Thursday, November 30. 2006
"I was born in the desert, raised in a lion’s den
I was born in the desert, raised in a lion’s den
My number one occupation, stealin’ women from other men Well, I’m a wanted man in Texas, busted jail and I gone for good
Well, I’m a wanted man in Texas, busted jail and I gone for good
Well the sheriff couldn’t catch me, but his little girl sure wished she could Now the doctor called me crazy, some says I am some says I ain’t
Now the doctor called me crazy, some says I am some says I ain’t
Yes and the preacher man call me sinner, but his little girl call me a saint Well, a couple shots of whiskey, women round here start looking good Well a couple more shots of whiskey, women round here start looking good A couple more shots of whiskey, I’m going down to Minglewood..." "The New Minglewood Blues," as performed by Dylan on June 24, 1996 in Differdange, Luxembourg. The performance takes its arrangement and lyrics directly from the Grateful Dead's live act, the Dead being the authors of this particular version of a song whose roots go back to the mid-1920s Memphis blues scene. Download Dylan's cover of the song here, or view the youtube of the Grateful Dead performing it here. (Minglewood, or Menglewood, was a company mill town north of Memphis with a reputation for wild living.)
I know you all have been waiting eagerly. We have promised this exam for many months, but today is a good day for it. All beasts have been featured on Maggie's Farm. Multiple choice! Answers on continuation page, for you slackers. Here it is: 1. The animal below is a: Holstein, Texas Longhorn, Auroch, Swiss Angus 2. The beast below is a: Shetland Shorthorn, Bison, Yak, Musk Ox 
3. The animal below is a: Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Shorthorn 
4. The animals below are: Black Angus, Holstein, Jersey, Auroch 
5. The beast below is a: Holstein, Hereford, Shetland Pony, Gateway Logo 
6. The critter below is a: Big MF, Brown Swiss, Shorthorn, Polled Hereford 
7. The creature below is a: Holstein, Mottled Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein 8. The nasty creature below is a: Cow, Cat, Goat, Bird 
9. The giant beast below is a: Longhorn, Shorthorn, Spanish, Hereford Bull 
10. The milker below is a: Dark and Stormy, Brown Swiss, Shetland Shorthorn, Limousin 
11. The happy animals below are: Black Angus, Brown Swiss, Polled Herefords, Brown Swiss 
12. This gentle and friendly animal is a: Water Buffalo, European Bison, Cape Buffalo, Yak 
13. A hard one: This breed of beef cattle is: Hereford, Shorthorn. Limousin, Charolais 
14. An Ox is a(n): older bull, older steer, breed of cattle, word for a big cow 15. There are how many surviving species of wild bovines? 3, 7, 12, 17 16. "Polled" means: they grow large horns, they don't grow horns, they are born without testicles, their horns are cut off. 17. This is a: Polled Hostein, Apache Ghost Cow, Limousin, Charolais 
18. Wuzzat? 
Continue reading "The Long-awaited Bovine Final Exam"
 No fresh postings today, because your Editor Dog in Chief, along with most of the Maggie's Farm crew, are working on an annual fund-raising event for our Ducks Unlimited Sponsor's Dinner tonight, and setting-up takes all day.
By 6 pm, we will be ready to receive an onslaught of 180 well-dressed guys with an open bar, and a fine steak dinner later, with about 70 cool raffle items, 30 Live Auction items including stuff like a 10-day African Hunting Safari for four, and 9 days in Morocco for two with a full-time guide, and dove shooting in Argentina for three days. Even a wild boar hunt in Texas, and a traditional layout duck hunt on Long Island, and other equally cool stuff like his-and-her Rolexes, and lots of guns, too. The place will be decorated for Christmas. Like modern-day Christmas, our event is a jolly, earthly, material festivity with a spiritual purpose. For many people on the left and right coasts, DU is not as familiar as it is in the heartland of the US and Canada, but with over 11 million acres of wildlife habitat under protection, and over 800,000 members, it is a big organization, and does nothing but good works, with minimal lobbying, and no political action. Contrary to the impression of some, DU isn't all about ducks - it's all about protection of fragile and threatened habitats which support all sorts of critters and birds. While probably most members of DU rarely hunt, DU does have a bit of a hunting flavor to it. Why? Good hunters know the land, and have a feel for it, like the Indians did. The wise ones know the plants and trees and birds and the geography and the habitats. Hunters are the most serious conservationists, because they really get out there, off the beaten path and into the wild world. Your average "greeny" rarely loses their boot in a bog, or surprises a moose in a meadow, gets near-frostbite in a duckboat at 4 AM in a January snow, awaiting sunrise, or watches a red fox trotting home in the early morning from their tree stand, or even sees a Woodcock twitter through the birches. It isn't an abstraction when a subdivision destroys your favorite grouse cover, or fills in your favorite duck swamp "for the tax revenue". All of us Maggie's Farmers consider DU worthy of our effort and our giving. We consider it part of good stewardship - good citizenship, and it's good fun too. You can read all about DU here.
To grasp the true meaning of socialism, imagine a world where everything is designed by the post office, even the sleaze. P.J. O'Rourke
Wednesday, November 29. 2006
Send a "Thank you" to a soldier. Here. Good job, Mahmood. One less scumbag. Cramer. Mob rule on campus. A summary. (h/t, Instap.) Britney Spears' private parts, at Ace. Sheesh. That's one way to get some attention. But exactly who is Britney Spears? Haha. Canada Tory "cuts" will produce more Paris Hiltons. Small Dead Animals. Maybe more Britney Spearses, too? "How dare Mr. Rangel denigrate my son?" YARGB Why people want to die in hospitals. Kevin MD Standing up for Jesus. SISU
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.
P.J. O'Rourke
 Pelosi sets a new standard for spin, explaining why our robust economy, with zero unemployment, a rising stock market, and no inflation, is an evil Republican scheme. Teapot Tantrums.
More about the physics of tops here.
 When I was 14, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend.
When I was 16 I got a girlfriend, but there was no passion, so I decided I needed a passionate girl with a zest for life.
In college I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency; she was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. So I decided I needed a girl with stability.
When I was 25 I found a very stable girl but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided that I needed a girl with some excitement.
When I was 28 I found an exciting girl, but I couldn't keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. So I decided to find a girl with some real ambition.
When I turned 31, I found a smart ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground and married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned.
I am now older and wiser, and am looking for a girl with big tits.
The kerfuffle about this Richards guy, who I know nothing about and never saw the TV series, who called some hecklers "niggers" in an ill-considered effort to be edgy and funny, just one comment: the joy and sense of confirmation of the race-mongers has been palpable. They feel relief, like being given a gallon of gas to get to the next gas station. For people who build their careers, and base their incomes, on tracking down racism, any public stupidity becomes a cause celebre. It unveils the "dark undercurrent of latent racism", or BS like that. Why? Because nowadays there is so darn little racism in America that race-mongering is a dying profession, like manufacturing buggy whips. So anytime some moron, especially an actor or some similar fool, says something stupid, it has to rise into a very BIG DEAL. Race-mongering has become a very desperate career - and that is a good thing for America, as long as we do not take it seriously when Jesse and Al find an excuse to get themselves in the news again. In an era when Condi Rice is Secretary of State, and Obama is running for President, the racial witch-hunting seems a bit silly, and dated. America has reason to be proud to be the most post-racism nation on the planet. We have become a "content of our character" country, as MLK dreamed.
On this day in 1940, Lieutenant Newgass, RNVR, did something extraordinary. New bio of De Toqueville, reviewed in The Economist here. Bunch of good mil quotes, more here. Sample: When the pin is pulled Mr. Grenade is not our friend. — U.S. Marine Corps It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed. — U.S. Air Force Manual
What do women do almost twice as much as men? RWN. Duh. What can Dems do with their new power? Barone. They may want to turn us into France, but not quite yet. Carbon taxes are modern-day Papal indulgences. Crittenden. Imams On A Plane. More on the strange Imams. Lib. Leanings. Only a moron would get on a plane with those jerks. The maneuver is this: make 'em feel too PC to ask to get off. My opinion: Get the hell off. Who cares? Would you rather be polite and dead, or rude and alive?
Tuesday, November 28. 2006
 The fire next time. One big meteor did it. But the earth recovered, and not all that long ago. This should be reassuring to the doom and gloomers. Not to worry, Greenies: one day, the cockroaches will rule the earth and the nasty humans will be extinct. Gaia will be lovely once again.
What's the deal with "corporate responsibility"? I don't know. Who does? Samizdata NYT discovers that income effects job choices. Sometimes, yes, but not always. How stupid are they down there? Conspiracy. In freedom, you make your own decisions for your own reasons. Money matters to lots of people, NYT. Money is fun, and gives you choices in life. More good stuff in the same vein from Asst Village Idiot: Financial activities have financial payoffs. Social activities have social payoffs. Spiritual activities... oh, why bother. There seems this unaccountable desire to mix these categories. Because the activities of people besides the CEO might be more socially important or spiritually important, people think it is immoral that they be paid less.
Markets apply for work, too. It has to do with how much economic value you add to an enterprise. This is news? If you don't want to make a lot of money, fine - wonderful. You are free to chose what you do, but grown-ups don't bitch about the consequences of their choices. "Behavior associated with a security probe". Maybe those Imams were doing a security probe. Is that paranoid?
A couple of happy Maggie's Farmers, up north, out of the brush and on the highway: 
 What does one do with 50,000 DVDs that nobody wants? Hey Al, we have some ideas for ya. I'll take about 30, for Superbowl beer coasters. Recycling, ya know? It saves the Earth!
Chicago doesn't want Christmas linked with the nativity. Are they insane? Wizbang. Hey, Chicago! Christmas is a celebration of Christ's birth, and the annual reminder of the possibility for Christ to be reborn, in each of our hearts, to make us fully human. What planet do they live on, out there? It's not even Advent yet, and the baby Jesus is scaring the bejesus out of them. If the baby is scary, how about the adult? Never believe the AP. One example. Gateway "Supremes tell NYT to pound sand." Wizbang again Were those Imams on the airplane trying to provoke a reaction? Sure sounds like it. You wouldn't get me on that airplane. Rick Moran agrees - so we must be right! Con Law: The "informal process." Never heard of that before. Who made that up? Socialized medicine update: Worstall
Being willing to give away other people's money is not really a sign of personal compassion. Betsy, in a piece on charity and political orientation
The editor asked me to comment, but I don't have the time this morning. Neo just couldn't resist a few ad hominem jabs at Nixon, no doubt due to her past, but just read it, at Neoneocon. It is relevant to today.
 The Vikings are returning in their ships to Ireland, reports Blue Crab. Very cool, but it's not really a very difficult passage, in good weather.
The Norsemen terrorized the British Isles during the dark ages, raping, burning, killing and pillaging...all the fun stuff Vikings liked to do, but also settling and colonizing, to some extent, until the French-speaking Norsemen of Normandy finally took the whole place over in 1066, more or less. Monks huddled on top of inaccessible places like Skellig Michael to elude them, and dedicated their lives to prayer and the copying of the ancient classical writings. We first learned about Skellig Michael on the old PBS Civilization series by Lord Kenneth Clark (that was good TV - every kid should see it). And then more in Thomas Cahill's wonderful How the Irish Saved Civilization. I like all of Cahill's stuff, especially Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus. I have been to Skellig Michael. Took the little fishing boat out there and climbed those endless narrow stone-cut, railing-less, acrophobia-inducing steps almost to the top, where their stone huts still sit in the wind and clouds. Would not recommend going to Ireland without going down there. Image: A view from Skellig Michael.
Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It's not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights -- the "right" to education, the "right" to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery -- hay and a barn for human cattle. There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences. P.J. O'Rourke
Monday, November 27. 2006
 Intelligence at work, from the Telegraph (h/t, Protein Wisdom):
To understand the life-or-death significance of what the Pope does and says when he arrives in Istanbul, it is necessary to see this confrontation for what it is. This will involve some traumatic re-adjustment for most of the opinion-forming class in Britain. The first assumption that will have to go is the premise that Islamist terrorism can be understood in pragmatic, politically rational terms: in other words, that it can be addressed with the usual mechanisms of negotiation, concession and amended policy. The most readily accepted version of this is that a change to our policy in the Middle East will remove the grievances that “fuel” Muslim terrorism. The Cabinet has apparently been advised that all foreign policy decisions over the next decade should have the goal of thwarting terrorism in Britain and that this should involve “a significant reduction in the number and intensity of the regional conflicts that fuel terror activity”. So Britain is contemplating constructing a foreign policy, specifically in the Middle East, that is designed to give in to terrorist blackmail.
Well said. Why is it so difficult to understand that it's not about "grievances"? It's just old-fashioned imperialism, with a religious inspiration. Phony grievances have been used as excuses to rationalize warfare forever. Trojan War, for one. Editor's note: Speaking of the Pope visiting Istanbul, Tangled Web reminds us of how Constantinople "evolved" into a Moslem city. Yes, 1453 was a very "evolutionary" year for Constantinople: evolution by scimitar. You "evolve" quite a bit when your head is cut off. Image: Yes, the Hagia Sophia, The "Mother Church," the "Church of Holy Wisdom". Visit it, before you die. It's worth the trip.
This about sums it all up, for me. From a piece at View from 1776: The Constitution created a government of limited power for a religious and moral people. Political power was to be curbed by citizens’ God-given, inalienable, natural-law individual rights to life, liberty, and private property. As the English Glorious Revolution of 1689 established, when a ruler arbitrarily contravenes those rights, he has broken the social compact and thereby forfeited his right to rule. The paradigm of American liberal-progressive-socialists, in diametric contrast, is an authoritarian government that has both the right and the duty to determine how people should live their lives and even what thoughts are to be permitted expression in education and public forums. In the government envisioned by liberals, the “public good,” as defined by liberals, always trumps individual rights.
In those aspen groves. What's a "Woodcock"? Tasty little things. 
France's No Go areas. Mapped! (h/t, No Pasaran) A Trojan Horse. How difficult is it to get into places with one? Youtube Racism and redistributionism: It's not what they tell you. Volokh
We see, on average, 1.3 movies per year, so we are not experts. But this new one is good. After 40 years of seeing every enjoyable Bond film, this one preserves most of the Bond atmosphere (beaches, pretty gals, tuxedos) but dispenses with most of the dated stuff, like car chases, boat chases, helo chases, shaken not stirred, and gizmos (and, alas, Q died). And this one makes Bond a bit less of a cartoon character (he falls in love, he is overly-trusting, he bleeds). Still, an excellent male role model. 5/5 barks from the Bird Dog - a memorable thriller.
Sunday, November 26. 2006
 Performance Evaluations:
"This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot." "He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier."
More here. My love-hate affair with Classical Music. Am. Thinker No room at the inn: Moslems take over Interfaith spaces in Toronto. LGF The major flaw in the Stern Report: Env. Economics More "advocacy" scaremongering at The Lancet: Science Evidence (h/t, Point of Law) Are Mormons Christians? Kinda-sorta. (h/t, Smart Christian) Does education cause growth? Or does growth cause education? Or neither? Sounds like a classic post hoc, ergo propter hoc error. BusinessPundit Of course, at Brown, throwing Christian groups off campus. Worldnet . They can't explain why, but it seems to be because they want Christians in the leadership, which is discriminatory. Hmmm. (h/t, News for Christians)
Instapundit posted a link to this piece by Bennett in praise of our interstate highways. They get no praise from me. The romance of the open road? No thanks. Boring as hell. Not only that, the interstates were little more than a boondoggle for the car and real estate business. Why a boondoggle? Because these roads were bought by the taxpayers. The railroads, on the other hand, were paid for by the railroads. The highways created the urban sprawl which all aesthetes and conservation-minded folk, like me, deplore. Only those who live on the coasts know what these highways did to destroy, permanently, natural and agricultural areas - and to damage the railroad industry with government roads. I use them all the time, but I resent their existence nonetheless.
 I'm suing Cisco: Coyote
Tammy Bruce reminded me of William Bradford's hard-won education in basic economics. Yes, socialism failed in 1623. Sense of entitlement: NYT wants to be above the law. Wizbang Trying to hand-off Fallujah to the Iraqis. CSM A school adjusts to transgender teacher in Boston. (h/t,Pajamas) What next? How to persuade a liberal: Auster suggests using an approach used by religion. A quote from his piece: Presuppositionalism’s key insight is that you cannot convince people simply by giving evidence that supports your religion. Their false religion is an entire worldview, i.e., a comprehensive system of thought that has something to say about all aspects of reality. Therefore, those with a false worldview will not draw the correct conclusions from the evidence, and will often misinterpret the evidence itself. What is needed is a direct attack on their worldview, which can be done by showing them that their basic presuppositions cannot account for the facts of reality. And since reality has the characteristics that it does, it follows that their worldview must be false. And you have to attack them at what they believe to be their strong point, because being forced to surrender on a peripheral point will not shake them. Furthermore, you often have to press people to declare what they believe. This is especially important when discussing “religion and politics,” because non-Christians and liberals generally have only a vague idea of their own fundamental beliefs. You have to get them to clarify their position before you can really engage them intellectually.
|
