For the Love of English, Stop Changing Definitions -

 Intellectual Takeout

". . .Some of the greatest societies in history have crumbled not from losing wars but from cultural decay of its citizens."

. . ."It seems that the English language today, at least in America, is in the throes of taking the descriptivist position to the extreme. We are now seeing a concerted effort to overturn the traditional definitions of words and terms in order to push certain political and social agendas.

"The back-and-forth of whether we should say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” is almost always a subject of disagreement that appears in the news around the holiday season. Though Merry Christmas has been the traditional sentiment shared by those who celebrate the holiday that occurs on December 25, progressives have urged us to say “Happy Holidays,” as it apparently broadens the scope of the holiday and untethers it from the traditional celebration of Jesus’ birth.

"But this was just the beginning of what has now become an all-out war on language. There’s a phenomenon of outlawing—or otherwise censoring—language that may be offensive to some people. And instead of questioning that perhaps someone’s feelings about a word are incorrect, some believe that it is better to just change the definition of words.". . .

Deep-sea robot Victor 6000 rushed to site in Titanic race-against-time rescue

 Deep-sea robot Victor 6000 to be deployed in Titanic rescue mission (nypost.com)  "Rescue crews plumbing the depths of the Atlantic for the Titan submersible that was lost Sunday with five people aboard will get assistance from the Victor 6000 robot — a highly advanced, deep-sea craft and one of the few vessels on Earth capable of reaching the wreck.

"The Victor 6000 was rushed to the search site aboard French research vessel L’Atalante, and its remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was deployed early Thursday, around the time oxygen was expected to run out.

"A 10-foot-long, remote-controlled robot with a bright yellow back, the Victor 6000 has been described as a “flagship device for underwater operations,” by the French network BMTV, and is capable of reaching a depth of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet).

"With the Titanic lying 12,500 feet beneath the waves on the ocean floor, the craft should be more than capable of reaching it." . . .

"The Horizon Arctic’s ROV had reached the ocean’s floor early Thursday morning, the US Coast Guard announced.

"Victor 6000 is equipped with a robotic arm, which could be used for dislodging the lost Titan submersible if it is discovered trapped within the Titanic wreckage.

"It can also attach the cable from the Horizon Arctic to the vessel to help pull it to safety.

" 'Victor is not capable of lifting the submarine up on its own,” Olivier Lefort from the French state-run oceanic research institute Ifremer told Reuters." . . .

America Wake Up to Woke

 Victor Davis Hanson

Five, wokeism is cannibalistic. Even the children of woke architects with perfect SAT scores and 4.0 grade point averages are being rejected on the basis of their race at their coveted Ivy League schools.

. . ."Those purportedly victimized by traditional America would find "intersectional" solidarity in their victimhood owing to the supposed sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other alleged American sins, past and present.

"The so-called white male heterosexual victimizing class was collective to be held responsible for their sinful triad of white "rage," "supremacy," and "privilege."

"Class considerations became passe. The Duchess of Sussex, and the billionaires Oprah Winfrey and LeBron James, shared grievances against all whites, whether they hailed from Martha's Vineyard or impoverished East Palestine, Ohio.

"A bicoastal elite would draft the woke agenda, and the oppressed would follow as ordered.

"That top-down blueprint would embrace massive multibillion-dollar reparations to blacks.

"In lockstep, all victims would rally around a Green New Deal that mandated high energy costs to discourage the consumption of fossil fuels.

"The new transgender canon mandated three sexes. Sex is socially rather than biologically determined. And there is a large, oppressed, and transgender population, which presents the subsequent great civil rights struggle for America.

"Historical wokeism lodged a list of grievances against the supposedly flawed American past. Indicting the dead required statues to be toppled. Names had to be changed. Histories were to be rewritten. Even the foundational date of America was to be reconsidered and altered.". . .

Hunter's 'White Privilege': Attorney for Black Rapper Furious as His Client Spent Years in Jail for What Biden Did

 

Federalist Papers    "Democrats and progressives are forever banging on about the inequities of the criminal justice system and how white people have it easy. Unless, of course, that white person is Hunter Biden, then it’s perfectly OK.

"On Tuesday, the Justice Department reached a sweetheart deal with the president’s son on gun and tax charges, leading to the 53-year-old Biden pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges that put him on probation for failing to pay federal taxes and into a diversionary program for lying to on a form to buy a gun, according to Reuters.

"This means that the president’s son, a polysubstance abuser for long periods of his life who lied about being a drug addict in order to get a firearm, won’t go to prison for the crime. This didn’t sit well with the lawyer for rapper Kodak Black, a rapper who was sentenced to nearly four years for committing a crime materially similar to the one Hunter Biden is walking free on.

"According to the New York Post, the Grammy nominee — real name Bill Kapri — was sentenced to three years in 2019 after pleading guilty to providing an incorrect Social Security number on a federal form to purchase a gun.

"Black’s criminal history would have precluded him from legally buying a weapon. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison; the rapper received a pardon from former President Donald Trump on Trump’s final day in office.". . .

AF Branco

Parody Babylon Bee   Judge Finds Hunter Biden Guilty Of Being 'A Lovable Little Rascal With A Heart Of Gold' | Babylon Bee    "The five-year criminal investigation of Hunter Biden came to a close this morning, with the presiding judge finding Hunter guilty of "being a lovable rascal with a heart of gold."

" 'I find the defendant, Hunter Biden, guilty -- of being an adorable mischief-maker," said Judge Haley Reinwald. "Now come over here and let me tousle your hair, you charming little scamp!"

"The verdict ended a lengthy investigation by the Department of Justice, which discovered that Hunter Biden had dealt cocaine, lied about his drug use to obtain a firearm, and hid millions of dollars from the IRS to evade taxes. "Such a sweet rapscallion, that Hunter Biden," said U.S. District Attorney David Weiss. "He gets into such hilarious capers sometimes! We are grateful that justice has at last been done. After years of work, the court has finally recognized what a beautiful soul is inside that delightful scoundrel."

Hunter Seen At Courthouse Trying To Weigh Crack On Lady Justice's Scales

Hunter Avoids Jail Time After Pleading Biden | Babylon Bee

. . ."It's an airtight legal defense," said CNN legal analyst Laura Coates. "Our sources have reported Hunter's attorneys met with prosecutors and simply said ‘Our client's last name is Biden,' at which point prosecutors agreed to forego any jail time for the charges. Prosecutors knew they could do nothing against the ‘I'm a Biden' defense tactic. It works every time.". . .

I don’t buy Durham’s excusing FBI agents as good people

 Andrea Widberg   "I have not spent any time today listening to John Durham’s testimony, which I find fundamentally uninteresting. He managed to craft a report that, even as it hinted at a damning coup attempt within the government against the duly elected president, nevertheless gave everyone involved what amounted to a pass. Maybe it’s that jaundiced attitude that leaves me unimpressed with the fact that Durham claims that most FBI agents are really good people.

"As I often do, I turned to the Daily Mail, which is more honest than the American news outlets:

Former special counsel John Durham revealed that FBI agents have apologized to him for their handling of the Trump-Russia probe as he confirmed he saw bias among key officials in charge of the investigation like Peter Strzok.

‘I have had any number of FBI agents who I’ve worked with over the years, some are retired, some are still in place, who have come to me and apologized for the manner in which that investigation was undertaken,’ Durham revealed at the top of the high-profile Judiciary hearing.

To him, that proved that a majority of the FBI are ‘good, hard-working people’ who ‘swear under their oaths to abide by the law.’

‘Our findings are sobering,’ said Durham. ‘Having spent 40 years plus as a federal prosecutor, they are particularly sobering to me.’

"First of all, “any number” is a meaningless statement. That could be three. Second, their secretive little apologies to Durham mean nothing. What we’re learning is that, from the top down, the DOJ and the FBI are corrupt. And we’re also learning that the men and women who work for it, or who retired during this corrupt era, are either complicit in the corruption or too afraid to do or say anything." . . .

Ep. 5 As in most of the developing world, it's safer to be the president's son than his opponent. pic.twitter.com/AtRRaxYSjs

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 20, 2023

How to throw the Hunter Biden 'justice' outcome straight into Joe Biden's face - Monica Showalter

Hunter always did brag about his political clout — and now with this utterly obvious special treatment from the reaches of the long arm of the law, there it is. 

Moment John Durham calls out Adam Schiff for criticizing getting 'dirt' from foreign agents |

DURHAM: “Well, let me — let me give you some real life views on that. I have had any number of FBI agents who I’ve worked with over the years, some of whom are retired, some are still in place, who have come to me and apologize for the manner in which that investigation was undertaken. I take that seriously. These are good, hard working majority of people in the FBI.”  Legal Insurrection

Daily Mail Online  . . ."Schiff, the former top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, was one of Trump's most outspoken critics and spent years trying to prove collusions between him and Russia. On Wednesday House Republicans will hold a vote to censure Schiff for 'lying' about having evidence of a Trump-Russia plot.

"In 2018 DailyMail.com revealed that Schiff had been spoofed by Russian comedians posing as Ukrainian officials offering him 'compromising' dirt on Trump - including nude photos. 

"On an audio recording of the prank call posted online, Adam Schiff can be heard discussing the committee's Russia investigation and increasingly bizarre allegations about Trump with a man who claimed to be Andriy Parubiy, the chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament.

"The call had actually come from two Russian comedians nicknamed 'Vovan' and 'Lexus' who have become notorious for their phony calls to high-ranking American officials and celebrities, including UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Elton John. 

"Schiff's office said the congressman suspected the call was 'bogus' from the beginning and reported it to authorities afterward.

"But in a recording of the eight-minute conversation, Schiff appeared to take the call seriously – or at least played along convincingly - and emails from the Democrat's staff to the fake politician afterwards said he had found it 'productive'.

"Schiff asked Durham if he was trying to 'diminish' the significance of the meeting between Trump campaign affiliates and Russian operatives." . . .

Durham Shreds Democrats at House Hearing, Especially Adam Schiff (legalinsurrection.com)

SPECIAL COUNSEL DURHAM: "I have had any number of FBI agents who I've worked with over the years — some of them are retired, some of them are still in place — who've come to me and apologized for the banner in which [the Russian collusion hoax] was undertaken." pic.twitter.com/b7x7G2Sa04

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 21, 2023

 wendybar | June 21, 2023 at 6:35 pm  "The FBI who apologized to him should have been apologizing to Trump and the American people for staging a soft coup along(sic) that Obama and Hillary were planning. It’s disgraceful, and they should all be fired for their parts in the hoax."

 Finally, a touch of comeuppance for Trump-hunter Adam Schiff - American Thinker   ..." A simple Google search reveals that Rep. Schiff made it a habit to claim to have evidence of Trump-Russia collusion — without supporting his assertions.  Here are two links to Schiff's many lies falsely alleging Trump-Russia collusion. 

"Here, now, is the third of eleven preambular paragraphs of H. Res 521, the resolution censuring the congressman from California's 30th Congressional District: 

Whereas, for years, Representative Schiff abused this trust by alleging he had evidence of collusion that, as is clear from reports by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, and Special Counsel Durham, never existed ...

"Note the language of this paragraph: "the evidence of collusion [between Trump and Russia] never existed."

Democrats Irate, Chant ‘Shame’ On House Floor After Schiff’s Censure | The Daily Caller

. . .“Adam Schiff lied to the American people. He used his position on House Intelligence to push a lie that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars and abused the trust placed in him as Chairman. He is a dishonor to the House of Representatives,” Paulina Luna said in a statement.

“ 'The Durham Report makes clear that the Russian Collusion was a lie from day one and Schiff knowingly used his position in an attempt to divide our country,” she added. "

Truth-Challenged Adam Schiff Perversely Gloats Over Censure Humiliation, 'You Honor Me With Your Enmity' – RedState   . . ."Question: can you name a single thing, Schiff, that you have done that has done anything to “protect democracy?” Because it would seem that your only contribution to society was to help set off a wild goose chase to find incriminating evidence against former President Donald Trump—leading to a pathetic impeachment effort (led by none other than Adam Schiff), an effort that spectacularly imploded, and claims debunked by the Mueller report." . . .

. . ."I find Schiff to be one of the most odious members of Congress, and to see him take the podium and act as if he is a savior despite the fact that he failed to prove any of his many claims about Trump is frankly nauseating. Good for the GOP for censuring him.

"California is full of political opportunists, but the hubris of Adam Schiff knows no bounds."

Riley Gaines Is the Hero Sane America Needs This Pride Month –

 PJ Media   . . ."This week’s Pride Month 2023 weariness update features a bright spot in the pushback against the Rainbow Warrior rampage. To be sure, that pushback has had more traction of late, but there is a lot more to be done if we are one day going to reach a point where we’re not being forced to care. We’re not hateful bigots, we simply don’t want to be gagging on the rainbows being shoved down our throats every June.

"The LGBTQ+ mob continues to insist that biological males who one day identify as females should be allowed to compete against actual females in sports. The people who have spent decades shrieking about fairness are now the biggest proponents of there being none of that in women’s sports. In their version of fairness, young female athletes who have trained for years are just supposed to shut up and let testosterone-loaded males run roughshod over them in competition.

"The feminists over on the Left have been eerily silent on the issue.

"One young American woman who hasn’t been at all silent is former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has emerged as the greatest voice of reason amid all of the noise that the leftists have created to continue their bullying.

"Gaines has endured ridicule and physical attacks from the Left but continues to speak out against the efforts of the Rainbow thugs to eradicate women from women’s sports.

"On Wednesday, Gaines was in front of the House Judiciary Committee, along with sports trans madness advocate Kelley Robinson from the laughably named Human Rights Campaign. There was one exchange involving Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), Robinson, and Gaines that showed just how good Gaines has gotten at being the very public voice of the good fight." . . .

Riley Gaines Humiliates the President of Human Rights Campaign – PJ Media

Dem witness: "There's been this news article about men that think they can beat Serena Williams in tennis. And it's just not the case. She is stronger than them." @Riley_Gaines_: "Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player." pic.twitter.com/MSAnV6IA5t

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 21, 2023

Karine Jean-Pierre is a legend in her own mind: ‘I’m a historic figure…’

 Karine Jean-Pierre is a legend in her own mind: ‘I’m a historic figure…’ - American Thinker

Ultimately, Jean-Pierre is an inconsequential woman although, sadly, she is in a consequential position. And it’s that position that has caused Jean-Pierre to assume legendary status in her own mind:

"TheGrio is a media outlet by and for American blacks. It was inevitable that it would interview Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre. What was less expected was that, in the most recent interview, Jean-Pierre would reveal that she is a legend in her own mind. Because her identity is entirely tied up with her race and sexuality, she views her mere presence as important. Clearly, that means she’s unfazed by the fact that it was race and sexuality, not ability, that elevated her to her current position.

"It’s true that Karine Jean-Pierre is the first black lesbian to be the press secretary for the United States. As an amusing video compilation reminds us, though, she’s singularly inept at the job:" . . .

. . ."When you think how often Jean-Pierre is incapable of answering, relies on snark not substance, or simply babbles, it’s actually impressive that so many people can labor for long periods and produce…nothing.?". . .

CNN Can't Find a Biden Scandal! What about the bitter, vehement MSNBC?

"The media’s extreme apathy underlines why Miranda Devine at the New York Post wrote: “Audacity is Joe Biden’s magic power. When the walls are closing in, he laughs in your face and dares you to come after him.” See the smirk below.

 Frontpage Mag  "The networks that have obsessed 24/7 for years about how to “close the walls in” on Donald Trump and ruin him profess some fatigue with conservatives who ask about the Biden scandals.

"On “CNN This Morning” on June 12, guest host Phil Mattingly complained about the cover of the New York Post. He said: “It will be familiar for those of us who live in Washington because we’ve been kind of living in this world throughout the course of any investigation of former President Trump since President Biden took office. It says, ‘What About the Bidens?’ — talking about Hunter Biden, talking about Joe Biden.” He asked CNN reporter Sara Murray, “Is that a fair analogue?”

The Biden smirk

"Murray said no, it’s not “apples to apples,” but it’s fair to ask where the government is headed on the Hunter Biden probe. CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, no softy on Trump, then unleashed about the lethargy at the Justice Department.

“ 'This is preposterous,” he said. “This has been pending, according to our reporting at CNN, since 2018, five years,” all about some tax questions and whether Hunter lied on a gun form. “I mean, that’s a five-week investigation. And this spans the Trump administration and the Biden administration. Someone has got to make a call on this case. I don’t know what is going on, but it’s beyond anything I’ve seen before.”

"But CNN’s daily take on the Biden scandals is “What Biden scandals?”

"I played a game and just put “Biden scandals” into a Nexis search of CNN transcripts for the last month. There was only one result, and it wasn’t really a result. It was a sound bite medley of Trump played on the Sunday show “Inside Politics with Abby Phillip.”

"First came a sentence from Nov. 2, 2020: “We’ve been hit by fake, fake investigations, fake scandals, fake impeachments.” And then from March 25: “The Biden regime’s weaponization of law enforcement against their political opponent is something straight out of Stalinist Russia.' ” . . .

How Hunter Biden’s ‘sweetheart’ plea deal eviscerates his father’s credibility |

  Just The News

News Analysis: Joe Biden’s persistent claims that his son did nothing wrong, that his laptop was Russian disinformation and he never met son’s partners have all been destroyed

"In his job interview with voters during the 2020 election, Joe Biden assured Americans that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation, he never had any dealings with his family’s business partners and that his son was innocent of any wrongdoings.

"While the first two claims were shattered long ago, the 46th president has held firm on the last. “My son has done nothing wrong,” he proclaimed just a few short weeks ago.

"The criminal information filed Tuesday in federal court charging Hunter Biden with intentionally avoiding payment of federal taxes and lying about his drug use to buy a handgun debunks Joe Biden’s last line of defense.

"Conservatives from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on down derided the plea agreement as a “sweetheart deal” and a “traffic ticket” emblematic of a “two-tiered” justice system because it spares Hunter Biden from prison while leaving Donald Trump facing hundreds of years in prison on 71 felonies in two separate indictments.

"But the plain language of the deal threatens to boomerang on the Biden Democrat agenda for 2024 that has made one of its centerpieces harsher gun control and an IRS crackdown on tax cheats.

"Hunter Biden has agreed to “two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax” and can have dismissed a felony charge of “possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user,” holdover Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss wrote the court Tuesday outlining the plea deal.

"The extraordinary reversal in the Democrats’ definition of Hunter Biden truth was in full view in the statement his lawyer Christopher Clark issued Tuesday." . . .

School “There Are Only Two Genders” T-Shirt Ban Upheld By MA Federal Court

  (legalinsurrection.com)

Court comes close to adopting the “words are violence” campus mantra, finding the words on the t-shirt put other students at risk. And you can’t even mock the ban by putting “Censored” over the censored words. That is banned too.  Hopefully this absurd ruling will be overturned on appeal.

 

"I’m asked from time to time whether the radical race and gender ideologies penetrating deeply into all levels of education eventually will corrupt the legal system, harming our freedom of speech and other individual rights. Usually the question regards Critical Race Theory and its progeny, such as “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and Ibram Kendi’s “anti-racism.”

"The short answer is yes, but not in the way you expect.

The legal system will be corrupted for the same reason free speech has suffered on campuses – various forms of the “words are violence” argument. You see, the argument goes, we are not stifling speech, we are stifling the harm you cause the listener or reader of the words. The non-legal term “hate speech” usually is the banner under which this censorship flies. Your words allegedly are the equivalent of a violent assault causing physical and emotional manifestations that themselves are not speech, and in the educational context, damage the educational opportunities of others by making them feel unsafe.

"This turns freedom of speech into a power play — who gets to decide what is “hate speech” turns into who has political and cultural power.

"The fiercest cultural battle is being fought by gender identity activists, and as a Massachusetts federal court decision that was just handed down shows, the courts—or at least that judge—are ready to sacrifice free speech in school for the comfort of the gender-identity cultural and political power." . . .

Xi wanted to show he had the upper hand

 

The Setup And How Antony Blinken’s Family Connections To George Soros Sent Russia To War In Ukraine - The American Report

Five things we learned from the China-US talks after President Xi calls a surprise meeting with Antony Blinken - ABC News    . . ."There was also a conspicuous lack of red carpet to welcome the first US secretary of state on Chinese soil since Trump-appointed Mike Pompeo visited Beijing in October 2018.

"In a country where optics mean everything, Mr. Xi was sending "a clear message" to his people, according to Ms Schneider.

"I think it was very obviously a carefully orchestrated affair," she said.

" 'If you look at that table, Mr Xi was all by himself at the head of the table, and the Blinken team was off to the side. That's a very clear message that he wanted to show to his people that he had the upper hand in this relationship.

" 'I think both the US and China are very interested in showing their respective domestic populations that they're not being overly conciliatory or even moderately conciliatory towards the other side."

' 'State media had criticized video showing Mr Blinken's arrival in the Chinese capital under a sky cast in a dark filter, with the international press accused of "maliciously fabricating the weather in Beijing as cloudy and hazy". . .