Archive for 2024
May 7, 2024
OPEN THREAD: Be here now.
MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Pushback Works: Campus political violence and the moral and practical aspects of resistance.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China launches first Long March 6C rocket.
DAVID HARSANYI: John Kirby Says Israel Can’t Eliminate An Ideology With Force. History Disagrees.
Why did we fight any wars, for that matter? Why did we fight al-Qaida? Surely there were Tories left in the United States after the Revolutionary War and fans of slavery left after the Civil War. There were plenty of Nazis around after World War II. (There are plenty today.) The good news was that their leaders either committed gruesome suicides, were brought to justice, or were forced to hide in the jungles of South America where they worried that Mossad agents would show up and drag them to Israel to stand trial for their crimes. Most German civilians, even one-time fervent Nazis, made their peace with reality and moved on.
One hopes that when Hamas is obliterated in Gaza, despite Kirby’s objections, its leaders now living it up in Qatari resorts will also wonder if they will meet their ends by accidentally falling out a 20th-story window. And one hopes that the Palestinians, like the Germans and Japanese, will finally come to terms with reality and build better lives.
Cue the guys from the old Protest Warrior culture jamming Website from 2004:
TERMINAL LUCIDITY: Most Dementia Patients ‘Return’ Before Death And It’s Unclear Why.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE:
UNC professors are withholding students' grades until suspended, pro-Hamas agitators are un-suspended by administration.
All of these professors should be fired for refusing to do their jobs. https://t.co/DXEhFPBJr7
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) May 7, 2024
LIVE RESULTS: It’s Hoosier Primary Day!
VITAMIN D UPDATE: Unveiling Vitamin D’s Hidden Power Against Cancer. The gut microbiome is involved, too, so maybe I should have tagged this as “microbiome news.”
I HAD MISSED THIS: Jewel Shocks Fans By Slaying Undercover Karaoke in Dive Bar. It’s very sweet.
DISPATCHES FROM THE HOUSE OF STEPHANOPOULOS: ABC “News” Fires Its Woke DEI Hire “News Chief.”
They’re pretending she left of her own accord. But there were reports a week ago that ABC “News” was going to get rid of her, so you tell me.
She wasn’t just a DEI hire. She is literally made of DEI atoms.
ABC News President Kim Godwin, who touted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), is reportedly on the chopping block, according to CNN.Debra OConnell, who was appointed in February to oversee the network, is currently conducting a leadership review as she has allegedly been appalled by Godwin’s management and leadership style, sources told CNN. She has reportedly failed to replace key positions and has caused anxiety to circulate among staff.
And now she’s “retiring.” Retiring under a cloud of failure and scandal, that is.
“Keep an eye on this. Wanna bet that a lawsuit won’t be far behind?,” Ed Morrissey adds.
UNCLE SAM’S LATEST MANDATE: Opinion: Automatic Emergency Braking Mandate is Misguided Overreach.
JOHN LUCAS: “As I type this, the President is reading a speech to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. He is now urging us to ‘never forget’ the Holocaust and other outrages perpetrated against the Jewish people. This same man has attempted to micromanage Israel’s conduct of its defense against the Hamas murderers and has followed through by cutting off or limiting ammunition supplies to Israel. Never forget? Pay no attention to what this man says. Watch what he does — and does not do.”
READER FAVORITE: Gildan Men’s Crew T-Shirts, Multipack. #CommissionEarned
I NEED A BIGGER GUN SAFE: First Look: Wilson Combat Tactical Ultralight Rifle.
C. BRADLEY THOMPSON: Who Will Defend Jonathan Yudelman?
HIGHER EDUCATION NEEDS REFORM, AND NOW IS THE TIME. On my Substack, the Eternally Radical Idea, today I survey the chaos that has embroiled college campuses across the US and beyond, doing my best to call balls and strikes between protected and unprotected political expression in the midst of an absolute hailstorm of protests and demonstrations.
“Not coincidentally, trust in higher education and respect for it have plummeted in recent years, while the cost has absolutely exploded. Someone attending Columbia today might expect to pay as much as $95,000 a year when including room and board. And where has this gargantuan increase in cost per student gone? It has overwhelmingly gone to the ranks of administrators and bureaucrats that have created the orthodoxy, the free speech problems, and the gross double standards in the first place.”
UPDATE NEWSPEAK DICTIONARIES APPROPRIATELY, COMRADES: End of an Era: Boy Scouts of America Officially Changes Name to Embrace Inclusivity After 114 Years.
The “woke virus” continues to spread in America.
The Boy Scouts of America has announced a major rebranding as it transitions to “Scouting America,” marking the first name change in its 114-year legacy.
The move is part of the organization’s bid to distance itself from its troubled past marred by a torrent of sexual abuse claims and subsequent bankruptcy while simultaneously embracing “inclusivity.”
Ban Erase all the things!
SIRI, WHAT IS “THE STREISAND EFFECT?” Google Banned Trump Ad Targeting Black Voters.
“CONSPIRACY THEORY” NOW JUST MEANS “A LITTLE AHEAD OF THE NEWS CYCLE”: Monday’s Conspiracy Theory About Joe Biden Is Tuesday’s Fact.
SHOCKER: Disney LIED About Star Wars. “It’s really easy to show a profit when you include revenues but conveniently leave out major expenses.”
UPDATE (From Ed): One easy way for Disney to generate some quick revenue on its investment? Release the original versions of the first three films! But as James Joyner wrote on Sunday in “The Real Star Wars Films,” “I’m honestly shocked Disney hasn’t already done that, given that there are surely millions of folks who would shell out to own the originals.”
Related: Iger: We’re Reducing Output Because Audiences Realized We Serve Up C***.
CAMPUS PROTESTERS PRETEND TO SPEAK FOR STUDENTS, BUT THEY DON’T: Poll: 81% of College Students Want Protesters Held Accountable. “A majority also said they oppose the protest tactics: 67% say occupying campus buildings is unacceptable and 58% say it’s not acceptable to refuse a university’s order to disperse. Another 90% said blocking pro-Israel students from parts of campus is unacceptable.”
Plus: “And that’s after more than six months of radical campus actions. The pro-Hamas fringe isn’t even convincing their most sympathetic and proximal cohort, let alone anyone else.”