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SEPTEMBER 24,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

SHOCKING REVELATION – BETTER POLICING MEANS LESS CRIME – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  The Dinkytown neighborhood of Minneapolis has seen a thirty-eight percent decrease in property and violent crime after an increase in police presence. The neighborhood is a commercial district popular with students and most of the residents of the area attend the nearby University of Minnesota.  “In May 2021, the number of crimes reached a peak of 129 total property and violent crimes in Marcy-Holmes, with the majority as property crimes,” campus paper The Minnesota Daily reported. “Since then, the total of property and violent crimes in the neighborhood have decreased by 49 in August.”  “After extra security measures were taken, the number of crimes decreased to 80 total violent and property crimes in August,” the paper reported. “In comparison to past years, property and violent crimes increased from May to August in 2019 and 2020.”
The boosted presence followed increased complaints from residents, as well as the wounding of three University of Minnesota students on June 19.  The increased property and violent crime as well as the shooting of students did not stop some UMinn activists from opposing the police presence.  Please don't tell President Biden about this progress.  He gets upset so easily.

September 24, 2021       Permalink

LIE OF THE DAY – BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION – OVERNIGHT:  Our esteemed leaders are now pushing the theme that border patrol agents on horseback mistreated illegal Haitian immigrants.  No criticism of the illegals, but an attempt to throw brave agents under the well-traveled Biden bus.  Fortunately, there is videotape, and there are informed comments by those who actually know something about patrolling the southern border.  But Kamala "out to lunch" Harris is joining in the assault on agents who did nothing wrong.  From FOX: 

The photographer behind viral images of Border Patrol agents on horseback with Haitian migrants said the pictures that caused liberal outrage are being misconstrued and he never saw anyone get whipped.

Paul Ratje's photos were framed by some Democrats and liberal media members as showing agents using "whips" to corral Haitians trying to cross the border. But critics pushed back and said they were clearly holding reins as they confronted them, and Ratje backed them up.

"I’ve never seen them whip anyone," Ratje told KTSM, an NBC affiliate in El Paso, Texas. "He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you’re looking at the picture."

The New Mexico-based photographer has been in Del Rio, Texas, since last week and said he took the pictures from the Mexican side of the border.

"Some of the Haitian men started running, trying to go around the horses," Ratje said.
Although it appeared clear to many that the horseback riders were using reins, and no video or pictures ever showed anyone being whipped, the narrative quickly spread among progressives and even reached the White House, which condemned the agents and ordered an investigation. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., flatly accused the agents of whipping migrants and said the situation was "worse that what we witnessed in slavery."

"These are images that are traumatizing Haitian Americans that he promised to treat respectfully and with humanity. Why isn't the president telling people himself these images that people say look like slavery are wrong?" Alcindor asked.

Despite pushback throughout the week, the narrative appears ensconced on the left that the agents acted improperly.

COMMENT:  Republicans should seize on this libeling of border agents, which will remind voters of the "defund the police" movement, one of the most unpopular ideas in recent political history.  As for comparisons with slavery, I would hope that our African American population will respond with outrage.

September 24,  2021     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 23,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

COSTCO WARNS – FROM REUTERS:   Sept 23 (Reuters) - Membership-only retail chain Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O) said on Thursday it was reinstating limits on purchases of key items including bath tissues, roll towels and bottled water, spurred by panic buying from customers amid rising COVID-19 cases.  A resurgence in COVID-19 cases had led to stocking up of household essentials last year during stringent pandemic-led lockdowns, forcing the company to put limits on purchases of key items. While there was a shortage of cleaning supplies even last year, transportation issues this year are causing delays in deliveries to stores despite suppliers having plenty of stock, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said in an earnings call.  The pandemic-driven port congestion and labor shortages have forced retail chains including Costco to spend more on transportation and labor, digging into their margins. Costco said it was paying six times for containers and shipping due to price increase on items shipped overseas.  The higher prices are likely to have a dramatic effect on the 2022 political campaigns.  Nothing under Biden seems to be going right, with no sign of improvement down the line.

AND MORE ECONOMIC WORRIES – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   The number of Americans newly seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose again last week amid ongoing concerns over the surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Delta variant, the feds said Thursday.  Initial filings for unemployment benefits, seen as a proxy for layoffs, rose to 351,000 last week, up 16,000 from the prior week’s revised level of 335,000, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.  Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected to see weekly new claims drop to 320,000.  Weekly new claims have fallen substantially from the 2020 peak of about 6.1 million new claims in a single week, but remain above pre-pandemic levels.  After a summer that saw new jobless claims settle at nearly double pre-pandemic levels, new jobless claims appear to be steadily falling — despite the setback presented by the last two weeks of data.  The warning flags are up.  The economic recovery will be more difficult than expected.  And we aren't getting much vision from Washington.  If things really start going south, the Democrats will blame it on Trump, and the amen corner of the liberal press will gladly agree.

September 23, 2021       Permalink

THE PARENT REVOLT – OVERNIGHT:  We're seeing signs of it around the country – parents outraged by the kind of education their kids receive, are voting with their feet and taking the kids out of inferior schools.  No way now to predict how far this will go, but I suspect that school choice may be a major issue in upcoming campaigns, especially if the schools continue to decline, or insist on indoctrinating kids with Marxist theory.  From PJ Media: 

A new report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools shows what a great advertisement American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten and her more radical members provided for school choice. After more than a year of school closures, Zoom classes, and battles over critical race theory, parents are increasingly taking their children out of public schools. The study looked at enrollment shifts between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

Their analysis shows that 1.45 million children left traditional public schools. Charter schools gained 237,000 students in the same period. The difference is made up by families choosing private schools or homeschooling. The researchers noted that public school enrollment declines began years ago in many cities and states. Some of the loss was due to demographic changes and population decline. However, the pandemic appears to have accelerated the switch to public school alternatives.
Charter school enrollment increased in all but three of the 39 states that allow them and provided data.

According to the analysis:
• Charter schools in the 42 states assessed gained nearly 240,000 students, a 7% increase
• Public schools, including district-run schools, lost more than 1.4 million students, a 3.3% loss year over year
• There was a decrease in public school enrollment in every state
• Increases for charter schools ranged from 49 more students in Virginia to 35,751 additional students in Oklahoma.
• In terms of percentages, the increase in charter enrollment ranged from 0.19% in Louisiana to nearly
• 78% in Oklahoma
• In some states (e.g., Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Utah), enrollment in virtual charter schools drove enrollment increases

The 7% growth experienced in charter schools was the largest seen since 2014. In the states they analyzed, the children moving to charter schools came from every racial and socioeconomic background. Arizona became the first state to have 20% of public school children enrolled in charter schools. Previously, only Washington, D.C., had reached that milestone. In California, public schools saw declines in nearly every racial subgroup, with substantial increases in Asian, Filipino, and Hispanic students transferring to charters.

The researchers say the pandemic was the reason for many of the changes. Some parents they spoke with were looking for an educational setting that fits their family’s pandemic experience. Gem Innovation Schools in Idaho expanded learning options and grade levels to meet the shifting restrictions. As parents shifted between the office and remote work, Gem allowed parents to select online or in-person schooling once a quarter.

Others became aware, thanks to the proliferation of remote classes, that curriculum taught in public schools did not match their values. In Florida, a father of five, Matt Mohler, observed his school-age children struggling with remote work and worried the curriculum would not meet their needs. The new Tallahassee Charter School opened in 2020, and after meeting with school staff, he moved his children there. Mohler shared, “Within the first week, my [then] first grader came home reciting the preamble of the Constitution. And I was blown away at the progress he was making in such a short amount of time.”

COMMENT:  School choice may become the biggest civil rights issue of our time.  It will require, however, substantial parental advancement.  Those opposing school choice will stop at nothing to prevent it.  Calling parents "racists" will become part of the educational landscape.

September 23, 2021       Permalink