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 →
That’s Estonian for “BEAR!” Remember, way back, say, two weeks ago, when I said this? “Force people to think about what our options would be in case of a Russian ‘intervention’ in a NATO ally to ‘protect’ a Russian minority.” … Continue reading →
Retired Spook writes in: Your Czarishness; Apropos our previous discussion on the pending financial disaster coming from Beijing, a recent Telegraph article contains a number of amusing (for given values of “amusing”) observations. It appears that Professor Reynolds is correct, … Continue reading →
Russian forces storm Ukraine naval HQ in Crimea Russians taking down the Ukrainian flag SEVASTOPOL/SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russian troops and unarmed men stormed Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Wednesday and raised the Russian flag … Continue reading →
In Moscow and Beijing, they still believe foreign policy is about military and economic power, “spheres of influence,” formal alliances, and political control. In Western Europe (and much of this administration), it’s about moral authority, international norms, and other kinds … Continue reading →
From Kiev: Ukrainians, however, were convinced from Putin’s speech to the Russian Duma that the conflict could not remain cold. Many said they found some of Putin’s phrasing chilling, including his statement that “We’re one nation. Kiev is the mother … Continue reading →
Confucius* is a bit of a gun-history nut. Skip this post if you suspect it won’t interest you. Apparently Confucius is not a big enough nut, as a hugely significant bit of trivia has thus far eluded his gaze. For … Continue reading →
The Czar’s 14-year-old neighbor stopped over for a visit yesterday, bringing his dog over to spend some time with our little Sally, who are best canine pals. As his dog attempted to engage Sally in play (a futile effort as … Continue reading →
NRO’s Corner continues to have good stuff on the Crimean Crisis. Andrew Stuttaford: Putin’s Crimean Roar Putin’s big speech today was (very, very) light on honesty, and time is too short for now to list all the omissions and distortions, … Continue reading →
Today for many Americans is an election day, and here in Muscovy we are celebrating the rich plethora of candidates battling it out in primaries. They are called primary elections because they are primarily for our entertainment. The Czar is … Continue reading →
Or more broadly construed, oikophobia, the opposite of xenophobia, the distaste and hatred of the familiar, the home, the hearth, one’s own land. It’s a topic I’ve touched on before (here, for example; or dig around in this tag). But … Continue reading →
Two main themes pervade Zweig’s writings. The first is the part that passion plays in human life. If reason, as Hume says, is and should be the slave of the passions, how can we control and reconcile our passions so … Continue reading →
Telling someone why they’re wrongand must obey his whims. Really good review of a biography of Wilson in the CRB. Emphases Œc. Vol.’s. Woodrow Wilson was ahead of his time. Son of a Southern theologian and preacher, he was 13 … Continue reading →
Remember Leon Aron’s argument that Putin’s Crimea gambit* was for domestic popularity? If so, well-played, Bad Vlad! Germans cheer restoration of the lost dignity of the Reich! Last week, in the midst of the Crimean crisis and on the heels … Continue reading →
Excellent read by Stanley Kurtz: Campus egalitarians doth [sic —ŒV] protest too much. They seek not equality but the superiority conferred by victimhood. They yearn to be oppressed—or rather, to be perceived as sufferers—so as to take command of the … Continue reading →
One of the Czars favorite themes upon which he pounds his calloused fist is how the mass mediathere is no point calling it the liberal mass media anymore, is there? Really? Anyone with a three-digit IQ knows this by nowfails … Continue reading →
Operative SMC writes: Dr. J, The following comes from my favorite local bank. The CEO sends a weekly email to customers from the economist Robert Genetski. The following article by Genetski is illuminating on the 2008-present recession/depression. Here’s a link … Continue reading →
It’s true, but today the Czar will take a little help from our good friend and frequent Castle visitor (and more frequent plumbing jammer) Uncle Jay. The Big Guy sends the Czar a fun little story from UK.News.Yahoo, which you … Continue reading →
Motown Philly…back again! Gentle Readers, Dr. and Mrs. J. and the J.lings are leaving the confines of the #snowdome and are headed north to visit Mama J. and the J.-in-laws this week. He leaves the blog in The Czar’s more … Continue reading →
Interesting read, if contestable in many parts. There can be little doubt that Nietzsche is the most important figure in modern atheism, but you would never know it from reading the current crop of unbelievers, who rarely cite his arguments … Continue reading →
They say God takes care of fools and drunks. If so, he’s been working overtime the last few decades taking care of Shane MacGowan. As the frontman and principal songwriter of the Irish rock band the Pogues, MacGowan is as … Continue reading →
We don’t need no welfare state…everybody pulled their weight… Gentle Readers, If you pay attention to the debate on food stamps, earned income tax credits, section 8 housing, extending unemployment, etc…conservatives argue that it creates a disincentive to work and … Continue reading →
That line, more or less, is uttered of Gene Hackman’s character in David Mamet’s Heist. The line is truer, however, of the actor saying it, the magnificent sleight-of-hand artist, Ricky Jay, about whom a new documentary has been made. You should … Continue reading →
The Czar, like his dimensionally manipulative brethren GorT and Dr. J., has watched the first installment of Cosmos with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson as host. The Czar was not as enthusiastic as many reviewers. The effects are cooler, but like … Continue reading →
Via Jim Geraghty, the Daily Mail reports Ukraine remains under the sword of Damocles. Ukraine warned last night that 80,000 Russian troops were massing on its borders and could invade – as world leaders told Vladimir Putin to back off. … Continue reading →
Hong Kong is an island of some 30 square miles under British administration in the South China Sea facing Kowloon and the New Territories areas of continental China. Kowloon and the New Territories are also British administered, surrounded by the Communist … Continue reading →
Operative BJ writes in to remind the Czar of words he wrote only days ago: Your Gloriousness, I mostly agree with you re the effect a third political party has on elections in the US, e.g. taking votes away from … Continue reading →
Andy Ferguson: Pondering the images I thought again of my feminism teacher. I do think she’d be pleased with today’s state of affairs. The Lean In Collection makes our current condition plain. The collection isn’t about “empowering women”; it’s about … Continue reading →
The NYRB runs a great essay by Edward Mendelson on Auden, who seems to have been at pains to conceal that he was often a profoundly good man. Here’s the lead: W.H. Auden had a secret life that his closest … Continue reading →
For Christian minions out there looking for some Lenten reading, allow Confucius* to suggest Brant Pitre’s new book, Jesus the Bridegroom. Following of the method of his previous, excellent Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, he attempts to … Continue reading →
In George Weigel destroys Eugene Robinson. I doubt that Eugene Robinson has any patriotic feeling for Russia, but his evident vulnerability to Russian propaganda suggests that he, like other members of the left-leaning commentariat, continue to read the politics of … Continue reading →
The Czar is still surprised to see non-Democratic voters (not necessarily Republicans, per se) on social media calling for a third party. Many times has the Czar explained that third parties serve only one purpose: getting the other party elected … Continue reading →
Doc, Théorie des Gormogons: Pour cette société secrète britannique fondée en 1724, la vérité est aussi ailleurs: «Le Boeing 777 est tombé dans un trou noir ou dans une dimension parallèle. Il file actuellement vers l’époque préhistorique de Long Island», … Continue reading →
Our reach is vast. This morning, your Gormogon overlords had their 1.5 millionth hit. This translates to a hit about every thirty seconds since our inception. Over seven thousand and six hundred posts later and the hits keep coming. We … Continue reading →
Justice & Nemesis Pursuing Crimevia mythindex.com. So argues Alex Alexiev in National Review Online: With the incorporation of Crimea into Russia by force of arms about to become a fait accompli next week, speculation is increasingly turning to the longer-term … Continue reading →
Hypercubes are cool. Dr. J., like GorT, checked out Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos deux. He will re-watch the episode as he didn’t quite finish it out because he had a case of the sleepies. While he found the pacing a little … Continue reading →
Meet Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times. Ms. Abramson’s editorial board thinks you’re too stupid to make up your minds on your own. If Pulitzer Prizes were awarded for outright, bald-faced lies, this New York Times editorial … Continue reading →
Just read the whole thing. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…the revolting, revolting masses. The Revolt Against the Masses is the latest book from Fred Siegel, former editor of City Journal and an estimable figure in contemporary conservative thought. It is a quick read (225 pages, Encounter Books), and well worth your … Continue reading →
So if you missed the relaunch of the Cosmos series last night with Neil deGrasse Tyson, I would recommend tuning in on Friday to watch. There is plenty to say about his personal views and maybe even some of the … Continue reading →
Yet you, Mr. President, have been both ruthless and prudent—just what I prescribed in “The Prince.” You Russians have distilled my wisdom into a pithy phrase: Kto kovo—who dominates whom? And you have beautifully executed my central idea. I never … Continue reading →
The Czar admits he is more than a bit puzzled about Flight MH370, the missing Malaysian Airlines 777 that vanished off radar over the weekend. Nothing makes sense in this story. The plane simply vanished off radar. That only happens … Continue reading →
Some stories on Russia worth your time: Leon Aron: The Front Lines on Russia’s Home Front Those who claim Putin commits acts like seizing Crimea simply because he can are wrong. He does these things because he must — because, … Continue reading →
Apparently the Russian Army is storming a Ukranian air force base in Crimea, despite calls for a diplomatic solution during their phone call yesterday. I will make it legal… Remember President Obama’s words to former President Medvedev? “After my election … Continue reading →
They offer you this… …and then you get this. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The State Department gets a lot of flak, much deserved, but much undeserved, as its job is often to play the good cop or be the make-nice agency of the government. What it rarely does is load both rhetorical barrels … Continue reading →
Minion ‘Retired Spook’ is skeptical that Confucius’s plans for pushing back against Russian imperialism will gain any traction. He explains: At the risk of sounding disagreeable and cranky (which I am, but I hate to sound like it) please allow … Continue reading →
Sometimes seismic shifts are so subtle they cannot be felt, and those often presage major earthquakes. Don’t get too excited here—but something intensely interesting happened yesterday in the world of media bias, and the Czar hopes you did not miss … Continue reading →
Putin and others are hacking at the Pax Americana which sustains our historically peaceful, prosperous world. They need to be deterred, and we and our allies need to be serious about rebuilding the institutions, especially militaries, which have sustained it. As the Gormogons’ usual … Continue reading →
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent for Roman Catholics. Interestingly enough, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. It turns out to be one of the most attended non-Sunday Masses for Catholics – just … Continue reading →
We have been quite busy, it seems, because so many of you are asking after our various secret projects. Island Dweller, who has yet to complete his many assignments (notably, switching the East and West Magnetic Poles), is suspicious about … Continue reading →
Dr. J. typically walks in lock step with GorT on most issues, especially the mocking of self-important left wing celebrities who support causes that either offend the sensibilities of (e.g. Planned Parenthood), or by effect keep the regular folk down … Continue reading →
Vladimir Putin was kind enough to pose shirtless, with a rifle for this installation of ‘Puter’s totally not homoerotic Male Bag. Note, all references to “heavily armed Russians” in Ukraine actually refer to shirtless Vladimir Putin taking Crimea with only … Continue reading →
GorT is generally not one for awards shows – I find them self-serving and awkward. Last night held true to form in both respects. Honestly I haven’t seen a number of the films in contention for the awards (save one, … Continue reading →
Nothing is random, you know. Not even randomness: computers are pretty good at generating random numbers, but in fact, the computer uses rules to generate random numbers. Once you understand how that works, you can get pretty good at detecting … Continue reading →
So far so good. Maybe we will have it available for deployment in your hometown next winter. Dr. J.
Continue reading →The American media is doing a really poor job of covering the Ukraine crisis, and this is largely because they ignored its importance for so long that they are scrambling to catch everyone up, what with gays not getting timely … Continue reading →
