This one is courtesy of X user Planet of Memes.
Thanks to David Blackmon, davidblackmon.substack.com, for sharing.
This Scottish miscreant got booted out pretty damn quick after (at least in part) attempting to silence the people in that country … a foretelling, one hopes, for Turdeau and his misguined minions in Canada.
Courtesy of Danica Kirka at AP News
Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, resigned on Monday, triggering a leadership contest as the governing Scottish National Party seeks to heal internal divisions and strengthen its position ahead of U.K.-wide parliamentary elections expected later this year.
The teaching of critical assessment - how to think and draw one’s own conclusions - seems to have fallen by the wayside these past few years in favour of social contagion and mob mentality.
The Importance of Skepticism and Doubt
Courtesy of Gary Stout at Observer Report, and thanks to Jim Cardoza at libertypen.substack.com for sharing.
On the issues that are tearing apart the fabric of America, there are many points of view and few definitive answers.
In fact, the critical questions facing us often come with few absolute answers. Pro-choice or pro-life? Close the border or expand legal immigration? Increase or cut taxes? Individual liberty or more equality? Diplomacy or war? A larger military or a larger welfare state? Should the Steelers pick a quarterback or an offensive lineman?
To add to the problem, modern life offers up numerous opportunities to be fooled by unscrupulous people. Causes backed by unfounded conspiracies are quick to provide false answers to puzzling events. Bald-faced lies and bizarre claims bombard us every day.
Our tribal culture demands that rigid, unconditional positions be taken with no questions asked. There is little room for skepticism or doubt when analyzing important social issues or even nonsensical conspiracy theories. Rational discussion and a national consensus to solve a problem have become nearly impossible.
Skepticism and doubt are not identical concepts. Skepticism implies an open mind. It requires proof and evidence before accepting something as true. It is a logical, analytical exercise. On the other hand, doubt is a more intuitive, emotional hesitancy to accept a proposition as factually correct. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, doubt implies “a feeling of not being certain about something, especially about how good or true it is.”
Dead Wrong® with Johan Norberg - Greta is Wrong on Growth
In this short clip, the author of The Capitalist Manifesto and Open, the Story of Human Progress refutes the claims of climate activists.
Thanks to Jim Cardoza at libertypen.substack.com for sharing this fun invitation to American and Canadian campus protestors.
Come for the Education, Stay for the Amputation: Iran Offers Free Scholarships to U.S. Students
Courtesy of Jonathan Turley
“Now this could truly be educational. Students protesting on our campuses have been offered free scholarships at Shiraz University in Fars. U.S. protesters can now go to Iran for their education.
Mohammad Moazzeni, head of Shiraz University told media that “students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with expulsion can continue their studies at Shiraz University and I think that other universities in Shiraz as well as Fars Province are also prepared [to provide the conditions].”
Historian, scholar, author and professor, Victor Davis Hanson has a few salient comments - and questions - about Iran.
Are Iran’s Nine Lives Nearing an End?
By unleashing war in the Middle East and targeting Israel, Iran may soon learn that Israel, or America, or both might retaliate for a half-century of its terrorist aggression.
So it has zero credibility in crying foul over Israel’s April 1 attacks on its “consulate” in Damascus and the killing of Iran’s kingpin terrorists of the Revolutionary Guard Corps there.
Remember, the world was first introduced to the Iranian ayatollahs by their violent takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1980.
Iranian surrogates next bombed the American embassy in Beirut and the Marine barracks in 1983.
In fact, Iran has attacked US and Israeli diplomatic posts off-and-on for decades, most recently in 2023, when Iran helped plan an attack on the US embassy in Baghdad.
For this reason and several others, Iran’s justification for sending 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles into Israel on the grounds that Israel had bombed an Iranian diplomatic post is completely ridiculous.
These Protests Are the Result of Bad Parenting and an Education System Churning Out Morons
Courtesy of Derek Hunter at Town Hall
Sometimes, good parents raise bad kids. It is possible to do everything right and still churn out a real piece of post-digested food. It happens. It just doesn’t happen very often, which is why it’s pretty easy to look at the mutant mob and professional protester class currently staging mini-Beer Hall Putschs they hope will weave together into a one, large real opportunity for them to murder as many white people, normal people, straight people, non-obedient people and especially Jews as possible. Fascists always have a real problem with Jews.
So, where did all these bi-pedal piles of garbage on college campuses in blue states across the country come from? It’s really easy to just say “bad parents,” and it’s also true – most of their parents truly suck. They’re probably “down” with the cause, proud of their little Goebbels wannabes and aspiring Himmlers; happy to drop more than the average American annual salary on the further indoctrination of their drone. But these goose-stepping goon squad members wouldn’t be able to exist without an education system that keeps them ignorant of history and unable to think for themselves.
Progressivism – be it in the form of communism, socialism or fascism – requires an unquestioning, obedient population to thrive. Luckily, it is human nature to question things, either in a quest for knowledge or simple curiosity. That means most people’s minds are not fertile ground for stupidity. But some people’s heads are naturally full of fertilizer and not much else – a vacuum of intelligence in which these poisonous ideas take root and flourish.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE) apparently doesn’t apply to Jews.
Student sues Toronto Metropolitan University for fostering antisemitism on campus
Courtesy of Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
A Toronto Metropolitan University student is suing the university for failing to apply their policies which prohibit antisemitism. The lawsuit alleges the university’s inaction has created a “poisoned antisemitic learning and working environment” in the wake of Hamas’ massacre of Jews in Israel on Oct. 7.
For the plaintiff Nicole Szweras, Israel is a fundamental part of her Jewish identity. Her mother was born in Israel, she has Israeli citizenship, and many of her friends and family live in Israel, including some who were called to serve in the Israeli Defence Force following the massacre.
She alleges the university is well aware of continuous acts of antisemitism conducted by other students at the university and has failed to adequately apply its diversity-centred policies to protect Jewish students.
There are several policies at the school which could prevent racism, discrimination and harassment and the school’s procedures continually affirm their commitment to ensuring a safe environment for all students.
“The university works hard to promote an equitable and inclusive university community, free from discrimination and harassment. All TMU community members have a shared responsibility for ensuring a culture of respect and inclusion,” TMU said.
Critical assessment, the ability to reason for ourselves, based on the best information we can find, evaluation of said information as well as sources, has become crucial to our ongoing wellbeing and perhaps even survival.
Yes, Believe Your Lyin’ Eyes
Courtesy of Rob Jenkins at Brownstone Institute
Clearly, gaslighting has been around a long, long time. Remember the old Groucho Marx line? “Who you gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?” But it seems that, in recent years, it has come to be standard operating procedure for our “elites,” as well as the prevailing theory of communication among Western governments and the institutions that both support and feed off them.
This pattern of gaslighting as a communications strategy became even more evident during the “pandemic,” as Western governments and institutions lied to us about practically everything from the very start—and continue lying to us, despite the wealth of information disproving their claims.
I recently saw an interview with NPR’s new CEO, Katherine Maher, in which she stated that “Covid was a novel virus, which means we knew absolutely nothing about it.” But that simply isn’t true. We knew from the beginning, for instance, that SARS-CoV-2 was a respiratory virus and thus cloth or paper face masks would be useless against it, as Anthony Fauci himself acknowledged at the time both publicly and privately. We also knew that developing an effective vaccine would be difficult if not impossible, since there had never been a vaccine that worked against a coronavirus.
30% of children ages 5 through 7 are using TikTok—despite the platform’s policy that you can’t sign up until age 13.
Courtesy of Ted Gioia @ honest-broker.com
The story gets worse. The numbers are rising rapidly—usage among this vulnerable group jumped 5% in just one year.
By the way, almost a quarter of children in this demographic have a smartphone. More than three-quarters use a tablet computer.
Sick of toxic screen time? Dumbphones are having a moment
Courtesy of April Rubin at Axios
Breaking up with your smartphone is hard. But a growing "dumbphone" market is giving offline alternatives.
The big picture: The well-known negative effects of screens — loneliness, addiction and anxiety or depression — has left many eager to disconnect.
A dumbphone is a basic, '90s-inspired cellphone without the vortex of apps that contribute to high screen times. A return to texts and calls, if you will.
The New Yorker called dumbphones' popularity a "burgeoning cottage industry" earlier this month.
Influencers and brands are in on it too, with YouTube content creators sharing their experiences and recommendations.
Heineken recently released in limited stock The Boring Phone along with clothing brand Bodega. With no apps, the phone prompts users to start conversations.
Consider the dumbphone another entrant in Gen Z's embrace of retro: landline phones, CDs and film photography.
One can’t help wonder if - and to what extent - the Egyptians would retaliate.
When radical Islamists say they want to kill us, pay attention and believe them: they mean all of us who aren’t Muslim, as well as Jews.
Islamist Extremists Attack & Burn Christian Homes In Egypt
Courtesy of Michael Whittaker at The Daily Wire
Islamist extremists reportedly set fire to several Christian houses and businesses in southern Egypt last week.
The violence broke out on Tuesday night in the village of Al-Fawakher, which is home to about 3,000 Christian families. The local Christian community had recently received a permit to construct a new church building, prompting backlash from some Muslim hardliners.
The alleged next pandemic? Disease X ? What are the chances we’ll see mass starvation brough about by the demented climate zealots knee-capping farmers with rising fuel costs, banning fertilizers, and rendering arable land useless for the sake of acres upon acres of solar panels and wind turbines?
The Multi-Headed Elites
Courtesy of Tuomas Malinen at Brownstone Institute
In mid-January, we were able to watch the gathering of the global elite in Davos, Switzerland. The publicly stated aim of this year’s Davos meeting, organized by the World Economic Forum, from now on WEF, was “Rebuilding Trust.” The topics ranged from the urgency to introduce Global Digital ID (because “people can no longer be trusted”), to climate change (a recurring topic), and further to a mysterious “Disease X,” which is expected to kill tens of millions of people in the not-so-distant future. These are dystopian themes under a subtitle of ‘rebuilding trust,’ but should we be worried?
In this piece, we outline the reasons for worry. The global elite is steering both developments and discussion on a global scale, and their aims are unlikely to be benevolent. In actuality, these Davos meetings seem likely to indicate the path forward as envisaged by the elite, and there are several such meetings and groups operating across the globe.