Hi Gog.

Okay, but if he'd put all his money in at that moment, he'd have been one of the richest men in America by inauguration day.

He wasn't close.

Angie.

Are any of you guys into Raspberry PI?, because java.

Two great ones via Sailer:

A fabulous new way to admire capitalist markets.

This presumably comports with observed gender difference in intelligence, etc.

This has nothing to do with carbs, and chances are that it also has nothing to do with Acrylamide.

Wanna bet that eventually we're going to find out that it's because it's affecting the business of someone with close ties the EU bureaucratic body?

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.4169254/belgium-fights-for-its-famous-fries-after-eu-deems-them-unsafe-1.4169259

Harvard Business Review says Uber can't be fixed, especially since its core business model is rooted in lawbreaking or, at the very least, law avoiding.

Wanna bet that eventually we're going to find out that it's because it's affecting the business of someone with close ties the EU bureaucratic body? ~ Sixclaws at June 21, 2017 6:04 AM

Is policing pommes frites really why the EU was formed? This is the same kind of bureaucratic regulatory overreach that brought them Brexit; and us the election of Donald Trump.

Well, EU bureaucrats live for that. Specially when a village in the middle of nowhere starts crying that foreign imports is harming sales of their precious Protected Designation of Origin produce.

This could take far longer to confront than it's already taken to uncover...

I should probably mention, first, that both the rapist (a doctor) and the main featured victim are white. (Many of the crimes took place in Bangladesh.) The doctor's crimes could easily go back as far as the 1960s.

I swear, talk about promoting the idea that the real crime is BEING raped. Btw, ABWE stands for Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. MKs are Missionary Kids.

https://newrepublic.com/article/142999/silence-lambs-protestants-concealing-catholic-size-sexual-abuse-scandal

"The Silence of the Lambs: Are Protestants concealing a Catholic-sized scandal?"

By Kathryn Joyce (author of "Quiverfull").

It's 9 pages long, in the hard copy.

Excerpts:

...(In 1989, 13-year-old) Kim gave the pastor only a partial, fuzzy account of what had happened to her; as a child raised in a fundamentalist “haven,” she lacked the vocabulary to describe sex acts, let alone understand them. But rather than call Kim’s parents or contact the police, the shocked cleric turned to a higher authority, placing an urgent call to ABWE headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

That, Kim would realize many years later, was when the cover-up began...

...For evangelical Christians like Ken and Sue James, bringing up kids in a close-knit fundamentalist community feels like blessing them with the ultimate “safe space” from the moral laxity of the larger culture. Sexual abuse is something that happens in the secular world, not among the God-fearing. This, after all, is the universe of abstinence pledges and old-fashioned courtship, where parents build their entire lives around shielding their children from worldly temptations.

Yet the potential for sexual abuse is actually exacerbated by the core identity of fundamentalist groups like ABWE. Like Catholics, fundamentalists preach strict obedience to religious authority. Sex is not only prohibited outside of marriage, but rarely discussed. These overlapping dynamics of silence and submission make conservative Christians a ripe target for sexual predators. As one convicted child abuser tells clinical psychologist Anna Salter in her book Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, “Church people are easy to fool.”

Over the past five years, in fact, it has become increasingly clear—even to some conservative Christians—that fundamentalist churches face a widespread epidemic of sexual abuse and institutional denial that could ultimately involve more victims than the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church. In 2012, an investigation at Bob Jones University, known as the “fortress of fundamentalism,” revealed that the school had systematically covered up allegations of sexual assault and counseled victims to forgive their attackers. Sovereign Grace, a network of “neo-Calvinist” churches, has been facing multiple allegations of child molestation and sexual abuse. In 2014, a New Republic investigation found that school officials at Patrick Henry College, a popular destination for Christian homeschoolers, had routinely responded to rape and harassment claims by treating perpetrators with impunity, discouraging women from going to the police, and blaming them for dressing immodestly...

...This burgeoning crisis of abuse has received far less attention than the well-documented scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. That’s in part because the evangelical and fundamentalist world, unlike the Catholic hierarchy, is diverse and fractious, composed of thousands of far-flung denominations, ministries, parachurch groups, and missions like ABWE. Among Christian evangelicals, there is no central church authority to investigate, punish, or reform. Groups like ABWE answer only to themselves.

The scale of potential abuse is huge. Evangelical Protestants far outnumber Catholics in the United States, with more than 280,000 churches, religious schools, and affiliated organizations. In 2007, the three leading insurance companies that provide coverage for the majority of Protestant institutions said they received an average of 260 reports per year of child sexual abuse at the hands of church leaders and members. By contrast, the Catholic Church was reporting 228 “credible accusations” per year.

“Protestants have responded much worse than the Catholics to this issue,” says Boz Tchividjian, a former child sex-abuse prosecutor who is the grandson of legendary evangelist Billy Graham. “One of the reasons is that, like it or not, the Catholics have been forced, through three decades of lawsuits, to address this issue. We’ve never been forced to deal with it on a Protestant-wide basis.”

To investigate and expose sexual abuse in evangelical churches, Tchividjian founded GRACE, short for Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment. In 2011, the group was hired to look into what had happened on the Bangladesh compound. While the abuse itself took place long ago, ABWE’s denial and coverup spanned more than two decades—a pattern that eerily replicates the Catholic scandal. The authoritarianism that often prevails in fundamentalist circles, Tchividjian says, is what sets the stage for widespread abuse—and for the systematic mishandling of reported cases. “When you have so much concentrated authority, in so few fallible individuals, problems percolate,” he says. “And when they do, they’re not often addressed. Because the leaders who hold all the authority decide what to do with them.”

It didn’t take long for Kim to wish that she had never said a word to her pastor. Two days after his emergency call to ABWE headquarters in Pennsylvania, two high-level staffers from the organization landed in Indiana. Kim came to think of them as “the Russes.” Russell Ebersole was ABWE’s executive administrator for the Far East. Russell Lloyd was a prominent counselor for the missionary group, eschewing traditional psychology for “Bible-based” therapy methods...

(you won't believe what happens next, which I skipped over)

...the Russes took pains to contain the story. They held what they called an “Extraordinary Meeting” to give adults at the compound a euphemistic account of what had happened, telling them Ketcham was leaving and not to discuss the matter further. (A nurse who attended the meeting recalled years later that the missionaries complied, in part, because of their strong belief in a verse from the Bible: “For it is shameful to mention what the disobedient do in secret.”)...

...In 2011, Kim helped Baker launch a blog, Bangladesh MKs Speak. They began publishing testimonies of those who had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Ketcham—and, most explosively, the ABWE documents Kim had obtained. Within the first week, the blog attracted some 1,600 comments, including stricken responses from ABWE parents and former MKs, and a horrified testimony from Ketcham’s pastor in Michigan, who said ABWE had grossly misled him about why Ketcham had left the mission.

The blog sparked new allegations of abuse. One day, as it was preparing to launch, Diana called an old missionary friend to talk about how best to be supportive of her sister’s project. As they chatted about Ketcham, Diana recalled the time she’d stayed at Uncle Donn’s house while her parents were away. She was in bed, fading in and out of consciousness. Ketcham, leaning over her, told her she had typhoid fever. The rest was a blur.

Her friend was stunned. “The same thing happened to me,” she said. Left with the Ketchams, the friend had also been diagnosed with “typhoid.” She woke up foggy-headed and troubled by strange dreams, with symptoms of a urinary tract infection. Soon thereafter, she began to experience insomnia, depression, and severe anxiety—symptoms of PTSD that would last into early adulthood...

...The explosive findings about Donn Ketcham’s serial abuse, and ABWE’s role in covering it up, did not make big headlines. Such stories rarely do. It’s another product of the sprawling, disparate world of Christian fundamentalism: Even the ugliest story about a relatively obscure Baptist denomination isn’t going to get Catholic scandal–level attention. But the report that finally emerged, almost three decades after Kim James was raped in Bangladesh, added to the growing evidence of a widespread crisis of sexual abuse in conservative Protestantism.

Kim’s name is now on legislation that would close the legal loophole that helped Ketcham evade punishment. The Kimberly Doe Act, drafted by GRACE founder Boz Tchividjian and conservative activist Michael Reagan, would hold U.S. citizens overseas to the same requirement to report suspected child sexual abuse that applies stateside. (If such a law had existed in 1989, ABWE officials, doctors, nurses, and parents would have been obligated to report what happened to Kim.) The bill would also hold organizations like ABWE responsible if they don’t train their employees to report sexual abuse...

...Even if Kim’s law passes, it won’t enable her or other MKs to hold Ketcham accountable for his crimes in Bangladesh. But the accounts from the blog and the PII report may yet result in the doctor receiving a measure of justice. Last August, Ketcham was charged with abusing a six-year-old patient in Michigan while conducting a medical exam. The alleged abuse, which took place in 1999, came to light after the patient’s mother happened on the blog and read Kim’s documents. In February, Ketcham was ordered to stand trial in Michigan District Court. At 86, he faces a life sentence for first-degree sexual assault—half a century after he started abusing women and girls in Bangladesh. Twenty-eight years after he raped Kim. Eighteen years after he allegedly molested a six-year-old.

Within that timeline is a world of blame—and warning. Sexual abuse among the nation’s thousands of evangelical denominations may never come into focus the way it has in the Catholic Church. But more and more cases will inevitably come to light—revelation by revelation, report by report, headline after headline—even as conservative churches cling to their happy-family images, no matter who gets hurt. Boz Tchividjian, the founder of GRACE, says his fellow Protestants should reject the impulse to view the scandal the way many Catholics did for years: as a matter of a few bad apples being belatedly punished. “Protestants are going to have to accept the fact that we have many more similarities than differences with our Catholic brothers and sisters when it comes to how we have failed to protect and serve God’s children,” he says...

New book by Senator Ben Sasse:

"The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-Of-Age Crisis—and How to Rebuild A Culture of Self-Reliance"

One lesson he wants young people to learn is how to suffer without complaint. (He's in his 50s.)

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2017-06-25-2050/ben-sasse-the-vanishing-american-adult

Kay Hymowitz makes it sound as though Sasse and the author of "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" (Amy Dacyczyn) would have plenty in common. Not too surprising.

Another review by Malcolm Harris, same book:

https://newrepublic.com/article/143438/senator-sasses-guide-grown-up

(No paywall.)

An epic twitter rant from a resident of the GA-06 congressional district regarding the recent unpleasantness.

https://twitter.com/willcollier/status/877500277649285120

Iowahawk:

https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog/status/877510109437579266

He seems nice.

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9334

Even better Iowahawk.

> Excerpts:

Helluva story, though I didn't read every word—

Should we presume Ketcham et al were raping Bangladeshi girls, as well?

...Because wouldn't it be fun to release him into whatever well-informed local justice system which might be available over there?

> An epic twitter rant…

A contradiction in terms. Tweets don't rant, they're tweets. That's the meaning of the name: Momentary, evanescent birdsong.

When Iowahawk linked it this morning, I thought it was a joke. Forty? Really? No way... Hawk is too literate to ask that of anyone. There've been dozens of thread/rant jokes in recent years mocking the unsuitability and unpleasantness of Twitter for such writing:

I have something to say about today's events (1/1242)—

The Collier piece is fine, for a 2nd- or 4th-tier blog post.

Stretching these little essays across tweets is not helping the cause of idea transmission. It's hard to imagine a clumsier tool for even 25 seconds of reading, let alone anything longer.

I get why people want to do it. Ideas can get wider distribution than will be seen on any blog, and the attention is a sweet burst of flaming light.

But it's an abuse of the platform.

In the 1960's (and certainly by the 1970's), there was nothing more pathetic in showbiz than aging acts from Vegas and elsewhere trying to shave off some of rock 'n roll's energy for their own tiresome work. That's what it feels like when people try to cram essays into Twitter.

And let's note that Twitter-the-company has not done an especially good job of refining its product or strengthening its users trust. They seem to understand that their own platform might turn to mud if they allowed long(er)form work: But they have no idea how to bring their own social media blessings (gossipy heat, metrics, thought-leader recognition) to other kinds of communication.

From that perspective, it's AMAZING how much Twitter got right the first time. I can imagine their amazement when it exploded with such success, whatever their skill in building it.

Conan, there are things to hate about that Uber piece.

• "Harvard Business Review."
  
  
• 'Stop Reading This Article' Word: "Toxic."
  
  
• 'Stop Reading This Article' Word: "Dysfunction."
  
  
• Most importantly, Edelman's conceit that Uber had no business imagining dynamism in America's transportation habits is oblivious and small-minded.

Consider this passage (for there's little blood drawn elsewhere, despite the flashing sabres):

Uber built up staff, procedures, and software systems whose purpose was to enable and mobilize passengers and drivers to lobby regulators and legislators — creating political disaster for anyone who questioned Uber’s approach. The company’s phalanx of attorneys brought arguments perfected from prior disputes, whereas each jurisdiction approached Uber independently and from a blank slate, usually with a modest litigation team. Uber publicists presented the company as the epitome of innovation, styling critics as incumbent puppets stuck in the past.

They're trying to turn a profit. Can you imagine any company doing less? Verizon? Archer Daniels Midland? The cobbler on the corner?

Edelman keeps his teacup pinky extended throughout the piece, which ends with these words:

Benjamin Edelman is an associate professor at Harvard Business School and an adviser to various companies that compete against major platforms.

There are things to hate about Uber, and about the encroachment of ridesharing into personal transportation patterns; and there are certainly reasons to doubt that the blessings these services bring can endure beyond these years of anonymous investor support.

But this piece shines no light on the failures of Uber or ridesharing generally.

I like Lyft. Anybody ever try Juno?

Lenona, I can't tell if my intrusion-secured browsers are cutting off the Hymowitz article. Does it end with the words "stroke their chins"?

NR, like too many online rags, often wants us to pay more than we'd like for minor treats.

Also, the banner photograph atop that New Republic article is gorgeous.

They're workin' it hard.

...there are things to hate about that Uber piece. ~ Crid at June 21, 2017 5:50 PM

There's also the phrase, "...last week’s stern report from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder."

Anybody putting that much faith in an investigation led by Holder is not a person to be taken seriously.

Still, I found it a thought-provoking article, especially in wake of Kalanick's resignation.

True... Uber hasn't done enough gun sales to unstable nations in South America, either.

"Is policing pommes frites really why the EU was formed? "

To the people doing the policing: yeah, it is.

I can't tell if my intrusion-secured browsers are cutting off the Hymowitz article.
__________________________________________

Don't know who might be cutting it off besides NR, but yes, there's a paywall. The real book review is about four times longer.

One mistake I made: Sasse is 45.

Quotes from Hymowitz:

"Don't go looking for Dr. Spock or 'What to Expect,' though; Sasse's model is more along the lines of Locke or Rousseau."

(she goes on to talk about modern kids' delayed adulthood, with no farm chores, more years in school, etc.)

"The homeschooling Sasse and his wife have devised amounts to a series of 'extreme measures' to ensure their children's intellectual and character development. Their approach is sure to become the most talked-about element of the book; parts of it will strike some parents as unrealistic and possibly even a little batty (he recommends journals for chronicling junk-food intake and wasted hours). He devotes a chapter to reading lists to fill in the massive blanks in today's school curricula. He invents ways to help his children 'learn how to suffer' without complaining, because 'a good American needs to be TOUGH.' 'Raise them as if they'll rule someday,' he writes in one memorable sentence."

(Hymowitz then says, however, that lawyers contacted Sasse to tell him he may have violated child-labor laws when he let his teenager, in a summer job, drive a manual transmission tractor, coil barbed wire and help castrate bulls. She was 14.)

Regarding the reading lists: In general, I agree on that one. With every new decade, there's much more history, science, literature, etc. that kids need to be reading, and so teachers are obviously not to blame if they don't cover the Civil War or WWI in as much detail as they would have in the 1920s, when the dozen - or two dozen? - other wars America was involved in hadn't happened yet. I.e., if parents don't enjoy reading aloud either fiction or nonfiction to their ten-year-olds, discussing those books with them, and gently encouraging them, for as long as it takes, to read truly challenging books to themselves, parents need to get over that - yesterday. Teachers can't make up for a parent's aversion to reading and learning! Kids learn by example.