Thursday, March 23. 2006
 In praise of duct tape. And for sportsmen, there is real Duck Tape too.
Michelle's Headline of the Day yesterday: AP: Clinton vows to block bill criminalizing illegal immigrants. Hey, Barrister - how about a Fallacy of the Week on Double-Speak? What I wonder is what that would mean for all the folks who come here legally, with Green Cards, etc.? Part-Time Pundit has a Guard the Borders Blogburst. From the Brussels Journal, another obituary for Old Europe: Europe’s current problems are entirely self-inflicted. This does not mean, however, that the result will be less catastrophic. By subverting the roots of its own Judeo-Christian culture – a process that started with the French Enlightenment (as opposed to the Scottish Enlightenment, which was not anti-religious) – a religious and cultural vacuum was created at the heart of European civilization. The collapse of faith in its own values has, not surprisingly, led to a demographic collapse because a civilization that no longer believes in its own future also rejects procreation. Today, a new religion and culture is supplanting the old one. There is little one can do about it, but hope for a miracle.
Image: I just love the sugar-free concept. You buy two jelly doughnuts and a sugar-free coffee, and think you are being healthy.
Wednesday, March 22. 2006
The Indian stock market. Hot. Impeach Ginsburg? There's an idea. It's academic, of course. "A spiritual necessity"? "In Europe, the welfare state has become a spiritual necessity." Interesting. An Allen-Condi or Condi-Allen ticket? I'd consider it. Wal-Mart welcomed in China...(but not in NYC) The Lego Wars. This is the UN's idea of a good idea. Anti-War or Anti-Bush? Ya gotta decide, folks. I agree with this quote from Balloon Juice: ...but at some point it becomes pretty clear that these anti-war protests are little more than anti-Bush protests. While hating Bush has become far more fashionable as of late (in fact, hating Bush is so popular that the cool kids are already doing something else), these protests accomplish very little. Bus is already in the middle to low 30’s in popularity, and there really is no ‘war’ to protest, per se.
and Murdock at NRO has a similar take: Why have so many liberals abandoned overseas the very people they lionize at home? The answer is the worst four-letter word in their vocabulary: “Bush.” The Democratic Left hates President Bush’s guts. They also hate his face, his footsteps, and his shadow. Since hurting him involves looking away as terrorists slaughter pacifists, diplomats, journalists, teachers, and children, they do so with zeal.
Why all of this hate? I thought we were supposed to hate nothin' 'cept hatred...
OK. We have the apologist for the Taliban at Yale. And Abdul Rahman on trial for his life for converting to Christianity. No wonder even some reasonable folks are growing weary of helping these people. What do they call Christians and Jews? "Sub-human feces-eating pigs." I do not disagree with Bush's aspirations, but I wonder if these stone-age people deserve it. If Rahman is executed, there will be hell to pay. And hey, Lux et Veritas in New Haven - I'd prefer seeing these two guys in the opposite positions.
In reading all about the "revolution" in Belarus in places like Publius, I realized I knew nothing about it. Here is where it is. Used to be called "White Russia." Population ten million. Broke from Soviet Union in 1991. Details here. Capital is Minsk. I know a joke about Minsk, but I'm not going to tell it now.
The Odyssey, illustrated. 2500 year-old pictures of the tale. Immigration: Just give me some truth: a quote: "a million people illegally entering the United States is clearly a passive policy choice, not an inevitability." Norm on why we should still read Marx. Harvard Prof Russell considers Horowitz's The Professors Yes, there is a double standard. And there should be, too. What 14 year old fellow would sue this gal complaining about a sexual encounter? Seems to me like every 14 year-old's dream come true.
The Judiciary...has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society, and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither force nor will. Alexander Hamilton (Federalist No. 78, 1788), as quoted in the Patriot Post yesterday.
Tuesday, March 21. 2006
 You are being sold, and don't know it. Product placement ads in movies and TV shows.
The Pacifist Left marches over the cliff with their grey pony-tails, with Cindy leading the way. Haven't we all noticed, however, that the Pacifist Left always picks which side should be Pacifist, and which side is entitled to go to war (ie, whatever side opposes the evil, evil US)? Cindy, remarkably, sides with Germany in WW2. I am not sure this represents true pacifism... And the LA Times likewise goes over the cliff. Claude Allen steals because he's black? So what about all of the white thieves? Lots more white thieves than black thieves in the USA...guess it's cuz they're white. A counter-protest in France. Who knew? Without Instapundit? Trout fishing in basement, in Belgrade. Convenient, yes. Sporting? Well... Women spend a total of two years of their lives getting ready to go out. Would it be more accurate to say that women waste two years of their husbands' lives waiting for them? Welsh Church turns other cheek - and gets stabbed in that one too. Wake up, UK. We love ya, but you are acting like schlemiels.
Incredible. A model Tomcat. Watch. And a note to our new Fark readers - click All Categories and enjoy our blog regularly: we are ineligant intelligant smart and inneresting.
As the Republican Party hosts more and more black candidates, blacks continue to vote overwhelmingly Democratic. Why aren't blacks voting somewhere closer to 50-50 like the general population? From a piece by Shadroui at Intell. Cons: There are core issues around which whites and blacks can and should rally: economic empowerment, local empowerment, states rights, cultural renovation, school choice, the sanctity of unborn life, etc.
Fifty years later, conservatives and Republicans are still trying to convince African-Americans that these causes are not code words for racial attitudes held half a century ago, that many Americans sincerely believe that the path to empowerment now longer lies in Washington, D.C. or Jesse Jackson, that our nation, already tested by so many issues domestic and foreign, still offers opportunities that will benefit their children if they do the hard work of preparation.
Read the whole thing.
Re-posted from March 2006  Victims of hoplophobia need help and understanding, along with firearms re-education from sensitive Social Workers who are not only caring, but carryin'.
The "irrational fear of weapons" is a health crisis which must be crushed before it spreads, as it has spread in Canada, Australia, and the UK. Can we call it the Hoplophobia Flu? It is not yet known why women and metrosexuals seem more vulnerable to this debilitating and life-threatening scourge. One theory is that is spread by contact with infected newsprint, but other medical researchers believe that a loud "Boom" is just innately disturbing to some people with fragile nervous systems. We need many more highly-paid professional union-member Hoplophobia Specialists in our schools and businesses if we are determined to defeat this plague. Only Government Resources can hope to have an impact on this crisis, but "a substantial national investment is required," according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, before "this thing gets out of hand." An Epidemiological Psychiatry researcher at the CDC commented "Guns go Boom. This is scarey for some, but they need professional help. This phobia has the power to spread just like the Bird Flu. It is highly infectious to vulnerable adults. This phobia has the power to render honest folk, sportsmen and sportswomen and sports-transgenders, and innocent hunter-gatherers, helpless not only against bad guys, but against food on the wing and hoof. Indeed, it is no different, in effect, than having a weak immune system, or being a de-clawed kitty cat." Image: A very nice Lady without Hoplophobia, hunting Islamo-fascists on her farm without a license, unlike her weenie son.
 On free speech hypocrisy in schools, by Ollie North in The Patriot Post:
"It is interesting to note that those who now proffer the most vociferous defense of these 'teachers' to say what they want in the classroom are the very ones who want to ban other educators from uttering a Bible verse, challenging Darwin's theory of evolution or noting that we are 'one nation under God,' when pledging allegiance to our flag. Not surprisingly, the so-called mainstream media has failed to note the utter inconsistency in defending the 'right' of some teachers to defame our President—while denying the freedom of expression to other educators who profess their faith in God. The consequence of the political-legal crossfire of America's classrooms is predictable. As shown by the Global Literacy Survey—and dozens of other assessments—students in public education aren't learning that which will prepare them for jobs and higher education in a highly competitive global economy. Parents who can afford to, vote with their feet. They pull their children out of these troubled schools and send them to private or religious institutions or home-school them. America's high-tech industry is constantly lobbying Washington to increase the number of visas granted to qualified immigrants—because our schools aren't producing enough competent graduates. There is no doubt that our children must learn 'critical thinking.' Before they get to politics—shouldn't they at least know geography—and maybe some math and science? It would be nice—if this is to remain the home of the brave and the land of the free—that America's students could place it on a map."
Need 19,000 acres in Botswana for hunting? Mr. Free Market can tell you how. We are close to full employment. But the French would never stoop to learn from us. They have been trained to want a free ride, not a chance to excel. Tobacco Louges....didn't we used to call these "bars"? From RTLC: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 28, 1963) “I have a dream that my four little children will be presumed too stupid or incompetent to get into a college based on the content of their character, and will get in only after their white liberal massas judge them by the color of their skin.” (Julianne Malveaux, 2006)
Daily Pundit thinks Condi is a Rockefeller Republican. For you young 'uns out there, that means a non-conservative. Zero-tolerance as a post-religious morality, and the loss of England Did you know that being raped is a crime under Sharia Law? Yes, ladies - you made him do it. Apparently this passes for thought at Yale: "If we shut ourselves away from an understanding of Hashemi's culture and life experiences, we restrict our own agency over our identity in an increasingly complicated and connected world."
What the heck does that mean? It is not English, but if I can de-code the BS, I think it means that if we don't meet guys from the Taliban, how can we decide whether we want to be Taliban ourselves? By that logic, why not admit dogs and cats too? Jeff Miller on truth vs. doctrine- shopping. Who is in this new peace mini-movement? Same old people.
Frederick Church (1826-1900). His Heart of the Andes, below, brought him fame. A brief bio of Church here, and a good summary of The Hudson River School, and what they wanted to convey in their work (which was very much out of fashion in the 20th century for being overly-sentimental and unsophisticated), here. 
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. Winston Churchill
Monday, March 20. 2006
I wish I had written this piece by Sisu titled It doesn't require relgious faith to believe in something worth fighting for. She addresses author Sam Harris' contention that religion concerns ideas which are "patently absurd and increasingly maladaptive." Harris appears to view religion as the prime source of evil in the world: When we find reliable ways to make human beings more loving, less fearful, and genuinely enraptured by the fact of our appearance in the cosmos, we will have no need for divisive religious myths.
A three-times daily dose of pot, LSD, crystal meth, and heroin ought to work fine - or Soma: That quote sounds more than a little Brave New Worldish for me; as Sisu notes: "find reliable ways to make human beings more loving," "Make them...?" We who?" Right. I suspect he means more docile towards his view. What if it pleases me to be difficult and controlling and arrogant and cantakerous and opinionated....like Harris? Read her piece. Print: Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775: 
 The Eagle Cam (and the Osprey Cam too) are up and running at Blackwater NWR in Maryland, with eaglets already in the nest.
Well, it looks like the "radical" pampered youth of today have somehow got it in mind that those radical 60s are something to emulate. Go for it, kids. But never forget which side your bread is buttered on - your freedom here to make a fool of yourself. H/T, Michelle. And do not forget that you will need to work someday, and to be free to speak your mind later, when wisdom arrives along with gray hair.
We have had 100,000 visits 
since January 1, 2006. That's a lot for a minor-league, or a critic might say Bush-league, or, you might say, boutique, or, you might say, insignificant or, you might say, a grab-bag, but we like to think we have an elitist and eclectic blog for the discerning few. We hope you all visit daily. Your visits to Maggie's are our reward. Yes, Maggie's Farm has been around for a year, but we didn't have the stat-gathering format that we have now, thanks to Blogmeister Chris - our Guardian Angel. And his system is more accurate than Site Meter - tho we use that too. And it's Spring, but it will be 26 degrees (F) tonite and we are having light snow flurries right now.
Chavez continues his charming ways: terms Bush "donkey" and "drunkard." And he continues to destroy Venezuela and there seems no end in sight. The Bridge finally collapses! "Today the bridge has collapsed, cutting the only access to modernity, to progress. The fallen bridge however is symbolic of the current state of Venezuela vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Hugo Chavez built a bridge to Havana; a second to the FARC-controlled mountains of Colombia; the third to the Foro de Sao Paulo HQs and then another to Tehran, the rest he burnt."The symbolism of Venezuela's collapsed bridge | www.vcrisis.com There is more on this sad tale hereThe Devil's Excrement .
Pouring Water on a Drowning Man - the Brit NHS, from Tangled Web The history of drinking and socializing and dating. Does it make sense to throw the small ones back? Env. Econ. Light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq? How much of the negativity is pure partisanship? YARGB has Iraq comment update.
 We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers.
Robert E. Lee
Sunday, March 19. 2006
I am taking over The News Junkie's job this afternoon, while he goes pheasant shooting. In the beginning...Astrophysics, metaphysics, or revelation? Too stupid to know he's stupid? I do not think that applies to Jeff G. at Protein Wisdom, but it might apply to me. Mall-Walking, and soaking up the American Experience. Am. Spectator. I am glad he reports on it, because I'd almost rather be dead. "I didn't touch a girl or alcohol for seven months." Soldiers interviewed. Another Christian on trial? Where are the lions in the Colosseum? A few thousand visits per day. That is all that some excellent blogs get. I guess blogging is kind of like writing poetry - you do it because you have to, and you pray to have any impact. But we won't have much, I fear, because most blog-readers read the blogs that support what they think in the first place. We are politically centrist, but when I read the Lefty blogs, they seem too crude, angry and silly to take seriously - or to respond to. Academic Bill of Rights introduced to NYS Assembly. Let's support it. It is a counterbalance to academic Maoism. Mixing Memory addresses the cognitive factors which they believe interfere with the supposedly benighted American population's acceptance of Evolution as Gospel. I make two points: First, as psychologists, and not physical scientists, they lack the humility which the physical scientists possess, probably because they never took Quantum Algorithms and the Fourier Transformation in college - not for lack of brain-power, but lack of interest. Second, they lack metaphysics. They are psyche-centric, which is reductionistic. I enjoy their blog regularly, but everyone has their limited view of the world, as do we, no doubt. Einstein: "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind." And, Yes, I do think ID is silly. But, on the other hand, I am more interested in the cognitive obstacles to connecting with God than in the cognitive obstacles to connecting with evolution. Heck - which is more important? And one piece about politics and science: from The Conspiracy: The environmental movement maintains that science and technology cannot be relied upon to build a safe atomic power plant, to produce a pesticide that is safe, or even to bake a loaf of bread that is safe, if that loaf of bread contains chemical preservatives. When it comes to global warming, however, it turns out that there is one area in which the environmental movement displays the most breathtaking confidence in the reliability of science and technology, an area in which, until recently, no one—not even the staunchest supporters of science and technology—had ever thought to assert very much confidence at all. The one thing, the environmental movement holds, that science and technology can do so well that we are entitled to have unlimited confidence in them is forecast the weather—for the next one hundred years!
Update: Will have an apology to Mixing Memory coming up soon, for our somewhat frivolous critique...we do enjoy his blog, as I mentioned.
Two weeks after breast cancer surgery, two days ago my pal lands this 140# Tarpon. Captain Juan Garcia of Indian Key, Fla. helps hoist the big guy on deck. Would make a lovely addition to the den, but they let him go...the right thing to do. If you got hooked by temptation, wouldn't you want God to set you free? 
 "Limited evidentiary value." Ahhh, the press has a new phrase. Funny the way it is selectively applied. Michelle. Dan Rather never heard of that expression.
More on Saddam and Al Quaida. Cap'n Ed. A nation on the downslide: More protests in France. Why so many pro-Mercedes Benz symbols at Calif. peace march? Haha A Tale of Two Fathers: Dads of soldiers. RWNH Tee hee hee: Excuuuuuuse me! A true medical mishap. Long Beach church victim of Kelo. So change the law, Calif. I wish churches would stay out of politics. Render unto Caesar, etc. Plus many pastors are politically hopelessly naive and prime useful idiots for any sentimental cause, regardless of consequences. The world of manipulators, con-men, professional victims, liars and politicians is just not their domain. CSM. Mark Roberts on the DaVinci Code: It's an opportunity.
 Psalm 19
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
7The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;
8the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;
9the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
11Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.
13Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
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