Stephen Roney's Blog, page 85

Posted Here as a Public Service

 

It is important to ensure that this gets more views than Fox News. 
Tucker is also fun to listen to.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

The Vaccines Issue

 

Tis hclip from Donald Trump shows RFK Jr.'s influence on the race. Trump may want to appeal to R.F.K's voters once he is frozen out by the DNC.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

A Short Glossary of Newspeak

 

Some mainline journalist has done an article accusing Matt Walsh of “transphobia.”

By its nature, that is a charge one cannot counter. Because “transphobia” is bad by definition, and is otherwise undefinable.

A phobia is an “excessive, extreme, irrational, fear or panic reaction about a situation, living creature, place or object.” (phobia definition - Search (bing.com)

Yet that is obviously not what we are talking about. There is really no such thing as “transphobia.” Nobody has a panic reaction to seeing a man wearing a dress. Similarly, there is no such thing as “Islamophobia,” or “homophobia.” Anyone using these terms is simply dishonest, and speaking in bad faith. It is a way to avoid addressing an argument by simply declaring it irrational.

There is also, I warrant, no such thing in the modern world as a “white supremacist.” Even the Nazis were not “white supremacists.” The insult is effective precisely because everyone considers it a bad thing (like “phobia”). Accordingly, nobody is it. Anybody using it against an opponent is almost necessarily arguing in bad faith.

There are other such dishonest terms. They are proliferating. “Pro-choice,” for example; for wanting unrestricted abortion.  Unrestricted abortion assigns one more choice to the mother, by removing it from everyone else. An abortion denies all choice to the foetus, the father, the grandparents, the siblings, or the community.

“Gender-affirming surgery” is another deliberate lie. Said surgery destroys or obscures one’s gender (or sex) while incapable of giving you a new one. 

“Reproductive health,” as the term is now used, is about preventing reproduction, and so is, by normal standards, induced reproductive illness.

“Planned Parenthood” actually means planning not to be a parent.

Politicians these day use the term “invest” when they mean “spend money.” As if the government necessarily gets a return on spending. I believe this verbal trick was invented by Bill Clinton, but now everyone who wants to raise government spending uses it.

When people use terms that are deliberate lies, it proves one thing: they know they are doing something wrong.

It is interesting that all the examples I can think of are from the left. I cannot think of examples on the right. 

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

How the US Can Save Canada

 

Given Justin Trudeau’s increasingly autocratic rule, and perhaps also subversion by China, Tucker Carlson recently suggested an American invasion. Don’t Americans owe it to Canadians to defend their freedom? And do they want another Cuba on their northern border?

Let us concede that Canada is going to hell in a handcart. Still, there is a simpler, safer, solution.

The US need only declare Canada in violation of human rights; then accept refugee claims from Canadians, give then green cards and a track to citizenship.

If Trudeau continues on his fast track to tyranny, it would then matter little; individual Canadians could vote with their feet. There is no way any Canadian government could close that vast border.

It would probably also benefit America. The world is facing depopulation; the developed world is responding by opening the doors to immigration. 

But which immigrants? From the American perspective, Canadians are ideal: they are culturally identical. They are already Americans in all but passport.

And the brain drain would probably force the Canadian government to be more respectful towards its citizens. Problem solved, not a shot fired.

Perhaps more generally, depopulation will force governments to pull back from their present growing totalitarianism. I have read that the depopulation after the Black Death had much to do with the end of serfdom; labour became more precious, and had to be wooed. 

Of course, there is the opposite theory, that labour is going to become less needed as automation increases. Yet this has never happened at any previous stage of improved technology. It has always been the opposite: more jobs, and a rise in demand for labour. Improved technology makes goods cheaper; the demand for them rises. Each individual can afford, and wants, more stuff.

As populations collapse, the countries that will grow in power and influence will be those most attractive to immigrants. Prosperity will depend on offering rights and freedoms.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

Whodunit?

 

The Novaya Kakhovka dam has been blown up in Ukraine: who did it? Half the commentators are sure it was the Russians. Half are sure it was the Ukrainians. Both sides deny it.

Why would the Ukrainians blow up the dam?

It will cut off much of the water supply to Crimea.

It will flood some lowlands where Russian troops have defensive lines.

Why would the Russians blow up the dam?

It makes a Ukrainian counteroffensive across the Dnepr harder, by making the Dnepr wider and deeper.

It floods the centre of Kherson, the large city in the area, now in Ukrainian hands.

The Ukrainians seem likely to recapture the area soon. Better, then, to blow it up as they retreat, rather than hand it over intact and give more strength to Ukraine. The Russians have been targeting Ukrainian infrastructure elsewhere.

By contrast, why would the Ukrainians blow it up, if they expect to capture it, and will need it to rebuild their country?

According to the Ukrainians, the Russians already had the dam wired up for destruction; the Russians deny this. The Ukrainians claim it is not practical to blow a dam of that size with a missile strike. In any case, since they held the dam, it would have been easier for the Russians to blow it than the Ukrainians.

On balance, given all these calculations, it seems most likely that the Russians did it. 

Perhaps in impotent fury.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

Fairy Tales

 

We pay too little attention to hero legends, fairy tales, and fables. We value them too little. “Tall tales” and “fairy tales” are commonly scorned as mere lies. Yes, we encourage our children to read them; but mostly for idle entertainment. They are “escapism,” and childish; not worth adult attention. And they are bowdlerized or perverted each generation. In the Disney versions circa the 1950s, they were all laundered to the message that romantic love (in other words, sex) solved everything. In recent years, they are invariably recast from the point of view of the villain. Shrek the ogre turns out to be misunderstood. 

It seems a deliberate perversion or undermining of the tales.

They are not traditionally studied in the academy as serious literature. Perhaps they may be studied for anthropological interest; perhaps as supposed expressions of a diseased psyche; but always from an alien perspective, and not in standard Literature classes as we would study real art.

When I was a kid, many parents did not allow their children to read comic books as somehow corrupting. They are classic hero legends, but we are so disconnected from this literary tradition that they are rarely recognized as such. Even those who compose them have been remarkably clumsy in their composition. They seem commonly to think that all that is needed is to come up with some new super-power and a catchy name, for a new hero or a new villain. Stan Lee’s effect on the genre in the early Sixties was electric simply because he understood the conventions. 

I imagine they are shunned because here, of all places, we find truth. The stone that is rejected is the cornerstone of the temple. Jesus spoke in fairy tales and fables—the parables. As did the Buddha.

The fairy tales, hero legends, fables, and parables are the literature of the common people. The literature studied in the schools and academies instead is the literature written to appeal to the upper classes. There is nothing wrong with that, but such literature is more likely to serve the purposes of the earthly powerful and maintain them in power. The folks who wrote and are the audience for the fairy tales and legends are those less connected with worldliness and the game of thrones, those Jesus identified in the Beatitudes.

Fairy tales are, proverbially, written by “Mother Goose”: a composite figure representing generations of illiterate women who passed these stories on nursery to nursery, village green to village green.

The hero legends were the male equivalent: told old hand to new hand in the lumber camps, in the barracks, on board ship at twilight. 

The fables were supposedly composed by Aesop, a slave. The New World equivalent, the Uncle Remus stories, were also told by a slave. They too represent the wisdom of the lower classes.

The lower classes have not been, at most periods, the less intelligent. Class was arbitrarily assigned by birth. And there were at all times a lot more of them. Accordingly, this literature is actually going to be better than the canon of the salons. The fact that it was oral also meant it had to be worth memorizing, generation after generation. That is a good test for quality and relevance.

And yet, we mostly ignore it. We rarely read it. We mock it.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

On the Belgorod Road

 

Two Ukraine-sponsored Russian units, claiming they are fighting for the liberation of Russia, the Free Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps, have been attacking in the Belgorod region. It seems quixotic, although they are certainly striking a propaganda blow. However, now Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, has pulled out of the line in Bakhmut, actually exchanging fire with the Russian regular forces, and has declared his intent to wheel up to Belgorod to defend the motherland. Kadyrov, the Chechen leader, has said he intends to do the same.

I wonder if this is coordinated. 

These four rogue forces will now be out of the main lines just as the Ukraine begins their big offensive. Instead, they are moving to the point at which they are closest to Moscow. They will also stand between Moscow and the bulk of the Russian army, soon to be fully engaged by the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

They are perfectly positioned, in other words, to march on the capital to overthrow the regime, while the regime's forces are occupied elsewhere.

Is this all planned and coordinated among them? It could be. Or it could be all four forces are just seeing the same main chance.

Things might happen quickly if the Russian lines collapse in the South.

I have suspected this was largely a civil war from the start.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

2024 Predictions

I think RFK Jr. is an exceptionally attractive candidate. The Earth is moving beneath us. 

The Democratic Party establishment is determined to go with Biden and Harris, who are notably unpopular. Voters have growing reason to believe Biden is not in control of his faculties. The are both low in the polls. But the hubris of the Democratic establishment knows no bounds.

RFK is likely to win the first primary, in New Hampshire. Against a sitting president. In most years, that would clinch it. 

I expect the Democratic Party establishment is likely instead to blatantly rig the nomination process to keep him out. They will prevent other candidates from jumping in, the same way they managed to get everyone to jump out in 2020. They think they can get away with it, because they have previously gotten away ith it, against Bernie Sanders and the far left.

But I think they will run out of luck. I see RFK putting together a run as an independent; and I think a lot of other Democrats will join him. Imagine a ticket of RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard; almost a dream ticket in terms of charisma. Imagine Kristen Sinema and Joe Manchin flocking to these new colours. Imagine vocal support from dissatisfied leftists like Jimmy Dore and Joe Rogan in the media. They could pull a lot of votes, I suspect, if well-funded. Not enough to win, but enough to be a big factor, and establish a new party that might survive and supplant the current Democrats over time.

They could run on a peace platform, against big pharma and big business, for environmentalism, and against the extremities of the trans movement and the culture war. As the religious left, and as a reset of the Democrats to what they stood for in the late Sixties; “Kennedy Democrats.”

On the Republican side such a split has already happened, in 2016, and the insurgents won. That was when Trump took control of the party for the populists against the establishment.

Mike Pence is now the standard-bearer of the old guard. But I can’t see him overtaking Trump in the polls, and I can’t see them splitting off, as they did in 2016 under McMullin. That would look too much like a dead end. They will suck it up and back Trump. Conceivably, a few might move to RFK; but I can’t see even a Mitt Romney feeling more comfortable there. Because he is purely establishment, and RFK is anti-establishment. 

How about Trump’s VP pick? Unless something changes dramatically, as it certainly can, everybody else looks as though they are running for vice-president. Nobody but DeSantis is within range of Trump.

 Many are hoping for a Trump-DeSantis ticket. I think it is possible, even if they are going at it hammer and tongs for now. It would not work with DeSantis at the top of the ticket; that would seem too much of a comedown for a former president. But if Trump comes out on top, he holds no grudges. DeSantis might, in ordinary circumstances, be too big a beast to be content with second-best, but since Trump is limited to a single term, he might go for it.

Chris Christie is reputedly about to enter the race. He surely has no reasonable chance at the top of the ticket. My guess is he is consciously running for the vice-presidency. He is hoping to raise his profile. Having more people in the race actually helps Trump; he might even be a plant. Christie is a good attack dog; he took down Marco Rubio in 2016. Presidents generally like Vice Presidents who are attack dogs. Trump certainly does. He wanted Newt Gingrich on the ticket in 2016, for this reason. He had to take Pence thanks to pressure from party stalwarts. This time, he will not have that pressure. Newt is a little long in the tooth; but Christie might fit the bill. He could prove himself in the primaries.

Also auditioning for the vp slot, and highly suitable: Tim Scott, Larry Elder, and Nikki Haley. They are hoping, no doubt, to become diversity hires.

The cards look good for a Trump win.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

On Demonizing the Left

 

Sam Smith at the Grammys

One way to understand Andrew Coyne’s recent complaint about “demonization” of the left by the right is as a backhanded admission that, should the right go down this route the left have been crowding for so long, it would be devastating for the left.

I am reminded of Nathanial Erskine-Smith’s concern, in defending the Emergency Act, at the right raising the issue of the Nuremberg Code.

This struck me at the time, because I had never heard anyone on the right mentioning the Nuremberg Accords. Kin fact, I had never heard of the Nuremberg Code. I had to look it up. They were a code of conduct for medical experimentation, agreed upon after the Second World war, in reaction to the Nazis using prisoners in medical experiments. Those participating in the testing of experimental drugs or procedures must give informed consent.

And yes, reading the text,there was a strong case that, in mandating anti-Covid vaccines, the Canadian government was in violation of the Nuremburg Accords. People were being forced to use an experimental drug, the long-term effects of which could not possibly be known.

Thanks for the tipoff, Nate. It proves that the left is not acting out of ignorance. They know exactly what they are doing.

Coyne’s warning says the same. They know they are demonic.

Where, these days, are you likely to encounter an open endorsement of Satan? Among members of the Biden administration. Among the designers of the Target line of trans clothing. And these are people endorsed and embraced by the rest of the left. 

Who is in open rebellion against “conventional morality”? Who is burning down churches and dressing in mockery as nuns?

It is not as if they are being subtle about it.

The left is responsible for a genocide against the unborn: unrestricted abortion.

They are responsible for many deaths through their imposition of vaccine mandates. Not for the vaccine—one can accept that the rushing of the vaccine was done for the best of intentions, even if unwise or unnecessar in retrospect. But they surely killed people by imposing mandates, and they imposed mandates after it would have been clear to those in control that the vaccines did not work to prevent transmission and carried serious risks. They imposed mandates right when there was no medical justification for them, unless the intent was to kill people.

They are responsible for a growing genocide against the old, the infirm, and the mentally ill with their promotion of “medical assistance in dying,” previously known as euthanasia. They can claim consent; but that argument is flawed. The old, poor, ill and weak are, by definition, the most vulnerable among us. They can easily be pressured into giving consent; and there is much evidence this is happening. The mentally ill in particular are commonly understood not to be competent to give consent. They can now  be executed by the very families who drove them to madness. The elderly suffering dementia must only hope their children are not too eager to receive their inheritance.

The left is responsible for another, separate genocide against the poor and mentally ill too in their push for “safe supply” of addictive drugs, with no attention given to treatment or recovery. When was this a good idea? Did we ever treat alcoholism by giving out free whisky? 

While the approach might once have been defensible in theory—just conceivably--the left is doubling down even after the statistics roll in showing the spike in deaths.

They are responsible for physically mutilating and sterilizing children—the drive to “gender affirming surgery,” even behind the backs of parents. The motive can only be malice; malice against children. In no other circumstance would we consider children competent to make such life-altering decisions. 

The simple truth is that the left wants everyone—everyone else but themselves—dead. They are even open about this. They talk of people as a cancer on the planet. They will persist and push forward with this until and unless the rest of us call them out.

You don’t get more demonic than this.

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.

A New Hope

It is a time for hope. It is worth remembering that, no matter present appearances, and as horrible as things canget, God is in command.

Bud Light is being badly hurt by boycott; so is Target. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass knuckled under to the woke overlords—but was soundly booed at his next on-field appearance.

It is frightening, difficult, and dangerous to be the first person to speak up against tyranny. But we are past that point. There is now a developing community of the sane. People are no longer keeping their heads down and holding their tongues.

They, the cowed and silent, have done this until now in part out of respect for authority; the cap-doffing syndrome. If all the clever experts are saying men are women and down is up, it must be true; my own naïve conclusions must be faulty. But this aura of expertise has been badly discredited recently inevitably, due to the greater amount of information available to us all over the Internet. The expert class has always operated as a cartel restricting knowledge. Now they look increasingly ridiculous; as witness Matt Walsh’s “What Is a Woman?” docupic.

They have done this until now in part because, if they pointed out that the Emperor was inadvertently flashing the crowd, they knew they would be targeted for destruction. Safer to let the next guy take the risk. Now there are enough of us that this is less possible. With gratitude due to people like Ezra Levant, Jordan Peterson, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Clint Eastwood, J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, people with a large enough established base that they could risk it; and prepared to risk it for the right.

And some of us have heretofore been flying monkeys, kapos, Rosenkrantzes: thinking to gain advantage by currying favour with this elite. This urge fades as the elite’s hold on the gift boxes of reward start to look shakier. This can change quickly, and the guns reverse direction, for such a class of people has no loyalty.

Because of this last faction, the snap back can happen quickly. We may be nearing that point. 

'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.