Monday, June 14. 2010
NYS borrowing from pension fund to make annual required payment to pension fund. Just like Euroland.
I have heard of people who use credit cards to pay the interest on other credit cards.
From a discussion about the current education of men in America at Chicago Boyz:
Boy/men seem not to be dropping out to “do” something but dropping out to do even less. The number of young marriages in which not only is the wife the breadwinner but the husband isn’t even taking care of children is increasing. These often dissolve – perhaps because women are too conventional to respect a mate who plays video games all day while they work or perhaps because women want children of their own rather than merely a needy husband. (No, I’m not going to diss a stay-at-home dad – I’m sure it is a useful choice; but many are childless marriages. Few women are at home for the years pre-baby.) And we should at least recognize that a woman does offer something in terms of child-bearing and child-nursing a man doesn’t. Besides, I don’t see choices – I see drift.
Like I always say, most men were made just for fishin, huntin, and lovin.
Addendum, from a post by AVI:
I started opining 20 years ago that feminist resentment was largely driven by women who had followed the directions and played by the rules, excelling in school - which was considered the automatic qualifier to success. We were all told To get a good job, get a good education, not just the girls. Then they left school and found that there were other, less-familiar laws of the marketplace which had seldom been mentioned. Heck, I felt the same way. Those boys and young men they had beaten, beaten fair and square at school, were finding all these other routes to success.
A re-post from Aug. '09, for Flag Day -
 All of the flags on houses in our Woodstock, VT photos reminded me that we have not had a flag since we rebuilt the side entry porch about 14 years ago.
Shame on me. It's a grand old flag.
I ordered a set from this place today. I will place the bracket low, so I can easily pull the pole out in rain or at night. I am not in favor of those night-lit flags, but I recall that Barry Goldwater had an automatic flagpole at his place in Arizona that lowered and boxed the flag at evening, and raised it in the morning.
I loved Barry, but that sort of hi-tech flagpole seems cheesy - and lazy - to a Yankee like me.
An American GI has been exploring the caves of Okinawa since 1966.
The New York Times’ headline could have been “Turkey’s Islamist Government Is Just Doing the U.S. A Favor, Wink, Wink” instead of “For Turkey, an Embrace of Iran Is a Matter of Building Bridges,” by Sabrina Tavernise.
With the imprimatur “News Analysis”, the NYTs bureau chief in Istanbul, Sabrina Tavernise, with a 1993 B.A. from Barnard College in Russian Studies, tells us that “Top leaders of Mr. Erdogan’s party believe that only a Turkey that is independent from the United States will be an asset for Washington in the long run.” Tavernise adds, “Turkey is not lost, they say, but simply disagrees with the United States over how to approach the problems in the Middle East.”
Although mildly disagreed with by some sources in her article, her “news analysis” is an apologia for Turkey’s Islamist government siding with Iran, Syria, Hamas against the US, Israel, and the West. Oh, and now Hizbullah. Erdogan has invited the head of Hizbullah, on the recommendation of Hamas, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may attend also, to attend a rally in Turkey honoring Erdogan.
Tavernise is mostly carrying water for the Erdogan government, akin to the NYT’s Walter Duranty for Stalin’s.
Continue reading "NYTs “Walter Duranty” Bureau Chief In Istanbul"
Sunday, June 13. 2010
From City State at The American:
For the first time in recorded human history, more than half of the world’s population has moved into a city or its environs from rural areas and small towns.
Considered historically, this process of urbanization has moved at lightning speed, especially in the past half-century.
Walked past the Joyce the other evening. $10 sounds good. Mrs. BD was trying to remember how many times she has seen Appalachian Spring.
I remember when old Martha herself would wobble out to the stage at the end of the performances.
A re-post -
The Greeks colonized Poseidonia - now Paestum - on the south-west coast of Italy (90 miles south of Napoli) around 650 BC. Poseidonia became the Roman city Paestum in 273 BC.
Paestum contains the finest complex of Greek temples in the world, which was discovered in 1762 by a road crew. They were built before the Parthenon was completed in the 400s (BC).
The modern town of Paestum is a seaside resort, but the reason to go there is to see the Greek temples outside of town. Our Dylanologist did just that (and brought me back a Paestum t-shirt!).
The splendid, if heavy-looking, Doric temple in this photo is known as The Temple of Hera ll.
Here's a photo of the 450 BC Temple of Hera l, later rededicated to Neptune. More info on the Hera l temple here.
Here's a photo bank of the contents of the Paestum Archaeological Museum.
A bit of commentary from the Great Buildings Online website:
When the ruins of Paestum were 'rediscovered' by 'antiquaries'�chiefly Johann Joachim Winckelmann�in the 1750s, "the ruins [were] then made widely known, and an enthusiastic appreciation of Greek art and architecture was also sparked...Because of Paestum, the Classic Revival was born with Greece, not Rome, ascendant."
� Deborah Fritz from G. E. Kidder Smith. Looking at Architecture. p16.
The three Paestum temples are all in the Archaic Doric style of heavy columns with capitals that are squat, or as Goethe termed them, 'oppressive.' By the time the Parthenon was finished (438 B.C.), columns were elegantly slender, capitals had an alert, load-bearing profile, and refinement attended every detail. Moreover, they were carved from Parian marble; Paestum's now crudely exposed shellstone shafts, it is only fair to say, were originally covered with lime stucco. As in Greece proper, the temples at Paestum face easterly so that the rising sun will awaken the statue within."
� G. E. Kidder Smith. Looking at Architecture. p16.
I wrote earlier today that Mozart had a negative feeling towards Roman Catholicism. I don't know where I read that. He certainly was a Freemason, and at least impatient with Catholic requirements, but never formally left the RC Church.
By coincidence, today Potemra has a post about Merton, Barth, and Mozart. A quote:
Merton and Barth were both wrestling with what it meant to be created in God’s image, and — as in the famous passage, Matthew 18:3 — saw that image most clearly in human beings who could express childlike joy.
Since I am specializing today in posting statements which I cannot source, I may as well mention that I once read that Barth said that this song summed up all anybody needed to know about Christian faith.
Yesterday I posted a link about "like" at first sight. Today, love at first sight: Why men will judge a woman in milliseconds.
- Push back against the age as hard as it pushes against you.
- What people don't realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
Both from Flannery O'Connor
 Story here.
Photo of Dr. Bob's grave in Akron, from the story.
We finished up yesterday with a performance of Figaro by the Chelsea Opera in their usual space, St. Peter's Episcopal Church on W. 20th St. Just wonderful to be so close up to the sorts of remarkable singers small opera companies can get in NYC. I have decided that I prefer this sort of thing to the Met or the New York City Opera - and it is not just the price.
Lorenzo da Ponte was the librettist for Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. A Jewish convert to Catholicism, it is said that he hated the RC Church as much as Mozart did, but I am not certain of that from a Mozart who said “Protestantism was all in the head.” Da Ponte was a priest for a while, and a famous scoundrel, debtor, womanizer, and MILF-predator.
Another cool factoid: St. Peter's was built in 1836 on farm land donated by Clement Moore who became Warden and organist for the church. The Moore family had a good-sized estate there, which was named "Chelsea." Moore also donated the land on which General Theological Seminary still stands, a few blocks away. St. Peter's is a fine old church but a bit down at the heels:
Luke 7:36-8:3
7:36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.
7:37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.
7:38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.
7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him--that she is a sinner."
7:40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "Speak."
7:41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
7:42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?"
7:43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."
7:44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
7:45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.
7:46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."
7:48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
7:49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
7:50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
8:1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,
8:2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
8:3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.
Saturday, June 12. 2010
Colorado's 3rd District (h/t, Moonbattery). Yes. I like the cut of his jib.
 It always amuses me when expensive and time-consuming studies are done to demonstrate something that everybody and his grandmother knew already.
Great example: Personalities Accurately Judged by Physical Appearance Alone
Without that subliminal processing, neither actors nor con men could exist because there would be nothing to imitate.
At Maggie's Farm, our preference shows:
File under "Political Statements."
Episcopalians against Israel: Religious Rally Against Israel. Good grief.
Why didn't the O give his Auntie a hand? Oh, I get it. Government is supposed to take care of our aging and dysfunctional relatives. We pay taxes, don't we? Are there no workhouses?
They lied. Health overhaul to force changes in employer plans
Nobody in America could read before the Federal Dept of Education was created. Harsanyi: The Revolt Against Liberal Orthodoxy
TNR: Why haven’t progressives mounted more of a challenge to the war in Afghanistan?
Stasi-Style Doctors On The Way. Can't wait.
Kagan: A results-oriented justice. Is that like a hangin' judge?
Tiger: ACORN, voter fraud, and Barack Obama. Can you imagine if Bush...
Powerline: Take back South Dakota
Big Hollywood: Mad at Christians
Eric asks Do you have the freedom to eat what you want? Of course not. Government gets to decide for you, thus simplifying your life and keeping you healthy for work on their tax plantation. Too bad there is no reliable prescription for a healthy diet, yet. And who would care anyway? I was raised on Cheerios, Fluffernutter sandwiches, TV dinners, and spaghetti from a can, and I turned out fine, 6'2", strong, slim, Conservative, and a highly intelligent chick magnet. I never saw a salad outside an Italian pizza restaurant when I was a kid. I thought salads were an Italian thing. My Dad called it "rabbit food," and he still will not touch it. He warns everybody eating a salad, without a trace of pc, that "the Mexicans shit in the fields."
How Little League baseball put me on the road to Conservatism
Sweden: 13-months of Paternal leave? I can think of a fun way to game this so you'd never have to work until retirement age. Heck, why should guys have to work at all? We guys are mostly too cool to work. Too sensitive, too. God made us for lovin', fishin' and huntin'.
The O as Anglophobe. That is shameful. For all of her faults, she is America's Mother Country.
On what grounds can Lefties attack Ayaan Hirsi Ali? And why would anybody want to? She is brilliant and beautiful. Maybe too cute for the Lefties...
Now off to our special annual urban hike with pals and gals: Battery Park to the Cloisters (if we make it). With whistle stops at pubs along the way. Need good shoes and a good liver for this event. Broadway was the old Indian trail. One good thing about urban hikes is that you don't need to carry anything except a few bucks in your pocket. Another is that you can take the subway back home. Next year, I am considering handing out Maggie's Farm t-shirts for the hike, with a Farmall and a logo. Our group is around 25 people now, and we draw straws in advance for who gets to decide on the route. I was hoping for the end point to be Alexander Hamilton's farmhouse, but somebody picked the Cloisters.
Recessional
God of our fathers, known of old--
Lord of our far-flung battle line
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine--
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!
Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe--
Such boasting as the Gentiles use
Or lesser breeds without the law--
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard--
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding, calls not Thee to guard--
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy mercy on Thy people, Lord!
Posted today because Driscoll recently linked Derbyshire's 2002 post on Kipling's poem which had been written for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Many do not know that Kipling later became a resident of Vermont for many years.
Friday, June 11. 2010
- Washington Reb is working on getting past a sound-bite conservatism, with Russell Kirk at his side.
- Steyn on "We are the ones we've been waiting for." (I would never wait for myself. In general, I tend to be annoyed with myself.)
NAACP Branded As "Racist" For Promoting Idea That Black People Are Stupid. Make sure you go to Ace's link and watch the very brief video.
The pathetic part is that these folks don't see how they are beclowning themselves, and if they know what black holes are, it doesn't show. They are looking for black hos. Black hos, if they are seeking them, are easy to find on 11th Avenue in the 30s and 40s after 9 pm, along with the white and hispanic and even asian hos. It's as multicultural as a White House Cabinet.
Black holes are a trickier business.
The issue, of course, is not stupidity. Stupidity comes in all colors, as does beclownment. The issue is using real or feigned ignorance, or real or feigned paranoia, or real or feigned offense, to score points by bullying innocents. That is immoral.
Very good brief history of medical insurance at National Affairs: Health Care and the Profit Motive. One quote:
When it comes to health care, liberals and conservatives often seem to be living in two different worlds. To those on the left, America's health-care system is a heartless capitalist jungle: a place where the bottom line is king, and the working poor are exploited. President Obama, for example, has accused insurance companies of holding Americans hostage in exchange for profits, and doctors of cashing in on children's sore throats by needlessly removing their tonsils. The right, meanwhile, sees American health care as an outpost of socialism: The government distorts prices and suppresses innovation, impairing the quality and affordability of care and constraining individual autonomy. Hence Republicans' call for less government involvement in insurance, and their complaints that heavy-handed Medicare rules are the source of our woes.
Simply put, liberals believe that health care is treated as a market commodity today but should not be, and conservatives think that health care is not treated as a market commodity but should be.
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Oil is a blessing,