Tuesday, April 5. 2005
"People who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read...It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish." S.I. Hayakawa
Monday, April 4. 2005
From College An email response to The Barrister's post, from an undergraduate reader: We are entering round two of the Dark Ages. It shall be called "The Darker Ages". It is a time when the typical Earthling student has no idea what the hell is going on in the world, or has ocurred in the world besides his menial existence. If he thinks he does know, he probably is confused or has been brainwashed by the media or psycho professors. In college, a place where people should be deepening their intellect, students are more likely blacked-out drunk in the basement of a frat house or busting their asses on a basketball court in order to get a free ride. These types are the exonerated students at competitive universities such as Georgetown, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins - because they are totally awesome!! Actually, I am not really sure what exonerated means. And I just overhear a dude say to his friend:
"Dude, don't you have class now?"
"Yeah, but whatever, it's just Theology."
Voting, Supremes, and The Conservative Crack Up Just in case you were beginning to feel good about this beautiful day, here's 2 pieces to raise your blood pressure. Guess what party she belongs to: Click here: Governor vetoes bill requiring all voters to show identification | The Arizona Daily Star ® But out of kindness to our readers, this one will raise your spirits back up. Whatever drugs Steyn takes, I need some. Re people lining up to oppose Bolton:
"But that goes double when the 59 panjandrums lined up against you are Princeton Monteagle Jr., President Nixon's ambassador to the Spurgeon Islands; Spurgeon Monkfish III, President Ford's ambassador to the Lyman Islands; Dartmouth Monticello IV, President Johnson's personal emissary to His Serene Highness the Monteagle of Keeny; Columbia Long-Playing-Album, the first diplomat to be named by President Carter to the State Department's Name Control Agency; and Vasser Peachy-Keeny, the first woman to be named Vasser Peachy-Keeny. One sees their point, of course: Let a fellow called "John" Bolton become ambassador and next thing you know Earl and Bud will want the gig." Click here: GOP crack-up? Pardon my guffaw
The Euristan Union The News Junkie made a good point today when he wondered why any nation would voluntarily join an Empire and sacrifice their autonomy and uniqueness and freedom. Aren't those things more valuable than anything that could be gained? The Big Trunk has an absurd but real example about the EU wanting to change place names in Scotland: Click here: Power Line: April 2005 Archives
Milosz
In honor of His Holiness John Paul II, a poem by another Polish Catholic who left an indelible mark during his time on earth as well. The Pope who many may have forgotten forgave and prayed with the man who attempted to assassinate him, truly living the words "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." Milosz was born in 1911 and John Paul II in 1920 and as contemporaries whose works and lives were influenced by WW2, the genocide inflicted by Nazi Germany and the destruction of Poland and yet they maintained an undying faith in the Lord and in Humanity. Men who touched people through writings, meditations and actions and lived lives worth emulating.
When everything was fine And the notion of sin had vanished And the earth was ready In universal peace To consume and rejoice Without creeds and utopias, I, for unknown reasons, Surrounded by the books Of prophets and theologians, Of philosophers, poets, Searched for an answer, Scowling, grimacing, Waking up at night, muttering at dawn. from A Poem for the End of the Century. Read entire: Click here: Czeslaw Milosz - A Poem for the End of the Century
Towering Ambitions Anyone care to guess the location of the soon-to-be tallest skyscraper in the world? If you logically said Malaysia, or Taiwan, or even New York with its new World Trade Center site plans, you'd be wrong. Actual location: Dubai, lately of the United Arab Emirates, which has recently completed the foundations for what will not only be the world's biggest skyscraper, but tallest man-made structure, beating out even Toronto's dizzying CN tower for the title. (Here's a list of the tallest towers currently standing, though as the footnote states, a handful of radio masts stand even taller than these). Now, while I have to admit that constructing a building like this in Dubai - not exactly one of the great metropolises of the world - can only be for the sake of image, the design does look quite cool and sleek, and it certainly is like nothing else that has ever been built. Check out the official site for the project here.
Loss of A Great Christian Thank you Fred Barnes: "EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS loved Pope John Paul II. Many felt more in harmony with him than with the leaders of their own denomination. I attend an Episcopal church and I certainly preferred the Pope. He was the world's greatest defender of orthodox, Bible-based Christianity. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and possibly a majority of its bishops are among the great diluters of classical Christianity. "Click here: A Great Christian US vs Grokster Re "file-sharing," (ie stealing): "One of the people on the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court building to demonstrate against Grokster's free-for-the-taking world was Lamont Dozier. When Lamont Dozier speaks, I listen. Mr. Dozier wrote Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness," ergo he must have a clue. In a royalty-free Grokster world, says Mr. Dozier, he'd have spent his most creative years on the floor of a Detroit auto factory rather than writing Motown masterpieces." Click here: OpinionJournal - Wonder Land Add me to the list of the pro-Motown crew. Pop music without Motown would have been a very sad thing. 400,000 Just learned that Daily Kos gets over 400,000 hits/day. Holy Mackerel. Are there that many p-offed people out there? Guess so. They should all chill, and read Maggie instead. On the other hand, I was mildly p-offed at the news when we had Clinton to kick around. But we had Rush for therapy....Hey Bird Dog - if you want that kind of world-class volume, fire us (please - the pay stinks anyway) and become an Angry Left Wing anti-American Christian-hating wacko Commie pacifist Saddam-excusing, Castro-loving, Bush-bashing blog. I will not soil Maggie's Farm by providing the link to Kos - find it yourself. The Next Pope Isn't this the way the world is? It seems in very bad taste but you can be certain millions are thinking about who the next Pope should be and will be. Right Wing Nuthouse, of all people, sounds like he has inside info: Click here: Right Wing Nut House » WHO WILL WEAR THE “SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN?”: Politics served up with a smile... And a still Euristan The French may very well not approve the EU Constitution, which essentially means that the EU vision would die. Which would be good for those folks, if national identity and soverighty and national freedom mean anything to those countries. Who would willingly JOIN an empire? You're supposed to be conquered first - right? (The US has no skin in this game - these countries are in a mess anyway with their socialism, their chronically taking the wrong, submissive side of history in international affairs, their immigration debacle, and sadly they are in decline. Very pretty on the outside - rotten on the inside. And they know it, but are too proud to admit it, which is understandable.) The French seem to have imagined that it would create a Mega-France. Not so: "...At the same time, the French have begun to realize that in the enlarged EU, which took in ten new members, mostly from Eastern Europe, last year, Paris can no longer call the shots." : Click here: Unlikely threat to EU charter? The French. | csmonitor.com White Male Blogosphere I guess we have another crisis with white males dominating the blogosphere. Let's worry about it - that will do a lot of good. Talk about a small "d" democratic medium - this is the ultimate. A big welcome to anyone of any of the 3 genders, million colors and languages, etc. Jump right in - it's a big pool and the water's warm: Click here: MSNBC - Blogging Beyond the Men's Club
"Newspapers are just a false map of the world." Dylan, in the movie Masked and Anonymous
Sunday, April 3. 2005
from Psalm 16 Preserve me, O God, for in thee I find refuge.
I say to the Lord: "Thou art my Lord;"
I have no good apart from Thee. As for the saints in the land, they are the noble
in whom is all my delight. Those who chose another god multiply their sorrows,
their libations of blood I will not pour out,
or take their names upon my lips.
Saturday, April 2. 2005
Poetry Maggie's Farm is determined to do its part in bringing poetry back into style. We have always been intellectual fashion leaders..really! Cutting edge, or as J.S. says, "bleeding edge." Poetry is just the words - without the music. Our souls have to add the music, mainly by reading it out loud. My beef with Shakespeare education is that they make the dopey kids READ it. Wrong! as Jim Cramer would say. It has to be seen and heard - it was never meant to be read in study hall (and - dont forget, Teacher - it is called entertainment). It's the difference between looking at a blueprint and walking through a building. Anyway, I am so pleased that the good old liberal Camille Paglia has done this book. At Maggie's, we have had the belief that good poetry crystallizes chunks of life in a magical way. How you narrow it down to 43 is beyond me (cannot be done), but she did a book-thing. Snappy title: Click here: Amazon.com: Books: Break, Blow, Burn : Camille Paglia Reads Forty-three of the World's Best Poems
The Pope The world owes a debt of gratitude to Pope JP II for his moral challenge to people, and to himself. A true Rock. And a heck of a skier, I've heard, in his younger days. A humble bearer of The Word who you could easily imagine having a Sam Adams with on the slopes, maybe at Mad River Glen, but surely not Deer Valley. What a fine send-off he is receiving from around the world.
Crazy Things Compulsive bloggers and web surfers have surely book-marked Al Jazeera already, as they probably have Daily Kos too - if only for amusement. Of course it is good to see how other folks view the world, even if we may find it despicable or out of reality. One aspect I find enlightening about Al Jazeera is the extent to which militant Islam seems to feel allied with the pacifist Left. Strange bedfellows indeed. How long can that charming romance last?
Friday, April 1. 2005
The Latin Beat The Nation recently published as a cover story an extensive article written by Christian Parenti on the Venezuelan regime led by Hugo Chavez. Hugo Chávez and Petro Populism ."It offers readers a biased and sugary version of what is already a populist dictatorship in the tradition of Castro, Peron and Velasco Alvarado. I read the article feeling like the mosquito flying over an elephant and thinking: I know what I have to do, but where do I start?" The Nation Magazine does Venezuela | www.vcrisis.com Gustavo Coronel, a Venezuelan petroleum geologist and political consultant picks apart the liberal Left's analysis on the Venezuelan situation which in light of the present oil prices bears reading. For in formation on the current oil market check out the Wall Street journal's latest report. WSJ.com - Oil Prices Hit Records In New York, London As Gas Futures Rally
More Adventure Travel Anything is better than Disneyworld: Space Tourism. Cheap thrills:
Check out http://www.travelwirenews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000034
Syria and Lebanon Today in the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer writes about the true Evil Axis affecting the Democratic campaign in the Middle East. America's focus needs to redirected to Syria where a true dagger in the Terrorist heart can be inflicted. Harsh words to use but "when in Rome......" Syria and the New Axis of Evil (washingtonpost.com) "As Iraq, in fits and starts, begins finding its way to self-rule, the center of gravity of the Bush Doctrine and the American democratization project shifts to Lebanon/Syria. The rapid evacuation and collapse of the Syrian position in Lebanon is crucial not just because of what it will do for Lebanon but because of the weakening effect it will have on the Assad dictatorship. We need, therefore, to be relentless in insisting on a full (and as humiliating as possible) evacuation of Syria from Lebanon, followed by a campaign of economic, political and military pressure on the Assad regime. We must push now and push hard." letters@charleskrauthammer.com Then read the article by Victor Davis Hanson, the blogger no one should miss, who writes "The Noose Tightens" clearly pointing out why Assad's demise is in everyone's best interest. VDH's Private Papers::The Noose TightensAnd finally, one last entry worth perusing is "Lebanese Politics for Beginners" by
The New Mexican-American War Sounds like the wild wild west down on the border. These new Minutemen aren't armed, but maybe they should be: "Mexican Military on Standby in Response to Minutemen Mexico's President Vicente Fox is preparing to respond militarily to a group of U.S volunteers who plan to patrol the U.S.-Mexican border starting tomorrow, positioning more than a thousand troops nearby, according to an Arizona TV station. "The Mexican military is on standby," reports NBC's Tucson affiliate KVOA. "One unit has about a thousand soldiers. They're located just across the border." Click here: NewsMax.com: Inside Cover Story "There is no Marshall Earp to keep order when the Minutemen boys tangle up with the ACLU crew riding into town this time. Only the feds.....God help us. Tomorrow the CNN, the MSNBC, the FOX, and assorted other elements of the media will descend on this sleepy little place. The residents will not have to concern themselves about one group though....Mexicans....there isn't an illegal within a hundred miles of this place for the time being. Don't worry about about this area. Tombstone is reacting to this latest little dust up the same way it has for over a hundred years.....business as usual." Read entire: Click here: TOMBSTONE - The Calm Before the
 Gee whiz, Bird Dog. Where'd you find that "Analyst" lady? She is over my head, but I'm just a dumb-ass uneducated farmer with muddy boots, and I ain't sure what she's talkin about. There ain't none of those bums up here, and if there are, we stay clear of em. We figure people out pretty quick around here. You just watch and see how they do. You learn that in the Army. No choice. But that ---ing Castro, right. Should have invaded and killed the slippery bastard years ago and free those poor folk down there from that commie BS. I woulda gone happily, when I was young and ornery, instead of old and ornery. It couldn't have been as bad as Korea. Cute Cuban gals, I heard plenty about them. And Dad was well then, could have handled things on the farm without me. Go in there like Teddy Roosevelt with real men and fix the ----ing mess.
The blackbirds are here and croaking up a storm. A good sound. Looks like we'll go over 4000 gallons with the sugaring. Saw a bear stumbling around the other morning but naturally didn't have my rifle. We aren't red-necks up here with rifles on our tractors. Maybe we are red-necks, but without rifles on our vehicles. Bears are in season now, right, Dog?
The main deal right now is planning the corn planting. All set with the hay fields and we don't need to re-seed them this year. Except we'll do #4 in clover this spring. Freshen it up. And fatten the venison. I promise not to shoot one until sept. But let's not go overboard with those game rules. Deer aren't game. They are called food. Is there a season for beef? City-folk make those rules down in Montpelier and Burlington and they know nothing about the Northeast Kingdom. Hope you and the litter had a good Easter. Had the kids and daughter in law here. They spruced the place up a bit for me. Which it needed, I guess. Threw out a lot of old junk and ordered new curtains on line. "Country Curtains." Which I really care, but they mean well and I don't need much.
The Latin Beat: Venezuela More news on the Venezuelan front from the Miami Herald. The Herald due to its location is one of the few papers that follows the Latin American happenings. Will Americans ever learn to look at the their neighbor's policies and realize that their perils affect us in the long term more than one could possibly think?
"Poverty figures undermine Chávez's success claims. If the Bush administration is really serious about countering democratically elected Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez's claims that he is a champion of the poor and victim of a U.S. smear campaign, here's an idea -- broadcast the Venezuelan government's own poverty statistics."
The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/andres_oppenheimer/11272295.htm
"News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising." Lord Northcliffe
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