American universities are producing graduates with no hope and no skills. Why not just skip college?

In this proud land, we grew up strong.
We were wanted all along.
I was taught to fight, taught to win.
I never thought I could fail.
No fight left, or so it seems.
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted.
I've changed my face, I've changed my name.
But no one wants you when you lose.

   Don't Give  Up

Sung by Willie Nelson and Sinead O'Connor

American universities went all in on affirmative action, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Hiring committees seeking to be more "inclusive" often hired new faculty members based on race, ethnicity, and sexual identity—not merit. Colleges hired thousands of highly paid DEI officers—1,100 at the University of Michigan alone.

According to one report, “the current undergraduate population at public universities will spend at least 40 million hours” taking required classes focused on DEI. Colleges created academic programs in gender studies, ethnic studies, Queer Studies, LGBTQ+ studies, Marxist and Socialist Studies, Equity Studies, and Social Justice.

Professors in traditional academic disciplines got on the bandwagon and adopted the philosophy of critical race theory as the cutting-edge pedagogy in the humanities, social studies, and liberal arts. Students exposed to this drivel were actually being indoctrinated in victimology--the belief that all human endeavors are conflicts between oppressors and the oppressed.

At the same time higher education was wallowing in DEI, grade inflation seeped into the academic assessment. Professors became too lazy to grade students rigorously; even at Harvard, most undergraduates were honor students.

Higher education's obsession with race, sexual orientation, and victimhood contributed to the spiraling cost of going to college. Few students can afford tuition pegged at $60,000 a year, but the federal government cheerfully loaned them the money.

The result? Millions of young people hit the job market with no reasoning or problem-solving skills, an inability to express themselves verbally or in writing, and no training in a substantive field of work. And they were burdened with massive student debt.

What's worse is that many students exposed to the universities's radical curricula became openly racist. It became acceptable and even chic to be anti-Semitic and to call for the destruction of Israel.

Minorities identified a "whiteness problem," and whites harbored the unspoken suspicion that students of color were the unworthy beneficiaries of DEI.

So, what do these clueless college graduates do? Some go to graduate school and acquire more debt without improving their marketability. Others take do-nothing government jobs or work the DEI hustle.

No wonder the United States is full of seething and resentful college graduates who can't figure out what to do with their lives or how to become productive citizens.

What's the solution? I don't know, but I am confident that no one should take out student loans to major in liberal arts, the humanities, or social sciences. If that is all you can think of to study, skip college altogether, get some vocational training, and work in the trades.

You'll meet a better class of people if you enter the world of actual work, and you'll probably meet fewer racists.

Image credit: Reuters

Is Senator Bernie Sanders auditioning for the lead role in the Bad Grandpa sequel?

Winter in southwest Mississippi is a lovely time. Even in February, the woods are dotted with green trees: magnolias, cedar, and pine.  Now that duck season is over, and the shotgun blasts have died away, Lake Mary, where I live, is especially placid. 

Unfortunately, I was anxious about President Trump's cabinet nominations, and I watched TV instead of contemplating the tranquil beauty of rural Mississippi. Would Trump's cabinet picks get through the Senate confirmation process and be confirmed, or would they be shot down like ducks in flight, destroyed by mean-spirited  Democratic senators delivering nasty questions like shotgun blasts?

Identifying the most boorish senator in last week's senate hearings would be difficult. Still, my vote goes to Bernie Sanders, Vermont's geriatric Jeremiah, who shouted at Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Sanders seemed to be interviewing for the lead role in the sequel to Bad Grandpa. When Kennedy accused Sanders of taking money from the pharmaceutical industry, Bernie went nuts. Why? Because Sanders indeed took money from Big Pharma--$1.4 million in 2019-2020. 

Sanders was not the only Democratic senator who behaved clownishly. It seemed that all the Democratic senators were acting out comedic roles. 

As I recently wrote, Senator Warren reminded me of Emily Litella, the scatterbrained citizen protester played by Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live. Did Warren realize how ridiculous she looked as she screeched and shook her fists at the cabinet nominees?

Warren stridently accused Kennedy of profiting from vaccine lawsuits, yet like other Democratic senators, she took money from the pharmaceutical industry ($822,000 in 2019-2020).

Perhaps the least intelligent senator on Capitol Hill, Senator Mazie Hirono, reminded me of Roseanne Rosannadanna, one of Gilda Radner's SNL characters, who often began her commentaries by saying, "It's always something." During Kelly Loeffler's confirmation hearing, Hirono gratuitously asked Loeffler if she had ever been accused of making unwanted sexual advances. Such trashy behavior!

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who looks uncannily like Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, behaved like a bully at Kash Patel's confirmation hearing. Blumenthal concluded a partisan sermon by demanding Kash Patel answer a "yes or no" question. Patel answered the question honestly and forthrightly, but Blumenthal maliciously chose to misinterpret Patel's response.

In my mind, last week's senate confirmation hearings came across as one long episode of Saturday Night Live; the Blue State Democrats appeared to be reciting their lines for laughs.

As I watched these disgraceful proceedings, I asked myself this question. If the Democrats behave so churlishly when out of power, how would they behave if Kamala Harris had been elected president?

Is Bernie Sanders auditioning for the title role of Bad Grandpa?

 

Is Senator Elizabeth Warren auditioning to replace Gilda Radner's Emily Litella on SNL?

To paraphrase Will Rogers, when Elizabeth Warren left Oklahoma for Massachusetts, she raised the IQ of both states.

Senator Warren's unhinged rants at Robert F. Kennedy's Senate confirmation hearing should embarrass all Americans, especially Bay State voters who elected Warren to the U.S. Senate. 

In tones that were almost hysterical, Warren insinuated that Mr. Kennedy would use his cabinet appointment to enrich himself and that his public service over the years was motivated by veniality.  To his credit, Kennedy never lost his aplomb and accused Warren of trying to make him out as a shill.

Warren's shrill and gratuitously combative interrogatories at both Kennedy's confirmation hearing and Pete Hegseth's hearing were appalling and unbecoming of a U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate. 

Indeed, Warren's demeanor reminded me of Gilda Radner's Saturday Night Live character, Emily Litella, the addled and perpetually outraged busybody who raved on about topics she knew nothing about. 

"What's all this talk about youth in Asia?" Emily would ask during one of NSL's weekly paradodies of a national news program. "What's all this I hear about violins on television?"

These hilarious skits would end with the deadpan news anchor (usually played by Chevy Chase) explaining that the issue she was complaining about was violence on television, not violins; and euthanasia, not youth in Asia.

Radner's response, after being corrected, was always a congenial "Never mind."

Everyone agrees that healthcare in America is too expensive and that Americans on the whole are not as healthy as the citizens of other western countries. Moreover, actuarial statistics show that some U.S. demograhic groups are experiencing shorter life expectancies. 

RFK Jr., President Trump's pick to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has innovative ideas about how to solve these problems. Why were  Senate Democrats, with Senator Warren in the lead, so rude and dismissive? 

I would like to think Warren will eventually come to her senses about Mr. Kennedy and apologize for bullying him.  Unfortnately, unlike Emily Litella, I don't think Senator Warren will ever say "Never mind." 

Instead she will continue shaking her fists and pointing her fingers at Americans who strive to be good public servants until the people of Massachusetts have the good sense to vote her out of office.

Fifteen minutes of fame: The leftist media goes gaga over Bishop Marriann Budde

 In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.

 

Andy Warhol

Donald Trump had hardly been sworn into office as the nation's 47th President when Bishop Mariann Budde, dressed in clerical splendor, scolded him. She entreated him to be merciful to the LGBT community, many of whom, Budde attested, feared for their lives.

It was a golden opportunity for Budde, a princess of a dying Protestant denomination. Trump showed up with his wife for the traditional post-inauguration prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, and thus, the Trumps were a captive audience for Budde's self-righteous sermon.

Instantly, Budde snatched herself from obscurity for her 15 minutes of world fame. She became the darling of the left-wing media and was interviewed by The New Yorker, MSNBC, NPR, and The View.

These are my thoughts. 

First, as I said in an earlier post, it is not accurate, as Budde insinuated,  that LGBT folks are in fear for their lives at the prospect of a Trump presidency. Why would they be? All that Trump has done on the sexual identity issue is to affirm that there are only two sexes and stop the bizarre trend of allowing men dressed as women to compete in women's sports.

Second, I acknowledge that Bishop Budde might have acted courageously when she "spoke truth to power" at the National Cathedral. Nevertheless, it was highly inappropriate for her to embarrass the President in the manner that she did.

Budde's denomination is on its last legs. Hundreds of thousands of lay Episcopalians have left the Episcopal Church because of the clergy's sexual politics, with many choosing to become Roman Catholics. Budde's self-indulgent prank will likely cause thousands more to leave. 

The Episcopal Church has controlled the National Cathedral for over one hundred years. It is time for this national institution to sever its ties with the Episcopalians. Let's give other denominations a chance to run the place for a few years on a rotating basis.

I nominate the Jehovah's Witnesses to serve the next term, followed by the Pentecostals. Both groups are theologically far apart from the Episcopalians, but I'll bet church leaders in those groups know how to deliver a sermon without gratuitously embarrassing our President.

Lousy sermon, cool socks
Photo credit: The New Yorker

What's the Difference Between a Liberal Democrat and an Episcopal Bishop? Bishop Budde Lectures Our President

 A riddle:

Question: How can you tell the difference between a liberal Democrat and an Episcopal bishop?

Answer: An Episcopal bishop wears a funny hat.

On my tortuous road to the Catholic Church, I abided for a time with the Episcopalians. While studying at Harvard, I went through confirmation classes at Boston's Trinity Church. I was attracted by the pageantry of Trinity's religious services and by the Episcopal liturgy. 

In time, however, I became disenchanted. I realized that being an Episcopalian was very little different from being a progressive Democrat. Thus, I left the Episcopalian and became Catholic.

Other Episcopalians have become disaffected with their denomination. One article reported that the venerable denomination fell from a peak membership of 3.4 million in 1959 to 1.58 million in 2020. Indeed, the Episcopal Church is losing members so fast that one commentator predicted its demise by 2040. 

However, the Episcopal hierarchy is unbowed, and the elaborately robed bishops continue to lead their flocks toward oblivion. In this spirit of self-destruction, Bishop Mariann Budde delivered a disrespectful lecture (disguised as a sermon) to President Trump at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. President Trump demanded an apology, which he is unlikely to get.

Bishop Budde made two main political points. First, she expressed fear for gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans, saying: 

I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now . . . There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.

Second, the Bishop challenged President Trump's immigration policy. "The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals," the Bishop exhorted and begged the President to show mercy "on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here."

I want to briefly challenge Bishop Budde's political themes. First, I don't believe that American gays, lesbians, and transgender people fear for their lives. Nor do I think President Trump has ever said or done anything that should frighten our nation's LGBTQ communities.

Second, Budde's insinuation that Trump would harass or deport immigrants who entered this country to escape persecution is not entirely accurate. The President is merely requiring immigrants to follow established legal processes and trying to stop the entry of criminals and drug traffickers from entering the United States.

Deportation processes may indeed disrupt some immigrant families, but I believe our government can remove illegal immigrants humanely. We will soon see.

Speaking as a Catholic and ex-Episcopalian, I suggest Bishop Budde pursue her political agenda as a layperson. Perhaps she should become an employee of the Democratic Party. I'm sure the Democrats would be happy to hire her and allow her to continue wearing her funny hat.

Biden pardons his buddies: I'm ambivalent

 This morning, President Joe Biden issued another raft of pardons. Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney, and General Mark Milley were among his cronies who received "Get Out of Jail Free" cards. He also pardoned everyone on the Congressional January 6 Committee. 

I'm ambivalent. On the one hand, I agree with critics who warn against the precedent of granting wholesale pardons to friends, family members, and political allies for uncharged and unspecified crimes. Such a practice fosters lawlessness and disrespect for the law.

On the other hand, President Trump once said that General Milley deserved to be executed and Liz Cheney should be criminally prosecuted. Those were imprudent things to say and provide some justification for Biden pardoning the two.

Most of the people who harassed Trump over the last eight years are lawyers. Several of them prosecuted Trump in the criminal courts for political reasons. In my view, this conduct constitutes malicious prosecution or abuse of process. Also, pursuing criminal charges against an individual for political reasons violates the ethical standards for attorneys.

Americans are tired of the interminable and dishonorable litigation that raged during Biden's presidency. I would like to see all the lawyers who pursued Trump through the courts for political reasons disbarred.

However, disbarment proceedings are within the purview of the various state judiciaries and bar associations, and these bodies are unlikely to act.

Therefore, I am content to see Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, Jack Smith, and dozens of others fade into obscurity—perhaps to write their memoirs. To paraphrase the lyrics of a famous country song, they only did what they had to do, and now they're growing old.

Photo credit: Bill Moore and Amsterdam News

Pete Hegseth's Senate Confirmation Hearing: Did Senator Elizabeth Warren Get Above Her Raising?

Senator Elizabeth Warren and I have three things in common. We were both born in Oklahoma and have law degrees, and neither of us is a Native American. 

I grew up in Anadarko, near where several Native tribes were settled in the late 19th century: the Comanche, Kiowa, Fort Sill Apache, Wichita, Caddo, and Delaware.  

Riverside Indian School operated a couple of miles from the city limits. In the 1890s, St. Katharine Drexel established St. Patrick's Catholic Mission to educate Native children, and the mission grounds were less than a mile from my childhood home.

Native culture was all around me. The Southern Plains Indian Museum, a federal facility, was located just outside the town, along with the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians. Our movie theatre was named The Redskin before that word became politically incorrect and had a magnificent neon marque.

It never occurred to me to try to get ahead by claiming Native American status, although I'm sure I was probably a lot closer to Native American life than Senator Warren. It would be dishonest to call myself a Kiowa or a Comanche, and it would be ridiculous to make such a claim. After all, my great-grandfather immigrated from England in the 1880s and was already married to a British woman when he arrived in America.

Senator Warren's false claim that she was a Cherokee is water under the bridge. She apologized to the Cherokees for taking a DNA test to prove her Indian ancestry, which was a commendable gesture.

I would not raise the matter if Warren hadn't acted so beastly towards Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. She and her fellow Democratic harpies repeatedly trolled through Hegseth's personal life, suggesting ad nauseam that anyone who had done what they accused Hegseth of doing was unfit to be the nation's Secretary of Defense.

I wish someone would ask Warren if a person who misrepresented her ethnicity to advance her career is fit to be a senator. 

Warren is a citizen of Massachusetts now and probably doesn't reconnect much with her Oklahoma friends and relatives. However, if she were to return to her roots, Oklahomans might remind her not to get above her raising. In other words, don't jettison the core values of your youth and childhood just to get ahead in the world.

Warren's despicable display of self-righteous hypocrisy at Hegseth's confirmation hearing may be acceptable to her Massachusetts constituency, but most Oklahomans find that kind of behavior offensive. They might ask her what good came from her Harvard connections if she forgot the rules of civility and courtesy.