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Email — 42 Comments

1. Hi,
   Do you offer advertising space (or article placement) on thenewneo.com?
   If yes, what would the cost be?

   Regards,
   Steve Marks
   digitalcontentzone.com

2. Neo:

   The site may not be taking comments, or is it just me? Seriously, tried to post a comment on the poetry entry about 40 minutes ago, repeated the comment a few times and then had to go to work. but it isn’t posted. Nothing profound of course, but others may be having problems too,

3. I’m not sure why it’s happening, but other people are not having that problem. I just emailed you about it.

4. Just noticed that http links to the blog get the newest postings but https links are missing the most recent ones.

5. If you are a Churchill fan and enjoy history, you should read his bio of Marlborough. Yes, its 4 volumes (don’t go for the various abridged editions) but you will not be disappointed.

6. I came across this issue via Overlawyered.com and thought it would be something you’d find interesting:

   https://www.kingscountypolitics.com/courts-rules-against-city-millions-of-dollars-of-wealth-restored

   These reporters have written many articles about this issue, so this is just the most recent.

   Basically, this involves New York City taking small apartments from residents of gentrifying areas, having a so called non profit facilitate the transfers to other so called non-profits or “for profit” entities without the owners knowledge. The owners, typically of color, owned the properties outright, dutifully paid required fees which city agencies did not apply to the proper purpose. i.e. they’d pay their property taxes but the agency wouldn’t apply them for the taxes, thus enabling the properties to be declared out of compliance and then declared as distressed or abandoned, making them available for foreclosure.

   This series of articles only cover the impact and injustice on these residents, but it hints that there is a deeply corrupt relationship between the NYC political class, so called non-profit organizations, cronyists, the city’s bureaucracy and I have to include the media that continually in lock step vet what is to be said about the city’s government.

7. Dear New Neo.

   I’ve read you fairly consistently over the past few years. Today I came across an article about a simply remarkable female sailor. I served for 24 years in the Navy, and this article had an impact on me — I wish I had known Senior Chief Shannon Kent.

   For some reason I began to wonder what your take might be, so enclosed is the web-address. I hope you take the time to read it.

   https://coffeeordie.com/shannon-kent/

   Thanks: Dave

8. Neo,

   Just checking in to say I still appreciate your insightful essays though I rarely comment anymore. And especially to remark on your current apple photo. It is fabulous! The old one looked like a grainy mug shot, staring off into space. The lighting, composition, hair, eye focus, and hand pose all make the new shot a winner.

   Phil

9. Uffdaphil:

   Thanks!

   We’re not getting older, we’re getting….more adept at lighting and cropping. 🙂

10. Dazed and Confused:

    Sometimes I see a comment-field on an article. It allows me to post a comment (like right here). No problem.

    Other times – even on recent posts, like the MLK one – I do not see any comment field at all. Not at the top of the comments, not at the bottom. So I cannot comment.

    Just in case I need to register to comment, I go to the home-page and see a log-in link, under ‘meta’. When I click on it, it takes me to a WordPress log-in page. Great – except no registration link.

    So on these posts, there seems to be no possibility of commenting.

    Anything I can do?

    Thanks!

11. Mimi:

    There’s a glitch on my blog. I have comments set so that anyone can comment on any post, indefinitely. But every month or so (it’s not on a regular schedule), the blog setting automatically resets to a different option, which is to close comments on old posts. I keep forgetting to check to see whether it’s happened, because all I have to do is to reset it and then it’s fixed for a while. I just reset it.

    It’s a bummer. I even asked a web developer if it could be fixed, but he couldn’t figure out how. It seems to be a WordPress thing.

12. I just found your blog and read your “changing mind” series. Wow. I could not stop reading.

    I could not help but think of Whitaker Chambers. (Your story is nothing like his) and the process he went through to go from underground communist worker to conservative’editor at Time. His book, Witness, is basically a letter to his children explaining his journey. He is best known to some people from the Hiss trial. And of course he knew a lot of people would never believe him about Alger Hiss. They still don’t.

    the book is beautifully written and hard to put down. But it certainly gives us a good look into how the Soviet Union operated in the US since the turn of the 20th century. And still does as Russia. That’s why the whole Russia hoax has been somewhat amusing to me as a student of history.

13. Dear Jean

    It is good to get away from the constant downbeat of daily news. I appreciate your ability to bring uplifting topics into the mix. I really enjoyed the video of Li ZiQi. Thank you for the introduction.

    Now for something different. The link is one man’s musical interpretation of the natural world around him. Wonderful stuff. The photography is not bad also.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_uS9uxwEmU

    Hope you enjoy it.

    Best regards

    Xylourgos

14. NEO,

    I’m kinda waiting for your follow-up to the Utopia piece. I have a friend (a bona fide ecologist) who recently did a column in the local newspaper proposing that ridiculous carbon tax idea. I respect his views on the narrow field of forest ecology but wondered how he could, at the same time, espouse that kind of foolishness.
    Your site is a daily stop for me. Thank you for your curiosity in finding these topics and your clear writing style is presenting them

    Dennis

15. Dennis:

    Thanks!

    Don’t worry; that article is coming. Probably tomorrow.

    One of the reasons I’m interested in Utopian thought is that I’ve known a person—a really fabulous person, incredibly kind, thoughtful, and not just smart but brilliant—who remained a leftist and a Utopian. I’ve tried to study some of his work to understand how he could retain those thoughts, but I’m pretty much stumped although I have some theories that I’m not satisfied with.

16. Neo,
    I assume you keep up on the writing of Jonah Goldberg. I’d suggest a column about where you think he’s going. While not Trump deranged, he seems a bit Trump obsessed. I don’t think he’s going to do a Jen Rubin and abandon all his long held beliefs (he does regularly accuse Trump defenders of doing so).
    Appreciate your column.

17. Neo
    I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your column. I read it everyday.

18. Long time reader, first time commenter.
    FYI, I was redirected when typing your address to http://www.thenewneos.com today, an AD for a Hyundai. Thought maybe you were getting “big time” ads for a second. Just wanted to give you a heads up on this similar addresses. And thank you for the interesting posts and your loyal readers with their comments.

19. Eli Cash:

    No ads here, but it’s possible you got that ad if you were typing in the wrong URL. Mine has no “s” after thenewneo.

20. Neo, longtime reader,

    Greetings from California.

    Sigh.

    Have you seen this tweet thread? Thought you’d find it interesting—and perhaps worthy of comment.

    https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2020/11/08/just-absolutely-insane-if-this-thread-doesnt-make-ya-go-hmmm-about-bidens-projected-win-nothing-will/

21. Your post on the “lonely” songs drew a lot of comments. How about a post of the ones that died young from overdose, fame whatever. Why couldn’t these artist that seem to be on top of the world keep it together but imploded from the fame for some reason?

22. jack:

    Is it really that hard to see? Sudden and huge fame at a very early age, combined with a lifestyle that’s very pressured (touring can be a real grind, night after night) and where drugs and other substance abuse is rife and groupies abound, can be very destructive. A lot of people in that situation burn their candles at both ends and in the middle too.

23. Hey, Neo!

    Not sure if you saw this yet, but apparently Chuck Schumer has “evolved” on the idea of statehood for Puerto Rico.

    https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/18/chuck-schumer-flips-on-puerto-rican-statehood/

    Mike

24. Hi Neo,

    New info on the cause of Sicknick’s death. The family was told he had a brain blood clot and died of a stroke, but was not hit with a fire extinguisher.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9275449/Mom-Capitol-police-officer-Brian-Sicknick-believes-died-stroke.html

25. Hi New Neo.

    Have you read “The Deep Rig” by Patrick Byrne? I would enjoy reading your thoughts and opinion of the book.

    Dennis

26. I would like to apologize to you if you thought i was being snarky with you about the music “tidbits” comment. Can’t count the number of nights i lay in bed over the last couple years and can’t turn it off the rotten state of politics today. At times I’m almost to the point of being embarrassed of being a US citizen. Many of the treads I have really nothing to contribute but the music threads i feel i do.

    Think i know how you feel. We cope the best way we can.

27. jack:

    Thanks, but no need whatsoever to apologize. I wasn’t offended at all.

28. Good evening Neo,
    I’m sure you’ve already heard that Brian Sicknick officially died from a blood clot induced stroke. Two strokes, in fact, just as the family was told in February.

    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/04/medical-examiner-capitol-cop-brian-sicknick-died-of-stroke.html

29. Hi Neo, I write from South Africa.
    The word “insurrection” has been used in the US media to describe the January 6 events in Washington DC. In my country, South Africa, from June 11 to June 18 there has been serious unrest. It was supposedly sparked by the arrest of the former state president, Jacob Zuma, for refusing to testify before a commission of inquiry into corruption. The government survived but called it an insurrection.

    https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-16-this-attempted-insurrection-has-failed-president-cyril-ramaphosa/

    Quote : President Ramaphosa gave a sober tallying-up of the human toll: at least 212 lives lost, with 180 fatalities in KwaZulu-Natal [province]and 32 in Gauteng[provence]. Police have opened dockets for 131 cases of murder so far.[since that report, many more bodies have been discovered]
    The destruction of property and theft of goods has cost “billions and billions of rands” [Rands = South African currency], Ramaphosa said. Over 118 incidents of public violence, arson, looting and other unrest have been recorded over the past week. 161 malls and shopping centres have been looted; 11 warehouses; 8 factories; 161 liquor outlets.
    But even though only one alleged instigator has been arrested to date, Ramaphosa said that the identity of the others was known.

    During the looting, more than one million rounds of ammunition was stolen from a shipping container in a cargo clearing area.

    https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/unrestsa-more-than-a-million-bullets-stolen-from-container-in-durban-most-still-missing-20210716

    A professional photographer documented some of the happenings. Scroll down to the July 12 post and view the photo’s.

    https://web.facebook.com/KierranAllenPhotography?inf_contact_key=c045cc3c9de6eb61941e70ea8bf33d3a680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1&_rdc=1&_rdr

    This is what insurrection looks like.

30. neo … can you read NYT articles? I can’t.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/world/taliban-american-university-of-kabul-afghanistan.html

31. jack:

    I don’t subscribe and I’ve reached my quota, so I can’t. I could read the part that says the students and staff were told there were no more rescue flights and were sent home. But I couldn’t see who the students were – Americans? Afghan nationals?

32. I think this a nice clip when the Oscars were fun to watch:)

    https://youtu.be/CnrbdNjf-aw

33. Jews are liberal because that is their religion. Has any body seen what is going on with abortion? They have adopted liberalism so called as a religion.

34. stuart bornstein:

    And that makes Jews different from other liberals who support abortion how?

35. Long-time reader, fairly recent cataract surgery patient. I have a raft of solutions for my dry eye: Old-fashioned eyewash, allergy drops, Refresh Optive, and the greatest blessing is that my regular eye doc prescribed more optical steroids. I had to promise I wouldn’t use those more than once a day and only in allergy season. So, on days the ragweed is really bad, I use eyewash and decide whether my left eye is inflamed enough for prednisolone. If so, I have that. If not, you’ll find there are three brands of allergy drops to choose among.

    I have a chronic inflammatory condition that caused dry eye decades ago. I hope my bt of hard-earned wisdom is helpful information. Thank you for your blog.

36. Hi Neo – Condolences again on the loss of Gerard. His writing really resonated with me and his death is a loss for many of us. For him, in ways we cannot fathom, it is gain and glory.

    I didn’t want to distract from the comments on your other posts, so will ask here — Is there a way to search the American Digest site so I can find some of his posts I have missed? If not I can just read through those I have missed, which would work, but I thought I would ask.

    May you be comforted.

37. Neo:
    In 2003 I was diagnosed with what was viewed as a terminal diagnosis — so I began thinking about death. Then my 2nd wife in 2009 got cancer #1; then in 2011 she got cancer #2 — and lived 22 months. To make a long story short, in 2006 I began writing about death — I thought to come to terms with my own — but it soon became to come to terms with my wife’s dying. Again, it’s a long story, but I began studying the theme of death in Queen’s songs — noting that 54 songs out of the members’ collective catalogue of 254 songs touched upon death. For months before my wife died, almost every late evening we played Queen songs quite loudly: “Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow!” ”How Can I Go On?” “These are the Days of Our Lives” “Who Wants to Live Forever?” etc, etc. In 2014, I finally published the 1st edition of the booklet, “When Death Is NOT Theoretical: The Readiness of the Music Group ‘Queen’ for Living with Freddie Mercury’s Dying”. I’d be happy to share the manuscript with you, if you might find it useful. Your website is greatly appreciated.

38. Neo, are you aware of this article by a Hillsdale professor of politics? just food for thought.

    Much thanks.

    https://americanmind.org/features/the-constitution-citizenship-and-the-new-right/

39. Neo, I am wondering if the Yahoo account up top is still good, or if just commenting here is the best way to ask you a question.
    When you go last did a “donation week”, I & another reader wrote of our hesitation with PayPal, & you didn’t have a good alternative. I’ve wondered & decided to ask you:
    Is there someone in the group of regulars on TheNewNeo who is fine using PayPal that you trust whom I could send a check to, and he/she could pay you that amount via PayPal?
    Not perfect but seems better, to me.
    I really want to contribute, without putting my CC data in more places than I have already.
    Thanks! Rhonda M. McAllister

40. Where have I heard that name before?!

    https://www.thefp.com/p/kamala-harris-and-the-election-of-forgetting?lli=1

41. wordplay is not his forte (hey, that rhymes!)

    Nuh Uh…

    Is “forte” pronounced “fort” or “for-tay”?
    ?
    english.stackexchange.com
    › questions › 1545 › is-forte-pronounced-fort-or-for-tay
    If you want to be perfectly and unimpeachably correct, you will pronounce the word forte, meaning something that is one’s strong point, identically to the word fort, and reserve the FOR-tay pronunciation only for the musical term.

    Most people don’t know about this distinction and pronounce it FOR-tay for all senses, both the “strong point” sense as well as the musical term. Most people will not notice or care if you do that. In fact, if you say that some subject is or is not your “fort”, people will look at you quizzically and perhaps even ask “do you mean FOR-tay?”. On the other hand, if you use the pronunciation “FOR-tay” those of us who know the difference may judge you to be ignorant.

    In either case, you take a risk of some sort. Bryan Garner came up with the name “skunked term” for words like this, in his 1998 Dictionary of Modern American Usage:

    When a word undergoes a marked change from one use to another … it’s likely to be the subject of dispute. Some people (Group 1) insist on the traditional use; others (Group 2) embrace the new use.… Any use of [the word] is likely to distract some readers. The new use seems illiterate to Group 1; the old use seems odd to Group 2. The word has become “skunked.”

    My advice is to find a substitute word or phrase.

    Answer from nohat on Stack Exchange

42. You are an Angel! Thank you for taking on our friends life, his travels his thoughts, his dreams.

    I’d been following Gerard for many many years, only late in our relationship did I start to add stuff to his page. Over the years he and I visited, talked on the telephone.

    Another good friend of ours Pete White of WRSA Blog, was also close to Gearld. Both Bloggers their relationship was interesting.

    I loved his story’s I grew up near Paradise have relatives living there. After Gerard lost everything in the Paradise Ca fire, I was able and honored to gift him with tools I hope served him well.

    A set of stereo speakers similar to a set he owned in his Hippy Days, music was important to both of us. I also gifted Gerard a special 12 ga shotgun, one used by The Navy SEALs in Vietnam Run Sat district, an Ithaca Feather Weight.

    I’d left the hunting barrel on it, with instruction on exactly how to cut the barrel at 18.5 inch’s from the barrels end, if he ever had to protect himself with it. Honestly I’m hoping you or a trusted friend has that weapon. It’s registered in my name.

    I will never forget the evening Gerard called me to give me the bad news. I didn’t even recognize his voice. In fact he had asked me to go onto the site and share his misfortune. Honestly I wasn’t the right guy for that job, I knew of you via our conversations, you held a very very very special place in his heart.

    After the first you became involved, handled that sad task wonderfully. Thank you.

    Anyways not a day goes by that I don’t wonder about Gerard, I’ve left the blog site, I left a lot of good folks but stay in touch with a few via email.

    Anyway I just ordered a hard copy of his book, I think, ? My computer does goofy shit from time to time. Ordering it did it again. If his book doesn’t show up in the next six months I’ll reorder.

    Thank you again for being there for Gerard, you gave him exactly what he needed.

    Dirk Williams
    Klamath Falls
    Oregon

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