Maggie's Farm

John Edwards vows to end all bad things by 2011. h/t, Sister Toldja

What would Hillary be without Bill? RWN

Do dead people have rights? Or does their cadaver belong to "the collective"? Stumbling. My two comments: 1. There is no "collective" in the USA. 2. If dead people vote, they surely have rights.

FBI says Iraqis being smuggled across the Rio Grande

Dems actually find a federal program they want to cut. John Fund

Moonbats dream of human extinction. Moonbattery

The Coming War in Pakistan. Front Page. This should be interesting. 20,000 armed tribesmen.

New Haven to issue ID cards to illegals. CSM

Why a dollar spent on a Toyota gets you more than a dollar spent on a GM car. Small Dead Lemmings

Why I am not a Marxist (anymore). At David Thompson

Wicked, wicked ironies. Biofuels starve humans. Kim

Europe indifferent to their own demise. Driscoll

Environmental doomsayers usually wrong. Lib. Leanings. What is always their solution? "We're going to have to restructure the global economy." Of course."  Speaking of which, plants can run for their lives down under.

"Baiting the devout": Fitzpatrick reviews Hitchen's atheist book at Spiked. A quote:

Intellectuals who have lost their belief in progress are turning venomously on those who retain a vision of the good society: the religious.

On mandated student volunteering, in the CSM. A quote:

The real audacity of the situation lies in the underlying assumption that students would do nothing without their schools' guiding hand. Why else must kids document their hours? Schools clearly feel obliged to teach our children to care, implying we don't teach them ourselves. America is the most charitable country on earth, so it's an odd assumption. But more important, the schools' mandated volunteerism has slowly turned a noble tradition of philanthropic service into another competition, another thing our kids check off their to-do lists as they plot their college applications.

Photo: a 1958 Deere 320, in excellent shape

I disagree with Roger Simon that there are too many Pres. candidates. The more the merrier. And, speaking of merrier, Ralph Nader will probably run again. Ralph is always a cheerful, optimistic presence. Did you know that he is from the lovely Litchfield Hills town of Norfolk, CT?

Rick Moran is gloomy about Iraq:

Iraq really has become the stickiest of tar babies; we can’t withdraw too precipitously, if at all and yet our military cannot do much of anything to help solve Iraq’s massive political, sectarian, and security problems. We are well and truly stuck. We can’t move forward and we can’t go back.

But Bill Kristol is optimistic.

Are you old enough to remember Green Stamps? Do you know what the Green Stamp Syndrome is? Most people don't bother collecting their rebates.

Church and Community. Patrick Deneen doesn't care for suburbia, either as a place to worship or to live in.

Sand sculpting at Revere Beach. SISU. Yes, it isn't ordinary sand.

USMC officers get the M4. Never Yet Melted

Free range chickens aren't happier chickens. Synthstuff

Expensive study shows "Kids who are taught how to behave, behave better."

Only 49% of teens have summer jobs these days. NE Repub. I consider that very bad news.

Another scatological Hillary collection. She is a serious potty mouth.

Re Africa, quoted by Glenn:

The relationship between the West and Africa is no longer based on openly racist beliefs, but such articles are reminiscent of reports from the heyday of European colonialism, when missionaries were sent to Africa to introduce us to education, Jesus Christ and "civilization."

Now it's hypersensitive Sikhs. What next? h/t, Education Wonks

Chavez: His polls don't look good. That's why socialism requires dictators.

The Fairness Doctrine: its history, going back to JFK

Citizens pay tuition. Illegals go to school free. Rhymes with Right

Fear of Fred. Dems taking no chances. Blue Crab. Is he really all that scary?

Summer blogging: A July-August dip in blog readership is predictable, especially on weekends. We want our readers outside getting exercise and sun, taking vacations far from broadband connections and cellphone towers, and lounging at the beach looking at the scenery, such as one of Theo's gals in photo. Still, don't forget to check in with us: farmers don't take vacations.

Canadians consider legalizing polygamy. Dust my Broom. Dhimmitude masquerading as sensitivity.

Conrad Black: A "compromise verdict"? Prof B. Compromise verdicts do not serve justice. And at American Thinker - what are the business effects of criminalizing bad business decisions? And, about the case, Best Englishism of the Day. (h/t, Worstall)

Police catch ETA terrorists with plan to blow up Brit tour ship.

Is Michael Moore's agitprop career done? Blue Crab. He has no credibility except as a deceptive  propagandist.

More unpleasant truth about Che Guevara. No Pasaran

Ahmadinejab losing support fast. We should just step back and let it happen. Iran poll at Dinocrat

Did you read Dalrymple's piece on The Case for Distrusting Moslems?

Hirsi Ali takes on "cartoonishly anti-American" Canadian journalist. Video at Hot Air

Wary of getting to close to Americans. Captain Ed. Thanks to the defeatists, who for partisan reasons seem determined to sabotage freedom for the Iraqis. Quoted in the piece:

Local Iraqis touched by the surge of US troops seem grateful for the increased security, but some are scared of getting too close to the Americans in case they leave.

“I cannot help the coalition because I worry that if I do and the soldiers go then the terrorists will come back and kill me,” said Mokdat Ahmed Shahib, a 40-year-old security guard, who lives in a village near Patrol Base Murray. He was speaking as a group of US military medics handed out free medicine and advice to scores of families, who had no other healthcare facilities in their village.

Can Iraq manage without the US? At Breibart. I wonder how serious they are. I thought there was a war, or something like it. Where do they go for vacation? Cape Cod? Maine? Sweden? A quote:

In August, the parliament is taking a one month vacation—a shorter break than the usual two months, but still enough to anger some in Congress who say lawmakers should push through the measures.

Important Krauthammer piece: Deserting Petraeus. A quote:

Just this week, Petraeus said that the one thing he needs more than anything else is time. To cut off Petraeus's plan just as it is beginning -- the last surge troops arrived only last month -- on the assumption that we cannot succeed is to declare Petraeus either deluded or dishonorable. Deluded in that, as the best-positioned American in Baghdad, he still believes we can succeed. Or dishonorable in pretending to believe in victory and sending soldiers to die in what he really knows is an already failed strategy.

Who was Winston Churchill? The UK doesn't think kids need to know. Or, more likely, doesn't want kids to know.

The 60-Second Climate Skeptic. Excellent summary, at Coyote.

Musharraf and Pakistan: He has a tough job.

Is is volunteering if they pay you to do it? Latest moonbattism from Massachusetts.

No connection at all between Islam and terrorism. Avoiding the M-word.  And Theo wants advice, hypothetical at the moment: Moslem  Presbyterian hordes are charging up your driveway to cut off your head. What small arm to you want?

And no Al Quaida in Iraq, either. Gateway

People should be banned. Samizdata

Dan Boudreux on Free Trade. Excellent brief summary.

The Beast of Basra, identified. Sounds similar to a Wolverine.

Update on gun and knife crime in the UK. (h/t, Free Market Fairy Tales) Perhaps it never occurred to them that criminals do not tend to obey laws.

Do you believe that stuff you hear about lycopene in tomatos? Is there really any such thing as a "healthy diet"? Probably not. As Junkfood Science says in the above piece:

(a major Harvard study) had followed 71,910 women and 37,725 men for 15 years and found no relationship between fruits and vegetables and cancer, or any statistically significant associations with major chronic disease or cardiovascular disease.

Education and Hiring: Kim du Toit agrees with us. Quote:

As the man said: in fifty years, we’ve gone from teaching Greek and Latin in high school, to teaching remedial English in college.

Did we honestly think that this would have no effect on academic standards at universities?

The Bad Science Prize. More on the Dr. William Hurwitz pain pill case. NYT. The case is shameful and never should have been brought against this poor doc. h/t, Junk Science

Rick Moran slams the Bushies for politicizing the government. He has a point, but perhaps he isn't recognizing to what extent that always happens. Governance is never separate from politics.

Sippican Cottage did not like the link we had earlier, via Insty from Popular Science, about what skills a homeowner needs. He has his own list.

Iran to execute more moral degenerates, including gays and those who "insult religious sanctities." Gateway. Where's the outrage?

More Where's the Outrage: Syria invades Lebanon. Willisms. Ho-hum. Guess the story doesn't fit the narrative of the poor oppressed Moslems.

Protein Wisdom seems to have retired his blog, abruptly. I am sad to see that - he has been a regular read for me.

VDH rips apart the NYT surrender, while Crittenden takes a close look at Bush's speech on Iraq yesterday.

Are there people out there who secretly hope for more terror attacks, for political reasons? Jon Swift

Flopping Aces continues his series about the Shadow Party.

World's tallest man. AOL video

Owsley update: The Grateful Dead's original sound engineer and LSD manufacturer is still around. (h/t, Driscoll)

Photo: The beautiful Olivia de Havilland, sister of Joan Fontaine. Yes, she is still living. Why her today? Because we stole this photo from a Dr. X series on sisters in Hollywood.

Ratatouille. Good clean simple fun for any age. Amazing computer graphics or whatever it is. Difficult to believe that no photography was used, but it wasn't. Cramer agrees.

Basic Life Skills. Popular Mechanics. h/t, Insty

Living from hand to mouth on a good income. Lots of folks in that category.

Trying to buy stuff without a Made in China label. Difficult. But why would anyone bother? Just stay away from their food.

Golf courses can double as wildlife sanctuaries. I think it's a great concept, and I have heard that it's beginning to catch on.

Cattle produce more CO2 than all of the cars and trucks in the world. So why are they picking on cars and gasoline? Classical Values

Africa needs trade not aid. Cafe Hayek

Don Luskin blows his top about Krugman and socialized medicine. If people have to lie and distort to make their point, then they must have no point to make.

Pope Benedict: More Latin, more pilgrims, more money - and no relativism or rock concerts. Times Online

Where are all the single ladies? Map at Coyote. Lots of towns with lots of lonely ladies.

Fed up with the Log Cabin Repubs. Gay Patriot

Sex is private unless you are a Republican. Surber. Fair enough, but there is one difference: the Dems don't seem to care about sexual morality at all, and the Repubs say that they do. Thus the issue is hypocrisy, not morality.

Bruce Bartlett retires his column, comments on the future of media. Town Hall

The Netherlands re-thinking their liberal identity. Too bad they didn't think first. WaPo. h/t, Dr. Bob

Bizarro world, bizarro eminent lawyers. Prof B

In Poland, a Jewish Festival without Jews. NYT. Strange.

Neoneo has it figured out. What's the big rush about Iraq? Same as the rush was with immigration: the Dems, and now the Repubs too, want those messy issues off the table before the election. Nobody likes what is going on in Iraq - especially the failure of Iraq internal politics - but nobody wants to deal with the consequences of the mess in the ME that would probably follow if we throw them overboard.

Chantix: It reduces desire for both tobacco and alcohol. Maybe they should put it in the water (along with Prozac, of course).

We have been saying it for over a year - that the EU is an unelected Empire - the Empire that Napoleon and Bismark and Hitler had hoped to achieve by arms. Finally, the EU admits it. Remarkable that anyone would admit the truth so directly. As we have said before, nowadays invasions happen via immigration, Imperialism via bureaucracy, and individual freedom is stolen by "caring" elected officials. Europeans have become such sheep that arms are no longer needed to run them over.

The Ides of July. Shrinkwrapped speculates about looming trouble.

Studies show that wives rule the roost, statistically anyway. Dr. X. Duh. Any time a woman tries to give you that "poor little me" BS, watch out for that iron hand inside that soft Gucci glove. Just ask Larry Summers.

The 24-hour rule on news. Wizbang. Problem is, most folks just remember the first version.

Another old-time back woods Southern tradition falls victim to the goo-goos. NeverYet Melted. Gentrification of the swamp? What would Pogo say?

How foolishly does the gummint spend your hard-earned money? Right Wing Prof on a monumentally unsuccessful obesity campaign. Didn't you older folks have the big fight about colleges being in loco parentis back in the 60s? So why now do we have those old 60s libs trying to do the opposite with kids now? On my nickel.

Speaking of obesity, the obese survive heart attacks better. The experts can't figure it out, but I have a theory: carrying all of that lard around all the time gives them stronger hearts.

Al Gore's persuasiveness and intellectual brilliance finally got through to us. We are officially going green. One Friday per month will henceforth be Green Beer Night in order to save the planet. (Sorry for showing a photo of green beer at what is breakfast time for some our Yankee readers.) Next month, maybe Green Eggs and Ham.

What was so memorable about JFK? Town Hall. Not much that matters, really. He was a pretty good conservative, though, the way I see it.

Iraq FM warns against US withdrawal.

TANSTAAFL. Enuf said.

Dem advisor: "Appeal to their emotions, not their brains." I find that approach overly logical...

RFK Jr on warming deniers (via Drudge): "Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist author, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy's son, who grew hoarse from shouting. "This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors."  Hyperbole or insanity? I find it a bit creepy. I guess I'm a traitor, RFK Jr. I dare you to try to hang me.

Mom complains about her Marine Corps son going to war. It's his job, for Pete's sake. Jules

Cognitive dissonance at the NYT. Donnelly at The Daily Standard. In one hand they hold the narrative, and in the other hand, the facts.

I like Melanie Phillips, but how naive is she? Larry Auster. I have heard her interviewed, and she didn't seem this out to lunch at all.

Re-wiring the addicted brain. Tyee.

Straight talk about immigration. "Close the f-ing border first." Right. Kim. If you have a leaky pipe, you turn off the water before you repair the leak.

Wishful Thinking Department. The desire to believe that terrorists are the Keystone Cops. Neoneo

What is Syria up to now? Why isn't it reported by the MSM? Classical Values. Likewise the Red Mosque story: why not reported?

Dreaming of a heroically liberal Supreme Court. Althouse

Zawahiri is worried about how things are going in Iraq. SDA

Is Al Gore still involved in politics? Hewitt

Ten politically-incorrect truths about human nature. Psychology Today, via Flares.

Why Moslem docs in the UK? Because Brits don't want to be docs working for the NHS. Dino

Excellent example of how screwed-up the NYT is these days: Powerline. They have a political agenda, and that is what they are all about. When facts don't fit the narrative, they land on the cutting room floor. For another example, why does the NYT deal with Iran as it does? Lasky at American Thinker. A quote:

The paper's power is hard to overestimate. The Times creates the newscape of America: the issues it chooses to highlight and the perspective it brings to these issues are the genesis behind the news coverage of the mainstream media. What it chooses to be "fit to print" becomes, through its sway and news syndicate, the stories that fill America's daily news. Arthur ("Pinch") Sulzberger has alluded that it has been his desire to drive public policy since his Vietnam-war era college days. He has accomplished his mission. The paper's potency reaches the halls of Congress; the agenda that drives the paper often becomes the agenda in Washington. Herein lies the peril: by presenting a Pollyannaish view of Iran's intentions and abilities, the paper has served to spin the news in a way that has demonstrably minimized the threat from Iran, has eroded our ability to thwart Iran's nuclear program, and has ridiculed and dismissed the concerns of people who take a more wary and realistic view regarding the Iranian regime.

More lunacy from Planet San Francisco, with comments from Dr. Sanity. (Photo on right is a recent piece of SF "art" from her piece.) Looking back fondly on Stalin and Mao, I guess.

Robert Heinlein. The prophet of Southern California. Reason

Can a society be too broken to be fixed? Darfur, at SC&A

Blogs are an "early warning system" for pols? SDA. Well, maybe sometimes sorta kinda.

Justice Thomas is a self-hating minority member? Whoa. Gotta disagree with Mod. Voice on that statement, as do many highly self-respecting black commentators. We were are all imbued with some Liberal Condescension towards black Americans, and it is tough to get rid of it and to treat them like normal people. If I were a black man, which I would not mind being at all, I would hate this kind of thing.

Marcus Luttrell: He says that his Christianity got in the way of a prudent military decision. Flopping. Quote:

"It was the stupidest, most southern-fried, lamebrained decision I ever made in my life," Luttrell writes. "I must have been out of my mind. I had actually cast a vote which I knew could sign our death warrant. I'd turned into a (expletive) liberal, a half-assed, no-logic nitwit, all heart, no brain, and the judgment of a jack rabbit."

The Farm Bill. Boring topic, relatively speaking. But it is, in fact, the lowest form of vote-buying and corporate welfare. I refuse to believe that modern farming carries any more risk than any other form of business. Plus nowadays they have crop insurance, can hedge prices, buy and sell futures, etc etc. These folks aren't your grandfather's farmers.

Telegraph reviews AK-47. A History of the People's Gun.

Big Brother reads blogs in the UK. A creepy story from Mr. Free Market

Hunting and fishing decreasing in popularity. Should anyone care? Env. Economic

The Two Americas: Soft America and Hard America. Buddy noted this 2003 piece by Barone.

The Tridentine Mass is back. Frivolity ensues.

Thompson dazzles Young Repubs. AOL News

Venus is back. Her opponent deserves credit for hanging in there, but Venus looked great. Her coverage of the court is mind-boggling.

How a teacher should behave, if he wants the students to behave.

The Gore shark jumping. Blue Crab. Still confused about the meaning of "shark jumping"? It's about Fonz.

Japanese hutzpah. Playing the WW2 victim card. It never ceases to amaze me how effective the victim card is in concealing blatant aggression.

A smoking rebellion begins in the UK. I hope it spreads. Tangled

San Francisco. I cannot believe this. Horrifying. Is it something in their water? Maybe a Haldol deficiency in their Starbucks?

More on rights and needs and wants. Reisman.

Twisting reality to fit the Leftist narrative. I love these examples, but they are endless.

Some musicians are in touch with reality. Cramer

What about Moslem doctors in the US? Jules

Genocide or disease? Disease wiped out vast numbers of American Indians, although that does not fit "the narrative." (h/t, Assistant Village Idiot) Squanto was alone because, when he returned from his European travels, all of his kin had died either from influenza or from the common cold virus. He must have had a tough immune system.

Who knew that running and jogging were right-wing activities? Ya can't make this stuff up.

No blog has better folksy old-timey photos.

Fake massacres widely reported. Real massacres not reported. Powerline. Our press has no shame in their anti-American crusade.

Quoted at Cafe Hayek:

...the whole idea of "sharing prosperity" seems to imply that prosperity is some kind of aggregate to which we all have some claim, much like members of a family. What justifies looking at society as a family? If it is, Prof Summers can just send me a monthly cheque without the need for legislation.

Offshoring of jobs: Has it peaked? Dresner

Al Gore: Ignorant or Dishonest? Reisman. We need to add George Reisman to our blogroll.

Taxes and the Dems: From a piece at Kudlow:

...you can’t have capitalism without capital. The process works for “rich people” and the middle class.

Whenever Democrats wage war against the rich, the middle class becomes the collateral damage. This may be the law of unintended consequences, but it is something this Congress fails to understand.

Quote of a quote at Rhymes with Right:

Those who enter Mexico illegally have committed a criminal offense, and under 1974 law are subject to two to five years in prison.

Excellent case study of the contradictions, hidden subsidies, and insane economics when a state (MA in this case) tries to control insurance pricing. Squaring the Boston Globe

Photo: 1959 tugboat for sale. Nice. You can live on her, but she ain't the Mirabella V.

The world revolves around Super Joe. Protein Wisdom on Joe Wilson and Scooter.

Obama, Clinton redistribute cash to poor campaign rivals.

If it's warm, it's global warming. If it's cold, it's plain weather. Tim Blair

Soaring state and local debt: The credit card approach to government has taken hold. It's quite clear that it's about getting re-elected. You buy stuff without raising taxes. However, in some towns, cities, and states, 30-40% of tax receipts go to debt payment. Only politicians would run things that way.

China's public self-criticism: It is a good sign. Dino

George Will on the Supreme's school integration case:

Breyer said that last week's decision abandons "the promise of Brown." Actually, that promise -- a colorblind society -- has been traduced by the "diversity" exception to the Equal Protection Clause. That exception allows white majorities to feel noble while treating blacks and certain other minorities as seasoning -- a sort of human oregano -- to be sprinkled across a student body to make the majority's educational experience more flavorful.

This repulsive practice merits Clarence Thomas' warning in his opinion concurring with last week's ruling: Beware of elites eager to constitutionalize "faddish social theories." Often, they are only theories.
As Roberts said, Seattle and Louisville offered "no evidence" that the diversity they have achieved (by what he has called the "sordid business" of "divvying us up by race") is necessary to achieve the "asserted" educational benefits.

Evidence is beside the point. The point for race-mongering diversity tinkerers is their professional and ideological stake in preventing America from achieving "a colorblind mentality."

The United States is Obviously the Most Benevolent World Power in the History of the Planet. RWN

Zawahiri on the Democrats, at Atlas:

"You must be patient and steadfast," he says. "Rejoice, for victory is near, with Allah's permission, and the herds of crusaders have begun to split up and their sole concern has become searching for a way out."

Arctic Monkeys make more sense to me than Al Gore does:

"It's a bit patronising for us 21 year olds to try to start to change the world," said Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, explaining why the group is not on the bill at any of Al Gore's charity concerts.

"Especially when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It'd be a bit hypocritical," he told AFP in an interview before a concert in Paris.

Photo: Our friend, webmeister, and master sailor Chris was messing with boats yesterday in CT, and took this photo of Hotspur while doing some work on her mast. He tells us: Hotspur is an old Holland 40. She is an old IOR (International Offshore Rules) boat built in the mid-seventies, designed by Ron Holland, who has gone on to design Mirabella V.  She use to be called Secret Affair and was famous for finishing first and being orange. She stood out in the races. As Secret Affair she raced against the best, like Ted Turner. Her sister ship, Imp, is very competitive in Europe. Imp is known for her weird green hull.  There are only two Holland 40's still racing in the world. Currently Hotspur is referred to as the big blue boat, or the boat to beat on Long Island Sound. The crew is unique - not pros, just all friends of the skipper who love to sail.

"Out-of-touch solons," government "solutions," and grandiose plans. Democracy Project

Hey Bird Dog. Here are some good sauces.

Captain Ed: excellent piece on education - and integration

Big Mac is booming in Paris. Attack

On holiday tonight and tomorrow. I plan to grill some burgers and to be served a few Coronas by a lightly-garbed sweetie who always needs to be reminded to bring me limes. The burgers will happen, but the other part is just a dream. Northern women don't seem to even want to try to understand men.

Coffee: The more you drink, the better. WebMD. (h/t, Dr. Bob)

Former radical Islamist: "I was a fanatic. I know their thinking." Daily Mail

Repubs move on border enforcement. Surber. It's a winning issue.

Hitchens: The London bombers were targeting women. (h/t, Tigerhawk)

Inflation police in Zimbabwe. (h/t, Memeorandum). This mess will end badly.

Brits skeptical about warming hysteria. Good for them. Always be skeptical about the science du jour, because science always changes.

Prof B. reminds me of the Mitt Romney dog story. Dumb story. Half the hunting guys I know drive long distances with their dogs in the back of the pick-up. No difference. I see traces of the Pathetic Fallacy here.

What if we hadn't gone into Iraq? Where would things be? Wallison at TCS

Howard Zinn: Have an Unhappy Fourth! Moonbattery

Replica Viking ship sets sail to Ireland. 

Two Buck Chuck wins wine competition.

A terror spectacular planned for this summer? (h/t, Jules)

With gas prices up, railroads are getting more competitive. I like that.

The "poor and disenfranchised" Brit terrorists. Yup. Two of them were MDs. Driscoll. Count on the NYT to ignore facts to make the story fit "the narrative du jour."

Michael Yon's latest: A grim visit to the Baquba suburbs.

Zimbabwe Archbishop requests an invasion

Chavez and Ahmadinejad: Perfect together. Gateway

Soldiers dancing with kids in Iraq.

Jupiter keeps changing its stripes. Space Daily

If you could put Newt's brain into another personality and another body, he'd be a great candidate.

The brain is not a computer: it's a sensory organ. Science Daily

Tennessee clean-up: Messy front yard lands lady in jail. You ain't seen a messy front yard til you've seen a messy Tennessee front yard.

Miss Hoosegow 2007. Vote early and often.

Is the domestic cat domesticated? Rick Moran

LaShawn on black pride, school integration, and liberal paternalism.

Tony Blair yesterday, via Michelle:

In his most outspoken remarks on Islamists, the former Prime Minister warns that Britain is in danger of losing the battle against terrorists unless mainstream society confronts the threat.

Blair’s remarks, in which he also attacks some civil liberty campaigners as ‘loopy loo’, were made in a Channel 4 documentary recorded last Tuesday on the eve of his departure from Downing Street.

‘The idea that as a Muslim in this country that you don’t have the freedom to express your religion or your views, I mean you’ve got far more freedom in this country than you do in most Muslim countries,’ Blair told Observer columnist Will Hutton, who presents the documentary.

‘The reason we are finding it hard to win this battle is that we’re not actually fighting it properly. We’re not actually standing up to these people and saying, “It’s not just your methods that are wrong, your ideas are absurd. Nobody is oppressing you. Your sense of grievance isn’t justified.”‘

Mickey Mouse murdered in Gaza

Supply and demand. Cocaine prices, around the world.

Podhoretz on the End of Dubya. NY Post. "Something got broken on Election Night 2004." Indeed. Bush's real error was not to ask me for advice. Getting out of touch with regular people is a Washington disease. Arrogance is another.

Juries in criminal trials get it wrong one out of eight times. Science Daily

Andy gets something right. Kill "Big Pharma," and you kill the world's source of medical innovation.

Bloomberg's plans. Does anybody care? The NY Sun does, a little. Ego-tripping is a NYC tradition.

How business should manage talent: Make sure you have none working for you. Stumbling. 

Equal v. Splenda. There was a chemical trial, and a settlement. American Scientist. I ask "Who would eat that crap?"

Michael Moore likes Cuban medical care. Do you?

Do you really know how to tie your shoelaces? I realized that I did not. (h/t, Dr. Bob)

Why hate WalMart? The more good they do, the more the Left hates them. Why? Government is supposed to do it. Businesses are supposted to be greedy heartless pigs, and The State is in the role of Great Benefactor. That's the narrative.

A knowledgeable take on the school integration case. Powerline. Many subtleties here. Jon Swift approaches it from the Brown v. Board of Education angle. Very interesting to consider how the intent of Brown has been distorted.

Paul Krugman asks a very tough question. Worstall answers in simple terms.

Conservative global warming sellout? Malloy of Junk Science. Speaking of global warming, it causes Moslems to rape blonds. Who knew? Also, a nice take-down of Al Gore's "science" at American Thinker. Fortunately, most Americans remain skeptics about the hysteria.

Photo: another one from Beaver Creek last week.