Friday, April 17. 2009
 I know it's a cheap shot which is beneath Maggie's dignity, but that photo (Caption This) from Wizbang isn't a person walking a dog: it's a dog walking a person. I just use the photo to make the point that, in general, it only takes about 3 hours (9 20-minute lessons at 2-3/day) to train a pup to heel (his nose at your left knee), and it will never forget with regular reinforcement of the lesson. Nobody wants to be seen in public with a dog that will not heel because it's a reflection on you, like a kid that throws food. Pinch collar and dog yummies. An untrained dog means you don't really care about the animal, same as an uncivilized kid. In the Obama's defence, that is a darn good-looking PWD (if a bit older than the ideal 6-9 weeks), but any dog can be easily trained. Obedience is what they are bred for. It just takes a few minutes and a little firmness. The training is the real bonding. Train that dog the way you train the Dems in Congress. Sit! Heel! Vote!
Government should bail out dying media. Brilliant! Just like Chavez. Or Pravda. Put 'em on the gummint payroll and they will play nice, like the BBC and the CBC.
Treasury "allows" bank to return TARP funds; bank complains about changing the rules. Duh. Take their money and you're on their plantation.
Does Georgetown hate its Jesuit heritage?
Dem crook du jour: The Car Czar. So many Dem sleazes that it seems normal now. Not news.
From Tiger:
An old pro like Barack Obama has to be more amused by these protests than worried about them. The left is laughing for a reason.
If the right wants to succeed in civil resistance, it needs to study the tactics of the left and adopt the methods that are not incompatible with its own morality.
Related: Thousands protest: the Left sneers
A quote from Overcoming Bias a while ago on the meaning of life and the future and all that:
But then won't people be bored?
No; they can play computer games - not like our games, of course, but much more advanced and entertaining.
Yet wait! If you buy a modern computer game, you'll find that it contains some tasks that are - there's no kind word for this - effortful. (I would even say "difficult", with the understanding that we're talking about something that takes 10 minutes, not 10 years.)
So in the future, we'll have programs that help you play the game - taking over if you get stuck on the game, or just bored; or so that you can play games that would otherwise be too advanced for you.
But isn't there some wasted effort, here? Why have one programmer working to make the game harder, and another programmer to working to make the game easier? Why not just make the game easier to start with? Since you play the game to get gold and experience points, making the game easier will let you get more gold per unit time: the game will become more fun.
So this is the ultimate end of the prophecy of technological progress - just staring at a screen that says "YOU WIN", forever.
And maybe we'll build a robot that does that, too.
Then what?
 A serious marathoner friend recently told me that she had leased one of these to train for the Boston Marathon (on Monday). She does 2/3 of her running on the road, and 1/3 on the G.
60 miles/week, plus pool running and swimming a mile every other day. Yes, she is slim and ripped, but prone to shin splints over 40-50 miles/week on the road. She tends to come in right behind "the elites," as runners term them.
She complains that her job interferes with her training. Luckily, her husband and 3 kids are jocks and thus good supporters.
The G was designed as a rehab machine. It's about effort without injury. Review of the anti-gravity treadmill here.
Pool running is cheaper. These things cost $75,000.
 I opted out of Medicare years ago. I felt morally torn about doing so, but finally my bookkeeper refused to do any more of their paperwork. That settled it.
My compromise was to institute a generous sliding fee scale for Medicare-aged folks. (My general policy is to never decline a referred patient because of money.) From a young Doc, in the WSJ:
Here's something that has gotten lost in the drive to institute universal health insurance: Health insurance doesn't automatically lead to health care. And with more and more doctors dropping out of one insurance plan or another, especially government plans, there is no guarantee that you will be able to see a physician no matter what coverage you have.
Consider that the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reported in 2008 that 28% of Medicare beneficiaries looking for a primary care physician had trouble finding one, up from 24% the year before. The reasons are clear: A 2008 survey by the Texas Medical Association, for example, found that only 38% of primary-care doctors in Texas took new Medicare patients. The statistics are similar in New York state, where I practice medicine.
More and more of my fellow doctors are turning away Medicare patients because of the diminished reimbursements and the growing delay in payments.
Every new generation constitutes a wave of savages who must be civilized by their families, schools, and churches.
Robert Bork (H/t, Gates of Vienna)
 Finally, a war the Left would embrace with enthusiasm
Journalists have journalist arrested. That's the spirit! (h/t Insty)
LaShawn outs herself as a right-wing extremist
Why many with 6-figure incomes do not feel rich
Obama apologizes to innocent asteroids
How the CIA extracted info from Jihadists.
Krauthammer shreds Obama's BS. Amazing to me how the O gets away with it.
NYT: Tea Parties dismissed as group therapy. Dem leaders have a different view: Tea Parties are Neo-Nazi racists and militias. I guess they are referring to people like the Neo-Nazi skinhead neoneo.
And another Dem Rep calls them despicable. Huh? I thought dissent was patriotic...never mind.
And via Driscoll:
Related: “Never before in history have so few been able to accuse so many so often and so pervasively of so much they didn’t say and don’t mean”, Roger L. Simon writes, in his look at “Tea Party Derangement Syndrome.”
Social pathology and structural poverty. A quote:
The biggest question to ask liberals is: Why don't you support those solutions that have worked so well in your own life?
It is hard to avoid the feeling that the Left is endemically racist and classist: That they have simply decided that what works in their own lives will never work to raise poor blacks, Hispanics and whites out of poverty.
If that's not true, I would like to hear from liberals: Why don't you just encourage all the people you feel sorry for to adopt those work and life habits that made your own friends and families successful?
Dick Morris on the anti-success President. A quote:
Obama’s perverse view of fairness threatens to create reverse incentives, militating against growth, jobs, expansion, and upward mobility.
For decades, astute observers of national welfare policy warned of the perversity of the incentives which kept the poor on welfare and discouraged them from taking jobs. Employment meant that their slightly higher income would be more than offset by the loss of other benefits like food stamps, day care, rent supplements, and Medicaid. Work didn’t pay.
Now Obama is applying the same crazy policies to the upper end of the economic spectrum.
Upward mobility is alive and well in the United States, at least until Obama took over. A study conducted in the late 1990s examined the economic fate of those consigned to the bottom 20% of incomes in 1980. The analysis concluded that more than four out of five had left the bottom quintile and one in five was now in the top 20%! It is true that the top quintile is getting richer while the bottom is getting poorer, but the bottom is not the same people. There is, fortunately, a constant churning at the bottom as new immigrants move in and those who used to be on the bottom begin their long, thrilling, upward climb to the American dream.
But Obama does not believe in individual upward mobility. He would penalize it, tax it, regulate it, inveigh against it, and disincentivize it.
Thursday, April 16. 2009
The Grateful Dead always performed on Persian carpets. Rug Rag takes a look at what The Dead, as they are now known, walk around on.
And speaking of rugs, here's a 5X6 Bakhtiari "flower bed" design I like. I now must brace myself for the rug expert readers to inform me of everything that is wrong with it...Our rug expert readers must understand that our rugs get rough treatment. They are subject to ice-melting salt, dogs, driveway gravel, work boots, mud, and the occasional spilled glass of red wine. Truly special antique rugs would a shame to use and abuse as we do. New-made rugs? Wouldn't touch 'em. Vulgar, garish-looking junk, most of it, with all the character of a Woolworth's velvet kitten picture.
 Buffett tends to drive cars until the wheels fall off. His new one is a Chinese E-6. Good story.
Photo from the Fortune article.
In an interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with him in heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body - but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity.
This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in Christ-likeness.
This past year of my life has been the greatest year of my life, but also the toughest with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountain, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness: my problems, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or to make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, this notoriety, this influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, ll Corintians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our life style one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I had started the church, and paid it all back. It was liberating to me to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do."
The unions own the public schools. Not "the people" and not the parents. It's a darn pity. Betsy with details.
Schools began in America with families chipping in to hire a schoolmaster, and building a log cabin schoolhouse with their hands. And supplying the firewood too, from their woodlots.
Cincinnati photo via Moonbattery:
Also, the 101 freedoms the Left doesn't want you to have.
Sarkozy: Obama is unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated.
It must be Spring. Campus moron infants must have their fun. Learning physical chemistry is apparently not on their agenda.
Beware of the geeks. The health and climate experts are usually wrong.
The Englishman says this guy in photo needs Courage to "give him enough confidence to tell the woman the dress was not flattering":
Mourning Michigan. Dr. Clouthier
Very sensitive: Georgetown hides Jesus at Obama's request. But I thought Georgetown...never mind. Jesus is old hat: Mohammed is cool, dude, and he was big into underage chicks. Can you dig it?
Want Cadillac health care?
You can have Cadillac health care. You want lots of doctors, no waiting lists and coverage for virtually all your medical and psychological needs? Sure. But there's a price to pay. I know, you're already pinching pennies because your nest eggs have been decimated and you're wondering how you're going to put the kids through college. Still, if you want unlimited health care, hand over half your paycheque to the government.
Photo below from Michelle's Tea party update:
One more dangerous right-wing fanatic, and another reason to attend your local tea parties, via Ace:
Beyond Here Lies Nothin', from his new record Together Through Life (audio only):
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
George Bernard Shaw (h/t Villainous)
-  Everybody ought to know this stuff too, which we linked last night: Class: A Guide Through the American Status System. Essential reading for social climbers and social descenders. Not necessary for others.
- Corporate and financial jargon and slang, via Latham & Watkins. Everybody should know these terms. (h/t, Tiger)
- Men and women: The things you do wrong. Villainous. Guys: Go out and kill some meat for her, and you will be rewarded - more likely to get lucky. (But did you know that marriage is now termed "opposite-sex couples"? It makes it sound perverted somehow.)
- Another take on Strunk & White, which is at least worth considering. 50 years of stupid grammar advice
Thanks, COSTCO. Good stuff, but I only needed 2 cups. Now what do I do with the rest?
"The Sleuth" in the WaPo thinks this must have been a thrill for the Dead.
I think that's exactly backwards - but it tells you where she's coming from.
Wednesday, April 15. 2009
 Tea Parties all over. Martini Parties too, but in private I suppose. Photo from Ann Arbor. Map of today's Parties: Lots of 'em.
Also, Why you should go to one. LAT: Tea Parties are insane. Tea parties are about future taxes: Q&O.
Each one is identically different: Sipp.
Pirates talking tough. AAARRRGhhh. It's the most trivial of our international problems. Related: More support for the pirates. Let's all collect bottles of Bacardi for the poor fellows.
Social class in America:
For readers who somehow missed this snide, martini-dry American classic, do have your assistant Tessa run out and get it immediately (Upper), or at least be sure to worriedly skim this magazine summary over a low-fat bagel (Middle), because Fussell’s bibelot-rich tropes still resonate.
When Viktor met Olga.
More Lefty thugs preventing free speech at UNC. Aren't different points of view interesting?
The unbearable lightness of Paul Krugman
If you are a single guy, and paid your taxes today honestly (or at least filed your extension), your reward, besides feeling patriotic and honest, is the young lassie below the fold courtesy of Obama and Timmy Geithner. She's waiting at home for ya.
Continue reading "Thursday morning links, posted early"
 The note I wrote in my son’s 9th birthday card today says, “Character is everything,” and I listed the many traits of sound character he has of which I am proud. I’m even proud of his hijinks at school for which he gets in trouble. He immediately takes responsibility, his punishment, and does not lie, evade or implicate others.
After he left for school this morning, I turned to my coffee and local newspaper. The frontpage carried a New York Times article about how Disney is trying to discover what TV shows will appeal to boys, “a group that Disney used to own way back in the days of ‘Davy Crockett’ but that has wandered in the age of more girl-friendly Disney fare such as ‘Hannah Montana.’ “ Disney’s consultant focuses on Black Sabbath T-shirts and such as their key.
Instead, Disney should refocus on Davy Crockett. Disney, and other children’s programmers, used to present tales of heroism and character. Beaver Cleaver and his big brother were to be emulated and not the worse than Eddie Haskells that are the lead characters today on Disney and Nickolodean. Parents were guardians and guides, not dolts.
I looked back at when the change started in the late ‘60’s, the chronological root of many of today’s cultural ills. By the 1980’s, when I had risen high in corporate life, I saw the ramifications as the up-through-the-ranks World War II generation who were my mentors began to retire or be pushed aside by a new breed with big degrees but relatively little experience and even less earned character. They measured themselves and others by smooth talk, quick tricks and personal profit, over the hard truths, diligent effort and contribution to all’s success that their predecessors emphasized and demanded. The new scorecard was perverted.
The current economic fallout is a direct result of this replacement of character with selfish and reckless aggrandizement.
Excellence requires that we provide consistent value, not cut-throat abandon of values.
Investment produces lasting benefits to many, while speculation chases the fastest – and usually elusive -- buck.
Simple, straightforward information delivers meaning, while mumbo-jumbo complexity hides empty promises.
Reasonable, factual expectations leads toward tangible accomplishments, while “irrational exuberance” and greed lead toward being a willing target for schemers.
Looking to honestly satisfy others’ needs creates bonds of lasting trust, while exploiting others’ fears and ignorance creates temporary dupes.
Competing to be best and to earn trust creates standards of worthy behavior, while unearned honorifics and facile words and actions breaks down society’s bonds and future.
Making a positive difference in society and in others’ lives leaves a legacy, while hollow charisma leaves a vacuum.
You can’t have too much character. Character is life’s scorecard.
Big Dog (not Bird Dog) is a danger to our country: I am a right wing extremist.
 Like you care, right? The purpose is really to highlight a novel, Brothers, by Da Chen.
I seem to read novels as 1/3 of what I read, but I will read whatever is put in front of me, and whatever serendipity provides me with. Nothing on TV engages me. I always bear in mind that somebody worked darn hard to write that book.
Da Chen is an American author, raised in China during the Cultural Revolution. Besides being a compelling story, the book offers lots of insight into how China really operates - especially inside the political aristocracy.
One thing you learn right away is that in most Socialist and Communist nations, power and money and chicks and perks and mansions with military guards and vacation homes and the best food and drink and fancy cars accrue to the pols and their kin instead of to the productive. They create their own ingrown, inbred aristocracy with the power of the money, the government, the bureaucracy and the military to support and maintain it. They re-create Feudalism with the Mandarins and the "masses." We, dear readers, are supposed to be "the grateful masses."
(At the time that he writes about, 80% of China's adults were government employees. Not any more, happily. Canada is now up to 20%, last I heard, and headed up. Government employees are easy to control - and very easy to tax.)
 We post frequently on the sickness infecting Western liberal arts education - the spineless relativism which causes them to doubt, or to hate, themselves, and to denigrate everything that is cheerful, loving, grateful, positive, appreciative of their heritage (and of their work itself, which is as "Western" as can possibly be - "Western" to a fault), Judeo-Christian, and freedom-oriented.
Harvard Chaplain supports death penalty for apostates. Ah, the Religion of Death. He's probably not afraid to say that he wants death for me too, as a Christian who will not submit to Islam. That comes next. Not to worry: our flaccid generation will commit cultural suicide when asked to do so.
I wonder how many of the people who profess to believe in the leveling ideas of collectivism and egalitarianism really just believe that they themselves are good for nothing. I mean, how many leftists are animated by a quite reasonable self-loathing? In their hearts they know that they are not going to become scholars or inventors or industrialists or even ordinary good kind people. So they need a way to achieve that smugness for which the left is so justifiably famous. They need a way to achieve self-esteem without merit. Well, there is politics. In an egalitarian world everything will be controlled by politics, and politics requires no merit.
P.J. O'Rourke. Yes, for some people self-love is more important than accomplishment.
h/t, S,C&A
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
Winston Churchill
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