HMM: House committee to probe plagiarism allegations against Harvard president.

NOBEL LAUREATE VERNON SMITH: Fire Claudine Gay:

I see Gay as getting her post at Harvard because she was a diversity, equity and inclusion candidate, not on the basis of strong academic qualifications. There are plenty of accomplished blacks who need no such ‘help.’ Harvard is reaping the negative consequences. I am not much concerned about Gay’s success in exercising her power as I don’t think she has much. She is a discredit to Harvard, and that is being revealed. See: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-harvard-cant-fire-claudine-gay-dei-hiring-lack-of-merit-b1d480ec.

She’s a diversity hire, the rules don’t apply.

Related: 2022 Nobel Laureate Philip Dybvig:

Claudine Gay has power now and she is the oppressor of any group not favored by her and other people in power. This is a common pattern in governments heading for totalitarianism. First, say you represent the oppressed. Then you get power and oppress non-favored groups. This leaves you in a morally indefensible position that could not survive given free speech, so you do what you can to destroy anyone (“counterrevolutionaries”) who disagrees with your narrative.

Maybe this isn’t over, though in some ways the best outcome is for her to remain as a lasting discredit to Harvard.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, I’VE BEEN THINKING about the New Madrid fault lately. Not sure why, but I hope it’s still asleep, and stays that way.

SOLID ADVICE: Stop Driving With Your Dogs in Your Lap.

EXTREME LONG RANGE SHOOTING: First Look: Barrett MRADELR Rifle.

ROBOTICS: PaintJet is building big industrial robots for big industrial paint jobs.

OFF, PLEASE: Researchers uncover on/off switch for breast cancer metastasis.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: U.S. plans return to moon with an international astronaut by 2030.

IT’S NOT EASY: Caregivers of stroke survivors often experience depression, anxiety.

DRAG RACING with the Tesla Plaid.

MORE CONSEQUENCES: Antisemitic activism hurting job prospects as academics, doctors kicked out. “Since October, more than 200 law firms have signed onto a letter to top law schools warning students that their firms have ‘zero tolerance’ for antisemitism.”

NOT ENOUGH CONSEQUENCES: Claudine Gay debacle shows rejecting Western values has real consequences.

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And, of course, a subscription to my Substack (preferably paid) is always welcome. Anyway, thanks very much to everyone!

WELL, THEY’RE RIGHT: Most feel Christmas and retirement are Scrooged by ‘Bidenomics.’

ACADEMIA’S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Fresh Allegations of Plagiarism Unearthed in Official Academic Complaint Against Claudine Gay.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Civilizational Jenga: Bit by bit, our ruling class is eliminating our societal safety margins.

THE U.N. AND THE PRESS PROBABLY KNEW BUT DIDN’T TELL.

The question is not only how the IDF missed the Gaza mega tunnels but also how the UN, the humanitarian agencies and the media also missed them.https://t.co/CAnhP4JLK4

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) December 20, 2023

WELL SAID:

If you have to remove someone from the ballot to win, you are who you say they are.

— Colion Noir (@MrColionNoir) December 20, 2023

HARVARD: The Bud Light of Academia.

NEW: Harvard is the Bud Light of academia

my debut for @theblaze 🙂https://t.co/AxBqkdaBub

— Chris Brunet (@realChrisBrunet) December 20, 2023

GOOD POINT: Why Harvard Can’t Fire Claudine Gay: To admit she has performed poorly is to raise basic questions about the entire ‘diversity’ enterprise.

Worse yet, they’re questions that everyone knows are valid but that the establishment can’t admit exist.

OPEN THREAD: Readers, take the wheel.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Civilizational Jenga: Bit by bit, our ruling class is eliminating our societal safety margins.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China’s space plane apparently deployed 6 ‘mysterious wingmen’ in orbit: Some of the objects appear to be transmitting signals.

COOL:

Flight 3 Starship completed a full-duration static fire with all six of its Raptor engines pic.twitter.com/Mxn8faKcEv

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 20, 2023

IT IS ALIVE! Radar Reveals Signs of Volcanic Activity on Mars Far More Recently Than Expected. “The landscape also appears to have features carved out by lava interacting with ice or liquid water, causing steam explosions. This is very interesting, because terrestrial landscapes that combine hot geological activity with water, such as hot springs, are unexpectedly thriving with microbial life.”

Related: Why I hope there’s no life on Mars.