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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Friday, November 16. 2012Cool travel tips- For $50, you can get a NEXUS travel pass between the US and Canada. You just walk through the NEXUS line, no wait, no passport, no nothing. - For $100, you can get an American Global Entry card "that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States." Again, no lines and you just walk through. I believe it speeds things up for domestic flights too. Both of these programs do a little vetting of you before issuing their passes. Worth doing, if you travel much. Definitely a form of profiling. These passes put you in the "guaranteed good citizen" catgory, same way that a carry permit does.
Posted by The Barrister
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Gaza UpdateLast night I pointed out Hamas' ambition to rocket Jerusalem. Then there's this: Rockets land in field outside Jerusalem as war looms over Gaza. Where's the outcry from world religious and political leaders about the potential destruction of Jerusalem? About the same place it has been from the destruction of Jewish sites in Jerusalem by Jordan in 1948-9, or the destruction since then in other countries of religious sites by fanatic Muslims. -- BTW, the above news link says the rocket landed just outside of Jerusalem. According to a London Telegraph report, the Iranian rocket landed near an Israeli town. Jerusalem is largely surrounded by Palestinian areas, which could have been hit. What if Palestinians had been or are hit? Will there be a protest against Pal on Pal atrocities? There is this good news: The Obama administration and the US Senate are standing behind Israel's right of self-defense. The question is whether, if Israel must escalate, as it appears it well may, will the Obama administration flake out? Jonathan Tobin is pessimistic:
Read it all for more realistic pessimism about Israel's and Hamas' strategic positions. Friday morning linksWhether you’re pushed into a major decision by loving emotions or anger and disappointment, watch out; the forces behind your decision might be pushing you off a cliff. Out of Touch - E-reading isn’t reading. Could You Live On Social Security? Cheap surgery: Oklahoma Doctors vs. Obamacare - Surgery center provides free-market medicine. Did the Election Save ObamaCare? Obama Administration Just as Scared of Carbon Taxes as the Rest of America Failing School Has Every Teacher and Principal Rated ‘Highly Effective’ When recent graduates don’t know how our government is supposed to work or how our economy works — and they voted for Obama by a wide margin — that’s a general-education problem. How the Welfare State Hurts the Poor and Causes Unemployment Papa John’s faces food fight over Obamacare VDH: Oh, We Forgot to Tell You... Surprise! Jobless Claims Up 78,000 Week After Election; PA, OH Worst Hit It's the American people who are to blame, for it is we who have lost our morality and our love, knowledge, and respect for our Constitution Obama Administration Gave Petraeus's Wife a $187,605-Per-Year Job What Has Movement Conservatism Accomplished in the Last 15 Years? Fake Indian has fake conversation to avoid fake journalists To Protect Obama From Libya, Media Turns McCain Into Captain Ahab Benghazigate: Obama Now Blaming Petraeus for Rice’s Video Lie Jesse Jackson Jr. says Jesse Jackson Jr. is disabled and if you agree, he’ll go away. Barack Obama's Persuasion Army - The president has finally made the permanent campaign a reality.
Libya timeline suggests cover-up in attack - Hearings aim to get to truth China’s Illicit Flows Are ‘Big Issue’ for Money Laundering Miraculous Recovery by Injured Gaza Man? Pallywood is in high gear as Gazans dupe BBC viewers in time-honored style. Accountability of Hamas under International Humanitarian Law Fact Sheets #42: Hamas Gaza: Would You Raise Your Child in This Neighborhood? Humanitarian CrimeThe continual rocketing of Israel civilians over many years, indiscriminately, along with the terror attacks across the border, are legally an international crime against humanity. But the Western press and the UN fails to raise the charges, and only pays attention -- usually critically -- when Israel defends its people's right to live. This graphic shows the current reach of rockets from Gaza, to the south of Tel Aviv, and the ambition to hit Jerusalem and Israel's sole international airport between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The next graphic is your mission, should you choose to accept it:
Thursday, November 15. 2012Gaza LinksSo you won't have to wait until tomorrow morning's links, here's some of the better ones that explain much about what's now going on between Israel and Gaza: Escalating Hamas Attacks a Result of the Arab Spring Maintaining Clarity in the Debate over Gaza Tactics Rockets hit near Tel Aviv as Gaza death toll rises No Alternative to Israeli Self-Defense How WaPo Covered Operation Pillar of Defense Rockets pound Israel, Gaza as Netanyahu alleges 'double war crime' Netanyahu: Picture of Bleeding Baby Says It All Analysis: Hamas trying to restore shattered morale PMW Special report on Operation Pillar of Defense #1 How Does the IDF Minimize Harm to Palestinian Civilians? The International Background to Hamas’ Escalation Against Israel Egypt Independent: Egypts Morsy treads a fine line on Gaza Tom Wolfe's CaliforniaI am a great admirer of Tom Wolfe's ability to have his finger on the pulse of the culture, and his ability to crystallize what's going on in a phrase, a concept, or in a story. I read Bonfire twice because it was so dramatic, realistic, and entertaining. Dickensian in scope, but maybe lacking in Dickens' talent for character portraiture. On the other hand, over the years in real life I believe I have met every character in every one of Wolfe's books. At City Journal, Tom Wolfe’s California - In the Golden State, the great writer first chronicled the social changes that would transform America. A quote:
Posted by Bird Dog
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Doc's Computin' Tips: Internet Explorer 10
I have good news about the latest Internet Explorer update. But, in typical Dr. Mercury fashion, I'll let you figure it out. Hey, no sense in me doing all the work, right? This is still in beta format, which is why it hasn't been made part of the regular Windows Updates yet. The download site for the test version is here. There are 32- and 64-bit versions available, so if you don't know which system you have, right-click on 'Computer', open its Properties, look for 'System type'. It's for Windows 7 only. The first dramatic thing that struck me was that it went right to Google the second I clicked on the link. It also dashed right over to the IMDb, then Maggie's. Each site responded perfectly with every word and picture intact. Then I looked over all the menus and was again suitably impressed. Rather then moving things all around like they usually do, each function was exactly where it should have been, which denotes the high quality you expect from a commercial product. Unlike, say, some free piece of junk like Firefox. (The fact that I'm using Firefox at this moment to write this piece is entirely coincidental.) I should also report that pictures looked their absolute best, and each video I played seemed to contain every single pixel, although I didn't make an exact count. The constant stream of ad banners and pop-ups seemed to glow with the exact intensity my monitor's 'Brightness' was set to, again showing off the height of browser precision. Lastly, the new, improved IE fit my monitor screen perfectly right from the get-go. With a cheap product like Firefox, which comes in a less-than-full-screen size by default, you have to manually press the 'maximize' box, thereby wasting precious energy and contributing to global warming. Microsoft, caring about our planet's future, does it right. Program Summation All I can say is, when it comes to updates, this one breaks new ground. QQQIf your main goal is to show that your heart is in the right place, then your heart is not in the right place. Philosopher David Schmidtz, h/t Cafe Hayek Thurs morning links5 Cars That Depreciate In Value The Most Five whooping cranes bed down in Alabama on cross country migration Harsh review: As Not Seen on TV - Restaurant Review: Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square String Theory Now on Life Support Do You Trust the Government with Your Computer? American Service Sector Now Outpacing Manufacturing Google rakes in more ad dollars than entire US print media The Demise of Twinkies? Yes, It’s True. Parasitic Unions Kill Their Hosts (or, in this case, Hostess) ‘Saudi Dakota’ sets more records for oil production in September as US moves towards world’s top oil producer Special Report: How a vicious circle of self-interest sank a California city HuffPo Blames Sandy on Global Warming, Meteorologist Responds Commenter at Watts re the EU:
That's for sure. Nobody. At Drudge:
Obama Admits White House Gave Ambassador Rice Bogus Information on Benghazi The presser:
Like he doesn't know. Obama’s uninformative press conference Still lying constantly: Same Old Obama Does he lie and deceive more than any president ever? He does it without consequence, because the press has his back. Sultan: "The difference between the left and the right is that the left has a five-year plan and the right has a five-second plan." Do conservatives need better Coalition Politics? Obama's TV Ad Campaign Targeted Low-Information, Unlikelier Voters In Cable Reruns Related: Inside Obama's shadow campaign The WaPo Marvels At Obama’s Luck And Timing Ways and Means issues yet another subpoena for Sebelius Reid: This Scott Brown guy is a highly partisan “travesty”
Lessons for an Army During War A stunning initial success for the IDF. Now what? The World Hears Only Arab Claims-What About the Kurds? Is Obama Purging Military Commanders? Wednesday, November 14. 2012President: Easiest job in the world?Perhaps it can be, if you are never engaged with any of the details. In response to our link this morning to What Does Barack Obama Do All Day?, a reader offered this sample presidential schedule from last July - well before the campaign got going: White House Schedule - July 15 to July 21, 2012. Is it possible he really doesn't know what is going on? I recall reading that, at the Harvard Law Review, he never did any of the work or ever wrote anything, and would just stop in occasionally to briefly say Hi to everybody. It's curiously unengaged, and many hard-working people might term it lazy. Why pursue the job if you don't like to work? Or is the presidency really the easiest job in the world in which 99.9% of the effort is delegated? How many private sector CEOs play as much golf and basketball as Obama does? Roger has opined here that the job is to be a political figurehead on the bow of a great partisan ship. You show up once in a while, and some PR person tells you what to say. You say it in mellifluous tones, then run off to the golf course or to a fancy fund-raising party where everybody kisses your behind.
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Weds. morning linksToo many smart Asians Chevy Volt update:
What Does Barack Obama Do All Day? VDH: A Country Unhinged:
Fordham University Pressures Campus Republicans to Cancel Coulter Speech Her speech is too dangerous and subversive for young minds... Today’s plot twist: Police find Paula Broadwell’s driver’s license in D.C. park Blackmail: Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' For Favorable Testimony On Benghazi Stick it to blue states a/k/a Country First:
Bookworm: The cult of personality trumped ordinary considerations Citizens United Not End of the World Is Obamacare too much work for the Obama administration? Old Soviet jokes become the new American reality ‘Robust’ EU sanctions no match for Tehran’s tricks, experts say - ‘By the time one company is blacklisted, the Iranians have set up 10 new ones’ 'Absolutely no way’ Arafat was poisoned, says top doctor who teaches at Paris hospital where Palestinian leader died Tuesday, November 13. 2012Polybius vs. ObamaBruce Thornton explains why the ancient critics of Athenian democracy wouldn’t be surprised. It's all about greed. One quote:
Fat RedheadsA Baker's Dozen, two weeks ago in Manitoba. Duck is dark meat, must be cooked rare, blood-red inside. Redheads taste like Canvasbacks. Does Obama's administration represent the last gasp of progressivism, or a rebirth?Charles Kesler wonders. At Forbes: Barack Obama's Election And The Looming Crisis Of Liberalism:
As I asked ex-Gov. Mario Cuomo some years ago, "What's next on the liberal agenda after government medical care?" Tuesday morning links5 Deep Insights Gained from Watching Hoarders - What you can learn about yourself from people who sleep on garbage and pee in a bucket. A new Rolling Stones collection Bond Girls Through the Years A wonderful Elvis moment “No Meat on Mondays in Los Angeles” DC’s Mexico play - A rare chance to end drug war British Police Arrest Man for Burning a Poppy and Posting the Picture on Twitter It's not a bug, it's a feature. Higher poverty = Dem votes. Decline and Fall - California votes for more: taxes, spending, debt, government THE CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD CAN DISBAND Here's What Your Taxes Will Look Like In Obama's Second Term Sultan plays tactician (and it makes sense to me): How we can win Re-elected, Obama takes aim at religious liberty Hinderaker: It’s Time to Let the Bush-Era Tax Rates Expire Public Outrage Turns Against Businesses Struggling to Cope with High Obamacare Costs TodiA side street off the piazza a year ago. Everybody likes little Todi. Monday, November 12. 2012Back to 'Normal'Like some (or many) of Maggie's readers and contributors, my family and I were bedeviled the past two weeks by Sandy and a freak winter storm. We encountered Sandy after returning from a visit with my son, who is in Ohio at college. While we were in Ohio, we picked up flashlights, batteries and other odds and ends, having been forewarned that these items were sold out already in New Jersey. On the drive from Ohio back to NJ we were surprised to see so many trucks from utility companies. All were headed toward the storm, making my "it's all hype" attitude shift toward one of "what do they know that I don't? I sure am glad they are taking this seriously." In July, I wrote about how we take some things for granted, and the mindset of progress. I wrote it after a storm which made me think about why we put so much effort into clean-ups. After Sandy, I'll double down on what I wrote, because there are attitudes which are geared toward productivity and those which are not. Productive people prepare for the worst, and then begin to build as soon as the worst has past. What I saw, within 24 hours of the storm, was virtually every house on my block clearing debris off their yards to prepare for pickup by the Department of Public Works. Several of us took it a step further and started making runs down to the Conservation Center instead of waiting for DPW. I was amazed at how quickly all of us put our minds toward moving past the storm. As concerned as we were with the lack of power, there were bigger issues to deal with, both at that moment and in the days ahead. Continue reading "Back to 'Normal'" The Sandy Storm: Blame the government!If you adopt the position that government is God - that government can do everything, can fix everything, can and should make everything in life nice for everybody (which is even far beyond what God does), then naturally government failed to provide perfect safety from hurricane/Nor'easter Sandy. Here, people on Staten Island, NY, blame government for the deaths (mostly drownings) and even some local officials are blaming themselves. I have heard people on the radio complaining that there were no rescue boats for the people who refused to leave. Also, this one: Devastated Rockaways residents lash out at Bloomberg during unannounced visit. Excuse me, but the Rockaways do sometimes rock away. They are barrier islands, like Cape Hatteras. What do people expect? Barrier islands are just temporary sandbars. Like flood plains, one should try to live there at one's own peril. People should know a little geography. Heck, Long Island itself is just a temporary large barrier island, made of glacial sand from the recent ice age. Without wanting to sound heartless because the suffering of others is painful to all regardless of the cause, there must be a point at which people are responsible for their own welfare. Has government created an illusion of safety from the hazards of life and the hazards of poor choices? If so, government has done a grave disservice to people. Here's what government did do: - They have long marked out built-up areas labeled as "Flood Zone A." That includes beach areas, filled-in old coastal marshlands, and barrier beaches. That means that, if you want to live there, you will get flooded and have been flooded historically. Maybe governments should make you sign a piece of paper saying "I understand that I elect to live here in some danger and at my own personal and property risk." Not a great idea to live in flood zones, but if you want to be there you should expect it. In fact, if you live there, you likely are required to own federally-subsidized (big mistake there) flood insurance. People should never have been permitted to build in such places on the taxpayer's nickel, but it happened long ago and has a history of multiple wipe-outs over the past 300 years. I am in favor of free-market flood insurance only. - Days before Sandy hit land in NJ, Mayor Bloomberg ordered mandatory evacutation of Zone A. No, they cannot force you to leave. This is America. It is a legal misdemeanor not to leave, however. - For days, radio and TV warned about an especially high storm surge in flood zones due to the full moon and reinforced the evacuation order. They had tons of shelters for those with nowhere to go. - Local police and fire departments went around all Zone A neighborhoods (Zone A pop. 300,000 on Staten Island alone) with loudspeakers sending out warnings on Sunday and Monday before the storm. This reminds me of the old church story: The Mississippi is rising, the levee has a hole in it, and the guy looks out his first story window and hears police warnings to flee for higher ground. He prays "God, I have no fear because I know you will rescue me from this flood." A little later, he's had to move to the second floor and again asks God for help. Some guys in a canoe paddle by, but he lets them go while waiting for God. Finally, he's on the roof praying, and a helo goes overhead offering to drop a radio so he can call for help. He waves them off, trusting in the Lord. Yes, he drowns. OK, I'll add the punchline: The man asks God why he let him drown and God answers "I sent the police, a canoe, and a helicopter. What more were you expecting from me?"
The Origins of State and GovernmentQuotes from Tom Palmer's The Origins of State and Government (via Cafe Hayek):
and
Doc's Computin' Tips: Various Flash probs resolved
Having been somewhat distracted recently (recuperating, healing, staying alive — small things like that), I haven't been too active in the video scene. When I did jump back in, I promptly ran into four problems. Some sites that had a Flash video were locking up in Firefox, I was getting a "This video is currently unavailable" message on most YouTube vids in both browsers, DownloadHelper (a Firefox add-on that downloads vids) had stopped working on YouTube, and, on top of all that, when I reinstalled Flash, I started getting Windows melt-down messages every time I went to a Flash site. Welcome back, Doc! I reported on some of the problems a while back, but since I've now solved the last of them, I thought I'd compile the whole mess into one post.
Continue reading "Doc's Computin' Tips: Various Flash probs resolved" Monday morning linksAffairs are partly about narcissism Matt Steele Outdoors (3) Shooting Grip Essentials England: And Next They Came For Bacon Sex, Yale, God, and ‘Raunch Feminism’ Move to San Francisco, Get a Free Sex Change ... the Obama administration spent $5.60 for every $1 of economic growth. Foodstamps Surge By Most In One Year To New All Time Record, In Delayed Release Denmark seriously rethinking the world’s first “fat tax”
Can't count on Rasmussen anymore Good Boy: Obama Lets Obedient Media Know Their Place After Election “Imagine the howls if Bush played golf during the post-Katrina cleanup.” Now They Tell Us: Costs of the GM Bailout The Disappointment of Living in an Electoral Republic Sarah Westwood: Advice From a Lonely College Republican - The GOP is like a supermodel who's been doing photo shoots under fluorescent bulbs without any makeup. MORE DEAD BODIES Discovered in Sandy’s Wake – Media Yawns – Obama Golfs Not Quite Like Being There - Firefights and ambushes make for melodrama, but our soldiers' most difficult struggles are more mundane Forward! Canada Lures Energy Workers from U.S. Diplomats still in Benghazi say they had long questioned U.S. reliance on local militia China's next first lady: a folk singer who threatens to shake up political life Dark Blots on the Blank Slate - An epic yet intimate history of how the Soviets attempted to remake every aspect of life in Eastern Europe in the wake of World War II. Duck seasonSunday, November 11. 2012I know I'm going to be kind of heartbroken when he starts singing in tune.And Suddenly It Occurred To Us To Put A Microphone In Front Of The Nine-Year-Old. Oh, Boy! Who's gonna throw those minstrel boys a coin? Yes, Garrett is indeed haunted in the best sense. I noticed it when I met him. He is inside himself. But who is the invisible retard on bass? In the good old days before recorded music, everybody made their own music at home. A home is a little empty and dead without it. Everybody in the family was supposed to play something, however ineptly, and it is a delight to hear somebody struggling with a piece on the piano in the living room. The wrong notes are sentimentally memorable. It's the sound of home. Homemade music is the best, and second best is live music. Music has gotten too easy to have. Maybe it's just a Maggie's view, but I believe that music, like sports, is more wonderful to do than to watch or listen to. My musical and singing talents have been elusive, to say the least, thus far, but there is always hope. Who’s gonna throw that minstrel boy a coin? Oh, Lucky’s been drivin’ a long, long time Who’s gonna throw that minstrel boy a coin? Well, he deep in number and heavy in toil Who’s gonna throw that minstrel boy a coin? Patterns of male friendshipModern males forge deep bonds with core friends. Yes they do, and they should. There is nothing modern about it, though. Multiculturalism sur les Champs-Elysees
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