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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Sunday, March 12. 2023Life in America: Cooking like a pretend French chefMrs. BD had a tough week with four days and nights of meetings in NYC, then moving my in-laws to a new elderly place an hour away from here in the last 2 days (boxes and boxes of stuff, then computers, lamps, comfy chairs, pictures, and more boxes, big TVs, moving guys, hospital bed, etc). So I asked her what might please her tonight. She said "Funny you ask, cuz Beef Bourguignon was on my mind". I like making stews, so ok. I make these things on the fly, no measurements. Always works. French chef taught me to cook soup and stew by instinct and taste. It should be ready by the time she gets home from the old folk's home tonight. Yes, I did send my father-in-law some more nice vino to keep the old guy happy. The wines they serve at the old folks home are disgusting, and old guys need the wine for good cheer. The left-overs are even better. Apicius' CookbookFrom today's Lectionary: The woman at the well is a good storyJohn 4:5-42 4:5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 4:6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 4:7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 4:8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 4:11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 4:12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 4:13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 4:14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 4:15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 4:17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 4:19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 4:20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 4:25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 4:26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." 4:27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 4:28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 4:29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 4:30 They left the city and were on their way to him. 4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." 4:32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 4:35 Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 4:36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 4:37 For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' 4:38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." 4:39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 4:41 And many more believed because of his word. 4:42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." Saturday, March 11. 2023How our Earth will die and disappear along with all earthly existenceA cheery post. Still, we have to live now.
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Saturday morning linksCheese wars update: Americans can make gruyère if they want to Mizzou launches new program for students with intellectual disabilities Social-justice shrinks: how identity politics infected therapy US House Votes 419-0 To Declassify All Intel On COVID Origins Hillary Ties It All Together, Says Women Are the Main Victims of Climate Change, Especially In Ukraine LA Times blames white drivers for polluting the air breathed by ‘people of color’ Update On California Homelessness Why people who never owned slaves should write checks to people who never were slaves is inexplicable. Friday, March 10. 2023The Author's GuildAn author sent me this note received from the CEO of the (US) Author's Guild:
Friday morning linksHer Beet Soup turned blue WSJ: There's no substitute for meeting in person VDH: The Price of Eliminating Consequences - Magnanimity demonstrated to those harming us at home and abroad is interpreted as American weakness, if not decadence to be further exploited. No good deed goes unpunished The dumbest five minutes of Congress, ever: Dems demand sources from journalists who exposed government-media censorship complex Thursday, March 9. 2023QQQA dogmatic belief in science is contrary to the principle of science itself. Joseph Cropsey - full quote at Powerline Royal Naval Dinner CallTime for salt beef, peas, grog, fruit, biscuits, etc. Good stuff. Only the cook could be fat.
Echo Cardiac Stress TestThis is more relevant for men than women (they are not medically-equal). If over 45-50, never a bad idea to get an echo stress test on some sort of regular basis. I've seen many trim, athletic guys drop dead, or almost drop dead, with cardiac events which could have been dealt with semi-ok for years. While it is a fact that almost half of male Western humans (Asians too) will succumb to arterial disease (and almost the other half to some cancer - something will take us down), there is no reason to speed up the former death. (Less civilized areas have people of all ages dying of infection, accidents, war, etc.) Can treatments for cadiovascular disease keep you going? Yes - just ask my 90+ year old overweight, wine-loving father-in-law who has had stents, bypass, pacemaker, and ongoing treatment for congestive heart failure, and is still truckin' and loving life. Sheesh, it's only arthritis that really limits him now. Too many sports.
Thursday morning linksRevenge of the Patriarchy: White House Gives Women’s Day Award to a Dude in a Dress Very advanced A glimmer of hope for free speech at Yale Law School Harvard students demand Winthrop House be renamed, call name ‘harmful’ What? Critical race theory is teaching kids to hate each other Stop Lying To People. They're Not Perfect Just As They Are As my wife frequently reminds me The Rise of Father Absence and Its Attendant Social Ills - Fatherless children are at higher risk of delinquency that undermines their own prospects and disrupts the communities in which they reside. Correlation is not causation Feeling good about your fat bod is reserved for Black women ‘Indigenous Studies’ lecturer denies historical brutality of Native American tribes, blames ‘white people’ DeSantis is simply avoiding the backbiting of the national media who have made it their goal to destroy him by lying about him. DeSantis is Hitler + Stalin + Pol Pot. Trump is just Hitler.
Wednesday, March 8. 2023Thomas Cochrane: The Sea WolfIf you like Patrick O'Brian's naval stories, Thomas Cochrane's career will seem familiar. However, Cochrane's astonishing career was beyond any credible historical fiction. He should be better-known, especially with his South American exploits. There are monuments to him in Peru, Chile, and Brazil. One heck of a life. Titanium balls for sure. Not crazy, just ballsy.
Wednesday morning linksChronicle: Diversity Statements Are Under Fire. Here’s What They Are and How They’re Used. WSJ: Employees Terrorize Their Bosses Into Going Woke. A new study confirms that power-seeking workers play an ‘outsized’ role in politicizing businesses. MacDonald: in Loco Masculi - The feminization of the American university is all but complete The American Way Versus the Politicians’ Way Chuck Schumer has Big Mad about Tucker and the tapes TUCKER CARLSON’S EXPOSE BLEW A RATHER LARGE HOLE IN DEMS ‘DEADLY INSURRECTION’ STORY Mitch McConnell Slams Tucker Carlson and Fox News Over J6 Video Release. Denying the truth of what the videos show makes McConnell as complicit as those who participated in the sham J6 committee. 'Bring Nation To Standstill': France Hit By Massive Strikes Over Pension Reform Tuesday, March 7. 2023Going to sea, age 13, c. 1800Heart of OakTuesday morning linksUSA Powerlifting forced to allow biological males to compete against females following court order Federal Agency Advances Gas Stove Proposal From Commissioner Who Floated Ban COVID hysteria was engineered Mollie Hemingway: "We Are In An Information War, And It's Being Waged By Government Agencies" The Passion of Scott Adams - Once whetted, the appetite of the woke beast is insatiable. But one senses it is nearly sated in its hate feast against Scott Adams. ASIAN VOTERS MOVE RIGHT Victor Davis Hanson: Life Among The Ruins DEMS KEEP PUSHING THE LIMITS: ‘SO, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?’ Unpopular, Polarizing, and Ineffective Affirmative action’s days may finally be numbered. The Decent Idea Buried in Trump's Goofy 'Freedom Cities' Plan Don't we have enough messed-up cities? Monday, March 6. 2023Spring cleaning rules around hereAround ten years ago Mrs. BD made me leave the house for 8 hours. Sent me hunting or fishing or whatever. She had a dumpster outside. The guys took away everything in the attic. It is bare, still. So it seems that the basement has become the storage place. Excess. A firetrap. Sentimental stuff mostly, but 2 brass beds and a nice carved wooden trundle bed. A pair of antique rockers. Sets of china. Punch bowls. Photo albums. Photos and prints. Books. Kids' memorabilia they don't want. My rules: - If you don't use it and your kids don't want it, donate it or junk it. It's difficult to donate stuff nowadays unless it is desirable. In NYC it's easy because any stuff you put on the sidewalk evaporates in an hour or two. I don't live there though. - If you don't use it ever, will it end in a dumpster when you croak? Save your kids the trouble, now. - Extra shoes, boots, coats, clothes? Will live long enough to wear them out? Garbage. Donate only if in perfect shape. - What about all the stuff from past hobbies? They are past, aren't they? Dust-collectors. How do our readers do these things? Often, people wait until they move, or die.
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Monday morning links Are EVs evil? Are There More Than Two Sexes? The Sad Spectacle of ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ At the New York Times, a tale of two headlines Hide the Ball: Columbia U Becomes First Ivy League School To Permanently Eliminate Required Standardized Admissions Testing How ‘woke’ ideologies are upending American childhood The Humanities: Another Example Of Leftism Ruining Everything It Touches West Coast, Welcome to the Dumb Idea Factory! LGBTQ slurs found at MIT done by students protesting school’s new pro-free speech efforts BLM Rioters Get $6M Because Cops Didn’t Wear Face Masks Thousands of Belgian Farmers Join Protest Against Globalist Reset Plans Sunday, March 5. 2023Sweet PeaDepending on how far north you live, it's a time to plant your Sweet Pea seeds outdoors. Not edible peas - the rule is St. Patrick's Day for them. Who knew that these happy flowering annuals came from Sicily? I did not. They smell good. Do not eat their pods - toxic.
Trying to get to Heaven, take 2From today's LectionaryPsalm 121 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? 121:2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 121:3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 121:4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 121:5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. 121:6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 121:8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Saturday, March 4. 2023Great apes and humans: Apes always hungryWell, humans are great apes.
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Saturday morning linksHow eccentric religions were born in 19th-century America. Democratic freedom, rapturous religion, and newspapers created a hotbed for social experimentation in 19th-century America. As Kenya’s Crops Fail, a Fight Over GMOs Rages. Faced with extreme drought, Kenya’s president approved a controversial new crop for farmers. Then the legal backlash began. Half the World Faces Starvation Under Net Zero Policies, Say Two Top Climate Scientists How ‘Progressive Discipline’ Turned Ontario Schools into a Battleground A university finally stands up to woke virtue signaling Where Rich Students Are Told: ‘You Deserve This’ - At elite colleges the “best and brightest” are shamelessly flattered. 40 Percent of Liberal Professors Are Afraid They'll Lose Their Jobs Over a Misunderstanding Victor Davis Hanson: The Woke Wrecking Machine Now California reparations panel RAISES amount it wants to give 1.8m black people from $220,000 to $360,000 each in $650 BILLION give away - as hearing is told payments are 'only way to stop our children busting into liquor and grocery stores' It begins: NYT and its Democrats launch bid to revamp Kamala Harris into presidential material Talking Peace in Ukraine Friday, March 3. 2023Anybody can dance a TarantellaFriday morning linksAfter adjusting for biases in BMI, a study found people carrying excess weight had far worse mortality outcomes than previously known. CUNY announced in a January press release that it completed its elimination of “outdated traditional remedial math and English courses” and is replacing them with “more equitable ‘corerequisite’ courses,” or for-credit classes that provide the foundational skills that students should have obtained in high school. PBS Denounces Monopoly and Capitalism Is Poker ok? TGIF: Crime & Punishment - Murdaugh’s a murderer. Lightfoot’s a loser. Ghislaine goes hungry. Plus, the latest scary TikTok trend. SCAM OF THE CENTURY? Canada's Trans Teacher with the Enormous Fake Boobs Put on Paid Leave Guy has a good sense of fun UNITED AIRLINES TOUTS ALL-LGBTQ FLIGHT CREW; CUSTOMERS NOT AMUSED Trent College Minister Fired as Threat to Students After Criticizing LGBTQ Values Exercise More Effective Than Counseling or Medication for Depression That is overstatement Several months into “15 days to flatten the curve,” actual experts, like the Great Barrington Declaration scientists, began screaming from the rooftops about natural immunity. They argued — correctly, as it turns out — that we should protect the vulnerable while allowing those not at risk to go about their lives, get COVID and acquire immunity. It would be very hard for Chicago’s next Mayor to be worse than Lightfoot. NBC Reporter Goes To Crimea, Shocks Viewers By Telling The Truth NY Times on rising illegal immigration... in Canada Sorry Russia and Ukraine, China Would Like Its Stuff Now Biden Admin Upset Over You Pesky Citizens Losing Faith In Arming Ukraine Citizens are so annoying to governments The Rise of the Right-Wing Peacenik - ‘I realized that my own side was led by a bunch of incompetents and ideologues who had taken our country down a path of destruction. And for what?’
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