Friday, April 20. 2007
 I don't bother checking to see what the Leftist blogosphere is talking about anymore, because it has become so hatefully emotional and juvenile that you cannot learn anything from it.
To find out what the grown-ups of the Left are thinking, you have to go to dreary places like The Nation, which is a magazine, not a blog. In The Nation, Lawrence Goodwyn has The Coming Party Realignment. Life is terrible, he feels. He is certain that we are in the 1930s again. He hates globalization of markets, he hates Bush, and I think he wants to tax financially successful people down to the mean. Well, it was the best example of Lefty thinking I could find today, but I found little fact or truth in it. Very disappointing. (BTW, he uses the word "democracy" for "socialism.") Where is the Leftist Powerline and the Leftist American Thinker? And the Leftist Maggie's Farm? Leftist blogs that are interesting, rational, informative, and fun? I'd read 'em.
 From Leadbelly to Jimmie Rodgers to Kurt Cobain, it's all phony and it's all marketing. So says Jeff Sharlet in New Statesman: Keeping it Unreal.
Who knew that a record producer added "Mississippi" to John Hurt's name to add pizzazz? "Authenticity" is a marketing ploy. One quote: One of the pioneering producers of "old-time" music in the early 20th century, Ralph Peer, later boasted: "I invented the hillbilly and nigger stuff."
Yes, Blues and Country aren't as authentic as we'd like to imagine. Sharlet, however, does not see fake as necessarily leading to bad music: he likes The Monkees, who didn't even try to conceal their fakeness - which I suppose makes them a paragon of authenticity. Read the piece (link above.)
Image: Leadbelly performing. The Lomaxes made him perform in a prison uniform, for the "authenticity" factor.
Wednesday, April 18. 2007
 I have written three versions of a short piece on the VT massacre, but was not satisfied with any of them.
My main points were to have been that such events are unpreventable, and so rare as to make planning for them almost absurd. Many college kids act strange, and are quirky; many write Quentin Tarantino-type stuff, and many are angry about one thing or another, but it doesn't mean a thing. And, often enough, sadly, college-age kids have psychotic breaks that can go relatively unnoticed for periods of time. I am not asserting that that is what happened, because often mass murderers are not clinically psychotic, but it seems likely from today's new information. My point is that the often-mentioned "clear warning signs" are always retrospective. Everybody is a genius at connecting dots in retrospect. And no-one, I believe, is an expert on murder sprees: they are too rare, and the inner demons are too variable. Classical Values summarizes the shrink-related thoughts from other bloggers, and SISU has additional summaries. I can refute many of the quoted assertions, but I won't. The overarching psychological issue, I believe, is the notion that terrible things should not occur in life. Random terrible things happen every day to many people all over the globe, and always will. Tsunamis will come, and earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides, and diseases and plagues; people will go berserk, wars will happen, and bombers will plant bombs; multi-car crashes will occur, and roller-coasters will collapse. The idea that random terrible events are preventable, and that life could somehow be made thoroughly safe, sanitary, and secure, is a childish fantasy, or even a delusion. We bubble-wrapped Americans specialize in that fantasy, but most of the rest of the world understands better that life is a dangerous enterprise, and not Disney World.
Tuesday, April 17. 2007
 Besides the endlessly annoying and murderous Jihadists, America's biggest problem is this, as described in the CSM: 1 in 2 Americans now receive income from government programs.
Getting past that magic 50% has been the goal of Leftists since the 1930s. Why? Because the recipients vote. And if you add up the numbers who receive program money, the number of govt employees, and the number receiving major non-income benefits (like Medicare), you have a heck a a big number getting at least part of their living from the government teat - meaning from their neighbors' labor. Incrementally, inch by inch, the American habits of self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, and independence have been whittled away to the point that many people are no longer ashamed to take the money of strangers. Indeed, to the point that they feel "entitled" to it, which I suspect is a psychological maneuver to deny the humbling reality that they are receiving charity. Social Security made it seem OK to older folk by concealing the fact that it was their kids who were paying them the money. Fortunately, there are still large islands of folks who do their best to pursue the American ideals. The problem is that they are getting stuck paying the bills for the other half. As the population ages and people breed less, that ratio will get worse, and the "two Americas" will begin feeling like the givers and the takers. That is not a good foundation for a culture or a civilization. Editor's Note: I see that our friend Coyote was thinking along the same lines, but mainly from the standpoint of taxation. As he notes in his piece A Nation of Slaveholders: Meanwhile, Ari Fleischer writes in today’s WSJ (sub req) that the top 1% of income earners pay 37% of total income taxes, the top 10% of income earners pay 71% of total income taxes, and the top 40% of income earners pay 99% of total income taxes.
and The second greatest failing of the Constitution as originally drafted (the first being legality of slavery) is the lack of clear protections for property and commerce. As a result, the only protection we have against full confiscation of everything we own is the whim of the electorate. Now that a clear majority of voters are on the receiving end of money confiscated from a minority of voters, how good is this last protection? We have become a nation of slaveholders, with the majority holding the productive minority in bondage. Inserting government in the middle of this process as an agent, so the recipients of this slave labor don't have to get their own hands dirty, does not change the nature of the relationship one bit. It just pretties things up for our conscience.
A further comment from The Barrister: I am sure that Coyote's metaphor was intentionally hyperbolic, but his point is correct. Furthermore, I believe that the only way to eliminate the division between the donors and the recipients is a flat tax, so that everyone can be a full participant in the American enterprise: all in the same boat.
Monday, April 16. 2007
 Being the weather buff that I am, late last night I noticed on the NOAA website that there were 7.57 inches of rain in NYC. It was their second rainiest day since 1869, only beat out by a hurricane in New York in 1882.
Actually, it looks like this lackluster nor'easter was the only non-hurricane event ever to bring more than 5 inches of rain in the City. As I contemplated the meaning of these data and the probable relationship of a cold, rainy day to the terrifying - indeed chilling - crisis of global warming, the friendly succubus on the right appeared in my doorway, removed her black leather vest and skirt, and crept towards me as I lay on my bed with my laptop. I took this quick photo of her with my cell phone, then immediately dialed Al Gore's house to ask him what to do. I must confess that this sort of thing doesn't happen to me every day, but I figured that Clothes Off must be a certain sign of a dangerous acceleration of globalistical warmening requiring urgent and decisive action. Anyway, Al couldn't come to the phone: the butler said he was in the hot tub with a rubber ducky. Well, it definitely was already feeling warmer in my room, globally speaking of course, but my thermometer rose rapidly when she began to lick my toes, so, anyway...
Sunday, April 15. 2007
 A truck bomb destroyed the Sarrafiya Bridge this week, and killed drivers in the process.
A landmark, and a gift from the Brits in the 1940s, it was the first fixed bridge in Baghdad over the Tigris. Our friend in Israel says that "the Germans were good at two things: killing Jews and building vehicles, but the Palestinians are only good at one thing: killing Jews." Any idiot can build a car bomb, but can Muqtada's or Al Quaida's thugs build a bridge? Or a car? Or a city? Or a modern civilization? Or even save a life? This story is depressing. Destruction, sadly, is the easiest thing in the world to do: it has the physics of entropy on its side. The Stone Age is never far away, and killing is simple. Thoughts about the bridge from Iraq the Model and from Treasure of Baghdad (whence the photo). Is Iraq too "multicultural" to hold together as a nation without a totalitarian, sadistic dictator? Helping the Iraqis seems like treating a patient with cancer. My prayers are with the patient - and with Dr. Petraeus. (A message to the bad guys here. h/t, Ace)
Friday, April 13. 2007
This photo of a Maggie's Farm buddy with a big Texas pig, from a post last summer, elicited a comment from a reader saying that they had them in Wisconsin. Wisconsin? That was news to me. I thought "razorbacks" were more of a Southern and Western thing. Happily, they have not invaded New England yet. 
I knew about Texas, California, etc., and I checked his link. Yup. They are now found in 23 states. They are basically wild domestic pigs, but, depending on their location, the urban legend is that they may have some "Russian Boar" blood from game farms mixed in - but the domestic pig and the wild European boar are the same species: Sus scrofa. When breeding wild, feral pigs devolve into their natural form and habits. Unlike wild horses, they attract little sympathy, and they are not cute.  In many areas of Europe, boar is extinct or endangered. In the US, these adaptable invaders are spreading fast, which is bad for forests but fun for hunters.
Omnivorous, destructive of their habitat by aggressive rooting with their snouts, raising up to 4 litters per year, and ranging from 70-400 pounds in adulthood, these hardy, non-native critters are environmental destructos from hell. And their only real predator, to keep their numbers in any control, is man. To make things more difficult, their shoulders, where you might wish to place a bullet, have very dense tissue which is difficult to penetrate. They are also potentially dangerous beasts who use their tusks as swords: they can easily kill a dog or seriously damage a human. On the plus side, they are highly edible. Because most states have an open season on pig, hog hunting is increasingly popular - and environmentally necessary - whether with bow, shotgun, rifle (or even handgun, for the very brave or reckless). Here's a piece on boar hunting in Ohio. Here's one from California.
Thursday, April 12. 2007
 Update to the piece below: Imus has been fired by CBS. Another scalp for the race hustlers - and just in time to cover up the Duke case.
We don't even like the guy much, but he has been railroaded. Imus is no racist. The message is: Be Very Afraid, and don't call anyone a "nappy-head ho," even as an ironic quote, unless you are black - in which case it is just fine. The Imus Case is a surely a smokescreen as we said earlier this week, effectively covering up the Duke Case outcome. The Imus Case is equally foolish. Imus is an old-time shock jock, and an equal-opportunity insulter from way back - but a guy who regularly offers real substance of value, albeit with a lefty slant. So you just have to ask "Why now?" Whimsical racial slurs towards all colors have been part of his shtick forever. Imus is just the scapegoat du jour. It could be Rush, or you, or me, tomorrow: anything to stay in the limelight and to keep the money coming in. Editor's Note: In defence of the goofball Don Imus, to whom I rarely listen, here's a quote - not that I agree with it all - from Cynopsis: Imus is in the crosshairs. He put himself there; his producer and colleagues enabled him. Thoughtless and sophomoric, he made a damaging remark. Damaging to the stellar young women of Rutgers basketball, and damaging to a long career in radio and on cable TV. Until Wednesday night, some of his bosses also enabled him.
What mystifies me is what took me from the broadcast network morning shows to Imus In The Morning on MSNBC. For the longest time, Good Morning America and the Today Show brought me morning news and information. Unthinking, I tuned into those channels on the low end of the dial. But, when their soundtrack became disturbingly frivolous and forced, I started searching, sampling.
I sampled Imus, occasionally at first, eventually adopting an unexplainable habit. It made no sense. I am decidedly not in the Imus demographic. The reasons not not to tune in to Imus are considerable: - The adolescent male locker room humor
- "Comic" routines that center on genitalia, sexist and ethnic slurs
- The Bickersons … Mr. & Mrs. Imus' sniping at each other, lately echoed on-air by their 8-year old child
- Bo Dietl & Sid Rosenberg
- Endless plugs for products and services benefiting the Imus Inner Circle
And yet….
Imus served up the most refreshing, enlightening, provocative and spontaneous interviews with journos, politicos, and I-want-to-knows anywhere on morning tv. Interviews lasted 15-20 minutes uninterrupted, without deference to title or status. Imus' shameless on-air campaigns to fix broken parts of America were astonishing, whether for sick kids or wounded soldiers. The music acts … spectacular! Well chosen and superbly produced. And I love curmudgeonliness.
So I weigh the plusses and minuses of the Imuses. Is the intellectual content so strong that it outweighs the stupidity? Is this the tradeoff: tune out "Rev. Falwell", "Brian Wilson", and "Mayor Ray Nagin" in exchange for Jon Meacham, Anna Quindlan, and Harold Ford? There are days when it's the All White Guy Chorus, and that needs to be fixed, as with most broadcasts that pretend to reflect American thought.
The term "shock jock" is dated and inaccurate. Imus' claim that it's a comedy show is equally inaccurate. In 3 years, I tolerated the "comedy" to get to the substance, and the substance was solid. It's a testament to what we're able to tune out when we tune in.
 With the final outcome of the Duke rape idiocy, it is finally and fully apparent that the Duke faculty and administration have made fools of themselves. And so did the race-monger shake-down artists, who, like the vultures that they are, smelled fresh meat. And so did the MSM with their rush to judgement.
Indeed, the "America is Satan" crowd gets so fired up by rare examples of blatant racism - real, contrived, or imaginary - mainly because they are so rare. And they want it to be true so badly, to support their view of the world and their raison d'etre, that facts and truth go out the window. (Abu Ghraib is another example: The exception that proves the rule.) We usually term such distortions of reality "propaganda." (The total lack of interest in last week's college rape story proves my point. Who is rushing to support these girls? Where are the feminists? Where's Jesse? Where are the pomos? All AWOL, because the story doesn't fit "the narrative." And "narrative," of course, is a term applied to fiction (and a concept applied to legal case-building).) It was obvious to normal people without an agenda a year ago that there was something fishy about the Duke story. As a loving grandparent, I would not contribute one penny for one of those kids to attend such a loony, misguided place - regardless of the quality of Duke's basketball (or lacrosse) teams. Eat your heart out, Duke.
An addendum by Editor "Bird Dog": In a piece this week entitled PoMo Contradictions, David Thompson concludes: If one’s ‘work’ is based on being oppositional – or being seen to be oppositional - against capitalism, racism, sexism, imperialism (real or imagined), white male patriarchy, etc, then liberties can, and probably will, be taken. Attempts to fathom truth, or to be consistent, meaningful and accurate, can, and probably will, be dispensed with in order to advance The Great Cause. (Or The Great Oppositional Posture, depending on one’s scepticism.) And it’s worth noting that in Criticism and Social Change, the left-wing theorist, Frank Lentricchia, announced that the postmodern movement “seeks not to find the foundation and conditions of truth, but to exercise power for the purpose of social change.” Achieved, one might suppose, even at the cost of truth.
That says it all. I'd also add that I believe the villain of the story to be Mike Nifong, who sold his soul to get elected. By her reported behavior, the accusing woman appears to be mentally unstable, not very bright, and sounds alcoholic and/or drug addicted and, despite the unbelieveable destructiveness of her actions, deserves some pity. If she sobers up, and if she has a conscience, she will never get over the wrongs she has done. And about "Pomo". Isn't it always the most humble and curious kid in the class who asks the dumb question nobody else wants to ask? They are the best. Got an email asking "What is Pomo"? Abbreviation for "post-modern," usually applied to people with a political or world-view agenda for which truth is irrelevant. No, I would go further: for which truth is considered a reactionary maneuver - and they gladly admit it. Pomo is as old as the Appalachian Mountains: it's also called "political lying."
Wednesday, April 11. 2007
 We linked this piece from the Pittsburg Trib the other day. It compares American and Korean kids on their views of their math proficiency.
The American kids think they're good, but they aren't. The Korean kids think they're bad, but they aren't. Their findings are consistent with my own observations. However, I am not sure whether it can be blamed on the schools. I have written many times about the ridiculous notion of "self-esteem," and the absurdity of the idea that this is something schools - or anyone else - should or could instill. I think the differences might be plain cultural, though I do not mean to minimize the insidious reality of the "dumbing down" movement in education. David Warren has a fine piece on The Date of Inversion. He thinks it was August 10, 1969. A quote: At the end of the earlier school year, the old principal had been fired: he was a drill sergeant (literally, ex-military). The new principal was a "reformer": a nice guy, a sensitive guy. Overnight, Ontario’s Hall-Dennis Report had also swept through, with its smug title, “Living and Learning.” Half the subjects had become "electives": 300 pupils in Grade IX Latin, became four pupils in Grade X. The bottom had fallen out of educational standards that had already been slung very low.
My view of "lower education" is that it ought to try to instill humility about their ignorance, try to excite curiosity, and to provide the basic information people need to know to understand the basics of their history, their culture and the world, and to handle life. To carry kids along as far as their talents, interests, drive, self-discipline, and abilities can handle requires plenty of structure, demands and expectations. I see LaShawn has recently written a piece on the self-regulation aspect. Editor: - David Warren responds to the attention given to his piece linked above, here. - Right Wing Nation looks at the differences between what high school teachers consider to be good college preparation, and what college teachers consider good preparation
Tuesday, April 10. 2007
 We agree with the Anchoress that it is still too early to get too invested in national politics, but it's hard to deny that politics can sometimes be an entertaining distraction from the realities of life.
An excellent update from the always-interesting, often-wrong Dick Morris. He doesn't care for Hillary, of course, having worked with the two of them for years, and notes that if living for eight years in the White House is a qualification, then it applies equally to the White House pastry chef. He has some interesting polling data at the end of the piece. I think the Clinton faces are growing tedious to everyone, and I think there is plenty of room for a calm, "moderate" Dem candidate. Me? I'm waiting to hear more about what Fred has to say. I think he could be my candidate. There's plenty of time - and there's plenty of time to grow weary of the faces and the soap-opera campaigns.
 A special edition of the NYT Science Times. Some of it is self-evident, but it's always a fun topic.
I think one common assumption of the researchers has something wrong, though, at least for young men. For young men, the question should be what turns them off, not on: they're always on, otherwise. It's amusing to read in the NYT about "hearty tumescence," but I thought the funniest quote was this: “Listening to Noam Chomsky,” said a psychologist in her 50s, “always turns me on."
Good grief. Under what rock did they have to look to find someone who would say that? But at least she didn't say that her favorite was Al Gore with his hockey stick.
 Look, I'm tired of Al Gore. You guys can point out that he's none too bright and a hypocrite for preaching the gospel of global warming armageddon while running his electric meter fast enough to use as a baloney slicer all day long. As for me, I'd just like to point out that the guy's just plain nuts.
No; really. Crazy. This isn't like calling Bush Hitler because you want no co-pay for your Paxil and Hillary's not president yet. I really think Al Gore is Grade A-Batsh*t-Laughing Academy-Bonkers. And I bet I can prove it. Al Gore has Carbon Dioxide Bulimia. But being a narcissistic baby boomer me-first patrician, it's my throat he wants to shove his finger down when he's done with his binges. That's an improvement on his old boss, who wanted to shove all sorts of things into all sorts of places; but really, Al, if you feel guilty because you were born with a carbon spoon in your mouth, that's no reason for me and mine to shiver unemployed in the dark. Check yourself in whatever clinic the Kennedys use this month, and make a made for TV movie about it when they're done with you. Leave me alone. So I'll prove Al Gore is nuts. I'll take the Wikipedia entry for Bulimia, and we'll see how few words I have to change to make it fit. The changes will be marked in red. Here goes:
Continue reading "The Earth Has A Fever... And The Only Cure Is... Al Gore's Cowbell"
Friday, April 6. 2007
Re-posted from April, 2006 "Now the bricks lay on Grand Street, 
where the neon madmen climb, they all fall there so perfectly; it all seems so well-timed..." Photo yesterday, at Ferrara's on Grand St., NYC, to pick up some Easter wheat pies. Creamy, with just the right amount of Citron. Not exactly Yankee food. Kind of sad to see Little Italy slowly being absorbed by adjacent Chinatown - but Chinatown is great, too. In fact, wonderful. Feels like Asia. Any woman who carries a genuine Gucci or Prada or Kate Spade bag is a big sucker. This is knock-off city, for the folks with brains. These days, the third-generation Italians have taken the Holland Tunnel and moved out to Soprano-land to try to capture the American Illusion of suburban bliss. But the suburban kids all come back to NY, not to mention the ambitious rural kids from across the USA, and across the world. What fun it would be to own a little pied a terre in Little Italy, or on University Place, or in Gramercy Park, or anywhere near Zabar's. Thanks to Rudy and now to Bloomberg, NYC is as good as it has ever been - probably better. Why? The parks have all been re-done, and are welcoming, friendly, with all sorts of stuff going on. The tourists, and the "bridge-and-tunnel" crowd, are back with a vengeance. Interesting things to do and places to see - endless. Places to eat - fuggedaboutit: good everywhere. The cops - out of their patrol cars and just walking their beats like the old days, and seeming reasonably friendly although they have to maintain their NYC cool. The whole place is gleaming, busy, happily crowded, ethnic as anywhere in the world, and full of the usual new construction everywhere. One heck of a town. (Only complaint: Bloomberg says we can't smoke in bars. That is truly nuts, as bad as the UK. If I can handle life, I ought to be able to smoke in a bar without a Mommy telling me what to do. How about having smoking and non-smoking bars? Hmmm, I predict the non-smoking would go out of business.) We did not forget the cannolis.
Wednesday, April 4. 2007
 Stanley Milgram's famous Yale experiment set the standard for uncovering the capacity for sadism in ordinary people. The results came as no big surprise to parents of multiple kids.
Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment ("SPE") took the subject much further - as far as any researcher would want to take it. He is the author of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. Dr. Zimbardo is interviewed this week in the NYT Science Times. The evil lurking in people only comes as a surprise to those who know nothing of themselves. Dealing with it is one of the challenges of being human. And dealing with the vicissitudes of human aggression and sadism/sado-masochism (and anger too, which is another subject entirely) is a major challenge in psychiatry, both theoretically and practically. Freud found it necessary to posit a "death instinct" to account for some of these things, but he was never entirely satisfied with the idea. Denial of the capacity for evil in others is called naive, or infantile. Denial of evil in one's self is called "denial," and is usually handled via projection (an immature defense mechanism which "projects" one's own malevolence onto external sources). Those who locate evil only in themselves are often masochistic, or using various defence mechanisms which I will not get into now. The devil? Many Christians and Jews believe in a devil or devils. Devil or no, there is plenty enough material in humans for a devil to exploit (see Screwtape Letters - a diabolically fascinating and amusing read). Our first piece on evil is here. I have done evil, and I have sinned plenty. Not to brag. I know that evil exists.
Tuesday, April 3. 2007
The Very Reverend Jeffrey John, Dean of St. Alban's, claims Christ did not die for our sins. The Telegraph. I think this guy is inventing his own religion. There is a term for that. Dobson acts like a real jerk. I wish he would stick to his knitting. Much of his family stuff is very good, but when he gets into politics he makes a fool of himself. The New Atheists vs. the Old Atheists. The Tennessean. And who knew Harvard had a Humanist Chaplain. What's that, exactly? (h/t, News for Christians) A Maggie's Farm reader was presented with the following "version" of The Lord's Prayer at her Episcopal Church: My Creator (soul's Source, spirit's Destination, Ground of Our Being, etc.)
in whom/which is heaven, or within which we can find heaven (as co-creators)
we revere/respect you
We will work to see your divine intent become a reality where we live.
We will work to see that everyone has the food they need to live and have health and energy to contribute to the welfare of Earth and its life systems.
We sense that we are forgiven for our admitted shortcomings to the extent that we art able to forgive others their failures.
We recognize the presence of evil in our world and strive to avoid being a part of it as well as pointing it out whenever we are aware of it.
We work for these changes in our lives and in the lives of others in the spirit of Jesus who cared for all those who were unjustly treated or oppressed.
May we make these things so. As Rick Moran would say, I am speechless.
Sunday, April 1. 2007
 About 5000 anti-war protesters from the US, Britain, France, and Germany braved the dangers to assemble in Baghdad yesterday to protest ongoing Al Quaida activities against the people of Baghdad.
"As long as Al Quaida and Iran continue to create mayhem in Iraq, there can be no peace or security. The good people of Iraq do not deserve this," said a press statement issued by the organizers of the march. It went on to state "We urge the Islamic terrorists to lay down their arms and bombs and to get a job, get married, open an Individual Retirement Account, and help build the economy of this fine country so all can have happy, normal, peaceful lives." Carrying placards reading such things as "Stop the war," "Al Quaida sucks," "Nice people aren't suicide bombers," "Iran Go Home," "Al Sadr is a Nerd,"and "Guys with bombs won't get dates," the marchers followed a route through the main thoroughfares of downtown Baghdad for about five hours yesterday, and will hold a press conference this morning before returning to their homes. The march was entirely peaceful, and thousands of curious but supportive Iraqis emerged from their homes and shops to watch the marchers as they banged on pots and pans and chanted "Bombs aren't cool - let peace rule," "Don't be a fool - freedom is cool," and "One, two, three four - we don't want your Jihad war." As the marchers broke into John Lennon's deeply moving hymn "All we are saying...is give peace a chance," we asked Omar, a bread merchant whose shop was along the route, for his reaction. "Veddy nice hats," he observed. Photo of the Baghdad peace march borrowed from Dr. Sanity's piece on the peace movement.
 In a surprise announcement yesterday, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks held a press conference at Spielberg's office to urge Fred Thompson to run for president.
"We in Hollywood need to support our own," Spielberg said, to the surprise of assembled reporters. "Fred's screen resume is one anyone could be proud of. Fred may be a traditional, uptight American with bourgeois values, so we may not always agree with him on political matters, but loyalty comes first. We supported Schwartzenegger too, remember?" "Admiral Joshua Painter is our man." Spielberg's comments were taken as a message of permission, from the heart of Hollywood, for the influential entertainment industry to step outside the confines of the Democratic Party. Should Thompson decide to run, he will find the checkbooks of Hollywood opening for him. Hanks commented "Running is good. Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!!" While we were unable to reach actor Sean Penn for a reaction, we were able to reach his agent who told us that Mr. Penn was in Darfur distributing funds and arms to the oppressed Janjaweed freedom fighters. He predicted that "Sean will follow the fashion - that's what he's all about." He added "I'd be amazed if Sean wouldn't courageously follow our very, very dear close friends Stevie and Tommy's lead on this."
Saturday, March 31. 2007
 Talked with a friend last night who had just returned from Africa, and who spent ten days at Singita's Ebony Lodge in South Africa's huge Kruger National Park.
It sounds like a trip of a lifetime, and Singita's lodges (each with a small number of guest suites) sound like the most comfortable places in Africa with service which silently anticipated their every want. They even had his favorite cigars in a humidor waiting for him on arrival. They got to the lodge by chartering a plane from Johannesberg, which he described as becoming a lawless, white-hating and frightening city. The famous Saxon Hotel is surrounded by walls, barbed wire, with dogs on patrol and armed guards. We may be fated to watch this amazing country deteriorate into a third world country. You can fantasize about, or plan, your trip to Singita here. The lodges here. Conde Nast Traveller named Singita the 2004 Best Hotel in the World.
Thursday, March 29. 2007
 The Envy Patrol at the NYT is always on the job: "The top 10% of Americans collected 48.5% of all reported income in 2005."
Since neither wealth nor income are zero sum games (although the NYT tends to make it sound otherwise - as if money were an Easter Egg hunt), I see no reason why anyone should care - other than envy. And besides, the top 10% pays most of the taxes, too, for the benefit of the rest of us. My feeling is this: If I had the talent, drive, and personality traits to be a Hollywood star, a major league pitcher, a sought-after CEO, a genius investor, a clever entrepreneur, a neurosurgeon, or a Wall Street lawyer - or the luck to be a fortunate heir - I'd get a big kick out of it. But it's not all that bad a thing to be a regular American. In fact, it's the best thing to be on earth.
Sunday, March 25. 2007
 2006 was the Chinese Year of the Dog, but we never highlighted all of the sporting breeds that we enjoy, so we will sporadically continue our Dog of the Week feature until we have done so.
Weimaraners are among the most attractive of all dog breeds, with their grey ghostly appearance. Bred mainly as pointers by Weimar aristocrats who were very protective of the bloodlines, they also make good retrievers but are not really ideal family dogs because of their energy level and "assertiveness". They are loaded with muscle and need lots of exercise. A daily walk is not sufficient. 
Eisenhower was fond of Weimaraners. So is artist William Wegman. I have not hunted with one for years, but I'd be happy to, anytime. You can read more about Weimaraners here.
Lower image: a Wegman Weimaraner
Thursday, March 22. 2007
 I have arranged today to be a mental health day for myself from the old firm. I am going to walk around the place in the foot of snow we still have (no globalistical warmening here), and make a to-do checklist for myself and my slaves. I know I have some trees down at the edge of the horse field, and an Ash tree has crushed the fence, but our foolish horses haven't noticed. But I know there are plenty more projects to begin when the snow finally melts here in central CT. I also know I will need to clean out the Bluebird houses (I have about 20), but our Wood Duck houses are all set for arrival. Have not seen one yet, though, on the stream.
Speaking of mental health, one thing is as clear as day to me: I predict war. With control of Congress, the Dems are going to slam and smear and create an atmosphere of disarray and chaos in DC until the next election. Everything that moves is going to be a Big Scandal, and they will try to handcuff the administration with accusations and hearings, with "perjury traps" laid everywhere. As they say in DC: "If you throw enough sh-t at the wall, some of it will stick." This will be hardball, it will be mean and nasty, it will be slash-and-burn, it will be ridiculous and dishonest, it will further degrade the always-dubious reputation of the federal government - and it will be relentless. Doubt it? See today's Hillary says "Get Rove." Are such people America's best? Of course not. America's best people have real jobs. Just one little problem: These Dem folks were elected to govern. They do not fully realize that yet. They are so eager to attack and destroy that they cannot bother to present positive, fresh, interesting plans for governance. It is partly strategic, but partly emotional, and it could come back and bite them in the end. It's neither healthy nor mature nor responsible - but what do we expect from most politicians? But "the government is endogenous," isn't it? Image: An Eastern Bluebird house from our favorite vendor, Best Nests. If you have a few acres of open meadow, "If you build it, they will come." I prefer those snake-proof metal posts.
Wednesday, March 21. 2007
 Here's a succinct description of the Prisoner's Dilemma, from this site:
In this hypothetical situation, two accomplices to a crime are imprisoned, and they forge a pact to not betray one another and not confess to the crime. The severity of the punishment that each receives is determined not only by his or her behavior, but also by the behavior of his or her accomplice. The two prisoners are separated and cannot communicate with each other. Each is told that there are four possible outcomes: - If one confesses to the crime and turns in the accomplice (defecting from a pact with the accomplice), his sentence will be reduced. - If one confesses while the accomplice does not (i.e. the accomplice cooperates with the pact to not betray each other), the first can strike a deal with the police, and will be set free. But the information he provides will be used to incriminate his accomplice, who will receive the maximum sentence. - If both prisoners confess to the crime (i.e. both defect from their pact), then each receives a reduced sentence, but neither is set free.
It's fun for two people to play this game repetitively, and see who wins over time. My idea was to write up something about that Prisoner's Dilemma game, but then I got lured away by the topic of the Tragedy of the Commons. Game Theory ties these subjects together, and so those subjects may need to wait a bit. My calculus is not what it used to be but, as an attorney, I still find that Game Theory has its appeal for me. Appeal, if not too much practical utility, because Game Theory tends to assume some degree of rationality, and humans are only rational on occasion. Indeed, one reason for hiring an attorney is to apply some degree of objective rationality to a situation. Still, I believe that formal Game Theory - as opposed to normal legal strategizing - can inform legal practice. Here's a nice summary of the book Game Theory and the Law, which has some good references at the bottom. People are often gaming things, aren't they? There's a survival instinct to make the most of a situation to best achieve your own goals. Only conscience, character, tradition, care for others, and the desire for the respect and trust of others stand in the way of humanity's being a pure gaming, calculating, scheming, strategic machine. We consider people who operate that way all the time as sociopathic. When I studied calculus in college, the teachers were all into game theory. Their heros were von Neumann, Morgenstern, and of course the great John Nash, who elaborated the Nash Equilibrium - and who can still be seen wandering around Princeton - about whom Sylvia Nasar wrote the fascinating book, and then Ron Howard produced the wonderful "Best Picture" Beautiful Mind. The spiritual home of Game Theory is the RAND Corporation, where very smart people work on interesting economic, military, and policy problems. I was interested to find that they have a graduate program. That would be one cool place to hang out for a while, in Santa Monica. OK, this is already long enough and, as usual with my occasional rambles, I arrived both nowhere and somewhere. I will do the Tragedy of the Commons - more accurately termed The Tragedy of the Unregulated Commons (since, historically, all commoners (those with the right of commons) were of necessity highly regulated either by tradition or by law) - sometime soon. And eventually work my way back into the Prisoner's Dilemma.
Tuesday, March 20. 2007
Re-posted from March, 2006 April is the beginning of trout season around here, 
but it is also turkey season. Non-hunters may not know that April is Spring Turkey season in many states in the US. Last April, early morning, Gwynnie and I were warming up our fly casting on a pond when a proud acquaintance stopped by with his heavy gobbler in one tired hand and his shotgun in the other. Surf 'n Turf? If you have never eaten a wild turkey, you have never eaten turkey. The farm-raised birds are as bland as cardboard. Our past piece on the Wild Turkey here. At Maggie's Farm, we are grateful for the work of organizations like the National Wild turkey Federation, plus all of the non-profit and governmental agencies which have restored the magnificent wild turkey around the US. We even saw some in Maine last fall. Turkey hunting has more in common with deer-hunting than bird-hunting. In other words - boring... until the last moment - if the bird shows up. It's like they say about Obstetrics: 99% pure boredom, 1% terror. But in this case, 1% thrills. Some folks get a kick out of turkey-calling, but I think it's for the birds. Decoys are fine. Image from the NWTF website. Those are males, displaying for a hen's attention.
Monday, March 19. 2007
 Moonbattery summarized Saturday's anti-war march in DC, as well as the much larger counter-protest - which received far less news attention. Here.
The NYT also noted than many of the marchers were puzzled by what the march was really about. Blue Crab. Most of the earnest anti-war folks were unaware that they were allied with communist revolutionaries with larger agendas. Lenin's "useful idiots." Also, related to the links above and the piece below, Barone on the Blame America First crowd. A quote: "They always blame America first." That was Jeane Kirkpatrick, describing the "San Francisco Democrats" in 1984. But it could be said about a lot of Americans, especially highly educated Americans, today. In their assessment of what is going on in the world, they seem to start off with a default assumption that we are in the wrong. The "we" can take different forms: the United States government, the vast mass of middle-class Americans, white people, affluent people, churchgoing people or the advanced English-speaking countries. Such people are seen as privileged and selfish, greedy and bigoted, rash and violent. If something bad happens, the default assumption is that it's their fault. They always blame America -- or the parts of America they don't like -- first.
Read the whole fine essay. (thanks, Buddy). And read today's preceding piece: The Gospel of John and Yoko. Image from Michelle's piece on the protests. She has lots of photos.
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