Friday, August 20. 2010
 Regular News
Finally some sensibility comes to the world of fashion! For far too long have chubby models inspired impressionable young eaters out there to the point where obesity is now considered a 'national epidemic', imposing a massive burden on our health care system. But now that this agency is daring to use average women as models (see example), perhaps we'll start turning this evil scourge of obesity around, once and for all.
Say, here's a fun way to start the day. It's one of those "brain teasers" you see in puzzle books. Good luck!
Only a third of Americans say Obama is Christian
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Think Obama is Muslim
Quick: What percentage of Americans think Obama is Hindu?
Bobby Thompson, he of the 'Shot Heard 'Round The World', has passed away. YouTube clip of the event is here.
Speaking of fallen heroes, are there any Vonnegut fans out there? I adored him back in the day. If I could only take one book with me to a deserted island, it'd be something by Vonnegut, but I'd be torn between "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater", "The Sirens of Titan", and "Galápagos".
Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library to open in Indianapolis
And another fallen hero:
Why 'Atlas Shrugged' is flying off the bookshelves
Well, I'm a little disappointed in my headline time machine. The calibration is a bit sensitive. It seems to either go 10 years into the future or 10 million years into the past. Let's try another one from the future.
BZZHSZZSHKZHTT!!
Human beings killed off by climate change
The following article is about "naughty acronyms". In some of these cases, it seems kind of silly that a company would care that some particular combination of letters would mean one little thing to some fringe group somewhere. Big deal.
On the other hand, you'd think the people forming the South Lake Union Trolley would have given the name just a wee bit more thought before making the final decision.
Acronyms that accidentally turned naughty
Political News
Obama thanks Facebook fans for birthday card
Thursday, August 19. 2010
 1:30 am.
Sorry, no morning links today. I played hooky all day by romping up to Miami Beach for a fish fry. At the end of my heavily philosophical journey, I could only utter two fateful words:
Cuban girls.
Growing up in California, I always thought Mexican girls were hot, but Cuban girls really have that 'something extra' about them. Maybe it's the dark eyebrows. Either way, it was you guys or the dark eyebrows, and it's obvious who won.
I do have one interesting note about languages. My buddy is Cuban, been here 20 years, and he says that Spanish has variations that are just as wild as English. Like the way a Yankee might have a hard time understanding a native Alabaman and vice versa, and neither would be able to understand one Irish or Cockney word in ten from the guy on the next bar stool.
Likewise, in Spanish, he says he can't understand one word in ten from the Argentinian kid next door. He told me, and I kid you not, "It's all Greek to me."
Wednesday, August 18. 2010
 This one is obviously for the gals only, since guys quit carrying handbags when pockets were invented.
Only parts of the female body are more private to them than their bags and pocketbooks.
What do you gals have in yours?
Please tell us in the comments...and, if a handgun, make and model please.
 Regular News
Well, let's start off with some good news. Usually when Congress puts bills right out in the open, people bitch and moan and complain and nothing gets done. But when they meet in a closed-door session, as they did last night, often 'miraculous' results ensue (see picture) that finally solve some nagging national problem, once and for all.
Congress passes bill making new low-energy car mandatory by 2016
(you'll have to excuse me — I'm not as good at this links stuff as the other guys and sometimes don't get the headlines exactly correct)
Well, good news for golfers. A new golf school has opened up using a revolutionary new technique that's apparently displaying remarkable results.
Hold on a sec.
(tinker-tinker)
Ah-ha! I fixed my time machine and now it looks like it'll snag two headlines from 10 years in the future. Here goes!
BZZHZHZZKHGRHZZZTT!!
More than half of America's wind farms built where there is not enough wind
Global temperatures much higher than 10 years ago, CO2 levels 20 times higher
All kidding aside, global warming is a serious subject and shouldn't be taken lightly.
As Muscovites suffer record high temperatures this summer, a Russian political scientist has claimed the United States may be using climate-change weapons to alter the temperatures and crop yields of Russia and other Central Asian countries.
On the other hand, it's nice to finally get our dirty little secret out in the open. Fry, Russkies!
Political News
White House gardener weighs in on world affairs
Three justices of the 9th federal circuit, all appointed by Republican Presidents, disagree on the limits of free speech under the 1st Amendment. This presents an interesting appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Two of the justices rule that the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes knowingly wearing or claiming federally authorized military decorations and medals of valor, is unconstitutional. These justices describe stolen valor as vile and worse, and deny that they provide a constitutional right to lie. But they deny that there is any harm done that requires punishment. Their arguments are basically that, barring a demonstrable harm to another person, free speech should prevail. Interestingly, they point out that the Defense Department providing a public list of those who have been awarded medals of valor would help publicly reveal frauds. However, the Democrat Congress has failed to act and the Defense Department has quibbled away its responsibility. (I analyzed this here.)
On the other hand, the dissent presents judicial and legislative chapter and verse that demonstrable harm to an individual is not a necessary hurdle to restrictions on certain types of knowingly false speech (or actions) that go beyond the pale of acceptable or protected. He reaffirms, as did Congress in passing the Act, that knowingly representing oneself as a decorated hero disparages the valor of those who were awarded. He provides prominent examples of Congress’ authority to so legislate. Further, he dispels the contention that satire or theatrical performances would fall within the Act, or that it is overbroad in practice as only the clearest cases have been brought by federal prosecutors.
You may like or not the arguments raised by either side, but should also recognize that judging a law is about its lawfulness not the rhetoric. So, unless the Supreme Court decides to broaden or overturn existing case precedent, the Stolen Valor Act would be upheld. But, we’ll see.
The majority and minority opinions are here.
Josh Gerstein at Politico raises some interesting judicial undercurrents that may become clearer at the Supreme Court.
Tuesday, August 17. 2010
In the final analysis, people's ignorance about electrical usage is one of the great tragedies of our time.
That is, if you consider broken homes a 'tragedy'.
Mom and Dad and the two kids go out for hamburgers. They have a great time; as fun a time as any family could wish to have.
They wheel into the driveway, Dad sees that Jimmy left his bedroom light on and explodes. "I've told you a thousand times! That's it! I've had it!"
A horrible fight ensues, with the mother caught in the middle, trying to protect her son from the father's wrath, yet agreeing that the son's extravagant waste of the family's money demands severe punishment.
The rest of the evening is spent with the son sulking, the father in an angry mood, and the mother on the edge of tears. Last night it was her turn because she left the dining room light on when they went across the street to visit with the neighbors for an hour.
After the one thousandth time, the father has had enough and decides to leave these money-wasting losers. Or, tiring of his rage, she does. Or little Jimmy runs away when he's 16 and is found dead from a heroin overdose two months later in New York City.
Just another American family tragedy.
Happens all the time.
The light little Jimmy left on is a 60-watt desk lamp.
Watts means "per hour", so that means Jimmy's light consumes 60 watts of energy in one hour. The family was gone for two hours, so little Jimmy's despicable thoughtlessness wasted 120 watts.
A "kilowatt" is how electricity is measured and paid for. A kilowatt is 1,000 watts. Therefore, to get kilowatts, you divide the watts by 1,000. So, the 120 watts that little Jimmy so blatantly wasted is .12 kilowatt.
One kilowatt generally costs about ten cents.
At ten cents per kilowatt, that's $.012 that little Jimmy wasted that dark and fateful night. The last night, it turned out, that the family was to ever eat a happy meal together.
$.012 is just over one penny.
Continue reading "Electrical Usage: A tragedy of ignorance"
 Regular News
Well, I feel a little guilty that I didn't partake in any of that good old-fashioned Maggie's Farm-style California bashin' yesterday, so let's get right to the good stuff:
How Arnold Schwarzenegger's California dream soured
Californians now cursed by all humanity
Times so bad California lawyers only getting $10/hr
California women now have triple the nation's fat rate
In unrelated news, New York state is now forcing DWI drivers to install a device on their car that forces them to pass a breath test before it'll start:
Blowing more than a .025 percent blood-alcohol content -- less than a third of the legal limit -- will make the car go haywire. The horn starts honking and the car's speakers emit a high-pitched shriek that, according to state probation director Robert Maccarone, "increases in volume until it's intolerable -- you'll have to pull over to the side and stop the car."
Failing an immediate follow-up test then locks the ignition.
The law requires the devices even in the family cars of drunk drivers, meaning that spouses will have to submit to the same tests.
Exit questions:
— How much does it cost to have an emergency road service come out and unlock the ignition?
— How much will the first family sue for when someone's car breaks down on a lonely road in the snow and they freeze to death because the car wouldn't start because the system malfunctioned? Or it locked the ignition because of the (A) breath mint the person was sucking on, (B) unique medicine they were taking, not to mention the (C) swig of whiskey they took for warmth?
The pic: Some guy mapped out a road course that would spell out the message and then turned his car's GoogleMaps GPS tracking device on when he hit those stretches. Not only a damn clever idea and great implementation, but, given that, not a bad message, either. I loved Anthem.
Turning our attention to some serious issues (yes, I know it's a shocking change), here are a few I've filed away:
Is Obama Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Arab and Muslim World?
Giant Mecca clock seeks to call time on Greenwich
Related:
10 Things You Must Know About Malware
Hold on a sec...
It worked! I did it!
I just invented a time machine that can reach 10 years into the future and snatch a headline from the New York Times. It can only work once, so let's hope it's a good one!
BZZHZHHZGHZZZTTZT!!
Axe falls on ObamaCare services
Well, at least it's still ten years away.
A lot of columns have some kind of "Life imitates..." feature. Usually '...the Onion', not coincidentally. Well, if you have a few minutes to read some silly humor (Glenn Reynolds once linked to it so it can't be that bad), I've got one of my own:
Life Imitates Dr. Mercury's Wildest Hyperbole
First read this.
Then look at the title of this.
Political News
Obama and daughter take plunge, swim in gulf
Monday, August 16. 2010
 Regular News
Picture: For one million dollars, guess the venue the picture was taken for.
Finally! You all know how I like to start off with a little good news, and today is no exception. While country after country slowly degenerates into an unrecognizable morass of moral decay, one brave nation is stepping up to the plate and putting an end to wantonness and disregard for social convention:
Kissing in cars, feeding stray cats and building sandcastles all banned in Italy
Italy considers banning 80-year-old drivers
So that takes care of those pesky little problems.
When it comes to global warming, two nations are making strides that America might consider emulating:
Belgian undertakers plan to dissolve dead and flush them into sewage system
All new homes to run on green power by 2016
Say, speaking of global warming, you know who's been missing from the debate? We've got your NASA and NOAA and IPCC, your Popular Science and Scientific American and the rest of the loony tunes, the fervent race between Fox News and ABC News as to who can push it the hardest, but it wasn't until I saw an article by these people that I realized there's a key player out there who we all instinctively know and trust:
The National Geographic.
And here they are weighing in now:
Oyster Herpes: Latest Symptom of Global Warming?
So it's good to know they're playing a key role in the debate.
The next time you stay at a fancy hotel, you might think about paying cash:
Where Your Credit Card is Most Likely to Be Stolen
Actually, the best advice is to have two credit cards, one for regular use and one that you keep almost empty for such things as online purchases and trips. Most banks have instant online transfers between accounts these days, so if you suddenly want to order something online that costs some bucks, one quick transfer and you're ready.
Well, the first pictures of the new Miss USA contestants are in. (pictured above: Miss Connecticut Ashley Bickford from the above photo shoot, #13)
Not that I pay any attention to beauty contests, but it does seem like things have changed over the years.
Miss Universe Organization Slammed for Contestants' Topless Photo Shoot
Political News
Bo brings a dogged optimism to White House
Sunday, August 15. 2010
I presented the case for an amendment to the Constitution to restrict birthright citizenship.
I've been considering another post to address the objections raised by some conservative commentators. Paul Mirengoff of PowerLine has done just that. I'd only add to what Paul has written that, as seen with the just passed additional $600-million for border controls and Justice Department backup, this is just a small incremental and complete control, were it possible, would take many more tens of $billions per year. The Amendment would save much of that, as well as much of the tens of $billions per year taxpayers are spending on birthright citizens.
How Obama plans to win the 2012 election. It's the demographics.
 Statistics-wise, I think this (Sunday, middle of August) is supposed to be the deadest day of the year on the blogs so I'm not going to burn up any of my single links, just make a few suggestions.
Neal Boortz — If you're into political blog sites, you really have to put this guy on your daily rounds. Stop by his site after 9 am when he quits blogging and goes on the air. He's unlike anybody else out there, and many of his predictions are dead-on balls accurate.
Linkiest —This eclectic links site deserves a once-a-day stop.
Cracked — I only mention this site in particular because there are a lot of wannabe parody and satire sites out there, but these guys remain the best.
Google News Directory — This is a collection of news agencies around the world, sorted by directory. A good link to stash to the side.
Doc's Bag O' Links — And if you're really hungry for unusual sites, check out the great readers' suggestions at the bottom of this post.
Saturday, August 14. 2010
 ATTENTION: This post and its accompanying sister post will get bumped to the top of the page a few times throughout the day in a determined effort to warn our more sensitive readers of the calamity that's just taken place:
Bird Dog's gone on vacation for 10 days.
And, without adult supervision, there's no telling what depths of depravity and despair to which this site might sink. The best I could do was promise Bird Dog that when he returned "the domain name might still be working."
You should steel yourself to witness first-hand:
— A seemingly endless panorama of buxom, scantily-clad females in a shameless display of gender objectification
— Scathing "articles of anarchy" whose ideas, if implemented, could thoroughly disrupt our good Congress's noble intentions to better mankind
— Mind-numbingly cute articles on chipmunks and butterflies as we try to sweet-talk PETA into dropping that lawsuit
— A constant barrage of bile and venom as we continue to ridicule, mock, scorn, defile and degrade California in a desperate attempt to give our own pitiful little relic of a state some tiny shred of self-respect. We fail continuously, of course, because California just plain ol' is cool, as that CA native, the handsome and dashing Dr. Mercury, bears witness to daily. But we'll keep trying.
— Reruns
Note that you'll still see some of Bird Dog's posts around as he tries to trick the poor bloggers into thinking he's still watching over us, but we're onto his game. He pre-timed the posts, the little rascal.
I, myself, promise that I'll do my best to maintain the high standards and level of decorum that we've come to know and expect from such a refined, elegant, tasteful site such as Maggie's Farm.
Starting with...
I am not one for the notion of "hallowed ground" in general, but I understand that people can and do make sacred whatever they want to, for whatever reasons. I tend to find the idea of making places where people die "sacred" to be a pagan, superstitious notion.
Anyway, of course I agree with the Pres that Moslems have the right to freely worship and gather. It's legal. But that's not the point. We recently quoted somebody's shrewd comment that "'It's legal' isn't a defense; it's a confession."
The point is that Americans and especially New Yorkers are reacting to the stunningly in-your-face insensitivity of the siting of this mosque and "cultural center." It's the insensitivity verging on hostility that pisses people off. It's probably legal to site a strip joint next to a Baptist church too, but who would do it?
As I am wont to say, civilization is more about the soft rules than the hard rules. The mosque violates an obvious soft rule of civil behavior. Codes, not laws.The usual consequences of significant soft-rule violations are shunning, rejection, avoidance, or expressions of discontent or even contempt. "Virtual stocks," you might say.
Our condescending elites only worry about the soft rules when it fits their narrative du jour (eg BJs in the Oval Office are ok). Their knee-jerk reactions generally run against the sentiments and instincts of ordinary Americans (among which I am one). I find the Imam's choice to be insulting and contemptible. We Americans have welcomed him to his new adopted country, and are reasonable to expect respect, appreciation, and gratitude instead of self-serving legalisms.
It is reasonable to expect people who wish to be accepted as Americans to learn how to behave. I would, were I to move to another culture.
I think it's a good time for another White House beer summit with the Imam, Pamela Geller, and Bo. Maybe Sissy Willis too. This issue can surely be settled by the O over some cold Coronas with lime.
Image on top: the c. 600 Hagia Sophia, minus the minarets which were added by the Ottomans when they converted this remarkable and splendid ancient Christian basilica to a mosque.
 Regular News
Well, I promised you some good old-fashioned Maggie's Farm-style California bashing, so let's get right to it.
Californians' income falls for first time since WWII
Ah, the ol' schadenfreude feels pretty good, doesn't it? After we're through here we'll go pull the wings off flies.
Blogger calls popular California resort lake "terrible"
Famed California actor claims "Wherever I go, terrible things happen"
California women now have triple the nation's fat rate
In unrelated news, New York state, in an effort to maintain its plush welfare lifestyle, has decided to sell off its universities and roads.
The dead-wood Las Vegas Review-Journal, in a desperate bid to save itself, has hired a professional hit man to track down bloggers linking to online Review-Journal articles and sue them for copyright infringement.
No, that's not one great big typo.
In applied business news, here's how one enterprising fellow traded up on Craiglist from an old cellphone to a Porche.
Do you remember one of the great victories of the Obama Administration, the FAA limiting the time a plane can stand idle on the tarmac? Well, so much for victories.
Interesting article here on the primal ancestor of the eagle:
In a blink of geologic time an eagle the weight of a squirrel evolved into a giant predator that fed on animals twice as big as humans. It grew so large it approached the physical limits of flight, a new study suggests.
"There is a body mass above which normal flapping flight becomes physically impossible," said Holdaway, "Various studies have suggested that that occurs at a body mass of about 15 kilograms," which is the estimated weight of the Haast's eagle.
The good professor, however, is extremely puzzled how these fine and noble birds could have died out.
Why this happened is a question that continues to perplex Holdaway.
"The Haast's Eagle lived in a world that is now gone and it is very much a challenge to put together as much of the structure and process of that lost community, and to see how and why it unraveled so rapidly when people reached New Zealand," Holdaway said.
Yep, it's certainly a mystery. People arrive on an island to find these great big fat, barely-able-to-fly, ready-for-roasting turkey-sized birds... and they all disappear?
And say, by the way, what did this bad boy feed on, anyway?
The eagle fed largely on the moa, an extinct flightless bird somewhat like an ostrich.
But as the professor clearly states about the Haast's extinction...
"That has deep lessons for us today with much of the natural world under threat from human activities."
In other words, if the Haast eats the moa into extinction, that's good and natural, but if we eat the Haast into extinction, that's bad and unnatural. According to the good professor and his ivory tower ilk, we're a threat wherever we turn; the war of the humans against the natural world.
Well, speaking of threats, I suppose it's time to turn to the top political news stories of the day.
Political News
Vegetable garden to be planted on White House grounds
Friday, August 13. 2010
 It takes all kinds. Man lives as TV dog. Good for him. A world without eccentrics would be a dull as Singapore.
How advertising genius Albert Lasker transformed America
San Francisco proposal would limit toys in kids' meals. Will these cranks ban the toy in Crackerjacks too? Which is worse: Bloomberg or San Francisco?
Photos of opera houses. h/t, Thompson
Understanding your husband's sexual needs
More evidence that 'Recovery Summer' is a cruel hoax
Model corruption - The truth about the GM 'rescue'
The Dem strategy for November is in place. It's dishonest, but it's everyday politics.
Via NYM:
A thought experiment: I am grieved by Saudi policies — for example, Saudi religious discrimination, oppression of women, and persecution of homosexuals. If I were to express these grievances by blowing up a Saudi kindergarten, do you think Imam Feisal would say (1) the Saudi Royal family must share responsibility for the carnage, and (2) whether or not I had committed an act of terrorism is a “very complex question”?
Your daily dose of good wholesome sarcasm: Why Can’t You Selfish Ingrates Feel the First Couple’s Pain?
Says it all: Buchanan's Putting Government First. Quote:
...we have a situation where private sector workers in Middle America are being taxed, their children being driven ever deeper into debt to China, so government employees who have greater job security than they do, and earn more in pay and benefits than they will ever earn, can stay in Fat City.
And folks wonder why so many Americans detest government.
Related: Why people aren't hiring-
 Lucy’s Kin Carved Up a Meaty Meal, Scientists Say. h/t, Dr X. I think they were cannibals. They look like cannibals.
Energy crisis and peak wood
Obama: Slaves on the Government Plantation. All persons of skin tone must return to their barracks immediately.
Weather liars. Flat, outright lies, and fully-deliberate.
I heard last night that an estimated 1 in 8 babies born in America last year were born to illegals.
How Pres. Hoover damaged the economy: raised spending and raised taxes
Home Ownership: American Dream or American Headache? It's natural for people to want to own stuff. Not always sensible, though.
Related: Feds rethink policies that encourage home ownership. I want to see federal policy to encourage boat ownership. Boatie Mac, or something. No money down.
Stimulus Pushers -The latest bailout for public unions and spendthrift states. The irresponsible and the unions get the dough.
Q&O: Is the US bankrupt? Well, we are just pwned by China.
Harry Reid is sane? Harry Reid ad: Sharron Angle 'dangerous,' 'crazy'. She seems just like an ordinary citizen to me.
Public favors Tea Party over top Dems
Juan Williams: White Votes Are Irrelevant
The threat of the 'fake fishermen': How BP may be paying out millions in oil spill compensation to fraudsters. Hey, I go fishing every chance I get.
Wow. A Dem won a Dem primary
Some thoughts about how liberals are made
American Conservatives have "new ideas"? No, they don't. They have 1776 ideas. Liberals have 1912 ideas.
Sports feminists want space on the sports pages. h/t, Insty. Are they talking about newspapers? They should quit bitching and just create some good women's sports websites, and make some money. Or not.
Fla. AG McCollum Pushes New Immigration Law Tougher Than Arizona's. We are looking at the unfolding of a rebellion.
Thursday, August 12. 2010
From Megan's retirement post:
...there is no conceivable system that is going to allow the vast majority of the population to spend a full third of their adult life in retirement, at anything like the same standard of living they had when they were working.
Toon above via Powerline. See new surge of layoffs.
Never a bad idea: a summer visit to the USS Constitution, still commissioned in the US Navy. Old Ironsides (that was southern Live Oak) never lost a fight.
Bill Gates: watch for the disappearance of the physical university. Right now, you can eddicate yourself pretty good with The Teaching Company. We love their courses, but no term papers (bad) and no exams (good).
Legal Ins, to the Left:
Obama has accomplished as much as he could for you. He has put in place laws which will enable him to accomplish through regulation that which he could not accomplish through legislation. Obama is playing the long game, and you are short-sighted.
The savvy Leftists always keep their eye on the long game.
Majority of voters consider Democratic agenda “extreme”
Dalrymple on conservation and aesthetics
More violent rage from the Left: N.H. Dem Airs Palin Death Wish on Facebook. Where's the tolerance and sensitivity to differences?
Prof B: Coerced "caring" is not compassion
McArdle: The End of Retirement as We Know It. People used to expect to work until they keeled over. What's wrong with that?
Wednesday, August 11. 2010
Laura Ingraham speaking to Howard Fineman, via Driscoll's The MSM Sure Grades on a Curve:
How is it though with all these smart people at Newsweek – I went around the block with Evan Thomas about this as well. How did you all think that a guy who basically went from the Harvard Law Review, to some community leafleting, organizing, whatever you want to call it, to a short stint, a few lectures about constitutional law at [the University of] Chicago, very short stopover in the state Senate, and a very short stopover in the U.S. Senate. How does that add up to experience to run the biggest economy and the biggest military in the world? And why wasn’t Newsweek, instead of doing these celebrified covers of Michelle and Barack as historic, and celebrity culture, and all this love-love-love-love-love, why wasn’t – Why weren’t those questions asked before this election took place? Because to me, those were the questions to ask. . It wasn’t about personality. It was about experience and outlook.
and note this bit:
GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt gathered the NBC reporters together in early 2009 and scolded them for reporting negatively on Barack Obama. GE owns 80% of NBC Universal.
 Excellent brief reminder of the history of limited government
A fresh look at the Shakers. Today, I think we'd term them a cult. As a furniture cult, they had good taste.
She quits job, emails office with her erase board messages. Fantastic. I have heard of a MILF but not of a HOPA. Now that I know the term, I have to say I have seen lots of HOPAs. (Note: this is a dubious story, but good even if fictional.)
THAT WAS NO TEACHER… Unhinged Leftist Who Confronted Palin Is a Singer in a Drag Queen Band. Seriously. . (Note: this is also probably a half-true story)
Enraged over McNuggets. Speaking of McDonalds, Moonbats Continue Jihad Against Happy Meals
The Increasingly Self-Pitying Obama White House
The elites don't get it: 'We Socialists' vs. 'We the People':
It is insufferable (and will not long be suffered) to be lectured to and imposed upon by a ruling class that loathes our nation's history, values and accomplishments; by those who are not, in fact, our genuine betters. They are neither better educated nor more profoundly morally versed.
In fact, they are our intellectual and moral inferiors -- not superiors.
Let's start building some freaking small nuke plants. As I have mentioned, we have a small home-made reactor in the farm basement. Runs great except when mice get into the rods. When it runs a bit hot, we just spray it with a hose.
Tuesday, August 10. 2010
I read that America's saving rate is rising, and that people are paying off their personal debt - and that retail business is terrible.
Are you buying stuff and spending money, or restraining yourself these days?
Let us know, in the comments.
Good  travel advice image h/t Theo
The world's great structures built with Legos
Rules for blues musicians (h/t, Synth)
Virtual democracy comes to the EU...as an alternative to real citizen participation in their "important work."
How many failed empires has history seen in Europe? Ths thing is just the latest, and I doubt that it will last my lifetime. It is too far from the people, and too condescending towards the people.
Help wanted, but no takers
Gutfield: A gay bar next to mosque for reconciliation and peace purposes. It's all about tolerance of differences!
My take on the mosque? It's obnoxious and incredibly insensitive, to the point of hostile provocation. Where's the sensitivity and respect? There is much more to civil behavior than determining what is legal. "Legal" is about the hard rules. "Civil" is about the soft rules. Except for criminals, most of life is about the soft rules.
Neo: Ezra Klein: cub journalist
The end of responsibilityFrom homeowners to government, the buck stops nowhere
More on the myths of preventive care. Villainous
...all this puts a terrible burden on a sycophantic media with a long tradition of trashing the slightest hint of aristocratic enjoyment on the part of first ladies (e.g., Nancy Reagan’s china). So, just as golf, around winter 2009, ceased to be an aristocratic distraction from the nation’s pressing problems, so too luxury on the Mediterranean must be a sort of federal employee’s deserved state vacation.
Monday, August 9. 2010
Here's Dem pollster Pat Caddell on the mood of the electorate. Holy mackerel, this is powerful:
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