Hello again and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links. It's the Omicron Edition, coinciding with the approaching end of 2021, part of which, if memory serves, was the Year of the Chinese Communist Rat!
When I was younger, as a student, I remember writing letters (yes, handwritten letters in cursive – I'm dating myself) to people I admired, asking for bits of advice. I made tons of phone calls as well, calling friends of friends for jobs, career advice, all kinds of stuff. Then came email! And the Internet! It got so much easier to communicate with people, the internet enabled communication with pretty much anyone in the world, and the ability to reach anyone through their computers (and now phones). Mind boggling!
I loved it from the get go and have been lucky enough to make real life friends of these contacts as well as online friends and acquaintances from all over the world. As I get older, and having had a marginally public presence for some time through writing, somehow I've turned into the recipient of all kinds of missives: correspondence from readers, requests and other assorted oddities from interesting and odd persons. It feels kind of strange to evolve from the kid writing the letters to the person getting them (and trying to help), but it feels pretty lucky as well. It's a nifty feeling to be able to help someone by sending a few encouraging words, introducing them to someone they need to know, or connecting them to a resource they needed but didn't know about, just as a few examples. In journalism, this type of person is called the local "fixer". They get you what you need on the ground, when you need it. They fix you up, they fix situations. You name it? You got it. I got a couple of these last week, and I think I made a difference. My heart is in my full time gig as the Official In-House Jewish mother here at SteynOnline, but my side hustle is as The Fixer.
I share this not to toot my own horn, but to encourage you to look at it, think about it, and use it yourselves as an antidote to the darkness around us. It's so easy to get swept away into the depths of pessimism, of self-pity and resentment. It's so much harder to act happy in order to be happy, to express gratitude, to express love generously and to focus on the good. Why are humans like this? (Your thoughts are welcome in the comments.)
I remember hearing and reading Jordan Peterson talk about what makes a life meaningful, and he posits that it is about taking on as much responsibility as you can possibly handle and dealing with it, and then taking on even more (I paraphrase). This is VERY Chabad BTW, I don't know if he knows that! We may not be able to banish all the clouds of darkness, but each of us has, within ourselves, the ability and even a responsibility to form lives (our children), to change lives, to change moods or perspectives, to be the agent that changes a bad day into a good day for someone, and some of us even get lucky enough to change the course of history. And doing good things (in Judaism, "ma'asim tovim"), more than even just saying good things, is an important and even holy pursuit. So just do it.
In terms of the dark clouds (i.e China, its biological Bat Weapon, and our repulsive, power drunk leaders in the West), do not miss Mark's discussion on last week's Mark Steyn Show with Douglas Murray. Spoiler alert: CHINA CHINA CHINA. That is what serious people need to be talking about. Everything else is pretty much commentary. Douglas Murray nails it.
My gut feeling about this evil climate is well-articulated by Professor Bret Weinstein here: "We have a wave of authoritarianism riding on Covid. It is using Covid as an excuse to begin demanding things that we would never have put up with under normal circumstances. It is time that we stood up against these authoritarian mandates."
For inspiration, check out Abigail Shrier's words to the students of Princeton. Powerful!
We can also take a cue from these fine words from British Tory MP Steve Baker, who voted against PM Boris Johnson's tyrannical plans, because he wants to "create the kind of society that's worth living in", which ours (in the West) is not right now. We all need to make efforts, no matter how big or small, toward that end.
Have a good week, and I'll see you in the comments.
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North America:
This is truly wicked. The Covid policies have killed more people than Covid. The "cure" has been far more sinister and deadly than the disease.
A Canadian baby will go blind, but at least we kept everyone "safe". Nice going, Justin Trudeau.
"Blue states and cities are never going back to normal." Get out while you can.
Definitely trust the government and its agents.
This is just a wonderful essay by Liel Leibovitz at Tablet Magazine: "The Turn". I loved it and I know a lot of people who have "turned". Delightful writing.
Batya Ungar-Sargon gives a devastating assessment of the Jussie Smollett issue, and of course it had to be printed in a British publication because the American media is mute on this stuff. She takes no prisoners. Read the whole thing.
"Where I live, nobody cares about Covid."
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Israel and Jews:
Jewish wisdom: "although living frugally is a value found in the Torah, it is one we should impose on ourselves, not on others".
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Europe:
France: "Are you a jeweller and a Jew?"
I really, really hate when I have to root for France.
Denmark: no good deed goes unpunished.
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Misc:
And who among us has not had a little Botox?
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Covid:
Keep an eye on this doctor and what he is digging up from Pfizer about Pfizer.
Quebec stops giving "booster" shots to the elderly: "Dr Sophie Zhang, Co-Assistant Director of Housing at CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, alerted the immunization committee and the health minister about the alarming side effects. When asked if the booster dose caused the death of elders who had previously had COVID-19, Zhang refused to give a clear answer: 'It's a really tricky question. When a senior in a nursing home dies, how do you say it was the vaccine or not the vaccine [that caused the death]?'"
South African doc: "There's no reason not to trust us when we say it's mild." But that would be good news!
Conservative Woman: "Another lockdown would be met with mass non-compliance." I should hope so.
Making difficult lives more difficult in America.
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Kook and Humourless Left, Wokestapo and Trans:
"What I've learned rescuing my daughter from her transgendered fantasy." YIKES. Big Yikes!
Female swimmer with penis smashes women's records. How did this happen. OH I SEE: "Our coach [Mike Schnur] just really likes winning."
Oh dear. Hasn't she figured out yet that the apologies, the grovelling apologies, always make it worse?
Wales decides to eliminate the distinction between men and women in "sex ed". What could possibly go wrong?
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The Formerly Great Britain:
This is the glorious NHS that all you Brits were standing on your porch clapping for, yes?
They're not afraid. Don't you be afraid (so good).
This is an excellent essay from the fearless and heavily canceled Katie Hopkins. Glad to see she at least has a platform at FrontPage Magazine .
No Jews or whites allowed. As Kathy Shaidle used to say: 'Liberals: it's different when we do it.'
In which I must agree with Jeremy Corbyn!!!!!! AIYEEEEEEEE!!!
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Murderous, Barbarous Communist China:
Great news: China has developed 'humanized pigs' to simulate future Covid-19 infections. What could possibly go wrong?
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Human Grace:
There'll be blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover.... (Song of the Week perhaps, Mark?? I'm totally verklempt over here!)
The obituary as micro-nonfiction. Rest in Peace, Eda Solome. (Read the whole thread, her husband's story is here.) Honestly all teary.
It's open thread time! Log into SteynOnline and let Laura know what you think of these stories or other happenings from week that was. Commenting privileges are among the many perks of membership in The Mark Steyn Club. While going off topic is permitted on Laura's Links, do stick to the other rules as you engage: no URLs, no profanity, and no ad hominem attacks.
