Look, I’m NOT a medievalist. Sure, I’ve posted a thing or two here and on Frontier Partisans about medieval plagues and warfare and misrule and such — as one does. Actually, my most recent post was on the Ottoman Empire and the Taking of Constantinople, wasn’t it? And I did kind of go on a Yorkist binge last winter… Oh, […]
About Jim Cornelius
Tentmakers & Turks — The Long Shadow Of The Ottoman Empire
Synchronicity has been chiming, as it does. The Ottoman Empire looms on my historical horizon. It started with a tent… Next weekend, our hometown hosts the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. My newspaper created the program for the event, producing about a dozen features on particular artists and events. The Show’s fundraising event is a virtual presentation on The […]
Hung Up On The Horns Of Hattin
President Biden’s announcement that some 9,000 Afghans who served the United States during our long war in their country will be evacuated and protected is most welcome. From the New York Times: President Biden said on Thursday (June 24) that his administration would begin relocating thousands of Afghan interpreters, drivers and others who worked with American forces […]
Teach Your Children Well
Race, racism, and how to teach our children about it has roiled school districts across the country. Here in Central Oregon, the Bend-LaPine School Board election school board election became a scrum over the purported threat of the infiltration of Critical Race Theory into local curriculum. The issue has been raised, albeit in muted form, in […]
The Robots Attack
“This is probably the first time a robot has autonomously attacked and killed human beings.” — Ed Nash’s Military Matters Anybody who is familiar with the historical fiction science fiction Terminator series knows that the shit hit the fan when the AI network Skynet became self-aware. Humans tried to shut it down; Skynet fought back and… welcome to […]
Far And Farther Flings The Wire
A person here in my town asked me the other day what my beliefs are regarding climate change. Note that phrasing. It was a political and ideological question. Isn’t everything these days? The question was asked sincerely and in good will, and I answered honestly. That means my thoughts won’t fit on a bumper sticker, and, to an activist, […]
You Don’t Need A Weatherman…
U.S. intelligence officials have little comfort to offer a pandemic-weary planet about where the world is heading in the next 20 years. Short answer: It looks pretty bleak. — The Washington Post, April 8, 2021 There is supposed to be some cold satisfaction in being able to say “I told you so.” I’m not feeling that, and I’m […]
The Hue And Cry Over Qualified Immunity
Guest post by Mike Lazarus Lots of talk lately about Qualified Immunity. Much chest-beating declaring it an abomination that protects bad cops from prosecution. Like many of our public proclamations, we are enjoying a certain loose standard of facts, that — while entertaining — often fails to educate so much as mislead. First, let us clarify one important […]
Incitement To Riot
My wife Marilyn and I recently finished Season 2 of Cinemax’s martial arts pulp fest, Warrior. Inspired by a concept written down in notes by Bruce Lee many years ago, and heavily influenced by Quentin Tarantino, the adventure follows a Chinese immigrant to San Francisco in the 1870s, where he becomes a tong soldier and is embroiled in the tong […]
Treason And The Cold Comforts Of History
The tumult and turmoil of the past year have sent me back to the 18th century, to the roots of our battered Republic. It’s been a comforting sojourn — but not in the ways one might expect. There’s not much to be gained from revisiting hoary myths of the Founding; the real flesh-and-blood history is much more challenging, […]
The Politics Of Plowing Driveways
Running Iron Report reader John Dutcher scouted up what may be a perfect example of a worldview that RIR stands against. L.A. Times columnist Virginia Heffernan was knocked sideways by a powerful gust of cognitive dissonance when when she discovered that her Trump-supporting neighbors had done her a kindness. Oh, heck no. The Trumpites next door to our pandemic […]
Racing In The Street
I told a friend the other day that I think Bruce Springsteen’s Racing in the Street may well be my favorite song. Then I had to figure out why. ’Cause it ain’t the cars or the racing. Of course, the song isn’t really about those things at all… * For 40 years, I’ve been haunted by theses lines: Some guys just […]
