Maggie's Farm

This came in over the transom:

Let me get this straight...

We're going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, signed by a president that also hasn't read it (and who smokes) with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's nearly broke.

What possibly could go wrong?

Newport ain't all fancy yachts. At 6am last weekend, these fishermen were lining up their dories to be towed out to sea:

It's so easy:

It begins:

"Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our humvees was disabled from RPG fire,  and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast."  That's not from an episode of The Unit or 24. It's not from an  anti-war movie. It's not from any newspaper or TV news reports I could find.

Whole thing at One Marine's View

St. Barts, 5/31/09

This came in over the transom, I know not whence:

THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE CRUISE

To The Point is excited to offer the ultimate adventure cruise along the pirate-infested coast of Somalia!

We board our luxury cruise ship in Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden near the entrance to the Red Sea, and disembark in Mombassa, Kenya seven adrenaline-charged days later.

Sorry about the unattractive link problem below, but they do work.

Guns, Intellect and Judgement are the Key Sotomayor Issues. Committee for Justice Blog: http://www.committeeforjustice.org/blog/2009/05/guns-intellect-judgment-are-key.html

Related from Kimball: Life Experience, Affirmative Action, and You: http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerkimball/2009/05/27/the-kind-of-justice-we-need-life-experience-affirmative-action-and-you/

George Will: Identity Justice - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/26/AR2009052602348.html

For cat lovers. Difficult to believe this:

George Will:

The Obama administration’s agenda of maximizing dependency involves political favoritism cloaked in the raiment of “economic planning” and “social justice” that somehow produce results superior to what markets produce when freedom allows merit to manifest itself, and incompetence to fail.

The administration’s central activity — the political allocation of wealth and opportunity — is not merely susceptible to corruption, it is corruption.

Taken with my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 with a 32x Leica optical zoom at 3 megapixels (only 18x at 10MP):

In over the transom. No wonder the press didn't show this:

TIGER WOODS' SPEECH AT THE INAUGURATION:

Tiger Woods received a special invitation to speak at the inauguration.  His inviters were stunned, when he did not deliver the message they expected.  You will see why the media swept it under the rug with no further ado.  And who and why a certain element is angry with Tiger. Below is the text of his speech, entitled: "You'll Never Walk Alone," as posted on his Web site - check news archives for Jan. 2009):

I grew up in a military family - and my roll models in life were my Mom and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods.  My dad was a Special Forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home.  They represented every branch of the service, and every rank.

In my Dad, and in those guests, I saw first hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve.  They come from every walk of life.  From every part of our country.  Time and again, across generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of night and far from home. 

Each day -- and particularly on this historic day -- we honor the men and women in uniform who serve our country and protect our freedom.  They travel to the dangerous corners of the world, and we must remember that for every person who is in uniform, there are families who wait for them to come home safely. 

I am honored that the military is such an important part, not just of my personal  life, but of my professional one as well.  The golf tournament we do each year here in Washington is a testament to those unsung heroes.

I am the son of a man who dedicated his life to his country, family and the military, and I am a better person for it.

In the summer of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, the man at whose memorial we stand, spoke to the 164th Ohio Regiment and said: 'I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country. Just as they have stood tall for our country - we must always stand by and support the men and women in uniform and their families.

Thank you, and it is now my pleasure to introduce the US Naval Glee Club.

******************************************************************

We have never been more proud of Tiger Woods than when I heard of his 2-minute tribute to the military at the Inaugural Celebration in Washington DC.  You know he was greatly pressured to be there.  Liberals have been mad at him for a decade for not joining their ranks.  You know he didn't want to be there.  So instead of paying homage to Obama, he paid tribute to our soldiers.  Not one time did Tiger mention Obama, the inauguration or the new administration.  He knew beforehand that his love for America, and appreciation for our military men & women would anger them further.  But Tiger is his own man; his father taught him to be his own man.

Editor's note: A careful reader tells us that this is a bogus story, and that our fact-checkers were in the pub. Tiger did give this speech, but at another time and place. Sorry to purvey a story in error.

On the weekend before trout season opens, our hunting and fishing club Chairman, the Fishing Chairman, and our manager perform the annual ritual of walking the length of our stream checking the beats, the conditions of the pools and of the paths, and generally making sure that things are up to snuff. We have a mile of this stream in CT, with some larger ponds and beaver marshes in it.

This was Friday, on a narrow section of the stream -

The Democrats have long had one-party control in California, aided by their radical environmentalist cohorts, and give us a good look at our national future.

They defeated an oil company's attempt to drill for oil off of Santa Barbara using slant drilling from shore, not an offshore platform.  Their rationale was that it would 'only slow the switch to renewables.'  Nobody had the nerve or knowledge to question “what renewables?”

They refuse to allow any more nuclear power here, so at the present time Los Angeles gets 50% of its electrical power from coal. 

An earlier attempt to reduce vehicle emissions with MTBE in gasoline resulted in a lot of contamination of water supplies. 

Now they are even considering banning the sale of black vehicles in California because they more energy to cool their interiors:  Click here: California’s Plan to Reduce Emissions...

“The California Air Resources Board has withdrawn an unpopular set of plans that would have effectively banned black vehicles as a way to reduce emissions. . . . Never mind that black is the second most popular car color.

“Instead of black, paint makers fiddling with compliance were finding a color described as “mud-puddle brown. The air resources board’s rule follows the accepted fact that the darker the color of car, the more it takes to cool the car, thus the increased emissions.

“Now, after facing global ridicule, the air resources board says it has no plans ‘at this time’ to regulate the color of car paint, according to a Los Angeles Times blog.”

Meanwhile, funniest of all, Sen. Feinstein is pushing legislation to prevent the development of both solar arrays and wind turbines in the Mojave Desert.  Click here: Watchdog Politics Examiner: Sen. Feinstein says no wind turbines in nearby desert 

“Senator Diane Feinstein of California has made it known that she does not want to see new energy projects, including that creating solar and wind power, in the pristine desert. “The area she is concerned about is between the Mojave National Reserve and Joshua Tree National Park, off the old Route 66 between the towns of Ludlow and Needles. About 800,000 acres make up this area.  The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing 130 applications for solar and wind energy development in the California desert, covering 1 million acres of public lands. “While Feinstein is being backed by the Route 66 Alliance, Myron Ebell, an energy expert with the pro-market Competitive Enterprise Institute said that this is ‘the first example of how hard it is going to be to realize President Obama's dream of a green-energy economy.’” However, Feinstein says that she is not engaged in a not-in-my-back-yard campaign.  “I’m a strong supporter of renewable energy and clean technology--but it is critical that these projects are built on suitable lands. “The area she is concerned about includes desert tortoise habitat, wildlife corridors, cactus gardens and the Amboy Crater--an inactive volcanic crater.”

 High desert photo by Gwynnie last week:

 Meanwhile, one hundred miles northwest, is the great Tehachapi wind farm, about which a blog in – of all places – Germany has the following notation:

Wind Plants of California's Tehachapi Pass

 The Tehachapi Pass is one of the world's largest producer of wind-generated electricity. The more than 5,000 wind turbines in the Tehachapi-Mojave wind resource area of Kern County generate approximately 1.3 Terawatt-hours (1,300,000,000 kWh) per year. This is enough electricity to meet the residential needs of more than 500,000 Southern Californians or nearly one million Europeans. The Tehachapi Pass is two hours north of Los Angeles and is frequently used by Hollywood producers for its dramatic scenery as in the movie Terminal Velocity. Every May the Kern Wind Energy Association and the Kern-Kaweah Chapter of the Sierra Club lead a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to view the spring wildflowers and the wind turbines. The hikers shown here have stopped for lunch atop Cameron Ridge, which affords spectacular views of the area's wind power plants, the Tehachapi Mountains, and the Mojave Desert.” http://www.ilr.tu-berlin.de/WKA/windfarm/tehcal.html

There you have it folks – even the Sierra Club appreciates hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (the West’s equivalent to the Appalachian Trail) and looking at this vast wind farm.  (However, the skeptic will note that the foregoing appreciation may not be the opinion of Diane’s desert tortoises or cactus gardens). 

Nevertheless, visitors to the premier desert recreation area of Palm Springs, whether of human, animal or Hollywood origin, pass directly through California’s second largest wind farm area, the perpetually windy San Gorgonio Pass, and do so with no objection.  Indeed, as we passed through the Pass last week, we experienced a sense of awe and respect for the pioneers of wind power.  This area’s 3,500 wind turbines produce enough power for 350,000 people. 

 Now, folks, remember we said that 50% of the electricity in Los Angeles is produced by burning COAL!  800,000 acres of wind power would provide power for 3,500,000 homes.

However, unless someone who uses reason rather than pure emotion can communicate this concept to Senator Diane, wind power is a dead issue in the United States. 

Oh, did I mention that she also wants the desert to be a no-go zone for solar power?

San Gorgonio Pass Windmills: