VDH's Blade of Perseus

Victor Davis Hanson // American Greatness

What ultimately ended the nihilist Soviet system?

Was it not that Russians finally tired of the Kremlin’s lies and hypocrisies that permeated every facet of their falsified lives?

Here are 10 symptoms of Sovietism. Ask yourself whether we are headed down this same road to perdition.

1) There was no escape from ideological indoctrination—anywhere.

TV commercials, a job in the bureaucracy, or military assignment all hinged not so much on merit, expertise, or past achievement. What mattered was loud enthusiasm for the Soviet system.

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Victor Davis Hanson has a conversation with Tom Cridland about some of his favourite music: Bob Dylan – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris – All the Roadrunning, Nick Cave – The Rider Song, Kristoffer Fogelmark – Love Was My Alibi and Hans Zimmer – You’re So Cool. He also discusses his book, The Case For Trump, and why he thinks things won’t end well for the former President.

Victor Davis Hanson // Private Papers

I think daily, incrementally, insidiously the number of Americans that does not believe official Ministry of Truth communiques grows larger. And the number promulgating them for careerist purposes shrinks.

The white-driven, Anti-Asian hate-crime spree lie is about dead. The data showed the very opposite: whites were under-represented as generic hate-crime perpetrators and in particular were not responsible for the uptick of anti-Asian violence, either proportionally or in absolute numbers. African-Americans were overrepresented, both generically and especially in the case of Anti-Asian crimes. 

Continue reading “Optimism, Inc.: One Too Many Lies?” →

Victor Davis Hanson // American Greatness

After a hundred days of President Biden, I think most Americans are now on to what will follow in the next few years. 

Joyless Joe

Biden frowns. He grimaces. He occasionally barks and yells as he delivers a gloomy view of America and its people, past and present. 

Admit it: We are all racists, then and now, captives of Jim Crow still. Biden needs as many fabricated enemies as he can find; otherwise, his speeches, his demeanor, his agenda are little more than absurdities. They cannot stand or fall on their own merits because they have none. So grumpy Biden, in his latest and final incarnation, is always anti-something, usually anti-Trump, anti-racism, and anti-everything traditional America is for.

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In the first episode of  Scholars & Sense, Bill Bennett, Conrad Black & Victor Davis Hanson talk about the American economy, inequality in the education system and the on-going left leaning bias in the media. You can voice your opinion at scholarsandsense@gmail.com

Victor Davis Hanson // Private Papers

As I wrote not long ago, I think we can expect a big boom of pent-up demand coming that will result in 5 percent or so of annualized GDP growth, maybe as early in late second or third quarter of 2021 lasting until mid-year next year but accompanied by inflation reaching 4-6 percent. And then at some point, depending on whether the Biden huge tax hike, green deals, and new regulations are in effect, a much higher inflation, slower growth, and recessionary trends in late 2022 or early 2023. So growth/boom/inflation/stagflation/recession?

 You say, “So what? That’s the natural order of things”. Perhaps. But an entire generation has come of age without knowledge of anything but de facto zero interest, and little or no inflation, and plentiful jobs. I can attest from 1978-84, that inflation, recession, and unemployment can all exist at the same time. I can remember feeling lucky to have a farm production credit loan at 9% and knowing “delighted” friends who bought homes in 1981 at 10% and a family member who bought a car at 18% and felt he got a good rate. So buckle up…

Continue reading “Eeyore’s Cabinet: Thoughts on the Economy” →

Victor Davis Hanson // American Greatness

Nothing is now stranger than the contemporary college campus. 

Not too long ago, Americans used to idolize their universities. Indeed, in science, math, engineering, medicine and business, these meritocratic departments and schools often still remain the world’s top-ranked. 

Certainly, top-notch higher education explains much of the current scientific, technological, and commercial excellence of the United States. 

After World War II—won in part due to superior American scientific research, production, and logistics—the college degree became the prerequisite for a successful career. The GI Bill enabled 8 million returning vets to go to college. Most graduated to good jobs. 

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Victor Davis Hanson // Private Papers

Two days ago, I drove in a 5-square-mile radius and noticed that the 100 or so farms I grew up with are all gone. Caput. Everyone. Not one grandkid, relative, etc. seems to be farming. The acreage seems either rented out or sold off. 

The land is usually leased to conglomerated operations (and the almond orchards look beautiful). Renters from Mexico and Central America mostly live in the clapboard decaying houses, and the barns and sheds look empty or eroding—or rented out to boarders. Often, they also sublet the yard to families living in trailers and make-shift sheds. 

Continue reading “Fragments of Memory” →