Maggie's Farm

20 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.

21 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

22 The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.

23 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

From his Farewell Address

From a piece by Fred Sanders on George Washington Carver:

Carver developed a homespun religious philosophy and told little stories that catch the imagination. One story has him crying out to God, “Oh, Mr. Creator, why did You make the universe?” to which God replied, “You want to know too much for that little mind of yours. Ask me something more your size.” So he tried “Dear Mr. Creator, tell me what man was made for.” Still too big. Finally: “Mr. Creator, why did You make the peanut?”

"Thats better!" the Lord said, and He gave me a handful of peanuts and went with me back to the laboratory and, together, we got down to work.

It might be homespun but it works for me.

I still cannot believe that a military Brit prisoner would speak these words:

"Obviously we trespassed into their waters," Turney said. "They were very friendly and very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we've been arrested. There was no harm, no aggression."

Meanwhile, incomprehensibly, Pelosi refuses to support the Brits.

"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing." 

Kingsley Amis

One more photo of our friend fishing the Upper Malleo River in Patagonia this past January.

Long-time readers know that Maggie's Farm doesn't do ads. I suppose we'd consider it if the money were big enough, though. Anyway, we sort-of linked up with the Pajamas Media team (without taking their ads) and have added their button to our sidebar.

Thanks to Roger Simon for expediting. 

Auster says what many people think silently. A quote from his latest on the dangers of uncontrolled immigration:

Indeed, if someone as smart and as critical of left-wing nuttiness as Badillo could sound the racial-socialist note at this stage of the game, after so many disasters have already resulted in the past from the same egalitarian assumptions, and the lessons had presumably been learned, then we have a bitter taste of the future. America is filling up with a vast population of people who, let us be frank, have no interest in education, no interest in reading, and an average IQ of 90, and, residing as cultural outsiders in a country with a still dominant and successful though ebbing white majority, and also fueled by their own ethnic chauvinism, those people will naturally and increasingly blame their inferiority of accomplishment and income on the whites and seek to appropriate as much from them in the form of government transfers as they can. As their numbers increase, their political power and their will to express their resentments politically will also increase, as will the perverted anti-white passions of the white left.

The whole thing here.

Brits don't want to upset Iran. WTF? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Can't they see that they are being toyed with?  Meanwhile, a show of force.  

Update: Andrew Sullivan (who we no longer read) proposes the theory that the prisoner-taking is the fault of the US. Gay Patriot hits him hard with sarcasm.

Update: This production via MEMRI, via Iran TV - a quote:

"Creating a fuss in order to pressure the Iranian people in this [nuclear] issue, using the U.N. Security Council as a tool, will only harm the forces confronting the Iranian people. I must say this. If they want to use the Security Council as a tool, thus ignoring this indisputable right... So far, we have done everything in accordance with international law, but if they want to violate these laws, we too can and will violate these laws."

Crowd chanting: "Allah Akbar Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Khamenei is the leader. Death to America. Oh noble leader, we are prepared. Oh noble leader, we are prepared. Oh noble leader, we are prepared. Oh noble leader, we are prepared."

From a global warming hysteric (with a large, very comfortable home): "How could my wood stove be adding to global warming? It's not oil. It's natural. What would we do without it? It's our pleasure and comfort."

She thinks that as long as it isn't oil, it's good. Wrong. Oil and coal are simply old wood.

From Tom Shales' review of the "Planet Earth" series on the Discovery Channel:

“Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.” 

Aristotle

"Hope is not a plan."

Bird Dog

You cannot be culturally literate - or an educated person - in Western Civilization without knowing the Bible. It's our culture's taproot. It's therefore interesting to see that public school courses in the Bible are growing in popularity.

David van Biema has a very fine piece in the usually-disappointing Time Magazine discussing this new trend, and the issues around it.

It begins thus:

Miss Kendrick came ready, with props. The day's topic was the Gospel of Matthew. "You can divide all the Beatitudes into two parts," Jennifer Kendrick explained to her teenage audience. "The 'Blessed are the whatevers,' like 'the meek,' and then the reward they will get. So I've made some puzzle pieces here." She passed out construction-paper sheets, each bearing either the name of a virtuous group or its reward, in black marker. "And you've got to find the person who has the other half. What's the first one in the Bible?"

"The poor in spirit," mumbled a crew-cut boy.

"O.K. What goes with the poor in spirit?"

A girl in the front of the room replied, reading from her sheet, "For they will see God."

"Nope," chirped Kendrick. "O.K., find the person that matches yours. I'll take the roll."

Read the whole thing (4 pages).

Superb piece by Munchkin Wrangler, found by Mr. Free Market. It begins thus:

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

Read the whole thing. BTW, can you name that handgun?

Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.

Eric Hoffer

Thanks for the fun pic, Loyal Reader. Remind me - how many millions did she and her hubbie make in real estate? 20? Gotta love the generosity of limo libs with OPM.  Now gotta get them peas planted, so there will be food for the babies when the Revolution comes. The seeds have soaked overnight, as recommended.

I'll vote for the guy. He is a sane and multi-talented heavyweight for whom politics has been only one of many interests and pursuits. Latest, via Instapundit.

And if he recants, and humbly apologizes for his McCain-Feingold vote, I might do more than just vote for him.  There is no valid defence for supporting McCain-Feingold, which I believe is both un-American and unconstitutional. (We like Rudy, and others, too, but Fred should be in the mix. Lots of good candidates. As long as you can express conservative principles - or anything -  better than our current Pres, we'll like ya.)