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JULY 22,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ARE THE KIDS BRIGHTER THAN WE THINK? – FROM POWERLINE:    The youth of America may not be as clueless as the more pessimistic among us suppose. According to a new survey by College Pulse, 67 percent of college students strongly support “race blind” admissions.  Another 18 percent “somewhat support” such admissions.  This leaves only 15 percent who oppose race blind admissions. Of that group, only 5 percent strongly oppose them.  The survey defines race blind admissions as meaning that “colleges and universities would not be able to take a student’s race or ethnicity into account in their admissions decisions.” That’s the obvious definition.  Among Blacks surveyed, 75 percent support race blind admissions, either strongly or somewhat. Only 10 percent said they strongly oppose this. Thus, even the intended beneficiaries of race-conscious admissions are against them.  College Pulse surveyed slightly more than 2,000 students from 113 colleges and universities. Participants were drawn from its database of more than 400,000 students from more than 1,000 states. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 percent.  I'd be cautious and wait to see if other polls support this encouraging revolt.  And...much depends on how the questions are asked.

DOWNWARD, DOWNWARD, FOR CNN – FROM BREITBART:   A town hall put on by CNN featuring President Joe Biden failed to shake up cable ratings on Wednesday night as the left-leaning network sat in the shadows of Fox News and MSNBC for primetime hours.  The town hall, which was moderated by CNN anchor Don Lemon and garnered just a little more than half the amount of the total viewers Fox News had at the same time, finished third in ratings for Wednesday night, falling just behind MSNBC.  According to Deadline, which reported on the latest ratings from Nielsen, CNN’s town hall drew in 1.46 million viewers between 8:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. as Biden spoke in Cincinnati. As reported by Deadline, that is “down significantly from CNN’s town hall with Biden in February, which drew 3.5 million viewers” and outpaced the audience on Fox News and MSNBC.  During that same 74-minute time frame on Wednesday, Fox News received an average of 2.76 million viewers for Tucker Carlson Tonight and a portion of Hannity, which was putting on a town hall event with Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar to discuss the Cuban protests.  CNN has lost its credibility with viewers.  The network went much too far with its anti-Trump act.  Getting that credibility back may well be impossible, as CNN is doing nothing to heal itself. 

July 22, 2021       Permalink

THE UGLY RACIAL WARS – AGAIN – OVERNIGHT:   It's something we really don't want to acknowledge, but we have to.  Thanks to the hard left, America is being racially divided in ways we haven't seen in our lifetime.  The apparent goal of the professional crazies is to split the nation, setting group against group, leading to the end of the United States.  Let's face it, the hard left never had any use for the American Constitution.   They're fine with the Cuban model or the Soviet experiment.  Ah, for the good old days.   Lunch with Comrade Castro, dinner with Comrade Khrushchev.  Who could ask for anything more?  From Fox: 

The Biden administration's U.S. Department of Education is "as far left as they come," former Secretary Betsy DeVos said Thursday, after the Cabinet department promoted a radical activist group's handbook that advocates for educators to "disrupt Whiteness" and accuses the U.S. educational system of the "spirit murder" of "Black, Brown and Indigenous children."

Within the Abolitionist Teaching Network's "Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning" handbook, the group calls "Whiteness" a form of oppression, and its cornerstone program, called Activists in Residence, pays professional agitators $30,000 per year, working 20 hours per week, to lead "abolitionist educational organizing in their respective cities," according to its website.

After the citation was brought up during a briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed its inclusion was erroneous.

"We don't endorse the recommendations of this group," she said.

DeVos told "The Story" that Psaki wasn't being forthright, adding that someone high-up in the Department of Education, led by former Connecticut State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, had to sign off on the promotion of the group.

"This notion that it was a mistake is an absolute falsehood," said DeVos, who served under President Trump. "Having been there at the department for four years and working through the approval processes for anything that is put out from the department, I know full well that there are eyes on and full knowledge of this going on."

"We saw earlier this year, the grant process the department put out that basically was trying to bribe schools into using the 1619 Project in their materials," she added. "So this is just another reflection of the true nature of the Biden Department of Education."

DeVos' claim was echoed by one House lawmaker who agreed the White House appears supportive of left-wing curricula.

"Surely there must be leaders in the Biden administration who support critical race theory, and they want to use the schools to indoctrinate our children, that is very concerning," Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., a former schoolteacher, told Fox News earlier Thursday.

COMMENT:  I suspect there are those in the Biden administration who would like to go much further.  There are some real nuts in this government.  Whether they can go further is iffy, but never underestimate the treachery of a hard Marxist.  Today Portland, tomorrow the world.

July 22,  2021     Permalink

JULY 21,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

A GREAT GUY – FROM FOX:   Recently retired Detroit Police Chief James Craig joined "Tucker Carlson Tonight"’ Wednesday to expand on what he sees as the failed leadership of incumbent Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and announce a gubernatorial exploratory committee.   Craig, a Detroit native who spent the past 8 years leading the Motor City's law enforcement force – after tenures in Cincinnati and Portland – said that he "protected and served for 44 years" and now wants to do the same for the entire state of Michigan.  "We launched today the Chief James Craig For Governor Exploratory Committee," the Republican said, adding he protected his city from destructive left-wing riots that sprang up in other places like Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles last year:  "We know what happened last year when other cities were burning – Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago – Detroit did not burn."  He added that another major concern for the people of Michigan is the leadership, or lack thereof, of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The Democrat's name was often mentioned along with liberal governors of New York, California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey when criticisms were made about statewide socioeconomic lockdowns.  Craig has a strong record.  Governor Whitmer has a wreckage.  Watching her is like watching a failed student in a reform school.  She adds to her incompetence a personality that even a mother would reject.  Go Craig!

SAD, AND SHOCKING – FROM AMERICAN THINKER:  We’ve all seen this before, as has every leader of every country in the world. A sitting President of the United States cannot put together a coherent answer to a simple question. He pauses, appears puzzled, and then comes up with a string of words that appear to have entered his brain via an earpiece. If the stakes weren’t so high, it would be comic.  Wednesday saw the president of the United States engage in a town hall format discussion, on friendly territory with Don Lemon moderating on CNN. It must have been one of those “good days” that dementia sufferers sometime enjoy – in Biden’s case, meaning no “lid” was called, removing the leader of the free world from public scrutiny.  (“Calling a lid” is an unprecedented admission that the POTUS is not in full command of his mental faculties and would have Democrats demanding that the 25th Amendment be invoked if a Republican were in office. But Republicans are far too polite and far too scared of the media to make an issue of it with Biden.)  Even with friendliest, least demanding moderator imaginable, Don Lemon, it was a challenge for President Joe Biden to get through the entire hour. His handlers must have believed that that with familiar questions and maybe a good earpiece helping him along, he could handle the challenge.  They were wrong.   No one should be happy that any American president, regardless of party, appears to be sinking.  That president might have to make a critical life-and-death decision.  Mr. Biden clearly is impaired, and his vice president is entirely inadequate.  Any political projections for 2024 must take into account those realities.

July 21,  2021     Permalink

THE PARENTS' REVOLT – OVERNIGHT:  Little by little, day by day, we see indications that the parents' revolt against ethnic quotas in schools and idiotic ideas like Critical Race Theory, is having its effect.  The key to our success in reforming the American educational system is the bravery of those very parents, who have to withstand abuse, ridicule, accusations of racism, and the loss of party invitations, to stand up for their children.  In Fairfax, Virginia, close to the CIA, one major administrator will be out.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

The Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent who eliminated the entrance exam at the nation’s top high school announced he will leave his post next year.

Scott Brabrand will not renew his contract with Fairfax, Va., public schools after it expires in July 2022, according to a Thursday district news release. Brabrand touted his top accomplishments in the announcement, including "embedding an equity focus" and "broadening access" to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The latter effort spurred two groups of parents to sue the district for anti-Asian discrimination. 

Brabrand’s resignation follows more than a year of controversy between factions of parents and district leaders, which began last spring after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. In October, the district approved Brabrand's proposal to dismantle the merit-based admissions process for Thomas Jefferson—often ranked as the nation’s top high school—as part of the district’s focus on "equity."

"We have heard from many members of the TJ community—current and former—who have raised concerns about diversity at the school," Brabrand said in a statement at the time. "TJ must reflect the diversity, equity, and inclusiveness that is core to the mission and values of Fairfax County Public Schools." 

In December, the district adopted a quota system to boost black and Hispanic enrollment. The updated admissions process capped the number of students that each of Fairfax’s middle schools could send to Thomas Jefferson. The three middle schools known for feeding students to Thomas Jefferson have largely Asian-American populations, and as a result, the updated admissions process cut the number of Asian students admitted to the following year’s freshman class by 16 Percent. The number of white students admitted rose by 43 percent. 

Critics claim Brabrand misrepresented a statewide "diversity report" mandate approved by Gov. Ralph Northam (D., Va.) to "[force] a gutting of TJ admissions." In an October meeting, Brabrand said the death of George Floyd in May 2020 compelled him to "relook at equity in everything that we do"—including admissions practices. 

Ah, the equality of mediocrity.  Ain't it grand. 

Seventeen families, most of them Asian-American, filed suit against the district in November 2020. The Coalition for TJ, a nonpartisan parent group that rejects Brabrand’s equity push, filed a separate lawsuit against the district in March. 

Brabrand’s equity crusade didn’t stop at the high school. In an email to parents in March, Brabrand announced that the district would create "a new Anti-Racism, Anti-Bias Education Curriculum Policy." Fairfax County Public Schools Could Shell Out up to $280,000 to the Leadership Academy, a pricy equity consultant, for equity training sessions, according to a March contract obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. 

Alleigh Marré, president of the Free to Learn Coalition, told the Free Beacon that Brabrand’s resignation shows the effectiveness of organized parent groups. 

"Brabrand’s resignation shows us that various parent groups who have been very active in Fairfax County have had an impact," Marré said. "Those parents have been active and loud and are being heard." 

Brabrand, who has served as superintendent since 2017, said he will begin seeking his replacement immediately. His contract expires in July 2022.

COMMENT:  I'm sure the active parents of Fairfax County will not permit Brabrand to name his own successor.  The parents demand excellence, and demand that it be rewarded.  If it appears that one or two ethnic groups are not performing well, the answer lies not in quotas or gimmicks, but in preparing the students in those groups better.  It also requires parents of those kids to guide them more aggressively, and accept high, tough standards.

I feel for the Asian parents who came to these shores seeking a better life for their children, and wound up being told that their kids were too successful, and therefore had to be placed within a quota.  That isn't what we call the American way.

July 21, 2021       Permalink