PROGRESSIVES – CULTURE – A PATH TOWARD PEACE
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
MAY 30, 2021

PLEASE FORGIVE ME IN ADVANCE, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF MY MORE IMPASSIONED LITTLE SPEECHES, BUT I BELIEVE THE COMMENTS ARE WORTH THE READ. THIS IS ABOUT ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS, MAINLY, BUT ABOUT THE FACTORS BEHIND THE “TROUBLES” THAT EXIST THERE IN GENERAL. THE DOCTRINE OF AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH NEEDS TO BE BURIED AND ABANDONED LIKE OTHER DEAD THINGS. IF THE IRISH CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS CAN STOP KILLING EACH OTHER, THEN THE JEWS AND PALESTINIANS CAN TOO. 

ANY GROUP WHO CONSIDERS OTHER GROUPS, OR INDIVIDUALS, TO BE OF LESSER IMPORTANCE AND VIRTUE THAN THEY ARE IS MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. THIS ARTICLE IS OF THAT SORT, IN MY VIEW. JUST BECAUSE BERNIE SANDERS DOES NOT SUPPORT JEWISH ANNEXATION OF PALESTINIAN LAND BY THE SNEAKING TRICK OF BUILDING JEWISH HOMES THERE TO THE POINT THAT THEY NUDGE THE PALESTINIANS OUT DOES NOT MAKE HIM A “SELF-HATING JEW,” OR LESS THAN A LOYAL AMERICAN IN REGARD TO OUR COMMITTMENT TO ISRAEL. ISRAEL NEEDS TO STICK WITHIN ITS’ BORDERS AND ACCEPT A TWO STATE SOLUTION TO THE SENSELESS AND HIDEOUS ONGOING BORDER WARFARE THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING THERE FOR SO MANY DECADES -- OR CENTURIES.

THE PALESTINIANS, OBVIOUSLY, SHOULD BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD AND THEY CERTAINLY SHOULD ABANDON THE STANCE THAT ISRAEL HAS NO RIGHT TO EXIST. IF ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS WERE TO GO BACK A FEW THOUSAND YEARS THEY WOULD FIND THAT ALL OF THEM WERE PRESENT TOGETHER IN PRETTY MUCH THAT SAME AREA THEN. COOPERATION AND PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL IN A SANE AND CIVILIZED SOCIETY. IT’S A MATTER OF WHAT PEOPLE WANT, I GUESS, BUT WE CAN’T SAVE THE CAKE AND EAT IT, TOO, ESPECIALLY THE WHOLE CAKE. THERE ARE OTHERS WHO ALSO NEED AND DESERVE THEIR SHARE. WE DON’T DESERVE ANYTHING AT ALL BECAUSE WE ARE SO VERY FINE INDIVIDUALLY OR AS A GROUP, BUT BECAUSE WE ARE ALL HUMANS TOGETHER ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. A LITTLE HUMILITY WOULD HELP HERE, I THINK. 

I HAVE HEARD SOME BLACK PEOPLE CLAIM THAT BLACKS CAN’T BE RACISTS. THAT IS ANOTHER LOAD OF HIGH-SMELLING FERTILIZER. ALL SORTS OF ASIAN PEOPLE ARE BEING ATTACKED MINDLESSLY JUST FOR WALKING DOWN THE STREET. IN SEVERAL OF THOSE EVENTS IT WAS A BLACK MAN WHO DID IT. YOU’D THINK BLACK PEOPLE WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE SENSITIVE, AFTER WHAT THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH. THE NATIVE AMERICANS WERE ALMOST DECIMATED, AND THEY COMPLAIN LESS THAN MOST ABOUT THEIR LOT, BUT I NOTICE THEY ARE STEPPING UP AND SEEING TO IT THAT THEY ARE COUNTED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. I’M PROUD OF THEM FOR THAT. 

IF ALL OF OUR MINORITIES DON’T WORK TOGETHER THE USA WILL NEVER CHANGE, AND OF COURSE THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS THE SAME KIND OF OTHERISM GOING ON. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT THE NEO-NAZIS HAVE COME TOO CLOSE TO ACTUALLY TAKING OVER HERE. WE’VE ALWAYS HAD RACISM, BUT IT HASN’T BEEN THIS BAD SINCE THE 1920S. IT IS NOT ONLY HORRIFYINGLY UGLY, IT IS FRIGHTENING. 

THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TO LOOK AT WHAT THE FLAW IN OUR THINKING IS AND BECOME WILLING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THAT MEANS EVERYBODY. IN SHORT, THE ATTITUDE I SEE DISPLAYED IN THIS ARTICLE DESERVES NO RESPECT FROM ME, AND I DON’T GIVE IT ANY. I WAS BORN IN 1945, SO I GREW UP WITH NEWS REELS THAT WERE NOT FIT FOR A CHILD TO SEE, BUT I AM GLAD THAT I WAS ALLOWED TO EXPERIENCE THEM, BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER FELT ACCEPTING OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN WWII – AND THEN KOREA AND THEN VIETNAM. WHEN I WENT TO COLLEGE I LEARNED WHAT SLAVERY, THE SLAUGHTER OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND THE HOLOCAUST WERE REALLY LIKE, AND IT HAS CHANGED ME. 

I THINK THE IDEA EXPRESSED BELOW OF A “1HR BYSTANDER INTERVENTION COURSE” REALLY NEEDS TO BE A PART OF AMERICAN SOCIETY, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER EDUCATIONAL SOURCES AS WELL, LIKE AN HONEST PRESENTATION OF OUR HISTORY. EVIL THINGS ARE SIMPLY ALLOWED TO HAPPEN HERE, AND OFTEN WITH FEW CITIZENS SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THEM. IT IS SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I GREW UP THINKING AMERICA WAS AND STOOD FOR, AND I COULD EASILY GET VERY DISCOURAGED. WHAT I DO INSTEAD IS WRITE THIS BLOG AND PERSISTENTLY SAY MY PIECE, HOPING TO ADD SOMETHING TO THE SHARING OF IDEAS WHICH I BELIEVE IS VITAL. 

SO, I DO KNOW THE PAIN THAT MUST BE BEHIND THIS WRITING, BUT THE RESULTS OF OUR PRESENT ROUTE AS A PEOPLE, PLAYING OUT IN EVER MORE HOSTILE ACTIONS AS WE ALL SQUARE OFF AND TAKE SIDES WILL JUST MAKE EVERYTHING WORSE. I’M JUST AN ELDERLY, POOR, ECONOMICALLY AND POLITICALLY PROGRESSIVE, SCOTCH IRISH PROTESTANT TURNED UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST, AND I WANT TO SEE AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF GENUINE PEACE IN THE USA, IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND EVERYWHERE BEFORE I DIE. I ALSO WANT TO SEE MEDICARE FOR ALL, THE GREEN NEW DEAL AND A NEW ENLIGHTENMENT IN THE USA. EDUCATION FOR ALL. JUSTICE FOR ALL. WE SHOULD LET OUR RELIGIONS GUIDE US TO HIGHER PATHS OF THOUGHT RATHER THAN SIMPLY A STRONGER SENSE OF GROUP UNITY. THAT IS A WAR FOOTING. 

THE LION LYING DOWN WITH THE LAMB IS PROBABLY TOO MUCH TO EXPECT, BUT HUMANS ARE SUPPOSEDLY MORE INTELLIGENT THAN THE “LOWER” ANIMALS ARE. EVEN IF WE CAN’T MAKE THINGS PERFECT, WE CAN MAKE THEM BETTER, AND THAT IS WORTH DOING. “THE PROGRESSIVES” ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH, AND TO BE HONEST, IF ALL LIVES DON’T MATTER, THEN NO LIVES WILL MATTER. ALL OF THAT ME AND MINE SENTIMENT THAT IS POPPING UP ACROSS THE COUNTRY KEEPS US ALL IN DANGER OF A TRUE CIVIL WAR OF SORTS, AND WE CAN’T AFFORD THAT. 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/progressive-democrats-condemn-antisemitism-while-lumping-it-with-other-hate/  
Progressive Democrats pan antisemitism while lumping it with other forms of hate
From Sanders to The Squad, many lawmakers apparently unwilling to decry attacks on Jews without also denouncing Islamophobia or ‘all forms of racism’
By RON KAMPEAS
28 May 2021, 12:16 am 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hold a news conference in Washington, DC, November 14, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via JTA) 

WASHINGTON (JTA) — As reports of attacks on Jews broke into the news late last week, Democratic lawmakers moved quickly to condemn antisemitism — but they didn’t stop there. 

“We’ve recently seen disturbing antisemitic attacks and a troubling rise in Islamophobia,” Bernie Sanders, the Jewish Vermont senator who is a leader of American progressives, tweeted Friday. “If you are committed to a future of equality and peaceful coexistence, please stand united against anyone who promotes hatred of any kind.” 

Numerous other progressives soon followed suit, including multiple members of “The Squad” in the US House of Representatives. 

“The work of dismantling antisemitism, anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and every other form of hate is OUR work,” Representative Cori Bush of Missouri tweeted. 

Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York wrote, “We’ve seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate, in NYC and nationwide — hateful words, hate crimes, and other forms of violence.” And Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts tweeted, “I strongly condemn the rise in anti-Semitism and islamophobia we’re seeing across the country.” 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Jamaal Bowman, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 16th congressional district, smiles as he talks to the media on Nov. 3, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) 

The pattern continued through the weekend and into this week. 

“Antisemitism has no place in our country or world. Neither does Islamophobia,” Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted late Tuesday. “That means standing together and condemning all forms of bigotry and hate.” 

The messages all took aim at attacks reported while Israel and Hamas in Gaza fought a conflict in which more than 250 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis were killed. In New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, violent attacks on Jews were caught on camera. Meanwhile, mosques in Brooklyn and on Long Island were vandalized. 

Halie Soifer, who directs the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said she understood the impetus to condemn all kinds of bigotries, but cautioned that doing so can have the effect of diminishing the threat posed by one type of bigotry such as antisemitism. 

“There should be no tolerance for hatred in any form, and Jewish Democrats strongly condemn intolerance targeting any racial, ethnic, or religious minority,” Soifer told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “At the same time, there are unique root causes of antisemitism that must be addressed, and for that reason, we would caution against conflating or grouping this distinct form of hate with any other.” 

Why Sanders chose to frame his tweet the way he did and whether the Democrats’ messages were coordinated is unclear. His office did not respond to a request for comment. 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Pro-Palestinian protesters face off with a group of Israel supporters and police in Times Square on May 20, 2021 in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images via AFP) 

But his approach is not unusual among progressives, who see bigotries not as distinct but as stemming from the same toxic trends, and Sanders has explained his thinking in the past. 

“Like other forms of bigotry — racism, sexism, homophobia — antisemitism is used by the right to divide people from one another and prevent us from fighting together for a shared future of equality, peace, prosperity and environmental justice,” Sanders wrote in 2019 in Jewish Currents, a left-wing magazine. 

Some Jewish commentators expressed unhappiness about seeing antisemitism lumped with other bigotries, likening it to the “All Lives Matter” pushback among conservatives against the Black Lives Matter movement, a posture progressives revile. 

“@SenSanders just all lives mattered Jews,” Anne Herzberg, a human rights lawyer with NGO Monitor, said on Twitter this week. 

A number of Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive leader who sharply criticized Israel this month, issued statements that exclusively condemned antisemitism. Ocasio-Cortez also offered practical advice for how New Yorkers can support their Jewish neighbors. 

PHOTOGRAPH -- US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks as, from left, Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley listen during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, July 15, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 

“We will never, ever tolerate antisemitism here in NY or anywhere in the world,” she said on Twitter. “The recent surge in attacks is horrifying. We stand with our Jewish communities in condemning this violence. You can help. Take NYC’s free, 1hr bystander intervention course.” 

But some said they wanted more. Representative Dean Phillips, a Jewish Democrat from Minnesota, had some advice for his fellow progressives: Don’t equivocate when it comes to attacks on Jews. 

“I’ll say the quiet part out loud; it’s time for ‘progressives’ to start condemning antisemitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism,” he tweeted Monday. “The silence has been deafening.” 

 

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 PROGRESSIVES – CULTURE – THE LIBERAL ARTS AND ENLIGHTENMENT ON A SOCIAL LEVEL
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER 

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN DISTURBS ME DEEPLY. IT IS CALLED “IS BORIS JOHNSON REALLY GOING TO SACRIFICE ARTS DEGREES FOR THE CONSERVATIVE CAUSE?” I BELIEVE SOMETHING VERY MUCH LIKE THAT IS HAPPENING ALREADY IN THE US. SOME SCHOOLS HAVE DECIDED TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE TEACHING MUSIC AND ART IN ORDER TO SAVE MONEY. WE NEED THOSE THINGS TO AWAKEN OUR INNER BEING TO BEAUTY, LOVE, EMPATHY FOR OTHERS AND BASIC HONESTY. KNOWING NOT TO STEAL AND LIE BECAUSE THERE ARE PENALTIES IS NOT THE SAME AS UNDERSTANDING WHY DOING THOSE THINGS IS DEEPLY WRONG. A PERSON OF CONSCIENCE WILL BEG, BEFORE HE WILL STEAL. THAT, TO ME, IS A POSITION OF ENLIGHTENMENT. 

WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT, WHERE DOES IT COME FROM AND WHY DO WE NEED IT AS A SOCIETY? IS IT NOTHING MORE THAN A BUZZWORD BASED ON “POLITICS,” OR IS IT AN EXPRESSION OF THAT OFTEN REPEATED TERM, OUR “VALUES?” THE PROBLEM I HAVE WITH THE WORD VALUES IS THAT EVERYBODY HAS VALUES, AND EACH PERSON OR GROUP WILL DEFEND HIS OWN. WHITE SUPREMACY IS THE EMBODIMENT OF A SET OF VALUES. KEEPING WHITE SUPREMACISTS FROM TAKING OVER REQUIRES “POLITICS.” CLEARLY, IN A DEMOCRATIC NATION, POLITICS IS ESSENTIAL, AND SO ARE VALUES, BUT THEY HAVE TO BE EXAMINED FREQUENTLY AND UPDATED. IN OTHER WORDS, WE AS CITIZENS NEED TO THINK ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE OF A FINER SORT THAN MONEY, PERSONAL STATUS AND POWER. 

THAT COMES FROM A RELATIVE DEGREE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, WHICH IN TURN, IS FED BY SOME KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION OF THE LIBERAL ARTS FIELDS, FROM PSYCHOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY TO THE FINE ARTS OF LITERATURE, MUSIC AND VISUAL ART. EDUCATION IS REQUIRED TO PROCESS INFORMATION; THE ARTS ARE NECESSARY FOR IMPROVING OUR LEVEL OF EMPATHY AND FAIRNESS, BECAUSE THEY OPERATE ON THE EMOTIONAL AND SYMBOLIC LEVELS OF OUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND WHERE OUR ACTIONS FORM. THEY HELP TO MOLD WHO WE ARE, AND LEAD US TOWARD LOVE RATHER THAN HATRED. I DO BELIEVE THAT THE WORST THING WRONG WITH AMERICAN SOCIETY TODAY IS THE STRESS WE HAVE PUT ON ATTAINING WEALTH AND POWER OVER OTHER GOALS, AND I SEE THAT AS BEING CAUSED BY A DENIAL OF OUR NEED FOR INNER DEVELOPMENT. MONEY SPENT ON A COLLEGE COURSE THAT WILL NOT INCREASE THE STUDENT’S FUTURE INCOME IS TOO OFTEN VIEWED AS A WASTE. 

THE ACTION OF SPRAYPAINTING RACIST SLURS ON A JEWISH SYNAGOGUE COMES FROM THE SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, AND IT IS MORE THAN A GROUP SYNC REACTION OF DESTRUCTIVENESS. IT IS INDIVIDUAL. THERE IS NO GROUP WITHOUT INDIVIDUALS WHO DO HAVE A FREE CHOICE IN WHAT THEY WILL CONDONE OR PARTICIPATE IN. THE NATURE OF THE GROUP REFLECTS THE INDIVIDUALS WITHIN IT. GROUP AGGRESSION IS THE RESULT OF UNEXAMINED IDEAS OF A DARKLY NEGATIVE NATURE. ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN JESUS STOPPED A CROWD OF SELF-RIGHTEOUS MEN FROM STONING A WOMAN OVER A PERCEIVED INFIDELITY, HE OPERATED FROM HIS VALUES. IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES AND HAVE GOOD VALUES. 

EMPATHY AND FAIRNESS ARE INDIVIDUAL ATTAINMENTS THAT COME FROM A PLACE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, FROM WHICH WE EACH CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO OUR NATIONAL GROUP CONSCIENCE, THUS PREVENTING OUR SOCIETY FROM BECOMING DEGRADED OVER TIME. WE CANNOT POSSIBLY BE A “GREAT” SOCIETY WITHOUT THE ARTS AND THE INNER GENTLING THAT COMES FROM THEM. WEALTH AND POWER ARE NOT ENOUGH. YES, BY ALL MEANS TEACH JOB SKILLS, MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE, BUT WE MUST NOT FORGET THE INNER PERSON, WHICH MANY OF US CALL THE SOUL.  

SINCE ENLIGHTENMENT IS ONE OF THOSE WORDS THAT WE USE FREQUENTLY, BUT RARELY DEFINE, I WILL OFFER A DICTIONARY DEFINITION BELOW. I USE IT TO MEAN AN INNER CONDITION OF GREATER AWARENESS OF HUMANKIND AS A FAMILY RARELY THAN MERELY A SPECIES, IN WHICH WE TRULY ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THROUGH WHICH WE WILL SEE MAN’S PLACE IN NATURE AS ONE OF RESPECT AND CAREFUL, SUSTAINABLE USE. IT IS A CONDITION OF BALANCE AND STABILITY, AND IT IS ESSENTIALLY BENIGN. HERE IS WHAT THE ONLINE OXFORD ADVANCED AMERICAN DICTIONARY SAYS ABOUT IT. 

ENLIGHTENMENT 

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/enlightenment#:~:text=enlightenment-,noun,the%20cause%20of%20the%20accident  

Definition of enlightenment noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary 

1. [uncountable] knowledge about and understanding of something; the process of understanding something or making someone understand it

EXAMPLE: The newspapers provided little enlightenment about the cause of the accident.

2. spiritual enlightenment

3. the Enlightenment [singular] the period in the 18th century when many writers and scientists began to argue that science and reason were more important than religion and tradition

 

HERE IS THE NEWS ARTICLE THAT BROUGHT ON ALL OF THIS THOUGHT. IN MY MORE CYNICAL MOMENTS, I COULD VIEW THE CONSERVATIVE ATTACK ON INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT AND THE EDUCATION REQUIRED FOR THAT AS BEING ALL TOO POLITICAL. A RELATIVELY UNEDUCATED POPULATION ARE MUCH EASIER TO MANIPULATE, CONTROL AND ABUSE, SUCH AS BY PAYING SLAVE LEVEL WAGES FOR MANY HOURS OF HARD WORK. ONE OF THE LESS WELL-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT OUR HISTORY OF BLACK SLAVERY IS THAT THERE WERE ACTUALLY LAWS, IN SOME STATES AT ANY RATE, AGAINST TEACHING A BLACK PERSON TO READ AND WRITE. COULD THAT LOGIC STILL BE IN ACTION TODAY? 

AN AUTOCRATIC CLASS OF EXTRAORDINARILY WEALTHY PEOPLE MIGHT WANT US ALL TO BE UNABLE TO THINK AND ACT WELL ENOUGH TO HELP OURSELVES. A NEW CLASS OF SERFS WOULD MAXIMIZE PROFITS, AFTER ALL. I THINK, ACTUALLY, THAT THERE ARE ENOUGH GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS LAND TO PREVENT THAT, AT LEAST AS LONG AS OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT REMAINS IN PLACE. THE ASSAULT ON THE CAPITOL OF JANUARY 6 IS, HOWEVER, A WARNING. 

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/20/boris-johnson-arts-degrees-conservative-funds  
Opinion   Students
Is Boris Johnson really going to sacrifice arts degrees for the Conservative cause?
Cutting subsidies and tuition fees are part of broader and more audacious attack on England’s liberal institutions
Gaby Hinsliff
Thu 20 May 2021 12.00 EDT 

PHOTOGRAPH -- ‘Enter the education secretary Gavin Williamson, scoffing, just as students return to campus, at ‘dead-end courses that leave young people with nothing but debt’.’ Photograph: Hollie Adams/Getty Images 

Imagining the future is never easy. But for teenagers in a pandemic, struggling to get a feel for university life from “virtual open days” now being conducted strictly via Zoom, it’s perhaps uniquely tough. This year’s lower sixth, only too aware of a harsh jobs market out there, are more anxious than ever about getting their decisions right. 

Is university even worth it? Should they follow their hearts and study what they love, or buckle down to something boring but more likely to lead to a job? Enter the education secretary Gavin Williamson, scoffing, just as students return to campus, at “dead-end courses that leave young people with nothing but debt” – increasingly taken to mean almost anything but the government’s approved priorities of science, technology, maths and engineering. 

RELATED ARTICLE -- Job prospects vary widely for graduates in England, data shows 

Reading classics hardly held Boris Johnson back, and nor did his fiancee Carrie Symonds’s degree in art history and theatre studies stop her enjoying a successful career in PR. But their baby son’s future choices may be narrower. Williamson has already suggested halving subsidies for creative subjects such as drama, art and music, whose graduates may enrich lives but usually earn less than those heading into banking. 

Even this week’s promised consultation on cutting tuition fees to £7,500 carries a possible sting in the tail. Lower fees imply lower budgets for all but Stem departments, which will get extra funding to reflect the greater cost of running these courses. Some fear that liberal arts and humanities courses could become increasingly unviable in all but elite universities, unhappily for the child with a passion for history or flair for languages. There seems little room in Williamson’s vision for considering what teenagers actually like and are good at, or what society values more than money, or the fact that if every 18-year-old chose to read maths tomorrow then the earnings premium attached to that subject might not survive a market suddenly flooded with mathematicians. The lingering suspicion, meanwhile, is that all this heralds a reduction in student numbers by the back door. 

GUARDIAN ARTICLE -- Joe Biden’s silence in the face of Israeli violence is a disgrace | Moustafa Bayoumi 

Margaret Thatcher was so loathed in academia that her alma mater Oxford refused her an honorary degree, but even she presided over rising student numbers. Her successor, John Major, opened up higher education by turning the old polytechnics into universities, and Tony Blair went further, promising degrees for up to half of all 18-year-olds, equipping them to compete for high-skilled jobs. Countless kids duly became the first in their families to go to university, watching our parents sob through our graduation ceremonies at the sight of sons and daughters miraculously acquiring opportunities they’d never had. But that quantum leap came at a cost, which the introduction of tuition fees has only ever partly shifted on to students themselves. 

In England, graduates don’t start repaying student loans until they earn over £27,295 a year, and on current trends the Department for Education estimates that fewer than a third will ever earn enough to pay off the lot. Ministers have eyed the resulting black hole nervously for years but a recent change in government accounting rules, forcing ministers to include future loan losses on balance sheets, has concentrated minds. 

Reducing fees and scrapping courses liable to produce lower earners – not just creative subjects, but perhaps also those that are willing to take kids with very poor A-level grades – could obviously help limit those losses. That, in turn, frees up money for further education and more vocational courses, following promises made to “red wall” voters that their children should be able to train for decent jobs without leaving their home towns. If so, we could be looking at a surprisingly radical redistribution of funding from a higher education sector still dominated by middle-class kids to a long-underfunded FE sector serving more working-class ones – and one that crucially consolidates a historic shift in the Conservative base. 

The new dividing line in politics isn’t class, but education and its role in perpetuating liberal values, with leftwing parties across Europe and the US increasingly attracting graduates, while people who only ever finished high school lean to the right. The new squeeze on academia and the arts at university, together with threats to purge museum and gallery boards of supposedly “woke” trustees or make the BBC reflect more “red wall” sensibilities, suggests a broader and more audacious attack on liberal institutions. A prime minister with a mandate to remake the country for Conservative ends may finally have a strategy for doing so. 

What if Johnson actually means it? That question is too rarely asked of a man whose talk of “levelling up’” is still seen as empty rhetoric on the left, and taken barely more seriously by some traditional Tory voters. They just can’t imagine him threatening their own children’s chances of trotting off to read art history, and they may yet be right. Perhaps it’s really all a mirage, encouraging kids in Hartlepool to wait at home for a glittering future that never quite comes, while others still reap the timeless rewards of going to university. 

But a Conservative party seemingly willing to sacrifice the union for Brexit, or throw farmers to the wolves in return for a free trade deal with Australia, isn’t necessarily the one they know. If he does actually mean it, then we may be watching a new Boris Johnson emerge; less the hapless incompetent lurching from one Covid crisis to the next, and more a man whose ruthlessness it was never wise to underestimate. 

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist.

 

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 PROGRESSIVES – CULTURE – THE JANUARY 6 EVENT
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
MAY 19, 2021 

THE FACT THAT THIRTY-FIVE REPUBLICANS BROKE RANKS IN THE HOUSE AND VOTED FOR THIS DEMOCRATIC BILL, WHICH MITCH MCCONNELL AND OTHERS HAVE PLEDGED TO FIGHT, SHOWS THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST SOME REPUBLICANS WHO WILL NOT ALWAYS BOW TO PARTY LEADERSHIP. 

I HOPE THAT ALL OF THE DEMOCRATS IN THE SENATE, INCLUDING SENATORS JOE MANCHIN AND KIRSTEN SINEMA, WILL VOTE FOR THE COMMISSION TO STUDY THE EVENTS OF JANUARY 6, 2021, SO THAT IT DOES PASS AND BECOME LAW. FAILING TO INVESTIGATE THOROUGHLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THE DAY AND THE PERIOD LEADING UP TO IT WOULD BE TRULY SHAMEFUL. 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/house-vote-january-6-commission/index.html
House sends bill creating January 6 commission to the Senate
Annie Grayer
By Annie Grayer, CNN
Updated 8:43 PM ET, Wed May 19, 2021 

VIDEO -- Watch the moment the House passes bill to create January 6 commission, CNN 

(CNN)The House voted Wednesday to approve legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate the violent insurrection on January 6 at the US Capitol, with 35 Republicans breaking with their party to support the bill. 

The final vote was 252-175. The GOP defections showcased a significant break with Republican leadership in the chamber and former President Donald Trump, who urged members to vote against the legislation. 

The bill now moves to the Senate where it faces an uncertain fate as GOP resistance is growing. 

Wednesday's vote, which came as some Republicans have tried to downplay the violence that occurred on January 6 and align themselves with Trump's version of reality, was still opposed by most rank-and-file Republicans, after House GOP leaders mobilized against the agreement that had been struck by fellow Republican Rep. John Katko of New York. 

The margins are an important indicator because just how many House Republicans are willing to buck their party leadership may offer an early signal for how many GOP senators could back the bill. Supporters of the plan will need at least 10 Republicans in the Senate to join all 50 Democrats in the chamber in order to overcome a 60-vote filibuster and pass the bill. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he is opposed to the bill but wouldn't tell reporters if he'd actively whip his fellow Republicans against it. Moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Wednesday changes would have to be made to the bill before she could support it. 

As the path forward on the January 6 commission bill is growing increasingly rocky in the Senate, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told CNN "of course" he would pursue a select committee to investigate what happened on January 6 if the bill to create an independent commission fails in the Senate. 

"We are going to pursue this one way or the other," Hoyer said. "Any attempt to obfuscate, to hide and dissemble will not succeed." 

Ahead of the vote, Minority Whip Steve Scalise's office sent a letter to members informing them that the leadership was now advocating Republicans vote against the legislation, which was a reversal from GOP leadership's previous position to not lobby their members on the measure. 

RELATED ARTICLE -- Republican congressman calls out 'bogus' claims by GOP colleagues downplaying Capitol riot 

The vote marks an end to a four-month-long stalemate over negotiations, as Republicans and Democrats struggled to agree on the focus and scope of a commission. While Democrats had wanted the commission to focus exclusively on the events leading to January 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and others had suggested that the panel also investigate Black Lives Matter protests of last summer, Antifa, and the death of Capitol Police Officer William "Billy" Evans, who was killed outside the Capitol in April. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, to work with Katko, who was one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump, to put together this deal. When Thompson and Katko announced last week that they had reached a deal, McCarthy told reporters he had not read through the proposal or signed off on it, foreshadowing that Republicans were not in lockstep on their position on the legislation. 

Thompson tried to discredit the narrative McCarthy has been peddling, that he wasn't included in negotiations in the lead up to the deal's announcement, on Wednesday ahead of the vote. 

"It's quite unfortunate that the Minority Leader has, at the last moment, raised issues that, basically, we had gone past, and there was no issue, despite all his talk now. But I guess that's politics," Thompson told reporters on Wednesday. 

After the vote, Thompson expressed optimism that the bill could pass the Senate if the chamber's Republicans are allowed to vote freely. 

"Well, I am optimistic that it will pass," Thompson told CNN's Erin Burnett on "OutFront." "People said we would not get more than 20 votes in the House from Republicans. We got 35. I am optimistic on the Senate side. If senators are allowed and not arm twisted to go the other way, we'll get it." 

The bill lawmakers voted on would create a 10-person commission, with each party getting an equal number of appointments and subpoena power, a key provision that McCarthy had said he wanted early on in negotiations. The legislation tasks the panel with examining "the facts and circumstances of the January 6th attack on the Capitol as well as the influencing factors that may have provoked the attack on our democracy." 

McCarthy announces opposition Tuesday 

In a statement Tuesday announcing his opposition to the deal, McCarthy accused Pelosi, a California Democrat, of failing to negotiate in good faith, argued that a commission would get in the way of investigations already underway and said any commission needed to look at episodes of political violence beyond January 6. 

"Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker's shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation," McCarthy said. 

RELATD ARTICLE -- McCarthy's bid to quash January 6 commission underscores GOP split on Trump 

Pelosi responded to McCarthy's opposition to the deal in a statement by saying, "Democrats made repeated efforts to seek a bipartisan compromise. But Leader McCarthy won't take yes for an answer." 

Despite McCarthy's opposition, Katko told reporters on Tuesday that he still believed the bill was a good deal. 

"I appreciate that he's allowing us to vote the way we want to vote, and I appreciate him respecting the fact that we brought the bill to a good place. And not everyone is going to agree on every bill," Katko said. 

When pressed on McCarthy's opposition, Katko pushed back, arguing, "I'm not sure he said it was a bad deal, but he doesn't ultimately support it, and that's fine. It's his prerogative, but he's allowing it to go forward and we are going forward with it. And that speaks volumes of him as a leader." 

Katko said he did not know that he did not have McCarthy's support when it was first announced that a deal had been reached last week but said, "It doesn't matter." 

"People can disagree, but I appreciate the way he's handled this and he's appreciated the way I've handled this," he said. 

Democratic leaders seek bipartisan support 

The Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 29 Democratic and 29 Republican House lawmakers who include Katko, said in a news release late Tuesday that the group endorses the bill. 

But McCarthy's opposition has left many rank-and-file Republicans undecided about where they stand. 

RELATED ARTICLE -- The real reasons for why Kevin McCarthy is afraid of a January 6 commission 

Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who's a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and told CNN he will support the bill, commented on how McCarthy's opposition to the legislation is affecting members. 

"People aren't sure what they're doing on this. I think they're still debating it," Bacon said. 

Several Republicans have echoed McCarthy's concerns about the narrow scope of the commission in explaining their opposition in the lead-up to the vote. 

"The Republican leader wants a broader mandate, which I certainly think is appropriate," said GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. "I don't know what we are going to be looking at without ... looking at the Officer Evans tragedy, so you just never know." 

Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma told CNN, "I'm not pleased with what I've seen so far," adding, "though I got to compliment both the chairman and the ranking member. They worked hard, but I'd like to see something more expansive than we've seen." 

Republicans who voted to impeach Trump show support for commission 

All 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump earlier this year voted in support of the commission on Wednesday. 

Even though House Republican leadership encouraged members to vote against the bill, some GOP lawmakers came out strongly in support of the legislation or at least hinted ahead of the vote they were leaning toward getting on board. Over the weekend, Republican Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Fred Upton of Michigan joined Katko in coming out in strong support of the bipartisan deal. 

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, another of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, outlined why he is supporting the bill. 

"I think it's necessary just given what actually happened on that day and all the buildup. I think it's important that you know when the country and the Capitol is attacked that way that we take a full accounting and figure out how to prevent it going forward," Gonzalez said. 

RELATED ARTICLE -- Capitol riot vote forces Republicans to pick truth or Trump 

Bacon, in explaining why he will support the legislation, told CNN, "We should know why security was ill prepared and broken that day." 

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an ally of Cheney who also voted to impeach Trump and has been increasingly critical of McCarthy, also came out in support of the January 6 commission ahead of the vote. 

"We cannot let fear stop us from doing what is right. This week, I will proudly vote in support of the bipartisan January 6th commission and hope it is successful in shedding light on the truth," the Illinois Republican said in a statement. 

But the Republican split in the House over the January 6 commission legislation has led to further confusion in the Senate. 

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Wednesday. 

CNN's Manu Raju, Lauren Fox, Jeremy Herb, Ted Barrett and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report. 

 

ONE ASPECT STRIKES ME IN PARTICULAR IN THIS ARTICLE. SOME PEOPLE HAVE CRITICIZED THE POLICE OFFICERS FOR “BEING POLITICAL.” AN ATTEMPT TO INTERFERE WITH THE ORDERLY CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP THAT DEFINES OUR NATION WAS MADE ON JANUARY 6, 2021 AND BRUTAL VIOLENCE WAS USED BY THESE “PATRIOTS.” THAT IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION. LOOK AT THE MANY VIDEO CLIPS OF EVENTS AS THEY WERE OCCURRING AND AT THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS OF THE PEOPLE PERPETRATING IT. THIS SHOULD NOT BE A MATTER OF POLITICS AT ALL. IT IS A CRIME. MAYBE WE NEED MORE CLEARLY STATED LAWS SO THAT ARMED INSURRECTION AND MURDER WON’T BE ALLOWED IN THE FUTURE TO PASS AS LEGITIMATE ACTIONS.   

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/554478-raskin-circulates-anonymous-capitol-police-letter-to-spur-support    
Anonymous Capitol Police letter to spur support for Jan. 6 probe causes stir
BY MIKE LILLIS - 05/19/21 09:10 PM EDT 

A last-minute Democratic effort to drum up support for a Jan. 6 investigative commission caused a brief stir on Capitol Hill on Wednesday when Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) released a letter from unnamed Capitol Police officers attacking GOP leaders for their opposition to the bill launching the probe. 

The anonymous letter on official Capitol Police letterhead was sent to congressional offices shortly before the House voted to approve the bipartisan proposal that would create a 9/11-style commission to examine the Capitol riot of Jan. 6. 

It was notably partisan, expressing a "profound disappointment" in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who have emerged this week as vocal opponents of the legislation. 

"It is inconceivable that some of the Members we protect, would downplay the events of January 6th," the letter read. 

It was signed, cryptically, by "Proud Members of the United States Capitol Police." 

Raskin says officers who dropped off the letter with his office claimed it represented about 40-50 of their colleagues, though neither he nor The Hill were able to verify the number. 

Raskin's office sent the missive to congressional chiefs of staff just after 4:30 p.m., roughly two hours before the House would vote on the legislation. 

"Mr. Raskin is hoping your bosses will read this letter, and consider the sentiments behind it, before the vote," read an accompanying email. 

But it wasn't just the message that caused a stir. That the letter appeared to be composed on official Capitol Police letterhead prompted confusion about whether the department had taken the extraordinary step of inserting itself into an explosive legislative debate just hours before House lawmakers were to vote on the bill. 

The resulting uproar forced Capitol Police officials to issue a hasty tweet on the official department account, pushing back stiffly against the notion that the letter might speak for the department at large. 

"A statement is circulating on social media, which expresses an opinion about the proposed legislation to create a commission to investigate January 6. This is NOT an official USCP statement," the tweet read. "The Department has not way of confirming it was even authored by USCP personnel. The U.S. Capitol Police does NOT take positions on legislation." 

U.S. Capitol Police
@CapitolPolice
USCP does NOT take positions on legislation.
5:23 PM · May 19, 2021 

The commotion subsided within a few hours. But the brief episode — fueled by social media, heated emotions and a general distrust between the parties — was emblematic of the toxic atmosphere on Capitol Hill, where the tensions stemming from the Jan. 6 attack still linger four months after the event. 

The effect of Raskin's lobbying tactic is impossible to gauge. But the legislation sailed through the House by a vote of 252 to 175, with 35 Republicans bucking McCarthy, former President Trump and other party leaders to support the measure. 

In an impassioned speech before the vote, Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), the Republican who had negotiated the bipartisan agreement, called on lawmakers of both parties to set aside politics — and honor Capitol Hill's police force — by supporting the bill. 

"Imagine being a family member of these officers who do this," he said. "So let's take a deep breath and think about what's really important here. These people every single day are willing to lay down their lives for us. They deserve better." 

After the vote, Raskin hailed the unnamed officers who had come to his office, he said, to deliver their letter. 

"They were traumatized by the events, and they've been extremely upset about the dissension within Congress over doing such an obvious thing as having a commission to get to the bottom of these events," Raskin said. 

"But they need a voice, and that's the problem," he continued. "They're not supposed to be political. And they normally are not political. But they were involved in essentially medieval combat for four or five hours and had people beating them up and spitting on them and throwing mace in their face and so on. And so they feel very strongly about the situation. 

"Somehow their voice is going to have to be heard," he added. 

Hundreds of lawmakers were affected by the Jan. 6 rampage, but Raskin is more invested than most. Not only was he the lead Democratic prosecutor in Trump's subsequent impeachment trial, but his Maryland district, which borders Washington, is home to "at least dozens" of Capitol Police officers, by his estimation.   

"They are sort of the unheard voice in this whole thing, and they were on the front lines defending us with their lives," he said. "I hope that Congress will find appropriate outlets for them to speak publicly and not be afraid that they'll get in trouble for doing it." 

On just one point was Raskin critical of the letter-writing police officers. 

"They should not have used the letterhead, obviously," he said, laughing. 

"But put it this way," he quickly added. "Their offense is barely a comma in the encyclopedia of crimes on Jan. 6. So I don't think too many of my colleagues should be that upset about the fact that they used their official department letterhead." 

"Apparently they don't have their own," he said. 

RELATED ARTICLES
*Late Capitol Police officer's family urges Congress to agree to Jan....
*Pence's brother will vote against Jan. 6 commission 

TAGS MITCH MCCONNELL KEVIN MCCARTHY DONALD TRUMP JAMIE RASKIN JOHN KATKO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 PROGRESSIVES – A TIME TO LISTEN AND THINK WITHOUT ABANDONING OUR PRINCIPLES
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
MAY 2, 2021 

JAMES CARVILLE SPEAKS HIS MIND 

“FACULTY LOUNGE JARGON” AND “COSMOPOLITAN SMUGNESS” WILL NOT WIN OVER AMERICAN HEARTS AND MINDS, ACCORDING TO JAMES CARVILLE. CARVILLE IS JOKINGLY CRITIQUED FOR HIS WORDS AND CALLED AN “OLD MAN,” BUT IT IS TRUE THAT ANY SORT OF SMUGNESS OR IN-GROUP LANGUAGE WILL BE LESS READILY UNDERSTOOD AND EFFECTIVE THAN CLARITY, OPENNESS AND RESPECT. I BELIEVE HE HAS MADE A VALID COMMENT, BUT OF COURSE HE HAS BEEN CRITICIZED. WATCH HIS COMMENTS FROM A FEW DAYS AGO. 

VIDEO ONLY
 https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/04/30/james-carville-wokeness-democrats-w-kamau-bell-newday-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/

 James Carville: This is a problem for Democrats, 02:19 MIN.
New Day
CNN's W. Kamau Bell responds after political consultant James Carville says "wokeness" could hurt Democrats going forward.
Source: CNN 

 

IN THIS LATER VIDEO, CARVILLE EXPANDS HIS IDEA, AND IN MY VIEW IT STILL MAKES SENSE. HE IS A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN PANNED IN THE PAST FOR BEING BRASH, BLUNT AND MAYBE A NUT JOB, BUT HE IS NOT ALWAYS ANY OF THOSE THINGS. THIS INTERVIEW IS AN EXAMPLE OF HIS SPEAKING HIS MIND CLEARLY BUT HUMANELY. IT IS PROBABLY CLEAR THAT I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED CARVILLE. THAT IS BECAUSE I AM NO FAN OF TOO MUCH SMOOTHNESS. I THINK IT IS  CLOSELY LINKED WITH DISHONESTY AND BACK-HANDED DEALING. 

FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T SEE IT AT THE TIME OR MAY WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN, THE READERS MAY WISH TO SIT DOWN WITH A BOWL OF POPCORN AND WATCH THE GREAT COMIC MOVIE ON THE BILL CLINTON PRESIDENCY, CALLED PRIMARY COLORS, FROM 1998, AND NOTICE HOW CARVILLE WAS PORTRAYED THERE. HE CAME ACROSS TO AMERICANS AT THAT TIME AS BEING A LITTLE SCARY, BUT HE WAS ALWAYS CLEARLY INTELLIGENT. HE WAS ALSO CALLED AT LEAST ONCE IN THE NEWS “BILL CLINTON’S PIT BULL.” 

IN THIS CASE HE IS BEING PRUDENT, BUT NOT RIGHTIST. WHILE WITHDRAWING AS A NATION FROM ANY FORM OF RACISM OR BIAS IS ESSENTIAL, IN-GROUP WORDS LIKE “LATINX” STRIKE ME AS BEING A LITTLE SILLY, AND “WOKE” IS ANOTHER OF THOSE. IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT JAMES CARVILLE AND HIS BASIC GOOD WILL THAT HE IS MARRIED TO A BRASH, BLUNT CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR OF THE TIME NAMED MARY MATALIN, OF CNN’S CROSSFIRE FAME. TOGETHER THEY HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS. FOR BACKGROUND ON MATALIN I SUGGEST WIKIPEDIA: HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/MARY_MATALIN.   

I DO USE WIKIPEDIA FREQUENTLY AND WITHOUT APOLOGY. MANY OF THE INTELLECTUAL ELITE, OR WANNABES ALONG THOSE LINES, THROW SCORN ON WIKIPEDIA, BUT FOR QUICK, IN DEPTH INFORMATION IT IS HARD TO BEAT. FACTS ON ALMOST ANY ARTICULABLE SUBJECT CAN BE FOUND THERE. AS WITH ANY SOURCE OF DATA, IF A STATEMENT SEEMS INACCURATE OR BIASED, RESEARCH THE SUBJECT IN GREATER DEPTH ON THE INTERNET. 

WIKIPEDIA IS ONE OF THE FEW ONLINE INFORMATION SOURCES THAT I DO GIVE MY WIDOW’S MITE TO ON A MONTHLY BASIS, AND A LITTLE MORE WHEN THEY ACTUALLY ASK FOR HELP. THEY ARE A NON-PROFIT BUSINESS, AND DO NOT GET THEIR FUNDING FROM CLICKS. 

THE FOLLOWING CLIP SUMMARIZES WIKIPEDIA’S LEGAL IDENTITY AND THEIR PURPOSE: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ten_things_you_may_not_know_about_Wikipedia#:~:text=Wikipedia%20is%20a%20non%2Dcommercial,bring%20free%20knowledge%20to%20everyone.   

“We are not for sale. If you're waiting for Wikipedia to be bought by your friendly neighborhood Internet giant, don't hold your breath. Wikipedia is a non-commercial website run by the Wikimedia Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in San Francisco. We are supported by donations and grants, and our mission is to bring free knowledge to everyone.” 

“OUR MISSION IS TO BRING FREE KNOWLEDGE TO EVERYONE.” IF THERE IS ONE THING THAT WE NEED MORE OF IN THIS NATION WHICH IS RAPIDLY BECOMING ONE OF OF THE PRIVILEGED AND THE POOR, IT IS FREE KNOWLEDGE, FOR IT IS KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN BE THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT RUNG ON THE LADDER OF PRESENT AND FUTURE SUCCESS IN A FREE SOCIETY. TOO MANY OF US BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY LEGITIMATE OR USEFUL PURPOSE FOR MORE KNOWLEDGE IS TO GAIN MORE HIGHLY PAID WORK. I DISAGREE. 

I BELIEVE A “GOOD” EDUCATION IS ULTIMATELY FOR THE HIGHER PURPOSE OF EXPANDING THE INNER MIND AND SOUL, AND THAT RELIABLE INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE FREE OF CHARGE AND WRITTEN ON A LEVEL THAT MOST HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES CAN READ IT WITH UNDERSTANDING, LIKE THE DAILY NEWSPAPER. A FAMILY WITH CHILDREN NEEDS A PRINT NEWSPAPER, SOME REFERENCE MATERIALS AND A GOOD ILLUSTRATED DICTIONARY, IN MY VIEW. ONE OF SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS AND PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S GOALS IS A "HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE" WHICH INCLUDES FREE BROADBAND. THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WIKIPEDIA GOES FURTHER THAN BOOKS, IN THAT IT INCLUDES INTERACTIVE EXPLAINER LINKS TO OTHER WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES, CONTINUAL UPDATES, CAUTIONS BY WIKIPEDIA'S EDITORS WHEN THEY BELIEVE THAT THE INFORMATION IN AN ARTICLE NEEDS TO BE FURTHER RESEARCHED AND EDITED. IN ADDITION TO WIKIPEDIA, OUR BASIC SEARCH ENGINES LIKE GOOGLE ARE ALWAYS A SOURCE OF DEFINITIONS FOR THOSE WORDS OR PHRASES THAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND. EVEN SCIENTIFIC TOPICS ARE USUALLY WRITTEN IN WIKIPEDIA ON A LEVEL THAT WILL NOT REQUIRE A PHD IN THE SUBJECT TO MAKE SENSE OF IT. 

ANYONE WHO HAS READ MY COMMENTS IN THE PAST KNOWS THAT I BELIEVE STRONGLY IN LIFELONG LEARNING. THAT APHORISM, “A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE,” SAYS IT ALL. AS FOR THE USEFULNESS OF AN EDUCATION WHICH INCLUDES A STRONG EMPHASIS ON THE HUMANITIES, I BELIEVE IT IS TRUE TO SAY THAT MOST REASONABLY WELL-EDUCATED AND HUMANE PEOPLE, FOSTERED BY SUCH BROADENING AND ENLIGHTENING KNOWLEDGE, WILL NOT RAMPAGE THROUGH THE CAPITOL BUILDING OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HUNTING LIKE A PACK OF FERAL DOGS FOR NATIONAL LEADERS TO INJURE OR EVEN KILL, BEATING POLICE OFFICERS TO DEATH AND, ACCORDING TO ONE REPORT, ACTUALLY SMEARING FECES ON THE WALLS. THAT GOES BEYOND THE UNCIVILIZED INTO THE INSANE. BEING A GREAT NATION INVOLVES MORE THAN WEALTH AND POWER. 

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAME TO THIS PLACE AS A SOCIETY, BUT I BELIEVE THAT BETTER EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE AND AN INCOME THAT RISES WELL ABOVE THE POVERTY LEVEL IS THE WAY OUT. AS INDIVIDUALS WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR SOME GOODS AND SERVICES THAT WILL ENABLE US TO MAKE A REASONABLE STAB AT BECOMING BETTER PEOPLE IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, GREEDY, CONCEITED, SIMPLE-MINDED AND SOMETIMES IN OTHER WAYS A NEGATIVE NATION. THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS’ PARTS, TRULY, BUT EVERY CITIZEN GOES INTO CREATING A CIVILIZATION. THE KIND OF PEOPLE WE ARE WILL DETERMINE WHAT WE ARE AS A GROUP. WE SHOULD HAVE NO ROOM IN AMERICA FOR A NEW UPSURGE OF GROUP BASED HATRED, SUCH AS WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THESE LAST FEW YEARS.

FOR ROGER EBERT’S ENTHUSIASTIC REVIEW OF THE FILM PRIMARY COLORS, GO TO: HTTPS://WWW.ROGEREBERT.COM/REVIEWS/PRIMARY-COLORS-1998,  REVIEWS, PRIMARY COLORS, ROGER EBERT MARCH 20, 1998. THE FULL MOVIE CAN BE RENTED ON YOUTUBE, BUT FOR THE TRAILER, SEE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCOrFe1VTs. ALL THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE FICTIONALIZED WITH OTHER NAMES, BUT WHEN THE MOVIE CAME OUT THE SIMILARITIES WERE OBVIOUS, AS WITH ALL GOOD SATIRE. JAMES CARVILLE IS PLAYED BY BILLY BOB THORNTON AND BILL CLINTON BY JOHN TRAVOLTA. THE HILLARY CLINTON CHARACTER IS RENDERED BY EMMA THOMPSON. RUNNING TIME IS 2:23:18.      

APOLOGIZING FOR THAT EXTENDED SERMON, I PRESENT JAMES CARVILLE’S FURTHER COMMENTS ON “WOKENESS.” HE IS ABSOLUTELY ELOQUENT IN HIS ARGUMENT, AND WITHOUT ANY FANCY WORDS. CARVILLE CRITICIZES PROGRESSIVES, BUT SENATOR SANDERS HIMSELF ALMOST ALWAYS SPEAKS IN "THE LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLE." HE HAS, TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, NEVER USED THE TERMS LATINX OR WOKE. 

VIDEO ONLY

 https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2021/05/01/carville-why-wokeness-is-a-problem-for-the-democratic-party.cnn 
James Carville: The woke are tired of being woke, 04:52 MIN.
Smerconish
Legendary Democratic strategist James Carville thinks Democrats' allegiance to all things "woke" will hurt the party at the ballot box and they should speak "the language of the people" instead. Source: CNN 

 

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