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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Sunday, August 26. 2012Obama promises to work across party lines, next time
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11:50
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More AGW bunkum debunked
I suppose it's slightly ironic that, twelve hours before I might possibly drown from a hurricane, I'm posting an article on fire. Such are the whims and vagaries of outrageous fortune. Yesterday, I said something in an email that only a Floridian would say:
Only in Florida would someone say it'll hopefully be a Category 1 hurricane. When I posted on Isaac last Wednesday, it was barreling directly for us. Over the next few days, it moved slightly to the west, as far as Key West, then it turned slightly northward which drew it back our direction. So it looks like we'll get clobbered pretty good. The good news is that it's picked up a real head of steam over the last few days and is now scheduled to hit us tonight, rather than tomorrow morning as originally forecast. More speed = less time over the water = less time to pick up energy. For what it's worth, this is the fifth hurricane I've gone through in the six years I've been here. Four in the first two months, now Isaac. We also got lashed a good one a few years ago with Tropical Storm Fey. As for the video, I don't think you'll learn anything particularly new ("governments are stupid"?), but it's nice to see the subject neatly laid out. As you know, along with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and unscheduled solar eclipses, the recent spate of large wildfires has also been attributed to global warming. What makes this video exceptional — coming from a left-wing, AGW-loving organization like NPR — is that the expert actually says the following in real, live English words for all to hear:
That's right, even without global warming, the expert still acknowledges that shortsighted government agencies might have played some small, tiny part in this travesty. I presume he lost his job the following day.
Sunday morning links: A politics-free zone on National Go Topless DayU.S. Open 2012: Federer, Djokovic, Williams sisters highlight tournament I will be there (watching, not playing). An annual delight. Related: What the 21st Century's finest athlete looks like with his shirt off Men don't love fruits and vegetables Why should we? Fruit is just fattening sugar-water - a dessert - and you can get all the vitamins you need from a daily or occasional multivit. Men seem to prefer, given the choice, meat and roots. Life is short: eat what you enjoy but avoid the carbs if you don't like your weight. An Appeal for For-Profit Education In my opinion, not-for-profit education just buries their profits in salaries for administration. What's the difference? The con tricks that make their mark on all of us Cigar Hunter: What to do with that humidor you got for Father’s Day The books of Marilynne Robinson She is good with words. Do not be dissuaded by Rowan Williams Bonding to Hydrogen - The simplest molecule, made for connection Chemistry is great fun, if taught right. Mind puzzles are fun, and it helps you understand this world. My brain chemicals forced me to link that essay. Seems to me that when we make good decisions, we like free will, but, when we make lousy decisions, we do not. Anyway, it is not binary. People are complicated and flawed. Does anybody care about "non-market-oriented" art? I can't even understand what she is saying. Tons of Americans do art as a hobby, and it's non-market-oriented. What's the big deal? Average bear could be pretty smart
Saturday, August 25. 2012Saturday morning linksWith autumn just around the corner up here, it's time to stock up on pre-fossil fuel. A carbon-emitting friend sent me his pic of his growing woodpile. It's also a good time to call your chimney sweep, because he will begin to get busy after Labor Day. Why Do Americans Waste So Much Food? Hobbit Legos What Do Feminists Want Women to Want? AVI: The Vision Thing Costco U., Adapting to Change in the 21st Century: Making the University a Lean, Mean, Discounting Machine The "Smokey Bear Effect": How Government Forest Takeover Has Led to More, Bigger and Hotter Fires For the Amish, Big Agribusiness Is Destroying a Way of Life A Different Justice: Why Anders Breivik Only Got 21 Years for Killing 77 People The Grim Reapers of Crop Insurance Viral Internet story says Mitt Romney helped locate missing teen daughter of Bain Capital partner Polls Find Tight Race, People Want Government To Leave Them Alone Knish: The end of the alternative media MSM won't stop talking about Akin gaffe ACORN Back With 174 Rebranded Affiliates US incomes fell in past 3 1/2 years Sex and God at Yale (h/t Insty) Michael Mann says lawsuit against National Review is on! Climate Depot responds to Mann and his lawyer's claims about the Hockey Stick & Climategate Good news: EPA slaps landlords with $40,000 fines for failing to provide "EPA-Approved" pamphlets to tenants Obama Campaign says Romney's career at Bain Capital "was not about creating jobs, it was about creating profits." Bloomberg Blames Shelters For Homeless Rise Obama's America released yesterday, #1 in box office Friday, August 24. 2012Too many college grads for this economyThe college youth are screwed by the Obama economy: America May Have Too Many College Graduates. It's a very complicated state of affairs, but the economy still stinks for almost everybody without a government job. However, it does not alter my longstanding thesis that a liberal arts education is not meant to be a job credential, and never was. It was designed as life-enrichment, advanced mental discipline, and delayed-adulthood for the clergy, for serious scholars, and for the prosperous elites. What it is today, no-one knows. Related: Trading caps and gowns for mops - Real-time advice: College grads are working in jobs unrelated to their studies. What's wrong with that? Most of the kids today are being challenged to build something for themselves. That's a good thing for everybody, but it works better if the government gets out of the way.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:54
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Four more years of what?Strassel: The Silent Second-Term Agenda - Despite the Democrats' shellacking in 2010, the president moved left. Re-election in November will reinforce his view that he was correct to do so. It begins:
Posted by The News Junkie
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11:58
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Germany: Fool of the decade?
Then the tsunami came along, knocked out the backup generators, and the whole thing went into the toilet. Then the Japanese government freaked out and shut down all of their nuclear power plants due to 'safety concerns'. The first one finally went back on line a few weeks ago, a year and a half later. Now, a little panic and overreaction from a government is hardly anything new. We see it here all the time. Some 11-year-old moron puts out an eye with a bottle rocket and immediately all fireworks are banned throughout the county. About the only thing they have in some places these days are sparklers and snakes. Happens all the time. But then Germany got into the act, likewise shutting down all of its nuke plants over safety concerns, all of which raises one of the greatest questions of all time: There are tsunamis in Germany? Earthquakes, sure, but, as Fukushima testified, nuke plants can be built to withstand earthquakes just fine. So what the German high command was really saying to its citizenry was, "We're afraid we're going to get hit by a tsunami any minute now." That, all by itself, might have earned Germany the coveted title, Fool of the Decade. But it gets even worse than that. When they built Fukushima, they constructed a sea wall that would withstand the highest tsunami in Japanese recorded history, back in the 30's. These people obviously aren't fools, and they well knew that (1) the reactors would probably withstand a major quake just fine, but (2) a tsunami breaching the sea wall would do them in. So they obviously put a lot of research into it. Okay, so why did the tsunami breach the sea wall? Natural mystery solved: That wasn't a tsunami that devastated Japan in March
So, to sum up, not only did Germany shut down its entire nuclear power industry because they were afraid of getting hit by a tsunami, but it turns out the tsunami they based this on was such an unlikely event that, until now, it had only been hypothesized. Germany, take a bow. You win. Friday morning linksAtheists Are Vampires?? Biology professor developing silicone implant to battle herpes The Most Interesting Coach in the World, Mike Leach The Lancashire Witches 1612-2012 (h/t Vanderleun) "Reports say Swift is helping Conor deal with the tragedy." Goodbye, V-8s, the Engines That Could Extreme couponing - Indiana has seen a quiet whirlwind of education reform From Roger Clegg & John S. Rosenberg, a major essay on diversity New Homes For Sale Drop To Lowest Ever; Average New Home Price Plunges To 2012 Lows The NYT is crazy Mitt Romney: What I Learned at Bain Capital Poll: McMahon jumps to lead in Conn. Senate race Book: Public Sector Unions Planning to Forcibly Enroll Non-Government Employees The 6 Quadrillion Dollar Climate Change Scam
DNC Embracing Radical Islamists At National Convention
Thursday, August 23. 2012Hurricane funWhen I was a kid, one of the most exciting things to do was to take a Sunfish out in a hurricane. Doubt I'd still have the nerve to do that now, but these fun-loving folks in Maine took a Hobie 16 out in Hurricane Earl 2 years ago. Boat reached a max speed of 22 knots before pitchpoling.
Posted by Bird Dog
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19:35
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Tools for ObamaThe vast Leftist propaganda machine is hard at work. Related: Shocker: Donations from media companies go largely to Obama
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13:35
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Who is Mitt Romney?Aired in April, on CBS (h/t Tatler). The talking head notes that Mitt has not developed a "public narrative."
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Thursday morning linksBasic chemistry of sex Dealing with one's dark side in relationships Dad, You Were Right About The Lines Is it rape to wake up a sexual partner in a sexual manner? Should I euthanize my 12 year-old? Spanish fresco restoration botched by amateur $14.5M for boy's brain injury from metal bat Climate High-Sticking: The Unmanly Mann Has "Bless his heart" become an insult? How likely is a Repub Senate majority? 'God is in control': Obama gets really religious in new interview (with the election a little over two months away) Senators ask Pentagon to consider debarring United Technologies from future contracts GOP Convention Theme “We Built This!” Poll: Warren Down 49-44 to Brown in MA In Addition to Its Many other Flaws, Obamacare Is Becoming a Racket for Overpaid Government Bureaucrats The coming government-made healthcare crisis Book: Obamacare Is Scheme to Draft Millions of New Union Members The Bipartisan Imperial Presidency - On core questions of federal power there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two tickets. How good police work is the best thing to be done for the poor It Begins… Sandra Fluke & Obama Use Todd Akin to Trash Romney-Ryan & Raise Cash Welcome to College Insurrection Poll: young voters say “key life decisions” are in jeopardy
Wednesday, August 22. 2012The Truth Behind the Bush Tax Cuts and the DeficitThe question of the Bush Tax cuts 'causing' the deficits, and hence the 'need' to increase taxes on the 'wealthy' is one which Democrats spend many evenings discussing. Clearly, Bush was an insane tax-cutter without any good ideas and caused every problem mankind faces today, and frankly every problem we've faced for the last 40 years. He was just that bad. However, a non-partisan look at the cuts indicates something quite different. On a standalone basis, taking out all other additional spending programs from the last 11 years, what we find is the tax cuts paid for themselves, and then some. In other words, the issue isn't the cuts. The issue is all the additional spending which took place after the cuts. To be completely honest, and completely fair, not all the spending was by Bush, either. In fact, most of it was voted on with bipartisan support. Very little could be said to be purely Bush-related, let alone Republican-related. Honesty is a difficult thing in politics. Typically I don't look for anything more than a minimal degree of it, what I prefer is a level of consistency of thought. The Republicans have their own challenges regarding honesty and consistency, but the Democrats have really done a good job of cornering the market on dishonesty and hypocrisy.
Posted by Bulldog
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19:55
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"College Degrees Aren't Umbrellas"George Leef is not convinced that many jobs which require a BA have any need for it. What is a BA anyway? He begins:
Good times, good times Yes, you simply couldn't ask for a more peaceful, tranquil existence. Well, usually.
Weds. morning linksTom Stoppard update The American Chestnut coming back The recipe for happiness? An enduring marriage and an affair with lots of sex California Puts Raw Dairy Farmers in Jail; While in France, Raw Milk is Sold in Vending Machines Ryan's appeal is his normality. Paul Ryan: ‘Happy’ to be clinging to guns and religion Message to the GOP: Maine is not lost! Samuelson: Why Ryan Might Be Right Why Geezers Are the True Enemy Iran Bans Women from University Studies Jake Tapper: The Media is Failing the Country Fred Barnes: How Ryan Recasts the Race - With his big ideas, the GOP's vice presidential candidate makes the incumbent president seem smaller. McGurn: Social Justice and Ryan the Heretic - Church liberals launch an odd line of attack against a free-market champion. Universal Mediocrity - Why do Britons like their sub-par health-care system so much? Gov. Deval Patrick's New Health Law Is Flat-Out Dangerous What Madonna Doesn’t Get About Russia’s Punk Protest Pic below from Theo, with this Corzine quote:
Tuesday, August 21. 2012A few Tues. morning linksVery annoying tech problems today - more links etc later The crisis of women over-using medical services I should have said "over-utilizing" Knowledgable reader made me find out what a razee is “Beer + Pizza = Success.” The key formula for law students. Key to success in anything E.J. Dionne’s idea of a serious budget plan The end of tenure as we know it? Oslo Muslims Demand Sharia-Controlled Zone If they want to re-create their homeland's moral hell-holes in Europe, why did they bother to leave home? Oh. The Welfare checks and the multicultural embrace. If We Still Had Real Journalists, and One Got Through to Obama… No Horses, But Detroit Water Department Employs 'Horseshoer' Romney Attends Mormon Services With Media in Attendance Sounds pretty ordinary to me The NYT again decides not to turn off their A/C to save the planet They want the little people to do it "What we're looking at with Chomsky is a man who has dedicated essentially his entire public life to political evil. I think we are justified in calling such a person a monster." LaHood: ‘I’m very proud’ of DOT stimulus spending at $738,000 per job Where do I sign up? Sen. Scott Brown is in favor of rape? Mass. Gov. Patrick Signs Bill to Exert Control over Health Providers After Billions Of Taxpayer Dollars, Green Transportation Is A Bust That was our money Monday, August 20. 2012Why your taxes will go upThey have to, because of all the things people want to get from government (ie from their hard-working neighbors' pockets). As Bruce said earlier today, government has become the god to whom many pray for the stuff they want to make life easier. Utopia is always just around the corner if only people sacrifice a little bit more for the Common Good. Quickest things to deal with the debt? Cancel Obamacare, reform Medicare and Social Security, and unshackle the economy so we can get some growth going. While they're at it, shutter the Dept of Education, shutter the Commerce Dept, cancel Dodd-Frank, let GM, Fannie and Freddie go bankrupt, and trust-bust the giant banks if they are too big to fail because if I want to invest in a bank, I will do it on my own. Almost forgot one detail: vote out Obama.
Posted by The News Junkie
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15:22
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Nomination: Sub-Header of the Month Award Monday morning linksWhy Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, and Truman Capote All Failed to Write the Great American Novel - It's not a coincidence all three befriended murderers. How Management Killed “The Village Voice” The Unending Battle for the Upper West Side - Property owners take on the social-services empire. ...would you trust your day and your life at 70 MPH to this "branding bullshit" group? What I built — with government help Obama’s GM ‘Success Story’ Headed for Bankruptcy Reich: Raul Ryan wants to starve your kid MoDo thinks so too. Flashback: Bill Clinton Admits Paul Ryan’s Budget Is a Good Plan Gross… Code Pink Activists Dress Up as Vaginas for Free Abortions Rally Obama deputy campaign manager: Entertainment Tonight of equal importance with White House press corps Giuliani Explains: Why I Hammered Joe Biden Mark Halperin: 'The Media Is Very Susceptible to Doing What the Obama Campaign Wants' Recovery Summer 3: July Unemployment Up In 44 States Obama biographer Ed Klein says that about two weeks ago Valerie Jarrett, Obama's brain trust and manager of his Acme Campaign Strategery , offered Hillary Clinton a slot on the ticket as Obama's running mate and she turned it down. Rights for ‘Asexuals?’ Bjorn Lomborg on junk science The Most Powerful Attack Ever on Obama is in Newsweek? The ‘new normal’ excuse - Just an economy that used to grow? Saturday, August 18. 2012The countdown You have to admit — if the world disappears into an alternate dimension, at least it'll take care of runaway inflation. And those pesky Democrats. While I don't think you'll particularly learn anything new here, it's still interesting watching an official JPL guy cover the bases. And if he's wrong? Just do as we learned to do back in the 60's when Russia was about ready to launch 25,000 nukes at us. Just crawl under your school desk. You'll be fine. Saturday morning tasty, salty linksChina's megalopolises may seem impressive on paper, but they are awful places to live. Spanx on Steroids: How Speedo Created the New Record-Breaking Swimsuit Do Parents Have A Moral Obligation to Genetically Upgrade Their Kids? Of course they do. It's called "selecting a worthy mate." Mataconis: Maybe We’re Getting Exactly The Political Culture We Deserve Ryan's seriousness inspires Democratic silliness Georgia high school choruses reportedly not diverse enough to perform with Atlanta orchestra Brooklyn Deli Clerk's Face Slashed Open For Refusing To Sell Beer For Food Stamps Probably a racist Hayward: Are Democrats Starting to Lose It Already? Russia’s Rock N Roll Riot Pizza Franchise Creates ‘Not After Dark’ Delivery Rule In Detroit Mitt and Barack are semi-WASPS Even in Bankruptcy, Unions Get Special Treatment - The pension-debt time bomb detonates in bankruptcy court. WH Press Corps: Obama Dodging Issues, Tough Questions From Journalists He's a flashy celebrity, not a national manager Column: Obama’s reelection strategy is driving America apart Nobel Economists Back Mitt Romney's Plan The Mantle of Leadership Has Shifted: Romney, Ryan Govern in All but Name:
Friday, August 17. 2012Democrats Line Up Against Special OperatorsLarry Bailey unleashed a prepared Democrat chorus to discredit former military special operators who oppose President Obama’s re-election.
Larry Bailey and I are friends. Larry is absolutely not a speaker who minds his PR Ps & Qs, nor ever tried to be a diplomat. He is a devout patriot who has devoted his life to the security of the United States. I am not a birther, nor are those I know who supported his first efforts, the first of several independent other organizations of former military special operators, to raise attention to the concerns – also expressed by several leading politicians, including some Democrats -- that President Obama and his minions exposed national security secrets in order to bolster Obama’s re-election. The usual Obama apologists and partisans quickly expressed their distaste for birtherism, understandable, but used Bailey’s words to attack all the other leaders of other organizations of special operators opposed to President Obama’s re-election. (Here's the leader of one of the other organizations of former special operators.) Omigosh, Obama For America website reveals that there are Republicans among the leaders of the four independent groups of special operators. Obama For America was an internet-based campaign organization for Obama in 2008, re-named Organizing For America after the election for his permanent campaign, and now Obama For America is back. Guess what Obama For America, there are far more Republicans than Democrats among the military, and especially so among special operators in the various military branches James Joyner, who sways with Democrat memes inside the beltway at his blog Outside the Beltway, with regard to one of the organizations of special operators, OPSEC (operations security), chimes in with “the fact that the group’s key spokesmen are all Republican operatives certainly changes the lens through which their charges should be viewed.” Oh, does it? Only for those looking for an excuse to look the other way. Failed Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry – who trumped up his Vietnam veteran status, as usual, rolls out his attack on the over 60 of fellow Swift Boat veterans who exposed his lies or exaggerations about his service in Vietnam, and Kerry’s certain betrayal of Vietnam veterans after in likening us to the army of Genghis Khan. Paul Mirengoff notes: " Kerry never explains why he finds the criticism of Obama “outrageous.” Doing so would have required a defense of the administration’s serial disclosure of sensitive national security information." I’m not defending Larry Bailey’s words, by any means. But, the effort by those supporting Obama’s re-election to avoid and broadbrush besmirch the valid concerns of special operators is typical of the Obama re-election campaign. Patriots, to the Obama folk, are those who support him. The special operators from the military and national security experts, whose lives are actually on the line and endangered by loose self-serving lips in the Obama administration, are denigrated by the Obama minions. In 2004, veterans and their families and friends saw right through John Kerry and, I confidently predict, will see through Obama like a soggy thin tissue too.
Posted by Bruce Kesler
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21:49
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A note to our (few) readers in ChinaI know that we have a few Chinese readers. We would welcome more. A reader in China asked me to post this shout-out. I believe that many in the Middle Kingdom might enjoy a refreshing dose of freedom-oriented Americana - if only to practice their reading! We'd love to see Maggie's go viral in China, but it ain't gonna happen. Politicians would shut us down. We would like it if our Chinese readers would forward our site around to their email list. I do not believe that we are censored by your government. Not yet, at least, despite our dangerously-subversive attitudes towards state power. Disaster vid: Train wreck at Wenzhou
As a disaster documentary buff, I've occasionally dashed over to YouTube to see if some company like the people who produce the 'Seconds From Disaster' or 'Mayday' series have done a special on it. But I've left disappointed. No one's ever produced a comprehensive documentary covering the entire sad event. Until now.
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