1. Everyone knows that the best way to encourage dissent and rebellion in a country is for a foreign power to launch an unprovoked sneak attack against it.

2. If a statement is true, it cannot be racist.
If it is false, the falsity is more important than racism.

Therefore, the first question should never be whether a statement is ‘racist’ (or what have you) but whether or not it is true.

3. There’s a reason why the flying aces of World War I are the only element of that war which are idealized or seen as glamorous. On the ground, it was men slogging through mud against machine guns and heavy artillery, in which the individual has minimal influence on the outcome as he is ground up in a cruel mechanical calculation.

In the air, on the other hand, it is individual men in their own individual machines facing each other man-to-man, skill to skill. There was a scope for talent, nobility, and honor in the air which didn’t exist on the ground. Ironically enough, the airplane battles were more human than the ground battles.

4. As I think I’ve said here before; the real lesson of Animal Farm is that Old Major’s doctrine of the equality of the animals is a lie. All animals are not equal, and no amount of ideology or legal framework will make them so. The pigs will always be smarter than the sheep, which means the pigs will always rule the sheep. The only way the pigs will not rule is if they were subjugated by the actual qualities of another animal. The horses, for instance, could subdue the pigs because they have overwhelming physical power, but then the horses would rule.

There is no way to get an ‘equal’ society, because the animals are not in fact equal: the chickens and sheep and so on will always be dependent on someone else for their rights. That may be the pigs as the most intelligent and best able to direct the society, or it may be the horses as the most powerful and most able to enforce their will, but it will be someone.

5. To judge by quality is the only proper way to make decisions, especially regarding people. In whatever context it may be, certain criteria will be called for. Those who meet the criteria are to be approved, those who do not are not. If, for whatever reason, this does not always fall evenly among different types or groups, then that is not your fault.

6. One Piece live-action is back after three years. Two episodes in, and the second season is still pretty good and very enjoyable. I really like how the series doesn’t break down into good and evil so much as varying factions with conflicting values and motives. So, our plucky band of misfits are definitely the heroes, but the relentless Marine captain who is trying to capture them is also a good guy who is introduced being kind to a little girl. The psychotic clown pirate is a bad guy, but depending on circumstances he might join forces with the heroes for his own convenience.

7. I also appreciate that the main characters are all convincingly friends. They bust chops and bicker, but they’re not constantly running each other down or seething with resentment. They tease each other, but then turn around and offer heartfelt advice and encouragement. It’s a very, well, wholesome dynamic.