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.
The photographs and diaries of Sophia Tolstoy have been published. Here's one of her photos of herself with her cheerful and fun-loving husband Leo (she would set up the shots and ask passing strangers to expose the image):
Spare us the learned, sociology-drenched justifications.
Spare us the reasons why you "get" Palestinians when they gun Jews down in cold blood.
Spare us the chapter and verse on how the plight of the Palestinians is at the root of Islamic terrorism the world over, and if the Palestinians were to receive full justice, Islamic terrorism would pass from the world.
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Over the past month or so we have seen Maria in various settings, from Greenwich Village basket houses to the present. Here's a snippet of Maria singing One Hour Mama from her 2007 album Naughty, Bawdy and Blue:
My garden blazes brightly with the rose-bush and the peach, And the koil sings above it, in the siris by the well, From the creeper-covered trellis comes the squirrel's chattering speech, And the blue jay screams and flutters where the cheery sat-bhai dwell. But the rose has lost its fragrance, and the koil's note is strange; I am sick of endless sunshine, sick of blossom-burdened bough. Give me back the leafless woodlands where the winds of Springtime range -- Give me back one day in England, for it's Spring in England now!
Through the pines the gusts are booming, o'er the brown fields blowing chill, From the furrow of the ploughshare streams the fragrance of the loam, And the hawk nests on the cliffside and the jackdaw in the hill, And my heart is back in England 'mid the sights and sounds of Home. But the garland of the sacrifice this wealth of rose and peach is, Ah! koil, little koil, singing on the siris bough, In my ears the knell of exile your ceaseless bell like speech is -- Can you tell me aught of England or of Spring in England now?
* koil -- The Indian bell-bird.
sat-bhai -- Indian starlings.
Kipling really wrote songs, not poems, it seems to me, and he was known to sing them. Not that there is any real difference. He came to mind this week because of neoneo's piece on Kipling in Vermont, which led us to Sippican's Kipling Table. Photo: Naulakha, Kipling's arts and crafts Vermont home where he wrote the Jungle Books, among others.
Filthy rich Dems. This week we have linked on the Clinton and Gore multi-millions. Here's a new windfall for Bill Clinton.Meanwhile, all they can say is that everything in America is terrible: Bleak House, at Dr. Sanity.
If you speak out against Guantanamo Bay, that doesn't mean you're promoting terrorism. But if you speak out against the human-rights prosecution of Marc Lemire, you're "promoting" him and his views. Funny how that works, isn't it?" - Damian Penny
George McGovern at the WSJ. I can't believe my ears:
Since leaving office I've written about public policy from a new perspective: outside looking in. I've come to realize that protecting freedom of choice in our everyday lives is essential to maintaining a healthy civil society.
Why do we think we are helping adult consumers by taking away their options? We don't take away cars because we don't like some people speeding. We allow state lotteries despite knowing some people are betting their grocery money. Everyone is exposed to economic risks of some kind. But we don't operate mindlessly in trying to smooth out every theoretical wrinkle in life.
I have been hearing much praise for this year's Philadelphia Flower Show. It is known as the best and the biggest plant and flower show in the country.
Should have sent somebody with a camera. Some exhibitors have constructed entire small scale landscapes and gardens - with trees - in the Convention Center. Here's a photo from the show's photo gallery:
Our first migratory wave of flocks of Common Grackles and Robins arrived here this week from their winter in the southern US. We have spoken of Turdus Migratorius (Robin) here in the past, but not about the Common Grackle, who has been extending his range from the Mississippi Valley across the US east of the Rockies, and north into Canada.
A flock of these large wetlands-loving (but highly adaptable) blackbirds will empty your bird feeder in a few hours, accompanied by their loud screeching and squawking.
Our friend Sippican sends this photo of a migratory flock in his yard on the Massachusetts coast last September:
Not only has there's been a rise in the number of Christian "work affinity" groups at city firms - including American Express, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Suisse Bank, Goldman Sachs and Ernst & Young- there's also a growing number of city-based advocacy groups promoting the integration of faith and work.
They stay low-profile, though. It almost reminds me of the early days of Christianity in Rome:
"There are very strong religious groups in New York City, it's just that people don't talk about it," said the woman, 25, who asked not to have her name or the firm name used, citing company protocol about speaking to the press - and noting that firms do not endorse or sponsor such groups. "It's all here, it's just not as public."
(A desire to stay under the radar seems to have been reflected in the reporting for this story: Most leaders of work-site groups contacted either didn't respond to messages or declined to comment.)
I say bring Him to work. He can handle it, and Wall Street needs His companionship as much as any other workplace.
If cats could talk, they wouldn't.
My friend recommended 
I am told by those who know such things that Platycodon grandiflorus, a member of the Campanula family, belongs in every perennial flower border.
Some cartoons from the 
Our first migratory wave of flocks of Common Grackles and Robins arrived here this week from their winter in the southern US. We have spoken of Turdus Migratorius (Robin) here in the past, but not about the Common Grackle, who has been extending his range from the Mississippi Valley across the US east of the Rockies, and north into Canada.
