Maggie's FarmWe 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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Wednesday, May 29. 2019Wednesday morning links"A British climber who died on the slopes of Mount Everest had warned of the dangers of huge queues for the summit just hours before his death." University offers ‘Problematizing Whiteness’ course A case for studying world history Educators In NYC Told To Associate Objectivity And Individualism With ‘White Supremacy’ Not doing those kids any favors Media Curiously Incurious About MLK Story - Is a Pulitzer winning biographer of Martin Luther King suddenly without standing? CrossFit Quits Facebook and Instagram Over Privacy Concerns, Manipulation on ‘Marketplace of Public Thought’ He Finally Admits He’s Not a Reporter: In New Book, Jim Acosta Insists ‘Neutrality’ Doesn’t Work in the Age of Trump His idea applies to almost anybody with an R after their name Why obstruction and cover-up charges smack of desperation Joe diGenova: John Huber Investigation of Clinton Foundation is a Farce – Never Even Started Byron York: As Barr mulls declassification, a familiar tune from critics Tuesday, May 28. 2019Tuesday morning linksCialis and Viagra for heart disease? What's Wrong with Vegan Diets How Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity Was Proven Correct a Century Ago This Week 137-year-old Winchester rifle found in Nevada has new home A Professor Who Argues Against Multicultural Ideology and for Western Exceptionalism Now Fears for His Job No Heroes Left: The MLK Revelations How Progressivism Enabled the Rise of the Populist Right VDH: Colluders, Obstructionists, Leakers, and Other Fools Douthat: How Liberalism Loses - An inflexible agenda and a global retreat. Time Magazine Columnist Apologizes After Trump Calls Out His Fake News By Name Cuba, tropical paradise, imports 2/3 of its food. Why? Monday, May 27. 2019A quick flight to charming Chatham MADefinitely worth the flight just for the nice seafood supper at the Chatham Squire. I love that joint. Great chowder. I have a friend who retired to Chatham village mainly for the chowder. For the nice people too, the Congo church, the old-time architecture, the mild ocean weather, beaches, birding, and closeness to Boston. Some discussion of his new avionics. Funny part: jumping the fence to get back. These guys are resourceful and have lots of fun. For Matt, his plane is just a sports car.
Monday morning linksA history of Decoration Day Here's a story of a paratrooper who survived A Waste of 1,000 Research Papers - Decades of early research on the genetics of depression were built on nonexistent foundations. How did that happen?
17 years of Powerline The Problem with Business Casual Attire The thesis of her feminist book is based on a misundertanding of a legal term SEX robots powered by high-speed internet including 5G will make them “indistinguishable” from humans How an internet mob falsely painted a Chipotle employee as racist RACISM: IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO? Why the Elites Look Down on Manual Labor Mark Meadows: The Democrats Are Raging in Panic Because "There is information coming that will curl your hair" In Latest Transcript Release NY FBI Asst Dir Sweeney Tosses Comey Under Bus — And Has No Idea What Happened to Weiner Laptop Surber: The press serves the Deep State MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace Asks O’Rourke: ‘What Can We Do Better’ To Cover Your Campaign Timing is everything, and timing explains President Trump’s decision to finally pull the ripcord and open the Obama administration’s bag of dirty tricks. Centrist bloc loses majority in EU vote as Greens and euroskeptics gain, early results show German official warns Jews against wearing skullcaps in public amid spike in anti-Semitism Sunday, May 26. 2019Holiday Weekend Animal du Jour: The FisherYou have probably never seen one, but this cat-sized member of the weasel tribe is not rare in New England woodlands. While famous for living on porcupines and squirrels, Fishers will eat anything they can catch (but they do not eat fish). Yes, they like to eat house cats and poultry too. "Due to its alert, secretive nature and solitary habits, most people have never seen this interesting predator. It disappeared from the state by the 19th Century due to agricultural land clearing. Fishers have since made an amazing comeback, and now live in populated areas that offer mature forest habitat and the squirrels it preys on." More about Fishers. Video of Fisher hunting Porcupines Serviceberry JamSome varieties of Serviceberry, more commonly known as Shadbush up here because it blooms during the Shad run, grow in most parts of the US and southern Canada. Some grow as shrubs, some as small trees. If you spend any time tramping outdoors, you will see them. Some varieties are used as landscape plantings (I have used them) but most grow wild, especially in brushy edges. The berries look somewhat like blueberries, and range from red to purple to black. Depending on the variety, the berries can be sour or sweet. All are edible raw, and you can make jam with them too. Serviceberry is not to be confused with the Huckleberry, also a common wild plant. Huckleberry is a common meadow edge plant. From today's LectionaryJohn 14:23-29
14:24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 14:25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 14:28 You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 14:29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. Saturday, May 25. 2019White Shark and other sea critters of interest around Long Island Sound
They do not mind cold water or warm water, but just follow the food. Below migration patterns of White Shark in the eastern US.
Most other sharks of the Northeastern US follow similar north-south migration patterns. While never common inland, Long Island Sound hosts Blue Sharks and Hammerhead Sharks in summer months. Why are we seeing more White Sharks in the Northeaster summers these days? Because of conservation. The US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 has resulted in dramatic increases in the numbers of Harbor Seals and Grey Seals. These blubbery critters, which can resemble humans in wetsuits, are favorite foods. Other conservation efforts, such as limiting the trawler harvests of Menhaden ("Bunker"), have resulted in an abundance of food for sharks, seals, Ospreys, Eagles, porpoises, and dolphin. All of those critters historically lived in the southern New England seacoast.
Steak vs Roast: Ribeye vs. (Prime Rib) Roast BeefRibeye, whether as a roast or cut into steaks, is the tastiest and most succulent cut of any ungulate. I prefer the steaks over the roasts, because I love the contrast between the surface, caramelized char and the almost raw center. Pan broiled, of course. Salivating as I write that... To me, regular prime roast is just an excuse to eat fresh horseradish. But to Roasts, What Is the Difference Between a Prime Rib Roast & a Rib-Eye Roast? Also, Prime Rib vs Ribeye – Explore what is the difference Since we're on the topic, what's a New York Strip Steak? Not my favorite, but ok in a pinch. In my opinion, the only cut suitable for a grill. Some of our readers, like me, have butchered countless deer (not perfectly, but well-enough) and know all the cuts of hoofed critters first-hand. One more: Italians (Northern Italians) love their steaks. It's the luxury Secondi in Italy. When I cook a steak, I sometimes throw a couple of sliced onions in the juice, sometimes some garlic too but it's not needed. Good steak needs only salt and pepper, maybe some olive oil, and butter. Italians like to flavor steak with lauro (laurel leaf) or rosemary. I do not care for that Lauro (Italian Bay) flavor. Saturday morning linksFour climbers die on Everest as record numbers crowd route to summit NEW YORK TIMES: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, ABORTION IS LIFE. Why I’m Now Against Abortion Britain Bans Plastic Straws, Stirrers, and Cotton Swabs That's a relief Why We Should Embrace Our Age of Nuclear Darn right Young people blame climate change for their small 401(k) balances The Truth about What Causes Income Inequality in America Income inequality is a crazy subject for too many reasons. Sure, single motherhood plays a role but, importantly, government help is not counted as income. And to further mess things up, incomes change. Entry level jobs pay little, but people can advance. And what about people who make low-paying choices, like those people whose dream is to be a Maine Guide? Or a poor Adjunct Professor? And aspiring artists and actors? Walter Williams: Presidential contenders are in a battle to out give one another. We should move most of the bureaucracy out of the DC area. Maybe they’ll be more willing to move when we ban air conditioning in the District. Rural Americans would be serfs if we abolished the Electoral College Williamson: The Democrats’ Other Class War Trump strikes back:
Schiff: Declassifying Crossfire Hurricane Data Is “Un-American” Really? What? Friday, May 24. 2019Flunked again: Success is good for ego but failure is good for the soul - re-posted
"Conditioning" is about speed, agility, HIIT cardio, endurance, explosiveness, and muscle use. Energy, stamina, and get-up-and-go. It is not about strength or strength-training, which is why lots of calisthenics are involved. In a tough conditioning hour, you can never catch your breath so it is intense cardio. Good stuff for life. I am in the sorry 10% who routinely flunk our Sat. AM calisthenics ("Athletic Conditioning") class. By flunking, I mean being unable to complete the trainer's expectations on at least half of the exercises in the time allowed. I hate failure, so I give it my all and come up short. We are calling ourselves the "Masters Class" and we are all age 45 or more. However, several 50+ and 60+ do make the passing grade. Bravo for them because this sort of thing is great to prevent physical deterioration. If it were high school or college, we would ask for extra time due to disability but, instead, we do our best and accept the fail. Reality is a bitch. Do better next week, or just give up and rightly despise yourself forever for being a loser. Details below the fold - Continue reading "Flunked again: Success is good for ego but failure is good for the soul - re-posted" Happy Birthday, BobThanks for all you have done to enrich our lives, all of the magic. Here's Powerline's birthday tribute, with a bunch of splendid Dylan covers. Here's a beauty:
Here's a true storyAbout a ballsy Christian spy from Mali checking out the smugglers' routes to the mediterranean. Secret Spectacles. It's another heck of a story. Friday morning linksA Memorial Day Reminder From Iraq Progressive anti-semitism Lawmaker Who Helped Write Obamacare: ‘What We Have Now Is Not Working’ It was designed to fail CA Governor, Looking To Shift Blame, Reportedly Calls State's Homeless Problem A National Disgrace Obama Admin Surveillance Of Reporters “Broader Than Previously Known” Pelosi, Schumer Whine And Cry After Trump Owned Them On Live Television Throwing pies TRUMP TO SIGN MEMO TO CURB WELFARE USE BY NON-CITIZENS Trump orders intel agencies to cooperate with Barr probe into 'spying' on 2016 campaign Ex-FBI lawyer: Carter Page FISA application approved in 'unusual' way by McCabe, Yates, and Baker Doomsday elections in Europe? EU update: Germany's green new deal fails Thursday, May 23. 2019Thursday morning links
Image is #1 from Escher's The Creation, at American Digest You Can Now Legally Compost Dead Family In Washington State Finally! But what about their dentures and titanium hips? This Autistic Student with Cerebral Palsy Got Two Title IX Violations for a 'Fist Bump' and a Selfie. Now, He's Suing. Word by Word, SJW’s Are Changing America GLOBAL WARMING: IT CAN DO ANYTHING! The Conventional Wisdom About Millennial Suffering Is A Myth Survey: Americans' confidence in job market at record high Free University Tuition: A Cautionary Note from Germany NY Times Columnist: America's Cities 'Unlivable, Blame Wealthy Liberals' EVERYONE HATES BILL DE BLASIO Video: Biden’s Pre-Obama Immigration Policies Sound A lot Like Trump’s They won’t stop trying to destroy Trump even if it destroys them Trump Defends Free Speech, Liberal Media Condemns Him For It… Mark Meadows: ‘Declassification is right around the corner’ WHO Singles Out Israel As Violator of Health Rights At Annual Meeting Military's Big Middle East Response Made Iranians 'Recalculate,' Shanahan Says Wednesday, May 22. 2019QQQWednesday morning linksCold Brew’s Insidious Hegemony What is it? Herman Wouk: the novelist who spoke for post-war America. Dead at 103 A book: How to Become a Federal Criminal: An Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring Offender Activists hope that fake news about droughts will win Is the pleasure of smugness what progressivism is all about? A New Policy Agenda for the “Regressive Resistance”: What Happened to Civil Liberties? One of the reasons you do not want to give the government too much power when you are in power is that someday you will not be in power. Mueller Refuses To Testify Publicly Before Congress, Infuriating Democrats He must be working with the Russians Meadows: Gowdy’s Right — Americans Will Be “Astonished” By “Game Changing” Russiagate Material About To Be Declassified We'll see... COMEY VS. THE WORLD - Eventually the “holier than thou” find themselves at loggerheads with the rest of the world. Call it the revenge of the “thous.” Nadler Subpoenas Former White House Comms Director Hope Hicks to Testify Before Congress Desperately seeking something - anything - to nail Trump with. It's called persecution So Who Are The Stupid Ones Down In Australia? Have the nationalists of Europe caught the wave of the future? Tuesday, May 21. 2019QQQ, re Trump"While we recognize that the subject did not actually steal any horses, he is obviously guilty of trying to resist being hanged for it." Anon Tuesday morning linksFeral Parrots Are Taking Over America Chronic Lyme disease: Fake diagnosis, not fake disease To My Fellow Air Travelers: This Is Why You Fucking Suck Sea otters are bouncing back - and into the jaws of great white sharks Great White Shark in Long Island Sound:
NY Times Op-Ed Admits Something The Times Must Hate About Religious People Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College trial — It’s ‘make or break’ week Americans Paid for the Internet, We Deserve Free Speech On It Fake news travels six times faster than the truth on Twitter Man Who Bribed Son into Penn Guilty in $1.3 Billion Health Fraud ESPN Says It Will Obey Fans, Cut Down On Network's Political Content Top Democrat's wife may have gained 'illegal private benefit' from his committee activities Dem Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: Abortion Is A “Life And Death” Decision… EMAILS SHOW DEEP STATE CONSPIRING AGAINST TRUMP VDH: He did it, not me Doug Collins releases Loretta Lynch, Andrew McCabe interview transcripts Tapped to lead new probe, U.S. Attorney John Durham has been quietly working for months on issues related to Trump and Russia Impeachment is now the only play the Left has ‘France Does Not Belong to the French!’: Hundreds Of Illegal Migrants Storm Paris Airport Monday, May 20. 2019Monday morning linksWhat is a "woman"? Meet the Bold Sexologist Questioning Transgender Orthodoxy Learning about Cotton in School Is Racist Now So try harvesting some polyester plants Why is a new history of the United States necessary? Why now? Socialism Is about Taking, Not Giving Want To Dismantle Capitalism? Abolish The Family Philadelphia’s Soda Tax Bombed As Predicted Harvard is failing its students by allowing them to live in a fantasy world NYC schools chief accused of creating environment ‘hostile’ to white people The Australian election: Cathy Wilcox, a newspaper cartoonist, tweeted: “It seems unfair that the morons outnumber the thinking people at election time.” Canadian Government Imposes 'Social Justice' on All Universities Sounds like China California half-fast ‘hi speed rail’ plan now pondering old fashioned diesel trains to salvage something from failed project Al Gore inserts himself into Australia's election — and Aussie voters run the other way Financial Collapse Of The United States Postal Service Is Coming Byron York: Mueller changed everything HERE’S HOW THE ASYLUM SYSTEM IS BEING EXPLOITED Sunday, May 19. 2019Keith JarretWeather Porn
While greenies are preparing to change their motto omce again, (to Environmental Destruction), workers are now trying to open Lassen National Park for Spring.
From today's LectionaryRevelation 21:1-6 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 21:4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." 21:5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 21:6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Saturday, May 18. 2019Bird du Jour: Whooping CraneSeeing Endangered Whooping Cranes Step Through the Fog of Extinction -"I traveled to southern Texas to see a wintering population of the birds now 500-strong—a major comeback from just 15 cranes in 75 years." These birds are similar to the very abundant Sandhill Cranes, and can interbreed with them. Sandhill Cranes are huntable and highly edible. They taste like Swan, I am told. Do not shoot a Whooping Crane. The US has an eastern flock, and the famous western flock. With a flock this small, conservation is promising but not guaranteed.
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