News of the Week for Dec. 5th, 2021
- Riots & Revolution
- Corona Virus
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Riots & Revolution
Best Buy, a Minnesota company, offered employees “counseling services” after Rittenhouse verdict
Legacy media and left-wing think tanks once described the courts as “a bulwark in our democracy.” Now, even the chief diversity officer at Best Buy is apparently trying to discredit the judicial system post-Rittenhouse.
Progressive Prosecutor Project Strikes Again
Progressive prosecutors always have the courage of their convictions as long as they’re just gasbagging about their lofty aspirations for society . . . which is to say, right up until their abstractions about “equity,” “systemic racism,” and the need to “reform” our “broken system” crash into the reality of violent, recidivist crime that destroys the lives of flesh-and-blood Americans.
Catholic University Celebrates Painting of George Floyd as Jesus Christ, Releases Report on Racism
A painting depicting George Floyd as Jesus Christ hangs in two locations at The Catholic University of America, The Daily Signal has learned. The artist repeatedly has indicated that his painting depicts both Floyd and Jesus. “It is just another symptom of the liberalization and secularization of our campus,” a junior at Catholic University tells The Daily Signal.
Looting Comes to the Suburbs
Beginning with the George Floyd riots, liberals have generally taken the position that rioting, looting and arson are just fine, as long as they are done in a righteous cause. This was what the anti-Rittenhouse hysteria was all about: how dare he try to interfere with rioting and arson, carried out by Antifa and BLM? Liberals are generally of the view that looting and arson only damage property, and property doesn’t matter. Besides, all that property is insured, right? A New York Times reporter has written that her paper shelved her article on the devastating effect of the Kenosha riots on small business people who were, for the most part uninsured, until after the election.
Runaway Crime in the Suburbs
John noted yesterday the brazen organized looting of a Nordstrom store in the normally placid Bay Area suburb of Walnut Creek, and how this represents a serious escalation of the looting seen in downtowns of big blue-run cities like San Francisco and Chicago.
80 Looters in Ski Masks Pillage San Francisco Area Nordstrom
The sacking of San Francisco continues.
Flash Mob Thefts Spread through California and Hit Minnesota
Who could have guessed that reducing the penalties for theft and “defunding the police” would have resulted in putting a new twist on Black Friday savings?
What Happens When Leftists Govern a City
I have lived in the Twin Cities metropolitan area since 1974, roughly half that time in the city of Minneapolis and half the time in the suburbs. As everyone knows, Minneapolis is in a steep decline due to out of control crime that began with the George Floyd riots. How bad is it?
Guard for news crew dies after being shot in attempted robbery
A security guard has died after he was shot while he protected a San Francisco Bay Area television news crew covering a smash-and-grab theft, part of a rash of organized retail crime in the region.
“Killadelphia” D.A. Turned Loose Teen Carjacker Who Murdered Marxist Student
Latif Williams is only 17 years old, but he already racked up an impressive criminal record before he was arrested this week for murder. And let’s face it — if you’re an ambitious young criminal, there’s no better place to commit crime than “Killadelphia,” which has already eclipsed its all-time record annual murder total this year. Last year, Philadelphia saw an 80% increase in carjackings, and Latif Williams got in on that action this year when he “was arrested on Aug. 14th and charged with eight crimes in connection with an armed carjacking, including aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy and possession of an unlicensed gun.”
Corona Virus
GOP Gov. Sununu: Telling a private business that they can’t fire unvaccinated workers is pure communism
Here’s another reason why Trump shouldn’t run in 2024. It would clear the way for Chris Sununu to stand on a presidential primary debate stage and call Greg Abbott a communist to his face.
WHO skips two letters in Greek alphabet in naming Omicron COVID variant
The emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has international health experts worried, financial markets roiled and the Internet confused over how the new name was chosen.
Not a joke: German clinics are now requiring the Covid vaccine in order to get euthanized
If you wish to voluntarily kick the bucket and shuffle off this mortal coil, the Germany’s euthanasia association would like you to prepare for the afterlife by getting vaxxed.
Bill Gates Charged with Murder for COVID-19 Vaccine Death in India’s High Court – Death Penalty Sought
The Indian Bar Association is reporting that murder charges have been filed in India’s High Court against two billionaires responsible for the AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, for the murder of a 23-year-old man who was injected with the shot.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Halts Elective Surgery In Response to Omicron Covid Variant
On the West Coast, California Gov. Gavin Newsom extends emergency powers until March 2022.
Study: Natural Immunity Effective at Preventing Severe Reinfection
The vaccine mandates are an exploding cigar. Not only are they causing severe societal dislocation, but they have been implemented in a one-size-fits-all approach that is not justified by current scientific understandings.
Gun Rights
A host on “The View” gets it all wrong on the Second Amendment
In the latest instance of Hollywood elites lecturing the rest of us, “The View” co-host Joy Behar just advocated for “tweaking” the Second Amendments because the Founding Fathers didn’t have AR-15s.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
A Fun Game with Democrats’ Energy Policy
The Biden administration has released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a bid to reduce gas prices. It won’t work.
A Fun Game with Democrats’ Energy Policy
The Biden administration has released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a bid to reduce gas prices. It won’t work.
Great Barrier Reef ‘gives birth’ in massive coral spawning event
Ecologists hopeful after climate-related bleaching during heat waves in 2016, 2017
Germany’s Next Government Vows “Climate Revolution,” Creates “Super” Ministry
The AfD party chief: German “economy and prosperity will become completely subordinate” to “the green climate ideology.”
Arctic Sea Freezes Early, Trapping 18 Ships in Ice Near Russia
Predictions of global warming not working out as promised.
Extinction Rebellions threatens to blow up pipelines, kill politicians
If you’re not familiar with David Takayoshi Suzuki, he’s a Canadian television presenter who focuses on climate change and other environmental issues. In fact, he’s frequently referred to as the “Godfather of the Canadian environmental movement.” He’s found himself in a bit of hot water, however, following a speech he gave at a rally held by the eco-terrorism group Extinction Rebellion. During his presentation, Suzuki went much further than simply calling for reductions in carbon emissions and more renewable energy. Unless the group’s demands are met, he declared that there would be “pipelines blown up.” Despite apologizing later for remarks that he said were made “out of extreme frustration,” the group he was addressing seized on his words and then went several steps further.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Another Medical School Goes “Woke”
The Left’s “long march through the institutions” continues. Higher education started falling into line decades ago. And in recent years, professional schools have started doing so. Yes, that includes medicine.
German euthanasia clinics refusing unvaccinated customers
Irony has been declared many times in this pandemic but now, from Covid-riddled Germany comes the final proof: you can’t kill yourself now unless you’ve been vaccinated. As European countries battle to limit the spread of the virus, Verein Sterbehilfe – the German Euthanasia Association – has issued a new directive, declaring it will now only help those who have been vaccinated or recovered from the disease.
Doctors Warn New Medical School Guidance Would Lead to Unqualified Physicians and Unscientific Medicine
Accreditation guidelines call meritocracy ‘malignant,’ suggest genetic screening is racist
War & Terror
SUV Drives Through Wisconsin Holiday Parade, Mass Casualties Reported
TMJ4News reports that at least one person has been killed and more than 20 people have been hurt after a car drove into the Waukesha Christmas parade in Wisconsin. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said police have identified a person of interest but would not say if the individual is in custody.
Waukesha Parade Tragedy: Death Toll Rises to 5, Suspect in Custody, MSM Quiet
In a statement about an hour after a red SUV drove through a Waukesha, Wisconsin holiday parade, Police Chief Daniel Thompson reported that the Waukesha PD had a “person of interest” in custody for the horrific incident that killed several people and injured dozens on Sunday evening.
China’s hypersonic nuke “fired a SECOND missile mid-flight” leaving Pentagon reeling as experts say it “defies science”
CHINA’S round-the-world hypersonic nuclear weapon fired a second missile while travelling five times faster than the speed of sound, reports claim.
Chinese Dissident on Wokeness in America: “In Many Ways, You’re Already in the Authoritarian State”
“You just don’t know it.”
Ukraine Expects New Russian Military Assault in January or February
A top adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said his government expects that Russia will launch a new conventional military assault against Ukraine next January or February. And, he claimed, the U.S. intelligence community shares Kyiv’s assessment.
‘Pipelines will be blown up,’ says David Suzuki, if leaders don’t act on climate change
‘It is now the age of consequences,’ Extinction Rebellion organizer tells protesters in Victoria. Critics called the statement ‘dangerous’ and ‘reckless’
Darrell Brooks bail set at $5 million, complaint says he appeared to be swerving to hit as many people as possible
Darrell Brooks made his first appearance in court today. The lead prosecutors spent roughly ten minutes outlining his long history of past convictions in Wisconsin and two other states. She then informed the court that a sixth victim, a child, had died today and a 6th count of intentional homicide would be added to the charges against Brooks soon. In light of all of this, the prosecutor requested bail be set at $5 million. ABC News reports that Brooks began sobbing in court at the news of another victim.
Report: China, Russia Set To Forge “De Facto Military Alliance”
South China Morning Post: Beijing and Moscow “signed a road map for closer military cooperation over the next five years.”
Afghanistan: Iconic ‘Girl With the Green Eyes’ Is Safe After Fleeing Taliban
Finally, there’s some good news from war-torn Afghanistan. On Thursday the Daily Mail reported that the iconic National Geographic Afghan “girl with the green eyes” is safe. Sharbat Gula, who was featured in a stunning photo on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic, has been given safe haven in Italy after a lifetime of fleeing the Taliban.
Senior U.S. General Says Iran “Very Close” to Building a Nuclear Bomb, “Variety” of Military Options on the Table
TIME magazine: The “top U.S. commander in the Middle East says his forces stand ready with a potential military option should talks fail.”
China freaks out over congressional visit to Taiwan
Remember when Xi Jinping gave a heartfelt speech about how China isn’t interested in “dominating” its smaller neighbors and urged cooperation and peace around the western Pacific? Well, that didn’t last very long. Five members of Congress made a surprise trip to Taiwan yesterday, visiting both the American Institute in Taiwan (our de facto embassy) and the office of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The purpose of the visit was reportedly to reaffirm our support of the island’s democratic government and to discuss veterans’ affairs, economic issues and trade. It should go without saying that China was less than pleased. As soon as the news about the trip broke, the Chinese embassy contacted one of the lawmakers, “instructing” her to call off the trip. The five representatives went anyway, leading to a fresh round of accusations from China’s Foreign Minister.
Now we’re fighting with the Marshall Islands?
2021 has turned out to be a year of strained foreign relations between the United States and many of our traditional allies. It also hasn’t exactly been a banner year for relations with some of our adversaries either, particularly Russia and China. But there may be more ugliness on the way in the coming months, involving a country that doesn’t usually generate very many headlines. A fight is brewing between Washington and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), located in the Pacific between Hawaii and the Philipines. Many people tend to think of RMI as a territory of the United States, which is forgivable because we certainly tend to treat them that way. We keep a lot of military assets there and provide the country with significant financial aid.
Baltic lawmakers meet Taiwan’s Tsai, stepping up cooperation
Lawmakers from all three Baltic states met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday in a sign of further cooperation between European Union nations and Taiwan.
China’s Mysterious Hypersonic Weapon Can Stay In Orbit According To Space Force General
The ability to keep a nuclear-armed hypersonic glide vehicle in orbit for a prolonged period of time makes for a far more unpredictable threat.
Pentagon Plans to Improve Airfields in Guam and Australia to Confront China
A review of U.S. military forces and capabilities world-wide makes adjustments but includes no major reshuffling to take on Beijing
U.S. Commander Calls for More Aircraft Carriers in Pacific to Deter China
American naval forces and allies complete 10-day exercise led by Japan
A shadow war in space is heating up fast
When Russia blows up a satellite in space with a missile (as it did this month), or when China tests a new hypersonic missile (as it did last month), the ongoing arms race in space leaps into the news. But in between these “Sputnik”-like moments, outside the public’s view, the United…
U.S. Satellites Are Being Attacked Every Day According To Space Force General
Space Force general details how jamming, blinding lasers, cyber attacks, and other satellites have America’s space-based capabilities under siege.
Air Force Secretary Claims We’re in a ‘Hypersonic Arms Race’ With China
Last October, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley announced that U.S. intelligence had confirmed a successful test by China of a hypersonic missile. Milley said it was “very close to a Sputnik” moment, when the U.S. was shocked out of its complacency in 1957 following the Soviet launch of an earth-orbiting satellite.
The Uyghur genocide university divestment movement is here
China’s human rights abuses have been getting a lot of attention in the run-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. The disappearance and apparently staged re-appearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai in creepy videos posted online have shocked millions. The Chinese government will silence anyone who dares speak up against the behavior of the ruling Communist Party — including its ongoing genocide campaign against Uyghur Muslims.
Surprise Electromagnetic Attack From China Part of Beijing’s “New Blitzkrieg” Strategy: Experts
An EMP attack centered over New York City could cover the entirety of the northeastern United States, paralyzing the power grid and sparking mass chaos
US military explosives vanish, emerge in civilian world
The Marine Corps demolition specialist was worried — about America, and about the civil war he feared would follow the presidential election.
Russia planning massive military offensive against Ukraine involving 175,000 troops, U.S. intelligence warns
As tensions mount between Washington and Moscow over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence has found the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops, according to U.S. officials and an intelligence document obtained by The Washington Post.
National
Democrat Strategists Have Plan To Turn Critical Race Theory Controversy To Their Advantage In 2022
More of the same: “It’s not just that Republicans want a bigger role for parents in education, it’s that Republicans are willing to let white supremacists write curricula.”
‘A celebration of the ongoing genocide’: Workshop suggests “reparations,” “National Day of Mourning” to “decolonize” Thanksgiving
The University of Oregon event claimed the holiday represents a ‘celebration of the on-going genocide against native peoples and cultures across the globe.’
Rittenhouse Verdict Has Leftist Rioters Worried: “It fundamentally changed the culture of protest”
Self defense law survived the media/prosecutorial onslaught.
Pete Buttigieg’s slush fund, Part Two
Earlier this month, I wrote about “Pete Buttigieg’s slush fund” — billions of dollars appropriated by the infrastructure bill that, as John Fund reported, allows the Secretary of Transportation to direct funds to combat climate change and “inequities caused by past transportation projects.” I argued that the goal of combatting past transportation inequities — of which, to be sure, there have been some — is a pretext for favoring Democratic constituencies, especially black voters, a group that showed no interest in voting for Buttigieg in 2020.
“Trans” inmate rapes mentally disabled female prisoner at Washington prison
Caroline Downey at National Review brings us yet another horror story delivered by the progressive policymakers in Washington state. While still not codified in official policy, Washington previously began allowing male prisoners to request transfers to the state’s only exclusively women’s prison (the Washington Corrections Center for Women) if they claimed that they were transgender. This resulted in at least six recent cases of transfers, including defendants who had been convicted of sex crimes against female victims. With that information as a backdrop it’s difficult to see how this horrible headline was anything but inevitable. Present and former guards from the prison have told the media that these transferred prisoners have raped female inmates, including one inmate who had been convicted of sexually assaulting a minor female. That prisoner was found to have repeatedly sexually abused a developmentally disabled female prisoner for at least a week before being discovered.
Watergate revised: Prosecutor cover-up alleged
It’s taken decades of work, but a former aide’s campaign to clear Richard Nixon’s name in the 1972 Watergate scandal has finally reached the Justice Department, with the aide seeking an investigation into allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and a “deep state” conspiracy to take Nixon down.
New York City Council Moves to Allow 800,000 Non-Citizens to Vote in Municipal Elections
The New York City Council will vote on December 9 on a law to allow green-card holders and residents with work permits to vote in municipal elections.
School Closures Drove Suburban Biden Voters to Youngkin, Focus Group Finds
A few weeks ago, I speculated that the endless school closures provided the initial spark for the backlash among Virginia’s parents that played a key role in Glenn Youngkin’s upset victory. Since then, a Democratic polling firm has conducted focus groups with voters in the Virginia suburbs who switched from Joe Biden to Youngkin, and found pretty much the same thing.
Poll: Arizona Senator Mark Kelly’s Favorability Rating Is Underwater
Arizona Democratic senator Mark Kelly, husband to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and a former astronaut, won his first Senate race in November 2020—a special election to serve out the final two years of the late John McCain’s term.
NBC’s Thanksgiving inflation pro-tip: Skip the turkey and don’t feed so many people
The Today show and NBC got lots of derision over this segment and Vicky Nguyen’s advice over the last day or so, but it missed the more important context. Yes, it’s rather absurd to talk about skipping the turkey for Thanksgiving, which is why the RNC had so much fun with this small clip from the segment. “Due to Bidenflation,” the GOP War Room argues, not only will Americans have to skip turkey, but they should cut back on feeding people altogether
Inflation Watch: Dollar (and a Quarter) Tree
Just in time for the holidays, Dollar Tree has some news (here relayed by the Financial Times): Rapid inflation in the US economy has reached Dollar Tree, the discount store chain known for its “Everything’s $1′ slogan, which on Tuesday announced it would raise prices for most merchandise to $1.25.”
Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the First Thanksgiving
An homage to the enduring faith and will of the American people.
Will Disparate Impact Destroy America?
The theory of disparate impact is one of the most pernicious doctrines in the history of American law, and it has spread generally through the culture.
Fairfax County Public Schools Restore Obscene Books
The wealthy Virginia suburbs of the District of Corruption in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties have been a prominent front in the battle between concerned parents and the depraved social engineers serving the liberal establishment. The authoritarian measures of the Biden regime — which characterized parents as domestic terrorists and sicced the weaponized FBI on them — blew up in its face, making the pure evil of the Democrat position obvious to any reasonable observer. Has this glimpse of public sunlight served as disinfectant? Let’s have a look at Fairfax County to see if there has been any improvement
All cats have “an element of psychopathy”, according to new study
Is your cat a psychopath? It might be a question that has crossed your mind several times before, depending on the behavioural habits of your feline creature.
Students want to rename “Black Friday’, until they find out the name has nothing to do with race
With Black Friday right around the corner, Campus Reform reporter Ophelie Jacobson went to the University of Florida to talk with students about the name.
Indiana Educator Who Exposed CRT in Curriculum Placed on Leave
“In HR meetings, I was informed that it was ‘irrelevant’ that the information I released was public and stored on public servers.”
Ahmaud Arbery’s Dad Says “All Lives Matter” in Reaction to Verdicts
Ahmaud Arbery’s father reacted to the guilty verdict of the three men involved in his son’s murder Wednesday, proclaiming “all lives matter.”
FREE FALL: Joe Biden’s Approval Now Underwater in 48 States
Even a holiday week doesn’t spare the Biden administration from more bad news. After hastily opening the nation’s strategic oil reserves and providing about two-and-a-half days of additional oil, President Joe Biden took off for Nantucket, Massachusetts. There he will spend the holiday in a billionaire’s beach home. It is probably just dumb luck that Massachusetts is one of the five states where Biden’s approval is not upside down.
NYT wonders: Say, why aren’t deep-blue states progressive Utopias?
“What do Democrats really do when they have all the power?” The New York Times asks that question in a video from earlier this month, and … Democrats and progressives will not enjoy the answer.
Salvation Army’s holiday message to white donors: Apologize for your racism
Et tu, Salvation Army? The charity organization universally recognized for its red kettles and bell-ringing has taken a turn toward the woke side. In order to embrace critical race theory and the Black Lives Matter movement, the Salvation Army has chosen to insult white donors with an anti-racism message. Their message assumes all white people are racist and it asks that their racism be reflected upon.
Republicans Positioned for Blowout Win in 2022 Midterms
“House Democrats’ retirement crisis is quickly becoming a five alarm emergency”
NASA, SpaceX Successfully Launch Asteroid Deflector Test Mission
DART mission will arrive at asteroid in the fall of 2022.
Matthew McConaughey Decides to Not Run for Texas Governor
The Oscar-winner has decided against challenging incumbent Greg Abbott in 2022 despite polls suggesting he would win.
The “Nuclear Option” for Kamala?
I suggested last week that negative stories about Kamala Harris that ran on CNN and over at Politico were surely planted by the Biden political staff at the White House, but I’m not sure whether the same can be said about today’s much more savage story in The Telegraph: “With Kamala Harris looking unelectable, the Democrats are considering the nuclear option.”
Salvation Army Issues Sorry, Not Sorry Statement, Withdraws Racist Guide “For Appropriate Review”
This statement from the Salvation Army may have been intended to calm donors, but frankly, it is cause for even more alarm.
Goodwill Embraces Critical Race Theory, Hires “Director of Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion”
Goodwill, International’s DIE Director hired to “lead the development and promotion of DEI plans and implement workplace and initiatives and best practices” and “support the 156 local Goodwill nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada by developing and curating DEI resources and strategies.”
Alan Dershowitz Warns the Justice System is Being Infected by Identity Politics and Critical Race Theory
“People today are rooting, cheering for verdicts. They want verdicts to reflect their narrative.”
Self-Proclaimed First Grade Teacher Boasts: “My Favorite Moments Are Always When My Students Ask About My Queerness”
A reputed first-grade teacher who said she has her students refer to her as “professor” because she eschews the terms “Mrs.” and “Mr” in her classroom also boasted that her “favorite moments are always when my students ask about my queerness.”
ASU students demand ‘violent blood-thirsty murderer’ Kyle Rittenhouse be unenrolled
After Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in connection to his incident of self defense during the Kenosha riots, leftists continue to slander him as a racist and a murderer
Trump’s Senate picks are stumbling, says Politico
Some of them, anyway. Donald Trump has endorsed candidates in 15 Senate contests to date, according to Politico. Many of them are incumbent Senators. They are expected to cruise to renomination by the GOP. But, says Politico, some of the others are struggling.
How Much Lower Can Higher Education Sink?
It is hard to say, but likely a lot lower still.
Resistance Rising against College “Wokeness”
The “progressives” managed to conquer most of our colleges and universities without any serious resistance. Finally, some people who abhor what has been done to their schools are mounting a counter-attack.
Rittenhouse No Longer Enrolled at ASU Following Left-Wing Protests
On Monday, we reported that left-wing groups were seeking to pressure Arizona State University from expelling Kyle Rittenhouse, who’d been accepted to the university as an online student.
The DOT’s Twitter Meme Doesn’t Just Offend Comedy — It May Also Be Illegal
It’s a well-known fact that liberalism and comedy aren’t a good mix. Witness Hannah Gadsby. Or most of Saturday Night Live’s recent output. Or any of the current crop of late-night show hosts. The same goes for the various departments of the Biden administration. Case in point: this doozy of a meme that the Department of Transportation recently tweeted.
New Twitter management: No more posting “private” pics of “activists, dissidents”
How long did it take for Parag Agrawal to stomp all over hopes that the change in Twitter management might not make matters even worse? Less than 24 hours, as it turns out. The first major initiative by Twitter in the Agrawal era is not to make speech freer, but to give Twitter’s apparatchiks and activists even more power and less clarity on what will bring the ban hammer
Biden’s “Infrastructure” Bill Contains Backdoor “Kill Switch” For Cars
Buried deep within the massive infrastructure legislation recently signed by President Joe Biden is a little-noticed “safety” measure that will take effect in five years. Marketed to Congress as a benign tool to help prevent drunk driving, the measure will mandate that automobile manufacturers build into every car what amounts to a “vehicle kill switch.”
Will Twitter Censor Images of Riots?
Jack Dorsey has only been gone for one day, and already Twitter has announced a change to its policies that may significantly impair the site’s news value. Twitter has expanded its “private information policy” to ban publication of “media of private individuals without the permission of the person(s) depicted.”
Latest Academic Hoax Is A Doozy
Ever since Alan Sokal hoaxed Social Text more than 20 years ago, and Peter Boghossian and his two compatriots punked several postmodern journals with total gibberish just a couple years back, you’d think academic journal editors and reviewers would be on guard against similar hoaxes. But apparently not Higher Education Quarterly (a Wiley publication) which is just out with a howler entitled “Donor money and the academy: Perceptions of undue donor pressure in political science, economics, and philosophy.”
Epstein “sex slave”, 14, met Trump at Mar-A-Lago and saw Prince Andrew on private jet, Ghislaine Maxwell trial hears
JEFFREY Epstein introduced a 14-year-old sex abuse victim to Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial heard. The court was also told she recalled being on flight with Prince Andrew aboard one of Epstein’s private jets.
Detroit Superintendent Opposes CRT Ban in Michigan: “Our Curriculum Is Deeply Using CRT”
Vitti: We’re very intentional about creating a curriculum, infusing materials, and embedding critical race theory within our curriculum.
“We Totally Stalked Them”: Teachers Reveal Their Creepy Tactics to Recruit Kids to LGBTQ+ Clubs.
Leaked materials from the California Teacher’s Association Conference (CTA) in Palm Springs have shown how teachers are attempting to subvert parents on their children’s inclusion in LGBTQ+ clubs, and tactics for tracking their internet use.
Confirmed: Academic Paper a Deliberate Hoax
The Chronicle of Higher Education today reports on the study I flagged here on Monday as a certain hoax and fraud. One of the authors, remaining behind a pseudonym, has come clean
Supreme Court argument suggests shift in abortion jurisprudence
That, at least, is how the Washington Post interprets today’s oral argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Full Transcript and Audio of Dobbs Arguments Now Up
For those who missed the oral arguments in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health and who already digested our liveblog, a full transcript is now available here.
Reading the room: Observers agree Supreme Court looks poised for a major change on Roe
As Ed has already pointed out this morning, you can’t always tell from oral arguments what Supreme Court Justices are thinking, much less where they will land in a final decision. But that doesn’t stop media outlets of all stripes from doing their best to read the room. And there seems to be general agreement from those who listened to the arguments this morning that there’s not a lot of good news here for abortion supporters.
How much will California redistricting shift political power?
California’s citizens redistricting commission is designed to be nonpartisan, but its final congressional and legislative maps could change party politics. This week, the commission is reviewing lots of public comments and considering potential changes.
Sen. Shaheen to SCOTUS: “If You Want to See a Revolution, Go Ahead, Outlaw Roe v. Wade”
“Threatening the Supreme Court has become something of a required public exhibition of faith for Democrats”
ASU rejects student demands, refuses to ban Rittenhouse from future enrollment
After protests demanding Arizona State University deny future enrollment to Kyle Rittenhouse, the school told Campus Reform his application would be considered should he submit one in the future.
Free falling: A quarter of Dems strongly disapprove of Biden performance in new poll
An outlier? Perhaps, as Republican-leaning Trafalgar has been one of the tougher polling series for Joe Biden ever since his bug-out from Afghanistan. On the other hand, this is still the worst result yet from this series, and that direction mirrors most of the rest of the polling over the last three-plus months.
Schools say they teach critical race theory, even as education reporters falsely deny it
Schools are teaching critical race theory, even as liberal education reporters deny it is taught anywhere, and falsely claim it is not taught in in even a single school system.
Chicago Public Schools Making Bathrooms Gender-Neutral
How about you concentrate on your lousy test scores? Rhetorical question: How are you graduating so many students!?
White and Asian male applicants largely shunned from investment program at Washington and Lee University
White and Asian male student applicants, with the slim exception of veterans or those with disabilities, are the only students who are not encouraged to apply for a lucrative learning opportunity offered through Washington and Lee University’s Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics.
The Chief Justice’s middle course in Dobbs
After the oral argument in Dobbs, only two outcomes seem possible. Either the Supreme Court will overrule Roe v. Wade or it will uphold the Mississippi statute prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy without overruling Roe.
Attempts To Cancel Coastal Carolina University Prof Steve Earnest Were Worse Than We Knew
An article in the Los Angeles Times unwittingly documents the festival of stupidity and false accusations that almost led to the firing of a man who did nothing wrong.
Court Denies Injunction Sought By Native Americans Challenging Colorado “Mascot” Ban As Discriminatory
Plaintiffs’ Attorney: “The District Court’s order would lead to absurd results. Schools might find out at the end of our case that Colorado’s law forcing them to change their name was unconstitutional all along.”
What Are They Teaching Our Children?
The issue of leftist indoctrination in the public schools has been with us for a while, but it has exploded into public consciousness during the past year. The main focus has been Critical Race Theory, a toxic compound of racism and anti-Americanism.
Chinese Communists Mock America and Biden in Advance of Democracy Summit
The Chinese Communists are, if nothing else, sincere in their belief that their tyrannical system is superior to America’s democratic system.
Bob Dole, R.I.P.
Etched in memory: the moment, during the lying-in-state of President George H. W. Bush, when former senator Dole saluted his coffin. Their primary duel in 1988 had been bitter; “quit lying about my record,” Dole had snarled, on network television, after Bush beat him in New Hampshire. And as an infantry lieutenant, Dole probably resented Navy pilot Bush as a flyboy: Bush was shot down in the Pacific, Dole was shot up in Italy and bore the marks of it all his life
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Mask mandates, high-capacity magazines, and debauchery.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s “degrading” list of staff rules revealed in court
Ghislaine Maxwell kept a 58-page list of rules that ordered staff at Jeffrey Epstein’s estates to “see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing” — and to always make sure the couple had a gun nearby at night.
Economy & Taxes
How Greece got back on course
Throughout the last decade, Greece’s economy was a basket case. Lally Weymouth of the Washington Post reminds us that Greece endured a crippling depression in which it lost one-fourth of its GDP. The nation’s banks nearly collapsed and European Union officials contemplated expelling Greece from the EU.
NBC’s Thanksgiving inflation pro-tip: Skip the turkey and don’t feed so many people
The Today show and NBC got lots of derision over this segment and Vicky Nguyen’s advice over the last day or so, but it missed the more important context. Yes, it’s rather absurd to talk about skipping the turkey for Thanksgiving, which is why the RNC had so much fun with this small clip from the segment. “Due to Bidenflation,” the GOP War Room argues, not only will Americans have to skip turkey, but they should cut back on feeding people altogether
Inflation Watch: Dollar (and a Quarter) Tree
Just in time for the holidays, Dollar Tree has some news (here relayed by the Financial Times): Rapid inflation in the US economy has reached Dollar Tree, the discount store chain known for its “Everything’s $1′ slogan, which on Tuesday announced it would raise prices for most merchandise to $1.25.”
Good Luck Filling Up Your Tank on Your Long Drive Home Today
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year, and today, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, is usually close behind. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.39, down about a penny from a week ago. One month ago, the national average was also $3.39 per gallon.
We Can’t Let Genocide Get in the Way of a Good Investment Opportunity, Right?
There is nothing in Ray Dalio’s defense of investing in China that would not also apply to U.S. investments in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Then, as now, not every U.S. investor can “be an expert in those types of things.” Then, as now, the United States had its own controversies and flaws and failures to live up to its own professed values; Dalio asked, “should I not invest in the United States because our own human rights issues and other things?”
US only adds 210,000 jobs in November
Economists expected a job-creation boost of 573,000. The BLS reported that the US economy added well below half of that. Only 210,000 jobs got created in November, another in a series of disappointing results in an economy where millions of jobs have yet to be recreated more than a year after most of the pandemic shutdowns ended
Stagflation 2021
I don’t believe we have yet commented on today’s disappointing jobs report. Economists had expected the BLS to report 550,000 net new jobs, but instead there were only 210,000.
International
J. K. Rowling Won’t Back Down
J. K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, recently shared with her 14 million Twitter followers that she has been doxed by transgender activists. “I’ve now received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out,” the billionaire author wrote. “Perhaps — and I’m just throwing this out there — the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women, is to stop stalking, harassing and threatening us.”
Now starring in Chinese propaganda about Peng Shuai’s disappearance: The International Olympic Committee
I have but one question. Did this rodent even once broach the subject that caused Beijing to disappear her in the first place, her claim that she was sexually assaulted in 2018 by China’s former vice premier?
Afghans still selling off daughters to survive under Taliban rule
On the rare occasions that the mainstream media bothers to mention the situation in Afghanistan it generally involves the American citizens and Afghan helpers who still remain trapped there months after the disastrous pullout in August. But that’s far from the only ugliness unfolding in the country under the rule of the Taliban. The Afghan economy was never particularly strong even when the previous government was in charge, with many provinces regularly experiencing poverty and hunger. But once the Taliban took over, the entire system collapsed completely. There is very little money to go around anywhere (unless you’re a Taliban leader) and famine is endemic now. Work is very hard to find and the few available jobs barely pay anything to speak of. Many desperate families that have fallen into debt are making what sounds like an unthinkable decision. They are selling off their prepubescent daughters to wealthier families in exchange for a dowry to keep the rest of the family alive.
Peak Woke: No Triggers Allowed
One of the dumbest aspects of today’s academia is the “trigger warning,” where students are alerted to the possibility that what they are about to read may be traumatic. Traumatic, I take it, to people who are pathologically unable to cope, which evidently is the standard in today’s universities. But now England’s Warwick University has gone one better. It has stopped using the phrase “trigger warning” because triggers are…triggering
“World”s oldest ever person’ Francisca Susano, the last surviving woman born in the 19th century, dies aged 124
A WOMAN believed to be the oldest person in world has died at the reported age of 124. Francisca Susano, affectionately known as Lola Iska, died on Monday night at her home in the Philippines.
Toronto School Board Bans European Children’s Literature, Destroys 5000 Books
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has banned a plethora of European children’s literature and destroyed 5,000 books for being “offensive.”
Socialist party wins regional elections in Venezuela
For the first time in 15 years, Venezuela’s ruling socialist government allowed election observers into the country. Those observers concluded the elections were, at best, a mixed bag. Not surprisingly the socialists won most races thanks largely to the ways in which Maduro’s regime has tilted the playing field.
Disney+ Drops “Simpsons” Episode in Hong Kong Because of Tiananmen Square Joke
The 2005 episode features the Simpson family visiting Beijing, where they drop by the landmark, finding a placard that reads: “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened.”
Barbados to cast off Queen Elizabeth II as Prince Charles watches
In Barbados, it’s out with the queen, in with a president as the Caribbean island nation becomes the first Commonwealth realm in nearly three decades to declare itself a republic.
The Canadian Elizabeth Warren?
If you thought this was a uniquely American phenomenon, you may want to think again. Most of the social media chatter about Elizabeth Warren’s false claims to indigenous heritage eventually died down, but now a fresh and potentially more egregious example comes to us from Canada. Carrie Bourassa is a medical researcher with the University of Toronto and someone who became known as a “top voice on indigenous health issues.” She also has a government position with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health. Actually, I should have used the past tense for both of those titles because she was recently ousted from both of her positions at the university and with the government. That happened when it was discovered the celebrated First People’s scientist was not of indigenous heritage at all. In fact, she was about as European as one can be.
In Interpol Elections, the Autocracies Take Control
Thanks to “Red Notice,” the new Netflix movie starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, Interpol is enjoying new fame.
Australia to introduce new laws to force media platforms to unmask online trolls
Australia will introduce legislation to make social media giants provide details of users who post defamatory comments, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today.
Total solar eclipse to bring black sun, sudden nightfall to Antarctica
Day will turn to night for a few fleeting moments on Saturday in Antarctica as the new moon intercedes between the Earth and sun. Daylight will be extinguished during the ephemeral total solar eclipse, the last worldwide until April 2023.
Russia planning military offensive in Ukraine, according to US intelligence officials
According to an anonymous intelligence official, Vladimir Putin is planning on using almost 175,000 troops – half of which are already deployed near the Ukrainian border.
Orthodox priest shouts ‘Pope, you are a heretic’ at Francis in Athens
An elderly man who appeared to be a Greek Orthodox priest shouted “Pope, you are a heretic” as Pope Francis was entering the Orthodox Archbishopric in Athens on Saturday and was taken away by police.
The British police’s AI keeps confusing deserts with nude images (really)
Sure, artificial intelligence has moved in leaps and bounds, but it’s far from perfect. Case in point the London Metropolitan Police’s reliance on the technology. The Met use AI to detect incriminating images on seized electronic devices like phones and laptops. However according to UK newspaper the Telegraph, the AI struggles to tell the difference between nude photos and strangely, deserts.
Opinion
Our Social Pathologies Are Changing — and Maybe for the Worse
Yuval Levin has an excellent essay in The Dispatch in which he describes the changing nature of our underlying social pathologies.
Masschusetts Republicans Fail to Learn the Virginia Lesson on Opposing “Woke” Education
In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin’s successful gubernatorial campaign criticized a divisive mode of identity politics in public schools. Some Republicans in Massachusetts are taking the opposite approach: sponsoring legislation that entrenches an identity-politics bureaucracy.
Why the University of California System Is Wrong to Ditch the SAT
The University of California system has taken a step that should surprise nobody — declaring that its admissions will henceforth be “test-free.” Use of the SAT was suspended a couple of years ago and now we get the announcement that there is no satisfactory alternative.
On Child Care Plan, Why Not Cut Out the Middleman?
So let me get this straight. My wife, who stays at home to care for our kids — because she wants to, not because she “has to” — is “locked out of the workforce” and, ideally, would “get back to work.” To remedy this, the federal government intends to raise my taxes in order to pay other people to look after my children — which, unlike my wife’s efforts with her own children, would count as “work.”
The Federal Bureaucracy Will Never Be an Effective Tool for Conservative Goals
A word of warning to conservatives who have stopped wanting to shrink, reduce, limit, or scale back the federal government, and who, in recent years, decided want to use the sprawling and far-reaching power of the federal government to serve their own agenda. . . .
Mr. Goxx, R.I.P.
Perhaps the animal spirits of the market are best understood by animals. Mr. Goxx, a cryptocurrency-trading hamster, was at various points outperforming Warren Buffett from the offices of Goxx Capital — an addition to a hamster cage.
Losing Confidence in the Pillars of Our Civilization
Millions of citizens long ago concluded that professional sports, academia, and entertainment were no longer disinterested institutions, but far left and deliberately hostile to Middle America.
Whose Land Did Native Americans Steal Before Europeans Stole It From Them?
We all know that history is not the left’s favorite subject. Many times, it’s just too inconvenient for their political narratives. Often, history has to be erased or submerged in order to achieve the “greater good” of creating a just and moral society.
Kyle’s Law: How To Stop Abusive Politically-Motivated Prosecutions In Self-Defense Cases
It’s time to compel prosecutors to have skin in the game, to have something to lose if they bring a laughably weak, yet horribly destructive, felony prosecution in a clear case of self-defense, like happened to Kyle Rittenhouse.
The Left Belatedly Notices the Dangers of Ideological Conformity
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Would Five Votes to Overturn Roe and Casey Be Just as Good as Six?
In the history of the Supreme Court, there have been many high-profile 5-4 rulings. To name a few: Obergefell (same-sex marriage), Hobby Lobby (religious liberty), Casey (abortion), Miranda (rights of criminal suspects), Heller (guns), Citizens United (campaign finance).
George Washington on Respecting the Constitution as Written
George Washington’s Farewell Address is one of the most famous speeches (actually, an address published in the newspapers) in American history. It is usually remembered for its warnings against foreign entanglements, against descent into partisan faction, and against the loss of morality, virtue, and their grounding in religion. We do not think so often of Washington’s views on the Constitution, but he was, after all, the presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, the document’s first signer, and the man who gave form to many of its powers. Washington took the written law seriously: He once withdrew a Supreme Court nomination after it was pointed out to him that his nominee had voted for the creation of the Supreme Court and was thus ineligible for the job until there was an intervening election. He also took seriously the norms of behavior that allow the written law to prevail; he set the norm of presidents leaving office after two terms, and not until the 1940s was that norm violated, requiring a constitutional amendment to enforce it.
What is Happening to My Profession?
Twenty-one years ago, I wrote a book called PC, M.D. How Political Correctness is Corrupting Medicine. One chapter explored “multicultural counseling,” a form of therapy that encouraged white clinicians to ask themselves, “what responsibility do you hold for the racist oppressive and discriminating manner by which you personally and professionally deal with minorities?” Another chapter documented flaws in research studies purportedly showing that physicians, as a matter of routine, were racially biased against their patients. I devoted another chapter to the quest for social justice in the field of public health. In the epilogue, which I called “The Indoctrinologist Isn’t In…Yet,” I cautioned: “those who care about the culture and practice of medicine must be alert to the encroachment of political agendas.”
