monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Photos: D-Day remembered – A look at the invasion 76 years ago in Normandy

he-who-shall-remain-nameless's bullshit

What a stupid attempt to deflect.

They are overwhelmingly protesting peacefully.

and clearly not watching the evenine newscasts.

I Must Object
A rebuttal to Brown University’s letter on racism in the United States

“We write to you today as leaders of this university,” the letter begins, “to express first deep sadness, but also anger, regarding the racist incidents that continue to cut short the lives of black people every day.” It continues:

The sadness comes from knowing that this is not a mere moment for our country. This is historical, lasting and persistent. Structures of power, deep-rooted histories of oppression, as well as prejudice, outright bigotry and hate, directly and personally affect the lives of millions of people in this nation every minute and every hour. Black people continue to live in fear for themselves, their children and their communities, at times in fear of the very systems and structures that are supposed to be in place to ensure safety and justice.

I found the letter deeply disturbing, and was moved to compose the following response, which I shared with a colleague. I’m happy now to share it as well with City Journal’s readership.

Dear ____:

I was disturbed by the letter from Brown’s senior administration. It was obviously the product of a committee—Professors XX and YY, or someone of similar sensibility, wrote a manifesto, to which the president and senior administrative leadership have dutifully affixed their names.

I wondered why such a proclamation was necessary. Either it affirmed platitudes to which we can all subscribe, or, more menacingly, it asserted controversial and arguable positions as though they were axiomatic certainties.It trafficked in the social-justice warriors’ pedantic language and sophomoric nostrums. It invoked “race” gratuitously and unreflectively at every turn. It often presumed what remains to be established. It often elided pertinent differences between the many instances cited. It read in part like a loyalty oath. It declares in every paragraph: “We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident.”

And just what truths are these? The main one: that racial domination and “white supremacy” define our national existence even now, a century and a half after the end of slavery.

I deeply resented the letter. First of all, what makes an administrator (even a highly paid one, with an exalted title) a “leader” of this university? We, the faculty, are the only “leaders” worthy of mention when it comes to the realm of ideas. Who cares what some paper-pushing apparatchik thinks? It’s all a bit creepy and unsettling. Why must this university’s senior administration declare, on behalf of the institution as a whole and with one voice, that they unanimously—without any subtle differences of emphasis or nuance—interpret contentious current events through a single lens?

My bottom line: I’m offended by the letter. It frightens, saddens, and angers me.

President Trump’s Decision to Defund International Planned Parenthood Cost It $100 Million

Richard Morgan
@youneedaclue
·
18h
The other day, over here, in Devore, at a local Saloon, 'Screaming Chicken' there were over 500 bikers. Mongols, Vagos, Hells Angels, and other Motorcycle Clubs.

Partying their assets off. Not fighting with each other.

They all HATE Antifa.

On that, they're United.

Healthcare Workers Sign Letter Supporting Protests, Call Others Breaking Lock Downs White Nationalists

We truly live in ridiculous times.

A new letter is circulating, signed by some 1,200 healthcare workers and “experts” in support of the mass George Floyd protests. That would be bad enough on it’s own, as the virus has no recognition of one’s political motives when it comes to the spread.

Charles P. Pierce
@CharlesPPierce
8h
Tomorrow:
“Beatniks: Threat or Menace?”

Over at Fox News, it's still 1974!