Maggie's Farm

We 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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Friday, February 27. 2026

Friday morning links


Trust the experts on transgenderism, they said


NPR caught in a new liberal fever dream about missing Epstein files linking to Trump


Susan Rice Goes Full Fascist


TGIF: The Situation Has Snowballed - Hockey gold turns into a loyalty test,
Dems won’t clap for Iryna’s grieving mom, Kamala ‘might,’ ‘John Barron’
calls C-SPAN, robot vacuums listen in, Bernie tries to unplug the
future, and much more.


McDonald’s in Germany banning daytime food pics for Ramadan. Funny how this only works one way ...

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 08:34 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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Epstein by intent connected with everyone who had any juice. Politicians, actors, rich people, activists, professors, anyone who was any kind of public figure. The theory is he was wanting to use his connections, power and wealth to extort people into doing what he wanted. To that end he had pictures and emails and rumors with almost everyone who was anyone. Many of these attempts to trick or lure people into embarrassing situations never panned out. THAT is what the left is angry about. They were hoping the Epstein files would implicate a lot of Republicans/conservatives but that was very disappointing. The files have indeed implicated a lot of people but not the people that the left wanted. BUT! The left has decided to not let that bother them and if anyone they dislike is mentioned in the Epstein files they intend to try to paint them with a broad brush of being involved in Epstein's pedophilia trap.
If they are smart and want to avoid a civil lawsuit they will speak in vague terms and doublespeak. And therein lies the way to identify this intentional and malicious attack on political enemies. It will be a lot like the Russia, Russia, Russia claims. A lot of rhetoric, a lot of lies and zero facts. Because that's whatthe left does.
#1 OneGuy on 2026-02-27 10:07 (Reply)
QUOTE:
Susan Rice Goes Full Fascist

Even if you accept the framing, that's not fascism.

QUOTE:
What else would you expect from a supposed “public official” who believes that public service in a democracy is all about threatening to arrest the opposition?

She's not a public official. Rice is a private citizen whose employer was threatened by the head of the federal government with "consequences" for employing her. Meanwhile, from someone with actual political power: "Jack Smith MUST be held accountable or it will happen over and over again. Lock him up."
#2 Zachriel on 2026-02-27 10:15 (Reply)
Guess this wasn’t fascism either when Dems did it.
#2.1 Zachinoff on 2026-02-27 15:08 (Reply)
Susan Rice was part of the Obama national security team that created the fake Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. She was recently outed for that hoax by Tulsi Gabbard. She is every bit the fascist that Victoria Nuland became.
#2.2 indyjonesouthere on 2026-02-27 16:54 (Reply)
American couple relocated to Italy and only spend about $1,246/month: ‘We don’t have a mortgage’

QUOTE:
In October 2021, the couple went on a house-hunting trip to Italy and viewed about 15 homes across Abruzzo and Tuscany.

In 2024, Tresl and Ninman acquired a second property in Italy, which they rent on Airbnb for up to 85 euros, or about $101, per night. Ninman left his job as a butcher when the couple moved out of the U.S., and now manages the Airbnb property.

. . . Considering their limited budget and the fact that Tresl knew they would need more money on hand for renovations, the couple settled on a two-floor, two-bedroom house just under 1,076 square feet. Tresl says they picked it for the price and the terrace view.

The couple closed on the house in February 2022 in an all-cash deal for 11,500 euros, or about $13,150 at the time, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. They moved into the house in July 2022 and finished most of the renovations in the fall. They spent about $18,000 on the renovations.

. . . In Italy, the couple only spends about $1,246 per month, including utilities and living expenses. Here’s a breakdown of their monthly expenses, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. All figures are rounded.

Groceries: 480 euros a month (about $567)
Electricity: 217 euros (about $256) every two months
Tresl’s gym membership: 115 euros (about $136) every three months
Water: 91 euros (about $108) every two months
Daughter’s gymnastics: 50 euros (about $59) per month
Airbnb supplies: 50 euros (about $59) per month
Daughter’s preschool: 40 euros (about $47) per month
Internet: 12 euros (about $14) per month per house

In the winter, they also pay up to 200 euros a month, or about $237, per home for heat. Annually, the couple pays 286 euros, or about $338, per house for garbage pick up and about 61 euros, or around $72, in property taxes for each house.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/27/american-couple-relocated-to-italy.html
#3 feeblemind on 2026-02-27 11:46 (Reply)
just over five years ago I moved to Arizona into a over 55 park model trailer. I pay $8500 a year for rent, about $140 a month for electric and everything else including TV ad wi-fi is included. We average about 5 social functions a week, dances, Karaoke, pot lucks, happy hours, dinner nights etc. not to mention pool time, cards, tennis, pickle ball etc. We love it. Quieter in the Summer but still lots to do. too many activities available in the greater Phoenix area to ever get to all of them. The rent on the House we still own is three times what we pay here so we can't find enough things to spend money on. I like visiting Italy (prefer France, Germany and Austria) but I want to live in my home country. It's doable, plenty of places for sale and rent down here in the valley of the sun.
#4 OneGuy on 2026-02-27 13:54 (Reply)

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