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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Saturday, July 4. 2015The Locavore's DilemmaHappy Independence Day! If you're like me, you're with your family and being independent together (h/t to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer). If you're like me, you're probably having hot dogs and hamburgers, potato or macaroni salad, soda or beer, or other kinds of foods which were purchased at a store after being shipped from some other part of the U.S. or even another nation. If you're like me, you probably don't spend time worrying about the details of how your food reached your table. But you may know people, as I do, who think the whole "eat local' idea will save our health and economy. We have a restaurant here which is excellent, but very expensive, and always booked. We need to make reservations several months in advance to get a table. They only serve locally grown foods (I believe it's a 50 mile radius), and it's BYOB (so I guess they're OK with bringing French wine to go with the Jersey Tomatoes). Normally I don't go in for faddish trends, and I really don't buy the whole "local food" movement. But this is a good restaurant and just because I don't agree with it doesn't mean I'll avoid a good meal. Good food is good food. There are reasons why I don't necessarily think the local food movement is ever going to change how we live, and it certainly is not going to make our lives better. As this video (45 minutes long - so be prepared) points out, most nations with small farms have economic problems. This doesn't intrinsically mean small farms are impoverishing those nations, but there's no doubt being a food exporter (and the U.S. is by far the largest) is an indication of economic strength through size. This video also points out the hypocrisy of our nation's politics and its 'solutions' to perceived problems. We have deemed some banks "Too Big To Fail" and willingly subsidize their moral hazard, while at the same time pointing to large agricultural firms and saying they are "Too Big To Succeed" and impose excessive regulations on them while subsidizing failing small farms. So the policy of the U.S. that we subsidize failure, and engage double standards wherever we see fit. The Jungle is often touted as an example of what would happen if we did not support regulation of the food industry. Unfortunately, this novel was a work of fiction designed to draw attention to the plight of the working man. It was the lies of Upton Sinclair about the Chicago Packing District that stick in people's memory, however. By and large, most food businesses provided healthier foods than smaller firms. It was in their best interest to do so. One does not win new consumers by killing or injuring those you have. In fact, most of these businesses wanted regulation as a means to raise barriers to entry against their smaller competitors, and to prevent foreign foods, which had raised trade barriers, from being too competitive.
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Saturday morning linksAmericans Don’t Know Why We Celebrate 4th of July So much for government education What kind of nation did the Founders aim to create? Reagan Warned about Airbrushing Our History Away America Isn't Getting More Liberal — It's Getting More Libertarian. Today the public is broadly more libertarian than it was just decades ago The government wants you to grill fruit for the Fourth of July Grilled pineapple slices are delicious - but why is this the gummint's job? Fats and carbs: One of the Biggest Mistakes in Nutrition Research
How America's Workforce Has Changed Since 1977 Hah! 19.8% of U.S. Workforce Was Foreign-Born in June That Didn’t Take Long: North & South Carolina Shark Attacks Blamed on Global Warming NY Times Loves How Communism Is Good For Cuba’s Environment Want to save Puerto Rico? Make it a U.S. state. No thanks. Let it be its own tropical country. The Tolerant Left A Field Guide To Acela Republicans - To start with, Acela Republicans hate Republicans. Obama: I´m Reagan and Hillary can be Bush 41 Politico: "As I noted last month with a link to an AEI infographic, if Clinton patiently endures her falls from public popularity she’s almost always rewarded with a rise." "... at this very moment, politicians from Spain's Podemos to Italy's Five Star movement are drafting memos demanding that the IMF evaluate their own debt sustainability."
Europe’s Real Existential Crisis Except for London and Germany, Europe is a suicidal museum Southern Italy, Europe’s soft underbelly Southern Italy, Europe’s soft underbelly Brzezinski on Russia: 'We Are Already In a Cold War' The middle-east peace industry - Catch the Jew Hamas, Under Fire from ISIS, Fractures Into Many Dangerous Pieces Friday, July 3. 2015Friday morning links More on Asteroid Defense When Sociologists Go Bad The Fall and Rise and Fall of Pompeii - The famous archaeological treasure is NYC's absurd rent control Joel Osteen is Pastor of the Largest Protestant Church in the US. Is He Protesting Evangelism? Are white men gods? (Part 2) Feds Light Dummies on Fire to Warn About Sparklers, Fireworks Oh, look, some Libertarians are having a few second thoughts about the goals of gay activists post-Obergefell Oh, look, some Libertarians are having a few second thoughts about the goals of gay activists post-Obergefell - See more at: http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=57212#sthash.Rwa9T2B8.dpuf A ‘Norwegian’ Named Ishaq Ahmed This Just In: America Still Racist UK Police Knew and Did Nothing to Protect Girls from Muslim Predators Oklahoma Constitution prohibits public display of Ten Commandments monument Racist, Confederate-Flag Sporting Ex-CNN Reporter's Racist, Climate Craziness of the Week: Center for Biological Diversity petitions EPA to list CO2 as a ‘toxic substance’ Obama Channels Reverend Wright Even Jimmy Carter thinks Obama the worst president Bernie Sanders sends a chilling message to Hillary campaign Democratic ex-Va. Sen. Jim Webb announces presidential bid Exclusive: U.S. Operates Drones From Secret Bases in Somalia Essay: The Middle East Studies Mess Thursday, July 2. 2015Regulations Strangling Small Business Growth
Just see what they are doing to Uber. Customers love Uber. Ronaldus Magnus: Regulations Strangling Small Business Growth
In my experience, small businesses are almost never in full compliance with all relevant (local, state, county, federal) rules and regulations and only are aware of the obvious ones. The only beneficiaries are lawyers. Government rules and regulations are our bread and butter and I am not proud of that. The Greeks Invented Mathematics
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Thursday morning linksPolyamory: She wants a husband, and new lovers too Gee, how unusual to want that sometimes. All humans are polyamorous. You either turn hot romance into a loyal bond - or you don't. First world problems: “We built a luxury dream home but can only afford to have two children. Inside the Fight to Stop Giraffes’ ‘Silent Extinction’ America Has Chosen Its Favorite Fast Food Place…Chick-Fil-A Disney confirms selfie stick ban at theme parks Never had a stick, and never went to a theme park The Future of Sex Is Terrifying - Proposed changes to U.S. sex-crime laws seek to set new sexual norms by criminalizing ordinary behavior. America Loses Its Mind… TV Land Pulls Reruns of ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ …They’re Racist! Confederate flag kills 7 in Alabama
Via Ace:
Video of the day: Northwestern University Professor Laura Kipnis on how campus feminism infantilizes women Protecting Humanity from Ice Ages Worth thinking about, but not on an emergency basis The Media, the Court and the Slippery Sex Slope About Justice Kennedy: The Liberty to Take Liberties with Reality Sultan: It's not about gay marriage. It's not about cakes. It's about power. Yup Nonprofits win exemption to LA minimum wage increase Ready for Uncle Joe’s White House Run? An Inside Look at How Hillary Clinton Plays the Media - "Greta...is malleable." Vote for Hillary Clinton, because she’s a woman. What do we know about Hillary Clinton? Email bombshells from Hillary's secret account show she didn't know when cabinet meetings were held Maybe she wasn't invited Dowager Empress of Chappaqua will get to the Big House before the White House. Budowsky: Obama could sink 2016 Dems Declaring ‘This Is What Change Looks Like,’ Obama Re-opening Cuba Embassy That's ok with me 85% of Greeks Believe the Jews Have Too Much Power Over Global Finance What to Do About an Imperial Iran Try doing nothing Can We Trust How Iran Would Spend Funds From a Nuclear Deal? That's a tough question Why Terrorists Want To See the End of Tunisia I've been there. Interesting place. Good food. Aggressive salesmen in the souk. A brief clip of the souk in Tunis. Fun place, not mainly meant for tourists. Wednesday, July 1. 2015Living in the USA
Survey says: 35 percent of Americans would expatriate These people want to go elsewhere, while half the planet wants to live here. Please leave, you people, and make some room for the Mexican illegals. From an Aussie: Prager University – What Makes America Different?
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New computers which can really compute
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Wednesday morning linksPoll: Nearly One in Three Americans Owns a Gun Irish Pastor Faces Prison for Criticizing Islam "What in the world can Chelsea Clinton tell people? Boston doesn't want the Olympics 'Employee' Label Would End Uber as We Know It “Time to legalize polygamy” “Time to legalize polygamy” Reynolds: Are happier lawyers, cheaper legal fees on the horizon? Justices take up dispute over union fees Publishing Company Under Fire for Putting Warning Label on Constitution LSU Prof Fired for Telling Jokes Is Latest Victim of College Anti-Sex Hysteria Environmental Benefits from Driving Electric Vehicles? Scholar Speaks on Obama’s Red Mentor Small Businesses Threatened With $36,500 IRS Fines For Helping Employees With Health Costs Supremes: citizenship not necessary for voter registration Bobby Jindal and Liberals’ Racist Double-Standard Millennials in Shock Over Hillary's Cribs Why Carly Fiorina’s feminism flummoxes liberals Professor: ‘Whiteness’ Is ‘Terror,’ Confederate Flag Represents ‘Capitalism’ Test Pilot Admits the F-35 Can’t Dogfight - New stealth fighter is dead meat in an air battle Europe’s dream is dying in Greece A Greek Default Would Be a Valuable Lesson in Basic Economics There is no democracy left in Europe, people have no direct say anymore, there’s just a two-pronged dictatorship Israel says Syria's Assad may be left with rump state Who Lost Iraq? Did George W. Bush create the Islamic State? Did Barack Obama? We asked the insiders to tell us who’s to blame. Progressive Mass HysteriaTuesday, June 30. 2015Tuesday morning linksUnpaid Internships Are Worth it: Suck it Up Millennials Building a Wattle and Daub Shelter for Dummies Orthodox Christians Must Now Learn To Live as Exiles in Our Own Country Why is that a bad thing? It Was Always About The Christians Kimball: Thoughts on satire and Juvenal Why the College Board's New Standards Would Make Teaching History Even Worse Should We Lower the Age of Consent to Protect Teenagers? A Lifestyle So Good, It’s Mandatory - In California, it’s lifestyle liberalism versus nicotine vapors. Christian farm family penalized in gay wedding refusal decries ‘orchestrated set-up’ The Delusions of Left-Wing Identity Politics ‘Peak Leftism’? Pope recruits Naomi Klein to fight Climate Change and Capitalism Steyn: Violent Extremistan vs the dar al Gay Reality Is Now Discretionary The Greek Crisis: Too Little Democracy, Too Much Bureaucracy The Strategic Consequences of "Grexit" The payoff for Iran Monday, June 29. 2015Out of ammoThe world is defenceless against the next financial crisis Would the world be better off with ordinary free markets and no central banks? Sunday in NYC (on Pride Day) with DanceBrazil
We hadn't realized it was the day of the Gay Pride march on the West Side. By the time we sat down for supper outside, swarms - thousands - of gays were moving back uptown from their destination which I think had been the West Village. "Hi, Happy Pride!" Anyway, it made for some entertaining and curious people-watching. I told Mrs. BD that my Mom would have loved that scene which seems exotic to me. My question was why and how do so many gays (male or female) look gay. No Gaydar required, believe me. It's, like, obvious. I suspect my buddy expected me as a wacko Christian conservative (ie Evil Right Wing Nazi) to be hostile or uncomfortable. Naw. Christians get a kick (mostly) out of all of God's creation. It was just strange, and a colorful spectacle. I can say that we four felt like aliens from a straight bourgeois planet - which was fine. Overall, fun. Do male gays add more to life than those grim-looking lesbians with their fat girlfriends? I tend to think so. However, I saw a handful of those lesbian marchers whose feminine charms, IMO, were going to waste and I said so. DanceBrazil was something else. Mrs. BD gave me some words: Muscular, acrobatic, quick, primitive, full-body dancing. She said they were all ballet-trained, but probably lifted weights too. These men and women are seriously strong. Exhausting to watch because of the intense physicality. Very good, high-energy high-intensity stuff. Here's a clip from them a couple of years ago. Also, a few random pics below the fold - but none of the gay parade people really.
Continue reading "Sunday in NYC (on Pride Day) with DanceBrazil" Monday morning linksMy college sex education: In her first year, a student finds a campus obsessed with hooking up — and utterly ignorant about real relationships and their consequences How to Fail and Live to Talk About It: 10 Tips for Explaining Your Missteps Without Sounding Like a Train Wreck It’s a Record: No Major Hurricane Has Struck U.S. Mainland in 10 Years Our precious little snowflakes The “journey” of a 10 year old transgender child. Somebody call the cops California May Be About To Eliminate Most Exemptions For Mandatory Vaccination Walmart Is Okay With ISIS, but Not the South White House Wants Your Doctor To Warn You About “Climate Change” Orthodox Christians Must Now Learn To Live as Exiles in Our Own Country Italian Schoolboys Forced to Wear Girls’ Clothes Italian Schoolboys Forced to Wear Girls’ Clothes Texas university's VP of diversity and inclusion to earn more than any governor University of Wisconsin Bans RACIST Phrase: “Everybody Can Succeed” The Phrase ‘Trigger Warning’ Is Now Also a Trigger Puerto Rico’s Governor Says Island’s Debts Are ‘Not Payable’ The Confederate flag and Hamilton: Getting the nation’s symbols right Liberals are playing a racial shell game:
O’Reilly to Race-Baiters: ‘You Want a War, You Got a War’ Will Democrats Apologize for Slavery and Segregation? An open letter to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Obama's Amazing Disgrace of a Eulogy No, Mr. President, you can not make us all own Dylann Roof Coming Right Up: Gay Divorce Court Is gay marriage a victory for Big Government? Historic Day for Gays, but Twinge of Loss for an Outsider Culture Greenfield: Be the Best Saboteur You Can Be ...the U.S. and its negotiating partners have given in to Iran’s Walmart Is Okay With ISIS, but Not the South
Saturday, June 27. 2015Steven Pinker on Taboos, Political Correctness, and DissentSaturday morning links: First Saturday of SummerFollowing Fistfights with Uber Drivers, Paris's Taxi Motorists Strike on Thursday to Protest Newcomer's Arrival in the City Raisins: The New Deal policies that stacked the deck for producers are Jesus never called anyone out for racism or our other popular sins. He did call people out for self-righteousness Air conditioning and God Elizabeth Gilbert's Diary of a Seductress Many white people in Oregon have no idea that our schools and state are Is porn "bad for you"? Swimming pools are full of pee Bland school lunch? Bring salt and pepper GMOs Have a PR Problem How fainting couch feminism threatens freedom Nationally recognized teacher removed from class after allegations of reading Mark Twain Greens Aren’t Particularly Happy About Biofuels EPA Commissar Gina McCarthy Denounces Hoax Doubters as Not “Normal Human Beings” Otherkin - Heart of a Snowflake The Other Bad Supreme Court Decision: Claims of Racism Can Be Filed Without Actual Proof of Racism The Last Thing the Left Wants is Racial Healing EPA Commissar Gina McCarthy Denounces Hoax Doubters as Not “Normal Human Beings” - See more at: http://moonbattery.com/?p=59893#sthash.FIWGBAPV.dpuf The Democrats Get Their Crazy On Democrats Go Scorched-Earth on ‘War on Women’ Americans are delaying major life events because of money worries Politico: Has not the time come for polygamy, social liberals? When Erasing Symbols of Slavery, Don't Forget the Democratic Party Michigan Professor Juan Cole Thinks the Charleston Race Murders Are My Fault Matt Lewis and how he caused the Charleston shooting Confederate Flag Purge Goes Nuts Almost Immediately, Hits Harmless Strategy Games Now, About This Flag That Makes People Want to Shoot Other People, or Something… On Obamacare, John Roberts helps overthrow the Constitution Barack Obama is officially one of the most consequential presidents in American history However King was decided, the future of American health care was going to come down to 2016 The One Number That Shows Why Jews Really Vote Liberal Christian Carnage and Western Indifference Turkey Chooses ISIS Over the Kurds Deal with Iran could turn Middle East into a nuclear tinderbox How Iranian Oil Tankers Keep Syria’s War Machine Alive ISIS Giving Away Young Girls as Prizes in Qur’an Competition Establishing a Palestinian Islamist State Friday, June 26. 2015Redefining "marriage" in federal law
Justice Kennedy made the libertarian argument. Also, solved the national problem of loneliness.
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Another fake Indian?
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Friday morning linksPic from A Visit to the Le Creuset Factory Psychosurgeons Use Lasers to Burn Away Mental Illness No, Everything Does Not Happen for a Reason Quote from Ace: "Did we ban all the things yet? I'm having a hard time keeping track." Quote from Burge via Insty: "No matter how low your opinion of Washington DC, it's nothing compared to Washington DC's low opinion of you." Quote via Am Digest: "We aren’t giving up our right of free speech or, for that matter, any other rights you leftist schmucks deem inconvenient." How Dumb Do You Have to Be to Be a Criminal? America's Runaway Spending On the Elderly The University of California’s Insane Speech Police Greenfield: The Death of the Liberal Another Racist To Be Evicted From American History: Woodrow Wilson Apocalyptic Fear-mongering: Sometimes Rush Limbaugh is Right! Prominent professor’s decades of research concludes global warming will not destroy Earth New study: Electric cars may be worse for the environment than gas-powered Hillary Clinton’s dodginess is overpowering her message In Greece’s Equality-of-Outcome Mentality, a Default Is Morally Justified Poll of U.S. Muslims Reveals Ominous Levels Of Support For Islamic Supremacists’ Doctrine of Shariah, Jihad Anti-Semitism and the New Russian Idea - There’s a new national ideology forming in Russia—and “the Jews” play a big part in it. Thursday, June 25. 2015Lani Guinier Wants to Transform Higher Education
George Leef discusses.
ConversationHe: The country seems to be going nuts. I've never heard so many stupid things lately. Me: Well, bear in mind that 50% of Americans have IQs under 100. He: Is it that high? Gee, well that explains a lot. Thursday morning linksNYC: Hooray for the High Bridge - A civic restoration project that deserves to be celebrated Alibaba’s Jack Ma Buys $23 Million Property in New York’s Adirondacks - The Chinese billionaire has conservation plans for the 28,100-acre property. How men and women differ on sex and relationships America’s center on gun control might shock New York Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told' - The uncompromising verdict of Dr Mörner is that all this talk about the sea rising is nothing but a colossal scare story, writes Christopher Booker. JP Morgan Chase Employees Effectively Required to Endorse Sodomy When a Nobel Prize winner can be hounded from his university chair by the harridans of the Internet... JP Battle Flags and Bad Faith: The Left Exploits Another Crisis As we saw with Obama’s birth certificate, the only people who care about this flag are liberals and lunatics, the distinction between the two is impossible without professional training. Now it’s serious: No more “Dukes of Hazzard” toys with the Confederate flag on the General Lee "This is a new level of ‘P.C.’ idiocy. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of being insulted by morons." Leftists Want Military Bases Named After Confederate Generals Renamed The Cynical Political Double-Cross Of Young Americans Hillary Clinton Takes Private Jet to Give Speech on Social Inequality AMERICA'S MILITARY: A force adrift - HOW THE NATION IS FAILING TODAY'S TROOPS AND VETERANS Former Obama aides say U.S. needs tougher Iran nuclear deal Report: In 9 Years' Existence, UNHRC Condemned Israel More Times Than Rest of World Combined Wednesday, June 24. 2015Peak LeftismYou have to credit the Left: Its strategy is deft. If you can make enough noise that sounds approximately like a moral crisis, then you can in effect create a moral crisis. Never mind that the underlying argument — “Something bad has happened to somebody else, and so you must give us something we want!” — is entirely specious; it is effective. Wednesday morning linksMan Who Created The Pink Plastic Lawn Flamingo Dies Medical marijuana offers only weedy health benefits Big surprise An orangutan steals crops from a poor farmer in Indonesia and is shot in retribution. Who is to blame? How Megyn Kelly Became the New Star of Fox News Doom: Warmists Proclaim Collapse Of Society By 2040 ‘climate change…could wipe out health progress over the past 50 years’ Obama: ‘Within Our Children’s Lifetimes, On Our Current Pace, the Oceans Go Up Maybe 2, Maybe 3, Maybe 4 Feet’ Colby Cosh: Pope’s encyclical on climate change reads like the Unabomber Manifesto The Scientific Pantheist Who Advises Pope Francis Huffpo Writer: I Will Not Have Children So I Will Not Spread My ‘White Privilege’ Biologically Our thanks to her for improving the gene pool Keep the Confederate Flag Flying It's not racist - it's rebel. Like the Gasden flag. Liberals are still getting the South all wrong
SO WHAT IS AILING THE AMERICAN LAWYER? Most illegal immigrants from border surge skipped court date after release, records show The paradox of work is that many people hate their jobs, but they are considerably more miserable doing nothing. Important news from WaPo: “There’s not much Indian left in Bobby Jindal” What? Michael Oren Finally Reveals the Truth About Obama and Israel, and Leftist Jews Can’t Stand It Islamic State Drowns Iraqis in Cage, Blows Up Prisoners in Car w/RPG The UK: NEXT THEY’LL WANT YOU TO SURRENDER YOUR TEETH AND YOUR FISTS Tuesday, June 23. 2015Tuesday morning links Saul Bellow at 100 - Review: Zachary Leader, ‘The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune, 1915-1964’ Theophilus North in Newport Concerning the "Ecological" Path to Salvation Pope Francis’s Relentless Pessimism Fuels His Faith in Politics Pope Francis Is Wrong about Air Conditioning Michael Lewis on Harvard admissions Raisin justice - finally The feds’ trans-fat ban boosts all the food conspiracy theories So What Do Liberals Actually Want To Do About Guns? How Liberals Manipulate Data About the Minimum Wage Bonfire of the Vulgarians: Middle East Studies in Decline Hillary! and the uranium Mexico is Facing a Deadly Central American Migrants Crisis Iranian Parliament Chants “Death to America” – Votes to Ban Nuclear Inspections The Gaza War 2014 The War Israel Did Not Want and the Disaster It Averted Imperial Ambitions: Russia’s Military Buildup China: Africa's New Power Broker The Palestinians' Real Strategy
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