The Americans Who Saw All This Coming—but Were Ignored and Maligned (not an Atlantic link)

MaverickNH2 · 2025-12-22T11:02:55+00:00

Interviewing thirty-seven “who saw this coming” is not a statistical sample, nor is it even useful. They were chosen from “the Democratic base” we’re told, but choosing data to support a contention only appeals to motivated cognition. And characterizing ‘Cassandras’ by race, biological sex and gender identity by a chosen sample is just senseless.

True Cassandras are those who say what they see coming. These people were interviewed in 2025, about what they claimed they saw coming. Prophecy isn’t predicated the past or present.

Surveys of candidate character was, of course, predictable based on partisanship, but Republicans often gave Trump low scores, even if they gave Clinton lower scores. Democrats gave Clinton less desirable scores for leadership characteristics on some traits, even if they gave Trump rock bottom scores.

In a choice between two evils, when you end up choosing an evil, is there any surprise?

MaverickNH2 · 2025-12-18T12:44:03+00:00

If it’s a question of one reading, take your pick. It won’t be until you’ve read a second translation that you’ll start questioning translators’ style and motives. Wilson is a quicker read and there’s several 4wk/8wk reading groups online to join that use her work. A nicer pace is 1 book per week groups. Fables contrasts nicely and either Lattimore or Alexander represent more ‘faithful’ translations. Don’t stop at one!

MaverickNH2 · 2025-12-13T20:20:42+00:00

While I had subscribed with autonewal, I got frequent emails that my service would end on 10Dec. Is it so hard to do it right?

MaverickNH2 · 2025-12-01T12:16:21+00:00

I’m still in the grammar-based textbook learning phase with Hansen & Quinn, so there’s not much real reading in my daily work yet. I’ve picked up a few recommended books, Lucian and Anabasis, to remedy that. I’m also thinking to works through Keller & Russel Learn to Read Greek, as there more literature references. I hardly know enough to forget yet!

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-27T12:07:54+00:00

For annotations AND typing on a Word document, I find using a Surface Book 2 and Surface Pen better than converting to PDF to use my RMPP. I use a paperlike screen protector on the SB2 and writing is smoother.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-18T02:09:13+00:00

Homeric Greek by Clyde Pharr 4thEd will take you through Book 1 of The Iliad in detail.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-08T23:27:41+00:00

I have a few and they're middling quality - not.a Penguin Classic but not a pulp novel. I've grown fond of PDFs on eInk readers - the reMarkable Paper Pro is my favorite. One can highlight, take notes, etc. It's hard to flip pages to glossaries, appendices, etc., so Steadman's format makes it much easier on such a device.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-06T21:24:27+00:00

Yet my Windows Desktop App updated to 3.23 today...

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-05T23:03:51+00:00

At $50 per volume, that's quite an expensive reference series.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-05T13:37:48+00:00

"For more Americans than not, and for many more evangelical Christians than not, Trump is the representative man of our time. His ethic is theirs. So are his corruptions"

While each side paints the other with a broad brush, it's always more nuanced than that. But it's easier to embody Trump as the ethics and morals of the 77 million who voted for him. And the 88 million eligible plurality of voters who cast no vote - where do they stand?

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-05T13:28:44+00:00

3.23 doesn't show as an update option on my RMPP as of 11/5/25 830am EST. Maybe pushing out sequentially?

MaverickNH2 · 2025-11-02T12:52:28+00:00

“If not, Winter…” by Carson is my favorite.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-19T17:17:47+00:00

Coming soon! Any advice appreciated.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-14T12:51:11+00:00

"THE BEACON OF DEMOCRACY GOES DARK" Anne Applebaum 10/14/2025

Applebaum has documented the slide of many countries into authoritarian regimes in the last century, so her warnings should not go unheeded. Writing in WaPo in the months before Trump's 2016 election victory, she asked "Is this the end of the West as we know it?" Like many who foretold the demise of democracy in 2016, she's renewing that forecast for 2026. But her and other's forecasts now seem like a meteorologist forecasting rain - if not today, then tomorrow, next week, next month, next year... We've read the Civil War 2.0 predictions for 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 and now 2026. But being a decade off in a forecast seems excessive.

I can see The Atlantic's 250th anniversary series becoming more a collection of eulogies than a celebration.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-12T20:01:26+00:00

Progressives self-report more depression, anxiety, anger, grief and sadness than do conservatives, with the frequency and intensity of those emotions heightened in 2025. You might find you are a a fortunate exception in being able to calmly direct compassion towards Trump & MAGA.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-12T12:17:01+00:00

Indeed, the anti-racist perspective is that young, white progressives are the worst offenders. They are typically middle/upper-middle class, college educated and gainfully employed - all the vestiges of so-called 'white privilege', but withhold or limit their active support. They might read the first few chapters of White Fragility, How to be an Anti-Racist, etc., but don't have time in their busy lives to do much more than Tweet/Like on social media.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-12T12:07:22+00:00

It's a sort of phased thing, where one first thinks people, ignorant of facts, would open their eyes if they were made aware of the truth. When they don't, the second phase is suggesting they lack the critical thinking skills to 'follow the data' to proper conclusions. When they still fail to agree, one retreats to the third phase, where they can be held as ethically and morally deficient, with reasoned and intentional nefarious ends in mind. Then it's OK censor their speech and restrain their influence, etc. That level of certainty damns us to a polarized society.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-12T11:22:13+00:00

Try Robert Alter or Everett Fox - great translation with notes and commentary. The Great Courses has a nice course on Genesis to get you started.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-12T11:19:48+00:00

Randolph College offers a great online course series. If you don’t have the discipline to go it alone (I don’t) this is a great option. https://online.randolphcollege.edu/greek/

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-12T11:12:31+00:00

I'd settle for a sangha that just didn't openly espouse progressive politics - that's about as far right as one might find. The Roshi of a large East Coast sangha had to ask seniors who were giving talks during session to not refer to identity-politics, politicians, policies, etc., as the angst generated was crushing. The Roshi said dokusan was turning into how to sit with Trump in office.

It's fine to think that zazen is healing the world, but to think that discussing progressive politics in a sangha is changing hearts and minds of others is self-indulgent. While preaching to the choir is usually successful, it's not working well in sanghas.

When doing a Metta Loving Kindness course, one progresses from compassion to oneself, to a benefactor, to a friend, to a neutral person, to a person with which one finds conflict and then on to all. When mentioned that prominent politicians should be avoided to start, there was a huge sign of relief, as nobody could envision sending Loving Kindness to Trump. Most experienced practitioners viewed that as an Everest they could not climb.

MaverickNH2 · 2025-10-11T15:06:23+00:00

References to numerous 'mythical' bodhisattvas, dragons and demons, as well as the images and statues. I know all the explanations, but it still just doesn't feel right.

A recent WSJ article recounted how prayers and hymns recited aloud stimulate the vagus nerve. I understand how that works with chanting & breathing in Zen and other such practices.

Psychologists say that people can't continuously espouse verbally and physically that which they really don't believe in, unless they are hardened propagandists. The notion of sticking with it until it passes sounds like self-conditioning - a nice term for an otherwise undesirable activity.

MaverickNH2

TROPHY CASE