The Cornell 7 "Gang Rape" Case Falls Apart; MSM Continues to Lie About It

As I guessed:

The MSM is still spinning and dissembling to try to avoid the politically incorrect facts of the case.

James B. Meigs: Politicians Play Orwell's Word Games

   Newspeak aims to control though by controlling language. Contra Syme in 1984, language cannot completely control thought--but as the left has demonstrated since the late '80s, it can be surprisingly influential. More recently: who would have predicted that the mere word 'transwoman' would have been as effective as it has been in encouraging acceptance of the patently contradictory idea male woman?
   The left's late-'80s term for its main project was 'political correctness,' (PC) a term taken from '50s-era communists. Apparently less-radical communists used it to ridicule their more-radical colleagues: political correctness (ideological orthodoxy) stood opposed to--and trumped--regular old correctness--truth, factuality, rationality, validity. We call basically the same thing 'woke'--but PC is better, emphasizing what is truly important about the movement.
   And, as Hannah Arendt has written: the abandonment of truth and reason central to PC is the true core of totalitarianism.
   Anytime the left says "social justice"--now often just shortened to "justice"-- they actually mean leftist ideology--and the rest of us should always point this out. "Economic justice" would really be, e.g.: prosecuting shoplifting, vandalism of public property, fare evasion, fraud, theft, &c. It would also comprise "allowing" people to keep more of the money they earn. In fact, leftists mean: taking money from people who earned it and giving it to those who didn't...and: to the cronies and catspaws of the left.

   Meigs is right--conservatives do it to. But on this score, their efforts are so puny and ineffective that it's almost misleading to even mention them. We should never suggest that they are at all comparable to those of the left. The left is an extremely linguistic and "intellectual" (in the bad sense) movement. That is: it's built on pseudoacademic bullshit and the manipulation of language and interpretation. The right has its own problems...but they aren't these. It's only somewhat of an exaggeration to say that the right's most famed attempt at Newspeak was 'freedom fries,' a jokey renaming of French fried in the Congressional cafeteria meant to poke France for refusing to go along with our ill-advised Iraq adventure. Hardly stacks up against 'transwoman' et al...

Galston: Rubio's Pagan Nationalism

Another great address by Rubio, IMO.

But Galston's cautionary point is an important one, I think.

Rubio could respond: of course I was emphasizing the Athens part of Athens and Jerusalem...

Helen Andrews: The Great Feminization Comes to Cornell

link

Gad Saad: Woketarian Associate Prof Elected Head of the APA (Psychology, not Philosophy)

(Incidentally, I have no idea who the president of the philosophy APA is...)

Her papers are all bullshit:

It used to be that you had to at least read the abstracts of psych papers to tell they were bullshit.

So in that respect, the Woketarians have streamlined things: now you can tell from the titles alone...

Santa Trump Wants to Buy Your Vote

Jesus Christ.

Make it stop.

Wilfred Reilly: When the Demand for Racism Exceeds the Supply

link

There are a few crucial principles/ideas that define the radical left, including the episodes on the American left known as PC and "woke." Two of them are:

[i] Leftist ideology trumps facts

and

[ii] America is inherently/essentially/overwhelmingly racist.

   Only [i] makes it possible for them to continue to accept and promote [ii].

   I know many smart, reasonable, reasonably well-informed people on the left. But most of them simply cannot seriously criticize the left. Whatever their virtues, they cannot do more than issue the occasional half-hearted criticism of the left...and they absolutely cannot agree with the right in any but the most pro forma ways. Agreeing with Trump, of course, right out...

   I think any reasonable left-leaning person who honestly reflected on this incident would have a kind of epiphany. The passionate desire to find racism where there is none...and where there obviously is none...is telling to say the least...

   I tried to take these incidents seriously--just in case--but it was obvious from the get-go that they were almost certainly not lynchings. But the establishment fomented hysteria...until it became undeniable that it was all the utterest bullshit... 

   Here's the pattern, of course: they fan the flames of hysteria on the thinnest pretext...and fan and fan and fan...but it becomes more and more obvious that it's bullshit...then, eventually, they see it's not going to work (note: it's not that they stop because they recognize their claims are false...it's that they recognize their efforts aren't working...though they're not working largely because they turn out to be false)...and the project slowly fades away...

...of course they never admit error...and some of the hysteria sticks.

So, from their perspective, it was worth it.

Not optimal, of course--because they have been unsuccessful in creating another George Floyd incident and sparking "The Revolution"...

But it's a step in the right (i.e. wrong) direction...

Over and over and over the left tries the same basic ploy--interspersed with other old favorites (see e.g. the Cornell "gang rape") and the occasional new idea (e.g. let us sexually mutilate your child or he'll kill himself).

Madness.

Another Absolutely Stellar Address by Rubio

I am, yet again, amazed.

TDS Watch: Trump / Iran / Nuking CA

As linguistic as the left is, they do not even try to interpret Trump's words correctly.

The general insanity of the left comes from its inextricable association with recent Continental philosophy. Relevant here is "the death of the author"--you can interpret any "text" (which means: anything at all) any way you want. Because authors' intentions are irrelevant, and every interpretation is as good/bad as every other...

Daft, retarded relativism.

TDS Watch: Trump Did Not Invite Iran to Nuke California

The real story here is that, even after a decade of the left and the MSM generally lying about Trump and the things he says...I briefly wondered whether this one might be true...

   Though, it's to some extent on Trump...because...who knows what they guy might say? After threatening to invade Greenland...well, who knows, I guess?

   And, again: if Trump's so terrible, why does the left have to lie--again and again and again--about the things he says? He really does say plenty of crazy shit, after all...

Your Blue Future: Seattle "Zombie" Bites Chunk Out of Woman's Forehead

link

In Memoriam: Tom Hill

link (scroll down)

I tried to post something when Tom died, but I just gave up.

He really was an exceptional person.

I could go on and on about him. I only took one course from him, and, since I migrated out of ethics after my first year, he wasn't on either of my committees. But we were actually reasonably close--in the way that many students were tight with many profs at Carolina at the time. The atmosphere, back in the day (ca. mid-'80s - mid-'90s) was just great. I had many good discussions with Tom, and mostly remember just hanging out and talking about philosophy in the coffee room. Tom and Robin were also tight with other professors who I was tight with--and who were on my committees. They all lived out around Chatham county, where Mike Resnik got me into road biking the summer before I shoved off for a job.

   Well, anyway.

   Someday, maybe, I'll try to write something.

   Tom really was just a helluva guy.

Joe Nocera: Last Night, College Athletes Lost [when the "Protecting College Sports" act was passed]

I don't know what to think about all this.

I can say: I think college athletes probably deserve to make what they're worth.

And also: I don't like college sports anymore.

I guess the illusion of amateurism was necessary for my enjoyment of them.

I've never cared much about football, actually, but I've absolutely loved college hoops (I went to Carolina for grad school, after all).

I also think that football is too expensive--and I kinda think it's too violent. Hell, I like the UFC...and football's often a bit much for me. So I'm a wimp in that respect. A lot of those hits just seem over the top to me...

But anyway.

Universities aren't what they're supposed to be anymore. They're more like some kind of crazy businesses that I barely understand anymore--despite having spent my life in them.

OTOH, you can argue: by turning them into what they now are, more people are more educated than they would otherwise be...

Though if we go down that road, we sort of need to talk about grade inflation, the general crapification of universities, ideological capture by the left...etc.

Hell, I don't know what to think.