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, July 19. 2023Bug of the Week: The Day of the Cicada, reposted annuallyHeard my first cicadas of the summer this weekend - just a few, and just for about an hour or two, but these are probably early risers - first emergers from the soil, practicing playing their instruments. Maybe this will be a good year for them. Some people call them locusts. It means that in a few days we will be hearing the remarkably loud raspy buzzing from the tree-tops on every hot sunny day - the characteristic sound of high summer in New England, until replaced by the more refined Katydid's evening song as late summer comes. We have both 13-year and 17-year cicadas - that's how long the two species live as larvae underground, sucking on tree roots, before they emerge to mate, breed, and die. Their life is a metaphor. Cicadas are edible, but I don't know anyone who eats them regularly except birds who have great sport chasing them when they fly from tree to tree. We often find their empty exoskelatons attached to tree trunks - as they grow, they crawl out of their old coat. Some basic cicada facts here. There is a cicada fan blog, too. Wednesday morning links
NYT casually drops a truth bomb: about 30% of "COVID deaths" weren't from COVID Top Scientists Misled Congress About Covid Origins, Newly Released Emails And Messages Show Science begins with observation. Is observation Science? America the Stoned - More states are legalizing weed every year. An estimated 13.2 million Americans use the drug every day. So why is it starting to feel like a bad idea? WOKE KINDERGARTEN The Comely Face of Western Self-Cancellation - Miss Netherlands is a Mister. 9th Circuit Shuts Down Bid To Block Lithium Mine NYC Restaurants to Be Fined for Providing Forks Diversity officers’ exits fuel racial equity concerns. Evidence grows of curtailed investment in schemes three years after Floyd’s murder Nearly Three-Quarters of French Public Wants to Strip Migrant Rioters of Citizenship Tuesday, July 18. 2023Tuesday morning linksThe fast metabolism myth: Here’s what actually determines how slim you are What is the audience for a woke, live-action “Snow White”? There’s always something new to report on New York’s housing follies. Dumbing America Down City Journal on The New Censorship:
Monday, July 17. 2023Monday morning linksNews That's Not Fit To Print - New York Times & LA Times Dump Sports Reporting CDC Used Journal To Promote Masks Despite 'Unreliable' And 'Unsupported Data': New Analysis Yonkers’ only charter school illustrates just how broken the system is Without Affirmative Action Everyone Will Die. "All Americans will bear the burden of a less diverse health care field" NYC To Pay Minority Teachers Who Failed Teaching Exam Up To $2M. Each. Parents slam woke Massachusetts school district for axing advanced math classes to boost 'equity', after they attracted too many white and Asian students - with families now forced to hire private tutors instead California Approves New Math Guidelines That Emphasize 'Social Justice' The Fact-Check Racket Finally Unravels Biden forgives $39 billion in student loan debt via administrative tweaks Suckers paid their debts Imploding Cities Will Drag All of Us Down — Even if You Don't Live Anywhere Near One The War On Poverty Hasn’t Just Failed, It’s Failed Abysmally Jennifer Rubin humiliates herself using data from retracted story VDH: Illegal Immigration and Western Spiritual Sickness The Incredible Shrinking NATO Europe's Muslim Migrant Problem ' Arabs… Chechens’: German Swimming Baths Terrorised by ‘Migration Background’ Men Sunday, July 16. 2023The Secret German Science of World War IIIs this a "ship"?Ronnie Hawkins Bob Dylan hired his band (one Hawkins' many) away from him. Dylan is an American musicologist, but I do not know who learned more from whom. From 1964:
From today's Lectionary: The sowerMatthew 13:1-9, 18-23 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 13:2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 13:3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 13:5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 13:6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 13:7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 13:8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 13:9 Let anyone with ears listen!" 13:18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 13:20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 13:21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 13:23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." Saturday, July 15. 2023Bob Dylan and The Band - The Basement Tapes - The Legendary TalesSaturday morning linksRe Kevin Spacey: Handsiness or assault? Fondling in the post-#MeToo era. Meet the new Italian defense for crotch-grabbing: if it’s under ten seconds it doesn’t count New 'victim studies' is a fake discipline University puts trigger warning on Hemingway’s ‘Old Man and the Sea’: ‘graphic fishing scenes’ What about Moby Dick? Youth Gender Transition Is Pushed Without Evidence, Psychotherapy, not hormones and surgery, is increasingly the first line of treatment abroad. When Ideology Corrupts Medicine—and How One Reporter Exposed it, A conversation with Hannah Barnes about the medical scandal at Tavistock, the UK’s only youth gender clinic. Budgets blown: Wind not exactly the net bargain they advertised TGIF: Hollywood Shutdown - Actors join the picket line. Zuck puts Musk on Thread alert. Tucker cozies up to Andrew Tate. Plus: Kamala, DeSantis, and Jonah Hill. Stuart's Saturday Miscellany Gov’t Can Continue Colluding With Big Tech, 5th Circuit Grants “Administrative Stay” of Injunction Loophole: Biden Admin Forgives $39 Billion In Student Debt For Over 800,000 Borrowers Friday, July 14. 2023The Sign on the Cross
This is from the basement tapes (1967). I don't think it's entirely facetious, but his version of the good old music:
Friday morning linksSummer Camps For Children Identifying As Transgender Open Across US The Russians Planted Cocaine in the White House to Frame Hunter Biden. Any other explanation is misinformation and threatens democracy. Scientists Agreed To Downplay Chinese Lab Leak Theory For Fear Of ‘S*** Show’, Messages Indicate A new memoir by Martin Peretz, the former owner and editor-in-chief of The New Republic, provides a timely reminder of what American journalism has lost. I was a reader for decades The Test Isn’t the Problem. Scrapping exam requirements at New York’s elite public schools won’t help black and Hispanic students. CHECC Has Petitioned The DC Circuit For Rehearing As To Its Standing To Challenge The Endangerment Finding Budgets blown: Wind not exactly the net bargain they advertised George Soros’s Bad Bet - The billionaire funded a series of experiments in the U.S. criminal-justice system—with disastrous results. Ten Reasons Why Affirmative Action Died ABOUT THAT “COLOR-BLIND CONSTITUTION” Does Ukraine Joining a ‘North Atlantic’ Treaty Organization Make Any Sense? We may not wish to bring NATO to Russia’s southern doorstep. Thursday, July 13. 2023Found VDH's websiteI'm always behind the 8-ball. Thursday morning linksAll of my saved morning links got erased by some glitch. Here are some new ones: Professor made student ‘uncomfortable’ with open debate, gets fired Rage Against the Machine - Technology is our new god. What would a refusal to worship look like? Paul Kingsnorth offers a vision of resistance Resistance is futile 40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars. Your debilitating climate anxiety Who’s Afraid of Moms for Liberty? A growing cadre of angry mothers is taking over school boards and winning influence as GOP kingmakers. Why are they being called a ‘hate group’? Canceled: MyPillow Auctioning Off Equipment After These Big-Box Retailers Canceled Mike Lindell BLACKS ARE OK WITH HARVARD, UNC DECISIONS Christopher Wray beclowns himself 'That's a Lie': Whistleblower Demolishes FBI Director's Story About Embedded Agents on J6 Like CIA, FBI lies. It's for our own good, ya know More cringe: Kamala Harris Explains AI: “AI is Kind of a Fancy Thing. First of All, It’s Two Letters. It Means ‘Artifical Intelligence'” Ukraine has no place in NATO, now or in the near future
Wednesday, July 12. 2023Sondheim geniusWater MatsWater mats are endless fun for kids. Take one out to the sea. Cool invention. Kids love to push eachother off.
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Hummingbird Flight Is More Amazing Than We RealizedWednesday morning linksBored with The Hamptons yet? The Rise and Fall of the Mail-Order Home A culture without "shoulds" Where Does Your Department (Or Law School) Stand On Abortion? Antiracism? Immigration? Asians confuse Goodwhites Bosses Push Back on WFH Die-Hards: ‘They Will Need to Show Up’.. Managers say team productivity has taken a hit as employees stay remote Zuck's Threads Already Throwing the Ban Hammer Around US students need nearly 4 months of extra school to fix post-COVID 'achievement gaps' in reading, math: Study Do you believe Gal Luft? Vivek Ramaswamy Has Terrific Response to Disruptive Woman at Town Hall Tuesday, July 11. 2023Interview with Jimmie WalesWikipedia is darn handy. Not perfect summaries always, but nothing is perfect. Britannica missed a huge opportunity.
Tuesday morning linksWhat does marriage have to do with capitalism? Congratulations, a Man Just Won Miss Netherlands Lobsters likely feel pain. Should we get them high before eating them? It is pure statistical garbage when we are told what the average global temperature is and that it is a heat record California Bans Spanish Over Nouns Having Only Two Gender Options Why People Stop Using Drugs Like Ozempic. Drugs like semaglutide—better known as Ozempic or Wegovy—could be lifelong treatments for obesity, but what little data scientists have suggests that people don't stick with them for long. LinkedIn Should End ‘Diversity in Recruiting’ Feature: “Discrimination by algorithm is still discrimination” The drug war has been a failure, but is decriminalizing drugs even worse? What is "meaningful work" anyway? Work is work. 'Pay your bills like adults!': Protesters take to White House after student debt ruling Why Diversity Programs Fail, And what works better
VDH: Illegal Immigration and Western Spiritual Sickness - Enforcing the Law Has Become Abnormal Israel: Civilians who shoot terrorists will no longer face interrogation, gun seizure Bye Bye Paris: Chinese CO2 Emissions are Skyrocketing A Stronger NATO for a More Dangerous World Pence says some 'just don't understand' why we must endlessly support Ukraine Putin Held 3-Hour Meeting With Wagner Chief Days After Revolt Monday, July 10. 2023Oyster Ice Cream?Much as I love a Wellfleet Oyster, I'll draw a line at Oyster Ice Cream. Or any seafood-flavored ice cream. Yes, I know the ancient Egyptians made sorbets. Ice from Lebanese mountains. Monday morning linksLooks like Indian leaders would like a word with Ben & Jerry's.. Anglican Leader Says Opening Of Lord’s Prayer Is ‘Problematic’ For Some Not from the Babylon Bee IS HOLLYWOOD WAKING UP? Who cares? Forty percent of Brown University students say they are LGBT, suggesting social contagion No, people are bonobos My Research on Gender Dysphoria Was Censored. But I Won’t Be.. Trans activists forced the retraction of my paper. Their efforts have redoubled my commitment to the truth. “Domestic Abuse is a Severe Crime”: British Parents Could Be Prosecuted for Refusing to Pay for Transgender Treatments Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? Destroyed Solar Panels In Hailstorm Will End Up In Landfills Because Recycling Isn’t Economical New York Times Columnist: It’s A ‘Problem’ For U.S. If ‘Elites’ Censor Speech The Infantilism Of Totalitarianism - Why the Meta-Facebook-Threads effort to make language safe is so dangerous Biden Has Spent Nearly 40% of His Presidency on Vacation It's for the best Los Angeles’ anti-homelessness drive is doomed to fail just like NYC’s Cuz it's not about housing Narrative Collapse: Tucker Carlson Says Capitol Police Chief Admitted 'Jan6 Crowd Was Filled With Feds' A Showdown Is Coming Over Freedom of Expression in Europe The EU's Mass Censorship Regime Is Almost Fully Operational. Will It Go Global? Biden's Ukraine policy is a cluster, alright Biden admin: Child-killing cluster bombs are only used by ‘war criminals,’ until they’re used by us French Riots Show That Decades Of Mass "Colonizing Immigration" Could Lead To "Collapse", Says Former Head Of French Counter-Intel Agency French President Blames ‘Video Games’ Instead of ‘Islam’ for Riots In the most recent waves of immigration, Sweden has let in more refugees and people claiming to be refugees, as a share of population, than any other European country. It is coping with the consequences.
Sunday, July 9. 2023What 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' Teaches Us About FilmmakingFrom today's LectionaryMatthew 11:16-19, 25-30 11:16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 11:17 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; 11:19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." 11:25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 11:26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 11:28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
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