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.

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Much Sorry with Delays
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Saturday, July 23. 2011

Saturday morning links


Pic is some of my young relatives, on Cape Cod. High tide on the ocean beaches keeps people mostly out of the water. Low tide is for swimming, body surfing, and lolling in the chilly water. The Cape Cod Bay side is sort of the opposite, and plenty warmer too, so it all works out.


Klavan: Reality Time - Why the country’s Bill Mahers say what they say:



 Their ugliness seems to be escalating day by day, and with it the dishonesty, distortions, and bullying anger of their mainstream-media fellow travelers. There’s a reason for this, I think. It’s the increasingly apparent failure of Barack Obama. With the notable exception of Osama bin Laden’s execution, the Obama presidency has resembled nothing so much as an episode of Mr. Bean, one slapstick misadventure after another.



AMAC: An alternative to AARP


People deprived of the internet feel 'upset and lonely' and find going offline as hard as quitting smoking or drinking

Demonizing Milton Friedman


Insty: HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: The Master’s Degree As The New Bachelor’s Degree.


Barack Obama's approach to the budget talks puts him well to the left of Franklin D Roosevelt


Via Betsy, Congress never, ever cuts spending


Alison Krause turns 40

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 08:12 | Comments (10) | Trackbacks (0)

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Marche's article (which I have, admittedly not read), and his commentary, is based on one thing. That is, Obama was and is an empty vessel. As a result HE IS whatever the Left wants him to be. HE IS the fulfillment of their goals and dreams. Lacking in standards, they ADORE the barren landscape his personality and lack of belief structure provides.
In addition, they were handed the perfect scenario - the economy - allowing them to continually point to Obama's predecessor as the "cause" of all our ills (and his), even after the effects of Obama's "stimulus" have proven to be as empty as his promises.

The Left has no standards, they have no "bar", because they don't want one. They believe these things are inhibiting to the ability of men and women to "achieve their potential". Particularly when that potential is to be layabouts who gripe about how much the government isn't giving them.

Obama, as a "Constitutional Lawyer" (something I continually scratch my head about), is famous for commenting on the radio that the Constitution tells the government what it can't do, but isn't very good at telling it what it CAN do. Of course, that's the very point of the Constitution, and his comments are proof of his poor understanding of the very nation he presides over.

His supporters don't care about this. They are fully invested, and are now faced with the truth of their folly: empty promises, based on discredited value systems and economic principles have led to a morally bankrupt government. They know this, they fear this, so they get angry at their opposition for finally being correct.
#1 Rick on 2011-07-23 09:34 (Reply)
Don't miss the new "MA in Learning and Thinking." That has to be a strong indicator of a bubble.

Funny, I thought the undergraduate degree was suppose to teach you how to learn. Some I'm told have figured out how to think on their own just from the exposure. But now, that is gone so I guess a good undergraduate education in the humanities can only offer writing skills. Bu the indication is that the colleges are failing at that now as well.
#2 JKB on 2011-07-23 09:35 (Reply)
Hard to be any Lefter of FDR's 'Economic Bill of Rights'. A definition of Utopian thinking.
#3 observor on 2011-07-23 10:04 (Reply)
A fine exposition:

http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ari_ayn_rand_man_rights
#4 observor on 2011-07-23 10:10 (Reply)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-22/default-now-or-suffer-a-more-expensive-crisis-later-ron-paul.html


Great commentary by Ron Paul on the state of the debt. It's funny how people have forgotten previous US defaults on its obligations.
The reason is because these defaults rarely had a direct impact on US citizens - it typically hurt the rest of the world. A debt default today would hurt the rest of the world - but severely impact US citizens, since the FED holds most US debt. We buy it ourselves, with newly printed, crisp bills. Weimar-style.
For the time being, we haven't really felt the impact here in the US, because the inflation has primarily been exported. So, for now, our debt "solution" is hurting the rest of the world via higher prices.

The end is coming, and if all we do is forestall it with a higher debt ceiling, the eventual fall will be worse than any we can currently imagine.
#5 Rick on 2011-07-23 10:20 (Reply)
--possible title for the photo:

"The Edge of the World"
#6 buddy larsen on 2011-07-23 10:56 (Reply)
"People deprived of the internet feel 'upset and lonely' and find going offline as hard as quitting smoking or drinking"

I guess this means someone will be trying to make money by running a 12-step Internets Anonymous program? Wait till the hypochondriacs discover second-hand Internet depression. Can we expect to see nanny-state demands for Federal regulation of Internet usage?
#7 Agent Cooper on 2011-07-23 20:13 (Reply)
I'm just coming off a nine day vacation, with no internet or smart phone or television. It was refreshing, and I only occasionally wondered what was going on in the world, so I would glance at a WSJ in the general store just to be sure I wasn't missing the end of the world or anything.

I will need the twelve-step program for cursing though, as I wade through all the work-related emails and phone messages next week.
#7.1 Seppo on 2011-07-23 21:11 (Reply)
Alison Kraus is 40... Me oh my, how the time does fly. Alison's got a great voice (on the right tunes) and she's a heck of a fiddler too. I thoroughly enjoy the folk/gospel albums she makes with Union Station. (The collaboration with Robert Plant left me a little cold, though.)

I can recall when she was a youngster working out of Champaign, Illinois. My friend booked her to play at his small theater in Washington, Missouri in the late 80s. Few people had heard of her at that point. That was good luck for my friend: it meant he could afford to book her.
#8 jhc on 2011-07-23 20:31 (Reply)
Thank you for the Krause link --the video inside is SO good --and Gordon Lightfoot has got to be among the most under rated performer/songwriters ever. Highly rated to be sure, but still under rated --take another listen on his top efforts some lazy youtube afternoon --
#9 buddy larsen on 2011-07-24 12:48 (Reply)

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