Sarah A. Hoyt's Blog, page 393

A list for homeschoolers, by Foxfier

Foxfier, here.

I homeschool our three kids—in as much as you can school, rather than just

be a mom to a one and three year old– but the five year old is doing fairly

well. From logging into the computer (with a password for her account) to

reading random short signs when we’re walking around and struggling with

reading a traditional clock, she’s learning. A lot of why we’re

trying to homeschool is safety related (we believe it’s a bad idea to teach

children that laws against assault don’t apply to p...

The Judgement of the Safe

So… that torture report.

One of the advantages of being interested in history is that it gives you perspective. Sometimes – often – the perspective it gives you is “Thank heavens I was born in the mid twentieth century and not the mid sixteenth.”

One of the reasons for this is their treatment of prisoners. Normal Judicial Procedure in Shakespeare’s England was to sweep up all suspects and witnesses, dump them in jail and at the magistrate’s leisure interrogate them to determine if they were in...

Good Morning America, I Love You- A blast from the past post February 2009

I’m still mired deep in writing, though the treacle has got somewhat less sticky and I can see the end from where I am.

However, for several days now, I’ve had this song stuck in my head:

Riding on the City of New Orleans,

Illinois Central Monday morning rail

Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,

Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.

All along the southbound odyssey

The train pulls out at Kankakee

Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.

Passin’ trains that have no names,

Freight yards...

Concrete Lies

The Brazilian author Lucia Benedetti wrote a book about WWII called Three Soldiers. I discovered this book when I was eight, I think, and conceived a great fondness for it, which is weird, considering most of the characters in the book are rough men, and the book revolves around both the necessity and the horror of war, and how it changes men.

(Later on, in the states, I found she had written other books, and those were available here. They were a disappointment being infected with both man-ha...

The Two Sides Of The Police Coin – Amanda Green

The Two Sides Of The Police Coin – Amanda Green

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed an increase in comments in social media – not to mention the mainstream media itself – condemning the police. They look at events like what happened in Ferguson or New York City and say those incidents prove that the police are no longer looking to serve and protect. Some take the position that the police are out to screw over any minority, especially if that person is a young black male. Others claim that c...

The Inevitable Emmanuel Goldstein

Update: I keep forgetting to do this! The Big Ship and the Wise Old Owl is free for another three days or so.

Yesterday, I thought it was safe to echo a chart on FB showing the relative economic freedom of states in the US. Note, that it was a picture/meme and I didn’t dwell very deeply on their premises. Some of the placements seemed funny – Colorado as high as 17? Really? – but most in general accorded to the “feel” of states I’ve lived in or where I have friends. So I echoed, having seen it...

The Charity of Strangers – A Blast From The Past post from June 2007

*Note from 2014 — yes, I was doing my best to be non political. Eh.*

I should be working on my overdue novel or writing my overdue short story. I’m not. The reason I’m not is because I’ve been turning an ethical problem in my mind.

And this is going to lead me to break one of my longstanding rules, which is not discussing religion or politics in public.

Not that what I’m about to discuss is religion – exactly – or politics – exactly. But it touches on both.

The fact is, I’m aware that some of you...

Scattered Friday Post

Okay, mostly I’ve been head down and working on Through Fire, so my head is empty and it echoes. No, I’m not done, but I’m close, which is why I’m skimping on this post, natch.

I’ve already killed one of the main characters, but don’t worry, it’s not fatal.

So, instead of doing a real post, I’m sort of putting down some things that have flitted through my mind the last few days. (Writing about revolution, you know?)

You know, we tend to get all depressive about the future, which is stupid becaus...

Watching the Watchmen – Cedar Sanderson

Watching the Watchmen – Cedar Sanderson

Before solutions to police corruption can be posited, it must first be defined, categorized, and fully understood. I’m only going to touch on this in the broadest of terms, as this could literally fill a book. I’m sure the commenters will have much to add, as well. Let me begin by pointing out that I know no bad cops. I’ve known a few that were very good indeed, and I would trust a cop, were I in trouble and in need of help. But as a woman, I would also...

Sheep Who Think They’re Wolves

Lately this ridiculous blog post has made the rounds, written by some guy who was mugged, but was sure he deserved it because of his privilege.

The blog post was not a surprise to me.

Years ago, an online friend about ten years younger and from a considerably more comfortable background than mine, was ambushed at the grocery store by someone who forced her – at gun point – to go to two or three ATMs in town and withdraw the maximum allowed and give it to him.

If it had been me…

First of all, it w...