Catching Up

     Beginnings are such delicate times. — Frank Herbert
     Now let’s talk about Mondays. — Me.

     Via Andrea Shea King, we have this:

Former Wall Street broker Ross Mandell says the Los Angeles Pacific Palisades fires were planned

“I’m gonna shock you. People from BlackRock are going door to door offering to buy homes. — This is highly organized”

“You think this happened by accident? The dams have been… pic.twitter.com/d7vsozotNX

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) January 18, 2025

     The old naval saying that “once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action” has become a watchword for the alert observer of social and political developments. Have there been similar sightings of property speculators in Western North Carolina? And by the way, what’s been happening in Maui lately?

     Coincidentally – oh, I’m so sure! – lately I’ve been getting quite a lot of cold calls inquiring about whether I’d be interested in an all-cash offer for the Fortress. How are things in your neighborhood, Gentle Reader? Checked the fire hydrants lately?

     Concerning yesterday’s subject, there have been some misstatements about the ratification deadline on the proposed Equal Rights (28th) Amendment. There’s no Constitutional requirement that a proposed Amendment be ratified within seven or ten years; that restriction was imposed by Congress in the legislation that submitted the Amendment to the states. Here are the rules, direct from Article V:

     The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

     However, the national archivist has stated that the restriction, originally imposed in 1972 and extended from seven to ten years in 1979, is legally binding, as with similar restrictions placed on previously proposed Amendments. So the thing is dead unless Congress should resubmit it in a fresh bill approved by two-thirds of both Houses.

     Note also that the president has no role in the Amendment process. He neither approves of the Congressional proposal nor can he veto it as if it were more conventional legislation. And he certainly can’t make a failed Amendment “the law of the land.” So let’s have an end to that crap.

     The celebrated Peter Brimelow has some thoughts about the upcoming second Trump Administration… and they’re not rosy ones, unless you like the color of freshly shed blood:

     Tomorrow (Jan. 19), Lydia and I leave the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to witness, in our modest way, the reincarnation of D. Trump. Below, what I wrote after witnessing his 2017 Inauguration—an insight completely vindicated by the savagery of the 2020 BLM riots and the totalitarian complicity of the Deep State. Despite what I then hoped, judicial sabotage protected the 230 AntiFa indicted for “felony rioting” that day. Of course, this was an early case of Two-Tier Justice—flagrantly in contradistinction to the Garland Raids and the Garland Gulag inflicted on the J6 patriots who dared to question the 2020 election.
     At least it’s supposed to snow on Inauguration Day 2025. Maybe that will calm things down.
     But I still think it will come to blood.

     I hope he’s wrong, but – as is often the case lately – I fear that he’s right. There have been reports that large numbers of people in several Left-aligned groups have been converging on Washington for tomorrow’s inauguration. Recent events have demonstrated that the Left is not averse to violence in pursuit of its objectives. To add insult to injury, several police departments in the region have declared themselves “unable” to assist with keeping the peace in D.C. today… because of their rules about “the use of force.” Go figure.

     Finally for this morning, a personal note about this recent announcement:

     [A]s matters stand today, I don’t expect to produce any more novel-length fiction. The return on investment just isn’t there — and for those who don’t know me well, I don’t mean a financial return. While this might disappoint the few readers I have, I can’t continue to pour out my diminishing energies for the five or six dozen of you who enjoy my stories sufficiently to purchase them at bargain-basement prices.

     When I wrote that, I meant every word of it. But subsequent to that piece, a fair number of others wrote to counsel me not to give up. And so, a few days ago I decided to take another look at what I’d abandoned. The portents are mixed, but it may yet be completed.

     However, if there are any other aspiring novelists out there, know this: the world is not breathlessly awaiting the proof of your genius. What does await you is a legion of aspiring parasites, all of whom will try to batten on your hopes for a readership. My experiences suggest that their offerings are frauds from top to bottom. Not that the knowledge will keep you from hoping, so be cautious. Especially distrust anyone who comes at you with effulgent praise. Remember this, immortalized in that wondrous compendium of indispensable wisdoms, the LIS Codex:

     The man who praises you to excess probably has his hand in your pocket. — FWP

     Have a nice day.