Make Beards Great Again

by Laura Rosen Cohen
Laura's Links
January 7, 2020

https://www.steynonline.com/9974/make-beards-great-again

Justin Trudeau has become the first Canadian prime minister since Mackenzie Bowell to sport a beard in office. Time to Make Beards Great Again? (Ahem, Prime Minister Mark Steyn?)

Hello one and all, and welcome to another collection of Laura's Links. Anyone else glad the holiday season is over? I kept losing track of the days and not a small number of my brain cells, but I have been assured that all the attendees at Camp Mommy over the past two weeks were very satisfied with their experience. To recover, Dr. Laura is prescribing herself a double dose of retail therapy this week, just don't tell Mr. C, let's just please keep this between us, ok? Shhhhhh.

The New Year – the new decade – is officially in gear, and humans continue to amaze, amuse and depress me as usual!

Obviously the big news over the past few days was the obliteration of some evil by a very talented man, a stable genius! I refer of course, to President Donald Trump and the late Iranian General Soleimani, rest in pieces. But in fairness, my comments apply equally to Ricky Gervais. And, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Mark had some thoughts about both.

If you come to SteynOnline for the lighter fare, make sure to check out Mark's Twelfth Night Live special. It's full of wonderful songs and stories which will help ease you into your post-holiday routines.

Friends, we have much ground to cover, so let's get started!

North America:

Thoughts on New York's violent crime surge from Seth Barron at City Journal.

Yet another reason to never forget and never forgive.

Jared Kushner, putting his critics to shame.

Culture of Death alert: not gruesome or organ harvesty a la communist China or anything.

Prime Ministrel of Canada looking a little rough around the edges.

John Podhoretz: the reverse blood libel.

DeBlasio intervened in prosecution of accused anti-semitic attacker Tiffany Harris. That he intervened is really not surprising to me. What is surprising and interesting to me is that he cared at all about media and public criticism. That's weird. Was this situation just too disgusting for most normal people for him to be able to ignore it? Who knows?

Report suggests the Obama administration stopped Israel from assassinating Soleimani in 2015.

New York using taxpayer's money to bribe liberal Jews to stay in the DNC. My idiot people will never learn.

Israel and Jews:

Let's make peace with these people! Jerusalem Post: Palestinian boys are raised to be ammunition.

Critically injured Monsey victim is a beloved scholar who collected for the poor.

Holocaust survivor who took his political art underground sees daylight in the UK.

Melanie Phillips: antisemitism is the ultimate marker of cultural derangement (really good).

Caroline Glick: when will American Jewry wake up? Oh-never.

Ruth R. Wisse: the anti-Semitism conference at Bard College.

I really hate Jews for Jihad.

Middle East:

Why aren't more media outlets covering Iran?

Jihad and other Barbarians:

Christians beheaded for Christmas.

All cultures are equal, etc.

Today is the fifth anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Nothing has improved. I would argue things are worse.

Formerly Great Britain:

Boris Johnson's aide puts out "bizzare" job ad. Actually it's not so "bizarre" if you know any history and know how spies and cryptographers were recruited in WW2.

And just when you think the U.K could not have gotten any worse, and the stories could not get any more repulsive, stupid, embarrasing and evil, something else comes along. More here.

Migrants welcome. Best and brightest, etc. Always welcome.

Umm. OK.

The U.K. is doomed.

Wokestapo, Kook and Humourless Left and Trans:

The phrase you know you needed: "moral grandstanding".

Woke censorship is out of control.

Europe:

Sweden to offer migrant women free Arabic language driving lessons.

If it's wrong of me to feel schadenfreudelcious about this, then I don't wanna be right.

Human (and animal) Grace:

Meet the man who adopts disabled orphans wounded by failed abortions.

The moment an Ohio cop reunites a 3-year old with his lost stuffed animal.

Stranger helps out little shopper.

Via Kathy Shaidle: Uber passenger pays off driver's college debt!

From Chabad (this one made me cry): you could be the person with the skill or gift that can change someone's life. So go do it!

"The moment when an orangatang is smarter than every pro-choice person."

Now comment away!

Mark Steyn Club members are encouraged to let Laura know what they think about these or any other stories from the week in the comments below. Commenting is a perk reserved for Club members, so if you're suffering from FOMO you can join up here and comment away. Laura and her family will also be aboard this year's Mark Steyn Cruise, alongside the bearded one himself (Steyn, that is – not Trudeau), Douglas Murray and John O'Sullivan. Staterooms are still available here.

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28 Reader Comments

Phil Hopman • Jan 11, 2020 at 12:30

Very many good articles. Stop it! I can't get anything else done.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Phil Hopman • Jan 12, 2020 at 22:00

Hi Phil-sorry!!!! There's just lots of good stuff out there!

Thyle Feondulf • Jan 10, 2020 at 15:05

Oh My!

Laura, I know Rabbi Yossi Serebryanski. He once corrected me for visiting the Vatican to see the artwork rather than to pray! He's a very devout and loving man. I had no idea about this amazing story of his family.

Thanks!

Laura Rosen Cohen

Thyle Feondulf • Jan 12, 2020 at 22:02

Hey Thyle-that's quite amazing that you know him! Wow.

Thyle Feondulf • Jan 10, 2020 at 12:56

About Adebolajo,

First, I expect that he is just playing a game to get privileges and possibly early release. And as far as I'm concerned, he should have been executed.

That having been said, using him, if you believe his repentance is sincere, to help deradicalize other Muslims makes sense. Who would be better?

Laura, what say you?

Laura Rosen Cohen

Thyle Feondulf • Jan 12, 2020 at 22:04

I don't believe in any de-radicalization programs. I've seen no evidence that they work. The only de-radicalization that works is self-deradicalization and that is more properly understood as secularization or apostasy.

Thyle Feondulf

Laura Rosen Cohen • Jan 13, 2020 at 16:02

Ah, I see. Yeah, most such programs only work when the person wants to change. Well, except for dancing the hempen jig.

Fran Lavery • Jan 10, 2020 at 03:06

It's hard to imagine how the story of the father of forty-two can be topped. How can one person have that much energy? Twenty-four hours in a day, forty-two very needy children! Just when would one find time to eat and sleep?

Fran Lavery • Jan 10, 2020 at 00:30

That second to last video Laura selected shown from Chabad about the couple who wanted to have more children and found help, when they had just about given up, from a fertility doctor in Pennsylvania was the last thing we were shown at the last Chabad class I took. Upon Laura's recommendation I searched out and found the local Chabad and the Rabbi there generously opened the classes to all in the community regardless of affiliation, or not, with any church. He wondered what brought me there and I told him that through the marriage of one of the children we had a new contingent of Jewish family members and I just wanted to understand more of their traditions up close. The most recent class was called "Worrier to Warrior." It was very thought provoking and it drew many from the local community from the psychiatric and counseling professions. Rabbi encouraged me to jump in and said that I would like it. I more than liked it and I'm now more than a little hooked.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Fran Lavery • Jan 14, 2020 at 11:41

So nice. I'm really delighted about this all, Fran.

Fran Lavery

Laura Rosen Cohen • Jan 14, 2020 at 14:27

It's such a small world, Laura. The Rabbi here in our little old border hamlet is good friends with Rabbi Yitzi. You had a video of a speech given by Yitzy's wife to a group in Israel months ago. I distinctly remember that video because I remember you encouraged us to to watch her speech to the end and I did just because it was impossible to break away. Then with seven minutes to go the video just stopped. So when I heard the Rabbi here talking at the end of one class about a Rabbi with ALS, I asked the Rabbi if it happened to be the very same Rabbi from LA named Yitzy. He said he was good friends with Yitzy. I got so excited and asked if he heard his wife's speech all the way to the end and asked what did she say at the end. He told me that she was just over flowing with a deep happiness like she never felt before in her life. The main message being it's when we think we can't handle something overwhelming, we can and when it involves helping someone outside ourselves we can get through it and find a deep meaning in that service to others.

The other little bitty small world item that I noticed was in that video about the couple who came to Pennsylvania for help from the fertility doctor showed a half-second glimpse of the train stop where the doctor's office was located, Ardmore, PA. That was the Amtrak train station where I had to transfer to get to high school every day for four years. Weird.

Sol • Jan 9, 2020 at 04:22

The open hostility to, and personality conflict with, President Trump that CNN activists like Jim Acosta display so's to flaunt would be disqualifying in a profession such as journalism.

Persons influenced by CNN who aren't as ossified might want to compare President Trump to Elon Musk in evaluation. If the political-colored glasses can be taken off that might produce surprising results.

Nicholas Strathy

Sol • Jan 10, 2020 at 18:05

"Would be disqualifying in a profession such as journalism"

Nice turn of phrase, Sol.

Dave A • Jan 9, 2020 at 02:55

I refer of course, to President Donald Trump and the late Iranian General Soleimani, rest in pieces.

"Do you expect me to talk?"

"No, Mr. Soleimani, I expect you to die!"

Fran Lavery

Dave A • Jan 9, 2020 at 13:19

Let's hope Trump's continued strategies make Islam seem more "the religion of pieces".

Kate Smyth • Jan 8, 2020 at 23:58

It's hard to keep pace with your high quality "Links", Laura.

That's an excellent question, re why we haven't heard more about Iranians protesting against theocracy. Iran might be a good place to take refuge from an Islamised West in 20 years' time.

Thanks for keeping us up-to-the-minute!

Laura Rosen Cohen

Kate Smyth • Jan 9, 2020 at 11:41

My pleasure, Kate!

Fran Lavery

Kate Smyth • Jan 9, 2020 at 13:31

Laura's links seem better and better with each edition, Kate, and not really sure how that's possible.

Rush touched on this yesterday, maybe you heard. Iran only has the state news network. It's funny how in sync our mainstream media seems to be with theirs.

A woman with a son in one of the air divisions over in Iraq called in yesterday to his program saying he called home to say he was being deployed and she found out later he was alright. She was in tears but not over that entirely, but rather because she was in total disbelief how the news here was being covered slanted towards Iran. I had to agree, it's a total head scratcher except I remember it's Collusion News Network!

Kate Smyth

Fran Lavery • Jan 9, 2020 at 16:55

Thanks for that, Fran. (I mainly listen to Rush when the undocumented guest host fills in for him.)

Yes, plenty of cell phone video footage of the protests in Iran on social media in recent months, but reporters from the MSM haven't taken much interest. Around 1,500 people killed in the crackdown by the regime - but the "murder" of Soleimani (who killed them) is the big story. All the official media reports are surprisingly "in sync", as you say.

Mark DeBiasi • Jan 7, 2020 at 21:42

I also have a comment that applies equally to President Donald Trump and Ricky Gervais. Neither took any prisoners.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Mark DeBiasi • Jan 8, 2020 at 09:28

True!

ed • Jan 7, 2020 at 20:57

I have to admit that I just love pictures of Justin that show him supposedly thinking. Someday, we'll feel bad about keeping him in a zoo.

Owen Morgan • Jan 7, 2020 at 20:55

Laura's link to Melanie Phillips raises questions about Barack Obama, because Phillips, in turn, cites Obama's "Dreams from My Father," the toe-curlingly entitled bilge to which Obama appended his name when thirty-four and a half, or something.

I don't think that there is anyone left on the planet who really believes that Obama wrote any part of the book, so quoting fom the book and ascribing the quotation to Obama is rather pointless. I am no "birther" - quite the opposite. Obama was not born in Kenya, despite what the dust-cover of his book allegedly claimed; weirdly, among the umpteen thousand books I have here, I don't seem to be able to put my hands on a copy just now, to check that.

Obama isn't a fake American. He's as American as you can get, without being 1024/1024 Cherokee. It's just that every other single thing about him is fiction. If you quote him, what, or whom, are you quoting really?

Kate Smyth

Owen Morgan • Jan 9, 2020 at 00:00

50% African + 50% American = 100% African America.

Only Barry could pull that off.

Michael Seth • Jan 7, 2020 at 20:50

Caroline Glick balances being a leading intellect with speaking truth to idiots amazingly well. (Melanie Phillips too). I'm afraid my woke co-religionists will never wake up however.

Owen Morgan • Jan 7, 2020 at 20:26

Kathy Shaidle: "If you look into [orangutans'] eyes they really seem to be thinking."

Which bit of that makes them look human? Nah, only kidding. Unfortunately, the predicament of orangutans is such that the ones in zoos may be the only ones left, before long.

Kathy Shaidle • Jan 7, 2020 at 18:22

OK don't laugh but one day we're going to discover that orangutans really are people (of a sort) and feel bad about having them in zoos. If you look into their eyes they really seem to be thinking, even more so than chimps or gorillas. There is something about them...

Fran Lavery

Kathy Shaidle • Jan 9, 2020 at 13:10

I'm not laughing at all. I saw that video and my first thought was, "why do we keep animals in zoos"?