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Archive for 2023

April 13, 2023

HARD TO SEE HOW ANYTHING COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS: Global Debt Projected to Reach 100 Percent of GDP: IMF.

IT APPEARS BEING AN ‘INFLUENCER’ DOES NOT MEAN WHAT THEY THINK IT MEANS: Burn Bra Challenge’ gains momentum on TikTok in calls to boycott Nike over Dylan Mulvaney ads.

PEOPLE WHO NEVER OWNED SLAVES OWE NO REPARATIONS TO PEOPLE WHO WERE NEVER SLAVES: Target security guard punches customer in the face after she demanded ‘reparations’.

April 12, 2023

WELL, THEY’RE RIGHT: Half the country thinks Biden’s policies are doing nothing for middle class.

OPEN THREAD: Have fun, kids.

I LIKE HIM. I DON’T THINK HE’S REALLY READY FOR THE PRESIDENCY, BUT HE’S ALREADY 1000 TIMES BETTER THAN THE CURRENT OCCUPANT, SO . . .

I will never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional.

That's why I'm announcing my exploratory committee for President of the United States.

This fight is personal.

I want every American to have the same opportunities I had. pic.twitter.com/HV56pbyKdB

— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) April 12, 2023

SPACE: FCC launches space-focused bureau.

WELL, YES. Shutting down nuclear plants could increase air pollution, cost lives.

HEH:

BBC: Why is there so much more hate speech on Twitter now?

Elon: Can you give me an example?

BBC: Uh…

Elon: Just one.

BBC: Uh… People say…

Elon: People say all sorts of nonsense. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

BBC: Let’s move on!

Wow. Reporter got completely…

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) April 12, 2023

HMM: Sexually transmitted infections continue to rise, CDC says. “Some STIs such as syphilis saw their highest numbers in more than 70 years. The 176,713 syphilis cases recorded in 2021 were the highest since 217,558 in 1950, according to the CDC.”

IT’S FUNNY, BUT IT’S NOT FUNNY: ECB’s prez falls for “Zelensky” phone prank, spills beans on digital currency. “Tracking payments with the digital euro would help with anti-money laundering regulations, but could place limits on the privacy of citizens.”

Don’t laugh, the U.S. government wants one of those too.

I’M SENSING A SHIFT IN ATTITUDES: Should College Come With Trigger Warnings? At Cornell, It’s a ‘Hard No.’ When the student assembly voted to require faculty to alert students to upsetting educational materials, administrators pushed back.

After decades of university battles over tinderbox issues of students’ rights, speech codes and how best to grapple with unpopular speakers and ideas, proponents of free speech are lauding Ms. Pollack’s quick and unequivocal action. They characterize it as part of a larger national shift, marked by university leadership more forcefully pushing back against efforts to shut down speakers and topics that might offend.

“What was unique about the Cornell situation is they rapidly turned in a response that was a ‘hard no,’” said Alex Morey, the director of campus rights advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan organization focused on issues of free speech. “There was no level of kowtowing. It was a very firm defense of what it means to get an education.”

Ms. Morey called it the “Stanford Effect,” referring to a 10-page open letter written in March by Jenny Martinez, dean of Stanford University Law School, in which she affirmed her decision to apologize to Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Donald Trump-appointed federal appeals judge, after hecklers interrupted his speech.

Earlier this month, Neeli Bendapudi, the president of Pennsylvania State University, released a four-minute video explaining why a public university like Penn State has a legal and moral obligation to host speakers who espouse views that many may find abhorrent. “For centuries, higher education has fought against censorship and for the principle that the best way to combat speech is with more speech,” she said. . . .

Professor Khalid said that trigger-warning mandates are an infringement on the academic freedom of professors whose role is to help students develop critical thinking skills.

“Sometimes that requires surprising them and challenging them in ways that are uncomfortable,” she said. “It diminishes the learning experience for students if professors hedge themselves.”