Monday, September 24. 2007
Totten interviews Lt. Col. Mike Silverman. One quote: “What’s the most important thing Americans need to know about Iraq that they don’t currently know?” I said. “That we’re fighting Al Qaeda,” he said without hesitation. “[Abu Musab al] Zarqawi invented Al Qaeda in Iraq. The top leadership outside Iraq squawked and thought it was a bad idea. Then he blew up the Samarra mosque, triggered a civil war, and got the whole world’s attention. Then the Al Qaeda leadership outside dumped huge amounts of money and people and arms into Anbar Province. They poured everything they had into this place. The battle against Americans in Anbar became their most important fight in the world. And they lost.”
h/t, Gateway
It's been a long time since we posted a Dog of the Week.  But all domestic dogs, mutts or purebred, are, of course, just dogs.
There is a Genome Project for dogs. If genetics is of interest, this dog genetic update in American Scientist will be fascinating. It begins thus: A Pekingese weighs only a couple of pounds; a St. Bernard can weigh over 180. Both dogs, though vastly different in appearance, are members of the same genus and species, Canis familiaris. How dog breeds can exhibit such an enormous level of variation between breeds, and yet show strong conformity within a breed, is a question of interest to breeders and everyday dog lovers alike. In the past few years, it has also become a compelling question for mammalian geneticists. The "dog genome project" was launched in the early 1990s, motivated by scientists' desire to find the genes that contributed to many of the ills suffered by purebred dogs. Most dog breeds have only been in existence for a few hundred years. Many exhibit limited genetic diversity, as dog breeds are typically descended from a small number of founders, created by crossing closely related individuals. Further, breeds often experience population bottlenecks as the popularity of the breed waxes and wanes. As a result of this population structure, genetic diseases are more common in purebred dogs than in mixed-breed dogs. Scientists have been motivated to use dog populations to find genes for diseases that affect both humans and dogs, including cancer, deafness, epilepsy, diabetes, cataracts and heart disease. In doing so we can simultaneously help man and man's best friend.
The whole (multi-page) thing is here. Photo: That is a Chessie.
 A quote from the Columbia Spectator (h/t, Minding the Campus):
In the 1930s, the Columbia administration participated in what could be described as the coddling of the Nazi regime. In 1933, Nazi ambassador Hans Luther gave a speech on campus in which, according to a 2006 article in Spectator by Rafeal Medoff, he focused on Hitler’s “peaceful intentions” in Europe. Columbia maintained student exchange programs with Nazi universities throughout the ’30s, while, in 1936, our university sent a representative to the 550th anniversary celebration of the University of Heidelberg, even though, writes Medoff, it had “already had been purged of Jewish faculty members, instituted a Nazi curriculum, and hosted a burning of books by Jewish authors.”
Read the whole piece, which I feel is rather unfair. Columbia is hardly an anti-semitic institution. The failure is one of discrimination - of being unwilling to decide what is good and what is bad, or, as our NJ says, "what is worthy and what is not"... or, worse, in actually declaring that one thing - ignorant murderous scum - is worth welcoming into your home, but another (ROTC and campus recruiting) is not. In modern academia, Columbia is hardly unique in these failures of conscience, decency, honor, and vigorous adult judgement. Columbia is, in fact, an amazing place, but not so much so that the administration is immunized from Pomo Psychosis: they may even still believe that it is the "advanced" way of thinking. My message to Columbia today: Grow a pair, and stand for something. My old Mater has embarrassed me.
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have a hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult. E.B. White, as quoted in yesterdays post "No Blood for What?"
 X Games injuries. Idiots.
Steyn: Bend over for Nurse Hillary. Annie Oakley's guns at auction. The Pope gets tough on Moslem extremism Bip died. Jules. It surprised me that he was still living. I'm beginning to enjoy XXl Century Socialism. Devil's Excrement Jena: Searching for facts I was wrong about the NYT: Roger Simon It's not about Free Speech. SDA. Bollinger has it all bolluxed up, and I'd guess he thinks his critics are neanderthal proles. It's about who you deem worthy of your invitation and your audience. What somebody deems worthy says plenty about them, their judgement, and their values. I have free speech too, but Bollinger hasn't invited me yet.
Sunday, September 23. 2007
 Maggie's Farm is a state of mind, and doesn't really represent a single literal farm, as The Barrister has said.
At the same time, to add some ambiguity to the idea, it is partly inspired by a literal farm which was given as a land grant by King George lll to my ancestors, many of whom are buried in the graveyard by the side of the road. It is in the Massachusetts Berkshire Hills, and close enough to Tanglewood for convenience, but I will not say where. It is remarkable that a place should be in the family, fully intact, after all of these years, although the original farmhouses burned down (cellar-holes still in place) and many of the barns, buildings, and the marble-cutting mill by the river have fallen down over the years. Much of our stone is marble up here, and much of it was quarried in the first half of the 1800s and pulled by oxen to be floated down the Housatonic River for shipment to NYC, Providence, and Boston for their fancy buildings. All of our barns and buildings have marble foundations beneath their rickety structures. Even the diving "board" at the stream's swimming hole is a 6x4x4 block of marble sticking out into the water which must have been left behind when the last load of marble departed. The marble was surely a nice income supplement for thse hardscrabble dairy farmers. One of the two surviving, and gradually being renovated, liveable quarters on the farm was originally built as a rustic and simple dwelling for the mill workers in 1820.
They admit that the "Betray us" ad did not meet their standards, and that MoveOn was given a discount, confirming everything we think about the NYT. Enough said. Comments here and here (by fine people who should be outdoors today, enjoying a beautiful September).
Assistant Village Idiot, in his post Wisdom from a Liberal of Another Era, quoted this paragraph - among others - from a 1938 E.B. White essay in One Man's Meat:  I'm down now; the barn is tight, and the peace is preserved. It is the ugliest peace the earth has ever received for a Christmas present. Old England eating swastika for breakfast instead of kipper is a sight I had as lief not lived to see. And though I am no warrior, I would gladly fight for the things Nazism seeks to destroy. (Living in a sanitary age, we are getting so we place too high a value on human life - which rightfully must always come second to human ideas.)
I say "Old England eating Islam instead of kippers." (I love kippers for breakfast.) The New Yorker has always had an anglophilic streak. But AVI asks: Does anyone at the New Yorker think that today?
 Read his whole piece, which I have been thinking about for a week. AVI rightly observes that today's anti-war folks would probably renounce pacifism, but claim that Iraq is not a place for Americans to die. That is debatable, but it seems that the bad guys need to be killed somewhere. Why not there?
But on to the bigger issues: Do we, today, tend to place too high a value on human life? Are there ideas we will die for, or communities we will die for, or will we only die for family? Is our precious selfhood, which some might term narcissism, more important than anything else to us and, if it is, what changed between 1938 (before the US was in the war) and today? Photos: Yes, we are E.B. White fans. Below is the Maine boathouse in which he wrote Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. A favorite E.B. White quote: "I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have a hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult."
 Sgt. Eddie Jeffers, US Army, milblogger, and the best America can produce, was killed in Iraq on Sept. 19.
Read about this young man at Flopping. God bless such men, who face the dangers while we safely, comfortably, and complainingly do whatever it is we must do or chose to do. Photo from Assymetric Military.
That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and His call are necessarily our death and our life. .
 If I were a preacher, I would like to have preached this sermon: Believing is Seeing, by R. Maurice Boyd of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (1991).
It seemed relevant to all of the miracles reported in Luke 5. One brief quote: Science isn't a matter of believing only what you see. Science is a matter of believing and seeing by believing. One of the greatest scientists tells us that. Einstein said that it all begins in an attitude and the attitude is one of wonder which is not far from faith. He says that astronomy began not when somebody looked at a star through a telescope. It began when somebody said, "Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are." Say that seeing is believing, but if you do, don't expect to be a scientist.
Read the whole thing. Photo: A Hubble photo of infant stars in a star nursery.
Since my group is doing Luke 5 this week, I thought I'd post some. Simon Peter's reaction to the haul of fish is notable. As a friend said, a natural reaction might be "Hey, Jesus - how the heck did you do that?"  Luke 5: 1-11
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a adraught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have atoiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net abrake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt acatch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they aforsook all, and bfollowed him. Image: Duccio (c.1308) The Calling of Peter and Andrew
Saturday, September 22. 2007
Maybe use this weapon on Ruffed Grouse in New Brunswick next month? We might hit one.
There is no place in the US with more interesting historical walking tours. The Battle for New York. h/t, Buddy
Dear Dr. Bliss: Since you posted on Freud today, I thought I would note that this friendly young lady appeared in my dream last night. I was lucky to have my camera with me. What does it mean, if anything? I figgered it meant that the blog had been lacking in human beauty lately, but I am open to any interpretation. I think she might be a witch. Yours, Bird Dog (thanks, Theo, for Dream Support Services) PS: I apologise for the lack of appropriate blog attire on the lady in the photo, but we always try to be accurate here at Maggie's. 
 U VA's Mark Edmundson writes about his new book, The Death of Sigmund Freud: the legacy of his last days, in The Chronicle Review. One quote:
The Death of Sigmund Freud began as a book about death and dying. I wanted to understand what it might mean to die a good death — a good secular death. From what I knew of Freud's last days, when he was dying of cancer, he had done exactly that. In fact, as I studied his life, I found that to the end he was tough, brave, and resolutely secular. His final public act was to publish his most controversial book, Moses and Monotheism. "Quite a worthy exit," he said of the volume, and it was. So I began writing about Freud's heroic demise. But the true subject of a book is often about 20 degrees away from the author's original intention, and so it was here. As I studied Freud's old age and his late work, I came to see that the problems he encountered were in many ways still ours. Both religious fundamentalism and political tyranny threatened Freud in old age, and in quite immediate ways. Freud worked on his Moses book under the shadow of the repressive Roman Catholic Church of Austria, which surely would have moved to suppress the book if he had tried to publish it in Vienna. When he was 81 years old, Nazi Germany invaded Austria and threatened Freud and his family with death.
Read the whole piece. Quite remarkable the way Anna was brought for interrogation by the Gestapo - with a suicide pill in her pocket. Tyranny has always been fearful of psychoanalysis due to the centrality it grants to the individual soul and spirit.
Where Bush Went Wrong in Iraq and How He Can Correct It Now, by Dan Friedman at American Thinker. I hope somebody in the White House reads it.
 David Thompson's weekly Friday grab bag always has good stuff. He found a fine Chrysler Building site, whence the photo on right. What do you have to pay somebody to do a job like that?
Prof. Bainbridge is trying out a new blog format. Cupcakes are the newest thing. It's Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. LGF Mary Mapes is back, and Neoneo has her number. Coolest model airplane. TigerHawk Opie informs us that Chavez' Citgo has changed its name to Petro Express because people have been boycotting Citgo. Jesus sandals ditched by Danes. Maybe they were threatened with beheading? Education in Massachusetts, from Boortz: Our government school bureaucrats at work. A city superintendent in Massachusetts put dozens of teachers on unpaid leave for failing basic English proficiency tests. Meanwhile, he failed the test too ... but he got a raise! (He also says it's not his fault because his first language is Spanish.)
I would not invite Yasser Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Rudy Giuliani in 1995, when he kicked Arafat out of a Lincoln Center concert for the UN's 50th Anniversary.
 I am trying to decide what term to use for the aggressive suppression of ideas and speech in Leftist academia. When will the book burning begin?
Now I see Stanford is fighting Don Rumsfeld's visiting professorship. As Protein says: Alas, we’ve surrendered liberalism for the kind of creeping totalitarianism whose resemblance to liberalism is limited to a familiar smile and wink.
"Behead those who insult the Party Line." Maybe Stanford is jealous that Columbia got Ahmadinejad and not them. Academia is beginning to look like this. It's sick out there, and getting sicker.
Hey, where are all the hurricanes? I am eagerly awaiting to hear that global warming reduces hurricanes. Or maybe makes hurricanes difficult to predict? Speaking of hurricanes, New Orleans, the Crime Murder Capitol of the USA, literally held up America - and got away with it. Below is Kudlow, as quoted in Moral Issues and Economic Solutions at Classical Values: The grand total is $127 billion (including tax relief). That's right: a monstrous $127 billion. Of course, not a single media story has highlighted this gargantuan government-spending figure. But that number came straight from the White House in a fact sheet subtitled, "The Federal Government Is Fulfilling Its Commitment to Help the People of the Gulf Coast Rebuild." Huh? Perhaps all this money should've been directly deposited in the bank accounts of the 300,000 people living in New Orleans. All divvied up, that $127 billion would come to $425,000 per person! After thanking Uncle Sam for their sudden windfall, residents could head to Southern California and buy homes that are now on sale thanks to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and bid up the sagging house prices in the state.
Friday, September 21. 2007
George Soros: The Man, the Mind, and the Money Behind MoveOn, at IBD (h/t, Buddy). The article asks "Who is this man and what is he up to?" Read it, because the guy owns the Democrat Party.
It's been a pleasure to be able to link Villainous Company regularly. I will miss her.
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