Sunday, February 28, 2021
Unrealities
These responses are, I think, mostly delusional. Eighty-two percent of Democrats are “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” about “Donald Trump’s supporters”? What, all 74 million of them? And 79 percent are extremely or very concerned about “white nationalism.” What, exactly, is white nationalism? There was a black nationalism movement some years ago that advocated a separate polity for blacks. There is no such movement today advocating a separate polity for whites. If you ever run across a white nationalist, let me know. I would like to meet one someday.
And on and on. “Systemic racism,” which translates as “nonexistent racism.” “Domestic terrorism,” by which I don’t think they mean Antifa. “Voter suppression.” What voter suppression? This is sheer fantasy. And 39 percent are extremely or very concerned about “capitalism.”
Compelled
The problem is compelled speech. To be compelled to assert belief in what you do not believe is a severe intrusion on individual free speech, and that seems to be what is happening in these workplace training sessions. Is there some way to present the insights of Critical Race Theory as ideas to be understood and weighed against other ideas and debated instead of compelling attendance at events where the ideas are dictated and participants are forced to attest to the dictated beliefs?
Also, from John Sexton:
Hopefully, you see the problem here. It’s the one that Michelle Goldberg is studiously ignoring. Free speech exists on the street, in the newspaper op-ed page, at a university where professors have academic freedom to pursue their interests and students are largely free to add and drop classes. But when it comes to the curriculum that gets taught to elementary and jr. high school students the situation is somewhat different. Not only are those kids a captive audience, most aren’t yet equipped to consider what they’re learning as provisional or subject to interpretation. They certainly aren’t in a position to argue with the teacher.
Even in high school, where many on the left hope to see the 1619 Project introduced to the curriculum, there’s appropriate concern about what is being taught to students who are mandated to be there. On the right there’s a real concern that this isn’t being treated as one possible interpretation of American history but as the unvarnished truth. And to put it bluntly, teaching every American high schooler that anti-black racism is the most fundamental aspect of their country’s entire history, that even the Revolutionary War was about protecting slavery, seems like a pretty significant thing to force on students who, again, have no choice in the matter.
Green New Deal Preview
Far from proving the merit of wind energy, Texas’s experience precisely illustrates why wind and solar energy, which are weather-dependent and therefore unreliable, are essentially worthless in any time of crisis. To depend on unreliable sources of energy when the grid is stressed and reliability is imperative is a recipe for disaster, as Texas has learned. Let’s hope the rest of the country takes away the right lesson.
More on the Texas green energy fiasco from Mr. Hinderaker can be found here and here.
Also, from Alex Epstein (via Tyler O'Neil):
Labels: party of science
The Battery Budget
More fundamentally, that $185 billion is just to build batteries that can store one percent of Minnesota’s electricity needs. (For comparison, Minnesota’s GDP is $339 billion.) Where the remaining 99% of Minnesota’s needs, and the needs of the rest of the planet, will come from, is anyone’s guess. And you can easily do the math and see that no such scheme is even remotely possible, let alone affordable.
Labels: party of science
Wokeism
In the past, a new set of ideas could be engaged in a clash of argument and debate. But you’ll notice that the advocates of what Wes Yang has called “the successor ideology” never debate any serious opponents of their position. This is because debate in a liberal society implies equal standing for both sides, and uses reason to determine who’s right or wrong. But there can be no “both sides” within CRT, no equation of “racists” and “antiracists”, and debates are inherently oppressive. Logic, evidence, and reason are, in this worldview, mere products of white supremacy, forms of violence against the oppressed. In CRT, remember, there is no truth or objectivity; there are merely narratives. So, yes, 2 + 2 = 5, and math is inherently a function of whiteness. And what racist is going to deny this?
The truth is that liberal democracy is hard, counter-intuitive, complicated and requires self-restraint, reason, and toleration at levels most humans are incapable of. That’s why it is such a rare and fleeting exception in the world today and all but non-existent for the vast majority of human history. Critical race theory is much more attuned to human nature. It gives you the simplest template for understanding the world, it assigns you virtue if you assent, it gives you instant power over others purely because of your and their identity, and it requires nothing more than tribal instinct to thrive. That’s why it is here to stay. And why the fight for liberalism is going to be long and hard and require as much courage, steel, and rigor as we can muster.
Via Glenn Reynolds.
What's the NFL's Carbon Footprint?
From the editor of the Van Buren County Register:
An NFL quarterback who has made over $200 million during his career has petitioned President Biden to shut down Van Buren County’s largest property taxpayer, threatening the Van Buren County School District with a loss of $394,000 in property tax money every year, according to information provided at the February 17 school board meeting.
More than 200 celebrities sent a letter to Biden to have him close Dakota Access pipeline while a court orders an environmental review. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers also signed his name to the petition. The pipeline goes through 18 counties in Iowa, including Van Buren County.I'm guessing most Americans don't appreciate being told they need to pay more for less reliable energy by a guy who flies around the country to throw a ball for a living.
Via Scott Johnson.
2 + 2 = Racism
I suppose it would be possible to come up with a better plan to destroy black academic performance than by telling black students not to worry about getting the right answer to a math problem, but I can’t think what it would be.
Has anyone asked the clowns that believe this nonsense why they think black students can't do math?
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
The GOAT
Experts
Oh look, morons who play make believe, or throw a ball, for a living think you should pay higher energy prices: Celebrities trying to kill Dakota Pipeline are known private jet users and After Keystone cancel, is the Dakota Access Pipeline next?
Of course, shutting down pipelines actually increases greenhouse gas emissions, but good luck trying to explain that to these idiots.
Labels: party of science
