Sunday, January 14. 2007
Editor's Note: This post captures a chunk of the essential spirit of Maggie's Farm. Thanks, Barrister. Ya done good, ol' buddy, with Scotch or without. Glad to know that horse did not kill ya yet. We need ye as the Pilgrims needed Miles Standish.  I believe that the Dems want the USA to be Denmark.
A Dane explains why it's a bad idea. TCS. My guess is that it's a very good deal for the lazy, the unmotivated, the dysfunctional, the dependent, the feckless, the spiritless, the addicted, and the sociopathic exploiters of the system. I feel badly for all of such folks, except the latter. But how is it for strong or energetic adventurous men and women who want to do things and make things and grow and develop their skills and make money and create their own life free from government constraint and intrusiveness - and taxation? And who are willing to take the blows when they fail, as fail they must, sometimes? And for those who want to have the spare cash to support charities and causes you want - and not just those the government wants? The reason Denmark is not my ideal is that men can never be Men, and women never Women - because the State remains their parent throughout life, while sucking out their lifeblood - just never enough to kill them. Permanent adolescence - or serfdom, as Hayek would term it. Might just as well be laboratory mice with great sex and free food. All needs met, except for the ones that matter most, and which differentiate us from animals. I do like the Danes, but they can keep their risk-free, opportunity-free Mommy state. It's like life in a government mall: safe, sterile, spiritless, and never quite grown-up. Regressive, as the shrinks would say. Europe has a feudal history. They have an ancient template for a kind of relationship between the individual and the State. Authority does best, and knows best. When they screw you - hey, that's life. Each year, you thank them for your bowl of porridge. If you're unhappy, you go on strike, like a passive-aggressive teen-ager. But don't expect anything of yourself, like to try something different. It is bullsh-t. Those "authorities" are just sucking off your own teats, like piglets in a pig sty. What do they produce? What wealth do they create? What products? What services, other than those moved from one person to another? Excepting military defence. Because of love of power and self-love, government always becomes an unfaithful servant. Darn that ol' sinful human nature. Uppity souls - they forget to stay in the servant's quarters where they belong. They forget their place. Think they are important - and worse, think they are smart. But what can they really do? (Think about it it, If you took away Ted Kennedy's or Joe Biden's or John Dean's trust fund, or Nacy Pelosi's or Jon Cary's husband, or Tony Blair's pension, how would they support themselves? They would starve.) The average citizen knows far more about life in any country than their insulated leaders. I am certain of that, and even more so in Europe and in the EU, where government is even more of a "profession" - as is prostitution - than it is in the US. America does not have that. We were founded on the principle of keeping the State off our backs. We took a lot of risks, and died willingly for that novel notion that placed the individual human spirit at the top of the pyramid. Correction - the individual human spirit as fed, inspired, and led by the spirit of God. Theirs jes' ain't the red-blooded, well-armed, God fearin', spirited American Way that built this country that the whole world wants to come to. Sure, they want the money - but the legal immigrants mainly want freedom and risk: opportunity, not freebies. And, besides, whatever Robert Reich wants - I don't want it. Give me liberty, etc. I am near fed-up with the EuroWeenies being held up as role models. I prefer John Wayne and Gregory Peck to Mr. Reich. Well, duh. We native Yankees refuse to be happy mice: that is not the bold spirit our ancestors wanted for us. Free men, free women, on our mentally-disordered psychotic horses, with guns, in a free land, on a grey January afternoon in New England. That is real America, or at least a big piece of it. But this battle wearies me. No snow on the ground - I have been to church and have had a fine glass of Scotch whiskey with some cheese for lunch, and am ready to go out for an afternoon (horseback) ride now with the lovely Mrs., to enjoy our glorious free land. With my 20 ga. in the scabbard, in case we happen on a nice grouse cover. One of these days, this wacky horse will kill me. He is fast, but he never watches where he is going. Great fun. Duck your head for low branches when he feels like a gallop, because the SOB only listens when he feels like it. Gotta love his ornery nature. He would not be a good Danish citizen. He lacks mouse genes. And I do not mean to equate the bold Viking Danes with mice.
Tunagate! Bluecrab sums it up. But does Tunagate have legs? Do tuna have legs? Given the orientation of the MSM, probably about as many legs as the Sandy Burglar "non-story." Still, any Yankee has to admire a Cape Cod Bluefin Tuna. It is almost sad that a mere man has the power to kill one of these glorious creatures with just a stick, a string, and a boat. Don't sell them to the Japanese. Grill up that fatty belly meat which is the only thing tastier than a Kansas City steak, and bring the rest to your local fish shop. Americans deserve this good stuff. 
Friday, January 12. 2007
Christian Fascist Militias (CFMs) from Portland, Maine to San Francisco have been wanting to know what sort of modest, but cute uniforms our super-super secret Lady's Auxiliary wears when on practice maneuvers. See Continuation page for the warm-weather super-secret uniforms of the Ladys' Auxiliary, The Crusader Legion, Massachusetts Division, Unit 2703 of Pittsfield, MA (alas, not work-safe in most work settings nowadays). And don't tell - we have more than enough members already, eagerly awaiting the right time to take over and turn the USA into a totalitarian theocracy. Bush will tell us when to make our move: We await Dear Leader's signal. Our first target will be Rudy's Pizzeria and Lounge, for a few shots 'n beers with The Auxiliary.
Continue reading "Christian Fascist Militia Lady's Auxiliary Uniforms"
I like Rick Moran's take on the embassy raid. Indeed, how can they complain?
Best explanation I've seen of the Shia-Sunni history and conflict. Strategy Page (h/t, Instap.)
Wednesday, January 10. 2007
 The Religio-Fascists are coming! The Religio-Fascists are coming!
Dunn at American Thinker considers ex-NYT reporter Hedge's new book. Last Sunday, The New York Times featured a review of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, in which author Chris Hedges makes the argument that millions of Americans are about to fall on their fellow citizens and punish them in the name of a righteous Lord. This is the latest of a series of such volumes - also mentioned is Michelle Goldberg's Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. We could add as well the recent "militant atheist" volumes by Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, which are intended to serve the same readership for the same purpose. While reviewer Rick Perlstein doesn't particularly approve of the book in question, he does buy into the thesis. "Of course there are Christian fascists in America", he insists, followed by several anecdotes that demonstrate no such thing. "...they want dominion - for the Lord to make an America where other values are impossible to hold", he concludes.
And that, in a nutshell, is the latest left-wing horror story. The fascists are coming. They're waving crucifixes this time.
The book sounds either paranoid, or purely manipulative and political. Almost sounds like a "Scare the Jews" book. The Am Thinker piece here. Classical Values takes a look at the same subject. What these fear-mongers do not choose to understand is that Christians want dominion over nothing and nobody. Of course they prefer to live in a culture where Christian morality and Christian worship is valued - they would be foolish not to want that. But the dominion the Lord offers is a dominion of the Spirit, not a worldly one. It's called "The Kingdom of God." Maybe they just don't get it?
Tuesday, January 9. 2007
The enemy stands and fights. It's about time. Confed. Yank. Send in the Warthogs and maybe nail Al Sadr's pelt to the barn wall. I suggested to Confed. Yank that possibly the bad guys have their Beanie Baby collection hidden in that neighborhood.
 Brussels - The European Commission on Tuesday criticised the reported United States airstrike against a suspected al-Qaeda cell in southern Somalia, calling it counterproductive to peace efforts for the war-torn African country.
Is that predictable? I call it highly constructive to peace. Ya gotta love that nasty airplane - my second favorite after the A-10. It sounds like the bad guys were driven into a trap. (h/t, Polipundit) Update: I see our Special Ops came back to the same area today to bounce the rubble. Jolly good show.
 Best summary I've seen on the challenges China faces and will face as wealth and economic freedom confront the totalitarian Communist Party. One quote from Huttonon in The Observer:
All societies are linked to their past by umbilical cords - some apparent, some hidden. China is no different. Imperial Confucian China and communist China alike depended - and depend - upon the notion of a vastly powerful, infallible centre: either because it was interpreting the will of heaven or, now, of the proletariat. In neither system have human rights, constitutional checks and balances or even forms of democracy figured very much. As a result, China has poor foundations on which to build the subtle network of institutions of accountability necessary to manage the complexities of a modern economy and society. Sooner or later, it is a failing that will have to be addressed.
Monday, January 8. 2007
Seen this one? .
The Democrats now promise "A New Direction For America" . The stock market is at a new all-time high and America 's 401K's are back. A new direction from there means, what? Unemployment is at 25 year lows. A new direction from there means, what? Oil prices are plummeting. A new direction from there means, what? Taxes are at 20 year lows. A new direction from there means, what? Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs. A new direction from there means, what? The Federal deficit is down almost 50%, just as predicted over last year. A new direction from there means, what? Home valuations are up 200% over the past 3.5 years. A new direction from there means, what? Inflation is in check, hovering at 20 year lows. A new direction from there means, what? Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/01. A new direction from there means, what? Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave, having not surfaced in years, if he's alive at all, while 95% of Al Queda's top dogs are either dead or in custody, cooperating with US Intel. A new direction from there means, what? Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted by US and British Intel, including the recent planned attack involving 10 Jumbo Jets being exploded in mid-air over major US cities in order to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks. A new direction from there means, what? Just as President Bush foretold us on a number of occasions, Iraq was to be made "ground zero" for the war on terrorism -- and just as President Bush said they would, terrorist cells from all over the region are arriving from the shadows of their hiding places and flooding into Iraq in order to get their faces blown off by US Marines rather than boarding planes and heading to the United States to wage war on us here. A new direction from there means, what? Now let me see, do I have this right? I can expect: The economy to go South Illegals to go North Taxes to go Up Employment to go Down Terrorism to come In Tax breaks to go Out Social Security to go away Health Care to go the same way gas prices have gone
Sunday, January 7. 2007
He had a bad year, but justice will be sweet. Newsweek (h/t, Betsy). Now he wants to be a defence lawyer. I should think so.
 A clever reader coined the term "evangelical atheists" the other day. Yesterday, an opinion piece by Tobias Jones in The Guardian on "secular totalitarianism." A quote:
That is why these (secular) fundamentalists are so in evidence. They're not only needled by their own hypocrisy; they are also furious that believers have broken the old pact to stay out of public debate. Witness, for example, Mary Riddell's astonishing sentence in the Observer last month (try replacing "religion" with "homosexuality" to get the point): "secularists do not wish to harm religion or deny its great cultural influence. They simply want it to know its place." In other words: get back in the closet. Christians feel particularly aggrieved because we believe that Jesus invented secularism. Jesus's teachings desacralised the state: no authority, not even Caesar's, was comparable to God's. As Nick Spencer writes in Doing God, "the secular was Christianity's gift to the world, denoting a public space in which authorities should be respected, but could be legitimately challenged and could never accord to themselves absolute or ultimate significance". Christianity, far from creating an absolutist state, initiated dissent from state absolutism.
Right. Whole thing here. That is why Statists hate religion: it competes in significance. Why else would they care so much - or even care at all? Science is generally and properly humble about its offerings (the global warming scam excepted), but The State is never humble.
Saturday, January 6. 2007
I guess this is a guy question: Laura Ingraham or Monica Crowley? Laura seems more my type - a Yankee gal, a Dartmouth gal, and less intense than Monica. But I do love listening to Monica on Saturday afternoon on 770 from NYC. Here's one of my favorite Laura (post-cancer surgery) photos, which captures her spirit if not her loveliness: 
and here's a toothsome Monica photo:  Who ever said you can't be in love with more than one person at once? That person had no imagination whatsoever. Probably a Calvinist party-pooper. I love them both, in different ways, I think. And, as a brand-new but closet Mormon, I'd be happy to take 'em both on, and their incomes would help quite a bit with the new gun budget. Yes, that Serbu looks good: a guy has to protect what belongs to him.
Not football - self reliance. Denver wins. Conspiracy. Denver experiences weather events "of Biblical proportions." Residents laugh at idea of federal help: they would never ask. We can see cultural differences at work here.
Thursday, January 4. 2007
A letter on trade and the economy to Lou Dobbs, via the CSM. (thanks, BL). Sometimes one wonders whether we just want scapegoats to focus on - or do Americans simply feel entitled to live entirely free of money worries?
Wednesday, January 3. 2007
Lacrosse players invited to return to Duke. Flares. If I were those guys, I wouldn't go back, after the treatment they put up with. Instead, I would welcome the chance to publicly tell Duke and their moonbat faculty to "shove it."
Seen this one yet? The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Sarbanes,
As a native Marylander and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you. My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted.
If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.
Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.
Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year. Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.
Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.
If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent,
Tuesday, January 2. 2007
Where does wealth come from? Not from natural resources, but from knowledge and culture. Shulz discusses David Warsh's new book at TCS. Quotes: But what about growth itself--especially the sustained economic growth that we now take for granted (however sluggish it may be at times)? At an informal academic conference in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1988--assembled by Jack Kemp, then a member of the House--the Stanford economist Paul Romer presented a paper that ultimately turned the economic thinking on its ear. In Mr. Romer's work, as Mr. Warsh puts it, "the concept of intellectual property was, if not exactly 'discovered,' then formally characterized for the first time in the context of growth." Mr. Romer saw that knowledge was "both an input and output of production." Thus instead of land, labor and capital--the traditional inputs of economic theory--it was "people, ideas and things" that mattered, driving technological change and entrepreneurial creativity. "No longer were the advantages of technical superiority to be understood as a case of 'market failure,'" Mr. Warsh writes. "They were part of the rules of the game." Such superiority was by its nature temporary--i.e., nonmonopolistic. New knowledge constantly trumped old, and the law (rightly) gave ideas only limited property-protection.
Read the whole thing.
Monday, January 1. 2007
See What 50 Years Will Do You don't have to be over fifty to see how much the world has gone berserk!
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Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.
1956 - Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack's rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.
2006 - School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
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Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1956 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.
2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.
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Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1956 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.
2006 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
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Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his father's car and his Dad gives him a whipping.
1956 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.
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Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school.
1956 - Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2006 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
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Scenario: Mary turns up pregnant.
1956 - 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special school for expectant mothers.
2006 - Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU. Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent's consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time.
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Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1956: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2006: Pedro's cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't speak English.
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Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1956 - Ants die.
2006 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
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Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary, hugs him to comfort him.
1956 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison.
Saturday, December 30. 2006
The Brit coppers videotaped the hunt supporters from a distant window with telephoto lenses. What is this? A John Le Carre novel? Nice to know that there is no other crime in the UK. But I thought the UK was "tolerant" of different cultures? Except their own, I guess. So we have Gandhi-like civil disobedience. Bravo! Bulldog spirit! From our cousin Mr. Free Market: 
The Anchoress took the time to assemble a good round-up of comments and reactions. Do I think it is morally right to execute leaders who have been defeated in war? I have real doubts about that, but it was Iraq's call, not ours. In the Middle East, execution is a casual and routine matter, and they do not seem to value human life in the way that the West does. "It's multicultural, ya know?" It has been always darkly amusing to me how "multiculturalism" can be so selective in its reverence.
Friday, December 29. 2006
 Scott Ott of Scrappleface gives up serious, sincere reportage for a moment, and tries his hand at satire. This is a must-read. (h/t, RWNews)
It's about Katrina, the Federal government, and life. Maybe we will post the whole thing. Probably should.... OK, we will, since it comes so close to being a Maggie's Manifesto, here is a quote to encourage all to read the whole thing: In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, journalists sought someone to blame. They, predictably, found President George Bush was the best scapegoat. But in lashing out, yet again, at their favorite source of all discontent, they missed a bigger target. If anyone “out there” is to be blamed, it is the large, remote, centralized federal government which has become a surrogate father to so many millions of Americans. Over the decades, we have ceded power, authority and responsibility to the federal government far beyond anything envisioned or desired by our founders. As a result, instead relying on our own intelligence, resources and ability to work with others in our communities to solve problems, we have turned to Washington D.C.. This is not a matter of ‘blaming the victim’, because the victim has become so immersed in this twisted view of human life that he cannot see what has happened. The federal government’s dehumanizing effect has torn up neighborhoods, torn apart families and turned brave, capable people into compliant recipients of redistributed wealth. The problem is that the morsels of that wealth never provide enough to do anything other than keep folks in a perpetual state of dependence upon the State. Even if those morsels became chunks big enough to choke a horse, the dependency would remain. The federal government has become not only the safety net, it is everything from the crib blanket to the casket lining. The danger of centralized government control is not that it robs a few dollars from rich people and gives them to the poor. It’s not even that such a bureaucratic behemoth spawns the waste of billions of dollars. After all, it’s just money. No, the threat of this system is that it strips a man of what makes him a man, and turns him away from his inner resources, or the inclination to partner with neighbors to solve problems. It humiliates him, blinds him and ultimately cripples him.
Saddam will be hung tonight at 10 EST. Michelle has a good round-up of comments. Jesse Jackson is shedding tears, which is puzzling to me. Rick Moran's somber comments are excellent. No death is an occasion for joy among civilized peoples (except maybe Fidel Castro's), but is it not odd that executions are momentous events, but mass murders by brutal dictators are not? In the horrendous words of Joe Stalin, "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." Wrong...so wrong.
 The University of Texas is considering taking down their monuments to Confederate heroes. Says Never Yet Melted:
A common tragic reality of our time is that positions of power and responsibility typically go to the mediocre conformists who successfully climb the greasy pole of life, one finger cautiously raised in the air at every level of ascent. In a better world, the president of the University of Texas would be a gentleman of sound principles and liberal education, capable of feeling a sense of loyalty to his state and region’s history, courageous enough to withstand the divisive demands of rabblerousers and demagogues, and dignified enough to dismiss the unseemly impulses of fashion.
Read his whole piece here. Why are we sympathetic to our fellow Americans who were part of the Confederacy? Not because we like slavery (the war was only partially about slavery), but because the principle of states' rights was correct. Those 250,000 southern farm boys who died were not fighting for slavery - few of them owned slaves. No, they fought valiantly for honor and freedom under the leadership of one of the finest Americans in history, Robert E. Lee. As fellow Americans, they deserve to be honored and remembered.
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