- A succinct characterization of the different cultures of red and blue states, from Jamelle Bouie of NYT;
- How the kerfuffle between Congress and university presidents is an example of cancel culture from the right, who only believe in free speech for themselves;
- Jerry Coyne and Steven Pinker on how to save Harvard: a fivefold way of free speech, institutional neutrality, nonviolence, viewpoint diversity, and DEI disempowerment;
- Paul Krugman on the shoplifting story and how it reflects peoples’ false beliefs about the economy;
- And the latest example of Trump lying many times a minute.
I’m leading with this item because writer ends with an especially succinct characterization of the red/blue divide.
NY Times, Opinion, Jamelle Bouie, 12 Dec 2023: Red States and Blue States Are Becoming Different Countries
It seems obvious to say, but if you want a real sense of the differences between America’s two major parties — and if you want a sense of what the future could bring if either party wins full control of the federal government next year — all you have to do is look at the states.
Where Republicans have gained this kind of full control over state legislatures and statehouses, they have used that authority in pursuit of policies meant to curtail the ability of people in their states to live as they please.
Followed by the usual examples, e.g. of “anti-woke” policies in Florida, and bills in many states aimed at suppressing “trans and other gender-nonconforming people.” Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas. And the many crackdowns on abortion.
Taken all together, you could say that Republicans are engaged in a comprehensive effort to limit the freedom of entire categories of people.
Compare this with the legislation passed in states that after the 2022 elections became Democratic trifectas.
Examples from Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland. Then observations about life expectancy in red states vs. blue states. (They’re higher in blue states.) And then ending with that succinct characterization:
Americans are often taught to think of the differences between Republicans and Democrats as a set of reasonable disagreements over how to tackle agreed-upon problems. But what we can see, in the divergent agendas of Republican-led states and Democrat-led states, is how the differences have far more to do with the actual purpose of government. For Democrats, that purpose is usually the public good. For Republicans, that purpose is harsh social regulation, with little apparent regard for the lives of those who have to endure these policies.
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Then I have several items about the kerfuffle between Congress and several university presidents for not disciplining students who advocated genocide of the Jews. One of those presidents has already resigned.
Robert Reich, 11 Dec 2023: When wealthy donors oust university presidents over how they answer congressional questions, subtitled “A frighteningly dangerous precedent”
Reich summarizes the situation. Including how wealthy donors have withdrawn support for those universities.
But what strikes me is how the interrogator — apparently a Trump supporter, and therefore a Republican — insisted on a black or white answer to what is clearly, as the university presidents tried to explain, a complex situation with no black or white answer. It does depend on context.
“I’m asking if specifically calling for the genocide of Jews — does that constitute bullying or harassment?” Stefanik pressed her point.
“If it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment,” said Magill.
“So the answer is yes?”
“It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman,” Magill said.
This is part of a larger trend in recent years in which universities have over-reacted to campus protests (by students or outsiders) to invited speakers, to the point of withdrawing those invitations. E.g. see THE CODDLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND and this year’s THE CANCELLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND which, broadly speaking, recommend that students not be snowflakes and that the universities should instead prioritize freedom of speech, on all sides, and that universities are precisely places where students should be challenged, not coddled. Those disinvitations have been examples of “cancel culture” from the left. Congressional attack on university presidents are examples of cancel culture from the right.
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Along these lines…
(The photo is of that Congressional interrogator: “U.S. House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) | The Baphomet statue is seen in the conversion room at the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)”)
Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 12 Dec 2023: An Iowa fight over a Satanic display reminds us: Republicans believe “free speech” is only for them, subtitled “The key to understanding the GOP furor over “anti-semitism” on campus? A altar to Lucifer in the Des Moines Capitol”
And
Washington Post, Shadi Hamid, 11 Dec 2023: Opinion | Republicans say they believe in free speech. Except when it comes to Israel.
Cancel culture is back. The difference this time is that the targets are on the left. Republican officials and right-wing commentators are working overtime to criminalize and punish pro-Palestinian speech they disagree with, indiscriminately charging anyone who is insufficiently supportive of Israel’s war in Gaza with antisemitism. In this expanded understanding of the word, something as simple — and moral — as support for basic Palestinian rights is suspect.
The piece mentions that Lukianoff/Schlott Cancelling book I mentioned above. This isn’t about the university presidents issue, but about reactions to the Israeli/Hamas war in general. And reflects the unwavering support for Israel on the right — because, I gather, of some religious commitment involving the Bible and the end of the world.
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Jerry Coyne summarizes a piece by Steve Pinker in the Boston Globe, which alas is paywalled, today, 12 Dec 2023: Steve Pinker’s Fivefold Way: How Harvard can save itself
I can quote Coyne’s summation of Pinker’s recommendations:
A fivefold way of free speech, institutional neutrality, nonviolence, viewpoint diversity, and DEI disempowerment will not be a quick fix for universities. But it’s necessary to reverse their tanking credibility and better than the alternatives of firing the coach or deepening the hole they have dug for themselves.
What’s significant here is his take on DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion — programs on university campuses, which he feels have been ill-considered and are ultimately counter-productive. Coyne quotes Pinker:
Disempowering DEI. Many of the assaults on academic freedom (not to mention common sense) come from a burgeoning bureaucracy that calls itself diversity, equity, and inclusion while enforcing a uniformity of opinion, a hierarchy of victim groups, and the exclusion of freethinkers. Often hastily appointed by deans as expiation for some gaffe or outrage, these officers stealthily implement policies that were never approved in faculty deliberations or by university leaders willing to take responsibility for them. . .
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NY Times, Paul Krugman, 11 Dec 2023: Watch What People Do, Not What They Say About the Economy
Krugman is responding to the news about shoplifting (which I posted about two days ago), and puts it into the context of peoples’ false beliefs about the economy. He contrasts what people do — they’re still buying lots of stuff — and not what they say, about what they think about the economy. I’ll just quote his conclusion.
Journalists are frequently reluctant to acknowledge that public views of the economy are at odds with reality, lest they be called elitists citing fancy government statistics rather than listening to real people. And I keep seeing almost desperate efforts to find bad news in the economic data.
But the fundamental puzzle isn’t that people are unhappy despite favorable macroeconomic indicators. It is that Americans say that things are terrible but behave as if they’re doing pretty well. And I, at least, am inclined to place more weight on what people do than on what they say.
This is a gift link! So non subscribers can read it. But I can only do this 10 times a month.
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One more quick link, without quotes…
Washington Post, Fact Checker, 12 Dec 2023: Trump on Hannity’s show: 24 false or misleading claims in 5 minutes
(This is a gift link you can use to read the article even if you’re not a subscriber. As with the above piece.)
Of course, his audience doesn’t care.
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And that’s enough for tonight.
