Friday, December 28, 2018
A Victory for Free Speech | The Heritage Foundation
A Victory for Free Speech | The Heritage Foundation:
Conservatives at the University of California at Berkeley got an early Christmas gift this year: a victory for free speech.
It’s been a rocky road lately for the First Amendment on campus, at least for those who don’t hold to the usual liberal orthodoxy. Invite a controversial speaker, as certain student groups have done, and you’re courting trouble.
It’s been a rocky road lately for the First Amendment on campus, at least for those who don’t hold to the usual liberal orthodoxy. Invite a controversial speaker, as certain student groups have done, and you’re courting trouble.
Teacher: Stroking Egos Does Nothing for Students. Raising Expectations Does. | Intellectual Takeout
Teacher: Stroking Egos Does Nothing for Students. Raising Expectations Does. | Intellectual Takeout
"Armed with a bachelor of science in elementary education, I charged into my career as a teacher.
I was immediately exposed to students at three levels of public schools:
In the “UN” school, approximately 25 percent of students were new immigrants, 30-35 percent were American-born blacks, and the remainder were 40-45 percent Caucasian.
The economic structure ranged from welfare to upper middle class.
One day, while grading fifth grade division papers I realized that the mistakes were not those of process but those of factual knowledge.
The students did not know their times tables.
Believing the errors were redeemable, I asked myself, “What can be done to fix these computation mistakes?”..."
Read on!
"Armed with a bachelor of science in elementary education, I charged into my career as a teacher.I was immediately exposed to students at three levels of public schools:
- A rather wealthy district with an average IQ of 120.
- A classic, middle-class school.
- A school that is best described as a mini United Nations.
In the “UN” school, approximately 25 percent of students were new immigrants, 30-35 percent were American-born blacks, and the remainder were 40-45 percent Caucasian.
The economic structure ranged from welfare to upper middle class.
One day, while grading fifth grade division papers I realized that the mistakes were not those of process but those of factual knowledge.
The students did not know their times tables.
Believing the errors were redeemable, I asked myself, “What can be done to fix these computation mistakes?”..."
Read on!
History for December 28
History for December 28 - On-This-Day.com
Woodrow Wilson 1856 - 28th U.S. President, Arthur Stanley Eddington 1882, John Molson 1763 - Beer brewer, founder of Molson Beer
Stan Lee 1922 - Artist, writer, creator of Marvel Comics (Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk), Martin Milner 1927 - Actor (Route 66, Adam 12, Columbo), Denzel Washington 1954 - Actor (Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane)
1945 - The U.S. Congress officially recognized the "Pledge of Allegiance."
1973 - Alexander Solzhenitsyn published "Gulag Archipelago," an expose of the Soviet prison system.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
We Need Trump’s Border Wall Plus Other Measures to Reduce Illegal Immigration | The Heritage Foundation
We Need Trump’s Border Wall Plus Other Measures to Reduce Illegal Immigration | The Heritage Foundation:
Neither President Trump nor the Democrats created the migrant caravans currently camped to our south. The caravans were organized and launched outside of the U.S. with the intent of demonstrating that large groups of immigrants can breech our borders illegally and with impunity – an outcome that will only encourage more illegal immigration.
Nor did Trump or the Democrats draft the United Nations global compacts on migration and refugees, looking to a day when international “norms” supplant the right of sovereign nations to manage their own borders.
It was not Trump or the Democrats who flooded Europe with over 1 million refugees and dispersed them –
Nor did Trump or the Democrats draft the United Nations global compacts on migration and refugees, looking to a day when international “norms” supplant the right of sovereign nations to manage their own borders.
It was not Trump or the Democrats who flooded Europe with over 1 million refugees and dispersed them –
21st CENTURY POLITICS: An apology from the Internet billionaire who funded a Russia-inspired disinformation...
Instapundit Blog Archive 21st CENTURY POLITICS
Posted by Glenn Reynolds "
"(democrat) Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologized on Wednesday for funding a (democrat) group linked to a “highly disturbing” effort that spread disinformation during last year’s Alabama special election for U.S. Senate, but said he was not aware that his money was being used for this purpose." Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologizes for funding a group tied to disinformation in Alabama race
Posted by Glenn Reynolds "
"(democrat) Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologized on Wednesday for funding a (democrat) group linked to a “highly disturbing” effort that spread disinformation during last year’s Alabama special election for U.S. Senate, but said he was not aware that his money was being used for this purpose." Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologizes for funding a group tied to disinformation in Alabama race
'Cocktails from Hell': Bad mix of global conflict keeps peace at bay
'Cocktails from Hell': Bad mix of global conflict keeps peace at bay"Despite hope for peace, we’re looking at a tray of 'Cocktails from Hell,' to use the title of Austin Bay’s new book on the dangerous state of the world.
- ...Korea is one of several “frozen conflicts” since World War II. The war was stopped, but not actually ended, by an armistice in 1953. ...There’s also the uncertainty of what China will do. China has liked having a buffer state between it and South Korea and Japan, and North Korea has given it a way to needle the West with some degree of deniability.
- ...Speaking of China, it’s a problem, too. Thanks in no small part to licit and illicit infusions of Western technology, China’s economy (and military potential) have exploded.
- ...Russia, meanwhile, craves Great Power status but doesn’t really have it. This drives Vladimir Putin crazy.
- ...In Yemen, it’s Iran. The Iranians are exploiting civil war there to build up a power base that threatens Saudi Arabia, as well as shipments of oil and other important commodities through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal. (Just look at a map to see why)..."
Read on.
City slapped down for forcing churches to bow to LGBT agenda - WND
City slapped down for forcing churches to bow to LGBT agenda - WND:
“This court victory came just in time for these churches who have treaded cautiously under the burden of this government orthodoxy,” said PJI attorney Kevin Snider.
“Our clients and the many other religious institutions in De Pere can fulfill their religious functions and ministries this Christmas season, without fear of being brought before a tribunal due to their hiring choices or refusal to host same-sex marriages on church property.”
“Our clients and the many other religious institutions in De Pere can fulfill their religious functions and ministries this Christmas season, without fear of being brought before a tribunal due to their hiring choices or refusal to host same-sex marriages on church property.”
Worthy read!-----Dan Hannan: Falling IQ scores may explain why politics has turned so nasty
Dan Hannan: Falling IQ scores may explain why politics has turned so nasty
"I’ve worked out why we loathe each other so much — why democracy throughout the West, and especially in the United States, has become so partisan, so adversarial, so angry.
It’s because we’re getting stupider.
Pundits have been writing for over a decade about increasing political polarization.
...The fall in IQ scores in the West is perhaps the most under-reported story of our era.
For most of the twentieth century, IQ rose by around three points per decade globally, probably because of better nutrition.
But that trend has recently gone into reverse in developed countries.
You hadn’t heard?
I’m not surprised.
Journalists and politicians won’t go near the subject and you can see why.
Consider the theories offered by neuroscientists for the decline.
Some argued it had to do with the rising age of motherhood, because the children of older mothers tend to have lower IQs, other things being equal.
No one likes to say this, because it can come across as “older moms have dumb kids,” which is not true.
...Other theories were even more explosive.
...But a new study from Norway, which examines IQ scores from 730,000 men (standardized tests are part of military service there) disproves all these ideas, because it shows IQ dropping within the same families.
Men born in 1991 score, on average, five points lower than men born in 1975.
There must, in other words, be an environmental explanation, and the chronology throws up a clear suspect: the rise in screen-time.
Kids brought up with Facebook and Instagram are more politically bigoted, not because they don’t hear alternative opinions, but because they don’t learn the concentration necessary to listen to opponents — a difficult and unnatural skill..."
Read all!
"I’ve worked out why we loathe each other so much — why democracy throughout the West, and especially in the United States, has become so partisan, so adversarial, so angry.
It’s because we’re getting stupider.
Pundits have been writing for over a decade about increasing political polarization.
For most of the twentieth century, IQ rose by around three points per decade globally, probably because of better nutrition.
But that trend has recently gone into reverse in developed countries.
You hadn’t heard?
I’m not surprised.
Journalists and politicians won’t go near the subject and you can see why.
Consider the theories offered by neuroscientists for the decline.
Some argued it had to do with the rising age of motherhood, because the children of older mothers tend to have lower IQs, other things being equal.
No one likes to say this, because it can come across as “older moms have dumb kids,” which is not true.
...Other theories were even more explosive.
...But a new study from Norway, which examines IQ scores from 730,000 men (standardized tests are part of military service there) disproves all these ideas, because it shows IQ dropping within the same families.
Men born in 1991 score, on average, five points lower than men born in 1975.
There must, in other words, be an environmental explanation, and the chronology throws up a clear suspect: the rise in screen-time.
Kids brought up with Facebook and Instagram are more politically bigoted, not because they don’t hear alternative opinions, but because they don’t learn the concentration necessary to listen to opponents — a difficult and unnatural skill..."
Read all!
Media drop 'fake news' bombshell on Trump's troop visit - WND
Media drop 'fake news' bombshell on Trump's troop visit - WND
"President Trump has become well-known for blasting the “fake news” media as the “enemy of the people.”
Now, the commander in chief has yet another piece of ammunition to back up his claim.
Both NBC News and Newsweek ran stories claiming Trump was the first president in many years not to visit U.S. troops during the Christmas holiday period.
NBC’s headline read: “Trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at Christmastime.”
But President Trump did, in fact, leave the White House on Christmas night to make a surprise visit on Wednesday, Dec. 26, to U.S. troops in Iraq.
...The mistake by NBC and Newsweek did not go unnoticed.
Award-winning investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson tweeted out NBC’s story, with her own comment saying only, “Whoopsie.”..
"President Trump has become well-known for blasting the “fake news” media as the “enemy of the people.”
Now, the commander in chief has yet another piece of ammunition to back up his claim.
Both NBC News and Newsweek ran stories claiming Trump was the first president in many years not to visit U.S. troops during the Christmas holiday period.NBC’s headline read: “Trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at Christmastime.”
But President Trump did, in fact, leave the White House on Christmas night to make a surprise visit on Wednesday, Dec. 26, to U.S. troops in Iraq.
...The mistake by NBC and Newsweek did not go unnoticed.
Award-winning investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson tweeted out NBC’s story, with her own comment saying only, “Whoopsie.”..
Donald Trump doesn't need Congress' approval to build border wall
Donald Trump doesn't need Congress' approval to build border wall:
A week ago, the White House put out a call to federal agencies to look for “pots of money” in their existing budgets that could be cobbled together to pay for border wall construction. Immediately, Sen. John Thune, the Republican whip in the upper chamber, shot down the idea of shifting funds from executive departments to the border, saying, “I’m not a big fan of moving money.” Like it or not, there are sources of revenue in the executive branch that the president has authority to use without congressional approval.
Who Is Michelle Obama? Read Her Princeton Thesis and She'll Tell You | Spengler
Who Is Michelle Obama? Read Her Princeton Thesis and She'll Tell You | Spengler
"Michelle Obama raged against the risk of her "integration and/or assimilation into a White cultural and social structure" in her Princeton University thesis.
I reviewed this document, remarkable for its rancor as well as for its orthographical dysfunction, during her husband's first presidential campaign ten years ago.
Now that Mrs. Obama has emerged as a prospective candidate for the 2020 presidential election, her radical rant is worth another look.
"Michelle Obama raged against the risk of her "integration and/or assimilation into a White cultural and social structure" in her Princeton University thesis. I reviewed this document, remarkable for its rancor as well as for its orthographical dysfunction, during her husband's first presidential campaign ten years ago.
Now that Mrs. Obama has emerged as a prospective candidate for the 2020 presidential election, her radical rant is worth another look.
Below is my 2008 Asia Times essay.
Sing, O Muse, the Wrath of Michelle--By Spengler
...We had a peek into her diary last week when the Obama campaign finally made public her undergraduate thesis, titled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community."
The contents of this remarkable document sharpen the profile of Obama's women that I offered last week...
The contents of this remarkable document sharpen the profile of Obama's women that I offered last week...
Barack Obama, I argued, evinces a preternatural sangfroid, for he is in America but not of it, a Third World anthropologist profiling Americans.
But his wife's anger at America will out, for it is a profound rage amplified by guilt..."
Read all!
Egypt: Christian sentenced to 3 years prison for Facebook post comparing Jesus with Muhammad | Creeping Sharia
Egypt: Christian sentenced to 3 years prison for Facebook post comparing Jesus with Muhammad | Creeping Sharia:
Egypt (MNN) — A Coptic Christian in Egypt was recently sentenced to three years in prison for a Facebook post.
The courts ruled the post on social media by Abdo Adel, 43, was blasphemous and convicted him of “insulting Islam in the first degree.”
Adel was first accused of blasphemy in July when his Facebook post compared Jesus with the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
He was arrested and soon afterward, a mob attacked the homes of Coptic Christians.
Police arrested 90 Muslims in the mob, then released most of them after a “community reconciliation session.”
Egypt (MNN) — A Coptic Christian in Egypt was recently sentenced to three years in prison for a Facebook post.The courts ruled the post on social media by Abdo Adel, 43, was blasphemous and convicted him of “insulting Islam in the first degree.”
Adel was first accused of blasphemy in July when his Facebook post compared Jesus with the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
He was arrested and soon afterward, a mob attacked the homes of Coptic Christians.
Police arrested 90 Muslims in the mob, then released most of them after a “community reconciliation session.”
Declination - Blogging in the Decline of Western Civilization
Declination - Blogging in the Decline of Western Civilization
"...America defeated the Soviet Union through near-Herculean economic and technological feats, while the Soviets destroyed themselves utterly trying to push their flagging, hobbled economy to keep up with us, with the boat anchor of Socialism holding it back all the while.
Yet already, most of the world was Socialist or at least leaned that way to some degree.
Socialism continues to gain ground.
The rats of world Socialism bailed from the sinking Soviet Titanic, but did not die.
...As I stated in an earlier post, the nature of this moral argument stems from a misinterpretation of the Golden Rule, or alternatively, from the optimum play strategy in Game Theory.
In the first round, you ought to Keep Faith, in the hopes that your opponent will do likewise, and you may both benefit.
If this fails, you should Betray in the next round, to teach the other a lesson, and to avoid being a sucker.
Treat the other person how you would like to be treated and all that.
However, this has a deeper implication.
If the other person hits betray, then it is assumed he likewise treated you as he wished to be treated. So now we play the game by his rules: betray, betray, betray.
Socialists reset the game with each transaction, however.
The moral trick of the political Left is to consider every action in a moral vacuum.
Keep Faith this time, the Leftist says.
And when the betrayal happens, ignore it and reset the game.
Keep Faith again, and again, and again… until they march into your headquarters and finally tell it to you straight: “There is no question of your transferring power. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.”
By doing this, Socialists will win any moral argument.
If, for instance, they provide a picture of a poor Syrian child, and say “how could you possibly turn away this poor innocent child,” hordes of people will lose their resolve and agree to allowing millions of migrants to go wherever they please without resistance.
The Syrian child doesn’t exist in a moral vacuum.
You’ve been betrayed, and the Left reset the game again.
Same with illegal immigration in the United States.
In debates with Leftists, I have seen them refer to the conditions illegals in our custody live in as worse than Nazi concentration camps.
Who believes this?
And yet they will defend the point with a thousand rationalizations, and then demand we Keep Faith again because clearly we’re horrible, and the poor innocent kids need us to keep the faith.
If we do, another few million will cross the border.
They hit Betray, just as they did to Reagan after amnesty.
Again and again.
Socialists are relentless in their political fighting.
They are like political Terminators.
They do not stop until the whole world is Socialist.
For them no lie is too great, nor is any murder too evil, if truth and life stand in the way of Socialism. And once they dig their claws into a place, getting rid of them is a Herculean effort.
The Cold War and the defeat of the USSR was, perhaps, the greatest achievement America ever accomplished, and even that was not enough.
Socialism continues its long march through the institutions.
...Folks, I don’t know that America has another Hail Mary pass in her like the one we pulled in 2016. I want to believe it does, but damnit… people need to get over this moral trap bullshit.
...Everywhere I look the Socialist enemy advances, and his chief weapon was the same a hundred years ago as it is today.
It is always the moral argument – and a foolish one that people really shouldn’t fall for, and yet do, time and time again.
...Donald Trump may have a myriad of flaws, but he fights, and he has made his stance against Socialism clear.
NeverTrumpers stupidly kept the faith with the Left again.
Stop doing this, for the love of all that is Holy it DOES NOT WORK.
We no longer have the luxury of picking perfect, upstanding, flawless men to fight this battle.
We’re against the wall.
If we don’t fight now, at the very end, we’ll die against that wall.
Anybody who wants to fight gets a weapon and gets his chance to dive into the fray.
If Trump isn’t nice, well then I don’t care.
He gets his pitchfork to stick the Socialist shitstains if he wants it."
"...America defeated the Soviet Union through near-Herculean economic and technological feats, while the Soviets destroyed themselves utterly trying to push their flagging, hobbled economy to keep up with us, with the boat anchor of Socialism holding it back all the while.
Yet already, most of the world was Socialist or at least leaned that way to some degree.
Socialism continues to gain ground.
...As I stated in an earlier post, the nature of this moral argument stems from a misinterpretation of the Golden Rule, or alternatively, from the optimum play strategy in Game Theory.
In the first round, you ought to Keep Faith, in the hopes that your opponent will do likewise, and you may both benefit.
If this fails, you should Betray in the next round, to teach the other a lesson, and to avoid being a sucker.
Treat the other person how you would like to be treated and all that.
However, this has a deeper implication.
If the other person hits betray, then it is assumed he likewise treated you as he wished to be treated. So now we play the game by his rules: betray, betray, betray.
Socialists reset the game with each transaction, however.
The moral trick of the political Left is to consider every action in a moral vacuum.
Keep Faith this time, the Leftist says.
And when the betrayal happens, ignore it and reset the game.
Keep Faith again, and again, and again… until they march into your headquarters and finally tell it to you straight: “There is no question of your transferring power. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.”
By doing this, Socialists will win any moral argument.
If, for instance, they provide a picture of a poor Syrian child, and say “how could you possibly turn away this poor innocent child,” hordes of people will lose their resolve and agree to allowing millions of migrants to go wherever they please without resistance.
The Syrian child doesn’t exist in a moral vacuum.
You’ve been betrayed, and the Left reset the game again.
Same with illegal immigration in the United States.
In debates with Leftists, I have seen them refer to the conditions illegals in our custody live in as worse than Nazi concentration camps.
Who believes this?
And yet they will defend the point with a thousand rationalizations, and then demand we Keep Faith again because clearly we’re horrible, and the poor innocent kids need us to keep the faith.
If we do, another few million will cross the border.
They hit Betray, just as they did to Reagan after amnesty.
Again and again.
Socialists are relentless in their political fighting.
They are like political Terminators.
They do not stop until the whole world is Socialist.
For them no lie is too great, nor is any murder too evil, if truth and life stand in the way of Socialism. And once they dig their claws into a place, getting rid of them is a Herculean effort.
The Cold War and the defeat of the USSR was, perhaps, the greatest achievement America ever accomplished, and even that was not enough.
Socialism continues its long march through the institutions.
...Everywhere I look the Socialist enemy advances, and his chief weapon was the same a hundred years ago as it is today.
It is always the moral argument – and a foolish one that people really shouldn’t fall for, and yet do, time and time again.
...Donald Trump may have a myriad of flaws, but he fights, and he has made his stance against Socialism clear.
NeverTrumpers stupidly kept the faith with the Left again.
Stop doing this, for the love of all that is Holy it DOES NOT WORK.
We no longer have the luxury of picking perfect, upstanding, flawless men to fight this battle.
We’re against the wall.
If we don’t fight now, at the very end, we’ll die against that wall.
Anybody who wants to fight gets a weapon and gets his chance to dive into the fray.
If Trump isn’t nice, well then I don’t care.
He gets his pitchfork to stick the Socialist shitstains if he wants it."
Federal Workers Will Get Holiday Paychecks Even If Government Shuts Down
Federal workers will not lose their holiday paychecks even if Congress remains in gridlock over a budget deal and triggers a partial government shut down, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Why were they killed??!!-----Six bills that died in Michigan's lame-duck Legislature
Six bills that died in Michigan's lame-duck Legislature
A fast-tracked Senate Republican plan would have required Michigan public employee union members to vote every two years on if they want to maintain or disband their union..
Lansing — Although the Michigan Legislature sent more than 400 bills to Gov. Rick Snyder in the past month, there were some high-profile bills that died in the lame-duck session.
Union recertification
A fast-tracked Senate Republican plan would have required Michigan public employee union members to vote every two years on if they want to maintain or disband their union..
No-fault insurance reform
An effort to resurrect no-fault auto insurance reform died after Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert tried to resurrect efforts in the state House...
Banning union release time
Michigan’s Republican-led Senate voted to ban contract provisions that allow public school employees to conduct union business during their work day, but the House never voted on it.
...“I think the taxpayers are expecting that teachers are teaching in the classroom, not to be doing union business,” said sponsoring Sen. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy.
Union representatives could still do union business, but not be taxpayer-subsidized, Knollenberg argued..."
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