Worth Reading November 1, 2021
JDeQB increasingly finds humor to be an excellent antidote for the woke madness that has befallen our society. Matt Taibbi’s recent Article about the Let’s Go Brandon Media Freakout is humorous while being very serious, as befits a writer who gained his spurs writing in the USSR and understands totalitarianism both governmental and social.
He also finds the Commentary podcast to be of special pertinent these days. The November issue of Commentary is entitled Woke: The Threat and there is much in it of interest. But the podcast of last Thursday was especially trenchant and also, at points just hilarious. It is a good listen. Commentary Podcast, The Great Democratic Faceplant.
On a more serious, but no less vital note, the Sam Harris Making Sense Podcast #265 is an interview with John McWhorter discussing the Religion of Anti-Racism. It is a terrific listen. John McWhorter is African-American, a Professor of Linguistics at Columbia and the author of many books, most recently Woke Racism: How a New Religion has Betrayed Black America. The Sam Harris site is behind a paywall, but one gets about 20 minutes or so of listening before getting shut out. Even the first twenty minutes is worth it for non-subscribers. Subscribers, of whom I am one, find his material addictively thoughtful.
WDM was struck by a recent Washington Post article. The article exhibits WaPo’s typical alarmism, claiming in near hysteria that elected sheriffs are acting as if their “power to interpret the law is above any state or federal authority — even the president.” (Remember how the Post celebrated sanctuary cities and nullification under Trump?) According to WaPo these sheriffs see themselves “as the last line of defense against unwanted local, state and federal regulations.” If true, the electoral success of sheriffs who take this stand suggests that sentiments favorable to secession, as JDeQB discusses, are strong in many parts of the country.
He also cannot resist adding a few highlights from the 27th gathering of (some – not Putin or Xi) heads of state to repeat their announcement that a global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is just around the corner for the 27th time. For once, he fully sympathizes with Biden’s tendency to fall asleep.
The reappearance of the Swedish teen Greta Thunberg and her greeting as the returned savior of the planet was one of the more risible events opening COP27. It underlines the fundamental purpose as performance art on a global scale.
On a serious note, only one event has produced serious reductions in greenhouse gas emissions anywhere in the world since these meetings began, and it had nothing to do with global or national targets or mandates. That is the fracking revolution in the US, which has allowed US emissions to drop by 20% since 2005. Those emission reductions came from the natural gas boom that Biden effectively cut off. That boom also allowed the US to fuel the free world with natural gas exports and displace Russian supplies. Larry Kudlow tells this story effectively and accurately. Kudlow captures the irony of Biden’s policies with the remark that “The existential threat is a Bidenesque attempt to kill fossil fuel.”
This is not a story WDM planned to mention, but Glenn Greenwald’s lengthy and angry essay is a must read. He describes how the Washington Post is trying to discredit the bipartisan, middle of the road group that disclosed the horrific experimentation on dogs that is attributed to Dr. Fauci’s NIH. This story should discredit contemporary journalism once and for all, as a culture of lies and attacks to defend its ideology. On top of that, reading what is being done to beagles is beyond sickening.
