A new poll conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago (commissioned by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) shows that only 28% of Americans have a lot of trust in higher education. Academia has continued to alienate much of the country as an orthodox echo chamber. As with media outlets, the result has been falling interest and trust in these institutions.The poll asked “How much confidence, if any, do you have in U.S. colleges and universities?”
Only 28% said they had a “great deal of confidence in colleges and universities.” Not surprisingly, given the ideological balance at most schools, the highest levels of trust came from Democrats and liberals. However, even this group only showed a 40% high confidence rate. Among Republicans, it drops to 12% and among independents it drops to 28%.
For most businesses, such negative reactions would be viewed as catastrophic. For academia, it will not matter a whit.
It is still personally beneficial for professors and administrators to push ideological agendas and maintain the lack of intellectual diversity on campuses. These professors are not challenged in their writings or their statements. They dominate publications, awards, and associations. In the meantime, these schools still receive sufficient support from alumni and, in the case of public universities, public funding.
This could not come at a worse time as many decide that college is simply not worth the money. At the same time, falling birthrates are impacting dropping applications. Others have little interest in going to institutions where they must hide their political viewpoints or values.
We have seen the same phenomenon in the media where media outlets are collapsing in viewership or readership but reporters are resisting every effort to return to a more neutral and objective basis for coverage. Recently, the Washington Post’s new publisher and CEO William Lewis dropped a truth bomb on his writers by telling them “Let’s not sugarcoat it…We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”
The response from the media has been a campaign against Lewis and another editor tasked with saving the newspaper from itself. The New York Times, National Public Radio, and other outlets have piled on Lewis with a series of attack pieces. This is being actively and openly supported by reporters at the Post and could well work in pressuring owner Jeff Bezos. The result will be to stay the course of plunging trust and readership at a paper that is hemorrhaging money and readers.
We need great universities and great newspapers as a nation. We need Princeton and the Post. That is why this trend is so alarming. These are hardened silos that seem impenetrable to efforts to restore trust in their product.
Science is not immune to the distrust: “We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we may have. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.”
Stephen Schneider (10/89) Stanford University, Environmental ‘Scientist’
You know it’s a crisis when even The Guardian is publishing articles that scientific fraud is everywhere.
https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Guardian+scientific+fraud&sca_esv=8eb2b271edd6fc02&sca_upv=1&ei=fJVxZqnGM7zE0PEPoaCrqAY&ved=0ahUKEwip9IC6quWGAxU8IjQIHSHQCmUQ4dUDCBA&oq=The+Guardian+scientific+fraud&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHVRoZSBHdWFyZGlhbiBzY2llbnRpZmljIGZyYXVkSN4yUO8LWPgNcAF4AZABAJgBZaABmQKqAQMyLjG4AQzIAQD4AQGYAgGgAgzCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcBMaAHigI&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
That kind of BS has nothing whatsoever to do with science, and Schneider was never a scientist, only a BS artist with pretensions.
Oh, well that’s why. Turley left out, as usual, a very particular piece of information about the poll and the real reason why FIRE’s results are so…low.
The poll was taken right after the university encampment demonstrations. Of course confidence would be low when so many against or critical of the student pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
FIRE added this odd snippet of information that somehow is supposed to be relevant to the poll,
“ Though our data don’t allow us to determine precisely what caused the drops between February and May, we know that throughout much of April and May encampment protests at more than 100 colleges and universities made headlines. Further, campuses with encampments and encampment-related arrests were also predominantly campuses with poor speech climates. Thus, it’s likely the encampments or colleges’ responses to them negatively impacted public confidence in higher education.”
They polled students when there was ongoing debate over the Palestinian issue and the sour grapes over the encampments successes in getting concessions from some schools. That would make this poll misleading, especially when the professor neglects to mention that FIRE conducted it after the protests and when sentiments against the protest by conservatives were high.
Oddly I didn’t see FIRE supporting students free speech to protest on campus, even those who did so peacefully.
There is NO RIGHT to trespass. You’ve been schooled on this.
Students were not trespassing. They were…students. Plus they are also the school’s ‘customers’ which pay the school to attend and get an education.
Public schools are also forums where free speech can be exercised on campus, outside, like Turley always suggests. Schools recognize it and they are tasked with threading a fine line between censorship and free speech when student protests are involved.
When you stay after being told to leave, That is trespass. You were schooled on that too.
When students attend ANY University, they enter into a contract. That contract includes a code of conduct.
Doesn’t matter whether you like it or not Svelaz. That is reality.
Customers?? So what?? Being a customer does not in any, way shape or form, grant ANY privilege akin to ownership. But thanks for admitting what they are paying for. An education. Not the right to occupy the quad. Sorry.
Are you a 6th grader? I mean seriously. Do better.
Anyone who doesn’t realize the poll wasn’t taken during the time of all these protests, months ago to the present, hasn’t been paying attention. Ridiculous ojection.
It was taken just when the protest were ending or were over. That doesn’t mean the sentiment and animosity towards the protest immediately went away. FIRE acknowledged at the end of their article that the polling is assumed to be affected by the effects of the campus encampments. A lot of people had a negative views of the encampments and the schools for not severely punishing the students. Those kind of views and sentiments are still strong. So, low confidence in higher education would obviously be an issue, but I suspect it is only temporary.
So, low confidence in higher education would obviously be an issue, but I suspect it is only temporary.
Because you are a spastic idiot. Unless 36% isn’t low to you.
Before the campus protests:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/508352/americans-confidence-higher-education-down-sharply.aspx
Dude, seriously, I know you’re anonymous, but you are embarrassing yourself
Oddly I didn’t see …..
Peter, I told you years ago to register for a course in creative writing at UCLA – West Hollywood campus, which is close to your home. You once told us you enjoyed hiking the hills of West Hollywood
Alas, you did not follow my suggestion. Your writing is identifiable with just a few phrases. Youre the only one who routinely uses the same vocabulary for your same points. Regardless of your countless sock puppets, e.g. Peter Hill, P Hill, Enoch Poor, Svelaz, Wally, Natacha/Gigi, Concerned Citizen, bradrunner, ad nauseam ad infinitum, now George, you give away your inferior posts with your sophomoric english composition.
Please take that course to at least challenge us, edify our repartee and maybe have intellectual challenges. I always feel like I have to go to Confession when I manipulate you in my posts. Its just too damned fun to not do it
No hard feelings, mmmmmmmkay?
Estovir,
LOL!
Good one!
UpstateFarmer-I just skip over anything labeled George and the reading then is better, more informed yet with divergent ideas also included.
GEB,
Oh, I too just scroll past anything labeled George. Even if he is responding to a comment I made. Not worth the time.
But I do read the responses, especially from our better commenters, like Estovir, John Say, Lin, yourself and others. I can get the gist of it without having to bother reading the garbage.
So what? Half the posters and even Turley himself have made grammatical errors.
So, Svelaz/Peter Shill, just admit who you are. Do you enjoy being seen as a coward as well as a spastic idiot?
That is a horrible analysis. Free speech was being exercised and confidence was low. Your conclusion, “of course….” is based on bias and not facts (of course).
FIRE is a libertarian leaning non-profit which is a big supporter of free speech, cool.
In it‘s sponsored poll they also note,
“ The amount of confidence conservatives, Republicans, and Americans with only a high school education or less have in colleges and universities is approaching a floor — very few respondents in these groups have high confidence, so there’s not much room for high confidence to drop further.”
This with ONLY a high school education or LESS don’t have high confidence in colleges and universities? Well….duh. Those are usually the folks that are the easiest to exploit for their ignorance and lack of education. These are the same people who are being told by conservative elites that liberals are saying they are stupid and/or not smart enough to go to college thus the animosity towards higher education.
When the conservative elites who went to college and universities that they are badmouthing to the their less educated brethren they are using that manufactured sentiment to bash liberal philosophy. The same things the elite conservatives took advantage of and benefitted from when THEY went to college or university.
Of course these high school educated or LESS folks are not going to have high confidence in colleges and universities. Plus let’s not forget that it’s expensive and the costs will keep getting higher every time states cut funding to cut taxes to the conservative elites in their respective states.
Oh my god, you cant make this shit up!!
Those are usually the folks that are the easiest to exploit for their ignorance and lack of education.
Here he claims HS educated people are ignorant and gullible (not smart). Smart=quick witted intelligence=not easily exploited
These are the same people who are being told by conservative elites that liberals are saying they are stupid and/or not smart enough to go to college thus the animosity towards higher education.
Here he blames conservatives for saying that he just said that
LMAO
What a spastic idiot non savant.
Some of the smartest people I know do not have a college degree.
What they do have, common sense. The ability to think for themselves. The ability to look at the facts and decide what is best for them.
And I have known a number of college educated people who could not change a tire, could not cook a meal from scratch, and paid someone else to raise their kids.
“ Here he claims HS educated people are ignorant and gullible (not smart). Smart=quick witted intelligence=not easily exploited”
I take it you have never seen Jay Leno’s segments asking people on the street with general knowledge questions and how badly they do. Or even college students being asked the same things. It was a regular thing and people were just as ignorant as they are today.
Conservatives are always saying to those folks what liberals are saying about them. Because they are always exploiting the ignorant and the gullible. It’s always been that way. One need only go to a MAGA rally and see it in the flesh.
Here, he doubles down on his insistence that high school educated people are not smart. And again blames conservatives for saying it.
I guess you dont watch Jesse Watters?
Interviewing a dozen of the college protestors at NYU:
ZERO could name the river and the sea.
I didnt attend college full time until i was 29 years old. 2 years later when i received my degree I was no more/less “easy to exploit” than I was at 26.
What an idiotic statement. What we witness in college campuses everyday is exploitation of who???? Thats right….
High school graduates, you moron.
Waters, well…that explains a LOT.
2 years? So, Associates degree? If it took you that long to finish school or finally decide you must have been undecided for a while. Cool.
Maybe YOU were not easy to exploit. That doesn’t say others were including those who never went to college or university. There are those folks that just wouldn’t cut it or didn’t want to go further. But that means they also didn’t get the benefit if knowing the rigors of college life and the multitude of perspectives that they could have experienced. Which is why it’s easier to exploit for those who do have a better understanding and an intent to exploit that ignorance and lack of perspective. Things conservative elites like to do. You know, people like Trump. I mean, he said it himself, “I love the poorly educated.” Yeah lol, he does, because they are so easy to fool and exploit.
“ I was no more/less “easy to exploit” than I was at 26.”
Sure….if you say so.
You want another comeuppance, IGNORANT George? If you read more here and spent less time shooting off your mouth, you wouldn’t look like a spastic idiot as well.
Notice the words “full time”. Idiot.
I have 2 undergrad and one advanced degree in nuclear engineering. I also have extensive post grad training in a RANGE of topics. I daresay that my lifetime learning accomplishments DWARF yours.
Add to that a lifetime of accomplishments OUTSIDE of academics, and you don’t want to go there.
I was serving as a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy at 26. So yea, I say so. If you don’t know what “rigors” that entails, I suggest you go look it up.
I’ll leave you to guess at why I then went to college at 29, and what I parlayed that into. It’s been discussed here before. Read more, type less. But yea, since I left home at 17, indecisiveness has not been a trait someone would attribute to me, unless they were IGNORANT.
Rigors of college life, my ass. I put 4 kids thru college. Everyone one of them would go back if they could LMAO.
“ I have 2 undergrad and one advanced degree in nuclear engineering. I also have extensive post grad training in a RANGE of topics. I daresay that my lifetime learning accomplishments DWARF yours.”
LOL, sure Waters, sure.
Quick, what’s the 2r/hr radius of a 150 Ci radiation source? Or do you prefer sieverts or bacquarels as units of measurements.
Is that a gamma, neutron, beta, or alpha radiation emitter, spastic?
For calculating dose rate for a gamma emitter, the inverse square law works.
For an actual exposure calculation, you’ll want to factor the gamma constant for a given nuclide.
We used to have this little riddle. See if you can figure it out.
You have 4 cookies, one each of the following emitter.
Gamma
Neutron
Alpha
Beta
You must eat one, put one in your pocket, hold one in your hand, and throw one away. Which would you choose?
If you think that casting shade on my service and accomplishments will fly, guess again. I suspect your IQ is in the low 90’s.
LOL!!!!
You sure talk a lot without ever answering a simple question for a “nuclear engineer”.
Don’t you have your old exposure calculator lying around? The ol’ slide calculator?
So what’s the answer?
How about I narrow it down? A 150 Ci IR-192 source? What’s the 2r/hr radius? I know there’s a formula that every engineer knows. I’m curious if you can answer the question, but I suspect you will google it instead.
I did better than answer the question moron, I gave you the formula
You’d know that if you knew anything.
LOL
You aren’t even qualified to ask me a question. LMAO
If you were, you would have specified a GAMMA POINT SOURCE. Because that matters to an engineer, even a first year student.
TDS stood for time, distance and shielding long before it stood for your affliction.
LOL!!!!!
“ If you were, you would have specified a GAMMA POINT SOURCE. Because that matters to an engineer, even a first year student.”
I did give you one. How did you miss it? Are you sure you are a nuclear engineer?
Come on Waters, what’s the answer? You keep evading.
You gave me one after I posted it. Point is, you were too ignorant to give me one before.
“ You gave me one after I posted it. Point is, you were too ignorant to give me one before.”
LOL!!!!!!
No you didn’t. I gave you a specific ‘gamma source point’ to use after you asked for one. It’s telling that you did not recognize it and you still cannot provide an answer. So what is it? Better yet, identify the gamma source I provided you. You know, the one you keep missing and insisting you need. It was right in front of you.
It’s a simple formula. Even YOU should be able to figure it out without all the terminology salad you keep throwing out. Having an advanced degree this should be easy for you. What’s the answer?
George, I believe that he gave you the answer further down.
Give it up, please.
Terminology matters to engineers, Svelaz. sorry that didnt fit in your little garden.
The point is, you asked me something a first year physics student would know. The inverse square law is applicable to much more than radiation
Benson
I answered his question with my FIRST response, he was just too ignorant to know it. That’s always his problem. He’s not just ignorant, he is too dumb to know what he doesn’t know.
HE doesn’t know the difference between dose rate and exposure rate, so everything I said sounded like word salad to him. He doesn’t understand the difference between the gamma radiation from Co-60 and Ir-192. Why would he? Unless he is involved with medicine, he probably doesn’t even know that the example he gave has a relatively short half life (compared to Co-60), and that radioactive decay is an exponential process, so that after just 12 hours, that 150Ci is significantly less. Whereas Co-60 (the gamma that others are corrected to by that upside down L thing), with a half life of more than 5 years, is relatively stable in comparison. But i digress.
Suffice it to say he crapped his pants again and thinks no one noticed.
By the way, the symbol for roentgen is a capital R.
Great. So what’s the answer? What’s the minimum distance?
Fvcking idiot. What a waste of my time. I will be back after my PT to school you more but
I1(d1)^2=I2 (d2)^2 And 150 Ci of IR 192 at 1ft is approx 780R/hr
You do the piss ant math to solve for I2=2R/hr, ya spastic.
I haven’t done dose rate calculations in 35 years, so not gonna do it for you now, genius.
Whats next, genius? are you going to voir dire me on the neutron life cycle in a pressurized water reactor?
LMAO what a douche. You really have zero shame or self respect.
That wasn’t so hard was it? if you’re going to brag you better be able to back it up. You walked right into that all by yourself. It just goes to prove how easy it is to be a jerk and insult and be foul mouthed to others for having a different opinion, a contrary, or opposing view than to have a honest discussion and civilly disagree. Perhaps you will take it into consideration. Perhaps not. Be more civil. That’s not too much to ask. Enjoy your PT.
In your case i will Definitely not take it into consideration. You play silly word games that do not add to the discourse any more than my foul mouth. I am a sailor at heart. Dont take it personally, pansy.
My goal was not to simply answer your question. A freshman could’ve answered it. It was to show that your ridiculous question proved nothing, other than that you are a jack ass, and there isnt much hope for you.
Its hilarious that you think that exchange showed ME something lol. Self awareness not your forte either.
Now, would you like to answer the riddle?
George, everyone knows that you copy and paste, even when you ask a question. Do you know the subject? No. You pretend, but as I pointed out in my last unanswered dozen replies, you are wrong, shallow, corrupt, and you lie a lot. Is there more to be said? Yes, You are a moron. Don’t complain and say I insulted you because I could have told the truth. You are an idiot.
In a conversation on the exploitation of college students, “George” the spastic idiot claims that high school graduates are EASIEST to exploit.
Irony…such a terrible thing to waste.
Or maybe “George” thinks that high school graduates become immune to exploitation once they walk onto a college campus.
Like I said, you really haven’t seen high school graduates try to answer general knowledge questions. These are the same people conservatives love to gripe about when they encounter them in the real world. Those who can’t figure out how to make change, or process a simple takeout order, or even know who our 3rd or 2nd president was or how does a bill become law.
You know we are talking about high school graduates who didn’t go further than that and are expected to understand complex issues like foreign affairs and politics or have discussions that don’t involve the latest tik tok trend, right? There are ‘older’ high school graduates or dropouts who are even more ignorant or just plain less…learned on issues way beyond their understanding, but fully “know” what they are talking about because they learned everything about it….on facebook, infowars, Fox News, or their crazy uncle.
Now, just to be clear, so you don’t start going on a spastic rant. I’m NOT saying all are like that. But, a good portion are and that’s what people like Trump and conservative elites LOVE to exploit. Because they are so easy to convince that as long as they are “on their side” anything they say must be true. Because it’s easier than figuring things out for themselves. It’s….less complicated.
Why do people in college always think they are so smart? They’re still in school, aren’t they? You don’t go to a hospital and here people bragging about their health!
—–Gallagher
*hear
Apparently Waters, loves bragging about his….degrees. He seems to feel the need to let everyone know how smart he is.
I didn’t “brag” about anything, Mr “be more civil”. You called me out when I said I started college full time at 29, and finished in 2 years. I had a Masters degree at the end of that 2 years, numbskull. I earned my undergraduate degrees while boring holes in the ocean so that idiots like you could make ignorant statements here.
You implied that I had “only” an associates degree, and assuming made you an ass AGAIN. So I brought you up to speed on my education, since you also made the uncivil comment “that explains a lot”.
I pointed out how it explained NOTHING. And by that I said it means nothing, in terms of how “exploitable” or “smart” I am.
So yea. I am smarter than you. Better educated than you. More experienced than you. More accomplished than you. So what??
My suspicion is…that’s a low bar.
You were definitely bragging.
Ok, maybe a little. And you are a spastic idiot non savant.
And you love to prove how little you do, so what?
You are simply a gasbag jerking it to the mirror with your posts – same bs everyday. Boring. Your alma mater is embarrassed.
Oh, poor baby who cant utilize his time efficiently, is jealous that he has to jerk it at home alone while he waits for mommy to return home from her glory hole gig at the pool hall. Sorry your life didnt work out so well, drunktard, but dont take it out on Waters.
George, we only know the people on the blog by what they write. Waters is intelligent with good ideas he can defend. On the other hand what you write shows an ignorant fool who lies and runs away.
Meyer
Thanks for that. What svelaz-george and elvis bug dont like is that i have the patience to drill all the way down on their bull shit until they have nowhere to scurry like cockroaches.
With svelaz its pretty easy because he just runs his mouth and then when he realizes that article in Vox misled him, he goes looking for something, anything to support his ignorant comment.
He literally said again today that the students were not trespassing by building tent cities and barricades because they are students. This just weeks after i spent 2 days crushing his nonsense. He is like, no, no, i get to make up my own definitions for this discussion. WTF is that?? He has a “different point of view” on what trespass is??? Thats like having a different point of view on what gravity is.
For elvis, it seems he is just mad at the world for how shitty his life turned out. He has it in for anyone who is successful. He hangs out here all day, scoffing at others for having the audacity to post their own thoughts.
Waters, thank you. You hit the nail on the head. George can be shown the written proof of an argument. He will run away and then repeat what he said before. Some accuse him of being a paid shill. If that is true, I think not, then he and others like him are draining the coffers of those supporting this failed ideology he and his handlers have.
Reputation is what survives on blogs of this nature. You have a good one, and George has none at all.
I don’t know why I am paying $50k/yr for you to go to college. You ALREADY know it all
—-Me to my daughter in 2003
on facebook, infowars, Fox News, or their crazy uncle.
Or CNN or MSNBC or Vox or The Guardian, right?
Here, Svelaz tips off what e is really saying.
Your comment that campuses are “hardened silos that seem impenetrable” is accurate insofar as liberal arts are concerned. The sciences and engineering still demand excellence. So also do most professional schools, though a bit wilted by DEI these days. To establish this, let me note I’m on a faculty list-serve where the liberal arts faculty participants have a mindset on only those items derogatory to society, left wing politics, and TDS.
The drop in popularity of college could be catastrophic, depending on what they do now.
The progressive network that excludes all others is probably the greatest crime but it’s not the only one.
College cost has risen even faster than medical care cost for most of my life since college. Strange to think about that but it’s true. 1970-1974 Emory University Medical School cost approx $2000/year (I went to college there but not medical school) while producing 90 MD’s per year. 160 miles away in the same state was the Medical College of Georgia, twice as old as Emory and was producing 136 MD’s a year and MCG cost $900/yr for 4 years while Emory increased its fees almost yearly. The MCG cost is not a keystroke error.
Emory now is about $60,000 year and produces about 120 MD’s per year and MCG produces approx 300 MD’s a year and is approx $30,000/ year.
So that meant a lower middle class student like me with a father who never got paid more than $20,000/yr could go to college and medical school and did it without scholarships or loans. I also worked through the summers and during class while in college at Emory and then got offered a job at a state school near MCG where I and 7 other med students covered the school and residents (2000 of them) at nite and took call there in addition to our medical school call during our clinical clerkships our junior and senior years.
There is no way that I can think of to follow that road now unless you’re rich or in major debt or you win some large scholarships.
People are not going to pay those kind of prices for a questionable or bad product. NO WAY.
People who pay taxes for public schools are yanking their kids out to private schools, or micro schools or home schooling. And the more Biden pushes his title 9 abominations on public schools the more people will desert so called public education.
Now some people will say I went to an inferior medical school compared to Emory. Not as well know is more accurate. At that time we all used books, not computers, and every medical school in the country used virtually the same books and editions. In fact Manter and Gatz a neuroanatomy book used throughout the nation were 2 faculty members at MCG.( Gatz was my professor). J. Willis Hurst MD (chief of medicine at Emory for nearly 30 yrs was a MCG graduate, as was Emory’s Chief of cardiovascular surgery at approx same time)
I only say this to make a point about cost and mindset and how you make the best of your opportunities and that still is true. Hard work at any school in this country can make up for the fact that your university is not so well known.
The fact that I went to a little known medical school made no difference when I applied for residencies but the grades I made and honors I won did make a difference.
Anybody with a better than average intelligence and hard work can do the same. You do not have to be a genius although I was fortunate to rub shoulders with some geniuses (that did not include me)
Medical educations are what I know best and some aerospace because of my daughter’s degree in aerospace engineering (she is the genius).
A warning though, medical education is toxic and stressful. Even in my training period many major medical centers and schools had 1 or more suicides per year and it’s still a problem today. Women residents are particularly stressed and prone to suicide but all at risk to some degree.
You have to harden yourself to that fact but still stay a human being and compassionate. A little off subject but just some things most of you are probably not aware of in education.
The Left can only corrupt. It never creates. And corruption does not lead to longevity.
I have degrees from Johns Hopkins, UVA, and GWU (I took Turley’s property class). For years, these schools seemed to be competing to out-woke each other. We’ll see if they start competing to return to a more neutral stance. Meanwhile, I take some online courses at Hillsdale College and send them some money. Thank God there’s a Hillsdale!
How was Turley’s property class? Thanks.
College in most cases has become 4 more years of high school. Students who are not academically skilled (at that point in their life) are admitted because of some social issue. The failure rate in the first semester as most know is extremely high after which you have to question grading to retain these students. College is not, was not for everyone and that is being proved today. Alternative to college is learning of a trade, community college, night college while working and for maturity growth the military after which the military will pick up part of the tab. One thing for sure government dollars (our money) should no longer fund the failure.
“. . . Americans have a lot of trust in higher education.” (JT)
The cause of that well-deserved disdain began, in part, circa 1980’s. The previous generation of humanities and social science professors still held to an element of objectivity: That irrespective of their personal ideologies, their professional responsibility was to teach an important body of ideas, and the schools of thought on both sides of those ideas.
That generation began dying out, to be replaced by a generation that shed that element of professionalism. Instead, they view themselves as primarily propagandists, for their personal ideologies and against whatever they oppose. That generation of fascists in spirit now have a stranglehold over the universities (with very few exceptions). You might know them as race/gender/class activists. Or as DEI promoters. Or as purveyors of CRT and “gender fluidity.”
That nonobjective attitude was expressed by a Pomona College professor who said (in the 1980’s): My job is to rid teenagers of their naive individualism.
Education really needs a paradigm shift. It needs to be removed from the govt. and allow people with kids K-12 to take the ~20k/year the public school monopoly wastes every year and put it in the school of their choice. Colleges need to go completely on line. Teachers would make more money by teaching thousands of kids $100/course. Students would be better off since they can be taught by our best. Employers would benefit since these students would have “built” their degrees tailored to their employment.
A typical bachelors degree is 120 credit. that’s 40, three credit courses, at $100/course that would be $4K for a bachelors degree. We need to get away from the current model where graduates have a house payment at the end of four years.
There is one escape hatch. The Republican Party needs to found schools, like Hillsdale College or Ave Maria Law School, hire conservative faculty, and make affordable education available to conservative kids. This is blindlingly obvious. That is why the top leadership in the Republican Party in Washingon DC cannot see it.
Eedwardmahl,
I have said something similar in the past.
Two different education systems, in parallel, the two shall never meet.
One will produce well educated grads, with the skills and knowledge companies want.
The other will produce indoctrinated snowflakes, who bring their wokeism to work, and have the emotional maturity of a six year old.
Or they will be career baristas with a mountain of college debt, and a degree no one will hire them for.
EdwardMahl and UpstateFarmer seem to have the germ of an idea that should grow into something of value and trust. I agree. But we really need to get the Federal government out of education. Their influence cease at the city limits of DC. Only impact should be civil rights for all people, not manufactured ones.
GEB,
I would also say we need to streamline higher education programs.
There once was this idea of a “well rounded education” where the student was required to take and pay for classes totally unrelated to their major, like underwater basket weaving or some DEI nonsense. Realign the system to the core classes for a major and dump the garbage. Sure, all those 16th century French literature professors might lose their jobs, but I would be okay with that if it meant I could save a few hundred dollars a credit hour for some useless class.
UpstateFarmer 11:03
I agree. Also calculus requirements for medical school are nonsense . We are not rocket scientists. If I need math help, I hire a statistician or a mathematician. All the formulas you need are already there. Just fill in the banks with your measurements and the answer comes out. I really don’t need the theory of relativity. (Physics). Speed of Light for me is Warp 5 Cruiser in Star Trek
I wonder if, at least in the past, the reason for some of the difficult technical courses having little to do with medicine aren’t a selection tool used to obtain a higher caliber medical student.
The usual wipeout courses for premed students are
organic chemistry
genetics
both of which are claimed to be related to the practice of medicine.
Selection, however, is highly depend upon one’s MCAT score…
Excellence is no longer the goal in academia and truth (or if not truth balance) is no longer the goal in journalism. These two problems exist because the balance of power among elites prefers what it gets from the current situation over the most likely alternatives. Be pessimistic unless there’s a successful populist revolution.
Be pessimistic unless there’s a successful populist revolution.
what is your weapon of choice?
* ANTIFA BLM Molotov Cocktails and arson
* Gaza Hamas Supporters anti-semitic death threats
* DOJ / FBI raiding the homes of Americans
* Democrats inciting violence against SCOTUS Justices and MAGA
* or wearing a necklace of garlic and carrying a hammer and wooden stake?
Note: the last item will possibly get you arrested by FBI with or without a Catholic rosary in hand.
Estovir-Queen of Hearts Justice “off with their heads”. 4×4 truck with a hitch on back and mobile guillotine so you can be there at any major disturbance for rapid dispensation of “justice”.
There was a time that a student’s education largely focused on learning the subjects at hand, i.e. mathematics, biology, physiology, literature, etc. The professors stuck to the subject and did not have a platform for personal beliefs. They had to in order to meet the mission, goals and objectives set forth by the institution and to meet USDE standards.
Then came the Marxist ideology in the form of DEI to radicalize new converts. They learn about class warfare, and see things through the lens of “oppressed” and “oppressors.” The vulnerable youth are fed into the maw and appear happy to let others do their thinking for them instead of engaging their brains.
It is a sad spectacle, especially in the once venerated larger institutions. I would rather see the kids go to smaller state institutions instead of these massive universities. Parents must also prepare their children how to spot the radicals and be prepared with facts to stand their ground.
They are making themselves irrelevant. They keep jacking up the price for what exactly? Indoctrination. For worthless degrees. There is a growing demand for the trades, without the debt. AI is not going to take a plumbers job. AI is not going to take a auto mechanics job. AI is not going to take a HVAC job.
AI might take a journalist job . . . oh, wait, isnt that already happening?
UpstateFarmer-Are jounalists even recognized as a profession. I thought the moniker had changed to propagandist.
GEB,
I would apply that moniker to MSM.
Alternative media does have some good, real, journalists.
And that is why MSM is freaking out. No one listens or reads them anymore. Their propagandist narrative is losing.
I call them jurinalists. Seems apropos
Estovir,
HA!
That should be a tee-shirt i.e.
Journalist (noun) A person who objectively reports facts.
Jurinalists (noun) A person who subjectively reports their feelings as facts.
See MSM.
UpstateFarmer 10:07
That is true. There are even some liberal journalists who still seek truth. (Very few though)
The price is jacked up because people who can pay are subsidizing the many that can’t. Most of those who can’t are also making up the attendees of the 25%+ (25% as of 2014) of all 4-year college courses that are at most on a high school level. Yes, you read that correct, 1 in 4 courses delivered in the USA’s 4-year colleges and unis are remedial courses.
Want to get rich in the new AI economy? Learn how to change a light bulb and charge the liberal elites a fortune to do it because they won’t have the education or experience to figure it out on their own, they will know exactly why they can’t do it though – oppression.
That’s my bet, too, Shakdi.
But I also bet if Democrats win the election, there will likely be a massive bailout package for the universities so that they can continue to operate as Democrat recruitment and indoctrination centers. BTW, that aid package won’t include the religious colleges.
This was intended to respond to Shakdi’s comment at 7:04 AM. The problem with commenting on iPhones is that Apple somehow jams the transmissions.
Just kidding—or maybe I’m not.
No, we don’t need Princeton and the Post. That’s kind of the whole point. We need ethical journalism, yes, and we need higher education. But America is still, just barely, a free country. You are free to succeed or fail. If Princeton and the Post have decided to go down with the ship of wokeness and lies, then let them go. Someone else will take their place.
It’s kind of interesting, and sad, that today marks the one year anniversary of the implosion of the Titan, the submarine that was bound for the Titanic shipwreck site. Many warned that the sub could not withstand the pressure and it had never been tested but the owner/ inventor insisted on doing the dive anyway and because of his hubris, he and four others lost their lives.
I feel like the Titan is a symbol of what happens when people are wilfully and completely divorced from facts. If they would only destroy themselves they’d be doing society a favor, but unfortunately they seem to want to take others with them. The Titan is a symbol, not just of Princeton and the Post, but of America herself, imploding because facts have become persona non grata.
“Only 28% said they had a “great deal of confidence in colleges and universities. Not surprisingly, given the ideological balance at most schools, the highest levels of trust came from Democrats and liberals. However, even this group only showed a 40% high confidence rate. Among Republicans, it drops to 12% and among independents it drops to 28%.
For most businesses, such negative reactions would be viewed as catastrophic. For academia, it will not matter of a whit.”
The 28% with confidence in colleges and universities is much higher than the 18% and dropping of the Supreme Court that Turley keeps covering for. Turley is part of the echo chamber he complains about. He likes the results the Supreme Court produces so he doesn’t care at all about the appearance of impropriety dogging a few of the justices. Thomas is at $4 million in “gifts” and counting.
https://apnorc.org/projects/public-confidence-in-the-u-s-supreme-court-is-at-its-lowest-since-1973/
Thank you for sharing the article. I read it. In that article, democrats also give the Supreme Court a low rate. From reading it, It’s because of abortion. The article states the democrats feel that abortion at any stage is a woman’s right to choose. From the article with the democrats murdering one’s own is okay. For the west of the world it is not. Thank you for bringing this issue to light.
Anonymous 8.01 AM-Well the abortion debate is a glaring example of the professed belief in abortion as a constitutional right. The proponents seem to think a Supreme Court ruling or Codifcation in law makes abortion a constitutional right. Seems their civics education s lacking and they forget that this is only a court decision. A right with legal meaning needs a constitutional amendment . That must have not been discussed in Quick Notes for Civics
Since I attended a Jesuit high school run by Cuban Jesuits expelled by Fidel Castro, part of our curriculum included a required year long course entitled Latin American History. It was taught by a former Bay of Pigs military officer in Spanish. We covered in great deal Marxism and Right Wing govts of LA, but to your point, we discussed in infinite detail the savagery of the human sacrifices by the Incas and Aztecs, their tools, their rituals, attire, festive banquets, etc. The Left’s dogmatic stance on abortion up until right after birth (i.e. Ralph Northam, MD, ex-Governor of Virginia) makes the Incas and Aztecs look like amateurs. Really sickening.
True and I don’t think even the Incas and Aztecs castrated young boys and cut the breasts off young girls as a matter of course. But Democrats will sure support that sort of thing! Just tell them the Democrat Party is in favour of it, and Democrats will grab their cleavers! Anybody who is a Democrat, or who supports the Democrats is scum.
Estovir-10:08 am
your experience mirrors mine. I had a patient who fought at the Bay of Pigs for Castro and then over the succeeding years he soured on Castro and his one party state and fled Cuba and made his way to Indiana. Highly intelligent and incredibly articulate gentleman who always made me run over time because we got into long talks about politics and the world. I always made sure my Nurse Practitioner students would see him when he came in for a visit because he gave them views and knowledge they would otherwise have never seen or heard
Thanks for your kind words GEB. I recently had a haircut in a “redneck” town outside of Richmond where I usually go. My barber is a close friend and the staff treat me like their own even if the staff know my cultural ethnic background. My barber, a Mensa member and gun aficionado, introduced me on that day to the customers seated as “the most anti-communist person you will ever meet”. I grimaced, shook my head, and just sat down for my haircut in the barber’s chair. One of the customers, an elder man, entrepreneur with multiple lucrative businesses, kept engaging me the whole time I was seated for my haircut. He asked about Cuba, Communism, music, food, traditions, Catholicism and my family. He was pleasant, kind and I left after my haircut not thinking much about anything. By the time I got home my barber called me on my cell phone. He said the customer told the barbershop staff and remaining customers that the most loyal, hardworking and direct / upfront people he has ever met were Cubans, having worked with many across the globe. As my barber continued speaking, I choked up and couldn’t say a word. I was flooded with emotions because the memories of what used to be uniquely Cuban culture, no longer exists. I inherited a treasure that is now part of history. Marxism under Castro killed the once vibrant Cuban culture.
This is what Obama started in America, a hatred for all things beautiful that typified the American persona. This is what I see being destroyed by Obama/ Biden and the DNC / MSM, their lies, their propaganda, their destroying the US Constitution and the 2016 Coup d’état of Trump, just like what Fidel Castro did, just like what Hillary, Obama and 51 former Intelligence
expertsspies did to Donald TrumpFight for America. Dont let what happened to Cuba with its rich culture happen to America
Estovir,
Well said and thank you for sharing that.
Estovir 12:42 pm. I treasured my Hispanic patients and especially Cubans and loved the Cuban accent. Very different from Mexican Spanish and very musical
The difference is that media lauds universities with their liberal echo chambers while hammering the SCOTUS with inane crap like how a flag outside of the justice s home is flying.
Liberal SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor Took $3M From Book Publisher, Didn’t Recuse From Its Cases
Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined to recuse herself from multiple copyright infringement cases involving book publisher Penguin Random House despite having been paid millions by the firm for her books, making it by far her largest source of income, records show.
In 2010, she got a $1.2 million book advance from Knopf Doubleday Group, a part of the conglomerate. In 2012, she reported receiving two advance payments from the publisher totaling $1.9 million.
In 2013, Sotomayor voted in a decision for whether the court should hear a case against the publisher called Aaron Greenspan v. Random House. …
In 2017, Sotomayor began receiving payments each year from Penguin Random House itself, which continued annually through at least 2021, the most recent disclosure available, and totaled more than $500,000. In all, she received $3.6 million from Penguin Random House or its subsidiaries, according to a Daily Wire tally of financial disclosures.
In October 2019, children’s author Jennie Nicassio petitioned the Supreme Court to hear her lawsuit against Penguin Random House alleging that the book publisher had copied her book by selling one that was nearly identical. On the same day that the petition was distributed to the justices, Sotomayor received a $10,586 check from the publisher.
On February 24, 2020, the Supreme Court voted not to hear the case, denying the “writ of certiorari” and meaning that the case would remain where it left off — with a circuit court having found in the publisher’s favor. Sotomayor’s next check, coming in May of that year, was her largest ever from the parent company, at $82,807. The Supreme Court does not reveal how individual justices vote when it comes to “cert,” but it does note when they recuse, which Sotomayor did not.
Fellow then-justice Stephen Breyer, by contrast, did recuse from the 2013 and 2020 Penguin cases
https://www.dailywire.com/news/liberal-scotus-justice-took-3m-from-book-publisher-didnt-recuse-from-its-cases
What notsoenigma really wanted to bring to our attention is how Black
LivesLies Matter swindled money from gullible contributors to the tune ofBLM paid execs millions despite being nearly $9M in the red: tax documents
Black Lives Matter Grassroots, a sister of organization of Black Lives Matter, has accused Bowers in a lawsuit of “siphoning” millions of the organization’s dollars to his company.
“Instead of using the donations for its intended purposes, Mr. Bowers diverted these donations to his own coffers,” the lawsuit says.
But Bowers wasn’t the only person to benefit from the group’s large expenditures, with board member Danielle Edwards’ company receiving $1,063,500 for “consulting services,” according to an auditor review of the documents.
Meanwhile, Cullors’ brother, Paul Cullors, saw his security company Black Ties LLC paid a total of $756,330, which was on top of his $125,000 salary and $15,000 that was listed as “other compensation.”
“A sibling of the former Executive Director owned a security and protection company, which was paid $1,602,185 for security services,” the auditor noted, pointing out that Paul Cullors’ security firm was paid a similar amount the previous year.
Black Lives Matter also paid $600,000 to an unidentified former board member’s consulting firm “in connection with a contract dispute.”
https://www.foxnews.com/us/blm-paid-execs-millions-despite-being-nearly-9m-in-red-tax-documents
Alas, notsoenigma is compelled to recuse himself from commenting therein because of his hypocrisy and double standards
Estovir-Sort of sounds like the accounting at the Clinton Global Iniative
Thomas and Gorsuch, along with every other justice I believe, have written books and made money. The cases you spoke of involving Sotomayor were decided in favor of the publisher in the lower courts and not taken up by SCOTUS. If any liberal justice had received $4 million in gifts, almost none disclosed until they were brought to light. You’d recognize the appearance of impropriety.
BTW, I’ve never criticized Trump for the money he made off the books he didn’t actually write. I haven’t talked about the money he’s stealing from Republican donors to pay his legal fees and enrich himself. Grifters gonna grift.
“FBI knew since 2016 Hunter Biden’s team nearly scored $120 million Ukrainian deal while Joe was VP” JTN
Now you’re changing the subject to a deal that didn’t happen rather than address those that did. BTW, I’m more than willing to acknowledge that Hunter Biden was a grifter that lived off the family name. That description fits most of the Trump children (and son-in law) whose actual deals far exceed something Hunter may have discussed.
Please tell me how you justify Clarence Thomas receiving over $4 million in gifts that far exceed all the other justices combined? Nobody seems to be willing to do anything except change the subject.
“Now you’re changing the subject to a deal that didn’t happen.”
Enigma, I hope you realize that attempted murder means the person wasn’t killed, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a crime. So be it with the Biden family and the myriad of cases demonstrating that Biden and his family are corrupt and criminal.
I wish you would take your advice regarding members of the other side of the aisle, but you don’t. That is because you have a double standard, a type of hypocrisy you are continuously guilty of.
I will return to your claims. “Clarence Thomas receiving over $4 million in gifts that far exceed all the other justices combined? “
It doesn’t far exceed other claims. Sotomayor received $3.6 Million, according to the posting above. That was hard cash, and more is likely coming. She could spend that money on anything she wanted. How much hard cash did Thomas receive? None. Sotomayor did not recuse herself from cases before the court. Tomas didn’t have to recuse because no cases were brought against the one who provided the vacations. Those numbers were highly inflated because they used the 5-star vacation price, not what an actual vacation costs.
Further, it is a friend, just like family members, who invites one over to their homes for dinner and lets them stay over. Your claim is pure garbage, and there never could have been pay-for-play. However, in Sotomayor’s case, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN PAY FOR PLAY.
“That description fits most of the Trump children.”
How. The Trump children benefited from Trump’s private investments, and Hunter benefited from THE PUBLIC’S UNKNOWING LARGESS.
At least now you recognize HUNTER TO BE A GRIFTER, something you have tried disputing directly and indirectly. You have been wrong continuously about Biden’s corrupt activities. In the future, you will learn JOE BIDEN IS A CROOK WHO SOLD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO THEIR ENEMIES.
Sotomayor got a book advance like every other Justice including Gorsuch from the same company. Thomas got gifts he failed to report, not nearly the same thing.
Trump children and son in law: 2 Billion here, 41 Chinese trademarks there, stealing from a cancer charity and civil fraud. If you can’t match the Trump child or in-law to the offense, try Google.
“Sotomayor got a book advance like every other Justice including Gorsuch“
Did EVERY other Justice get a book advance and sell books? I don’t know the answer, but I assume it is very likely. You don’t know the answer, but you read an opinion piece saying that. You make statements that may or may not be accurate.
If every Justice sold books, it would not be an excuse for Sotomayor. Instead, it demonstrates that all Justices might be doing it and are equally wrong if selling books is wrong. It shows that Supreme Court members have earned money outside their pay from the Supreme Court. Which ones didn’t recuse themselves when the publisher had a case before the Supreme Court? We know Sotomayor didn’t. I don’t know enough about the other Justices to comment. The question you should be asking yourself is whether Sotomayor was wrong in not recusing herself.
“Thomas got gifts he failed to report, not nearly the same thing.”
We can assume that most, if not all, Supreme Court justices received unreported gifts today and in the past. There were no reporting requirements. In Thomas’s case, his friend never appeared before the Supreme Court; Sotomayor’s publisher was.
“Trump children and son in law: 2 Billion here, 41 Chinese trademarks “
You understand little about the free market, commerce or daily life outside of your partisan and racial animus. Trademarks are a standard business practice. Do you have any link between government corruption and the Trump children? NO!. You are blowing smoke as usual. You are libeling good people because you don’t like their politics or race. That thinking is for small people who cannot get beyond their prejudices. The links between Hunter and Joe Biden as senator, VP, and president are numerous and scary.
“stealing from a cancer charity and civil fraud. “
Stealing is a criminal act. Trump was never convicted of stealing. Civil disputes settled in court are not fraud, but fraud can also be a criminal act. You have a terrible habit of making ridiculous statements to promote your lost causes.
“try Google.”
Try Google is the last resort of an incompetent person who cannot prove what he claims. Your animus towards those of different races and beliefs is quite apparent. That does not help one to get ahead and sometimes causes some groups to fall far behind their potential.
Every current justice either has a book or a book deal in place. When given advances, they were part of a contract requiring a great deal of work by the author including an expectation of meeting deadlines and living up to certain obligations. What services do you imagine Clarence Thomas provided for $4 million.
Did Sotomayor recuse herself? No.
Enigma, did Thomas have to recuse himself? No. His friend was never before the court.
Let’s break it down. If the Justice is not involved with the one providing money, there is no corruption. However, if the Judge is ruling on a case, there could be corruption. This means that while Judge Sotomayor could have been involved in corruption, Judge Thomas could not.
Did you give your intellect away in exchange for a warped ideology?
The topic I was discussing wasn’t recusal, it was Thomas taking $4 million in undisclosed gifts, with additional gifts trickling out on a regular basis. Ignoring this makes you complicit.
‘The topic I was discussing”
Enigma, the topic you were discussing was fanciful. It engaged in inappropriate behavior by Thomas where there was none and couldn’t have been. Thomas’ friend never came before the court. Therefore, inappropriate behavior couldn’t occur.
On the other hand, Sotomayor’s book publisher was in front of the court, and she didn’t recuse herself. Therefore, inappropriate behavior may or may not have occurred.
Oddly, you attack the one who could not have performed inappropriate behavior (and me) while you try to remain silent on the one who could have.
Enigma, you have a problem. You support criminals such as the Biden family and wish to exonerate them by proving innocent people did something wrong. When discussing things with me, you need to check your bias at the door.
Do you imagine Thomas’s friends issues never came before the court? You aren’t blind, you’re willfully ignorant. You would see the issue in an instant if the jurist in question was one of the liberals.
“Do you imagine Thomas’s friends issues never came before the court? ”
Enigma, take note of the word, imagine. That is what you are doing, imagining. You hate Thomas because he is conservative and black. One can imagine all the judges having friend issues coming before the court, but you hate Thomas more than anyone. Thomas is an intelligent Justice and likely maintained impartiality. On the other hand, Sotomayor didn’t recuse herself; therefore, one has more freedom to question her impartiality.
You are the only one who is ignorant because you cannot see past your ideology. You need to recognize the difference between a Justice (who didn’t recuse) and others where there is no conflict. You can’t. That is ignorance. My opinion remains the same whether the Justice is a liberal or conservative, black or white, a man or a woman. The Constitution is my guide.
You blasted Sotomayor for earned income which she reported. You excuse Thomas for “giftes” which never came to light until uncovered via reporting or the records turned over to Congress of his rich friends. I don’t dislike anyone because they’re conservative or Black. The people that call themselves conservatives these days have little in common with the things they used to support.
“You blasted Sotomayor for earned income which she reported.”
Enigma, don’t be a fool! I didn’t blast Sotomayor at all. I brought up the fact that she didn’t recuse herself, nor did she have to. However, if she commented or judged in a case where she already had a financial arrangement, she could be guilty or not guilty of partiality.
“You excuse Thomas for “giftes” which never came to light until uncovered”
I do not excuse Thomas of anything. He acted according to the laws and rules. Since the other person involved never appeared before the court, Thomas needed no excuses and couldn’t be partial.
” I don’t dislike anyone because they’re conservative or Black.”
Yes, you do and you demonstrate your disdain for every conservative black person you comment on, never give them credit. Long ago, you said some nasty things about Justice Thomas, and now you are trying to make him look as if he violated his oath. Your claim is false, and you do so to him in particular because he is a conservative black.
“The people that call themselves conservatives these days have little in common with the things they used to support.”
That is a falsehood. I haven’t changed my beliefs since I was an adult. I can’t speak for others, but I don’t think John Say, Mespo, and many others have significantly. I note that some conservatives of today wish they hadn’t voted for Obama. As usual, you are making things up.
I have said positive things about JC Watts, Herman Cain, Colin Powell, Condi Rice, I even gave credit to Clarence Thomas for taking care of a family member, until I learned he gave up on him and hadn’t been in touch in several years, simuotaneously telling the public he “raised him like a son.”
“I have said positive things “
Enigma, I will accept your words, but on the whole, you have treated black conservatives hideously. It would be acceptable if you could adequately argue why your statements are so negative. Still, like you did here, you depend on character assassination rather than factual and truthful arguments.
Think of the following.
Did Sotomayor recuse herself? No. The publisher was before the court.
Enigma, did Thomas have to recuse himself? No. His friend was never before the court.
I don’t even treat white conservatives hideously. I have nothing against conservatives, I share some conservative views. I can’t think of an instance where I’ve even criticized anyone for being conservative. Accept my words when I say I am criticizing them for something else. Should Sotomayor (or Gorsuch with the same publisher have recused themselves? I don’t know. The court decided not to accept the case and I don’t know what standard they used. Maybe it was on standing and they decided they could decide on that before getting to whether they had a conflict. I’m not criticizing Thomas on not recusing himself (though many are). I am condemning him for accepting millions in undisclosed gifts, violating even the weak ethics code the court finally had to adopt specifically because of Thomas and Alito. Thomas has sworn to persecute liberals for 43 years (in response to the 43 years he feels they persecuted him). He isn’t calling balls and strikes, he wants his team to win. He is the most predictable justice on the court, his friends are getting just what they paid for. Millions in undisclosed income, why don’t you care?
“I don’t even treat white conservatives hideously.”
Enigma, you generally don’t, but occasionally, you go off the rails, and where Trump is concerned, you go wild. However, the comparison between how you treat white conservatives and blacks demonstrates some inappropriate feelings toward black conservatives along with a fundamental unfairness by you toward them. Perspective is lost.
” I share some conservative views. ”
‘I’m sure you did, and Trump is counting on black support. In his books, Thomas Sowell demonstrates how conservative and religious blacks are. He shows how blacks were excelling in education with low divorce rates before LBJ and how that marvelous progression slowed and reversed after the left did their thing. One of my black friends is a doctor. He is top-notch and better than average but is not considered as good as the others because of affirmative action.
” I don’t know what standard they used. ” That is correct, and you don’t know what each Justice said individually on a case before the SC. No one recused themselves, so that is where a misdeed could have occurred. You cannot compare that to Clarence Thomas, whose friend never came before the court.
” Thomas has sworn to persecute liberals for 43 years (in response to the 43 years he feels they persecuted him).”
His decisions have nothing to do with persecuting anyone. That idea is made up and resides in your mind. He is concerned with the rights of minorities and the Constitution. Everything he has written that I remember supports the Constitution and the individual. You might disagree, but we see remarkable consistency in his decisions. We don’t see the same from some other Justices.
You need to look at policy and how to maintain a strong Constitution, for if it falls, your head, along with mine, will be on the chopping block.
” his friends are getting just what they paid for. Millions in undisclosed income, why don’t you care?”
Tell us how that involves Clarence Thomas. Many people I know are quite wealthy, and some you would never know they were. Hard work and good ideas brought them to prominence, at which time the government wanted to be a partner.
” his friends are getting just what they paid for. Millions in undisclosed income, why don’t you care?”
“Tell us how that involves Clarence Thomas.”
Because he is the one they paid. That’s an amazing level of hubris to suggest Thomas receiving $4 million in undisclosed gifts doesn’t involve him, or give the appearance of impropriety along with the actual.
You may think I am unfair to some people but I promise it is never because they are conservative. That argument is just a deflection.
“Because he is the one they paid.”
Enigma, what was he paid for? You don’t know because he wasn’t paid for anything. This slander is you going off the rails again. He was given a gift, with nothing asked for in return.
And what was he paid? You say $4 Million. How was that derived? It was a hit piece trying to boost the price to the highest conceivable rates. He was given a few vacations, staying at his friend’s home. Thomas isn’t responsible for the real estate value of that home. Thomas flew on his friend’s private plane. We all stay at a friend’s house, eat, and drive in their cars. The friend decided to create a museum to honor a truly great man. The friendship is genuine.
That is where the money went. No money changed hands. JFK Airport was named after JFK. Was JFK on the take? Should we claim that JFK was a cheat based on that expense?
You put all these gifts together and pump up the price when Thomas wasn’t given a dime, and his friend was never before the Supreme Court. Sotomayor’s publisher was, so shouldn’t you be directing your animus towards her? Of course not, you say, she is a progressive.
My statement that follows holds true; the comparison between how you treat white conservatives and blacks demonstrates some inappropriate feelings toward black conservatives along with a fundamental unfairness by you toward them. Perspective is lost.
The RV alone was just under $400K. The grandnephew that Thomas later abandoned had private school paid for at an estimated $50 K per year. At some point even you will have to realize he received something of value. His mother got her house paid for and Thomas got to stop paying taxes on it.
Enigma, it is difficult to assess the value of your comments because they are based on hyperbole and falsehoods, where some truths common to other good people exist.
I don’t know the origins of the van story. Who is the van registered to? How does the van impact any case before the SC? You realize that Sotomayor’s publisher was in front of the court, and she earned just under $4 Million and didn’t recuse herself. I am not claiming she did anything wrong, but you believe the black conservative Justice did something wrong even though none of the people involved appeared before the SC. In my mind, that demonstrates your mindset about black conservatives, mainly since you won’t deal with the Latina liberal.
” The grandnephew that Thomas later abandoned had private school paid for at an estimated $50 K per year.”
If Thomas abandoned that person, then there is no connection, but I am dealing with incomplete facts.
The house is to be a museum and is not owned by Thomas.
“At some point even you will have to realize he received something of value. ”
Of course, he did. That is not the question. The question is whether or not that affected his ruling. Since the people involved never came before the court, whatever you discuss never affected his decision. However, in Sotomayor’s case, the publisher did appear before the SC, and she didn’t recuse herself. That is your problem. The non-recusal by a liberal was OK, and you don’t focus on the white conservatives. All your attention is focused on the black conservative. ( I never made this accusation against Sotomayor for not recusing herself. I didn’t think it merited enough attention.)
My statement remains unchanged.
The comparison between how you treat white conservatives and blacks demonstrates some inappropriate feelings toward black conservatives along with a fundamental unfairness by you toward them. Perspective is lost.
The luxury rv which you’ve downgraded to a van is well documented. If you don’t know it, it’s because you live in a bubble AND didn’t bother to look it up.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-forgiven-anthony-welters-senate-finance-committee/
Thomas’s mothers house was purchased by Harlan Crow who also paid his grandnephews tuition at the same private school he once attended. You will suggest these are all lies because you are covering your eyes and ears saying, “I can’t hear you.” Thomas himself finally declared the $4 million in gifts though his list was incomplete. More trips and gifts were turned in by Harlan Crow when he finally responded to a subpoena after fighting it tooth and nail. Go ahead, claim YOU don’t have enough information when it is all public and available to anyone willing to look. Keep claiming I condemn Thomas because he’s a Black conservative. Look up Long Dong Silver and Clarence Thomas and see what comes up? I don’t have anything at all against anyone of any color for being conservative. That’s the excuse you use because you don’t want to address the other issues.
Enigma, whether a van or a luxury vehicle, doesn’t matter; it is the gift that counts, whether it is any gift or business relationship. That is something you don’t understand. It is a legal gift unless you claim otherwise. The individual gifting it didn’t appear in front of Thomas. Therefore, there can be no wrongdoing.
On the other hand, Sotomayor received about $3.6 Million with more coming. The publisher appeared before the Court, and she didn’t recuse herself. That is where potential problems begin if one wishes to cast blame on a Justice. I didn’t, but you did, and like in many political arguments, you blamed the black conservative who did nothing rather than the liberal who did not recuse herself and, at the same time, forgot about the white conservatives. You have done this many times, which demonstrates to all, except yourself, that you have a more powerful bias against black conservatives than anyone else.
“You will suggest these are all lies ”
“That’s the excuse you use because you don’t want to address the other issues.”
Now, you are lying in an attempt to cover your tracks. I never denied these things and will discuss any issues you choose. I heard about the recreational vehicle but ignored it because the man giving it had never appeared before the Court, and Thomas acted in no way that benefited the man. I also heard of the $3.6 Million with more money COMING INTO Justice Sotomayor, a non-black liberal, where the publisher was before the Court. Still, I didn’t pay much attention to it either until you started criticizing a black conservative judge, Justice Clarence Thomas, without a mention of the non-black Justice Sotomayor.
Again, I have to say that your extreme bias against conservative blacks shows through clearly, so clearly, you have to lie in your attempt to get your point across.
” Thomas himself finally declared the $4 million in gifts though his list was incomplete. More trips and gifts were turned in by Harlan Crow ”
You are now making a drama out of the story. Once again. Democrats went after a black conservative judge, Justice Thomas, because he is black. ( Substantial black conservatives are not acceptable to the Democrat Party.) Neither Thomas nor any other Justice, by rule of law or the Court, had to provide this type of list which suddenly became a requirement. ALL, not just BLACK CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES, had to reveal these gifts and payments. You, with your intense black conservative bias, jumped on the Democrat bandwagon to try and lynch Clarence for a second time.
Face it, you sound like a racist with extreme bias against black conservatives.
You sount like a flat earther, unable to accept any information you choose not to believe. Here’s an explanation including charts of gifts received by Supreme Court Justices. See if one seems just a little different thn all others? I encourage you to pay special attention to the chart outlining the Value of Gifts but they all make the same point. Justices were always supposed to reveal gifts, the most recent clarifications came because of violations, mostly by Thomas.
https://www.newsweek.com/scotus-gifts-explained-3-charts-supreme-court-justices-clarence-thomas-1909482
Enigma, I decided to look up your link. It is different than what you said.
“Most of a $267,000 loan that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received from a wealthy friend to buy a luxury RV *****MAY HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN******, according to Senate Democrats. ”
I assume you know what the word MAY means. That means the Democrats didn’t know, and the Democrats have a horrible habit of lying and blowing meaningless things up. It also wasn’t $400,000.
How do they know this? They don’t! But you do because you will use questionable data to prove your case, and you will even lie about what your opponent in debate says or is willing to do.
Once again, the story has nothing to do with anything appearing before the court. The only thing we can conclude is your obvious bias against powerful black conservatives.
“You sount like a flat earther, unable to accept any information you choose not to believe.”
Enigma, how can I be a flat earther if I accept your facts but not your opinion? Quote the facts I disagree with. I agree that Thomas received vacations, etc, but I don’t agree with your misstatements.
Are you the flat earther who believes non-liberal blacks are ignorant and thieves? That is what it sounds like.
“U.S. Supreme Court justices have raked in millions of dollars worth in gifts over the last two decades, according to a report compiled by a court watchdog.”
This is also true; apparently, it is how the Supreme Court existed for a long time. I don’t disagree with that sentence, but you choose to go after the black man. When are you going to enter the twenty-first century?
and recognize all blacks as your equal.
I discussed the value of gifts before. When you finish your usual attack against a conservative black, we can discuss gifts and payments by book publishers who publish ghostwritten books that don’t meet the sales figures usual for their payments. Then we can talk about those Justices who don’t recuse themselves and those who do. Funny, you are not interested in how to fix a problem that may or may not exist. All you want to do is throw mud at the black guy because he dared say enough is enough and because he believes black men should have the right to own guns and property while not sitting in the back of the bus.
Get real, Enigma, and learn that telling the truth is much easier than lying. Lying leads to contradictions and a soft mind.
“Justices were always supposed to reveal gifts, the most recent clarifications came because of violations”
With a statement like that, you must have the rule in hand to show us and tell us where the rule came from. You don’t, do you?
After this discussion, I need a beer. If I can get ahold of Justice Thomas, maybe I will buy him one. Then you can complain about yet another gift.
Enema
It is reckless and dangerous and irresponsible to question our judicial system
——Joe Biden
Every time you post this crap I ask you the same question, which you always ignore, let’s see if you continue.
Which opinions delivered by Thomas, in your opinion, are suspect because of the “gifts” he has received?
All of them.
On the one hand I agree we need great universities and colleges, on the other I think part of how you get those back is by having fewer of them, and fewer people going to them, and then not being an increasingly exclusive option for one’s path forward in the workforce. Trade schools and other even more compartmentalized options, like apprenticeship and direct on the job training for stuff that people have at this point made a tradition to go to college for… we need more of that kind of stuff. And we also need a world where you can still make a decent living, even a great living if your skill or product or whatever merits it – without doing or assuming you need to do any of the above – simply being a productive worker wherever your employed, or at whatever business you decide to get into, however small scale. Really, I think that means we need more crackdowns on corrupt large corporations, and less regulations choking out smaller scale businesses, for starters.
The cognoscenti within the educational community know what this is all about and are thinking of ways to fix the problems they caused. The March-April edition of Harvard Magazine has an article by Derik Bok, former president of the university for 20 years (1971-1991) and again briefly in the early 2000s. Bok is now in his mid-90s but still at the top of his game. He offers two things that, he says, universities could do to regain their standing with the people: “One of these possibilities would be to devise a truly successful model of civic education, and the other is to develop an effective way to help all students acquire a knowledge of practical ethics and a proficiency in moral reasoning.” Not bad, either one, not bad. For the whole piece that’s well worth reading, go here: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2024/03/americans-hate-harvard-derek-bok.
“…help all students acquire a knowledge of practical ethics and a proficiency in moral reasoning.”
A sad commentary on the almost complete loss of the role religion in our contemporary western societies.
At 75, I’ve come to appreciate how lucky I was to grow up in a time when almost everyone—whether on Saturday or Sunday—went to church, where we learned “practical ethics” (the Ten Commandments) and “moral reasoning” (the Golden Rule). (Obviously, I was raised on Judeo-Christian ethics.) We also learned to be introspective and contemplative (prayer), and moral standards against which to judge ourselves (conscience).
We may no longer need the candles, incense, and stained glass, and, regardless of whether or not one believes in a god, as long as humans live together we will always need a source of moral teaching—of right vs wrong, good vs bad—a role that religion has played until recently. No, religion has not filled that role perfectly, but it’s proven much better than having politicians, journalists, lawyers, pundits, ‘educators’, psychologists, entertainers, various ‘influencers’ and ‘activists’, even scientists, take over that function.
There is no fixing them. They are gone. No chance any reform is real.