Maggie's Farm

America is the most charitable nation in the world. RWN

Funniest Nativity scene I've ever seen. Come 'n get it, ACLU!

Breast-feeding saved those kids' lives.

Heather MacDonald goes after the race hustlers. A quote:

Since 1993, 11,353 people have been murdered in New York City. The large majority of victims and perpetrators have been black. Not a single one of those black-on-black killings has prompted protest or demonstrations from the city’s black advocates. Sharpton, Barron, et al. are happy to let thousands of black victims get mowed down by thugs without so much as a whispered call for “peace” or “justice”; it’s only when a police officer, trying to protect the public, makes a good faith mistake in a moment of intense pressure that they rise as vindicators of black life. (As for caring about slain police officers, forget about it. Sixteen cops—including several black policemen—have been killed since 1999, not one of whom elicited a public demonstration of condolence from the race hustlers.)

LaShawn: "Regardless of the findings, what could justify government-mandated racial discrimination, for crying out loud???" Piece here. LaShawn, we love ya, but you don't get it. It's not about skin color - it's about racial politics, pure and simple. I call it "plantation politics," regardless of the "community" involved.

Be careful what you wish for. If we cripple "big pharma," we hurt ourselves. The entire world depends on us for these pills. Who's gonna develop new meds - the Post office?

Why is Santa happy and tired? Because of his elves (T-rated). Yes, Rum and Coke - it's basic - and all-organic.

World's best dad. With a splendid and tear-jerking YouTube. It's about Dick Hoyt

Daniel Gross gets it wrong, on medical care. Dem Project. By the way, I am still demanding free legal care, free car insurance, free dental - and free beer. Oh - almost forgot - did I mention free happiness?

Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, has a new book. Interview at TCS

I have heard of Britney Spears (current winner in the Firecrotch Derby), Bill Clinton (runner-up? Was he some politician or something?), Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Penn, Al Gore, etc. But who is Norman Borlaug? A genuine celeb.

Liked Bird Dog's Advent post, but it received not a single comment. Too corny, or what? I kinda thought it captured the idea.

Save the House Mouse! Classical Values. Found one drowned, but well-preserved, in an uncapped bottle of extra-virgin olive oil in my cabinet recently. These mice are Euro-weenies, and do not belong in the USA. If you catch one, mail it back to France. But they make good toys for cats, if you can stand cats. Yes, being the finicky sort, I tossed out the bottle of oil.

That's the USS Makin Island (LDH 8), which will not be commissioned in San Francisco. Ship's website here.

More than a vagina: Part-time Pundit. Feminism finds its "inner slut."

Russia update, with Putin. CSM

Re-reading Frances Fukayama. Dean Barnett

Is Nancy Pelosi a political genius? Wizbang

Kotb's Islamic sex program. (h/t, Jules C.)

Hunted yesterday and this morning in northern New Hampshire (near Pittsburg, NH - The Grouse Capital of New England), and now back to good old Pittsfield, MA, with a few grouse in the bag along with some dawdling woodcock who dawdled too long. And a very tired pup, with plenty of cuts from the brambles. Our ancestors sure did name a lot of towns after William Pitt, did we not?

Intrepid update. Ready to sail again. And Rightly So. I liked her fine the way she was.

Hilarious YouTube: IED Hunter. Oldie but a goldie. Oh crikey!

Wealth and education increase Islamic jihadism. View from the Right. Oh crikey!

Those crazy Episcopalians. Or Anglicans. Or whatever. Falling apart at the seams. Lucianne

The AP busted yet again! .Atlas

"Goat fornicators"? That isn't nice. Very rude, and almost insulting. But is it true, multiculturally-speaking? RWHowler. Let's be tolerant of other cultural traditions: some goats are cute and horny, too! Is there a film in this? Brokeback Mountain Goat? "Love is a force of nature." Oh - it's already been done.

Queen Bertha? Forgot about her, but remembered King Aethelbert, her pagan hubbie. The Dark Ages.  Early Christian findings in Britain. h/t, Smart Christian

Opie sent this in:

Chavez will be reelected today and Castro is on his deathbed and everybody goes to Cuba to party. There is a  lot happening in Latin America these days. This is one of the best sites for information.Click here: Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina

The moose? We didn't see her either until she walked out of that patch of spruce on the lower left, after the camera was zipped-up back in my pocket. There is a brown shadow - we think that was her at the edge of the water.

"Critical thinking, " in practice. Rosen at Rocky Mtn News, via RCP. Yes, it is a euphemism for anti-American cant.

Giant Gambian rats in Florida. Nice.

Socialism in France: Not very socialistic, in fact. American.com

Kling, from a piece at TCS:

I have been losing interest in the contests between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. I am more anxious about the outcome of the struggle between innovators and incumbents in the field of education.

The incumbent policy is more of the same. Both parties in Washington champion more government involvement in primary education and more subsidies for existing colleges and universities.

The innovative policy is to support any alternative to our current education system. Ultimately, we would trust consumers to keep the best alternatives and discard the rest.

Great piece. Read it all here.

Send a "Thank you" to a soldier. Here.

Good job, Mahmood. One less scumbag. Cramer.

Mob rule on campus. A summary. (h/t, Instap.)

Britney Spears' private parts, at Ace. Sheesh. That's one way to get some attention. But exactly who is Britney Spears?

Haha. Canada Tory "cuts" will produce more Paris Hiltons. Small Dead Animals. Maybe more Britney Spearses, too?

"How dare Mr. Rangel denigrate my son?" YARGB

Why people want to die in hospitals. Kevin MD

Standing up for Jesus. SISU

The fire next time.  One big meteor did it. But the earth recovered, and not all that long ago. This should be reassuring to the doom and gloomers. Not to worry, Greenies: one day, the cockroaches will rule the earth and the nasty humans will be extinct. Gaia will be lovely once again.

What's the deal with "corporate responsibility"? I don't know. Who does? Samizdata

NYT discovers that income effects job choices. Sometimes, yes, but not always. How stupid are they down there? Conspiracy. In freedom, you make your own decisions for your own reasons. Money matters to lots of people, NYT. Money is fun, and gives you choices in life.

More good stuff in the same vein from Asst Village Idiot:

Financial activities have financial payoffs. Social activities have social payoffs. Spiritual activities... oh, why bother. There seems this unaccountable desire to mix these categories. Because the activities of people besides the CEO might be more socially important or spiritually important, people think it is immoral that they be paid less.

Markets apply for work, too. It has to do with how much economic value you add to an enterprise. This is news? If you don't want to make a lot of money, fine - wonderful. You are free to chose what you do, but grown-ups don't bitch about the consequences of their choices.

"Behavior associated with a security probe".  Maybe those Imams were doing a security probe. Is that paranoid?

A couple of happy Maggie's Farmers, up north, out of the brush and on the highway:

What does one do with 50,000 DVDs that nobody wants? Hey Al, we have some ideas for ya. I'll take about 30, for Superbowl beer coasters. Recycling, ya know? It saves the Earth!

Chicago doesn't want Christmas linked with the nativity. Are they insane? Wizbang. Hey, Chicago! Christmas is a celebration of Christ's birth, and the annual reminder of the possibility for Christ to be reborn, in each of our hearts, to make us fully human. What planet do they live on, out there? It's not even Advent yet, and the baby Jesus is scaring the bejesus out of them. If the baby is scary, how about the adult?

Never believe the AP. One example. Gateway

"Supremes tell NYT to pound sand." Wizbang again

Were those Imams on the airplane trying to provoke a reaction? Sure sounds like it. You wouldn't get me on that airplane. Rick Moran agrees - so we must be right!

Con Law: The "informal process." Never heard of that before. Who made that up?

Socialized medicine update: Worstall

France's No Go areas. Mapped! (h/t, No Pasaran)

A Trojan Horse. How difficult is it to get into places with one? Youtube

Racism and redistributionism: It's not what they tell you. Volokh

Dartmouth: Self-satire gone psychotic. I can't believe these bozos. Powerline. (The thing is, people are upset that they want to play a team called indians.) Fortunately, you can still get Dartmouth Indian gear here.  And if you want to read something intense to the point of lunacy on the subject, which sounds as if it is written by an "educator," try this for paranoia.

"I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK." A good day for this one.

British Airways backs off from banning God and Christ. Very wise. As we always say, "Who is afraid of a cross - except Satan?"

PMS Survival tips: RW Howler. Wait until the end.

Mere tokenism in Islam: Blair

Meant to link this earlier, but forgot to. Michelle on what American journalists should be thankful for.  We would not have the contempt we have for journalists if they only told us, up front, what position they were shilling for - but it's obvious, if you do not trust them.

Islam is the Roach Motel of religions: Wizbang

Dept of Anything Goes: Moonbattery. Do you have to pay the friendly animals?

Women: fastest growing sector of hunters in the US. Yahoo News

I hope our readers had a fine Thanksgiving, with people they care about. My theory about the cooking  part - it's the whole deal. Eating isn't special. What is special is having everybody banging around the kitchen together, all day, with no-where to go and nothing else to do. That's a good thing, and very rare. Makes it better than Christmas, I think, as a family time. Christmas shopping? It's for the birds, unless you have little kids or a wife who expects a trinket for putting up with your flaws. Make 'em something simple from the heart, like a Mincemeat Pie or a Dylan bootleg mix.

Turkey Coma.  Did you get one? I got a semi-coma. The science is here.

The NYT: Way wrong on guns: Aphecca. Wrong - and lying SOBs, too.

Communitarianism, individualism, etc. Good stuff from First Things. Samizdata

Are you ready for the Moslem bomb? American Thinker

War is part of life. Afraid so. Flares. Soldiers know this. We would not be here without them. They are our shield.

Safe cars, ranked. Not many American cars on the list. Daily Pundit. No wonder the unions want protectionism: they build cars that the market doesn't want.

No men next to little girls. And rightly so. Definitely not. We might steal their candy or their teddy bear. Or their Barbie - ooh ooh. No doubt - We are EVIL.

Who is dying in Iraq, by color. Villainous. Who cares what color? All great American folks, dying for us, and taking bullets for us. No - not for "us" - for me.  While we do life as usual.

Our next nuclear age:  Popular Mechanics, via good piece at Driscoll.

Almost funny: Miss Belgium is a Muslim beauty, but she has nasty friends. View from the Right. Sheesh. Muslim version of a dumb blond, I guess.

Funny: Lieberman refuses to endorse Gore: Wizbang. Duh. If he gives Gore the time of day, I'd be surprised. I would drop Gore like a globally-warmed potato.

Caveman Chemistry. Cool

DO NOT ENGAGE! Dealing with families with political "differences". Ex-Donk. Dang - why didn't somebody tell me sooner! Bunch of dang Commies who want everything free. Meaning, to me, paid for by their next-door neighbor. Economic part of their brain was damaged at birth, or at Education.

Part 1 of Instapundit's Digital Camera Carnival. Part 2 today, sometime.

Dean Barnett likes Mitt.

Image: Our pals, in Manitoba

What is so great about Turkey?  Besides that it is traditional, and you get the stuffing? Is anything really as bland as a supermarket turkey?

Statistical analysis for activists: Dust my Broom

What is meant by "in Christ"? Middlebrow

If it makes you feel good. Aspen takes on global warming. It accomplishes nothing, of course, but it does provide that nice warm feeling of virtue. (h/t, Basil)

Dept. of Lunatics Running the Asylum: "Progressive" NYC school run by students. What is the psychological age of the grown-ups at this school?

Is this what universities are for?

Our University thrives on finding solutions to vexing societal issues. This is an historic moment, and an opportunity to apply our collective creative, energetic thinking to discover the most effective ways to support diversity. We will succeed only if we have thoughtful input from everyone in our community.

That is from Mary Sue Coleman, via a piece in  Powerline. I guess "diversity" and "solving vexing social issues" has replaced truth and character as their guiding light. My opinion: She is full of baloney. Plus she is seeking ways to dodge the law because she appears to believe that her values are more important than either law or the will of the people. The arrogance and foolishness of academia never ceases to amaze, and, if I had a real skin color, I would be deeply offended by such condescension - but my evil side would probably try to milk it for all it's worth.

Photo: From Dr. Bob's Thanksgiving recipe post

 Google search volume, and news volume, on several major topics. Funny.

Who in the world is happy? Cramer.

"I wish to become an illegal alien" It's genius. Villainous Company. "Everything free in America!"

Here come the polygamists. Althouse. Fine, says I...as long as each one doesn't get a copy of my American Express card. And they have to support their own kids, etc. "Yo, little wifies! It's Party Time! Hand over your work checks, and let's rock!"

Fine piece on buying your own Sunday school texts, and the coming German-American economic collapse. Assistant Village Idiot

A new victim class: "Asexuals," in Britain. Of all places - big surprise. Eat your wheaties, Brits!  RWHowler

Is diversity above the law? Daily Pundit. And a quote on the subject, which I know from experience to be true, from Stuart Taylor via piece at Betsy:

The notion that racial preferences help the disadvantaged is a sham. Most go to children of powerful politicians, civil-rights activists, and other relatively well-off blacks and Hispanics. This does nothing for the people most in need of help, who lack the minimal qualifications to get into the game.

Beyond that, racial preferences actually harm disadvantaged minorities and many others. They allow black "leaders" and white liberals to ignore black America's most dire problems -- fatherless families, bad schools, a dying work ethic -- while they preen as virtuous for favoring "the son of a black doctor at the expense of a poor [Asian or white] student whose parents didn't go to college," in Gratz's words.

Worst newspaper contest at Powerline

Chavez and Kennedy: Perfect together. WaPo

750 hp Brabus cop car.

2000 petition to return cross to William and Mary Chapel. Two points: 1. If you want tolerance, then give tolerance. 2. If you want to be a dhimmi, then at least leave the churches alone - or try to mess with the synagogues, mosques and temples, etc equally intolerantly. And, may I add, anyone who is "offended" by a cross is either insane or a lying manipulator.

Video of the Monarch butterfly invasion of Mexico

Latest Consumer Reports car reliability data

Lyndon Johnson said it (h/t, Moonbattery):

The Times is run by a bunch of commies, and they want to get out of Vietnam and yield it to them, and I don't think I can quite do that.

The United Church of Canada has gone over the edge, forgotten their mission, and lost their way. RWN. Very sad.

How does this gopher know this? Smart gopher.

It's all about pandering to the Hispanic voters. Everyone knows that by now: the Dems see a new voting bloc for their plantation of grateful dependents. RW News

Captain Ed thinks blogs have power. I disagree. Netroots, nutroots, rightroots, whatever - worthwhile, but minimal meaningful power to persuade. Mostly preaching to the choir. Glad to see that Barnett sees it the same way.

Brown will not have open political discussion. Pathetic.

I thought it was made from dragon meat. Darn those lying capitalist pigs - it's made of pork.

"Take my arm, take my leg, Oh, baby, don't you take my head" There should be a market in organs. Why not? Is there a moral issue? Marginal Rev.

Europeans want "climate curbs."  Fine. Let 'em have 'em. They are on a determined path to suicide anyway - why not go all the way?

Volokh takes a look at Arthur Brook's book, Who Really Cares?, and notes some of his own accumulated data that "strong redistributionists" tend to be unhappier and angier people:

In terms of relative odds, strong redistributionists (category 1) had about two to three times higher odds of reporting that in the prior seven days they were “angry” (2.0 times higher odds), “mad at something or someone” (1.9 times), “outraged at something somebody had done (1.9 times), sad (2.1 times), lonely (2.3 times), and unable to “shake the blues” (3.5 times). Similarly, anti-redistributionists had about two to four times higher odds of reporting being happy (3.8 times) or at ease (2.1 times). The data are consistent with redistributionists in the general public being more angry, sad, lonely, worried, and restless, and less happy, at ease, and interested in life.

Not only do redistributionists report more anger, but they report that their anger lasts longer. Further, when asked about the last time they were angry, strong redistributionists were more than twice as likely as strong opponents of leveling to admit that they responded to their anger by plotting revenge. Last, both redistributionists and anti-capitalists expressed lower overall happiness, less happy marriages, and lower satisfaction with their financial situations and with their jobs or housework.

But do these attitudes have behavioral consequences? In other words, are the data consistent with the hypothesis that anti-redistributionists are more generous or altruistic? Data from self-reports appear to support the notion that those who oppose income redistribution are somewhat more altruistic in their behavior than redistributionists.

Read the whole thing. I don't know what it all means, but it's interesting. Sounds like disgruntled people, with an envy problem. Envy is a sin, last I heard. I envy people who have no envy.

A feature of the Orwellian state is the destruction of the language and along with it, common sense and rational thinking. Hence, the use of state force translates into the idea of “support”, and “we, the community” becomes larger than the individual components that make the thing what it is in the first place.

Lisa, at Dust My Broom, in a piece about the Brit nursery rhymes

Silicone breast implants are back! After a 14 -year ban and how many millions for lawyers, and the destruction of a fine and huge American business.  Gwynnie emailed some nice examples, here. Those are truly superb phony tits indeed, but the meaningful use is in breast reconstruction.

Why New York City hated Lincoln as much as they hate Bush today: NY Sun

Sudan closing Darfur off to outside world. CSM

Bush is not a conservative: The Am. Conservative. What's all this name-calling about?

Barone: Is abortion fading as a key political issue?

A city-wide smoking ban, including in your car? Gee, I'd hate to be the victim of my own second-hand smoke. Why not ban everything that you don't like, if freedom is not on your agenda? Right Wing Nuthouse. May we begin with banning overweight women in sweat pants? But what I really want to ban from my town are intrusive, nosy, nanny, smarty-pants, over-controlling jerks who see it as their mission to run my life. Runnning one's own ought to be job enough for anyone.

Killer asteroids.  A greater threat to human life than warming or cooling. But is the UN doing anything about it? Is the government? Captain Ed. I'm scared. Nancy Pelosi - or Superman, save me!

How not to get your ass kicked by the police. A Chris Rock YouTube (h/t, Hawkins)

Smart bullets - Bionic hornet. I want these for my next round of sporting clays. Reminds me of a guy I know who shot crows out of the air with a .22 when he was a kid. Not an easy feat, and not too intelligent in a residential area.

Basics of nihilism. Howler

Take that dang burkha off! It takes all of the fun out of girl-watching. Viking. And some of those Moslem gals are hot, but, unlike the fundy Moslem fellows, we don't do rape: we enjoy attraction and affection returned - which is admittedly difficult to find. Nobody said life is easy.

Good memorial for Milton Friedman, at NY Sun - good choice of pieces. (h/t, Powerline). One quote from a Friedman interview:

Government today controls something like 40% of the resources of the country. A decent government controls like 10% or 15%. The virtue is that government is so inefficient, it waste great bulk of those resources. If it used those resources efficiently, it could do great damage.

Who walks the walk? Conservatives care more about other people. A new book, via Sister Toldjah

"The little one has a big mouth." The Dixie Chicks sing I will never apologize. (h/t, Viking)

Quote from Steyn's new book America Alone, via Betsy, via Canada Free Press:

"Our enemies are small worms," Adolf Hitler told his generals in August 1939. "I saw them at Munich." In Europe today, as in the thirties, the political class prostrates itself before an insatiable force that barely acknowledges the latest surrender before moving on to the next invented grievance. Indeed, a formal enemy is all but superfluous to requirements. Bomb us, and we agonize over the "root causes." Decapitate us, and our politicians rush to the nearest mosque to declare that "Islam is a religion of peace." Issue bloodcurdling calls at Friday prayers to kill all the Jews and infidels, and we fret that it may cause a backlash against Muslims. Behead sodomites and mutilate female genitalia, and gay groups and feminist groups can't wait to march alongside you denouncing Bush and Blair. Murder a schoolful of children, and our scholars explain that to the "vast majority" of Muslims "jihad" is a harmless concept meaning "healthy-lifestyle low-fat granola bar." Thus the lopsided valse macabre of our times: the more the Islamists step on our toes, the more we waltz them gaily round the room.

From an interview about the Duke case, in Front Page:

Rape law needs modification. Until the 1970s, rape law was far too friendly to the defendant; now it is the reverse. Nifong has done many unethical things in this case, but he has been correct in one assertion: under North Carolina law, a jury can convict solely on the testimony of the accuser and her identifying her alleged assailants. That means that, as a matter of law, Reade Seligmann could be convicted—even Seligmann has electronic and physical evidence that can definitely prove his innocence (he's on videotape a mile away at the time of the alleged crime).

Duke, as an institution, has revealed a hollow moral core. Seven months into a case of what might be the highest-profile example of prosecutorial misconduct in the last decade, two Duke law professors and two Duke arts and sciences professors have publicly criticized Nifong. Meanwhile, Group of 88 members continues to defend their actions, even to the point of making demonstrably false public assertions about the players. Meanwhile, Brodhead has shown himself unwilling or unable to lead the institution, allowing what amounts to a "separate-but-equal" system to be established in Durham, under which Duke students are second-class citizens.

 The silence of North Carolina's political and legal establishment regarding Nifong's misconduct is stunning.

 The media needs to reconsider how it covers rape cases. To a greater extent than any crime other than child abuse, a presumption of guilt exists.

Are we at the point at which everyone gets upset if black guys get railroaded, but it's fine for white guys?  Reverse lynching? Whole piece here. (H/T, Dinocrat)

"A man of no appearance was arrested..." Tim Blair invented the term, but now it's beginning to get picked up. I think it is hilarious.

Inhofe has the cojones to say it like he sees it, on the climate change scam.

What you can do to stop global warming! Blair (again) explains that there is nothing that you can do. And, to top it all off, scientist proposes more pollution to shade us from mean old Mr. Sun.

From moderates to moonbats in one week. h/t, Instapundit

Ha ha. Everyone loves WalMart.

Image: A man of no appearance

Capitalism alive and well in Cuba's military. (h/t, Babalu)

The Free drinks  Lunch Project is underway. Haha (?)

Students who are ignorant of their ignorance. Inside Higher Ed

Sample questions for the US Naturalization Exam. Looks rather basic to me. What could you ask that would be simpler?

The tug-of-war for the Hispanic vote. Gandelman at Moderate Voice. It's a no-brainer: Both parties want Hispanic votes, while most Americans hate uncontrolled immigration. And now there is a critical mass of Hispanic votes...or future Hispanic votes.