SEEMS ONLY FAIR GIVEN THE HARASSMENT: Pro-Israel Jewish Students Suing Haverford College for Hostile Environment Harassment Can Proceed Pseudonymously.
Archive for 2024
December 15, 2024
SCOTT JENNINGS CALLS OUT RIDICULOUSNESS OF ‘MY TRUTH’ AFTER CAITLIN CLARK PANDERS TO WOKE MOB:
The end of the show, during which they played clips of Clark’s remarks, featured a sort of face off between Jennings and Cari Champion, whom host Abby Phillip quipped “might also be our Caitlin Clark correspondent.” Jennings and Champion have gone up against each other for panel discussions before. And, just like when Jennings was reminding Champion of key facts about CNN’s own reporting on the political balance of X, there were some fireworks.
Just before Phillip called upon Jennings, Champion herself implied that Clark was being treated so well because she’s white. “She has a privilege. She has been in this league for so, what, a year? And she makes more money than the people who built this league? And she understands there’s a reason, not because she shoots the ball well,” Champion claimed.
As Champion and Phillip both wondered, then, why it was that Clark was supposedly “bullied,” Jennings launched right into dismantling the nonsense that is “my truth.”
“Number one, you know, whether you’re an athlete or anyone else, if I hear you use the phrase ‘my truth,’ I immediately then discount everything else you say. Because there isn’t my truth or your truth, there’s just the truth,” he aptly pointed out. Jennings barely got much further before Champion repeatedly insisted that “that’s not true.” When he was able to complete his sentence, though, he pointed out that “when you start using phrases like that, it tells me that your brain has been captured by something that I don’t really respect.”
It’s quite a niche that Jennings has carved out for himself in recent weeks: the only sane person left at CNN.
DAVID MASTIO: Deporting one million undocumented immigrants a year is much easier than you think.
The Trump administration has powerful winds at its back that might allow it to launch roundups and deportations at an even faster pace. Computer technology and surveillance have both advanced markedly since 2009. There are more police than there were 15 years ago and crime is much lower — allowing more boots on the ground to enforce immigration laws if local police cooperate as they do in much of the country, and which Trump says he will encourage. The economy is much more digitized, making it harder to live a life where your identity is off the grid.
And there are powerful tools to make the United States much less welcoming to undocumented immigrants that the U.S. has never wielded. For instance, undocumented migrants paid federal, state and local governments nearly $100 billion in taxes in 2024, billions of which is returned to them in refunds fueled by tax breaks targeted at low-income earners. The U.S. could require proof of legal presence to pay refunds and hold the money until the immigrants agree to return to their home countries. Companies could be required to provide proof of legal presence for each employee whose salary they claim as an expense on their taxes. Such a move would hit farmers and hotels where undocumented workers frequently work, as each is dependent on undocumented migrants for workers, and the salaries of which are deducted on their taxes.
Donald Trump’s plans for dealing with undocumented immigration are big, and they could be undone by the competence problems that were rife in his last administration. But they are not as unrealistic as his critics proclaim.
Read the whole thing.
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VDH: Blame Barack: Obama’s lost mystique marks the end of a political era.
Failed candidate Harris has been roundly faulted by staffers and donors for blowing through some $2 billion in assorted 2024 campaign money.
She ended up doing worse against Trump than Biden himself had in 2020.
Many Democrats believe that they might have done just as well had Biden stayed on the ticket even in his vastly diminished state.
The Obamas were further blasted for nullifying the wishes of 14 million primary voters by forcing Biden off the ticket — ironically in the same backroom, anti-democratic manner they had cleared the way for him in 2020.
Obama emerged from his comfortable retirement to hit the 2024 campaign trail, schooling the country that President-emeritus Donald Trump was a dictator, a fascist, a tyrant and, of course, a “racist.”
The more Trump polled even with, or ahead of, Kamala Harris, the more an exasperated and ignored Obama talked down to supposedly low-information voters.
But by the time Harris lost the election, voters had tuned out a nagging and patronizing Obama — and his stale, now-dated hope-and-changey boilerplate speeches.
What Obama did not mention, but what the voters knew, was that the border was more secure under Trump than during either the Obama or Biden tenure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded countries during the Obama and Biden administrations but stayed put on Trump’s watch.
Obama’s bizarre vision of a new Middle East had sought to empower Iran as a supposed counterweight against moderate Arab nations and our ally Israel.
Hey, remember back in late October of 2008 on the eve of the election, when Tom Brokaw and Charlie Rose pretended they knew nothing about Obama’s worldview, including his foreign policy views? Good times, good times:
As transcribed by the Rush Limbaugh Show back in the day:
ROSE: I don’t know what Barack Obama’s worldview is.
BROKAW: No, I don’t, either.
ROSE: I don’t know how he really sees where China is.
BROKAW: We don’t know a lot about Barack Obama and the universe of his thinking about foreign policy.
ROSE: I don’t really know. And do we know anything about the people who are advising him?
BROKAW: Yeah, it’s an interesting question.
ROSE: He is principally known through his autobiography and through very aspirational (sic) speeches.
BROKAW: Two of them! I don’t know what books he’s read.
ROSE: What do we know about the heroes of Barack Obama?
BROKAW: There’s a lot about him we don’t know.
As Rush replied:
Incredible! (laughing) Let’s send the journalist to find out! Why, have you guys ever thought of that, Tom? Have you ever thought about sending a reporter to find out who the guy is? Charlie! You got plenty of reporters there at PBS, at least on the… Have you ever thought about sending anybody out to find out who he is, besides the two books? (laughing) I cannot believe this. We know who his heroes are — and, of course, that’s the point! We know who his heroes are. We know who his alliances are with. We know who his friends are. We know that he chose them all. But to hear… This is last night. This is, what, four days, five days before the election. These are two of Obama’s biggest media supporters! You gotta… I gotta hear this again. This is hilarious if it weren’t so damn maddening, because the answer to this is, ‘Hey, Tom? Talk to the bureau chief in Washington, the new guy who replaced Russert. What you do is, you assign a reporter to go out and find out who Obama is.’
The media would of course repeat the same pattern with Kamala, but were thwarted by her own words during her abortive 2020 campaign in the Democrats’ primaries, leading to their feigning shock when the Trump campaign used video of her promising sex changes to prisoners and illegal immigrants in their ads. (And of her vice presidential nominee’s actions — and inaction — during the infamous 2020 Minnesota riots.) It’s a reminder that it’s nigh-impossible to run a “change” election when your candidate is the sitting vice president and has a long history of making wild promises in an attempt to swing to the fences — and lacks the political chops and rock star charisma of the 2008-era Obama to hide his or her radical chic worldview.
ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL CLOSE DUBLIN EMBASSY, CITING ‘EXTREME ANTI-ISRAEL POLICIES:’
Israel will close its Dublin embassy due to the “extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government”, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday, citing its recognition of a Palestinian state and support for legal action against Israel.
Israel’s ambassador to Dublin was recalled following Ireland’s decision on a Palestinian state in May, Saar’s statement added. Last week, Dublin announced its support for South Africa’s legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of genocide.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said the decision was deeply regrettable. “I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law,” he said in a post on X.
“Ireland wants a two state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law.”
Flashbacks to October: Bibi banned from Galway.
In a unanimous vote of all 16 councillors present in City Hall last Monday, a motion was carried that the City Council will not welcome any future visits to Galway by Netanyahu, Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, or ministers and ambassadors of the current administration after its military incursions into Lebanon.
The motion, tabled by Councillor Níall McNelis (Lab ), spells out that no senior Israeli officials are welcome here ‘for as long as illegal occupation of Palestine and bordering countries continues, and war crimes are being perpetrated by the Israeli state’. The measure mandates the city council to communicate its ban to President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Simon Harris, and minister for foreign affairs, Tánaiste Micheál Martin.
“Look, I know it’s just a motion, and I doubt Israel’s government will pay much heed, but we have to be seen to do something, especially as there are lads from Renmore [Barracks] in Camp Shamrock, and that just brings close to home what this bullying, bully state is doing,” said McNelis after the vote.
And: Antisemitism has made life in Ireland unbearable, say Israelis.
Israeli people living in Ireland have said their lives here have become “unbearable” in the past year with many afraid to leave their homes and some emigrating to other countries.
According to the 2016 census, 664 Israelis and about 2,500 Jewish people live in Ireland. However, the community claims that Ireland’s pro-Palestine stance has led to an increase in antisemitism that has left many families and their children feeling unsafe.
Bar Clara Mendez McConnon, 33, is originally from the upper Galilee region, which borders Lebanon, but has lived in Dublin on and off since 2012. McConnon is currently in Tel Aviv with her Irish husband and their two young children due to the discrimination they have received.
She said: “For me personally it’s just been heartbreaking. I’ve always been very proud to live in Ireland and was actually deep into my naturalisation process of becoming Irish, but the level of mistrust and isolation got to a point that was just unbearable.
“My eldest son who is seven got bullied at his GAA club a few times by his team-mates and the coach for being Israeli.
“We’ve completely avoided the city centre since October 7 because of the violent graffiti and posters of Hamas terrorists — my son is old enough that he’s able to read them. First he was scared and then he started being ashamed of who he is.
“We had families and friends of years that turned on us. I explained that I can only share the Israeli perspective because that’s my life. My family is being evacuated from the north and one of my childhood friends is one of the hostages that is still there [in Gaza].”
Concurrently: Is immigration to Ireland ‘out of control’? Many in the land of a ‘hundred thousand welcomes’ are worried.
The photo atop the article is there to replace the word that Sky News is afraid to insert into the headline.
DISPATCHES FROM THE SOCIALIST PARADISE: Germany issues security alert for travel to Cuba.
The German Foreign Ministry has issued a security warning for those planning to visit Cuba. In a notice in force since December 5, it informs travelers of the problems with electricity generation that, in the last two months, have caused at least three total power outages on the island.
Although in these cases the the national power network was eventually restored, “the capacity to produce electricity does not cover the needs,” the note points out. “On October 17, 2024, the Cuban government informed the population of another worsening of the energy situation in the country,” the text adds, attributing the blackouts to other difficulties and referencing “considerable restrictions” that extend beyond the days of total electrical collapse.
The energy instability is causing “water supply problems” throughout the country, restrictions on public activities and also in tourist centres such as the Varadero beach resort in Matanzas, the warning states. Only buildings with electric generators, such as hotels, can enjoy lighting and air conditioning during power outages, it says. Meanwhile, rescue services are functioning only “basically” and the capacity to provide medical care is also restricted.
“Streets and roads are left unlit at night, public transport is not running or is only operating in a reduced capacity. Internet and mobile phone connections are being cut off,” the statement said. “Food refrigeration cannot be guaranteed at all times under these circumstances, nor can a supply of hot water.”
Why warn German tourists about Cuba, when their visit gives them the chance to get a sense of potential things to come in the Vaterland? Germany’s Industrial Slowdown ‘Unexpectedly’ Continues.
Bloomberg is going to Bloomberg, and so October’s decline in industrial production was “unexpected,” and nowhere is there any admission that one of the causes is the effect of Germany’s climate policies on the country’s all-important industrial sector, mainly, but not solely, because of their effect on energy prices.*
Nevertheless, here are some details:
German industrial production fell in October, kicking off the final quarter with an unexpected decline and dashing hopes that the key sector for Europe’s largest economy may slowly be overcoming its malaise.
Output decreased 1% from the previous month, worse than any forecast in a Bloomberg survey, which anticipated a 1% increase. The decline was mainly down to energy production, and “the automotive industry had a negative impact as well,” the statistics office said Friday.
“There’s still no end in sight to the industrial slump in Germany,” ING’s Carsten Brzeski said. “This is a very weak start to the fourth quarter, increasing the risk of a winter recession in Germany.”
* And speaking of German energy prices:
Who could have predicted such a thing? Flashback: Bull: 1, China Shop: 0.
THE FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLAR MAN:
ABC TOOK AWAY HIS SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVILEGES LMAAAAOOOOOOO https://t.co/wYQKy6V1k5
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) December 15, 2024
Neither ABC nor Stephanopoulos said anything but this speaks volumes: ABC News settles defamation suit with Trump for $15 million.
ABC News will pay $15 million to a “presidential foundation and museum” in a settlement reached with President-elect Donald Trump in his defamation suit against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos.
The settlement, which was filed publicly Saturday, reveals the network will also pay $1 million in Trump’s attorneys’ fees and will issue an apology.
ABC News will issue the following statement as an editor’s note on the online article at the center of the suit: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an ABC News spokesperson wrote in a statement.
Trump filed the lawsuit in Florida federal court earlier this year, arguing that Stephanopoulos and ABC News defamed him when the anchor said 10 times during a contentious on-air interview with South Carolina GOP Rep. Nancy Mace in March that a jury found Trump had “raped” E. Jean Carroll.
Trump will be pleased every time he remembers his future presidential foundation was funded in part by ABC.
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Black teacher who alleged pro-Trump harassment now sues school over racism. “Video evidence available to the public, however, did not indicate racial undercurrents to the impromptu pro-Trump student rally, nor were any photos or videos presented of racist graffiti.”
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TAKING SIDES DIDN’T WORK OUT WELL FOR HIGHER ED: Dartmouth implements policy of ‘Institutional Restraint’: Dartmouth College has joined the growing list of elite universities to enact institutional neutrality protocols.
MASS FORMATION PSYCHOSIS:
It's interesting that we continue to see the mental breakdown of the radical American left on a daily basis on our @X timelines and nobody in the establishment media has done a report on a need to do something about the surge in left-wing "hate speech."
Despite the uptick in… https://t.co/Ugv4jNSdRz
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) December 15, 2024
NOBODY’S SURPRISED AT THIS DEVELOPMENT: Biden Admin Takes Credit for Israeli Victories It Tried To Prevent.
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K-12 IMPLOSION/HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Professor Blames Math’s ‘Rational Thought’ for Women’s STEM Struggles.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY BY REJECTING IT:
What they’re really doing is rejecting democracy. But we all knew that. https://t.co/knKxq0Do9M
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) December 14, 2024
YOU GET MORE OF WHAT YOU REWARD AND LESS OF WHAT YOU PUNISH: “More than half of the Army’s senior officers are turning down opportunities to command, choosing instead the stability of staff roles over the high-stakes demands of leadership, or retiring, according to internal service data.”
I hope, and predict, that Pete Hegseth will change this. He needs to.
THE GREAT AWOKENING WAS AN ARTIFACT:
The Great Awokening was a choice — now we know whose https://t.co/0yp2PVyng5
— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) December 14, 2024
THEY’LL BE CHANTING “BUILD THAT WALL” SOON: The Democrats’ Hispanic Voter Crash: It’s not as bad as you think—it’s worse. “It’s been widely noted that the Democrats fared very poorly with Hispanic voters in the November election. But I believe that the scale of the Democrats’ crash among Hispanic voters has not yet been fully processed nor the extent to which this crash undermines Democrats’ plans for the future. . . . The Hispanic shift to the right was concentrated among the younger generations of Hispanics who of course are the future of the Hispanic vote. Among Hispanics under 45, the Democratic margin dropped by a shocking 26 points. Trump actually carried working class Hispanic men in this age group by 7 points.”
As I’ve been saying for years, the GOP is now the multiracial party of the working class.
ALL OF US LOVE CHAINSAW MAN! Man-Crush.