Our Neighbors

For John, BLUF:  Our life as a child of God involves our love for our fellow humans.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From The Gospel of Matthew, 22:34-40.

Here is the Gospel Reading:

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

Jesus is being tested by the Pharisees.  His response raises some interesting questionss.

I once heard someone note that if we look at this from bottom to top we can see the importance of our own sense of self-worth.  If our love of neighbor is to be strong, then our love of self needs to be strong—"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  My sense of the New Testiment is that we show our love of God by our efforts to love our neighbors, even the cranky ones, and the ones from the other political party.

Regards  —  Cliff

Avoiding the Term Terrorism

For John, BLUF:  To not properly name something is to not understand it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Yes, Hamas is Legally, Morally, and Factually a Terrorist Organization

From Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks, by Jonathan Turley, 25 October 2023.

Here is the lede plus three:

Below is my column in the New York Post on the Associated Press guideline for reporters to avoid calling Hamas a terrorist organization.  Voice of America and other media outlets have made the same decision.  This is not about supporting the Palestinian cause.  It is about correctly describing a group that commits terrorist attacks as a terrorist organization.

Here is the column:

Confucius once said that “the beginning of wisdom is the ability to call things by their right names.” That does not appear to be the approach of the Associated Press this week after the media organization told its reporters not to call Hamas fighters “terrorists” after they massacred civilians, raped women, and took a couple hundred hostages from Israel on Oct. 7.

I urge you to read the whole thing.  And to contemplate the slippage in our national media as a source of solid information for our American Citizens and their decision making.

To deny that Hamas used terrorism on 7 October is to obscure the brilliance of their action.  They have pub Israel in an awkward poosition.  The brutality of of the attack demands a reaction, and a strong reaction.  However, too much of a reactioon would bring the condemnatioon of the world.  As it is, before Israel started its ground incursioon into Gaza, there were large demonstratioons on various US Ivy League Campuses in favor of, believe it or not, Hamas.♠ 

Since "war is the continuation of politics by other means"♥, a goal of Hamas is to garner world wide support for an independent Palestine on the land now making up israel.  To deny that this is terrorism is to fail to understand what is going on and to try and make it into something it is not.  Again quoting Carl von Clausewitz and On War.

The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish by that test the kind of war on which they are embarking; neither mistaking it for, nor trying to turn it into, something that is alien to its nature.

Name it and know it.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  While the Students may not realize it, by chanting "From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be free" they are calling for the elimination of Isrsel as a state and the death of the seven million Jews living there.  Not very attractive.
♥  Carl von Clausewitz, On War.

Pendleton Passé?

For John, BLUF:  Just another reason why folks are open to another Trump term.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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FAKE NEWS

From Instapundit, by Law Professor Gail Heriot.

Here is the post:

:Before the Commission on Civil Rights releases a report, we try to agree on findings and recommendations.  It’s hard.  But for our report on Anti-Asian Racism, the Commission was able to muster a majority in favor of a limited number of recommendations.  That’s progress–at least for those who like to see a little bipartisanship now and then.  Unfortunately, it hasn’t done us a bit of good.  The Commission’s staff recently issued an “infographic” on the report that lists “Key Recommendations for Action.”  But with one exception, they’re not the recommendations the Commission actually agreed to.  We figured in that it was a mistake of some sort.  But no.  When four Commissioner informed the Staff Director of the problem, we expected he’d fix it quickly.  But he has declined to do so.

The bureaucracy is out of control.

This makes one wonder if The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, from 1883 was a mistake.  The Act, from back when Chester A Author was President. was designed to end the turmoil of the spoils system.  This was strengthened by the 1939 Hatch Act, which was wsritten to kep the Civil Service out of political activity.

During the 2020 election cycle, Federal Executive employees gave $37,368,311 ($27,141,594 to Democrats vs $9,026,820 to Republicans)(72.63% to Democrats and 24.15% to Republicans).

Perhaps we should go back to thee Spoils System, so Republicans, when they gain office, can have a bureaucracy that will support them in executing their program.

Having saiod thsat, I never sensed that my Father, a Civil Service, ever pursued a "politial agenda", nor did either of my two Brothers in the Fedeersl Civil Service.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

We Have a Speaker, Again

For John, BLUF:  I was impressed that our US Representative, Ms Lori Trahan, had an announcement on the election of a new Speaker out so quickly.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I have good news and bad news

A letter from Representative Lori Trahan.

Here is the lede plus one:

First the good news: The House finally has a new speaker. Like you and so many folks across our district, I’m fed up with the failure of Republican leadership we’ve had to watch over the past three weeks. With a new speaker now in place, Congress can finally get back to work passing laws, holding hearings, and delivering for the hardworking families we represent.

Now, the bad news: The new speaker is Mike Johnson. It’s important for folks to know how Republicans got to this point – electing Speaker Mike Johnson on a party line vote. Rather than House Democrats to find a bipartisan path forward – one we offered countless times over the past 22 days – the GOP cycled through multiple losing candidates before picking Mike Johnson, a Congressman from Louisiana.

The problem with this missive is that our Representative, Ms Lori Trahan, and her friends, could have prevented the loss of Speaker McCarthy, by voting present or by abstaining from voting, giving Rep McCarthy a majority of those present and voting.  But, no, she helped in Speaker McCarthy's downfall.  She could have done the same thing when Speaker Steve Scalise♠  was nominated for Speaker.  She didn,'t, perhaps for partisan reasons.

So, the House Republicans had to fix their own problem, which they did.  They took a numberf votes to do it, but, in the mean time, the sky didn't fall in.  They are now ready to deal with the President's request for funds for Israejl and Ukraine.  And they have just over three weeks to pass a Federal Budget.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Remember Rep Steve Scalise?  He was the member of the House Republican Baseball Team, who was seriously injured in the mass shooting by Bernie Bro James Hodgkinson, of Belleville, IL

What is Hamas?

For John, BLUF:  To discuss the problem between Israel and Gaza one must understand the positions of the participants.  Believe what they tell you.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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What Is Hamas?  What to Know About the Militant Group Fighting Israel

Here is the sub-headline:

Iran-backed faction has triggered the biggest crisis in Israel in decades

From The Wall Street Journal, by Reporter James Hookway, 16 October 2023, 1:20 pm ET.

Here is the lede plus one:

Hamas, an Arab acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement, was founded in 1987 after an eruption of protests and riots over Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.  Founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin’s initial aim was to create an Islamic state on the land now comprising Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, a goal later reaffirmed in the Hamas Charter a year later.

Hamas subsequently signaled it was willing to accept a two-state solution based on Israel’s borders as they were before 1967, but the group continues to reject Israel’s right to exist and opposed the Oslo Accords negotiated by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s.  It maintains a powerful military wing in addition to its political and social-welfare arms.  The U.S., European Union and Israel deem it to be a terrorist organization.

After Hamas won legislative elections in Gaza in 2006, the following year it forcibly removed officials from the more moderate Fatah group in a week of fighting.  More than 100 people were killed in the conflict, which separated the Palestinian territories into Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

A good overal article discussing Hamas.

When we think about Hamas we should keep in mind that there is the political organization, a military wing and, in addition, a concept.  While the political and military wings can be killed, the idea could continue to exist in the minds of the larger population.  While such ideas will always exist, the question is if Israel can offer the People of Palistine a different vision for their future.  That is a core issue for any counter-insurgency effort.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Free Speech on Campus

For John, BLUF:  Free Speech is our right, but it can carry consequences for the utterer.  The author Mr Ken Tashjy, who served as General Counsel for the Massachusetts Community College System for over 21 years.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Campus unrest over Hamas attacks on Israel offers students tough lessons on free speech in higher education

Here is the sub-headline:

Many students are coming to the vivid realization that their speech, although free, may carry with it consequences they never contemplated.

From Campus Reform, by Mr Ken Tashjy, 19 October 2023, 12:00 pm ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, there has been much attention focused on America’s colleges and universities and the profoundly conflicting views expressed by students over the origins of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the justification for Israel’s declaration of war and strong military action in respond to the attacks.

Following a call for a ”Global Day of Jihad” by a former Hamas leader, and a “Day of Resistance” by the National Students for Justice in Palestine, protests erupted on campuses with many students not only expressing support for Palestinians, but also endorsing the deadly Hamas attacks.

Other students stood with Israel, denouncing the murder by Hamas of more than 1,200 innocent people and the rape and kidnapping of dozens more, including many Americans.

In the wake of these campus protests, renewed attention has been focused on the right of free speech in higher education, the right to protest, and the authority and responsibility of campus leaders to limit or prohibit certain speech.

Many students are coming to the vivid realization that their speech, although free, may carry with it consequences they never contemplated. For other students, these events have crystalized the glaring disconnect that exists between their views and the views of institutional leaders and faculty.

Mr Tashjy's three lessons learned are:.

1. "Students have no First Amendment protections for illegal conduct."
2. "While a person may have a right to free speech and expression, they have no right not to be criticized, ridiculed, or held to account for their opinions."
3. "Those who support Israel and have witnessed the anti-Israel protests on their campuses should expect no support or assistance from their institution’s so-called Bias Response Teams."

I admit to taking some private pleasure in seeing Pro-Palistinian protestors finding near future employment opportunities shrinking as a result of their protests.  As retired National War College Dean of Faculty Cynthia Watson titles her Blog, Actions Create Consequences.  Is this Cancel Culture come home?

And the question in the background is how our vision of ourselves and others has drifted from that of the Silent Generation to the current group of college students.  A recent CNN Poll shows the stark contrasts by age regardsing the Israel/Palestine imbroglio.

Regards  —  Cliff

Information Wants to be Free

For John, BLUF:  Those on the world wide web seen as to the "right" of center are being harrassed by large scale providers, like Google, through cutting funding streams, known as demonitizing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why Is KiwiFarms.net ‘Harassment,’ But What Taylor Lorenz Does Is ‘Journalism’?

From The Other McCain, by Robert Stacy McCain, 20 October 2023.

Here is the lede plus three:

Did you know that Taylor Lorenz has her own Kiwi Farms thread?  Anyway, the question in the headline crossed my mind after reading KiwiFarms founder Joshua Moon’s complaint about how payment processors have blacklisted him.  That was referenced in a comment on yesterday’s post about how Instapundit got demonetized by Google Adsense because of allegedly “dangerous” content.

In case you don’t know, Taylor Lorenz first made herself infamous in 2018 by doxxing the teenage daughters of Pamela Geller.

Considering that Geller was (and still is) known to be a target of ISIS and other Islamic terrorists, and that Geller’s daughters were just Instagram influencers who had nothing to do with politics, this was an act sufficiently egregious that Taylor Lorenz should have been unemployed.  Instead, she ended up on the staff of the Washington Post and now, of course, a published author.  There is a double standard involved in Lorenz’s continued employment as a “journalist,” while Josh Moon is financially blacklisted because of Kiwi Farms.

Before getting into the topic of what Kiwi Farms is, let me reiterate that this topic suggested itself because of a comment on a post about how Google has banned Instapundit from its Adsense program.  Because he’s “dangerous.”  How?  We don’t know, because the process at Google is completely opaque.  Good luck getting them to answer any questions about how people get banned or how their search listings operate.  But in the process of trying to explore this, I was shocked to discover that you can’t get to Kiwi Farms via a Google search.  Not only doesn’t the site’s URL turn up in the Google results, but no article that links directly to Kiwi Farms is included in the first page of Google search results.  That’s why I decided to put the full URL, KiwiFarms.net, into my headline.

Once upon a time the World Wtide Web was seen as empowering for the "Little Guy".  Now we see economic giants, and the Federal Government taking aim at those whose thinking they find divient.  I wonder if this is Constitutional?  I wonder if it is compatible with who we think we are as Americans?  Although I will grant you, recent demonstrations on university campuses makes me wonder if the rising generation will understand our nation the way I do.

A recent CNN Poll raises serious question about who we are becoming as a nation.  It shows "81% of those age 65 or older see the response as fully justified, compared with 56% of 50-to-64-year-olds, 44% of 35-to-49-year-olds and 27% of 18-to-34-year-olds”.  I am proud tio be in the 65 and older group.  And glad to be there.  On the other hand, I am ashamed of those 49 and younger.

I woner how dangerous the content of this Blog Post is.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

An Adult in the Room

For John, BLUF:  When I knew Dr Condoleezza Rice she was an Intern on the Joint Staff and someone with solid ideas and an ability to communicate.  She moved on to be the National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The New Axis of Evil: Condoleezza Rice on War in Israel and a Changed World

Here is the sub-headline:

The former secretary of state says an attack on Israel is an attack on America.

From The Free Press, by Interviewer Bari Weiss, 13 October 2023.

Here is Secretary Rices response to one of Reporter Bari Weiss' questions:

If you really think the world is better off with Saddam Hussein murdering a million people and putting them in mass graves, be my guest.  If you really think it was a better Afghanistan when women were beaten in stadiums, given to the Taliban by the UN, when girls and women couldn’t go to school, well be my guest.  The United States is not a perfect power.  There’s no such thing.  But I would argue that on balance, the United States has been a force for stability in the world, that a lot of what we think of as a stable international system, not to mention a prosperous one, is because the United States has been willing to step up and to try to be the provider of a security commons, the provider of an economic commons—sometimes with not much benefit to ourselves.  When I hear this, I think, “Do you really think the world is better with the United States stepping back?”  Well, take a look out of your window at Vladimir Putin.  Take a look out of your window at Hamas.  Take a look out of your window at what Xi Jinping is doing in the South China Sea or in Taiwan.  If you really want the United States to step back, that’s what you’re going to get.

Yes, America is not perfect.  I come from segregated Birmingham, Alabama.  I was a little girl at a time when you could not go to a movie theater or to a restaurant.  Speaking of terrorism, I had a classmate killed in the 16th Street bombing of that church in Birmingham in September of 1963.  I don’t look at the United States through rose-colored glasses, but I can tell you there is no country like it on the face of the earth with this kind of power and this kind of capability that has tried—sometimes a little bit clumsily, sometimes a little bit failingly—to provide for a more prosperous, more democratic, and safer world.

I believe that Americans carry simultaneously in their heads two very different thoughts.  One is, “Haven’t we done enough? We defeated the Soviet Union.  We unified Germany.  We liberated Eastern Europe.  We were able to defeat at least al-Qaeda.  Haven’t we done enough?  Can’t somebody else do it?”  I understand that sense of exhaustion.  On the other hand, other Americans carry in their heads, “I can’t watch Syrian babies choke on nerve gas.  I can’t watch the massacre of the people in Sderot.  I can’t watch as a large country decides to extinguish its smaller neighbor to rebuild an empire.”  And then Americans say, “If not us, then who?”  And under those circumstances, Americans can be led to take this burden, if you want to call it that, or this obligation, to be a part of a more stable world.  I’m just looking for American leaders who are willing to say that.

As Law Professor Glenn Reynolds would say, "Read the whole thibg."

Regards  —  Cliff

Bad Political Leadership

For John, BLUF:  This is about British politicianJeremy Corbyn, but also about how anti-semitism is popular on the left.  Our political leaders on the Progressive side have forgotten the liberal attribues of free speech and tolerance.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How many Palestinians should die for Israel’s self-defense, asks UK’s Jeremy Corbyn

Here is the sub-headline:

The speech Corbyn read at the pro-Palestine demonstration mourned those murdered in the Negev desert, but did not mention the party responsible for the brutal attack.

From Jerusalem Post, by Danielle Greyman Kennard, 16 October 2023, 01:51.

Here is the lede plus one:

Former leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has become increasingly vocal about Israel’s actions against the Hamas terrorist organization, and the casualties stemming from those actions.

Corbyn, who has refused to condemn Hamas, wrote on X on October 12 that “We should condemn the of all civilian life, no matter who does it. Why can't our politicians uphold this basic moral principle, and defend international law universally and equally? How many innocent Palestinian lives should be erased in the name of self-defence?”

My wife and I were just discussing the amount of anti-semitism that has been on display for the last week.  The idea that The Jews are responsible for everything is both old and wrong.  In the case of the Hamas attack that killed hundreds of civilian men, women and children, the cries of the deranged (or undereducated) notwithstanding, it is not Israel's fault.  Ffurther, their cries of "the river to the sea" has a strong whiff of genocide in it.

In Gaza we have a population that has no concept of a lemon aide stand.  Yes, they have been given lemons.  Why have they not been making lemon aide?  Because after making war on the new State of Israel in 1948 they decamped and now want their old property back.  They are still living in 1948, when they tried to smother the new Israel in the crib and failed.  What they could not achieve by more conventional armed conflict they are now trying to achieve by guerrilla warfare, using terror.

Professor Glenn Reynolds concludes:  "The distinction between Corby and Oswald Mosleyd is pretty much gone.  If it ever existed."♠ 

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Mr Mosely was a notorious Fascist in England in the 1920s and 1930s.  He passed on in 1980.

Acts of Stupidity

For John, BLUF:  Some people need to read Dale Carnegie's classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Morning Briefing: 'The Squad' Idiots Should Be Sent to a Country They Actually Like

From PJ ?media, by Stephen Kruiser, 11 October 2023.

Here is the lede plus two:

As we have discussed here a few times, Democrats often struggle with identifying who the real bad guys are in a conflict. Sure, they had a moment of clarity after 9/11, but that was all too fleeting. They have spent most of the two-plus decades since running interference or being flat-out apologists for anyone with a suicide vest.

For the longest time, the Democrats at least managed to keep the most virulent anti-Semitic voices among them out of national office. When Minnesota sent Keith Ellison to Congress in 2007, he would at least try to be coy about his true feelings. Then Ellison was succeeded by Ilhan Omar, and all Squad hell broke loose.

The second month she was in office, Omar began letting her anti-Semitic, anti-Israel freak flag fly. By the next month, Omar had stepped in it so much that then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi knew that she had to address it. Granny Boxwine didn’t have the fortitude to directly admonish Omar for some reason, and instead issued a general condemnation of anti-Semitism that felt as sincere as a drunken declaration of love during a wedding at the Elvis chapel in Vegas.

I am all for differences of opinion, but the situation in Israel, with wanton slaughter of unarmed civilians would, I would think, cause right thinking people to condemn the action.  Condemn the example of political action.  Elicit responses condemning this kind of terrorism.♠ 

As for the Black Lives Matter Chicago posting a picture supporting the Palistinian attack (one of the parachute attackers), it is disturbibg.  It also draws a line between them and the rest of this nation, this world.  It says those not like us are targets.  Many of those killed and kidnaped were at an event for peace.  Those were the enemy?  Propaganda should be subtle, not a blunt instrument that harms friends and neutrals as well as opponents.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

UPDATE:  I am not advocating the deportation of anyone.  Those we disagree with are our fellow citizens and deserve all due respect, includingz the respect show by polite fraternal correction when they are misled.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  With all due respect to the CBC, to not call it what it is, a political act of terrorism, designed to effect change in a political situation is not mere ignorance, but disrespectful to the victims and a sign of side taking.

Hamas Overreach?

For John, BLUF:  Terrorism is a blunt instrument and Hamas has made more blunt than usual.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Proportionate about Gang Rape

From Steyn on Line, by by Mark Steyn, 8 October 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

In our initial report on this new war yesterday, we published a video showing a terrified young lady being abducted by Hamas "soldiers" from an Israeli music festival.  She was delivered to Gaza.  This is the condition she arrived in:

Paul Golding
@GoldingBF
WARNING GRAPHIC:  Palestinians strip the corpse of an Israeli woman, put it on display and desecrate it while shouting ‘Allah Akbar’.
Hamas and Israel are now at war.

"Allahu Akbar!"  Because Allah is truly great, isn't he?  He let us target the Jewess, and then strip her and beat her and rape her.  And then, when we drive what's left to the dar al-Islam, we all get to dance in the streets and desecrate her corpse.  Boy, what a generous guy that Allah is!

The infidel has a name:  Shana Louk, a citizen of Germany visiting Israel to attend a "Festival for Peace".  It didn't work out that way:

The purpose of terrorism is to mke life so miserable the other side will gldly grant political concessions..  It would appear that Hamas is working at that, hard.  The questiono is, will they succeed, or will they generate more resistance.  I could be wrong, but OI think they crossed thst magic political line.  Their supporters will say they are just resisting colonialism.  Their oponentd eill say that they have gone from moral patriots to barbaarians.

There are a couple of points that re key.  OOne is the ability of Hamas to generate international support.  Another will be the skill of the Israeli military to winkle out the Hamas fighters without ecess collateral damage.  Another will be the steady hand of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.  Finally, there is the question of how Iran will play its hand.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Happy Leif Erikson Day

For John, BLUF:  Yes, there really is a Leif Erikson Day, here in the United States.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Anglosphere: Celebrating Wrong Italian? (Columbus vs. Cabot)

From Free Republic, by Tancred, 10/13/2002, 1:02:58 PM.

Here is the lede plus three:

A few years ago I chanced to be in Buenos Aires on Columbus Day. It is a major holiday there, during which no business is transacted. I spent the day wandering about town enjoying the celebrations. One plaza held a Columbus Day festival in which passersby could enjoy demonstrations and samples of music, dance, crafts and foods of all the various Latin American nations, and of many of the source-nations of Argentina's immigration.

The interesting thing to me was the complete absence of anything representing the United States. This was not a coincidence. Columbus, and the holiday celebrating his landing in the New World, are seen throughout the Spanish-speaking world as having to do primarily with the extension of Spanish-speaking, Catholic civilization to the New World and the creation, through a conflicted encounter, of a new culture. It is, to coin a phrase, the creation of the Hispanosphere that is commemorated.

Traditionally, the role played by the United States in this narrative is not one of a joint participant, but rather an antagonist. In the narrative of Hispanosphere nationalists, Latin America is Shakespeare's Ariel, the graceful and sensitive artistic spirit. The United States, or "Gringolandia" as it is sometimes called, is Caliban, the powerful but ugly monster that dominates tragic Ariel.

Columbus Day in the United States carries an entirely different set of connotations. During the 19th century, Columbus was reinvented by Washington Irving and his successors as a sort of Yankee visionary entrepreneur before his time. His specific roots in time, space, and culture as a Genoese in the service of Spanish monarchs was downplayed; what was celebrated was his seeming prescience and capacity for self-reinvention.

Why do I say Leif Erikson Day?  Supposedly he led the first European Expedition to the Western Hemisphere.  On the other hand, there are myths of Irish sailors coming to the New World.  There is also evidence of early exploration from Europe, as presented in Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture, by Archaeologists Dennis Stanford and Bruce Bradley.  They argue that Solutrean groups from southern France and the Iberian Peninsula crossed the North Atlantic and into North America during the Last Glacial Maximum.  That was a long time ago.

But, Joohn Cabot should be celebrated also.  I think he got short shrift when I was in school.  A round of applause for John.

To mention this is not to take away from Indigenous Peoples' Day.  We should not avoiod the reality and history of those who were on the land before Admiral Columbus arrived.

However, first contact was inevitable, if it had not happened thousands of years earlier.  For example, the Chinese could have been first, with bigger boats but they chose to sail toward Africa, then shut it down in 1433, and then close their shipyards.  If Admiral Zheng He had elected to sail East, rather than West, then we could have blamed him.  Id the Polynesians could find and settle Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific OOcean, why could China not find what is now Mexico.

Instead of whinging about the past, we should celebrate what we have.  Change was always inevitable.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Fallout From Speaker McCarthy Departure

For John, BLUF:  It looks like the House GOP Majority stumbled badly in oustin Speaker Kevin McCarthy.  But, with some luck they could pull a rabbit out of the hat.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Opportunity Knocks:  GOP Can Opt to Turn House Fight Into a 2024 Crucible

From PJ Media, by Commenter Stephen Kruiser, 5 October 2023, 10:50 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

After having a couple of nights to sleep on it, I have decided that the current GOP drama in the House of Representatives is more of an opportunity than a harbinger of doom for the 2024 presidential election. Actually, I came to that conclusion after one night of sleep, but I’m just getting around to writing about it after two.

If handled correctly, turmoil can lead to opportunity. I view what’s going on with House Republicans as turmoil, not chaos. Yes, I called it a dumpster fire in a recent Morning Briefing headline, but that’s just my process. I briefly lean into the existential dread, get it out of my system, then start looking for silver linings and diamonds in the pile of horse you-know-what.

I lean with Mr Kruiser.  I can see the downside, but soon start looking for the upside, like the little boy, who cries out There must be a pony in here somewhere.  I expect Democrats think they are in the catbird's seat, but I wouldn't be so sure.  Former Speaker McCarthy ran a bi-partisn House, which passed a number of budget bills and a Continuing Reolution for the rest..

The failure of cooperation following the passing of the Continuing Resolution could cause the various Republican Members to coalese around some hard sticking points, disrupting President Biden's plans for the coming year.  For example, there could be a hard line drawn on our Southern Border.  There could be a hard line drawn on the national debt.  The Republcians could grow some backbone.

Further, the Republicans are in a position to cast themselves as the defender of the working men andd women of the nation. in contrast to the college graduate elite.  This could be a Democratic Party blindspot.  Despite Bidenomics, it seems the economic numbers show the working class not rding the crest of a wave.  The jobs added in the latest report were, in good measure second jobs.  And they were in the Entertainment and Hospitality sectors.  However, as immigrants fill up hotels those workers will find their work diminishing, as people no longer travel and stay in hotels.  Why go away to support your football team if you can't get a hotel room.  No hotel room, no need for an airline ticket (nor the alternative of gas stations).  No hotel means fewer meals out. Then there is the impact of inflation, which can be a consequence of government spending exceeding government tax revenue.

I think that not only might there be a shutdown, but it could reboudnd negatively on Democrats.  November a year we will find out.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Nelson's Blind Eye

For John, BLUF:  Science, and with it, progress, is being emperiled by avoiding facts to support feelings.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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NO SEX, PLEASE, WE’RE ANTHROPOLOGISTS

From InstaPundit, by Blogger John Tierney.

Here is the lede plus one:

Dis-empaneled. Bowing to political pressure, two leading anthropological associations cancel a conference discussion on the centrality of biological sex. The American Anthropological Association now wants to pretend that there are not two biological sexes, which is even more appalling than the group’s earlier decision to pretend that there is no such thing as race (never mind the genomic evidence revealing five distinguishable races). The Left’s War on Science continues.

The Title is a modificsation of the title of a British farce, No Sex Please, We're British.  It had a long run (6,761 performances).  Martha and I caught it in London back in 1974.

Perhaps from an anthropological point of viewa it makes no difference the sex of skeletons uncovered.  That said, I am somewhat dubioous.  For example, the way to identify an ancient house of ilrepute could be the disporportionate number of young males buried on site.

To ignore naturally found physical differences in remains, to see if there is some implication for the development of this or that culture, seems to shift from a culture that prizes ratioonoality to one that is immersed in myths.  This incident is disturbing.

Regards  —  Cliff

Nelson's Bllind Eye?  Here.