I see the word "horseshoe" only in the title, but assume it means the political ideology model that Jonathan V. Last wrote about recently. It's certainly a much more accurate representation than the "left-right" model, because it shows the extreme left and right approaching each other, not moving further apart.
"Campus extremists on the left and MAGA extremists on the right disapprove of Joe Biden. Can’t that be used as an opportunity to make the case to the majority of voters for Joe Biden?"
Yes, but to whom? Meaning how many voters are left who still can't, or refuse to understand that the only hope for saving the country (and that too is not guaranteed) is to vote for Biden. Not just against Trump, e.g. by staying home or voting for that anti-vax kook. I had to look up the phrase "grasp the nettle" and found that it's exactly what I have been doing for 52 years every time I step in a voting booth. This year will be no different. There are a million people I'd rather vote for than Biden. But 8 billion I'd rather vote for than Trump.
Pres Biden made a speech mid-morning. Those AL students making the compromised chant….proves if a student isn’t a Republican when they arrive, they will sure become one….in this RED State….no way around it!!
"They ought to prize democratic systems, freedom, the rule of law, human rights, and human dignity."
Excellent advice. If Israel had treated the Palestinians fairly for the last 60 years, may be they wouldn't be so hated. Living as a Palestinian under Israeli occupation on the West Bank is pure hell.
(Though I must say, this is in line with my recommendation that the president go out there till November and lead, with all the attendant risks that entails. Rather than stay in the Oval Office/hide in the basement, like bad leaders would do.
It does not surprise me at all that the students lack a nuanced understanding of the situation in Gaza. 95% the country lacks a nuanced understanding of the situation in Gaza, and as I keep trying to remind people, people between the ages of 17 - 21 are not fully adults. I know legally they are, but practically, they are still in transition. They are more likely to get caught up in things they don’t fully comprehend but are having an emotional reaction to. It’s a part of growing up, though sometimes yes, they get themselves into trouble. That’s part of growing up, too.
House GOP, 13 Dems rebuke Biden on immigration: Politico
Why don't they rebuke Johnson for refusing to bring the bipartisan immigration bill that gives Republicans everything they want to a vote? Oh because Trump told him not to in order to blame it on Biden. They said out loud and printed it in black and white, and yet they are blaming Biden. Are they craven or just stupid?
Fair but who would put it up for a vote? The republicans and dems both hate it. The only way it would have been to be put to a vote is if there are some goodies for dems (and that is not happening).
It passed the Senate. I think the Republicans would vote for it and why wouldn't a lot of Democrats vote since Biden wanted it passed and a Democrat helped write it. Jeeze. At least put it up for a vote, then Biden can persuade the Democrats who might be holding out.
Sure dems will vote for an extreme immigration bill when republicans give them what? The whole point was a shitty immigration bill for aid for Ukraine. Aid for Ukraine is law so what exactly gets dems to vote for a bill that republicans killed 2 days before the immigration part was proposed? Republicans won’t vote for the bill. Am I missing g something you mean
Maybe I missed what you were saying. There was no immigration bill that was put up for a vote in the senate. What passed in the house was an aid bill. They took out out the immigration bill. The immigration part of the bill was killed like 2 days before it was announced
"House Speaker Mike Johnson had a foot-in-mouth moment on Tuesday, absentmindedly admitting to reporters that he has courted Donald Trump’s opinion “at length” on the border deal he wants to kill.
“The former president has made it clear that he doesn’t want you guys to move forward on this, and judging by his comments, he clearly wants to campaign on this ."
From a major journal writren at the time. Did you not hear of this?
if we cut enough benefits then people will have to work for $5.50 an hour and work three part-time jobs to pay the rent. When they don't have enough $ even then, in some red states they can take their kids out of school and they can work for $4 an hour. It's. a good thing we got rid of slavery.
Here the local Walmart can't decide if it wants to keep self-checkout or end it. (Apparently, neither can the regional HQ.) In the past 5 yrs, they pushed self-checkout and got rid of a lot of their cashiers. Now, they're worried about people cheating at the checkouts, so they close all but one, yet they don't have any cashiers for more than 2 lanes. Changes on a daily if not hourly basis. Idiots - the high mgt types who've never worked as a cashier, and probably never shop at Walmart, and they make the decisions.
Both Hamas and the State of Israel have and continue to engage in brutal, barbaric actions which clearly demonstrate, whatever the motivation or apparent rationale, that neither side can legally nor morally claim that the possess a value for human life. Hamas will continue the butchery until they destroy the State of Israel. Israel will respond with unrestrained butchery until revenge is exacted. While both sides seek justification for their actions, innocent lives on both sides are sacrificed.
Off subject, but the common chant story brought me back to one of my favorite sports moments ever. Boston Bruins playing Flyers in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park and there were dueling chants in the stands. “Let’s go Bruins!” “ Let’s go Flyers!”
Someone yelled “Can’t we all get along?” Pause. Entire section starts chanting “Yankees suck! Yankees suck!”
"a student speaking on behalf of the protesters demanded that those occupying the building be provided with food and water. “I guess it’s a question of what kind of community and what kind of obligation Columbia has to its students. . . . Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation?”" (all quotes from Ms Charen's piece)
Out of curiosity, do the student protesters *really* think that it is the obligation of the school administration to provide sustenance to those occupying campus grounds and buildings with no approvals for their actions? Talk about unacknowledged privileges of the young and predominantly white students! As for the question as to what type of community exists within Colombia (and other campuses), I would imagine that the school wants a campus community that is *all inclusive*, not one that singles out a class of students/people to heap opprobrium on.
I was one who took to the streets in the latter 1960s and early '70s. When we occupied a building on campus we did not expect the school's administration to cater our protests; thinking that way was absurd. Why would one think that those being protested against had any obligation to help us? We didn't.
-----
"Shana Redmond, a professor of English and comparative literature, hailed the students with a megaphone, proclaiming, “We salute you, we stand with you, and we’re so proud to be your professors.”"
Ms Redmond is doing something that I find atrocious: she is using the word "we" like there is a universal consensus within the professoriate at Columbia. To me, this is no different than an individual proclaiming that "We the People" are fed up with something -- it is an individual's opinion that might be shared by others, but it is still just one person's thoughts.
"The slogan “From the river to the sea” implies that Israel will cease to exist. They chant “There is only one solution—intifada revolution!”"
As Ms Charen points out, many (if not most) of those protesting are just parroting what the organizers are saying. I have little doubt that a majority are completely unaware of the meaning of "from the river to the sea." They don't equate the Islamic Intifada as calling for genocide, a goal Hamas has had from its inception. I wonder how many would leave the encampments and occupied buildings if they knew that they were calling for the murders of a race of people because they (mistakenly, imo) believe Israel wants to eliminate the Palestinians in Gaza. If that was Israel's goal (not the goal of Netanyahu [the Israeli TFG] and his hard right coalition [MIGA]) then I have no doubt that any buildings and population centers would have been bombed to smithereens long ago, and public opinion be damned.
-----
"There are no calls at these protests, which have expanded to campuses around the country, for Hamas to accept a ceasefire or to release the hostages. There are no calls for the Houthis in Yemen to stop firing missiles at Israel and at ships in the Red Sea. There are no protests condemning Hezbollah for firing missiles into Israel’s north (causing 80,000 Israelis to be displaced)."
Furthermore, there have been no protests about the genocide of the Kurds being perpetuated by Turkey; there have been no protests against Putin's asymmetrical attacks on Ukraine and its specifically targeting civilian population centers and infrastructure; there have been no protests against the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs; there have been no protests over the various African independence movements assaults on those with whom they disagree; there have been no protests against the illiberal repressive regimes in South America.... It almost looks like that if the Jews aren't involved what occurs elsewhere is of little consequence.
-----
Finally, I disagree with the mass arrests taking place on college campuses across the country. It is the organizers that should face some sort of penalty for their actions -- cut the head off of a snake and the body dies. First, and foremost, outside agitators must be removed, the Columbia protest has relied on the people like Lisa Fithian (a 63 year old "protest consultant who is paid $300 a day for her "expertise," and is being funded by who?). At some universities, those with a current student ID have been released from custody pending other possible actions to be taken. Excise the instigators and see if the protests continue, a sign of a grass roots effort to make their collective displeasure known, and if it doesn't that's a sure sign that the students are being manipulated by others.
You'll never find me donating to PETA, much less supporting their actions against farmers, but ever since I read Matthew Scully's wonderful book, "Dominion: the Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy", I've made every effort to reduce my meat consumption, and to source what I do consume ethically. "Petri-dish meat" sounds terrific to me -- sign me up. That Ron DeSantis turns his nose up at it doesn't surprise me. That he's ready to deny it to everybody else is just one further proof among many that he's a piece of ... cow byproduct.
JD Vance is such a phony unbelievable nothing! Ohio should be disgraced by his election to the U.S. Senate. Vance needs the experience of being kicked to the curb! He is campaigning eagerly for Trump’s VP! The “dog killer” may be way ahead of him??
Mona Charen is spot on when she says "They are more like the MAGA crowd than they know." If they vote for Trump or just don't vote, it will serve them right when the wannabe dictator starts taking away their rights. Let's see, national abortion ban, no protesting allowed, voting rights curtailed, more conservative SCOTUS appointees to name a few. I'm old enough not to be affected much but they will be. Wake up kids, it's not 1968 and Israel is not our Vietnam.
Trump would likely crush the protests on day one, with explicit orders to cause “maximum brutality”, knowing him. He’d almost certainly offer to pardon any officers (or irregular militias) who inflict actual unprovoked violence. And these kids think Joe Biden is the villain.
And a majority of the American people will celebrate it. It's exactly why Duterte enjoyed sky-high approval ratings all throughout his time as president of the Philippines. In times of chaos and disorder, someone, even a dictator, who is seen putting an end to it will be immensely popular. This is a lesson to democratic leaders: enforce law and order, or fascists will.
Trump lost power in the first place because he was seen as goosing lawlessness, chaos, disorder, and violence, not reducing it. That was Biden’s case against him in 2020; it will be his case against him in 2024, particularly as the election approaches.
Trump practically barks threats on the daily to pardon (loyal) rioters, bless militias and rioters doing violence for him, and politically purge the military, the better to unleash it on half of America. He gives Biden regular material to make the case that he, not the president, is the agent of chaos and disorder.
Undoubtedly, some Americans support said plans of Trump and consider them pro-“law and order”, rather than their clear opposite. But hardly a “majority” of America. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is not the Philippines.
Trust me, democratic leaders have absorbed the lesson you mentioned quite well. The real question is whether the protesters and their supporters have, and whether they are in any mood to cooperate with said democratic leaders to stop said fascists, or rather whether they will unwittingly aid the latter to settle petty grievances with the former.
It will be, but will the American people remember? Most of the disorder during the Trump years was in the final year, the one that most people memory-hole and don’t consider his fault since it was precipitated by an exogenous event.
SOME of them are more like the MAGA crowd than they know.. Most of them were protesting peacefully. Some of us are more like the MAGA crowd than we know when we use the minority to characterize the majority.
"He Helped Define “Antisemitism”; Now He Says the Term Is Being Weaponized"[ | Amanpour and Company] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFAcHMO488 - just saw this , this is great take on the problems of free speech and the definitions of "hatespeech"...might as well add this in now, before the new bill takes away us, taking about israel objectively :(
I see the word "horseshoe" only in the title, but assume it means the political ideology model that Jonathan V. Last wrote about recently. It's certainly a much more accurate representation than the "left-right" model, because it shows the extreme left and right approaching each other, not moving further apart.
"Campus extremists on the left and MAGA extremists on the right disapprove of Joe Biden. Can’t that be used as an opportunity to make the case to the majority of voters for Joe Biden?"
Yes, but to whom? Meaning how many voters are left who still can't, or refuse to understand that the only hope for saving the country (and that too is not guaranteed) is to vote for Biden. Not just against Trump, e.g. by staying home or voting for that anti-vax kook. I had to look up the phrase "grasp the nettle" and found that it's exactly what I have been doing for 52 years every time I step in a voting booth. This year will be no different. There are a million people I'd rather vote for than Biden. But 8 billion I'd rather vote for than Trump.
Pres Biden made a speech mid-morning. Those AL students making the compromised chant….proves if a student isn’t a Republican when they arrive, they will sure become one….in this RED State….no way around it!!
"They ought to prize democratic systems, freedom, the rule of law, human rights, and human dignity."
Excellent advice. If Israel had treated the Palestinians fairly for the last 60 years, may be they wouldn't be so hated. Living as a Palestinian under Israeli occupation on the West Bank is pure hell.
Good job, Bill! Biden did what you said.
(Though I must say, this is in line with my recommendation that the president go out there till November and lead, with all the attendant risks that entails. Rather than stay in the Oval Office/hide in the basement, like bad leaders would do.
I think we’re on the same page now.)
It does not surprise me at all that the students lack a nuanced understanding of the situation in Gaza. 95% the country lacks a nuanced understanding of the situation in Gaza, and as I keep trying to remind people, people between the ages of 17 - 21 are not fully adults. I know legally they are, but practically, they are still in transition. They are more likely to get caught up in things they don’t fully comprehend but are having an emotional reaction to. It’s a part of growing up, though sometimes yes, they get themselves into trouble. That’s part of growing up, too.
House GOP, 13 Dems rebuke Biden on immigration: Politico
Why don't they rebuke Johnson for refusing to bring the bipartisan immigration bill that gives Republicans everything they want to a vote? Oh because Trump told him not to in order to blame it on Biden. They said out loud and printed it in black and white, and yet they are blaming Biden. Are they craven or just stupid?
Ohhhh you are criticizing the media
Fair but who would put it up for a vote? The republicans and dems both hate it. The only way it would have been to be put to a vote is if there are some goodies for dems (and that is not happening).
It passed the Senate. I think the Republicans would vote for it and why wouldn't a lot of Democrats vote since Biden wanted it passed and a Democrat helped write it. Jeeze. At least put it up for a vote, then Biden can persuade the Democrats who might be holding out.
Sure dems will vote for an extreme immigration bill when republicans give them what? The whole point was a shitty immigration bill for aid for Ukraine. Aid for Ukraine is law so what exactly gets dems to vote for a bill that republicans killed 2 days before the immigration part was proposed? Republicans won’t vote for the bill. Am I missing g something you mean
Maybe I missed what you were saying. There was no immigration bill that was put up for a vote in the senate. What passed in the house was an aid bill. They took out out the immigration bill. The immigration part of the bill was killed like 2 days before it was announced
"House Speaker Mike Johnson had a foot-in-mouth moment on Tuesday, absentmindedly admitting to reporters that he has courted Donald Trump’s opinion “at length” on the border deal he wants to kill.
“The former president has made it clear that he doesn’t want you guys to move forward on this, and judging by his comments, he clearly wants to campaign on this ."
From a major journal writren at the time. Did you not hear of this?
I’m so confused.
Are you saying that the senate should try and pass the immigration bill that was negotiated by langford but killed by trump?
It was James Lankford Chris Murphy (D) and Kyrsten Sinema who put together
I had to wait for half an hour in a long line at the grocery store because there were not enough cashiers.
Fork Joe Biden!
When is he going to come out and talk about the inconvenience of shoppers because the stores can't find enough workers?
if we cut enough benefits then people will have to work for $5.50 an hour and work three part-time jobs to pay the rent. When they don't have enough $ even then, in some red states they can take their kids out of school and they can work for $4 an hour. It's. a good thing we got rid of slavery.
Here the local Walmart can't decide if it wants to keep self-checkout or end it. (Apparently, neither can the regional HQ.) In the past 5 yrs, they pushed self-checkout and got rid of a lot of their cashiers. Now, they're worried about people cheating at the checkouts, so they close all but one, yet they don't have any cashiers for more than 2 lanes. Changes on a daily if not hourly basis. Idiots - the high mgt types who've never worked as a cashier, and probably never shop at Walmart, and they make the decisions.
Both Hamas and the State of Israel have and continue to engage in brutal, barbaric actions which clearly demonstrate, whatever the motivation or apparent rationale, that neither side can legally nor morally claim that the possess a value for human life. Hamas will continue the butchery until they destroy the State of Israel. Israel will respond with unrestrained butchery until revenge is exacted. While both sides seek justification for their actions, innocent lives on both sides are sacrificed.
Nice bothsidesism. Except that if Hamas surrendered today, the shooting and the destruction would end.
Hamas does not care about Palestinians. They are a terror group.
Off subject, but the common chant story brought me back to one of my favorite sports moments ever. Boston Bruins playing Flyers in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park and there were dueling chants in the stands. “Let’s go Bruins!” “ Let’s go Flyers!”
Someone yelled “Can’t we all get along?” Pause. Entire section starts chanting “Yankees suck! Yankees suck!”
As a Flyers fan, I can support that bit of bipartisanship. :)
"a student speaking on behalf of the protesters demanded that those occupying the building be provided with food and water. “I guess it’s a question of what kind of community and what kind of obligation Columbia has to its students. . . . Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation?”" (all quotes from Ms Charen's piece)
Out of curiosity, do the student protesters *really* think that it is the obligation of the school administration to provide sustenance to those occupying campus grounds and buildings with no approvals for their actions? Talk about unacknowledged privileges of the young and predominantly white students! As for the question as to what type of community exists within Colombia (and other campuses), I would imagine that the school wants a campus community that is *all inclusive*, not one that singles out a class of students/people to heap opprobrium on.
I was one who took to the streets in the latter 1960s and early '70s. When we occupied a building on campus we did not expect the school's administration to cater our protests; thinking that way was absurd. Why would one think that those being protested against had any obligation to help us? We didn't.
-----
"Shana Redmond, a professor of English and comparative literature, hailed the students with a megaphone, proclaiming, “We salute you, we stand with you, and we’re so proud to be your professors.”"
Ms Redmond is doing something that I find atrocious: she is using the word "we" like there is a universal consensus within the professoriate at Columbia. To me, this is no different than an individual proclaiming that "We the People" are fed up with something -- it is an individual's opinion that might be shared by others, but it is still just one person's thoughts.
"The slogan “From the river to the sea” implies that Israel will cease to exist. They chant “There is only one solution—intifada revolution!”"
As Ms Charen points out, many (if not most) of those protesting are just parroting what the organizers are saying. I have little doubt that a majority are completely unaware of the meaning of "from the river to the sea." They don't equate the Islamic Intifada as calling for genocide, a goal Hamas has had from its inception. I wonder how many would leave the encampments and occupied buildings if they knew that they were calling for the murders of a race of people because they (mistakenly, imo) believe Israel wants to eliminate the Palestinians in Gaza. If that was Israel's goal (not the goal of Netanyahu [the Israeli TFG] and his hard right coalition [MIGA]) then I have no doubt that any buildings and population centers would have been bombed to smithereens long ago, and public opinion be damned.
-----
"There are no calls at these protests, which have expanded to campuses around the country, for Hamas to accept a ceasefire or to release the hostages. There are no calls for the Houthis in Yemen to stop firing missiles at Israel and at ships in the Red Sea. There are no protests condemning Hezbollah for firing missiles into Israel’s north (causing 80,000 Israelis to be displaced)."
Furthermore, there have been no protests about the genocide of the Kurds being perpetuated by Turkey; there have been no protests against Putin's asymmetrical attacks on Ukraine and its specifically targeting civilian population centers and infrastructure; there have been no protests against the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs; there have been no protests over the various African independence movements assaults on those with whom they disagree; there have been no protests against the illiberal repressive regimes in South America.... It almost looks like that if the Jews aren't involved what occurs elsewhere is of little consequence.
-----
Finally, I disagree with the mass arrests taking place on college campuses across the country. It is the organizers that should face some sort of penalty for their actions -- cut the head off of a snake and the body dies. First, and foremost, outside agitators must be removed, the Columbia protest has relied on the people like Lisa Fithian (a 63 year old "protest consultant who is paid $300 a day for her "expertise," and is being funded by who?). At some universities, those with a current student ID have been released from custody pending other possible actions to be taken. Excise the instigators and see if the protests continue, a sign of a grass roots effort to make their collective displeasure known, and if it doesn't that's a sure sign that the students are being manipulated by others.
fnord
You'll never find me donating to PETA, much less supporting their actions against farmers, but ever since I read Matthew Scully's wonderful book, "Dominion: the Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy", I've made every effort to reduce my meat consumption, and to source what I do consume ethically. "Petri-dish meat" sounds terrific to me -- sign me up. That Ron DeSantis turns his nose up at it doesn't surprise me. That he's ready to deny it to everybody else is just one further proof among many that he's a piece of ... cow byproduct.
JD Vance is such a phony unbelievable nothing! Ohio should be disgraced by his election to the U.S. Senate. Vance needs the experience of being kicked to the curb! He is campaigning eagerly for Trump’s VP! The “dog killer” may be way ahead of him??
Suggested headline for the Alabama protests:
BIDEN BRINGS BOTH SIDES TOGETHER
C'mon. You already thought of it, didn't you?
No doubt about it: he's a uniter, not a divider.
Mona Charen is spot on when she says "They are more like the MAGA crowd than they know." If they vote for Trump or just don't vote, it will serve them right when the wannabe dictator starts taking away their rights. Let's see, national abortion ban, no protesting allowed, voting rights curtailed, more conservative SCOTUS appointees to name a few. I'm old enough not to be affected much but they will be. Wake up kids, it's not 1968 and Israel is not our Vietnam.
Trump would likely crush the protests on day one, with explicit orders to cause “maximum brutality”, knowing him. He’d almost certainly offer to pardon any officers (or irregular militias) who inflict actual unprovoked violence. And these kids think Joe Biden is the villain.
And a majority of the American people will celebrate it. It's exactly why Duterte enjoyed sky-high approval ratings all throughout his time as president of the Philippines. In times of chaos and disorder, someone, even a dictator, who is seen putting an end to it will be immensely popular. This is a lesson to democratic leaders: enforce law and order, or fascists will.
Trump lost power in the first place because he was seen as goosing lawlessness, chaos, disorder, and violence, not reducing it. That was Biden’s case against him in 2020; it will be his case against him in 2024, particularly as the election approaches.
Trump practically barks threats on the daily to pardon (loyal) rioters, bless militias and rioters doing violence for him, and politically purge the military, the better to unleash it on half of America. He gives Biden regular material to make the case that he, not the president, is the agent of chaos and disorder.
Undoubtedly, some Americans support said plans of Trump and consider them pro-“law and order”, rather than their clear opposite. But hardly a “majority” of America. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is not the Philippines.
Trust me, democratic leaders have absorbed the lesson you mentioned quite well. The real question is whether the protesters and their supporters have, and whether they are in any mood to cooperate with said democratic leaders to stop said fascists, or rather whether they will unwittingly aid the latter to settle petty grievances with the former.
It will be, but will the American people remember? Most of the disorder during the Trump years was in the final year, the one that most people memory-hole and don’t consider his fault since it was precipitated by an exogenous event.
SOME of them are more like the MAGA crowd than they know.. Most of them were protesting peacefully. Some of us are more like the MAGA crowd than we know when we use the minority to characterize the majority.
Agreed. Great piece by Mona -- again.
"He Helped Define “Antisemitism”; Now He Says the Term Is Being Weaponized"[ | Amanpour and Company] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFAcHMO488 - just saw this , this is great take on the problems of free speech and the definitions of "hatespeech"...might as well add this in now, before the new bill takes away us, taking about israel objectively :(