Archive for 2021
February 9, 2021
DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Bari Weiss on ‘Spirit Murder,’ Neo-Segregation and Science Denial in American Schools.
The Seattle Public Schools are saying that the education system is committing “spirit murder” against black children. The New York City Public schools are telling white teachers they are guilty of the same. Spirit murdering has even made its way into the new administration: Joe Biden’s Deputy Secretary of Education, Cindy Marten, as superintendent of the San Diego Schools, endorsed the idea, as well as the notion that white teachers should undergo “antiracist therapy.”
In the meantime, David Kirkland, the Vice Dean of Equity at NYU Steinhardt Metro Center has upped the ante, saying that schools are “murdering the bodies of our children.” Watch:
If this is true, the Department of Education should open up an investigation this afternoon. Meantime, I wonder what Michael Steinhardt makes of Kirkland’s claim.The state of California is about to adopt an Ethnic Studies Curriculum based in Critical Race Theory. North Carolina just did that for its K-12 history standards. I could go on.
And that’s just the ideological takeover. The harm that is being done to children — especially poor and minority children — by the refusal of teachers unions to go back into the classroom despite the guidance of the CDC and the promises of Joe Biden is a generational crime.
Read the whole thing.
IT USED TO BE 20%. Study: About half of global wastewater is treated.
STREISAND EFFECT: Psychology Today removes professor’s column calling actor Seth Rogen a hypocrite. Professor Gad Saad’s censored opinion piece now published by three other outlets.
Including the Post Millennial: Gad Saad: The moral hypocrisy of celebrities—the case of Seth Rogen.
I FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE, AND TROUBLING IF TRUE: Survey: 3 out of 4 people in U.S. will continue wearing masks after pandemic. “Nearly three out of four people in the United States plan to continue wearing masks in public even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, according to a survey conducted by Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Four out of five said they also will continue to avoid crowds, and 90% of participants said they will maintain frequent handwashing and sanitizer use after the coronavirus has been contained.”
On the other hand, if people will actually wash their hands now and again, that would be progress.
YOU STAY CLASSY, WAPO: Washington Post criticized for Marty Schottenheimer death headline.
You really have to deliver the goods to get the royal obit treatment at the WaPo: Washington Post faces backlash for headline calling ISIS terrorist ‘austere religious scholar.’
COMPANY TOWNS, DIGITAL EDITION: Tech Companies Could Form Their Own Governments Under a New Nevada Proposal.
GOT WOKE, WENT BROKE: Super Bowl Falls to Lowest TV Viewership in 15 Years. The lede on this Front Office Sports article is a classic:
The puzzling drop in sports TV viewership continues with the Super Bowl falling to its lowest numbers in 15 years.
It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.
UPDATE (FROM GLENN): As America’s Newspaper of Record put it: Conservatives Sit Down For A Relaxing Evening Of Being Insulted By Every Major Corporation In America.
JOEL KOTKIN: Environmentalism Is the New War on the Working Class.
John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s new climate czar, took a private jet to accept an environmental award in Iceland in 2019. “It’s the only choice for somebody like me, who is traveling the world to win this battle,” he unironically told a reporter when asked about it.
If this sounds like a clueless joke, it’s not. President Biden’s chief environmental officer took the least carbon-efficient means of travel known to man because it was “the only choice” he could think of for a member in good standing of the indulged upper classes.
But this is no anomaly when it comes to liberal climate activism; it is a perfect encapsulation of what it has become: a vanity project of the jet set that directly harms working-class interests. And it’s this green agenda that directly threatens the working class that Biden has prioritized as he has taken command of the federal government.
Has he prioritized it? Really?
One thing that’s odd about today’s Gentry Class. They don’t just want to rule over the working class, they actively want to make the working class’s life worse.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: ‘Trying to rewrite history?’ Nikole Hannah-Jones has apparently decided to avoid future charges of hypocrisy by wiping her Twitter slate clean.
She does that periodically rather than admit she screwed up. Flashback to June: Walter Duranty Deletes Twitter Account.
NEW YORK TIMES MELTDOWN PLAYS OUT IN PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP:
The “resignation” of star New York Times science writer Donald McNeil Jr. has sparked a furious back-and-forth among Times staffers, many of whom are outraged over the Gray Lady’s handling of his departure.
The Washington Free Beacon reviewed a series of postings to a Facebook group for current and former Times staffers, where a tense debate is unfolding over McNeil’s exit. One camp argues that his dismissal was justified and another asserts it set a troubling precedent, which the New York Times union should have done more to prevent.
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Baquet’s statement in particular came in for scathing criticism in the Facebook discussion. “‘We do not tolerate racist language regardless of intent’ might be the most racist statement I’ve ever read,” said Lawrence De Maria, an award-winning crime and finance reporter. “It demeans ALL races.”
It is also untrue: “Larry Wilmore did not say, ‘You did it, my n***er,’” Hannah-Jones wrote in 2016, referencing the black comedian’s routine at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. There is a “linguistic difference b/w n***er and n***a.”
The Washington Free Beacon asked Hannah-Jones whether intent made a difference in her case. She responded by posting this reporter’s inquiry, including his cell phone number, on Twitter, in direct violation of the website’s terms of service.
To be fair, that’s the Gray Lady’s raison d’etre in 2021.
Presumably, nothing will happen to Hannah-Jones after doxxing another journalist, but as Ed Morrissey writes, “Journalists should have some professional courtesy when fielding inquiries from other media outlets over issues. Even if they don’t want to respond, a simple “no comment” is all that is necessary. Doxxing another reporter over a reportorial inquiry should itself be a firing offense, especially after hearing over the last four years how dangerous their occupation had become under Donald Trump. Would Baquet tolerate that kind of reaction against one of his own reporters? Or would he demand that the person get fired? The New York Times appears afflicted in equal measure by both hypocrisy and entitlement. Both are at levels fatal to its credibility.”
RULE OF LAW OR WHATEVS: Biden prepares rules to limit ICE arrests, deportations. “They’ve abolished ICE without abolishing ICE.”
THE FOLKS AT REASON, WHO MOSTLY OPPOSED TRUMP, ARE SHOCKED: Instead of Lifting Trump’s Tariffs, Biden Is Imposing More of Them.
VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: Biden Calls Up ‘Ordinary American,’ Cringeworthy Conversation Ensues.
Insanity Wrap needs to know: Who the hell needs a script just to have a nice conversation with one of your constituents?
Answer: If we have to tell you, you must have slept through the last year — lucky you.
Before we get to the sordid details, a quick preview of today’s Wrap.
- Progress! From “driving while black” to “walking while Asian” in Los Angeles
- Australia set to outlaw praying for transgenders
- Five million cellphone accounts disappeared from “We’re All Fine Here, Thanks”, China
Bonus Sanity: We had to import some from France, but we found it for you.
So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.
AND FOR OUR VIP SUPPORTERS: It’s Your God-Given, Constitutionally Protected Right to Believe Crazy Things.
If you’ve been thinking about becoming a member, don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT discount code.
F.I.R.E. IS ON THE CASE: Professor who spoke at Trump rally ‘exploring all options’ after university suddenly removes him. “The University of Colorado-Boulder dumped a professor who spoke at President Trump’s ‘Save America Rally’ on Jan. 6, claiming the enrollment in his classes was too low. But a civil liberties group believes this was a pretext to remove John Eastman for his viewpoint, specifically his allegations of voter fraud in a speech that lasted less than three minutes.”
I can’t remember a leftist professor being removed simply for speaking at a rally. Perhaps I’m overlooking something.
BLUE CITY BLUES: Facing Deficit, Met Considers Selling Art to Help Pay the Bills.
STALINIST PSYCHIATRY: Law prof says he was forced to undergo lengthy mental examination & drug test after exam question caused students ‘distress.’
They examined the wrong head.
DON’T BE EVIL: Terraria canceled on Stadia after developer gets locked out of his Google accounts. “Andrew Spinks gave the ultimatum early Monday, after getting no response from Google since YouTube locked him out of his account in mid-January. The lockout has also cost Spinks access to apps he’s purchased on Google Stadia, wiped data he stored in Google drive, and terminated a Gmail account he’s used for more than 15 years.”
HERE WE JUST POST EVERYTHING ANY SNOOP MIGHT WANT TO KNOW RIGHT INTO FACEBOOK OR TWITTER: Iran ‘hides spyware in wallpaper, restaurant and games apps.’