Maggie's Farm

We 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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Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
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Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
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Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
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Thursday, March 30. 2017

Thursday morning links


Great news about American oil 


 Principal Bans 'Bad' Books That Kids Actually Want to Read


As a kid, I read indiscriminately. I still read almost anything. If you want kids to read and play outside, shoot your TV and throw out their iPads. 


 Retirement Is Nobody’s Business but Your Own


Loyalty oaths return to campi 


 New DOD Report: Junior Female Officers Believe Gender Integration Is About Advancing A ‘Social Agenda’


 School Has Its Budget Cut for Having Too Many White Students


 Emanuel Defends Chicago's Sanctuary Status After Sessions Warns of Funding Cuts


Why do cities want so many illegals? 


DHS list of sanctuary cities leaps to 150; Baltimore now appears on the list




 Illegal Aliens Are Cancelling Their Food Stamps


 California’s Chief Justice: Enforcing Immigration Laws Goes Against The Rule Of Law


 CBS: ‘No Credible Source’ Backs Up Claim Clintons Got Paid for Uranium


 Your Flat Screen TV Is Causing The Somalia Drought


 California Shamelessly Persecutes Pro-Life Journalists


 Stop Calling the 'Freedom Caucus' the 'Rebellious Far Right Wing'


Is Obamacare a lifesaver? 


 IS OBAMACARE AN ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM?


 The Sad Cancer Of Third Party Pay Medical Care


 More wailing over Trump’s killing Obama’s overreaching climate regs – this time the doctors weigh in


If warm weather is bad, why do so many old people go to Florida and Arizona? 


 Leftists Attack V.P. Mike Pence For Being Loyal to His Wife!


 Trump signs “energy independence” executive order today, killing Obama climate regs


 North Korea threatens WAR with the US after Senator John McCain called despot Kim Jong-un a ‘crazy fat kid’


 Britain officially files to leave the EU, as Scotland seeks its own exit


Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:58 | Comments (30) | Trackbacks (0)

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Leftists attack Pence... are they really as horrible as their tweets make them appear? I don't think they even realize anymore that everything they write is twisted and shaped to fit their agenda.

It's a nice tradition that Pence is upholding, and it's rooted in common sense, most honorable men probably follow it without talking about it much. He's talking about social situations not work related meetings, but they exaggerate to make him appear sexist.

Remember when Democrat Jimmy Carter said the same thing?
#1 LP on 2017-03-30 08:15 (Reply)
The comments by so-called liberals at the original article in the Washington Post are one of the main reasons I am discouraged about our survival as a nation. How can there be any common ground with people who think that way?
#1.1 mary on 2017-03-30 09:55 (Reply)
I find Pence's choice a bit odd, but not completely crazy, either. Perhaps part of his choice is his love and respect for his wife.

If anything, feminists should join him and say that this is actually rather positive - he recognizes the important role his wife plays in his life, and it's something they should celebrate.

Leftists seek to find the negative in every positive, and turn every one of their negatives into a "neutral".
#1.2 Bulldog on 2017-03-30 10:22 (Reply)
QUOTE:
Leftists Attack V.P. Mike Pence For Being Loyal to His Wife! ... Mike Pence never dines alone w a woman not his wife

Bull Dog: I find Pence's choice a bit odd, but not completely crazy, either.

It may be akin to a quaint religious tradition, which should be respected. However, the problem is that it creates an unequal situation for women at work, especially as Pence is in a position of responsibility. To be fair, he needs to apply that standard to all individual meetings.
#1.2.1 Zachriel on 2017-03-30 10:53 (Reply)
He likely does it for exactly the same reason Martin Luther King and other public figures have been reported to have been given advice to never be alone in a room with a woman - it's much less likely that a 'he said, she said' situation alleging inappropriate conduct will arise.
#1.2.1.1 Christopher B on 2017-03-30 11:01 (Reply)
Christopher B: He likely does it for exactly the same reason Martin Luther King and other public figures have been reported to have been given advice to never be alone in a room with a woman

The civil rights movement of the 1960s didn't have a stellar record on gender equality.

The point remains. The rule locks women out in the worlds of business and politics. The only way to make it fair would be to have no one-on-one meetings, regardless of gender.
#1.2.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-03-30 17:46 (Reply)
Life isn't fair, and neither is how we treat people regularly. To be fair, he has to live his life as he's comfortable. While I find his choices odd, they aren't mine and so it doesn't matter to me - and it shouldn't matter to you, or anyone else.
#1.2.1.2 Bulldog on 2017-03-30 11:40 (Reply)
Bulldog: While I find his choices odd, they aren't mine and so it doesn't matter to me - and it shouldn't matter to you, or anyone else.

It matters to women who are being treated unequally.
#1.2.1.2.1 Zachriel on 2017-03-30 17:47 (Reply)
"Quaint"? I call it smart in this day and age. The left news media would spin ANY dinner alone with Pence and another woman in D.C. as something other than innocent. You know it, I know it.

The media are that hell bent on tearing down the Trump Administration, they would be more than happy to paint a long-time married, Christian couple as anything but. That's their bread-and-butter....attempting to smear ANYONE traditional or with Christian values as 'hypocrites.' And they will do it with lies.
#1.2.1.3 MissT on 2017-03-30 15:18 (Reply)
MissT: While I find his choices odd, they aren't mine and so it doesn't matter to me - and it shouldn't matter to you, or anyone else.

Then to be fair, he shouldn't have one-on-one meetings with anyone concerning business or politics.
#1.2.1.3.1 Zachriel on 2017-03-30 17:49 (Reply)
To be fair, had Bill Clinton adhered to such a practice as Pence he probably wouldn't have perjured himself and been impeached.
#1.2.1.3.2 drowningpuppies on 2017-03-30 21:48 (Reply)
Respectfully, you guys are totally out of touch with the modern world, especially as it has to be lived in by Christian men.

Pastors, elders and leaders in the church are taught you should never be alone with a woman other than your wife, and this is a rule that is generally followed, and stringently so by most pastors and leaders in high profile positions. The fact is, a single allegation of impropriety these days can end a pastor's career, even if totally false.

This is followed for several reasons:

1. To protect from temptation. That's obvious.

2. To prevent rumors starting that Pastor X must be having an affair with woman Y. All it takes is a pastor being seen one time having dinner in a restaurant with someone other than his wife.

3. To prevent being set up by others looking to compromise the leader's reputation. There are a lot of women Y out there who have no problem trying to get in a position where they can try to blackmail Pastor X or make allegations about him. Or others trying to set the pastor up for a fall.

Given the vitriol in modern American life and just watching how politicians are constantly being accused of things, ## 2 and 3 should not surprise anyone at all. Part of it also comes out of the priest sexual scandals, which makes clergy hyper-sensitive about never being in a situation where there could be allegations against them where they did something wrong sexually to someone else.

This rule extends to other things as well. If you have ever volunteered at a Christian conference, you will know that those escorting the speakers (e..g., taking them from the airport to the hotel, escorting them during the event) must always be of the same sex.
#1.2.2 Jim on 2017-03-30 12:42 (Reply)
Jim: This rule extends to other things as well. If you have ever volunteered at a Christian conference, you will know that those escorting the speakers (e..g., taking them from the airport to the hotel, escorting them during the event) must always be of the same sex.

In his church or personal life, there's no problem. He can hang out with whomever he wants. However, it is a problem in business or politics. If he decides not to have one-on-one meetings with women, then he has to apply the same rule for men.
#1.2.2.1 Zachriel on 2017-03-30 17:53 (Reply)
Very foolhardy for a male employer to have a one-on-one meeting with a female subordinate, given sexual harassment laws.
#1.2.2.1.1 Jim on 2017-03-30 20:46 (Reply)
If he was Muslim, no one (well some would, but the pc police would kick your a**) would dare question this.
#1.2.3 B.Hammer on 2017-03-30 13:05 (Reply)
B.Hammer: If he was Muslim, no one (well some would, but the pc police would kick your a**) would dare question this.

Same rule for Muslims. In their personal or religious life, they can hang out with whomever they want. However, in business and politics, men and women must be treated equally.
#1.2.3.1 Zachriel on 2017-03-30 17:56 (Reply)
At one level, this is a private decision, not really something to be second-guessed.

Nonetheless I see two problelms:

1 In some ways it seems to be a conservative form of virtue signalling.
Why should a grown, mature man be unable to deal with a semi public meeting with a woman? Is he or his wife that insecure? (My wife and I each occasionally have business contacts like that.

2 It can be interpreted as a form of discrimination, keeping women at a distance during official discussion.
#1.3 jay on 2017-03-30 10:54 (Reply)
I find this quite ironic and humorous. The feminist have been hoisted by their own petard. Two reasons why this is both funny and necessary:
1. The Democrats and the feminist have for years used false claims of sexual advances and impropriety to ambush opponents. This is their high tech lynching that they pull out of their sleeve when all else fails.
2. There are so many false accusations made by women against men that some experts believe half of all rape claims are false. Most divorce lawyers will push the wife to claim sexual assault or even better sexual misconduct with the children as a way of maximizing divorce settlements and of course lawyers fees. You might recall how easily Ashley Judd accused Donald Trump of having sex with his daughter and the "nasty" speech she gave with feeling and feigned sincerity. In many ways it is like all of the recent false racial and sexist hate crimes that the left has perpetrated to try to blame the right or men in general. It has gotten to the point that I am more inclined to disbelieve any of these claims when I hear them than I am to believe them. For whatever reason, this is apparently very easy for a women to do. I don't understand it my my pride and my honor would be forever tainted if I were to make a false claim against someone never mind something as low as this. And yet we see it everyday...
#1.3.1 IdahoBob on 2017-03-30 15:59 (Reply)
The same people who last month said that Trump needed to have a fire sale of all of his assets to prevent even the appearance of impropriety. Makes sense only if you belong to a generation that was educated to believe that being rich (for the wrong reason, like making things that people want to buy) is improper, but stepping out on your wife is not.
#1.4 Another guy named Dan on 2017-03-30 12:54 (Reply)
"But it seems as though, just as [local government employees] studiously ignored years of rape and sexual exploitation of teen-age girls in Rotherham, England, because the perpetrators were Muslim immigrants and thus rated higher than young women as objects of special progressive solicitude, progressive solicitude for illegal immigrants is currently trumping feminism, not to mention sympathy for an alleged rape victim, right here in America."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/rockville-or-rotherham/article/2007420

When will women realize that they are dirt to the Democrats??

The ONLY thing the Democrats have to offer women is that they won't completely outlaw abortion, like the Republicans keep promising to do. That's it. Other than that one issue, which is only used to corral women for their votes, the Democratic Party doesn't give a moment's thought to women. They're too busy pandering to radical Muslims, gay people, and transgenders instead.
#2 JM01 on 2017-03-30 08:18 (Reply)
New DOD Report: Junior Female Officers Believe Gender Integration Is About Advancing A ‘Social Agenda’: Well, it IS a social agenda. The question is, do they support it? The article does not say.

Freedom Caucus: The NYT is the NYT, so naturally the FC is far, far, far, far, far right.

Pence: The media would love to declare him a sinner for dining alone with a woman not his wife.
#3 Sam L. on 2017-03-30 10:17 (Reply)
The oil story is the main reason I find the whole "Russian Connection" nonsense so...nonsensical.

We're told to 'follow the money' but if we do that, we can see myriad reasons why Putin would have no interest in promoting Trump. The easiest is money. Putin makes most of his cash from oil, and the prolonged slump due to fracking has him very uneasy. Why would he want Trump, a renowned 'energy independence' supporter of fracking, to gain office and keep undermining is income?

There are many other reasons to find issue with the "Russian Connection" and the main other reason is simple - what, exactly, did they DO to 'hack the election'? I mean, outside of rigging the process the way the DNC did, all they presumably did was create lots of 'fake news' (not one item of which I'd ever read or heard during the election) that presumably swung the election away from Hillary.

If that's the extent of it, it's time to move on.

But the oil is the real silver bullet.
#4 Bulldog on 2017-03-30 10:19 (Reply)
What did the Russians do to hack the election? Why they did the greatest evil imaginable in Washington: they participated in a conspiracy to tell the truth.
#4.1 Another guy named Dan on 2017-03-30 12:44 (Reply)
I don't meet alone with my students unless the door is open, and especially not with female students.

"He Said/She Said" is exactly why... to avoid the appearance or possibility of impropriety. In Pence's case, he has actual enemies who will weaponize any allegation they can produce. As a religious man, he is a target for people who look for any proof of hypocrisy or a failure to live up to his own standards.

Alinsky, I think.
#5 Teechuh on 2017-03-30 11:33 (Reply)
Freedom Caucus is called names and being labelled.

Because that's the argument they have.
#6 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2017-03-30 12:53 (Reply)
"Britain officially files to leave the EU, as Scotland seeks its own exit..."

Hey! Did you notice that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon replaced First Minister Alex Salmond?

There's definitely something fishy going on in Scotland.
#7 JJM on 2017-03-30 14:30 (Reply)
Haha.
#7.1 Bird Dog on 2017-03-30 14:34 (Reply)
How do you integrate a gender?
#8 Ray on 2017-03-30 19:36 (Reply)
Hmmm! I'll have to think on that!
#8.1 Confused Old Misfit on 2017-03-30 21:03 (Reply)
Banning books is an excellent way to get them read.

QUOTE:
There is the attraction of banned books, their antifragility to interdicts. The first book I read, during my childhood, of Graham Greene’s was The Power and the Glory, selected for no other reason than its having been put on the Index (that is, banned) by the Vatican. Likewise, as a teenager, I gorged on the books of the American expatriate Henry Miller— his major book sold a million copies in one year thanks to having been banned in twenty-three states. The same with Madame Bovary or Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Criticism, for a book, is a truthful, unfaked badge of attention, signaling that it is not boring; and boring is the only very bad thing for a book. Consider the Ayn Rand phenomenon: her books Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead have been read for more than half a century by millions of people, in spite of, or most likely thanks to, brutally nasty reviews and attempts to discredit her.

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2012-11-27). Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto)
#9 JK Brown on 2017-03-31 01:44 (Reply)

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