Maggie's Farm

Since our kids have grown, we minimize it. No more piles of presents, etc. Some holiday cocktail parties are nice, and a few holiday lunches. We minimize the Christmas presents thing, and no damn jewelry.

Christmas is a celebration of a sort-of miracle. In my ancestors' Puritan culture, celebrating Christmas was considered Papist and was illegal. If you got caught making a pie at Christmas you were in trouble.

Not sure how that changed but I do not blame Coca Cola.

Anyway, I believe in comestibles at Christmas, preferably home-made. Mrs. BD makes killer Christmas cookies. Since she was raised Roman Catholic, we do "fasting" on Christmas Eve. Poached salmon with dill sauce usually, before or after church.

I am board with Einstein - the latter sentence:

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a
miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -Albert Einstein

Oh - I just learned about Naked Wines. Stinky cheeses and special wines are my holiday favorites. I do not want or need anything material. Well, I do need books.

You can leave Santa some Ozempic.

Sippican rebuilt his house (by himself) and sold it.

I thought he was homeless like Jesus' family, or perhaps moving to Uzbekistan but they are still in beautiful Maine for the moment.

Sipp should get paid for writing, but that's a tough gig to find.

Luke 3:7-18

3:7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

3:8 Therefore,
bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to
yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor,' for I tell you, God is
able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

3:9 Even
now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that
does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

3:10 And the crowds asked him, "What, then, should we do?"

3:11 In
reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone
who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise."

3:12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"

3:13 He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you."

3:14 Soldiers
also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not
extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be
satisfied with your wages."

3:15 As the people were filled with
expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John,
whether he might be the Messiah,

3:16 John answered all of them by
saying, "I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I
is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

3:17 His winnowing fork
is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat
into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

3:18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.

It's not really winter here yet, but the flocks of male Robins are all over. They finished off all of our holly berries. We have holly trees and holly shrubs. They like all fruits and berries. They are known to get drunk on old apples.

The females go further south. Smart.

 Greenpeace: Plastic recycling is a dead-end street

Writers On Other Writers' Writing

Saint Ann’s insane ex-con hire exposes the progressive ‘shame’ con

The Movement to Free Schools of Smartphones Is Winning. Evidence shows that phones harm children and education. A growing number of schools are paying attention.

Woodrow Wilson, in a Darker Key - Chris Cox’s biography of the 28th
president reads like a long overdue reassessment of a man who doesn’t
stand up well to contemporary scrutiny.

The Re-Skilling of America - Instead of subsidizing America’s greedy and unequal diploma mills, how about dropping degree requirements and rewarding skills?

Saturday Miscellany

What Is a Woman?

How Much of the Harris Campaign Was a Scam?

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The Evaporation Of The Obama Mystique

How stupid is Trump?

Many of Trump’s picks are well outside the usual Washington, D.C./New York political, media, and corporate nexus.

Hamas Backing Down Over 'Trump Pressure'

President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time.

These Brits "center-left" recognize that Trump's election is a relief:

Designer Babies Are Teenagers Now—and Some of Them Need Therapy Because of It
“People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.”

The American university is rotting from within. The modern academy is a threat to reason, liberty and Western civilisation.

The Explosion of Jew-Hate in Trudeau’s Canada

Niall Ferguson: The Vibe Shift Goes Global. At home, Yale Law School and DEI committees are out. Abroad, strength and escalation are in.

Janet Yellen "Sorry" After Presiding Over $15 Trillion Increase In US Debt

Good-bye, Paul Krugman

EXPLAIN HOW FLOODING JOB MARKET WITH ILLEGAL MIGRANTS HELPS AMERICANS:

Dems Get Strange New Respect For ...

THE DAILY CHART: THE FAILURE OF OBAMACARE

 TGIF: It All Comes Out. Janet Yellen admits we’re in the red,
immigration is in fact very high, Elizabeth Warren thinks the UHC CEO
had it coming, Rudy can’t get a cab home, and much, much more.

‘Clean’ energy powered by ‘dirty’ means

The reason Americans fear for Britain  - The old England, which cherished liberty, is dying and a more sinister society is emerging in its place

The NY Times finally tells the truth about Biden’s border failures — AFTER the election

Hating the Other Side Doesn’t Work for Democrats. The most successful Democrats in history have embraced American optimism, core national values, and hope for a better future.

Tactics, Techniques and Procedures to Keep Deep State Bureaucrats From Obstructing Donald Trump’s Agenda

Warmists Are Very Upset People Have Free Speech On Social Media

TNR:  Biden’s Got One Last Chance to Cancel Student Debt

Why not cancel mortgage debt?

U.S. Educators Sound Alarm as College Enrollment Drops by 'Very Large and Very Discouraging' Amount

Birthright Citizenship Is a Breach in the Border

Wednesday Potpourri

The Curious Case of Luigi Mangione. Plus...

Rufo:  The Coming Fight to Abolish DEI - An open letter to Donald Trump’s Cabinet

NY AG Letitia James Won’t Drop Trump Civil Fraud Judgment. “Presidents
do not have immunity from civil lawsuits arising from unofficial
conduct, and such lawsuits may proceed while the President is in
office.”

True, but the case is fraudulent

Glenn Reynolds:  What happened? It’s like a spell broke. Since November’s election
(re-election?) of President Donald Trump, the woke is going away, and
all sorts of problems are resolving themselves. But why?

Republicans Have to Learn How to Stop Being Pansies When They Have the Majority

180 Dead: Haitian Warlord Orders Massacre Of Elderly For Using 'Sorcery' To Sicken Son

Nice place to visit?

Smart guy. Interviewed by Bari Weiss - transcript.

One of many quotable quotes:

What I realized is there’s this real sentiment now that philanthropy is
evil because the morally correct thing to do is for the government to do
all this. The government should take the money, and then the government
should allocate the money. And that’s a level of statism, bordering on
communism, that has unfortunately infected the culture right now.

This baboon is helping his dog friend to get rid of bugs.

HIDDEN 4,000-YEAR-OLD TOWN DISCOVERED IN ARABIAN OASIS

Americans for Assassination

Is It Any Wonder That No Sane Person Takes Fact Checks Seriously?

An Open Letter to Everyone Who Will Have Their Rights Taken Away on Jan. 20, 2025

BLM mad about Penny's acquittal

Daniel Penny’s Innocence—and the Shame of Alvin Bragg.

The Daniel Penny verdict is a hopeful sign that sanity can rule in our cities again

Rand Paul Warns Musk & Ramaswamy About The Swamp's Upcoming DOGE Dodge

In Britain you can and will be arrested for "misusing" social media

Democracy Is Dead: A Coup Against Right Wing Movements Is Underway In Europe

Ukrainians Are Sick of the War. But We’re Not Allowed to Say It.

It's Time To Stop Blaming Russia For Europe's Woes

Thank you, jury. I want him on my train.

Conservatives Can Curate Art for Themselves

Stone Age Ports in the US

Are the Boeing astronauts actually stuck in space? Nope. ‘Living in space is super fun.’

Mayor Adams Says He is Looking to Bypass New York City’s Sanctuary Laws to Help Trump Deport Illegals

Trump Shreds FBI Director Christopher Wray—'He Invaded My Home'

Joe Biden, corrupt career politician, crawls offstage

Donald Trump is poised to have a successful 2nd term as Commander-in-Chief

Harris raised and spent twice as much as Trump in final days of 2024 election

Spent Saturday in NYC. NYC at Christmastime is wonderfully festive. Crowded? Yes, with tourists and revelers especially in Midtown. All bundled up, including tons of little ones in strollers. Cute.

We saw the Christmas market in Union Square, went to the theater, and had a late lunch/early supper at Boucherie. As good as France I must admit. The dessert cheese board was like France.

I know they are a (very small) chain but you would not know it. Service perfect and attentive.

Should have taken some pics but did not.

Things Worth Remembering: David Foster Wallace on Infinite Things. The great novelist told the class of 2005: Education isn’t about success. It’s about humility.

Luke 3:1-6

3:1 In the fifteenth
year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor
of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler
of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

3 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

3:3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

3:4 as
it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The
voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.

3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough ways made smooth,

3:6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Mrs. BD says that this is a good one: Welcome to ACE Cultural Tours - Expert Led Cultural Tours Since 1958

 Every Single Human Behavior Now Classified As Autism Or ADHD

On Melons and Melancholy - Ben Wurgaft demonstrates how Steven Shapin’s
“Eating and Being” illuminates the intellectual and cultural dynamics
of “dietetics”—the relationship between diet, health, and identity—like
no prior work on the subject.

Why every utterance you make begins with a leap of faith

Saturday Miscellany

H.R. McMaster: My Travels with Trump. ‘I wished more Americans could
understand the good, as well as the bad and the ugly, of the Trump
presidency.’ The former U.S. National Security Adviser is the star of
our next Book Club.

Last Biden pardon of student loans could cost $600,000,000,000

 The Biden Administration Is Working to Sabotage Trump’s Agenda In Ways Large and Small

94% of Feds Work From Home

 Trump is already driving the left crazy. It’s the dull business of
bureaucracy that will almost certainly determine whether this second
Trump administration is more successful than his first

People Who Fought In Afghanistan Know Why Nation-Building Was Never Going To Work

Is Ukraine a de factor member of NATO?

 A Bob Dylan tweet

California Fast Food Restaurants Shed Thousands of Jobs after $20 Minimum Wage Hike

Pediatric Gender Medicine and the Moral Panic Over Suicide

A Safe Bet: Politicized Consensus "Science" Is Wrong

U.S. math scores show 'devastating' decline

What Health Insurance Should Be, But Isn’t

TGIF: Pardon Me? America’s president, Dr. Jill, pardons Hunter. An
executive is shot; people celebrate. Test scores plummet. Pamela
Anderson looks great. RFK Jr. bares his chest. Again. Plus: Do not
colonize Canada.

 Trump Names Monica Crowley as Ambassador, Assistant Secretary of State, Chief of Protocol for the United States.

The Left-Flank Albatross- New research sheds more light on the Democrats’ perception problem.

You and I Knew Taylor Lorenz Acts Like a Soulless Psychopath - When Does She Find Out?

Short, intense bursts of exercise lower women's cardiovascular disease risk by almost half