Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23
George Rebane
Last year I wrote - Another tumultuous year is ending with celebrations for peace and joy. The Rebanes count themselves among the diminishing number of American Christians who still wish their family and friends, and RR readers of all persuasions a season of remembrance and reflection on what has been bestowed on this third planet, circling a modest star, making its way with billions of similar stars in a galaxy that populates this universe with uncounted trillions of other such galaxies. Christmas still reminds many of us that we are among the blessed in our seeming insignificance.
2020 has given new meaning to ‘tumultuous year’ which now ends with a foreboding not seen during my lifetime. So, more sincerely than ever, Jo Ann and I wish everyone a season of remembrance and reflection of what we once were and how we may regain the blessed parts of our country's past.
Scattershots – 27dec20 (updated 30dec20)
Suspension of judgment is always the part of wisdom in a listener, and the remission of faith to authority the part of wisdom in a speaker. Gracian #154
George Rebane
Identity politics is a totalitarian enterprise, as called out by Paul Gigot, op-ed editor-in-chief of the WSJ. About Gigot's defense of Joseph Epstein’s commentary on Jill Biden’s doctorate – ‘The Biden Team Strikes Back’ – Roger Kimball of The New Criterion writes,
The governing strategy of identity politics is not to encourage free expression but to shutter it. In essence, it is a totalitarian enterprise, deploying the shibboleths of race, gender, and radical egalitarianism to enforce a stultifying conformity. It is heartening to see Gigot affirming that, at one of our nation’s most important newspapers, “these pages aren’t going to stop publishing provocative essays merely because they offend the new administration or the political censors in the media and academe.” If, as we suspect, the preview we just witnessed was a sort of sighting shot, it suggests that Gigot is going to have his hands full dealing with ever more intolerant efforts to “turn the page” and enforce ghastly new modes of “healing” and “unity.” (and more here)
[29dec20 update] Speaking of ‘doctors in the house’ (here), we are now not surprised to hear that the pandemic is causing most leading universities to ‘pause’ their 2021 admissions to PhD programs. “More than 140 humanities and social sciences programs at top schools have suspended admitting students for fall 2021.” And also we’re not surprised to hear that STEM PhD programs are not affected by these cutbacks. During disasters, society in the large acts pretty much as humans do in the small when it comes to deciding who gets to stay in the lifeboat – utility rules. (more here)
Trust government ‘science’ when spouted by agenda-driven politicians? The short answer is ‘No’, the long answer is NFW! One of our astute readers draws our attention to “Joe Biden's decision to hold over Dr. Anthony Fauci in his administration as his chief medical advisor as a symbol of his commitment to ‘trust science’ is coming under new scrutiny following Fauci's recent admission that he altered public scientific estimates based on opinion polls.” (more here) The most vulnerable double dummies are those who believe science speaks with one infallible voice. We witness their blather nightly on the lamestream. And the Democrats (including their local lackies) still claim that theirs is the ‘party of science’. Please note the above entry on PhDs when recalling their braggadocio about all the Left’s college graduates.
Biden’s education programs promise to be on steroids in their announced path to destroy the last vestiges of the nation’s public education. From here on all curricula in union-dominated government schools will be focused through the lens of critical race theory. It is now in the open that progressives have no desire to produce students with market-valued skill sets and the ability to think critically, The overt K-12 objective from here on is to produce a generation of dumb and woke kids, indoctrinated to believe that meritocracy, personal responsibility, diligence, achievement, industry, intelligence, … are all characteristic traits of white supremacists and racists, and therefore to be eschewed in the coming socially just world of newly-minted, anti-capitalist socialism.
Anyone notice how silent the EU has been about China’s global policy of stealing commercially and militarily critical IP from any and all? The most plausible answer to that silence has been that EU countries neither develop nor protect much homegrown IP, but license it from IP producers like the US. Countries like Germany and the Netherlands incorporate licensed IP into their higher-quality manufactured products, and have been more than willing to meet aggressive thieves like China in the marketplace. In the past they haven’t cared much about China and others stealing IP as long as they can market their stuff to the pilferers. Now things are changing as China’s ability to manufacture quality products grows along with its domestic consumption for same. The EU is coming around to America’s assessment of China (thank you President Trump), and they are becoming wary of China’s global commercial and political ambitions being carried out on a very tilted playing field. (more here)
[30dec20 update] ‘California may be losing its business mojo’ was the 29dec20 Union’s lead editorial. In there Dan Walters of CalMatters presents a thoughtful summary of what has happened to our formerly golden state. The exodus is now at such a fever pitch that only the most dedicated progressives in epiphany-free Sacramento are still blind to it (of course all their local lackeys have no hope of comprehending this ongoing disaster). Nevertheless, they outnumber all the more saner ones. In recent weeks tech giants like Tesla, HP, and Oracle have headed for greener pastures (Texas of course). Why stay in a state encrusting with regulation- and tax-numbing socialism when your post-Covid workers can work from anywhere? There’s less benefit in Silicon Valley than meets the eye.
71% of America’s military age youth cannot qualify to serve. That’s the latest from the DoD. The reasons for this horrible statistic is that since the military became an all-volunteer enterprise, their standards were raised. The major disqualifiers for our young people are intellect, drugs, and bad health. Modern warfare uses a lot of high-tech combat systems that require more than a two-digit IQ to operate, with druggies and overweight people not measuring up.
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