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MAY 11,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

THE JUDGMENT OF SO-CALLED EDUCATORS – FROM FOX:   The parents of three University of Massachusetts-Amherst students who were suspended for reportedly violating the COVID-19 health policy after a photo of the trio, maskless at a party off-campus, was passed to school administrators told "Fox & Friends" the "draconian" punishment was "complete overkill."  The students – all women – were pictured outside and without masks at a large off-campus gathering, according to reports, which noted that the school first removed the students from campus, then later cut off their remote lesson access.  "They went to a gathering, off-campus on a Saturday. They took a picture and another student screenshotted that picture on Instagram and sent it to the administration," one of the parents told host Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday. "So that picture virtually got them kicked out of school."  "It's been heartbreaking watching my well-adjusted daughter be emotionally distraught," she added. "It's been heartbreaking for my whole family."  She stressed that the university has shown "no compassion to us."  The women were also reportedly not allowed to take their final exams, rendering the school year moot and forcing them to reapply next year. The cost for one semester is $16,000 -- a fee the families will not see refunded as part of the punishment.  This isn't discipline.  This is madness.  It tells us something about the kind of "administrators" hired by today's woke colleges.  UMass is a public institution, and the parents involved should go directly to the governor.  They'd get plenty of public support.

DE SANTIS IN ACTION AGAIN – FROM FOX BUSINESS:   Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in response to a cyberattack that shut down a major pipeline and left more than 1,000 gas stations across several states – including Florida – without fuel.   DeSantis’s declaration activates the Florida National Guard as necessary and directs state emergency management officials to work with federal and local officials.   The Colonial Pipeline – the nation’s largest fuel pipeline – delivers about 45% of what is consumed on the East Coast.   Among the states hit by the gas shortages, Florida was the least affected. Most of Central Florida’s fuel comes from Gulf Coast refineries. The fuel shortage will have its biggest impact on the Panhandle because it gets most of its gas supply from Georgia, which the Colonial Pipeline serves, Tampa Bay’s FOX 13 reported.   Nevertheless, drivers in Florida and neighboring states have rushed to the pumps creating what analysts say is unwarranted panic-buying among drivers.    Ron DeSantis is establishing a superior record of keeping people calm in emergencies, and handling complex situations.  He is high on every Republican's presidential prospect list, and for good reason.

May 11, 2021       Permalink

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE – OVERNIGHT:  There is a growing feeling, picked up in public opinion polls, that something terrible is happening in American society.  We don't seem to be America any longer,   The feel of the country, the tone, has changed, and not for the better.

But why?  We turn to one of the most courageous women of our time, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has stood up against Islamic fundamentalism at the risk of her life.  She gives us an answer, and a warning.  From The New York Post: 

Numerous studies support the hypothesis that American life — not just politics, but life in general — has become deeply polarized. The deeply divided society we now live in increasingly reminds me of clan or tribal behavior in Africa...

...We are, I fear, close to the precipice of serious destabilization. Many American cities are either militarized (Washington, DC), near a social boiling point (Minneapolis), or have capitulated to anarchist protests and pressures (Portland, Seattle). These tribal quirks run deep on both sides of the aisle. Many Republicans continue to dispute the legitimacy of the result of the last presidential election; while on the Left, the woke are eroding the Democratic Party from the inside, as identity politics displace universalist aspirations. Some citizens are viewed as part of oppressive groups, some as part of oppressed groups. A person’s individual actions can generally do little to change the immutable characteristics of the tribe to which they belong.

There is frequently a visceral hostility towards anyone who leans even slightly toward the Right. Today, especially in academia, those who don’t conform with the “progressive” narrative, no matter how ethical they might be as individuals, are vilified as racists, white supremacists, homophobes or transphobes. Individuals can be attacked, canceled, disinvited or even fired for the tiniest of verbal transgressions.

This kind of intolerance has for some time been apparent in high schools, too. Another friend of mine has a daughter who attends a private school outside of San Francisco. Last year, when it was revealed that she had expressed mild support for President Trump, she was pushed down the stairs by a fellow pupil.

It was a horrifying and, one hopes, rare incident. And yet there is something very striking about tribalism: it is a basic human trait, like skin color or gender. However, despite being the natural state of being for many humans, it is not a positive or helpful trait, particularly in modern times. Tribalism developed as an imperfect social survival mechanism in the early stages of human civilization. But in modern times, it can lead to social disintegration and severe violence between groups.

The beautiful story of America, the reason so many people around the world still yearn to come here, is to a large extent founded on our rejection of tribalism and our establishment of civic, neutral institutions, based on the fundamental principle of equality before the law. These institutions are imperfect, of course, but they are far superior to the tribalism that rules other parts of the world. Our overcoming of such a natural urge is an accomplishment.

As “woke” politics strengthens its grasp on our institutions — extending beyond the educational system into the media and now many corporations — that accomplishment is being eroded. The presumption of innocence, the commitment to blind justice and the whole notion of due process are all falling victim to spurious notions of “equity” and “anti-racism” — both of which carry within them an implicit intention to discriminate on racial lines.

If we continue to slip down this path, the thirst for tribalism will be unquenchable. That’s why moderate liberals need to stand up to the destructive forces that are taking over the Democratic party, just as moderate conservatives need to resist the tribal impulse that often grows in reaction to the other side’s excesses.

In Somalia, we failed to do this. In America it is imperative that we succeed.

COMMENT:  Wonderfully said.  It is that kind of thinking that has made Ayaan Hirsi Ali a pariah on the far left, and especially on college campuses.  But for the real America she's a national treasure.

May 11, 2021       Permalink

MAY 10,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

DUMBNESS, ADDED TO WOKENESS – FROM BREITBART:   President Joe Biden blamed law enforcement for fueling “distrust” in minority communities in his proclamation declaring Peace Officers Memorial Day and “Police Week.”  Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15, honors all of the fallen law enforcement officers, as well as Police Week to remember all of the sacrifices from officials and their families across the country.  The president’s statement released Saturday expressed “gratitude for the selfless public servants who wear the badge,” but included a lengthy paragraph raising concerns about the “distrust” that police had created.  The statement read:  "This year, we also recognize that in many of our communities, especially Black and brown communities, there is a deep sense of distrust towards law enforcement; a distrust that has been exacerbated by the recent deaths of several Black and brown people at the hands of law enforcement.  These deaths have resulted in a profound fear, trauma, pain, and exhaustion for many Black and brown Americans, and the resulting breakdown in trust between law enforcement and the communities they have sworn to protect and serve ultimately makes officers’ jobs harder and more dangerous as well."  You know, there's a time and a place, and there's good taste and bad taste.  The president didn't have to politicize a tribute to fallen police officers, but he did...because the leftist fanatics in his party demanded it.  We're hoping the elections of 2022 will send a good number of those fanatics packing.

THEY NEVER LEARN – FROM TOWNHALL:   The Department of Justice has hired former NSA attorney and top Russia hoaxer Susan Hennessey to work in the National Security Division. She announced the news on her Twitter feed Monday morning after deleting a number of tweets.   In her previous writing and media appearances, Hennessey pushed the Steele dossier, which was used by the FBI to illegally spy on the Trump campaign in 2016. Steele is a foreign spy who was paid by the Clinton campaign to put the dossier together, during which he used Russian and other illicit sources.   There is no shame on the Democratic left.

May 10, 2021       Permalink

FIGHTING BACK – OVERNIGHT:  The revolt against WOKE teaching expands.  These people are patriots and volunteers.  From Epoch Times: 

Hundreds of scholars, including some distinguished figures, have applied for positions at an online education startup that promises explicitly non-“woke” instruction in a number of academic disciplines.

Named “American Scholars,” the project was started several months ago by Matthew Pohl, former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer. As soon as word got out, résumés started to stream in from academics offering their participation, its leaders said.

Pohl described the project as the fruit of his gradual disillusionment with his career in the academic world, where he drove admissions at several prestigious universities. He noticed that with regard to education, most students weren’t getting their money’s worth, attributing that to the “administrative bloat” of establishment colleges, as well as the spread of quasi-Marxist ideologies that have come to be collectively known as “wokeness.”

He intends the project as an antidote to both. The interactive format of part-lecture, part-documentary video with quizzes, and feedback sessions will aspire to demonstrate that quality learning can be furnished at a fraction of the cost of a modern-day college. Meanwhile, the content itself will be rooted in traditional American values, in sharp contrast to the ideologies currently dominating most universities that promote hostility toward such values.

“There is a massive and unrecognized demand for actual professors, business leaders, real thinkers whom regular people can associate with and learn from to better understand how they can live better lives through the Constitution and through conservative values,” Pohl told The Epoch Times, later adding that the guiding principles of the project could be more accurately described as “classical liberalism.”

“We actually expect a significant number of people who do not identify as conservative to join us—simply because they agree with our values,” he said in an email.

COMMENT:  This is very good.  Please read the rest.  The educational revolt is spreading, but this is the first serious attempt that I've seen to create a new institution.  We'll follow the progress.

May 10, 2021       Permalink