Thursday, August 26. 2010
 From Viking's post (I agree):
It's long been my position that Social Security was meant to help elderly workers who could no longer do the labor of the Depression era. We're not a nation of ditch diggers and washwomen anymore. The government has set up a system where (with today's life expectancies) we subsidize a third of a lifetime in retirement.
Yes, it is crazy. Retirement should be by economic choice, or for the disabled. It is crazy for the young to subsidize the golf of the grey folks like me who have more wisdom and experience to contribute to the workplace than the dopey kids.
Nothing against golf, mind you. Nothing against sitting on the beach reading and smoking, either. There is a time for every purpose under heaven.
 Home ownership vs. renting. Coyote.
Deep thinking:
Global warming is real, it’s caused by human activity that goes straight back to the capitalist energy markets they worship, and it is really bad. None of these things are up for debate with sensible, reality-based people.
A Physics major, no doubt.
Do Cougars exist?
Via SDA:
"Tourism chiefs in Serbia are hoping their annual testicle cooking competition will do for the region what whisky did for Scotland."
Serbian cuisine, the envy of the world. Chow down, Feminazis.
Ace: Obama Administration To UN- Sorry That America Is So Awful. In Fairness, We Inherited This Lousy Country But Are Working On Remaking It
When is a speech code not a speech code? When it’s a “code of ethics.”
Obamacare: Dems’ Fatal Conceit?
Mankiw on Nantucket house prices. Did this study make his summer vacation tax-deductible?
Ebay, Adobe, EA Games Leaving California For Utah Over Confiscatory Tax Rate
Only in New York: Taxing a Cut … of your morning bagel. Just put the shmear on top of my uncut bagel.
Why Nerds Like Games. Games are stories.
New Republic: Moderate Muslims Are Not the Answer
ACORN flies under the radar
This is dumb: E-Cigarettes Spark New Smoking War. This is the safest smoke that exists. What's the big deal? Nicotine is harmless.
Fake tea party candidates
Taxes: The Left and its delusions
The Professional Left vs. the Amateur Right
Via Insty:
REASON TV: Wheat, Weed, and ObamaCare: How the Commerce Clause Made Congress All-Powerful.
Author of Obamacare did not read it. If it's too long and complicated to read, then...
Michelle: Obama’s Beltway Chainsaw Massacre
Wednesday, August 25. 2010
Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession. Government-created, in my view. We need a Reagan recovery, not an Obama economic swamp.
Tuesday, August 24. 2010
Surber:
In issue after issue — from drilling for oil to the Bush tax cuts to the stimulus and the bailouts — Washington is out of step with the American public.
Ain't that the truth?
Via Patriot Post Humor:
I recently submitted a building permit application for a new house.
It was going to be 100 ft. tall and 400 ft. wide with 9 gun turrets at various heights and windows all over the place and a loud outside entertainment sound system. It would have had parking for 200 cars and I was going to paint it snot green with pink trim.
The City Council told me to forget about it.
So, I sent the application in again, but this time I called it a Mosque.
Work starts on Monday.
From the CT Post:
The first major feature of Obamacare is being launched, high-risk health insurance pools, which cover citizens previously denied insurance due to prior conditions.
Congratulations, Republicans!
Yes, Republicans, because expansion of high-risk health insurance pools was the central element of the GOP's common-sense alternative to the grandiosity of Obamacare, aka the Affordable Care Act (ACA)...
Monday, August 23. 2010
Health insurance agents are the canary in the mine of ObamaCare.
Having been a heavily credentialed health and other benefits broker for the past two decades, and working on the corporate buyer side of the relationship for 15-years before that, I will say – strongly – we have been worth it. I described why and how in this earlier post, “In Defense of Health Insurance Agents, and You.”
A health insurance agent is required to complete initial and regular formal training courses in the subject (including ethics), pass initial and periodic tests, and are screened by their state and by insurance companies for criminal or personal conduct (including declaring bankruptcy) that may negatively affect their reliability to be licensed to provide agent services. In addition, through professional associations, through insurer education programs, through self-study, and through competitive pressures, health agents stay current on the latest laws and offerings from various insurers. Furthermore, almost all health insurance agents are independent businesses or work for independent agencies, not beholden to the insurers but to their customers. Importantly, individuals, small and larger businesses have priorities more important and pressing than becoming experts in health insurance or its interactions with other laws or aspects of their primary concerns, and heavily depend upon qualified, trusted health insurance agents. Lastly, many health insurance agents have extensive credentials and experience….
But, the unfolding of ObamaCare raises the question of whether health insurance brokers will continue to be of value, or able to be.
Continue reading "Are Health Insurance Agents Worth It? The Canaries In ObamaCare Mine"
Sunday, August 22. 2010
 No (real) links today. Here are a few from my own site that might be of interest:
— My tribute to the TV show House MD
— If you were a big, big fan of the original 'Shrek' movie, you might like this
— If you play a musical instrument, or want to hear your MP3s as you've never heard them before, check this out
— Three very cool remote-controlled airplanes here
— For a perfect example of the typical rude, coarse, base, vile, mentally-degenerative claptrap that I wouldn't dare port over to Maggie's, try this
— Ditto
— If you ever had any interest in the Flowbee haircutting device (the one that attaches to the vacuum cleaner), check this out
— Someone in the comments mentioned that great comeback from GM to Bill Gates a few years ago. It's here. Another cruel Bill Gates story here.
Well, I'd like to continue, but I have a tough HTML coding problem I need to sink my teeth into.
Saturday, August 21. 2010
 Regular News
Well, it's been a couple of days since we had any of that good old-fashioned Maggie's Farm-style California bashin', so let's git right to it!
Pictured: average California highway after the daily earthquake
How bad is it in California?
How bad are the budget problems in California?
Besides foreclosures, California faces bad mosquito season
California's bad chemistry
California's bad karma
California's 'bad girls' now have triple the nation's fat rate
Wow, this schadenfreude stuff is great! And let me give you folks a little search engine tip: You type in the words "california bad", you hit the jackpot!
Turning our attention to Dr. Mercury's prestigious "Most Insipid Article of the Week" award, it wasn't even close:
Star Wars fans ask NASA to build a hyperdrive
Seriously.
Uh, that's why it's filed under 'Science Fiction', fellas.
Because even a...
Trip to Mars Would Turn Astronauts Into Weaklings
This does raise one, probably naive, question, however. What about that big "rotating drum" idea, as portrayed in '2010' and other space flicks, where centrifugal force creates an artificial gravity. Does centrifugal force not work in space? Sorry for my ignorance, but we didn't do any space projects in shop class and my parents couldn't afford to send me to space camp.
Unbelievable! A murder takes place on live camera, everyone knows who the likely suspect is, and the police do... nothing?
Eagle Gang Allegedly Kills Sibling on Web Cam
Officials have not said conclusively what happened, but all signs point to murder. Based on their notes, the likely suspect is the biggest and most aggressive of the Eagles, although there are no plans at this time to press charges.
What a disgrace!
So, time to flip on my headline time machine. I'll set it to grab a New York Times article ten years in the future. Let's hope it's some good news this time!
BRZZATZHTKTZZT!!
Breaking: Radioactive Boars on the rise in Germany, climate change to blame
Just Rewards Dept.
A week ago I linked to an article about a news corporation called Stephens Media that had hired a hit man to go after bloggers quoting articles from their newspapers and sue them for copyright infringement. Hey, anything to make a buck, right?
Under the heading "turnabout's fair play", here's a site that offers a Firefox "boycott" add-on that bars the browser from going to any Stephens Media site. There's also info for Chrome in the comments, and IE can do it, although (as I recall) it's a painful site-by-site process, whereas the other two can use the pasted list of sites. Kudos to you guys.
Political News
Obama battles dark lord, terrorists, Dick Cheney
Friday, August 20. 2010
 Regular News
Finally some sensibility comes to the world of fashion! For far too long have chubby models inspired impressionable young eaters out there to the point where obesity is now considered a 'national epidemic', imposing a massive burden on our health care system. But now that this agency is daring to use average women as models (see example), perhaps we'll start turning this evil scourge of obesity around, once and for all.
Say, here's a fun way to start the day. It's one of those "brain teasers" you see in puzzle books. Good luck!
Only a third of Americans say Obama is Christian
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Think Obama is Muslim
Quick: What percentage of Americans think Obama is Hindu?
Bobby Thompson, he of the 'Shot Heard 'Round The World', has passed away. YouTube clip of the event is here.
Speaking of fallen heroes, are there any Vonnegut fans out there? I adored him back in the day. If I could only take one book with me to a deserted island, it'd be something by Vonnegut, but I'd be torn between "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater", "The Sirens of Titan", and "Galápagos".
Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library to open in Indianapolis
And another fallen hero:
Why 'Atlas Shrugged' is flying off the bookshelves
Well, I'm a little disappointed in my headline time machine. The calibration is a bit sensitive. It seems to either go 10 years into the future or 10 million years into the past. Let's try another one from the future.
BZZHSZZSHKZHTT!!
Human beings killed off by climate change
The following article is about "naughty acronyms". In some of these cases, it seems kind of silly that a company would care that some particular combination of letters would mean one little thing to some fringe group somewhere. Big deal.
On the other hand, you'd think the people forming the South Lake Union Trolley would have given the name just a wee bit more thought before making the final decision.
Acronyms that accidentally turned naughty
Political News
Obama thanks Facebook fans for birthday card
Thursday, August 19. 2010
 1:30 am.
Sorry, no morning links today. I played hooky all day by romping up to Miami Beach for a fish fry. At the end of my heavily philosophical journey, I could only utter two fateful words:
Cuban girls.
Growing up in California, I always thought Mexican girls were hot, but Cuban girls really have that 'something extra' about them. Maybe it's the dark eyebrows. Either way, it was you guys or the dark eyebrows, and it's obvious who won.
I do have one interesting note about languages. My buddy is Cuban, been here 20 years, and he says that Spanish has variations that are just as wild as English. Like the way a Yankee might have a hard time understanding a native Alabaman and vice versa, and neither would be able to understand one Irish or Cockney word in ten from the guy on the next bar stool.
Likewise, in Spanish, he says he can't understand one word in ten from the Argentinian kid next door. He told me, and I kid you not, "It's all Greek to me."
Wednesday, August 18. 2010
 This one is obviously for the gals only, since guys quit carrying handbags when pockets were invented.
Only parts of the female body are more private to them than their bags and pocketbooks.
What do you gals have in yours?
Please tell us in the comments...and, if a handgun, make and model please.
 Regular News
Well, let's start off with some good news. Usually when Congress puts bills right out in the open, people bitch and moan and complain and nothing gets done. But when they meet in a closed-door session, as they did last night, often 'miraculous' results ensue (see picture) that finally solve some nagging national problem, once and for all.
Congress passes bill making new low-energy car mandatory by 2016
(you'll have to excuse me — I'm not as good at this links stuff as the other guys and sometimes don't get the headlines exactly correct)
Well, good news for golfers. A new golf school has opened up using a revolutionary new technique that's apparently displaying remarkable results.
Hold on a sec.
(tinker-tinker)
Ah-ha! I fixed my time machine and now it looks like it'll snag two headlines from 10 years in the future. Here goes!
BZZHZHZZKHGRHZZZTT!!
More than half of America's wind farms built where there is not enough wind
Global temperatures much higher than 10 years ago, CO2 levels 20 times higher
All kidding aside, global warming is a serious subject and shouldn't be taken lightly.
As Muscovites suffer record high temperatures this summer, a Russian political scientist has claimed the United States may be using climate-change weapons to alter the temperatures and crop yields of Russia and other Central Asian countries.
On the other hand, it's nice to finally get our dirty little secret out in the open. Fry, Russkies!
Political News
White House gardener weighs in on world affairs
Three justices of the 9th federal circuit, all appointed by Republican Presidents, disagree on the limits of free speech under the 1st Amendment. This presents an interesting appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Two of the justices rule that the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes knowingly wearing or claiming federally authorized military decorations and medals of valor, is unconstitutional. These justices describe stolen valor as vile and worse, and deny that they provide a constitutional right to lie. But they deny that there is any harm done that requires punishment. Their arguments are basically that, barring a demonstrable harm to another person, free speech should prevail. Interestingly, they point out that the Defense Department providing a public list of those who have been awarded medals of valor would help publicly reveal frauds. However, the Democrat Congress has failed to act and the Defense Department has quibbled away its responsibility. (I analyzed this here.)
On the other hand, the dissent presents judicial and legislative chapter and verse that demonstrable harm to an individual is not a necessary hurdle to restrictions on certain types of knowingly false speech (or actions) that go beyond the pale of acceptable or protected. He reaffirms, as did Congress in passing the Act, that knowingly representing oneself as a decorated hero disparages the valor of those who were awarded. He provides prominent examples of Congress’ authority to so legislate. Further, he dispels the contention that satire or theatrical performances would fall within the Act, or that it is overbroad in practice as only the clearest cases have been brought by federal prosecutors.
You may like or not the arguments raised by either side, but should also recognize that judging a law is about its lawfulness not the rhetoric. So, unless the Supreme Court decides to broaden or overturn existing case precedent, the Stolen Valor Act would be upheld. But, we’ll see.
The majority and minority opinions are here.
Josh Gerstein at Politico raises some interesting judicial undercurrents that may become clearer at the Supreme Court.
Tuesday, August 17. 2010
In the final analysis, people's ignorance about electrical usage is one of the great tragedies of our time.
That is, if you consider broken homes a 'tragedy'.
Mom and Dad and the two kids go out for hamburgers. They have a great time; as fun a time as any family could wish to have.
They wheel into the driveway, Dad sees that Jimmy left his bedroom light on and explodes. "I've told you a thousand times! That's it! I've had it!"
A horrible fight ensues, with the mother caught in the middle, trying to protect her son from the father's wrath, yet agreeing that the son's extravagant waste of the family's money demands severe punishment.
The rest of the evening is spent with the son sulking, the father in an angry mood, and the mother on the edge of tears. Last night it was her turn because she left the dining room light on when they went across the street to visit with the neighbors for an hour.
After the one thousandth time, the father has had enough and decides to leave these money-wasting losers. Or, tiring of his rage, she does. Or little Jimmy runs away when he's 16 and is found dead from a heroin overdose two months later in New York City.
Just another American family tragedy.
Happens all the time.
The light little Jimmy left on is a 60-watt desk lamp.
Watts means "per hour", so that means Jimmy's light consumes 60 watts of energy in one hour. The family was gone for two hours, so little Jimmy's despicable thoughtlessness wasted 120 watts.
A "kilowatt" is how electricity is measured and paid for. A kilowatt is 1,000 watts. Therefore, to get kilowatts, you divide the watts by 1,000. So, the 120 watts that little Jimmy so blatantly wasted is .12 kilowatt.
One kilowatt generally costs about ten cents.
At ten cents per kilowatt, that's $.012 that little Jimmy wasted that dark and fateful night. The last night, it turned out, that the family was to ever eat a happy meal together.
$.012 is just over one penny.
Continue reading "Electrical Usage: A tragedy of ignorance"
 Regular News
Well, I feel a little guilty that I didn't partake in any of that good old-fashioned Maggie's Farm-style California bashin' yesterday, so let's get right to the good stuff:
How Arnold Schwarzenegger's California dream soured
Californians now cursed by all humanity
Times so bad California lawyers only getting $10/hr
California women now have triple the nation's fat rate
In unrelated news, New York state is now forcing DWI drivers to install a device on their car that forces them to pass a breath test before it'll start:
Blowing more than a .025 percent blood-alcohol content -- less than a third of the legal limit -- will make the car go haywire. The horn starts honking and the car's speakers emit a high-pitched shriek that, according to state probation director Robert Maccarone, "increases in volume until it's intolerable -- you'll have to pull over to the side and stop the car."
Failing an immediate follow-up test then locks the ignition.
The law requires the devices even in the family cars of drunk drivers, meaning that spouses will have to submit to the same tests.
Exit questions:
— How much does it cost to have an emergency road service come out and unlock the ignition?
— How much will the first family sue for when someone's car breaks down on a lonely road in the snow and they freeze to death because the car wouldn't start because the system malfunctioned? Or it locked the ignition because of the (A) breath mint the person was sucking on, (B) unique medicine they were taking, not to mention the (C) swig of whiskey they took for warmth?
The pic: Some guy mapped out a road course that would spell out the message and then turned his car's GoogleMaps GPS tracking device on when he hit those stretches. Not only a damn clever idea and great implementation, but, given that, not a bad message, either. I loved Anthem.
Turning our attention to some serious issues (yes, I know it's a shocking change), here are a few I've filed away:
Is Obama Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Arab and Muslim World?
Giant Mecca clock seeks to call time on Greenwich
Related:
10 Things You Must Know About Malware
Hold on a sec...
It worked! I did it!
I just invented a time machine that can reach 10 years into the future and snatch a headline from the New York Times. It can only work once, so let's hope it's a good one!
BZZHZHHZGHZZZTTZT!!
Axe falls on ObamaCare services
Well, at least it's still ten years away.
A lot of columns have some kind of "Life imitates..." feature. Usually '...the Onion', not coincidentally. Well, if you have a few minutes to read some silly humor (Glenn Reynolds once linked to it so it can't be that bad), I've got one of my own:
Life Imitates Dr. Mercury's Wildest Hyperbole
First read this.
Then look at the title of this.
Political News
Obama and daughter take plunge, swim in gulf
Monday, August 16. 2010
 Regular News
Picture: For one million dollars, guess the venue the picture was taken for.
Finally! You all know how I like to start off with a little good news, and today is no exception. While country after country slowly degenerates into an unrecognizable morass of moral decay, one brave nation is stepping up to the plate and putting an end to wantonness and disregard for social convention:
Kissing in cars, feeding stray cats and building sandcastles all banned in Italy
Italy considers banning 80-year-old drivers
So that takes care of those pesky little problems.
When it comes to global warming, two nations are making strides that America might consider emulating:
Belgian undertakers plan to dissolve dead and flush them into sewage system
All new homes to run on green power by 2016
Say, speaking of global warming, you know who's been missing from the debate? We've got your NASA and NOAA and IPCC, your Popular Science and Scientific American and the rest of the loony tunes, the fervent race between Fox News and ABC News as to who can push it the hardest, but it wasn't until I saw an article by these people that I realized there's a key player out there who we all instinctively know and trust:
The National Geographic.
And here they are weighing in now:
Oyster Herpes: Latest Symptom of Global Warming?
So it's good to know they're playing a key role in the debate.
The next time you stay at a fancy hotel, you might think about paying cash:
Where Your Credit Card is Most Likely to Be Stolen
Actually, the best advice is to have two credit cards, one for regular use and one that you keep almost empty for such things as online purchases and trips. Most banks have instant online transfers between accounts these days, so if you suddenly want to order something online that costs some bucks, one quick transfer and you're ready.
Well, the first pictures of the new Miss USA contestants are in. (pictured above: Miss Connecticut Ashley Bickford from the above photo shoot, #13)
Not that I pay any attention to beauty contests, but it does seem like things have changed over the years.
Miss Universe Organization Slammed for Contestants' Topless Photo Shoot
Political News
Bo brings a dogged optimism to White House
Sunday, August 15. 2010
I presented the case for an amendment to the Constitution to restrict birthright citizenship.
I've been considering another post to address the objections raised by some conservative commentators. Paul Mirengoff of PowerLine has done just that. I'd only add to what Paul has written that, as seen with the just passed additional $600-million for border controls and Justice Department backup, this is just a small incremental and complete control, were it possible, would take many more tens of $billions per year. The Amendment would save much of that, as well as much of the tens of $billions per year taxpayers are spending on birthright citizens.
How Obama plans to win the 2012 election. It's the demographics.
 Statistics-wise, I think this (Sunday, middle of August) is supposed to be the deadest day of the year on the blogs so I'm not going to burn up any of my single links, just make a few suggestions.
Neal Boortz — If you're into political blog sites, you really have to put this guy on your daily rounds. Stop by his site after 9 am when he quits blogging and goes on the air. He's unlike anybody else out there, and many of his predictions are dead-on balls accurate.
Linkiest —This eclectic links site deserves a once-a-day stop.
Cracked — I only mention this site in particular because there are a lot of wannabe parody and satire sites out there, but these guys remain the best.
Google News Directory — This is a collection of news agencies around the world, sorted by directory. A good link to stash to the side.
Doc's Bag O' Links — And if you're really hungry for unusual sites, check out the great readers' suggestions at the bottom of this post.
Saturday, August 14. 2010
 ATTENTION: This post and its accompanying sister post will get bumped to the top of the page a few times throughout the day in a determined effort to warn our more sensitive readers of the calamity that's just taken place:
Bird Dog's gone on vacation for 10 days.
And, without adult supervision, there's no telling what depths of depravity and despair to which this site might sink. The best I could do was promise Bird Dog that when he returned "the domain name might still be working."
You should steel yourself to witness first-hand:
— A seemingly endless panorama of buxom, scantily-clad females in a shameless display of gender objectification
— Scathing "articles of anarchy" whose ideas, if implemented, could thoroughly disrupt our good Congress's noble intentions to better mankind
— Mind-numbingly cute articles on chipmunks and butterflies as we try to sweet-talk PETA into dropping that lawsuit
— A constant barrage of bile and venom as we continue to ridicule, mock, scorn, defile and degrade California in a desperate attempt to give our own pitiful little relic of a state some tiny shred of self-respect. We fail continuously, of course, because California just plain ol' is cool, as that CA native, the handsome and dashing Dr. Mercury, bears witness to daily. But we'll keep trying.
— Reruns
Note that you'll still see some of Bird Dog's posts around as he tries to trick the poor bloggers into thinking he's still watching over us, but we're onto his game. He pre-timed the posts, the little rascal.
I, myself, promise that I'll do my best to maintain the high standards and level of decorum that we've come to know and expect from such a refined, elegant, tasteful site such as Maggie's Farm.
Starting with...
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