Monday, May 1, 2023

Thoughts on our ruling class monoculture

  And on what to do about it. Plus a request for further ideas.(substack.com)

"Our modern ruling class is peculiar.  One of its many peculiarities is its penchant for fads, and what can only be called mass hysteria.  Repeatedly, we see waves in which something that nobody much cared about suddenly comes to dominate ruling class discourse.  Almost in synchrony, a wide range of institutions begin to talk about it, and to be preoccupied by it, even as every leading figure virtue-signals regarding this subject which, only a month or two previously, hardly any of them even knew about, much less cared about.

"There are several factors behind this, but one of the most important, I think, is that our ruling class is a monoculture.". . .

. . ."Today’s ruling class, from Boston to San Diego, was formed by an educational system that exposed them to the same ideas and gave them remarkably uniform guidance, as well as tastes and habits. These amount to a social canon of judgments about good and evil, complete with secular sacred history, sins (against minorities and the environment), and saints. Using the right words and avoiding the wrong ones when referring to such matters — speaking the “in” language — serves as a badge of identity. . ."

The diversity masquerade

Our ruling class is particularly vulnerable to mind viruses for several reasons.  First, it is a monoculture, so that what is persuasive to one member is likely to be persuasive to many.

The New Criterion

On the conformity behind the mask.


"We have often remarked in this space on the great irony that while the word “diversity” is repeated everywhere, its opposite, a stultifying homogeneity, is the reality that is actually enforced “on the ground.” 

"Our educational institutions offer the classic example. Is there any self-respecting college or university that doesn’t tout its commitment to “diversity” these days? You cannot scan any standard college’s promotional literature, let alone set foot on its campus, without being inundated by assurances that diversity is its most cherished value, the cynosure to which every other pursuit is subordinated.

"But when you look at what the colleges really teach and preach (and how much of their teaching is in fact only a secular preaching, that is, a species of indoctrination), it turns out that rigid conformity is the order of the day. We used to titter that there were people whose title was some variation of “dean of diversity.” “You’re kidding, right?” was the response. “What does a dean of diversity do?”

"No one is laughing now. Last month, we commented on how an associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion comported herself at Stanford Law School, joining in with student protestors to upstage and denounce Judge Kyle Duncan. That incident, captured on video, immediately went viral on the internet, embarrassing Stanford authorities and precipitating a certain amount of handwringing from the citadels of wokeness across the country. Will that pushback yield any meaningful change? We doubt it. Despite the browbeating, the woke consensus continues its reign undaunted if not quite unopposed.". . .

American Universities Have Lost Their Prestige | National Review

 Victor Davis Hanson

Today’s universities and colleges bear little if any resemblance to postwar higher education.

A man walks through Georgetown University's campus

"Nothing is stranger than the contemporary American university.

"Not long ago, Americans used to idolize their universities. Indeed, in science, math, engineering, medicine, and business, many of these meritocratic departments and schools remain among the top-ranked in the world.

"Top-notch higher education explains much of the current scientific, technological, and commercial excellence of the United States.

"After World War II — won in part because of superior American scientific research, production, and logistics — a college degree became a prerequisite for a successful career. The GI Bill enabled some 8 million returning vets to go to college. Most graduated to good jobs.

"The university from the late 1940s to 1960 was a rich resource of continuing education. It introduced the world’s great literature, from Homer to Tolstoy, to the American middle classes.

"But today’s universities and colleges bear little if any resemblance to post-war higher education. Even during the tumultuous 1960s, when campuses were plagued by radical protests and periodic violence, there was still institutionalized free speech. An empirical college curriculum mostly survived the chaos of the ’60s.

"But it is gone now." . . .

REPORT: Rupert Murdoch Held Secret Meeting With Zelenskyy Before Tucker Firing


 Trending Politics  "The owner of Fox News and his son, a top deputy, held two previously undisclosed meetings with Ukraine’s president shortly before firing host Tucker Carlson – who is vehemently critical of the U.S. sending aid to the Ukrainians.

"Semafor broke the news that Fox Corporation owner Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan allegedly met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and held two separate calls to discuss the ongoing war and the death of a Fox journalist killed in action. While Carlson, who has vocally opposed efforts to transfer billions of dollars in foreign aid to the country, was not mentioned on the calls by Zelenskyy, he has been criticized by some of the president’s top deputies.

"Speculation has mounted that some of the former host’s opinions had gotten him in trouble with the Murdoch family, especially as it relates to Ukraine and other foreign policy matters such as U.S. business relationships with China, which has provided tacit support to Russia during its attempt to seize neighboring Ukraine.

"Former President Donald Trump, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a likely contender for the GOP nomination, have both aligned with the anti-war wing of the GOP where support for Carlson remains high." . . .

Democrat apparatchiks try to gaslight voters about Biden -

 


Andrea Widburg  "Since Biden put out a carefully curated video saying he’s going to run again, Democrat operatives have been doing the media rounds trying to gaslight the public into believing that Biden is a resilient, brilliant, energetic, hard-driving leader. They know that true believers and those vulnerable to propaganda, or those cowed into pretending they believe it, make it possible to justify an election outcome even more improbable than that in 2020.

"The movie Gaslight, which debuted 79 years ago, added a new verb to the American vocabulary: “To gaslight.” In the movie, which is set in Victorian London, Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) tries to convince his wife, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), that she is crazy so that he can institutionalize her and gain control over her home and fortune. He does this by hiding things and denying events, leaving Paula doubting her grasp on reality. Thus, to gaslight someone doesn’t mean simply lying to them; it means manipulating facts to make the other person doubt reality.

"There’s lots of gaslighting going on in America. The most obvious example, of course, is that we’re being told there is no such thing as biological sex. The facts belie that, but even our children are being told to deny the evidence of their own eyes.". . .


. . ."But getting rid of an incumbent president is difficult, and replacing a black and female running mate is difficult, to say the east. Even worse, the only serious challenger within the party, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is unacceptably hostile to the pharma and corporate interests that supply the endless money that buys victory for the Democrats.


"The need a deus ex machina: an outside actor with the kind of force that changes everything; and Newt Gingrich thinks they may have one in Michelle Obama. Despite her well-known aversion to politics, her recent tour with Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg, appearing before thousands onstage playing a tambourine, has convinced Newt that she may be stepping up to save the party and its totalitarian goals for the next presidential cycle. Partial transcript via Gateway Pundit:". . .



Sunday, April 30, 2023

CNN Panelist Drops the Hard Truth About Biden's Speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner –

  RedState

"It’s a sad state of affairs because the nation actually could benefit from a journalistic establishment that valued its role in holding power to account. We don’t have that, though. Instead, we have a press establishment that is simply an extension of the Democratic Party."

"Not a joke!"

"Saturday night’s White House Correspondents Dinner was exactly what you’d expect it to be. Namely, it was a partisan cluster filled with journalists cosplaying as celebrities that seal-clapped for Joe Biden even as he mocked them for their slavish devotion. Well, it was that and also yet another example of the president’s ever-diminishing mental capacity.

"The pathetic nature of that scene wasn’t lost on everyone, though. Scott Jennings, who offered his critique on CNN of all places, pointed out how pathetic it was for the press to clap along to a president making fun of the fact that they are completely in the tank.

. . ." Jennings’ commentary was made even more impactful by the fact that the rest of the panelists were drooling over Biden’s speech. They should feel as betrayed and belittled as those who watched the president mock them in person."

WATCH: Biden's Latest Alzheimer's Moment Is Actually Very Sad – PJ Media  . . ."He was ostensibly — as evidenced by the cadets holding the items out apparently in anticipation of handing them off — supposed to take the signed football, the helmet, and the jersey of memorabilia. Instead, he took the jersey, stared into the abyss for a few moments, and wandered away aimlessly while the visibly confused crowd looked on.". . .

. . ."I dislike Biden passionately — corrupt sellout careerist goon that he has always been — but stuff like this stirs some sort of sympathy for him, and that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to feel those sorts of things toward a creature like Biden". . . 

CNN Analyst Breaks Bad News to Press After WHCD: Biden ‘Wasn’t Laughing With You, He Was Laughing AT You’ (msn.com)  Video

Ousted From Fox, Tucker Carlson Still Misleads His Viewers

Nonetheless, he is correct that we lack legitimate debate about crucial issues today. But his rationale is backward.

  The Lid (lidblog.com)   "This discourse occurred mere hours before Carlson, in his first utterance since being dismissed by Fox News, tweeted out a video arguing that he now realizes how “unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are.”

"Did Carlson ever comprehend this during his long career across multiple networks? The disingenuous statement came roughly 48 hours after Fox axed him. His lack of respect for the intelligence of his viewers remains troubling.

"Carlson went on to claim that “the undeniably big topics, the ones that will define our future, get virtually no discussion at all. War, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources—when did you hear a legitimate debate about any of those issues? It’s been a long time. Debates like that are not permitted in American media. Both political parties and their donors have reached a consensus on what benefits them, and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it.”. . .

. . ."We don’t live in a “one-party state,” as Carlson and his acolytes claim. We live in tribal bubbles, and yes, media corporations like the ones Carlson took gobs of money from do cater to the tastes of bubble-dwelling viewers who seek performative politics over substance. Want a substantive debate? Read a Substack, turn on any of the stellar podcasts out there, or visit a think tank event. Don’t visit a college campus or watch primetime cable news.". . .

 Elites Mock Tucker Carlson at Nerd Prom White House Correspondents' Dinner (breitbart.com)

Watch Fox News Slide As Tucker Carlson Rises, With Help From Musk

 Wolf Howling; American Thinker

"John Adams said that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” That implies good faith as the glue holding the republic together. Today, there is not a scintilla of morality or good faith among our progressives, a narcissistic and historically illiterate group of people who have far more in common with Karl Marx than George Washington." 

. . ."Fox’s decision to silence Tucker Carlson, though, is fundamentally different. Tucker did not commit malfeasance. There was no contract dispute. Tucker was averaging over 3 million viewers per night for Fox, and he was the single most popular primetime show on cable news. The speculations about why Fox canceled Tucker’s show have been ludicrous. Moreover, it appears that Fox is trying to use its position to keep Tucker from broadcasting any shows through 2024. Reports Breitbart:. . .

"The only reasonable explanation for Fox News’s decision is ideological. Tucker is the most popular conservative voice in the U.S. and a cash cow for Fox. Nevertheless, the Murdochs felt they could silence Carlson on a whim, expecting Fox News viewers to just accept their decision.

"Could there be a more fundamental act of disloyalty to Fox’s viewers? Could it have come at a worse time, when conservatives rightly feel that they face an existential threat from progressives set upon a coup?

"Fox is feeling the backlash for this incredible high-handedness. Its ratings are tanking. As Breitbart reports, . . .

What’s truly interesting is just how much blowback Fox is getting from its audience for canceling Carlson’s and Bongino’s shows—something that the brass, including the Murdochs, seem to not have calculated clearly ahead of time. In fact, the ratings crashed in primetime this week and Carlson’s own video released on Twitter on Wednesday evening in its first hour post-publication got more views online than the network’s 8:00 p.m. hour—his old time slot—got in total ratings. For now, the Murdochs think they are above it all and that this too shall pass.

"That is true arrogance". . .

Wolf Howling is a pseudonym. A former infantry officer and lawyer, he blogs at Bookworm Room.

REPORT: Newsmax Offers Tucker Carlson Colossal Deal | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft   . . ."Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News, and now another conservative news outlet, Newsmax, wants him to be more than just the face of the network, and it’s putting on a full-court press to land him.

"Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … the news channel is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal for Tucker to come on board — including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show." . . .

REPORT: Fox News Scheming to Silence Tucker Carlson and Sideline Him Through 2024 Election 

Let’s hope Tucker refuses to play ball and goes to war with FOX News if they follow through on this plan. The media landscape cannot afford to lose Tucker’s indispensable voice.

The Bidens want ‘all books’ available to students, so I got the D.C. library to buy Tara Reade’s memoir

 

The College Fix

OPINION: The Bidens oppose any limits on what books students can read at school so now D.C. students have more options

"Washington, D.C. residents, including students, can soon read a book by Tara Reade, who has accused the president of sexually assaulting her.

“I was asked to respond to your inquiry about Tara Reade’s book Left Out: When the Truth Doesn’t Fit In,” a D.C. Public Library staffer wrote to me on Wednesday. “I was able to find it listed in one of our vendor’s ordering databases, so [I] have placed an order for this title.”. . .

. . ."Reade’s book details “the aftermath of the re-victimization of speaking out about her sexual assault, with then-Senator Joe Biden in 1993,” which led to “shaming, attacks, and threats instigated by the media [that] sent her into a personal tailspin,” according to 
 description on Amazon.

“ 'Tara-rized viciously by cyber bullies, receiving death threats and fearing for her life and those of her family, Tara tells how living with no regret and coming forward was right for her conscience,” the book description states.

"Thanks to my advocacy, all D.C. residents can soon read about this book, just two years after the initial publication.

"I do have a small fear that given the weaponization of the federal government by President Biden against conservatives I may end up on a watchlist, but I go to the Latin Mass, so I am probably already on at least one." . . .

Tara Reade, Absolutism, and the Ideological Undoing of #MeToo - testset

. . .Joe Biden has a well-established history of being a man without adequate physical boundaries. Some would describe his actions as overly-affectionate yet others see the Democratic nominee as a touchy-feely, old creep. But it was not until Tara Reade made accusations of actual sexual assault did the fork in the road appear. . .

 Who is Tara Reade and what are her allegations against Joe Biden? | Joe Biden | The Guardian  . . .A former aide to Biden from his years in the Senate, Reade, now 56, says that in 1993, in a corridor in a Senate office building, he pushed her against a wall and assaulted her, penetrating her with his fingers.". . .

A Year Later, Tara Reade Works to Correct the Record (theintercept.com) This article examines Reade's accusation with more balance:  ..."More appropriate may be a version of the assessment made by Times columnist Michelle Goldberg of the more significant Reade charge: “It would be easier to know what to do with Tara Reade’s accusation that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her if her tale were more solid, or if it were less.”...

Obama and his friends are a perfect illustration of the modern-day elitist Democrat

When Democrats rally against coal-based electricity, they know the homes of regular people will plunge into darkness while their mansions will remain unaffected. 


Obama and his friends are a perfect illustration of the modern-day elitist Democrat - American Thinker   "Just yesterday . . .saw more proof that the mainstream media in the U.S. and beyond are P.R. agencies for the Democrats.

"The media gave great prominence to former president Obama, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, and rock star Bruce Springsteen making a surprise appearance at a Barcelona restaurant with a last-minute dinner reservation on Thursday.

"The BBC carried details about the restaurateur being surprised by the visit and what he served his guests. There were details about the monument that the Obamas, Spielberg, and Springsteen visited.

"Most articles mentioned restaurant staff member Pol Perello posting a photo on Instagram of the staff and chefs posing with the celebrity trio.". . .

. . .Despite being among the ruling class, Democrats such as Michelle Obama frequently use their race to hide behind victimhood whenever they are challenged or subjected to scrutiny.

The only cause this group really believes in is the welfare of themselves.

The likes of AOC are merely following the footsteps of Obama.

The Democrats are responsible for most of the hardships suffered by the working class. 

The Democrats haven't resolved any issues such as gun control, abortion rights, etc., that they claim to certainly stand for, they merely misused issues to scare people into voting for them.". . .

The threat from so-called ‘transgender’ people extends beyond children

 "The violence isn’t surprising: You have the aggression of men, the emotionalism of women, mental illness, and powerful drugs (antidepressants, Ritalin-style stimulants, and massive hormones) all coming together in rage."


Andrea Widberg "So-called “transgenderism” was once a weird sexual-fetish activity that existed at the periphery of American society. It’s now moved front and center, something that is inordinately dangerous. Americans are beginning to understand the danger to our children from a movement that is compulsively and pathologically drawn to children, both for sexual excitement and recruitment, but people need to recognize that the so-called “transgender” crowd is also encouraging itself to be violently dangerous to all Americans.

"Mark Tapson, one of the most insightful writers about cultural issues, has written a powerful essay about the nexus between gender ideology, violence, and, inevitably, full-blown terrorism. The starting point, of course, is the shooting a month ago in Nashville, when Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a mentally-ill biological female who “identifies” as a man, went to an elementary school and slaughtered six people, three of whom were nine-year-old children. We’re still waiting to hear her manifesto. We all know that, if she’d been a Trump supporter, her manifesto would instantly have been revealed.

"He notes that Hale’s shooting is part of an escalating trend that sees so-called “transgender” people engaged in violent rhetoric and committing violent acts either (a) because of the “horror” of being “misgendered,” or (b) because they're incapable of dealing with the rising number of laws making it illegal for medical practitioners to give children toxic drugs and mutilating surgery in pursuit of the fiction that they can be “transformed” into the opposite sex. These so-called "gender-affirming" treatments, of course, are nothing more than for-profit plastic surgery run amok to criminally dangerous extremes." . . .

Dylan Mulvaney reveals his totalitarian side - Thomas Lifson  "Just for writing the headline of this piece (“Dylan Mulvaney reveals his totalitarian side”), I ought to be incarcerated, according to its subject.  My crime: using the correct masculine pronoun. Far from being merely a clownish minstrel show-like demeaning version of a woman, he actually
wants it to be illegal to refer to him by his biological sex, instead of his fantasy of being a woman." I thought it already has been. TD

Democrats Are The Nigerian Princes Of American Politics - American Thinker   "According to the American Heritage dictionary, this is the definition of “Stupid”:

1. Slow to learn or understand; obtuse.

2. Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes.

3. Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless.

"That applies to a lot of Americans…Democrat voters in general and, in particular, a majority of blackscollege students, and white college-educated women.". . .

. . ."For fifty years, Democrats told American women that men were superfluous to raising children, but now that’s moot because men can have babies, genetic men are real women, and prepubescent children are mature enough to consent to sex change operations. They tell us with a straight face that the “Woman of the Year” should be a guy who used to be a mediocre men’s swimmer but who dominates when competing against real women.". . .

Saturday, April 29, 2023

'Shawshank Redemption' actor Tim Robbins blasts Democrats, mainstream media for 'thuggish censorship' -

 I appreciate that a Hollywood actor would take a balanced, fair view of a conservative's opinion. TD

Conservative Review

"Tim Robbins, star of "The Shawshank Redemption," slammed Democrats and the mainstream media for "thuggish censorship."

"Actor Tim Robbins recently delivered a cutting takedown of the Democrats and the media.

"Robbins applauded the reporting of independent journalists Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and Bari Weiss.

 "The Hollywood actor thanked the journalists for "exposing a massive censorship operation by the U.S. government to control content on social media and eliminate any dissenting voices.""

"Robbins said the mainstream media "ignored" censorship in the United States and "personal freedoms" of Americans were being diminished.

"Robbins specifically named and blasted three Democrats: Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.) for threatening Taibbi with prosecution and imprisonment.

" 'What an embarrassing, shameful time for the Democrats and the ‘free’ press," Robbins wrote on Twitter. "You are losing any shred of credibility you had, you f**king fools."

"Robbins also demanded that Julian Assange be released from prison.". . . Full article here...