The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (No. 28)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (No. 28)
November 19, 2021
**This coming Tuesday, I will begin publishing a series of essays on “rights” and education. The essays will appear every Tuesday for several weeks. This is the most important issue of our time.
THE GOOD
I’D LIKE TO GIVE 127 A GO: “'Oldest man who ever lived' dies aged 127 as family call Guinness World Records.”
HE’S BACK:
THIS. IS. THE. MAN. Respect!
BRILLIANT: “Congress Members To Wear Barcodes So Lobbyists Can Scan Prices, Self-Checkout.”
DON’T LET COMMON SENSE GET IN THE WAY OF POWER: “Hospitals Should Hire, Not Fire, Nurses with Natural Immunity.”
WHAT SAY WE LEAVE THE SCIENCE TO THE SCIENTISTS? “New COVID-19 antigen testing method offers highly accurate results in under 3 minutes.”
DELICIOUS. Sometimes you just have to hope for failure: “This woman made a video to prove her dog is a vegetarian and it did NOT go as she planned.”
VERY COOL: “For first time ever, drone sent into eye of Cat. 4 hurricane.”
THIS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS ONE OF THE BEST RUNS YOU WILL EVER SEE IN FOOTBALL:
THE BAD
COMING TO AN AMERICA NEAR YOU: “Rising Nearly 10% In A Single Year, Almost 77% Of Venezuelans Now Live In Extreme Poverty.”
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON AT THE FBI?
The Wall Street Journal: “Abolish the FBI: How much more do we need to learn about 2016 to realize the agency is a disaster?”
Howie Carr: “Abolish the FBI? You heard it here first.”
Julie Kelly: “The FBI’s Incurable Rot: The bureau is an institution with no shame, no remorse, and no accountability. There’s no fix for that.”
Roger Simon: “It’s Time to Break Up the FBI.
Gatestone Institute: “Disband the FBI.”
ABC News: “Michigan governor kidnap plot dreamt up by FBI informants, accused leader claims.”
Big League Politics: “FBI Immediately Leaks Project Veritas Internal Documents to New York Times After O’Keefe Raid.”
Matt Margolis: “WHISTLEBLOWER: FBI Is Tracking Parents for Alleged ‘Threats’ Against School Officials.”
Daily Caller: “FBI Counterterrorism Division Reportedly Created ‘Threat Tag’ For Parents.”
Victor Davis Hanson: “Can the FBI Be Salvaged?”
HAS THE FBI BECOME A JOKE?
FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: “Study: There's no difference in COVID-19 viral load between vaccinated and unvaccinated; symptomatic or asymptomatic.”
GOOD QUESTION: “COVID Protests Are Sweeping the World. Where's the Media?”
ALL THE PHYSICIANS I SPEAK TO SAY THE SAME THING: “We Are On The Verge Of The Greatest Shortage Of Healthcare Workers In US History.”
THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES—Healthcare Edition. Hold on! Wait just a minute. What if this is the intended consequence?
THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES—Police Edition: “‘Dozens’ of Massachusetts state troopers line up to quit over vaccine mandate after judge denies delay.”
WHERE DOES THIS STOP? Put differently, is this the start or the end? “Largest Louisiana health system fines employees with unvaccinated spouses.” What if it doesn’t end?
FIRED FOR DOING THEIR JOBS. Welcome to the new America: “Oklahoma teachers fired for refusing to wear masks: 'Never thought this would happen' in America.”
THE BEST RULING CLASS EVER: “Senate confirms eco-terrorist-linked Biden nominee who endorsed population control.”
THE NEW AMERICA: “Terrifying: Biden Is Nominating Soviet-Trained Radicals Now.”
BEST RULING CLASS EVER: “The Elitism of the Woke.”
NOW THAT THE “SMARTS” ARE IN CONTROL, ALL IS GOOD: “Yellen lends support for effort to remove the debt ceiling altogether.”
GRIFT AS GENIUS: “The Absurdity of Ibram X. Kendi’s Receiving a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant.”
The Washington Post reports that this year’s recipients of MacArthur Foundation “genius grants” have been announced. Among the 25 fellows given a $625,000 grant over five years to pursue what the Post headline and one recipient describe as “high-risk, high-reward work” is Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi, the best-selling author of How to Be an Antiracist, apparently meets the MacArthur Foundation’s description of a person possessing “outstanding talent.” He will now have the organization’s largesse to pursue his own “creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.”. . .
The idea that Kendi is in any way a risky figure, or that his work needs financial support, is ridiculous. Last year, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gave $10 million to Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, Kendi’s academic perch. In September, Fairfax County, Va., public schools paid $20,000 for a one-hour speech by Kendi. This is a little lower than his typical one-hour speaking fee of $25,000, according to the Washington Free Beacon (whose reporting on Kendi has been sterling). In January of this year, he made a deal with Netflix, which agreed to adapt two of his books as programs for the streaming service. In July, the Free Beacon reported that Amazon spent thousands of dollars giving Kendi books to Virginia-area schools. Not to mention that his books have been best-sellers. He is not exactly cash-starved.
Even if you agree with Kendi’s worldview, which I most certainly do not, it is absurd to pretend that he is some marginal figure in desperate need of cultural or financial support. He sits in judgment practically atop the commanding heights of our culture, separating the antiracist from the racist. His receiving a MacArthur grant should obliterate any notion that these awards are meant to support risky, unconventional, or marginalized figures, unnamed legions of whom were doubtless passed over in Kendi’s favor. And it should affirm the notion that the MacArthur Foundation, like so many other institutions of society captured by the Left, now exists merely to perpetuate its desired vision for the country. There’s a word for that, but it’s not “genius.”
THE RESTAURANT OWNERS, WHO WERE MORE THAN ACCOMMODATING, WILL GO TO JAIL IF THEY REFUSE TO PAY. And they will go to jail, why? Let that sink in: “B.C. server who was fired after asking staff to use they/them pronouns awarded $30K.”
THEY ARE THE STUPID PARTY, AFTER ALL (This story is now a bit dated, but the principle is timeless: the GOP is clueless): “Virginia Republicans Were Idiotic To Have Democratic Partisan Chuck Todd Moderate A Debate.”
How in the world did the Virginia GOP permit Chuck Todd to take part in the debate between Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin this week? How did that happen? Has the Virginia Republican Party learned less than nothing in the last 10 years?
Chuck Todd works for MSNBC, one of the left-wing cable news networks. He has spouted every single anti-Republican conspiracy theory Democrats have cooked up in recent years. He has personally participated in the censoring of real news and discussions that might harm his allies in the Democratic Party. He pushes for left-wing policy positions such as gun control, COVID lockdowns, and teaching racism to young children. . . .
The Republican Party needs to have some self-respect if it ever hopes to be treated with respect by others. Allowing naked partisans to “moderate” debates when they’re in actuality bigger political opponents than the opposing candidates is moronic. If the GOP wants to win elections, it must have higher standards for itself, instead of acting like an abused wife with poor self-esteem.
It is absolute madness that a partisan liar and conspiracy theorist such as Todd would be anywhere near that debate stage.
Of all the ways that Republican officials allow their voters to be treated like second-class citizens, permitting left-wing journalists to host political debates is one of the most egregious. No Republican candidate worth his or her salt, and no Republican organization, should allow himself or herself to take part in rigged debates hosted by left-wing journalists any more.
THE UGLY
THE LEFT GOES FULL TOTALITARIAN. Are you ok with this? “Pennsylvania Democrat Wants 'Inseminators' to Undergo Mandatory Vasectomies.”
WORSE THAN UGLY. HOW ‘BOUT EVIL? “Extinction Rebellion founder admits he would block ambulance carrying dying patient.”
YES: “Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?” This is the end-point of left-wing nihilism.
LATE STAGE NIHILISM:
