Hi everyone and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links.
As you all know, Mark is still convalescing, but boy has he been writing up a storm lately and it is all completely and utterly dynamite stuff. So if you missed any of his latest, be sure to take the time to check out Who's Making the Variants; The Danes, Gelded; last week's live Clubland Q&A; and Prigozhin Pass? You will not regret it: it will be time well spent!
I have a few things that I wanted to bring to your attention.
First of all, it's easy to get depressed about the current state of affairs in most Western nations. So when there's something to celebrate, and a path that should be seen as a blueprint for success, we should take note. Therefore, take a moment to get acquainted with a new Canadian hero, and good on The Democracy Fund and Rebel News for crowdfunding the legals.
As I realize more and more each day, one of the most disgusting and exhausting things citizens have to do in democracies is fight their governments for their own rights. It is one of the most punitive and soul-crushing, uphill legal battles that exist, mostly by virtue of the fact that the government has a bottomless pit of our money to fight us. And and endless supply puerile bureaucrats and their minions that are just following orders, and get paid to do so – also from our money.
There's no incentive for them to stop fighting the citizen. They would lose their jobs without the fights against us. This is what Mark Steyn is currently going up against (again) in his fight against Ofcom, as he did in his fight against the "human rights" cartel in Canada.
And really, without the support of his readers and fans, and without the support of other non-profits and some enlightened legal beagles who take on these precedent setting cases pro bono, these battles cannot be fairly fought and certainly cannot be won by the average person. Obviously, Mark Steyn is not your average person, but Chris Scott was. The Corona tyranny in Canada as Scott explains, emboldened our power-drunk "leaders" and police into shutting down his restaurant (for his and all of our health and safety of course!!!!) to brazenly drag him into court for the alleged crime of serving coffee and hamburgers. This is truly evil stuff.
Our governments behaved in a recklessly abominable fashion.The bureaucrats, the police, the librarians, the teachers, professors, public health mandarins and so many others showed us all just how little encouragement regular everyday humans need to behave in a sadistic and barbarous manner to their fellow man, to their own family members and to the weakest and most vulnerable among us. Ultimately, their personal and individual reckonings will be at the gates of heaven, or its alternative.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to recognize, celebrate and support those who fight back. Fighting the government is an insidious and relentless task, and it is designed to break you in every way possible. Fighting the government is meant to bankrupt you and crush your spirit and your soul and break apart everything you love into pieces until you relent. Unfortunately for all of us here in the West, the law is, unfortunately, the domain and playground of the rich and of the government.
Next: this is a sign of the decline of America.
It's a heartbreaking story on the micro level. A family has lost a daughter to murderous rage and it will never be the same ever again. But to think, to ponder for a few moments that it was over something so inconsequential as chicken nugget sauce is utterly heartbreaking. There is a macro significance to this story as well (I loathe even calling the murder of a young woman a story, but unfortunately, here we are). That a young life has been snuffed out because of something so insignificant, petty and ridiculous as chicken sauce is a clear sign of the moral decline of the American Republic. You cannot unsee it. It is a snapshot of America as a place filled with millions of people who have no common values and a place where no reverence for the sanctity of human life has been inculcated in its young people.
Lastly, as for me and my house, another challenging week. I think one part of the initiation rites into parenting is that first time (and the next times) you sit at a sick child's side, staying up all night listening to the rhythm of their breathing, sponging down their fevers with a damp cloth, or just quietly laying your hands on their small, vulnerable sleeping selves, holding them in your embrace and praying for peaceful and restful healing sleep and a better tomorrow.
I've had my fill of those nights and so many other challenges that remain too acutely personal and painful to write about, but I still leave everything in G-d's hands. There's no greater comfort than reminding myself that G-d is good, and because everything comes from G-d, even what I see as bad or heartbreaking must have G-d's goodness and His plan built within.
Have a good weekend, and I'll see you in the comments.
~
North America:
Fighting back. Courage is contagious. Be like this.
America! STOP BREAKING MY HEART.
Truth is eternal. Truth holds life. Truth tellers live on in eternity. This is one such person.
On the Coming Radicalism of Donald J.
VDH on the destruction of America.
This seems like a dog squeeze story to me, but it's how the left and their media eunuchs manufacture fear and establish the official narrative and the official victim hierarchy. Remember, whatever they accuse you of, they are doing. The truth is that conservatives and religious people are being censored and terrified on campuses. Not vice versa.
~
Jews and Israel:
Scum. Utter scum.
Twenty amazing converts to Judaism you should know.
"Mom, I want to give you one last hug..." There are not "two sides" to this. There is no "cycle of violence". If you side with this, with these murderers, you side with evil. As Churchill said about the IRA and if there was a chance for peace at any time in the future, he said "quit murdering and start arguing." That's it.
~
Jewish Wisdom:
Back to basics: "A man's attire must not be worn by a woman; a man must not wear a women's garment.
"...when we do something that distances us from G‑d, we can always return to Him.
~
The Great Walkbackening, Reckoning and Accounting:
OH OK I SEE. Sounds legit.
Sweden was right. Nobody will care. They will still try to do this again.
~
The Formerly Great Britain:
This arrogant leftist gnome cannot keep London safe, cannot prevent crime or rapes in his city but is convinced that he and his fellow totalitarian, elite kooks can control the planet, the weather and the very air we breathe. Their arrogance and hubris knows no bounds.
~
Europe:
The Great Prophet Mark Steyn himself: "Ahh, but who reads Kipling?"
Not climate change. Imagine my surprise.
Misc:
The Long History of the Tiny Caper
Hmmm. This is interesting. So they are stopping the influx of single, randy, excitable young men from third world sh&tholes not because they are violent, unskilled, and unassimilable but because there isn't enough housing? In other words, if there was more housing the welcome mat would still be out for this demographic? What do you guys think? It's weird, right?
Celebrate the emergence of Pakistani culture in Europe.
~
Predatory and Perverted Kooks Bug Nazis and Trans:
Look how happy this psycho is when he talks about lockdowns and shutting down flights and the world.
EAT ZE BUGZZZZ: I agree with Neil Oliver. They are pushing this to get you used to doing things that you naturally find repugnant and disgusting and repulsive. It's basically grooming you to do more of that.
~
Human Grace:
"You did not take her from this world. You are how she remains in 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.