The Crowhill Journal

Trader Joe’s decided not to cower before some woke high school kid who complained that their playful use of “Trader Joe” — translated for different foods as “Trader Giotto’s,” “Trader Ming’s,” and “Trader Jose’s” — was racist.

Let’s hope woke-ism has jumped the shark and we can put all this lunacy behind us.

Because “complicated” allows for different views. Different interpretations.

WALSH: George Floyd Body Cam Footage Is Out. The Story Is Far More Complicated Than Media Led Us To Believe.

I am absolutely not defending the way the police handled George Floyd. But I am also not willing to believe what the lying cretins in the media tell us, and certainly not what the race hustlers say.

We’re not going to know what really happened until all the facts are out on the table and reviewed in a competent court of law, and we should wait until then before we come to any firm conclusions.

P&C drink and review Hop Stoopid Ale from Lagunitas Brewing, then discuss “the smartest man in America,” Thomas Sowell.

While he never speaks much about it, Thomas Sowell has a very interesting life story that would make a good movie — if Hollywood cared about black conservatives.

Sowell speaks clearly, converting complicated concepts into ordinary language that regular people can understand.

At the foundation of his philosophy is two contrasts. First, between practical knowledge and academic knowledge. Second, between the constrained vision — that takes into account the limits of human nature — and the unconstrained vision — which believes man can be perfected by the correct policies.

P&C end the show with a series of pithy Sowell quotes.

Monsignor Charles Pope is a long-time family friend, and recently presided over the marriage of my youngest, so I am admittedly biased.

Msgr Pope recently contracted Coronavirus, and the media seems to want to spin this as some sort of just retribution for daring to tell people that their souls are more important than their health, and that we can’t be ruled by fear.

My spin is that the media has this backwards. This isn’t a case of a man denying the risks and then falling prey to the virus. This is a case of a man who knew the risks and did his job anyway.

Monsignor Pope believes what he preaches — that life is to be lived, despite fear, and that church and community and the sacramental life are important. He knew he was putting himself at risk. He also knew he had a higher calling.

I have been somewhat astonished at the response of church leadership to this crisis. Yes, it’s serious. Yes, precautions need to be taken. Yes, there is a place for prudence, and “let us not forsake our own gathering together” is not a suicide pact.

But from my perspective, the response by many churches has been a little cowardly. Priests are called to care for souls, and sometimes that means telling people to man up and face the risks.

I was wondering how something like two-factor authentication could be used to ensure that mail-in votes are accurately counted, and I quickly came up with several ways to audit the election, but then I also quickly came to another conclusion.

Solving the problem of voter fraud is less important than demagoging about voting.

Or, more broadly, demagoging is more important than solving problems. Any problems.

Our politicians hardly even try to pass legislation any more. Appealing to their base is far more important.