We 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.
Pic: Farmhand Jeanie lends a hand with the arduous chores. What a trooper!
Well, I suppose you read a few weeks ago how the government finally revealed that it's been secretly harboring alien beings at its famous 'Area 51'. No, wait, I got the story backwards. They haven't been secretly harboring aliens over there. Yeah, like anyone would buy that. Area 51 report won't stop Hollywood and those who want to believe
Sadly, once again those Euros are ahead of us. As you might know, running into a concrete wall over 70 mph guarantees a quick, painless death. Under 70 and you're usually just looking at a total body maiming with a grueling, painful life in a hospital bed for the rest of your days. As such, the farseeing European Union has decided to end these horrible, quick, painless, over-70-mph deaths, once and for all: EU plans to fit all cars with speed limiters
And more bad news for the Righties. As I note here, the entire right wing has simply been giddy for the past five years because of President Obama's "57 states" quote. As I cover in the post, however, these right-wingers have been wrong, wrong, wrong about President Obama's quote. He doesn't think there are 57 states.
He think there are 60.
As we've noted a few times recently, Northern Colorado is seeking to become the 51st state.
When it comes to the popular sport of drone hunting, there's a little 'friendly rivalry' developing between a couple of everybody's favorite nation-states:
What these Mainers forgot to ask is whether or not we down here in the South even want them moving here. As it turns out, the answer is a resounding NO!, so this looks like a win-win situation for everybody.
According to the article, they have two basic programs. The one with the leg irons and electroshock therapy looks like best choice for the money. Quicker, anyway.
As you might have heard, there's been a lot of controversy lately about banning the 'D' word. But let's start at the top:
Speaking of disinformation, one of the real problems with the Internet is that it allows smooth talkers to sway the less-informed into doing something really stupid, like refusing vaccinations for their kids. Here's a new form of the problem: TN newborns get rare bleeding disorder after parents refused vitamin K shots
A bleeding disorder in babies so rare that it typically affects fewer than one in 100,000 is becoming more common in Tennessee because parents are refusing vitamin K injections at birth, according to pediatric specialists.
Since February, four babies with no signs of injury or abuse have been sent to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with either brain hemorrhages or bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Robert Sidonio Jr., a hematologist, diagnosed them with vitamin K deficiency bleeding.
If you're moving to a newly built house, say goodbye to mail delivery at your door.
And if some House Republicans get their way, all door-to-door mail delivery will go away.
The U.S. Postal Service is marching towards a more "centralized delivery," where residents pick up their own mail from clusters of mail boxes located in their neighborhood. Local postmasters are sending hundreds of letters to fast-growing communities, warning that cluster boxes will be the way mail will be delivered to new developments.
And what makes it ugly is that the Republican leading the charge is the famed Darrell Issa, he of the tough congressional hearings. I even highlighted him with two video clips here.
But Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican leading the House effort to save the postal service, wants more. He has made doing away with doorstep delivery a key part of his bill, which would require everyone to get mail at a curbside box or from a cluster box.
So, to sum up, once again a large company is unable to trim its ranks due to union restraints and thus has to cut costs another way, one which impacts us both directly and painfully.
Painfully, that is, if you're Mrs. Hutchins, age 88, suffering from terrible arthritis and now has to hobble a quarter-mile to get her mail.
Political News
Finally! Like her or not, one thing everyone admits is that it's nice to see a woman in the White House with a little fashion sense. Or, to put it in question form; just how many of Barbara Bush's outfits do you remember? Point proven.
Mrs. Obama bristled but managed to maintain her silence when queried about the allegations. Not surprisingly, White House spokesmen followed her lead, declining to comment on the report in any form whatsoever.
“Official silence is expected but it’s an odds-on bet that the White House will soon be known as the Green House,” said the source. “The only thing holding Mrs. Obama back at this point is the choice of shade. From what I understand, she is torn between grass green and hunter green. When she decides, painters will show up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with brushes, ladders and scaffolds and start painting.”
Personally, I'd go with the hunter. It'll weather better and go nicer with the surrounding foliage. But I don't claim to be an expert on the subject.
Can't these people find anything better to do? But it's not only that; every ten years the expert definition of a "good diet" changes. Nobody knows what a good diet is. That's probably because we are designed as omnivores and to eat whatever is available that we can choke down.
Morning everyone. Bulldog here, bringing you today's links because Doc Mercury wanted a day off so he could sleep in, and I am happy to oblige.
We're two days past the Labor Day holiday weekend, but is it a day off when you're always off?
This is exactly what happened when I walked into the office at 8am yesterday.
Harvard study discovers what most of us already knew. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Do not expect this to impact the national conversation.
What to expect with Obamacare. The NHS is the obvious goal. At least it's 'free'.
One side of the minimum wage debate. I wish everybody could be rich, but that can't happen. If it did, then the whole concept of 'rich' would be meaningless, so it's good to understand rents. The value of anything is based on its relative ease of obtaining it. If you can only dig ditches, and 90% of the population can dig ditches, too, you have to accept a lower wage or find some new skills.
If the minimum wage is increased, we will have higher unemployment, higher prices, and stagnant or reduced profits. So we'd be paying more tax dollars for people who aren't working, paying more for goods and services we need, and stocks would take a hit. Sounds like a plan to me. It doesn't take much to understand why minimum wage legislation fails as a ham-handed attempt to make a nation wealthy via legislation. If it actually worked, we could set the minimum at a very high level, say $100,000 a year, and we'd all be working and all be happy because consumers would have lots of money to spend. Better yet, let's make it $100,000 a year and no layoffs, ever. What could possibly go wrong with that?
More work on the Austrian Business Cycle Theory points to external influences in the boom and bust cycle, rather than irrational behavior. This has been a critical missing piece of Neo-Classical Economics as macroeconomic theory, and is part of the reason why Keynesian thought has dominated. That dominance is eroding.
Calvo sees as one of the great strengths of ABCT that it is able to explain the financial distrubances without recourse to irrationality. The source instead lies in the manipulation of money and credit which distorts the guiding and weeding functions of the price system for the time being, but the market eventually pierces that distortionary fog and a process of recalculation ensues.
In other news, Ronald Coase died. A winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics (which, by the way, is not really a Nobel Prize at all), Coase's work opened new windows on the nature of corporations and their optimal size. His work is often cited by conservative activists when government looks to regulate business. Below is Rodney Dangerfield, as Thornton Melon, explaining his version of Coase's work to an economics professor.
Covered regularly here on Maggie's, but of interest to me lately since I have one in college and another to follow - garbage degrees and the ultimate outcome of wasting 4 years to study an otherwise useless topic. I have a number of teachers in my family, but I'd still put "Education" on the list of degrees which won't get you far in terms of career or income. No offense to teachers, I have the highest respect for what they do. We parents can be the biggest problem many teachers face. And vice versa. I continue to believe what my father told me, "You go to college to get an education. You go to grad school to get a job." His point, obviously, was to challenge me so I would study something meaningful.
I believe the US government will seek to shut down Bitcoin. For now, they are trying to figure out if it is a threat to the Fed. It is.
Bill Maher praises Obama for 'restoring the Constitution' by asking for Congressional approval to strike Syria and takes a potshot at the Tea Party. Obama's 'restoration of the Constitution' is a purely face-saving measure designed to shift blame. After all, he never sought Congressional approval for Libya and continues to insist he doesn't need Congressional approval. Hillary remains invisible, though she helped craft this foreign policy. Perhaps she is spending time consulting on her upcoming Hollywood biopic?
Some interesting views about well-known people and events. I happen to like the first three. The rest aren't quite as good.
Drudge rightfully asks "Why would anyone vote Republican?" But why vote Democrat, either? Neither party is specifically looking out for the best interests of the nation, but rather for themselves and their position in society. As a Libertarian, I view Republicans as a sometimes useful first step toward the goal of reinstating the Constitution as the law of the land. But not the guys currently pushing for attacking Syria or voting for NSA funding of Prism. They need to get back with the program.
The world is a Rorschach Test. I've always disagreed with the concept that perception is reality. If perception is reality, does that mean demons really were coming from the WTC? I believe the job of the individual is to utilize facts to help overcome limitations of our basic perceptions. Just because we like what we perceive doesn't make it reality. This can be applied to Syria. The main tool to utilize in cutting through to the facts is cui bono.
Ending on an up note, I'm surprised I didn't read anything about Diana Nyad on Maggie's. On Monday morning I learned she was only 5 miles from shore. 53+ hours of swimming, at age 64, is quite an accomplishment. I've done a mile in a lake and it was murder, so I can't imagine what she went through. Her accomplishment is one which is consistent with our values. Persistence, hard work, and a desire to achieve. You really are never too old.
Remember that Asiana flight crashing at San Fran Int'l a while back, clipping off the tail as it hit the edge of the runway?
The reason that was given was, due to some confusion in the cockpit, the autopilot was assumed to be taking care of the aircraft's speed, which it wasn't. So, they lost altitude quickly at the end and clipped the edge of the runway.
But that doesn't really answer why the pilot was trying to land so near the edge of the runway in the first place, what with a long, expansive landing strip in front of them. And this is especially true in S.F., where there's no pre-runway to safeguard against such things, because the runways jut out into this big watery thing called a "bay".
But upon watching the following video, pointed out to me by my buddy Feebs, I was suddenly reminded of a nasty experience I once had, which might just answer that elusive why.
For airplane buffs, this is a very interesting video showing the last number of minutes of an airliner landing at SFO from inside the cockpit.
A few things to watch for:
— I like they way they label it "Silicon Valley, CA". Silicon Valley is a euphemism for an area loosely composed of parts of San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.
— Since we presume they didn't do any editing-out in this thing, both the 'Landing' and 'Shutdown' check lists are stunningly short.
— There's an interesting moment when the computer calls out "200" feet, and it appears the pilot actually has to give it the verbal command to "continue" for things to progress as normal. I presume he's actually talking to the co-pilot, following routine, but you'll see what I mean about it appearing like he's talking to the computer.
— It's also interesting how bouncy the cockpit is once they touch down. You don't get that feeling at all from the rest of the plane, but these guys are seriously a'shakin'.
— And how in the world do the pilots see those baton-waving directional guys way down on the ground? For the final 'stop' command, do they raise some guy way up on a crane in front of the cockpit? Well, not exactly.
What they're going to do is fly in high over S.F. heading southward, go down to the South Bay (Silicon Valley), turn around and head back up to the airport over the bay.
It was watching that particular shot as they neared the edge of the runway that reminded of a time when I came in over water and faced a similar edge.
It was at San Carlos airport, mid-way down the Peninsula, and I was being given a demo ride by an instructor. I was about 30 or so, had just come into a small inheritance, and wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of getting a pilot's license.
We took a Cessna 172 up, up and away, flew over the coastal range that runs down the spine of the Peninsula, cruised out over the Pacific, did a few basic acrobatics, and headed back home.
And there was the edge in front of us, and the pilot came in low, over water, aiming for the very rim of the runway. At the last moment, I was 99.99% positive we were going to hit it with the wheels, cartwheel over and die.
Whoomp! We landed safely and I immediately (1) signed up for lessons with (2) the condition that it not be that guy. It honestly scared me like I've seldom been in my life.
And just why was he trying to get so close to the edge, when there was figuratively miles of runway in front of him?
Because getting close to the edge was the only challenge in sight.
In my Culture in the Cockpit post, I noted how sometimes airline disasters can almost be directly attributable to countries with militaristic backgrounds whose Air Force pilots then turn to commercial aviation, and how that "don't question authority" mindset can often be their undoing.
But this is different.
Place yourself in the Asiana plane, as a junior pilot wanting to impress his superiors by just nailing that edge. Except that this time the autopilot doesn't have your back.
As most people would agree, the main problem with Northern Colorado becoming the 51st state is having to redo all of those flags and coffee mugs and stamps and all the rest. Who needs the aggravation? It seems a simpler solution would be to ask: Could Colorado County Become Part of Wyoming?
At this week’s industry conference on drones, in Washington, D.C., a group of police and fire chiefs gathered to discuss how to increase their use of drones. But they used a different term: “UAS operations.” (UAS stands for “unmanned aircraft system.”)
And, from a very long article covering drones from A to Z, we have:
The Air Force bristles at the very word—drones conjures autonomous flying robots, reinforcing the notion that human beings are not piloting them. The Air Force prefers that they be called Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
This week, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) took over Washington, DC's convention center for its annual Unmanned Systems show.
So now we have UAS, RPA and UVS — and that's just from three articles!
Bird Dog posted an interesting video on 3-D street art the other day. In the comments, MissyW left a link to a very interesting article on the subject, including a how-to video: 3D street art: a question of perspective
One odd thing is that they didn't mention the brilliant idea I had years ago. As I mention in my mocha post, I've never liked coffee in the slightest — but I love its effects. So, my nimble mind thinks, why not buy caffeinated water and make the ice cubes for my ever-present Ginger Ale out of it! Alas, my brilliant plan was shattered like ice because it's too expensive. It was something like $3 just for one regular little bottle.
Finally, I suppose you've heard about the sad plight of the tornado chasers? Between the guys who professionally chase tornadoes for a living and the tornado specialists down at the meteorology center, these are desperate times, indeed: USA having calmest year for tornadoes in over a decade
Personally, I blame The Gore Effect. "More and more violent weather" was one of the core themes of his outburst a few weeks ago, and, well, here we are.
Political News
That Michelle Obama is a real hoot, isn't she? Compare her to, say, Hillary's days in the White House, and how she spent them trying to harm the nation by pushing HillaryCare through. In my book, the proper role of the First Lady is to take some 'harmless' subject like "do more exercise" or "kids eating better" and push that, as well as just getting out there and mingling with the common folk, giving them the feeling that our government really is comprised of actual human beings, not just some remote voice on a news clip. It's the same reason townhall meetings are so appreciated. Actually seeing and interacting with your 'voice in Washington' makes a difference.
Entitled “Songs for a Healthier America,” the record features video cameos (but no singing) of the first lady along with big names like Jordin Sparks, Ashanti, Run DMC, Doug E. Fresh and Monifah.
The 19-track album with song titles like “U R What You Eat” and “Veggie Luv” is being released by the Partnership for a Healthier America, an independent group found in conjunction with Let’s Move.
Naturally, the right-wing bloggers — ever eager to defile her because she's a hated Democrat — are outraged because, as one Townhall blogger put it, rap is "a genre known for its demeaning lyrics towards women and inappropriate language", even though it's obvious this is nothing of the sort.
We have spoken in the past of what a meaningless word 'racism' has become in recent years, but condemning an entire genre of a certain race's style of music actually is being racist, Townhall.
Last Friday, 90% of the Maggie's male readership was forced to admit that Michelle Goddam Obama can do more push-ups than they can. As I noted, you can't fake push-ups; this lady practices what she preaches. There's a fun slideshow here of her in various athletic situations, including busting ass on the track and boogalooing with the best of them.
This is a bit of a gripe piece. I know when I was younger, there were people in the organization I worked who felt I was a cocky and outspoken employee. But I was effective and that allowed mobility, and I developed a good reputation over time. As time has gone on, younger people have moved up and I've noticed a considerable bit of 'ageism' on the part of younger folk, so forgive me if I engage a bit of my own.
Not too long ago, I was teaching a class within my company. I encourage Q&A, as well as comments and interruptions as long as they are on topic. At one point, a young man stopped me to ask, "Wouldn't we be better off if we just got rid of the older executives who don't understand new media, and started fresh from scratch?"
I smiled, and replied very simply, "No."
He took offense and commented that younger people knew more, were more adaptable, etc. I again smiled and said, "I know what you're thinking. I was there once, too. We do tend to think, when we're new to the workforce, that business is messed up and we know a better way. Frankly, we probably do when we're younger. But there are a few things lacking when we think this way. For example, experience and perspective. While I can understand you point of view, and to some degree you're correct, the reality is altogether different and it may take time to understand, let alone accept, this."
He was not happy with my response, and his interruptions eventually disrupted the class and we never finished. I had to speak with his director about his behavior. Eventually, he left the company to go with a smaller start-up firm. I hope he found what he was looking for.
I suppose if I asked for a mere shred of sympathy for our president because of the sticky wicket Syria has become, I'd get laughed right off the stage?
I thought so.
From Theo's, I suppose this just about sums it up:
Welcome to the Middle East, indeed.
(by the way, I hope you don't mind my interrupting, but it just now occurred to me to ask: What countries are in the Middle West? Kansas?)
With Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, although still sectarian, at least the battle lines were fairly well drawn. If even half of the above pic is true, we are a long, long ways from those former days of innocence. And I have no reason to think the entire thing isn't right on the money. What a friggin' mess.
As she has a hundred times before, our own Klondike Queen nailed it:
In laying out the case for military strikes on Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday had praise for the French, who he called “our oldest ally,” but snubbed any mention of the British, who have long believed they enjoyed a “special relationship” with the U.S.
When you're forced to praise the weak-ass French as being staunch allies, you know the End Times are near.
Which isn't to say all Brits are particularly happy with their Parliament's decision:
Remember how France refused to support us in the Iraq War and patriots were calling for French fries to be renamed "freedom fries"?
Turnabout's fair play:
Britain, a U.S. ally in the war in Iraq, might watch from the sidelines if Washington launches a Syrian strike and turns to France for a European stamp of approval. (Could we see the debut of “liberty muffins’’ a decade after the derisory “freedom fries”?)
Back to our president, remember how the MSM labeled President Bush a 'warmonger', 'baby-killer', with his 'immoral war' and all the rest?
From CNN's web site this morning:
This time, with a Democrat in the White House, it appears the rules have changed. Poor President Obama is already war-weary — and he hasn't even done anything yet. But he's tough and gritty and 'determined' to see Truth and Justice prevail. Must be nice having the MSM cover your ass.
My personal fantasy:
(ring-ring!)
"Good morning, this is Susan, Sarah Palin's assistant."
"Hi, this is President Obama. Can I speak to Sarah for a sec?"
"Sure, she's right here. Hey, Sarah, President Deadbeat's on the phone!"
"Good morning, Mr. President, this is Sarah. How may I help you?"
"Could you pop by the White House later today? I'd like to have you standing beside me when I repeat your message to the world."
Weekends are a real wasteland around here, especially in the summer, and double-especially the holidays, so I hate to burn up my valuable little horde of links. Instead, I'll list a few link sites. Then you may wallow and bask in glorious linkdom to your heart's content.
On a right-wing site, the first two to mention would probably be Drudge and Instapundit. Both are somewhat eclectic, in that right under the article demanding we immediately nuke Syria is a link to how hot Madonna looks in her new grillz.
Next up might be Real Clear Politics, and what's to note is that when it comes to sections like their 'Tech' and 'History', they're actually a fairly 'deep' site, with a specific search usually pulling up lots of goodies.
Leaving news and history behind, the next step might be one of the 'why' sites, like Life's Little Mysteries.
The next step down the ladder would be a site like Linkiest, which runs the range from the inane to the brilliant.
Although he's shut down for the time being due to family problems, I think the best political cartoonist out there these days is the Hope and Change guy. Going through the archives is a blast.
Another great cartoonistartist textmeister is the guy who does the Text From Dog site. For just quick text messages, some of it's quite clever.
As for my own links pages, I have a collection of my video posts here, one of computer tips here, and a 'best of' here.
Well, that should keep you busy for a few minutes.
A little over a month ago, I posted a piece on Seth Klarman's call for a change in economic policy. The bizarre action in stock and bond markets indicate something is amiss. Is 'tapering' going to tank the market (undoubtedly, if done properly)? Will our increasingly likely involvement with Syria have implications in the economy (of course)?
What all these questions imply is that we're spending too much money, somewhere, on 'stuff', rather than productive capacity. Production is what creates consumption and demand, not vice-versa as Keynesians suggest. The very first consumer had to produce (via hunting/gathering) what he/she consumed before it could be consumed. This is not a chicken-egg question, it's self-evident. Your desire to consume a hard-boiled egg may create the demand needed to have someone, somewhere to boil an egg and sell it to you. This desire, however, cannot be stimulated by providing you with cash or the means to purchase or make the egg. Before you can create that demand, you have to know it can be produced either by yourself or by someone else who you can purchase it from. If the recipe for a hard-boiled egg doesn't exist, but you desire it, your entrepreneurial spirits may be stirred to become a cook and make this for all to enjoy. That process leads to the development of consumer desire for the product.
Today, however, our government believes desires of this sort are generated by moving money, with the benefit of a 'central brain' in Washington, D.C. to guide the money into places where it can be used to increase consumption, which will drive production. This guided shifting of cash will lift all boats. Not all the money will be shifted from the rich to the poor, but some will be shifted from the future into the present, making the present more productive, and the future that much more productive because we'll borrow from tax revenues generated by increased taxes on the future rich.
Aaron Clarey prepared a useful chart showing how well this works, how much GDP we get per government dollar spent.
The problem with Keynesianism is its core belief that you can properly shift money to productive areas through a reasonably well guided government process. There are some who claim borrowing from the future limits future productive capacity, due to payments on interest. This is true to a point. One has to remember entrepreneurs borrow from the future to increase productive capacity. That concept is not flawed in business. The reason it is flawed in government is at least two-fold:
1. Dead-weight loss. A government has to pay for bureaucrats to shuffle the money from the taxpayer to the areas of productive value, and is not incentivized to do it in a timely or useful manner. An entrepreneur will do this more efficiently, realizing any wasted money is lost potential. 2. Perfect knowledge. None of us have perfect knowledge regarding what will yield great productivity. More entrepreneurs fail than succeed, but the risk and responsibility falls upon them and their investors. It's only logical that government will fail more frequently than it succeeds if it tries to use money to increase productivity. This is why Solyndras are more common than not. But the problem is the risk is absorbed by taxpayers, not investors, who may not have wanted to see the money go to a Solyndra, while the responsibilty should be borne by the politicians, but is never assigned to them in full. More importantly, government reassignation of revenues is not a tool of progress, as some politicians claim, it is a tool for resistance to change.
Markets are conducive to evolutionary improvement. Government empowers those who want to resist change.~Arnold Kling
The government's failure shouldn't be a surprise. If he was an entrepreneur, the massive failure of Obama's economic policies should almost be expected.
It is the source of the money he is using to pursue his goals that are at issue. All investors may be taxpayers, but not all taxpayers are investors. It is wrong to force them to invest when the odds of failure are high and they have no say about who gets the money.
Taxing Peter to pay Paul is using Peter for Paul. It is corrupting. Modern governments have been encouraged to think that any abuse of Peter is just fine, that Peter is a slave available for any duty that the ruler has in mind. ~Deirdre McCloskey
Every now and then some zealot suddenly decides those horrid anonymous commenters need to be put in their place. Here's a typical screed, which asks:
So, is it OK that so many bloggers and commenters use pseudonyms? Are their opinions godlike? Or, are they just afraid to reveal themselves completely?
Yep, that's your only choice, folks. Either your opinion is godlike — or you're afraid to reveal yourself completely. No other choice will do.
...and others just want to be rude or snarky or such without responsibility, accountability or consequence.
Consequence? So, you read an article that really makes your blood boil, you let the blogger have it with both barrels, then it turns out a devoted acolyte takes severe umbrage at your comment, looks up your real name and hunts your ragged ass down with his 12-gauge shotgun, literally giving you both barrels for daring to call the great god blogger "a lowly scumdog". Ho-hum, just another consequence in the life of the average blog commenter. Or former commenter, in this case.
The days of anonymous commenting on The Huffington Post are numbered. Founder Arianna Huffington said in a question-and-answer session with reporters in Boston Wednesday that the online news site plans to require users to comment on stories under their real names, beginning next month.
It's quite the noble mission, all in all, meeting the highest of standards and setting an exemplary example for blog sites throughout the world. There's only one tiny little piece missing from this otherwise brilliant plan:
Our mighty leader has taken off for the faraway land of Italia for ten days, leaving you in the clutches warm, caring hands of the staff.
Which is exactly what staffs should have.
While it won't be the circus we had when the big guy went out to the Cape a while back (20 posts in 5 days was a bit much even for prolific ol' me), we'll still have fun.
As far as Bulldog goes, ol' Droolie is pawin' at the ground and slobberin' at the bit in anticipation of the mountains of adulation and heaps of scorn that go along with being a modern-day blogger. And who could resist such a temptation?
And the rest of the gang should be pitching in unless they're also out of town. Barrie in particular has been on fire lately.
Oh, and it wouldn't be an official "while the cat's away" vacation without opening up the Maggie's Farm Smut Guide for the duration.
The case of Army Pvt. Bradley Edward Manning, who insists his name is now Chelsea Elizabeth Manning because he wants to spend his 35 years behind bars as a woman, just won’t go quietly into the Fort Leavenworth prison night.
Meanwhile, Fox News host Gregg Jarrett said on air — and in response to the growing pressure from various entities who are sympathetic to Manning — during a segment a few days ago, “I don’t do what Bradley Manning wants me to do.”
Neither does CNN. Executives announced its reporters and anchors would continue to call Manning a “he” because the soldier, who’s in a Fort Leavenworth military prison for releasing classified documents to WikiLeaks, is not actually taking hormone therapy or undergoing any medical procedure that would change his gender.
+1 for Dylan Thomas reference.
The post is on The Washington Times site, and although they didn't mention themselves in the article, the above illustrates they're not jumping on board either.
Say, speaking of gender-based issues, it appears one of those "black" guys you read about named something like Marty Louie King has been in the news lately. He apparently made some famous speech about "I'll have an ice cream", which I'm sure was appreciated by dairy manufacturers throughout the country. If I'm reading this right, he was actually the founder of the Democratic Party.
People have been writing articles recently on "What Dr. King would think if he were alive today". I think my answer would be, he'd throw up.
As I understand it, there's a large country to the north of us called something like "Canadoi"? "Kanaday"? Something like that. Anyway, they're pretty proud up there because they won the War of 1812. In other words, what you may have learned in school about its outcome is purely a demographic issue, open to interpretation.
Sadly, though, like we have our anti-America rebels down here, they, too, have the same type of degenerates allowed to speak out due to that silly 'freedom of speech' business, like this treasonous subversive: The Real Legacy of 1812? It Never Happened Again
Finally, on a fun, upbeat note, were you aware a million Muslims are going to march on Washington to celebrate 9/11 and complain about how bitterly and angrily they're treated (oh, and don't forget "constantly spat upon") here in America?
Well, as a means of showing their support for this noble cause, my buddies Jimbo and Shorty and the rest of the boys have offered to pitch in.
Say, I have a rather delicate question for you guys:
How many push-ups can you do?
And I don't mean those tough chin-has-to-touch-the-ground military type; more like 'camp style' push-ups, where you go down most ways then back up.
How about 25?
And you're not even breathing hard?
The point, of course, is that it's one thing to sit there in your elite ivory tower, claiming how America should get off its collective butt and start exercising and eating better...
When was hard work a human value, other than in Northern Europe? A human necessity at times for most (other than the warriors and the princesses), but a "value"? InGenesis, wasn't labor a punishment?Those of us who love hard work and 14-hour work days may be the crazy ones.
Also, bear in mind the statistical fact that most people preoccupied with diet and food and health are a bit neurotic. "Health nuts," as they are termed.
DOJ
Declares Atheism A “Religious Movement”, Eligible For Religious Tax
Exemptions - See more at:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/insane-doj-declares-atheism-a-religious-movement-eligible-for-religious-tax-exemptions/#sthash.hU5WRAPA.dpuf
DOJ
Declares Atheism A “Religious Movement”, Eligible For Religious Tax
Exemptions - See more at:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/insane-doj-declares-atheism-a-religious-movement-eligible-for-religious-tax-exemptions/#sthash.hU5WRAPA.dpuf
The
Washington Post Oversimplifies The Value of College - See more at:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/08/the_washington_post_oversimpli.html#sthash.5tVG3Ced.dpuf
The
Washington Post Oversimplifies The Value of College - See more at:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/08/the_washington_post_oversimpli.html#sthash.5tVG3Ced.dpuf
The
Washington Post Oversimplifies The Value of College - See more at:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/08/the_washington_post_oversimpli.html#sthash.5tVG3Ced.dpuf
A public school is a really expensive, but shabby and ineffectual, private school that collects their tuition with the threat of eviction from your house.
The assumption that historical processes align with a forward motion, that the liberalization of a society moves it forward, are so innate that it goes unquestioned. It is why democracy is held to be a good, entirely apart from its outcome. Even if democratic elections lead to a takeover by a junta of fanatical cannibals, the very act of holding an election moves a society forward through one hoop in the great circus of historical processes. The immediate result may be cannibalism, but in the long run, as Arab Spring advocates remind us from the editorial pages, the society moves forward.
The liberal understanding of history made it impossible to see the Muslim Brotherhood for what it was because its victory did not fit the march of progress. The victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in a democratic election meant that it was progressive. Because that is how the forward motion of history is meant to work. And its overthrow had to be considered reactionary, regardless of the issues...
Here at Maggie's Farm, where we use tractors and fossil fuel and the internet, we nonetheless tend to view the notion of "progress" as a false idol.
,,,if your idea of your marriage contract requires you to stay exciting and
interesting, then it’s like a TV show that depends on its ratings, and
eventually, no matter how many cute kids you add, murder trials you
withstand, or sharks you jump in water skis, ratings will inevitably
decline.
Richard Vedder: The Real Reason College Costs So Much - The expert on the economics of higher education
explains how subsidies fuel rising prices and why there's a 'bubble' in
student loans and college enrollment.
Obama Holding Private Bi-Sexual Conference At White House
- See
more at:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/obama-holding-private-bi-sexual-conference-at-white-house/?ModPagespeed=noscript#sthash.mwt3jeMo.dpuf
Some of our friends have a (volunteer, but expert) project to provide cheap and simple medical 911 systems to Third World countries. They plan to begin with Haiti and Latin America.
It's a good cause. Roll them a coin if you can, and tell friends who might be interested. It's not an app, it's a phone feature. God bless those who put their time, brains, and energy into such positive and inventive pursuits.
Few of us in the First World have any idea what it's like out there. And still people in America complain about medical care. They always will. Prosperity and the world's best medical care have turned us into babies.
Finally! One thing we can all agree on is that last-minute Christmas shopping is a real drag. The crowds, the noise, the confusion, the cold sleet or snow because you're in the middle of goddamn winter — in short, it sucks.
So, while we'd all appreciate just a few more days in the shopping season to help us out, the hands of the retailers are tied since there's an unwritten rule that they can't swamp the land with Christmas stuff until the official 'Thanksgiving timeline' is over.
However, with the help of the Department of Interior collaborating with the National American Turkey Council, they came up with a very clever solution:
For someone who grew up in an era when it was strictly verboten for businesses to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, it's been somewhat sad to see the commercial greed seep forth a little earlier every year since. I believe these days the decorations are going up just after the 4th of July. I hear Easter's the next goal.
In the writing biz, this is known as when fantasy meets reality.
For starters, I need to find a new 6-V starter battery for the old Ford tractor. Then mowing, hedge-trimming, and tree-cutting.
Half of America is on holiday right now, and nobody else is in the mood for the bad news anyway.
I will throw in one link, about coffee: How to Make Perfect Coffee - The science of what makes coffee great. The article feels so effete that it could be satire, but it isn't.
As BD mentioned a while back, he and the missus are doing their usual summer fling in Italy in a few weeks, so I'll be saving up goodies and not posting much in the interim. I'll have some pretty interesting pieces, though, including an AGW post with a very unique viewpoint, a tutorial on how to make one of those 'slideshow songs' where the pics line up with the lyrics, how to type "I ♥ Maggie's Farm" with a few quick keystrokes, and it only took two hours and 20 years of online expertise but I finally tracked down a copy of the 1974 National Lampoon Stereo Test And Demonstration Record on a backwater P2P site for your listening and stereo testing enjoyment.
On the health front, I just took my blood pressure and it was 135 (high figure), and that's without taking any blood pressure medicine for four days. That's still slightly above average, but compared to its peak of 195 a few months ago, it'll do.
The one main difference has been an almost salt-free diet. I got so curious about the whole salt issue that I purposefully didn't change anything else (exercise, smoking, coffee, etc) just to see what would happen. Despite claims that "salt does not cause these things", I must beg to differ. The blood pressure medicine initially knocked it down to non-life-threatening levels, then I halved the dosage a few weeks ago, then decided to see what would happen if I stopped it altogether four days ago. The results speak for themselves. I'll go back to halving it and get a fresh prescription when I visit the GP in a few weeks.
I also still owe the hospital over a thousand bucks and am desperately low on cash (as I've been since this nightmare started), so if anyone would care to throw a few doubloons into my relief fund, it would certainly be appreciated.
In other news, I heard via email the other day another by-now-typical domain name heartbreak story:
(the names have been changed to protect the innocent, if any)
Doc -
Well, craparoonie! You would think that "James Morgan Downing" would be an obscure enough name that it would be available, but not only was "jamesdowning.com" and "jamesmdowning.com" taken, but so was the whole thing, "jamesmorgandowning.com"! I ended up taking "james-downing.com", but I'm not happy about it. On the other hand, I suppose I should be grateful that at least it was available!
Indeed.
As I've noted before, once a domain is gone, it's pretty much gone forever because the domain harvesters will snatch it up automatically within milliseconds of it coming back on the market. They figure if somebody wanted it once, then somebody else will want it again one day, at which point they'll be happy to lease it to you for the rest of eternity — unless you want to buy it outright for a mere $4,995, of course.
The bottom line is, if you ever might want your own domain, even if just to post pics of the grandkids on in twenty years, now's the time to get it. At $5.95/mo, it's the cheapest bill in the In Box, and you don't have to actually build a site or anything to hold it.
As for grabbing it, I highly recommend BlueHost. It's run by a nice conservative company based in Provo, Utah. The CEO does a twice-yearly email round-up and the guy's hysterical, always throwing zingers and barbs at Washington and our meddling Congress. I have some tips on domain names here.
For your visual delight, a blast from the past; the incredible footage of that airliner landing on that highway out in L.A. a few years ago. The fact that a TV news crew happened to be right there when it happened was a remarkable stroke of luck, not to mention catching on film the horror of the harrowing landing, itself.
Interesting News
Remember that Asiana flight crashing at San Fran Int'l a while back, clipping off the tail as it hit the edge of the runway?
I Say, How Did Hard Work 
Sipp 
Finally! One thing we can all agree on is that last-minute Christmas shopping is a real drag. The crowds, the noise, the confusion, the cold sleet or snow because you're in the middle of goddamn winter — in short, it sucks.
Too many projects to get done on the Farm today.
