Archive for the ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ Category

Student power and the end of reason

Posted: February 8, 2022 by chrisharper in Uncomfortable Truths
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By Christopher Harper

Although I know that colleges have been bending over backward to kowtow to students, I didn’t realize how far until recently.

In 27 years of teaching, I’ve never had a student officially challenge a grade. Until now.

A student, who was described as a “star” of the Department of Journalism at Temple, took my course in media law. She was a dreadful pain, consistently filing late assignments or asking for extensions.

By the end of the course, others followed suit, apparently driven by the less-than-stringent rules offered during the pandemic. In fact, I allowed for up to a grade of “C-” for assignments turned in within a week of the deadline.

By the end of the semester, I’d had my fill. Two days before the final assignment was due, I announced that no late submissions would be accepted.

The “star” was the only one who sent the material in late. I gave her a zero, earning her a “C” in the class.

In an email, I explained to her, “Over the course of the semester, you have asked for exemptions, extensions, and preferred treatment. On Saturday, I informed the class that no extensions would be granted. Deadlines in journalism are critical to its endeavor. It’s a truism you should learn. I will not accept your submission because it is past the deadline. It may be the most important lesson you learn from this class.”

Instead, the student learned how to work the system. She appealed the grade because I had changed the “contract” of the syllabus by eliminating late submissions.

Even more amazing is that my department chair ruled in the student’s favor.

“[T]he last-minute deadline change, in this case, goes against what is spelled out in the syllabus, which is a contract between a professor and students,” the chair wrote.

I didn’t change the deadline. I simply refused to accept late submissions.

What’s more important here is that a syllabus has somehow become a formal contract, which is unlikely to hold up in any court. Moreover, students have become consumers and teachers are products.

College is no longer a learning experience but akin to buying a car.

Thankfully, my time as a journalism professor comes to an end in June. If colleges are aiding and abetting such students and hiring administrators as consumer advocates, journalism and other professions will get even worse. Now that’s downright scary!

If you want info on the Texas Hostage Story You’d better get it now before DaTechGuy’s 3rd Law of Media Outrage Kicks in

Posted: January 16, 2022 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, media, News/opinion, Uncomfortable Truths
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Remember Molly Norris!

Yesterday I had friends over and did not go to my laptop until rather late in the day when I discovered this was going on:

 Colleyville, TX synagogue held hostage during livestreamed service; police negotiating with man. “A source on the scene told ABC News that an armed suspect took a rabbi and three others hostage and claims to have bombs in unknown locations. 

A little more:

An apparently armed man took a rabbi and his congregants hostage at a Texas synagogue Saturday, demanding US authorities release a convicted terrorist known as “Lady al-Qaeda” — and phoning a New York City rabbi in a bizarre bid for help, according to sources and reports.

So an armed man takes Jewish Hostages in a synagogue on the Sabbath and demands the release of an Al-Qaeda terrorist. Guess what the first reaction of the usual suspects was:

Because Islam of course is the victim here

News organizations played along with this business in their headlines with the BBC putting hostage in quotes and the telegraph describing the hostage taker in their lead as a: “man with English accent”

Maybe is was Cary Elwes

And the AP jumped right on the “Nothing to do with Islamic Terrorism vs Jews” with the help of an FBI whose capacity to throw what little credibility they still have left out the window has not yet reached its full potential.

Now I’m going to be there were a lot of other possible targets in a place as large as Texas that could have been targeted but he managed to find a Jewish Synagogue in the state for his crime.

Perhaps he figured that based on voting patterns in America it was the target in the state least likely to be populated by armed civilians.

But anyways it’s all over. The hostages have been freed the terrorist is dead and the Al Qaeda member in jail is still in jail (at least until her supporters discover the joys and investment potential of Hunter Biden’s artwork) and the story is done.

And when I say “done” I mean it? Why? Because of DaTechGuy’s 3rd law of Media Outrage:

The MSM’s elevation and continued classification of any story as Nationally Newsworthy rather than only of local interest is in direct correlation to said story’s current ability to affirm any current Democrat/Liberal/Media meme/talking point, particularly on the subject of race or sexuality.

If the hostage taker had been a Trump supporter or in DC on January 6th or had expressed a desire for Ron DeSantis in Florida or even had suggested that there had been the slightest possibility of fraud in the last election rest assured you would be able to find stories concerning this attack for days and weeks to come so if you were engrossed in the NFL’s wild card weekend you could catch up in a hurry once the games were done.

Alas it was an Islamist, targeting a Jewish Synagogue on the the Jewish Sabbath to release a member of Al Qaeda which means the story will be gone fast than you can say James T Hodgkinson, Terryous Jorelle Baker , Darrell Brooks or Molly Norris.

Unexpectedly of course.

Update; Told YA

A Democrat lie leaves 29 dead

Posted: January 11, 2022 by chrisharper in Uncomfortable Truths

By Christopher Harper

The Democrats’ pledge that they care about poor people should be forever put to rest after two fires left 29 people, including 17 kids, dead over the past week.

The fires in “affordable” housing in Philadelphia and New York should make everyone realize the lies told in Democrat-controlled cities.

The fire in Philadelphia happened in a building owned and run by the city’s Housing Authority. The two-unit row house in a generally gentrified section of Philadelphia had 26 people living in a space meant for half that many. 

At least four smoke detectors in the building were not working, and there were no fire escapes on the upper floors. 

Will Bunch, a leftist writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, asked some pertinent questions.

“If Philadelphia doesn’t change laws and find the dollars to change the culture around housing safety, then this city is even more dysfunctional than we thought. We almost never talk about how 40,000 people sit on a waiting list for public housing that was finally shut down for most applicants eight years ago, or about how PHA only accommodates about 12% of the estimated demand for affordable housing, or how the agency needs an estimated $1 billion to fix the units it does have. No wonder the plight of families like the two cramped inside that Fairmount row house remains largely invisible.” 

New York had its own wake-up call days after the Philadelphia fire when 19 people died there. Public records showed the building had multiple open violations for mouse and roach infestations, peeling lead paint, and water leaks. One open complaint with the city Housing Preservation and Development Department referenced defective fire retardant material in a first-floor ceiling.

“It was at a building that was built under federal guidelines way back when, so it’s not up to New York City fire codes,” said Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association union.

Democrats have controlled Philadelphia and New York for most of the past 50 years, promising the poor that life would get better. 

Life hasn’t been better, and it’s never going to get better unless people hold Democrats accountable for their fake promises and government makes buildings safe for people who live in them. 

Paying in cash vs. paying in blood

Posted: November 27, 2021 by ng36b in News/opinion, Uncomfortable Truths, war
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One of the major differences between the influence that China wields verses the former Soviet Union relates to China’s use of monetary incentives. The US and British defectors that sold nuclear, diplomatic and other state secrets to the Russians from the 40’s until the Soviet Union collapsed were not normally paid a lot of money. Only four ever made over $1 million, and those were only the ones that sold out significant secrets, such as Aldrich Ames identifying nearly ever top US recruit in major Soviet institutions. Most of these turncoats were motivated by ideology. They truly believed in the Soviet Union, right up to the end, and were quite willing to give our enemies secrets for cheap.

China is different. You don’t have to subscribe to China’s idealogy to be on their doll. China willingly flexes its financial muscles to buy people off. Even worse, China is happy to do this quite blazenly and openly. There isn’t a more perfect example then Hollywood right now. Did you notice the nod to China in the movie Midway? Or the pandering by actors like John Cena to Chinese audiences? Sure, maybe some of these people really believe that China is better than the US, but likely most are simply gold digging, and China offers lots of gold for those that toe the line.

This is coming to a head in the Solomon Islands right now, in this week’s very underreported story. Riots (not of the “mostly peaceful” variety) are happening in the Solomon Islands, an island nation that most Americans only remember from a World War 2 battle on the island of Guadalcanal. Located just north of Australia, the Solomon Islands operated in Australia’s sphere of influence for a long time. Australia provided government support and significant economic investment in mining, forestry and other areas. In exchange, the Solomon Islands were relatively peaceful, at least with their neighboring countries.

That has changed though. Manasseh Sogavare, the current Prime Minister, oversaw the end of the Australian mission to the Solomons in 2017. Not long after, the Solomon Islands stopped recognizing Taiwan and instead recognized the PRC. Almost immediately, Australian investments started to disappear, with Chinese firms replacing them. Everything from gold mines to logging is focused on, or has been purchased by, China. Heck, even China state run media says the Solomon Islands will be a Chinese hub soon.

The point here is China is building its empire with cash. When Japan attempted to invade a large portion of the Pacific, it ultimately lost because it was difficult to pacify that large of a population. Germany had the same struggles, losing significant numbers of troops in the post-invasion peace keeping operations in places like Poland and the former Yugoslavia. China avoids paying in blood for its conquests by simply throwing cash at the problem. Buy off a government, and they’ll let you take their resources via debt diplomacy. What’s not to love? You get what you want without having to use your military power.

If war comes to the Pacific, China won’t need to pull a Pearl Harbor moment to capture territory like the Japanese did in WW2. Instead, we will be the ones paying in blood to recapture territory and resources China simply purchased outright. Sadly, we will likely be seen as invaders, and will suffer the same consequences Germany and Japan did during WW2.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency. You can support the author by reading and rating his books on Amazon, and with Christmas coming, every little bit helps!

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