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JULY 21,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE

HORRIBLE:    Congressman Lee Zeldin, the GOP candidate for governor of New York, was attacked while making a speech.  From Fox:  Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., was attacked during a gubernatorial campaign stop in Perinton, New York on Thursday night where an individual allegedly pulled out a sharp object.  Zeldin was at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post event giving a speech about bail reform when a man allegedly got on stage and "wrestled with him a bit, and pulled a blade out," according to a witness who spoke with Rochester First.  The individual who allegedly tried to attack Zeldin was taken down by AMVETS national Director Joe Chenelly, according to the report.  After the attack, Zeldin went back on the stage and continued talking, according to the report.  The Monroe County Sheriff's Office told Fox News that it is "aware of an incident at the speech of gubernatorial candidate Zeldin this evening. A suspect is in custody and Major Crimes is investigating. We will update as further information becomes available."
Katie Vincentz, a spokesperson the gubernatorial campaign, said that Zeldin and lieutenant governor nominee Alison Esposito are safe following the attack.   As Lee Zeldin predicted after the attack, the alleged perpetrator was arrested, then immediately released on his own recognizance, in accordance with New York's weak criminal-justice laws.  I fear we may see more of this violence on the campaign trails this fall.

July 21, 2022       Permalink

 

DECLINE OF A GIANT:  The name "Disney" used to mean clean entertainment for families.  No more.  From Hot Air: 

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutiques at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will re-open on August 25 after being closed due to the pandemic. This is good news for young children who want a makeover in the dress-up salon to transform into a princess or a knight. There is a catch, though. Disney has not learned the lesson yet that not all of its customers wish to live in a world of gender neutrality in every aspect of their lives, especially in the lives of their young and impressionable children.

Fairy Godmothers in Training provide little girls and boys between the ages of 3 and 12 with makeovers that allow them a chance to pretend to be a princess or a knight – for an extra fee, of course. For $19.95 a boy receives The Knight Package which includes hairstyling with gel and a mighty sword and shield, according to the website. That is the cheapest package available. Little girls can participate in princess packages ranging in price from $99.95 to a whopping $229.95. Hairstyling, princess gowns, makeup, and accessories are included in varying degrees, depending on how much money a parent forks over.

In today’s gender-neutral world at Disney, the Fairy Godmothers in Training will be called Fairy Godmother’s Apprentices. Why? It’s all about the employees and not at all about the children.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disney Parks have been a long time tradition for families to bring their children to get dressed & styled as their favorite Disney characters. But there will be a slight change coming to the famous Boutique.

Disney will continue their efforts at being more inclusive with all guests & cast members by renaming the Boutique cast members to ‘Fairy God Mother’s Apprentices’ rather than ‘Fairy Godmothers in training’. This way cast members that might not identify as female can still be part of the process to dress up & style the children without having to refer to themselves as a female Disney character.

Disney is in the business of entertainment, specifically fantasy entertainment in their theme parks. It is all about make believe and pretend. Fairy godmothers are women, though I’m not a biologist, I am certain of that fact, having been a little girl once myself. They have magic wands and grant wishes. Little girls love the princess fantasy and Disney princesses in movies and merchandise provide the company with billions of dollars in revenue. So why mess with success? Because a very small minority of employees have gender identity issues? It’s just wrong. The miniscule minority is running the show at Disney and the top officials are too cowardly to speak up for their customers. Disney puts its employees before its paying customers, without whom they would not be in business.

This isn’t the first change Disney has made recently that has set off some fans. It seems that a major corporate goal is to provide a gender-free world to children. I guess it is no longer acceptable to just enjoy being a little girl or boy.

Last summer, Disney scrubbed the use of “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” from its theme parks, and changed its once-strict dress-code policy. Theme park employees now can show up to work with visible tattoos in whatever gender costume they wish.

Elsewhere, Disney has removed a shrunken head dealer character named “Trader Sam” from Jungle Cruise and gotten rid of the “Take a wench for a bride” scene from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride. The scene depicted crying women tied together with ropes.

There is also the kerfuffle caused when Disney decided to weigh in on the Florida’s parental rights bill, causing a battle with Governor DeSantis. Disney stock has dropped 41% over the past year. Disney CEO Bob Chapek has signed a contract to remain in his position for the next three years, so corporate officers must be pleased with the direction he is taking Disney. Too bad they are putting politics above just letting kids be kids in their parks. Little kids don’t care about words like in-training or apprentice. That’s just signaling from adults who should know better.

COMMENT:  There are many other stories about Disney being reported with this same theme.  Why destroy one of the world's greatest franchises?  This is what happens when militant left ideologies are permitted to take over. 

It's hard to know how Disney's executive decision-making will affect ticket sales.  Disney theme parks are already so expensive that you have to believe that they appeal mostly to comfortable families.  Maybe they won't care about the political gimmicks.

Identity politics and cancel culture are destroying this country's inventiveness and creativity.  There is more than a small element of totalitarianism in the air.  There is some fight back, from political figures, parent groups, and religious organizations.  There is little from the press.

July 21, 2022       Permalink 

 

 

 

 

JULY 19-20, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE

THERE'LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND:   Following Boris Johnson's statement that he will resign as Britain's prime minister, his Conservative Party, which has the majority in Parliament, is searching for a successor.  In Britain the process is far faster than in the Yankee colony.  Two outstanding candidates have emerged from early party votes, and the entire party will select a prime minister from those two on September 5th.  From CNN: " Boris Johnson will be succeeded as prime minister of the United Kingdom by either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss after the Conservative Party leadership race was on Wednesday narrowed down to the final two candidates.  Johnson resigned as party leader earlier this month after a series of scandals led to dozens of ministerial resignations. Ten Conservatives stood in the contest to replace him, and over five rounds of voting, members of parliament whittled those down to two.  Sunak won 137 votes and Truss got 113 votes in the final round, while Penny Mordaunt with 105 votes lost out...Now about 160,000 rank-and-file members of the party will have their say, and in September the winner -- and next prime minister -- will be announced."  Looking at the records of both candidates, I think it's safe to say that both are pro-American and will work hard to maintain the alliance and increase Britain's contribution to mutual defense.  Truss is foreign secretary and Sunak has been finance minister.  The key objective for Washington is to keep the Labour Party out of power...unless you like Karl Marx and the Iranian government. 

HEAR, HEAR:  Fighting back against cancel culture, from Fox:  Entertainment icon John Cleese slammed wokeness for having a "disastrous" impact on comedy during an interview with Fox News Digital.   Cleese was a keynote speaker at last week's FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas where he spoke about how to cultivate creativity, a skill he believes is essential and not just in showbiz, but sounded the alarm that political correctness has become a major obstacle, particularly for young comedians.   When asked if comedians have the freedom to be funny in the year 2022, Cleese firmly responded, "No."  "There's always been limitations on what they're allowed to say," Cleese said. "Why you go to Molière and Louis XIV. I mean Molière had to be a bit careful. And there will always be limitations...But I think it's particularly worrying at the moment because you can only create in an atmosphere of freedom, where you're not checking everything you say critically before you move on. What you have to be able to do is to build without knowing where you're going because you've never been there before. That's what creativity is—you have to be allowed to build. And a lot of comedians now are sitting there and when they think of something, they say something like, 'Can I get away with it? I don't think so. So and so got into trouble, and he said that, oh, she said that.' You see what I mean? And that's the death of creativity."  And of course, killing creativity is a good part of what the left is about.  You must not think.  You must not laugh.  You must only go along.  How exciting.  Come to think of it, I've never known a funny Communist.

July 19-20, 2022       Permalink

 

YEAH, I'D CERTAINLY SAY SO:  Republicans, in an earlier era not exactly seen as the party of high intellect, are now regarded as the best party to handle education.  From Fox: 

A survey commissioned by one of the nation's largest teachers union found that Republicans have an advantage over Democrats in regard to voters' confidence in handling education.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) commissioned a poll from Hart Research Associates, asked, "In general, do you have more confidence in the Democrats or in the Republicans to deal with education issues?"

The survey was conducted in seven battleground states where the results showed Republicans with a 39% to 38% advantage on which party voters trust more on education.

"This polling is such an epic self-own for Randi Weingarten. The results of Randi Weingarten’s own polling destroy her own narrative," senior fellow at the American Federation for Children Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital. "The results of the union-commissioned poll show that likely voters in battleground states have more confidence in Republicans than Democrats on education. The results of the union poll also show that likely voters have much more confidence in teachers and parent organizations than teachers unions. Not a good look for union bosses like Randi Weingarten."

The survey also found that people felt that the number one issue in regard to education and public schools is that they are being too politicized. 

Furthermore, the study found that both Democrats and Republicans were viewed as responsible for politicizing education and making education too much a part of the culture war. However, in response to the same question, 33% responded that Democrats were responsible for politicizing education while 28% said Republicans contributed to the issue.

In reaction to the survey's results, AFT President Randi Weingarten pushed Democrats to ramp up messaging against Republican attacks on critical race theory.

Yeah, that'll sure do it.  It's so popular, you know.  Geez.

School board meetings have become battlegrounds between parents and school board officials since the pandemic began.

Conservatives have made significant gains across the country on the issue of education by highlighting the Critical Race Theory curriculum and by opposing COVID related mandates and lockdowns. These issues have led to protests and recalls of school boards across the nation.

Republican elected officials in several states have sought to ban discussion of gender ideology and critical race theory in classrooms, particularly for young students.

Republicans candidates have found great success in prioritizing the issue, with the most notable victory being Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who focused on parents after his election opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, dismissed their role in their children's education. 

COMMENT:  Education is an enormous issue in America today, as more and more parents are losing confidence in public schools, and want alternatives.  Democrats have no interest in alternatives, as they're married to the teachers' unions.  Republicans, being champions of school choice, are in a great position...if they exploit it.  Like Governor Youngkin, they must make education a central subject of every campaign.  Youngkin showed it can be done.

July 19-20, 2022       Permalink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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