Mailvox: Attack near Marine recruiting center

RJ emails: “Attack at a Marine recruiting station. Near me. Still ongoing. Knew this was coming. Didn’t think it would be here.”

BETTENDORF, Iowa (KWQC) – Police are responding to calls of a
possible shooter in the 4500 block of Utica Ridge in Bettendorf. It
appears to have started near the Marine recruiting office located at 710
E. Kimberly Rd. in Davenport around 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2015.

A witness tells TV-6 that he was in the Marine recruiting center when
he heard shots fired at a nearby law office. He says he heard screaming
and then heard the gunman try to reload his gun. A Marine recruiter
told everyone to run. As the witness was running, he said he heard more
gunfire. Kimberly Rd. was closed, but has since reopened to traffic.

It’s going to be everywhere because the invaders are everywhere. Gun up. Carry. Be prepared.

UPDATE: False alarm, looks domestic in nature.

“Davenport police told local reporters there were no injuries from the
shooting, and the gunman shot himself on Utica Ridge Road, about three
miles away.”

Mailvox: blaming the victim

RS mistakenly blames Christianity for the West’s civilizational suicide:

I’ve never read any of your books; just snippets of things here and
there.  Its safe to say we share the same politics, which is the reason
for my writing you. I am a wannabe Christian, but I am running up
against that wall of egalitarianism that seems to be a big part of the
faith.  Love your enemies and all that. Specifically, the Muslim
invasion that is happening in Europe right now.  I am furious over
that.  I have the suspicion that at the root of this civilizational
suicide is Christianity’s egalitarianism.  Now my concerns about this
“migration” are not racial or ethnic but rather cultural and
ideological.  I have a lot of sympathy for Christians who are fleeing
trouble; even if they are fleeing economic trouble.  Its the muslims I
fear and yes, detest.

Do you struggle with this?  How
can one be a Christian and still want to fight to protect the West
(since we are supposed to love even our enemies)?

Considering that Europe no longer calls itself “Christendom” and collectively flaunts its post-Christian status, I think it is absolutely bizarre to postulate that the roots of the civilizational suicide are to be found in Christian egalitarianism. After all, according to Christianity, there is neither Jew nor Gentile in Christ Jesus, but Christianity deems itself “in but not of the world” and does not even concern itself with interfering in the relationship between master and slave, let alone global wealth redistribution and population flows.

What you are reacting to is Churchianity and it has absolutely nothing to do with Christian theology, it is merely one of the wolves in sheep’s clothing about which the Apostle Paul warned us. Never confuse the wolf in sheep’s clothing for the sheep or the sheep-stealing thief for the shepherd.

In fact, the religion of Churchianity is the same as the religion of the multiculturalists and globalists, it is the worldly religion of Babel. The Christian perspective intrinsically takes “the nations” into account, each with their own identity and even ruling spirits. Transnational egalitarianism and globalism are not Christian; quite to the contrary, they are rabidly, viciously, feverishly opposed to Christianity. It was not Christians who made “egalite’” the motto of the French Revolution.

And don’t be surprised if the rise of European nationalism is accompanied by the widespread rejection of European post-Christianity. What you are seeing is the failure of secularism, not the failure of Christianity.

Time runs out for the traitoress

It will be interesting to see if Merkel survives long enough to be put on trial for her crimes against Germany and the German people:

Merkel Increasingly Isolated

The griping over Merkel’s policies has grown louder within her own party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The meetings of the party’s parliamentary group, which for many years radiated the boredom of an English gentleman’s club, now resemble tribunals against the chancellor. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, the strong man in Merkel’s cabinet, also expressed his own dissatisfaction, in distant Peru, by cracking jokes about border controls in the former East Germany.

Merkel is looking increasingly isolated. Government sources say she has made refugee policy her personal concern, and now she is being left to deal with it on her own. Last week, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière confided in his Luxembourg counterpart, telling him that Merkel did not have a plan, only “cold feet.”

It’s not my concern. I’m not German and I am not subject to jury duty in Germany. But I will say that if I were, I would most certainly vote to find her guilty of crimes against Germany as well as crimes against humanity. She is personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians already.

To top it all off, the Merkel crisis is going to drive Germany into the red this year. She is, without question, the worst leader that Germany, East, West, or United, has had since Hitler.

Thank you, Winter-chan

It’s their fault and it’s not our problem. Besides, as both Napoleon and Hitler learned the hard way, invaders freezing to death during winter is a feature, not a bug.

Migrants crossing the Balkans will begin freezing to death as winter approaches, the head of European Union has said, as leaders warned the continent was “falling apart” trying to deal with the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.

As leaders of eastern European countries turned on each other at a foul-tempered emergency summit in Brussels, they said the Schengen visa-free zone and even the European Union itself could be pulled apart as states threw up borders to halt the influx.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, said a solution was urgently needed or thousands of refugee families facing winter temperature on the hillsides and freezing river-banks of Eastern Europe, would die.

“Every day counts,” he said. “Otherwise we will soon see families in cold rivers in the Balkans perish miserably.”

Miro Cerar, the Slovenian prime minister, said the EU was days from collapse as his country buckled under an “unbearable” influx of migrants. “If we do not deliver some immediate and concrete actions on the ground in the next few days and weeks I believe the EU and Europe as a whole will start falling apart,” he said.

Werner Faymann, the Austrian chancellor, said Sunday’s meeting would “either consolidate the unity of Europe or watch the slow decomposition of the EU.”

First of all, the continent of Europe is not going to fall apart no matter what happens. Second, the EU has already started falling apart, as the various walls going up and Euroskeptic parties winning elections in former EU candidates like Poland demonstrates. Third, what “unity of Europe”? Faymann might as have reasonably appealed to consolidating the unicorn of Europe. The EU is already mortally wounded, it just hasn’t stopped thrashing about yet.

If the EU leaders genuinely care about the poor families in cold rivers” (which they absolutely don’t), there is a very simple and straightforward solution that is certain to save thousands of lives. Start sending immigrants back to their homelands and show it on television. Repeatedly. Incessantly. Once people see that the entire arduous ordeal is guaranteed to be for nothing, they will turn back. Or not begin the long march in the first place.

The EU leaders clearly don’t understand that most Europeans will be as happy to see the invaders fall to General Winter as the Russian people were to see the French, and later the Germans, do the same. They’re about to learn what the US leaders learned after Sandy Hook: the sob stories are not fooling anyone any longer.

With 3,175 migrant deaths in 2015 vs 125 total Berlin Wall deaths, Angela Merkel has killed more people than any German leader since Hitler.

NFL open thread

Well, starting the Bills defense against Jacksonville looked a lot better on paper than it has in London. This is your weekly NFL open thread.

Hard-core wargamers only

A rather interesting situation has presented itself. I was looking up a much-anticipated reprinting of a board-and-counters wargame that is a particular favorite of mine, and in doing so, I reached the conclusion that the publisher was a one-man operation that is desperately in need of the sort of volunteer help that has made Castalia House so successful.

In the interest of paying things forward, both Ender and I have volunteered certain of our services that are needed; we are translating the new rules into two languages and I’m planning to create a weekly blog post at CH dedicated to wargaming to which various wargamers, myself included, will contribute. This weekly post will prominently feature the publisher’s games, particularly the occasional new release. We’re also going to help proofread and playtest the game being reprinted.

I think other wargamers here will be interested in helping out in various capacities, which could even involve petty investment to help cover the initial print runs. These are the sort of hobby businesses that die on the vine without the support of the community, and unfortunately, the sort of men who are inclined to rescue the obscure heritage of the past are almost always the sort of men who have absolutely no ability to build the sort of communities that can sustain them.

If you’re an old Avalon Hill/SPI wargamer and this sounds of interest to you, email me with WARGAME in the subject. I’ll be hosting a Brainstorm concerning this soon; after I email you back, I’ll want you to think about what you might be able to bring to the table. And if we really want to get crazy, if we have the right combination of talents, we could even think about taking some of these games digital.

Mike Cernovich explains social media

If I learned one thing from having dinner with Mike in Barcelona, it is that he really knows what he’s talking about with regards to social media. I am absolutely convinced that if he was an attractive, thirty-something blonde woman, he would already have his own show on Fox.

Here is his response to people requesting links from him:

Book reviews by me have led to sales of:

    500 copies of Get Serious
    250 copies of Launch by Jeff Walker
    500 copies of Choose Yourself
    100 copies of SJWs Always Lie
    50 copies of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

The average book sells 250 in its first year. A review from me can sell that many by itself.

Those reviews also sell books forever, as many people find them after Googling, “[book title] review.”

Those are direct sales. Once you factor in word out mouth from your recommendations to your friends, the numbers are much higher.

I’ve sold more pre-sale copies of Essays on Embracing Masculinity in a few days than most authors will ever sell.

That’s not bragging. That’s simply reality.

Be honest. You want links from me because you want money for yourself. You want my links because you want money in your pocket or fame, or whatever.

That doesn’t make you a bad person. Be honest about your motivations when asking me for something. You’re not fooling me.

One reason that Mike, Milo, Roosh and I get along so well in spite of our many obvious differences is that we understand and respect what the others have accomplished in gradually building their platforms. I respect Mike’s mastery of social media, Milo’s incendiary star quality, and Roosh’s dogged courage. But above all, each of us comprehends the importance of being straightforward with the others and presenting a consistent allied front in the face of attacks from enemies and moderates alike.

As Mike notes, most people are short-sighted and self-serving. Such people can never be regarded as allies, not even if they share your beliefs and objectives, because they will turn on you the moment they believe, rightly or wrongly, it is in their immediate interest to do so. There are plenty of people who are regarded as “good” or “nice” who I do not trust at all and with whom I would never ally simply because I have seen them turn on someone for inconsequential reasons.

So, to expand on what Mike is saying a bit, if you want links and if you want assistance from more influential people in social media, you have to demonstrate your credibility and why you merit any such assistence and attention. First, show that you’re useful. Second, and perhaps more importantly, show that you’re loyal to your existing friends and allies; if you can’t demonstrate that, then how is anyone supposed to believe that you will behave any differently with them once they’ve given you what you want?

Translation: if you not only haven’t reviewed Mike’s book, but can’t point to your reviews of anyone else’s books either, why should he review yours? I haven’t been stabbed in the back as often as Mike has, but I have certainly been disappointed to see an individual show his true colors on more than one occasion. Then again, I am more pessimistic about human nature than Mike, so perhaps that is why I am less often surprised to the downside.

Regardless, as Mike says, “You must show you are a man of integrity and loyal.”

Anyone with even a modicum of social media influence is already under a constant barrage of requests, demands, and “hey, I just thought you might be interested” from more directions than you can probably imagine. I’ve lost track of how many new social media platforms alone contact me several times a week, to say nothing of the online advertisers and authors who want me to review their books when I am already behind on Castalia submissions.

Neither Mike nor I are complaining; we are big boys and this comes with the territory. But perhaps it is useful to put these realities into perspective if you’re wondering why you don’t have similar alliances.

In any event, I know I am very, very fortunate to have such a battle-hardened, enthusiastic, and loyal group of readers, regulars, tifosi,
or however you might prefer to label yourself. A few social media
stars have emailed me to express their amazement and awe about the Dread
Ilk, and ask me how they can similarly energize their followings. I
don’t know if my answer, “be very, very evil and show neither mercy nor
remorse to the contemptible foe” was particularly helpful or not, but we Supreme Dark Lords are
nothing if not obliging.

Also, I would be
remiss if I failed to note that the VFM are now 450-strong. And if you hear nothing but silence for months, fear not. Your summons will come in time.

Why new readers don’t read old authors

John C. Wright explains why in the midst of delving into literary aelvipology.

We are in the Dark Ages, and the darkness influences all things in society, including speculative literature. I mean the term not as an exaggeration or a metaphor: the technological products of our enlightened forefathers spring from the worldview which says science is a proper way to discover the mind of God by studying His works. Eliminating that God from one’s worldview eventually eliminates the respect for human life, free thought, and reason in law and custom which are necessary precursors to scientific endeavors, and eliminating science eliminates technology. Once the lamps go out, the darkness is everywhere, even in the little corners of society where children read books about spacerockets or elves.

The moderns have been taught to hate and loath their own country, their ancestors, their parents, and been told everything written before the current day is racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, transcismophobic, and pure evil. These nutbags think that their own standard bearers of the Progressive movement, the founders of their genre, were not Progressives like themselves.

One need only hear sexual libertarian and radical egalitarian nut Bob Heinlein being excoriated as a member of the misogynist phallocratic patriarchy to realize how far off the edge of the world the lunatics have sailed the ship of fools.

This is not some lunatic fringe belief. It is lunacy, of course, but not fringe. It is mainstream. The core institutions and standard bearers of Science Fiction, the largest publishers, the most prestigious awards, our once-respected guild the SFWA, the oldest and most famous magazine: they all buy into the narrative and all support the narrative with a singleminded fury that is Bolshevik in its vehemence, patience, and pettiness.

Progressives hate the past and seek forever to blacken, demean, and obliterate it. Anyone reading the older books would see immediately that the modern works are only merely equal, not as innovative, and that the modern award-winning works are notably inferior.

The notion of progress is the notion that the past is bad and the present is better and the future will be better yet. If you read old books and find that they are either slightly better or remarkably better than modern offerings, you see a decline, not a progress,  and the foundation of progressivism, is overthrown.

The reader will probably recognize that while the elves of Selenoth are a blend of Tolkienian and Longaevian, the Faeries of the Eternal Warriors trilogy are explicitly Longaevian.

The impracticality of pragmatism

Canada’s voters taught the political pragmatists the same lesson I’ve been telling Republicans for over a decade: pragmatism in politics is ultimately self-defeating:

Unless the culture (of the Conservative party) changes, it should not count on being returned to power any time soon. We should be clear where the roots of that culture lie. The nastiness of Tory politics under Harper, the mindless partisanship, the throttling of backbench MPs, are not outgrowths of conservatism. They were born, rather, of its repudiation: of the decision to sterilize the new party of any ideological convictions, the better (it was supposed) to remove any obstacle to its electability.

Politics fills a vacuum: in the absence of substantive differences with your opponents, partisanship takes its place. If, what is more, a party no longer stands for much as a party, then its policies will default to whatever the leader decides. And the leader, having been given that power and that assignment — win at all costs — can tolerate no deviations from MPs still under the impression that the party harbors some lingering principles.

There has been much talk of how Red Tories were made to feel unwelcome in the party. But the truth is no sort of conservative could really feel the Harper government represented them: not fiscal conservatives, $150 billion in debt later; not social conservatives, forbidden even to say the word “abortion”; certainly not old-time Reformers, the sort of people who went into politics to make governments and leaders more accountable, not less.

The only party faction that was really served was the yahoo faction, the “toxic Tories” as a friend calls them, to whom this government truckled and whose loyalty was rewarded in turn. MPs who were willing to say the opposite of what they believed, or believe the opposite of the facts, were promoted; those who were not found themselves out of cabinet, or indeed out of the party.

The people around Harper, always convinced of their own cleverness, grew drunk on their own cynicism. Having made the initial compromise with their principles — on policy — they found the next much easier, and the next, until they became contemptuous of anything resembling a principle, or anyone still able to discern a line — political, personal, ethical — he would not cross.

Ideological principle is the lifesblood of a political party. The more a party focuses on “electability” and “pragmatism”, the more it cuts its own wrists and drains its own blood. Eventually, the point is reached that the party exists for no reason but to profit the party elite, which is understandably not of interest to anyone outside that elite.

What do the Republicans stand for today?

Pragmatism in politics is like cocaine. A little bit goes a long ways. You not only win, but you feel like an all-conquering tiger. But gradually, you start needing more and more to achieve the same affect, until finally, you overdose and your heart stops.