Maggie's Farm

400,000 Ukrainian deaths, 13,000,000 Ukrainian refugees who will never return, maybe 40-50,000 Russian military dead.

Why is the US contributing to this? I annoyed lots of people on this topic from the beginning, but it is nuts.  Good interview.

He's back from 9 days in a mountain villa overlooking the Adriatic in Abruzzo. He'd only been to Italy once, as a kid. Naturally, I had questions:

Any mishaps? Just left my backpack with money and passports in a cab. Luckily, he soon noticed and caught up with us as we entered the Rome airport. 

How was the house? Gorgeous, but hard beds. Nice pool with mountain views.

Like the women? Dangerously sexy and well-dressed.

Natives in Abruzzo speak any English? Not really.

See any relatives? My 85 year-old aunt had her driver take us around to see my Mom's relatives.

Go to the beach? Twice. 

Eat any pizza or pasta? My daughter did.

Have some vongole? Yep, raw and in sauce.

Grilled octopus? Of course. That's a dumb question.

Any risotto? They don't make risotto in southern Italy.

Calamari? Yep, raw on toast and in sauces.

Fresh white anchovies? Of course.

Mussels?  We had a mussel pie.

Swordfish or tuna? No. 

Cinghiale? Looked, didn't see it on a menu. 

Breakfasts? Just espresso. 

Wine? Too much, usually. 

See any gyms in the towns? Nope. 

Would you return? I'd just stay there. 

 Prince Immediately Regrets Waking Rachel Zegler With A Kiss After She Starts Ranting About The Patriarchy

 ‘Minuteman’ mascot scrapped at Calif. school

 Old School higher ed

 The American Propaganda Media

 14 American Cities Aim to Ban Meat, Dairy, Private Cars by 2030

Good luck with that 

 Runaway AI Train

" And all of this is illegal and unconstitutional."

 Washington Democrat Governor Inslee: “We Need to Decarbonize Our Economy so These Fires Don’t Ravage Us”

 California’s Heat-Pump Fantasy - Regulators move to phase out gas furnaces for an electric-powered appliance that will raise costs, cause more climate damage per pound than carbon—and won’t even keep people warm.

'Children Were Incinerated To Ash': Livid Hawaiians Slam Biden For Cracking Jokes, Lying About Wife

 RFK Jr. Blasts Biden's Approving F-16s For Ukraine "A Disaster For Humanity" 

 David Sacks: Sadly, Ukraine Will Be Destroyed Before Washington Admits We Need A Diplomatic Solution

Via a post from our pal at Sippican Cottage:

 The musical legacy of Robbie Robertson is a monument to the possibilities of American song.

 How August Wilson became one of the country’s most influential playwrights

 Why Do Some People Think Cilantro Tastes Like Soap? If you hate cilantro, this could be why.

 The Booming Business of American Anxiety - A flurry of companies and entrepreneurs aim to fill the demand for mental-health help

 ‘Barren’ Disney Theme Parks Blamed on Climate Change

Everything is caused by climate change 

 "Leave Neutrality Behind": Soros-Backed UT Austin Initiative Embraces Advocacy Journalism

Propaganda, in other words 

Maui response is a disaster

 PBS reporter wigging that OK "narrowing" definition of "man" and "woman"

 SWEDEN GOES NUCLEAR

 The Green Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think -- Or Not

 Joe Rogan Blasts the Left’s Obsession With Climate Change: ‘You’re Not Saving Jack Sh*t!’

  Signal and Noise - Can we keep climate science separate from misinformation?

Politico:  There’s Only One Way to Control AI: Nationalization

Lefty: There's no way to control ____________ without nationalization 

 No Quality in Socialist Equality

 The Town Without Zoning - Can Caroline, New York, resist the imposition of its first-ever zoning code?

Andrew C. McCarthy:  The Flaw in Trump’s Georgia Indictment

 Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears scolds ‘scorched earth’ 2024 GOP

 Ramaswamy's 15 Minutes Have Begun. Can He Sustain It?

 China and America-- Decoupling Scientific Research

I don't know what success is. I do know I have done pretty much what I wanted to do, so that's good. It feels good to be useful.

We tend to value personality traits more important than other things, but statistically IQ plays a big role in negotiating life. Biology is powerful 

The great Grizzly Bear comeback 

Fact is, Grizzlies do not prefer mountains. They like river bottoms and damp prairies. 

The trans Ideology Cult Is Collapsing Under The Weight Of Its Own Absurdity

 Net Zero Is Stalling Out. What Now?

Nuke plants would make everybody happy 

 Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers

I doubt that 

Stuart's  Saturday Miscellany

Let's force gov't censors to take Remedial Free Speech classes

China  Embracing Western Cultural Greatness

Vivek interviewed by the Breakfast Club (video) 

 "I'll Be Blunt, It's Failed," Says Congressional Ukraine Caucus Co-Chair On Offensive

 "The End Is Nearing" - Seymour Hersh Slams The White House's "Wishful Approach" To Ukraine War

I had thought that this was an old Irish tune. In fact, it was probably written by Brendan Behan's brother.

I am not going to go into all of the styles of talk therapy, many of which can be helpful for various forms of suffering.

Instead, I am linking a piece on moral neutrality in psychotherapy.  

About Linnaeus' life 

 My experience with a Hawaiian wildfire

 Let Me Help You Understand 'Rich Men North of Richmond'

 Award-Winning Comedy Writer Has Edinburgh Show Cancelled Because Of Views On Gender

 Feds paid $300,000 to study why white, male physicists don’t fight racism, sexism in STEM

Why the San Francisco Doom Loop tour is already sold out (and may be coming to NYC)

 The migrant public-health emergency creates a political emergency: Lawmakers must act

California now imports 30% of its power 

 Why Bill Watterson Vanished - The creator of Calvin and Hobbes is back, but the mystery is why disappeared in the first place.

Deep thoughts about Taylor Swift's success 

About dating apps 

 Many cancer drugs may end up doing absolutely nothing for patients, study reveals

Rachel Levine calls mothers as 'egg producers' while visiting a gender clinic

 Wanted: Single Male, No Smokers, Must Have Climate Anxiety

Was Obama the first gay President? 

Who cares? 

 Male Powerlifter Sets Female Record

 Massachusetts couple denied foster care eligibility because they are believing Catholics

Lib Nami Wolf decides Trump isn't so bad 

 Been almost a month enforcing San Diego's homeless ban

 BLUE CITIES: GETTING IT GOOD AND HARD

 Large Supermarket In Nation’s Capitol May Close Over $500K Worth Of Shoplifting

 I READ THE GEORGIA INDICTMENT, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO

 WHERE IS HILLARY’S INDICTMENT ON THE SAME CHARGES AS TRUMP?

 ALAN DERSHOWITZ: Al Gore, his legal team and I tried to find uncounted presidential votes, lobbied officials and fought in the courts in 2000. The only difference now? The candidate's name is Donald Trump... That's why this prosecution is an outrage

 The European Union Is Finally Coming Around to Gene-Edited Seeds

I thought I had read all of Kurlansky's books, but I missed one of obvious interest: The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

From the American Indians to present, with plenty of NYC and colonial history, the story of the wonderful North American oyster. A few factoids I learned: the ancient Romans farmed oysters (European oysters are an entirely different critter, however); wild oyster beds are a thing of the distant past, as are 12" oysters; French chefs introduced Americans to eating raw oysters.

I missed his death in April

Tucker interviews RFK Jr.  I tried to embed it, but can't.

Not supporting the guy, but he is smart and thoughtful. Doubt he is paranoid. He's right - Russia will not tolerate NATO on its borders. Why would they? NATO is obsolete anyway, in my view.

I wish he would quit with the constant "my father" and "my uncle." It's too much.

 Timing The Market: Why It's So Hard, In One Chart

 How the Internet obeys you

 Is your kid ready for a phone? AT&T thinks so, Thanks to an assist from the American Academy of Pediatrics…

FEMA's Maui relief efforts to be "culturally responsive"

 Oregon’s Brutally Hard Lesson about Decriminalizing Drugs

Ungovernable American Cities

They are governable 

 Nuclear Fusion Heats Up

Been hearing that for decades 

 Facebook Censors Accurate Information Linking Wind Energy To Whale Deaths

 Comments From Supporters Of EPA's New Power Plant Rule

  Anti-Ultra-low-emission-zone camera ninjas messing up London mayor's big plan

 Is This The Most Asinine Sentence Ever Written About ‘Climate Change’?

 THE PROPHET OF POWER DENSITY

 Hating fossil fuels is such a luxury belief

 'White People' Were the Only Slavers of History, Black Professor Claims

 Alan Dershowitz Predicts All Four Trump Trials Will Take Place Before 2024 Election, Adds ‘There’ll Be Some Convictions’

 Ukraine military's transgender spokes"woman" is simply insane

I told you that in Sicily last Spring we had Parsley Pesto (with grilled swordfish) and Pistachio Pesto (with grilled pork), but we never saw a Basil Pesto. They do love their Pistachios in Sicily - they use them with everything. We brought a small, overpriced jar of pistachio pesto home, but it's fairly easy to make.

"Pesto" means something that is pestado - pounded or ground up, as in English "pestle and "paste" or French "pate". Walnut-Parsley is a popular combination. Also, fresh mint pesto. The Cuisinart is what made Pesto easy. 

More: Move out of the way, basil. Cheese + nuts + olive oil + garlic + whatever the hell you want = awesome pesto.

Pesto is for seafood, vegetables, noodles.  

The Delusion of Scientific Omniscience

Little of what we "know" today will be tomorrow's facts. That's how it works. 

Save the Whales, Again

About Matrix IQ testing 

 Comments On The Insanity Of EPA's New Power Plant Rule

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ruined My Family's Trip With Intrusive Grooming

 The deadly consequences of cancel culture

 Socialist scholar Cornel West owes $500,000 in taxes

 But Can You Not See How Fascinating I Am?

 CNN Lectures People On The Use of Neopronouns

The Trouble with Daycare

 Universal Early Childhood Daycare Has Been Proven to Damage the Children Who Have Been Through It

 "Asylum seekers" have already worn out welcome in upstate New York

 Chuck Todd admits Gov. Abbott was 'right' about bussing migrants to blue cities: Dems are 'upset' at Biden

 Biden censors battered — expect an epic Supreme Court showdown

 Teamsters are losing their jobs — and there is one labor leader to blame

 Seattle cop's resignation letter excoriates city

 Imagine How the Maui Wildfires Would Be Covered if a Republican Were in the White House. Remember Katrina and Puerto Rico?

 Ukrainians Begin To Despair As Bloody Counteroffensive Yields Small Gains