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I routinely summarize what people have said to me, and ask them if I have understood properly. — Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules for Life
Don’t talk to me that way. — Patti Smith, Break It Up
Jordan Peterson is not, as we English used to say, everyone’s cup of tea. Many on the political Right don’t know what to make of him, while the Left see two things they don’t understand and therefore don’t like: intelligence and a high-profile opinion divergent from theirs. (more…)
It’s doubtful any of these young men will be going on dates with girls after the game.
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In a most unlikely development, the legendary sport of quidditch caused a minor ripple in the press a couple weeks ago. I’m not making this up; it’s has been covered by Deadline, NPC News, and several other media outlets. Maybe it was a slow news day, even with the world coming apart? In any event, there’s a deeper lesson to this that perhaps the reporters themselves didn’t discern, a sober reminder that ingratitude is an ugly thing indeed. (more…)
Rodrigo Ballester
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The following is an interview with Rodrigo Ballester, Director of the Centre for European Studies at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Hungary, which is an institution that has established close ties with Viktor Orbán’s government in recent years. Rodrigo Ballester is a former European civil servant from the College of Europe, and was notably a member of the cabinet of the Commissioner for Education and Culture from 2014 to 2019. He has been teaching at the Sciences-Po Paris (Dijon Campus) since 2008. (more…)
Léon Bloy
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I have spent a fair amount of time reading Léon Bloyʼs literary œuvre or output (articles, novels, monographs, pamphlets, etc.) over the last few years, a French writer who passed away in his home country in 1917, near the end of the First World War. He produced an inverted but cerulean abyss of works — resplendent works, works of great thought and shining intention; so great in fact and so powerful in expression were they, are they, that it is surprising how little of his work had been translated into English until recently. (more…)
Dr. Robert M. Price
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Dr. Robert M. Price is a prominent New Testament scholar and an eldritch mage of the Lovecraft cult. With such a range of interests, he is obviously a believer in free expression, free thought, and engagement with as many perspectives as possible. These days, such qualities are rarely found in either the academic or literary fields, and he has been “de-platformed” from time to time, most recently from two YouTube podcasts. (more…)
Laura Ingalls Wilder
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I recently visited De Smet, South Dakota. It’s a small town east of central South Dakota named for a black-robed Christian missionary to the Indians. There are many such towns across the North American prairie; what makes this one special is that it is the town where Laura Ingalls Wilder launched her teaching career at the age of 16. Wilder went on to immortalize De Smet, South Dakota, and her family in a series of semi-fictionalized books. (more…)
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Nearly two years ago, your humble writer noted that Woodrow Wilson is one of the most hated presidents of all time. Older readers may recall a time when liberals loved the 28th President. They saw him as a progressive visionary who spread democratic values across the globe and made America better. Now, they just see him as another white supremacist who should be denied all public honors. (more…)
Caryn Johnson, aka Whoopi Goldberg, who got her nickname from her penchant for farting in public and claiming to be part Jewish.
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What is race? What is racism? If race doesn’t exist, why, then, is there so much racism?
And what about the Jews? Are Jews members of a race, a religion, or both? Can one measure precisely, down to the tiniest jewtrino, exactly how Jewish a self-proclaimed Jew is?
What was the Holocaust? How many people died? How many people didn’t die? How many died amidst the Holocaust but not because of it? And most importantly: Is it true what they say about the Jews? (more…)
Theodor Seuss Geisel during his wartime service in the US Army.
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Though it’s been almost a year since our crazed oligarchs decided that Dr. Seuss is racist and several of his books need to disappear, aspects of his cancellation are worth reexamination. Though it pales in comparison to other absurd proclamations from our deranged ruling class — most recently, the Anti-Defamation League schizoiding on the definition of racism, and yet more adults having to apologize for saying bad words –, what makes the Seuss fiasco so hysterical and ironic is that he was one of the Left’s own. (more…)
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Earlier this year, rock star Elvis Costello announced that he would no longer play his 1979 hit “Oliver’s Army” in concert. Further, he entreated radio stations not to play the song at all. Why? Well, the song uses the word “nigger,” which is now so toxic and taboo that most white songwriters dare not use it, regardless of context. And Costello prefers this to rewriting the lyrics or hearing the word bleeped on the radio.
“Oliver’s Army,” which appears on Costello’s album Armed Forces, is an excellent song, and this is one reason for my sadness at its self-cancellation. (more…)
Patton Oswalt
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If, in a not-too-distant future when everything that is currently wrong with American culture has grown worse and I was forced to testify before a Senate Subcommittee Investigation to Uncover Hate in the Entertainment Industry, I would be able to present copious evidence that comedian Patton Oswalt has repeatedly referred to me as his friend over the course of several years. This is all public knowledge. (more…)
Jack Murphy, aka John Goldman, an allegedly conservative “masculinity coach” who will get very angry with you if you suggest he’s gay, even though he’s said publicly that he’s had sex with men and has made videos while using a dildo on himself. He also used to frequently interact with a recent mass shooter on Twitter.
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Lyndon McLeod, Jack Murphy, & the Perils of Performative Masculinity
As a wee beardless youth in the brick-and-cement ’burbs of Philadelphia, I found myself watching an old Robert Mitchum film on TV one night and wondering how he managed to be so cool. Then it suddenly occurred to me that his secret was that he didn’t think about being cool; he simply was cool. To become conscious about being cool was to take a long leap away from even hoping to be cool. (more…)