Randoms

- DC continues getting whiter (also note the inclusion of Hispanics in the “black or African-American” category).

- We’ll all have our 15 minutes of being racist

- The unimportance of policy

- Nydwracu on what is to be done and again.

- Review of John Gray’s latest book.

- Chuck: “I have in mind a documentary titled “Punching Matt Yglesias” in which dippy liberal types who tend to get targeted in these types of attacks are followed up with and asked about their experiences and afterthoughts.” Put it on kickstarter, I’d contribute to that.

- Rule by illiterates.

- Isegoria on the warning of the Nazis.

- The effects of the red pill.

- Happy (belated) Father’s Day: “By the end of his or her childhood, a British boy or girl is much more likely to have a TV set in the bedroom than a father at home.”

Why haven’t you moved to Detroit?

One frustrating feature of modern society is that it values talk above action.

Do you verbally claim to support immigration while living as far away from immigrants as possible? If so, you’re clearly a supporter of immigration and a right-thinking person.

Do you complain about paying taxes but still live in a state that requires you to pay them? Then you’re worse than the guy who has fled to tax freedom but keeps his mouth shut.

Etc.

Obviously, this is precisely backwards. Actions should speak louder than words.

A wonderful example of this is Detroit. It seems to me that if you believe absolute human equality, you would immediately move to Detroit. You can basically live for free in a city that’s – surely – about to become a thriving metropolis again. It must just be having a 50+ year unlucky streak.

And yet, I can’t think of anyone that’s moved to Detroit. I wonder why?

Real government links

Here are a few interesting stories and some brief commentary:

1) The non-partisan bureaucracy.

2) On briefings:

Former U.S. Representative Jane Harman, a Democrat who served on every major House security committee before resigning from Congress in 2011, said getting the right briefer can make a big difference in how much lawmakers learn.

“Sometimes these briefings are a game of 20 questions. If you don’t ask exactly the right question, you don’t get the answer,” said Harman.

Note that it may be worth considering the combined implications of 1) and 2), given that briefings often come from bureaucrats.

3) “On occasion, the most striking evidence of power and influence is the invisibility of its source.” From Sailer.

4) Also from Sailer, a couple posts suggesting who is actually writing (at least large parts of) the immigration bill.

The Tea Party gets pwned

The “crown prince of the Tea Party” is about to accomplish something great . . . comprehensive immigration reform.

So much for the idea that people can rise up and change anything (of course, they can always make things more progressive, but that’s not what the Tea Party had in mind).

A movement that started with the goals of reducing the size of government and restoring Constitutional order has been co-opted into importing an underclass that will shift the governing paradigm significantly leftwards and create even more ethnic strife. Congratulations Tea Party!

It’s rather astonishing to reflect upon how quickly the movement was turned into something to further progressive ends. Most of those in the movement still seem to have no clue.

If you still think that progressive forms or protest and organization can work against progressivism, you’re hopeless.

Now that we’ve had yet another demonstration of the complete failure of this strategy, perhaps we can move on.

Start by reading Nick Land and Nick B. Steves:

A gentler introduction is the Reactionary Methadone Clinic:

* First and foremost, foreswear politics… it is the very poison to which we were all born addicted.

* Foreswear activism… it is the occult power upon which the Cathedral’s engines run.

* Foreswear voice in all matters of not immediate objective concern to you or your family.

* Become worthy… live the best life you can for you and your family. Stop being a busybody. Be as wise as serpents, but innocent as doves.

* Love your own particularity… If you don’t have one? Find one! You’ll quickly see how toxic the Cathedral’s many potions are.

* Foreswear trying to force facts into preconceived ideological boxes—odds are that it is the boxes that are the problem. Love the truth where it may be found, whatever it may be.

*Read and listen to the Resartus when it comes.

Randoms of the day

- iNotRacist (HT: asdf in the comments)

- Alfredwclark wants your help compiling The Laws of the Cathedral.

- Since it looks like immigration reform will pass, perhaps we should get to know Mexicans.  On the bright side, it’ll probably be awesome for you if you’re rich – so that’s cool.

- Outside in: “It took over seven decades for Soviet communism to implode.”

- Science

- LMFAO: “The main pushback I’ve gotten is that the article seems written with a relatively educated relatively affluent audience in mind.”

- Gay

- Bruce Charlton on leftist family life.

- lzozlzlzlzlzomglzozzl

Moral progress

At Cheap Chalupas, one can read the following:

That said, most of the world is not regressing morally and arguably can be seen as advancing morally, at least on the fronts of general tolerance, democracy, and the moral virtues which are encouraged by prosperity and market exchange.

And then (hopefully) to parody modern economic thought, the author adds:

Is it possible there is more moral regression in the world today than say five years ago? Does moral regression have a unit root? Serial autocorrelation? Do we understand the causes of moral regression better as time passes? I don’t see that.

Ignoring the latter quote which I add only because it’s ridiculous, I’d like to discuss the idea of “moral progress.”

The idea that our ancestors were immoral is pervasive, wrong, and destructive to any reasonable understanding of history.

The entire notion is plagued by bias. Of course we more moral today when we judge morality by today’s prevailing standards. I would wager that 100% of people who have ever believed that “tolerance” and “democracy” are cornerstones of morality are currently alive.

The best recent book on the subject of moral advancement and decay is, of course, Charles Murray’s. Instead of hand-waving, Murray actually states what he considers to be moral values: industriousness, honesty, marriage, and religiosity. It’s much harder to find anyone that disagrees with that list at any time (if I had to toss in another one, I’d throw in scientific advancement, but that’s no better).

(The worst recent book on this subject was Pinker’s).

Imagine reincarnating someone who was alive a hundred years ago and telling him that most children are born out of wedlock, they increasingly don’t go to church, and huge numbers of them are on some form of state assistance. Would our reincarnated friend be less shocked because the children get a say in who governs the country? (Would he not be more appalled?)

Far from progress, Murray finds moral decay to be pervasive in our society – the exception being among the elite who do seem to be experiencing some moral progress.

The sad fact is that people work less (if at all), commit petty crimes at increasingly high rates, don’t form families and aren’t religious. This is hardly a recipe for a society at the apex of morality. Surely this should be obvious, even for someone as far removed from the decline as he can get.

Randoms

- Reactionary academics.

- GBFM’s dating profile.

- In our increasingly diverse society, we can look forward to more spying and jury trials in which we know the outcome beforehand. Yea!

- Athol: “If there is a patron saint of hamster, it’s Sir Humphrey…”

- Francis St. Pol on the antiversity, Michael Animissov on natural order, Nick B. Steves on slavery, Nydwracu on the elites, and Alfredwclark on identitarian religion.

- Manosphere posters.

- The latest podcast from the Pritzker Military Library (podcasts here) is on this book and may be worth your time.