Programming note: We hope all our American and Canadian readers had a grand Labor Day or Labour Day according to taste. With the summer receding in the rear-view mirror, today and tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be back behind the Golden EIB Microphone for three hours of substitute-host-level Excellence In Broadcasting sitting in for Rush on America's Number One radio show. The fun starts at 12 noon Eastern/9am Pacific. Hope you'll dial us up either via the iHeart Radio app or on one of over 600 stations across the fruited plain, such as our old friends at WNTK New Hampshire, where you can listen to the full show from anywhere on the planet right here.
~The top story this morning is the Senate hearing (if one can dignify what we've heard so far as such) on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court. We'll cover all that as it happens, and try to get to any other burning issues, big and small.
~The big questions don't get much bigger than the downfall of western civilization, which Pankaj Mishra in The New York Times is very chipper about:
Today it has reached its final and most desperate phase, with existential fears about endangered white power feverishly circulating once again between the core and periphery of the greatest modern empire. "The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive," President Trump said last year in a speech hailed by the British journalist Douglas Murray, the Canadian columnist Mark Steyn and the American editor Rich Lowry. More recently, Mr. Trump tweeted (falsely) about "large-scale killing" of white farmers in South Africa — a preoccupation, deepened by Rupert Murdoch's media, of white supremacists around the world.
I'm not entirely sure how that last sentence follows from the previous one, but, having been on the receiving end of it myself back in the Nineties, I'm well aware that under New York Times editing techniques a lot of stuff falls through the cracks. Still, my recollection is that appreciation of Trump's speech in Poland went beyond obscure "Canadian columnists". At any rate, Mr Mishra declares that "the religion of whiteness" has become "a suicide cult", and that this "wounded and swaggering identity geopolitics [a cute coinage, but a bit too obviously so] puts the world in grave danger".
Oh, well.
~Meanwhile, back in the Swamp, life goes on. On Saturday I joined Ed, Rachel and Pete on the curvy couch at "Fox & Friends" and re-emphasized what remains the principal takeaway of the Steele-Comey-Mueller shenanigans:
.@MarkSteynOnline: We have classic one-party state tactics going on. In 2016, the state and Clinton campaign merged – where's the media's moral outrage over that? pic.twitter.com/jvVAdtY2bT
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) September 1, 2018
That was part of a busy weekend at SteynOnline, beginning with a guest-co-hosting (or co-guest-hosting) stint at "The Five" and an appearance shortly thereafter with Martha MacCallum (I'm right at the top of the show). Our Labor Day movie date was a film about the ultimate laborers - Antz - although you may prefer Fritz Lang's Metropolis and/or some sobering thoughts about what happens in a world after work. My Song of the Week celebrated the most successful Italian song of the last century - Volare - and the latest installment of my video poetry anthology pushed back against the latest victim of cultural vandalism - Rudyard Kipling's If... If you were busy with the barbecue this long weekend, we hope you'll want to check out one or three of the foregoing.
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As for that inaugural Steyn cruise, we'll be spending the first week of October sailing from Montreal to Boston at the height of the eastern seaboard's fall foliage season. Guests include former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and two of the doughtiest cultural warriors Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, whose new film on America's biggest mass murderer, Kermit Gosnell, opens next month. We'll be doing many of our regular features - The Mark Steyn Show, Tales for Our Time, Clubland Q&A - but live on stage and on water.
See you on the radio at noon Eastern - and do give me a call.
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29 Member Comments
Mr Mishra seems to have found his conclusion first and, in search of evidence, didn't find much until he hit a treasure trove of prominent Democrats a hundred years ago, which he then uses to stereotype all persons of a certain color.
Mishra's assertion that "global capitalism has promised to build a colorblind world through economic integration" reminds me of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Although his futuristic vision of the worker is outdated, in the view Mishra is referring to, the masses are the products. In this dystopia, humans start out as "equal" raw material, are refined into commodities, stripped of their uniqueness as much as possible so that everyone's diverse, and made uniform and programmable, with interchangeable parts (trans-yegads).
The Laura Rosen Cohen YouTube video that Mark re-tweeted is fantastic: "he said he hasn't taken a dime you SOB." I love it. Why does Mark always say he's an effete foreigner - he's tough as nails! He put that guy right in his place.
Mark, I find myself wishing there were some "like" buttons to hit below comments by others I find enjoyable. I don't necessarily want to make a comment, but would appreciate the ability to give a vote up or down.
Love Like Agree Dislike Disagree Neutral - that should do it!
Can you make this possible in future threads? You know, like on YouTube or FaceBook but more complete?
Correction re top news story: "Children's programme 'Thomas And Friends' is to introduce an "inclusive" gender-balanced, multicultural set of characters as part of a revamp." Three girl engines, apparently, but none are burka-clad! Possibly an OHS/ visibility hazard? Might have to settle for the new Muslim Super-Hero. ("Burka Girl", who flies into tall buildings. Steyn gag.)
Mark, I was listening to you in the car today driving back to Maryland from Vermont. Your description of John McCain and how everyone gets him wrong had me in hysterics. I wish you'd put up that short bit as a separate audio so I can share it. My husband knew him in the Hanoi Hilton and had an article on American Thinker last week about an experience there in which McCain showed true heroism. We discussed his article and your monologue (which he thought true and funny) and concluded that McCain's stint in Hanoi was the pinnacle of his career. He made a great POW -- and don't believe the "traitor" stories -- but he's been pretty bad at everything else.
Mark, I noticed that you suggested that the Senate should be abolished. I certainly can sympathize given their recent behavior. However, it is, perhaps unfortunately, a vital part of the government. What do you think about the idea of repealing the 17th Amendment? This progressive amendment removed the important input required for the state governments in DC and if a state does not have an eternal uniparty (e.g. CA), we would see a a significant reduction in the ridiculous incumbency problem we see in the Senate if this unfortunate "improvement" to the Constitution were removed.
Hmmm...the odor around Mr. Mishra smells a lot like Dio [that's 'Clement Dio'] Spirit...
The Ballad of Man's Last Chance by Clement Dio:
Buddha and Allah went off to visit
The nice little god of the Christians
Pulled out the nails
Took him down from his cross
Mopped his disappointed brow
Sat him in their midst.
'You owe us your life, you nice little god
What will you give us in return?'
'In return I'll give you my kingdom
For now the thousand years are ended
Yes, the thousand years are ended now ...'
Pulled the nice little god into a circle
A circle around the empty cross
Then carpenters three
They all went to work
With the pieces of the cross
Built themselves a boat
For now the thousand years are ended
Yes, the thousand years are ended now ..."
[Pages 42 and 43, The Camp Of The Saints by Jean Raspail]
Great to hear you again, Mark, I was just going to say--
Will the commenter yield?
Huh?
I move to adjourn this comment!
I haven't commented yet!
This comment is racist, unjust, and dangerous to women's health.
Women? But I love women!
Sexist! I move to censure the commenter for his racist, unjust, and sexist comments so dangerous, so very dangerous, to women's health.
[Seconded!]
All those in favor of silencing this racist, unjust...unjust...where was I?
[Sexist!]
That's right, sexist! This vile, sexist commenter, who would send women to the back alley and the clothes hanger for all their health care needs. All those in favor of stoning this fascist, say aye!
[Ayes all around]
Now I'm a fascist? I'm doing laundry and making guacamole. How is that fascist? The only thing you can stone me with is avocado pits.
FASCIST! You've been censured, Mr. Fascisty Fascist McFascist. No one wants to hear from you.
I was writing to Mark and my fellow club members, not you, you busybo--
I challenge the notion of no "large-scale" murdering of white farmers in ZA. "Selective" killing or "selective form of killing" may be a better term but in a nation of major crime and a government ...ah... "Whitewashing" crime stats, I would not be so sure that everything is hunky-dory in Southern Africa.
We now live a world of mimicry right now.... so quickly the hard learned and hard fought lessons of what make civilizations functionally sustainable are cast aside. We have governments and politicians using make believe assumptions to create make believe laws to create a make believe society. Let us add the Left wanting to create a make believe judiciary of wise latinas , persisting feminists and woke colors.
Well then - shall we call it modest-scale murdering of white farmers? Would that mollify these leftists? Truth be told much of our media struggles to contain their collective joy at this "wonderful"news. Pankaj Mishra's views are fast becoming main stream now and not only in the media but in academia and the democratic party as well. America is fast approaching the brink while many on the right still seem to believe we can somehow reason with this toxic movement on the left. According to a recent poll 49% of Americans believe Trump should be impeached. Even if the question was skewed to produce this result (often the case) I was never- the-less stunned. Will the chaotic present soon be looked back at as 'twilights last gleaming' for America? The upcoming mid terms will tell us not whether we go over the edge but how soon. Sorry for the pessimism but I've never been one to engage in wishful thinking. Things are very bad now in America and getting worse by the day.
I thought President Trump could not be impeached. Doesn't he have "term" insurance: Vice President Mike Pence?
Well of course not Fran. They will never get the votes in the senate. That's not the issue. Trump has done nothing to even raise the question in a rational world and if this large of a segment of our populace has bought into this propaganda then we are in big trouble. The mid-term polls have been trending lately and not in our favor.
I know Roy, it's enough to want to crawl in a cave and tunnel our way out when the border is erased and the extra six billion come trucking in with their thousand next of kin, as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Arizona will have it, and Medicare for seniors is taken away as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Florida will have it, but we must never give up the fight, isn't that the name of the game? I try to not take the polls too seriously, because I think people are onto how slanted the pollsters' questions are. I'm feeling the tension, make no mistake. I carry it worst in my trans-mandibular joint. It's already pretty bad and we're only in early September.
Yes Fran - polls are often politicized and must be taken with more than a grain of salt. In the last few days before the '16 election however one of the best (surprisingly) the L.A. Times had the electoral college close to a toss-up in the closing days. A few others had the race tightening fast near the end. They are the only barometer we have so I pay attention to a couple that I do respect. The long knives are out for Trump. Bob Woodward's tell all will do some damage but what scares me is that General H.R. McMaster is supposedly writing a tell all and if it's timed to come out before the mid-terms then all hell will break loose. Given what I see taking place every day now in a country going stark raving mad I struggle to remain optimistic. Sorry.
Roy, I do hear you loud and clear, but it's important to not get too disheartened because this is our country, our land, our home and even if we're being undermined on all sides, there still are a lot of us who share the same beliefs and we must stay strong and stick together and continue the food fight, good fight, I meant, although it's nasty like a food fight. The other side is absolutely bonkers. They have no clue what they are doing yapping about 80% renewables by 2040. They want us eating dirt like those poor people and livestock did in the Dust Bowl years.
Where you are, were you close to the AZ CD2 US Congressional primary? I have a friend, an elderly gal crippled with MS, living out near the Kartchner Caverns who was fighting for Martin until the polls closed, but he lost, but not by all that much, considering he had almost no money compared to his opponent who had beaucoup. He could have given up but he's coming back to fight another day. We have to get behind these kinds of determined candidates all in for securing the border (build wall now!) being pro-life, constitutional conservatives, and pro-second amendment. But you know the rundown well enough. I'm putting money on a local conservative not even in my district but close enough. I don't know what else to do if we don't run for office ourselves. I'm trying to get the county to clean up my eroding neighborhood. It's taking all my spare energy. The county does very little to help us with the bad situation, saying it's unfixable, but we get hit with the highest property taxes. The residents complain to me but not to the officials. I'm getting tired. Who knows where I turn next? There's nowhere else to turn, but I know the Lefties are out of their minds now marching lockstep. No reason for them to take us with them. We can march to our own beat.
By no means have I given up Fran and I'll fight to the bitter end, but I'm also a realist and what is taking place today in America has no precedent in modern history and it scares the hell out of me.
Like I said, Roy, I hear you loud and clear. I just don't want to give the Leftists eavesdropping on us that they have shaken my beliefs. They're leading us to the gutter, just look at the cities and states they control. I know i'm speaking to likeminded here in the club.
"Religion of Whiteness?" Goodness Gracious! It must be awful to be someone like Ms. Mishra who must spend every waking hour grinding, grinding grinding away on the subjects of race and "whiteness." Do these people ever go for a swim, read a book on glass-blowing, attend a concert,, go for a walk or do anything that isn't related to their unending analysis of race? As Winston Churchill said, "A fanatic is someone who can't change their minds and won't change the subject."
I must confess that I too admire the term "identity geopolitics." But one must ask Ms. Mishra to be a bit more precise. In her condemnation of "whiteness." Does this condemnation extend to the following?
1. White Women
2. White Gays
3. White Transsexuals and "Othersexuals."
4. White people living in socialist utopias such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland
5. White people who "reject their whiteness" in various self-dramatizing and self-flagellating ways
6. White people who voted for Hillary Clinton
7. White people working for "The Nation" magazine and the Huffington Post to name but two examples.
8. White People working for the New York Times
9. The White folks at (non-Fox) major media outlets
10. Bernie Sanders
As we peel this away we can see that Ms. Mishra's real problem with "whiteness" is confined to adult, male, heterosexual, Christian, conservative, Trump-supporting individuals - A group that isn't really that large in the "geopolitical" sense. Why doesn't she just say so? And why not go further and loudly proclaim that these individuals are guilty of "race crime" and deny them access to public or private employment? Maybe put them in special camps where they can be "reeducated" and made to do useful work? But why stop there? Why not simply cut to the chase and eliminate this group through some efficient and completely fatal means that doesn't cost the state too much? If only the inferiors among the white race would be marked with something to identify them in public, say some sort of star or symbol to be worn on their outer clothing.
These are the fantasies of people like Ms. Mishra - She probably falls asleep at night dreaming of the "Purge" that will come to cleanse the "new inferiors" off the face of the earth. A review of her article reveals the usual smug certainty (complete with "scientific analysis") of all such individuals that the future will work out just the way they predict. And nothing ages faster than today's version of the future.
The Kavanaugh hearing thus far is embarrassing. The Democratic Senate leadership behaved as badly as the rioters in the streets, and then encouraged and complimented the shrieking disruptions to a proper and important procedure. It makes one angry, until you remember that it is merely showing the public, including Independents, what spoiled, childish brats these people are, and how their rhetoric is as transparently hypocritical and as their actions and complaints are phony.
What does a wounded swagger look like?
It's hard to describe, harder to do, but I can show you.
You got $500?
Perry,
Uh, it looks just like a regular swagger, but it feels much better. Twenty-five years ago I injured my back. One of the long-term side effects is a tendency for some of the muscles to spasm. But the pain is relieved by walking with a swaggering gait. I take long swaggering walks just to make myself feel good. The intention was not to cause Mishra to experience an identity crisis. It's tough to live in a society where guy can't even loosen his backbone without offending somebody.
Now Mark can add "white supremacist" to his list of appellations. That's quite a button collection you have there, Mr. Steyn. How 'bout a t-shirt with a list of appellations and a check box beside each -- bigot, hater, white supremacist, etc. -- check, check, check. Everyone on the cruise should wear one. Question: can anyone be a white supremacist, or is that a "whites-only" designation?
Great post and great question - every cruise member should indeed have such a shirt - that's EVERY cruise member of whatever shape, size or hue. A picture should then be taken and posted so that those of us not present can participate vicariously, ( this means me, waaaah!) Also put the shirts on the website I'll buy with alacrity.
I seem to recall non-whites being called white supremacists. That is, of course, if there isn't a pre-existing derogatory term, er... debate point that the left has available (coon, uncle tom, etc.).
Candace Owens was attacked last month and called a Nazi, which basically equates to white supremacist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrhTYEYnUuQ
Don't forget the "white hispanic" George Zimmerman, who actually has some African ancestry on his Peruvian mother's side. But the name Zimmerman.... I mean, come on, that's a Jewish name so it must be part of the patriarchy at least and probably white supremacist, or something deplorable. After all, if Obama had a son (he seems to wish, daughters not good enough apparently, the anti-feminist that he is), the son would have looked like Trayvon.
I so admire Candace Owens. She's brilliant beyond words and that incident was stomach turning. How many so-called journalists in the main stream media jumped to her defense? Easy answer here - none! How many dems deplored this type of behavior? Another easy one - none! What was the general response from the few conservatives who dared to speak up? Something like 'that isn't very nice - would you guys please stop'. Tom, thanks for sticking up for Candace. Outside of Fox News and a few on this site not very many people did rise to her defense. Shameful!!
I have to disagree. The self-demonization kits are what I don't like about the Steyn line. A list of checked appellations would confuse the majority of innocent people who have not the slightest idea nor the slightest interest in Pankaj Mishra nor in what he/she/zhe thinks.
But I would wear a T-shirt with "Pankaj Mishra thinks my wounded and swaggering identity geopolitics puts the world in grave danger".
Candace Owens is someone Mark should interview!