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January 2020

Diversity by subtraction By Nicholas J. Kaster

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/diversity_by_subtraction.html

In the latest chapter of the Left’s ongoing culture war against the West, Yale University has announced that it is eliminating its popular introductory art history course because of the “overwhelming” whiteness, maleness, and straightness of the artists who comprise the Western canon. 

This spring, “Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to the Present,” will be taught for the last time. The final installment of the course, “will seek to question the idea of Western art itself — a marked difference from the course’s focus at its inception.” According to the syllabus, the course will consider art in relation to “questions of gender, class and race” and will discuss its involvement with Western capitalism. Its relationship with climate change will also be a “key theme.” 

Commenting on Yale’s decision, Robby Soave, senior editor at Reason, noted that, “Art students who wish to master the Western canon will still find plenty of other courses that satisfy their interests. But the removal of the introductory course makes it difficult for non-majors with a casual interest in the subject to study it.”

That would appear to be the goal.

Cancel Yale By William Levin *****

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/cancel_yale.html

The combined endowment of the Ivy Leagues totaled $135 billion at the end 2018, a figure that will be considerably higher in 2019. Hence the sharp observation that they are hedge funds masquerading as universities. If only they were so benign. 

As these institutions never tire of reminding us or themselves, they educate the leaders of tomorrow, are led by renowned professors, make use of research, grants and publications to shape the contours of modern debate, and spread their influence  through vast alumni networks.

I write with particular interest in my alma mater, Yale, where I graduated many years ago summa cum laude from Yale College, Yale School of Management and Yale Law School. 

I take this opportunity to renounce myself as an alumnus in good standing. And I encourage as many alumni as possible to join in the movement to Cancel Yale, or your respective educational institution. 

Why?

The final straw for me is a random one, the decision to eliminate the introductory History of Art class as too white, too male and too Western, in favor of art history courses that explore race, gender and class, with special attention to climate change!

Why Bolton’s Testimony on ‘Quid Pro Quo’ is a Waste of Time Dershowitz delivers the staggering case. Joseph Klein

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/john-boltons-testimony-quid-pro-quo-waste-time-joseph-klein/

The New York Times leaked what President Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton allegedly claimed in his forthcoming book about an August 2019 meeting he held with President Trump regarding Ukraine. Bolton is said to have written that President Trump “wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens.” Senate Democrats and a few Republicans such as Senator Mitt Romney would like to hear Bolton’s first-hand testimony. However, it is much ado about nothing. Bolton’s testimony would prove nothing of relevance to the Senate impeachment trial.

One legitimately can be skeptical about the timing of the leak, which happened contemporaneously with the Amazon product page for the book going live. One can argue, as Robert Spencer has done, that Bolton sold the president out because “Trump represents a strong challenge to the foreign policy establishment views that have failed again and again, and of which Bolton is a foremost exponent.” But it does not really matter. Even if, for the purest of reasons, Bolton wants to tell what he knows at the Senate trial about his direct interactions with President Trump concerning the temporary hold on the release of the security assistance, it would not be worth prolonging the Senate trial to hear him.

John Bolton, a long-time neo-conservative hawk, left office following sharp disagreements with President Trump on a variety of foreign policy issues. Keeping security aid to Ukraine flowing without even a temporary pause was just one of those issues that Bolton felt strongly about. Bolton aired his opinions to the president, as he was obliged to do as the presidentially appointed national security adviser. President Trump rejected Bolton’s advice, as the duly elected president is entitled to do.

Inside the Hillary Bubble By Kyle Smith

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/television-review-hillary-documentary-clinton-still-blaming-america-for-her-failures/

“Apart from a few journalists, the other interviewees in the film are her husband and her various sycophants and flacks. All seem like so many Dr. Frankensteins trying to inject some life into this soulless object. Seen in archival footage, it is Trump who makes the most salient points. “I think the only card she has going is the woman card,” Trump is seen saying in a TV interview. Cut to Hillary in an interview done for the film: “Yeah, you’re right. I am.” This was indeed what she offered the American public; she badly miscalculated the value of her I-deserve-this argument, and that’s why she lost to a man who had a 36 percent approval rating at the time. Far from being a feminist icon, she got as far as she did solely because of her husband’s success. None of us would today know her name if she hadn’t married Bill Clinton.”

A four-hour documentary shows Hillary Clinton is still blaming America for her failures.

Imagine a socially maladept but extremely wealthy friend of yours was told, “People like tap dancing. You should tap-dance more.” You would cringe when the person was telling you about a major career setback and suddenly lurched into a little tap-dancing interlude. “Did I ever tell you about the time the world turned to ashes for me?” Tap-tap, tappity-tap. You’d feel sorry for your friend but mainly you’d feel that this person is deeply weird.

At some point in recent years one or more of Hillary Clinton’s many handlers, advisers, or consultants told her, “You should laugh more. People like laughter.” Except she is sour, dour, and without a humorous molecule in her body. Her laughter is always feigned, hence always a non-sequitur. When she reminds herself it’s laughing time, it comes across as a tic. It’s as bizarre as sudden-onset tap dancing.

Art of the Deal, Palestine Version Trump’s unconventional diplomacy is on display in Israel and the Balkans.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/art-of-the-deal-palestine-version-11580255641?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

From the press coverage of the Trump Administration’s Mideast peace efforts led by Jared Kushner, you’d have thought the White House was going to dismiss Palestinian statehood and ask for no concessions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Yet the plan described Tuesday at the White House is far more thoughtful. Its thrust is a high-profile endorsement of the two-state solution, and the political implications for Mr. Netanyahu are not yet clear.

This is a pro-Israel plan by historical standards. It envisions Palestinians controlling much less territory than they would under the 1967 borders, including as much as 80% of the West Bank. It would not require the evacuation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and it demands that Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza, be disarmed. Israel would control the Jordan River valley that it says is vital to security on its eastern border.

Yet far from bowing to the demands of Israel’s settlers, the plan provides for a four-year settlement freeze on construction in the West Bank, and settler groups are criticizing it. More important, the plan gives a political boost to the two-state solution that Mr. Netanyahu’s base has been abandoning. It also anticipates a high-speed rail link between Gaza and the West Bank that is sure to raise objections from Israeli security hawks.

The press is describing the plan as a “gift” to Mr. Netanyahu ahead of the next Israeli election in March, but parts of it may put the Prime Minister on defense against the rightward elements of his coalition.

DONALD TRUMP-AN UNSEEN CHRISTIAN DR. SHELDON ROTH

https://www.christianpost.com/voice/trump-an-unseen-christian-234772/

Did you know that President Donald J. Trump is Christian, believes in God, and has deep faith? Well, if you only read or watch mainstream media, you might not.  

Mainstream media would have you believe that unwavering support of Trump by evangelical Christians rests on politics: antiabortion, appointment of conservative judges, pro-Israel, the right to bear arms, a pledge “to safeguard students and teachers’ First Amendment rights to pray in our schools,” protection of religious free speech on campuses, or seasonal tidings of joy – “Merry Christmas.” This list does not inspire spiritual faith. Politics and religion may share aims, but at the same time, they are worlds apart. Politics cannot penetrate the meaning of Trump’s impassioned call in a Miami church: “In America we don’t worship government, we worship God!”

A Christian Charisma

Trump joins evangelicals through faith. Sustained faith cannot be faked, it is based on experience, a spiritual fact. Trump’s charisma in a church is not that of a visiting political potentate; he is energized by authentic Christian fire. What other major politician could speak for over an hour in an evangelical church with unscripted spontaneity, secure in Christian belief, moving in-and-out of conversation with congregants or pulling them to the pulpit as witnesses? Like his “I am one of you” rapport with blue collar workers based on long close contact in the construction world, when in the presence of evangelicals Trump is moved by a similar lived Christian experience that radiates from his pores.

IG Report Proves Obama Administration Spied On Trump Campaign Big Time By Margot Cleveland

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/28/ig-report-proves-obama-administration-spied-on-trump-campaign-big-time/

The IG report established that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign, and the spying was much worse than previously thought.

Last week, President Trump triggered the left when he tweeted a Photoshopped picture that portrayed former President Barack Obama perched midair outside Trump Tower, binoculars and listening device in hand.

The liberal outlet Vox condemned the president for his “increasingly bad tweets,” before declaring “there’s no evidence the Obama administration spied on Trump.” Vox then regurgitated the false narrative that, while the FBI did surveil former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page, “that didn’t happen until after Page left the campaign.”

For years, conservatives tried to correct the record, noting that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order gave the government access to Page’s past emails and other electronic communications with members of the Trump campaign, but the mainstream media ignored this reality. That the liberal and legacy press continue to push this narrative now, following the release of Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on FISA abuse, is beyond baffling, because the IG report established that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign, and the spying was much worse than previously thought.

Spying on Carter Page Was Spying on the Trump Campaign

Unfunny CNN Panel Ridicules Trump Supporters As ‘Credulous Boomer Rubes’ By Tristan Justice

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/28/unfunny-cnn-panel-ridicules-trump-supporters-as-credulous-boomer-rubes/

A CNN panel from Saturday night has gone viral this week, showing two guests appearing on air with anchor Don Lemon, mocking Trump supporters during the network’s impeachment coverage.

The discussion features New York Times columnist and CNN contributor Wajahat Ali with ex-GOP strategist Never Trumper Rick Wilson making fun of those who might ever vote for President Donald Trump.

Wilson kicked things off by first insulting the president’s intelligence before characterizing Trump’s supporters as ignorant:

Trump couldn’t find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter “U” and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it. He knows that this is an administration defined by ignorance of the world, and so that’s partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience — the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump.

Wilson and Ali then continued with a fake accents to mock those who put Trump into office as unsophisticated backwoods hicks.

“Donald Trump’s the smart one, and y’all — y’all elitists are dumb,” Wilson said.

“You elitists with your geography and your maps and your spelling!” Ali chimed in.

“Your math and your readin’!” Wilson responded as the three men laughed hysterically at the belittlement of those alienated by media elites such as themselves.

The Line for Trump Rally on Jersey Shore Is Insane. 100,000 Seeking Tickets. By Victoria Taft

https://pjmedia.com/trending/the-line-for-trump-rally-on-jersey-shore-is-insane-100000-seeking-tickets/

Ryan Fournier ✔ @RyanAFournier

There are literally thousands of people waiting in line for a Trump rally that doesn’t start until tomorrow evening…In 30 degree weather…In the state of New Jersey… OUTSTANDING!

RT

When There Is No Normal By Victor Davis Hanson

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/when-there-is-no-normal-radicals-eventually-need-what-theyve-gleefully-destroyed/

History lesson: Radicals eventually will need the norms and safeguards they’ve gleefully destroyed.

O ne of the ancient and modern critiques of democracy is that radicals destroy norms for short-term political gain, norms that they themselves often later seek as refuge.

Schadenfreude, irony, paradox, and karma are various descriptions of what happens to revolutionaries, and unfortunately the innocent, who suffer their collateral damage when radicals of any stripe use any means necessary to achieve supposedly exalted ends.

Three of the most moving — and terrifying — passages in Greek literature involve such ironic payback. In the third book of Thucydides’ history, the historian relates a murderous civil war (stasis) between oligarchs and democrats on the island of Corcyra (modern Corfu). He laments how morals and laws are destroyed in a cycle of madness, all to achieve short-term gain while depriving both parties of sanctuary when the tide one day turns against them.

When extremism becomes normal, there is no prior normal. In his fifth book, Thucydides describes the destruction of the small island city-state of Melos, in a riveting dialogue between the Athenian invaders and the Melian defenders. After concluding his account with the Athenians’ destruction of Melos, Thucydides immediately, in books six and seven, describes the Athenian catastrophe on Sicily, in which the invading and soon-to-be-trapped Athenians play a similar role to that of the doomed Melians, and the victorious Sicilians are no more magnanimous to the defeated than were the once-victorious Athenians.