Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Monday, June 26. 2023Monday morning linksMalls: The Allure of Ruins Trusties and Lusties, Dads and Cads The great vegan rollout has been halted in its salty, sugary, ultra-processed tracks NYC to Crack Down on Wood-Fired Pizza Joints to Reduce Carbon Emissions by Up to 75% The Economics Behind Grandma’s Tuna Casseroles - Don’t judge yesteryear’s cooking by today’s standards. Why so many government lies about COVID? A Comprehensive Critique Of Net Zero Fantasies Exporting 'Climate Change' Culture to the Muslim World French president suggests global tax to finance Green BS Sweden announces wind and solar "too unstable" to meet country's energy needs " I think that in 25 years, offshore wind will be seen as one of the worst follies in the history of technology." Harvard Expert on Dishonesty Accused of Academic Dishonesty " What defines a microaggression? The answer is broad. The University of Minnesota offers a two-page sheet listing scores of examples, including the phrases “America is a melting pot,” “There is only one race, the human race,” and “I believe the most qualified person should get the job.” These statements are hardly controversial, but for Reshovsky, they could be enough to torpedo a debater’s chances in the ring." When should scientists debate? Happy to go on Joe Rogan for self aggrandizement, but unwilling to take a chance in dialog Scientists are not good debaters Rising Number Of Russian, Chinese Nationals At US Southern Border Raises Security Concerns Biden must seize on Putin’s weakness and help Ukraine win the war That is imaginary. What is "win" anyway? Plus none of the news is true even though people talk as if it were.
Sunday, June 25. 2023Why Bud Light and Target are Pushing the Woke AgendaIt sounds a little paranoid at first, but it makes sense:
From today's Lectionary: Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.Matthew 10:24-39 10:24 "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 10:25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! 10:26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 10:28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 10:30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 10:31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. 10:32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 10:33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 10:36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 10:38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 10:39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. Saturday, June 24. 2023Does anybody believe......any news from Ukraine or Russia? Hinderaker, who I like and respect, believes this BS. There are no good guys in all of this, including NATO and the US along with Ukraine and Russia. Just my view. Furthermore, NATO is obsolete but it's fun for them to find a Kabuki role. Oh, also, where's the UN? Worrying about the weather, I guess. Mission creep - they do nothing. Sunday follow-up - Probably nothing was what it seemed
Saturday morning linksNewly discovered ‘Stonehenge of the Netherlands’ is 4,000 years old Macon Bacon Baseball Team Facing Calls to Change Name, Stop ‘Glorification of Bacon’ Why should lesbians sleep with men? Sexual preference is now a moral crusade California Bill Would Enable Therapists to ‘Emancipate’ 12-Year-Olds from Their Own Parents " I am so old, I can remember when the New Republic was a respectable magazine. " Harvard police under fire for swatting incident, arresting more blacks than whites Hunter Biden to Chinese Businessman: “I Am Sitting Here Waiting for the Call With My Father.” Admit It Libs—Even You Wouldn't Want Hunter Biden Dating Your Daughter Biden Dons Feathered Headdress To Welcome Indian Prime Minister Psychiatrist who called Trump supporters mentally ill loses in court against Yale Friday, June 23. 2023Good song: Train wheels running through the back of my memory...First world problems
The only one I think I can repair myself is the latter, so that's something. Do our readers have any first world problems on this first week of summertime up here?
Who's in charge of your medical care?The article entitles it "Who's in charge of your health -Your Doctor or Your Insurer?" but "health" is a more complex question because lots of health has to do with luck, and some to self-care. Nobody is entitled to health. And nobody wants to need a doctor, but we all do or will. It can be expensive and always will be. Either we pay it, or other citizens pay it for us. Any kind of insurance makes sense.
Friday morning linksAtlantic: What is Milk? POWER LINE U ON ‘A PLAGUE OF MODELS’ Who believes models? Navy Knew Titan Submarine Imploded Days Ago – Military Acoustic Detection System Picked Up Implosion Hours After Vessel Began Its Exploration Yeah, I figgered that Censorship Is What They Demand When Their Propaganda Fails. When elites start demanding the silencing of their opponents, it's a sign that people have stopped believing the Big Lie Oregon County Sues Fossil Fuels Companies For Almost $52 Billion What does it say about our culture when physicians are afraid to speak the truth about transgenderism, for fear of being ostracized from their profession? TGIF: Plumbing the Depths - Elon & Zuck are fighting. Muslims & Christians are uniting. Hunter Biden gets off. Meghan & Harry get sacked. Plus, a Titanic trip ends in tragedy. IS THE COVER-UP UNRAVELING? Nope IRS Whistleblowers Release New Bombshell Evidence Against Bidens, DOJ And AG Garland Doesn't matter Greta Thunberg’s Beginning of the End of the World Prediction Was for Today, June 21st Silly girl. Hope she's making $
Thursday, June 22. 2023Alexander's Ragtime BandThursday morning linksAdam Smith at 300: The Gospel of Mutual Service. A 1926 lecture captures timeless truths about the Scottish thinker. True Love Breaks a Marriage Going to college still looks to most Americans as a better choice than going to war or a life of dissolution, but recent evidence suggests that students completing high school are beginning to rethink the idea that college is necessarily the best path. NYT: Lab-grown chicken Thrown to the Wolves - A physician reveals the nightmare of transgender ideology in a major children’s hospital. In the US: “In the eyes of the state, parents who reject gender ideology are abusers of children.” Sanity Across the Pond - In the U.K., government officials finally discuss openly the problems with gender ideology. Update on the War on Poverty Dems hold their ears as Durham exposes FBI’s partisan corruption RFK, Jr. makes a climate speech in Vermont LA Times says RFK Jr is a threat to democracy Muslim-American scholar defends marriage to 9-year-old girls It's a different culture China Is Ready for a World of Disorder. America Is Not Wednesday, June 21. 2023Interview with a very smart retired CIA spyWednesday morning linksClimate Change Turns Out To Be a 71-Year-Old Guy Named Ed Pandemic Learning Slide Continues for 13-Year-Olds, Making Full Recovery Unlikely What Can We Do About Pandemic-Related Learning Loss? Remote school was devastating for many students. In Richmond, Virginia, a plan to switch to a year-round calendar brought promise and pushbac Spectator: Why civics test scores are falling in American schools - For the next generation, history isn’t being rewritten. It’s being intentionally obscured Why scrapping standardized tests is bad for college applicants Florida Teacher Fired for Comparing Students' Skin to Coffee The Ideological Subversion of Biology Chris Licht and the Decline of Journalism Chris Christie: We should definitely mutilate children's genitals Good News: Biden Regime Just Gave China Greenlight To Invade Taiwan The Failing Ukraine Counteroffensive & The Peace That Could Have Been Europe in Decline Tuesday, June 20. 2023A Yankee supperSteamed, not boiled. From a reader:
Do Colleges Prepare Students for Jobs?It's a complex question, especially in US higher ed. Do Colleges Prepare Students for Jobs? Just for the sake of argument, let's pretend that public secondary education is meant to produce competent youth with good citizenship. That's an impossible goal, but a good idea. But the US anyway, "higher ed" can mean almost anything from pure job-training to deep explorations of the liberal arts with higher STEM things (not job training, but more intellectual adventure for young adults). Thus "college" has no specific meaning in the US now.
Of courseSomething all psychologists and psychiatrists have always known: Study finds that the human brain reactivates mental representations of past events during new experiences It's a type of pattern memory. In relationships, shrinks call it "transference."
Tuesday morning linksThe scientific proof that thinking positive really does help conquer chronic pain and illness A Conversation with Animal Rights Pioneer Peter Singer - “Animal Liberation” is nearly 50 years old. What have we learned? Taki has a colorful life YouTube says it removed Jordan Peterson interview of RFK Jr. for violating vaccine policy Did the vaccines work? Did lockdowns? Naomi Wolf, feminist turncoat AP Style Guide is an ideological minefield Titanic tourism: the military loves this type of stuff. It’s the rare opportunity to do live deep sea rescue. They get to try out their latest equipment. Mayo Clinic professor suspended after saying testosterone improves athletic performance Nat. Georgraphic: Interested in an electric car? Here's what you should know before you buy. Not interested UN Chief Goes on Delusional Tirade Against Fossil Fuels, Saying They Are “Incompatible with Human Survival”. Meanwhile, globalists of the World Economic Forum want the number of cars around the world to be reduced by 75% by 2050. Now It's the Body Mass Index (BMI) That's Racist SpaceX launches SATRIA-1 communications satellite for Indonesia, lands rocket at sea England is giving masturbation homework assignments to nine-year-olds Anheuser-Busch tries again to repair the damage with a new ad campaign The World War On Free Speech Intensifies. Elon Musk can't fight censorship on his own - MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER Governments hate free speech The stupidity of the Oscars’ diversity quotas Patients who regret sex-change ops, sue doctors pose legal challenges for health care industry. Mother "repeatedly" told doctors daughter might have same bipolar disorder but was ignored in favor of drugs and surgery. Academic publisher called out for selective retraction. AMC Cancels Showings of Documentary Showcasing People Who Regret Sex Change Procedures After Transgender Activists Complain WSJ: U.S. Becomes Transgender-Care Outlier as More in Europe Urge Caution WaPo: 100 places to see after you die Black Marxist scholar who supports reparations finds out she descends from slave owner Law, Betrayed - Identity’s triumph over argument in legal education undermines democracy. There are legitimate questions about Biden's age and stamina as he runs for a second term — but his off-beat proverbs are just Biden being Biden. I think that's right. Always a goofball. China Says Xi, Blinken Meeting Was Just A "Courtesy", Castigates US For "Misperceptions" "We have always been at war with Eastasia" Sheesh, China is not an enemy. Not mine anyway. There Is No Substitute for Ukrainian Victory. Now is not the time for an armistice in Ukraine. How about tomorrow? Monday, June 19. 2023Weights for conditioningNot addressing seeking hypertrophy or "getting big". Nothing wrong with wanting to "get big," but our focus is maintaining fitness and functionality. Furthermore, not all male bodies, or few female bodies, can "get big" anyway. It depends on physical architecture mostly, and also how much time you want to put into one thing. Some people do heavy weights 3-4X/wk. Heavy. I don't have the time or vanity, so fine. Well, I do have my share of vanity but whatever. Sun's out, guns out. I do not wish to be unattractive to my wife, for starters. I do not want to be a lazy, sedentary, late middle-aged slob although that might be fine. Anyway, What's the best heavy weights routine for general conditioning? I used to do them 5X5 three times/wk, but I wanted or needed to do 2 days of HIIT cardio and about 2 days of calisthenics, and it got to be too much. Satisfying, but too much. My trainer now has me doing high reps with weights - like 15 warm-up, then 12/10/8/6. It's hard. Might be better for me. I'd be better off adding 4 sets of deads/wk, maybe. Can do that. Lots of Monday morning linksAre You Ready For Today's Juneteenth Federal Holiday? Index Investing is Misunderstood. The goal is to optimize, not to average Table salt vs. Kosher salt Is Lightin The Box a Chinese scam company? Bud Light Just Wants to Get Back to Making Beer, Sponsoring Pro-Child Mutilation Parades, But there's also a listening tour. NYT: The moral crisis of America's doctors WILL THE REAL BLACK MAN PLEASE STAND UP? How the identity cult captured America. Equity was born in an ideological graveyard Research: 1-in-4 U.S. Children Live in Fatherless Homes, Spurring Mental Health and Behavioral Issues Spectator: My evening pretending to be a woman - I decided to give autogynephilia a try Girl sues hospital for removing breasts at age 13 Thus it begins Anatomy of a Scientific Scandal - Under pressure, a journal once notable for its courage retracts a major paper on the social roots of gender-related distress—all over a minor, inconsistently applied technicality. BORIS JOHNSON: The wonder drug I hoped would stop my 11.30pm fridge raids for cheddar and chorizo didn’t work for me. But I still believe it could change the lives of millions New Cleveland Clinic Study Confirms Negative Efficacy of Covid Vaccine: Boosted 33% MORE Likely to Get Covid New York State’s Directive to Schools: Lie to Parents. Secret gender transition is now the default policy for the state’s public schools. New York Office Occupancy Breaks 50% for First Time Since Pandemic Hit Good Morning America Reporter in San Francisco Says They’re Not Filming Downtown Because They Were Told it’s too Dangerous California Is Killing Fast Food Jobs. California lawmakers and President Joe Biden seem determined to help fast-food workers by eliminating their jobs. Here's a book: How to Diversify your Campus Washington Post helps those who are intimidating lawyers into not working for Trump "We Are Restricting Freedom... For The Common Good": Irish Green Party Calls For Limiting Free Speech The revolutionary power of heresy - Freedom of speech has toppled tyrants and propelled humanity forward. We lose it at our peril. Americans Assume the Jihad Is Over. In Africa, It's Bloodier and More Aggressive Than Ever. Sunday, June 18. 2023Longitude, clocks, and Greenwich Mean TimeNavigation was difficult without good clocks. What would we all do without GPS on boats? I can't use a sextant.
Happy Dads' Day, dadsI instinctively dislike these made-up days, but what the heck? Treat me special. Taking the kids out on the boat to swim and frolic in the sea after church. They are supplying drinks and sammiches. Since Mrs. is my co-captain, I can boat and drink beer. What about you Dads?
From today's Lectionary: "As wise as serpents..."Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23) 9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 9:38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." 10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 10:4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 10:6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 10:7 As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' 10:8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 10:9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10:10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. 10:11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 10:12 As you enter the house, greet it. 10:13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 10:16 "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 10:17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 10:18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 10:19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 10:20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 10:21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 10:22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." Saturday, June 17. 2023"Zero" carb nutritionLots of people have, let's say, interesting nutritional habits. To each his or her own, I guess. Luckily for me, nutrition gives me little joy - unless beer is nutrition. (One thing that gives me joy is leaving the damn gym after a workout.) I'm not skinny, but fit for age. Wait - that's a lie because I do enjoy a few slices of a rare ribeye. Zero carb eating is not especially about losing fat (altho it works for that). Jordan Peterson only consumes steak and bubbly water for some wacky reason. Lex said he is sort-of similar. Whatever, but they should do a daily or weekly multivit. That's fine despite being a little idiosyncratic. Fortunately, we have learned that dietary fat is harmless, and also necessary. Lots of people find too much eating makes them less sharp and more lazy. I'm like that. My trainer, who pushes me to eat more, always notices that I am stronger after a day without food, like, after some GI problem. My nutrition has been mainly Thai take-out lately. Convenient. One $11 take-out meal is 2-3 meals for me. I tend to eat once or twice daily, not by discipline but for lack of interest and because food makes me tired. I am also a very slow eater and tend to stop the minute any hunger goes away. So people are different, but food is not medicine. Again, not talking about getting rid of surplus body fat even though that's a good idea for life fitness and vanity. Is a No-Carb Diet Safe? One Dietitian Discusses the Pros and Cons
Tulsi GabbardA good person, regardless of politics
Saturday morning linksBiden Announces By 2025 All Wildfires Must Be Electric Gen Z, Millennials lazier workers than Gen X and Boomers: study Chronicle on shoddy data A brand new study from the Cleveland Clinic is out. And it found something we already knew: Covid vaccines increase the chances of getting Covid instead of being protective. Medicine and politics don't mix. Well Mrs. BD and I were dutiful about vaccines (so we could travel). She had a bad case, I never had any problem. Anecdotal. Canceled professor got $500,000 payout after forced resignation from medical journal Stuart's Saturday Miscellany Elon Musk hires 'profoundly gifted' 14-year-old to work on satellite team at SpaceX as 'youngest employed software engineer on the planet' Cool. What about child labor laws? Inside the war tearing psychoanalysis apart: 'The most hatred I’ve ever witnessed' Medicine and politics don't mix Dem Expert Witness Couldn’t Cite Evidence of Benefits of Trans Procedures for Children Politicians In Our Major Cities Have Decided The Solution To The Crime Wave Is To Help Criminals Commit More Crimes Empty Stadium as LA Dodgers Honor Anti-Catholic Group 'Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence' Amid Protests Duh Why We Find Ourselves Unable to Look Away From the Hysterical News Cycle/There’s absolutely nothing we can do about these news events, anyway. I do not use a TV
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