Tuesday, December 5. 2006
 A very fine rant indeed, on education, by Derbyshire. (h/t, Never Yet Melted). It's about all of the education scams in the US. Just one quote:
Towering over all these lesser scams is the college racket, a vast money-swollen credentialing machine for lower-middle-class worker bees. American parents are now all resigned to the fact that they must beggar themselves to purchase college diplomas for their offspring, so that said offspring can get low-paid outsource-able office jobs, instead of having to descend to high-paid, un-outsource-able work like plumbing, carpentry, or electrical installation. ..
OK, one more: Professionals have their own credentialing systems: You may have graduated law school, but you’ll still have to pass the bar exam, and so on. Then why make aspiring lawyers go to law school? Presumably for the same reason we insist on cube jockeys having bachelor’s degrees from accredited four-year colleges. Why not let them study up at home from Teaching Company DVDs, then sit for a state-refereed common exam when they feel they’re ready? Why not let lawyers learn on the job from books and as articled clerks, the way they used to? I don’t know. College-going is just an irrational thing we do, the way upper-class German men used to acquire dueling scars, the way women in imperial China had their feet bound. Griggs vs. Duke Power probably has something to do with it. Since, following that decision, employers are not permitted to test job applicants to see how intelligent they are, the employers seek a college degree as a proxy for intelligence.)
Read it all. You'll feel better if you do. Griggs vs. Duke Power? Interesting case, in which it was decided that intelligence is racially discriminatory. Huh? That sounds like a deeply racist finding, does it not?
 Why is Santa happy and tired? Because of his elves (T-rated). Yes, Rum and Coke - it's basic - and all-organic.
World's best dad. With a splendid and tear-jerking YouTube. It's about Dick Hoyt Daniel Gross gets it wrong, on medical care. Dem Project. By the way, I am still demanding free legal care, free car insurance, free dental - and free beer. Oh - almost forgot - did I mention free happiness? Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, has a new book. Interview at TCS I have heard of Britney Spears (current winner in the Firecrotch Derby), Bill Clinton (runner-up? Was he some politician or something?), Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Penn, Al Gore, etc. But who is Norman Borlaug? A genuine celeb. Liked Bird Dog's Advent post, but it received not a single comment. Too corny, or what? I kinda thought it captured the idea. Save the House Mouse! Classical Values. Found one drowned, but well-preserved, in an uncapped bottle of extra-virgin olive oil in my cabinet recently. These mice are Euro-weenies, and do not belong in the USA. If you catch one, mail it back to France. But they make good toys for cats, if you can stand cats. Yes, being the finicky sort, I tossed out the bottle of oil.
More quotes from the Chris Wallace interview, at Shrinkwrapped. One example: The freedom of speech. Do you know what it means? Basically. But you don't know its entire content, and it doesn't tell you itself. Those words, "the freedom of speech," "Congress shall pass no law abridging the freedom of speech." Neither they, the founders, nor those words tell you how to apply it to the Internet.
Breyer is supposed to be a smart guy, ex-Harvard Law Prof and all. But that is the dumbest statement I have heard in the past week. I know that power corrupts, but it is the arrogance which concerns me, as I said yesterday. Doesn't Breyer's comment there imply that he might have some option for control of internet speech? Why else would he raise the issue? Or am I missing a nuance? When he says "It doesn't tell you its entire content," he is saying that a statement as unambiguous and clear as "Thou shalt not murder." is complex and full of nuance, that only someone like him can decipher. No. His job is referee, by the rule book. It's not rocket science. The rules are very clear: they even permit Al Gore to make an absurd movie! And us to have a blog! The arrogance, specifically, is the notion that "I am an expert in law, so I am an expert in life." Wrong. It is not his job to try to micromanage all of the outcomes in life in the USA. That sort of grandiosity on a court is indeed dangerous and, dare I say it - un-American.
Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy. John Derbyshire H/t, Rhymes with Right. Precisely. What are we, cattle?
How Sarbanes-Oxley has been destroying NYC as a financial capitol. Quote from John Fund in Op. Journal: Perhaps the top culprit in New York's relative decline as a trading center is the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability rules that were put in place in 2002 in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals. Henry Tang, Hong Kong's financial secretary, couldn't be more blunt on the good fortune Sarbanes-Oxley has brought his city. "Our success is giving [Treasury Secretary] Hank Paulson a few raised eyebrows," he told a delegation from the Fraser Institute, a Canadian free-market think tank, last week. "Thank you, Mr. Sarbanes and Mr. Oxley," he said, referring to Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes and GOP Rep. Mike Oxley, the law's chief sponsors.
It's that pesky old Law of Unintended Consequences. Whole piece here.
Monday, December 4. 2006
Merrily T-rated, on Continuation page below. (Thanks for the Christmas cheer, Black Dog.) The two four two ladies on the left appear medically enhanced, but I am no expert. (Out of consideration to our readers, many of whom seem to read Maggie's at work or school, we will no longer post T-rated material on the front page, however much fun we think it is to do so. Apparently it has lead to some uncomfortable moments. Sorry - just click below to see Santa's friends.)
Continue reading "Santa's Merry Elves"
Well said, of Justice Breyer: "My question is ….. who ensures he doesn’t get too powerful?" Piece at Ankle Biting, on Breyer's view of his job. Hey, Justice Steve: I ain't paying you to try to save the world. Recheck your job description.
That's the USS Makin Island (LDH 8), which will not be commissioned in San Francisco. Ship's website here. More than a vagina: Part-time Pundit. Feminism finds its "inner slut." Russia update, with Putin. CSM Re-reading Frances Fukayama. Dean Barnett Is Nancy Pelosi a political genius? Wizbang Kotb's Islamic sex program. (h/t, Jules C.)
 Color-coding in schools? I am agin' it. Nowadays, who cares?
Plus it's getting harder to tell what color anyone is, anyway: everybody is getting mixed skin DNA. For example, what color is Derek Jeter? And do you really care? In our offices, they are all sorts of Indians, Asians, who knows what? You don't even think about it - they are all humans. Heck, our own Editor Bird Dog is part Iroquois. Do you care? He is part dog, also (which has helped him get into the best dog schools). Let's arrange folks by character, energy, brains, talent, discipline, interest, etc. This skin thing has got to go. It is just too stupid. But I see some libs are still trying to count their Crayolas. Eliott Spitzer, for one. NY Sun. Supreme Court. Good case.
 Update, by Rick. Sounds like a mechanical astronomical calculator. Clever Greeks.
The Antikythera Project website is here (photo from that site).
 It's about time for another fun fallacy.
This one goes back to the astonishing Aristotle, and hence to the Roman Petitio Principii. That is, pleading, or begging for the premise to be accepted. What is fun about this fallacy is that the statements may be fully logical, but erroneous because they are circular: if you accept the premise, then the conclusion logically follows. As in: My premise is A=B, so I will create another assertion which implies, or is built on, or derives from, the notion that A=B. The classic example of this form of logic abuse is "When did you stop beating your wife?" The premise contains the accusatory conclusion. Also known as "circular arguments," such arguments can seem persuasive if you don't step back and examine the often-hidden premise. They are technically "informal fallacies," because the error is not within the "form" of the argument: the form can be fine while the basis is flawed. Example: God created the earth and its creatures five thousand years ago. Well, that hidden premise is that every word of the Bible is scientifically and chronologically true according to modern thinking. If you accept the premise, then I suppose you must accept the conclusion. Example: Massachusetts politicians alarmed by rapid erosion of Cape Cod: Blame Bush's global warming. Hidden premise/assumption: man-made warming is raising sea levels and washing Cape Cod out to sea. Of course, there is no evidence for that mechanism - Cape Cod was disappearing in Thoreau's time, and he commented on it. The wise will buy Monomoy Island real estate, which is where the sand is being deposited. Hey - it's the next Nantucket. Example: All of the money from our healthy economy is going into the pockets of wealthy corporate thieves. The notion, or premise, that wealth consists of a finite number of dollars is a famous fallacious assumption of the economically illiterate. If that premise were true, the socialists would have an argument. But the premise is wrong: wealth is created, almost miraculously, out of work, investment, creativity, and risk. There is no end to it. Another famous example which contains this fallacy, from the late, lamented Johnny Cochran: "If the glove don't fit, you must acquit." How many assumptions are built into that assertion, besides the stated one? Enough for an acquittal by a jury which couldn't see his tricks, or refused to. The assumptions of the premise were, of course, that a murderer would only wear gloves that fit well, that blood-soaked gloves would not shrink, etc etc - but, most of all, the assumption that the jury would welcome any excuse to acquit. They took the bait and swallowed the hook, too. Always examine the premise or assumption of an argument before taking on the logical flow. They are commonly hidden, or implied by tricksters so that it all seems to make sense if the premise is accepted. That is Rule #1.
Standing on the tiny deck of the Arabella in 1630 off the Massachusetts coast, John Winthrop said, "We will be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world." h/t, Sisu
Sunday, December 3. 2006
Hunted yesterday and this morning in northern New Hampshire (near Pittsburg, NH - The Grouse Capital of New England), and now back to good old Pittsfield, MA, with a few grouse in the bag along with some dawdling woodcock who dawdled too long. And a very tired pup, with plenty of cuts from the brambles. Our ancestors sure did name a lot of towns after William Pitt, did we not? Intrepid update. Ready to sail again. And Rightly So. I liked her fine the way she was. Hilarious YouTube: IED Hunter. Oldie but a goldie. Oh crikey! Wealth and education increase Islamic jihadism. View from the Right. Oh crikey! Those crazy Episcopalians. Or Anglicans. Or whatever. Falling apart at the seams. Lucianne The AP busted yet again! .Atlas "Goat fornicators"? That isn't nice. Very rude, and almost insulting. But is it true, multiculturally-speaking? RWHowler. Let's be tolerant of other cultural traditions: some goats are cute and horny, too! Is there a film in this? Brokeback Mountain Goat? "Love is a force of nature." Oh - it's already been done. Queen Bertha? Forgot about her, but remembered King Aethelbert, her pagan hubbie. The Dark Ages. Early Christian findings in Britain. h/t, Smart Christian Opie sent this in: Chavez will be reelected today and Castro is on his deathbed and everybody goes to Cuba to party. There is a lot happening in Latin America these days. This is one of the best sites for information.Click here: Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina
The moose? We didn't see her either until she walked out of that patch of spruce on the lower left, after the camera was zipped-up back in my pocket. There is a brown shadow - we think that was her at the edge of the water.
Yet another sport I would rather play than watch. This was today, in Danbury, CT - the New England Division. The game is a wonderful combination of muscle, physical endurance, tactics, skill, anticipation, brains, and attitude. And of course, as a mano a mano game, it's all up to you. No team-mates to blame, and No Excuses. This must have been one heck of a dramatic game when real swords were used. Ouch! 
A superb put-down of the sanctimonious Bono. Macho Man of the Year contest The PC Poetry Corner Lessons in modesty for Britney Spears. Fabric is your friend. Negotiating with cancer A breakthrough: Apple Computer reported today that it has developed computer chips
that can store and play music inside women's breasts. This is considered a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts instead of listening to them.
 Luke 21: 25-36
25“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Saturday, December 2. 2006
With a good chart of the CO2 cycle. Maxed Out
Winter is here. Time for nude surfing down under. Since Christmas is coming, I am thinking that it would be fun to decorate her with lights. But, on second thought, she needs no improvement.  The smell of money. Viking. Haha
By the way, how did you do on the Bovine exam? These are the best of times, world-wide. Samizdata. Granddaddy loves Dylan. Of course - he has excellent taste. Who said this? A pop quiz at Betsy The concept of "relative poverty." Asst. Village Idiot. Sounds like a way to make non-poverty sound like poverty. Daddy drove an Olds, I drive a Chevy - so I'm poor. Meine kleine Deutsche penis, at Right Thinking Smearing Mitt. With a very good point about The Globe's sudden interest in illegals, at Wizbang Killing because of stingy dowries. Lib Leanings. There's an idea for the U.S. - Dowries here have been shrinking steadily, to the point of crisis, in my opinion. Where else can a guy get capital? And, speaking of punishments, what's your opinion? Stoning or hanging for adultery? Moonbattery. For women only, natch. Boys must be boys, as Mohammed said. Christian theologian advises forgetting about Jesus, if you want to get along with others. LGF. Not a joke. Why Dick Morris thinks the Dems are now "pitiful": Ex-Donk. Slaves to their special interest caucuses. Who lives by the slave will die by the slave. What he said. Hawkins: You know, if you didn't finish high school, spent time in prison for dealing drugs, and have 3 different kids by 3 different mamas, I don't care what color you are, you're probably not going to be a very successful person. But, if you're white and behave like that, people will blame you for your behavior, while if you're black, because of the soft bigotry of low expectations, you'll have a lot of people excuse your behavior on the basis of the sort of garbage Ann McGinley wrote in the above quote.
Whole thing here.
Friday, December 1. 2006
Very funny. Michelle. That's called journalism education.
With Youtube, at Powerline. He could do that sort of stuff, but I think of him as an R&B man.
Still gives me chills: A Touch of Grey. How right is this song?
This true story came in over the transom today:  THE LONGEST MINUTE
by Doug White, September 16, 2006 We all have read about or seen movies entitled, 'The Longest Day', 'The Longest Yard', or 'The Longest Mile'. Well, I am going to tell you about "The Longest Minute" of my life. Reed Thompson and I had been hunting hard for five days. The day was Thursday, September 7, 2006. The weather had turned from beautiful sunny skies to gale force winds and the blasting rain that comes with fall storms. Never has the weather dictated hunting time to us, so out we ventured into the Alaska bush. Not seeing a single bull for several days, we decided to hunt an area downstream that had always produced one. Late in the evening, we were walking down a raised half mile long finger of ground that was full of grass and alders. This turf was slightly higher than the swampy tundra on either side of it. We had slogged across the swamp as quickly as possible, during a sudden deluge, to get to the downwind point. Our hope was that our passage would not be observed with the sudden increased wind and rain. About halfway down the finger, Reed turned to me and said, "I think there is a moose up ahead. It looks like two white sticks in the grass. It would surprise me if it was not a moose." I glassed the area about one hundred yards ahead and to the left. With Reed's help, I zeroed in on the two white sticks and watched them for several minutes. With the slightest movement, the two sticks transformed into a white paddle and then back to the two sticks. The bull had moved his head ever so slightly. I moved my scope out to ten-power and focused in on the two white sticks as Reed moved about ten yards further down the high ground. Then as Reed focused on the white points, I moved to his location for a better shot. Reed began moving toward our quarry as I watched for movement though the scope. With nothing solid or high enough to rest my rifle on, I was forced to aim free-hand. When Reed had taken a few steps, I saw the horns rock to the right and then back to the left. The big boy then stood up and was looking directly our way. Even with the forty mile an hour winds blowing directly at us, he sensed our presence. I squeezed off a round from my Browning .338 and felt good about the shot, but the bull took two or three steps to my right and disappeared out of sight behind some alders. Reed could still see him and shouted, "Do you want me to shoot him?" I yelled back at him to go ahead because I did not want the bull running too far. I heard his shot as I was scrambling forward to get a better look. After a thirty yard hustle, I was able to see the huge fellow still standing. I put another shot into him and watched him drop. We both hesitantly, but with great excitement, approached this giant and realized that he was dead. This was a mature bull with a beautiful rack and the biggest body mass I had ever seen. The fun was definitely over; now, the real work was ready to begin. After consulting the GPS, we noted that we were a half mile from the slough and boat. It was decided that both of us should return to the boat to discard unnecessary items and return with the gear needed to prepare and pack out the meat. We placed red and blue handkerchiefs high in an alder bush so that the sight could be located from the adjacent high ground. This was the easiest half mile hike of the day. I was pumped up and excited beyond explanation.
Continue reading "Bull Moose and Bear: A True Story"
VDH, in Opinion Journal. A quote: Our current crisis is not yet a catastrophe, but a real loss of confidence of the spirit. The hard-won effort of the Western Enlightenment of some 2,500 years that, along with Judeo-Christian benevolence, is the foundation of our material progress, common decency, and scientific excellence, is at risk in this new millennium. But our newest foes of Reason are not the enraged Athenian democrats who tried and executed Socrates. And they are not the Christian zealots of the medieval church who persecuted philosophers of heliocentricity. Nor are they Nazis who burned books and turned Western science against its own to murder millions en masse. No, the culprits are now more often us. In the most affluent, and leisured age in the history of Western civilization--never more powerful in its military reach, never more prosperous in our material bounty--we have become complacent, and then scared of the most recent face of barbarism from the primordial extremists of the Middle East.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Whole piece here.
With the worst, fascistic gun laws, Aussie gun crimes rise. Blair. No surprise: the good guys are now sitting ducks.
 A brand new store has just opened in New York City that sells Husbands.
When women go to choose a husband, they have to follow the instructions at the entrance:
"You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are 6 floors and the values of the products increase as you ascend the flights.
"You may choose any Item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you CANNOT go back down except to exit the building!" So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.
On the 1st floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men have jobs.
The 2nd floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.
The 3rd floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids and are extremely good looking.
"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the 4th floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help with Housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"
Still, she goes to the 5th floor and sign reads: Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, help with Housework and Have A Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the 6th floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
------------------------------------------- To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opens a New Wives store just across the street.
The 1st first floor has wives that love sex.
The 2nd floor has wives that love sex and have money.
The 3rd through 6th floors have never been visited.
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