Gregg R Thomas

jakelafort wrote:
Oh, i remember, i recall, not that i forgot at all. The afternoon, the street; sweet convergence then unknown but put down as a given with the pencil of intent in which true love is written. Organs smitten, covergence riven, the Sack of Suds the protagonist bitten.

I love all of this. I’ve missed this, Jake.

Jared Bernstein, former chair of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, explains why he and other long-time “budget doves” now believe America’s debt has become dangerously unsustainable. He now considers himself a Hawk because America’s budget math just got a lot more dangerous.

For decades, low interest rates relative to economic growth ma…[Read more]

I read a book about the development of Christian sexual morality recently.  (“From sin to shame” by Kyle Harper.)

The Romans had very patriarchal attitudes towards women, and they said it was OK for a man to sleep with whoever as long as they were “smooth” (a boy or a woman) and didn’t take the passive part.

The new Christians were at odds with…[Read more]

jakelafort wrote:
In Jamaica i think gay men are known as battie boys. Not sure of spelling.

Because they do it in the bottom or battie.  Men of Jamaican or African descent are usually pretty homophobic in the UK, but they keep it to themselves out of politeness towards the prevailing norm of tolerance.

Rivalry or healthy competition can be…[Read more]

Wagwan Jake 🙂

@Strega – I feel less weird about it now 

I don’t think you have ever written anything that was not well reasoned and on point.

jakelafort wrote:
Regardless it is a woeful history. A history of classism. A history of exploitation. Native peoples divided and conquered. Their resources taken. White man’s burden and all of that, what? If that is not tribal, us and them, then what is it? Charley Dickens and exploitation of children… Having said that English are just human and…

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I used the word ‘It’ as I knew from the tone of the question that I was just dealing with another one of ‘Them’. A useful idiot spewing “gotcha” type questions who had no comprehension of what had happened in Israel and did not even have the basic facts correct. I only bother speaking with ‘them’ for a few minutes when I can see that I am being…[Read more]

@Reg THANK YOU!! I feel less weird about it now 🙂

Just a few comments.

I’ve only really come across the singling out of Jews since I’ve been in the USA.

I can say the same Strega. I lived for a few years on the East End Road in East Finchley, London. The population was mainly English, Jewish (English and East EuropeanRussian), Indian and Irish. But nobody cared about that. To the point that it…[Read more]

The UK isn’t all that tribal.  We have a long tradition of civility together with freedom of expression.  We seem to value people being themselves.  The extremists (left, right) are the most tribal, but then, we know why.  They just love competition and dominance.