vdare--2020-01-06--His Name Is Mark Schlemmer: White Father of Two "Mistakingly" Gunned Down by Black Male in St. Louis

We call St. Louis “ Bell Curve City ” ( hint : pick up a copy or two of Bell Curve City : St. Louis , Ferguson , and the Unmentionable Racial Realities That Shape Them ) .
Why ?
Because so many racial truths are found in the 49 percent black/43 percent white city .
What do we mean ?
Well , 89 percent of homicide suspects in 2018 St. Louis were black , showcasing the color of the crime in the city .
And to start off 2020 , we find out yet another of the near record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black-on-white .
His name is Mark Schlemmer , a white male and father of two beautiful teenagers .
He went out one Halloween night for some fun , and ended up just another victim of black homicide in Bell Curve City . '
I think my brain is still trying to process ’ |Daughter coming to terms with loss of father shot on Wash Ave. : “ I just want whoever killed my father to be taken away for a long time .
I want justice for him , ” said Sierra Schlemmer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] Sierra Schlemmer says her father was a happy go lucky kind of guy who loved to take pictures and was inseparable from her and her sister .
“ We always took pictures .
He was just a very caring person .
He was a good , goof-ball kind of guy who was always the life of the party , ” said Sierra .
Schlemmer says she last saw her father on October 26th when she celebrated her 18th birthday .
“ He gave me a birthday present and everything .
I hugged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loved him , ” said Sierra .
She couldn ’ t believe what happened to her dad six days later .
A short time later , Sierra said her dad , his friend and a young woman left an after-party at Europe nightclub near 15th and Washington Avenue , hopped in his friend ’ s car and were about to leave when a guy pulled up in a white Malibu with a gun .
Man charged in killing outside St. Louis nightclub is in custody in Georgia , St. Louis Post Dispatch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a person in the November shooting death of a Collinsville man outside a nightclub in downtown St. Louis .
Leron Harris , 25 , of the 1000 block of Andrews Drive in East St. Louis , faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Nov. 1 killing of Mark Schlemmer .
Harris was charged Dec. 23 in St. Louis Circuit Court and was in custody Friday in Georgia in an unrelated case .
Schlemmer , 38 , was fatally shot across the street from Europe , a nightclub off Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was wearing a Halloween costume and leaving a party with friends when he was shot .
Two witnesses told police Schlemmer had stepped into the front passenger seat of a car that was about to drive off when Harris pulled up in a vehicle , tried to block the car Schlemmer was in , and fired a shot intended for someone else in the vehicle .
The bullet instead hit Schlemmer in the head , killing him .
After the gunman fired the fatal shot , police said , he backed his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least two parked cars .
The gunman then ran off , leaving the damaged vehicle behind .
Police said Harris and the woman he tried to shoot had a previous relationship and he had been texting her throughout the evening .
After the shooting , Harris texted the woman and told her to throw away her phone and to report that someone had stolen the car she , Schlemmer and another person were in , according to the charges .
A witness told police the shooter wore a distinctive mask and identified the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Instagram page , charges said .
Harris was taken into custody Nov. 15 in Marietta , Georgia , after a high-speed chase .
He was in custody there Friday , but a booking photo was not available .
Harris admitted fleeing the St. Louis area because he was suspected of a homicide , according to court documents .
Court records don ’ t indicate whether he has an attorney .
Schlemmer was a painter with two teenage daughters .
His girlfriend told the Post-Dispatch in November that he dressed up like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the City Museum , then later went to the Europe club at 710 North 15th Street .
In addition to pending charges in Georgia for illegal gun possession , fleeing police and drug possession , Harris also has 2013 convictions in Illinois for drug possession and robbery , and a 2016 conviction for unlawful gun possession , according to court records .
Rest in peace , Mark Schlemmer .
May your family find peace in knowing your killer has been found .

We call St. Louis “Bell Curve City” (hint: Pick up a copy or two of Bell Curve City: St. Louis, Ferguson, and the Unmentionable Racial Realities That Shape Them). Why? Because so many racial truths are found in the 49 percent black / 43 percent white city.
What do we mean? Well, 89 percent of homicide suspects in 2018 St. Louis were black, showcasing the color of the crime in the city.
And to start off 2020, we find out yet another of the near record setting homicides in 2019 St. Louis was black-on-white.
His name is Mark Schlemmer, a white male and father of two beautiful teenagers. He went out one Halloween night for some fun, and ended up just another victim of black homicide in Bell Curve City.
Shot.
['I think my brain is still trying to process’ |Daughter coming to terms with loss of father shot on Wash Ave.: “I just want whoever killed my father to be taken away for a long time. I want justice for him,” said Sierra Schlemmer, KSDK.com, November 5, 2019] Sierra Schlemmer says her father was a happy go lucky kind of guy who loved to take pictures and was inseparable from her and her sister. “We always took pictures. He was just a very caring person. He was a good, goof-ball kind of guy who was always the life of the party,” said Sierra. Schlemmer says she last saw her father on October 26th when she celebrated her 18th birthday. “He gave me a birthday present and everything. I hugged him and I told him that I loved him,” said Sierra. She couldn’t believe what happened to her dad six days later. Witnesses told police Mark Schlemmer first left a Halloween party at City Museum. A short time later, Sierra said her dad, his friend and a young woman left an after-party at Europe nightclub near 15th and Washington Avenue, hopped in his friend’s car and were about to leave when a guy pulled up in a white Malibu with a gun.
Chaser.
Man charged in killing outside St. Louis nightclub is in custody in Georgia, St. Louis Post Dispatch, January 4, 2020 Prosecutors have charged a person in the November shooting death of a Collinsville man outside a nightclub in downtown St. Louis. Leron Harris, 25, of the 1000 block of Andrews Drive in East St. Louis, faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Nov. 1 killing of Mark Schlemmer. Harris was charged Dec. 23 in St. Louis Circuit Court and was in custody Friday in Georgia in an unrelated case. Schlemmer, 38, was fatally shot across the street from Europe, a nightclub off Washington Avenue, about 2:15 a.m. Police said he was wearing a Halloween costume and leaving a party with friends when he was shot. Two witnesses told police Schlemmer had stepped into the front passenger seat of a car that was about to drive off when Harris pulled up in a vehicle, tried to block the car Schlemmer was in, and fired a shot intended for someone else in the vehicle. The bullet instead hit Schlemmer in the head, killing him. After the gunman fired the fatal shot, police said, he backed his vehicle down 15th Street and hit at least two parked cars. The gunman then ran off, leaving the damaged vehicle behind. Police said Harris and the woman he tried to shoot had a previous relationship and he had been texting her throughout the evening. After the shooting, Harris texted the woman and told her to throw away her phone and to report that someone had stolen the car she, Schlemmer and another person were in, according to the charges. A witness told police the shooter wore a distinctive mask and identified the mask in a photo posted to Harris’ Instagram page, charges said. Harris was taken into custody Nov. 15 in Marietta, Georgia, after a high-speed chase. He was in custody there Friday, but a booking photo was not available. Harris admitted fleeing the St. Louis area because he was suspected of a homicide, according to court documents. Court records don’t indicate whether he has an attorney. Schlemmer was a painter with two teenage daughters. His girlfriend told the Post-Dispatch in November that he dressed up like a burglar for Halloween and attended a party at the City Museum, then later went to the Europe club at 710 North 15th Street. In addition to pending charges in Georgia for illegal gun possession, fleeing police and drug possession, Harris also has 2013 convictions in Illinois for drug possession and robbery, and a 2016 conviction for unlawful gun possession, according to court records.
Rest in peace, Mark Schlemmer. May your family find peace in knowing your killer has been found.
[Comment at Unz.com]


vdare--2020-01-05--Google's Happy Holidays Doodle Extending Google's War On Christmas To Russia

Earlier : Google 's `` Happy Holidays '' Christmas Doodle Just One More Example Of Google 's War On Christmas Google has a history of not noting Christmas , or not noting Christmas in English , but being forced to notice it in other languages because they have n't invented `` Happy Holidays . ''
This is the 2012 American version : This is the same Christmassy image in Google Norway , saying `` God jul fra Google '' —Norwegian for Merry Christmas .
This year , they had three days of Happy Holidays , saying In honor of January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better way of putting that than `` Holidays Eastern Europe '' would be `` Christmas In Russia , '' since the reason for this Doodle going out to Eastern Europe on January 6 , Gregorian , is that if you use the Julian Calendar , it 's Christmas Eve .
( “ S rozhdyestvom Hristovym !
” to any Russian readers . )
Almost all foreigners in Christian countries just say some version of `` Merry Christmas !
`` That 's why this Christmas , 2000photo of a sign at a Queens Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top says `` No Matter How You Say It , 'Happy Holidays ' '' the French , Greek , German , Spanish , and about thirty other languages say , almost entirely , the words `` Merry Christmas '' .
Joyeux Noel , Buon Natale , Fröhliche Weihnachten , Sretan Božić , Mele Kalikimaka , et cetera , all mean Merry Christmas in languages I recognize .
I ’ ll take most of the various non-English scripts on faith , but note that the Cyrillic for Merry Christmas ( Счастливого рождества ) is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Czech ) and Linksmų Kalėdų ( Lithuanian ) .
How do I know all this ?
Google , of course !
So if I can figure out , with the aid of Google , the Russian for `` Merry Christmas '' , the fact that Google ca n't do this themselves means that they 're trying to extend the War On Christmas to Russia .

Earlier: Google's "Happy Holidays" Christmas Doodle Just One More Example Of Google's War On Christmas
Google has a history of not noting Christmas, or not noting Christmas in English, but being forced to notice it in other languages because they haven't invented "Happy Holidays."
This is the 2012 American version:
This is the same Christmassy image in Google Norway, saying "God jul fra Google"—Norwegian for Merry Christmas.
This year, they had three days of Happy Holidays, saying
No matter how you choose to celebrate, ‘tis the season to enjoy the holiday festivities during the most wonderful time of the year! Happy holidays!
Happy Holidays Day One, December 23:
Happy Holidays Day Two, December 24
Happy Holidays Day Three, December 25
In honor of January 6, they have this:
Holidays 2020 (Eastern Europe, Day 1), January 6
A better way of putting that than "Holidays Eastern Europe" would be "Christmas In Russia," since the reason for this Doodle going out to Eastern Europe on January 6, Gregorian, is that if you use the Julian Calendar, it's Christmas Eve. (“S rozhdyestvom Hristovym!” to any Russian readers.)
Almost all foreigners in Christian countries just say some version of "Merry Christmas!" That's why this Christmas, 2000 photo of a sign at a Queens Post Office, while the English at the top says "No Matter How You Say It, 'Happy Holidays,'" the French, Greek, German, Spanish, and about thirty other languages say, almost entirely, the words "Merry Christmas."
Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Sretan Božić, Mele Kalikimaka, et cetera, all mean Merry Christmas in languages I recognize. I’ll take most of the various non-English scripts on faith, but note that the Cyrillic for Merry Christmas (Счастливого рождества) is there, in between Veselé Vánoce (Czech) and Linksmų Kalėdų (Lithuanian).
How do I know all this? Google, of course!
So if I can figure out, with the aid of Google, the Russian for "Merry Christmas," the fact that Google can't do this themselves means that they're trying to extend the War On Christmas to Russia.


vdare--2020-01-05--A West Texas Reader Finds A Non-Diverse Beauty Competition: Miss Rodeo America

The Steve Sailer article on effective set-asides in beauty pageant top prizes was both sad and bemusing .
Bemusing because it is predictable like a stock vaudeville joke , and sad for the contestants who might have won if the unspoken , informal set-aside regime did not exist to render beauty pageants just another quota filling system .
However , let VDARE readers be not troubled .
There does still exist a merit-based pageant .
`` In 2017 , Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Business with a concentration on Policy and Law from Mississippi State University , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rodeo Teams .
To enhance her strong voice for agriculture , Taylor will pursue a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree with a Master of Law in Agricultural and Food Law . ''
It appears that most of the young ladies also know the meaning of work .
Taking care of horses involves rolling up the sleeves and getting your hands dirty , cleaning out horse hooves/shoes , shoveling out stalls , toting bales of hay , skilled riding is not easy .
The contestants are more than intelligent , talented high achievers—they are also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Although not part of the competition , they are probably also handy with firearms .
Many places in ranching country have physical hazards such as feral hogs , rattlesnakes , etc.
, so it is common while working on ranches to carry a sidearm for self-protection .
And often keep a rifle nearby for good measure .
Kudos to all the people involved in this worthy organization that awards many scholarships to hard working young ladies—on merit .
Below , a picture of the Miss Rodeo America alumni : See earlier letters from @ @ @ @

Re: Steve Sailer's blog post Black Bodies Matter In Beauty Pageants
From: A West Texas Reader [Email him]
The Steve Sailer article on effective set-asides in beauty pageant top prizes was both sad and bemusing. Bemusing because it is predictable like a stock vaudeville joke, and sad for the contestants who might have won if the unspoken, informal set-aside regime did not exist to render beauty pageants just another quota filling system.
However, let VDARE readers be not troubled. There does still exist a merit-based pageant.
Miss Rodeo America judges its contestants on "... horsemanship competition, a written test on equine science and rodeo knowledge, extensive interviews, extemporaneous speaking, and a fashion show. The top five contestants – from Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Washington – each answered a question about how to share differing viewpoints while maintaining friendships."
Taylor McNair, Taylor McNair, the 2019 winner, is quite the achiever.
"In 2017, Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Business with a concentration on Policy and Law from Mississippi State University, where she competed on the Equestrian and Rodeo Teams. To enhance her strong voice for agriculture, Taylor will pursue a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree with a Master of Law in Agricultural and Food Law."
It appears that most of the young ladies also know the meaning of work. Taking care of horses involves rolling up the sleeves and getting your hands dirty, cleaning out horse hooves/shoes, shoveling out stalls, toting bales of hay, skilled riding is not easy.
The contestants are more than intelligent, talented high achievers—they are also drop-dead gorgeous in their fashion competition.
Although not part of the competition, they are probably also handy with firearms. Many places in ranching country have physical hazards such as feral hogs, rattlesnakes, etc., so it is common while working on ranches to carry a sidearm for self-protection. And often keep a rifle nearby for good measure.
Kudos to all the people involved in this worthy organization that awards many scholarships to hard working young ladies—on merit.
Below, a picture of the Miss Rodeo America alumni:
See earlier letters from the same reader.


vdare--2020-01-05--Hall Monitors At New York Times Warn About The Dire Threat Of... PragerU

Prager University is not exactly nationalist content .
Dennis Prager has posted some genuinely cringeworthy , inaccurate , and outright embarassing things over the years [ PragerU Gets American History Wrong , by Gregory Hood , American Renaissance , November 7 , 2018 ] .
Yet it 's also posted some good material .
Whatever Prager says about VDARE.com , PragerU has an absolute right to produce its content and it deserves a platform .
It 's an outrage that it has been censored and throttled by Big Tech , and Dennis Prager deserves credit for speaking against it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ obvious self-interest to do so , but self-defense is still far better than what most Conservatism Inc. operators are capable of .
It 's not just Big Tech pushing for deplatforming .
A stunning amount of contemporary journalism consists of thinly veiled calls for deplatforming , and PragerU has been a consistent target .
The Los Angeles Times went after them in August .
Now , The Grey Lady is complaining than PragerU is allowing students to obtain information that professors and parents have n't vetted first .
Lawrence Rosenthal [ Email him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Right-Wing Studies , said he has noticed an impact from PragerU ’ s content .
“ It sits at this border between going off a cliff into conspiracy thinking and extreme kinds of prejudices in the name of anti-political correctness , ” he said .
On PragerU ’ s website , there is little differentiation between its video presenters .
So the late Pulitzer-prize winning Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer appears on the same page as Michelle Malkin , the commentator who has defended overtly racist elements of the right .
There ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times Op-Ed columnist ; Tucker Carlson , the Fox News host ; George F. Will , the anti-Trump conservative commentator ; and Nigel Farage , the Brexit Party leader .
For a teenager approaching the site , each headshot in the same size circle , it would be hard to tell the difference between them all ... PragerU ’ s own experience with Big Tech has only fueled its fans ’ perceptions that conservatives are the losers of the culture war .
The company is suing Google , which owns YouTube , arguing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by marking some of its videos as restricted — and in doing so , lumping videos about the Ten Commandments in with violent or offensive content .
In PragerU ’ s corner is Zach Vorhies , a former YouTube employee turned whistle-blower who says liberal employees at YouTube had the ability to censor conservative content creators .
Mr. Vorhies has promoted conspiracy theories like QAnon and spread anti-Semitic messages , a pattern first reported by The Daily Beast .
He is not an employee of PragerU , but they count him as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barrier between PragerU ’ s mainstream conservative allies and fans and the vast land of right-wing conspiracy .
[ Right-wing Views for Generation Z , Five Minutes at a Time , by Nellie Bowles , New York Times , January 4 , 2020 ] I note the casual smears against the heroic Michelle Malkin in passing .
They are to be expected , as is the attempted guilt-by-association with Mr. Vorhies .
What 's interesting is that many journalists really do see their job as making sure information can only flow through approved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story , which consists of the usual `` point-and-sputter . ''
Big Tech thus has the excuse to censor .
The China-style Social Credit System that is already in place is growing more rigid and systematic every day .
While there is still time , Republicans desperately need to force Big Tech to respect free speech online , lest even their milquetoast outlets by PragerU be stranded .
What 's especially interesting is that a recent study says that the `` radicalization '' narrative is bunk [ Algorithmic Extremism : Examining YouTube 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ledwich and Anna Zaitsev , Arxiv.org , December 24 , 2019 ] .
YouTube 's algorithm , as to be expected , discriminates against conservatives and funnels people away from nationalist content .
The comment section on the New York Times 's tweet is dominated by conservatives .
But even the Conservatism Inc. bluechecks are at the mercy of Big Tech , and I expect if/when President Trump is out of office , the purges will begin for real .
There will be nothing to stop them .
Where is President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Internet in 2015 , he would n't have been elected .
Unless he stops `` monitoring '' the situation and does something , he wo n't be in 2020 .

Prager University is not exactly nationalist content. Dennis Prager has posted some genuinely cringeworthy, inaccurate, and outright embarassing things over the years [PragerU Gets American History Wrong, by Gregory Hood, American Renaissance, November 7, 2018]. Yet it's also posted some good material. Whatever Prager says about VDARE.com, PragerU has an absolute right to produce its content and it deserves a platform. It's an outrage that it has been censored and throttled by Big Tech, and Dennis Prager deserves credit for speaking against it. Of course, it's just his obvious self-interest to do so, but self-defense is still far better than what most Conservatism Inc. operators are capable of.
It's not just Big Tech pushing for deplatforming. A stunning amount of contemporary journalism consists of thinly veiled calls for deplatforming, and PragerU has been a consistent target. The Los Angeles Times went after them in August. Now, The Grey Lady is complaining than PragerU is allowing students to obtain information that professors and parents haven't vetted first.
Lawrence Rosenthal [Email him] chair of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, said he has noticed an impact from PragerU’s content. “It sits at this border between going off a cliff into conspiracy thinking and extreme kinds of prejudices in the name of anti-political correctness,” he said. On PragerU’s website, there is little differentiation between its video presenters. So the late Pulitzer-prize winning Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer appears on the same page as Michelle Malkin, the commentator who has defended overtly racist elements of the right. There’s Bret Stephens, the New York Times Op-Ed columnist; Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host; George F. Will, the anti-Trump conservative commentator; and Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader. For a teenager approaching the site, each headshot in the same size circle, it would be hard to tell the difference between them all... PragerU’s own experience with Big Tech has only fueled its fans’ perceptions that conservatives are the losers of the culture war. The company is suing Google, which owns YouTube, arguing that the platform is suppressing its content by marking some of its videos as restricted — and in doing so, lumping videos about the Ten Commandments in with violent or offensive content. In PragerU’s corner is Zach Vorhies, a former YouTube employee turned whistle-blower who says liberal employees at YouTube had the ability to censor conservative content creators. Mr. Vorhies has promoted conspiracy theories like QAnon and spread anti-Semitic messages, a pattern first reported by The Daily Beast. He is not an employee of PragerU, but they count him as a supporter, an example of the soft barrier between PragerU’s mainstream conservative allies and fans and the vast land of right-wing conspiracy. [Right-wing Views for Generation Z, Five Minutes at a Time, by Nellie Bowles, New York Times, January 4, 2020]
I note the casual smears against the heroic Michelle Malkin in passing. They are to be expected, as is the attempted guilt-by-association with Mr. Vorhies.
What's interesting is that many journalists really do see their job as making sure information can only flow through approved channels. They "report" a story, which consists of the usual "point-and-sputter." Big Tech thus has the excuse to censor. The China-style Social Credit System that is already in place is growing more rigid and systematic every day. While there is still time, Republicans desperately need to force Big Tech to respect free speech online, lest even their milquetoast outlets by PragerU be stranded.
What's especially interesting is that a recent study says that the "radicalization" narrative is bunk [Algorithmic Extremism: Examining YouTube's Rabbit Hole of Radicalization, by Mark Ledwich and Anna Zaitsev, Arxiv.org, December 24, 2019]. YouTube's algorithm, as to be expected, discriminates against conservatives and funnels people away from nationalist content.
1. I worked with Anna Zaitsev (Berkely postdoc) to study YouTube recommendation radicalization. We painstakingly collected and grouped channels (768) and recommendations (23M) and found that the algo has a deradicalizing influence.
Pre-print:https://t.co/1NneHDnKHD
🧵 — Mark Ledwich (@mark_ledwich) December 28, 2019
The comment section on the New York Times's tweet is dominated by conservatives. But even the Conservatism Inc. bluechecks are at the mercy of Big Tech, and I expect if/when President Trump is out of office, the purges will begin for real. There will be nothing to stop them.
Where is President Donald Trump on this? Without the relatively free Internet in 2015, he wouldn't have been elected. Unless he stops "monitoring" the situation and does something, he won't be in 2020.


vdare--2020-01-05--Tom Piatak’s 2019 War on Christmas Report: No Festivities for Fascists!

Earlier : Yes , Virginia ( Dare ) , There Is A War On Christmas—Here ’ s Twenty Years Of Proof !
The first War On Christmas item that caught my eye this year and the most notorious each had this in common : they explicitly declared that public celebrations of Christmas were “ fascist.
” In mid-December , I read that a living Nativity Scene featuring children in Toulouse , France needed to be shut down when the event was disrupted by protestors shouting “ Stop the Fascists !
” [ Nativity scene triggers activists ; Dozens scream 'stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Douglas Ernst , Washington Times , December 19 , 2019 ] In the U.S. , Salon ran a piece—on Christmas Day !
— charging that Hallmark Christmas movies , beloved by millions , “ constitute the platonic ideal of fascist propaganda ” [ Hallmark movies are fascist propaganda , by Amanda Marcotte , December 25 , 2019 ] .
Does the Main Stream Media criticize the way the public chooses to celebrate any holiday other than Christmas , much less condemn an aspect of any other holiday , as “ fascist ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Leftists at Salon is this : we Deplorables must not be left alone to have our own holiday , or to celebrate it as we see fit .
Of course , the charge of “ fascism ” was risible .
Even Pope Francis , no one ’ s idea of a conservative , much less a fascist , issued an apostolic letter , Admirabile Signum , warmly encouraging Christians to set up Nativity scenes , not just in their homes , but also “ in the workplace , in schools , hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ argues that the Hallmark Christmas movies are “ fascist ” in part because the movies take viewers into “ an uncanny valley of shiny-teethed , blow-dried , heteronormative whiteness , with only a few token movies with characters of color.
” Of course , the same could be said for Miracle on 34th Street , The Bishop ’ s Wife , The Bells of St. Mary ’ s , 3 Godfathers , and It ’ s a Wonderful Life , and even A Charlie Brown Christmas .
Are all these classics “ fascist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have come as news to Jimmy Stewart , who starred in It ’ s a Wonderful Life and regarded as his favorite movie and who also won the Distinguished Flying Cross piloting B-24s in combat over Germany in World War II .
These Christmas classics may have greater artistic merit than Hallmark ’ s Christmas movies , but they are every bit as white and “ heteronormative ” —which seems to be Marcotte ’ s principal objection to the Hallmark films , since she later blasts the movies for embodying “ white nationalism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working to “ enforce very narrow , white , heteronormative sexist , provincial ideas of what constitutes ‘ normal , ’ ” and excluding “ most of an increasingly urban , racially diverse , cosmopolitan nation.
” ( Apparently the possibility of an immigration moratorium has never occurred to her ) .
Before throwing more stones at Hallmark for idealizing small town America , Ms. Marcotte may want to take another look at the faces in the Bailey house at the end of It ’ s a Wonderful Life , and reflect on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was right to have stayed in Bedford Falls after all .
Violet , to George ’ s relief , decides she should stay there , too .
More prestigious outlets than Salon also took up the attack on Hallmark ’ s Christmas movies , with the Washington Post running at least three articles blasting the movies , by Jeb Lund , Maura Judkis , and Britni de la Cretaz .
Jeb Lund ’ s December 23 piece , “ Hallmark ’ s Christmas movies are part of a culture war their viewers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movies evoke “ the visual language of Norman Rockwell ’ s Christmas paintings , a postwar consensus of peak fictional Americana that purportedly exists beyond the political.
” Such nostalgia is undoubtedly part of the films ’ appeal , as is the fact that they eschew profanity , violence , and sex and offer viewers a world , in Lund ’ s words , “ where nobody gets hurt ” and “ [ t ] here are never bad guys , only the wrong ones.
” There is nothing sinister , much less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pleasant movies Significantly , the Hallmark formula is stunningly successful , with one study mentioned by Lund finding that “ the top three scripted shows among white cable viewers were Hallmark series ” and another finding that the “ Hallmark channel was one of the most popular networks with ‘ red ’ voters.
” But such Deplorable folks can ’ t be allowed to watch movies that resemble their demographic profile or reflect their values .
“ Tolerance ” doesn ’ t mean letting people who want movies resembling “ Norman Rockwell ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than it meant letting majorities who wanted them to have stores wishing customers “ Merry Christmas , ” schools having Christmas concerts featuring Christmas carols , or town squares hosting Nativity scenes .
So , despite the movies ’ great popularity , Lund [ Tweet him ] says “ it ’ s time to tell different stories.
” Including stories featuring homosexuality—an aspect of the attack on Hallmark Christmas movies handled masterfully by Lutheran pastor Hans Feine writing at The Federalist [ Lesbian Ads On The Hallmark Channel Are Just The Beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movies about “ winter holidays ” other than Christmas .
WaPo also published articles objecting to the way Hallmark mentioned Hanukkah in two movies this year , with Maura Judkis [ Email her ] criticizing the movies ( and one on the Lifetime channel ) for not being Britni de la Cretaz , a Jewish lesbian , was even harsher .
She charged that the “ movies rely on some of the oldest anti-Semitic tropes in the book , ” including “ [ t ] he trope of the sneaky , untrustworthy Jew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ Hallmark ’ s making some Hanukkah movies .
The only problem ?
They ’ re anti-Semitic , December 2 , 2019 ] Yes , these are lighthearted television romances she ’ s talking about , with the happy endings typical of the genre .
But since they involve Jewish characters learning to participate in non-religious Christmas traditions , they supposedly advocate “ forced assimilation , ” which , we are assured , “ is a form of violence , ” even if the filmmakers merely intended it to be part of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cretaz [ Email her ] also objects to the movies ’ showing their Jewish characters ’ needing to learn about Christmas customs , even though she begins the piece by stating that , “ for many of us , ‘ not celebrating Christmas ’ was a major part of our identity formation.
” After reading this angry essay , one has a hard time imagining any Christmas movie that would appeal to Ms. De la Cretaz , who longs for “ a movie that doesn ’ t conscript into the Christmas cheer.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the Christmas celebration now enjoyed by millions is fascistic , anti-Semitic and just plain wrong , the major MSM current this year was familiar : the contention that ( a ) there is no War on Christmas ; and that ( b ) even if there were , no reasonable person should care about it .
But several of the diatribes simultaneously defended downplaying the public celebration of Christmas , flagrant doublethink that confirms the concerns of those of us who have called attention to that downplaying and objected to it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tweet him ] writing in USA Today , calls for an end to “ this useless ‘ War on Christmas ’ sadness ” —and then proceeds to defend renaming Christmas parades “ Winter Parades ” and renaming Christmas trees “ holiday trees ” !
He even suggests not wishing anyone “ Merry Christmas ” unless you first ask “ What holiday do you celebrate ?
” [ Let 's declare a cease-fire in the 'war on Christmas ' , December 24 , 2019 ] Petrow calls this a “ cease-fire ” but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christmas Day , Salon coupled Amanda Marcotte ’ s attack on Hallmark Christmas movies with Matthew Rozsa ’ s denial that there is a War on Christmas .
But , once again , the author is a tacit proponent of the war he denies exists , arguing that “ [ t [ he American tradition of secularizing Jesus Christ can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson ” and that , as a result , it is wrong to claim that the “ secularization of the Christmas holiday and season ” and the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .public buildings ” constitute an attack on Christmas .
[ There is ( still ) no `` War on Christmas '' , December 25 , 2019 ] .
Rozsa [ Tweet him ] demonizes the public celebration of Christmas as a manifestation of “ white identity politics ” and even “ white supremacy ” and declares that “ purveyors of the War on Christmas myth…are trafficking in lies.
” In other words , anyone objecting to the downplaying of the public celebration of Christmas is a racist and likely on the road to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sounds similar themes , declaring the War on Christmas “ the dumbest part of America ’ s culture war ” and asserting that those opposing the War on Christmas “ must know that there ’ s no actual ‘ war ’ on Christmas ” and that there is , instead , “ a bombardment of misinformation playing up imaginary [ or wildly overblown ) examples of political correctness run amok.
” Molloy also avers that “ [ t ] he backbone of the War on Christmas conspiracy theory has always been that of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Christian nationalists—these are the people who care about the War on Christmas , not ordinary Americans upset by the diminishment of a holiday they love .
[ A War on Christmas Story : How Fox News built the dumbest part of America 's culture war , MMFA , December 25 , 2019 ] Even self-professed conservatives denied or diminished the War on Christmas .
At The American Conservative , Rod Dreher argued that his concern over transgenderism was justified because “ [ t ] his is not an invented ‘ war on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal .
This consequential war .
.
.
is really happening.
” [ Big T And The Democrats , December 25 , 2019 ] .
The magazine ’ s managing editor , Matt Purple , expanded similar sentiments into a column , plaintively asking “ is it really so wrong to say ‘ happy holidays ’ in a country with so many Jews and Muslims ?
” and criticizing those of us who have resisted the War on Christmas for “ ruining everything with ideological combat ” and for “ politicizing ” Christmas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Christmas , December 23 , 2019 ] .
Purple seems entirely unaware that there was a time when “ Merry Christmas ” was a universal greeting and the public celebration of Christmas was joyful and exuberant .
There was nothing political or ideological about this consensus .
Christmas was politicized when this joyous consensus was attacked and undermined , not when publicity over the War on Christmas emboldened ordinary Americans to begin resisting .
Thus , for example , here ’ s a charming reminder of what Christmas used to be like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's Heroes singing Christmas carols in the language of their native land .
What makes this especially noteworthy is that Werner Klemperer 's father was a Jewish convert to Catholicism who fled Nazi Germany , John Banner was an Austrian Jew who fled the Nazis , and Robert Clary was a French Jew who was in a concentration camp .
Enjoy this little bit of America 's Christmas past , from 1965 : One welcome exception to this year ’ s MSM nonsense on the War on Christmas : a New York Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ has become a bad word everyone is too afraid to say , December 21 , 2019 ] .
Although Cuozzo was reluctant to argue that there is a War on Christmas , he did point out that the word “ Christmas ” was virtually nonexistent in a variety of media contexts this year , replaced by numerous references to “ holiday ” and even specific references to other winter holidays , such as Hanukkah : “ We have developed a studious avoidance of the word [ Christmas ] , as though its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any denomination.
” Cuozzo also notes that , in his lifetime , concerts featuring religious Christmas carols have disappeared from public schools in many places .
And , contra all the hostile Leftists and craven cuckservatives filling up editorial pages , the trends observed by Steve Cuozzo—and anyone else who has actually been paying attention—are important , as I ’ ve been writing here at VDARE and elsewhere since 2001 .
I think something I wrote three Christmases ago for Chronicles Magazine provides a needed rejoinder to this year ’ s absurd media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hear a wonderful Christmas concert by the Cleveland Orchestra… .
There was nothing incongruous about one of the world 's premier orchestras playing Christmas carols .
As Paula Simons observed in 2003 , `` Traditional Christmas carols are beautiful songs .
They combine rich , lyric poetry with melodies of timeless power .
A child who grows up hearing and singing the likes of God Rest Ye , Merry Gentlemen or Silent Night .
.
.
or the other great world classics gets a profound musical education .
The intricate harmonies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just move our hearts .
They train our ears to appreciate more sophisticated musical forms and our voices to sing in concert with others . ''
On Monday , I got to hear my sister describe a fifth-grade concert she just endured , where not one song mentioned Christmas , or even alluded to Christmas .
All the songs were recent concoctions , devoid of cultural significance or artistic merit .
Rather than sing `` Silent Night '' or even `` Jingle Bells , ” the children sang `` Bop Bop , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wacky Winter Song , '' the latter a tuneless lament for how cold winter is .
Quite a contrast from my own experience in public elementary school , where we sang Christmas carols and learned about this great holiday .
What my sister experienced was a deliberately cultivated cultural desert .
As she described the concert she attended , I kept thinking about the one [ I ] attended , with the beautiful sound of the Cleveland Orchestra 's violins and violas playing the exquisite `` Bring a Torch , Jeanette , Isabella @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And I thought back to what the conductor told us , before inviting the audience to sing along with five of the Christmas songs contained in Leroy Anderson 's `` A Christmas Festival : '' he said the lyrics were in our programs , but he did n't believe anyone would need them .
And few seemed to .
But years from now , after millions of children have learned to sing `` Bop Bop '' rather than `` Joy to the World , '' that will no longer be the case .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ culture ; the War on Christmas leads nowhere .
Thomas Piatak [ Email him ] is a contributing editor to Chronicles : A Magazine of American Culture .
He writes from Cleveland , Ohio .

Earlier: Yes, Virginia (Dare), There Is A War On Christmas—Here’s Twenty Years Of Proof!
The first War On Christmas item that caught my eye this year and the most notorious each had this in common: they explicitly declared that public celebrations of Christmas were “fascist.” In mid-December, I read that a living Nativity Scene featuring children in Toulouse, France needed to be shut down when the event was disrupted by protestors shouting “Stop the Fascists!” [Nativity scene triggers activists; Dozens scream 'stop the fascists!' at children, by Douglas Ernst, Washington Times, December 19, 2019] In the U.S., Salon ran a piece—on Christmas Day!—charging that Hallmark Christmas movies, beloved by millions, “constitute the platonic ideal of fascist propaganda” [Hallmark movies are fascist propaganda, by Amanda Marcotte, December 25, 2019]. Does the Main Stream Media criticize the way the public chooses to celebrate any holiday other than Christmas, much less condemn an aspect of any other holiday, as “fascist?” The link between thugs in France and Leftists at Salon is this: We Deplorables must not be left alone to have our own holiday, or to celebrate it as we see fit.
Of course, the charge of “fascism” was risible. Even Pope Francis, no one’s idea of a conservative, much less a fascist, issued an apostolic letter, Admirabile Signum, warmly encouraging Christians to set up Nativity scenes, not just in their homes, but also “in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and public squares.”
Salon’s Marcotte argues that the Hallmark Christmas movies are “fascist” in part because the movies take viewers into “an uncanny valley of shiny-teethed, blow-dried, heteronormative whiteness, with only a few token movies with characters of color.” Of course, the same could be said for Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop’s Wife, The Bells of St. Mary’s, 3 Godfathers, and It’s a Wonderful Life, and even A Charlie Brown Christmas. Are all these classics “fascist,” too?
That would certainly have come as news to Jimmy Stewart, who starred in It’s a Wonderful Life and regarded as his favorite movie and who also won the Distinguished Flying Cross piloting B-24s in combat over Germany in World War II.
These Christmas classics may have greater artistic merit than Hallmark’s Christmas movies, but they are every bit as white and “heteronormative”—which seems to be Marcotte’s principal objection to the Hallmark films, since she later blasts the movies for embodying “white nationalism” and “white supremacy,” working to “enforce very narrow, white, heteronormative sexist, provincial ideas of what constitutes ‘normal,’” and excluding “most of an increasingly urban, racially diverse, cosmopolitan nation.” (Apparently the possibility of an immigration moratorium has never occurred to her.)
Before throwing more stones at Hallmark for idealizing small town America, Ms. Marcotte may want to take another look at the faces in the Bailey house at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, and reflect on the fact that George Bailey finds out he was right to have stayed in Bedford Falls after all. Violet, to George’s relief, decides she should stay there, too.
More prestigious outlets than Salon also took up the attack on Hallmark’s Christmas movies, with the Washington Post running at least three articles blasting the movies, by Jeb Lund, Maura Judkis, and Britni de la Cretaz. Jeb Lund’s December 23 piece, “Hallmark’s Christmas movies are part of a culture war their viewers are losing,” notes that the movies evoke “the visual language of Norman Rockwell’s Christmas paintings, a postwar consensus of peak fictional Americana that purportedly exists beyond the political.”
Such nostalgia is undoubtedly part of the films’ appeal, as is the fact that they eschew profanity, violence, and sex and offer viewers a world, in Lund’s words, “where nobody gets hurt” and “[t]here are never bad guys, only the wrong ones.”
There is nothing sinister, much less “fascist,” about people liking pleasant movies. Significantly, the Hallmark formula is stunningly successful, with one study mentioned by Lund finding that “the top three scripted shows among white cable viewers were Hallmark series” and another finding that the “Hallmark channel was one of the most popular networks with ‘red’ voters.”
But such Deplorable folks can’t be allowed to watch movies that resemble their demographic profile or reflect their values. “Tolerance” doesn’t mean letting people who want movies resembling “Norman Rockwell’s Christmas paintings” have such movies—any more than it meant letting majorities who wanted them to have stores wishing customers “Merry Christmas,” schools having Christmas concerts featuring Christmas carols, or town squares hosting Nativity scenes.
So, despite the movies’ great popularity, Lund [Tweet him] says “it’s time to tell different stories.” Including stories featuring homosexuality—an aspect of the attack on Hallmark Christmas movies handled masterfully by Lutheran pastor Hans Feine, writing at The Federalist [Lesbian Ads On The Hallmark Channel Are Just The Beginning, December 19, 2019]—and movies about “winter holidays” other than Christmas.
WaPo also published articles objecting to the way Hallmark mentioned Hanukkah in two movies this year, with Maura Judkis [Email her] criticizing the movies (and one on the Lifetime channel) for not being
…Hanukkah movies. They are Christmas movies with Hanukkah as a plot device. Troublingly, the Jewish holiday is often an obstacle preventing the characters from celebrating Christmas to the fullest. [Hallmark’s Hanukkah movies are really Christmas movies about how Hanukkah is weird, December 25, 2019]
Britni de la Cretaz, a Jewish lesbian, was even harsher. She charged that the “movies rely on some of the oldest anti-Semitic tropes in the book,” including “[t]he trope of the sneaky, untrustworthy Jew, who is a perpetual outsider.” [Hallmark’s making some Hanukkah movies. The only problem? They’re anti-Semitic, December 2, 2019]
Yes, these are lighthearted television romances she’s talking about, with the happy endings typical of the genre. But since they involve Jewish characters learning to participate in non-religious Christmas traditions, they supposedly advocate “forced assimilation,” which, we are assured, “is a form of violence,” even if the filmmakers merely intended it to be part of a budding romance.
Oddly, de la Cretaz [Email her] also objects to the movies’ showing their Jewish characters’ needing to learn about Christmas customs, even though she begins the piece by stating that, “for many of us, ‘not celebrating Christmas’ was a major part of our identity formation.”
After reading this angry essay, one has a hard time imagining any Christmas movie that would appeal to Ms. De la Cretaz, who longs for “a movie that doesn’t conscript into the Christmas cheer.”
Apart from these articles insisting that a part of the Christmas celebration now enjoyed by millions is fascistic, anti-Semitic and just plain wrong, the major MSM current this year was familiar: The contention that (a) there is no War on Christmas; and that (b) even if there were, no reasonable person should care about it.
But several of the diatribes simultaneously defended downplaying the public celebration of Christmas, flagrant doublethink that confirms the concerns of those of us who have called attention to that downplaying and objected to it.
For example, Steven Petrow [Tweet him], writing in USA Today, calls for an end to “this useless ‘War on Christmas’ sadness”—and then proceeds to defend renaming Christmas parades “Winter Parades” and renaming Christmas trees “holiday trees”! He even suggests not wishing anyone “Merry Christmas” unless you first ask “What holiday do you celebrate?” [Let's declare a cease-fire in the 'war on Christmas', December 24, 2019].
Petrow calls this a “cease-fire” but it seems indistinguishable from a surrender.
On Christmas Day, Salon coupled Amanda Marcotte’s attack on Hallmark Christmas movies with Matthew Rozsa’s denial that there is a War on Christmas. But, once again, the author is a tacit proponent of the war he denies exists, arguing that “[t[he American tradition of secularizing Jesus Christ can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson” and that, as a result, it is wrong to claim that the “secularization of the Christmas holiday and season” and the “removal of Christian iconography from . . .public buildings” constitute an attack on Christmas. [There is (still) no "War on Christmas", December 25, 2019 ]. Rozsa [Tweet him] demonizes the public celebration of Christmas as a manifestation of “white identity politics” and even “white supremacy” and declares that “purveyors of the War on Christmas myth…are trafficking in lies.”
In other words, anyone objecting to the downplaying of the public celebration of Christmas is a racist and likely on the road to fascism.
Parker Molloy of Media Matters sounds similar themes, declaring the War on Christmas “the dumbest part of America’s culture war” and asserting that those opposing the War on Christmas “must know that there’s no actual ‘war’ on Christmas” and that there is, instead, “a bombardment of misinformation playing up imaginary [or wildly overblown) examples of political correctness run amok.”
Molloy also avers that “[t]he backbone of the War on Christmas conspiracy theory has always been that of Christian nationalism.” Fascists, white supremacists, Christian nationalists—these are the people who care about the War on Christmas, not ordinary Americans upset by the diminishment of a holiday they love. [A War on Christmas Story: How Fox News built the dumbest part of America's culture war, MMFA, December 25, 2019]
Even self-professed conservatives denied or diminished the War on Christmas. At The American Conservative, Rod Dreher argued that his concern over transgenderism was justified because “[t]his is not an invented ‘war on Christmas’ phon[y] button-pushing deal. This consequential war . . . is really happening” [Big T And The Democrats, December 25, 2019].
The magazine’s managing editor, Matt Purple, expanded similar sentiments into a column, plaintively asking “is it really so wrong to say ‘happy holidays’ in a country with so many Jews and Muslims?” and criticizing those of us who have resisted the War on Christmas for “ruining everything with ideological combat” and for “politicizing” Christmas [Seeking an Armistice in the War on Christmas, December 23, 2019].
Purple seems entirely unaware that there was a time when “Merry Christmas” was a universal greeting and the public celebration of Christmas was joyful and exuberant. There was nothing political or ideological about this consensus. Christmas was politicized when this joyous consensus was attacked and undermined, not when publicity over the War on Christmas emboldened ordinary Americans to begin resisting.
Thus, for example, here’s a charming reminder of what Christmas used to be like in America—three of the stars of Hogan's Heroes singing Christmas carols in the language of their native land. What makes this especially noteworthy is that Werner Klemperer's father was a Jewish convert to Catholicism who fled Nazi Germany, John Banner was an Austrian Jew who fled the Nazis, and Robert Clary was a French Jew who was in a concentration camp. Enjoy this little bit of America's Christmas past, from 1965:
One welcome exception to this year’s MSM nonsense on the War on Christmas: a New York Post column by Steve Cuozzo [‘Christmas’ has become a bad word everyone is too afraid to say, December 21, 2019]. Although Cuozzo was reluctant to argue that there is a War on Christmas, he did point out that the word “Christmas” was virtually nonexistent in a variety of media contexts this year, replaced by numerous references to “holiday” and even specific references to other winter holidays, such as Hanukkah: “We have developed a studious avoidance of the word [Christmas], as though its mere mention will easily distress Americans of any denomination.” Cuozzo also notes that, in his lifetime, concerts featuring religious Christmas carols have disappeared from public schools in many places.
And, contra all the hostile Leftists and craven cuckservatives filling up editorial pages, the trends observed by Steve Cuozzo—and anyone else who has actually been paying attention—are important, as I’ve been writing here at VDARE and elsewhere since 2001. I think something I wrote three Christmases ago for Chronicles magazine provides a needed rejoinder to this year’s absurd media consensus:
On Sunday, I got to hear a wonderful Christmas concert by the Cleveland Orchestra…. There was nothing incongruous about one of the world's premier orchestras playing Christmas carols. As Paula Simons observed in 2003, "Traditional Christmas carols are beautiful songs. They combine rich, lyric poetry with melodies of timeless power. A child who grows up hearing and singing the likes of God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen or Silent Night . . . or the other great world classics gets a profound musical education. The intricate harmonies and modalities of real carols don’t just move our hearts. They train our ears to appreciate more sophisticated musical forms and our voices to sing in concert with others." On Monday, I got to hear my sister describe a fifth-grade concert she just endured, where not one song mentioned Christmas, or even alluded to Christmas. All the songs were recent concoctions, devoid of cultural significance or artistic merit. Rather than sing "Silent Night" or even "Jingle Bells,” the children sang "Bop Bop," "Ringing Ringing" and "The Wacky Winter Song," the latter a tuneless lament for how cold winter is. Quite a contrast from my own experience in public elementary school, where we sang Christmas carols and learned about this great holiday. What my sister experienced was a deliberately cultivated cultural desert. As she described the concert she attended, I kept thinking about the one [I] attended, with the beautiful sound of the Cleveland Orchestra's violins and violas playing the exquisite "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" still fresh in my mind. And I thought back to what the conductor told us, before inviting the audience to sing along with five of the Christmas songs contained in Leroy Anderson's "A Christmas Festival": he said the lyrics were in our programs, but he didn't believe anyone would need them. And few seemed to. But years from now, after millions of children have learned to sing "Bop Bop" rather than "Joy to the World," that will no longer be the case. Christmas leads to the heart of our culture; the War on Christmas leads nowhere. [A Christmas Desert, December 8, 2016]
Thomas Piatak [Email him] is a contributing editor to Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. He writes from Cleveland, Ohio.


vdare--2020-01-05--Hilaire Belloc In 1936 On The Return Of Islam

The Roman Catholic friends Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton were among the few writers in English in the first half of the 20th Century to predict the return of Islamic enthusiasm in the second half of the 20th Century .
It ’ s interesting to evaluate their forecasts .
From Belloc ’ s 1936 work The Great and Enduring Heresy of Mohammed : … In view of this , anyone with a knowledge of history is bound to ask himself whether we shall not see in the future a revival of Mohammedan political power , and the renewal of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have seen how the material political power of Islam declined very rapidly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries .
We have just followed the story of that decline .
When Suleiman the Magnificent was besieging Vienna he had better artillery , better energies and better everything than his opponents ; Islam was still in the field the material superior of Christendom – at least it was the superior in fighting power and fighting instruments .
That was within a very few years of the opening of the eighteenth century .
Then came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not decay , but its political power and with that its material power declined astonishingly , and in the particular business of arms it declined most of all .
When Dr. Johnson ’ s father , the bookseller , was setting up business at Lichfield , the Grand Turk was still dreaded as a potential conqueror of Europe ; before Dr. Johnson was dead no Turkish fleet or army could trouble the West .
Not a lifetime later , the Mohammedan in North Africa had fallen subject to the French ; and those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see nearly all Mohammedan territory , except for a decaying fragment ruled from Constantinople , firmly subdued by the French and British Governments .
These things being so , the recrudescence of Islam , the possibility of that terror under which we lived for centuries reappearing , and of our civilization again fighting for its life against what was its chief enemy for a thousand years , seems fantastic .
Who in the Mohammedan world today can manufacture and maintain the complicated instruments of modern war ?
Where is the political machinery whereby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equal part in the modern world ?
I say the suggestion that Islam may re-arise sounds fantastic – but this is only because men are always powerfully affected by the immediate past : – one might say that they are blinded by it .
Cultures spring from religions ; ultimately the vital force which maintains any culture is its philosophy , its attitude toward the universe ; the decay of a religion involves the decay of the culture corresponding to it – we see that most clearly in the breakdown of Christendom today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reformation is bearing its final fruit in the dissolution of our ancestral doctrines – the very structure of our society is dissolving .
In the place of the old Christian enthusiasms of Europe there came , for a time , the enthusiasm for nationality , the religion of patriotism .
But self-worship is not enough , and the forces which are making for the destruction of our culture , notably the Jewish Communist propaganda from Moscow , have a likelier future before them than our old-fashioned patriotism .
In Islam there has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or , at any rate , nothing corresponding to the universal break-up of religion in Europe .
The whole spiritual strength of Islam is still present in the masses of Syria and Anatolia , of the East Asian mountains , of Arabia , Egypt and North Africa .
The final fruit of this tenacity , the second period of Islamic power , may be delayed : – but I doubt whether it can be permanently postponed .
There is nothing in the Mohammedan civilization itself which is hostile to the development of scientific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have seen some good artillery work in the hands of Mohammedan students of that arm ; I have seen some of the best driving and maintenance of mechanical road transport conducted by Mohammedans .
There is nothing inherent to Mohammedanism to make it incapable of modern science and modern war .
It ’ s interesting that Islamic countries , while they improved considerably versus 1936 , haven ’ t gotten much past technological mediocrity over the last 85 years .
Indeed the matter is not worth discussing .
It should be self-evident to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at work .
That culture happens to have fallen back in material applications ; there is no reason whatever why it should not learn its new lesson and become our equal in all those temporal things which now alone give us our superiority over it – whereas in Faith we have fallen inferior to it .
My guess is that Belloc , a literary intellectual , underestimated just how much military power would be depending upon both technical and organizational skills .
On the other hand , he didn ’ t foresee how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil .
The United States kept secret during the early 1940s just how much oil Saudi Arabia had .
Oil geologist Lee DeGolyer ’ s 1944 report to FDR explained that the oil of Saudi Arabia was the greatest prize in world history .
People who question this may be misled by a number of false suggestions dating from the immediate past .
For instance , it was a common saying during the nineteenth century that Mohammedanism had lost its political power through its doctrine of fatalism .
But that doctrine was in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at its height .
For that matter Mohammedanism is no more fatalist than Calvinism ; the two heresies resemble each other exactly in their exaggerated insistence upon the immutability of Divine decrees .
There was another more intelligent suggestion made in the nineteenth century , which was this : that the decline of Islam had proceeded from its fatal habit of perpetual civil division : the splitting up and changeability of political authority among the Mohammedans .
But that weakness of theirs was present from the beginning ; it is inherent in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which they started .
Over and over again this individualism of theirs , this “ fissiparous ” tendency of theirs , has gravely weakened them ; yet over and over again they have suddenly united under a leader and accomplished the greatest things .
In the 1960s , it seemed as if Nasser of Egypt might be this man .
But he lost in 1967 .
Now it is probable enough that on these lines – unity under a leader – the return of Islam may arrive .
There is no leader as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and there are signs enough in the political heavens today of what we may have to expect from the revolt of Islam at some future date – perhaps not far distant .
After the Great War the Turkish power was suddenly restored by one such man .
History often turns upon unexpected personalities .
The West has been fairly lucky that no outstanding man has arisen in Islamic world .
Since 1936 , probably the two most remarkable personalities have been Nasser , who was more of a Bonapartist modernizer demagogue than an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria , which is the connecting link , the hinge and the pivot of the whole Mohammedan world , is , upon the map , and superficially , divided between an English and a French mandate ; but the two Powers intrigue one against the other and are equally detested by their Mohammedan subjects , who are only kept down precariously by force .
There has been bloodshed under the French mandate more than once and it will be renewed while under the English mandate the forcing of an alien Jewish colony upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ native Arab population to white heat .
Meanwhile a ubiquitous underground Bolshevist propaganda is working throughout Syria and North Africa continually , against the domination of Europeans over the original Mohammedan population .
Lastly there is this further point to which attention should be paid : the attachment ( such as it is ) of the Mohammedan world in India to English rule is founded mainly upon the gulf between the Mohammedan and Hindu religions .
Every step towards a larger political independence for either party strengthens the Mohammedan desire for renewed power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more tend to say : “ If I am to look after myself and not to be favoured as I have been in the past by the alien European master in India – which I once ruled – I will rely upon the revival of Islam.
” For all these reasons ( and many more might be added ) men of foresight may justly apprehend , or at any rate expect , the return of Islam .
In other words , Pakistan , which now has nuclear weapons .
In general , forecasting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So this is not at all bad as a forecast .

The Roman Catholic friends Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton were among the few writers in English in the first half of the 20th Century to predict the return of Islamic enthusiasm in the second half of the 20th Century. It’s interesting to evaluate their forecasts. From Belloc’s 1936 work The Great and Enduring Heresy of Mohammed:
… In view of this, anyone with a knowledge of history is bound to ask himself whether we shall not see in the future a revival of Mohammedan political power, and the renewal of the old pressure of Islam upon Christendom. We have seen how the material political power of Islam declined very rapidly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We have just followed the story of that decline. When Suleiman the Magnificent was besieging Vienna he had better artillery, better energies and better everything than his opponents; Islam was still in the field the material superior of Christendom – at least it was the superior in fighting power and fighting instruments. That was within a very few years of the opening of the eighteenth century. Then came the inexplicable decline. The religion did not decay, but its political power and with that its material power declined astonishingly, and in the particular business of arms it declined most of all. When Dr. Johnson’s father, the bookseller, was setting up business at Lichfield, the Grand Turk was still dreaded as a potential conqueror of Europe; before Dr. Johnson was dead no Turkish fleet or army could trouble the West. Not a lifetime later, the Mohammedan in North Africa had fallen subject to the French; and those who were then young men lived to see nearly all Mohammedan territory, except for a decaying fragment ruled from Constantinople, firmly subdued by the French and British Governments. These things being so, the recrudescence of Islam, the possibility of that terror under which we lived for centuries reappearing, and of our civilization again fighting for its life against what was its chief enemy for a thousand years, seems fantastic. Who in the Mohammedan world today can manufacture and maintain the complicated instruments of modern war? Where is the political machinery whereby the religion of Islam can play an equal part in the modern world? I say the suggestion that Islam may re-arise sounds fantastic – but this is only because men are always powerfully affected by the immediate past: – one might say that they are blinded by it. Cultures spring from religions; ultimately the vital force which maintains any culture is its philosophy, its attitude toward the universe; the decay of a religion involves the decay of the culture corresponding to it – we see that most clearly in the breakdown of Christendom today. The bad work begun at the Reformation is bearing its final fruit in the dissolution of our ancestral doctrines – the very structure of our society is dissolving. In the place of the old Christian enthusiasms of Europe there came, for a time, the enthusiasm for nationality, the religion of patriotism. But self-worship is not enough, and the forces which are making for the destruction of our culture, notably the Jewish Communist propaganda from Moscow, have a likelier future before them than our old-fashioned patriotism. In Islam there has been no such dissolution of ancestral doctrine – or, at any rate, nothing corresponding to the universal break-up of religion in Europe. The whole spiritual strength of Islam is still present in the masses of Syria and Anatolia, of the East Asian mountains, of Arabia, Egypt and North Africa. The final fruit of this tenacity, the second period of Islamic power, may be delayed: – but I doubt whether it can be permanently postponed. There is nothing in the Mohammedan civilization itself which is hostile to the development of scientific knowledge or of mechanical aptitude. I have seen some good artillery work in the hands of Mohammedan students of that arm; I have seen some of the best driving and maintenance of mechanical road transport conducted by Mohammedans. There is nothing inherent to Mohammedanism to make it incapable of modern science and modern war.
It’s interesting that Islamic countries, while they improved considerably versus 1936, haven’t gotten much past technological mediocrity over the last 85 years.
Indeed the matter is not worth discussing. It should be self-evident to anyone who has seen the Mohammedan culture at work. That culture happens to have fallen back in material applications; there is no reason whatever why it should not learn its new lesson and become our equal in all those temporal things which now alone give us our superiority over it – whereas in Faith we have fallen inferior to it.
My guess is that Belloc, a literary intellectual, underestimated just how much military power would be depending upon both technical and organizational skills.
On the other hand, he didn’t foresee how rich some Arab states would get from oil. The United States kept secret during the early 1940s just how much oil Saudi Arabia had. Oil geologist Lee DeGolyer’s 1944 report to FDR explained that the oil of Saudi Arabia was the greatest prize in world history.
People who question this may be misled by a number of false suggestions dating from the immediate past. For instance, it was a common saying during the nineteenth century that Mohammedanism had lost its political power through its doctrine of fatalism. But that doctrine was in full vigour when the Mohammedan power was at its height. For that matter Mohammedanism is no more fatalist than Calvinism; the two heresies resemble each other exactly in their exaggerated insistence upon the immutability of Divine decrees. There was another more intelligent suggestion made in the nineteenth century, which was this: that the decline of Islam had proceeded from its fatal habit of perpetual civil division: the splitting up and changeability of political authority among the Mohammedans. But that weakness of theirs was present from the beginning; it is inherent in the very nature of the Arabian temperament from which they started. Over and over again this individualism of theirs, this “fissiparous” tendency of theirs, has gravely weakened them; yet over and over again they have suddenly united under a leader and accomplished the greatest things.
In the 1960s, it seemed as if Nasser of Egypt might be this man. But he lost in 1967.
Now it is probable enough that on these lines – unity under a leader – the return of Islam may arrive. There is no leader as yet, but enthusiasm might bring one and there are signs enough in the political heavens today of what we may have to expect from the revolt of Islam at some future date – perhaps not far distant. After the Great War the Turkish power was suddenly restored by one such man.
Ataturk.
Another such man in Arabia, with equal suddenness, affirmed himself and destroyed all the plans laid for the incorporation of that part of the Mohammedan world into the English sphere.
Ibn Saud.
History often turns upon unexpected personalities. The West has been fairly lucky that no outstanding man has arisen in Islamic world. Since 1936, probably the two most remarkable personalities have been Nasser, who was more of a Bonapartist modernizer demagogue than an Islamist, and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Syria, which is the connecting link, the hinge and the pivot of the whole Mohammedan world, is, upon the map, and superficially, divided between an English and a French mandate; but the two Powers intrigue one against the other and are equally detested by their Mohammedan subjects, who are only kept down precariously by force. There has been bloodshed under the French mandate more than once and it will be renewed while under the English mandate the forcing of an alien Jewish colony upon Palestine has raised the animosity of the native Arab population to white heat.
Indeed.
Meanwhile a ubiquitous underground Bolshevist propaganda is working throughout Syria and North Africa continually, against the domination of Europeans over the original Mohammedan population. Lastly there is this further point to which attention should be paid: the attachment (such as it is) of the Mohammedan world in India to English rule is founded mainly upon the gulf between the Mohammedan and Hindu religions. Every step towards a larger political independence for either party strengthens the Mohammedan desire for renewed power. The Indian Mohammedan will more and more tend to say: “If I am to look after myself and not to be favoured as I have been in the past by the alien European master in India – which I once ruled – I will rely upon the revival of Islam.” For all these reasons (and many more might be added) men of foresight may justly apprehend, or at any rate expect, the return of Islam.
In other words, Pakistan, which now has nuclear weapons.
In general, forecasting is hard, especially about the future. So this is not at all bad as a forecast.
[Comment at Unz.com]


vdare--2020-01-05--Is It Because Criminals Are Overwhelming Black? In Atlanta, Police Department Institutes a No-Chase

Is It Because Criminals Are Overwhelming Black? In Atlanta, Police Department Institutes a No-Chase Policy Toward Criminals, Effective Immediately

Earlier : In Overwhelmingly White Buckhead Community of Atlanta , Citizens Irate Black-Run City Stopped Police from Responding to Shoplifting/Property @ @ @ @ @ Mecca .
It ’ s a majority black city , though gentrification is civilizing once @ @ @ @ @ where criminality is almost exclusively a black vocation and avocation .
In 2018 Atlanta , @ @ @ @ @ s Uniform Crime Report shows blacks were 10 times more likely than whites to be @ @ @ @ @ one has broken down these numbers before save your friendly neighborhood realist at SBPDL ) @ @ @ @ @ The police department will no longer chase suspects ( who happen to almost always be @ @ @

Earlier: In Overwhelmingly White Buckhead Community of Atlanta, Citizens Irate Black-Run City Stopped Police from Responding to Shoplifting/Property Crimes
Atlanta is the Black Mecca. It’s a majority black city, though gentrification is civilizing once drug infested communities quickly, where criminality is almost exclusively a black vocation and avocation.
In 2018 Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department’s Uniform Crime Report shows blacks were 10 times more likely than whites to be arrested for homicide (no one has broken down these numbers before save your friendly neighborhood realist at SBPDL).
And guess what? The police department will no longer chase suspects (who happen to almost always be black).
Atlanta police begins no-chase policy effective immediately, WSBTV.com, January 4, 2020 ATLANTA — Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields sent out a department-wide email notifying officers that the department will no longer chase suspects. Shields cited the risk to the safety of the officers and the public for each chase, and “knowing that the judicial system is largely unresponsive to the actions of the defendants.”


vdare--2020-01-04--An Australian Reader Challenges The Premises Of Down-Under SJWs Who Think Their White Countrymen Pre

An Australian Reader Challenges The Premises Of Down-Under SJWs Who Think Their White Countrymen Prejudiced

A team of liberal social science academics have just discovered that Australia is full of hateful bigots who delight in discriminating against minorities [ New research shows prejudice still high in Australia , but many people seeking to promote social inclusion , The Conversation , December 1 , 2019 ] .
They claim that one in four Australians report being on the receiving end of discrimination , delivered by a quarter of Australians , the Great Unwoked , who are “ highly prejudiced ” and who obdurately fail to correct this moral shortcoming by avoiding constructive engagement with The Other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the `` moral imperative| of Social Inclusion '' , the study authors earnestly conclude .
So , has it now been confirmed , scientifically , that racism , xenophobia , Islamophobia , sexism , homophobia and transphobia are rife , as SJWs feverishly proclaim ?
Well , not quite .
First , the survey assumes that being “ unfairly denied a promotion or job , refused a bank loan or discouraged from continuing education ” is a result of discrimination rather than the job/mortgage/university applicant failing to meet merit-based criteria ( intelligence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ income level , etc. )
.
In self-report surveys , the easy recourse to ” discrimination ” as the explanation rationalizes minority failures by normalizing a victim mentality amongst those who may not be up to scratch , telling them that it is bigotry and “ white privilege ” that are to blame .
As for lecturing white Australians for not being overly fond of mixing with minorities , this falsely portrays as prejudice what is a quite natural preference ( amongst all sexual , racial , ethnic and other population sub-groups , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own kind who share common social values , cultural references and lifestyles .
Obviously , measuring prejudice by agreement with statements such as `` most politicians care too much about racial minorities '' will label as `` racist '' all those who , quite accurately , observe politicians fetishistically pandering to “ Diversity ” for electorally-beneficial virtue-signaling .
Missing from the survey , also , is any attempt to measure how minorities may , in order to meet institutionally-approved affirmative action quotas , have benefited from their identity ( real or claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Also missing from all such studies is any acknowledgement of the very real bias of woke academics in what Steve Sailer has called the `` Diversity , Inclusion , Equity '' ( DIE ) industry whose “ social justice ” activism masquerades as science by manufacturing the existence of as much discrimination as possible .
Phil Shannon is a veteran working class Australian socialist and VDARE.com supporter .
See earlier letters from Phil Shannon .

From: Phil Shannon [Email him]
A team of liberal social science academics have just discovered that Australia is full of hateful bigots who delight in discriminating against minorities [ New research shows prejudice still high in Australia, but many people seeking to promote social inclusion, The Conversation, December 1, 2019]. They claim that one in four Australians report being on the receiving end of discrimination, delivered by a quarter of Australians, the Great Unwoked, who are “highly prejudiced” and who obdurately fail to correct this moral shortcoming by avoiding constructive engagement with The Other. All of this is an affront to the "moral imperative| of Social Inclusion", the study authors earnestly conclude.
So, has it now been confirmed, scientifically, that racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, sexism, homophobia and transphobia are rife, as SJWs feverishly proclaim? Well, not quite.
First, the survey assumes that being “unfairly denied a promotion or job, refused a bank loan or discouraged from continuing education” is a result of discrimination rather than the job/mortgage/university applicant failing to meet merit-based criteria (intelligence, job skills, English-language proficiency, income level, etc.). In self-report surveys, the easy recourse to ”discrimination” as the explanation rationalizes minority failures by normalizing a victim mentality amongst those who may not be up to scratch, telling them that it is bigotry and “white privilege” that are to blame.
As for lecturing white Australians for not being overly fond of mixing with minorities, this falsely portrays as prejudice what is a quite natural preference (amongst all sexual, racial, ethnic and other population sub-groups, not just whites) to be with their own kind who share common social values, cultural references and lifestyles.
They state
To gauge the level of prejudice that Australians have towards others, we asked our participants if they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements, such as “most politicians care too much about racial minorities” or “women are too easily offended”.
Obviously, measuring prejudice by agreement with statements such as "most politicians care too much about racial minorities" will label as "racist" all those who, quite accurately, observe politicians fetishistically pandering to “Diversity” for electorally-beneficial virtue-signaling.
Missing from the survey, also, is any attempt to measure how minorities may, in order to meet institutionally-approved affirmative action quotas, have benefited from their identity (real or claimed) beyond what their abilities warrant.
Also missing from all such studies is any acknowledgement of the very real bias of woke academics in what Steve Sailer has called the "Diversity, Inclusion, Equity"(DIE) industry whose “social justice” activism masquerades as science by manufacturing the existence of as much discrimination as possible.
Phil Shannon is a veteran working class Australian socialist and VDARE.com supporter. See earlier letters from Phil Shannon.


vdare--2020-01-04--Republican Governors Request Additional Refugees!

There are billions of people on earth who would benefit economically by relocating to the United States , so many are happy to claim victimhood as a refugee or asylum seeker to wangle a way in .
But just being a poor human on earth is not enough to qualify for asylum in the US .
In fact , the acceptance rate for asylum seekers fell to less than one percent over the last year under the current tightened rules .
Refugee resettlement costs the taxpayers $ 1.8 billion annually , according to a study published by the Federation for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 .
So less is better for everyone , particularly in the home countries which could benefit greatly from reformist movements rather than citizens who dream of escaping rather than fixing the place .
Tucker Carlson recently discussed the Republican governors who succumbed to the pleas of resettlement moochers and actually have requested more refugees for their states—bad craziness !
TUCKER CARLSON : If you remember that far back , during President Barack Obama ’ s second term , Republican leaders in the Congress made a big show of opposing the Obama administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to settle tens of thousands of refugees who had fled Syria ’ s civil war in the United States , and at the time 25 Republican governors demanded the right to keep them out .
Now the left accused them of Racism !
of course but there are good reasons to take the position they did .
For example , properly vetting refugees is really hard , often it ’ s impossible .
Some of the refugees , they pointed out , might not even be Syrian .
That was true for sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them might be Islamic extremists , but terrorism was not the only worry they had .
America ’ s middle class is in decline .
We already have more than 20 million illegal immigrants living here .
The last thing many struggling communities need is more low skilled migrants who may be great people but need a lot — stress the schools and the social programs , while not fully integrated .
That ’ s just true , and anyone who lives in a community where it ’ s happened will tell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As with illegal immigration , a long-term agenda of refugee resettlement is to bring in future Democratic voters — obviously — so before she became the most anti-American member of Congress , Ilhan Omar was a refugee .
So at the time the Republican governors got their wish , and President Trump won the 2016 election .
In 2019 he issued an executive order allowing cities and states to opt out of refugee resettlement —that ’ s the last time we checked in on this story .
Here ’ s the amazing part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are taking advantage of that .
Instead — you probably didn ’ t read this in the New York Times — but 18 Republican governors have explicitly requested that more refugees be sent to their states .
Have their voters demanded this ?
No , so what ’ s going on here ?
Ned Ryun is the founder of American Majority and author of Restoring our Republic .
He joins us tonight .
So Ned , I don ’ t think there ’ s any evidence that Republican voters in the states have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more refugees in , so why are these governors literally asking the federal government to do this ?
NED RYUN : This is unreal , Tucker .
I mean again you pointed out that Trump gave them a strong backstop back in September and said you can opt out of this with his executive order and now you have these 18 Republican governors saying no , we want more , and they ’ re saying well we ’ re following our hearts , this is Christian charity in action .
I got to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ active devout evangelical Christian , refugee resettlement has nothing to do with Christianity and has everything to do with the immoral behavior of these governors and quite frankly a perverse incentive for these government funded charities that are acting as refugee contractors , grifting off the American taxpayer .
Michelle Malkin ’ s written about some of this , but the US State Department is paying these refugee contractors over $ 2100 per refugee of which they get to keep 45 percent , and then they ’ re doing this this campaign on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your Christian charity into action , and in an act of cowardice , most of these governors from red states are giving in to this .
( Continues ) Near the end of the interview , Tucker said of the governors , “ I really wish we had run their names on the screen ” — although the televised map provides some hints .
Helpfully , Breitbart listed the governors in an article , so feel free to contact one or all with your reaction regarding their ill-considered generosity : The List : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their States , Breitbart.com , January 3 , 2020 A total of 17 Republican governors thus far have approved more refugee resettlement for their states , along with five Democrat governors who govern red states .
For Fiscal Year 2020 , President Donald Trump will continue cutting refugee admissions by reducing former President Barack Obama ’ s refugee inflow by at least 80 percent .
This reduction would mean a maximum of 18,000 refugees can be resettled in the U.S. between October 1 , 2019 , and September 30 , 2020 .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a goal federal officials are supposed to reach .
Coupled with the refugee reduction , Trump signed an executive order that gives localities , counties , and states veto power over whether they want to resettle refugees in their communities .
To date , these Republican governors in 17 states have asked the Trump administration to continue resettling refugees in their states :

There are billions of people on earth who would benefit economically by relocating to the United States, so many are happy to claim victimhood as a refugee or asylum seeker to wangle a way in.
But just being a poor human on earth is not enough to qualify for asylum in the US. In fact, the acceptance rate for asylum seekers fell to less than one percent over the last year under the current tightened rules.
Refugee resettlement costs the taxpayers $1.8 billion annually, according to a study published by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 2018. So less is better for everyone, particularly in the home countries which could benefit greatly from reformist movements rather than citizens who dream of escaping rather than fixing the place.
Tucker Carlson recently discussed the Republican governors who succumbed to the pleas of resettlement moochers and actually have requested more refugees for their states—bad craziness!
TUCKER CARLSON: If you remember that far back, during President Barack Obama’s second term, Republican leaders in the Congress made a big show of opposing the Obama administration’s refugee policy. Obama wanted to settle tens of thousands of refugees who had fled Syria’s civil war in the United States, and at the time 25 Republican governors demanded the right to keep them out. Now the left accused them of Racism! of course but there are good reasons to take the position they did. For example, properly vetting refugees is really hard, often it’s impossible. Some of the refugees, they pointed out, might not even be Syrian. That was true for sure in Europe with the refugees. Some of them might be Islamic extremists, but terrorism was not the only worry they had. America’s middle class is in decline. We already have more than 20 million illegal immigrants living here. The last thing many struggling communities need is more low skilled migrants who may be great people but need a lot — stress the schools and the social programs, while not fully integrated. That’s just true, and anyone who lives in a community where it’s happened will tell you that it’s true. As with illegal immigration, a long-term agenda of refugee resettlement is to bring in future Democratic voters — obviously — so before she became the most anti-American member of Congress, Ilhan Omar was a refugee. So at the time the Republican governors got their wish, and President Trump won the 2016 election. In 2019 he issued an executive order allowing cities and states to opt out of refugee resettlement —that’s the last time we checked in on this story. Here’s the amazing part — for some reason no Republican governors are taking advantage of that. Instead — you probably didn’t read this in the New York Times — but 18 Republican governors have explicitly requested that more refugees be sent to their states. Have their voters demanded this? No, so what’s going on here? Ned Ryun is the founder of American Majority and author of Restoring our Republic. He joins us tonight. So Ned, I don’t think there’s any evidence that Republican voters in the states have been begging their Republican governors to move more refugees in, so why are these governors literally asking the federal government to do this? NED RYUN: This is unreal, Tucker. I mean again you pointed out that Trump gave them a strong backstop back in September and said you can opt out of this with his executive order and now you have these 18 Republican governors saying no, we want more, and they’re saying well we’re following our hearts, this is Christian charity in action. I got to say this, Tucker, as a active devout evangelical Christian, refugee resettlement has nothing to do with Christianity and has everything to do with the immoral behavior of these governors and quite frankly a perverse incentive for these government funded charities that are acting as refugee contractors, grifting off the American taxpayer. Michelle Malkin’s written about some of this, but the US State Department is paying these refugee contractors over $2100 per refugee of which they get to keep 45 percent, and then they’re doing this this campaign on these governors saying you have to put your Christian charity into action, and in an act of cowardice, most of these governors from red states are giving in to this. (Continues)
Near the end of the interview, Tucker said of the governors, “I really wish we had run their names on the screen” — although the televised map provides some hints.
Helpfully, Breitbart listed the governors in an article, so feel free to contact one or all with your reaction regarding their ill-considered generosity: