We Believe...

A Cautionary Tale

Hurricane Arthur in 2014

One of the more tiresome tropes in contemporary political discourse is the common progressive claim that conservatives are "anti-science."






The truth of the matter, of course, is precisely the opposite. It is progressives who reject science when it suits their political agenda. They have no trouble ignoring scientific knowledge regarding human biology and sex differences, genetically-engineered crop strains, clean energy, vaccinations, and a whole host of other subjects.

Perhaps the most prominent subject of progressive know-nothingism these days is climate science. Their treatment of those who dissent from progressive orthodoxy on
this issue is downright shameful. One of their targets, Roger Pielke, Jr., has written
an eye-opening piece in the Wall Street Journal describing the campaign to discourage him from participating in public debates on climate issues.

Sadly, it appears that Professor Pielke has decided to throw in the towel, which of course is the whole point of progressive smear campaigns. Keep Pielke's story in mind the next time you hear some arrogant progressive talking about how much more open-minded and scientifically inclined the left is. It is a lie...

"Isn't it also what the psychologists call 'projection'?"

It absolutely is, yes...

Feast Day

St. Nicholas (1563), by Titian

Today is the feast day of St. Nicholas, a cleric born in Patara, in what is now Turkey.

Following the death of his parents from plague when he was very young, he was raised by his uncle, who was the bishop of Patara. It was his uncle who ordained him into the priesthood, and eventually Nicholas himself became bishop.

As a bishop, Nicholas attended the famous First Council of Nicaea, and was a staunch advocate there of traditional Church teachings. The council had been called by Emperor Constantine largely to address the spread of unorthodox views propagated by
a priest named Arius.



Nicholas's opposition to Arianism was so intense that he is reported to have struck Arius himself in the face during a debate. Nicholas was a signatory to what came to be called the Nicene Creed, which remains an important symbol of faith in the Church to this day.

It was Nicholas's generosity and practice of gift-giving that led to his association with
the popular legendary western figure Santa Claus, who of course is an iconic part of the Christmas season around the world.

Among his many patronages, Nicholas is the patron of children and merchants.

Congratulations, Joe!

The list of nominees for the 2017 Grammy Awards was released this morning, and my guitar hero
Joe Bonamassa was on it, for his superb Live At the Greek Theatre double album.

Joe's nomination is in the
Best Traditional Blues Album category, which was restored this year by The Recording Academy after a six-year experiment with something less respectful of classic old-school blues music.

"Does this mean you're going to watch the Grammy Awards telecast?"

Oh, no...this isn't Joe's first nomination, and his category is treated like a red-headed stepchild by the folks producing the show...

Teenager Repellant

From the droll comic strip Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

One of the many joys of the Christmas music season is the annual release of a Christmas blues tune by my Grammy-nominated hero Joe Bonamassa.

The annual Christmas releases are always made available as free mp3 downloads from Joe's website, as a gift to his legion of loyal fans.




This year he upped the ante a bit with the release of a "Christmas album" consisting of his previous five Christmas songs plus a new tune for this year.

Today's send-off is his live-in-the-studio performance of the latest release, the wry Christmas blues "Bring Back My Cadillac," from his YouTube channel. Enjoy...