updated 9d ago
A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land
According to the Census Bureau, 62.7 percent of Americans live in urban areas, on only 3.5 percent of the country’s land.
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago
Classical Liberalism has had a good run. Now it’s about to get run over by a bus full of stupid “post-capitalist” political trends—the new socialism, the new nationalism, the new trade war mercantilism, and the new social media platforms that drive this bus.
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 7mo ago
And how did our government get so bad? Bad politics. But how did our politics get so bad? Politics grew worse because politics grew.
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 7mo ago
Government and politics are different. Government is . . . words fail me . . . government. Politics is the fight over who runs the government. And the fix is in because, as you may have noticed, every time politicians stage that fight a politician wins.
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago
the lungs of long-distance joggers, gym rats, hot yoga practitioners, and others who engage in vigorous physical activity can emit as much as eight times the average amount of CO2
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago
In the report we see that the federal government spends $877.5 billion annually on these benefits and services. And let us note that this spending does not include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, or Affordable Care Act subsidies. However, the $877.5 billion does include $467.8 billion spent on health care for the poor in programs
... See morefrom A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1870. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriat
... See morefrom A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago
There is an oft-cited apothegm credited to the Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun St. Teresa of Avila (1515–82): “There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.”
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago
The first broadly functional social media network, SixDegrees, wasn’t introduced until 1997. At the height of its popularity it had 3.5 million subscribers.
from A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land by P.J. O'Rourke
Zach Kirshner added 8mo ago