EDUCATION Comments turned off

The New Battle at Yale By Aron Ravin

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/10/the-new-battle-at-yale/

Conservatives fighting for the soul of William F. Buckley’s alma mater should not abandon academic freedom.

William F. Buckley published God and Man at Yale 70 years ago. Much has changed since then, both at Yale and in the world. Now is a good time to examine what, if anything, has changed for the better since Buckley’s day, as well as what uniquely modern challenges Yale faces.

Michael Samaritano’s recent essay discussing the state of American higher education is insightful on both of these fronts. As Buckley pointed out, conservatives cannot abandon the fight for control over any institution, especially not one as influential as the academy. Lofty aspirations to “academic freedom” are meaningless should they empower collectivists, fanatics, and relativists, after all.

In his debut book, Buckley famously accused specific professors of being outright hostile to faith and provided evidence of subversive teaching within the syllabi of economics courses. Christian organizations were headed by and religious positions were held by atheists. Required textbooks praised the central planning of the USSR and unanimously claimed that government debt was a nonissue.

I haven’t seen much evidence of these specific complaints at Yale today. The economics reading seems far more balanced, and readings no longer imply that government programs tend to increase productivity. The inward-facing, borderline-secular Yale University Christian Association has been replaced with an array of smaller, more fervent, and evangelical faith groups. The Saint Thomas More Catholic Center and Christian Union Lux, unlike their predecessor, would never “refuse to proclaim Christianity as the true religion.” Campus culture has shifted in these areas since Buckley’s day, and he surely deserves some credit.

While I admit that this could in part be due to my own luck, I have yet to encounter required material that has been subversive in the manner that Buckley describes. To be sure, there are some patently absurd courses being taught at this university. “Is that Racist?” and “Latinx Ethnography” do not quite meet my foreign relatives’ expectations of what American higher education has to offer. Nevertheless, the nature of these classes is transparent — only a student who is already a leftist would enroll.

BOOKS Comments turned off

Hillary Clinton Has Co-written a Novel, and I Can’t Even By Matt Margolis

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://pjmedia.com/culture/matt-margolis/2021/10/03/hillary-clinton-has-co-written-a-novel-and-i-cant-even-n1521352

Earlier this year it was reported that Hillary Clinton was teaming up with bestselling author Louise Penny to write her first novel—a political thriller. I guess she felt she had a flair for fiction after pushing the phony “Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2020 election” narrative.

But I digress. The political thriller, co-written by the twice-failed presidential candidate, is now just over a week from getting published, if you’re interested. It’s about a newly sworn-in secretary of state—the former rival of the elected president (sound familiar?)—who takes over for an administration “out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of power in the places where it counts the most.” A bizarre and inaccurate dig at Trump, I’m sure.

Time magazine calls it “a heart-pounding mystery about terrorism, corruption and diplomacy, meticulously written with the promise of details only someone on the inside could contribute.”

American crime writer Karin Slaughter also lauded the novel, calling it “an absolutely gripping, utterly believable, heart-stopping thriller that will make readers question how much is fiction and how much is based on reality.”

Hillary is following in the footsteps of her husband, who has also dabbled with fiction in his collaborations with bestselling author James Patterson.

Here’s the book’s description from Amazon:

After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.

There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Illegal aliens harass and illegally film Sen. Kyrsten Sinema By Andrea Widburg

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/10/illegal_aliens_harass_and_illegally_film_sen_kyrsten_sinema.html

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has this crazy idea that she is responsible to all of her constituents in Arizona, that a nation needs to border integrity and security (and that’s despite her being pro-immigration), and that fiscal insanity will destroy the country she represents. Because of those beliefs, despite most of her social and political stances coming from the left, she’s now a heretic to her leftists, and leftists, like all fanatics, despise heretics. That explains why leftists followed her into the bathroom and filmed her there, conduct that is a profound privacy violation, very threatening and, in Arizona, illegal.

I wrote here about how Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, despite rising politically through the left, has a strong grain of common sense running through her, something that’s given her more spine than a lot of RINOs I can name. (Too many Republicans in Congress are nothing more than the “moderate” branch of the Democrat party.) Sinema’s willingness to temper her politics with common sense is apparently making her anathema for the radicals in her own party.

And that’s how we end up with a video of amnesty activists chasing Sinema into the bathroom at Arizona State University where she was teaching a class:

And am I the only one wondering why someone who claims to have been in America since she was three sounds as if she were raised in Mexico until last year? This is not a young woman who is assimilating to America, even if she’s been here as long as she claims to have been. In a sane world, having identified herself as someone here illegally, she’d immediately be deported to rejoin her grieving grandmother. Moreover, if this woman wants to blame someone for her illegal status, she’d better look to her parents.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Are the Russia hoax’s ‘big fish’ finally in John Durham’s crosshairs? By Andrea Widburg

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/10/are_the_russia_hoaxs_big_fish_finally_in_john_durhams_crosshairs.html

Of the many positions Kash Patel held during Trump’s presidency, his most important was as an aide to Devin Nunes when the latter worked doggedly to reveal that the Democrats’ Russiagate charges were a hoax coming from the Democrat party—specifically, from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Given Patel’s insider’s knowledge of events, it means something when he appears on Maria Bartiromo’s Fox show on Sunday mornings and says that he believes that Special Prosecutor John Durham is on the verge of issuing some serious indictments against big players in the Russia hoax.

Patel’s predictions about Durham are the first thing that Bartiromo elicits from him during the interview:

RealClearPolitics has helpfully provided a transcript of the interview:

MARIA BARTIROMO: When do you believe the FBI figured out that all of this was just one political campaign trying to take down another?

KASH PATEL: I think they knew right away.

And the documents that we put out in the Nunes investigation, the Nunes memo and the HPSCI report on Russian active measures show that the FBI knew right away, because their FISA abuse process, now that declassification process is complete, and your viewers can read it, that the FBI knew the information was fraudulent.

They knew the credibility problems with Christopher Steele. And they knew the DNC, through Fusion GPS and Perkins Coie, were piping in tens of millions of dollars into the machine, so that they could get up a FISA warrant on President Trump.

So, I think they knew right away, which is why I think…

BARTIROMO: Wow.

BOOKS Comments turned off

The Alarm Bells are Ringing for American Citizenship By Richard Baehr

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/10/the_alarm_bells_are_ringing_for_american_citizenship.html

The Dying Citizen by Victor Davis Hanson

Basic Books, October, 2021

Victor Davis Hanson, the classics scholar and military historian, has written or co-authored two dozen books and many hundreds of articles. His latest book, The Dying Citizen, is a powerful and carefully developed argument for preserving American citizenship, a unique patrimony now under attack in many ways from many sources, and from all appearances, a  losing battle.

Hanson provides a history of the concept of citizenship dating back to the Greeks and Romans and makes clear how rare the American experience has been in creating a modern citizenry with both rights and responsibilities. Hanson’s book was mostly written from 2018 through early 2020, and contains a final chapter which updates the impact of the calamitous last year on the citizenship issue, dominated by the coronavirus, racial unrest and a bitterly fought presidential election. Hanson argues that the Trump presidency pushed back against the forces diminishing American citizenship with some modest success from 2017 to 2019, but the events of the past year led to a reversal of those gains, and the prospect of greater threats than existed before.

Hanson’s book contains six primary chapters, each addressing a specific threat to American citizenship, as it was understood in our founding documents, and expanded through political participation for women and races and ethnicities different from the original predominant majority culture.

The first chapter, “Peasants,” maintains that for a people to be self-governing, they must be economically autonomous. In essence, they need to avoid dependency on either the “private wealthy or the state.”  A healthy middle class enables economic self-reliance and autonomy. Politicians from both parties are always claiming they are fighting for the middle class, but if they have been doing this, they have been failing on their promises, as evidenced by a hollowing out of much of America as its industrial and manufacturing base faltered, and major parts moved overseas and the failure to replace the lost opportunities with “good jobs with good wages.”  

Without a sustainable and thriving middle class, society becomes divided between “modern masters and peasants.” In this circumstance, government assumes a responsibility to subsidize the poor to dampen any possibility of revolution, and exempt the wealthy, who respond by enriching and empowering the governing classes. The current attempt by Democrats in Congress to pass a massive “human infrastructure” bill is part of developing a cradle-to-grave dependency for much of the citizenry (and non-citizens as well) on government welfare programs.

Chapter 2, “Residents,” argues for privileging citizens over non-citizens (residents). Citizens live within “delineated and established borders.” Citizens share values, and they assimilate and integrate into what becomes a national character. But today, many argue for a borderless world, and opening America to the world’s 8 billion people. They ask, “Why should those fortunate enough to have been born here, or been legally allowed to enter under various quotas or other limits, be privileged above those others who would also benefit from living here rather than where they are now living and  fleeing?”

The collapse of the American southern border under the current Biden administration was not an accident, but a plan. It fits an ideology that more people moving here, from wherever they may have come, is better for America, since it makes us look  more like the rest of the world going forward. Naturally, there is a political dimension to this ideology, since it assumes that when the new residents become citizens at some point, they will align with the political party favoring mass immigration and open borders.

Hanson argues that people will naturally want to move to a country with political rights, a Bill of Rights,  economic opportunity, and a generous welfare system to tide them over in the short term or forever.  Immigrants don’t see America in the critical fashion of many of its current citizens, but as better than the places they left, but will they accept the responsibility of citizenship, as well as its bounty?

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Dem Civil War Erupts With Name-Calling, Leaks

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://dailycaller.com/2021/10/01/democratic-party-pelosi-sinema-biden-manchin-leaks-name-calling-infrastructure-spending-bill/

Chaos has erupted within the Democratic Party after a member of Congress leaked the contents of a caucus meeting Friday as moderate and left-wing members work toward passing an infrastructure bill and a social spending package.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi initially promised a group of moderates, led by New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, that she would hold a vote for the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) on Thursday. However, Pelosi delayed the vote after failing to reach an agreement with left-wing members of her party, who will not vote for the package unless the Senate passes the as-yet unwritten Build Back Better Act through the reconciliation process.

House Democratic leaders will confiscate cell phones from members ahead of a Friday afternoon full caucus meeting with President Joe Biden, after one member leaked the entire contents of Friday morning’s full caucus meeting to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Research That Shows How Destructive The Biden Spending Will Be

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/10/04/the-research-that-shows-how-destructive-the-biden-spending-will-be/

It’s truly frightening how obsessed the Democrats are with spending nearly $5 trillion on infrastructure and social programs. They’re behaving as if our republic would buckle and collapse if their agenda isn’t passed. The real danger, though, are their ideas, which are economic IEDs.

More than 20 years ago, UCLA professors Lee Ohanian and Harold Cole, now a University of Pennsylvania professor, produced a report that showed President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s policies not only didn’t end the Great Depression, they extended the misery by seven years. Simply put, there was too much government intervention in the economy.

FDR’s policies and those of President Joe Biden and the Democrats are not entirely analogous. Ohanian and Cole focused “primarily on the impact of Roosevelt’s early policies that allowed for monopolies and too much union power to increase prices and salaries.” The Democrats’ bills are mostly, but not exclusively, about spending other people’s money.

Another difference: We are not in a depression. The country is recovering from a downturn caused by officials foolishly locking down the economy, which they told us was necessary to beat the pandemic.

However, we can expect at best a sclerotic economy, and depression-like conditions, if the Biden bills become law. The unbridled spending will exacerbate the inflation that’s disrupting the U.S. economy as well as compound the supply chain problems that are blowing “a stagflationary wind through the global economy.”

Citadel professor of ethics and free enterprise leadership Richard Ebeling calls “the fiscal mindset of those in the White House and in Congress who are proposing new federal budgetary expenditure,” and tax hikes “in the trillions of dollars,” a “fantasy land of financial irrationality.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Biden’s Vax Mandate To Be Enforced By Fining Companies $70,000 To $700,000? Adam Andrzejewski

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/09/28/bidens-vax-mandate-to-be-enforced-by-fining-companies-70000-to-700000/?sh=1e5a568a1c0d

President Joe Biden didn’t just announce a Covid-19 vaccine mandate on companies employing 100 or more people, he plans to enforce it.

On Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House quietly tucked an enforcement mechanism into their $3.5 trillion “reconciliation” bill, passed it out of the Budget Committee, and sent it to the House floor.

Buried on page 168 of the House Democrats’ 2,465-page mega bill is a tenfold increase in fines for employers that “willfully,” “repeatedly,” or even seriously violate a section of labor law that deals with hazards, death, or serious physical harm to their employees.

The increased fines on employers could run as high as $70,000 for serious infractions, and $700,000 for willful or repeated violations—almost three-quarters of a million dollars for each fine. If enacted into law, vax enforcement could bankrupt non-compliant companies even more quickly than the $14,000 OSHA fine anticipated under Biden’s announced mandate.

The Biden Administration has already started implementing its vaccine mandate enforcement blueprint:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set precedent this summer and published an emergency Covid-19 rule in the Federal Register taking jurisdiction over and providing justification for Covid-19 being a workplace hazard for healthcare employment.
Early in September, Biden announced his 100-or-more employee Covid-19 vaccine mandate and tasked OSHA with drafting an enforcement rule to exert emergency vaccine compliance authority over companies with 100 or more employees.
The legislative provision that passed the Budget Committee raises the OSHA fines for non-compliance 10 times higher – and up to $700,000 for each “willful” or “repeated” violation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not announced when the House will vote on the reconciliation bill that includes the new OSHA fines.
If the legislation is enacted, OSHA could levy draconian fines to enforce Biden’s vaccine mandate, a move that could rapidly bankrupt non-compliant companies. The Biden mandate affects employers collectively employing an estimated 80 million workers.

CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

A Tale Of Two Heroes; Gen. William ‘Billy’ Mitchell ‘The Father Of The U.S. Air Force’ And Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Scheller By Caren Besner

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.publishedreporter.com/2021/10/02/op-ed-a-tale-of-two-heroes-william-billy-mitchell-the-father-of-the-u-s-air-force-and-marine-lieutenant-colonel-stuart-scheller/

 This is a cautionary tale of two American soldiers. Nearly a century spans the incidents that brought them their notoriety; yet the issues they evoke are exactly the same and timeless. Does an active duty officer in the military have the right, a moral obligation even, to criticize the actions of his superiors; both military and civilian, if he firmly believes that those actions are incompetent and have dire consequences?

Our first soldier, William “Billy” Mitchell was born in December 1879 into a family of wealth and influence. He seemed a man destined for success. Opting for an army career, he became enamored of early developments in the field of aviation and joined the fledgling U.S. Air Service; then a part of the Signal Corps. Following distinguished service in WWI, during which he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, he continued to advocate for American air power during the lean post WWI years when military budgets were being slashed to the bare bone. Regarded as a visionary and a man way ahead of his time, Mitchell made a number of prophecies … all of which eventually came true.

Among other things, Mitchell foresaw the mass bombing of civilian population centers, airborne armies being dropped behind enemy lines, and the replacement of the battleship by the aircraft carrier as the dominant naval vessel. These ideas were all regarded as “crackpot” in the early 1920s, but yet, he continued to advocate for his cause, making many enemies as well as friends along the way. Mitchell’s undoing came in September 1925 when a Navy dirigible, the U.S.S. Shenandoah crashed during a severe thunderstorm killing 14 men. The airship had been ordered aloft as a public relations gesture during a period of severe weather over the protestations of its own Captain. Mitchell offered his opinion on this and other incidents that had previously occurred: “These terrible accidents are the direct results of incompetency, criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of the National Defense by the War and Navy Departments.” This was the last straw for the army. He was charged with insubordination, court martialed, convicted, and suspended from duty for five years without pay. He chose to resign from the army and continued to espouse the cause of American air power but his time had passed. He died in 1936 in relative obscurity; five years before his most famous prediction came to pass. He could not have known when he wrote in 1924 that “One day Japan will seek to attack the United States through the Hawaiian Islands; some fine Sunday morning.”

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Annex Judea and Samaria Judea and Samaria should be returned to their rightful owners. Amil Imani

Posted By on October 4th, 2021

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/23228

When we dig into history books, we can hardly find people or countries that have gone out of existence for as long as 2,000 years and then reappeared and been reborn. Thus, it is indeed accurate to say that the rebirth of Israel, this beautiful ancient culture, people and the land is truly a miracle from God.

I believe time has come for Israel to unite all Israel. Historically and biblically, both Judea and Samaria have been undeniably part of the heritage of the Jewish people. They belonged to Israel 2000 years ago as they belong to Israel now. Arabs have absolutely no historic ties to Judea and Samaria. Historic ties are what your base assertions to a geographic area.

Annexation of these two historical Jewish lands, will stipulate a strong and well-defined standing for West Bank Arabs. Simultaneously, the so-called Palestinians, will have no motive to have their own county. Israeli equal justice under the law will apply to all people. All terrorists’ infrastructures will be eradicated. The residents of those regions will be subjected to Israeli rules and regulation and will be dealt with in the same fashion that all countries deal with domestic insurgent, treachery and lawless organizations.

“The Jewish people didn’t wake up one day saying ‘Jews are connected to the Land of Israel’. The whole story, the history and the destiny of the Jewish people, is geared toward the idea that we were there and we are coming back.”

Let us clarify this now and forever, historically or otherwise, there has never been a Palestinian state, nor political body that is owned by Palestinians. According to the advancement of international agreements from 1917 until 1947, the land of Israel, renamed Palestine by the Romans in the 2nd century. It was later divided into three states: Jordan, Jewish and Arab state. While the Jews swallowed this excruciating deal, shrinking the size of their ancestral land by over 75%, the Arabs snubbed and rejected it all together. As a result, the Arabs launched an invasion against the newly established State of Israel in 1948. Jordan managed to occupy the area of Judea and Samaria and illegitimately annexed it.