Friday, April 14. 2006
The inimitable Thomas Sowell has weighed in on the big-picture implications of mass immigration over at RealClearPolitics. While he does an excellent job skewering pro-illegal immigration cliches with his usual clear-headed rationality, the following excerpt represents a far greater and more important realization about the effects of millions of foreigners on American culture and society: Why is this a far more prosperous country than the countries from which most of our immigrants come? Many of those countries are well endowed with natural resources but are lacking an economic and political culture that would allow those resources to be used to produce better results than the poverty which drives their people to other countries. When you import people, you import cultures. Those cultures no longer give way to the American culture when "multiculturalism" is a dogma and its apostles and activists make it necessary for American laws, language, and culture to give way, or at least accommodate growing alien enclaves in our midst. A nation is more than a collection of whatever population happens to reside within its borders. Something has to unite those people if the country is not to degenerate into the kind of unending internal strife brought on by Balkanization in many countries around the world, not just in the Balkans.
The final paragraph above is not only anathema to liberals, but to modern liberalism itself (embraced by Democrats and Republicans alike), which likes to hold that as all men are created equal, any cultural/racial/religious differences are mere details and relatively unimportant when it comes to deciding who we should choose to grant the gift and privilege of American citizenship. Read the full article here. Image: The Central Balkans
Rumsfeld is the "near enemy." The real enemy is Bush. Belmont explains it. I also think that the "fire Rumsfeld" thing is due to his effectiveness: wars are always a mess but Rummy is about the most intelligent, incisive, confident guy in government, and I think his confidence and testosterone drive the Left nuts. (Do I detect a bit of jealousy of the guy's aggressive brain and masculinity, too?) The Duke lynch mob. No idea whether team members raped this stripper/prostitute, but I do not see much evidence for it yet. TalkLeft has some legal defence considerations.Apparently David Brooks editorialized in much the same manner as we did here: true or false, the story fits the Left's preferred fantasy of evil white racist/sexist brutal jocks. (Do I detect a little jealousy, again? Who would not want to play a Division 1 sport, if they could?) Is Moussaui a mainstream Moslem? Dinocrat thinks so. I have no idea. He sure is a mainstream Islamist. You have to read what Moussaui said at Daily Pundit, representing the Religion of Peace. Then scroll down at Dinocrat - he figures out the Dem strategy on immigration: it is to fool the Hispanics. Granny Get Your Gun. Rambo Granny takes care of business in England. Wow. FMFT. She sets a fine example for the country.
Thursday, April 13. 2006
Dems secret plans: race-based campaign against Steele in Maryland. Nice plan, guys. But it takes a little subtlety to run a racist campaign when you desperately need all black voters on your Dem plantation. More on the new missing link hominids, at Science Daily and also more here. Abdul Rahman killed in Pakistan. One by one, they are going down. Confed. Yank Danger: Coke has fizz. Michigan court allows lawsuit to proceed by woman who had fizzy Coke spray in her eye. Coke failed to warn that Coke was fizzy. h/t, Overlawyered. Note to scam artists and their lawyers: Carbonated beverages have fizz. Including beer. That's why you buy them: fizz is fun. Do not look at these images of late-term abortions in Conservative Life. I mean it. Nor can I imagine a physician who would do this. Fitzgerald gives false witness to New York Times. Charges will not be pressed against him. Newsweek warns: Strong economy may lead to weak economy. Hmmm. I don't recall such articles when Clinton was President. Ace.
Tawana Brawley redux, at Duke? LaShawn wonders. I will remain open-minded, but it was amazing, and disturbing, to see the widespread assumption of guilt because the story fit a leftist myth. Man, when this stuff happens, the Left just eats it up, with the MSM cheerleading all the way. You might almost imagine that they welcome such stories...but to think that would be "mean-spirited," would it not? The Medicare prescription plan: 8 in 10 are satisfied with it. Have you read that in the newspaper? Ca. Yank The Wishful Thinking Theory of foreign affairs. Maybe Iran will change its mind? Huh? Have you ever tried to change just one person's mind about anything? The WaPo has no fear of Iran. Kim du Toit announces a major immigration protest, to be held in November, 2006 and November, 2008. The reductio ad absurdum of affirmative action: DNA-based job and college applications. NE Repub. This could get good: Every male has one entire X chromosome, which makes them 50% female. Every person has some African blood - duh! Not some - 100%, when you think about it - it was just a while ago in history, before that strange skin mutation turned my ancestors to a pasty, sickly, blotchy pale color, but what does that matter? I am a little worried about my Celtic and Norman warrior DNA - nobody seems to care about them. But hey, Harvard - I am 100% African, and half woman, and my DNA proves it. My skin color? It's just a Michael Jackson thing. My genitalia? None of your business, you filthy-minded Admissions Dept. My character? Horrible: "malicious and so full of guile. Give it an inch, and he'll take a mile." It's a Human Thing. Wierd men, and why they should marry foreign women. By a wierd man: Marginal Rev. The Ugly Kid Crisis. What can the government do about this? If the government can solve the "Obesity Crisis" (shortly after abandoning the "Hunger Crisis") they can solve the Ugly Kid problem. I suggest we start with a $100,000,000 educational pilot program. Italy returns to instability. My opinion? Not a serious nation; nice place to visit, with the most beautiful women in the world. From Publius: Political instability is the result of political immaturity in a country that - in some respects - has still a fascistic mentality (statism, bureaucracy and wide corruption of politicians from both sides).
On Gambling, Stolen from News for Christians: From Agape Press -Apparently Americans have more money than they know what to do with. According to U.S. News & World Report's Kim Clark, each year Americans lose $80 billion to gambling in its various forms -- from casinos to bingo to online gambling to horse racing. Gamblers get plenty of opportunities to play. Forty-eight states have some form of legalized gambling, says Jeffrey Kluger of Time -- and that does not include the Internet, which is quickly becoming a wide-open portal for those with an itch to bet. Read the complete article here.
Wednesday, April 12. 2006
Too funny. New Orleans using school busses to bus voters for Nagin into New Orleans. The role of International A.N.S.W.E.R. in the pro-illegal immigration protests. Totaly ignored by the MSM. Driscoll 75% of Chinese like free market capitalism. What are the numbers for those of other countries? The Conspiracy "Instant Democrats"? Will on immigration reform. Excellent essay on the history of gunpowder.
Tuesday, April 11. 2006
Docks in winter storage. 
Look who is running for the Human Rights Council of the UN. Atlas Another view of the Mass. Health Insurance Law: Headed for an Iceberg? NE Repub. Moslems for open borders. See, the problem is this - open borders for Mexicans means open borders for anyone. And then you are no longer a country - you're just a place. Did global warming stop eight years ago? Ex Donk And this piece on how cleaner air adds to warming.
Monday, April 10. 2006
 Today is "Celebrate Illegal Alien Day." Let's make it a national holiday, GW. Michelle. Is this not a case in which foreigners, illegally in the US, are attempting to influence American politics? Does that make sense? My political intuition tells me that these protests will backfire, badly. Since when can you sneak into a country, and then make demands? As our reader comments, what is Spanish for "chutzpah"?
When I last returned from the US after a vacation in Italy, with a US passport, they put me through a meat-grinder. Easier to fly home to Mexico, and walk through the river. They would not have gone through my bags and done a passport check - not that there was anything to find. Well, I had an apple from the airplane in my pocket which I forgot to carry in my stomach - an illegal agricultural product. Shame on me. Here's the list of places where the protest marches will be occurring. These marches seem to be coordinated by the Center for Community Change. Auster points out that normalizing illegal immigration means, in essence, an open borders policy in which the US abandons the right to control immigration of any sort. In my opinion, that is an abrogation of nationhood because, as I have said, half the world would come here if all they had to do was wade across the Rio Grande.
In reply to our email, asking Borders to confirm that their cartoon decision was reported accurately, we received the following profession of dhimmitude, dated 4/9: Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your expression of concern about our decision not to carry the issue of Free Inquiry magazine featuring cartoons depicting Muhammad. Borders is committed to our customers' right to choose what to read and what to buy and to the First Amendment right of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. In this particular case, we decided not to stock this issue in our stores because we place a priority on the safety and security of our customers and our employees. We believe that carrying this issue presented a challenge to that priority.
We value your thoughts and sincerely appreciate that you invested your time to tell us how you feel about the issue. I can assure you that our management team gave careful deliberation to this decision and considered all sides of the issue before reaching this conclusion.
I hope that this information is helpful. If you should have any other questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Chatica
Borders Customer Care
http://www.bordersstores.com
 It's vacation time again, in France. Watch the protests in France fizzle. What a country. The protesters will be at the beach in Spain with their parents! Vive la revolution des enfants.
Hey Sy Hirsch. We consider all options. That means consider. Can you consider anything other than reflexive anti-Americanism? S,C and A has had it with the "colonialism" theme. Me, too. Those ex-colonial countries are lucky. They were given a chance to come out of the stone age, but many of them do not appreciate the opportunity, and wish to return. A French econ professor tried the real world for a few weeks - and was converted. Of course. She was surprised to find out that people work fairly hard, with enthusiasm, and enjoy working. Why is the Left anti-work? Work is good. Work is fun. Work is interesting. Work is ADULT. Will the MSM ever admit that Saddam was supporting Al Quaida? No. It doesn't fit their theme. Don't bother me with facts. Lib. Leanings The economists at Marginal Rev. look at the Mass. Health plan. They sort-of like it. Uncle Norm does the 101 best screenplays. Reducing pollution is worsening global warming. Oh, man. Can we forget this yet? Whatever the cause, nothing effective will be done. Let's get over the hysteria. Ten years ago, the hysteria was the next ice age. Ed Rendell is a good ol' boy, but he has a problem with Lynn Swann. Swann will win. French "tribalism" is interfering with the Communism they need. Sheesh. What dopes. Hopeless. For Cape Codders and Cape Cod lovers: Cape Cod Today. Roots was a big deal. Fake, but accurate? Classical values takes a retrospective look at the TV series. Will is upset about Junk Science. So are we.
Saturday, April 8. 2006
The Mafia campaigns against Berlusconi. Sadly, in Italy that isn't a problem - it helps. In the US, we still got some towns like that, ay, Ton'? Hamas determined to eliminate Rotary Clubs. They are really getting serious, now. You would think killing all of the Jews would be enough for them. And now even the EU blows them off. Who are the really cool radicals of today? The Libertarians. Ed Driscoll. It is true. The Left is old, dusty, obsolete, rejected, and done. Trial lawyers and Vioxx and Merck: The doctors want Vioxx. Great drug. But all durgs have side effects. Duh. And guess what? If 500,000 people take Vioxx for arthritis, some of them will have heart attacks. They are mostly older folks, so some will get cancer too. This legal system remains corrupt as hell, while lawyers get rich with scams. Is that clear? Hunting and illegal immigration. The swarms of illegals are interfering with hunting in Arizona. That is not good. Linkzona. The Dartmouth Review got Mark Steyn. Wow. How can I attend? How can we expel San Francisco from the union? Wish they would declare war, like the Confederacy. We could just say "No, thanks. Keep it." Power, idolatry, Islam, etc. From One Cosmos: The worship of power is the source of all idolatry. Thus, let's not pretend there haven't been Christian idolaters. It's just that the worship of power is a human flaw, not something intrinsic to Christianity. Jesus emphasized this point time and again: "the meek shall inherit the earth," "blessed are the poor in spirit," "blessed are you when they revile and persecute you," etc.
Friday, April 7. 2006
A month or so ago we posted a snarky and unkind critique of a post by Mixing Memory, a blog concerning cognitive psychology which we read weekly because of our interest in the subject. Specifically, we erroneously claimed that his blog, or at least his post, ignored the religious and/or spiritual, and we also were ill-mannered in doubting the hard-science rigor of the post. I hope he will accept our apology. Here are some of his posts on religion. And here is his latest: How Motivated Cognition can Save your Marriage.
From an interview with Benedict: Asked by one student how he realized his own priestly vocation, the 78-year-old pontiff said that when he was young in Germany it was more "normal" to accept faith and vocations than it is today. "There was the Nazi regime," Benedict said. "We were told very loudly that in the new Germany 'there will not be anymore priests, there will be no more consecrated life, we don't need this anymore, find another profession."'
Looking for a "How-To" book on becoming a Manly Man - a review of a few books on the subject in the CSM: "A Guy's Guide to Being a Man's Man," is as full of practical tips as Mansfield's is devoid of them. He reminds men exactly how to behave with honor, respect, and gentlemanliness. That includes dating ("don't look too eager"), dressing ("no ties with animals, Looney Tune characters, or Spongebob."), dining ("order New York strip steak for three"), and listening to "man's man" music ("Sinatra was the ultimate"). His formula for men in 2006 is to get a manicure (but no pedicure), money clip (no Velcro wallets), and a DVD of "Saving Private Ryan."
Why aid doesn't work in Africa. It's a well-known fact, and even our State Dept gets it. Africa needs investment by bold entrepreneurs from all over the world. Samizdata. Rick Moran gets on a roll. One quote: There are even efforts in blue states to stop “trading” with people and companies who live in ordinary America, as if people who live, work, play, go to church on Sunday, take off their hat when the flag goes by, and get choked up when they hear the national anthem live in a different country than the urban sophisticates who dominate the culture and to a large extent, the national conversation. We are told what is proper to believe, what we should watch on television, what cartoons are blasphemous, and which European countries are better than we are. We are instructed in what is “good” and even what is funny and what is not. And when red state America rebels against this cultural tyranny by voting the way they think rather than the way they are told to, they are belittled as morons, mouth breathers, hicks, hillbillies, and dolts. And liberals wonder why they can’t win an election for dog catcher in most areas of the country? In truth, as we head into the silly season in politics, Democrats are going to have to find a way to put a lid on this attitude of loathing toward ordinary voters lest they be discovered for the insufferable elitist louts they truly are.
Thanks for that, Rick, from your loutish hillbilly friends at Maggie's Farm. Whole thing here.
The cost of liquids in my neighborhood: Whole milk: 4.75/gallon
Poland Spring bottled water: 2.79/gallon
Regular Shell gas: 2.91/gallon
Ballantine Ale: 7.67/gallon Another new blog to monitor the accuracy of a newspaper. In this case, The Baltimore Sun. The Sun Lies Milford, NH bans the Easter Bunny. Now it's the Government Bunny, I guess, that delivers the eggs for the Annual Egg Hunt. Art bloopers in the DaVinci Code. Middlebrow. Hard Life #1: Child Sorcery and the street children of the Congo. Remarkable photos. Hard Life #2: on-line interviews with Ethiopian villagers struck with drought and famine. Krauthammer on illegal immigration: Amnesty will only encourage more flow over the border. Build a wall. The wife-buying market in India.
Thursday, April 6. 2006
Mel Brooks wants your money. I say, give it to him - he deserves it. A look at the Mel Brooks DVD collection, at The Shelf. "What hump?" Hahaha. Yale at Horsefeathers "looks into" Mansfield's Manliness, and finds it wanting. That "Yale" can write - wonder what we'd have to pay him to get him to write for us? Harry Reid wants illegal immigrant felons to become citizens (Powerline)...but look at what he said ten years ago - amazing the way folks "grow in office"- from piece in Instap.: "We are a country founded upon fairness and justice," Reid said. "An individual in real threat of torture or long-term incarceration because of his or her political beliefs can still seek asylum. But this bill closes the door to those who want to abuse America's inherent generosity and legal system." Reid's bill also cracks down on illegal immigration. The 1990 census reported 3.3 million illegal aliens in America. Recent estimates indicate about 2.5 million immigrants illegally entered the United States last year.
Feelin' too good today? Real Yankees should always be a bit cranky about something. Try this, at Protein - the latest schemes of the trial lawyers and obesity. I always find it deeply moving to see how much those guys really care about people.
The USS New York. 
The 6th USS New York is being built (LPD-21,
an amphibious assault ship) with steel from the Trade Center. (LPD is "landing platform dock). Image is the USS San Antonio (LPD-17) Now for the bad news: Super-Cavitation Torpedoes. 250 mph and 27-feet long, these Russian-designed nasties could change naval warfare. And Iran has some. Info at American Spectator. Update: (Thanks, reader) This torpedo's bark may be worse than its bite. Strategy Pages.
Who is Katie Couric? How would anyone know if they go to work in the mornings? I have never seen her. And who, unless they are over age 90 and in nursing homes, watches TV in the morning? People who can think of nothing better to do? I guess maybe Moms with a bunch of rug-rats crawling around the kitchen. To win elections, Dems need to come out of the closet and proclaim socialism. So says Aronson in The Nation. Hey - it's a winning idea. Go for it. Works great in France. Linda Chavez on illegal immigration: Hefty fines and rapid naturalization. How birds change their tune. Very similar to speech. Stupidity Contest in Colorado. Who wins - the school principle who banned camo jeans because they show support for our troops, or this parent (at Gateway): Daniel Wenger, whose stepdaughter attends Shaw Heights, wants Shepherd out, saying "kids have the constitutional right to wear whatever they want to school" ? Missing link between fish and amphibians found. Science Times. Turns out that it's humans! What is up with Muzak these days? No more elevator music - it's the New Muzak. The New Yorker: the Music that makes you buy. NYC welfare rolls are finally down to where they were pre-War on Poverty. We will never undo all the mess Lyndon Johnson created for us.
Wednesday, April 5. 2006
A Massachusetts reader offers this: What are you guys smoking over there? Here I am in Massachusetts, without health insurance, and with a family of four, and all that has happened is on top of having to pay full freight for my family's doctor bills, I get fined $1000.00 for the privelege.
I don't want your stinking welfare greenstamp department of motor vehicle government cheese copay paperwork foodstamp prepaid doctor tax charity ward let a millionflowers bloom supervision of my family's medical situation, thank you very much.
Catastrophic medical insurance is currently illegal in Massachusetts. All they had to do is allow me to purchase what I could get if I lived 50 miles west, which is REAL LIVE INSURANCE, that is, they would pay if something unexpected, substantial, and expensive happened. And it would cost me a couple hundred bucks a month. But no, I have to pay full freight for every lamebrain thing that every knucklehead who has a job with benefits wants tax free, like gym memberships and aromatherapy and acupuncture and reiki massage and "mental health," ie, I'm a miserable failure as a human being and I want to talk to another miserable failure that went to community college for psychology about it, at great expense. Oh, yes, let's not forget all middle age men that need free blue pills because what a mean spirited thing it would be middle age men didn't wander the earth with extra free hardons.
And so "insurance" becomes paying in advance for others to get what they don't need or deserve, to the point where "Insurance" costs 1200 a month and if something catastrophic did happen, would bankrupt me anyway, because instead of paying $50 for an office visit for an imaginary ailment, but having a real catastrophe paid for, the powers that be would prefer paying $5 dollars copay for an office visit to their yogurt enema wellness healer, but have to chip in 20% for cancer therapy, which would bankrupt anybody that has to worry about the cost of health insurance in the first place.
I am totally sympathetic to what you are saying. I wrongly assumed it was catastrophic health insurance, which used to be called "Major Medical", which is the only kind of medical insurance that makes sense to me. Perhaps we are too gentle with the People's Commonwealth. I am not in favor of insurance for yogurt enemas or yoghurt massages either. What are we smoking? Upmann Magnums. (We call it mid-day "relaxation-inhalation" therapy, paid for by our insurance, of course.)
 The Slippery Slope of speech laws, in Europe. Not to worry - the blogs will ignore every PC "rule" that exists. Had not known that the great Bernard Lewis had gotten caught up in this. Augean Stables.
I somehow missed this: Incompetent President slammed by former Navy Chief. Quoted in full from Instapundit: ARNOLD KLING ON fear of confrontation: "Unfortunately, large segments of American society no longer have the ability to confront real evil. People lack the confidence and moral clarity to stand up to intimidation. . . . One can view Islamic militants as armed versions of unruly teenagers. We should not feel guilty toward them. We should demand reasonable and decent behavior from them, rather than excuse their tantrums or their crimes." That would require thinking of ourselves as adults, which is unacceptable to many.
The Communist, anti-Semitic charmers of International A.N.S.W.E.R. are back! Let's all welcome their latest efforts: supporting illegal immigration. They give us fine blog fodder. The best cheap date I have ever heard of. Thanks, Kim. A Tale of Two Immigrants. PoliPundit looks at two immigrants to the US. Good News for UK Burglars: Police requested to send them home with a warning. They will call it the "Your home is not your castle" memo. The "Corporate Social Responsibility" "movement" is nuts, and the sort of thing only academics, who have never functioned in the real world, would dream up. The Prof gently explains.
Money for nothin' and the chicks for free. No Pasaran notes the piece in the Guardian in which the President of the Sorbonne terms students "ignorant and stupid." "Today's youth don't have dreams, they have illusions." Read it. He could have said "delusions of eternal childhood".
The DaVinci Code. Those with little knowledge of Christianity, and those of conspiratorial tendencies, have been hoodwinked by imagining that Brown's fictional novel has a basis in fact, and they will be hoodwinked again by Ron Howard's new movie. Is this a teaching opportunity? (h/t, News for Christians) Or is it plain old casual entertainment? Don't ask me.
Tuesday, April 4. 2006
 We are working on fixing it. Somehow, we have been seeing more and more searches for "farm porn sex" coming through.
Somehow something somewhere listed us as a farm porn site. We are not. We do not even look at farm porn sites. Admittedly, we once considered becoming a farm porn site to stiffen up our readership numbers, but decided against it for no good reason at all. Still, ya gotta admit that is one sexy-looking 1950 Farmall Model C - in the nude.
On Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 AM, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.
France: ongoing strikes, and the CPE seems to be dead Zarquawi has been impeached. Tom Bowler takes on the WaPo's campaign against the war, and concludes: ...is it worth the fight? The answer yes, we have no choice but to fight. We will fight the jihadists at a time of their choosing or at a time of ours, but we will fight them. Unfortunately, the Post isn't thinking about them. The Post's fight is with the Bush Administration.
Powerline believes Karsch will be our next Bernard Lewis. High praise. Islam's Imperial Dreams.
 We will never run out of oil. Cafe Hayek, on Venezuela's reserves.
Winchester. New Haven. A very sad day for CT, the home of fine military and personal firearms since the early 1700s. Everybody's talkin' bout it. Will Justice Kennedy become the next O'Connor? "Outside the realm of civil discourse." In my opinion, that is a phrase which applies to manners, but should not apply to rules. Nor do I think those Danish cartoons were outside it - they seemed rather harmless to me. Anyway, Volokh has a couple of fine pieces about NYU and the cartoon spat, all occurring two weeks after the Pres. of NYU gave a stirring speech about academic freedom. Maggie's Farm in the Vanguard Again. We may have been the first to suggest boycotting Borders to try to bring them to reason, but now there is a movement. Bookstores aren't supposed to behave like that. They can sell whatever they want to sell, but they should not offer voluntary dhimmitude in the USA. Captain Marvel 1955 image stolen from Chris's Invincible Super Blog
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