Many websites provide daily links to news. Almost all are carefully curated to suit their tribes, avoiding anything which challenges their tribal truths. Which is pointless. We need information from the frontiers of knowledge and the fronts of social change. If you find this useful, I provide links to such stories on If you liked this post, on Facebook and on Twitter.
“Problems at the Justice Department and FBI Are Serious” by Andrew C. McCarthy at National Review – About senior FBI agents’ disregard for its internal rules and the Bureau’s disinterest in punishing their violations. Those during the 2016 campaign are just examples of a widespread rot.
America is effectively doing all this, without Russia’s help…
“Secretary of Defense James Mattis slammed Russia on Friday, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘attempts to undermine America’s moral authority’ … ‘He aims to diminish the appeal of the western democratic model and attempts to undermine America’s moral authority, his actions are designed not to challenge our arms at this point but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals….’
— From CNN. Also see Caitlin Johnstone’s acerbic analysis.
About justice at the University of Michigan, as it explains in a filing for due process lawsuit. UM doesn’t provide a hearing or allow the defendant to see or cross-examine in Title IX cases, although it does in all other cases. It says that forcing them to allow cross-examination of witnesses would undermine the “integrity” of the process. The University official doing the investigation is also the judge. It is very Orwellian. See their filing here. From Tweets by K. C. Johnson.
The rot in science has spread widely: “Two years of stonewalling” by Nathan Myhrvold at Retraction Watch — “What happened when a scientist filed a public records request for NASA code.” If NASA fought so hard, so long, at such expense to conceal information about a study of asteroids (of little political significance), imagine their reaction when challenged on important issues.
“We Have Turned Childhood Into A Mental Disorder, and It’s Ruining Our Kids” by Matt Walsh at the Daily Wire. Boys are often inconvenient, so parents drug them into compliance. This is perhaps the largest drug trial, ever. In a generation we will see the results. As so often in America these days, we use ourselves as lab rats in social experiments.
Another industry discovers that in healthcare the sky is the limit for pricing: air ambulance prices double, than double again: “Air Ambulances Are Flying More Patients Than Ever, and Leaving Massive Bills Behind” at Bloomberg. America has become the grifter nation.
“Fake Culture is Hastening Our Idiocracy” by David Masciotra at The American Conservative — “When verses like ‘Hol’ up lil’ bi*tch be humble’ win Pulitzer Prizes.” Welcome to Weimerica.
“Centrists Are Very Concerned That Donald F*cking Trump Isn’t Hawkish Enough” by Caitlin Johnston.
The FBI Inspector General’s report provides ample evidence but refuses to draw the obvious conclusions. The FBI has sent many to prison for conspiracy (their favorite charge) with less obvious smoking guns than these…
Lisa Page: “{Trump’s} not ever going to become president, right? Right?!”
Peter Strzok: Strzok: “No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.”
Page: “Trump should go F himself.”
Strzok: “F Trump.”
Page: “Maybe you’re meant to stay because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace.”
Strzok: “I’ll try & approach it that way. I just know it’ll be tough… I can protect our country at many levels, not sure if that helps.”
Strzok to Page: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
California voter’s have a moral panic attack and recall a judge for following the sentencing recommendation made by the probation department. As usual with virtue signalling, the unintended results will be ugly.
- “The recall of the judge who sentenced Brock Turner will end up hurting poor, minority defendants” by Rachel Marshall at VOX — “I’m a public defender. Here’s why the recall vote is no progressive victory.”
- “California ousts an elected judge; everybody loses” by John Pfaff at the WaPo — “The recall of Aaron Persky in the Stanford swimmer sexual assault case will make judges harsher, and thwart progress on perils of mass incarceration” Pfaff is a professor of law at Fordham University and author of Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform
. His book is essential reading to understand America’s broken law enforcement system.
. His book is essential reading to understand America’s broken law enforcement system.Slowly the inevitable bad results come in from Trump’s tax cuts, one of the largest con jobs in US history. The GOP doesn’t believe in fiscal stimulus and hates deficits. So they apply a massive fiscal stimulus (at the top of the business cycle) and generate massive deficits — proudly. We will pay dearly for conservatives’ faux economics.
- “U.S. Tax Reform – The Slow-Motion Train Wreck Gathers Momentum” by Jeffrey Gould (Director) at Frank Hirth.
- About the fables of tax cuts for corporations and the 1%: “Tax Cuts and Leprechauns” by Paul Krugman.
I have not checked the information in this article. But if true, it is amazing. “Spain gender laws: a country against men” by Kukuruyo at the Honey Badger Brigade. If you know anything about this, or about the HBB website, please share it in the comments. Update: some of that article has been proven correct – and some of that article has been proven to be false.
The next frontier in feminists telling us what we can’t do: “Should There Be a Future for Seduction?” by Laura Kipnis in New York Magazine, 11 June 2018. It opens with the story of a woman who had an online “romance” with a man who misrepresented himself. Kipnis describes the result, which to the feminist mind warrants more restructuring of society. They will tinker until something breaks badly.
“… she didn’t just feel duped — it was like she’d been stabbed and left in the gutter to die. A crime had been committed against her. “
the content of the applicable spanish law,in english translation, may be found here. i suggest you take a few moments to read it. the honey badger article is not, in my view, a fair or resonable reading of the law.
Jay,
Thank you for posting that. That’s exactly the best source. And in English!
Jay,
I’ve skimmed through it. What is your basis for saying that the article is not a “fair or reasonable” reading of the law? It looks more severe and far reaching than this article describes. It’s the foundational law for oppressive measures against men. It completely ignores the widespread and growing violence by women against men (we’re both the same species).
The law does not, of course, provide information about how the Spanish authorities implement it. But it encourages totally biased actions against men.
I have always enjoyed reading your news links — I remember you used to make posts it regularly about 10 years ago. Thanks again.
The rape case mentioned is also not fairly presented. Ditto the question of violence against women.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-court/protests-in-spain-as-five-cleared-of-gang-rape-at-san-fermin-festival-idUSKBN1HX1S1
Spain has a very strict legal definition of rape. Because the girl submitted and was not beaten a rape verdict was not possible.
One of the judges called it good nature fun on the boys part… So maybe there is a reason for the protest.
As for violence against women we run into the classics question of social norms.
Are women afraid to tell the truth or are women in countries with strong feminist cultures more likely to say that they have been hit? And what do the women define as violence in various countries.
For example is Denmark, Finland and Sweden top scores in this survey on violence against women in the EU.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/mar/05/violence-against-women-european-union-physical-sexual-abuse
Rune,
Thank you for the pointer to the Reuters articles, which is clear evidence that the case was not accurately presented. I’ve noted that in the post.
As for the survey, lumping together “physical, sexual and psychological violence” tells us nothing. I doubt any ten women agree on the definitions of those things, esp these days.
What we do know is that despite the massive publicity campaigns – and the ever-widening definition of rape, rates of reported rape in the US are plunging. Also, a significant fraction of the highest profile rape accusations prove to be false. I don’t know what that means. I will bet that the current moral panic will help reshape our society in ways that are likely to have unexpected and bad results.
The next generation of women, gen Z and after, might unhappily look at Gen X and the Millennials as the golden age for women.