Monday, May 22. 2006
Slavery in Islam. Apparently it can be quite acceptable in parts of the Moslem world. Including selling little boys as sex slaves, to support Jihad. Can we say that Islam has a "different" view of humanity? Isn't tolerance fun? Rhymes with Right And, speaking of Allah, California schools say Yes to Allah, No to God. Michelle. California is so enlightened. Christians are swine. Jews are more highly ranked: they are apes. So say the Saudi textbooks. Patterico.
A note to all new visitors to Maggie's Farm from all over: Welcome to the Farm! Read us - we are eclectic and informative, and like to surprise our readers. Friendly, too. Bookmark us and show us some love.  This is the response from a retired Delta pilot in response to questions about whether he was planning to see United 93:
I haven't seen the movie, yet, but I intend to when I get the chance. Retirement has made me busier than ever, and I haven't had the chance to see many movies lately. As a Delta B-767 captain myself at the time of the attacks on 9/11 I was in crew rest in Orlando that morning. I had just turned on the TV in my hotel room only to see the WTC tower on fire, then saw the second airplane hit the other tower. My immediate reaction was "Terrorists...we're at war", followed by the realization that we airline crewmembers had all dodged a bullet; it could have been any one of us flying those planes. As soon as the news stations flashed the first pictures of the terrorists I knew just how close and personal the bullet I dodged was. There, on the screen for all to see, was a man who had sat in my jumpseat the previous July. His name was Mohammad Atta, the leader of the terrorist hijackers. Atta had boarded my flight from Baltimore to Atlanta on July 26, 2001 wearing an American Airlines first officer uniform. He had the corresponding AA company ID identifying him as a pilot, not to mention the required FAA pilot license and medical certificate that he was required to show me as proof of his aircrew status for access to my jumpseat. An airline pilot riding a cockpit jumpseat is a long established protocol among the airlines of the world, a courtesy extended by the management and captains of one airline to pilots and flight attendants of other airlines in recognition of their aircrew status. My admission of Mohammad Atta to my cockpit jumpseat that day was merely a routine exercise of this protocol. Something seemed a bit different about this jumpseat rider, though, because in my usual course of conversation with him as we reached cruise altitude he avoided all my questions about his personal life and focused very intently upon the cockpit instruments and our operation of the aircraft. I asked him what he flew at American and he said, "These", but he asked incessant questions about how we did this or why we did that. I said, "This is a 767. They all operate the same way." But he said, "No, we operate them differently at American." That seemed very strange, because I knew better. I asked him about his background, and he admitted he was from Saudi Arabia. I asked him when he came over to this country and he said "A couple of years ago.", to which I asked, "Are you a US citizen?" He said no. I also found that very strange because I know that in order to have an Airline Transport Pilot rating, the rating required to be an airline captain, one has to be a US citizen, and knowing the US airlines and their hiring processes as I do, I found it hard to believe that American Airlines would hire a non-US citizen who couldn't upgrade to captain when the time came. He said, "The rules have changed.", which I also knew to be untrue. Besides, he was just, shall I say, "Creepy"? My copilot and I were both glad to get rid of this guy when we got to Atlanta. There was nothing to indicate, though, that he was anything other than who or what he said he was, because he had the documentation to prove who he was. In retrospect, we now know his uniform was stolen and his documents were forged. Information later came to light as to how this was done. It seems that Mohammad Atta and his cronies had possibly stolen pilot uniforms and credentials from hotel rooms during the previous year. We had many security alerts at the airline to watch out for our personal items in hotel rooms because these were mysteriously disappearing, but nobody knew why. Atta and his men used these to make dry runs prior to their actual hijackings on 9/11. How do I know? I called the FBI as soon as I saw his face on the TV that day, and the agent on the other end of the line took my information and told me I'd hear back from them when all the dust settled. A few weeks later I got a letter from the Bureau saying that my call was one of at least half a dozen calls that day from other pilots who had had the same experience. Flights were being selected at random to make test runs for accessing the cockpit. It seems we had all dodged bullets. Over the years my attitude towards the War Against Terrorism and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been known to be on the red neck, warmongering, rah-rah-shoot-em-up side of things. I've been known to lose my patience with those who say the war in Iraq or anywhere else in the Muslim world is wrong, or who say we shouldn't become involved in that area of the world for political correctness reasons. Maybe it's because I dodged the bullet so closely back in 2001 that I feel this way. I have very little patience for political rhetoric or debate against this war because for a couple of hours back in July 2001, when I was engaged in conversation with a major perpetrator in this war, I came so close to being one of its victims that I can think in no other terms. I don't mind admitting that one of the reasons I retired early from Delta last May, other than to protect my disappearing company retirement, was because it became harder and harder for me to go to work every day knowing that the war wasn't being taken seriously by the general public. The worst offenders were the Liberal detractors to the present administration, and right or wrong, this administration is at least taking the bull by the horns and fighting our enemies, which is something concrete that I can appreciate. Nobody was taking this war seriously, and it seems everyone found fault with the US government rather than with those who attacked us. I found that incomprehensible. I also found myself being scrutinized by TSA screeners more and more every day when I went to work, and suffered the humiliating indignity of being identified about half the time for body searches in front of the general flying public who looked at the entire process as being ludicrous. "They don't even trust their own pilots!" accompanied by an unbelieving snicker was the usual response. Here I was, a retired USAF officer who had been entrusted to fly nuclear weapons around the world, who had been granted a Top Secret clearance and had been on missions over the course of 21 years in the military that I still can't talk about without fear of prosecution by the DoD, who was being scanned by a flunkie TSA screener looking for any sign of a pen knife or nail file on my person. It wasn't until six months after my retirement when my wife and I flew to Key West, FL last November that I was finally able to rid myself of the visage of Mohammad Atta sitting behind me on my jumpseat, watching my every action in the cockpit and willing to slit my throat at the slightest provocation. I missed being a headline by a mere 47 days, and could very well have been among the aircrew casualties on 9/11 had one of my flights on my monthly schedule been a transcontinental flight from Boston or New York to the west coast on the 11th of September. Very few people know that, while only four airliners crashed that day, four more were targeted, and two of them were Delta flights. The only reason these four weren't involved is because they either had minor maintenance problems which delayed them at the gate or they were scheduled to depart after the FAA decided to ground all flights. Theirs are the pilots and flight attendants who REALLY dodged the bullet that day, and my faith in a higher power is restored as a result. I will see United 93 when I get the chance, and I will probably enjoy the movie for its realness and historical significance, but forgive me if I do not embrace the Muslim world for the rest of my life. The Islamic world is no friend of the West, and although we may be able to get along with their governments in the future, the stated goal of Islam is world conquest through Jihad and it is the extremist Jihadists, backed and funded by "friendly" Moslem governments, whom we have to fear the most. We must have a presence in the Middle East, and we must have friends in the Middle East, even if we have to fight wars to get them. Only someone who has dodged a bullet can fully appreciate that fact. Best to all, Pat Gilmore Editor's Note: For some reason which is beyond me, some people do not want to believe this. Perhaps they do not want to believe that Jihadist terrorism actually exists, because it someone doesn't believe it yet, they never will. Capt. Gilmore himself posted this comment, in our comments below, but I will put it here for all to see:
I assure you this letter is true. As to the fact that I wrote that a holder of an Airline Transport Pilot rating (ATP) must be a US citizen, I admit that I was mistaken here. I had always assumed so, because that's what I had heard, so I looked up the requrements for an ATP just now. There is nothing that says that US citizenship is required. Okay, I'll bite the bullet on that one. I recieved my ATP back in 1975 and now that I think of it I do not remember having to prove my citizenship. However, the rest of the story is true.
As for my airline career, I worked for Western Airlines (who merged with Delta in 1987), Jet America Airlines (who was bought by Alaska Airlines in 1988), and Delta Airlines, as well as a few "fly by night" cargo airlines during my furlough period from Western from 1981-1985. I also flew in Vietnam as a transport pilot and retired from the USAF Reserve in 1991 after the Gulf War. I have 21,500+ flight hours in T-41, T-37, T-38, C-141/L-300, CE-500, CV-440, MD-80/82, B-727, B-737, B-757, and B-767 aircraft, all logged between 1970 and 2005 when I retired from Delta.
Trust me, folks, this was real. I must admit I am quite surprised that my letter made it this far on the internet. The letter was nothing more than am innocent reply to a group of friends, one of whom sent me a similar letter from another Delta pilot who had been flying the morning of 9/11 and who had experienced the flying that day for himself. His letter had detailed his thoughts as he viewed the movie "United 93", and he also told in detail how he had been diverted to Knoxville when the FAA shut down the airspace. My friend had asked me if I had known of any other similar experiences, so I wrote him what I had encountered myself a few months before. This was my letter to him.
Another retired Delta captain contacted me yesterday after reading this blog and related an experience his wife had on a flight from Portland, OR to Atlanta in August 2001, just a week or so after my experience with Atta. She was riding on a company pass and seated in First Class. A person of "Middle Eastern" descent had sought permission to sit on the cockpit jump seat, but was denied access by the captain because he did not have an FAA Medical certificate. She said he ranted and raved because he couldn't ride the cockpit jump seat, even though there were three empty seats in First Class, which the captain offered him. What pilot in his right mind would refuse a First Class seat over a cramped cockpit jump seat? He stormed off the aircraft and they left him at the gate. You see? Mine wasn't the only experience leading up to 9/11.
Delta Airlines Corporate Security even contacted me a few days ago to ask if I had, indeed, written this letter. I wrote them back that I had. They were worried that someone was using my name without my knowledge. I assured them I was the author.
Keep the faith, and don't let the bastards get you down.
Pat Gilmore 6/5/06 Editor's Note: Late this afternoon, we will post a new thought about this subject - go to top of the blog - click header - and see if it's there yet.
Sunday, May 21. 2006
 Lab rescues child from drowning. Not hysterical enviros: Can the world's marine fishery be saved? Sisu tells us about Garlic Mustard - yes, I have that weed all over the place. Fortunately, it is easy to yank out. Will show you my invasive weed soon - much more evil than Garlic Mustard. Another good one from our friend Sisu: Time Magazine admits its "advocacy." Is journalism dead? Going home: Mexico has the world's 9th largest economy, and it is a tropical paradise. Why not go home, asks VDARE "If Cheney were a Dem, he'd be a folk hero to gays and lesbians." That's what Gay Patriot says, and he is right. Republophobia is a disease. Evangelical Christians: numbers at Harvard on the increase. Probably everywhere else, too. It's about time - and Harvard did have its beginnings as a Congregational divinity school, after all. Moslem gang rape growing rapidly in Europe. They like white girls, for this purpose. If they tried it on Moslem girls, they'd be killed by the families the next day. But, with white girls, they know they can get away with it. If you don't wear a burkha, you're a ho, in multicultural Euristan. At Atlas. DaVinci Code Again: Michael Novak quote, from here: I think I have never for two-and-a-half hours felt so surrounded by decadence and hostility toward Christ. Yet I must admit that the film was glitzy with the art of the makers of thrillers. One could never be sure when one scene, then another, then another, then another, would be cut short by a murderous lunge, a shot ricocheting around a closed space, a door slamming, a car screeching. From one shock to another, one's stomach absorbed punch after punch.
Afterwards, I sure felt like a strong double bourbon. And I felt eager to forget as soon as I can the sheer malicious hatred that swirls up from this film.
I am thinking "Do I need this stuff in my head?" Which is how I felt after ten minutes of "Goodfellas." The wrold provides so much ugliness, we always have to wonder, and decide, how much we chose to add to the net ugliness stored in our brains. I guess I tend towards the "truth and beauty" end of the spectrum, but like everyone I am not immune to the siren call of ugliness, evil, and depravity. I decided to take a pass: the rest of the family can go today - they love movies and they love Ron Howard. Image: The family church in Alford, MA
Saturday, May 20. 2006
May 20 - a good day for yard work. Everyone needs a nice wheelbarrow like this one. Read our piece on how wheelbarrows work, here. Fake but accurate? This story turns out to be apocryphal, but it sure was believable: Iran will require that Jews be identifiable by their clothing. Illegal immigrants - good slide show from the border. Becoming a Legal citizen - it's a big deal. NYT Tom Friedman's 6-month time frame. I guess many of us have seen it the same way. FAIR Ned Lamont - Connecticut's own John Murtha. Funny piece on his Kos commercial at RWN. Ned is a great guy, but he's way wrong on this one. Those darn basic Christian tenements. We listen to actors? From Cannes, via My Vast ...: “If we have offended any Christians I would ask them to forgive us, which seems to be one of the main tenements in the New Testament,” actor Paul Bettany, who plays Silas in the film, said with a smile during an interview with CNN’s Brooke Anderson at Cannes Tuesday.
Why doesn't the RC Church demand that Mexico improve conditions for its people? All they do is demand things for illegals, and ignore Mexico. Any reason? Sensible Mom has an opinion. Phin welcomes a permanent underclass of manual laborers. Well...., Round-up is good stuff, safe, and useful. So says Synthstuff. Glad to hear it. The University of New Jersey at Durham. Never knew it was called that. Talking out of school, and the next "Prep"? A new book, based on Horace Mann. Whole piece at NY Sun: As a graduate of the Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, Mr. Trees is no stranger to the world of the wealthy. He also received a degree from Princeton and a doctorate in history from the University of Virginia. The onslaught of tell-all books about the children who reside in the city's wealthiest zip codes and the people who educate them has some schools now talking about asking teachers to sign nondisclosure forms.
Milberg Weiss gets hit, hard. Couldn't happen to nicer people. Cap'n Ed. More on the Big Airplane: From the final edition of Airline News Weekly, an article on the first A380 landing at London Heathrow: “Although modifications are required at airports for handling the A380, Airbus believes that by 2010, 66 airports worldwide will be ready for the aircraft. “At Heathrow, around £450m ($845m) was spent in upgrading existing facilities to accommodate the A380, with £105m ($197m) spent on the new Pier 6 which can handle up to four A380s and 2,200 passengers simultaneously. The current runways and taxiways have also been modified including the construction of new taxiways and upgraded runway lighting.”
Does anyone want to guess how much money the US might want to spend to help Airbus succeed? Boeing projects that long-term airline passenger demand will grow at a compound rate of 4.8% through 2024, and air cargo to grow at a 6.2% rate. Airbus substantially agrees, and concluded that a much larger airplane must be built to serve that growth, and thus the A380, which they hope that 66 airports will each spend the necessary $850 million to support. At a conference Boeing sponsored in New York on May 9, Boeing stated that since 1985, the air travel growth rate has been 5.8% a year, but that the average seats per airplane has grown only 2% over the entire period. Since 1990, the average airplane size has actually decreased. As Boeing says, “Airlines have met air travel growth with higher frequencies and more nonstops.” [linking more city pairs]. For example, Boeing points out that in 2004, US-China air travel linked 17 city pairs with 313 flights per week. Their forecast is that by 2024, 58 city pairs will have nonstop service with 860 flights a week. Even inside China itself, there were 170 city pairs linked in 1990, growing to 605 in 2000 and to 706 in 2005, and during that period the average airplane size dropped from 157 seats in 1990 to 154 seats in 2005. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner series with 242-280 seats and a 8,000 nautical mile range will be able to link any US or EU city with any Chinese city. To get to Atlanta from Wuhan, you will be able to fly nonstop; it will not be necessary to fly to Beijing and be shoveled into an A380 with 554 other passengers and then clear customs and immigration in LA with those same 554 travelers before staggering onto the final leg to Atlanta. This is a multi-billion dollar bet by each manufacturer – which side would you bet on?
Friday, May 19. 2006
See the clip of the new Airbus A380? World's largest plane. How the heck does this thing take off? Norm, on how the Left needs to straighten itself out. Russia tries to deal with declining birth rate. Frankencotton. NYT Science Times Japan will fingerprint all entering foreigners. Remember: Japan permits NO immigration. Period. Senate determines English to be our national language. Aw, man - now I have to learn English? I hate languages.
Thursday, May 18. 2006
Quote from a piece on Britain from Atlas: There has been over the past 20 to 30 years an evisceration of British National identity and values which has created a cultural and moral vaccum being exploited by Radical Islamism which has come to fill that vacuum.
Wednesday, May 17. 2006
A little simple truth-telling from the Newt-man: Nobody who's not involved in terrorism should be at risk. Nobody who's making normal phone calls should be at risk. But the idea that we're going to say to the United States government, for libertarian reasons, "We'd rather lose a city than have you gather data," I think is totally out of touch with the danger of the modern world.
Extended comments on the subject from Gingrich at American Future.
 Tony Snow: I saw a clip of his first day with the press yesterday. Tears welled up in his eyes when asked about his colon cancer for which he was treated last year, and he could not speak. Finally he said "It was the best thing that ever happened to me." After composing himself, he quipped "I guess that was my Ed Muskie moment." Tony is one hell of a fine gent. Gen. Pace's commencement address at The Citadel: Wow. Makes you want to enlist right now. Laura's site - for the audio, scroll down on "Need to know." 2 1/2-hour long Da Vinci Code leaves critics cold: Reuters. They say it drags, and lacks both suspense and romance. London color-blind traffic camera-computers accused of racism. Those computers need a racial sensitivity training program, preferably beginning in nursery school. From Jay Leno (via Laura on the radio last nite): "Who says we can't deport 12 million people?... Mexico did." World's largest archive of Nazi files to be opened to historians. Video. Conspiracy nuts and paranoid schizophrenics love this stuff. The Annual Get-together for the Roswell UFO MYSTERY. Unequal justice at Duke: VDARE points out the similarities with Tom Wolfe's novels in the Duke fiasco, and notes the following Just in the last week, three prominent minority football players have been arrested on felony charges.  | Defensive back Ricky Manning Jr. celebrated his new $21 million contract from the Chicago Bears by getting nabbed for assault with a deadly weapon in a Denny's on a laptop computer-using stranger whose nerdishness seems to have offended him. |
| Utah St. quarterback Jerod Walker was arrested on charges of raping a coed. |
| So was USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. (Playing quarterback for the USC Trojans, this decade's top team, is perhaps the most glamorous position in all of college sports—two of the last four Heisman Trophy winners have been USC quarterbacks, Matt Leinart in 2004 and Carson Palmer in 2002.) |
Yet none of these cases have received a fraction of the attention that the Duke Lacrosse team has garnered—even though football is the most popular sport in America and lacrosse is close to the most unpopular.
Read the whole piece (h/t, LaShawn)
Tuesday, May 16. 2006
 The speech? What speech?
Outsourcing tutoring to India: Naturally, the unions are going bonkers. Too bad - it's a global economy. And a good idea too. WaPo The Comfy Chair: This is a good day to link to the Spanish Inquisition and the Comfy Chair torture.
Am I the last person to find out that you can get XM satellite radio free on AOL?
Monday, May 15. 2006
Everyone on the radio, TV, and on the blogs are concerned - or, in some cases, pleased - by the prospect of Bush falling on his face tonite with his immigration speech. The whole issue is a no-win for him, whatever he does. Like HH, most of us at Maggie's want a fence. And want people to get in line for their legal immigration status. NYC up to its ears in cash: Highest tax receipts ever. Want to bet they find some way to spend it all? NY Sun Joke of the Day: Last night, my wife and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."
She got up, unplugged the TV and threw out my beer.
Bitch...
Sunday, May 14. 2006
 Pimm's #1 is IN. Who knew? It has been around since the Celts, I think. My Life in Stockholm. Plus a recipe. Perfect for a wedding - punch! - in a carved-ice bowl. Cheap, Anglo-Saxon, delicious, and not overly-intoxicating. A sort of Brit Mint Julip.
Dems join suit to quit terrorist surveillance. Good for them. What a genius idea! Osama and pals salute your dhimmitude. A Hornet at 30 feet. Nice photos. We are deploying aircraft carriers in the Gulf. Damn - is anything finer than an aircraft carrier? Tammy. Passenger dies. Tour bus continues on schedule. Hilarity ensues. What's the big deal? A dead person is just a person who quit breathing. People do that all the time, on a daily basis. At a certain point, it just becomes too tiring, and people say "what the heck." Fewer Americans go to church weekly than has been thought. Of course - there are so many more worthwhile things to do, like, ummmm. (h/t, News for Christians) How to endear yourself to Philly fans. Some catch. Some bruises, too. Nude fencing? There's an idea whose time has come. I'd prefer they wear the standard helmet, though, in case they aren't attractive enough in the face. For their eyes, too. Still, this could be a boon to the fencing world. A list of books Uncle Norm likes to read to kids, and grandkids. The complicated politics of illegal immigration. Rick covers it, with reference to Podhoretz's piece. It is a maze. Just do what is right, and boldly cut through the tangle. Antidepressants cause suicide? Great - a new trumped-up hysteria. Trial lawyers - take note. And they will. Guess what? Depression can be a serious problem. If you frighten folks from treatment, you are doing them a serious disservice.
Saturday, May 13. 2006
 It becomes clearer that this sad, feckless, larcenous gal got caught up in something bigger than she could handle, and then it became too late to back down. But it is never too late to tell the truth. She could be facing some serious civil suits, but she has no money, so she is "insulated." Latest news.
By the way, note that she is referred to as a "dancer." Martha Graham was a dancer; Baryshnikov is a dancer. This lady is a stripper: I believe the liberals refer to that as a "sex worker," not a "dancer." Check your manual, AP writers. Yes - there is definitely racism at Duke: black racism against whites. Sexism too: Women against men. That is proven, now, by all of the loud noises emanating from Durham. Also, for a small minority, envious hatred of the athletes with their puny SATs. Who wants to address those "issues"? What is with this assumption that white guys are always guilty, just for "happening to be" white and male? How about a federal "program" to deal with that "crisis"? God knows, for college admission and job application purposes, we would all be black females. I would happily be black - I don't care. Or maybe, to be fully up-to-date and totally cool, an illegal Mexican. No "race or gender" has a monopoly on wrong-doing or stupid-doing or lying. We are all prone to it, which is why we all need to be careful about what we do and say. If I am wrong in my instinct about this, I promise to drink a 6-pack of Ballantine Ale in one hour, without enjoyment. But, by the way, where are our fave race-pimps, Jesse and Al? Running away? Hmmm. Show some courage; come back, fellas! Jump into the fray and get your pretty faces on the news again. Hey! Where did they go? Hit and run? What? Oh...I heard that they are all in their black-tinted window SUVs, heading out of North Carolina, leaving smokin' tire marks in the parking lot. Must be nice to have professional drivers, just in case you'd like to have a few roadies on the way home, with an "intern" or two in the back seat. Image: Note to the Associated Press - That is a "dancer": Suzanne Farrell in Serenade. "My Stradivarius", as Balanchine referred to her. Your reporters need to get out of the Bada Bing Club and see the world.
Friday, May 12. 2006
I am shocked - shocked! The sudden phony shock and alar m about NSA phone data-mining is a nice bit of acting, but congress has known about it for years, and the whole story was reported earlier by the NYT, as seen here. Is it constitutional to data-mine phone records in search of suspicious international calling patterns? I don't know, but the laws are on the books - Calif Conservative lists them. I can easily see its potential usefulness: it's like taking a CAT scan of the nation, to find a tumor. There really is no other way to try to do it, and our phone records are not secret or confidential - but their content is, so wiretapping is another matter. However, effectiveness is no justification for unconstitutional acts: only in love and war can the ends possibly justify the means. (It's a shame that the Supreme Court forgot that principle over the past 30 years.) So I suspect that how people feel about all this depends on whether they view us as being in a war or not - a war against Jihad, but an unconventional war with a pre-industrial people, which requires that Jihad plant organizations within the US. Is this crime, or war? You tell me. It might be a matter of semantics, but to me, it's a kind of war. If anyone wants the NSA to stop doing this, they should speak up and say so. I trust the NSA not to mis-use their data, but I still do not like the idea. My plan: let no-one into the US unless properly vetted and checked, and find and kill the terrorists, and then quit this operation.
The "white guy" won! Booker won in Newark, despite being a lighter-skinned black than his opponent. Talk about playing the race card. The good news? Democrat Booker is pro school choice. Moonbattery Enviros are anti-illegal immigration, but they won't admit it because they do not want to alienate their liberal donor base. CSM Half of US kids under 5 are minorities. Related chart below from the CSM story above: 
Thursday, May 11. 2006
Call the Chianti Squad: Haha. It must smell like my kitchen. Blair Won't you be my neighbor? (h/t, Allah) 
The whole mess summarized by  Michelle.
Sowell takes a look at the politics of illegal immigration. Honestly, I have no idea where either party really stands on this. Buy American? A Ford Mustang is 65% American, and a Toyoto Sienna is 90% American. Cafe Hayek All too true-About sex, from Ace: Hold the phone, you're saying heterosexual women are attracted to men? In my personal experience, I have not found that to be the case. What did Ahmadinejab's letter mean? Was it a heart-felt reaching out, or war talk? Dino says that there is no doubt - it was a last chance to convert to Islam. I'd tend to agree with that. Melanie Phillips on the EU: It is astounding that Europe is not merely systematically unravelling the moral settlement at the heart of western civilisation but is using such coercion to do so, riding roughshod over the democratic rights of individual countries to pass laws in accordance with their own religious and moral beliefs and values. It is a clear illustration of the totalitarian impulse at the heart of not just the EU project but the ‘progressive’ universalism which the EU project embodies: the belief that individual nations have no right to express their known particular values through their own laws, because laws and values rooted in the particular are by nature exclusive and discriminatory; that the only legitimate laws and values must be universal and supranational; and that because these are universal, they are by definition unchallengeable and therefore any person or state who defies them must be guilty of prejudice and punished accordingly. This is cultural totalitarianism: a supranational religion of nihilism that is now to be ruthlessly enforced by the Savonarolas of secularism.
Brit High Court requires armed hijackers be given refugee status. Unbelievable. I never owned a slave (altho I could use a few), nor did my ancestors, at least in the past 400 years. I am guilt-free, and if this is what the Dems offer, then I am agin it. The Caliphate is becoming a serious goal of Islam. How much denial can the West tolerate? Quite a lot, I guess. CSM What women can see in men's faces. Live Science Via Instapundit, on Europe: LES JONES: "The consequence of Europeans not having children is that their elaborate social welfare system and free healthcare are liable to collapse in a generation or two as a consequence of their birth rate being below replacement level. They obviously know where babies come from, but it's less clear they know where adults come from."
Wednesday, May 10. 2006
At Maggie's Farm, we link things we would like to discuss, had we the time to do so. But what with milkin' the cows, feedin' the chickens, chasin' the bunnies out of the lettuce, poachin' deer, paintin' the shed, bakin' bread, teachin' the goats to speak English, practicin' juggling, shootin' rats at the dump, trainin' the dogs for fall, replacin' the geronificator on the old Ford, arguin' with the neighbor, beatin' the dog, greasin' the snake, and plowin' and plantin', we jes' cannot do it all. Country life. Leatherback sea turtles stage a comeback. That is happy news. All credit to Bush, of course. 
Date Rape. The very notion of date rape seems to be an invitation to injustice - although I am sure it occurs. Here's one guy who really got screwed, at RCP. The un-sayable dirty secret is that gals can get just as out of hand, and excited, as guys. The radical feminists deny that - probably because they don't: they are as sex-less as they are humor-less. What's Wrong with Harvard? Plenty, and the college alums should get on the job and fix the mess. A new book. Newark and School vouchers. Slowly but surely, it's an idea that is coming. The insane rage of the Left. It will not help their case, but it energizes their base. Am. Thinker
The safest cars. Talent vs. Hard Work: A new book proclaims hard work to be the winner. Piece at Marginal Rev - read the comments, too/ Ayaan at Harvard. LGF. "What are they learning here?", she asked someone. Do you doubt the tilt of the LA Times? Patterico Barry Bonds is no Babe Ruth. Here are the numbers. A simple solution to illegal immigration. PoliPundit. Sensible, too. From Country to Heavy Metal: The Telecaster. Driscoll A Google Manual: Part-time Pundit. Google can do lots more for us than most of us realize. More on Jane Jacobs. It's great to see the outpouring of essays about her. This from View from 1776: Jane Jacobs and Adam Smith Land of Oz. California judge proclaims a legal right to a dlploma. I Are Educated, at RTLC
Tuesday, May 9. 2006
This is the Second Annual Riesling Week. This reminds me - I need to drink more Riesling. Behave yourself, and leave your arrogance at home. Travel tips for Americans. I might add - leave your expectations of efficiency, politeness, and energy at home, too. Bush's best day in office - the day he caught a 7 1/2 lb. bass As the waters warm, it's kite-tubing season. Video. Polish Joke of the Day: A Polish immigrant goes to the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles in Milwaukee to apply for a driver's license and is told he has to take an eye
test. The examiner shows him a card with the letters:
C Z J W I X N O S T A C Z
"Can you read this?" the examiner asks.
"Read it?" the Polish guy replies, "I know the guy."
A way with words: Who came up with these phrases? “Let there be light,” “Eat, drink, and be merry,” “The powers that be,” “A prophet has no honor in his own country,” “Ye of little faith,” “Fight the good fight,” “Am I my brother’s keeper,” “The spirit is willing,” “The salt of the earth,” “A law unto themselves,” “Filthy lucre,” “A man after his own heart,” “Signs of the times.”
It was William Tyndale. Read about him at Auster's. Fag weekends? That's what the Brits are coming to. First they came for the cigarettes, then they came for the ice-cream..."Smoked Haggis" at Tangled Web. How can proud Celts and Saxons permit themselves to be ruled by nags and cranks?
And it is possibly the best-assimilated illegal alien in the entire country, a white, Anglophile American expatriate speaking perfect British English and living as a faux-English Lord, and who was guilty only of possessing a false passport. Meanwhile, immigrant rapists, terrorists, thieves, murderers and violent offenders of all stripes walk out of British jails and back onto the streets of London, secure from the threat of deportation and free to repeat offend (or just live off public benefits if they prefer). Such is the sad state of affairs in 21st century Britain, where the government hastens to limit personal freedoms while failing to uphold its basic duty to protect the lives of its law-abiding citizens.
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