Thursday, March 6. 2008
I will support this fellow. I do not agree with him about every issue - but I do not agree with anybody about every issue. I just hope he won't be another Bob Dole in the campaign. Here are some bits from his March 4 comments:
 We have had problems with images as fallout from the things we had to do to manage our link storm this week. Bear with us.
Michelle Obama: A hand full of gimme. It is indeed unseemly. Bill and Hillary's wealth. free Republic Guess what causes traffic jams. The trouble with Steve Jobs. CNN NYT favors the death tax - in theory only. Environmentalist dream: No humans What's wrong with this picture? The debate about ape rights in Spain Mr. Free Market found a good spot for a duck blind What Putin has done for the Russians. The Danny Boy rebellion. Pour encourager les autres. North Korean executions Sexualization of young girls. Wizbang The looming Medicare mess The Citgo boycott is having an impact. Why Iraq matters, from Powerline. It begins: For years now, the American left has been arguing that the war in Iraq is a distraction from the "real" war against al Qaeda and is counter-productive because it's "creating" new terrorists. Apparently, it never occurred to these deep-thinkers that inflicting a defeat on al-Qaeda in Iraq -- a defeat made possible because a previously sympathetic population turned with our help against al Qaeda -- might constitute a devastating blow to al Qaeda's standing in the Arab world.
More on the subject of Iraq: Al Qaida is losing the war of minds. Also, What the media is not telling you about Iraq today. What disease causes the most hospital days in the US? Schizophrenia
Wednesday, March 5. 2008
 There's a big world out there. Maggie's Farm hangs out in a comfy little corner of the "blogosphere." Of course, hard-core porn is the biggest biz by far on these internets, but we are accustomed to thinking of an Instalanche or a Powerline link as BIG. And a FARK link as very big. But Digg, whose link is below each of our posts (please click our Digg link if something might be of general interest), has true global power. Digg has exposed us to more than a month's worth of potential readers in 24 hrs. We hope some of 'em will stick around.
And, since I am on the subject of ye olde blogge, please, readers - don't be shy. Post a reaction or an opinion. We know that you are all busy, but we like to hear reactions, and you do not need to sign in or any of that annoying nonsense because we have a potent spam-stopper which sometimes stops even us. You be the pundit. What do you think about those primaries? Leave thoughts in comments. Bring on the Bronze Age. Tim Blair The nerve center of these internets. A big tangle of wires. Osama's Country Camps Who says Islam can't be changed? Blackfive Gary Gygax died. Perpetual adolescence at Rolling Stone NY Times fooled again. Volokh. Because they want to believe. Is shyness an illness? Want to see Liberal Fascism? Read this and follow the links. More problems at Citigroup. Is it a buy at $15-16?
Tuesday, March 4. 2008
 Can you dig it? The blog has been a little shaky because we were "Digged" last evening. We weren't prepared for that kind of volume, which was up to a dizzying peak of 15,000 visits/hour. It's interesting to see that Digg has a world-wide reach. A hearty "Howdy" to any Digg readers who explore Maggie's beyond that one linked piece (the bear release mishap). Chavez sent $300,000,000 to the FARC. In essence, Chavez and Correa have been waging a covert war against Colombia. I doubt this comes as a complete surprise to President Uribe. Most voters should not vote. I agree. French Presbyterian youth have a new tactic against the police. James Lovelock: It's too late. We're doomed. Meanwhile, Weather Channel founder blasts the newtwork for climate fraud. Insty noted this book on Erotomania, Stalking, and Obsessive Love, written by a Psychiatrist who was targeted by an obsessive stalker. Eco-snobbery: The hip new snobbery Sexual incompatibility and marriage trouble. Politics as religion. Neoneo Fascism is appealing to Liberals and Conservatives. Pajamas. Not to me: without an anchor to windward in libertarianism, the rocks of statism are always a danger to the freedom our government was set up to guarantee. Three rules for understanding Canada-US relations. Conrad Black: Justice Denied As American as... Chinese Food? From a review of a book by Jennifer Lee: Given, as Lee points out, that there are about 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., "more than the number of McDonald's, Burger Kings, and KFCs combined," Chinese food might be our national cuisine. "Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie," she writes. "But ask yourself. How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?"
Who Speaks for Islam? From a discussion of the new book: The politicization of scholars, experts and media commentators post 9/11 has created a minefield for policymakers and the general public. Many are caught between the contending positions of seemingly qualified experts as well as a new cadre of Islamophobic authors and their revisionist readings of Islam and Islamic history. Today, we now have a new empirically grounded tool that enables us to go beyond the limited interpretations and opinions of experts when asking: What do Muslims think, what do they care about, and what do they want?
Monday, March 3. 2008
From the WSJ: ...tomorrow the eyes of America will be on these two states moving in different directions. Ohio has an economy burdened by high taxes and work rules that impose heavy costs on employers. Texas embraces free trade, keeps taxes low, doesn't impose unions on business and has tooled itself for 21st century global competition. Ohioans may not like to hear this, but for any company considering where to locate a new plant or move an existing one, the choice between Ohio and Texas isn't even a close call. The challenge for our national economy in a world of competition is to become more like Texas and less like Ohio.
We got linked by Neatorama. They are one of those blogs that links random interesting stuff, like GrowaBrain does. I had not known about them before, but they must have large readership because they are sending us hundreds of linkers per hour. We had a similar mini avalanche from Bits and Pieces over the weekend. Health warnings for cheese? Maybe it would be easier just to paste a generic sticker on every product and every food in the world: "Caution: Use with care. This item might be dangerous to your mind, spirit, or body." Who are the new Soviets? Media, education, and Hollywood The enduring power of ethnic nationalism. Foreign Affairs. Yes, humans are tribal creatures, and feel more in common with those with shared values, customs, assumptions, and world views. It is difficult to know whether to trust people with different views of the world.
Moonbattery reports: A moonbat cult calling itself Re-create 68 plans to liven up the Democrat convention in Denver this summer. Its schedule reflects an ambitious agenda.
Here's a practice run, in Berkeley in February (h/t, Wizbang). Note the peaceful and tolerant attitudes of the moonbats (WARNING - DO NOT WATCH IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION):
Conrad Black discusses his Faith in American Justice in the NY Sun. I still do not understand what crime he committed, and neither does he.
Sunday, March 2. 2008
 At this rate, there will be no more Al Qaida in Iraq.
Waiting to die. Pathetic. A sea turtle hero. (h/t, Jungle Trader) Useful advice? Don't take a high-paying job. Like clockwork. Every election season, 60 Minutes presents a fraudulent news story. Who didn't wonder about this? They shoot rockets at your civilians, then act outraged and victimized when you react. I had a baby sister who knew that trick. The teaching colleagues who annoy the hell out of you. Chavez wants a war, to distract his people from the misery he has given them. When the weather changes, suddenly you cannot use weather in support of global warming. You know what war-lover said this: It's good fun to be with just a normal bunch of guys, listening to their problems, listening to what they think. And especially getting through every day, its not painful to be here, but you are doing a job and to be with such fantastic people, the Gurkhas and the guys I'm sharing a room with, makes it all worthwhile.
How the potato led to free trade The International Conference on Climate Change begins today, in NYC Dems are the "architects of modern racism." (Here's the website of the National Black Republican Association) Truth about NAFTA and Ohio. Cafe hayek David Brooks remembers the mentor On Michelle Obama at Powerline: "She's a depressing specimen of a post-modern class of victim -- demanding, whining, self-absorbed, self-pitying, and infantile." This is why Mark Levin is calling him Barry Milhous Obama. Speaking of which, this Obama video is creepy. Your kids belong to me. RTLC
Saturday, March 1. 2008
 A heachache blog! (h/t, McArdle)
The Boston Globe's decline. Jules Communism has only killed 100,000,000 people. Let's give it another try. No Pasaran Not your everyday book review: re Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale Somebody give these kids an English passport. Theo It makes everything more interesting: Adderal abuse. Strangest statue in Bennington, VT (h/t, Grow a Brain) Makes the US Postal Service look good. Brit hospitals Photo from Theo's billboard collection
Friday, February 29. 2008
 Heading for Mount Snow now, with an Alberta Clipper on the way promising another load of fresh powder in a few hours. Mount Snow is the best mountain south of Killington but, due to its location in southern VT, it tends to get crowded with New Yorkers on weekends.
Middle class taxes are at a record low. Any excuse to take your clothes off. Hillary's scare advertisement. Help the Brit earthquake victims! Dems rattling their sabers: Trade war (h/t, Pajamas) WSJ: Let houses find a bottom. Young, white and foolish. American vagabonds. Remarkable photos. Men are avoiding teaching as a career The Bernanke Reflation. The politics of miserabilism. The Economist Now it's all four global temp trackers that show serious cooling The Dem white male swing vote McCain's Freudian slips. Sheesh. At first I thought it was a comedy routine. Afraid not.
 The USS New York will be christened tomorrow (photo on right).
Is the era of Big Government back? More on the Columbia noose story. I think it's fishy. Also, from Columbia: How to set up a politicized ethnic studies center. Shouldn't those things be part of anthropology? Bobby Jindal is cleaning up the swamp. God bless him. A two-faced Obama. He is a politician. My first question about this Alphecca piece: Why is driving a car not a right? How to get a free meal at MacDonalds Have Americans become voluntary slaves? The press tries Plan B against McCain. Speaking of McCain, apparently he hates childlren and kicks puppies. The premise, of course, is that your children are the government's responsibility, ie my responsibility. Hot on the trail of dark matter. India's eternal affirmative action programs. AKA vote-buying. More on the Dem's proposed mortgage bailout. So why have I been paying mine?
Thursday, February 28. 2008
 Myron Magnet remembers Bill Buckley
The paternalistic approach to helping Africa Selling a dream. Henninger in the WSJ Lost in translation: The Backstroke of the West Soros update, at Am. Thinker. It begins: What does a very aged multi-billionaire do after he spends $25 million dollars to force a presidential election his way, and still falls flat on his face? Well, of course, he tries and tries again.
From an essay on freedom in the Nanny State, at Pajamas: “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. … The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” ~ Thomas Jefferson If some of the greats from American history, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln, were to magically appear before us today, I think they would be shocked at how the country they fought to shape and mold as a beacon of freedom and hope has turned out. These men, along with their contemporaries, believed in a country where you had the freedom to use the abilities you were born with, bestowed upon you by a higher being, to choose your own destiny — be it where you live, how you earn your keep, and whom you associate with. They believed in a country where citizens are free of interference from government, except in cases where said government protects its citizens from foreign invasion, provides basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and deals with those who break laws intended to protect the basic rights of all citizens (e.g., punishing burglars, murderers, etc.).
Wednesday, February 27. 2008
 The New Yorker piece linked this morning, "What Was I Thinking?", about behavioral economics is well worth reading. It's a fascinating field of study.
Snake eats family dog. A little science education for the kiddie-poos. Insty: JOHN STOSSEL: Guns save lives. Keith Richards talks Adding to blogroll: Q and O on the economy. Ten quotes against work. (h/t, Grow a Brain) Is Obama a feminized male? The larger question: Have our politics become feminized? The case against govt. subsidies for college. NAFTA nonsense. Milbots. Is there an ethical question? I do not see one. A comment on the Sam Zell piece linked earlier: He is at least right about one thing - the Dems' needing to talk down the economy as much as they can. Doom and gloom. Photo: A view of the back of the ocean dunes, Wellfleet, MA
 The snows of Kilimanjaro are back.
Sam Zell sees early housing recovery. Related: CSM predicts a mild slowdown. People make bad decisions, but they make them in systematic ways. It's about behavioral economics. McArdle to Repubs: the wrong way to frame health care debate. It's about emotion, not facts. Obama's plans for tax increases: how they will affect you. Related: Obama will be our first Moslem contender. In favor of language extinctions. Social Justice High. Pajamas Love cannot exist without pain. S,C&A Urban heat islands and temperature measurement error: Phoenix Complaints choirs. Sounds like the American electorate
Tuesday, February 26. 2008
We hate to kick a man when he's down, but this summary of Hillary Clinton's record came in over the transom today. We suspect this has something to do with why she is not finding the support she desires: Hillary Clinton has been telling America that she is the most qualified candidate for president based on her 'record,' which she says includes her eight years in the White House as First Lady - or 'co-president' - and her seven years in the Senate. Here is a little reminder of what that record includes: As First Lady, Hillary assumed authority over Health Care Reform, a process that cost the taxpayers over $13 million. She told both Bill Bradley and Patrick Moynihan, key votes needed to pass her legislation, that she would 'demonize' anyone who opposed it. But it was opposed; she couldn't even get it to a vote in a Congress controlled by her own party. (And in the next election, her party lost control of both the House and Senate.) - Hillary assumed authority over selecting a female Attorney General. Her first two recommendations, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, were forced to withdraw their names from consideration. She then chose Janet Reno. Janet Reno has since been described by Bill himself as 'my worst mistake.' Hillary recommended Lani Guanier for head of the Civil Rights Commission. When Guanier's radical views became known, her name had to be withdrawn. Hillary recommended her former law partners, Web Hubbell, Vince Foster, and William Kennedy for positions in the Justice Department, White House staff, and the Treasury, respectively. Hubbell was later imprisoned, Foster committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign. Hillary also recommended a close friend of the Clintons, Craig Livingstone, for the position of director of White House Security. When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of up to 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (“Filegate”) and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, both Hillary and her husband denied knowing him. FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene confirmed in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 1996 both the drug use and Hillary's involvement in hiring Livingstone. After that, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office, after serving seven presidents for over thirty years. In order to open “slots” in the White House for her friends the Thomasons (to whom millions of dollars in travel contracts could be awarded), Hillary had the entire staff of the White House Travel Office fired; they were reported to the FBI for 'gross mismanagement' and their reputations ruined. After a thirty-month investigation, only one, Billy Dale, was charged with a crime - mixing personal money with White House funds when he cashed checks. The jury acquitted him in less than two hours. Another of Hillary's assumed duties was directing the 'bimbo eruption squad' and scandal defense: ---- She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit. ---- She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor. After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs. ---- Then they had to settle with Paula Jones after all.---- And Bill lost his law license for lying to the grand jury ---- And Bill was impeached by the House. ---- And Hillary almost got herself indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice (she avoided it mostly because she repeated, 'I do not recall,' 'I have no recollection,' and 'I don't know' 56 times under oath). Hillary wrote 'It Takes a Village,' demonstrating her Socialist viewpoint. Hillary decided to seek election to the Senate in a state she had never lived in. Her husband pardoned FALN terrorists in order to get Latino support and the New Square Hassidim to get Jewish support. Hillary also had Bill pardon her brother's clients, for a small fee, to get financial support. Then Hillary left the White House, but later had to return $200,000 in White House furniture, china, and artwork she had stolen. In the campaign for the Senate, Hillary played the 'woman card' by portraying her opponent (Lazio) as a bully picking on her. Hillary's husband further protected her by asking the National Archives to withhold from the public until 2012 many records of their time in the White House, including much of Hillary's correspondence and her calendars. (There are ongoing lawsuits to force the release of those records.) As the junior Senator from New York, Hillary has passed no major legislation. She has deferred to the senior Senator (Schumer) to tend to the needs of New Yorkers, even on the hot issue of medical problems of workers involved in the cleanup of Ground Zero after 9/11. Hillary's one notable vote; supporting the plan to invade Iraq, has since been disavowed.
Louis Farrakhan says Obama is the hope of the world. God save us.
 Since when is being labelled a Moslem a smear?
Why is eating meat unacceptably patriarchal? Religion shopping in America Deer-resistant plantings. Global warmists try to stifle debate. John Fund The economy, bad decisions, and the endless pursuit of stuff, quoted from Free Republic: Lenders across the country are pulling the plug on equity lines and tightening credit after a lending spree to people for whom the housing market was their pot of gold. Much of this economic "pain" is self-inflicted. Rather than purchasing homes they could not afford - or putting too much down, making them cash poor - they might have invested their equity in balanced mutual funds (the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.59 percent over a 10-year period). Such a path could have avoided the tight spot in which many now find themselves. Some of the lust for bigger and better is human nature, but a lot is the result of consumerism. The Timex watch is no longer enough. We now must have a Rolex, though both accurately tell time. The adequate low-end automobile is insufficient. We must trade up to a luxury car with numbers and letters on the rear that mean nothing, but convey "status." And the house we are living in, which would have been more than adequate for our parents and certainly our grandparents, must be upgraded to larger digs in order to impress, if not growing families, than enlarged egos.
No more Mr. Nice Guy: Clinton to throw kitchen sink at Obama Female sexual predators. Why should that be puzzling? Having fun with hippies And speaking of firearms, the Prof likes this wheelgun. And speaking of hippies and weapons, here's a good example of how our MA intelligentsia thinks. Detroit schools. Quote from Surber: Hmm, if this were health care, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would be decrying those “greedy” teachers and bureaucrats and would be calling to slash spending and use more technology.
Monday, February 25. 2008
I'm hungry. Got any grub? If you vote for Hillary, you must be a racist. If you vote for Obama, you must be a sexist. Classical Values. If you live by PC, you will die by PC. Department of Hillbilly Studies? Riehl: Women seem to want politicians who sympathize with how hard they work. Pathetic, but it might be the reality. Pathetic because it's their husbands and kids who should appreciate their efforts - not politicians. Too many elephants? How can anybody have too many? Is the NYT news dept in free fall? Old blighty might be ready for dhimmitude, but I doubt that Doritos is ready. Clinton staff unravelling Quit the ridiculous Obama bashing, says Rick. Like we always say, the next Ice Age will be the real challenge of the future. h/t, Junk Science The politics of illegal immigration. Wizbang. Lots of differing views out there.
Sunday, February 24. 2008
 If he really cares about me, he should shut up about no taxes for the greedy geezers (Why just them? Why not me, too?), and free health care, and all that nonsense. He should just do something truly useful: pay our dang Costco food bills.
Food prices are shockingly unprogressive for this enlightened, progressive era. America can do better, and there is no justice in the filthy rich paying the same price that I pay for a nice butterflied New Zealand leg o' lamb. I paid $477.89 this afternoon to fill one lousy cart (admittedly the giant-sized Costco cart, full of lots of meat like lamb, salmon, pork loin, burger, and filets - and cheeses and fruit to supply us for a couple of weeks, plus ten years' worth of those skinny French string beans, plus the usual cleaning supplies and the random impulse buys that Costco thrives on), not to mention the gas to get there (20 miles). Food is more important and essential than anything else. Come on, Barry! "Universal Food Care" : promise me Costco food will be free in the beautiful future we all dream of. Consider the same for Home Depot stuff, too, Barry. We cannot live without tools and lumber and cement and windows and screws and toilet parts and stuff like that. Simple justice requires that these things should be free, same as food.
I am back home from the snowy hills of Vermont. Global cooling, I can report, is in full swing up there. TWO QUESTIONS - ONE ANSWERThe New York Times: “Is PBS still necessary?” PBS: “Is the New York Times still necessary?”
Even Frank Rich notes Hillary Clinton's quagmire. Surrender now! I thought Liberals enjoyed surrender...What's all this fighting about? How did we get to Obama as a Dem nominee? VDH. My simple-minded theory is that nobody likes Hillary Clinton. She is no Maggie Thatcher. Even the likeable Commie Moonbat Pete Seeger is prouder of America than Mrs. Obama Run, Ralph, run. He will. For those of you who do not live in Massachusetts, let me inform you that Nader fits right in. Campus rape. It's everywhere, in theory. But rare as hen's teeth, in reality. What gives? Oh, now I get it. It's about feminist victim politics. Facts urgently needed to support theory. (Of course, one can always change definitions, too, when theory-support is required. I suspect that some of the lesbian feministas wish to view all heterosexual romance and fun as rape.) Is there any relationship between global climate and hurricanes? No, but it surely causes earthquakes. Everybody knows that. Oysters that I would never eat. Yeccch.
 "What office do I go to to get my reputation back?" The oxycontin story. Scary story, and I have yet to hear an apology from the NYT for the job they did on Purdue Pharma. (h/t, Town Hall)
Good example of food fear-mongering by know-nothings. The arrogant impotence of the EU. No Pasaran, who quotes a Kissinger interview: Kissinger: The major events in European history were conducted by nation-states which developed over several hundred years. There was never a question in the mind of European populations that the state was authorized to ask for sacrifices and that the citizens had a duty to carry it out. Now the structure of the nation-state has been given up to some considerable extent in Europe. And the capacity of governments to ask for sacrifices has diminished correspondingly.
SPIEGEL: Thirty years ago, you asked for one phone number that could be used to call Europe.
Kissinger: ... and it happened. The problem now is: Nation-states have not just given up part of their sovereignty to the European Union but also part of their vision for their own future. Their future is now tied to the European Union, and the EU has not yet achieved a vision and loyalty comparable to the nation-state. So, there is a vacuum between Europe's past and Europe's future.
Why Barack unnerves me. Roger Simon Try this. Something to do with the brain's wiring. Debunking Krugman about poverty in America. With some good info. (h/t, Viking) Hoyt: McCain story should not have run. 172 years ago: The battle of the Alamo began Wedding sleuths in India. Microsoft: Vista Update might mess you up. The moral hazard of a housing bailout. NYT Wild rattler in upstate NY - first film of a wild rattler feeding
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