Mascots of the Anointed

After the unfortunate death of Jason Arday, Ed Driscoll wrote: 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."

The sentence just above quotes Enguerrand VII de Coucy but the Mascot of the Anointed phrase is linked to a short archived piece from 1995 by Thomas Sowell in which "the anointed" worked at the New York Times and their "mascots" were old prison inmates.

Thomas Sowell:

The "New York Times" recently ran a front-page story dripping with sympathy for a multiple murderer who is now very old and who, on some days, "cannot remember" why he is in prison. His victims, however, cannot remember anything on any days.
There are also photographs of him and other prisoners. One prisoner is described as having a disease that "brings mental deterioration." Another, with his legs amputated, is shown trying to catch a baseball on his knees. Yet another prisoner is shown in a wheelchair.

All sorts of heart-tugging stories are told about elderly inmates who are succumbing to various diseases and infirmities of age. There are, however, no stories at all about their victims, or their victims' widows or orphans, or how tough their lives have been. . .

Ways that statistics are disconnected from the images are described.

Criminals are just one of the groups adopted as mascots of the media. All sorts of parasites and predators have been displayed as if they were ocelots or other exotic creatures that adorn the world of the anointed. The deeper question is: Why is it necessary for the anointed to have human mascots? And why do they choose the kind of people that they do?
Whoever is condemned by society at large - - criminals, bums, illegal aliens, AIDS-carriers, etc. -- are eligible to become mascots of the anointed, symbols of their superior wisdom and virtue. By lavishing concern on those we condemn, the anointed become morally one-up on the rest of us.

Is that important? To some it is paramount. A quarter of a century before the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln said in a speech in Springfield, Ill., that the greatest danger to the future of the United States would come, not from foreign enemies, but from that class of people that "thirsts and burns for distinction."
These people could not find that distinction "in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others," according to Lincoln. In other words, there is not nearly as much ego satisfaction in building up this country as in tearing it down.
Our schools and colleges are today turning out more and more people who have been taught to want to "make a difference," "save the planet" or "reinvent government" -- in short, to treat policy-making as an ego trip. . .

A lot of potential quotes are packed into this little piece, which has aged well.

On August 6, Richard Fernandez wrote something that seems too prescient a week and a day before Jason died:

The way I understand it is the bureaucracy uses people like Jason to walk point. Behind him comes the whole pageant of Cambridge DEI administrators, lavishly funded programs with strange names and a highly paid sinecures. If trouble comes he'll be the first to get it.

What they… https://t.co/pxPh4dKgz6
— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) August 6, 2026

And in the USA: Plagiarist Claudine Gay getting paid $3.1 million/year after "resigning" from Harvard.

* * * * *

What is the purpose of Cambridge?

One thing that I found interesting is that there were stories about Jason Arday learning to read at the age of 18 and video clips of him hugging the man who taught him, but no one seemed interested in putting his teacher into the lecture circuit in higher education. The teacher seemed to accomplish something amazing, according to "the anointed." Was it the absence of dredlocks which kept him out of the limelight?

Jason Arday was diagnosed as autistic, but he seemed to be articulate with people in the administration of Cambridge. His communication with students seemed to be less successful. What was his role in the institution?

On the other hand, Isaac Newton had a reputation for being unsociable, though he was famously part of Cambridge. Was Isaac Newton, a genius, the more usual autistic type?

* * * * *

Founding Father of the Week

Daily Dose of History

When the British invaded Virginia in 1781, General Lafayette was in command of the American forces opposing them and he was desperate for reliable information about the British forces. William Armistead, who was serving as Virginia’s commissary for military supplies offered a suggestion: why not use my slave James as a spy? After interviewing James, Lafayette approved the plan.
James passed through British lines and got a job waiting tables at British headquarters. Not only was he able to carry back to Lafayette the conversations he overheard while serving Lord Cornwallis, he smuggled out documents showing the British intent to remain in Yorktown—extremely valuable information that contributed to the decision to try to trap Cornwallis there. James was also able to carry messages from Lafayette to other Patriot agents behind British lines. According to tradition, a few days after the British surrender, Cornwallis was meeting with Lafayette when he noticed James. “Ah, you rogue,” he said to James. “You have been playing a trick on me all this time.”

After the war James returned to his old life as a slave of William Armistead, who was then serving as a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly. But in 1784, after a chance encounter in Richmond, Lafayette gave James a written statement which read: “This is to certify that the bearer by the name of James has done essential services to me while I had the honour to command in this State. His intelligence from the enemy’s camp were industriously collected and most faithfully delivered. He perfectly acquitted himself with some important commissions I gave him and appears to me entitled to every reward his situation can admit of.”
Two weeks later James submitted a petition to the Virginia General Assembly, requesting that he be emancipated in recognition of his services during the Revolution. James was formally freed by an act of the General Assembly, effective January 1, 1787. Upon being granted his freedom, James took the surname Lafayette.
In his old age James Lafayette was granted a pension by the General Assembly and he became something of a celebrity in Richmond, to which he would travel twice a year to collect the pension. James was in Richmond in October 1824, when Lafayette visited during his grand tour of America. As his procession was making its way to Capitol Square, Lafayette spotted James. Before a cheering crowd, he stopped the procession, called his old spy over and embraced him.
James Lafayette died in Baltimore at age 82, on August 9, 1830, one hundred ninety-six years ago today.

Engraved Portrait, James Armistead Lafayette

* * * * *

Weekend

The Week in Pictures: Sophie's Choice Edition

Apologies for a slightly light TWiP this week; John and I are both overseas gadding about. I think John is in London, and I’m today in Barcelona, where I am continuing research on my forthcoming guidebook to European hotels that have decent air conditioning and more than three ice cubes in inventory at any one time. Anyway, the most important issue of the week is who will replace the splendiferous Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. It’s a tough call, but we have some suggestions.

* * * * *

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Serving your mid-day open thread needs

* * * * *

Last week's thread, August 8, The times that try men's souls

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 11:22 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Mmm, new thread smell.

Posted by: PabloD at August 15, 2026 11:27 AM (zDDmD)

2 Too slow! Ah well.

Posted by: Brother Tim, still standing at August 15, 2026 11:28 AM (mQbp+)

3 Corgis called.

Posted by: PabloD at August 15, 2026 11:29 AM (zDDmD)

4 And now, we are going to hear endlessly that criticizing DEI academic fraud is murder, because the fraudster might kill himself.

Trannies have used this for years - "acknowledge that I am a woman, or I'll kill myself", and a judge in Idaho just ruled that any woman who threatens to kill herself acquires an unlimited right to abortion.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at August 15, 2026 11:30 AM (aD4fx)

5 Was he hangin out?

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:30 AM (fgbQO)

6 Arday had some crazy eyes. The eyes always show up.

Posted by: Advo at August 15, 2026 11:33 AM (jO4mz)

7 At The Independent: "Eat faecal capsules to reduce peanut allergies, study suggests."

I'll take a guess: study was funded by Coprotech Pharmaceuticals.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:33 AM (Jr5Lq)

8 Fecal?

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:35 AM (fgbQO)

9 recently ran a front-page story dripping with sympathy for a multiple murderer who is now very old and who, on some days, "cannot remember" why he is in prison

—

Will this be the new scam?

Criminal:Oh I have no idea why I’m in prison. My memory is so bad. All I know is I love humanity and puppies and kittens.

MSM: come on how can you lock this guy up?

Judge: Oh you poor thing. You’re released from prison.

Posted by: Sandy Cocasio Ortez at August 15, 2026 11:35 AM (7xx4i)

10 I am concluding Thomas Sowell's Wealth, Poverty, and Politics which is very quotable for the current crisis even though it is 10 years old. I keep wanting to cut and paste it here.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 11:36 AM (JvZF+)

11 "Abraham Lincoln said in a speech in Springfield, Ill., that the greatest danger to the future of the United States would come, not from foreign enemies, but from that class of people that "thirsts and burns for distinction.""

The Lyceum Address:
https://tinyurl.com/4x2wk72w

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:36 AM (Jr5Lq)

12 Thomas Sowell is 96.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:38 AM (fgbQO)

13 Is Hasan Piker a mascot?

Posted by: I gotta ask at August 15, 2026 11:38 AM (2Ez/1)

14
All sorts of heart-tugging stories are told about elderly inmates who are succumbing to various diseases and infirmities of age.

I call this sort of story a "weepie".

I remember an article from not so long ago about Judith Clark, who was convicted in the Brinks Robbery. On and on it went about her and her plight. The names of the dead policemen - Waverly Brown and Edward O'Grady - weren't mentioned until (I counted) the 34th paragraph.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 11:38 AM (O0L8i)

15 From Christopher Rufo:

he DEI regime killed Jason Arday. Cambridge liberals were so desperate for a racial fairy tale, they elevated a man who could only meet the standards through fraud, then abandoned him when they started feeling embarrassed. Sad, predictable end to a story with only villains. RIP.

https://tinyurl.com/3jytk4wv

The left is now predictably trying to blame anyone but themselves for this fiasco. As was said elsewhere:

“Mistakes”

Bitch, this is exactly why this happened.

They weren’t mistakes. They were lies. Lies that would have stopped ANYONE who wasn’t a DEI poster boy from advancing this high in academia.

YOU did this. YOU.

https://tinyurl.com/4mkh38h7

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 11:38 AM (Riz8t)

16 Thanks K.T. My mid-day open thread needs have been served. Appreciate it!

Posted by: Weasel at August 15, 2026 11:39 AM (TMF5Z)

17 Well I forgot. Steve Martin defense.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:40 AM (fgbQO)

18 That James Lafayette fella was a handsome fella.

Posted by: Dy-No-Mite! at August 15, 2026 11:40 AM (cFP1B)

19 He doesn't look French.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:41 AM (fgbQO)

20 Ah, Cambridge! A venerable institution where knowledge is freely dispensed with!

Posted by: A Chump At Oxford at August 15, 2026 11:41 AM (JM9I6)

21 You know who else was a mascot of the anointed?

I nominate Doogie Howser MD as Hollywood's portrayal of one.

I never understood the appeal of a 14 year old savant functioning as a medical doctor. I don't care how supposedly high your IQ is, being a physician requires maturity, judgment, compassion, and seasoning. What a puerile (immature, silly, childish) show that was.

The episode where Doogie arranged a heart transplant within 10 minutes for a newly diagnosed heart patient, in the ER, as an intern, did not help.

Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026 11:42 AM (I0N4X)

22 I really appreciated the story about James Amistead Lafayette. I hadn't heard of him before Thanks so much, K.T!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 15, 2026 11:42 AM (lt7On)

23 "Our schools and colleges are today turning out more and more people who have been taught to want to "make a difference," "save the planet" or "reinvent government""

From the earliest grades, they try to turn kids into activists before they have any knowledge or experiential basis to reason from.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:42 AM (Jr5Lq)

24 Venerable Veneral.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:43 AM (fgbQO)

25 So Arday hopped the last train to Clarksville. He was a thief and a liar and a fraud, and was abruptly exposed after years and years of the educational "elite" propping up the con. Betrayed, alone, with no future and every illusion shattered, no wonder he checked out. He never existed in the first place.

Posted by: Elite institutions are no such thing at August 15, 2026 11:44 AM (TbWk/)

26 Anointed. Credentialism.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:46 AM (fgbQO)

27
They weren’t mistakes. They were lies. Lies that would have stopped ANYONE who wasn’t a DEI poster boy from advancing this high in academia.

Uh oh! You said BOY!

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 15, 2026 11:46 AM (Cqx++)

28 Did he fall out of a window?

Posted by: Boris at August 15, 2026 11:47 AM (fgbQO)

29
So Arday hopped the last train to Clarksville.

"A push push push business, Arday. It's push push push, all the way, all the time! It's push push push, all the way, all the time, right on down the line!"

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 11:48 AM (O0L8i)

30 "Our schools and colleges are today turning out more and more people who have been taught to want to "make a difference," "save the planet" or "reinvent government""

Precisely none of whom take courses in useful subjects that would actually enable them to better men's lives. They just want power.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 11:48 AM (Riz8t)

31 Bitch, this is exactly why this happened.

They weren’t mistakes. They were lies. Lies that would have stopped ANYONE who wasn’t a DEI poster boy from advancing this high in academia.

YOU did this. YOU.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 11:38 AM

+++++

Tee hee.

Posted by: B.O.'s college transcripts at August 15, 2026 11:48 AM (2Ez/1)

32 Imagine a straight white male candidate for a professorship claiming that they had run 600 miles in six days, and had run 30 marathons in 35 days.

You think the review committee would have found that credible?

Posted by: The ARC of History! at August 15, 2026 11:48 AM (aD4fx)

33 Arday was a fraud. Empowered by the woke.

This same woke mob has run many a tenured professor out of a job because they refused to bend a knee to them. It's hard to have sympathy for the university/college professor demographic, but the ones who've been cast out of employment because people like Arday are preferred is just wrong.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 15, 2026 11:49 AM (2Cry5)

34
They weren’t mistakes. They were lies. Lies that would have stopped ANYONE who wasn’t a DEI poster boy from advancing this high in academia.

*muses*

What would it take to look at all our academics for the same thing?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 11:49 AM (O0L8i)

35 Was he magical?

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:49 AM (fgbQO)

36 I think there are some interesting parallels between Jason Arday and the cry-bully so-called transgender youth who use the threat of suicide as a cudgel against anyone who dares to question the reality of their fallacies. Deflect the responsibility for your own actions onto your critics.

Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026 11:51 AM (I0N4X)

37 Plagiarist Claudine Gay getting paid $3.1 million/year after "resigning" from Harvard.

Apparently there was a lot of grumbling among the faculty at Stanford when Gay was tenured there, due to her complete lack of academic output, but no one was going to destroy their career by publicly complaining.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at August 15, 2026 11:52 AM (aD4fx)

38 gp at August 15, 2026 11:42 AM

One disturbing aspect of trying to turn little kids into activists is that deep down they know that they are not in a position to "save the whales" by marching around in their school yard.

Meanwhile, they don't learn how to get along with each other.

Posted by: KT at August 15, 2026 11:52 AM (1RGZ5)

39 If you ever wonder why Michelle Obama is so bitter and angry, despite having a lifestyle very few enjoy, look no further than Jason Arday. It's very hard to live with the realization that you are a complete and utter fraud, so you lash out and try to blame others to excuse your own faults.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 11:52 AM (Riz8t)

40 During the Claudine Gay fooferaw, there was some effort devoted to seeking out plagiarized academic writing, but it seems to have ebbed after a couple of big scalps were gathered.

If universities wanted to demonstrate integrity, they'd undertake a large scale AI search to quickly find ALL the plagiarized crap over decades, and expose ALL the plagiarists and cheaters in academia. They now have the tools to do it, but neither the interest or desire to do so.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:53 AM (Jr5Lq)

41 "Our schools and colleges are today turning out more and more people who have been taught to want to "make a difference," "save the planet" or "reinvent government""

This too is the story of Barack Obongo.

Posted by: Zombie Robert Mugabe at August 15, 2026 11:53 AM (cFP1B)

42 Abraham Lincoln said in a speech in Springfield, Ill., that the greatest danger to the future of the United States would come, not from foreign enemies, but from that class of people that "thirsts and burns for distinction."
_______

Overproduction of "elites" has only been a thing since around that time or a little earlier. How it plays out will likely not be determined till long after we've all shuffled off these mortal coils.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 15, 2026 11:53 AM (XvL8K)

43 36 I think there are some interesting parallels between Jason Arday and the cry-bully so-called transgender youth who use the threat of suicide as a cudgel against anyone who dares to question the reality of their fallacies. Deflect the responsibility for your own actions onto your critics.e

39 If you ever wonder why Michelle Obama is so bitter and angry, despite having a lifestyle very few enjoy, look no further than Jason Arday. It's very hard to live with the realization that you are a complete and utter fraud, so you lash out and try to blame others to excuse your own fault

Same, same.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 11:54 AM (Riz8t)

44 If universities wanted to demonstrate integrity, they'd undertake a large scale AI search to quickly find ALL the plagiarized crap over decades, and expose ALL the plagiarists and cheaters in academia. They now have the tools to do it, but neither the interest or desire to do so.

I've wondered why some billionaire hasn't financed that. It would absolutely rock academia.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at August 15, 2026 11:54 AM (aD4fx)

45 Is On the Waterfront good?

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:55 AM (fgbQO)

46 "I've wondered why some billionaire hasn't financed that. It would absolutely rock academia."

IIRC, Bill Ackman led the charge, up until the search burned his own wife for misattributed quotes in her writing.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:57 AM (Jr5Lq)

47
"A push push push business, Arday. It's push push push, all the way, all the time! It's push push push, all the way, all the time, right on down the line!"

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

He got off at Willoughby.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 15, 2026 11:57 AM (Cqx++)

48 James Amistead Lafayette may have been born a literal slave, and Jason Arday born a free man, but ultimately, Lafayette experienced more freedom than Arday ever did.

Posted by: SMH at God's mercy at August 15, 2026 11:58 AM (pW5pH)

49 "This too is the story of Barack Obongo."

Lefty capture of USA schools predated Obama by decades.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:58 AM (Jr5Lq)

50 Gayee.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:00 PM (fgbQO)

51 Off-topic cuz not an EV weekend, but-

I just learned that PHEVs (plugiin hybrids) have a much, much higher fire rate than plain EVs:

PHEVs = 3500 fires per 100,000 cars

EVs = 25 fires per 100,000 cars

Kinda shocking since PHEVs are generally touted as safer, but-

yeah, makes since if you think about it you have both a sparky battery and flammable gas in the same car.

Choose wisely people!

Posted by: naturalfake at August 15, 2026 12:00 PM (iJfKG)

52 David Hogg was another "Mascot of the Anointed".

So unaccomplished, but admitted to Harvard and after failing at starting a My Little Pillow company anointed as co-chair of the DNC.

Imagine listening to "how to change the world" from someone who can't change his Spiderman Underoos™ without a reminder from his mother!

Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026 12:01 PM (I0N4X)

53 Thirty pounds of three dollar beef.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:02 PM (fgbQO)

54 "Is On the Waterfront good?" Recommended, yes.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:02 PM (Jr5Lq)

55 Thx K.T.
A man as brave and stalwart as James Lafayette. A lying , damaging sack of crap like Arday.
Interesting juxtaposition

Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 15, 2026 12:02 PM (xCuiu)

56 And the queen of all Mascots--Greta Thunberg

Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026 12:02 PM (I0N4X)

57 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is at the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, known as the “The Alcatraz of the Rockies."
What kind of day is he having today?

Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes is serving her federal prison sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, where she is raising two young children from behind bars.
What kind of day is she having today?

Tyler Robinson is being held in the Utah County Jail in a special housing unit under the most restrictive custody level pending trial for the aggravated murder of Charlie Kirk.
What kind of day is he having today?

Posted by: I gotta ask at August 15, 2026 12:03 PM (2Ez/1)

58 Thanks, K.T. You do yeomans work to keep the weekends going.

I hate this man felt he had no recourse but to kill himself. Because he did have many, many other choices. Every last person who held him up has a role in this ending, but he had the ultimate role in it. And his children not only get to live in the shame of how he rose to fame, but how he abandoned them through it. I pray for them, because in my heart, I know if you truly have faith, you can walk through very, very dark times.

Posted by: Piper at August 15, 2026 12:05 PM (ZdaMQ)

59
On the Waterfront is a good movie.

I wouldn't call it great, but it's a solid 50s style "message" melodrama.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 15, 2026 12:05 PM (iJfKG)

60
Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes is serving her federal prison sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, where she is raising two young children from behind bars.
What kind of day is she having today?

At Club Fed? Better than Tsarnaev.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 12:06 PM (O0L8i)

61 Gratitude for the internet. I never heard of James Lafayette until now, and what a revelation.

Posted by: RebeccaH at August 15, 2026 12:06 PM (VFung)

62
Maybe "message melodrama' is exactly right "social problem melodrama" I suppose is closer to the mark.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 15, 2026 12:07 PM (iJfKG)

63
is = is not

Posted by: naturalfake at August 15, 2026 12:08 PM (iJfKG)

64 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is at the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, known as the “The Alcatraz of the Rockies."
What kind of day is he having today?

He knowingly planted a bomb next to a young child.

He should have been executed.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at August 15, 2026 12:08 PM (aD4fx)

65 The Armistead Cemetery and Armistead Circle on the busy thoroughfare of Mercury Boulevard in Hampton, Virginia both get their name from the individual in today's feature story.

Posted by: The More You Know at August 15, 2026 12:12 PM (2Ez/1)

66 but the Mascot of the Anointed phrase is linked to a short archived piece from 1995 by Thomas Sowell
--------

Is there a link to that piece?

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 15, 2026 12:12 PM (XeU6L)

67 Google AI sez: "The phrase "Mascots of the Anointed" originates from economist Thomas Sowell in his 1995 book The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy."

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:13 PM (Jr5Lq)

68 I've heard of Mercury Boulevard.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:14 PM (fgbQO)

69 The left believes in the existence of misinformation: true information that is dangerous for the general public to know, so it should be restricted.
In the future, regardless of whether the academic misconduct charges against members of sensitive minorities are true or false, nobody outside a small circle will know. The punishment will be psychological counseling, never firing.
This is similar to how photos of some criminal suspects are no longer published, because the true scandal is not that a crime has been committed, but that the public could stereotype the suspects.
Cambridge will probably erect a statue to Arday, just like there are Floyd memorials everywhere.

Posted by: PG at August 15, 2026 12:15 PM (qln0f)

70 52
Imagine listening to "how to change the world" from someone who can't change his Spiderman Underoos™ without a reminder from his mother!
Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026

I am watching this happen with J’s daughter from the sidelines, where she has recently decided I belong. These kids are told they could be the one who changes everything in the trajectory of the human race, and when they find out they are very cool people, but maybe not so exceedingly exceptional it’s earth shattering, it’s tough on them. I love that kid, even while she is being difficult (I mean let’s be honest, she is one of 4 girls I have raised am raising, or had a significant part in raising, I am pretty means tested at this point!). But I worry about where she lands. She tends to quit when things get tricky because she feels she is only due success and praise.

Posted by: Piper at August 15, 2026 12:16 PM (ZdaMQ)

71 is = is not

Posted by: naturalfake

*********

There is no is not, only is...

/Yoda

Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026 12:17 PM (I0N4X)

72 Mascot of the Anointed

Mascots. The anointed have several of them, depending on the topic or cause they're aligned with.

Hogg, Greta, Floyd, etc.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 15, 2026 12:18 PM (2Cry5)

73 But I worry about where she lands. She tends to quit when things get tricky because she feels she is only due success and praise.

I was talking about this with my wife the other night. I think the Participation Trophy mentality that was big in my kid's generation is starting to wane, since it's at such odds with anything constructive. I hope that's true and not just wishful thinking.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 12:19 PM (Riz8t)

74 Friday Night Tights is good this week.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:22 PM (fgbQO)

75 Arday...

One man's death is a trag...errr...a million deaths is a trage....
Oh wait...it's a tragedy if one man....
Oh to hell with it.
I'm going to the driving range.

Posted by: Diogenes at August 15, 2026 12:22 PM (2WIwB)

76 A little lunch help requested. How the heck do you stovetop cook canned corned beef hash to crispiness without it sticking to the pan?

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:23 PM (Jr5Lq)

77 Statistic.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:23 PM (fgbQO)

78 No luck here with nonstick pans.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:24 PM (fgbQO)

79

Psychopath Who Filmed Herself Vandalizing WWII Memorial Turns Herself In . . . and Films It

https://t.ly/sSod4

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 15, 2026 12:25 PM (Cqx++)

80 Someone on zerohedge...I know....yesterday had a great line.

How could Jason Arday possibly run 30 marathons in 35 days?

Bank guards were chasing him.

I laughed and denounce myself.

Posted by: Stateless - Keeping 15 year old Ralphy happy and alive. He's a puppy at heart. at August 15, 2026 12:25 PM (Sco7b)

81 76 A little lunch help requested. How the heck do you stovetop cook canned corned beef hash to crispiness without it sticking to the pan?
Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12

Butter oil blend. Medium heat. Leave it alone. Check just a tiny corner for browning, then flip it. I say this as someone who has never cooked hash, but I am going on the assumption the same principles of browning any meat will apply here.

Posted by: Piper at August 15, 2026 12:27 PM (ZdaMQ)

82 Even driving that far would be exhausting.

Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:27 PM (fgbQO)

83 KT,
Thanks for the Founding Fathers segment. The story was new to me. Also, I just got Sowell's "Vision of the Anointed" the other day. Haven't had a chance to read it yet but I like his economics books so will probably enjoy this one.

Posted by: JTB at August 15, 2026 12:28 PM (yTvNw)

84 A little lunch help requested. How the heck do you stovetop cook canned corned beef hash to crispiness without it sticking to the pan?
Posted by: gp

In the oven on parchment.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 15, 2026 12:31 PM (NnhvP)

85 "'This too is the story of Barack Obongo.'
Lefty capture of USA schools predated Obama by decades."

I'd pick this 1969 incident as a very important milestone in the lefty destruction of USA academia. Photo says it all:

https://tinyurl.com/2h4z2mau

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:33 PM (Jr5Lq)

86 > The "New York Times" recently ran a front-page story dripping with sympathy for a multiple murderer who is now very old and who, on some days, "cannot remember" why he is in prison.

Personally, I'd be happy in a world where Charles Manson hadn't died in prison as a crippled old man -- because he'd been rightfully executed when he was a young man.

The best part of waking up
Is Folger's in your cup
-- base version of Folger's jingle

The worst part of waking up
Is the Manson Family saying 'sup
-- Abigail Folger remix

I will admit finding some dark humor in Manson calling off his prison engagement after he found out that the woman was only marrying him because she wanted to get custody of his corpse after he died.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 15, 2026 12:34 PM (IG3/x)

87 > 76 A little lunch help requested. How the heck do you stovetop cook canned corned beef hash to crispiness without it sticking to the pan?
Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:23 PM (Jr5Lq)

Deep fryer.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 15, 2026 12:34 PM (IG3/x)

88 "Butter oil blend. Medium heat. Leave it alone. Check just a tiny corner for browning, then flip it."

That's the most popular suggestion but it does not work for me.

"In the oven on parchment."

That might work! But my oven is busted.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:35 PM (Jr5Lq)

89 I highly recommend the recent Darkhorse podcast with Bret Weinstein and Peter Boghossian on the Arday fiasco. One of the things posited was that if Arday had flipped the tables and said, "yeah, I knew what I was doing all along. I just wanted to see how much I could get these rubes to swallow," he would have been a hero for exposing the sham that DEI is. Instead...

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at August 15, 2026 12:35 PM (QaH55)

90 after failing at starting a My Little Pillow company
Posted by: muldoon at August 15, 2026 12:01 PM (I0N4X)

Turns out there wasn't really all that much of a market for pre-bitten pillows.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 15, 2026 12:36 PM (IG3/x)

91
Painfully (no other word suffices) reconstructing The Big Dummy's show record while he's been with us. I lost his previous spreadsheet in a hard-disk failure.

His Ohio mom sent me the list of shows he's been in, which is an enormous help, but each one has to be looked at for date, location, judges, results and points.

It's something I really need to be in a mood to do. I am not in the mood.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 12:36 PM (O0L8i)

92
The NY Times ran a SHOCKINGLY thorough and objective story about Arday's downfall. One wonders what Times readers think, because it didn't allow comments.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:38 PM (XJ22o)

93 I too, must confess have never been able to fry a can of corned beef hash to crispiness without thoroughly making a mess. How tough can it be?

Posted by: Common Tater at August 15, 2026 12:38 PM (uKe7i)

94 I was curious if William Armistead was relayed to Lewis Armistead of Pickett's Charge fame. It appears that he was not, at least very closely.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 15, 2026 12:38 PM (amcLV)

95 Mascots of the Anointed was the Jimmy Paige's "new direction" album proposal to "bring Led Zeppelin back to its original path" in 1972

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 12:39 PM (rbvCR)

96 Absolutely true schools are encouraging activism. It was like that when I was a yuuute. Always pushed to change this or that. Uhm I’m cool with how shit is thanks.

Posted by: Sandy Cocasio Ortez at August 15, 2026 12:39 PM (7xx4i)

97 no one seemed interested in putting his teacher into the lecture circuit in higher education

Because either it didn't happen or they didn't want to point out that, as in Nashville, being black means you get all As and graduate high school unable to read or write.

Posted by: Ian S. at August 15, 2026 12:39 PM (QZThv)

98 The "New York Times" recently ran a front-page story dripping with sympathy for a multiple murderer who is now very old and who, on some days, "cannot remember" why he is in prison.

Norman Mailer vouched for, and promised a job to, a murderer (Jack Henry Abbott) who apparently could write a sentence, who then got out of jail and murdered again. Mailer's response was "culture is worth a little risk". He, of course, meant YOU have to take a risk. He was in no danger whatsoever. Typical.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 12:39 PM (Riz8t)

99
>>they rushed a clearly mentally unbalanced man with no real qualifications to the heights of academia because he ticked so many useful boxes.

================

And a carpenter or plumber hiring an assistant would have seen through this level of incompetence and fakery before the interview was done.

stupid smart people

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:40 PM (XJ22o)

100 The NY Times ran a SHOCKINGLY thorough and objective story about Arday's downfall. One wonders what Times readers think, because it didn't allow comments

Did it perhaps mention that this is what you get when you suspend all reason and judgement about someone simply so you can preen to the world about what a wonderful person you are?

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 12:41 PM (Riz8t)

101 The "New York Times" recently ran a front-page story dripping with sympathy for a multiple murderer who is now very old and who, on some days, "cannot remember" why he is in prison. His victims, however, cannot remember anything on any days.

Who the shit gives two craps about what he 'remembers'? His VICTIMS can't remember a damned thing anymore … screw the NYT.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 15, 2026 12:42 PM (ayRl+)

102
35 Was he magical?
Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 11:49 AM

-------

To the extent that actual magic is show business that depends on misdirection, slight of hand, and willing suspension of disbelief, yes.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at August 15, 2026 12:42 PM (HLgI3)

103
Norman Mailer vouched for, and promised a job to, a murderer (Jack Henry Abbott) who apparently could write a sentence, who then got out of jail and murdered again.

_________

And William F. Buckley worked to free Edgar Smith after his conviction for murder. Smith tried to kill another woman, who survived. At his trial, he admitted to the murder.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 12:42 PM (O0L8i)

104
if Arday had flipped the tables and said, "yeah, I knew what I was doing all along.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder

===============

Quite a few people have made this observation on social media! In fact, he had all kinds of avenues for superstardom in a second life.

Just scraping the defenses of him on X and YouTube alone, he could have gotten half a book -- and AI could have done the first draft.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:44 PM (XJ22o)

105 Cats are galloping up.and down the hall. Batten down the hatches.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 15, 2026 12:44 PM (amcLV)

106 Norman Mailer vouched for, and promised a job to, a murderer (Jack Henry Abbott) who apparently could write a sentence, who then got out of jail and murdered again.

_________

And William F. Buckley worked to free Edgar Smith after his conviction for murder. Smith tried to kill another woman, who survived. At his trial, he admitted to the murder.

I think we need a new rule. If you appear in front of a parole board and vouch for someone's early release, and they reoffend, you finish their sentence alongside them.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 12:44 PM (Riz8t)

107
And William F. Buckley worked to free Edgar Smith after his conviction for murder. Smith tried to kill another woman, who survived. At his trial, he admitted to the murder.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

=================

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:47 PM (XJ22o)

108 If universities wanted to demonstrate integrity, they'd undertake a large scale AI search to quickly find ALL the plagiarized crap over decades, and expose ALL the plagiarists and cheaters in academia. They now have the tools to do it, but neither the interest or desire to do so.
Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 11:53 AM (Jr5Lq)

Brett Weinstein has been saying that academia is broken, evidenced by the replication failure in papers, and he is at a loss to how to fix it.
My proposal, at least for sciences, is to make it a requirement for Masters candidates to perform a replication of a Doctoral thesis. And of course, a PhD would only be provisional until such replication can be performed.
Building on that, of course, a replication or at least verification of elements of a published paper or papers should be a requirement for Bachelor's degrees, at least for candidates to higher degrees.

One of the important elements of a university degree is the ability to research, absorb and reason from other work, and this needs critical thinking applied to prior work as well.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 12:47 PM (rbvCR)

109 Corned beef hash is seriously already loaded with fat or grease, it shouldn’t need more? But it will thoroughly trash a pan.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 15, 2026 12:47 PM (uKe7i)

110 I'm going to the driving range.
Posted by: Diogenes

Try and avoid driving over the curbs.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 15, 2026 12:47 PM (NnhvP)

111 >>Cats are galloping up.and down the hall. Batten down the hatches.

Choo'em Liz'bet!

Posted by: Troy Landry at August 15, 2026 12:48 PM (J4Dwc)

112 68 I've heard of Mercury Boulevard.
Posted by: Boss Moss at August 15, 2026 12:14 PM

Named for a particular space program at nearby NASA Langley.

Posted by: OBTW at August 15, 2026 12:48 PM (2Ez/1)

113 94 I was curious if William Armistead was relayed to Lewis Armistead of Pickett's Charge fame. It appears that he was not, at least very closely.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 15, 2026 12:38 PM (amcLV)
Grand son.

Posted by: Eromero at August 15, 2026 12:48 PM (0ViWo)

114 > Psychopath Who Filmed Herself Vandalizing WWII Memorial Turns Herself In . . . and Films It
---------
She's from Kentucky. She's getting flamed on local, social media pages here. It'll be interesting to see what the local judicial system there in D.C. will do with her.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 15, 2026 12:48 PM (2Cry5)

115 Cornbeef just microwave taste great had it with eggs and bacon this morn

Posted by: doug at August 15, 2026 12:49 PM (B1+sW)

116 Thirteen minutes of psychotic direct testimony by a rapist mascot with a nine felony record, but was still free to attack again. Convicted again yesterday:
youtube.com/watch?v=c1eyLNrRqJs

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 12:49 PM (Jr5Lq)

117 stupid smart people
Posted by: Blonde Morticia
-------

A local psychologist has addressed this. A short column:

https://shorturl.at/zAHl7

Excerpt:
"He calls these misbegotten intellectual dedications FIBs, or Fashionably Irrational Beliefs.

Welcome to today's fibbing America, where a ton of people believe things that defy reason.

We are thus facing an unacknowledged tragedy requiring those who have a more grounded moral code and humbled intelligence to get their act together and fight back.

History tells us that bright-but-broken people throughout history have been willing to drive themselves and their train of followers right off a cliff."

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 15, 2026 12:49 PM (XeU6L)

118 If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?

Posted by: I gotta ask at August 15, 2026 12:49 PM (2Ez/1)

119 Uh, hey. Edification on internet. Nice!
Thanks, K. T.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 15, 2026 12:50 PM (6tOGy)

120 I too, must confess have never been able to fry a can of corned beef hash to crispiness without thoroughly making a mess. How tough can it be?
Posted by: Common Tater at August 15, 2026 12:38 PM (uKe7i)

Here is the extreme guide to making French fries. It may be of help, then again you might need to instead just let the hash sit out and dry a bit before frying, and dust it with flour or starch

www.absurdlyoptimized.com/recipes/french-fries/

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 12:50 PM (rbvCR)

121 It's something I really need to be in a mood to do. I am not in the mood.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Try more scotch.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 15, 2026 12:50 PM (NnhvP)

122 Give it a little more time, and they likely will.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 15, 2026 12:51 PM (uKe7i)

123 118 If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?
_-_
Still heavily government subsidized and deep pockets.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 15, 2026 12:51 PM (6tOGy)

124
My proposal, at least for sciences, is to make it a requirement for Masters candidates to perform a replication of a Doctoral thesis.

___________

Nobody, but nobody, wants to replicate someone else's work. It gains you absolutely nothing.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 12:51 PM (O0L8i)

125 If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?

It's broken in the exact way that AWFLs love. That's why it's 65/35 female now in some universities.

Posted by: Ian S. at August 15, 2026 12:52 PM (QZThv)

126
Did it perhaps mention that this is what you get when you suspend all reason and judgement about someone simply so you can preen to the world about what a wonderful person you are?
Posted by: Archimedes

==================

When I say objective, I mean objective. It didn't say "this is what you get." It described every point at which every university he ever passed through failed. Not just Cambridge, but also the one that awarded his Ph.D., which should have been revoked. Not surprisingly, none of them responded to requests for comment.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:53 PM (XJ22o)

127 Norman Mailer vouched for, and promised a job to, a murderer (Jack Henry Abbott) who apparently could write a sentence, who then got out of jail and murdered again. Mailer's response was "culture is worth a little risk". He, of course, meant YOU have to take a risk. He was in no danger whatsoever. Typical.
Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 12:39 PM (Riz8t)
====

imho Mailer was humiliated and disgraced about his role in this incident, although not nearly enough.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 12:54 PM (JvZF+)

128 If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?
Posted by: I gotta ask at August 15, 2026 12:49 PM (2Ez/1)

Universities are corporations for gathering grants, handling royalties, managing portfolios, accepting subsidized tuition, and maintaining real estate. They are not academia, which is a social and educational process that traditionally were the reason for universities, before financialization got in the way.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 12:54 PM (rbvCR)

129 I have a different take on this.

The left ignores and in fact silences any criticism of those it elevates. Everyone knew this man was a hack that worked with him and yet he had the left's protection.

Meanwhile any right leaning public figure it constantly slammed and damned with everything true or false the media can come up with.

LIVs then constantly hear right leaning figures are corrupt while left leaning ones are squeaky clean.

Posted by: 18-1 at August 15, 2026 12:54 PM (sKqQm)

130 Wake me when any of the responsible parties linked to Arday's academic career resigns.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 12:55 PM (JvZF+)

131
If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?
Posted by: I gotta ask

================

They're very much working as designed in lefties' perspective! Not broken at all. In fact, graduating illiterates and know-nothings is part of the agenda.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:55 PM (XJ22o)

132 I’ve heard them termed “Luxury Beliefs” too.

The principle is the same, as is the result. They cannot admit they were wrong, ever. Holding on to “fashionably irrational beliefs” despite any and all evidence to the contrary, often means people die.

Other people, so that’s a risk they are willing to take. Have to maintain those fairy tales in their head at all costs. The alternative is just too much to ask.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 15, 2026 12:57 PM (uKe7i)

133 Universities are corporations for gathering grants, handling royalties, managing portfolios, accepting subsidized tuition, and maintaining real estate. They are not academia, which is a social and educational process that traditionally were the reason for universities, before financialization got in the way.
Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 12:54 PM (rbvCR)
=====
Perfectly stated.

Might add "propagandizing the youth."

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 12:57 PM (JvZF+)

134 Meanwhile, on X I see that a village of 644 people in England is getting 1200 single male Muslims, courtesy of the government. We're far beyond "the great replacement is a conspiracy theory".

Posted by: Ian S. at August 15, 2026 12:57 PM (QZThv)

135 If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?
Posted by: I gotta ask

Because college is funded by our tax dollars (hence other peoples money)..

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 15, 2026 12:57 PM (NnhvP)

136 Wake me when any of the responsible parties linked to Arday's academic career resigns.
Posted by: San Franpsycho
--------

I might accept a truly sincere mea culpa, expressing sincere recognition and regret for their self-absorbed 'vision'. Might.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 15, 2026 12:58 PM (XeU6L)

137 92 One wonders what Times readers think, because it didn't allow comments.
Posted by: Blonde Morticia

You will be told what to think, prole.

Posted by: Auspex at August 15, 2026 12:59 PM (Y8DZL)

138
Wake me when any of the responsible parties linked to Arday's academic career resigns.
Posted by: San Franpsycho

=================

I'm not looking for that. I'm completely resigned to the fact that #NothingWillHappen to the careers of the stupid smart people. This is academia, which has its own rules.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 12:59 PM (XJ22o)

139 Nobody, but nobody, wants to replicate someone else's work. It gains you absolutely nothing.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 12:51 PM (O0L8i)

It will get done if it is a requirement to earn an MA. It would be a mandatory project, and simpler than the original work required for the PhD.

There has to be a way to self check. MA candidates must have the ability to research and understand other work, and replicate it. That is what mastery in a subject means

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 12:59 PM (rbvCR)

140 > If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?
--------
I think some of it's because of habit. It's what people "are supposed to do." Some parents push it, not realizing their kids are going to be indoctrinated, not educated. Others probably know this, and look forward to being part a movement to fundamentally change the country.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 15, 2026 01:00 PM (2Cry5)

141
I might accept a truly sincere mea culpa, expressing sincere recognition and regret for their self-absorbed 'vision'. Might.
Posted by: Mike Hammer

================

As long as it accompanied a resignation.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 01:00 PM (XJ22o)

142 Perfectly stated.

Might add "propagandizing the youth."
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 12:57 PM (JvZF+)

That is the basic purpose for public education, no more and no less.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 01:00 PM (rbvCR)

143 I’ve heard them termed “Luxury Beliefs” too.
====-

We came to this same conclusion walking home from dinner one night at our rich lib cousins Presidio Heights mansion.

It was an epiphany. We wondered why such smart people espoused such crazy leftist economics? It was because they could financially afford what they proposed and we couldn't.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 01:01 PM (JvZF+)

144
The Universities exist around Men's sportsball competitions that rake in huge amounts of dollars, and parents willing to pay to see their little failures fail at a higher level.

Posted by: Auspex at August 15, 2026 01:01 PM (Y8DZL)

145 "If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls?"

Long ago the idea emerged that college was for everybody, not just for those with the skills to do true rigorous academic work.

This led to credentialing becoming a common requirement for job seekers.

The university ceased being a place where knowledge is sought through reason. It became a required job-training program for white collar workers.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 01:01 PM (Jr5Lq)

146 I ran across a video of Nick Frietas restating Bastiat's story of the Glass Maker and he does a good job describing it and why it matters

But I think we need to engage with people at a more fundamental level...What IS the economy?

Well it is the good and services we all make and then buy from each other. The government is funded by reducing the goods and services we all want and using that money in some other way. Do you want a new car or a government NGO funding tranny operas in Peru? Do you want new cancer drugs or new COVID shots? Because the whole reason the government gets involved here is to reduce goods and services you want and, at BEST, give you back goods and services you do not want.

This of course ignores the direct graft that we all know makes up the majority of government spending.

Posted by: 18-1 at August 15, 2026 01:01 PM (sKqQm)

147
imho Mailer was humiliated and disgraced about his role in this incident, although not nearly enough.
Posted by: San Franpsycho

==============

I think he did admit there was blood on his hands.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at August 15, 2026 01:02 PM (XJ22o)

148
To me, "luxury beliefs" are things that are flat-out wrong but the holder has enough cushion not to be affected. Those same beliefs - no-fault divorce, single-mother families, casual sex, loosened educational standards, social eccentricity - are catastrophic to the poor.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 15, 2026 01:02 PM (O0L8i)

149 Colleges exist because aptitude tests for hiring were outlawed.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 15, 2026 01:02 PM (NnhvP)

150 Deranged troll Paul snuck back into prayer thread at 374.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 15, 2026 01:03 PM (1z8ji)

151 If academia is so broken why aren't four year universities going the way of suburban shopping malls? /i]

Some colleges are closing and overall admissions are down.

But we have credential gates on various jobs.

People don't go to college to learn anything, they go to get credentials for a job...or to network at places like Harvard.

Posted by: 18-1 at August 15, 2026 01:03 PM (sKqQm)

152 Meanwhile, on X I see that a village of 644 people in England is getting 1200 single male Muslims, courtesy of the government. We're far beyond "the great replacement is a conspiracy theory".
Posted by: Ian S. at August 15, 2026 12:57 PM (QZThv)
=====

And a brothel of British "comfort women."

Or girls. Whatever.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 01:03 PM (JvZF+)

153 People don't go to college to learn anything, they go to get credentials for a job...or to network at places like Harvard.
Posted by: 18-1 at August 15, 2026 01:03 PM (sKqQm)

Professions are taught in universities. Architecture, medicine, chemistry, physics to name a few.
Language arts as well, you are not going to get OTJ training in Spanish and Latin American literature, at least not at a level to get a job in it.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 15, 2026 01:06 PM (rbvCR)

154 I see that a village of 644 people in England is getting 1200 single male Muslims, courtesy of the government. We're far beyond "the great replacement is a conspiracy theory".
Posted by: Ian S.

The next time we hear of these little towns will be news of their rape gang issues.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 15, 2026 01:06 PM (NnhvP)

155 Wake me when any of the responsible parties linked to Arday's academic career resigns.

It's a neck and neck race between this and the heat death of the universe.

Posted by: Archimedes at August 15, 2026 01:07 PM (Riz8t)

156 She's from Kentucky. She's getting flamed on local, social media pages here. It'll be interesting to see what the local judicial system there in D.C. will do with her.
Posted by: Martini Farmer

At most a fine. Most likely let off with nothing.

Posted by: Sandy Cocasio Ortez at August 15, 2026 01:08 PM (7xx4i)

157 At my first job as a college graduate the guy who hired me told me "You know nothing. I will teach you how to do your job. Your degree(s) just tell me you're trainable."

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 15, 2026 01:08 PM (JvZF+)

158 If I want a crispy crust: preheat cast iron pan, add a little fat (butter and olive oil) as needed. Assume the pan will be a mess. I put water in the pan while still hot and let it sit. Makes clean up a lot easier.

Posted by: JTB at August 15, 2026 01:10 PM (yTvNw)

159 I see that a village of 644 people in England is getting 1200 single male Muslims, courtesy of the government. We're far beyond "the great replacement is a conspiracy theory".

In theory we could attack this crap on the argument it is sexist - Western governments are overwhelmingly taking in men as "refugees".

But feminists and AWFLs like it this way. The straight ones like the idea of politically correct, economically subservient men to toy with.

Posted by: 18-1 at August 15, 2026 01:10 PM (sKqQm)

160 Has a violent democrat homosexual troon struck Virginia State University?

Posted by: Not Again at August 15, 2026 01:12 PM (cFP1B)

161 I note that Mr Armistead did not free he slave despite his heroic actions. It took an act of the state. I realize it was a different time but have some gratitude

Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 15, 2026 01:13 PM (xCuiu)

162
Mascots of the Anointed

Escalators of Our Betters

Zeppelins of the Know It Alls

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at August 15, 2026 01:13 PM (biznJ)

163 Correct on the credentialing aspect. To get an engineering job title position at my employer the criteria are crisp and non-negotiable: four year engineering degree from an ABET certified institution.
No Associates Degree plus experience.
And no University of Phoenix.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 15, 2026 01:14 PM (2Ez/1)

164 153 People don't go to college to learn anything, they go to get credentials for a job...or to network at places like Harvard.
Posted by: 18-1

Yeah that’s how it works. Not just Harvard though.

My first job out of college, I got due to my alma mater. I did t go to an Ivy but close enough I guess. Everyone my boss hired was from a well known school. And all these years later I could call up guys I was friends with in college and they’d get me a job the next day if I needed one. Or vice versa.

I’ve told my kids the most important asset you will have professionally is your network. Never burn bridges with people. Be nice to everyone even the people you hate because you never know when they’ll be opening doors for you.

Posted by: Sandy Cocasio Ortez at August 15, 2026 01:14 PM (7xx4i)

165
Al-Sayed's sister is popping up on media today.

He's normal compared to her degree of crazy.

Posted by: Auspex at August 15, 2026 01:15 PM (Y8DZL)

166 At my first job as a college graduate the guy who hired me told me "You know nothing. I will teach you how to do your job. Your degree(s) just tell me you're trainable."
Posted by: San Franpsycho
------
When one of my acquaintance mentioned that his son had just graduated, another acquaintance commented, 'Now the real education begins.'

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 15, 2026 01:17 PM (XeU6L)

167 So Arday hopped the last train to Clarksville. He was a thief and a liar and a fraud, and was abruptly exposed after years and years of the educational "elite" propping up the con. Betrayed, alone, with no future and every illusion shattered, no wonder he checked out. He never existed in the first place.
Posted by: Elite institutions are no such thing at August 15, 2026 11:44 AM (TbWk/)

I would not call his death "unfortunate". "Tidy" fits better.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 15, 2026 01:17 PM (1z8ji)

168 "I’ve told my kids the most important asset you will have professionally is your network. Never burn bridges with people. Be nice to everyone even the people you hate because you never know when they’ll be opening doors for you."

This.

Posted by: gp at August 15, 2026 01:18 PM (Jr5Lq)

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