Category Archives: culture

Major Uncool

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Here’s a stat from Spectator Index.

The people of most of those nations would appear to prefer to be slaves of a conqueror.  The top two nations, on the other hand, have recent and direct experience with Russian dominance.  Which makes Poland’s poor attitude surprising.

On the other hand, the general attitudes of the NATO nations makes one wonder about the utility of NATO at all, and whether we wouldn’t be better served by forming a mutual defense alliance with those eastern European nations that still have some self respect—many of which aren’t listed in the poll.

Poke around the comment thread, too.  There’s at least one who’s arguing with a straight face that Turkey and Russia are not in Europe.

“Conflicted”

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In a Sunday Wall Street Journal op-ed, Peter Funt opined about the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner’s post-dinner speech that was delivered by Michelle Wolf.

Many pundits were as conflicted about Ms Wolf’s act as they are about how to cover the Trump administration….

Only the pseudo-journalists of the NLMSM would be conflicted about reporting truthfully, whether about a revered administration or a despised one.

Another Mueller Leak

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The New York Times has published the questions Mueller wants to ask President Donald Trump regarding Mueller’s “investigation” of Trump, the Trump campaign, Trump businesses, and whatever else blows Mueller’s skirt up.  Never mind that this sort of thing is supposed to be secret, or at least known only to the target and his lawyer until they’re asked, answered, and become part of the public record of an actual trial.

How did the NYT get the questions?  They didn’t send a reporter to steal them.  No, the newspaper was given them.  There’s also no reason to believe the Trump team knew these questions and so would have been in a position to leak them.  Negotiations over the nature of a Mueller interrogation of Trump are supposedly in progress, but Mueller wouldn’t give up the questions until the negotiations have been completed and the interrogation set up.

Only Mueller’s team knew these questions.  In a separate article about the questions, the NYT does assert this:

investigators for Mr Mueller agreed days later to share during a meeting with Mr Dowd [then Trump’s lawyer] the questions they wanted to ask Mr Trump.

But there’s no reason to believe that, since the NYT chose not to identify its source for that claim, making it impossible to believe that the claim is more than just an idle rumor.

And what’s Mueller doing about this leak?  A lot of nothing.  Because if Mueller isn’t the one who leaked, he actively approved others to do it.

The NYT had this about the questions in that separate article:

The questions provide the most detailed look yet inside Mr Mueller’s investigation, which has been shrouded in secrecy since he was appointed nearly a year ago.

Umm, no, no secrecy.  Mueller has been making studied leaks right along.

But Mueller is an honorable man. So are all his team, all honorable men.

Teachers Unions

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…and their strikes’ impacts.  Look at the Arizona teachers union strikes, for instance.

Arizona parents scrambled to find alternative arrangements for their children as the state braced for a third day of teacher walkouts.

It’s estimated that at least 800,000 Arizona students have been affected by the strike that started Thursday, with some school districts in the state closed until further notice.

It isn’t only the children that these strikers are holding hostage for their demands.  It’s the parents, too, who must take time off from work to take care of their children with those kids denied access to schools and education.

The teachers unions complain about low pay.  They’re ignoring, though, the even lower pay of many of those parents who are being harmed by these teachers union strikes.  Jennifer Goehring, a nurse, a former teacher, and a union supporter but not of the strikes:

It’s holding the parents hostage because they are having to scramble to find people to watch their kids.  It’s placing an undue hardship on families just trying to stay afloat. I don’t like the kids being used as pawns.

Goehring, by the way, alternates with her husband to watch their children and several others whose families couldn’t take off work during the walkout.  Others, plainly, are trying to fill in to ameliorate, at least a little, the damage the teachers unions are causing.

And this:

Churches, community centers, youth clubs, food banks, and community organizations are offering free and discounted services to help take care of students.

Who’s paying for all of this support for those parents and their children?  It isn’t the teachers unions, who are causing the expenses.  Bet on it: they won’t reimburse these facilities after the fact, either.

Diplomatic Cowardice

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In response to a remarks US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, made regarding Hamas’ role in the deaths and injuries of Gaza inhabitants as they keep trying to storm the fence separating Gaza from Israel, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said Haley’s remarks “lacked credibility.”

What Haley said:

She said the terrorists hide behind innocent women, children and men to further their cause.

Haley in part said that, “Anyone who truly cares about children in Gaza should insist that Hamas immediately stop using children as cannon fodder in its conflict with Israel.”

What Mansour said:

We challenge the liars who advocated lies in the Security Council yesterday.

When asked if he was calling Haley a liar—was she one of the “liars” to whom he was referring—Mansour said she:

created a very strong resentment among the entire Palestinian nation.

And

With regard to Ambassador Haley, the fact that she goes on the tangent that she did…would make her whole story not credible, in addition to being extremely insensitive.

Mansour didn’t have the moral courage to say straight up that he was calling Haley a liar—or that he was not and clarifying that he was not.

This diplomatic cowardice is of a piece with the physical cowardice of the Hamas terrorists who do, indeed, cower behind women and children (and men who want nothing to do with terrorism, even if they do protest the fence).