Tues Blogcast: KT McFarland; Phil Weiser; Jeff Hurd; Escaping Texas

Just One Thing: Stop the intellectual rot on campus

The brilliant Andrew Sullivan just put a fine point in what’s going on at the “best” American colleges:

If a member of an oppressor class says something edgy, it is a form of violence. If a member of an oppressed class commits actual violence, it’s speech. That’s why many Harvard students instantly supported a fundamentalist terror cult that killed, tortured, systematically raped and kidnapped Jews just for being Jews in their own country. Because they have been taught it’s the only moral position to take.

We used to make fun of participation trophies and students being told that getting the right answer isn’t as important as trying hard. And those things are bad, but not nearly as bad as a generation of elite Americans who have been taught that good is evil, that lies are truth, and that murder is justice.

Here's Jonathan Haidt quoting and elaborating on Sullivan:

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To share with ignorant anti-Israel progressives and politicians

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Today's Guests

KT McFarland served as Deputy National Security Advisor to Donald Trump. At this point, KT is skeptical of aid to Ukraine and wants to "let Israel finish the job."

Zelensky to tell Congress Ukraine aid is ‘a matter of life and death’ (msn.com)

http://ktmcfarland.com

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Phil Weiser is Attorney General of Colorado. We'll discuss this:

Colorado attorney general files suit with other states against NCAA for one-year waiting period transfer rule

Attorney General Phil Weiser sues NCAA over unfair athlete transfer restrictions

And, if we have time, this: Omni Hotels to stop charging hidden fees under agreement reached with Colorado Attorney General’s Office - Colorado Attorney General | Colorado Attorney General (coag.gov)

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Jeff Hurd is challenging incumbent Lauren Boebert for the Republican nomination for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District

https://jeffhurdforcolorado.com/

Jeff's first campaign ad is by and about his wife's escape from communism:

Boebert primary challenger Jeff Hurd's 1st ad features wife's journey 'from communism to Colorado' | Elections | coloradopolitics.com

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Other Stuff

Republicans have more leverage right now than they'll likely have at any other point during what remains of the Biden presidency. This is a righteous thing to demand as part of a package to give Biden what he wants. And I say that as someone who supports aiding both israel and Ukraine. Our southern border is an utter disaster. It is ENTIRELY Joe Biden's fault and it's insane and outrageous that nothing has been done to fix it...and how little coverage of the tsunami of illegals from all around the world we're seeing from anyone other than Fox News.

House Speaker Johnson Insists Ukraine Aid Package Include U.S. Border Measures - WSJ

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We'll see what happens on appeal but this is potentially a massive earthquake in the world of smartphone, especially Android, apps. It's interesting how this is almost entirely different from the result when Epic Games sued Apple. This case, against Google, was decided by a jury whereas the Apple case was decided by a judge.

Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight (msn.com)

Epic Games prevails in antitrust case against Google over Play app store (msn.com)

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Woke president of Harvard is safe in her job: Statement from the Harvard Corporation: Our President - Harvard University

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Of course I feel bad for sick kids, but it's our federal government's fault that we have an open border that is attracting millions of illegals who then consume significant resources in health care and education as well as taxpayer money being spent on "shelters." This has to stop, and I say that as someone who's extremely pro-LEGAL immigration and would like to increase it: Migrant arrivals and flu season are straining Denver Health's resources - Denverite, the Denver site!

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Maybe not the best "guiding compass" of all time? George Santos is demanding $20,000 from Jimmy Kimmel for Cameos - The Spectator World

I actually hope Santos gets a bunch of money out of Kimmel for this:

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Imagining corrupt cops in two different cities doing this to the same guy twice: Loveland Police settle false DUI lawsuit for $400,000 | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)

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Much of America is now learning what "wokeness" is really about: claiming the moral high ground to tell people what they must and must not say or think, except that the goal isn't goodness, truth, beauty, or freedom; it's division, punishment, bigotry, and power..

‘Bud Light moment’: Stefanik forces a reckoning on the left - POLITICO

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I actually feel bad for Joe Biden in this circumstance: Inside Biden-Hunter relationship amid GOP-led impeachment inquiry (axios.com)

BUT, the idea that Hunter is only being prosecuted because Republicans want to get his dad is insane. First, Hunter would never have been able to get a job above minimum wage if he didn't have a famous last name so he was only able to grift millions from foreign corruptocrats due to Joe...which is a double-edged sword because in that sense his troubles do come from Joe being his dad, but so did his opportunities. Second, the only reason Hunter was prosecuted long ago on tax charges and firearms charges is because the true "deep state" was protecting him because of who his dad is.

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And you wonder why so many people think the economy isn't great? Over 80% of the jobs this year are coming from healthcare, gov’t, and tourism. This is a great example of a data point which is an aggregate or average masking huge variances among components of the aggregate or average:

November jobs report shows economy still humming along (axios.com)

Just 3 sectors accounted for almost all the job growth in November (axios.com)

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(This story is the basis for the blog picture today...which I repurposed from being about COVID to being about the gov't of Texas getting between a patient and her doctor.)

The political ads coming from this story write themselves. And they'll all be bad for Republicans.

Kate Cox Leaves Texas to Seek Court-Ordered Abortion Elsewhere | National Review

Kate Cox: Texas woman in court fight leaves state for abortion

Texas Supreme Court rules against woman seeking emergency abortion (axios.com)

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The future of drug development research: AI Is Pushing Science Into an Age of Uncertainty - The Atlantic

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Today's Video

Nerdy physics: car tires with integrated retractable snow "chains"

Hyundai unveils car tires with built-in, push-button snow chains (newatlas.com)

You can't trust ANYTHING you see or hear online anymore. And that's bad for the country.

This is a "deep fake" of the voice of an NBC reporter wildly insulting the participants in the last Republican debate. NBC wants it taken down but so far it's still online.

That said, this is pretty darned funny.

WARNING: A LOT of bad language in here...not for kids or sensitive adults