Tuesday, April 17. 2007
 Besides the endlessly annoying and murderous Jihadists, America's biggest problem is this, as described in the CSM: 1 in 2 Americans now receive income from government programs.
Getting past that magic 50% has been the goal of Leftists since the 1930s. Why? Because the recipients vote. And if you add up the numbers who receive program money, the number of govt employees, and the number receiving major non-income benefits (like Medicare), you have a heck a a big number getting at least part of their living from the government teat - meaning from their neighbors' labor. Incrementally, inch by inch, the American habits of self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, and independence have been whittled away to the point that many people are no longer ashamed to take the money of strangers. Indeed, to the point that they feel "entitled" to it, which I suspect is a psychological maneuver to deny the humbling reality that they are receiving charity. Social Security made it seem OK to older folk by concealing the fact that it was their kids who were paying them the money. Fortunately, there are still large islands of folks who do their best to pursue the American ideals. The problem is that they are getting stuck paying the bills for the other half. As the population ages and people breed less, that ratio will get worse, and the "two Americas" will begin feeling like the givers and the takers. That is not a good foundation for a culture or a civilization. Editor's Note: I see that our friend Coyote was thinking along the same lines, but mainly from the standpoint of taxation. As he notes in his piece A Nation of Slaveholders: Meanwhile, Ari Fleischer writes in today’s WSJ (sub req) that the top 1% of income earners pay 37% of total income taxes, the top 10% of income earners pay 71% of total income taxes, and the top 40% of income earners pay 99% of total income taxes.
and The second greatest failing of the Constitution as originally drafted (the first being legality of slavery) is the lack of clear protections for property and commerce. As a result, the only protection we have against full confiscation of everything we own is the whim of the electorate. Now that a clear majority of voters are on the receiving end of money confiscated from a minority of voters, how good is this last protection? We have become a nation of slaveholders, with the majority holding the productive minority in bondage. Inserting government in the middle of this process as an agent, so the recipients of this slave labor don't have to get their own hands dirty, does not change the nature of the relationship one bit. It just pretties things up for our conscience.
A further comment from The Barrister: I am sure that Coyote's metaphor was intentionally hyperbolic, but his point is correct. Furthermore, I believe that the only way to eliminate the division between the donors and the recipients is a flat tax, so that everyone can be a full participant in the American enterprise: all in the same boat.
 One year ago, Virginia Tech's General Assembly defeated a resolution to permit legal gun carrying on campus. Also, Blame the Guns at Michelle. Some people just can't put their political agendas aside for 24 hours to pray for these people and their families.
I like this thought from today's piece at Democracy Project: As Judith Klinghoffer says, “I know I am going to get hate mail and I may be rushing to judgment. But it all seems to follow such a familiar pattern,” in writing “As Sheep To The Slaughter Yet Again” at her History News Network blog. Of course, standing up to bullies is no longer the expected even of trained fighters. How can one expect young people at a university to behave more courageously than British marines confronting Iranian bullies? We better. For as Gandhi expected, in the current atmosphere bullies are multiplying and the price of continuing to go as sheep to slaughter is getting higher and higher by the day. As individuals, as nations, we see natural running away from vicious challenges to our decency, our way of life, and our very lives. We see those few brave enough to stand against the door denigrated and deserted by their effete critics, while barbaric acts they try and fight to prevent or punish are ignored, excused or even supported. VT, Flight 93, Iraq are around the corner from all of us.
Hillary never read the 2002 pre-war intel report. Too busy doing what? Obama's income. Everyone always wonders how politicians get so rich on their already comfortable salaries. Army Strong. Heart transplant doesn't slow down this reservist. The allure of conspiracy theories. Eject, Eject. (h/t, Dr. Sanity) Like France, Sweden now has Moslem neighborhoods that the cops cannot enter. Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of The Federalist Society? From Roger Simon: From Drudge: "SHARPTON VOWS MORE: 'It is our feeling that this is only the beginning. We must have a broad discussion on what is permitted and not permitted in terms the airwaves'." How about this? How about we don't allow on our airwaves self-serving racist blowhards in three-piece suits who had anything to do with the Tawana Brawley case?
Photo: Why the Sam Neil still shot today? A lady reader claimed that our cheesecake to beefcake ratio was far too high, and threatened us with Al Sharpton's goon squad unless we posted Sam. So, naturally, following the footsteps of the courageous Don Imus, we folded like a cheap camera.
Life is very difficult and everything kills you. The only thing you can do nowadays is sit fully clothed in the woods and eat fruit. Pat Buckley (Mrs. William F. Buckley, Jr, who died this week)
Monday, April 16. 2007
 Driscoll says Va Tech is a gun-free zone. So is Washington, DC. The story only gets worse.
Pat Buckley's obit at NRO (presumably written by Bill). Bending over backwards to make Moslem accommodations at schools. Foucault and the Ayatollah. David Thompson. The Left-Jihadist alliance always confuses me. Another endangered species: Sane children. Tim Blair on kids afraid they'll die of global warming. Re our pieces on the dirt dunes and corn growing, another unintentional consequence of corn Ethanol: Meat shortages. Atheists at war with each other. I thought religion was supposed to be the cause of all conflicts. OK, maybe atheism is a religion too, if they have schisms and heresies. Maybe the Dems can re-use this Canadian advt: Dust my Broom
 Being the weather buff that I am, late last night I noticed on the NOAA website that there were 7.57 inches of rain in NYC. It was their second rainiest day since 1869, only beat out by a hurricane in New York in 1882.
Actually, it looks like this lackluster nor'easter was the only non-hurricane event ever to bring more than 5 inches of rain in the City. As I contemplated the meaning of these data and the probable relationship of a cold, rainy day to the terrifying - indeed chilling - crisis of global warming, the friendly succubus on the right appeared in my doorway, removed her black leather vest and skirt, and crept towards me as I lay on my bed with my laptop. I took this quick photo of her with my cell phone, then immediately dialed Al Gore's house to ask him what to do. I must confess that this sort of thing doesn't happen to me every day, but I figured that Clothes Off must be a certain sign of a dangerous acceleration of globalistical warmening requiring urgent and decisive action. Anyway, Al couldn't come to the phone: the butler said he was in the hot tub with a rubber ducky. Well, it definitely was already feeling warmer in my room, globally speaking of course, but my thermometer rose rapidly when she began to lick my toes, so, anyway...
The terrible story at Virginia Tech.
Video. She is such a sweetie. (h/t, reader)
 A "Department of Peace" sounds Orwellian, but the concept is quite the opposite.
You just can't make this stuff up. These folks are living in a Kindergarten world. That's fine for Kindergarten, but the Big World is not always benign, nor is the pursuit of "niceness" a prime driver in human nature. It would be a very dull world if that were the case. And, by the way, don't we already have a State Department? What's their job?
 Video, here. It's about the Clintons. I do not trust these people.
America is better than this. My opinion? Sexual organs, whatever shape they may be, or however interesting they may be, have nothing to do with political qualifications. Photo: Hillary at Wellesley. To tell the truth, I probably looked like (or was) an arrogant, know-it-all jerk in college too. But I know better, now.
"Doing my taxes is like doing an appendectomy on myself." Heard on Bob Brinker radio yesterday. He also noted that, if you get a refund, it's because you screwed up your witholding or your quarterlies, and gave the govt a free loan. A refund is not a gift.
 Our weather report on the "big nor'easter": Plenty of wet snow in our corner of MA, then tons of rain, but minimal winds. Not a storm. People living in flood plains have their usual swimming-pool basements and wet first floors, and the big town pumpers have been moving from house to house along the river to pump them out - my tax dollars for people who live where they should not: it's called "wetlands" for a reason. If it floods, it wants to be a swamp. Lots of roads closed from flooding. Basically, no big deal up here.
The "mow your own lawn" theme. (I thought most Americans do.) Does having immigrants doing low-wage jobs make sense? Reason thinks so. 1998 is when Al Quaida officially declared war on the United States. A summary of the history, and Saddam's involvement, at Flares. How soon we forget. The ACRU looks like my kind of ACLU. Check it out: American Civil Rights Union. Might be an org. one might wish to support. Get farmers off the dole. CSM Michael Moore's "sicko stunt." But where would he go, if sick? Cuba, or NYC? A new theory of high blood pressure: Blood vessels in the brain What really happened at Duke. Newsweek Christian bookstore, internet cafes bombed in Gaza. What an excellent way to build a cheerful, tolerant culture. Jihad Watch. Did they desecrate or damage any Bibles? Hey, let's behead them! These people appear determined to eliminate any evidence of modernity - except guns, bombs, and cars (and they don't even know how to make those). Where is the UN with their Anger Management Team? Another reason you don't want Hillary back in the White House. Video at Cao's Blog
Thanks for the photo, reader. 
My Goldfinches in Yankeeland have finally molted into their breeding plumage. This photo was yesterday.
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Sunday, April 15. 2007
 A truck bomb destroyed the Sarrafiya Bridge this week, and killed drivers in the process.
A landmark, and a gift from the Brits in the 1940s, it was the first fixed bridge in Baghdad over the Tigris. Our friend in Israel says that "the Germans were good at two things: killing Jews and building vehicles, but the Palestinians are only good at one thing: killing Jews." Any idiot can build a car bomb, but can Muqtada's or Al Quaida's thugs build a bridge? Or a car? Or a city? Or a modern civilization? Or even save a life? This story is depressing. Destruction, sadly, is the easiest thing in the world to do: it has the physics of entropy on its side. The Stone Age is never far away, and killing is simple. Thoughts about the bridge from Iraq the Model and from Treasure of Baghdad (whence the photo). Is Iraq too "multicultural" to hold together as a nation without a totalitarian, sadistic dictator? Helping the Iraqis seems like treating a patient with cancer. My prayers are with the patient - and with Dr. Petraeus. (A message to the bad guys here. h/t, Ace)
Re our post on ethanol subsidies earlier today: 
 Lamest nor'easter I've ever seen. An ordinary cold, breezy, wet-snow day. I love rough weather, and hate it when they over-hype it. Just heavy April snow showers, and 38 degrees.
Brit National Union of Journalists votes to boycott Israel. They drank the Kool Aid. Very nice. First they came for the Jews... Why crying defeat could turn out to be a big mistake. Even the AP is now forced to recognize the progress: Big Lizards. I wish for success, because it would be the best thing for the people of Iraq, and for the US. Don Ho died. Here's his Tiny Bubbles. (audio) Montreal Muslims charged with firebombing synagogue. Fred Thompson gets it. Hey, wait a minute - I'm a victim too. SISU. I never trust hypersensitivity: it's always a manipulation. If you can't take a joke or an insult, you're a baby. Jason Whitlock gets it. Video at Horsefeathers. It's about Sharpton and the other race hustlers. A quote from Hatemonger's Quarterly: Every time we hear some moronic politician blather on about the urgent need for every American to attend college, we think to ourselves: If only this boob would sit in on a Sociology 101 lecture. One-third of the class mysteriously missing; one-quarter sound asleep; the remaining students trying their hand at a crossword puzzle—these are the tell-tale signs of university students learning. As everyone but Bill Clinton seems to recognize, most kids attend college for four (or five) years of intense dipsomania, feverish drug-taking, and incessant date rape. If you ask us, American children should be compelled to complete a year of military service before they head to university. That’ll learn the little pukes. And what if the army doesn’t need them? Well, maybe they could serve as Ted Kennedy’s towel boy instead.
Added to our blogroll today: The Hatemonger's Quarterly, under "Funny Pages," and TigerHawk, under "Mostly Political" Image: A Hubble image of infant star formation in "a nearby galaxy"
Photo: "Dirt-drifts" in South Dakota, caused by corn farming on unsuitable and marginal lands. Shades of the Dust Bowl. That mean old Law of Unintended Consequences will get you every time: first we see corn prices rising so high that Mexicans cannot afford to make tortillas, and now this mess. Plus it's a political scam anyway. The full report on land conversion in the northern plains is here. The Ducks Unlimited press summary below: From Ducks Unlimited: BISMARCK, ND, April 12, 2007 - Home, home on the range where the deer,
antelope and ducks play may become a thing of the past if the rapid loss of America's prairie grasslands isn't stopped. Ducks Unlimited (DU) believes a new Congressional report will help Congress focus on solutions to the loss as it writes the new 2007 federal farm bill.
The report says the country's few remaining native grasslands in the Great Plains are being plowed under. The Prairie Pothole Region of the Great Plains is the world's most productive duck breeding habitat.
"It is encouraging to see that the issue of grassland conversion in the
Northern Plains has the attention of Congress as it prepares to write the
2007 farm bill," said Scott McLeod, DU's farm bill lead for the Great Plains
Region. "This issue has greatly concerned conservation groups, hunters and ranchers across the country for several years.
Continue reading ""Dirt-drifts": One more side-effect of the ethanol subsidies"
 John 20:19-31
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. Image: Caravaggio's (1571-1610) The Doubting Thomas
Saturday, April 14. 2007
 300,000 protest in Ankara against Islamist threats from Turkish political Imams.
I am fond of Turkey, as readers may know, and eager to return there for another visit. It is mighty refreshing to see a mass protest like this in the Middle East. Story at Gateway. (That is Ataturk's mausoleum in the background.)
 The Clinton crack-up. This is a problem.
Meet the Faggot Family. They look fairly normal, for Brits. Another plug for Indoctrinate U. Yes, they want Spain back. And no, they aren't kidding. Moslem toilets. They are different. Zakouma sights and sounds. Ivory Wars, in Chad. Very cool drums, and more elephants than you have ever seen. More fine video: Heaven, Earth, Tequila: Un Viaje al Corazon de Mexico. Great photos. Image: Consensus male scientificalistical proof of global warming: a girl at a beach in Maine, early this morning.
He's always good to listen to. Audio here. One quote: "Investing is simple, but it's hard. Like losing weight."
A thought-provoking essay by George Friedman, CEO of Stratfor. A quote: On a pretty arbitrary scale -- between Korea (1950-53), Cuba (1960-63), Vietnam (1963-75), Iran (1979-1981) and Iraq (2003-present) -- the United States has spent about 27 of the last 55 years engaged in politico-military maneuvers that, at the very least, did not bring obvious success, and frequently brought disaster. Yet, in spite of these disasters, the long-term tendency of American power relative to the rest of the world has been favorable to the United States. This general paradox must be explained. And in the course of explanation, some understandings of the Iraq campaign, seen in a broader context, might emerge.
He makes the point that these "minor" (without national mobilization, and pursued with economy of force) wars generally achieved their geopolitical objectives without a WW ll-style victory. Read the whole thing.
It has been theorized for years that birds are basically dinosaurs. Now the astonishing finding of soft tissue in a T Rex fossil permits DNA analysis.
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