Mailvox: Nationalism and Non-Leadership

A recent exchange with a longtime VP reader.

DC: I consider Christian Nationalism a dead issue we are still just mucking around with in the US.

VD: I wouldn’t say it’s a dead issue, I’d say it’s an intellectual issue with very little relevance today.

DC: For the US it became a relevant issue which it still might be? But it was effectively still born as the proponents did such a poor job out the gate.

VD: It had nothing to do with that. Ideology is irrelevant anyhow. The time just isn’t right yet. Most Christians still think it’s 1980, if not 1950. They can’t even conceive of any need for Christian Nationalism so long as the government isn’t performing pagan sacrifices in public every national holiday. Christian Nationalism will be a reaction to pagan imperialism.

DC: Much more believable path forward than anything I’ve read.

VD: Of course. Because most of the writings on it are people attempting to redefine and pervert the concept. Most public intellectuals, such as they are, are simply professional activists for an ethnicity or an ideology. All of their analyses are rooted in politics, not in history, and always just happen to point in the same direction no matter the topic at hand. Which makes them worthless for more objective purposes.

DC: I find the same sort of problem with analysis of the role of men and women in the church. The theologians try to make an ahistorical, timeless, systematic theology of men and women ignoring all of history as a guide and not even putting the answer in today’s context. That’s how we got the ridiculous, new “servant leadership” theology for men which at its root is a compromise with the feminists. “Don’t be mad women and we will carry your bags for you in Target, not have friends, and watch the kids while you go drink with your friends!” SERVANT LEADING! I have probably read in-depth six books in the last 18 months on men and women in the church. Most of them simply degrade into rank Biblicism and try to write a timeless theology out of a scant few verses to exclude women from being Elders, and in the case of Piper, policemen. They are proof-texting themselves into theological stalemates which end in nihilism. Servant Leadership theology made neither servants nor leaders, instead it turned men into butlers who ask their wives for permission.

DISCUSS ON SG

Battlegames

Spent the day wargaming with some professional types. Smart, very well-informed guys. Gave a brief presentation, listened to some longer, more detailed, and much more impressive ones. Reached three conclusions:

  1. Blitzkrieg is not a strategy, much less a doctrine.
  2. Hoping that the leader of the other side is a) the sole reason for the war, and, b) he will vanish as soon as the other side faces a setback is not a strategy. Not a viable one, anyhow.
  3. Wargame is a misnomer. Very, very few wargames actually involve the primary elements of war. They’re battlegames.

DISCUSS ON SG

Science Sans SSH

The scientific evidence for the IQ Communications Gap is very nearly as thin as the scientific evidence for high average Jewish IQ. And, in fact, combining the material evidence concerning the success of the two relevant populations will tend to lead the observer to tangential conclusions which have nothing to do with the linked Sigma Game post, and which I will leave to the SocialGalacticians to elucidate for themselves. And yes, this is precisely the sort of thing I consider to be too obvious to even bother articulating, much less attempting to convince anyone else, let alone argue about.

As for the linked post, I should first mention that Kirkegaard did an excellent job of tracing the scientific history, scanty as it proved to be. However, the point is not whether one can talk to another individual across the IQ Communications Gap, much less whether one can genuinely enjoy their company, but rather if one can expect to be substantially understood on a regular basis. Psychological and personal elements such as enjoyment, satisfaction, social isolation, and loneliness are not really relevant to the topic.

I happen to prefer speaking with cheerful people of below average intelligence than midwits with something to prove or morose high-IQ individuals who live for the chance to provide pedantic criticism. Sure, the conversation will be limited to sports and the activities of mutual acquaintances, and while the latter can be tedious to the point of pain, it’s still vastly preferable to inept interpretations of theology or incorrect “corrections” of evolutionary mathematics.

But your mileage may vary, which is why I don’t regard it as being relevant in a scientific sense.

DISCUSS ON SG

A Mystery in Portugal

Portugal has the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the world.
September 2021

Portugal registers highest level of excess deaths in Europe
January 2024

We don’t know it’s the vaxx…

UPDATE: The English are similarly confused.

Why ARE strokes rising in young people?

Why indeed? Such a vexing mystery! But not to worry. The strokes are safe and effective.

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They Dug Too Deep

It appears the US military occupation in Iraq didn’t heed JRR Tolkien’s warning. What were they looking for, and what did they find?

The United States lyingly claimed they illegally invaded Iraq to find and destroy its non-existent weapons of mass destruction, but once the “shock and awe” bombing campaign stopped, American military forces set up a 150-hectare (370-acre) base around the ancient Biblical city of Babylon and destroyed its remaining archaeological artifacts while desperately searching for something.

Whatever the American military forces were desperately searching for in the ancient city of Babylon, they ignored the warning issued in Book of Revelation, Chapter 18, Verse 2: “And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.”—and the exact Greek translation for the phrase “hateful bird” actually describes the undecided element of a vast and terrible swarm of birds, and what we would describe today as flying demon monsters.

We don’t know for sure what kind of ancient flying demon monsters the United States released from their prison in Babylon, but we do know that American soldiers in Iraq were terrified of them—and we know this because American filmmaker-journalist Jeremy Corbell just released a top secret Pentagon beyond chilling video of the officially named “The Jellyfish” unknown aerial phenomenon (UAP) flying alien demon, about which is known: “The footage was taken with thermographic/forward-looking infrared radar because the UAP was not observable with night vision, appeared to jam the targeting capability of the optical platform and displayed positive lift without the usual means for lift and thrust, with no signatures for propulsion maneuvers present”.

On the one hand, this sounds like a mediocre ripoff of Aliens. On the other, it’s impossible to deny that things have been getting increasingly weird for the last twenty years, the ruling elites of the neoliberal world order are fractious and observably afraid, and as Christians, we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that spiritual evil exists and interacts with the material world in ways that we don’t fully understand.

So keep an open mind with regard to even the most seemingly absurd impossibilities, keep one hand on your gun and the other on your Bible.

Clown World 2024

DISCUSS ON SG

Gazacaust!=Holocaust

“A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth—some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.”
— Michael Kinsley

I would like to use the rest of my time to describe how appalled I am that people are bringing up the Holocaust. Do not use other genocides to describe this one! I have been… oh!

Oops! That’s not so much letting the cat out of the bag, as a sabretooth tiger. Must be that vaunted 115 IQ, operating at levels far beyond our meager powers of comprehension.

But in all fairness, a potential Gazacaust can’t really be legitimately compared to the historical Holocaust. No roller coasters, no gas chambers, no eagles, no bears, and no bizarre medical experiments. Just bullets, bombs, and bulldozers.

What’s fascinating about the current situation is the way in which the invasion of Gaza is, rightly or wrongly, justified by an answer to the very question that isn’t even allowed to be publicly asked about the Holocaust.

Precisely what did the victims do that inspired this genocidal impulse on the part of their victimizers?

DISCUSS ON SG

Retreat From Syria

The US military is showing definite signs of imperial overstretch. Its proxies are overwhelmed in Ukraine, the IDF appears to be bogged down in Gaza, the Navy can’t keep the Red Sea clear for cargo transports, and Iran’s proxies have hit US military bases 118 times without much in the way of resistance.

Since Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and the resulting Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, tensions and hostilities across the Middle East have reached fever pitch. And with such a complex regional crisis playing out, it should not come as a surprise that the Biden administration is reconsidering its military priorities in the region.

It should be cause for significant concern, however, that this could involve a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. While no definitive decision has been made to leave, four sources within the Defense and State departments said the White House is no longer invested in sustaining a mission that it perceives as unnecessary. Active internal discussions are now underway to determine how and when a withdrawal may take place.

The US should withdraw from Syria. It should withdraw from the entire Middle East, and Europe too. But it’s one thing to be vaguely aware that one might have limitations, it’s another thing entirely to be smart enough to actually respect them and reduce one’s imperial ambitions.

Simplicius offers a succinct explanation: My take is this: in short, the US is being run out of town by Iran. Their bluff was called and US knows their puny strikes can do nothing to truly degrade Iran’s highly decentralized hybrid warfare systems and groups. Iran has risen to become a hegemon verging on a Great Power of the region. The US has a few obsolete fleets which cannot keep up blow for blow with Iran in exchanged rounds of ammo. Iran can saturate them forever with drones and cheap rockets which the US is spending millions per every fired shot to intercept.

He’s not wrong. The problem is that there are two powerful forces resisting the acknowledgement of the inevitable: American exceptionalism and the will of the foreign ruling elite. It will probably be necessary for the former to be shattered before it is possible for the latter to be successfully resisted.

This may explain why the IDF has withdrawn a number of brigades from Gaza even as its anti-Iranian rhetoric has recently heated up. It should be obvious to the Israeli strategists that time is not on their side, and that no matter what the actual odds might be, their best chance for defeating Iran is right now, while the US military is still present in the region.

The point of no return has been reached for the Imperial USA. And the choice is between WWIII and probable defeat or a face-saving acceptance of imperial decline which will fool absolutely no one.

DISCUSS ON SG

No Help From Beijing

China makes it clear that so long as the Gazacaust continues, it will not lift a finger to dissuade the Yemenis from shutting down the Red Sea to US and Israeli vessels:

Reuters: The Financial Times reported that the United States has asked China to urge Tehran to rein in the Iranian-aligned Houthis rebels attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, but has seen little sign of help from Beijing. This is according to US officials. The report said the US has repeatedly raised the matter with top Chinese officials in the past three months. Could we confirm with the Ministry if these discussions with the US took place? Has China been in touch with Iran or the Houthis about the Red Sea attacks? If so, what was discussed or any outcomes that China is hoping for?

Wang Wenbin: We are deeply concerned over the recent rapid escalation of tensions in the Red Sea. The Red Sea is an important international trade route for goods and energy. China has been in close communication with various parties and worked actively to alleviate the tension in the Red Sea. China calls for a stop of causing disturbance to civilian ships, and urges relevant parties to avoid adding fuel to the fire in the Red Sea and jointly safeguard the safety of the Red Sea shipping route in accordance with the law. It must be stressed that the tension in the Red Sea is a manifestation of the spillover of the Gaza conflict. The priority now is to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible to avoid further escalation and prevent the situation from getting out of control. In the meanwhile, we believe that the Security Council has never authorized the use of force by any country on Yemen and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen and other coastal countries of the Red Sea need to be earnestly respected. China stands ready to work with all parties to help cool down the situation and safeguard the security and stability of the Red Sea region.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on January 24, 2024

While the Chinese diplomats can still be a little primitive on the rhetorical side, they are very, very good about maintaining frame and staying on message. The last thing Clown World’s media wants is to expose the link between the Red Sea shutdown and the Gazacaust, so the adroit way in which the deputy director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department deftly tied the two together and made the connection clear in response to the reporter’s question is both comical and impressive.

Especially when he managed to throw in a shot at the USA’s undeclared and illegal war against Yemen at the same time.

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The Draft Comes Back

Sweden has apparently announced the reactivation of “civilian conscription” while British military leaders are calling for the “mobilization” of whatever is left of its adulterated nation:

Today, current Army chief General Sir Patrick Sanders raised the spectre of conscription once again, when he called on the Government to ‘mobilise the nation’ in the event of a wider conflict against Russia amid its war with Ukraine.

I wonder if all those Swedes who were gung ho about Sweden joining NATO realize that their forced military service is a direct consequence of their foolish decision to join the military wing of Clown World. I also wonder how they’re going to square the logical circle about forcing young men to fight in defense of individual freedom and democracy.

Regardless, it appears the young men of the West are going to face a choice. Fight the clowns ruling your country or fight the combined military forces of China and Russia. Based on recent events in Ukraine, the former would appear to be a much better bet.

Because I doubt the generals in Moscow are quaking over the prospect of sending their battle-hardened veterans into a war against a collection of scared and unwilling European soyboys who weren’t even capable of resisting the vaxx.

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