Archive for 2022
February 22, 2022
“PARANOID” NOW JUST MEANS “THREE WEEKS AHEAD OF THE NEWS CYCLE”: Am I Paranoid Enough? “Though quite jaundiced and cynical about the ‘good intentions’ of our national and international elites (political and otherwise), I’ve tried to avoid buying into conspiracy theories about a ‘great reset’ being planned for us by Klaus Schulz of the World Economic Forum. But now come news that Justin Trudeau wants to make all the ‘temporary’ expanded financial surveillance powers permanent.”
RICHARD FERNANDEZ: Slow Boiling the Western Alliance Like a Frog.
Being an ex secret policeman, Putin knows much of his menace comes from unpredictability. The public can tolerate ordinary police because they know what the rules are and do not anticipate a midnight knock on the door. As with secret police, Ukraine and the Western public don’t know what the rules are. They are hanging on the caprice of a seeming madman, who curiously keeps going to the brink without crossing it for good reason; if he actually invades in a recognizable way the uncertainty is removed and the West knows what to do about aging overreaching dictators who’ve started something they can’t afford. By preserving ambiguity Putin has Biden spellbound, on the one hand reportedly convinced it’s on. “The President was very clear that he is convinced by U.S. intelligence that this invasion will happen, that President Putin decided to do it, … ‘Because the intelligence says that Russian troops have actually received orders now, to proceed with the invasion,’ CBS News correspondent David Martin said.”
On the other hand, Biden seems to think Putin can still be talked out of it. The wires announced a breakthrough summit brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron in which “President Biden has agreed ‘in principle’ to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, provided Russia has not invaded Ukraine, the White House announced.” Taking all the elements together it seems, according to a former White House adviser, that “ultimately Putin wants some kind of deal. They think Biden is the kind of president who could actually make a deal. Trump never could.” Perhaps Putin’s first choice in the Ukraine crisis was always a deal. He ramped up the geopolitical tension and held out until there was enough sweetener in the pot to make it worth his while.
Already Putin has begun what the New York Times calls “a carefully choreographed day of building drama over the fate of Ukraine”. In the short term buying Putin off is “good” because it averts war. But in the longer run it solves nothing because Putin will be back once he’s burned through the loot he anticipates getting from the West. Ironically Putin may even front load his demands to compensate for the possibility political checks made out by Biden dated “2023” and “2024” might bounce owing to electoral misfortune.
Read the whole thing.
Previously, I wrote for our VIP members:
Putin is also testing. He needs answers to questions of his own.
Is Biden so beholden to enviro-radical domestic interests that he can’t wage an effective foreign policy? Would NATO agree to withdraw weapons and troops from former Warsaw Pact countries close to Russia’s borders? Can the West be coerced or conned into recognizing Putin’s illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea? Will Ukraine succumb to threats and return to a government more friendly to Moscow? Or could Europe go full Munich 1938 and agree to a de facto partitioning of eastern Ukraine and the Finlandization of the rest?
A “Yes” to any one of these questions would make Putin’s game of mass chicken more than worthwhile.
Even better, so far as Putin is concerned: He can always move the troops around some more in a year or two and see what he can wrangle out of us next time.
No matter what the White House claims, I don’t see an all-out shooting war happening between Russia and Ukraine. Putin can gain too much profit, or at least for now believes he can, through simple bluster. Sending in the Russian Army risks too much, including perhaps showing for all the world to see his military’s real limitations.
What I do see, however, is Biden giving the farm away at the negotiating table—all to avoid a war that Biden, himself, seems to be drumming up.
If the summit happens, we might have to add Neville Chamberlin to Biden’s growing list of unfavorable historical analogs.
MADE IN THE USA: Swiftwick- ASPIRE ONE (3 Pairs) Running & Cycling Socks, Breathable, Compression Fit. #CommissionEarned These are expensive but I love them, they make working out or walking feel better.
LET’S GO BRANDON: NASCAR reporter asks fans what message they wrote on the finish line.
THIS ISN’T AMUSING STUPIDITY. IT’S A DELIBERATE LIE TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCE AND REPRESSION.
Note that some public figures were convicted for incitement to genocide for spreading lies and hate speech in Rwanda. Thinking about making a human rights complaint against the Trudeau government on similar grounds. . . .
BECAUSE “TALKING ABOUT RACE” IS EASIER THAN, YOU KNOW, THINKING: ‘Why does everything have to involve race?’: Students react to that NPR article about ‘white privilege’ emojis.
COLORADO: Committee kills bill that would have established feasibility study on nuclear energy.
Senate Bill 22-073 would have required the Office of Economic Development (OED) to study using small modular nuclear reactors as a carbon-free energy source that would contribute to the state’s goal of reducing overall carbon emissions.
The Democratic-controlled Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee voted to postpone the bill indefinitely by a 3-2 party-line vote.
“As other states begin lifting their moratoriums, such as West Virginia, or actually initiating small modular reactor projects, such as Wyoming, Colorado is left behind,” Sen. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement. “Climate change may be real, but the Democrats’ concerns about it are as fake as can be.”
If you aren’t serious about nuclear, you aren’t serious about reducing carbon emissions.
KAMALA HARRIS EXPLAINS HOW SANCTIONS WILL DETER RUSSIA FROM AN INVASION THEY’VE ALREADY DECIDED ON: “Abso – we strongly believe – and remember also that the sanctions are a product not only of our perspective as the United States, but a shared perspective among our allies, and the allied relationship is such that we have agreed that the deterrence effect of these sanctions is still a meaningful one, especially because remember also, we still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment. And within the context, then, of the fact that that window is still opening – open, although it is absolutely narrowing, but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open, the deterrence effect we believe has merit.”
I hope that clears things up for you.
DAVID DEAVEL: Ordinary American Heroes Take the Wheel: Brian Echevarria Takes on CRT as John Kissinger did Yellow Fever. “Brian Echevarria is biracial, multilingual, and multicultural. He doesn’t look much like my distant cousin John Kissinger but he reminds me of him in the deepest ways. Both men, separated in time by a century, were in the news this past week because of their heroism. Both men in their different ways represent the greatness of America—not found primarily in the credentialed elites but in ordinary citizens.”
LAWPROF ROBERT STEINBUCH, whose fights with the UALR law school administration I’ve mentioned here, is now running for the Arkansas state legislature. I wish him luck!
THIS SHOULD BE FUN: Contrarian Democrat Tulsi Gabbard to headline CPAC.
Having a popular Democrat speak at the group’s main dinner, to be held Friday, is an “extraordinary event,” said a spokeswoman.
Two hours after this was posted, the dinner sold out, said CPAC boss Matt Schlapp.
Gabbard has recently roiled Democratic circles with her criticism of Biden’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and decision to consider only a black woman for the U.S. Supreme Court. She has also blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as a weak vice president.
Hey, she got more Democratic delegates than Kamala. And this is more evidence of the political realignment that’s going on.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: It Would Be Super Cool If America Had a Real President Now. “We heard so much from the lefties about what Putin could get away with while Trump was president yet nothing happened. He did, however, annex Crimea while The Lightbringer was in office and now he’s acting up again while Obama’s idiot legacy is in office.”
GOOD: Federal Court Bars Federal Agencies from Considering the Costs of Climate Change in Agency Rulemakings. Nothing they “consider” will have any basis in fact, really, given how nebulous the whole thing is.
PUTIN ORDERS TROOPS INTO UKRAINE SEPARATIST REGIONS ON ‘PEACEKEEPING’ MISSION.
It’s especially brazen by Putin, knowing the cold, steely resolve in the White House that he’s up against:
UM… HELLO? Say hello to Trans Jesus.
First of all, kudos to Revd Woodman for calling Jesus “a revelation of God.” By the time most Christians get into queer theology, they’ve already dropped the Trinity. No doubt Revd Woodman is considered something of a dangerous reactionary in his own circles.
Secondly, I like that phrase he used — about challenging what Christians have believed “historically and recently.” That’s a clever way of saying, “Basically I’m making all of this up.”
Many Christians took offense at Revd Woodman on Our Lord’s behalf. As well they might. Bloomsbury Baptists may think queer is a compliment, but Christians don’t. (At least not “historically and recently.”) Yet I almost feel worse for the Reverend.
The Bible is the most profound and influential book in the whole history of the world. It contains the philosophy of Jesus Christ, the most important philosopher and mystic in world history. Most of His followers, including Revd Woodman, believe that He was God incarnate. Yet even nontheists like Thomas Jefferson and Leo Tolstoy were enthralled by the life and teachings of Jesus. Billions have lived by it. Millions have died for it.
Now, imagine if all you could find in those pages was a parable for transvestic fetishism. What a boring little place your head must be.
I’ve said for years that anyone who thinks the most interesting thing about themselves or others is the content of their underwear or whom they sleep with is a tedious person.
JUST NBC THE EPIC FAILURE: NBC’s China Olympics were a ratings disaster.
PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.
Matt Margolis: Is Senator Tim Scott the Right Running Mate for Trump? “‘I think everybody wants to be on President Trump’s bandwagon without any question,’ Scott told Bartiromo.”
Chris Queen: What Are the Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 Policy? “Bardosh also noted that the ‘political psychology’ surrounding vaccine propaganda has upended the perception of which parties are more interested in science in the U.S. and Canada alike.” (The worst consequences weren’t actually unintended.)
Yours Truly: What Are They Hiding? CDC Refuses to Release COVID Vaccine Data. “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!”
SALENA ZITO: New firearm owners shaking up gun culture and American politics.
Despite the millions spent in digital advertisements by gun control advocates like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the appeal of gun ownership is only increasing. Of all the firearms sold last year, 30% — 5.4 million purchases — went to new gun owners, according to a retailer survey conducted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
A new interest in self-sufficiency, caused by collapses in our supply chain, has also led to an explosion in applications for hunting licenses.
According to Stateline, a Pew Trust initiative, many states across the country saw a dramatic rise in both men and women taking a hunter safety class for the first time — with states like Michigan seeing a 67% hike in new hunting license buyers in 2021 compared with 2019, including a 15% increase in female hunters.
People who would never have considered owning a gun were now curious about hunting to provide for their families — and about target practice to learn how to defend themselves and their homes.
This expansion of gun culture is also reflected in the demographics of the new gun owner: The same survey showed a 58% increase in firearm purchases by Black people and 49% by Latinos, compared to 2019.
Further, one-third of people buying their first firearm in 2021 were women.
Those changes were evident in the cavernous halls of the outdoor show, which at times was filled shoulder-to-shoulder with a melting pot of all races, ages and genders.
Dems and the press will continue to portray gun owners as bitter clingers, though.
February 21, 2022
I MENTIONED EARLIER THE PIECE THAT PENNY WHITE AND I HAD IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TODAY, on policing for profit. (Link and extensive excerpt available here.)
The actual law review article that the WSJ piece is based on will appear shortly. You can read it for free here. Download it early and often! I appreciate it when you do.
UPDATE: Oops, link to law review article was bad before. Fixed now.
ORWELL ON OTTAWA: Jim Bennett sends this quote: “I have no particular love for the idealized ‘worker’ as he appears in the bourgeois Communist’s mind, but when I see an actual flesh-and-blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman, I do not have to ask myself which side I am on.”
From Homage to Catalonia, Chapter 10.
Also:
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Ukraine Invites Kyle Rittenhouse To Guard Their Border.
Toppling the government isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. Decent people would recognize that.