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Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Thursday, September 28. 2023Thursday morning links
Most Americans think that other people view pornography more often than they do, study finds Commander Biden bites another Secret Service agent, the 11th known incident You may not be aware of it-- I certainly wasn’t-- but American mothers are being consumed by rage. Why ‘the penis question’ matters - How can anyone trust a politician who doesn’t know what a woman is? Nurses Repurposed UK Study: Puberty Blockers Given to Teens -- Worsened Their Mental Illnesses Rather Than Abating Them "A CIA Front Organization": Revisiting EcoHealth COVID-19 Claims After Fauci 'Influence' Campaign Bombshell Elon Musk Posts Hilarious Video Exposing Big Pharma and Dr Fauci’s Lies About Vaccine Efficacy and Safety The Retail Theft Rampage Gets Worse. Target closes nine stores in four states because of crime, as looters run riot in Philadelphia. Dershowitz: Menendez Indictment Not Equal Justice Boston University will investigate Kendi center after ignoring questions for years Michelle Obama Charged $750,000 For a Single One-Hour Speech Democratic San Francisco Mayor Pushing Mandatory Drug Testing, Treatment for Welfare Recipients. “This initiative aims to create more accountability and help get people to accept the treatment and services they need.” What We Must Believe to Believe Biden Is Innocent Inside Iran’s Influence Operation - How the Iranian regime insinuated itself into official Washington. EUROPE: TANGLED UP IN GREEN Wednesday, September 27. 2023Wednesday morning links
I'm a Harvard researcher - this is why buying 'organic' food is a total con Another expert weighs in....proably right, but whatever "Trauma": Don't talk it out ‘Emotional support Barbies’ can improve adults’ mental health: psychologist I guess I need one Depression risk spikes for those who eat these unhealthy foods, study finds: ‘Not a coincidence’ I doubt causality Why Is TED Scared of Color Blindness? Stuart's Wednesday Potpourri
Widespread Mass Looting Overnight in PhillySan Francisco Prepares to Clear Homeless Camps after Court Clarifies Definition of ‘Involuntarily Homeless’ Anthropology groups cancel all-female panel defending biological sex as ‘necessary category’ 'Our education system has collapsed': Giordano weighs in on dismal proficiency levels. 'Rather than fix the problem, they redefined it in order to meet the new normal of what they call it.' James Carville rips far-left Democrats on Bill Maher podcast: ‘Most stupid, naive people you can imagine’ Sheesh Nearly Half of Democrats Believe Free Speech Should Be Legal ‘Only Under Certain Circumstances’ It takes a British minister to clearly call out migrant madness Tuesday, September 26. 2023Critter du Jour: Grey Wolf
Re-introduction of Grey Wolf in the western US has been successful to the point that limited hunting and trapping is legal. This site reviews Grey Wolf in the US over history. Here's what it was historically:
What is "an American"?Tuesday morning links Victor Davis Hanson: Is The Left Happy That They Got Their Wish? Pro-hotel, anti-Airbnb regs kill the little guy: NYC politics as usual Death Of Free Speech: EU Signs Law To ‘Police’ The Entire Internet And Takes Down Websites With Unapproved Speech Heather MacDonals - racist WSJ: The New Moral Order Is Already Crumbling. Globalism, climate-change alarmism and cultural self-annihilation have all come under serious challenge. Controlling Crime in Urban America El Paso Democrat mayor sends five chartered buses to New York, Chicago, and Denver Border Bypass: Biden Admin Lets 221K+ Migrants Fly Directly Into U.S. WHY WON’T BIDEN CLOSE THE BORDER? Monday, September 25. 2023Pretty Peggy-OThe Never Ending Tour is still going. Check out tickets to see Bob with his band.
Monday morning links
Zombie Salmon More schools are adopting 4-day weeks. For parents, the challenge is day 5 The Strategy of Dating Short Men - Why don't more women use it? How Trauma Can Become a Catalyst for Personal Growth. For some people, adversity isn’t something to just get past. As I discovered, it can also be the impetus for new, positive behaviors. Mayo clinic now says hydroxychloroquine MAY be used to treat...whut? Medical Examiner’s Office source: Only 1 to 2 percent of 'COVID deaths' were really COVID Why Is Anxiety Rising? Fears of extinction, Covid, socializing and a second Trump term are all at play. Why are so many young men so angry online? There is no such thing as a ‘sex spectrum.’ Is Censorship a Partisan Issue? Why do public intellectuals condescend to their readers? Is the Americal left happy they got their wishes? No surrender: More migrant buses sent by Governor Abbott are New York City bound New York Post Sends Reporter to Restaurants Dressed Like Sen. John Fetterman- He is Refused Entry Senate Relaxes Rules To Allow Fetterman To Take Baths In Reflecting Pool Reading this week’s news of the Biden Administration, I kept thinking of the Three Stooges poking fingers in each other’s eyes. WEIMAR 2? Destroying the German economy isn’t easy, but that country’s government is working hard at it. France: Foreigners Commit 69% Of Robberies, Violent Crimes & Sexual Assaults On Public Transport Russian Foreign Minister Says U.S. 'Directly at War' With Russia in Ukraine Sorta, yes It’s Time to Stop Backing Ukraine. There is no victory in this war. There are only bad and worse outcomes. Sunday, September 24. 2023Our Nazis Are Better Than Their Nazis
Point is, when you celebrate a Nazi, simply because he's Ukrainian and fought Russians in WWII, you confirm that you have created a self-perpetuating cycle of BS which is beginning to pile up. It becomes even worse when you utilize your media ties to block the information surrounding that person. The Left will say "but lots of German soldiers weren't Nazis." Soldiers, yes. Waffen SS, not so much. Let's just get a grip and call things what they are. The cycle of leftist hypocrisy and lies is growing. We're just caught in their vortex. I Am Kenough Barbie was just a comedy that tried to (poorly) push a leftist agenda and wound up undoing itself with other, better, themes while making me laugh hysterically. Ken, inadvertantly at the end, promotes individuality. The movie begins by paying homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey and an openly ironic narrative describes how Barbie, the doll, "saved girls" and helped improve their lot in the world and in life by empowering girls to achieve. This was, arguably, the most inspired part of the production, because it parodies itself and, throughout the movie, it incorporates recreated scenes from classic films. Is there an overriding theme or message to Barbie? Yes there is, but it is poorly done. What the theme may be, ultimately, is up to you, and I'm sure we'll all have different views. I did not see what they wanted me to see (I rarely fall for Hollywood nonsense).
Continue reading "I Am Kenough"
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James Sexton: Divorce Lawyer on Marriage, Relationships, Sex, Lies & LoveThis guy has seen it all. He's right that we all disappoint eachother.
From today's LectionaryMatthew 20:1-16 20:1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 20:2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 20:3 When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 20:4 and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. 20:5 When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. 20:6 And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' 20:7 They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' 20:8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' 20:9 When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 20:10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 20:11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 20:12 saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' 20:13 But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 20:14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 20:15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 20:16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Saturday, September 23. 2023Someone ElseJimmy Webb wrote this song at age 14 in 1958
The wealth of nationsTop Ten Things To Know About Fall Bird MigrationI've been seeing plenty of fall warblers (all look about the same to me) and thrushes. Regular readers may know all of this, but Top Ten Things To Know About Fall Bird Migration
Saturday morning links
Truth or Dare questions from Seventeen Magazine 61% of David Brooks' airport meal was alcohol Bryn Mawr College rolls out 59-point plan to combat ‘privilege, oppression perpetuated at the college’ KIPP Gets Children Into College. More evidence that charter schools lift student performance. Heather Mac Donald challenges BLM student protesters in tense talk at Berkeley Law Shaming Crime - Rather than glorifying and excusing lawbreaking, Americans could learn something from Asian cultures’ attitude toward such behavior. Portland’s Police Staffing Crisis: What It Is, Why It Is, and How to Fix It Democrat mayor of Eagle Pass: Joe Biden sent the message the border is open Willie Wilson: Chicago taxpayers deserve transparency on migrant spending NIALL FERGUSON: I urged Biden to run for President in 2016, now I implore him to do the smart thing and retire Zelensky Departs Washington Mostly Empty-Handed Amid Mood Shift In West Zelensky forced to make an impossible sell. There are limits to what he can achieve with one more drab olive green reminder of his needs in Washington
Friday, September 22. 2023The abnormal as the new normal
QQQFriday morning links
THE DAILY CHART: WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES? All—As In All—Of The “Climate Change Made This Event More Likely” Claims Are False Devastating risks of transitioning to 'green' energy: Mining for electric-powering minerals has left 23 million people exposed to toxic waste, 500,000km of rivers polluted and 16 million acres of farmland ruined Chicago: From Stacker of Wheat to Stacker of Wheat Thins! Mayor Brandon Johnson should remember the sorry history of state-run supermarkets. Requiem for a Dying US Auto Industry Five Quick Things: Bankman. Fried. Maybe the fever of corruption and tyranny that has seized us for the past 15 years is beginning to break. TGIF: Ennui the People - Americans are tired of politics. Senators are sick of suits. Right-wingers give up on war. Rupert Murdoch passes the baton. Plus, Lauren Boebert gets felt up on Broadway. Supreme Court May Put Administrative-State On Chopping-Block In Upcoming Term, Lawyers Say Governor Greg Abbott Officially Declares INVASION at Southern Border by the Mexican Drug Cartels Biden repeats same story word-for-word just minutes apart, raising fresh concerns about age, fitness for office Poland ends arms supplies to Ukraine Jeffrey Sachs: NATO Expansion & Ukraine's Destruction Thursday, September 21. 2023What's going on with the open US border?Why is this happening? Biden Protects 472,000 Venezuelan Illegals from Deportation. Maybe next time it'll be a million. Don’t blame migrants — it’s Biden’s open-border plan that’s fueling hardship Biden handing out protected status like candy You might call it a crisis by design, to coin an Insta-phrase.
Thursday morning links Can You Find God in a Bikini? In a city where religion is dead, the young search for a higher power—in a sauna with Diplo. Will Understanding 'Brain Energy' Help Resolve America’s Current Mental Health Crisis? Everything is a crisis nowadays Long Covid is a new name for an old syndrome Suppressing negative thoughts may be good for mental health after all, study suggests How to Transition Between Work Time and Personal Time. Whether you’re heading into the office or working from home, here are some tips for making the shift between work and personal time. Rules for campus radicals; or, how not to respond to Campus Reform The Desperate Need to Renew College History Departments Britain’s Parliament has demanded that Rumble deplatform Russell Brand Border Crisis Hits Cape Cod: Yarmouth, MA, Residents Object to Housing Illegal Immigrants in Motel Mayor of Eagle Pass issues disaster declaration as arrests of illegal migrants plummet Despite 'Financial Tsunami' From Migrants, NYC Mulls Reparations, Removal Of George Washington Statues The Evolution of the American Police State There’s Nothing Slow-Motion About Uncle Sam’s Financial Train Wreck RFK JR. IS A CRAZY LEFT-WINGER Wednesday, September 20. 2023Lesson of the Day: Sanctions Create New MarketsI'll expand this and point out "Anti-Gouging Laws" are a form of sanctions and not only make strenuous situations more difficult, but they also create their own markets (among people willing to pay, pay cash, and keep their mouth shut). Lots of government agencies will claim they 'work' and cite a few specific and unusual examples and claim "victory." Pyrrhic, at best. The same is true with governments discussing sanctions. International sanctions rarely work because of the point made in the title - they create 'black' markets. Russia's oil has sanctions against it? So what. Some country that doesn't care about the West will buy it on the cheap, then resell to nations that support the sanctions but are happy to play intermediary, and eventually it gets back to the West one way or the other. Either as refined product, or by markets elsewhere that undermine the larger market and disrupt supplies. The communist world had sanctions against many Western goods - but they were always available in communist nations. My father traveled to Russia with a suitcase carrying a few extra cases of Marlboros (he didn't smoke) and a few pairs of Levis. Always good to have the local currency (contraband) ready just in case. A friend who travelled to Argentina 8 years ago, where currency controls were in place, was directed to join a "currency club" where they got a "preferred rate of exchange". The official Argentine rate was so bad, many people set up these "clubs" where they'd exchange at a better rate, knowing they could get the currency out and exchange at better rates outside of Argentina. There aren't many examples of sanctions working and doing what they're supposed to do. Usually sophisticated nations can find ways out of, or around, sanctions. In the modern world, the claim was Russia's removal from the SWIFT payment system would cripple them. Someone forgot that the decentralized nature of the internet and cryptocurrencies made the hegemonic controls of a SWIFT system problematic. If you're going to cut someone out of the system - when might YOU be cut out of the system (for any variety of political reasons)? Russia isn't crushing it, economically, but the claims about how poorly it would be doing by now were clearly overblown and based on a poor understanding of modern economic interactions. Hiking Poles, re-posted for the season I thought they were nurdy until I saw everybody using them (except us) during our hiking trip in the Dolomites. My Mom always used them after her knees went sour. We have a hiking trip coming up in a while to the Hebrides and Outer Hebrides (quite similar to Johnson and Boswell's), and their main recommendations are rain gear, hiking poles, day-pack, and waterproof hiking boots. Leave the sun screen at home. I assume they provide the whiskey. The hiking part will be about 7 hrs/day, with fishing boat lifts between islands. Spartan B&Bs with Highland "cuisine." Hmmmm. It's gloomy and nasty up there in Trump's maternal homeland, and it's easy to understand why so many of them jumped on boats in Glasgow and Liverpool to come to America where the livin' is easy and there ain't no Lairds. BTW, if you are new to the delightful Boswell, I recommend all of his stuff. In many ways, he was more interesting and amusing than Dr. Johnson who was pedantic - but who could also slide the knife deftly into somebody's pretensions. Also, Johnson knew everything. Pic is LL Bean telescoping poles. Wednesday morning links Multicultural Education Fails Books Canada is banning The Things We Can't Say - As the culture war permeates American life, combatants set their sights on the ways we express ourselves. As Trump predicted, Washington and Jefferson are next Is The Gig Economy On The Verge Of Destruction? " right-wing domination of the news media." Stuart's Wednesday Potpourri Ardern at UN: we are at war, so censorship is necessary Tuesday, September 19. 2023Thank You for SharingI posted on Monday about the death of someone I'd gone to high school with and the conversations it sparked, as well as the odd situation it presented due to the poor teen experience I'd had (and since resolved for myself), and the difficulty of finality when a relationship ends poorly. Part of writing in a forum like this is to just 'get stuff out there'. Another part is to share ideas or feelings that may help others. Still another part is seeing what others share back. Every single comment made is helpful and meaningful. While I haven't written for quite some time (I really need to fix how I handle time management), this was something I felt was good to share. I'm glad I did and thank you to everyone who commented. Maggie's is not just a forum to write, it's a place to share. One reason I like to post anonymously is because writing can be a way to draw attention to yourself, and that's not what I write to do. While some readers do know who I am, most don't. I like seeing what almost all our readers have to say (there is a rare comment I can't abide by...but free speech still rules my life). In this particular case - all were very useful. Thank you. How they make pencils
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