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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Thursday, September 6. 2012Nobody in charge in the White HouseThis must be what Bill Clinton meant by referring to Obama as "an amateur." Woodward on how Obama's incompetence, lack of relationships, and poor judgements blew up the budget deal. It's an appalling story. Related: Decline and Fall: The Tragedy of Barack Obama:
Win or lose, he is toast until he can get out of the White House and begin to make some serious bucks on the
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Thursday morning linksKentucky WWII Vet Earl Jones, 92, Shoots 1 of 3 Intruders Dead This sort of thing discourages home invasion Meanwhile, Brits arrested for shooting home invaders This sort of thing encourages home invasion Why Coyote forces his employees to take lunch breaks even if they don't want to The idea that presidents “run” the economy is both ludicrous and fairly novel. Except, Jonah, they can get out of the way Fact Check: Obama Had More to Do With 2008 Economic Meltdown Than Bush Ever Did Why Is the ObamaCare Tax/Penalty Needed at All? Because people don't want it RomneyCare 2.0 - With costs rising fast, Massachusetts moves to dictate medical care. Brooks: Man, these Democrats really love abortion, don’t they? Horror show: Wednesday night at the DNC Is Elizabeth Warren Martha Coakley with a fake ethnicity? Liberal Harvard professor finds Democratic platform omissions on Israel ‘deeply troubling’ He thinks Obama has it sewn up Barone: Obama Hobbled by Record, Slumping Democratic Brand Obama’s Invisible Second-Term Agenda Romney: DNC a 'celebration of failure' Nearly 65 years after Israel’s creation, two Palestinian societies emerge, new study shows - 60 percent of Israeli Arabs say they would not allow their daughter to marry a Palestinian from the West Bank Claim: Clinton Collected $50K Per Month From MF Global - for PR Dems certainly do know how to get rich in politics. Hillary has made $30 million of her own - a tidy sum for a "life dedicated to public service." Bill, I heard, has made about triple that.
Wednesday, September 5. 2012If Obama were white, and who owns who?Deep thinker Alec Baldwin thinks Obama would be 17 points up in the polls if he were white. I think he'd be 17 points down if he were white. His skin tone is a large part of his appeal, I believe. Dem delegates ecstatic about “belonging to govt.” Key ideological rift pinpointed. That's one more government-centric meme as foolish as "you didn't build that." The serf-like attitude seems to pervade the Dem party this year.
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Weds. morning linksStudy Finds No Benefit to Organic Food Of course there isn't. It's just one new scam. Tiger: Things I wish liberals knew, or would acknowledge, about American business and business people Researchers ponder what's next in volcanic Yellowstone Want to compare yourself to liberals and conservatives on a bunch of tests of knowledge, morals, and values? Massachusetts Must Pay for Murderer's Sex Change Good grief. And, what if he/she changes his mind again? New York Times Proves Clint Eastwood Correct -- Obama Is Lousy CEO News Flash: Politico’s VandeHei: ‘Mainstream media tends to be quite smitten with the Obamas.’ MSNBC Host: America is the Worst Country on Earth Can This Be What Women Want? The Democrats condescend to half the electorate Helpless, without the government The "Sluts Vote" buttons at the DNC Report: Bill Clinton aide voting Romney 25 Questions about What the Hell has Happened to America Mia Love On Obama: “I Think He’s Stripping Away the American Dream & the America As We Know It” VDH: The New Reactionaries - The causes of poverty, the effects of liberal policies — such things are undiscussable. One quote:
Food-Stamp Use Climbs to Record, Reviving Campaign Issue Romney: We don't belong to government, the government belongs to us I "belong" to no government If You Think Obama’s First Term Was Bad, Imagine a Second Hill Poll: Voters say second term undeserved, country is worse off GOP launches 'Obama Isn't Working' message at DNC Dem ConventionTuesday, September 4. 2012What the young folks are up against in the Obama WorldVDH: The Terrifying New Normal:
It's time for a new approach. I hope the youngsters will realize that before the talents of an entire generation are wasted, and hope for the future (besides a hope for free birth control) is destroyed by hopey-changey.
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Tuesday morning linksChart via Pirate Why do people have fewer children as they get richer? California Loves Banning Stuff Prop. 32: What really scares California's big unions Gloria Romero: The Trials of a Democratic Reformer - In California's capital, union officials 'walk around like they're God.' This pro-labor former legislator wants to bring them back to earth. Unions’ political donations falling as their power fades Derbyshire: Eat the rich GM goes from bad to worse despite Obama bailout Dowd: Kimball: Feeling Sorry for Maureen Dowd Related: The Haters Pro-Abortion Democrats Scream at 11-Year-Old Pro-Life Girl at Convention EDITORIAL: Obama’s Internet tax President Obama Slams the ‘Greatest Generation’ Driving Ms. Jarrett - Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett enjoys full-time Secret Service detail, NYT reports What Recovery?… Median Household Income Has Declined 5% During Obama’s So-Called Recovery Rahe again predicts Romney landslide Elizabeth Warren and the Cab Driver Enthusiasm of 2008 is Missing From Democratic Convention. Related, Obama struggles to rekindle the affair The White House Press Office announced today that President Obama will soon be inducted into the Special Forces Association and receive an honorary Green Beret.
Graph below via Mankiw: Monday, September 3. 2012Rubio on Life and work in AmericaI'd prefer a more intimate, less insistent, rapid, and more modulated delivery, but Marco delivers the basic conservative message as only the kids of immigrants can do. He will mellow and ripen with age. (He is welcome to email me for advice!). My other problem with his fine speech is equating power and/or money with the American Dream. There are over 300 million American dreams, no two of them identical. Freedom from the state, and opportunity with real risk and the possibility of real personal satisfaction with the shaping of unique lives, is what matters. The chance to follow your own heart and mind, bearing in mind that it might not work out and everybody might need a Plan B and a Plan C. Only immigrants and the kids of new immigrants can remind us of how entitled and decadent we
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Monday morning linksToday is a holiday in the US, one in which we celebrate the antiquated, retrogressive (but once-necessary) union movement with beaches, beer, barbecuing, and fun. My celebratory efforts entail tennis in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon. How about you? There is no working class anymore:
21 Ways Rich People Think Differently Sex At Dusk v. Dawn Hinderaker: My new gun I learned this weekend that couscous is not a grain. It's pasta Sailer on 2016: Obama's America Related: D'Souza emphasizes the anti-colonial angle. This guy takes a different point of view. Sailer again, on the accuracy of stereotyping Individualism, Collectivism, and Other Murky Labels - Understanding the difference between true and false individualism Formula has knack for picking presidents Sultan: How branding sold America on Obama Related: Romney understands the 2012 race is not all about him Politico: Connecticut Officially a Battleground State Something rotten in New York Sunday Morning Services at the Church of the Liberal Pieties Look who parks their cash at Bain Mark Steyn: Racist dog whistles and the men who hear them VDH: Liberal Chickens - Virtually every left-wing attack on Bush can legitimately be turned against Obama. Israel: Coping with Its Gas Bonanza Sunday, September 2. 2012Some Brits understand AmericaFrom The Telegraph: We should tune in to the Romney and Ryan show:
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A few Sunday morning linksDOJ Accuses San Diego Public Library of Discrimination aganst the blind Flight deck lights to bright (h/t Vanderleun) Poll: Third of Americans Fear They Will Never Retire NBC Reporter Mocks Romney For Not Believing 'Man-Made Global Warming' Creates Hurricanes A Miserable and Hopeless Fiscal Outlook for the United Kingdom The Condensed Liberal Handbook of Racial Code Words Obama's new challenge: Disappointment Is Obama running for a Do-Over? A president who has had a patchy first term now needs to make a convincing case for a second one The Dems and the single woman vote: Desperate Democrats Updated Democratic National Convention Schedule – Satire Neoneo wants these Romney vids to go viral David Brooks heard no "talk of community and compassionate conservatism" at the GOP convention. Saturday, September 1. 2012A Saturday movieSaturday morning linksThink you have it tough? Todd Love Harvard Engulfed in Major Cheating Scandal Steyn: Dog-Whistling Past the Graveyard - Are there any words left that aren’t racist? Behold the Self-Hating White Person Expand Health Care, Not Healthcare Bureaucracy Graham: Nothing scares Obama like truth Economist: The Question for Mr. Obama More golf The filter: How the media will measure Mitt Romney The Media Filter Died Last Night:
Personal kindness and compassion do not count. Unstable MSNBC Host in Angry Restaurant Confrontation Does ObamaCare cover lobotomies? Confirmed: Line-up of speakers at Democratic convention is simply terrible ‘Seniors Suffer under Obama. Where’s the Outcry?’ Friday, August 31. 2012My TakeWith the RNC done with, my shrink take is this: Big man with small ego vs. Small man with Inflated ego. The corner office vs. Hollywood; serious stuff vs. fainting teens; competence vs. tingles; real jobs vs. styrofoam pillars; freedom vs. Euroland. Admittedly, I am biased. I have never understood why so many in my field fall into the Leftist, statist side of politics rather than into the Libertarian. It makes no sense to me because our job is to have faith in individual people rather than seeing helpless, dependent masses. Friday morning linksStopping an annoyed Grizzly Bear New film: The Boy Who Cried Warming America’s Corporate Tax Rate Is so Punitive that Companies Are even Moving to Welfare States like the U.K. to Be more Competitive 'Emergency' Tax on the Rich Roils Britain That's a tax on assets, not income Dad sports skirt to support cross-dressing son Why Societies Develop Like Embryos - An exclusive excerpt from Howard Bloom's new book The God Problem: How a Godless Cosmos Creates. Armed passerby confronts woman's attacker outside school, says SAPD Virginia to revise student achievement goals, by racial categories Good grief GOP Governors Tell Obama How To Run A Lemonade Stand Illinois Bonds Downgraded over Pension Crisis:
How Obama Succeeds By Failing - Ryan on the American Tipping Point: it's the socialism, stupid. Intelligence Professionals Tell Obama off Five Foreign Policy Problems the Next President Must Face Thursday, August 30. 2012The lady voteWhy the GOP Can't Win Over the Single Ladies. Pic below via SDA. Amusing, but I know many Conservative young ladies. There are many women out there who do not wish to marry the federal government. Sandra, who wants me to pay for her birth control pills, happens to be a law student from a wealthy family. Ask Dad to pay for your pills, Sandra. Or your boyfriend.
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A fun quote from Ryan's speech
This is a Maggie's attitude. It's not the economy, stupidYou have a nation filled with people who are worried about money, and worried about their kids' futures. Thus the frequently-observed temptation for pols and the MSM to distract the voters. Is this election about race and gender? Chris Matthews Says “Chicago” Is Super-Secret GOP Racist Codeword MSNBC: References To Golf Are Racist Golf? Slate Accuses Ann Romney of Sexism Knish gets it:
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Thursday morning linksEmbrace Your Inner Insecurity Giving by the Rich Dropped $30-Billion During Recession Reporters In Tampa Working Hard to Cover Nonexistent Racism MSNBC Refuses to Cover Minority Speeches A Gun That Progressives Refuse To Ban Against Paul Ryan: Paul Ryan’s nasty ideal of self-reliance. That's a straw man. Here's the transcript of Ryan's speech. One quote from it:
Mead: President Obama: American Tory?:
Dancing with the Taliban
Wednesday, August 29. 2012Weds. morning linksLabradoodle vs. Mutt: The Real Cost of Owning a Dog Teenage marijuana use may permanently reduce IQ Why Humans Give Birth to Helpless Babies Mia Love Rocks the House at RNC Convention Shameful Media Spins, Shills and Race-Baits the GOP Convention
Tuesday, August 28. 2012Big C update But it's cool. As I mentioned in the last update, the tumor hasn't grown any worse, so there's no need to panic. I'm currently designing a web site $600, so I'll get there. For those of you just tuning in, the back story is here. Contributions to the Save Our Doc fund are more than welcome. To those of you who have already pitched in, my sincerest thanks. One thing I've noticed that seems to be common amongst cancer docs is that they tend to be a fairly upbeat group. My doctor in Miami is a riot. At one point he adopted his 'tough guy' voice and growled, "Just rub a little dirt on it — you'll be fine!" The doctor in Mexico was the one who, after looking at the scans, said "Good news. You have a cancer, not the cancer." Whether or not hospitals specifically seek out cancer docs with an upbeat personality is anybody's guess, but it sure has helped on this end. Whenever I start feeling down and picturing the worst, something one of the docs has said inevitably comes to mind and cheers me up. I also notice they have a particular reticence to using scary words like "cancer" and "tumor". It's usually just "your condition" or "the problem". I happened to be watching an episode of 'House MD' a few weeks ago and Wilson, the resident oncologist, was talking to a patient and referred to "your condition", so I gather it's just part of the biz. To finish up on an upbeat note, two of my friends are delighting in sending me 'gallows humor' cartoons to cheer me up. I posted one a few weeks ago; the 'Dead End' sign next to a graveyard. This one's pretty funny:
Tuesday morning linksAnimals Are as With It as Humans, Scientists Say Which is to say, not very much The World’s Most Expensive Camera Lens This Child’s View Of Single-Motherhood Yale, 61 Years Later, the Rot Continues Coyote: One of the Year's Most Distasteful Activities Learning to Like Mitt - Andrew Ferguson, reluctant Romneyite Reducing Hate by Restoring Tolerance At Romney event, two reactions to his birth certificate joke: reporters gasped--and a crowd of thousands laughed and cheered. Karl Rove predicts historic loss for Todd Akin President Obama has Tour Buses Flown to Stump Speeches Cheesecake Factory Medicine - Paul Ryan's critics and the architects of ObamaCare reveal their real vision for health care: coercion. ... journalism isn’t about reporting facts. It’s about crafting stories to teach people what to believe. The masses need lessons, not facts. Interview: David Gelernter on America-Lite Swing-voters: Meet the Deciders President Obama's Problems with Women Women are concerned about more things than free birth control pills For someone who grew up in a Republican household that nonetheless considered the Times an essential part of our intellectual diet, the paper’s increasing bias over the past decade has been breathtaking.
Monday, August 27. 2012The Next Growth Cycle'Apocaloptimist' is a humorous term I recently heard that best describes how I've felt about the economy these last 4 years. The concept that it's all crashing down, but not to worry because we'll all be fine, in the end. I'm not sure that it's all going to come crashing down, but we're still not out of the recession/depression and there is a long road ahead before things improve to the point where we can feel confident about the future. Regardless of where we are, a quick review of history does point to one clear fact, and this is simply that mankind has a remarkable capability to adapt, make due, and eventually engage progress of a tangible nature. We're still progressing today, just much more slowly. But in the depths of a recession, true pessimists step forward. These are people who cannot see anything good, and refuse to take a simple step of reviewing history and seeing that bad times never last 'forever'. Absolutes can come back to haunt you, if used improperly. "We can never..." is the kind of phrase that inspires someone, somewhere to think, "Well, maybe we can...", and then they actually go out and do whatever it is we could never do. Most human activity leads to peaks and those peaks are usually followed by valleys. Getting into the right frame of mind is how you get out of the valley and move to the next peak. Statements such as this, however, do nothing to help:
Malthus was wrong, and 215 years later his views have still not provided any meaningful insights on how the world operates.
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Monday morning linksArmstrong’s America - Small-town boy on moon. A quote from the quiet and modest Armstrong:
New York Times “bleeds” progressivism, says its public editor Gosh. Really? The Truth About Woody Guthrie at 100 What they don’t tell you about Romney To his credit, he has not written a self-mythologizing autobiography. Doesn't need to, because he has accomplished lots of real things in the real world. That is not easy to do. 1001 Pieces of Islamist Propaganda: Fabricated Exhibit Comes to D.C. Our current President is telling lies to the little people Mark Steyn: War on women? The real war is on children The Truth About Obama and Welfare Reform Negative $4,019 - The Obama years have been brutal on middle-class incomes. Elizabeth Warren Ad: Let's Be More Like China The Indians came from China, right? Al Gore update Race wars at the Census Bureau What race is Obama? More importantly, what race is Derek Jeter? Even more importantly, aren't American Indians actually Asian? How to Beat President Obama -The man who runs the American Crossroads Super PAC on targeting 'the persuadables' with precise messages on welfare, ObamaCare and the economy. The Romneys Sparkle on Fox. Where Have They Been Hiding Ann? Michael Barone: The Evolution of the Republican Party Voter VDH on California:
Sunday, August 26. 2012Obama promises to work across party lines, next time
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