CONTRARY to popular belief, the first July Fourth, as experienced by the founding fathers, was not terribly hot. The temperatures in Philadelphia in July of 1776 never rose above 82 degrees Fahrenheit, as can be seen from this log kept by Thomas Jefferson. And on July 4th, the high was a mere 76 degrees. However, the delegates of the Continental Congress were wearing wigs and frock coats, not T-shirts, baseball caps and fanny packs. There was no air-conditioning or electric fans, and a summer in Philadelphia was tropical compared to those in England. The average high in London in July is 72 (as compared to 86 in Philadelphia), and would have been lower in 1776, which was toward the end of the Little Ice Age. Therefore they are still deserving of admiration for their endurance.

THE FRENCH make potato salad with olive oil and wine, the Germans like it warm with bacon, Sicilians reportedly add fava beans. Americans have their own tradition. They eat potato salad with sugar in it.

Horrors! Sugar is evil. Okay, be that way. Nevertheless, that is our heritage, and until the federal government bans potato salad (or rather imposes a fine on those who eat it), it’s a good thing to participate in this exalted tradition once in a while.

Here is an excellent recipe for an American-style potato salad. The dressing, which is also good on macaroni salad, is adapted from Roy Finamore’s book One Potato, Two Potato and originally came from a vendor at the Union Square Market in New York City.  (more…)

IAN writes:

Thank you for your wonderful site. I discovered it about six months ago and have been reading faithfully since. This is my first time writing you.

I was wondering if you had any old posts on the modern obsession over exercise, especially among women. A conservative friend of mine recently accused me of being a feminist when I wrote to him in an e-mail that the modern obsession of women over exercise evinced an inappropriate focus on looks. Specifically, I wrote the following:

[G]irls should be concerned about their weight if they are overweight. But there is a drive for women to look ‘hot,’ which is not healthy from both a physical and spiritual point of view. (more…)

TEXANNE writes:

Many who support Obamacare, and many who are ambivalent and confused as to whether it will help their own immediate personal situation, think only about “health care” as a basic necessity or even believe it is a “human right” to receive it. (more…)

THIS 2008 photo of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts speaks volumes. Here is a man who wants to be liked. Is it any surprise Roberts is responsible for arguably the most stupid Supreme Court ruling in history, a ruling that makes a penalty a tax even though members of Congress said over and over that the penalty was not a tax? At Forbes, Doug Bandow writes that “rarely has such a smart judge written such a bad opinon.”

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REFLECTIONS by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira on the Magnificat, perhaps the most beautiful words ever written, can be found here. He wrote: Observe that from beginning to end, the Magnificat is a thesis followed by arguments demonstrating it. It sings with extraordinary balance of the justice and mercy of God to show His grandness: grandness in His mercy, grandness in His justice. It is also a demonstration that all human power is nothing independent of God and a proof of His dominion over the entire universe. It is a triumphal hymn to the grandness of God.

  I WROTE before about the poultry vendor in my area where personal, retro-commerce prevails. It's not the same since my favorite counterman, Bill, died. It will never be quite the same. But I am loyal to my people unto death. Love is synchrony, the movement through time together. It thrives on routine. The owner of the stand may be sick of saying, "What can we get for you today, Mrs. Wood?" but he will say it many more times. There is a new picture of a chicken up behind the counter and a quote: I dream of a world where a chicken can cross the road without his motives being questioned.

  WHILE the American Medical Association, which represents a small minority of physicians, has supported Obamacare, many doctors have organized to condemn it. Here is a statement on the Supreme Court ruling by Elizabeth Lee Vliet of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a group formed in 1943 which is suing the federal government in U.S. District Court. And here is a plan for reform by AmericanDoctors4Truth.

ADITYA B. writes:

Yet another foolish white woman has, in her own words, suffered a “horrific sexual and physical attack in Tahrir Square.” There’s something about the prospect of “horrific sexual and physical attack[s]” in the line of duty that seems to almost – dare I say it – arouse the white careerist?

White women don’t venture into Mestizo and black territory for pleasure because there is not glory in being raped in the pursuit of hedonism. However, when such dangers are part and parcel of achieving some sort of “glory” in pursuit of career that seems to act as a stimulant. (more…)

  THE U.S. National Forest Service website has lots of interesting historic photos such as these of men working the woods, clearing land, building trails and fighting fires. Before it became a bureaucratic hellhole that routinely turns away and demoralizes the people most interested in and suited to the rigors of forest work, the Forest Service offered great opportunities for those (almost always men) who wanted to work the land for the summer or build an entire career related to preserving, maintaining, studying and planning forest lands. Now, as described in Christopher Burchfield's excellent book,  The Tinder Box, longtime forest employees fantasize of early retirement. They long to get away from the inefficiency and irrationality of a fanatically egalitarian organization. Young men, especially white men, who would otherwise be interested in jobs in the local forest dismiss the possibility. The Forest Service brings in people from far away to meet its quotas. The state-enforced denial of sex differences is so far-reaching that this country's natural resources are threatened. Equality is an all-consuming project. According to Burchfield, the forests are more neglected and more prone to devastating fires than they were before class action suits changed everything. The irony is that few women enjoy wielding chain saws or fighting raging infernos. Everything was turned upside down so women could do these very things.  

HERE IS a concise and well-written statement by Thomas Patrick Burke of the Wynnewood Institute on why the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare is wrong:

What is the purpose of a constitution? It is to limit the powers of government, for otherwise there is no necessary limit to them. Some people believe the purpose of a constitution is to create a government in the first place. But a government can be created without any constitution. The feudal governments of earlier times had no constitutions. (more…)

THE VIGILANT CITIZEN analyzes Madonna’s recent tour:

People have come to expect controversy from Madonna, but this is not simply controversy for the sake of it like she used to do in the 90′s. Nope, this is symbolic and calculated controversy, engineered to carry all of the Illuminati’s messages. …. (more…)

AT a new traditionalist blog called The Americanist, Pilgrim’s Pride writes:

Celebrations and remembrances have begun in earnest, here on the Philadelphia Main Line. Because so much history was made between here and Philadelphia, the townships and boroughs are forced to stagger their official observances simply to ration the available supply of marching bands, fireworks companies, WWII veterans, and enthusiastic Americans to watch them. (more…)

AT VFR, Kevin V. writes:

The key barrier to the nationalist message reaching vast swathes of our people is the illusion of conservative and Republican dissent. Only the nationalist understanding properly explains these things that trouble ordinary conservatives so. (more…)

ALAN ROEBUCK, the eloquent Calvinist, writes at The Orthosphere that most people in the modern world are profoundly demoralized. He recommends they discover a lost civilization — their own.

In his essay “Why You Are Demoralized and What You Can Do About It,” he writes:

You are demoralized because, first, the authorities say you must be nonjudgmental. This means (whether they admit it or not) that everything is equally valuable, which means (although they’ll never admit it) that everything is equally worthless. (more…)

NBC will be introducing a sitcom in September about two homosexual men trying to start a family together. The show will be called (what else?) “The New Normal.”  A commenter at Lucianne.com writes:

Who in their right minds even has a TV set to watch this stuff on anymore anyway. Who cares? This is like complaining that there are nakid (sic) women in Playboy. That’s another “big duh.” There is no reason to have “TV” in your house anymore, and if you insist on it then this is what is going to be on it!

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