Happy Sunday everyone. Our first full month is officially wrapped up! Thanks for sticking with me. Every month I’ll send out one of these posts containing a brief description of every article published so that new readers can get a better sense of what’s available to them.
As always, I humbly beg you, in the most pathetic and frankly sad way possible, to become a paid subscriber. Paid subscribers have access to all of the history articles on this Substack, along with other exclusive posts like the Weekly Watch-alongs. It’s only $5 a month, I really do think you’ll enjoy it. Just open your settings, click on “Subscriptions,” select Conundrum Cluster, and then press the big beautiful “Upgrade to paid subscription” button. Every subscription makes a difference for me. Thank you very much to everyone who’s already subscribed.
Without further adieu, here is the Catalog
History
"Grab the Revolution by the Throat" (Free) - A brief biography of Russian Interior Minister Pyotr Stolypin, with particular focus given to how he successfully ended the massive amounts of far left violence and social disorder that almost toppled the Russian Empire following the 1905 Revolution
General Wrangel asks "What's in a name?" (Paid) - Charts the changing names of the White Army during the Russian Civil War, and the efforts of General Wrangel to finally cut the Gordian Knot of identity in a grand struggle
The 1932 Bonus Army scandal was always communist propaganda (Paid) - Gives a rundown of the infamous gathering of 20,000 veterans with 20,000 other followers in Washington, DC that ended with the US military running everyone out at bayonet point. Surprise: it was a communist psyop
How Marshal Mannerheim saved his country by quitting and telling everyone to fuck off (Paid) - An introduction to the 1918 Finnish Civil War (more on this to come) and the actions that led to Marshal Mannerheim, the national hero of Finland, rising to his role of supreme commander of anti-communist forces
Sacco and Vanzetti were always guilty (Paid) - Provides an overview of the Sacco and Vanzetti case, placing it within the context of the surrounding leftwing terror wave and other unrest. Although a “wrongfully accused” narrative has been built around the pair over the last century, it turns out that the evidence against them was pretty overwhelming and they were both members of a terrorist network
In March 1914, socialist mobs invaded and shook-down churches all over New York City (Paid) - Provides an introduction to the socialist/anarchist International Workers of the World union by detailing a series of violent “protests” they staged in New York City during an economic downturn, targeting local churches. It turns out that people didn’t like the “Wobblies” for pretty understandable reasons
IM-1776 publishes Conundrum Cluster article! (Free) - Provides a link to my new history article “FDR’s Censorship Regime” which was published in the conservative magazine IM-1776. The article describes the clash between FDR’s liberal Office of War Information and studios over a film about Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction
ACLU hero Clarence Darrow bribed juror to try to free bombers who killed 21 people (Free) - Introducing the infamous 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing case, in which union organizers blew up the L.A. Times building as part of a larger terror campaign to silence critics of unions. The explosion and ensuing fire killed 21 innocent people. Influential civil rights lawyer Clarence Darrow took up the union organizers’ case, claimed they were framed, stated that no bombing even occurred and that it was all really a conspiracy by big business, and then got caught red-handed trying to bribe a juror to vote to acquit during the trial. It’s a great story and one that has mostly been scrubbed from Darrow’s legacy as a crusader for truth and justice
Current Events
It's taken Utah more than 3 years to bring a BLM gunman to trial for shooting a driver in broad daylight (Free) - Outlines the case of Jesse Taggart, a BLM activist who shot a driver at a roadblock in Provo, UT during the 2020 George Floyd riots. Taggart’s trial still hasn’t begun and another BLM activist who pulled a gun and chased the victim at the incident received no jail time
BLM gunman who shot a driver in the head has charges dropped, sentence reduced, eligible for parole in 2026 (Free) - Tracks the case of James Marshall, an Alamosa, CO attorney and former public defender who nearly killed a driver at a BLM roadblock during the Floyd Riots. Marshall received a much lighter sentence and much more support from the legal community than one would expect for shooting an innocent person in the head
Judge gives BLM gunman 70 days in jail for firing at car on highway, hitting bystanders (Free) - Gives an overview of the attempted murder of the occupants of a Jeep that had the misfortune of encountering a BLM roadblock in Aurora, CO. The shooter, Samuel Young, received the sympathies of the judge. The article sketches the relatively-unknown (but very revealing) infrastructure behind this incident and proposes more detailed solutions to the problem of these roadblocks in general
BLM gunman convicted of manslaughter, not murder, for shooting police officer to death (Free) - Describes yet another incident of politically-motivated jury nullification by liberal jurors. A BLM militant shot a police officer unprovoked during a routine stop but was convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter, rather than murder, at trial several years later
Daughter of cyclist murdered by “teens” tells people not to draw obvious conclusions (Free) - Coverage of the sad aftermath of the murder of a white cyclist by two non-white teenagers. The murder was filmed and was apparently committed solely for the purpose of entertainment. The victim’s family gave a press conference where they asked the public not to focus on the racial element of the story
Newsom is their guy for 2024 (Free) - Makes the case that, contrary to popular wisdom, California Governor Gavin Newsom is both running and will be a formidable opponent for Republicans in 2024
Heroic former football star and Army paratrooper takes stand against mental health circlejerk (Free) - Covers the surprisingly large controversy surrounding former Arkansas football star and combat veteran Jake Bequette’s dismissal of University of Arkansas head coach’s Sam Pittman call for greater mental health awareness and condemnation of social media following two huge losses
Tim Pool justifies blacks beating unconscious white teen to death and then blocking rescue (Free) - Details political commentator Tim Pool’s bizarre and lazy defense of the acquittal of two black men for beating an unconscious white teenager to death after the teenager sprayed them with a gel blaster. The black men made an obviously fake self-defense claim which the jury and Pool accepted at face value
"Protestor" who condemned BLM shooting victim arrested for terrorism in Georgia (Free) - Another article on the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd riots. An observant reader noticed that one of the leftist activists employed to create the record surrounding the victim of a BLM roadblock shooting in Aurora ended up being arrested for terrorism in Georgia this month
Gavin Newsom wins Republican primary debate (Free) - Responds to the September 27 Republican primary debate, namely Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s missteps during and after it. Although the DeSantis campaign is going nowhere fast, it is providing an enormous benefit to the Democratic ticket in 2024, particularly probable contender California Governor Gavin Newsom
Politics and Culture
Gingergate (Free) - Analysis of the conservative response to Oliver Anthony’s smash hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond.” I think it’s sending people in a very negative direction
On the Need for Conservative Pulp (Free) - A proposal that conservative culture take things a bit closer to the edge and lighten up a bit
Clown Car Crash (Free) - Live commentary on the first and hopefully last 2024 Republican primary debate
The Yellowstoning of Oliver Anthony (Free) - Commentary on the ever-evolving Oliver Anthony situation, particularly his claims of neutrality and universal appeal
The DeSantis Martha's Vineyard stunt was still very dumb (Free) - Follow-up on the special delivery of illegal immigrants to the country’s wealthiest liberal enclave by Florida governor and one-time presidential contender Ron DeSantis. Pushes back on conservative attempts to rehabilitate this stunt (which fizzled out quickly) and places liberal complaints about the migrant surge in context with their real-world actions
Revolutionaries vs. Counter-revolutionaries (Free) - Outlines what I believe is the big obstacle to rightwingers forming an effective response to leftwing aggression: rightwingers continue to frame themselves and their problems through a fundamentally leftwing lens
"Comedian" crafts the myth of the 21st century on Netflix (Free) - Thoughts on the recent revelation that apparently famous television host Hasan Minhaj, whose “comedy” acts often involved sharing personal stories of racism and discrimination, actually fabricated many of the incidents he described. When confronted, Minhaj was unapologetic and claimed that his lies were “emotionally true”
ALERT! The Boomers are fedposting (Free) - Response to the common claim that the fedposting of our beloved Boomers implies that good things are on the horizon for the American Right
Conservative Underpants Gnomes (Free) - Reviews post-liberal British philosopher John Gray’s negative review of notable internet commentator Bronze Age Pervert’s book Bronze Age Mindset. Although Gray was very hostile to BAP, a lot of his criticisms seem poorly thought-out. In particular, Gray claimed that it was a conservative working class movement, and not BAP’s elitism, that would drive future successes. In my article, I dispute the idea that a conservative working class movement even exists and try to describe the Underpants Gnome logic on this and other topics that’s pervasive in conservative spaces
Shitposts
I might get cancelled for saying this, but... (Free) Bold declaration of controversial statements that might trigger those of weaker constitution
List of potential allies against the elites (Free) - Profiles of colorful characters who conservatives can join with to take down our nefarious elites. After all, it’s ultimately just US against THEM
Signs that a regime is on the brink of destruction (Free) - Checklist of events that certain online rightwingers persistently argue are good, somehow
Watch-alongs
Watch-along #1: The North Water E1 (Paid)
Watch-along #2: The North Water E2 (Paid)
Watch-along #3: The North Water E3 (Paid)
Administrative dumping ground (Too lazy to write descriptions)
This much writing in a month is incredible. Are there multiple writers, or are you in a manic episode, or just a NEET? Either way, paid subscription not regretted.