I have a friend from India who has been quite vocal about what's going on in the West. He believes we've become swamped by "Third World thinking". That is, in nearly every possible way, we've betrayed the values that has made our civilization the best in human history.
We have replaced reason with passion; objectivity with subjectivity; …
I have a friend from India who has been quite vocal about what's going on in the West. He believes we've become swamped by "Third World thinking". That is, in nearly every possible way, we've betrayed the values that has made our civilization the best in human history.
We have replaced reason with passion; objectivity with subjectivity; equality with equity.
Taken together, with the vast demographic changes occurring everywhere in the West, the old intellectual underpinnings are being washed away.
This means those who are who are often smarter and more successful than the rest as a group - Jews, Asians for instance - are now facing unprecedented hostility. In a social construct where equality of outcome trumps equality of opportunity, those who have traditionally been at the top due to merit are in for a very rough ride.
The religious woke fanatics are hell-bent on crushing the human spirit and turning all of us (in particular our children) into revolutionaries.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has always animated the woke crowd, as it plays into their intersectionality mindset.
So now we're seeing where all of this wokeness and intersectionality is taking us: straight to hell.
Jews of all stripes need to wake up. The energy behind these ideas is gaining pace. Does anyone believe AOC, Omar and Talib aren't the future of the Democratic party?? It is a terrifying prospect.
Progressive Jews are not walking up. In fact they are doubling down in tragic denial. It's painful to watch their weakness but as they are so pathetic I try but cant bring myself to feel empathy for them. When I see videos of young Israeli woman with guns as part of the IDF or Police force fighting to not only protect their country (and ALL citizens) but the survival of the Jewish people I get so angry with these self loathing Jews here in the states.
I believe The Squad are not only the future of the Democratic Party, but the present. They are all relatively young, and are poised to be around for a long time if we don't wake up.
I that believe The (Goon) Squad, (or as I sometimes like to refer to them --Hitler's progeny) led by future POTUS AOC, future Secretary of State Rashida Tlaib, and future Minister of War Ilhan Omar are most definitely the future AND present of the Democrat Party.
Woe unto Jews here in America and elsewhere. if this comes to pass.
Woe unto all of us in America and elsewhere if this comes to pass.
Make no mistake about it. These people mean business, and they AIN'T playing! They are after power and they will say or do anything to achieve that objective.
The ongoing filth that spews mouth-frothingly from the gaping maw of the Squad as they regugitate the green slime of their hatred every day should chill the bones of Jew and Gentile alike.
The spinelessness demonstrated by Sen. Schumer et al is breathtaking.
The complicit cowardice of the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC and 100 other news bureaus is breathtaking.
The Squad and their ilk tell us every day who they are and what they're about.
The squad are actually puppets backed by unseen, powerful and ultra-wealthy leftist forces. Especially AOC, who is supposedly actually from Westchester, not Queens (if Tucker Carlson is to be believed). If it weren't them, it would be someone else in their place. And if those skanks ever actually get into the White House, I'm leaving America for real. But I can't see it happening. I want to think a major uprising would happen before that could happen.
"Developing" implies that it will eventually be fully developed. Which these countries will never be. They've been "developing" for a hundred years. Corrupt is more like it.
But why do the 70 percent feel the way they do? This week an AP reporter was sacked for making anti-Israel comments on social media. She was a Stanford grad who, during college, was an enthusiastic supporter of BDS. She also happened to be Jewish, from an Orthodox family. I would like to think she is an isolated case, but she’s not. Can someone help me understand this? Are woke sanctimony and virtue signaling so intoxicating that they can lead normally rational individuals to turn on their own people?
FBW, I can answer your question to some degree. I grew up in a family of activist Jewish Democrats. What really drove them? They were upset because WASP country clubs wouldn't admit them in the 1920s (which was quite true). If that seems petty/stupid to you...
I went into extensive storytelling on another one of Bari's articles about how I used to give anti-Israel presentations in class, and how and why I was propagandized and how and why I'm no longer. If you want a perspective from someone who's been there
Pew just published its 2020 Jewish American Survey. Google it and read it so you have a better understanding of how these people think. It was a very painful read.
"We have replaced reason with passion; objectivity with subjectivity; equality with equity. "
That is a brilliant observation. In part, because I've been saying something similar, though not nearly so eloquently (passion replaced thinking, but not the other 2).
The short and not so sweet is a dynamic which finds purity in group think. Not actually around values, but around what they agree they hate.
I find nothing progressive about supporting Palestinians when these are top 3 factions running for president: one which calls for a holy war against Jews, one which pays people who murder Israeli Jews then calls the murderers holy and one whose leader is in prison for his role in murdering 5 Jews. They;'d get 90% of the vote and if you're somehow fine with that -- you're a lot more nazi than progressive.
There is no thought going on, just passion fed by lies. No objectivity, just group think surrounded by bullying. And certainly no desire for equality, just equity earned by being extreme bigots.
I can not indulge the right, they are too bigoted and too brainless on their own. But the Democratic party has an illness and it is pretty bad. Which is why I'm an independent.
Passion? Maybe. But firmly altruism which demands one toss reason out and side with what your brain insists is the oppressed. It is altruism that drives the Jewish left. Everyone else is just anti-Semitic. I don't say that easy as the anti racist crowd led by their grand pupa Ibrahim Kendi uses that twisted ideology in an insidious. But maybe it's the only language they understand so lets see how they like it.
There is no bigotry in the Republican Party. The media has been demonizing half of your friends and neighbors and coworkers strictly because they vote against the far left - and I’m kind of tired of it. It is simply not true.
are they not republicans bro? look at MTG's tweet today. You are kidding yourself if you think there is no bigotry in the republican party. you just say the same thing in a million comments dude.
It seems that people on this substack are waking up to how the media lies about the left and about Israel, but still believe all the gaslighting about the right being bigoted and uneducated. Keep opening your mind. Go to a local Dem or left organization event and then a or Rep or conservative event. See which side is more bigoted. I am someone who used to vote D but broke through the gaslighting. I’m still independent but understand that the only way we stop this madness in America now is if classic liberals, who believe in free speech and who believe in the words of MLK, vote Republican.
The extreme right are no angels but their numbers are insignificant and they have no power. The left has their hands on every lever of real power. That's dangerous and that why we must fight back.
The problem with the Republican Party isn't being "bigoted". That's a red herring that too many on the left mindlessly regurgitate.
The problem is that they are in thrall to a cult of personality that exists in an alternate reality, where most (around two-thirds or so) believe the presidency was stolen, and a disturbing proportion believe there is some truth to the theory that Democrats drink the blood of infants. And their politicians are too spineless to oppose a man who literally tried to overthrow our democracy.
You can call me a partisan if you want. I'm not. I'm an independent who's willing to vote for a Republican if I think he's the right person for the job. And I'm on these substacks because I'm alarmed about the growing illiberalism on the left.
But if you really want liberals to vote Republican, and to understand why most of them won't, you need to confront this serious problem on the right. I would call it "illiberalism" but I'm not sure that quite suffices. It's insanity enabled by political nihilism.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are becoming a far more diverse coalition than the caricatures the right chooses to elevate, especially with the support they're garnering from the moderate right because of the embrace of Trump. Among Democrats, the illiberals are still in the minority, regardless of what it seems like on Twitter. And we're dealing with this threat - the people that you read on these substacks are largely center-left individuals (Bari included) that are acutely aware that supporting Republicans right now is not a reasonable option - because this cynical, manipulative dishonesty has overtaken the Republican Party. That's why they're shouting so loud and fighting so hard - we have no choice but to clean up our side, because abandoning it is not an option.
Depends on where you live. I live in one of the poorest congressional districts along the border with Mexico and the illiberal left is dangerously in control. Their is a cultural aspect to this region that allows them to take advantage of it. I actually believe (hope I'm wrong) AOC can knock Chuck S out of his Senate seat.
“Consider the fact that Hillary Clinton recorded a podcast with Nancy Pelosi this week in which she said of Trump: “I would love to see his phone records to see whether he was talking to Putin the day that the insurgents invaded our Capitol.” And the speaker of the House responded: “All roads lead to Putin.”
Really? That’s still the play after four years?
The group that fell for Russiagate has long owned the culture. Now it’s won the presidency and controls Congress. What will happen?”"
The most senior levels of the Democratic party are believers in a fantasy about something that never happened. But the Republicans are the crazy ones?
From the point of actual policy, and not personality, it doesn't make sense to vote democrat today. You're talking about personality. Your vote doesn't go on your resume. It's not the most important thing about you. You can vote for whoever you want. It's about policy.
I couldn't disagree with this more. Honestly, what policy does the Republican Party stand for? They don't even have a platform - they literally bound themselves to Trump's whims at the Republican convention.
Trump was all personality and no policy. His accomplishments were a giant tax cut for the wealthy and a superficial middle east "peace accord" between countries that were already at peace with one another. Overall his policy with Israel was to enable their most aggressive behavior and inflame tensions with Palestinians. His much touted anti-China stance lay dormant for much of his presidency - he killed the TPP, which had been negotiated specifically to combat China's economic hegemony, and it only took Xi about 15 minutes to have him eating out of his hand and mouthing Chinese propaganda about COVID before he realized they'd be a useful political scapegoat. Of course, he couldn't say anything while he was still negotiating the low-hanging fruit of a measly partial trade policy, which was basically reduced to a game of chicken without the leverage the TPP would have granted him. And his "negotiations" with North Korea were *all* personality - they accomplished nothing as far as retarding Kim's nuclear program, but succeeded in giving a psychopath the legitimacy of an embarrassing bromance with the leader of the free world. I could go on like this.
The point I'm making here is that Trump was an incompetent fraud who was in way over his head, and flying by the seat of his pants. And right now the Republican Party is completely beholden to his whims. They want to move beyond him but they can't, because they were too cynical to stop him before the party became dominated by Trump's personality cult. Now their voters won't let them move on. And it isn't because of policy - it's because Trump isn't afraid to shove his thumb in the eye of the people they hate, and they think that's a good reason to make someone president.
The things that you don't like on the left are likely the same things I don't like. But they're largely cultural matters that neither Republicans or Democrats can do a damn thing about. The President has limited ability to do much about CRT in schools or universities, and frankly that isn't what our federal government should be focusing on. Supporting Republicans at the local level may be a different matter, but many of them are beholden to Trump as well.
So is that really what you want? Politicians whose "policy" is determined by catering to an egomaniacal culture warrior who is terrible at actually governing, and whose needless provocations only further inflame our "culture wars" and strengthen the far left's cultural influence?
I agree with some of what you stated. I consider myself a Burkean conservative and reject the Republican club as they are not conservatives. The Republicans believe in centralized government just like the Dems. They are both State-ists. I did not vote for the Don and consider him a misogynistic pagan, narcissistic asshole. But I did not vote for Hillary either as she is corrupt. Their was nothing conservative about the Dons policies. His economic practices were right out of the Bernie Sanders play book (Tariffs and more BS). But I separated the Donald from his administration. Some good things happened. Corporate tax cut excellent. Individual tax cut no because they didn't cut spending. Ironically the Don signed into law the first step act, launched the Abraham accords (Path to real peace), stopped the Iranian talks as trying to negotiate with this bunch is silly as they are terrorist's that lie and are making fools of all the Obama retreads sitting in Vienna. The Don didn't get us into War and we had a solid economy before COVID. But the press lost their minds and distorted reality in their coverage. Very dangerous stuff. If you took the man out of the equation and did a side with say Obama I believe on balance his administration was fine by our low standards. Now Joe Biden a good man however he stands for nothing. He is moving the country dangerously to the extreme left expanding to a place that will make our country unrecognizable. I agree that the Republican club is not a great alternative but the strategy may be just to slow the extreme left down. That's why some may vote for Republicans at the local level. I do believe you may be underestimating the influence of the extreme left that is taking control of the once proud Democratic party that stood for all American workers. . Perhaps the Democrat's can pull back from the brink before the their extreme left completely destroys our American Values. Where we probably completely agree much of the Republican club may follow their cult leader into the abyss.
Eric73, re: your misrepresentation of the Abraham Accords as “a superficial middle east ‘peace accord’ between countries that were already at peace with one another. Overall his policy with Israel was to enable their most aggressive behavior and inflame tensions with Palestinians.” INCORRECT - no Arab League nation who signed on to the Accords - nor any who support it & are pending - were “at peace with“ Israel prior. Moreover, you not only failed to identify even one instance of Israel engaging in “aggressive behavior” and “inflaming tensions with the Palestinians,” you also gave HAMAS a pass for their repeated air assaults using rockets, missiles and incendiary balloons targeting Israeli civilians. You clearly understand nothing about the nature or history of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, so don’t bother to reply.
You're splitting hairs over Trump's foreign policy, meanwhile Biden does actively fund Iran-Hamas terror attacks against Israel. I mean, I never cared about Trump, I thought he was a pretty moderate president in terms of policy and did some interesting things for the justice system, but Biden is somewhat responsible for the current escalations in Gaza, and still intends to pivot towards Iran even more. It's a joke. I will never vote democrat if this is their "moderate" wing. I don't love the Republican party, but they don't offend me as much as they seem to offend you. I don't vote for personality. I vote for policy. When I say policy, that sometimes means voting for the party which will not implement anything. Who needs overlegislating? Who needs a nanny state? America's biggest problems are cultural, you're right. I don't need more crappy legislation that claims to be able to "fix" the problems that America faces. And somehow, I have a feeling that the antisemitism we're seeing is directly related to the Dems being in power. It's just a feeling. There's plenty of semitism around with any party, but this seems connected to idiot democrats in power shooting off their mouth about Israel. Ugh. Maybe I'm a hypocrite, I don't know. I find them so distasteful. And again - who cares about Trump or who's beholden to him. He's so not a factor...he was good for Israel...enough with it already. He never offended me. It was all projection.
Biden has been on the wrong side of just about every geo-political issue for the last 40 years. He couldn't even get on board with the killing of OBL an issue on which everyone could get behind.
Ill-liberals may be a minority among Democrats (they probably are), but they are they ones running the show. The comparison here is brutal. Trump blocked CRT. Biden reversed Trump's ban. At this point. the Republicans are far closer to MLK's dream than the Democrats.
Trump banned DEI training in the Federal government. That's it, and it's all he has the power to do. And it's not clear how much of it, if any, was based on CRT. As a former longtime federal employee I guarantee you that if the garbage we've heard about at some schools and colleges showed up in federal training, people would speak up. Federal employees aren't ideologically homogenous like in academia, and they have much better job security.
And again, note that I explicitly avoided bigotry in my criticisms of the Republican Party.
Not that it isn't there, and Trump demonstrated plenty of it with his demonization of refugees and immigrants from countries he deems undesirable.
But the far left isn't as influential as you might think. They got plenty of pushback from within the party from catering to the excesses from the summer, particularly the "defund the police" nonsense. And look at how they jumped all over Omar a couple of years ago for making some boilerplate criticism of the Israel lobby. The Democratic Party is still controlled by the center-left for one simple reason - the far left doesn't represent America. Biden has mostly ignored the Twitter crowd, because he has a keen awareness of what most Americans actually think. That's why he's not afraid to say most police are good people doing their jobs, and that America isn't a racist country, and that we shouldn't take down statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Bottom line - if you want to fight CRT, then we need to make sure it stays unpopular with the American people by educating people about it. The Republican Party won't save you from it. Because they are bound to Trump by fear, and Trump does nothing but inflame the far left and give them more power.
E73, You are naïve about how far CRT has already progressed in the USA. California recently banned the use of the ACT and SAT. Pure CRT. California adopted K-12 educational guidelines based on CRT.
Here is a quote that may help you.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” By Martin Niemöller
E73, Here is an test of where real power lies in the US. If you are member of a protected class you can say "Bitches Ain't Shit But Hoes and Tricks" and beat up women without mercy and there will be no consequences. Conversely, if you are not a member of a protected class you will be fired.
Peter, I think you have some misconceptions about where I stand on these issues. I am opposed to the illiberalism I'm seeing on the left. That's why I'm on these various substacks. You don't have to regale me with these stories or fashionable quotes. I've heard them.
And I'm not naive. I realize there are some egregious overreactions being pursued at the moment. I simply believe they're going to fail. Remember that California is also the state that just upheld a ban on affirmative action in college admissions - because it was subject to a public referendum where the actual will of the people, not liberal elites, was represented. The people will ultimately have their say with regard to other such measures.
Although I have to say I think you're being unfair to Zheong. She deserves the same grace that we should give everyone for their past, ill-considered tweets. (Genocidal? Seriously?) Aren't we supposed to be opposed to cancel culture and kneejerk accusations of racism?
As you mentioned, Sandia Labs isn't part of the Federal Government; contractors have their own cultures, which I can't speak for (nor do their employees have the kind of job security that I spoke of). But OK, my statement didn't account for them, fair enough. My point is that the Federal government has limited ability to dictate what gets taught at schools and universities, which is the real problem here. The awarding of federal contracts is pretty much the extent of the executive's reach. Denying federal funds can only be done through Congress.
As for the comment about Biden responding to the Twitter crowd, a few points:
1) Biden has not reversed DeVos's changes to the Campus Sexual Assault guidance, despite saying he would on the campaign trail. In fact he can't - there is a process that they must go through, and they are. He established a committee to review it, and now they're proceeding to a proposed rule-making phase, which will involve a public comment period. Jennifer Klein, who leads the Gender Policy Council, made encouraging remarks supporting the idea of a fair process for accuser and accused. I'll withhold judgement until I see the final outcome, but I'm hopeful. Biden isn't an ideologue.
2) The idea that Biden "wiped out girls sports" is just false. There was vague language in an executive order about protecting against discrimination on the basis of sex. Transgendered people already have restrictions on participation in sports at the professional and collegiate levels. As for high schools, this is being fought in the courts, which is where it will ultimately be decided. Again, we should avoid overestimating the power the federal government has here, and overreacting to anodyne statements of support for equal rights. That's to be expected.
3) The outcry over the "Proposed Priorities" in history and civics education requires some considerable reading between the lines. Nowhere is CRT mentioned (of course), and most of it is just the garden variety support for diversity that progressives have always supported. The 1619 Project, despite its flaws, is not the monstrosity it has been painted as and overall provides some valuable contributions to historical scholarship that can and should be incorporated into our teaching of history, so long as we can avoid the baloney about our country being founded for the purpose of protecting slavery, which has been roundly criticized from the left and the right. And the statement from Kendi was mostly fine, except for the part about racial disparities coming from racist policy - which is the big debate we're having now. And remember - this has been subject to a public comment phase (which just ended), and people have had their chance to weigh in. I have no doubt that segment of Kendi's was highlighted in many objections.
The bottom line is that Biden has prioritized initiatives with popular support. He's shown no inclination to simply ignore areas where there is considerable pushback from the American public - which is why I said it's ultimately up to us to make ourselves heard (which means we can't be satisfied with this stuff existing solely on substacks.) The man is serious about trying to unite America, but he has to walk a tightrope that will inevitably involve giving lip-service to some ideas that push some boundaries with some people. With Trump you get a ham-fisted response that feels satisfying to some people but ultimately just generates backlash from the other half of the country who justifyably feel like their president deliberately ignores (and despises) them. It's been said that in politics, the best solutions are often ones where nobody is happy. That's especially going to be true in these polarized times.
E73, As it turns out, I know a bit about what is happening in California. Of course, the people of California did vote (again) to reject racism in the public sector. So what? That fits entirely with the ‘most Democrats are not illiberal’ model. True, but meaningless.
The entire California establishment (Harris, Feinstein, Newson, almost every newspaper, Twitter, Facebook, United Airlines and PG&E, the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco 49ers, etc.) supported Prop. 16. Only the people were opposed.
However, the reality of AA did not change. Racial quotas were de rigueur before Prop. 209 (and more recently Prop. 16) and still are. Of course, the are called ‘holistic admissions’ now.
The bottom line is that California was firmly in the hands of the identity politics left before Prop. 16 and still is.
“Although I have to say I think you're being unfair to Zheong” Her name is Sarah Jeong.
As for here genocidal rhetoric, let me quote from Andrew Sullivan
“A little more disturbing is what you might call “eliminationist” rhetoric — language that wishes an entire race could be wiped off the face of the earth: “#cancelwhitepeople.” Or: “White people have stopped breeding. you’ll all go extinct soon. that was my plan all along.””
Also from Andrew Sullivan
“One simple rule I have about describing groups of human beings is that I try not to use a term that equates them with animals. Jeong apparently has no problem doing so. Speaking of animals, here’s another gem: “Dumbass fucking white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants.””
Is she serious? In this case, we don’t need to use Andrew Sullivan as a source. She is a serious, mostly (totally?) humorless person. Take a look at “The Internet of Garbage” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUSctMLLNUE). Her speech is long and serious. In the Q&A after her speech she comments on “men, white men, and why the world sucks”. Check out 1:02:40 to 1:03:30. If she is kidding, it wasn’t apparent to me.
Of course, it gets worse…
Her stand on the Jackie UVA Rolling Stone rape case is odd. Sort of puts her in “holocaust denial” territory. By contrast, most leftists / feminists backed off pretty quickly when it because apparent that Jackie Coakley made the whole thing up.
“The awarding of federal contracts is pretty much the extent of the executive's reach”
Wow is that far off. Executive orders can (and do) cover any educational institution that receives Federal funds (as in all of them). Apparently you have never heard of Title IX.
“The idea that Biden "wiped out girls sports" is just false”
Sadly, it is quite true. Quote from “Joe Biden’s First Day Began the End of Girls’ Sports - An executive order rigs competition by requiring that biological boys be allowed to compete against girls”. Let me quote from Abigail Shrier
“The Biden executive order is far more ambitious. Any school that receives federal funding—including nearly every public high school—must either allow biological boys who self-identify as girls onto girls’ sports teams or face administrative action from the Education Department. If this policy were to be broadly adopted in anticipation of the regulations that are no doubt on the way, what would this mean for girls’ and women’s sports?
“Finished. Done,” Olympic track-and-field coach Linda Blade told me.”
“The 1619 Project, despite its flaws, is not the monstrosity it has been painted as and overall provides some valuable contributions to historical scholarship”
Actually, it is. The 1619 project is based on the claim that racism is the fundamental story of the USA. To use one (non-trivial) example, supposedly the American Revolution was fought to protect slavery. That’s’ laughable propaganda that would be an embarrassment to Goebbels.
It turns out that NHJ has a record of deceit and dishonesty that long predates the 1619 project. Of course, she is PC so no one is allowed to criticize her.
I checked some of the history of Trump’s ban on CRT training. Not much of what you are claiming is true.
“Trump banned DEI training in the Federal government”
Trump’s ban started as a reaction to mandatory CRT propaganda at Sandia Labs. Sandia is not part of the Federal Government (of course, it gets most of its money from the Federal Government). As for employees speaking out. The reality is climate of fear and retribution. One employee (Casey Petersen) did speak out against ‘woke’ propaganda. He was promptly put on leave.
Of course, PC terrorism isn’t limited Sandia Labs. For example, Antonio Garcia Martinez was fired from Apple for a paragraph in a book he wrote eleven years ago.
“But the far left isn't as influential as you might think”
Actually it is. Most Americans don’t buy into the PC BS. However, every institution in America including the government, the military, K-12 education, universities, the media, Hollywood, Tech, SV, NGO, corporations, etc. is utterly dominated by it. A few examples.
Google gets 23,800 hits for "Tony Timpa", 58,400 hits for "Justine Damond", and 39,400,000 for "George Floyd". Some lives count for a lot more than others. Some lives barely matter at all. Tony Timpa died at the hands of the Dallas police under circumstances somewhat similar to George Floyd (in many ways worse). Never heard of him? That's exactly the point. Some lives just don't matter. A lady by the name of Justine Diamond was killed by the Minneapolis police. Never heard of her? That's exactly the point. Some lives just don't matter
The New York Times actually hired a fanatical racist (Sarah Jeong) for its editorial board. Her history of bigotry was no obstacle to her getting the job. It may have even helped. Of course, she was no ordinary racist. Genocide advocate would be more like it
Quote “How much harder is it for an Asian-American applicant? Mr. Zhao and the complaint cite 2009 research by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade that found an Asian-American student must earn an SAT score 140 points higher than a white student, 270 points higher than a Hispanic and 450 points higher than an African-American, all else being equal. So if a white applicant scored 2160 on the SAT, lower than last year’s Harvard average, an Asian-American would need to hit 2300, well into the 99% percentile, to have an equal chance at getting in.”
In the USA, police are more likely to kill whites than blacks. Check the actual research of Ronald G. Fryer and Joseph Cesario on this subject.
One sad anecdote demonstrates the complete dominance of the identity politics far-left. Smith College has turned itself upside down in opposition to ‘racism’ that supposedly exists everywhere, including Smith. This effort has been relentlessly pushed by Kathleen McCartney. One former Smith employee (Jodi Shah) has opposed this effort. Of course, she was forced out for her heresy. KM earned is paid more than $500K by Smith. Jodi Shah earned less than Smith charges in tuition.
“Biden has mostly ignored the Twitter crowd”
Sadly, that is not true. His executive orders on CRT, wiping out girl’s sports, and campus investigations of alleged sexual misconduct have been straight from Twitter and the far-left (the identity politics far left, not the economic far-left).
Well said. It seems that old-school liberals are stuck in this time warp of 25-30 years ago with the "bigoted" nonsense. They know the left is dangerously whacked, but they still refuse to support any Republican alternative because they cling to this outdated notion of the party harkening back to Pat Buchanan or whoever. In reality the Republicans are now the moderate party. They are the big-tent party. They are the party of the working class and free speech. It's completely reversed from what it was a generation ago. And there are still some things I don't like about them. But as the only viable alternative to the trainwreck of the Democrats, flawed though they may be, this Independent is now a straight-ticket voter.
Absolutely. Which party had a long standing KKK member as Senator? ... the democrats. Which party opposed the civil rights bill? The democrats. Which senator used the N word on the senate floor (I’ll give you a hint, he’s currently president). But somehow republicans are too bigoted to support.
I will give it a try. Intertextuality is the was all texts are related, connected, influence each other whether it is a novel, poem, newspaper article basically anything written. Fan fiction is a good example. The fan author's work of fiction enters the world of the original source, for example, Hunger games fanfic, Twilight fanfic, etc.
Intratextuality is um, echoing, foreshadowing, things like that within an author's own text. (Warning biblical reference bc my mind is a blank on other examples.) In Matthew the author echos Feeding the Masses in his account of the Last Supper.
I have a friend from India who has been quite vocal about what's going on in the West. He believes we've become swamped by "Third World thinking". That is, in nearly every possible way, we've betrayed the values that has made our civilization the best in human history.
We have replaced reason with passion; objectivity with subjectivity; equality with equity.
Taken together, with the vast demographic changes occurring everywhere in the West, the old intellectual underpinnings are being washed away.
This means those who are who are often smarter and more successful than the rest as a group - Jews, Asians for instance - are now facing unprecedented hostility. In a social construct where equality of outcome trumps equality of opportunity, those who have traditionally been at the top due to merit are in for a very rough ride.
The religious woke fanatics are hell-bent on crushing the human spirit and turning all of us (in particular our children) into revolutionaries.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has always animated the woke crowd, as it plays into their intersectionality mindset.
So now we're seeing where all of this wokeness and intersectionality is taking us: straight to hell.
Jews of all stripes need to wake up. The energy behind these ideas is gaining pace. Does anyone believe AOC, Omar and Talib aren't the future of the Democratic party?? It is a terrifying prospect.
Progressive Jews are not walking up. In fact they are doubling down in tragic denial. It's painful to watch their weakness but as they are so pathetic I try but cant bring myself to feel empathy for them. When I see videos of young Israeli woman with guns as part of the IDF or Police force fighting to not only protect their country (and ALL citizens) but the survival of the Jewish people I get so angry with these self loathing Jews here in the states.
I believe The Squad are not only the future of the Democratic Party, but the present. They are all relatively young, and are poised to be around for a long time if we don't wake up.
MM, You Indian friend is correct.
I that believe The (Goon) Squad, (or as I sometimes like to refer to them --Hitler's progeny) led by future POTUS AOC, future Secretary of State Rashida Tlaib, and future Minister of War Ilhan Omar are most definitely the future AND present of the Democrat Party.
Woe unto Jews here in America and elsewhere. if this comes to pass.
Woe unto all of us in America and elsewhere if this comes to pass.
Make no mistake about it. These people mean business, and they AIN'T playing! They are after power and they will say or do anything to achieve that objective.
The ongoing filth that spews mouth-frothingly from the gaping maw of the Squad as they regugitate the green slime of their hatred every day should chill the bones of Jew and Gentile alike.
The spinelessness demonstrated by Sen. Schumer et al is breathtaking.
The complicit cowardice of the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC and 100 other news bureaus is breathtaking.
The Squad and their ilk tell us every day who they are and what they're about.
We can never say that we didn't know.
We can never say that we weren't told.
It is on us now.
The squad are actually puppets backed by unseen, powerful and ultra-wealthy leftist forces. Especially AOC, who is supposedly actually from Westchester, not Queens (if Tucker Carlson is to be believed). If it weren't them, it would be someone else in their place. And if those skanks ever actually get into the White House, I'm leaving America for real. But I can't see it happening. I want to think a major uprising would happen before that could happen.
I have had the same thought about leaving if we ever get to that point. I think there’s a fair chance of it happening though.
Your friend may get in trouble for saying "third world". I believe the current approved focus-grouped euphemism is "developing nation".
"Developing" implies that it will eventually be fully developed. Which these countries will never be. They've been "developing" for a hundred years. Corrupt is more like it.
We agree, but unfortunately, 70% of American Jews disagree. My sense is their silence will boil over at some point. I just hope it’s not too late.
But why do the 70 percent feel the way they do? This week an AP reporter was sacked for making anti-Israel comments on social media. She was a Stanford grad who, during college, was an enthusiastic supporter of BDS. She also happened to be Jewish, from an Orthodox family. I would like to think she is an isolated case, but she’s not. Can someone help me understand this? Are woke sanctimony and virtue signaling so intoxicating that they can lead normally rational individuals to turn on their own people?
FBW, I can answer your question to some degree. I grew up in a family of activist Jewish Democrats. What really drove them? They were upset because WASP country clubs wouldn't admit them in the 1920s (which was quite true). If that seems petty/stupid to you...
I went into extensive storytelling on another one of Bari's articles about how I used to give anti-Israel presentations in class, and how and why I was propagandized and how and why I'm no longer. If you want a perspective from someone who's been there
Kudos.
Pew just published its 2020 Jewish American Survey. Google it and read it so you have a better understanding of how these people think. It was a very painful read.
Yes.
"We have replaced reason with passion; objectivity with subjectivity; equality with equity. "
That is a brilliant observation. In part, because I've been saying something similar, though not nearly so eloquently (passion replaced thinking, but not the other 2).
The short and not so sweet is a dynamic which finds purity in group think. Not actually around values, but around what they agree they hate.
I find nothing progressive about supporting Palestinians when these are top 3 factions running for president: one which calls for a holy war against Jews, one which pays people who murder Israeli Jews then calls the murderers holy and one whose leader is in prison for his role in murdering 5 Jews. They;'d get 90% of the vote and if you're somehow fine with that -- you're a lot more nazi than progressive.
There is no thought going on, just passion fed by lies. No objectivity, just group think surrounded by bullying. And certainly no desire for equality, just equity earned by being extreme bigots.
I can not indulge the right, they are too bigoted and too brainless on their own. But the Democratic party has an illness and it is pretty bad. Which is why I'm an independent.
Passion? Maybe. But firmly altruism which demands one toss reason out and side with what your brain insists is the oppressed. It is altruism that drives the Jewish left. Everyone else is just anti-Semitic. I don't say that easy as the anti racist crowd led by their grand pupa Ibrahim Kendi uses that twisted ideology in an insidious. But maybe it's the only language they understand so lets see how they like it.
There is no bigotry in the Republican Party. The media has been demonizing half of your friends and neighbors and coworkers strictly because they vote against the far left - and I’m kind of tired of it. It is simply not true.
the people chanting Jews won't replace us were just kidding? and the shirts of the Trump mob in the capitol also tell a different story.
are they not republicans bro? look at MTG's tweet today. You are kidding yourself if you think there is no bigotry in the republican party. you just say the same thing in a million comments dude.
It seems that people on this substack are waking up to how the media lies about the left and about Israel, but still believe all the gaslighting about the right being bigoted and uneducated. Keep opening your mind. Go to a local Dem or left organization event and then a or Rep or conservative event. See which side is more bigoted. I am someone who used to vote D but broke through the gaslighting. I’m still independent but understand that the only way we stop this madness in America now is if classic liberals, who believe in free speech and who believe in the words of MLK, vote Republican.
The extreme right are no angels but their numbers are insignificant and they have no power. The left has their hands on every lever of real power. That's dangerous and that why we must fight back.
The problem with the Republican Party isn't being "bigoted". That's a red herring that too many on the left mindlessly regurgitate.
The problem is that they are in thrall to a cult of personality that exists in an alternate reality, where most (around two-thirds or so) believe the presidency was stolen, and a disturbing proportion believe there is some truth to the theory that Democrats drink the blood of infants. And their politicians are too spineless to oppose a man who literally tried to overthrow our democracy.
You can call me a partisan if you want. I'm not. I'm an independent who's willing to vote for a Republican if I think he's the right person for the job. And I'm on these substacks because I'm alarmed about the growing illiberalism on the left.
But if you really want liberals to vote Republican, and to understand why most of them won't, you need to confront this serious problem on the right. I would call it "illiberalism" but I'm not sure that quite suffices. It's insanity enabled by political nihilism.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are becoming a far more diverse coalition than the caricatures the right chooses to elevate, especially with the support they're garnering from the moderate right because of the embrace of Trump. Among Democrats, the illiberals are still in the minority, regardless of what it seems like on Twitter. And we're dealing with this threat - the people that you read on these substacks are largely center-left individuals (Bari included) that are acutely aware that supporting Republicans right now is not a reasonable option - because this cynical, manipulative dishonesty has overtaken the Republican Party. That's why they're shouting so loud and fighting so hard - we have no choice but to clean up our side, because abandoning it is not an option.
Depends on where you live. I live in one of the poorest congressional districts along the border with Mexico and the illiberal left is dangerously in control. Their is a cultural aspect to this region that allows them to take advantage of it. I actually believe (hope I'm wrong) AOC can knock Chuck S out of his Senate seat.
The following is a quote from Bari Weiss
“Consider the fact that Hillary Clinton recorded a podcast with Nancy Pelosi this week in which she said of Trump: “I would love to see his phone records to see whether he was talking to Putin the day that the insurgents invaded our Capitol.” And the speaker of the House responded: “All roads lead to Putin.”
Really? That’s still the play after four years?
The group that fell for Russiagate has long owned the culture. Now it’s won the presidency and controls Congress. What will happen?”"
The most senior levels of the Democratic party are believers in a fantasy about something that never happened. But the Republicans are the crazy ones?
From the point of actual policy, and not personality, it doesn't make sense to vote democrat today. You're talking about personality. Your vote doesn't go on your resume. It's not the most important thing about you. You can vote for whoever you want. It's about policy.
I couldn't disagree with this more. Honestly, what policy does the Republican Party stand for? They don't even have a platform - they literally bound themselves to Trump's whims at the Republican convention.
Trump was all personality and no policy. His accomplishments were a giant tax cut for the wealthy and a superficial middle east "peace accord" between countries that were already at peace with one another. Overall his policy with Israel was to enable their most aggressive behavior and inflame tensions with Palestinians. His much touted anti-China stance lay dormant for much of his presidency - he killed the TPP, which had been negotiated specifically to combat China's economic hegemony, and it only took Xi about 15 minutes to have him eating out of his hand and mouthing Chinese propaganda about COVID before he realized they'd be a useful political scapegoat. Of course, he couldn't say anything while he was still negotiating the low-hanging fruit of a measly partial trade policy, which was basically reduced to a game of chicken without the leverage the TPP would have granted him. And his "negotiations" with North Korea were *all* personality - they accomplished nothing as far as retarding Kim's nuclear program, but succeeded in giving a psychopath the legitimacy of an embarrassing bromance with the leader of the free world. I could go on like this.
The point I'm making here is that Trump was an incompetent fraud who was in way over his head, and flying by the seat of his pants. And right now the Republican Party is completely beholden to his whims. They want to move beyond him but they can't, because they were too cynical to stop him before the party became dominated by Trump's personality cult. Now their voters won't let them move on. And it isn't because of policy - it's because Trump isn't afraid to shove his thumb in the eye of the people they hate, and they think that's a good reason to make someone president.
The things that you don't like on the left are likely the same things I don't like. But they're largely cultural matters that neither Republicans or Democrats can do a damn thing about. The President has limited ability to do much about CRT in schools or universities, and frankly that isn't what our federal government should be focusing on. Supporting Republicans at the local level may be a different matter, but many of them are beholden to Trump as well.
So is that really what you want? Politicians whose "policy" is determined by catering to an egomaniacal culture warrior who is terrible at actually governing, and whose needless provocations only further inflame our "culture wars" and strengthen the far left's cultural influence?
I agree with some of what you stated. I consider myself a Burkean conservative and reject the Republican club as they are not conservatives. The Republicans believe in centralized government just like the Dems. They are both State-ists. I did not vote for the Don and consider him a misogynistic pagan, narcissistic asshole. But I did not vote for Hillary either as she is corrupt. Their was nothing conservative about the Dons policies. His economic practices were right out of the Bernie Sanders play book (Tariffs and more BS). But I separated the Donald from his administration. Some good things happened. Corporate tax cut excellent. Individual tax cut no because they didn't cut spending. Ironically the Don signed into law the first step act, launched the Abraham accords (Path to real peace), stopped the Iranian talks as trying to negotiate with this bunch is silly as they are terrorist's that lie and are making fools of all the Obama retreads sitting in Vienna. The Don didn't get us into War and we had a solid economy before COVID. But the press lost their minds and distorted reality in their coverage. Very dangerous stuff. If you took the man out of the equation and did a side with say Obama I believe on balance his administration was fine by our low standards. Now Joe Biden a good man however he stands for nothing. He is moving the country dangerously to the extreme left expanding to a place that will make our country unrecognizable. I agree that the Republican club is not a great alternative but the strategy may be just to slow the extreme left down. That's why some may vote for Republicans at the local level. I do believe you may be underestimating the influence of the extreme left that is taking control of the once proud Democratic party that stood for all American workers. . Perhaps the Democrat's can pull back from the brink before the their extreme left completely destroys our American Values. Where we probably completely agree much of the Republican club may follow their cult leader into the abyss.
Eric73, re: your misrepresentation of the Abraham Accords as “a superficial middle east ‘peace accord’ between countries that were already at peace with one another. Overall his policy with Israel was to enable their most aggressive behavior and inflame tensions with Palestinians.” INCORRECT - no Arab League nation who signed on to the Accords - nor any who support it & are pending - were “at peace with“ Israel prior. Moreover, you not only failed to identify even one instance of Israel engaging in “aggressive behavior” and “inflaming tensions with the Palestinians,” you also gave HAMAS a pass for their repeated air assaults using rockets, missiles and incendiary balloons targeting Israeli civilians. You clearly understand nothing about the nature or history of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, so don’t bother to reply.
You're splitting hairs over Trump's foreign policy, meanwhile Biden does actively fund Iran-Hamas terror attacks against Israel. I mean, I never cared about Trump, I thought he was a pretty moderate president in terms of policy and did some interesting things for the justice system, but Biden is somewhat responsible for the current escalations in Gaza, and still intends to pivot towards Iran even more. It's a joke. I will never vote democrat if this is their "moderate" wing. I don't love the Republican party, but they don't offend me as much as they seem to offend you. I don't vote for personality. I vote for policy. When I say policy, that sometimes means voting for the party which will not implement anything. Who needs overlegislating? Who needs a nanny state? America's biggest problems are cultural, you're right. I don't need more crappy legislation that claims to be able to "fix" the problems that America faces. And somehow, I have a feeling that the antisemitism we're seeing is directly related to the Dems being in power. It's just a feeling. There's plenty of semitism around with any party, but this seems connected to idiot democrats in power shooting off their mouth about Israel. Ugh. Maybe I'm a hypocrite, I don't know. I find them so distasteful. And again - who cares about Trump or who's beholden to him. He's so not a factor...he was good for Israel...enough with it already. He never offended me. It was all projection.
Biden has been on the wrong side of just about every geo-political issue for the last 40 years. He couldn't even get on board with the killing of OBL an issue on which everyone could get behind.
I think it's 47
Ill-liberals may be a minority among Democrats (they probably are), but they are they ones running the show. The comparison here is brutal. Trump blocked CRT. Biden reversed Trump's ban. At this point. the Republicans are far closer to MLK's dream than the Democrats.
Trump banned DEI training in the Federal government. That's it, and it's all he has the power to do. And it's not clear how much of it, if any, was based on CRT. As a former longtime federal employee I guarantee you that if the garbage we've heard about at some schools and colleges showed up in federal training, people would speak up. Federal employees aren't ideologically homogenous like in academia, and they have much better job security.
And again, note that I explicitly avoided bigotry in my criticisms of the Republican Party.
Not that it isn't there, and Trump demonstrated plenty of it with his demonization of refugees and immigrants from countries he deems undesirable.
But the far left isn't as influential as you might think. They got plenty of pushback from within the party from catering to the excesses from the summer, particularly the "defund the police" nonsense. And look at how they jumped all over Omar a couple of years ago for making some boilerplate criticism of the Israel lobby. The Democratic Party is still controlled by the center-left for one simple reason - the far left doesn't represent America. Biden has mostly ignored the Twitter crowd, because he has a keen awareness of what most Americans actually think. That's why he's not afraid to say most police are good people doing their jobs, and that America isn't a racist country, and that we shouldn't take down statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Bottom line - if you want to fight CRT, then we need to make sure it stays unpopular with the American people by educating people about it. The Republican Party won't save you from it. Because they are bound to Trump by fear, and Trump does nothing but inflame the far left and give them more power.
E73, You are naïve about how far CRT has already progressed in the USA. California recently banned the use of the ACT and SAT. Pure CRT. California adopted K-12 educational guidelines based on CRT.
Here is a quote that may help you.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” By Martin Niemöller
Who will left to speak for you?
E73, Here is an test of where real power lies in the US. If you are member of a protected class you can say "Bitches Ain't Shit But Hoes and Tricks" and beat up women without mercy and there will be no consequences. Conversely, if you are not a member of a protected class you will be fired.
Peter, I think you have some misconceptions about where I stand on these issues. I am opposed to the illiberalism I'm seeing on the left. That's why I'm on these various substacks. You don't have to regale me with these stories or fashionable quotes. I've heard them.
And I'm not naive. I realize there are some egregious overreactions being pursued at the moment. I simply believe they're going to fail. Remember that California is also the state that just upheld a ban on affirmative action in college admissions - because it was subject to a public referendum where the actual will of the people, not liberal elites, was represented. The people will ultimately have their say with regard to other such measures.
Although I have to say I think you're being unfair to Zheong. She deserves the same grace that we should give everyone for their past, ill-considered tweets. (Genocidal? Seriously?) Aren't we supposed to be opposed to cancel culture and kneejerk accusations of racism?
As you mentioned, Sandia Labs isn't part of the Federal Government; contractors have their own cultures, which I can't speak for (nor do their employees have the kind of job security that I spoke of). But OK, my statement didn't account for them, fair enough. My point is that the Federal government has limited ability to dictate what gets taught at schools and universities, which is the real problem here. The awarding of federal contracts is pretty much the extent of the executive's reach. Denying federal funds can only be done through Congress.
As for the comment about Biden responding to the Twitter crowd, a few points:
1) Biden has not reversed DeVos's changes to the Campus Sexual Assault guidance, despite saying he would on the campaign trail. In fact he can't - there is a process that they must go through, and they are. He established a committee to review it, and now they're proceeding to a proposed rule-making phase, which will involve a public comment period. Jennifer Klein, who leads the Gender Policy Council, made encouraging remarks supporting the idea of a fair process for accuser and accused. I'll withhold judgement until I see the final outcome, but I'm hopeful. Biden isn't an ideologue.
2) The idea that Biden "wiped out girls sports" is just false. There was vague language in an executive order about protecting against discrimination on the basis of sex. Transgendered people already have restrictions on participation in sports at the professional and collegiate levels. As for high schools, this is being fought in the courts, which is where it will ultimately be decided. Again, we should avoid overestimating the power the federal government has here, and overreacting to anodyne statements of support for equal rights. That's to be expected.
3) The outcry over the "Proposed Priorities" in history and civics education requires some considerable reading between the lines. Nowhere is CRT mentioned (of course), and most of it is just the garden variety support for diversity that progressives have always supported. The 1619 Project, despite its flaws, is not the monstrosity it has been painted as and overall provides some valuable contributions to historical scholarship that can and should be incorporated into our teaching of history, so long as we can avoid the baloney about our country being founded for the purpose of protecting slavery, which has been roundly criticized from the left and the right. And the statement from Kendi was mostly fine, except for the part about racial disparities coming from racist policy - which is the big debate we're having now. And remember - this has been subject to a public comment phase (which just ended), and people have had their chance to weigh in. I have no doubt that segment of Kendi's was highlighted in many objections.
The bottom line is that Biden has prioritized initiatives with popular support. He's shown no inclination to simply ignore areas where there is considerable pushback from the American public - which is why I said it's ultimately up to us to make ourselves heard (which means we can't be satisfied with this stuff existing solely on substacks.) The man is serious about trying to unite America, but he has to walk a tightrope that will inevitably involve giving lip-service to some ideas that push some boundaries with some people. With Trump you get a ham-fisted response that feels satisfying to some people but ultimately just generates backlash from the other half of the country who justifyably feel like their president deliberately ignores (and despises) them. It's been said that in politics, the best solutions are often ones where nobody is happy. That's especially going to be true in these polarized times.
E73, As it turns out, I know a bit about what is happening in California. Of course, the people of California did vote (again) to reject racism in the public sector. So what? That fits entirely with the ‘most Democrats are not illiberal’ model. True, but meaningless.
The entire California establishment (Harris, Feinstein, Newson, almost every newspaper, Twitter, Facebook, United Airlines and PG&E, the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco 49ers, etc.) supported Prop. 16. Only the people were opposed.
However, the reality of AA did not change. Racial quotas were de rigueur before Prop. 209 (and more recently Prop. 16) and still are. Of course, the are called ‘holistic admissions’ now.
The bottom line is that California was firmly in the hands of the identity politics left before Prop. 16 and still is.
“Although I have to say I think you're being unfair to Zheong” Her name is Sarah Jeong.
As for here genocidal rhetoric, let me quote from Andrew Sullivan
“A little more disturbing is what you might call “eliminationist” rhetoric — language that wishes an entire race could be wiped off the face of the earth: “#cancelwhitepeople.” Or: “White people have stopped breeding. you’ll all go extinct soon. that was my plan all along.””
Also from Andrew Sullivan
“One simple rule I have about describing groups of human beings is that I try not to use a term that equates them with animals. Jeong apparently has no problem doing so. Speaking of animals, here’s another gem: “Dumbass fucking white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants.””
Is she serious? In this case, we don’t need to use Andrew Sullivan as a source. She is a serious, mostly (totally?) humorless person. Take a look at “The Internet of Garbage” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUSctMLLNUE). Her speech is long and serious. In the Q&A after her speech she comments on “men, white men, and why the world sucks”. Check out 1:02:40 to 1:03:30. If she is kidding, it wasn’t apparent to me.
Of course, it gets worse…
Her stand on the Jackie UVA Rolling Stone rape case is odd. Sort of puts her in “holocaust denial” territory. By contrast, most leftists / feminists backed off pretty quickly when it because apparent that Jackie Coakley made the whole thing up.
“The awarding of federal contracts is pretty much the extent of the executive's reach”
Wow is that far off. Executive orders can (and do) cover any educational institution that receives Federal funds (as in all of them). Apparently you have never heard of Title IX.
“The idea that Biden "wiped out girls sports" is just false”
Sadly, it is quite true. Quote from “Joe Biden’s First Day Began the End of Girls’ Sports - An executive order rigs competition by requiring that biological boys be allowed to compete against girls”. Let me quote from Abigail Shrier
“The Biden executive order is far more ambitious. Any school that receives federal funding—including nearly every public high school—must either allow biological boys who self-identify as girls onto girls’ sports teams or face administrative action from the Education Department. If this policy were to be broadly adopted in anticipation of the regulations that are no doubt on the way, what would this mean for girls’ and women’s sports?
“Finished. Done,” Olympic track-and-field coach Linda Blade told me.”
“The 1619 Project, despite its flaws, is not the monstrosity it has been painted as and overall provides some valuable contributions to historical scholarship”
Actually, it is. The 1619 project is based on the claim that racism is the fundamental story of the USA. To use one (non-trivial) example, supposedly the American Revolution was fought to protect slavery. That’s’ laughable propaganda that would be an embarrassment to Goebbels.
It turns out that NHJ has a record of deceit and dishonesty that long predates the 1619 project. Of course, she is PC so no one is allowed to criticize her.
E73,
I checked some of the history of Trump’s ban on CRT training. Not much of what you are claiming is true.
“Trump banned DEI training in the Federal government”
Trump’s ban started as a reaction to mandatory CRT propaganda at Sandia Labs. Sandia is not part of the Federal Government (of course, it gets most of its money from the Federal Government). As for employees speaking out. The reality is climate of fear and retribution. One employee (Casey Petersen) did speak out against ‘woke’ propaganda. He was promptly put on leave.
Of course, PC terrorism isn’t limited Sandia Labs. For example, Antonio Garcia Martinez was fired from Apple for a paragraph in a book he wrote eleven years ago.
“But the far left isn't as influential as you might think”
Actually it is. Most Americans don’t buy into the PC BS. However, every institution in America including the government, the military, K-12 education, universities, the media, Hollywood, Tech, SV, NGO, corporations, etc. is utterly dominated by it. A few examples.
Google gets 23,800 hits for "Tony Timpa", 58,400 hits for "Justine Damond", and 39,400,000 for "George Floyd". Some lives count for a lot more than others. Some lives barely matter at all. Tony Timpa died at the hands of the Dallas police under circumstances somewhat similar to George Floyd (in many ways worse). Never heard of him? That's exactly the point. Some lives just don't matter. A lady by the name of Justine Diamond was killed by the Minneapolis police. Never heard of her? That's exactly the point. Some lives just don't matter
The New York Times actually hired a fanatical racist (Sarah Jeong) for its editorial board. Her history of bigotry was no obstacle to her getting the job. It may have even helped. Of course, she was no ordinary racist. Genocide advocate would be more like it
Quote “How much harder is it for an Asian-American applicant? Mr. Zhao and the complaint cite 2009 research by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade that found an Asian-American student must earn an SAT score 140 points higher than a white student, 270 points higher than a Hispanic and 450 points higher than an African-American, all else being equal. So if a white applicant scored 2160 on the SAT, lower than last year’s Harvard average, an Asian-American would need to hit 2300, well into the 99% percentile, to have an equal chance at getting in.”
In the USA, police are more likely to kill whites than blacks. Check the actual research of Ronald G. Fryer and Joseph Cesario on this subject.
One sad anecdote demonstrates the complete dominance of the identity politics far-left. Smith College has turned itself upside down in opposition to ‘racism’ that supposedly exists everywhere, including Smith. This effort has been relentlessly pushed by Kathleen McCartney. One former Smith employee (Jodi Shah) has opposed this effort. Of course, she was forced out for her heresy. KM earned is paid more than $500K by Smith. Jodi Shah earned less than Smith charges in tuition.
“Biden has mostly ignored the Twitter crowd”
Sadly, that is not true. His executive orders on CRT, wiping out girl’s sports, and campus investigations of alleged sexual misconduct have been straight from Twitter and the far-left (the identity politics far left, not the economic far-left).
Well said. It seems that old-school liberals are stuck in this time warp of 25-30 years ago with the "bigoted" nonsense. They know the left is dangerously whacked, but they still refuse to support any Republican alternative because they cling to this outdated notion of the party harkening back to Pat Buchanan or whoever. In reality the Republicans are now the moderate party. They are the big-tent party. They are the party of the working class and free speech. It's completely reversed from what it was a generation ago. And there are still some things I don't like about them. But as the only viable alternative to the trainwreck of the Democrats, flawed though they may be, this Independent is now a straight-ticket voter.
Absolutely. Which party had a long standing KKK member as Senator? ... the democrats. Which party opposed the civil rights bill? The democrats. Which senator used the N word on the senate floor (I’ll give you a hint, he’s currently president). But somehow republicans are too bigoted to support.
And my last point is exactly why the media works so hard to demonize the right.
You don’t necessarily have to smear “the right” with an honest indictment of “the left”. If there are specific problems you have then elucidate them
Thank you so much for this perspective, it's interesting to see it from a slightly different angle that I hadn't thought of before
Your friend is so right and I am happy to see how he verbalizes what I too, an immigrant, have felt for several years.
I see it as going from a world of intertextuality (a dialectic approach) to intratextuality (a fundamentalist, rote approach).
Wokeness is a no-holds barred attack on competence and distinction, and an addiction to power.
Can you explain intertextuality and intratextuality in layman's terms? I've never heard those words used before
I will give it a try. Intertextuality is the was all texts are related, connected, influence each other whether it is a novel, poem, newspaper article basically anything written. Fan fiction is a good example. The fan author's work of fiction enters the world of the original source, for example, Hunger games fanfic, Twilight fanfic, etc.
Intratextuality is um, echoing, foreshadowing, things like that within an author's own text. (Warning biblical reference bc my mind is a blank on other examples.) In Matthew the author echos Feeding the Masses in his account of the Last Supper.