BOOKS Comments turned off

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

In 1881 America had three different presidents in one calendar year: Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur.

Candice Millard’s books- on Churchill in the Boer War, on Theodore Roosevelt’s  exploration of the Amazon River, and on the Richard Burton and John Speke expedition to find the source of the Nile are all splendid, informative, and well written.  This book on James  Garfield  the 20th president of the United States who served from March 4, 1881 until his death on September 19, 1881 , two months after he was shot by an assassin is no exception.    rsk

James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a reluctant presidential candidate who took on the nation’s corrupt political establishment. But four months after Garfield’s inauguration in 1881, he was shot in the back by a deranged office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. Garfield survived the attack, but become the object of bitter, behind-the-scenes struggles for power—over his administration, over the nation’s future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic brings alive a forgotten chapter of U.S. history.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

The Systemic Racism of the Teachers Unions Clearly, the NEA, an organization that frequently rails about “systemic racism,” is guilty of that sin. By Larry Sand

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://amgreatness.com/2022/11/12/the-systemic-racism-of-the-teachers-unions/

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could reverse the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision, in which SCOTUS asserted that the use of an applicant’s race as a factor in an admissions policy of a public educational institution does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The current case specifically cites the use of race in the admissions process at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The plaintiffs, Students for Fair Admissions, maintain that Harvard violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, “which bars entities that receive federal funding from discriminating based on race, because Asian American applicants are less likely to be admitted than similarly qualified white, Black, or Hispanic applicants.”

One of the glaring outrages of the case is that the two national teachers unions—the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers—filed amicus briefs in which they pound the racial bean counting drum. The unions insist that “diversity” must remain a factor in choosing who gets to be admitted into a given college.

The NEA brief claims that “elementary and secondary schools remain heavily segregated. In the 2019–2020 school year, the average White student attended a majority White school. By contrast, students of color are far more likely to attend schools where the majority of students are also students of color.”

The irony of the teachers unions’ deploring racism in education is glaring, because it is the very same unions that essentially imprison children – notably poor children of color – in substandard public schools. Specifically, the union-mandated collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), in place throughout most of the country, bring to light why government-run schools fail so many kids.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

NeverTrump Fraternity Parties On The results of the midterms and Donald Trump’s rhetorical incontinence have emboldened the anti-Trump faction. By Roger Kimball

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://amgreatness.com/2022/11/12/nevertrump-fraternity-parties-on/

Is Peggy Noonan back in the driver’s seat? The title and argument of her Wall Street Journal column Thursday made me wonder. “Maybe Republicans Will Finally Learn,” she intoned, explaining in a subhead, “If they aren’t serious about policy, they’ll nominate Trump in 2024 and lose a fourth straight election.” 

By “Peggy Noonan,” I do not just mean that particular columnist. I mean the generators of The Narrative tout court. As a paid-up member of the establishment, Noonan has long been a Trump opponent. If you have your finger in the air, you know that that’s the way the wind is blowing. It happened in a nonce. 

Of course, the NeverTrump speakers have been blaring that message since 2016. But someone flipped a switch, and the other bank of stereo speakers suddenly came to life, spouting the same message: The horrible ogre Donald Trump lost the midterm elections for the GOP. Not only that, he said disobliging things about two of his possible GOP rivals, Ron DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. Be done with him!

I happen to be a fan of DeSantis and Youngkin. Both are talented politicians and credible future GOP presidential candidates. But having witnessed Donald Trump’s inventory of epithets for his Republican rivals in 2016 (“Little Marco,” “Low Energy Jeb,” “Lyin’ Ted”), I am not really surprised that he is honing that rhetorical sword. Some people think it happened all of a sudden a week or two back. In fact, it has been developing for some time. Do I like it? Not really. But no one who has watched Trump over the last six years should be surprised. We don’t yet know whether he is running in 2024. Probably, we will on Tuesday when he makes his advertised big reveal. My bet? He will run. 

The establishment thinks so, too, which is why you cannot turn on the news or open a newspaper without encountering warnings that there is serious “GOP pushback” to the idea. 

The “Dump Trump” meme, active since he won the 2016 election, has acquired new energy following the midterms. We were promised a red wave. It didn’t materialize. It must be Trump’s fault. 

Was it? Ninety-three percent of the hundreds of candidates Trump endorsed won their primary contest in the 2022 election. Eighty percent won in the general. That is a far higher percentage of wins for Trump-endorsed candidates than ever before. In 2018, for example, only 59 percent of the candidates he endorsed won in the general. 

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

GOP must insist on a return to pre-2020 election system in competitive states or die By Jared Peterson

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/11/gop_must_insist_on_a_return_to_pre2020_election_system_in_competitive_states_or_die.html

It’s entirely possible that the Republicans will not win the House. If they do, it will be by a razor thin margin under circumstances that should have produced a blowout.

The main reason for this second in a row reversal of all historic electoral precedent is plain to anyone who wants to look and be honest:

Florida has an electoral law that most closely recreates the US election DAY mechanics of all time prior to 2020: No mass mailing of unrequested absentee ballots to all registered voters – only those registered voters requesting an absent ballot no later than 10 days before the election get one; and their ballot is counted only if received by a specific date.  In Florida there was strict enforcement of date deadlines, and larger percentages of voters than elsewhere voted at the polls.

Ergo: in Florida there was fast counting and quick results; and much less time for shenanigans.

And a Republican blowout.

In Florida there was no collecting/harvesting of ballots. And – even more important – no voting by that substantial segment of the Democrat party base that’s too disorganized and generally out of it to either remember to go to the polls or to request an absentee ballot.

The mass mailing of millions of absentee ballots, coupled with lengthy return periods and allowed methods of return (e.g., unsupervised drop boxes) has, in a multitude of ways, expanded the Dem vote.

It may save them both the House and Senate this time.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Education Department funding Middle East Studies Centers pushing ‘anti-West ideologies’: new report DOE is doling out $2.9M to university-affiliated programs that have morphed from centers of scholarship in area studies into hotbeds of leftist propaganda and activism, according to National Association of Scholars.By Mary Lou Lang

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/seducation-department-funding-middle-east-studies-hubs-pushing
Also Read:https://www.nas.org/reports/hijacked/full-report

This week’s Golden Horseshoe is awarded to the Department of Education (DOE) for giving $2.9 million to 11 university-affiliated Middle East Studies Centers (MESCs) that are promoting left-wing causes and narratives, according to OpenTheBooks.com’s report on a recent investigation.

The public spending watchdog group reported on an investigation by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) concluding that the 11 Middle East Studies Centers, which receive federal funds, have “veered from their purpose, now pushing overtly anti-West ideologies focusing on social issues such as Islamophobia and immigration at the university level, and even pushing critical race theory to K–12 educators.” 

The 11 hosting universities identified by NAS are: Columbia University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Indiana University, New York University, University of Arizona, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, and a UNC/Duke University partnership.

While there are 50 MESCs in universities nationwide, the 11 targeted for scrutiny by NAS are designated as National Resource Centers, which receive federal funds. The 11 centers each receive $260,000 in Title VI funding annually from the DOE, amounting to $2.9 million.

The MESCs were originally founded to study Middle Eastern politics, culture, and language, NAS recounted in a press release. “But our analyses and case studies demonstrate that Middle East centers have since shifted their focus to promoting left-wing ideologies,” asserts the conservative nonprofit.

The NAS report, “Hijacked: The Capture of America’s Middle East Studies Centers,” provides case studies in how the centers have shifted focus to become hotbeds of anti-Western activism. 

MEDICINE AND HEALTH Comments turned off

A Minnesota Gender Clinic Touts Treating Three-Year-Olds By Lincoln Brown

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://pjmedia.com/culture/lincolnbrown/2022/11/07/a-minnesota-gender-clinic-touts-treating-three-year-olds-n1643797

“I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.” – Isaac Newton

I have on several occasions wondered on these pages just how far out the Left will get before it passes the point of no return and into a Twilight Zone of its own making. A place where nothing makes sense, no rules apply, and even the laws of nature itself are subject to the whims of people. A place where the departure from reality is so drastic and complete that there is little if any hope of a return.

While we may not be getting to that point as a nation or on a global level, at least not yet, there are pockets where a parallel universe has collided with ours and exchanged shards of reality. At least I hope that is the case because if it is not, humanity has taken another step toward becoming irredeemable.

According to The Post Millennial, Angela Kade Goepferd, the director of the Gender Health Program at Minnesota Children’s Hospital, holds firm to the conviction that some children as young as age three are capable of determining that they are transgender.

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Global Emissions Set Record as Attendees at Climate Summit Party On By Rick Moran

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2022/11/12/global-emissions-set-record-as-attendees-at-climate-summit-party-on-n1645303

The climate hysterics chose the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh to hold their annual Conference of Parties meeting. They could have picked a city that didn’t have raw sewage flowing in the streets or that featured decent food and clean water.

I guess they’re giving us a preview of a world without fossil fuels.

As you might expect, even in a repressive Muslim country, there are pretty much non-stop parties with a record 600 registered fossil fuel lobbyists. I doubt that many attendees could give a damn what the Koran says about strong spirits when representatives from oil, gas, and coal companies are pouring.

USA Today:

The world is increasingly in agreement that climate change is real, dangerous and happening now – but that hasn’t yet translated into a global decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.

Total fossil carbon dioxide emissions are expected to grow about 1% in 2022, a November report by Global Carbon Project published in the journal Earth System Science Data found. It’s being released in Egypt at the COP27 global climate change meeting.

The report projects a record amount of carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere this year: 36.6 billion tons from burning coal, oil and natural gas.

At the rate we’re burning carbon, the world is on track to blow by the maximum amount of CO2 the world can burn to keep temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, very soon.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Saving America: Why Blaming President Trump Has Little to Do With the Path to Victory in 2024 By Gwendolyn Sims

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/gwendolynsims/2022/11/13/saving-america-why-blaming-president-trump-has-little-to-do-with-the-path-to-victory-in-2024-n1645360

Like many voters on Tuesday evening, I watched with a fluctuating mixture of guarded optimism, anticipated resignation, and angry ambivalence as the voting data rolled crawled in. Nearly five days later, we still don’t know the final outcomes of key races. After the disaster that was the 2020 election, how on earth did we end up here in 2022?

Some political pundits were quick to enthusiastically point at President Trump and his meddling in races as the reason for such lackluster GOP results on Nov. 8. While it’s hard to know for certain, Trump’s insertion of himself into races that were fairly in hand did tend to complicate matters by shifting the focus from the race to Trump himself. Truthfully, a lot of us Republican voters are tired of always having to spend our time and money defending Trump instead of showcasing the candidates and GOP policies. Let’s just say that Trump’s tact doesn’t seem to help our candidates in the long run.

And of course, Trump’s already still up to his old tricks, attacking fellow Republicans like Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump’s also teasing a yuge announcement at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 15 despite the GOP’s current need to focus on the runoff race in Georgia. Will the former president delay his announcement and stop sucking the air out of every race? That remains to be unclear at this time.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

TRANSPARENCY TRACKER— THE RIP-OFF OF THE WEEK

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://mailchi.mp/f856b91e056a/35b-from-us-taxpayers-funded-world-health-organization-59331?e=0c8ccf8e98

Each week, our investigations are showcased in local markets across the country by the local ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates of the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

We are reaching the American people in their living rooms to connect on the issues most important to them — right in their own neighborhoods.

Check out a few of our recent investigations:

• AUSTIN, TEXAS: It’s lucrative to be in leadership in Austin! The city pays public officials much more than state and federal leaders.
https://www.openthebooks.com/cbs-austin-city-of-austin-pays-much-more-than-positions-of-leadership-at-state–federal-levels/

• LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Meet the Las Vegas $100,000 Club — 1 in every 2 city workers made 6-figures or more last year!
https://www.openthebooks.com/nbc3-news-meet-the-las-vegas-100000-club–2037-city-employees-with-100000-in-compensation-costing-taxpayers-314-million/

• BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: It’s pension heaven for the city council — voting themselves lifetime pension benefits after just eight years of service. We crunched the numbers: invest just $30,000 over eight years and receive $450,000+ in lifetime payout starting at age 50!
https://www.openthebooks.com/fox-45-baltimore-city-council-wants-the-golden-parachute-public-pension/

• NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: 550,000 unused sick and vacation days were accrued by Nashville public school employees into their paid-time-off bank accounts!
https://www.openthebooks.com/fox17-nearly-550000-unused-sick-and-vacation-days-banked-by-metro-nashville-public-school-employees/

• SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS: Why Illinois Is In Trouble — 133,000 Public Employees And Retirees Made $100,000+ Last Year!
https://www.openthebooks.com/abc20-over-130000-state-workers-making-over-100000-in-annual-salary-or-pension/

This year, our auditors will file 50,000 Freedom of Information Act requests to capture nearly every dime taxed and spent at every level of government across America.

That’s never been done before!

Why are we fighting so hard? Because transparency changes everything.

Remember, It’s Your Money!

CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB, ELECTIONS Comments turned off

How Election Integrity Has Been Destroyed In Arizona (And Elsewhere) Patrick Wood

Posted By on November 13th, 2022

https://www.technocracy.news/how-election-integrity-has-been-destroyed-in-arizona-and-elsewhere/

Because I live in Arizona, I have wondered and scratched my head as to why a fundamentally “red” state ends up with “blue” politicians. Such was the case during the 2020 election when Donald Trump was overwhelmingly popular and yet lost the state. Such is the case right now with the Governor’s race between Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs. Now I know the answer.

Republicans seek voters, Democrats seek ballots.

This is so simple and obvious that it has escaped everyone’s attention, including mine. According to the article below, “when ballots are more important than votes – the election will always favor the former.”

Republican candidate Kari Lake has stumped throughout Arizona and won the hearts of our citizens. Her Democrat opponent, Katie Hobbs, has hidden herself from public exposure, refusing to even be seen with Lake on a stage or anywhere else. As a candidate, in fact, Hobbs could rightly be described as reclusive.

Here is the heart of matter: Lake is seeking voters while Hobbs is seeking ballots. The same could be said for the Senate race between Republican Blake Masters and Democrat Mark Kelly. Further, this is true across all major races in Arizona. Republicans seek voters while Democrats seek ballots.

What happened in Arizona? On election day, ballots were collected as many people voted in person. Mailed in and dropped off ballots were also collected. Next, the whole collection of ballots were brought to a central location (in each county). In Maricopa County, Sheriff’s deputies barricaded the counting facility and posted armed sentinels on the roof. The counting process was going to take a long time, they said. Days later, they are still not finished.