We 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.
I steal this from Theo only as an example of tasteless humor:
Hottest drink on campus this week: The OBL. Two shots and a splash of water.
Semi-related: I see that moonbat Michael Moore speculates that Osama was under a sort of house arrest cum protection by the Paki government or ISI. Sounds actually plausible. A caged rat.
This is an awesome admission of categorical intellectual, political and
moral failure. For two decades greens have arrogated to themselves the
authority of science and wrapped themselves in the arrogant certainty of
self-righteous contempt for those who oppose them. They have equated
skepticism about their incoherent and contradictory policy proposals
with hatred of science and attacked their critics as the soulless hired
shills of the oil companies, happy to ruin humanity for the sake of some
corporate largesse.
He quotes Monbiot:
“All of us in the environment movement, in other words – whether we
propose accommodation, radical downsizing or collapse – are lost. None
of us yet has a convincing account of how humanity can get out of this
mess. None of our chosen solutions break the atomising, planet-wrecking
project. I hope that by laying out the problem I can encourage us to
address it more logically, to abandon magical thinking and to recognise
the contradictions we confront. But even that could be a tall order.”
So many people refused to drink the Kool Aid. I'd like to see the enviros and greenies get back to the sorts of rational conservation efforts which prosperous societies are the best at doing - and truly do care about. Conservation, minus the Socialism and totalitarian aspirations.
In the rain, out my window today. That's an Eastern Cottontail baby, destined to be dog food, or hawk food, or owl food before reaching maturity. The odds are against baby bunnies. Cute things. I think the family lives under my shed, along with a Chipmunk family.
President Obama was literally pulled from a golf outing and escorted back to the White House to be informed of the mission. Upon his arrival there was a briefing held which included Bill Daley, John Brennan, and a high ranking member of the military. When Obama emerged from the briefing, he was described as looking “very confused and uncertain.” The president was then placed in the “situation room” where several of the players in this event had already been watching the operation unfold. Another interesting tidbit regarding this is that the Vice President was already “up to speed” on the operation. A source indicated they believe Hillary Clinton had personally made certain the Vice President was made aware of that day’s events before the president was. The now famous photo released shows the particulars of that of that room and its occupants. What that photo does not communicate directly is that the military personnel present in that room during the operation unfolding, deferred to either Hillary Clinton or Robert Gates. The president’s role was minimal, including their acknowledging of his presence in the room.
Sounds like the grown-ups took over. I wonder whether that report is accurate
U.S. forces searched the compound and flew away with documents, hard drives and DVDs that could provide valuable intelligence about al-Qaida, a U.S. official said. The entire operation took about 40 minutes, officials said.
It sure would be interesting to be on the team which is reviewing those things.
We are pleased with the killing of Bin Ladin, the murderer of so many of our neighbors and neighbors' family members here in the Northeast. It had to be done. Whether it makes a difference or not, only time will tell. Let's hope so.
20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
20:21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
20:24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
20:25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
20:26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20:27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
20:28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
20:29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
20:31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
That explains it to me. It's the same reason the pols resist Costco in the big blue cities: unions vs. the citizens. Truth is, NYC needs WalMart much more than WalMart needs NYC. WalMart is doing just fine in the US and worldwide. These tough pols and union bosses are making fools of themselves and fools of the voters.
I have no WalMart in my area, but went to Costco this morning to get supplies for church coffee hour tomorrow (cheeses, strawberries, croissants, corn muffins, grapes, vegetables and veggie dip, bagels and cream cheese, etc), and remembered that Gwynnie had told me that they are now selling no-iron dress shirts that are as nice as the Brooks Brothers version at one-third the price. Despite being a loyal and life-long Brooks person, I bought one to try.
Nothing less than a complete redefinition of the role of government away from the nanny state trend and back to a renewed era of personal responsibility is needed.
This repeated lunge for the sour spot — the place where costs are high and benefits are low — now seems to be a trademark of the President’s decision-making style. On the left it is earning him Carter comparisons from people like Eric Alterman; on the right it means that despite his compromises and yielding of significant ground he continues to feed the incandescent hostility of his bitterest foes. Worst of all, it suggests to people abroad and at home that the way to manipulate this “split the difference”, consensus-seeking President is to raise your demands. If you are going to get something like 50 percent of what you ask for, ask for twice as much as you really want. And with this Presidential style, the squeaking wheel gets the grease. Not surprisingly, all the wheels have begun to squeak.
Here is the paradox we face: The President is a consensus-seeker whose decision making style rewards polarization and a conciliator who loses friends without winning over enemies.
My friend says I was not a good son you understand I say yes I understand
he says I did not go to see my parents very often you know and I say yes I know
even when I was living in the same city he says maybe I would go there once a month or maybe even less I say oh yes
he says the last time I went to see my father I say the last time I saw my father
he says the last time I saw my father he was asking me about my life how I was making out and he went into the next room to get something to give me
oh I say feeling again the cold of my fathers hand the last time he says and my father turned in the doorway and saw me look at my wristwatch and he said you know I would like you to stay and talk with me
oh yes I say
but if you are busy he said I don't want you to feel that you have to just because I'm here
I say nothing
he says my father said maybe you have important work you are doing or maybe you should be seeing somebody I dont want to keep you
I look out the window my friend is older than I am he says and I told my father it was so and I got up and left him then you know
though there was nowhere I had to go and nothing I had to do
I suppose that the voyeuristic TV show Hoarders has raised the visibility of hoarding. It's one of those OCD-type of things that fades from totally insane to fairly normal.
If what you like to hoard is money, then you're just thrifty or stingy. If you like to hoard "collectible" items, then you're a collector: Art, rocks, knives, rugs, guns, pinball machines, etc.
If you can't get rid of stuff you don't really need to the point that it interferes with life, it gets to be a problem. Come to think of it, hoarding money can have the same effect.
I cannot embed this bit. If interested, there are more of these on YouTube - like this one: We can't have people over to our house:
Amusing. It's a good antidote to what Mark Steyn terms "the monarchical urge." I love it when Mark fills in for Rush. Mark cracks me up, constantly. Still, Brit traditions are wonderful.
If it’s good, the government should subsidize it. If it’s bad, the government should ban it. If outcomes are in any way perceived by any group to be sub-optimal, then the government should regulate it. Anyone who opposes these bans, subsidies, and regulations must therefore be a supporter of bad outcomes, hate poor people, want people to get sick and die, etc.
The charming myth was that Christ spent some of his missing years in England.
There seems to be nothing like a royal wedding to get the gals up at 3 AM to watch including my Mom and Mrs. BD. Sheesh. Cool hats though, I must admit.
It's nice to be able to walk over to the New York Public Library on my lunch break.
The Bird Dog lad, who can be a master of understatement. I view it as a great privilege and opportunity for him to have the chance to work in Manhattan. It's all good.
The Martini
C. Larry Pope, CEO of the world's largest pork producer, explains
Solar project 
It's nice to be able to walk over to the New York Public Library on my lunch break.