Romanticising subsistence agriculture is an old trope. Usually by those who’ve never held a spade. (A spade is not a shovel. Only people who’ve used neither would think they are the same (View Post)

The US senate originally was supposed to be a version of the Roman Senate. Two men from each state, picked by the governing class there (not directly elected), who would represent the state in Washin… (View Post)

When I was at university, we put on a play based on “The Cold Equations”. The technical types (like me) wanted to follow the story. Others found the premise “cold”, “aggressive”, “unfeeling”, “wrong”… (View Post)

“If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole.” (View Post)

Membership in the Roman senate required an explicit level of wealth in land (or cash, which few had). “Trade” was explicitly excluded. The job of the Censors was to throw anyone out, who wasn’t rich … (View Post)