This issue is a special dispatch, straight from the Deranged Dominion of Canada itself with news and current event nuggets for your consideration. If you like what you're reading, and you're a member of The Mark Steyn Club, do let us know in the comment section. If you get triggered, even better! If you have any other strong or even moderately tepid feelings about these items and trends, as Mark himself would say, "have at it" in the comments as well! (A special note about this at the bottom).
~ Hopefully by now you have had a chance to read Mark's poignant and reflective essay on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Here's a short news story from the commemorations that caught my eye. There were a few incredible stories of WWII vets in their nineties going back to Europe to parachute back onto the blood-soaked soil. If you didn't listen to it live, or watch on video, do take a moment to read President Trump's full remarks from Normandy. He gave a profoundly moving and remarkable speech.
Also, Melania is a real knockout. GAWD she is lovely and graceful. All her fashion choices on the European trip were outstanding, but I must post this because HERMES SCARF. You're welcome.
~In other news from the Americas, the price of doing something or other about weather, I mean Climate Change, is going up. Surprise! Print more money! STAT!!!
~In Mogadishu, MN a modicum of justice is served.
~In Conservative Inc. Land, the battle lines have been drawn (zzzzz so sleepy). But, Liel Leibowitz from Tablet Magazine has the best take on it for now.
My buddy Kathy Shaidle has a good line about "liberals-it's different when we do it", and that applies here. Can you imagine if a conservative editor had said such a thing?
~Ilhan "all about the Benjamins baby" Omar wants to be BFFs with The Jews. What could possibly go wrong?
~Turning to Europe, Sweden is doomed. Every time I think I've read the dumbest, worst, most ridiculous story of submission out of Sweden, I'm wrong and I don't like being wrong.
~I'm of the mind that France is doomed, but a lot of my fellow Jews are kind of late to the party. Seems that they are very, very reluctant to face reality. It's the reduced brains, stupid!
France seems to have a symbolism problem. And what I mean by that is: are they dense? First there was the burning and MAIS NON, NOT TERRORISM MERCI of Notre Dame. Right-no symbolism there. Now there's the dead and flaccid Macron Tree. Nothing to see here, just carry on...
As Mark himself has pointed out on so many occasions, they are not only concerned with controlling the present (and therefore the future); they want to control the past. Behold: You Tube pulling "Triumph of the Will" videos BECAUSE NAZIS!! Remind me again who burned books and what National Socialism was...These people are chronic liars, and have a non-stop compulsion to tell whoppers.
Speaking of speaking of censorious leftists and other complete losers, get a life. You, too Joe Biden! #GetALife, what are you twelve?
You know, as a writer, it is eminently frustrating to read something and think "how on earth did I not write that first", how did I not put those exact words together to make that exact phrase or sentence and he or she (xer, zer, zim, zipideedoodah) did first? Well played, Caroline Glick! Your "diplomatic pyromaniac" is Trump-level and well-deserved.
~It's not all doom and gloom though, so on a lighter note, Happy Birthday to the most famous caterpillar in the world.
As the SteynOnline engineers tinker in the lab on the vaunted chat feature we'll soon be launching, we thought we'd try something else on Laura's Links: an open thread. Think of it as a digital Open Line Friday for Rush listeners. Discuss what you'd like in the comments below, whether regarding Laura's recommendations or something plucked from obscurity.
Please remember our usual comment strictures apply, except the one about going off-topic, as in this case the topics are your call. Otherwise, no profanity, no ad hominem attacks, no URL-fests, and don't go crazily over-long. Other than that, have at it!
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Thanks for a wealth of links to peruse... loved the Caroline Glick tweet about that twerp Indyk... made my day!
Indyk is a goon. There's a very good Tablet piece about him called "How Peace Negotiator Martin Indyk Cashed a Big, Fat $14.8 Million Check From Qatar." Highly recommend it :)
The left operate on the basis of a single country, a single society, a single paradigm. The current battle is one of what that paradigm is. The right belive in freedom and competition - in diversity - and that includes diversity of paradigms. The left are happy to exist in their own worlds. The way things seem to be going is that the right are pulling away and creating their own separate world with their own separate paradigm. It does create issues at intersecting points but going separately seems to be the reality of the situation. It's not as if this hasn't been done in the past. In doing this it's both a fortrification and a building exercise and for conflict to be minimised and civility maximised the fortification needs to be inplace as quickly as possble and the building needs to be moving apace. That's what I think we need to concentrate on.
Kate Smith - and her statue removal. Mark - you covered the story of the Kate Smith statue being unceremoniously covered up and then carted away within days as a result of the wokestapo all over the Twitter sphere. I'm on holiday currently in Lake Placid and an hour ago strolled past a memorial plaque to Kate Smith "a Lake Placid resident for forty summers". It referenced her recording "God Bless America" so it might be an idea to put the clock on how long it remains?
The 'submission from Sweden' is truly an example of submission. Lutheran lesbian Bishop shall be the next Mohammedan convert. Very creepy.
I'd take that bet, Mark.
Greatly enjoyed the article: thanks.
One thing that is occurring very strongly to me is that the Democrats' hoo hah, especially over immigration, might have absolutely nothing to do with what's said on the can but everything to do with the illegal drugs pouring over the border.
If you know anything about rich people and drugs (usually 2nd. generation+) they have a conflicting dichotomy of coming from a privileged elite family combined, by the nature of their drug consumption, of being in the gutter - the lowest of the low. That not only has a 'schizophrenic' (denying) effect on them - they stave off the truth - stave off the inevitable decline due to the drugs - by spending the family money on drugs - but also on their families who step in to cover it all up and pretend it isn't there or isn't seen.
In general - there are 2 main issues :-
1) is the attack on personal capital and the societal capital that supports that personal capital (capital of all types). Particularly the attack on the values that produce and support that capital. People on low income rely on personal and societal capital far more than those on high income.
2) is the attack on the production of game changers - on the principles of The Enlightenment that produce game changers. Game changers increase the wealth and standard of living of everyone.
Incomes over the last couple of decades have stagnated. Prices have gone up. People have effectively become poorer in all respects.
---
Separately - when the official sources of information are knowingly highly unreliable - where do you think people are going to source their information from?!!!
I disagree, Sandy. I think that people have become wealthier, not poorer. Of course "people" is a pretty large and general sample size, but I think the evidence is clear that people are living better than they ever have. Far better.
If you look at the UK where incomes have stagnated and housing and energy costs have gone up massively you can see a lot of people struggling to survive. The situation is similar in regional France - hence the yellow vests protests. And in the USA many of Trump's supporters came from a similar situation where their incomes stagnated for 4 decades and their costs went up.
Yes a lot of products have become cheaper thus raising that side of the standard of living. But major areas have gone up massively.
What's basically happened is that countries have taken on massive national debts and they have correspondingly forced down the prime rates. This has meant that mortgage costs have gone down and that combined with mass immigration has resulted in house prices going massively up. At the moment Australia is at that point where our house prices can either remain relatively affordable or they can go up massively and interest rates go down correspondingly.
PS: if you do the basic maths - take a typical English city such as Bristol - and a median house price of £550,000 and try to pay that off with a low end income (eg. working at Sainsbury's) of £16,000PA. Even for a 2 person household it's difficult. Then look at the cost of kids, and further down the line look at the cost of retirement. The UK public pension is £2,500PA. The numbers don't add up.
I don't know that there are "basic maths" to judge poverty with. Much depends on things like how poverty is defined and who's doing the math. For example, I looked up poverty in the UK and came across this: part of determining poverty is being able to "take part in society". The example given is can't afford transportation to visit a friend or go to a social club. Really? You're poor if you can't afford to go a social club?
Another problem is establishing a baseline. Any statistic that states so and so from a certain year can be very misleading. I discovered this in looking at suicide rates. Rates were up from whatever year they said, but expanding the baseline back 40 years, the rate was just about average.
I see the same thing here looking at a chart of poverty in the UK. Poverty there is up from 2011-2014, but that was a major low and, overall, poverty is much lower than in the 90s to about 2008.
I'm not totally disputing your point, but trying to point out that you have to be careful with broad generalities backed up by "basic maths". I believe it was one of your guys who spoke of "lies, damned lies, and statistics".
Then you run the maths for me on the example I gave above. Work out the incomings and the outgoings. Work out how much it costs to live and how much it costs to retire and what sort of retirement that the people, in the example, have. I'm talking about the reality, not some academic definition of poverty. And then run that for 2001 - ie. before the housing price boom and before the cost of energy went up massively. And then after you have run that for the UK run it for Australia where things are much more equitable.
Run the maths? I can't even make those funny looking dollar signs you use! But look, if your point is that it's hard buying a high-priced house on a low income or that it's hard in general to get by on a low income, I can but agree.
Is that your point?
There has been an impoverishment and corresponding decimation of the middle class because of the high costs of living. But that is only one point I was making. The attack on personal and societal capital and the attack on the production of game changers are the major points I was making.
Agree. Had a long talk this week with a mid-20s peep about the devastating impact on that generation of looking for work with sky-high schooling costs, the sky-high housing, the sky-high credit card rates. It's terrible. SOME people seem to have money to burn, but it's not clear how many of them are propped up by family resources or just credit, because the jobs available to them -- 'do the math' - don't pay the bills. The job hours are abusive, the pay sub-standard, the opportunities to advance tight. It's not a good time, the entire US school system coached students to universities and liberal arts degrees instaed of trade schools, hence the diploma'd coffee barristars while the auto repari shop is begging for mechanics. Why? Universities compete with trade schools... guess which education sector flattered and groomed the guidance counselors?
Corporations shipped out the production to take advantage of semi-slave labor... their management culture attitude towards the citizen worker is disgusting and dismissive because they've been getting away with abusive practices for years now and have become arrogant. They don't want to reform, so it's going to be a painful process out of that hole. But it should NOT have been permitted to happen in the first place. Greed...power.
Because we've bounced about across the US, we've seen this in many states... and the rural areas are really struggliing... that's where the drugs were targeted, and the evidence is coming out that 'targeted' is the correct word. Cities got benefits on the backs of the productive rural areas.
Your comment about 'societal capital' is spot-on. The lower-income communities survive by trading (barter) of goods and services. Many middle class of course are tradespeople so they are able to swap skills help - the 'buddy network.' The same peep up there who was discussing this situation in the US also lived in Oz for Uni and is well-equipped to notice the shared similarities and issues between the US going on with the rural/urban/suburban Australian economies, so we can attest that your comments about this are valid and 'travel well.'
OZ protects its local food production. The price of OZ bananas are shocking to an American. But the US permitted/forced/whatever the deal was, ran food production out so too many basic foods in the US are completely at the mercy of global transporation systems. Local production struggles in an environment that deliberately favors big industry at their expense. How is it possible that grapes from Chile are cheaper than grapes from ten miles down the road?
The housing situation is simply brutal and unfair. Young people can't buy an affordable home and build equity. A married couple early 20s in 1965 could buy a starter home for a family and have kids - on one salary, no school debt and two cars. The mortgage was a small part of the monthly paycheck.
It is indeed a very precarious and discouraging situation right now. Hoping for real reform, but knowing even with that it'll still be be a fight to right the wrongs.
Mark Twain was Australian?
First of all, I was assuming that Sandy is from the U.K. due to her (?) comments about it.
Second of all, my research shows that Twain popularized the phrase here in the U.S., but credited it to Disraeli. However, there is no evidence that Disraeli said it and there are various attributions to different people, mostly all British.
I try to be accurate when quoting and it was my boo boo to think that Sandy is British. The only Australian quote I know is: "you call that a knife?".
What exactly is the attack the production of game changers, Sandy?
So P and Sandy, what you're proposing is.... socialism? Doing a little research, as I am wont to do, I found that the home ownership rate here in the U.S. was 64% in 1970. Want to guess what it is today? It's, uh, 64%.
Methinks you may have some rose colored glasses on when you look back to the good old days.
Game changers, small and big, produce the increased wealth and that is increased wealth for everyone, not just the inventors and their businesses. In order to produce game changers the 'mental' conditions need to be conducive to their creation - see totalitarian (eg. Communist) regimes versus the West. As such they require Western Culture or more specifically the principles of The Enlightenment to be in place. That means freedom of thought and freedom of speech, individual rights and responsibilities and localisation to the individual, the Western legal, societal, ethical and moral framework etc. etc. etc. - ie the whole shebang.
If you look at the sciences and technology we have advanced massively over the last century. However there has been a lot of damage done to the production of game changers in recent years due to the extreme left.
Technologically the last major game changer that we have had is the Invention of the Internet and that has had a massive effect. However it hasn't paid off the debt. Effect wise the invention of the transistor - the Apollo Moon program and all the game changers that it produced had a massive effect. We are still getting game changers in many areas such as material sciences, medicine etc.
The classic example of things going bad is Hollywood where they have basically largely destroyed the creative environment and resorted to producing sequels, prequels, remakes and series based on the films. Compare the creativity that went behind the production of a cartoon such as Bugs Bunny with what happens these days for a simple example.
Music was very creative and advanced massively in the 70s. From the mid 80s it hasn't changed much. Much of what plays on the radio and in shops is from the 70s - that still has value.
PS: Hollywood and the MSM are destroying themselves. They are destroying the processes, the environment, the people that make the money. They are becoming evolved out of the picture by the likes of the independent small operators on YouTube etc. Irrespective of whether those exist or are destroyed by demonetisation and censorship.
Netflix is a huge case in point. It might think that it's very independent and clear thinking but how 'woke' is it? I would guess a lot and I would guess that that would impact badly on it. It has $14B of debt. That's massive. However a lot of large corporations from that part of the world have massive debt. But one has to seriously ask the question of how do they expect to pay off the debt? ie "do the maths". Because in my estimation they have very serious problems and a lot of their initial investors are going to be very badly burnt.
PPS: the legacy media - the MSM, Hollywood etc. and their clients - those dependent on them for their income - are heavily fortressing. The extreme left, communism, even with a layer of fascism on top, socialism & corporatism, these are fortressing. The center - center right - is building. Two very different environments. Winners build. Losers fortress. And in fortressing they largely destroy themselves. They are like the troglodyte afraid to go out of the cave and explore.
Well, we just confirmed the same economic/jobs/debt problem as Sandy BoBB described in OZ is also manifesting in the US, so we all strive for accuracy.
How does having to work three jobs with zero chance to advance or find other work or affordable housing anywhere near work sound like good times?
Keen to hear thoughts on the anti-extradition mass protests in Hong Kong, with more to come.
"Academic Xau Wai-Ping, 52, says a proposed law to bring Hong Kong citizens under the vagaries of the Chinese justice system would strip away all freedoms carried over from British rule. 'The proposed legislation will affect everyone who wants to protect their freedoms of speech and expression. Writers, filmmakers, artists — anyone who has things to say that won't please the mainland government.'" (The Weekend Australian, 15/6/19.)
Based on recent events in Ottawa - and "things to say that won't please the government" - perhaps it's easier to fight to defend free speech when threats to it are jackbooted rather dress-shoed.
KATE!!!!!!!!
"perhaps it's easier to fight to defend free speech when threats to it are jackbooted rather dress-shoed"
Fabulous.
Hey, Laura - so depressing to think that as a million-plus take to the streets in HK, the visible supporters of free speech in Canada fit into a Honda Civic.
Something that is back in the news is the alleged "treason" of getting information from foreign sources. Of course, those who make the claim prefer "dirt" to "information", but this is something I've had a problem with from the very beginning.
The assumption that nearly everyone seems to accede to is that what is important is the source of the information, not the accuracy. Seems to me, it's the accuracy that matters regardless of the source. In fact, didn't we get some accurate information from *GASP* the Russians about the Boston Marathon bombers? Wouldn't we have been better off to pay more attention to that information?
As a subsidiary thought, why are we so supportive of politicians who are horrified that voters might see their emails or other communications? That is lunacy. Why would anyone vote for someone who has secrets they don't want voter to know? Just sayin'....
Laura,
I know you think Europe is doomed, but what of the Danes? The "far Right" seems to have been done in by the center Left and center Right parties "snaffling up" (as Mark would say) the immigration issue. Any message for the rest of Europe there?
I just read an analysis of the election. Seems to me the Danish elections indicate the electorate is actually pretty chill about the transformative demographic shift to their country. If they are leaving the left in control, they've resigned themselves to their fate-and it's not pretty. I'm not optimistic at all about this part of Europe. The writing is on the wall. Mark himself has been talking about this for some time (see https://www.steynonline.com/6326/bringbackourballs) for a specific mention of the Danes. As a general rule, when antisemitism is tolerated, it's never a good sign for that country.
The big thing that is happening down under here is Bin Wars. This installs bureaucrats into the local councils effectively run by the state government that aim to make the local populace obsessed with their rubbish. To this end our local council has been, at great expense and at much use of resources, been dumping bins with multi coloured tops on the verges, and been nicking the old bins (some of which they don't actually own - so they better be careful there). So we are supposedly required to split our rubbish up into all sorts of "what the f$%k goes where?" categories put the bins out "God knows when?" and have them picked up by a greatly increased workforce at great expense to our rates. As I already had a general waste bin I returned the new one. If the council inspects the rubbish and spits the dummy on my general waste that goes into the recycling. They have a rather one size fits all approach - many people use kitchen waste for compost and that doesn't fit into their general plan. Friends have been given a kitchen waste bin which apparently has to be filled up directly and, likely, will be put out to be emptied every one to two months. I can only imagine the pong. And as it's a tourist town that will only add to the ambience. Personally I'm not playing their game. If my rubbish is not collected I will just have to drop it off at the council offices and leave it up to the experts to sort out.
+100 Sandy, exactly what I would do. It's not that silly here in B.C. Canada yet. I'm pretty sure people would get completely fed up if it did.
Thumbs up, 5-stars on Laura's Links. Keep it coming please.
Thanks, Robert.
Laura,
Well done, well said, let's hope for more!
Thank you, Gary.
At least some of us can see the end coming, though those who are hastening said end can not look up from their diabolical behavior to see that the very beast they are birthing is salivating as it gazes amused at its creators.
The Tablet article immediately changes the subject to Trump, which French barely even discussed. Ahmari brings up Trump towards the end, but most of his article also isn't about Trump.
In the end, I see people endlessly ranting about how we need to declare all out war, but actually spending their time bashing people like David French, as nothing but empty windbags. If Ahmari wants to give up civility, let's see him declare all-out war on, I dunno, Stephen Colbert. Let's see him win.
Otherwise, I basically think he, like a whole lot of Trumpists, like to bash "NeverTrumpers" for not fighting the Left enough, because that is easier than actually fighting the Left.
Agree there's a lot of ranting about faux-conservatives... something at which Mark Steyn excels! (Covington comes to mind.)
But the squishes who are civilly (and not so civilly) ceding territory are as much a part of the problem as the out-in-the-open Left. Maybe more. The conclusion of the Tablet piece nails it:
"Ahmari, not unlike the zealous left he opposes, has a very distinct idea of where he wants the country to go.... That he wants to fight it doesn't make him, as Stephens suggested, a Catholic mullah-in-waiting. It makes him a normal American... Which is why American Jews, too would do well to take this squabble seriously."
I thought the "Tablet" article was dead on. Roy, allow me to quote Aragorn to King Theoden: "Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not." Personally, I see the biggest threat as the knife coming from behind, not the one coming from the front.
Yes, well, Mark Steyn is in prolonged litigation with the warmodoom zealots, so that in itself distinguishes him from the kind of people who spend all their time tearing down other conservatives to roaring howls of joyous laughter from the Left. If he were nothing but a run-of-the-mill Trumpist, he wouldn't get a penny from me.
David French has won dozens of cases similar to Steyn's. The real problem the Tablet et al. have with him is that he does not submissively worship at the feet of Donald J. Trump; you can tell by their immediately changing the subject to Trump, which theoretically was not the subject of the articles in question. I don't agree with French on everything, but a 'conservative' who thinks he's the biggest problem needs to take a long look in the mirror when hunting 'pseudo-conservatives'.
So far as I care, as long as Trump does what Ted Cruz would have done, that's fine with me, and I'll look forward to the day when we can have those things without the p***y-grabbing. I'm not going to embrace the Pelosi line on Iraq, entitlements and free trade just because Trump does.
I'll not mention Trump, then - but to reiterate the point about the damage wrought by "Frenchism", I find this logic difficult to fault:
"The more that conservative liberals like French insist on autonomy, the more they strengthen the bullies' position. This far with autonomy, they insist, but no farther. But why should the other side stop? Why shouldn't this new, aggressive vision of maximal autonomy not overtake the old?"
"Progressives understand that culture war means discrediting their opponents and weakening or destroying their institutions. Conservatives should approach the culture war with a similar realism. Civility and decency are secondary values. They regulate compliance with an established order and orthodoxy. We should seek to use these values to enforce our order and our orthodoxy, not pretend that they could ever be neutral. To recognize that enmity is real is its own kind of moral duty."
(Though it might be a Catholic v Protestant issue, apparently - hence the assertion that Ahmari wants to usher in an illiberal "theocracy".)
If a conservative editor had said such a thing, they probably would have stuck to it rather than instantly cowering in submissive terror as it appears Goldberg did.
I really think there's a strong parallel between the behavior of liberal executives, especially white men, and that of the Saudi royal family.
Just as the Saudi royal family funds the Wahhabists in order to get them to focus on somebody else, and distract them from the royal's own laughably un-Islamic lifestyle; so groveling-goblin white men (h/t Sarah Jeong) who lead large, successful corporations, fund the social justice war to distract from a) their own deplorable race and sex; b) in the case especially of Big Tech, the fact that they got where they are in ways that are deplorably contrary to 'diversity' ideology. Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc, got where they are by relentlessly hiring talent. That talent did not fall neatly into politically correct categories. They don't need the SJW's focusing on that. So, just like the Saudis, they pay them to go elsewhere.
"... so groveling-goblin white men (h/t Sarah Jeong) who lead large, successful corporations, fund the social justice war to distract from a) their own deplorable race and sex; b) in the case especially of Big Tech, the fact that they got where they are in ways that are deplorably contrary to 'diversity' ideology."
Great observation, Roy (I forgot to reply earlier). On the flip side, Mark noted at the height of #MeToo that powerful liberal men had used feminism as a cover for getting access to ("strong") women, Weinstein-style.
And now, men who are leaders use it as a distraction for their own deplorableness, and as a sort of career immunity against the women coming up the ranks. Is there anything as pathetic as these #MaleChampionsOfChange who didn't give two hoots about it until 5 minutes ago? The Sudden-Feminist-Syndrome (amongst men) is almost a red flag for those who *didn*t* treat women as equals before it was fashionable (and "necessary" - for their own careerism). Such men in senior positions are only too happy to pull up the drawbridge on their young male colleagues by supporting "gender equality" over merit. Pathetic.
On the, "liberals-it's different when we do it" game, do look up what Jo Brand said yesterday in the UK and the media response. Appalling! :-(
A job well done, Laura.
Thanks, Bob!
We're triggered by that caterpillar. Those books are the favorites of the Whole Language fraud on education. They are full of repeat words that are to be learned on 'sight' not by phonetic components. The children are then promopted to guess after many repeated phrases what the next words might be. As usual, the sophisticated art dominates, all clever, but doesn't produce readers, just rote repeaters. Books that are used to produce readers encourage focusing on the words, how to articulate the phonic structure blocks, not to the distracting pictures.
Meanwhile, as the linked article pointed out, these so-called pundits are actors. Oh yeah. The fakery gets more obvious every year. They have roles to play, to divide, deflect and confuse the natural coming together of the people in shared vision to reject the imposed power structure.
(We didn't mean to be so terse. We really liked Lauren's article, just took the opportunity to run on further just some of the many good issues/points/subjects raised.)
I suggested, in a recent Q&A here, that Theresa May would do something wilfully destructive during her lame duck period (something which British Prime Ministers rarely get). Mark Steyn reckoned that she would and, boy, was he right.
She is trying to lumber the UK taxpayer with a bill of at least £1,000,000,000,000, to fix a problem which doesn't even exist, for the sake, it is said, of her legacy. She already has a legacy: to be remembered as the worst possible Prime Minister.
Theresa May is Ethelred the Third.
This book, "The Hungry Caterpillar," is what my 4 year-old granddaughter reads to her little thirty-three month old brother. She doesn't read on her own just yet but she has had the book read to her so many times that she knows all the words and her parents will occasionally ask her to read to him so he listens until the end every time. I notice she says "pepperoni" when she gets to the salami.
Melania is such a delight to see in public. I admire her poise and elegance. She also seems like a very sweet person underneath all the beautiful clothes. President Trump is fortunate to have her to lean on with all the nastiness he endures from the media.
Unfortuinately, that author and his books are one of the reasons US children can't read. It's rote memorization and prompts to guess instead of applying phonics to the words. They are beautiful, attractive, frauds. The schools create a bubble of EXPENSIVE (of course) 'whole language' books in the classroom that the kids have all memorized to perfection, fooling everyone that they can read very well. But once fourth grade hits, new books called 'textbooks' arrive and the kids can't read them, because they haven't memorized the words required to read and then understand them. Then they feel afraid and unworthy and start all the panic displacement behaviors. They weren't taught how to decode by syllable, so they cannot sound out any words, even the ones they memorized or any new words. They can't spell either -- only the words they already memorzied. It's horribly cruel.
Sorry, but that's what's really going on -- why we are of the mind that 9/10ths of the US education payroll should be in prison for child abuse. They always come up with an excuse-- 'poor' 'disadvantaged' 'developmentally delayed' but their total :(embrace of phony systems is the problem - it's a lie that deflects from the true reason and makes the children feel inadequate, which is really cruel to kids.:(
There's a lot about the US education system that needs to go, I agree with that. They could start completely over and try again teaching properly. It seems they did indeed throw phonics out the window and for whatever reasons they advance children in our state past third grade even if they can't read. The last governor tried to change that but she was not supported by the legislature. We're doomed if we refuse to educate and only program students.
Now they're pushing a Next Generation Science Standards that omits simple but important science lessons every student would need to know about. Understanding of how simple machines work used to be a basic chapter in any intro physical science class and that will be gone. Showing how models are made will be the new thrust. Terrible!
It's a show to get money. Every year scores fall, and they need more money. Every year they cry 'educators' aren't paid enough. They aren't - and it should be obvious by now that it's on purpose. Someone's making the decisions to keep pay low - chasing out qualified teachers/instructors to replace them with low-academic quality 'educators. ' What's insanity is towns/cities/states/feds continuing to hand over collossal amounts of funding to the people and the system that produces consistently, blatantly, appalling outcomes. Where's the money? It's being used for other purposes.
Teaching reading via phonics is simple and cheap. It's so simple, the opposition calls it 'simplistic' as their insult, because their system is complicated, exhausting, expensive - and a failure. By this narrative, they create doubt in the public that such 3-Rs skills can be taught and learned with ease, so people are reluctant to try the 'classic' methods, disbelieving how easy and effective and inexpensive they are.
We like all children to be winners - and that comes with strong competances. U.S. schools disingenuously waste a lot of time on empty 'self-esteem' rah-rah activities that should have been spent on math and writing.
The US schools are about total control, too. What adult thinks it's acceptable to bring home from work three more hours of (unpaid, off the clock) work to do at home every day? Why do they accept schools doing that to their children? After spending all day there, the child can't leave the school behind and relax, the school follows them home and demands their free time.
In contrast, the French national education system prohibits assigning homework to students. Those students, who can read, write and recite poetry in the earliest grades, have fewer hours in class and actually have a life after school. The U.S. system used to do the same - but it threw that out and imposed the 'new' education. There's nothing to invent, it's all available. The entire system can be reset to the previous pedagogy tomorrow, but it's staffed with political totalitarians who absolutely won't comply and will create havoc to stave off change.
If industry demands that they don't have enough skilled, educated people to hire and need to import foreigners, then the pressure should not be on visas, but on the guilt of U.S. education system. Why aren't enough US people ready? The blame and reform should landing hard be on the education system. They didn't do their duty to the public and society. They should be held accountable, that they haven't been shows the political nature (not the academic nature) of the beast.
This is all correct. The school boards are corrupted, too, in some cases. They pay these superintendents six figures and they run the district like despots. If they need to be fired, they get a hefty severance package so the school district won't be sued. They all come from out of state. A friend of mine ran for state office recently against a Progressive, and he asked alot of these questions you asked. He sent me a copy of the letters he sent to the superintendent and some school board members. He also showed concerned about the things I mentioned to you that are happening in this region of state to our young children and warning about the Next Generation Science Standards coming to the high schools. They may already be here.
The polite, intelligent letter and well-researched information he provided them was received dismissively by both school board members but with an extra tone of rudeness by the Superintendent. They had everything under control was the gist. This guy is brilliant and has excellent ideas for turning around education here in our state, listed at 49 last I heard. Millions of dollars more are being allocated to school structures under this new Progressive governor but it's highly doubtful the schools' improved facilities will have any effect on where the ranking is in two to four years. I did hear three weeks ago that a group of young moms headed by some in law were initiating a recall for the Supe and a few of the school board members. Good luck to them, but it's tough to get the elected ones recalled because it takes 2/3rds of the votes that got them in and it also costs money. So many elections here followed by unsuccessful recalls. I wish people would get it right.
Now the state of education may be the least of our problems. The new Progressive governor's administration wants the state to join with CA and twelve other states to be in a "Under 2 Coalition." This is a group that works to keep the global temperature from rising 2 degrees C and promote emissions reduction plans in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Spearheaded by Jerry Brown, if we want to connect with them, their offices are in London, Paris and CA! Our Gubernor will be speaking at the main stage of the big event in NYC. We're going in the wrong direction here, in every way imaginable.
Well said. That's happened to my lad who is still confused at 21. They also completely confused him with maths........so he darent measure anything for fear of getting it wrong.
Add topic based, non chronological history to the mix.....and leave out geography all together........then you've got a complete waste of time!
It's never too late to learn, and it's a good lesson to learn that if the service received was substandard, don't be passive and accept that outcome, but go empower oneself with a proper course path. Unlike high schools, a decent community college offers maths - algebra through calculus II, their teachers are real profs with Masters degrees in their subjects, and the per-credit costs are a fraction of any university tutition for the same courses.
Maths are very enjoyable - no student should walk away inadequate and discouraged. In other countries world-wide, by age 16, the public school students have the background in maths to start pre-calculus. That's just kids really, so if taught properly, the overwhelming majority of anyone from that age and up can achieve in such useful subjects with confidence and competance. Why be blocked from a dream career by the lack of training in maths or any other relevant subject?
Quite. I know what you mean...we were both local college lecturers. I don't know about the US...but they do a lot of good work in the U.K.. Mostly in trades but also repairing the damage.....which unfortunately eats into course time.
My lad had done lots of agricultural projects since 14......refurbish mowers and selling them.....breeding poultry and selling them....burning tonnes of grain and selling bags of feed etc. Then working on a veg and cattle farm at 16 and then driving diggers at a scrapyard and tractor driving at harvest time. He didn't want any more to do with education. He made a lot of mistakes along the way.
He's now gone down to Devon and is working on an organic chicken farm factory. Hard work.
Yes Absolem does turn into a blue butterfly.
But pace Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle I prefer British children's litterature. I especially loved Alison Uttley's Little Grey Rabbit series (The Wise Old Owl, another about hedgehogs) with beautiful illustrations by Margaret Tempest. They were books that could fit in a child's hand which children love!
Also the Nesbitt books such as Five Children and It, The Enchanted Castle, The Phoenix and the Carpet, etc.
I also loved the Noddy books before the black Golliwogs were deemed politically incorrect.
My mother was British and she never liked the Disney version of Winnie the Pooh.
Regarding British children's literature, I have to put in a good word for The Church Mice series by Graham Oakley. The stories are very funny, but the artwork is in a class all its own. It's so detailed, like an I Spy book, with extremely clever flourishes that only an adult could pick up on, like a tombstone inscribed, "Died at the parish fete during the egg-and-spoon race". Very witty, in a very English manner:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_Mice_series
I second the Church Mice series. Our boys loved them, and as an adult I appreciated that the characters had actual human qualities--they could be vain, a little thick, pontificators with little of use to say, smart, etc. Very clever stories that would keep a young child's attention, and that Dad didn't mind reading to the end.
Ohh, Topical Thread Thursday! In honor of Laura, as well as Kathy, Andrew and others, I'll begin with this:
I've been to Alberta, Canada each of the past two years, (specifically Waterton and Calgary/Banff), and it was beautiful beyond belief. I realize that's kind of like a Canadian saying he went to Acadia or Glacier National Park and assuming the rest of the US is just as spectacular, but it really was incredible. Everyone I spoke with had that stereotypical Canadian "niceness" about them. Would they be willing to help out an American tourist? "Oh, fur shure!" The hiking, the food, the scenery, it was all perfect. If anyone out there has some vacation time saved up and is looking for a destination this year, I highly recommend Alberta!
Thanks. Sometimes I think of leaving Alberta for somewhere else where the flowers bloom in April instead of June, but after reading that, maybe I'll stay. The American tourists are OK too.
Andrew, I guess the grass is always greener! I always tell my wife that if I ever go missing, I'll be in Alberta or Montana, holed out in the middle of nowhere! That said, I'm sure it's one thing to vacation for a week or so during the summer and another to survive the winter.
One thing that really struck me is how inquisitive the locals were. Here in New England, I think we have a reputation for keeping to ourselves, but whenever I've been to Canada, (western Canada, specifically), everyone wants to strike up a conversation.
Interesting observations on the inquisitiveness and friendliness of Albertans.
My theory is that it is related to the unstable boom-and-bust economy of Alberta. We are friendly and inquisitive because tomorrow is not assured. The thinking is "Let's stay friends because tomorrow I might need your help, or you might need mine." There is something about Alberta that rewards initiative and diligence, but defeats the plans of the arrogant and ambitious. An excellent book illustrates this: "Unbuilt Calgary" by Stephanie White contrasts the Calgary of the visionaries with what it actually became.
There is also a long history of Americans living and working in Alberta (look up John Ware of South Carolina). In my travels in the US, I've met Americans who confessed to living and working illegally in Alberta.
Now I know why Laura Rosen Cohen has three names. No one person could do all this writing, let alone reading. Am I right, Jeffrey Goldberg, or am I right?
I was sure your dispatch from Mogadishu, MN was going to refer to the Strib's call for a deeper dive into Rep. Omar's tax and marriage irregularities. Shall we start a fund for her defense? Call it All About the Toms, for the nickels we toss her way no longer accepted by parking meters.
Josh, you may be interested in knowing that Mr. Goldberg blocked me on Twitter. If I recall it was because I questioned his assertion about who the main victims of terrorism was nowadays. I think I asked for facts. I also may or may not have referred to Obama knee pads, or being a court Jew to Obama. It's all a blur.
When Obama once described himself as "basically, a liberal Jew", I wanted to scream "keep my faith out of your mouth"--and I'm not Jewish (though my father was). How many liberal Jews pose smilingly with Louis Farrakhan? (Maybe don't answer that.) How many liberal Jews sit through 20 years of anti-American sermons from a pastor who has described Israel as an "apartheid" and "illegal, genocidal" state that committed "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza (cleansed of Jews since 2005)? Who claimed Jesus was a Palestinian? Who said he and Obama no longer spoke because "them Jews ain't gonna let him talk to me." (Maybe don't answer that, either.) If Obama is indeed a "liberal Jew", it's not necessarily anything to boast about.
So at first I'm reading this and thinking, wait a minute, 'My fellow Jews'? When did Steyn come out? Then I realized it was the lovely Laura Rosen Cohen!
Yeah, me too!!
This is a great idea - please keep it up! :-)
If Mark ever comes out of the Jew closet, I promise to throw him a hell of a Bar Mitzvah.
Didn't Caroline say "Mark's not a Jew. He plays one on TV."?
Great idea. Keep it up.
It's good to see your comments, Laura.
Ocasio-Cortes hasn't been in office 6 months yet and already thinks she's entitled to a raise. In my entire life the closest I've ever come to what she makes was one year I took home a little over $40,000. I literally started out making $76.00 a month. She started at $174,000.
On a lighter note our favorite anti-semite, Ilhan starts out joining a new caucus by insulting a conservative on the caucus.
Thanks Lowell. I think the trifecta of Jew-hating shrews is holding the Democratic party by the short and curlies without much objection.
Those who followed the Canadian Conservative party's shameful performance during the "justice and human rights" committee fiasco may be interested to know that the same party has disqualified a reformist Muslim, professor Salim Mansur, from running as a Conservative candidate because he might be perceived to be Islamophobic for his criticisms of radical Islam. Try to wrap your head about that one.
https://tnc.news/2019/06/10/award-winning-professor-salim-mansur-disqualified-from-seeking-conservative-nomination/
Time for Maxime
Nomination for official song for that committee, after seeing it recognizes "hurtful" speech as a violation of human rights: "Don't Speak" by Gwen Stefani.
Don't speak
I know just what you're saying
So please stop explaining
Don't tell me cause it hurts (no, no, no)
Don't speak
I know what you're thinking
I don't need your reasons
Don't tell me cause it hurts
Andrew Scheer actually is Theresa May. There couldn't be two so contemptible politicians at the same time, or the universe would implode, or something.
Sadly not surprising, Andrew. Mohamad Tawhidi - a friend of Jews amongst other things - is still on the fringe of the Australian political scene, while mainstream "conservative" politicians are desperate to align themselves with the various high profile community Islamists he identifies. It's all about the votes!
He's VERY interesting. And brave.
Very brave - and very funny!! I think Mark should interview him, and record a duet of "My Sharia Amour".
I like what I'm reading!
Excellent!
Hi Laura, as usual, great to read you ! As to Sweden's submitting, I notice that the Bishop is named Eva B. and she has some opinions that the late Eva Braun's boyfriend might have approved of considering his alliance with Islam and duplicate intentions toward humanity in general and Jews and Christians in particular. On a happier note, we enjoy your mixture of humor, politics, and day to day cultural "stuff".
Best Regards!!
The bishop is gay, and apparently hasn't been noticing what the Iranians and Palestinians have in store for gays. There's also the Catholic priest in France who was murdered.
The bishop better hope that they stick to building low-rise buildings in Swedenistahn.
Thank you!
Life has a funny serendipity. I hadn't been to Europe for years...but my son and I were delivering a car from Valencia to the Isle of Man when on the outskirts of Nantes...the motorway was suddenly awash with flashing lights and sirens. My son immediately said....'that's a terrorist attack'.
Maybe there's a palpable freneticism when terrorism is involved?
Nobody hits you between the eyes with a rock and convinces you to have a nice day before she whirls around like Laura.
THIS!!
Sol, that's funny. LOL. I do, indeed, resemble your remark.
Just a small pebble enough to stun. A chokehold so someone can't wriggle out of reality (unless he/she/zhe/zipideedoodah wants to, which is usually) with a Hermes scarf that is, to borrow a future phrase from you, stupor stunning.
Classic! The ultimate compliment!
Laura's chutzpah is unmistakeable, that's for sure. Look forward to more Laura's Links...
Actually the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland is the most famous caterpillar in the world!
Clearly we need a parliamentary subcommittee to launch a year-long study into that claim, Nicola.
OK I'll speak to management and make sure that we give out longevity trophies to all the literary caterpillars now. All the caterpillars are equal! None are more equal than others. I should not have been so unthinking and cruel!
Did it turn into a butterfly?
I can't believe you left out Germany! :-)
Now I have to check out that Liel Leibowitz piece...
I'll definitely make some space for Germany next time round...Lord knows I have more than a few things to say about that hell hole.
That Tablet article was, as advertised, the best commentary on that zzzzz so sleepy feud. It was the first I read that called out these people for what they are: careerist hacks. Period.
And that's because The Tablet exists outside the Conservatism Inc. biosphere, so they can be frank.