“The distance between Qom and Najaf is not only geographical;
“Amid the campaign against Iran and its regional proxies, the strategic challenge is not Shiism itself but the dominance of Tehran’s radical doctrine…”— https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/423630
And a pre-Ides-of-March St. Patrick’s Day gift…for those who haven’t quite yet figured it out…
…While this is absolutely fascinating analysis (but take a deep breath)…
“The Long Game and the Conservative Right;
“How a Network of Political Catholic Integralists, Russian Ideologues, and Media Provocateurs Are Systematically Dismantling the Evangelical Foundation of the American Right”— https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/2029681200189636717
H/T Powerline blog.
+ Bonus metaphor (with some pinpoint “kinetic action”…):
Barry, since I have a free account and can’t post this comment on X, in response to that one link about the long game- here is my thought.
I scrolled through this. As a devout Catholic who spent 10 years worshipping in the Evangelical community before returning to the Catholic Church, I’m here to say that Carlson, Owens and Fuentes IN NO WAY represent Catholicism. I never followed any of them and never will. In my experience and opinion, sola scriptura doesn’t survive a deep dive into history and researched examination. It is as St. John Henry Newman found and stated, “to be deep in history is to cease being a Protestant”. That said, we maintain MANY close relations with our Evangelical friends, “separated brothers and sisters” as described by Catholic teaching (see any Missal). The sacraments aren’t nothing–that is my understanding and experience–and why like St. Peter when challenged with the hard statement that Jesus said regarding eating his flesh and drinking his blood, replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:41-68
That guy at Barry’s link is a little off the edge somewhere. Linking Carlson (an Episcopalian), Owens (a Catholic clearly not taught Catholic doctrine), Fuentes, and then the SSPX, that is, the Latin Mass group, is weird.
On the video, speaking as a tall woman, tall men should date girls more nearly their size. 🙂
It does sound a bit over the top, doesn’t it?
Nonetheless, there is that disclaimer (regarding “Catholics” in question) at the top of that post.
And then there’s Comrade Dugin(!), no Catholic he—but something far more passionately intense (so to speak).
(Though Barbie—he? she?—seems to have neglected to mention, as far as I can tell, the Chinese…)
The thing caught my attention because we’re talking about extraordinary subversion here (cf. Lincoln?) though the extent of its success has been—and continues to be—under much dispute. Is it “grass roots” subversion? Or Centrally Planned? Some might claim it doesn’t matter really, that it’s been blown way out of proportion; but I find it of great interest to see who’s behind it.
(Call it “conspiracy theory” if you wish…oh, wait!)
But then…maybe I’ve read far too much le Carre…well, early le Carre…
Re: Fine Squirel Dining @Chez Huxley
Yesterday was a banner day. My usual squirrel, call him/her Jan, hauled off a record 12 walnuts and 12 pecans, all in shell. (I think it’s only one squirrel.)
Clearly Jan is caching the nuts somewhere. Jan has nut preferences — walnuts, then pecans or hazelnuts. No almonds or brazl nuts.
Squirrels like nuts because they are calorie dense and squirrels burn calories at a ferocious rate — 100-220 calories/day depending on temperature and activity. They weigh 1-1.5 lb. Ballpark comparison to humans per lb.: about 10x faster.
Jan sees me at the kitchen window as I move around or do chores. Jan has gotten used to me and doesn’t freeze then scamper away. Instead, takes note of me then returns to squirrel business.
We have a white squirrel living in a big tree in our back yard. My husband is kindly spreading bird seed on the ground for him. So far he’s been very polite about not climbing onto the feeders. Maybe I could start leaving him a few walnuts, so long as he doesn’t invite all his cousins to move in.
Plus they know they’re very high in omega-3’s…
(Totally unimportant factoid: The French are big on “squirrel tourism.” That is, they get a kick out of coming to the US northeast, and Quebec, etc., to go “squirrel watching”… Not sure how to interpret this, exactly…and I’m pretty sure that Houellebecq hasn’t written anything about it, at least not yet…)
REAL battled space reporting is almost completely lacking in the Iran War. Lawrence Person at battle swarm blog is filling that gap.
HERE is one entertaining observation he makes today
: “Having two aircraft carriers launching strikes at Iran evidently wasn’t enough, as the USS George H. W. Bush is now poised to join the party, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford.
“Obviously you need ships named after Republican presidents to win wars. If you had the USS Barack Obama, it could only drop pallets of cash, and the USS Bill Clinton could only hit on underage Iranian girls…” LOLz! https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=70535
As a Navy Vet, serving on a Carrier, I approve of your message, TJ
With oil at new recent highs, and an epic 30% spike overnight, what way goes the war in Iran?
There are a spate of analysts saying that the US needs to take and protect Kharg Island, only 15 miles from the mainland, where 90% of Iran’s oil exports leave for international markets.
This would also deprive regime remnants of their filthy lucre for terrorism. A
long-term benefit.
And the dual advantages, the other one betting on the short-term and longer, the supply stability that would sink oil price back to recent norms.
Of course, all of this depends on US security for oil tankers going East through the Straits of Hormuz.
Nevertheless, this is the central security issue on the table for this week and next. For the US and the world.
@Kate: Maybe I could start leaving him a few walnuts, so long as he doesn’t invite all his cousins to move in.
I’m sure the squirrel would appreciate it. After walnuts he may not settle for less.
A white squirrel sounds cool!
@Barry Meislin: The French are big on “squirrel tourism.”
I hadn’t heard about squirrel tourism, but American squirrels are beefy, bold, city squirrels who don’t mind people much and are 50% bigger than their European cousins, the red squirrel, which is the shy, retiring type, preferring the woods and avoiding people altogether.
In other words, cheese-eating surrender squirrels. 🙂
Re the video: I like tall women. For me, equality between the sexes isn’t just a political idea 😉 . But it is not at all a “deal breaker” for me. Unlike almost all the single older women I meet, each one of which seem to have dozens of deal breakers.
I looked up some dating surveys of unknown quality a couple years ago. 96% women refuse to date a guy who are even slightly shorter than they are. I’ve met women who require that the man be at least 6 or 8 inches taller. Living and walking a lot in a tourist area where I’ve seen a thousand or more couples, I think the correct number is more like 98% of women.
However, 25% of men wouldn’t mind dating a woman taller than themselves, myself included. Though, even I think that more than couple inches would look a little strange. That leaves the other 75% of men who like the traditional difference.
I’ve wondered about the why’s of all that, myself included. People like, or are impressed by, tall people. Just a basic fact.
Myself, I met a couple of lovely tall young ladies at an impressionable age in high school. One was 5′ 11″, the other 6′ 1″. Never got over it. (I’m 5′ 10″ now, and lost about 0.5″ since high school.)
The video reminds me of a married couple that were in many of my college classes long ago. Fred and Sally studied math and physics. He was about 6′ 4″ and she was about 4′ 10″.
Kate – I agree with TommyJay: tall women are in a predicament of their own making.
In the Orthodox Jewish community people are still very motivated to get married, and systems of formal and informal matchmaking still operate. I know several couples where the wife at some point decided she’d rather be married than wear heels – or was called aside by a matchmaker or friend and advised to focus on other facets of the proposed match.
The mirror of this is some men’s fixation on slim figures – although most men prefer a normal, curvaceous figure over the bony androgynous look now fashionable.
Women want tall, powerful guys. Men want slim, young gals.
These are evolutionary strategies.
It’s pleasant to pretend otherwise.
Ben David, my younger daughter, just a bit over 6′ tall, once told us she wished we could arrange a marriage for her. I wish we could have, too. She is very reserved, very tall, very lovely, and very, very intelligent. The combination was too intimidating.
About tall women, who in my life have ranged from 5’7” to a rare 6’1”. (Her sisters were all average in height but beauty blessed like Jackie Onassis-clones.)
I have tried to get social psychologists to research the likely significant, if not strong, overlap with similarly tall men in a wide range of attitudes and feelings in life. No luck.
There are many overlooked and unassayed overlaps, I strongly believe, that make us more compatible. But also remaining distinctive female qualities, I’m sure.
For instance, for a number of years dating and then living with a 6 foot tall ex-plus size model, who also had been a female kickboxing champ (locally), told me that she would hate it if a man didn’t protect her if accosted or threatened in public.
Evolutionary psychologists regard this as a female-loaded genetic trait. In fact, a natural one, given a woman’s vulnerable child nurturing sex-role. They need a man capable of enough dangerousness to protect them!
I did not fail to live up to her expectations, as a somewhat 4 inches taller man.
Yet, as the psychologist in “Good Will Hunting” (Robin Williams) explains to Will about relationship and remembering, like his late and mourned cancer-fighting wife, it’s the little private things that hold onto us when we part.
His story was his wife’s farts awakening the dog! Yet not knowing it happened.
My story is that on summer weekends, my 6ft leggy love would also leave her blue jeans on the floor, like me. So, maybe half the time, I’d slid into jeans that fit me great in length, but…would not quite close. Surprise! You see, we shared the same length of inseam. Not the same waist size, however.
I guess you could say that while I was not a cross dresser, she delighted in being my cross-dressing woman.
PS to Kate: my HS Sadie Hawkins Dance date was 6 ft tall. She said her folks met via the local Tall Club, still active as Tall Clubs International…for your daughter? They also hold annual conventions and sometimes cruises. Good date grounds.
One of our daughters-in-law is 3 or 4 inches taller than our son. Doesn’t bother any of us.
We do have a couple of friends where the husband is at least a foot taller than his very slim, petite wife. We have a lot of other guy-friends who have to scrunch down for me to look them in the face, but AesopSpouse is only 8 inches taller than me, which seems to be a good height difference, visually and practically – he can reach the dishes on the upper cabinet shelf.
@ Kate on March 9, 2026 at 11:59 am said:
On the video, speaking as a tall woman, tall men should date girls more nearly their size
As a shorter man, I always thought that short women should date men more nearly their size.
I have a theory that short women want tall men for two reasons–to protect them and so their children won’t be too short. Taller women, OTOH, are more willing to date shorter men because they don’t have those concerns.
The American gray squirrel has developed immunity to squirrelpox, but can be an asymptomatic carrier. Which is why gray squirrels introduced to the UK and Ireland have largely supplanted red squirrels there.
Stay safe, red squirrels!
huxley: “… Men want slim, young gals.
These are evolutionary strategies.
It’s pleasant to pretend otherwise.”
Tell me you don’t know any black men without telling me you don’t know any black men. Not referring to the age requirement.
There is an online comic that I like called: “My Giant Nerd Boyfriend”. It is done by an ethnic Chinese young woman in Malaysia. Her boyfriend, now husband, is also ethnic Chinese. She is, IIRC, 5′ 3″ and he is 6′ 5″ tall. Her cartoon is autobiographical and displays a nice sense of humor and often some touching insights.
I regret that I could not figure out how to post a link to her comic. It is on webtoons.com.
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The long and short of it…
“The distance between Qom and Najaf is not only geographical;
“Amid the campaign against Iran and its regional proxies, the strategic challenge is not Shiism itself but the dominance of Tehran’s radical doctrine…”—
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/423630
And a pre-
Ides-of-MarchSt. Patrick’s Day gift…for those who haven’t quite yet figured it out…“In a bombshell admission on CNN, Lis Smith, a senior Democratic advisor, revealed that…”—
https://instapundit.com/781293/
This is rather “interesting” on several different levels:
“Jesse Jackson’s son blasts Obama, Biden for using father’s memorial to take shots at Trump”—
https://nypost.com/2026/03/08/us-news/jesse-jacksons-son-blasts-obama-biden-for-using-fathers-memorial-to-take-shots-at-trump/
…While this is absolutely fascinating analysis (but take a deep breath)…
“The Long Game and the Conservative Right;
“How a Network of Political Catholic Integralists, Russian Ideologues, and Media Provocateurs Are Systematically Dismantling the Evangelical Foundation of the American Right”—
https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/2029681200189636717
H/T Powerline blog.
+ Bonus metaphor (with some pinpoint “kinetic action”…):
“BREAKING: IRANIAN AIR FORCE GENERAL KILLED”—
https://instapundit.com/781412/
I really wish it was 2025.
Barry, since I have a free account and can’t post this comment on X, in response to that one link about the long game- here is my thought.
I scrolled through this. As a devout Catholic who spent 10 years worshipping in the Evangelical community before returning to the Catholic Church, I’m here to say that Carlson, Owens and Fuentes IN NO WAY represent Catholicism. I never followed any of them and never will. In my experience and opinion, sola scriptura doesn’t survive a deep dive into history and researched examination. It is as St. John Henry Newman found and stated, “to be deep in history is to cease being a Protestant”. That said, we maintain MANY close relations with our Evangelical friends, “separated brothers and sisters” as described by Catholic teaching (see any Missal). The sacraments aren’t nothing–that is my understanding and experience–and why like St. Peter when challenged with the hard statement that Jesus said regarding eating his flesh and drinking his blood, replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:41-68
That guy at Barry’s link is a little off the edge somewhere. Linking Carlson (an Episcopalian), Owens (a Catholic clearly not taught Catholic doctrine), Fuentes, and then the SSPX, that is, the Latin Mass group, is weird.
On the video, speaking as a tall woman, tall men should date girls more nearly their size. 🙂
It does sound a bit over the top, doesn’t it?
Nonetheless, there is that disclaimer (regarding “Catholics” in question) at the top of that post.
And then there’s Comrade Dugin(!), no Catholic he—but something far more passionately intense (so to speak).
(Though Barbie—he? she?—seems to have neglected to mention, as far as I can tell, the Chinese…)
The thing caught my attention because we’re talking about extraordinary subversion here (cf. Lincoln?) though the extent of its success has been—and continues to be—under much dispute. Is it “grass roots” subversion? Or Centrally Planned? Some might claim it doesn’t matter really, that it’s been blown way out of proportion; but I find it of great interest to see who’s behind it.
(Call it “conspiracy theory” if you wish…oh, wait!)
But then…maybe I’ve read far too much le Carre…well, early le Carre…
Re: Fine Squirel Dining @Chez Huxley
Yesterday was a banner day. My usual squirrel, call him/her Jan, hauled off a record 12 walnuts and 12 pecans, all in shell. (I think it’s only one squirrel.)
Clearly Jan is caching the nuts somewhere. Jan has nut preferences — walnuts, then pecans or hazelnuts. No almonds or brazl nuts.
Squirrels like nuts because they are calorie dense and squirrels burn calories at a ferocious rate — 100-220 calories/day depending on temperature and activity. They weigh 1-1.5 lb. Ballpark comparison to humans per lb.: about 10x faster.
Jan sees me at the kitchen window as I move around or do chores. Jan has gotten used to me and doesn’t freeze then scamper away. Instead, takes note of me then returns to squirrel business.
We have a white squirrel living in a big tree in our back yard. My husband is kindly spreading bird seed on the ground for him. So far he’s been very polite about not climbing onto the feeders. Maybe I could start leaving him a few walnuts, so long as he doesn’t invite all his cousins to move in.
Plus they know they’re very high in omega-3’s…
(Totally unimportant factoid: The French are big on “squirrel tourism.” That is, they get a kick out of coming to the US northeast, and Quebec, etc., to go “squirrel watching”… Not sure how to interpret this, exactly…and I’m pretty sure that Houellebecq hasn’t written anything about it, at least not yet…)
REAL battled space reporting is almost completely lacking in the Iran War. Lawrence Person at battle swarm blog is filling that gap.
HERE is one entertaining observation he makes today
: “Having two aircraft carriers launching strikes at Iran evidently wasn’t enough, as the USS George H. W. Bush is now poised to join the party, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford.
“Obviously you need ships named after Republican presidents to win wars. If you had the USS Barack Obama, it could only drop pallets of cash, and the USS Bill Clinton could only hit on underage Iranian girls…” LOLz!
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=70535
As a Navy Vet, serving on a Carrier, I approve of your message, TJ
With oil at new recent highs, and an epic 30% spike overnight, what way goes the war in Iran?
There are a spate of analysts saying that the US needs to take and protect Kharg Island, only 15 miles from the mainland, where 90% of Iran’s oil exports leave for international markets.
This would also deprive regime remnants of their filthy lucre for terrorism. A
long-term benefit.
And the dual advantages, the other one betting on the short-term and longer, the supply stability that would sink oil price back to recent norms.
HERE’s WION news take
https://www.wionews.com/world/what-is-kharg-island-iran-s-key-oil-export-hub-trump-may-target-amid-middle-east-conflict-1773070616004
AND HERE’s CNBCs briefer take on the question
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/09/iran-war-us-israel-conflict-oil-prices-kharg-island.html
Of course, all of this depends on US security for oil tankers going East through the Straits of Hormuz.
Nevertheless, this is the central security issue on the table for this week and next. For the US and the world.
@Kate: Maybe I could start leaving him a few walnuts, so long as he doesn’t invite all his cousins to move in.
I’m sure the squirrel would appreciate it. After walnuts he may not settle for less.
A white squirrel sounds cool!
@Barry Meislin: The French are big on “squirrel tourism.”
I hadn’t heard about squirrel tourism, but American squirrels are beefy, bold, city squirrels who don’t mind people much and are 50% bigger than their European cousins, the red squirrel, which is the shy, retiring type, preferring the woods and avoiding people altogether.
In other words, cheese-eating surrender squirrels. 🙂
Re the video: I like tall women. For me, equality between the sexes isn’t just a political idea 😉 . But it is not at all a “deal breaker” for me. Unlike almost all the single older women I meet, each one of which seem to have dozens of deal breakers.
I looked up some dating surveys of unknown quality a couple years ago. 96% women refuse to date a guy who are even slightly shorter than they are. I’ve met women who require that the man be at least 6 or 8 inches taller. Living and walking a lot in a tourist area where I’ve seen a thousand or more couples, I think the correct number is more like 98% of women.
However, 25% of men wouldn’t mind dating a woman taller than themselves, myself included. Though, even I think that more than couple inches would look a little strange. That leaves the other 75% of men who like the traditional difference.
I’ve wondered about the why’s of all that, myself included. People like, or are impressed by, tall people. Just a basic fact.
Myself, I met a couple of lovely tall young ladies at an impressionable age in high school. One was 5′ 11″, the other 6′ 1″. Never got over it. (I’m 5′ 10″ now, and lost about 0.5″ since high school.)
The video reminds me of a married couple that were in many of my college classes long ago. Fred and Sally studied math and physics. He was about 6′ 4″ and she was about 4′ 10″.
Kate – I agree with TommyJay: tall women are in a predicament of their own making.
In the Orthodox Jewish community people are still very motivated to get married, and systems of formal and informal matchmaking still operate. I know several couples where the wife at some point decided she’d rather be married than wear heels – or was called aside by a matchmaker or friend and advised to focus on other facets of the proposed match.
The mirror of this is some men’s fixation on slim figures – although most men prefer a normal, curvaceous figure over the bony androgynous look now fashionable.
Women want tall, powerful guys. Men want slim, young gals.
These are evolutionary strategies.
It’s pleasant to pretend otherwise.
Ben David, my younger daughter, just a bit over 6′ tall, once told us she wished we could arrange a marriage for her. I wish we could have, too. She is very reserved, very tall, very lovely, and very, very intelligent. The combination was too intimidating.
About tall women, who in my life have ranged from 5’7” to a rare 6’1”. (Her sisters were all average in height but beauty blessed like Jackie Onassis-clones.)
I have tried to get social psychologists to research the likely significant, if not strong, overlap with similarly tall men in a wide range of attitudes and feelings in life. No luck.
There are many overlooked and unassayed overlaps, I strongly believe, that make us more compatible. But also remaining distinctive female qualities, I’m sure.
For instance, for a number of years dating and then living with a 6 foot tall ex-plus size model, who also had been a female kickboxing champ (locally), told me that she would hate it if a man didn’t protect her if accosted or threatened in public.
Evolutionary psychologists regard this as a female-loaded genetic trait. In fact, a natural one, given a woman’s vulnerable child nurturing sex-role. They need a man capable of enough dangerousness to protect them!
I did not fail to live up to her expectations, as a somewhat 4 inches taller man.
Yet, as the psychologist in “Good Will Hunting” (Robin Williams) explains to Will about relationship and remembering, like his late and mourned cancer-fighting wife, it’s the little private things that hold onto us when we part.
His story was his wife’s farts awakening the dog! Yet not knowing it happened.
My story is that on summer weekends, my 6ft leggy love would also leave her blue jeans on the floor, like me. So, maybe half the time, I’d slid into jeans that fit me great in length, but…would not quite close. Surprise! You see, we shared the same length of inseam. Not the same waist size, however.
I guess you could say that while I was not a cross dresser, she delighted in being my cross-dressing woman.
PS to Kate: my HS Sadie Hawkins Dance date was 6 ft tall. She said her folks met via the local Tall Club, still active as Tall Clubs International…for your daughter? They also hold annual conventions and sometimes cruises. Good date grounds.
One of our daughters-in-law is 3 or 4 inches taller than our son. Doesn’t bother any of us.
We do have a couple of friends where the husband is at least a foot taller than his very slim, petite wife. We have a lot of other guy-friends who have to scrunch down for me to look them in the face, but AesopSpouse is only 8 inches taller than me, which seems to be a good height difference, visually and practically – he can reach the dishes on the upper cabinet shelf.
@ Kate on March 9, 2026 at 11:59 am said:
On the video, speaking as a tall woman, tall men should date girls more nearly their size
As a shorter man, I always thought that short women should date men more nearly their size.
I have a theory that short women want tall men for two reasons–to protect them and so their children won’t be too short. Taller women, OTOH, are more willing to date shorter men because they don’t have those concerns.
Apple News goes from 0% to 2% right-leaning sources after FTC pushback:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/mar/9/apple-news-goes-0-2-content-right-leaning-outlets-ftc-pushback/
Re: European red squirrels / Squirrelpox
Researching further, I discover that red squirrels are susceptible to squirrelpox, which is even worse than it sounds.
100% lethal within 4-5 days of infection. It’s like a disease Stephen King invented for squirrels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrelpox_virus
The American gray squirrel has developed immunity to squirrelpox, but can be an asymptomatic carrier. Which is why gray squirrels introduced to the UK and Ireland have largely supplanted red squirrels there.
Stay safe, red squirrels!
huxley: “… Men want slim, young gals.
These are evolutionary strategies.
It’s pleasant to pretend otherwise.”
Tell me you don’t know any black men without telling me you don’t know any black men. Not referring to the age requirement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdJmXeod0RE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoUk7u40eSg
Scott Jennings Gold – “We’ve got clear military objectives here – anyone who says otherwise isn’t being serious!” – Video
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2026/03/scott-jennings-gold-weve-got-clear.html
There is an online comic that I like called: “My Giant Nerd Boyfriend”. It is done by an ethnic Chinese young woman in Malaysia. Her boyfriend, now husband, is also ethnic Chinese. She is, IIRC, 5′ 3″ and he is 6′ 5″ tall. Her cartoon is autobiographical and displays a nice sense of humor and often some touching insights.
I regret that I could not figure out how to post a link to her comic. It is on webtoons.com.