How do we explain the sudden love of terrorist thugs by American college students and recent grads?

We conservatives tend to lump a wide variety of stupid ideas and ideological monstrosities into some notion of “the left.”  This characterization is often inapt because it creates an expectation that there is some common attachment to socialist political ideology when, in fact, that is not what these various unhappy intellectual and moral mutations ultimately have in common.

Today there was a spectacular gathering all over Washington DC as all kinds of Americans showed support for Israel.  I was unable to attend due to work.  Only found out about it yesterday, or perhaps I would have been able to juggle things.  I saw one estimate of the attendance at 300,000, and let me tell you — I have been there for a 250K crowd.  This was not less, to be sure, from the sweeping panoramic pictures that I saw.

I understand that messaging prior to the event was clear and without rancor, addressed to the Marxist rent-a-mob whose current unifrom involves Hamas and “Palestinian” garb, to steer clear — just don’t come to our event.  Either the messaging or something else had our backs today (I was not there, but I refer to Our Team), as I have not seen any untoward reports.  Everything was very toward, very toward.

Howdy — this is not a religious commentary, as I leave that (mostly) to the members of their respective organizations.

The Pope exists in the real world and is an influential force in human affairs, and so this atheist feels more than qualified to comment on that basis.  This is the same basis on which I approve of Protestant reforms (raised Protestant) despite having no religious charter for my views.  Also, I find some Protestantism more agreeable than others.  So much for my preferences — that’s not the point.  Wars have been fought over this stuff, nations dissolved and founded, and from my admittedly atheist perspective, most religious wars are just ordinary wars for power and security (or personal glory) using a different label than the other options of race, ethnicity, nation-state, geography, or “vocation” (meaning a given people’s way of getting on).

Its Pravda, you read the headlines for the facts that have been omitted:

Condolences for the family and friends who are devastated by this senseless death.

So. I’ve about wrapped up, absent a bit of trim and the installation of an outdoor-accessible nest box–not an immediate priority because the elderly ladies involved rarely lay eggs anymore–the construction of my assisted-living chicken coop for the geezers.  It’s going to have to stay in the driveway for the winter, but it is on wheels (what they call in these parts a “Chicken Tractor”), and I’ll tow it to a better location in the Spring.  And while it isn’t as sturdily built as the larger coop (which I’m definitely heading for in the event of a nuclear attack or an imminent tornado), it’s pretty solid.

Two old girls and Chinggis, my beloved rooster (whom I rescued from the side of the road almost three years ago), now call it home. I wouldn’t wring their necks for the world.

They seem quite happy in there, as can be seen by their comfy positions on the roosting bar last night.  (Feeling that the whole display was a bit disrespectful, I did my best to get them to face forward, but they weren’t having any of it.):

Eighty years ago, America rapidly mobilized to simultaneously defeat both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. But could we do it again today?

I was struck while reading Paul Gigot’s Opinion piece, “The Return of the Isolationist Republicans“, with the realization that I recognize myself and do not think I am wrong.

He lays out his premise with typical skill:

I fully understand. The Israelis are slaughtering Palestinian women and children by the thousands, so there has to be a narrative to justify that action. It is interesting to see that Ricochet is almost fully on board with participation in that narrative. – Ricochet comment

I am fully “on board” with “the narrative” that Hamas needs to be destroyed.  I would hope that Palestinians (a) heed calls to evacuate when told and (b) act to isolate and abandon the self-aggrandizing (now-wealthy) terrorists they elected to hasten the end of the campaign. In any event, civilian deaths are ultimately the fault of those who started the war.

[Cross-posting something here that I wrote for my Substack. It may be more of interest to the Christians around here, but I don’t think the general decline of masculine intuition, which I discuss below, is a problem that is confined to social circles inhabited by Christians.]

I’m about to walk out the door to participate in a podcast that I do with the pastoral staff at my church. They all have advanced degrees in various disciplines related to theology and biblical studies. I am notable mostly for my lack of any of these things. If you picture in your mind a podcast where trained and critical thinkers on matters of eternal importance have inexplicably invited Big Bird to participate in their discussion, you will have a sense for where I fit into the overall effort.

Would you rather drive an electric car (as they exist today) or a hyper mileage-capable car that should be available today?

I bring to your attention the Volkswagen XL1. A car I never heard of until a few days ago. A Diesel Electric hybrid car capable of 280 MPG. 10 Years ago! This genius little car is powered by a 2-cylinder 0.8L (49 Cubic Inches!) diesel engine, generating less than 50 HP. The lightweight car weighs under 800 KG (1,800 lbs-ish). So, 0-to-60 time is about 12 seconds, which may get you shot in some cities, but it gets there and is drivable at freeway speeds.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is embroiled in a scandal in which a close campaign fundraiser is accused of accepting illegal foreign contributions, among other infractions. By sheer coincidence, after Adams had publicly, repeatedly criticized Biden immigration policy, teams of FBI agents were dispatched to interview/investigate a large number of individuals with ties to the campaign and the suspect corporations.

Two days before Adams was scheduled to travel to DC for a high-profile White House meeting on the issue of illegal immigration, FBI agents ordered Adams’ NYPD security team to stand aside as they sat with him in his vehicle, presented a warrant, and seized his phones and iPad.

I could try to describe the current situation as running on fumes, coasting up a hill, ropes fraying, corks slipping, and so forth, but I just want to provide a couple of tweets from others who have captured the actual decline, rather than my talk-talk.

Here’s one about the NYPD besieged inside of Grand Central Station while the same Marxist rent-a-mob who shows up with whatever signs or flags are the uniform of the day simply bashes and batters their way into the building.  Have you seen this? I am including it as a retweet by Ian Miles Cheong because his comment accurately captures the immediate context, in order to precisely locate this event on the slide into lawlessness.

Okay, it’s a single tweet, and I’ll still see him saying things that are a bit too “nuanced” for my taste.  But this is an important tweet, as these things go, from a man who rose to prominence during the post-9/11 moral clarity, then waffled off and got “respectable” after a grueling and unsuccessful run for office in the UK.  Guess what — after October 7, moral clarity is back on the menu, boys.

I'm starting to think that the far right, who want to defend their country and traditions, are actually the good guys, whereas the far left, who want to destroy the borders of every country, are actually the bad guys.

— Carl Benjamin (@Sargon_of_Akkad) November 11, 2023