Greetings and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links. I know there's almost nothing more boring than people talking about either how tired they are and/or their various ailments. In Yiddish, as I may have mentioned before, we call these "krenks".

Your "krenks" are the little weird things about you that start to get much weirder as you age, and when you get to be middle aged plus plus plus, the krenks just start to be a part of the regular conversation at home and among friends. Your knees crack, your neck hurts, you have a thing in your back that kills you if you sneeze, and you start the involuntary OY UCHH UGH GAH thing when you bend over or try to pick something up off the floor. IT JUST POPS OUT!! YOU CAN'T STOP IT.

Around the Rosen table growing up, we joked about people on endless loops talking about their krenks. My Dad and I, of course, had an ongoing bit about how we would stop these conversations – well, actually monologues – from such aforementioned people. You listen for a few minutes, and then say "hey", with an uptick-priming the question to flow out of your mouth. You then pause and say, "would you like to hear about my hemorrhoids?"

Note: you must say this with a straight face. Deadpan. It works every time.

Friends, I won't talk about all my various krenks right now (or anyone's hemorrhoids, but believe me I've got the goods on many, many people on this), but I am WIPED OUT. It was, wait for it... dentistry day again with my special needs son, and as I have written about previously, the dentist's office is not exactly his favourite destination. Today was no exception.

Basically, by the time the five of us humans (me, two student dentists, one dental assistant and the senior dentist) were done, I was quite literally sweating buckets, beet red and kind of shaking. They all looked at me and said 'you ok mom?". And I said, blinking back tears, yes, but it's just been a day. Anyway the reason that I bring this up is that when analyzing if my son "did better" in the chair this time, I was thinking about the way in which he fights against dental matters with all his might. There were moments of compliance and some more fight, some more quiet and then we were done.

So of course, me being me, and me not being able to shut my brain off very easily, I started thinking about the fight, the moments of compliance, and surrender, etc. in geo-political terms. Natan Sharansky once noted that the Soviet Union had to eventually fall because it was like a human trying to keep its arms up indefinitely. At some point, nature takes over and the arms fall, they collapse. The arms fall. Sadly, I think that evil communist China cannot be thought of in the same vein because it is Western capitalism that is supporting Chinese communism. We are keeping their communist arms up. What the hell is wrong with us?

Then I thought of a conversation I had earlier this week with one of my children. Why, we discussed, have civilized Western countries allowed violent, anti-Western, nihilistic, illiterate masses, rapists and murderers onto our shores. My child said the policy-makers are stupid for doing so. I argued that they weren't stupid, that they are actually often intelligent people, and they just actually want this to be happening. He said 'how can they not know what the result will be' and I said that they cannot NOT know. So it has to be what they want.

But why is the more important question.

Why?

Why?

Why?????

And then, coincidentally or providentially depending on your point of view, I happened upon this podcast with the very brilliant Rabbi Ken Spiro. I would urge you to listen to it, and see what you think. Is there an unholy alliance or realignment of spiritual forces going on? How else can we explain what we are seeing now in the world, the purposeful dismantling of civilization.

And now I have to take some of my own relax medicine: a pint of 1980s hip hop with a chaser of some 1970s rock as I putter and tidy and then binge watch a ridiculously cheesy and stupid series that I got hooked on on Neflix (or "Netvix" as Mr. C pronounces it).

Have a great weekend and see you in the comments.

~

North America:

Justin Trudeau's Canada has some really fine folks. These people should be deported from every Western country in which they set up shop, denaturalized, etc.

NOT UN-RELATED.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE. I mean, a webinar, that seems fine, right?

All of this.

This, too. But also stop voting for Dems.

Justin Trudeau's new Canada.

Please explain why Canada "NEEDS" Pakistani immigrants. I'll wait.

Best and brightest, etc.

More best and brightest, give me your poor, your terrorists, your keffiyeh headed low-IQ inbred masses, etc...

Follow the money.

Trump has been talking about this for a long time. The "Biden" administration couldn't care less about the fentanyl crisis. It hates American citizens and mourns not one millisecond or one bead of sweat for all of the murdered, overdosed citizens. Why don't more people understand the level of contempt that this government has for its citizens?

America! I love you but you take way, way, WAY WAY WAY too many drugs. And especially please stop chemically castrating your male children. And especially also please stop pumping drugs into these young men when they are on the road to adulthood and look and see how many of them end up being school shooters THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Often, as Mark says, you have to stop people from doing the wrong thing. They cannot be shamed into doing the right thing.

~

Jews and Israel:

This made my morning when I read it. I love it.

"A woman I follow on Instagram went to the shiva for Almog Sarusi..."

Yes.

IDF: STOP BREAKING MY HEART

This is good.

Absolute evil. Blood on their hands. This is via reporting from the great Caroline Glick.

~

Jewish Wisdom:

"...when we seek instruction and inspiration, we should turn to people who are not only intelligent and talented, but who consistently utilize their gifts for the world's greater good. And of course, we should emulate the example of the fruit tree ourselves."

~

The Great Walkbackening, Accounting and Reckoning:

This seems like a thing.

~

Christianity:

"Candace Owens doesn't speak for Catholics."

~

The Formerly Great Britain:

"How it started/how it's going." This is a fabulous and fearless X account if you don't follow 'pagliacci the hated' already, please do.

Ho hum, nothing to see here.

Culture of Death

What surrogacy has wrought.

Oh, how nice JEW BUSES!! Should we Joooooz all dust off our yellow patches? Should men be dropping their pants for inspection? SO THOUGHTFUL of the Muslim mayor of London to make JEW BUSES you know BECAUSE SAFETY!!!!

~

Europe:

Can someone please explain to me slowly why Germany "needs" gang rapes and rapists triggered (possibly) by Iranian politics?

Grooming Gangs, etc.

~

Asia:

When life follows Mark Steyn.

~

Wicked, Evil Kooks:

Absolutely demonic.

~

Human Grace:

HO LEE MOLEY!! Did not know this!! Many hours of my life have been spent listening to Soul II Soul! Wow.

This may be one of the best hugs ever recorded in human history. Like ever. EVAH EVAH EVARRRR.

No greater love.

"Go to Pronoun Island." I could not love this more. This gave me the laugh of my life. I would literally wear the t-shirt. Fabulous!

It's open thread time! Log into SteynOnline and let Laura know what you think of these stories or other happenings from week that was. Commenting privileges are among the many perks of membership in The Mark Steyn Club. While going off topic is permitted on Laura's Links, do stick to the other rules as you engage: no URLs, no profanity, and no ad hominem attacks.