Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Wednesday, June 11. 2008The ethanol scam and gas prices, plus the missing campaign issueWho knew that pandering pols put a 54-cent tariff on imported ethanol for the benefit of domestic corn farmers and ethanol producers? Story here. The ethanol scam industry would not exist without subsidies (which we pay for - via our income taxes, not at the pump) and protective tariffs. Of course, federal and state taxes on a gallon of gas add plenty too. And this leads me to the big missing campaign issue: Dems refuse further drilling, block refineries, block nuclear and, due to their greenie alliance, want to force fuel prices higher to reduce usage. Yet, at the same time, they complain vehemently about energy costs and want to punish the oil companies. It's nonsense, unless you believe in fairies. The Dems are selling fairy tales about energy - and about other things too. QQQIf you want self-esteem, do esteemable things. A friend of Bill Credit cards and the brainIn commercial societies, everybody wants you to buy their stuff. Even though retailers lose a bit of their profit in their credit card fees, credit cards make it so easy to spend money painlessly and impulsively that, overall, they are a boon to retail commerce. The average American received 15 credit card mail solicitations last year, so they're making plenty of money on this too. Good for them. Spending discipline, thrift, saving, and "making do" are traditional American virtues, but, like so many valuable traditional virtues, they seem to be gradually going by the wayside in the face of our prosperity and growth. As David Brooks discusses, Seduction of borrowed money is making U.S. a nation of debtors. The Frontal Cortex has a piece on Credit Cards and the Brain. Predictably, spending cash and spending via plastic have different impacts on the brain. Financial suicide is painless. My rule is that all of my credit cards must be paid in full each month. Martin Johnson HeadeThis is Heade's Newbury Marshes (c. 1871) from the John Wilmerding Collection. Newburyport, MA lies on the coast 40 miles north of Boston, at the mouth of the Merrimack River. In those days, salt marshes were used for cattle grazing, and salt hay was harvested for winter fodder. Over the past 100 years, the once-vast Atlantic coast salt marshes have been devastated by fill, development, and by channelization in the early 1900s in an effort to reduce mosquitoes (Malaria was a big problem in New England at the turn of the century.) In one of the coastal New England towns I grew up in, the salt marsh acreage dropped from 1000 acres to 30 acres, mostly since 1940. I think the subject of Salt Marshes will need to be a future post.
A note to Commenters: Email address for comments, and our anti-spamAt the request of some of our commenters and our Webmeister, we are now requiring (as do all sites like ours) that an email address be included to post comments. Of course, your email address is private and will not show in the comments - unless you wish it to be shown by listing it on the optional "Homepage" line. Also, comments are frequently caught by our anti-spam system. Don't take it personally. It happens to me too. It usually just takes a re-phrasing, but I can usually never tell what it is objecting to. Lastly - please feel welcome to offer comments. Don't be shy. We are quite friendly unless our hospitality is abused. We welcome disagreement and civil debate - in fact, we enjoy it. It only takes a minute to join in, and your comments add vitality to Maggie's. The more, the merrier. Tuesday, June 10. 2008A few Tuesday evening linksHow Amnesty International frames their questions. Norm Iowahawk will soon be an internet millionaire. Let's hope he continues his Presidential campaign, despite his coming wealth. Will the press actually raise some questions about Obama? Well, they did here. Related: CT's Joe Lieberman fights back. I guess Joe passed on the Kool Aid. Yacht sales sinking. No surprise. Oil prices up, demand down. Only a socialist couldn't understand that. Oil demand down. Prices up, demand down. Only a socialist couldn't understand that. A question of timing: How come suddenly we hear all about Saddam's ties with Al Qaida? "Shut the hell up." A Roger Simon quote from his Pajamas piece:
Image: A sultry Theo lovely, lounging in a Springtime meadow with that olde Springtime "Come hither" look. The naughty side of the Bible
At The Tennesseean. Plenty of earthy stuff in "The Owner's Manual." (h/t, reader)
Too big to failA quote from Michael Lewis at Bloomberg:
"Congress cannot run a restaurant, but it still wants to run America’s $2 trillion-a-year health care industry."
Congress privatizes their restaurants. Story at Surber.
Race, Tribalism, Trust Cues and the "Stranger Instinct"Our post on Race in the Race a few weeks ago reminded me of the several posts we have done over recent years about tribalism and trust, making the rather obvious point that people tend towards "affinity groups" because they are more likely to know where the others are coming from. When there are enough socio-cultural affinities between people, we call it a "tribe." (I have often heard Jews refer to fellow Jews as "the tribe.") Tribes share, among other things, social signals and cues - the most important being "trust cues." (I was amused and pleased to see that our 2006 bit on Trust Cues and Tribalism was the top of Google when you search "Trust Cues." Very cool.) I more or less know what to expect from a fellow white middle-aged heterosexual New England Protestant somewhat over-educated professional person who dresses sort-of like I do. I do not know exactly what to expect, but approximately and statistically. And if they like to study wildlife, to garden, to hunt, to mess with boats, and to talk about politics, then even more so. The odds are that we will know each other's rules, codes, signals, cues, language, manners, sense of humor, personal boundaries - even tastes. (Not necessarily their politics, though. My "tribe" has enormous political diversity.) The further we move from our own tribe into the realm of "the other," the less effective we become at reading the signals and cues. I can use as simple an example as attending a Roman Catholic Mass: I feel awkward because I don't know when to stand or sit, or whether they want me to join in Communion or not. All people, I think, have a comfort bias and a trust bias in favor of their own tribes, and I do not feel that that is a bad thing: it's rational. "Birds of a feather..." I believe that much of what is termed "racism" has little to do with race. Mitt Romney's Mormonism is a case in point. I think it was a real issue. People don't know what the Mormon view of the world is, what they are taught, how they raise their kids, what they think about, etc. - and are not interested enough in the subject to learn about it. All we know is "It seems kinda strange" - and "strange" = "a stranger." Thus are our "stranger," tribal instincts ignited. It's not about skin color at all. Some of us are fascinated by "the other," some are a little bit curious, some are hostile, but most folks just don't care to be bothered very much with other cultures. The "multiculturalism" movement of the last decade sought to suppress that Stranger Instinct (for some good reasons, and some bad) - but it cannot be done because it is anchored in reason as well as in biology. All the multicult fascists and nannies managed to do was to silence people while, unfortunately, heightening our everyday consciousness of our differences. So I finally arrive at the Rev. Wright subject. The Rev. Wright preaches a Black Liberation "theology" which, as best I can tell, seems to have only a superficial relationship to any Christianity I have seen (and which is an ideology that seems to have racial hatred built into its core). However, they seem to be dedicated to doing some good and charitable works in Chicago. But my point is that when Wright preaches "God damn America" I instantly know that I am dealing with another tribe. I cannot tell whether his is hyperbolically throwing red meat to work up the crowd, or whether he means it. I cannot read the signals at all, and that makes me uneasy and distrustful. Rightly so, in my view: I feel like I have wandered into the wrong pew. That's all a long-winded way of getting around to linking some of our past posts on the general subject: Scared by his own research on multiculturalism Masquerades and Clothing Signaling Photo: Alaskan Eskimos exist in a culture which is totally alien to me.
Posted by Bird Dog
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TalebAn interview with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the "prophet of doom and gloom." With a good video, too, of his ten rules for life at Times Online. One quote: "Don't mess with complex systems."
Posted by The Barrister
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More on oil prices and politicsAt TigerHawk. One quote:
At the beach in Yankeeland, on SundayThanks, reader
Posted by Bird Dog
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Monday, June 9. 2008QQQIn most societies in the world, people aren't worried about the price of gas. They're worried about where their next meal is coming from. Mark Levin, on the radio tonight. It's a good point: the whole world would love to have the worries that Americans have. Monday Links: Gone fishin'FYI: I will likely be away the rest of this week and next, depending on the weather. I really do need a vacation with plenty of salt water, seafood, sand, and sun. Boating this week around RI, Montauk, Cuttyhunk, Nantucket, and Chatham, then, afterwards, camping on the coast in Maine. That is my current plan, anyway, but I do not camp in rain: been there, done that. I will try to post if and when I can, and will pre-post a few items if I feel inspired. Sometimes I wonder why I turned my "links" posts into a near-daily item. It just grew like Topsy, but it was never intended. And it was never intended to try to be timely - just interesting. Our original idea here was to avoid the timely (and to limit our total number of posts to 3-4/day max), because you can depend on the rest of the web for hot news. However, one does tend to get caught up in ephemera - if only as diversion and for its entertainment value. Yes, I do need a little vacation from politics, work, and the internets - and some good American perspective and some good American clams and a good American sunburn or two. I am amused to see our excellent blog pal and fellow Yankee Jules doing the same thing. This Irishman knows what he's doing. Apparently he is not inclined to vote his freedom and autonomy away. Clearly, he is not "Progressive." With health care "reform," Ted Kennedy would die right away, In the remarkable world of modern medicine, only rationing can cut costs. I forget the exact stats, but something like 80% of US medical care costs are in the final year of life. Adding weeks or months to dying peoples' lives is one expensive thing at which medical science has excelled. (Don't get me wrong - it has also produced wonderful, near-miraculous things.) Stuff White People Like: Having gay friends. Al Gore investing in a carbon credit company. Related: Is global warming really a pressing problem? Related: The cost of an insurance policy matters. The fundamental right to be left alone Steyn on Obama's "humility". I still think Obama's promising nice weather forever could set people up for disappointment. Related: Obama - A True Ideologue, at Pajamas. Related: No Pasaran quotes Goldberg:
Panda s*x. With photos Upper photo: Nice boat
Posted by The News Junkie
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Instill some reality?I support John McCain. I believe he is a good fellow, but seemingly not as conservative or as reflective a fellow as I would like. However, I've been around long enough to know that life is never perfect. I forget where I read it, but somebody noted that John McCain has to burst the Obama bubble before he can be heard in the face of MSM and teeny-bopper Obamamania. How does an aging pol like John McCain say "Hey - this isn't real. This is fluff, BS, and pixie dust" without sounding like Gramps breaking up a kegger? Hillary Clinton tried all that, and nothing seemed to stick because the guy seems so young and cheerfully confident, and such a purveyor of "hope." Try telling an amateur investor that "Hope is not a plan." They get mad when they are told that. Plus having the gatekeeper MSM deep in Obama's underpants makes it all much more difficult. I think we saw this same scenario with Bill Clinton, not so long ago. And with Jimmy Carter, too, if anybody is old enough to remember that. He was going to change politics forever. QQQThe dude is just a young Commie Chicago pol who talks like a preacher, for heaven's sake. Maybe reporters aren't used to hearing preachers. The News Junkie of Maggie's Farm, yesterday "The Gas Prices We Deserve" and the campaign issue that isn'tLifted from a comment here by Buddy:
Because the bully pulpit wasn't effectively used, that news never really got out. The above numbers do not include the Dems' blocking of nuclear plants, which are going up all over the world including in Africa. Abundant power is the sine qua non of modern civilization. Combine it with free markets and free people and you have a civilizational rocket. I sort-of understand the Dems blocking every Repub initiative out of pure partisan bile, but I do not know what their energy plan is. All they talk about are "clean alternatives," which is a joke, and they gobble up oil as fast as I do without any apparent regret. I do know what my energy plan is: Lots of nuke power, plenty of clean coal technology, none of this dopey, subsidized and highly-polluting biofuel, and drilling for oil where we can: oil is great stuff and we are fortunate to have tons of it in the US. This should be a major campaign issue, if McCain would wake up to it. Related: Surber notes that gasoline accounts for only 45% of US oil use, in a piece titled What's the MPG of Your Soap? Thanks, reader. Most of the above quoted is via Paul at Powerline. A Command and Control QQQ
I think that just about sums it all up. It is endlessly fascinating and dismaying to me that so many people seem to want to be controlled.
Posted by Bird Dog
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Where they stand
An excellent summary: Obama and McCain, compared on the issues - just on the off chance that "issues" matter this year. (h/t, Jeff Soyer)
QQQ"In the Hegelian model, it's not enough to be the antithesis party." Newt Gingrich (h/t, Evang. Outpost) Sunday, June 8. 2008Sunday evening linksNo slacker left behind. Moonbattery. After all, rewarding effort and achievement is just so Capitalistic. 1000 kg WW2 bomb defused in London. Still ticking? How can that be? Chavez eating some crow. About time. Actor Bob Anderson died. Who? You remember him. I always loved Simenon. Read some of his in French (in school), most in English. I had no idea he was so prolific. Canada signs trade agreement with Colombia. Not the US, though. Since when did "Love thine enemy" mean "Hate thine friend"? And who elects people to love my enemy anyway? Chuck Hagel joins the Blame America First crowd. How John McCain can use the internet Why the electoral college will never go away. The Guardian's position on Islam Britain's Free Speech breakdown. Can I say it again? Brave New World is not a handbook. What could Mark Steyn's punishment look like? h/t, piece at Tiger Serious finger-painting Lots of good posts at Coyote Quoted in a piece at Villainous:
Obama: Lightworker. Good grief. Maybe he really is the real Mighty Quinn. Either that, or our reporter is freakin' insane from homoerotomania. To me, he is the teeny-bopper candidate. Hey - the dude is just a Commie Chicago pol who talks like a preacher, for heaven's sake. Maybe reporters just aren't used to hearing preachers. O'Rourke as quoted in a piece at No Left Turns:
Obama maps a
My "individual salvation depends on collective salvation." Huh? What? Since when? I think I need a vacation to deeply ponder this notion of "collective salvation." Or is the "wagon" I am supposed to hitch onto just the same old IRS?
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The Israeli economyFrom Tom Friedman on Israel:
Read the whole thing at the NYT A Wandering LighthouseA long-lost Wellfleet, Cape Cod 30' lighthouse which stood outside the harbor until 1925 has finally been located at Point Montara, CA. How it arrived in California is, as yet, a mystery. Some blame aliens, some blame Halliburton, but only I know how and why lighthouses migrate - and I ain't gonna tell. To keep up with all of your lighthouse news, read Lighthouse Digest. From today's Lectionary: "I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners"Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26 9:9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 9:10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 9:11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 9:12 But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 9:13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." 9:18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 9:19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 9:20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 9:21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well." 9:22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." and instantly the woman was made well. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 9:24 he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district.
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