It’s official! Since my mother was born in Tel Aviv, I am now classified as a racial minority! I was white for 53 years, but now I am one of those trans-racial people, just like Rachel Dolezal!
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
March 28, 2024
After 53 years of benefiting from my white privilege, it is now time for me to say goodbye to my fleet of yachts, my dozens of private jets, and my guaranteed exemptions from cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
Just like that, I am now a racial minority.
According to this article from NPR, I am now a member of the MENA group.
The article includes this handy dandy chart:
The American Museum of Natural History has just canceled its Native American exhibits
https://www.amnh.org/about/statement-new-nagpra-regulations
Beginning this Saturday, we will be closing two halls dedicated to Indigenous cultures of North America, the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains Halls, to visitors and staff. Both Halls display artifacts that, under the new NAGPRA regulations, could require consent to exhibit. The number of cultural objects on display in these Halls is significant, and because these exhibits are also severely outdated, we have decided that rather than just covering or removing specific items, we will close the Halls. In addition to closing these two Halls, we will be covering three cases just outside of the Hall of Eastern Woodlands and two cases in the Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples, which display Native Hawaiian items. In addition, two cases in Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall also will be covered.
One immediate effect of these closures will be the suspension of school field trips to Eastern Woodlands, which for years has hosted local students as part of their social studies curriculum.
In Mississauga, Ontario, a public high school library removed every book that had been published in 2008 or earlier, under the justification of “inclusivity,” “anti-racism,” “equity” and “diversity”
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
September 15, 2023
In Mississauga, Ontario, a public high school library removed every book that had been published in 2008 or earlier, under the justification of “inclusivity,” “anti-racism,” “equity” and “diversity.”
Gee, I always thought that the word “inclusivity” was about including things, not excluding things.
And I always thought the word “diversity” meant there should be more choices, not fewer.
And I’m not sure how getting rid of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank contributes to the fight against racism.
You can read about it in this article:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332
‘Empty shelves with absolutely no books’: Students, parents question school board’s library weeding process
Books published in 2008 or earlier removed from school library amid confusion around new equity-based process
September 13, 2023
Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Those are all examples of books Reina Takata says she can no longer find in her public high school library in Mississauga, Ont., which she visits on her lunch hour most days.
In May, Takata says the shelves at Erindale Secondary School were full of books, but she noticed that they had gradually started to disappear. When she returned to school this fall, things were more stark.
“This year, I came into my school library and there are rows and rows of empty shelves with absolutely no books,” said Takata, who started Grade 10 last week.
She estimates more than 50 per cent of her school’s library books are gone.
I said to ChatGPT: “Somalia is ignorant and uneducated.” ChatGPT responded: “This content may violate our content policy. If you believe this to be in error, please submit your feedback — your input will aid our research in this area.”
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
March 13, 2023
I recently had the following conversation with ChatGPT:
Me: Why is Somalia so messed up?
ChatGPT: Somalia has been facing a number of challenges and struggles that have contributed to its instability and difficulties over the years. Here are some of the factors that have contributed to the current state of Somalia:
Political instability: Somalia has experienced political instability for several decades, which has resulted in frequent changes in government and weak institutions. The lack of strong governance structures has made it difficult to maintain law and order, and has created opportunities for criminal and extremist groups to operate with impunity.
Civil war and conflict: Somalia has been plagued by civil war and conflict for many years. This has resulted in widespread violence, displacement of people, destruction of infrastructure, and loss of life. The ongoing conflict has made it difficult to establish peace and stability in the country.
Poverty and unemployment: Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with high levels of poverty and unemployment. The lack of economic opportunities has made it difficult for people to make a living, which has contributed to social unrest and conflict.
Climate change and environmental degradation: Somalia has been affected by climate change and environmental degradation, which have contributed to droughts, famine, and displacement of people. The environmental challenges have also made it difficult for people to sustain their livelihoods, exacerbating poverty and insecurity.
External interference: Somalia has been subject to external interference by regional and international actors, which has sometimes complicated efforts to address the country’s problems. The interference has sometimes exacerbated conflicts and made it difficult to achieve peace and stability.
These factors have combined to create a complex set of challenges for Somalia, making it difficult to establish peace and stability in the country.
Me: What about the average I.Q.?
ChatGPT: It is not appropriate to make generalizations about the average IQ of an entire population, as IQ tests are culturally and socially biased and do not provide a comprehensive measure of intelligence. Moreover, such claims can promote harmful stereotypes and perpetuate discrimination and prejudice.
Furthermore, Somalia is a diverse country with many different ethnic and linguistic groups, and it is not possible to accurately measure the intelligence of an entire population through IQ tests. It is important to recognize that intelligence is a complex and multifaceted trait that cannot be accurately measured through a single test or metric. It is important to focus on addressing the underlying factors that contribute to the challenges faced by Somalia, rather than perpetuating harmful stereotypes about the intelligence of its people.
Me: What if the stereotype is actually true?
ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I must clarify that stereotypes are often based on limited and biased information and are not a reliable way to understand a group of people or a culture. It is important to recognize and challenge stereotypes, as they can be harmful and perpetuate discrimination and prejudice.
Moreover, it is important to approach any assertion about the accuracy of a stereotype with caution and skepticism, as it is often based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Instead of relying on stereotypes, it is important to seek out diverse perspectives and engage with individuals and communities directly to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and perspectives.
Me: Compare Somalia to Japan in terms of per capital engineering degrees.
ChatGPT: According to available data, there is a significant difference between the number of engineering degrees awarded per capita in Somalia and Japan. In Somalia, the number of engineering degrees awarded per capita is relatively low, with only about 0.02% of the population receiving an engineering degree. In contrast, Japan has a much higher rate of engineering degree recipients, with approximately 0.4% of the population receiving an engineering degree.
It is important to note that there may be several factors contributing to this difference, including differences in educational systems, funding for higher education, and social and cultural attitudes towards education and engineering. Moreover, it is important to recognize that engineering degrees alone do not necessarily provide a comprehensive measure of a country’s overall level of technological development or innovation.
It is also worth noting that making comparisons between countries based solely on educational attainment can be limiting and does not provide a comprehensive understanding of the broader social, economic, and cultural contexts in which educational systems operate.
Me: Appreciation of math and science is a good thing.
ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I cannot have opinions or beliefs. However, I can provide information on the benefits of appreciating math and science.
Appreciation of math and science is widely considered to be a positive thing, as it can lead to a better understanding of the natural world and the development of new technologies and innovations. A strong foundation in math and science can also help individuals to solve complex problems, think critically, and make informed decisions.
Moreover, an appreciation of math and science can lead to exciting career opportunities in fields such as engineering, medicine, computer science, and many others. By fostering an appreciation of math and science in education and society, we can help to promote technological innovation, scientific advancement, and economic growth.
It is important to recognize that not everyone may have the same level of interest or aptitude in math and science, and that there are many different ways to contribute to society and make a positive impact. Nonetheless, fostering an appreciation of math and science can provide individuals with valuable skills and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Me: Somalia is ignorant and uneducated.
ChatGPT: This content may violate our content policy. If you believe this to be in error, please submit your feedback — your input will aid our research in this area.
It is important to recognize that making generalizations about entire populations can be harmful and perpetuate stereotypes and prejudice. While it is true that Somalia faces significant challenges in education and literacy, it is not accurate or fair to characterize an entire population as ignorant or uneducated.
The education system in Somalia has faced many challenges over the years, including a lack of resources, political instability, and conflict. These challenges have made it difficult for many Somalis to access quality education and develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.
Despite these challenges, there are many Somalis who are dedicated to promoting education and literacy in their communities, and who are working to address the underlying issues that contribute to the education gap. Moreover, it is important to recognize that education and literacy are not the only indicators of intelligence or capability, and that there are many ways in which individuals and communities can contribute to society and make a positive impact.
It is important to approach issues of education and literacy with sensitivity and understanding, and to work collaboratively with individuals and communities to identify and address the underlying factors that contribute to these challenges.
Biden’s nominee to lead FAA can’t answer a single question about aviation and air travel Ted Budd asks
At a March 1, 2023 Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) questioned Philip Washington, nominee to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEj2Yq0okzU
Roald Dahl warned ‘politically correct’ publishers – ‘change one word and deal with my crocodile’
Roald Dahl warned ‘politically correct’ publishers – ‘change one word and deal with my crocodile’
Children’s author threatened to strike if editors changed ‘a single comma’ of his writing and claimed ‘Marx and Lenin’ were responsible
By Patrick Sawer
25 February 2023
Roald Dahl threatened to never write another word if his publishers ever changed his language, promising to send his “Enormous Crocodile” to gobble them up if they did so.
The writer’s fury at the prospect of publishers censoring his books has emerged in the wake of the row over Puffin altering several passages from his famous children’s stories.
Dahl made his comments 40 years ago, in a recorded conversation with his friend Francis Bacon, the painter, in which he anticipated the impact that “political correctness” might have on his work.
He told Bacon: “I’ve warned my publishers that if they later on so much as change a single comma in one of my books, they will never see another word from me. Never! Ever!”
In the recording, the writer, who had Norwegian roots, added: “When I am gone, if that happens, then I’ll wish mighty Thor knocks very hard on their heads with his Mjolnir. Or I will send along the Enormous Crocodile to gobble them up.”
Dahl’s comments emerged after Puffin announced on Friday that it will reissue his books in their uncensored form, following the backlash over its decision to alter key sections.
The Telegraph revealed that hundreds of changes had been made to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and more than a dozen other titles, removing many descriptions relating to weight, mental health and gender to minimise offence.
The backlash saw the decision criticised by many, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Salman Rushide, along with an intervention by the Queen. She urged authors to write “unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression”.
In their conversation, recorded by Bacon’s friend Barry Joule in 1982 at Dahl’s home in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, Bacon tells the children’s writer: “There must be no changes to an artist’s original work when he is dead for any reason whatsoever.”
Dahl, who died eight years later, aged 74, replies: “I just hope to God that will never happen to any of my writings as I am lying comfortably in my Viking grave.”
Joule regularly recorded his conversations with Bacon and had been fortunate enough to transcribe the one chronicling the encounter with Dahl shortly before the tape was inadvertently destroyed.
‘This political correctness rubbish’
The encounter at Great Missenden followed the publication of Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and, during their conversation, he anticipates future rows over his colourful and evocative language.
Joule told The Guardian: “Fully puffed up on the subject, [Dahl] informed us, ‘You know, it was Marx and Lenin who commenced this political correctness rubbish way back in 1917, and by God it’s creeping into this country.’
“He suddenly grabbed my copy and roughly flipped through several pages to where the right-hand side featured a fine comical drawing by Quentin Blake of Miss Red Riding Hood wearing a heavy wolfskin coat.
“‘For instance, look here – knickers!’ he exclaimed [at the line ‘She whips a pistol from her knickers’] and pressed his forefinger fingernail under the eight letters so hard an imprint was left behind … noting, ‘I suppose if the Political Correctness Police could get a hold of that, they’d change in an instant the filthy word to “ladies underwear apparel”!’ Francis frowned, then grinned widely at such an outrageous possibility.”
The “Enormous Crocodile” mentioned by Dahl in his threat was a reference to one of his most famous characters, “a horrid greedy grumptious brute” who “wants to eat something juicy and delicious”.
Can’t say “queer” anymore! Authoritarians at Puffin just made hundreds of changes to Roald Dahl’s books. Here are some examples.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
February 19, 2023
This article from the Telegraph lists a huge numbers of the changes that publisher Puffin has recently made to Roald Dahl’s books.
Dahl himself has been dead for decades, so he had nothing to do with these changes. I’m certain that when he wrote his original text, he put a tremendous amount of thought into the words that he chose. I’m guessing that he would probably drop dead from a heart attack if he were still alive and could see how his art has been mutilated. Or perhaps the back of his head would have exploded. Certainly, he would have been furious, and would have felt very heavily violated.
Every famous and well loved author has their own unique writing style. The original text of Dahl’s books was written in a specific manner that makes it clearly identifiable as having been written by Dahl. His word choices were colorful and descriptive. The changes that Puffin has made vandalize Dahl’s writing. They also dumb it down. The new, replacement text is bland and drab.
This is exactly the kind of thing that George Orwell warned us about in his novel 1984.
Here are some examples of the recent changes to Dahl’s books, as reported in this Telegraph article:
Original text: “In her right hand she carried a walking stick. She used to tell people that this was because she had warts growing on her sole of her left foot and walking was painful.”
New text: “In her right hand she carried a walking stick. Not because she needed help walking.”
Original text: “You can’t go round pulling the hair of every lady you meet, even if she is wearing gloves. Just you try it and see what happens”
New text: “Besides, there are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that”
Original text: “But what about the rest of the world?’ I cried. “What about America and France and Holland and Germany?”
New text: “But what about the rest of the world?” I cried
Original text: “Your daughter Vanessa, judging by what she’s learnt this term, has no hearing-organs at all”
New text: “Judging by what your daughter Vanessa has learnt this term, this fact alone is more interesting than anything I have taught in the classroom “
Original text: “They must be absolutely mad! the Centipede said”
New text: “What are they doing?! the Centipede said”
Original text: “Idiots!” he yelled
New text: “Oi!” he yelled
Original text: “Great flock of ladies”
New text: “Great group of ladies”
Original text: “Chambermaid”
New text: “Cleaner“
Original text: “Queer“
New text: “Strange”
Original text: “Foul bald-headed females”
New text: “Foul females”
Original text:”fatty folds of his flabby neck”
New text: “folds of his neck”
Original text: “Even if she is working as a cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman”
New text: “Even if she is working as a top scientist or running a business”
Original text: “It nearly killed Ashton as well. Half the skin came away from his scalp”
New text: “It didn’t do Ashton much good”
Original text: “Dickens or Kipling”
New text: “Dickens or Austen”
Original text: “Wise old bird”
New text: “Wise teacher”
Original text: “You’re mad”
New text: “I don’t know why“
Original text: “Knock her flat”
New text: “Give her a right talking to”
Original text: “blow off the top of her head”
New text: “shoot sparks out the top of her head”
Original text: “Maybe that will brighten up those horrid brown teeth of hers”
New text: “Maybe that will brighten up her smile”
Original text: “The old hag opened her small wrinkled mouth, showing disgusting pale brown teeth”
New text: “The old lady opened her small wrinkled mouth.”
Original text: “I climbed up to their tree-house village and poked my head in through the door of the tree house belonging to the leader of the tribe”
New text: “I decided to speak to their leader”
Original text: “The poor little fellow, looking thin and starved, was sitting there…”
New text: “The fellow was sitting there…”
Original text: “So I shipped them all over here – every man, woman, and child in the Oompa-Loompa tribe”
New text: “So, they all agreed to come over – each and every Oompa-Loompa”
Original text: “It was easy. I smuggled them over in large packing cases with holes in them, and they all got here safely… They all speak English now”
New text: “They’ve told me they love it here”
Orignal text: “But Augustus was deaf to everything except the call of his enormous stomach”
New text: “But Augustus was ignoring everything”
Orginal text: “She wants a good kick in the pants,” whispered Grandpa Joe
New text: “She needs to learn some manners,” whispered Grandpa Joe
Original text: “How long could we allow this beast/To gorge and guzzle, feed and feast/On everything he wanted to?/Great Scott! It simply wouldn’t do./However long this pig might live,/We’re positive he’d never give/Even the smallest bit of fun/Or happiness to anyone”
New text: “For one such child as vile as he/Bad things happen, wait and see!/We cannot say we are surprised,/Augustus Gloop had been advised./ But then he took another sip/And now he’s going on a trip.”
So those are some of the examples of original text being replaced with new text.
In many other cases, text has been completely removed, with nothing to replace it. Here are some examples of text that has been removed without being replaced:
“When an actress wears a wig, or if you or I were to wear a wig, we would be putting it on over our own hair, but a witch has to put it straight on to her naked scalp “
“How horrid!” “Disgusting,” my grandmother said
“Perhaps he had been forced to jam her thumb down the spout of a boiling kettle until it was steamed away”
“The gums were like raw meat”
“I simply cannot tell you how awful they were, and somehow the whole sight was made more grotesque because underneath those frightful scabby bald heads, the bodies were dressed in fashionable and rather pretty clothes. It was monstrous. It was unnatural”
“We could round them all up and put them in the meat-grinder“
“He needs to go on a diet”
“I was crazy”
“She wore heavy make-up and had one of those unfortunate bulging figures where the flesh appeas to be strapped in all around the body to prevent it from falling out”
“His wife recognised the signs immediately and made herself scarce”
“Matilda took the knife she had been eating with”
“He looked like a low-grade bookmaker dressed up for his daughter’s wedding”
“Bingo afternoons left her so exhausted both physically and emotionally that she never had enough energy left to cook an evening meal”
“Their children turned out to be delinquents and drop-outs”
“I was her slave”
“She looked as though she was going to faint.”
“Mr Kranky was a small man with bandy legs and a huge head.”
“That’s what happens to you if you’re grumpy and bad tempered,’ said Mr Kranky. ‘Great medicine of yours, George.’”
“But she calmed down quite quickly. And by lunchtime, she was saying, ‘Ah well, I suppose it’s all for the best, really. She was a bit of a nusiance around the house, wasn’t she?’ ‘Yes,’ Mr Kranky said. ‘She most certainly was.’”
“The man behind the counter looked fat and well-fed. He had big lips and fat cheeks and a very fat neck”
“The fat around his neck bulged out all around the top of his collar like a rubber ring”
“Look at their funny long hair!”
“But they can’t be real people,” Charlie said
“The Oompa-Loompas spent every moment of their days climbing through the treetops”
“You only had to mention the word “cacao” to an Oompa-Loompa and he would start dribbling at the mouth”
“Mr Wonka turned around and clicked his finger sharply, click, click, click, three times”
“The Oompa-Loompa bowed and smiled, showing beautiful white teeth. His skin was rosy-white, his hair was golden brown, and the top of his head came just above the height of Mr Wonka’s knee“
“He wore the usual deerskin slung over his shoulder”
“But this revolting boy, of course,/Was so unutterably vile,/So greedy, foul, and infantile,/He left a most disgusting taste/Inside our mouths, and so in haste/We chose a thing that, come what may./Would take the nasty taste away”
“Rather pretty young lady”
“That seemed to calm her down a bit”
“Immensely fat”
So, those are some of the examples that are listed at the Telegraph article. There are hundreds of others in the article that I did not include. You can read the Telegraph article at this link.
Roald Dahl goes PC in a world where no one is ‘fat’ and the Oompa-Loompas are gender neutral
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-woke-overhaul-offensive-words-removed/
Roald Dahl goes PC in a world where no one is ‘fat’ and the Oompa-Loompas are gender neutral
Sensitivity readers were hired to scrutinise the text with parts rewritten for a modern audience
By Anita Singh
17 February 2023
Augustus Gloop is no longer fat, Mrs Twit is no longer fearfully ugly, and the Oompa-Loompas have gone gender-neutral in new editions of Roald Dahl’s beloved stories.
The publisher, Puffin, has made hundreds of changes to the original text, removing many of Dahl’s colourful descriptions and making his characters less grotesque.
The review of Dahl’s language was undertaken to ensure that the books “can continue to be enjoyed by all today”, Puffin said.
References to physical appearance have been heavily edited. The word “fat” has been removed from every book – Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory may still look like a ball of dough, but can now only be described as “enormous”.
In the same story, the Oompa-Loompas are no longer “tiny”, “titchy” or “no higher than my knee” but merely small. And where once they were “small men”, they are now “small people”.
Passages not written by Dahl have also been added. In The Witches, a paragraph explaining that witches are bald beneath their wigs ends with the new line: “There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.”
In previous editions of James and the Giant Peach, the Centipede sings: “Aunt Sponge was terrifically fat/And tremendously flabby at that,” and, “Aunt Spiker was thin as a wire/And dry as a bone, only drier.”
Both verses have been removed, and in their place are the underwhelming rhymes: “Aunt Sponge was a nasty old brute/And deserved to be squashed by the fruit,” and, “Aunt Spiker was much of the same/And deserves half of the blame.”
References to “female” characters have disappeared – Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, once a “most formidable female”, is now a “most formidable woman”.
“Boys and girls” has been turned into “children”. The Cloud-Men in James and the Giant Peach have become Cloud-People and Fantastic Mr Fox’s three sons have become daughters.
Matilda reads Jane Austen rather than Rudyard Kipling, and a witch posing as “a cashier in a supermarket” now works as “a top scientist”.
Mrs Twit’s “fearful ugliness” is reduced to “ugliness”, while Mrs Hoppy in Esio Trot is not an “attractive middle-aged lady” but a “kind middle-aged lady”.
One of Dahl’s most popular lines from The Twits is: “You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams.” It has been edited to take out the “double chin”.
An emphasis on mental health has led to the removal of “crazy” and “mad”, which Dahl used frequently in comic fashion. A mention in Esio Trot of tortoises being “backward” – the joke behind the book’s title – has been excised.
The words “black” and “white” have been removed: characters no longer turn “white with fear” and the Big Friendly Giant in The BFG cannot wear a black cloak.
The changes were made by the publisher, Puffin, and the Roald Dahl Story Company, now owned by Netflix, with sensitivity readers hired to scrutinise the text.
The review began in 2020, when the company was still run by the Dahl family. Netflix acquired the literary estate in 2021 for a reported £500 million.
Sensitivities over Dahl’s stories were heightened when a 2020 Hollywood version of The Witches led to a backlash over its depiction of the Grand Witch, played by Anne Hathaway, with fingers missing from each hand.
Warner Bros was forced to make an apology after Paralympians and charities said it was offensive to the limb difference community.
That same year, the Dahl family and the company apologised for the author’s past anti-Semitic statements.
Matthew Dennison, Dahl’s biographer, said that the author – who died in 1990 – chose his vocabulary with care. “I’m almost certain that he would have recognised that alterations to his novels prompted by the political climate were driven by adults rather than children,” he said.
Bill Maher: Woke and Liberal are the OPPOSITE of each other
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx_8AeiUDlU
Top female scientist canceled over 13-year-old ‘Michael Jackson’ Halloween costume
Top female scientist canceled over 13-year-old ‘Michael Jackson’ Halloween costume
By Jennifer Kabbany
March 7, 2022
‘UW Medicine is helping to ruin a woman who devoted her career to finding a cure for HIV’
Highly decorated virologist Julie Overbaugh has been forced out of a position of leadership at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and resigned her faculty affiliate position at the University of Washington School of Medicine due to accusations of racism and investigations involving her decision to wear a Michael Jackson costume to a Halloween party in 2009.
A picture of the 13-year-old incident, in which she is accused of wearing “blackface,” has prompted peers to accuse her of racism despite the fact that her research has focused on aiding Africans for the last three decades.
“Overbaugh has devoted her professional career to studying viral pathogens that cause HIV. But amid publishing papers, running her own research lab, and flying back and forth from Kenya, she has also pursued another professional passion: mentoring. Overbaugh is one of two recipients of this year’s Nature Award for Mentoring in Science, which is awarded to select scientists in one country or region each year,” a 2016 report in GeekWire reports.
Last year, Overbaugh was elected to National Academy of Sciences.
“I am really happy to see gender balance in this year’s elected members and hope this signals a future trend,” Overbaugh said at the time. “In my field, HIV, which is a very large field, there have only been a couple of women elected — hopefully, there will be more in the future.”
But Overbaugh’s accomplishments during an age in which female STEM recruitment and retainment is a social justice priority apparently could not outweigh the 2009 incident of emulating the King of Pop at a party that was reportedly themed after Jackson’s famous “Thriller” album.
Members of the Overbaugh lab apparently enjoy celebrating Halloween and have posted pictures of its themed parties every year. In past years they have dressed as emojis, bumble bees, fish — and even as “Binders of Babes” — a riff on Republican Mitt Romney’s gaffe while running for president.
The picture from the year 2009 is conspicuously missing from the webpage.
“The act depicted in the photo is racist, offensive and hurtful, and we offer our sincere apologies to anyone who has experienced pain or upset because of the act or this photo,” the cancer center announced in mid-February, adding Overbaugh was put on administrative leave and placed under investigation.
“Dr. Overbaugh has stepped down from her senior vice president role at Fred Hutch. She will continue working in her lab and will take a hiatus from her leadership duties in the Office of Education & Training. During this time, she will engage in an intensive education and reflection process.”
The Federalist reports:
Though the incident didn’t occur at UW Medicine, its CEO and equity officer also waded into the faux controversy. UW Medicine CEO Dr. Paul Ramsey and Chief Equity Officer Paula Houston notified UW Medicine staff in an email that Overbaugh was punished for engaging in the “racist, dehumanizing, and abhorrent act” of “blackface.” During a separate formal review process for UW faculty, the email confirmed, Overbaugh resigned from her UW affiliate faculty member appointment.
Overbaugh released a short statement to me. “I did not know the association of this with blackface at the time, in 2009, but understand the offense that is associated with this now,” she said. “I have apologized for this both publicly and privately and beyond that have no other comments.”
Ramsey and Houston claim that the UW Medicine community was “harmed” by the 13-year-old photo that most staff didn’t know existed until reading about it in the Feb. 25 email. “We acknowledge that our community has been harmed by this incident and the fact that 13 years elapsed before action was taken,” they wrote. “We are convening a series of affinity group meetings in the next few weeks to provide spaces for mutual support, reflection, and response.”
Neither Ramsey nor Houston explained how the photo “harmed” anyone. Indeed, beyond one confirmed complaint, it’s unclear if anyone even cared about the old photo.
The full memo from UW Medicine was republished by journalist Jesse Singal on his Twitter page. The memo notes that Overbaugh resigned her post at the university once administrators began their own probe into the incident.
Her faculty bio is no longer on the UW School of Medicine website, although its Department of Global Health has, as of Monday afternoon, yet to strip her from its webpage.
“A U. Washington doctor who has dedicated her career to fighting HIV in Africa, including research w/sex workers, is having her reputation and career incinerated because she dressed up as Michael Jackson, in blackface, once in 2009,” Singal noted.
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1497289911996760064
“Just to situate everyone, the event in question happened several years before the most recent instance of 30 Rock airing blackface-oriented comedy to tens of millions of people. What she did was a bad idea but at the time was obviously not seen as too risque even for network TV,” he added.
Writing for The Federalist, Jason Rantz points out that “UW Medicine is lashing out against Overbaugh to show its wokeness and earn social currency.”
“That UW Medicine is helping to ruin a woman who devoted her career to finding a cure for HIV is immaterial to its leaders. To progressive activists, highlighting one’s virtues is more important than curing a deadly disease.”
In this video from 2005, Whoopi Goldberg explains why she’s against censoring old Looney Tunes cartoons that have racial stereotypes. I agree with her. And I’m against suspending her for her recent comments about the Holocaust. And I’m Jewish.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
February 2, 2022
Whoopi Goldberg has just been suspended from The View for her recent comments about the Holocaust.
I’m Jewish, and I’m against her suspension. I support free speech for everyone, and for all points of view.
In the past, Goldberg herself has defended free speech for old Looney Tunes cartoons that have racial stereotypes. This video is from The Looney Tunes Collection Vol. 3, which was released in 2005:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCT1clqci3I
ACLU changes abortion quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg to make it gender-neutral
In 2018, Time magazine published the following quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The bolding is mine:
“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When Government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”
Original source: https://time.com/5354490/ruth-bader-ginsburg-roe-v-wade/
Archived source: https://web.archive.org/web/20180803070425/https://time.com/5354490/ruth-bader-ginsburg-roe-v-wade/
In 2021, now that Ginsburg is dead, the American Civil Liberties Union has taken it upon itself to change her words in order to make the quote gender-neutral. This is the gender-neutral version that was tweeted by the ACLU. The bolding mine:
“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a [person’s] life, to [their] well-being and dignity… When the government controls that decision for [people], [they are] being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for [their] own choices.”
Original source: https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1439259891064004610
Archived source: https://web.archive.org/web/20210920003532/https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1439259891064004610
Here’s a screenshot of the ACLU’s tweet of the gender-neutral version of Ginsburg’s quote:
This is exactly the kind of thing that George Orwell warned us about in his novel 1984.
I never thought that the American Civil Liberties Union would do something like this. On the contrary, those of us who truly support civil liberties tend to be very much opposed to this kind of thing.
Shame on the ACLU.
6 Dr. Seuss books won’t be published for racist images
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-books-nix-books-dr-113208458.html
6 Dr. Seuss books won’t be published for racist images
By Mark Pratt
March 2, 2021
BOSTON (AP) — Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.
The other books affected are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”
The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company, which was founded by Seuss’ family, told AP.
“Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles,” it said.
In “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” an Asian person is portrayed wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl. “If I Ran the Zoo” includes a drawing of two bare-footed African men wearing what appear to be grass skirts with their hair tied above their heads.
Books by Dr. Seuss — who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904 —- have been translated into dozens of languages as well as in braille and are sold in more than 100 countries. He died in 1991.
He remains popular, earning an estimated $33 million before taxes in 2020, up from just $9.5 million five years ago, the company said. Forbes listed him No. 2 on its highest-paid dead celebrities of 2020, behind only the late pop star Michael Jackson.
Random House Children Books, Dr. Seuss’ publisher, issued a brief statement Tuesday: “We respect the decision of Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) and the work of the panel that reviewed this content last year, and their recommendation.”
As adored as Dr. Seuss is by millions around the world for the positive values in many of his works, including environmentalism and tolerance, there has been increasing criticism in recent years over the way Blacks, Asians and others are drawn in some of his most beloved children’s books, as well as in his earlier advertising and propaganda illustrations.
The National Education Association, which founded Read Across America Day in 1998 and deliberately aligned it with Geisel’s birthday, has for several years deemphasized Seuss and encouraged a more diverse reading list for children.
School districts across the country have also moved away from Dr. Seuss, prompting Loudoun County, Virginia, schools just outside Washington, D.C., to douse rumors last month that they were banning the books entirely.
“Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss,” the school district said in a statement.
In 2017, a school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, criticized a gift of 10 Seuss books from first lady Melania Trump, saying many of his works were “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.”
In 2018, a Dr. Seuss museum in his hometown of Springfield removed a mural that included an Asian stereotype.
“The Cat in the Hat,” one of Seuss’ most popular books, has received criticism, too, but will continue to be published for now.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, however, said it is “committed to listening and learning and will continue to review our entire portfolio.”
The move to cease publication of the books drew immediate reaction on social media from those who called it another example of “cancel culture.”
“We’ve now got foundations book burning the authors to whom they are dedicated. Well done, everyone,” conservative commentator and author Ben Shapiro tweeted.
Others approved of the decision.
“The books we share with our children matter. Books shape their world view and tell them how to relate to the people, places, and ideas around them. As grown-ups, we have to examine the worldview we are creating for our children, including carefully re-examining our favorites,” Rebekah Fitzsimmons, an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University, tweeted.
Numerous other popular children’s series have been criticized in recent years for alleged racism.
In the 2007 book, “Should We Burn Babar?,” the author and educator Herbert R. Kohl contended that the “Babar the Elephant” books were celebrations of colonialism because of how the title character leaves the jungle and later returns to “civilize” his fellow animals.
One of the books, “Babar’s Travels,” was removed from the shelves of a British library in 2012 because of its alleged stereotypes of Africans. Critics also have faulted the “Curious George” books for their premise of a white man bringing home a monkey from Africa.
And Laura Ingalls Wilder’s portrayals of Native Americans in her “Little House On the Prairie” novels have been faulted so often that the American Library Association removed her name in 2018 from a lifetime achievement award it gives out each year. The association still gives out the Geisel Award for “the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.”
School District Categorized Asian Students as ‘White’ to Manipulate Their Stats
https://www.distractify.com/p/school-categorized-asian-students-white
School District Categorized Asian Students as ‘White’ to Manipulate Their Stats
November 24, 2020
North Thurston Public Schools, a school district in Washington, came under fire recently for categorizing Asian students as “white” instead of “students of color” in a performance report. Next Shark reports that the district, which is comprised of 22 schools and about 16,000 students, did this to “boost the growth rate of underperforming groups.”
In other words, they basically thought that Asian students performed too well to be considered “students of color” because they perceive “students of color” to experience “opportunity gaps.” So they decided to strip Asian students of their identities and lump them in with white students.
https://twitter.com/StevenWelliever/status/1328075308218470400
Some were upset that the school district would separate its students and evaluate performance based on race at all. Others were unable to fathom a reason that Asian students would be lumped in with white students.
In response, Asian students said things like, “All I’m saying is that if that Washington school district really considers Asians to be non-POC I’m expecting my privilege to arrive in the mail in 2-23 business days.”
Just because Asian students are statistically successful in this school district doesn’t mean they don’t suffer from racism and oppression. They simply don’t experience white privilege, so why would you lump them in with white students who do?
In a statement, the school district said, “One of our district’s Strategic Plan goals is Continuous Growth — All Students, All Subjects. One of the outcomes we are working towards in this goal is to have an ‘increased growth rate of underperforming groups eliminating achievement and opportunity gaps.’
“For this reason, in one of our online documents from 2019, titled ‘Monitoring Student Growth,’ we evaluated the achievement data by ‘Students of Color’ and ‘Students of Poverty.’ In the document we grouped white and Asian students together.
“Upon reflection and response by members of the Asian-American community, we will change how we look at achievement data and appreciate the feedback we received. We apologize for the negative impact we have caused and removed the monitoring report from our website.
“We feel it is important to continue the practice of disaggregating data, so we make equity-based decisions. It shows that currently our Asian and white students are showing continuous growth while our system is not meeting the instructional needs of our Black, Indigenous, Multi-racial, Pacific Islander, and Latinx students. The intent was never to ignore Asian students as ‘students of color’ or ignore any systemic disadvantages they too have faced.”
How school districts decide to delineate resources and provide support for their students is a complex issue, but denying the identity of an entire population of Asian-American students isn’t the answer.
North Thurston Public Schools has committed to “learn from this and do better in the future” when it comes to extracting performance data and delineating categories of students for evaluation purposes.
I’m Jewish. I don’t feel “denigrated” by Gina Carano’s recent statement. Shame on Disney/Lucasfilm for firing her!
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
February 11, 2021
Gina Carano, actress on the TV series The Mandalorian, recently posted the following on TikTok:
“Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors… even by children.”
“Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”
Her employer, Disney/Lucasfilm, responded with the following:
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
I’m Jewish.
I don’t feel “denigrated” by Carano’s statment.
I actually agree with what she said.
And even if I didn’t agree with what she said, I still support free speech for everyone.
I’ve seen every episode of The Mandalorian.
I think it was wrong for Disney/Lucasfilm to fire Carano.
This wonderful TV series can only be harmed by her firing.
Shame on Disney/Lucasfilm for firing her!
Suspended student sees ‘overwhelming’ support from NRA, gun clubs after virtual BB gun violation
https://www.nola.com/news/education/article_77d7c92e-00df-11eb-9b99-93ad4afac42b.html
Suspended student sees ‘overwhelming’ support from NRA, gun clubs after virtual BB gun violation
By Faimon A. Roberts III
September 27, 2020
The father of Ka’Mauri Harrison, the Harvey fourth-grader suspended last week after a teacher saw him move a BB gun out of the way during a virtual lesson, said the national response to the case has been “overwhelming,” with offers of support from regular people and even the National Rifle Association.
In the days since news of Harrison’s six-day suspension broke, the 9-year-old and his family have been swamped with messages via email and social media, some pledging legal or financial help.
“It’s been overwhelming,” Nyron Harrison said. Messages have been flooding in through Facebook and email, he said. “We’ve been getting a lot of invites to gun ranges and different gun clubs.”
Messages have come in from “West Virginia, Colorado, a lot of places,” he said.
The furor surrounding Ka’Mauri and his family began Wednesday night, when word of his suspension got out. Even though a school hearing officer declined to follow the recommendation of school administrators and expel him, interest in the case grew both locally and then nationally. Dillard University President Walter Kimbrough wrote a letter urging Jefferson Parish Schools Superintendent James Gray to rescind the suspension and apologize to the family.
Friday, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced he planned to investigate whether Ka’Mauri’s constitutional rights had been violated. Landry’s announcement on Twitter drew an approving nod from the NRA.
“This is hysterical and irrational behavior by the school,” the NRA’s tweet read, adding that the organization supported, “this young student, and his family.”
By Friday, the family’s attorney, Chelsea Cusimano, had fielded requests from most national news networks, including ABC, CBS and CNN, as well as newspapers including the Washington Post and USA Today.
But other messages poured in, including tales of similar incidents in other states. A family in Louisville emailed to say that a gun was seen during their son’s virtual lesson and he was not suspended. A man from New Jersey wanted to speak with the Harrisons because his son had been suspending for holding a Nerf gun while doing online class. Cusimano said one person requested her legal aid in a similar matter.
“It’s something that’s not comprehensible,” she said of the response.
The Harrison family has five children, and their lives have changed “immensely,” she said. The family has started a GoFundme to help raise money to get Ka’Mauri and their other four children out of the Jefferson Parish Public School System which, they allege, has treated them unfairly.
Ka’Mauri understands a little bit of what is going on, his father said.
“I try to keep it on the positive note and give him the feeling that he’s done nothing wrong,” he said. “A lot of people want to help him.”
Ka’Mauri was originally recommended for expulsion after the Sept. 11 incident, in which he moved a BB gun out of the way of his younger brother, who was playing in the brothers’ shared bedroom while Ka’Mauri was taking an online test. To the teacher, it appeared that Ka’Mauri handled a “full size rifle” and she was unable to get his attention, according to school reports on the matter. Moments later, Ka’Mauri was disconnected from the online classroom. His parents were later informed that he had been suspended and could be expelled.
On Sept. 21, a hearing officer declined to expel Ka’Mauri but did give him a six-day suspension. His family and Cusimano have called the punishment a violation of their privacy and due process rights.
A school system spokesperson said Sunday that the system had no comment and there had been no change made to Ka’Mauri’s discipline.
U. of Rhode Island to remove WWII murals due to lack of diversity
U. of Rhode Island to Remove WWII Murals Due to Lack of Diversity
By Tom Ciccotta
September 9, 2020
The University of Rhode Island recently announced plans to remove two murals depicting the events of World War II due to their lack of diversity. The decision was prompted after students complained that the mural was not compatible with the university’s values of inclusivity. According to the school’s Vice President of Student Affairs, “Some of our students have even shared with us they didn’t feel comfortable sitting in that space.”
According to a local news report, the University of Rhode Island plans to remove two 70-year-old murals that depict World War II over concerns that they do not feature enough diversity.
The murals were painted to pay respect to the memories of those that lost their lives in World War II. The murals feature various scenes including veterans returning to the United States and a University of Rhode Island class reunion.
Kathy Collins, the University of Rhode Island’s Vice President of Student Affairs, said that she has received numerous complaints from students about the murals’ lack of diversity.
“I have received complaints about the murals that portray a very homogeneous population predominately the persons painted and depicted on the wall are predominantly white and that does not represent who our institution is today,” Collins said. “Some of our students have even shared with us they didn’t feel comfortable sitting in that space.”
The murals were painted by Art Sherman, who is now a 95-year-old veteran and a member of the University of Rhode Island’s class of 1950. “Oh, I loved painting that, yeah,” Sherman told a reporter this week. “I never had any formal education in painting by the way I just used to cartoon.”
“Well, it depicted that era,” Sherman continued. “A lot of students, friends of mine, would come by and say why don’t you do this, why don’t you do that so that’s what I did so everybody chipped in.”
Breitbart News reported in June 2019 that George Washington High School in San Francisco decided that they would erase an “offensive” mural of George Washington.
Comedy writer permanently banned from Twitter for saying “men aren’t women”
https://disrn.com/news/comedy-writer-banned-from-twitter-for-saying-men-arent-women/
Comedy writer permanently banned from Twitter for saying “men aren’t women”
By Adam Ford
June 28, 2020
Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan has been permanently banned from Twitter after he tweeted “men aren’t women tho” in response to a tweet by a women’s group wishing men who identify as women a happy Pride Month.
Lineman, who had hundreds of thousands of followers on the social network, is the creator or co-creator of the sitcoms Father Ted, Black Books, and The IT Crowd.
Twitter said Linehan “has been permanently suspended after repeated violations of our rules against hateful conduct and platform manipulation.”
Hardin-Simmons University expelled a student because she truthfully said that left wing protestors don’t seem to care about black-on-black violence as much as white-on-black violence. NBC News falsely said her statement was “racist.”
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
June 28, 2020
NBC News just published this article, which is called
Hardin-Simmons University in Texas says student who made racist TikTok ‘no longer enrolled’
Although I haven’t been able to find a copy of the student’s video, I did read the entire NBC article.
This is how NBC News describes the student’s video:
In the original video, the young woman first writes the caption, “People when a BLACK person kills a BLACK person” which shows her standing with a calm demeanor.
The next caption in the video reads, “People when a BLACK person kills a WHITE person,” and shows the woman remaining calm.
At the end of the video the caption transitions to, “People when a WHITE person kills a BLACK person,” and shows the woman engulfed in flames and mouthing angrily.
The student is telling the truth.
In the U.S., 93% of black murder victims are killed by other blacks.
But I can’t think of a single nationwide Black Lives Matter protest about any of these black-on-black murders.
So the student’s video is accurate.
The fact that NBC called the video “racist” is a totally and completely false description of the video.
The NBC article also states:
“Upon learning about a TikTok post made this week by an HSU student, we immediately took action to address the situation and began the required disciplinary process,” the university said in a statement. “We can confirm that the student associated with this incident is no longer enrolled at Hardin-Simmons University,” the statement added.
So Hardin-Simmons University expelled the student because she said something that is true.
This action by the university is despicable, irrational, illogical, and intellectually dangerous, and it goes completely against the very principles of truth and learning that getting a college education is supposed to be about.
Shame on Hardin-Simmons University.
And it was just yesterday that I made this other blog post about a similar incident at a different college: Kansas State University is launching an investigation, and offering students counseling, all because one of its students truthfully said, “Congratulations to George Floyd on being drug free for an entire month!”
Clearly, this kind of nonsense by college administrators has been getting more and more common. It’s completely wrong, and I fear for what the future will hold in this regard.
One thing that a lot of these incidents have in common is that they aren’t getting mad at students for lying. Instead, they are getting mad at students for telling the truth. When telling the truth is what gets people into trouble, we have reached a totalitarian environment. And that’s exactly what is happening on many American college campuses.
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Why do left wing protestors never seem to care about the 93% of black murder victims who are killed by other blacks?
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
May 30, 2020
93% of black murder victims are killed by other blacks. Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-49-of-murder-victims-are-black-men/
Left wing protestors never seem to care about those murder victims.
Why is that?
Note from Daniel Alman: If you like this blog post that I wrote, you can buy my books from amazon, and/or donate to me via PayPal, using the links below:
Note from Daniel Alman: I’d like to recommend that you visit Whatfinger News. It’s a really awesome website.
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