Thursday, September 16. 2010
Sept 18 and 19, by DU and Cabela's. It's in East Hartford, CT.
Stop by and say hello.
Stories from 97 Orchard St.
VDH: When Socialism Creeps In . . .
Andres: A misaligned presidency.
Stossel: Money Is Not What Schools Need. No, but it's what they want. A quote:
"Over the past 40 years," Coulson writes, "public school employment has risen 10 times faster than enrollment. There are 9 percent more students today, but nearly twice as many public school employees."
Lies told to kids
WSJ: Union power and the Christie effect
The oyster farmers get out onto the mudflats at low tide, with their trucks and boats, to tend their oyster cages or to harvest the humble but tasty Wellfleet Oyster:
One of many vast Wellfleet salt marshes. These are happy homes for Diamondback Terrapins, on the northern edge of their range. I think they hunker down in the mud at low tide, then come out to feed on worms, crabs, and snails when the water comes back in. They never leave the water except to lay their eggs, and are rarely seen. Some Mallards and Black Ducks breed there, but you never see many ducks up there until winter, when the sea ducks come down from the north in large numbers - Eider, Old Squaw, and all of the Scoters.
Miles of "empty" beach. This is on Cape Cod Bay, roughly across from Plymouth. Endangered Piping Plovers breed along this stretch of beach. Montana is not the only place with big skies (but we do love Montana - been there many times).
Wednesday, September 15. 2010
The parlor of the place where we plant ourselves on Cape Cod. Tiny antique rooms, all with views of marsh and harbor.
 I have seen a bottle of champagne opened with a sword, and a fine cabernet opened with a Swiss Army Knife without a corkscrew, but this is new to me.
I suppose it does, in a way. J.K. Rowling is one example.
It never makes sense to me for people to be concerned about income inequality - or inequality of wealth. As Dylan was quoted as saying in our link this morning, "The world owes you nothing. Not one single thing."
One reason I feel inequality is a bogus issue has to do with the Ezra Klein quote above:
The top 1 percent, for instance, has gone from capturing about 8 percent of the national income to 18 percent.
"Captured"? Like piracy? That's a childish and fallacious zero-sum view of income. It's not like there is a set number of dollar bills out there to be distributed. J.K. Rowling did not "capture" income - she created wealth out of nothing, which is what wealth-creators do. In the process, she created income for book stores, Amazon, printers, her employees, etc. - along with vast tax income for the UK. Furthermore, she got herself off the dole.
Due to my needs for personal wealth creation, I don't have time today to do a full essay on what is problematic about the concern about income inequality. I will say, however, that I think it's about politics, not economics.
Maybe I will complete my thoughts later, but you have probably had the same thoughts already.
Here she is again, not letting us get too close:
One of my grandpas used to love to visit Cuba for vacation getaways. Cigars, cocktails, lovely women, and great sport fishing. Here's an idea of what Havana was like, before the Commies destroyed it. Prosperous, clean, lively, and free. Now it's a dump.
This footage ought to be enough to persuade even the most loony Lefty, especially since even the Castro brother thugs are walking back Socialism this week...but it won't.
Tuesday, September 14. 2010
From Wind in the Willows (a book without which no child should be)
"Is it so nice as all that?" asked the mole, shyly...
"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat Solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
"Simply messing...about in boats -- or with boats... In or out of 'em it doesn't matter. Nothing seems to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."
"Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together and have a long day of it?"
Photo is of Lightnings. Info and some links about that class here. Watched one flying past in Wellfleet Harbor, despite being loaded with 5 guys. I grew up racing that class, still love them because they double as comfortable little day-sailers. My late lamented uncle used to take his half-waterlogged wood Lightning out on a Saturday afternoon alone with his pipe and some beers, placidly contemplating life and enjoying toying with the fickle breezes. I am far from being an old guy, but I even sailed wooden Lightnings as a youth. Played lots of tennis with wooden racquets too. Jack Kramer Pro Staff was my favorite in that department.
Dan Debicella is moving up against the one-termer Dem in Ct's District 4. It's a race between a Conservative Repub and a Pelosi Dem.
Also in CT, McMahon moving up on Blumenthal.
Long shots in Blue CT? We'll see. It depends on who shows up to vote.
As understood by the USMC:
- BEARING - Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times.
- COURAGE - A mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a Marine to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.
- DECISIVENESS - Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear, forceful manner.
- DEPENDABILITY - The certainty of proper performance of duty.
- ENDURANCE - The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship.
- ENTHUSIASM - The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.
- INITIATIVE - Taking action in the absence of orders.
- INTEGRITY - Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles.
- JUDGMENT - The ability to weigh facts and possible courses of action in order to make sound decisions.
- JUSTICE - Giving reward and punishment according to the merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.
- KNOWLEDGE - Understanding of a science or an art. The range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.
- LOYALTY - The quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, and unit, and to one's seniors, subordinates, and peers.
- TACT - The ability to deal with others without creating hostility.
- UNSELFISHNESS - Avoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.
MARXISM A BUST… Cuba Lays Off Half a Million – Allows Private Enterprise.
If the government would just leave the people alone, they could be like the Dominican Republic in 10-20 years. Maybe they will even begin to make cigars as good as today's Dominicans, too.
The fatal flaw of the Left is the assumption - or wish - that some power-hungry elite could be possessed of more virtue or wisdom or omniscience than ordinary people. All of history shows that not to be true. There are no "betters" to rule or to run us.
We regular folks just have to grow up and run our own lives. If they let us.
 PDS: Is it "status anxiety" or simple politics? Tiger
Dr. Helen: How rich people think
Dalrymple: On the perils of postmodern moral reasoning
"If others want to defer adulthood until after a big portion of it has passed away, that’s their business."
Thad McCotter: Leftist Dogma’s 3 Core Conceits
The Anti-American President?
Senate Could Vote on Partial ObamaCare Repeal This Week
Insty: COLLEGE RANKINGS BASED ON A SURVEY OF EMPLOYERS. Very different from U.S. News.
EU Ref: Who governs Britain?
Venezuela on the brink
Lieberman Comes Out against Tax Hike
Race and the modern Republican Party
Obama's America: Record Increase of People in Poverty, Blacks and Latinos Hardest Hit
Surber: “Political Correctness is silencing an important debate”
Obama and sex: The world is not a sexual allegory. It is not a fiction where copulation is the meaning of life.
From a commenter here: 'I've got about an hour to feel your pain, then I've got a tee time and a party at the White House with my pals. We're having lobster.'
What are the Dems running on this fall? And what are they running away from? Well, they are running away from Obama, climate change, healthcare, tax increases, and the economy. It's a tough year to be a Dem, unless you happen to be very popular locally.
Monday, September 13. 2010
Is this statuetory rape or a moosedemeanor?
Monastery on a hill overlooking the Danube, early morning light, a few weeks ago. No, the Danube ain't blue.
A favorite example of mine is the old feminist declaration that men “objectify” women when they respond to female beauty as nature decrees. This particular reframing was not successful over the long term for the same reason that health scares involving coffee have never caught on: no one was willing to give up the stimulant.
Last June, Turkey expert Gerald Robbins answered questions about what’s happening in Turkey, in the wake of its support for the Marvi Marmara provocation. Robbins is the Turkish-speaking expert and Associate Scholar at Philadelphia’s Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Regarding the prospects for yesterday’s national referendum in Turkey to change its constitution, Robbins commented in June: “The judiciary is the secularists' last line of defense against AKP creeping Islamization. The military's been largely neutered as an intervening force and as mentioned above, there really is no credible political alternative on the horizon. If the referendum is successful (which seems likely) it will effectively signal the end of Ataturk's legacy.”
I went back to Robbins with some more questions.
Why did the opposition party do less well than polls?
Continue reading "Gobble, Gobble Turkey: Expert on yesterday's referendum"
Just kidding. We would never post a "Name This Bird" this easy to answer. Among many interesting and enjoyable experiences this past weekend was getting this close to a Red Tail who was hunting the marsh edges at the Mass. Audubon in South Wellfleet. Pocket camera, no telephoto:
Why more wolves = more beaver, and other complications of the growing northern Rockies wolf population. I think the cattle-predator wolves should be trapped and re-established in southern New England. That would solve the excess deer population - and the coyote problem. Wolves kill coyotes (and coyotes kill fox -Peaceable Kingdom, indeed).
Time for the Europeans to grow up. Europe has no choice but to put the pensioners to work
Bruce's Brooklyn College posts here are still making news: Students At Public College Must Read Pro-Islam, Anti-America Book
Trailer for the new movie Runaway Slave
Dinkins: Vote by skin color. I do not think he is talking to me.
Euros view the EU as undemocratic. Duh.
Colleges: Where the money goes
The Telegraph tries to explain America to Euroland
Boehner is the target du jour. Problem is, he just doesn't seem very demonic - nor do most folks even know who the heck he is.
From Sipp:
It's not often you find anything unironic in popular culture now. I can be as snarky as the next guy, but sometimes you yearn for something genuine - some sentiment that doesn't resemble Lucy holding the football. It takes a kind of courage I admire to say things that are not equivocal.
Home from a four-day mini-vacation to Wellfleet for a homeopathic salt-and-pine-and-sand-and-shellfish infusion before autumn sets in. It was too cool to be good beaching weather, but perfect walking weather. We did get in one good swim. Wellfleet Harbor, early morning (yes, I am an early-riser):
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At Pajamas: 
