When has the Senate filibuster aided non-conservatives?

You have some new bodily lump, pain, or discoloration. Do you feel better if you learn that this condition has a name?

John is the ranger, as his father was before him, for the community’s 4,000 mostly wooded acres. Recently I have worked with John on a conservation easement for a portion of this land. My admiration for him has grown. He seems to know every inch of the land, and his conversation is filled with landmarks such as Turkey Hill field, the path going from Fox Run Creek to Porcupine Parade, the Hardy’s 1930s hunting grounds, and much more. I nod as if I understand. His devotion to the conservation of the lands is palpable, and he has been invaluable as I and others have worked on the easement. I have known who John was for a long time, but only because of this recent project have I felt comfortable in trying to get to know him a bit better. He is about to retire, and I asked him what he was going to do. He was vague as I might have expected from someone who retains something of a mountain man from yesteryear. Thinking that perhaps this might be an activity in his retirement, I asked him if he hunted. He replied, “I used to hunt with a lot of the old-timers here,” and rattled off a host of names I did not know. He continued, “I haven’t hunted in six or seven years.” And then, almost blushing and with a shy tone, he said, “I have gotten soft. I’ve killed enough deer in my life.”

“The key to success was having parents who had succeeded.” Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind.

Old joke: Southern Baptists do not believe in making love standing up. It could lead to dancing.

The Olympics are upon us. Margaret MacMillan in War: How Conflict Shaped Us (2020) points out that the modern Olympics have taken on many attributes of war. The competitions are by nations, award medals, incorporate national anthems, and have teams in uniforms behind national flags.

Growing up and well into adulthood, I could stand alongside a Wisconsin farm fence, moo, and cows would amble to me. The spouse, once again doubting me on the important stuff, thought I made this ability up until I demonstrated it to her several times. But then after a considerable absence from Wisconsin I found that I was out of practice or the voice timbre had changed, I had lost my cow-calling trait. I have had many sad moments in life.

I watched videos of the invasion of the Capitol on January 6 and was reminded of the words of David Hume: “Everyone has observed how much more dogs are animated when they hunt in a pack, than when they pursue their game apart. We might, perhaps, be at a loss to explain this phenomenon, if we had not experience of a similar in ourselves.”