Friends, great news: cancel culture hasn't yet obliterated the proud heritage of Washington and Lee University, my alma mater. The University's board has voted overwhelmingly to keep W&L's name in place, after leftists pushed for a change in the wake of the George Floyd/BLM fiasco. Of course, W&L will grovel at the feet of the 1619 project and anti-white, anti-Southern bigots in countless other ways, but we'll take what small victories we're given, nowadays. Robert E. Lee really was a larger-than-life leader and a true Christian gentleman. I'm glad that his memory will still be honored by at least one U.S. institution of higher education.
In other news, California is shrinking!!! Not geographically, of course, but demographically, and it's not hard to see why: sky-high taxes and cost of living, rising crime, runaway wokeness, etc. What's saved states like California and New York, in the short term, is two things: federal largesse and soaring stock market values. Because there are still a lot of high-earners with big equity portfolios in our coastal states, that means that capital gains tax revenues flow like wine in the midst of a bull market. Imagine what would happen, though, if the Dems lost their trifecta in D.C. and the stock market were to take a tumble. California would find itself in a demographic/fiscal death spiral!
Georgia Republicans are split over the future of the state's GOP Governor Brian Kemp. Many like him, but Trumpers aren't sold on the man who refused to help Trump contest the electoral outcome in 2020. Kemp's role was quieter than Brad Raffensperger's, mind you, but Kemp didn't exactly lay it all on the line for DJT. Will he win the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2022? Maybe, but if he does one has to wonder whether Trumpers will show up to vote for him...
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/georgia-governor-republicans/2021/06/05/id/1024047/
The anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre in China in 1989 has many Chinese asking, "What massacre?" Apparently, Microsoft has an equally short memory.
Here's a wacky idea: Donald Trump could run for the U.S. Senate in 2022 or for the House of Representatives, hoping to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. Wow! That would be wild, huh? A Trump run for the House would indeed energize Trumpers, but one assumes it would also nationalize the mid-terms and boost turnout across the board. It would be an interesting contest, no? Trump v. Pelosi, mano a mano...
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/donaldtrump-speakerofthehouse-2022-2024/2021/06/04/id/1023989/
Finally, the diabolical subtlety of Facebook's efforts to "protect" the 2020 election and fund get-out-the-vote efforts, overwhelmingly in blue areas, may well have decided the outcome. It ought to have been an outrage at the time, but it's only now that we're learning on what a vast scale Facebook endeavored to tip the scales in Sleepy Joe's favor.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/zuckerbergs-45m-boosted-dem-turnout
I hope Trump does run for The House. As I'm sure you recall President John Quincy Adams did the same (after his Presidency), and served with distinction there for the remainder of his life. I think it is an excellent idea.
ReplyDeleteNick,
ReplyDeleteFrankly it really does NOT matter if Washington and Lee University retains its name. If they go "Woke" which most colleges and universities have already done, it won't make any difference if the name is retained. They might as well change it to George Floyd University. Now there is an idea, don't you think? Is there any college named Malcolm X yet? Surely there must be.
Speaking of universities, Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon is probably one of the most progressive, in that the school now has a "Linfield Bleeds Club" dedicated to menstruation, and all of the progressive things we did not really know about this cycle. Carry on Linfield. Instead of "The Red Badge of Courage" we could have "The Red Pad of Courage". Now that is what I call progressive.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Lee was a noble American. He gave 30 years of his life to subordinate service: yes, in command of West Point but also in dusty western posts. He was a thoroughly dutiful officer; in his private life he demonstrated grave doubtabout slavery; ok that seems little to us now but in his exalted heritage and his marriage into aristocracy ,it was much. He could not abide a military invasion of his home by forces he knew of what to expect and of which they proved. I applaud the University's political courage and resolution in supporting him against present totalitarian forces.
ReplyDeleteRay, I certainly have nothing against the concept of a former president running for...lower office. In fact, it would probably be good for our democracy if more presidents did so. We've moved much too far in the direction of an imperial presidency, and it would be nice if a few of our presidents came back down to earth.
ReplyDeleteFor Trump, though, I don't think yeoman service in the House is what he has in mind. It's all about humiliating his enemies and achieving self-vindication. Would running for the House advance either of those goals? Maybe.
You're right: whatever it calls itself, Washington and Lee isn't the same institution I once knew and loved...although even in my days the lefties were in the ascendant.
In this age of transgenderism, I must say I would be honored to be the first man to menstruate...although I have a feeling that the surgery necessary to achieve such a feat wouldn't be to my liking.
Jack: you're right that W&L's fidelity to Lee took courage, of a sort. On the other hand, they must have known that torpedoing the historic identity of the place would be near-fatal to alumni giving. They made the right decision. They also made the smart decision.