It’s never a good look for a politician to forget which group he’s addressing, especially if it’s an influential congressional caucus, but we’re not talking about a case where Biden mistakenly addressed the House and confused the Congressional Invasive Species Caucus with the Congressional Aluminum Caucus.
They’re indicative of society’s and individuals’ flight from reason into fantasy and self-destruction.
The “disease” of “hysteria” was the scourge of the front parlors and hospitals of the European elite in the 19th century. Even Sigmund Freud had a conflicted diagnostic go at hysteria. It was in the medical textbooks, in the meetings of surgeons and head shrinks, in the broadsheets, and in the minds and conversations of many a concerned lady. Fees for services flowed into the purses of medical practitioners — and doubtless also some quacks who worked to seek a cure for the overwrought ladies, inside and out, and rid them of the terrible hysteria menace.
There are two dishonest conversations about wokeness, or identity politics if you prefer the less contentious term. The first from conservatives is wearily familiar. For some on the right, ‘woke’ is now a synonym for ‘anything I can’t abide’. Overuse has made the insult meaningless.
On the left, the dishonesty lies in the denial that a new ideology even exists. Nothing has changed, we are told. To be what Conservatives sneeringly call ‘woke’ is simply to be a decent person who cares about the rights of others as progressives have always done.
“They’re calling you ‘woke’ if you call out bad things,’ cried the actress, Kathy Burke. ‘If you’re not racist, you’re woke. If you’re not homophobic, oh, you’re woke. Be woke, kids. Be woke. Be wide awake and fucking call it out.’
Climate hysteria is symptomatic of our absurdist age
I’m not a climate sceptic. I’m a disciple in that regard of a great friend who died recently, James Lovelock. He used to say that climate science is inexact, but if it has a bias, it’s probably towards underestimating the speed of climate change. He thought that climate change would consist of sudden jumps and it could transform things quite quickly, in a couple of decades. We might be in the middle of it. That’s my view — I’m not a climate sceptic.
Bristol locals clashed with Just Stop Oil protestors today, pictured grabbing banners from the activist group as they brought traffic to a standstill in the south west.
An estimated 50 people took part in the group’s march through the city, aiming to bring attention to their cause through intentional disruption.
Just Stop Oil said it was protesting the government’s decision to issue new oil and gas licences for exploration and extraction, which the Prime Minister has claimed is ‘entirely consistent’ with Net Zero commitments.
Rather than glorifying and excusing lawbreaking, Americans could learn something from Asian cultures’ attitude toward such behavior.
American social media is normalizing crime, especially low-level offenses such as shoplifting. Millions, for example, have viewed posts of digital content creator “Boonk Gang” stealing shoes, not paying for haircuts, and even abducting live lobsters on platforms like Vine, Instagram, and Facebook. The creator’s arrest for robbing a Dunkin’ Donuts in 2017 only inflated his popularity, fueling a semi-successful rap career. Meantime, American youth absorb the message that not only is it okay and maybe even funny to steal—it might also boost your career. This is an incredibly destructive message.
Friday’s Storm Shadow missile strike on the Kremlin’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in occupied Crimea killed and badly injured several Russian military commanders, Ukraine has said.
“The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and the result is dozens of dead and wounded occupants, including senior fleet commanders,” the Ukrainian army said.
As a city of tents sprang up outside India’s capital city New Delhi in December 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waded into a debate around protests taking place halfway across the world.
From Ottawa, he promised that Canada would “always stand up” for the right to peacefully protest.
“We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we have reached out through multiple means directly to the Indian authorities to highlight our concerns,” he said.
Nobody ever asked us if we wanted green energy. They just did it
It has been said that the road to net zero carbon emissions runs through the homes of the poor. This statement is echoed in UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision this week to water down net zero commitments, a political manoeuvre, no doubt in response to growing concerns over the costs of the energy transition.
Perhaps the Prime Minister has recognised, as Nigel Farage has been saying for some time, that there has been a democratic deficit around net zero that is similar to the deficit that eventually led to the Brexit vote. Because, as with EU membership, political elites have taken us down the road to net zero without waiting to see if this is a road we, the public, wish to travel.
Some MPs worried about waning enthusiasm among their constituents for supporting Ukraine’s defence say they hope President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit changes some hearts and minds.
“It’s important that we continue to stay unified as Canadians … and advocate for the aid necessary to ensure Ukraine wins the war,” said Toronto-area Liberal MP Yvan Baker, chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Oh oh…
TORONTO: Trudeau and Zelensky leave Royal York Hotel as an even bigger crowd of protesters shout “F**K YOU” “GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY”
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
pic.twitter.com/iwiYU8wkJT— Kat Kanada (@KatKanada_TM) September 23, 2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s convocation of the leading food retail companies in order to scold them about rising food prices is one of the most egregious acts of political flimflam in this country in many years. Last year the combined profits of the three largest grocery retailers (Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro) was $3.6 billion, but that was against $100 billion in sales. That is not, by general corporate standards, a high return, especially as it is a business that is unusually vulnerable to inventory shrinkage — outright theft by employees and customers is generally more than one per cent of overall sales.
Trans activist admits that trans ideology is completely made up and is based on absolutely nothing pic.twitter.com/P7iogdht2X
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 22, 2023
Ibram X. Kendi has done as he promised. In 2020, freshly anointed as the director of Boston University’s new Center for Antiracist Research (CAR), Kendi announced his intention to “transform how racial research is done.” Previously, “research” had been understood to involve collecting data, analyzing trends and gathering new insights through the careful application of sustained thought. But these expectations were hallmarks of white supremacy. This week, as allegations of wanton mismanagement emerge from Kendi’s staff, it appears that what it means to do “racial research” has indeed been transformed: it now entails taking vast sums of other people’s money, then using it to produce almost nothing.
The roots of the problem are not confined to Canada, where a school district recently canceled any books published before 2008.
Peel School District — located in Ontario, Canada, and bordering Toronto — is reportedly weeding books from its libraries with publication dates prior to 2008. The district’s school board has yet to respond specifically to parents’ and Ontario officials’ questions, raising concerns about the book-weeding’s effect on the students’ educations and the district’s approach to education in general.
