P.C.-CULTURE Comments turned off

Woke ‘experts’ warn the word ‘obesity’ is RACIST and suggest ‘people with larger bodies’ instead University of Illinois Chicago wants to ban the word ‘obesity’ because focusing on body size is ‘rooted in racism’By Gina Martinez

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10829285/Woke-experts-warn-word-obesity-RACIST-suggest-people-larger-bodies-instead.html

Multiple woke academics now claim the word ‘obesity’ is racist and should be dropped in favor of ‘people with larger bodies.’  

The University of Illinois Chicago’s school of public health published a health brief titled: ‘Addressing weight stigma and fatphobia in public health’ that explored ‘the association between racism, weight, and health.’

According to Amanda Montgomery RD, public health’s focus on preventing obesity has brought in an increase of negative attitudes towards ‘people with larger bodies’ – her preferred alternative term – and is currently one of the only socially acceptable forms of discrimination. 

The brief claims that public health approaches related to obesity can be harmful because of the focus on one outcome – weight loss- and because it tends to ignore the root cause of the issue. 

Academics say many of the causes are rooted in discrimination borne of settlers driving Native Americans off their land, then forcing black and Hispanic workers to farm that land for low pay.  

Amanda Montgomery RD wrote that public health’s focus on preventing obesity has brought an increase of negative attitudes at people with larger bodies
At the lecture University of California, Irvine associate professor Sabrina Strings spoke about the racist roots of fatphobia, which she claims goes all the way back to slavery

‘The public health field has not taken a critical look at this research, focusing on the narrative that weight is controllable and a personal responsibility,’ the brief says. ‘If the goal is to find the most ethical and effective strategies to achieve optimal public health, there needs to be an alternative to ‘obesity’ and weight-focused approaches and a shift in understanding of weight stigma as a social justice issue.’

America is the fattest country in the western world with an estimated 40 percent of people — or 138 million — being obese. It is followed by New Zealand (30 percent), Canada (29.4 percent) and Australia (29 percent).

President Joe Biden will reveal his plans for tackling obesity this September, and has already set targets of improving physical activity and reducing diet-related diseases — like type 2 diabetes — nationally.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Divided Brain and the Divided Culture Peter Murphy

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2022/05/the-divided-brain-and-the-divided-culture/

“The general culture is suffering from highly-focused, over-specialised idiocy — and along with this is the cringe-worthy loss of its sense of humour, in particular a sense of the ridiculous. This is understandable, as its luminaries regularly retail the most ludicrous propositions with a straight face and the admonishment of a wagging finger.”

Everything has a backstory. When I was gearing up to write this essay, the spat between the comedian and podcast interviewer Joe Rogan and the septuagenarian rock star Neil Young broke out. Young demanded that Spotify de-platform the immensely popular Rogan for having the gall to interview a couple of critics of Covid vaccinations. If Spotify did not comply then in protest “he”—meaning his record company—would withdraw his work from the streaming platform.

Rogan is an affable, untutored seeker after knowledge; a rough diamond who is occasionally tasteless and profane and has a very large audience—all things that contemporary elites despise. I watch the occasional Rogan clip on YouTube. I’m not a Spotify subscriber. While I am a big consumer of classic rock music including Mr Young’s music, I still buy CDs. As for controversies, I spend the absolute minimum time on them—enough time to work out what the kerfuffle is about so I can hopefully then ignore it. I had watched the YouTube clips of Rogan’s December interviews with mRNA technology pioneer Robert Malone and research cardiologist Peter McCullough.1 I didn’t spend much time on them. I was familiar with their arguments from various forums.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

No, Senate Republicans, the FBI Does Not Deserve a Raise Rewarding the FBI with a half-billion in tax dollars would not just be a slap in the face to Republican voters but also to every victim of the FBI’s shoddy, unaccountable practices. By Julie Kelly

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://amgreatness.com/2022/05/30/no-senate-republicans-the-fbi-does-not-deserve

The day before FBI Director Christopher Wray explained to a Senate appropriations subcommittee why his department deserves a $527.8 million raise in 2023, his agents were credited with foiling an ISIS-linked plot to assassinate George W. Bush. An Iraqi national was arrested on May 25 and charged with attempting to smuggle four other Iraqis into the United States then “murder” the former president in retaliation for the war in Iraq. (I will address the sketchiness of this story in a separate column.)

The timing for Wray was suspiciously fortuitous; appointed by Donald Trump in 2018 to lead the scandal-ridden agency, Wray continues to promote the unsubstantiated notion that domestic terrorists, i.e., Trump voters, pose a lethal threat to national security. For nearly a year and a half, armed FBI agents across the country have raided, interrogated, and arrested more than 800 Americans on mostly nonviolent offenses related to January 6, 2021, a four-hour protest that Wray considers an “act of domestic terror.”

Then right before Wray went hat-in-hand to Congress to ask for a budget boost, headlines blared the news that his department thwarted a plan tied to a legitimate terrorist organization overseas?

Color me skeptical.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Israel’s Tightrope Act Between America and Russia A tough test for Bennett’s statesmanship.Joseph Puder

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/05/can-israel-be-loyal-both-america-and-russia-joseph-puder/

For the first time since Israel began its aerial bombing over Syria, a battery of S-300 aerial defense missiles (ground-to-air) manned by Russian crews fired at an Israeli jet earlier this month. The missile missed its target, and apparently was not intended to shoot down the Israeli jet, but merely to serve as a warning. Putin’s Russia wanted to signal to Israel that it has perceived a tilt by Jerusalem toward Ukraine in the ongoing conflict between the two countries, and that it will not be without a price for Israel to pay.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is clouding the skies over Europe. It has increased the threat of a nuclear exchange between Russia and the NATO alliance. The fear that Russia might cross into their territory has prompted Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership. Russia’s significant submarine bases in the Baltic seaports, armed with nuclear missiles, and bases in the Kola Peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, bordering Finland, is an appetizing target for Putin. Sweden has been a neutral state for over one hundred years, and Finland, close enough to Russia geographically, has been very careful about alienating its powerful neighbor. But, Putin’s aggression and his expansionist designs have convinced Finland and Sweden to throw caution to the wind, and get a security blanket.

MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

Top Gun, Maverick…The Right Stuff redux…a good thing By Patricia McCarthy

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/05/top_gun_maverickthe_right_stuff_reduxa_good_thing.html

“The patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned.  When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.”

—Mark Twain

The new Tom Cruise movie that reboots his Top Gun film from thirty-six years ago is glorious.

While it may require a measure of suspension of disbelief, it is a blessedly old-fashioned celebration of America; of our formerly superb military; and, most important of all, of courageous American men — the kind of men that made this nation great, the kind of men (and one gutsy woman in the film) who are now disparaged as toxic.

There has not been a film quite like this since the original film except for The Right Stuff in 1983, one of the greatest of all time.  That film was based on the definitive book about the space program by Tom Wolfe.  It is a fabulous book.

The script for this new Top Gun is clearly based on the essential formula of The Right Stuff.  Top-notch skilled pilots, the best of the best, are brought together to be trained for a crucial but dangerous mission.  The Right Stuff was about the beginning of the supersonic transition to the American space program and the vetting of the men who would be our first astronauts.  Chuck Yeager, the man who first broke the sound barrier, was excluded because he lacked a college degree.

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Green Rope-a-Dope: China Watches as America Greens By Joel Kotkin

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/05/green-rope-a-dope-china-watches-as-america-greens/

If this is what we are being told we must do for the ‘Great Reset,’ it’s time to unset it.

The color green has long been associated with envy, but increasingly it’s becoming a pigment of mass delusion. Amid near-hysterical reporting about the climate, the U.S., and much of the West, is embracing willy-nilly policies likely to weaken our economy and boost China’s ascendancy at the expense of democracy and market economies.

In essence, China is adopting a version of the great Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” boxing strategy, which had the opponent wear himself out by launching harmless punches as Ali lounged on the ropes. Then, as the rival began to weaken, Ali would seize the moment and pummel him.

Much the same is happening with the emerging climate agenda. Under Paris and other accords, China, as well as India and other developing countries, essentially have been given a pass not to achieve “carbon neutrality” until 2060. The argument is largely (at least formally) that the West is responsible for the heavily hyped climate “apocalypse” because of its longer history of industrial growth, although neither China nor India seems eager to de-industrialize, cut itself off from medical advances, or otherwise halt its progress toward Western levels of prosperity.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Shouldn’t Hillary Clinton Be Banned From Twitter Now? Trial testimony reveals Hillary Clinton personally approved serious election misinformation. Is there an anti-Trump exception to content moderation? Matt Taibbi

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://taibbi.substack.com/p/shouldnt-hillary-clinton-be-banned?s=r

“Hillary Clinton was falsely accused many times earlier in her career. This time she’s guilty. It’s not society’s fault there’s no legal name for the offense she and her campaign committed. It was serious, and there should be serious consequences.”

Last week, in the trial of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, prosecutor Andrew DeFilippis asked ex-campaign manager Robby Mook about the decision to share with a reporter a bogus story about Donald Trump and Russia’s Alfa Bank. Mook answered by giving up his onetime boss. “I discussed it with Hillary,” he said, describing his pitch to the candidate: “Hey, you know, we have this, and we want to share it with a reporter… She agreed to that.”

In a country with a functioning media system, this would have been a huge story. Obviously this isn’t Watergate, Hillary Clinton was never president, and Sussmann’s trial doesn’t equate to prosecutions of people like Chuck Colson or Gordon Liddy. But as we’ve slowly been learning for years, a massive fraud was perpetrated on the public with Russiagate, and Mook’s testimony added a substantial piece of the picture, implicating one of the country’s most prominent politicians in one of the more ambitious disinformation campaigns we’ve seen.

There are two reasons the Clinton story isn’t a bigger one in the public consciousness. One is admitting the enormity of what took place would require system-wide admissions by the FBI, the CIA, and, as Matt Orfalea’s damning video above shows, virtually every major news media organization in America.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

God Bless America: Land That I Loathe?By Jack Wolfsohn

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/05/god-bless-america-land-that-i-loathe/

Memorial Day is an occasion to remember those who sacrificed to give and preserve for us the nation and its blessings that we enjoy today. Unfortunately, a segment of our population is increasingly failing to appreciate what it has been given. This growing lack of patriotism among young people does not bode well for our future.

Our institutions of higher education are exacerbating the crisis. The Brown Opinion Project conducted a poll April 20–22 that asked undergraduates at Brown University, where I am a rising senior, the following question: “Do you think America is the greatest country in the world?” A mere 12.9 percent answered yes, while 74.7 percent answered no (10.9 percent said they were unsure). While these findings reflect the feelings of students at one admittedly very liberal university, it is difficult to maintain hope for America’s future if it is any indication of what the leaders of tomorrow are thinking.

Students’ increasingly cynical views of America come as no surprise when one notices what they are being confronted with on their college campuses. The University at Buffalo’s Intercultural and Diversity Center held an event last year called “The Real History of Thanksgiving” in order to highlight America’s homegrown holiday’s “whitewashed history” and “the impact of settler colonialism on Indigenous people.” This past January, literary theory and cultural-history professor Tao Leigh Goffee of Cornell University tweeted that capitalism is rooted in slavery, writing, “Chattel slavery transformed modern finance into what it is, and thus every subsequent act of financialization must be understood as a racializing one.” Many colleges host and praise the work of Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the 1619 Project, which presents an inaccurate version of American history focusing on slavery as not just the centerpiece of America’s Founding but also the very reason for the American Revolution. Some professors teach the tenets of the project outright in their classrooms. The fact that Hannah-Jones’s work is celebrated on campuses is disturbing and another way in which students receive anti-American messages.

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The Energy ‘Transition’ — a Leap into the Dark By Andrew Stuttaford

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-energy-transition-a-leap-into-the-dark/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=right-rail&utm_content=corner&utm_term=first

Not for the first time, it strikes me that the transition away from fossil fuels may be moving rather more quickly than the technology upon which it is supposed to rely.

The Wall Street Journal:

Summer is around the corner, and we suggest you prepare by buying an emergency generator, if you can find one in stock. Last week the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned that two-thirds of the U.S. could experience blackouts this summer. Welcome to the “green energy transition.”

We’ve been warning for years that climate policies would make the grid more vulnerable to vacillations in supply and demand. And here we are. Some of the mainstream press are belatedly catching on that blackouts are coming, but they still don’t grasp the real problem: The forced transition to green energy is distorting energy markets and destabilizing the grid.

Progressives blame the grid problems on climate change. There’s no doubt that drought in the western U.S. is a contributing factor. NERC’s report notes that hydropower generators in the western U.S. are running at lower levels, and output from thermal (i.e., nuclear and fossil fuel) generators that use the Missouri River for cooling may be affected this summer.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Blue-Dog Democrat, Endangered Species By Jim Geraghty

Posted By on May 31st, 2022

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2022/06/13/blue-dog-democrat-endangered-species/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=top-of-nav&utm_content=hero-module

It is easy to find Democrats who believe that their party’s problem is not runaway inflation, poor communication, or flawed candidates. The real problem, they contend, is that the structure of the U.S. government is biased against the Democratic Party and that the only solution is a sweeping, Constitution-busting rebuild from the ground up.

A certain kind of wonky Democrat will whine that it is just so unfair that Alaska gets as many Senate seats as California, or that Wyoming gets three Electoral College votes when it has only 576,000 people. (You rarely hear them making similar complaints about the District of Columbia, Vermont, or Delaware.)

The subtext is often that it is unfair that so many Senate seats and electoral votes are in the South and the Midwest — broad swaths of the country with majorities of white, culturally conservative voters. Never mind that recent history shows that a Democrat who deviates from party orthodoxy on abortion and guns gets a lot of leeway from culturally conservative voters on other issues.