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, July 5. 2012The Higgs Boson of PoliticsThe Washington Post describes the discovery of the subatomic Higgs boson particle as “thought to create a sort of force field that permeates the universe, imbuing everything we see and touch with the fundamental property known as mass.” There is also a basic particle that permeates the universe of human nature and, thus, of politics, imbuing everything that happens with the fundamental property known as power. From birth each individual exhibits a basic nature which exists throughout life. Even as it is shaped some by nurture and experiences, that basic nature is dominant. Those natures fall along a continuum from stubborn control of self and choices of environment to stubborn control of others and their choices of environment. In the political sphere these natures fall along a right to left continuum. On the right is a tendency toward individualism and creation of an environment that is based on the freely combined choices of other individuals. On the left is a tendency toward imposing a collectivism that is based of unifying others through power over their choices. On the right the role of government is important in protecting those free choices, including those of minorities. On the left the role of government is essential to aggregating power to enforce visions of the collective good, regardless of minorities. Most people are along the continuum, by nature, by choice, and by circumstance tending toward one end or the other. Extremists of individualism are of the right. Continue reading "The Higgs Boson of Politics"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
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Some people have all the luck Last night, an electrical malfunction caused the city of San Diego to set off their entire display in half a minute. I've combined two clips for your viewing pleasure. The camera lens kind of futzes out in the first one because of the brightness; the second one, while blurrier, is closer to what people actually saw. Lucky bastards.
Thursday morning linksIf you have a minute (but who does?) and have been on vacation from the intertubes, please scroll down Maggie's and catch up on some of our posts from the last couple of days. Mead: The unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen Post-Colonial, Multi-Racial Societes of North America Surely inspired by Howard Zinn Via Insty, 5 Reasons to Answer that Booty Call Dinosaurs Had Feathers, New Fossil Discovery Shows The Passive-Aggressive Vegetarian If You Want More Higgs Hype, Don’t Read This Column Chinese Airline Passengers Demonstrate "Let's Roll" To Terrorist Hijackers Springsteen: Taxes for thee but not for me On Independence Day the New York Times published “the Downside of Liberty” They want to be Pravda. Woops, almost forgot. They already are. DHS Study Brands Those Who Believe In Individual Liberty As Terrorists Just hanging out here, working in the garden, waiting for the SWAT team Henninger: ObamaCare's Lost Tribe: Doctors - The practice of medicine is the Obama health-care law's biggest loser. Pethokoukis: Yes, there is a free-market alternative to Obamacare Helpful flowchart: do I qualify for the Obamacare mandate-tax-penalty surcharge fee? Impact on temperature measurement: Cities expand by area equal to France, Germany and Spain combined in less than 20 years Would it have been so bad if America hadn’t won its independence from Britain? Re France, "Why should they (the Germans) accept to contribute to the financing of a 60 year retirement age in France when they have just raised it domestically to 67?" Wednesday, July 4. 2012The IRS and ObamacareHappy Dependence Day! Between the government-sponsored electronic medical records and the Obamacare-IRS alliance, big brother is going to know everything about you and your family. For the Greater Good, natch. It's a wonder that a single American likes this idea. Perhaps there is a large portion of Americans who like to be forced to do things. I just don't get it. Weds. morning linksA book: Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences A Survival Guide for the Right in Leftist Academia Why Einstein Was Not Qualified To Teach High-School Physics At Vietnamese restaurants, Hispanic workers have become vital to survival Apple’s Retail Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on Pay Fort Hood: After the Massacre Spontaneous Order, Sometimes It Just Happens We are all Kulaks now - The American Bushwhacked still wonder what happened. When did this stop being a free country? Jindal: Obama Wants People To Depend On Government Not a safety net, but a way of life Union boss Trumka: Freedom is a dirty word Who are the losers in Obamacare? Rogers: National-Security Leaks ‘Probably the Most Damaging’ in U.S. History Tuesday, July 3. 2012Big C update I just wanted to express a huge 'Thank You' to all of you who have chipped a little something into the pot, and especially to those who gave more than their fair share, so hopefully I'll make it. If anyone's interested, my bio is here. I guess you could say I've been around the block a few times. If you'd like to join the Save-Our-Doc campaign, my PayPal donation page is here. To those who have contributed: While I promised not to spill the beans and let everyone know what a terrific person you are, I obviously will if you want, and if you have a web site I can promote in an article, I'll be happy to do so. Also, if you've been thinking of putting up a blog or web site, I'll do the initial setup for you. Just don't get a domain name until we talk. If you want to do any of the above, just say "please email me" in the comments and I'll get hold of you at the address associated with your login name. Thanks again for the help, Tuesday morning linksWhy I said goodbye to NASCAR. Good Reason to Kill #24: Pancake Battery Surf Dog Competition Sees New Guinness World Record, Gains National Attention Mitt Romney’s summer vacation full of competitive sports and family meetings New York Times Asks: Should Air-Conditioning 'Be Rationed Away? via Al Gore’s Mansion Could Not Be Reached for Comment Why the Education Bubble Will Be Worse Than the Housing Bubble Sorry, Bucko, Europe Is Still In A Death Spiral Euroland as an empire Will More Doctors ‘Go Galt’ Because of Obamacare? Obama Spanish language ad blitz aims to wrap up Latino vote Obamacare: Seven New Taxes on Citizens Earning Less than $250,000 Syria's Display of Virility Against Turkey Palestinian Crimes against Christian Arabs and Their Manipulation against Israel VDH on the election: Good News — What Good News? Another Obama Record… Number of Americans on Disability Exceeds Number of People in New York Food stamps + EBT card + easy disability = votes Monday, July 2. 2012Monday morning linksImage from Sexist or Not George Washington and the Constitution Religious Freedom Wins In New York Last Bite for Foie Gras Lovers in California Level 99 archer (video) Reuse a Leaky Garden Hose, Make a Soaker Hose How to Save the Planet: Euthanize Your Pet The Freaky Fetishes of Golden Age Hollywood - A tolerant new tell-all from Tinseltown’s sexual fixer World's first GM babies born Feds considering declaring Arabs eligible for affirmative action Supreme Decision: The Best Possible Result for 2012 Judge Roberts’ decision forces Americans to stand on their own two feet — and that’s a good thing John Yoo: Chief Justice Roberts and His Apologists - Some conservatives see a silver lining in the ObamaCare ruling. But it's exactly the big-government disaster it appears to be. Food Stamps, Handouts, and the Ever-Expanding Welfare State 'Spoiled Rotten': How the Democratic Party Lost Its Soul to Patronage Viva La Obama!… George Clooney to Host Obama Fundraisers in Europe Forget Immigration. It's Big Government Hispanic Voters Want Sunday, July 1. 2012Happy Birthday, Canada! The name of this delightful British protectorate is "Canada" (also referred to as "Great Britain Jr."), and the fact that it exists at all is often cited as "The eighth wonder of the world." National Geographic magazine has done a number of specials on it over the years, amazing the readers with photographic evidence that people actually live in this frozen hellhole. Well, today is their Independence Day, which celebrates the famous day in 1867 when Britain bought a big chunk of it from France for $38 and change (roughly $17.2B accounting for inflation) because they needed to import drinking water to their Caribbean colonies and Canada has lots of snow. Then they filed an Instant Country document with the League of Nations and became "Canada", which is Eskimo for "land of many snow". In doing my research on this adorable little principality, I quickly discovered that Canadians are very patriotic: And I'm sure you caught the Biblical reference to covering up the private parts with a Canadian fig leaf (their national symbol), so we have to presume Canadians are also exceptionally moral. Now, while some people call Canadians and other Nordic tribes "humorless", their money proves this just isn't so. Based on the famous Warner Bros animated cartoon series "Looney Tunes", they named their money "Loonies" and "Toonies". All in all, that's quite the little accolade for Porky and the gang. Personally, I was always a Yosemite Sam kinda guy. Why, I remember once when he- Wait... where was I? Oh, right. Trying to think of nice things to say about Canada. Well, others have also taken up this mighty challenge, and it was only by combing the very bowels of the Internet that I was able to conjure up what appears at first glance to border upon the miraculous: Canada Day: 5 Reasons to Love Our Neighbor to the North Five! That's about four more than I can come up with, so I'm grateful for the assistance. I get to "Gave us John Candy" and then draw a blank. Anyway, happy birthday, Canada! Just remember, we like you there. Come the Russian invasion, we think you're going to make a great buffer zone! Saturday, June 30. 2012Saturday afternoon linksWe had some internet glitches today but now the Farm is open for business again. Let's blame the fathers Curious George Will Give You Lung Cancer Purple Heart for PTSD? Advocates Say Yes Life causes PTSD. It's just a matter of degree. John Roberts’s Compromise of 2012 75% of Obamacare Costs Will Fall on Backs of Those Making Less Than $120K a Year
"Probably"? Farmers: Friday, June 29. 2012A note re Obamacare, from a Bird Dog PupetteAn email from one of my kids: I just came up this this at my desk. "New services" means new medical services people will use now that they have insurance - along the lines of preventative care etc, which in my option may decrease "S" in the long term but not enough for an overall economic benefit. This model assumes the cost of insurance will be the same for everyone. My colleagues think it is a pretty robust equation. Seems to me she gets to the heart of it. No, insurance companies cannot afford it without raising rates to a level which is impossible for the middle class and unacceptible to the federal regulators. Like requiring people to buy hybrid Rolls Royces that they don't want and cannot use. Then the companies will be blamed for the prices and few will remember that the government required the whole mess (just like the housing bubble). As we have noted many times, Obamacare: A System Designed to Fail. Image below via Moonbattery. Here's one opinion: Barry Hussein Obama’s magical unicorn ride to Socialist Utopia, day 1
Posted by Bird Dog
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Friday morning linksPhotos: Before and after views of neighborhood burned by Waldo Canyon fire South Portland Schools Now Instructing Mothers To Just Have The Obstetrician Scrape Off The Vernix And Drop The Thing Off At The School National Lampoon's European Vacation - Chevy Chase would love this one. Dr. Vibrant's Back: Richard Florida Redux Health-Reform is Constitutional: Here are the Tax Implications Health Care Law Has Already Lost in Court of Public Opinion Henninger is right, here: The President That Time Forgot - ObamaCare was a legislative monolith, out of sync with an iPad world. With 51 Senators, GOP can eliminate mandate Bad Deal on Student Loans - Taxpayers should be suspicious. Clown Science: Liberal vs Conservative Brains David Brooks is so gosh-darned cute when he tries to explain Republicans to Democrats. Bird group sues Obama administration over wind power Screw Tibet: Hollywood Embraces China's Censorship Thursday, June 28. 2012Big Brother update
First off, in case you missed it, you might want to glance over my first post on spy drones. I then started collecting articles for a future post, and here we are. But what's to note is that these aren't a bunch of whiny, bitchy rantings on some backwater blog site (like, you know, mine), but coming from the major news organizations. I would also note that I mentioned the 'private sector' in the above post, and the first two links here are what I was referring to. All the rest have to do with our beloved Beware the spy in the sky - Daily Mail
Google's, Apple's eyes in the sky draw scrutiny - Reuters Big Brother’s all-seeing eye - Washington Times Talk of drones patrolling U.S. skies spawns anxiety - Washington Times Don't let drones invade our privacy - CNN Drones over America: Are they spying on you? - MSNBC Drones, computers new weapons of U.S. shadow wars - USA Today Massive experimental drone takes to skies above Edwards AFB - LA Times 64 Drone Bases Located On American Soil - Slashdot Is a Military Drone Base Coming to Your Hometown? - ABC News So, as these things go, it's nice to see the major news organizations aren't backing away from the story. I suppose this is figuring that all the while they're planning on building up their own 'eye in the sky' fleets. As soon as one news organization scoops everybody with some really boss footage of some horrendous disaster using a drone, they'll all have to jump on board. Those are the rules. And all of that just barely scratches the surface. Continue reading "Big Brother update" Thurs. morning linksHow happy hour can help your heart, boost brainpower, and even flatten your belly Somin: Final Thoughts on the Eve of the Individual Mandate Decision 75 Percent of Women Say They Won't Date Unemployed Men USDA Wants Americans to Throw Parties to Get More People on Food Stamps Drug Approved for Chronic Weight Management Michelle Obama Descended From Slave Owner Debunking The Fast & Furious Gun Control Conspiracy Kimball: Univ of VA as a Microcosm of Educational Profligacy We're From the Government, and We're Here to Help You Lose Weight Barack Obama Makes Youth Appeal Based on Irresponsibility Ideological Litmus Test at University of Wisconsin Explosive Video Documents Depth of Putin's Mafia State Germany: To Save the Euro, Leave It I am with a fearful neoneo on this:
Wednesday, June 27. 2012Weds. morning linksCollege For All? No, Too Many Waiters And Janitors Have Degrees Crowdsourcing a New Report On Government Job Destruction “Antarctic ice shelves not melting at all, new field data show” Prediction: Global Warming Will Cause Everything EPA fines oil refiners for failing to use nonexistent biofuel Obama’s Ineffective Reelection Argument Obama to campaign on … change? Or on more of the same? Obama campaign uses company with operations in India and China to book travel VICTIMHOOD, THE UNKNOWN IDEAL ! Germans Look To Obama Only As An Example Of What Not To Do Interior secretary: State fracking oversight just isn’t good enough for me Tuesday, June 26. 2012New Jokes about the Idiots in Washington
Posted by The News Junkie
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Tuesday morning linksThose two peacocks are the same color Your lying eyes “The decline of America began with the replacement of hamburgers and bourbon with quiche and chardonnay.” How Bt Corn And Roundup Ready Soy Work - And Why They Should Not Scare You Viewing Images of High-Calorie Foods Brings On High-Calorie Cravings, Research Finds Duh What is So Good About Growing Old Everybody must get stoned "Economic freedom is the best tool man has ever had in the perpetual struggle against poverty." "I have written before of my belief that climate has become the first post-modern science." Via Insty, Government wants more people on food stamps Road to serfdom FBI Tracking 100 Suspected Extremists In Military MITT ROMNEY, A MODERN DAY FITZWILLIAM DARCY? Decline In Obama's Chicago Clue To His Second Term Arizona Senate President says Obama is acting like a 'spoiled child VDH: Is the Country Unraveling?
Egypt's Lesson: Incitement is Not a Secondary Issue Yeshiva University Team Discovers the Arch of Titus Menorah's Original Golden Color A Hamas victory at the UN Human Rights Council
Monday, June 25. 2012Free speech livesDespite the wishes of the Left, free speech remains foundational in the USA. What is amazing to me is that there were any votes on the Supremes opposed. Why would anybody in America want to squelch voices and opinions? Unless they have contempt for the peoples' opinions? It's a sickness, and it has a foothold, but not quite a majority, on the Court. We The People need all points of view, and we have the duty to apply our BS Detectors and biases as best we can. Seems to me that politicians are the biggest purveyors of self-interested BS, but their expensive speech cannot be outlawed. Monday morning linksImage above: Matisse's 1906 Le Bonheur de Vivre. It's in the new Barnes Museum in Philly. Is food medicine? Immortality is but a diet away. Putting Failed States on the Map EU should 'undermine national homogeneity' says UN migration chief Morsi Says “Our Capital Shall Be Jerusalem!” Bawer: Fear and Loathing of Reality at ‘The Nation’ Romney Is Mr. Normal:
Rex Murphy on Obama: America’s celebrity president The Obama campaign never sold Obama; it sold the idea of Obama. Obama/Biden campaign hit bottom with wedding gift appeal MSNBC Yapper: Top Dem Senators Fed Up With Obama’s Incompetence NYT: Democrats shocked to discover that 2,700-page Obamacare bill that no one read or understood could be ruled unconstitutional How ObamaCare Increases Income Inequality Obama: We need more taxes and regulations, so we can have more bottom-up economics Hmong pilots saluted in Maplewood A response to Dr. Paul Bain’s use of ‘denier’ in the scientific literature
Sunday, June 24. 2012Conflicted: Faculty and Online Education, 2012I took Chemistry from a Nobel winner chemist in a classroom of 250 eager students, many of them hopeful pre-meds. He clearly had been assigned to one undergrad class, but he didn't seem to resent it. He had fun talking to a class of undergrads, but he talked about whatever he wanted to, whatever was on his mind. He liked to talk about how the planet was running out of oil so there would be no substrate left for medicines and organic chemicals. He said everything you need to know is in the textbook and, if you are confused, try to grab a TA. Well, the impatient TAs had zero interest in that chore. As a result, many of us formed study groups which were great fun. I wanted to learn Chem so as not to be an ignorant person, and later took Organic for the same reason, despite being a History major. The Chem exams were a bitch. The five in my study group all got As, back before grade inflation. Science grades were curved. The reason our group did so well was partly because one of our study approaches was to create difficult problems for eachother. We'd meet at night in an empty classroom and do everything on the blackboard (remember them?). Conflicted: Faculty and Online Education, 2012
Posted by The Barrister
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Saturday, June 23. 2012Weed without the highGenius Israeli scientists have produced a medical marijuana without THC. I'm sure this will be a big hit. Saturday morning linksA History of Women’s Bathing Suits The beautiful Friesian horse Stanford White-Designed Fifth Avenue Mansion Sells For $42 M., 2012 Townhouse Record You overweight folks are damaging the planet Should people be taxed by the pound? By the UN, of course? Alert! World on the verge of chocolate crisis What sorts of people are in super-max prisons? Microsoft Surface Could Totally Change the Tablet and PC Markets Checking the APA's Findings on Homosexual Parenting Back to the City - Young millennials prefer urban living, says Alan Ehrenhalt. Cities are much more fun for young single people Tinsel Town has hijacked Obama’s campaign They bought it, they own it Europeans hate to work Europe’s Self-Inflicted Decline: French Taxing, Italian Regulating, Greek Mooching, and IMF Economic Illiteracy Obama Wants Your Birthday Money & Wedding Gifts Good grief Lawyers, lawyers everywhere and no straight story Obviously Death by government health care
You Lefties know the answer. Napolitano: Can the President Rewrite Federal Law? California high speed rail is dead Obama widens Latino voting gap The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws Doctor Claims Euthanasia Significant Part of British Health System Should We Hire Even More Teachers, Cops, and Firemen? How Badly Does the New York Times Hate the Third World? Obama’s lies and the media’s betrayal Defense Spending Has Actually Shrunk Relative To The Economy Over The Last 40 Years - What’s Happening in Iraq After the U.S. Withdrawal? An interview with Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, an Anglo-Iraqi political analyst Sorry, Washington Post, Romney didn’t get rich moving U.S. jobs overseas Friday, June 22. 2012355 jobs for $10 billion tax dollarsThe Withering Cost Of The Shiny, Green Jobs What does this say about the government's respect for the money we send them?
Posted by The News Junkie
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Friday morning linksThe Birth of Zoning Codes, a History Americans’ pre-crisis wealth was an illusion Well-behaved women don't deserve a spot at Princeton Should Rich Families Leave Their Wealth to Their Children? Why can't women have it all? The answer is simple: because no one can. Helpful Hints for Bloggers and Moms: Fielding Insults 101 Surprise: Economic Mobility is Alive and Well in America! Deeply sorry they were born white Average raise in 2009-10 for CEOs of 18 nonprofits double that for private-industry workers Ponzi Comes Full Circle: ECB Will Rate Sovereign Bonds It Accepts As Collateral 70% of people in Mexico are overweight Rich people are skinny If you want to see a liberal media member's head explode, compare Fast and Furious to Watergate. If you want to see an entire newsroom freak out, say that Fast and Furious is worse than Watergate. Rio +20 Earth Summit: Wandering Through the People’s Summit The Cuba Fallacy - Lifting the U.S. embargo would not bring democracy to Havana. The truth about Germany and the 'clean energy economy' ‘Marked for Life’ in North Korea Thursday, June 21. 2012Thursday morning linksWhat's wrong with being a yummy mummy? Isn't choice a good thing? The Beach Boys still get around Impact of Student Debt on Future Housing Demand Washington, DC's Capital Bikeshare: Tax $$$ for Rich, Educated, White Riders There's A Triple Tax Increase In Your Future Unions against pay increases Larry Summers says he has no idea about how to save Europe Was most of Obama's autobio fictional? Who is Barack Obama and why has he been saying those untrue things about himself? Tom Friedman says Obama needs an economic recovery plan Huh? The French determined to destroy business Flaming the Flame: The Case of the Mysterious Cyberleaks After Years of War, Taliban Becoming Drug Cartel Stolen Kremlin records show how the Soviets, including Gorbachev, created many of today’s Middle East conflicts Washington’s Ten Thousand Commandments - Regulations and red tape should be campaign issues this year. The Legality of an Attack against Iranian Nuclear Facilities Hinderaker: Obama’s Claim of Executive Privilege: It’s Frivolous
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