Saturday, September 26, 2015

Great Article: How Marcuse made today’s students less tolerant than their parents

When Samuel Stouffer first wrote on political tolerance during the McCarthy era, he concluded that Americans were generally an intolerant bunch. Yet, finding that younger people were more tolerant than their parents, he also concluded that Americans would become more and more tolerant over time, due to generational replacement and increases in education.  However, Stouffer did not predict the rise of the New Left, which I argue has reframed our collective notions about free expression, resulting in a significant decline in political tolerance among America’s youth.   I develop this argument in a chapter I wrote for Stanley Rothman’s last bookThe End of the Experiment, (Rothman, Nagai, Maranto, and Woessner, 2015)

Friday, September 25, 2015

SHE LIED! State Dept. Finds Discarded Benghazi Emails on Hillary’s Home Server!!

The State Department found hundreds of emails related to Benghazi and Libya on Hillary Clinton’s home server.
The emails were retrieved by State Department security experts from her wiped home server.
Hillary Clinton told Ed Henry in August that she was the one who oversaw the process to delete emails.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Warning: This Post Is About Trigger Warnings | Daily Nous

Warning: This Post Is About Trigger Warnings | Daily Nous: 10 likes

Saturday, September 19, 2015

5 Lessons from Gustave Le Bon’s The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind

 Gresham's LawCommentary on Markets and Political Economy

As some of you may know, I’m a big fan of Gustave Le Bon’s books; in particular I like The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. I reread it (again) last week and was delighted to uncover some insights that I had not recognized fully before. So I thought I’d share some of them with you because I think that a sound understanding of crowd psychology is really useful for constructing or refining yourinvestment process.

READ THE BLOG POST HERE

Friday, September 18, 2015

PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN by DONALD TRUMP

The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.
The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding Americans. The Constitution doesn’t create that right – it ensures that the government can’t take it away. Our Founding Fathers knew, and our Supreme Court has upheld, that the Second Amendment’s purpose is to guarantee our right to defend ourselves and our families. This is about self-defense, plain and simple.
It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment. Protecting that freedom is imperative. Here’s how we will do that:
Enforce The Laws On The Books
We need to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals. The Obama administration’s record on that is abysmal. Violent crime in cities like Baltimore, Chicago and many others is out of control. Drug dealers and gang members are given a slap on the wrist and turned loose on the street. This needs to stop.
Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. Obama’s former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a “cookie cutter” program. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in place – in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.
Why does that matter to law-abiding gun owners? Because they’re the ones who anti-gun politicians and the media blame when criminals misuse guns. We need to bring back and expand programs like Project Exile and get gang members and drug dealers off the street. When we do, crime will go down and our cities and communities will be safer places to live.
Here’s another important way to fight crime – empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Law enforcement is great, they do a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time. Our personal protection is ultimately up to us. That’s why I’m a gun owner, that’s why I have a concealed carry permit, and that’s why tens of millions of Americans have concealed carry permits as well. It’s just common sense. To make America great again, we’re going to go after criminals and put the law back on the side of the law-abiding.
Fix Our Broken Mental Health System
Let’s be clear about this. Our mental health system is broken. It needs to be fixed. Too many politicians have ignored this problem for too long.
All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We need to expand treatment programs, because most people with mental health problems aren’t violent, they just need help. But for those who are violent, a danger to themselves or others, we need to get them off the street before they can terrorize our communities. This is just common sense.
And why does this matter to law-abiding gun owners? Once again, because they get blamed by anti-gun politicians, gun control groups and the media for the acts of deranged madmen. When one of these tragedies occurs, we can count on two things: one, that opponents of gun rights will immediately exploit it to push their political agenda; and two, that none of their so-called “solutions” would have prevented the tragedy in the first place. They’ve even admitted it.
We need real solutions to address real problems. Not grandstanding or political agendas.
Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners
GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.
BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.
NATIONAL RIGHT TO CARRY. The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.
MILITARY BASES AND RECRUITING CENTERS. Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves.

Quote of the day!

Offend the left all you want, what difference does it make? They won't vote conservative even if you didn't offend them.

--Todd Klimson

The Clock is Ticking on 'Islamophobia' | Frontpage Mag

The Clock is Ticking on 'Islamophobia' | Frontpage Mag

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

University of California Considers Yet Another Proposal to Silence Protected Speech

By  September 14, 2015
Later this week, the University of California (UC) will consider a new proposal to silence speech protected by the First Amendment.
Here we go again.
This Thursday, the Committee on Education Policy of the Regents of the University of California will discuss a new “Statement of Principles Against Intolerance” that would require UC students and faculty to “respect the dignity of each person within the UC community.” The policy further states:

Bernie Sanders, the first class Moron!


Sunday, September 13, 2015

Two Clear Signs That the Political/ Financial Elite Know Another Crisis is Coming

The Powers That Be know another Crisis is coming.

Behind the veneer of “all is well” being promoted by both world Governments and the Mainstream Media, the political and financial elite have begun implementing moves to prepare for the next Crisis.

One of the clearest is the decision to accept physical Gold bullion as collateral for “paper trades.”

The vast majority of “wealth” in the financial system is digital in nature. Because of this, when the next Crisis hits, there will be a scramble for actual “money” because the fact of the matter is a lot of the derivatives and other digital forms of currency are in fact worthless.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

This is the America We Live in Now

This is the America We Live in Now

Now it begins: US elementary school does away with gendered bathrooms

Los Angeles (AFP) - A California elementary school has become one of the first in the country to phase out gendered bathrooms, a move in line with a national trend to recognize the needs of transgender people.
The principal at Miraloma Elementary School in San Francisco said the decision to do away with separate bathrooms for boys and girls was in part to acknowledge about eight gender non-conforming students.
"Not only do we want all of our students to feel safe... we want them to understand systematic equality for everyone," Sam Bass said in a statement. "We are teaching them a valuable lesson."
The move comes as schools and universities across the country grapple with how to deal with transgender students, an issue recently cast into the spotlight by Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympian and reality TV star formerly known as Bruce Jenner.
Though many schools in the United States have made gender-neutral bathrooms available, few have done away with separate facilities for boys and girls and the subject remains controversial.

Legal status and the criminal activity of immigrants

A paper by Giovanni Mastrobuoni and Paolo Pinotti∗

Abstract:  We exploit exogenous variation in legal status following the January 2007 European Union enlargement to estimate its effect on immigrant crime. We difference out unobserved time-varying factors by i) comparing recidivism rates of immigrants from the “new” and “candidate” member countries; and ii) using arrest data on foreign detainees released upon a mass clemency that occurred in Italy in August 2006. The timing of the two events allows us to setup a difference-in-differences strategy. Legal status leads to a 50 percent reduction in recidivism, and explains one-half to two-thirds of the observed differences in crime rates between legal and illegal immigrants. JEL: F22, K42, C41 Keywords: immigration, crime, legal status

READ THE PAPER HERE


Office Depot Defends Employees’ Refusal To Make Copies Of Anti-Abortion ‘Hate Material’

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (CBSLA.com/AP) — A suburban Chicago woman is accusing Office Depot of religious discrimination, saying employees told her that making copies of an anti-abortion prayer violated company policy.
Last month, Maria Goldstein, a Roman Catholic, asked employees at an Office Depot location in Schaumburg, Ill., to make 500 copies of “A Prayer for Planned Parenthood”, the Associated Press reported.

Friday, September 11, 2015

A New Feminist Study Concludes: You’re Racist if You Don’t Have Interacial Sex

Yes you heard right folks, the Politically Correct Gestapo now want to dictates who you should have sex with. In the study entitled “Is Sexual Racism Really Racism,” researchers with the University of New South Wales assert that having racial preferences when it comes to sex is “sexual racism.”  [5] “In fact, men who used online dating services more frequently were generally more likely to register as racist…,” feminist Samantha Allen wrote in an article about the study. “Sex researchers Denton Callander, Christy Newman, and Martin Holt asked over 2,000 gay and bisexual Australian men how they felt about race and dating through an online survey; these men also completed a region-specific version of the Quick Discrimination Index (QDI), a standard survey instrument that measures attitudes on race and diversity.”  [5] “After putting these two data sets together, the trend was clear: ‘Sexual racism… is closely associated with generic racist attitudes, which challenges the idea of racial attraction as solely a matter of personal preference.’” [1] [3] In other words, according to this “study,” if you’ve never had sex with someone outside your race, you’re probably racist, even if you’re a devout Christian who’s happily married and never slept around. [1]  “While society is generally pretty comfortable condemning racism, there has been a surprising reluctance among people — gay or otherwise — to challenge racialized sex and dating practices,” Callander told the Daily Beast[1] [3]

READ MORE

BREAKING: 107 dead after crane collapses at world’s holiest mosque in Mecca

At least 107 people died and 238 more were injured when a crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque of Mecca ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Friday.
The Kingdom’s General Directorate of Civil Defense blamed the accident on severe storms, according to its official Twitter.
The governor of the Makkah region, the capital of which is Mecca,  Khalid al-Faisal has ordered the launch of an investigation into the causes of the accident.
The tragedy comes ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage which is due later this month. Millions of Muslims from around the world will converge on the holy city between September 21-26.
Photos taken from the scene and posted on social media show bodies lying in blood on the mosque’s floor surrounded by construction rubble and metal parts of the crane.
Over 68 emergency and rescue groups are active at the scene of the accident, the Saudi Red Crescent said on Facebook. 
Director General of the Civil Defense Authority, confirmed to al-Ikhbariya television that storm winds had uprooted trees and affected cranes in the area.
All those who were wounded and the dead have been taken to hospital. There are no casualties left at the location,” he added.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Did Kim Davis have to go to jail? Did the judge have other options?

  
Kim Davis has been released from jail. As Eugene noted, now that her deputies are issuing marriage licenses to eligible couples, the federal judge concluded that there was no longer any basis for holding her in contempt of court.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

That awkward moment when The White House said Kim Davis must follow the rule of law.

How quickly we forget that in May 2015, Barack Obama's own WH attorney's admitted they broke a judge's order.  Nobody in jail for this.  This is a prime example of what is headed our way, only those laws or court orders based on a progressive agenda will be enforced.

DHS broke judge’s order, approved amnesty applications despite injunction


Friday, September 4, 2015

MUST READ: How Google Could Rig The 2016 Election

Google has the ability to drive millions of votes to a candidate with no one the wiser.
America’s next president could be eased into office not just by TV ads or speeches, but by Google’s secret decisions, and no one—except for me and perhaps a few other obscure researchers—would know how this was accomplished.

Research I have been directing in recent years suggests that Google, Inc., has amassed far more power to control elections—indeed, to control a wide variety of opinions and beliefs—than any company in history has ever had. Google’s search algorithm can easily shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20 percent or more—up to 80 percent in some demographic groups—with virtually no one knowing they are being manipulated, according to experiments I conducted recently with Ronald E. Robertson .

More delusional College students: Occupy the syllabus

I follow Brian Leiter's superb Blog, the Leiter Reports, where he alerts us to more mindless identity Politics.

You have got to read this nonsense:

We are calling for an occupation of syllabi in the social sciences and humanities. This call to action was instigated by our experience last semester as students in an upper-division course on classical social theory. Grades were based primarily on multiple-choice quizzes on assigned readings. The course syllabus employed a standardized canon of theory that began with Plato and Aristotle, then jumped to modern philosophers: Hobbes, Locke, Hegel, Marx, Weber and Foucault, all of whom are white men. The syllabus did not include a single woman or person of color.

READ MORE HERE

And one of the comments by a Caleb50 was brilliant:

"The standardized canon is obsolete: Any introduction to social theory that aims to be relevant to today’s problems must, at the very least, address gender and racial oppression."
I'm sorry, but this is just lazy thinking. The canon can't, by definition, be obsolete, because it provides the bedrock onto which much else was built, including modern social theory. Are the modern social theorists you want included influenced in any way by the classical theorists? Or do they think in a historical vacuum? How can you possibly understand modern social theory without first probing the roots? To claim that the canon is obsolete is like claiming WWI and WWII are irrelevant to understanding global politics in the early 21st century. And finally, do you think that you are actually "teachable" or have you already decided what is truth and are now...as university students...just out to find safe spaces where your particular view of reality is affirmed?

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Transgender Entitlement: The New Orthodoxy on Campus

by DAVID FRENCH September 3, 2015 5:13 PM @DAVIDAFRENCH 

Our universities are just as religious as they used to be, only the religion has changed. With blinding speed, the sexual revolutionaries are moving on from the cause of gay marriage to recasting and rethinking law, culture, religion, and biology for the sake of indulging the troubled fantasies of a tiny, disturbed population of transgendered, or “genderqueer,” Americans. Nowhere is that trend more advanced than in colleges and universities, where entirely new policy and education infrastructures are being created to cater to transgender students, and — critically — suppress dissenting views of sexuality and morality, in the name of “safety.”

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423531/transgender-students-entitlement-universities-orthodoxy

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Must read: The Spectrum of Control: A Social Theory of the Smart City

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2015

Comments

This article will also be published in a German translation for the Analysen series

Abstract

There is a certain allure to the idea that cities allow a person to both feel at home and like a stranger in the same place. That one can know the streets and shops, avenues and alleys, while also going days without being recognized. But as elites fill cities with “smart” technologies—turning them into platforms for the “Internet of Things” (IoT): sensors and computation embedded within physical objects that then connect, communicate, and/or transmit information with or between each other through the Internet—there is little escape from a seamless web of surveillance and power. This paper will outline a social theory of the “smart city” by developing our Deleuzian concept of the “spectrum of control.” We present two illustrative examples: biometric surveillance as a form of monitoring, and automated policing as a particularly brutal and exacting form of manipulation. We conclude by offering normative guidelines for governance of the pervasive surveillance and control mechanisms that constitute an emerging critical infrastructure of the “smart city.”

Journal

First Monday, vol. 20, no. 7 (July 2015).

Disciplines

Law and Philosophy | Law and Society | Science and Technology Law | Science and Technology Studies

Recommended Citation

First Monday, vol. 20, no. 7 (July 2015).

Hillary Meme of the day! LOL


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