Wednesday, June 25. 2008
 That's a photo of Ellen Carrington, Miss Tennessee, who carries an S&W .40. I see nice bulges, but no gun bulge. Maybe she cutely stows it in the back of her panties.
European vexillophobia Stunning pic of Sting Ray migration. (h/t, Grapevine) 50 scientifically-proven ways to be persuasive. God bless the speculators. Stossel Great moments in climate alarmism. Climate Skeptic More Quincy. Mirrors FEMA doing a great job. That's not news, though. Obama's lack of normal modesty. Am Thinker Big governments serve the needy worse Performance-enhancing drugs in the white-collar workplace If Scalia writes DC v. Heller (h/t, Insty) Ethanol: minimal impact on gas prices, pressure on food Thank you for smoking. More on global cooling Physics prof says nothing you can do about warming. Too bad, because I think we need more global warming, and I'd like to help. When talking makes things worse. Max Boot Since when did the Presbyterians go insane? Good grief.
Imus interviewed Rolling Stone's Jan Wenner this morning, about Wenner's recent interview of Obama. (Wenner is an Obamamaniac, but it's all about style for him. And "change" - as Wenner profoundly said, and I paraphrase: "Everything is going so wrong. We all want change today.") Anyway, Wenner said that Obama told him that his favorite song is Dylan's Maggies Farm, which he has on his iPod. Clearly we enjoy the spirit of the song too, but if Obama really wants to be a cool dude, he needs to get hip to Maggie's Farm blog.
Tuesday, June 24. 2008
 The 100 push-up program. Like Joe Carter, I will begin today. Naw, maybe tomorrow...
The AP wallows in a parody of gloom. "Could be seen as patronizing" Really? Iran's "nightmare scenario" mulled: NY Sun Defending the faith: LaShawn on Christian Apologetics Another Obama flat-out lie. McCain gets meaningful endorsement. A Coney Island of the Mind, revisited. The first time I read it, I was blown away. Academic cannon fodder. A lesson in economics from a Chinese finance minister. Look at job growth in Texas. The Bush Paradox. David Brooks. A quote: Bush is a stubborn man. Well, without that stubbornness, that unwillingness to accept defeat on his watch, he never would have bucked the opposition to the surge. Bush is an outrageously self-confident man. Well, without that self-confidence he never would have overruled his generals.
 Quoted at EU Referendum:
He was asking, "Has Europe's terminal crisis begun with a triple no vote?", telling us that, "The ultra-Europeans have overplayed their hand," and then asserting: "We can now glimpse a chain of events that will halt, and reverse, this extremist push towards an Über-state that almost no one wants."
He may be right when he says: "the attempt to override the triple "no" votes of the French, Dutch, and Irish peoples has brought the EU to a systemic crisis of legitimacy," adding, "A line too many has been crossed. Any sentient citizen can see that the process has become unhinged."
Girls forbidden to whistle at construction workers Quote from a speech posted at Brussels Journal: To say that the luminaries of the conference disappointed my hopes is to understate things. But to say that that were luminous is to be perfectly accurate. I’ll just name three of the most prominent and powerful: • Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanouglu of Turkey.
• Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
• His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal al Saud, former director of Saudi intelligence, and until recently the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. These men are educated… well traveled… experienced… wealthy… and Westernized. And each of them told the conference that for the West and Islam to reconcile, the West must abandon the principle of free speech.
From Investor's Business Daily: No one likes war. War is a horrific affair, bloody and expensive. Sending our men and women into battle to perhaps die or be maimed is an unconscionable thought.
Yet some wars need to be waged, and someone needs to lead. The citizenry and Congress are often ambivalent or largely opposed to any given war. It's up to our leader to convince them. That's why we call the leader "Commander in Chief."
George W.'s war was no different. There was lots of resistance to it. Many in Congress were vehemently against the idea. The Commander in Chief had to lobby for legislative approval.
Along with supporters, George W. used the force of his convictions, the power of his title and every ounce of moral suasion he could muster to rally support. He had to assure Congress and the public that the war was morally justified, winnable and affordable. Congress eventually came around and voted overwhelmingly to wage war.
George W. then lobbied foreign governments for support. But in the end, only one European nation helped us. The rest of the world sat on its hands and watched.
After a few quick victories, things started to go bad. There were many dark days when all the news was discouraging. Casualties began to mount. It became obvious that our forces were too small. Congress began to drag its feet about funding the effort.
Many who had voted to support the war just a few years earlier were beginning to speak against it and accuse the Commander in Chief of misleading them. Many critics began to call him incompetent, an idiot and even a liar. Journalists joined the negative chorus with a vengeance.
As the war entered its fourth year, the public began to grow weary of the conflict and the casualties. George W.'s popularity plummeted. Yet through it all, he stood firm, supporting the troops and endorsing the struggle.
Without his unwavering support, the war would have surely ended, then and there, in overwhelming and total defeat.
At this darkest of times, he began to make some changes. More troops were added and trained. Some advisers were shuffled, and new generals installed.
Then, unexpectedly and gradually, things began to improve. Now it was the enemy that appeared to be growing weary of the lengthy conflict and losing support. Victories began to come, and hope returned.
Many critics in Congress and the press said the improvements were just George W.'s good luck. The progress, they said, would be temporary. He knew, however, that in warfare good fortune counts.
Then, in the unlikeliest of circumstances and perhaps the most historic example of military luck, the enemy blundered and was resoundingly defeated. After six long years of war, the Commander in Chief basked in a most hard-fought victory.
So on that historic day, Oct. 19, 1781, in a place called Yorktown, a satisfied George Washington sat upon his beautiful white horse and accepted the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.
Practicing medicine has become a crappy job. Insty Tom Wolfe returns to Wall Street Where in the Constitution....does it permit Congress to tell us what lightbulbs to use? Ted Poe is funny.
A pilot's ideal cockpit, via Theo: 
The Czech libertarian spirit is alive and well. SDA In defense of sweatshops. There is no reality in the Dem energy "policy." The best movie ever about Communist Romania Miss Tennessee has a concealed carry permit. Majority of Dems want to nationalize oil industry. Is that before - or after - they nationalize medicine and Big Food? Maybe they should just tell us what they don't want to nationalize. Evidence supports School Choice. Pajamas 27 daily affirmations for bloggers Carla and Michael attack the Massachusetts tax dragon. Good luck to them. I am breathlessly awaiting the Supremes' DC gun ban decision. Any day now.
Monday, June 23. 2008
 Bad boys get more girls. (h/t, Flares)
Another drop-out who made good. Carl Right Wing Prof vs. The Power. Obama losing his sheen? Pajamas. Heck, he's just another Chicago pol. Breaking his promise re public financing clinches the argument. But the card he has up his sleeve is the Race Card. Is the high price of oil really unintended? Synthstuff. He is right: high oil prices is Dem official policy. Should McCain pick a lady Veep? Pot OK, tobacco not. The incredible disappearing Iraq War. Confed. Yank The Global Warming Inquisition. We just knew this was coming. Do you know your lumber? Not like Sipp, you don't. Citigroup to fire tons of bankers. A once-great company is now a mess. Thanks for nothin', Sandy Weil. Newspapers in deep trouble. Why I don't want kids. Captain Capitalism. Kids are, no doubt, impractical. But who wants to be practical? Correcting your Mozart deficit. NY Sun Sharpton vs Imus, Round Two? Good grief.
Me back from Maine, refreshed and full of clams, mussels and Codfish, and happy to have a hot shower with something called "soap." My summer vacation time is all used up, but I still have my weekend boating schedule to keep me summering although I am already thinking about hunting season. Did some thinking about how to improve my little corner of Maggie's Farm, but did not come up with any great ideas, other than to post less, more often, if only to make my job easier for me. I am not trying to compete with Insty. However, I have catch-up today since I have been happily without any news for going on two weeks. Funny how life goes on just the same whether you know what's happening or not. News is at least half entertainment and diversion/distraction but, on the other hand, being informed and involved is one's duty as a citizen in a free republic - even in summertime. Sad to hear about Russert. A decent, likeable fellow, too young to go. Carlin too, although I never quite enjoyed his humor too much. Memento mori. Here's a view of Acadia park, where I have been bumming it. Yes, the water is cold: 
Back to reality? What is "reality"? One Cosmos My alcoholism, from Dean's World. A damn good piece. (h/t, Mod. Voice) A vehicle from the point of view of a dog. Bad idea: dogs must be expected to adjust. Another blogger we enjoy takes a break. Prof Deneen. Wise move. Production without compensation is insane. At Maggie's, we are all insane. Mordechai Kedar on that Al Jazeera interview, at Youtube Dr. Merc already posted this, but it's a serious point. Obama not ready for prime time. But neither was Bush the Younger. Related: How to read a far Left-wing hack like Frank Rich. Related: Thinking about David Brooks' piece on Obama Power blackouts in the strangest places. The NYT is rife with biased reporting on Israel. They are rife with biased reporting about everything else, too. Pssst. I can make you a deal on a Pious Prius. It's a marketing triumph. Another Irish referendum? I guess you can keep making them vote until they vote the way you want them to. The exodus of the middle class from San Francisco. Isn't it rather basic that prices go up when a thing is desirable? What's the big deal? That middle class is making a killing by selling their SF houses. Theophobia. Prof. Bainbridge Loses 80 lbs. on a MacDonalds diet 16 year-old plans solo sail around the world. Mom claims to be relaxed about it. Happy 5th Birthday, American Digest. Vanderleun is a member of our cybertribe, I think. Kelo update. Volokh Democrat language, translated. It is not complicated. Not enough cheap power? Blame the Evil Corporations. Are men more sexy if they do housework? Dr. Helen. Sexy or not, of course men do housework. It just has to get done sometimes - but as little as possible to maintain minimal decency. It's called "man clean," meaning that the pizza boxes and beer cans go to the garbage before you have a girl over. Via Coyote: "Democrats are great public supporters of science over faith (e.g. stem cell research, evolution) except when the science is economics and one's faith is in government." Where's the virtue in permitting evil to triumph? Neoneo What's the Dem energy policy? Related: The Big Lie about ANWR. The big economic story of the year is about the bond insurors. From Bloomberg: "Financial Security and Assured Guaranty Ltd.'s insurance unit were the only bond insurers to keep a top rating and stable outlook from Fitch, Moody's & S&P."
FSA has been the strongest, meaning there is no hope for Assured.
and more at Bloomberg: "The funds are concerned that they may get stuck with the debt because banks that have agreed to act as buyers of last resort can cancel those agreements when insurers' credit ratings drop below specified levels."
and more. It's a fascinating story with all sorts of implications for debt markets and for muni markets. I don't understand the ins and outs of credit default swap pricing, but I can understand the implications of the collapse of the bond insurors. As we said here months ago, if Maggie's were a billion-dollar fund we'd have been buying distressed credits for 8 months. And now we'd be selling them to the other hedgies and making millions.
Sunday, June 22. 2008
A video tribute to the guys (and gals) in harm's way, from Theo Why are they sending me this advt? "You may qualify for Medicare to pay for your powered wheelchair." Sheesh. Not quite yet. The Caracas-Jihad connection. NY Sun The train wreck of single-payer medical care in California. Same thing happens in China: Being a baby girl in India is a bad deal. The multiculturalist cult demands that we respect this, however. Ten interesting facts about kissing The Left takes on Toyota and the Prius. They can whine all they want, but I won't listen until a communist country builds a car anybody would chose to buy. RIP Tim Russert. NYT
Thursday, June 19. 2008
From Obama and McCain: Now that the two parties have finally selected their presidential candidates, it is time for a sober-- if not grim-- assessment of where we are. Not since 1972 have we been presented with two such painfully inadequate candidates. When election day came that year, I could not bring myself to vote for either George McGovern or Richard Nixon. I stayed home. This year, none of us has that luxury. While all sorts of gushing is going on in the media, and posturing is going on in politics, the biggest national sponsor of terrorism in the world-- Iran-- is moving step by step toward building a nuclear bomb.
Sunday, June 15. 2008
 Back from the sea. Heading down to Maine now for a few more days of vacation. By this hour, there should be no traffic hassles. And, no - I have not been invited to anybody's grand waterfront "cottage" in one of those upper-crust Maine villages. I will be roughin' it in Acadia Park, like the working class, no-trust-fund, non-country club Reagan Republican that I am, with some old college pals. Definitely no golf. Clams, beer, and lots of fresh fried cod with fries and cole slaw. Salt and vinegar on the fish. A few lobsters, too. I shall swim - or at least immerse - in that ice-cold June water, if only to try to stay clean. Lots of hiking around. No golf, but some deep-water fishing. I have pre-posted some things to try to help keep Maggie's in business. See y'all in a while. (No, I do not do cameras. I do love looking at photos of stuff, but I learned that, when I go somewhere with a camera, I focus on the camera instead of on the thing itself. So I gave 'em up.)
Pre-posted for your reading pleasure, like all of Bird Dog's posts this week: Are men boring? Women think so. They never met me. Inconspicuous consumption. The less money your peer group has, the more bling you buy. Giving poor kids laptops does nothing for them. Saudi-run VA school teaches hate. But if some cultures hate, then isn't tolerance of hate multiculturally tolerant? The utopian origins of Dilbert's workspace The few, the proud. Harvard's 5 ROTC grads Politics and religion: Permitted, but not encouraged? The Myth of Equality: Bynum in The New English Review Why the FCC should not exist Get ready for the oil price drop
Some Father's Day eye candy, courtesy of Theo: 
Friday, June 13. 2008
Good piece by neoneo on Keillor on Obama's silver tongue. I thought TV had rendered old-fashioned oratory obsolete, and had been replaced by TV's Cool Charisma. Maybe not. After all, a passionate preacher is still a fine thing. Remember when Biden said Obama was "articulate and clean"? OK, here's "articulate," without the teleprompter.
Where's my warming? How long must I wait?
 Re the Supremes' Guantanamo decision, Scotus Blog. Also, Powerline. Also, Dem Project.
Obama admits he is in favor of higher gas prices Time to learn what Credit Default Swaps are, because they are the next big mess. David Warren: Silencing Canadian clergy Survival tips for time travel to 1000 AD. (h/t, Attack Machine) Dude, Where's my recession? Insty All bad weather is henceforth from Global Warming. More from Chicken Little. How does your compensation compare? h/t, Dr. Bob's Weds. links The religion of peace. SDA, with an example. Image: The Iowa, at work. h/t Theo. Raw violence can be strangely beautiful.
Thursday, June 12. 2008
The Anchoress writes up a storm: Go ahead, impeach him What's in your spouse's wallet? Are the media ever going to tell us what Obama believes? Related: Not the Jim Johnson I knew. Getting mighty crowded under that bus. Mr. Sun is letting us down. No sunspots = cooler climates. Is Maggie's Farm the only website that favors global warming? Coyote: "perhaps 99% of all government policy failed on incentives issues" Financial advisors' scare tactics on seniors. Sounds like they learned these tricks from the Dems. Related: How long will you live? Where are all those Priuses? Daily (marital) sex - for one year. A burden, but do-able - depending on the book I am into. A true gentleman never disappoints a lady in need. Drones for the people! McCain vows to crack down on free enterprise. What? Well, nobody's perfect, right? Speaking of imperfection, the YouTube of McCain's slip-ups
Wednesday, June 11. 2008
Who knew that pandering pols put a 54-cent tariff on imported ethanol for the benefit of domestic corn farmers and ethanol producers? Story here. The ethanol scam industry would not exist without subsidies (which we pay for - via our income taxes, not at the pump) and protective tariffs. Of course, federal and state taxes on a gallon of gas add plenty too. And this leads me to the big missing campaign issue: Dems refuse further drilling, block refineries, block nuclear and, due to their greenie alliance, want to force fuel prices higher to reduce usage. Yet, at the same time, they complain vehemently about energy costs and want to punish the oil companies. It's nonsense, unless you believe in fairies. The Dems are selling fairy tales about energy - and about other things too.
Tuesday, June 10. 2008
 How Amnesty International frames their questions. Norm
Iowahawk will soon be an internet millionaire. Let's hope he continues his Presidential campaign, despite his coming wealth. Will the press actually raise some questions about Obama? Well, they did here. Related: CT's Joe Lieberman fights back. I guess Joe passed on the Kool Aid. Yacht sales sinking. No surprise. Oil prices up, demand down. Only a socialist couldn't understand that. Oil demand down. Prices up, demand down. Only a socialist couldn't understand that. A question of timing: How come suddenly we hear all about Saddam's ties with Al Qaida? "Shut the hell up." A Roger Simon quote from his Pajamas piece: It’s time in America to say - enough. Spike Lee - like Sharpton and Jackson - is now part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Image: A sultry Theo lovely, lounging in a Springtime meadow with that olde Springtime "Come hither" look.
A quote from Michael Lewis at Bloomberg: There's a new feeling in the Wall Street air: The big firms are now too big to fail. If the chaos that might ensue from Bear Stearns going bankrupt, and stiffing its counterparties on its billions of dollars of trades, is too much for the world to endure, the chaos that might be caused by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. or Goldman Sachs Group Inc. or Merrill Lynch & Co. or Morgan Stanley going bankrupt must also be too much to endure.
Congress privatizes their restaurants. Story at Surber.
At TigerHawk. One quote: Taking these stories together, one is forced to conclude that the Democrats and their political allies in the environmental movement are pushing for policies that have a disproportionate impact on the rural "working poor," the vast majority of whom live in states that tend to vote Republican. Smart move.
Monday, June 9. 2008
FYI: I will likely be away the rest of this week and next, depending on the weather. I really do need a vacation with plenty of salt water, seafood, sand, and sun. Boating this week around RI, Montauk, Cuttyhunk, Nantucket, and Chatham, then, afterwards, camping on the coast in Maine. That is my current plan, anyway, but I do not camp in rain: been there, done that. I will try to post if and when I can, and will pre-post a few items if I feel inspired. Sometimes I wonder why I turned my "links" posts into a near-daily item. It just grew like Topsy, but it was never intended. And it was never intended to try to be timely - just interesting. Our original idea here was to avoid the timely (and to limit our total number of posts to 3-4/day max), because you can depend on the rest of the web for hot news. However, one does tend to get caught up in ephemera - if only as diversion and for its entertainment value. Yes, I do need a little vacation from politics, work, and the internets - and some good American perspective and some good American clams and a good American sunburn or two. I am amused to see our excellent blog pal and fellow Yankee Jules doing the same thing. This Irishman knows what he's doing. Apparently he is not inclined to vote his freedom and autonomy away. Clearly, he is not "Progressive." With health care "reform," Ted Kennedy would die right away, In the remarkable world of modern medicine, only rationing can cut costs. I forget the exact stats, but something like 80% of US medical care costs are in the final year of life. Adding weeks or months to dying peoples' lives is one expensive thing at which medical science has excelled. (Don't get me wrong - it has also produced wonderful, near-miraculous things.)  Stuff White People Like: Having gay friends.
Al Gore investing in a carbon credit company. Related: Is global warming really a pressing problem? Related: The cost of an insurance policy matters. The fundamental right to be left alone Steyn on Obama's "humility". I still think Obama's promising nice weather forever could set people up for disappointment. Related: Obama - A True Ideologue, at Pajamas. Related: No Pasaran quotes Goldberg: [FDR's] New Deal gave Americans "hope" and "faith" in a "cause larger than themselves." Hope for what? Faith in what? What "cause"? The answer: the liberal God-state or, if you prefer, the Great Society — which is merely that society governed by the God-state in accordance with the general will.
Panda s*x. With photos Upper photo: Nice boat
Lower photo: The News Junkie, hard at work.
 I support John McCain. I believe he is a good fellow, but seemingly not as conservative or as reflective a fellow as I would like. However, I've been around long enough to know that life is never perfect.
I forget where I read it, but somebody noted that John McCain has to burst the Obama bubble before he can be heard in the face of MSM and teeny-bopper Obamamania. How does an aging pol like John McCain say "Hey - this isn't real. This is fluff, BS, and pixie dust" without sounding like Gramps breaking up a kegger? Hillary Clinton tried all that, and nothing seemed to stick because the guy seems so young and cheerfully confident, and such a purveyor of "hope." Try telling an amateur investor that "Hope is not a plan." They get mad when they are told that. Plus having the gatekeeper MSM deep in Obama's underpants makes it all much more difficult. I think we saw this same scenario with Bill Clinton, not so long ago. And with Jimmy Carter, too, if anybody is old enough to remember that. He was going to change politics forever.
Sunday, June 8. 2008
 No slacker left behind. Moonbattery. After all, rewarding effort and achievement is just so Capitalistic.
1000 kg WW2 bomb defused in London. Still ticking? How can that be? Chavez eating some crow. About time. Actor Bob Anderson died. Who? You remember him. I always loved Simenon. Read some of his in French (in school), most in English. I had no idea he was so prolific. Canada signs trade agreement with Colombia. Not the US, though. Since when did "Love thine enemy" mean "Hate thine friend"? And who elects people to love my enemy anyway? Chuck Hagel joins the Blame America First crowd. How John McCain can use the internet Why the electoral college will never go away. The Guardian's position on Islam Britain's Free Speech breakdown. Can I say it again? Brave New World is not a handbook. What could Mark Steyn's punishment look like? h/t, piece at Tiger Serious finger-painting Lots of good posts at Coyote Quoted in a piece at Villainous: The U.S. birth rate is 2.0, just below replacement. We have an increase in population because of immigration. When broken down by ethnicity, the Anglo birth rate is 1.6 (same as France) while the Hispanic birth rate is 2.7. In the U.S., the baby boomers are starting to retire in massive numbers. This will push the "elder dependency" ratio from 19 to 38 over the next 10 to 15 years. This is not as bad as Europe, but still represents the same kind of trend.
Obama: Lightworker. Good grief. Maybe he really is the real Mighty Quinn. Either that, or our reporter is freakin' insane from homoerotomania. To me, he is the teeny-bopper candidate. Hey - the dude is just a Commie Chicago pol who talks like a preacher, for heaven's sake. Maybe reporters just aren't used to hearing preachers. O'Rourke as quoted in a piece at No Left Turns: The problem on the left is, now that Karl Marx has forsaken them, they have no philosophy. Thank goodness. Think what evil creeps liberals would be if their plans to enfeeble the individual, exhaust the economy, impede the rule of law, and cripple national defense were guided by a coherent ideology instead of smug ignorance.
Obama maps a 57 50-state campaign. They have the money and the volunteers to do it. Related: Phony ops build the Obama Myth. Related, from Big Lizards: Barack Obama, giving commencement speeches, sneers at graduates whose vision is to own their home or business. Instead he exhorts them to do something about global warming or other manufactured crises of the left. “You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy,” he said about a week ago, as if this were an ignoble pursuit. He would prefer this: But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate, though you do have that obligation. Not because you have a debt to all those who helped you get here, though you do have that debt. “It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America’s story.
That interpretation of the promise of America might be a surprise to the people who actually did build the country. You know, those who hitched their wagons to oxen, not ideology. That’s how this country was built. Obama might know that if he had ever actually created a job, instead of attacking those who have.
My "individual salvation depends on collective salvation." Huh? What? Since when? I think I need a vacation to deeply ponder this notion of "collective salvation." Or is the "wagon" I am supposed to hitch onto just the same old IRS?
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