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.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
'Net neutrality' sounds nice, but the Web is working fine now. The new rules will inhibit investment, deter innovation and create a billable-hours bonanza for lawyers.
Few recent innovations have grown as quickly, organically, and freely without interference, as this thing. So how can governments resist finding some excuse to mess with it?
Our dear friend Nathan, a Jewish more-or-less atheist, decided to attend midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem this year. Good on him. His snaps and comments below:
His description of the experience begins:
I spent Midnight Mass with Mahmoud Abbas and a few thousand close -- that is tightly packed -- worshippers in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The trip to the Church of the Nativity -- up and back from Christ's birthplace -- was too adventurous.
Image of the Nativity from The Book of Kells, c. 800
Matthew 1:18-25
1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."
1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,
1:25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Not sure what "whinning" is, but it's probably an extended version of whining about some perceived deprivation or injustice or whatever. Wives do that and, if I can reach back far enuf into my memory bank, I think I recall dimly that girlfriends do that too. Once they have you on the hook, that is. That's life. It's genetic. We guys, however we are, are never the right White Knight of their 13 year-old dreams. Just dopey guys is what we are, and utterly powerless without this remote control.
The only button missing is the "Be Charming, Cheerful, Optimistic about Life, Deeply Appreciative of Me Despite My Flaws, and Wittily and Flirtatiously Amusing" button. Guess all those words won't fit on a tiny button, so there it is.
Only the terminally envious hate people who inherit money, farms, or shops. The truly rich can afford to avoid it all. Expensive lawyers make it happen. Also, people who buy gold to hand to their kids when they get old and sick. Lots of people do that.
Three Italian poets: Petrarch, Boccaccio (both of whom Chaucer may have met on a trip to Italy in 1373) and Dante. Boccaccio’s “Decameron” lent the inspiration and narrative template for “The Canterbury Tales”. More technically, Geoffrey de Vinsauf’s “Poetria Nova”, a passage from which Chaucer lifted for “Troilus and Criseyde”, armed him with rhetorical devices.
We are Chaucer fans here at Maggie's. I prefer to hear it read, rather than to read it. Audio of a modern translation here. When I was in school, we did it in the original and had good fun with it.
It's exempt from Obamacare rules, too: Medi-Share.
Readers know we hate government compulsion, and believe that government one-size-fits-all stuff fits about as well as a Mao jacket. My examples are, for a few, what if you're a Christian Scientist? What if you're wealthy and want to self-insure? What if you only want Major Medical (which I believe is the only thing that makes sense anyway)?
When they talk about medical insurance, they sneakily speak as if it were equivalent to medical care. It is not.
A reminder to readers on Medicare:
Give your doc a nice Christmas gift. He or she is losing money each time you see him in the office. A little - or a lot - of appreciation is in order, because you are the recipient of their charity and good will. They don't have to do it. Something special like this often goes over well:
Heck, I always give my docs a Christmas something even though I am not on Medicare yet.
"I believe that the primary engine of America's economic success is not government, it's the dynamism of our markets. And for me, the most important question about an economic idea is... whether it will help spur businesses, jobs and growth."
Basically, it goes like this. As a scientist you have to decide at some point that enough is enough. You have to put your scientific commitment to the discipline of doubt aside and “blow past” your boundaries. Say what you feel, not what you can prove.
I am informed by someone who knows about these things that this is what I want for Christmas: the Lumix LX -5. I guess it's a clone of the Leica D-Lux 5. This guys says to chose the Leica.
I'm not sure I need one, but it seems like a nice thing. I think I could take lousy snaps with any camera, though.
On second thought, maybe I'd rather have the Leica. Heck, I don't know. I'll take the Lumix, Santa.
Why does Maggie's get so political, when we never wanted to? Because the gummint keeps trying to play a larger role in our lives. We hate that. If they left us folks alone, we'd have a much more interesting site. It would be all food and hunting and fishing and guns and skiing and tennis raquets and books and the arts and music and history and gardening and God and stuff like that. Things that bring delight instead of exasperation.
Readers know that we are fans of SureFire military and tactical flashlights. They are useful for blinding and illuminating a bad guy, or for illuminating a distant detail - or for finding a fox, beaver or owl at night.
The problem with them has been that the battery drain has been so fast that they were not useful for any regular flashlight use (for which they were not designed anyway - they were first designed to incapacitate and illuminate a human target).
They have now come out with a line of LED flashlights, some of which may not meet the same tactical specs but which have a longer battery life, and still should not be used in anybody's face unless you wish to disable them. A MagLite on steroids.
Also, Insty informs us that Amazon has deals on knives. Practical knives, not the fancy ones. Except when boarding a plane, a guy needs a knife in the pocket.
The CSRRT is a match-making service between top scientists and members of the media and office holders and their staffs from various levels of government.
The government finds itself here in a real pickle. Virginia has drawn a clear line that accounts for all the existing cases, so that no precedent has to be overruled to strike down this legislation. On the other hand, to uphold it invites the government to force me to buy everything from exercise machines to bicycles, because there is always some good that the coercive use of state authority can advance. The ironic point is that this is not a commerce clause argument as such, for in my view any state statute would be subject to the same objection even though the state has plenary police powers.
They grade students. Why not grade teachers? Oh, I see. It's about their ratings being published. They are our employees, so we should know how they're doing.
� 
Investing in lawsuits
Chaucer claimed to be no more than a "lewd compilator" of other voices. All creators steal. From 
Pic of frightening pedophile psycho creep came in 
Pic via 
Readers know that we are fans of 
Ancient 
Muslim Suicide Bombers