January 5, 2023

DeSantis to scrutinize diversity programs at Florida colleges, universities

The state faculty union says it is “deeply concerned” about a memo that wants to know the cost of such programs for budgeting purposes.

TALLAHASSEE — As Gov. Ron DeSantis targets “trendy ideology” in higher education, his administration is asking state colleges and universities for information about resources they are putting into activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.

DeSantis has made the fight against critical race theory — which is based on the premise that racism is embedded in American institutions — a linchpin of his education and political agenda.

During an inauguration speech Tuesday to start his second term, DeSantis took aim at ideological issues on campuses.

“We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups, and we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideology,” the governor said in his prepared remarks.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/01/04/desantis-scrutinize-diversity-programs-florida-colleges-universities/

Expect more of this bullshit over the next two years as DeSantis polishes up his culture war bona fides for the MAGA crowd.

January 4, 2023

Florida vaccine policy based on 'careless' research practices, UF faculty say

Source: Tampa Bay Times

However, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo was not found to have committed “research misconduct.”

A report circulated among faculty at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine Tuesday night sharply criticized the work behind Florida’s recent COVID-19 vaccine guidance, arguing Florida’s top health official, Joseph Ladapo, may have violated university policy against “careless, irregular, or contentious research practices.”

Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general and a professor in the College of Medicine, recommended in October against mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for men aged 18-39. The recommendation stemmed from a state Department of Health study that talked about the health risks of the vaccines for men in that age group. Ladapo is the head of the state health department.

The seven-page report authored by a committee of College of Medicine professors echoed many of the criticisms raised by scientists across the country about the state’s study and recommendation. But while it said the policy and research were of “highly questionable merit,” it did not conclude there was any research misconduct. And UF said it has no plans to investigate further.

David Norton, UF vice president for research, said in a statement that because Ladapo oversaw this research in his role with the state and not in his role as a faculty member, UF’s Office of Research Integrity, Security and Compliance “has no standing to consider the allegations or concerns regarding research integrity” mentioned in the report.

Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/01/04/florida-vaccine-policy-based-careless-research-practices-uf-faculty-say/

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Uh oh. Looks like the University of Florida's College of Medicine staff is just too "woke" for DeSantis. Prepare for retaliation.

January 4, 2023

Kevin McCarthy Assures Skeptical Republicans He Shares Their Vision Of Innocents Drowning In Oceans

WASHINGTON—In an effort to garner their support and become Speaker of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) assured his skeptical GOP colleagues Tuesday that he shared their vision of innocents drowning in oceans of blood.

“While I hear your concerns and am prepared to make a long list of concessions in exchange for your support, at the end of the day, we all want to joyously stomp on the necks of hardworking Americans as they pathetically cry out for a mercy that shall never come,” the California lawmaker said in an impassioned plea to House Republicans, responding to criticism from far-right members of his party who argue he no longer represents the values of those focused on littering this country from coast to coast with the gory entrails of its docile populace.

“We cannot let petty differences get in the way of what could be our most grisly era of violent brutality yet—not while there remains significant common ground on our big-picture goals of every street running red with the sputtering viscera of innocent women and children. I mean, certainly my record of damning my constituents to a life of unparalleled pain and suffering counts for something. Meanwhile, this infighting remains a useless distraction keeping us from slowly drawing our knives across the necks of ordinary Americans and letting the streams of gushing blood spill into our hands until a red tsunami washes away everything in a wave of ferocious splendor. Frankly, I cannot idly stand by as innocent people live to see another day. Can you?”

At press time, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said he would rather see Democrat Hakeem Jeffries take control of the House than someone as soft as McCarthy.

https://www.theonion.com/kevin-mccarthy-assures-skeptical-republicans-he-shares-1849945112

January 3, 2023

This might be of interest to some

The Wall Street Journal is offering a 12 month digital subscription for $2/month.

I dislike contributing to Murdoch's bank account as much as anyone, but the WSJ does have pretty decent reporting on a variety of issues, if one can ignore their editorial pages.

I think this subscription price may be a ploy to increase the number of subscribers to make it look more attractive to a potential buyer -- I read somewhere that Bloomberg might be interested in acquiring.

January 1, 2023

When does life begin?

The question at the heart of America’s abortion debate is the most elemental — and the most complicated.

It was the perfect ornament for Christmas, she thought — the photograph from the doctor of those little circles, those early cells dividing.

Tina Mody followed every moment when she became pregnant two years ago. The I.V.F. process meant she knew exactly when the egg met the sperm, and when the cells implanted in her uterus. She tracked the morphology of the embryo, its size and shape, thrilled when all looked perfect. She started a nursery, and listened for when she would hear the first sound of a heartbeat.

This is my daughter, she thought. She named her Maya.

On her way to her 16-week pregnancy appointment, she started bleeding. She lost her beloved Maya in the emergency room. Then she had to have a surgical evacuation procedure to remove the placenta before she bled out.

“I can’t tell you exactly when I pinpoint the moment that I think Maya is a person,” said Dr. Mody, a pharmacist. “Because to me and my wife, we think so much of her as the hopes and the dreams that we want in this child.”

https://tinyurl.com/3vretw65

January 1, 2023

In Year-End Report, Chief Justice Roberts Addresses Threats to Judges' Safety

The report, an annual tradition, shed no light on the investigation into the leak of a draft opinion in May or on calls for more rigorous ethics rules for the justices.

WASHINGTON — At the end of a wrenching year at the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. devoted his annual report on the state of the federal judiciary to threats to judges’ physical safety.

“The law requires every judge to swear an oath to perform his or her work without fear or favor, but we must support judges by ensuring their safety,” he wrote. “A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear.”

Some observers had hoped that the chief justice would use his year-end report for an update on the investigation announced in May into the leak of a draft opinion eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. Others had wished that he would announce revisions to judicial ethics rules in the wake of revelations about the efforts of Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Instead, as is his custom, Chief Justice Roberts focused on a historical episode, this one from Arkansas in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education, drawing lessons from it. “The events of Little Rock teach about the importance of rule by law instead of by mob,” he wrote.

https://tinyurl.com/4sxyvjhy

Threats to women's privacy? OK with this Chief Justice.

Threats to women's rights? OK with this Chief Justice.

Safe corridors and spaces around abortion clinics? Why, that's just not necessary in a country with the right to freely assemble. But it's absolutely necessary around the homes of Supreme Court justices, because they shouldn't be intimidated by others who disagree with their decisions. No one should have to live in fear, and BTW, 2A baby!

Worst Chief Justice since Roger Taney. Even worse than Rehnquist.

January 1, 2023

Benedict Cumberbatch's Family Could Face Reparations Fight in Barbados

After becoming a republic in 2021, the Barbados government has begun to seek reparations from wealthy descendants of former enslavers.

Oscar-nominated actor and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch has come under a magnifying glass himself—by the Barbados government.

The 12 Years a Slave actor and his family may be facing a financial squeeze from Barbados in the coming months, as government officials are beginning to seek reparations from former plantation-owning families. After officially becoming a republic in 2021—breaking 396 years of the British monarchy’s control over the island—Barbados government officials have begun to seek reparations from the descendants of onetime slave-owning families and plantation holders.

Cumberbatch’s seventh great-grandfather bought the country’s Cleland plantation on the north side of the island in 1728, and held ownership of it until slavery was abolished in Barbados in 1834. The Cleland plantation is said to have been home to 250 enslaved people and been the source of the Cumberbatch family’s small fortune.

Last month, the Barbados government announced its plans to pursue reparations from conservative member of the British Parliament Richard Drax, who inherited the island’s largest plantation, Drax Hall. The sugar plantation on the south side of the island is the only plantation that remains within the family of its original owners. Barbados officials have been putting the heat on Drax to hand the land back to the government. If Drax refuses, Barbados will push for compensation from an international arbitration court.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/benedict-cumberbatchs-family-could-face-slavery-reparations-fight-in-barbados