Christopher Rufo on self-flattering fantasies:

Without such resistance, [Aaron] Hillegass argued, Florida would descend into totalitarianism. “When a governor guts the leadership of a state school in an effort to make a facsimile of Hillsdale, that is fascism,” he wrote. “Not the shocking Kristallnacht-style fascism, but the banal fascism that always precedes it.”

This is fantasy. Hillegass and the young protesters, who work, live, and study in unprecedented peace and prosperity, are play-acting an imaginary historical drama designed to win fawning coverage on MSNBC, not to stop Governor DeSantis from building concentration camps on the beaches of the Sunshine State. 

Andy Ngo shares a bedlamite horror story:

A trans suspect and online activist has been arrested in Greenwood, Indiana, for allegedly molesting young children while babysitting and being employed at a therapy centre for autistic children… In 2022, [Leomeir Kennedy, formerly Allison Kennedy] worked as a licensed behaviour technician at the Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centre for paediatric patients… One victim was allegedly molested during a diaper change, while another had been molested under the guise of a tickle session… Court documents say Kennedy told police it felt like “Christmas.” 

Frankly, I’m still processing the words trans therapist. On Twitter, Mr Ngo adds, “As I dig into more disturbing criminal cases involving extreme violence or child sex abuse, I’m finding many of the suspects are trans but are never reported as such by press, sheriff’s offices, or prosecutors.”

And Amy Wax on ‘equity’ versus competence:

I’ll give you one example [of ‘equity’ double standards] that came across my desk, and which is so typical. The American Board of Internal Medicine is a sophisticated organisation that licenses and gives exams to people who want to become board-ready doctors in internal medicine. It’s a very difficult, long exam, traditionally, [but] now has this “diversity” initiative – they are going to go through all of the exams they administer and get rid of the questions that do not give equal outcomes for [all racial] groups, on the theory that these questions don’t recognise the “latent equality” of all groups.

Now, that is an Orwellian phrase. I guess I would ask, do the patients who are treated by these doctors give a hoot about “latent ability”? Do you know your stuff? Are you a good doctor? Have you mastered this complex material? And of course, the notion that “latent ability” is the same across the board is pure ideology. […]

Someone once asked me, “What do you think it means when people do poorly on the SAT or the MCAT [Medical College Admission Test]?” I said, “It means they don’t know the answers to the questions.” [So, they then said,] “Well, the test doesn’t measure anything meaningful…” Which is a falsehood – of course it does. Is it the be-all and end-all? No, but it gives you a lot of information.

I had an academic physician tell me, anonymously, that in his department, the one black fellow flunked his board exams four times. And the whole department has to mobilise to make sure he passes the next time… They’re not going to leave this doctor alone until they push him through the meat grinder somehow. But think about the patients who are going to have him as a doctor. It just makes no sense. People have to be allowed to fail, on their own level, and according to a single standard.

Needless to say, other prickly topics are touched on. Professor Wax, and her enemies, have cropped up here before.

Update, via the comments: On the subject of ‘equity’ versus competence, see also this.

Feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.




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