The New Beginning: 5/13/12

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Items of Interest, 19 May 2012

Back to Burke

Defending Strauss by Samuel Goldman

The Spirit of American Constitutionalism: John Dickinson's Fabius Letters by Gregory S. Ahern
Champions of Modern Civilization

Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist by Paul Kingsnorth

The Truth of Beauty: Educating the Moral Imagination by Benjamin G. Lockerd, Jr.

The Third Way: Wilhelm Röpke’s Vision of Social Order by Ralph E. Ancil
Thomas Jefferson or Alexander Hamilton by Clyde Wilson
James Madison and the Dynamics of the Constitutional Convention by Lance Banning

Tom Piatak, Georgetown Needs An Exorcist
(Dr. Fleming, Re: Georgetown)

The Looming Reversal of Centralization by Gary North

Charting Obama’s Journey to a Shift on Afghanistan
Accurate history? Or spin and lies to make Obama look better after the fact?

New Right vs. Old Right by Greg Johnson
Nationalism: Phenomenology & Critique by Alain de Benoist

SSM:
Effects of Same-Sex Marriage

Sean Collins, Why I’m coming out... against gay marriage

A "New York progressive" gives four reasons for opposing "gay marriage"
Law professor says flawed view of sex threatens religious freedom by Michelle Bauman
Rod Dreher, A Burkean View on SSM
Social Issues Matter
Green is a color in the rainbow
Vatican Diary / That sin of Sodom which cries out to heaven

90 Percent of Corn Seeds Are Coated With Bayer's Bee-Decimating Pesticide

Economics:
The Inequality Speech That TED Won't Show You
BREAKING: You Know That TED Talk You Weren't Supposed To See? Here It Is.

Conceptualizing post-capitalist economics by Stuart Jeanne Bramhall (EB)

Carson Interviewed on Truth Jihad, American Freedom Radio (mp3)

Guest Post: Failbook’s Epic Fail: Does Zuckerberg Want Users To Pay?

Congress for New Urbanism 20
Some reports.

Peak Oil and Energy:
Scraping the bottom of the barrel
By: Jeremy Wakeford

Fukushima Disaster: One Year Later

Shannon Hayes:

(alt)
Shannon Hayes archive at Yes! (Her website and Radical Homemakers and Grassfed Cooking)

She has a new book coming out in September, Long Way on a Little.

Five Questions for Florence Williams
May 18, 2012, by Kristen Hewitt

In Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, journalist Florence Williams delves into the biology, culture, and evolutionary history of this life-giving organ. In her witty and wide-ranging account, she explores where breasts come from, why we see them the way we do, and what they reveal as bellwethers for human health in a compromised environment.

Get Ready for the Breastaurant

Feminism:
Early Feminists: Moderate or Radical?
The Land of The Free and Home of The Soulless, Uninspiring and Robotic Women
Revisiting The Soulless, Uninspiring and Robotic Women

Gamer advice, some good, some bad: 66 Things On Life, Men and Women, and America

The Biggest Financial Decision a Young Man Will Ever Make

Even Miranda Lambert, supposed "Strong woman" tweeted publicly that she is reading the book Fifty Shades of Grey. SNL skit.

*warning* It is a rather bawdy skit.

How many women admit on Facebook or Twitter to reading this book. How many of them are self-proclaimed feminists? I'm not going to check search results.

The audience for ASCII porn
Women are Always Concerned with their Sexual Value

Catholic:
TAC: News from Two Alumni Priests in Minesota
The 2012 Baccalaureate Mass Homily by Rev. Cornelius M. Buckley, S.J. (mp3)
2012 Senior Address by James W. Thompson (’12) (mp3)
The 2012 Commencement Address of Mother Assumpta Long (mp3)

Gregory B. Sadler, Yves Simon on Moral Virtue (part 1 of 2)
Yves Simon on Moral Virtue (part 2 of 2)

Evangelization and human contact

Mass in the Vernacular, Yes. But at Least It Should Be Translated Well

I suspect the video of the FSSP ordinations will eventually be made available.

10 Fascinating Facts About Hildegard von Bingen

Michael Coren interview: Why he believes Christianity is the most abused faith on earth

What Can Historians Do with Clerical Masculinity? Lessons from Medieval Europe

Russian Orthodox:
Celebrations on the occasion of 5th anniversary of reunification of Russian Church Abroad with Moscow Patriarchate to take place in Moscow
Five Years of the Reunified Russian Church: Reflections of Fr. Nikolai Balashov

Five Years Together (mp3)

Patriach Kirill Gets Facebook Page

Diet and Health:
MF trains with Erwan Le Corre

Movnat Helps 65-year-old win Warrior Dash

The Real Deal on Adrenal Fatigue (full article)

Balanced Bites Podcast: Episode #21 with Karen Pendergrass of Paleo Approved (mp3)

HealthWatch: NorCal Olympic Athlete Credits Paleo Diet For Healing

444: Daniel ‘The Barefoot Professor’ Howell Says Shoes Destroy Your Feet (mp3)

Modern-Day Primal Living

Esther Gokhale had a TEDxStanford talk today. If it becomes available on YouTube I will post it.

Ask The Low-Carb Experts (Episode 13): ‘Low-Carbing Women & Weight Lifting’ | Dr. Cassandra Forsythe (mp3)

Music:
On the occasion of the passing of Donna Summer
Welmer, Goodbye, Donna
In Defense of Dance Music

Cappella Musicale Pontificia "Sistina"

Mark O'Connor, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas - Bowl Of Bula

Mark O'Connor - "Tom and Jerry"

Misc:
Cannes 2012: Lily Rabe to Play Silent Film Star Mary Pickford on Screen

Preview – Travis Haley – Climbing the Ladder
Article by Recoil Staff

A Day in the Life of Tim Ferris

The Origins of the Tuxedo, Explored (via Tea at Trianon)

More on the Korean Dr. Jin

Official poster for drama ‘Time Slip Dr. Jin’ released
Park Min Young Looks Beautiful in a Hanbok for "Time Slip, Dr. Jin"

PMY's had surgery done (eyelid, not sure what else), but I'll watch the drama.

This won't inpire confidence in the Catholic Church

among nativists/WNs, paleos. These three groups should not be lumped together but to the unthinking liberal they're all prejudiced bigots. For them, there can be no reasonable principled opposition to immigration of those not willing to assimilate to Anglo-American culture, multiculturalism, or demographic replacement.

Pope Lauds Welcome of Immigrants Given by Church in US
Pope tells U.S. bishops to build church unity
Pope says immigrants could revitalize US Church
Pope praises U.S. bishops’ fight for immigration reforms by alessandro speciale

The text of the address:
Zenit: Papal Address to US Bishops
Pope: Eastern Churches embody "spiritual richness"

I greet all of you with fraternal affection in the Lord. Our meeting today concludes the series of quinquennial visits of the Bishops of the United States of America ad limina Apostolorum. As you know, over these past six months I have wished to reflect with you and your Brother Bishops on a number of pressing spiritual and cultural challenges facing the Church in your country as it takes up the task of the new evangelization.

I am particularly pleased that this, our final meeting, takes place in the presence of the Bishops of the various Eastern Churches present in the United States, since you and your faithful embody in a unique way the ethnic, cultural and spiritual richness of the American Catholic community, past and present. Historically, the Church in America has struggled to recognize and incorporate this diversity, and has succeeded, not without difficulty, in forging a communion in Christ and in the apostolic faith which mirrors the catholicity which is an indefectible mark of the Church. In this communion, which finds its source and model in the mystery of the Triune God (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4), unity and diversity are constantly reconciled and enhanced, as a sign and sacrament of the ultimate vocation and destiny of the entire human family.

Throughout our meetings, you and your Brother Bishops have spoken insistently of the importance of preserving, fostering and advancing this gift of Catholic unity as an essential condition for the fulfilment of the Church’s mission in your country. In this concluding talk, I would like simply to touch on two specific points which have recurred in our discussions and which, with you, I consider crucial for the exercise of your ministry of guiding Christ’s flock forward amid the difficulties and opportunities of the present moment.

I would begin by praising your unremitting efforts, in the best traditions of the Church in America, to respond to the ongoing phenomenon of immigration in your country. The Catholic community in the United States continues, with great generosity, to welcome waves of new immigrants, to provide them with pastoral care and charitable assistance, and to support ways of regularizing their situation, especially with regard to the unification of families. A particular sign of this is the long-standing commitment of the American Bishops to immigration reform. This is clearly a difficult and complex issue from the civil and political, as well as the social and economic, but above all from the human point of view. It is thus of profound concern to the Church, since it involves ensuring the just treatment and the defence of the human dignity of immigrants.

In our day too, the Church in America is called to embrace, incorporate and cultivate the rich patrimony of faith and culture present in America’s many immigrant groups, including not only those of your own rites, but also the swelling numbers of Hispanic, Asian and African Catholics. The demanding pastoral task of fostering a communion of cultures within your local Churches must be considered of particular importance in the exercise of your ministry at the service of unity (cf. Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, 63). This diaconia of communion entails more than simply respecting linguistic diversity, promoting sound traditions, and providing much-needed social programs and services. It also calls for a commitment to ongoing preaching, catechesis and pastoral activity aimed at inspiring in all the faithful a deeper sense of their communion in the apostolic faith and their responsibility for the Church’s mission in the United States. Nor can the significance of this challenge be underestimated: the immense promise and the vibrant energies of a new generation of Catholics are waiting to be tapped for the renewal of the Church’s life and the rebuilding of the fabric of American society.

This commitment to fostering Catholic unity is necessary not only for meeting the positive challenges of the new evangelization but also countering the forces of disgregation within the Church which increasingly represent a grave obstacle to her mission in the United States. I appreciate the efforts being made to encourage the faithful, individually and in the variety of ecclesial associations, to move forward together, speaking with one voice in addressing the urgent problems of the present moment. Here I would repeat the heartfelt plea that I made to America’s Catholics during my Pastoral Visit: “We can only move forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ” and thus embrace “that true spiritual renewal desired by the Council, a renewal which can only strengthen the Church in that holiness and unity indispensable for the effective proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world” (Homily in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, 19 April 2008).

The pope would use the diversity of liturgical rites in the United States to show the way to multicultural society? But liturgical culture pertains to God, not to civil society directly. Arguably, in the past one could have a diversity of liturgical cultures while preserving one popular culture (the political culture of a people), even if that was Yankee Uhmerican culture. Can one have a plurality of popular cultures, and still maintain unity of community or a people? I don't think so -- grace builds on nature, it does not destroy it, and being part of the one Church of Christ will not take away the distinctions that exist between peoples (who choose to be distinct). It has not done so in the world at large, and one should not suppose that it will do so within a "polity." If there is a socio-political problem, then it must be addressed at that level. What then, of assimilating immigrants to the native people?

One way to interpolate this text charitably with regards to assimilation: There is no traditional culture any more (or in the big cities), just a culture of death propagated through the mass media, and so culture must be rebuilt as people discover one another and form new civic friendships and bonds.
.
Do the pope and the American bishops over-estimate the quality of immigrant Catholics? How many of them are as poorly catechized as Uhmericans? I think they would err to put their hopes for a renewal of the Church in "new blood" coming from elsewhere.

Litanies

I believe Fr. Bouyer supported the idea of adding litanies into the Roman rite liturgy. Where would be the appropriate places for this to be done? After the Kyrie? Or should the Kyrie be expanded? Replaced? (But then what would happen to that part of the treasury of the Kyriale?) One can keep the Kyrie, but it may have to be sung more quickly, so that one can proceed with the litany?

The intercessory prayers of the OF of the Roman rite should definitely be reformed and unchangeable as much as possible. (What should the proper response in Latin be?) Some have argued that the Roman canon itself has intercessory prayers and so additional intercessory prayers are unnecessary. But, it seems that this is true of the anaphora of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and yet having two separate sets of petitions before the anaphora is not deemed to be repetitive.

Paper tiger?

I thought I had posted a link to this article by Sandro Magister - South Korea, the Asian Tiger of the Church.

Has the Church in Korea already lost? The Church in Korea is noted for its growing numbers (while the Protestant ecclesial communities are holding steady or in decline) and it is a respectable political force. It also has great social prestige because of its social work? But what is the average number of children per Catholic couple? Is there a problem with the use of artificial contraception? How many converts stay with the Church beyond their initial fervor and enthusiasm? How have Catholic youth fared against the assault by popular culture against traditional morals and roles? Is it doing enough to address the spiritual crisis of metropolitan Koreans? How has it countered Korean feminism? The Church has vocations to the priesthood and the religious life, but does it have enough priests for a better, more intensely local form of evangelization in the megapolis? Are the laity being encouraged to adopt a greater witness to evangelical "simplicity" (poverty)? With the decline in the morality of Korean mass media, are Korean Catholics slowly giving up [most of] television, movies, and pop music?

"Explosive" growth in S. Korean Catholics may be world's fastest
Committed to integration, South Korean bishops meet 46 NK exiles

Related:
The Catholic University of Korea (another)
Sogang University - 서강대학교

American Religious Liberty

Does religious libery trump other rights in liberal thinking? Probably not. Should the Church be framing the argument in terms of religious liberty? (Is that the one that is most likely to persuade?) Fighting for tolerance of organizations with different viewpoints on "private morality"?

If separatism is inevitable, why fight it?

Whispers in the Loggia: "Now We Must Be Loyal Americans By Being Bold and Courageous Catholics"

HOMILY OF THE MOST REVEREND WILLIAM E. LORI, DD, STD
SIXTEENTH ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE

SOLEMN MASS OF INSTALLATION
CATHEDRAL OF MARY OUR QUEEN
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
16 MAY 2012

KofC
Archdiocese of Baltimore

Fr. Thomas Joseph White, First Things First

MoJ: Paulsen's Theory of Religious Liberty: "The Priority of God" (the paper)

Related:
Archdiocese of Baltimore

Some news pertaining to Our Lady of Fatima: Archbishop appoints 3 pastors, 6 administrators (the old pastor and the new administrator)

I did visit the new location last Sunday (which coincided with the anniversary of Our Lady's first apparition to the three children in Fatima). The new chapel looks smaller than the old one; there wasn't much of a screen. There were also a lot of Asians (Chinese?) in attendance. I couldn't stay for the agape meal after the divine liturgy, but if I lived in San Francisco I think I would go there regularly. What other options would I have? Probably not St. Dominic's.

I found out about the Contemplatives of St. Joseph through Fr. Vito. (Catholic SF)

(I decided not to visit Holy Virgin Cathedral - I thought it would be too awkward this time around; maybe next time.)

Is the Opus Dei Information Center in SF open to the public?
Hang Ah Hillside Cultural Center: In the Heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown
Eastwood Study Center
Peninsula Foundation

Friday, May 18, 2012

Hung Fa Wing Chun

Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Siu Nim Tao 1, 2, 3

Hung Fa Kwoon
Hung Fa Blog

CBS preview for Elementary

The Uhmerican updating of Sherlock Holmes, in which a woman (Lucy Liu, no less) plays Watson. The video. Johnny Lee Miller may be good eye candy for women, but will he suffice to keep the show on the air? I tend to think that it will not survive beyond the first season. How will the producers be able to keep Lucy Liu's Watson obtuse, even though Watson is suppsoed to be the stand-in for the reader/viewer, to whom Sherlock explains everything? But keeping Watson a male while making Holmes a female would probably go too far.

Johnny Lee Miller's Elementary gets full series

Last day of school today for AM, who leaves for India with her two brothers next Tuesday.

Young [Southeast?] Asian male at WF, with painted blue toe nails and sandals... ?

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Items of Interest, 17 May 2012

The Tactical Virtues of Strength, Courage, Mastery, and Honor : The Jack Donovan Interview

Thomas Fleming, The Inalienable Right to Porn

BETA NATION

Russell Kirk and Swords of Imagination

Glory Days: A pundit’s rosy view of the Pax Americana by Andrew J. Bacevich

The Reserved Powers of the Tenth Amendment by Marshall DeRosa

The Tyranny of Liberalism

From July 4, 2010: Skoble's DELETING THE STATE, a review on this Fourth of July

Predator Nation: America as a Shining Drone Upon a Hill by Tom Engelhardt
On Staring Death in the Face and Not Noticing

WILLIAM ASTORE, The National Security State Wins (Again)

GARETH PORTER, The Parchin “Stand-Off”

Lawrence Auster on Buchanan: he overreaches in attempting to read the souls of Buchanans and others on the "right"; I don't think he substantiates the claim that he is different from them in articulating goals and being sad (as opposed to being Nero taking glee in the burning of Rome).

Uncommon Knowledge: Thomas Sowell on the Vulgar Pride of Intellectuals

How Ron Paul is Winning

The Devil Is in the Details by Scott P. Richert (a review of Timothy Stanley's bio of PJB) (via Conservative Heritage Times)

Issa to Holder: Waiting for Fast and Furious documents like waiting for godot

Urban Design and Architecture:
KunstlerCast#205: Prominent New Urbanist Authors (mp3)
A CNU Panel on Classic, Current and Critical New Urbanist Writing

The Social Factor in Sustainable Architecture by Marcin Gerwin (EB)

America's Demographic Future:
Aaron Wolfe, Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Honkers
Vox: Game Over

Economics:
Chris Martenson, Get Ready, We're About to Have Another 2008-Style Crisis

John Williams: The Real Unemployment Rate: 22% – Not 8.1%
The coming fiscal cliff: hyperinflation on track for 2014

Fabius Maximus: Is there a dark swan event ahead for the American economy?

Neo-Feudalism and the Iron Fist

Robb Wolf, The Paleo diet, Sustainability and Economic Growth

Kevin Carson Awarded C4SS’s Karl Hess Chair in Social Theory

FOOD: Tackling the Oldest Environmental Problem: Agriculture and Its Impact on Soil by Wes Jackson

The Next Money: As the Big Economies Falter, Micro-Currencies Rise

Festival of Transition:
In the shadow of the City: A walk through the history of the Corporation
What if... we cancelled the apocalypse
What if… we left the oil in the ground?
What if… land grabbing was banned?

Relocalization:
Jason Peters, Why I Am Not an Environmentalist
False Idyll by J.B. MacKinnon
Seeing only nurture in nature is missing half the point

6 Ideas for Sensible Homes
Small, supportive, affordable, recycled—and you can build your own.

On construction, cake, and local economic regeneration: why we should start with the materials by Rob Hopkins (EB)

Resilience or death: Preparing our farms for the end of agriculture (…as we know it) by Dan Allen

The commons law project: A vision of green governance by David Bollier (EB)

Back to the Land for the Occupy Movement by Jeff Conant (EB)

Food Authors, Writers and Academics Urge UC Berkeley to “Embrace the Gill Tract Farm, Not Police it”

How Small Groups Can Power Big Change by Sarah Byrnes
Progressive social movements don’t often take inspiration from conservative megachurches. But their lessons about organizational structure may be worth a second look.

Why such a lack of common sense about dogs? by Gene Logsdon (EB)

Shannon Hayes, Gainful Unemployment

Energy:
Jeffrey Brown responds to "U.S. energy independence is no longer just a pipe dream"

Translating "Peeking at Peak Oil" by Michael Lardelli (EB)

Commentary: Major oil companies on peak oil by Robert L. Hirsch

Clean Energy as Culture War

Free Energy Does Not Occur in Nature

Catholic:
Mexican Catholics Fight for Christ in Greater Glory

Fr. Uwe Michael Lang on Vernacular Translations

James Matthew Wilson, Misanthropy or Hymenopteraphilia? E.O. Wilson is Ant(i)-Gracehoper

التاسعة للسيدة في صلاة السحر لأَحد الأَعمى

Diet and Health:
MDA: Why We're Missing Out on Real Life

Bring Back Butter... and Cheese, Red Meat and Whole Milk! How Our Low-Fat Obsession May Harm Our Health, Says Nutritionist

Even Art of Manliness has joined the barefoot movement.
(Better than What to Wear on the First Date?)

NPR: Breasts Bigger and More Vulnerable to Toxins
The Thinking Housewife: Walking the Walk, and Breast Cancer Lies

Interview with ‘Wheat Belly’ Author Dr. William Davis

Adam Farrah, The Paleo Dieter's Missing Link

Latest in Paleo

Biological Clock Cannot Be Rewound

Music:
The Timless Traveled Treasures of Jordi Savall

Lonesome River Band

Lindsey Stirling - " Crystallize " Dubstep Violin (music video HD)

Nora Jane Struthers & The Bootleggers

Movies:
Eve Tushnet on Damsels in Distress: Guys and Ladies

TV:
There's A New Sheriff In Town: Dennis Quaid
By Joe Leydon

Julianne Hough on DWTS

Misc:
Me262 at the ILA2006 in Berlin (original sound)

Mark O'Connor in Hong Kong

(alt)

Something much older: "Grey Eagle"

Ok, found Fr. Augustine's comment on Western iconography:

Okay. Out on a limb here. Yes, at least outside of book illumination, representational painting in the West up to the late 1300s is very "Byzantine" in its use of gold background, negative perspective, "static" composition. If you want an example of "Western" panel painting (or for that matter fresco or mosaic) in this period, the already mentioned Dan Damiano Cross is a good example. Then comes Giotto and Cimabue. And the art historians go crazy! Frankly, they are lovely painters, but, yes, in comparison to their contemporaries eccentric. Then comes the "retrograde" 14th Century. The Cione brothers, Orcagna, etc. This is the real Western Icon tradition at its high point. The much derided Byzantinizing Gothic. And, for the art historians a dead zone, finally ended by masaccio.

If one wants to do Western Icon painting, the "resourcement" shouldn't be to book illumination (which is spectacular in its own genre) but to the 14th century Italian altar pieces.

Sed, de gustibus non est disputandum . . .

Rejection of the men's tie

Last night was the season finale of Criminal Minds; I paid attention only because the commercials were hinting at the departure of a regular cast member and I wished to know who was leaving and how. Why even waste my time the, for misandric crap. At the end of the second hour was a sappy wedding scene, and I noticed that Joe Mantegna's character was doing the "hip" or "relaxed" informal - black/dark shirt and black/dark jacket, but no tie. This was mirrored by the other male characters as well. Americans have long adopted informal wear as the norm for weddings, but this goes even farther.

Given my stated hatred of the tie, you might think that I would approve of such a change, but given the power of convention I can't help but judge it to be a loss of standards. Seeing it depicted on television I was washing for the return of the cravat. This has become the popular standard for early music and classical musicians as well; see, for example, the Academy of Ancient Music and the Tallis Scholars. Even worse is when the men decide to wear just the black shirt and slacks. They then resemble waiters at some upscale restaurants. One is then reminded that the dress shirt is an undergarment and should have something covering it. The bid to be cool, trendy, and not so uptight has taken the abbreviation of modern Western male fashion aesthetics to a ridiculous extreme?

If one is not fat, wearing a tailored modern Western suit doesn't look bad. One may even look smarter with a tie (though I doubt it - as I said before, my aesthetic judgment is determined more by convention than by actual appearance in this case). I do not think the modern Western suit can be tailored in such a way to make it less obvious that an overweight man is so? Other cultures got around this by having clothing that was loose fitting? I'd still prefer some sort of coat that buttoned up all the way to the top, I think.

Besides, without the tie is there a need for the Western collared shirt? (Turning the collar up may not enhance its appeal, if the tie is still absent. And it interferes with the movement of the head.)

At any rate, the wedding scene was Hollywood's witness to the importance of friendship (and of marriage) as a good, since it was also revealed that Agent Prentiss would be leaving for a position with Interpol. But it's the lies about everything else that distort the truth and turn the show into propaganda.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 08: George Clooney paticipates in TimesTalks 'A Conversation With George Clooney And Alexander Payne' at SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center on February 8, 2012 in West Hollywood, California. (Getty/Daylife)

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 08: George Clooney and David Carr pose for a picture at TimesTalks 'A Conversation With George Clooney And Alexander Payne' at SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center on February 8, 2012 in West Hollywood, California. (Getty/Daylife)

MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) George Clooney attends a Gala Screening of 'The Ides Of March' during the 55th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on October 19, 2011 in London, England. (Getty/Daylife)

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Filmmaker George Clooney attends 'The Ides of March' premiere during the 55th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon West End on October 19, 2011 in London, England.(Getty/Daylife)

Rob Hopkins: The transcript of my TEDxExeter talk

The video, again:

CNS: The Appeal of Eastern Christianity

In Rome: MASS AT THE ALTAR OF THE TOMB OF ST PETER
"Here are some of the photos I took yesterday morning in St. Peter’s Basilica when I attended Mass presided over by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental churches, with U.S. bishop of 8 different oriental rites as they start their “ad limina” visit."

Paranoia on the left and the right?

I hadn't posted anything on this before, but I was looking into it this morning: Department of Homeland Security buying up enough ammo to wage seven-year war against the American people

Disarming America: Homeland Security Buys Up Ammo Supplies

There's little individuals can do to resist an illegitimate government, even if they resort to 4GW.

Cultural Marxism continues to hollow out the state

Is it a good thing that ideology trumps effectiveness (not to mention justice) when it destroys the means by which ideology can be spread? First they opened select combat roles to women, now they are considering allowing women to go to Ranger School.

Women being considered for elite Ranger school
LLAD: Ranger School welcomes women, drops standards

The non-ladies are out in force in this discussion of the proposal at FB.

Related:
VFR

Democracy (or a mixture of oligarchy and democracy as we have it) is a deviant regime. Is it therefore intrinsically not ordered to the common good? Certainly bad regimes violate distributive justice, and the problem is worsened when feminism is introduced to the mix, giving women a share in ruling simply on the belief that they are equal to men. (And they are not.) Are bad regimes therefore illegitimate? If so, and if the Church cannot say as much, would it not be better for the Church to keep silence rather than continue to admonish leaders to "do what is right" and thus give their regimes the semblance of validation and legitimacy? How can regime correction be promoted if the Church does not oppose the regime?

The Skip Cherryholmes Quintet featuring Molly and Cherryholmes

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

John Michael Greer, Confucian

The Twilight of Protest

Lloyd made a serious effort to grapple with the issues that book tried to raise, and by and large succeeded; where he failed, the misunderstandings were all but inevitable, given the differences between his views and mine. Thus it’s all the more striking that his review points up so precisely the reasons why protest movements have by and large been spinning their wheels in empty air for thirty years, and will almost certainly continue to do so while America’s empire crashes and burns around them.

The point that matters here is the review’s denunciation of one of the central points of the book, which is that those who want to change the world need to start by changing their own lives. According to Lloyd, we don’t have time for that, since the biosphere is in dire peril; what’s needed instead are the standard tools of contemporary activism—"direct action, community building, and outreach," in his convenient summary. His reasoning is logical enough, as far as it goes; if your house is on fire, after all, it’s a little late to install sprinklers and smoke alarms. If the situation is as urgent as Lloyd claims, all other considerations have to take a back seat to an all-out effort to deal with the immediate crisis with the most effective means available.

It’s a common enough claim in the contemporary activist community; Derrick Jensen had an article in Orion Magazine a few years back making essentially the same argument. Still, there’s a problem with that argument, because the responses Lloyd, Jensen, and other activists are promoting here have been standard across the spectrum of activist groups for more than three decades now, and that’s more than enough time to see how well they work. The answer? Well, let’s be charitable and say "not very well."

The smugness of Silicon Valley

What internet company isn't a supporter of liberal progressive values?

Who will be regretting poor investment choices next year or the year after? MZ got lucky.

Ahead of Facebook IPO, a Skeptical Madison Ave.
Facebook IPO: Insiders Cashing Out
Is the Upcoming Facebook IPO Worth It?
Warning: Stay Away from the Facebook IPO
Mark Zuckerberg: A Man of His Time
6 People Mark Zuckerberg Burned On His Way to the Top

Does he really have a Google+ profile?

White rule

The Fulford File | More (Coordinated) Attacks On John Derbyshire, And VDARE.com

John Derbyshire:

I actually think ‘White Supremacist’ is not bad semantically. White supremacy, in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with. There have of course been some blots on the record, but I don't see how it can be denied that net-net, white Europeans have made a better job of running fair and stable societies than has any other group.

Whig nationalism? (Does it share certain assumptiosn with liberalism about the nature of society and community?) It is undeniable that "white" civilization has achieved much materially and technically in the last two centuries, while the rest of the world has been trying to catch up to varying degrees of success. But is this attributable to race? Or to the modern nation-state making use of an intellectual advantage?

White nationalists may be part of a Whig Industrial Complex, unwilling to question their assumptions, their economic and political principles. How many would spurn the material benefits of "civilization" as they know it (or the use of cheap energy)? But traditionalist conservatives should look at an earlier period instead: medieval civilization, though one must still tease apart the good from the bad: communal life, agrarianism. Can one do this with industrial civilization? Can the claim that what is good in modern Western civilization is founded upon medieval and classicla antecedents (a claim advanced by certain American conservatives)? The rule of law and the Western legal system? Pat Buchanan, for example, would agree that Anglo-American political and social institutions are better -- better suited for Anglos and Americans than other forms, if not better absolutely. But these, and culture in general, do not find their source within genetics. (White nationalists seem to be crude materialists in their explanation of culture. This seems to be the case with the strident believers in HBD.)

It seems possible to have a healthy "white" identity without adhering to reductionism, recognizing the value of the traditions one has received from preceding generations. If whites have been able to rule themselves better it is also because of their moral education. Culture, paideia, and Christianity all pertain primarily to the spirit. The sort of white nationalism that is founded upon disordered and erroneous pride in one's bodily inheritance offers no way to preserve Western civilization, even if they are correct that there is no Western civilization without the peoples who embody it.

American Songwriter: Video Premiere: Madison Violet, “Come As You Are”

Mitt Romney won't do anything about this

Newsworthy? Female Army soldiers this week are moving into new jobs in once all-male units.

See also: Female soldiers say they’re up for battle.

With each step the National Government shows its illegitimacy?

Update on the LC priest

CNS: Legionaries of Christ priest admits affair, removed from ministry
Zenit: Legionaries Issue Statement on Father Thomas Williams

Life After RC: This and That

Gary Taubes for Crossfit HQ

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

NCR: Another Legionary priest caught in scandal (Life After RC)

How does this revelation not damage his credibility as an author and teacher of moral theology? His website is down.

Read Just Like Josh Gibson with the class today; a [black] feminist fantasy about a little girl who can play baseball just as well as the boys. I don't see anything on her personal life at wiki -- was she able to find an African-American man good enough for her? Does she realize that feminist-influenced hypergamy has severely disadvantaged African-American women when it is time to find a "suitable" husband?