Maggie's Farm

Schniederman: Should she confess to her husband?

What's your opinion?

You can ignore reality, but reality will not ignore you.

Dr. Sanity, in PREDICTING BEHAVIOR AND PREVENTING TRAGEDY

Where Did the Korean Greengrocers Go? - The entrepreneurs who nourished New York have moved up and out

Selling atheism — and why it’s a fundamentally nonexistent product at the end of the day

Undergrads not ready for Huckleberry Finn

Repeal and Replace: 10 Necessary Changes

Need a waiver from Obamacare? Get in line

With House debate set, up to half of people under 65 have preexisting conditions

Richard Lindzen: AGW movement driven by money, power and dubious science

Ed Koch: Palin Holds High Ground Over Harsh and Unfair Critics

Goldberg: Chris Matthews' Memory Problem

Michael Moore: Having a Gun to Defend Your Home Is Racist

Taranto: The Times is a corrupt institution

A pal just bought this rugged machine for his hunting and getaway place in upstate New York. He's been fixing up the old leaky farmhouse for a couple of years. Nice to see a Maggie's Farm logo on it - naw, too bad - it's just a wide-assed Massey-Ferguson:

"Even if you don't have all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don't have that you don't want."

Bob Dylan's dad, via Bob Dylan (Chronicles: Volume One)

Neptunus: Good Dog

Sipp: Welcome To The Buckets Of Blood, Son

The Equality and Diversity Shop

When Israeli leftists turn against their country with horrendous lies, the world media is only happy to disseminate them

Kimball: Targeting the targeters

Elected Officials Know Less Than General Public About Constitution

Surber: I do not want civil discourse

Fairness Doctrine fight goes on

Am Thinker: Last Gasp of Affirmative Action?

Was it bias or lack of time that caused the NYT to get the Giffords story so wrong? Or both?

On MLK Day, let's not forget that all of us have slaves or serfs in our ancestries. Few of our ancestors owned them. It's the natural human thing, if history tells us anything. However, we stand as American rebels with MLK against any form of impingement on our personal, God-given freedom of self-determination against all forms of power or self-anointed authority. Especially the powers of the State, which is what MLK stood up against.

And Don’t Forget Sudan’s Slaves

Via Theo:

If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.

Anon.

It would take $293,000 to rebuild my house. I bought my house for $24,044. Today? No way.

Wkly Std: The Price of Power - The benefits of U.S. defense spending far outweigh the costs

Jonah: The Media Lead Without Followers

Dino: Debt graph

Totten on his visit to Tunisia:  The South Is a Desert and the North Is a Garden

Paul at Powerline: Eisenhower's farewell address and the demise of prudentialism

Byron York: Rethinking Obama's political performance in Tucson

Not from the Onion:

If America is to speak in a way that heals, as Obama wishes, it needs the curbs and regulations that make freedom of expression real. 

Socialist Bill Maher to “Teabaggers”: The Founding Fathers Would’ve Hated Your Guts

Spent 3 days in NY last week. Took a few lousy snaps which are of no interest to people who go there all the time.

My pup is uncomfortable with all of this global warming snow and cold. He lifts his leg, for instance, but cannot get it above the snow - much less get his peeing organ above the snow. He's not a small dog, medium-sized, big enough to grab cheese off the kitchen counter. Our snow is powdery, not crusty, and around 2' deep these days and 5' in the drifts.

As for poops, he seems uncomfortable because he feels he is just pooping against himself, without the satisfying drop of proper elimination.

We wonder what small dogs do, especially little ankle-biters when the snow is over their heads.

Do they tunnel like the famous Snow Mole of the Arctic? Or do they sneak into the basement like I just discovered, to my dismay, that our pup has been doing since all of the big snows?

You know what I uttered when I saw it all.

"God doesn't send anybody to hell. People choose hell."

Our pastor this morning, quoting another pastor

That's a Savage Model 99 chambered for .308. There is always a good selection of Savage 99s at reasonable prices at Gun Broker.com. It's good to be able to purchase firearms through them: it's an online gun show.

A 100 year-old lever action hammerless design, still going strong although the manufacturing of this rifle ended in the 1990s. Jon Wolfe says:

For hunting North American game, the Savage 99 is still one of the finest hunting rifles of all time. In fact, it was a solid performer well into the later part of the last century, nearly one hundred years after its creation. It was manufactured for nearly a century with over a million rifles produced before the Savage 99 was discontinued due to decrepit machinery and increased cost.

Here's the Savage 99 website

The Wiki entry has lots of info.

Here's a useful short article: GOOD FIRST BIG GAME RIFLES

Here's Hawks on A Dozen Top Deer Rifles (he does not include the Model 99 on his list)

The Alpha course was developed in response to people who wanted to have the opportunity to investigate the claims of the Christian faith. 

Over ten weekly sessions, including a day or weekend away, guests hear the claims of the Christian faith.  After the presentation, course attendees have a chance to question what they heard and discuss the validity of the claims.  The support of all the major Christian denominations has enabled the Alpha course to spread rapidly around the world. Today, Alpha is run in over 160 countries and has been translated into more than 100 languages. Courses can also be found in many contexts including churches, homes, workplaces, military bases, colleges, schools, and prisons. 

There are many reasons why people enjoy attending the Alpha course. For some it’s the no pressure, non-judgmental atmosphere, others enjoy building relationships with new friends, while others appreciate the chance to discuss deep questions of life that they don’t otherwise get the chance to ask.

WHAT HAPPENS AT ALPHA?

Each Alpha course begins with a meal or refreshments providing a chance to relax and get to know others. There is then a short talk, which looks at a different aspect of the Christian faith each week. This is followed by a time of discussion in small groups of about 10 people. Everyone is welcome to contribute their opinion, ask questions and discuss with the rest of the group.

Alpha courses run in a wide variety of locations and at different times of the day. Courses vary in size, from one small group meeting in a home, to hundreds of people in a larger venue. Some courses are held over morning coffee or during a lunch hour, though most are evening courses, typically lasting 2 hours. Whatever the course size, people tend to remain in the same small groups for the duration of the course so they can get to know each other, continue discussions and deepen friendships.

The whole course usually lasts for 10 weeks, with a day or weekend away about half way through. The emphasis is upon exploration and discovery in a relaxed and informal environment.

The Alpha course consists of a series of talks addressing key issues related to the Christian faith.

TOPICS

 
 Week 1:  Who is Jesus?
 Week 2:  Why did Jesus die?
 Week 3:  How can we have faith?
 Week 4:  Why and how do I pray?
 Week 5:  Why and how should I read the Bible?
 Week 6 Full Day: Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?How can I make the most of the rest of my life?
 Week 7:   How does God guide us?
 Week 8:  How can I resist evil?
 Week 9:  Why & how should we tell others?
 Week 10:  Does God heal today?

The course curriculum is the book Questions of Life by Nicky Gumbel. Each talk reflects one of the chapters from this book.

Please note: There is no obligation to attend all ten sessions.

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS

The New York Times
"A novel approach to Christian education that has been catching on nationwide."

Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian 
"What Alpha offers, and what is attracting thousands of people, is permission, rare in secular culture, to discuss the big questions - life and death and their meaning.“

The Express London
" Alpha makes Christianity relevant to modern life."                                                                                                                             

Los Angeles Times
“Alpha helps people navigate through Christianity.”

WHAT PAST GUESTS SAY

Anthony:  "I didn’t expect the warm welcome I received, the interesting discussions or the lack of pressure to speak in the small groups that followed. I found that I could express any doubts about Christianity, and that my opinions would be respected. If I had an issue with something, I had a forum to voice it with no need to apologize."

Rebecca:   “Our church was offering this course and my husband and I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to share in this spiritual journey. We go to church with our two kids, say our prayers, etc. but something was missing. We wanted to find out what was missing.”

Cynthia:  I decided to take the Alpha course because I was unsure what it was I believed. I needed something to fill the empty place in my life. I started attending Alpha to seek answers to those basic questions about my faith and who God was.”



Heather:   “I was the typical 20 something who had attended church as a child, but once I became an adult I stopped going. When I returned to church I felt like something was missing in my life. The Alpha course helped me understand more about God.

Image from Arcimboldo's Feast for the Eyes

IBM's Watson Machine: It's a tight race between man and machine

Maine Governor Tells NAACP to “Kiss My Butt”

Stuxnet update: No surprises here. It is a cyber-bomb.

J Post: How Hamas stays in power

Governor Awesome on political discourse

Alcohol and the Origins of the First Amendment

Legal Ins on death taxes

Wiz on Who bears the guilt of the Tucson shootings?

Prof B: How SOX Contributed to the Financial Crisis

Can Our Last International Advantage Withstand the Dodd-Frank Act?

Jeb to GOP: How to Appeal to Hispanics

Wkly Std: The Times Loses It - Sense and nonsense about Tucson.

NRO: Hail to the Chair - Reince Priebus has his work cut out for him.

Michelle: Blame Righty: A condensed history

Ace debates on Lawrence Tribe

Psalm 40:1-11

40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

40:2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

40:4 Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.

40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.

40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

40:7 Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

40:9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.

40:10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

40:11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

Probably cooler than they should be. Better enjoy your cold ones while you can. Apocalypse is on the way.

I am continuing to clean up my image closet. Feel free to use 'em or steal them. It's another good stash. Can't recall where they all came from, but any of them that were used here were properly attributed.

Don't let them go to waste. Recycling makes Gaia smile.

More random and informative images, toons, and charts below the fold -

Some call it Red Flannel Hash. With two eggs sunny-side up on top, and some ketchup or some hot sauce, it can't be beat for a winter breakfast.

This recipe is good, if a bit too complicated. Here's a simpler Southern version, with gravy of course (in the South, they even put gravy on top of gravy).

I don't mind the canned version at all, fried first in butter. Yes, it smells (and looks) a bit like canned dog food, but I am part dog.

Mechanical engineering: Simple animation to explain complex principles

Clean Comedy: Henry Cho

Pajamas: Once Again, Progressives Prove Willing to Politicize Everything

Mankiw posts a good video to show students while teaching about index funds and the efficient markets hypothesis

 Update on Norwegian young radicals:

The radicals also have a hefty sense of entitlement. They do not request things -- they demand them. They are perpetually shocked, indignant, and concerned about something. Their shock, indignation, and concern is most frequently directed at Racism, Poverty (which they are demanding – demanding! – be Made History), War, and all the other Important Causes. These evils, they reckon, are best controlled by expanding the State, dismantling what remains of the European heritage, and empowering left-wing internationalist institutions like the EU and the UN. Like China's Maoists the Gen-Y radicals pursue a perpetual, institutionalized revolution in which all humanity is subsumed into isms, ologies, and bureaucratic duckspeak.

Roger Simon: The Sixties Were Violent, Not Today

Prelutsky: The Bloodthirsty Left

Powerline: Lincoln on the blood libel of 1860

How Al Qaeda stays in business

The Muslim Brotherhood Path to Victory

Good idea or not? Obama to ease travel restrictions to Cuba, allow more U.S. cash to island. I think it's OK. The Castro thugs will be dead soon, anyway.

Half of US states now suing to stop Obamacare

The Emperor of Ice Cream

This pic from Retriever:

These from Gwynnie, an autumn ago: