From Pine View Farm

2007 archive

Hatfields and McCoys (Updated) 0

The feud may have had some biological roots:

The most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, inherited disease that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts.

Dozens of McCoy descendants apparently have the disease, which causes high blood pressure, racing hearts, severe headaches and too much adrenaline and other “fight or flight” stress hormones.

No one blames the whole feud on this, but doctors say it could help explain some of the clan’s notorious behavior.

About the only good thing the feud produced was this.

Addendum, 4/7/07:

Scott Simon’s commentary.

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Teens in the News 6

In Hermitage, Pa.:

A school principal sued four former students who he claims posted parody MySpace.com profiles saying he smoked pot, kept beer at school and liked having sex with students.

In the lawsuit, Eric W. Trosch alleged that the three profiles created in December 2005 on the social networking Web site damaged his reputation, humiliated him and hurt his earning capacity.

And across the nation:

Malls looking to restore what they call a family-friendly environment are putting policies in place that require younger teens to have adult supervision during certain hours, almost always on the weekend.

Mall officials say the policies cut back on unruly behavior and loitering that can turn off other shoppers; teens say they are being singled out for the bad behavior of a few.

At least 44 malls out of 1,100 in the United States have teen curfew and escort policies – mostly since 2004, according to data from the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York shopping-center trade organization.

Of course, it must be difficult for the Younger Generation these days.

After what those of my age did, there is nothing they can do to shock us.

Disgust us maybe. But not shock us.

It must be awfully frustrating.

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What’s Going on in Pakistan? 0

From Fresh Air. I listened to this yesterday. Mr. Rashid talks a little fast–it takes some getting used to–but the interview was very interesting. And things he says bear on what’s going on in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. Follow the link to listen to the interview:

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf faces protests at home — and given his stance on the Taliban, eroding support in the West as well. Journalist and author Ahmed Rashid parses the challenges and possibilities of contemporary Pakistani politics.

The Bush administration sees Musharraf as a major ally in the war on terrorism. He came to power in a 1999 coup; his 5-year term as president is up this year, and with protest movements emerging both in the Pakistani middle-class and among Islamist extremists, it’s far from clear how he’ll proceed.

Rashid, author of the best-selling Taliban and Jihad, argues that Musharraf has misjudged his country’s mood, that Pakistan’s middle-class is ready for a move back toward democracy and that they’re ready for Musharraf to step down.

A violent government crackdown on public protest, Rashid says, has only unified the opposition, and “anything he does now to keep himself in power … is going to lead to more protests and more aggravation on the streets.”

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Civil Public Discourse 4

With a tip to Opie.

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Crocodile Tears 1

Andrew Cohen:

President Bush told White House journalists yesterday that he is “genuinely concerned” about the reputations of the eight fired U.S. Attorneys but that there is “no credible evidence of any wrongdoing” in their dismissals. “I’m sorry it’s come to this,” Bush said in front of the television cameras and no doubt he is. I would be sorry, too, if I were president and I had an attorney general and a Justice Department that was unable or unwilling to do right by the rules and the truth.

There some very thoughtful comments following Mr. Cohen’s post (as well as the usual crop of sarcasm and sniping, such as the delightfully ironic suggestion that Ms. Goodling might benefirt from a visit to Gitmo–which sort of shows what can happen to the polity when rulers decide that some animals are more equal than others).

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Adam Felber Muses on World Events (Updated) 4

Looking at the release of the British sailors, at Saudi King Abdullah’s Middle East peace efforts, and Nancy Pelosi’s travels, he asks

Can the entire planet do an end-run around the Bush administration and Al Qaeda and figure out a way to repair the world? And if we can, how will the Bush administration take credit for it?

And do they deserve credit for it?

Anyone who’s ever had a completely incompetent high school teacher or a totally boneheaded and lazy coach for their sports team understands this – eventually, you and your friends realized that in the end you’d be judged by an objective standard – the other team, the standardized test…

(Aside: Regarding Ms. Pelosi’s trip, if Republicans can do it, Democrats can also. After all, visiting world leaders is not the same as firing competent public servants or selling the government to the highest bidder, despite the Bushie spin.)

Addendum, 4/5/07:

Digby.

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What’s in a Name? 0

A Swedish couple is battling the country’s National Tax Authority for the right to call their daughter “Metallica”, the BBC reports.

In Sweden, both first names and surnames have to be officially approved. On the banned list are “offensive, unsuitable or inappropriate” titles, as well as those which might “cause discomfort for the one using it.”

Wonder what they would say about “Apple“?

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Smokin’! 0

Withdrawal:

A Honolulu-bound Delta Air Lines Inc. jet was diverted to San Francisco on Tuesday when a female passenger became unruly after smoking in the lavatory, federal officials said.

Delta Flight 511, a nonstop from Cincinnati, was over the Pacific Ocean when the passenger had “a complete meltdown freakout,” said a fellow passenger who called The Associated Press from the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport.

The flight was turned around after the woman hit a pilot who had left the cockpit to quell the disturbance, said Elizabeth Oglesby of Atlanta.

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Rx 0

In my continuing journey in the world of self-employment, I today applied for medical insurance through my professional society.

It’s eye-opening to pay the entirety of your premium, even with a $10,000.00 deductible (coupled with an HSA).

But it’s still better than this.

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Bad Men, Bad Wars 0

Will Bunch on the cynicism of Federal Administrators:

William Kristol said in November 2005 that “Pelosi’s endorsement today of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq makes the House Democrats the party of defeat, the party of surrender.” Even that voice of the new media, Jeff Gannon, has prattled about “the party of surrender” on his blog.

Ironic, considering that the phrase was, from Day One, nothing but a political ploy of the cheapest kind. In fact, Nixon and Kissinger wanted to get out of Vietnam just as much as the Democrats of the early 1970s — the only difference was they wanted to make sure that they won an election first.

    When someone told Kissinger that Nixon could not be re-elected, because of Vietnam, he disputed it and added, according to a memo of a conversation, that “anytime we want to get out of Vietnam we can,” and that “we will get out of Vietnam before the [1972] election.” Nixon wanted to plan the removal of all U.S. troops by the end of 1971, but Kissinger cautioned that, if North Vietnam then de-stabilized Saigon during the following year, events could have an adverse effect on the president’s campaign. According to Haldeman’s diaries, Kissinger advocated a pullout in the fall of 1972, “so that if any bad results follow they will be too late to affect the election.” He apparently had nothing to say about the American lives that would be lost by deliberately prolonging the war.

In fact, a lot of American lives (and countless Vietnamese lives) were lost due to that calculated policy. From the beginning of 1969 (20 days before Nixon took office) until the end of the war, another 20,604 Americans gave their lives in a crusade that somehow morphed into a campaign to re-elect the president.

It just boggles my mind that we would make the same moronic mistake twice in my lifetime, and that thousands more will die for the same BS, so that one party can gain some electoral votes in 2008 by branding their rivals “the party of surrender,” rather than take responsible steps to do what’s right, politically expedient or not.

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S(pl)urge 0

’nuff said.

Via Professor Cole.

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Swampwater 1

I’ve mentioned Blackwater USA before–the secretive (not secret, just to be clear) outfit that, when questioned about its activities, claims that its behavior is more classified than anything the actual, real U. S. Military does.

Well, looks like their minions can’t drive:

The Air Force has dropped all charges against two officers involved in a road-rage incident with a Blackwater USA contractor in Afghanistan and has launched an investigation into the possibility of witness tampering in the case.

The decision will mean more scrutiny of a high-profile clash between the uniformed military and the growing force of private contractors on the battlefield.

Lt. Cols. Gary Brown and Christopher Hall could have faced a potentially career-ending court-martial over accusations that they rammed a vehicle driven by Blackwater contractor Jimmy Bergeron on a busy Kabul road Sept. 19 and that they assaulted and threatened Bergeron in a confrontation after the collision.Background: Wartime friction grows between private and uniformed forces

After a preliminary hearing in February, an Air Force investigating officer recommended that the charges be dropped, suggesting that Bergeron was the aggressor in the incident and citing evidence that someone might have tried to bribe Afghan security guards to testify falsely about it.

As far as I am concerned, we shouldn’t be contracting out our national defense.

It is difficult enough to ensure the loyalty of those whose paychecks are signed by Uncle Sugar. What reason have we to trust someone whose paychecks are signed by private individuals?

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God in Schools 3

This sounds like a good decision to me:

A school district violated a fourth-grader’s constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection by refusing to allow her to distribute “personal statement” fliers carrying a religious message, a federal judge has ruled.

The Liverpool Central School District in upstate New York based its restrictions on “fear or apprehension of disturbance, which is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression,” Chief U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue wrote in a 46-page decision Friday

(snippage)

Bloodgood’s requests to school officials said that her daughter, now a sixth-grader, would hand them out only during “non-instructional time,” such as on the bus, before school, lunch, recess and after school.

The lawsuit noted that Michaela had received literature from other students at school, including materials for a YMCA basketball camp, a Syracuse Children’s Theater promotion and Camp Fire USA’s summer camps.

The Constitution of the United States of America says (now, note! I’m quoting the actual Constitution, not the Bushie version):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The issue with prayer and other religious observances in public (that is, government-run) schools, regardless of how it has been misrepresented ad nauseum is this: The government and its agents are prohibited from promoting religion–any religion and all religions.

That’s all there is to it. There ain’t no more.

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The American Way (Updated) 0

I can’t summarize this adequately.

I recommend you read it for yourselves.

Addendum, 4/03/2007:

Andrew Sullivan.

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Icing on the Cakewalk 0

Out of the net.

It’s not drunken driving in New Jersey if it involves a Zamboni.

A judge ruled the four-ton ice rink-grooming machines aren’t motor vehicles because they aren’t useable on highways and can’t carry passengers.

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History of a Lie 0

Here.

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I Try To Run a Family Blog 1

So I can’t figure out how to blog this. (You have been warned.)

(Aside: When I was in college, I did not even consider joining a fraternity. I saw no sense in paying dues to get drunk. However, no self-respecting frat house I knew would have asked her to leave oh, never mind.)

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Shoot Yourself in the Foot Dept. (Updated) 0

Bang!

Bang!

Addendum:

And, of course, here.

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Alarmists (Updated) 8

Opie caught it. I’ve been had.

Howsomever, I stand by my comment, visible when you click the comments link.

And to honor my captor and to savor my humiliation, I shall not remove the post (however much I should like to), though I have taken it off the front page.

You can read it in all its blustering credulousness here.

But one day I’ll see Phillybits at Drinking Liberally (tomorrow and every Tuesday, Tangier, 18th and Lombard, one block north of South Street, Philadelphia) and put Ipecac in his beer.

And it was really well-done.

I take consolation in this:

The writing was not wasted. The Current Federal Administration will certainly give me a chance to use it again.

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What Goes Around Comes Around 0

Susie.

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