EDUCATION Comments turned off

Jon Hartley I’m a Stanford Grad Student. The Graduate Student Union Is Trying to Get Me Fired. Progressive activist student unions are taking over our universities.

Posted By on September 7th, 2025

https://www.city-journal.org/article/stanford-student-union-graduate-workers

Graduate students enroll to teach, do research, and pursue knowledge, not to be conscripted into political organizations. Yet at America’s top universities, a new model of progressive campus unionism is rising—one that prioritizes progressive activism over workplace concerns like wages or benefits and coerces students into bankrolling causes many find deeply objectionable.

At Stanford University, the Graduate Workers Union—a local affiliate of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)—has demanded the dismissal of teaching and research assistants who refuse to join or pay union dues or agency fees. In June, students who had not paid them, including myself, received an ominous email titled “Termination Request” from union leadership, urging administrators to fire graduate workers for nonpayment.

Rather than defending student choice, Stanford promised—in a 2024 collective-bargaining agreement that it signed to avert a strike—to treat union membership as a condition of employment for teaching assistants and research assistants. Because California is not a right-to-work state, the contract now makes union membership or fee payment a condition of employment. That means Ph.D. students can’t teach or conduct funded research unless they subsidize the union.

The majority of union dues collected by the student union go to the national body, whose agenda extends far beyond typical concerns like wages or hours. The UE, for example, was the first national union to endorse the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel in 2015. It also advocates for defunding police, taxpayer subsidies for “gender-affirming care,” and other controversial causes. Its website prominently features a “political action” tab highlighting protests and lobbying campaigns like the anti-Trump “No Kings” protest.

Objectors have a few legal outs, but these lack teeth. Federal law technically allows graduate students to opt out of full membership by paying “agency fees” under the Supreme Court’s Communications Workers v. Beck (1988). However, those fees are nearly identical to regular dues and still end up in union coffers.

MEDICINE AND HEALTH Comments turned off

NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: Honesty and Transparency Will Get Better Results Than Vaccine Mandates

Posted By on September 7th, 2025

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/09/05/nih_director_dr_jay_bhattacharya_.html

NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya told Newsmax on Thursday night that he supports Florida’s plan to end all vaccine mandates and researching concerns about vaccine side effects raised by HHS Secretary Kennedy.

Bhattacharya argued that mandates are not the most effective way to get the most people vaccinated. “The European strategy is different, and they’ve had better results than we do on essential vaccines like MMR,” he said. “In the UK, Sweden, and Denmark, all vaccines are voluntary. None of them have mandates for any of their vaccines. What they do have is public health that doesn’t lie to their people.”

“They’re not coercing people—they’re reasoning with them. I’m not making an announcement for the administration; I’m giving you my view as an epidemiologist. That seems the better approach: talk to people, show them the data, be honest when there are problems, and treat people like adults, especially parents, so they can make good decisions for their families,” Bhattacharya said.

“I don’t think the MMR vaccine causes autism, based on my reading of the scientific evidence,” he also said. “But I also know we don’t understand the rise in autism. The recent prevalence numbers are 1 in 31 kids; a few decades ago, it was 1 in 10,000. We really don’t know the etiology.”

“As NIH Director—at the behest of Secretary Kennedy and President Trump—I’ve ordered an honest evaluation of the causes of autism,” Bhattacharya said. “Through the normal NIH process, 250 research groups across the country competed, and we’ll select the top dozen based on scientific review. Those projects should be ready to start by the end of this month—in record time. We need to open our minds, ask the real questions, and get answers with excellent science. That’s the right way—instead of all this disputation.”

ROB SCHMITT, NEWSMAX: You saw [HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] silenced a lot during this hearing as he attempted to disprove a lot of the allegations that were hurled at him. I thought that was so interesting—the people who never let somebody talk are trying to claim that they’re the good guys. That can’t be right.

DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA: Well, free speech suppression was a key tactic of public health during the pandemic. I can tell you from firsthand experience, so it wouldn’t surprise me. But I thought Secretary Kennedy got a lot of great points in—even though he wasn’t given much opportunity to respond.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Bangladesh Racing Toward a Caliphate by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Posted By on September 6th, 2025

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21876/bangladesh-toward-caliphate

In an unprecedented escalation of Islamist persecution, Jamaat-e-Islami — the Bangladeshi ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) — has begun imposing the jizya tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims, openly declaring its intent to replace the country’s secular democratic framework with Islamic sharia law.

Backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, and linked to global jihadist networks, including Al Qaeda, Jamaat-e-Islami’s move comes just months after a coup that brought Muhammad Yunus to power, triggering a rapid rise in radical Islamic influence. This development threatens not only Bangladesh’s fragile democracy but also poses a strategic security risk to South Asia and the wider free world.

In the United States, Jamaat-e-Islami maintains deep ties with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). According to the Observer Research Foundation, these organizations have succeeded in securing funding from U.S. federal agencies — particularly USAID, the Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In 2020, Sam Westrop documented in the Middle East Quarterly that millions of federal taxpayer dollars have flowed to US-based Islamist groups with alleged terror connections — a trend that continued even during the first Trump administration: “A variety of other dangerous Islamist groups continue to enjoy government approval and partnership. USAID openly urges Americans to donate to terror-linked charities such as LIFE for Relief and Development…”

Under interim head of government Muhammad Yunus, radical Islamist groups have grown emboldened, openly pushing for the transformation of the country into a theocratic state.

This vacuum has allowed ISIS and Al-Qaeda to expand their regional presence. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, seeing a “golden opportunity”, has intensified its subversive operations in both Bangladesh and other neighboring countries.

This development is not just a domestic issue — it is a warning to the world about the resurgence of militant Islamism in South Asia.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Bangladesh Racing Toward a Caliphate by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21876/bangladesh-toward-caliphate

In an unprecedented escalation of Islamist persecution, Jamaat-e-Islami — the Bangladeshi ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) — has begun imposing the jizya tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims, openly declaring its intent to replace the country’s secular democratic framework with Islamic sharia law.

Backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, and linked to global jihadist networks, including Al Qaeda, Jamaat-e-Islami’s move comes just months after a coup that brought Muhammad Yunus to power, triggering a rapid rise in radical Islamic influence. This development threatens not only Bangladesh’s fragile democracy but also poses a strategic security risk to South Asia and the wider free world.

In the United States, Jamaat-e-Islami maintains deep ties with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). According to the Observer Research Foundation, these organizations have succeeded in securing funding from U.S. federal agencies — particularly USAID, the Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In 2020, Sam Westrop documented in the Middle East Quarterly that millions of federal taxpayer dollars have flowed to US-based Islamist groups with alleged terror connections — a trend that continued even during the first Trump administration: “A variety of other dangerous Islamist groups continue to enjoy government approval and partnership. USAID openly urges Americans to donate to terror-linked charities such as LIFE for Relief and Development…”

Under interim head of government Muhammad Yunus, radical Islamist groups have grown emboldened, openly pushing for the transformation of the country into a theocratic state.

This vacuum has allowed ISIS and Al-Qaeda to expand their regional presence. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, seeing a “golden opportunity”, has intensified its subversive operations in both Bangladesh and other neighboring countries.

This development is not just a domestic issue — it is a warning to the world about the resurgence of militant Islamism in South Asia.

In an unprecedented escalation of Islamist persecution, Jamaat-e-Islami — the Bangladeshi ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) — has begun imposing the jizya tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims, openly declaring its intent to replace the country’s secular democratic framework with Islamic sharia law.

Backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, and linked to global jihadist networks, including Al Qaeda, Jamaat-e-Islami’s move comes just months after a coup that brought Muhammad Yunus to power, triggering a rapid rise in radical Islamic influence. This development threatens not only Bangladesh’s fragile democracy but also poses a strategic security risk to South Asia and the wider free world.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

America First and Dealing with a Recalcitrant Putin Trump offered Putin a historic off-ramp to end the Ukraine war, but Putin spurned peace for Xi’s summit—leaving Trump to press Europe for tougher sanctions and real unity. By Fred Fleitz

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://amgreatness.com/2025/09/05/america-first-and-dealing-with-a-recalcitrant-putin/

It has now been three weeks since the historic Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, where the two leaders met to discuss how to end the horrific war in Ukraine. President Trump has extended to Putin hospitality, patience, and incredibly generous terms to provide him with an off-ramp to end the war and Russia’s isolation. Despite Trump’s peacemaking efforts, Putin has not only spurned him and continued the war but also attended a showy summit convened by Chinese President Xi Jinping, where Putin expressed his defiance of U.S. peace efforts and flaunted a closer relationship with China and North Korea.

Putin’s recalcitrance requires a robust response from President Trump to promote peace and reaffirm America’s global leadership. This should be a carefully calculated America First policy initiative to pressure Putin to end the war and promote diplomacy while keeping U.S. troops out of Ukraine. Trump also must demand that Europe do much more to pressure Russia to end the war.

Naturally, President Trump’s political opponents and the mainstream media are blaming Trump for Putin’s decision to continue the war. This criticism is unfair. Trump and his senior officials went to great lengths to give Putin an honorable way to halt the war, along with post-war diplomatic and trade opportunities to end Russia’s isolation and bring prosperity to Russia. God gave man free will and the ability to make right and wrong decisions. President Trump is not responsible for Putin’s choice to make the bad and irrational decision to ignore his peace offer and continue the war.

Chinese President Xi hosted a summit meeting of the do-nothing Shanghai Cooperation Organization this week, which Trump’s political opponents and the mainstream media used to attack his foreign policy and Ukraine peace efforts. Photos of Xi, Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cheerfully greeting each other and holding hands at the summit—along with a massive Chinese military parade—were cited as evidence of a new world order that is arising due to opposition to President Trump’s foreign policy, especially his tariff policy.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

2020: the summer we lost our minds Thomas Chatterton Williams on how the post-George Floyd riots destroyed American liberalism. VIDEO

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://www.spiked-online.com/podcast-episode/thomas/

Thomas Chatterton Williams – author of Summer of our Discontent – is the latest guest on The Brendan O’Neill Show. Thomas and Brendan discuss the exploitation of George Floyd, the hollowness of Black Lives Matter and the inevitable right-wing backlash.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

In Defense of Inequality How do we respect every person’s dignity while also cultivating excellence? Nearly every university has decided to answer that question by abandoning the latter. Not mine.By Carlos Carvalho

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://www.thefp.com/p/in-defense-of-inequality

Earlier this week the University of Austin (UATX)—a new university, whose founding was announced four years ago in these pages—welcomed its second class of undergraduates. At the school’s convocation ceremony, UATX president Carlos Carvalho delivered an address you won’t hear at any other university: a defense of inequality.

Good evening—students, parents, and all the supporters helping us build the University of Austin. I am honored to be with you today at your convocation, at the most important and exciting university in America.

Thank you for trusting us with your education. We are thrilled to welcome you into the UATX family.

Tonight, as we gather on the threshold of America’s 250th anniversary, I want to share why this moment and UATX represent something essential about the American experiment.

Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, King George III formally declared Americans to be rebels and traitors. This dashed the colonists’ hopes for a peaceful reconciliation, and set the path to declare a new nation based on the proposition that all men are created equal.

But on the heels of America’s quarter-millennium since the Declaration of Independence, I want to do something a bit unfashionable: I want to defend inequality.

Of course, all men are created equal. But all men are not the same. We have unequal curiosity, unequal intellect, unequal talent, unequal courage, unequal drive, unequal achievement.

I want to defend this kind of inequality because I believe it is the most important way that UATX distinguishes itself, and because being honest about inequality is the most important way that UATX can help you be extraordinary.

BOOKS, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Victor Davis Hanson And The Daily Signal Got It Wrong – Diana West Is Owed An Apology And A Retraction by: George Rasley,

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://conservativehq.com/post/victor-davis-hanson-and-the-daily-signal-got-it-wrong-diana-west-is-owed-an-apology-and-a-retraction

What happens when people you like and respect screw up and defame another person you like and respect? Such is the case right now between Prof. Victor Davis Hanson and Rob Bluey, President and Executive Editor of the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal, and our good friend journalist Diana West, author of the must-read book American Betrayal.

It all started when Prof. Hanson, appearing on the Daily Signal’s podcast, smeared Ms. West by associating her and her book American Betrayal with Hitler-apologists who have recently appeared on Tucker Carlson’s program.

After watching the podcast and reading the subsequent article on the Daily Signal (where Hanson is a Senior Contributor) it was painfully obvious that Prof. Hanson and the team at the Daily Signal haven’t read American Betrayal.

I’ve actually read American Betrayal, and to associate Ms. West or the book with Hitler apologists and “World War II Revisionists,” such as Darryl Cooper and Dave Collum, is to reach a conclusion that is almost the exact opposite of the evidence presented in Ms. West’s meticulous research.

We would like to think that such respected figures in conservative politics and culture as Prof. Hanson and Mr. Bluey would own their mistake, apologize and retract the smear, but they haven’t. They have, according to Ms. West, merely said they will “look into” her request for remedial action (presented in its entirety below).

BOOKS Comments turned off

MIMI’S STRATEGIES: Coping Skills for Kids by Linda Goudsmit with Dr. Duke Pesta

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://goudsmit.pundicity.com/28805/mimi-strategies-coping-skills-for-kids

 goudsmit.pundicity.com  and website: lindagoudsmit.com 

On August 29, 2025, education reformer and Executive Director of FreedomProject Academy, Dr. Duke Pesta, invited me to talk with him about my illustrated children’s book series, Mimi’s Strategy. You can access the program by using this link: Mimi’s Strategies: Coping Skills for Kids. I am delighted to share the discussion with you and hope you enjoy the show!

Most sincerely,

Linda

ISRAEL Comments turned off

E1 building plan: Officials say this time it’s for real After decades of attempts to build in E1, local leaders say the latest effort to expand Jewish presence in the area will succeed. David Isaac

Posted By on September 5th, 2025

https://www.jns.org/e1-building-plan-officials-say-this-time-its-for-real/

Israel’s government has approved the construction of more than 3,000 housing units in E1 (“East 1”), an area in Judea and Samaria whose geostrategic significance far outstrips its small size. Israel signaled its intention to build there 30 years ago. Previous attempts to realize that intention have failed. The question is: Will this time be any different?

Local government officials JNS spoke with say nearly all the obstacles are removed. Most important, they say the government’s involvement is nearly at an end, at which point the issue becomes a purely municipal matter. Once that happens, there’s no going back.

“The initial process is called ‘TABA’ [a Hebrew acronym for ‘Urban Building Plan’]. It’s the city plan. And it’s a very long governmental process,” said Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing all the municipal councils in Judea and Samaria.

“It’s supposed to end this Wednesday,” he told JNS on Aug. 18, two days before the plan received final approval by a Defense Ministry planning committee. “When it’s finished, it goes to the municipality, Ma’ale Adumim. From that moment, the city can get a building permit.”

Guy Yifrach, mayor of Maale Adumim, is also optimistic. He told JNS on Aug. 27, that after the committee’s approval, there is one more stage in which the government is involved—“marketing approval.” The government signs off on letting the city plan go out to contractors who bid on the right to build and market the homes. He estimates that approval is only a month away.

“This is the last stage the government touches. As soon as it issues this approval and we put out a call for bids, it’s impossible to go back. Then it’s out of the hands of the government, including from a legal point of view, and it becomes a municipal commercial matter,” Yifrach said. “I believe that within six months, we will already see tractors working in the field.”