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Wednesday, October 5. 2011

"Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow"

But can you give some to your cat? And can you drink your goat's milk? Or do you need government permission for that too? And what about home-made cheese from your cow's milk? Is this what our founding father farmers risked their lives for?

Obama: You don’t have some inherent right just to– you know, get a certain amount of profit.

Says who?

Hansen rakes it in

At-a-glance: Remembering Babi Yar

Man-Cave Masculinity - A man’s quest for his soul starts with a walk downstairs.

Why Are Women More Promiscuous Than Ever? And why are men taking advantage of it by withholding commitment? Is it time to take the power back? (h/t Insty)

The ladies are becoming as horny and predatory as the men. From what I hear, they are like animals, dragging innocent lads off the street for their selfish sensual pleasure.

Brooklyn earns distinction as dining destination

"Wolf of Wall Street" says his story offers lesson

Brooks: The Limits of Empathy

Getting It Right on free speech: Dean of George Mason Law Sets Excellent Example

The UK's proposed fat tax

Government: no syrup on pancakes

Shocking Photos: Barack Obama Appeared and Marched with New Black Panthers in 2007

Plunder: Michelle Obama Listed Daughters Malia and Sasha as “Senior Staffers” for $432,142 African Trip

Q&O:

We don’t work for the government, it is supposed to work for us. And I damn sure am not going to agree to giving that up for temporary convenience.

Paul Ryan’s Strong Antidote to Obama Health Care: Ramesh Ponnuru

Lord SCOAMF and Screaming Friends

Overrated - Rumors of Barack Obama’s political skill have been greatly exaggerated.

Obama bets on 50-state strategy to eke out '12 win

Aiming to spend a billion dollars - not counting the billions in government give-aways

Sad news: 43% of blacks believe Obama critics are racist

Liar: Obama Campaign Says GOP Blocking Jobs Bill--After Reid Blocks Jobs Bill

Wiz: “The only beneficiaries are the teachers unions” from Fran Tarkenton!

Only in Washington would it be so hard to repeal an obvious fraud

Write a check for more than $1 trillion today, taxpayers, to pay for state and local government pension shortages.

INTERVIEW: J. Christian Adams, author of “Injustice: Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department”

"...the liberals in Washington will not back off, even when they see that they are crippling the economy. FDR’s policies were similarly destructive, but the more economic havoc he created, the more he was able to expand his power."

It's not a bug...

Sipp:

All those people who thought they were going to walk away from those houses and give them back to the banks? The banks are going to figure out the difference between the mortgage and what the house is sold for, which will be huge, sell those debts to lawyers --who'll make the mafia or a first wife look reasonable -- and they'll use the court system as their own private strong-arm collectors, and hound those people to kingdom come.

Even death is not an escape from a debt because they go after your estate. Bankruptcy is an escape, but it isn't pretty.

Is Maggie's Farm a "Conservative Website"? I guess not, because, if we were, we'd be ranked 122 on that Alexa list, going by Alexa stats. Anyway, we're a Centrist, eclectic website, with only an interest in politics insofar as the gummint gets in our way. We only want a very few things from gummint. Does that make us Conservative, or Libertarian, or just cranky Yankee-minded people who want to be left alone to construct our own lives as we think best? We all came here (well, our ancestors did) to get away from gummit oppression.

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 05:10 | Comments (30) | Trackbacks (0)

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That Obama quote on profit seems unfairly misapplied. It seems as though he's saying companies aren't entitled to a certain level of profit. Yes, you can make profit, but not by exploiting your customers.

Banks feel entitled to some level of profit (12%, 15%...) Obama is pointing out they aren't entitled to anything except opportunity.

We should agree with him on this.

#1 DrTorch on 2011-10-05 08:15 (Reply)

I do agree with you. Markets determine profits. I don;t think that's what Obama meant, however.

#1.1 Bird Dog on 2011-10-05 08:19 (Reply)

A public company's duty is to make enough profit to benefit the people who own a share of the company through stocks and bonds. By definition, that requires a maximization of profitability. If that profit pool is impacted by external events, it is the duty of the executives who operate the company to reclaim those profits in some way.

No individual or company has a "right" to a certain amount of profit - that is true. What is left unsaid is that any individual or company has a DUTY to to maximize the amount of profit it makes - otherwise it has no other function. It is a leftist conceit that companies only exist to benefit society as a whole - they do not. They exist to benefit the individuals who own the company either in whole or in part.

What also goes left unsaid is this: In theory, the money not being charged retailers and others who accept debit cards was supposed to be passed back to the customers. Anybody with half a brain could have understood that retailers and other debit card accepters would keep that 1.5
% (on average) for exactly the same reason stated above - there will be no 1.5% discount from Target, Wal-Mart or Dick's Sporting Goods (who, by the way, has really gone down hill lately. I went in the local Dick's to pick up some shotgun slugs for alligator season - didn't have any in stock).

The simple truth is that Durbin screwed the pooch on this and he's trying to scramble around, shift the blame - do whatever it takes and it ain't working. It's his fault and his alone.

#1.2 Tom Francis on 2011-10-05 09:51 (Reply)

The company's path to maximizing profit should lead it to offer a product that it can produce for a cost that is less than the price customers are willing and able to pay. In that sense, the company has an obligation to society, the failure to fulfill which should result in its going out of business.

The free market is built on willing exchanges, not on automatic rights of customers to obtain what they want, or automatic rights of companies to achieve a profit.

#1.2.1 Texan99 (Link) on 2011-10-05 10:32 (Reply)

Very true.

#1.2.1.1 Tom Francis on 2011-10-05 11:52 (Reply)

The minimum wage defies this logic. The minimum wage indicates that there is a floor to how low your profit can be from working as you may not accept wages discounted below this level.

#1.3 JKB on 2011-10-05 10:17 (Reply)

Of course there is no inherent right to a certain amount of profit (that is why better run businesses generally succeed and poorly run ones tend to fail), but I would turn the question around. Does the government have an inherent right to a certain amount of what we make? Does it have an inherent right, having taken our money, to give it to somebody else who did nothing to earn it?

#1.4 mudbug on 2011-10-05 10:34 (Reply)

"we're a Centrist, eclectic website"

Really? It strikes me that a politically 'centrist' site would link to as many articles on DailyKos, MyDD, MediaMatters and Wonkette as it does to Ace of Spades, Power Line, Hot Air and people like Charles Krauthammer, no?

And an 'eclectic' site would only have a small percentage of its articles politically-oriented, no? From what I see, every one of the links above except one are politically-oriented in one way or another. The words "Obama" and "government" appear in almost half of them.

If you're going to talk the talk, BD, then walk the walk. If this site is so 'eclectic', then what in the hell prompted this?

As for the article, it wasn't worth the spittle it was written with. Seriously, how does some joker list the top "conservative" sites and then include this:

"And, yes, I know that some of these sites are truly left-leaning (e.g., Politico)."

Why? Because "conservatives often cite and reference them, so I've included them for purposes of completeness."

Ah, I see. "Completeness".

WSJ at the top? One of the most liberal news organizations in the U.S.? The site that, along with the NY Times and LA Times, revealed the anti-terror SWIFT program to the world? This moron is thinking of their editorial page, the Opinion Journal, not the mainstay site.

Politico is #2. For "completeness", remember.

RealClearPolitics is #3, a site that routinely pushes the AGW meme and absolutely adores Tom Friedman and Paul Krugman. One of those two is linked almost every other day.

This nitwit also doesn't seem to know that Instapundit.com, EdDriscoll.com and HughHewitt.com are all part of corporate sites now, Pajamas and Townhall.

Also, from what I've seen, Doug Ross is a Denier -- in that he denies the earth is currently growing warmer, whereas the geologic record clearly indicates it is. He's also one of those fuckheads who immediately brands anyone who dares to care about the enviroment a "hippie". Hey, Doug -- here's a little tip. There's also a word for people who don't give a shit about the environment. The word is "assholes".

About a month ago, I was thinking of writing a post on ol' Doug and the blame game, centered around that great speech Michael Douglass gives in the movie 'The American President'. With Bulldog bringing up the meme the other day as it relates to baseball, and now that ol' Doug is back in the news, maybe it's time to revive it.

I sure hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings.

#2 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2011-10-05 08:43 (Reply)

I have to go flopper chop so I can't say as much as I'd like, Doc.

Re the pct. of rising political articles. Based on Maggie's traffic and the hits on various articles, is BD giving the readers what they want or do they prefer to see the Chipmunk of the Week?

"This nitwit', whom would that be?

I like Doug Ross.

You have not hurt my feelings. It is too entertaining to watch you climb your soapbox. How could one get mad?

Some good links up there to comment on, but I gotta run.

#2.1 feeblemind on 2011-10-05 09:40 (Reply)

If this was truly a Centrist website, I wouldn't bother coming here.

#2.2 phil g on 2011-10-05 13:20 (Reply)

Damned hippy

#2.3 phil g on 2011-10-05 14:40 (Reply)

That's great news that the earth is warming!!! Family lake property in Minnesocold will be even more valuable.

#2.4 phil g on 2011-10-05 14:43 (Reply)

Is Maggie's Farm a "Conservative Website"?

Yes and no - depends on your view point. Maggie's has conservative voices and commentary, moderate posters and commentary and I have a suspicion that there are a couple of closet slightly left-of-center posters and commenters here too. :>)

As a whole, no - centrist is as good a way to put it as any.

As individual posters, no - many more conservative headline posters than center oriented. It may be the headline posters that create the image of "conservative". It could also be that guns, hunting and cigars create that conservative impression - food, psychology/psychiatry and outdoors activities balance that by give a more liberal impression.

For my money, Maggie's is what it is - centrist at times, conservative at times, liberal at times (not often though), fun, entertaining and very inclusive as evidenced that you allow me in here.

One more comment - I read a few blogs, left, right and some kind of in between like Lileks. There is not another daily blog, and I have fifteen in my bookmarks, that has the level of intelligent, articulate and knowledgable commenters that exist here at Maggie's Farm. Hands down the commentary here is the best - every day is a learning experience - for me anyway. And that is what I like best.

#3 Tom Francis on 2011-10-05 09:36 (Reply)

Caveat: We had to pay Tom a lot of money for that above comment, but it was well worth it.

#3.1 BD on 2011-10-05 09:45 (Reply)

It's one of my favorite sites to visit daily, but I've never thought of it as centrist. Pleasingly eclectic, certainly.

#3.2 Texan99 (Link) on 2011-10-05 10:35 (Reply)

How many political sites have recipes, trip photos, videos about Mint Juleps, architecture quizzes, discussions about psychology, history, and all the other side topics we get here on the Farm?

Certainly, the political leaning is toward the conservative side and there are more political posts and discussions than other topics, but as I say, Maggie's is so much more than politics.

I found out about Maggie's when I found a story about an SR-71 Blackbird flight over Libya posted here. You probably wouldn't find something like that at most political sites either.

For a description, I vote for eclectic.

#3.3 mudbug on 2011-10-05 12:59 (Reply)

[i]Does that make us Conservative, or Libertarian, or just cranky Yankee-minded people who want to be left alone to construct our own lives as we think best?

This is a definition of libertarianism, letting mankind do what he wants as long as it harms no one else. This is what America needs, our two parties have forgotten what makes America great and it's not the government!

#4 Reverendyo on 2011-10-05 10:14 (Reply)

Liar: Obama Campaign Says GOP Blocking Jobs Bill--After Reid Blocks Jobs Bill

This is where the current administration's failure is going to be - the disconnect between them and their very own party. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the disconnect is already in place.

Progressives like the current President and his Legislative cohorts operate on the assumption that the average citizen is stupid or inattentive or lazy - or possibly all three together. They are about to find out that isn't true. While I don't have a lot of hope for the current crop of GOP Presidential candidates regaining the White House, I do have some hope that the House will remain in Republican hands (with some more additions) and the Senate will flip Republican with a majority - I hope.

If that does happen, we will live to see another American revolution only this time it will be legislative. I can't wait.

#5 Tom Francis on 2011-10-05 10:16 (Reply)

Well, if you paid Tom for his comments doesn't that make you a capitalist, and thereby conservative?

What I like about Maggie's is that the comments seem to be intelligent and don't devolve into flamethrowing and name calling quite as often as elsewhere. Perhaps that makes this site conservative as well. Liberals (admittedly rash generalization) seem to be springloaded to the ad hominem attack because there is often little logic to their arguments.

#6 ScottJ on 2011-10-05 10:26 (Reply)

Y'all have a goodly passel of deep southerners follerin' y'all, too. Please doan be fergittin us'ns when y'all'ns slap on thet ''Yankee" agitative.

but serioiusly, if i may wax grandiose & smarmy too, it is only that which connects whatever that is, that makes Honest Abe a great among greats. Otherwise, how dare he.

#7 buddy larsen on 2011-10-05 10:32 (Reply)

Sooo. . .I board my horse. The gal who owns the barn does a great job! She cleans out the stall, she feeds twice a day, turns him into a nice big lush pasture every day, puts blankets on him when the temperature drops, takes them off when it gets to warm. All of these services I pay for with cash/check. She DOES NOT ride him. That is understood.

Question: Does the judge's ruling regarding cows/milk mean that I cannot come to the barn and ride my own horse?

#8 apple pie on 2011-10-05 10:35 (Reply)

...and you still have a horse, even if the eclectricity goes down

#8.1 buddy larsen on 2011-10-06 01:06 (Reply)

CALL FOR PAPERS

Persuasive 2012: Design for health and safety

The 7th International Conference on Persuasive Technology
June 6–8, 2012
Linköping, SWEDEN

Persuasive Technology is a stimulating interdisciplinary research field that focuses on how interactive technologies and services can be designed to change people’s attitudes and behaviors. Influenced by areas such as classic rhetoric, social psychology and ubiquitous computing, researchers in this field are typically designing applications for domains such as health, business, safety, and education. The 7th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (Persuasive 2012) will build on the successful prior conferences held at Eindhoven, Stanford, Oulu, Copenhagen, Claremont, and Columbus. The conference will feature the latest insights into how mobile and internet-based applications such as mobile games and social networking sites can be designed to influence behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. The conference is expected to gather researchers, practitioners, and students who are interested in networking, presenting, discussing and reflecting on central themes associated wi!
th persuasive computing and design.

Conference themes
The general theme of Persuasive 2012 – Design for health and safety – sets a special focus on current societal challenges. Themes of the conference include, but are not limited to:

Behavior change systems for healthy living
Lifestyles management technologies
Eco/Green persuasive technologies
Persuasive design for personal safety
Mass persuasion and safety
Smart environments and augmented reality for behavior change
Mobile and ubiquitous persuasion
Motivational technology
Design for education and learning
Robotics and persuasion
Security and privacy
Persuasive design and innovation
Methods, metrics and measurements in persuasive technology
Social and organizational issues
Theoretical foundations of persuasion
Ethics of persuasive technology
e-Interventions for addictions
Evaluation of persuasive technology
Persuasive Technologies in inclusive ICT
Business models for persuasive systems

#9 faculty wife on 2011-10-05 10:53 (Reply)

...somehow i'm reminded of all this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?pagewanted=1

#9.1 buddy larsen on 2011-10-05 11:51 (Reply)

Indoctrination 101?

#9.2 jma on 2011-10-05 12:59 (Reply)

Persuasive design for personal safety

This is something I've been involved in on and off for the past ten/twelve years or thereabouts and from a direction you might not readily think about.

Personal Flotation Devices and automatic shut off lanyards. HA!! Threw you a curve ball on that one I'll bet. :>)

One of the major problems with recreational boating is not wearing PFD's. There are a variety of reasons. Men don't wear them because it appears "unmanly", women don't wear them because they aren't flattering - both genders think they are too bulky, uncomfortable, unwieldy - kids hate them because they want to be seen as adults (ever try to keep a 12 year old in a PFD on a boat - or a two year old?) - issues that you would think would be minor with respect to personal safety on the water.

You would think that you could easily design a PFD that would satisfy all these "issues", but it just isn't possible. The closest manufacturers have some to creating one is the original inflatable PFD made by Mustang. The issue with these is cost - they are roughly $100/per unit and you'd need a minimum of four for the average recreational boat - $400 for four PFD's when you can get closed cell foam PFD's, pack of four, for $20 at Wal-Mart on sale.

The USCG and BoatUS held a contest a few years back to design a PFD what would be comfortable, wearable under all conditions, do the job and relatively cheap. Nada - zip - zero - got nuttin'. Yeah, there were some designs that looked good on paper, but again, would people wear them?

The answer of course is no. The false sense of safety in a moving small boat overrides any sense of danger - so the PFD's remain in storage or under consoles or seats - completely out of the way and inaccessible in an overboard emergency.

I wear a PFD, inflatable Mustang, large size, when any of my boats are moving. The only exception is when I'm using my trolling motor and that has a dead man's switch. If I fall over, the boat stops and I can climb back onboard.

And yes - I have gone over the side of several boats and once off the stern - in all three cases I was wearing an inflatable PFD. So I speak from experience.

With respect to kill switch lanyards, same issue. Folks just don't wear them. Pretty much for the same reasons. On my boats, it's automatically hooked to the manual actuator so if an accident happens or overboard occurs, the PFD inflates, the engine stops and again climb back aboard.

I'll tell you, if somebody comes up with an answer to these two problems, they are going to make a ton of money.

#10 Tom Francis on 2011-10-05 16:14 (Reply)

I sit here in stunned (almost) silence as I try to contemplate PFDs, missed mint julep videos, e-Interventions for addictions, profit maximization (hurt by low inventory for alligator slugs) and what the heck a flopper chop might be. But any blog that permits the simultaneous use of the terms grandiose and smarmy can't be all that bad.

#11 Bomber Girl on 2011-10-05 19:20 (Reply)

...except for its lack of naked chipmunks.

#11.1 Bomber Girl on 2011-10-05 19:22 (Reply)

A good Bomber Girl always nose good words when she seize 'em! So i followed her in and realized i had not realized that they are fairly rare in that quality that the French probably have a word for. That is, to use 'grandiose' is grandiose --and what could be smarmier than using 'smarmy'?

English is so grand!

Time flies like an arrow
Fruit flies like a banana

#11.2 buddy larsen on 2011-10-05 21:19 (Reply)

do you realize what conservative means in some regions of the globe? it is a decidedly regional term of no value globally.

#12 observor on 2011-10-05 20:00 (Reply)

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Wednesday, October 5. 2011

Weds. morning links