I haven’t heard their new album yet but their previous release — 2016’s cover album of blues numbers, “Blue & Lonesome” — was maybe their best since the band got back together in 1989.
Archive for 2023
October 24, 2023
THE ONES COVERING THEIR FACES ARE SELDOM THE GOOD GUYS: How Campus Politicization Fed Today’s Hatred.
Universities are supposed to be places of truth-seeking and open debate. When they enforce dogmas instead, they do a disservice by intimidating students who disagree and by absolving those who agree from the responsibility to defend their views.
In January 2022, the dean of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, Amaney Jamal, wrote in a memo to students that Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal set “a dangerous precedent” and that “we . . . know without a doubt” that “there are racial inequities in nearly every strand of the American fabric.” After the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022, Princeton’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center announced on its Instagram page that it “actively resists sexism, cissexism, heteronormativity and other intersecting forms of oppression” and that “abortion is an essential and fundamental right that needs to be protected.”
These opinions can be defended, but they weren’t. Princeton administrators instead classified the topics as outside the realm of debate. That discourages students from thinking critically about their own opinions and prejudices and stifles the free exchange of ideas, even on campuses that don’t directly punish speech.
That leaves students intellectually unprepared. If administrators stepped back and encouraged students to debate, students would subject their ideas to the rigor of the intellectual marketplace and be more apt to reject those that failed. Reasonable arguments can be made for or against a two-state solution—but not for mass murder.
Students sometimes seem to have an inkling that they’re defending the indefensible. When Princeton’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine held an outdoor vigil for “Occupied Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank,” it told attendees masks were mandatory. Friends of ours who tried to film the vigil were harassed into putting down their cameras. SJP sent an email to all Princeton students on campus with a statement that listed no individual signers and was linked to an anonymous Google account under the name “River Sea.”
Similarly at Brown, pro-Hamas protesters were told not to “wear identifiable clothing” and that photographs were strictly prohibited. At Arizona State, students were told to “bring signs, flags, water, and please wear a mask.” At Harvard Law School, a statement that held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all the unfolding violence” listed 31 student groups as signatories. But as soon as members’ identities were revealed, many groups revoked their support, in part because students feared for their employment prospects. Apparently the desire for lucrative jobs outweighs these activists’ commitment to the Palestinian cause.
I think the admissions departments should rethink their approach, and all entering students should be taught traditional American principles of civics and free speech. But can we trust universities to do this, and do it honestly?
HMM: Exclusive poll: Biden and Trump tie at 37% as RFK Jr. costs Trump a narrow lead. “Kennedy, scion of the nation’s most revered Democratic family, won 13% of the vote in a hypothetical match-up, drawing voters who by 2-1 said they would otherwise support the probable Republican nominee.”
DISPATCHES FROM WEIMAR AMERICA: Transgender-Identifying 11-Year-Old Is Youngest Grand Marshal at Orlando Pride Parade.
ENERGY IMPLICATIONS OF WAR: Alarm on Energy: The Second October War should wake America up to crucial geopolitical realities.
The Middle East crisis suggests that the net-zero energy scheme is becoming a national security risk. In the seventies, domestic oil production was faltering, and the U.S. was becoming more reliant on oil from the Middle East. Today, a major threat to America’s energy security is the $4.5 billion-per-year NGO-corporate-industrial-climate complex, an interconnected group of activists who are raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from some of America’s richest people, including Michael Bloomberg, Laurene Powell Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and John Doerr.
The all-renewable agenda pushed by NGOs and the Biden Administration’s EPA threatens the reliability and resilience of our electric grid. Regulators and policymakers have repeatedly warned about the looming crisis. For instance, in May, members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission delivered stark warnings to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The agency’s acting chairman, Willie Phillips, told the senators, “We face unprecedented challenges to the reliability of our nation’s electric system.” FERC Commissioner Mark Christie echoed Phillips’ warning, saying the U.S. electric grid is “heading for a very catastrophic situation in terms of reliability.” Commissioner James Danly warned of a “looming reliability crisis in our electricity markets.” Danly continued, saying that policies and subsidies “designed to promote the deployment of non-dispatchable wind and solar assets” are causing reliability concerns because the subsidies are helping “drive fossil-fuel generators out of business.”
Given the uncertainties roiling global energy markets, what should the U.S. do now to ensure its energy security? First and foremost, the U.S. should embrace increased domestic energy production. The administration and Congress should immediately begin encouraging domestic mining and enrichment of uranium as well as domestic mining and refining of critical metals and minerals, including copper, graphite, rare earth elements, and high-strength magnets. They should also immediately begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Finally, they must recognize that the energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act make us, and our allies, more vulnerable to the impacts of the war in Gaza, which has already changed energy geopolitics.
Or as a smarter political figure than Joe Biden said, “drill, baby, drill!”
THREAD:
Remember modern "liberalism" is entirely punitive. Leftists take vicious glee in punishing those they judge "guilty" of privilege, racism, oppression, colonialism, etc. They're not focused on building things or helping anyone. Of COURSE they see kindred spirits in Hamas.
— John Hayward (@Cobretata) October 24, 2023
Read the whole thing.
I TAKE COQ10: What Are the CoQ10 Benefits for Men? A Complete Guide to Supplementation.
I find the benefits of CoQ10 in terms of increased energy and stamina to be quite noticeable, and everyone in my family I’ve persuaded to try it has felt the same way. I’ve also gotten far fewer migraines since I started taking it.
I LIKE TO SIT IN THE SUN, SIPPING WINE AND NIBBLING OLIVES AND CHEESE: Mediterranean diet may prevent PTSD, study shows. And it’s hard to get PTSD from that!
A GAME-CHANGER — IF IT PANS OUT: 1,200-km range, 10-min charge: Toyota near solid-state battery breakthrough.
MEGAN RAPINOE, WHOSE FIANCÉE IS ISRAELI, RAISES MONEY FOR GAZA AFTER HAMAS TERRORIST ATTACK: “While Rapinoe, a gay woman who would likely be killed in Gaza, is raising money for the area, she doesn’t seem to have any interest for the good people of Israel. There’s no tweets on her X account referencing Israel, Hamas or raising funds or the Israelis under attack. In fact, she hasn’t tweeted at all since the attack happened.”
EVEN THE TITLE CONFUSES ME: A backlash to the backlash to the conservative backlash against Taylor Swift.
But as for the notion that Taylor Swift fandom promotes fascism, I disagree. Like Elvis, she’s a source of protection.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: For-Profit Law Schools, Once Flourishing, Are Nearly Extinct.
CHRIS QUEEN: What’s Going on in Argentina’s Elections Sounds Awfully Similar to What We’re Seeing in the U.S. “With so much else going on in the world, it’s easy to overlook the elections in Argentina, but it’s a fascinating story with some interesting parallels to our current political climate. You might find it all uncomfortably familiar.”
NICE JOB, LADIES: Squad of female IDF combat troops eliminated nearly 100 Hamas terrorists.
For nearly four hours, terrorists attempted to outflank Ben-Yehuda and her team, engaging them in firefights. More vans arrived, but the Caracal Battalion commander effectively thwarted them. Additional Light Anti-Armor Weapon (LAW) missiles were launched, further eliminating terrorists: Some were killed, and others retreated.
Despite wounds to some of her soldiers, they persevered.
After hours of intense combat, soldiers from the Shayetet (flotilla) 13 Navy Special Forces unit arrived to clear the base of terrorists. Drones were launched to assist them. The firefights continued, and wounded soldiers were evacuated. They remained at the base for a total of 14 hours until it was fully secured.
Ben-Yehuda emphasized the significant contributions of the female soldiers under her command, who saved many lives through medical care and even daring helicopter landings under fire. Their remarkable performance under the extreme pressure of war highlighted their capabilities.
Previously: Islamists’ Fear of Females: The Roots of Gynophobic Misogyny among the Taliban and Islamic State.
Well, now they have good reason.
NOW OUT: From Vince Everett Ellison, Crime Inc.: How Democrats Employ Mafia and Gangster Tactics to Gain and Hold Power. #CommissionEarned I’m reading it now and love the directness of this book.
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Michigan State apologizes for Adolf Hitler image on Spartan Stadium scoreboard.
Flashback: Don Surber: The Nazis Are Winning.
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: You Can’t Beat the Truth Into This Israeli Peace Activist with a Stick, Literally.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Meet the California students and profs who say Hamas are ‘freedom fighters,’ not ‘terrorists.’
It’s a toxic industry.