Maggie's Farm

This is a post by guest writer Bruce Kesler:

Democrats are delirious with glee at their opportunity to impose a national health care regime that gets us closer to their ambition of government-run universal health care.

Their launch point is the 98 page outline issued by Senator Max Baucus.  Their point man is to be former Senator Tom Daschle, proposed as Secretary of Health and Human Resources, who has written of similar ambitions and is deemed to be able to wheel and deal toward that end.

Estimates of cost are in the area of $150-billion a year, and growing.  Since it shares many of the aspects of Massachusetts’ plan, which is costing double estimates, similar larger real costs can be expected.

Although only about 20-25% of the 47-million who are uninsured are actually US citizens in financial or underwriting need, let’s for the sake of this exercise use the 47-million number.

At an average monthly premium cost of $158, according to a recent study of actual individual premiums, that means $7.5 billion per month, or $90-billion a year.  Make that $250 a month, to include broader benefits that government typically requires in its plans, more health conditions due to guaranteed issue, and more elderly with community rating that averages their costs down while increasing costs for the younger, and you have $11.75 billion per month, or $141-billion a year.

Cut that back by even half, to eliminate benefits for illegal immigrants, for the legal ones whose sponsors are supposed to be responsible, and for those who can afford coverage but choose to go bare, and you’ve got an annual $70-billion program.

Assuming that Democrats are determined to further bust the federal budget and place us deeper in debt, paying or subsidizing the premiums of the truly needy uninsured would be cheaper than their favored schemes.  All that without a major disruption of the coverage, benefits, freedom of choice of everyone else, and without creating a huge new government bureaucracy that interferes with innovation in treatments or delivery.

So, is the Democrats’ goal increasing Americans’ access to health care?  Or is it increasing their own access to control over Americans, with the increased access to self-enrichment that comes from government programs?

Well-preserved Jurassic turtles found on Skye. They call it a missing link between land and aquatic turtles.

Today, we still have many species that do a little of both, like North America's wonderful Wood Turtle, which swims and hikes.

I have argued for decades that America is the least racist country in the world. By and large, only Americans on the right have believed, or at least had the courage to say this. Now that fact is obvious to virtually anyone with eyes to see.

Dennis Prager, via Attack Machine

From a hunting buddy and good Ducks Unlimited supporter:

Dear Maggie's:

We went goose hunting with Wild Goose Lodge in Prince Edward Island last week.  I wish I had a picture to show you of all the geese we killed (33 over the three days), but it was too dark by the time we finished hunting.  The weather was no good for goose hunting on two of the three days we hunted; too warm and no wind.  But, we had no complaints as the proprietor, Jim Duggan is a first class guy who goes out of his way to try and get everyone a good hunt.  The attached picture is from our last evenings’ banquet – started off with Malpeque Bay oysters (which in your correspondent’s humble opinion, are the best anywhere).  One of the hunters brought the wine – a Schramsberg sparkler which went great with the oysters.  Then, everyone had a 2.5-3 pound lobster, along with some homemade bread and potato salad.  On PEI, they serve their lobster cold, with lemon wedges and of course, butter.  We had a mix of whites to go with the lobster, including a chenin blanc from South Africa, which was in honor of your humble correspondent who had visited the winery while in S. Africa on safari several years ago.  Dessert was your choice of hot fudge or butterscotch sundae or blueberry pie.  One or two of the guests had a sundae and pie . . .

I must confess that I ate on the order of two dozen oysters and if I do so say myself, three lobsters.

An excellent time was had by all ten of us, including two of the folks whom had never been goose hunting.

Your Humble Correspondent,

J.

"Let her (Truth) and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?"

December 9th will be John Milton's 400th birthday (1608-1674).

A poet, for sure. People are doing fun things like this to celebrate Paradise Lost written, as he said, "to justify the ways of God to men." (It was also likely written to express his disappointment in the Restoration.)

Milton's writings primarily�dealt with�religion. He was a Protestant and a supporter�of Cromwell. Milton was a college drop-out (hated college and hated the other kids), and spent two years thereafter educating himself.�His father was a successful London scrivener, and Milton helped manage the family's business interests.

I'd like to highlight his pamphleteering, with which he busied himself before he wrote his epic poems. In the 1630s and 40's there were no newspapers, no broadsheets. Mass retail printing was just getting going, and "newsbooks" were in the future. There was little knowledge about current events for the average person, nor was government comfortable with that idea.

If you had some money, though, you could publish your thoughts and sell them as pamphlets. Those having other opinions would publish their own pamphlets in response. Public discussion and debate would ensue. This was citizen journalism, and sort of a blogging model.

Referring to his motives for writing pamphlets, he said:

I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.

Milton's first well-known pamphlet was Divorce (1643), a provocative and�highly controversial theological defense of divorce. His views, it was said, would lead to social chaos. They referred to him as "The Divorcer,"�but he never did divorce. He was big on the modern notion of the "companionate marriage."

His best-known polemic today is Areopagitica (1644), written in defiance of, and as an attack on, government licensing laws on publication. (It was never a real speech.)

While often viewed today as a defense of freedom of speech (and most of his arguments tend that way), it was not written to propose free political speech: it was written to propose freedom of religious speech - freedom from government and church interference in seeking�God's truth. That was a distinctly Protestant view.�In his words:

And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play on the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?

For those interested in Milton's life, I recommend the highly enjoyable new Milton: Poet, Pamphleteer, and Patriot by Anna Beer.

We had snow flurries yesterday morning.

It's about "hitting bottom." A remarkable personal testimony from Vanderleun, re-posted. One para from it:

I'd seen far too much of this scuzzy joint in the last few months and I was destined to see a lot more of it in the months to come. It was one of those 'great bad places' in American life; one of those spaces where they're selling, morning, noon and far into the night, eight kinds of despair on tap and a wide selection of numb on the shelves behind the bar; mixed, on-the-rocks, or "neat."

North America's Eastern Grey Squirrel is one adaptable critter. Here, in their native territory, I am happy to have them around - and so are the Red-tail hawks that eat them and keep their numbers down.

I think it's been a long time since American kids went out with their .22s to get a mess o' savory squirrel in the oak trees for the family stew-pot.

Like everybody else around here, my main problem with these crafty acrobats is that they eat me out of house and home on my bird-feeders. (Plus, these sneaky little terrorists almost blew me up when they chewed through the hose of my grill's propane tank.)

The ongoing war of brains continues at Maggie's Farm and, thus far, the Grey Squirrel still wins.

Here's some advice on Squirrel-proof bird feeders.

Wki has a good summary on the Eastern Grey Squirrel. Here, we have the black version too, but not many.

Interviews with Obama voters, via a piece at Gateway on the media's failures to inform voters about Obama. (By no means do I think all Obama voters are this poorly-informed, nor that Conservative voters are all well-informed.)

Still, I find this disturbing, but maybe it's the way it always is:

Why do Liberals hate Conservatives so much? A quote from Ace:

...researchers determined that "there are five psychological foundations of morality, which we label as harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity." Conservative morality is based on some combination of all five of these moral foundations. There may not be an exact 20% input from each one, but they are all present. Liberal morality is based on only the harm/care and fairness/reciprocity foundations.

"Conservatives have many moral concerns that liberals simply do not recognize as moral concerns... liberals often find it hard to understand why so many of their fellow citizens do not rally around the cause of social justice, and why many Western nations have elected conservative governments in recent years."

Read the whole thing, but the point is well-taken. Libs and Conservatives are coming from different places, with different basic assumptions. I don't think it explains the hatred, though.

Readers wanted the lyrics for the Maria McCool song, For Ireland I'd not tell her name, (which was a Liam Clancy song). Sipp sent them to me. It begins:

Last night as I strolled abroad
On the far side of my farm
I was approached by a comely maiden
Who left me distraught and weak.
I was captivated by her demeanour and shapeliness
By her sensitive and delicate mouth,
I hastened to approach her
But for Ireland I'd not tell her name.

Here's the rest, in Gaelic and in English.

I promise that this will make your day better than it may be already - the Gaelic tune Ar Eirinn Ni Neosfainn Ce Hi:

From guest poster Bruce Kesler - 

Business As Usual Goes In Circles

Statists on the Left resemble some private sector advocates on the Right.  They argue over which path to take, both leading in similar circles.  Both avoid the road right before their feet, as it would require looking forward to benefits for all instead of selfishly at themselves.  That road not taken is of outcome neutral free enterprise that enriches all.

Statists on the Left defend and want to enlarge government programs that sap productivity, reward sloth, and create a New Class of taxpayer-supported or obliged favored. Their fun-house mirror images from the Right defend and want to enlarge large corporate welfare, wasteful and needless products, and self-serving and enriching speculation.  Both are dependant upon the supposed largesse of government steering its huge budgets toward one or the other’s pets.

Government’s core role is in preserving freedoms to be individuals and national freedoms to avoid foes endangerment of our individual freedoms. One can legitimately, also,  propose that government serves that role when it can mobilize to increase our abilities.  But, government must then compete with other providers for which can do so most cost-effectively.

Private enterprise’s core role is in developing and selling -- transparently, honestly and without coercion -- solutions and products that individuals want to purchase, either directly or through government.  One can legitimately propose that trial-and-error may be wasteful, and some of that waste enriches selfish schemers. But, if subject to market penalties, waste is most quickly penalized and investments that benefit more are encouraged.

In the current economic meltdown, the central fallacy of runaway statists and of irresponsible corporatists is exposed. Both plead they are too big to be allowed to fail.  But, both already have failed. Both seek to put makeup on the zombie by sucking life out of productive sectors.

The easy pickings of criticism come to mind, but they only scratch the surface of our aimlessness and lack of understanding of what works: Competitiveness comes from competition, not from government protectionism.

Big-Three auto industry critics correctly point to uncompetitive wage rates and pension promises reducing profitability, but erroneously criticize now competitive quality or pricing. Their strides forward on these fronts came from having to meet quality and pricing market pressures from foreign-owned auto makers. Preserving their uncompetitive labor structure injects formaldehyde -- at the cost of more jobs lost and of  taxes and debt squandered -- rather than life. Instead, auto executives plead for taxpayer-relief from exorbitant labor costs. Those who enable this avoid the clearly marked road. 

That this seemingly easy and obvious conclusion is neglected by statists and by auto executives, both under pressure by union supporters or by union threats, highlights the path in other realms of our difficulties.

The bulk of state budgets are consumed by labor costs and pensions. The Left’s think tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Studies, counts 41 states in severe deficits, most wanting Washington to pay their bills as if manna from heaven. The Center points at relatively minor restraints placed on program beneficiaries – the first to be impacted when 50-75% of budgets are deemed “fixed costs” of government workers and structures -- while hiring – which exploded along with wages and benefits during the past 10 years – is merely slowed. The largest contributors to statist political candidates are government-employee unions. The obvious path should be that any state program be first subject to cost-effectiveness competition, as with school vouchers and other private service providers, subject to reasonable standards. Private providers, however, must meet – indeed, take the forefront in proposing -- such reasonable standards rather than seeking loopholes to be primarily self-serving. Clear and tested market standards are not the enemy of free enterprise but its underpinning.

Notice, this is a separate matter from whether this or that program is worthwhile.  Those  decisions will be clarified by open competition and standards of measurement.

More difficult distinctions arise when other realms are considered.  For example, the contracting of Defense and State tasks abroad provide flexibility in staffing and incurring costs only when needed instead of idly in reserve, but at higher costs when necessary.  Again, reasonable standards of competence and results for competition are required, rather than protecting government payrolls and longer-lasting retirement obligations.  Veterans  organizations and retired diplomats, here, operate like unions in being more oriented toward benefits than toward mission effectiveness.

Taxing certain expenditures and not others, exempting certain organizations – particularly “charities” whose prime recipients are those running and working for them, are more difficult to justify when exposed to more scrutiny.

These and many other instances of spreading transparency and freer competition provide citizens with clearer choices over their taxes.  One-by-one and in mass, special favors embodied in the thousands of pages of tax codes will be exposed.  Essentially, this would move toward more neutrality between richer and poorer, between saving/investment and consumption.  Competition breeds competitiveness and more efficient choices that better meet each individual’s needs and ability to advance.  The truly unfortunate are not abandoned.  Instead, resources are not wasted but able to be focused on providing them with more opportunities. The truly motivated are not penalized for adding to their and our opportunities.

That’s the American road, not the protectionist staying-in-place circle of self-destruction we’re now trodding in circles.

Reviewing our posts since the election, I notice that we have returned to a better, more wholesome balance between Real Life and politics. That's a good thing.

As heavy-duty tax-paying Citizens of a free republic, we feel obligated to care about current events and, as our readers know, individual freedom and respect for our culture are our primary political interests. But current events (ie the "news") consists mainly of ephemeral things which mentally exist in a strange virtual reality as much as in reality, and likely never matter to us on our deathbeds - assuming that we will even die in bed (but that's what we at Maggie's call the "Deathbed Test" of what is important in life - a test which is highly individual.)

Semi-sorta related: We see that Diana West, author of Death of the Grown Up - a book we plugged when it came out - has a blog or, as I prefer to call these things, a website. We need to add her to our blogroll, and I will tell her that we admire her and that she is on the same page as our resident shrink Dr. Bliss. (A communal site without a shrink is like a canoe without a paddle.)

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

5:1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.

5:2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

5:3 When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!

5:4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief;

5:5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

5:6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober;

5:7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.

5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

5:9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

5:10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.

5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

We are long-time fans of Keith Jarrett - everything he does. And he does everything, from deep in his soul. Thanks to LGF for this Danny Boy on a rainy November day in Yankeeland:

AVI speaks up for the Social Conservatives. I think you could call them "normal, decent people."

Online Books

Boston: "We're #1." In ugliness, totalitarian-style. I think that building was designed to make people terrified of their government. Why didn't they build something human-scale and welcoming, instead of something that looks like it has security cameras and 50 mm machine gun mounts? After all, the people are the ones who pay for all of this.

Celtic coin cache found. I've been reading that there really is no such category as "Celts," but I guess people sorta know what is meant by the term - barbarians.

Hitler's mortgage

Obama skips his grandmother's funeral. There's a pattern of family disconnection here which seems odd to me.

Steele update. I think Steele is a good guy.

A quote from J C Phillips:

I disagree with the politics of Barack Obama. To suggest that because we share the same skin color I should be teary-eyed as he takes office is to make the election about racial validation rather than ideas.

More on how Conservatives need leaders who can communicate. Bush and McCain are fine men, but neither can talk their way out of a wet paper bag.

Villainous on the prospects of "getting past race"

Worst post-election stock market ever

Leading Psychiatrist says Liberalism is a mental disorder. A bit of hyperbole there. h/t, Theo

Via Conservatism Today:

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative
and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could
and should do for themselves.

William Boetcker, 1873 - 1962

Very amusing. Dennis Miller on Palin's great sex life, Obama, and other topics (h/t, Tiger):

The cartoonist had a great idea, but is surely no hunter because no waterfowler would wear orange.

h/t, Theo

Researcher Robert Carter has a good summary of the realities of the AGW frenzy, with the above title. One quote from his essay:

...science reality in 2008 is that the IPCC’s hypothesis of dangerous, human-caused global warming has been repeatedly tested and failed. In contrast, the proper null hypothesis that the global climatic changes that we observe today are natural in origin has yet to be disproven. The only argument that remains to the IPCC—and it is solely a theoretical argument, not evidence of any kind—is that their unvalidated computer models project that carbon-dioxide-driven dangerous warming will occur in the future: just you wait and see!

He goes on to make the case that mankind can adapt to climate shifts, regardless of their causes, just as it has done in the past.

Dylan with Clapton. I don't know the date of this one:

Here's a 2005 performance. The camera shakiness stops quickly.

A remarkable set of photos at Boston.com, via Am. Digest. Here's one:

"The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

Princeton's Henry Van Dyke. h/t, LGF