20 years ago it was far worse. Now it's trying to be suburban.

Every Dem I know--I don't know all of them, of course, but I know both young, old, and in the middle age Dems--are in favor of some form of decriminalization/legalization. If people keep voting for Republicans and Sununu, this is what we will get. We have a lot of drunks in NH who think weed is gay and socialism. And it isn't Christian to get stoned. Christians can get drunk, but not stoned.

There are so many challenges. Overall, I think Americans are just lazy when it comes to math and science. That is why Asians and Europeans out do them in school and the workplace. Harvard has been accused of restricting the number of Asian students who are admitted--there would be mostly Asian students there, because their academics are so high.

There are so many cultural influences in the way we learn. Your description of your wife's experience is interesting. My midwestern parents were of German and Norwegian background, also Protestant. Reading was important culturally, but the pioneer aspect puts everyone into survival mode. Women couldn't be feminine and sweet, there was too much work. If a woman couldn't sew, preserve food, grow a garden, and often balance the books for the farm--she wasn't much use. I carry that with me.

I would hope today's schools put more emphasis on critical thinking, and that includes basic science and mathematics. While we don't have to be pioneers, we need to be better prepared for life and decision making. Cursive handwriting isn't the same as understanding and reading labels and directions.

I suppose it also depends on your background, your upbringing. My dad, who was educated in a small town in Minnesota in the 1920s and 30s, was also very good at math and science. I have no idea what sort of curriculum they had, but he went off to college, was trained at Harvard and MIT and the US Naval Academy during WWII. His grandfather was raised in an orphanage in Germany, where he learned engineering and mathematics. I guess to be a military engineer, but he immigrated to the US instead.

So even if I went to public schools during the fifties and sixties, I had a scientist for a father, which makes all the difference in the world. My mom grew up on a farm, where she learned all about animal behavior and how plants grow. Both my parents were grandchildren and great-grandchildren of pioneers, so they were accustomed to the idea that they had to solve problems with their common sense and their own knowledge. They also both read extensively and we possessed many books, as well as visited the library.

Also, women of my boomer generation (and older) were expected to act like dummies when it comes to computers, math, and science. So, not only do they have trouble with technology, they also fall for pseudoscience. They think emotionally, not logically. And I can say all that sexist stuff since I'm a woman. Older men certainly have issues as well--I have a friend who is a retired science teacher but can't figure out how to use email or voice mail, or even how smart phones work--he thinks they require wifi. He just won't admit he doesn't understand, he's convinced he's got it down.

In fact, I would say the real problem with elementary education is that so many of the teachers are women, who are often terrified of science and advanced math. The love to teach reading and arithmetic, but they can't make science interesting if they don't enjoy it for its own sake.

Depends on the person. Some older people, such as myself, move forward. We ask our kids for help with the new technology. We accept technological change as inevitable, and we keep learning as we go. I have the advantage of having an administrative job where I worked with a computer on my desk beginning in 1990. Software and hardware change constantly. To me, a computer is part of my brain. So is my iphone now.

The problem is when the older folks figure they don't need to learn the new technology, they will just go with the landline, the newspaper, cable tv. I have a 93 year old neighbor who is convinced that he doesn't need the internet to know what is going on in the world. Not true, but he can't be convinced.

I agree. Unfortunately, the scammers have taken advantage of the trusting nature of good people, who don't realize how much things have changed. I take the opportunity whenever I can to remind those trusting seniors. Of course, some are pretty stubborn, and don't want to hear me out.

I assign specific ring tones to people who actually call me, such as family, friends, the dentist, my mechanic, etc. Then when I hear the generic ring tone, I know I can just ignore the phone. I let the call go to voicemail, and most of the time, there is no voice mail.

Many seniors--people in their seventies and eighties--just think they have to answer every call. So they do. Seniors are favorite targets of scammers, because they are law abiding, polite, and sometimes easily confused. The scammers hope they can find someone with borderline dementia.

The more calls you answer, the more they will continue to call.

I would suggest you contact LGBTQ NH-based people or organizations. Businesses owned by LGBTQ folks or women.

Haha, you are the kind of person who values the life of a dog over the life of a child. If any of your dogs bite you or child, I have zero sympathy. I pity your neighbors, however. A douchebag is used by a woman to clean up after the mess left by a man. So I see your mentality, to use such a word.

You have expressed yourself perfectly. You live in your own carefully constructed world, where pit bulls are cared for by loving, patient, kindly owners.

I live in the real world, where I have seen pit bulls abused and neglected, where they have bitten and killed people, dogs, and cats. You don't want to believe that world exists. Of course.

I have worked in a Psych ER. You have summed it up perfectly. Everyone I have known who ended up in a psych hospital said it was a horrible experience.

Take care of yourself. The world sucks, but there are good things about living. And yes, keep all suicidal thoughts to yourself. You don't want to go there!

Bottom line, you are talking about yourself and the people and dogs you have known personally. I'm going to bet they are all nice privileged types who would never abuse their dogs or use them for fighting. Of course, bottom line, if their dog should suddenly get a bad attitude about a four year old, a FedEx guy, or a yappy poodle, their dog could easily kill or maim them. Easy.

I'm sure that you don't worry about that situation at all. Your dog is perfect. And so are the dogs of your friends. Fuck the rest of the world.

The difference is that a pit bull has the physical capability to kill an adult human or child, and a dachshund or rat terrier does not. A German shepherd, Doberman pinscher, Rottweilers, and a few other dogs also belong in that category, but I don't see people religiously defending them, the way pit bull owners do.

I live in a profoundly dog friendly area, chock full of dogs. Many labs and goldens, because we are on the water. Also because people have the sense to own dogs with sweet dispositions, not killer dogs. And people here rarely abuse their dogs, something you find in impoverished communities. If a dog is even a little snappy, they put a soft muzzle on it--to protect the dog as well as the people.

Pit bulls were bred to kill bulls. In pits. They are physically capable of piercing arteries, breaking bones, and causing severe injury--and some will do so, if provoked. A vicious doxie can't do that, except maybe to a newborn baby or a kitten. Even if a Golden or a Lab was vicious, it would have to be horribly abused to be aggressive. And neither were bred to kill bulls--they are retrievers, bred to gently hold a dead duck in their mouths. That is the point.

The four year old I'm referring to was a little African American girl living in the inner city. The pit bull was being used as a guard dog for someone's house, maybe a drug house. Maybe the dog was used in fighting, which was also common there.

What's racist is when privileged white folks who own pit bulls defend the rights of the dog over the life of the little girl. They own pit bulls that have never been subject to such abuse, and there is no reason to fear that those pits ever will be abused.

There was a pitbull in my city who got hold of a four year girl and had her head in his jaws, and pierced her skull. But pit bull fans are always on the side of the dog. Always.

I was hiking a trail which passed by horse farm, out in the woods. A huge rott mix comes out barking, accompanied by two back up little shits. For some reason, I did not have my MACE with me, although I had my hiking pole. I suddenly said to the dog, "Are you a big love puppy?" He suddenly stopped barking, looked astonished, as if I had guessed his secret. Then he was my best friend. The backup shit dogs were disappointed.

I never saw that dog again. I have passed that farm many times since, and while I hear barking dogs, none come running. Someone was not as kind as I was, and I don't blame them.

I've lived in several states and I would not really agree with that. Where I lived, for most of my life, the people most likely to own guns were hunters. Fifty years ago, hunters owned a few guns for hunting, and that was it. They were unlikely to own a handgun, and certainly nothing military. Just hunting guns. Next most likely types to own guns were criminals or those on the edge of the law. I'm serious, I lived in a Mafia area, also biker gangs, inner city gangs, etc. These people had legal and illegal guns, mostly illegal.

Now it is a totally different world of gun owners in the US. People own arsenals of handguns and military type guns. I don't know any "moderate dems" who own guns like that. Most Dems I've known in my life weren't hunters, that's a country thing. Maybe in rural areas with hunting, you might find some liberal rednecks with guns. But most Dems interpret the second amendment in its strictest sense. That means that guns are for military and the police. A few hunting rifles are okay. And really strict controls on who gets to own them, and what type.

Many people don't own a gun because...they have absolutely no reason to do so. They don't want to learn to handle, shoot, or load a gun. They have the common sense to know that unless you practice with it regularly, have the strength to fire the damn thing accurately--there is really no reason to have one. They know that having a gun in the house raises the chances for accidental death, suicide, homicide, or serious injury.

Even the most experienced gun enthusiast stands a higher risk for injury or death because of guns in the house. And the idiot right wingers who own guns without gun knowledge will kill themselves or their family members long before they will use it to take over the country.

Yes. Fuck our local economy, if it means that NH doesn't get to be the first primary in the nation. Is that how NH is supposed to make money? Because democracy doesn't count, just lining our pockets. Sounds kind of shallow and self-serving.

It was really great to meet all those candidates in 2020, up close and personal. Because I was involved with my local political committee, I got to meet campaign staff of most of the candidates. Some very smart and hard working young people. I learned so much about the issues and proposals of the candidates.

But honestly, NH is not the state where candidates should be focusing so much time, money, and energy. It is not representative of the US. It's tiny, incredibly white, and mostly older. A great place, but it's not Illinois, or California, or New York, or Colorado. We don't have major cities, extensive farmland, large minority and ethnic populations. I'd miss the star power of the First in the Nation for presidential primaries, but NH doesn't really deserve the power over influencing the election the way it does.

Please keep it there. I heard so many folks criticize Williams' family and friends. There was a young man in my community, only 38, who committed suicide because he'd been suffering from schizophrenia for 20 years. He went from being a cheerful, slender young man, full of music and mischief. At thirty-eight, he was obese and glassy eyed from all the drugs he had to take. He just couldn't face his life continuing to go downhill. His parents were 70, for them it was the end of his life, but also the end of all the emergency calls to hospitals and the police. Loss of sleep, loss of time.

His dad had bought an old mansion, and converted it into a rooming house for his son and others in need of supportive housing. Then his son was in his own home, but also surrounded by a caring group of friends. Still, the man took his own life, despite the love and support. We really need to stop judging family and friends in these cases.

That's what Robin Williams was suffering from, Lewy Body Dementia. That's why he committed suicide, he couldn't face life anymore. Then everyone said he had severe depression, and criticized his family and friends for not being supportive enough. Your story helps people understand the extraordinary challenges and tragedy of this disease. Thanks for your post.

When Bezos lays off 10,000 employees, they will have to eat somewhere.