Maggie's Farm

"I reveal myself in my true colors, as a stick-in-the-mud. I hold a number of beliefs that have been repudiated by the liveliest intellects of our time. I believe order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole I think that knowledge is preferable to ignorance, and I am sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology. I believe that in spite of the recent triumphs of science, men have not changed much in the last two thousand years; and in consequence we must still try to learn from history. History is ourselves. I also hold one or two beliefs that are more difficult to put shortly. For example, I believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people's feelings by satisfying our own egos. I think we should remember that we are part of a great whole, which for convenience we call nature. All living things are our brothers and sisters. Above all, I believe in the God-given genius of certain individuals, and I value a society that makes their existence possible."

Kenneth Clark ("Civilization")

There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.

G. K. Chesterton

If there were no God, there would be no atheists.

G.K. Chesterton

From Thomas Merton, via Anchoress' Memories of God:

At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is, so to speak, His name written in us…It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely.

When man ceases to worship God he does not worship nothing, but worships everything.

Contrary to a widespread impression, G.K. Chesterton apparently never said that. 

Still, it's a fine statement, and relevant to the modern form of Paganism which views the lives of the unborn, ready-to-be-born, or born-damaged as insignificant, but the social lives of Goldfish - and now the souls of asparagus - as sacred.

A quote from Smith at Weekly Standard:

"What is clear, however, is that Switzerland's enshrining of "plant dignity" is a symptom of a cultural disease that has infected Western civilization, causing us to lose the ability to think critically and distinguish serious from frivolous ethical concerns. It also reflects the triumph of a radical anthropomorphism that views elements of the natural world as morally equivalent to people.

Why is this happening? Our accelerating rejection of the Judeo-Christian world view, which upholds the unique dignity and moral worth of human beings, is driving us crazy. Once we knocked our species off its pedestal, it was only logical that we would come to see fauna and flora as entitled to rights."

Insty has a hilarious video to dramatize the subject.

Regular readers know that all of creation is precious to us here at Magggie's Farm. We love plants, trees, birds, butterflies, rocks, mountains, meadows, rivers, intensely. Love them, love to be amongst them, and learn all we can about them. But we still hold that there is a big difference between "precious" and "sacred."

These folks have taken the Pathetic Fallacy to a psychotic extreme. One is forced to wonder whether the only dining acceptable to Greenie Gaia-worshippers would now involve cannibalism, since they want us to worry about the souls of asparagus and lobsters, and view human life as an obnoxious intrusion on an otherwise beautiful Eden (except that most animals eat plants and/or other animals).

Still, I must confess that the shrill scream of asparagus when it hits that steam always whets my pre-post-Christian appetite.

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge in the field of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

Albert Einstein

Don't tax you, don't tax me: tax the fellow behind the tree.

Who was always saying that, dear readers?

It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

Sherlock Holmes

There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs -- partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do do not want to lose their jobs.

Booker T. Washington, via Vanderleun

"The more I learn of physics, the more I am drawn to metaphysics."

Albert Einstein

Mark Twain

When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.

Niccolo Machiavelli 

"All human institutions since the dawn of prehistory or earlier had always been designed to prevent change - all of them: family, government, church, army. Change has always been a catastrophic threat to human security."

Peter Drucker (h/t, Vanderleun)

"If things really suck in America as bad as Obama and Hillary say, then how come everybody in the world who wants freedom and opportunity will do anything to come here?"

That is Mark Levin's correct quote, I think, as I heard it on the radio. We are the world's freedom and opportunity destination. If you want other things, you can go elsewhere - or stay where you are.

"America runs on Dunkin'"

Indeed it do. It's the new ad phrase written on Dunkin' Donuts cups, and it's just one of those things that distinguishes America from the rest of the world.

Some readers miss our weekend stuff. Here's another QQQ from The News Junkie over the weekend:

Everybody at Maggie's is a gun-totin' Bible-thumpin' redneck hick who wants more from the government. More Coors Lite would be a good place to start. Later, we'll be needing the Chateau Margaux to accompany our government brie, but all Opie wants is free Grey Goose.

And one  from The Barrister:

...now Hillary reinvents herself as a gun-totin' churchgoer. Heck, everybody brings a gun to church, don't they? It's the bitterness, ya know? I always bring spare ammo, just in case.

If you have a lawn and want some ideas, please read the B's Got Grass? The money quote:

Landscape design is a psycho-spiritual enterprise.

Finally, if you missed Dr. Mercury's first of his series here on computer tips, check his piece on Search Engine Tips. I did learn some useful things.

The West reveals . . . a hatred of itself, which is strange and can only be considered pathological; the West . . . no longer loves itself; in its own history, it now sees only what is deplorable and destructive, while it is no longer able to perceive what is great and pure.”

Pope Benedict XVl, as quoted by Anchoress. We'd like to offer Benedict a hearty welcome to the USA - and we advise him not to park that Popemobile in a No Parking Zone in NYC - the cops will tow it... well, maybe they won't: they are still mostly Irish.

“Every secular religion...comes with its own Liturgies, Rubrics and Rituals, its own Sins, Laws and Saviors."

The Anchoress