Tea at Trianon: One Disaster at a Time

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, October 17, 2024

One Disaster at a Time

From the Rand Paul Review:

As the death toll from Hurricane Helene climbs to 227, many wonder how much higher it will climb as the federal government has not yet accessed most disaster-struck areas yet. Reports of donation and volunteer sabotage are running rampant, and the Biden administration is struggling to control the narrative. Hundreds of people have taken to social media to show exactly how little the government is doing to help them in the wake of the disaster. Many small towns are totally without power, fresh water, or medical care. The Biden administration is still sending money directly to Ukraine.
Do they think Americans aren’t watching?
Since the war in Ukraine started, the US has sent over $176 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine. Just 10 days ago, the Biden administration approved nearly $8 billion to be sent to Ukraine in support of the ongoing war against Russia. The day before, Biden had authorized a $375 million auxiliary package, also to Ukraine. That same day, the west coast of Florida through North Carolina were decimated by Hurricane Helene.
Not ten days later, another major hurricane is slated for the same parts of Florida that are still reeling from the catastrophic Helene. With the pot already empty, many fret that there will be no relief from the first disaster, let alone the second. FEMA says it has run out of money following an additional transfer of money from their coffers to support the surge of illegal immigrants at the border. That money has gone to everything from a welcome center for migrants, to healthcare, to helping the convicted felons from South America find their way into our country. The US doesn’t need the human tidal wave to continue as real waves destroy American communities. (Read more.)