News of the Week for May 15th, 2022
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Watch now: Madison anti-abortion headquarters hit by apparent Molotov cocktail, vandalism, graffiti
Vandals set a fire inside the Madison headquarters of the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action early Sunday, police and an official with the group said Sunday.
Why Roe Was Not Robust
Consider the following language from Justice Alito’s draft opinion in the Dobbs case
“You will pay the price”
The thugs threatening Supreme Court justices at their homes this week seem to be an instrument of the Democratic Party. Perhaps we can go to Senate Majority Chuck Schumer to comment on the thugs in light of his own blunt March 2020 threat in this context: “You will pay the price.”
Susan Collins calls the cops over polite abortion message chalked outside home
‘Intricately drawn’ message urging Republican senator to back reproductive rights bill was not a crime, police in Maine say
Pro-abortion protests erupt on college campuses after SCOTUS leak
As pro-abortion activists protest outside the Supreme Court and in major US cities, college students nationwide are also protesting on campus.
Chicago mayor issues “call to arms” against Supreme Court
The fallout from the leaked Supreme Court draft ruling hasn’t died down yet. If anything, it’s become more intense with leftists taking to the streets and screaming for someone to do something about this. What they expect to be done and who should be doing it isn’t usually specified. But they may have found a new champion in this engagement in the person of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. As our Redstate colleague Bonchie revealed today, Lightfoot is fighting mad about all of this, perhaps literally so. She certainly sounded as if she was preparing to “rally the troops” when she issued a “call to arms” against the Supreme Court Justices who might dare to conclude that the regulation of abortions is a task best left to the states and not the federal government.
Senate passes bill to expand protection for Supreme Court justices to their families
A bipartisan bill passed in the Senate last night that will provide additional security for Supreme Court justices and their families. The bill passed on a voice vote and was unanimous. This legislation puts the court on the same level as the executive and legislative branches to provide security which includes protection for their families as angry mobs gather outside their homes. The bill moves to the House now.
Murkowski to Schumer: I’ll pass on your radical abortion bill, thanks
When you’ve lost Lisa Murkowski on abortion rights … To be fair, though, Chuck Schumer all but guaranteed that outcome. In fact, he went out of his way to get it, as we’ll see
Greenhouse vs. Alito
There is no theory to justify a constitutional right to abortion, however absurd, that Linda Greenhouse will not attempt to package as unassailable truth. Back in 1970, she was selling Cyril Means Jr.’s historical fantasies, which even the legal team that won in Roe didn’t trust. More recently, she has pushed an establishment-clause argument for abortion rights that only one justice in U.S. history has ever embraced.
Better late than never: Garland orders US Marshals to protect SCOTUS justices as conference begins
It took letters from several senators and two governors, but Merrick Garland finally decided to do his job. Late yesterday, the Department of Justice announced that the Attorney General had ordered action taken to protect the security of Supreme Court justices, tasking the US Marshals Service for “safety.”
More SCOTUS Leaks To Politico: Alito’s Majority Still Holds Five, And No Other Draft Opinions Have Been Circulated Yet
These leaks from a “conservative” look designed to quell controversy.
Gun Rights
Court: California’s under-21 gun sales ban unconstitutional
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the law violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms and a San Diego judge should have blocked what it called “an almost total ban on semiautomatic centerfire rifles” for young adults. “America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,” Judge Ryan Nelson wrote. “Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.”
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
John Kerry Says Ukraine Crisis is Opportunity to “Shift Green” and “Deweaponize Energy”
Remarks reminiscent of condescending, tone-deaf, “You’ve Got a Friend” moment in France during 2015 visit.
The European Union has an internal argument over what constitutes ‘green energy’
Everyone knows what green energy is, right? It’s wind and solar and geothermal and hydroelectric. But what about nuclear power? Is nuclear green? Most people would probably say yes since it isn’t dependent on fossil fuels. But the Green Party in Germany, which is part of the ruling coalition at present, says no. Similarly, most people would probably not think of natural gas as green energy but Germany, which is heavily dependent on gas, says it is.
BlackRock Backs Off
We haven’t written much about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, which is one of the evils of our time. Basically, it seeks to force publicly-traded companies to take left-wing policy positions. Perhaps the number one force behind ESG has been BlackRock, Inc., the world’s largest asset manager with $10 trillion under management.
California is running out of water. They just voted down a desalination plant
It’s no secret that California is experiencing a water crisis. At this point, Lake Mead has been drained so low that they’re finding the bodies of dead mobsters from the 40s at the bottom of it. The laughably named Los Angeles River is little more than a damp culvert. And if the drought doesn’t end soon, there simply won’t be enough potable water to support the current population. In a move to help alleviate the situation, back in 2017, the State Lands Commission unanimously voted to approve a one billion dollar project for Poseidon Water to construct a large desalination plant at Huntington Beach. It would provide huge volumes of purified water to boost the state’s dwindling supplies. This week, after enduring protests from activists, the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to cancel the project. So I guess it’s going to be sand baths for all my friends.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Why is Canada euthanising the poor?
There is an endlessly repeated witticism by the poet Anatole France that ‘the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.’ What France certainly did not foresee is that an entire country – and an ostentatiously progressive one at that – has decided to take his sarcasm at face value and to its natural conclusion.
The Penis-Construction Business
The New York Times Magazine just published a lengthy piece by Jamie Lauren Keiles titled “How Ben Got His Penis,” about a young woman with mental-health issues who went to college, suddenly began thinking she was a man, and then pursued radical genital surgery to construct a fake penis.
The Evils of Socialized Medicine
Bernie Sanders wants to bring socialized medicine to the U.S. To be fair to Bernie, though, that is probably the position of nearly every Democrat. As a reminder of why socialized medicine (like socialism generally) is one of the worst ideas in world history, here are two stories that happen to be in the news in the U.K. today.
War & Terror
Ukraine war: ‘When the shelling stops, the traitors will be punished’
A clash of loyalties is dividing opinion among residents in Bakhmut – a town on the front line in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
China ‘Deeply Alarmed’ By SpaceX’s Starlink Capabilities That Is Helping US Military Achieve Total Space Dominance
Of late, Chinese military observers have been increasingly concerned about the potential of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network in helping the US military dominate space, especially so, in the wake of the Ukraine war, where Elon Musk activated Starlink satellites to restore communications that had stopped because of shelling by the Russian troops.
Bullet pierces window of Virginia attorney general’s office
A bullet that pierced the sixth-floor window of the Virginia attorney general’s office in Richmond is being investigated by state Capitol Police.
Russia “pounding” Odesa while more war crimes are discovered
One odd thing about Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day speech was that he didn’t even utter the word “Ukraine” once, though he made multiple oblique references to the ongoing invasion. And despite his twisted narrative about how Russia “had no choice” but to take this action, that’s probably not surprising. He couldn’t really crow about his “success” in Ukraine because there hasn’t been much for him to brag about. His attacks in the Donbas region are close to being mired in the mud and what was expected to be a concentrated offensive is slowing to a crawl. But there were still plenty of attacks taking place. The shelling of the port city of Odesa is continuing today, though the Ukrainians are refusing to surrender. One of the border guard leaders in Donbas told the press that the defenders are doing everything possible to make the nation proud. In a nearby city, another school was found to have been destroyed with an unknown number of casualties. The war crimes continue apace.
‘Odd, Self-Flagellating Beliefs’ Prevent U.S. from Countering China: GOP Rep
A Republican lawmaker blasted the “odd, self-flagellating beliefs” that could prevent the United States from responding effectively to the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. However, Representative Mike Gallagher, who sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, voiced hope that China’s rise has united warring GOP factions on foreign-policy questions.
Cotton Urges GOP to Discard ‘Grand and Abstract Doctrines’ in Favor of Realistic Foreign Policy
Addressing an audience at the National Review Institute’s conference on “The Case for American Power: Why We Must Lead the Free World” on Monday, Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called for an active but realistic conservative foreign policy.
The Shadow War: Putin Strips Spies of Ukraine Role
Behind-the-scenes maneuvering signals continuing battles for power among the Russian security forces, the siloviki.
Finland’s leaders call for NATO membership ‘without delay’
Finland’s leaders said Thursday they’re in favor of rapidly applying for NATO membership, paving the way for a historic expansion of the alliance that could deal a serious blow to Russia as its military struggles with its war in Ukraine.
Putin’s Precious War Plan Left Behind by Fleeing Russian Troops, Officials Say
Russian President Vladimir Putin had plans to take all of Ukraine, according to abandoned Russian documents which Ukrainian authorities reportedly found in the Ukrainian town of Trostyanets in Sumy Oblast.
Army poised to revamp Alaska forces to prep for Arctic fight
The U.S. Army is poised to revamp its forces in Alaska to better prepare for future cold-weather conflicts, and it is expected to replace the larger, heavily equipped Stryker Brigade in the state with a more mobile infantry unit better suited for the frigid fight, Army leaders say.
Great Wall of Naval Targets Discovered in Chinese Desert
China has been honing its ship-killing skills for potential future conflicts on new targets in a remote desert, according to new satellite photos reviewed by USNI News. New analysis shows the People’s Liberation Army is testing the ability to hit ships in port with long-range ballistic missiles.
US Navy Chief Removes Woke and CRT Books From Professional Reading Program List
Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations quietly lists reading of a more military nature.
Ukraine Wipes Out Russian Battalion at Attempted Pontoon River Crossing
Just because a war can be described as a “stalemate,” it doesn’t mean there’s no action, and the failed Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine is an example of how bloody a “stalemate” can be. Attempting to cross a river near Bilohorivka, east of Lyman, a Russian mechanized battalion got blasted out of existence by Ukrainian artillery
Turkey’s leader opposes letting Finland, Sweden join NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating that Turkey could use its status as a member of the Western military alliance to veto moves to admit the two countries.
Ukraine: Moscow Threatens Finland Over NATO, Russia Supposedly Lost Battalion in Failed River Crossing
CCTV caught Russian soldiers killing Ukrainian civilians.
U.S. should prepare for drawn-out conflict if China invades Taiwan, war game suggests
An attack would plunge the region into a broad, drawn-out war that could include direct attacks on the U.S., war game participants concluded.
Is Putin Sick – Or Are We Meant to Think He Is?
An oligarch close to the Kremlin was recorded on a tape saying the president is ‘very ill with blood cancer.’ Is this true, idle speculation or disinformation designed to make an erratic and paranoid dictator vulnerable?
Austin speaks with Russian counterpart for first time since start of war in Ukraine
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday spoke with his Russian counterpart, the first such conversation between the two officials since the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine began in February, according to the Pentagon.
Finland, Sweden to meet with Turkey over NATO
We were told to expect a decision “within days” as to Finland applying for membership in NATO, triggering a threatening response from the Kremlin. That estimate proved to be true. This morning, the President and Prime Minister of Finland held a joint news conference where they announced that Finland’s formal application to join the alliance will be submitted this week following a vote in Parliament that is being described as “a formality.” But formally applying is not the same as being formally accepted. While NATO leadership initially announced that Finland’s application would be accepted and approved “quickly,” some analysts are now speculating that it could take as much as a year, if it happens at all.
Here’s What the Buffalo Shooter’s Alleged Manifesto Actually Says
On Saturday afternoon, an 18-year-old from Upstate New York traveled to Buffalo and live-streamed himself shooting several people, ten of whom he killed, at a Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly black neighborhood. The suspect was captured by law enforcement and has been arraigned on 10 first-degree murder charges.
Finland, Sweden, Turkey, and NATO
As suspected, Turkey’s objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO were the first moves in a bargaining process (accepting new members into NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members), which I reckon will not be confined to Turkey (Hungary next?).
National
Suburban Phoenix Is Cautionary Tale for Democrats Hoping to Galvanize Voters on Abortion
Laura Wilson is a mother of three who lives in the sprawling suburbs of north Phoenix, a hotly contested electoral area of Arizona that could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate after November’s congressional elections.
License to Discriminate? ABA Committee Recommends Eliminating Standardized Testing For Law School Admissions
Preparing for a post affirmative-action landscape, by eliminating the primary evidence the Asian students in the Harvard case used to show discriminatory admissions treatment — standardized testing scores.
Kids’ book ‘Our Skin’ in NYC schools blames racism on white people
An “inflammatory” children’s book being distributed to New York City schools teaches kids as young as 2 that the concept of race was created by white people who claimed they were “better, smarter, prettier, and that they deserve more than everybody else.”
BLM Co-Founder Admits Using $6 Million Mansion for Personal Purposes, But Insists No One Misused Funds
How can anyone at the foundation say it never misused funds when the whole organization was in disarray since its inception?
Alabama law criminalizing gender transition surgery, drugs for minors takes effect
Those convicted under the law would face up to 10 years in prison
Cotton Urges GOP to Discard ‘Grand and Abstract Doctrines’ in Favor of Realistic Foreign Policy
Addressing an audience at the National Review Institute’s conference on The Case for American Power: Why we must lead the free world on Monday, Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called for an active, but realistic conservative foreign policy.
Parents Revolt Against “Equity” Agenda In Barrington (RI) As School District Drops Precipitously In National Rankings
“Since de-levelling was introduced… the school has dropped from 189th to 308th in the nationwide school rankings.” The parents movement in Barrington across all political, racial, and ethnic lines. It’s just parents refusing to be silent anymore.
House Panel to Hold Public Hearing on Unexplained Aerial Sightings
A subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee will hear testimony next week from two Pentagon officials.
Hunter Biden’s Hollywood lawyer paid off his $2M IRS debt – his “sugar brother”
I’ve never heard the term “sugar brother” before reading about this story but the week’s young. Usually sugar precedes daddy or mama yet in this case, it is a Hollywood lawyer who is paying Hunter Biden’s way in Los Angeles. His support includes Hunter’s overdue $2M tax debt. The debt is paid in full.
Biden’s sister: You know who’d make a great presidential candidate?
Because nothing says “party of the working class” like “let’s draft an actual royal to run our government,” right? To be fair, Valerie Biden Owens got caught in a trap in this interview for Good Morning Britain, as she tried to promote the need for women to engage in the electoral process. What was she supposed to say when the interviewer brought up Meghan Markle on British TV — oh hell no?
On Cultural Marxism, the Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory? Woke Deception at Wikipedia
The best defense is a good offense. Wokeists in cultural elite circles know this well. Some critics of their radical agenda began noticing that there is a body of long-established academic writing about revolutionary politics, known as cultural Marxism, behind their efforts and launched an attack on those ideas and thinkers. The Wokeists responded with the kind of counter-attack most in keeping with the win-at-all-costs worldview that drives them: they denied that the ideas even existed and claimed conservatives had invented them out of whole cloth.
Democrats test a midterm strategy: Meddling in GOP governor’s races
Democrats are investing millions to either elevate their preferred competitors in November or weaken their biggest threats.
Justice Department opens grand jury probe into Trump’s handling of documents
At least one subpoena has been issued to the National Archives, sources say.
Man arrested on bias charges in disruption of ‘Stop Asian Hate’ rally near Los Angeles
The defendant is accused of yelling “Go back to China” at peaceful protesters in Diamond Bar, California, last year, prosecutors said.
Dog-Walker Discovers Box of Mail-In Ballots on East Hollywood Sidewalk
Meanwhile, one gubernatorial candidate creates a buzz with her pithy, three-word platform.
The First Rule of Gay Club Is You DO NOT Talk About Gay Club! Groomer Teachers Plot on Zoom
The groomer teachers just will not stop trying to indoctrinate your kids into the rainbow cult behind your back. It’s amazing to me that they object to the term “groomer” and then actively plot to have secrets with children about sexuality. It is the definition of “grooming.” Christina Buttons, who calls herself a “reformed SJW,” has footage of a leaked Zoom call between teachers that was organized by GenderInClassrooms.com. This website purports to be “created by teachers for teachers” and “dedicated to equipping educators with the tools they need to foster safe, welcoming gender-inclusive classrooms.”
A Reuters data scientist was fired after writing a paper critical of Black Lives Matter
I’ve written about Zac Kriegman before. He’s a former Director of Data Science for Reuters who was fired after he challenged some of the assumptions behind the claims made by Black Lives Matter proponents. Today, Bari Weiss published Kriegman’s first hand account of how he changed his mind about BLM and what happened when he brought those concerns to his co-workers in the form of a 12,000 word argument posted on an internal discussion board.
The California Mathematics Framework is ‘fundamentally flawed’ and based on shoddy research
The state of California’s proposed framework for new math standards for K-12 schools hasn’t been adopted yet. Hopefully it won’t be without significant changes. When the first draft of the framework was published last year I wrote about the overwhelming focus on equity. The draft is long and broken into chapters. Chapter two is titled “Teaching for Equity and Engagement.”
Left-Wing Teachers Ditch Teaching To Indoctrinate Kids About Sex Against Parents’ Will
Activist teachers and school administrators have lost sight of their fundamental purpose and their obligation to parents.
‘Everything to the Right of LGB’
What is the difference between LGB and the TQ+? This is the question a progressive YouTuber recently asked a self-described LGB activist. She answered: “Anything to the right of the LGB is straight people. . . . Same-sex attraction is one thing. All those other letters are not about same-sex attraction.” In response, the YouTuber concludes that “the hate crime is coming from inside the house.”
Biden Not Radical Enough For Students
Campus Reform Reporter Alexa Schwerha asked students at the University of Maryland their opinion on President Biden’s first term.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Plasma, prisons, and political parties
The Precise Opposite of Diversity Training
Almost everywhere you look these days, you find “diversity training.” It’s all the rage in corporate America and our educational institutions. Diversity trainers pull in lots of money for blathering away about power differentials, intersectionality, white privilege, and so on. There’s no evidence that it does a scintilla of good. If it accomplishes anything, it’s to instill a sense of grievance and to divide people along racial and ethnic lines.
Madonna: ‘A lot of thought’ went into fully nude NFTs of her giving birth to centipedes
The entertainer, 63, teamed up with digital artist Beeple to create the collection “Mother of Creation,” which depicts a nude Madonna giving birth to trees, butterflies and other insects.
Wisconsin Middle Schoolers Charged With Sexual Harassment For Failing To Use Preferred Pronouns
Lawyer for students: “The mere use of biologically correct pronouns not only does not constitute sexual harassment under Title IX or the District’s own policy, it is also speech protected by the First Amendment.”
Democrats Already Trying to Position Themselves for 2024
“It looks like Warren, Newsom and some of the others are looking to run down Biden and the party, which is unhelpful”
The Issue of ‘Electability’ Plagues Both Parties This Primary Season
How important is “electability” in determining whether a candidate can win an election? For both parties this primary season, the answer will determine who controls the House and Senate.
Economy & Taxes
Labor Negotiations Start Tomorrow for West Coast Ports
Negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) begin tomorrow to reach a new collective-bargaining agreement. The current agreement expires on July 1.
Rich CA Democrat Rep. Katie Porter Discovers Inflation Due to the Price of Bacon
A Democrat staffer admits the obvious: “If you’re explaining, you are losing.”
“Accelerating”: Producer-side inflation roars to 11% in April
Yesterday’s report on the consumer price index rate of inflation gave little hope of short-term relief. Today’s report on the producer price index gives little hope of long-term relief, either. The PPI hit 11% for the second month in a row, lightened only by the same brief respite from fuel-price increases in April that has been entirely mooted this month already
Ban on ‘Excessive’ Gasoline Prices Is Heading for House Vote
The US Congress will vote next week on legislation barring “excessive” or “exploitative” fuel prices. The measure, which is unlikely to garner the Republican support needed to become law, would prohibit price increases during national energy emergencies declared by the president.
U.S. House Supposedly Using Taxpayer Money to Give Staff Peloton Memberships
Great. You know, because taxpayers could use that money to buy groceries or gas.
International
A vindictive EU is stirring trouble in Northern Ireland
The rest of the world has largely made up its mind about the Northern Ireland Protocol, the arrangement that the European Union demanded as the price of Brexit.
Astronomers Reveal First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of Our Galaxy
At simultaneous press conferences around the world, including at a National Science Foundation-sponsored press conference at the US National Press Club in Washington, D.C., astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the center of most galaxies. The image was produced by a global research team called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, using observations from a worldwide network of radio telescopes.
Ailing UAE Ruler Dies, Influential Prince Set to Succeed Him
The president of the United Arab Emirates has died and his powerful younger brother is expected to succeed him at the helm of OPEC’s third biggest oil producer. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who steered the Gulf Arab country through the global financial crisis and oversaw its rapid economic transformation, had been in office since 2004. He was 73.
Calling a man ‘bald’ is considered sexual harassment, tribunal rules
The ruling comes in a case between a veteran electrician and his employers. Tony Finn, 64, claimed he had been a victim of sexual harassment when his colleague said he was a ‘bald c***’
Jorge Ramos: Mexico’s AMLO and his dangerous sympathy for Cuba’s Castro dictatorship
“AMLO and his dangerous sympathy for the Cuban dictatorship: “The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has never hidden his dangerous sympathy for the Cuban dictatorship. Far from it, he defends it at every turn. His visit to Havana last weekend – and the two visits Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel made recently to Mexico – are evidence of the close, odd and worrying relationship between a democratically elected president and the tyrant on the island.
No, Canada: How Musk’s Twitter Should React if Trudeau’s Censorship Plans Succeed
The company shouldn’t be shy about pulling itself from a country intent on policing speech.
Venezuela plans stock sale in break from socialist model
Venezuela’s government is seeking private investors to pump funds into vital but crippled state-run companies, decades after seizing them in the name of socialism.
India Bans Wheat Exports Amid Food Scarcity Worries
India is the world’s second largest wheat producer.
Iran: Protests Over Soaring Food Prices Hit Several Cities
“Protests over soaring food prices continued in several cities in Iran on Saturday.”
Opinion
Diary of a Mad Emerita
During the years I taught college English, I had a ringside seat watching a new breed of Jacobins seize control of a university English department, then extend their reach throughout the humanities. Posing as the champions of “social justice,” they have built an empire cultivating “victims”—and silencing colleagues who oppose the new mission of the radical left. For four decades they have ruled universities nationwide, but my focus here is upon the hoodoo they have inflicted upon North Carolina’s Big Four universities.
The Chaos Midterms
Did you ever think that post-Covid America would be so . . . chaotic? All President Biden had to do was roll out the vaccines and let America enjoy a new “era of good feelings,” savoring the joys of boring, normal life. Instead, as spring 2022 approaches summer, Americans are grappling with rolling electricity blackouts, runaway inflation, high gas prices, high food prices, supply-chain problems, product unavailability, and more than 200,000 migrants coming to the southern border per month. Democratic control of government did not replace chaos with order; it just traded one form of chaos for another.
The Specter of Christianity
I wish our bishops were in fact and in deed as pro-life as the people who hate the Catholic Church seem to think they are.
Procreate to Stop a Third-World Order
On Sunday, Itxu Díaz wrote that “The World Will Belong to the Old.” The piece gave me a good laugh, especially for its title. Yes, we’re turning old and decrepit in the West, but that says nothing about the rest.
Today’s ‘Diversity’ Oaths Resemble 1950s ‘Loyalty’ Oaths
It is rare to meet someone with true moral courage, someone who risks everything to do what he knows is right. I was privileged to know such a man, George Anastaplo. His story, set during the Red Scare of the 1950s, needs to be told because it applies today, when political zealots again demand rigid conformity.
America’s Crisis of Self-Doubt
We live in an age of increasing national self-doubt. The American project, as such, is under assault. Our history is the subject of a revisionist critique that is all-encompassing, unsparing, and very often flatly inaccurate. Our traditional heroes are under threat of being run out of the national pantheon. Our institutions, from elections to the job market to law enforcement, stand accused of perpetuating a systemic racism that is impossible to eradicate. Our educational system, from kindergarten through graduate school, is increasingly a forum for crude propagandizing. Our system of government is attacked as archaic, unfair, and racially biased. Our traditional values of fair play, free speech, and religious liberty are trampled by inflamed ideologues determined to impose their will by force and fear.
The CRT-Industrial Complex
In my essay on “Critical Race Theory and the Long March Through the Institutions,” I examined what Critical Race Theory (CRT) is and what its philosophic origins are. The primary purpose of the present essay is to show how CRT made its way into America’s K-12 government school system. My specific concern is to highlight the various delivery mechanisms by which the Education Deep State smuggled CRT into America’s schools.
Will Trump Need His Own Basement Strategy?
While it will largely depend on his health and other situational factors, there seems to be ample evidence that former President Donald Trump will run again for president in 2024.
Abortion Politics Are All New
None of this is going to play out predictably.
Prepare for the disappearance of Russia
It’s 1991 again and, now as then, Western policymakers and analysts are terrified of confronting the two big “what if” questions raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calamitous war with Ukraine: What if the Russian Federation is following in the Soviet Union’s footsteps and is on the verge of collapse? What if, once again, the process is driven by internal factors and there’s nothing we can do about it?
Midterms 2022: Expect the Worst
It is currently a popular meme that the Republicans are poised for a Congressional sweep in the 2022 midterm elections, perhaps flipping as many as 40 — some say 60 — seats and regaining control of both houses. After all, the Democrats have performed so poorly across the board, whether in foreign policy, the economic realm, the maelstrom at the southern border, and in the overall domestic havoc they have wrought, as to constitute a disaster not seen in many decades, if not in living memory.
The Ninth Circuit’s Stunner in Rosenow, and Thoughts on the Way Forward
A big problem in a small section, but one that can be corrected.
The Ron DeSantis Dog That Hasn’t Barked Yet
One of the big stories of 2022, the outcome of which will become clearer over the next two months, is Donald Trump’s frantic effort to prove his continuing relevance and power within the Republican party by endorsing Republican candidates in primary elections. By some counts, including incumbents who are running unopposed or effectively unopposed, Trump has endorsed around 150 Republicans across the nation. He has waded into nearly every contested primary for senator or governor, sometimes exercising decisive influence, other times obviously trying to front-run by picking people who are already winning. The profligacy of the endorsements puts Trump at risk, as voters can show that he is no longer dictating outcomes. It creates enemies within the party among candidates who had to overcome Trump to win nominations. It creates opportunities for rivals: Mike Pence is campaigning next week for Brian Kemp in Georgia, opposing the Trump-backed candidacy of David Perdue. But it also builds a cadre of people who owe him.
Starvation Diet
We are on the cusp of a significant mass starvation event of our own making. Soon, tens of millions of the world’s most impoverished people will die from an inability to feed themselves, while many of those comfortably getting by now – especially in the Western World – are in for a shock.
