Maggie's Farm

The cost of travel in 1800. Marginal Revolution. No wonder nobody ever went anywhere beyond their local market village, unless they were rich. Stagecoaches were expensive.

Sovereign Wealth Funds: The new thing. Government entities are learning to be capitalist investors. Guess they realized they can't run businesses themselves.  Dinocrat. Yes, governments love money and power, don't they?

Uppity whites in Boston.

Debka Files is not the most reliable source. Gateway linked this story. Is it true? I hope it is true, but count me as a skeptic.

The tax hike that the Dems long for. John Kyl discusses. Pure class warfare, if you ask me.

Great comments by Old Man Tyme on this Jules piece. For some reason, I have been having trouble getting to his site this week.

How Congress is hampering terror surveillance. Never Yet Melted. Idiots.

Boy Scouting turns 100 years old.

Brits "horrified" by Olympic shooting sports. Who are these people?

Joe Lieberman escalates his attacks on Dems. The Hill

From Wretchard (h/t, Reader):

The US campaign in Iraq is probably one of the most complex campaigns in military history. It is an event fundamentally unsuited to facile political characterization. And I am afraid that, if General Petraeus' efforts meet with some success, what was officially a "bad" war -- after first having been a "good war" -- will become a "good war" again, as politicians anxiously reposition themselves according to the latest polls. Iraq will become, whatever it is, exactly what the politicians want it to be. And that's bad. Because the one thing that Gen Petraeus is doing right -- if he is doing anything right at all -- is adapting; moving through the OODA loop faster than his enemies and unfettered by restricting shibboleths and doctrinal dogma. Success is based on seeing things as they are as opposed to viewing them through political lenses. In some sense you have to see things different from Washington to have a snowball's chance in Hell.

Fred on Federalism. I strongly agree with this piece (h/t, Right Wing Nation). A quote:

A good first step would be to codify the Executive Order on Federalism first signed by President Ronald Reagan. That Executive Order, first revoked by President Clinton, then modified to the point of uselessness, required agencies to respect the principle of the Tenth Amendment when formulating policies and implementing the laws passed by Congress. It preserved the division of responsibilities between the states and the federal government envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution. It was a fine idea that should never have been revoked. The next president should put it right back in effect, and see to it that the rightful authority of state and local governments is respected.

Why are we importing doctors? From a piece by Kesler:

Physicians in the USA: 794,893.
Foreign graduate doctors in the USA: 185,234 (from 127 countries).
* Percentage of doctors in U.S. training programs who are foreigners: 24%.

Is it art or a crime? Never Yet Melted. It's not a crime, just terrible manners.

In defence of Ward Churchill: He's just like the rest of them. Coyote

Always late? No matter - time may not exist. Samizdata

How the Brits prevented us from catching Osama. Ace. This was sick. More from Dinocrat.

Dr. Pettit speaks about his lost family.

A free public service school? I say nuts to that commie, Frenchie notion, and so does Tammy. Part of the idea of America is citizen-politicians, not trained managers of us masses. That is why I am sympathetic to term-limits.

If our gummint can't run a passport office, why should we imagine they can run American medicine? Cafe Hayek

The Dissident Frogman is back.

The Gonzales story. There is no story. He is just another potential scalp. The Democratic Party: The Party of Hate. Not to defend the dopey Repubs or to be unbalanced, but the Dems have gone over the edge.

Mr. Sun is good for you. Take off that greasy sunblock.

Cool new US Army weapon systems.

Ulrich Muhe died. Still need to see this movie.

World's tallest woman. Video. That is one big hunk of woman.

Waziristan update. Powerline. It's an un-reported battle.

"Attempts to Islamize the West cannot be denied," warns the Vatican. Gates of V.

The foreign policies of Spain are not usually a hot topic, but right now it's an interesting subject. Brussels Journal

While the surge seems to be working, the government of Iraq is in splinters. CSM. Maybe they need a dictator or king or whatever, to be civilized.

We had lots of posts about hippies last week. Driscoll looks back on that era via Tom Wolfe.

The Red Fox making a comeback in the Northeast. That is good. We have a family of them on the farm. Our coyotes are known to kill fox kits - so much for canine multiculturalism.

Speaking of foxes, more on the war against FOX News, at Gateway

And speaking of the dog family of animals, Derbyshire ponders whether dogs have consciousness, based on the latest research - and thus whether they have souls.

Photo: That is our North American version of Mr. Red Fox. We wrote about him in Dog of the Week a while ago.

How good is Tony Snow? See press conference video. Gotta love this guy.

The dark side of green. Michael Eckhart of Harvard.

Must Christians support illegal immigration? LaShawn

Deforestation and crimes against humanity in Vietnam, Camobodia, and Laos. Democracy Project.

The Nero Dems. Conspiracy. Why are they anti-growth? Must be because there is a conspiracy to keep you poor and stupid.

Orson Card on computer modeling and warming. We missed that one. h/t, No Looking Backwards

As most readers are aware, The New Republic really f-ed the pooch, pooped in its pants, etc. this week. If you scroll down through Ace you can see most of the story, delivered in an appropriately sarcastic manner.

Schumer: We will confirm no more Bush Supreme nominees. That is a declaration of war.

The perfect relationship. She talks a bit slow, but it's good.

The economy: Wages are rising for everyone. Marginal Rev. (h/t, Insty)

MoveOn targets FOX. Silliness.

Stop trying to help Africa, says an African. I am sure he is right. WaPo. Not only is it condescending as hell, but it's a new form of colonialism. Crooks there will take our money gladly, however. What the West can offer Africa is opportunities to trade, especially in agriculture. We already buy their oil.

Photo: One of Theo's girlfriends. She slipped me her phone number while he wasn't looking, but I lost it. I like her nice, firm biceps.

I still cannot understand why Putin is trying to provoke, and alienate, the West. What's in it for him? Internal politics? We mean them no harm.

Quit washing your clothes. It's bad for Gaia.

For the children. Internet censorship proposed. h/t, Insty.

What are "Men of Goodwill"? Anchoress. It is my goal to be one of those men.

Things I've learned since 9/11.  Right Thinking from the Left Coast. It's impossible to agree with Lee on everything, but he can be counted on to say what he thinks.

Is $100 dollar oil on its way? I wouldn't be surprised. Prof. Deneen. Economic consequences? You bet.

The Lancet was once the most respected medical journal in the world. Since it went political, it isn't any more. Rick Moran. It survives only on its old reputation.

World poverty plummets. There's nothing like commerce and trade to do that.

And some details on American poverty. Attack Machine. Bear in mind that poverty stats for the US do not include the funds or money value of benefits such as welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, Medicaid, etc.

How the Left provides "force multiplication" to Islamic extremists. Dr. Sanity. Same as they did for the North Vietnamese.

Pythons in the Everglades. More unwanted and uninvited aliens. The government wants to put chips in every non-native snake that is bought or sold. Wish they could be as determined when it comes to illegal humans.

A graphic demonstration (graph on the right) that the primary role of the US government has become redistribution of money, from a piece at Villainous Company:

Even the Guardian admits progress in Iraq. Jim Miller

 Who is rich, according to the Dem candidates? Meaning whose taxes can they get away with raising?

That bottom-smacking story from Oregon sounded like a joke, at first. Now it just sounds utterly insane.

"Are there any white kids in your school?" Another teacher for school choice.

Darn darn darn. Accidentally deleted my entire morning links piece for today, and now I don't have time to try to reconstruct it. Here are a few of them:

Al Quaida opening a new war front in Africa. Captain Ed. It is very self-centered of the US and the West to imagine that we are their sole enemies: we are just one of many.

The Left usually prefers to talk about "root causes" instead of individual choices. Their political stance tends to be one of socio-economic determinism rather than the dignity and freedom of the individual. Case in point - poverty. What is the number one cause of poverty in the US? Unmarried mothers. Will Edwards discuss that? No.

Alphecca's Quote of the Day, recently, from the Pittsburg Tribune:

The Brits haven’t learned that inanimate objects do not cause crime. Guns and knives do not rob, rape or murder. Criminals will use whatever means possible to prey on the innocent; potential victims will use whatever means possible to defend themselves.

And when Big Brother then grabs every fork, spoon and toothpick in Britain, will anyone, no matter how trustworthy, be allowed to hold a rock?

Why Woolworth had to die.  I still miss my Woolworth's, but I guess it's capitalism's "creative destruction." American Heritage. They say Woolworth was once what WalMart is today.

Great Statists of History. Licinius, at Dust My Broom

If you are returning from vacation today, don't miss a couple of our good recent essays - they are up on the left column. Also, our piece on the Roger Scruton essay - scroll down.

Breaking news. Teens don't like the Nanny State. They rebel against that sort of thing, naturally.

Do you take Vit C? It's made in China.

Aid to poor nations does no good at all. Mankiw. Of course it doesn't - it's just a feel-good thing.

Brave police work in the UK. Blair. How can you catch a guy if you can't say what he looks like? On the same theme, Captain Ed, like me, is also confused about why the Dems seem to want to protect possible terrorists. Is it just PC gone psychotic?

The Call of the Entrepreneur. It's a new movie, which celebrates freedom. Kling discusses at TCS.

Even the WaPo finally gets it about Iraq. Jules. And John at Powerline on the surge's success:

Currently, there are two tides running in opposite directions: a trend toward success on the ground in Iraq, and a seemingly inexorable drive toward defeat, or will to lose, in Congress.

The inequality obsession. Libertarian Leanings. Also, the piece by Arthur Brooks in City Journal, What Really Buys Happiness? A quote illustrating true insanity:

Cornell economist Robert Frank, a major critic of income inequality, adds that such a move might not make the rich as unhappy as you’d think, since they tend to use their income on things they don’t really want or need. “We could spend roughly one-third less on consumption,” Frank writes, “and suffer no significant reduction in satisfaction.” Some egalitarians even make the astounding argument that we should tax the economically successful in order to discourage them from working, since their work will only make them richer and thus sadden the less successful. According to British economist Richard Layard, “If we make taxes commensurate to the damage that an individual does to others when he earns more”—the damage to others’ happiness, that is—“then he will only work harder if there is a true net benefit to society as a whole. It is efficient to discourage work effort that makes society worse off.” Work, according to this postmodern argument—contrary to millennia of moral teaching—is no different from a destructive vice like tobacco, which governments sometimes tax in order to discourage people from smoking.

These inequality mavens seem to believe that the sin of envy is the most important source of unhappiness. It may apply to them, but not to most. I feel every sort of emotion on occasion, including envy, but it doesn't ruin my life. Plus I know that I could do something entrepreneurial any time I want. Right now, finding a nice girlfriend is all I need to be fully happy.

10th Century Viking treasure found in Yorkshire. Nice stuff.

Partner pay in top 200 law firms. Rising fast. They make this on the backs of the child labor of their young and hungry Associates. It's a good deal.

How Music Works. A great site for the real basics of what music is made of, if you know nothing about music theory. There is enough here to give oneself a little basic music course.

The Supremes haven't considered the Second Amendment for 70 years. Will they take a look at Parker? More thoughts on the subject at Willisms. I hope the Court will take it on, but letting Parker stand is fine too.

Looks like TNR got busted. Gateway. Fake but accurate? On the same subject, this bit from Ace is hilarious.

An $18,000 hand. Cheap at any price, if you ask me.

Nobody has ever said that Charlie Rangel lacked cojones. I can so easily imagining him saying to his staff "F- them if they don't like it. I'm in charge here."

Does Putin want another Cold War? What for?

Sexual assaults in the military. CSM. Not good.

Bill McKibben not too smart, and a bit lacking in imagination. But he's virtuous, right?

Dawkins makes enforced atheism sound like Sharia. Wizbang

Purdue Pharma spanked hard. The lawyers of the addicts no doubt made out well.

More BBC disasters. Does anyone trust them anymore, when it comes to politicized matters?

From Martin Durkin (who produced The Great Global Warming Swindle) in a piece in The Australian following the airing of his film last week (h/t, Lubos Motl):

Why are the global warmers so zealous? After a year of arguing with people about this, I am convinced that it's because global warming is first and foremost a political theory. It is an expression of a whole middle-class political world view. This view is summed up in the oft-repeated phrase "we consume too much". I have also come to the conclusion that this is code for "they consume too much". People who believe it tend also to think that exotic foreign places are being ruined because vulgar oiks can afford to go there in significant numbers, they hate plastic toys from factories and prefer wooden ones from craftsmen, and so on.

All this backward-looking bigotry has found perfect expression in the idea of man-made climate disaster. It has cohered a bunch of disparate reactionary prejudices (anti-car, anti-supermarkets, anti-globalisation) into a single unquestionable truth and cause. So when you have a dig at global warming, you commit a grievous breach of social etiquette. Among the chattering classes you're a leper.

But why are the supporters of global warming so defensive? After all, the middle classes are usually confident, bordering on smug.

As I found when I examined the basic data, they have plenty to be defensive about. Billions of dollars of public money have been thrown at global warming, yet the hypothesis is crumbling around their ears.

To the utter dismay of the global warming lobby, the world does not appear to be getting warmer. According to their own figures (from the UN-linked Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the temperature has been static or slightly declining since 1998. The satellite data confirms this. This is clearly awkward. The least one should expect of global warming is that the Earth should be getting warmer.

Photos: All of these boats are for sale to prosperous capitalists. God bless 'em. Details here.

I have no idea what the Dem Senators were doing when they voted against the John Doe provision. It's a vote for terror success, and I just don't get it.

Totten: Welcome to Baghdad.

Ed Koch bails out of his support of Iraq. He has had it with the Iraqis.

Prostate cancer. It can be aggressive, and it can be very lazy, indolent and harmless in older guys. A new test to tell the difference.

Your tuition dollars at work. New Zealand considers college courses in prostitution. Moonbattery. Hey - it's the world's oldest profession. Sally Smith, B.J.

A new grand Roman villa discovered in Rome.  AOL News. See the photos.

How smart does Gen. Petraeus sound? Interview via Attack Machine.

Barry Obama believes that criminals just need more love. Pretty to think so. Where did he learn that theory?

Image: A famous Alberto Vargas girl from the 1920s.

Megaflood created the English Channel.

Fastest internet connection in the world - in Sweden. A 72 year-old lady has it. Me want. (h/t to somebody - I forget who)

Is Bush's freedom-oriented foreign policy a "Messiah complex"?

Flesh-eating bacteria in Galveston beaches

Nuke power for California. It's about time. Am Thinker

Heard any good yodeling yet today? Einen Jodler hor i gern. (h/t, David Thompson)

Perfectly preserved baby mammoth found in Siberia. No freezer burn? (h/t, Flares)

Eating beef is less green than driving. Telegraph. Gonna get me a big burger tonight, with bacon.

A damning quote by Newsweek's Evan Thomas re Duke, from piece at Op. Journal:

"It was about race. Nifong's motivations clearly were rooted in his need to win black votes. There were tensions between town and gown, that part was true. The narrative was properly about race, sex and class. . . . We went a beat too fast in assuming that a rape took place. . . . We just got the facts wrong. The narrative was right, but the facts were wrong."

Undersecretary of Defence Eric Edelman said this in response to Mrs. Clinton:

"Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia," Edelman wrote.

He added that "such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks."

Image:  1959's Coppertone Girl is one of the most famous ads of all time. The artist used her daughter as the model. Here's their story. In 1959, the only sun block was that white zinc stuff that sailors put on their noses.

Banned in Britain: Christian purity rings. Moonbattery. Impurity rings? No problem.

JetBlue: Do you still like them after reading this?

CAIR: Islamophobia is the problem. LGF. It is? What hutzpah these guys have. I am Islamophobic, now. I don't play golf in thunderstorms, either. Most lightning is harmless, so am I lightningophobic, or just sensible?

Millionaire farmers and subsidies: Surber

NYT and WaPo play useful idiots for Hamas

Blair's Legacy: Corruption and a diminution of personal freedom. Opinion Journal

An academic conference: No, the papers are not about Plato or Aquinas. What I saw in America

Finally! A Media Mythbusters site. Their headline quote: "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." -- John F. Kennedy. Nowadays, we call that "the narrative," and they are deliberate, contrived and dishonest. 

How Italy is screwing the rest of the EU with immigration: Free Republic

From Hatemonger's Quarterly:

Simply put, contemporary Americans appear to want a few things out of their wars:

1) No casualties
2) No setbacks of any kind
3) No use of any troops
4) No mistakes
5) No waiting

John Kerry: We need more votes for surrender. Ace

Quoted from Strategy Page in INDC:

Corruption and lack of civic spirit continue to be the biggest problems in Iraq. This sort of thing does not make loud noises, so does not get into the mass media much. But what is done about corruption, will have more to do with Iraqs future, than the battle with terrorists.

The press has this guy's phone number. When they want a "staunch Republican who plans to vote Dem this time," they call him. Every year.

Biofuels are messing up EU agriculture too. EU Referendum. It would seem rather elementary to me that one does not use food for fuel.

We all live in a yellow submarine. Want one of your own? Theo

Photo proof of GI torture of Iraqi children. Slower Pace

Drugs and alcohol in the workplace. There's plenty of it, but who's surprised? It's been going on forever, and I guess it's just part of life.

The Dem Iraq offensive: All Dems ordered by leadership to trash Bush and Iraq war.

Yet another campus rape story that won't get big press. Ace. Does the press make the racist "low expectations" assumption here, that black campus rape is dog bites man, but white campus rape is man bites dog?

Al Quaida leaders lurking in Iran. Big surprise there. h/t, Jules

Nuclear fearmongering. Blue Crab. At Maggie's Farm, we love nuke power. It's as close to a free lunch as we will ever have.

If you missed it, scroll down and read The Barrister's Railroad piece about retirement. Quite interesting, with Dr. Bliss' comments.

John Edwards vows to end all bad things by 2011. h/t, Sister Toldja

What would Hillary be without Bill? RWN

Do dead people have rights? Or does their cadaver belong to "the collective"? Stumbling. My two comments: 1. There is no "collective" in the USA. 2. If dead people vote, they surely have rights.

FBI says Iraqis being smuggled across the Rio Grande

Dems actually find a federal program they want to cut. John Fund

Moonbats dream of human extinction. Moonbattery

The Coming War in Pakistan. Front Page. This should be interesting. 20,000 armed tribesmen.

New Haven to issue ID cards to illegals. CSM

Why a dollar spent on a Toyota gets you more than a dollar spent on a GM car. Small Dead Lemmings

Why I am not a Marxist (anymore). At David Thompson

Wicked, wicked ironies. Biofuels starve humans. Kim

Europe indifferent to their own demise. Driscoll

Environmental doomsayers usually wrong. Lib. Leanings. What is always their solution? "We're going to have to restructure the global economy." Of course."  Speaking of which, plants can run for their lives down under.

"Baiting the devout": Fitzpatrick reviews Hitchen's atheist book at Spiked. A quote:

Intellectuals who have lost their belief in progress are turning venomously on those who retain a vision of the good society: the religious.

On mandated student volunteering, in the CSM. A quote:

The real audacity of the situation lies in the underlying assumption that students would do nothing without their schools' guiding hand. Why else must kids document their hours? Schools clearly feel obliged to teach our children to care, implying we don't teach them ourselves. America is the most charitable country on earth, so it's an odd assumption. But more important, the schools' mandated volunteerism has slowly turned a noble tradition of philanthropic service into another competition, another thing our kids check off their to-do lists as they plot their college applications.

Photo: a 1958 Deere 320, in excellent shape

I disagree with Roger Simon that there are too many Pres. candidates. The more the merrier. And, speaking of merrier, Ralph Nader will probably run again. Ralph is always a cheerful, optimistic presence. Did you know that he is from the lovely Litchfield Hills town of Norfolk, CT?

Rick Moran is gloomy about Iraq:

Iraq really has become the stickiest of tar babies; we can’t withdraw too precipitously, if at all and yet our military cannot do much of anything to help solve Iraq’s massive political, sectarian, and security problems. We are well and truly stuck. We can’t move forward and we can’t go back.

But Bill Kristol is optimistic.

Are you old enough to remember Green Stamps? Do you know what the Green Stamp Syndrome is? Most people don't bother collecting their rebates.

Church and Community. Patrick Deneen doesn't care for suburbia, either as a place to worship or to live in.

Sand sculpting at Revere Beach. SISU. Yes, it isn't ordinary sand.

USMC officers get the M4. Never Yet Melted

Free range chickens aren't happier chickens. Synthstuff

Expensive study shows "Kids who are taught how to behave, behave better."

Only 49% of teens have summer jobs these days. NE Repub. I consider that very bad news.

Another scatological Hillary collection. She is a serious potty mouth.

Re Africa, quoted by Glenn:

The relationship between the West and Africa is no longer based on openly racist beliefs, but such articles are reminiscent of reports from the heyday of European colonialism, when missionaries were sent to Africa to introduce us to education, Jesus Christ and "civilization."

Now it's hypersensitive Sikhs. What next? h/t, Education Wonks

Chavez: His polls don't look good. That's why socialism requires dictators.

The Fairness Doctrine: its history, going back to JFK

Citizens pay tuition. Illegals go to school free. Rhymes with Right

Fear of Fred. Dems taking no chances. Blue Crab. Is he really all that scary?

Summer blogging: A July-August dip in blog readership is predictable, especially on weekends. We want our readers outside getting exercise and sun, taking vacations far from broadband connections and cellphone towers, and lounging at the beach looking at the scenery, such as one of Theo's gals in photo. Still, don't forget to check in with us: farmers don't take vacations.

Canadians consider legalizing polygamy. Dust my Broom. Dhimmitude masquerading as sensitivity.

Conrad Black: A "compromise verdict"? Prof B. Compromise verdicts do not serve justice. And at American Thinker - what are the business effects of criminalizing bad business decisions? And, about the case, Best Englishism of the Day. (h/t, Worstall)

Police catch ETA terrorists with plan to blow up Brit tour ship.

Is Michael Moore's agitprop career done? Blue Crab. He has no credibility except as a deceptive  propagandist.

More unpleasant truth about Che Guevara. No Pasaran

Ahmadinejab losing support fast. We should just step back and let it happen. Iran poll at Dinocrat

Did you read Dalrymple's piece on The Case for Distrusting Moslems?

Hirsi Ali takes on "cartoonishly anti-American" Canadian journalist. Video at Hot Air

Wary of getting to close to Americans. Captain Ed. Thanks to the defeatists, who for partisan reasons seem determined to sabotage freedom for the Iraqis. Quoted in the piece:

Local Iraqis touched by the surge of US troops seem grateful for the increased security, but some are scared of getting too close to the Americans in case they leave.

“I cannot help the coalition because I worry that if I do and the soldiers go then the terrorists will come back and kill me,” said Mokdat Ahmed Shahib, a 40-year-old security guard, who lives in a village near Patrol Base Murray. He was speaking as a group of US military medics handed out free medicine and advice to scores of families, who had no other healthcare facilities in their village.

Can Iraq manage without the US? At Breibart. I wonder how serious they are. I thought there was a war, or something like it. Where do they go for vacation? Cape Cod? Maine? Sweden? A quote:

In August, the parliament is taking a one month vacation—a shorter break than the usual two months, but still enough to anger some in Congress who say lawmakers should push through the measures.

Important Krauthammer piece: Deserting Petraeus. A quote:

Just this week, Petraeus said that the one thing he needs more than anything else is time. To cut off Petraeus's plan just as it is beginning -- the last surge troops arrived only last month -- on the assumption that we cannot succeed is to declare Petraeus either deluded or dishonorable. Deluded in that, as the best-positioned American in Baghdad, he still believes we can succeed. Or dishonorable in pretending to believe in victory and sending soldiers to die in what he really knows is an already failed strategy.

Who was Winston Churchill? The UK doesn't think kids need to know. Or, more likely, doesn't want kids to know.

The 60-Second Climate Skeptic. Excellent summary, at Coyote.

Musharraf and Pakistan: He has a tough job.

Is is volunteering if they pay you to do it? Latest moonbattism from Massachusetts.

No connection at all between Islam and terrorism. Avoiding the M-word.  And Theo wants advice, hypothetical at the moment: Moslem  Presbyterian hordes are charging up your driveway to cut off your head. What small arm to you want?

And no Al Quaida in Iraq, either. Gateway

People should be banned. Samizdata

Dan Boudreux on Free Trade. Excellent brief summary.

The Beast of Basra, identified. Sounds similar to a Wolverine.

Update on gun and knife crime in the UK. (h/t, Free Market Fairy Tales) Perhaps it never occurred to them that criminals do not tend to obey laws.

Do you believe that stuff you hear about lycopene in tomatos? Is there really any such thing as a "healthy diet"? Probably not. As Junkfood Science says in the above piece:

(a major Harvard study) had followed 71,910 women and 37,725 men for 15 years and found no relationship between fruits and vegetables and cancer, or any statistically significant associations with major chronic disease or cardiovascular disease.

Education and Hiring: Kim du Toit agrees with us. Quote:

As the man said: in fifty years, we’ve gone from teaching Greek and Latin in high school, to teaching remedial English in college.

Did we honestly think that this would have no effect on academic standards at universities?

The Bad Science Prize. More on the Dr. William Hurwitz pain pill case. NYT. The case is shameful and never should have been brought against this poor doc. h/t, Junk Science

Rick Moran slams the Bushies for politicizing the government. He has a point, but perhaps he isn't recognizing to what extent that always happens. Governance is never separate from politics.

Sippican Cottage did not like the link we had earlier, via Insty from Popular Science, about what skills a homeowner needs. He has his own list.

Iran to execute more moral degenerates, including gays and those who "insult religious sanctities." Gateway. Where's the outrage?

More Where's the Outrage: Syria invades Lebanon. Willisms. Ho-hum. Guess the story doesn't fit the narrative of the poor oppressed Moslems.

Protein Wisdom seems to have retired his blog, abruptly. I am sad to see that - he has been a regular read for me.

VDH rips apart the NYT surrender, while Crittenden takes a close look at Bush's speech on Iraq yesterday.

Are there people out there who secretly hope for more terror attacks, for political reasons? Jon Swift

Flopping Aces continues his series about the Shadow Party.

World's tallest man. AOL video

Owsley update: The Grateful Dead's original sound engineer and LSD manufacturer is still around. (h/t, Driscoll)

Photo: The beautiful Olivia de Havilland, sister of Joan Fontaine. Yes, she is still living. Why her today? Because we stole this photo from a Dr. X series on sisters in Hollywood.

Ratatouille. Good clean simple fun for any age. Amazing computer graphics or whatever it is. Difficult to believe that no photography was used, but it wasn't. Cramer agrees.

Basic Life Skills. Popular Mechanics. h/t, Insty

Living from hand to mouth on a good income. Lots of folks in that category.

Trying to buy stuff without a Made in China label. Difficult. But why would anyone bother? Just stay away from their food.

Golf courses can double as wildlife sanctuaries. I think it's a great concept, and I have heard that it's beginning to catch on.

Cattle produce more CO2 than all of the cars and trucks in the world. So why are they picking on cars and gasoline? Classical Values

Africa needs trade not aid. Cafe Hayek

Don Luskin blows his top about Krugman and socialized medicine. If people have to lie and distort to make their point, then they must have no point to make.

Pope Benedict: More Latin, more pilgrims, more money - and no relativism or rock concerts. Times Online

Where are all the single ladies? Map at Coyote. Lots of towns with lots of lonely ladies.

Fed up with the Log Cabin Repubs. Gay Patriot

Sex is private unless you are a Republican. Surber. Fair enough, but there is one difference: the Dems don't seem to care about sexual morality at all, and the Repubs say that they do. Thus the issue is hypocrisy, not morality.

Bruce Bartlett retires his column, comments on the future of media. Town Hall

The Netherlands re-thinking their liberal identity. Too bad they didn't think first. WaPo. h/t, Dr. Bob

Bizarro world, bizarro eminent lawyers. Prof B

In Poland, a Jewish Festival without Jews. NYT. Strange.

Neoneo has it figured out. What's the big rush about Iraq? Same as the rush was with immigration: the Dems, and now the Repubs too, want those messy issues off the table before the election. Nobody likes what is going on in Iraq - especially the failure of Iraq internal politics - but nobody wants to deal with the consequences of the mess in the ME that would probably follow if we throw them overboard.

Chantix: It reduces desire for both tobacco and alcohol. Maybe they should put it in the water (along with Prozac, of course).

We have been saying it for over a year - that the EU is an unelected Empire - the Empire that Napoleon and Bismark and Hitler had hoped to achieve by arms. Finally, the EU admits it. Remarkable that anyone would admit the truth so directly. As we have said before, nowadays invasions happen via immigration, Imperialism via bureaucracy, and individual freedom is stolen by "caring" elected officials. Europeans have become such sheep that arms are no longer needed to run them over.

The Ides of July. Shrinkwrapped speculates about looming trouble.

Studies show that wives rule the roost, statistically anyway. Dr. X. Duh. Any time a woman tries to give you that "poor little me" BS, watch out for that iron hand inside that soft Gucci glove. Just ask Larry Summers.

The 24-hour rule on news. Wizbang. Problem is, most folks just remember the first version.

Another old-time back woods Southern tradition falls victim to the goo-goos. NeverYet Melted. Gentrification of the swamp? What would Pogo say?

How foolishly does the gummint spend your hard-earned money? Right Wing Prof on a monumentally unsuccessful obesity campaign. Didn't you older folks have the big fight about colleges being in loco parentis back in the 60s? So why now do we have those old 60s libs trying to do the opposite with kids now? On my nickel.

Speaking of obesity, the obese survive heart attacks better. The experts can't figure it out, but I have a theory: carrying all of that lard around all the time gives them stronger hearts.