Hi everyone and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links. I know I say it every week, but this week has been crazy so far, especially in the United Kingdom! We are really so lucky to have our very own Great Prophet Steyn, PBUH (Pocket squares Be Upon Him ameeeeeeeeen ameeeeeeeen) to report live on the utter insanity of what looks like the beginning of the end of the BoJo era. Make sure to check out all this week's episodes of The Mark Steyn Show to get all the meaty comments and commentary.
I was particularly impressed with one of Mark's regular guests, the wise Laura Perrins of The Conservative Woman, who, as Mark noted in their interview, "got Boris' number" very early on. Her analysis of the situation was intelligent and thoughtful, and I especially enjoyed her comments about how Boris Johnson had a long, very well known and very public history of personal and moral failings well before he took the premiership. She questioned how these could possibly be separated from his professional life, and suggested that when one behaves that way in private, how could it not bleed into one's professional life.
This is a very good point. I thought about it a lot because there are certainly a great many historical figures, political figures and other humans of consequence who were great leaders but had countless personal, moral failings. There is a really important conversation to be had on whether or not one can view someone's personal and moral failings as completely separate from their professional and political life.
This question is more critical in politics than in art. One can enjoy Woody Allen's movies and know about his, ahem, colourful relationships. You can enjoy a painting despite knowing about the artist's tortured personal life, or may even appreciate it more because you know of their torment. And certainly, one can appreciate a song or symphony without internalizing the composer's issues. I am not debating here whether Wagner should or should not be played in Israel for example. I just think that politics and public policy have real life and death consequences for citizens, where art does not.
We should be having more conversations about political leaders leading questionable private lives and making questionable moral decisions. They can be civilized conversations, but they need to be spoken. Without morality, without commonality, we cannot have civilization. And by civilization, I of course, refer to Western civilization. And when I refer to my heartache over America's moral deterioration and decline, I feel this valiant man in my bones and in my heart. This is what I speak of.
The antidote to decline and decrepitude of course is, as Mark said earlier this week on the telly, using your power for good. And Florida governor Ron DeSantis is an excellent example of this. This is what you do when you have power: you use it for good things. This is how you do it. You don't wait. You don't play defense. You wield your power. This is the ultimate difference, as Mark always points out, between being in office (Conservatives, Republicans) and being in power (the political left). Anyone "on our side" sitting on their flabby arse in office, resting on their Beltway or Rideau Canal laurels, and not using their power for the good, for the restoration of morality and in preservation of civilization and civilized behaviour, needs to be turfed out yesterday.
We have much, much work to do in this area.
So just do something. Not what you can't, but what you can.
Take care and I'll see you in the comments.
~
North America:
The great Daniel Greenfield on "Co-Dependence Day" (must read).
"We need hybrid parliament because we're still in a pandemic"
"Kill the Babies, Hold the Formula", "have I got this right"? Oh boy. This is a doozy.
Canada: The Liberals are funding hate. Indeed.
America: not a serious country. But I saw this so now you have to as well. You're welcome.
LOL they are just trolling us now, but to be fair, this administration is expert at corruption, that's for sure.
Canada is a Third World, spying Banana Republic s--thole under Justin Castro.
One of Trudeau's diverse friends here. Seems nice.
Yasmine Mohammed is a frequent guest of Mark's on The Mark Steyn Show and she is brave and courageous. Here she interviews an enlightened and fabulous Saudi Arabian physician who escaped that life. This quote: "Do you remember dreaming?", really broke my heart. Please watch the whole thing.
~
The Formerly Great Britain:
The great Douglas Murray on the shifting definition of shame. Kathy Shaidle used to be a very great fan of the "shame diet", predicting (with pretty much 100% accuracy) which "fat positive", obese TV personalities and actors would finally lose weight. She felt shame was very under-rated and underutilized in our civilization.
As Mark always says, when the Mullahs nuke us, we will still be talking about (transgendered) bathrooms.
So, stop swallowing all the lies. Reject them all. I mean, it is relatively important for a MIDWIFE to have an understanding of babies coming out of a woman's body. I think this is a relatively critical thing, how about you?
~
Europe:
Angry farmers are the new Canadian truckers. But they are upping the ante.
The Hungarian birth rate has apparently dropped 20% but there is nothing to see here of course so just shut up and GET YER BOOSTERS.
Meet the new Germany. Same as the old Germany.
Lights Out, Germany. You will eat the bugs, you will own nothing. You will have no lights or A/C and you will wash your clothes on the riverbank.
~
Evil, Barbaric China:
It's China's world. We're just living in it.
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Wacky, Wacky Oz:
Canada, will of course, be last (if ever).
If you don't take THREE JABBY JABBIES YOU ARE CRAAAAAZY.
How is it suddenly OK? Good question about the vanishing vaccine mandates. OOPSIE WE WERE WRONG. Oh, OK.
~
Human Grace:
"Just do it, and you are." I love this. Love, love, love this.
"And she asked if she could pin the name tag on his shirt."
Rest in Peace, brave brother.
If you fall, get up and try again.
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.
