Biblical Philologist

 Sent to me moments ago.  I could not wait to share it with you.

 

College Socialism

 Why College Turns People into Socialists.  To be technical, it should be "How" college turns people into socialists, but it's an otherwise accurate essay. I am going to send it out to some people I know for their reactions.

 The subsidization of student clubs poses similar problems: one’s tuition funds all student organizations regardless of that group’s productivity or ideology. When I was enrolled at Columbia, for instance, my tuition money funded “Students for Justice in Palestine”—a group that periodically declared their desire to murder me—and as a tuition-paying student, I had no option to opt out of supporting the group’s atrocities. Similarly, my tuition funded many clubs with little use to the college “society” at large. Several clubs did nothing but throw parties all semester. Under a capitalist system, such defunct or unpopular organizations would not stand a chance, but at a university, all student clubs, kept alive through shared funding, survive regardless of popularity and functionality.

Habits For America in an Age of Disruption

 Ben Sasse's speech this year at the Manhattan Institute's Hamilton Award Dinner

 Americans are going to need better habits than we have right now to help our people, our citizens, and our republic thrive. Because virtue has always been at the heart of what it takes to keep a republic. To borrow Lincoln’s metaphor, it’s the golden apple in the silver frame. Politics, the silver frame, is the stuff we do to secure our rights through ordered liberty, but life—the daily stuff that’s made up of community, affections, and habits—that’s the golden apple at the center.

 It put me in mind of CS Lewis's quote in Mere Christianity 

The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging his own garden--that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time.

Please Mr. Postman

When phones were shared, voicemail was unknown, and calls were expensive, families had 1.2 cars, and your girlfriend was so far away, you really could make your whole day revolve around when the mail came. Daily despair. Has she ceased to love me? Was it something I said?

 

Data Republican Part II

 America250: The "Fourth Founding" Part 2, The Standing Army, Named.

 

I have said before that in the mouths of Democrats, democracy seems to mean "us being in control." If that seems unfair, take this example as evidence. The use in this context is much closer to my newly-recognised definition that to what we were taught in civics class. It is not merely an anti-Trump well-he's-so-horrible attitude either. This has been said as far back as Tom Dewey, and including such figures as Bob Dole and Mitt Romney.

The Strategies:

#1   Enable Responsible Conservatives to Vote for Democracy

#2   Reduce Social Demand from the Right. (means "status")

#3    Engage the Left (What could be more neutral than that?)

#4    Build the Movement (More NGO penetration)

#5    Accountability 

Recent Links

 Where is Teacher's Union Money Going? 

The report, conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), Gevura Fund, and Rutgers University, among others, found that of the NEA’s $450 million annual disbursement budget from fiscal year 2025, less than $46 million, or 10 percent, was spent on activities directly representing the union’s constituents.

Initial impressions reading the Qur'an (instead of about the Qur'an) 

Fifty years ago Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood, by Jo Freeman in Ms. magazine* 

Lyman Stone on declining long-term fertility rate being exaggerated Number of live births was much higher than overall child survival rates until around 1920, when they matched up in the West. So graphs that show only the former give an appearance of decline in family size that is much less than we think. In fact, he thinks the current decline which has everyone so worried is more fixable than we think. This is counter to much I have been reading.

*linked in in a substack article By Helen Dale and Lorenzo Warbythat sees continuing behavioral differences in men and women from the y-chromosome bottleneck 7,000 years ago. Among hunter-gatherers, males and females reproduce in similar numbers.  With the rise in agropastoralism (think herders, Steppes, African cattle raids), the percentage of males reproducing dropped to about 6% that of females. 

 The development of farming and then animal herding greatly increased the number of humans—which continued to have evolutionary consequences for our species—and created productive assets (farms and animal herds) worth fighting over. Successful male teams (typically organised as clans) wiped out unsuccessful male teams and took their women as spoils...This is why young schoolboy sporting teams regularly crush adult women’s national teams in team sports such as soccer. It is not that schoolboys have the strength advantage over women associated with adult men (they are often not particularly advantaged around age 14-15). It’s simply that human males are much more likely to “get” teamwork at a visceral level.

 

Journalism

“I became a journalist partly so that I wouldn’t ever have to rely on the press for my information.” — Christopher Hitchens 

Old Guys At Denny's

 Old Guys At Denny's at 6AM

Having Better Day Than You Could Ever Dream Of

From the Babylon Bee

The closest Denny's is in Nashua, and I have had distressing experiences with the fish at Denny's while traveling. But Denny's is not the point, that's a stand-in for a thousand Chatterbox Cafes and Betty's Diners in the country. 

We have Pub Night at Ollie's, and it's not as great as above (because less than 35 years) and not as elevated as the Inklings (though we did did have a significant harumphing about the filioque clause), but it's got some similar elements. Wives in general may be disparaged, but never in specific. My St. Paul's group, and our 50-year "Bible Study," since we stopped studying the Bible and divided by sexes to talk twenty years ago are similar experiences. 

Start now, guys, to have as many years as possible under your belt when you retire.  

Why Costco Pays $30/hr and Target Doesn't

 Why Costco Pays $30/hr and Target Doesn't  Justin Kuiper explains it.  At least one DIL shops at Costco even though it is over 50 miles RT with tolls. I factor that in as a shopping cost and so have never been, no matter how good the deals are. (But ridiculously, I consider 10 miles RT 5x/week to other grocery stores to be just old-guy entertainment. Gets me out of the house...I was going to the rail trail anyway...I'll combine it with other errands...excuse #4...excuse#5...)

But it's just interesting to know about SKU's and business models and why fewer varieties of ketchup are better.

Data Republican Reports

The Fourth Founding: How the unelecteds plan to rewrite the Constitution. (Part I) 

If people keep adding "national treasure" after her pseudonym, maybe it will become a formal title.

In 2013, 9 Foundations responded to a speech made at the Independent Sector Annual Conference, "Our Common Purpose." The goal: citizens’ dialogues that would produce “a broadly shared agenda of national priorities” by 2016. They didn't do that.  They talked a lot to each other but produced no report. 

In 2018 a Republican billionaire asked the American Academy of Arts and Sciences a question and funded a foundation to answer it. “The Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship was established in the spring of 2018 at the initiative of then Academy President Jonathan Fanton and Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr., Chair of the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. Mr. Bechtel challenged the Academy to consider what it means to be a good citizen in the twenty-first century.” 

You will notice these two things are not the same. "An agenda of national priorities" is not "what it means to be a good citizen." But the foundations kept giving each other money and people and in 2020 renamed the commission "Our Common Purpose." 

What came out was not a civics pamphlet. The commission produced 31 recommendations including proposed constitutional amendments, expansion of the U.S. House by at least fifty seats, eighteen-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, ranked-choice voting nationwide, and a universal expectation of national service. The question about good citizenship had become a structural blueprint for a different republic. 

A lot of people like one or more of these 31 recommendations, but they cannot in any way be called a broadly shared agenda of national priorities - especially as there had been no "citizen dialogues" to produce it. Rockerfeller Brothers Fund president Stephen Heinitz, who had made the original "Our Common Purpose" speech, was by now president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and saying that "the nation-state system and representative democracy are showing signs of of being obsolete." 

Well, maybe so, but who died and made you king? I find this deeply concerning. 

Update: The foundations are Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, Kellogg, Open Society Foundations, Carnegie Corporation, Hewlett Foundation, Packard Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation. What did you know about each before this moment?

Rise in Testosterone

I thought I had been hearing for years that testosterone levels in American men were falling dangerously.

I guess not 

Shenandoah

 

The lyrics as I remembered them made no sense. The wide Missouri, tops'ls, I love your daughter...??

Reading up on it explains the variance. There are lots of versions. 

It always reminds me of this, unsurprisingly.

 

Links From 2014

 NPR and Livable Planets.

Your God is Too Small and Meek-and Mild 

The Princess Bride 

NH Book of the Dead  Where the Ghosts Are

On to 2015. 

Recent Links

There is a God, and his name is Trade-off.  This is not at all the essay I would have written on the subject.  But it covers a lot of my points in very different style, so should be valuable.  I did use the word "trade-off" or the phrase trade up a lot in raising my sons.

 Every Dog Has His Daybed If I seem more anti-dog these days, it's because we now have one.

The Part of the Declaration that Nobody Reads Historian Robert Parkinson thinks the grievances are more important than the Preamble.  Let me know if it is paywalled for you.

The Mathematical Insanity of the Build Now Act. Lyman Stone doesn't mince words here.  A good idea that got tortured into a scheme for California and Texas to send money to NYC. Or same author, same subject, put differently, 18 states will lose money so that five will gain, but 90% of the money will go to just two cities.

We Few

 

Grace

 Grace begins only after self-justification ends.  Michael Woodruff.

Robin Dunbar on Friendship

 From Robin Dunbar's book Friends .  

Why Do Friendships Fracture?

One of the seminal studies of relationships and and relationship breakdown was undertaken by the legendary British social psychologist Michael Argyle (with whom, in the 1960s, I had classes as a student). During the 1980s, he and his collaborator Monika Henderson ran an extended series of experimental studies examining the rules that underpin friendships. They identified six rules which were essential for maintaining a stable relationship. They identified: standing up for the friend in their absence; sharing important news with the friend; providing emotional support when needed; trusting and confiding in each other; volunteering help when it is required; and making an effort to make the other person happy. Breaking any of these rules, they suggested, was likely to weaken the relationship, and breaking many was likely to lead to complete relationship breakdown.

Two points.  This is particularly useful in viewing ourselves when we know that the other person broke three of these, which prevents us from noticing the one we broke. Second, there is nothing in here about who did what first.

Algorithms Are Not Always Bad

This judge shows up in my feed a lot because I like him. The internet is a wonderful thing and can be a source of joy.

 

Recent Links

 Two kind of exogamy in Central African tribes.  One tribe insisted on tribal exogamy, the other required males to travel long distances to find a wife.

Reforming Non-Profits with pricing. WRT a diversion program:  Adam is developing workarounds because the system as a whole is very difficult to reform. Here’s one idea: how about asking people in the system what they need? People in the justice system generally can’t vote with their wallets, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get a vote. He has piloted a program in which—gasp!—he asks people what they need to stay out of trouble down the road. If you are going to be released in six months, what do you need to get a job, find a place to live, support yourself? What is your biggest pain point? How can the resources available be used to solve this problem?  

Lisa Britton at the Institute for Family Studies on Girlboss Messaging being a problem in and of itself, hurting working class women who can least afford to live that way. She got exactly the inaccurate pushback you would expect, of people claiming she was saying something else.

The growing acceptance of "snuck" v, "sneaked."  Such things are not unusual in themselves, but this one has a twist. It is based on a Proto-Germanic form that somehow still just sounds right to us

 

 

Suspicions Confirmed

I wondered if people on the pro-Palestinian side of the news got their news more from pictures than from text. I asked Gemini, which thinks that is true, but not even the half of it. Of the many things that jumped out at me, the Social Media Reliance (bolded in section#2) has general relevance. Consumers of social media see those sources as more real, because those people are there, and individual. Text media people prefer somewhat more anonymous, institutional information. The importance of algorithms driving people to preferred sources I should have thought of on my own.

 do pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sides get their news differently?
Yes, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sides generally consume, interpret, and experience news in fundamentally different ways. This divergence isn't just a matter of preferring different TV channels; it spans entirely different media ecosystems, reliance on specific platforms, divergent terminology, and distinct psychological framing.   

The differences manifest across several major areas:

1. Primary Media Ecosystems
Pro-Palestinian News Sources: Audiences sympathetic to the Palestinian cause often look beyond traditional Western media, which they frequently critique as having an institutional pro-Israel bias. Instead, they rely heavily on non-Western international networks like Al Jazeera English, independent outlets (such as +972 Magazine, Mondoweiss, or The Electronic Intifada), and direct first-person accounts from local journalists and citizens on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank.   (Italics mine)

Pro-Israeli News Sources: Audiences sympathetic to Israel frequently consume mainstream Western news outlets (such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, or the BBC) alongside major Israeli publications (like The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, or Haaretz). They also follow updates and briefings directly from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and established political advocacy organizations.

2. The Social Media vs. Legacy Media Divide
The demographic and ideological divide is starkly reflected in where people look for information:

Social Media Reliance: Pro-Palestinian messaging is exceptionally prominent on visual, algorithm-driven social platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Because international journalists face tight restrictions or outright bans on entering conflict zones like Gaza independently, local content creators sharing raw, unfiltered video footage have become primary news sources for millions of younger, pro-Palestinian viewers globally.   

Curated Frameworks: Conversely, the pro-Israel side often relies on more structured reporting environments, emphasizing official state declarations, intelligence briefings, and historical context regarding regional security threats and antisemitism.

3. Terminology and "Linguistic Realities"
Even when watching the exact same event, the vocabulary used by different media outlets fundamentally alters how the news is received. This creates two parallel realities:   

The Pro-Palestinian Lens: News is consumed using an active framework of systemic oppression. Terms like occupation, apartheid, displacement, resistance, and genocide are standard. Military actions by Israel are viewed as systemic aggression, and casualties are reported with an emphasis on the asymmetric nature of the conflict.

The Pro-Israeli Lens: News is framed around national defense and security. Terms like terrorism, counter-terrorism, self-defense, human shields, and existential threat dominate. Military operations are viewed as targeted reactions to hostile acts, with a heavy emphasis on the events of October 7, 2023, hostages, and the actions of groups like Hamas or Hezbollah.

4. Media Bias and Cognitive Framing
Academic and media studies consistently highlight that both sides consume news through distinct psychological frameworks:

The Identifiable Victim Effect: Research indicates a disparity in how human suffering is framed. Pro-Israel news consumers are often presented with deeply individualized portraits of victims (names, hobbies, family histories), which builds intense personal empathy. Conversely, non-Western or independent media focusing on Palestine emphasizes the massive, collective scale of displacement and civilian casualties, which pro-Palestinian audiences view as an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe that mainstream Western media downplays.   

The Passive vs. Active Voice: Media critics note that consumers of different outlets read different versions of accountability. For example, a pro-Palestinian reader will look for headlines that actively attribute blame ("Israeli airstrike kills civilians"), while mainstream Western coverage has frequently used passive phrasing ("Civilians die following explosions"), which critics argue shields Israel from direct accountability.   

Ultimately, these differences create a "filter bubble" effect. Rather than just disagreeing on the solutions to the conflict, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sides are often consuming entirely different sets of facts, vocabulary, and visual evidence, making a shared understanding of current events incredibly difficult to reach.

Heredity Simplification

I linked to Razib's interview with Greg Cochran, but let me highlight it further.  I am uncertain about so many things because the experts hedge so much around political issues, and I take people at face value. Cochran is blunt, and thus controversial and one of the naughty researchers. He will call you a loon if you're a loon. He has tried hard to be nice to me when I'm being an idiot, even saying "look, I'm being as nice as I can." He is something of a paleoconservative who insisted that Iraq could not have weapons of mass destruction and we shouldn't even invade, much less stick around. Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute published the pivotal paper in 2015 that we had interbred with Neanderthals, which amazed everyone. Cochran, Harry Harpending, and John Hawks had been saying it for a decade before, purely from genomic data, (still largely) uncredited and ignored. 

If you think I say the quiet part out loud, Greg really says the quiet part out loud.  Steven Pinker eases you into the idea of racial differences, David Reich tells you that we will find racial differences but not to worry, because he will be there to supervise and make sure nothing racist gets out.  Cochran acknowledges that they have to say those things to get funding for their research, but says they are flat out lying - which I suspected but didn't want to say, as it would be a terrible thing to be wrong about.  I worried about Sasha Gusev's ultra-high bar for signing on to heredity, which boils down to "not until absolutely proven." 

Cochran's response is that Gusev needs to try and teach AP Calculus to Australian Aborigines for five years before speaking again.

It's refreshing, if you can take it.  Greg will tell you when he was wrong, which is seldom, and takes no prisoners on the data. Listen to interview to learn what is going on that you are not supposed to hear.

Psalm 22 and 23

 Psalm 23 is much the better known of the two psalms.  It is taught to children because it is short and comforting.  Psalm 22 is mostly known as the one that Jesus starts quoting on the cross "My god, my god, why have you forsaken me?"

The two go together. Psalm 22 is I am abandoned and miserable, please listen to me. Then Even so, I trust you to care for me and rescue me.  Psalm 23 is The Lord has cared for me and rescued me.

There Has to be a Catch

 I don't think I've tried to put up an Instagram before.  We'll see. If it doesn't work, this is the link.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FunAnimalFacts (@fun.animal.fact)

There is a catch, now that all of you are considering getting a meerkat. Because they are very social, to keep them as pets you need twenty of them, minimum.  

Do Teachers Need Advanced Degrees?

 Probably not. There is some benefit in the hard sciences for high school students. Little else.

 Ladd and Sorensen’s seminal 2015 paper on this topic used administrative data from North Carolina to assess the effects of teachers earnings Master’s degrees with fixed effects for teachers, students, and schools. With these fixed effects, it’s possible to estimate the effect of Master’s degrees after accounting for things that are constant among these groups. Thus, the question from this study is less ‘Do teachers’ Master’s degrees correlate with their success?’ and closer to ‘Does being conferred a Master’s degree make teachers more successful?’ The answer is a resounding ‘no’, with the only effect being on rates of high absenteeism among the kids, for some reason.

Neither Here Nor There

In NH there are "towns" which straddle the border between two towns.  Pinardville is a section of both Manchester and Goffstown; Suncook has the border between Pembroke and Allenstown down the middle of it; Penacook is part Concord, part Boscawen. All three are heavily French-Canadian, or were when they were first founded. It makes for confusion of school districts, fire department coverage, Post Offices, and even telephone exchanges. A medical office will ask me which pharmacy I prefer, and it still offends me to have to say it's Hannaford in Manchester, because it's not in Manchester. It's a mile over the border, firmly in Goffstown in that Pinardville section which French-Canadians settled long after the town centers were built.

I'm not blaming the immigrants from Quebec. That's where the affordable land was and ethnic groups like to cluster together. The Yankees created the situation and have no call to kick about it now. Yet it does make for multiple answers to the question of "where are we, anyway?"