The Endangered Species Act came too late.

It would appear from archaeological studies (though that should always be taken with a grain of salt) that the circle construction started small, got bigger with time, went through a period of major activity (when Stonehenge reached its fanciest stage and things like Avebury were built), and then there came a period when the circles got small again, and construction trailed off. All over the course of centuries.

So, it sounds like the classic pattern of a rising culture, a peak and a decline and finally dissolution.

Something that always amuses me to ponder: when Stonehenge, and the Pyramids of Giza, were constructed (the oldest part of Stonehenge appears to be roughly contemporary with the Great Pyramid), there were still living mammoths in the world.

“Illinois Democrat Governor Pritzker removed the toilets from one of his mansions before it was assessed, in order to declare it uninhabitable, and save $331,000 in taxes.”
That should put a real damper on his presidential aspirations – just image the Republican’s ads!

Selfy on May 14, 2026 at 12:24 am said:
“I think calling Massie a “pro Democrat traitor” is inaccurate. It appears that he is fiercely independent and not afraid to oppose Trump; similar to fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul, but to a greater degree.” I want to give him the benefit of the doubt [and I don’t live in KY so little I can do anyway] but I agree sometimes “independence” can take on the form of “better is the enemy of good enough” and he should stick closer to the R’s than he does.

Richard Aubrey on May 14, 2026 at 7:24 am said:
“To do … Stonehenge from conception … IOW, an immense, unbelievably consistent social compact over a huge period with no substantial interruptions was required …”
Something similar could be said about the building of European cathedrals, except of course writing and records keeping was better. And by 1059 (or so?) the Vatican had achieved separate administrative and controlling domains between temporal kings and religious authority over souls. So perhaps wars did not interfere quite that much? But in checking I also learned that Notre Dame de Paris was mostly built in a 100 year span ending in 1260, with more added later.
So, actually, on balance given the drastic differences in life circumstances, maybe you are correct. 🙂

Rand is less weird than his dad, but he’s nevertheless a libertarian, plus he likes being mavericky. I think a lot of his votes have to do with those two things.

https://freebeacon.com/elections/sorry-for-calling-you-a-jew-rand-pauls-son-lashes-out-at-gop-lawmaker-tells-him-jews-to-blame-if-thomas-massie-loses-primary/

The young man whose behavior precipitated the post was drunk, and I have no idea why he picked on Lawler other than both of them being in the same bar that night, but he seems to have also imbibed his father’s beliefs.

I used to look up to Rand, who was not nearly so nutty as his dad Ron, who was my representative when we lived in Texas (although I wasn’t following politics then and only found out later about his positions).

However, he is another formerly solid conservative (albeit with idiosyncratic leanings) who has taken positions all over the map regarding Trump’s presidential priorities in this administration. (Or so it seems to me, based on admittedly incomplete samplings from the news cycles.)

https://thenewneo.com/2021/01/26/led-by-rand-paul-republicans-say-the-senate-trial-of-citizen-trump-is-unconstitutional-also-leahy-in-hospital-for-observation/

Was he mugged by TDS somehow since then (in addition to literally being mugged by leftist protesters)? Is he just following his own pathway through the party platforms?

I really don’t know what to make of him now.

From here in California, there seems no difference between the way Massie and Rand vote and Democrat votes. Rand’s latest stunt is voting with the weak sisters and the Democrats to force an end to the Iran war. That was stopped by Fetterman, who is not so consumed with hatred of Trump that he votes against his country like Rand. At least kentucky’s other senator Mitch McConnell voted with the United States interest.

According to ballotpedia, Kentucky has closed primaries, so if Massie wants to win, he’ll have to get the Democrats in his district to re-register.

Is any wonder, then, that some fraction—perhaps a large fraction– of men are apparently just “walking way” from the whole idea of playing the current “game,” of dating and marriage.

Then, there are the young women—quite often pierced—and sometimes heavily, and/or tattooed–who talk/brag about their astronomical “body counts,” and argue that their count should not matter to men who might be potential marriage partners.

How about how the courts–which are definitely on the side of women in divorces and are–more often than not–quite willing to strip men of the assets they worked hard to accumulate?

The vibe that I am getting is that—for many men in the young demographic which should be involved in dating, marrying, family formation, and having children–the whole atmosphere out there is just rancid, and unappealing; it just ain’t fun anymore, it seems like it’s dangerous.

It’s a minefield, and women who want to commit to one man, who actually want to be wives, to have children, and to raise families, are apparently increasingly hard to find.

If true–and widespread—societal rot like this, I would think, might play a large part in discouraging men from participating in dating, and eventually marrying, forming families, and having children.