TLC TO BE EXCLUSIVE, U.S. TELEVISION DESTINATION FOR THE WEDDING OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS EUGENIE AND JACK BROOKSBANK – Discovery, Inc.
(New York, NY) – TLC, the premier destination for all things wedding, will be the exclusive U.S. broadcast partner for the royal wedding of Princess Eugenie of York, the daughter of HRH Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Duke and Duchess of York, and her partner of eight years, Jack Brooksbank, on Friday, October 12. Hosted by UK television personalities Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford (ITV's "This Morning"), the festivities will begin at 4:25 AM ET/PT delivering a front row seat to this year's second royal wedding at Windsor Castle, promising even more fashion, glamor and regal delight!
A major milestone for the royal family, Princess Eugenie will be the first princess of royal blood from the younger generation to be married. She and Jack Brooksbank will marry in front of the entire royal family and a star-studded guest list. TLC viewers are cordially invited to watch guests, celebs and members of the royal court arrive in their regal attire, the full ceremony inside St. George's Chapel, followed by the newlyweds' carriage procession through the streets of Windsor.
Immediately following the live feed, TLC will broadcast an encore airing of the wedding starting at 7:25 AM ET/PT. Viewers will also be able to relive the nuptials on demand via the TLC GO app, after the live simulcast.
Leading up to and including the day of the broadcast, fans will get wedding FOMO on TLC's digital platforms with content fit for royalty. Viewers will get their daily dose of nuptial fever with original social videos about Princess Eugenie, online quizzes to test royal wedding knowledge and DIY ideas for their own watch parties. On the big day, TLC will engage with fans on Twitter through interactive polls and retweeting of top comments. Join the conversation about Princess Eugenie's special day on social media using #TLCRoyalWedding.
ROYAL WEDDING LIVE: PRINCESS EUGENIE is produced by the international division of British company ITN Productions for TLC.


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Home Research Topics News Habits & Media Media & Society Politics & Media Election News The Internet and Campaign 2010
Pew Research CenterMarch 17, 2011
The Internet and Campaign 2010
The internet and political news sources
By Aaron Smith
One-quarter of Americans use the internet as a major source of campaign news in 2010, up from 7% in 2002
One-quarter of American adults (24%) got most of their campaign information from the internet during the 2010 midterm elections, a three-fold increase from the 7% who said this during the 2002 midterm elections. Over that same time, the proportion of Americans who use television and radio as major political news sources has remained stable, while the proportion using newspapers has fallen from 33% in 2002 to 27% in 2010. The proportion of Americans who get most of their campaign news from the internet has increased by 60% since the 2006 midterms alone.
Our questions about main sources of campaign news were asked of all American adults—internet users and non-users alike. Among just those who go online, the internet is now the second-most common source of campaign news (32%); this puts the internet ahead of newspapers (25% of internet users get most of their campaign news from newspapers) but behind television (63%).
Young adults are especially reliant on the internet as a source of campaign and election news. Those ages 18-29 are five times as likely as those 65 and older to say that they got most of their election news in 2010 from the internet (36% vs. 7%). Although young adults are among the most likely groups to use the internet for campaign news, the use of online sources for campaign news has grown significantly since the 2002 midterm elections for all major demographic groups.
Main sources of televised campaign news
As in the previous midterm election campaign in 2006, local news programming is the most common destination for televised political news. One-third (33%) of those Americans who get political or campaign news from television say that they get most of this news from local news programming, a figure that is unchanged from the previous midterm election in 2006.
The proportion of Americans who get most of their news from the Fox News Channel rose five percentage points between 2006 and 2010, making it the only individual TV news outlet with a notable increase over this time period. Meanwhile, the proportion saying they get most of their news from CNN and each of the three network nightly news programs dropped slightly between the 2006 and 2010 midterm elections.
In terms of political differences in television news consumption, Republican voters, Tea Party supporters and conservatives are much more likely than Democratic voters, liberals, and those who do not support the Tea Party to get political or campaign news from Fox News Channel. The latter groups are more likely to say that they get campaign news from sources such as CNN, MSNBC or network news programs.
Main sources of online campaign news
When asked an open-ended question about their main sources for online campaign news, the 24% of U.S. adults who get most of their election coverage from the internet mention a number of sites. Roughly one in five online political news consumers mention either CNN.com (22%) or yahoo.com (20%), while one in ten mention the websites of Google (13%), Fox (10%) or MSN (10%). A smaller number of online political news consumers get most of their news from sites such as Aol.com, the New York Times website or sites such as the Drudge Report or Huffington Post.
As is true for television news, there are some partisan differences when it comes to the sites online political news consumers rely on for campaign news. Specifically, Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to cite Fox as a primary online news source—21% of Republican online political news consumers got most of their online campaign news from Fox News online, compared with less than 1% of online political news consumers who identify as Democrats.
Online political news with a point of view
Since 2004, we have asked online political users (the 54% of Americans who go online for campaign news and information or otherwise to get involved politically) whether the political information they get online typically comes from sources that share their political point of view, or sources that differ from their political point of view, or sources that don't have a particular point of view. In 2010, one third (34%) of these online political users said that they typically get news from online sources that share their point of view, just ahead of the 30% who say that they get political news from sources that don't have a point of view. These figures are roughly in line with our findings from the 2008 presidential elections.
Online political users who identify with a political party tend to prefer online news sources that share their point of view, while political independents tend to gravitate towards sites that do not have an overt point of view.
Next: How Americans used the internet in campaign 2010
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Saint for Today - St John Eudes
John was born in the year 1601, of pious and respectable parents, at a village commonly known as Ri, in the diocese of Seez. While still a boy, when he was fed with the bread of Angels, he cheerfully made a vow of perpetual chastity. Having been received at the College of Caen, directed by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, he was conspicuous for a remarkable piety; and, committing himself to the protection of the Virgin Mary, when still a youth he signed with his own blood, the special covenant he had entered into with her. Having completed his courses of letters and of philosophy with great distinction, and having spurned opportunities of marriage which had been arranged for him, he enrolled himself with the Congregation of the Oratory de Bérulle, and was ordained priest at Paris. He was on fire with a marvellous love towards his neighbour: for he took the most constant pains in caring for both the souls and bodies of those smitten with the Asiatic plague, in many different places. He was made Rector of the Oratorian house at Caen, but since he had been thinking for a long time of educating suitable young men for the ministry of the Church, earnestly asking for the divine assistance, with a brave spirit he most regretfully departed from the associates with whom he had lived for twenty years.
Accordingly, associating five priests with himself, in the year 1643, on the feastday of the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary, he founded a Congregation of Priests, to whom he gave the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, and opened the first seminary at Caen; and a great many others followed immediately in Normandy and Brittany, also founded by him. For the recalling of sinful women to a Christian life, he founded the Order of Our Lady of Charity; of which most noble tree, the Congregation of the Good Shepherd of Angers is a branch. Furthermore, he founded the Society of the Admirable Heart of the Mother of God, and other charitable institutions. He was the author of many excellent treatises, and laboured as an Apostolic Missionary to the very end of his life, preaching the Gospel in very many villages, towns, and cities, and even in the royal court.
His matchless zeal was very conspicuous in promoting the salutary devotion towards the most sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, whose liturgical worship he was the first of all to devise, although not without some divine inspiration. He is therefore held to be the father, the teacher, and the apostle of that worship. Courageously withstanding the doctrines of the Jansenists, he preserved unalterable obedience towards the Chair of Peter, and he constantly prayed to God, both for his enemies as well as for his brethren. Broken by so many labours, rather than by years, desiring to be freed and to be with Christ, on the 19th day of August, 1680, frequently repeating the sweet names of Jesus and Mary, he died in peace. As he became illustrious by many miracles, Pope Pius X added him to the list of the Blessed, and as he still shone forth with new signs and wonders, Pope Pius XI, in the holy year and on the day of Pentecost, placed him among the Saints, and extended his Office and Mass to the universal Church.


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text:
Joseph Hart and His Descendants
By Rev. Charles Coffin Hart (Published 1901)
JOSEPH HART
About the year 1735 a Mr. Hart and his wife, both Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, started from Wales to emigrate to America. They left their native land on account of persecution directed especially against Presbyterians and Covenanters, and sought a home in the American Colonies, that they might worship God without molestation.
The vessel on which they sailed was more than four months on the voyage, and during this period of time the husband died and the widow gave birth to a son, whom she named Thomas. The widow and child landed at Bordentown, N. J., where the mother brought up her son till he reached the age of manhood.
Nothing more is known by us of the mother.
The son, Thomas Hart, married Mrs. Nancy Butler, nee Miss Nancy Stout, a native of Scotland, also a Presbyterian, but had no children by her first husband. Mrs. Butler had two brothers, John and St. Ledger Stout. These four, Mr. Hart and his wife and her two brothers, moved from Bordentown, N. J., to Loudon County, Virginia, where, on June 16, 1761, a son was born to Thomas and Nancy Hart, whom they named Joseph, and who became the patriarch of the family. He was the only child of his mother, as she died while Joseph was yet in his infancy. After the death of the mother the father placed Joseph under the care of a kind Christian neighbor, with whom he lived until he was sixteen years old. When ten or eleven years of age, Joseph became a Christian, and this gave character and was the keynote to all his future history. The father, Thomas Hart, married a second wife. To this union two sons, Isaac and Alexander, and one daughter, Jane, were born. Isaac, a farmer, married, lived and died in Monroe County, Tennessee. Nothing is known by us of his family.
Alexander married and moved to Georgia, where he became a successful cotton planter, and brought up a numerous family. But little is known of them, except that they are scattered throughout the West and Southwestern States. Jane and her marriage will be noticed further on.
In the early part of 1777 the foster father of Joseph Hart was drafted into the Army of the Revolution from Loudon County, Virginia. Joseph said to him: "You have a family, and should you be killed, your family will have no protector. You took care of me in my childhood; I will now be your substitute in the army, for I have no one dependent on me."
Record and Pension Office,
War Department,
Washington, Oct. 11, 1895.
The records of this office show that Joseph Hart served in Captain Holcomb's company of the Fourth Virginia regiment, commanded by Colonel Thomas Elliot, and also in Captain Thomas Ridley's company of the Virginia regiment, commanded by Colonel Robert Lawson, Revolutionary War. His name is first borne on the rolls of the Fourth Virginia regiment for April, 1777, and it appears also on subsequent rolls to February, 1778, when he is reported "Discharged, Feb. 16, 1778." Neither the date nor the term of his enlistment is shown by the record.
By authority of the Secretary of War.
F. C. AINSWORTH,
Col. U. S. Army, Chief of Office.
Soon after his enlistment, April, 1777, his regiment was ordered to South Carolina. In September following, Captain Holcomb's company was engaged in a moonlight battle with some British and Tories, near Guilford Courthouse, S. C. In this battle Captain Holcomb and several of his officers were killed; also many of the privates were either killed or wounded, and the muster roll of the company was lost. And this fact accounts for Joseph Hart's appearing in Captain Ridley's company, commanded by Colonel Lawson.
Joseph Hart was wounded in the right hip by a musket ball. After the battle he was placed on a horse and taken to a barn, two miles distant, to which place several other wounded soldiers were taken, where he lay until morning. He wore buckskin breeches, and when the surgeon came to examine him, he found the right leg of this garment so stiff with blood that it could not be removed until it was cut from top to bottom. The wound was found to be of such a nature as to disable him for further military service. The ball had lodged deep in the groin and was not extracted; and hence he carried British lead in his body to his grave. He was never afterwards able to do a day's hard labor, but was a very industrious man, even up to old age. After his discharge he returned to his home in Virginia. When nineteen years of age he left Loudon County and went to Tygert's Valley, in Greene County, Virginia. Here we lose sight of the foster father, to whom he owed much for his Christian kindness to him in his infancy and youth, but whose name is unknown to us. Joseph's Christian principles led him to regard human slavery as a wrong to his fellow-man, and therefore a sin against God, and this is assigned as a principal reason for leaving Loudon, where slavery existed, to seek a home in Greene County. But in Tygert's Valley there was much fertile unoccupied land which attracted the attention of slave-holding tobacco planters. On the influx of slave-holders, Joseph left Tygert's Valley and moved to Washington County, Virginia. Here in 1788, at the age of twenty-seven, he was married to Miss Nancy Shanklin, of whose history we have not been able to learn. Here their first son, Edward, was born in 1789. But the fertile lands of Washington County drew the slave-holding planters to this part of Virginia. With the hope that the colony of Tennessee would become a free state, Mr. Hart made a journey to Blount County, Tennessee. Being pleased with the country, he returned to Virginia, and in the spring of 1790, with his wife, infant son and his half sister—Jane Hart—moved to Blount County, Tennessee. The Cherokee and Creek Indians had been removed to Georgia, but a few would return to their old haunts, steal horses and kill any white people exposed to their raids. To protect themselves, Mr. Hart and Arthur Greer united with other pioneer settlers in building a blockhouse and fort—known as "Old Fort McTeer"—a part of which is still to be seen, and is within the corporate limits of Maryville. The family lived in the fort four or five years. During this time Mr. Hart bought 320 acres of land, three and a half miles northeast of the fort, where he cleared land and built the first two-story frame house in Blount County. The house was located near the "Big Spring," and a part of it is still standing—1900—and has ever since been occupied by some member of the Hart family. Here he planted an apple orchard, some of which was bearing fruit one hundred years after planting. When it was considered safe from Indian raids, the family moved into their home and there continued to reside until September, 1821. In 1797, soon after moving into their new home, Arthur Greer and Jane Hart were married at the home of the bride's brother. Mr. Greer and his wife lived many years in Blount county, where they reared a numerous family, many of whom are still living—1900---in Blount and Knox Counties, a noble race of Presbyterians of Scotch-Irish descent.
Though converted in early youth, Joseph Hart did not make a public profession of religion until about the year 1796, when, under the ministry of Rev. Gideon Blackburn, he and his wife united with New Providence Presbyterian Church. Soon after he was made an elder in the church and Clerk of Session. He often "set the tune" and led the singing in the church, and for want of hymn books he read and sang two lines at a time. He also took a deep interest in the education of young men for the ministry, a work begun here by Rev. Isaac Anderson, D. D., pastor of New Providence Church, which developed into Mary-
(Note: The original book has a major typo here. The line above actually ends Mary- and is followed on the next line with a repetition of "also took a deep interest in the education of young men for the." Someone has pencilled through the repeated line, and finished the word "Maryville." My guess is that the line above was supposed to end with "Maryville College." -- BA.)
In 1807, after a short illness, the mother died, leaving the father with five sons and one daughter, viz: Edward, born in Washington County, Virginia, 1789; Thomas, born in the fort, 1791; Joseph, Jr., born in the fort, 1793; Silas, born in the farm home, 1796; Gideon Blackburn, born on the farm, 1798; Elizabeth, born in the farm home, 1802.
In 1809 Joseph Hart was married to Miss Mary Means, of Blount County, a maiden lady, thirty-two years of age, whose parents left the north of Ireland about the year 1780 to escape persecution, they being Presbyterians, and settled in East Tennessee. To this union were born five sons, viz: William, born in 1810; Samuel, born Feb. 17, 1813; James Harvey, born Sept. 21, 1815; Isaac Anderson, born in 1817, and deceased when about sixteen months old; Charles Coffin, born March 1820. These were all born in the family home in Blount County, Tennessee. Thus we see that the subject of this sketch was the father of ten sons and one daughter. A remarkable fact in the history of the family may be mentioned here, viz: The second son, Thomas Hart, was the father of ten daughters and one son.
Mr. Hart was a teacher as well as farmer. He taught the first school in Blount County. The school-house stood on land afterwards owned by David Eagleton, about two miles from Maryville. He also owned the first four-horse team known in the county. After the country began to be settled and there was no longer danger from the Indians, and for the want of a home market, this enterprising pioneer started his four-horse team to carrying country produce into the gold-mining region of Georgia. There the merchants would receive his produce and load his wagon with cotton for Baltimore. At Baltimore he was loaded with goods for the merchants of Maryville and Knoxville, the round trip occupying about three months. This team, with six horses, was often sent for salt to the salt works on Goose Creek in Virginia, about 80 miles from Maryville. Though never able, on account of his lame hip, to do such work himself, yet he found willing substitutes in his older sons—one of whom says "he was always in the saddle." About the year 1818, while Mr. Hart was having a vicious horse shod, the horse jumped on him, injuring his right shoulder, so that he was never afterwards able to put on or take off his coat without help. This horse belonged to his sister, Mrs. Arthur Greer. During the twenty-six years that Mr. Hart lived on his farm near Maryville there was no occasion for calling a physician except twice, once to see one of the boys who was suffering with "white swelling," and again on account of the injured shoulder of the father.
Tennessee having become a slave State, Mr. Hart determined to seek a home beyond the reach of that institution. In the spring of 1820 his son, Gideon Blackburn, went to Indiana, visiting Vincennes, Terre Haute and the central part of the State, and finally proposed Bartholomew County, Indiana, as the future home of the family. About the middle of September, 1821, the family was prepared for the great event—to emigrate to a new country. They had said good-bye to the old home, to old and familiar scenes, to old neighbors, to the old church, and to the dear old pastor. Neighbors and friends came to see them start. The company consisted of the father, the mother, Silas and Elizabeth of the first family, the four boys of the second family, and Robert McClure, a young man hired for the occasion. They were provided with two wagons, each with two horses, and an extra horse with saddle (which the father rode), a large tent and two cows, which answered the twofold purpose of furnishing milk for the journey and a supply of that much needed article in their new home. The first evening the tent was pitched by Will's Creek, seven miles from the starting place. Supper being ended, the stock cared for, a chapter in the Bible was read, prayer was offered and the pilgrims took their first night's rest in the wilderness. The next morning before daylight William Trotter, a young farmer, a leader of the singing in New Providence Church, accompanied by his brother, Isaac, came to the camp on horseback. William Trotter was engaged to be married to Elizabeth Hart, and had promised to go to Indiana the next spring, to be married there. But after consultation it was agreed that Silas and his sister should return with the Trotter brothers to Dr. Anderson's, where the marriage took place that morning; Silas overtook the family at the next camping place. The journey occupied about four weeks. And when the tent was pitched on Saturday it remained so until Monday morning, religious service being held in the tent on the Sabbath.
Gideon Blackburn, being in the region of Vincennes, and having learned that the family was moving, followed the military road opened by Gen. William Henry Harrison, Governor of Northwest Territory, from Vincennes to the Tobacco landing on the Ohio River, near Leavenworth, Ind., and met the family in Kentucky in the region of Cumberland Gap, and accompanied them to their destination, near Clifty Creek, five miles east of Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana, which they reached on the 8th day of October, 1820, the journey having occupied nearly four weeks.
At that time the government would not sell less than one quarter section—160 acres---of land, and that at $2 per acre. But by paving $160, the purchaser could get a certificate of entry and have five years in which to pay the remainder, and no taxes could be collected during these five years. At the end of the five years the balance was paid and the government issued a patent for the land. This pioneer father, having selected a quarter section, sent his son Gideon with $160 in silver to the land office at Jeffersonville, Ind., 100 miles distant, and entered the land according to law. Silas, Gideon and McClure cut the logs for a cabin, rived the boards for the roof, split and hewed the puncheons for the floor. Mr. Elijah Sloan, an enterprising neighbor, with his oxen, hauled the timbers to the building spot. The neighbors came together and built the cabin and put on the roof in one day. The next day they laid the puncheon floor, built the chimney, the window and door were put in place, and the family moved into their Western home. Such was the good will of the neighbors that this work was done with dispatch and without money.
The cabin was 16x18 feet, had the ubiquitous outdoor "mud and stick chimney," one window and one door. The window had nine 8x10 lights, two sash. There was no sawed lumber except the sash and window frame, and these were brought from Tennessee. No nails were used except a few made by a blacksmith in Tennessee and brought with the family. These were used in making the door, the hinges and fastening of which were made of hickory. From the time of arrival to the moving into the cabin (about six weeks) the family lived in the tent and the wagons. The three men—Silas, Gideon and McClure—dug a well, built a stable, cleared and fenced twelve acres of land and had it ready by May 1st for planting corn, flax and potatoes. Early in May, 1822, Silas and McClure, with one of the wagons and two horses, returned to Blount County, Tennessee.
There was an abundance of wild game in the region of the new home, such as deer, foxes, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, turkeys, quails and pheasants. Wolves, bears and panthers were occasionally seen. The creeks and rivers abounded with fish. The father, however, was so much opposed to hunting, because it encouraged an idle, shiftless manner of life, that he would not have a gun about the house. In this cabin a chapter of the Bible was read, a hymn was sung and prayer offered morning and evening. In the absence of the father the mother conducted this service.
Here by the blazing fire of beech and hickory in the winter evenings, and in less cold weather by the light made by the dry bark of the great poplar trees, the mother spun flax on the "little wheel'' or engaged in knitting; while the father and the boys committed to memory the questions and answers of the Shorter Catechism. Many chapters of the Bible were also committed to memory. After these tasks were done—though they were not tasks. but always a pleasant pastime—the boys would engage in some simple play, while the father would sing hymns from memory, such as "How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord," "\When I Can Read My Title Clear," "There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood, "Awaked by Sinai's Awful Sound," "Am I a Soldier of the Cross,' "There Is a Land of Pure Delight," and many others. Once a week the Cincinnati Journal. a secular and religious paper, was read by one of the boys, the others giving strict attention. Once in two weeks a grist of corn (two and a half bushels) was shelled, to be taken to mill on horseback the next day. In this cabin the preacher was often entertained, notably Rev. John M. Dickey. On these occasions the boys were examined as to their knowledge of the catechism. This cabin was also the only preaching place in the neighborhood for several years. A traveling preacher would arrive; the neighbors were notified. All would leave their work, come to this humble dwelling and hear a sermon.
As to food and clothing, these were of the simplest kind. The clothing was made almost wholly of wool and flax. Each family kept a few sheep and raised a "patch' of flax each year. These articles were spun, woven and made into garments at home or by exchanging work with some neighbor. The father made the shoes for the family, both shoes for each person being made on the same last. Hats for summer were made of rye straw or splits from the buckeye tree. Corn bread, mush and milk and vegetables, with a limited amount of hog meat, supplemented with eggs, fowls, fish and wild game caught in traps, constituted almost the entire food. Tea and coffee were almost unknown. Some buckwheat was raised and ground in the corn mill. For the first five years there was but little wheat raised, as there were no mills for making flour. There was no fruit until it could be grown from seed brought from the old home. In the spring a supply of sugar was made from the sap of the sugar maple, which grew abundantly in that region.
The following note is from the history of Bartholomew County: "On the third day of July, 1824, the Presbyterian church of Columbus was organized, consisting of seventeen members. Joseph Hart and his wife, Mary Hart, are the first names on the roll. Mr. Hart was made Ruling Elder, and for many years was the only Ruling Elder, and was Clerk of the Session until the time of his death. Presbyterianism and Christianity in this community owe a great deal to this godly man."
In those days whisky was cheap, 18 3/4 cents per gallon, or six gallons for a dollar; and was used at all neighborhood gatherings, such as log-rollings, house or barn railings, harvestings, corn huskings, and sometimes at weddings. This pioneer, seeing the evils of this custom, determined to abolish it from his premises. In the spring of 1825 a half-day's log rolling was to be done and the neighbors were to be invited. The messenger was directed to say to each one: "There will be no whisky, but father says he will try to treat you well." All came. About the middle of the afternoon the mother sent to the field a pot of hot coffee, milk, sugar, tincups and pewter spoons; also a large tray of hot corn pone. The father said: "Come, men, let's have some refreshments." All, seated on logs, partook of this substitute for whisky, and all seemed well pleased. The work was done before sunset, and the men were called to supper, after which they voted it the best log rolling of the season. Thus, quietly and without the neighbors knowing it, a most important temperance reform was happily inaugurated, and in a few years no whisky was seen at any neighborhood gatherings. This pioneer served several years as magistrate. In those days the magistrates of the county met twice each month and held County Court. Much of the judicial business of the county was transacted at these meetings. Mr. Hart taught school both winter and summer, but mostly in the summer. The text books used in these pioneer schools were "Noah Webster's Elementary Spelling Book," "Introduction to the English Reader," the New Testament and "Pike's" or "Smiley's Arithmetic." The only classes formed were in spelling. Those who could spell words only in one or two syllables were drawn up in line and exercised in spelling "for head" just before the noon recess. All others went through a similar exercise before dismission in the afternoon. The readers, one at a time, read to the master several lessons each day. Those studying arithmetic seldom did any other work, except to spell and write. Writing was done with quill pens, made by the master, each scholar furnishing his own quills. All scholars were required to study aloud, and this constituted a loud school. And a loud school it was. In the spring of 1826, Mr. Hart organized in his neighborhood the first Sabbath School in the county. The exercises of this school consisted of reading the Scriptures, singing a hymn, prayer, and reciting verses of Scripture committed to memory during the week; some reciting from twenty-five to fifty verses each Sabbath. He also engaged occasionally in work for the American Bible Society. There are Bibles in Bartholomew County to this day furnished by this pioneer gospel worker.
On the afternoon of June 6, 1826, a dark cloud overshadowed this Christian household. The father was teaching in the neighborhood school house; the three younger boys were in school. Mrs. Sloan. a Christian neighbor, was spending the afternoon with the mother. A boy came to the school house, and looking in, exclaimed, "William is drowned !" The father and two of the boys hastened to the creek, half a mile distant; the other was sent home to break the sad news to the mother, who was then preparing supper. The message was conveyed to her in a whisper. She turned to Mrs. Sloan and said: "My son is drowned." And kneeling by a chair that mother poured forth a full heart to Him who alone is a present help in trouble. After inquiring about the sad affair, she went on with her work, ate supper and calmly waited until the lifeless body of her first born was brought home. There was no outburst of lamentation, but a quiet resignation to the will of her heavenly Father. The burial took place the next day, the first laid in Sand Hill graveyard, for up to this time the neighbors had buried their dead on their own land. For more than a year nothing unusual occurred in the uneventful history of this humble pioneer family.
About the first of September,1827, (Note: the year was pencilled by someone over a typo in the original book) the mother was attacked with bilious fever. Dr. Kiser was sent for, the first time a physician was called to this home. Some of the ladies of the church in Columbus came on horseback to show their sympathy and render such help as they could. The ever-ready and faithful Mrs. Sloan was with her during the night of the 10th of September, but went home at daybreak to prepare breakfast for her own family. At the rising of the sun, Sept. 11, 1827, the mother gave a parting message to each of her children. The father, in a clear voice, sang—
Jesus can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are;
While upon His breast I lean my head
And breathe my life out sweetly there.
And good Mary Hart was not, for the Lord had taken her. Then followed a simple breakfast and family worship. The day following she was laid in Sand Hill graveyard by the side of her son. The two older boys went to live with two families in the neighborhood during the coming winter. The father and the younger son made their home with Gideon B. Hart, who had married and was living on a farm one mile northwest of the home place. And the dear little cabin home, that had sheltered us for six happy years, passed into the hands of strangers.
In March, 1828, James Harvey was apprenticed to John B. Abbot, of Columbus, to learn the tailor's trade. Here he served six years. In May, 1828, the father and his son Samuel made a journey to Columbia, Maurey (sic) County, Tennessee, where Joseph Hart, Jr., was then residing. To prepare for this journey a onehorse Jersey wagon was bought. The women of the church spun and wove the cloth, and then came together at the house of Gideon B. Hart and made a suit of clothes for each and a Scotch plaid coat for the father, which had a belt and velvet collar. So stylish a cloak had not been seen in the neighborhood before. This journey occupied two weeks, and was the only journey the father ever made with a wheeled vehicle. The father remained in Tennessee two years, engaged in teaching the greater part of the time, and then returned on horseback and made his home with his son Gideon the remainder of his life.
After his return from Tennessee in 1830, Congressman William Herod visited this Revolutionary soldier to induce him to apply for a pension. But he said "No: I did not go into the army for money, and I served only a short time." The lawyer replied, "But you were wounded in the service and partially disabled for life." "True, but I did very little service for the country. The government is now in debt, and I cannot ask for money." The subject was then dropped, though renewed several times, but always with the same result.
After his return from Tennessee, Mr. Hart taught school several summers, either in his own neighborhood or in the Haw patch. In February, 1836, he sent his youngest son, a lad of sixteen, to Salem, Washington County, sixty miles from home, to learn a trade. In the following May the father went to Salem and apprenticed his son to David T. Weir to learn the cabinetmaker's trade. The papers of indenture were carefully drawn by the father, binding the lad to four years' faithful service. They were signed by the father and Mr. Weir, and then recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds and indentures. The father then returned home.
William Trotter, his son-in-law, having moved to Walnut Ridge, ten miles north of Salem, Mr. Hart visited his daughter in the spring of 1837 and taught school in their neighborhood. This was the last school he ever taught. He spent the fall and winter at home, and returned to Walnut Ridge, Washington County, in the spring of 1838, expecting to teach again; but a suitable house could not be procured. In a letter written to his sons in Tennessee, from Walnut Ridge, he expresses great distress of heart on account of the strife and division in the Presbyterian church into Old School and New School, claiming that the division was unnecessary and a violation of the constitution of the church. He became a decided New School man, but always was charitable to the opposite party. His return from Washington County, June, 1838, was the last journey he made on horseback, his favorite mode of traveling. A considerable portion of his time in past years he spent in work for the American Bible Society.
As to his person, Mr. Hart was five feet, eight inches in height, weight about 130 pounds. He was always neat in his person and dress. Never had a pair of boots, never wore suspenders; wore a low hat with broad rim. His letters, written to his children from 1825 to 1838, were very lengthy, correct in spelling and grammar, clear and concise in composition, while the handwriting is a marvel. The paper used was large and unruled, yet the lines are as straight as if written on ruled paper, the letters well formed, every "i" is dotted and every "t" crossed. Postage, twenty-five cents.
In September, 1839, he was stricken with paralysis in his right side, from which he never fully recovered. About a year later he had a second stroke of paralysis, which rendered him almost helpless. After this he never left his room; and for six months before his death could not lie down on account of a dropsical affection. During this time his granddaughter, now Mrs. Mary E. Braden, of St. Louis, Mo., was his most faithful, efficient and affectionate attendant, administering to his wants during the day. At night his son Gideon was his nurse. Here let it be recorded that during all the years this father made his home in the family of his son Gideon, Hetty, the good and faithful wife of Gideon, was ever and always a most kind and affectionate daughter to her father-in-law; anticipating his wants and always ready to make any sacrifice for his comfort. During all the time of his helplessness he manifested the greatest cheerfulness and patience, with unabated trust in his heavenly Father; often repeating the hymn, "How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word ;" or, "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood," and many others; also many passages of Scripture committed to memory in his youth.
The writer of these lines visited him five weeks before his death, and at the final leavetaking the father said: "My son, I shall live but a short time. When you hear of my death do not put on any outward sign of mourning; it will be a time of great joy to me." On the morning of June 20, 1841, he passed into the presence of his Lord whom, not having seen, he loved. Thus ended the earthly life of this remarkable pioneer and patriarch, at the age of eighty years and three days. Remarkable in that he was converted in his early youth; remarkable in that he volunteered to take the place of his foster father, who had been drafted into the army; remarkable in that, although he had been wounded and thereby partially disabled for life, yet he refused to apply for a pension; remarkable as a pioneer teacher, as a temperance reformer, as a Sabbath School and Bible Society worker; remarkable for his cheerfulness, enterprise and industry, notwithstanding his infirmities; remarkable, above all else, for his simplicity of life, integrity and uprightness in dealing with his fellow-men, and in his modest Christian life. He lived the Golden Rule. And for more than fifty years he truly walked with God. His life was a manifest illustration of God's faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham, viz: "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee." (Gen. 17: 7.)
The writer has seen and baptized one in the sixth generation of this patriarch, and knows personally more than one hundred of his descendants. He has also, by correspondence, some knowledge of about five hundred others. Of this number, at least two hundred are, or were when living, Christians. Many of them are active in the Lord's service, and a very large majority are members of the Presbyterian church. Ten are preachers, many are ruling elders, superintendents of Sabbath Schools and other officers of the church.
"Let the righteous be had in everlasting remembrance."
The above sketch was compiled—1899 by James Harvey and Charles C. Hart, the only surviving sons of Joseph Hart.


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text:
Free Thought Lives
Books, Europe, Politics, recent, Review
Michel Houellebecq: Populism's Prophet
written by G. Gavin Collins
In the wake of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, more newspaper op-eds and opinion pieces in magazines catering to the "well-informed public" have been written about the populist phenomenon than any other topic. Populism has been unpacked, dissected, defined, and analysed, and the results have all been discouraging. Identifying the cause or causes of populism is no simple matter. Does populism stem from dissatisfaction with the economy, immigration, or some combination of issues? When surveys are taken of populist voters, these broad categories are used to determine the reason for a voter's decision. Lost in these statistical analyses of populism, however, is any real understanding of the lives and motivations of the individuals who end up making political decisions. In an age of ubiquitous scientific polling and surveying, of commentary and opinion, it is curious that perhaps the most powerful and accurate examination of the forces behind the modern populist groundswell should come from a French novelist.
In the press, Michel Houellebecq has held the distinction of being France's literary, right-wing enfant terrible. When interviewed, he is often rude and foul-mouthed—not to mention catatonically drunk. His politics are difficult to pin down, and he seems more interested in shocking interviewers than giving a faithful account of his views. Not fitting any predetermined labels, but preternaturally prescient in his social criticism, he has been called both a prophet and a populist. His 2016 novel Submission, which depicts the transformation of France into an Islamic state, was published on the eve of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. He has also been credited with being among the first to identify an underclass of sexless, under-socialised young males, now commonly known as "Incels" (short for the involuntarily celibate). His most recent novel, Serotonin, which is due to be published in English this fall, focuses in part on the effects of European Union agricultural policy on local farmers, all while an intense debate over Brexit and the proper role of the European Union rages on. His praise of Donald Trump has also contributed to a reputation for having his finger on the pulse of the populist zeitgeist.
Far from coinciding with the populist moment, however, Houellebecq's views have been developed for some time. Indeed, he has been writing furiously about Western socio-cultural malaise for the past 25 years. His first novel, Whatever, published in France in 1994, set the tone for his later work. It details the grim existence of a 30-year-old computer engineer who struggles to find meaning in his life, while waxing philosophically about the loss of human connection in western society. The novel also included the first explication of Houellebecq's views on the post-sexual revolution "sexual marketplace." Houellebecq reasons that the liberalisation of sexual relations, due both to changing societal attitudes and the invention of the birth control pill, have led to widespread sexual inequality; the attractive, more biologically fit elite have more sex than ever, while biological proletarians lead markedly less pleasurable lives, without even the consolation, as in previous eras, of a virtually guaranteed marriage supported by societal institutions. Rather than an isolated phenomenon, Houellebecq sees the sexual marketplace as a natural extension of the competition inherent in the capitalist market system, in which value is assigned to goods, services, and even people, to facilitate trade.
Houellebecq argues that the social structures which maintained Western hegemony by checking the societally harmful excesses of this competition, namely religion and the family unit, have been gradually lost to individualism and the market. Without any institutional checks on this competition, a growing number of individuals have been left behind. The recognition that one has lost out leads to despair and resentment, emotions which further destabilise society. For Houellebecq, this widespread "atomisation" of society is the principle cause of a perceived decline of the West. His evidence for this demise is the declining birth rates in Western countries. Unlike other broadly right-wing figures, however, Houellebecq is sceptical that the social stabilising force of Christianity can be called upon anytime soon, and he accepts the decline of religion's influence over society as a logical consequence of scientific progress.
A description of Houellebecq's thinking and its ramifications for our understanding of populism would be incomplete without an overview of some of his novels. Atomised, Houellebecq's second—and most autobiographical—novel, provides the purest distillation of his views, while Serotonin, his most recent work, illustrates that these views may be changing subtly. Houellebecq was born on the French island of Reunion, 740 kilometres east of Madagascar. His mother, a French doctor, and his father, a ski instructor, abandoned him as a child, sending him to live with his maternal grandmother in Algeria. Later, he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother in France, with whom he became very close; he would later take her maiden name, Houellebecq, as his nom de plume. In Atomised, two half-brothers, Bruno and Michel, are also left to the care of their maternal and paternal grandmothers, while their mother, described as a beautiful French doctor, sets out to discover herself, all the while neglecting her two children. It is unclear how much of this neglect is fictional, but a public feud in 2008 between Houellebecq and his then eighty-three-year-old mother suggests a profoundly acrimonious relationship.
In Atomised, Houellebecq is chiefly concerned with examining and evaluating the competitive individualism that replaces religion and the family unit in an "atomised" society. He also attempts to demonstrate how this competition among individuals negatively impacts the lives of the weakest in society, or those placed in difficult circumstances. He is particularly critical of the notion that a society with greater individualism, free of the restrictive forces of religion and family, will be more happy, because it is closer to nature. As a child, Michel is horrified by the cruelty he witnesses on a weekly television programme called The Animal Kingdom. He is appalled as graceful gazelles and antelopes, in large part the old and sick, are torn to pieces by lions. The voice of Claude Darget, the narrator of the programme, is described as "pompous" and "half-witted" as he speaks of nature with "unjustifiable admiration." For Houellebecq, nature is a term that can be used to sanction the most despicable behaviour.
Houellebecq is also clear about what he believes constitutes moral virtue. Amidst the profanity and graphic depictions of sex, both commonplace in a Houellebecq novel, we are given a tender description of Michel's grandmother, who does her best to raise him, alone and suffering from the effects of old age and ill health: "Historically, such human beings have existed. Human beings who have worked—worked hard—all their lives with no other motive than their love and devotion…Human beings who have no sense of having made any sacrifice; who cannot imagine any other way of life than giving their lives for others…" This behaviour may be natural for select human beings, shaped by the right kind of society, but Houellebecq is certain this behaviour is not produced in nature.
Bruno, Michel's half-brother, has an even more difficult childhood. He is brutally bullied at boarding school and overeats to cope with his misery. Houellebecq compares the dominance hierarchy of the animal kingdom to the social dynamics of Bruno's school, where the strong adolescents mercilessly bully the weak. As he grows older, Bruno occasionally spends time with his mother at various hippie communes, yet he is unable to partake in the orgiastic activities because, like his brother, he is not "enough of an animal" to fit in; his moral sense renders him too remote from a more natural life.
As Bruno and Michel age it becomes clear that their trauma has rendered them incapable of love. Bruno develops an obsession with sex, and, like a perpetual adolescent, he is unable to experience anything other than his own desires. Michel comes close to experiencing intimacy, but he is unable to reciprocate the feelings of the one woman who truly loves him. His would-be lover is also frustrated by circumstance. She is unsure whether to follow society's advice and enter the dating market for a period of time in order to choose a partner more in line with the criteria of the competitive market, or to start a family with the first man she truly loves. The prudence of modern society ultimately triumphs, and they drift apart.
Michel, who later becomes a famous scientist, is convinced that without religion and the family to check the advance of individualism, there will be a return to nature in the form of intense, antisocial competition fuelled by vanity and ego. Concluding that the power of religion to guide and order society has been lost forever, he makes a discovery at the end of the book that allows humans to create a separate species of asexually reproducing proto-humans, thus freeing the species from the incessant sexual desire and competition that he believes will be the cause of societal collapse. In the future, original humans are gradually replaced by this new species. The book, as we discover at the end of the novel, was written as a memorial to the tragic, but unavoidable, sufferings of humanity. Science is able to overcome the limits of human nature to achieve utopia, but only by destroying humanity.
Compared to Atomised, Houellebecq's new novel, Serotonin, is focused less on the causes of discontent in modern society than a description of some of its discontented characters as they make their way through the wasteland. The plot centres around Florent-Claude Labrouste, a 46-year-old agricultural engineer who has come to the realisation—not unusual for Houellebecq's characters—that he no longer has any reason to live. To cope with his depression, he takes a fictional SSRI antidepressant called Captorix, which is said to be even more potent than previous iterations of the drug. The medication keeps him from despair, but it cannot reawaken any of his old passion for life. Unlike Bruno and Michel, his upbringing is in an intact middle class family, and the tragedy he has experienced in life is not extraordinary. He is capable of love but inevitably destroys his relationships through neglect and self-destructive action, brought about by a series of events or impulses he is unable to comprehend. Like Bruno and Michel, he is trapped in the current of society and circumstance, powerless to substantially alter his future for better or worse.
After a miserable trip to Spain with his girlfriend, he decides to run away from life. He abandons his girlfriend, his job, and his apartment. His possessions amount to an 1100-gram MacBook Air filled with the digital records of modern life and a suitcase. As he travels around France, he recounts his previous moments of happiness. It soon becomes clear he has no purpose in abandoning his previous life, except to contemplate how his life has ended in disappointment.
As he reflects on his one great love, Florent-Claude considers that marriage was simply not in his programming. Though he had an opportunity and an inclination to marry, he found himself unable to go through with it. His girlfriend was young, and they both were concerned with establishing themselves professionally, though Florent-Claude admits neither of them had any understanding of what this meant. As with Michel in Atomised, personal happiness is subordinate to the forces of society. Throughout the novel, Houellebecq neatly plays with the idea that the rationale for our decisions at important junctions in life can be traced to the rationale behind the society in which we live. When this rationale is mistaken, so are our decisions.
In his aimless quest he visits an old friend from university, Almyric, a dairy farmer in Normandy struggling to make a living and hold on to his farm. After graduating, Almyric decided against a career at a food conglomerate, opting to pursue a traditional life of farming on one of his family's estates. But Almyric soon finds that intense competition from larger dairy producers has rendered his dream all but impossible. After the EU milk quota and its subsidies for smaller dairy producers are abolished in 2015, he loses his farm and his wife abandons him. Filled with despair, Almyric and other dairy farmers, also driven out of business, stage an armed insurrection, which is as bizarre as it is futile and nihilistic.
In a dark twist, Florent-Claude comes close to carrying out an act even more nihilistic than the dairy farmers' revolt. The act is so cruel one wonders why Houellebecq would bother writing through the eyes of someone so intensely unlikeable. It is not until the epilogue that he shows his hand, and the point of the novel becomes clear. The epilogue of Serotonin is striking for its moral tone—and for its appeal to hope. Unlike in Atomised, where the human condition is deemed so tragic that salvation is only possible through its destruction, Houellebecq considers the possibility of compassion and brotherly love as solutions to the moral crisis he sees in the West. The novel's redemptive conclusion, replete with explicit religious significance, offers the prospect of salvation in an act of Christ-like self-sacrifice.
In his novels, Houellebecq attempts to depict how experiences once deemed essential to individual and societal contentment—falling in love, raising a family, having an occupation that brings some degree of daily satisfaction and meaning—are being closed off to an ever-increasing portion of the population. Left in place of these experiences is a society of modern, liberal individuals, who only really understand how to compete like animals. Even for those like Florent-Claude with the ability to succeed competitively, life—devoid of the deeper, human connections that give it meaning—becomes an absurd exercise in daily suffering. For those unable to compete, there is the additional pain of resentment—consisting of both jealousy and shame that one is not good enough.
It is this kind of discontent and resentment, so well articulated by Houellebecq, that is lurking beneath the surface of populism. Indeed, Houellebecq's work has been a commercial success in part because of its convincing portrayal of this particular kind of anguish. He is able to articulate the grievances and general feeling of disaffection with modern life that are arguably responsible for a political movement. However, it does not follow that all these grievances are justified. If one is to take Houellebecq's novels seriously, one must also address their oversights and oversimplifications.
To begin with, Houellebecq tends to gloss over the benefits of competitive behaviour. He spends a great deal of time discussing emotional dissatisfaction but ignores the enormous increase in material wellbeing partially attributable to the competitive forces he derides. If he believes that some material wellbeing must be sacrificed for the benefit of the community, he is vague about how much must be done away with and from where it should be taken. The EU milk quota, which features prominently in Serotonin, was no doubt a benefit to some small dairy farmers, but an economist might convincingly argue that its inefficiency hurt society as a whole. Houellebecq never grapples with the difficulty of balancing special interests with the interests of the broader community.
It is also unclear whether the happiness of Houellebecq's characters is really so dependent on prevailing social norms or societal institutions. Houellebecq devotes a great deal of time to the sexual marketplace and the resentment that sexual inequality produces, but the old-fashioned institution of marriage did not alter the fact that some were born more physically attractive than others. Resentment and jealousy would seem to have their place in this system as well, and it is hard to imagine a marriage or a family being any consolation to someone as cynical as a Houellebecq protagonist. Indeed, the intense pessimism of Houellebecq's novels often leads one to wonder whether Houellebecq is merely a critic of modern society or, like his idol Schopenhauer, of life in general.
Finally, there is the argument that greater individualism and social freedom have increased our ability to seek a deeper, more personal satisfaction in life. Houellebecq's characters are either disadvantaged in some way or incapable of finding happiness. There are no doubt other members of society who would find rigid community-based life, with only a handful of occupations to choose from, too stifling. Differences in character, or even appearance, are often cruelly repressed in small communities, and many who grow up in small towns seek the refuge of the city to escape this ill-treatment. Ironically, it was the fear of becoming a true individual, the failure of recognising through self-knowledge the key to his own happiness, that is most to blame for Florent-Claude's ruin in Serotonin.
Despite these serious flaws, few would dispute that Houellebecq is writing in an age of increasing inequality. At first glance, Florent-Claude may seem like an unsympathetic character for squandering his material advantages, but Houellebecq is adamant that a large percentage of people are simply incompatible with the competition of modern life. This inequality between people like Florent-Claude and others is not related to wealth, but to the richness of our lived experience within the context of society. This is influenced by everything from our physical appearance, personality, intelligence, and social status. Income inequality is by far the most discussed variety of inequality, but Houellebecq does not limit himself to discussing economics, and he is not timid about bringing to light the uncomfortable fears and motivations that are closest to our hearts. Houellebecq's view of human nature implies that even if income inequality were reduced, human vanity would find other ways of using choice and taste to perpetuate differences. Natural competition, as a function of unchecked individualism, would continue to dominate, and we would still be left with an inequality of lived experience.
This insight touches upon the uncomfortable reality that decisions we make in our personal lives, such as where we study, whom we marry and where we live, have an effect on public life and contribute to this inequality in lived experience. Unfortunately, this puts the blame for inequality on an uncomfortably large portion of privileged individuals. In Charles Murray's 2011 book Coming Apart, Murray describes the effect of cognitive homogamy, or the tendency for individuals with similar cognitive ability and educational backgrounds to marry and have children, on the stratification of American society. As this trend towards assortative mating has increased, the tastes and behaviours of different groups have grown apart. This has become so extreme that today, one can make the case that separate cultures have developed. These groups have even grown apart geographically, and one's postal code is now an eerily reliable indicator of not only one's income but also one's social status.
Competition and inequality are also more visible today. A disadvantaged young person, or a loveless computer technician, such as in Houellebecq's novel Whatever, need only log on to Instagram to be bombarded with images of the natural inequality of life. The pace of competition and the need to show off what one has to keep up with others also incentivises the privileged to be even more shameless and ostentatious in displaying their advantages. Despite recent criticism of social media, there are enormous incentives for the status quo to remain as it is. Commercially, imagery is vital for creating a perception in the minds of consumers about a product or service. Through social media, Guy Debord's assertion in Society of the Spectacle that, in commercial life, the value of having ultimately becomes the appearance of having, has a new, amplified meaning today. We are also personally incentivised by vanity and our wish to keep up appearances to continue engaging with social media. We could stop, but we would be afraid of losing to the competition.
Even if one is satisfied that populism is an expression of discontent and resentment stemming from the competition and resulting inequality in society, it is difficult to know what ought to be done. Political discussion seems more focused on labelling and demeaning other groups than finding solutions. But perhaps this is because the solution to the present quandary lies outside the realm of politics altogether. Individually reflecting on the broader consequences of one's actions, doing one's best to be humble about the advantages one possesses, and having a genuine compassion for the suffering and insecurities of others may sound banal, but these points are also rarely discussed—possibly because they place a responsibility on all individuals, especially the most privileged among us.
It is interesting to note, for instance, that few pundits ever turn the mirror on their viewers or readers, and one wonders whether income inequality is far and wide the most discussed form of inequality, because it theoretically only requires an act of Congress or Parliament to change, rather than personal engagement with the "others" whom we can label and examine from the safe distance of scientific surveys and polls. As an agnostic, Houellebecq does not invoke Christ's message of love as an evangelist, but rather as a concerned spectator who sees the possibility of redemption in a simple but powerful teaching of human compassion. The technocratic solution of collecting survey data and labelling and analysing individuals as part of a group, on the other hand, only serves to keep the discussion elevated above the individual, human concerns that are, at bottom, the source of the discontent.
On the other hand, the often overwrought condemnation of modern life in Houellebecq's novels illustrates the danger of acquiescing to the demands of populism; it is easy to imagine how populism fuelled by resentment could lead to all the wrong kinds of reform. There is also the danger of rushed thinking about complex issues and the tendency to ignore the positive aspects of the society in which we live. Few of even the most ardent modern populists would wish to live in a society that no longer tolerated—or even celebrated—individual differences and choice.
It is illustrative of the enduring power of the novel that a debate so mired in abstraction and lofty rhetoric could be brought down to earth by characters who, although fictional, share a sliver of reality and lived experience with the reader. Even if we live privileged lives, we can empathise with the childhood struggles of Bruno and Michel, or Florent-Claude's search for love and meaning. This empathy can help us understand the discontent of others and maybe even some of the reasons for their vastly different political decisions. This emotional connection is more powerful than surveys or punditry, and Houellebecq's novels, though flawed, deserve praise, as well as our attention, for giving a tired debate a fresh and more human perspective.
G. Gavin Collins is a graduate student in Europe. He is interested in the intersection of literature, philosophy, and current events. You can follow him on Twitter @GGavinCollins
Filed under: Books, Europe, Politics, recent, Review
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PODCAST 133: Cheri Jacobus on How Donald Trump Used Twitter to Destroy People's Lives (Including Hers)
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Jonathan Kay speaks to Philippe Lemoine about problematic assumptions embedded in the models used to support COVID lockdown policy. Yes, separating people helps reduce virus transmission and saves lives....
PODCAST 131: Professor Tania Reynolds on the Controversy Over Female Mentorship in Academia
University of New Mexico social psychologist Tania Reynolds speaks with Jonathan Kay about Nature Communications' questionable decision to retract a controversial article, the intrusion of ideology into scholarship about...
PODCAST 130: Toby Young on the Free Speech Union, and His Campaign Against Cancel Culture
Jonathan Kay talks to colleague Toby Young about the fine line between journalism and activism, the politics of censorship, and his start-up year at the Free Speech Union
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The Nyingma Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is one of America's oldest Tibetan Buddhist centers of learning. Our mission is to share the healing wisdom of the Nyingma tradition and reveal a path of inner freedom. We offer retreats, workshops, and courses in 7 different fields of study, and are a volunteer-run organization.
Work-study program participants immerse themselves in a life of service, personal development, and learning that integrates work with study. Living at the Nyingma Institute in shared rooms, participants enjoy vegetarian meals and receive a full scholarship for Institute classes and workshops, along with a small living reimbursement stipend. The minimum commitment is 6 months.
Our current program for new residents is called the Mandala Training Program. The schedule for this program includes a daily morning reading which offers contemplations and work-practices, a daily evening meditation session, and a weekly evening class that introduces the fundamentals of Buddhism. Participants also have access to our evening programs, which include courses from seven fields of study. Tasks here can include: Front Desk, cleaning, maintenance, promotions, cooking, gardening, IT and more. We also share responsibility for house chores such as dish duty and cleaning shared spaces.
Participants need not be Buddhist, but should be able to respect our customs and live harmoniously in a community setting.


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Now Studying Culture Class: Holidays in Vietnam Completed
1 New Year's Day 2 Christmas 3 Tet Holiday 4 National Day in Vietnam 5 Hung Kings Commemorations 6 Liberation Day/Reunification Day 7 President Ho Chi Minh's Birthday 8 Valentine's Day 9 International Workers' Day 10 Vietnam Teacher's Day 11 International Children's Day 12 Invalids and Martyrs Day 13 Vietnamese Women's Day 14 Hue festival 15 International Kites Festival 16 Kitchen Guardians Day 17 Mid-Autumn Festival 18 Lim Festival 19 Huong Pagoda Festival 20 Bai Dinh pagoda Festival 21 Ong fish festival 22 Giong Festival 23 Phu Day festival 24 Buffalo fighting festival 25 Elephant Racing Festival
Bai Dinh pagoda Festival
Learn all about Bai Dinh pagoda Festival
Also Appears In: Culture Class: Holidays in Vietnam Throwback Thursday
Hello, and welcome to the Culture Class- Holidays in Vietnam series at VietnamesePod101.com. In this series, we're exploring the traditions behind Vietnamese holidays and observances. I'm Michael, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson # 20 - Bai Dinh pagoda Festival.
The Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival, or lễ hội chùa Bái Đính, is a spring festival that takes place from the afternoon of lunar January 1, but the opening festival is on lunar January 6. The festival lasts until the end of lunar March. It starts pilgrimage ceremonies to the land of the ancient capital, Ninh Bình province.
In this lesson, we will discuss the Bái Đính Pagoda Complex and the festival that takes place there.
Now, before we get into more detail, do you know the answer to this question?
What was the name of the ancient capital during the Đinh Dynasty?
If you don't already know, you'll find out a bit later. Keep listening.
The Bai Dinh Pagoda area has been claimed by a number of media outlets as the largest pagoda in all of Southeast Asia, with an area of 539 hectares, including 27 hectares of ancient Bai Dinh Pagodas and 80 hectares of new pagodas. It also has facilities that have been updated and developed over time, including a cultural park and Buddhist Academy, a reception area, and a landscape park.
The Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival includes a ceremony or lễ that consists of lighting incense to worship deities and a ceremony of sacrifice, or tế, to these deities. The first portion of the ceremony includes a procession carrying ancient ancestral tablets. A palanquin is also brought from the ancient pagoda to the new one and then the festival begins.
The festival has many traditional activities. Visitors here can take part in folk games, or trò chơi dân gian. The festival also presents a great opportunity for those who love exploring as there are a lot of caves, or hang động, in the area. Those who enjoy the purity of the temple can go sightseeing in the pagoda and listen to Chèo, Xẩm and Ca Trù songs. Some important events from the past are also reenacted on the Chèo stage in an effort to preserve the area's history for future generations.
Bai Dinh Pagoda also attracts many visitors due to the fact that the pagoda holds many records, including the largest bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha in Southeast Asia, the largest gold-coated bronze statue in Asia, and the largest bronze bell in Vietnam.
Now it's time to answer our quiz question!
From the Đinh Dynasty to the year 1010, this place was a capital named Hoa Lư. However, it later became an ancient capital when King Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital to Thăng Long (which is called Hanoi nowadays).
So listeners, how was this lesson? Did you learn something interesting?
Are there any landmarks like pagodas in your country?
Please leave a comment telling us at VietnamesePod101.com, and we'll see you next time!
aidriano
Just the usual comments re "lunar January, lunar March etc."


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Aliens most likely exist. But if we discover them, will we even realise it?
Environmentalists in India are trying to map peatlands. How will this help combat climate change?
Peatlands are found across India but there has been no effort to systematically map them.
Kartik Chandramouli
Dec 22, 2019 · 09:30 pm
Hans Joosten/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Imagine semi-decayed plant material accumulating for thousands of years under waterlogged conditions. This thick and condensed layer of soil that packs a large amount of organic carbon is called peat.
Hans Joosten, professor of Peatland Studies at the University of Greifswald in Germany, explains, "The decomposition of organic matter is hampered by water saturation – which is the same as if you put fish or vegetables in acid water – because the water keeps out the oxygen."
At an event during the ongoing climate change conference in Madrid, Dianna Kopansky, Global Peatlands Initiative Coordinator at UN Environment, said, "Peatlands cover less than 3% of the earth's land surface, but they contain twice as much carbon as in the world's forests." Joosten, who was also a panelist at the event, said, "To give you a better perspective, the average peatland per hectare has a carbon content equivalent to that of two million litres of diesel."
When this carbon-rich soil is deprived of water and gets exposed to air, it decomposes rapidly and releases all the carbon back into the atmosphere, adding to the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.
So protecting peatlands becomes a nature-based solution to reduce the effect of or mitigate climate change. This ecosystem also helps in climate change adaptation by controlling floods, improving water availability by holding and releasing water, purifying water, and providing habitat for a variety of biodiversity.
Draining peatlands
Draining and clearing peatlands to make them suitable for agriculture and other development activities has been the main threat to the ecosystem. "Around 0.4% of the world's land is drained peatlands, and just this land is contributing to 5% of global anthropogenic emissions," said Kopansky during an interview.
Drained peatlands are also vulnerable to long-lasting fires, which can multiply emissions and also release toxic haze. For instance, fire in the carbon-rich peatlands of Indonesia this year emitted double the carbon of Amazon fires.
Despite their crucial role in storing-releasing carbon and regulating the climate, the distribution, location, and status of the world's peatlands are relatively unknown.
"Peatlands are like mines. First, you need to know where they are laid. And then you can take that into account in land-use planning. If you treat them wrongly, which is very easy, you blow up everything," said Joosten. "Hence, mapping exercise is important, and it becomes more necessary as land use becomes more intensive."
Only 3% of earth's land is peatland but it contains twice the amount of carbon as the world's forests. Credit: Hans Joosten/Mongabay
For peat's sake
Peatlands have been found in 180 countries so far, and they occur extensively in the northern and tropical zones. But their exact location and status remain relatively unknown in most countries.
The Greifswald Mire Centre maintains a Global Peatland Database that maps the location, extent, and status of these ecosystems across the world with inputs from existing information, field research, and other maps and studies. But Joosten claims that despite being one of the reliable resources available, their map needs more work. "There is no remote sensing technology that can look inside the soil. You really have to dig deep in the mud and get dirty," remarked Joosten.
Kopansky and Joosten both agree that peatlands have long been unrecognised. "The fact that the largest tropical peatland – 14 million hectares – was mapped in the Congo basin recently is an example. Now, it has been revised to 19 mha, which is greater than the size of England. In this patch of Congo, there is more carbon compared to the entire forests of Congo…and time and again, we discover them in different regions," said Joosten, who has been studying peatlands for over 40 years.
Ritesh Kumar, director at Wetlands International South Asia, said, "In India, peatlands have been recorded in Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and north Sikkim. Some parts of the Western Ghats have peat too. A lot of our deltas and mangroves have the propensity to develop into peat. But there have been no systematic efforts to map them."
Since they weren't documented earlier, we don't know what's lost. And as land conversion for agriculture, grazing, housing and tourism threatens peatlands across the country, Kumar said that the ecosystem needs a lot more research. "We are trying to accumulate information and evidence and develop a peat map of India," he said.
Joosten also feels that the neglect is because peatlands comparatively occupy a smaller part of the earth's surface – 3% – and are usually not visible, tucked in forests or mangroves. "Also, there's a lot of negative connotation to the words related to peatlands…swamped, bogged down, mired…so people tend to undervalue them," he said.
Peatlands are found over 180 countries but their exact extent, location and status are not relatively known. Credit: Hans Joosten/Mongabay
According to the report Nature-based Solutions in Nationally Determined Contributions by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the University of Oxford, while at least 66% of countries included nature-based solutions in their nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, these are currently not substantive or stringent enough. For example, only around 17% of NDCs with actions involving nature-based solutions for adaptation set quantifiable and robust targets. It also suggested that while forests were highlighted for climate change mitigation, ecosystems such as grasslands, drylands, mangroves, and peatlands were relatively poorly represented.
Sandeep Sengupta, the global coordinator of IUCN's Climate Change Portfolio and one of the authors of the report, said, "We are used to getting the services from nature for free for so long. So the understanding that you actually have to put serious money to make sure that the world's ecosystems are protected, restored and managed well is quite important."
Globally, acquiring funds for conserving, restoring, and monitoring natural ecosystems has been a challenge. "[There is] 30% carbon mitigation potential but only 3% public funding available for nature-based solutions. And for peatlands, the fund is lesser," said Kopansky, adding that obtaining public-private funds is a difficult task. "There's a lot of investment in technology and energy transition, but not many are coming forward to actually invest in nature, which is our fastest and probably the most long-term, effective way to grab carbon dioxide out of the air."
Drained peatlands occupy 0.4% of the world's land surface, and just this land is contributing to 5% of global anthropogenic emissions. Credit: Hans Joosten.
Presentations and discussions on nature-based solutions had their space at many events at the current COP25, where world leaders, scientists, and officials have come together to find ways to tackle climate change.
Sengupta said, "I have never seen so much attention on nature-based solutions at a climate COP before, and this, I think, can be credited to the fact that the UN Secretary-General decided to have a dedicated track for it at the UN Climate Summit. It is also due to a growing realisation that investing in these nature-based solutions can provide multiple cost-effective and practical benefits to society."
Considering their massive role in regulating carbon in the atmosphere, several events on peatlands concluded that without proper maps and monitoring procedures for peatlands and additional financing for nature-based solutions, there will be gaps in efforts to keep the global average temperature below two degree Celsius. "And as countries think of revising and submitting new NDCs in 2020, there is a very clear opportunity for all to include nature-based solutions in their NDCs in a more concrete manner to raise overall ambitions," said Sengupta.
"But it is also important to bear in mind that nature-based solutions cannot be seen as a panacea to climate change. It is something that needs to be done in addition to reducing the use of fossil fuels to meet the two and 1.5 degree Celsius temperature goals set under the Paris Agreement," he added.
This article first appeared on Mongabay.
COP25 summit
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Jason Vieaux plays music from J.S. Bach's Lute Suite No.1 in E minor. Recorded June 20, 2016, in the CPR Performance Studio.
The Guitar Foundation of America recently hosted dozens of classical guitarists for six days of music at Metropolitan State University of Denver. CPR Classical was lucky enough to host three of the guitarists, each at a different stage in their career.
All three shared music by Johann Sebastian Bach in the CPR Performance Studio. In each of these clips, the guitarists illuminate Bach's stately melodies and spidery counterpoint.
The main event here is classical guitarist Jason Vieaux. He won a 2015 Grammy award for his classical disc "Play" and has appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.
He's performed as a featured soloist with dozens of orchestras across the globe and founded the guitar program at Philadelphia's prestigious Curtis Institute of Music.
Watch Vieaux's short but gorgeous performance of Bach's Lute Suite No. 1 in E minor above.
Gwenyth Aggeler studies guitar at Denver School of the Arts. She recently performed as a soloist in the DSA's concerto concert. She also earned first prize in her division while competing at the Texas Classical Guitar Festival in March.
Classical guitarist Gwenyth Aggeler plays music from Bach's Lute Suite No.2 in C minor. Recorded June 14, 2016, in the CPR Performance Studio.
Gabriel Balogh has studied guitar at the University of Colorado, University of Denver and Metro State. The 26-year-old won first prize in the Denver Classical Guitar Competition in 2014.
Guitarist Gabriel Balogh plays music from Bach's Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor. Recorded June 9, 2016, in the CPR Performance Studio.
And here's a bonus performance, featuring Vieaux playing "Capricho árabe" by Francisco Tárrega.
Classical guitarist Jason Vieaux plays "Capricho árabe" by Francisco Tárrega in the CPR Performance Studio. Recorded June 20, 2016.