Main challenge: Dreams exceed the means. Goal: a place relatively remote (1-2 hours to nearest medium/large city), relatively cheap, with sufficient resources (accessible water table or on property water) in a jurisdiction that's not in the process of ruining itself. (You pick your own value for "ruin" -- i suspect we'd agree.)
Progressives love fantasy and fictional drama. Their entire policy platform is predicated on it and it's why the NYT writes articles like the one you mentioned. If no real enemy exists, you must fabricate one to rally the masses. Marx is well-studied among the progressive intelligentsia.
Walter thanks for standing watch on the hill. But what happens when the country wakes up and finds out that nobody else is standing watch? That entire chunks of the narrative and what they believed just were theater? That they're screwed. A lot of them want to move your way. "There’s trouble afoot – you can feel it everywhere, particularly if you dwell near nuclear missiles". Yes. There is trouble afoot. I would expand that to add in "particularly if you dwell near nuclear missiles, particularly if you live where there’s no cover or in big cities where you thought you had police or services or the rule of law —and someone has to stand lookout on the hill."
I find the ignorant stereotypes the article mentions give me confidence in rough neighborhoods. I grew up in Missoula, Montana. Then we moved back to Chicago in 1964. Nowadays, wearing a Stetson cowboy hat on the South Side is mild mugger repellant. People figure I'm likely to be packing, so they call me sir and leave me alone when I visit my grandson at the University of Chicago. My Vietnam Era Veteran hat seems to work the same way. It’s amazing! I haven't shot a gun in 50 years, but if people make assumptions, I ain't gonna set them straight.
Many residents of Wyoming, home of F.E. Warren Air Force Base, would agree with Durant's take on the ill informed elite opinions about the culture, history and politics found in the rural West. Whether in Pray, Montana (my grandparents ranched there for many years) or Chugwater, Wyoming (near where I ranched for many years) many folks have a fear that recent arrivals, fleeing from the East and West coasts will bring their bad habits and bad politics with them.
Dysfunction at the federal level appears to be the norm. I suppose levity is the best approach when calling it out. An enjoyable article about a disturbing subject, thank you.
Oddly I'd never heard of Walter Kirn until yesterday. And it was because of a long time leftist friend linking to a completely unrelated tweet about ChatGPT. Then I see this prose on TheFP and the tweet suddenly makes complete sense.
You should subscribe to Matt Taibbi's Substack. It was formerly titled "TK News" but he recently changed it to "The Racket". Taibbi and Kirn do a weekly podcast discussing one or more current events. It is a great discussion (this from a guy who really dislikes podcasts - Bari's are nearly unlistenable). Walter is a treasure: a voice and speaking style akin to comedian Lewis Black, but better read than Black. Always insightful, never boring, frequently hilarious. Highly recommended. The most recent podcast discussed the Columbia Journalism Review multi-part piece on the Press's handling of the Russia Collusion nonsense. Taibbi and Kirn are excellent discussing it. They eviscerate several journalists who are exposed in the article. It is written by Jeff Gerth, retired NYT journal, who has lots of journo credibility. He is the real deal, the piece by Gerth is the real deal, you might take a gander at it: https://www.cjr.org/special_report/trumped-up-press-versus-president-part-1.phpd.
I have been beyond depressed by Biden administration. I will highlight my politics. I voted for Biden because I loathed Trump. But going on year 3; inflation through the roof, an international crisis on a daily basis, and a nation on the brink of World War 3. We have a Fed raising interest rates with reckless abandon further diminishing dreams of working class Americans to buy a house. Interest rates should have steadily increased for years, but instead we have constant reactionary chaos from alleged economic geniuses.
This has been an awful Administration, period. Awful. The spy balloon is just one more farce on the record of Biden. He will lose to Trump in 2024, which is probably the worst result we could have expected in 2020. At least if Trump had won reelection in 2020, then in 2024 both of these candidates would be gone.
60,000 feet. Too high for private aircraft, but easy peasy for the USAF. Our military is too busy fighting phantom white supremacy to do their real job.
Objecting to a Chinese spy balloon over your house seems super racist to me. Typical Montana attitude. (Sorry! Couldn't resist. I'm just in one of those moods today.)
Thanks -- and fully agreed.
Main challenge: Dreams exceed the means. Goal: a place relatively remote (1-2 hours to nearest medium/large city), relatively cheap, with sufficient resources (accessible water table or on property water) in a jurisdiction that's not in the process of ruining itself. (You pick your own value for "ruin" -- i suspect we'd agree.)
Progressives love fantasy and fictional drama. Their entire policy platform is predicated on it and it's why the NYT writes articles like the one you mentioned. If no real enemy exists, you must fabricate one to rally the masses. Marx is well-studied among the progressive intelligentsia.
Did Canadians see the Chinese spy balloon?
Apparently Columbia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela saw another Chinese spy balloon were too afraid to say something that would upset China
Do you believe that it was not possible to shoot down the balloon over the wide open spaces of Montana? Seems like they could have found a place.
Walter thanks for standing watch on the hill. But what happens when the country wakes up and finds out that nobody else is standing watch? That entire chunks of the narrative and what they believed just were theater? That they're screwed. A lot of them want to move your way. "There’s trouble afoot – you can feel it everywhere, particularly if you dwell near nuclear missiles". Yes. There is trouble afoot. I would expand that to add in "particularly if you dwell near nuclear missiles, particularly if you live where there’s no cover or in big cities where you thought you had police or services or the rule of law —and someone has to stand lookout on the hill."
The New York times is terrible. Don't waste your time on it.
Got a couple of months to go!
I find the ignorant stereotypes the article mentions give me confidence in rough neighborhoods. I grew up in Missoula, Montana. Then we moved back to Chicago in 1964. Nowadays, wearing a Stetson cowboy hat on the South Side is mild mugger repellant. People figure I'm likely to be packing, so they call me sir and leave me alone when I visit my grandson at the University of Chicago. My Vietnam Era Veteran hat seems to work the same way. It’s amazing! I haven't shot a gun in 50 years, but if people make assumptions, I ain't gonna set them straight.
Many residents of Wyoming, home of F.E. Warren Air Force Base, would agree with Durant's take on the ill informed elite opinions about the culture, history and politics found in the rural West. Whether in Pray, Montana (my grandparents ranched there for many years) or Chugwater, Wyoming (near where I ranched for many years) many folks have a fear that recent arrivals, fleeing from the East and West coasts will bring their bad habits and bad politics with them.
CORRECTION: Schumer NOT Shummer
😐
Dysfunction at the federal level appears to be the norm. I suppose levity is the best approach when calling it out. An enjoyable article about a disturbing subject, thank you.
Oddly I'd never heard of Walter Kirn until yesterday. And it was because of a long time leftist friend linking to a completely unrelated tweet about ChatGPT. Then I see this prose on TheFP and the tweet suddenly makes complete sense.
You should subscribe to Matt Taibbi's Substack. It was formerly titled "TK News" but he recently changed it to "The Racket". Taibbi and Kirn do a weekly podcast discussing one or more current events. It is a great discussion (this from a guy who really dislikes podcasts - Bari's are nearly unlistenable). Walter is a treasure: a voice and speaking style akin to comedian Lewis Black, but better read than Black. Always insightful, never boring, frequently hilarious. Highly recommended. The most recent podcast discussed the Columbia Journalism Review multi-part piece on the Press's handling of the Russia Collusion nonsense. Taibbi and Kirn are excellent discussing it. They eviscerate several journalists who are exposed in the article. It is written by Jeff Gerth, retired NYT journal, who has lots of journo credibility. He is the real deal, the piece by Gerth is the real deal, you might take a gander at it: https://www.cjr.org/special_report/trumped-up-press-versus-president-part-1.phpd.
I have been beyond depressed by Biden administration. I will highlight my politics. I voted for Biden because I loathed Trump. But going on year 3; inflation through the roof, an international crisis on a daily basis, and a nation on the brink of World War 3. We have a Fed raising interest rates with reckless abandon further diminishing dreams of working class Americans to buy a house. Interest rates should have steadily increased for years, but instead we have constant reactionary chaos from alleged economic geniuses.
This has been an awful Administration, period. Awful. The spy balloon is just one more farce on the record of Biden. He will lose to Trump in 2024, which is probably the worst result we could have expected in 2020. At least if Trump had won reelection in 2020, then in 2024 both of these candidates would be gone.
Aren't there any private aircraft in Montana? How high was the balloon?
60,000 feet. Too high for private aircraft, but easy peasy for the USAF. Our military is too busy fighting phantom white supremacy to do their real job.
Objecting to a Chinese spy balloon over your house seems super racist to me. Typical Montana attitude. (Sorry! Couldn't resist. I'm just in one of those moods today.)
This happened just as the balloon appeared. Coincidence?
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/31/us-stops-granting-export-licenses-for-chinas-huawei-sources-say.html