So many people recently ‘died suddenly’ – What’s going on? By Brian C. Joondeph, M.D.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/so_many_people_recently_died_suddenly__whats_going_on.html

A new and increasingly popular Twitter hashtag is “#diedsuddenly” in response to a surge of sudden unexplained deaths among mostly young and healthy individuals, including athletes, occurring over the past 2 years. Here are but a few recent news stories.

In Australia, “Fit and healthy 21 year old son dies suddenly in his sleep.” From the University of Arizona, “A recent member of Arizona’s men’s swim team has unexpectedly passed away.” In Detroit, a high school basketball player suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball game. While they restarted his heart, he hasn’t woken up.

Or this athlete in his early 20’s, “A former Florida Gators offensive lineman died suddenly on Thursday night according to multiple media reports.” From the US Army, “A soldier stationed at Fort Stewart died Tuesday while traveling to California for a training exercise.” Is this some type of black magic? Not likely, “America’s Got Talent magician suddenly dies at just 52.”

Let’s not forget Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest after an unremarkable tackle during a January NFL game. These are anecdotes, and while compelling are not the same as collected data.

Several brave researchers recorded these “sudden” and “unexplained” deaths, as they are described in the media. Here is one report, “An investigation of official statistics has found that the number of athletes who have died since the beginning of 2021 has risen exponentially compared to the yearly number of deaths of athletes officially recorded between 1966 and 2004.”

This trend was quite worrisome, “So much so that the monthly average number of deaths between January 2021 and April 2022 is 1,700% higher than the monthly average between 1966 and 2004.”

Biden’s Right: His Word Means Nothing By J.B. Shurk

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/bidens_right_his_word_means_nothing.html

“I give you my word as a Biden” just means that whatever is said next is almost certainly untrue

Installed (p)Resident Joe Biden loves to make promises secured by the supposed worth of his family name.  “I give you my word as a Biden,” he said back in March of 2020, “When I’m president, I will lead with science, listen to the experts and heed their advice, and always tell you the truth.”  Again giving his solemn word before the 2020 mail-in ballot presidential selection, he promised both “to turn division into unity and bring us together,” as well as to “be an ally of the light, not the darkness.”  Just over a week ago, he declared, “My word as a Biden: I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future than I am today.”  My goodness, if only Biden’s family name possessed more value than that of Benedict Arnold’s, we would be blessed with a man in the White House committed to truth, unity, spiritual guidance, and American success.  Yet Biden’s name is synonymous with none of those things, is it?

Instead, the Biden family name has really stood for only two things: buffoonery and corruption.  For fifty years, Joe Biden has managed to hold onto some slice of power in D.C. as a senator, vice president, and Oval Office stooge not because he is renowned for his erudition or virtue but rather because his doltish behavior and venal character make him ideal for others to control.  Perhaps no other Washington relic has accomplished so little for the American people over such a prolonged government career or managed to harness those defects for lucrative advancement more successfully than China Joe. 

Biden’s Biggest Lie at the State of the Union Address The data and common sense tell a very different story. by Justin Haskins

https://www.frontpagemag.com/bidens-biggest-lie-at-the-state-of-the-union-address/

President Biden’s State of the Union Address missed an opportunity to foster unity and cooperation. Instead of bridging the divide between political parties by appealing to the concerns of Republican members of Congress, who now control the House of Representatives, the president opted to attack them, all while making extremely misleading or downright false claims about his achievements.

For example, Biden dishonestly claimed that Republicans are calling to “sunset” Medicare and Social Security, a move that would eliminate two of America’s biggest social safety nets — even though Republican leadership has consistently said that they have no intention of doing that.

Biden also misleadingly suggested, “Inflation has been a global problem because of the pandemic that disrupted supply chains and Putin’s war that disrupted energy and food supplies.”

Although inflation has undeniably been impacted by supply chain problems and the war in Ukraine, the most significant cause of inflation has been the massive amount of government spending that has occurred over the past three years — the period during which the federal government spent and created more money than any other in US history.

Government spending, not wars on the other side of the world and supply chain problems, has been the primary catalyst for inflation, a reality proven by the fact that our current inflation crisis began before Russia invaded Ukraine but after the supply chain crisis was at its worst (during the coronavirus pandemic).

But of all the dishonest statements made by the president during his latest State of the Union Address, the biggest and most outrageous of them all was the absurd claim that his administration has “created a record 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years.”

Biden’s claim of “creating” 12 million jobs is wildly misleading. The actual number is much lower. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy has only seen an increase of 2.7 million new jobs since Biden’s first full month in office, in February 2021. The remaining 9 million jobs were recovered after the COVID-19 lockdowns ended, not because Biden “created” them, but rather because pharmaceutical companies developed vaccines while President Trump was in office that alleviated many of the fears held by policymakers and the public. Businesses that had long been shuttered or were running at partial capacity were suddenly able to reopen or expand, spurring an inevitable recovery.

The fact is, Joe Biden had absolutely nothing to do with most of the job growth that occurred in 2021. Any president, regardless of his or her ideological views or governing abilities, would have experienced a similar result.

Iraqi YouTube Sensation Murdered by Father in ‘Honor Killing’ By Ben Bartee

https://pjmedia.com/culture/benbartee/2023/02/12/iraqi-youtube-sensation-murdered-by-father-in-honor-killing-n1670007

Via CBS News:

Dozens of Iraqi protesters gathered Sunday to decry the so-called “honor killing” of a 22-year-old YouTube star who was allegedly strangled by her father, adding fuel to calls for legal reforms protecting women.

Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan on Friday announced that Tiba Ali was killed Jan. 31 in the central city of Diwaniyah by her father, who then turned himself in to the police. Reports say the father strangled Ali at night while she was asleep.
The so-called “honor killing” was met with condemnation from women’s rights groups and residents, who sounded the alarm on violence against women in Iraq and the need to reform legislation to impose harsher punishments on perpetrators.

Under Iraq’s penal code, Article 409 reduces the severity of punishment for men who injure or murder their wives in the pursuit of moral justice to as little as three years in prison.

A couple of takeaways:

Operation Iraqi Freedom apparently didn’t deliver liberal democracy to the Middle East as promised by the neocons. First, ISIS emerged from the wreckage, and now honor killings are more or less sanctioned in the law. It turns out that changing a society for the better requires more than bombs and bullets.
This shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement of honor killings, but if Western fathers were as involved in their children’s online activities as this Iraqi man was, the internet in the West might not be so cringe. Dylan Mulvaney might just find the fear of God — Allah, Christ, or otherwise.

Actor Idris Elba Under Fire From Left for Rejecting ‘Black Actor’ Label By Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2023/02/12/actor-idris-elba-under-fire-from-left-for-rejecting-black-actor-label-n1669976

In a recent interview, famed actor Idris Elba said that he no longer wants to be identified as a “black actor” and that he wants his talent to be recognized regardless of his race.

“As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth,” Elba told Esquire UK. “I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realised it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin. Rant over.”

While many believe Elba should be applauded, his comments have drawn criticism from the identity-obsessed political left.

“There’s an innocuous way that Black folks in Hollywood like Idris, Terry Crews, etc—play the ‘good colorblind negro’ to have individual success,” tweeted screenwriter Kellee Terrell. “Meanwhile,Black folks like Gina, Gabrielle, John Boyega, etc, reject that bulls*** to ensure COMMUNAL SUCCESS.”

“Whether he defines himself as a Black actor or not, film directors and studios do. Does Idris transcend stereotypical roles absolutely, so does Denzel, Poitier, etc.,” tweeted Democrat strategist Ameshia Cross. “Something about Idris’ commentary here doesn’t sit well. I get where he’s going, but he took a dangerous path.”

Dangerous path? Really? How sad.

Why 65 Percent of Fourth Graders Can’t Really Read By Rick Moran

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2023/02/12/why-65-percent-of-fourth-graders-cant-really-read-n1669964

On Saturday, I wrote about the 230,000 children who failed to show up for class when public schools reopened after the pandemic. It’s a tragedy without parallel in American history as many of the no-shows are very young — K through 3rd grade. Critical skills learned in early education were not taught to these kids, who are now hopelessly behind.

The pandemic didn’t necessarily cause the problem. It exposed problems that already existed and were exacerbated because of incompetence and, as it turns out, wrongheaded teaching.

Consider the fact that 65% of American fourth-grade students can barely read. This is a result of a radical shift to a new way of teaching children how to read.

What was wrong with the old way? Well, it was old.

The Free Press:

American Public Media’s Emily Hanford uncovers this sad truth with her podcast, Sold a Story. She investigates the influential education authors who have promoted a bunk idea and a flawed method for teaching reading to American kids. She exposes how educators across the country came to believe in a system that didn’t work, and are now reckoning with the consequences: Children harmed. Tons of money wasted. An education system upended.

It’s incomprehensible to me. The good and blessed nuns who taught us to read made us “sound out” words, which not only drilled good habits into our heads but exercised our minds so that the more we read, the quicker we were able to “sound out” words.

Three-Quarters Report Suffering ‘Hardship’ From Bidenflation: I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/02/13/three-quarters-report-suffering-hardship-from-bidenflation-ii-tipp-poll/

No question about it: Americans are hurting from the surging inflation that began early in President Joe Biden’s first term and that has persisted ever since. Indeed, as the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, a large majority of Americans now say the sharp rise in inflation has caused them financial hardship.

With inflation running at an average annual rate of 8% last year and 4.7% the year before, Americans are feeling the pinch.

In this month’s online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken Feb. 1-3 from 1,358 adults across the nation, we asked the following question: “How much of a hardship has inflation caused you and your family over the past two years?”

Respondents were given four possible responses: “A severe hardship”, “A moderate hardship,” “No hardship,” or “Not sure.” The poll’s margin of error is +/-2.8 percentage points.

The answer came back loud and clear: 77% said inflation is causing their family hardship, versus just 19% who said it isn’t and only 4% who said they aren’t sure. Of those who said they are suffering from inflation, 24% called it “severe,” while 53% termed it “moderate.”

The retreat from globalism People don’t want to be squelched by big business or big government. Joel Kotkin

https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/02/12/the-retreat-from-globalism/

In the wake of liberal globalism’s failings, a nationalist tide is rising today, not only in China and Russia but also throughout the West. It is a dynamic eerily similar to 100 years ago, when war, pandemic and economic insecurity brought national tensions to the surface. Yet today’s undoubted turn against globalism need not herald a return to the dark days of aggressive nationalism. Instead, we are seeing the rise of a new community-based and self-governing model of localism.

This new localism counteracts some of the worst aspects of globalism – homogeneity, deindustrialisation and ever-growing class divides – while eschewing the authoritarian tendencies often associated with nationalistic fervour. It essentially seeks to replace, where possible, mass institutions and production with local entrepreneurship and competition.

This approach has demonstrated remarkable appeal. The promising evolution of technologies like remote work and 3D printing is already creating opportunities to enhance local economies. In the US, strong majorities trust local governments, compared to the more than half who lack trust in Washington, notes Gallup. Big companies, banks and media receive low marks from the public, but small businesses continue to enjoy widespread support across party lines.

This is not merely an American phenomenon. In France there have been consistent protests against globalisation for decades. Poland and the rest of eastern Europe, recovering from decades of central control and imperial edicts from Moscow, have also favoured localism. There is also pushback against federal encroachment in Canada, while the UK’s turn against globalism was best exemplified by its withdrawal from the EU.

The movement against globalism constitutes an alternative to increasingly intrusive government: such as in Europe, where the unelected EU bureaucracy seeks ever-expanding powers, and in North America and Australia, where national bureaucracies work to undermine traditionally vibrant local communities. It also has strong connections to populism, particularly in Europe. Its base, small business, tends to tilt to the right in most countries, including the US.

The Climate Crusaders Are Coming for Electric Cars Too A new report makes clear the ultimate goal: tiny, uncomfortable apartments and bicycles for all.By Allysia Finley

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-climate-crusaders-are-coming-for-electric-cars-too-global-warming-energy-power-fossil-fuels-environment-31a692ca?mod=opinion_lead_pos7

“Progressives’ ultimate goal is to reduce consumption—and living standards—because they believe humans are a menace to the Earth.”

Replacing all gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles won’t be enough to prevent the world from overheating. So people will have to give up their cars. That’s the alarming conclusion of a new report from the University of California, Davis and “a network of academics and policy experts” called the Climate and Community Project.

The report offers an honest look at the vast personal, environmental and economic sacrifices needed to meet the left’s net-zero climate goals. Progressives’ dirty little secret is that everyone will have to make do with much less—fewer cars, smaller houses and yards, and a significantly lower standard of living.

Problem No. 1: Electric-vehicle batteries require loads of minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which must be extracted from the ground like fossil fuels. “If today’s demand for EVs is projected to 2050, the lithium requirements of the US EV market alone would require triple the amount of lithium currently produced for the entire global market,” the report notes.

Unlike fossil fuels, these minerals are mostly found in undeveloped areas that have abundant natural fauna and are often inhabited by indigenous people. “Large-scale mining entails social and environmental harm, in many cases irreversibly damaging landscapes without the consent of affected communities,” the report says. Mining can be done safely, but in poor countries it often isn’t.

The University of North Carolina Fight Escalates The school’s accreditor issues an implicit threat against the board of trustees for creating a new school to protect free inquiry.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-university-of-north-carolina-fight-escalates-unc-belle-wheelan-sacs-higher-education-college-accreditation-free-expression-d2077882?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

The kerfuffle we reported two weeks ago over a new school for free expression at the University of North Carolina keeps getting more complicated, and not in a good way. Opponents are now suggesting that UNC’s accreditation could be in jeopardy over the board of trustees’ plan to create the new School of Civic Life and Leadership without the blessing of the faculty.

At a meeting Tuesday of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina, accreditation official Belle Wheelan declared that the UNC board would be getting a letter from her agency. Ms. Wheelan is president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS), which accredits UNC, and she referred to “a news article that came out” on the plan to create a new school.

“We’re waiting for them to explain that, because that’s kind of not the way we do business.” she said, according to a report by HigherEd Works. “We’re gonna . . . either get them to change it, or the institution will be on warning” with SACS. Ms. Wheelan also brought slides to illustrate “What a Board Member is NOT,” including “Solver of all problems” and “One who runs the institution.” Instead, the role of board members should be “Eyes in, hands off.”

In a phone call with UNC Trustee Marty Kotis the following day, Ms. Wheelan said that her agency would be sending a letter to UNC because she was encouraged to do so by Margaret Spellings, who was Secretary of Education under George W. Bush, “I was asked to mention it . . . I will tell you it was Secretary Spellings who asked me to mention that.”