tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52985952012-02-10T03:22:48.972-05:00<b><i>An average conservative American's journal composed mostly of turgid babble on Politics, Capitalism, Business, Real Estate Appraisal, Family, Faith, Homeschooling, Theology, Science, Philosophy, Common (and uncommon) Sense--sometimes spritzed with reflections on how Poison Dart Frogs, Crocodiles, and Coffee can affect the Modern Age.</i></b> Or... “Following--and occasionally dropping--some epistemological breadcrumbs down a path in the woods to--hopefully--enlightenment.”Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.comBlogger3411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-71627736864647387742012-01-08T15:01:00.007-05:002012-01-08T16:35:46.596-05:00

From the New York Post: It was the tea party the Obamas just couldn’t resist. A White House “Alice in Wonderland” costume ball — put on by Johnny Depp and Hollywood director Tim Burton — proved to be a Mad-as-a-Hatter idea that was never made public for fear of a political backlash during hard economic times, according to a new tell-all.“The Obamas,” by New York Times correspondent Jodi

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-45648993332196115762011-12-20T20:40:00.009-05:002011-12-26T02:44:30.749-05:00

Cassius, get outta here--it's official now. You might be a real bruiser (at 17 feet and 11.75 inches) and rule your own enclosure over in Australia, and maybe Gustave (A Nile Crocodile- Crocodylus niloticus) is the world's most notorious living maneater out in the wilds of Burundi, in Africa, but the world's largest captive crocodile, a one handsome, lovable scaly chap named "Lolong".  Lolong is

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-79367724215973743692011-12-16T16:10:00.007-05:002011-12-17T14:46:49.101-05:00

An excellent, informative, and timely letter response from The Appraisal Foundation to the NAHB's (National Association of Home Builders) criticism of the appraisal practice as it relates to the current housing crisis:_________________________________ "December 13, 2011 Paul LopezNational Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 1201 15th Street, NW  Washington, DC 20005   Dear Mr. Lopez: We

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-54125206378176494722011-12-16T01:33:00.003-05:002011-12-16T02:07:22.006-05:00

From Vanity Fair:"Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir, Hitch-22, and began chemotherapy soon after. His matchless prose has appeared in Vanity Fair since 1992, when he was named contributing

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-17636146241016083082011-12-11T16:18:00.002-05:002011-12-11T23:57:28.368-05:00

Survival of the Godliest | Big Questions Online Now this was interesting: Demographer Phillip Longman peers into the not-so-distant future regarding the correlations of religion, culture, and ideology to fertility--and tackles the question of whether "demography is destiny".

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-14729726316513883122011-10-06T04:38:00.001-04:002011-10-26T19:55:26.643-04:00

(Just a few links of note for myself and a friend) http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no10/flames.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Undergroundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_terrorism_in_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Earth_Liberation_Front_actionshttp://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/ecoterrorism.asphttp://archive.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=1189http://

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-83075669720783465292011-07-04T10:56:00.003-04:002011-08-21T00:59:53.714-04:00

Not sure what the doggie in the lower righthand corner of this photo has to do with all this, but that's fine. He's most welcome to join in the fun on this day marking a most auspicious occasion in our nation's history--its origins. I liked the silhouette of Lady Liberty.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-7156491934515582832010-07-28T19:57:00.012-04:002011-10-26T20:00:33.018-04:00

Last post for some time, folks. This is going to be it for a while. Long story not made very short, but short enough for full context: Life has reached one of those stages where things are just too hectic. I can't do it all. It's really that simple. The attempt at trying to swat these political and philosophical issues--these clouds of flies--would wear me to a frazzle. It's time to spend more

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-91294491354769008272010-07-15T03:01:00.003-04:002011-12-12T01:08:16.126-05:00

Why &#8216;Atlas Shrugged&#8217; Matters

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-67000473392648646472010-07-14T19:34:00.001-04:002010-07-14T19:35:29.626-04:00

Financial Reform Bill Won&#039;t Stop Next Crisis Mark A. Calabria Cato Institute: Commentary

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-55930337699748651102010-07-09T01:12:00.012-04:002011-09-22T16:00:21.379-04:00

Was that a flying carpet I saw in the sky this evening, or has NASA gotten into some odd priorities lately? Though, to be sure--and to be fair--this notion (NASA's Islamic outreach program) did not originate with Obama.  All manner of politicians can and will eventually get around to trying all manner of tricks. It's just that the Obama administration is more open about these kinds of "Islamic

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-35193779199274135512010-07-04T17:48:00.000-04:002011-07-07T11:02:33.651-04:00

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-59066461147299139972010-06-13T16:20:00.332-04:002011-05-13T13:36:21.317-04:00

Some of my conservative pals have cheered the timely--and mostly welcome--departure/retirement of the "groundbreaking", "heroic", earthshaking, heebie-jeebie-generating, iconic liberal journalist Helen Thomas. In light of some recent ugly comments about the Jews needing to "get the hell out of Palestine" (her term, along with more than a few in the media and government, for what you and I would

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-38462845759033751692010-06-10T02:31:00.006-04:002010-06-10T04:11:38.095-04:00

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-47651906826912153552010-06-01T01:59:00.057-04:002011-06-29T17:58:24.797-04:00

OK. Now, at last, for the obligatory "All-Conservative-Writers-Must-at-Some-Point-Address-Kagan" time here at Wakepedia. (As if I can really do something about all this, and other aspects of the nation falling into utter disrepair, including arguing whether Kagan's legal insights hold some kind of disdain for Constitutional law.) Let the words speak for themselves: “Whether a given category of

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-6991545100248988862010-06-01T00:45:00.016-04:002012-01-11T20:07:26.889-05:00

NOT. Self-explanitory. Even if not to the major media, who've been taken in hook, line, and sinker. There is much to read out there, and this is getting constantly updated as the minutes tick, but for the moment let's tip the hat to Melanie Phillips: "The Islamist strategy of war against Israel is carefully calibrated to deploy the most effective weapon in its armoury in the cause of jihadi

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-43383434915829304152010-05-31T21:15:00.028-04:002012-01-12T03:27:20.284-05:00

So, my brother brought over James Cameron's hit space/corporate pig trough/enviro-preach movie Avatar to watch awhile back. Now I officially got that out of the way. Hooray. I am complete for being all the more hip to something I guessed at being the theme of such movies. I think. Anyhoooo......No doubt most of my readers have seen the movie by now. But I'll toss in my take just for shiggles.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-75465921411357885542010-05-31T14:11:00.095-04:002011-09-22T15:59:55.735-04:00

The American voter never wises up. From the "I Told Ya So"  Department: Came across this recently, from the The American Spectator's Washington Prowler site: "The economic report released last week by Health and Human Services, which indicated that President Barack Obama’s health care “reform” law would actually increase the cost of health care and impose higher costs on consumers, had been

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-66962980038826121502010-05-31T13:35:00.003-04:002010-05-31T13:45:35.437-04:00

"The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem." -Rev. Aaron Kilbourn

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-4378825885117893202010-05-26T18:33:00.002-04:002011-09-22T16:00:21.392-04:00

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Mexico Tells Obama What To Do With Those National Guard Troops No. REALLY. TOLD WHAT TO DO. (Hint: Not a damned thing thing to do with stopping illegals from crossing the so-called "border.")

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-85786564710918657002010-05-26T16:29:00.001-04:002010-05-31T13:32:46.219-04:00

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Obamacare Requires You To "Show Your Papers" But of course, Arizona law is just damnable, incorrigible racism.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-26103623961242833752010-05-26T00:29:00.002-04:002011-09-22T15:59:55.748-04:00

Well...no...not REALLY. Psyche!  Though, I'm sure most of my readers would not fall for this, it's still fun to point out a few inconvenient facts here and yonder with glee, like the imbalances in the tax structure and how the responsibilities have shifted in the last several decades, that causes rough averages to show the lie of who's paying (or not) of what. Side note: This BS is getting

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-2193737839499790572010-05-26T00:11:00.005-04:002010-07-18T01:35:03.388-04:00

Now, we get to bail out these Euromasters of advanced socialist economics and sumptuous pension plans along with retirement packages at age 50 for being a nanny or hairdresser. Irony, thou overwhelmeth the soul.  Some details on the bailout.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-66340880083957032642010-05-09T15:07:00.008-04:002011-09-22T14:39:12.691-04:00

(Click graph image to enlarge) H/T to Kathy Shaidle

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-19910804718882246752010-05-04T18:59:00.003-04:002010-05-04T19:43:51.640-04:00

Crying Lone Wolf - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online Well, gentle reader, some trends from our liberal pals are just getting too predictable here when it comes to assigning blame other than the most obvious answers as to who is generally responsible for international and domestic trouble these days. Of course, as MSNBC's lovely (albeit boneheaded) Contessa Brewer might say, it's

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-1747818077923598502010-04-28T16:54:00.001-04:002011-09-22T14:39:12.703-04:00

From Heritage's Morning Bell.(Yes, it's tolling for thee.)

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-19965317313832481332010-04-27T12:09:00.003-04:002011-04-14T00:20:34.324-04:00

 "Once upon a time", as the old tales always went, it was a little ugly to accuse people of "Nazism"--even a "little bit." (Godwin's Law has nothing on what some people just shout out about.) Reductio ad Hitlerum

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-58471555906231819432010-04-25T23:47:00.002-04:002010-04-26T04:04:57.129-04:00

Couldn't resist. A Plague of  'A' Students Posted using ShareThis

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-85756646307066939142010-04-24T19:20:00.003-04:002010-06-01T03:29:23.395-04:00

Capitalism Magazine - The Legacy of Eric Hoffer Great read from the pen of Thomas Sowell on the man who warned us about The True Believers out there!

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-71053069206869462662010-04-23T13:24:00.004-04:002011-09-22T15:59:55.760-04:00

..and dumbass, half-cocked, notionmongers--with losing arguments. Tom Friedman has this utterly absurd penchant for getting almost everything wrong. In fact, exactly bass-ackwards. In this little NYT Op-Ed sermon, entitled "Everybody Loves a Winner" about the perceptions of strong horses vs. weak, Friedman apparently thinks that our enemies are mortally afraid of a resurgent America that is

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-37853153766943777812010-04-22T12:16:00.004-04:002012-01-11T20:12:15.012-05:00

I've already gone over this, so no need to re-invent the wheel on this issue. Of course, the cartoon above engages in some rather crude demagoguery when it comes to mankind's (Mr. "Stupid") relationship with the environment. That is addressed in the previous article as well.  Enjoy. Gotta go run some errands.(Now, time to go buy some gasoline for the car. Where did I put those keys?) **UPDATE:

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-20791404108478628962010-04-21T18:42:00.002-04:002010-04-21T22:46:34.271-04:00

Old news, I know. But not really to me. Keep this issue on the front burner, folks. Our very nation might depend on it, as "Amnesty" talk bubbles up again from this administration. Yet another day in the paradise of Open Borders. No black helicopter operations here. That's done primarily against American citizens who (so alleged) threaten violence, NOT illegal aliens who've actually done so.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-39555561881470693752010-04-20T22:44:00.000-04:002010-04-20T22:47:56.567-04:00

Membership Doesn’t Have Its Privileges: Liberty on Trial in the Martinez Case The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-9996504927330841232010-04-20T17:57:00.003-04:002010-05-31T13:31:06.547-04:00

Think Tax Day Is Expensive This Year? Just wait. The Foundry: Conservative Policy News. (More fun yet to come!)

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-9747288020254948172010-04-15T23:36:00.004-04:002010-04-20T22:47:56.603-04:00

                                         (You knew this was coming, folks. Don't give me that look!) 

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-48765146947943321742010-04-13T23:37:00.004-04:002010-04-20T22:47:56.618-04:00

Thanks for Sharing - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online "The supersmartest president of all time, who unlike that Sarah Palin is so totally an expert on nuclear issues, offers his unique insight: 'If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically and from a security perspective would be devastating.'And not just

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-11046677334295462992010-04-13T09:38:00.000-04:002010-04-13T09:38:14.711-04:00

Check out this great MSN Video: Meet Britain's Crocodile Dundee

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-3105647486276497872010-04-04T15:30:00.000-04:002010-04-20T23:13:50.633-04:00

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-70551857193340013362010-03-21T23:22:00.003-04:002011-09-22T15:59:55.775-04:00

...just kidding. There is no such animal.  Its existence is now shown to be myth. Everything is proceeding as planned. For reasons I've spelled out elsewhere for a long time, over and over on this blog, that's not a good thing.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-1010004839337708402010-03-21T12:47:00.005-04:002010-03-25T13:12:06.738-04:00

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-64489894697465988372010-03-19T15:12:00.013-04:002012-01-11T20:13:07.491-05:00

Holy Mackeral, and pass the guns, Bibles, and moonshine to us redneck folks--or at least some organic popcorn. So let me get this straight:What we need now more than ever is yet MORE "end of the world as we know it" type movies where, say, a speech from a pol brings on an ice age due to "tipping points" of global carbon belching, or more Gore-ish crap preaching on the evils of industrial man.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-22641383125278419052010-03-18T00:08:00.000-04:002010-05-31T13:31:06.558-04:00

(Trust not) Critical Mass - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-69659289644682375152010-03-16T13:45:00.025-04:002010-05-31T13:31:06.669-04:00

It was something big that got us out of the Great Depression. But I'm afraid it was not exactly Big Government. ____________________________________________________________________ Few people can wrap things up like Michael Fumento. "Hi son. Now, let me tell ya what really happened back then."

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-51198894917900353462010-03-14T12:50:00.008-04:002010-03-14T13:35:13.859-04:00

(Maybe only Fred Flintstone can finally bring this myth to a screeching halt) Of course, by now, many experts in the know have investigated the Toyota Runaway Car Syndrome, and found the runaway accelerator claims highly suspect. I'd merely suspected, as have others not even having to defer to technical input from car aficionados and journals that deal with such insider perspective, that this

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-4767012844861095342010-03-07T19:11:00.013-05:002011-09-22T15:59:55.789-04:00

Mark Steyn gets the most interesting hate mail of any journalist out there these days. Color me jealous. Writes one of Steyn's many pious, righteous, Multi-Culti detractors recently: "America is not at war. America (and the rest of us) is (sic) being held hostage by a few hundred hard core criminals adept at manipulating pious, confused, and probably mentally unstable young men to do their

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-37936735797997649342010-03-07T16:51:00.003-05:002010-05-31T13:29:33.662-04:00

Mark Steyn: Obamacare worth the price to Democrats ..and the hapless Republicans lost the Precious for good. Posted using ShareThis

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-56738148549048120812010-03-02T14:29:00.010-05:002011-09-22T14:41:27.315-04:00

Get out the chain saw and get some *calamari rings, anyone?  The animal—which measures roughly 25 feet (8 meters) long—was photographed 2,950 feet (900 meters) beneath the North Pacific Ocean. Japanese scientists attracted the squid toward cameras attached to a baited fishing line. Courtesy of National Geographic News *(Actually, too much ammonia in the meat from these guys.)

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-80003023623550106032010-02-20T17:34:00.008-05:002010-07-16T00:03:30.707-04:00

Ah, the joys of Winter. Warm cocoa, the sounds of the gentle "piff" of flakes on the windows at night, the contrasting deep quiet of Winter's blanket. You stroll through the woods and into open fields with nary a sound but your own heart recalling fond memories of snowball fights, getting ice in your hari, and rolling some of the large snowballs into snowmen and naming them. Then it breaks the

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-68668988943682940502010-02-18T01:13:00.056-05:002010-11-12T02:21:22.011-05:00

"THE DOG ATE MY FORTRAN CODING HOMEWORK!" Alternately: "Oh F-K This: It all depends on what the meaning of 'trick' is." (Reflections on some cold moments in climate science, and what is really at stake for science--and us) ______________________________________ On the heels of America's biggest "Shovel Ready" project known, waiting to dig out of the East Coast's record snowfall this winter,

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-14770734831685272612010-02-17T13:30:00.003-05:002011-10-29T15:08:23.152-04:00

Interesting little ditty of a transcript from the Rush Limbaugh show. Whatever one thinks of America's lovable fuzzball, Rush has gathered an impressive collection of "Who Said What" type statements from Biden's complete resistance to the Surge in Iraq and indeed the very war itself. Apparently in the thinking that what you choose to crow about when "inheriting" something from a previous

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-18194265095862431342010-02-17T13:14:00.000-05:002010-05-31T13:31:06.684-04:00

Not a huge fan of government involvement or direction in the economy, spending to that effect, or most special projects. But the president might be on to something here. We DO need a new direction in energy, and I think government can and should now help out in this regard if possible. Hopefully money well spent, and a new emphasis on an energy source that no one can finger as carboniferous or

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-63288979591716538242010-02-16T01:59:00.015-05:002011-09-22T14:41:27.327-04:00

(please click image to enlarge) Mucho Gracias to Political Math for the above graphic. A more in-depth explanation of where he got these numbers and how he crunched them is, of course, found at his blog. I've written a brief post on this issue before, but never showed a real mathematical or visual example of the many problems with "Cash for Clunkers" , other than numbers from most dealers'

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-63052817584385635082010-02-15T22:15:00.005-05:002010-02-15T22:54:11.149-05:00

Well, looks like I've started a new collection hobby here of political and ideologically based protest letters. Adding another good one: (Letter to Scientific American: by Edward Amatetti) "Julie, Scientific American is my favorite magazine of all time. Unfortunately, I am unable to renew my subscription because of its unscientific reporting of global warming. Even my seventh and eighth grade

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-24836026951699171692010-02-15T20:05:00.010-05:002010-02-15T20:56:19.947-05:00

"Ultimately, we're all dead men. Sadly, we cannot choose how but, what we can decide is how we meet that end, in order that we are remembered, as men." --Proximo, from the movie Gladiator, speaking to those recently captured, barely trained, and doomed slaves now to be cheered in the blood sport of..."gladiators." A friend of mine, fellow blogger, writer, Facebook poster, and general jack-of-many

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-50166284685022568392010-02-14T23:12:00.000-05:002011-09-22T16:00:21.406-04:00

Gosh. What a swell guy that Maher is...

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-55691434003649316512010-02-08T14:53:00.003-05:002010-05-31T13:31:35.941-04:00

I try and give people a free pass on mispronunciations, but this worked in too well for me to not post. Steyn nails it again. No surprises here. Mark Steyn: Unsustainable's the new normal | government, obama, unsustainable - Opinion - The Orange County Register Posted using ShareThis

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-34688092571973744302010-02-05T12:33:00.001-05:002010-02-08T14:59:02.255-05:00

Bananas Over Bush - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-74546648959336155492010-02-01T00:24:00.011-05:002010-02-08T14:59:16.171-05:00

I don't usually quote letters-to-the-editor type stuff--even my (rare) own, but this missive to Mark Steyn regarding the latest snubbing of Joe Everyman by yet another Policy Wonk defending the ever-expanding paunch and power of central government from the "Dodo" American people, and presumably the ideology of politicians like Obama--was just too good to pass up. (Said American people--like our

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-39495270988322606442010-01-31T23:00:00.008-05:002010-02-01T00:05:10.218-05:00

"Live from New York * Somewhere: It's the KSM Show!" OK. So I'm a little late on the draw here, but here's my take on the latest unpleasantness regarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: This Alice-in-Wonderland "civil" trial concocted by Team Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder is not really about prosecuting anyone for terror in a civilian court of law, much less the "War on Terror". Nor

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-15025685808912633102010-01-31T20:26:00.002-05:002010-02-01T00:07:19.117-05:00

"There is a stream of things entering into being, and time is a raging torrent; for no sooner does each thing enter our sight than it has been swept away, and another is passing in its place, and that too will be swept away." -Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (AD 121-180)

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-38177287035466393332010-01-30T14:52:00.002-05:002010-04-20T18:05:37.350-04:00

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-14941681864182282462010-01-28T22:13:00.004-05:002010-04-22T12:03:36.723-04:00

Michael Fumento: Stormy Times for Global Warmists Posted using ShareThis The above is an update to Fumento's previous post on the ugly exploitation of the "Global Warming Increases Hurricane Frequency and Intensity" panic that blew through America a few years back in the aftermath of the Katrina tragedy. Enjoy the fresh gale of truth on this matter.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-83294435388070052502010-01-28T22:02:00.002-05:002010-04-20T17:59:59.932-04:00

Mister Speaker - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-38856972733370427512010-01-27T22:22:00.019-05:002011-09-22T15:59:55.814-04:00

Or is that...state of the UNIONS?  They seem to have some wide girth in decision-making for the whole Republic these days, no? _______________________________________ Dear Mr. President: I cannot, and will not, get around to addressing everything that mesmerized the very photons dancing on the television screen from your State of Yourself Address speech tonight. But a few notes of interest, if

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-892880143849517442010-01-25T13:06:00.019-05:002012-01-11T21:41:45.367-05:00

Truly astonishing. Liberals never can figure out how things actually work, can they? This is apparently what counts for liberal/left scholarship these days:  Copious numbers of utterly fact-free "studies" purporting to show some kind of trending in something or other, but in reality showing little but throwing terms and unsubstantiated suppositions around--and footnoting mere quotations from

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-69401514198993913362010-01-17T18:55:00.030-05:002011-09-22T15:59:55.829-04:00

Ya know, it's really a shame. I've written articles in the past sympathetic to the AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) Deniers, and their Doubting Thomas.com styled blogs. Not just from the point of view of supporting those using science to defend their positions from the AGW crowd as a matter of some abstract principle about seeing both sides, but also because I, like many people, have grave

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-72261958837274141352010-01-15T12:43:00.006-05:002011-09-22T16:00:21.419-04:00

It may sound like a dry, corporate HAL 9000, but I assure you it's pure, classic Obama. This not so far-removed parody was just too good to let go, or at least until things come back on line, and I can get back to the usual kinds of observations I'd already prepared but lost for the moment in yet another MS Windows crash-n'-burn. Anyhow, this is the very definition of Orwellian Policy Wonk

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-83636452453385408312010-01-09T12:29:00.000-05:002010-01-09T12:31:06.952-05:00

Michael Fumento reports: "The Negative Side Of Positive Thinking" Posted using ShareThis

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-87709044434561523102010-01-08T14:57:00.002-05:002010-01-08T15:04:28.948-05:00

Now That's What I Call Profiling - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-5447790555647731522010-01-07T11:20:00.002-05:002010-01-08T15:04:28.959-05:00

Who Needs Terrorists? - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-70605900605089244292010-01-06T21:07:00.003-05:002011-07-08T18:39:42.741-04:00

I was not--unfortunately--able to attend the low-key fanfare, but I think I might weep as well as my wife and boys and Josh's fiancé did. The hour had come. We knew this day would arrive and tried to not talk about it and ignore it, and just mention other tidbits of life, etc. Seems that this morning Josh finally got what he knew was coming: Deployment to Afghanistan. The Guard's bus

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-43440036144137497702010-01-04T18:27:00.002-05:002010-01-04T18:28:59.415-05:00

This just in from the TSA: To better serve the flying public--and on behalf of fairness, and to reduce "down time" lost to sniffer devices and doggies checking out people's crotches--both males and females WILL be required to wear thongs to avoid undie bombs. A spokesperson for the TSA, who wished to remain anonymous while popping the strands on his newly TSA-approved menswear and demonstrating

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-22542543568767655402010-01-03T15:24:00.031-05:002011-09-22T16:00:21.430-04:00

(But the SYSTEM WORKED!..) To my few but dear and dependable readers: Please note that my lousy computer pulled a "click-bang" digital jujitsu move last night and flaked out. Lost almost all my custom settings and blog posting prep notes. Not the end of the Known Universe, no, but bad enough to warrant a way to vent. Taking the computer to a shop that's done good work in the past, so who

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-47485035668925165032009-12-28T15:54:00.000-05:002009-12-28T15:54:50.023-05:00

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-14727597019059488442009-12-27T03:27:00.120-05:002011-12-21T03:46:22.098-05:00

Greetings! This is a personal blog with personal reflections on a host of issues, ranging from the (rare) quotidian to the (usual) political/philosophical, with occasional mentions of the wonders of coffee, good foods, homeschooling, poison dart frogs, crocodilians, science, biology, gardening, theology, astronomy, cute stories and pictures of hummingbirds, and what the family is up to lately--

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-75470585001219828882009-12-27T01:51:00.011-05:002009-12-27T04:13:30.082-05:00

Obama's World

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-66446154811964677022009-12-25T01:31:00.006-05:002010-04-20T23:14:27.124-04:00

*To all my Democrat Friends: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-91886339022398570072009-12-24T11:53:00.002-05:002009-12-27T04:15:03.876-05:00

Mark Steyn interviews pollster Dr. Frank Luntz about the president's latest approval/disapproval ratings and some of the reasons for the freefall. Initiating massive unaccountable spending and perceptions of lackluster performance on foreign policy issues helps out wondrously. Self-explanatory once you peek at the numbers and the reasons behind them...

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-80292307462686880082009-12-23T00:22:00.013-05:002010-04-20T18:03:47.450-04:00

In this video, Mark Steyn goes over some of the latest niceties of how we're getting screwed by our beloved lawmakers yet again, and some handy quotes from some Dems about how if you're against the "health reform" bill now pending in the Senate as of this writing, you a Birther or a racist or some other scoundrel. Mark then interviews battle worn political analyst Dick Morris. Together, they

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-59442635845008881482009-12-22T22:13:00.004-05:002010-05-31T13:29:33.671-04:00

Most disturbing. STILL disturbing. Even after I've gone over all this in the mind's eye, and have written before regarding what our pals across the Great Pond are doing to incrementally destroy homeschooling freedoms as we speak. The Scandinavian nation of Sweden unfortunately falls well in line with the anti-homeschooling trending of late in "advanced" Social Democracies. Perhaps because

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-10499094293632909032009-12-22T01:20:00.006-05:002009-12-28T16:09:54.619-05:00

Most Earth-Like Extrasolar Planet Found Right Next Door (Well, so to speak. Astronomically, 42 light-years is close by.) "Meet GJ 1214b, the most Earth-like planet ever found outside our solar system. It’s not exactly Earth’s twin: It’s about six times bigger, a whole lot hotter and made mostly of water. But compared to the giant gas balls that account for nearly every other extrasolar planet

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-21399557560627590022009-12-18T20:38:00.003-05:002011-11-03T04:52:21.180-04:00

That's not a latte' I'm seeing there, is it? Better not be... Well, if you wiped your bottom recently, or had a morning cup of Joe to pop your sleepy eyes open from a good night's slumber, then according to some activists who got their words penned into a Holy Writ Snit over at British "science" journal New Scientist online, you almost certainly are. Like I've said elsewhere, the

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-21941134375348931242009-12-18T20:08:00.004-05:002010-05-31T13:31:35.951-04:00

The saga continues as the stomach churns in hydrochloric acid. Ugh. Though it's just as I thought. We've already seen Escape From GITMO Reasoning Part I.  Now it's Part II's moment: It's about the jobs issue as much as the pretensions on human rights. At least in part. Or at least that's the cockamamie reasoning behind sending the terrorists to the Prison to No Where....

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-42766866778737485232009-12-14T17:01:00.006-05:002009-12-27T02:13:00.403-05:00

ALMOST. Obama Uses Noble Peace Prize Speech to Defend Some Oft-Forgotten Principled Reasoning President Obama speaks the truth to power on this one, dear readers. Good speech. I'll give credit where due, at least on the merits of the words alone, from the man who ascended to this kind of world stage prominence--on the words alone. This in spite of my sharp disagreements with him on a

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-63445313287324269422009-12-11T13:41:00.000-05:002010-04-20T18:05:37.372-04:00

Average Federal Saleries Now 76% More Than Average Private Sector Salaries

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-37057040863988251662009-12-09T18:07:00.344-05:002011-11-03T04:52:21.193-04:00

OK. Now comes more happy fun time! In the spirit of the Holidays, I'm going to be more than fair to the Alarmosphere of Climate Panic out there in Net Land. And, just out of sheer curiosity (OK, really to play the Devil's Advocate here and pull out info, since I'm neither a climatologist nor computer expert) I'm curious what could be our "Denialist" response to discomforting revelations like

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-66692503231446203092009-12-09T13:55:00.001-05:002009-12-18T20:54:21.641-05:00

Dutch: Gore Wrong on Snows of Kilimanjaro

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-32253028950456538162009-12-09T00:19:00.005-05:002010-07-23T18:53:48.969-04:00

Who knows? Might come in handy. Just maybe. Go to http://www.climategate.be/, or just click on the title of this post.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-44379822732833666102009-12-08T14:04:00.004-05:002009-12-09T01:39:04.700-05:00

Gosh. What will Democrats think of next when comparing detractors of whatever glorified and astonishingly expensive milkwater socialist glop plans to "racism" in the Antebellum South? Oh yeah. Same old playbook. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-70082917271652748882009-12-08T01:41:00.012-05:002010-04-20T22:53:37.643-04:00

It happened before, and so it will now happen again. The claim, that is, that Christians are but a bunch of Grinches and Scrooges for wanting to have the term "Christmas" mean something other than stuff to buy and pretty lights hung on trees. And now it seems even the trees are too overtly....well..."Christmasy"--and, therefore, too Christian for the comfort of some. Good Grief, Charlie

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-7715425825374037942009-12-07T18:08:00.005-05:002009-12-29T05:51:00.831-05:00

A victory for the Honduran people for freedom, and against usurpation by a would-be dictator. At last. Would that we could learn these lessons here.

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-18312104154153009412009-12-07T13:19:00.002-05:002009-12-18T20:54:50.485-05:00

..and after yet more costly and bloody conflict with the Empire of Japan and their Nazi and Italitan Allies in Europe, ultimately led us later to victory. I also recommend what is probably the most comprehensive documentation of that tragic day in US military history, with detailed background analyses from both sides about what really transpired, minus the conspiratorial takes that have become

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-12780478316906797632009-12-07T12:50:00.002-05:002009-12-27T02:13:00.413-05:00

This is not Bush's war. Certainly it is no longer; that ship has sailed. Caving in to the Left's desire to pin all this on Bush once again for whatever perceived strategic failures is a fool's errand in the long run. Time to move on, folks. Nor is it Obama's, to be honest on both accounts. Or, at least not Obama's alone.  (President Obama just owns the moment about what to do next, whether

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-35651607582617296032009-12-07T12:22:00.001-05:002009-12-07T12:23:27.809-05:00

Borrowing from the radical climatologist alarmheads, there is talk of "tipping" points everywhere. Everything is a stinkin' sandpile, or some such metaphor. Well, the Earth is a little bit tougher than that, but if they'd made that argument regarding politics, ideology, or the multi-culti PC glop that now passes for justice these days, I'd have to agree. I was wondering what the "tipping point"

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-26240755265353796332009-12-07T12:13:00.001-05:002012-01-11T21:42:47.148-05:00

Some things just don't change all that quickly with our liberal friends, now do they? However, pace Janet Napolitano, it seems hers and the Left's attempt to smear the Tea Partiers and Townhallers and other conservative activists as fomenting a seething political backlash that endangers people's very lives (particularly government officials) is floundering on the shoals of reality. 

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-7222389566661681892009-12-07T00:11:00.002-05:002009-12-18T20:54:21.658-05:00

Michael Fumento: Show Me The Warming Posted using ShareThis

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-9253886709251921382009-12-02T23:38:00.015-05:002009-12-27T02:13:00.423-05:00

12/03/2009  SOMEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF AFGHANISTAN, IN A DARK CAVE LIT BY FLICKERING FIRELIGHT (From Associated Press Wire Reports) "Taliban and al-Quida leaders today reiterated their resolve for the war against the Infidel forces in Afghanistan, but outlined a nine-point plan that includes a new timetable and "Exit Strategy" for pulling out of the nation completely and retreating to

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-88893513581633749962009-12-02T15:13:00.001-05:002009-12-02T15:13:30.465-05:00

I had a great time firing large caliber weapons and eating ultra-food amounts over Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, but should have stayed out of the cold air up in North Ga. Sick as a dog. Strike that. Sicker. Would post some pics, but the camera flaked out for some reason. Oh well...

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-50523204492523074972009-11-26T00:11:00.004-05:002009-12-02T23:56:18.071-05:00

Nothing much to add this time except very tired and not able to post much else. But it might do good to take a peek at last year's  post on Thanksgiving, which has some lessons on spirituality and thrift and even economics that go beyond what most of us were taught or think about. Happy Thanksgiving!

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298595.post-58326519531939800742009-11-22T15:51:00.001-05:002009-11-22T20:24:40.694-05:00

For a cold, rainy Novemeber Sunday like today,  I figure the other notions swirling around in my head--and they are many for all the juicey current events at the moment--will just have to wait until I emerge from the comfort zone of heat and coffee and French Onion soup. Better way to spend the day anyhow...

Wakefield Tolberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214688786380814406noreply@blogger.com5