Maggie's Farm

500 passengers. The A380 will visit NYC. It "handles like a Ferrari?" What a fine target for the jihad.

The Utrecht riots. A taste of things to come? 

The Blackstone IPO. This is a big deal. Prof. B. Nice catch for Simpson Thatcher.

Barcelona: Modernism, From Gaudi to Dali, at the Met.

Man stabs bear to death to save his dog.

First and last company picnic. S,C andA

We never miss an opportunity to slam the Beeb. Cultural Marxism. Good term.

Indoctrinate U. A new documentary about free speech on campus.

20% of Americans are illiterate? Driscoll

A government plot, says Ray Nagin. I thought he was the government.

No wonder Mexico wants open borders Follow the money. (one-way open borders, of course. Try moving to Mexico - you cannot).

Slavery alive and well in Sudan. Where are the protests?

The enduring 1960s "mad morality" isn't entirely dead. An explanation of progressive morality by Atbashian at Pajamas Media. (h/t, Instapundit). A few quotes:

But what is the source of a morality that forbids to fight terrorism and views the United States as the enemy? Clearly it isn’t rooted in the American tradition. Such a morality manifested itself on a massive scale for the first time in the 1960s. Many of today’s protesters admittedly crave to recapture the spirit of those days. Many will be singing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

and

In the “progressive” book of virtues, American values are the quintessence of evil. So if you are a “progressive” and you aren’t mad at this country, that just means you’re neither honest nor consistent. But then again, because living by this dead-end moral code is logically impossible, one has to resort to hypocrisy and seek compromises, forever balancing on the edge of madness.

Read the whole thing.

Image: John and Yoko, 1975.

Defending the honor of the Confederate flag. AOL News. We already explained why we honor it, and it ain't racist. Nobody remembers that wealthy Yankees had slaves during the war until the Emancipation Proclamation. We honor our southern brethren at Maggie's Farm every chance we get, for their valiant and hopeless struggle for freedom. And we are sort-of glad that they lost that effort - it was probably for the best in the long run. But worth all of those brave young lives? I doubt it. Slavery was a goner, anyway.

Did you like Al Gore's green zinc mines? The Tennessean

Steve Emerson on CAIR. What do people think, that they are like the NAACP? Powerline video

The "protests" in DC yesterday. A quote from Rick's piece:

History ended yesterday. Or at least one version of it. Or perhaps it didn’t end as much as it was overthrown, trampled by the feet of 30,000 ordinary Americans who gathered on the mall and along the broad avenues in Washington to confront those who have, either wittingly or witlessly, given aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States for more than 40 years.

Wow! The WaPo actually noticed!

Sunday evening tax music: Keb' Mo, Angelina. How good is this guy? And the best blues guitarist in the world - bear with it - wobbly at first. Impossible not to love this guy. White folks just don't move with music, do they? It's a genetic defect. Also, some rather old Buddy Guy, showing off a bit on The First Time I Met the Blues.

Very cool video. They don't bother to beep the horn. But what I noticed most was the traffic. If things are so bad, why all the traffic?

It reminds me of driving in midtown NYC. 

Bill Clinton's ongoing pussycat chasing. Not sure people will want more of this in their White House. I mean, like, it's OK if it isn't general knowledge, but when it's indiscreet, it is tacky.

Europe of the future. Video. No Pasaran. Whoa. Watch this, UK citizens: you are getting there.

African medicine. The President of Gambia has discovered the cure for AIDS. Something for Africa to feel proud about.

Are conservatives losing the internet wars? Hog on Ice thinks so. There is no conservative Soros to pay and to organize bloggers, and most conservatives are too busy with work, family, sports, volunteering, etc. to have time to read, much less to write, for blogs.

The tunnels of Passchaendaele. BBC. Now potato fields, filled with blood. Painful to contemplate. Has anyone forgiven Germany?

Hirsi Ali: Hero. TCS

Happy Abortion! Send her a card. She'll appreciate it. Reasoned Audacity. Yes, they make cards, but I doubt Hallmark makes them, yet.

Ham Nation News. Video. She is cute and funny.

Buddhism having a big resurgence in Vietnam. I enjoy reading that. Religion is a sign of freedom from the state.

More Gandhi bashing. Powerline. Who made this jerk a saint? And why did I just buy it, without thinking, for so long?

More on the Shadow Wolves. Cool. They are hunting Al Quaida in Afghanistan. Synthstuff

Be Here Now. Ram Dass has a website.

Leisure in the USA: Everyone has more (if they want it), but the higher your income, the less you get. That figures. Hard workers work hard. If money is your goal, you don't focus on leisure.

The Constitution is just an old piece of paper. Yglesias - read the comments on the Second Amend. (h/t, Althouse). Why does the Left want to take my guns away? Why do they care so much? I hardly ever shoot people, without good reason.

Bin Laden, in 2001 (h/t, Townhall):

We experienced the Americans through our brothers who went into combat against them in Somalia, for example. We found they had no power worthy of mention. There was a huge aura over America -- the United States -- that terrified people even before they entered combat. Our brothers who were here in Afghanistan tested them, and together with some of the mujahedeen in Somalia, God granted them victory. America exited dragging its tails in failure, defeat, and ruin, caring for nothing. America left faster than anyone expected. It forgot all that tremendous media fanfare about the new world order, that it is the master of that order, and that it does whatever it wants. It forgot all of these propositions, gathered up its army, and withdrew in defeat, thanks be to God.”

We have crocuses in the snow, this morning.

Time, Inc. is shrinking fast. Deservedly so. They do have some fine writers/reporters, but people just do not want their lefty pablum nowadays.

The science of jury selection. I have heard about these jury consultants. Big bucks. Psychology Today: Unnatural Selection

Kondracke thinks Bush and congress can agree on immigration reform this year. RCP. That's what I'm afraid of. If we can send Mexico a bill for $10 million per illegal, I'd consider it - but I'd still reject it.

Another major scientist says anthropogenic warming is a crock.

A Great Wall of Bacon? I like that idea. Yum. Powerline. It's about CAIR.

The science of jury selection. I've read about these jury consultants. Big bucks. Psychology Today

This question, via Driscoll, via Blair:

If you’re already getting burglarized, do you really want to add to your problems by confronting a desperate criminal with your own loaded weapon?

Umm, damn right I want to. Make my day.

More Euro riots - but different, this time. Tangled Web

What's your view on gays in the military? I think I tend to agree with Hillary's third or fourth version of her opinion, at Riehl. But I really don't know. I'd like to defer to the opinions of the officers and generals.

Thanks, Alphecca. You said it better than we could. Gun control idiot of the day. If rights are conditional, then they do not really exist at all.

May we ask, one more time, why it matters whether global climate is man-influenced or not?

Scott: Rev. Hagee's speech brought me to tears.

Have you already seen this video from the Hamas family kids?

Inside North Korea. Video clips, at Michelle

His face, eight years of photos compressed. Unique.

Bush is so wrong on immigration, but his worrying about Mexico's problems is over the top. Would someone please remind him that that is not his job.

Darfur. Can anyone do anything? EU Referendum

A fertility program for gay men. Is this odd, or am I old-fashioned?

Cops can sue you if hurt protecting you. Who knew? There is something wrong with that.

Who are the victims in the Flying Imam story? Blue Crab. I would have been off that airplane in a New York minute. Sue me.

There's a sucker born every minute. A naive global warming believer gets scammed. No Looking Backwards

Does anybody like No Child Left Behind? I doubt it. Pejman. You can blame Bush for this usurpation of state sovereignty. For the children, of course. One of his top three costly mistakes (along with the Medicare drug program and his immigration policies).

Eco-fascism in the UK. Moonbattery

The media bias poll. Willisms

One billion people are online. Club for Growth. A shame they don't all visit Maggie's. It's their loss.

How Moslems are taking over Antwerp.

The mantra that we must upend the health care arrangements and economics of the 85% of us with insurance, polls usually showing 80% satisfaction, in order to subsidize the inflated, undeserving and irresponsible bulk of the uninsured 15% is public policy insanity, driven by the Left’s obsession with enlarging government and bureaucrats’ power over us via a government-run, nationalized health care system.

Bruce Kesler, at Democracy Project

Yes, that is the pattern. Create a sense of crisis, and then bring in Daddy Government to take over. Same with global warming - same with everything.

Is it OK to leave "post-fetal tissue" lying around? Cramer. I call this a  natural extension of the abortion ethic.

The pumps don't work cuz the vandals took the handles? New defective pumps in NO.

Now everybody is piling on Al Gore. Hey, he meant well, didn't he? Or did he? Small Dead Polar Bear has update.

What is a Spartan workout? Synthstuff

Pelosi gets booed. She is taking it from all sides.

Behead those who insult Persia. More insanity from Iran. Good commentary at Classical Values.

Greeks told they will need to work during the summer. Such a hardship

The wild and crazy French. French courts say marriage is between a man and a woman.

Austin Bay: We aren't losing in Iraq. TCS

Deconstructionism and the law. Volokh. Hasn't this dumb fad run its course yet?

Hispanics vs. Blacks. You can imagine how LaShawn feels about that.

NYT tries to provide cover for CAIR. Captain Ed

Maggie's Farm is one of my favorite blogs because they are the only blog that would post an article on rubber boots.

A loyal reader. (Appreciate that comment, because 99% of political blather is ephemera. On the other hand, that remaining 1% can really get you. We try to catch that 1%, plus some of the other stuff in life that really matters - like boots, and God, and fishing, etc.)

Yuppifying Dunkin' Donuts? Tell me it isn't true.

War between the fly fisherman and the bait fishermen, in Maine

How exercise is good for your brain

Organic food? A silly notion. A food writer obsesses over the subject. Time.

Meet Ben. Michelle

Idaho prof: Execute Republicans

Jim McGreevy wants child support. Gimme a break.

Dems opt for socialism. Democracy Project

The way you walk determines your attractiveness.

Neo-neo has just decided that she loves Leonard Cohen

How to kill a country. Zimbabwe, in Atlantic Monthly (h/t, Viking)

NYT says "cool it with the global warming hype". Blue Crab has comments. I think the backlash is only beginning.

Who is getting very rich over carbon credits? Moonbattery

Joe Lieberman as quoted in Powerline:

There is something profoundly wrong when opposition to the war in Iraq seems to inspire greater passion than opposition to Islamist extremism. There is something profoundly wrong when there is so much distrust of our intelligence community that some Americans doubt the plain and ominous facts about the threat to us posed by Iran. And there is something profoundly wrong when, in the face of attacks by radical Islam, we think we can find safety and stability by pulling back, by talking to and accommodating our enemies, and abandoning our friends and allies. Some of this wrong-headed thinking about the world is happening because we're in a political climate where, for many people, when George Bush says "yes," their reflex reaction is to say "no." That is unacceptable.

More here.

A patriotic reveller. Somebody said these cute art photos were from Mardi Gras, but I think they are from this fun and artistic festival on Key West. My only question: Is that paint sugared frosting? Yum. Or is it lead-based paint? If our Editor will permit such art, I may decide to use this art for a little while, to attract the well-deserved attention of art-lovers to my random posts.

Barone. Berger and Libby: A tale of two crimes

Chavez "will build heaven on earth." Good deal. Free money and free babes like the photo? Sign me up, Hugo.

World's largest horse, with video

How we are going to get screwed by this subsidized ethanol scam.

Swiss reject nationalized medicine, overwhelmingly. Democracy Project

Separate bedrooms to improve your marriage?

Oprah's school too strict? Sounds like a normal American boarding school. Structure and disciple are necessary for the youth! Including me.

Poll on the DC gun ban. Gun-haters will hate this poll.

An EU speed limit for the Autobahn? The Germans will love that.

Four year-olds in UK being taught same-sex stories. View from the Right. Is there a point at which we can term perversion "perversion"? Or is anything just swell? I do not have the answer. I only like girls over 16, but I like them plenty. Problem is that they do not seem to like me all that much. Nerdy and awkward. If you enjoy that sort of thing, call me.

Bernard Lewis discusses the Crusades, via Asst. Village Idiot. Indeed, the Crusades were the European response to the Moslem invasion that closed Jerusalem.

European Jews heading for the exits. Crittenden

The political economy of alternative energy, and the surge of rent-seeking. Kling at TCS (h/t, Mankiw, who we will add to our blogroll. We need an economics section.)  Update: Done.

12 different views on global warming. Live Science. You already know my view: It doesn't matter and I don't care.

Hillary: Walter Reed proves we need more govt-run health care. Scrappleface

An Usama bin Ladin mini-biography, at Horsefeathers. Definitely worth reading.

Who let CAIR into the US Capitol?

Lewis in American Thinker. It begins:

If "one's man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," then all wars are the same, liberation equals conquest, tyranny equals democracy, aggression equals defense, and Churchill equals Hitler.

That seems to be the hidden premise of European, and especially Franco-German cant against the American-British overthrow of Saddam. Because the truth is of course that George W. Bush's decision to overthrow Saddam for fear that he was armed with WMDs, is a lineal descendant of FDR's decision to come to the aid of Britain against Nazi Germany, Harry S. Truman's decision to fight in Korea, and Woodrow Wilson's decision to aid Western countries against Prussian militarism in World War I. The United States involved itself in these conflicts to prevent larger and terrible consequences for itself before being militarily attacked by Germany.

Whole thing here.

Editor's Note: The News Junkie has a thing about girls. Pardon us if you have opened Maggie's in a public work or educational setting in which some lesbian females or limp metrosexuals might be offended. Too darn bad. I am the Editor Dog, but I am not totalitarian. And I do enjoy the lovely female form myself, especially when presented as "art." And even when not presented as art. Big or small, we love 'em all.

Some of these linkworthy links are via Junk Science, and some are ones I found.

Solar Variation, at Wikipedia. Does the sun's output vary? Yes, it does. Not a whole lot, though. I am still inclined to blame Mr. Sun for our climate, in general. He is more than a big lightbulb.

The UN Global Warming report will scare people...if they take it seriously. I would never take anything from the UN seriously: they are a political organization.

A temp vs. CO2 graph. But what is cause and what is effect? CO2 is such a trivial part of the atmosphere, it's difficult to believe it could be a climate determinant compared, say, with water vapor.

A global climate debate in NYC this week. Wish I could go. It deserves a live blogger.

Dr. Lindzen: The bogus religion of our age. Daily Mail

Did the lack of sunspots sink the Titanic? NOAA

Kim du Toit figured out why the BBC would have made the swindle documentary, and he got it right. Right for the wrong reason.

Elk Crossing. SISU

Fred Thompson? Ann at Instapundit. Also, Surber. He was so good in Hunt for Red October that I would vote for him for anything. "This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it..."

UK: Your tax dollars at work. Blair. This begs for revolution. Arm yourselves.

Hillary: I'm the next JFK. I thought she was the next Eleanor Roosevelt, or the next Al Jolson. Now JFK? Who next? George Washington?

When I kill somebody, get me this judge.

Ivy League Admissions. It ain't your grandpa's Ivy League. Class, wealth, donations? What matters, and is it important anyway? NY Review of Books

Let's get clear about the Dem plan for Iraq. Dinocrat

Ethanol is stupid. Indeed it is. Blue Crab

Daniel Ortega makes abortion illegal. The EU goes berserk. No respect for the values of others.

Pull out Now!  Haha. Never Yet melted

Fitzgerald's eternal shame. Driscoll

More Georgians on the way to Iraq. No, not our Georgians.

continuation page below is an error -

Watch the documentary Bird Dog posted last night. It's about an hour, but it goes fast. The new bumper sticker: "Gore Lied: Children Cried." Indeed, Gore admitted lying in his movie. His rationale for doing so? "A greater good."

Powerline would vote for Bob Dylan before Hagel. Same here.

What's the deal betweens the Clintons and the Chinese? Frontline

WaPo: Here comes the river of blood! Blue Crab

Unemployment drops some more. Not much more room to improve.

What kind of "green" are we talking about?

The proletarianization of doctors. Stumbling

The FBI story is disheartening. Thousands of personal records were involved, apparently. Someone should be fired. This is precisely what people were afraid of: abuse of the power.

Tenure and non-profits. Interesting. Of course, you could include government under non-profits, right?

Some clips from The Great Global Warming Swindle at Never Yet Melted - appropriately enough. Will this get the Oscar next year?

Another Bush lie. We know there are no Al Quaida in Iraq, so this must be an error. (h/t, Viking)

Slightly used mobile homes, real cheap.

New movie "300" drawing big crowds. Cool.

The Mayor of Hazleton, PA  wants to start a movement to address the burdens of illegals. Small Town Defenders

More on the French mandating work-time naps. A sign of the true nanny state is requiring a Nursery School tradition of adults. How about milk and cookies too?

The defection of the Iranian General proves that the US has not been sitting on their hands. Sounds like a major intel coup to me.

Do rats have consciousness? Some evidence that they are capable of metacognition. Does this mean that they have souls?

Adding to blogroll: EU Referendum

A statement by someone at dinner last night: "Putin is the only Western leader who uncompromisingly puts his own country's interests first."

Image: The .45 Colt M-1911A1, one of the most famous handguns in the world. This pistol was discussed on a thread yesterday.

A punt gun is one way to shoot clay targets. Video.

Iceland is a Laffer Laboratory. Who knew? Conspiracy

Free trade and the Dems. Caught between brainless populism and their party's best interests. Bloomberg

Get your own Ann Coulter talking doll here.

Sarbanes and Oxley "wish they had done it differently." Thanks a lot, guys. It's called the Law of Unintended Consequences.

An academic wants to "bring back the campus". The NY Sun.

Proof of the surge's success. A good one at Dr. Sanity - a cartoon.

Real badminton. Scroll down. Amazing.

Whose fault is it if you're illegal? Wizbang. The whole story of the factory raid at And rightly So

Bono's Red Campaign. It is something about money for Africa, having to do with kids buying stuff, or whatever. $100 million in marketing costs: net $18 million. At Advertising Age:  http://adage.com/article?article_id=115287&rf=23m (h/t, Smart Christian)

UN says Canada "not nice enough."  Am Princess (fixed)

Like Vista? Coyote doesn't like it yet, and explains why.

Is euthanasia a slippery slope? Volokh. Sure could be. These things should be left to Drs and their patients.

Taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

NYT proposes taxing breathing - because of the CO2 output. Don't hold your breath for that to happen. But why tax it? Why not just make it illegal? I mean...if it's a crisis and all... Maybe the NYT editorial staff could begin by setting an example, and voluntarily quit breathing and killing trees for a few weeks.

Scooter? I like Cassandra's take on the story.

The 9th Circus wants Christianity censored.  h/t, Basil. Of course they do. The 9th is the embodiment of Establishment Moonbatism, and they all seem to reinforce each other.

Baby loves disco. This is sick. CSM

The Polar Bear Surge: Their numbers are way up. Riehl. Who knew they liked Palm trees, white sandy beaches, and Rum Punches?

Update on Liberty National, and their new clubhouse. This golf course has a big future, I would guess. Some location, and some views.

Harvard's "dreadful" new prez: Heather MacDonald at City Journal. A professional victimologist. So much for "Veritas."

I am a small man. Shape of Days. Shape of Days never holds back in his writing and can be scathingly honest - to a fault. No wonder he can't get a date. I like the guy. A quote:

I’m a small man. I don’t mean in stature, though that’s certainly true. No, I mean I’m small of spirit. I’m bitter. I’m dark on the inside and not in a good way. Sometimes that darkness comes spilling out, no matter how much I try to hold it in, and I hurt people’s feelings. This never ceases to surprise me. Not that I hurt them, but that they’re upset by it. Aren’t they like me? Don’t they hurt all the time anyway? What’s the difference?

This is what makes me a small man.

Hillary at the Nixon impeachment hearings. After being her boss at the hearings,

Jerry Zeifman decided that he could not recommend her for any position of public or private trust.

S,C and A explains why (keep reading - it's towards the end), and it isn't pretty. The truth about this creepy woman is well-hidden by the MSM.

NY State taxpayers 68% responsible for the first WTC bombing. Makes you wonder. Overlawyered. If a Moslem bombs my house, am I 68% responsible for it?

GM might buy Chrysler. Hmmm. A consideration of that, plus a brief history of the Big Three.

Hooking up. Fun sport for boys. But is it fun for girls - or good for them? Book review.

Raising diversity numbers by importing blacks. WaPo.

How markets process complex information. A brief intro to the topic. Cafe Hayek

Sowell on education, in RCP (h/t, Dinocrat). A quote:

Not since the days of the Hitler Youth have young people been subjected to more propaganda on more politically correct issues.

Accumulated error. Man, does that concept apply to life in general. Sippican Cottage

France bans reporting on violence by citizens. LGF (h/t, Driscoll). It's called facing reality, the French way.

Cattle are the #1 source of CO2 production. So why do Greenies go after cars? Anyway, PETA is all fired up. Watch PETA begin killing cows in fields.

New study says:

Americans now view government as more of a barrier than a helping hand, and its failure to be accountable in a way that produces results is central to these doubts….Perhaps the most stunning finding in the survey is that just 13 percent believe the federal government would spend additional money well while 83 percent say it would be wasted….

Kesler discusses at Dem. Project. I just wonder whether these findings are anything new: they sound like typical, traditional American views to me.

I feel badly for Scooter. Also, surprised by the verdict.

Girl Scouts still selling sin, door to door.

Where did this Iranian general go? ABC. Hope we have him.

Individual choices drive most American income disparities. Villainous

Filler news and real news: The owner of FARK at Instapundit

More reporters take on advocacy role. Duh

China and the stock market wobble: The Chinese banking system, and the problems with investing in China. Samizdata

Canadian diamonds? Yes.

Hirsi Ali is a "bombthrower"? So what is a real bombthrower?

America's favorite sport: beating up derelicts (scroll down). If you read Der Spiegel, you might think so. Admittedly, I do it once in a while when I am bored - but not daily.

New Jersey wants to ban .50 caliber guns. Reason: People don't need them. No, nor do the people "need" free speech or habeas corpus. They are just those obsolete constitutional rights...Indeed, government would be far more efficient without that Bill of Rights, wouldn't it? Left, right, or middle: anyone can come up with reasons to chip away at our Bill of Rights.

Adding to blogroll: Riehl World View

Image: On this bitterly cold day, I wanted to look at this garden in Fiesole.

H/T, Flopping:

17,000 scientists dispute man-made global warming theories. Piece on the new documentary at Anchoress. Interesting to see the founder of Greenpeace on the rational side of things.

Plus a quote in that piece from Anchoress which deserves to be a QQQ:

...the mediating intelligences are increasingly selective about which stories get oxygen and which are strangled at birth.

Darn right. That is why political blog posts exist. Otherwise, Maggie's Farm would be a happy and serene huntin' and fishin' and cookin' and gardenin' and readin' and shoppin' and shrinkologizin' and picture-takin' and nature-lovin' and travelin' and music and Jesus-praisin' blog.

Tangled Web has an amusing take-down of greenie hypocrites, especially of those who defend the sacred Green Leaders and their need to pollute to save the earth. "Everybody say 'Doom.'"

Investors don't get skittish every time the market wiggles. Market wiggles are of interest to traders and speculators, but not to investors. Investors either own a business they wish to own at a given price - or they simply invest in an entire market, and wait patiently over years, heedless of the bumps. 

Bogle of course agrees. And Stumbling and Mumbling explains why  investors should not follow market moves closely. Me? I do whatever Bob Brinker tells me to do. Never been wrong.

Edwards channels Jesus, and concludes that Jesus would be "appalled" by American selfishness and American's ignoring the plight of those around them.

I hear this as an insult - by a filthy-rich ("filthy" not because of his assets, but because of how he obtained them) ambulance-chasing lawyer who has just built an ostentatious and self-indulgent monument to himself - to the Americans, who are the most generous, most charitable people on earth by a long shot.

Furthermore, one thing Christians do not do is to take eachother's inventory by making judgements about the condition of eachother's faith. Christians worry more about the beam in their own eye. If I want your opinion of me, I'll ask for it.