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. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Sunday, September 27. 2009Kelo Case update
After all that, the pointless project was never built.
Peter Kann on the decline of newspapersIn the WSJ. One quote:
He is right. We are in a time when new paradigms are waiting to be born. (However, his WSJ is still doing fine.) The new paradigm we do not want is this one. The very idea is sick sick sick. How to build a government agencyh/t Reader and Theo:
No wonder the Dems hate charter schoolsIs Defense Dept. Too Stingy With Top Combat Award?That's the sub-title of today's front-page article in the San Diego Union-Tribune by Steve Liewer "A Matter of Honor." If you haven't yet read our exclusive reporting on the broader problem of the Defense Department not even having a list of valor honors, or seeming to care, then see our post below: "Hollywood cares more for its' vets honors than the Defense Department." Two of the key congressmen involved are from my neck of the woods, so my piece is also picked up by the San Diego Jewish World: "Are service medals so unimportant that Pentagon can't be bothered to remember the awardees?: U.S. Rep Bob Filner supports new legislation; Susan Davis's subcommittee should hold hearing."
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
09:54
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday linksPost Partisan in the WaPo rips the O's UN speech. One quote:
It was bizarre. A federal sales tax on medical insurance? The purpose of that must be to drive the prices up, to drive people to government programs. Why else would they try to make private insurance more expensive for people? Stossel: ��Liberal� Is What My Philosophy Used To Be Called � It�s The Statists Who Are The Reactionaries� Why the rush to push health care thru? It's political Many thanks to law enforcement for catching these guys
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
07:23
| Comments (6)
| Trackbacks (0)
From today's LectionaryJames 5:13-20
Saturday, September 26. 2009The original "mint"Candied mint leaves. I made a bunch of these old-fashioned treats last weekend. Since my mint patch (Kentucky Mint, of course) has grown like crazy, it's fun to thin it out while making a fine treat. If you like mint flavor, these are great to decorate ice cream, fruit cup, a bowl of berries, melon, or whatever. In the old days, they were passed around as an after-dinner mint: the original "mint". All you do is cut off some mint leaves (or tips of stems -even better), brush them with well-beaten egg white, press them into granulated sugar, and let them dry for 6-24 hours on wax or parchment paper. They will last a couple of days. When they dry enough, they are a bit crunchy. Delicious. You can do the same thing with violet flowers in the springtime. On the old city wall of Lucca
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:07
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
A good, short readSome Enchanted Place, by Sippican. He is up to his third installment, and we hope he continues. Makes good furniture, too. As good as his writings.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
12:35
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
Why the skepticism about government health care?I do not think it's so much because people want freedom and choice (altho they do) as it is because people have no confidence in government entitlement programs (which the Dem plans are all about, ultimately). Why? Social Security - bankrupt The future tax consequences of the above are daunting to people, and the idea of adding another trillion or so frightens the heck out of people who are thinking about their own well-being, their kids' futures - and also about the nation's. The sad thing is that most of what people complain about in health care can be easily solved without giant government controls and bureaucracies: 1. Permit interstate competition among insurance companies so people can have a wide range of choices of types of policies including cheap major medical which is what makes sense for most people, and explain the basic fact that medical care has to be paid for, and even saved for, same as car repairs and house repairs and vacations (and legal costs). That is what grown-ups do. You can get major medical for a family for the price of a big-screen TV. How easy and non-controversial would those changes be? Abundant, high quality, and fairly expensive medical care is one of the great blessings and privileges of a prosperous society, and thus an important economic engine. Why kill it? People want these things. Do Americans want to be grown-ups, or children? It's our call. - Take a minute today to email your Congressman and Senators to let them know your views of the Dem healthcare plan. Their email addresses are here. It helps to be calm, polite, reasonable, direct - and brief. A phone call or letter probably is better, but everybody does email these days.
Posted by The Barrister
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects, Our Essays
at
08:50
| Comments (12)
| Trackback (1)
Sarkozy mocks Obama at the UNOuch! At Big Government. h/t, Insty But Chavez, Fidel, Quaddafi and Ahmadinejad seem to like the O, so that must be progress. I think the O is getting in political trouble, but I have been wrong before about things. Saturday Verse: Ogden Nash (1902-1971)A Drink With Something In it There is something about a Martini, Harvard drop-out Nash was a master of the fine art of doggerel, aka light verse. It is a much-underappreciated art form. Thanks, reader MM. Always enjoyed him. Friday, September 25. 2009Gone fishin'Going fishing off Montauk this weekend. Will do mostly catch and release. I will never keep a big breeder Striper. One medium legal fish maybe. I will leave these with y'all: I did think that St. Francis said that. The plusses (mostly) and minuses of community colleges Health care scrubbed from NEA website. Lots of things getting scrubbed these days. Even the NYT tried to cover this story. Congress: Let's own the newspapers. How would you tell the difference? Why to the jihadists still want to kill us? Aren't we all hopey-nicey now? Is this admin the last hurrah of Liberalism? Am Thinker. One can only hope. If you missed Bibi's speech Getting ugly: ACORN Funded Political, For-Profit Efforts, Data Show Unbelievable: treat misbehaving kids differently, based on race. Is the racist assumption that "others" are incapable of civilized behavior? Since when is playing doctor evil? Good wholesome fun for kids. The continuing Dem war against business. Who is supposed to make the money they want to spend? Photo is Montauk Light. It comes in handy.
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
19:14
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
Tapas and Old BarcelonaAs a guy who loves history, I always thought of Spain as a backwater and it was never on top of my list. Darn nice country to visit, though. Got some tapas when we got lost, before we figured out where the heck we were in the old medieval part of town. We ordered mostly seafood tapas - all sorts, including Cuttlefish of course. The Spanish love their seafood. A nice Spanish rosso, too. Yes, you can smoke in the restaurants: A few more photos below - Continue reading "Tapas and Old Barcelona"
Posted by Bird Dog
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:09
| Comments (8)
| Trackbacks (0)
Just send it to Maggie's Farm - we can do it for yaHealth care bill too difficult to put online. FedEx or fax it to us, Sen. Baucus. We'll be happy to post every page for you. Our secretaries, assistants, and paralegals are standing by, waiting (photo). It's a slow day just flirting in the office. Christmas in the HeartAll profits from this record will go to charity. While I understand Dylan's respect for Christmas - and for the Great American Songbook in general, I'm not sure about this (h/t, Right Wing Bob, who has posted a bit about this record):
"The hubris is staggering."Mona Charen on Obama's Self-Worship. It actually worries me a little. I am not saying this to pick on the guy. I just worry that he bought into the messianic hype because he has not been through much in life. Mark Steyn observed on the radio yesterday that he was the first President who acted like the job was too small for him. Thus far, I am neither impressed by the O's fund of knowledge, nor his wisdom, nor his experience. I am impressed by his smooth, lawyerly glibness and his apparent supreme self-confidence at times - but these are not the things I admire in people. Friday links, updatedAnti-trust suits: Most are brought by busted businesses, not crusaders. Hmmm. Hominids rock! The Anthropocene. How big is the Commerce Clause? Mr. Clean Government: Reid blocks ACORN probe Nobody really cares too much about major health care changes. (Except the Dem pols who want the power). So if people aren't demanding it, what's the big rush? Betsy Related: Sliding polls on the O on health and war Repubs definitely have a chance to take back the House. Hopey-changey. Gov Paterson: Our taxes have cost us jobs and driven people out of the state. Absolutely right. Supporting Whirled Peas. "President Obama yesterday did his best impression of a high-school sophomore participating in his first Model UN meeting, retailing pious clich�s he learned from his pony-tailed social studies teacher." Related from Powerline: Obama - too foolish even for the WaPo Related, Giuliani warns re "dangerous moral equivalence" WH met with 60 artists prior to NEA call, to support Dem policies. This stinks, but the NEA shouldn't exist anyway. Michelangelo did just fine without it.
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
09:04
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
QQQ"The problem with having the Americans as your allies is that you never know when they'll turn around and stab themselves in the back." Bernard Lewis, as quoted in a David Warren piece on Honduras Thursday, September 24. 2009Hollywood cares more for its vets� honors than the Defense DepartmentHollywood cares more about its stars than the Defense Department about its own. One can go online and find every Academy Award winner on its database. Not only does the Defense Department not have a comprehensive or complete database of all those awarded medals of valor but the Defense Department is opposed to proposed legislation to create one. What�s wrong with an Honor Roll for those we have honored? The title of B.G. Burkett�s book Stolen Valor became the title of the Congressional billsigned in 2006 that provided civil penalties for falsely claiming military medals. Congress officially found: �Fraudulent claims surrounding the receipt of the [medals]�damage the reputation and meaning of such decorations and medals�. Legislative action is necessary to permit law enforcement officers to protect the reputation and meaning of military decorations and medals.� It�s not just a matter of honor involved, however, as many frauds involve claims of government benefits or of status to advance careers or political positions. Enforcement has been spotty, depending largely upon private individuals to investigate and then US Attorneys to decide whether to prosecute. In late 2007, The US Attorney in The private citizen whose diligent work led to the Stolen Valor Act, Doug Sterner (website HomeOfHeroes.com), tells me that, �I can show you literally hundreds of slam-dunk/open-and-shut cases of individuals we have photos of wearing unearned awards who have never been touched. The FBI is swamped, and the problem is further generated by a lack of understanding.� To appreciate the scope of fraud, a Chicago Tribune reporter found that a third of those in Who�s Who who claimed medals of valor had falsely declared themselves recipients of medals for bravery, including prominent lawyers, clergy, businessmen. The publication has now tightened its rules for citation. Continue reading "Hollywood cares more for its vets� honors than the Defense Department"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:48
| Comments (5)
| Trackback (1)
Kristi Yamaguchi: First Asian-American to Win Olympic Gold Medal4th in a series Kristi Yamaguchi has shared her early lesson in life, to overcome physical limitations through hard work and the spirit to �Always Dream.� Yamaguchi was born with club feet. Watching her older sister ice skate, she was determined to try, her mother physically supporting her on the ice. Yamaguchi recalls, �I just remember that feeling of freedom.� Ice skating, also, provided an enjoyable exercise to strengthen her feet and ankles. By junior high school, she began competing, her parents agreeing �as long as you keep your grades up and you�re giving it 100 percent.� She excelled at both singles and pairs, a rare achievement, winning multiple world junior and national championships with partner Rudy Galindo. She followed with individual victories at the 1991 and 1992 World Figure Skating Championships and the 1992 U.S. Nationals. Her 1992 Olympic gold-medal performance�in which she became the first Asian American woman to win a gold medal in any sport�crowned her amateur career. Following Yamaguchi�s sport and financial successes were not enough to satisfy her childhood dream. In 1996, inspired by the Make-A-Wish foundation, she founded the Always Dream foundation. �All the athletic glory and honors are wonderful but sometimes I come face to face with a disadvantaged child or with a struggling mother or father and I am grateful for my gifts. And I rededicate myself to doing whatever I can to help someone in need. The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertsville.� Always Dream has focused on building playgrounds which can be accessed and enjoyed by children of all abilities. To borrow a phrase, the British Empire was built on the playing fields of From Ability, American History (Smithsonian), Always Dream foundation
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:03
| Comments (6)
| Trackbacks (0)
"Sour matrons and bloodless didacts"From Vanderleun:
Browser & OS stats Instead, here are the official stats from our Google Analytics page:
You Safari users should be using the Mac version of Firefox, available here. Safari has a few bugs and the colors you're seeing aren't necessarily what everyone else is seeing. And Firefox is better in a number of other ways.
To you 'smart-phone' users, don't hold your breath waiting for a mobile-friendly version of Maggie's to appear. The guy who developed the software has long dropped support of it and there's no reason to assume anyone else will pick up the reins. Such is life in the sleepy back hollow wherein Maggie's resides.
« previous page
(Page 2 of 9, totaling 202 entries)
» next page
|