Just a thought, there might be some randomness to the origin of small spelling variations. Many people migrated to America before there was a high level of literacy. The small variations in spelling might be arise later when documentation started.

Thanks! I would be interested. I have a cousin who is into family genealogy; I'll check with her, too,

That was an interesting article. I am planning on tracing some of my roots with a trip to Ireland in July. I will try and find out an answer from the locals and if I do will share with you my findings.

A quick Google search suggests that there' are various plausible theories about the Kelly/Kelley distinction. Here's one: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th...

I have no real definitive answer, just the observation on where the differences occur. It could also be just a historical/cultural thing. Currently an American living in Canada, my PC never let's me forget that "color" should be "colour", "favorite": "favourite"...and many others. That certainly comes from the Brits...maybe the "-ey" does, too...

Thank you for your comments. My ancestry came from County Rosecommon in the middle of Ireland and though spelled "y" they had a Catholic background that later changed. David did lend a perspective I had not considered. They again maybe one group of these people simply were better spellers or just too lazy to use the "ey" version. I have never found the answer to that question on spelling.

Having read a lot of Irish history, from the geography David describes, 'tis a Catholic-Protestant thing...I'm sure 'twould be "Kelly" in the South (of Ireland)......

Interesting. For years I thought it was a Catholic vs Protestant background issue on the name spelling.
Enjoyed meeting you in Vegas. Hope to make the Atlas Summit if not this year next year. Take Care

And thank you for your comment!
As for my name: my understanding is that it's Scotch-Irish, people from northern England, Scotland, and northern Ireland--as opposed to the Irish Kelly's.

Appreciate the dialog and insight! Understanding the origins of the "liberal" name is a valuable lesson along with understanding how the label has been hijacked over the years.

Thanks for the insight David. As usual your comments are helpful in giving us understanding. Mark Kelly Can you tell me how the origin of why some people spell Kelley with an "ey" vs the "y"?

Thanks for all you do.

You should be worried. From what I heard talking to kids about what they're learning in history, especially US history, it has very little to do with anything positive the US has ever done, and focuses heavily on "facts" about what, primarily due to those "old dead white men" (I think here we call them The Founders) other white males did to the Indians (er, Native Americans), blacks, women, workers...etc. etc. etc...

Not from the US, so I don't know enough about Common Core, but "list of facts" is a very worrying description. Sounds like re-writing history! I have to admit, from its name, I assumed it was core skills like the 3 Rs.

Very concise summary! +1
Thanks for the book references, I will check them out.

Agreed. I'll just point out that calling government spending "investment" has been around for awhile...may go back to Bill Clinton's administration, at least. For example, "we need to spend more Federal money on education" became: "The federal government needs to invest more in education"...

Correct. In the early debates about socialism in the late 19th century, after Marx had gained influence, in economic disputes the issue was always phrased as "liberals" vs. "socialists" or "Marxists". Liberal up until that point had always meant "free-traders", even when arguing about non-socialist issues such as protectionism. It was only after co-opting the term that later free-market economists had to add the modifier "classical" to liberal.

Exactly, and you give great examples. Common Core itself is a great example of a misleading term: it has nothing to do with core knowledge required for thinking of yourself and making a living, like the old "3 R's", and everything to do with a list of facts (usually distorted) that some bureaucrat has determined is important to know. The most frequent criticism of teachers I've heard of Common Core is that they have to "teach to the test", rather than actually teach. And I clearly remember that when I first heard the term "Common Core" when it first appeared, without a real definition, I did think "hey, that sounds pretty good"...

I agree, and Hotel Rwanda is a good example of accurate historical fiction at its best. (I use the qualifier "accurate" because so much "historical fiction" is just trashy writing, or inaccurate propaganda.)

Another part of history that is conveniently ignored was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when there was actual racism within the black community itself: the lighter your skin (see the term "high yellow"), the higher your status within the black community. Si I strongly agree with William and other posters that "only whites can be racist" is ridiculous.

Hello salta,
More like de-evolution in my mind. Those that have absconded and distorted the title are now more likely to call themselves "progressive." They keep pushing marxist nonsense from the past. It is always the same ... "We just didn't do it right..." or have enough government force/backing to make it work.. bla bla bla
Baa Baa Baa blind sheep...
Regards,
O.A.

Loved "A Life of One's Own." Jaw dropping.

Salta,

This is an excellent question—one that I wish every voter knew the answer to. The historical answer is that the transition from classical liberalism to welfare state liberalism started in England in the late 1800s, and took off in America at the turn of the 20th century, culminating in FDR's New Deal. The “new Liberals,” as they were called at the time, were socialists at heart but knew that socialism wouldn’t fly in Britain and especially not in America. So they manipulated the concepts of classical liberalism to infuse them with socialist meaning. Freedom from interference came to mean freedom from the want; coercion as the exercise of actual force came to mean any kind of social or economic pressure (like being subject to market wages); rights to life, liberty, and property expanded to include rights welfare benefits. It was conceptual warfare.

The full story is told in Arthur Ekirch’s, The Decline of American Liberalism, 1955, which Ayn Rand recommended at the time ( on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Decline-American-L... ). There's also my book A Life of One's Own: Individual Rights in the Welfare State; Chap 3 is a shorter version of the history, focusing on the manipulative change in the concepts ( on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Life-Ones-Own-Indi... ).

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ADMIN EDIT: Added links to books.

I agree. All skills humanity acquired long time before the skill of writing.

Yes! . if it doesn't work, it's not engineering, it is
experimentation. . successful experiments lead to
engineering something which people can count on
to help with life. . and, oh are there trials and errors
involved!!! -- j

p.s. the fun word empirical (reality check results)
jumps up in any good conversation like this.

Hello j,

I would like to submit for your consideration two ideas.

1. A definition of engineering: "the art of things that work."

2. The art f engineering uses a lot of scientific knowledge, but ultimately it is a process of trial and error involving innovations and improvements, with unavoidable guesses and risk taking. All this is done for the benefit of a profitable manufacturing business and their customers.

Just my opinions.