Predicting Biden v. Trump II, Noem v. Higher Ed and Jordan Peterson
Boss and Billy Joel - Badlands (Barcelona live), Racing in the Street (London), and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Biden v Trump - the Rematch
Q: Who had a better week - Biden or Trump?
A: Trump. Hands down.
What should have been wall to wall coverage of Trump’s trial was non-stop pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
Q: How about South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem or American Higher Education?
A: Higher Ed.
A horrible week for sure but Noem’s dog killing story will do more damage to her in the long run. Community colleges (best bang for the buck in education period) are considered Higher Ed.
But Higher Ed has a REALLY big problem going forward. Having all these protests occur during a presidential election year with state legislators looking for a policy piñata to hit?
Smart. Savvy. Totally on brand.
Oh. Georgia’s football coach, Kirby Smart, is now going to be paid $13,000,000.00 per year for 10 years. That is until they increase it in about five years.
Who said comedy was dead?
Where does Trump send the thank you note? New York City’s Columbia University.
New York City. Site of Trump’s trial.
Genius level stuff.
How was protesting Columbia grad student, Johanna King-Slutsky, rewarded by the internet after she asked for “humanitarian aid”? Well, the good people of the information super highway posted her dissertation biography:
My dissertation is on fantasies of limitless energy in the transatlantic Romantic imagination from 1760-1860. My goal is to write a prehistory of metabolic rift, Marx’s term for the disruption of energy circuits caused by industrialization under capitalism. I am particularly interested in theories of the imagination and poetry as interpreted through a Marxian lens in order to update and propose an alternative to historicist ideological critiques of the Romantic imagination. Prior to joining Columbia, I worked as a political strategist for leftist and progressive causes and remain active in the higher education labor movement.
Garbage academics. GARBAGE.
Her academic area? English and comparative literature.
But hey at $90k a year, rock on. After all, it ain’t my money…
Or is it? More on that later…
Best line of the week: “The revolution will be catered” by David Frum.
Riffing off of Gil Scott-Heron’s The Revolution will not be televised
Mad respect, Mr. Frum. Well done.
(note the location theme above)
And then there is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s marketing genius on her THIRD book No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
(Unlinked for a reason)
Rather than break down the ironies in the book title, let’s focus on Noem’s obvious decision to either get ahead of this story in her campaign for Vice President and/or use it as attention getting/free media bonanza.
You know - the recent trend of doing something shocking in order to get attention and attacks followed by a cry for help from your tribe usually with a fundraising email.
Garbage politics.
Hmm..could be a book title…Lord knows there is plenty of evidence. Get me Rex Kramer…
Either way, it’s a huge negative hit on Noem’s chances for Trump’s Veep selection. Trump needs suburban swing voters to swing back and Noem ain’t helping the brand.
Unless she did this to distract from Trump’s trial…
Nah….
Regardless, there is NO going back on this. Noem is what’s wrong with politics and shooting your unruly dog is not how we move America forward.
Maybe Secretary of Education?
Or maybe…
My money is still on Dr. Ben Carson.
USA Today : Professor Allan Lichtman's 2024 presidential pick
A distinguished professor of history at American University, Allan Lichtman has made a name for himself through one unusual talent: He has correctly predicted the outcome of nine elections out of the 10 most recent presidential races, using a model he invented known as the 13 keys.
Here are the keys. Lichtman’s current prediction is in the article linked above. I’ll break it down next week.
You can also click HERE to see who it is.
Lichtman’s 13 Keys
Party mandate: After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the US House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections.
Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination.
Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president.
Third party: There is no significant third party or independent campaign.
Short term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign.
Long term economy: Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms.
Policy change: The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy.
Social unrest: There is no sustained social unrest during the term.
Scandal: The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal.
Foreign/military failure: The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs.
Foreign/military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs.
Incumbent charisma: The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero.
Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero.
Must Watch - Jordan Peterson
Normally this area is reserved for just music videos, but THIS interview by Dr. Jordan Peterson of Mosab Hassan Yousef is a MUST WATCH
Per Billy Joel - his favorite song to play in concert. Source: Joel’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Same question asked of Bruce Springsteen by Colbert and here was the Boss answered:
I’m more a Badlands live in Barcelona kind of Boss fan: