I’m having trouble waking up this morning sufficiently to write a full post, so I’m going to break form and just issue some random observations:
One reason I suspended the tradition here of giving out year-end ethics awards was that “Most Unethical Profession” never changed. It was always a tie between educators and journalists, and both their race to the bottom.. In the post-debacle analyses of Zohran Mandani’s election as mayor, two themes keep surfacing. One is that young college-educated voters strongly favored Mamdani while young non-college grads did not. “It’s almost as if going to college now makes people stupid,” a guest on Fox News said this morning. Yes, graduating from college without learning that communism never works and gets people killed is evidence of a failed educational system. President Trump’s efforts to force universities to eschew progressive indoctrination for actual education is one of the most important and crucial aspects of his Presidency. Regarding our “enemy of the people” news media, Prof. Glenn Reynolds wrote today of Mamdani, “He’s an ignorant, angry leftist, who believes what ignorant, angry leftists always believe. The press should have been pointing this out all along. I mean, the leftist press, but they don’t do this kind of thing to leftists.” Bingo! The biased and unethical educators are making our rising generations stupid and ignorant, and our biased and unethical news media is aiding and abetting by refusing to enlighten them.
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I sure wish Curmie, the erudite, once open-minded progressive-ish columnist here would shake off his Trump Derangement and return to offer EA readers perspective on issues like the one above. He would be welcomed with open arms. I continue to be amazed at the stuff he posts on social media. Curmie is trapped in the same state of mind as Jimmy Kimmel’s wife (pity her!) who says that she can’t abide being around family members who voted for President Trump.
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Fox News appears to be deliberately aimed at idiots, and that’s the only respite from Trump-Deranged, openly pro-Democrat news and punditry on Sundays. If Bari Weiss, who is hardly conservative but just a liberal with principles, can make CBS News simply fair and objective, it should be able to, as my old boss Tom Donohue would say, “Eat Fox’s lunch.”
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Pope Leo is proving to be as big a hypocrite who abuses his influence as his predecessor. And, frankly, he sounds like an ignoramus trapped in a Biblical world. Last week he again criticized the U.S. treatment of “migrants” (a cover word for illegal immigrants) and expressed disapproval of the deporting of those who have lived in the US “for years and years never causing problems, who have been deeply affected” by Trump’s crackdown on illegals. So the theory is that it is responsible, compassionate and Christian to have a law enforcement policy that if you break laws in the U.S. but manage to avoid arrest for years and years without causing “problems,” you will be rewarded for breaking the law. This, of course, creates an incentive to break the law. Moreover, such law-breakers have “caused problems” by the very fact of their being in the U.S., accepting benefits of U.S. residency, and illegally avoiding becoming citizens, taking up housing and educational resources while never learning to speak English competently. The Pope’s position is untenable. Then, like his predecessors, Leo stooped to irrelevant and inapplicable “What would Jesus do?” nonsense, noting the Catholic belief that every Christian will ultimately be judged on how they welcomed “the foreigner.”
Tell it to the Romans…
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Pope Leo will really hate this. Good! A State Department cable obtained by Fox News Digital directed U.S. embassies to begin enforcing visa screening rules under the so-called “public charge” provision of immigration law that was largely ignored under President Joe Biden. Consular officials now must deny visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits based on factors including health, age, English proficiency, finances and potential need for long-term medical care.
I was remind of the Simpsons episode in which Apu went through the process of becoming a citizen. As soon as he had fulfilled all of the requirements and was pronounced an American, the Indian immigrant shouted, “Which way to the welfare office? Just kidding…”
“Self-sufficiency has been a longstanding principle of U.S. immigration policy,” the cable states, “and the public charge ground of inadmissibility has been a part of our immigration law for more than 100 years.”
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Why isn’t this story getting more coverage? FBI Director Kash Patel used a government plane to see his girlfriend, his girlfriend, country music singer Alexis Wilkins, perform at a pro wrestling event. The abuse of government funds was flagged on the podcast of an ex-FBI Patel critic, who accused Patel and Wilkins of “grifting off the American public,” saying, “We’re in the middle of a government shutdown where they’re not even gonna pay all of the employees that work for the agency that this guy heads, and this guy is jetting off to hang out with his girlfriend in Nashville on our dime?”
In response, in true Trump-like fashion, Patel Xed, ““The disgustingly baseless attacks against Alexis — a true patriot and the woman I’m proud to call my partner in life — are beyond pathetic. She is a rock-solid conservative and a country music sensation who has done more for this nation than most will in ten lifetimes. I’m so blessed she’s in my life.” My response: So what? I don’t care about her or Patel’s love life; I care that a high profile Trump appointee is using taxpayer funds and government staff and equipment to go on a date. During the Biden administration, Patel had criticized former FBI Director Chris Wray for his use of government planes for personal reasons.
But wait! There’s more! Bloomberg Law reported that the revelations of Patel’s publicly available jet logs caused Patel to fire Steven Palmer, a 27-year FBI veteran who oversaw its aviation units, on the theory that he unethically leaked evidence of Patel’s abuses.
This kind of arrogant, dumb conduct will bring down the Trump Administration if it isn’t stopped, and quickly. Patel should be fired for, at very least, the kind of “appearance of impropriety” that destroys the public trust.
Ethics Alarms 
“ ‘It’s almost as if going to college now makes people stupid,’ ”
Do tell…
PWS
It’s more analogous to the old saying: “You don’t have to be crazy to work here. We offer on-the-job training.”
–Dwayne
“I Madman” is an anagram of “Mandami”
Coincidence…?
PWS
He has a really creepy smile. Reminds me of the smiling damned in “Smile” and “Smile 2″…
“He has a really creepy smile. Reminds me of the smiling damned in ‘Smile’ and ‘Smile 2‘ “
With a sinister dash of CHUCKY for good measure.
PWS
Hans Gruber as an astute EA commenter pointed out. Or even those annoying Guy Fawkes masks. So weird the way his eyes disappear when he smiles. It’s a smile that has absolutely no emotional content. Purely for show. He’s a con man. Run away!
“So weird the way his eyes disappear when he smiles.”
Hmmm; Great White Shark’s eyes ROLL BACK when they’re about to attack.
PWS
To be fair, Trump also has a mostly forced, creepy smile.
But Trump is the devil incarnate while this guy is wonderfulness made flesh.
Re: Jimmy Kimmel’s wife. But wait, there’s more!
Jimmy Kimmel’s wife ‘felt betrayed by Trump voting family members’ after her comic husband was pulled from the air | Daily Mail Online
(I had no idea she’s one of the show’s writers. So, Jimmy dumped wife number one for a young chick at work. Nice.)
Her relatives, evidently including her parents who raised her at doubtless great expense) have the nerve to not be Democrats!
I heard Patel’s response to the issue was that he is not allowed to fly commercial; he has to have government transportation.
Maybe a private charter is possible.
I don’t know, but it struck me as a plausible defense.
-Jut
But nothing requires him to see his girlfriend sing. Tough—it’s a sacriifce required of the job. She can fly commercial to see him in D.C.
Nothing requires anyone to travel anywhere for personal reasons as well. So who determines what is appropriate personal travel and what is not?
I see the same complaints about the President using Air Force One to go to the Super Bowl.
isn’t Trump required to travel by Air Force One, whether it is business or personal.
Trump can take personal trips on the public dime, but not his cabinet members?
smacks of the King’s Pass
-Jut
And lest we forget, Nancy Pelosi was flown across the country from D.C. to San Francisco at no cost to her on an Air Force Boeing 757 any time she wanted to go home because as Speaker of the House she was in line for the Presidency.
That’s because the President’s symbolic role as a human flag IS akin to the King’s role in a Constitutional monarchy. POTUS is working when he appears at the Super Bowl, just as he is when he throws out the first pitch of the baseball season or lights the National Christmas Tree. The Director of the FBI has no such 24-7 responsibilities.
that’s a fair distinction but how can any lower official take any personal time.
sorry, you can see your girlfriend because you have to fly on our plane
no vacation because you can’t drive to Dominican Republic
no going home for Thanksgiving…
etc. etc. etc.
I do not know how you could make a rule that addresses this problem that covers or resolves the problem.
-Jut
I’m confused. From the Post: “FBI Director Kash Patel used a government plane to see his girlfriend, his girlfriend, country music singer Alexis Wilkins, perform at a pro wrestling event. The abuse of government funds was flagged on the podcast of an ex-FBI Patel critic, who accused Patel and Wilkins of “grifting off the American public,” saying, “We’re in the middle of a government shutdown where they’re not even gonna pay all of the employees that work for the agency that this guy heads, and this guy is jetting off to hang out with his girlfriend in Nashville on our dime?”
From the linked article: “FBI directors are required to use government aircraft for personal or business travel in order to maintain secure communications. But public attention of Patel’s weekend outing—fueled by an X post from a former FBI agent turned outspoken Patel critic—comes after Patel had criticized predecessors for personal travel on taxpayer-funded jets.” Based on this statement alone his travel cannot be deemed abuse of government funds.
I can see that Patel should be called out for criticizing what his predecessors did and then doing the same. But we cannot say that he is doing something inappropriate, unethical or unlawful. This is especially true if his predecessors were acquitted by any oversight group of any inappropriate personal travel. We must not lose track of the fact that it was a former FBI employee who deceptively stated that this was impermissible by Patel and “grifting of the American public.”
According to the article Palmer’s ouster is partially based on a theory that this was in retaliation for the public exposure. The retaliation/retribution theme runs through the article without any concrete evidence.
“Palmer was told he needed to immediately resign or be fired, which the individuals said was at least partially connected to Patel’s fury over the negative media cycle on his personal travel.”
The “individuals” referenced are anonymous sources. What is the probability that a reporter at Bloomberg found some anti-Trumper to espouse this theory? Moreover, partially connected means anything from next to nothing to virtually everything. This kind of reporting verbiage has the all the hallmarks of a hit job. There could just as easily be a variety or reasons for the resignation or termination request.
I find the whole idea of allowing disgruntled employees making negative claims about why they were fired is unethical when they know that they are shielded from having their reputations ruined because personnel matters are always kept private by the employer. The only way to make the matter ethical is to allow the accused employer to fully explain the rationale for the termination; even if it means the employee will be persona non grata anywhere else.
Don’t draw too bold a line between the media and higher ed. Look how many in the media — print and broadcast — are the product of some J-school. They get an immersion course of leftist politics and then go to work spreading those leftist concepts via the media.
And the educators (propagandists) that inhabit the K-12 schools are products of those same higher ed indoctrination mills, and they push their students into the universities. They keep the cycle going.
JM writes: “I sure wish Curmie, the erudite, once open-minded progressive-ish columnist here would shake off his Trump Derangement and return to offer EA readers perspective on issues like the one above. He would be welcomed with open arms.”
I don’t know who Curmie is but “Trump Derangement” + “open arms” makes me wonder if the two of you had a running irony gag on EA?
Along the lines of “Curmie, you ignorant slut?”
Search for “Curmie” on the blog search engine. Until he lost his mind, he and I tended to be in furious agrement more often than not.
Just read a few of his entries. Entertaining and well written! And I definitely recognized some of the foibles of academia he describes that I have also encountered (not always with the ability to render them humorous!)
I see why you miss him. Is he someone that you know IRL?
Oh yeah, We’ve met; he once came to a show I directed; we have exchanged emails regularly until he gave me a brusk kiss-off after Trump was elected. I’m not chasing him: at this point, he owes me an apology and an explanation. I have never been anything bot friendly, civil and supportive of him and his work, I gave him a platform here with no restrictions, and do not deserve to be treated like that.