WITH THE ACCENT ON “YET”: Ending Title 42 Is Biden’s Most Unpopular Move Yet.
Archive for 2022
April 7, 2022
LIVE AT 4PM EASTERN: ‘Five O’Clock Somewhere’ with Kruiser, VodkaPundit, Special Guest.
MADE IN USA: Quick Action Pepper Spray Keychain – Maximum Strength MC 1.44. #CommissionEarned
BOGEYMAN TRUMP IS UNDER THE BED! Democrats’ Possible ‘Dark’ Midterms Strategy. “[We] have to scare the crap out of them.”
SURGERY FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE? Three-year trial of SPYRAL HTN-ON MED shows blood pressure reductions. “One technique is called renal denervation, where the nerves in blood vessels near the kidneys are burned away using radio wave pulses. The procedure is done by inserting a catheter into the femoral artery, and pushing it in until it reaches a kidney. . . . All of the volunteers were also given hypertension medication and monitored over the following three years. The researchers found that after three years, those volunteers who had received the renal denervation procedure had a 18.7 mm Hg reduction in systolic ambulatory blood pressure over 24 hours compared to just 8.6 mm Hg for those in the control group. They also found a 20.9 mm Hg reduction for office systolic blood pressure compared to 12.5 mm Hg, for the control group.”
POST-LOCKDOWN HIGHER EDUCATION: A Stunning Level of Student Disconnection.
In 20 years of teaching at Doane University, Kate Marley has never seen anything like it. Twenty to 30 percent of her students do not show up for class or complete any of the assignments. The moment she begins to speak, she says, their brains seem to shut off. If she asks questions on what she’s been talking about, they don’t have any idea. On tests they struggle to recall basic information.
“Stunning” is the word she uses to describe the level of disengagement she and her colleagues have witnessed across the Nebraska campus. “I don’t seem to be capable of motivating them to read textbooks or complete assignments,” she says of that portion of her students. “They are kind kids. They are really nice to know and talk with. I enjoy them as people.” But, she says, “I can’t figure out how to help them learn.” . . .
She is far from alone. The Chronicle recently asked faculty members to share their experiences with student disengagement this academic year. More than 100 people wrote in to describe a disconcerting level of disconnection among students, using words like “defeated,” “exhausted,” and “overwhelmed.”
While a self-selected group, the respondents, several of whom agreed to be interviewed, represent a range of institutions: community colleges, large public universities, small private colleges, and some highly selective institutions. They described common challenges: Far fewer students show up to class. Those who do avoid speaking when possible. Many skip the readings or the homework. They have trouble remembering what they learned and struggle on tests. . . .
Not that anyone has easy answers, starting with the question of what’s at the root of the problem. Do students actually want to be in college? Had they gotten so used to online teaching that simply leaving their dorm rooms seems too hard right now? Did the accommodations that grew out of the pandemic — including flexible attendance policies and fluid deadlines — foster a belief that they could catch up later, but they don’t? Or is it that the world itself feels so out of control that students find it hard to care about their classes?
“My students are struggling to focus within and outside of class,” wrote one history professor at a public university in Georgia, who, like many respondents, asked to remain anonymous in order to speak frankly. “They feel overwhelmed and pressed for time. They cannot separate the existential dread of Covid and now Ukraine from their daily ability to live.”
Though professors reported seeing burnout at all levels, from recent high-school graduates to adult learners, newer students seem to have struggled the most.
Freshmen and sophomores, wrote Ashley Shannon, chair of the English department at Grand Valley State University, in Michigan, are “by and large tragically underprepared to meet the challenges of university life — both academically and in terms of ‘adulting,’” such as understanding the consequences of missing a lot of class. “It’s not all their fault, by a long shot! I feel for them. But it’s a problem, and it’s going to have a significant ripple effect.” . . .
“Students seem to have lost their sense of connection with the university and university community, and their sense of purpose in attending,” said Stephanie Masson, who teaches English at Northwestern State University, in Louisiana. After two or more years of masking, they feel as if it’s not OK to get close and talk to someone. “It’s almost like they just prefer to sit in their little cone of silence.”
The Higher Ed sector went all-in on Covid and now it’s facing the consequences.
Related: Brace yourselves: It looks like the great college exodus may have finally begun! “Colleges across America face a daunting challenge: Their student head count has shrunk more than 5% since 2019, according to a national estimate, as debate over the value of higher education intensified during the public health crisis and economic tumult. That’s an enrollment loss of nearly 1 million students. Some drifted out of college, while others never started. Many colleges are on an urgent quest to keep current students and recover their lost freshmen.”
DELAYS: Axiom set to launch, next NASA moon rocket to wait a little longer for testing. “Multiple delays have affected both the SLS wet dress and the Axiom-1 mission, with Axiom-1 now slated to launch from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 8.”
ANALYSIS: TRUE. Disney Has Turned Its Back on What Made It So Great.
THE ECONOMIST: Save globalisation! Buy a Chinese EV.
Also The Economist: The Economist lectures Americans about democracy in email sponsored by China tech giant Huawei.
Also The Economist: China’s tech giant maintained lucrative relationship with popular British magazine.
Also The Economist: The Economist failed to disclose lucrative Huawei ties, even as it defended the Chinese tech giant.
And Huawei: Huawei enters China’s electric car race in competition with Tesla.
REPORT: Geico hired Linda Sarsour for a “Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month Celebration:”
At the time of this post, the only posts I’ve seen referencing this are linking to the above Stop Antisemitism.org tweet and a cached Reddit post that has since been deleted:
So it’s possible Geico’s management got cold feet about associating with Sarsour, which isn’t too surprising. She’s too toxic for even the Biden administration — or is she? Biden campaign appears to walk back apology over condemning Linda Sarsour.
The Biden campaign has been sending conflicting messages over whether or not it regrets comments directed at Linda Sarsour, a prominent pro-BDS activist.
On a private call on Sunday with dozens of prominent Arab and Muslim activists, the Biden campaign expressed regret over how it construed a statement condemning former Women’s March leader and Bernie Sanders surrogate Linda Sarsour. Sarsour was featured last week at the Democratic National Convention’s Muslim Delegates Assembly, despite her history of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and other bigotry.
In that call, top foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken expressed “regret” over the matter, according to Middle East Eye, which obtained a recording of the call and first reported on it.
National coalitions director Ashley Allison reportedly said, “I am sorry that that happened. And I hope that whatever trust was broken, that this conversation is one small step to help build back the trust, but that is not the last time we have this conversation.”
The call followed the backlash the Biden campaign received from the Arab and Muslim communities after it rebuked Sarsour.
So they were for her before they were against for before they were for her. That’s the Biden mindset gone plaid!
UPDATE: Geico distances themselves from Sarsour:
More here: Insurance Giant GEICO Cancels Event With Linda Sarsour After Outcry.
(Updated and bumped.)
FLASHBACK: Disney’s Child-Predator Problem.
XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT! How China Used American Influencers To Shill for the ‘Genocide Games.’ “China Central Television disclosed that it spent $26 million in the past six months producing television and promotional content in the United States. The amount paid to Monumental is not disclosed, but the TV company lists a $53,000 payment for advertising and promotion. Monumental broadcast a video message from China’s ambassador and displayed pro-China graphics at Capital One Arena during the Capitals game…Crystal Kung Minkoff, the Real Housewives star, promoted the games on her Instagram account, noting that Beijing would be the first city ever to host the summer and winter Olympics. None of the social media influencers hired by Vippi Media registered as foreign agents with the Justice Department. None of the video spots reviewed by the Free Beacon included disclosures that their content was funded by the Chinese government. TikTok and Instagram did not respond to questions about whether the content violated their policies regarding sponsored content.”
YOU KNOW WHO’S BUMMED ABOUT RUSSIA’S LOUSY MILITARY PERFORMANCE IN UKRAINE? CHINA. “To China, the Ukraine invasion will reinforce the importance of joint and combined arms operations, while also making clear that such operations are highly difficult to conduct in practice. Russia’s stumbles may give the PLA pause as to whether it is truly ready for all the joint elements that a successful Taiwan seizure would require, including close coordination between sea, air, and land forces. . . . Also, it can’t be encouraging that Russia was unable to hold control of Hostemel Airport during the early stages of the war, since airport seizures for an airbridge into Taiwan has played a large role in many wargamed invasion scenarios.”
Also: “Dictatorships (especially communist dictatorships) greatly increase the possibility of a “Thermocline of Truth” building up between bad news and fawning yes-men fearful of making the dictator angry. There’s very little reason to believe that Xi Jinping’s chain of command suffers from the problem any less than Putin’s.”
Plus: “China without corruption is like Norway without snow.”
THE OTHER DAY I ASKED ABOUT PHAGE PROGRESS AND A READER SENT THIS: Locus Biosciences Secures Financing of up to $25 Million from Hercules Capital. Proceeds to be used to advance development of synthetic biology engine and manufacturing capabilities. “Locus Biosciences, Inc. (“Locus”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new class of precision engineered bacteriophage treatments for a diverse set of bacterial and inflammatory diseases, today announced that the company has entered a credit facility of up to $25 million with Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC), a specialty financing lender for life science and technology companies. . . . Through its unique bacteriophage discovery, synthetic biology and manufacturing platform, Locus is developing two innovative categories of biotherapeutics to address significant unmet medical needs: precision products to fight deadly infections, including those caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria; and engineered bacteriophage therapies that utilize bacteria resident in the body to deliver therapeutic molecules.”
Faster, please.
HMM: U.S. says it secretly removed malware worldwide, preempting Russian cyberattacks.
The move, made public by Attorney General Merrick Garland, comes as U.S. officials warn that Russia could try to strike American critical infrastructure — including financial firms, pipelines and the electric grid — in response to the crushing sanctions that the United States has imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
The malware enabled the Russians to create “botnets” — networks of private computers that are infected with malicious software and controlled by the GRU, the intelligence arm of the Russian military. But it is unclear what the malware was intended to do, since it could be used for everything from surveillance to destructive attacks.
A U.S. official said Wednesday that the United States did not want to wait to find out. Armed with secret court orders in the United States and the help of governments around the world, the Justice Department and the FBI disconnected the networks from the GRU’s own controllers.
“Fortunately, we were able to disrupt this botnet before it could be used,” Garland said.
Well, good.
But: “The court orders allowed the FBI to go into domestic corporate networks and remove the malware, sometimes without the company’s knowledge.”
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Megan Fox: Yes, the Gender Cult Is Full of Groomers and We Won’t Stop Saying It. “The truth of the matter is this: we are winning this narrative because of the relentless use of the word ‘groomer.’ When the enemy tells you they hate what you are doing, that’s when you need to KEEP DOING IT.”
Matt Margolis: Why Would Trump Want to Return to Twitter? “If Trump wants Truth Social to be a long-term success, he has to use the platform and use it exclusively. If Trump were reinstated on Twitter, he would undermine the very purpose of Truth Social, which has branded itself as a free-speech alternative to Twitter.”
Yours Truly: Mass Graves: You’re Doing De-Nazification Wrong. “What has been confirmed in Bucha ought to shock you, but it shouldn’t surprise you. Similar atrocities, even though usually on a much smaller scale, have been caught on video since the very start of the Russian invasion.”