vxbush 3/12/2021 5:57:01 AM

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Morning, campers. 

Kosh, I read your last post in the daily thread: 

[Biden] MUST decree the degrees go down!

And while you meant it to refer to the weather, I couldn't help but think of it in terms college degrees. But then I couldn't decide if that meant that everyone was going to get degrees regardless of how poor the education was, or if it meant the number of "real", "useful" degrees went down. 

And now, for something different: 

The COVID bill that just got signed into law does not allow states to change their taxes if they accept federal money. 

vxbush 3/12/2021 6:19:00 AM

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In #1 vxbush said: And now, for something different:  The COVID bill that just got signed into law does not allow states to change their taxes if they accept federal money. 

Oh, let's be more accurate--states cannot *reduce* their taxes if they receive federal money via this bill. 

lucius septimius 3/12/2021 6:51:57 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 2:

The provision is unconstitutional; states will undoubtedly sue -- probably gearing up to do it right now.  Except there are so many unconstitutional provisions in all of this.  Maybe the Dems are counting on the courts being so overloaded that they can make it all stick.

vxbush 3/12/2021 7:16:00 AM

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In #3 lucius septimius said: The provision is unconstitutional; states will undoubtedly sue -- probably gearing up to do it right now.  Except there are so many unconstitutional provisions in all of this.  Maybe the Dems are counting on the courts being so overloaded that they can make it all stick.

Either that, or all the new judges that McConnell got approved in the Senate aren't going to be as conservative as we were led to believe, and they will throw out all these challenges. I can't imagine Ken Paxton in Texas not filing a lawsuit against this. 

Do you happen to know if this bill had a clause in it that states if any part of the law is considered unconstitutional, it doesn't mean the entire law is struck down? I haven't seen anyone discuss this aspect yet. It was a big issue with Obamacare, and yet the courts ignored that provision anyway. 

JCM 3/12/2021 7:32:50 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 3:

Oh, hell probably 97.5% of what the Federal Gov't does is unconstitutional.

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 8:25:00 AM

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Howdy.  So, apparently Georgetown University Law Center dismissed an adjunct professor for daring to say out loud that the lower-performers in her class tend to be black.  

A piece at Insty recalls how, 30 years ago, GULC had another, related kerfuffle.  

I remember it well.   Even then, as a self-declared liberal, I could not help but notice the rank dishonesty displayed by the faculty, administration, and the loudly-PC (as we called it then) student lynch mob. 

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 8:27:15 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 6:

And here's a column by the late William Raspberry in WaPo, at the time.  He was very much a liberal, but forthrightly raises questions about the appropriateness of race-based affirmative action in admissions (and other things) in these modern times... of 1991.

No WaPo prog was say anything like this now; because we're supposed to believe that affirmative action is even more needed now than it was 30 years ago.

vxbush 3/12/2021 8:34:57 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 6:

Reply to Occasional Reader in 7:

I seem to recall someone saying back in the 1980's that Affirmative Action is a great idea, but it will be allowed to go away because it will become the standard by which ethnic minorities will be evaluated, and then it will have to be lowered again because the standards are too high. Was this in the Closing of the American Mind book from 1987? I don't recall. 

How prescient that person was. 

vxbush 3/12/2021 8:35:56 AM

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In #8 vxbush said: it will NOT be allowed to go away

PIMF.

doppelganglander 3/12/2021 8:37:04 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 6:

How dare she point out a fact. Just ignore the part where she is clearly dismayed about that fact and wants to help her lower performing students.

Kosh's Shadow 3/12/2021 8:39:25 AM

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Affirmative action is basically setting up blacks to fail.

Start with schools that think they can't learn, and don't bother to teach, with a culture that says the only proper work for blacks is sports and rap (supported by the Black Panthers and gangs, but then, I repeat myself).

Then send them unprepared to college and jobs, where they can't do the work, and only get to stay because it is raaaacist to get rid of them.

Meanwhile, companies hire Chinese and Indian workers cheap, or just outsource work to China and India, and rake in the bucks, supporting BLM and so on to look enlightened.

Then reduce standards so the blacks can pass college, and turn the US into an Idiocracy buying Chinese crap.

doppelganglander 3/12/2021 8:41:25 AM

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vxbush 3/12/2021 8:44:22 AM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 11:

So should we say they have brown chips on their shoulders? /

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 8:52:37 AM

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In #6 Occasional Reader said: rank dishonesty displayed by the faculty, administration,

Specifically: I attended the big meeting referred to in the link to an article, at which the dean of law school spoke. In essence, she denied that race-based admission preferences lead to admitted minority students on average having lower LSAT test scores than white students.

Think about that for a moment.

Of course race based admissions preferences results in lower admission test scores among minority students. 

Of course it does. 

That’s the whole *point* of the thing.  If the minority students *don’t* have on average lower admission test scores, why would you need affirmative action?

But “liberal“ we’re not allowed to say that out loud, or even think it. I was a self-declared liberal at the time, like I said, but this was startling to me. And one of the great things about moving across the spectrum to becoming a conservative is regaining the ability to say -and think - things that are true.

vxbush 3/12/2021 9:00:35 AM

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In #14 Occasional Reader said: That’s the whole *point* of the thing.  If the minority students *don’t* have on average lower admission test scores, why would you need affirmative action?

This is key--they want to have the privilege of using affirmative action without allowing folks to understand that it means these students get the privilege of requiring lower scores to meet the requirements of the school. Well, what else could affirmative action mean? 

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 9:03:20 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 15:

during that meeting, the dean also made this blend statement to the effect that "all students admitted to the Law Center are qualified to attend".  This was met with applause by the politically correct mob.  But what does the statement mean? Basically, that all admitted applicants had graduated from an accredited four year college, and taken the LSAT's.  That's it.

vxbush 3/12/2021 9:08:36 AM

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In #16 Occasional Reader said: during that meeting, the dean also made this blend statement to the effect that "all students admitted to the Law Center are qualified to attend".  This was met with applause by the politically correct mob.  But what does the statement mean? Basically, that all admitted applicants had graduated from an accredited four year college, and taken the LSAT's.  That's it.

Oh, it says more than that. It also says that a lot of possible candidates were *excluded* because they didn't meet the preferences of the applications committee. In this case, the exclusion policies included specifying a set number of candidates who were truly capable, regardless of any external attributes, that could have qualified without Affirmative Action. And then those who met the school's requirements but couldn't take advantage of another entry line such as Affirmative Action were "cancelled." We've had Cancel Culture for a while now but haven't called it that.

I'm ready for my Affirmative Action access card that will allow me to join the Olympic Swim Team.  

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 9:15:50 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 17:   She was basically saying, "all students admitted to Georgetown law center are "qualified" to attend Georgetown law center, by virtue of the fact that... they were admitted to Georgetown Law Center."  I mean, I am extrapolating here, but she offered no other explanation for what the word "qualified" meant.

Like I said, even as a self described liberal at the time, I could not believe the mendacity I was hearing.

vxbush 3/12/2021 9:22:01 AM

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In #18 Occasional Reader said:  She was basically saying, "all students admitted to Georgetown law center are "qualified" to attend Georgetown law center, by virtue of the fact that... they were admitted to Georgetown Law Center."  I mean, I am extrapolating here, but she offered no other explanation for what the word "qualified" meant. Like I said, even as a self described liberal at the time, I could not believe the mendacity I was hearing.

I'm more upset on behalf of the John Doe who got caught up in this storm. His life was almost ruined. A lot of lives are being ruined now.

JCM 3/12/2021 9:24:19 AM

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In #16 Occasional Reader said: all students admitted to the Law Center are qualified to attend

No objective criteria, just 'cause I said so.

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 9:33:10 AM

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In #19 vxbush said: I'm more upset on behalf of the John Doe

An aside, I'm not quite sure why the author if the piece was being all coy wiht that "John Doe" business; the student's name is a matter of public record (e.g. it appears in that William Raspberry column). 

I think T. (as I'll call him!) knew, to some extent, what he was getting into; but perhaps not the full extent.  (And no, I didn't know him personally.) 

Kosh's Shadow 3/12/2021 9:35:31 AM

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In #17 vxbush said: We've had Cancel Culture for a while now but haven't called it that.

I still think it should be called the Woke Inquisition

vxbush 3/12/2021 9:35:41 AM

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Hey, JCM, I'm trying to get an understanding of how "different" the various strains of COVID are, and how that compares to the various strains of the flu (H1N1 - H1N5, etc.) 

The different flu vaccines attempt to pick out which variant will be most popular that year and vaccinate people against it. Given the genetic makeup of the influenza virus, there are types and subtypes. 

Comparing that to COVID, right now we only seem to have four strains. There's been lots of chatter about how the vaccine protects against all four strains, but no one seems to want to admit that getting sick with one strain also provides protection from the other strains. Is that because everyone is getting pushed to have a vaccine, or is this another case of trying to hype up COVID?

Kosh's Shadow 3/12/2021 10:01:55 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 23:

Flu has 2 different proteins on its surface, H and N, and they come in several variants (H1N1, H4N5, etc). The flu vaccines prime the immune system to recognize one variant, the one they think will be predominant. And the incubation process to produce the vaccines takes around 6 months, during which time, there isn't much flu going around to see what version is common.

COVID does not have that that much variety. In fact, it has genes to slow down mutations, which is one reason I think it was engineered.

There was an article a while ago in the Jerusalem Post about the vaccines' effectiveness against variants, but I can't find it. It is less effective against the South African variant but still somewhat effective. And with the current technology, it is easier to come up with a new vaccine; Pfizer and Moderna are already working on "boosters"

Kosh's Shadow 3/12/2021 10:25:45 AM

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And the Dems have found a way to keep the COVID crisis going longer

Here’s the hitch. The federal government refuses to test migrants before release unless they’re visibly sick, even though COVID-19 continues to rage in Mexico. Biden’s press spokesperson, Jen Psaki, explained that the administration considers testing a state or local responsibility.

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 10:35:41 AM

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In #25 Kosh's Shadow said: Jen Psaki, explained that the administration considers testing a state or local responsibility.

Oh, okay, Jen, so Texas (for instance) is supposed to intervene in Federally-run facilities, whether the Feds agree or not, right?

Why don't you circle back to us with an answer. 

vxbush 3/12/2021 10:36:17 AM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 24:

Thanks, Kosh. If you can find that JPost article, I'd like to see it. I'll do a search later. 

vxbush 3/12/2021 10:42:30 AM

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In #26 Occasional Reader said: Oh, okay, Jen, so Texas (for instance) is supposed to intervene in Federally-run facilities, whether the Feds agree or not, right? Why don't you circle back to us with an answer. 

Heh heh. She's going to be circling back so much, we should make her generate power for Texas.

JCM 3/12/2021 10:50:09 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 23:

HxNx are protein subtypes found on viruses, there 18 identified N and 11 identified H. The HxNx are the protein identifiers. COVID is different beast, an ACE2 protein identifier.

buzzsawmonkey 3/12/2021 10:53:07 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 28:

I still say the best potential source of perpetually-renewable power involves harnessing the power of wagging dogs' tails.

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 11:14:53 AM

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In #29 JCM said: HxNx

... StxPx! 

-Variety 

buzzsawmonkey 3/12/2021 12:26:40 PM

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Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 12:34:58 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 32:

That was a thoroughly weird movie.

buzzsawmonkey 3/12/2021 12:40:01 PM

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Jiminy Cricket: "Always let you conscience be your guide."

Andrew Cuomo: "Always let your Guido be your conscience."

buzzsawmonkey 3/12/2021 12:40:45 PM

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In #33 Occasional Reader said: That was a thoroughly weird movie.

So was the sequel---though it was largely re-tread, and which I am somewhat ashamed of having seen.

lucius septimius 3/12/2021 12:45:04 PM

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lucius septimius 3/12/2021 12:47:25 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 32:

I'd just like to see Cuomo get the orb. 

Kosh's Shadow 3/12/2021 12:55:47 PM

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Cuomo was going to resign and take another job, but because the character was canceled, the job of being the voice of Pepe le Pew was no longer available

///////////////////////////////////////////////

buzzsawmonkey 3/12/2021 1:19:41 PM

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In #38 Kosh's Shadow said: Cuomo was going to resign and take another job, but because the character was canceled, the job of being the voice of Pepe le Pew was no longer available

++++++  Heh.

Andrew Cuomo could quit and join the new musical group that Bill Cosby's forming---Cosby Still Mash 'Em Young.

I understand that their bookings are through the roofies!

JCM 3/12/2021 3:22:54 PM

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Bed Bug Breakout on Bremerton Based Boat

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — The USS Connecticut, one of the most elite submarines in the Navy, is beset with a bed bug infestation.

Occasional Reader 3/12/2021 4:05:05 PM

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Reply to JCM in 40:

This was clearly a first strike by the bugs. Next, they hit Buenos Aires.

JCM 3/12/2021 4:17:44 PM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 41:

HAH!