Tom Faranda's Folly

Rugby in Newark: Several USA players in the two British teams

It's London Irish v. Saracens, two of the top England professional sides. The game is at Red Bull Arena, outside of Newark, NJ.

Five of the top Saracens players will not be there - playing for England. hit the link to see which USA internationals are playing for the two teams.

Preview: London Irish v Saracens

 

Moveon.org thrilled with the success of their Anti-Trump Chicago rally

Of course they have endorsed Bernie Sanders, and most of the demonstrators are Sanders people.

Their motto: "Free speech for me, but not for thee." (Nat Hentoff's famous quote)

Here's their email that went out tonight (I'm on their list)

Dear MoveOn member,

Breaking news: Donald Trump just canceled a rally in Chicago after thousands of University of Illinois at Chicago students, community members, and MoveOn members gathered outside and inside the venue in a demonstration that there's no room for Donald Trump's vitriol in their community.¹

This is what standing up to hate looks like—and it's a huge win for courageous student and community organizers who knew they were risking their own safety by taking action. Everywhere Trump goes, his hateful and violence-inciting rhetoric needs to be met with this kind of outpouring of peaceful opposition. 

Everyone needs to see the image of this protest and get ready to stand up to Trump's hate in communities across the country. Can you share this image right now to make sure this is covered far and wide?

 

PBS: Dr. Ben Carson endorsement of Trump

I'm sure this is a pretty big endorsement. Carson becomes more eloquent as he goes along.

To watch the whole endorsement press conference - here's a link.

https://youtu.be/RxfZ3svQ_vA

Rugby: in the Caribbean, prepping for World Cup 2019.

Great! As the former captain of the Jamaica National side (1978-1979) I'm proud of "the boys." When I was there the game was played mainly by expatriates - with the exception of the Army team, there were very few Jamaicans playing. Hopefully the Cayman Islands will also do well (I was there from 1979 to 1981).

Also, amazing that Nigel Owens, who refed the finals of the recent World Cup refed this one.

 

Trump opening & closing statements in last night's debate

Didn't watch the debate - these were posted on youtube. I think very effective.

 

And the close - same theme

Kimmel: Romney reads mean tweets about himself

 

Croton Landing, 6:20pm last evening

Can you see the Sleeping Indian? Across the river, to the left ...

 

Interesting interview on science and religion

In the journal Mercatornet. Takes about ten minutes to read.

An Oxford professor refutes the "new atheist" claim that religion and science are incompatible.

Here's the first of several questions from the interview -

Aceprensa: In your recent book Inventing the Universe: Why We Can't Stop Talking About Science, Faith and God, you say that you were a convinced atheist and thought that science and religion were incompatible. But you changed this point of view through intellectual reasoning. How did you discover the importance of religion?

Alister McGrath: I think there were two stages in my transition away from atheism towards religion. One was the growing realization that science did not demand atheism. It was just an option – and there were other options that increasingly seemed to be more interesting. The second was my realization that science didn’t really answer the “big questions” about life – such as the meaning of my life. These lay beyond the limits of science. I began to realize that human beings need existential answers about meaning, purpose and value, not just an understanding about how the universe works.I later came across this quotation from the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, which seemed to me to express this point well.

Scientific truth is characterised by its exactness and the rigorous quality of its assumptions. But experimental science wins these admirable qualities at the cost of maintaining itself on a plane of secondary problems and leaving the decisive and ultimate questions intact.

Aceprensa: In your recent book Inventing the Universe: Why We Can't Stop Talking About Science, Faith and God, you say that you were a convinced atheist and thought that science and religion were incompatible. But you changed this point of view through intellectual reasoning. How did you discover the importance of religion?

Alister McGrath: I think there were two stages in my transition away from atheism towards religion. One was the growing realization that science did not demand atheism. It was just an option – and there were other options that increasingly seemed to be more interesting. The second was my realization that science didn’t really answer the “big questions” about life – such as the meaning of my life. These lay beyond the limits of science. I began to realize that human beings need existential answers about meaning, purpose and value, not just an understanding about how the universe works. I later came across this quotation from the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, which seemed to me to express this point well.

Scientific truth is characterised by its exactness and the rigorous quality of its assumptions. But experimental science wins these admirable qualities at the cost of maintaining itself on a plane of secondary problems and leaving the decisive and ultimate questions intact. 

- See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/wheres-the-conflict/17724#sthash.GqWsDqjp.dpuf

Aceprensa: In your recent book Inventing the Universe: Why We Can't Stop Talking About Science, Faith and God, you say that you were a convinced atheist and thought that science and religion were incompatible. But you changed this point of view through intellectual reasoning. How did you discover the importance of religion?

Alister McGrath: I think there were two stages in my transition away from atheism towards religion. One was the growing realization that science did not demand atheism. It was just an option – and there were other options that increasingly seemed to be more interesting. The second was my realization that science didn’t really answer the “big questions” about life – such as the meaning of my life. These lay beyond the limits of science. I began to realize that human beings need existential answers about meaning, purpose and value, not just an understanding about how the universe works. I later came across this quotation from the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, which seemed to me to express this point well.

Scientific truth is characterised by its exactness and the rigorous quality of its assumptions. But experimental science wins these admirable qualities at the cost of maintaining itself on a plane of secondary problems and leaving the decisive and ultimate questions intact. 

- See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/wheres-the-conflict/17724#sthash.GqWsDqjp.dpuf

Aceprensa: In your recent book Inventing the Universe: Why We Can't Stop Talking About Science, Faith and God, you say that you were a convinced atheist and thought that science and religion were incompatible. But you changed this point of view through intellectual reasoning. How did you discover the importance of religion?

Alister McGrath: I think there were two stages in my transition away from atheism towards religion. One was the growing realization that science did not demand atheism. It was just an option – and there were other options that increasingly seemed to be more interesting. The second was my realization that science didn’t really answer the “big questions” about life – such as the meaning of my life. These lay beyond the limits of science. I began to realize that human beings need existential answers about meaning, purpose and value, not just an understanding about how the universe works. I later came across this quotation from the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, which seemed to me to express this point well.

Scientific truth is characterised by its exactness and the rigorous quality of its assumptions. But experimental science wins these admirable qualities at the cost of maintaining itself on a plane of secondary problems and leaving the decisive and ultimate questions intact. 

- See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/wheres-the-conflict/17724#sthash.GqWsDqjp.dpuf

Aceprensa: In your recent book Inventing the Universe: Why We Can't Stop Talking About Science, Faith and God, you say that you were a convinced atheist and thought that science and religion were incompatible. But you changed this point of view through intellectual reasoning. How did you discover the importance of religion?

Alister McGrath: I think there were two stages in my transition away from atheism towards religion. One was the growing realization that science did not demand atheism. It was just an option – and there were other options that increasingly seemed to be more interesting. The second was my realization that science didn’t really answer the “big questions” about life – such as the meaning of my life. These lay beyond the limits of science. I began to realize that human beings need existential answers about meaning, purpose and value, not just an understanding about how the universe works. I later came across this quotation from the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, which seemed to me to express this point well.

Scientific truth is characterised by its exactness and the rigorous quality of its assumptions. But experimental science wins these admirable qualities at the cost of maintaining itself on a plane of secondary problems and leaving the decisive and ultimate questions intact. 

- See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/wheres-the-conflict/17724#sthash.GqWsDqjp.dpuf

NY Times Style mag. makes it official: EDC and multi-tools are cool!

It's in the NY Times Style section! Your EDC (every day carry) things like the small flashlight, the swiss army knife, the fire starter, a leatherman wave, even the Israeli trauma bandage - you're in with the in-crowd if you carry them!

in fact, you are groovy.

Article below (FULL DISCLOSURE: Everything I linked to above, I own + more... guess I'm a geeky gear guy. Not that I carry it all every day). If you hit the link it's only seven  somewhat amusing paragraphs.

The art of equipping yourself for the battle of the everyday.

About four years ago, I began carrying with me everywhere I went a gentleman’s pocketknife, first-aid supplies and a small high-powered flashlight. These new items seemed a natural extension of an intensifying handiness that also had me filling tiny Muji containers with the toiletries I needed on daily trips to the pool. As my kit grew, my Internet searches began turning up people on blogs and forums who had pockets and bags full of strikingly similar gear. They called their assortments ‘‘everyday carry.’’

Everyday carry (or E.D.C.) denotes what you carry wherever you go. It is a niche preparedness culture that is lately becoming mainstream; amid the groundswell, it has been called a ‘‘movement,’’ a ‘‘mindset’’ and even a ‘‘philosophy,’’ for it also connotes a heightened consciousness about what you carry and why. The objects in an individual’s E.D.C. may be as unremarkable as keys, a cell phone and a wallet, but might be as various as a brass marine shackle or a tourniquet, a seatbelt cutter or a small multipurpose tool that looks like a seahorse, a reclining monkey or a gaping tyrannosaur. E.D.C. sites are awash in lovingly curated still lifes of all this — a murse dump with occasional Glocks.

Underlying E.D.C.’s new popularity, as the provisioner and educator Bryan Black explains, is a growing perception of risk that outpaces any growth in the frequency of actual risks that one might encounter.

 

 

NatGeo: Moose loses his antler

Very short video - funny to hear the reaction of the family when it happens.

Rugby: Penalty kick ... hits both posts ... and goes through!

You don't see this too often.

The question: Who is the Nation's capital named after?

Another variation on "who is buried in Grant's Tomb"? Sad really - many of these people do vote - this year they're "feeling the Bern" no doubt. How 'bout the guy with the "I love DC" t shirt? Howard Stern likes to ask these type of questions around election time in NY City and the same level of intelligence is displayed. The comments by the Italian tourist couple at the end are quite amusing.

 

Rugby: USA 7's final day

The semi-finals and finals, three exciting games. USA now ranked #5 on the World Series Table.

Jeanne Robertson: "Grandma Freddie's trip to the Holy Land"

I haven't put up one of her videos in awhile. A funny five minutes.

 

Rugby: USA 7's, day 2 with quarterfinals

USA into semi-finals.

 

Clinton, first time political appearance on FOX News

Monday with Sanders in a one hour Town Hall. Mrs. Clinton has avoided FOX in the past.

 Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs told The New York Times there had been talk about having Republican front-runner Donald Trump also appear at the event. Briggs said Sanders welcomed the idea but that Trump turned down the invitation.

Initially Clinton's campaign said she could not attend because of a "conflict in her campaign schedule."

Monday’s event marks the first Democratic town hall on Fox News for the 2016 presidential election cycle.

It will also be Sanders’ first appearance on “Special Report.”

CNN: Joey Feek, Country singer

I never heard of this lady but there was an interesting and both sad/uplifting video about the end of her life. Grace and dignity...

Personal lives and Joey Feeks cancer struggle

 

Rugby: USA 7's, Day 1

Part of the 7 a-side World Series and played in Las Vegas.

Kasich at CPAC, lays out his vision

The interview is with a guy (Hannity) who's not a great interviewer. But still good stuff from Kasich.

 

Laughing at Trump?!

This is going around the internet (FULL DISCLOSURE - I'm for Kasich), although I'm not sure it actually is a Gandhi quote (UPDATE, yes it is Gandhi - I checked) -

John Kasich on religious freedom

Brigid and I watched about 25 minutes of the republican debate last night, and Kasich - my guy - seemed to be the only adult on the stage. UPDATE: I'm told Kasich actually said "people tell me your the only adult on the stage."

 

Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail - 2,650 miles - in under five minutes.

The hiker who made the vid - "BearSnack"

Just posted on youtube two days ago.

 

Rugby: Scotland v. Italy

An entertaining game, played in Italy.

Tavis Smiley: "Black America could get on Trump train"

Tavis Sniley is an African American journalist and activist (& fervent Democrat).

I heard him several weeks ago talking about his disappointment with Obama; "On every leading economic issue, in the leading economic issues Black Americans have lost ground in every one of those leading categories.”

He thinks Trump could do OK with Black voters.

For starters, charisma, charm and likeability aren’t transferable. While the chance to elect the first woman president is indeed tantalizing for many, in black America specifically, it’s not exactly the same as watching an African-American first family taking up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Indeed, even women haven’t as yet rallied en masse around Hillary the way black folk did around Obama.

He then lists three other reasons for Democrats to worry, and mentions that many successful African Americans are not attacking Trump the way Black media people are.

Rugby: USA v. Brazil

Brazil? Big upset at the last minute. No audio. I posted this yesterday -  Rugby: New USA coach John Mitchell   - and he can't be happy. 

CNN: Trump - "Everything is Negotiable"

UPDATE: He made the same points in his speech/press conference after the Super Tuesday results started coming in last night. We watched it, and I must say he was surprisingly good in sounding reasonable as he made his points.

His first book is called "The Art of the Deal".

 

WaPo: How Clinton is preparing to go after Trump

From the Washington Post yesterday -

The crux of Clinton’s strategy, several allies said, would be to compare Trump’s immigration program to hers: a wall and a hard line on deportation vs. a path to citizenship and an emphasis on keeping families together. This construct has already been used by Clinton, as well as by surrogates in Nevada and Colorado, and Clinton allies envision it as a rallying cry for Hispanic support in the general election.

The NY Times had a similar article yesterday on the Clinton plans - here's part of a commentary on the article from the WSJ's James Taranto -

The Times notes understatedly that Mrs. Clinton has had an “uneven performance with male voters so far,” and it closes with this quote from an Obama man, who (though the Times doesn’t say so) now backs Mrs. Clinton:

It will be hard for Mrs. Clinton to focus on policy and stay above the fray as her opponent and her own operation dig in for a brutish campaign. “Hope and change, not so much,” said David Plouffe, who managed Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign, referring to the slogan that defined that race. “More like hate and castrate.”

Yankee stuff - A-Rod working out at spring training

Not exactly knocking himself out running that gentle hill. On the other hand, maybe he spent the off-season hitting the weights? Looks like a bigger upper body and bigger butt. Maybe just a good tailor?

 

Rugby: New USA coach John Mitchell

Mitchell is from New Zealand and a controversial coach. He's had some very mixed past results - evidently not the easiest guy to work with. Maybe he's outgrown that?

 

Trump Surge: "...nearly 20,000 MA. Dems quit Party"

Secretary of State William Galvin said more than 16,300 Democrats have shed their party affiliation and become independent voters since Jan. 1, while nearly 3,500 more shifted to the MassGOP ahead of tomorrow’s “Super Tuesday” presidential primary.

Galvin called both “significant” changes that dwarf similar shifts ahead of other primary votes, including in 2000, when some Democrats flocked from the party in order to cast a vote for Sen. John McCain in the GOP primary.

The primary reason? Galvin said his “guess” is simple: “The Trump phenomenon,” a reference to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who polls show enjoying a massive lead over rivals Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and others among Massachusetts Republican voters.

“The tenor of the Republican campaign has been completely different from what we’ve seen in prior Republican presidential campaigns,” Galvin said. “You have to look no farther than the viewership for some of the televised debates.

“The New York Times referred to the campaign as crude; I suppose that’s fair,” added Galvin, a Democrat. “The fact of the matter is the tenor has been very different this time. And that has an effect. People are interested. It’s exciting.”