Sunday, November 19. 2006
Here. (H/T. Blair, who has the periscope photo). Warming seems to be attracting more migratory subs to the Arctic to enjoy the balmy weather, but they are being preyed upon by starving bears. Ride Drive a Priapus and Save the Subs!
 Silicone breast implants are back! After a 14 -year ban and how many millions for lawyers, and the destruction of a fine and huge American business. Gwynnie emailed some nice examples, here. Those are truly superb phony tits indeed, but the meaningful use is in breast reconstruction.
Why New York City hated Lincoln as much as they hate Bush today: NY Sun Sudan closing Darfur off to outside world. CSM Bush is not a conservative: The Am. Conservative. What's all this name-calling about? Barone: Is abortion fading as a key political issue?
It's getting to the time of year for trip planning, so it is time for another free, unsolicited advertisement for a travel organization. We love ABC Destinations. With over 40 years of travel organizing, they know where to go and how to get there reasonably. We know - we have used them for Italy, and our friends and relatives have used their organization for Spain, Portugal and France. Check out their site, and their sister site, the very reasonable Club ABC Tours, with whom anyone can afford to travel right, anywhere. Just join 'em. And yes, they are generous donors to our Ducks Unlimited conservation charity, for which we are most grateful. Most importantly, they are good, nice and helpful folks who want to make sure you are delighted with your trip.
Saturday, November 18. 2006
 A city-wide smoking ban, including in your car? Gee, I'd hate to be the victim of my own second-hand smoke. Why not ban everything that you don't like, if freedom is not on your agenda? Right Wing Nuthouse. May we begin with banning overweight women in sweat pants? But what I really want to ban from my town are intrusive, nosy, nanny, smarty-pants, over-controlling jerks who see it as their mission to run my life. Runnning one's own ought to be job enough for anyone.
Killer asteroids. A greater threat to human life than warming or cooling. But is the UN doing anything about it? Is the government? Captain Ed. I'm scared. Nancy Pelosi - or Superman, save me! How not to get your ass kicked by the police. A Chris Rock YouTube (h/t, Hawkins) Smart bullets - Bionic hornet. I want these for my next round of sporting clays. Reminds me of a guy I know who shot crows out of the air with a .22 when he was a kid. Not an easy feat, and not too intelligent in a residential area. Basics of nihilism. Howler Take that dang burkha off! It takes all of the fun out of girl-watching. Viking. And some of those Moslem gals are hot, but, unlike the fundy Moslem fellows, we don't do rape: we enjoy attraction and affection returned - which is admittedly difficult to find. Nobody said life is easy.
Friday, November 17. 2006
 There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government. I stand for the values of freedom, not just the practical benefits. Even if free market economics was not the most efficient system, I'd still be in favor of it because of the human values it represents of choice, challenge, and risk. Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own. Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he uses his own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness, if you want knowledge to be properly utilized, you have to do it through the means of private property. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. I think it's really disgraceful that the Republican Party, which preaches holding down the size of government, should have been, and the Bush administration should have been, such a big spender. I have found no reason whatsoever for having a public school system. You would have a better educational system—elementary and secondary system, if the government were not involved. Industrial progress, mechanical improvement, all of the great wonders of the modern era have meant relatively little to the wealthy.
The rich in Ancient Greece would have benefited hardly at all from modern plumbing: running servants replaced running water. Television and radio? The Patricians of Rome could enjoy the leading musicians and actors in their home, could have the leading actors as domestic retainers. Ready-to-wear clothing, supermarkets—all these and many other modern developments would have added little to their life.
The great achievements of Western Capitalism have redounded primarily to the benefit of the ordinary person. These achievements have made available to the masses conveniences and amenities that were previously the exclusive prerogative of the rich and powerful. The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem. Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit. We cannot expect existing businesses to promote legislation that would harm them. It is up to the rest of us to promote the public interest by fostering competition across the board and to recognize that being pro-free enterprise may sometimes require that we be anti-existing business. A society that puts equality ahead of freedom...will end up with neither. The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom. Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another. President Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."... Neither half of that statement expresses a relation between the citizen and his government that is worthy of the ideals of free men in a free society.
Good memorial for Milton Friedman, at NY Sun - good choice of pieces. (h/t, Powerline). One quote from a Friedman interview: Government today controls something like 40% of the resources of the country. A decent government controls like 10% or 15%. The virtue is that government is so inefficient, it waste great bulk of those resources. If it used those resources efficiently, it could do great damage.
Who walks the walk? Conservatives care more about other people. A new book, via Sister Toldjah "The little one has a big mouth." The Dixie Chicks sing I will never apologize. (h/t, Viking) Quote from Steyn's new book America Alone, via Betsy, via Canada Free Press: "Our enemies are small worms," Adolf Hitler told his generals in August 1939. "I saw them at Munich." In Europe today, as in the thirties, the political class prostrates itself before an insatiable force that barely acknowledges the latest surrender before moving on to the next invented grievance. Indeed, a formal enemy is all but superfluous to requirements. Bomb us, and we agonize over the "root causes." Decapitate us, and our politicians rush to the nearest mosque to declare that "Islam is a religion of peace." Issue bloodcurdling calls at Friday prayers to kill all the Jews and infidels, and we fret that it may cause a backlash against Muslims. Behead sodomites and mutilate female genitalia, and gay groups and feminist groups can't wait to march alongside you denouncing Bush and Blair. Murder a schoolful of children, and our scholars explain that to the "vast majority" of Muslims "jihad" is a harmless concept meaning "healthy-lifestyle low-fat granola bar." Thus the lopsided valse macabre of our times: the more the Islamists step on our toes, the more we waltz them gaily round the room.
From an interview about the Duke case, in Front Page: Rape law needs modification. Until the 1970s, rape law was far too friendly to the defendant; now it is the reverse. Nifong has done many unethical things in this case, but he has been correct in one assertion: under North Carolina law, a jury can convict solely on the testimony of the accuser and her identifying her alleged assailants. That means that, as a matter of law, Reade Seligmann could be convicted—even Seligmann has electronic and physical evidence that can definitely prove his innocence (he's on videotape a mile away at the time of the alleged crime). Duke, as an institution, has revealed a hollow moral core. Seven months into a case of what might be the highest-profile example of prosecutorial misconduct in the last decade, two Duke law professors and two Duke arts and sciences professors have publicly criticized Nifong. Meanwhile, Group of 88 members continues to defend their actions, even to the point of making demonstrably false public assertions about the players. Meanwhile, Brodhead has shown himself unwilling or unable to lead the institution, allowing what amounts to a "separate-but-equal" system to be established in Durham, under which Duke students are second-class citizens. The silence of North Carolina's political and legal establishment regarding Nifong's misconduct is stunning. The media needs to reconsider how it covers rape cases. To a greater extent than any crime other than child abuse, a presumption of guilt exists.
Are we at the point at which everyone gets upset if black guys get railroaded, but it's fine for white guys? Reverse lynching? Whole piece here. (H/T, Dinocrat)
 Discouraging but not surprising stats about US education at Willisms. Take a look.
It's the same old story: spending does not correlate with results. What does school spending correlate with? Teacher's union votes. EDUCATION RESULTS ARE CULTURAL. Math is too hard - can't the kids do something creative? To develop and express their special selves? And to have fun? Abe Lincoln learned more in a one-room schoolhouse with a wood fire and a only a Bible to read and a teacher with a paddle than kids do today. Not even air conditioning! Most American kids want everything to be easy, and they want work to be nothing more than a short path to a second childhood, called "retirement." I suppose the new way is just not the old Yankee view of life. Our material comfort and success is biting us in the behind: it is both a blessing and a curse. Perhaps, in time, this lazy approach to life will lead us back, against our will, to our true gritty selves. Image: a Kansas one-room schoolhouse
The Diebold paranoia is too funny. Michelle. Yes, Kos, of course we all know that Rove can dial into those voting machines whatever results he wants, from his laptop. Rove lost the Senate on purpose, too, of course - everyone knows that.
 "A man of no appearance was arrested..." Tim Blair invented the term, but now it's beginning to get picked up. I think it is hilarious.
Inhofe has the cojones to say it like he sees it, on the climate change scam. What you can do to stop global warming! Blair (again) explains that there is nothing that you can do. And, to top it all off, scientist proposes more pollution to shade us from mean old Mr. Sun. From moderates to moonbats in one week. h/t, Instapundit Ha ha. Everyone loves WalMart. Image: A man of no appearance
Our highly popular cattle-blogging series is close to the end, and the final exam will be coming soon. Don't miss out on the fun! Most popular in the US is the Black Angus. This Scottish breed was brought to the US after the Civil War, and soon replaced the Shorthorns and Longhorns. 
The white-faced Hereford, from Herfordshire, England, is the dominant beef breed in the western US. Herefords were not imported to the US in large numbers until after 1890. The hornless variety are Polled Herefords. 
The Charolais is often used to hybridize with Angus and Herefords: 
Thursday, November 16. 2006
Frontiers deserves a free ad on Maggie's Farm not only because they are a very fine travel company for sporting trips and otherwise, but because they donate generously to our Ducks Unlimited Chapter. Our committee members use Frontiers often. Check out their site. 
 "I can't understand,
She let go of my hand
An' left me here facing the wall.
I'd sure like t' know
Why she did go,
But I can't get close t' her at all.
Though we kissed through the wild blazing nighttime,
She said she would never forget.
But now mornin's clear,
It's like I ain't here,
She just acts like we never have met.
It's all new t' me,
Like some mystery,
It could even be like a myth.
Yet it's hard t' think on,
That she's the same one
That last night I was with.
From darkness, dreams're deserted,
Am I still dreamin' yet?
I wish she'd unlock
Her voice once an' talk,
'Stead of acting like we never have met.
If she ain't feelin' well,
Then why don't she tell
'Stead of turnin' her back t' my face?
Without any doubt,
She seems too far out
For me t' return t' her chase.
Though the night ran swirling an' whirling,
I remember her whispering yet.
But evidently she don't
An' evidently she won't,
She just acts like we never have met.
If I didn't have t' guess,
I'd gladly confess
T' anything I might've tried.
If I was with 'er too long
Or have done something wrong,
I wish she'd tell me what it is, I'll run an' hide.
Though her skirt it swayed as a guitar played,
Her mouth was watery and wet.
But now something has changed
For she ain't the same,
She just acts like we never have met.
I'm leavin' today,
I'll be on my way
Of this I can't say very much.
But if you want me to,
I can be just like you
An' pretend that we never have touched.
An' if anybody asks me, "Is it easy to forget?"
I'll say, "It's easily done,
You just pick anyone,
An' pretend that you never have met!"
"I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)," from 1964's Another Side Of Bob Dylan. Download a live version from the Neverending Tour here, but the defining performance of this song remains the 1966 version captured on the now officially released Royal Albert Hall concert from 1966.
 Capitalism alive and well in Cuba's military. (h/t, Babalu)
The Free drinks Lunch Project is underway. Haha (?) Students who are ignorant of their ignorance. Inside Higher Ed Sample questions for the US Naturalization Exam. Looks rather basic to me. What could you ask that would be simpler? The tug-of-war for the Hispanic vote. Gandelman at Moderate Voice. It's a no-brainer: Both parties want Hispanic votes, while most Americans hate uncontrolled immigration. And now there is a critical mass of Hispanic votes...or future Hispanic votes.
Milton Friedman has died. Age 94. We will be hearing a lot about him and his legacy, which is a good thing for sure.
 We do not like to make too much of this, because much of the trivia of life is absorbing, amusing, diverting, fascinating, obnoxious, therapeutic, strenuous, draining, difficult, challenging, growth-promoting, necessary, dutiful, etc. We like to do dumb things that don't matter, and to read silly books too.
But our penultimate rule about decisions in life is the Deathbed Rule: "How much will this matter to me when I lie there dying?" (I'd have to say that our ultimate rule/question is, or should be, "Am I aligned with God's will?")
Dull Men's Club. Right up my alley.
Video of Roy Beck's speech on immigration, via Pajamas: Great stuff. Don't miss it.
Stolen from Mr. Free Market, without permission: 
Bush faces choice between two kinds of bipartisanship. Newt at Opinion Journal Note to bosses: close your door. And other advice, at Reasoned Audacity Sarbanes-Oxley will be fixed. That is a good thing. Citizenship tests. Too difficult? Let the whining begin! And look who's complaining, when they should be grateful as hell. (h/t, And Rightly So) Pat Conroy: Confession of an American Coward, at Dem Project
Wednesday, November 15. 2006
 I have supported Mr. Rumsfeld a long time, and never saw a clear summary of the other side of the story. General Zais' story below resonates with me from my Vietnam experience as a minor player under a really incapable SECDEF, Rob't "Yo-Yo" MacNamara. Zais says its the Pentagon civilians who want the expensive techno-toys, but I'd say "No way!" It's the Air Force and Navy brass who have nothing better to do than push civilian appointees around - remember Jack Nicholson's line in "A Few Good Men"? "I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said, "Thank you," and went on your way.
This gets said to every civilian greenie in the Pentagon. I remember when Dave Packard became Assistant SecDef, and a General said he felt reluctant to bully a guy with (at that time) $400 million, as though not bullying was something remarkable. After reading this, I think a lot of things are clearer, even if it is an advocacy piece; at worst, it deserves a cogent rebuttal, but I don't somehow expect I'll see one........... US Strategy in Iraq Mitchell Zais, Ph.D. BGEN, USA (Ret.)
Honors Convocation Newberry College 9 November 2006 Many of our faculty and staff have asked me my views about the current situation in Iraq. A few students have also asked. So I thought I would take this opportunity, two days before Veterans' Day, to provide you with some insights as seen from the perspective of a combat veteran who served as the Commanding General of US and allied forces in Kuwait. I also served as Chief of War Plans in the Pentagon and have spent considerable time studying national security affairs, including a fellowship at the National Defense University. So while it's true that everyone has opinions about Iraq, I would argue that not all of those opinions are equally well-informed. This talk will address our strategy in Iraq. I won't talk about what the next steps should be, what the long-term prospects for peace in Iraq are, or how we can best get out of the quagmire we are in. Those might be other talks. For today I'm going to focus on strategy Let me begin by saying that most of our problems in Iraq stem from a flawed strategy that has been in place since the beginning of the war. It's important that you understand what strategy is. In military terminology there is a distinction between strategy, operations, tactics, and techniques. Strategy pertains to national decision-making at the highest level. For example, our strategy in World War II was to mobilize the nation, then defeat the Nazi regime while conducting a holding action in the Pacific, then shift our forces to destroy the Japanese Empire. Afterwards, our strategy was to rebuild both defeated nations into capitalistic democracies in order to make them future allies. An example of an operational decision from World War II would be the decision to invade North Africa and then Italy and Southern France before moving directly for the heart of Germany by coming ashore in Northern France or Belgium. Tactics characterize a scheme of maneuver that integrates the different capabilities of, for example, infantry, armor, and artillery. A technique might describe a way of employing machine guns with overlapping fields of fire or of setting up a roadblock. Our strategy in Iraq has been: - fight the war on the cheap;
- ask the ground forces to perform missions that are more suitably performed by other branches of the American government;
- inconvenience the American people as little as possible, and
- continue to fund the Air Force and Navy at the same levels that they have been funded at for the last 30 years while shortchanging the Army and Marines who are doing all of the fighting.
No wonder the war is not going well. Let me explain how the war is being fought on the cheap.
Continue reading "A business-as-usual war strategy?"
Is there really much distance between a Nanny State and Big Brother? I never thought there was. Brit govt to monitor nursery rhyme use in families, via a "parenting workforce." That is, parenting police. Unbelievable. (h/t, Wizbang) You don't know whether to laugh or cry.
 Press lies about war, 1964. Neoneo. Yes, the press sure wanted to lose that one, too. Why?
Wealthy countries have more trees, and thus remove more evil evil CO2/ Worstall. Well, fine, but we don't accept that evil CO2 premise, not yet. Payback to the unions. Good bye, Free Trade. Hello, higher prices. Samiz. Bush immigration notions drove independents to Dems. Not rational, but just watch the border open up now. Ace. Heck, we all know it's about pandering to the Hispanic voters. Give Mitt Romney a good look: Am Thinker Good point, from Blue Crab: Take a subject you are a genuine expert on and then read a newspaper report on the subject. All too often, you'll find that the paper has some, often many, things quite wrong. The human tendency is to shake your head, then go right back to reading the paper and believing their stories on other subjects.
Just asking: How does a young politican afford a $1.6 million house, and what's the deal with this Rezko guy? ESR Still waiting for the withering away of the state? Stumbling. Funny how often we forget that Lenin was a closet Libertarian. Modern liberal statists are worse: they just want state power to grow forever. The two kinds of killing. I never understood this either. Tangled LaShawn is fed up. A quote: It’s disheartening to know that yet another generation of blacks is growing up with persecution complexes and prove-you’re-not-a-racist-by-giving-me-perks attitudes. For at least 25 years, lowered standards and expectations for blacks have been the status quo in public institutions. Whether blacks are attending schools they’re not qualified to attend because of race preferences and would fare better at schools better suited to their abilities (high on my list of possible explanations) or whether the collapse of the black family and a general apathy to education relegates black kids to the academic basement, I don’t know and I honestly don’t care. People make their own choices in this free country, and if parents don’t care about their own offspring, why am I worrying about them? A black liberal once asked me how I could be so adamant in my views, how I could be sure that I’d always think conservatively. He was upset that I was publicly displaying conservative views and believed that one day, I’d change the way I saw the world. (The implication was that I’d return to liberalism.) Wherever you are, “concerned” black liberal, you were right. My view of the world is slowly changing, but not the way you’d hoped. I am convinced that some blacks are afraid to be treated equally because they know they’ll never be academically competitive with whites. I am convinced that deep down, some blacks would rather accept lowered standards than face the embarrassment of a truly level playing field. They will use any means necessary – political, legal, psychological – to make sure the color of their skin always remains front and center, and at the same time, castigate people who can’t see past it.
The country has moved far beyond discrimination. In fact, people don't even make much of skin color, ethnicity, or religion any more (except for colleges, who keep down their Asian numbers, and try to raise their black numbers - they seem to think color is important for some reason, sort of like kids counting their Crayolas.)
Two small Fra Angelicos have been discovered. Cool story, at Never Yet melted. Below is my photo of the convent of San Domenico on the road between Fiesole and Firenze where Fra Giovanni di Fiesole, aka Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro) worked and lived. You walk in there, and the church is dark, dusty, and empty. Not even an old lady to accept a donation for the church. 
You turn the switch for the bare hanging lightbulb in each little side chapel, and you see magical stuff like this: 
Plunkitt of Tammany Hall explains how to get rich in politics, at Jim Miller
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