A little off topic, but I couldn't help but notice some of your exchanges on Notes with a couple of folks who shall remain nameless. One person in particular (who seems to like stalking F. DeBoer on Notes) is something quite special (I'm being nice) as everything she/he/they writes is completely bigoted.
So, with this in mind, and the many tweets reacting to the SCOTUS decision on AA, I propose a new drinking game:
Any time some loud mouth with a public platform writes the words, patriarchy, white male, white supremacy, or white adjacent, we must take a shot of our favorite adult beverage.
But seriously, WTF does white adjacent even mean? Furthermore, I don't quite understand how, those writing these particular words, don't understand how insulting and offensive their words are to normies like me and about 300 million other people. Utter cluelessness.
Really, Jemele Hill and others like her might as well just call asians (or anyone, for we are legion) who disagree with them, the house N-word or Uncle Toms. Cause that's exactly what they're doing. It's just bald-faced bigotry.
After those exchanges, I was worried about how I came across. Sorry about that. I get annoyed and take the bait.
If you ask our "betters," "white adjacent" means X group is no longer oppressed or are not allies of the oppressed.
To me, "white adjacent" is a "polite" way of calling an entire group of people Uncle Toms and race traitors (with all non-white people being lumped into a single non-white race). It's a slur, the purpose of which is to induce shame and ensure compliance. So you pretty much nailed it.
I think I heard one of the Shrews from The View in a clip ( because you could not pay me to watch that show) refer to Sen Tim Scott as “white adjacent.”......ugh.
Amazing how rude they can be and have neither fear of being called out for it or sufficient self reflection to see themselves in a broader context. With racist feminists like them having a platform future generations of girls will bear the burden of being stereotyped and mistrusted. So glad to see your voice challenge the narrative because it is a voice of reason, fairness and wisdom.
Thank you! If those women are feminists , I’m effing Miss America! ( I’m 71). Feminism has been hijacked… thanks Hillary! All they do is spew and fuel hatred. I truly do not understand and am saddened by the popularity of the show. It does nothing but increase division. And they are all so hypocritical. I could go in for forever how destructive The View is. Their audience is nothing more than bunch of insecure bobble head women who have no authority in their own lives so they revel in how these corporate shills assure them that they are on the “right” side… it’s sickening. The good news? My 35 year old daughter is finding this all to be “stale.”
Lol. I would have accepted Wonder Woman but will settle for effing Miss America any day too. Am glad you have such a keen sense of humor and intellect. The two are often joined at the hip. You are perfect for Lillia’s posse.
"Any time some loud mouth with a public platform writes the words, patriarchy, white male, white supremacy, or white adjacent, we must take a shot of our favorite adult beverage."
Russel Brand interview with Carlson was wonderful. Lots of humor and truth. Both outspoken and so articulate. Far better than MSM or Fox. Thank God we have truthful and compelling sources like your Substack and rumble to get an understanding of what is happening. Greenwald, Brand, Carlson, Gajewski; names that should be recognized for courage in defending free speech.
Never get in a drinking contest with a Texan. Or “Vizzini: “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is, 'never get involved in a land war in Asia,' but only slightly less well-known is this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! '”. Princess Bride.
I haven't been following Notes. Sounds like Twitter. (or "Thread" for the hip and censorious)
I have to revisit the Jemele Hill thing. Lil asked me about her probably a month ago and I have some pretty strong feelings about her.
Teaser: This mass layoff at ESPN, I think, began when Hill and anchor Michael Smith were given the 6:00 pm SportsCenter, basically the big one. They called it "SportsCenter at Night" and they sat on these low sofas and spoke about things mostly tangential to sports. It was a terrible idea. I'm not sure who Disney/ESPN thought was really digging this version of sports but it's not the people who actually pay the companies who pay for the commercials.
They were definitely out in front of the Get Woke Go Broke movement.
Actually, when she's not scowling with her "I hate Whypipo!" face, I think she's pretty.
And before it was safe to be a racist... I mean, BLM activist, she was a pretty solid sports reporter as well. She wasn't a token women talking about sports. She knew her stuff.
I must take issue with your racist attack on Asians. Urban youth, now the arbiter of taste and language in much of America, have now "identied" our Asian brothers and sisters as white. We have no right to question them. Dey be right and dey alway be right.
Now that I read your entire piece...Michele Obama , also a racist. Basically, “ I got into Harvard on my own, but other blacks need special consideration.” 🤦♀️
It never is with narcissists. As I learned in post divorce therapy ...” there will never be any introspection.” Hence we find their arrogance so maddening.
It really is maddening! It’s like yelling at a wall; oblivious to fault and immune from self reflection. One layer of Hell should be alone with a room full of narcissists. Hollow eyes and souls. Best wishes on the therapy and consider avoiding that which women are pft to do and blame themselves for something they’re not guilty of.
Thank you for your kind words… This much needed therapy was 20 years ago. Everyone has some degree of ownership in a failed marriage, and I had difficult introspection to do as well. But you learn from that and emerge a much stronger , happier, “at peace” person. I feel badly for my grown kids, their relationship with their Dad remains painfully conditional.
Hey Mrs Mac, you might want to see the act the comedian Yannis Pappas does on the difference between a mother’s unconditional love for children vs a father’s conditional love for children. Might provide a smile on an otherwise hurtful topic. Btw I appreciate your wisdom and hope to see more of it.
Just watched it... very funny!! My kids were in elementary school when the especially absurd “gifted and talented” nonsense escalated... a friend and I use to joke “ are our kids the only NOT gifted and talented ones in this school?” Everyone’s little dumpling was a friggin genius. Mothers would complain that their kid deserved an A on their book report , which most of the time the mother co wrote, edited etc.Play dates had to be arranged around violin lessons, Chinese lessons, gymnastics, Accelerated math tudors...the PTA lost me when I witnessed a heated debate over bake sales, one mother came prepared with copies of healthy recipes because we don’t want our children to eat sugar....one of these Helicopter Moms reported me to the school office that my children were walking (1/4mile) to school in the rain.... and my kids Dad’s idea of parenting was extolling his many academic and athletic accomplishments to them “ when I was your age....” I’ve had people tell me I could write a hilarious book, but I’ve got far better things to do and all of that insanity is long in the rear view mirror.....Common sense...it’s no longer common.
According to people who’ve read Michelle’s college thesis, it was barely literate and was sprinkled with numerous misspellings. Seems like even four years of college didn’t help much?
Great roundup, it shows a few things about the current state of the left:
1) Be hypocritical when it comes to policies (we can do this, you can't do the same thing)
2) Cry even louder when said hypocrisy is exposed or policy is reversed.
3) Deflect attention to other issues in the hopes that you don't have to actually solve the problem or face the issue that you're wrong. That is why we are seeing whining about the size of the supreme court, that they are "rogue", that they aren't going after legacy admissions (admittedly, this should be addressed as well).
On the affirmative action front, a wise course of action would be to try to find ways to better the education system so that minority groups could find success by having better schools to make them better off. But there's a problem there too, which is that school funding is generally provided at the local level, and rich school districts have better schools than poor districts. The left's "solution" is to "pay teachers more", which has never really accomplished the goals of making students better.
Other well-documented research has also shown that kids who grow up in traditional two-parent homes are more likely to succeed than in families where there is only a single-parent. This opens a Pandora's box of other issues that the left doesn't really want to address, such as why there are so many single mothers in poor communities, etc.
In the end, it's a lot easier for them to scream "RACIST!" and try to blame everyone else. Just like that mom in the Dear Amy letter.
Good point on overwhelming value of a child having two parents in the home. If one wanted to ruin a group of people they would corrupt the nuclear family first (as LBJ Dems did with pushing fathers out for food stamps). Regarding schools, here in PA they just rejected school vouchers again. This was the best hope to get poor kids out of abject failing city public schools and the teachers union stranglehold on Dem politicians. Catholic schools stayed open in the pandemic, serve the poor, and give a child an overwhelming advantage over urban public school students. Anyway, you make good points and I look forward to reading more from you.
For Funk’s Sake this was funkin brilliant writing!! You covered four critical and historic Supreme Court decisions with grace and insight. Not just recapping the arguments but providing color and depth that leave this reader with a portrait to share with others and evaluate politics and culture against. This is a beautiful story and essay, Lillia, because it covers so much ground but in a cohesive and understandable manner. I feel like I just read Time Magazine’s highlights of 2023 but with compassion and humor. I love how you remind the reader of the hypocrisy and arrogance of those with real power and wealth (eg Obama, Bidens, etc) feigning to be working class. Finally, regarding the story about the Philly mom not inviting her conservative brother to her daughter’s wedding; yea that brother was me and I’m glad I didn’t have to go to my woke broke pathetic niece’s wedding or see my cowardly sister. (Just kidding! Lol). Btw Philly has enough problems; this weekend a black biological male who wears a bra and posts pics In women’s clothes (but who the Left claims is not gay or trans!!) killed 5 black people and maimed 2 others. This won’t be reported because he’s black trans. They were so disappointed he wasn’t a straight white male.
I saw that about the shooter in Philly. It's like they're constantly rewriting the rules. I just shook my head and moved on to the next thing. Sometimes you just don't know what to say.
The only person who stopped Reid from going to Harvard was herself..... she obviously was academically qualified, did she file an application? To say that if wasn’t for this person who came “ looking for me” is actually racist. Does she really think that the admission office at Harvard was not looking at applications if the person was Black?? Also, Racist.
"she obviously was academically qualified, did she file an application?"
From Wikipedia: "Her father was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[4] and her mother a college professor and nutritionist from Guyana.[4] Her parents met in graduate school at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.[7] Reid was raised Methodist and has one sister and one brother.[7] Her father was an engineer"
See, this right here's what throws me so far off. She was not unprivileged and her parents were super educated. Black people who emigrate from Africa in this day aren't the slaves that just got dragged onto the boat. They're usually here just to attend American Universities.
The thing we're supposed to think is that "She's Black so she's been Fighting the Power her whole life." As I've mentioned here before, I think, we're supposed to pretent that she, and others like MD Gov Wes Moore, lived JD Vance's life. But no one appreciates how Vance rose from the Trailer Park because he's white. I mean, how much could he have struggled?
And this is the interesting point. Joy Reid is not only not unprivileged, she is extremely privileged. Her parents could *afford* to come here. As you say, they didn't exactly get a free trip on a boat. But despite that, here she is now how many ever decades later pissing and moaning about how racist this country is, yet I see she's still here. If it's so bad, why did her parents come and why hasn't she gone back to be with "her people."
Answer: at her heart, Ms. Reid understands exactly how privileged she is and how privileged someone like Vance doesn't start out and that he's actually had the greater struggle. But this is the only country really that will let her get away with that kind of "new think," where oppression and adversity are not what you actually go through but your immutable characteristics.
Thank you… fascinating but not surprising. So, Reid in this commentary, portrays herself as a victim who was fortunate to be “found” and saved , when in reality , she was economically privileged and super intelligent.
"Whatever I might think of John Roberts, I enjoy that he got a dig in"
And Thomas went straight at Jackson in his _Harvard_ opinion.
And, on this note, I often read how the court's divided into a liberal minority and conservative majority. But I don't see it that way now. To me it's more 3 Liberal (Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson [and the last two are truly AA selections {but, I digress}]), 3 Conservative (Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch), and 3, I'll just say "Centrists" (Roberts, Kavanaugh, Comey-Barrett). -- I'm not sure where that last period is supposed to go *shrug* --
I'm trying hard to find the stats - I think I saw it on Twitter - where they charted how the justices voted in the 2023 cases. It turns out that most cases are not 5-4 divided along party lines but, rather, most are 7-2 and 8-1 with Thomas and Alito voting with the majority more often than all the others.
And more than that, despite my contempt for Jackson, they're all smart and, even if aided a bit by their "shortcomings," they're giants in the field of law. Except in some very specific cases, they don't divide on political leanings. They honor stare decisis.
-- I do have some concern about how Jackson rules when there's an opportunity for her to talk and write and talk. Yes, I said talk twice. She seems to have some great need drive the responses with leading, meandering, commentary placing her at the center of everything. Bride at every funeral, corpse at every wedding. Or something. --
It's more like the way we see big elections: Dems comprise about 30% of the voting population, Repubs about the same. The rest largely, minus a handful of Greenies and Libertarians, identify as Independent and it's their votes the candidates seek to sway. Same for SCOTUS. If it's idealogically divisive, the trick is to figure out how to get Roberts, Comey-Barrett, and Kavanaugh to concur.
You're right about the court. It's not liberal vs conservative. It is pretty much the balance you put forth. And I saw the same chart somewhere, though I also can't remember.
I would add Sotomayor to the list of "dumb" justices, but that's me.
It sounds like Jackson is extremely insecure about her right to be there. At her heart she knows she's not really qualified. And that is why AA is bad for both the rest of us and the unqualified person that it gives an unjustified boost to. But maybe if she's insecure enough, she'll turn out rising to the occasion. (I know--probably not, but a girl can dream.)
This is what drives the left/Democrats nuts, however - it/they want a clear-cut majority that yields decisions consistent with their ideology which has been exposed as, Calvinball.
As you said elsewhere, they want it both ways - in this instance, to have the authority of the supreme court on their side, until it hands down a decision they don't like - then all of a sudden, the SC is not legitimate.
If we're going to apply that "standard" retroactively to say, 1973, then for non-leftists, the SC was illegitimate for the next 27 years - except it wasn't. We didn't like the vast majority of its decisions, but we never held the entire bench to be illegitimate. It was clear to us that some of the justices probably should have retired long before they did, so imagine our bemusement to hear a congressional Democrat call for term limits for SCOTUS justices, something many of us have supported for years. True to the infantile nature of the Democats, it's only a good idea now that it isn't a fait accompli that they'll get their way.
"What does that tell you about how hard it is to tell Democrat talking points from parody? (Hint: you can’t, not really.)"
It's why I've given up - way too much effort only to have my not-fully-informed suspicion confirmed.
"We’re way over our quota of arrogant bigots with oversized mouths and quarter-size brains."
Quarter-sized brains is generous - I prefer Crash Davis pointing out Nuke's five-cent head.
Poor AOC doesn't grasp that race-based affirmative action in admissions has as much of a relationship to legacy applicants from wealthy donors & alumni as does a fungo to a martian (sorry to channel so much Bull Durham, but it fits).
If it's one of the 0bamas, it isn't hypocritical - we white-supremacist rural mouth-breathers just aren't intelligent enough to understand.
For some reason, this: "Making the World a Better Place through Musical Theater and Propaganda with Scary Poppins" made me think of this:
"...that the reply made it into the Chicago Tribune gives me hope."
Don't hope too much - $100 says the features editor that allowed it to appear has been fired.
I love this weekly feature - I'm looking for a way to honour and pay homage to the late (and brilliant) Chuck Sheperd and his column, News of the Weird and its feature, Least Competent Criminal.
Indeed - but I envy those who can grow their beards thusly - even before I married my wife (who made it clear she liked mine, as long as was neatly trimmed), I had tried for YEARS to grow it long, but the genes have never been there.
As a teen, I wanted to let my hair grow long, like Lou Marini - but at a certain length, it just began to curl up on itself.
"Well, Nuke's scared because his eyelids are jammed and his old man's here. We need a live - is it a live rooster? We need a live rooster to take the curse off José's glove and nobody seems to know what to get Millie or Jimmy for their wedding present. Is that about right? We're dealing with a lot of shit."
Nice compilation. We’ll see how this all plays out. The right has a tendency to get giddy after these “victories “. The left just files another court brief and keeps marching. At the end of the day we’re not a nation of laws as much as a nation of political will. Right now the left has the preponderance of will. Hopefully that’s changing. I do enjoy this Friday feature.
I had actually seen that online somewhere a couple days ago. Sadly I lived through almost the same scenario with my Mom and sister. My niece had taken umbrage at something my Mom had said regarding her lifestyle choices and blew her off but wanted financial help for something and was pissed when Mom had said no.
"I know I can’t outrun my husband and I’m not leaving my dog."
In a previous life - there have been several - I was a surveyor. Sometimes dense brush blocks the line of sight between the instrument and the rod and the Rod Man (low man on a 3-man survey party) has to "cut line" with a brush hook. https://tinyurl.com/2rd67k7a
Every so often someone shreds right into a big Hornets Nest. The secret to not getting stung to all getout is to run past another guy in the party. Surveyors know that, "If the Rod Man's a-runnin', the Hornets are a-comin'." (I just made that up) So, yeah, your husband will be fine. *whistles, kicks rock, looks skyward*
OTOH, I'm pretty sure The Husky Dawg would unleash a solid rebuke, at least on a Black Bear (we don't have Grizzlies 'round these parts). I'd have to drag him away. *shrugs* I didn't say he was smart. Just loyal.
A little off topic, but I couldn't help but notice some of your exchanges on Notes with a couple of folks who shall remain nameless. One person in particular (who seems to like stalking F. DeBoer on Notes) is something quite special (I'm being nice) as everything she/he/they writes is completely bigoted.
So, with this in mind, and the many tweets reacting to the SCOTUS decision on AA, I propose a new drinking game:
Any time some loud mouth with a public platform writes the words, patriarchy, white male, white supremacy, or white adjacent, we must take a shot of our favorite adult beverage.
But seriously, WTF does white adjacent even mean? Furthermore, I don't quite understand how, those writing these particular words, don't understand how insulting and offensive their words are to normies like me and about 300 million other people. Utter cluelessness.
Really, Jemele Hill and others like her might as well just call asians (or anyone, for we are legion) who disagree with them, the house N-word or Uncle Toms. Cause that's exactly what they're doing. It's just bald-faced bigotry.
Oh, and as for your "drinking game," that's a good way to die of cirrhosis of the liver in short order. :-)
After those exchanges, I was worried about how I came across. Sorry about that. I get annoyed and take the bait.
If you ask our "betters," "white adjacent" means X group is no longer oppressed or are not allies of the oppressed.
To me, "white adjacent" is a "polite" way of calling an entire group of people Uncle Toms and race traitors (with all non-white people being lumped into a single non-white race). It's a slur, the purpose of which is to induce shame and ensure compliance. So you pretty much nailed it.
I think I heard one of the Shrews from The View in a clip ( because you could not pay me to watch that show) refer to Sen Tim Scott as “white adjacent.”......ugh.
Amazing how rude they can be and have neither fear of being called out for it or sufficient self reflection to see themselves in a broader context. With racist feminists like them having a platform future generations of girls will bear the burden of being stereotyped and mistrusted. So glad to see your voice challenge the narrative because it is a voice of reason, fairness and wisdom.
Thank you! If those women are feminists , I’m effing Miss America! ( I’m 71). Feminism has been hijacked… thanks Hillary! All they do is spew and fuel hatred. I truly do not understand and am saddened by the popularity of the show. It does nothing but increase division. And they are all so hypocritical. I could go in for forever how destructive The View is. Their audience is nothing more than bunch of insecure bobble head women who have no authority in their own lives so they revel in how these corporate shills assure them that they are on the “right” side… it’s sickening. The good news? My 35 year old daughter is finding this all to be “stale.”
Lol. I would have accepted Wonder Woman but will settle for effing Miss America any day too. Am glad you have such a keen sense of humor and intellect. The two are often joined at the hip. You are perfect for Lillia’s posse.
Thanks! Not sure how I “substacked” across her...but I’m glad I did and probably best start paying for her excellent insights!
"Any time some loud mouth with a public platform writes the words, patriarchy, white male, white supremacy, or white adjacent, we must take a shot of our favorite adult beverage."
Dude - my liver's already on life support.
I’m down for the game! I’m going to watch CNN, MSN and read WAPO and NYT and I’ll be smashed before lunch and through the weekend!
I'd join you, but I'm in McKinney today, working out of my office there, and have to drive back to Denton, later...
I'm pretty sure they'll still provide plenty of opportunity by the time you're back home.
I’ll be passed out before Tex starts. However, Just watched Tucker on Rumble with Russel Brand Loved it.
Was it good? I'll have to find it on Rumble. I saw the post from Sasha Stone.
Russel Brand interview with Carlson was wonderful. Lots of humor and truth. Both outspoken and so articulate. Far better than MSM or Fox. Thank God we have truthful and compelling sources like your Substack and rumble to get an understanding of what is happening. Greenwald, Brand, Carlson, Gajewski; names that should be recognized for courage in defending free speech.
"I’ll be passed out before Tex starts."
So... Tag Team?
I can take a shift on a moment's notice. Say the word!
Never get in a drinking contest with a Texan. Or “Vizzini: “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is, 'never get involved in a land war in Asia,' but only slightly less well-known is this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! '”. Princess Bride.
LOL! I’d be hammered in 20 minutes!
I haven't been following Notes. Sounds like Twitter. (or "Thread" for the hip and censorious)
I have to revisit the Jemele Hill thing. Lil asked me about her probably a month ago and I have some pretty strong feelings about her.
Teaser: This mass layoff at ESPN, I think, began when Hill and anchor Michael Smith were given the 6:00 pm SportsCenter, basically the big one. They called it "SportsCenter at Night" and they sat on these low sofas and spoke about things mostly tangential to sports. It was a terrible idea. I'm not sure who Disney/ESPN thought was really digging this version of sports but it's not the people who actually pay the companies who pay for the commercials.
They were definitely out in front of the Get Woke Go Broke movement.
Do you think Hill is really female?
Heh.
Actually, when she's not scowling with her "I hate Whypipo!" face, I think she's pretty.
And before it was safe to be a racist... I mean, BLM activist, she was a pretty solid sports reporter as well. She wasn't a token women talking about sports. She knew her stuff.
But she really wore on me quickly.
"the house N-word or Uncle Toms"
How is that we've arrived at the place and time where black people would see Uncle Tom not as something to strive for and instead a pejorative?
I must take issue with your racist attack on Asians. Urban youth, now the arbiter of taste and language in much of America, have now "identied" our Asian brothers and sisters as white. We have no right to question them. Dey be right and dey alway be right.
Now that I read your entire piece...Michele Obama , also a racist. Basically, “ I got into Harvard on my own, but other blacks need special consideration.” 🤦♀️
I know, isn't she hilarious? Self-awareness is not a flower that grows in her garden.
It never is with narcissists. As I learned in post divorce therapy ...” there will never be any introspection.” Hence we find their arrogance so maddening.
"There will never be introspection."
I think that should be the new motto of every federal agency. Just so we're all well forewarned.
It really is maddening! It’s like yelling at a wall; oblivious to fault and immune from self reflection. One layer of Hell should be alone with a room full of narcissists. Hollow eyes and souls. Best wishes on the therapy and consider avoiding that which women are pft to do and blame themselves for something they’re not guilty of.
Thank you for your kind words… This much needed therapy was 20 years ago. Everyone has some degree of ownership in a failed marriage, and I had difficult introspection to do as well. But you learn from that and emerge a much stronger , happier, “at peace” person. I feel badly for my grown kids, their relationship with their Dad remains painfully conditional.
Hey Mrs Mac, you might want to see the act the comedian Yannis Pappas does on the difference between a mother’s unconditional love for children vs a father’s conditional love for children. Might provide a smile on an otherwise hurtful topic. Btw I appreciate your wisdom and hope to see more of it.
This one?
https://youtu.be/Wm8E9lQ5Uc8
Hey Mrs Max, please see the link below that Tex provided on a mother’s unconditional love.
Just watched it... very funny!! My kids were in elementary school when the especially absurd “gifted and talented” nonsense escalated... a friend and I use to joke “ are our kids the only NOT gifted and talented ones in this school?” Everyone’s little dumpling was a friggin genius. Mothers would complain that their kid deserved an A on their book report , which most of the time the mother co wrote, edited etc.Play dates had to be arranged around violin lessons, Chinese lessons, gymnastics, Accelerated math tudors...the PTA lost me when I witnessed a heated debate over bake sales, one mother came prepared with copies of healthy recipes because we don’t want our children to eat sugar....one of these Helicopter Moms reported me to the school office that my children were walking (1/4mile) to school in the rain.... and my kids Dad’s idea of parenting was extolling his many academic and athletic accomplishments to them “ when I was your age....” I’ve had people tell me I could write a hilarious book, but I’ve got far better things to do and all of that insanity is long in the rear view mirror.....Common sense...it’s no longer common.
"Michele Obama , also a racist."
Why, yeeeeesssss. And the Mister as well.
According to people who’ve read Michelle’s college thesis, it was barely literate and was sprinkled with numerous misspellings. Seems like even four years of college didn’t help much?
Great roundup, it shows a few things about the current state of the left:
1) Be hypocritical when it comes to policies (we can do this, you can't do the same thing)
2) Cry even louder when said hypocrisy is exposed or policy is reversed.
3) Deflect attention to other issues in the hopes that you don't have to actually solve the problem or face the issue that you're wrong. That is why we are seeing whining about the size of the supreme court, that they are "rogue", that they aren't going after legacy admissions (admittedly, this should be addressed as well).
On the affirmative action front, a wise course of action would be to try to find ways to better the education system so that minority groups could find success by having better schools to make them better off. But there's a problem there too, which is that school funding is generally provided at the local level, and rich school districts have better schools than poor districts. The left's "solution" is to "pay teachers more", which has never really accomplished the goals of making students better.
Other well-documented research has also shown that kids who grow up in traditional two-parent homes are more likely to succeed than in families where there is only a single-parent. This opens a Pandora's box of other issues that the left doesn't really want to address, such as why there are so many single mothers in poor communities, etc.
In the end, it's a lot easier for them to scream "RACIST!" and try to blame everyone else. Just like that mom in the Dear Amy letter.
Good point on overwhelming value of a child having two parents in the home. If one wanted to ruin a group of people they would corrupt the nuclear family first (as LBJ Dems did with pushing fathers out for food stamps). Regarding schools, here in PA they just rejected school vouchers again. This was the best hope to get poor kids out of abject failing city public schools and the teachers union stranglehold on Dem politicians. Catholic schools stayed open in the pandemic, serve the poor, and give a child an overwhelming advantage over urban public school students. Anyway, you make good points and I look forward to reading more from you.
"Apparently AOC was too hung over to go to civics class while she was at Columbia. That’s not how the Supreme Court works."
Something something legislating from the bench...
For Funk’s Sake this was funkin brilliant writing!! You covered four critical and historic Supreme Court decisions with grace and insight. Not just recapping the arguments but providing color and depth that leave this reader with a portrait to share with others and evaluate politics and culture against. This is a beautiful story and essay, Lillia, because it covers so much ground but in a cohesive and understandable manner. I feel like I just read Time Magazine’s highlights of 2023 but with compassion and humor. I love how you remind the reader of the hypocrisy and arrogance of those with real power and wealth (eg Obama, Bidens, etc) feigning to be working class. Finally, regarding the story about the Philly mom not inviting her conservative brother to her daughter’s wedding; yea that brother was me and I’m glad I didn’t have to go to my woke broke pathetic niece’s wedding or see my cowardly sister. (Just kidding! Lol). Btw Philly has enough problems; this weekend a black biological male who wears a bra and posts pics In women’s clothes (but who the Left claims is not gay or trans!!) killed 5 black people and maimed 2 others. This won’t be reported because he’s black trans. They were so disappointed he wasn’t a straight white male.
I saw that about the shooter in Philly. It's like they're constantly rewriting the rules. I just shook my head and moved on to the next thing. Sometimes you just don't know what to say.
Well you certainly knew what to say in your essay today. It was brilliant from start to finish.
Aw, thanks.
"It was brilliant from start to finish."
Yeah *contented smile*
The only person who stopped Reid from going to Harvard was herself..... she obviously was academically qualified, did she file an application? To say that if wasn’t for this person who came “ looking for me” is actually racist. Does she really think that the admission office at Harvard was not looking at applications if the person was Black?? Also, Racist.
"she obviously was academically qualified, did she file an application?"
From Wikipedia: "Her father was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[4] and her mother a college professor and nutritionist from Guyana.[4] Her parents met in graduate school at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.[7] Reid was raised Methodist and has one sister and one brother.[7] Her father was an engineer"
See, this right here's what throws me so far off. She was not unprivileged and her parents were super educated. Black people who emigrate from Africa in this day aren't the slaves that just got dragged onto the boat. They're usually here just to attend American Universities.
The thing we're supposed to think is that "She's Black so she's been Fighting the Power her whole life." As I've mentioned here before, I think, we're supposed to pretent that she, and others like MD Gov Wes Moore, lived JD Vance's life. But no one appreciates how Vance rose from the Trailer Park because he's white. I mean, how much could he have struggled?
And this is the interesting point. Joy Reid is not only not unprivileged, she is extremely privileged. Her parents could *afford* to come here. As you say, they didn't exactly get a free trip on a boat. But despite that, here she is now how many ever decades later pissing and moaning about how racist this country is, yet I see she's still here. If it's so bad, why did her parents come and why hasn't she gone back to be with "her people."
Answer: at her heart, Ms. Reid understands exactly how privileged she is and how privileged someone like Vance doesn't start out and that he's actually had the greater struggle. But this is the only country really that will let her get away with that kind of "new think," where oppression and adversity are not what you actually go through but your immutable characteristics.
Thank you… fascinating but not surprising. So, Reid in this commentary, portrays herself as a victim who was fortunate to be “found” and saved , when in reality , she was economically privileged and super intelligent.
"All I have to say is if Joy Reid is the argument for affirmative action, my mind is made up. It’s got to go."
Yeah, that's clearly how Justice Jackson got there. Clarence Thomas, OTOH, got where he is _in spite of_ all the forces arrayed against him.
The concurrence that Justice Thomas wrote on the affirmative action case was brilliant, showcasing his true merit and right to be on that court.
It was, indeed. He's brilliant.
“It’s as if she dropped from the moon and arrived fully formed with this narrative that makes liberals look like idiots.”
" “Extreme liberal opinions.” Honey, those are just regular “liberal” opinions. "
It's hard to parody when your target is so completely un-self-ware.
"It's hard to parody when your target is so completely un-self-ware."
That it is. Our job is incredibly hard.
Why do you think the writers at the 'Bee are having such difficulty?
I just realized that we're probably not paying them enough.
"I’ve lived long enough to watch “liberals” go from “free speech is sacred” to “free speech is a threat.” "
And it's basically the same people just without the Bell Bottoms and Acid Breath, maybe an MBA from the 80s thrown in there.
"Whatever I might think of John Roberts, I enjoy that he got a dig in"
And Thomas went straight at Jackson in his _Harvard_ opinion.
And, on this note, I often read how the court's divided into a liberal minority and conservative majority. But I don't see it that way now. To me it's more 3 Liberal (Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson [and the last two are truly AA selections {but, I digress}]), 3 Conservative (Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch), and 3, I'll just say "Centrists" (Roberts, Kavanaugh, Comey-Barrett). -- I'm not sure where that last period is supposed to go *shrug* --
I'm trying hard to find the stats - I think I saw it on Twitter - where they charted how the justices voted in the 2023 cases. It turns out that most cases are not 5-4 divided along party lines but, rather, most are 7-2 and 8-1 with Thomas and Alito voting with the majority more often than all the others.
And more than that, despite my contempt for Jackson, they're all smart and, even if aided a bit by their "shortcomings," they're giants in the field of law. Except in some very specific cases, they don't divide on political leanings. They honor stare decisis.
-- I do have some concern about how Jackson rules when there's an opportunity for her to talk and write and talk. Yes, I said talk twice. She seems to have some great need drive the responses with leading, meandering, commentary placing her at the center of everything. Bride at every funeral, corpse at every wedding. Or something. --
It's more like the way we see big elections: Dems comprise about 30% of the voting population, Repubs about the same. The rest largely, minus a handful of Greenies and Libertarians, identify as Independent and it's their votes the candidates seek to sway. Same for SCOTUS. If it's idealogically divisive, the trick is to figure out how to get Roberts, Comey-Barrett, and Kavanaugh to concur.
You're right about the court. It's not liberal vs conservative. It is pretty much the balance you put forth. And I saw the same chart somewhere, though I also can't remember.
I would add Sotomayor to the list of "dumb" justices, but that's me.
It sounds like Jackson is extremely insecure about her right to be there. At her heart she knows she's not really qualified. And that is why AA is bad for both the rest of us and the unqualified person that it gives an unjustified boost to. But maybe if she's insecure enough, she'll turn out rising to the occasion. (I know--probably not, but a girl can dream.)
"At her heart she knows she's not really qualified."
I think so too. But I'll try to hope she'll rise up as well.
"It's not liberal vs conservative."
This is what drives the left/Democrats nuts, however - it/they want a clear-cut majority that yields decisions consistent with their ideology which has been exposed as, Calvinball.
As you said elsewhere, they want it both ways - in this instance, to have the authority of the supreme court on their side, until it hands down a decision they don't like - then all of a sudden, the SC is not legitimate.
If we're going to apply that "standard" retroactively to say, 1973, then for non-leftists, the SC was illegitimate for the next 27 years - except it wasn't. We didn't like the vast majority of its decisions, but we never held the entire bench to be illegitimate. It was clear to us that some of the justices probably should have retired long before they did, so imagine our bemusement to hear a congressional Democrat call for term limits for SCOTUS justices, something many of us have supported for years. True to the infantile nature of the Democats, it's only a good idea now that it isn't a fait accompli that they'll get their way.
"What does that tell you about how hard it is to tell Democrat talking points from parody? (Hint: you can’t, not really.)"
It's why I've given up - way too much effort only to have my not-fully-informed suspicion confirmed.
"We’re way over our quota of arrogant bigots with oversized mouths and quarter-size brains."
Quarter-sized brains is generous - I prefer Crash Davis pointing out Nuke's five-cent head.
Poor AOC doesn't grasp that race-based affirmative action in admissions has as much of a relationship to legacy applicants from wealthy donors & alumni as does a fungo to a martian (sorry to channel so much Bull Durham, but it fits).
If it's one of the 0bamas, it isn't hypocritical - we white-supremacist rural mouth-breathers just aren't intelligent enough to understand.
For some reason, this: "Making the World a Better Place through Musical Theater and Propaganda with Scary Poppins" made me think of this:
https://youtu.be/Dv9rmeJ7IWc
"...that the reply made it into the Chicago Tribune gives me hope."
Don't hope too much - $100 says the features editor that allowed it to appear has been fired.
I love this weekly feature - I'm looking for a way to honour and pay homage to the late (and brilliant) Chuck Sheperd and his column, News of the Weird and its feature, Least Competent Criminal.
Love the YouTube video.
I look forward to anything you write, but that in particular sounds like fun.
Remember when Letterman was actually funny, mercilessly mocking all that was utterly and patently absurd?
Then he became one OF them...
Yet looks like Ted Kazinksi.....
Indeed - but I envy those who can grow their beards thusly - even before I married my wife (who made it clear she liked mine, as long as was neatly trimmed), I had tried for YEARS to grow it long, but the genes have never been there.
As a teen, I wanted to let my hair grow long, like Lou Marini - but at a certain length, it just began to curl up on itself.
"I prefer Crash Davis pointing out Nuke's five-cent head."
Well, I mean, how much could it be worth with the eyelids all jammed up?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diX4myfR6vU
"fungo to a martian"
*snicker* No, please. Stay totally on Bull Durham!
"For some reason, this: "Making the World a Better Place through Musical Theater and "Propaganda with Scary Poppins" made me think of this:"
Dear Loki, WTH was that?
"I love this weekly feature"
I love this whole Substack! Look at all these people, Lil. What you do here is so good!
"Well, Nuke's scared because his eyelids are jammed and his old man's here. We need a live - is it a live rooster? We need a live rooster to take the curse off José's glove and nobody seems to know what to get Millie or Jimmy for their wedding present. Is that about right? We're dealing with a lot of shit."
*mulls* "Candlesticks always make a nice gift... OK let's get two!"
Nice compilation. We’ll see how this all plays out. The right has a tendency to get giddy after these “victories “. The left just files another court brief and keeps marching. At the end of the day we’re not a nation of laws as much as a nation of political will. Right now the left has the preponderance of will. Hopefully that’s changing. I do enjoy this Friday feature.
Danny, Did you read the section about not being invited to the wedding? We howled in laughter here over it.
I had actually seen that online somewhere a couple days ago. Sadly I lived through almost the same scenario with my Mom and sister. My niece had taken umbrage at something my Mom had said regarding her lifestyle choices and blew her off but wanted financial help for something and was pissed when Mom had said no.
"I know I can’t outrun my husband and I’m not leaving my dog."
In a previous life - there have been several - I was a surveyor. Sometimes dense brush blocks the line of sight between the instrument and the rod and the Rod Man (low man on a 3-man survey party) has to "cut line" with a brush hook. https://tinyurl.com/2rd67k7a
Every so often someone shreds right into a big Hornets Nest. The secret to not getting stung to all getout is to run past another guy in the party. Surveyors know that, "If the Rod Man's a-runnin', the Hornets are a-comin'." (I just made that up) So, yeah, your husband will be fine. *whistles, kicks rock, looks skyward*
OTOH, I'm pretty sure The Husky Dawg would unleash a solid rebuke, at least on a Black Bear (we don't have Grizzlies 'round these parts). I'd have to drag him away. *shrugs* I didn't say he was smart. Just loyal.
"It's good to be the king."
"They said that the people are revolting!"
"I know. They stink on ice!"
...
"PULL!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0iAcQVIokg
The other half and I watched High Anxiety for the first time the other day. Mel Brooks is a treasure.
Indeed.
It's a little before your time but he co-wrote "Get Smart," a spoof spy TV show that was really funny.
"Missed it by *holds thumb and forefinger finger an inch apart* that much."