Maggie's Farm

Greenies turn against biofuels. Right they are. EU Referendum

A new cancer treatment? This is interesting.

Does AQ take courage from the defeatists? Obviously. Yes, the people who use children as human shields.

Any doubt that Iraq is a proxy war with Iran? Riehl

Would Mexico allow us to do this in Mexico?

Some, like Jawa, hate Rudy for his past gun stands. I will forgive him that, if he repents.

Speech Nazis shut down Larry Summers at Santa Cruz. That is from What Happens on Campus Cannot Stay on Campus, by Kesler. Just like Yale Law with the recuiters.

Meanwhile, Columbia welcomes Ahmadinejad. It all makes ya wonder.

"We can talk all we want about freedom and opportunity, about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but what does all that mean to a mother or father who can't take a sick child to the doctor?"
.

That is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, via Boston Globe via No Looking Backwards, glibly blowing off the foundations of the country. But heck, it's for the children. I guess children never survived until she decided to care about them.

Is there a parent in America who "can't take a sick child to a doctor"? Show them to me, and we will have them arrested for neglect.

Avast, me hearties:Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. (photo from Mr. Free Market)

The Terrorist's Guide to the 2008 Elections. Stillwell

Syria, beloved of Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Kucinich, and the WMD

The "tolerance" and "diversity" Nazis in academia and elsewhere. Villainous

A Moslem tide turning against Jihad? Tiger Hawk

"Norway confronts Islam...and wilts." Gates of V.

Hillarycare 2.0. Details at Opinion Journal

Clinton fundraising scandals: A bad sequel gets worse. Anchoress

Rove on a Repub view of medical insurance, in Opinion Journal.

My view? Well, let me rhetorically ask one question: If we had fully-socialized medicine today (with government employees performing your surgery - when they get around to it, within union guidelines, and if you don't conveniently die first - performed by people who aspire to be government employees) what domestic policy issue would the Dems run on? I guarantee that it would be whatever the next industry is on their hit list. They would agree upon the target, then demagogue (I know it's not really a verb) that issue for a few years, then try to go in for the kill. 

There is one thing of which I am certain: It won't be the legal industry.

It won't be Big Soap or Big Furniture or Big Apricots or Big Books or Big Chicken or Big Appliances or Big Software or Big Music or Big Roofing or Big Computer or Big Tractor or Big Dildo or Big Hollywood either - all surely Evil Big Corporations, competing in countless evil ways to give you the stuff you want for a disgusting profit. It could be oil, following the Putin-Chavez path.

By the way, ya want fries with that appendectomy?

Comment from The Barrister: Just don't Biggie-size that surgery. For me it comes down to a simple question. To whom do I want to trust my health? Hillary Clinton or my doctor? I guess I want my doc, like my electrician, plumber, veterinarian, and lawyer, working just for me, not for the government. That is worth working for and paying for. Is anything more important to me? Not really...except maybe my vet.

Photo: An example of Big Tractor, a nice '58 Ford, which is lower down on the Left's target list. They have probably never even used one.

The Left loves totalitarian thugs. Of course. It's the quickest way to exert power over people - for their own good, of course. That theme is just so consistent: "We must take away your freedom because we care..." and it's always implied "because we are smarter than you." Chavez threatens independent schools: Moonbattery, whence the photo on right.

Home size, 1980-today. Coyote

Things you might not know about the Duke case. Minding the Campus. h/t, Insty

I still cannot get over the fact that poor Americans have a higher standard of living than average Europeans. No Pasaran

Rudy is all over Hillary. Surber. He is the right guy to take her on. Quick, incisive, cheerful.

Oh my gosh! The US Naval Academy is run by the military! A clueless Barnard student speaks. h/t, New depths of st00pidity at Right Wing Nation)

A "good college" means nothing to me. Attack Machine. He wants results. However, a fine liberal arts education is not really an investment in one's business success: it's supposed to be an investment in your soul. America is filled with multi-millionaires who never heard of Plato, and I think that is a wonderful thing (although it's their loss). Americans, on the whole, are a practical people.

Immigration "reform": Ankle-Biting looks at the grim political reality. Meanwhile, Congress "quietly returns to immigration."

AQ in Iraq update: are they falling apart? Protein

"Sharing."   Voegli

Ideology, politics and journalism, which luxuriate in failure, are impotent in the face of hope and joy.

P.J. O'Rourke (stolen at gunpoint from LGF)

Robbery stats from around the world.

A peek into the world of the Netroots. Never Yet Melted

Banning knitting in waiting rooms? We made a joke about this a while ago, never dreaming the notion could become realized. Blue Crab. It's a miracle Rugby is still legal. Euroland is the Land of Self-Satire.

Mark Steyn almost lost control of his car with laughter. It's about the Gov. of Mass: Looking for Love in all the wrong places. Have you hugged a Jihadist today?

Hillary ain't talking. About much of anything. Got too much to lose. But is silence golden? NY Daily News. Maybe free medical care will distract from the Clinton Disease.

How about Single-payer everything? Attack Machine. We have in the past suggested single-payer car insurance and single-payer "legal care."

The EU: Increase Moslem immigration, censor the internet. Brussels Journal. Time for a revolution over there, friends.

Greenspan rips the Bush Admin - for good reason. Dino

A good take on "the most sanctimonious song ever written." Asst. Village Genius

We mentioned yesterday how often scientific studies are wrong, whether deliberately distorted or not. Case in point:At Slate, Rigging a study to make Conservatives look stupid. h/t, Insty

Cherry-picking data: How come people never talk about the South Pole? Powerline

Defeatism through history (h/t, Grandaddy). From Kagan in National Review, a quote:

In 1864 Lincoln changed generals, and undertook a more aggressive strategy, but the war continued to drag on. A hostile newspaper, wrote, "that perhaps it is time to agree to a peace without victory.” Like Pericles, Lincoln was assailed by attacks on his policies and by personal vituperation. At the Democratic convention in August 1864 a speaker told a crowd in the streets that Lincoln and the Union armies had "Failed! Failed!! FAILED!!! FAILED!!!!" The loss of life ‘has never been seen since the destruction of Sennacherib by the breath of the Almighty and still the monster usurper wants more men for his slaughter pens."

Photo: Another Melissa. She has nice teeth.

Sandy Berger, aka Sandy Burglar, is back. What exactly did he steal? RWNH. In politics, as in the mob, this is what is called "loyalty."

Mysterious weight loss. Never Yet Melted

Banning religious books from prisons. Anchoress. I guess they want to get rid of the Korans, but decided to be even-handed with Christian stuff too. Another example of moral-equivalence insanity. My opinion? Fill the prison with Bibles.

Joking about 9-11. The James Brolin video. there must be something wrong with that guy.

Photo: For Melissa fans, I stumbled into this Melissa collection (I forget where I found the link) at the fine New England ex-blog called Ex-Donkey Blog.

Fred Thompson hits the right notes for me when he talks about federalism, a topic of little interest to either of the George Bushes, nor to any Dems.

A quote from Edwards' piece at TCS:

There has been a void in the Republican presidential race. The GOP candidates have spoken about immigration, taxes, social issues, and the war in Iraq. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain have also spoken frequently about Ronald Reagan in order to position themselves as the political heirs to the great president.

The candidates, however, have overlooked a central idea that animated Reagan's view of government. That was federalism, the constitutional principle that the federal government's responsibilities are "few and defined" as James Madison put it.

Reagan believed that the federal government had grown too big and swallowed up too many activities that, in the words of the 10th Amendment, should be left to the states and the people. Education, welfare, food stamps, and other such activities were not properly federal roles in his view. Here is Reagan kicking off his run for the presidency on November 13, 1979:

"The federal government should do only those things specifically called for in the Constitution. All others shall remain with the states or the people ... The federal government has taken on functions it was never intended to perform and which it does not perform well. There should be a planned, orderly transfer of such functions to states and communities."

Sadly, accomplishing that goal was another story. Read the whole thing.

Bush's speech last night on Iraq via Surber here.

"Democratic Europe, RIP"  Gates.  

Lance Morrow of Time quoted at Blair:

The worst times, as we see, separate the civilized of the world from the uncivilized. This is the moment of clarity. Let the civilized toughen up, and let the uncivilized take their chances in the game they started.

Bullying, intolerance,guns, code language, and "peace studies": Lessons in tolerance for the Intolerant, at Classical Values. A quote:

Recently, I noticed an insidious movement called "Peace Studies" which among other things redefines the word "violence" to mean opposition to socialism. Last week Andrew Sullivan called it "ideology masquerading as scholarship" and praised Bruce Bawer for "putting his finger on something":

We need to make two points about this movement at the outset. First, it's opposed to every value that the West stands for -- liberty, free markets, individualism -- and it despises America, the supreme symbol and defender of those values. Second, we're talking not about a bunch of naive Quakers but about a movement of savvy, ambitious professionals that is already comfortably ensconced at the United Nations, in the European Union, and in many nongovernmental organizations. It is also waging an aggressive, under-the-media-radar campaign for a cabinet-level Peace Department in the United States.

I don't think this is happening merely under the media radar. It's happening under everyone's radar.

Brit Tories consider a ban on HDTV, along with controls on kitchen applicances, to save the earth. (h/t, Gay and Right). Meanwhile, climate scientists increasingly skeptical about global warming fears. Photo above: an "ultra-modern" American kitchen of the 1920s, which is still probably too electrically-powered for the Tories (photo via Dr. X.). Yes, the Tories.

Sweden's Islamic crime wave. Free Republic. A quote:

The boys explain, laughingly, that “there is a thrilling sensation in your body when you’re robbing, you feel satisfied and happy, it feels as if you’ve succeeded, it simply feels good.” “It’s so easy to rob Swedes, so easy.” “We rob every single day, as often as we want to, whenever we want to.” The immigrant youth regard the Swedes as stupid and cowardly: “The Swedes don’t do anything, they just give us the stuff. They’re so wimpy.” The young robbers do not plan their crimes: “No, we just see some Swedes that look rich or have nice mobile phones and then we rob them...”

I guess the Swedes take their "tolerance" and "multiculturalism" seriously.

Orwell Update: The EU has a "Justice and Security Officer." He is worried about what words people use. Samizdata. Want some more EU Disease this morning? This quoted at No Pasaran:

The head of the Council of Europe - a mainly human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg, France and not an EU institution - branded the protesters bigots and said they were a threat to Europe's values.

"It is very important to remember that the freedom of assembly and expression can be restricted to protect the rights and freedoms of others, including the freedom of thought, conscience and religion," secretary general Terry Davis said.

Who was it who said "1984 (or was it Brave New World?) was intended as a warning, not as an instruction manual."?

Is Iraq Al Quaida bait? It's a theory. Am. Thinker

Good news for the planet: Earth may survive the death of the sun.

Brit troops sent to Iranian border. Polipundit

Denialists. Germans and 9-11. Moonbattery. The Europeans have an historical weakness for denial, don't they?

The Conservative advantage in syndicated opinion columns. (h/t, Memeorandum)

Totten on Ramadi today. Lots of photos.

A quote from Oxford Medievalist on Hsugate:

While the story is still very much alive, which is surprising since it involves Hillary, I'd point out that, if it were any other non-Clinton politician at the center of this scandal, his or her candidacy would've been sunk by now.

Yes, we have learned to have no standards for the Clintons: they have taught us well. Many Hsu links and much info at Gateway.

That air strike by Israel into Syria was a good story. Wish we had more details h/t, Roger Simon.

How did the West secularize politics and governance? Book review by Kirsch in the NY Sun

George Will: A war seeking a mission. He makes a good point:

What "forced" America to go to war in 2003 -- the "gathering danger" of weapons of mass destruction -- was fictitious. That is one reason this war will not be fought, at least not by Americans, to the bitter end. The end of the war will, however, be bitter for Americans, partly because the president's decision to visit Iraq without visiting its capital confirmed the flimsiness of the fallback rationale for the war -- the creation of a unified, pluralist Iraq.

After more than four years of war, two questions persist: Is there an Iraq? Are there Iraqis?

Hsugate? It is all reminscent of Bill Clinton's China connections. Scott at Powerline sums up the recent news reports.

How smokers saved Iraq. Surber

More on the dark side of diversity. Driscoll

Was 9-11 a "failure of human understanding"? Boston Herald. Pretty to think so. The BEEB, predictably, takes it to a fully dishonest extent: It's America's fault. That sort of propagandizing and lying to kids infuriates me. Unfortunately for the world, the Islamist terrorists are driven by religious hate and nothing more.

As quoted from Daniel Pipes in Democracy Project's Long Wars and Revisionism:

The outcome of the "war on terror," I submit, will have less to do with breakthroughs in avionics or intelligence coups than with the degree to which civilized people understand the nature of their enemy and join together to fight it. That means liberals remembering, as Canada's Salim Mansur put it, that "Liberal democracy is no less an armed ideology than [is] Islamist ideology." What does the future hold: 2001's slogan of "United We Stand" or more of today's deep fracturing?

The answer may well be decisive. The historical record gives me some reason for optimism, as until now the Western democracies have prevailed. For that to happen again, learning about Islam and Muslims will be part of the requisite preparation.

"You haven't earned the right to be war-weary." Willisms. Indeed. The only people suffering in this war are the soldiers and their families, and it's part of their dangerous profession to do so for the rest of us. It is not "suffering" to hear the news in our comfortable seats as we dine on our chips, salsa, beer and Twinkies.

The politicization of this "small war" is a damn shame, and simply gives hope to those who want to destroy a free Iraq. Like it or not, we will be there for a long time and as soon as the bad guys realize that, some of the scumbags will find something better to do - like getting married and getting a job and trying life as sane, honest, peaceable citizens.

Heck, we are still in Korea, and nobody complains about that except me. Furthermore, I was a skeptic about invading Iraq and figured Bush Sr. had some very good reasons to hold back (and he did). 

Am I a "moron dead-ender"? I don't think so. Some things are difficult: consider curing cancer, getting rid of cockroaches from a NYC apartment, eliminating crime, weeding the garden, removing corruption from New Jersey politics, killing terrorists one at a time - but it doesn't mean you don't work at them. "Can do."

Moslem Jihadists are the cockroaches of the world today, and they are going to be with us for a long time because they believe they are pleasing their god by killing infidels. If some of them want to die in Iraq, fine by me.

Related to above: Attack Machine considers "Copperheads Redux."

Belgium: Bring back the Duchy of Burgundy. EU Referendum

Time Magazine regrets the invention of the automobile, forgets how their magazine gets delivered. Blair

Obstruction of justice? Gov. Eliot Spitzer's "black car meetings."

You want a burger, and the burger wants to be eaten. Consenting adults, right? LA may limit fast food in some neighborhoods. As Coyote notes, this is mini-fascism.

How are the Polar Bears faring? Small Dead Cute Baby Seals

The worst school in America. Front Page

Is there anything good about men? An essay/speech by Prof. Roy Baumeister to the American Psychological Assoc.  (h/t, Minding the Campus) One quote:

Culture has plenty of tradeoffs, in which it needs people to do dangerous or risky things, and so it offers big rewards to motivate people to take those risks. Most cultures have tended to use men for these high-risk, high-payoff slots much more than women. I shall propose there are important pragmatic reasons for this. The result is that some men reap big rewards while others have their lives ruined or even cut short. Most cultures shield their women from the risk and therefore also don’t give them the big rewards. I’m not saying this is what cultures ought to do, morally, but cultures aren’t moral beings. They do what they do for pragmatic reasons driven by competition against other systems and other groups.

Image is from the Harrison Hot Springs Sand Sculpture Tournament of Champions. What kind of cool sand to they have there?

This is a re-post from last year's "2996 Project," in which 2996 blogs each remembered one of the 2996 victims of the attack on New York.

John Michael Grazioso, 41, was killed in the attack on One World Trade Center. I have been assigned by the 2996 Project to remember this man, who was an eSpeed salesman for Cantor Fitzgerald, the company which lost more of its employees than any other.

I do not know much more about him other than that he commuted from Middletown, NJ. But I can imagine that he was a hard-nosed sales dude with whom you'd be glad to grab a beer after work. He looks like a racket-ball player, and maybe a deer-hunter, and surely a poker-player. And he looks like he lifted, and like he had two little daughters that he loved more than life itself.

He looks like a real American guy. God bless him and his family.

Michelle points us to a classic piece by Peggy Noonan: I just called to say I love you.

Mass without a priest? I did not know that the Prof was a converted Roman Catholic. The Eucharist requires a priest in Catholicism.

Is Fred a lightweight? Reason

Here we go again: Is Shakespeare Shakespeare?

More on those "uninsured millions." Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid. Luskin consludes:

Which brings us to the ultimate question: Does it make any sense to destroy a health care system that 5 out of 100 people do not have adequate access to?

A computer program to translate hieroglyphics and cuneiform. h/t, cool links from Flares.

A fine meditation on Mother Theresa's "dark night of the soul." Anchoress

Socialism: Is the debate over? Solim at Volokh. I thought it was done.

When "carrying" was normal: Charlotte Bronte's dad, and related handgun topics.

Peter Breughel and kids' games: Yesterday and today. Cool.

A nice visit to Baskin-Robbins. Alphecca. Word to the wise: Do not point a weapon at anybody - even at a friendly Baskin-Robbins ice-cream scooper.

The Golden Bears: Football and the soul of Berkeley. Suddenly I find myself liking college football.

Why I left South Africa. Kim du Toit

Hispanic immigrants account for all increases in US poverty. Coyote

Have you noticed how Christian preachers, outside church, always mention God but never Jesus in public prayer? They pretend there is a generic god, to be polite. Here's what happens if they don't. h/t, News for Christians

A sovereignty that no-one has taken by arms since 1066 will be handed over. EU Referendum. My opinion? Insane.

Speaking of which - "Get your own damn army." Why is the USA still defending Europe? Or South Korea, for that matter? Time for them to grow up.

The Inca mummy on display.

More nukes is good news. Willisms. It's as close to a free lunch as this world offers.

Dartmouth update: "The First Shoe Drops," at Powerline. Bad news for the Indian Uprising: the Indians have stone-age weapons, and the bad guys have cannon.

Photo: One of Theo's gals to remind us that it is getting time to get the guns out. Hunting season is just around the corner.

The US government has the Bin Laden tape. Sounds like people are hoping he looks ill. Too many chicks and too much booze and blow down in the fleshpots of Dubai? Too many hours of Beer Pong with Mullah Omar and the hos and goats?

"Until Proven Innocent." The new book about the Duke disgrace, with comments. Never Yet melted.

Horrors! Military recruiters in NYC schools! Rhymes with Right. Which is the greater evil in NYC: The military, the Boy Scouts, or Christians? All are evil counter-revolutionaries.

Fallujah, Revisited. INDC Journal

Al Gore caught with his pants down. Drudge. What a phony. I'm supposed to think he's worried? All he wants is attention.

A day at the range, Theo Style

What are you having for dinner? I am now smoking a pork butt with some locally-grown Black Cherry wood for some friends. Beer and an Oregon Pinot Noir, home-made cole slaw, tomato salad from the garden, and some Italian-style potato salad (garlic, parsley, white vinegar and olive oil). Western North Carolina-style sauce for the pulled pork, on cheap burger rolls. Splurged on a bottle of Dewars, too. For dessert, vanilla ice cream with powder-ground good coffee sprinkled on top, then a splash of Scotch over it: believe it or not, I am told that's Italian too. Go figure.

Finally adding to Blogroll: Dissident Frogman (recently returned to the internet swamp) and Oxford Medievalist (A Jules talent discovery who we forgot to add a while ago)

Luciano Pavarotti: RIP. We have YouTubed him recently, so will not do it today - everyone else is anyway. We'll miss the big guy.

And about Fred: Let's see how he does. He surely is a likeable, seemingly-straight-forward fellow.

Greenies: Airplanes for us, man-driven treadle pumps for you. Moonbattery.  Related: Global warming and ocean saltiness.

Did you grow up poor in America? You probably did if you are over 35, by today's definitions. I did, and I am under 35. Never thought I was poor, though: plenty of food, plenty of sports, and plenty of books.

Duke, Ham, and PC: SISU, the Queen of the Segueway (if that is how it is spelled).

Will the NAACP ever resume working to lift up and inspire their constituents? Viking wonders. So do I.

Ethanol for cars: One more strike against that dumb idea: It's depleting water supplies.

More Brit health fascism: Dust my Broom, whence the image on the right. Our question at hand is whether they would plan to refuse treatment to those with lung cancer, AIDS, weight-related diabetes, sports injuries, elective abortions, and addictions -- all behavior-related problems.

Looking back at the journalistic malpractice of Katrina. Driscoll

The EU is worried about the collective. Hey, I thought the Commies lost the Cold War. Maybe the fall of the hostile foreign Commies provided space for the home grown ones?

Excellent review of current state of casualties in Iraq, at Back Talk. h/t Gateway, who has further comments.

The purported reason you won't be seeing The Path to 9-11. Fear.

George Soros: Enforcer and terrorist of Democrats

Immigration and poverty stats: Opinion Journal.

The real cause of global warming: Israel