I was interested to see that J.K. Rowling has come under fire for expressing an opinion not in accord with the prevailing winds. Rowling describes herself as liberal, but is also an absolutist when it comes to free speech, as you can see here.

Her transgression was tweeting about her belief that gender is biological and that there are two different sexes. I noticed in one publication yesterday that “some” were “concerned” that she was “undermining” LGBTQ rights. And Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the Harry Potter films, has criticized Rowling’s opinions, which you can read about here.

In this cultural war, which we seem to be losing, we have a problem: the Right no longer can communicate with the Left. We do not speak the same language, and every conversation is en passant — we talk right past each other. Which means that conversation (as opposed, sometimes, to experience or tribal affinities, etc.) almost never changes anyone’s mind.

In other words, we cannot even agree on what a “fact” is, let alone what facts are “true.” Doubt me? Open up Vox or the Guardian.

Two weeks ago, small groups peacefully protesting shelter-at-home orders hated science and wanted to kill grandma. Healthcare workers were lionized for facing down the rubes, even getting right up in their dumb faces. Protest is a non-essential activity.

Today, crowds of thousands are streaming through city streets while healthcare workers cheer them on. Masks are recommended but distancing is long gone. Scientific facts are malleable when they need to be.

Two weeks ago, delivery drivers were heralded as essential workers. They risked their health to provide essentials to citizens obeying the lockdown. Heroes one and all.

Andrew McCarthy is analyzing the legal maneuverings of Minnesota Attorney General (and former DNC Chair) Keith Ellison in the George Floyd death case. He thinks Ellison is over-charging the evidence. McCarthy does think there is a criminal case, but not the one that Ellison is pushing. But is Ellison clumsy or cunning?

Scott Adams has talked about the “two-way win”: winning when you get what you ask for, and being in a better place than when you started if you lose. I submit that, intended or not, Ellison is going for a two-way win: If the charged police are convicted of the most serious charges, then Ellison will be a social justice hero and the Ferguson effect will be in full bloom in Minneapolis (to the extent it isn’t already). If the police are not convicted of the most serious charges and even skate on the lesser charges due to the flaws that McCarthy points out, then the social justice warriors will be convinced that white supremacy is in full bloom — another outcome that Ellison and other race traders will exploit.

“If a problem has no solution, it may not be a problem, but a fact — not to be solved, but to be coped with over time.” — Shimon Peres

When I was a little kid, like a bunch of other kids, I played little league baseball. I was obsessed with the game and loved playing it, loved watching it, loved talking about it. My obsession with baseball was stoked by the 1990 wire to wire MLB championship of my beloved Cincinnati Reds, who had taught me that anything was possible. I spent most of my days playing baseball, reading the back of baseball cards, or dreaming about baseball. Yup, my life was aimed at the inevitable target of being a late-inning reliever for the Reds: Rob Dibble 2.0, sans mullet.

There were, however, some obstacles on my way to stardom. There was a lack of training facilities in my area. My family wasn’t exactly flush with cash, so I couldn’t go to baseball camps or hire a personal coach. Then there was the other itsy-bitsy issue I had to overcome: a complete and utter lack of talent. I was too small to be an athlete, with very little quick-twitch athleticism or arm strength. (To call the straight pitch that I lobbed at the plate a “fastball” is an insult to the very concept of mechanical physics). The icing on this proverbial cake was that I was more blind than the bats I was trying to miss. I only found out about my impaired vision when I took the visual acuity exam at the DMV. The not-so-nice lady that administered the test opined: “You can’t see [redacted], can you, boy?”

Len says one steady pull more ought to do it.
He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through–
Leastways for me…

— From A Servant To Servants poem by Robert Frost

Editor’s note: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has released this powerful letter today to President Trump warning him that the current crises over the coronavirus pandemic and the George Floyd riots are a part of the eternal spiritual struggle between the forces of good and evil. He encourages the president to continue the fight on behalf of the “children of light.” Read the letter in PDF form here.

June 7, 2020

I had been quite concerned that there would be no way to map out much less cure “systemic racism.” I mean, if eight years of guidance by Barack Obama couldn’t do it, what hope is there? But almost miraculously, after Drew Brees again came under fire for his own racism as reflected in his respect for the flag and the national anthem, Mrs. Brees spilled the beans: “We are the problem.” Wow! It was them all along. So once the Brees family changes its beliefs our national nightmare may finally be over.

I always suspected the Brees family just too good to be true, too nice, too seemingly decent—something was being hidden. But I am nevertheless relieved and delighted that we have finally found and eliminated the ultimate wellspring of racism.