The Challenges of Louis XVI

From Nesta Webster's Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette before the Revolution:

Everyone agrees in calling him weak, but who has tried to put himself in his place and consider the problems that confronted him?

To settle the grievances of each class, without irritating the other classes

To relieve the sufferings of the peasants, without antagonizing the nobles.

To give greater liberty to the Protestants, without alienating the Church.

To reform government, without shaking the foundations of the State.

To revive the spirit of the army, without plunging the country into war.

To reduce taxation, and at the same time restore the ruined finances.

To regenerate morals, to purify the court, and last but not least reconcile the factions within the royal family itself.

These were the problems the boy of nineteen was called upon to face, and that he has been described as weak and imbecile for failing to solve.

(Via Vive la Reine.) Share

2024 is the Trench Warfare Election

 From The Transom:

The second presidential debate, watched by 67 million people, could’ve been a point where Harris laid these concerns to rest. The Democrat-leaning press and commentators were ebullient after her performance, believing it would be a huge boost to the campaign. Instead, the polling averages had at most a one point nudge (in Nate Silver’s average, she went from a 2.2 polling advantage on the day before the debate to 2.9 today). She leads in averages by enough to guarantee another popular vote win, but not by enough to leave any Democrat feeling comfortable about the Electoral College. And her problems with key Democratic groups — lagging Joe Biden among black men and Hispanics in particular — don’t seem to be going away no matter how many new accents she deploys. The “joy” just isn’t there for these voters.

The big news this week is the decision by the Teamsters, representing 1.3 million members, to for the first time in almost a quarter century not endorse the Democratic candidate for president. Independent surveys showed their members solidly supporting Donald Trump over Harris, by 59.6 to 34 percent. The decision not to endorse is really a dodge — their members have a clear tilt toward Trump, and it’s calling into question her campaign’s decision to focus more on the “care economy” than manufacturing and industry, in part because that’s what their candidate is comfortable talking about.

It has been without question the most chaotic presidential election of the modern era, and it’s not over yet. But the battle lines are hardened, and they really haven’t shifted. Americans might be on edge, but they are remarkably consistent in their views, priorities, and attitudes toward both sides. It’s a thin strip of no man’s land that will decide this election, and the people wandering in it right now are torn between two sides that don’t seem interested in speaking to them. They’re too busy trading shots online. (Read more.)

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No Taboo Is Safe

 From Mary Harrington:

Though pornographic art of course predates the sexual revolution, its large-scale form is a direct byproduct of that revolution. Central to this, as I’ve often noted in these pages, was the technological de-risking of real-life sexual intimacy through contraception. Though, again, the sex industry existed before the Pill, it was only with the advent of fairly reliable contraception that it became possible to imagine that who you have sex with, when, and how, is a purely private matter. And as night follows day, the privatisation of sex produced libertarian defences of buying and selling sex, including to produce porn.

Did the overall benefits of the sexual revolution outweigh the tradeoff of a mushrooming sex industry? Reasonable people may differ. But wherever you stand on this, it’s not a coincidence that after the Pill was legalised in the 1960s, it took barely a decade for the porn industry to explode to a scale that triggered feminist protest - and, in due course, also libertarian feminist support. The feminist ‘sex wars’ of that era are complex and merit a post or three on their own, but turned in essence on a conflict between those who saw women’s interests as best served by a defence of sexual freedom, including to make or consume porn, and those who argued that porn was structurally misogynistic and both enacted and legitimised violence against women. In the end, the libertarians won.

But the radical feminists were onto something. For the central mechanism of porn is the transgression of taboo. The most obvious of these is seeing people have sex, at all: even today, in our now very sexually liberal culture, everyone understands that it’s forbidden to rut in public. Porn makes money out of breaching this basic omertá, in a dynamic where the thrill of seeing forbidden things is at least as much part of the stimulus as the stimulating effect of watching or imagining the acts themselves. In turn, this interacts paradoxically with the ongoing drive behind the sexual revolution: the liberation of sexual expression and desire from social constraint. For, having uncoupled sex from procreation, there is no theoretical reason save perhaps the force of habit for any normative boundaries to be placed on sexual expression whatsoever. Given that sex is a private matter you should, in this view, be free to do literally anything you want, our post-revolutionary consensus asserts, provided it’s safe, sane, and consensual. (Read more.)

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The Winslow House

From ArtNet:

The house that launched Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural career is on the market for $1.98 million. In 1893, shortly after leaving the firm Adler & Sullivan, Wright was commissioned to build the Winslow House, in the Chicago suburb of River Forest. Although Wright had surreptitiously completed several projects around the city while employed at Adler & Sullivan—so-called bootleg houses including Parker House and Thomas Gale House in Oak Park—Winslow House was his first as an independent architect.

Wright, then 26, considered the 5,000-square-foot, two-story home the first of his Prairie School buildings. Indeed, there are numerous elements he would reuse and expand upon throughout his career. The low-pitched roof with deep eaves recalls the vast horizon of the open plain, the door is slightly sunken, and the home is symmetrical divided horizontally between slate and golden Roman brick. (Read more.)

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Jailing People for Misinformation is a Horrible Idea

 From Culturcidal:

So, who would ever be targeted by a law like this?

Conservative media outlets, amateur media outlets, and YOU. The sort of people who don’t have contacts on Nancy Pelosi’s staff, who’ve never been to a cocktail party with AOC, and who don’t have any Democratic donors advocating on their behalf.

And what would this “misinformation” consist of? Certainly, there are people who make up “misinformation” from scratch and that should be considered indefensible. People who get caught doing that -- and it happens semi-regularly via Community Notes on X or via other ways -- should have their reputations ruined, lose their audience, and lose all credibility. Sadly, this seldom happens anymore in our highly partisan, entertainment-obsessed society.

However, most of the people who get it wrong, on the Left and Right, are not deliberately lying per se. Many of them are just careless, prone to be conspiratorial or so hyper-partisan that they believe pretty much any negative thing they hear about the opposition.

But there’s another level beyond those people. Most “misinformation” tends to be things like someone misinterpreting a study or a statistic and rolling with it, an initially reported fact that was later discredited without the person repeating it realizing that, someone legitimately buying into a fake story or fake claim, an educated guess that turns out to be wrong, uncharitably interpreting something that actually happened, people talking about things that are far outside their areas of expertise, etc., etc. In other words, many of the people in these groups are not even malicious per se, they’re just wrong.

So, how could we morally justify jailing some guy with 100,000 followers on X who misinterpreted a study or some small news website for “misinformation” when politicians and guests on CNN do worse on an almost daily basis without ever facing any real consequences for it?

We couldn’t. (Read more.)

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What's Lurking in the Water

 From Newsweek:

The clip begins with a scene of carefree summer fun, with kids paddling in a pond. However, this quickly turned into something a little more alarming when mother Alicia showed viewers a huge sturgeon swimming in the very same pond.

Alicia, who is known as @chickenlittles on TikTok, told Newsweek that the freshwater fish had been living in the pond since her family purchased the house.

"We aren't 100 percent sure how it got here. However, he is clearly thriving, so we have no plans on trying to relocate him," the mom of two said. Known for their size and ancient lineage, sturgeons are typically found in oceans and rivers, particularly in North America, Europe and Asia. Sturgeon can grow impressively large, with some species reaching lengths of over 18 feet and weighing up to 2,000 pounds.

Alicia told Newsweek that her children, Gage and Stormie, weren't intimidated by the prehistoric-looking creature as it doesn't have teeth. Sturgeon are what's called "bottom feeders," which means they typically feed near the bottom of a body of water. (Read more.)

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Death of Louis XVIII

As described on Madame Gilflurt's blog:

As 1824 dawned, it was apparent to all those who knew Louis XVIII that the king was likely not long for this world. His weight had ballooned out of control and he suffered agonising pain from gangrene that had started in his foot and progressed into his spine, whilst his extremities were afflicted by painful gout. Barely conscious at times he struggled on nevertheless, battling his own deteriorating health in an effort to carry out his monarchical duties with some shred of dignity.

For long months Louis struggled on until, on 12th September, word was spread that theatres and business should close in expectation that the king was about to die. Still Louis would not accept his inevitable fate until Zoé Talon, comtesse du Cayla and the king's companion, prevailed upon him to receive the last rites. As the days drew on, a crowd of citizens gathered before the Tuileries to await word of their monarch's death whilst inside, courtiers and officials crowded into the king's private room where they were confronted by an almighty stench from the dying man's extensive gangrene.

Finally, mid-afternoon on 16th September 1824, Louis XVIII died. His exhausted, already partially rotted body was embalmed, dressed in fine garb and put on display. For a month the corpse of the king lay in state and before it was interred in the Basilica of St Denis, Louis XVIII's roaming finally at an end. (Read more.)

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Who’s Responsible for the Second Trump Assassination Plot?

 From Dr. Gorka:

I never thought I would have to write these words: my former boss – the President of the United States, the 45th President, the current leader of the opposition – was involved in a second attempt to take his life this weekend.

It was at Trump International Golf Course, not far from his Mar-a-Lago home, where the individual concerned managed to gain access to the golf course. Apparently, according to the latest reports, he had been in the area for a whole 12 hours. That individual, Ryan Routh, secreted himself in the undergrowth along a fenceline, within maybe 300 or 400 yards of the President, who was playing golf, during which time a Secret Service agent saw his weapon protruding through the chain-link fence and opened fire on Routh. 

Routh proceeded to leave the scene, leaving his body armor and his weapon – a semi-automatic SKS-style Russian scoped rifle – at the scene. A bystander who heard the shots photographed Routh getting into his black Nissan, and the plate was, therefore, at that point, provided to the authorities. It was input into the state database for plate screenings for cameras that can read the license tags of vehicles, and Ryan Routh was intercepted by the local sheriffs and captured alive. (Read more.)

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4 Villains From the Arthurian Legends

 From The Collector:

One fairly well-known example is that of King Mark of Cornwall. He appears prominently in the Arthurian legends about Tristan and Isolde. He is described as Tristan’s uncle by marriage. It is very likely that the legendary King Mark can be identified as the historical Conomor, a ruler of part of Brittany in the mid-6th century. The earliest piece of evidence for this claim is the 9th-century document known as the Life of St Paul Aurelian. In this document, we find a fascinating statement. The writer informs us that the king known as “Quonomorus” was also named “Mark.” The only “Quonomorus” in this era was Conomor of Brittany. Just like King Mark of the Arthurian legends, Conomor of Brittany was infamous for his villainy involving marriages and obsession. (Read more.)

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The Princesse de Lamballe in Mourning

 Widows in past times wore black; after a designated length of time they could wear purple and eventually gray. Marie-Thérèse Louise de Savoie-Carignan was married in 1767 at age seventeen to the Prince de Lamballe, son of the Duc de Penthièvre, cousin of the King of France. The Prince died of venereal disease after a year of marriage; the bride was still a teenager. Intelligent as well as cultured, the Princesse busied herself with works of charity. She became the Grande Maitresse of all the French masonic ladies' lodges, for she saw freemasonry as a tool for creating a better world, as did many of her contemporaries.  Many aristocrats embraced freemasonry in spite of the fact that the Church had banned it for Catholics. (More about that, HERE.)

After Louis XVI became King in 1774, his wife Marie-Antoinette befriended the Princesse de Lamballe. In the new 2023 miniseries, as in the 2006 film, the Princesse de Lamballe is shown to be dark-haired. In reality she was a delicate blonde beauty from the north of Italy, her mother being German. Marie-Antoinette made Madame de Lamballe, known for her virtue and kindness, the Superintendent of her household, which was controversial at the time since there were other courtiers who felt the position was due to them. The two women became good friends. The liberal politics of the Princesse were one of the reasons, according to scholar Bernard Fay, that King Louis XVI encouraged his wife towards the Polignacs, and away from Lamballe and her Orleanist salon.

Princesse de Lamballe in mourning

 

Via East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

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Frederick County Public Schools Implements Student Mental Health Care App

From The Easton Gazette:

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? If you are a student in Frederick County, it seems all your worries, anxieties, problems, concerns, etc. can be solved with this one amazing app. Load it on your phone, log in, and track your mental attitude, emotions, etc. for every day. Now, instead of knowing how you feel, you can have that information quantified through this app. You can find "self-guided" resources on just about everything for every child at every grade level, even elementary students. Here are some of these resources:

Tools & Resources - Basecamp (basecampfcps.com)

Some of the topics seem innocuous. Sound apps for sleeping, tips for handling stress and anxiety, even how to work with ADHD may be helpful for kids. There are resources for parents as well.

One of the worst parts of the app is that a student will be given mental health surveys, tests and tools to constantly assess their mental state constantly: (Read more.)

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Evidence of Merlin’s Grave

More and more sites connected to the Arthurian legends are being found in what is now Scotland. From The New York Post:

There may be some truth to the myth of Merlin. On Tuesday, archeologists in Scotland revealed evidence of the legendary wizard’s death in Drumelzier between the 6th and 7th centuries — and the findings could change the way we tell Merlin’s tale. Merlin was said to have been a loyal advisor to King Arthur amid the Dark Ages before being imprisoned, killed and buried along the river Tweed, according to Vita Merlini Sylvestris (the Life of Merlin of the Forest), a medieval manuscript of his life which is currently held at the British Library. (Read more.)

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The Angoulême Emerald Tiara

Duchesse d'Angoulême

The legitimate line of the French Monarchy was abolished in 1830, not 1848. From Tatler:

The French king and queen at the time, Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, had attempted to escape Versailles during the uprising but were captured, imprisoned and eventually guillotined. When they had married in 1770 Louis and Marie-Antoinette were 15 and 14 years old respectively, and it was eight years later that their long-awaited first child, Princess Marie-Thérèse, was born. Despite having three more biological children, Marie-Thérèse was the only surviving family member of the Revolution and was imprisoned until she was nearly 17.

Upon her release, she was surrounded by throne enthusiasts keen to use her to regain monarchic power, and was quickly married off to her first cousin Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême in 1799, who was living in the Baltics while Napoleon held power back in France. Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, however, finally saw King Louis XVIII and the House of Bourbon reinstated – with the added bonus of allowing Marie-Thérèse full access to the state jewels. In 1819, crown jeweller Maison Bapst was commissioned by the duke to use 14 emeralds from the royal collection, along with over 1,000 additional emeralds and diamonds, to make the Angoulême Emerald Tiara for his wife. However, Marie-Thérèse faced upheaval once again with the outright abolishment of the monarchy in 1848, theoretically becoming `Queen of France’ for about 20 minutes (which was the time between her father-in-law and husband signing their abdication papers). She left France and her beloved tiara for the final time and sought exile once more. (Read more.)

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Tim Walz's Minnesota Vibes

 From The Transom:

Walz has emphasized the elements of his past that seem crafted for an audience on the left; they’ve been rolled out eagerly by the Harris campaign. He has claimed to be the only member of Congress who retired at the highest level of an enlisted Army officer, command sergeant major, after serving twenty-four years in the National Guard — invoking his service as proof of his authority to argue for gun control against the “weapons of war” he carried. The campaign declared Walz to be a wildly successful high school football coach, turning around a lackluster team to win multiple state championships while also spearheading a high-school gay-straight alliance. On the culture-war front, Walz repeatedly claimed that his family was only possible thanks to in vitro fertlization (IVF), a practice he and his fellow Democrats have falsely accused Republicans of wanting to ban.

Walz’s biographical points have significant political resonance in 2024, and they’re key to understanding why Kamala Harris picked him. He so impressed her campaign in performances with friendly interviewers, particularly a guest spot on the Obama-bro podcast Pod Save America where he called J.D. Vance “weird,” that Harris chose him over swing-state options like rising star Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, or Arizona astronaut-turned-senator Mark Kelly. Walz’s storyline won out, despite the fact that his bright blue state would go Harris anyway, and his being the farthest left of any of the VP candidates.

These stories fit the moment so perfectly that it’s a shame so many of them are false or exaggerated. Walz, repeatedly introduced at rallies and in interviews over the years as being a veteran of combat during the War on Terror, never saw combat or deployed to a war zone — instead, he left the National Guard to run for Congress when his unit was about to deploy to Iraq. His coaching job turns out to have been a volunteer defensive assistant position, which he left after just a few years. And as for IVF, the New York Times reported that the Walz family never used it — instead turning to the much less invasive and ethically less controversial use of artificial insemination.

In each case, Walz’s exaggerations suggest a deeper problem than the typical big fish stories told by incalculable numbers of politicians over the years. The many tall tales told by Joe Biden, for instance, occasionally have an intended political benefit — particularly the numerous résumé-enhancing claims made in his 1988 campaign, which ultimately led to an epic fall from grace. But what political gain is there in his many recitations of confronting a fellow by the name of “Corn Pop” at a Delaware pool? These fall into the category of elderly musings about a hazy, half-remembered past, more like Grampa Abe Simpson’s ramblings. If Walz were just claiming he used to wear an onion in his belt (it was the style at the time), his aggressive fictionizing would have a certain charm. Instead, it reads as a bizarre aspect to a newly nationalized political character, one who tells lies to gain advantage rather than just entertain the bored voter. (Read more.)

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Choose Wisely

Anyone who does not vote for Trump because he is not St. Louis IX is letting an avowed Marxist come to power in our country. Trump has done more for pro-life than any other president. From Karen Salstrom at Catholic 365:

 However, there is a greater threat to our faith of which Our Lady of Fatima warned. It was around the time of the Bolshevik Revolution. Prior to this, Russia was a Christian Nation---but that was about to change. Mary warned three little shepherd children in Portugal over a series of messages of the need to pray the Rosary in order to stave off the Great Evil that would come from Russia and spread throughout the world: Communism.

In this election, you have the opportunity to stand by Mary's disdain for the worldview that replaces God with Government. On one hand is the party and candidate that wants to implement policy to edge us closer to the Communist abyss. Big government. Oppression against people of faith. Heavy taxation to fund their socialist agenda. A lax attitude regarding incoming dangers to citizens from illegals coming over the border...which plays out in an irreverence toward upholding laws.

On the other hand is the party and candidate that stands for freedom as God intends for all. Allowing those of faith to freely exercise it. Smaller, less intrusive government. Safeguards to protect the Nation from harm. And the party that has always represented true opportunity to pursue the American Dream...within the confines of law.

It is important not to be fooled by flowery speech that tickles the ear, but in fact has no real substance. It is also important to look at empty promises that lack follow through, and instead look at a candidate's history of trustworthiness. Does a candidate demonstrate that he can do what he promises? (Read more.)

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Miniature of the Duc de Normandie (Louis XVII)

Marie-Antoinette's younger son, her chou d'amour. The prince is probably three or four in this picture.

Dauphin Louis-Charles a couple of years later, at six or seven. Small boys wore pink in those days. Share

The Largest Wave Of Sex And Human Trafficking In History

 From The Easton Gazette:

Trump is stating that Kamala Harris as Vice President has facilitated the largest wave of sex and human trafficking in history.

He went on to detail that 325,000 migrant children are missing.

Trump further explained that now many of the children are likely dead while others may be slaves for sex or other purposes. (Read more.)

 

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania....From The National Pulse:

A Pennsylvania community is expressing significant concern over reports that up to 1,000 migrants may move into a former Civil War-era orphanage. Located in the town of Scotland, near the historic Gettysburg battlefield, an Indiana-based disaster response organization is eyeing the building, recently used as a summer camp, to “provide shelter for refugee families.”

In an August letter responding to the proposal, Greene Township zoning officer Daniel Bachman noted that the building’s most recent use falls within the R-1 or low-density residential code, which would not accommodate a higher-density shelter. The zoning denial, however, can be appealed. (Read more.)

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Meanwhile, in Ohio....

 I heard from a reliable source in Ohio about the activities of the migrants. The reality is even worse than the reports. To quote my friend:

The Springfield stuff is true. The police have been told not to take reports. Our RINO Governor has ties to Haiti including a school they started in their dead daughter’s name. I don’t believe for one second he is not involved. There are 3 other towns involved as well. There are many people profiting off this. Americans are being kicked out of rentals in favor of Haitians. Haitians are getting jobs that were never posted. They are going to the top of lists for housing,food , etc....I also heard through the grapevine that the citizens have started a petition to recall the town council. I have heard people say the government there is corrupt. Honestly don't know if they are Democrats or Republicans not really much difference here.

 

Reel of the Springfield Town Council, here.

 

 

Read about the National Youth Advocate Program, HERE. Coming to Maryland.

From Revolver:

What’s happening in Ohio is growing bigger and scarier by the day. As most of you know, Ohio residents are now claiming that Haitian “migrants” are eating their pets, along with the geese and ducks at local parks. Naturally, the media—who haven’t lifted a finger to investigate—rushed to dismiss these claims as ‘lies.’ Of course they did, because this story, like everything else unfolding in Ohio, doesn’t fit the left-wing agenda.

As we’ve noted, the situation in Ohio is fluid and constantly changing. We’ve gone from shocking tales of pet-eating savages to an onslaught of horrific car accidents caused by unlicensed, reckless Haitian migrants, creating chaos, death, injuries, and skyrocketing insurance rates. Now, we’re hearing that someone has put together a video showing alleged Haitian “migrants” wreaking dangerous havoc on the roads, and it looks horrifying. (Read more.)

 

There is a report that some migrants are being registered to vote. From GP:

Ohio’s election integrity unit announced on Thursday that it had uncovered a voter fraud scheme that involved Haitians living in the state.

In a press release on Thursday, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose outlined details of the scheme and said he would “aggressively pursue” those involved, including third-party groups and paid canvassers.

The release stated:

Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced today that his Election Integrity Unit has issued a warning to Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections after an investigation uncovered the use of illegal voter registration forms by a government agency.

“This is a reminder to all of our elections officials to be vigilant as we enter the final weeks of voter registration eligibility for the 2024 general election,” said Secretary LaRose. “We’re continuing to aggressively pursue third-party groups and paid canvassers who’ve been submitting fraudulent registration forms, and we’re cracking down on the use of illegal forms that aren’t authorized by my office as the law requires. These investigations are happening even as we continue to broaden the enforcement of Ohio’s constitutional citizenship voting requirement.” (Read more.)

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Ladies at Needlework

From Anna Gibson:

Needlework of all kinds was a common pastime for aristocratic and wealthy women in the 18th century; needle-crafts such as hand-embroidery, sewing, couching and even lacework were ways for upper-class women to occupy their hours of leisure time and create elaborate embellished gifts for close friends and family, or even embellished decor for their own personal use.

Needlework was ever-present in the lives of lower class women as well, although spending hours honing skills in elaborate decorative needlework was usually reserved for women who used that skill to bring in money instead as a leisure activity enjoyed by wealthy women. Needle skills were necessary for the everyday tasks of running a household, such as sewing, mending, and marking linens; as with upper class women, embroidery could be used to embellish gifts or personal items. (Read more.)

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Kamala Harris’ Top 7 Lies During The Debate

 From The Daily Wire:

Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris made a series of false statements during their first debate against each other this week.

It is difficult to put an exact number on all of the false claims made by each candidate since some of the statements are made more as an opinion versus a statement of fact and some false claims are more egregious — outright lies — versus being slightly misleading, like mixing up a location.

The difference between their false claims was that Trump was repeatedly fact-checked and hit with followup questions by ABC News debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis while Harris was never fact-checked once and the moderators never asked her any followup questions after she finished talking.

CNN’s Daniel Dale laughably claimed that Trump made more than 33 false statements during the debate, while Harris made only one — a claim that is blatantly false. A rough estimate from a Daily Wire analysis of the debate found both candidates made a comparable number of false statements at more than a dozen false claims each. (Read more.)

 

From The Georgia Record:

During this weeks Presidential debate, Kamala Harris went to great lengths to appear confounded by Trumps statements about a number of areas. We decided to check his statements to see what evidence exists: Trump said the Virginia Governor made statements in support for abortion, including allowing babies to expire after live birth.

CNN published a story in 2019 about Virginia Governor facing backlash for his statements after saying  "I can tell you exactly what would happen,” Northam, a pediatric neurosurgeon, told Washington radio station WTOP. “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” (Read more.)

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Florida: Updated Guidance for COVID-19 Boosters

 From Florida Health:

The most recent booster approval was granted in the absence of booster-specific clinical trial data performed in humans. Furthermore, this booster does not protect against the currently dominant strain, accounting for approximately 37% of infections in the United States. There are currently limited data to inform whether these boosters offer any substantial protection against the virus and subsequent circulating variants. Although randomized clinical trials are normally used to approve therapeutics, the federal government has not required COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to demonstrate their boosters prevent hospitalizations or death from COVID-19 illness. 

Additionally, the federal government has failed to provide sufficient data to support the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 boosters, or acknowledge previously demonstrated safety concerns associated with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, including: 

• prolonged circulation of mRNA and spike protein in some vaccine recipients,  

• increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections, and  

• increased risk of autoimmune disease after vaccination. 

Health care providers are encouraged to share information in this guidance in discussions with patients regarding the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. 

Based on the high rate of global immunity and currently available data, the State Surgeon General advises against the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Any provider concerned about the health risks associated with COVID-19 for patients over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. (Read more.)

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Impression, Sunrise (1872)

 From ArtNet:

On a November morning in 1872, Claude Monet set up his easel and began furiously painting the foggy scene beyond his hotel balcony. As a Normandy native, Monet knew Le Havre’s habor well, but he captured it like never before.

Freshly returned from London, where he’d admired the watery, smog-drenched atmospherics of J.M.W. Turner, the 32-year-old went further than his British predecessor, drowning the industrial seascape in a green-gray haze. Figures were bold outlines and the sun a tight ball of orange ricocheting across the water. Monet completed the work in a single sitting, and the offhanded name he lent it ahead of a revolutionary 1874 exhibition would come to connote an entire movement.

Impression, Sunrise has crossed the Atlantic for the first time as the centerpiece of “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment,” at Washington, D.C.’s National Gallery of Art. After debuting at Paris’s Musée d’Orsay in spring, it’s the second port of call for the show, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition.

Through period photographs and 130 works, many of which were featured in the Paris exhibition, “The Impressionist Moment” seeks to add context and clarity to the 1874 show whose moment in the sun was fleeting, even if it now claims a long shadow. (Read more.)

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Of Cats, Ohio and the Haitian Invasion

A horrific situation. From Mark Steyn:

Re that last one, J D Vance and others are getting some pushback for claiming that, in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian "refugees" are eating their neighbours' domestic pets. Naysayers insist that no cats were harmed in the making of this "far right" "fake news" story. On the other hand, from Springfield's Channel 6 News:

Woman arrested for allegedly killing cat, eating it in front of neighbors

That would be Allexis Telia Ferrell. On the other other hand, The Daily Dot responds, ah, yes, cat-eating may be happening in Ohio, but relax, it's not by "recent" immigrants:

Prominent conservatives are blaming recent immigration from Haiti after a woman in Ohio was arrested for allegedly eating a cat.

The only problem? The woman has lived in America for the past six years.

So her preferred dinner order is as American as apple pie with a side-order of Maine Coon. Got it. Very helpful.

Doubtless, even in America, the truth will eventually emerge. But, as the many fine judges I have been up before in US courtrooms like to say, we don't need to reach that particular question. The essentials of the situation are enough:

Per the last census (2020), Springfield has a population of 58,000.

The nutters in charge of this great republic then decided that a (Republican-voting) city of 58,000 would benefit from the addition of 20,000 Haitian "refugees". They have TPS, which means "Temporary Protected Status" - like the Somalis, whose "temporary" protection began in 1991 and is scheduled to end a week today. Well, we'll see.

But, at a stroke, Springfield has been turned twenty-five per cent Haitian, and, given the sex and age distribution of the "refugee" cohort, rather younger and more male than it previously was. On that scale of importation, there is no possibility of assimilation with the mores of Springfield. Someone has taken the decision to kill the existing Springfield, and in its place will rise something other.

Such as what? Well, Haiti has the fourth highest murder rate in the world, so an increased Clark County corpse count would seem the way to bet, and not just in cats.

As elsewhere in the western world, the traffic is all one-way. Nobody in, say, Port-au-Prince needs to worry about the town suddenly becoming twenty-five per cent Ohioan. (Read more.)

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If You Want Your Child to Respect You

I think they mean "authoritarian" rather than "authoritative." From GEediting:

Maintaining discipline is crucial when raising children, but there’s a thin line between discipline and dictatorship. Often, parents fall into the trap of establishing an overly authoritative environment. We might think it’s the best way to maintain order, but in the long run, it can lead to a lack of respect. When children feel like their voices are not heard, they start seeing their parents as oppressors rather than mentors.Don’t  get me wrong, setting boundaries is important. But it’s equally key to allow your child some autonomy. Let them make decisions and learn from their mistakes. This way, your child will not only respect you more as they grow older, but they’ll also develop valuable life skills. (Read more.)

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Tennyson's 'Guinevere'

 

Ah my God,
What might I not have made of thy fair world,
Had I but loved thy highest creature here? ~ Tennyson's "Guinevere" in Idylls of the King

From Dr. Esolen at Word and Song:

The Queen has betrayed her husband King Arthur, and in the worst way — in her adulterous love for his closest friend and bravest knight, Sir Lancelot. Arthur’s treacherous nephew, or supposed nephew, Modred, has played the betrayal for all it is worth, and now the whole kingdom is in civil war, and it appears that everything Arthur fought for will fall. Arthur, you may know, is a legendary Christian king, a Welshman, for the Christians in Britain had been driven into the mountains of Wales by Hengest and his hordes, when the Saxons swept into the land. Why, the very word for “English” in Welsh is “Saesneg,” and if you ever sing “Men of Harlech” in Welsh, you’re quite aware that the enemies are those same Saxons. And now all seems to be slouching backward into the beast.

So Guenevere flees to a convent, incognito, and is admitted, which certainly is a case of bending the rule, because, after all, nuns do abide by a written rule of life. Yet Guenevere asks only that she be left incognito and that she be permitted to join the nuns in their penances, though not in their joyful feasts, and to do the same work they do. We see then that she might be on the verge of vision, because she does know she has done wrong. What she does not know is how very wrong she has been, both in her sin’s effect on other people, and in her mistaking the king her husband. Her main companion at the convent is an innocent little novice whose chatter, quite free of all malice, makes her feel guilty, especially when the girl praises the king and criticizes the queen, who she does not know is sitting right beside her. And then Arthur himself shows up, to take his leave from his wife forever. He tells her what he had hoped from her, and how she has dashed his hopes; but he also tells her that he loves her still. His and not Lancelot’s is the most human heart. (Read more.)

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The Questions They Didn't Ask

 From The Transom:

This debate was devastating for the broadcast industry. It will likely be the last debate of any kind to be hosted by the old guard networks. Why subject yourself as a Republican to a situation that amounts to Candy Crowley times ten? And on top of that, avoids any of the obvious questions that should be top of mind? Questions like:

• Can Joe Biden still function as president?

• An American just got killed by Hamas — what should we do?

• Iran-backed forces are targeting Americans — what should we do?

• China, as an existential challenge — how will you push back?

• What will you do to stop inflation?

(Read more.)

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Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma

 From Reid's Reader:

Sometimes one has to bow down to a whim. A couple of years ago I just happened to see in a bookshop a new book about Tutankhamun, titled Tutankhamun – Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma written by the formidable English Egyptologist Professor Joyce Tyldesley. She has so far written 17 books about ancient Egypt and she is regarded as an expert in her field. I am no Egyptologist, but I knew at once that this book would not be one of those pot-boiler books that give readers a sensationalist version of an ancient civilisation. So I bought the book… and then I left it on my shelf for two years without reading it. I had so many other books to read and review. Finally, this month, I got around to reading Tutankhamun – Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma. And how enlightening and informative it was! After all the fantasies we’ve been given about ancient Egypt; after all the nonsense about deadly curses for those who disturb ancient tombs; after Hollywood movies where mummies come back to life and cause havoc [entertaining though they may be] – I found a courteous, matter-of-fact book about Tutankhamun and his times, as best as we can uncover those times. Joyce Tyldesley is a scholar, but she does not condescend to her readership, explaining things when needed, but keeping a clear narrative.

Tyldesley divides her book into two halves. The first deals with Tutankhamun and the world in which he lived. The second deals with how archaeologists found and dealt with Tutankhamun’s tomb and how it was treated 3,000 years later. Her preface and prologue tell us that Tutankhamun reigned from 1336 BC to 1327 BC – that is, he reigned for just under nine years. He died when he was about twenty. But she does not accept the idea that Tutankhamun was a “boy king”. Though his reign might have been short, and though his rule began when he was only about eleven, he grew to maturity and acted as a ruler should. It was quite common then for people to die in their twenties and it was very rare indeed for people to reach the age of fifty or older. In the era when Tutankhamun lived, the 18th. Dynasty, pyramids were no longer raised to honour pharaohs. Instead, pharaohs were buried in the remote Valley of Kings on the west bank of the Nile, their tombs cut out of hard rock.

So to Tyldesley’s account of Tutankhamun’s life and time.

The pharaoh Akhetaten was a sort of heretic. He moved his capital from the traditional court in Thebes / Luxor to the smaller city Amarna and he set about abolishing many of the gods. Some historians have mistaken him for a monotheist – a believer in one god – but this was not true. Akhetaten was a henotheist – one who believed that there were many lesser gods, but only one really important god. Akhetaten shut down many temples and built his worship around the sun god alone. His consort was Nefertiti. Among Egyptologists there is still much speculation about who were Tutankhamun’s parents. Was his mother Nefertiti? Or [a possibility] one of his older sisters? Or what some Egyptologists call “harem queens”? We do not know because a pharaoh would keep his sons very much in the background and not publicise the birth of a son. (Read more.)

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Young Louis XIV Meets His Aunt, Queen Henrietta Maria

A painting by the Belgian artist Henri Decaisne (1799–1852) depicting the meeting of the exiled  Henrietta Maria, Queen of England, with her nephews Louis XIV and Philippe in 1644. From Wikipedia:

Gaston de France, Duke of Orléans presents his sister...Queen Henrietta Maria of England to Anne of Austria, regent of France for Louis XIV. The infant Louis XIV in peach stands in front of his mother and next to his brother Philippe de France, Duke of Anjou. Queen Henrietta Maria stands between Gaston and his daughter la Grand Mademoiselle. Cardinal Mazarin is behind Queen Anne.

Henrietta Maria had to seek exile in France since Parliament impeached her and was trying to take her prisoner. Plus she was pregnant and, after giving birth in Exeter in June 1644, she had to escape to France, leaving her husband and five children behind. She planned to raise more money and arms but was never able to return. Her husband Charles I and her daughter the Princess Elizabeth she never saw again.

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DEBATE ANALYSIS

 From The National Pulse:

In tonight’s ABC Presidential debate, one candidate – Donald Trump – displayed vivid, righteous indignation, channeling frustrated Americans on the critical topics of the economy, foreign policy, immigration, and especially trade. The other, Kamala Harris, came off as scripted, platitudinous, and hollow on major policy points.

Thanks to the listlessness of Congressional Republicans over the past decade, Harris had an easier time with one topic: Obamacare. But across the board, Trump was far more in touch with the day-to-day American experience, rightly quizzing at the end of the night – if she has all these plans, why hasn’t she done it? She is, after all, in office right now, without much of a “boss” to answer to nowadays.

But with inflation still squeezing the average American, economic stagnation, trade imbalances, and real-world illegal migration horrors manifesting across the country, Trump seized the mantle of ‘MAGA’ – Making America Great Again. Regular readers will be acutely aware that if I really didn’t believe so, I wouldn’t write it.

Trump’s consistency across the 90 minutes was key to this.

While Harris attempted to needle him on crowd sizes and financial inheritance, Trump always brought the issue back to the policy debate at hand. Kamala, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get away from the subjects. This was interesting, particularly because Trump is often accused of being the “personal” debater, whereas tonight, it was Harris who attempted to play the man rather than the ball.

On the issue of war, the distinction was especially clear: Trump spoke of limiting the cost of human life, and Harris spoke of limiting the damage to the failed policy of neoconservatism, interventionism, and globalism.

Particularly on Israel, she will likely regret her comments, especially in places like Michigan where the Arab-American population will be angered by her declared allegiance. Trump, again, has been consistent on the topic for well over a decade now. (Read more.)

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Babylonian Map of the World

 From LiveScience:

This tablet, which depicts how Babylonians perceived the world thousands of years ago, is peppered with details that offer insight into an earlier time. For example, the ancient world is shown as a singular disc, which is encircled by a ring of water called the Bitter River. At the world's center sits the Euphrates River and the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. Labels written in cuneiform, an ancient text, note each location on the map, according to The British Museum. Interestingly, cartographers may have used some creative license. For instance, "Babylon" is marked on only one end of the Euphrates, even though it occupied both banks for most of its history. (Read more.)

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The Queen's Jewel Cabinet

From Geri Walton:

Marie Antoinette had several jewel receptacles she used for her trinkets. The ones that were modest in form and size were “covered in leather and lined with satin.” Others that were “monumental [in] proportions,” such as the armoire à bijoux (jewel cabinet)...were opulent and extraordinary in appearance.

The monumental armoire à bijoux was 8 feet 9 inches high by 6 feet 9 inches wide and 2 feet 2 inches deep. Yet, for its overall size it was probably too small to hold all the Queen’s jewels. The armoire was created in 1787, after the city of Paris commissioned a German cabinetmaker named Jean-Ferdinand-Joseph Schwerdfeger to create it at Marie Antoinette’s request. (Read more.)

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Introducing Dr. Frank

 I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Douglas Frank speak in Easton, MD about election integrity on September 8, 2024. We are 80% through the Communist Revolution. The Solution is LOCAL ACTION  See www.FrankSpeech.com.

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Ancient Egyptian Head Cones

 From Live Science:

Until recently, archaeologists had only seen the hats depicted in paintings and never found physical evidence of them in burials. But in 2019, the Antiquity study described two burials at cemeteries in Amarna, an archaeological site in Egypt that was once its capital. The burials contained skeletons with head cones, proving that the accessories were more than simply stylistic motifs created by painters. An analysis of the remains revealed that the cones were made of beeswax and that neither individual appeared to have been wealthy. Rather, their skeletons indicated that they had been laborers and had experienced food shortages.

Archaeologists remain uncertain about the hats' purpose. One previously proposed idea was that these caps were crafted from a type of perfumed unguent, or balm, that released a pleasant scent as it melted. Another possibility is that the cones were thought to help with fertility, as they are featured in paintings with Hathor, the fertility goddess.

"Scholars often link the cones specifically with sensuality, sexuality and related notions, as they are frequently associated in imagery with women, sometimes unclothed," the authors wrote in the Antiquity study. (Read more.)

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