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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Wednesday, April 11. 2012Government delusionsFrom Stossel's Can Government Do Anything Well?:
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Weds. morning linksDocument Deep Dive: How the Homestead Act Transformed America The suicide forest of Japan: Mount Fuji beauty spot where up to 100 bodies are found every year Tasty beer: Great Achievements in American Capitalism Transgressive Art Shocks Educators But I thought the current pomo view of art was to disturb the complacent. Guess not. Thomas Kinkade, detested by the bien pensant But I thought the current pomo view of art was to disturb the complacent. Guess not. Joel Stein Has Four Accountants
Related: The Cure for Humanity's Natural State of Abject Poverty - A review of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. The non-diverse Obama campaign HQ Sowell: Why Politicians Promise Heaven And Deliver Hell:
It's a truism that recipients of charity must always hate the giver. It's about pride. Has the Trayvon Martin incident become more about the media than the shooting? Yes University Course on How to Impose Communism No wonder colleges are so greedy Mojave Solar Project Killing Threatened Desert Tortoises Understanding the Resilience of Monarchy During the Arab Spring Obama's America: Why Black Grievance Will Never End Why I Called George Zimmerman a Murderer, and Why I Was Wrong - I won't get fooled by media again. Nearly 60 percent of Americans would move from their communities right now if they could, according to a new survey Everybody's got to be somewhere... Hospital Refuses To Hire Overweight People From what I hear, overweight people are always at an employment disadvantage Here's How Unpopular ObamaCare Is: Fewer Than Half of Democrats Want the Law Upheld Hmmm. NASA Scientists Rebel Against Global Warming Hysteria:
Hansen has lost it, and his colleagues finally are daring to admit it. Tuesday, April 10. 2012If disabled people are disabled, how can they work?Clearly, today the term "disabled" includes many people entirely capable of holding jobs. Here's the latest on the disabled: Obama administration may soon require all Federal contractors hire 7% disabled workers. There is an interesting hitch, however: "... it is illegal, under the ADA, for employers to query applicants about their disabilities."
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Tuesday morning linksToon via Theo Surgery may not be necessary for appendicitis The pomo generator Fracking is Blamed for … Well, Everything, Really. VDH: Strangers in a Stranger Land He's getting confused by all of the new narratives Obama Will Say and Do Anything Angry people who demand things, don’t stop being angry when their demands are met. At Why You Should Learn to Love Pink Slime:
NYM: Defending Derbyshire Why ObamaCare Has Proved a Hard Sell Would Roosevelt recognize today’s Social Security? Obamacare is a Trojan horse, intended, as Barack Obama has said, to lead to the extinction of private health insurance and its replacement by socialized (“single payer”) medicine. Barone: Can Romney Show Voters That Obama Is Out of Date? From Satire to Horror Reality Show: Radical Chic Conquers America Why The U.S. Postal Service Is In Greater Financial Trouble Than Most Foreign Postal Services — The Role Of Government Micromanagement 4 Healthy Fast-Food Failures Freedom in Post-Democratic Europe Morning Bell: Hispanics and the 2012 Election In former Communist states, populations are shrinking fast - Of Romania's 19 million population, fewer than five million are workers paying tax Study recommends coverage of lung cancer screening Not from The Onion: Liberal fascism in the NYT Where do people go when they drop out of the labor force?
Monday, April 9. 2012We don't understand how they see us
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Monday morning linksThe Surprising Phenomenon of Exercise-Induced Orgasms Painkiller addiction: Is it really an epidemic? Gentrification in Greenwich Village Many of the tests are for protection against lawsuits There’s no such thing as a free lunch, at least not at the Rescue Mission of El Paso. National Review fires writer John Derbyshire, author of ‘outlandish’ article on blacks, racism Mitt Romney won. And now he's going to lose I'm not so certain about that SANDERS: Beijing’s nightmare scenario The European Union ups the anti-pirate ante Jewish Gangsters Get Their Day at Museum Details Emerge on Coming U.S. Offensive in Eastern Afghanistan TAUBE: Helen Thomas uncensored Military, church struggle to address Catholic chaplains shortage Obama Nails His Blue Colors to the Mast Does “Land of the Free” Mean Everything Should be Free? Amazing video of students. Where do they get this sense of entitlement? What’s important to these extremists is not the evidence but the scare. O’s losing strategy - It’s all fear and envy, no hope:
Saturday, April 7. 2012Saturday linksSometimes It Takes Money to Make Money (From Insurance Fraud) Vets, nowadays, will do anything a people doc will do. But they will charge you more for it. A site that is new to me: The College Fix A site you might like: The Gun Does low socioeconomic status have to bring poor health outcomes? Massachusetts’ Affordable Energy Prospects Are Blowing In the Wind George Will: What Romney needs in a running mate Two Years Later—The ObamaCare Lies Continue Obama’s reelection strategy: keep that stench away from me Oh, for Some Kennedyesque Grace - Obama makes his campaign strategy clear. It's divide and conquer. Americans Still Think Government Employees Work Less, Earn More Poll: Hispanics and Latinos Don’t Care for Those Government Labels Another non-hate crime China is deeply flawed. Its dominance is not inevitable - The country's success will continue only if its elites initiate the political and economic reforms it desperately needs Spin from the Left: Five conservative Supreme Court men join Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, John Boehner and Ron Paul in the war against women Psychosis from the Left: Nasa scientist: climate change is a moral issue on a par with slavery Crisis: Too many Polar Bears I blame global warming It’s an Obama World… Obama Administration Lauds Tax Cuts in China – While Pushing Tax Hikes Here at Home Friday, April 6. 2012Friday morning linksAndrew McCarthy: Future tense, VIII: Enter totalitarian democracy - On the difficulties of making law in the modern world. Insiders Poll: Enthusiasm Wanes for Rubio as VP Pick; Portman Rising Me like Rubio Spain Not Greece Is the Real Test for the European Union Shelby Steele: The Exploitation of Trayvon Martin - The absurdity of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton is that they want to make a movement out of an anomaly. Black teenagers today are afraid of other black teenagers, not whites “Freedom of Speech Wanes in Britain” Mead: First, Let’s Indenture All The Lawyers Does the Commerce Clause Negate the Rest of the Constitution? That is a brilliant question. Hinderaker is a smart lawyer. The National Wildlife Federation Jumps The Shark Good grief Knish: The Liberal Jewish Eunuch:
President Petulant - Obama makes Berkeley liberals look like statesmen. Eric Holder: My boss is an idiot Greece to Germany: Only Nazis would give us billions with strings attached Michelle: The Democrats’ Election Forgery Racket Klein: Don’t Worry About Deficit That Will Heal Itself “We won! We won! They pepper-sprayed us!”: Proof that the purpose of protests is to provoke a police response Curl: "This is going to get ugly, people." You betcha. It hasn't even really begun. Media Suppress Romney’s Human Side No tingles from Boy Scouts. One out of five dollars that flow into the pockets of Americans comes from a government check ie, from your neighbor - or from China ‘Action Camp’ For Children at Soros-Funded Group Van Jones wins one Still on the payroll. A Nation of Cowards: Marion Barry Declares We Have To Get These "Dirty" Asian Shops Out of Our Neighborhoods "...for the assembled "news" hounds — the most vaunted gathering of news executives from across the country — it was all very serious swooning. They were like a bunch of dogs in heat." (h/t, Am Digest) Tingles. No tingles. Too square to be a media celeb. If he came out as bi-, would the MSM like him a little bit more? Nope. They would use it against him. Too many students see college as a workplace-credential factory Duh. Stock market is now officially overvalued Duh. Philadelphia Fed Reports that State Economies Are Improving, with Future Gains Expected Let's hope so
Thursday, April 5. 2012Thursday morning linksMaybe They Need Sex Week at Harvard Jacoby: An uncivil income tax system Musings of a College Instructor Americans brace for next foreclosure wave White House in damage control over Obama Supreme Court remarks
Epic Greenfail, Omnibus Edition Why Won’t Senate Democrats Adopt a Budget? Let's get it all out there. America's dirty laundry that is. Our family secrets. Here We Go: “Being Uninsured Is A Mandate, Too” Oh, Good Grief… Obama Warns GOP Budget Will Make Weather Predictions Less Accurate U.S. Government and Media Cheer Muslim Brotherhood Regime in Egypt Will churches boycott Israel? Op-ed: With mainline churches increasingly anti-Israel, Christian-Jewish relations now at stake New York Time editorial declares war on GOP The student loan market has become a classic blue model example of good intentions gone wrong Wednesday, April 4. 2012The Economy Without Wall StreetI read the headline of this article, and expected to see a discussion on why Wall Street is indispensible. Instead I found a discussion on the election and specifically Romney. It's clear he's going to be the Republican nominee, so it's probably best to start cleaning up his somewhat tarnished image. I agree with much of the commentary. But there are a few comments and insights which should be shared. First, the economy can function without Wall Street. You don't need a capital market in order to have a functioning economy. It's useful to have a capital market, it makes acquiring capital for progress much easier. In fact, stock corporations were originally performed to raise revenues for large projects which were determined to be 'outside the scope' of government responsibility. What most people are critical of is the very concept that Wall Street considers itself indispensible, and uses that as a lever to charge very large fees and pay outsized salaries. These are not required for a fully functioning economy. I'm not opposed to a person making, or earning, whatever he or she can. But even the corporate titans of the Gilded Age put some of their more public displays on hold during times of economic duress. Second, as a Libertarian, I'm usually opposed to the government regulating anything. But I admit there are some instances where oversight and enforcement are required. The question is - what KIND of oversight and enforcement? Certainly not the kind we're seeing out of this administration:
Sarbanes-Oxley has done nothing to stop the fraud it was supposed to stop. It has added several weeks of work to the audit process in many companies, though. In other words, usually regulations result in nothing but increased costs of doing business. Finally, I was amused to see Bain Capital misspelled as 'Bane' at one point. I would hate to say this is deliberate, but given my cynicism toward journalists today, I am likely to believe it was. Then again, spelling isn't a strong point with journalists these days. It's a rather unfortunate sign of the times.
Posted by Bulldog
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15:00
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Con LawTaranto: The Man Who Knew Too Little - President Obama's stunning ignorance of constitutional law. Well ok. You might expect a Con Law teacher to remember the date of Lochner but, giving Obama the benefit of the doubt, I think he is simply spewing spin and propaganda, hoping most voters won't notice. How many voters care about Lochner? Or even about the Constitution? Even the President, who did swear to uphold it, admits he doesn't really approve of it. Perhaps his back-up plan is to run against the Court - and the Constitution. It could work. Politics ain't beanbag.
Posted by The Barrister
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12:47
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Weds. morning linksWho was Casanova? 50,000 videos a day? And no one said, Hey! Turn that off and get back to work? The New York Sun is back? Since when? Markets in Everything: $300 Hearing Aids PETA scrambled about W.H. egg roll Real estate: "You're not stabilizing the market. You're creating more chaos." Government help was the problem, is the problem. Sarah Palin Hosts ‘Today’ and Auditions for a Broader Role No coal for you: How a Grassroots Rebellion Won the Nation's Biggest Climate Victory How much do you want to know about David Axelrod, Lefty Lumberjack Yuval Levin on Obama:
Justice Kennedy's Million Dollar Question 5 reasons liberals are difficult to talk to Revolt of the Irish Tax Slaves Unemployment is not 8.3 percent -- it’s 15.1 percent Sowell "A long-standing legal charade was played out again recently, when Federal Express paid $3 million to settle an employment discrimination case brought by the U.S. Department of Labor." The Radicalization of the University of California German States Used Malware to Spy on Their Citizens View from the Left: Good Jobs - Three Reasons There Aren’t More Obama Sharpens Kansas Vision - The president's speech to editors and publishers sharpens attack into full campaign mode. Tuesday, April 3. 2012Tuesday morning linksIn cancer science, many 'discoveries' don't hold up (h/t Cafe Hayek) James Delingpole: Global Weirding: the new Big Lie When Scientists Choose Motherhood - A single factor goes a long way in explaining the dearth of women in math-intensive fields. Knish: Utopia's Free Lunch Navy: We’re 4 Years Away From Laser Guns on Ships From Hugs to Hand-Wringing: Watching the Legal Left Freak Out at the Supreme Court Spengler: What do Republicans Want? 'Temporary’ Immigration Status Means Never Having to Go Call Scott Walker and thank him If you think he's on the right track, send him a couple of bucks. He's gonna need it, because he is up against every spare goverment union dollar in the country. Douthat: French Voters to Establishment: Apres Nous Le Deluge Another Teen Shot in Sanford – But No Need to Get Upset, the Shooter Was Black Is the Globe Warming? Or Just Your City? New UK Met Office global temperature data confirms that the world has not warmed in the past 15 years. Obama crowd suggests Romney is naive for not trusting Russia Trayvon Martin Story Destroys Last of Media’s Credibility Manipulating Death: The Nation’s Grievance Industry - The truth, progress ... none of it matters to the hustlers. U of Oregon makes their press release disappear (or tried to) Monday, April 2. 2012Monday morning linksIf we aren't supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat? The medical benefits of coffee Attractive women should not include a photo with a job application Neutrino 'faster than light' scientist resigns Britain Has Finally Rejected The Bogus Economics Of Climate Change Is Romney too square? Here are all thirteen of Alinsky's rules for radicals Storm clouds gather over Monti's Italy reform drive Swing States Poll: A shift by women puts Obama in lead "what Republicans call Obamacare was a strategic vehicle to defuse resistance to a systems overhaul and to lay the groundwork for an inevitable realignment of healthcare into a largely government-centric machine." University echo chamber drowns out diverse voices Vanderbilt University Insults Our Intelligence Here is the wack job who thinks you need medical treatment for climate denial Why Campus Mascots and Nicknames Are Under Attack Isn't it about time to admit that Bonfire has turned out to be, just as Wolfe bragged, the Great American Novel of our lifetime? VDH: Beware of the Mob Biden on Trayvon: Let's Crack Down on Guns Says the guy who does not go out in public without armed guards
"Truly, we Progressives are the scourge of liberty, but, then, what good has liberty ever done?" The court can’t stop the health-care revolution 60% of docs are salaried? No wonder they quit making house calls. Biden: "I never had an interest in being a mayor 'cause that's a real job. You have to produce. That's why I was able to be a senator for 36 years." Sunday, April 1. 2012Sunday afternoon linksImage on the right can get you in trouble in Britain. A doctor did the deed. Evil, ain't it? Must be the cross that freaks them out. It should...it's powerful stuff. Just the usual crisis-mongering Rockland Woman Suspected Of Burning The Pot Roast Again Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth's Hazing Abuses- A Dartmouth degree is a ticket to the top - but first you may have to get puked on by your drunken friends and wallow in human filth Lots of good stuff at Knish: Friday Afternoon Roundup - The Meaning of Freedom O'Reilly: NBC, Media Inciting Racial Violence Obama Campus Fervor Losing to Apathy as Students Sour on 2012 "Our pal Remy Munasifi explains the stupidity of how existing government mandates needlessly drive up the cost of health insurance" Democratic mayors challenge teachers unions in urban political shift The government unions are being seen as plunderers these days The War Against Youth:
Against the commerce clause: When the Archbishop Met the President - Cardinal Dolan thought he heard Barack Obama pledge respect for the Catholic Church's rights of conscience. Then came the contraception coverage mandate. Dolan is nobody's fool US Postal Service Wants Out Of Government-Provided Health Insurance If I term these people "jerks," is that harassment? Kissinger: A new doctrine of intervention? Bullying: It is frankly wrong to try to make childhood into a mindless exercise in kindness. My plan: Bully the bullies. The blue social model is running out of money Saturday, March 31. 2012Like I've been saying for two yearsThe Best Damn Argument For The Unconstitutionality of ObamaCare... A quote:
This thing that is supposedly done for me, as if I were a moron and incapable of making life decisions, is not what I want and definitely not what I want done for me. I have a better idea. As readers know, I have Major Medical, high-deductible insurance because it works for me. The law will make my policy illegal. I once worked for a firm which self-insured: the firm paid 80% of the employees' medical bills after a $1000 deductible. Doing that would be illegal too. The Dems passed a law to eliminate our free choice to purchase a personal item. As a favor to us, of course. Because they know what's best for us proles. Or are we serfs now, living for the greater good of the kings?
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Obamacare was a 20th Century approach to a 21st Century challengeFrom the liberal Mead's The Health Care Disaster and the Miseries of Blue:
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13:35
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He hates Earth Hour
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12:29
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Lots of Saturday morning linksBlackBerry maker RIM abandons battle with iPhone and Android American Men Should Be Upfront About Asking For Sex, Like French Men. Vanderleun's Frequently Answered Questions Arkansas Supreme Court overturns teacher-sex law A Small Pension Step - New York’s new law reduces costs, but not enough. ‘2-million-strong march to Jerusalem’ fizzles; anti-Zionist rabbis beaten at Jordan protest Robert Bales, Trayvon Martin, and Media Malpractice Is Socialized Medicine Unconstitutional? PATTERSON: Obama kills coal - as promised - Higher electricity prices will most affect those who can least afford them Obama Kills Atlantic Offshore Drilling For Five Years The Anti-Energy President - He really meant it when he said prices would "skyrocket." More than Just Broccoli: The Real Slippery Slope of ObamaCare’s ‘Must-Buy’ Provision Obama: "You're On Your Own" Economics Doesn't Work Obama Out Of Touch With World On Value Of Free-Market Economics Saying “I Don’t Know if Negroes Have Always Worked [Hard]” = Crime in France
ADHD Is Over-Diagnosed, Experts Say The Bellesisles Scandal: What Clayton Cramer Saw and (Nearly) Everyone Else Missed Krauthammer:The ‘flexibility’ doctrine Why do gasoline prices differ across U.S. states? Effort To Pay Hospitals Based On Quality Didn’t Cut Death Rates, Study Finds Even If It Survives the Court, the Health Care Law Is Doomed - A Commentary By Scott Rasmussen Calif. 2nd in revenue lost to other states What If We End Up with a Health Care System Like the One they Have In New Jersey? Book examines Israel’s intelligence-gathering Friday, March 30. 2012Obama has lost Peggy Noonan's love.You probably already saw this: Not-So-Smooth Operator - Obama increasingly comes across as devious and dishonest. A quote:
Will Maureen Dowd be next? Is President Obama a racist hatemonger?I can certainly understand when anyone spends more time or energy on defending his or her own ethnic group or race or affinity group from unfairness. I do, regarding Jews and Israel, and Marines. But, at the same time, if one does so even when evidence points another way, ignores the rights or rightful claims of others, even adversaries, it – at least – indicates a narrowness of perspective and inadequate interest in justice for all, which reduces credibility. It clearly spills over into racism when attacks or defense use racial or ethnic stereotypes, jumps to conclusions based on race or ethnicity, especially in the absence of facts or connection. When one tolerates such, even defends such, even encourages such, then one is choosing to affiliate with racists and is properly grouped with them. I think that is where President Obama falls. By dint of his repeated one-sided and unsupported words and gestures, and his inadequate attention to the facts or rights of others, President Obama is a racist. By dint of his high public position and influence, those repeated words and gestures make him a hatemonger, as well.
Posted by Bruce Kesler
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09:49
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Friday morning linksThis is a post about the qualities and the effects of despair. Document Deep Dive: What Does the Magna Carta Really Say? "A Free Education Is Something That Many Parents Will Pay to Avoid" The Big Lie of Health Care Reform Fracking: an Existential Threat to Green Dogma The EPA is hard at work on a crisis or scare a day based on unreliable science. Cameron: Brick by brick, we’re tearing down the big state - The Prime Minister says he will not rest until people have been put in control of their choices and chances in life. IPCC Confirms: We Do Not Know If The Climate Is Becoming More Extreme The Media and Black Homicide Victims It'’s Not Just the Mandate: ObamaCare’s Other Infringements - The bill seizes liberty from doctors and insurance firms, too Examiner editorial: Liberals' budget would raise taxes to an all-time high New global warming deadline: Reverse it in 8 years or it’ll be too late Archbishop of New York: Obama allies attempting to divide Catholic Church Obama budget fails to get a single Democratic vote … again. Income Mobility Means Some People Have to Lose Everything Via Insty, E.J. Dionne Forgets that America Is a Constitutional Republic " If this last desperate effort of the power-mongers of leftism fails, then their whip may become a wet noodle, and the whole corrupt syndicate of leftism may completely unravel. Watch Wisconsin." Checking In on Yale's New Anti-Semitism Program Morning Jay: Why Were Liberals So Surprised By the Supreme Court? No Subway $5 Footlongs In SF, 'Cost of Doing Business' Too High Assessing Pacification in Vietnam: We Won the Counterinsurgency War! Thursday, March 29. 2012Doublespeak du JourVia Althouse on the Supremes yesterday:
Freedom is slavery.
Posted by The News Junkie
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10:47
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Thursday morning linksImage above via Voegeli's Not a Penny More - The case for antitax absolutism:
8 Ways To Destroy Your Friendships “What a Brilliant Man!” - Hilton Kramer, 1928–2012 NYC Educrats Suppress Long List of Words History Repeats: In Europe, They Want Jewish Blood A Somber Anniversary - Health-care reform isn’t playing out as advertised. Democratic Congressman and Senators on Constitutional Authority for the ACA The Trayvon Martin Tragedies - The recent killing of Trayvon Martin needs more investigation. But where's the outrage over the daily scourge of black-on-black crime? The SG closed with an argument that the health care statute as a whole including the mandate was essential to the public receiving the “blessings of liberty” because health care is so important. Sympathy for the Devil: Saul Alinksy's Amoral, Ends-Justify-the-Means Style Sinners In the Hands of Anthony Kennedy - The left cries foul as the right uses the federal courts to do as the left has done for years. Police: Trayvon protesters ransack store A Seder Among Former Slaves - A Passover of liberation in the Sudan. Arab Spring Turns to Economic Winter on More Joblessness Tutu’s crusaders to march on Jerusalem US Criticized by Tunisian Secularists for Backing Islamists
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