I recommend only Girard’s preface, not the material that follows it. Unless, as Girard says in the preface, you are seeking “amusing reading”, or entertainment.

And read Schmitt.

Can we return to a culture of external mediation?

This question should not be possible by the works of many so-called Girardian scholars, and yet it is because Girard explicitly states in the work “Innovation and Repetition” that we left the last phase of external mediation around 500 years ago:

From Girard’s work “Innovation and Repetition”:

“In the vulgar tongues, the need for the word appears only in the last phase of external mediation, which I roughly identify with the 16th and 17th centuries.”
and “External mediation gives way to a world in which, at least in principle, individuals and communities are free to adopt whichever models they prefer and, better still, no model at all.”

By these two quotes in this essay, it is clear that external mediation no longer exists in our world. And yet, works from Eric Gans, Johnathan Bi, Luke Burgis, Elias Carr and others say the exact...

Written in April and May 2024; Published in March 2026

The problem with using the katechon as a rationalization for action, is that with many parties involved and with a complicated (and malicious) information environment – it becomes harder to know if our countries are the good guys acting in self defense, or are the bad guys using a good-guy mask to gain sympathy while intentionally doing bad actions.

Eric Voeglin’s lesson for us is that it is wrong to immanentize the eschaton. Byrne Hobert and Tobias Huber’s lesson for us is that it is wrong to immanetize the katechon. But these two are not enough, because simply attempting to definitively name the katechon (even if one doesn’t work to bolster it) dramatically increases the risk of immanentizing it. Or, naming could lead to the problem of rationalizing no action in analyzing alternative options to the katechon at hand. Because if...

Sharing a few videos here that explain some complicated topics from my life in 2025 and early 2026.

February 2026 Driving Discussion Video One

• Where I’ve been, what happened, learnings, and what’s next
• I, Jeremy Welch, tied to responsibilities by writing Catastrophe of the Soul
• American Dream, parts founded on lies, known or unknown by leaders
• Always working to be the most responsible person in the room

February 2026 Driving Discussion Video Two

• Key questions and works: Catastrophe of the Soul, Leviathan Loop, Welchian time theory, Can Holy Quests stop Sacred Wars?, Formation theory and Reflective theory, Being as Gift
• Surveillance protection / katechon system,
• Events 2025 to 2026
• New Theory: Epstein Island is Everywhere

February 2026 Driving Discussion Video Three

• Video Two review, Epstein Island is Everywhere
• Who I am, why I’m thinking about this
• My Catholic Christian...

Palantir has been around since what… mid 2000s?

And they’ve had access to MASSIVE amounts of data on peoples bank accounts and movements. It’s effectively a privatized version of the surveillance systems that Snowden revealed.

How could they not know about the pedophile control and blackmail systems that are now being exposed?

Why would Shyam or anyone else affiliated with Palantir need to call for an unlimited Schmittian exception right now of all times? Is it possible that their unlimited surveillance and business model collapses if the rules-based order is actually enforced within a country and outside a country, including civil liberties protections in the USA?

If international order is based on international law and country-to-country treaties and alliances, which are always negotiated and very flexible, then there’s no need to declare a Schmittian exception with Shyam’s...

From the very first sentence you can tell this guy Shyam Sankar is an idiot. Ignore Shyam and this “Mobilize” book entirely:
https://x.com/ssankar/status/1976291588524630318?s=46

“Undeclared state of emergency” is Schmittian and even worse, by not declaring the emergency he is declaring some kind of unlimited scope in the first sentence. This is the exact unlimited Schmittian power approach that my essay “Catastrophe of the Soul” breaks.

What does “adversaries circling” even mean? Who are these adversaries?

China has made clear multiple times that they do not wish for war and for America to fall. The press has reported on the recent peaceful collaborations between the two nations clearly:
https://apnews.com/article/us-china-trump-xi-iran-call-441425004d3d695df87f3f7c0b62492e

There is a path for the US and China and all states to collaborate on solving big problems, bringing...

Today at Mass I noticed a woman wearing a hat during the service. It was not a veil, it was clearly a hat. I did not know this, but it seems that John Paul II updated the protocol on hats in 1983 for both men and women.

I will never wear a hat in church as a man out of my own choice. Despite it not being against church protocol, I don’t think other men should wear hats in church either since it is ambiguous for now as to what it means. However, I have come to learn that based on this update, for women a hat is viewed as a sign of submission (the same as a veil). Perhaps we could view it as an optional sign of submission for men too when they wear a hat in church until the Pope clarifies the matter?

I almost spoke up to this woman to ask her to remove her hat today, but considered it the place of the priest in the church to provide guidance. It is important for the wider church body...

A few poems I wrote in late June 2025 while traveling in Italy and Japan.

Piccola formica
Marzia possente
Impazzito con Cola
~
Little ant
Mighty march
Maddened by Cola

Singing clear
Dancing flight
Favorite colors
Blue as night
Blackest depth
Brightest sky
A branch swaying with the wind

Spiraling wheels
Falling off
Put back on
Falling off
Put back on
Falling off
Put back on
Falling off
Put back on
Falling off
Put back on
Falling off
Put back on
Clorox or Gorilla Glue

Black stone sharp
Grey stone steel
White salt sharp
Black soy sharp
Simmering copper brown

Sweet potato
Purple flesh
Copper skin
Burning tongue

A vase edge
Overshadowed
By great green leaves

Christ Lord,
May those who consider me an enemy find the courage to fight openly if they find it necessary to fight at all.

May those who consider me an enemy know or find and then keep some love in their hearts, for someone or some place or best of all for you.

May those who consider me an enemy be blessed with good health and wealth.

May those who consider me an enemy have peace of conscience and no anxiety.

May those who consider me an enemy gain the blessings of a holy family and laughing, smiling, learning and healthy children.

May those who consider me an enemy live into old age and have the blessing of seeing their work help others.

May those who consider me an enemy come to understand that the only true human enemy is an unrepentant and unloving self, of which we cannot fix or fight without your grace and the help of family, friends and strangers.

May those who...