Hello again, and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links. It has been a busy and tiring week for me and my house, and a crazy week on planet earth as well.
On the real life level, I've been kind of a Jewish mother version of Hopalong Cassidy, recovering from a procedure on one of my legs (all pretty gross – won't go into detail). It was also time to take my special needs son for a dental check-up, or at least what I thought would be a very brief check-up and to kind of familiarize him with the clinic.
The hospital where the clinic is located is the hospital where my son was born under emergency circumstances and it was touch and go for both of us at that time, we both nearly died. It took me about twenty years to be able to go back there without having flashbacks and sweats, without smelling the scent of the soap dispensers at the entrance to the NICU or the floor cleaner of the maternity ward in my mind.
For a number of reasons, too many and personal to list, the visit wasn't great. The dentist that we saw told me that he was a thirty-year veteran of special needs dentistry, and gave me kind of a tough love speech/program/pep talk on keeping my son's teeth more clean. He then told me that on a scale of 1-10 in terms of the easiest to most difficult disabled patients they have gotten used to the hygiene tips and program, my son was only a four, so not to feel discouraged.
He was trying to be matter-of-factly encouraging but I just felt frustrated, depleted and awful after. It kind of spiraled into me mentally and emotionally torturing myself about all the things that I either can't do for my son, have failed at, or just can't because I'm not an OT, PT, SLP and I'm just plain tired and there aren't enough hours in my day. The day didn't get much better but toward the afternoon I had a debrief with my daughter, and in a few words, she raised my spirits, emphatically and lovingly reminding me that "special needs dentistry is not the same as special needs parenting". I thank G-d for my kids. In that precise moment, the day brightened for me and my regular, more balanced perspective returned. Being their mother, and creating these treasures with my husband in partnership with G-d is the greatest gift of my entire life.
On the world scene, as we approach the third year anniversary of when the world shut down, all of the sudden there is a proliferation of truth, hearings, admissions, blue state state-of-emergencies are suddenly over, and much more more. All of the sudden, more countries are discontinuing their vaccination programs for more and more age cohorts, newspapers of record and three letter governmental bureaucracies are admitting that the virus came from the Wuhan lab and that masks were a load of dogsqueeze and balance sheets are being revealed.
And here in Canada, the extent to which our prime minister, an admirer of China's "basic dictatorship", and his Liberal party may be fully corrupted by the CCP, and in damage control mode, is now public and may even bring him down.
Nonetheless, it is premature to rejoice on any front.
We must ask ourselves why now? Why is this happening now? Why is it safe and kosher now?
Why now?
I'm reserving judgment until we know more about the reasons for these developments, and I'll definitely be reserving any modicum of forgiveness that I might be capable of summoning (not likely though) until there are admissions of guilt, contrition, apologies, jail sentences, lawsuit penalties, true repentance and the undertaking of sworn oaths against recidivism of this barbarity.
It was an odd and tiring week indeed.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
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North America:
Yup. Pretty much every single word.
Related: this is how it's done.
Another example of how it's done.
The real science on masks.
It's 15 minutes to communism in Sudbury, Ontario. Communism with a nice face.
"This is so refreshingly honest.
This will get people killed.
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Central America:
Whoa.
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Jews and Israel:
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The Formerly Great Britain:
Iranian regime barbarians targeting British Jews for assassination.
A good use for "Harry Markle's" book.
More here.
Britain: where the lives of white, teenaged boys are being destroyed for flirting, while Afghan migrants, Pakistani Muslims and other savage migrants rape British school girls and women with impunity.
Let me tell you a story about the disgraceful wanker cops of Britain, and the pathetic, cowardly dhimmis that are only too happy to submit.
It's 20 minutes to communism in Scotland.
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Europe:
The MBA who shut the world returns.
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China:
China rattling sabres toward Formaldehyde Joe. I can hear Russia and Iran laughing from here.
TikTok is evil. This is China's psychological warfare arsenal in action.
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Trans and Wokestapo Predators and Assorted Left Wing Kooks:
"Remember when words used to mean things?" Yah, like if you have a penis, you are not an appropriate dating match for a lesbian, OK? Yes, it's THE PENIS THING.
They are after your children, continued...
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Human Grace:
This is honestly the cutest.
"Have the ancient gods returned?"
The good side of the internet: "So my 10-year old daughter wrote this music. Can anyone play it?"
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.
