EDUCATION Comments turned off

Pitt cardiologist sues school after backlash to his article on affirmative action Paula Reed Ward

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://triblive.com/news/education-classroom/pitt-cardiologist-sues-school-after-ba

A University of Pittsburgh cardiologist who faced backlash over an opinion piece he wrote criticizing affirmative action is suing his employers, the American Heart Association and the company that published and then retracted his article, alleging that he was demoted and defamed because his views were unpopular.

Dr. Norman C. Wang, who is a faculty member in Pitt’s School of Medicine and a doctor with University of Pittsburgh Physicians, was removed from his position as director of UPMC’s clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellowship program in August — days after his article was noticed by other cardiologists on Twitter.

“What’s remarkable about this is that he was not punished for an inappropriate joke or an intemperate remark in the classroom, but for publishing a thoroughly researched article in a peer-reviewed journal,” said Terry Pell, the president of the Center for Individual Rights, which is representing Wang in his suit.

“This should concern anybody concerned about academics and free speech regardless of whether it challenges conventional thinking.”

Wang filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court alleging that university officials retaliated against him for exercising his First Amendment rights. The complaint also includes claims for defamation, breach of contract, tortious interference and retaliation under Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Law.

Named defendants include the University of Pittsburgh; UPMC; University of Pittsburgh Physicians; the American Heart Association; Wiley Periodicals Inc., which publishes the Journal of the American Heart Association; Samir Saba, who is the chief of cardiology at the school of medicine and Wang’s supervisor; Mark Gladwin, the chair of the department of medicine; Kathryn Berlacher, a professor in the cardiology division; Marc Simon, a cardiology professor and several people who are unnamed.

MEDIA Comments turned off

News Reporting On Crime Isn’t Racist, It’s Essential By John Daniel Davidson

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/18/news-reporting-on-crime-isnt-racist-its-essenti

The smart people at Harvard’s Nieman Lab want you to know that reporting on crime is really just another way of perpetuating white supremacy.

Among the many things 2020 has helped clarify is that journalism, particularly the journalism practiced by the corporate media, is in bad shape. From the media’s coverage of impeachment (remember that?), to the presidential election, to the pandemic and the riots and everything else, it has become painfully obvious that the establishment press isn’t interested in journalism as such, but in woke political activism and race hustling.

So no wonder the very smart journalists at Harvard’s Nieman Lab want to “defund the crime beat” because reporting on crime is apparently now racist.

That’s the gist of a recent piece published as part of Nieman’s series on “predictions for journalism 2021.” It’s not so much a prediction as a shoddy argument, though, and it opens with the blanket claim that “Crime coverage is terrible.”

It’s racist, classist, fear-based clickbait masking as journalism. It creates lasting harm for the communities that newsrooms are supposed to serve. And because it so rarely meets the public’s needs, it’s almost never newsworthy, despite what Grizzled Gary in his coffee-stained shirt says from his perch at the copy desk.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

With U.S. Senate Runoffs Near, Georgia’s Not Prosecuting Its Unprecedented Number of Double Voters By Paul Sperry

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/18/with-u-s-senate-runoffs-near-georgias-not-prosecuting-its-unprecedented-number-of-double-voters/

More than 1,700 Georgians illegally cast two ballots in 2020 — including the presidential race — but their fraudulent votes weren’t canceled out.

Note: The full-length version of the following article was published Nov. 13 by RealClearInvestigations.

More than 1,700 Georgians were singled out for illegally casting two ballots in 2020 elections – including last month’s presidential race – but their fraudulent votes weren’t canceled out, according to state election officials. And so far, none of the cheaters have been prosecuted, raising concerns about continued fraud as Georgia prepares to vote again in twin U.S. Senate runoff elections next month.

The majority of double voters were Democrats who cast an absentee ballot either by mail or drop box and also voted in person on Election Day, officials said, which is a felony under state law.

The highest share of offenders were from Fulton County, which includes Atlanta – many of whom were allowed to cast a second ballot by poll workers, officials said.

Hundreds of workers assigned to county poll sites were recruited and trained by the Democrat-run Georgia chapter of the ACLU and by Happy Faces Personnel Group, a minority-owned temp agency run by Democrat donors, according to documents obtained by RealClearInvestigations. 

The ACLU chapter is now signing up poll workers for the Jan. 5 runoff races. And the temp agency remains under contract with the county to supply workers for that critical election, despite complaints from poll managers and poll watchers that its recruits were “poorly trained” and “highly partisan.” The Georgia runoffs will determine control of the U.S. Senate.

Though the number of suspected double-voting felons is the largest in state history, RealClearInvestigations has learned that no cases have been referred to the state attorney general for criminal investigation.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

SPLC Funded Ballot Drop Boxes in Georgia, Now It’s Suing to Defend Them for the Runoff By Tyler O’Neil

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/election/tyler-o-neil/2020/12/18/splc-funded-ballot-drop-boxes-in-georgia-now-its-suing-to-defend-them-for-the-runoff-n1218235

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), most notorious for smearing conservative and Christian nonprofits as “hate groups” to raise millions and to cut its ideological opponents off from polite society, also donated money to run ballot drop boxes during the 2020 presidential race in Georgia. Those drop boxes, also funded by Mark Zuckerberg’s Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), weakened crucial ballot safeguards, opening the door for fraud. The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a lawsuit to restore ballot protections but the SPLC joined a legal effort to preserve the drop boxes for the January 5 Senate runoff election.

“Drop boxes decentralize election oversight to an absurd level,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, warned in a statement to PJ Media. “Centralized elections with official oversight are the gold standard. SPLC should stick to smearing people and stay out of election administration litigation.”

Yet on Thursday, the SPLC joined the ACLU of Georgia in representing the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in filing an amicus curiae brief opposing the RNC effort to safeguard the election.

On December 9, the RNC and the Georgia Republican Party sued Fulton County, requesting that drop boxes only be accessible during business hours and asking county registrars to host a livestream video of the drop boxes’ surveillance videos on the internet. The SPLC’s brief urges Fulton County to allow access to the drop boxes after business hours and warns that a drop box livestream “poses a significant risk of increasing voter intimidation for the runoff elections.”

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

As Bad as That Hack of U.S. Government Agencies Was, It’s Far Worse Than You Think By Rick Moran

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/12/18/as-bad-as-that-hack-of-u-s-government-agencies-was-its-far-worse-than-you-think-n1218811

Information about the massive hack of U.S. government networks just keeps getting worse and worse. Now we learn that America’s nuclear infrastructure was probably compromised, starting with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees a broad range of nuclear activities and includes the NNSA — the National Nuclear Security Administration. It makes and stores the nuclear weapons.

Politico:

They found suspicious activity in networks belonging to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation at NNSA, and the Richland Field Office of the DOE.

The hackers have been able to do more damage at FERC than the other agencies, and officials there have evidence of highly malicious activity, the officials said, but did not elaborate.

It’s not likely the hackers were able to penetrate the really sensitive information. The Pentagon says that the malware employed only affected business systems.

“At this point, the investigation has found that the malware has been isolated to business networks only, and has not impacted the mission essential national security functions of the department, including the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Hynes said in a statement. “When DOE identified vulnerable software, immediate action was taken to mitigate the risk, and all software identified as being vulnerable to this attack was disconnected from the DOE network.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Governor Cuomo Should Take a Polygraph Test, Just Like He Demanded of Brett Kavanaugh By Matt Margolis

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/12/18/governor-cuomo-should-take-a-polygraph-test-just-like-he-said-brett-kavanaugh-should-have-n1215636

I’m not fond of recovered memories of sexual harassment, nor, of some the definitions of harassment, but it is satisfying to see the Guv hoist on his own petard…..rsk

Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly on Biden’s shortlist for attorney general.

He’s also been accused of sexual harassment by a former aide.

The governor has denied the allegations, of course, but there still ought to be an investigation.

But if Cuomo really is potentially going to be the attorney general of the United States, the top law-enforcement officer of the nation, we need some answers quickly. Perhaps he should follow his own advice and take a polygraph test.

Back during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, when Democrats tried to thwart his nomination with bogus accusations of sexual assault, Governor Cuomo had a grand idea that Kavanaugh should take a polygraph test.

“President Trump, you said you would watch the hearings today. I believe Dr. Ford’s testimony is very compelling. Only a political skeptic could find a reason to disbelieve her,” Cuomo said. “What is her possible motive to lie? In any event, I fear this will just increase the political polarization. Whatever happens, your decision will be tainted for history and with it the credibility of the Supreme Court.” He went on to say:

“Here is one basic fact that badly hurts Judge Kavanaugh: Why won’t he take a polygraph? Dr. Ford did. If he does not take a polygraph test, it is the ultimate, ‘he said, she said.’ It is the one powerful piece of evidence that seriously damages his credibility and the credibility of his Republican supporters, including yourself. You can and should ask him to take the test. If he refuses, you should pull the appointment. It will show at least a modicum of fairness on your part. If you do not insist that Judge Kavanaugh take a polygraph, it will be further evidence that you are putting political motivation over your constitutional obligation. Do not aid and abet a lie. Demand a polygraph.”

FOREIGN POLICY, HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Communist China’s Far-Reaching Espionage Efforts Threaten U.S. Under A Joe Biden Presidency

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://issuesinsights.com/2020/12/14/communist-chinas-far-reaching-espionage-efforts-threaten-u-s-under-a-joe-biden-presidency/

The Department of Justice has had Joe Biden’s son Hunter under its investigative microscope since 2018. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California has come under scrutiny for his coziness, both personal and professional, with a known Chinese spy. China shows an increasingly deft ability to find weak spots in the U.S. government and big business, and exploit them to its advantage.

China’s ease in getting its way, of course, has been enabled by the U.S. media, which because of its rabid hatred of all things Donald Trump, in particular his hard line against China’s communist regime, put a virtual clamp on any bad news about Hunter Biden’s many questionable dealings there.

“Documents relating to Hunter Biden’s exploitation of his father’s name to enrich himself and other relatives through deals with China were among the cache published in the week before the election by The New York Post — revelations censored by Twitter and Facebook and steadfastly ignored by most mainstream news outlets,” wrote Glenn Greenwald at Substack.

“That concerted repression effort by media outlets and Silicon Valley left it to right-wing outlets such as Fox News and The Daily Caller to report, which in turn meant that millions of Americans were kept in the dark before voting,” Greenwald added.

The media’s behavior is bad enough. But the Democratic Party has been the real driver of the denial bus, insisting all along that questions raised about Hunter Biden and Swalwell’s China ties were “Russian disinformation” or “right-wing conspiracy theories.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Court Stands on Principle The Justices toss a census case ginned up by Democratic states.

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-court-stands-on-principle-11608334424?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

The fuss over President Trump’s order to exclude undocumented immigrants from the decennial reapportionment may be much ado about nothing. That’s essentially what a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court said Friday in dismissing a legal challenge (Trump v. New York) by Democratic states for lack of standing.

“A foundational principle of Article III is that ‘an actual controversy must exist not only at the time the complaint is filed, but through all stages of the litigation,’” the Court noted in an unsigned ruling with Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting.

Democratic states claimed they would lose federal funding and Congressional seats if the President’s order was implemented, though these harms are speculative. President Trump’s order directed the Commerce Secretary to gather information “to the extent practicable” and exclude undocumented aliens “to the extent feasible.”

The Justice Department conceded during oral arguments this month that the government lacked records on many of the 10.5 million or so undocumented immigrants in the country. It was also unclear whether the Census Bureau could even mesh the records in its possession with the decennial enumeration.

In other words, the order might not even be implemented, let alone harm Democratic states. “At present, this case is riddled with contingencies and speculation that impede judicial review,” the Court noted.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Beijing Tests Joe Biden Will the President-elect speak up about China’s jailing of Jimmy Lai?

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-tests-joe-biden-11608334532?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

No one should mistake what the jailing of Jimmy Lai and other Hong Kong champions of democracy signals: China is testing Joe Biden.

Mr. Lai is the founder of one of Hong Kong’s most popular newspapers, Apple Daily. Now he’s in jail facing several charges, including one from a new national security law that China bullied through. We know China was enraged when Mr. Lai met with American politicians on trips to Washington in 2019, including Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the basis of the national security charge is that he’s encouraged foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Beijing.

Mr. Lai has been denied bail and publicly exhibited in shackles. Ta Kung Pao, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece in Hong Kong, says he should be extradited to the mainland for trial. Friends worry that would be a death sentence for the 72-year-old publisher.

President Xi Jinping is hoping to intimidate Hong Kongers into silence and testing whether Mr. Biden and his aides will look the other way at these and other abuses. So far Mr. Xi must be pleased at the lack of response.

One of the Trump Administration’s achievements was to recognize that China has become America’s primary adversary. It steals U.S. technology, monitors and intimidates critics on American university campuses, engages in massive spying, claims new territory in the South China Sea, and threatens U.S. allies in Taiwan and Australia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has pushed back, from condemning China’s incarceration of the Uighurs to sanctioning officials responsible for the crackdown in Hong Kong.

MEDIA Comments turned off

A Second Zionist Jew’s Exit from New York Times Opinion Page Is Called ‘Disgrace’ By Ira Stoll

Posted By on December 19th, 2020

https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/12/18/a-second-zionist-jews-exit-from-new-york-times-opinion-page-is-called-disgrace/

A second openly Zionist staffer has exited the New York Times editorial page as the newspaper’s publisher interviews candidates for the editorial-page editor job.

In June, a Republican senator, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, wrote a Times op-ed headlined “Send in the Troops,” calling for the deployment of the US military to quell what the article called an “orgy of violence” and “rioters and looters” in American cities following the death in police custody of George Floyd. More than 800 Times staff members signed a letter protesting the article’s publication, and more than two dozen New York Times employees called in sick to protest the op-ed.

New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet resigned after the publication of the Cotton article, but others sought to blame its appearance on two Jewish opinion-page staffers, Bari Weiss and Adam Rubenstein. I covered the episode at the time under the headline “Republican Senator Writes New York Times Op-Ed. Zionist Jews Get Blamed.”

“‘Blame Weiss and Rubenstein’ is the NYT’s new motto, and unlike its previous one, actually accurately describes what the paper aims to do every day of the week and twice on Shabbos,” quipped Seth Mandel, executive editor of the Washington Examiner magazine.

Weiss left the Times in July, complaining of “unlawful discrimination” and “constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views.” Now Rubenstein has also departed. He did not reply to a message asking why, but Weiss, on Twitter, wrote that he “was hung out to dry by his own colleagues.”