Tag: Progressivism

Let’s Move to Portland

 

Hear me out on this: let’s move to Portland.

I know, “Let’s move to Portland” are four words you never expect to hear together, sort of like “Let’s move to Chicago” or “Let’s move to San Francisco.” They’re also four words many people don’t want to hear together, like “Antifa’s majority on the city council” or “makeshift penis.”

But they don’t call Portland the Rose City for nothing, just like there’s a reason Philadelphia is called the city of brotherly love.

Is feminism compatible with progress? Reactionary feminist Mary Harrington thinks not. In this interview, she discusses the history of feminism, her own journey from proponent to radical opponent of progress, the impact of technology on women and society, and, of course, her new book, Feminism Against Progress (Regnery, 2023).

Mary Harrington is a contributing editor at UnHerd and widely-published essayist. You can her book, Feminism Against Progress here.

Liberals Are Being Mugged by Reality

 

Are we witnessing the end of liberal fascism? I had a couple of interesting conversations at the gym that made me think we might.  The first was with an older liberal woman who claimed not to be a liberal but still acted like one.  We had an animated conversation where I deconstructed the liberal theory of white privilege.  I presented hard evidence from a source she trusted, fully expecting her to simply ignore it like liberals always do.

But she did something different.  She offered to talk to me again after finishing her swimming laps.  She swam around for about an hour and a half–and then we talked again and she acknowledged reality.  No ideological panic or denial of reality.  She accepted the hard data I presented.  I’ve never seen a liberal do that before.  Afterward, we had a very lovely conversation about white ethnic and class diversity.

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Today, the New York Times reports on the plummeting South Korean birth rate: After trying for over a year to persuade more South Korean women to have babies, Chung Hyun-back says one reason stands out for her failure: “Our patriarchal culture.” Ms. Chung, who was tasked by the previous government with reversing the country’s plummeting birthrate, […]

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When teaching a college class or giving a talk about the history and organization of the US Senate, I always include this: When Congress enacted the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, it created six “leadership” positions within each political party’s caucus or conference. They are, in descending order: Floor (majority or minority) Leader; Assistant Leader […]

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Why do progressives so often speak in gobbledygook? Are they incapable by temperament of saying clearly what they mean? (I doubt it.) Do they need to obscure the true meaning of their ideas with incomprehensible jargon? (Their academics certainly do.) Could it be that buzzwords are primarily effective as signals to others that someone is […]

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When Progressives Last Ran America

 

“There is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

A major pandemic that killed more than 600,000 Americans is finally winding down. Taxes are raised on individuals and corporations. The nation has experienced the most progressive presidency in American history. White supremacy is a major threat, as race riots hit some cities. Systemic racism is everywhere. Soldiers are coming home after a long war. A reportedly debilitated President is largely protected by his spouse. Major movements are afoot to improve the human condition.

Quote of the Day: If You Think Democrats Today are Delusional…

 

“Now, I’m not obscuring the fact that the feeling of the British public is against the system of slavery, but I don’t see any reason at all why this sentiment should stand in the way of commercial advantages. Great Britain trades with Brazil, which is a slaveholding country, and Great Britain is, moreover the largest customer of the Southern states for the production of slave labor.”  –Sen. Robert Barnwell Rhett (D–SC)

This statement attributed to Senator Rhett was beyond delusional, but it was representative of the beliefs that many secessionists in South Carolina maintained in 1860 before secession. As Democrats, they were convinced that G-d was on their side; that importing slaves from Africa was their right (even though it had been ruled illegal by the US government); that even though the British despised slavery and had for many years, they would still do business with slave traders—Rhett along with his fellow secessionists, the fire-eaters, were convinced that secession would be a just process and fairly simple to enact, particularly if Great Britain were on their side.

Needless to say, they were greatly disappointed that their assumptions were not only incorrect but wildly misconceived. The Civil War was just around the corner. One only has to read about the horrors of Reconstruction, too, to know what men will do to seek vengeance.

A False Dichotomy: Be Patsies, or Be Like Them

 

I’m pretty much a broken record on the theme of speaking out, arguing that conservatives have to express conservative ideas boldly, and as clearly and with as much grace as we can muster. One common response to this is the claim that we’ve tried that and it hasn’t worked, and that now we have to adopt the techniques of our opponents.

I ran into this just today, when I suggested on another thread that the woke practice of “doxxing” (publishing personal information about private citizens) and getting people fired for the things they say or do on their own time was something we conservatives should not embrace. I’ve tried to make the same point on other occasions about such things as violating people’s first amendment rights, electoral cheating, and lying to further the conservative agenda. These are all things our opponents do. I don’t think that we should do them.

Eric Kaufmann joins Brian Anderson to discuss progressive authoritarianism in universities, the distorted perception of racism in the U.S., and the genealogy of modern progressive ideology.

Defying the Left’s War on US History

 

Like many other people, I was thrilled to hear about Donald Trump’s formation of the 16-member, President’s Advisory 1776 Commission. Finally, someone was prepared to take on the propaganda and lies that were being taught to our schoolchildren and at last begin to correct the record, but the Left began to fight back almost immediately. This was the purpose of the Commission:

The declared purpose of the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission is to ‘enable a rising generation to understand the history and principles of the founding of the United States in 1776 and to strive to form a more perfect Union.’ This requires a restoration of American education, which can only be grounded on a history of those principles that is ‘accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling.’ And a rediscovery of our shared identity rooted in our founding principles is the path to a renewed American unity and a confident American future.

To demonstrate how powerful the report and its conclusions were, President Biden disbanded the commission immediately upon taking office, and removed the report from the White House website. Fortunately, the Heritage Foundation has made the report available to all of us.

Why the Biden Choice Seems So Unsettling

 

Elections come and go, but this one feels very different and disturbing. There are the obvious reasons that are and have been playing out before us including the suppression of voting standards, changing the rules in the eleventh hour, extending days of voting beyond Nov. 3rd, and the damaging “laptop” information. Yet…..it’s something more.

When Obama and Biden won in 2008, there was a mantra of hope and change. We had our first black president, and while I didn’t vote for Obama, I was not alarmed at the prospect of this new leadership. In fact, I thought he would be good for the black community as well as other minorities, and therefore, the country. I went back and read through Obama’s acceptance speech. He didn’t apologize for America, he championed it. He said we would rebuild brick by brick our broken cities. There was only the promise of better days for everyone – no exclusions.

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There seems to be some misunderstanding that there will there be a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court after Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed. John Roberts is not conservative in any meaningful judicial sense, neither interpreting laws based on their original public meaning (originalism) nor through some conservative view. And so, while there will […]

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Politics Is Destroying Your Soul

 

A friend shared this Huffington Post story with me this morning. Here is the opening paragraph:

I am a 40-something attorney and mother who lives in a quiet neighborhood with a yard and a garage full of scooters and soccer balls. I often walk with my children to get ice cream and spend weekends hiking through a national park. I am not the type of person who would normally consider becoming a Satanist, but these are not normal times.

What Will the Mob Do with Woodrow Wilson?

 

I’m fascinated by the defacing and destruction of statues and monuments around the world, but especially in the US. The mob seems focused largely (but obviously not exclusively) on those who served for the Confederacy during our “Great Unpleasantness.” After all, they are targets of our modern-day “Presentism,” that is, applying modern “morals” or “standards” to people and events from decades if not centuries ago. The complications and nuances of history don’t seem to matter.

But a few particular monuments seem exempt from the current “unpleasantness,” and that baffles me. Especially one particular former Governor of New Jersey, President of Princeton University, and President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.

This particular historical figure re-segregated the military. He infamously chose “Birth of a Nation” as the first motion picture (silent) to feature at the White House. Never seen it? It glamorized the Ku Klux Klan, the militarized wing of the Democratic Party from the end of the Civil War to the Great Depression. Look up the 1924 Democratic Convention, infamously known as the “Klanbake.”

Happy Friday! We’ve all earned three martinis after this crazy week.  Join Jim and Greg as they applaud Attorney General Bill Barr for noting in clear language how liberals have given way to progressives and how the militant drive for a dependency society is a serious threat to our nation. They also welcome opinion columns from non-conservatives like Fareed Zakaria and David Brooks who are both unloading on Bernie Sanders and his socialist agenda, but they also assess whether the media freakout over Bernie is because they’re scared of his agenda or they’re just scared he would lose to President Trump. In addition, they get a lot of laughs over country music star Garth Brooks wearing the jersey of NFL legend Barry Sanders at a concert in Detroit (where Sanders played) and getting online hate because his fans thought it meant he supported Bernie Sanders. Finally, Jim and Greg welcome Hillary Clinton to the podcasting world.

Oscar Attendees Virtue Signaling to Each Other

 

Kyle Smith just published an outstanding article about last night’s Academy Awards.  This outstanding article included the following outstanding paragraph:

“Booksmart” star Kaitlyn Dever made, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “a sustainable fashion statement at the Oscars in a custom-made ethical gown by Louis Vuitton, featuring eco-responsible silk satin that was embroidered with Swarovski crystals and beads.” Whatever that is. Phoenix has been wearing the same tuxedo all Oscar season, because no sacrifice is beyond this man. The last role he played before the Joker was Jesus, and he is a method actor. Maybe he thinks he’s here to save us all.

I’m becoming increasingly convinced that their increasingly absurd virtue signaling is not directed at us – their audience.  I think they’re virtue signaling to each other.

Progressive Jews, Secularism and the Future of Judaism

 

In the last few years, I’ve written about American Jews and their future, especially regarding their allegiance to the Democrat or Republican parties; recently, the numbers haven’t changed much. Most non-traditional Jews (about 70 percent) identify as Democrats and the remainder of Jews, mostly Orthodox, support Republicans.

Rather than look at party affiliation, however, I’ve become increasingly concerned with the growing emergence of the radical Left and the Jewish affiliation with them. In addition, the efforts to make Judaism more “palatable” to Jews who are not Orthodox is slowly tearing at the fabric of the Jewish faith. Ultimately, my concern is that the existence of the faith could be in jeopardy on two fronts: the growth of anti-Semitism, and the disinterest in continuing the Jewish faith in a form that resembles its roots.

The first front, anti-Semitism, has been of growing concern. The main source for data is the Anti-Defamation League, which has become strongly influenced by the Left. In 2017 the League reported an increase in anti-Semitism of 57 percent, ranging from anti-Semitic tweets to bomb threats sent to Jewish institutions. Our federal government also collects information on anti-Semitism here. At the federal government level, we have also seen a reluctance to hold members of Congress accountable for anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Quote of the Day: Are We a Great Civilization in Decline?

 

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.” — Will Durant

Many civilizations have indeed come and gone, giving in to decadence, tyrannical rule, mismanagement and a lack of purpose or direction.

But when we look at the troubles of the United States, we have to wonder about our own direction? Are these times only a blip in the development of this young country? Or does the lack of religious belief, the prevalence of moral relativism, the move toward socialism, or naivete about the fragility of a democracy, all endanger our existence?