Archive for 2020

WHY UIGHUR LIVES DON’T MATTER TO YOUNG EUROPEANS.

Yet the global adoption of US causes has a more explicitly political function as well. As James Hunter, the first theorist of the “culture war” has argued, a culture war is also a class war, built around the controversial accumulation of status by educated and urban representatives of cognitive-cultural capitalism. Some form of contest will always occur when industry and agriculture decline, and when higher education swells in response, as there is so much status, and wealth, waiting to be claimed. But American media directs these contests onto battlegrounds of cultural values.

#MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter are essentially memes, and the US culture war provides effective memes around which international members of the progressive classes are able to construct their identity. When a twenty-something European representative of the creative industries attends BLM protests, they are not just explicitly supporting black people but implicitly defining themselves against elements of society associated with parochialism and neophobia. It is an expression of self-image as much as a meaningful protest.

Read the whole thing.

MARK GRIFFITH, FRIEND OF PJ: Raymond Ibrahim joins the Mark Griffith Show today at 3 p.m. Eastern 1 p.m. Mountain Time in the Denver metro area on 560 KLZ radio. Listen in with the KLZ 560 app on your phone or online at www.klzradio.com. call the show at 303-477-5600

SUCKS TO BE BLUE: The Blue State Jobs Depression. “The latest Department of Labor employment data confirm that when it comes to the economy, America is two nations: red and blue. As the post-coronavirus shutdown era begins, blue states are losing jobs at record paces and red states are starting to gain them.”

WAIT, I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY IN RED STATES? Coronavirus: 5 bad signs California is heading in the wrong direction. Spoiler: The pandemic will run its course until it burns out, because that’s what pandemics do and we can’t change that. At best we can keep medical facilities from being overrun. Luckily, it seems to be milder than originally thought.

MISS LIBERTY: George Orwell: Happy Angel Birthday!

I re-watched the Michael Radford movie version of 1984 not long ago — heaven knows what might have made me do that in these days — and it’s held up well in a please-everyone-remember-it’s-a-warning-not-an-instruction-manual way.

GOV. ABBOTT ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER SUSPENDING ELECTIVE SURGERIES IN TEXAS COUNTIES HARDEST HIT BY COVID-19: “The order suspends elective surgeries at hospitals in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Travis counties.”

What could have happened in Dallas and Travis counties a couple of weeks ago that would lead to a spike in coronavirus cases?

Related: Amid Climbing COVID-19 Case Numbers, Gov. Abbott Hits Pause on Reopening Phases. “‘As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,’ Gov. Abbott said. ‘The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.’ Thursday’s move doesn’t affect mandates put in place by previous phases. Businesses may remain open and operating at their designated occupancy.”

“FUCK ALL YOU GUYS, GO HOME.”

“So black man vs. black man?” “Fuck you.” Hey, this is just the “voice of the unheard,” right?