Eli Lake on what comes next. Plus. . . A weirdly normal vice presidential debate. The myth of ‘Sundown Towns.’ Emily Oster on what to feed your kids. And much more.
A small addition to my comment yesterday: it becomes clear that october 7 happened because of Netanyahou policy of appeasement with Hamas. He was not alone in his misinterpretation about what sermed to be happening in Gaza. Most of the political and military establishment seem to have been on the same wavelength in a typical Western framework of thought: though they know that only force is respected in this part of the world, they gave in to the hope that , as Hamas leaders start enjoying a good life with money for themselves and their families , they will eventualy soften their attitude to Israel. So for years , Israel kept a policy of appeasement and we all know now how it ended up.
Olly…I like you despite your eagerness to run trump down at every opportunity. But walz isn’t weird because he’s goofy. He’s weird because he pretends to be “coach walz” who loves teaching kids, then provides refuge for them to cut off their body parts, and allows babies who survive abortion to die while calling that a reproductive right. Weird is the euphemism for psychopath who hates kids.
I don't like it when people run obviously mon-comparable numbers by me to try and suggest a conclusion for which they lack evidence. First we are told 45,000 dock workers are on strike. Then we are told the more than half of the 2,500+ dock workers in New York earn more than $150,000. Implication strike not justified. But what about the other 43,000+ dock workers. Are none of them underpaid? We just don't know? Come on Free Press. You are better than that. Don't let your biases show so obviously when you claim to be reporting the news.
I oppose the ILA's strike, believing that workers employed in jobs directly involved in all critical infrastructure (e.g., ports, utilities, air travel) should be bound to independent mediation if they cannot reach agreement on a new contract. Employers are just as likely as workers to "fear" an independent mediator, so binding mediation is labor/management neutral in effecting negotiations.
I am not sure how you even analyze the “winner” of a debate when one of our political parties has gone off the rails - JD Vance literally would not answer the question about the 2020 election and avoided even addressing January 6 (as if a violent attack on the Capitol was a “normal election event”).
He is also on record talking about breaking federal laws regarding certifying a Presidential election. It’s all out in the open.
And you guys are just as guilty as conventional media as treating it like just another “policy difference.”
It would surely be interesting to see the IG Report about J6. But the DOJ is stalling its release until after the election. I have several assumptions about why they are delaying its release, but expediting Jack Smith's case before Judge Chutkin.
I don't really care about what the illiteracy of our youth forecasts for the future -- I'll be dead, or at least, in an uncaring mood..
But I DO feel such sadness for a generation of people, young now, who've missed one of the great experiences of human life: book reading. Books have been such an integral part of my emotional and spiritual life that I just cannot imagine a life without the boxy things. Books that have brought me to tears, that have made me infuriated, that have brought me to a new level of understanding .. or just entertained the shit out of me. To replace that wonderfulness with... screen time... oh, it is a tragedy beyond description.
I did read the Atlantic story, and it seemed to me that, in 2007, the advent of Mr. Jobs' (what a felicitous name!) iphone, along with the Surge in Iraq and the beginning of subprime mortgage meltdown, kicked off a whole new paradigm of childcare. I know it sounds somewhat 'out there' -- but these disparate events together brought into being, along with other incidences of consequence, the idea that 1) we cannot depend on the 'pluribus', and so must hunker down, and 2) progress in the form of Tech will allow us this Hunkering -- with the consequent and deepening result that our children, whose upbringing has been SO taken for granted, learn the Great Lesson: Thinking is Bad, Boring, and Stupid.
So we give them tools to help the Not-think -- not just toddler-distractors but actual Thought Transformers -- and stand back. We're busy making sure the house is still there.
For the majority of students, reading as we knew it is obsolete. It's all about test scores. Teachers must use DEI "articles" to determine student knowledge of main idea, cause and effect, problem/resolution, compare and contrast, etc., etc.. No wonder the kids don't want to read. As my students voiced, "Do we have to read another sob story?" I am an old school teacher. I suspended the curriculum in my 9th grade "World Cultures" class. I bought thirty copies of Pearl S. Buck's novel, "The Good Earth." We did an old school novel study together in the classroom. My students ate that book up! Even the most reluctant readers were engaged. When the bell would ring they would moan, "No!" I never saw a class enter a classroom, grab a book, take their seats, and anxiously wait until I took attendance, to start reading. Everyone was engaged and on task. It was so rewarding to me, as well as my students.
With the United States going 1 Win 6 losses since WW2 and Israel being undefeated, it is pretty arrogant to think we should tell them how to fight a war.
How can the State of California ban legacy admissions at a Private School? It seems that the private school would not be subject to admissions standards control by the state.
Tim Walz' truest statement last night was: “I’m a knucklehead at times." (E.g., at the debate Tim also said he had “become friends with school shooters.”) If Kamala wins, her fist job will be to pick a Cabinet and fill other top government positions. Her selection of Tampon Tim is a good indicator of how bad her choices are likely to be.
You know how I knew Vance won without watching? I scanned headlines in my email news and there were very few headlines about the debate. It's a shame that these "news" companies are so easily read.
Oliver- You say “Let Israel win”.
Tell your buddy Joe.
American support for Israel has been a “hug that comes with handcuffs,” writes Eli.
This is such an excellent and disturbing description of the Biden/Harris administration's Israel policy.
About appeasement with Iran
A small addition to my comment yesterday: it becomes clear that october 7 happened because of Netanyahou policy of appeasement with Hamas. He was not alone in his misinterpretation about what sermed to be happening in Gaza. Most of the political and military establishment seem to have been on the same wavelength in a typical Western framework of thought: though they know that only force is respected in this part of the world, they gave in to the hope that , as Hamas leaders start enjoying a good life with money for themselves and their families , they will eventualy soften their attitude to Israel. So for years , Israel kept a policy of appeasement and we all know now how it ended up.
Olly…I like you despite your eagerness to run trump down at every opportunity. But walz isn’t weird because he’s goofy. He’s weird because he pretends to be “coach walz” who loves teaching kids, then provides refuge for them to cut off their body parts, and allows babies who survive abortion to die while calling that a reproductive right. Weird is the euphemism for psychopath who hates kids.
I don't like it when people run obviously mon-comparable numbers by me to try and suggest a conclusion for which they lack evidence. First we are told 45,000 dock workers are on strike. Then we are told the more than half of the 2,500+ dock workers in New York earn more than $150,000. Implication strike not justified. But what about the other 43,000+ dock workers. Are none of them underpaid? We just don't know? Come on Free Press. You are better than that. Don't let your biases show so obviously when you claim to be reporting the news.
I oppose the ILA's strike, believing that workers employed in jobs directly involved in all critical infrastructure (e.g., ports, utilities, air travel) should be bound to independent mediation if they cannot reach agreement on a new contract. Employers are just as likely as workers to "fear" an independent mediator, so binding mediation is labor/management neutral in effecting negotiations.
That said, your reporting on this issue egregiously misinforms as to how much ILA New York and New Jersey dockworkers make. USA Today beats you as a balanced discussion: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/02/port-strike-dockworkers-wages/75485424007/
Great analysis of the VP debate!
I am not sure how you even analyze the “winner” of a debate when one of our political parties has gone off the rails - JD Vance literally would not answer the question about the 2020 election and avoided even addressing January 6 (as if a violent attack on the Capitol was a “normal election event”).
He is also on record talking about breaking federal laws regarding certifying a Presidential election. It’s all out in the open.
And you guys are just as guilty as conventional media as treating it like just another “policy difference.”
Does anything else really matter?
It would surely be interesting to see the IG Report about J6. But the DOJ is stalling its release until after the election. I have several assumptions about why they are delaying its release, but expediting Jack Smith's case before Judge Chutkin.
"We're so screwed".
I don't really care about what the illiteracy of our youth forecasts for the future -- I'll be dead, or at least, in an uncaring mood..
But I DO feel such sadness for a generation of people, young now, who've missed one of the great experiences of human life: book reading. Books have been such an integral part of my emotional and spiritual life that I just cannot imagine a life without the boxy things. Books that have brought me to tears, that have made me infuriated, that have brought me to a new level of understanding .. or just entertained the shit out of me. To replace that wonderfulness with... screen time... oh, it is a tragedy beyond description.
I did read the Atlantic story, and it seemed to me that, in 2007, the advent of Mr. Jobs' (what a felicitous name!) iphone, along with the Surge in Iraq and the beginning of subprime mortgage meltdown, kicked off a whole new paradigm of childcare. I know it sounds somewhat 'out there' -- but these disparate events together brought into being, along with other incidences of consequence, the idea that 1) we cannot depend on the 'pluribus', and so must hunker down, and 2) progress in the form of Tech will allow us this Hunkering -- with the consequent and deepening result that our children, whose upbringing has been SO taken for granted, learn the Great Lesson: Thinking is Bad, Boring, and Stupid.
So we give them tools to help the Not-think -- not just toddler-distractors but actual Thought Transformers -- and stand back. We're busy making sure the house is still there.
And our kids have stopped learning to read...
For the majority of students, reading as we knew it is obsolete. It's all about test scores. Teachers must use DEI "articles" to determine student knowledge of main idea, cause and effect, problem/resolution, compare and contrast, etc., etc.. No wonder the kids don't want to read. As my students voiced, "Do we have to read another sob story?" I am an old school teacher. I suspended the curriculum in my 9th grade "World Cultures" class. I bought thirty copies of Pearl S. Buck's novel, "The Good Earth." We did an old school novel study together in the classroom. My students ate that book up! Even the most reluctant readers were engaged. When the bell would ring they would moan, "No!" I never saw a class enter a classroom, grab a book, take their seats, and anxiously wait until I took attendance, to start reading. Everyone was engaged and on task. It was so rewarding to me, as well as my students.
I loved the Alex Thompson comment.
Apart from the Tiennamen Square question, did the moderators ask Walz any tough questions?
What position did you coach in football? Just how cold is it in Minnesota??
Their bias is so transparent, they do not even try to hide it.
With the United States going 1 Win 6 losses since WW2 and Israel being undefeated, it is pretty arrogant to think we should tell them how to fight a war.
How can the State of California ban legacy admissions at a Private School? It seems that the private school would not be subject to admissions standards control by the state.
Tim Walz' truest statement last night was: “I’m a knucklehead at times." (E.g., at the debate Tim also said he had “become friends with school shooters.”) If Kamala wins, her fist job will be to pick a Cabinet and fill other top government positions. Her selection of Tampon Tim is a good indicator of how bad her choices are likely to be.
The only way Israel wins is with the aid of the U.S. say what you want about Trump, but he loves his daughter, and his daughter’s Jewish.
You know how I knew Vance won without watching? I scanned headlines in my email news and there were very few headlines about the debate. It's a shame that these "news" companies are so easily read.