Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
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NYC update
Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
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Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
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Saturday, March 28. 2009

Saturday links

These maids in Canada will do everything except clean toilets.


The UN's climate dreams of power. Since they cannot stop war, I guess they want to find something else impossible to do to justify their existence. Gateway has more.


My Dad was a sharp-dressed man and an honest salesman.


The history of domesticated maize pushed back to 8700 years.


Coyote sort-of defends Ward Churchill. (Of course, he rightly assumes there are no standards in Churchill's line of work.)


Did you check out Zinsser's piece On Writing Well: Visions and Revisions? Darn interesting. His book is a classic, right up there with Strunk&White.


The scandal of thermodynamics. It doesn't allow for life.


The Journolist propaganda machine revealed.


Obama appears to mean business in Afghanistan. That is good.


Dems consider taxing medical benefits. What?


AIG as straw man


Steyn:



As President Reagan said, we are a nation that has a government, not the other way round. The nation pays for the government, not the other way round. I pay for Congressman Frank and Senator Dodd, not the other way round. I would appreciate it if they'd take up a less destructive pastime, perhaps joining Senator Kerry in windsurfing off the Irish coast in buttock-hugging yellow Lycra. If you  have even a modest asset - a small house, a sluggish savings account or pension provision - these people are making you poorer. Good luck digging yourself out from under.


Posted by The News Junkie in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 08:11 | Comments (19) | Trackback (1)

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Thoughts On A Sunday
There was a gathering of the WP clan at The Manse last evening. It was for the purpose of celebrating my oldest sister's upcoming birthday (she being born on April 1st). The younger WP Sis couldn't make it up, but...
Weblog: Weekend Pundit
Tracked: Mar 29, 18:13

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Obama and Afghanistan. I saw the speech and it was pretty good but he kept throwing digs in at Bush. He just didn't have any oomph behind it. I wonder if it gets tougher what will he do. Sec Gates was visible behind Obama and I sure would like to know the thoughts behind that stony face.
General Petreaus was there too.
#1 grant1863 on 2009-03-28 09:49 (Reply)
Bumper sticker latest:

Yes, We Can Do
Worse Than Bush!

Don't Blame Us
We Voted McPalin!
#2 greenmtnpunter on 2009-03-28 10:23 (Reply)
About taxing medical benefits: I favor reducing taxes on all income, but I believe medical benefits are just another kind of income. Taxing cash salary but not the value of medical benefits just deepens the divide between workers who pay for their own insurance and workers who let their employers provide it for "free." That, in turn, deepens the divide between payer and recipient of medical services and distorts the market. It also encourages people to be passive about health care and not to obtain it privately and independently, in a portable form that will survive changes in employment over time.
...
Under current law, premiums for privately-obtained health insurance are only partially deductible. At a minimum, they should be fully deductible in order for privately insured workers to achieve parity with workers whose benefits are supplied by employers.
#3 Texan99 on 2009-03-28 10:34 (Reply)
There are many distortions created by incoherent and conflicting tax policies - the result of allowing politicians to buy votes with our tax dollars.

The tax mess could be easily fixed by instituting a flat tax of 15% with no deductions as Steve Forbes proposed. (We could provide retraining benefits for accountants and tax attorneys.)

Consumer directed health care principles are the solution to our current "deficiencies" in health care. Portability, HSAs, and price and quality transparency are among the guiding principles that would place care, decision-making and financing with the individual and not the state.

Much work has been done on consumer directed health care. Resistance comes from the left, government and segments of big business because such a system would reduce their power and influence. That fact alone tells me that merit is present.
#3.1 Barrett on 2009-03-28 12:43 (Reply)
It's hard to tell what the thermodynamics one is going on about.

Thermodynamics going forward is diffusive; errors disappear along with fine structure. Going backwards errors blow up exponentially. What else is new.
#4 Ron Hardin (Link) on 2009-03-28 11:13 (Reply)
How surrendering can be praised in Afghanistan is beyond me, but then i ain't a damn yankee.

Can yall remember when Mudboy Hussein hasn't lied while making grandiose promises to appease the simpletons in America?

I can't.
#5 Leag on 2009-03-28 13:22 (Reply)
"Mudboy"? Is that some kind of reference to "mud people" a la white supremacists? If so, ick.
#6 Texan99 on 2009-03-28 14:01 (Reply)
Try to keep up the best yall can, Tex.

Mudboy is reference to Hussein's name mud as first prophesied by Dick Morris, "So Obama’s name will be mud by 2012 and probably by 2010 as well."

I realized his name is mud a little earlier than slow learners.

It was the same night he delivered the 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address.
#6.1 Leag on 2009-03-28 14:36 (Reply)
Ahhh, Tex, prepare to be "educated". See Mr. Leag 'splained to us prejudiced fools here a while back that the "Mud" in his favorite sobriquet refers not at all to Obambi's skin color but only to his propensity to propel mud. No double intent intended, you see. It's all in your head, you see. Of course this do make Mr. Leag and Obambi cuzzins to some degree...
#6.2 KRW on 2009-03-28 14:40 (Reply)
Alas, slow on the post, and it is I who is totally wrong here. He doth not throw mud, but is mud itself. My apoplectic apologies to you dear sir. It appears my prejudices have again mislead my thinking. A thousand pardons for my slander.
#6.2.1 KRW on 2009-03-28 14:45 (Reply)
Were ya to repent yall's slander, one pardon would be more than sufficient, sweetheart.
#6.2.1.1 Leag on 2009-03-28 14:56 (Reply)
Sweetheart? Well ain't you th' silvah tongued devil! BTW, y'all be plural, me be sing'lar. O'course note my multitudy-ness of apologies wern't good for but one slander...
#6.2.1.1.1 KRW on 2009-03-28 15:10 (Reply)
Yall do like to wander off topic.

Niether Tex, nor yall have responded to the topic of Mudboy's Afghanistan lies.
#6.2.1.1.1.1 Leag on 2009-03-28 15:50 (Reply)
OK, far be it from me to let a troll's tummy grumble...Why whatevah do you mean by "surrendah"? Thaht's not what he say-ed???
#6.2.1.1.1.1.1 KRW on 2009-03-28 16:45 (Reply)
So, now after all the fol-de-rol, yall agree.

Thanks, sweetheart.
#6.2.1.1.1.1.1.1 Leag on 2009-03-28 17:29 (Reply)
Why as much as I 'prishiate your sweet talk, sugar cakes, I ain't been edjucated in that fancy frenchy fol-fluffy talk so I's still at a loss t' un'erstan'. So 'splain it real slow to me, if you could, hunneybunch...
#6.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 KRW on 2009-03-28 17:39 (Reply)
Leag ... We're too busy parsing President Chuckles' latest lies on global "warmening", refusing payment on veterans' health insurance, taxing civilians' health benefits and other strange innovations right here at home. And we're hoping that this former Professor of Constitutional Law will finally learn what a bill of attainder is, so he can explain to Rahm Emanuel, how it adversely affects all signed and agreed upon contracts.

Marianne
#7 Marianne Matthews on 2009-03-28 16:53 (Reply)
Yes. Mam i understand we all do what we can.

I like the Chuckles moniker, too.

Mudboy reminds me of Howdy Doody who was found to be often, very engaging but always, a clown.

The problem with electing a clown to the White House is the joke falls on all of the American people.

Have a nice day.
#8 Leag on 2009-03-28 17:39 (Reply)
I have probably bought and given away more copies of On Writing Well than any other book, other than Campbell's Style.
#9 rightwingprof (Link) on 2009-03-29 06:41 (Reply)

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