Happy Sunday, friends! I wish I was in a position to bring you only good news, but that wouldn't be very newsy, would it?
The Boy Scouts are joining the chorus of institutional voices declaring their support for BLM and for "diversity and inclusion". Boy, do we hear those magic words a lot these days! What do they mean exactly? Ah, but that's the point: their meanings shift depending on the group in question. When black Americans are at issue, "diversity" means "celebrating" and "affirming" black culture (assuming there even is a "black culture" separate from American culture), but, when white Americans are at issue, all the positivity drains out of the "diversity and inclusion" narrative and we start wringing our hands and looking for ways in which white people can become less white -- and less, well, present in modern society. "Too many white people" is a refrain you'll hear from countless progressives. So, in short, the fact that the Boy Scouts are trumpeting the nonsense of critical race theory, BLM, and the 1619 project is darn depressing. Just what, you might ask, does a white boy scout have to do to earn his "diversity and inclusion" badge? You better believe it won't be affirmational. It'll be apologetic.
Speaking of which, one of the most immediate fears of conservatives ought to be that resistance to the Left's neo-Marxist "diversity" agenda will be interpreted as "extremism" or "hate speech" and viewed by establishment actors as grounds for dismissal from one's job, removal from social media, or worse. So far the leftists haven't pressed their advantage and chased conservatives out of every institution in America, at least not in a wholesale fashion, but it's imperative that we call them on these tactics when they use them. A trickle of firings and deplatformings could so easily become a flood. Stay watchful!
President Trump is saying that he has no wish to turn the GOP into a Trumpian cult of personality. Let's hope that's so. He sure sounds like he intends to run again in 2024, however, which will inevitably cause a lot of soul-searching among Republicans, and it will also cause more than a few to leave the party for good. You can bet that the media and social media will do everything in their power to amplify these centrifugal forces on the right. Our mission, therefore, is: to resist taking the bait and to stay focused on blocking the Dems' big government and woke agenda.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gop-maga-americafirst-republican/2021/05/16/id/1021560/
It's one thing for colleges and universities to consider applications from students who haven't taken the SAT or ACT. It's another to prohibit colleges and universities from even looking at those test results. California (surprise surprise) is taking the view that the SAT and ACT are demonstrably "racist" and thus using them in any way constitutes discrimination. That's because, try as they might, the people who construct the SAT and ACT haven't been able to design a test on which black and Hispanic students do as well as whites and Asians. Ergo...racism! Of course, by that standard, virtually any test is "racist" and abhorrent, and we might as well get rid of the concept of "merit" altogether. Surely law schools and medical schools should stop considering results on the LSAT and MCAT, right? Surely all civil service exams should be scrapped. Surely testing those who wish to drive a motor vehicle is just another sly way of excluding black people from driving opportunities and forcing them to ride the bus. Surely even blood pressure tests are suspect, since they routinely show black people with higher rates of hypertension. The only acceptable "anti-racist" response? Stop all standardized testing, and all testing in general, and hand out jobs, promotions, and, yes, driver's licenses and blood pressure pills, based on approved metrics of "equity", ensuring that each race and ethnic group receives a proportional share. Ah, but even if we can agree that 13% of brain surgeons shall be black, to which particular blacks shall we hand the scalpels and the cranial saws? Why, let's have a lottery! What could be fairer, right? Every profession will be a perfectly blended ethnic mosaic...and once in a while brain surgery might even do more good than harm! It's a brave new world, folks. Brace yourselves.
Finally, our old pals Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney just can't help themselves: they're still chattering away about the January 6th "insurrection". What's funny, though, is that Liz Cheney seems genuinely to believe that she can take on President Trump single-handed and either prevent him from becoming the GOP nominee or win the nomination herself. Clearly she hasn't reviewed the recent polls indicating that she's despised by Republicans, in her home state of Wyoming and nationally. Republicans don't want to grovel at the feet of the establishment forever because a handful of Trump supporters broke the law on January 6th! We want to unite in opposition to the destruction of our country. What's so hard to understand about that???
https://twitter.com/allymutnick/status/1390005987399151621
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/05/14/liz-cheney-says-she-regrets-voting-for-trump-in-2020/
Dr. Nick,
ReplyDeleteYou might already know that for a very long time, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS/the 'Mormons") was a huge supporter of The Boy Scouts of America. With the changes in the BSA made in 2020, the Church decided they no longer wished to be associated with the new BSA, so they organized the Vanguard International Scouting Organization. Glad to see that happen. At least that particular religious organization seems to retain some sort of clout the progressive pukes have not been able to destroy, yet.
Dr. Waddy
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is do YOU qualify as a leader in the new BSA? You need to apply, so you can infiltrate them. Ha! Just joking.
I have a friend who was active in scouts back in the 1990s (The Clintonista years), and he said that back then there was a lot of pressure beginning to push the ticket on Gays in Scouting.
Dr.Waddy fromJack: The military is under command of the Chief Executive of the Executive branch and some of his immediate civilian subordinates, all of whom outrank all military officers. To rise to very high rank in the military is an arduous process, fraught with sometimes humiliating and frustrating political hazards even within their Service. They face the possibility of career destroying sanctions should they express dissent. The military culture emphasizes obediance to orders. It is an ONEROUS reality that the again in executive command military hating American left exercises, with vindictive delight, its present ability to present Marxist hooey to the military as COMMAND! It fairly predicts their intent to impose with similarly irresistable authority, the same, as soon as they can.
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: ". . . as soon as they can, to us ALL!"
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: I lament the successful forcible leftist corruption of the Scouts. Its object is clear: the Scouts stood for traditional values and were vital in inculcating them in youth. Naturally that made them a prime target of Marxist dissembling. We have lost them. Our response can only be to create another youth group supporting positive, common sense standards, yet in the face of withering Marxist assault unimaginable in the'50s! That contrast should make abundantly clear what is at hazard. But oh, the Scouts, the Scouts!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: PERHAPS though, it might be possible for the parents, always the backbone of scouting, to mount a resistance within the organization, to Marxist presumptuousness. Most parents of Scouts probably are of less than extreme left views. Why not say to their Scouts : " Eagle is a great accomplishment but, temporarily, we want to reject it because the Scouting organization for now forces Eagles to go along with ideas which, as they are forced, are wrong. We will honor your accomplishment of the rank just below Eagle as we would have your ascension to Eagle. "
ReplyDeleteJack
DeleteLet The Left have the new BSA if they want it. Enough "Woke People" will probably join it, and it will keep going to their satisfaction. Lots and lots of organizations have been and will be taken over by The Left. They took the education system, the media, the film industry and sports over 50 years ago, so why not BSA? Maybe the Rapture will occur before the sons of bitches completely take over what is left in our silly ass, dingbat, pissant society. F* It!
If the truth be told, the reason "the way things are" is simply BECAUSE (always a great qualifying word) the majority of the American population actually believe in Wokeness and related forms of bullshit, or are too damn dumb to know or care what is going on. (Go to your local mall and take a look at examples of the current gene pool). The impression is given that a great number of people out there are patriot and conservative Americans. I don't think so. I would say a minority of Americans are in that category. If the majority of Americans really were conservative and so on, we would not be in this bullshit, period.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the Mormons and the Boy Scouts, Ray. Is this Vanguard movement open to non-Mormons?
ReplyDeleteRay, as a conservative heterosexual white male, I doubt I would be allowed anywhere near a troop of boy scouts...unless they were to be offered merit badges for beating me senseless, I suppose.
Jack, I agree with the dictum that the military should be above politics. Of course, that would mean that, if criticizing critical race theory is out of bounds, then supporting BLM would be too. And we can safely assume that such is NOT the case.
Jack, I wouldn't subject any son of mine to the wokery of the modern Boy Scouts. Perhaps we need "Trump Scouts"? He ought to have thought of that a long time ago!
Ray, I tend to agree that the Left is subsuming every institution, one by one, so why not the Boy Scouts too? In relatively few institutions, however, have they managed to expel ALL conservatives, and Jack is right that we need to maintain a toehold where we can...
I tend to agree that a majority of Americans aren't conservative. In fact, I'd say that's fairly obvious. Are a majority "woke"? That I'm a lot less sure of, but "woke" could mean almost anything. Do most Americans buy, to a point, the notion of America as a racist country? Perhaps. Do most Americans dislike and disapprove of Trump? It seems so. Do most Americans want more government rather than less? When the chips are down, I'd say yes. In strictly partisan or ideological terms, though, I'd also say that neither party or movement (progressivism vs. conservatism) enjoys majority support. There's a small but meaningful group of "moderates" and independents who vacillate back and forth. They ARE with us on a lot of issues, but the media labors mightily to becloud those issues and to redirect public attention to what they consider more favorable ground (like racism). I guess what that means is that many Americans may be more conservative than they realize, or are permitted to realize.