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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Friday, September 14. 2018Friday morning linksHiking With Kids Age 4 and 6 (and Some Llamas) Along the Continental Divide Are beards racist? A short history of beards in the West Animals killing hikers Heat Analysis of NOAA Data Suggests the US Is Not Seeing Increased Warming FEMA May Not be Prepared for Hurricane Florence, but Waffle House Is - The "Waffle House Index" shows some differences between the private and public sector when it comes to emergency preparedness. Simple questions for millennials A SCIENTIST FOR A SCIENTIFIC POST? THE HORROR! Kimball: The Intoxicating Effects of Socialist Benevolence Once Hillary's & Fusion GPS' Russia Hoax Storyline Has Run Its Course, We'll Just Segue Into Their Plan B Hoax About Trump's "Money-Laundering" When Government Is Everything, Everything Is Crazy A TIMELINE OF TREASON: How the DNC and FBI Leadership Tried to Fix a Presidential Election [Updated] IT’S OFFICIAL: GOOGLE IS A DEMOCRATIC PARTY FRONT Google Responds To Leaked Video As Damning History Of Bias Haunts Company; Parscale Calls For Investigation Democrats hit a new low in their crusade against Kavanaugh What Trump hath wrought - Thanks to Trump, the Republicans are facing a grim electoral landscape Unforced errors and a chaotic vibe can overshadow all the good he has been doing Incomes Up, Poverty Down in 2017 - Census Bureau reports on latest data on America’s economic wellbeing Thursday, September 13. 2018Making of "The Hunt for Red October" - Behind the ScenesIt's one of the great movies - re-watchable.
Thursday morning linksHow C.S. Lewis Predicted the PC War on Literature Woman who wrote 'How to Murder Your Husband' arrested for allegedly murdering her husband Dems Work Overtime to Politicize Florence, Blame Trump Washington Post: President Trump Responsible For Hurricanes! Big storm downgraded Give Trump credit for that. He yelled at Florence UN Chief Warns: Less Than 2 Years to Avoid 'Runaway Climate Change' ‘Social Justice’ Teaching Invades Business Schools Transgender Man Sexually Assaults Female Inmates Illegal Immigrants Give California Up to Five Extra Congressional Seats Steyn on Diversity State Dept. Email: Bob Woodward — Who Just Published Anti-Trump Book — Has Been FBI Asset Since 1970s Report: THIRTEEN Different Deep State FBI Agents Fed Information to ONE LIBERAL REPORTER The FBI and DOJ Praetorian Guard – The Beginning of the End Trump Derangement Syndrome Reaching Epidemic Levels as We Head Toward Midterms Besides his personality, it's not clear what the issues are Wednesday, September 12. 2018Wednesday morning linksDo you look like your dog? Canine-human lookalikes in pictures ‘Worst-case scenario’ hurricane simulation alarmingly similar to Florence forecast Don't Be Fooled, There Was Nothing 'Financial' About the 2008 Crisis California Regulates Barber And Tattoo Shops Out Of Business The Paris Climate Accord, Unravelling Mike Rowe's Epic Response To Nike's Kaepernick Campaign Hits Home On 9/11 LUXURY SOCIALISM AND THE END OF THE WORKING LEFT - Who needs necessities, when the government can give you luxuries? Joe Scarborough Owes the President - and the Country - an Apology It’s Not Just CNN’s Poll. All Polling Shows Trump’s Approval Rating Dropping. Presidential Chaos Real 'Collusion' — Deep State's Failed Effort To Elect Hillary Clinton Unravels The Afghanistan War at 17 Tuesday, September 11. 2018Tuesday morning links
Maine photo from Salt Water New England, where everything is always perfectly charming Why Was Disco Ever Popular? Blame Fake News. Did The Village Voice Help Ruin Journalism? Advocacy reporting, once revolutionary and corrective, increasingly supplants the documentation of facts. Harvard Prof: Merit-based admissions 'reproduce inequality' The Academic Left’s Emerging War On Scientific Study Closing Argument on Farm Bill: Work Requirements in SNAP Will Reduce Poverty DRAIN THE SWAMP: EPA SHED 1,200 JOBS IN TRUMP’S FIRST YEAR AND A HALF 100 Bangladeshi Nationals Apprehended near Texas Border in 3 Weeks When censorship is crowdsourced:
Tucker Carlson Reveals Explosive Email from Google Exec on How Company Actively Assisted Hillary in 2016 Trump Should Be a Better Boss BOLTON TO ICC: BABY, DON’T YOU DO IT Trump’s New Attempt to Push Palestinians to Negotiate With Israel. The administration has closed the PLO office in Washington, citing a lack of progress in the peace process. Monday, September 10. 2018Monday morning links
All about Panama Hats Serena Williams battles umpire, loses US Open final in stunning upset "As a 19-year-old, her former professor concludes, Melania clearly had ambition to match her intelligence." ABOUT THOSE “VANISHING” FORESTS. . . The Higher Education Bubble Is Bursting — And That´s A Good Thing “If you’re going to take a knee this season, please have a ring in your hand!” Steyn on The Space Age The Cory Booker you see has always been an imaginary creation Mr. Rosenstein, What Is the Crime? Rough Beasts Slouching toward the White House Now We Know: “The Resistance” Is The Establishment How Donald Trump dismantled the New Class, The President has created a Republican Workers Party Sunday, September 9. 2018Sam the BuglerRoger Angell, still writingAngell is the guy who helped me see the beauty of baseball. From The New Yorker, 2014: "I’m ninety-three, and I’m feeling great. Well, pretty great, unless I’ve forgotten to take a couple of Tylenols in the past four or five hours, in which case I’ve begun to feel some jagged little pains shooting down my left forearm and into the base of the thumb. Shingles, in 1996, with resultant nerve damage..." The thing about the (past) New Yorker writers is that they were so engaging stylistically that you would read any long form article even if you had no interest in the topic - like golf course design. That's the sign of a real writer. "Has-been"A highly-successful older pal and fellow parishioner who retired this summer (in his 80s) told me he asked our retiring pastor this week whether he could give him any advice on how to cope with being a "has-been." Pastor replied "I was going to ask you that." From today's Lectionary: Faith and WorksJames 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17 2:1 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 2:2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 2:3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," 2:4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court 2:7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? 2:8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 2:9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 2:11 For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 2:13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. 2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 2:16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 2:17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. Saturday, September 8. 2018DeclutteringIn addition to house-wide de-cluttering, I am facing a de-cluttering of my daily work space. It is on the order of The Management. Some urgency to it too, cuz the place is being re painted. In one cabinet I went through, far more ammo than I knew I had. I had no idea how much I had accumulated in there, including all game loads, plus steel loads, Bismuth loads, and Tungsten loads. 12 ga, 20 ga. Just no 16 ga, which I have come to like the best since inheriting my grandpa's 16 ga. I only like 20 ga for grouse and woodcock, and you do not need much ammo for that game because they are so difficult to find. I have too many firearms too. I love to play with firearms and to shoot birds, ducks, and geese, but I found that I have more than I can ever use. Only so many Saturdays left and, as I say, retirement is not in my playbook. I would do the night shift in a minimart rather than be useless. Saturday morning linksPhysician Solves Mystery of Mona Lisa's Smile While Waiting in Louvre Line Good review of the week at Betsy The Hijacking of College Writing Classes Linda Sarsour: Humanizing Israelis is a Problem Stefanowski: Connecticut's income tax is killing its economy — that's why I want to get rid of it Cynthia Nixon on How to Finance Single-Payer Healthcare 6.3%: African-American Unemployment Rate Second-Lowest Ever Trump Economy Surpasses Predictions For Job Creation In August Krugman: Kavanaugh will kill the Constitution Internal Trump Resistance: ‘We See Ourselves As Rebels’ The Anti-Democratic Implications Of An Inner Circle Run Amok Theater of the Absurd Has Taken Over the Senate That Was Embarrassing! Kamala Harris Grills Judge Kavanaugh for 7 Minutes About Mueller Only to Find Out He Worked with Mueller A marred confirmation hearing that has embarrassed us all The "Trump is insane" strategy It's Africa's Choice: AFRICOM Or 'The New Silk Roads Marxism Is Consuming My Beloved Africa WASHINGTON POST'S HYSTERIA OVER THE END TO AMERICA'S UNRWA FUNDING Friday, September 7. 2018HvarHvar, Croatia. Our friends only stayed in Air B&Bs in Slovenia and Croatia. Said they were treated like royalty. Their hosts even picked them up at train, ferry, and airports. No extra charge. They were eager for good reports on Air B&B.
Gilder on life after GoogleWe rarely link postcasts, but this one is worth it. (h/t. reader)
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Friday morning links
Doctor burnout said to be due to Obamacare paperwork requirements Voluntary Human Extinction Movement Gathers Steam How Colleges Are Ripping Off a Generation of Ill-Prepared Students It's No Joke: Students Can Minor in Marijuana At Stockton University Over Half Of America Suffering Drought As Lake Powell, Lake Mead Drop To "Dangerous" Low Levels Too many people living in deserts. Desalinization is only solution. Pipelines! Layoffs Just Reached a Half-Century Low - With too-few candidates, businesses hold tight to workers Democrats' visions of hand signals from white supremacists Is a Tea Party of the Left brewing inside the Democratic Party?
Thursday, September 6. 2018On Deleting Your Social Media AccountsThursday morning linksThe Five Most Overrated Beers My Eight-Year-Old Daughter Walked Her Dog Alone. Then Police Came Knocking On My Door What are the appropriate ages for things? " My nephew tried to school me on cultural appropriation. It didn’t end well” Fisking Chuck Todd’s “It’s All Roger Ailes! He Made The Public Distrust The Media” Article “A fossil-free future”… Real words from a real social justice warrior and author of The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution Cleaning out cabinets for painters and found my old fossil collection. I will not have a fossil-free future. I love looking at fossils and hope to become an old fossil myself someday A Facebook Engineer’s Plea for Political Diversity Why Technology Favors Tyranny - Artificial intelligence could erase many practical advantages of democracy, and erode the ideals of liberty and equality. It will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it. The Prophet of Google's Doom TEXAS DOCTORS at Kavanaugh Hearing Say They Saw Liberal Protesters Paid “With a Literal Bag of Cash” (VIDEO and PHOTO) Fine writing by Althouse re Kavanugh's talk with Diane Feinstein:
THE DEMOCRATS ARE CRAZY The case that Trump is crazy EU Enters "Final Stage" Of Crafting Bill Forcing Big Tech Censorship Wednesday, September 5. 2018Wednesday morning linksDear Therapist: I Want a Second Kid. My Husband Doesn't. How should we decide how many children is right for our family? Is Catholic Church leadership deflecting instead of genuflecting? SF Court: Cities can't prosecute people for sleeping on streets Is There Any Real Slum In New York Any More? Nike Boycott: Just Do It Democratic socialists launch 'College for All' campaign Former Democrat Aide Chuck Todd: Media Bias Does Not Exist, And It's Time to Take the War to These Lying Racist Conservative Sonsabitches Democrats, Eyeing A Majority, Prepare An Investigative Onslaught Bob Woodward's book says Trump unfit for office, with many examples Rush: What Dark Secret Lurks Behind the Deep State Cabal Against Trump? World thinks it is entitled to America's money SloveniaFriend just back from trip to Slovenia and Croatia (and a bit of Istanbul). This is Lake Bled. I'll post some more of their pics later.
Tuesday, September 4. 2018Re Labor Day weekend, a life of working with Dunkin DonutsI had a Dunkin with our roofer boss at 7 this morning when I got back from my calisthenics class. 64 year old Irish-Italian guy from Springfield, MA who needs no exercise classes because his entire day is physical. Physical, with lots of subtle skills too. Bending copper to fix a roof cricket is not easy geometry. I asked him how he knew how to do so many things after he told me he had put new brakes in his ageing F-150 over the weekend. I have a special admiration for practical skills because I am a bit of a klutz with most machinery other than Farmall tractors and chain saws. An American story. High school then 4 years in the US Army. They put him in a mechanical company, repairing broken things. After that, 6 years in a Massachusetts sawmill spending a lot of time, again, fixing broken things and maintaining machinery. Got in too many fights with the boss, so got a job in a junkyard, retrieving good parts from junked trucks and cars. After 4 years of that, was offered an auto mechanic job by somebody he knew who knew him to be a hard worker. Became a master mechanic. Always did tree work on the side, and still does. Then his brother-in-law offered him a partnership in his roofing business. He had already done his own roofs, so he jumped at a chance to be a business owner. When that guy quit the biz because it was "too hard," the business was his. He has good crews to supervise but he does all of the tricky stuff and the copper work. He is a perfectionist. This morning on a second story roof ladder he decided to add some aluminum edging under his new copper flashing to completely protect the crown molding on our dormers. Waterproof, paintable glue to hold it in. "That crown will be good for 200 years." His life advice: Learn how to do as many things as you can. That way, you can always be useful. His results: Bought his first house at 25. Has 5 kids who he likes. Bought two houses on his street, both as wedding gifts for his married kids. They are very happy to be near family. Married once. Also has a shack on Cape Cod that he is renovating, and a house in Florida. Grows tomatoes and fruit trees. Claims he will never retire but admits the day might come when he'll have to just be a boss instead of doing 3-story ladder work. Not yet, for sure. Says God blessed him. Yes, he has a Trump 2020 bumper sticker. He is deplorable.
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Tuesday morning linksHeight, size, and tennis Dozens of elephants killed near Botswana wildlife sanctuary HERE’S WHY NYT’S LATEST ATTEMPT TO SCARE READERS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING IS A ‘WASTE OF TIME’ It's gonna be hot today. Climate change. Gov't Spends $18 Billion On Jobs Programs, But Can't Tell If They Work Job training comes from getting a job. In this economy, jobs are going begging Pretending Fragility To Conceal Aggression One of the oldest mind games in the world Uptick in Racism in Public Schools Is All Trump's Fault, Educators Say What racism? All I ever see is reverse racism. New York City Public Schools Discriminate Against White Kids Corporate Suicide Watch, Nike Edition PAPADOPOULOS COURT FILING REMINDS US WHY SESSIONS NEEDED TO RECUSE HIMSELF OK. So Sessions was a bad choice for the job Media Obituaries Didn’t Give Us ‘The Full McCain’ Why did he get the royal treatment? The US has lots of war heroes Who’s afraid of Steve Bannon? Cancelling the former White House strategist might win back the respect of New Yorker readers — but it won’t help in their quest to explore ‘Ideas’ The primaries show that Trump Republicanism is still on the rise U.S. DEFUNDS UNRWA About time PIGS IN PALESTINE: ANTI-ISRAEL LEFT SPREADS ANTI-SEMITIC BOAR LIBELS - Who let the pigs out? According to the Left, the Jews. Czech PM: We don’t want to live in Africa or the Middle East here. We must fight for our values. Monday, September 3. 2018Monday morning links
Is Safetyism Destroying a Generation? Weight-loss pills can help. So why don't more people use them? (h/t Instapundit) Why New York City Stopped Building Subways - Nearly 80 years ago, a construction standstill derailed the subway’s progress, leading to its present crisis. This is the story, decade by decade. Netflix has spent years crushing movie theaters – turns out, it kind of needs them now New York Alt-Weekly Publishing Legend The Village Voice Is No More What the nonreligious get wrong about religious people Pope Declares ‘Emergency’ Not Related To Pedophile Scandal Williamson: The Psalmist And The Sex Doll Prof touts 'ecosexuality' as 'environmental activist strategy' Claim: Weather Catastrophes are “Pearl Harbour” Opportunities to Implement a Carbon Tax University of Kansas Hosts 'Feminist Parenting Group' to Explore 'Strategies for Raising Intersectional Feminist Children' DSA SOCIALIST CANDIDATE JULIA SALAZAR LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING Editing out the American flag National security goals in McCain's wake ‘OUTRAGED’ Americans Disgusted With Hyper-Politicized McCain Funeral Is bashing Trump the fraternity's new secret handshake? Roaring economy isn't lifting Donald Trump approval rating. He has only himself to blame. President Trump Keeps Winning – Everything Else Is Just Noise… Dazzle ShipsSunday, September 2. 2018From today's LectionaryJames 1:17-27 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. Saturday, September 1. 2018Reading Ralph Waldo EmersonAs I toil towards my goal of unloading 2000 books from the Maggie's HQ, it's tough not to flip through each one in case you might change your mind. My books are part of me, it seems. That is stupid. Take Emerson. I open a random page. No, dammit. I can not understand the guy and I never could figger out what he was getting at. Not blaming him because as far as I can tell he is a deep thinker and his essays remain widely appreciated. "It's me, not you." My Dad loved him, but I have lower IQ than my Dad. I blame my mother's side: rich practical business people.
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