Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Punishing 6 January


For John, BLUFThe riot on Capital Hill on 6 January was wrong, but it wasn't insurection.  And, I suspect, a fair number of Citizens just wandered in with the crowd.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Don Surber Blopspt, by Retired Reporter Don Surber, 30 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

The fake one at the Capitol won't result in much punishment.  It turns out, waving the flag inside the Capitol isn't a crime.

Politico was despondent.

It reported, "Americans outraged by the storming of Capitol Hill are in for a jarring reality check:  Many of those who invaded the halls of Congress on Jan. 6 are likely to get little or no jail time.

For real insurrection, check this out.  President James Buchanan called out the Marines, who shot and killed innocent bystanders, but none of the Insurrectionists.

If anyones doesn't understand the last sentence of the Dan Surber article, write me for an explanation.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Monday, March 29, 2021


For John, BLUFThis is a repeat post, after the first one, which was based on a Press Release, but not from Boston.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

Lyons demands resignation of city election board

From The Boston Herald, by Reporters Marie Szaniszlo and Erin Tiernan, 29 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

GOP Chairman Jim Lyons blasted city of Boston election officials, calling for their resignation after the sudden appearance of more than 120 ballots in a year-old, disputed race for a seat on the Republican State Committee.

“They didn’t count lawfully cast ballots. The system is absolutely broken, and this is the evidence.  Every single member of that commission should resign immediately.  Election integrity in the city of Boston is a failure,” Lyons said.

The Boston Board of Election Commissioners on Saturday conducted a recount of the race for the committee seat for the Second Suffolk District.

In the process, they found a four-fold increase in write-in ballots and came up with a result at odds with the party’s appointment to the seat.

The Media and the Democrats can dismiss this as nothing, but it is actually footprints in the almost invisible dust of voter fraud.  And if not outright fraud, then neglect to the extent it subverts the voting process.

Mass GOP Chairman Jim Lyons is right to raise this issue.  A little of the light of day on this and perhaps we will get a better performance next time, with less hassle.

And, a year late.  At least the recount was finally executed, a year later, a year late.  This is very disrespectful.

But, it is Massachusetts and probably no one cares, since it is about Republicans.

Regards  —  Cliff

  I have been trying to add the time from the dateline, but this was "7:54 p.m." on the 29th, which hasn't yet come to pass.  Strange and not yet understandable.

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Suppressing "Colonial" 🎶


For John, BLUFI neither read music or play an insrument, but I see the value.  Apparently, Oxford does not.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

  • Professors set to reform music courses to move away from the classic repertoire
  • Staff argued curriculum focuses on 'white European music from slave period'
  • It is thought that music writing will also be reformed to be more inclusive

From The Daily Mail On-Line, by Reporter Raven Saunt, 27 March 2021, 22:00 EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

The University of Oxford is considering scrapping sheet music for being 'too colonial' after staff raised concerns about the 'complicity in white supremacy' in music curriculums.

Professors are set to reform their music courses to move away from the classic repertoire, which includes the likes of Beethoven and Mozart, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

University staff have argued that the current curriculum focuses on 'white European music from the slave period', according to The Telegraph.

It is not clear how this is going to work.

Here is an excerpt from the referenced article in The Telegraph; Musical notation branded 'colonialist' by Oxford professors hoping to 'decolonise' the curriculum.  The subheadline reads "Documents reveal that faculty members have proposed reforms to address 'white hegemony' in music courses".  The reporter is Mr Craig Simpson, from 27 March 2021, 7:00pm.

Musical notation has been branded "colonialist" by Oxford professors hoping to reform their courses to focus less on white European culture, The Telegraph can reveal.

Academics are deconstructing the university's music offering after facing pressure to "decolonise" the curriculum following the Black Lives Matter protests.

The Telegraph has seen proposals for changes to undergraduate courses, in which some staff question the current curriculum's "complicity in white supremacy".

Professors said the classical repertoire taught at Oxford, which spans works by Mozart and Beethoven, focuses too much on "white European music from the slave period".

Documents reveal that faculty members, who decide on courses that form the music degree, have proposed reforms to address this "white hegemony", including rethinking the study of musical notation because it is a "colonialist representational system".

Teaching notation which has not "shaken off its connection to its colonial past" would be a "slap in the face" for some students, documents state, and music-writing studies have been earmarked for rebranding to be more inclusive.

With no sheet music and no music notation, then we are going to slip back 2,000 years?  Will it all be about memorization?  Or will there be a "Music Underground", devoted to keep the old ways alive?

I do not see this as progress.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Forgotten


For John, BLUFThere is no doubt there are problems at the US Southern Border.  Large numbers of people are fleeing problems in their home nations and seeking asylum in the United States.  One wonders why they don't seek asylum in Meico?  In the mean time, millions are trying to do it the regular way, the legal way.  What of them?  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

The issues involved are nearly impossible to settle as long as policymakers regard decency as a political weakness rather than as a moral strength.

From The New Yorker, by Writer Jonathan Blitzer, March 28, 2021 (For the 5 April Print Edition).

Here is the lede plus three:

During the past decade, three U.S. Presidents have each faced a humanitarian emergency at the southern border.  Barack Obama did in 2014, when tens of thousands of children from Central America arrived, without their parents, to seek asylum.  Five years later, under Donald Trump—and the harshest border-enforcement regime in more than half a century—record numbers of children and families overwhelmed federal authorities.  Now, two months into Joe Biden’s Presidency, it’s his turn. Last Thursday, the topic dominated the first press conference he has given since taking office.  “What we’re doing right now is attempting to rebuild the system that can accommodate what is happening today,” he said.  “It’s going to take time.”

There are currently some eighteen thousand unaccompanied migrant children in U.S. custody, including more than five thousand who remain in holding cells, as the government scrambles to find space to house them.  Republicans who were silent when Trump was separating migrant children from their parents and eviscerating the asylum system are now denouncing “Biden’s border crisis.”  The messaging appears to be effective; it’s causing all sorts of confusion.  Biden is turning away forty per cent of asylum-seeking families and virtually all single adults arriving at the border, under a controversial Trump policy known as Title 42, which he has left in place.  Even so, everyone from TV news anchors to the President of Mexico is blaming Biden for encouraging more migrants to travel north, because he vowed to stop Trump’s heedless cruelty.  Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, tweeted that Biden has “emphasized the humane treatment of immigrants, regardless of their legal status.” He meant it as a criticism.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, has predicted that the United States will encounter more migrants by the end of 2021 than it has at any point in the past two decades. He has also, like the rest of the Administration, avoided labelling the situation a crisis.  “This is not new,” he said.  “We have experienced migration surges before.”  What is new, though, is the pace:  for most of March, about five hundred and fifty children have been arriving at the border every day.  Both Mayorkas and Biden have gone on television to announce that the border is closed; at a White House press briefing, Roberta Jacobson, from the National Security Council, made the announcement in Spanish.  But it was directed more at critics in Congress than at people in Honduras and Guatemala, the countries from which most of the families and children are coming.

The word “crisis” is both an overstatement and an understatement of the situation.  There were more families and children seeking asylum at the border under Trump in 2019 than there are now. And the current numbers, if higher than Biden anticipated, are not unexpected.  The pandemic has led to renewed desperation in Central America, as have two hurricanes that devastated the region last fall, displacing tens of thousands of people.  Yet, in another sense, the situation is worse than much of the public understands, because the issues involved are genuinely complex and nearly impossible to settle as long as policymakers in Washington continue to regard decency as a sign of political weakness rather than of moral strength.

The Author is correct, it is a mess at the Southern Border.  And later on he mentions that it is the plan of the Biden Adminisration to help fix problems in Central America, and bypassing oppressive regimes in the process.  Something we should have been doing since the 1950s.

The author tells us of the inequity of it all.  He pulls out the word "Decency" and asks that our political masters show some.  Perhaps because of some word limit, he avoids talking about doing the right thing for the rest of those seeking to come to the United States and become citizens.  There are millions out there who have done the paperwork properly and have had the prerequisite medical examinations, only to be waiting on line for a chance to legally enter this nation.  This extract is from the Migration Policy Institute:

Because of the numerical caps and per-country caps on certain green-card categories, there are significant waits for some categories, with sharper effects on a few countries.  For example, as of April 2019, the wait for U.S. citizens to sponsor adult, unmarried children was more than seven years for most parts of the world, but was 12 years for relatives from the Philippines—and more than 21 years for those from Mexico.  As of November 2018, there were 3.7 million people waiting in line abroad for a family-sponsored green card, and 121,000 awaiting an employment-sponsored green card.
What does decency say we owe those who follow the rules?  What does Mr Blitzer say?

I predict that nothing will be accomplished this Congressional Term, sort of the abolition of the Filibuster, and even then I have my doubts.

Regards  —  Cliff

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Vote Counting Error in Boston


For John, BLUFIt is things like this that raise questions in the minds of voters.  This incident is not "misleading, false and bizarre", to borrow from the Associated Press.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Mass GOP, 27 March 2021 (Communications Director Evan Lips).

Here is the Press Release:

Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons issued the following statement today after a recount of last March's election for Second Suffolk Republican State Committeewoman saw totals that dwarfed the count confirmed by the Boston Election Department more than a year ago:

"What does it say about the Boston Election Department that a year after certifying just 40 write-in votes spread across three candidates, today they somehow managed to 'find' 167 votes? This is an indication that the Boston Board of Election Commissioners is either completely incompetent, in the pocket of the Democrat Party machine, or both. Everyone on that commission should have to resign immediately. The recount proves that Boston Election Division actively disenfranchised Republican voters a year ago, and they should have to answer for that.

"Based on this information we can also safely assume this same Democrat electioneering machine successfully worked to knock another Republican write-in candidate, Rayla Campbell, off of the November ballot to ensure that incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley wouldn't even have to campaign last fall.

If the Boston Election Division can successfully disenfranchise Republican voters in the March 2020 primary, you have to believe they did the same to voters who wrote in Rayla's (Campbell) name last September."

"They didn't count lawfully cast ballots. The system is absolutely broken, and this is the evidence. Every single member of that commission should resign immediately. Election integrity in the city of Boston is a failure."

Background:

On March 3, 2020, there was no declared winner among the three Boston Republicans competing as write-in candidates for the vacant Second Suffolk State Committeewoman seat, as no candidate satisfied Boston's 50-vote threshold for certification.

After a year's worth of litigation, the Boston Board of Election Commissioners announced on Tuesday that a recount would be conducted Saturday, March 27.

The Boston Election Department's confirmed March 3, 2020 totals saw 25 votes for write-in candidate Nicaela Brady Chinnaswamy, nine votes for write-in candidate Rachel Virginia Kemp, and six votes for write-in candidate Eleanor C. Greene.

Saturday's recount saw Boston election officials certify 65 votes for Chinnaswamy, 52 votes for Kemp, and 50 votes for Greene, for a total of 167 votes, more than four times as many than previously certified following the March 3, 2020, election.

Following the Sept. 1, 2020, U.S. House Republican primary, The Boston Election Division certified 568 write-in votes for Rayla Campbell, who needed at least 2,000 votes spread out across seven municipalities, to have her name certified for the November general election ballot versus incumbent U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

Campbell finished with 1,202 certified write-in votes, distributed across seven cities and towns.

The recount rate established Saturday, if applied to Campbell's Sept. 1 totals, would have Campbell potentially receive over 2,000 votes in Boston alone, more than enough to qualify for the November ballot.

Comment from 2020 7th Congressional District Republican candidate Rayla Campbell:

"This is an example of one-party Democrat control that violates my rights, and disenfranchises Black Republican conservative voters in the city of Boston. After learning about the dramatic change during Saturday's recount, how can any Republican voters think otherwise?"

Communications Director Evan Lips can be reached at (617) 523-5005 ext. 245, (press@massgop.com).

The conclusion to be drawn is that not every local town or city election operation is up to snuff.  The will of the People is not being reflected, at least if those Citizens are Republican.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The True Vote


For John, BLUFIn an age of identity theft there are thousands of politicians and bureaucrats, and media types, who think it is everywhere, except in voting.  This kind of thinking seems strange to me.  Perhaps it is form of mass hysteria.  Nothing to see here; just move along.



On Page A4 of The [Lowell] Sun we have an Associated Press article, Dominion Voting sues Fox for $1.6B over 2020 election claims, which seems to wander into propoganda:
The lawsuit is part of a growing body of legal action filed by the voting company and other targets of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by President Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden.  Those claims helped spur on rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent siege that left five people dead, including a police officer.  The siege led to Trump’s historic second impeachment.
That second paragraph deserves a fisking.  I will leave that for another day.

Then, on page A8, we have "Democrats assail Georgia law, make case for voting overhaul".

I am not sure the Democrats are making a case, except in their own minds and the minds of Associted Press Reporters.

Democrats have seized on new voting restrictions in Georgia to focus attention on the fight to overhaul federal election laws, setting up a slow-building standoff that carries echoes of the civil rights battles of a half-century ago.

In fiery speeches, pointed statements and tweets, party leaders on Friday decried the law signed the day before by the state’s Republican governor as specifically aimed at suppressing Black and Latino votes and a threat to democracy.  President Joe Biden released an extended statement, calling the law an attack on “good conscience” that denies the right to vote for “countless” Americans.

And our Senator, Senator Elizabeth Warren, tries to make it about racism, with this quote on Thursday:
"The Republican who is sitting in Stacey Abrams’ chair just signed a despicable voter suppression bill into law to take Georgia back to Jim Crow," Warren tweeted.
Yes, another move by Democrats to alienate my vote.  I wish for elections that are both free and fair.  Poisoning the well by suggesting I am a throw-back to the Jim Crow era is not just insulting, it is unjust.  The good news for Democrat operatives is that I am old and will soon be ineligible to vote.

To make matters worse, here is a Tweet about a quote from CNN, which shows the nonsense being thrown about regarding the "voting rights" act before Congress:

"The bill does far more than expand voting access . . . It also would amend the Constitution to overrule Citizens United, a controversial Supreme Court decision that determined corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money in elections."
The big takeaway is that the US Congress may not amend the US Constitution.  It make kick off an effort to pass an Amendment to the US Constitution, but the States are involved.

Yet here in Lowell we are cracking down on voter rolls and residency requirements, as today's Editorial, "Lay case shows need for election residency review", shows.  The Editorial ends:

In any case, we’d also encourage Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to undertake a review of what constitutes a candidate’s legal residency, so we don’t have to rely on a judge’s interpretation of competing facts to make that determination.
I think the Commonwealth Secretary of State should take the extra step and check on what constitutes a voter's legal residency.  The scandal of the dead voting has tainted our elections for far too many decades.

Regarding the Editorial, the penultimate paragraph reads:

Should Lay eventually prevail in court, we hope he takes advantage of this opportunity to engage in constructive debate on the issues facing this diverse school district of more than 14,000 students.
Exactly.  The education of our youth here in Lowell is much too important to take a laissez faire approach.  Once out in the "real world" our students will have to compete against fellow adults who have had many advantages in life.  We need to be equipping our students for the struggles of adulthood.

In the mean time, we, as the Citizens of this Great Nation, should examine electoral facts with care, demanding the Fourth Estate go down every rabbit hole, and tell our elected representatives that we want fair elections, with everyone having a chance to vote, but no one having a chance to abuse that privilege.

The other thing is we should look into is how the rest of the world votes, from Voter ID to fingers dipped in ink, †o show one has voted.

Regards  —  Cliff

  To make matters worse, Senator Warren is confronting the solid Democratic Party and Media meme that there is no fraud in elections.  I don't think it is hypocrisy, which would be a harsh judgement.  However, it could be short term memory loss.
  Except as a Democrat.
  Except in Lowell.

Keeping Secrets


For John, BLUFThe idea that the 2020 Election was clean, without blemish, is an effort that hopes to cement this view into history.  I think this may be, over the long haul, a view difficult to sustain.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Da Tech Guy Blog, by DaTechGuy, 25 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

When screen legend Maureen O’Hara died in 2015 at the age of 95 one of Hollywood’s secrets died with her.

In the final scene of the screen classic Oscar winning movie The Quiet Man Maureen and John Wayne’s character playing Mr. & Mrs. Sean Thornton who have finally resolved a conflict that was tearing their marriage apart are waving to the camera. Mary Kate (O’Hara) whispers something into Sean’s (Wayne) ear. He does a surprise double take and with grin on her face she heads back to the cottage with him in pursuit and the end credits and music end with his arm around them back to the camera as they head into the cottage.

To get that reaction from Wayne he wanted director John Ford instructed O’Hara to whisper a specific sexually vulgar statement into his ear. O’Hara demurred at first but eventually agreed on the condition that nobody outside of her, Ford and of course Wayne would ever know what she said. Ford agreed and Wayne agreed after the fact (since he didn’t know it was coming.) and took the secret with them. O’Hara outlived them both by over 30 years and was often pressed on the subject in interviews but never gave up the secret and to this day it has never come up.

The reason why O’Hara was able to keep this secret successfully was the fact that it was held by only three people and that once Ford (died 1973) and Wayne (died 1979) the only person who could betray that secret was her.

And that brings us in a very round about way to this story at Legal Insurrection’s about the efforts of Glenn Kirschner to compel business’ to state categorically that election 2020 was free and fair.

I think The Quiet Man is a wonderful movie.  With wonderful characters.

I think Da Tech Guy makes a great point.  Given the likely large number of people involved in election fraud in 2020, it is unlikely details will not leak out.

To be straight, Joe Biden was elected by the Electoral College.  Thus, he is the legitimate President.  Fair and square.  However, if it turns out fraud was involved, there will be an asterisk, like for Cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Regards  —  Cliff

Free Speech Defended


For John, BLUFThis is Meriwether v. The Trustees of Shawnee State University, a First Amendment issue.  "Shawnee State University officials punished philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether because he declined a male student’s demand to be referred to as a woman, with feminine titles and pronouns (“Miss,” “she,” etc.).".  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

ADF attorneys represent philosophy professor punished for declining to speak message contrary to his beliefs

From Alliance Defending Freedom, Attorney John Bursch, 26 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled Friday in favor of Dr. Nicholas Meriwether, a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University, reversing a district court’s dismissal of his lawsuit against university officials.  The university punished Meriwether because he declined a male student’s demand to be referred to as a woman, with feminine titles and pronouns.  The court ruled that, based on the allegations in the complaint, the university violated Meriwether’s First Amendment rights.

“This case forced us to defend what used to be a common belief—that nobody should be forced to contradict their core beliefs just to keep their job,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch.  “We are very pleased that the 6th Circuit affirmed the constitutional right of public university professors to speak and lead discussions, even on hotly contested issues.  The freedoms of speech and religion must be vigorously protected if universities are to remain places where ideas can be debated and learning can take place.”

I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to speak up for free speech in this woke age.

One thing I worry about is too rigid a set of rules.  I take my clues from what I see around me.  If a person appears male, but is transitioning, I don't wish to stand in jeoprady for a misjudgement.  Or stating what I think is obvious to me.  On the other hand, I don't wish to offend anyone.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Friday, March 26, 2021

The 2020 Election Goes to Court


For John, BLUFThe 2020 Election is over and Joe Biden is President.  However, the autopsy is just beginning.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Stream, by Governor Mike Huckabee, 23 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Don’t believe the media narrative that court challenges to the 2020 election are over and that we need to “move along; there’s nothing to see here.”  Yes, most courts dismissed their cases without even looking at evidence, but some rulings have been made and there are still cases to be adjudicated.  John Solomon has been keeping up with the activity.

In fact, now that Joe Biden is comfortably situated in the White House and Trump has dropped his own legal challenges, courts in Michigan, Wisconsin and Virginia are starting to rule that the way widespread absentee balloting was handled in these states violated state laws.

Then he touches on Michigan, Wisconsin and virginia.

Yes, due to the miracle of the Electoral College, Joseph Biden is President.  No doubt about it.  That does not mean that 2020 difficulties will not be uncovered.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Where is He?


For John, BLUFIt is a mystery and Mr matt Drudge does not seem interested in helping us solve it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Yes, this is four months old, but it is still a good question.

From The New York Post, by Writer Armin Rosen, 28 November 2020, 10:06 AM.

Here is the lede plus three:

It was the kind of story that would once have had Matt Drudge deploying font sizes that newspapers used to reserve for declarations of war.  On Oct. 14, Twitter and Facebook blocked users from spreading a New York Post article alleging that Hunter Biden had brokered meetings between his father, then the vice president of the United States, and executives at a Ukrainian energy firm where the younger Biden held an $80,000-a-month sinecure.  The Post’s article included photos of what appeared to be an exhausted and intoxicated-looking Biden in various states of undress.

Yet the controversy over tech companies restricting the spread of a story unflattering to the Democratic presidential contender was nowhere to be seen in the upper half of The Drudge Report — once the most coveted and agenda-setting real estate in right-of-center media.  “RECORD TURNOUT ALARMS REPUBLICANS … BIDEN +7 GA,” screamed the top headlines on Oct. 15.

“People have noticed that Drudge has basically become a liberal site over the past two years,” a senior figure in conservative media told me that week.

“Liberal” might be a stretch, but it’s hard to argue with the claim that The Drudge Report has changed over the past few years.  At the very least, it became an anti-Trump site.  “YOU’RE FIRED!,” the top story on Drudge read on Nov. 7 when Joe Biden’s Electoral College win was first projected, appearing above a full page of links celebrating the former vice president’s victory — Drudge screenshotted the headline in a rare tweet that same day.  During the campaign, the site had touted any and all bad news for Drudge’s once-preferred candidate and sometimes-host at the White House — a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by the Media Critic-in-Chief.

This was four months ago and the "Where's Waldo" question has yet to be answered.

Yes, I do miss the old Drudge.  The new site, the revised site, just does not measure up.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

.Honeymoon Period Summary


For John, BLUFThe thing about the borders is we privilege some people, but not others.  You could be standing in line in Manila or Bamenda or Chiang Mai, with your paperwork in order, but no "quota" and you are staying put.  But, if you pay some criminal cartel to walk you into the US, you are golden.  Is that fair?  Nothing to see here; just move along.



Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Biden-Presidency-600x264.png

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

China Going Bust Long Term


For John, BLUFDemographics is destiny.  Right now China is the world's most populous nation, with India in a close second.  However, 43 years ago China did something about its population growth.  Now they are seeing the consequences.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

China this century is on track to experience history’s most dramatic demographic collapse in the absence of war or disease.

From The National Interest, by Analyst adn Author Gordon G. Chang, March 23, 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

China this century is on track to experience history’s most dramatic demographic collapse in the absence of war or disease.

Today, the country has a population more than four times larger than America’s. By 2100, the U.S. will probably have more people than China.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics typically releases population data for the preceding year in early March. This year, NBS delayed its announcement because the central government is scheduled next month to announce preliminary results of the 7th national census, conducted in November and December.

The image of Chinese economic and geopolitical dominance will be severely dented when Beijing releases census data. Xi Jinping may believe “the East is rising and the West is declining”—the money line from one of his speeches late last year—but that view will be exceedingly hard to maintain.

It appears that China is continuing to suffer from it's "one child" policy of 1978.  It appears that when a nation changes a social policy unintended consequences follow and reversal of the change is not easy.  It is possible that the head of the Chinese Communist Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping, is whistling through the graveyard.

in order to understand the underlying structure you have to deal in TFR, or Total
Fertility rate
.  That is how many children a woman produces in a lifetime, on average.  The usual number is 2.1.  Nine out ten women have two and the tenth has three.  This allows for child deaths at birth or in childhood.  Mr Gordon Chang goes on:

Beijing has not announced births for last year, but early numbers indicate they plummeted from 2019.  Births in the household registration—hukou—system plunged 14.9% to 10,035,000 last year.  Because births so registered constitute about 80% of total births, He Yafu, a demographer, estimates total births for the country last year came in at 12,540,000.

Yi [Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison] told me that the number of births for the country was in reality about 8 million and could not have exceeded 10 million.

Again, Yi looks correct.  Provinces and other governmental units have reported data ahead of the census, and births were down more than 30% in some locations.

The big issue is China’s trajectory.  Official media is cagey about a critical figure, the country’s total fertility rate, generally the number of children per female reaching child-bearing age.  The official China Daily reports that Lu Jiehua of Peking University believes the country’s TFR, as the rate is known, “has fallen below 1.7.”

In any event, China’s population will shrink fast. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences projects China’s population will halve by 2100 if the TFR drops from 1.6 to 1.3.

China’s TFR, however, is far lower than 1.3.  If its TFR stabilizes at 1.2—1.2 [it] would represent a big increase—China will have a population of only 480 million by the end of the century.

In the US we are handling this with immigration.  A map shows Massachusetts at 1.7, below replacement level.  Since I moved here in 1994 we have gone from ten US Representatives to nine.  That is because we lost population compared with the rest of the nation.  The same thing will be happening to China, slowly at first and then in a rush.  The way Author Ernest Hemingway described Bankruptcy in The Sun Also Rises, "Gradually and Then Suddenly."

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Improving Civics Education


For John, BLUFThere seems to be a certain lack of civics education, at least as judged by citizen participation in local government and in voting.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From National Review, by Mr Stanley Kurtz, 22 March 2021, 7:44 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

The National Association of Scholars (NAS) has announced the formation of a coalition to promote authentic civic education.  The new NAS Civics Alliance will oppose attempts to replace proper courses in American government with politicized “action civics.”  Most conservatives still haven’t even heard of action civics, where K-12 and college students are required to protest and lobby for (invariably leftist) political causes for course credit.  At a moment when the public and legislators are eager to restore long-neglected civic education, radicals are attempting to smuggle partisan leftist activism into K-12 education under the misleading label of “civics.”  The new NAS Civics Alliance aims to block these moves and restore genuine civic education instead.

The NAS Civics Alliance announced its formation with an introductory essay from NAS President Peter Wood, an Open Letter and Curriculum Statement signed by members of the alliance, and a page where anyone can sign the Open Letter and join the alliance.

The Open Letter warns against the rise of action civics in states like Massachusetts and Illinois, and new attempts to nationalize the practice.  The Civics Curriculum Statement lays out a range of positive alternatives, while being careful not to endorse any specific program.  The NAS Alliance, for example, makes no attempt to force a single solution on the complex question of precisely how to balance state-level mandates with local school-district control.  On the other hand, the NAS Civics Alliance clearly endorses the Partisanship Out of Civics Act (which I authored) as a model for legislation which would ban action civics at the state level.  Opposition to the politicization of civic education is the alliance’s unifying theme.

The Author points out that Our Commonwealth is one of the early adapters of the idea to encourage school students to write letters to elected officials.  I am all in favor of that.  I am in favor of it as long as the teacher or the school is not "steering" the student in one direction or another.

for sure, we have to improve our teaching of civics in public schools.  When I was in 9th Grade, in Bucks County, Pa, we have a year long course called "CORE", in which we looked at life as an adult, including examining three separate job options.  We then went on to examine Government at all levels, and about the time my parents pulled me out to go to California, we were embarking on writing a "town charter".  All good stuff.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Vaccine Diplomacy


For John, BLUFOnce upon a time, and for Centuries, China was the most powerful nation on the planet.  Then they pulled into themselves and fell behind.  Now they are pushing back out, to regain what they see as their rightful place.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From PJ Media, by Writer Rick Moran, 20 March 2021, 1:58 PM ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

China will allow foreigners to enter the country, but it has directed embassies around the world to only issue a visa if the traveler has gotten a COVID-19 vaccine that was made in China.

“It’s very much at the sharp end of vaccine diplomacy,” Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor in health security at the City University of Hong Kong, told CNN.  “(It’s) essentially saying if you want to visit us, you need to take our vaccine.”

There has been no Chinese-made vaccine approved for human use in America, nor is there likely to be one anytime soon.  China has created 5 different vaccines but none have been approved by the WHO.  This is probably due to the fact that the Chinese government refuses to release the results of Stage 3 trials — a crucial requirement for vaccine approval in the U.S. and other western countries.

China’s main entry in the vaccine race — Sinovac — has an announced effectiveness of 78 percent against COVID.  But Brazil actually conducted a Stage 3 trial and found it only 50.38 percent effective — far less effective than any other vaccine on the market.

Where does that leave the U.S., the UK, and other nations that have not approved a Chinese vaccine for use?

This seems rather cheeky on the part of China.  Not withstanding the Woke scolds in our midst, China, and in particular, Wuhan, does seem to be the source of this pandemic  Now they are playing the offended party, asking the rest of us to dance to their tune.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cleaning Up After the Election


For John, BLUFThere has been a small insurrection in the Massachusetts Republican Party, based on the semi-Progressive stance of many GOPers in the Boston Area.  Those of us in the Hinterland want a party that cleaves more closely to the principles of our nation and to true liberalism.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From The Epoch Times, by Writer Roger L. Simon, 20 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

From several meetings and events I have been to lately, including CPAC, as well as reports from others across the country that I have heard, a revolution is brewing in the Republican Party.

It couldn’t be more necessary.

The leadership is having trouble keeping up with a rank-and-file who are increasingly distressed, even appalled, by the rapid changes in our country being instigated by the new administration and its phony claims of collegiality.

Change in the Republican Party is needed.  In some places it is already underway, in other places not.  Part of the problem is politicians who are about "the process" and not about basic principles of how the People wish to be governed.

On the other hand, we don't want to do to ourselves what the Democratic Party did to itself after the 1968 debacle.  That would be bad for Republicans and for the nation.  Think of the people who walked away from the Democratic Party after 1972.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Friday, March 19, 2021

Hitting Back


For John, BLUFThe fact that the Perpetrator was on the stretcher is an indication of an assault gone terribly wrong for the Perp.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From CBS San Francisco, 17 March 2021, 7:31 pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

The incident happened at Market St. and Charles J. Brenham Place near McAllister St. at around 10:30 a.m.  San Francisco police said they are investigating an aggravated assault by a man who appears to be in his 30s on a 70-year-old woman.

Coming upon the scene during his morning run was KPIX Sports Director Dennis O’Donnell.

“There was a guy on a stretcher and a frustrated angry woman with a stick in her hand,” O’Donnell says.

I would think this kind of determination would serve to deter attacks in a given neighborhood.  I sure hope so.

A further quote:

“The woman said that she was hit,” O’Donnell says.  “She attacked back.  From what I could see, she wanted more of the guy on the stretcher and the police were holding her back.”
Remenber, the Police are there to protect the Perp from the revenge of the Victims.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

  The desire of minorities for peaceful neighborhoods is suggested by a change in voting patterns (greater votes for Republican candidates) following calls for defunding the police.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Battle Lines Among Friends


For John, BLUFAs talk of eliminating the filibuster shows, there are those who would "destroy the village in order to save it".  That seems foolish, unless the Democratic Party believes HR-1 would give them a permanent lock on elections.  That would be foolish.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Powerline Blog, by Blogger John Hinderaker, 18 MARCH 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

The conflict in which we are now engaged is stark.  The Left hates America and wants to destroy (or “fundamentally transform”) it.  The Democratic Party, having drunk the Critical Race Theory kool-aid, is now openly anti-American.  So those are the battle lines: on one side, those who love our country and want to preserve it.  On the other, those who hate our country and want to destroy it.

Unfortunately, our public education system is almost 100% in the hands of the haters, organized and mobilized by the teachers’ unions.  Our children are steadily being indoctrinated in anti-Americanism.  But here and there, a few politicians stick up for our country.

Two he mentions are Governor Ron DeSantis, of Florida, and Governor Kristi Noem, of South Dakota.  Both look good to me for 2024.

One thing that needs to be made clear, at the beginning, is the problem with extremism.  If we get to regarding the other side as being impervious to negotiation and compromise, not part of the Democratic process, then we have damaged the thing we value, our democracy.  They may be dirty, rotten, pinko communist blowhards (DRPCB), but they are our Brothers and Sisters.  The may hate our system of Government and our social standards, but they are working within them,  and so should we.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

  Except for ANTIFA, and their ilk.  They wish to go straight to revolution, in order to establish a Bolivarian like revolution, a la Venezuala.  They would be talking violence to establish and maintain such an arrangement.

Guessing the Future


For John, BLUFThere is a lot we don't understand about the COVID-19 Pandemic.  It would be smart to learn some of those things, to avoid future mistakes.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

In March 2020, a study asked experts and laypeople for their predictions. Neither group came close to being right.

From Foreign Policy, by Messrs Michael Varnum, Cendri Hutcherson and Igor Grossmann, 18 March 2021, 2:40 PM.

Here is the lede plus three:

Soon after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear to many that life was about to be fundamentally altered, possibly irrevocably.  Discussions of a “new normal” spread on social media, in the popular press, and in scholarly publications, but it was unclear just what this new normal might look like.  Beyond social distancing or working and learning from home, how would COVID-19 change our ways of thinking and behaving?  Would depression and loneliness increase, or would people prove resilient and adaptable?  Would relationships suffer as couples spent more time together?  Would people become more open to cultural change as they were forced to adapt, or would they fall back on tradition and ritual?

In those uncertain early days, pundits, politicians, and celebrities alike offered their predictions and prescriptions.  So too did some behavioral and social scientists. For us, a group of scholars who share an interest in understanding how social and behavioral science can best inform public policy, it was a golden opportunity to test just how expert experts are.  In a large-scale undertaking beginning last April, we sought to track the extent to which social and behavioral scientists (including social and clinical psychologists, experts in judgments and decision-making, neuroscientists, economists, and political scientists) accurately predicted the impacts of COVID-19 on a set of psychological and behavioral domains—ranging from life satisfaction and loneliness to prejudice and violent crimes—in the United States.  We also asked average Americans to make these predictions as well.  Half a year later, we assessed the accuracy of these predictions.

So, how did COVID-19 reshape people’s psychology?  Surprisingly, a steady stream of research findings suggest that far less has changed than one might expect. Loneliness, if it increased at all, did so by a minuscule amount.  People’s satisfaction with relationships decreased, but the trend was again very small, a far cry from the dramatic change people were predicting last March.  And people’s basic social motivations—to affiliate, or achieve status, or find romantic partners, or care for family—also showed little movement in response to the pandemic.  In a National Science Foundation-funded study involving more than 15,000 research participants around the globe, only the motivation to avoid infectious disease showed a meaningful shift from pre-pandemic baselines.  Unsurprisingly, it increased.  Other ways of assessing change provide a similar picture.  Using survey data from large, nationally representative samples, we found that there was little to no change in 10 diverse domains of human psychology and behavior—ranging from subjective well-being to traditionalism—that might have been expected to show dramatic movement.

These findings were unexpected by many, including the experts in human behavior and social dynamics in our studies, whose predictions turned out to be generally inaccurate.  The majority of forecasts were off by at least 20 percent, and fewer than half of our participants correctly predicted the direction of changes.  In what ways were these predictions off? Typically they were too extreme.  In other words, human psychology and behavior showed more inertia than most of our participants anticipated.  The only exception came in the domain of violent crime, where a 20 percent increase was observed from spring to late fall.  Ironically, this was a domain where our participants predicted almost no change.  How did experts compare with the average person?  Surprisingly, our experts performed no better than the laypeople in our control group, making nearly identical (and equally inaccurate) predictions for the pandemic’s effects on a wide range of phenomena.  Even more nuanced measures of expertise, such as an individual’s amount of social science training or experience studying the specific phenomenon being predicted, did not show any relationship to accuracy.

Here is an interesting comment.  It turns out that those who go against the grain of commonly accepted wisdom do better at forecasting:
How can we become better forecasters?  Here, [Philip] Tetlock’s work on so-called superforecasters, individuals who make highly accurate forecasts, might be informative.  Superforecasters seem to reason differently from others.  They are more willing to acknowledge uncertainty, to seek out opposing viewpoints, and to update their beliefs in the face of new evidence.  Studies suggest that similar reasoning strategies make people better at forecasting their own future emotions and that training in taking the viewpoint of a detached observer can enhance the likelihood this kind of thinking.  Further, recent work by Tetlock and his collaborators has shown that a short training in probabilistic reasoning improves people’s ability to forecast geopolitical events.
There is still a lot to learn in the field of social science, although the desired outcomes from different groups may get in the way of that learning  Some truths may be culturally determined.

Regards  —  Cliff

Confusion in the IC


For John, BLUFThere was apparently a minority opinion in the Intelligence Community regarding outside influence in our 2020 Elections.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Wait!  What?  We were told, yesterday, that:


Washington Post Reporter Ellen Nakashima (17 March 2021, at 6:51 a.m. EDT) told us:
Evanina also said that "China prefers that President Trump — whom Beijing sees as unpredictable — does not win reelection."  He said that China was expanding its "influence efforts" ahead of the November election to "shape the policy environment" and "pressure political figures" it viewed as opposed to its interests.
So China was not directly meddling in our 2020 Election, per Ms Nakashima.

But, back to today's Epoch Times article, there is revealed a descenting opinion.

From The Epoch Times, by Reporter Jack Phhillips, 18 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

A report from the U.S. intelligence community suggests that a minority of intelligence officials believed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did, in fact, attempt to hinder former President Donald Trump’s chances in the 2020 election, while reporting that the CCP did not “deploy interference efforts.”

A report from the National Intelligence Council (pdf) released March 10 stated that Russia sought to denigrate President Joe Biden and boost Trump during the 2020 election, and that China “did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the U.S. presidential election,” adding:  “We have high confidence in this judgment.”

So, which is it?  Did they or didn't they?  I am thinking our assumption, and our defensive actions should be based on the idea that they did.

We have election system problems and the Bill coming out of Congress will not fix those problems.  If anything, it will make things worse.  For sure, the confidence of the voters is important.  I do not believe we have a high level of confidence.

Regards  —  Cliff

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Is Skiing Racist?


For John, BLUFNo, it isn't, but if those of us who ski are not welcoming of those trying to get on board we are limiting the enjoyment of our non-skiing Brothers and Sisters.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

  • A sociology professor wrote a book alleging that "systemic racism" is to blame for Black people not taking advantage of outdoor activities.
  • The book argues that African-Americans are therefore deprived of “aesthetic experiences that are central to the human condition.”

From Campus Reform, by Correspondent Benjamin Zeisloft, 23 February 2021, 11:06 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

A professor argued that "systemic racism" is to blame for Black people not taking advantage of activities such as skiing, hiking, and classical music.

University of Vermont sociology professor Dan Krymkowski wrote a book entitled The Color of Culture: African American Underrepresentation in the Fine Arts and Outdoor Recreation, which argues that “racial-ethnic socioeconomic differences, as well as historic and contemporary discrimination, both overt and subtle,” lead to an underrepresentation of African-Americans in certain cultural realms.

“These causes are rooted in the systemic racism that continues to plague the United States,” explains the book’s description.  “The lack of opportunity to participate in such cultural forms deprives African Americans of aesthetic experiences that are central to the human condition, and it has implications for both health and the accumulation of cultural and social capital.”

I wondered about this.  My only skiing was cross-country, and that was related to work.  I am not a hiker, although I used to do Volksmarches with my wife.  My time with classical music is very limited.  I am still looking for time to catch the Ottowa Bach Choir Christmas program.

On the other hand, I see the book author's point.  If someone feels awkward skiing or hiking it can be limiting.  Those of us experienced in an activity should be welcoming of others.  Part of making and keeping American great is a welcoming attitude toward all comers.

That said, the article author, Mr Zeisloft, says the statistics, when it becomes more of a mix and not just Blacks and Caucasians, become less clear.  What is to be learned from that?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

  I hope the chap that sent me the ticket doesn't read this post, I am so embarrassed.

Nations Uniting Against Suppression of Speech


For John, BLUFIt is interesting that Canada, without a Free Speech guarantee in its Constitution, is taking the lead on fighting back against suppression of speech under the guise of civil rights. Not just Canada, but Quebec.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

  • Top government officials in Britain and France have recently expressed concern with the spread of American sociological philosophies in their university systems.
  • The Premier of Quebec is now joining international efforts to bolster the right to free speech.

From Campus Reform, by Correspondent Benjamin Zeisloft, 15 March 2021, 6:01 PM.

Here is the lede plus six:

Joining top officials from across the globe, the Premier of Quebec wrote about the dangers of academic ideologies from the United States and promised to protect free expression.

In a Feb. 13 statement, Premier Francois Legault wrote that “a handful of radical activists can be seen trying to censor some words and works” in academia.

“We see a movement coming from the United States and frankly, I don't think it's like us,” he explained.  “What's really disturbing is that more and more people are feeling intimidated.  They feel forced to self-censure, lest they get insulted and expose in the public square.”

Legault added that canceling authors and professors “is going too far” and that the “situation is slip[p]ing.”

“While it can be healthy to question certain conceptions or behaviours and to avoid shock or injury, we must not sacrifice our freedom of expression,” he said.  “Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of our democracy.  If we start compromising on this, we risk seeing the same censorship overflow in our media, in our political debates.  We won't mean anything anymore.  No one will dare to talk about immigration, for example, if every time we talk about this, we get screamed nonsense.  Nobody wants that.  Not me, anyway.”

Legault announced that Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann is seeking to “act fast” in response to the erosion of Quebec’s academic culture.

Campus Reform recently reported that other Western nations are concerned about the rise of woke academia as a result of American influence.

In the United States the Woke are coming for those who will not conform to the Woke model.  However, other free nations fear the consequences for Democracy.  They are correct to be concerned.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Race to Replace


For John, BLUFCalifornia used to be a wonderful place, until it overreached.  First it tried to throttle State Government spending and then it tried to implement a total Progressive agenda.  Neither worked out.  Moderation should be the watchword.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From PJ Media, by Ms Victoria Taft, 17 March 2021, 9:25 AM ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

The effort to qualify a recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom for the ballot just hit the sweet spot, two million signatures.  That means as soon as the requisite signatures are validated, his recall will be scheduled for an election.

And the closer that day comes, the more desperate Newsom sounds.

Newsom can’t believe that normal people would want him out of office, so he’s constructed the idea that only QAnon conspiracy theorists, Proud Boys, and people “who want to put chips into migrants” have concocted his recall … well, them and two million other people.

Of course, the effort to recall Newsom started well before anyone had ever heard of QAnon, or stormed the Capitol, but the governor told the slack jawed hosts on ABC TV’s The View on Tuesday that those behind his recall are “fans” of the “Capitol insurrection” “are quite literally QAnon supporters.”

And they bought it.

What concerns me is that there are two million registered voters in California who are followers of QAnon and such.  This should be of concern to all of us.

Good luck to the voters of California.

In the mean time, it is a race to see which State Governor goes first, Governor Gavin Newsom of California or Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

The President Slides Away


For John, BLUFThe President has taken a tentative step toward saying Governor Andrew Cuomo must go.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Mediaite, by Reporter Aidan McLaughlin, 16 March 2021, 8:40 pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

President Joe Biden said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign if an investigation confirms the multiple sexual harassment allegations made against him by former aides.

“I know you said you want the investigation to continue,” ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos told Biden in an ABC News interview airing this week.  “If the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should he resign?”

“Yes,” Biden replied.  “I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted, too.”

It was carefully couched, but it says that Governor Cuomo is in trouble.

We may be looking at Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul fleeting up soon.

Regards  —  Cliff

Monday, March 15, 2021

Georgetown Law Embarrasses Itself


For John, BLUFMy experience is people learn by asking questions and finding answers.  When people may not ask questions, they will not learn.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Ethics Alarms, by Mr Jack Marshall, 15 March 2021.

Here is the lede:

When we last left furiously virtue-signaling Georgetown University Law Center it had fired veteran adjunct professor Sandra Sellers last week for discussing frankly but inadvertently over Zoom a situation that everyone connected with the Law Center knows to be real.  GULC had also suspended her co-instructor David Batson for barely nodding his head during Sellers’ statement of frustration that black students too often end up at the bottom of her grading curve.  Dean Treanor, in his statement declaring the intended private discussion as “reprehensible,” darkly insinuated that Batson had failed a “bystander responsibility.”
Now Professor Batson has resigned, sharing his stated views with The Washington Post.

The author of the Blog Post, having read what Professor Batson shared with The Wash Post, declares:

Batson is a groveling coward, another of many we are seeing enable the suffocation of open discourse in the U.S. as censorious bullies take charge.
It is an unkind statement, but it appears to be true.  That Professors at Georgetown University Law School can not discuss the performance of students, at least in collective terms with regard to common characteristics is an indictment of the school.  If there is a chance that Black students, as a group, suffer a disadvantage in some way it is dereliction for Professsors not to ponder the situation, and then try to improve that situation.

Doesn't Georgetown care?

Regards  —  Cliff

The Ides of March


For John, BLUFThis is all about Western Culture and its attraction to individual freedom.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




The Ides of March (/aɪdz/; Latin:  Idus Martiae, Late Latin: Idus Martii)[1] is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March.  It was marked by several religious observances and was notable for the Romans as a deadline for settling debts.  In 44 BC, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history.
And, the assassination of Julius Ceasar was not the only event on this date. 
On the fourth anniversary of Caesar's death in 40 BC, after achieving a victory at the siege of Perugia, Octavian executed 300 senators and equites who had fought against him under Lucius Antonius, the brother of Mark Antony.  The executions were one of a series of actions taken by Octavian to avenge Caesar's death.  Suetonius and the historian Cassius Dio characterised the slaughter as a religious sacrifice, noting that it occurred on the Ides of March at the new altar to the deified Julius.
You lose your Republic and you end up with a dictatorship.  And that is not good for the People as a whole.

In fact, Reporter Salena Zito, writing in The Washington Examiner, examines this issue under the headline "The culture curators want to think for you".  Here is an exerpt:

One of the most significant reasons conservative populism began to rise in 2009 was that these people lacked a connection or commonality with our cultural curators, and they weren't wrong.  The people who run things in this country have little in common with the very people who use their products or watch their shows or attend their football or basketball games.

Part of that reason is the culture curator boardrooms have very little diversity — not only racial or by gender, but also in culture.  Rare is someone who attended a community college or state school with any input in how something is marketed.  There is also a scarcity of gun owners or churchgoers in newsrooms getting dispatched to cover gun control, hunting, religious freedom, or the anti-abortion movement.

And, back to the Ides of March, here is Actor Jeff Dunetz writing at The Lid Blog;


There is a nice embedded video of the movie Julius Ceasar.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Understanding Liberalism and Its Purpose


For John, BLUFLiberalism is not about Progressive ideas, but about an agreement to give deference to the ideas of others, without giving up one's own.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From the Blog Chicago Boyz, by Blogger David Foster, 12 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

People talk about “liberalism” as if it’s just another word for capitalism, or libertarianism, or vague center-left-Democratic Clintonism. Liberalism is none of these things.  Liberalism is a technology for preventing civil war.  It was forged in the fires of Hell – the horrors of the endless seventeenth century religious wars.  For a hundred years, Europe tore itself apart in some of the most brutal ways imaginable – until finally, from the burning wreckage, we drew forth this amazing piece of alien machinery.  A machine that, when tuned just right, let people live together peacefully without doing the “kill people for being Protestant” thing.  Popular historical strategies for dealing with differences have included:  brutally enforced conformity, brutally efficient genocide, and making sure to keep the alien machine tuned really really carefully.

Very insightful and correct, I believe, if by liberalism one means free speech, freedom of religion, and limited government, rather than the cluster of ‘progressive’ believe that often fly under the ‘liberalism’ brand today.

And when the above attributes of a society do not exist or are eroded, then live-and-let live become difficult to impossible, and all questions become politicized, because political outcomes determine everything.

This is why I call myself a Liberal, but note I am not a Progressive, as it is understood today.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Queue Jumpers


For John, BLUFOne of the things I find wrong about illegal immigatoin is the queue jumping nature of it.  Many people come to this nation the regular way, following the rules.  It takes time.  Then there are those who ignore the rules and just come in.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




Here is the sub-headline:

This is a no-edit mind-dump.  Thank you for not grading my grammar.u

From Reporter Michael Yon, 14 March 2021, 10:34 AM.

Here are two key paragraphs:

Down in Colombia, before we flew to Panama this week, we just saw people from all over Africa, Asia, and South America, entering the jungle at Darien Gap to trek here to Panama, and then north to America.  We already met two farmers here — Sebastian and his wife — who said they both have tuberculosis.

None of these people are being tested for anything.  They might come straight from jungles of Congo or India, or from China, through South America, and finally into El Paso.  No tests.  They might not even have passports.

Mr Yon estimates there are 2.5 million folks queued up for this year, with another 2.5 million likely to come next year.  That is a lot of people.

It makes me wonder about the unfairness of it all.  These folks just march north, hoping to come across the border and then be released into the United States, to get jobs and raise families, eventually becoming Americans, or at least their children.

When I reflect back on my time in the Philippines, I remember going into the US Embassy, on the water, and seeing a long line of Philippinos clutching their paper folders with their chest X-Rays, as part of their process of applying to come to the United States.  This was back in about 1981 or 2.  Who would have more of a right to come to the United States than the residents of the Philippines?  They were our coloney for almost 50 years.  They served in the US Navy and their soldiers helped us fight World war II.  Yet, they have to prove themselves worthy of coming here, while illegal immigrants get a pass.

It somehow seems to lack equity.

Regards  —  Cliff

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Climate Change, Looking Back


For John, BLUFClimate change is like evolution itself, inevitable.  I am not sure it will be as rapid as some promise, absent a major event, such as the poles switching or an asteroid impact.  Forget the scientists.  What do the engineers say?  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Breitbart, by Reporter John Nolte, 12 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

“[M]ost of the beaches on the East Coast of the United States would be gone in 25 years,” the fake New York Times told the world 25 years ago, all the way back in 1995.

Fact check: It’s 2021 and America’s East Coast beaches are doing just fine!

Here’s the relevant portion from the original Times’ article:

A continuing rise in average global sea level, which is likely to amount to more than a foot and a half by the year 2100.  This, say the scientists, would inundate parts of many heavily populated river deltas and the cities on them, making them uninhabitable, and would destroy many beaches around the world. At the most likely rate of rise, some experts say, most of the beaches on the East Coast of the United States would be gone in 25 years.  They are already disappearing at an average of 2 to 3 feet a year.
The date of the article is September 18, 1995.  The headline reads, “Scientists Say Earth’s Warming Could Set Off Wide Disruptions.”
I have a Bachelor of Science degree.  I like science.  I like to follow science.  However, not everyone is a scientist.  Some are propogandists.

There is climate change.  At some point it will get colder and at some point it will get warmer.  Examining the artifacts of the past shows that.

It appears to me that we need an engineering approach to climate change.  An engineering approach that is based on the idea that while world populationj will likely peak below the worse expectations, we are unlikely to arbitrarily bump off a couple of billion folks.  We need to avoid pie in the sky hopes and look at what we can do.  And, we need to avoid extremist views, like that from 25 years ago that all the beaches on the East Coast were going away in 25 years.

And yet, New York Times star science reporter, Mr Donald McNeil, exits over "racist remarks", not science reporting.  He didn't actually use the terms in a racist manner, but as a way of giving full context to what he was relating.  I wish he had gone over the Chimate Change coverage of the New York Times.

Regards  —  Cliff

On The Wrong Path


For John, BLUFI don't think we can end gun violence going down the path laid out by the Democratic Majority in Congress.  Not all paths lead to success.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Congresswoman Lori Trahan, 13 March 2021, 9:01 AM.

Here is the lede plus one:

I normally try not to clog your inbox with multiple emails in the same week, but this is too important to wait.

Each year, tens of thousands of people in the United States -- including thousands of children -- lose their lives to senseless and preventable gun violence.  As an American, this sickens me.  As a mom, it infuriates me.

On Thursday, I took action.  The House took up and passed two key pieces of legislation to get at the root cause of the gun violence epidemic in our nation.  These bipartisan bills would require universal background checks on all gun purchases and finally close the “Charleston Loophole,” which allows guns to wrongly be sold to violent offenders and domestic abusers.

I applaud our Congresswoman, Ms Lori Trahan, for trying to do the right thing.

I fear, however, she and her colleagues are looking at this through the wrong end of the telescope.  Over half our gun deaths are suicides.  Yet we do not lead the world in suicides.  We are middling.  Yes, many of our suicides are from guns.  That said, I don't think a lack of guns will reduce suicides.  Other nations, with stricter gun laws, have more suicides.  When people wish to commit suicide, and our mental health support is weak, they will find a way.

As to the smaller proportion of gun deaths, from Wikipedia we have:

Gun violence against other persons is most common in poor urban areas and is frequently associated with gang violence, often involving male juveniles or young adult males.
So, it isn't evenly spread across the nation, but is concentrated in pockets.  To me that suggests there are factors other than, or in addition to, the availability of guns.  Further, the gun of death is not the rifle, but the handgun.

So gun violence seems focused in poor urban areas.  What impact would a 3% change in the Labor Participation Rate have on this?  I think noticeable. We need change.  We need some creative thinking.  Congresswoman Trahan should hire an analytic contrarian.

On the other hand, it probably wont be me.  I am a creative thinker, but I am older and I am a Republican.

Regards  —  Cliff

  Our mental health system is not good.  The reason is that when problems of the old system were exposed in court, the state (and Federal) governments just abandoned the mentally ill to their fate.
  This suggests that the vaunted ban on 206 "assult weapons" is not the key to stopping gun violence.
  In Elementary School my teacher wrote on my Report Card that I was a "Critical Thinker".  My Mother told me the techer probbly meant "Critical Stinker."

Democrats Set To Overturn The Voters' Choice


For John, BLUFIt isn't enough to win.  One must win convincingly.  That is, convincingly enough that an overturn in Congress would draw ridicule and sarcasm and an uproar in the press and the home district.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From The Epoch Times, by Reporter Jack Phillips, March 2021 Updated: March 12, 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

The Democrat-run House of Representatives is open to overturning a tight Republican victory in an Iowa Congressional district, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) defeated Democrat Rita Hart by six votes during the Nov. 3 election.  When asked about a scenario in which Democrats would unseat Miller-Meeks, Pelosi said it was a “hypothetical” situation but later said it’s possible that it could happen.

“Well, I respect the work of the committee,” she told reporters in her weekly press conference.  “I did see, as you saw in the press, what they decided to—and they were following my, as I read it, the requirements of the law as to how you go forward.  And how you go forward is the path you’re on and we’ll see where that takes us.  But there could be a scenario to that extent.  Yes.”

It came after the House Committee on House Administration dismissed a motion filed by Miller-Meeks to dismiss Hart’s election contest.

“The margin separating the two candidates was only six votes out of almost 400,000 cast: less than 1/6 of 1 percent.  That’s six votes—not 6,000; not 600; not 60 or even 16—just six fewer votes than we have members of this committee,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the head of the committee, told the panel’s members.  She added:  “It should not be surprising that any candidate in these circumstances—with a margin this close—would seek to exercise their rights under the law to contest the results.”

We could call it the Majority Enrichment Law.  If your party is in the majority they are likely to vote in your favor, and if not, then it is unfortunate.

It reminds me of the Groucho Marx comment:  "I have principles.  If you don't like them, I have other principles."

Regards  —  Cliff

Saturday, March 13, 2021

ID To Get Your Jab in DC


For John, BLUFIs it just hypocrisy, or is it that voting is just not that important?  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From National Review, by Writer Dan McLaughlin, 12 March 2021, 11:08 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

NBC 4 in Washington, D.C., reports that the District is concerned that too many people getting the vaccine in DC are not residents, so it’s going to do something about that.
As the District launched its new system to register for a COVID-19 vaccine this week, it also announced major changes to help ensure more doses go to people who actually live there.  ”The essential worker burden for vaccinations in the District is disproportionately high [compared] to any other jurisdiction,” said Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, head of DC Health.  Going forward, the District will prioritize 90% of its appointments for eligible residents only.  In its new registration portal, D.C. said essential workers should bring verification like a work ID badge, letter from employer or paystub.  ”One of the ways that we have to ensure that we are not vaccinating residents from other jurisdictions who don’t actually have an essential job in the District of Columbia is to ask for some type of proof for that,” Nesbitt said.
Identification to prove that people are in the right jurisdiction?  Funny how this works, when a liberal government is trying to control something it actually cares about.  This comes just as congressional Democrats are trying to abolish state voter-identification requirements for in-person and absentee voting and progressives are calling it racist voter suppression to ask voters to cast ballots in their own precinct.  We are endlessly told that asking for ID scares people away just as surely as turning fire hoses on them.  What if it turns out that this is actually just a routine way for government to verify that it is dealing with people who are entitled to what they are trying to do?
Law Professor Glenn Reynolds commented:  "I.D. ISN’T RACIST WHEN IT’S FOR SOMETHING DEMOCRATS WANT."

For me it is sad that we don't, like say the Europeans, expect people to show an identificatoin to vote.  Is this part of American Exceptionalism?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Portland Evovling


For John, BLUFThe Police "kettled" the protestors (read ANTIFA), which means placing a police cordon around a group of demonstrators.  Nothing to see here; just move along.




From Oregon Live, by Reporter Jayati Ramakrishnan, 13 March 2021, 12:11 AM.

Here is the lede plus three:

Portland police detained a crowd of over 100 protesters during a Friday night demonstration, stemming a march only minutes after it began.

The mass detainment was an apparent use of kettling, a police tactic of surrounding a crowd and containing people within a perimeter.  Police told the crowd they were detaining everyone within the boundary for the “investigation of a crime” but did not specify the nature of the alleged crime.

Demonstrators initially gathered in the Pearl District about 8:30 p.m. and started marching roughly a half-hour later.  Police threatened to arrest protesters minutes after the march started, saying those walking in the street were blocking traffic and would be subject to arrest, citation or crowd control munitions if they didn’t move.

Police announced about 9:20 p.m. they were setting up a perimeter around the group and detaining everyone.  Police said the detention was “temporary” and that they would remove demonstrators “one at a time.”

And here is the view from Breitbart:
Portland Police Bureau officers surrounded and temporarily detained about 100 Antifa protesters after they vandalized multiple businesses in the Pearl District.  Police identified and photographed all of the protesters, and some journalists, and placed 13 people under arrest.

Portland police report a group of people began marching in the street and blocking traffic at about 9 p.m. on Friday, according to a statement from police officials.  Officials advised the protesters to get out of the open roadway.  The group refused to comply and began marching down the roadway.

The Breitbart article makes it sound like the Portland Policer Bureau has decided to take back its City.  If you look at Reporter Michael Yon's post on the issue, 13 arrested.  There are reports of attacks on a Federal Court House.  Is the Department of Justice protecting our Federal Judges?

Meanwhile, Thursday, The Oregonian reported:

Mayor Ted Wheeler seeks $2 million to bring back uniformed police team to address spike in shootings
A funny thing about resources is they only go so far.  Protection of the People is why folks pay taxes to their local government.  If the People can't enjoy their life, then the point of paying taxes is lost.

Regards  —  Cliff

  There is the theory that the Police are there to protect the perps from a vengeful Citizenry.  I would not dismiss that too lightly.