Yes. Another Substack.

A while back, I created the Constitutional Vanguard list, to promote liberty, free markets, and the Constitution. As I have watched these things become perverted, I thought it might be time to revive the project. I created a Substack a few weeks ago and moved the list there, but didn’t get around to doing anything with it. Then I saw people were signing up, and thought: why not give it a whirl?

My goal is to get half the list to unsubscribe in the next 24 hours. How will I do it? By saying what I think. I’ve managed to alienate people here and on Twitter over the years, and I am confident I can alienate people the same way on the Substack platform. I can do this!

The first post discusses the confluence of audience capture and group polarization. These are topics I have discussed before, but I think this is the first time I have ruminated publicly on how they combine to create a toxic environment where lies spread like wildfire.

My basic thesis is this: now, more than ever, we need people who don’t alter what they believe and what they say based on what they think will please their audience. If I can’t find a way to alienate a good chunk of you in every newsletter, I’m not doing my job.

I promise you that I will say only what I actually think. And I promise you that it will probably upset you at some point. That’s actually a good thing.

Check it out, and sign up if you’re not signed up already. (It’s free, for now.)

It is the first Sunday after the Epiphany. The title of today’s cantata is “Wer da gläubet und getauft wird” (He who believes and is baptized).

Today’s Gospel reading is Mark 1:4-11:

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

The text of today’s cantata is available here, and contains these words:

Faith creates the wings of the soul,
so that it may soar to heaven,
baptism is the seal of grace,
that brings us to God’s blessing;
and therefore he is called a blessed Christian
who believes and is baptised.

Happy listening! Soli Deo gloria.