In the wake of my National Review article on the launch of the American College of Surgeon's DEI Toolkit ( https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/12/its-dei-or-bust-for-the-american-college-of-surgeons/ ) the ACS quietly took down the Toolkit less than two weeks later, without fanfare. When asked why, the ACS leadership equivocated, stating something to the effect that it was revising it. The ACS leadership, in adopting critical race theory, antiracism, and DEI has proved itself just as unqualified to lead the House of Surgery as Claudine Gay was to lead Harvard. It is time for new leadership before surgery is so degraded that patients will have to question their surgeon's competence. Were they chosen to train as surgeons based on merit or because they fit a diversity box? Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS
Addendum: I contacted the ACS today to ask what happened to the DEI toolkit. I received an email from the office of the Executive Director, Patricia Turner, MD, FACS informing me that the toolkit was accessible. I went back to the ACS website and confirmed that the Toolkit is back up. I do not know what, if anything, was done to the toolkit while it was down. Stand by for more on this on my substack: richardtbosshardt.substack.com
We are so fortunate to have The Free Press. After years of MSM gaslighting, the momentum for moderate and truth-seeking voices is building. It couldn't be more timely. Hopefully one day, truth will be the norm again, not the exception.
Ref Superintendent Rafael Alvarez on Israel being left off the map, "...I express my personal apology for the effect the map has had on some members of our community” - that's what's known in our house as a Bill Clinton apology ("I'm sorry if you were offended"). What other classrooms have that map? Is there going to be a review of ALL the materials furnished by those fine people in Qatar? Why is any foreign government funding NYC education? I mean, how stupid are we??
Though it is great to see DEI getting rolled back, what to combat it with? These people are not going away quietly. I suggest a movement that goes after each pillar. Rather than Diversity, celebrate the individual. When we look at a person as part of a group, we miss who they are as a person. We want you to be the best version of yourself and not be pigeonholed into thoughts assigned to you that might be popular.
Rather than Inclusion is Teamwork. When joining any organization, you join the team and assume the responsibility within it. This is the tricky part: You can be the best you, but when you are on a team, it has to blend harmoniously as in a symphony. If you want to be yourself, be an entrepreneur and create your own band.
Finally, replace Equity for Excellence. Equity is a weasel word for Communism. It has and will never work. In any organization, one has to perform. One only gets a piece of the pie if one earns it and gets more than agreed upon unless one achieves it. Society progresses through the excellence of great people and organizations. We should want everyone to be the best version of themselves, which makes an organization great. Then, you can attack the proponents of DEI, protecting your flank from the charges of racism, and instead go after them as ideologues who are pushing a failed and destructive ideology. I am so happy it's getting pulled out, but winning the ideological battle is so essential.
Let us all know when the DEI departments in colleges and corporations have been scaled back substantially if not eliminated. TFP: please publish the size and budgets and key salaries of major college and corporate DEI groups. It would tell quite a tale.
While I’m glad to see some of the DEI overreach get checked in several states, I’d much rather see the institutions themselves roll these programs back due to their ineffectiveness and conflicts with free speech, rather than legislators in only red states banning them. Lots of these places will merely rename their DEI offices like one is the TX schools and continue doing the same. I wish there were good news here, but I don’t think we’re there quite yet.
If you think DEI programs drive apart colleagues and students, what do you reckon the senile imbecile in the White House shrieking and yammering about illusory "white supremacists" and MAGA insurrectionists is doing to our beloved nation? Biden is a clear and present danger to America and needs to be removed and excised like the metastasizing tumor he is.
Hooray for the FP making a difference. Hooray that Imam Mushtaha has been released. I look forward from more stories which highlight the ordinary Gazans voices. Hooray for Ritchie Torres launching an investigation. Instruction not indoctrination is the way to go.
“Though the intentions of the map were to highlight the Arabic-speaking countries around the world, we understand the concerns that have been raised, and I express my personal apology for the effect the map has had on some members of our community,”
"Some Members Of Our Community."
That would be those who Think?
“stand[s] against all forms of hate and bias, including antisemitism or Islamophobia.”
PS 261 and the MAP: Tip of the iceberg indeed. What else is being SAID in these classrooms (and thousands of others) about Israel and Jews and as importantly America? How many countries in the world have schools and teachers who teach their children to hate their country? Maybe the UK? Any others? The impact and results of these "teachers" is now on full display on college campuses, in front of the white house and cancer centers and bridges and in corporate settings as well ( we shall see whether the DEI reversal actually occurs or is mere lip service).
The best line in "Inherit the Wind" was "Fanatacism never sleeps."
Claims of backpeddaling on DEI must be suspect until proven otherwise. Look for retrenching and circumventing, the same MO colleges are using to dodge SCOTUS on race- biased admissions. In Georgia, DEI "experts" are tossing the statements but injecting DEI racism directly into the subject matter. Read this:
Given the heady, heretofore unchecked power over major institutions, they've no intention of letting it slip from their grasp- the keys to cultural revolution in the United States with virtually no resistance? Hell no. The scope and omnipresence of this thing is astounding. Everything from entertainment awards to the FAA, unelected racist zealots ("experts") are setting the rules, choosing the candidates, dictating the language and the hiring, smearing populations, ditching bothersome standards. With few exceptions, the first thing we see when going to a media or corporate or government website is the DEI pledge. Think, "The Blob."
The effort to undo this will succeed. It will take the same doggedness that got us to this point. The intellectuals and media dissidents who have fought against totalitarianism have so outclassed DEI "scholars" it isn't funny-(actually, it is.) Smart billionaires who care about this country and have vowed to fight indoctrination and racism and antisemitism, are taking the baton.
That's another thing. Cultural and racial Marxists and raging antisemites are co-opting the "Resistance," - as if they're resisting Nazism instead of reviving it. Are you kidding me? Everyone fighting against this is the Resistance.
I'll just opine, without knowing anything more about BYU than what is said here, that it seems like a just prerogative for BYU to have a "religious test of presence."
I've witnessed, even from the inside, many a Catholic university lose its identity, even to the point of most of its administration and faculty being materially schismatic Catholics, Protestants, non-Christians, or atheists. If an educational institution is defined by a religious identity and mission, at least the majority of its faculty and administration ought to be explicitly such, and any student coming there has to know that there are bounds to what will be acceptable for the sake of the common good of the university community. If you change your mind and can't in good conscience stay there without a public expression of your changed mind, there are other places you can go for an education: you don't have to stay there. Would this be a hardship? Sure, welcome to the world, but you've chosen to make this a public issue and you have to be willing to take the consequences.
People tend to regard "free speech" as an absolute good. It's not: it's a good relative to the common good of those to whom one belongs. Should tolerance be exercised? Yes! Everyone benefits from a liberal approach to speech, which is why it should be allowed: it makes truth more reachable by combining the resources of the community, both in the speculative and practical realm. But when one publicly commits to "I don't believe in our community and what we stand for any longer," then how is that person supposed to be a constructive contributor to the community except as a "Devil's advocate" of sorts? This can be helpful as a minority to keep people honest, but what happens when the majority becomes "Devil's advocates"? Can a community survive? Should it, if it didn't care enough to maintain its identity?
So, if a student entered BYU under a religious test and fails that test along the way, why should BYU continue to hold to that contract? Unless there is some stipulation saying, "If you change your mind later you can stay," they are well within their rights, and relative to their own common good dismissal is probably the right thing for them to do.
To think otherwise would be to impose a foreign religious test upon BYU: Free-Speech Absolutism. People who believe in this (theoretically, at least) are holding to a particular value system based on a more or less implied anthropology that is philosophical, not empirical, and therefore metaphysical. Though it doesn't have a god to worship (or does it?), it remains a quasi-religious metaphysical belief system, somewhat like ancient metaphysics. They should found their own university. I bet it would be a disaster. 😂
Sadly I do not think DEI is going to die that easily, plus with the money it generates I can’t see the devotees getting off the gravy train without the threat of a mushroom cloud descending down on them.
It may be moving back in some places, but it’s still advancing in others. Cornell University has decided to go all in. So much for learning something from Harvard’s recent issues.
Yes you are doing excellent work! So thankful!! Now you must do something about the border since our government is unable. This is yet another huge problem that is going to bring problems of more magnitude for decades. The FP does get results and our country needs you. You got more work to do! 🇺🇸
In the wake of my National Review article on the launch of the American College of Surgeon's DEI Toolkit ( https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/12/its-dei-or-bust-for-the-american-college-of-surgeons/ ) the ACS quietly took down the Toolkit less than two weeks later, without fanfare. When asked why, the ACS leadership equivocated, stating something to the effect that it was revising it. The ACS leadership, in adopting critical race theory, antiracism, and DEI has proved itself just as unqualified to lead the House of Surgery as Claudine Gay was to lead Harvard. It is time for new leadership before surgery is so degraded that patients will have to question their surgeon's competence. Were they chosen to train as surgeons based on merit or because they fit a diversity box? Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS
Addendum: I contacted the ACS today to ask what happened to the DEI toolkit. I received an email from the office of the Executive Director, Patricia Turner, MD, FACS informing me that the toolkit was accessible. I went back to the ACS website and confirmed that the Toolkit is back up. I do not know what, if anything, was done to the toolkit while it was down. Stand by for more on this on my substack: richardtbosshardt.substack.com
We are so fortunate to have The Free Press. After years of MSM gaslighting, the momentum for moderate and truth-seeking voices is building. It couldn't be more timely. Hopefully one day, truth will be the norm again, not the exception.
Ref Superintendent Rafael Alvarez on Israel being left off the map, "...I express my personal apology for the effect the map has had on some members of our community” - that's what's known in our house as a Bill Clinton apology ("I'm sorry if you were offended"). What other classrooms have that map? Is there going to be a review of ALL the materials furnished by those fine people in Qatar? Why is any foreign government funding NYC education? I mean, how stupid are we??
Though it is great to see DEI getting rolled back, what to combat it with? These people are not going away quietly. I suggest a movement that goes after each pillar. Rather than Diversity, celebrate the individual. When we look at a person as part of a group, we miss who they are as a person. We want you to be the best version of yourself and not be pigeonholed into thoughts assigned to you that might be popular.
Rather than Inclusion is Teamwork. When joining any organization, you join the team and assume the responsibility within it. This is the tricky part: You can be the best you, but when you are on a team, it has to blend harmoniously as in a symphony. If you want to be yourself, be an entrepreneur and create your own band.
Finally, replace Equity for Excellence. Equity is a weasel word for Communism. It has and will never work. In any organization, one has to perform. One only gets a piece of the pie if one earns it and gets more than agreed upon unless one achieves it. Society progresses through the excellence of great people and organizations. We should want everyone to be the best version of themselves, which makes an organization great. Then, you can attack the proponents of DEI, protecting your flank from the charges of racism, and instead go after them as ideologues who are pushing a failed and destructive ideology. I am so happy it's getting pulled out, but winning the ideological battle is so essential.
Let us all know when the DEI departments in colleges and corporations have been scaled back substantially if not eliminated. TFP: please publish the size and budgets and key salaries of major college and corporate DEI groups. It would tell quite a tale.
so happy to hear Ala Mohammed Mushtaha father was released!
While I’m glad to see some of the DEI overreach get checked in several states, I’d much rather see the institutions themselves roll these programs back due to their ineffectiveness and conflicts with free speech, rather than legislators in only red states banning them. Lots of these places will merely rename their DEI offices like one is the TX schools and continue doing the same. I wish there were good news here, but I don’t think we’re there quite yet.
If you think DEI programs drive apart colleagues and students, what do you reckon the senile imbecile in the White House shrieking and yammering about illusory "white supremacists" and MAGA insurrectionists is doing to our beloved nation? Biden is a clear and present danger to America and needs to be removed and excised like the metastasizing tumor he is.
Hooray for the FP making a difference. Hooray that Imam Mushtaha has been released. I look forward from more stories which highlight the ordinary Gazans voices. Hooray for Ritchie Torres launching an investigation. Instruction not indoctrination is the way to go.
Reasons why I am pleased to subscribe to the FP
“Though the intentions of the map were to highlight the Arabic-speaking countries around the world, we understand the concerns that have been raised, and I express my personal apology for the effect the map has had on some members of our community,”
"Some Members Of Our Community."
That would be those who Think?
“stand[s] against all forms of hate and bias, including antisemitism or Islamophobia.”
Why do I question that?
Translation: Oh Crap We Got Caught!"
PS 261 and the MAP: Tip of the iceberg indeed. What else is being SAID in these classrooms (and thousands of others) about Israel and Jews and as importantly America? How many countries in the world have schools and teachers who teach their children to hate their country? Maybe the UK? Any others? The impact and results of these "teachers" is now on full display on college campuses, in front of the white house and cancer centers and bridges and in corporate settings as well ( we shall see whether the DEI reversal actually occurs or is mere lip service).
The best line in "Inherit the Wind" was "Fanatacism never sleeps."
Claims of backpeddaling on DEI must be suspect until proven otherwise. Look for retrenching and circumventing, the same MO colleges are using to dodge SCOTUS on race- biased admissions. In Georgia, DEI "experts" are tossing the statements but injecting DEI racism directly into the subject matter. Read this:
https://www.thecollegefix.com/georgia-universities-rebrand-rename-diversity-efforts-in-wake-of-new-anti-dei-regulations/
Given the heady, heretofore unchecked power over major institutions, they've no intention of letting it slip from their grasp- the keys to cultural revolution in the United States with virtually no resistance? Hell no. The scope and omnipresence of this thing is astounding. Everything from entertainment awards to the FAA, unelected racist zealots ("experts") are setting the rules, choosing the candidates, dictating the language and the hiring, smearing populations, ditching bothersome standards. With few exceptions, the first thing we see when going to a media or corporate or government website is the DEI pledge. Think, "The Blob."
The effort to undo this will succeed. It will take the same doggedness that got us to this point. The intellectuals and media dissidents who have fought against totalitarianism have so outclassed DEI "scholars" it isn't funny-(actually, it is.) Smart billionaires who care about this country and have vowed to fight indoctrination and racism and antisemitism, are taking the baton.
That's another thing. Cultural and racial Marxists and raging antisemites are co-opting the "Resistance," - as if they're resisting Nazism instead of reviving it. Are you kidding me? Everyone fighting against this is the Resistance.
I'll just opine, without knowing anything more about BYU than what is said here, that it seems like a just prerogative for BYU to have a "religious test of presence."
I've witnessed, even from the inside, many a Catholic university lose its identity, even to the point of most of its administration and faculty being materially schismatic Catholics, Protestants, non-Christians, or atheists. If an educational institution is defined by a religious identity and mission, at least the majority of its faculty and administration ought to be explicitly such, and any student coming there has to know that there are bounds to what will be acceptable for the sake of the common good of the university community. If you change your mind and can't in good conscience stay there without a public expression of your changed mind, there are other places you can go for an education: you don't have to stay there. Would this be a hardship? Sure, welcome to the world, but you've chosen to make this a public issue and you have to be willing to take the consequences.
People tend to regard "free speech" as an absolute good. It's not: it's a good relative to the common good of those to whom one belongs. Should tolerance be exercised? Yes! Everyone benefits from a liberal approach to speech, which is why it should be allowed: it makes truth more reachable by combining the resources of the community, both in the speculative and practical realm. But when one publicly commits to "I don't believe in our community and what we stand for any longer," then how is that person supposed to be a constructive contributor to the community except as a "Devil's advocate" of sorts? This can be helpful as a minority to keep people honest, but what happens when the majority becomes "Devil's advocates"? Can a community survive? Should it, if it didn't care enough to maintain its identity?
So, if a student entered BYU under a religious test and fails that test along the way, why should BYU continue to hold to that contract? Unless there is some stipulation saying, "If you change your mind later you can stay," they are well within their rights, and relative to their own common good dismissal is probably the right thing for them to do.
To think otherwise would be to impose a foreign religious test upon BYU: Free-Speech Absolutism. People who believe in this (theoretically, at least) are holding to a particular value system based on a more or less implied anthropology that is philosophical, not empirical, and therefore metaphysical. Though it doesn't have a god to worship (or does it?), it remains a quasi-religious metaphysical belief system, somewhat like ancient metaphysics. They should found their own university. I bet it would be a disaster. 😂
Sadly I do not think DEI is going to die that easily, plus with the money it generates I can’t see the devotees getting off the gravy train without the threat of a mushroom cloud descending down on them.
It may be moving back in some places, but it’s still advancing in others. Cornell University has decided to go all in. So much for learning something from Harvard’s recent issues.
Yes you are doing excellent work! So thankful!! Now you must do something about the border since our government is unable. This is yet another huge problem that is going to bring problems of more magnitude for decades. The FP does get results and our country needs you. You got more work to do! 🇺🇸