Morning music
Historical note
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coughlin
“Charles Edward Coughlin (/ˈkɒɡlɪn/ KOG-lin; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian–American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. Dubbed “The Radio Priest ” and considered a leading demagogue,[1] he was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience. During the 1930s, when the U.S. population was about 120 million, an estimated 30 million listeners tuned in to his weekly broadcasts.[2]
Coughlin was born in Ontario to working-class Irish Catholic parents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1916, and in 1923 he was assigned to the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan. Coughlin began broadcasting his sermons during a time of increasing anti-Catholic sentiment across the globe. As his broadcasts became more political, he became increasingly popular.[3]
Initially, Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal; he later fell out with Roosevelt, accusing him of being too friendly to bankers. In 1934, he established a political organization called the National Union for Social Justice. Its platform called for monetary reforms, nationalization of major industries and railroads, and protection of labour rights. The membership ran into the millions but was not well organized locally.[4]
After making attacks on Jewish bankers, Coughlin began to use his radio program Golden Hour to broadcast antisemitic commentary. In the late 1930s, he supported some of the policies of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The broadcasts have been described as “a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture”.[5] His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, using the slogan “Social Justice”.
After the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters forced the cancellation of Golden Hour. In 1942, the Archdiocese of Detroit forced Coughlin to close his newspaper Social Justice and forbade its distribution by mail. Coughlin vanished from the public arena, working as a parish pastor until retiring in 1966. He died in 1979 at age 88.[6][7][8]“
[Wikipedia]
It seems that Father Coughlin’s views were a more politicized, and more American (though he was born and brought up in Ontario), equivalent of those espoused by those of the great G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, and others of a Roman Catholic or an Anglo-Catholic ideological background prior to the Second World War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaire_Belloc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton
Tweets seen
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs, “IQ” can only take you so far. My own IQ was once measured (40 years ago) at 156, easily within the top 1% of the population, yet I have not taken over leadership of the world and, at age 68, time is running out, at least in my present incarnation.
Looking at most politicians, commentators, business leaders etc in our society, intellectual mediocrity is more likely to lead to “success” than a stellar IQ.
Interestingly, it is claimed that Marilyn Monroe had an IQ equivalent to that of Einstein, which must make one question the basis for IQ’s societal prominence. We are only at the early stages of understanding what makes the brain, the human personality, and society, work.
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits
Ukraine
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/31/tired-mood-changed-ukrainian-army-desertion-crisis
“When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Viktor* was ready to die for his country. He volunteered to defend Kyiv as enemy tanks appeared and joined Ukraine’s armed forces. In the spring of 2023 he was fighting in the village of Tonenke, near the eastern city of Avdiivka. “When I arrived I was super-motivated. If necessary I would give my life,” he recalled.
Gradually, however, he became disillusioned. The battle was furious. “The Russians would smash our positions to the ground,” he said. Senior Ukrainian commanders gave unrealistic orders. Then, while he was defending a ruined building, a panel fell on his shoulder. After receiving injections to reduce the pain, he was told to return to the front. “I realised I’m nobody. Just a number,” he said.
In May that same year, Viktor left his position to seek further medical treatment. He did not come back. His commander marked him down as awol. Viktor is one of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who have abandoned their units. The exact figure is a military secret, but officials concede the number is large.
The issue of desertion has made headlines in Ukraine. Last week the government launched an investigation into the 155th Mechanised Brigade. Fifty-six soldiers disappeared while training in France. Hundreds of others are said to be missing.
After three years of war, Ukraine is desperately short of soldiers, especially infantry. This has made it easier for Russia’s army to advance in the east. There are structural issues too. New brigades have been built from scratch. They performed poorly.”
[Guardian]
As noted on this blog for the past couple of years.
Russia is winning, slowly. The Kiev regime may collapse later this year. There may be a general advance of Russian forces later in 2025.
More tweets
Still clapping?
See also:
Discussion on GB News TV about why both “Labour” and “Boris”-idiot’s “Conservative” government have encouraged migration-invasion. The Coudenhove-Kalergi Plan is the reason. It is a conspiracy, not a mere conspiracy theory...
UK demographics
“White British births have fallen to a record low! New figures have revealed that White British births now make-up just 55.6 per cent of all live births in England and Wales. But at the same time, the British population is skyrocketing, with the latest reports published in the press predicting that our population will surpass 72.5 million by 2032!
The meteoric rise in population is largely being driven by mass immigration. Both legal and illegal migration into Britain are now at an all-time high and the last up-to-date figures we released show that net migration has reached over 900,000 per year. This is shocking in itself, as that is more people than live in the city of Manchester!“
[statement released today by the group Patriotic Alternative]
Late music
Ian Robert Millard 