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Note to readers:  We don't intend here to dignify the House January 6th Committee hearings with extensive analysis, as we normally don't comment on cartoons or high-school drama classes.  The widely televised meeting of the committee Thursday night was an embarrassment to Congress and an insult to the American people – a depressingly slick grade-C television show entirely slanted toward the Democratic Party's needs, with no room available for opposing arguments.  It is a disgrace that the major networks carried the show live.  They should give equal time to former President Trump, but won't.  No class.

JUNE 9-10,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

HOW TO SEND MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN – OVERNIGHT:   Does anyone ever ask how our education dollars are actually spent?  I guess not.  From College Fix:  Deconstructing whiteness in an introductory physics classroom may seem like a nonsensical goal, but according to a pair of critical whiteness scholars from Seattle Pacific University, this endeavor is actually an important step toward the larger undertaking of freeing students and professors alike from the weighty fetters of whiteness.  Funded through a $495,847 National Science Foundation grant, researchers Amy Robertson and W. Tali Hairston aim “to develop a knowledge base that could lead to awareness of how power relations may be embedded in the way physics is taught and learned.”  The two record introductory physics classes and interview participants, then analyze them using a critical whiteness theory lens “to show how privilege operates in undergraduate physics teaching and learning.”  In one study funded through the grant, Robertson and a colleague from SPU examined the demographic characteristics of students in introductory physics classes at six universities to see which groups were over- or underrepresented.  I'm sure our Chinese competitors are looking at this with considerable amusement.  In China the purpose of physics classes is the teaching of physics.

OH DEAR, OH DEAR, IS HE BECOMING A NUT CASE, TOO? – OVERNIGHT:   As readers know, we spend some time here examining the adventures of the mayor of New York because that office is highly influential among American cities.   Our new mayor, Eric Adams, seems to be missing a few things, maybe marbles.  From the New York Post:   Call it geode politics.  Mayor Eric Adams said that crystals give New York City a “special energy” that’s unique to the five boroughs.  The former officer — and gem-tleman — even wears multi-colored healing gems on his right wrist like that of the Marvel villain Thanos. Adams has gotten so into the New Age fad that local blog Hell Gate NYC has dubbed him “NYC’s first Crystals Guy mayor.”  Pricey crystals are popular among celebrities such as Adele and Spencer Pratt and even some Wall Street collectors, who swear by their “healing” properties.  Speaking to Politico in the spring, Adams said he discovered that NYC’s iconic bedrock is comprised of unique gems and minerals and that “there’s a special energy that comes from here.”  The Rock Center Adams is apparently referring to is the geological layer known as the Manhattan Schist, outcroppings of which can actually be seen in areas such as Central Park, as well as in the basement of Grand Central Terminal.  It contains more than 100 minerals — including quartz, kyanite and dumortierite — and was formed roughly 450 million years ago.  A New York based crystal expert told the Guardian that the mayor — who recently declared that a “vibe shift” is happening in NYC — also, appears to wear several types of quartz on his wrist.  We wonder what effect all this has on the soaring crime rate.  We hope the mayor wonders too. 

June 9-10, 2022       Permalink

MAJOR IRAN NEWS – We constantly urge readers to be aware that many major news stories are happening simultaneously.  One or two might suddenly drop off the front page for a time, but they're still happening.  Think of how Ukraine has faded from the headlines, but the war roars on.

The Iran story is back, and what is happening is critical.  From Reuters:

Iran on Thursday dealt a near-fatal blow to chances of reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as it began removing essentially all the International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring equipment installed under the deal, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said.

Iran had warned of retaliation if the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution drafted by the United States, France, Britain and Germany criticizing Tehran for its continued failure to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites. The resolution was passed by a crushing majority late on Thursday.

Iran informed the agency overnight that it plans to remove 27 IAEA cameras and other equipment as of Thursday, which was “basically all” the extra monitoring equipment installed under the 2015 deal going beyond Iran’s core obligations to the agency, Grossi told a news conference called at short notice.

That leaves a window of opportunity of three to four weeks to restore some of the monitoring that is being scrapped or else the IAEA will lose the ability to piece together all or essentially all Iran’s most important nuclear activities and material, and restoring the deal requires that, Grossi said.

“I think this would be a fatal blow (to reviving the deal),” Grossi said of what would happen if nothing were done within that window of opportunity.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 deal are already stalled and have not been held since March.

Since then-President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the deal and re-imposed sanctions against Tehran in 2018, Iran has breached the deal’s limits on its nuclear activities, enriching uranium to close to weapons-grade, using more advanced centrifuges and swelling its stock of enriched uranium.

COMMENT:  Secretary of State Blinken is now warning Iran that its attitude can destroy any hope for a successful agreement.  Iran is moving quickly toward nuclear-weapons status, with missiles to go with the nuclear warheads.   Our appeasement of Iran, starting with President Obama, has led directly to this point.  Once Iran gets the bomb, the Mideast becomes a vastly more dangerous place.  Iran will quickly have the capability to hit Europe, and perhaps even the east coast of the United States.

June 9, 2022       Permalink

JUNE 8,  2022

THE MORNING AFTER PILL  –  OVERNIGHT:   Republicans are jubilant.  Chesa Boudin, the Karl Marx of San Francisco, was ousted from the D.A.'s office.  In Los Angeles, Dem stalwart Karen Bass was blocked from the mayoralty, at least for now, by a political newcomer.  The pundit class is now projecting that Republicans will win the House in November by possibly historic proportions.  Who could ask for anything more?  From Breitbart: 

CNN’s senior data reporter Harry Enten said Monday on “The Lead” that Republicans will win a massive majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November midterm elections.

Anchor Jake Tapper said, “If you’re a Republican running for re-election or trying to unseat a Democrat, things are looking pretty good, right?”

Enten said, “I would say they’re looking very good from the historical context. Basically, I took the best Republican positions on the generic congressional ballot at this point in midterm cycles since 1938 — that generic ballot basically is, ‘Would you vote for the generic Republican or generic Democrat in your district?’ And guess what, since 1938, the Republican two-point lead on the generic congressional ballot is the best position for Republicans at this point in any midterm cycle in over 80 years. It beats 2010 when Republicans were up a point. It beats 2014, 2002, 1998, where Democrats led by a point, and in all of those four prior examples that make this list of the top five, look at that, who won a majority? It was the Republicans who won a majority.”

He added, “Now, of course, the election is not being held tomorrow, and we’ll see. Sometimes history isn’t always prologue, but my estimate for the 2023 House makeup, if the election were held today, which again, it isn’t, we still have five months, five months from tomorrow, would be Republicans, 236 seats to 241 seats. Democrats, 194 to 199. That’s based off a formula of seat-to-seat race ratings from the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.”

Tapper said, “That is a stomping, or that would be a stomping.”

Enten said, “Yes, it would.”

COMMENT:   Okay, Republicans.  Stomp away.  But be careful.  Don't be lulled to sleep by overconfidence.  The Dems will throw everything they have at you, and truth won't matter a bit.  Republicans often fight back weakly.  It is time to break out the logic of Ronald Reagan and the muscle of Donald Trump.  Put them together with the patriotism of Dwight Eisenhower.  And think ahead to the presidential election of 2024.

We can restore America.

June 8, 2022       Permalink