Anti-Semitism on Campus?

For John, BLUF:  This situation is unaccpetable.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Majority of Jewish college students feel unsafe on campus, poll finds

Here is the sub-headline:

Also, 50 percent feel the need to hide their Jewish identity, survey finds

From The College Fix, by Mr Charles Hilu, 27 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

A majority of American Jewish college students feel unsafe on campus, and another 50 percent feel the need to hide their Jewish identity, according to the results of a newly released poll.

Specifically, 65 percent of students who openly identify as Jewish reported feeling unsafe due to anti-Semitism on campus, according to the poll, released Sept. 20 by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

“The first poll to specifically examine rates of anti-Semitism among college students who claim a strong sense of Jewish identity and connection to Israel finds that, among this group, students are feeling unsafe and, as a result, are learning that to avoid anti-Semitism they must view their religion as something to hide, not celebrate,” the center said in a news release.

Is this a case of authentic anti-Semitism or is this a case of all, or most, college students being hyper alert to possible slights?  Neither is a good thing, but the idea of anti-Semitism running rampent across our campuses, across our Country, is the more disturbing.  I thought that by 1945 we had figured out the ugly outcomes of anti-Semitism.  People used to say "Never Again".

Assuming that we are not dealing with the outcome of the Corbynization of the Democratic Party, with it attendent anti-Semitism, then it falls to College Officials, and Professors, and parents to fix this problem.  By the time our youth make it to college they should be able to interact with different groups, treating all with respect and accepting that many may have different views, but those views are their right under our First Amendment.  Our college bound students should understand that give and take and openness to other ideas, if just for the purposes of understanding, is fundamental to going to college.  That seems to be missing.

UPDATE:  I just came across tthis in The Washington Free Beacon:  "Anti-Semitic Attacks in 2020 Outnumbered Attacks Against Muslims, Asians, Transgender People Combined".

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

An Economics Question

For John, BLUF:  We have Fiat money since 1971.  That is, our money is a medium of exchange because we agree to give it a value.  Without that, it is useless paper.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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What Happened in 1971? Edward Snowden and Jack Dorsey Want to Know

Here is the sub-headline:

Something huge happened in 1971.  And both Edward Snowden and Jack Dorsey are asking the same question.

From Foundation for Economic Education, by Mr Jon Miltimore, 27 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

In mid August, Twitter Founder and CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted a strange hashtag: #WTFHappenedin1971.

A few weeks later, Edward Snowden, the CIA subcontractor turned whistleblower who revealed the NSA’s unlawful mass surveillance program, shared a similar post.

It’s unclear if Dorsey and Snowden have similar ideological views, but it’s clear both men are seeking answers to the same question (or prompting others to look themselves): what in the world happened in 1971?

For those who aren’t aware, there is an entire website dedicated to that question: wtfhappenedin1971.com/.

The first thing that becomes apparent is that something happened in 1971. This fact is made clear by a series of charts, all based on government data, that show various odd economic trends began in that year.

Income inequality, for example, began to get much worse.

The linked article has a number of graphs. & This is one of them, texted out by Mr Edward Snowden:

Yes, economic productivity continued to climb, but real compensation for workers not so much.  And, while we sense it, mostly we don't understand it.  I expect we will talk about it this Friday on The Early Show (Facebook, John L McDonough).

in the mean time you can read up on it.  And, to liven up your economic concerns, Congress has until Thursday End of the Day to pass the Federal Budget or some sort of Continuing Resolution (CR).  But, that doesn't end the heavy lifting, because then they have to raise the Debt Ceiling or Debt Limit), to avoid some kind of Federal Government default.

Both of the above will be a test of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's legerdemain.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Who Was Here Before?

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes it seems the more we learn the less we know.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Fossil footprints show humans in North America more than 21,000 years ago

Here is the sub-headline:

The footprints, the earliest firm evidence for humans in the Americas, show that people must have arrived here before the last Ice Age.

From NBC News, by Reporter Tom Metcalfe, 23 September 2021, 2:00 PM EDT.

Here is the lede plus one:

David Bustos heard about the “ghost tracks” when he first went to White Sands National Park in New Mexico to work as a wildlife scientist in 2005.  When the ground was wet enough at certain times of the year, the ghostly footprints would appear on the otherwise blank earth, only to disappear again when it dried out.

It wasn’t until over 10 years later, in 2016, that scientists confirmed that the ghost tracks had been made by real people — and it’s only now that some of the ancient footprints at White Sands have been dated as the earliest in North America.

“We’d been suspicious of the age for a while, and so now we finally have that it’s really exciting,” Bustos said.  “One of the neat things is that you can see mammoth prints in the layers a meter or so above the human footprints, so that just helps to confirm the whole story.”

The footprints at White Sands were dated by examining the seeds of an aquatic plant that once thrived along the shores of the dried-up lake, Ruppia cirrhosa, commonly known as ditchgrass.  According to research published Thursday in the journal Science and co-authored by Bustos, the ancient ditchgrass seeds were found in layers of hard earth both above and below the many human footprints at the site, and they were radiocarbon-dated to determine their age.

Trails of footprints called "ghost tracks" have been seen in the White Sands area for years, but usually only when the ground was wet.

Trails of footprints called "ghost tracks" have been seen in the White Sands area for years, but usually only when the ground was wet.  The tracks at one location have been revealed as both the earliest known footprints and the oldest firm evidence of humans anywhere in the Americas, showing that people lived there 21,000 to 23,000 years ago — several thousand years earlier than scientists once believed.

Here is the Wikipedia article on Native Americans.  The question is, were these the people who were here before the last ice age?  If not, what happened to those people?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Disaster Recycled

For John, BLUF:  Remember Chernobyl, back in 1986?  It seems it is back.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Chernobyl’s Blown Up Reactor 4 Just Woke Up

Here is the sub-headline:

Scientists don’t understand why

From History of Yesterday, by Historian Andrei Tapalaga, 17 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

The nuclear disaster that occurred in 1986 will forever be remembered, but the world will soon have a reminder of the event as the zone for some reason (yet unexplained by scientists)is becoming more radioactive.  For those who may not be aware of the incident here is an article to get you up to speed.

“Chernobyl will never be a problem”

Underneath reactor 4 there is still nuclear fuel that is active and which will take around 20,000 years for it to deplete.  The uranium is too radioactive for anyone to live in the city and since the incident, the European Union had created a shield around the reactor which should not allow for the radioactive rays to come out.

Yes, Chernobyl is a long ways away, in Ukraine, but with the jet stream it's potential radiation may be only hours away for the rest of the world.  The interest thing is, with all the monitoring, the experts, the scientists, don't know what is causing this issue of increased radiation.

For a second source, we have "Nuclear reactions are increasing in an inaccessible chamber at Chernobyl", from CNET, by Mr Steph Panecasio, 11 May 2021, 6:07 p.m. PT.

Radioactive emissions in an inaccessible chamber within the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have spiked in the last four years, leading scientists to question how serious the threat of a runaway nuclear fission reaction really is.

The 1986 Chernobyl explosion -- which resulted in catastrophic destruction and significant loss of life -- sealed off a number of areas and chambers in the Ukrainian power plant, including subreactor room 305/2, which is now the site of the surge. The room is thought to contain a large amount of highly radioactive material.

Good luck to us.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Be Normal

For John, BLUF:  Black lives do matter, but we are creating a society where we are allowing rampant violence devalue all lives, and to create islands of people while allowing many to get away with murder, and other crimes.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Making the abnormal normal destroys society

From The Don Surber Blogspot>, by Retired Reporter Don Surber, 25 September 2021.

The point of the article is that, over the last 70 years, society has become more tolerant of diverse mores, which I see as a good thing, but at the same time we have created a society where large numbers of groups feel no compunction about breaking the local and federal laws and the stndards that a majority of the Citizenry think are the proper standards.

Los Angeles County Distrit Attorney George Gascón and the San Francisco City and County District Attorney Chesa Boudin seem to think that by not locking people up they will naturally improve their performance as Citizens.  Not all of us are as optomistic.&nsp; Some of us believe that people will begin to flee those two wonderful cities for places with more law and order.

I talked wwith a physician last week, who grew up in New York City.  It was his take that New York City fluctuates between a law and order mayor and a progressive mayor.  Is the Big Apple due for another change of direction, toward an emphasis on law and order?

I want a nation where your private conduct is your private conduct and should not be policed by the Government.  If you wish to live outside of propriety, then good luck to you, but don't expect everyone to celebrate it.  Tolerate it, yes.  On the other hand, when your actions impact directly my wealth or well being, such as robbing me on a city street, then you should be subject to the punishment the law allows.  That is the dividing line.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Two Different Parties

For John, BLUF:  The linked article suggests that the Democratic Party is aggressive and pushing its agenda, while the Republicans on Capitol Hill are timid and seem interested in slowing down, rather than reversing the Democratic passed legislation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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There’s A Reason DC Democrats Are Always Winning, Even When They Lose

Here is the sub-headline:

When it matters, Republicans look around and say, 'Oh no we can't do that, we’d lose a man.  The Democrats would take seats.'  They are virtually a majority for the sake of being a majority.

From The Federalist, by Mr Christopher Bedford, 10 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus five:

Washington Republicans are excited for the 2022 elections, and they have reason to be — they’re going to do well.  They’re heavy favorites to take back the House of Representatives; and despite a very bad Senate map, it’s a coin flip they’ll retake that too.

None of this is too shocking: First-term presidents usually face a backlash, and often it’s a bloodbath.

President Barack Obama crushed Sen. John McCain, then lost 63 House seats two years later; President Donald Trump lost 42 seats in 2018; President Bill Clinton lost 54.  In fact, the only first-term president to not lose House seats in the midterms in the past 55 years was President George W. Bush, in the post-9/11 2002 midterms.

This is the nature of politics:  A new man is swept in and carries fellow party members with him, then two years later enthusiasm has waned, the president’s promises have turned into a more frustrating reality, and opposition voters are angry and fired up.  So what happens?  They punish the party in power.

All of that figures to be even worse for President Joe Biden.  Nobody is passionate about Biden himself, and in 2022 Democrats won’t be turning out to vote against Trump, so even if Biden were doing a bang-up job he’d still be in for what his old boss called “a shellacking.”

But Biden is not doing a great job — he’s doing terribly.

But, then, when in power, the Republicans will do nothing to stop the Progressive drifft of the nation.  Read the article to see the reasoning.

The Republicsn are too polite.  They need their own Saul Alinski to guide them.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Canceling Israeli Defense

For John, BLUF:  It is shocking to me to see the anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, flow in the Democratic Party.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Democrats Pull Funding For Israel’s Iron Dome Defensive System

Here is the sub-headline:

Republicans Blast The Move

From The Lid Blog, by Mr Jeff Dunetz, 21 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Until today, Sept. 21, the Democrats’ stopgap spending bill that the House plans to vote on this week included $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome defensive anti-rocket system. A group of progressive Democrats threatened to block the legislation unless the defensive aid was withdrawn, continuing the anti-Israel policies which have dominated the Democratic Party since Barack Obama became POTUS.

To put that $1 billion in context, President Biden left over $80 billion worth of military equipment behind for the terrorist Taliban during the Afghan pull-out.

According to Politico, the group that threatened to block the continuing resolution unless the defensive funding for Israel was removed. included Rep. Mark Pocan (D., Wis), the Squad, and other members who signed onto unsuccessful legislation to block arms sales to Israel in May and have made both Anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic statements in the past.

To be clear, the Iron Dome is a defensive system, which protects all residents of Israel, regardless of faith, from missile attacks.

The Spectator talks to this kind of thing,"The New York Times tips its anti-Semitic hand".  It wasn't that long ago that we all pledged, never again.  Have we forgotten so quickly?  Or was that just a Caucasian, European, thing?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff