Friday, April 15. 2005
"Constitution Not a Living Organism" says Scalia. Funny figure of speech, brings odd images to mind. But of course he is right. It's a legal document - a contract between the people of the states and the federal government. As is said about the Ten Commandments - "It's not the Ten Suggestions." Without that contract, there would have been no real union, just a confederacy. Piece on Scalia's speech here. How did so many get hoodwinked into thinking that a contract was a living organism, anyway? Surely not lawyers? If you want to change it, you amend it. The Coming Showdown Please remind me again...Who won the election? The coming showdown over judges and the courts, and of course, the Supremes. HH gets the real story here. More France and the EU Chirac defends EU as polls turn negative: "Mr Chirac said the treaty was needed to keep the EU "strong and organised" and defend its interests against the power of the US or of India and China." Read entire here.
Doug TenNapel: "Life would be so much easier if I could just ditch this religion crap and swallow atheism...but I'm not a man of faith. " Read his short but pointed piece here
The Latin Beat: Chavez We begin with "Fidelito" by mentioning the plight of Luis Posada Carriles, a CIA-trained Cuban seeking political asylum in the United States. Mr. Posada is 77 and considered a hero by the Cuban exiles for his efforts to topple Castro in the Bay of Pigs, an assassination attempt in Panama and the clincher--bringing down a Cuban civilian airliner that killed 73 people as well as bombings in Cuban tourist hotels. Rep. William D. Delahunt(D-Mass.), wrote a letter to the leaders of the House International Relations Committee: "Given the enmity between the US and Cuban governments, it is possible that US officials have turned a blind eye to Posada's entrance into our country -- or even worse, facilitated it. If he is allowed to remain here--it would obliterate America's credibility on the war on terrorism, because it would suggest that we share the views of those who support al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents that 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.'" Speaking of terrorists, '"One Darned thing after another": That is how former Secretary of State Dean Acheson defined foreign policy. The latest "darned thing" for the United States is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez,' reports Peter Brookes. A main concern for the US is the chance that a conventional war between Venezuela and Colombia, our main regional ally, could break out especially since Chavez has been buying Russian AK-47's, MIG-29 fighters, helicopter gunships and ammunition. The FARC ( Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) has been trying to overthrow the Colombian government and Chavez is their 'good ol boy.' Hugo is also trying to sink his teeth into Peru by offering funds to support a rebellion against President Alejandro Toledo this past December. Mr. Brookes does a great job of explaining why Americans need to keep an eye on this Latin tick. And if Chavez's purchases of conventional weaponry isn't enough to get your neck out of joint then how about the WMDs he is reportedly buying from our so called friends in Spain. "President Chavez may be a thuggish autocrat, but he isn't stupid enough to use biological or chemical weapons against American civilians, at least directly." Gee, I feel better, don't you? But wait, there is more. According to Miguel Angel Moratinos, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spain "has no problem in providing Colombia with material such as the aircraft and patrol boats sold to Venezuela." And a bit more from the Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Georgina Pol Borras regarding the 30,374 EUROS worth of chemical and biological exports to Venezuela, she replies, "It is [CS chlorobenzylidene malonitrile) gas used to produce tear devices used to control riots." Now tell us, why would Venezuela need so much GAS to control riots if everyone is so damn happy to have President Chavez manning the helm? It is no wonder Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during her confirmation hearings, "I think we have to view, at this point, the government of Venezuela as a negative force in the region." And this is why Americans need to follow the situation in Venezuela and neighboring Latin American countries: According to Ecuador's former president Abdala Bucaram after eight years of exile in Panama, has returned to lead a "revolution of the poor" just like the one led by Chavez. " I come to Ecuador to copy Chavez's style with a great Bolivarian revolution." Bucaram is planning to emulate Chavez's movement which according to both knuckleheads is loosely based on Simon Bolivar's writings. If anyone knows anything about Simon Bolivar, they would know that he is turning over in his grave at the thought that these crackhead despots are using his name in vain. Simon Bolivar, the Liberator of seven Latin American nations, would never have stood by either of them in the battlefield or in the House of Congress.
"Diplomacy is the art of letting the other fellow have your way." Lester Pearson
Thursday, April 14. 2005
France and EU More on the possibility of France rejecting the EU. Good post by Belmont Club here.
 Eider, R.I.P.
Dear Bird Dog, Wanted to let you know I finally had to put Eider down. I know how fond you were of him, and some of his best points on grouse were birds you shot. Lots of fine memories. Here's the painting. Best, Craig F (note from Bird Dog - Eider was a Large Munsterlander who wouldn't quit, and a sweet guy too. Many fine hours in the Maine, Ct, NY, Saskatchewan, So. Dakota, etc. fields, marshes, and woodlands.)
Max Ernst Yes, there are things we like from Europe. If visiting New York this is a must see. Let's try to forgive the Germans and the "Frogs" for their Anti-Americanism folly and take in some of the good stuff. Like Ernst. "A founding member of the Surrealist group in Paris, German-born Max Ernst (1891–1976) was one of the most inventive artists of the 20th century. His paintings, steeped in Freudian metaphors, private mythology, and childhood memories, are regarded today as icons of Surrealist art. Comprising some 180 works, this exhibition—the first retrospective to be shown in New York in 30 years—includes his most important paintings, his celebrated collages, drawings, sculptures, and illustrated books lent by private and public collections in Europe and the United States."
Click here: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Special Exhibitions: Max Ernst: A Retrospective
Old News
The New Criterion does not always make friends in the Liberal, Anti-Dubya and all around beat up the Conservatives playground but what the hell sometimes "ya gotta do what ya gotta do." Although this piece on Berkeley was reported in 2002, it hasn't changed much. All the liberal thinkers and Berkeley grads might want to skip this link.
Good Blog
Here at Maggie's Farm we don't feel we have space to highlight every worthy blogger, but one has to give credit when credit is due. Here is another reason to like the Midwest - the land of nice people with good values. A quote from his recent post, which sounds like Mr. Grim's My Back Pages: "Etienne Gilson once remarked that "politics is the concern of the quarter-educated." Well, I think he overstated things a bit, but I do have to agree that I'm getting tired and bored of politics. There are plenty of bloggers around to comment on politics. But what is sorely needed is a voice for high art and culture. It's my metier and what I am going to focus on in the future. There are several reasons for this. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Conservatives have largely won the debate on religion/morality and completely dominate the field concerning politics and the economy. But where conservatives (from neo-con to paleo-con and from the religious right to freethinkers) have greatly failed in is the debate on culture and aesthetics. Conservatives have largely abandoned the cultural/aesthetic side of the equation to the loony left...and with dire consequences.
How Soon We Forget VDH summarizes all of the wrong predications, reckless claims, timid attitudes, and plain stupid things that have been said about the war on terror since 9-11. He does not omit our intellectual leaders in Hollywood: "Do not dare forget our Hollywood elite. At some point since 9/11, Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Whoopi Goldberg, and a host of others have lectured the world that their America is either misled, stupid, evil, or insane, bereft of the wisdom of Hollywood's legions of college drop-outs, recovering bad boys, and self-praised autodidacts." Read entire here. France has Always Hated the US Matthew Price reviews Phillippe Roger's "The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism" in the Boston Globe. It's a fascinating review of the long history of French condescension and contempt: "In his book ... published in English this month by the University of Chicago Press, Roger surveys two centuries of political polemics, pulp sci-fi serials, and travelogues, unearthing an often entertaining treasure trove of outrageous overstatement and bitter accusation that variously depict America as a stunted wasteland, a soulless technocracy, and a racist behemoth hell-bent on world domination." Read entire here. Gays in the Military Clinton's cowardly maneuver gave us the ridiculous situation which exists now in the military. It's not every politician's favorite subject, but people's sexual fantasies and habits are none of the military's business. We don't have to like everybody's habits. America should be, and is, grateful to, and proud of, anyone who is willing and able to pick up a rifle and serve the country. Period. Not surprised that the WaPo agrees.
Cost of Living "WASHINGTON, DC—A report released Monday by the Federal Consumer Quality-Of- Life Control Board indicates that the cost of living now outstrips life's benefits for many Americans. "This is sobering news," said study director Jack Farness. "For the first time, we have statistical evidence of what we've suspected for the past 40 years: Life really isn't worth living.""
Read entire here.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more,
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
Well, he hands you a nickel,
He hands you a dime,
He asks you with a grin
If you're havin a good time,
Then he fines you every time you slam the door.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
Dylan, from Maggie's Farm
Buy the book
Wednesday, April 13. 2005
The Asian Century The US has gotten comfortable dominating the world economically and, more or less, militarily. Except for the usual anti-American moaners and groaners. Its' been a good deal for the world, but in our wealth and security we have become maybe too-comfortable. Even though we have done some foolish things, I doubt any nation in the history of the world can match our good intentions or our good deeds. And now our supposed "ally," Europe, is on a self-destruct mission. But now with China waking up - thanks to global capitalism - and with India on a tech roll - thanks to global capitalism, there is no doubt that a change is coming. It doesn't have to be a bad thing, but Jim Pinkerton is worried (not that this train can be stopped): "Thus the three wheels: First, China gets closer to India, as the two nations seek a New Asian Order. Second, China grows more hostile to the United States and Japan. Third, China bolsters nuke-crazy North Korea.
Those are three fuses burning across the Pacific, whether we like it or not - whether we know it or not."
Read his piece here.
Polls, Made to Order It's pretty well-known that the results of polls can be easily pre-determined by the way in which the questions are asked (eg "When did you stop beating your wife?"). When polls are intended to influence or to advocate, a savvy pollster can come up with just the numbers you want by tilting the questionnaire. So how do we know when to trust a poll? Unless we are poll experts, we need a Pat Caddell on TV to go over it for us. Michael Barone takes a closer look at some recent poll numbers, including Social Security and Schiavo, among others, here.
 Quick Thinking
"...thinking, Gladwell tells us—or, more precisely, thinking too much —can trip us up. Consider the curators at the Getty Museum who were offered the opportunity to purchase a rare sixth-century Greek marble statue of a young man. After a year of sophisticated archaeological and geological analysis that included core sampling and electron spectrometry and X-ray diffraction, they handed over nearly ten million dollars, cer-tain that the piece was authentic, a find. Meanwhile, two leading art historians, Frederico Zeri and Evelyn Harrison, and Thomas Hoving, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, each came to a different conclusion after simply eyeballing the piece: even in the face of such compelling scientific data they felt it was a fake. And they were right: In the first two seconds of looking —in a single glance—they were able to understand more about the essence of the statue than the team at the Getty was able to understand after fourteen months. "
Thus begins Susan Halpern's review of two books which deal with "intuition" and unconscious thinking, one by Malcolm Gladwell and one by Elkhonon Goldberg. The point, I suppose, is that we don't know what we know..but you already knew that, right? We bring much more to bear on decisions that we are aware of, so that quick decisions - not impulsive decisions - can be pretty good ones. An example from relationships: "as Gladwell reports, there is speed dating, where unclaimed singles scurry around a room sizing up potential mates in a couple of minutes. Gigerenzer's work shows that most people need not spend a lot of time, or encounter a tremendous number of new prospects, to find a suitable partner." Re the latter - duh. How about anyone who would talk to you. Read entire interesting but long piece in NY Review of Books here.
DeLay I don't think Tom DeLay is the nicest guy in the world. He is a tough guy, not a metrosexual, and his morals are probably about average for politicians, which isn't saying much. You maybe wouldn't have him over for dinner. But the guy has been targeted. Why? Because he is strong and very smart and effective at managing legislation. And the now-weak Dems want blood. Humans are most destructive when they feel small and weak. My advice? Take it on the chin, Tom. Take it like a man. Use the rope-a-dope technique, like Clinton did. It's part of the job we pay you to do. But stick around, Tommy. Here's The Real Story by Wes Vernon. Here's the Soros angle of the story. I'm with Stupid It's all over the blogosphere (we need a better name for it, it's an awkward word to type) that John Kerry has been complaining that Democratic Ohio voters were told to vote on Weds, Nov 3. Turns out his reference is a piece in The Onion, a satirical website. Prayer Immoral? I don't understand why the NYT/ACLU/Democratic Party etc. keep getting their panties in a wad about religion in America, because in fact it is beginning to feel like the pre-Constantine Roman Empire around here. My neice jokes about not using the "J" word or the "G" word in school. Here at Maggie's, we feel that a little prayer never hurt anyone. Massingale reports: "The Louisiana ACLU is recommending that officials at a public school in New Orleans be "fined or jailed" for failing to stop prayer before a high school baseball game. ACLU of Louisiana executive director Joe Cook says that prayer at a school related function is "un-American and immoral."" Well, at least they haven't proposed throwing Christians to the lions...yet. But would they object? My pastors would say "Pray for Joe Cook." Massingale offers link to: Ten Ways to Pray in School.
"A man's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor." Proverbs 29
Tuesday, April 12. 2005
 Romantic and graceful, the Mute Swan is an elegant but unwelcome pest in areas of the country, such as southern New England, where it thrives.
Originally introduced from Europe to ornament ponds on the estates of the wealthy, they are highly aggressive towards our native waterfowl, and turn vegetated bottoms into bare mud. They are reputed to be delicious to eat, and there are efforts to control their populations in areas where their numbers are destructive. Mute Swan's orange or yellow bill distinguishes it easily from North America's two native swans, the Tundra Swan and the Trumpeter Swan. Plus the fact that it is mute. Read more: Click here: All About Birds
Tax Freedom Day is April 17th this year. That is to say, you have worked until then to pay taxes. An Alternative to King Parker Professor Bainbridge is a double threat - 2 blogs. His wine blog here. I hate the way Parker dominates the field - not his fault tho - no competition. Troop Cuts in Iraq Ahhhhh. That feels just right. Here. Vengeance The Delay pile-on and the Bolton thing are all about puerile political vengeance. Some folks haven't gotten over the election yet. Re Bolton - who wants a UN Amb. who won't criticize it?
Canadian Politics and Missile Defense "Condi has just handily taken one of those butt-kicking, knee-high leather boots of hers, sunk it into lil’ Paulie Canuckistan’s back bacon, and drop-kicked him into a state of irrelevancy. By adopting his position against the missile defense program, the Prime Minister has essentially guaranteed that Canadian business will be his cell mate in passive-aggressive hell." Read entire here.
Mondovino The movie is said to be the anti-globalist Fahrenheit view of the wine world. Kerry Howley reviews the documentary on US and French wine, which opened last week in NY: "Almost thirty years ago, nine French wine critics gathered in Paris to preside over a face-off of French and American wines. Chardonnays battled with white Burgundies, Cabernets sought to displace Bordeaux. The French had always said fine wine was primarily a function of place—and that place was France. But following the blind tasting, the critics found they had chose a Californian Cabernet as the top red and placed three Napa Valley whites within the top four. As he downed a 1972 Napa Chardonnay, one critic reportedly gushed, "Ah, back to France." " Read entire here. Sierra Club Sells Out Is this called "The ends justify the means?" How the SC determines it's position on immigration here.
"We are a nation that has a government - not the other way around." President Ronald Reagan
Monday, April 11. 2005
Female Midlife "Crisis" No, this isn't going to be one more estrogen-intoxicated "poor women with all their problems" whines. I'll approach it differently, because I feel that this subject is about being human, not about being female. Sure, men and women are different animals, hard-wired in different ways (You are right, Larry Summers! Don't let those nasty Harvard bitches slap you around. Be a man. I know those women, and they will never be happy - their identity is about being aggrieved victims, as are their careers. Small souls who will never find any happiness). Still, Life is Life for all of us. The developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson cleverly and wisely outlined the stages of the healthy human life cycle, or at least of the Western Civilization life cycle, based on observation. Once he did it, it all seemed self-evident. At each turn in the road, people are confonted with new challenges and opportunities (Oh, man, does this sound trite.). At these turning points, the person either faces the demand for emotional growth, or they don't. For many, the life span is relatively smooth (except for life's unavoidable external bumps in the road). For others, depending on a multitude of internal factors including genetic and personality factors, the changes can present big problems and disruption. We've all known people whose emotional lives never quite seemed to pass childhood, or, more commonly, get stuck in adolescence. We call these things "developmental arrest". These tragic happenings require years of difficult psychotherapy, but are a different subject for another day. Erikson describes a Middle Adulthood (roughly age 40-65), which presents challenges of "Generativity vs. Stagnation", and a Late Adulthood, dealing with "Integrity vs. Depair."
The stages are not hard and fast, and the issues do smudge all over, but they are good rules of thumb. During statistically-typical Middle Adulthood, families are completing their mission to raise their chicks. Kids are leaving home for college or to take on the Big World, marriages are no longer fresh, many people feel less ambitious and inspired about work, women become menopausal and men become less virile and physically strong. And most become more reflective and gain perspective on life and on themselves.
So it’s no wonder some people ask themselves “What is my life about now?”
Some will claim that anyone who asks that question is self-obsessed; that you just keep on keepin’ on. Maybe so. Maybe it’s like late teenagers worrying about self-fulfillment. Still, many ask the question, and how they answer it is important in shaping the final phase of life. Sue Shellenbarger, the popular WSJ Family columnist, has written a book about this: The Breaking Point: How Female Midlife Crisis is Transforming Today’s Women. Despite the hysterical title, the fact that this is nothing new and definitely no “new paradigm,” it’s interesting to get inside the heads of middle-aged and late middle-aged women to see what is on their minds.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Too cool. Thanks, CL, for retrieving the link. Every edition of the famed Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1841-1902, on line, thanks to the Brooklyn Public Library. Back then Brooklyn was its own town - an NYC suburb with farms. You could easily waste hours on their site. Remember how difficult it used to be to review old newspapers? Microfiches? Awful things. Ain't the internet grand? Osprey My neighborhood Osprey is back - as of yesterday. I don't see it, but hear the screechy call. He/she/they will be screeching out my window for the next few months, and the babies will be crying for fish all day long. Will need to do an Osprey Bird of the Week...As annoying noises go, what could be better? Twenty years ago, you would never see one in these parts.
A Fifth "Great Awakening"? It just could be happening. In the US, the RC Church isn't participating, but it didn't participate in the first three either, did it? I don't want to give advice to the RC Church, being a Protestant, but the evangelicals are leading the charge in bringing the life of the spirit to a world of malls, self-obsession, and empty holidays. Not the Presbyterians, not the Methodists, not the RCCs, not even the Congregationalists or the Dutch Reforms. It's not a competition, and it's not a race, so whoever does it doesn't really matter. I have no fear of the role of religion in public life. In fact, I feel it's essential. Humans are worshipping beings, so we will find something small, like Self, or booze, or fun, or $, or power, or whatever to worship if we can't imagine something bigger and more worthy. Jack Kelly discusses here. Married Priests Why not? It's an 11th Century artifact. Just like infallibility is a 13th Century artifact. Nothing to do with anything Christ taught that I know of. Celibacy is fine for monks. Kristof in the NYT here What Direction for the Church? "If getting on the side of history means embracing the radical individualism at the core of what passes for today's thought, the church's slide could accelerate." Thomas Bray in the Detroit News. A thoughtful consideration of where the RC Church finds itself today. But his piece contains the common error of confusing filling seats with saving souls: "For the fact is that John Paul II, far from being a simple-minded reactionary who everywhere and always opposed modernity, was a theological moderate who wrestled hard to rediscover, on behalf of his drifting flock, the hard truths that lie at the center of human dignity and an ordered society. His real legacy may be less a matter of conservatism or liberalism than a church that uses both faith and reason as the means of finding its way -- a church largely reconciled to the Enlightenment, in other words." Good piece. Read entire here. Secularists Don't Get It, Says Steyn Why bother writing, when Steyn does it better: The root of the Pope's thinking - that there are eternal truths no one can change even if one wanted to - is completely incomprehensible to the progressivist mindset. There are no absolute truths, everything's in play, and by "consensus" all we're really arguing is the rate of concession to the inevitable: abortion's here to stay, gay marriage will be here any day now, in a year or two it'll be something else - it's all gonna happen anyway, man, so why be the last squaresville daddy-o on the block. Read entire here.
"Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man." Francis Bacon
Sunday, April 10. 2005
from Psalm 19, a Psalm of David The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
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