Thirty years ago, “Socialism” collapsed in utter disgrace. What lies behind the seeming resurgence in C21? (Apart from Alinsky style “community organisers” beavering away, Frankfurt School “Critical theory” and linked “Deconstructionism,” all tied to the smear that those who seriously challenge Marxist notions and linked policy agendas are crypto-fascists at best?) Here is a Prager U video discussion with Ms Candace Owen: (Here’s hoping it does not get mysteriously deplatformed.) I again point to a framework for understanding political dynamics: . . . thus, a re-thinking on political spectra: With a warning on Red Guards: Let me add (July 31), given the comment by BR on a victim of a Stalinist show trial, a telegram from Albert Einstein on the Read More ›

I forgot, today is a terrible anniversary, the Battle of Jutland: Had the Royal Navy managed to win here decisively (as 110 years before at Trafalgar), it might have ended WW1 before it spun utterly out of control across the next 18 months that wrecked the old order and ushered in a century of unprecedented horrors. As it was, it preserved the strategic situation of blockade, at the cost of a terrible battering. While this, Verdun. Then, the Somme as the French pleaded desperately for relief. Then, collapse of Russia, Mutiny in France’s Army, ultimately collapse of Germany, The Ottoman Empire, and much more. 1939, round 2. Lessons to ponder aplenty as we see Arab Spring attempted in the USA. Read More ›

In bygone days the news media enjoyed a great deal of prestige and was trusted by nearly everyone.  Walter Cronkite was called “the most trusted man in America.”  Those days are gone.* A poll last week indicated that the news media are viewed least favorably of 16 major institutions.  It is no wonder.  Vicious partisanship is now the order of the day (see here for the latest on this).  CNN, for example, seems to have given up even the pretense of being a news organization and now serves as the propaganda wing of the Democratic party. And the nation suffers as a result. When I first heard the hysterical news reports in late February and early March, I received them Read More ›

Thirty years after Communism collapsed in ignominy, it is again fashionable to bash capitalism and the investor classes. The tone of that rhetoric is sufficiently scapegoating to justify a pause here at UD to make a few notes on a case in point. Accordingly, from the “Further” thread: KF, 232: >>the following are further interesting for the moment: >>recovery was bought by a program of tax-breaks, limited for the less well-off but open-ended for billionaires and big corporations.>> 0: Let me add some balancing context, on tax burdens in the US, c 2016: In 2016, 140.9 million taxpayers reported earning $10.2 trillion in adjusted gross income and paid $1.4 trillion in individual income taxes. The share of reported income earned Read More ›

As we have seen in recent days, Betelgeuse (usually the 11th brightest visible star) has started to climb back up the magnitude scale; right on time for a 420 – 430 day cycle. That suggests that the event since October is likely a superposition of dimming cycles. The long- expected Type II supernova is put on hold. Some time in the next 100,000 years is projected. Also, Betelgeuse is actually the brightest star, when we look at the near infrared (excepting the Sun, of course). This is because its spectral peak is actually in the infrared, much like that for an old fashioned incandescent lamp. That brings up the question of star spectra and the close relationship of such spectra Read More ›

Some of our frequent commenters have recently made fairly explicit claims against/challenges to the Christian Faith, especially as it intersects community. For one, in responding to my earlier headlining of a response to his claims, Sev has now gone on record: Sev, 2: >> where some Christians imply that the faith as a whole has suffered the same level of religious prejudice as, say, the Jews I’m bound to say that’s an exaggeration to put it mildly. [–> in fact, Pew has noted in recent years, evidence that consistently indicates that the most persecuted religious group in the world is Christians, of course, such is tellingly severely under-reported in the major global media.] How many members of the US Congress Read More ›