Sunday, August 16, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Jason Arday is Still Dead

Hey, it was funny when it was about Francisco Franco, am I right? At Insty, IT RARELY ENDS WELL FOR A MASCOT OF THE ANOINTED: “The real [Arday] story is of an elite academic world that was so excited by a compelling narrative that they rushed a clearly mentally unbalanced man with no real qualifications to the heights of academia because he ticked so many useful boxes.” Enguerrand VII de Coucy @ingelramdecoucy, "The story that will be spun about Jason Arday will be that his death lies at the feet of the people who called out his serial fabulations for being what they so transparently were, but the real story is of an elite academic world that was so excited by a compelling narrative that they rushed a clearly mentally unbalanced man with no real qualifications to the heights of academia because he ticked so many useful boxes. If anybody had stopped to drill into his story BEFORE we got to the point that he was a notable enough figure for others to begin to drill into it none of this would have happened." Driscoll has a typical tweet filled post DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Jason Arday Should Never Have Been Allowed High Enough to Fall as He Did. Melissa Chen @MsMelChen, "It’s tragic but truthfully, there was life on the other side for Jason Arday, the Ana Delvey of academia. He could have rode that infamy, written another book about the reality of his real life including a tell-all that exposes his experiences with the DEI bureaucracy and just spin it into a movie. Netflix would pick it up. He could’ve gone on to live a normal productive life. I feel so sorry for his kids who are now left fatherless." Coddled Affluent Professional @feelsdesperate, "That's right. Similarly, NY Times fabulist Jayson Blair wrote a memoir (the aptly titled 'Burning Down My Masters' House: My Life') after he was outed. American culture is wild, irrepressible, and exuberant and full of hucksters always coming up with new ways to reinvent themselves. There's a shamelessness to Americans that Europeans perhaps look down upon but that is a great source of creativity and excitement. This sort of possibility is actually one of the best parts of our culture and is responsible for possibilities that aren't available in milieus that are more staid and fatalistic. It's probably a healthy corrective for people like Arday to go out and transparently advertise their exploits (and shame the institutions responsible) rather than commit seppuku because they've tarnished the institutions and themselves been humiliated." Quote FischerKing @FischerKing64, "When Stephen Glass was outed as a fabulist whose journalism was largely fabricated, he didn’t kill himself. He actually wrote a ‘novel’ called The Fabulist basically telling the story. That’s how you handle this kind of situation. That’s real commitment to the con." Quillette @Quillette, "Compare the two cases and a pattern emerges. Cofnas cleared every formal bar that Cambridge erected—a competitive fellowship, a strong publication record, an eventual ruling that he’d broken no law and no policy—but he was punished anyway, and his position quietly expired while the university dithered. Arday did not clear the bars his professoriate peers had to clear, he was defended anyway, and he was propped up by administrators who failed to do due diligence. One scholar was punished for an opinion; the other was protected despite misconduct that objective methods could verify. Two different treatments, one shared instinct: expedience trumps evidence." More at Quillette, Institutional Failures in the Garden of Great Intellects. Razib Khan @razibkhan,"if academia is silly and standards don't matter there's no rationale for why the public should be funding such trivialities do you ppl bother to think beyond the latest controversy before your face?" Gilligan, at Da Spec wonders, rhetorically, Why is Cambridge platforming Islamic creationism? Another of Driscoll's DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development. WhateverTF that is, new one on me but I’m kinda getting it from the title and her expressed interests. Part of the School of Grievance Studies. Identifies as queer Muslim. Which means she has spent a good deal of her adult life in a bizarre fantasy land utterly divorced from reality. Let her keep talking. Let her represent the University of Chicago. Colossal embarrassing academic frauds are not all as absurd as Jason Arday, but they’re all in contention and doing their damndest. You don’t want to interrupt them. https://humdev.uchicago.edu/directory/eman-abdelhadi" Quote Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch, "She’s an American citizen so I disagree with the deportation thing. But I don’t know why anyone would want their kid to be taught by this woman, why U Chicago employs her, or why she wants to stay in a country she so clearly detests (at least performatively)." Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith, "Things that are now rightwing: Investigative journalism Academic rigour Scientific dissent Nature Facts Biology Politeness Punctuality Normality Free speech Individual rights Rationality Objectivity Self-reliance Emotional restraint Delayed gratification."

The summer news drought continues. At 1945, Donald Trump Already Won the Iran War. Ending It Is Tehran’s Problem Now. "Iran’s strategy is to drag the war out. James Jay Carafano argues that protraction is the only card the IRGC holds, and that Trump has handed it to them deliberately." "Trump has basically said, “Okay, you get to decide when the war ends. When you are serious about just accepting defeat, call me.” In the meanwhile, the Iranian regime can continue to suffer all the uncomfortable results of a protracted struggle with America and its allies, debilitating punishment that has demolished Iran’s threat as the bully-in-chief of the region." MSN, Iran responds after Trump says Strait of Hormuz will be US territory 'soon'.

Bob Hoge at RedState likes how Wounded Vet Joey Jones Gives Tongue Lashing for the Ages to USS Lincoln Sailors Complaining to CNN about tuna and noodles.

From News Wax, Ukraine Launches One of Its Largest Aerial Attacks of the War, Killing at Least 6 People in Russia. While I don't condone the killing of civilians, it's not like Russia can complain.

RedState's Teri Christoph thinks Marco Rubio Just Made the Anti-Trump Ballroom Crowd Look Like Absolute Lunatics. "Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “In my work with heads of state and foreign ministers, I am frequently hosted in reception facilities that are visually impressive and reflective of the wealth and beauty of the nations I am visiting. In the United States, by contrast, we currently lack the ability to hold large events of a similar magnitude on White House grounds for those same heads of state and foreign dignitaries. Instead, we must currently host such visits in plastic or canvas tents on the South Lawn with unsafe and unsanitary portable bathrooms and accommodations unbecoming of our national stature…Our foreign counterparts offer premier security arrangements for United States officials. It is imperative that we not only offer the same level of elite security services, but offer the world’s leading capabilities in an efficient manner on grounds over which we exert permanent control…We must obviously seek every reasonable means to mitigate both the more predictable risks, including weather and physical incursions, but also emerging threats…The East Wing Project is essential to that defensive security posture. The Project is absolutely critical not only for the physical safety of guests, but also for advancing our diplomatic relations and the interests and standing of the United States in the world.”"

cdrsalamander @cdrsalamander, "The British ruling class hates their own nation." Quote Diana Alastair @sappholives83, "This is the little village of Linton-On-Ouse, population 644. They’re about to receive an influx of 1200 immigrants: all of them men, all of them Muslim, and none of them legal. This comes just days after the arrival in tiny Piddington (pop 350) of 1250 illegal immigrants." At WaEx, Netanyahu mocks UK as ‘Islamic Republic of Britain.’ Mazelit Airaksinen reports a NYC Doctor Apologizes for Remarks About Hasidic Jews, Blames "Addiction to Negativity" ""I will get this Facebook addiction under control" says Dr. Robert Guarino."

John Davidson at Da Fed argues The Problem With DSA Democrats Isn’t Socialism, It’s Third-Worldism. It can be both, and more. Hat Hair's Mark Judge (remember him?) explores The Ecstasy of the Young Communists. Atop Da Hill Jonathan Turley opines The worse it gets, the better it is: American leftism is thriving on its own failures. More money made it worse? Give us more and we'll fix that! Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "It's not that hard. The left lets institutions and communities break down to a point of total degradation to prove why more government and non profits are the answer. The goal is to purposely not solve problems and make life and safety worse. See the entire defund the police movement and homelessness nonprofits in California. Gavin Newson promised to end homelessness and instead it ballooned on purpose..." Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "In fairness, starting with the socialism, you already know you’re dealing mostly with low intelligence, low historical or geopolitical literacy, and basically bumper sticker levels of logic and reasoning. So there’s that. At the higher levels, simple manipulative deception, but that tends to blither and blunder less." Quote Owen Gregorian @OwenGregorian, "DSA Members Can’t Bring Themselves to Admit Cuba is a Dictatorship – Immediately Try to BUT TRUMP! | Mike LaChance, The Gateway Pundit During a recent conversation with Latino journalist Jorge Ramos, high ranking members of the DSA turned into a stuttering mess when they were asked a simple question about whether or not Cuba is a dictatorship. HINT – It is. They immediately try to make the issue about Trump and the blockade on Cuba, because they cannot answer this question honestly..." Robert Chernin calls Woke 2.0 New Label, Same Bullshit, "The people, beliefs and goals have not changed. They simply discovered that Americans were listening and overwhelmingly rejected them." Rod Dreher @roddreher, "This is astonishingly blunt." Quote Dr. Maalouf @realMaalouf, "Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the biggest far-left party in France, explains why the alliance between progressives and Muslims is necessary. “If you’re counting on white Christian workers to bring about socialism in France, it won’t happen. But our Muslim brothers and sisters will.” This is the same playbook being used by the left in all Western countries."

News Wax hears Trump Predicts AOC Presidential Run. PJM's Matt Margolis thinks This Might Be the Most Brutal Diagnosis of AOC You'll Ever Hear "AOC stands for Always On Camera," Conway said. "She is a performer, not a reformer. She went to Washington to legislate; that's her job. She's a pontificator, not a legislator." From the Free Bacon, Abdul El-Sayed To Headline Islamic Event Alongside Pakistani Cleric Who Forced His 13-Year-Old Niece Into Marriage, Was Denounced for ‘Pedophilic Rhetoric’, "Tariq Masood urged his congregants to marry off their own female children and invoked Sharia law on the question of women’s education." Scott McKay at Am Spec worries about Poor Francesca Hong, a Victim of Milwaukee’s Missing Election Results "Five USB sticks were missing results, Steve Kornacki was left speechless, and David Crowley emerged with a remarkably narrow victory." It does look fishy. 

An old refrain of Stacy McCain, Crazy People Are Dangerous: Weirdo Charged With Defacing WWII MemorialOld School Eddie @Old_SchoolEddie, "Did you notice? Summer is typically riot season. However, since USAID was defunded, SPLC indicted, and ActBIue being investigated, things have been pretty calm this summer. Just saying..." Sunny @sunnyright, "A notable number of AWFLs want their political opponents dead. Not defeated. Not rejected. Dead. They think you’ve forfeited your right to live by not giving them what they want. Come to terms with that reality." Quote, "New York Post @nypost, "Luigi Mangione supporter calls murder of CEO a 'revolutionary act of protest.'" Matt Margolis, Oh, So This Is Why Luigi Mangione Pleaded Guilty. "Turley described the plea as "something of a Hail Mary throw," suggesting Mangione is hoping a judge eventually reduces his sentence enough to allow release at an advanced age rather than locking him away for life without parole. The real target, Turley explained, is the state murder case itself. The defense wants it dismissed entirely on double jeopardy grounds, and New York's double jeopardy standard is easier for a defense to clear than in most other jurisdictions. "The odds are in his favor, if you look at past cases, that that may in fact be dismissed," Turley said."

From Director Blue, The Day They Manufactured Russiagate: A Graphic Novel "How Obama's Inner Circle Framed a President." A sample.

Leslie Eastman at LI reports Fifth Circuit Completely Roasts Biden DOE’s Stove and Oven Efficiency Rules. "The court voids the rules after determining that Biden’s Energy Department improperly tried to fast-track the measure as a “direct final rule”, which is usually reserved for noncontroversial matters."

From Campus Reform, Trump DOJ intensifies push to stop tuition discounts for illegal aliens, keep Harvard accountable for campus anti-Semitism. At Twitchy, Nick Shirley Exposes WHY Kathy Hochul Is So Proud of Spending Taxpayer Money on Illegal Aliens. Nick shirley @nickshirleyy, " Your tax dollars have become the new money-laundering scheme for these corrupt politicians. Governor Hochul has been taking donations from these daycare fraudsters in NYC who receive millions of your taxpayer dollars to operate “adult daycares.” When I exposed the fraud in NYC, Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani went completely silent… maybe they didn’t want to offend their donors?" At NYPo, Bill Maher thinks immigrants must assimilate, accept American values and principles to be in US: ‘Not negotiable.’ Ian Miller @ianmSC, "Well that should just about cement Bill Maher’s excommunication from the Democratic Party." Moreover, from Matt Vespa, Bill Maher's Take on Trump's Secret Turkey Flight Will Not Please the Lib Press Corps "The media is mad they weren’t told. Get over it—your lives will never be above that of the president of the United States. The White House’s credibility is not on the line; can we please move on? No one cares except the press corps."

Gina Milan @ginamilan_, "Only Sophie Cunningham could go from playing a Fever game to randomly showing up at a bar and singing “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” with the fans. She’s truly the freaking best." THE POWER LINE WEEK IN PICTURES: Sophie’s Choice Edition.

1 comment:

  1. Franco and his party killed betweeen 100000 and 200000 people . Of course celebrating civil wars are fun, hell, in the USA, we still do it with cannons, and yes "Francisco Franco is still dead." is still one of the funniest lines from SNL.

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