THE IVY LEAGUE DEBACLE HAS REACHED THE “REPUBLICANS POUNCE” STAGE: As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, Conservatives Seize the Moment. But not entirely: “Republicans have been attacking elite universities for years. After a tense congressional hearing last week, many on the left are joining them.”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: NIU hosts seminar on ending ‘White Linguistic Hegemony.’

THE PROLES AREN’T BUYING WHAT THE LEADERS ARE SELLING: Photos show mostly empty seats for Dylan Mulvaney event at Penn State.

ROGER KIMBALL: Biden Follies: The Son-Of-A-Gun-Number-One-Son Might Just Toss Pops Under the Bus.

HARVARD CRIMSON: UPenn’s President Resigned. What Does it Mean for Harvard President Claudine Gay? “When Harvard President Claudine Gay was inaugurated as the University’s 30th president, many expected her to lead Harvard for the next decade. But after Gay’s testimony on Tuesday before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, many are demanding she resign in her first semester.”

Related: Campus Antisemitism, Free Speech, And Double Standards.

[T]he deep problem with their testimonies was not fundamentally about calls for genocide or free speech. It was about double standards — itself a form of antisemitism, but one that can be harder to detect.

The double standard is this: Colleges and universities that for years have been notably censorious when it comes to free speech seem to have suddenly discovered its virtues only now, when the speech in question tends to be especially hurtful to Jews.

The point came across at different moments in the hearing. Representative Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, observed that Carole Hooven, an evolutionary biologist, had been hounded out of Harvard (though not fired outright) for her views on sex categories. “In what world,” Walberg asked, “is a call for violence against Jews protected speech but a belief that sex is biological and binary isn’t?”

Yes, a march saying that “Trans women are men” wouldn’t have gotten the close parsing that the pro-Hamas speech did, and everyone knows it.

Related thoughts here.

Flashback: Welcome to the Party, Pal!

UNSURPRISING: New Survey Showing Public Ignorance About the Holocaust Among Young Americans.

I remember the Insta-Daughter characterizing her college American History this way: “World War II was forever ago, but slavery was yesterday.”

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST: “Not since Bill Clinton was asked about having sex with Monica Lewinsky and replied, ‘It depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is,’ has there been such parsing.”

Writes Maureen Dowd, in “The Ivy League Flunks Out” (NYT), talking about the line “It is a context-dependent decision” spoken by U Penn president Penn’s Elizabeth Magill.

We were just talking about Bill Clinton rhetoric — 2 posts down, here — but that was about “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” and the topic was Biden’s denials of involvement in his son’s influence peddling.

Dowd is writing about the “pathetic display” put on by the presidents of Harvard, M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania “when they were asked if calling for genocide against Jews counted as harassment.” Dowd only uses the word “harassment” once and doesn’t seem to see any need to define it or discuss it in any depth. When is an ugly/cruel/immoral/hateful statement harassment? Dowd — like many others, and unlike the “pathetic” presidents — glides immediately over to the much easier matter: It’s ugly, cruel, immoral, and hateful to call for genocide, against the Jews or against any people.

Clinton was a precursor.

LOL: Sheila Jackson Lee soundly defeated in Houstan mayoral race.

Flashback: Houston mayoral candidate Sheila Jackson Lee tells supporters to vote on wrong date.

YEP.

The Ivy league presidents had reached the point where they couldn't hear how they sounded to those on the outside of the echo chamber. That's what the "glamor of evil" does. https://t.co/Fl1Evhw33G

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) December 9, 2023

OPEN THREAD: Sorry it’s so late! I thought I scheduled one this morning, but apparently not.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Why is there so much military interest in the moon?

SOME OF THEM ARE PRESIDENT: Almost 40% of People With Dementia Don’t Seem to Know They Have It.

HORMONAL BIRTH CONTROL HAS UNDERAPPRECIATED DANGERS: Warning: Using Common Painkillers Alongside Birth Control Pills Increases Your Risk of Blood Clots.

WELL, GOOD: Scientists develop potential new drug treatment for multiple sclerosis.

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO: Penn president Elizabeth Magill resigns after a week of intense backlash.

I’ve received a copy of a letter that the MIT committee that selected MIT President Sally Kornbluth earlier this year received from alumni and, well, it’s scorching.

Related:

Extraordinary video in which a Jewish student highlights the extent of antisemitism on campus at @MIT. Elite universities and their DEI bureaucracies have failed us. pic.twitter.com/X2lX9sMw8l

— Ed Leon Klinger (@edleonklinger) December 6, 2023

Also: Bill Maher labels Harvard and UPenn presidents with nickname ‘Team Hamas’.

GOING THE DISTANCE: Here’s What It Takes to Drive a Tesla Over 1 Million Miles. “As InsideEVs notes, early Model S cars, including the 2014 year, commonly had reliability issues with the rear motor units and even their replacement units, which impacted this example as well, and the owner claims the rear motor unit on this one has been replaced a whopping 13 times (an average of 84,285 miles per motor including the current one, though we hope reliability has improved in recent years). The battery pack has faired much better, only being replaced three times so far, for an average of around 300,000 miles per pack, which seems pretty solid.”

His longevity secrets: “But he also somewhat babies his Model S, careful not to over-juice it on charges beyond 80 percent full, and by not letting it dip below 20 percent state-of-charge when driving. He typically only journeys about 60 miles at a time before taking a break, and doesn’t top off on breaks unless the car is low charge.”

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Greatest Defensive Semi-Automatic Shotguns.

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Breakthrough Demo of 3D DNA Industrial Nanorobots Manufacturing.

HMM: Genetic mutations that promote reproduction tend to shorten human lifespan, study shows.

I BELIEVE THIS: Study suggests greeting strangers can boost happiness levels.

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: FDA approves first human gene editing therapy for sickle cell disease.

IRONICALLY, THIS ARTICLE ON SEX ROBOTS reads like it was created by an AI.

DECLINE IS A CHOICE: Physicians propose med schools focus more on ‘oppression,’ ‘race’ than ‘medical expertise.’

SCRUTINY: Rep. Foxx announces formal investigation into Harvard, UPenn, MIT– promises more to come for other universities: Foxx warned that other universities should expect to be faced with similar investigations.

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: Practice Tip: Citing Older U.S. Cases—state and federal.