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FEBRUARY 11,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:44 P.M. ET: 

THE GROWING BACKLASH – FROM RT:  Celebrities criticizing the #MeToo movement have been joined by another big personality from the movie industry. Oscar-winning Austrian film director Michael Haneke called it a “witch hunt” that “poisons” the social climate.  “I regard this hysteria of rash judgments that is spreading at the moment as absolutely disgusting,” director and screenwriter Haneke said in an interview with the Austrian daily Kurier.  “People are just being finished off in the media, [their] lives and careers are being ruined,” he said. “Any kind of rape or [sexual] coercion should be punished,” he stressed, but what bothers him about the ongoing debate around allegations of sexual abuse targeting celebrities is its “totally unperceived malignance, the blind rage that is not based on facts.”  There is a serious backlash against "me too."  Even former Secretary of State Condi Rice has warned that this hysteria can infantilize women.  There are no doubt many serious cases of sexual violence against women or serious sexual harassment, and each one must be prosecuted.  But what we have now is a frenzy that will take investigators' time away from serious cases, and that will also diminish the credibility of women who courageously bring truthful charges.

BYE BYE – FROM CBS LOCAL:  SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – The number of people packing up and moving out of the Bay Area just hit its highest level in more than a decade...Of course people come and go from the Bay Area all the time, but for the first time in a long time, more people are leaving the Bay Area than are coming in. And the number one place in the country for out-migration is now, right here.  Russell Hancock with Joint Venture Silicon Valley said, “Silicon Valley has been this place that is growing. And it was mostly due to people relocating here and relocating from other parts of the world. That’s changing.”  Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s own study of the out-migration says workers are moving to Sacramento, Austin, and Portland due to a number of factors. But topping the list is the high cost of housing.  Add to that list crime, vagrancy, and the chaos and danger of illegal immigration, and many people think they can do better somewhere else.  The San Francisco mentality has its limits.

NEW HARVARD PRESIDENT – FROM CNN:  In hiring its 29th president, Harvard University is turning to one of its own.  Lawrence Bacow, a former president of Tufts University who has three degrees from Harvard, will succeed Drew Faust, the university's first female president, the school announced Sunday.
"Larry Bacow is one of the most accomplished, admired, insightful, and effective leaders in American higher education," said William Lee, chairman of the university's Presidential Search Committee and a senior fellow for the Harvard Corp., the school's governing body.  Faust has served as Harvard's president since 2007 and announced last June she would step down this summer.  Harvard does not seem to be sending any particular message with this choice.  They did not do any virtue signaling.  Bacow is the kind of highly regarded candidate whom a college would normally turn to for leadership.  We'll see in the next few days if there's public anguish from the identity politics crowd.

February 11, 2018       Permalink

IT'S COME TO THIS – AT 2:18 P.M. ET:   Paying students for avoiding violence.  Well, if it works...  From College Fix: 

This is where we are: A primary school in Philadelphia will give its students a crisp $100 bill at graduation if they go the whole year without getting into any physical scuffles.

According to Philly.com, Mitchell Elementary principal Stephanie Andrewlevich has overseen “significant gains” at the school during her tenure, and the cash payout was her brainchild.

“I wanted to challenge them to be what their families see in them, what we know they are,” Andrewlevich said. “They have a choice — to become the violence they see in their day-to-day lives, or to be peaceful models for our school and our community.”

If she cannot find a sponsor who will pony up the money, Andrewlevich will pay the $3,300 out of her own pocket.

The article cites research by Harvard University which “suggests” rewards like cash are “most effective for things that children can control” — things like completing homework and/or reading books.

Harvard Education Innovation Laboratory researcher Brad Allan says he had not previously heard of financial rewards for not fighting, but “endorsed the idea.”

Interestingly, Principal Andrewlevich employs a “collective punishment” aspect to the incentive — if one student screws up, the entire class loses as a result.

COMMENTS:  In a way, it's the market system.  It's pathetic that we've come this far down, but I'm withholding judgment on this principal's approach.  I hope the press follows the story closely.

February 11, 2018       Permalink

FREE SPEECH IN AMERICA, 2018 – AT 12:51 P.M. ET:  There has been a bad incident at another university.  Our kids are under serious danger, physical danger, from the fringe left, but the coverage in the mainstream media is minimal.  From Fox:   

Five people were arrested as fights broke out and at least one American flag was burned Saturday after a college Republican rally in Seattle drew counter-protesters.

College Republicans at the University of Washington had invited members of Patriot Prayer, a group in Vancouver, Wash., to speak in the university's Red Square for a "freedom rally," the Seattle Times reported.

The goals were to bring conservatives together and promote free-speech rights, College Republicans President Chevy Swanson told the Times. As the event got underway, supporters chanted "U-S-A!,

U-S-A!," and signs included one that read, "We died for liberty not socialism."

But more than 1,000 counter-protesters showed up to oppose the event.

"I learned that they thought my vote was a hate crime,” Kathryn Townsend, who said she voted for Donald Trump in 2016, told Seattle's Q13 Fox.

Some counter-protesters voiced their goals.

“We’re here to fight back against the far right and fascism on our campus,” one counter-protester said.

Added another: “I’m not a fan of the president, and these people are fans. So I want to come out here and say this is not OK. And what you’re doing is not OK.”

After several skirmishes broke out, police responded with pepper spray. University of Washington police said those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct.

COMMENT:  There is some pushback against these attempts to disrupt conservatives.  Many state legislatures are weighing proposals to strengthen, by law, the free-speech rights of students at public institutions.  A similar proposal has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. 

Also, some brave souls on college campuses are waking up to the danger of suppression and chaos in academic settings.  Harvard recently held a symposium on civil discourse.  A number of colleges have established strong free-speech standards.  Alas, a number of other colleges have refused to do so.

Many attempts to protect students' rights will run into tough sledding from the political left, which believes that free speech should only apply to their side.  Anything else is "hate speech."  But, I have guarded optimism that our side will eventually prevail, if not by much.  One factor is that parents are increasingly asking what their kids are getting for $50,000 or more a year.  The market works, if slowly.

February 11, 2018       Permalink 

GLORIFYING NORTH KOREA – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 12:18 P.M. ET:  We've noted that ratings for the Olympics are down, and ratings for the NFL this year were also down.  We've asked whether the increasing politicization of sports, and, just as important, sports coverage, has something to do with the declines.  From Fox: 

American mainstream media outlets delivered plenty of propaganda on North Korea’s behalf this weekend. Somehow, as Kim Jong Un’s totalitarian regime continues to starve, torture and murder its own people—western news outlets are mesmerized by the dictatorship’s presence at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Take, for example, the following headlines – ones you’d normally expect to find in North Korea’s state-run media. On Saturday, I found them in my Twitter feed:

“Kim Jong Un’s sister is stealing the show at the winter Olympics”

“The ‘Ivanka Trump of North Korea’ captivates people in the South at the Olympics”

“North Korea’s cheerleaders steal spotlight at Winter Games with synchronized chants”

“North Korea is winning the Olympics—and it’s not because of sports”

The shameful coverage of this year’s Olympics began even before the opening ceremony. Last month, NBC’s Lester Holt caused a stir for his reporting from a North Korean ski resort in which he gleefully called it a “source of immense pride for a country trying to present a new and modern face to the world” ahead of the games. The flub prompted widespread criticism, but apparently that debacle was merely the precursor for what was to come once the games began.

As the opening ceremony unfolded in PyeongChang, television cameras were fixed on Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of dictator Kim Jong Un. Some in the media even compared her to Ivanka Trump.

CNN noted that her “warm message” has apparently “struck a chord with the public.”

According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Kim Yo Jong is the Vice Director of the Workers’ Party of Korea Propaganda and Agitation Department. Unfortunately, it seems that our press made her job exceptionally easy this weekend.

COMMENT:  Very well said.  TV outlets have become hopeless in their obsession with left-wing propaganda.  Someone should ask these geniuses how many missiles or nuclear warheads were given up by North Korea last week.  Not that the commentators care.

We should point out that there is also some fine sports commentary being done at the Olympics, but the political content ruins everything.

February 11,  2018     Permalink

FEBRUARY 10,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – FROM THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION:    Southern New Hampshire University has apologized to a student who failed an assignment because her professor insisted Australia was a continent, not a country.  “We have apologized to Ashley, replaced the instructor, & are reimbursing her tuition for the course,” the university said on Twitter.  Ashley Arnold, who is completing a sociology degree online, filed a report with the university when she received a failing grade on a project outline that was supposed to compare a social norm in the United States with that of another country, BuzzFeed News reported.  Her grading rubric was filled with multiple zeros because, according to the professor, “Australia is a continent; not a country.” She told Arnold that the “error made it nearly impossible” for her to have accurately completed the assignment.   Stories like this are, sadly, fairly common.  Many "instructors" need some instruction themselves.

OH PLEASE – FROM DAILY MAIL:   A tiny endangered butterfly could stop President Donald Trump from building his beloved border wall.  A lawsuit has been filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, environmental groups and the State of California against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  It outlines that the Quino checkerspot butterfly, Riverside fairy shrimp and the Pacific pocket mouse will be threatened if the border wall is built.  The butterfly, which is native to southern California and Northern Mexico, is already on the endangered species list.  The lawsuit contends that the Department of Homeland Security does not have the ability to waive environmental laws requiring review before building the wall.  The suit seeks a ruling that a border wall with Mexico must go through normal environmental reviews, which could block construction or at least cause major delays. The challengers contend that authority to waive the environmental reviews falls under a 2005 law which has expired.  So concerned about butterflies, so unconcerned about American citizens put at risk by undocumented immigrants. 

OLYMPIC RATINGS DROP – FROM DEADLINE.COM:   A tape-delayed opener to the Games in South Korea that brought in 27.8 million viewers on the network produced a chilly 12% ratings drop from the official start of the last Winter Olympics just over four years ago in Sochi.  With geopolitical tensions, VIP seating plans, 1,200 pre-recorded morphing drones, VR and the newly minted team of Katie Couric and Mike Tirico, the Comcast-owned net tried hard to make the event seem almost as brand new and sparkling as the ice beneath 2010 figure skating Olympic champion Yuna Kim when she lit the cauldron at the end of the live across all time zones extravaganza. Still, despite thousands of performances, a distinct injection of imagination and that always trivia filled Parade of Nations, and coming off a less than gold initial and unofficial first day, NBC also came up short in the ratings, again.  Sports have had a tough time on TV recently.  Could it be the overt politicization that we've seen?  Even in NBC's Olympic coverage there is the insistent commentary about how North and South Korea are playing together under one flag.  It is meaningless.  The North is engaged in a charm offensive, but not one missile or nuclear bomb has been dismantled.  Viewers are aware of the whitewash, with its not-so-subtle anti-Trump message about love on the Korean peninsula.

February 10, 2018       Permalink

ABSOLUTELY SICKENING – AT 11:26 A.M. ET:   New reporting suggests disturbing ties between elements of the Democratic Party and both the Iranian government and the hateful leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan.  From Daily Caller: 

Three Democratic congressmen attended a private dinner hosted by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in 2013, a new report reveals.

Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Andre Carson of Indiana and Gregory Meeks of New York attended the private dinner, along with Louis Farrakhan, a notorious anti-Semite who leads the black supremacist group Nation of Islam.

Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism, according to the United States government, which has listed the Islamic Republic as a state sponsor of terror since 1984. Rouhani was in New York for a United Nations meeting and held the dinner party just hours after speaking to the UN General Assembly.

Final Call, a Nation of Islam publication, noted the three Democrats’ attendance at the time and included photos of Ellison and Meeks at the dinner party. But aside from the Final Call article, the three Democrats’ presence at the dinner remained secret until a Wall Street Journal column revealed it on Friday. None of the three congressmen’s offices responded to The Daily Caller’s request for comment for this article.

COMMENT:  The meeting is outrageous enough.  Even more outrageous is the fact that Keith Ellison is the vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and was close to being elected chairman.

Ellison must resign.  But I wonder how many Democrats will have the guts to say it.  I also wonder if the media, ever watchful over Donald Trump's non-existent racism, will have anything to say.  Don't hold your breath.

February 10, 2018       Permalink

ABSURD – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:   The sanctuary-city movement is ridiculous to start with.  It celebrates the breaking of American law.  But politicians in sanctuary cities are doubling down, defending the indefensible, and becoming awful role models.  From PJ Media: 

WASHINGTON – Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he is “not scared at all” about the Department of Justice considering charges against local officials in sanctuary cities, calling it a “weak and pathetic move.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen recently told a Senate committee hearing that DOJ is “reviewing what avenues might be available” to charge local officials who do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

“The context of this is, of course, not only putting my [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers at risk, but also finding an efficient and effective way to enforce our immigration laws,” she said.

During an interview with Fox News, Acting ICE Director Tom Homan recently said, “We’ve got to take [sanctuary cities] to court, and we’ve got to start charging some of these politicians with crimes.”

PJM asked Garcetti if he is worried about potentially facing federal charges.

“Not at all. I think it’s a political circus. I think it’s about stirring up, you know, blowing a dog whistle – ot about anything real. There’s not a single document we’ve ever cut back, and they know that. There’s not a single city in America that has done that, so it was kind of a weak and pathetic move and I’m not scared at all,” Garcetti told PJM during an interview at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting recently.

COMMENT:  Those who support the sanctuary-city movement are playing a losing hand.  They are defying the laws of the United States.  We have to fix our immigration system, but lawbreaking should not be the starting point of the fix.

February 10, 2018       Permalink

ARE AMERICANS TURNING ON THE DEMS? – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  Recent polls suggest that the expected election-year love fest between the public and the Democratic Party isn't exactly in place.  From IBD:

Spying On Trump: Americans overwhelmingly believe the Obama administration "improperly surveilled" Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and a majority say they would like to see a special prosecutor appointed to look into possible misconduct by the FBI and Department of Justice in spying on Trump, the latest IBD/TIPP poll shows.

X One fact emerges from the poll of 900 people conducted from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2: The public doesn't necessarily buy into the Democratic narrative that the Trump campaign "colluded" with Russia to tamper with the 2016 presidential election.

The poll also suggests that many Americans think the roots of the allegations made against Trump extend beyond the two major party campaigns in the last presidential election and deep into the Obama era's intelligence and law enforcement bureaucracies, and may involve active political bias on the part of supposedly nonpartisan employees of both the Justice Department and FBI.

In the IBD/TIPP survey of public opinion, we asked respondents "How closely are you following news stories about the role played by the FBI and the Department of Justice during the 2016 presidential election?"  Of those who responded, 72% said they were following the story either "very closely" (39%)  or "somewhat closely" (33%). Our responses were taken only from those who were following the story closely.

Some 55% of those said it was "likely" that the Obama administration "improperly surveilled the Trump campaign during the 2016 election." There was an obvious partisan split among the responses, with 87% of Republicans and 55% of independents saying the improper spying took place, but only 31% of Democrats.

On the question of whether a special counsel was needed to "investigate whether the FBI and the Department of Justice improperly surveilled the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election," 54% responded "yes," and 44% "no." Again, 74% of Republicans and 50% of independents wanted a special counsel appointed. But even 44% of Democrats thought it would be a good idea.

COMMENT:  What is remarkable about those numbers is that they contradict the approved narrative of most of the mainstream media.  Does this mean the American people are getting their news from alternative sources?  I have no idea.  But it certainly means that outlets like CNN and The New York Times, clearly anti-Trump, aren't having that much impact.

Ronald Reagan was able to overcome widespread press opposition and ridicule.  Trump may be doing it as well.

February 10,  2018         Permalink