Stephen > Recent Status Updates

Grant did what he had to. Pin Lee down while Sherman, Sheridan, and Thomas finished off all of the other southern armies. No, Grant never defeated Lee in a decisive battle, but Lee never defeated Grant either. Cold Harbor, while bloody, was not decisive. The union kept the field and it changed nothing. Petersburg could be considered decisive for Grant, but the prolonged nature of it makes it not so much.

Living in the south, reading about Grant is refreshing.

Ah, the Vineyard. That's who is to blame for the whole modern mega-church phenomena with pretend rock/country music, faux-casual attire, and claims to be "non-denominational" even though they are thinly veiled Pentecostal or Baptist.

"The 1960's enabled a deep and broad believe-anything-you-want ethos that ended up powering the political right more than the left" - This is sad but true. The current situation on the right with science denial and wild belief in conspiracies, plus their radical religiosity (compared to anything in Europe or even most of our own history), is a direct result of the 1960's mentality of individual above all.

This guy has some good points. The Mormons and Baptists are really uniquely American inventions with no more relationship to previous Christianity than Christianity had to Judaism (i.e.; they both represent pretty significant theological breaks). No judgement on if that is good or bad, just something we tend to forget.

Really enjoying this one

France and Italy are such a mess during this period it is hard to follow the history. France has so many Dukes, barons, and alternate royal lines it is hard to keep track. Italy is pure intrigue. Germany and Spain are much more entertaining, and I suspect England of this time period will be too.

Reading Harper Lee is like having a talk with an old friend.

I get what she is saying that pit bulls are not statistically more prone to aggressive behavior towards humans than any other dog. I have owned a a couple though and they do have some common traits.
Mouthy - They really like chew toys, tug-o-war, etc.
Jealous and protective - Which probably leads to most attacks.
Aggressive towards other dogs - They want to be alpha. Not hate, they just want to be #1.

Tom Aberant has a lot more patience than me. I would not have suffered Anabel for long. The type of woman where every little thing becomes a drama. There are plenty out there like that. They are only as good as their ability to attract foolish or stupid men and gullible friends.

Gosh I hate the young Anabel character. So self important and she doesn't even know it. She is a totally accurate character for her age and type, but that does not make her anymore likable.

This is really good.

This one can be a slog at times, excellent at others. But anyway, I got to this part on 60's era radicals and Saul Alinsky who Hillary Clinton famously wrote a masters thesis on came up. That dude is interesting. The Rules for Radicals can easily be applied to small organizations (like dog rescues or other activist groups). He was a total pragmatist that would form coalitions to win small victories.