HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Behind RPI’s Highly Paid Chief, Tales of an Imperial Air and Cowed Staff: Shirley Ann Jackson of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earned $7-million in 2012, tops among private-college leaders. It’s subscriber-only, but the headline says it all.
UPDATE: From the comments: “Sad – when I went to Rensselaer, the president of the University was the person who put a man on the moon. Now the president is a Clinton era moonbat.”
JAZZ SHAW: The Time Is Past For Bill de Blasio To Resign: “I’m not going to beat around the bush here. It is time for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to resign. Yesterday’s assassination of two of New York City’s finest was only the latest and most devastating brush stroke on a canvas which has been coming into focus for months. When you are the mayor of a city you have many responsibilities, but one of the most vital (in terms of maintaining a functional societal structure) is the mandate to enforce the laws and maintain social order. It is the same for mayors everywhere, as well as governors and presidents. But currently, the state of relations between City Hall and the New York Police Department has devolved to the point of complete dysfunction, and criminals are well aware of this state of affairs. The fault for the creation of this toxic atmosphere is essentially found solely at the feet of Mayor de Blasio.”
AT AMAZON, Holiday Deals in Automotive.
NOW THAT’S CLASSY: President George W. Bush Plays Santa At Children’s Hospital In Dallas.
Plus: “Bush’s Secret Service dressed as elves.”
NARRATIVE UBER ALLES: Time: Right-Wing Militias Are The Real Threat To Cops.
THE PHYSICS OF PEOPLE: In crowds, human ‘particles’ follow laws of movement.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: A Wave Crests: Silicon Valley, Postsecondary Education And A Half-Trillion Dollars.
FROM SARAH HOYT: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear — Complete short story. Free on her site.
UNLESS YOU’RE STEPHEN GREEN, WHEN IT’S EVERY DAY: Poll Shows Drunkest Days of the Year.
A HEARTWARMING STORY: Home burglary suspect dies after homeowner shot him. “Neither the homeowner nor his fiance were hurt in the incident.”
AT AMAZON, 30% off Coats, Sweaters, Sleepwear, and More. For men, women, and kids.
Also, 25% off on Shoes, Boots & More. I got a nice pair of Redwing insulated boots not long ago. They were only 14EE, and I wear a 14EEEE, but the cut was generous enough that they fit fine, even with thick socks. You don’t need heavy winter boots all that often in Knoxville, but I like to have them when I do.
I HAD MY SHOTS, BUT NOW I GUESS I HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE VITAMIN D: Flu outbreak spreading rapidly in U.S. “Health experts say part of the problem is that this year’s vaccine doesn’t provide protection for H3N2, the strain of the influenza that’s currently making the rounds. This year’s vaccine does help protect against H1N1 and one or two strains of influenza B. Earlier this month the CDC issued a health advisory stating that only 48 percent of flu virus samples taken through last month were closely related to this year’s vaccine.”
TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY FOR two-day shipping in time for Christmas at Amazon.
A CONNECTION BETWEEN sleep apnea and dementia?
UPDATE: Sorry, said Alzheimer’s before. That was an error.
WELL, GOOD: LAPD Is Buying Body Cameras for its Cops.
TOM MAGUIRE: Hey, what about that cop-killing video the public defenders made? “Don’t be waiting for the NY Times coverage – two cops dead in their city following a ‘kill some cops’ video filmed in their city? Nothing to see here…”
Hey, it’s not like a Sarah Palin leaflet with target symbols or something.
IN THE MAIL: From Frank Portman, King Dork Approximately. Love Doktor Frank.
Plus, today only at Amazon: Nokia Lumia 520 GoPhone (AT&T), $19.99 (80% off).
And, also today only: TRX Suspension Trainer Basic Kit + Door Anchor, $129.99 (32% off). Hey, it’s not Rippetoe, but it’ll fit in a suitcase.
TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 591. Biggest news: The IRS has so far released only one percent of the documents relating to the targeting scandal.
A REPORT FROM ZOMBIE: Bill Maher Speech at UC Berkeley Unaffected by Small Protests.
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Next Up in America: The Liberal Retreat.
As the United States staggers toward the seventh year of Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House, a growing disquiet permeates the ranks of the American left. After six years of the most liberal President since Jimmy Carter, the nation doesn’t seem to be asking for a second helping. Even though the multiyear rollout of Obamacare was carefully crafted to put all the popular features up front, delaying less popular changes into the far future, the program remains unpopular. Trust in the fairness and competence of government is pushing toward new lows in the polls, even though the government is now in the hands of forward-looking, progressive Democrats rather than antediluvian Gopers.
For liberals, these are bleak times of hollow victories (Obamacare) and tipping points that don’t tip. For examples of the latter, think of Sandy Hook, the horrific massacre in Connecticut that Democrats and liberals everywhere believed would finally push the American public toward gun control. Two years later, polls show more Americans than ever before think it’s more important to protect gun access than to promote gun control.
Sandy Hook isn’t the only example. There was the latest 2014 IPCC report on climate change that was going to end the debate once and for all. The chances for legislative action on climate change in the new Congress: zero or less. There was Ferguson and the Garner videotape showing the fatal chokehold, both of which set off a wave of protests but seem unlikely to change public attitudes about the police. There was the Senate Intelligence Committee “torture report” that was going to settle the issue of treatment of detainees. Again, the polls are rolling in suggesting that the public remains exactly where it was: supportive of “torture” under certain circumstances. And of course there was the blockbuster Rolling Stone article on campus rape at UVA, the story that, before it abruptly collapsed, was going to cement public support for the Obama administration’s aggressive attempt to federalize the treatment of sexual harassment on campuses around the country. . . .
Shell-shocked liberals are beginning to grasp some inconvenient truths. No gun massacre is horrible enough to change Americans’ ideas about gun control. No UN Climate Report will get a climate treaty through the U.S. Senate. No combination of anecdotal and statistical evidence will persuade Americans to end their longtime practice of giving police officers extremely wide discretion in the use of force. No “name and shame” report, however graphic, from the Senate Intelligence Committee staff will change the minds of the consistent majority of Americans who tell pollsters that they believe that torture is justifiable under at least some circumstances. No feminist campaign will convince enough voters that the presumption of innocence should not apply to those accused of rape.
It’s like Americans insist on remaining Americans.
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