Maggie's FarmWe 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
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Thursday, June 23. 2005Thursday VerseWell, I sailed through the storm When I met you baby, Well I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble from Dylan's Seeing the Real You at Last, on Empire Burlesque Wednesday, June 22. 2005Where does God fit in? Doctor Bob has put the question of religion in life, and politics so well in his blog The Doctor Is In » Faith & Religion that everyone interested in a common sense approach should read his comments. It seems everyone has something to say whether it be positive or negative, slanderous, hurtful and even exasperatingly stupid that when I happen onto the thoughts of a rational human being I just have to link to it. For some very insightful thoughts read on: "But what is religion, really? If you view it as smells and bells, hymns and hypocrisy, rules and restrictions, churches and chastity belts, then yes–there are many who are not religious, who shun and oppose it–rather rationally in fact. But if you view religion rather as a worldview, as a set of beliefs about who we are, why we are here, our relation to the physical and the spiritual (or the immaterial, the soul, the life-force, the unseen, if you prefer–and if you believe such exists)–in other words, the meaning of life–then religion becomes a far broader thing, universal in scope, for we all have beliefs and opinions about such things. And these opinions mold and motivate how we act. So in a sense, we are all religious. You define your liberalism as the freedom to hold opinions and your dislike of having others force their opinions on you, if I paraphrase you correctly. Do you read the newspapers? TV news? blogs? Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, Sports Illustrated, People magazine, Cosmopolitan? They all force their opinions on all of us, although force is perhaps too strong a word–persuasion, overt or occult, is more accurate. They all hope to change the way you think about yourself, others, and the world around you–that’s exactly why we read and listen to them. You personally do the same, when you share the best cookie recipe ever, or how awful that movie was last night–you are attempting to influence someone else, to change the way they think or act. Religion (narrowly defined) is in reality just one more worldview, one more opinion attempting to influence how you think, how you perceive, how The War is Over And it has been for some time. The press won't admit it, though. Random suicide-bombers do not make a war, unless you are a complete 'fraidy-cat. American Enterprise makes the point. War on Terror Gwynnie looked at Jeff Harrell's blog, Shape of Days, cited below and read the following: "If we laid down every weapon held by every soldier and every armed civilian, if we completely foreswore violence and gave up our prosecution of the war tonight, our enemies would be unable to wage genocide against us. They simply wouldn’t have the ability. Yes, our enemies can attack us. They can kill Americans by the thousands. They can grievously wound our nation. But wipe us out? Three hundred million Americans? Even if that were their goal, even if they armed themselves with nuclear or other unconventional weapons, it simply wouldn’t be possible.
Gee - they get first punch , and second, and third, and we won't do anything? How many lives is he willing to sacrifice, fifty million? A hundred? Does he know that others in this world depend on us? Their very lives? Man, is this guy ignorant! Wanna make a daisy garland and see if North Korea can land a nuke in it? Seriously, this is the liberal left speaking with characteristic hyperbole, and the MSM and a lot of Americans are buying it. Gwynnie wants to pare it down to its essence, but it is difficult to know what part of American culture is at risk and from what. Interrogating prisoners at Gitmo seems to be the 'from what'. What is at risk is our entire culture, as envisioned by Mr. Lincoln. Here's another Shape quote:
Now we have the essence: in the last fifty years the US Supreme Court has created new rights for criminal suspects (which some think might have gone too far). Let's not look at the issue of whether US burglars and wartime captives deserve the same treatment. If the US military is not nice to terrorists captured on the field of battle trying to kill US soldiers, the author is saying we will have abandoned our entire American culture, even that overwhelming portion of it which predates the newly discovered rights of criminal suspects. Here it is: Jeff is willing to accept millions of US deaths as well as the fall of the many governments we support and risk being "overwhelmed by totalitarian Islam" (his words) in order to extend US criminal rights to a handful of Islamist terrorists we are detaining to (1) gain actionable intelligence which will save Iraqi and Ameerican lives and (2) prevent their immediate return to the battle to try to kill more Americans. This guy needs a new dog food. His debate against Pierre LeGrand, Michelle malkin and Instapundit (see http://www.papadoc.net/2005/06/jeff-is-confused-about-this-war-and.html) is far more profound that Gwynnie can write, but she is amazed at the utter lack of logic. Even Corgis can see through it. Continue reading "" I Brake for Turtles I stop for turtles. I have often even parked my car so that I could pick up and carry one across the road. I do this because of my commitment to be a steward of God’s creation. I can’t help but feel sorry for the slow moving reptiles. I have witnessed on too many occasions motorists swerving to hit turtles. I have had obscenities and objects hurled my way for slowing down so that a turtle could cross. I know that stopping to help a turtle is no great deed. In fact, if the turtles insist on attempting to cut across the heavily traveled roads of Central Forida, I don’t have much hope for the future of the species. But I like turtles. Always have. I like this blogger. We at Maggie's are also all certified turtle-lovers, as is well-known. "Howsoever you do unto the least of these..." Just do not pick up a big snapping turtle with your hands - it will not behave gratefully: they have terrorist brains. This is the time of year when turtles wander to lay their eggs, but dealing with roads is not in their genes. (photo of the delightful Eastern Box Turtle) Arnold's Gamble, Arnold's Guts and what he can do for the CA Repubs: Walker in Intell. Cons. Krauthammer on the Supremes "With Thomas's originalism at one end of the spectrum and Scalia's originalism tempered by precedent -- rolling originalism, as it were -- in the middle, there is a third notion, championed most explicitly by Justice Stephen Breyer, that the Constitution is a living document and that the role of the court is to interpret and reinterpret it continually in the light of new ideas and new norms. This is what our debate about judges should be about." PRECISELY! Read entire in WaPo Tim Graham not happy with PBS in NRO Online Mugabe: Vegetable Gardens damage environment What will it take to get rid of this guy? The AAUP Defends Terrorist Faculty "Cheer Up, Conservatives" Micklethwaite and Woolridge in Opinion Journal: The biggest advantage of all for conservatives is that they have a lock on the American dream. America is famously an idea more than a geographical expression, and that idea seems to be the province of the right. A recent Pew Research Center Survey, "Beyond Red Versus Blue," shows that the Republicans are more optimistic, convinced that the future will be better than the past and that they can determine their own futures. Democrats, on the other hand, have a European belief that "fate," or, in modern parlance, social circumstances, determines people's lot in life. (And judging by some recent series in newspapers on the subject, the party appears to have staunch allies in American newsrooms at least.) If the American dream means anything, it means finding a plot of land where you can shape your destiny and raise your children. Those pragmatic dreamers look ever more Republican. Mr. Bush walloped Mr. Kerry among people who were married with children. He also carried 25 of the top 26 cities in terms of white fertility. Mr. Kerry carried the bottom 16. San Francisco, the citadel of liberalism, has the lowest proportion of people under 18 in the country (14.5%).
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
06:00
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
QQQQ"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." Albert Einstein Tuesday, June 21. 2005The Iran "Vote" Daily Life in London, 1662, June 20 We already posted the Samuel Pepys site, but I just want to underline how fine it is. You can just follow him through day by day, without having to sit in bed with the heavy book or the big volumes. This has become a fine moment in my day, along with Pejmanesque, Powerline, etc. Part of the charm is his writing, part of the charm are the details, and part of the interest is how similar his life was to ours - balancing his checkbook, and doing errands and buying a pair of tweezers! Sam would have been an interesting slice-of-life blogger. Name pronounced "peeps." A bit about his impressive career - did not realize that he had been First Sea Lord - here. June 20 excerpt: Then I went to the Exchange, and hear that the merchants have a great fear of a breach with the Spaniard; for they think he will not brook our having Tangier, Dunkirk, and Jamaica; and our merchants begin to draw home their estates as fast as they can. Then to Pope’s Head Ally, and there bought me a pair of tweezers, cost me 14s., the first thing like a bawble I have bought a good while, but I do it with some trouble of mind, though my conscience tells me that I do it with an apprehension of service in my office to have a book to write memorandums in, and a pair of compasses in it; but I confess myself the willinger to do it because I perceive by my accounts that I shall be better by 30l. than I expected to be. But by tomorrow night I intend to see to the bottom of all my accounts. Then home to dinner, where Mr. Moore met me. Then he went away, and I to the office and dispatch much business. So in the evening, my wife and I and Jane over the water to the Halfway-house, a pretty, pleasant walk, but the wind high. So home again and to bed. The Hijacking of the Memorial Buzzmachine has more, including a link to an online petition and a report on yesterday's protest. This issue needs to be of concern to the entire nation, not just to those in the NY Metropolitan area, who lost so many friends, neighbors, and relatives. We will continue to post this story weekly. Don't let the termites hijack the 9-11 Memorial. This issue deserves a major stink. With a comment from Vodkapundit. Here is a list of sites dedicated to the 9/11 memorial. Personal stories and photographs that are worth revisiting especially in light of the continuing discourse on the topic. Click here: Paxety Pages Why get bogged down in technical points of the Constitution? Mauro in USA Today: Conservatives who believe in a limited role for judges say the Supreme Court should stick to its knitting, namely interpreting the U.S. Constitution as written, and should ignore current fads here or abroad. But the counter-argument is strong. If globalization has flattened the world in terms of the economy and culture, isn't it time that our legal system also look beyond our borders? Are we so arrogant that we think we have nothing to learn from judges and lawmakers around the world who have faced the same issues we face? No, it isn't "about time," not until we decide to totally trash our Constitution, at which point there will be no limit to the power of the judiciary. I find Mauro's piece astonishing in its arrogance. Right Wing News has the same feeling. And a comment from Gwynnie: Gwynnie loves that amazing piece by Mauro where he says, no, confesses, that the whole fight is about power (psst – he wants it) and has nothing to do with a rule of law: “If globalization has flattened the world in terms of the economy and culture, isn't it time that our legal system also look beyond our borders? Are we so arrogant that we think we have nothing to learn from judges and lawmakers around the world who have faced the same issues we face?” Gwynnie completely agrees and says, OK, let's look at others' laws. Let's start with the 1st Amendment; I mean that's completely out of line with the laws of a majority of countries. Let's be a Christian country and make sure the press acts responsibly in accordance with our standards. No, wait, . . . maybe we should follow other countries on the rights of an accused. She wonders if Mauro knows that in precious
It's...the Arts Counterfeiters, in Art News:Click here: Full Editorial from Current Issue The art price bubble, including $18,000 for a pound of Belusconis' flesh.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
06:10
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
The Worst President? Tom Brewton puts into words what many have come to believe: "One of his (Roosevelt's)advisors, Stuart Chase (who coined the term New Deal), wrote that anyone, from private citizen to Supreme Court Justice, who believed that the Constitution should stand in the way of socializing the nation had better step aside or be crushed. Liberals allege that Roosevelt’s policies ended the depression. Yet, for eight years, unemployment remained above 10 percent (not bad for today’s socialist Germany and France, but unheard of in the United States). Anyone looking at the facts must conclude that Emperor Hirohito, not Mr. Roosevelt, ended the American Depression. In my assessment, Franklin Roosevelt stands alone as the worst President in our nation’s history, a man who corrupted the nation’s founding ethos in almost every respect and destroyed the single most important element in the Constitution’s checks and balances: the independent power of the states and local governments. When Mr. Roosevelt took office, more than 70 percent of taxes were collected at the state and local levels. During his tenure, the ratios were reversed." Indeed. "Follow the money." Roosevelt's distortion of the Constitution has led to an array of evils. And much national strife would be eliminated if states still had the power and autonomy they once had to follow their own paths - short of slavery and human rights abuses. We suspect FDR was not wise enough to know what he was doing as a tool for the Left, but that is giving him the benefit of the doubt. (Hey, "He cared, right?") We prefer Teddy Roosevelt, much more. Read entire Brewton letter. Junior Wells The Godfather of the Modern Blues, Wells (1934-1998) brought his harp and his voice from the South to Chicago in 1948 where he played with The Muddy Waters Band until he went out on his own. Whatever country flavor he might have had rapidly disappeared in a unique funky urban sound, with unmistakable harp and unpolished voice. Close your eyes, and imagine yourself in a smoky 1950s Chicago dance club, if you can. (I am listening to his sensual Take Your Shoes Off as I write, from his final live recording, Live Around the World.) He is considered to be the heir of my favorite old-time bluesman, Sonny Boy Williamson, and of Little Walter Jacobs, who he replaced in the Muddy Waters Band. Since his association with Muddy Waters, he had been especially associated with the great and seemingly ageless Buddy Guy, with whom he did several recordings including the live Drinkin TNT and Smokin Dynamite. (Now I am on his great Messin with the Kid.) HooDoo Man, with Buddy Guy on guitar, was his first widely-known album, in 1960. He was known to produce handguns from his skin-tight suits and shotguns from his cars, whenever appropriate. A couple of reminiscences here and here. From an old review by Kelton: The terrific thing about Junior Wells is that he's an unqualified bluesman, stylistically a direct descendant of the Chicago greats and personally an eccentric whose unpredictable singing and harp playing distinguish him from everyone else alive. "Comin' Right at Ya" was the title of one his breakthrough albums in the 1960's and it still describes the Wells oeuvre. In short, he takes no prisoners. Recording to legend, Wells shoplifted his first blues harp and got caught. The judge who heard his case was so impressed with Wells' story that he just wanted to make music that he paid for the instrument himself and set Wells free on the condition that, if he ever made a record, he send one to him. Wells did, years later. The album was called "Blues Hit Big Town."
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
06:00
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity Thanks, JS. Here. Aid to Africa Preble in Reason: In recent decades, of each dollar given to Africa in aid, 80 cents were stolen by corrupt leaders and transferred back into Western bank accounts. In total, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo estimated, "corrupt African leaders have stolen at least $140 billion from their people in the [four] decades since independence." All that is left when these regimes eventually collapse is a massive public debt. Click here: Reason: Trade, Not Aid: Farm protectionism threatens farms in Africa, wallets in America, and lives everywhere Glacial Meltdown Is this why Hannibal's elephants survived? Click here: The Coming and Going of Glaciers: A New Alpine Melt Theory - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News The Politician Stole My Penis African politics.
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
05:21
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
QQQQMy formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil. J. Paul Getty
Monday, June 20. 2005Massachusetts Weekend Plans For this coming weekend: Catch Dylan in Pittsfield Thurs nite, home of Gwynnie's grandfather's Pittsfield Eagle, now the Berkshire Eagle. Well, the Tractor is up and going again after our fiasco. Finish clearing out that field, including the trees downed by beavers and the giant white pine trunks downed by brother, and finally mow it cleanly. More big mulch piles for the box turtle habitat. Then clear out the north side of the river the way it used to be. Chain saws, clippers, and the brushwacker-mower. Bring lotsa gasoline and raw middle-aged muscle.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
13:44
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
Jew-Baiting Leftists Is the Left anti-semitic? Well, they do not wish to appear so. Anklebiter. also in American Thinker. Ataraxy A good explication of the oft-misunderstood Epicurus, who was no epicurian, in NRO Our Rights in Time of War Shape of Days adds some good perspective to the subject. The Gitmo Torturous Muzak Ya gotta love Steyn: "Well, readers had plenty of suggestions of their own, and so the Tribune’s website put together a list of “Interro-Tunes” — the most effective songs for aural intimidation, mood music for jolting your jihadi. A lot were the usual suspects - like the Captain and Tennille’s blamelessly goofy “Muskrat Love”, which, as I recall, put the Queen to sleep at a White House gala, though the Duke of Edinburgh sat agog all the way to the end. Someone suggested Bob Dylan’s “Everybody Must Get Stoned”, which even on a single hearing sounds like it’s being played over and over. I don’t know what Mr Kass has against “Ballerina”, which is very pleasant in the Nat “King” Cole version. But he seems to think one burst of “Dance, ballerina, dance/And do your pirouette in rhythm with your aching heart” will have the Islamists howling for the off-switch and singing like canaries to the Feds. Who knows? I sang “Ballerina” myself once on the radio long ago, and, if it will discombobulate the inmates, I’m willing to dust off my arrangement and fly down to Guantanamo, if necessary dressed liked Christina Aguilera. If they want an encore, I’ll do my special culturally sensitive version of that Stevie Wonder classic, “My Sharia Amour”. ' What vitamin or drug or homeopathic stimulant or herb or steroid does Steyn take? And where can we get some? Read entire hilarous piece.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
10:46
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
Auster and Brooks Pile on Bush OK, Bush isn't the Great Communicator. That is true. "Witless"? Not sure. Heart in the right place? Definitely. Raw deal from the media? For sure, but it's partially his fault - he doesn't court them or charm them. His bad. Throw them a quote from Sartre like JFK used to do and they'll eat out of your hand forever. Like, you'll be complex and groovy, like, can you dig it, dude? Just not that super-square no-fun Jesus dude all the time, ya see where I'm comin from, like? You have to understand the psychology of The Press: Because they just report, and don't DO, they have an inferiority issue. They compensate by wanting to feel like swashbucklers, macho guys, big drinkers and cutting-edge thinkers, etc. Feed their adolescent egos by flattering their intelligence: assume they believe there is a mini-Hemingway or Norman Mailer or Bob Woodward inside of each of 'em. Album Review: Bringing It All Back HomeBy late 1964, Dylan had already confounded his folk audience with his perceived abandonment of politically-charged protest songwriting on “Another Side of Bob Dylan.” The folk music crowd had been puzzled by the increasingly whimsical and romantic songwriting on that album, but they were totally unprepared for the surprises Dylan had in store for them in 1965. “Bringing It All Back Home” represents the first time Dylan broke with his acoustic past to embrace an electric sound – the entire first half of the album features electrified tracks, giving the folk audience a preview of the shock he would deliver live later that year at the Newport Folk Festival. Even the “folkier-sounding” acoustic tracks on side two abandon traditional folk sensibilities in their lyrics, instead exploring a colorful, often bizarre world of fantastic imagery that nonetheless represented a personal vision far removed from the collective social commentary common to folk music of the time. Some writers have noted a continuing tendency to social criticism on songs such as “Maggie’s Farm,” a track that can be interpreted as a bitter and sarcastic take on (metaphorically-represented) American institutions, yet the song works just as well, if not better, as a more generalized depiction of the travails of most any job that involves working under a superior. “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” which some critics have anointed as the “first rap song,” features an infectious Chuck Berry rhythm (try listening to his “Too Much Monkey Business” for a glimpse at the song’s direct predecessor) overlaid with rapid-fire lyrics that expand far beyond the ones on Berry’s original. On the acoustic side, “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” features some of Dylan’s most mind-bending imagery and razor-sharp observations, while “Gates Of Eden” (a “Desolation Row” precursor) strikes a death-blow to the very notion of unquestioning certainty and self-righteousness on any issue, social, political or otherwise. “Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream” gives the listener a dose of comic relief amidst all the weighty poetry as well as an early look at the whimsical side to Dylan that would be fully explored a few years later in “The Basement Tapes.” Mr. Tambourine Man, perhaps the best-known song on the album due to its chart-topping cover by The Byrds, stands as a landmark songwriting achievement whether or not you believe it was the product of drug-fueled escapades. With “Bringing It All Back Home,” Dylan had truly let the cat out of the bag, throwing to the wind whatever folk-related inhibitions he had retained and letting his unique poetic impulses run wild. “Highway 61 Revisited,” released only a few months later, would extend this period of astonishing creativity by developing and refining the blues-based rock sound and exploring new lyrical ground, but “Bringing It All Back Home,” far from being merely a transitional album, stands on its own as a momentous achievement in the history of 20th century "popular" music. Red Tide The worst red tide in memory has hit the New England coast this spring, from Maine to Nantucket, slamming Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay. This nasty algae bloom renders mollusks toxic, so it's a disaster for the shellfishers as well as for the shellfish-eaters. Thus far, it has not moved south into Rhode Island. Details in Boston Globe. Basics on algal blooms here. The Latin Beat
Chile - El Ano de La Mujer- The Year of the Woman
Think Latin Americans aren't progressive? They just may beat America in electing the first Woman President and why not? Israel, UK, Pakistan, (all prime ministers) and others have done it. Oh Yeah, it's a woman's world, and I just want to be an Enjoli Woman! Does anyone remember that commercial from the 70's? It was a marketing strategy ahead of its time. BBC: Michelle Bachelet, who opinion polls suggest will become Chile's first female president in December, is breaking many political traditions. Nicaragua: Thousands of Protesters take to the streets in Managua Poverty, oppression and greed are the true foes of Democracy. Civil strife and chaos continues to be a way of life in Central America with a few exceptions like Costa Rica and Belize. efenews: Organizers said that the protest, called by a collection of social, political and business groups, attracted some 20,000 people. "This march is the beginning of a civic struggle by the people of Nicaragua against the pact between Daniel Ortega and Arnoldo Aleman," said the former head of the country's top election body, Rosa Marina Zelaya. Former President Ortega, the chief of the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and Aleman, also an ex-president and still head of the rightist Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC) even though he has been serving a sentence under house arrest for corruption, have banded together to fiercely oppose the administration of President Enrique Bolaños. The Bolaños administration had requested the OAS intervention as it battles both the Sandinistas and the Liberals over the control of courts and executive branch offices. Cuba: UN sends aid to Cuba I just do not understand how Fidel can claim a successful revolution and be unable to provide drinking water to the Cuban People. What good is a 93% literacy rate if you can't drink when you thirst, eat when you are hungry? Perhaps it is time for Fidel to let his pride stand down and accept that he has brought misery and oppression to this island nation. Let your people go. efe news: The initiative is designed to aid, at a cost of $3.7 million, children under 5, pregnant women and the elderly over the next three months, the UN office said in Havana on Friday.The drought devastating eastern Cuba has been described as the most severe in decades, drying up crops and killing tens of thousands head of cattle. In addition, the drought, which Cuban officials say is hurting more than two million people across the country, has left one out of every six Cubans without drinking water. Wow Paul Johnson gets it re Euristan, with a punch: There is another still more fundamental factor in the EU malaise. Europe has turned its back not only on the U.S. and the future of capitalism, but also on its own historic past. Europe was essentially a creation of the marriage between Greco-Roman culture and Christianity. Brussels has, in effect, repudiated both. There was no mention of Europe's Christian origins in the ill-fated Constitution, and Europe's Strasbourg Parliament has insisted that a practicing Catholic cannot hold office as the EU Justice Commissioner. Read entire piece about the failures and arrogance of Europe on Opinion Journal here. Non-Stop Cartoons from the New Yorker's archives. Just leave it on your screen. It changes every 30 seconds. You will never leave your seat. You will just waste time, like the rest of us.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
06:14
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
« previous page
(Page 3 of 9, totaling 206 entries)
» next page
|