We often follow controversies at universities over free speech, but this week’s addition can be accurately described as nuts. Madera Community College History Professor David Richardson is under investigation as a possible confectionary reactionary . . . or at least that is what the school appears to be investigating. Richardson recently gave out candy on campus from Jeremy’s Chocolates labeled “HeHim” (nuts) and “She/Her” (nutless). For Richardson, the candies have led to his suspension pending official investigation. Continue reading “Just Nuts: History Professor Suspended for Passing Out Candies Marked “HeHim” and “SheHer””
For months, we have been discussing how Democratic politicians would deal with massive reparation demands after campaigning for years on such payments being a moral imperative. As proposals rose to as much as $5 million a person, Newsom went silent. Now, California’s Reparations Task Force has issued recommendations for reparation payments as well as a slew of other benefits for black citizens. Newsom has finally responded by what sounded like the common birthday card that reads “I couldn’t afford a present so I gave you this card instead.” With California billions in the red, Newsom appears to be sending up a trial balloon on offering heartfelt apologies, promises of reform, and no cash.
The House of Representatives and the Biden Administration appear in a staring contest waiting for any sign of Blinken.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the House Foreign Affairs Committee is moving to hold him in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoena requests related to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Continue reading “Blinken Contest: House Committee Prepares to Hold Secretary of State in Contempt”
Northwestern University has long been a school hostile to free speech. My alma mater was ranked 197 out of 203 universities for free speech in a major survey by FIRE. (Fortunately, my other alma mater, the University of Chicago, was ranked number one for free speech). This month showed why Northwestern developed a reputation for speech intolerance and a lack of ideological diversity. Northwestern University’s Associated Student Government suspended the funding for the College Republicans due to objections to posters for an event featuring writer and critical race theory critic James Lindsay. Continue reading “Northwestern Student Body Freezes Funds for College Republicans Due to Posters for Conservative Speaker” 
In the hilarious 1955 classic, The Trouble with Harry, a group of people in a small New England town struggle over what to do with a body that keeps popping up. In one scene, the character Capt. Albert Wilesa declares “Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed.”
President Joe Biden has clearly taken Capt. Wilesa’s words to heart. In an interview with MSNBC, President Biden repeated the same mantra that he has maintained since the 2020 election when his son’s laptop revealed an array of possible criminal acts: Hunter has “done nothing wrong.” Continue reading “The Trouble with Hunter: President Biden Repeats Claim that his Son Has “Done Nothing Wrong””
Below is my column in the Hill on the recent controversy at Oberlin College where students are alarmed by the appearance of a risk manager on campus to address the costly lawsuits draining the school.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Risky Business: Appearance of ‘Risk’ Manager Sends Oberlin Students into Frenzy over the Danger of ‘Risk Aversion’”
Thousands cheered King Charles III with ‘God Save The King” as his gilded carriage passed through London. The coronation had all of the pomp and circumstance that people expected from the fifth longest monarchy in history (Japan is the longest). The ceremony included one time-honored tradition that some of us could have done without: the arrest of peaceful protesters. It was all part of “Operation Golden Orb” and follows a long, unbroken British tradition of quashing free speech.
Last night, President Joe Biden did what is a relatively rare thing. He sat down with an actual reporter ostensibly to answer questions. While earlier promising a “major press conference” for the media as a whole to ask him questions, Biden instead did a low-risk interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. In the interview, Ruhle briefly touched on the possible criminal charges awaiting Hunter Biden. Despite reports of a whistleblower alleging a bribery scandal involving the President, Ruhle assured the President (and the viewers) that the still unknown charges will involve “no ties to you.” Moreover, the interview is most interesting for what it did not address. It was a vivid example of what I previously called “the art of scandal implosion.”
I recently wrote a column about how “American politics has become a matter of simple amplification.” This week, Lia McGeever vividly made this point at the San Francisco Board of Advisers by choosing to simply scream into a mike as her statement on a recent case. The Board has nothing to do with the case, but McGeever wanted the cathartic moment. Nothing says the age of rage as much as a primal scream session in a public board meeting. Continue reading ““I Don’t Have Any Words”: Trans Activist Simply Screams Into Mike at San Francisco Board Meeting”
This week, history and civics scores across the nation plummeted to record lows among eighth graders. Just 13% of students performed at or above the “proficient” level in U.S. history. It is the latest appalling report on our declining educational system — a matter that should be treated as a national crisis of literally historic proportions. As discussed in prior columns, we are graduating students from high school who cannot proficiently read or do math. School districts have responded by solving the problem by simply lowering standards and eliminating gifted programs. Now we are producing citizens who know little about our history or our values.
Continue reading ““A Prologue to a Tragedy”: History and Civics Scores Drop to Record Lows”
In March, Audrey Hale shocked the nation by opening fire at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. The police soon acknowledged that they had a manifesto from Hale on why she took this inexplicable and horrific action. We all then waited for the release of the manifesto. We are still waiting. Continue reading “National Police Association and Other Groups Sue to Obtain Audrey Hale Manifesto”
“She’s a [expletive] professor!” Those four words screamed by pro-choice protesters could well sum up the issue for the State University of New York at Albany after the arrest of sociology professor Renee Overdyke. At a recent pro-life demonstration, Overdyke unplugged an electric display to prevent students from expressing their opposition to abortion. She then resisted arrest. The question, which we have previously discussed, is where the university should draw the line in the conduct of faculty in preventing free speech. Continue reading ““She’s a … Professor!”: Albany Professor Arrested After Obstructing Pro-Life Display and Resisting Arrest”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the response of Secretary of State Antony Blinken to allegations that he was the original source for the Russian disinformation claim behind the Hunter Biden laptop. I wrote previously that Blinken is struggling to avoid the look of a “made man” who earned his bones in the Biden Administration. Things are now likely to get worse after a U.S. senator added an alleged false statements charge to Blinken’s controversies.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Blinken’s Immaculate Conception Defense: Why Things Are Likely to Get Worse for the Secretary of State”
We recently discussed a federal judge enjoining the new Illinois law banning “assault weapons.” Now a gun shop in Naperville, Illinois has made it to the Supreme Court in seeking injunctive relief and Justice Amy Coney Barrett has given the proponents of the law until Monday to respond to the request.
This morning, Chief Justice John Roberts should get up, look into the mirror and declare “I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am an attractive person. I am fun to be with.” That mantra from SNL’s “Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley” seems appropriate after the former Smalley comedian (and former U.S. Senator) Al Franken declared Roberts a “villain” and his Court “illegitimate” in the latest attack on the institution. Continue reading “Daily Condemnations with Al Franken: Former Senator Denounces John Roberts and the Supreme Court”