Put Down the Cheeseburger

For John, BLUF:  Be affraid.  Our betters, the bien pensant are coming for your meat consumption.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Klaus Schwab and the UN Still Want to Purloin Your Sirloin to Make the Weather Gooder

From PJ Media, by Opinion Writer Kevin Downy, Jr, 28 November 2023, 1:05 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

Klaus Schwab and his flunky buds at the United Nations (UN) are, as advertised, attempting to remove meat from our diet to make the clouds more tolerant.

This isn't surprising since the World Economic Forum (WEF) has, like many tyrants before them, given us their evil playbook.

Who is Klaus Schwab?  The head of the Anti-Western World Economic Forum.

Wikipedia sums up the World Economic Forum this way:

The Forum suggests that a globalised world is best managed by a self-selected coalition of multinational corporations, governments and civil society organizations (CSOs), which it expresses through initiatives like the "Great Reset" and the "Global Redesign".

Like a Matryoshka Doll, there are layers here.  The important one is The Great Reset.  This is the plan to take away the power of the electorate and give it to various non-governmental agencies..

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Educating Our Youth

For John, BLUF:  As we go into the 4th of July Weekend it is not encouraging to find that the children of the Elite are being taught that America is a bad place..  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Elite NYC private schools are teaching kids that American society must be destroyed

From The New York Post, by Mr Robert Pondiscio, 16 June 2022, 5:18pm.

Here is the lede plus four:

Ryan Finlay is a brave young man.  A senior at the elite private Horace Mann School, Finlay last week published a pointed but measured essay describing the aggressive political bias that’s dominated his education on the Bronx campus, where generations of famous and well-connected New Yorkers, from Jack Kerouac to Eliot Spitzer, have matriculated or sent their children.

Faculty “feel obligated to open students’ eyes to the inequality that surrounds them,” Finlay explained, but that takes the form of “continuous pressure in the classroom to embrace visions of wholesale societal reform.”

The message, hammered relentlessly into students’ heads at Horace Mann, is that “the system is broken, unable to be reformed, rotten to the core, and deserving of demolition,” he wrote.

The irony of hyper-privileged New Yorkers paying nearly $60,000 a year for their children to learn they are the undeserving beneficiaries of a broken system need not be dwelled upon here.  Finlay’s essay breaks the self-imposed conspiracy of silence that has largely shielded top private schools from criticism from within.

There have been rare exceptions of dissident teachers like Paul Rossi of the Grace School and “Brearley Dad” Andrew Gutmann, who blow the whistle on private-school indoctrination.  But few are willing to do so publicly.  The largely unquestioned proposition is that private prep schools are the gateway to elite universities and America’s leadership class, an academic arms race famously described in a New York magazine cover story 25 years ago as “Give me Harvard, or give me death.”

It seems that the"Right Thinking" people are rejecting our the idea of the United States for something else.  What that is, I don't know.  Do they?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cities Struggle

For John, BLUF:  This year, an off year for elections, sees some interesting sociology playing out, and perhaps not going the way the Bien-pensant expected.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Emerging Metropolitan Majority?

Here is the sub-headline:

A multiethnic, moderate coalition of New Yorkers wants order and opportunity.

From City Journal, by Writer Michael Hendrix, 28 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, vowed recently that he would “create an environment for growth”—starting with public safety.  “The prerequisite to prosperity is safety,” Adams declared.  This week, he rolled out a plan to convert hotels to housing in order to tackle the city’s cost-of-living and homelessness crises.

With these moves, Adams follows the preferences of those he seeks to represent.  New Yorkers are deeply concerned about the cost of living and crime, according to a new survey of America’s 20 fastest-growing metros conducted by the Manhattan Institute and Echelon Insights.  Roughly three in four New Yorkers say that they are concerned about the cost of housing, high taxes, and public safety and crime rates.  Homelessness was not far behind, with 71 percent expressing concern.  These proportions exceed those for concern about Covid-19, jobs, schooling, or traffic—though New Yorkers are worried about those, too—and far surpassed the level of concern in other cities, especially those in the Sun Belt.

New Yorkers were more concerned about taxes than were residents of any other city. This past year, New York City earned the distinction of having the highest state and local top income-tax rates in the country. Jobs are also a larger concern in New York than they are in the rest of the country.  The city’s labor market has fallen harder and recovered slower than nearly anywhere else in America.  If New York City’s recovery had kept pace with the country’s, New York would have 375,000 more jobs than it has today.  Unsurprisingly, nearly half of city adults say good jobs are hard to find, and two-thirds cite future job prospects as a key factor in deciding whether they want to stay put.

Housing costs remain a major concern in Gotham.  Large majorities of New Yorkers support making it easier to build more homes to keep up with demand, including with faster permitting, more transit-oriented development, and more backyard apartments.  Notably, not everyone views more housing as a driver of more affordable housing;  if asked to choose, more people support an approach that subsidizes new housing rather than removes barriers to building it, though many expressed uncertainty.

More than half of New Yorkers are concerned about the quality of their local schools and school curricula—again, a bigger share than in any other city we surveyed.  Sixty-two percent support encouraging more charter schools, with even more (72 percent) favoring greater choice in schooling.  A majority (58 percent) also supports removing lessons based on critical race theory from public school curricula, a hot-button topic that has sparked tensions between school administrators and parents.

There are links at the original web site.

On 2 November New York City will hold an election for City Mayor.  .

My Wound Clinic Doctor is originally from New York and he sees New York City as going through cycles of Progressiveism and cycles of law and order.  We must be due for a cycle of law and order.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Bad Turn of Events

For John, BLUF:  This is a bad turn of events.  When the people lose faith, they become less supportive of the incumbent government.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden 2020 win ‘tainted,’ 56% say it was a cheater’s paradise

From The Washington Examiner, by Columnists Paul Bedard, 11 October 2021, 01:07 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

A growing number of likely voters believe that cheating tainted President Joe Biden’s 2020 win over former President Donald Trump, and even more feel that a key Democratic election reform scheme will increase fraud.

In the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, 56% of respondents said, "It’s likely that cheating affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including 41% who say it’s ‘very likely.’”

To get the caveat out of the way, yes, Candidate Joe Biden won the electotal collage and thus is our President.  No doubt.

However, If the People are beginning to lose faith in the 2020 Election, how much faith will they have in other aspects of the Federal Government.  For example, will they trust the Federal Government with regard to COVID-19?  I think this is a problem.  I don't think the bien pensant grasp this problem.  The 2022 Midterm elections will prove if this is true.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Schools Are Watching

For John, BLUF:  Schools can be abusive of their students and the parents.  This is why a School Committee, elected by the People, is so important.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A Year After Sending Cops To A Kid’s Home, A Colorado Springs School District Apologizes

From Colorado Public Radio, by Reporter Ryan Warner, 10 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus five:

A year after two officers went to a Black seventh-grader’s home in Colorado Springs over a toy gun, the school district apologized to the family.

Widefield School District 3 handed the apology letter last month to the parents of 13-year-old Isaiah Elliott.  CPR News obtained a copy.

It says, in part, “The District deeply regrets the impact this incident had on the Elliotts, and apologizes to Isaiah for any embarrassment or discomfort he may have experienced.”

On Aug. 27, 2020, as students, educators and parents across the state adjusted to pandemic remote learning, an art teacher spotted what she believed to be a toy gun on Isaiah Elliott’s screen.

The incident led to his suspension — which has since been reversed — and to school leaders sending two school resource officers to the boy’s home.  Fearing for his son’s safety, Isaiah’s father Curtis Elliott rushed home and called his wife Danielle Elliott, who was at work.

“Our number one concern is Isaiah could have been the next Tamir Rice,” Danielle Elliott said.  “Being shot over having a toy in the privacy of his own home.  Being 12 years old, but being perceived as a threat.”

This calls to mind the question, "What were they thinking?"

Apparently, the teacher and the teacher's supervisors are easily trigged by toy guns.

Shouldn't the School District organize some training with regard to the limits of teacher prying into the life of their students?  Should there be training with regard to the limits of authority of School Resource Officers?

On the other hand, I have read about schools objecting to Parents watch their children as they were learning.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Looking For the Adults

For John, BLUF:  The Biden Administration is under the illusuion that the are the adults.  They are misinformed.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Quote of the Day

From Samizdata, by Samizdata Illuminatus (Arkham, Massachusetts), 29 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

The American generation which counts those who gave their lives this week among their ranks has grown up with elite, institutional and expert failure not as a shocking aberration but as the default setting.  Time and again, foreign policy elites have issued the wrong diagnoses and the wrong prescriptions. Economic conventional wisdom has been shattered, upended, disproven.  Politics grows more bad-blooded and less serious.  Claims of competence and expertise are regularly proved to be unfounded.  More recently, America’s cultural elite has turned on its own country:  happy to pronounce America irredeemably wicked whilst kowtowing to Chinese censors.

And after all of this, America elected a president who treated his predecessor and the last four years as an unseemly aberration and whose staff boasted that the adults were back in charge.  Thanks to the decisions of those adults, young American soldiers found themselves in a deadly trap at the gates of Kabul airport.

– Oliver Wiseman

Perfect.

Regards  —  Cliff

Social Media and Neutrality

For John, BLUF:  Those who think the Internet is neutral haven't been paying attention.  It has developed a political point of view.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Wikipedia Co-founder Warns:  ‘Wikipedia Is More One-Sided Than Ever’

From The Epoch Times, by Mr Jack Phillips, 5 July 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

Larry Sanger, a co-founder of Wikipedia, warned that the online encyclopedia is “more one-sided than ever” in light of the website’s entries for Black Lives Matter, the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump’s two impeachments, and other contentious topics.

Sanger, in particular, took issue with how some Wikipedia entries are sourced.

“In short, and with few exceptions, only globalist, progressive mainstream sources—and sources friendly to globalist progressivism—are permitted,” he wrote in an article on his website.

And, yet, I use it.  Because it is better than nothing.  But, I apply judgment in its use.

We are in an era where those involved in directing high tech are left leaning.  Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and so on.  It is time for our legal system to adjust, no longer treating these organizations as neutral.  They are not.  They are partisan.  Think of Twitter putting out the words of the Taliban, but banning a former US President.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Show Trial on Capitol Hill

For John, BLUF:  This is old, but pertinent.&nhsp; There isn't much of a case for the Lego Insurrection, that is not going to stop the bien-pensant from pressing forward and damaging as many Trump supports as they can.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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DOJ quietly acknowledges there was no sedition at the US Capitol

Here is the sub-headline:

Media hyperbole was the root cause of fabricating crimes that didn't exist

From The Law Officer Blog, by "Law Officer, 30 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

Despite all the outrage and the threats of charging “insurrectionists” with sedition—the act of attempting to overthrow the government—proving them based upon actual facts and evidence seems to be increasingly unlikely.  For example, Michael Cantrell reported on America’s Sheriff that:

“Many of the trials for individuals involved in the Capitol riot of January 6th have started and much to the chagrin of liberals everywhere, the charges these folks are facing aren’t quite as serious as we were all led to believe they would be.  In fact, the Justice Department has now said that the body of evidence in these cases is not as damaging as it was previously thought to be.”

Further, developing reports indicate that none of the 400 people who have been arrested for their involvement in the riot have been charged with sedition, according to the Post Millennial.  The most serious charge that has been brought against a defendant in this incident has been assault.  To be clear, there is quite a leap between the charges of assault—and the charges of conspiring to overthrow the government.

Even more perplexing, while others have been charged with conspiracy and obstruction, there’s a rather inconvenient fact that prosecutors must reckon.  As the Post Millenial explained: “Others have been charged with conspiracy, and obstruction. While five people lost their lives during the riot, only one was killed with a weapon, and that was Ashli Babbit, who died after being shot by an unnamed Capitol Police Officer.”

Yes, this is old but the narrative is going one way and the actual story another, as the first day of House Hearings on the Lego Inurrection shows.

It seems unlikely to me that the trajectory of the House Hearings will change.  It seems equally unlikely that we will get to the historic truth, as opposed to the "truth" that Speaker Pelosi wishs to put forward.  This is like a Soviet Show Trial, and that is sad.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What We Are Focused On

For John, BLUF:  The Chinese Government is committing crimes in the US, but our Government is focused on proving its own Citizens traitors.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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DOJ Drops Charges Against 5 Possible Chinese Spies as FBI Focuses on January 6

Here is the sub-headline:

FBI Drops the Ball, DOJ Drops the Charges

From PJ Media, by Mr Kevin Downey, Jr, 26 July 2021, 3:37 PM ET.

Here is the lede plus three:

Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped charges against five Chinese scientists spies who hid their involvement with the Chinese military in order to obtain work visas at American universities.

Prosecutors stated they would no longer pursue visa fraud and various other charges against the five scientists, who were looking to work at universities in California and Indiana.

FACT-O-RAMA! There are typically half a million Chinese students in the U.S. every year.

Judges have dismissed parts of the cases against two Chinese researchers after the FBI (shockingly?) failed to inform the suspects of their Miranda rights against self-incrimination.  Miranda rights are the rights every American with a TV has heard a thousand times:  the rights to remain silent or have your words used against you, and to have an attorney.

Yesterday was the Birthday of the FBI, back in 1909.

Yes, there was some bungling, but the FBI is laser focused on the Lego Insurrection.

Yesterday my Middle Brother sent me a link from The Old Gray Lady that started out:

Bret Stephens:  Hi, Gail [Collins]. I don’t think there’s much doubt among reasonably sane people about what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6.  Do we really need a House committee to investigate it?

I think the Commentariat has a view as to what happened and thinks that view is widely shared.  They could be wrong.  And, I don't expect the FBI, or the House investigation of the Lego Insurrection to do anything but obscure the mostly peaceful demonstrations that day and the killing of Ms Ashli Babbit.

As they used to say in the Soviet Union, "The future is known; it’s the past which is always changing.”

I added a label, a tag, for President Donald J Trump, because even six months after he left office it is all about him.  You don't wish it to be about President Biden, do you?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

"Sanitarian Apartheid"

For John, BLUF:  In which the author, living behind enemy lines in France, takes the dystopian view of forced vaccinations.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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THE SEGREGATION OF CITIZEN COVID

Here is the sub-headline:

France brings out a SARS-CoV variant of leprostigma by fiat. Now where did I put my clapper and bell?

From the dissident frogman, Friday, July 16th anno domini 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

YOU KNOW THAT FUNNY FEELING WHEN THE HEAD OF STATE ADDRESSES THE NATION AND DECLARES THAT YOU AND SOME OF YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS SHALL BE TREATED AS OUTCASTS AND ARBITRARILY DEPRIVED OF YOUR RIGHTS?

Or perhaps you don’t.

I know I didn’t until Emmanuel “Jupiter” Macron, President of Le Pays des Droits de l’Homme the “nation of human rights”, as some French like to call this country, appeared in the idiot box and announced, right on the eve of Bastille Day, that:

Our choice is simple:  to put the restrictions on the unvaccinated rather than on all.

Restrictions being Macron’s byword for segregation, to be implemented on people who have not been covaxxed into submission—whatever the reason we have, of which there are many, ranging from the borderline insane conspiracy theories to informed common sense and caution.

What ever happened to the battle cry, "My body, my choice"?  I guess it varies by location and year.

I have been vaccinated, but then I am over 60 and have co-morbidities.  Mine was a rational choice.  It I was 20 and in good health, then I might have considered an alternative choice.

For sure the varying offical word from the CDC and others does not inspire great confidence in the proclamations of the expert class.

Regards  —  Cliff

Stand up to the Mob

For John, BLUF:  It is Sunday, so I am trying to get caught up.  This is about the Cancel Culture.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Bill Maher mocks social justice warriors, warns cancel culture is 'real, insane, and coming to a neighborhood near you'

Here is the sub-headline:

'Memo to social justice warriors:  When what you're doing sounds like an Onion headline, stop'

From The Blaze, by Mr Paul Sacca, 27 February 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

On the latest episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher," the liberal talk show host warned that cancel culture is not just reserved for celebrities, but the outrage mob is also coming to punish everyday Americans and even historical figures like Abraham Lincoln.

Bill Maher began his monologue by saying, "Liberals need a Stand Your Ground law ... for cancel culture.  So that when the woke mob comes after you for some ridiculous offense, you'll stand your ground, stop apologizing.  Because I can't keep up with who's on the s*** list."

"Cancel culture is real, it's insane, it's growing exponentially, and it's coming to a neighborhood near you," he cautioned.  "If you think it's just for celebrities – no.  In an era when everyone is online, everyone is a public figure."

I think Mr Maher has said what needs to be said.

Regards  —  Cliff

The French Are Aroused

For John, BLUF:  The French have a several hundred year tradition of "Liberté, égalité, fraternité", which is a delicate balance,  Now radical ideas from the United States threaten to overthrow the balance.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Will American Ideas Tear France Apart? Some Think So.

Here is the sub-headline:

Politicians and prominent intellectuals say social theories from the United States on race, gender and post-colonialism are a threat to French identity and the French republic.

From The Old Gray Lady, by By Norimitsu Onishi, 9 February 2021 Updated 9:38 a.m. ET.

Actually, I caught this at a Tweet by Reporter Glenn Greenwald.  I have dropped off of Twitter, but that doesn't mean I won't check out a tweet recommended by someone I trust.

Here is the tweet:

Glenn Greenwald  @ggreenwald  ·  49m
Obama-endorsed French President Emmanuel Macron has joined numerous French intellectuals & journalists in warning that "out-of-control woke leftism of US campuses and its attendant cancel culture" poses a grave threat due to the social strife it creates:

Here is the article lede, plus three:

The threat is said to be existential.  It fuels secessionism.  Gnaws at national unity.  Abets Islamism.  Attacks France’s intellectual and cultural heritage.

The threat?  "Certain social science theories entirely imported from the United States," said President Emmanuel Macron.

French politicians, high-profile intellectuals and journalists are warning that progressive American ideas — specifically on race, gender, post-colonialism — are undermining their society.  "There’s a battle to wage against an intellectual matrix from American universities," warned Mr. Macron’s education minister.

Emboldened by these comments, prominent intellectuals have banded together against what they regard as contamination by the out-of-control woke leftism of American campuses and its attendant cancel culture.

It is unusual for the French to be concerned about Americans having radical ideas.  It is usually the other way around.  I would think it would cause all those bien-pensant Democrats to pause and take stock.  But, not today.  Today is about ridding of kingdom of that troublesome Developer.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Fortifying the Election

For John, BLUF:  This helps to explain what happened last year, during the election of the US President.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election

From Time Magazine, by Reporter Molly Ball, 4 February 2021, 5:40 AM EST.

Here is an excerpt:

To the President, something felt amiss.  “It was all very, very strange,” Trump said on Dec. 2.  “Within days after the election, we witnessed an orchestrated effort to anoint the winner, even while many key states were still being counted.”

In a way, Trump was right.

There was a conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes, one that both curtailed the protests and coordinated the resistance from CEOs.  Both surprises were the result of an informal alliance between left-wing activists and business titans.  The pact was formalized in a terse, little-noticed joint statement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO published on Election Day.  Both sides would come to see it as a sort of implicit bargain–inspired by the summer’s massive, sometimes destructive racial-justice protests–in which the forces of labor came together with the forces of capital to keep the peace and oppose Trump’s assault on democracy.

Here is how Time sees the effort—"fortifying":

That’s why the participants want the secret history of the 2020 election told, even though it sounds like a paranoid fever dream–a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage and control the flow of information.  They were not rigging the election; they were fortifying it.  And they believe the public needs to understand the system’s fragility in order to ensure that democracy in America endures.

I was doubtful that the Democrafts stole the election, or that it could be proven.  Now I am convinced that the election was fortified.

Here is another view of it, from PJ Media, today.

And here is Columnist James Delingole's take, in Breitbart.  It has an interesting spin on the article.

Regards  —  Cliff

All The Cooking Fit For Wokism

For John, BLUF:  Political Correctness ruined a popular cooking show from Bon Appetit  Who benefitted?  Not the many people who viewed the show and learned about cooking while being entertained.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How Toxic Leftism Killed The Vibrant Bon Appetit YouTube Channel

Here is the sub-headline:

The Bon Appetit saga proved you can politicize everything, as the mob demands, or you can create a vibrant, innovative culture — but you can't have both.

From The Federalist, by Sommelier Ellie Bufkin, 10 December 2020.

Here is the lede plus five:

During the lockdown regime of the past year, millions of Americans turned to their televisions, computers, and phone screens to escape despair.  Because we are creatures of innovation and curiosity, however, many people taught themselves to make sourdough bread starters from the internet and something new the next day.

The bread-baking game got so out of hand at one point this summer that yeast vanished from grocery store shelves.  The appetite for hobbies, knowledge, and bread was ferocious.

Suddenly barred from dining out, the gastronomically inclined turned to their own kitchens, ordered new tools from the internet, and taught themselves culinary tricks.  Social media overflowed with images of the burgeoning class of new home chefs, spurned from their favorite table at Le Diplomate but finally finding joy in sipping Gamay at home while searing their first-ever magret de canard.

It takes a nearly perfect combination of skill, approachability, and charisma to hook an audience the way Julia Child did, but one cooking channel stood above the rest, garnering millions of loyal followers even before the pandemic.  Bon Appetit’s “Test Kitchen” series on YouTube seemed to truly understand people’s modern need for a combination of real instruction with a willingness to fail.

Even in the vast sea of online cooking shows, this one stood out.  Imagine the natural give and take of NBC’s enormously popular sitcom “Friends” in a cooking show.  That was the vibe from the bright and engaging stars of the “Test Kitchen.”

Even with all its charisma and promise, however, Bon Appetit couldn’t stave off the death grip of leftist ideology.  It became one more source of entertainment and inspiration relegated to the burning cultural heap just when Americans most needed a pandemic and political escape.

Many of us learn from our mistakes.  That is not good enough for our woke masters.  For them it is one strike and you are out.  There is no redemption.  It is an attitude that reminds me more of the Chinese Communist Party than of America.  Freedom means the right to be wrong.  It is not a license to do wrong, but it is the space to grow and correct one's mistakes.

Bad behavior is not to be encouraged.  Rather, it is to be discouraged.  Having an alternative view is one thing, and being a bore, or being insulting to other people is another.  There may be a fine line in some cases.  We must leave space for alternative views, although not necessarily in our own parlor or our local drinking establishment.  Alternative views help us advance.  Much of what we knew to be true 121 years ago has now been proven false.  And it is a better world for it.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Sorting Truth From Opinion

For John, BLUF:  An expert is someone with a brief case away from his own office.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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When the Experts Fail, Everyone Else Pays the Price

Here is the sub-headline:

What happens when the most respected authorities get it wrong and ruin lives and economies? Not much

From The Wall Street Journal, by Playwrite David Mamet, 27 November 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

The wealthy and powerful must constantly expand their operations.  But even if they let their capital sit, they will need accountants, auditors, stockbrokers and consultants.  How will they choose these subordinates?  According to the opinions of other advisers.  Those closest to the boss will have the most influence—and they can keep it, even in failure, by flattery and deference.

This is the case with governmental power.  We are all, in a sense, fools, since no one person can know everything.  We all have to trust others for their expertise, and we all make mistakes.  The horror of a command economy is not that officials will make mistakes, but that those mistakes will never be acknowledged or corrected.

What about our allegedly market economy? Who will be held accountable for destroying it?  No doubt the destruction was carried out in good faith, but the shutdown didn’t accomplish what it was supposed to accomplish.

We have seen shameless incompetence rewarded before.

Here is how the author sums it up, after givinig us some examples from history:

The virus here is government—or at least the incompetents who advise our rulers and cannot admit the legitimacy of dissension.  Absent intervention, this virus may eventually kill the host organism

I am willing to do a small wager that, whoever wins the Presidency, a year (or so) from now people will be saying that President Trump overracted to Winnie the Flu and we didn't need to bar the Chinese or the lockdown or all of that Public Health Kabuki Dance.  If we had just followed then Candidate Joe Biden's advice and not gone overboard we would not be in the pickle that followed.  A very small wager, for the fun of it.

One of the questions we face is the role of the media in reinforcing the rule of the experts.  As a consumer we have to be shopping around, comparing sources.  Unfortunately, we can't be experts on everything, so we rely on the media to provide us access to the facts and to the experts.

But, we will always have experts.  Those who get the work done and those who think about it and provide advice from the edge.  It is the way of the world.

Regards  —  Cliff

Divided Nation

For John, BLUF:  What separates us is our social classes.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The Chump Effect

From The National Review, by Kyle Smith, 12 November 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

James B. Meigs, the former editor of Popular Mechanics who lately has been writing an insightful column about tech for Commentary, is also doing superb work for City Journal. His latest essay carries a title that is useful shorthand for so much of what is going on around us today: “The Chump Effect.” (At the moment the essay appears to be available only for subscribers to the print edition of the quarterly, which is publishing the best long-form journalism from a center-right perspective that I’m aware of. It’s shocking that, in an era when ordinary weeklies sell for eight bucks or so, this high-impact, 128-page journal with no filler, no ads, and no celebrity fluff costs as little as $5 an issue.)

The Chump Effect is Meigs’s clever term for the bipartisan, broadly shared feeling that various systems are rigged in favor of elites, insiders, and favored groups, which leads to a breakdown in societal trust and trust in institutions. If those guys don’t have to play by the rules, we think, why should I? Meigs delves into social-science experiments that show people motivated by the Chump Effect can act irrationally by effectively volunteering to pay a cost in order that others be punished for ignoring norms.

This is another manifestation of the problem with a meriocracy that does not provide space for those in the bottom half of the population, job and income wise  See, for example, the book by Harvard Professor by Michael J. Sandel, The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?.

We have become a divided nation, but it isn't between Republicans and Democrats, but between Classes.  The realization of that division is being more and more apparent, as reflected in President Trump's increased minority votes this November.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Tracking E Warren

For John, BLUF:  Senator E Warren, sort of like Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has made it her job to tell us less breeds how to live our lives.  I am glad she is out of the running for the Democratic nomination.  She is out, isn't she?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Washington Times:  “Meet the Cornell law professor who tracked Elizabeth Warren’s missteps”

From Legal Insurrection, by Professor William A. Jacobson, 6 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus five:

“When tracking the reasons Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential bid fell short, don’t forget the conservative law professor in Ithaca, New York, who wouldn’t let the world forget that the Massachusetts Democrat for years had identified herself as an American Indian.”

Elizabeth Warren has suspended her campaign for president.  She’s not going away, though, she’s obviously maneuvering for something behind the scenes, hence her unwillingness to endorse either Bernie or Biden at this time.

What does she want?  It could be a V.P. slot, but Bernie or Biden would be out of their minds to do that.

Bernie doesn’t need to prove his far-left bona fides by adding Warren to the ticket, and two leftists from New England on a ticket would be a disaster.  Biden also doesn’t gain anything from adding Warren, as she would be an unhelpful distraction.  ‘Sleepy Joe’ has enough issues without bringing Warren’s Native American and other problems to the ticket.

Warren may be doing what she did in 2015-2016, when she used the threat of her challenging Hillary to try to extract concessions from Hillary, including getting Warren’s people in key places in a future Hillary administration.  Or perhaps Warren wants a senior cabinet position in the Biden/Bernie administration, a position where she would control much of the economy and try to implement her delusional economic plans without having to be elected.

Czarina Warren has a certain ring to it.

Here is the Sentor Warren Wiki mentioned in the article.

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Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Administration Fights States Rights

For John, BLUF:  The Democratic Party is going back to being the "States Rights" Party, as it was from before the Civil War to LBJ as President.  Except when it is inconvenient.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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President Trump to Begin Withholding Federal Funding from Sanctuary Cities

Here is the sub-headline:

'Californians want their local officials to abide by the requests of federal authorities’

From California Globe, by Ms Katy Grimes, 6 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus five:

On Thursday, President Trump said his administration will start withholding federal funding from “sanctuary cities” after a federal court ruled last week that it could do so.

“As per recent Federal Court ruling, the Federal Government will be withholding funds from Sanctuary Cities.  They should change their status and go non-Sanctuary.  Do not protect criminals!” the President announced on Twitter.

A federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled on Feb. 26 ruled that the Department of Justice could withhold funding from cities and states that refuse to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the Hill reported.  “The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a district court judge’s ruling that the department lacked the authority to impose immigration-related conditions on certain funding.”

“The panel’s opinion, written by Judge Reena Raggi, found that Congress had delegated authority to the attorney general to set conditions on the federal grant program it had created, called the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.”

California is a Sanctuary State.

In 2017, California Democrats rushed a bill through the Legislature to restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on criminal illegal aliens.

Further down in the article we find that a local University did a study and found California Voters are not in favor of Sanctuary Cities.  But the solons in Sacramento know better than the mere Voters.  Remember, they are the ones who gave us "no fault divorce," to our long-term disadvantage.

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Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Where Goest the Democratic Party?

For John, BLUF:  I don't think we have seen anything like Senator Bernie Sanders since Senator Huey P Long.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Coming Implosion of the Democratic Party

From The Epoch Times, by Writer Roger L. Simon, 4 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus five:

At first glance, it’s bad news for Donald Trump.

He’s losing his easiest mark for the 2020 general election:  The Bernie Sanders campaign is not only toast, it’s burnt toast.

Super Tuesday was a disaster for Bernie Were the Bernie Bros. toking up while playing video games?  Whatever the case, they didn’t show up to vote, not enough of them anyway.  Maybe they didn’t intend to. Not their thing.

Only in California did Bernie save his honor (a bit) but there’s good reason to believe he only staved off the Biden wave there because of early voting.

The future primaries don’t look any better.  Actually, they’re worse.

Bernie’s next staring at delegate-rich Florida where he’s alienated practically every Latino voter in a Latino state with his admiring comments about Castro.  (I thought Bernie didn’t like billionaires.)  Pennsylvania, New York, and other East Coast states don’t look much better.  Only in Washington State does he have good prospects, and that’s far from enough.

I do agree there does seem to be some political theory and economic and historic understanding between the Senator Sanders/Representative Occassio-Cortez wing and the more Centrist Amy Klobuchar wings of the Party.

It is interesting that tomorrow is the anniversary of the 1776 publication of The Wealth of Nations, by Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith.  It is almost as though we have an ahistoric wing of the Democratic Party.  A wing that does not see that Capitalism and Democracy have been successful models in raising the world, for the most part, out of poverty and hard labor.  Socialism, on the other hand, in the Twentieth Century, managed to kill 100 million people keeping itself propped up.  That doesn't include the millions killed in wars.  This is just the number of eggs broken to make the socialist omelet, as someone said on NPR a decade ago, in explaining the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  I expect Senator Sanders, who is happy with the Cuban Revolution of Fidel Castro is probably happy enough with the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Mr Simon ends his essay:

So who are the Democrats anyway?  An association for power, clearly.  But now that association is split between the establishment and the socialists, roughly 60-40.

This is untenable.  All that holds them together is enmity for Donald Trump.  Without that they wouldn’t even be the semblance of a party anymore.

Indeed, they’re probably not, even with the pervasive Trump hatred.  If Biden were to stumble, Bernie would not easily move in to replace him.  The establishment would block him immediately with a new candidate.

Hillary?  She’s been curiously silent of late.  Why isn’t she joining the claque backing Biden? And what about Obama? Are they planning something?

It doesn’t matter.  The party has already effectively split in two.  It’s hard to see how they can reconcile.

The convention in Milwaukee this July may be the end of the Democratic Party as we know it.

This seems like a pretty strong opinion.  Is the Democratic Party about to fracture, to be replaced by some new entity?  I don't think so.

We were here before, and the Democratic Party split in two, but it came back together, winning the Presidency 24 years later, with Grover Cleveland, of New York.  He was what was then called a Bourbon Democrat, the hard money, pro-business, anti corrupt city boss, pro-states rights wing of the Party.  If the Democrats lose in November,♠ they will cobble together a form of the Party that will appeal to the center mass of the voters, while leaving the intelligentsia, the bien pensant, to their own devices.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  As Blogger Glenn Reynolds says, don't get cocky.

Poof

For John, BLUF:  Some of us, outside the world of education, worry that civics is not being taught in our schools, or not being taught well.  Sadly.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Some Democrats apparently think that the impeachment vote means that Trump is out of office

From The New Neo, 20 December 2019.

Here is the lede plus four:

My goodness:

It might be difficult to believe after weeks of talk about impeachment that there are people who still don’t understand the process, but on Twitter last night, “#ByeTrump” was trending because many believed that the House vote on impeachment meant that President Donald Trump was now removed.

Some had to be schooled then today when they found out to their surprise that lo and behold, Trump was still president and that no, being impeached is not the same thing as removal

Although shocking, it’s not surprising.  We’ve known for quite some time that the teaching of civics is nothing like what it used to be, and that many people schooled in the US grow up ignorant of even the basics of the way our government works.  So, many people who seem to be politically active and involved – involved enough to tweet about politics on Twitter, anyway – appear to have thought that impeachment itself would remove Trump from office.

This isn’t just about Trump.  Apparently, these people are so ignorant of the entire picture of how our government is designed that they think the Founders set things up so that one body of our legislature can remove a president by a simple majority vote. Poof, you’re gone!

Funny, but sad.  Democrats.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff