After weeks of covering the Wisconsin protests (touched on here), Ann Althouse and Meade now poke through the dregs.
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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Friday, April 1. 2011Insane Extremist Bachmann speaks extremist right-wing extremist gibberishDid I mention that she is an insane extremist? And she is probably another "dumb 'twat' " also. h/t, Black and Right
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Friday morning linksProfessor Obama's College Completion Fixation Why don't colleges simply sell their diplomas at the time of admission, and then offer a few years of coursework afterwards, just in case some kids want to contend with some college courses? Youtube: Twin baby boys have a conversation TNR: Brave New Race - Why the old assumptions about Mitt Romney are wrong. DOE's Office for Civil Rights to investigate Yale for "hostile sexual environment" Hoist on their own PC petard and Huffington Post Refuses to Address Maher's Contributor Status After Vulgar Attacks on Palin More intimidation from our public servants Babbin: What is the Mission in Libya? Hamas' Protocols of Terror The Unconcealed Truth About Carrying Guns Thursday, March 31. 2011Why keep pretending?The US already has boots on the ground in Libya; CIA intel guys and "advisors." Money and weapons too, no doubt, for the rag-tag rebels, whoever they are - certainly some or many are Jihadists - and regardless of what amount of support the current government has in the country - which seems to be unknown. This is an American war, and it is not about freedom and self-determination and it's not simply about humanitarianism unless the US is to become the world's Chief of Police again. I can't even see that it's about geopolitics, as Iraq was, because nobody cares much about Libya except the Italians who get their oil from them. I do not know what it's about, but I would not be surprised if the Russians aand Chinese are amused by how we stepped in this pile of dog crap.
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New York Times and Gaza “Human Rights” Org Avoid The ObviousThe New York Times reports that the Palestinian Center for Human Rights “took the unusual step this week of condemning the building and storage of anti-Israel rockets in densely populated areas, a practice that has led to injuries and deaths of civilians.” “Unusual” isn’t quite the word for it. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights also supports Hamas and its affiliated terrorists “resistance” to Israel, and regularly condemns Israel for militarily reacting. In 2008, this NGO, financed by Western NGOs, also criticized the stockpiling and firing into Israel from populated locations in Gaza. Less populated areas in Gaza should, instead, be the depots and firing positions. What’s missing from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights criticism, and from the New York Times report? The Palestinian Center for Human Rights doesn’t condemn the rocket and mortar firing into Israel, and the New York Times doesn’t mention that. The increased import of longer-range rockets into Gaza now land in the large city of Beersheba, and, as seen in the latest firings last week, now puts the southern area of Tel Aviv and Israel’s major port at Ashdod into range. They may soon reach to Jerusalem. See this map. Even Human Rights Watch, a consistent severe critic of Israel, condemns the rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel: “Deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians are serious violations of the laws of war. Such attacks committed willfully - that is, intentionally or recklessly - are war crimes.” (more here) The New York Times report, also, doesn’t mention that. For now, Israel doesn't want to serve as an excuse for anti-Israel propagandists to distract from the revolts against Arab satraps. Eventually, however, Israel will have to take more serious measures against the Gaza sanctuary for indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks. You can be sure that pro-Palestinian NGOs, their funders and supporters in the UN, and the Western media will condemn Israel for “over-reaction” or “disproportionate use of force” or “civilians killed in Gaza” and such, as they did when Israel last went into Gaza to suppress Hamas and the firing sites. Seldom if at all mentioned will be that Hamas brought it upon itself and Gazans or that Israel had no other realistic alternative, at least if it wants to protect its own civilians and survive. Oh, BTW, don't forget the almost 1000 weapons depots, bunkers and OP sites in 250 villages in southern Lebanon set up by Hezbollah -- answering to the same Iranian armers as Hamas, and likely to act in concert with Hamas when Israel enters Gaza again.
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Thursday morning linksSome in Italy not happy with Jersey Shore (h/t Insty) Calif. drought officially ends after snowy winter MESSENGER Sends Back First Image of Mercury from Orbit Study: Prepare for the Arrival of Chinese Tourists McArdle: The Rich Really Are Different: Their Incomes Fluctuate More Ohio House Approves Bill to Limit Collective Bargaining; Ohio crushes public unions Coyote: California Points Gun At Own Head, Pulls Trigger Greenspan: Greenspan: US Financial Regulations to Cause ‘Market Distortions’ Rush: The Obama Doctrine: 2012 or Bust James Murdoch moves to New York Mankiw: It’s 2026, and the Debt Is Due EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: RomneyCare author Jonathan Gruber Rubin: The story the media missed in Egypt Wednesday, March 30. 2011Weds. morning linksGateway: The fallacy of coexistence Urbanist: Thinking Small: The Narrow Streets "Movement" Wendell Berry and the New Urbanism: Agrarian Remedies, Urban Prospects Shrinkwrapped: The Borderline Personality: A Clinical Example Chicago Boyz: The Left and the Near Enemy Powerline: How About Syria? New Study on Hate Crimes Debunks the Myth of a Growing Trend in Muslim Victimization Let's face it: we're all disabled: Obama Covers Another 44 Million Americans Under Disabilities Act Monbiot's Gardening Tips On a Senate Call, a Glimpse of Marching Orders Powerful video: Pakistani Actress Fearlessly, Furiously Assails Hard-Core "Cleric" In TV "Courtroom" U.S. Manufacturing Profits Soar to Record High Social Security: Obama and the Democrats Dodge Their Debris
George Will: College Craziness American:A Punching Bag No More:
Tuesday, March 29. 2011Tuesday morning linksDylan Pays Respects To Girl From The North Country When Vets for Freedom Met with Hillary Clinton She served in Vietnam! Powerline: Obama on Libya: How Did He Do? Also, Jennifer Rubin: Obama’s Libya speech U.S. Products Help Block Mideast Web Health Care Myth Busters: Is There a High Degree of Scientific Certainty in Modern Medicine? Unlike New Orleans and Japan, the ruin we see in Detroit is entirely man-made. EU says EU to ban cars from cities by 2050 Ag Committee Supports Cuts to Food Assistance, Not Farm Subsidies At Thompson, The Barrel’s Bottom:
Monday, March 28. 2011Monday morning linksDo you know who Haym Solomon was? Sowell's new book: Economic Facts and Fallacies: Second Edition 4 Things I’ve Learned Moving Back In With My Parents As An Adult (h/t Insty) Talmud Study now Mandatory in South Korea "You are one election away from becoming a hopeless serf, as are your children and their children." Horrible… Obama and Reuters Rewrite History to Smear Bush Steyn: Earth Hour in LondoN Related: Anarchists demand government handouts Pretty lame anarchists to want more government. GOP sets sights on AARP over its support for healthcare reform (h/t Tiger) Dino: What an awful way to live If we had more altruists like Andrew Breitbart, the world would be a better place In Prison for Taking a Liar Loan Pajamas: Worry Over Islam Like Hitler’s Hatred of Jews? Syrians Gunned Down, International Community Yawns Two US-Trained Palestinian Officers Arrested in Bloody Slaughter of Jewish Family Saturday, March 26. 2011Thanks, friendAn Apple-connected friend sent me the gifts of an iPad and a groovy big Macbook Pro today. Very nice indeed. Slick machines. They work with my wireless, and have come with abundant Apple assitance from my local Apple Store. Plus he had them set up with my own new email etc. Am I ready for this? But exactly how do all these Apple things work? My fingers are not trained for this, much less my brain. He says "Now, mind you, I am not an Apple evangelist, but..." Right. I'll give it the old college try before dinner out on the town, while I listen to Dylan Radio. Me think me needs an Apple mouse in my house. Didn't ya just know it?Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links. What if it turns out, like in Egypt (and in Afghanistan in the past), that the US and Euroland are naively laying out a red carpet for the Jihadists? Then what? Steyn: Do-gooders in a land with no good guys:
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Saturday morning linksWhy every kid in America doesn't need to be educated Sex games in the Navy Extra points for lesbians? What the heck would you expect? The Arts: After the Grants -- It Didn't Happen Anymore (h/t Insty) Amusing: The Fall And Rise Of Rebecca Black Buchanan: How Killing Libyans Became a Moral Imperative Traditional Diplomacy Blooming in Moscow Cleveland’s Signs of Renewal Moonbattery: State Department, UN Spend Our Money on Nukes for Iran and Syria neoneo: More political change stories The intractable violence in the Ivory Coast continues unabated. Breitbart TV: Palin on the Vicious Political Double Standard For Women NY Times Shocked To Find Islamists Rising In Egypt:
Manhattan Moment: What America really needs is a White House Council on Men and Boys From My name is Matt, and I am a public employee:
Sounds like a good guy. Krauthammer on Obama's refusal to lead I think Obama has a passive, and maybe reflective temperament. That's not a bad thing in itself - except in a leadership job. Friday, March 25. 2011Low on gas over Japan, after the quakeA Delta pilot’s story written by a Delta pilot on approach to Tokyo during the earthquake, forwarded thru CTV Television:
Continue reading "Low on gas over Japan, after the quake"
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Friday morning linksAnchoress: The Toxicity of Idolatry – UPDATED Horowitz: Suicidal Jews and the Anti-Semites They Ignore (and Sometimes Embrace) Coulter: Liberals: They Blinded Us With Science $461 million project will speed train trip to Raleigh by 13 minutes Ain't it inspiring to see government spending your money? Jammie: Radical Governor Threatens Government Shutdown It's about Gov. Cuomo ll New census milestone: Hispanics to hit 50 million Related: How many people want to move to the US? Lots and lots of 'em. More than anybody would want. Book is applauded: Gary Wills says it's dumb I suspect Wills is right.
Am Thinker: The Crisis of Modern Male Immaturity Before Libyan Revolt, U.S. Was Planning To Sell Gaddafi Military Equipment Economics of Anti-Consumer, Protectionist Taxi Cartels: $624-850,000 for a NYC Medallion Sally Pipes: A glimpse of a future with Obamacare Thursday, March 24. 2011"Unreported Soros Event Aims to Remake Entire Global Economy"Left-wing billionaire's own experts dominate quiet push for 'a grand bargain that rearranges the entire financial order.' The report begins:
Thursday morning linksPrelutsky: What’s So Darn Great About Islam? And today's number one reason for wishing the entire editorial board of the New York Times had just one neck is... Barney Frank Calls Republicans Morally Stupid Bigots Not "clingers"? Obama's War on the Middle Class Yes, conservatives self-select away from academia. Standpoint: Dust Busting Today's Gender Myths Physics Envy May Be Hazardous To Your Health– And Economy So does Maggie's Farm Andy Griffith's Obamacare Ads Cost Taxpayers $3.66 Million David Warren on Libya:
But of Course: NOW Blames the Victim A book that needed writing, by Israel's Capote Muslim Brotherhood’s Weeklong Celebration of the Caliphate at Virginia Military Institute Why NATO Members Disagree on Libya Making Hookups Happen at the University of Chicago Dang. I went to college too early Via Betsy: Ohio's Governor Moves Against Unions - The reform goes further than Wisconsin's.
Wednesday, March 23. 2011Weds. morning linksWashington Invents an Anti-Bullying Law Bullying: Yes, Violence Can be the Answer Social Leveling: Socialism and Secularism Mead: Strategic Lessons From Hannibal’s War Sen. Coburn: A Physician’s Check-up on the One-Year-Old Health-Care Law Walter Williams: Up from the projects Ethanol is dirtier than gasoline She grabbed her pink .38 Special Volokh: Has Obama Taken the Imperial Presidency to a Greater Height than Bush?
Tuesday, March 22. 2011A few more morning linksGeorge Will is smart here: Blithely off to war - Has O thought Libya through?
Obamacare: One Year Later, Even Less Popular
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Tuesday morning linksWanted: Stories of Successful People Without College Degrees Juan Williams: ‘Time to Defund NPR’ Arab News: What if Arabs had recognized the State of Israel in 1948? Gifts of bogus statistics for the health-care law’s birthday HNN: LIBYA ANOTHER IRAQ OR IRAN? O: Let’s be even more dependent on foreign oil The great paywall debate: Will The New York Times’ new model work? Noted Constitutional scholar on the US intervention in Libya “…there is no greater truth than global warming, with its threat of a shrinking snowpack…” Slate: Law of Averages - Why the law-school bubble is bursting. Hubristic Republicans Misread Political Landscape: Albert Hunt US Army Apologizes for Horrific Photos from Afghanistan These guys were diabolical, if they did what is alleged. As Insty puts it:
Monday, March 21. 2011Illegal immigration: Take down the bird-feederI bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, I reflected as I filled it lovingly with seed. First came the chickadees and then within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table. Everywhere! Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. Other birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food. After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be: quiet and serene. Now let's see. Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly, our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; and you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor. Your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English. Corn flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties. Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder. Photo is from Best Nest, the official Maggie's Farm-endorsed source for bird houses and bird feeders
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Monday morning links
Payne toon above from Reason. Andrea Mitchell Explains Why NPR Should Be Funded With Your Money Modernist cuisine, with germs and feces NEWSWEEK gave 1,000 Americans the U.S. Citizenship Test--38 percent failed. Obama as arms dealer Who was more conservative, Bush or Reagan? Jacobson's Saturday Night Card Game ("I didn't call you racist, I just pointed out you're white") Apartheid is Alive and Well in Araby UN Organization Erases Holocaust from Palestinian Textbooks in Jordan WaPo: Obama’s odd war WaPo: Is there a Chavez terror network on America’s doorstep? BBC World Service to sign funding deal with US state department El Baradai stoned and shoed: The truth in Egypt comes out. Rubin says:
Leftists, Marxists, Anti-Semites & Pro-Union Activists Hold Antiwar “Palin Whore” Rally Cuomo and 'the Rich' - A Democrat who isn't raising taxes. Sunday, March 20. 2011Libya againOne of my staunchly Conservative brethren at church today (all are my brethren, regardless of their politics) was adamantly opposed to American intervention in a Libyan civil war, or uprising, or whatever the heck it is. Naturally, we Americans are being labeled "Crusaders." Not an insulting label in my view (because I view the Crusades as an effort to push back against the Moslem invasion and occupation of the Holy Land which closed it off to pilgrims), but I think it's a roll of the dice, maybe too late, partly designed to prove Obama's - or Hillary's - masculine bona fides. War is always interesting, horror that it is. I do not know whether this all makes sense or not. Latest update: Allied Forces Attack Libya. That article leaves me confused about goals and purposes, but I am not too smart and have never claimed to be. Our Commander in Chief is partying in Rio but he knows nothing about military matters so it doesn't make any difference. The Libs are having a fit, and the Arabs suddenly are not pleased either. Now back to yard and farm chores. Spring is coming, and I see the feisty Redwings at my bird-feeder. Lots to get done here to fend off entropy and nature's relentless rebellion against man's efforts to make things his way. Saturday, March 19. 2011Saturday morning linksGovernment unions gone berserker: "Governor Scott Walker wants to kill puppies." Related: The Greatest Blog Post Ever Written? Unreal. Now They’re Changing the Bible to Make It More Gender Neutral That's crazy. We all know that God is a woman. Blackfive: The UN actually acts on Libya- now what? Powerline: One-Third of a French Fry Short of a Big Mac Meal Obama Administration Compounds the Inherent Contradictions in Foreign Policy Jonathan Chait Completely Misses the Point Government Motors Guilty of Fraud on Chevy Volt Sixty-four senators call on Obama to take up tax and entitlement reform TIME: Why Are We Going to War with Libya?-- Friday, March 18. 2011LibyaIf you can believe it, I have no strong opinion. The Islamic middle east, and its peripheral outliers like Libya will be sad, barbaric, prehistoric dumps where people live crappy lives (by our standards) for a long time. It's Cocktail Hour, and I am headed out on the town to meet gals and friends in my local dumps, and to be grateful that I am in NYC and not in Libya. That is all.
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Friday morning linksGood stuff on Ring Lardner: Baseball’s Loss of Innocence NPR Admits It's Packed With Liberals When Is It Okay To Rape A Woman? Large Hadron Collider Could Be World's First Time Machine, Researchers' Theory Suggests Make me 32 again A classic headline Moonbattery: Madison Commies Sound Off Dem suggests GOP housing opposition racially motivated Germans? Israel Seizes German-Owned Vessel, Aiming to Arm its Enemies Democrats wonder: What's our plan? How Does It Feel To Be a Victim? Ask Prof. Bayoumi Reason: Save the Internet From Al Franken When Can Students Challenge Speech Codes? Sowell: Redevelopment: A High-Priced Political Hoax Harvard’s Ferguson: Obama Leading Us Back to Carter '70s Kerry finds his voice You gotta be kidding. Iran Widens Crackdown on Religious Minorities Lastest From Project Veritas: NPR Execs Admit to Soros Funding WSJ: Progressive Government Is Obsolete
Thursday, March 17. 2011Obama Compounds the Inherent Contradictions in US Foreign PolicyFrom Vietnam to today, the majority of US public opinion has supported confronting active threats to US security. And, naturally, Americans sympathize with the oppressed and their human rights. However, as the costs rose, time elapsed, and foreign policy dilettantes recoil from the realities of armed intervention, other firmer supporters increasingly bemoan the restrictions imposed by the half-hearted and the saboteurs of winning that not only cost more US military lives but place the end-goals in jeopardy. In short, the inherent contradiction in US foreign policy is between those willing to undertake the burdens and those who undermine that will. This leads to initial enthusiasms that fade to regrets, and has created a new isolationism among many who favor strong actions but – having paid the price -- are unwilling to become wasted cannon fodder. This is particularly felt among many veterans who have felt the anguish of their efforts being undercut and frittered. Most – but not all – of the usual advocates of an assertive US foreign policy argue for the US to be clearer and more forthright in standing by those in the Middle East fighting against its satraps – whether allied to or opponents of the US. The situation in Libya is the current front, while those in Tunisia and Egypt fade from the short attention span of the front pages. The incoherency of President Obama’s foreign policies, from inauguration to now, however, undermines from the get-go the expectations of focus, perseverance, adequate means, and thus favorable results. The only consistent behavior shown by the Obama administration has been weak and dithering resolve to protect US interests coupled with rewarding enemies and undercutting allies. There is nothing in the Obama administration’s handling of the current revolts in the Middle East that indicates a meaningful learning or reversal of this course. Indeed, the ongoing dithering and waffling in the face of events only reinforces the view of an administration at best adrift in confusion, ignorance and denial, and at worst purposely dangerous in furthering US interests abroad. There are good arguments to be made for the US intervening more actively and forcibly in the Middle East revolts, but in my view they pale before the lack of confidence that the Obama administration has labored so hard to deserve. This is especially so given the likely outcomes just enmeshing the US further in the Arab world’s self-inflicted dysfunctionality, with not even any worthwhile gratitude to result. It is not easy nor consistent with our decency to see innocents or rebels slaughtered. It is less easy to send our sons and daughters into the cauldron created by the Arabs themselves, with only slightly marginal lasting results the best outcome and more likely not even that. P.S.: Andrew McCarthy at National Review goes into more detail. Read it all, and think, think, think.
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