UNC Doctors Slam ‘Hurtful’ Surgeon Who Denounced Affirmative Action In Medical Schools By: Kenny Xu

https://thefederalist.com/2023/04/10/unc-doctors-slam-hurtful-surgeon-who-denounced-affirmative-action-in-medical-schools/

Dr. John Calhoon was smeared as ‘racist’ after he emphasized merit as the primary indicator of success in the surgery profession.

As it turns out, it is nearly impossible today not to trigger woke health care.

In January 2023, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), a society of the leading heart surgeons in the nation, held a conference where the outgoing president, Dr. John Calhoon, emphasized merit as the primary indicator of success in the profession.

“Affirmative action is not equal opportunity,” he wrote in a PowerPoint presentation. The “best metric is whether someone does good.”

He also wrote that “defining people by color, gender, religion only tends to ingrain bias and discrimination.” 

This is of course true. Studies by Harvard University professor James Dobbin found that most diversity trainings and workshops have little to no effect on the perceptions of colleagues toward one another. They may even be counterproductive, with some studies reporting greater animosity toward other races out of annoyance at the heavy-handed nature of courses. 

Immediately, medical news outlets called Calhoon a racist, white privileged, and other monikers of derision, but they weren’t the only ones. The Society for Thoracic Surgeons condemned Calhoon’s slide in a statement, describing his talking points as “inconsistent with STS’s core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Mind guards at some surgery clinics also issued their own internal responses, and my organization Color Us United has found a particularly egregious one.

Jail Him, Or They Lose Kevin McCullough

https://townhall.com/columnists/kevinmccullough/2023/04/09/jail-him-or-they-lose-n2621719

They’ve tried literally everything short of ordering a hit on him, and he still stands. They have exhausted every avenue, option, and possibility, and they are left with a bag of nothing.

They tried a fake dossier, a made-up narrative that the media put on repeat. They accused him of a high crime for a transcript of a phone call. They accused him of advocating violence when his words said precisely the opposite. Now they are trying to say he obstructed justice when he, in fact, followed the request of the FBI to the letter. Now they are trying to say that another phone call is evidence of a felony when again, his exact words prove otherwise. Now they have indicted him for something that if a crime is even evident (and clearly it is not), the statute of limitations ran out years ago. They tried to argue he avoided paying taxes, only for the record to show he followed the tax code with precision. They want to argue now that he intends to defraud the government of what he owes in taxes, even though during his four years in public office, he refused his $400k salary and returned it in full to the government coffers.

No elected leader has been more maligned, lied about, and attempted to be neutralized as they have with former President Trump.

I was reflecting on some things over this somber holiday weekend. I am intrinsically interested in relooking at history and seeing what lessons we learn from it. Hence my thoughts scurried to the 2016 cycle, where this imminent fear of Trump created this panic in America’s political left. The ensuing desperation dragged them into the utter gutter of criminal political action. 

From Global Warming to Global Cooling to Global Warming Mark Lewis Mark Lewis

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2023/04/10/from-global-warming-to-global-cooling-to-global-warming-n2621739

Here is an interesting quote: 

“Snows are less frequent and less deep.  They often do not lie below the mountains more than one, two, or three days and very rarely a week.  They are remembered to be formerly frequent, deep, and of long continuance.  The elderly inform me that the earth used to be covered with snow about three months every year.  The rivers, which then seldom failed to freeze over in the course of the winter, scarcely ever do now.  [This] change…in the spring of the year is very fatal to fruits…I remember that when I was a small boy, say 60 years ago, snows were frequent and deep in every winter.” 

That was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1799, before fossil fuels dominated the energy industry, and when the earth’s population was far smaller than it is today.  From all indications, there was indeed notable warming in the 18th century from the previous “Little Ice Age” period.  

But let’s move ahead to the 20th century.  The weather changes, of course, and Paul Ehrlich, who was always wrong about everything he ever said, told us in 1969, “We must realize that unless we are extremely lucky, everybody will disappear in a cloud of blue steam in 20 years.”   Twenty years passed, no blue steam, people were still on the earth.  I guess we were lucky.  And Ehrlich was rich.

Global cooling was the craze then.  Here are a few representative quotes from the 1970s:

Boston Globe (1970): “Air pollution may obliterate the sun and cause a new ice age in the first third of the next century”

LA Times (Oct. 24, 1971): “New Ice Age Coming—It’s Already Getting Colder” 

Brown Science Dept. to the White House (1972): “Deep concern with the future of the world…falls within the rank of processes which produced the last ice age.”

What Happens To A Country That Loses Its Mind?

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/04/11/what-happens-to-a-country-that-loses-its-mind/

To see biological males win “woman of the year” awards and others compete against women in sports, and at least one paid to promote sports bras, it’s obvious the American mind has slipped a few gears. But our current troubles are about more than celebrating what is clearly a mental illness that needs to be treated. We have lost our way almost entirely across the board.

The locus of our insanity, one could argue, is Washington, D.C. The federal government developed a habit long ago of spending beyond its means. But the foolishness has reached new levels.

The federal debt is heading to $31.7 trillion like a freight train at full throttle with no brakes. Spending is outpacing revenue by more than $1.5 trillion. Social Security is headed for collapse sooner than its appointed guardians had expected, but the collective vision among our “leaders” on the Potomac doesn’t go beyond the next election. So nothing is done.

Despite the obvious problems, the Democrats want to tax higher and spend more. The supply of vacuity seems endless.

Washington is also at the axis of weaponized government. Free speech is being crushed, dissent from the left’s political agenda is considered an imprisonable offense, and court rulings are to be ignored if they offend progressive sensibilities (yes, we know, two words that don’t belong together). The Democrats see the IRS not as just a revenue collector but also as a truncheon with which to discipline those who refuse to live under their boots. Parents who grouse at school board meetings? They are of course terrorists who must be watched.

It’s no coincidence that we’re living in riotous times. The damage seems to build with every news cycle. But to listen to the Democrats and their communications department, also known as the mainstream media, the only riot in U.S. history was on Jan. 6, 2021. In their twisted minds, rampaging, killing, burning and looting in the name of George Floyd, or some imagined resistance to fascism, are just benign elements of mostly peaceful protests. Democrats have even contributed money to bail out the “protesters.”

Wartime Intelligence Leaks Can Sink Allies If Ukraine’s air defenses are now at risk, the U.S. bears some of the blame.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/classified-document-leak-russia-ukraine-war-offensive-u-s-intelligence-dfda36c9?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

The leak of classified U.S. documents related to the Ukraine war looks like a debacle at many levels—undermining the confidence of allies in the U.S., revealing how much the U.S. knows about Russia’s military deliberations, and above all betraying the weakness of Ukrainian air defenses.

The source of the leak isn’t known, which is disconcerting on its own. The documents first appeared on social media, and the press hasn’t been able to verify their authenticity. But the obvious alarm among U.S. officials suggests that much of the leaked intelligence is accurate. The Justice Department and Pentagon began a criminal investigation last week, for what that is worth.

The leaks are especially damaging because they disclose secret U.S. judgments about the progress of the war. It’s not the same as betraying the location of troop movements, but it’s close. The disclosure of how much the U.S. knows about Russian military plans could be a death sentence for sources in Russia.

The most troubling leak is that Ukraine’s air defenses could be defeated by May, which would give Russia air superiority and a huge tactical advantage. The Kremlin hoped air dominance would help it achieve an early victory, but Ukrainian air defenses held up well against the initial assaults.

Federal investigation into classified docs leak heats up as U.S., allies race to contain fallout Revelations could pose diplomatic headaches with close allies: Ben Wolfgang

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/apr/10/federal-probe-classified-docs-leak-heats-us-allies/

The Pentagon, Justice Department and agencies across the federal government scrambled Monday to track down the source of a major classified documents leak and to limit the widening fallout in allied capitals from Jerusalem to Seoul, South Korea, where the revelations threatened to stoke domestic turmoil and friction with Washington.

The collateral damage from the leak, one of the most serious disclosures of sensitive information in years, has quickly spread far beyond American shores. Biden administration officials said they are in contact with allies because of signs that the individuals behind the leak are trying to sow discord between the U.S. and its closest partners.

At the Pentagon, officials called the leak a “very serious” risk to national security. They were careful to avoid confirming specific revelations in any of the materials, including apparent assessments of the Russia-Ukraine war and what appear to be internal political conversations in South Korea. The Defense Department has started an internal review, and the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation.

“This team is really working to get our arms around everything that has to do with this distribution,” Pentagon spokesman Chris Meagher told reporters. “It’s a comprehensive effort. The department is trying to wrap its arms around what may have happened and the way ahead in terms of our response.”

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said President Biden has been getting regular briefings about the leak.

He said the administration isn’t sure whether more disclosures are on the horizon.

When Democrats attack democracy by Byron York

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/when-democrats-attack-democracy

The United States Constitution and all the state constitutions establish legislatures and give those legislatures the authority to set their own rules. The constitutions also give lawmakers the authority to punish members for violating those rules.

Rules make a legislature run, which is why party leaders always stack their rules committees with lawmakers sure to side with their party on any heated dispute. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), for example, was widely regarded as a master of using the rules to further her party’s ends. To see how she did it, look to January 2021, at the beginning of her last term as speaker, when Pelosi introduced a series of rules “reforms” that severely limited the rights of the minority, Republicans, to offer amendments to bills. “The rules all but eliminate what is called the motion to recommit,” the Wall Street Journal editorial page noted at the time. “This legislative tool has existed since the first Congress, and for nearly 90 years it has allowed the minority party to offer the last amendment to legislation. The motions typically fail, but they are a way for the minority to highlight and provoke a debate on controversial questions.”

Pelosi, working with a very small Democratic majority, shut down the minority’s ability to focus on issues important to them. Her basic guideline was very simple: The majority rules. For this, Pelosi received lavish praise in the media as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, speakers in history.

So Pelosi showed that rules matter. But she also showed that rules did not matter when they stood in the way of something she wanted to do. In June 2016, Democrats, then in the minority in the House, wanted to force votes on gun control measures in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting. Majority Republicans did not. The problem was Democrats had only 188 members, while Republicans had 247. On their own, Democrats couldn’t force the House to do much of anything. The majority rules.

ADL: Criticizing George Soros Is ‘Anti-Semitic’ By Ben Bartee

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/benbartee/2023/04/10/adl-criticizing-george-soros-is-anti-semitic-n1685984

The Anti-Defamation League – one of the premier censorship agencies of the corporate state — has unironically adopted the Hamas human shield tactic of hiding behind Holocaust victims to deflect incoming flak for George Soros, globalist puppeteer extraordinaire.

Via ADL:

Hungarian Jewish billionaire, philanthropist and Holocaust survivor George Soros is widely recognized for funding progressive political and social causes, usually through grants made by his Open Society Foundations. As a result, Soros has become a lightning rod for conservative and right-wing groups who object to his funding of liberal causes.
In far-right circles worldwide, Soros’ philanthropy often is recast as fodder for outsized conspiracy theories, including claims that he masterminds specific global plots or manipulates particular events to further his goals. Many of those conspiracy theories employ longstanding antisemitic myths, particularly the notion that rich and powerful Jews work behind the scenes, plotting to control countries and manipulate global events.

Get it, bigot? Criticizing a foreign billionaire money changer (Soros literally built his fortune trading currencies and wrecking multiple national economies in the process) who uses his ill-gotten fortune to meddle in American politics isn’t about a sincere desire for national sovereignty and local, true political representation.

An unspeakable atrocity The pain is made so much worse by the pusillanimity of the west Melanie Phillips

https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/an-unspeakable-atrocity?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

The heart breaks. The pain currently being felt by Rabbi Leo Dee and his family is unimaginable. 

On Friday, as the rabbi drove towards Tiberias in northern Israel for a Passover break with his family, the car following him carrying his wife Lucy (Leah) and two of his daughters, Maia and Rina, was ambushed by Palestinian Arab gunmen and crashed into the barrier. The gunmen then approached the car and shot Lucy and her daughters at point blank range with 20 bullets from a Kalashnikov rifle. Maia and Rina were killed on the spot. Lucy was left fighting for her life. Yesterday, Rabbi Dee buried his daughters. “How will I explain to Lucy what has happened to our two precious gifts?” he wept. Today, Lucy died.

This unspeakable atrocity has united Israel in horror. Once again, Israeli Jews have been murdered for nothing other than the fact that they are Jews living in their ancestral homeland. Once again, a quiet, wholesome, blameless family has been shattered for ever by the forces of evil bent upon exterminating Jews. 

Hours after the attack on the Dee family, an Italian tourist, Alessandro Parini, was murdered and several people injured in a car-ramming terror attack in Tel Aviv.

Since September 2000, Palestinian Arabs have murdered at least 1420 Israelis. Over the past year, at least 30 Israelis have been murdered in such attacks. For months, there have been multiple attempted attacks against Israeli citizens almost every day. 

Trans ideology is destroying the university Gender-critical academics have become the enemy within.Lauren Smith

https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/04/09/trans-ideology-is-destroying-the-university/

Academia is now hostile to free thought – especially when it comes to the trans debate. Few cases demonstrate this as clearly as that of London-based sociologist Dr Laura Favaro.

Last week, Favaro started a crowdfunding campaign to help her take her employer – City, University of London – to an employment tribunal. Favaro claims she was ostracised and ultimately dismissed by her university after writing about some of her research findings, which showed that gender-critical academics are terrified of openly expressing their views.

In 2020, Favaro joined City as a postdoctoral research fellow, where her main topic of study was the debate surrounding sex and gender. As part of her research, Favaro conducted interviews with 50 gender-studies academics on both sides of the trans debate, across multiple disciplines and universities. The gender-critical feminists she interviewed told her they face unrelenting harassment and intimidation. Some even claimed that their career progression had been blocked because of their views. Last year, Favaro wrote up some of these findings in Times Higher Education. Her research left her ‘in no doubt that a culture of discrimination, silencing and fear has taken hold across universities in England and many countries beyond’.

Favaro was warned by her interviewees that her research could get her into serious trouble. It was not uncommon, Favaro said, for participants to tell her that ‘everybody is going to hate you’ for talking openly about the culture of silence around sex and gender in universities. After her THE piece was published, those warnings quickly came true.

Favaro claims on her crowdfunding page that City was bombarded with vexatious complaints, which branded her research ‘unethical’. An investigation by City found these claims to be baseless. Nevertheless, she says she was ostracised and frozen out by her department. She claims she faced bullying and harassment from a senior colleague. She also alleges there were attempts to persuade her to destroy interview transcripts. Eventually, she was dismissed, despite being on a fixed-term contract. City is then alleged to have prevented her from accessing the data she collected, and to have locked the email account she had used to communicate with participants in her study. In short, Favaro allegedly faced exactly the kind of hostile treatment that her research was trying to draw attention to.

There is now a long line of academics who have been attacked and censored for speaking out against trans orthodoxy. Philosophy professor Kathleen Stock, author of Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism, was infamously hounded out of her role at the University of Sussex in 2021, after students waged a relentless campaign against her. In 2018, Rosa Freedman at the University of Reading found her door covered in urine after she spoke out against gender self-identification. Selina Todd, a professor of modern history at Oxford University, revealed in 2020 that she needs bodyguards to accompany her to lectures. The list goes on.