Back Home; AHS12, and the 21 Convention in the Rearview

Posted on 23. Aug, 2012 by theorytopractice in Community, Uncategorized

“American government is a deviant subculture. Its leaders stand on soapboxes and polarize the public by pointing fingers while secretly doing the bidding of special interests. Many public employees plod through life with their noses in rule books, indifferent to the actual needs of the public and unaccountable to anyone. The professionals who interact with government — lawyers and lobbyists — make sure every issue is viewed through the blinders of a particular interest, not through the broader lens of the common good. Government is almost completely isolated from the public it supposedly serves…”

From this spot-on article by Phillip K. Howard, via the Atlantic

Just consider the government’s ineptitude when it comes to food policy and nutritional guidance. The country is essentially no stronger than it’s average citizen. Yeah, just take a stroll through your local Wal Mart, pondering that notion.

Ugh. Anyway…

Wow, what a wild couple of weeks it’s been. Between attending/speaking at both this year’s Ancestral Health Symposium and the 21 Convention, I’m one worn-out puppy. Not bitchin’, mind you — I loved every minute of both these events, and wouldn’t have missed them for the world — but still, travel, navigating sketchy food choices and less-than-optimum sleep can eventually wear even a wolverine down.

Between sessions at The Ancestral Health Society’s AHS12. Left to right – John Welbourn, Amy Kubal, Michelle (AKA, Meesus TTP), and yours truly. Being around John reminds me of just how expensive my “free” college education actually was. Dodging sub 4.7 40 speed, 300+ lb offensive tackles looking to stick a helmet in your ear-hole? Every friggin’ fall Saturday afternoon? Yeah, I think my college football PTSD just rekindled

A quick aside: speaking of sports — and specifically, college football — check out this fine Big Think post. Well put. It goes nicely hand-in-hand with the quote and Atlantic article above, and is something I’ve felt for quite a while. Don’t want to go on a broken-democracy rant here, so I’ll just leave it at that. So back to our regularly-scheduled program…

What, no AHS12 recap? No, because there are already plenty of those (and some mighty good ones at that) to be found. Instead, I’ll point you toward a podcast that I’ve mentioned before here at TTP — Relentless Roger and the Caveman Doctor. Roger Dickerman and Colin Champ (the Caveman Doctor) produce what is, in my opinion, one of the best up-and-coming podcasts in the Paleosphere. A nice mix of the practical and theoretical (and we know I’m all about that!). And in their latest episode, the guys discuss some of the big-bang take-aways from the symposium. They also interview yours truly during some AHS12 down time. Just me, Roger and Dr. Champ…(and Denise Minger?), hanging out in a Harvard Law classroom. We chew the (omega 6-laden) fat for a while, then proceed to invade Denise‘s peace and quite What’s up with that? Hey, check out the show, and find out!