Dear Your Czarness, I heard President Obama respond to a reporter’s question about Ukraine. Standing in the Rose Garden next to Angela Merkle, he opined that it was pretty obvious that the Ukrainian helicopters could not have been shot … Continue reading →
You might never think of it like this, but you know who has more in common than not? Ready? Atheists and biblical literalists. After Monday’s Supreme Court ruling, this spot-on tweet came out: If you think a moment of prayer … Continue reading →
There are many reasons that parents make decisions about their child’s education and development. Over the years, various school districts have adjusted the birth dates by which they determine cutoffs for grade eligibility. Recently this article over at DeadSpin started … Continue reading →
Here’s the executive summary, but if you’re at all interested in this stuff, you should really read the whole thing. Vladimir Putin is exploiting the Ukrainian revolution—specifically, by manufacturing “crises” in Crimea and eastern Ukraine and nationalist euphoria and anti-Western … Continue reading →
Based on the box office returns, everyone in the United States has seen Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier about eight times. The Czar did not do a review for this film, nor will he discuss the numerous surprises in … Continue reading →
A few years ago, the new fad in home televisions was the “3D” TV. Most manufacturers now treat that as routine and they probably cashed in on the early-adopter set but largely, mainstream viewers replied, “meh.” Well, the next stage … Continue reading →
Dr. J. saw this many moons ago, but it took Volgi’s Baltimore post to motivate him to post it. Besides Dr. J. has a gap in clinic and feels guilty for his conspicuous absence. He’s been buried on the inpatient … Continue reading →
Everyone’s favorite Gormogon* Volgi emailed ‘Puter an article from City Journal by the incomparable Steve Malanga on Detroit’s pending municipal bankruptcy. It’s a thoughtful article, getting into the weeds on municipal finance, public pensions and bankruptcy treatment of both. ‘Puter’s written extensively on the … Continue reading →
The New York Times editors argue private lenders unfairly take advantage of poor, innocent college students and their families. How, you may ask, are these nefarious private lenders* taking advantage of these naifs? Conveniently, the editors tell us. College students … Continue reading →
“Judgmental Baltimore: So Much to Judge!” ©2014 The Notorious DGD. Source. Thanks to fellow native Washingtonian KRS-One. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Local Muscovy church Наша Дама Вечера had no less than three biographies each for Sts. John and John Paul. One for each was in the body of the bulletin, one for each was in a special insert flyer, in case … Continue reading →
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday in the Catholic Church. A day instituted by now Saint Pope John Paul II back in 2000 after he canonized the first saint of the new millennium*, St. Faustina of Poland. Today, Pope John Paul … Continue reading →
The Czar is the last person who should advise you on religious matters, given his own weak beliefs. But there are some things he can underline for you. In 2012, the Democratic National Platform stipulated that abortion is a specific … Continue reading →
GorT has started hearing some rumblings that Hillary Clinton may not run for President in 2016 and it’s likely you have too. A number of reasons have surfaced to beckon this question: She will be a grandmother as her daughter … Continue reading →
As our loyal readers know, ‘Puter’s earned an artium baccalaureus degree in Philosophy. ‘Puter loved learning philosophy, turning over complex ideas that have confounded humans for ages. Is God falsifiable? How (and why) do we think? What is knowledge? From … Continue reading →
From TNR, “Putin Is Using WWII for Propaganda Because It’s the Best Memory That Russia Has” by Tikhon Dyadko, assistant editor at DozhdTV, an independent station. A joke is making the rounds among Vladimir Putin’s opponents in Moscow: His two … Continue reading →
By fellow French intellectual Guy Sorman at City Journal: As a source of knowledge, [Thomas Piketty’s] Capital in the Twenty-First Century is formidable; as an ideological pamphlet, it breaks no new ground. The book marshals new data to rekindle old … Continue reading →
There has been some talk around the political analysis circles lately, and the Czar is reluctant to admit he agrees with all of it. All of it, unfortunately. Yes, the Czar agrees that the midterm elections will be disastrous for … Continue reading →
Via Drudge: The catastrophic effects of an electromagnetic pulse-caused blackout could be preventable, but experts warn the civilian world is still not ready. Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and director of … Continue reading →
‘Puter wrote about Ms. Gunn Barrett’s dipstickery on the topic of New York’s unconstitutional SAFE Act yesterday. ‘Puter would like to revisit Ms. Gunn Barrett’s logic-challenged and fallacious letter to make a larger point about the quality of liberal thought … Continue reading →
GorT’s eldest is a junior in high school and therefore we are knee-deep in the college search process including the SAT and ACT, picking a college, road trips to rule out (or in) various universities and the whole financial planning … Continue reading →
Gentle Readers, the Retired Spook writes: Dear Dr. J., Thought you might find this story interesting. Tuesday night, I got home from work to find that only one of the horses had showed up for feeding, so I grabbed a … Continue reading →
The delightfully named executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, one Leah Gunn Barrett,* takes to the pages of today’s New York Times to display her ignorance of firearms, government and law, not necessarily in that order. Ms. Gunn … Continue reading →
The Obama Administration announced yet another delay in the Keystone XL Pipeline. After multiple delays citing environmental issues (none found) and other such nonsense, now they are citing a Nebraska court case that could possibly affect the route of the … Continue reading →
Turn-of-the-century New York’s transformation. When Le Corbusier visited New York in 1935, he was already known as a fervent advocate of high-rise construction, so the New York Herald Tribune found his disdain for the city’s recent crop of tall buildings … Continue reading →
From the Telegraph: Less than four decades later, some believe China is now poised to become not just the world’s number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation. “By my calculations China is destined to become the largest … Continue reading →
Today, Christians remember when God really was dead. Or at least, when Jesus was really, most sincerely dead. For an appropriately morbid memento mori, here’s David Bentley Hart in First Things arguing that we’ve reached the point that conversation between … Continue reading →
Decades ago, the Czar used to to present lessons in the Russian language for you readers to learn. It has been quite a while since then, and the Czar will pick up exactly where he left off. We assume you … Continue reading →
Over at NRO, Dr. Donna Harrison, the president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reviews the science of contraception in the context of various methods ability to passively, or actively kill a fertilized egg. It is a … Continue reading →
The IRS is considering a program by which they will offer a free, no-return-necessary tax filing service. No, really. In other words, you sign up for the program, and they fill out your tax forms for you and send you … Continue reading →
In the past, GorT has argued that the problem with our entitlement programs is the heavy reliance on a demographic that isn’t guaranteed to be sustained. Well, now the Pew Research Center has visualized that data in the animation shown. … Continue reading →
Good analysis of Illinois’ multiple, connected fiscal-political problems at the WSJ. If the states are laboratories of democracy, then a great comparative policy experiment is taking place in America’s Great Lakes region. Democrats in Illinois have been pursuing their blue-state … Continue reading →
Terrific read: Modern people who are lost in the cosmos pick up all kinds of self-help manuals in search of guidance, or, if they are Christian, buy books bubbling over with godly therapeutic psychobabble. Don’t do it. Take up and … Continue reading →
From Stephen Malanga over at City Journal. His anthropology education had taught him that kinsmen—the raiders were related to those they’d attacked—were generally nice to one another. Further, he had learned in classrooms that primitive peoples rarely fought one another, … Continue reading →
This morning, GorT heard an interesting question regarding the new HHS Secretary’s nomination: Should the GOP put up a fight in her nomination hearings? My personal take on it would be a conditional yes. Conditional in that, there should be … Continue reading →
Gentle Readers, Dr. J. has never been thrilled with the president’s foreign policy. Bowing to foreign leaders, alienating friends, acting overly friendly to rivals and enemies, unilaterally disarming, making red lines and letting them be crossed, droning enemies, hiring the … Continue reading →
How terrible and tragic is the news from Overland Park, Kansas. Passover is a holiday rooted in horror, when you think about it, but this holiday will never be the same for the many families that knew or included the … Continue reading →
So many Americans are wondering why the hell the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform doesn’t just grant immunity to Lois Lerner so we can finally learn the delicious details of the IRS scandal, and discover once and for … Continue reading →
Hello children. Hello. It has been a busy time at the Castle, getting ready for Spring and teasing the robins and running unusual experiments on the tulips to see if we can grow them in infrared. Obey me. Many of … Continue reading →
Two good posts from Andrew Stuttaford at NRO’s Corner. First, the ominous appearance of “little green men,” the unofficial Russian troops who took Crimea, in various places in eastern Ukraine. One data point in a pattern: Men in camouflage, armed … Continue reading →
Good lord. You may not want to read this, but you should. By Fergus Bordewich over at the WSJ: On April 12, 1864, the worst war crime ever perpetrated during the Civil War took place on a bluff above the … Continue reading →
‘Puter woke up this morning with a start, immediately realizing two things were very, very wrong. First, ‘Puter was in his own bed and curiously vomit free, and that never happens after all you can drink Courvoisier and Clam Juice … Continue reading →
Hard but true. As July draws nearer, the White House should show that it wants the nuclear deal less than Khamenei and Rouhani do. Above all else, the president and senior officials should be playing on the supreme leader’s longstanding … Continue reading →
LOS ANGELES — The Irwindale, Calif., city council declared a plant that produces Sriracha chili sauce a public nuisance Wednesday, giving the facility 90 days to make changes to an odor some neighbors have complained about. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask … Continue reading →
Won’t spoil it. But he does note: And that’s your typical product of academia these days, soaking in a scholastic cesspool where the coolest thing you can do is crap all over the West and its glorious achievements. An anti-West … Continue reading →
The whole thing is so stupid as to be unworthy of exegesis. There is no logic. What’s at play is sheer ideological prejudice — and the enforcement of the new totalitarian norm that declares, unilaterally, certain issues to be closed. … Continue reading →
The Czar and Volgi were kicking around in the Castle Rumpus room late last week and decided that they’d do some sprucing up of the place. Their first target? The website. After hours and hours of beating their heads against … Continue reading →
The other day, Dr. J. left a copy of The New York Post in the Cafetorium, and pointed out that Gormogon sleeper agent John Podhoretz wrote a piece there entitled Conservative Media is Unintentionally Protecting Obama. Within, Mr. Podhoretz writes … Continue reading →
The NYT editors have been listening to columnist and smartest economist ever Paul Krugman too long. They seem to have bought Krugman’s theory that there’s no cost whatsoever to government overreach whatsoever, either in freedom or in dollars. Today ‘Puter … Continue reading →
Mark Spahn, of West Seneca, New York, has an idea so wickedly fascinating that it is Gormogonical: A sudden inspiration for a money-making idea: “green” pop. Still only 150 calories. And cola-flavored. Ordinary pop (a.k.a. “soda”, a.k.a. “coke”; see Pop … Continue reading →
What’s going on here? You’re watching Chicago get eaten by the rich and the poor. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Outstanding review by Bruce Bawer of a new biography of the poet. Read this. In the opening pages of Charles Molesworth’s 1990 biography of Marianne Moore, the reader encounters two exceedingly curious sentences. “I have chosen,” declares Molesworth in the … Continue reading →
News came this morning that Otis MacDonald passed away. Mr. MacDonald is legendary in Chicago, and by rights ought to be as famous as Heller, Brown, and Wade. At the very least, as famous as Heller. Mr. MacDonald was a … Continue reading →
Do read this terrific little photo essay by Asher Svidensky. The above picture is one of many gorgeous images. And the ending is surprising. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Read the whole thing. Recognizing the valid concerns of your adversary in an effort to resolve disputes is, of course, a standard negotiating tactic, whether in marital counseling, business, or diplomacy. But recognizing invalid, made-up concerns is likely to be … Continue reading →
Pretty good, over at WSJ. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Msgr. Lemaitre, “anti-science” priest, works on his mathematical formulae explaining the origins of this universe as pointy-headed anti-Catholic bigots look on, dumbfounded. Some of ‘Puter’s left leaning friends have rediscovered the age-old anti-Catholic canard that the Roman Catholic Church is … Continue reading →
If Koch is the devil, then here’s one of Hell’s Bells! Gentle Readers, The editorial is two days old, but Dr. J.’s been recredentialing, and saving lives, in that order. Charles Koch, who the Progressives have portrayed as the devil … Continue reading →
No, GorT isn’t going to talk about the Democrats’ policies and view of the world. Rather, he noticed that he’s been remiss in posting on some technical subjects recently so let’s play some catch up. On March 25th, Mark Zuckerberg … Continue reading →
Papal biographer and long-time vaticanisto George Weigel provides an interesting, tough-minded reading of the Vatican’s take on the meetings between President Obama and Pope Francis. He doesn’t think the clerics were impressed with the pols. Official photo released by the … Continue reading →
All countries sometimes conduct policy based on stereotypes and a bit of wish-fulfillment. John Vinocur in the WSJ (paywalled, alas) discusses the role unreality plays in German attitudes towards Russia and the present-day implications thereof. This is pretty much exactly … Continue reading →
Gentle Readers, Dr. J. received this missive in his email today: Dr. J. scratched his head on this one because, he was of the understanding that pixels came from pixel mines in remote deserts such as the Jundland Wastes. Nevertheless … Continue reading →
Dr. J. wrote The Czar earlier today: Dear The Czar, You pretty much nailed my issues with the show. Sagan’s show was a series of self-contained episodes. Each one had a logical flow and a beginning and an end. Sagan … Continue reading →
Operative RKB Writes regarding Dr. J’s recent post: Dear Dr. J.: False premise: substantial numbers of government documents are printed with inkjets False minor premise: Of those documents printed on inkjet printers, the text to graphic ratio amounts for a … Continue reading →
GorT read the Czar’s post regarding Cosmos and pretty much agreed with it. I’m not convinced it’s snarky cynicism or just that Neil deGrasse Tyson and the show’s staff is having trouble finding that right delivery. Carl Sagan was special … Continue reading →
Many are blaming the “Common Core” teaching curriculum for the subject of this post but GorT might point at a more broad problem with our approach to education in this country. Plainly put, GorT thinks that teachers should be paid … Continue reading →
Sen. Warren topless for this iconic corporate image. Marketers hid her exposed breasts behind a butter carton after more than 10,000 Americans suffered hysterical blindness in the initial rollout. So-called “income inequality” has had the Left’s collective panties in a wad … Continue reading →
Last night’s Cosmos was better than it has been in a couple weeks, and some of the visuals were stunning. But alas, the Czar finds this program is failing in its mission. We all knew the re-take would be inferior … Continue reading →
Could Turkey’s president Erdoğan be ginning up a casus belli in Syria to distract from his domestic problems? Maybe. Here, from Friend of the Gormogons Claire Berlinski, are Ten Things You Need to Know About Turkey. Read them all, but … Continue reading →
He may not know how much a pile of .50 caliber rounds like this would cost the military: …but he does know that bag cost twice as much as it should have. Hail Kitty. And thanks to Uncle Jay who … Continue reading →
Oh, hell yes. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Well, here’s something I hadn’t heard. The Kremlin founded an organization for ethnic Russians abroad to destabilize their countries of residence in favor of Great Russian imperialism. And they literally called it the Rusintern. Боже мой. Andrew Stuttaford has the … Continue reading →
The Czar was leafing through the Muscovy Crier the other day, looking for the police blotter so he can see which neighbors’s teens got pinched for public intoxication when he spotted a comment about local voting turnout. The Czar immediately … Continue reading →
“Dr. J. would return that $400M to the taxpayers. ‘Puter would be a better government steward of it than the Democrats.” – Confucius (The Notorious OEV) Gentle Readers, Dr. J. has been hideously busy of late, and as a consequence, … Continue reading →
Long-time readers of the Gormogons’ will be familiar with the Volgi’s Fallacy of Foreign-Policy Egocentrism. This states, more or less, “it’s not all about us.” Which is a short way of saying that, because states determine their own interests and … Continue reading →
6 Unexpected Things I Learned Resisting the Nazis in WWII Worth a few minutes. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Via aldaily.com, “The Spirit of Youth”: Futurists like Pannaggi may have been trying to break civilization wide open. They may have declared a new age of speed and violence and radical newness. But as soon as they attempted to analyze … Continue reading →
Seagal ♥ Vlad. And apparently Grecian Formula and Just for Men. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Every time a Republican mentions cutting entitlement programs, the Democrat-Media complex respond by alleging Republicans want to starve poor, innocent minority children because we’re racist bastards. Republicans need to stop ranting about dismantling each and every government-run entitlement program. As … Continue reading →
Not the dolphins, Vlad! Not the dolphins! Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ridiculous hotties as click bait?No, just reporting EVA GREENSULLIVAN STAPLETON NAKEDHOTTT SEX SCENE.It’s sad what world-spanningconspiracies are reduced tothese days… A historian of the battle of Salamis looks at the new movie spectacle: Hollywood might not know much about history, … Continue reading →
Just outstanding stuff. Read the whole thing. As president of a small Baltic republic that was occupied by the Soviet Union for more than four decades, Estonia’s Toomas Hendrik Ilves is all too familiar with the way Russia has treated … Continue reading →
U.S. lawmakers are increasingly concerned about Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine and the prospect of an additional land grab, as both houses of Congress voted to slap sanctions on Russia and extend loan guarantees to Ukraine. Pentagon … Continue reading →
The East Europeans know they inhabit the battleground between the West and a Russia that wants to return them to its sphere of influence. Ukrainians see tens of thousands of Russian troops across their border and know they are looking … Continue reading →
Matthew Kaminski in the WSJ (firewall, alas) on the culture of Great Russian chauvinism bedecked with Soviet faux-stalgia which has driven Putin’s approval ratings into the 80s… Late the other night at 7 Pyatnits (“7 Fridays”), one of a few … Continue reading →
President Barack Obama is seeking to abolish two highly successful missile programs that experts say have helped the U.S. Navy maintain military superiority for the past several decades. The Tomahawk missile program—known as “the world’s most advanced cruise missile”—is set to be cut by $128 … Continue reading →
Off io9’s list of the ten weirdest Marvel movies never made, via Debby Witt, here’s prima facie evidence that everydamnone in Hollywood from 1971–1986 was melting their septa with Bolivian marching powder. To wit: Long before Fantastic 4: Rise of … Continue reading →
This is how the Czar rolls GorT is always keen on pointing out the flawed approach of mass transit by city planners. Let me state that I’m in favor of mass transit but we should be realistic about its benefits, … Continue reading →
A curious piece at The Atlantic reflects exactly how strange the liberal mindset is, even when it is trying to be honest with itself. The Czar does not normally read The Atlantic, and assumes you do not either. No need … Continue reading →
The Pixar conquest of Disney—the ongoing effort by the new recruits from Pixar to change the Mouse House’s shallow culture of self-indulgence and self-esteem with something much more morally serious—has been an uneven battle up to now. But Frozen is an unqualified … Continue reading →
One hundred years ago today, the world’s greatest anti-poverty warrior was born in Iowa. He didn’t lead marches or devise an innovative new government program. Norman Borlaug bred plants and, in so doing, launched a Green Revolution that saved the … Continue reading →
Over at National Review Online, also known as the other, albeit Flash and pop-up ad laden, intersection of Popery and Conservatism on the internet is a forum on two very important cases being argued before the Supreme Court today. Specifically, Sebelius, Sec. … Continue reading →
Contrary to what many in Washington are suggesting, understanding the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was never difficult. Three U.S. administrations failed to do it not because of a lack of evidence of his criminality but rather because facing that reality … Continue reading →
This is about how qualified I am for the job. Dr. J.’s lefty Facebook friends have been going apoplectic regarding the fact that anyone would have objections to President Obama’s moderate, even-tempered and exceptionally qualified, albeit young Surgeon General nominee, … Continue reading →
…who knew? Dr. J. wondered if he was in the right place… Clan J. was traveling back from Dr. J.’s ancestral home, and stopped by The Maryland House off I-95 at about 4:30 in the morning to void, buy more … Continue reading →
Requiring voters to produce identification showing they’re eligible to vote is the indubitable moral equivalent of Bull Connor’s reign of terror against Blacks in Jim Crow Alabama. At least, if you’re the liberal genii populating the NYT’s editorial board. If … Continue reading →
A typically well-written article which wraps up with some Œc. Vol.esque suggestions for what to do. But the beginning is great. Early in the Ukraine crisis, when the Europeans were working on bringing Ukraine into the EU system and Vladimir … Continue reading →
Noted Estoniphile Andrew Stuttaford writes a good apologia in NRO’s Corner, the entirety of which you should read. Among other good points, he notes: The reason that there is a large Russian minority in the east of Estonia is that … Continue reading →
…about our national priorities? Follow GorT here for a minute and then ask that question. In 2008, Obama spoke about the space program and said the following: “When I was growing up, NASA inspired the world with achievements that we’re … Continue reading →
