But Universe IS expanding. That is as certain as anything in Astronomy. The "standard candle" is based on the notion that all white dwarf stars are of the same mass and composition, which can only be approximately true at best. Small differences in composition could have large effects in luminosity. The red shift is REAL. We know that because various events such as supernovae have their time intervals spread out by EXACTLY the same amount as the red shift.

To me, dark matter is iffy, and dark energy is even more iffy.