Monday, April 10. 2006
In reply to our email, asking Borders to confirm that their cartoon decision was reported accurately, we received the following profession of dhimmitude, dated 4/9: Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your expression of concern about our decision not to carry the issue of Free Inquiry magazine featuring cartoons depicting Muhammad. Borders is committed to our customers' right to choose what to read and what to buy and to the First Amendment right of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. In this particular case, we decided not to stock this issue in our stores because we place a priority on the safety and security of our customers and our employees. We believe that carrying this issue presented a challenge to that priority.
We value your thoughts and sincerely appreciate that you invested your time to tell us how you feel about the issue. I can assure you that our management team gave careful deliberation to this decision and considered all sides of the issue before reaching this conclusion.
I hope that this information is helpful. If you should have any other questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Chatica
Borders Customer Care
http://www.bordersstores.com
 It's vacation time again, in France. Watch the protests in France fizzle. What a country. The protesters will be at the beach in Spain with their parents! Vive la revolution des enfants.
Hey Sy Hirsch. We consider all options. That means consider. Can you consider anything other than reflexive anti-Americanism? S,C and A has had it with the "colonialism" theme. Me, too. Those ex-colonial countries are lucky. They were given a chance to come out of the stone age, but many of them do not appreciate the opportunity, and wish to return. A French econ professor tried the real world for a few weeks - and was converted. Of course. She was surprised to find out that people work fairly hard, with enthusiasm, and enjoy working. Why is the Left anti-work? Work is good. Work is fun. Work is interesting. Work is ADULT. Will the MSM ever admit that Saddam was supporting Al Quaida? No. It doesn't fit their theme. Don't bother me with facts. Lib. Leanings The economists at Marginal Rev. look at the Mass. Health plan. They sort-of like it. Uncle Norm does the 101 best screenplays. Reducing pollution is worsening global warming. Oh, man. Can we forget this yet? Whatever the cause, nothing effective will be done. Let's get over the hysteria. Ten years ago, the hysteria was the next ice age. Ed Rendell is a good ol' boy, but he has a problem with Lynn Swann. Swann will win. French "tribalism" is interfering with the Communism they need. Sheesh. What dopes. Hopeless. For Cape Codders and Cape Cod lovers: Cape Cod Today. Roots was a big deal. Fake, but accurate? Classical values takes a retrospective look at the TV series. Will is upset about Junk Science. So are we.
Saturday, April 8. 2006
The Mafia campaigns against Berlusconi. Sadly, in Italy that isn't a problem - it helps. In the US, we still got some towns like that, ay, Ton'? Hamas determined to eliminate Rotary Clubs. They are really getting serious, now. You would think killing all of the Jews would be enough for them. And now even the EU blows them off. Who are the really cool radicals of today? The Libertarians. Ed Driscoll. It is true. The Left is old, dusty, obsolete, rejected, and done. Trial lawyers and Vioxx and Merck: The doctors want Vioxx. Great drug. But all durgs have side effects. Duh. And guess what? If 500,000 people take Vioxx for arthritis, some of them will have heart attacks. They are mostly older folks, so some will get cancer too. This legal system remains corrupt as hell, while lawyers get rich with scams. Is that clear? Hunting and illegal immigration. The swarms of illegals are interfering with hunting in Arizona. That is not good. Linkzona. The Dartmouth Review got Mark Steyn. Wow. How can I attend? How can we expel San Francisco from the union? Wish they would declare war, like the Confederacy. We could just say "No, thanks. Keep it." Power, idolatry, Islam, etc. From One Cosmos: The worship of power is the source of all idolatry. Thus, let's not pretend there haven't been Christian idolaters. It's just that the worship of power is a human flaw, not something intrinsic to Christianity. Jesus emphasized this point time and again: "the meek shall inherit the earth," "blessed are the poor in spirit," "blessed are you when they revile and persecute you," etc.
Friday, April 7. 2006
A month or so ago we posted a snarky and unkind critique of a post by Mixing Memory, a blog concerning cognitive psychology which we read weekly because of our interest in the subject. Specifically, we erroneously claimed that his blog, or at least his post, ignored the religious and/or spiritual, and we also were ill-mannered in doubting the hard-science rigor of the post. I hope he will accept our apology. Here are some of his posts on religion. And here is his latest: How Motivated Cognition can Save your Marriage.
From an interview with Benedict: Asked by one student how he realized his own priestly vocation, the 78-year-old pontiff said that when he was young in Germany it was more "normal" to accept faith and vocations than it is today. "There was the Nazi regime," Benedict said. "We were told very loudly that in the new Germany 'there will not be anymore priests, there will be no more consecrated life, we don't need this anymore, find another profession."'
Looking for a "How-To" book on becoming a Manly Man - a review of a few books on the subject in the CSM: "A Guy's Guide to Being a Man's Man," is as full of practical tips as Mansfield's is devoid of them. He reminds men exactly how to behave with honor, respect, and gentlemanliness. That includes dating ("don't look too eager"), dressing ("no ties with animals, Looney Tune characters, or Spongebob."), dining ("order New York strip steak for three"), and listening to "man's man" music ("Sinatra was the ultimate"). His formula for men in 2006 is to get a manicure (but no pedicure), money clip (no Velcro wallets), and a DVD of "Saving Private Ryan."
Why aid doesn't work in Africa. It's a well-known fact, and even our State Dept gets it. Africa needs investment by bold entrepreneurs from all over the world. Samizdata. Rick Moran gets on a roll. One quote: There are even efforts in blue states to stop “trading” with people and companies who live in ordinary America, as if people who live, work, play, go to church on Sunday, take off their hat when the flag goes by, and get choked up when they hear the national anthem live in a different country than the urban sophisticates who dominate the culture and to a large extent, the national conversation. We are told what is proper to believe, what we should watch on television, what cartoons are blasphemous, and which European countries are better than we are. We are instructed in what is “good” and even what is funny and what is not. And when red state America rebels against this cultural tyranny by voting the way they think rather than the way they are told to, they are belittled as morons, mouth breathers, hicks, hillbillies, and dolts. And liberals wonder why they can’t win an election for dog catcher in most areas of the country? In truth, as we head into the silly season in politics, Democrats are going to have to find a way to put a lid on this attitude of loathing toward ordinary voters lest they be discovered for the insufferable elitist louts they truly are.
Thanks for that, Rick, from your loutish hillbilly friends at Maggie's Farm. Whole thing here.
The cost of liquids in my neighborhood: Whole milk: 4.75/gallon
Poland Spring bottled water: 2.79/gallon
Regular Shell gas: 2.91/gallon
Ballantine Ale: 7.67/gallon Another new blog to monitor the accuracy of a newspaper. In this case, The Baltimore Sun. The Sun Lies Milford, NH bans the Easter Bunny. Now it's the Government Bunny, I guess, that delivers the eggs for the Annual Egg Hunt. Art bloopers in the DaVinci Code. Middlebrow. Hard Life #1: Child Sorcery and the street children of the Congo. Remarkable photos. Hard Life #2: on-line interviews with Ethiopian villagers struck with drought and famine. Krauthammer on illegal immigration: Amnesty will only encourage more flow over the border. Build a wall. The wife-buying market in India.
Thursday, April 6. 2006
Mel Brooks wants your money. I say, give it to him - he deserves it. A look at the Mel Brooks DVD collection, at The Shelf. "What hump?" Hahaha. Yale at Horsefeathers "looks into" Mansfield's Manliness, and finds it wanting. That "Yale" can write - wonder what we'd have to pay him to get him to write for us? Harry Reid wants illegal immigrant felons to become citizens (Powerline)...but look at what he said ten years ago - amazing the way folks "grow in office"- from piece in Instap.: "We are a country founded upon fairness and justice," Reid said. "An individual in real threat of torture or long-term incarceration because of his or her political beliefs can still seek asylum. But this bill closes the door to those who want to abuse America's inherent generosity and legal system." Reid's bill also cracks down on illegal immigration. The 1990 census reported 3.3 million illegal aliens in America. Recent estimates indicate about 2.5 million immigrants illegally entered the United States last year.
Feelin' too good today? Real Yankees should always be a bit cranky about something. Try this, at Protein - the latest schemes of the trial lawyers and obesity. I always find it deeply moving to see how much those guys really care about people.
The USS New York. 
The 6th USS New York is being built (LPD-21,
an amphibious assault ship) with steel from the Trade Center. (LPD is "landing platform dock). Image is the USS San Antonio (LPD-17) Now for the bad news: Super-Cavitation Torpedoes. 250 mph and 27-feet long, these Russian-designed nasties could change naval warfare. And Iran has some. Info at American Spectator. Update: (Thanks, reader) This torpedo's bark may be worse than its bite. Strategy Pages.
Who is Katie Couric? How would anyone know if they go to work in the mornings? I have never seen her. And who, unless they are over age 90 and in nursing homes, watches TV in the morning? People who can think of nothing better to do? I guess maybe Moms with a bunch of rug-rats crawling around the kitchen. To win elections, Dems need to come out of the closet and proclaim socialism. So says Aronson in The Nation. Hey - it's a winning idea. Go for it. Works great in France. Linda Chavez on illegal immigration: Hefty fines and rapid naturalization. How birds change their tune. Very similar to speech. Stupidity Contest in Colorado. Who wins - the school principle who banned camo jeans because they show support for our troops, or this parent (at Gateway): Daniel Wenger, whose stepdaughter attends Shaw Heights, wants Shepherd out, saying "kids have the constitutional right to wear whatever they want to school" ? Missing link between fish and amphibians found. Science Times. Turns out that it's humans! What is up with Muzak these days? No more elevator music - it's the New Muzak. The New Yorker: the Music that makes you buy. NYC welfare rolls are finally down to where they were pre-War on Poverty. We will never undo all the mess Lyndon Johnson created for us.
Wednesday, April 5. 2006
A Massachusetts reader offers this: What are you guys smoking over there? Here I am in Massachusetts, without health insurance, and with a family of four, and all that has happened is on top of having to pay full freight for my family's doctor bills, I get fined $1000.00 for the privelege.
I don't want your stinking welfare greenstamp department of motor vehicle government cheese copay paperwork foodstamp prepaid doctor tax charity ward let a millionflowers bloom supervision of my family's medical situation, thank you very much.
Catastrophic medical insurance is currently illegal in Massachusetts. All they had to do is allow me to purchase what I could get if I lived 50 miles west, which is REAL LIVE INSURANCE, that is, they would pay if something unexpected, substantial, and expensive happened. And it would cost me a couple hundred bucks a month. But no, I have to pay full freight for every lamebrain thing that every knucklehead who has a job with benefits wants tax free, like gym memberships and aromatherapy and acupuncture and reiki massage and "mental health," ie, I'm a miserable failure as a human being and I want to talk to another miserable failure that went to community college for psychology about it, at great expense. Oh, yes, let's not forget all middle age men that need free blue pills because what a mean spirited thing it would be middle age men didn't wander the earth with extra free hardons.
And so "insurance" becomes paying in advance for others to get what they don't need or deserve, to the point where "Insurance" costs 1200 a month and if something catastrophic did happen, would bankrupt me anyway, because instead of paying $50 for an office visit for an imaginary ailment, but having a real catastrophe paid for, the powers that be would prefer paying $5 dollars copay for an office visit to their yogurt enema wellness healer, but have to chip in 20% for cancer therapy, which would bankrupt anybody that has to worry about the cost of health insurance in the first place.
I am totally sympathetic to what you are saying. I wrongly assumed it was catastrophic health insurance, which used to be called "Major Medical", which is the only kind of medical insurance that makes sense to me. Perhaps we are too gentle with the People's Commonwealth. I am not in favor of insurance for yogurt enemas or yoghurt massages either. What are we smoking? Upmann Magnums. (We call it mid-day "relaxation-inhalation" therapy, paid for by our insurance, of course.)
 The Slippery Slope of speech laws, in Europe. Not to worry - the blogs will ignore every PC "rule" that exists. Had not known that the great Bernard Lewis had gotten caught up in this. Augean Stables.
I somehow missed this: Incompetent President slammed by former Navy Chief. Quoted in full from Instapundit: ARNOLD KLING ON fear of confrontation: "Unfortunately, large segments of American society no longer have the ability to confront real evil. People lack the confidence and moral clarity to stand up to intimidation. . . . One can view Islamic militants as armed versions of unruly teenagers. We should not feel guilty toward them. We should demand reasonable and decent behavior from them, rather than excuse their tantrums or their crimes." That would require thinking of ourselves as adults, which is unacceptable to many.
The Communist, anti-Semitic charmers of International A.N.S.W.E.R. are back! Let's all welcome their latest efforts: supporting illegal immigration. They give us fine blog fodder. The best cheap date I have ever heard of. Thanks, Kim. A Tale of Two Immigrants. PoliPundit looks at two immigrants to the US. Good News for UK Burglars: Police requested to send them home with a warning. They will call it the "Your home is not your castle" memo. The "Corporate Social Responsibility" "movement" is nuts, and the sort of thing only academics, who have never functioned in the real world, would dream up. The Prof gently explains.
Money for nothin' and the chicks for free. No Pasaran notes the piece in the Guardian in which the President of the Sorbonne terms students "ignorant and stupid." "Today's youth don't have dreams, they have illusions." Read it. He could have said "delusions of eternal childhood".
The DaVinci Code. Those with little knowledge of Christianity, and those of conspiratorial tendencies, have been hoodwinked by imagining that Brown's fictional novel has a basis in fact, and they will be hoodwinked again by Ron Howard's new movie. Is this a teaching opportunity? (h/t, News for Christians) Or is it plain old casual entertainment? Don't ask me.
Tuesday, April 4. 2006
 We are working on fixing it. Somehow, we have been seeing more and more searches for "farm porn sex" coming through.
Somehow something somewhere listed us as a farm porn site. We are not. We do not even look at farm porn sites. Admittedly, we once considered becoming a farm porn site to stiffen up our readership numbers, but decided against it for no good reason at all. Still, ya gotta admit that is one sexy-looking 1950 Farmall Model C - in the nude.
On Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 AM, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.
France: ongoing strikes, and the CPE seems to be dead Zarquawi has been impeached. Tom Bowler takes on the WaPo's campaign against the war, and concludes: ...is it worth the fight? The answer yes, we have no choice but to fight. We will fight the jihadists at a time of their choosing or at a time of ours, but we will fight them. Unfortunately, the Post isn't thinking about them. The Post's fight is with the Bush Administration.
Powerline believes Karsch will be our next Bernard Lewis. High praise. Islam's Imperial Dreams.
 We will never run out of oil. Cafe Hayek, on Venezuela's reserves.
Winchester. New Haven. A very sad day for CT, the home of fine military and personal firearms since the early 1700s. Everybody's talkin' bout it. Will Justice Kennedy become the next O'Connor? "Outside the realm of civil discourse." In my opinion, that is a phrase which applies to manners, but should not apply to rules. Nor do I think those Danish cartoons were outside it - they seemed rather harmless to me. Anyway, Volokh has a couple of fine pieces about NYU and the cartoon spat, all occurring two weeks after the Pres. of NYU gave a stirring speech about academic freedom. Maggie's Farm in the Vanguard Again. We may have been the first to suggest boycotting Borders to try to bring them to reason, but now there is a movement. Bookstores aren't supposed to behave like that. They can sell whatever they want to sell, but they should not offer voluntary dhimmitude in the USA. Captain Marvel 1955 image stolen from Chris's Invincible Super Blog
Monday, April 3. 2006
If St. Patrick could control the snakes, and if the Isle of Skye can control its rats, why can't the USA control illegal immigration? Yale and the Taliban - the inside story from an ex-admissions officer. Read it. Merlot fights back, at The Prof. It's about time. It was turning into a one-dimensional, watery thing.
Excellent summary of a Colin Powell speech by Ankle Biting Obama goes to CT to support Joe Lieberman, who is being challenged by a very fine guy, Ned Lamont, who (wrongly) opposes the war and has no chance of unseating Lieberman. Amazing juggling finale. You have to see this, with the Beatles music. It will make your Monday morning a delight. I saw it at NE Repub first. Baseball Glovology. And who was AG Spaulding? Embarassed to say that I did not know. How the Administration lost control of the illegal immigration debate. Very good piece in Reason Hamas' "I have a dream" speech. In short, Kill the Jews. These folks are not worthy of our attention, but they get it, by killing. Over time, the manipulative claim of victimhood will lose its luster as a pretext for murder and mayhem. The Newt Man is Back! Gingrich critiques the Repubs harshly, and rightfully. Newt-Man is the Repub's Moses: they need to follow him. The sustainable seafood movement picks up steam, with Walmart on board. CSM Observant. When Mrs. Clinton says "You know," she is lying. It is one of those revealing verbal tics. Sensible Mom PS: Read our April Fool's Day posts, if you haven't yet. We are proud of them.
Saturday, April 1. 2006
The Prof considers billable hours and pay for associates at law firms. Do they work like slaves? Yes, but so do associates in investment banking, and interns and residents in medical training. It's an apprenticeship - you pay your dues. Want things easy? Work for the govt., where there is no profit motive. Two good pieces by Rick Moran. First, a comment on how Jill Carroll was mistreated, (especially by bloggers!). And, right below that, a very discouraging piece about Baghdad, which further confirms my opinion that we are not dealing with civilized folks. I think most Iraquis want peace and prosperity, but the stone-age warlords just will not quit. Primitive morons. "I'm not gay, but thanks for asking." Joe at Evangelical Outpost. Like Joe, guys always wonder "What did I do to make that guy think I was gay...or am I just so damn good lookin', despite my beer gut?...or am I unknowingly sending out gay signals?" It's not so easy to be a guy. Hey, gay fellows: stop putting us straight guys in embarassing positions. Have a little tact. We might like ya, but that does not mean we want a date! Operation Steel Gazelle: Iowahawk considers the Dems' security plans. Colorado school district bans American flag. "First they came for my Confederate flag, then they came for my American flag..." The right to arm bears bear arms: George Mason at Volokh. The death of socialism, in France, at Tangled Web. We hope our loyal readers fully appreciated our April Fool's Day efforts. We wasted hours on it. Read 'em below, if you have not already done so.
Thursday, March 30. 2006
Sick Building Syndrome exists only in the minds of trial lawyers. Doctors say the "mold" thing is a joke, too, because mold is everywhere. Just look in my fridge. h/t, Lucianne. Having it both ways: Dems insisted that the felony concept be entered into the illegal immigration bill, then loudly complained about it. Pretty slick. Pretty slimy. Women: About cooking for hubbie, and plastic surgery. Ten Napel Is there a War on Christians in the US? RTLC has a piece on Bush's terrible salesmanship, which he equates with poor leadership. I agree with most of what he says, except I am not sure that those two can be so easily equated. You always wondered what went on inside the Teacher's Lounge, didn't you? The secrets, revealed. Springtime for Taliban in Afghanistan. And oh, I notice they have a new spokesman. When will we see him at Princeton? Steyn on the decline of national sovereignty, via Driscoll What is truth? Powerline on the reporting on the legality of the NSA taps. John follows up by reviewing the transcript - and the NYT twisted its reporting - once again. They just cannot help it. The courage that makes America great: Waldenbooks and Borders refuse to carry issue of magazine with Prophet cartoons. A good idea from SDA: ...perhaps the time has come to send sports reporters to war zones. It seems to be one of the last refuges of journalism in which a) reporters have basic knowledge of the subject matter they're assigned to, and b) they're expected to report the details and outcome of the race, even if a contestant is injured or dies during competition.
Echoes of our piece on When Illegal is not Illegal: When Illegal is Right, What is Wrong? From good ol' Orson Card, in a fine review of Three Books that Name Names, some interesting details about the women's vote: If you don't include the African-American vote, which goes overwhelmingly for the Democrat almost every time, regardless of gender, we get a very different picture. "While women have been fickle voters, backing Reagan twice and George H.W. Bush in 1988 (but not 1992)," white males have opposed the Democratic candidate by a landslide in every presidential election since 1976. "Al Gore received only 36 percent of the white male vote in 2000, John Kerry only 37 percent in 2004.... GOP congressional and gubernatorial candidates also typically win the white male vote by 20-point margins" (p.149). Well, duh. When the Democratic Party keeps screaming that white men are wrong on everything and should be shut out and excluded in order for things to be more "fair," why exactly should white males vote for Democrats? The real surprise is that John Kerry may have "carried the overall women's vote by 3 points," but he lost white women voters by 11 points.
Wednesday, March 29. 2006
San Francisco: Ace contrasts SF's desire to remove the Christians, with a local political bacchanalia. Maybe we should just give California to the Mexicans. The B-sub-s switches from matter to anti-matter 17 trillion times per second. I feel that way sometimes. Physics News at YARGB LaShawn thanks God for her sobriety. And the meaning of prayer, by SC&A. Excellent discussion by Auster on how classical liberalism led to the modern mega-state.
Your tax dollars at work. Homeland Security buys 80 security cameras for tiny Alaskan fishing village. Osama - take note. Who organized the illegal immigration marches? The Spanish radio stations. "Immigration backlash"? Saunders says no, at RCP.
 This is said better, about the sad plight of the French, than I could say it, from No Parason:
Socialism teaches its citizens that they have a plethora of rights and few corresponding obligations -- except to be taxed. And that is why the citizens of less socialist -- and more religious -- America give more charity per capita and per income than do citizens of socialist countries. That is why Americans volunteer time for the needy so much more than citizens of socialist countries do. That is why citizens of conservative states in America give more charity than citizens of liberal states do. The more Left one identifies oneself on the political spectrum, the more that person is likely to believe that the state, not fellow citizens, should take care of the poor and the needy. Under socialism, one is not only liberated from having to take care of oneself; one is also liberated from having to take care of others. The state will take care of me and of everybody else.
Image of a typical French person from party theme site here.
Tuesday, March 28. 2006
"Get back to work, you lazy bastards."
MVRWC on the French. Videos and photos from the infantile French students at No Parasan. Now they are using water cannon...apres moi, la deluge! Stirrings of wisdom in the Yale Daily, quoted by Ace: Outrage over religious fascism ought to be the province of American liberals. But in Hashemi's case it has been almost entirely trumpeted by Fox News, the Wall Street Journal editorial page and right-wing bloggers. A friend of mine recently remarked that part of his and his peers' nonchalance (and in some cases, support for) Hashemi has to do with the fact that the right has seized upon the issue. Our politics have become so polarized that many are willing to take positions based on the inverse of their opponents'. This abandonment of classical liberal values at the expense of political gamesmanship has consequences that reach far beyond Yale; it hurts our national discourse.
More on Aztlan - with the map! Moonbattery.
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