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SEPTEMBER 17,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ACTION TODAY – FROM TRENDING POLITICS:    Former President Donald Trump warned supporters to avoid going to the “Justice for J6″ rally to be held Saturday in Washington, D.C., claiming that it is essentially a no-win situation for them and Republicans in general.  “On Saturday, that’s a setup,” Trump said, referring to the rally in an interview with The Federalist.  “If people don’t show up they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s a lack of spirit.’ And if people do show up they’ll be harassed,” the 45th president added.  Capitol Police ordered fencing put back up around the grounds ahead of Saturday’s rally in order to provide additional security, though “intelligence suggests there will not be widespread or significant violence,” CBS News reported.  “I wouldn’t say really informed people are worried” about the threat level from the online chatter, a federal law enforcement source familiar with the rally planning told the network. “But they are taking no chances.”  In his wide-ranging interview with The Federalist, Trump also teed off on Presidents Joe Biden and George W. Bush, while reserving criticism as well for Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.
“Afghanistan is one of the worst things I think I’ve ever seen for our country,” Trump said. “To lose the young people [killed in the bomb blast] is so horrible. It’s a horrible situation.  What Biden is doing is grossly incompetent,” he added. “It’s a disgrace.”  We'll see what happens with the demonstrations in Washington.  Remember, if one person carries a MAGA sign, CNN will declare it an insurrection, and very possibly the greatest threat since the Civil War, maybe the greatest threat in human history. 

September 17, 2021       Permalink

A  BIT OF LIGHT – OVERNIGHT:  Readers know that we've been trying, recently, to find bits of light amidst the darkness of our national condition.  The fact is, they're being found everywhere.  Maybe the sleeping giant, the United States, is awakening.  It won't happen all at once, but people I respect have given me some anecdotes, and one says that the young college generation isn't quite as lost as we've been led to believe.  In fact, many students are flocking to practical, necessary fields of study.  Consider this, from College Fix: 

A majority of recent college graduates may be unemployed, but those who are employed are making record starting salaries. A recent report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that 2020 graduates are making 2.5 percent higher salaries than the class of 2019.

This appears to be a trend as the class of 2019 also had a greater starting salary than the class of 2018. What is driving the increase?

Inflation is one factor. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, from 2019 to 2020 there was a 1.4 percent increase in regular prices with food prices increasing 3.9 percent.

Another factor is that many of those who secured a job were STEM majors, as graduates who majored in STEM are being hired and making higher salaries. According to a report by the Center on Education and the Workforce by Georgetown University, “Two of the top highest paying majors, STEM and business are also the most popular majors, accounting for 46 percent of college graduates.”

According to a survey by Monster, a company devoted to helping employer and employee “find the right fit,” only half of 2020 college graduates are being hired. When you put the two studies together, it is possible to deduce that the half of graduates that are being readily hired are STEM majors.

This is consistent with the findings from the report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. According to the report, STEM majors account for the majority of graduates with high starting salaries.

Why is this the case? STEM — which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics — is a credential that has been in demand for years. With a huge demand and not enough supply, it makes logical sense for these majors to be making a greater starting salary.

A study by the Worchester Polytechnic Institute’s Business School agrees. Each day, new innovative technology is being developed. This causes an increase in job growth as well as new science fields.
Majoring in STEM gives one the background knowledge and experience to keep up with the changing technological field. Thus, majoring in STEM not only provides a greater starting salary but also lasting job security.

Two engineering sophomores at Franciscan University, Cavan Maloney and Quinn Wieber, shared why they chose STEM in an interview with The College Fix. Their first reason was their love of mathematics and science. Wieber also said it was good to know that there are, “a lot of opportunities to move around within the engineering world,” as well as, “a pretty well guaranteed job.”

Not only are engineers in demand but also medical professionals. Due to COVID, burnout among medical professionals has increased.

COMMENT:  The fascinating fact here is that more and more students appear to be going into fields that the nation truly needs.  There is no great national demand for woke anthropologists.  The young people who lead in science and technology will themselves become, we hope, the new role models.  Build a building, don't burn it down. 

We are also seeing solid signs that some minorities are starting to realize that crackpot studies might not be the way to success.  They'll have to swim upstream for a time to overcome the current dumbing-down trends in our educational system, but the rewards will be great.

September 17,  2021     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 16,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

LATEST EXCITING EDUCATIONAL THEORY – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:    A Virginia high school teacher is under fire for calling efforts to make kids behave in class “the definition of white supremacy.”  Josh Thompson, an English teacher at Blacksburg High School, posted a since-deleted TikTok video attacking Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) used in Montgomery County schools, Fox News said.  The teacher called the techniques that help reduce disruptive student behavior “white supremacy with a hug.”  “It’s things like making sure that you’re following directions, and making sure that you’re sitting quietly, and you are in your seat — and all these things that come from white culture,” he said in the video, which was saved before being deleted as is being widely shared online.  “The idea of just sitting quiet and being told stuff and taking things in in a passive stance, is not a thing that’s in many cultures,” Thompson claimed.  “So if we’re positively enforcing these behaviors, we are by extension positively enforcing elements of white culture,” he claimed with a smug smile.  I'm so glad to know this.  I feel I'm a better and more inclusive person. 

FOX CONTINUES TO DOMINATE – FROM FOX:  Fox News Channel's ratings success continued as it beat struggling CNN and MSNBC for the 30th consecutive week in both primetime and total day viewers last week.  From September 6-12, Fox News not only bested its direct cable news competition, it beat them combined in both primetime and total day in total viewers and in the coveted 25-54 age demographic. Meanwhile, the latter channels saw a number of recent lows.  Morning show "Fox & Friends" crushed CNN's "New Day," who saw just 423,000 viewers and 79,000 in the demo, and MSNBC's "Morning Joe," which averaged just 813,000 viewers and 97,000 in the demo. It marked the 25th straight week that "Fox & Friends" bested its cable news competition across the board.  The ratings woes didn't end there for CNN or MSNBC. CNN had its lowest-rated week in weekday primetime with total viewers since December 2019, averaging 743,000 total viewers. MSNBC, for the second straight week, posted its lowest-rated week in the weekday total day 25-54 demo since November 2015.  In fairness, we should point out that CNN and MSNBC split the liberal audience, whereas Fox has the conservative audience mostly to itself.  But still, the power of Fox is phenomenal.  It has beaten off all contenders.  And it is not mean-spirited.   

September 16, 2021       Permalink

THE BLACK ROBES STRIKE BACK – OVERNIGHT:  Justice Thomas becomes the latest justice of the Supreme Court to push back against attempts to make the Court a political body.  From Fox:

Justice Clarence Thomas became the latest member of the U.S. Supreme Court to take aim at the media, defending the court as nonpartisan Thursday as he warned against "destroying our institutions because they don't give us what we want, when we want it," according to reports.

"I think the media makes it sound as though you are just always going right to your personal preference," Thomas told an audience at the University of Notre Dame, the Washington Post reported.

"So if they think you are anti-abortion or something personally, they think that’s the way you always will come out. They think you’re for this or for that. They think you become like a politician."

Thomas’s words came in the wake of the high court’s controversial 5-4 decision earlier this month to allow a restrictive Texas abortion law to take effect. Critics worry it could lead to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision being overturned.

Thomas has previously called on the court to overturn the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion throughout the U.S.

Last weekend, newest Justice Amy Coney Barrett defended her colleagues, saying they were not "partisan hacks." She also blamed the media for making decisions that "seem results-oriented."

"Sometimes, I don't like the results of my decisions. But it's not my job to decide cases based on the outcome I want," she said. "Judicial philosophies are not the same as political parties."

Thomas agreed with that sentiment.

"You do your job and you go cry alone," he said. But he also warned against judges acting politically.

"The court was thought to be the least dangerous branch and we may have become the most dangerous."

Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer also recently reassured that his court colleagues weren't "junior league" politicians, according to the Post.

Following the abortion decision, Democrats have revived their call to add seats to the Supreme Court to try to shift its majority left after former President Trump added three conservative justices.

COMMENT:  Two thoughtful conservatives, Thomas and Barrett, explaining to the little children the purpose of the Judiciary.  They used to teach that stuff in school.

And yes, the Democrats dream of packing the Supreme Court, adding justices who will vote their way.  They may make an attempt to do it, although it's unlikely to pass Congress, especially the Senate, because some Democrats will almost certainly refuse to go along. 

However, if Democrats add seats next year, instead of losing them, which we anticipate, the Court-packing scheme stands a good chance of being tried.

President Roosevelt tried to pack the Court and failed.  It might be different with today's WOKE Democratic Party in control.

September 16, 2021       Permalink