Constant’s Liberty, Ancient and Modern Roger Kimball

https://amgreatness.com/2020/12/26/constants-liberty-ancient-and-modern/

Benjamin Constant’s writing is as pertinent to our concerns today as it was in the immediate post-Napoleonic era.

As this most peculiar year wends its petulant and morose way to the end, I find myself returning to some signal apostles of liberty. The unrelenting static of our time can make it difficult to appreciate what those sages of yore had to say. But as we continue to quiver obediently in place, bemasked, shunning our fellows almost as assiduously as we shun common sense, I think back to some anatomists of the totalitarian impulse—George Orwell, for example, who would have been surprised to discover that his searing portrayals of tyranny have been adopted as how-to manuals by the new lobotomized Left whose maliciousness is exceeded only by its ignorance. 

I think, too, of the Swiss-born French writer Benjamin Constant, whose famous essay “The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns” (1819) is as pertinent to our concerns today as it was in the immediate post-Napoleonic era in which Constant wrote.

I first encountered Constant’s work years ago at a conference about the philosopher Michael Oakeshott, another apostle of freedom who has much to teach a culture besotted by self-appointed “experts” and insatiable purveyors of “policy.” (I recommend in particular Oakeshott’s brilliant essay “Rationalism in Politics.”)

One of the first things that struck me about Constant’s essay was its optimism (“naïveté” would not be the right word for so nuanced a thinker). With the carnage of the Napoleonic wars still fresh in Europe’s memory, Constant nonetheless assured his readers that he discerned a “uniform tendency towards peace.” The imperatives of war, he thought, must at last give way to the subtler though ultimately more efficacious imperatives of commerce. “[A]n age must come,” he argued, “in which commerce replaces war. We have reached this age.”

Tell that to the Kaiser, to Hitler and Stalin, to Mao, Pol Pot, and Ho Chi Minh, not to mention all the ayatollahs, imams, and African butchers who succeeded them!

Trump: The American David By Scott S. Powell

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/12/trump_the_american_david.html

One of President Trump’s most prescient statements to the American electorate leading up to the November vote was, “They’re not after me, they’re after you, I’m just in the way.”  The question that everyone should want to fully grasp now is, who is the “they” that Trump has repeatedly referred to, and what do they want to do to you and to America?     

This “they” goes beyond the Democrat Party and Joe Biden.  Biden is not only a weak political leader, but many are just now learning for the first time after the election, because of pre-election media censorship, that Biden family corruption ranks up there with the Clinton family crime syndicate.  A recent poll by McLaughlin & Associates now shows that 4.6% of the Joe Biden’s supporters would have voted differently had they known about Biden family corruption. The media ignored and censored two separate Senate committee reports in September, documenting the details of large payments from numerous foreign government-related entities to Hunter Biden and holding companies under his control, with most fund transfers coming from relationships that originated while Pops Joe served as vice president in the Obama administration.

What this says about the power brokers behind Biden who knew everything about him is that they prefer a weak and compromised leader, who is easier to control and influence so as to assure that their interests and goals are carried out. They own Joe Biden.     

No wonder we are where we are.  There is no way that a majority of reasonably well-informed Americans can embrace what the Democrat Party has become — a party that has accommodated the radical Gang of  Four’s Islamo-Marxist hatred of America and aligned its interests with Antifa and Black Lives Matter — facilitating wholesale destruction of property and prolonged disruption of commerce in major cities across the country.  Winning an Electoral College majority was all but impossible without media dishonesty, omission and censorship, and massive vote fraud.

Andrew McCarthy Misses the Point in the Michigan Election Audit By Bart Marcois

https://amgreatness.com/2020/12/26/mccarthy-misses-the-point-in-the-michigan-election-audit/

You would think elections officials would want an investigation because it would exonerate them. But they don’t. What are they hiding?

I have admired Andrew McCarthy since I was a diplomat in the Middle East, and he filed the indictment against Sheikh Omar for the 1994 bombing of the World Trade Center. He has been right, and courageous, about many things in the years since then. But he is wrong about the massive election fraud in November, and especially about the Allied Security Operations Group report signed by Russ Ramsland that focuses on the role of the Dominion Voting Systems machines in Antrim County, Michigan.

In “A Whopper of An Election Rigging Claim,” McCarthy clarifies the misunderstanding about the reported 68 percent error rate. But he goes on to accuse Ramsland, wrongly, of many other errors. It seems as though McCarthy is basing his criticism on reporting in the Detroit Free Press, and he fails to understand several important matters. Let me point them out in no particular order.

Error Rates

McCarthy clarifies that the “68 percent error rate” means 68 percent of events in the log are reports of errors. It does not mean that 68 percent of the votes were put in an error category, and then adjudicated. The ASOG report, however, never made the erroneous claim: it was a misinterpretation that went viral.

I reached out to Ramsland and asked him to comment on the reported error rates. 

“We simply reported the facts that of approximately 15,000 lines of event reports, approximately 68 percent of them are reported errors and this is not acceptable,” Ramsland told me. “It does not mean that 68 percent of the votes are incorrect. There could be one to even as many as four errors reported in connection with every vote that goes to adjudication.”

Joseph Epstein, In Brief Peter Wood

https://amgreatness.com/2020/12/26/joseph-epstein-in-brief/

To think that a single op-ed could elicit such an effluence of opinion and such a diluvium of print is to recognize that Epstein, who will turn 84 in January, has lost none of his touch.

Joseph Epstein has made some news recently, mainly as a target of the cancel culture. The English Department at Northwestern University, where he holds emeritus status, erased him from its website and did all but lapidate him for his crimes against wokery. 

This story is the least of reasons for one to become familiar with Joseph Epstein. He is among the best American essayists—a stylist who seems effortlessly witty, generous, and graceful in both small and large matters. 

I came to know his writing when he served as the editor of The American Scholar, from 1975 to 1997. He turned that once stodgy magazine of the Phi Beta Kappa society into a delight for many, though he riled some readers with his caustic comments on academic feminism and for granting a platform to conservative scholars. Joyce Carol Oates published a letter in the New York Times in 1991 calling Epstein an “embarrassment” to the publication and urging his resignation. PBK kicked him out six years later, and replaced him with Anne Fadiman, who brought a bien-pensant sensibility that restored The American Scholar to dull respectability. 

Epstein, however, continued to write essays and stories, and to publish one collection after another:

Charm: The Elusive Enchantment

Wind Spirits: Shorter Essays

Fabulous Small Jews (stories)

The Love Song of A. Jerome Minkoff and Other Stories

A Literary Education 

The Ideal of Culture

Essays in Biography

Friendship: An Exposé

Narcissus Leaves the Pool

Snobbery: The American Version 

Gallimaufry: A Collection of Essays, Reviews, Bits

I list these titles of but a fraction of his 24 books in no particular order.

BRUCE BAWER: DONALD TRUMP-AN ESSENTIAL MAN

https://amgreatness.com/2020/12/26/an-essential-man/

In this climactic battle of our decades-long culture war, we need to win—or be prepared to lose in ways beyond imagining.

Once upon a time, there was a president called Ronald Reagan—a model of decency and probity, at once great and self-effacing, who, above all, was truly in love with America and saw it as his sacred mission to preserve and strengthen American freedom. During his eight-year tenure, he revitalized the U.S. economy, snapped us out of what his disastrous predecessor had referred to as “our malaise,” and helped bring down the Soviet Union. 

Then he walked off into the sunset. And for the next seven presidential terms, we had to make do with mediocrity and self-dealing. Both parties were dominated by crime families—sorry, I mean political dynasties. The Bushes were uninspiring. The Clintons were pure slime. 

The 1960s had introduced a toxic counterculture rooted in reflexive oikophobia. It had grown apace ever since. The Bushes did nothing to resist it; Clinton himself was very much a part of it. In a famous speech at the 1992 Republican convention, Pat Buchanan warned that America was in a “culture war”—a “war for the soul of America.” 

He was right. But he identified the primary enemy as gays. In fact, the culture war had nothing to do with gays. It was about, among other things, professors who praised Marx and kids who wore Che t-shirts. After 9/11, it was also about people who, not knowing a thing about Islam, whitewashed it and claimed that America had deserved the jihadist attacks. 

Buchanan’s speech was a great gift to the counterculturists: it enabled them to paint the GOP as a party not of freedom but of bigotry. He wasn’t alone. There were plenty of Republican politicians who, instead of being clear about the nature of the culture war, lazily played the anti-gay card. 

Meanwhile the real enemy within grew apace, all but unopposed. 

Then along came Barack Obama. He was the enemy within. His memoir Dreams from My Father suggested that he had far more affection for Kenya and Indonesia than for America. His mentor, Jeremiah Wright, was a virulent America-hater. 

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Rolling out the vaccine. 140,000 Israelis were vaccinated in the first three days of the Pfizer vaccine rollout. (This editor received his first dose of vaccine on the sixth day). In addition, Magen David Adom are deploying unique mobile vaccination caravans, made by Israel’s Caravila.

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-fastest-country-in-the-world-vaccinating-its-population-against-covid-19/

https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-prepares-vehicles-for-mobile-covid-and-flu-shots/

Fat treatment proved to kill Covid-19. Hebrew University scientists have completed a study of 1500 Covid-19 patients receiving anti-cholesterol treatments. The study showed fast recovery and no deaths. Now a full clinical trial is to commence on the fat-busting treatment Fenofibrate (Tricor) (reported here previously).

https://campaign.huji.ac.il/news/could-fibrates-turn-effects-corona-little-more-common-cold

Microbiota shrinks melanoma tumors. A small Phase 1 trial of 10 terminally ill melanoma patients at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center resulted in the lives of two patients being extended and one cured completely. Doctors transplanted fecal material from the gut microbiome of previously cured melanoma patients.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/fecal-transplants-may-help-flush-tumors-from-body-israeli-doctors-find/

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/12/09/science.abb5920

New approach to Dry Eye Disease. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Azura Ophthalmics is tackling Dry Eye Disease (DED) by preventing its root cause – Dysfunction of the Meibomian Gland or MGD. Azura has reported good results during the Phase 2 clinical trials of its AZR-MD-001 ointment, applied to the lower eyelid.

https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-dry-eye-treatment-co-azura-ophthalmics-raises-20m-1001346802

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/azura-ophthalmics-announces-primary-endpoints-130000591.html

https://azuraophthalmics.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfjkv7Qxymc

Blood test detects early-stage lung cancer. (TY Atid-EDI) In tests, the Lung EpiCheck blood test developed by Israel’s Nucleix (reported here previously) detected 85% of early stage lung cancers among smokers and ex-smokers with a high risk for developing the disease. On low-risk individuals, the accuracy increased to 91%.

https://nucleix.com/news_and_events/nucleixs-lung-epicheck-liquid-biopsy-test-detects-85-of-early-stage-lung-cancers-in-high-risk-smokers-study-published-in-european-respiratory-journal/

The sight of blood. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Scopio Labs (reported here previously) has added software to its next generation of high-powered microscopes. It uses AI to scan, digitize and analyze blood for hematological diagnosis. Scopio has just received FDA clearance for its Full Field Peripheral Blood Smear Application.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scopio-labs-receives-fda-clearance-for-its-ai-powered-full-field-peripheral-blood-smear-full-field-pbs-application-301156907.html    https://scopiolabs.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOdglVTX150

Senior’s cancer prize. Israel’s Nutek has won the Merage 45+ Entrepreneurs’ Competition. Founder and Exec Chairman, Dov Cohen received the $100,000 prize, which rewards Israeli entrepreneurs aged 45 and over. Cohen’s Nutek has developed probes that locate cancer cells remaining in a patient during tumor removal.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/12/22/startups-not-only-for-gen-z/ https://nutekmedtech.com/

Interfaith charity donates medical kits and more. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) recently donated 160 emergency medical kits for the volunteer medics of Israeli NGO United Hatzalah. The IFCJ also donated personal protection equipment and communication devices, for use by first responders.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/interfaith-organization-provides-medical-kits-to-israeli-volunteers-652865

Donation to complete blood center. The Marcus Foundation is donating $10 million to ensure completion of Israel’s new MDA shielded national blood services center at Ramla (reported here previously), that will protect Israel’s strategic blood reserves against missile, chemical, and biological attack.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/293532

VOTER FRAUD ON DISPLAY: Houston Ballots All Have Same Signature and Same Address Jim Hof

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/voter-fraud-display-houston-ballots-signature-address/

The voter fraud in this year’s presidential election was widespread and extensive.

Instead of asking where was the fraud? The real question is where was there NO fraud? Democrats used every trick in their book to steal votes and manufacture ballots.

Here is the latest proof of voter fraud in Texas.

Democrats manufactured votes — in the same city, in the same handwriting and at the same address.

This is what Democrats do.

And they will continue to do this until people are sent to jail.
This needs to stop.

Prove That You Love Me by Linda Goudsmit

http://goudsmit.pundicity.com/24930/prove-that-you-love-me

 http://goudsmit.pundicity.com http://lindagoudsmit.com

The Christmas season has traditionally been a time for hopefulness. Families gather with hopes of joyful reunion. Christian families celebrate the birth of Christ with food, wine, laughter, gift giving, and religious services. But you don’t have to be a Christian to enjoy Christmas. The Christmas season delights us all with its music, twinkling lights, messages of peace on earth, and the holiday spirit of giving. Businesses reward their employees with company parties and bonuses. Retail shops and government offices close in observance of the holiday. Not this year.

The coronavirus has changed everything. Christmas in the time of coronavirus portends the future. The final outcome of the 2020 presidential election will determine if we celebrate Christmas past, or if Christmas present will be our Christmas future. Let me explain.

The fearmongering campaign of political medicine that deliberately terrified the American public into submission has served its purpose. Fear of COVID19 was used as the rationalization for Democrat swing states to unconstitutionally mail out millions of unsolicited ballots. We all know by now that only legislators have the constitutional authority to change election laws – not governors, not mayors, not city councilmen, and not secretaries of state.

Unverified mail-in ballots were the insurance policy used in conjunction with the massive election fraud executed by Dominion machines and Smartmatic software. Patrick Byrne, entrepreneur and tech billionaire assembled a cyber intelligence team to analyze the U.S. voting system. In a stunning December 16, 2020, Epoch Times article Byrne explains that election fraud is the secret “assassin’s mace” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“Byrne says that stealing the national election doesn’t require cheating across the board. ‘There are six counties that you need to steal. If you steal these six counties around the country, that flips the six states they’re in, which flips the electoral college votes that come with them, which flips the nation,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to take six places and cheat like crazy there.'”

The country has been convulsed by the Democrat attempt to steal the 2020 election. But there’s more.

It’s for Mike Pence to Judge whether a Presidential Election Was Held at All By Ted Noel

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/12/its_for_mike_pence_to_judge_whether_a_presidential_election_was_held_at_all.html

On January 6, a joint session of Congress will open with Vice President Pence presiding as president of the Senate.  His power will be plenary and unappealable.  You heard that right.  As president of the Senate, every objection comes directly to him, and he can rule any objection “out of order” or “denied.”  His task will be to fulfill his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and to ensure that the laws be faithfully executed.  This is a high standard of performance, and V.P. Pence will have two choices.  He can roll over on “certified” electors, or he can uphold the law.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution gives state legislatures “plenary authority” as enunciated in Bush v. Gore.  This is key, since the counting of votes is discussed in Article II, the 12th Amendment, and 3 USC 15.  To this we must add the history of counting and objections recounted by Alexander Macris (here and here).  Put bluntly, it’s as clear as mud.  Add to that the fact that the contested states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have sent dueling slates of electors to D.C.  This means that the V.P. has to decide how he will handle the situation when two sealed envelopes are handed to him from any of those states.

Macris points out that in 1800, even with constitutional deficiencies in Georgia, Thomas Jefferson blithely counted defective electoral votes from Georgia, effectively voting himself into the presidency.  This demonstrates that the president of the Senate is the final authority on any motions or objections during the vote-counting.  There is no appeal.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be any outrage.  Whatever Pence does, people will be angry.  But what does the law demand?

What in the Fresh Hell Is This? Wishing Someone a ‘Merry Christmas’ Is White Supremacy Matt VespaMatt Vespa

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/12/25/of-course-wishing-people-a-merry-christmas-is-white-supremacy-n2582127

I mean, we shouldn’t be shocked that people like this exist. Ever since ‘wokeness’ latched onto the political Left like a barnacle, the hot takes have grown more insane. Whatever you thought was ‘too extreme’ quickly was turned on its head with these people. Since Obama, the ‘woke’ Left has thrust scores of pseudo-intellectual talking points into the social media universe in the hopes of making it mainstream. Yet, the most common is making everything into a vehicle for white supremacy and then bashing it. Ladies and gentlemen, these people think that a man who holds the door for a woman is a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. Are we shocked that they decided to put Christmas on the white supremacy list? 

Even now, we can’t say Merry Christmas on certain platforms, who have opted for the more politically correct ‘happy holidays’ send off. But as Jen Bokoff of the Disability Rights Fund reminded all of us today, a lot of people don’t celebrate Christmas, so please be cognizant of that because “the default Merry Christmas as a normal greeting is also white supremacy culture at work.” Yeah, we’re not all mentally defective, Jenny. If I see someone with a yarmulke on, I’m not going to say, “Merry Christmas.” Also, this isn’t some random holiday. It’s not something where only half the nation celebrates. The vast majority celebrate Christmas. In fact, billions do. And not all Christians are white people. I guess it would shock Jen that a lot of people of color are—gasp—Christian. 

The added idiocy with this ‘wishing merry Christmas is white supremacy culture’ take is that it carries this connotation that all holidays are relatively equal with regards to participation. Sorry, given the numbers, no one really celebrates Kwanzaa. I think more people attend ComicCon than those who celebrate Kwanzaa. We’re also the most religious industrialized nation. It’s not even close. The United States has a population of 331 million; 205 million are Christians.