Maggie's Farm

Does "fair trade" coffee do any good? Berndt at TCS doubts it. It's more of a "feel-good" deal.

Al Quaida in Lebanon. CSM. These guys say they will fight to the death of them all. More at Gateway. Meanwhile, the Taliban are having a tough go of it. It seems that the Brits killed all of their officers. Good show.

Snow in Colorado this week.

World CO2 emissions will grow 60% by 2030, and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it.

50% of Americans are pro-life, 45% pro-"choice." Those are interesting numbers. (h/t, News for Christians)

1/4 of American Moslem males would like to kill Americans. Of course, those are the numbers of those who will admit it. Contemplating that makes me uneasy around Moslems. The charted info is here. Maybe it's time to take a long hard look at our immigration policies...eh, Pres Bush?

Nobody told Mayor Mike that hybrids are worse for the environment, so he is going to mandate hybrid taxis. Damn the data - he "cares". Am I the only person who is sick of this sanctimonious guy? Yes, he runs the place, but does he have to "care" so much? It's not masculine. I am waiting for him to mandate rubbers when it rains.

When Reagan demolished RFK in debate. Like to see that video, but the Kennedys blocked its release.

Boehner applies bad language to the immigration bill. Somehow, I think he is not fully behind Bush on this one.  And Senator Kyl not looking strong right now after pulling a fast one on Arizona voters. Surber. And let me say that I like Prof. Bainbridge a good deal, but I do not want him to preach the Good Samaritan parable to me in the context of immigration law: there's a word for that sort of argument. Eric has some interesting thoughts from Gingrich about immigration: he feels he was hoodwinked the last time he voted for reform. Not surprisingly, Bush's poll numbers crash whenever he brings up amnesty for illegal immigration. I'm glad he isn't poll-driven, but how far will he go to destroy his party?

News flash. Black kids from intact, religious families do best in school. LaShawn

Last week Illinois overwhelmingly rejected a state medical care proposal. This week, California overwhelmingly rejects "free" preschool. Is this a pattern?

The Nigerian Anglicans sending a mission to the US. The Nigerian Bishop's reply to the American Episcopal bishop is too funny.

More on how the greedy geezers soak us working stiffs. Viking. It is, indeed, the rich stealing from the poor.

Forcing lightbulb change is pathological. Thanks for saying so, Glenn.

The Palestinians are victims. Victims of the Arabs, who want nothing to do with them. Neoneo. There is a real bias against them in the Arab world. It's kinda funny that the only people who really try to help them are the Brits, the US, and Israel. They are in the "difficult to help" category.

Ball of Fire. If you didn't hear this Algore satire, it's good. By the great Paul Shanklin. Link here.

Nations, ranked by obesity rates. Tiger Hawk. Hey! We're Number One! I guess there is plenty of hunger in America - an endless hunger for carbs.

Ant or grasshopper? If you aren't sure, take the spending habits survey. Ants win, of course.

Everybody loves Sarkozy now. Pajamas. They are lucky to have him. Can he be France's Maggie Thatcher? He has the chance.

How does illegal immigration harm American citizens' unskilled labor? It holds down wages.  Dem Project

Everyone has linked ex-Dem Senator Bob Kerry's essay on how Iraq should be handled. Why? Because it is sensible.

Stalin as a "fine young criminal." Book review via A&L Daily. (h/t to one of our blog friends, but I forget who.)

Sacrificing fetuses in utero. No Left Turns

Thompson speaks. As usual, no BS, and no calculation.

Three ordinary lives in Baghdad. CSM. A good look.

Iran plans summer war campaign in Iraq to empower the Dems. Never Yet Melted. Sheesh - they are working hand-in-hand.

Edwards charges $55,000 to speak about poverty. That $ came out of your tuition check, parents.

Want Pat Buchanan's view of amnesty? National suicide, says Pat.

More on Hillary's nationalized babysitting proposal. Betsy. Would those babysitters be the same folks who work at the Post Office?

College boozing and heart problems. Time

Gotta record that macaca moment, says Kos.

From a Dr. Sanity piece on the greenies:

The "elites" have never abandoned their dreams of imposing a socialist paradise, and one of their basic strategies is to undermine capitalism by using the talking points of their "environmental religion".

I suspect that they truly believe that if humans would abandon capitalism and technology; go back to the cave and live the "simple life", then their ideology would finally work in the real world and their dreams of a religious caliphate international socialist paradise would finally be realized.

Perhaps that is why they have consciously and deliberately joined forces with radical Islam, which suffers from the same inabilty to bring peace (unless you count death as the ultimate "peace") and prosperity to their adherents; and has the same fantasy.

Kim du Toit imagines his singles ad, were he to find himself single:

”Foul-tempered old man, very set in his ways, not especially fond of women, but willing to put up with their shit for the occasional burst of laughter and even-less-frequent good time, seeks woman of any advanced age who will not scream and call for the cops when she sees him at her front door. Pets okay, as long as they don’t crap on the rug or chew his shotgun stock.”

Flares into Darkness on work, markets - and adult reality. Every young person should read this, and we wish we had written it. A quote:

The sad fact of life in a market economy is that you have to do what somebody else wants in order to get paid. You don't generally get paid for what is fun for you or for what you want to do; you get paid for what somebody else wants you to do, and usually that's something they themselves don't want to do for some reason. Maybe the work is tedious, maybe it requires high levels of responsibility, maybe it is dirty or dangerous. One thing you can be guaranteed is that it's something somebody else doesn't want to do themselves.

Now this is contrary to what most of us learn in school and in our cultural role models. We learn that we should be "free". We learn that we should be self-actualizing. We learn that we should break the rules and make things better and in the end everyone will reward us for "doing the right thing". Don't bet on it.

Photo: Quaking Aspens in winter, from the Tree link earlier today.

Prof. B. likes Fred Thompson because he isn't a doodyhead. Fascinating photo to the right in honor of Fred, who is was known for a red-blooded fondness for the ladies during his single years. Not a problem for me: I can relate. I am clean and thoughtful, but want to have fun and do not want a heavy "relationship."

Parenting. The Dems plan a parenting conference. No Moms or Dads invited. Meanwhile, Hillary proposes a national Pre-K program. This might be characterized as nationalizing the babysitting industry. No doubt specialized training and certification will be required. It's like "Healthcare," right? Need the government brainiacs, because we are so stoooopid.

Another climatologist changes his tune. Tim Blair

Bored by the Wolfowitz story? A brief synopsis at Willisms gets directly to the point.

John Bolton vs. pompous Brit interviewer. Bolton is good.

News flash. George Washington had slaves.

Milton Friedman is poisoning your food. Worstall

Sweden update at Brussels Journal. A good graph too. A quote:

Sweden is viewed by many outsiders as a model nation. Swedes are keenly aware of this and want to keep up appearances. Since suicidal Multiculturalism is all the rage in the West, Swedes want to prove that they can be more suicidal than anybody else. It’s an ideological beauty contest, which serves Swedes fine, since they like to excel at everything they do.

When government tries to micro-manage the economy. The corn ethanol mess.

Another live coelecanth. It is so cool.

We have said it at least ten times: Never eat anything from China. What we term "garbage," they term "food."

The Anchoress doesn't mind the immigration bill. It's a debate worth holding, but I don't think Congress will hold the debate.

Photo: Fun with body-painting in Key West. It is apparently impossible to take a photo in Key West without including some dissipated drunk in the background.

Immigration: John at Powerline:

Like most of what President Bush does, his position on immigration is heartfelt and sincere. Do you remember all the talk during Bush's first term about how he intended to "spend his political capital?" This was said to be a lesson he learned from his father's Presidency. I never realized that by "spending his political capital," he meant driving his approval rating down to zero by the time he left office.

Mark Steyn labels the immigration bill "a capitulation, not a compromise."

Americans are depressed. Why? Have we become a nation of whiners like the French? Ridiculous.

Our air is cleaner than it has been in 100 years. So what is the anxiety? American.com

Carter, yet one more time, shows his dark side, via Drudge. This man needs to go to church more than anyone I can think of, because his sanctimoniousness contains/conceals a public meanness which I find nauseating.

Math, Marx, and Mau-Mauing the multiculturalists. This is fun.

Kid forced to see Al Gore's movie four times. WTH?

Doctor goes to jail for writing pain meds. Apparently, a jury was convinced that medication control was more important than human pain. This story breaks my heart, but there is nothing I can do about it.

Roger Daltrey thinks Al Gore is a jerk. via Drudge

A movement to push back against Castro, in Spain. This looks good. Better late than never.

China will take $3 billion stake in Blackstone Group. Clever of China - and clever of Blackstone.

Whales evolved from dogs. PBS Video. That explains a lot. We love dogs.

The new Puritans. A new moral code, but just as annoyingly controlling as the old Puritans. Betsy on this piece by Ferguson at Weekly Standard

We don't know what it is, but there is a heck of a lot of it. Dark matter

Not your ordinary small luxury cruise ship. The Atmosphere, at Forbes

Cleared by DNA after 20 years in jail. A terrible story.

Europe's demographic collapse. Quote from a piece by Sensing:

There is no longer a single country in Europe where people are having enough children to replace themselves when they die. Italy recently became the first nation in history where there are more people over the age of 60 than there are under the age of 20. This year [1998 - DS] Germany, Greece and Spain will probably all cross the same eerie divide. [link]

The greedy geezers of the AARP. Conspiracy to keep you poor and stupid quotes a letter written to AARP:

"Even though senior citizens are the wealthiest demographic group, your organization is forever finding new reasons to take trillions of dollars from working people to give to your constituents, so they can go on cruises while working families are struggling to pay the rent."

A harsh piece by Bernard Lewis quoted at Insty. One quote:

During the Cold War, two things came to be known and generally recognized in the Middle East concerning the two rival superpowers. If you did anything to annoy the Russians, punishment would be swift and dire. If you said or did anything against the Americans, not only would there be no punishment; there might even be some possibility of reward, as the usual anxious procession of diplomats and politicians, journalists and scholars and miscellaneous others came with their usual pleading inquiries: "What have we done to offend you? What can we do to put it right?" . . .

Old Cape Cod fireplaces. Sippican has photos of several. I stole the photo on the right from him. It's in Truro. Hope he doesn't get mad.

Why I am a nationalist. Tangled Web

Manhattan residential real estate up 23% in the past 12 months. Average sale price? 1 million. That is mainly apartments, of course. Prices also up in the boroughs. Average sale price outside Manhattan: $411,000.

Moderate drinking and heart disease. NYT Science News

How cool is Fred Thompson? Quick video on Michael Moore

Bottom-scraping fishing trawlers plow and destroy the ocean bottom.

To what extent is addiction-proneness genetic? Live Science Video

Is France ready for Sarkozy? LLosa at TCS thinks not:

In a recent article in the Times of London, Parris wrote that for all their impatience with economic stagnation, unemployment, social ghettos burning in the suburbs and the proliferation of violent youth groups, the French are not ready to make the "emotional leap'' necessary to reform a system under which people are used to relying on the government rather than on their own efforts for their welfare.

"I don't sniff in the wind in la France profonde (though I begin to in urban Paris) that palpable sense of having reached the end of a road," Parris wrote. "The changes France needs to embrace will be convulsive. The pain will be intense. ... We British found that when Thatcherism arrived. But even at the low point of Thatcher's first term ... you almost never heard anyone suggest a return to what had gone before. There was a sense, in 1979, that we had burnt a bridge behind us, and had wanted to.''

Whole thing here.

Iraq: We could eliminate the enemy and stabilize the nation in 48 hours with a few of these handsome airplanes on the right (that's a model H on the left, and a B on the right). However, we are trying to fight a half-war - or a Nice War - or what I would term a Police Action. Neoneo takes a look at two of today's pieces on the so-called war in Iraq.

Free markets and medical care. Betsy. It's already happening. And (via Opinion Journal)  speaking of government medical care, Illinois just nixed the idea.

JK Rowling pleads not to leak the outcome of the final Harry Potter.

Al Quaida in Iraq. Dino. Yes, they are there, and it is an excellent opportunity to kill them. Let's do it now.

Whining about work. France is #1, but the US is up there. Spoiled babies. Everyone should be thrilled to have work to do. My friend says people need only three things: Something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.

Public housing. Get rid of it, and give the apartments to the renters. Instant millionaires. Why not? NY Sun

Special treatment for Moslems. Wizbang. Why do people do this?

I like this quote from a piece on Clinton's legacy at The Anchoress:

Why did welfare reform work? Perhaps when people were liberated from the shackles of socially-engineered government dependence, when they were freed from the quicksand and muck of “Free Government Cheese” and able to move to the higher ground of “Unleashed Potential,” they grew in self-respect, self-confidence and - most importantly - in hope. The message “you can, if you try” was a louder, clearer and more spiritually sustaining message than “you can’t, so just give up”

The reformation of our Welfare system, which in the early 1990’s was burgeoning out of control, became a pushback against what President Bush has called “the soft racism of low-expectations,” and the long-term effect of that pushback is not surprising. Encouragement will always trump condescension, and the fisherman who catches his own supper will always feel better about himself than the man who begs the scraps.

I am planning my goose trip for this fall.

Jerry Falwell. RIP

A darn nice bass. 25 lbs. even, caught outside San Diego. Story here. With freshwater fish, you learn to display them towards the camera, to make them look more impressive - but this is a big fellow.

Stumbled upon a good website. The Real Cuba. Opie would like it. Lots to peruse.

I was taught that Tulipmania was real. Now it is thought that it was a myth. Tulips are OK, but far from my favorite flower.

Four months of Dems in Power. Kudlow. Same old.

Thinking big about fuel, from an engineer's brain. Small Dead Lemmings. You need to read the whole thing.

Ten billion served, and hundreds of millions fleeced. Transit subsidies, at The Commons. We usually agree with The Commons, but there is no comparison in the piece with the federal subsidization of highways. I am opposed to the latter, sort-of.

Bush's greatest speech. Kim. I could have written that.

Medical insurance should cover this. All male Coyotes need them.

Eurabia. Add Kyoto to the mix, and they could create a new Afghanistan! Classical Values.

How experts think. A Parliament of Clocks, via Kim, via Instap.

Moms are great! Our best to all Mom readers, and to all future Moms. How you put up with us when we were kids, God only knows. A bouquet of thanks to y'all. Just quit worrying about us, OK? Let us worry about you for a change.

Hilarious. The Hillary-Osama Obama Debate. Very clever video at California Yank

Many are eager to visit Cuba when travel restrictions are ended.

What could possibly go wrong with banning guns? TigerHawk

Education, and sliding down the razor blade of life. Hatemonger

Powerline throws down the gauntlet. Sue us, please. It must be fun to be a First Amendment lawyer.

Mao embalmed. Roger Simon

The New Puritans. It is getting strange out there. Driscoll. Thankfully, here on planet Earth, things are OK.

More on the Tufts Psychosis. Captain Ed does a good job with it. I would think the alumni donors would be going berserk about now.

A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan, says one TV Fundie. That is the sickest thing I've heard today. Romney's dad ran for president, and nobody said that about him. And nobody has said it about the other Mormons in government, like Harry Reid. And isn't Orrin Hatch a Mormon too? This is just pathetic, if not downright evil. I don't mind fundies at all, as long as they worry about their own relationship with God, but leave other people alone to find their own way.

Is there any reason for the FCC to exist anymore? Driscoll doubts it, and so do I. Let markets deal with it. The sources for information and entertainment, these days, go so far beyond broadcast that the FCC is obsolete.

Psychotic breakdown at Tufts. Fortunately, good old FIRE is on the job. I hope this story gets around, because it is a truly shameful thing for a fine American university. I read about it first at Powerline, and now Wizbang has an update, with good excerpts from Volokh. Yes, it's about those hypersensitive Moslems who must be protected from facts. Not that the Moslems are complaining so much - it's the loonies who want Islam to be a "protected class."

I am opposed to windmill farms, but the Cape Wind story is hilarious anyway. Update from Libertarian Leanings. Why am I opposed to windmills? Because wind power is a joke and will never, despite subsidies, make a meaningful contribution to our energy wants. It's just "feel good" stuff, like fluorescent lightbulbs

Sperm donor must pay child support? Not a joke. Hey fellas: God should have put a warning label on that thing of ours.

Now Farmer's Branch, TX wants to be rid of their illegals. They are voting on it.

Viking's Quote of the Day:

"The more you fail, the more money they throw at you," he said. "We're filthy rich; I don't want any more of your money. Send me quality teachers."

Adding to blogroll: Theo Spark, under Anglosphere. The charmer on the right with the very nice smile is borrowed from Theo, who posts lots of mostly-political graphics. Hmmmm, is the pool open yet? Where my Ray-Bans at? So I can stare without anyone noticing. Ya gotta love this globalisticalistic warmening.

Also adding to blogroll: No Left Turns.

Also, re-adding to blogroll: Right Thinking from the Left Coast.  We lost Lee somewhere along the way.

Disaffected youths hold anti-Sarkozy riots in New York City. Haha.

What is Babelgum? It is something new.

Doomsday Called Off. The five-part CBC documentary, via S,C &A.

The health Nazis now going after virtual smoke. RTLC. I am so sick of these controlling busybodies. Quit trying to "do good" for me, OK? I am an educated adult in a free country, which includes the freedom to be stupid and to defy "the experts" whenever I feel like it.

NBC hires "Diversity Leader." Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Does anyone take this junk seriously? Michelle. It's called a payoff to Jesse Jackson, and everybody knows it.

 US cancer care 10X better than the UK. Anchoress

Also from Anchoress, Class and Class Warfare. Anchoress appreciates true class.

Oral sex can lead to throat cancer? Our reader suggests reading the humorous comments on this scare piece, but I will not go down on record by opening my mouth about this story.

Sisu and Roger Simon are upset about PBS' cancelling of America at a Crossroads. I understand their point, but I don't watch TV, much less PBS, anyway. It's a waste of time.

A gunless gunship. In From the Cold. (h/t, Reader)

LA Charter Schools, and Steve Barr. The District and the unions hate him. Barr had the cojones to wonder whether the school district leaders are "pig f-ers." Nobody likes competition, but government hates it more than most because they like to think they are smarter than everyone else. And they are smart, when it comes to taking care of themselves. Politics is a very ugly business.

The photo on the left is a compelling argument for why Persian women should never be veiled. Indeed, covering such loveliness should be illegal. From a piece on rebellion against the burkha laws in Iran, at Gateway (photo borrowed  stolen from the piece at Gateway).

A propos of The Barrister's post on Market Failure, Dan Boudreaux discusses how "altruistic" lawmakers, and those with market agendas, conspire. The Bootleggers and Baptists theory.

Since when were the '06 elections about Iraq? Just One Minute. Dems stalled out in Congress.

Obama is for bans on semi-auto weapons. Hello? Does he know what semi-auto means? I have two semi-auto shotguns. Perhaps he means full auto, or does he not know what he is talking about?

Why is income inequality a good thing? Because it indicates a good return on investment in human capital. It rewards it. Mankiw. If you tax away higher incomes to create an artificial income equality by erasing the free market for labor, you reduce the return on human investment, eg education, talent-improvement, self-discipline, delayed gratification, and skills acquisition - and thus discourage people from those desirable and life-enhancing things. Plus you obviously discourage people from working hard at difficult tasks.

A divorce rate reversal in the US. AOL News

Makers of Oxycontin get screwed. People get addicted to the meds, and the maker is blamed. Oxycontin is apparently a great drug: my oncologist friend says it has been a gift from God for patients with cancer pain and other chronic pain. There is no "high" at the correct doses.

"Sending a chill."  The NYT is worried. (But aren't they always worried about one thing or another, like a bunch of old women? They need a strong dose of optimism - or Oxycontin.) A darn good point from Dino. Read the Bonus Question about Imus.

There is a movement to try to keep Paris Hilton out of jail, but did you know that there is a more worthwhile movement to keep her in jail - forever? Right Wing Nation. Truth is, I sort-of feel sorry for her: she is just a cute kid with a cute name, but without substance or brains, who has made herself an empty celeb. The attention must be gratifying, but what can it possibly lead to?

Allons enfants de la Patrie... See why they use the word "enfants" in La Marseillaise? Students protest French election by going on strike, presumably against their own free education. No Pasaran

From a piece at Protein Wisdom:

“Hate crimes have no place in America,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boldly declared last week, “no place in a nation where we pledge every morning ‘with liberty and justice for all.’” Pelosi was urging her colleagues to approve a bill aimed at violence motivated by hostility toward members of certain designated groups.

I guess she didn't want to say what she should say, which is "Crime has no place in America." I am considering designating myself a crime-free zone because I am not in a government-protected class. Instead, I am in an S&W protected class.

Cut the BS, Mr. Maliki. Who better to deliver that message than Dick Cheney?

Lonesome George may get a girlfriend. But will he know what to say? What to do?

Sound familiar? EU Referendum, on the UK politics of Iraq:

...this is not what Cameron has in mind. The strategy is to present the government sinking into an ever-deepening mess in the hope that it gets such a bad name (not that it actually needs much help) that even the previously unattractive Conservatives look electable. Power is the name of the game. If that means abandoning the people of Iraq, the good name of our Armed Forces and the national interest, so be it.

Good for Prof. Bainbridge for writing The Complete Guide to Sarbanes-Oxley. I hope his book is obsolete soon, though, because Sarbox is a crazy thing which has hamstrung American finance. Oxley himself agrees.

What high heels do to a lady's body. Ah, the sacrifices women make for beauty. Just like Spring flowers, splurging their resources to make sure they get well-pollinated by healthy, clean and articulate, eager, sharp-dressed bumble-bees like me.

Cancer genetics tests for life insurance buyers? Why not, if they already want your cholesterol numbers, which are also largely genetically-determined?

Another prominent scientist - Josef Reicholf - makes jokes about global warming. Moonbattery.

More on tainted Chinese foodstuffs, this time it's fish food. Never, never eat anything from China, whether you be a dog, cat, fish, or human.

 Panda fun. It seems to require candle-lit dinners.

More on why Hummers are more green than Priuses. Am. Princess

Clinton quickly distances herself from her heroine, Segolene. Does this mean they won't be baking madeleines together?

Beyond the usual pork. Reparations for Guam? Hmmm, do I recall that Guam is in Pelosi's district?  Flopping. Ask the Japanese for money. I did nothing to harm Guam. (I have noticed, interestingly, that we have a regular reader in Guam.)

Why Blinder is wrong about off-shoring jobs. Drezner

A new Political Dictionary to educate the incorrect: ACRU. (h/t, and a couple of more definitions at Powerline)

Speaking of polical correctness, look what is happening to this poor prof: Inside Higher Ed. His crime? He linked to the website of a former White House speechwriter and former presidential candidate.

What is anthropology these days? At Harvard, they aren't sure. John Hawk's Weblog. I like that blog - will add it to our Science category.

Car-burning party time in France. Why do they like to burn cars? Maybe it's fun to do? Or is it evidence of their famous "sophistication" and "intellectual nuance"? No - I am sure it is just ordinary destructive adolescent fun, with a hip political cover for it. I'd try it too, if I could do it legally, just for the fun of it. Plus it must be good for auto sales.

Political demographics. People are moving from blue states to red, in search of lower taxes, better jobs. and a better life. But they carry their blueness with them. Betsy

What should the Left propose, now that it has become morally and politically bankrupt? It has been 70 years since the Left had interesting new ideas and, in those 70 years, all of the problems they sought to cure have solved themselves in the US. So now what do they do? Book review in Dissent. If this makes sense to you, let me know.

The Fort Dix jihad story. No interest in it. Lock these moron Moslemists up for life - no, don't do that. Jailing somebody costs over $40,000 per year, paid by taxpayers. Better idea, Sharia-style: Execution, or just cut off their right hands and send them back to Albania.

No Bush-hating liberal bias in the news. Anchoress. You see, Bush is too crude to greet a Queen, unlike Clinton. The NYT doesn't like Sarkozy either, because of his strained marital siutuation, unlike Clinton of course.

Social cohesion. Stumbling and Mumbling. Of course people prefer to hang out with people who are on the same page. It's called tribalism, and it is normal and healthy - and adaptive. I am careful to never underestimate the communication, understanding, trust, and assumption gaps when dealing with those from other cultures or even subcultures. I have been burned too often by erroneous assumptions.

Do not eat any food made in China. SDA. Seriously.

In the UK, politicians rank lower than car dealers in trust. (h/t, Worstall)

The US Air Force must have been listening to EU Referendum. They want some light attack aircraft for counter-insurgency work.

Photo is Brazil's Super Tucano. Nice little airplane, and it looks like it would be fun to fly to Cape Cod for the weekend - or low over Sadr City.

Sarko wins - big time. Three cheers for France! Maybe we will finally have a friend in Paris.

Al Zawahiri mocks Dem Iraq pullout plan.

We all die of heat in 8 months. Yikes! Better bring my will up to date. Wait a minute - that will be mid-January. What the heck?

The wrong house from which to steal a gun.

Picking a jury for the Padilla case. Are people really this stupid?

The DC Madam's employees: It's hard to say that these hos had no choices in life. They were moonlighting.

Tony Blair plans last-minute surrender to the EU. These are not our grandparents' Brits.

Devil in a red dress. Big Lizards. Condi scares the Imams away. Is there a military tactic to be learned from this? Maybe get the Dallas Cowboy cheerleading squad to stroll around Sadr City for a few hours a day in skimpy cowgirl outfits. Where is Annie Oakley when you need her?

A bad joke? No. It's our new Dem leaders.

How the Nanny State kills. Bainbridge. On a similar subject, Brit NHS docs finally admit rationing of care. Dem. Project.

Vilmar Tavares shares his Antarctica adventures.

Children are the problem! Quoted in Worstall from a Brit enviro-family planning offical:

“The greatest thing anyone in Britain could do to help the future of the planet would be to have one less child.”

Hmmm. Does that mean one less than I have now? How do I do that - is that an Abraham and Isaac-type command from Gaia? Or does he mean one less than I wanted? What if I only wanted one? What if I have one more by mistake? I need more detailed instructions, please, from our wise government officials, or I won't know how to live. Also, I wonder whether this just applies to the English, or does it apply to their immigrants too? Have they informed them, yet?

Photo: A nectarine bloom in southern New England this weekend, sent in by a reader.

Post Modern vs. More God. Bruce Kesler. We wanted to write a comment on this piece, but haven't found time. Good read.

YouTube gets a competitor who won't take down conservative voices.

More funky architecture. Second Empire? Some people call it, erroneously, Victorian.

Bush will veto new hate crime legislation. That is the right thing. Crime is crime, and all of us criminals should be treated equally.

Another talk show guy - Boortz this time - targeted by the Left. But look at what he said! Same thing we say all the time. I am happy to see that Imus, although I am not a big fan - is sueing CBS in a big way. Heck - they hired him for his poor taste, so they shouldn't fire him for it.

How Satan created the Brit NHS. Samizdata.

Segolene gets desperate. What she forgets to mention, in her threats, is that the last bunch of riots happened with Chirac.

Re our post on Prostitution, Anyone? this week, a happy hooker gets fired by her DC law firm. Well, at least she still has some marketable skills.

A reminder from a piece at Powerline:

...al Qaeda itself has repeatedly said that Iraq is the biggest battlefield in their war against civilization. Here is Zawahiri, for example, writing to Zarqawi in July 2005:

I want to be the first to congratulate you for what God has blessed you with in terms of fighting battle in the heart of the Islamic world, which was formerly the field for major battles in Islam’s history, and what is now the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era…

If you read our link to Ken Mehlman on Hispanic Repubs, maybe you missed our Dylanologist's frankly curmudgeonly if not acerbic comment:

Hispanics are not really a bloc. White hispanics tend to go for Republicans (e.g. Cubans in FL), while Mestizo Hispanics (Mexicans, Salvadorans, etc) break 65-35 in favor of the Democrats. Unfortunately for the Republicans, it is the Mestizo Hispanics that are the rapidly growing part.

It's not like Mehlman is a guy to take seriously with stuff like this anyways. Remember his big effort with all the high-profile black Republicans running last fall - Steele, Blackwell and Swann? After he tried to get cozy with the NAACP? All lost big-time. So I guess, now, it's back to Hispanics as the "crucial vote" for Republicans. How a bit a little pandering to white folks for a change, Ken? Take them for granted and they just might choose to stay home - let me refer you to November 2006 as a case in point.

Gladiator graveyard discovered at Ephesus. Pathologists tell us how they died. (h/t, Wasson)

Banning the words "mom" and "dad" in California. True Moonbattery of the finest sort.

John Edwards promises what Johnson "gave" us over 30 years ago. Surber. Guy seems out to lunch and out of touch.

Guns in Switzerland. Everybody owns them. Alphecca.

The Feinstein Scandal would be three weeks of front page news if she were a Repub. Do you doubt that for one minute? Indeed, it makes Cunningham look like an amateur.

Bored with the presidential campaign? Absolutely. Betsy too. Way too early to think about, unless life bores you.

Is a repeal of incest laws coming to Europe? Cramer.  Hey - that sounds very progressive. Do your own thing, dude. Taboos are so middle class.

Your tax dollars at work. The EEOC takes on The Salvation Army.

The Truthers and the California Freeway. Ace. (Hint: it was an inside job...all the hallmarks of Halliburton?)