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, January 30. 2011EgyptIt certainly looks like Egypt is heating up. Looks like the Brotherhood has been waiting for this moment. Stratfor: Red Alert: Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood Via Other McCain: “I have to pay 150 pounds a day to bribe police officers to let me sell on this pavement. How can I be this educated and not find proper work?” – Ramadan Mohamed, Law graduate selling sunglasses on Cairo street But their unemployment rate is lower than that in the US Iconoclast has update on the near-chaos Some friends in the know told me last night that I might think I am going to North Africa this summer - but that I'm not. Lucianne's headline: U.S. Embassy tells Americans they should consider leaving Egypt as soon as possible because of unrest, violence and ongoing demonstrations. An estimated 55,000 Americans are currently in Egypt. Flights scheduled for Monday Related, Tunisia: The End of a 23-Year Regime. We were there in summer 2009. Cool place, exotic. Different rules. Not Kansas. Climate change now the "new butt of jokes" in DCPerhaps reason has prevailed, this time. When something becomes a joke in stupid DC, you know its time has passed. But what the heck is a "climate change analyst"? Is that a paying job? Saturday, January 29. 2011More on ChinaFurther to my post, China's Navy, this from the Naval War College: Underestimating China. They begin
Saturday linksFOF: Why Isn't Marriage the Way I Thought It Would Be? Cuz it's Real Life, not fairy tale. Heavier snows may stick around, climate experts say Let's all plan our lives around what the experts say. That's a good plan, if one is utterly lacking in common sense and "critical thinking." Sissy: Rand Paul: "The president has been co-opted by the Tea Party" Muslim Brotherhood Declares War on America; Will America Notice? TNR: Five Things to Understand About the Egyptian Riots In a way, this all makes me feel more interested in my trip to Egypt and the Middle East this summer. Danger and chaos adds a little spice to life. Sweden is a model for American school choice options Mostly, those gloomy Swedes are crazy-depressed, Moslem-loving, atheistic drunk and sex-addicted Socialists who hate hard or unpleasant work, but they got this one thing right. Surber: If Obamacare is so great, why so many waivers? Because it sucks, and takes away freedom of choice. Politico: Republicans are terrified of the tea party In 2006 Dems Cheered When They Blocked Social Security Reform – Now It’s Running in the Red The times, they are a-changin'Will people adjust to change? VDH: The Waning of an Old Established Order:
Friday, January 28. 2011Academic Freedom or Academic License at Brooklyn CollegeThose of you spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for your children’s college education, and paying taxes to support colleges, may be interested in a current brouhaha at my alma mater, Brooklyn College. A doctoral student, 1 ½ years into his studies, was hired by the Political Science department to teach a graduate level course on the Politics of the Middle East. I wrote about his clear and one-sided pro-Palestinian writings and radical associations, and of his slanted syllabus of readings. Subsequently, others wrote to the college administration questioning this hire, including the New York State Assemblyman for the adjoining district. The hire was rescinded, the formal reason given that the hire was insufficiently credentialed. Predictably, the hire complains that academic freedom has been trampled. Some on campus and the hire’s ideological friends in the blogosphere agree. The NYC press has covered the incident, repeating their charges. The hire himself appears in a TV report saying, “I have very vocal views in favor of the Palestinian cause for self-determination.” At his personal website, the hire says, “Unfortunately, due to external pressure, the Brooklyn College provost has chosen to suppress academic freedom and intervened to cancel my appointment. This is a profoundly unsettling outcome and I am currently challenging it.” Au contraire writes a retired professor at the college to the Chancellor of the City University of New York:
Further, it does not appear this hire has any legal grounds to demand he be hired. So, what is at stake: academic freedom or academic license, especially when abused, completely inviolate from legitimate concerns of students, parents, or knowledgeable critics? The hire at Brooklyn College was, most charitably, a mistake, now corrected. If you agree, you might email the Chancellor of the City University of New York ( chancellor@cuny.edu ) and the Brooklyn College President ( klgould@brooklyn.cuny.edu ).
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Friday morning linksWas 2010 the Hottest Year Ever? How humans are 97% the same as orangutans Not me. I am all dog. Are Law Schools Lying To Their Applicants? Shrinkwrapped on vibrators, etc.
Another bold social pioneer Heck, if it's consensual... Betsy: Dumb demagoguery WSJ: The Great Misallocators - What Barack Obama and General Electric have in common. The Old (Liberal) Frontier - Barack Obama is stuck in the 1960s. That is so true. We have been saying that the Thursday, January 27. 2011No SputnikFrom Dr. Sanity:
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Thursday morning linksZywicki: Roar of the lion father - Parenting for creativity beats parenting for performance Marinal Rev: In praise of picture books I see he has the classic Ottoman Architecture on his list Free money to fix your Feng Shui (h/t Jungle Trader) George Monbiot's Predicted Global Famine No More Evident Than Global Warming Glick: The Aim Of Blood Libels Protein: “Obama’s Sputter-nik moment: Cash for Education Clunkers” Good News From the Middle East (Really) Interview: Anne Applebaum Discusses Peter Weir's New Gulag Film, 'The Way Back' Corner: CBO Baseline Shows Staggering Debt Right Turn: Think other nations will notice Obama isn't into foreign policy? How Global Cooling explained every weather event in the 1970s Wailing over the Palestine Papers:
Brooklyn College Rescinds Appointment Of Pro-Palestinian Activist (Update)I wrote on January 19 about the appointment at Brooklyn College, my alma mater, of a pro-Palestinian activist – just 1 ½ years into his own PhD studies -- to teach a graduate course on the Middle East. After that the New York State Assemblyman of the district adjoining the college protested in a letter to the college president and copied the Chancellor of the City University of New York (who had also received letters of protest from other influentials).
Here’s the follow-up article. The Assemblyman says, “I am absolutely thrilled that Brooklyn College made the right decision and removed Professor Petersen-Overton from his post.” So am I. It should still be a serious concern to know more about the appointment, as I originally wrote,
Here’s the straight forward TV coverage from WPIX-New York. Petersen says on TV, “I have very vocal views in favor of the Palestinian cause for self-determination.” The reporter says that Petersen hopes to rally support from other professors and that he plans to appeal. That would be an opportunity to further reveal the answers to how and why this pro-Palestinian activist was hired, and to reveal the CUNY professors who may believe Petersen is a qualified professor. -- Update: The PoliSci department chair who hired Petersen doth protest. Surprise, not. Update: A pro-Palestinian supporter of Kristofer Peterson shares Peterson's email to him: “I was not contacted by Brooklyn College administration at any time during their decision-making process. This politically motivated action undermines CUNY’s longstanding legacy as a stalwart defender of academic freedom.” Here's a sample of the graphics that is featured with the writing of this friend of Peterson: "You must act now to stop the Holocaust in Gaza..." Wednesday, January 26. 2011A few SOTU links, if anybody caresTatler: What Obama didn’t mention in his speech Tiger's amusing State of the Onion open thread Powerline on Sputnik More fact-checking at Wiz
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Weds. morning links'The King's Speech' leads Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture Commentary: The Difference Between Public and Private Words NYT: Obama Sets Stage for Clash of Governing Ideals US Communist Leader Urges Unification With Democratic Party Thought that happened long ago. MPs Slam 'Secretive' Climategate Probes Prelutsky: liberals don’t deserve America It's a fun rant. E-mails Suggest Bear Stearns Cheated Clients Out of Billions Selling "sacks of shit" which were Triple-A rated Q&O: Corporations, unions, taxes and libertarian ideas Reb: My new answer to everything WSJ: Advocate of Violence - Frances Fox Piven and the New York Times's dishonest campaign for "civility." How Public Unions Took Taxpayers Hostage:
Politico: Farm subsidies test GOP pledge Step up to the plate, folks. Enough corporate farm welfare. Reason: Grading Barack Obama - Libertarian legal scholar Richard Epstein on his former University of Chicago colleague Image: Our friend Elissa Gore's Winter Sunset Tuesday, January 25. 2011That scary, dangerous, evil moron Glenn BeckFew of our readers likely have the time to sample him on TV (including me), so here's a sample of Beck responding to a seeming New York Times attack on him, on the subject of Francis Piven, via American Power's Glenn Beck Slams New York Times and Soros-Funded Center for Constitutional Rights (which we found via Theo):
I think this guy seems reasonable, fine as infotainment. Wants to be a TV professor. Not sure he can tell me much that I don't know. Anyway, I have a day job. Also related, at Althouse: "History tells us" something that history doesn't tell us, say sociologists stumbling to protect Frances Fox Piven. Piven called for violent rioting.
Posted by Bird Dog
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Tuesday morning linksChicago SEIU chapter granted Obamacare waiver Incredible. Nobody pushed harder for government medical care than SEIU. Why Almost Everything You Hear About Medicine Is Wrong Always be a skeptic about science. ACORN is reborn in Brooklyn And paid for with union dues Cabrini Green closes. A quote:
In The Chronicle, Via Arts and Letters Daily:
Looks like a bubble to me. Via Dino, Monday, January 24. 2011Climate litigationAt Google News, Climate change: Dogs of law are off the leash:
Health scam
Related, Why Obama Should Drop the Insurance Mandate - Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has a face-saving way out.
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Monday morning linksCold enough for ya? Northern New England gets to 50 below (F). Coyote: The Short, Pithy, Minimum Wage Bon Mot I Should Have Said Via Instry, Do We Need a Department of Homeland Security or a TSA? McCain: Ethanol is a joke. He is right. Redevelopment in California. Costly, corrupt, and useless. Gelinas: Bankruptcy: No cure for broke states (fixed) Sunday, January 23. 2011The Secret To Wagering On The Tour De France? Always Bet On The Guy With One TesticleThe 1940 Tour de France
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A few Sunday morning links"We" can't solve that, period. New study: A good breakfast makes you fatter. Duh. The average American can live off his stored fat for months. Chomsky: “The latest election....you could almost interpret it as a kind of death knell for the species." The dude needs to chill. Or is he talking about the Snail Darter? Brrr… Analysts Predict Freezing Winters in Europe Will Be the Norm For 20-40 Years Warming will do that. Our friend AVI is open-minded about Rolfing In The Rain Forest Smells like quackery to me, AVI. Sheesh. Do the states need the feds to control themselves? Fox guarding the henhouse. What hath the greenies wrought? - Utopians have always been a potentially dangerous group of people. Via Driscoll:
The notion of human rights is about as Western as it comes.
No it won't, Prof. That sounds very racist to me. The below is just a figment of Vanderleun's imagination: Saturday, January 22. 2011China's navy
It is time to discuss the developments in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy and its urgent drive toward sea control in Asian waters. I believe that it is only a matter of time before the People's Republic of China invokes a duplicate of the Monroe Doctrine for all of Asia. [For those educated in the past couple of decades, the 1823 Monroe Doctrine stated that efforts by European countries to colonize land or interfere with states in the Americas would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention].
The Forces The media is focusing on the new J-20 Stealth fighter, and appear to have forgotten that "the Chinese have built, tested and are on schedule to deploy next year a missile designed to kill an American carrier. The Dong Feng 21D, according to published reports based on Chinese sources, could penetrate the carrier's existing antimissile defenses from 900 miles away with a nonnuclear precision warhead. A version of this missile was seen publicly for the first time in a Chinese military parade last year. American defense analysts acknowledge that this missile could be a game-changer, immediately affecting American naval operations within 1,000 miles of the Chinese coast." [1]. In fact, the government is not paying attention either. "On Feb. 11, 2010, the ... U.S. Missile Defense Agency airborne laser in a Boeing 747-400F successfully shot down a sea-launched liquid-fueled ballistic missile in ignition stage (within two minutes of launch) and, within one hour later, shot down a solid-state land-launched rocket. . . . "Once in office, Obama cut the program's budget, eliminated a second airborne laser 747 and scaled back the ground-based antimissile weapons scheduled to be built in Europe to defend against Iranian threats, and in Alaska to counter North Korean missiles aimed at Los Angeles and Seattle. After the successful February 2010 test, no further tests were scheduled or conducted by the administration. Obama's proposed 2011 federal budget eliminates all funding for laser-based antimissile weapons systems." [2] Completely forgotten now are the 81 (in 2009)[3] Australian designed (thanks, mates) high-speed wave piercing 140 ft. catamaran missile boats which carry 8 anti-ship missiles each - that's 480 missiles, which can be fired from a distance of 100 miles [3]. The USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, is composed of the carrier plus two guided missile cruisers (CG), seven guided missile destroyers (DDG), an attack sub (SSN) and an oiler [3]; that makes eleven surface targets. Each combatant ship is equipped with two Phalanx 20mm radar-aimed guns (Close In Weapons System) able to fire off their full magazine of 1,550 rounds in 20 seconds for last ditch defense, plus a variety of missile launchers firing 500-1,500 pound missiles with ranges of 5 to 15 miles. The argument could be made that 480 incoming missiles could overwhelm the strike group's defenses! The Tactics "Well, one might certainly say, "the Chinese certainly aren't going to go to war with a country that owes them over one trillion dollars." Agreed - they aren't going to go to war! But there's a lot of conflict that falls short of war. Remember when the Israelis deliberately sank the USS Liberty? "[Chinese] PLA planners are focused on targeting surface ships at long ranges. US DOD analyses of current and projected force structure improvements suggested as of 2007 that in the near term, China was seeking the capacity to hold surface ships at risk through a layered defense that reaches out to the "second island chain" (i.e., the islands extending south and east from Japan, to and beyond Guam in the western Pacific Ocean).[6] The Chinese were offended at the US Navy's proposed exercises in the East China Sea off the western coast of South Korea in November, 2010, and so the US moved it to the east side of Korea. If the US hadn't cooperated, or if conflict arose in Korea or Taiwan, one can imagine the Chinese saying that those countries are in China's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and that although they sincerely wish to retain trading and financial relationships with the United States, any intrusion of US forces into those territorial waters would be an aggression which could and would repulsed by what will shortly be credible force, even as our countries remained at peace. I believe that the current government of the United States would capitulate and remain outside whatever EEZ China declared, and that our influence in Asia will be at an end unless measures are taken today to restore and expand our missile defense capabilities. (1) http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=189193 (2) Ibid. (3) http://www.janes.com/news/defence/naval/jir/jir090730_1_n.shtml (4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2LmLaZmvJQ (5) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/csg.htm (6) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/plan-doctrine-offshore.ht m
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A few Saturday morning linksRe: Fifty Years of Affirmative Action is Enough Obama Reinventing Himself as 'Pro-Business' to Save Own Job Maine Family Robinson: Winter In America - It was the Maine version of a prank. Instead of vandalizing his house when he wasn't home, we shoveled his driveway. EU to ban China, India carbon credits trade This only encourages the birthers: Abercrombie officially ends his quest to reveal the truth, because Obama won't consent to the release of his birth certificate
Friday, January 21. 2011Friday afternoon linksCan We Trust the GOP? -The Republicans have retaken the House, but that doesn’t mean you should expect the government to get any smaller. Congress: Replacement Takes Shape From Bookworm:
From Shrinkwrapped's discussion of Mark Rudd:
Video: Jeb Bush on Disrupting the Education Monopoly. As they say, if his surname were Jones he'd be a contender. The Culture is Cracking: A Return to Toughness Pic is from Pico ski area in Vermont. Great fun to ride up to those mountaintops on oil power, and to whizz down on gravity power. Thrills and chills. Thanks to globalistical warmening caused by climate models, winter is even more fun now with more cold and more snow. Terence, this is stupid stuffRandom insanity harvested yesterday: Bumpersticker from Vanderleun's Progressive America Haters and Death-Thirsting Republicans Agree: She Can Never Be President! How the Happy Meal ban explains San Francisco Amusing article, could be from The Onion. Liberals Who Hate Profits but Profit from 'Green Jobs' Duh. Rep. John Lewis Says Declaration's ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ Language and 14th Amendment Authorize Congress to Force People to Buy Health Insurance Where's my pony? FBI Rounding Up 100 Mobsters in Biggest Mafia Bust in New York History The Mob keeps the FBI in business. There is a symbiosis. There's A Term For "Students Who Studied Alone, Read And Wrote More," But They Dare Not Utter It I actually learned a lot in college, but too much of it didn't stick due to my ADD and partying. California: Water, Water Everywhere but Hardly a Drop for Farmers Can't we let God allocate the water instead of the government? So soon? Anti-Walmart Thugs Protest at DC Developer’s Home Who are these people? WalMart is great fun. Thursday, January 20. 2011Norway, awakening?In Norway, an Awakening to the Islamist Danger: Islamists have made no secret of their desire to impose sharia law on the country. SDA always quotes "Pleasing your enemies does not turn them into friends."
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Thursday morning linksThe Maggie's Farm banner: We are experimenting with it. Comment and critique welcome. Poe visitor a no-show again De X explains Thought disorders, psychiatrically Old Urbanist: "Affordable Housing," part II Watts: AAAS withdraws “impossible” global warming paper Warmists: 'We can't win the game, so let's change the rules' Bias in the media - LA Times and Global Warming George Soros-Backed Group Demands Glenn Beck’s Firing Legal Ins: Operation Demoralize Is Working Saudi writer: Israel deserves respect Michelle: The Hate Speech Inquisition Steve King: Obamacare 'A Theft of Liberty' Britain Inundated by Pint-Sized Thought Criminals City Journal: Philanthropy and Its Enemies - Private giving must be shielded from the intrusions of Social Security is in far worse shape than you think But the Nazi Party was in favor of government medical care: Say What? Democrat Compares Republicans to Nazis
Social Security Is in Far Worse Shape Than You ThinkSee full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/i3dgDR
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