Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Monday, October 19. 2009Monday evening/Tues morning linksGeniuses. Photo shows how they protest Geert Wilders. World's largest duct tape factory When firing your greedy money manager is a mistake. Harvard, in this case. Remaking the system for 5% of the population. It does seem stupid, doesn't it? But it's part of a plan. Related: Only 42% favor health care reform./ Related: Health Bill or Stealth Bill? What's in those 1500 pages? Why some utilities like cap and trade. They can make money on it. "the actual climatological outlook is: morally cloudy, with a hyper-political chance of poor discernment." Kathryn Lopez Via Powerline: Seriously, what can be done to stop this insidious invasion of our public space by left wing propagandists spouting costly nonsense? The New Left Gospel. Am Digest PM: Only 50 days left to save the world. Yikes. Via Insty: H1N1 is Obama’s Katrina. The US Gov’s response to H1N1 has been subpar at best. David Thompson: I sense a malign presence SISU on human nature. An email we received today:
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18:04
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What those Taliban wantFrom the NYT:
China's celebration of 60 glorious years of Communist totalitarianism and government benificenceNot that they are really Commies anymore, but they are something. We read that they put their cutest military babes with the shapeliest gams in the front rows. Hot babes, with maybe a touch of the dominatrix excitement to them. Lots more photos of the big celebration here. Insurance and TomatoesToon via Ace: I happen to be the sort of person who wants to be free to buy - or not to buy - whatever insurance I want of whatever type I want - whether medical, homeowner's, flood, car or whatever. I think of insurance as just one more free market product, like tomatoes or mattresses. All I ask for is a genuine free market, without government rules and regs (like the banning of interstate sales). Friday, October 16. 2009Friday linksGrassley: Senate Health Plan Depletes Medicare, Raises Premiums, Thwarts Constitution Related: They said one trillion last week, now its 2 trillion. Do I hear 3? An appreciation of my husband: Anchoress The religion of the Left, revisited. Vanderleun Stimulus Success: At Only $533,000 per Job LEAKED NETWORK MEMO REVEALS: Obama Controls Your Television Set Free speech for me but not for thee. Riehl
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07:14
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Thursday, October 15. 2009The "key players" in the debateIt's good to know who the "key players" are. Thanks for the info, Bruce:
How dare I doubt that this group had my best interests at heart? Tort Lawyers Want To Increase Medical Costs: Aetna Reveals Closed Door MeetingAll the interest groups are trying to protect their piece of the national health care spending pie in the various legislative proposals. Tort lawyers, the largest contributors to Democrats, have succeeded beyond all others. Tort reforms that reduce the costs of defensive medicine are off the table in all the legislation. Now, they want to increase their portion of the pie, by eliminating the right of insurers to recover from tort settlements the amount paid in claims. Claimants, thus, have increased motivation to sue, the possibility of suits and the awards increasing defensive medicine costs, and tort lawyers gain increased business. Aetna is the closest “fellow traveler” among insurers to the advocates of ObamaCare, playing a delicate game of seeking like other insurers to increase premiums flowing to it from a mandate to have insurance while avoiding excess claims impact on increasing premiums, reducing private insurance due to guaranteed coverage without a mandate, while increasing the enrollment in a taxpayer subsidized government-plan. So, alone among insurers, Aetna emailed me today (an independent employee benefits broker and consultant), “ Recovery by insurers or medical providers from tort awards is currently particular and complex in each state and federal jurisdiction. The tort lawyers aim is to in one fell swoop have their way, damn the costs to others than the fees to themselves and the double-payments to clients. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that tort reform caps on settlements would reduce the federal costs of health care by $54-billion. The Associated Press concludes: “Even in the health care debate, that's real money.” But, the CBO report only touches on a small portion of the total cost of defensive medicine. One of the leading doctor-bloggers (not hostile toward much of reforms) wrote in USA Today: “At $210 billion annually [according to various studies; about 9% of total health care spending], defensive medicine is one of the largest contributors to wasteful spending, and it can manifest in many forms: unnecessary CT scans, MRIs, cardiac testing and hospital admissions. A 2005 survey in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 93% of doctors reported practicing defensive medicine.” The association of major insurers, Tort lawyers' objectives and influence is clear. The rest of us are not adequately represented. P.S.: Good discussion of the context.
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13:35
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Thursday midday linksCandide (or is it Don Quixote?) goes out into the big world. But these Dems know nothing about Ketman:
How do you do a "reset" when the other guys are playing you for fools? These people are in so far over their heads. Relevant image above via Flares: http://yargb.blogspot.com/2009/10/when-don-quixotes-rule-world.html The pitfalls of paternalism. Somin at Volokh. It's not a joke. If people want to be children, they will be treated as such. Raul Castro on Socialism:
Reality is a bitch. FIRE: Victory for Free Speech as College of William & Mary Dumps Speech Codes, Earns ‘Green Light’ Rating We love FIRE. Please consider them for your end of year donations. The new America? People are learning from Washington: "Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," he said. Related at Betsy: The reality facing the money-for-nothing crowd
Wall Street Journal surpasses USA Today as No. 1 Dems now represent the rich zip codes. So much for the "evil rich Repubs." The Baucus plan would bankrupt the states. Say, how's that plan working out in Massachusetts? From The Mind Boggles at Am Spectator:
More on the topic of covering the field with slime - The media war on the smart and charming Liz Cheney Steyn on Rush:
Powerline's post on the topic, Rush is Out, included this pic from CNN with a totally manufactured Rush quote. This kind of thing is dangerous stuff, besides being immoral, unethical, and despicable:
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11:30
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What's It All About, Alfie?Dear Sweden or Finland or wherever: Thanks so much for sending along the handsome coaster. Please forgive us for taking so long to send our regards, but we'd really only been living here for a few weeks when it showed up, and we were a little unsure what to do with the thing. I'm just an intern here, and new on the job, so I don't get to decide anything. But there was something spiffy-looking about the package the little gold candy dish -- or whatever it is supposed to be -- came in, and I couldn't help myself, and kept fishing it out of the trash no matter how many Czars came by my desk and round-filed it while yelling at me to get back to editing Rush Limbaugh's Wikipedia page. I asked Adele, the girl that's been here the longest, what I should do with your merit badge, but she told me that anything that showed up for our first year here, whether it's an oil painting, a North Korean nuke, or a recession, should just get forwarded to the Texan fellow that used to live here, because nothing could be really addressed to us yet. Our new boss is still trying to finish up some work he had left over when he quit his job as a Chicago Alderman or something, and he's in Denmark at a trade show, still handing out his old business cards until they run out. Adele's old and still an intern, and the catty girls say she couldn't even get Clinton to grope her, so I just sort of brushed it off and kept the neato emblem thing here. It says here there's some kind of money that goes with your disk with the picture of Andrew Sullivan on it, but that makes me sort of suspicious. 1.4 million dollars it says here, but maybe that's a typo and you guys meant yen or kronos or Canadian dollars or those big stone rings or whatever you guys use instead of real money with Presidents on it. I'm sorry, you sound like nice people, but it smacks of a "You May Already Be A Winner" letter that's addressed to: Occupant. My mom told me Ed McMahon is dead, and the days of a man showing up at your house with a big cardboard check for no reason are long past, and we should all be suspicious of anyone that promises you money for doing nothing. Besides, ever since we hired Acorn to do the census, we had to keep way more than that in small unmarked bills in my desk, and I don't want you sending me any more. There's barely room for my Carmex, Post-It notes, and all my Apple gear as it is. Tell you what: why don't you split up the money and send a little to every person in America. None of us are good at math here, so I'm not sure how much that would be, exactly. I even asked my only friend here, little Timmy from Treasury, to figure it out, but he says carrying the zeros gets him every time. Timmy's nice and told me not to worry about the exact figure, somehow the President will end up with every penny of it eventually. Thanks so much, Amanda from the secretarial pool.
Posted by Roger de Hauteville
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10:11
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More not-boring medical take-over updatesMegan McA: Is health care reform falling apart? Tax the sick: Obama's new plan. Maybe people would rather die than pay the taxes. Betsy: Phony budget promises. Everybody knows they're phony. Related from Sowell: Magic Numbers in Politics Jules has a plan to either never die, or at least to be prepared for combat. Applause when Robert Reich mentions letting old people die. Sheesh. Over my dead body. Home Depot's Bernie Marcus:
Love this. A Viking quote:
Wednesday, October 14. 2009Just what is it..."Just what is it about the functioning of the government that makes you want to entrust them with your medical care when you get sick?" That's what I have been hearing people asking. How do you kill a headless snake? You try to cover the field with slime.A good analysis. Jay Tea begins his Headless Snake post:
Read the whole thing. The Repubs are wise to keep their heads low for a while, at least as long as the Left seems to be in process of destroying the Dem party. So who does the Left have to attack in a target-poor environment? Just the talking heads - the "call 'em like they see 'em" folks. Thus the recent attempted muggings of non-politicians like Rush, Glenn Beck, FOX, Sean, a blogger like Michelle Malkin - and now even Liz Cheney. Plus ex-pols who aren't running for office, like Palin. Woops. Forgot to mention Michael Steele's obvious racism. An Uncle Tom, ya know? I bet they wish they had somebody like Newt to smear again. Addendum - re smearing and sliming From Legal Insurrection:
Yes it does. Just ask Chris Christie. If you haven't heard, he has a fat ass.
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15:05
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"Whoops - not the apocalypse." Never mind.Re Liberal self-censorship, Am. Thinker begins:
And via the WSJ re “Whoops apocalypse,” or perhaps it’s a case of “whoops not the apocalypse.” We have been warning about the coming ice age. Drudge this morning:
Why can't we all get along?Chris Matthews appear to hope somebody will shoot Rush Limbaugh...with a CO2 cartridge? What? I find this disturbing, if not sick - if not incendiary. We have never said anything like that about anybody, and would never want to. I guess dissent and principled disagreement is no longer the highest form of patriotism. Furthermore, I thought debate about ideas was a healthy, wonderful, American thing. Not when the Dems are in power, I guess. I still wonder where all the hatred is coming from.
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11:18
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Weds. morning linksAussies hoard incandescent bulbs. The WH's war against FOX The Dem war against Rush: State-Run Media Scum Smear Rush Using Fabricated Quotes. Says Steyn: Prove you never said it. But Rush is rightly contemplating legal action. As a long-time Rush listener, I can state that Rush has no trace of racism. What he does is to refuse to condescend or pander to anybody. Is that considered racism these days? The Dem dirty political fights this season Dems: We don't need no steenkin' ethics Villainous: E.J. Dionne Explains Angry White Men to Blue America Who's on the hook for the growing state and municipal pension messes? Blankley: Washington is nuts:
Sen Mitch McConnell on the Baucus bill:
WSJ: The Baucus bill is nothing but a huge middle-class tax bill From Powerline:
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Tuesday, October 13. 2009Taxpayer Dollars Snoweing On MaineIn considering the motivations of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe’s decision to vote in the Senate Finance Committee in favor of sending its unwritten healthcare bill to the full Senate one should understand that aside from any other reasons
Snowe has teeter-tottered, basically desiring an expansion of government health care programs, but the decisive factor may well be that she is a Senator from
Some of
Politico has a discussion of the leverage Senator Snowe may obtain from her vote. Some of those in favor of a more extreme bill fear that. They needn’t, as now that she has voted in the Finance Committee, her voice can and will be ignored by the Democrat leadership patching up whatever they wish to move forward. That will likely include some sort of sub rosa “public” plan. Others notice the bailout of Maine's failed Dirigo, at the expense of other states. Instapundit wonders "Payola?"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
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18:15
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Tuesday morning linksAfghan Pop. Watch the Afghan Star trailer. From John yesterday re Columbus Day:
Is mass transit really green? Probably not, but could you imagine NYC without trains, buses and subways? It just wouldn't work. Nuclear weapons deserve the Nobel Peace prize Most ominous graph of the day So how many properties does Charlie Rangel own? This kid definitely needs Reform School Businessman Steve Wynn takes on Michigan Gov. A fine Driscoll essay: Man’s Crisis Of Identity In The Latter Half Of The 20th Century Parents & Kids Protest Obama, Democrats & The Teachers' Unions: PJTV Video Instructing monsters to be monsters. Am Thinker
John at Powerline says of the Dem medical reform "this isn't reform, it is stupidity." I disagree. I believe it is a medium-to-long-term strategy to raise prices to drive people to the government plantation. Trouble is, people will blame the insurance companies instead of the government. The Dems have not really made a secret of their clever but deceptive strategy to achieve government control. Graph from Powerline:
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07:09
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Monday, October 12. 2009Medical reform updateThis is the plan - to drive private insurance out of business so we can be relieved of the burden of making our own choices. The insurers have finally caught on to the Dem strategy. Yes, at the very least the Dem reform will drive costs far higher in the short term. That is, insofar as anybody knows what the heck is in it. One thing we do know is that insurance creep will be part of it. Not only will we lose the choice of major medical, or to be self-insured, but we'll end up paying for sex change operations, abortions, hair transplants and massage therapy. Here's the Dem war against the specialists. The most insulting thing about this whole mess, however, is that the taxes for it begin right away - but the program doesn't begin until after the next Pres election. Hmmm.
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19:10
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Obama fails to win Nobel Prize in EconomicsThe world should catch up to American health care
Ambrose at RCP
Letter from a Peace ActivistInteresting change of heart, from Afghanistan -
Continue reading "Letter from a Peace Activist" Monday morning linksAren't most folks working today? Scroll down and catch up with our posts from the weekend. Darn good point from Powerline: "Any government medicine system suffers from a fatal contradiction: health care is a "right," but a right that must be rationed." Former Dem Senator Bob Kerry (via Gateway's post on Sen. Feinstein):
Insty wonders
And as Mark Steyn puts it:
A brief history of the prevention of tyranny. Doug Ross. One quote:
Want more to read? Try Federalist #42
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07:22
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Sunday, October 11. 2009Sunday linksWhat's the #1 reason women want sex? (Hint: Same thing guys would say) The last days of the polymath? The action of the journalists was to shut down the journalist and defend the politician What's the matter with you, Sen. Graham? It's a political hoax, you bozo. CBO: Malpractice reform would save 40 billion CBO: Finance Plan Would Save $81 Billion - by raising taxes like crazy on everything, by cutting Medicare - and by one other trick Related: Massachusetts Is like health-care hell for one universal health care advocate Related: The health care bill - which doesn't even exist yet - will go unread and unreadable Too old for medical care? Brit Docs leave old lady to starve Banning the bulb? Not too smart Related: Record cold kills playoff game. The Ice Age is coming. How often do we have to warn y'all? Ship of Fools: Obama's Intimates and Advisors Obama wins Miss World 2009 On Chavez' side? Why won't the O support Hondauran elections?
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11:31
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Saturday, October 10. 2009Goldman Sachs
The bank everybody seems to love to hate - because they're so smart.
What happened?
Even the BBC is asking "What happened to global warming?"
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