Wednesday, April 19. 2006
I can hear this Down Easter guy thinkin' "I just think I might bring this one home fer myself." 
Indiana Federal Judge upholds voter ID law. How can that be news? How can anyone expect to vote without identifying themselves? Vote fraud in some of America's Democratic Machine cities is famous and well-known. There is no American who does not carry some form of ID, and I have always assumed you needed some to vote anywhere. The chutzpah of the Dems to angrily oppose this is an astonishing admission of devious intent. Working on a tow-boat. A romantic, macho, outdoor career with echoes of Mark Twain. CSM Some scientists need to determine to what extent the hot air from Al Gore's speeches contributes to global warming. I have become convinced that this "issue" is primarily ideological/political. The only good outcome of this movement might be to hasten the construction of new nuclear power plants. Like others of the limo liberals who don't need real jobs - Robert Kennedy Jr. comes to mind, these bozos, who couldn't pass Physical Chemistry - a highly cool area of rigorous study - march off with their junk science as if experts, to make themselves feel, and appear, virtuous. "Is a stay at home Mom a traitor to feminism?" Sort of a bizarre question, since it postulates 1) a war, of sorts, and 2) that having a career is the highest expression of being human, when what it mainly is is a way to pay the bills. Cathy Young at Reason takes another look at careers vs. Mommys. As a bit of a Momma's Boy myself, I side with the Moms. The Death Cult of Islam takes another step forward. Gateway. If you want to be a suicide bomber, get in line. They have 70 already waiting to get into Israel.
Maggie's Farm has always been fond of our fellow blogger over in the UK, Norm Geras. Despite some different points of view (Norm seems to be a socialist, more or less, with that naive socialist faith in government experts and power - not that Norm himself is naive in the least), his blog has always been thoughtful, fact-based, responsible, and respectful of good-faith disagreement. (Like everyone else including us, Norm would be happy with any government run by people with the integrity, spirit, faith in the individual etc , that we want to have ourselves. A dream.) Now Norm and his pub pals have put together the Euston Manifesto, which needs to be perused rather than summarized. However, in tone it is a progressive manifesto which rejects all of what we at Maggie's consider the loony, anti-American, anti-Western, suicidal, and anti-Israel traits of the Loud Left. A quote from Geras' and Nick Cohen's piece in The News Statesman yesterday, regarding the manifesto: The supporters of the Euston Manifesto took different views on the war in Iraq, both for and against. We recognise that it was possible reasonably to disagree about the justifications for the war and the manner in which it was carried through. We are, however, united in our judgement of the reactionary, murderous character of the Ba'athist regime in Iraq, and we recognise its overthrow as a liberation of the Iraqi people. We are also united in the view that, from the day this occurred, the proper concern of the liberal left should have been the battle to put in place in Iraq a democratic political order and to create, after decades of brutal oppression, a life for Iraqis which those living in democratic countries take for granted - rather than endlessly rehearsing the arguments over intervention.
Read their whole piece. The subject of the manifesto has attracted a great deal of attention, because it offers a path to sanity for the Left, and offers a basis for rational discussion between Conservatives and the Left and between non-Conservatives who take Jihad seriously and the Left. We moderates love and welcome rational disagreement and discussion. We are just sick of the hatred.
Tuesday, April 18. 2006
Whoops, Perhaps We Spoke Too Soon -- Worst Music Video Ever His name, and the name of his children--Jochi, Ogudai, Hulegu, Tolui, Chagatai -- struck fear in the hearts of the fiercest warlords. His mongol hordes, drinking the blood from cuts in their horse's necks to avoid stopping, swept through empires and tribes and established Khanates from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan. The Chinese were child's play; the Great Rus to the north reduced to mere vassals. And now the Awesome and Terrible name of Genghis Khan has been reduced to this: My Spanish is a little rusty, but in the middle, they say "Kunta-Kinte says Hi!" I think that's what it says. I blacked out. Posted by Roger De Hauteville
This looks like a good alternative to a taxi or a car service to the airport: ParkRideFlyUSA.com. Reserved parking, plus a shuttle. It's about time.
Quoted from a piece from Winds of Change, on how bias infects all of our thinking, and decision-making: "So who's right - the decision-makers who claim objectivity or the citizens who roll their eyes? Research suggests that decision-makers don't realize just how easily and often their objectivity is compromised. The human brain knows many tricks that allow it to consider evidence, weigh facts and still reach precisely the conclusion it favors.... People realize that humans deceive themselves, of course, but they don't seem to realize that they too are human."
True - one reason that intellectual diversity is so critically important in public and public trust sectors like the academic social sciences, not to mention the media et. al. Claims that abstract 'professionalism' will trump these tendencies are simply not credible to common sense or human experience. One may realize that one's friend knows a lot about drugs given that she is a highly successful consultant who devises physician marketing programs, with Eli Lilly as her #1 client - but one would be wise to add a grain or two of salt to her explanations about, say, the safety of Prozac re: potential side-effects. Both experimental and anecdotal evidence suggest that this is justified, and wise.
Read his entire piece.
I thought MassBackwards was pulling our leg when he claimed that this was a .410 shotgun. But it is. Details here. It is made by Ares. The below from StrategyPage. 
The conservative divisions on illegal immigration: self-government vs. economic determinism. Auster. Kevin Philips is worried about theocracy. Bogus scare tactics, if you ask me. Why is it creeping theocracy when conesrvative religious folks offer an opinion, but not then leftist religious folks do the same? Enviros are finally coming around to nuclear. That makes sense. Instap. Big White House staff shake-up coming soon. Good idea. United 93. Prager says all Americans must see it, as an antidote to denial.
Monday, April 17. 2006
They worshiped Thor, Odin and Freija once. The very mention of their longboats struck fear in the hearts of Europe and Britannia. They held the Russian bear at bay for centuries. And now, it's come to this - (h/t, Derbyshire at NRO): Posted by Roger De Hauteville
 The top 5% of income earners pay 50% of the taxes in the USA.
The top 10% of earners pay 2/3 of the taxes in the USA.
The top 50% of earners pay 96% of the taxes.
So when they talk about tax cuts for the "rich," which includes a NYC cop married to a nurse, they are talking about the folks who pay most of the taxes. It isn't very complicated. If they can move 100% of the taxes paid by the top 10%, the voters can vote themselves whatever they want for free, paid for by others. A sweet deal, if you want to be a kid all of your life. In my opinion, this is a lousy program. Everyone should pay heartily - it's supposed to be the price of civilization, and the dues you pay to be a member of a fine nation. But I felt the same way when Nixon got rid of the draft. A bad, politically-motivated decision. Everyone should be required to serve their country, and to pay their dues. Period. Including females. And there should be no withholding of taxes - that should not be an employer's problem. We should all just pay, ourselves, to make it clear that it is our money, our dues, our deal, and our country.
Sunday, April 16. 2006
As an Easter story, I love this, from the CSM, about women criminals finding re-birth: Where women find new lives.
From a powerful homily entitled Friendship with Christ by Cardinal Ratzinger, shortly before becoming Pope Benedict last April: The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil. Christ carries in his body and on his soul all the weight of evil, and all its destructive force. He burns and transforms evil through suffering, in the fire of his suffering love. The day of vindication and the year of favor meet in the paschal mystery, in Christ died and risen. This is the vindication of God: he himself, in the person of the Son, suffers for us. The more we are touched by the mercy of the Lord, the more we draw closer in solidarity with his suffering - and become willing to bear in our flesh "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1, 24).
Saturday, April 15. 2006
Johnson at Front Page has a fine piece on the doublespeak of immigration. A simple translation of the language of immigration "reform," at NRO. The Dems are abandoning the blacks for the illegals, says Gay Patriot.A look at past college sports team rape accusations, Revenge of the Nerds by Smerconish. Bob at One Cosmos has written his story of his conversion from liberal to conservative. I have no doubt that it will ring true to many, and it contains most of the themes about we have written over the past year - but Bob writes gooder than we do. One quote: Leftism continues to be a children's crusade against the adult world, and we are in desperate need of adults who will stand up to the children and not worry about trying to be their "friends." As a parent, you simply have to do what you need to do, because children don't really know how to raise themselves. (If I had more time, this would be a good place to expand upon this vis-a-vis Will's comment below on the spirit of rebellion that animates the Left. This rebellion is an inevitable artifact of childhood, and is oedipal to the core. To gratify it is to create a monster.)
Read it all. I agree with John at Powerline, re the trumped-up Rumsfeld pseudo-issue (my bold): JOHN adds: When you're President, you get lots of free advice. Some of it is well-intentioned; much of it is not. Here is why I think so many liberals are anxious for President Bush to replace Rumsfeld: they have staked a great deal on the proposition that the Iraq war has not gone well, and, in fact, has been a disaster. But they are troubled because they are not at all sure that is true. By any reasonable standard, casualties have been low and Iraq's progress toward democracy has been impressive. This doesn't mean the project couldn't still go off the rails; it clearly could. But it is also possible--likely, I think--that the Iraqis will succeed in forming a government, violence will continue to decline, our troops levels will be substantially reduced, and, in a year or two, the consensus will be that the war was pretty successful after all. This, I think, is what liberals fear most. They want President Bush to stipulate, in effect, that the war has been poorly conducted and has been a failure. That's the way in which firing Rumsfeld would rightly be interpreted. This would largely insulate liberals against the consequences if the war does, in fact, turn out to be successful. The same logic, I think, explains why liberals are always hectoring President Bush to "admit his mistakes." What they fear, deep down, is that the President's policies haven't been mistakes at all.
 This is by Charles Spurgeon, and was recently quoted by a commenter at One Cosmos:
God be thanked for the simplicity of the gospel. The longer I live, the more I bless God that we have not received a classical gospel, nor a mathematical gospel, nor a metaphysical gospel; it is not a gospel confined to scholars and men of genius, but a poor man s gospel, a ploughman's gospel; for that is the kind of gospel which we can live upon and die upon. It is to us not the luxury of refinement, but the staple food of life. We want no fine words when the heart is heavy, neither do we need deep problems when we are lying upon the verge of eternity, weak in body and tempted in mind. At such times we magnify the blessed simplicity of the gospel. Jesus in the flesh made manifest becomes our soul's bread. Jesus bleeding on the cross, a substitute for sinners, is our soul's drink. This is the gospel for babes, and strong men want no more.
Image: C. H. Spurgeon, English Baptist preacher (1834-1892)
Friday, April 14. 2006
 Before I head off to do the Stations of the Cross - the most moving ritual in the Christian calendar - let's remember the greatest Republican President, killed 141 years ago today as he relaxed at the theater - one of his favorite diversions, besides memorizing Shakespeare and the Bible, reading the humor of the time, and just hanging out with the remarkable Seward, and his other buddies.
In those days, the President could just stroll over to his friend's houses, or hop on a horse and ride. All summer, he would commute daily, alone on his horse, from the Soldier's Home, until the death threats became too alarming. And I owe the blog a review of Goodwin's bio of Lincoln, which I am finishing now. Can I say "spellbinding" without being cliched? Read it. That guy was one hell of a non-political politician. 600,000 died in the war, which engaged 3 million Union soldiers. The righteousness of the war can still be debated (the popular vote for his re-election was very close, due a strong anti-war, "give-up" faction), but the weight of Lincoln's character cannot. His relentless sense of humor is a revelation, but most of it is lost. His capacity to deal serenely and kindly with political adversaries should set an example for all in that ugly trade. Re the book, three small bits jump to mind, off the top of my head: "If I were two-faced, do you think I would wear this one?" "Revenge is suicide." "I'd rather swallow my buck-antler chair than appoint Chase to the Court, but it was right for the country." ...and one bit, a letter to a friend from his wife, and I paraphrase "Thank God that my darling Abraham was re-relected. I owe over $27,000 to my New York dressmakers, and I could not hope to carry that debt without this job." That was a big credit card debt, back then. Her husband never knew. She was a shopaholic, and never really got over the death of her son. Image: A montage of Lincoln and his Generals. Such a photo-op never actually occurred. They were far too busy, and the wonderful General Grant was the last guy to get in a photo. He preferred sleeping on the ground, in the company of his troops. How Grant tolerated being President, I do not know. Maybe booze helped him get through it.
 I like this piece at One Cosmos as much as I liked Kesler's piece on Passover earlier this week. A couple of quotes:
Faith, on the other hand, is a dynamic engagement with the unknown. Faith, properly understood, is not a cognitive structure or grid to be superimposed upon reality. Rather, it is a psychospiritual probe with which to explore reality--somewhat like the way a blind person might use a cane to to construct an internal image of the dark space around him.
Furthermore, unlike belief, faith should be convertible to knowledge. It is actually a subtle and sophisticated way to gain knowledge that transcends the senses, not a means to provide false but comforting answers and to vanquish curiosity.
Thus, many people of faith are actually "people of knowledge," whereas many so called intellectuals are actually no more than simple "people of faith." You can really see what little genuine knowledge people have when the discussion revolves around something you do happen to know about, whether it is quantum physics or plumbing repair.
and: The spiritually generative lumin being does not merely report reality. Rather, such an individual imparts reality. You might say that they are a door. Or you might say that they are a way. Or perhaps they are even the life.
The whole piece is worth more than a few minutes. Image: Storm of gasses in the Orion-Swan nebula, from the Hubble telescope - a storm due to Bush's global warming, claim experts, possibly even worse than Katrina.
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
America's favorite ground cover, second only to asphalt. It sure does beat grass, because it doesn't get weeds, doesn't need watering, is happy with deep shade, is evergreen, is tough as hell, and doesn't need to be mown. It is an import from Japan. It's coming into bloom right now, around here. The early-waking bees love those flowers. Why a curse? Did you ever try to remove a bed of pachysandra? It's like cleaning terrorists out of Baghdad, except they don't shoot back. 
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.
"You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning
You got a lotta nerve
To say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that's winning
You say I let you down
You know it's not like that
If you're so hurt
Why then don't you show it
You say you lost your faith
But that's not where it's at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it" "Positively 4th Street," released as a single in 1965 and later on the misleadingly-named Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits (while "Like A Rolling Stone" reached the top ten, many of the other songs on the record only topped the charts when recorded by other groups). Download a live version from 1996 here.
 Hey, Ted Kennedy, read this: Man who lets Children Die in Car gets Life.
It is so beyond me how Kennedy gets re-elected. The story of how he avoided prosecution has been long-told. It is true that none of us is without sin, but come on! Even if you're drunk, you save the girl, or you die trying. Every gentleman knows that fun has a price. Image of the Senator from Chappaquiddick's car, with diver, from here.
Steyn on Facing Down Iran. Every American - no, every human - should read this, if they have not already. One quote: If we’d understood Iran back in 1979, we’d understand better the challenges we face today. Come to that, we might not even be facing them. But, with hindsight, what strikes you about the birth of the Islamic Republic is the near total lack of interest by analysts in that adjective: Islamic. Iran was only the second Islamist state, after Saudi Arabia—and, in selecting as their own qualifying adjective the family name, the House of Saud at least indicated a conventional sense of priorities, as the legions of Saudi princes whoring and gambling in the fleshpots of the West have demonstrated exhaustively. Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue—though, as the Royal Family has belatedly discovered vis-à-vis the Islamists, they’re somewhat overdrawn on that front. The difference in Iran is simple: with the mullahs, there are no London escort agencies on retainer to supply blondes only. When they say “Islamic Republic,” they mean it. And refusing to take their words at face value has bedeviled Western strategists for three decades.
Read the whole thing, or remain ignorant.
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