Tuesday, October 18. 2005
Migration The great fall bird migration is well underway. Lighthouse Point, in New Haven, CT, is manned daily by expert birders during migration. Here is their report of what they observed yesterday: 6 Bald Eagles, c. 800 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 155 Coopers Hawks, c. 300 American Kestrels, c. 80 Northern Flickers c. 4,000 Tree Swallows, c. 2,000 Blue Jays, c. 2,000 American Robins, c. 1,000 Yellow-rumped Warblers, c. 5,000 Red-winged Blackbirds
Group-Think, In action A propos of the Barrister's piece yesterday on political correctness and thought police, here are two pieces: First, a pro-immigration piece from the San Diego Union-Tribune, in which the author makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigration: Click here: Nativism and the immigration issue | The San Diego Union-Tribune Second, a piece by Steyn pointing out the refusal of the MSM to call Islamic jihadists "Islamic jihadists": Click here: Media utters nonsense, won't call enemy out
When you think you alone are sane, and that every one else is crazy...think again.
When you think you alone are smart, and everyone else is stupid... think again.
When you think you alone are saved, and everyone else a sinner... think again. Anon.
Monday, October 17. 2005
Law Schools Being well into middle-age, I am not entirely up to date with the latest scoop on law schools, and, when I was a young pup, it seemed like any gentleman with decent grades from a decent school could go on to Yale or Harvard Law, depending on their football-team preference. Grad schools are all about maximizing your options, except in medicine where they all teach the same thing in the same way, all take the same exams, and all basically flunk out the same considerable numbers of students, despite the monumental obstacles to admission (straight As in the science and math requirements, etc). Or Divinity School, where it's an entirely different ball game and the final arbiter is a supernatural being. Otherwise, grad schools are trade schools, whose focus is on The Job - whatever it is one wants. And The Job, or job choice, depends on the ranking of your school, and your rank in the class. There are plenty of Law School rankings, and all are based on varying criteria and vary somewhat, accordingly. If you want to be a local country lawyer with a shingle on the front door and doing simple wills and real estate, it doesn't matter where you go to school - and law isn't exactly rocket science except at the competitive levels. Anyone can learn the basics and the Latin lingo. And at law firms, one becomes basically an apprentice to learn the practical specialty trade, and where you either try to make Partner, or take your skills elsewhere. I like the Princeton Review Rankings, which are more detailed that the others. Law School 100 has a ranking which is probably consistent with that of most lawyers. US News ranks everything, in their own way, but you cannot ignore their lists. Of course, there are critiques of their highly-promoted rankings. Personally, I like the University of Texas, but partly because Texas produces the most lovely women, with the most charming accents and the most intriguing feminine ways, in the world... except, well, there's Georgia, too. Anyway, the Yale Law gals are dogs, with attitudes.
Havana Nights "It is worth noting that the person most responsible in the past for subverting the will of Congress to end travel restrictions in Conference Committee, Tom DeLay, has his own problems these days--and Senator Frist and the White House are not in much better shape to influence what takes place on Capitol Hill.
We will see if the congress budges on this one or the battle of egos across the aisles and sea continues even the embargo no longer makes any sense. As for me, I have packed my bags and called Cubanacan."
A Dumb Old Canada Joke In the midst of trying to decide what to name Canada, at the time of nationhood - well, commonwealth-hood, no consensus could be reached. New England? New France? Quipihana? The Nice Country? Ducksville? Dullsville? Al Sharaaf? People's Republic of Nouveau England? So the decision was reached to draw letters from Dick's hat. Here's how it went: C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?, etc. And speaking of Canada, and not joking, did you know that all of Canada has gone to bilingual - except - guess where?
Quebec. Seulement Francais.
To you PC guilty and feckless Canadian liberals: Bienvenu a Canada. You got rolled again, suckers.
The Thought Police Please imagine what would happen if the kinds of enforced thought codes, which crop up endlessly in the educational institutions, were of the conservative rather than the Leftist variety. Just for a few examples, what if schools required people to call illegal immigrants "illegal immigrants"? What is they required unmarried mothers to be called "unwed mothers"? What if they required Islamic Jihadists to be called "Islamic Jihadists"? What if they required "affirmative action" to be called "positive discrimination"? Or if radical Leftist organizations had to be labelled "radical Leftist organizations", specifying whether Trotskyite, Stalinist, or Maoist? How would the NYT react? The Left learned from Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, that if you control the language, you can manipulate thoughts, and Orwell pointed this out for us a long time ago in "Politics and the English Language" - a masterpiece of thought and of the essay form. Fortunately, most people are not stupid. John Leo on the latest outrages against free thought and free speech. Town Hall.
Earthquakes, Geology and Politics: Northern Pakistan Seitz in WSJ: "The exaggerated verticality of northern Pakistan makes it scientifically transparent but politically opaque, with borders hard to define and harder to guard. The chaos in the quake's aftermath has put the field in motion for fugitives of all stripes. Al Qaeda cadres and Islamist Kashmiri separatists can readily lose themselves among the flux of refugees in a region famed for discreet hospitality. It cannot have escaped Osama Bin Laden's attention that in the 19th century the Aga Khan spent tranquil years in Hunza while internecine war made him a hunted man elsewhere in the Islamic world." Read entire.
 The Connetquot River
See photo of a stretch of the river posted yesterday. Had a fine introduction to the famed Connetquot River on Long Island, NY, by my dear pal N on Sunday, at an outing with the extraordinary but very low-profile Anglers' Club of New York. This unique stream, about one hour from downtown Manhattan, is an oasis of peace in the middle of development-run-amuck suburban Long Island, and runs from the relatively stream-less central part of the island down to Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean through a splendid and wild 3400-acre park, It is known for its sea-run Brown and Rainbow trout which can achieve impressive size. But it is also stocked, of course, as is every trout stream in the Northeast, by necessity. The fishing is organized along English-style beats to which you are assigned, by reservation. High waders are essential. Fly-fishing only, barbless hooks only, and mostly catch-and-release. We did bring dinner home, though - the big Brown, in photo, who barely fit in a net. As a truly casual fly-fisherman, with borrowed gear, seven hours of casting of all varieties raised my level of technique quite a bit, which isn't saying much. Is it wrist, or arm, or just "feel"? Well, in the end, everything is just "feel", I guess. The wine at lunch seemed to help, but the week of heavy rain in New England did not, as the river was overflowing its banks, and the color of strong English tea from the tannin so that when you were almost up to your armpits in the water, you had to watch your step by feeling your way with your feet through the October-cold water so as not to trip over a submerged log, and thus end your day - or your life. But challenging is always a good thing. Too much easiness not good for Indian brave. We did catch and release quite a few nice fish, despite the challenges. And how wonderful it is to spend a day literally immersed in God's creation. Baptism by trout.
Driving the EU Nations Nuts: This kind of thing must be totally exasperating - LGF, "Send in the clowns." Equally absurd is the way they calculate their poverty statistics: Samizdata. What's wrong with these people? Correcting some of the Mao story: New Criterion Elian's friend, Fidel. Cafe Hayek Cutting taxes for the "little guy"? View from 1776 Did El Baradei get Bush's Nobel? Debka Austin Bay analyzes the Zawahiri letter. Here.
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it by not dying. Woody Allen (Thanks, Dr. Bob)
Sunday, October 16. 2005
 A Manitoba country church, up Rte. 6 quite a piece from Winnipeg (SUV in motion - or hand in motion, maybe).
Saturday, October 15. 2005
Voting In Iraq It's the news story of the day, if not of the year. We use Iraq the Model to follow the inside story in Iraq, as do many others. Update: here. Thanks Instap.
Michael Yon We, like most of the blogosphere, are impressed by Michael Yon. His latest post is about how one becomes an "embed" in Iraq, and what his life in Iraq is like, as an independent reporter who is willing to approach danger. Here.
 Sunrise on the marsh
The duck-hunter's view of the world.
Continue reading ""
Happy Birthday, Maggy (Thatcher), with quotes: Right nation Commerce Clause, by an amateur: Protein Classical Music has 3% of the internet music market. Not bad, really, considering our junk culture. MR More fake TV news: Owner's Manual Lock 'n load in Alabama: Pennywit. I always figger that the sound of a pump gun chambering a shell in the dark would make anyone run like hell. Now airguns? See where gun control leads? Ridiculous. FMFT. When will they outlaw pea-shooters? 4000 year-old noodles. Yum. Norm
Friday, October 14. 2005
Stock Tip Many are giving the same advice: Buy Walmart. It will not be this cheap in five years. Went into my first Walmart last week, in Winnipeg, of all places. Jammed with people. Shelves full of cheap but useful crap from China. Tons of cheerful employees. Not my cup of tea, but the concept obviously works. Yes, I am adding to my ownership of Walmart, based on the lengths of the check-out lines. Gas and oil will peak and settle - not to worry. Markets do work, in time.
How many times? How many times have I done our readers a great favor and saved them tons of hard-earned money by letting them know about Sierra Trading Post, a wonderful deep-discount source for high-quality outdoor, outdoor sports, and hunting gear, plus clothing, winter underwear, gloves, boots, and shoes, and everything else? When the bug for gear and for stuff hits you, this is where to go for a healthy release which will not break the budget. Heck, what is more American than shopping for good cheap stuff when that mean old spiritual emptiness comes to call? Go ahead, give in to the impulse, and keep the economy running strong. (This is not an advt., and I am not an investor.)
George Carlin on New Orleans:
"Been sitting here with my ass in a wad, wanting to speak out about the
bullshit going on in New Orleans. For the people of New Orleans... First
we would like to say, Sorry for your loss. With that said, Let' s go
through a few hurricane rules: (Unlike an earthquake, we know it's coming)
#1. A mandatory evacuation means just that...Get the hell out. Don't blame
the Government after they tell you to go. If they hadn't said anything, I
can see the argument. But they said get out... so if you didn't, it's your
fault, not theirs. (We don't want to hear it, even if you don't have a car,
you can get out.)
#2. If there is an impending emergency, stock up on water and
non-perishables. If you didn't do this, it's not the Government's fault
you're unprepared and starving.
#2a. If you run out of food and water, find a store that has some.
(Remember, shoes, TV's, DVD's and CD's are not edible. Leave them alone.)
#2b. If the local store has been looted of food and water, leave your
neighbor's TV and stereo alone. (See #2a) They worked hard to get their
stuff. Just because they were smart enough to leave during a mandatory
evacuation doesn't give you the right to take their stuff...it's theirs, not
yours.
#3. If someone comes in to help you, don't shoot at them and then complain
no one is helping you. I'm not getting shot to help save some dumbass that
didn't leave when told to do so.
#4. If you are in your house that is completely under water, your belongings
are probably too far gone for anyone to want. If someone does want them,
let them have them and hopefully they'll die in the filth. Just leave!
It's New Orleans, for crying out loud - so find a voodoo warrior and put a
curse on them.)
#5. My tax money should not pay to rebuild a 2 million dollar house, a
sports stadium or a floating casino. Also, my tax money shouldn't go to
rebuild a city that was built below sea level. You wouldn't build your
house on quicksand would you? If you want to live below sea-level, do your
country some good and join the Navy's submarine force.
#6. Regardless of what the Poverty Pimps Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton want
you to believe, The US Government didn't create the Hurricane as a way to
eradicate the black people of New Orleans; (Neither did Russia as a way to
destroy America). The US Government didn't cause the global warming that
allegedly caused the hurricane (We've been coming out of an ice age for over
a million years).
#7. The government isn't responsible for giving you anything. This is the
land of the free and the home of the brave, but you gotta work for what you
want. McDonalds and Wal-Mart are always hiring, so get a damn job and stop
spooning off the people who are actually working for a living. President
Kennedy said it best..."Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what
you can do for your country."
 E. H. Gombrich
The great Austrian art historian-theoretician who died in 2001 also wrote, in six weeks, a Little History of the World for children which has just been translated into English. I have read The Story of Art and Meditations on a Hobby Horse, but never knew he wrote a history. No surprise though - he knew everything. Reminiscences of Gombrich and thoughts about the new book, here. His books on art here.
The "Trolley Problems," and other Moral Dilemmas The field of Cognitive Psychology has shown a recent interest in the psychology of morality. Can psychology tell us what is moral? Definitely not. Can psychology help us understand how we approach moral issues in our lives? Maybe. Is there a common "moral instinct" which most humans share? Quite possibly. Can looking at difficult moral dilemmas illuminate what keeps people on the right track most of the time? Doubt it. Still interesting, though. Rebecca Saxe sums up current thinking in the psychology of morality: "Do the Right Thing."
The Mayan Civilization
From Roger Sandall: "Let’s take Jared Diamond by the horns. He would like us to believe that the decline and fall of the Maya was a tragic loss, and a sadly overgrown sculpture in the jungle ornaments the cover of his book Collapse. But I don’t care if the Maya civilization did collapse. I don’t think we should shed a single retrospective tear. It might be interesting to know how or why it fell—whether from war or drought or disease or soil exhaustion—but I don’t much care about that either. Because quite frankly, as civilizations go, the Mayan civilization in Mexico didn't amount to much."
Provocative and not politically-correct. Read entire. And more on the trials of modern-day Mayans in Guatemala, here.
Pinter? Schwartz: "Pinter is an exhausted English playwright whose sole and obvious current qualification for the prize is his strident participation in the America-baiting, Israel-hating protests against the liberation of Iraq." Harsh negativity also from Ace of Spades, Guardian naturally more positive. AP more neutral. North Country - A Bowl of Cliches - LLBS Dutch ban burquas: maybe they are getting smart. LGF Brady Campaign Against Guns tries to freak out Florida travelers, here: Click here: http://www.travelwirenews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000061/006111-p.htm More on the wetlands litigation: Click here: Supreme Court Takes Up 2 Cases Challenging Powers of U.S. Regulators to Protect Wetlands - New York Times Journalism and poverty: Buzzmachine. What is this idea that it is somehow noble not to make a decent living? California touts its ghosts to tourists. Very lame. Ducks Unlimited and Katrina restoration, here.
What works in practice rarely works in theory. Bird Dog
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