ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

The University of Pennsylvania Has Become Comfortably Numb to Antisemitism By Zach Kessel

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-university-of-pennsylvania-has-become-comfortably-numb-to-antisemitism/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=river&utm_content=more-in-tag&utm_term=first

The University of Pennsylvania plans to host the Palestine Writes Literature Festival on its campus later this month, but it appears the event’s focus will lean more toward the elimination of Israel than the promotion of Palestinian authors.

The festival’s website describes itself as being “dedicated to celebrating and promoting cultural productions of Palestinian writers and artists,” which seems innocent enough. There is, of course, nothing wrong with celebrating one’s culture and the artistic output thereof, but a closer look at the festival’s roster of guests will clue you in as to the true aims of its organizers.

The four most notable speakers at the conference are Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, Rutgers University professor Noura Erakat, City University of New York professor Marc Lamont Hill, and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters. Each one of those four, suffice to say, has a spotty record where the Jews are concerned.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Med Schools, Major Accrediting Body Cling to Diversity Efforts Despite Supreme Court Affirmative-Action Ruling By Ari Blaff

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/1539869/

Just weeks before the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admission policies in late June, an influential professional body known as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) was busy reassuring its members that medical schools across the country would remain committed to diversity, regardless of the case’s outcome.

The organization’s president, Thomas Nasca, released a note to the “Medical Education Community,” explaining that existing ACGME requirements ensuring medical schools “engage in ongoing, mission-driven, systematic recruitment and retention of a diverse and inclusive workforce,” still stood. Nasca explained that “nothing in the ACGME’s standards is intended to require programs or institutions to violate the law.”

“While political and legal decisions may create uncertainty regarding the ‘how’ we accomplish our responsibility, there is no doubt about the ‘why,’” he signed off the June 13 public letter.

Exactly how ACGME can maintain its efforts to promote diversity without running afoul of the Supreme Court’s decision is unclear. Diversity efforts are now baked into all aspects of medical-school evaluation, according to a family-medicine professor at a prominent medical school who asked not to be identified for fear of professional reprisal.

“The new definition of what it means to be a family physician includes that they advocate for social justice.” Specifically, ACGME could ask prospective medical schools what “your program is doing to advance social justice.”

Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals seeking to remove “radical, divisive, and discriminatory” ideologies from health care, issued a report in August 2022 calling attention to the ways in which medical schools are trying to get around federal anti-discrimination law. One commonly used tactic involves application essays aimed at teasing out ideological commitments and possibly even the race of the applicant.

Duke University’s School of Medicine, ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, underscores to applicants the institution’s “commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.” Application essays feature questions such as: “Describe your understanding of race and its relationship to inequities in health and health care.”

MEDIA Comments turned off

His Magazine Claimed Cancel Culture is Good, Then He Got Cancelled Canceling others is great… until you get canceled. by Daniel Greenfield

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/his-magazine-claimed-cancel-culture-is-good-then-he-got-cancelled/

The surviving Baby Boomer counterculture heroes are either keeping very quiet or having brief outbursts while noting that the country has gone insane… before issuing scripted apologies pleading for everyone to forgive them for noticing that the country has gone insane.

Now the time has come for Jan Wenner, the Rolling Stone co-founder that people last paid attention to in the 1980s back before the magazine had come to consist of 90% Trump rants and 10% interviews with elderly celebrity pals. And so matters would have remained if Wenner, his ego so bloated that he doesn’t seem to have noticed the cultural weather outside, decided to freely spout off.

In the interview, he spoke about his decision to not include interviews with women and black artists, and his remarks on the topic were widely criticized.

“The people had to meet a couple criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them,” he said, adding “Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level.”

He continued, “Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as ‘masters,’ the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level.”

“For public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism,” he told the outlet. “Maybe I’m old-fashioned and I don’t give a (expletive) or whatever.”

It turns out that he does give an expletive after issuing an apology and being kicked off the board for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Earlier this year, Rolling Stone published an article titled, “Why Cancel Culture Is Good for Democracy”.

Does Wenner still agree? Does he agree that, “Those who fear cancel culture may claim they fear suppression of speech, but it’s accountability that they want to avoid”?

IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Promoting Globalism Through Illegal Immigration Why the Vatican and America’s bishops support open borders. by Joseph Hippolito

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/promoting-globalism-through-illegal-immigration/

Months before officials in New York City allowed migrants to displace students in public schools, or officials in Chicago turned O’Hare International Airport into a refugee center, the former general counsel for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services made a frightening prediction about illegal immigration.

“This is going to be a catastrophe for our health-care system, our criminal justice system, our educational system,” Elizabeth Yore said in December. “We’re not going to recognize our society in two years. The crime and the chaos in the schools is going to be unimaginable. We are going to be paying for this for decades, generations.”

The fact that Yore, a conservative Catholic, made that criticism holds more than casual significance — especially since the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops effectively supports open borders.

As FrontPage Magazine twice reported, the USCCB uses taxpayer dollars to fund its human trafficking campaign, thereby enriching that body. But the payment it exacts for exploiting poor Latin American migrants exceeds the monetary.

The bishops use immigration as a weapon to implement Pope Francis’ globalist vision, which demands the eradication of national identity and legitimate national self-interest. That explains the bishops’ vehement opposition to President Donald Trump and their failure to forge a united front against Joe Biden, one of Francis’ favorites.

It also explains the bishops’ breathtaking silence on such crimes as child trafficking, sex trafficking and drug trafficking, and the prelates’ refusal to defend innocent Americans of all ethnicities against crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants — including murder, as the “Angel Families” can attest.

Finally, it explains the bishops’ opposition to controlling illegal immigration through such means as “a tripling of Border Patrol agents, especially at ports of entry, and the use of sophisticated technology such as ground sensors, surveillance cameras, heat-detecting scopes, and reinforced fencing,” as a joint pastoral letter from American and Mexican bishops stated in 2003.

“That such measures might, in fact, deter or detect individuals trafficking children, the bishops ignored,” Marjorie Murphy Campbell, a Catholic lawyer, wrote for The Christian Review, a website founded by the former publisher of a conservative Catholic magazine, Crisis.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Democrats don’t seem eager to defend Harris ahead of 2024 by Haisten Willis,

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/democrats-not-eager-to-defend-harris

Questions are once again swirling around Vice President Kamala Harris.

This time, the story is about whether or not Harris is an asset to President Joe Biden and whether she’s the best choice to join his 2024 ticket.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke well of Harris during a recent CNN appearance but stopped short of endorsing her for ’24.

“[Biden] thinks so, and that’s what matters,” Pelosi said when asked by Anderson Cooper if Harris should be on the ticket.

Pelosi pointed to Harris’s campaign record as California’s attorney general in 2011, calling the vice president “very politically astute” for winning the election while only having 6% in the polls at one point.

But when asked again if she believed Harris was the best running mate for the president, Pelosi dodged giving an endorsement for the second time, saying the vice president generally doesn’t “do that much” but is “a source of strength, inspiration, intellectual resource, and the rest.”

While 54% of Democratic voters are satisfied with Harris as Biden’s running mate in 2024, fewer are enthusiastic, 30%, according to the latest CBS News-YouGov poll. Her approval ratings have consistently lagged Biden’s.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) followed up the next morning by discussing “the MAGA Right” when asked about Harris.

Jake Tapper then pressed again on Raskin’s opinion of Harris as Biden’s 2024 running mate.

“That’s President Biden’s choice. And I think she’s an excellent running mate for President Biden,” Raskin responded. “I don’t know what more needs to be said about that.”

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Iran blocks nuclear inspectors after U.S. unfreezes billions of dollars for Tehran Moves come as Biden, Iranian president head to U.N. General Assembly

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/17/iran-blocks-nuclear-inspectors-after-us-unfreezes-/

Iran began barring U.N. inspectors from nuclear sites over the weekend, days after the Biden administration freed up $6 billion in frozen funds in pursuit of a prisoner swap.

The development, which comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi prepares for a visit to New York City to address the U.N. General Assembly, adds a fresh layer to rising tensions over Tehran‘s nuclear activities.

In a rare statement, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Saturday that Iranian officials had informed him they will no longer permit certain International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to conduct “essential verification work at the enrichment facilities in Iran which are under Agency safeguards

“Iran has effectively removed about one-third of the core group of the agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran,” Mr. Grossi said.

The inspectors are in Iran to ensure compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Mr. Grossi acknowledged that under the NPT, Iran is permitted to veto individual inspectors it does not agree with. But the IAEA chief said Tehran‘s latest move is unwarranted.

“I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the agency and Iran,” he said.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Liz Peek: Biden Backing UAW on Demands for Wages That Would Give Elon Musk and Xi Jinping the Last Laugh

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.nysun.com/article/biden-backing-uaw-on-demands-for-wages-that-would-give-elon-musk-and-xi-jinping-the-last-laugh

In Joe Biden’s 1950s world, unions are good and corporations bad. Hence his response to the UAW strike against the three legacy automakers. “Over the last — the past decade,” he said, “auto companies have seen record profits, including the last few years, because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers.”

Yet, the president said, “those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.” He added, referring to current negotiations: “I believe they should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts for the UAW.” Nothing like putting the presidential thumb on the bully scale.

In Mr. Biden’s world, because the automakers have had a few good years, they should award unionized employees huge pay hikes. Never mind that if our economy slows and demand for cars slumps, the auto firms would be stuck with higher costs that would make them even less competitive with non-union companies like Tesla or BYD in Communist China. 

Nikki Haley says presidential candidates should have mental competency tests; business IQ tests might be more useful, starting with the “sacrifices” made by autoworkers that Mr. Biden hails. It is true that during the Great Recession UAW members accepted changes in contract terms that allowed the auto makers to stay in business.

Taxpayers, already being crushed by government levies, forked over $80 billion to bail out GM and Chrysler. Much of that was eventually paid back. The country was largely sympathetic; after all, it was banks that had caused the 2008 downturn, so why should Detroit’s Big Three and their employees suffer?

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Turnabout: Reporter Ducks Questions from Congressman About Biden Scandals: Craig Bannister

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://mrctv.org/blog/craig-bannister/turnabout-reporter-ducks-questions-congressman-about-biden-scandals

The tables were turned Thursday, when a reporter ducked questions from a congressman.

Associated Press (AP) Reporter Farnoush Amiri tried to get House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to agree that Republicans launched an impeachment inquiry into Pres. Joe Biden without any evidence of an impeachable offense.

McCarthy responded like a contestant on “Jeopardy!” – by putting his answer in the form of questions.

But first, the congressman explained to AP’s Amiri that an impeachment inquiry is the not same as an impeachment – it’s just a fact-finding mission.

Rep. McCarthy then asked Amiri if she believed five items of evidence already obtained through sworn testimony:

Rep. McCarthy: “OK. Do you agree that, do you believe the president lied to the American public when he said he’d never talked to his son about business dealings? Yes or no?”

Rep. McCarthy: “Do you believe when they said the president went on conference calls? Do you believe that happened?”

Rep. McCarthy: “Do you believe the president went to Cafe Milano and had dinner with the clients of Hunter Biden, who believes he got those clients because he was selling the brand?”

Rep. McCarthy: “Do you believe Hunter Biden, when you saw the video of him driving the Porsche, that he got $143,000 to buy that Porsche the next day?

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Think Impeachment Will Help Biden?

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/09/18/think-impeachment-will-help-biden-then-why-is-he-behaving-like-a-cornered-rat/

Whatever your views are on impeachment, the fact that so many on the left are acting like cornered rats is a pretty good reason for Republicans to carry on.

Over the weekend, we came across a story warning Republicans about their decision to start an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

“It may well ensure that Republicans lose control of the House in 2024,” the story says. “And it could also give Joe Biden a boost as he runs for reelection, presumably against Donald Trump himself.”

In just the past few days we’ve seen a multitude of such warnings. Here’s a small sampling:

“Impeaching Biden Is a Desperate Gamble That Will Backfire”
“Republicans would love to impeach Biden. It would backfire on them.”
“How Republicans’ Push to Impeach Joe Biden Could Backfire”
“Could the Biden impeachment inquiry backfire on Republicans?”
“Will the House GOP’s Biden impeachment probe backfire?”
“This is the White House’s Dream!”

Here’s the strange thing. Every one of these headlines appeared in leftist newspapers, were penned by leftist authors, or were uttered on leftist cable news programs.

It’s almost as though these outlets all got their marching orders from a single source. Which, it turns, out, they did – the Biden White House.

An Aug. 31 story in The Hill – headlined “White House warns GOP Biden impeachment will backfire” – says that “the White House remains steadfastly confident that if the GOP goes forward with an inquiry … it will hurt Republicans more than it could hurt Biden.”

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Gary Gensler Tells a Climate Whopper The SEC Chairman fibs to Congress about his pending disclosure rule.

Posted By on September 18th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gary-gensler-sec-climate-disclosure-rule-congress-testimony-ef28eda6?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

When is a climate policy not a climate policy? Apparently when Chairman Gary Gensler of the Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to disguise the intent of his forthcoming climate-disclosure rule while testifying before Congress.

The SEC last spring proposed a highly controversial rule that would require public companies to disclose their putative climate risks and greenhouse-gas emissions, including those of suppliers and customers. The rule is expected to be finalized soon and will likely meet a swift legal challenge under the Supreme Court’s major questions doctrine because Congress never authorized it.

Mr. Gensler told the Senate Banking Committee last week this was no big deal. The rule “is built on multi-decades authority about disclosure” going back to New Deal legislation, he claimed. Nice try.

The 1934 Securities Exchange Act allows the SEC to mandate disclosures that are “necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.” But even the Obama SEC in 2016 conceded that “a specific congressional mandate” would be necessary before adopting a climate disclosure rule. How does it benefit the public and investors to require, say,Walmartto calculate its greenhouse-gas emissions? The mandate will merely increase business costs, which will be passed on to customers.

Mr. Gensler also claimed he is merely trying “to bring comparability to that which is already happening” and that “over 80% of the top 1,000 companies in 2021 were making climate disclosures.”

But climate and greenhouse-gas emissions aren’t equally material to all businesses. His one-size-fits-all regulation is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.