shy on the subject.

You didn't comment on the cold-showers people yet. So are you gung-ho for cold or cool or warm or hot showers? Do you think there are health benefits to cool or cold showers?

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   10:21:43 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#80. To: Deckard (#26)

I didn't ignore anything. I positively voted for Trump because: (!) He promised to make peace with Russia, and (2) He promised a trade war with China.

Geopstrategically, those were - and still are - the two most important policies in the world, because Russia doesn't have to be an enemy, and China has to be stopped (and to stop China, you need Russia).

This is obvious, and these interests supersede every other concern. Trump was the only politicians saying anything like this, and still is. I didn't hold my nose to vote for Trump - he has the clearest strategic vision on both geopolitics and trade as any President since Nixon.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   10:41:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#81. To: A Pole (#73)

I drink the tapwater again. It was during the fast when I could not stand the chemicals, as there was no food in my system to buffer them.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   10:42:26 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#82. To: A Pole (#74)

Garlic, and sweat, and coffee and tobacco and dairy.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   10:43:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#83. To: Tooconservative (#75)

Cold showers are miserable. I'm not into inflicting pain on myself. Warm showers are pleasant. On a really hot day, a cool shower is nice. A cold shower is a method of torturing prisoners.

If one wants to lose weight through the cold. Spend a lot of time in a cool pool. The water is below body temperature, and with immersion, the body has to burn fuel to maintain homeostasis. That will definitely burn up fat even without any other activity.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:01:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#84. To: Vicomte13 (#82)

Garlic, and sweat, and coffee and tobacco and dairy

By dairy you mean good live (unpasteurized) cheese?

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   11:05:52 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#85. To: Tooconservative (#78)

After 40 days of eating no food at all, and no source of calories, just drinking water, in both cases I ate what I was craving as the fast neared its end.

I both cases I boiled up a mess of spinach and collard greens, put butter on them, and ate a bowlful, until I was full (which didn't take long - my stomach was probably the size of a walnut.

I ate those with all meals that day and the next, and they were the main things I wanted to eat. Next thing I wanted was eggs, and sardines. And the toast with the eggs.

Basically, by the second day I ate whatever was served to me. The main thing was filling that body up with greens. Nothing has ever tasted better to me in my life than boiled collard greens and spinach on day 41 of a 40 day water fast.

I suspect that if I ate those every day, I'd never gain weight. Wish I could get someone to cook them for me.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:07:11 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#86. To: Tooconservative (#79)

I sweat a lot. Always did. When I get hot, or I have the sun in my eyes (I'm designed to live on a glacier, not in sunny climes), the sweat starts to pour. Doesn't matter if I'm fat or skinny. Sweat pours on my. So my whole torso - chest, back, pits, plus crotch and ass - everything gets sweaty. When it dies, there's a white residue of salt on my clothes, and if I don't change them, that will make my armpits raw and give me terrible chafing down between my legs. The only way to stop that from happening is to get in a pool or wash off with lots of water, and change into clean dry clothes. Cotton is better than anything else. Synthetic fibers is worst of all, because that not only accumulates the sweat and damp and accelerates the chafing, but also starts to reek.

Cotton is best. Synthetic is worst. Silk doesn't breath. Linen is heavy. Obviously, the BEST thing to do when it's hot is walk around naked, but you can generally only do that at home when the kids aren't around.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:13:31 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#87. To: A Pole (#84)

That looks yummy. Is the cheese on the bottom Epoisses? That was Napoleon's favorite cheese. Honestly it smells like compressed athlete's foot skin soaked in ammonia. But it sure tastes creamy and wonderful once you get it past your nose.

Dairy of all kinds makes you sour. It's the fact and the bacteria and the lactose.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:15:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#88. To: Vicomte13 (#85)

Interesting details on how you broke your fast. Thanks for the info. I'd lean more toward yogurt and then move on to something really easy to digest like cream of wheat. But I am nervous on the subject, having had my peristalsis stop for a week or so several times, back 15-20 years. Not fun and it has made me more nervous about fasting.

I do find that restricting my eating window each day does help. I basically eat anything I want from noon to 6pm. It does help shrink the love handles and small amount of belly fat I have (which, to be honest, other people probably wouldn't even consider fat at all). I am pretty slim so what I think of as a little belly fat wouldn't even register with a lot of people. My belly is, actually, flatter and slimmer than most anyone over 30. It's just my natural metabolic homeostasis, it seems. Some of us do tend toward slimness the way the vast majority tend toward weight gain, especially as we age. I do weigh about 10 pounds more than I did in high school, many years ago. I had about another 10 pounds that was just useless blubber which started as tiny love handles, then I got the navel donut, then they started to join forces to give me a beer belly (I don't drink beer, bad for my kidneys and protein level), then the love handles started to spread behind my back, making my buttocks start to expand northward. After I fasted (not to lose weight deliberately, just really depressed0, I had lost most of that. Now my belly is as flat as it was in my 20s or very close to it. I have an actual 6-pack that most men my age can't imagine. But it's only because they're visible because there's so little fat covering them up. Lots of people have great abs, you know, hiding behind an ugly layer of belly fat.

There is a downside to being thin, especially as you age. I read a fresh study that being low-weight and low body fat actually lowers your longevity. The studies indicate that people of normal weight or even obese people don't die off that much from heart attack or stroke after their mid-sixties. But people with low BMI do die off in much larger numbers than the people of normal weight and more than even obese people. With a height of 6' and a weight of 145, I have a BMI of 19.7. So I'm not underweight but I'm not far from being underweight.

BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

So I'm not underweight by this standard but I'm not at a normal weight which would be more like 170lbs. I can't even imagine weighing 170lbs. So it makes me think about that study showing the slim people don't survive stroke or heart attack as well as the normal weight or obese people.

Most people have the opposite problem, trying to keep weight off, even in their 20s and 30s. So I don't expect much help or sympathy. Most people would love to be able to eat what they want and not gain weight. Or just to have a reasonable diet and not gain weight.

I have decided to stop worrying quite so much about just weight though. It's just a number. So many other things are better to worry about, like cheating on your diet with junk food, getting enough exercise to really improve your health, etc. I'm okay with being slim but I don't want to be skinny-fat with a belly hanging out and unable to look down and see my toes or other valuable parts.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   11:35:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#89. To: Vicomte13, A Pole (#86) (Edited)

I sweat a lot. Always did. When I get hot, or I have the sun in my eyes (I'm designed to live on a glacier, not in sunny climes), the sweat starts to pour.

If I'm hot enough, I sweat heavy like anyone. But I don't sweat as quickly as others do in heat and I don't sweat as much doing the same amount of work.

Probably there's a limit to the value of comparing an ectomorph like me with an endomorph like you. And genetics play a huge role, no doubt. Much of our physical being and potential is dictated from the moment of conception.

There is no assembly line, turning out blank human clones, all identical copies. We all have significant enough differences in heritage that we can't pretend what works for one will work for another. Yet we so often think that there are universal answers.

Even so, I obviously found your remarks on hygiene interesting enough to recall them after this long. And your diet ideas are interesting too though you go further than I would (like fasting more than 5 weeks). I would say that at my weight, trying to fast for 40 days would be reckless. Or your fondness for the more acrid foods like the old Nordic and French cheeses or sardines. I don't doubt they are probably good for you though.

I think we can all agree at least that American cheeses are an abomination. I'm not a huge cheese fan but I think I should be able to buy unpasteurized cheeses. Certainly, with basic food precautions, they are far far safer than buying whole raw milk and drinking it unpasteurized. America needs to allow unpasteurized cheeses. They are not any more dangerous than, say, putting fresh mayonnaise in potato salads during warm weather. And that can make people sick. But only if they are careless about food safety. I'll bet you can find some shocking jars of old crusty mayonnaise in people's refrigerators but it doesn't seem to make anyone sick to allow mayonnaise made with eggs to be sold widely.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   13:24:46 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#90. To: Tooconservative (#89)

America needs to allow unpasteurized cheeses. They are not any more dangerous than, say, putting fresh mayonnaise in potato salads during warm weather. And that can make people sick. But only if they are careless about food safety.

Actually French cheeses have strong and stable flora. They are quite hard to spoil. If you keep them too long they get inedible and not tasty.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   13:34:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#91. To: A Pole (#90) (Edited)

Actually French cheeses have strong and stable flora. They are quite hard to spoil. If you keep them too long they get inedible and not tasty.

I have read that before from various Cheese People. They say you don't need to worry much about it spoiling because you won't enjoy eating it past the best-by date and you'll just throw it out.

And it isn't as though pasteurized cheese lasts forever either. Even that will go bad even if it takes a month or more in the fridge. And I think many cheeses lose their best flavor after a certain amount of time. Some pasteurized cheeses start to get kind of bland and a little rubbery after a few weeks.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   13:42:21 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#92. To: Tooconservative (#91)

They say you don't need to worry much about it spoiling because you won't enjoy eating it past the best-by date and you'll just throw it out.

I know it because once a while I buy live unpasteurized cheese. If you do not eat in time it gets bad taste.

Same with natural unpasteurized fruits or vegetables, if they get spoiled you know it, see and smell.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   15:15:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#93. To: A Pole (#92)

I'm not sure we are allowed any unpasteurized cheeses in America. Even our "brie" is pasteurized or so I've read. I know the only brie I've ever seen says pasteurized. The brie lovers say our "brie" doesn't compare to the real thing.

I have cheese go bad in my fridge if it's been there for some weeks. I can't imagine I'd get sick from unpasteurized cheese once it started to turn bad. The color and smell alone tells you when cheese and milk are past their best-by dates.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   15:46:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#94. To: Tooconservative (#93)

Not to be a wise ass or nothin, but I earned a food handler's card years ago to volunteer & help out on certain projects. I remember learning that lots of pathogens and the toxins they produce are odorless and tasteless.

I had a great restaurant meal a couple of weeks ago: snapper with crusted cheese and spinach on top with a little pasta. Well known kitchen, good staff, nice presentation and all that. Forty five minutes home and an hour later I lost whole thing w/o being too graphic. Probably staph or clostridium. Wouldn't have had a clue til I got sick.

Pretty certain it was the lunch. I only had toast and coffee for breakfast, and I was whole again right after I lost the lunch. You can't rightly tell about those microscopic bugs.

randge  posted on  2019-08-12   16:20:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#95. To: randge (#94)

I remember learning that lots of pathogens and the toxins they produce are odorless and tasteless.

This is the trick. Naturally ripe tasty cheese has its own nice ecosystem that does not leave space for the bad bugs. Artificial nuked food, when invaded gets dangerous.

Same with huge bacterial flora in human guts, it is essential for the host's health. But when purged by strong antibiotics, it might get replaced by some deadly stuff. That is why you always should take good bacterial cultures during and after antibiotic therapy.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   17:03:30 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#96. To: Tooconservative (#89)

I'm not a huge cheese fan but I think I should be able to buy unpasteurized cheeses. Certainly, with basic food precautions, they are far far safer than buying whole raw milk and drinking it unpasteurized. America needs to allow unpasteurized cheeses.

I have a raw milk dairy. Raw milk is legal in Maine and I'm very happy about that. I make all kinds of cheeses (not for sale) and I only trade milk with Christian families (Amish/Mennonite) who would never sue me for any reason!

I have to admit when I am drinking raw milk from another dairy...I am very concerned by how they handled the milk.

Also, if raw milk (unpasteurized) was used to make the cheese, and that milk contained a pathogen, you are probably going to get that pathogen (depending on the pathogen, of course).

I would say this: if you are buying raw milk or unpasteurized cheeses from a known source, like a health food store, you are going to be okay. Raw milk dairies that sell to the public have to meet rigorous guidelines.

There are some really good health benefits to raw milk so if you can locate a reliable source, and depending on your state laws, well, I'd take raw over pasteurized any day.

watchman  posted on  2019-08-12   17:03:47 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#97. To: A Pole (#95)

good bacterial cultures

Along with a good source of C probably the most important supplement you can take.

randge  posted on  2019-08-12   17:16:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#98. To: watchman (#96)

Great posts here.

My aunt used to go down the road for fresh milk which she kept cool and covered with a cloth. She used to skim it for the cream. My dad loved to churn the butter up for her whenever he came for a visit.

Nobody ever got sick from that milk, but that operation has been shut dowm.

I've had milk straight from the cow's udder. None better. I've had warm milk from well tended female camel also. That was I think the best milk I've ever tasted.

randge  posted on  2019-08-12   17:24:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#99. To: A Pole (#95)

This is the trick. Naturally ripe tasty cheese has its own nice ecosystem that does not leave space for the bad bugs. Artificial nuked food, when invaded gets dangerous.

Yes. In some situations, like yogurt, I have to kill off the existing cultures (even the good ones) so that the yogurt cultures can grow without competition. Makes for a thicker yogurt.

I have seen raw milk from other dairies that had stuff floating in that you would think would kill a buzzard, but folks were drinking it and doing just fine!

watchman  posted on  2019-08-12   17:39:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#100. To: watchman (#99) (Edited)

Yes. In some situations, like yogurt, I have to kill off the existing cultures (even the good ones) so that the yogurt cultures can grow without competition.

Real live cheeses ripe in special conditions, they are pure and healthy naturally. Many different kinds and tastes, developed and tested over years by talented people.

It is as good as mother's milk for her baby. Much better for the child than artificial formula.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   17:47:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#101. To: randge (#98)

milk from well tended female camel

Drinking the milk is one thing...but milking that camel...no sir!...I'll not do it!

watchman  posted on  2019-08-12   18:05:07 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#102. To: Deckard (#26)

Trump even naming Rand as a special envoy to Iran in diplomatic talks …
You need to check on this …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   18:43:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#103. To: Deckard (#102)

Trump even naming Rand as a special envoy to Iran in diplomatic talks …

You need to check on this …

Come on, Deckard, at some time in your life start getting your act together and getting things straight.

Since you NEVER fact check or validate anything, I checked for you.

I found that Trump said he didn't tap Rand Paul to serve as envoy in talks with Iran.

“I don’t know anything about that other than I have spoken to Sen. Paul, and Sen. Paul is somebody I have a very good relationship with,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“And I would listen to him, but I didn’t appoint him, no,” he continued. “No he’s somebody I listen to, and I respect Sen. Paul and if he had some ideas I would listen.”

Source: Trump says he didn't tap Rand Paul to serve as envoy in talks with Iran

Declard. you are one pathetic lost soul when it comes to presenting facts …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   18:53:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#104. To: Deckard (#22) (Edited)

Fewer laws, fewer regulations.

Sure sounds libertarian to me

It sounds that way to you because libertarians tend to speak in catchphrases – “fewer laws and fewer regulations”, "we want freedom", "we are against bureaucracy".

They never speak in political related measures or activities with defined long- term goals. Most libertarian narrative therefore is inconsequential – because it is just simple propaganda tricks, and misleading appeals to emotions of the uninformed.

Some misguided souls refer to themselves as libertarians, specifically because they have some obsessive vendetta directed towards the federal government, and they try to make libertarian to be a buzz-word term they prefer use to describe anything they have in mind.

George Carlin once said in describing libertarian -

One of the more pretentious political self-descriptions is “Libertarian.” People think it puts them above the fray. It sounds fashionable, and to the uninitiated, faintly dangerous. Actually, it’s just one more bullshit political philosophy.
"Libertarian" sounds fashionable – Yea, that’s all it does …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   20:35:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#105. To: Gatlin (#103)

From politico. President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that Sen. Rand Paul is involved in diplomatic talks with Iran, referring to the country as “nothing but trouble.”

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-12   21:04:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#106. To: Tooconservative (#88)

I'm shortish 5 ft 9. I had a strong build. My ideal weight was about 175 lbs. With age, I've become quite fat, really. It annoys me. I know what to do about it, but I only take half measures because, well, because I don't like to do much except swim. I do like to be in the water. I should put in a pool

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:15:12 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#107. To: watchman (#96)

Raw milk is legal in Connecticut too. They sell it at the store right down the street.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:17:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#108. To: Tooconservative (#89)

When it comes to dairy, my very favorite thing is a Caprice de Dieux - a French cheese that has only a touch less milkfat than butter. It looks like brie, with the white rind, but it is SOOOO rich and buttery, you just slice it and (nearly) spread it on a baguette. It doesn't QUITE spreqd, it does hold its shape, somewhat, but oh is it rich. Caprice des Dieux - Dieu que c'est bon.

My second favorite dairy is thick sheep yogurt with a touch of fresh honey. After that, probably Greek yogurt.

Then other cheeses. of the brie/Camembert variety. Then I think yellow cheese, like cheddar and gouda.

Then goat milk.

Regular milk is down around the bottom of my list, because it makes me fart, a lot. That doesn't really bother me, but it is stinky and horrible for the people trapped around me.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:24:21 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#109. To: Tooconservative (#89)

I don't worry about food hygeine. If it's not gross to me, I won't get sick. And I really never do.

I have a set of routine foods that I circulate through every week. I live by the Sound here, so every week I have a dosen fresh local oysters. Most days I have a plank of Salmon - I know the Alaska wild caught stuff is supposed to be "better" but the quality Atlantic farmed stuff from Scotland and Norway, is so much richer, that's what I eat - raw with soy, olive oil and dill.

And scallops. Two nights a week I'll pan fry sea scallops in coconut oil - no breading.

Spinach and collard greens, salad and broccoli, Grapefruit and black berries. Eggs and rye toast for breakfast. I've pretty much singled out all of my favorite foods and eat them over and over. With all that good food, I'm still too fat, but this is a fuction of calorie intake exceeding output.

I think the best weight loss program - something I'd set up somewhere if I had millions, was a place where the food was simple, and served to everybody, and the physical activity was sex, all day, at will. Obviously avoiding disease and all that would be a major undertaking, and the place would end up being a fat farm version of Epstein's little island. Still, that would be a very enjoyable way to lose weight and get exercise.

I'll call it "Lucifer's Far Farm" The only dairy will be unpasteurised live-served human milk. Mmmmm mmmmm good.

_Objection, your honor!' - Lucifer

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:32:54 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#110. To: randge (#94)

Pretty certain it was the lunch. I only had toast and coffee for breakfast, and I was whole again right after I lost the lunch. You can't rightly tell about those microscopic bugs.

I had it happen once. A burger from a restaurant was bad when I was a kid. We didn't even make it home before I got violently sick. But once I expelled the food, there was no real illness. The only time I ever thought I had food poisoning.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   1:31:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#111. To: watchman, Vicomte13 (#96)

I have a raw milk dairy. Raw milk is legal in Maine and I'm very happy about that. I make all kinds of cheeses (not for sale) and I only trade milk with Christian families (Amish/Mennonite) who would never sue me for any reason!

Interesting. I thought they had forced most of those out of business 4-5 years back. But those cases prosecuted by the feds were for raw milk co-ops, apparently a different matter legally. I've never heard of raw milk dairies before, certainly not in the states I've lived in. You'd hear of people who bought extra milk from someone who still milked cows, usually for their own use and to feed bucket calves with.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   1:35:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#112. To: Vicomte13 (#108)

When it comes to dairy, my very favorite thing is a Caprice de Dieux - a French cheese that has only a touch less milkfat than butter. It looks like brie, with the white rind, but it is SOOOO rich and buttery, you just slice it and (nearly) spread it on a baguette. It doesn't QUITE spreqd, it does hold its shape, somewhat, but oh is it rich. Caprice des Dieux - Dieu que c'est bon.

I just resent the fact that I've never even had an unpasteurized cheese, just to try it. The feds decided it's too dangerous for us.

Because, you know, the feds just love and care about us all so much.

Of course, it's another power and control thing, tied up with federal giveaway programs for school lunches and dairy subsidies and a bunch of unelected bureaucrats, many of whom may have enacted this stuff on the basis of very incomplete information at the time, or perhaps bribed by the industries they regulated. Or it might be another instance of industry rotating its managers in and out of political leadership of federal agencies, like we see in the DoD. None of it is actually beneficial to national security or health but it does protect the bottom line at a lot of companies.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   2:01:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#113. To: A K A Stone (#105)

Your source information is dated 07/19/19 04:36 PM EDT.
Policito: "President Donald Trump confirmed Friday [07/16/19] that Sen. Rand Paul is involved in diplomatic talks with Iran, referring to the country as “nothing but trouble.”

My source information is dated 07/18/19 01:37 PM EDT.
The Hill: "President Trump on Thursday [07/15/190 disputed that he asked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to serve as an emissary to Iran following a report that he signed off on the senator's request to help smooth tensions."

Then my source published another article dated 07/19/19 04:24 PM EDT.
The Hill: "President Trump on Friday confirmed he has authorized Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to negotiate with Iran over reducing tensions, reversing himself a day after he denied reports he permitted Paul to serve as an emissary to Tehran."

You are correct - Thank you for the update.

Remember this exchange, Stone.

So, Trump didn’t know on Thursday “whose on first?” and then he remember on Friday that “Rand Paul was not out in left field” like he usually is and that “Rand Paul was now on first.”

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-13   2:14:54 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#114. To: Vicomte13 (#109)

I have a set of routine foods that I circulate through every week. I live by the Sound here, so every week I have a dosen fresh local oysters. Most days I have a plank of Salmon - I know the Alaska wild caught stuff is supposed to be "better" but the quality Atlantic farmed stuff from Scotland and Norway, is so much richer, that's what I eat - raw with soy, olive oil and dill.

I've never lived anywhere near the fresh fish markets on the coasts. I'm not wild about fish but I do wish I had had more opportunity to buy quality seafood. I'm sure you know the stories about how much fake fish gets sold in America. I think the feds know all about it and just don't enforce their own laws. The full brunt of those laws must be brought to bear on Amish guys selling a little raw milk though. But you can reprocess tilapia and sell it as shrimp or lobster or salmon and no one ever goes to jail. But those Amish don't vote generally and they don't make political contributions like seafood company execs do.

Spinach and collard greens, salad and broccoli, Grapefruit and black berries. Eggs and rye toast for breakfast. I've pretty much singled out all of my favorite foods and eat them over and over. With all that good food, I'm still too fat, but this is a function of calorie intake exceeding output.

I was upset today, wasn't careful, lost my appetite and ate nothing. And got a sinus headache. Sometimes I wonder if I have more of these days than I realize or recall. It's a real problem if you find yourself forcing yourself to eat.

Grapefruit and other citrus tends to give me painful acid stomach. I like broccoli most any way except cooked to death and turned to mush (the only way it was served to us as kids). I like spinach leaves in salads but don't recall eating spinach cooked ever other than some kind of rancid vinegary mess that looked like cat vomit that my mother cooked a few times when I was a kid. Tasted just awful. As with her cooking of sauerkraut a few times, I took my plate and went outside so I wouldn't have to smell it. The whole house just stunk IMO. I can't imagine you are eating anything as gross as that. You mentioned boiling spinach and collard greens. I can't even picture that as anything other than a soggy mess with too strong a taste. But maybe I've misjudged it simply based on bad food prep. Yet I know my mother's family, German and Norwegian types, did their own kraut and horseradish and pickled stuff when she was growing up. So she certainly knew what was considered standard fare for kraut or spinach dishes. And it was all so overcooked, like so much food back in the day. It was only after I grew up that I started liking some of these foods because I never knew when I was a kid that they could be prepared as anything but overcooked and distasteful dishes.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   2:29:55 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#115. To: Gatlin (#113)

The Hill: "President Trump on Friday confirmed he has authorized Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to negotiate with Iran over reducing tensions, reversing himself a day after he denied reports he permitted Paul to serve as an emissary to Tehran."

Rand was not seeking the diplomatic status of an official emissary, something comparable to an ambassador. But Trump did agree to let Rand meet with Iran's foreign minister to try to seek a better outcome. Or at least so Trump could look like he went all out to try to prevent any war later, even allowing the most dovish member of the Senate to meet with the enemy.

No doubt, Pompeo saw to it that Rand was briefed on how to avoid the usual hateful tricks that countries like Iran and the Norks will play on unprepared pols to score propaganda victories.

I doubt very much that Trump believes that Rand can move the needle at all. But he does like Rand, a fellow-outsider in the swamp. And Trump doesn't want to look like a warmonger. It's best to talk peace sincerely while making sure you are ready to unleash hell on an enemy if certain lines are crossed.

So Rand was not an official envoy with diplomatic status. And that is why Trump said he wasn't an envoy. Yet he did have Trump's approval to meet once (or a few times) with the Iranian foreign minister during his visit to the States.

And if Trump does ever have to go after Iran with the military, Rand will find it harder to oppose after he was allowed to extend the olive branch to them. I kind of expect the Iranians to live down to Pompeo's expectations of them. It's so typical of them. Even now, with the regime on the verge of economic collapse, they still keep charging ahead with their project across the Mideast: the Shi'a Crescent.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   2:42:22 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#116. To: Tooconservative (#112)

I just resent the fact that I've never even had an unpasteurized cheese, just to try it. The feds decided it's too dangerous for us.

If they could, they would ban breastfeeding. I guess it is a Puritan thing. Next would be the instant turkey.

Now, there is a key point, one can look at a good real live cheese as an excellent bacterial culture supplement. The bad bugs simple have no chance to compete in this wonderful mini ecosystem.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-13   4:49:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#117. To: Tooconservative (#115)

Good map. This "Shi'a Crescent" remind me of Dien Bien Phu, but on a huge scale.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-13   4:57:08 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#118. To: A Pole (#116)

Now, there is a key point, one can look at a good real live cheese as an excellent bacterial culture supplement. The bad bugs simple have no chance to compete in this wonderful mini ecosystem.

Well, maybe. Despite the probiotics craze, scientists have done a fair amount of research now and say that trying to deliberately induce better gut bacteria via supplements is generally doomed to fail, mostly because people would have to take 100 times more of them to have any real effect. Apparently, the gut has considerable resistance to new flora being introduced. There was a recent success with a probiotic treatment tested in India, mentioned in The Atlantic:

. . .

Since 2008, Panigrahi’s team has been running a large clinical trial in rural India, where they gave a probiotic of their own devising to thousands of randomly selected newborn babies. Their product contained a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum, chosen for its ability to attach to gut cells. The team also added a sugar, chosen to nourish the microbe and give it a foothold when it enters a baby’s gut. Together, this combination is called a synbiotic. And it was strikingly effective.

The team found that babies who took this concoction had a significantly lower risk of developing sepsis—a life-threatening condition where infections trigger body-wide inflammation, restricted blood flow, and organ failure. Sepsis is one of the biggest killers of newborn babies, ending around 600,000 lives every year when they’ve barely begun. Some proportion of these cases begin in the gut, and probiotics might be able to prevent them by ousting harmful microbes, or by stopping benign ones from crossing into the bloodstream and causing infections.

Sure enough, in Panigrahi’s trial, just 5.4 percent of the infants who took the synbiotic developed sepsis in their first two months of life, compared to 9 percent of those who received a placebo. That’s a reduction of 40 percent. Such estimates always come with a margin of error, but the team calculate that the reduction in risk should still be somewhere between 25 and 50 percent.

The effect was twice as large as what the team expected, especially since the infants took daily doses of the synbiotic for just one week. And given the clear evidence of benefits, independent experts who were monitoring the study decided to stop the trial early: It would have been unethical to continue depriving half the newborns of the treatment. Panigrahi originally planned to enroll 8,000 babies into the study. He stopped at 4,557.

. . .

Of course, the probiotic effect may be greater in newborns who haven't really established an immune system and their own gut bacteria. No one seems to have anything comparable for adult subjects. Nevertheless, it was a large study that cut rates of infant sepsis in half with only some daily supplement given for a week.

Perhaps adult probiotics merely need better strains of bacteria to have better penetration into the gut. But so far, it seems that current adult probiotics are a waste of time and can compromise your gut health.

Good map. This "Shi'a Crescent" remind me of Dien Bien Phu, but on a huge scale.

I and others have posted that map before. This Crescent has been Iran's foreign policy objective across the Mideast for at least 15 years. Sometimes a map or picture say more than pages of words.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   8:49:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#119. To: Tooconservative (#115)

even allowing the most dovish member of the Senate to meet with the enemy.

I disagree that Rand is the most dovish.

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-13   8:54:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#120. To: A K A Stone (#119)

I disagree that Rand is the most dovish.

He'd be close but you're right. There are some Dems that are as antiwar as Rand is. But Rand will actually use filibusters and bill amendments and risk the wrath of the warmongers. The Dem peaceniks tend to fold up quickly when the neocons at the Slimes and WaPo tell them to, just like they did to vote for the invasion of Iraq. Rand won't fold, he's like his dad and will take a lone stand, even if he knows he'll lose.

I should have said Rand is the most dovish member of the Senate who is willing (and happy) to speak with Trump. You know, Trump does place a certain marker on his own opposition to the Iraq invasion back in the day, when Hitlery and Lurch were busy voting for war before they decided they should vote against it and follow Harry Reid in trying to create a crisis over it for partisan advantage (Dem capture of the House/Senate in 2006).

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   9:19:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#121. To: Tooconservative (#114)

It's a real problem if you find yourself forcing yourself to eat.

When I want Pacific Salmon, I order it from my favorite supplier in Alaska (Vital Choice). When I want salmon caviar, I go to our Russian Market ("Made in USSR") and I buy a big tub of Siberian salmon caviar, a kilogram of it for about $120. Then I'll just scoop a few tablespoons out of that tub everyday. It's malossol (lightly salted) so it keeps in the fridge for as long as it takes me to eat it (about a week and a half). No way to fake that stuff - there's nothing like it.

As far as the Atlantic Salmon goes, because it's all farmed, and I like to eat it raw - and you can only eat fish as sushi if it has been frozen (sushi is NOT an "ancient Japanese food" - the Japanese did not start eating sushi until the invention of freezers) - I get the absolute healthiest Atlantic Salmon around. Whole Foods has a whole set of fish standards that are much higher than the USDA norms, and they have their own Blue Ocean mark whose salmon comes from just two farms - one in Iceland and one in Norway - where the standards are impeccable. No dye. No land-animals in the feed. No antibiotics. The feed is pellets made from the same stuff wild salmon eat. The pens are constructed in state of the art ways to avoid various things. They have other species of fish in the pens do, that do things like eat parasites.

It comes frozen, about $22 for pack of 6 four ounce salmon steaks. Nothing looks like that fish. It's pristine. It's buttery with good fat. You can cut it with a fork. Tilapia could never be reworked to look and smell like that in a million years.

I toss a steak in the fridge so it will thaw and be cold. Then at night I come home, take my ceramic filet knife and strip the skin off the back (you just have to get it started, it pulls right off). I'll peel away any thin layer of blood line on the fish, and then do one of two things with it:

Slice it into sashimi strips, sprinkle organic tamari soy sauce on it, followed by a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and I shake dried dill on it. Then I eat it raw.

OR I take the frying pan, melt some French butter in it, heat it to smoking hot, and just flip-flop sear-fry the outside of the salmon in the pan, so the outside is cooked, while the inside is still cool and pink. Then I'll put that on the plate and pour the melted butter on it and eat it just like that.

Either way, I want another piece. But I have to watch that, because the dozen blue-point oysters I eat every Wednesday night - right out of the Sound from beds right here in town - SO very fresh! plus the sea scallops pan fried in coconut oil are not mercury free. Salmon isn't either. 12 oysters, 10 sea scallops, and 20 oz of salmon come in just under my weekly mercury limit. And so, alas, I must limit myself to four ounces of salmon. I could eat 20 ounces a sitting. Love the stuff.

Where you live, there is Whole Foods, and you can get the good frozen Atlantic Salmon, frozen sea scallops. I'd pass on frozen oysters, but canned smoked oysters (King Oscars) are cheap, and they'll do.

Forcing myself to eat? No, that never happens. I love food, of all kinds. Food and drink, women and song. As with all things, one must moderate one's appetites if one does not wish to become massively obese...or have one's brains clubbed out by the wife.

Spinach. It's tender. You have to be kind to it. You need to boil it for at least one minute (to get the oxalates out) but no more than two (to keep the potassium and Vitamin C content). Then you pour off the water and either steam it for a little while longer, or just serve it with melted butter.

Collards are tougher, so you have to boil them longer, and there's no oxalate issue. Frozen chopped collards are kind of bitter, but if you get the whole leaves an boil them for five minutes, they're essentially cabbage. Eat them with butter and salt.

Butter and salt are the key to all stiff vegetables (boiled carrots, boiled rutabaga). Don't want to salt spinach, though, there's already quite a bit of sodium in it.

If you use salted butter you don't have to use the salt.

Uncooked spinach is too bitter for me.

Broccoli - same as collards or carrots: boiled or steamed, with butter and salt.

Good!

Sorry that citrus upsets you. That's definitely a bummer. Citrus fruits are my second favorites, right after blackberries. Plums and apricots and pears are pretty acceptable. Does pineapple disagree with you?

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-14   14:21:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#122. To: Vicomte13 (#121)

As far as the Atlantic Salmon goes, because it's all farmed, and I like to eat it raw - and you can only eat fish as sushi if it has been frozen (sushi is NOT an "ancient Japanese food" - the Japanese did not start eating sushi until the invention of freezers) - I get the absolute healthiest Atlantic Salmon around.

I just noticed that some of the Atlantic salmon stocked in Walmart is farm-raised in Peru.

I've been considering one of those yuppie seafood supply sites that offer to ship various seafood flash-frozen, total tracing of all fish to the ship that caught them, standards for the ships used and nets and so on, and a minimum requirement for how much the fishing crew will make from its catch. The idea being food safety and making sure that the people who risk life and limb catching those fish get paid decently. I can't decide if they're worth it. About $8-$9 for a small salmon filet from Alaska, your choice at that price of which kind of salmon to buy.

It comes frozen, about $22 for pack of 6 four ounce salmon steaks.

That's not a bad price in the salmon market. I like the description you give of simple quick preparation too. I tend to neglect cooking if it gets complicated or gets every pot and pan in the house dirty just to prepare it. You make it sound easy and quick but satisfying.

Invite me over for a sample. LOL [Don't worry, I'm never close to CT.]

Where you live, there is Whole Foods, and you can get the good frozen Atlantic Salmon, frozen sea scallops. I'd pass on frozen oysters, but canned smoked oysters (King Oscars) are cheap, and they'll do.

Where I live, the nearest Whole Foods is about 250 miles away. I thought they opened one only about 130 miles away but now I recall that was a Hyvee. Hyvee is the next best thing to a Whole Foods store when you're out in the sticks.

It would take some planning to buy and transport frozen foods that far. I'd do better just to get it shipped freight in dry ice, I think.

Spinach. It's tender. You have to be kind to it. You need to boil it for at least one minute (to get the oxalates out) but no more than two (to keep the potassium and Vitamin C content). Then you pour off the water and either steam it for a little while longer, or just serve it with melted butter.

You think it is better boiled briefly than just to eat the spinach leaves as a salad? I've adopted an approach of eating vegetables as raw as I can and avoid cooking or even heating them. Well, I sometimes microwave some cheese on to broccoli or cauliflower just for variety and because I like cheese, even crappy American cheeses. I like the spinach leaf salads pretty well but then I tried Wallyworld's newish blend of Kaleslaw recently and was shocked how much I liked it. It had broccoli and red cabbage and kale and carrot strips and some Italian-sounding lettuce. Wow, was that good. Best kale salad I ever tasted. The other kale dishes I've had just taste crappy to me. But the dieticians do tell us that kale is the best source for insoluable fiber so I'm trying to get with the program. I recall cooked spinach that looked and tasted like some cat coughed up a green hairball. It looked bad. It tasted even worse. But then, kids don't like a lot of strong-flavored stuff. And I've never eaten cooked spinach again. For one thing, no one I know of even serves cooked spinach any more. You're the first one I've heard talking about cooked spinach in some years.

Collards are tougher, so you have to boil them longer, and there's no oxalate issue. Frozen chopped collards are kind of bitter, but if you get the whole leaves an boil them for five minutes, they're essentially cabbage. Eat them with butter and salt.

My experience with collards is very limited. I'll have to look but I don't think they grow it anywhere in my region. It's all shipped in but I think I've seen it for sale here. I know it is popular with the healthfoods set. I'll have to look around and see if they have a small bag of it for me to sample at the local grocery. Maybe it'll be like the kale and I'll find I really like it. Damn, that kaleslaw mix is good for the price. One of the cheaper salad mixes but good flavor, easy chewing, works well with a wide variety of dressings. It sounds dumb but, if you get a chance, pick up a bag of it sometime for a change in your salad routine. If it can get past my taste buds, it will probably please most anyone.

Sorry that citrus upsets you. That's definitely a bummer.

Citrus always makes my stomach acidy if I have it on an empty stomach. It can make me acidy even if I just drink orange juice after eating a full breakfast and I'll have heartburn all morning. Needless to say, I'm not fond of citrus even if I do like the taste. I just hate having a sour growling stomach over a crappy little glass of OJ. Pulped or not, it just doesn't agree with me much even with the sugar they put in it. And a really sour citrus like grapefruit, well, I don't think I ever ate more than a bite or two of it in my life. My dad called it rabbit food and thought it was only for women. I didn't understand why the women would eat it because I thought it tasted blandly bad and sour. I do like pineapple and it doesn't usually sour me but there aren't a lot of pineapple dishes I like. I did really enjoy a yuppie restaurant my brother took me to where they were roasting whole pineapples on a portable grill and then would cut big slices and serve them directly on your plate. That was the best pineapple dish I ever had but I can't imagine grilling pineapple at home. I also can get acidy from tomato. I love Heinz ketchup and rich marinara spaghetti sauces so I like tomato flavor, just not the raw product. But if cooked, I love tomato soup or chile or most any cooked tomato sauce dish. And I don't get sour stomach from a cooked tomato product. It's almost embarrassing to see how much spaghetti I can down with a rich marinara sauce with spicy Italian sausage. People stare if I eat it in public. Then I have to walk out looking like an anaconda just swallowed a small goat. But I love the pasta dishes and treat myself now and then.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-14   23:00:20 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#123. To: Vicomte13 (#107)

Raw milk is legal in Connecticut too. They sell it at the store right down the street.

Can you tell me the price on a gallon of raw milk there at your local market?

If you like collards you might try simmering them in home made chicken broth...they seem to be made for each other.

watchman  posted on  2019-08-15   8:21:51 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#124. To: watchman (#123)

Can you tell me the price on a gallon of raw milk there at your local market?

You should smuggle some raw milk into CT. LOL

Vic can be your local henchman.

I'd guess the price at $10-$12 for organic raw milk. CT is a high-dollar state. Last I read about it, that seemed like what they got for raw milk on the west coast. Generally more than double the price of pasteurized milk but less than triple the price. In upscale communities, maybe triple the price of regular milk or a little more.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-15   11:56:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#125. To: Tooconservative (#124)

$10-$12 for organic raw milk

New business plan...

24 foot trailer, load a round bale up front, cow in the middle, drive to Ct.

Organic milk out the side door, organic cow manure out the back

watchman  posted on  2019-08-15   12:57:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#126. To: Tooconservative (#122)

With fruit, I just eat the raw fruit. Not juices - there's more in the fruit, and it's m and it' and it's m and it's much more filling. Fruit's perfect.

As far as spinach goes, calorie for calorie, it's the single most nutritious vegetabl vegeta vegetabl vegetable.

Calorie for calorie, Sockeye salmon is the single most nutritious meat.

Calorie for calorie, salmon roe is the single most nutritious egg.

And in truth, except for two micronutrients, one could meet all of one's daily re requi re requirements eating just salmon and spinach.

But sockeye doesn't taste as good as Atlantic salmon.

And raw spinach has a lot of oxalates in it, which can cause kidney stones in pe people who get them, which is why you boil it for a couple of minutes (no lo longer, and pour off the water: the oxalates come right out of it.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-15   14:09:47 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#127. To: watchman (#123)

I don't know if it's organic or not. I'll get a price on the raw milk from the corner store and let you know.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-15   14:10:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#128. To: watchman (#125)

Bring your cow to my yard. She can graze to her heart's content, saving me lawn mowing charges.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-15   14:11:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#129. To: watchman, Vicomte13 (#125)

Organic milk out the side door, organic cow manure out the back

Make sure Vic gets a high price from the local Gentiles for your top-notch farm-fresh organic cow manure!

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-15   16:15:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#130. To: Vicomte13 (#126)

With fruit, I just eat the raw fruit. Not juices - there's more in the fruit, and it's m and it' and it's m and it's much more filling. Fruit's perfect.

Took me a long time to figure that out. I did already switch to fresh fruit. I just got home with some fresh black grapes from Mexico. They look deeeee-lish.

As far as spinach goes, calorie for calorie, it's the single most nutritious vegetabl vegeta vegetabl vegetable.

I've heard that before. Offhand, do you know if cooked spinach is better than just eating spinach leaves as a salad?

Not that I'll go buy any right away. I just bought some kaleslaw and it's my current fave. I did notice various collard greens there at WallyCommieWorld, several grades of produce. Prices weren't too bad but I already had grabbed my kaleslaw. Maybe next time. The collard greens remind me of those dandelion salads. That stuff always reminds me of the hundreds of millions of similar weedish-looking plants that I used to spray and kill. I'm kind of a serial killer of certain species.

Calorie for calorie, Sockeye salmon is the single most nutritious meat.

Never had the Sockeye, going to try the Alaskan in my first online order I think. And I've read that salmon aficionados do prefer the stronger flavor of the Sockeye.

I have read that before. From actual dietitians, not salmon/spinach industry promotional ads.

Calorie for calorie, salmon roe is the single most nutritious egg.

Never seen it, never heard of it. I guess this is the caviar of mama salmons?

But sockeye doesn't taste as good as Atlantic salmon.

Surprising you don't prefer the Sockeye. Everyone talks about the stronger fish flavor and given your predilection for mackerel-snapping and sardine-gobbling, I thought that would be your fave.

And raw spinach has a lot of oxalates in it, which can cause kidney stones in pe people who get them, which is why you boil it for a couple of minutes (no lo longer, and pour off the water: the oxalates come right out of it.

I hope it doesn't happen with the spinach leaves for salads. I think those are pre-washed and ready to eat. I buy the boxed stuff usually and they say it is ready to eat and pre-washed. I know people who think those pre-washed greens are a little acidic or the flavor is just a little off from the wash they use.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-15   16:25:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#131. To: Tooconservative (#130)

The oxalates are a natural part of the structure of the plant. When you cook the spinach, even for a short time (2 minutes), the tissues break and the oxalates are released into the water. so you can pour them away.

Of course, if you don't get kidney stones, I suppose you don't have to worry about them.

I've always liked spinach, right back to popeye as a little kid, so I'm partial to it, cooked. I don't know if I would get kidney stones or not, but I just like it cooked with butter in any case.

I really don't like kale. The hard crinkly aspect of it reminds me of thistles. Of course kale and collards are just two different kinds of cabbage, as is bok choy. My favorite cabbage is, well, just plain cabbage, boiled all to hell, with butter and salt and a little mustard.

Truth is, my daily vegetables are about a half pound of cooked spinach at breakfast, and a pound of romaine and arugula with blue cheese at lunch.

I prefer Atlantic Salmon to all of the Pacific Salmons because the Atlantic Salmon is the fattiest, and the meat is just silky smooth on account of that. It's...unctuous. I like that.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-15   16:33:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#132. To: Vicomte13, watchman (#128)

Bring your cow to my yard. She can graze to her heart's content, saving me lawn mowing charges.

Watch out, watchman. Vic has a known proclivity for wanting to start a reindeer farm so he can milk reindeer.

Don't laugh, he actually can make a good argument for it. But it isn't as efficient a use of pasture as dairy cows. And I always doubted that you could domesticate reindeer that much.

Now if Vic could come up with a plan for a federal subsidy for reindeer milk like they have for dairy milk, he'd really have something.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-15   16:35:47 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#133. To: Deckard (#0)

A smart person (unless he hungers for power) wants to be free, either to make a living or to associate (or not) with anyone he pleases.

Nailed it!

goldilucky  posted on  2019-08-15   21:56:57 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#134. To: Tooconservative (#132)

a federal subsidy for reindeer milk like they have for dairy milk

Wait...there's a federal subsidy for dairy milk?

watchman  posted on  2019-08-15   22:42:19 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#135. To: watchman (#134) (Edited)

An American dairy industry news site and a few links.

DairyHerd.com: Canada: 73% of U.S. Milk Price Is Subsidized, 2/9/18

DairyHerd.com: Should You Take An MFP Payment?, 8/7/2019

You may have heard of the wrangling over the last year or so between virtuous patriotic hardworking American dairymen fighting back against the schemes of the corrupt, godless, lazy Canucki cow-exploiters.

It's a common enough claim. American industries (like anywhere else) bitch to their government about unfair competition driving them out of business. They use this to get higher subsidy rates from the government. And often, just when the government gives in and does subsidize them, they then realize they can use the subsidy to expand their herds so they can get even more subsidy payments. And why wouldn't they? It's legal and they know they'll get the checks from the feds.

In a lot of farm states, the votes of their senators are primarily sold for federal subsidy of agriculture. Corn and ethanol in Iowa is the prime example but there are others. Timber harvest on federal lands in the Pacific northwest states with the government paying to construct extensive road systems in federal forests so logging companies can use them for a few years to haul timber out. Just a few that come to mind.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-16   3:29:12 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#136. To: Vicomte13 (#131)

I really don't like kale. The hard crinkly aspect of it reminds me of thistles.

You and me both! And yet I still grow it for my wife (she's a health nut). I grow a variety of Tuscan kale, also known as dinosaur kale, that gets it's name from "the hard crinkly aspect" you describe.

Too bad you aren't closer. I'd send a steady supply of collards your way. The leaves are the size of elephant ears. First year to try them and I'm hooked.

My main crop is carrots. I grow hundreds of pounds of Bolero storage carrots that are kept in the ground until the last possible moment (ground freeze or snow). What my family doesn't eat will be traded for hay for my cows.

watchman  posted on  2019-08-16   13:00:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#137. To: watchman (#136)

Grow blackberries. You need at least two bushes so they cross pollinate. The champagne of berries. So healthy, so good.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-16   13:22:49 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#138. To: Vicomte13 (#137)

Grow blackberries.

I do!

They aren't exactly native to Maine.

I grow Prime-Ark Freedoms in a greenhouse and this year is looking good for berries.

watchman  posted on  2019-08-16   14:39:19 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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