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.
1:17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
1:18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
1:19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;
1:20 for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.
1:21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
1:22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
1:23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
1:24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.
1:25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.
1:26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.
1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
The 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher did not get wide play. It didn't play into the memes that Hollywood pumps out and unashamedly awards itself for. This is a true story of as deep a violent, ex-con, drugged man as you never want to experience finding G-d and turning his life around, and making his family proud. Right there this film crosses (if you'll pardon the expression) the effete critics who delight in films that disparage faith. However, the film further sins (again, if you'll pardon the expression) as the man finds what turns into a higher purpose for his life, fighting, yes bloody real machine gun fighting, against the savage African army of Joseph Kony that slaughters, enslaves, performs ritual murders, forces young children to participate in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. In my belief, it is more important to G-d what we do for others and how we treat others than what pieties we mouth. That is what G-d desires of us. The man, Sam Childers, hocks almost everything he has built in the US, overruling his wife and daughter's concerns for their own financial security, to build an orphanage in South Sudan, in the middle of the war zone, to shelter and protect hundreds of children and feed many hundreds more. In the process, Childers becomes disillusioned with the idea of relying on G-d to save the needy, and is adrift in figuring out how to be a man of principle and caring while having to be bloodthirsty in fighting Kony's forces. Childers finds himself coming out of this flame (again, if you'll pardon the expression) to being a decent person, at harmony with his family, and fighting as hard as ever against Kony's thugs. To my faith, that is doing G-d's will for us.
Stay watching the ending credits as Childers is totally unapologetic about what he does. For those who feel so safe that they feel they have the luxery of abhoring violence that is often necessary in the real world by real men (and women) this is the cardinal sin (yeah, again, if you'll pardon the expression). No wonder, 77% of the 108 paid-to-be-professional critics who chirp together logged at Rotten Tomatoes disliked the film, but in the real world of the over 11,000 audience members who voted at Rotten Tomatoes 63% liked the film. You can now only get it on DVD or streaming, but it'll be worth it. There is vulgarity at the start of the film, but stay tough for the tough truth in this film, people can only be safe when there are those who risk all.
Chris Cornell wrote and performed this song, The Keeper, for the movie. It's beautiful. But, don't be fooled by the clips of the film in the background. The film is not all uplifting moments. It contains much violence, including horrible brutalities upon children. Don't expect to come out of this film just uplifted but, if you have a soul and some guts, you'll be more determined to tangibly confront evil.
Surely some readers have cucumbers in their gardens by now. Probably, tons of them.
First one: two slices of good bread, one slice of Costco ham, plenty of mayo, a fat slice of a tomato from the garden, and generous slices/chunks of Costco goat cheese, salt and pepper. Mmmm.
Or: bread, fat slice of tomato, skinny slices of warm cucumber from the garden, salt and pepper and mayo. Wow.
Or, minimalist - the man's version of a lady's cucumber sandwich: bread, two or three fat slices consisting of an entire cucumber from the garden (sliced lengthwise, not in rounds, with or without the seed part), salt and pepper, mayo. Olive oil and vinegar dressing always substitutable for the mayo, but I prefer the Hellman's.
Never build a sandwich without salt and pepper - learned that long ago from a chef friend. Except PB&J - or Fluffernutter, of course.
Theo's inflated girlfriend, pictured, loves a good old Yankee Fluffernutter. She told me so. (Loyal Yankee tho I am, I cannot eat those things.) Anyway, I think this gal is pulling in her tummy for the photo.
Whether he wins the election or not, it’s clear that Romney is a very unusual human being, with a combination of brains, hard-nosed business sense and competitiveness, and personal kindness that goes way beyond anything most people consider necessary or even possible. For a politician, this is so unusual as to be unique. . . . People keep saying about Romney, ‘the more I know of him the more I like him.’ Not just on this blog, but in comments all over the internet. It strikes me that Obama is just the opposite—the more people know of him the more they dislike him.”
I just wonder if the Dems will be able to put together a video marking Obama’s selfless acts of compassion when no one was paying attention.
The Saturday 6:30 AM line for beach stickers, Wellfleet MA. A good idea to bring your dog, one of your brats, something to read, and some coffee. People will happily hold your place in line if you wander off for a while - especially grateful if you bring back coffee and a box of donuts to spread around. Very friendly, pleasant people doing the Saturday morning duty.
It seems Canada may do many things right, but can't keep the maple syrup flowing.
If the thieves had somehow made off with the entire contents of the warehouse, Canada would have lost more than a tenth of its 2012 syrup harvest (3.4 million liters).
...the truth needed to make the world a better place is a "public good" that private markets cannot easily supply. Foundations have spent many millions of dollars financing private, market-oriented think tanks in an effort to compensate for the damage being done by academia. But while these think tanks have had an influence at the margins, the vast majority of college-educated Americans continue to rely on the information provided by elite universities and mainstream media rather than the think tanks that espouse classical liberal thought.
Can market forces provide the creative destruction needed to solve this problem?
With the RNC done with, my shrink take is this: Big man with small ego vs. Small man with Inflated ego. The corner office vs. Hollywood; serious stuff vs. fainting teens; competence vs. tingles; real jobs vs. styrofoam pillars; freedom vs. Euroland.
Admittedly, I am biased. I have never understood why so many in my field fall into the Leftist, statist side of politics rather than into the Libertarian. It makes no sense to me because our job is to have faith in individual people rather than seeing helpless, dependent masses.
It took a while to get here, but it's been a fun run. I enjoyed every minute of the debates, the primaries were quite interesting, as was pondering who would grab the VP slot. Now that the convention's over, it's time for the main event to get under way.
At this point, I like our chances. Along with gauging audience reactions, I also like gauging the overall feel of the comments on non-political sites. That is, if I'm on some site selling dog brushes, and someone mentions Obama in the site's forum and, the next thing ya know, there are regular, non-political people screeching about Obama & company all over the place, this is a good sign, and I see it all the time.
As for last night's show, the Reagan tribute was pretty cool:
On a local note, we have proof that Mitt Romney's son, Craig, reads Maggie's Farm. Hi, Craig! In my wrap-up yesterday, I suggested it would have been a smart move for Gov Martinez to talk to her fellow Hispanics en Español for an entire minute, just to show them that they really meant something.
So what did Craig Romney do tonight? Spoke in Spanish for an entire minute.
Thank you, thank you — I'll be here all week. Try the veal.
With public-sector unions fighting tooth and nail to preserve their cushy benefits and expensive pension plans, old style Dems like FDR, Harry Truman and Fiorello LaGuardia—all of whom thought that public sector unionism was a terrible idea—are looking smarter and smarter all the time.
I think he accomplished exactly what he wanted to accomplish with Independents and disappointed Obama voters: "I'm a nice guy, I'm a family guy, I'm an optimist, I'm not scary and I'm not negative or angry, I'm competent, experienced, and have done lots of things, I respect the basic American values, I understand how the real world works, I know you want a job instead of a freebie, I'm a solutions guy and not a rabid ideologue, a solid manager not a sex object - and you can easily imagine me as a calming, adult, and effective President."
He views himself as CEO, not as a messiah or as a celebrity and he is saying "Hire me", not "Love me.". There are two theories of the American Presidency: the Figurehead theory and the Executive theory. How do you think he did?
Also, best line from Rubio's speech, re Obama: “These are the ideas that people come to America to get away from.”
I think Obama is toast, whether re-elected or not. He is last week's People Magazine and is no longer taken seriously by anybody because he is a glib lightweight who has failed in his job.
Pic below via SDA. Amusing, but I know many Conservative young ladies. There are many women out there who do not wish to marry the federal government. Sandra, who wants me to pay for her birth control pills, happens to be a law student from a wealthy family. Ask Dad to pay for your pills, Sandra. Or your boyfriend.
"College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life. Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now. And I hope you understand this too, if you’re feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you.
None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us. Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate. It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.
That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners."
You have a nation filled with people who are worried about money, and worried about their kids' futures. Thus the frequently-observed temptation for pols and the MSM to distract the voters. Is this election about race and gender?
Their race card is as big as America now. It is America. There is no longer an America for them, just a collection of race cards that they shuffle and deal and shuffle again, playing solitaire with themselves until the economy goes down. In their America it is always 1963 in Birmingham. It will always be Birmingham, 1963, even for those who have never been to Birmingham and who did not even exist on this planet in 1963.
Ultimately this division — clerisy and their clients versus yeomanry — will decide the election. The patricians and the unions will finance this battle on both sides, spreading a predictable thread of half-truths and outright lies. The Democrats enjoy a tactical advantage. All President Obama needs is to gain a rough split among the vast group making around or above the national median income. He can count on overwhelming backing by the largely government dependent poor as well as most ethnic minorities, even the most entrepreneurial and successful.
Romney’s imperative will be to rouse the yeomanry by suggesting the clerisy, both by their sheer costliness and increasingly intrusive agenda, are crippling their family’s prospects for a better life. In these times of weak economic growth and growing income disparity, the Republicans delude themselves by claiming to ignore class warfare. They need to learn how instead to make it politically profitable for themselves.
Ron Paul supporters, you have my sympathy. That video they showed was just pathetic. I thought the big guy, hisself, was going to speak, hopefully issuing a small tut-tut to the conventioneers to keep their collective eye on the fiscal ball, but no. All we got was a campaign commercial. Hmph.
Remember, by the end of the debates, a lot of people saw what I meant when I said at the beginning, "I completely agree with 75% of what he says. The other 25% scares me to death." In many, if not most ways, he really does have the right answer, but in the general election, every vote for Ron Paul is most likely a vote taken from Romney. That stuff's fine during the primaries, but we're trying to win the big one here. The best thing we can hope for is that the press (continues to) completely ignore him. The less press, the less votes. The less votes, the greater our chances.
Remember Ross Perot in '92? Result? A Clinton dynasty.
Say, I've got a good idea. How 'bout an Obama dynasty? Cool idea, huh?
DOJ Accuses San Diego Public
A re-post. 
Think you have it tough? 
This is just the conclusion of Robert Pinsky's long poem (1975) Essays on Psychiatrists (h/t, 
It seems Canada may do many things right, but can't keep the 
Live video of Tombstone Blues
Stopping 
Ron Paul supporters, you have my sympathy. That video they showed was just pathetic. I thought the big guy, hisself, was going to speak, hopefully issuing a small tut-tut to the conventioneers to keep their collective eye on the fiscal ball, but no. All we got was a campaign commercial. Hmph.