Prince Rupert's Drop

A friend of mine posted a picture of a Prince Rupert's Drop on Instagram with the caption: "took science 400 years to discern its mystery." Not knowing anything about it or why it was a mystery I went to youtube and found this:

   

I watched a couple more of his videos and found I kind of like the guy, how his mind operates and his desire to figure things out.

Seth Benardete on the Importance of the Family vs the State

but the family cannot exist in all its dignity if it is subordinate to the city.

2/2

— Seth Benardete (@seth_benardete) March 31, 2017

I audited one of Benardete's courses on Plato's Republic. It was undoubtedly the best class I ever attended in graduate school.

As a side note, I learned the importance of smoking a pipe while teaching. Whenever Benardete needed a pause to think he would puff on his pipe. At the time it seemed an elegant way to gain time.

Inadequate Voter ID Brings Complaints from California Democrats

Heh. Imagine Democrats being concerned about lax voter ID enforcement.

Ellis, the former director of Emerge America, a women’s political organization, lost the election by a narrow margin of 62 votes out of 3,000 cast. Her loss immediately set off protests from hundreds of her backers, many of whom charged that there were irregularities that included allowing voters to cast proxy ballots without proper ID. [emphasis added]

If only there were some sort of policy out there that could have avoided this situation. https://t.co/t8nkVcAS9D

— Jeff B/DDHQ (@EsotericCD) May 23, 2017

Sarah Palin Going Squishy on Israel Because Trump

Sarah Palin's Twitter page photo

This is one for the history books!! https://t.co/zJMSD27kGg

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) May 22, 2017

Certainly is historic. The first time a U.S. President has refused to meet with an Israeli Prime Minister while visiting the Western Wall in the country's capital, Jerusalem.

And not a word from Governor Palin about Trump's Secretary of State refusing to say the Western Wall (and East Jerusalem) is a part of Israel. Not to mention Secretary Tillerson saying Tel Aviv was the home of Judaism!

When Palin visited Jerusalem and the Western Wall in 2011, she seemed to think it was in Israel.

"Israel is absolutely beautiful and it is overwhelming to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith and I am so grateful to get to be here," Palin told reporters.

Now under President Trump, apparently the U.S. position on whether East Jerusalem is a part of Israel is not important to her. Trump refused to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Western Wall because, according to the "US delegation", it was a "private" visit and a "senior American offical" said what happened when Trump was there wasn't Israeli business because the Western Wall isn't part of Israel's territory. It's a part of the West Bank.

The US delegation reportedly rejected the request for Netanyahu to join the visit, saying it would be “a private visit” by the president and that he would go on his own. The Israelis then asked whether a TV crew providing live coverage of the Trump visit could at least continue to film here there.

At this point, the TV report said, a senior American official rudely responded: “What are you talking about? It’s none of your business. It’s not even part of your responsibility. It’s not your territory. It’s part of the West Bank.”

One assumes in light of Secretary Tillerson's comments that the "American official" wasn't "going rogue". One would think in view of Palin's past very public support for Israel that she would call for Tillerson's chastisement. But, no. For Palin if Obama and his secretary of state say such things they are bad. If Trump and his secretary of state say the same things they are okay. No news here. Just walk on by.

Poor Netanyahu can't say anything negative about Trump or Tillerson just as he couldn't about Obama, Clinton and Kerry because of all the U.S. defense help for Israel that the President can impede. May the Lord see and repay.

[Note: I try not to blog about Palin because her positions change depending on whether her candidate does it or someone she opposes politically does it. But, some things are just too hard to ignore.]

Is Sheriff David Clarke's Plagiarism Worse than Letting a Prisoner Die of Thirst?

If plagiarizing ends up sinking Clarke instead of the fact his office let prisoners die of thirst, we might be irredeemable indeed.

— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) May 21, 2017