Friday, September 29. 2006
 "Scientists form group to support science-friendly candidates." Guess who they do not like? (hint: they apply moral criteria to policy...) NYT
Are there Ivorybills in the Fla. panhandle? Maybe. Lawyer Advt. Hall of Fame: "Call me if you hate your spouse like poison." Haha. Guy has a Youtube too. At Overlawyered The EU upholds Hitler's ban on home schooling. I told ya that the EU is a fascist organization. Mayor Bloomberg wants to be everybody's Jewish mother. "Don't eat that." "Don't smoke." "It's raining - put on your rubbers." Absolutely obnoxious, intrusive, and infantilizing of adult citizens. Where does he think we are - England? I agree with Dr. Helen. Are doctors equal? They get paid the same. DB's Rants Education is not subject to market pressures. Why not? Because they couldn't handle it. RWN Sen. Inhofe is fed up with the reception to his entirely reasonable global warming speech. Link to his original speech, and text of his comments on the reaction to his speech above. A quote: I have been engaged in this debate for several years and believe there is a growing backlash of Americans rejecting what they see as climate scare tactics. And as a result, global warming alarmists are becoming increasingly desperate. Perhaps that explains why the very next day after I spoke on the floor, ABC News’s Bill Blakemore on Good Morning America prominently featured James Hansen touting future scary climate scenarios that could / might / possibly happen. ABC’s “modest” title for the segment was “Will the Earth Become Too Hot? Are Our Children in Danger?” The segment used all the well worn tactics from the alarmist guidebook -- warning of heat waves, wildfires, droughts, melting glaciers, mass extinctions unless mankind put itself on a starvation energy diet and taxed emissions. But that’s no surprise – Blakemore was already on the record declaring “After extensive searches, ABC News has found no such [scientific] debate” about manmade catastrophic global warming. ( http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=2374968 ) You have to be a pretty poor investigator to believe that. Why would 60 prominent scientists this last spring have written Canadian Prime Minister Harper that “If, back in the mid-1990s, we knew what we know today about climate, Kyoto would almost certainly not exist, because we would have concluded it was not necessary.” ( http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=3711460e-bd5a-475d-a6be-4db87559d605 ) On Tuesday’s program, the ABC News anchor referred to Blakemore as “passionate” about global warming. “Passionate” is one word to describe that kind of reporting, but words like objectivity or balance are not. I believe it’s these kinds of stories which explain why the American public is growing increasingly skeptical of the hype. Despite the enormous 2006 media campaign to instill fear into the public, the number of people who believe that weather naturally changes -- is increasing.
And This past Monday, I took to this floor for the eighth time to discuss global warming. My speech focused on the myths surrounding global warming and how our national news media has embarrassed itself with a 100-year documented legacy of coverage on what turned out to be trendy climate science theories. Over the last century, the media has flip-flopped between global cooling and warming scares. At the turn of the 20th century, the media peddled an upcoming ice age -- and they said the world was coming to an end. Then in the 1930s, the alarm was raised about disaster from global warming -- and they said the world was coming to an end. Then in the 70’s, an alarm for another ice age was raised -- and they said the world was coming to an end. And now, today we are back to fears of catastrophic global warming -- and again they are saying the world is coming to an end. Today I would like to share the fascinating events that have unfolded since my floor speech on Monday.
Read the whole story (link above) and find out. "Experts" oppose use of DDT to attack malaria, here. (h/t, Junk Science) Smart bloggers are always talking about Karl Popper. Who was he? Wiki. I only knew him from his concept of falsifiability - a criterion for a scientific claim (ie, it includes criteria by which it may be modified or disproven).
Ya gotta love that argument. It's our fault! They should be upset. We fight back. That is a surprise? Maybe it is, after Clinton/Albright. Let them die angry. Why not? Allah loves that. Let's make Allah happy! Hey, Ned Lamont! Let's please Allah! Change your ideas, and let them die. They want it, and need it, badly. Be multicultural, and consider their feelings! Let's give them the deaths they long for. It's a form of "caring," plus it meets their emotional needs.
 Maggie's Farm endorses Joe Lieberman for CT! Lieberman is leading Lamont in the polls. Good. We may not care for left-wing Lieberman too much, but at least he understands the critical challenge of the time. But quit whining, Joe. Speak out!
LaShawn reconsiders the concept of "birthright citizenship." Counting terrorists. Haha. Who can count them? Somebody must be counting them, if Bush is increasing their numbers. RWNH How to carefully think through your real estate purchases and investments, esp with respect to financing and mortages. Useful stuff from Maxed Out Mama. Do you want to pay off your mortgage? How Kling went from a leftie to a libertarian. He is not alone. It had something to do with using his brain. Part lll of Dr. Bob's path to God. Need I mention that it is honest and moving? Everything free in America: Pregnant Mexicans border-hopping for the free citizenship and the free delivery. Rational balance and healthy skepticism on climate. The New American. (h/t, Ace) The more people that are married in a district, the more Republican it is. Ten Napel considers this fact. Voter ID. Is there a need for it? Bainbridge opines, and the commenters coomment, many of them interestingly. Why does Britain distrust the EU? For reasons like this one. (By the way, the EU is a latent totalitarian quasi-oligarchic state on the way to becoming a regional tyranny, requiring eventual revolution to repair.) And more on the EU, which is growing weary of its growth and its internal immigrants and economic competition. Why didn't they just stop with the trade agreements, and not be so grandiose? Dalrymple on Evil. Dalrymple needs his own blog - quote from the piece at NER: In his introduction, Professor Hollander speculates as to why Nazi atrocities should, deservedly, be so well known and their lessons so well- absorbed, while those of communism, that are not exactly unknown, and on an even greater scale than Nazism’s (no thanks to Nazism for that, of course, because Nazism was stopped in mid-atrocity), have comparatively so little emotional resonance: an unfortunate fact which it is the purpose of his book to change. Perhaps the difference exists because elements at least of communism still exert an attraction for so many intellectuals, and no one wants to acknowledge that his ideals justified and in part motivated mass murder on an unprecedented scale. Who would not rather deny the meaning of scores of millions of deaths, than abandon his illusions?
From an Amazon review of Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness: Here are some of the most important points of this book:
1) We often exaggerate in imagining the long- term emotional effects certain events will have on us.
2) Most of us tend to have a basic level of happiness which we revert to eventually.
3) People generally err in imagining what will make them happy.
4) People tend to find ways of rationalizing unhappy outcomes so as to make them more acceptable to themselves.
5) People tend to repeat the same errors in imagining what will make them happy.
6) Events and outcomes which we dread may when they come about turn into new opportunities for happiness.
7) Many of the most productive and creative people are those who are continually unhappy with the world- and thus strive to change it.
8) Happiness is rarely as good as we imagine it to be, and rarely lasts as long as we think it will. The same mistaken expectations apply to unhappiness.
Gilbert makes these points and others with much anecdotal evidence and humor.
A pretty happy read, but not as happy as you think it is going to be.
Thursday, September 28. 2006
More Clinton predictions
from Dick Morris. Gateway More of what Condi said: Babalu Oh dear. The Moslems might not like Mozart! Opera cancelled in Germany for fear of Moslems. However, Chancellor Merkel is not in such a hurry to be a dhimmi, bless her. On the subject of Moslems, Capt. Ed highlights a piece by Max Boot called "The View from the Western Street" - about time someone worried about that street. Tim Blair has the updated list of what artists can no longer do in Australia, to keep Moslems from making a mess. Moving on to the lovely and charming Afghanistan, Dr. Demarche contends that, with the Taliban resurgence, whoever wants it most will get it. The White Man's Burden. Jay Tea reconsiders nation-building. How Obama became an overnight millionaire. Hey - it's a good gig, being a Senator, especially the perks and book deals. Gun man Col. Jeff Cooper died. A marriage and family blog a reader sent us: And they lived happily ever after Image: Hotel room view, Fiesole
Tuesday, September 26. 2006
 Linda Greenhouse of the NYT admits it - She's a Leftist and does advocacy journalism. npr via YARGB
"We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda," said Condi Rice. Piece at Captain Ed. Well, the entire NIE report is declassified and was released last night. Sister Toldjah/ I like Viking's summary of the issues, and his links. The top ten lies about the Iraq war. RWN "There he was on live television, the man those who have worked for him have come to know – the angry, sarcastic, snarling, self-righteous, bombastic bully, roused to a fever pitch. The truer the accusation, the greater the feigned indignation." Thus spake Dick Morris, re Clinton, via Sensible Mom, with more at her blog. How to hate Jews like an Egyptian. Unbelievable. LGF The latest crazy church-state case. Volokh's comments. Some fun, and some seriousness, about the AZ 9-11 Memorial. Why AZ, anyway? Michelle An extraordinary piece from Anchoress about Bill Clinton - both tender and tough. And empathic in a way that Bill can never experience.
Dems want to thwart honest voting. Hmmm. If I have to prove my identity to get on an airplane, why not for somethng important, like voting? Heck - everybody suspects that Dem big city politics are dishonest. Why not prove that they are honest? Prof B agrees. I have to show ID when I vote up here. Gun control is inconsistent with liberal values. Correct. (h/t, Massbackwards) And, speaking of guns, Alphecca led me to a gun law blog that was new to me - Gun Law News Who was Pvt. Francis Lupo? Rhymes with Right. PETA doesn't want you to dine on cockroaches. Can I crush them with a fly-swatter, instead? RWN. But dang, they are so good and crunchy and low-fat, I just love to munch them in the morning. Outed as a Jew? Krauthammer on George Allen. Am I mistaken, or did Hillary and John ("I served in Vietnam") Kerry not advertise their Jewish blood? Speaking of Hillary, Jewish or not: Iowa doesn't seem to like her very much. She really isn't an Iowa sort of gal, is she? More dirt on the Lamont family. It's his wife's turn, now. Politics is rough, and nice guy golfer Ned is probably not ready for prime time yet. It's dirty laundry season. Ex-Donk
Monday, September 25. 2006
 Western women don't seem to give a damn about Nazanin.
Did Clinton go postal? Polipundit thinks so, but I strongly suspect that everything Bill Clinton does is calculated for effect and for his advantage - even when appearing to be pissed off. Dino sees it the same way. Which sports car are you? I am a Nissan 350Z. I answered honestly, except I had to pretend to be a woman on the topless question. Adultery as a lifestyle choice. Villainous Company The Swiss get tough on immigration. Smart. Hope they set an example. Ape-man child found. AOL news Ned Lamont under the microscope. Turns out he isn't so fond of unions when he's the CEO. Poor Canada, land of the Loonie. The Loonies are indeed trying to take over. Check out the Little Black Book of sex education, via Dust My Broom. The New Deal and Fascism. Coyote. More women hunters. Is this a good thing? Alphecca WalMart does $4. prescriptions. Are they competing with the Medicare plan? If so, they win. Synthstuff Image stolen from Stumbling
To our visitors from City Journal: We are pleased to have you visiting the Farm. Please check out our blog, while you are here. You might like our mix of topics, and you might want to bookmark us, and to visit the Farm regularly. Gentlemen, start your chainsaw engines: NC homeowners at war against Feds seek to drive Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers from their neighborhoods. Am Thinker. And speaking of birds, an Archaeopterix update. Science Daily Why is Clinton so angry? It is quite clear why. I wish he could be a real man and simply tell the truth. And the truth, most likely, is that he did not see any political gain in going after Bin Ladin. It would have required taking a big political risk - aka leadership: being the leader of the free world requires more than craftiness and slyness. Captain Ed has the right view, I think. Greenleaf, Idaho. Mayor wants every homeowner to be armed. They aren't, already? How many times have we said similar things? East is east, etc. From a useful piece titled Observations on Arabs, via YARGB - good find. One quote: Since the beginning of the Iraq phase of this conflict of civilizations, I've experienced the teeth-grinding frustration of watching both pro- and anti- Iraq sides make the exact same mistake - that of supposing that these people are bascially Americans in funny costumes. In this respect, George Bush and Michael Moore are equally clueless, as was Jill Carroll apparently.
Husock in City Journal takes a look at liberal housing policy. One quote: Polikoff dreams of extending urban relocation programs to thousands more communities across the country. One wonders when or if liberals will recognize that no magic government-housing scheme can solve the real quandary at the heart of Waiting for Gautreaux: the dysfunctional life habits of the underclass. There’s simply no alternative to encouraging marriage and intact families and pressuring the poor to adhere to middle-class norms—and, yes, providing counseling, mentoring, and training to help. One wishes that Polikoff, who seems like a caring person, would take notice of the facts he reports in the pages of his own book.
He is absolutely right. People are not poor and neglectful because of skin color or neighborhood - they are poor or neglectful, or have kids but no husbands, or because they do not function well, or do not run their lives reasonably and responsibly. Occasionally, because of bad luck. And sometimes by choice. The polluting habits of the Lear Jet liberals. Sad but true: jets far worse than cars. How can you tell if a Latino is living near you? It's a short video. Can you teach ballet without touching the student? Doubtful, but the Brit PC Police want them to try. Spiked. Search engine market share: right-clicked from our pal at AlphaPatriot: 
Thursday, September 21. 2006
 77% of Aussies think it is government's role to make them happy. That is the craziest thing I have read this year. Government? Hahahahaha. You'd think they could answer with something at least slightly less stupid, like their spouse, mistress, gigolo. Now their dog - that would make good sense as an answer. My suggestion: government to add Prozac and Grey Goose to the Aussie water supply, and, if that does not work, opium also. What, me worry?
Paul meets Agrippa: An inspiring mini-sermon from Middlebrow. The NYT is advertising itself: Truth and Accuracy. They need another ad line: How about "The Dead-Tree Daily Kos"? Or, as an alternative, "All the News We Want You Morons to Know." Or "Pravda on the Hudson"? The left loves Ahmadinejabbywobby. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But wait. Ahamadinejobby doesn't like at least 50% of them. How many women of the Left have had sexual relations outside of marriage? He would kill them first. Betsy. Is there a single torture the US uses on Jihadists which is not also used in frats? Or just in college? Is this the stuff that has Colin Powell's panties in a wad? Moonbat update from Moonbattery: I pledge allegiance to the Mexican flag, and to the corrupt dump of a country for which it stands,... Also, Mayor Bloomberg wants to PAY YOU to go to the doctor. Dear Mayor B: NYC is lookin' real nice, but leave us ALONE already! We are grown-ups. Are you nuts? How much does the Left hate Christians? Quite a lot. RWN Enforcement of borders is what Americans want. It's our country. Just One Minute shows Kaus, getting it right. The regrettable discrimination and double standards in our schools. Gal teachers can play, but not guy teachers. What the heck? RWHowler NPR getting long in the tooth. What's the average age of their tax-subsidized listeners, anyway? And Squaring the Boston Globe is right - their men sound like they have no testicles and never played a sport. It's wierd, really. The Scarecrow Syndrome. The dumbing down of education isn't an accident: it's an agenda. Just give the slow ones a diploma and tell them to get a job and to quit wasting the teachers' time. Here's the plan unfolding, in the UK. Samizdata. Some farm workers are crapping in the field, on your organic spinach. Hey, it's organic, right? You want those poor oppressed farm workers to walk all the way to the toilet? That's cruel. Daily Pundit has it. A quote from Coyote Blog: The US does harm when we fail to live up to our values. Radical Islam does harm when they successfully pursue what they value.
Whole piece here. Want to go hunting in Canadanistan? They should welcome our dollars, and our recreational tourism, right? Look at this BS. To add insult to injury - you need to print it out on 8X14. Who are they kidding? Do I look like a lawyer? Mr. Harper - please fix this travesty. Thanks, pal. All I am bringing is a damn 12 ga s/s for grouse. For heaven's sake! Finally, we get a fence, not amnesty. I'd be surprised if the fence doesn't pass both houses. Poli. Honestly, I'd like amnesty for every wrong I have ever done, but no-one is offering that to me.
Wednesday, September 20. 2006
Bush speaks up for America at the UN. Quit the terror - we want peace. It's the right message. Comments in the NY Sun. "They say that it's the institution..." Thinkin' about blaming it on "the system," at Asst Village Idiot. One quote: The Zen koan "The Tao that can be described is not the real Tao," applies here. The system that can be described is not the real system. Better to start from the idea that there is no system at all.
Free Willy Nelson! Does this explain his politics? Protein From the author of Path to 9-11, Cyrus Nowrasteh: In July a reporter asked if I had ever been ethnically profiled. I happily replied, "No." I can no longer say that. The L.A. Times, for one, characterized me by race, religion, ethnicity, country-of-origin and political leanings--wrongly on four of five counts. To them I was an Iranian-American politically conservative Muslim. It is perhaps irrelevant in our brave new world of journalism that I was born in Boulder, Colo. I am not a Muslim or practitioner of any religion, nor am I a political conservative. What am I? I am, most devoutly, an American. I asked the reporter if this kind of labeling was a new policy for the paper. He had no response.
Whole piece at Ed Driscoll Experts want to move the Mississippi to save New Orleans. Why not. What the heck? It's just water, right? NYT Science News Wish I had written this, quoted from a piece by Malzahn in Spiegel Online: One thing should be kept in mind, however: The often violent protests that erupted in the Muslim world in the wake of the cartoon controversy have often been manipulated and fuelled by Islamists. The bile currently being flung at the pope is no different. But the attacks against the pope are especially grotesque. The severe criticism -- often coupled with threats of violence -- directed at the speech held last Tuesday by Benedict XVI is not just an attack on the head of the Catholic Church. The malicious twisting of the pope's words and the absurd allegations made by representatives of Islam represent a frontal attack on open religious and philosophical dialogue. That so many in the Muslim world joined the protests against the pope merely show just how influential Islamist extremist groups have become. The political goal of the Islamists is clear: any dispute between Christianity and Islam must obey the rules handed down by political Islamism. Bending to this demand would be a mistake -- indeed it would be tantamount to turning one's back on freedom of expression and opinion. What will come next? Perhaps a complaint that Allah feels insulted by the numerous European women who don bikinis during a summer trip to the beach. It could be anything really -- militant Islamists will always find something. But the response needs to be firm.
Big Supermarket is Watching You. How stores study buying behavior to get you to buy more. Science News My father asks for nothing. He was a ball gunner on a Liberator. Sippican Dennis Prager interviews Howard Zinn. I won't quote from it, but you have to read it. Unbelievable. They let this bozo write textbooks? His knowledge of history seems so...um... incomplete. Or selective? Almost like he had an agenda or something? And we feature yet another supposed historian with selective memory of what he learned in school. This is Rick Moran quoted from his piece on Juan Cole's comments on "Moslem sensibilities": Shooting old women in the back, burning churches, and threatening the life of the leader of a billion Catholics is an excellent demonstration of Muslim “sensibilities” I must say. Cole’s analysis is spot on. Who woulda thunk it? All the burning, and killing, and screaming, and gouging, and stabbing is the fault of the West and our mean old ancestors who told the fanatic’s ancestors that their religion was dirt. Failing that, it is the legacy of those superior airs put on by the Brits and the Frogs that is causing our Muslim brothers so much pain. Of course, the good professor conveniently forgot to mention the most famous footstools in history – the Ottomans – and their bloody, inhuman rule over the Middle East. By the time Napoleon saw the pyramids, the Ottoman’s had made themselves at home in the region for nearly 300 years. Known as “the sick man of Europe” the Ottoman’s proved that they not only could out-atrocity the west on any given day, but also proved that they could be pretty damn good colonial oppressors themselves even when they weren’t feeling 100%. Of course, the Ottomans didn’t worship Jesus. They didn’t recognize the Pope’s authority. They never saw the inside of a synagogue (except to set fire to one), nor did they worship, Bal, Babel, Ra, Isis, or any other regional deity. They followed the teachings of the Prophet Muhammed.
Don Surber makes the case FOR pork-barrel spending. Don - that argument is 100 years old, from the days when they didn't have so much of our money to play games with. It is ours, remember. We earned it. Your argument, Don, is that politicians are slimy jerks for whom the pork greases the wheels. I am sure that that is true. To think like an Islamist, you have to take a time machine to the Dark Ages. Few of us can do this. Quote from a piece by Eric at Classical Values: There's a crucial difference between the West and its attackers: the bottom line is simply that we in the western world don't act that way. We don't riot when insulted; we don't burn when inflamed. That difference is what we in the West naively call civilization. We tend to assume that all people want to be civilized. The enemies of civilization don't. They want to kill us. For things like looking at the wrong pictures. For quoting obscure Byzantine emperors. And what do we do? We apologize, because among civilized people, an apology is seen as the civilized thing to do when someone is offended. The problem is, uncivilized people see apologies as weakness. No number of apologies is ever enough. Which means one is too many.
Image: That would be a Jersey Cow. A good looking, smaller, and manageable breed of dairy cattle. Read about their history here.
Tuesday, September 19. 2006
 Sweden makes a right turn. We have mentioned many times to what extent the Swedes seem to live in a fantasy world of nanny-state dependency which sucks the drive, courage, and initiative out of all but their most ambitious - who often leave the country. Nanny state ponzi schemes only work with growing populations, which they do not have. Plus their voters seem to have no awareness of how wealth is created. Plus they are headed towards becoming a Moslem country in a few decades. This event may be a sign of sanity. There's a Swedish lovely on the right, posing sans burkha.
Speaking of Europe, an interview with Dalrymple at Brussels Journal. One quote: Paul Belien: Mr Dalrymple, you are a well-known analyst of the cultural disease of our society. What do you see as the main problem? Theodore Dalrymple: The underlying problem is a lack of purpose, a lack of feeling of belonging to anything larger than one’s own little life. This gives rise to quite a large amount of social pathology. PB: Does this have to do with immigration? Does the problem lie mainly with second generation immigrants? Or do we find the same problem among our indigenous population, the young people, as well? TD: I think it is our indigenous population which suffers from a lack of purpose. They have no religious belief. Quite a large proportion of the population does not derive any selfrespect from having to work for a living because some people are no better off if they work than if they do not work. They also have no cultural and intellectual interests. Therefore they do not feel they belong to any larger project than their private lives. PB: Isn’t it paradoxical that this is happening in a time where people tend to study longer and be at school longer than any time before in history? TD: What I am saying is not true of everybody, of course. I am talking about a section of the population. However, and unfortunately in Britain anyway, the so-called educational system has become a means of reducing youth unemployment, rather than providing people with either vocational training or intellectual and cultural capital which is of use to them throughout their lives. So the vast expansion of tertiary education in Britain – the government wants fifty per cent of the population to go to university – is just another means of disguising unemployment.
Islam proselytizing on the Internet. Bird of Paradise wonders where the forceful Christian response is. My guess is that many Christians just cannot get too excited about the idea of debating the merits of different religions, these days. Maybe we need some C.S. Lewises of the internet. On second thought, we could use some more of him, anywhere.
Monday, September 18. 2006
(h/t, No Pasaran, and Cox and Forkum) Terror fund-raising in Boston. Solomonia. Hey, Carl. We love your books, but what is this baloney? Babalu A quote from a predictably intelligent Oxblog piece: A bit ham-handed perhaps, but one might even have argued that in the second aspect here we have a respectful pope attempting in a somewhat bumbling manner, and without the political grace of his predecessor, to engage theologically with the Islamic tradition and its contemplation of God - just the sort of engagement between West and East people of good will ought applaud. It seems to me in this second regard the pope is attempting a dies academicus between religious traditions, which is something much more clever and respectful than the saccharine anodyne of most interreligious activity as it tends to be conducted. It's at any rate in a different register of intellect and intention to 'islamic fascism', altogether.
So mixed reviews, but I'll step in for partial defence of the pope, to note what he was doing was a bit more complex than slathering the Qur'an in pork fat.
Foreign-trained docs taking over US primary care. Kevin MD Hey, Pope. Quit apologizing. Bird of Paradise Evil Repubs gain in polls. Pretend to seek peace. That's the gimmick. Not very sneaky, unless you are an MSM, or a dhimmi. Betsy. We all love peace. Vote Dem and Die. Dems still trying alternate appeals to voters, besides national security. Ignore those Moslems - we'll give you a free doctor. Confederate Yankee says what we all know, but, in modesty rarely say: Don't mess with Texas - meaning the US. We have been gentle thus far. Google ordered to remove French and German newspapers. Good riddance! Author's rights. For all of you would-be engineers, an update on the Tacoma Narrows bridge from Dr. Bob The difference between a dog's breakfast and a dog's dinner, Tweedlee Dum and Tweedlee Dee, and related topics. Althouse. Want a dobro? Know exactly what they are? Synthstuff. Gaghdad Bob takes a look at the deep sickness: Fascism coming to America. Be very very afraid. Armstrong at The Guardian blames the West: Our tradition of hating Islam. What? A Saddam and Al Quaida update: The Wide Awakes New York Times denounces the Pope. Guess they didn;t read his speech either. View from 1776
 Editor Bird Dog emailed me with a quote from a friend, who said that this was no battle of civilizations, but a battle of civilization against barbarism.
Did any of the protesters read the Pope's speech? I doubt it. I doubt that the entire speech was even translated. If they did, they would have seen, in Pope Benedict, a Christian heart at work and at thought, seeking connection, respecting other faiths, and opposing violence. Via Dino, some sanity from the Aussies: “We live in a world of terrorism where evil acts are being regularly perpetrated in the name of your faith,” Mr Robb said at the Sydney conference. “And because it is your faith that is being invoked as justification for these evil acts, it is your problem. You can’t wish it away, or ignore it, just because it has been caused by others. Instead, speak up and condemn terrorism, defend your role in the way of life that we all share here in Australia.”
Moslems threaten war over Pope's remarks. Ahem. YNET. And guess who was behind the Pope? The Joooos, of course. Human beings do not kill nuns. Period. As of now, my efforts at "understanding" have ended. If the Moslems ended their efforts to kill the infidel, there would be no more violence in the Middle East. Also, heap big update on the Pope story at Anchoress. And you can scroll down for Bird Dog's post yesterday: "Not the same god." Image: Jihadists discussing some of the fine points of a subtle theological discussion of the role of reason in religion and faith.
Sunday, September 17. 2006
 Spain outlaws skinny models on catwalks. Talk about intrusive government. However, nanny state France refused to follow suit: the fashion business is powerful in Paris. I think the French model to the right, from Drudge, looks like a skelaton, but it's not the government's problem. (Would somebody please take this gal home and feed her some fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn bread? With a few beers? And maybe some ice-cream?)
Looking to be offended, and using it in a loony manner: Moslems and the Pope. The Pope said nothing offensive, and asked for an end to religious violence. CAIR blasts Pope - LGF. Moslems go berserk - My Way News. Moslems call for beheading of Pope - SDA. (Of course.) In the words of Confederate Yankee, "it remains to be seen how many must die as Islam proves how peaceful it is." The many Dem slogans for 2006: Viking. (I like the Repub slogan - "Vote Dem and Die.") Time for Jews to flee Europe? Joshuapundit thinks so. Holy Wooly Mammoth blood! A huge and very cool archeological find, in Canadadanistan. Synthstuff. Wish I could assist with the dig. Blair slams anti-Americanism. Spot on, Tony. I'd love to be a crim in Britain - they can't shoot you, they won't lock you up, and now they cannot even chase you! You might fall and hurt yourself! What do they put in the water in the UK? Or is those Frenchie-Norman genes? Note to American and all world-wide crims: move to Britain, and live the good life. (h/t, our pals at Tangled Web) Heard any voices in your head lately? Apparently many people do, and enjoy it. Strange. I hear plenty of thoughts, but nothing outloud. Quote from Glenn Reynolds: One might almost think that feminism has become nothing more than a subset of the Democratic Party's activist base. Actually, that has become so obvious that even Maureen Dowd managed to figure it out when she famously commented: "Feminism died in 1998 when Hillary allowed henchlings and Democrats to demonize Monica as an unbalanced stalker, and when Gloria Steinem defended Mr. Clinton against Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones."
New York Times conspiring to cover up future crimes (of their own). Jim Miller
Saturday, September 16. 2006
 "Does this offend you? Good." Right Wing Nation
Did you miss the white buffalo? Wish it had been born on Maggie's Farm, for the traffic to the blog, which is our humble vegetable stand on the roadside. Our Indians go nuts over this sort of thing. The Great Spirit and all that. Gotta respect other religions, but what importance is skin color? I call it "animal racism" - I thought white was bad. Anyway, bring drums! India has too many people. Not doubt. But it also seems to have too many elephants. How could you have too many elephants? Hee hee hee. Our post on the Praying Mantis and rough sex (linked on left on recent essays) has gotten tons of hits for "rough sex" searches. Good grief. Sorry for the disappointment, creeps: It's about BUGS! Free advice to those people: Get a nice girlfriend, and treat her real nice and special, and quit the internet perverse BS. Life can be good. Who wondered how corrupt New Jersey politics are? Instapundit. Gee whiz. I thought these hospitals were non-profits. New York Presbyterian Hospital donating to Dem PACs. WTH? Did you call your Senators yet to support Bolton? Info here. He's the only sane human at the UN. An easy 5 million. Find Adnan, last seen house-hunting in Texas with a Mexican consular ID. Of course. Hahaha. Can't scare me, morons. Moslems threaten West yet again. LGF. And now the French are in their sights - because they are weenies. Polipundit. They will crumble like Roquefort. Speaking of Moslems, Ned Lamont has spent, thus far, 5 1/2 million of his own money on his campaign. Chump change for the average limo liberal. Hey, Ned! That money would go a lot further towards helping CT via helping charter schools for the poor kids. Life imitates art. The Firesign Theater already did the "Marxist Martyrs High School, " thirty years ago. Canada catches up. Tee hee. Out-to-lunch. Lefties ignore reality, believe what they like. Perfect example, at Norm's normblog #158 Profile. Yo - Kumbaya, Comrade!! Hope they don't let Clare vote, though. A quote: What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > The concept that all or some humans are by nature selfish and violent.
Open those eyes, Clare. You sound like a sweet lady, but...ummmm....maybe a bit dreamy? Criticism is not censorship. Precisely. Betsy VDH on the Dem's hysteria, which I think is correct: Why this exaggeration and shrillness? It is frustration from having lost the Congress, the Presidency, the Supreme Court and the majority of the state legislatures and governorships. Frustrations follow from learning that a cobbled together coalition of gay marriage advocates, radical feminists, abortion on demand supporters, the old race industry emblemized by Jesse Jackson, as well as the radical pacifism of the leftwing blogs—all that only garners 45% of the popular vote—unless there is a Republican scandal, a losing war, a recession, or a Democrat running for President with enough of a southern accent to fool voters that he is a true conservative. His whole post here.
Friday, September 15. 2006
 These people can map your Y chromosome, and then map your ancestors' origins. Family Tree DNA
Study: Men more intelligent than women. No comment. Daily Male Mail Mid-60s freakbeat and garage music videos, at Iowahawk Tom Bowler has it exactly right - that old "income gap" comes up on slow news days. He makes the case that illegal immigration is the main cause. In the mood for some more Krugman lies? We think Arnold Kling is great, but this is petulant. Bainbridge George Will on WalMart, via Env. Economics: The median household income of Wal-Mart shoppers is under $40,000. Wal-Mart, the most prodigious job-creator in the history of the private sector in this galaxy, has almost as many employees (1.3 million) as the U.S. military has uniformed personnel. A McKinsey company study concluded that Wal-Mart accounted for 13 percent of the nation's productivity gains in the second half of the 1990s, which probably made Wal-Mart about as important as the Federal Reserve in holding down inflation. By lowering consumer prices, Wal-Mart costs about 50 retail jobs among competitors for every 100 jobs Wal-Mart creates. Wal-Mart and its effects save shoppers more than $200 billion a year, dwarfing such government programs as food stamps ($28.6 billion) and the earned-income tax credit ($34.6 billion).
High-quality piece from Asst. Village Idiot on the culture of political resentment, especially as it emerged around the Clinton administration. One quote: Contrary to the current mythology of the left, conservatives did not have this abiding hate for Clinton from the start. The idea that there were dark forces already at work to undermine his presidency is just crap. Rush Limbaugh had said several nice things about Clinton early on, and even when he was annoyed at his election, took pains to point out several good things that were likely to happen in a Clinton presidency. National Review was grudging in its praise, but had some, and reminded readers to give a duly-elected president a fair shot. There were indeed people who didn’t like Clinton, but not because he was seen as too liberal – Dukakis in ’88 was seen as farther left, and Jerry Brown, a major primary opponent was seen as much further left – but because they thought he was a weasel. Clinton ran as and was elected as a New Democrat: centrist, pragmatic rather than doctrinaire.
Quoted from a recent piece at Blamebush: In order to preserve our democracy, steps must be taken to create a more level political playing field and restore the Spirit of Bi-Partisanship our Founding Fathers envisioned when they wrote it into the Constitution. The logical course of action would be to abolish 9/11 altogether, jumping straight from 9/10 to 9/12 each year. An extra day could be added to the end of the month to make up for it, or we can put it after April 22nd and turn Earth Day into a two-day affair. However, in the Spirit of Bipartisanship, Democrats may have to scrap that idea and offer up some sort of compromise. For instance, Repugs could keep their precious 9/11, in exchange for their cooperation in passing a Congressional resolution that would effectively prohibit all right-wing blogs, hate radio jocks, TV pundits, and politicians from speaking or writing about 9/11 in a manner that makes Democrats look like a bunch of limp-wristed weenies more concerned with protecting the enemy’s feelings than crushing him.
You don't know what "Shoes for Industry" is about? Check here. Image: A 1944 Farmall, Model H
Thursday, September 14. 2006
 Very multicultural. Dutch minister would welcome sharia law. Can you say "dhimmitude"?
Are we a Blog for Bolton? Darn right we are. Dem. Project. But even a Bolton cannot clean up the mess at the UN. Here's Frist's Blogging for Bolton. Click that site, then call your senators. The so-called oil shortage. Polipundit Jimmy Carter wants Lieberman to lose. That endorsement should give Lieberman a big boost. The first Moslem Representative? Ellison update. NY Sun NYT obsessed with successful WalMart, while its own business dies. Sensible Mom Kissinger warns of "war of civilizations," says: "The debate sparked by the Iraq war over American rashness vs. European escapism is dwarfed by what the world now faces. "Both sides of the Atlantic should put their best minds together on how to deal with the common danger of a wider war merging into a war of civilizations against the background of a nuclear-armed Middle East." Kissinger wrote that the big threat lay in the erosion of nation states and the emergence of transnational groups. Iran was at the centre of the challenge, he said, with its support for Hezbollah, radical Shiite groups in Iraq and its nuclear program. Washington must accept that many European nations were more optimistic about talks designed to convince Iran to halt uranium enrichment -- a process Tehran denies is aimed at making weapons, he wrote. But in return, he said, Europe should accept the process must include a "bottom line" beyond which diplomatic flexibility must not go and a time limit to ensure talks did not become a shield for "developing new assaults."
Estonia, today. Who knew? Samizdata Latest stats: who goes to college, etc. CSM Freedom Tower: Why not built yet? Does anyone want to work in a symbol? Reason Nanny Police on the job: Sean Penn, whose no-doubt carefully and deeply thought-out politicial positions are somewhat at odds with those of Maggie's Farm, is in trouble with Canada for smoking a cigarette. Give the jerk a break. Can't a guy have a smoke?
Wednesday, September 13. 2006
 Nobody ever expects the French Inquisition: Guy on trial for doubting the French govt. news. Seriously. I'd be in trouble over there: I would never believe a word of what they print.
Speaking of France, here is the Complete Military History of France. The fantasy of "squandering good will." Betsy Raw sewage in the Jordan. LiveScience The "Swedish model" on its last legs. Meaning the country. No Pasaran A piece of history: from CNN in 1996 Republican leaders earlier met with White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta for about an hour in response to the president's call for "the very best ideas" for fighting terrorism. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, emerged from the meeting and said, "These are very controversial provisions that the White House wants. Some they're not going to get." Hatch called Clinton's proposed study of taggants -- chemical markers in explosives that could help track terrorists -- "a phony issue." "If they want to, they can study the thing" already, Hatch asserted. He also said he had some problems with the president's proposals to expand wiretapping.
An engineer's photo website, from the Bighorn Subdivision of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. Includes discussion of the rule book for engineers. Photo below from Engineer Krug's website. 
Tuesday, September 12. 2006
VDH likes Hillsdale College. Buddhist schoolteachers in Thailand arming themselves against Moslem assaults. Ace Gates of Vienna recalls the heroism of Jan Sobieski, who drove the Moslem army from Vienna 323 years ago. The Examiner takes a look at Mitt Romney as presidential candidate. Translations of two of Pope Benedict's recent homilies. Anchoress Head of Brit Moslem group threatens Britain with two million terrorists. Why I am so hard on Massachusetts. Jay Tea at Wizbang
Monday, September 11. 2006
Wizbang has a fine extraordinary 9-11 summary of pieces and reminiscences. Favorite quote from it, from Dave Barry: “The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people.”
Sturgeon returning to North American waters. This is good. Good meat, good eggs, big fish, and remarkable critters. But Blue Crab Blvd. seems a bit afraid of them. Sen. Rockefeller wants Saddam back. Well, Saddam is still alive. LGF It is the most shameless hypocrisy and distortion on Rockefeller's part, as Captain Ed reviews Rockefeller's track record on the war. A chef complains about those stickers on fruit. I agree. Why the heck do they do that? Does a machine put them on? Bananas are ok, but everything else? Chef Mojo at Daily Pundit China expanding censorship of news. Calif. Yank I missed Part 1 of the miniseries. I see Rick liked it. If interested enough, Allah has pre and post-edit comparisons. When people do something like that, you can see that the blogs truly are an "army of Davids." Ned Lamont was against Clinton's sexual escapades before he was for them. Guess he's learning how to become a politician.
Saturday, September 9. 2006
If you compete, you lose. Ironman Rev. Tod at It takes a church Bill Clinton: "I just want them to tell the truth." Good grief. Hewitt Do Americans play top level college tennis? Not very many. VDARE
Friday, September 8. 2006
 Heading to the beach tonight, probably for the last time this year, looking for the gal on the right. Is she in Newport? No plastic, guaranteed?
Dylan's new record is #1. How nice for the old guy. Zit myths cleared up. Sex medicine. The new meds are great, but a new one for premature you-know-what is a good deal. A good thing for over-excited fellows. Perfect example of the AP making up a non-existent story. Dino "Alternative medicine" is an oxymoron. Duh. DB Where are the Lamborghini's of the trial lawyer's clients? Overlawyered In praise of Enoch Powell. He got it, but he was before his time. Scruton Is life fair? Stumbling, on Hayek: [The function of the price system] is not so much to reward people for what they have done as to tell them what in their own as well as in general interest they ought to do. …To hold out a sufficient incentive for those movements which are required to maintain a market order, it will often be necessary that the return to people’s efforts do not correspond to recognizable merit...
Ethanol starves people of cheap food. The Commons
I was wrong. ABC submits to Clinton pressure on the Path to 9-11. What a world! Our courageous, truth-telling media. The Anchoress is on the story. Who are the super-rich? You and me. From a piece by Boudreaux at TCS: When I lecture to teenagers and twentysomethings here in the United States, I often ask members of the audience to "raise your hand if you're wealthy." Except for the young woman years ago who announced that her father owned a string of 7-11s, no one ever raises a hand. "Oh but you are wealthy!" I insist. "Each of us is among the wealthiest people ever to breathe."
The Tragedy of Conrad Black, in The New English review. It begins: The last three years have not been kind to Conrad Black: his media empire and his reputation are in a shambles, his various properties are being auctioned off by court-order, and his assets and family jewelry are being confiscated – all this, and Black has yet to be convicted of a single crime.
Thursday, September 7. 2006
 Newt's ideas on how to win elections. He is usually correct, and he is right this time. Daily Pundit
Will ABC collapse under Clinton pressure? Doubt it. How would they look? Wizbang/ Clearly some people like to try to suppress speech... Singleton The old racial stereotyping theory gets an updated spin. LaShawn The Bush economy sucks. Unemployment 4.7%. ("full employment" = 5%) Pardon my English 62% of Brits think they should try to make the Moslems happy. Pathetic. View from the Right More on the UN's opposition to the concept of self-defence, this time from Willisms. Edubabble, interpreted. (h/t, Right Wing Nation) Image: another photo of Villa Balze in Fiesole
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