OF COURSE THEY DO:  Media still largely ignore Hunter Biden story.

AD ASTRA: On this day in 1546, Tycho Brahe was born in Denmark. His astronomical measurements were astonishingly accurate for their time.

He understood the moon to be orbiting the Earth, and the planets to be orbiting the sun (though he erroneously thought the sun was orbiting the Earth).  That’s not too shabby for a guy without a telescope.

LAST TANGO:  On this day in 1972, Eugene Cernan (1934-2017) and Harrison Schmitt (1935-still kicking) took their last moon walk.  They remain the last human beings to set foot on the moon.

(An interesting analogy might be the Ming Dynasty treasure voyages of the 15th century.  During that period, China sent out an impressive expeditionary fleet to Java, Sumatra, India, Ceylon, Persia, Arabia and East Africa.  These voyages were intended to impress the world with China’s immense wealth and power.  And impress they did.  But then the voyages just stopped.  Scholars still debate exactly why.)

ZOMBIE INITIATIVE:  An initiative repealing Washington State’s prohibition on preferential treatment based on race or sex was defeated in 2019.  But they’re already gearing up to launch another one.

THAT’S CHEAP COMPARED TO SOME UNIVERSITIES:  Ohio State University employs more than 100 diversity workers, costing more than $10 million a year.

THIS WEEK THEY’RE COMING FOR PHILIP CARL SALZMAN:  Next week it may be you or me.

McGill University students and student organization have written a lunatic Open Letter Demanding the Overhaul of McGill’s Statement of Academic Freedom.  In particular it targets Philip Carl Salzman, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, which apparently said things about the Middle East that they didn’t like.

The National Association of Scholars has posted a petition on change.org asking McGill to instead issue a muscular defense of Dr. Salzman and of academic freedom.  I signed it.  Maybe you’ll want to as well.

(Bumped — and endorsed — by Glenn).

RADICAL SON, THEN AND NOW:  John Hinderaker has posted on Power Line the new preface by David Horowitz to the second edition of Radical Son.  It’s worth reading.

FUNNY:  Rehab for Vice Bloggers.

ANOTHER SOROS-FUNDED PROSECUTOR:  Newly elected Los Angeles district attorney plans to seek release of thousands of criminals.

CHARLES LIPSON:  Calling people who want to reopen the schools racist and sexist is a terrible way for the teachers’ union to debate important policy questions.

THE FIRST STATE: On this day in 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The 30 delegates to Delaware’s ratification convention, meeting at the Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover, voted unanimously.

(Yes, I know that December 7^th is also, “a date which shall live in infamy.” But … well … I’m in the mood for a happier story than that.)

THE NEW UNTOUCHABLES:  Seattle contemplates exempting any citizen who suffers from poverty, homelessness, addiction, or mental illness from prosecution for so-called “crimes of poverty.”

THANKS TO BREXIT:  The U.K. was able to put the Covid vaccine on a fast track for approval, because it is no longer controlled by Europe.

WHO SHOULD BIDEN APPOINT AS SECRETARY OF EDUCATION?:  Yesterday I noted that Biden promised voters that he would appoint a teacher, but that a piece in the New York Daily News is urging him to break that promise.  It suggests instead that he appoint the current chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Here’s another reason such an appointment might be considered controversial.

WHO SHOULD BIDEN APPOINT AS SECRETARY OF EDUCATION?:  He promised voters that he would appoint a teacher. But a piece in the New York Daily News urges him to break that promise.  It suggests instead that he appoint the current chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Here is one reason such an appointment would be controversial: While she served as Asst. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, she issued the notorious transgender bathroom guidance, which, as I explain here, was at best a misinterpretation of applicable law.  (The guidance was withdrawn by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary DeVos in the early days of the Trump Administration, but it can easily be brought back during the Biden Administration.)

Some people are assuming that Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the Supreme Court held that gender identity discrimination can be a form of sex discrimination under Title VII, vindicates the transgender bathroom guidance.  Actually it’s the opposite.  It makes the cases against the guidance even stronger.

There are other reasons that such an appointment would be controversial.  I may touch on some of them later.

DEMOCRATS SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT:  As John Fund explains, by putting Proposition 16 on the ballot, California’s deep-blue legislators help elected Republicans Michelle Park Steel and Young Kim to Congress. Washington State’s Democrats may want to take note.

HANS BADER:  Virginia Attorney General rules (on a disparate impact theory) that the Loudoun County school system illegally discriminates by having a selective admissions policy for some of its schools.  Idiotic.

EVERY TOPIC LEADS BACK TO RACE:  Terry McAuliffe & Don Scott don’t just think marijuana should be legalized.  They argue that we need “conscious and purposeful investment” in minority-owned marijuana businesses too.

ONE GIANT STEP BACKWARDS:  One of the best things the Trump Administration’s Department of Education did was turn away from the Obama Era policy prohibiting disparate impact based on race in school discipline.  There are already hints that the Biden Administration will return to that policy.  Here is my explanation for why such a return would be very unfortunate for both students and teachers. 

HELP WANTED: Harvard University is creating a new position:   Associate University Librarian for Antiracism. It will pay up to $240,300 per year.

A TALE OF TWO CAMPAIGNS: As all good Instapundit readers know by now, Proposition 16 has been soundly rejected by California voters. This happened despite its supporters having spent $27 million to the NO side’s $1.72 million.

I thought you might be interested in a list the top donors to the YES campaign. They were:

Quinn Delaney ($7,900,000)

ACLU, Inc. ($2,450,538.70)

Open Society Policy Center ($2,000,000)

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. ($1,500,000)

ACLU of Northern California Issues Committee ($1,253,599.14)

Patricia Quillin ($1,000,000)

California Teachers Association/Issue PAC ($574,229.70)

Neighbors for a Better San Francisco ($536,000)

Anne E. Delaney ($500,000)

Blue Shield of California ($500,000)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (MPO) ($500,000)

Connie E. Ballmer ($500,000)

Steven A. Ballmer ($500,000)

Our Voice, Our Vote-Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Ballot Measure Committee   Yes on Prop 16 ($389,365.50)

Salesforce.com ($375,000)

SF Workforce Housing Alliance PAC 2020, Sponsored by Neighbors for a Better San Francisco ($300,000)

California Nurses Association Initiative Political Action Committee ($300,000) California Democratic Party ($290,346.50)

Pacific Gas & Electric ($250,000)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3299 ($235,540.00)

Cisco ($200,000)

Cabrera Capital Market, LLC (Martin Cabrera, Jr.) ($200,000)

SEIU Local 1021 ($200,000)

Facebook, Inc. ($200,000)

Gwendolyn Marion Mathilde Sontheim ($200,000)

The San Francisco Foundation ($200,000)

Genentech USA ($200,000).

The No campaign did not receive a single donation that large. Its largest donation came from Students for Fair Admissions for $50,000. The second largest donation was from … uh … me. We won anyway, because Californians aren’t buying identity politics.

A list of the 34 largest donors to NO side (contributing $5000 or more) is available here.  If you donated (as many Instapundit readers did), thank you!

TAMING THE ADMINISTRATIVE BEHEMOTH BEFORE IT EATS US UP:  Mike Rappaport offers a workable approach for identifying unconstitutional violations of the non-delegation doctrine.

BIDEN HAS ENDORSED REPEALING THE SO-CALLED “SUBMINIMUM WAGE” FOR WORKERS WITH DOWN SYNDROME AND SIMILAR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES:  If the aim is to push individuals with Down Syndrome out of the workforce, I guess it’s a great idea.  But if the aim is to help them and their families out, it’s a rock stupid idea.  (Here’s a point worth noting:  Their families appear to be overwhelming against it.)

MINDING THE CAMPUS:  John Rosenberg explains what I hope politicians will come to understand:  Americans oppose race discrimination, no matter whose ox is being gored.

DEAR COLUMBUS DISPATCH:  Please don’t publish op-eds by teenagers with bogus statistics about stand your ground laws.  More accurate (though unavoidably incomplete) info here.