Wednesday Potpourri

 First, from the inimitable Louisiana senator, John Kennedy, in conversation with Martha MacCallum. Sen. Kennedy takes the full measure of the political moment:

“The American people may be poorer under President Biden, but they’re not stupid…. They see an open border, they experience inflation, they see the rampant crime. The American people look around and see the world on fire, the war in Ukraine, the war in the Middle East, the embers smoldering in China and they have concluded that fair or unfair, Martha, I’m not saying this is accurate but I can read a poll and the American people have concluded that President Biden is old and he needs soup and an early bedtime and they have concluded that Vice President Harris is not capable, that when her IQ gets to 75, she should sell.”

Second, from the much reviled Hungarian president Victor Orban:

The Hungarian model works! Many people in Western Europe would give half their lives if they could have a country without illegal migrants again. In Hungary we have zero #ILLEGALimmigrants. Only those can come whom we let in.

Third, in regard to what seems to be an outbreak of bad behavior by Congresspeople-- consider Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin getting ready to brawl with the Teamsters’ Union president, Peggy Noonan has this to say:

I think the biggest reason for Congress’s behavioral deterioration may be simply that all Americans now, especially people in politics, are media-addled. Lawmakers don’t experience themselves as political figures doing the business of the nation but as actors in a streaming series called “Populism!” on some tacky cable network, and they have to keep it lively and keep the action going. They are celebrities back home, like Real Housewives, famous for being famous and eager to do selfies to show how salt-of-the-earth they are. Once I talked to the producer of a weekly TV drama and told him I found it interesting that his actors, in their scenes, always seem to show they’re thinking. Before answering a question they linger and take time, as if they’re trying to show how thinking looks. He smiled and said no, it’s just an actor’s trick, they’re trying to keep the camera on their face.

Here we point out why all this is bad for America. It makes democracy look cruddy and small, like something shrinking before our eyes. It makes our leaders look second rate and insubstantial. It disheartens parents, who are trying to create rules for the road for their children. It disheartens normal Americans who are worried for their country and see in its increasing wildness and lack of dignity a sign that we may not be able to hold together in the long term.

And of course it pleases our competitors in the world. They think we’re a sinking nation, poorly educated, riven by race, seeking refuge in drugs. The embarrassing behavior of our political leaders is, to them, more evidence of our breakup. Do you wish you knew Chinese president Xi’s thoughts this week as he traveled through a San Francisco bedecked in Chinese flags? I’ll tell you. He thinks we are on a long slide, our time is over, America was the 20th century but this is the 21st.

Fourth, it does not quite rate with the moment when the Amsterdam synagogue excommunicated Baruch Spinoza, but still….

The David Horowitz Freedom Center has disavowed Candace Owens:

The conservative group that helped launch the career of Candace Owens is cutting ties with the political commentator, citing her “ignorant, hateful and morally obtuse remarks about Israel and the Jews.”

The David Horowitz Freedom Center released a statement on Monday disavowing its years-long association with Owens, the former blogger who rose to become a prominent social media personality and podcaster.

Fifth, from Aaron Sibarium:

A sign at the Harvard-Yale football game reads: “Exchange each hostage for 100 Pro-Hamas Harvard Students & Faculty.”

Sixth, in the matter of the ever embarrassing Gen Z, the New York Post reports that the younger generation has decided to reject the notion of a chaste relationship. They do not want to be tied down to a single sexual or romantic partner. Yet, as the story explains, the poll was taken by the adultery site, Ashley Madison.

As though we did not have enough to worry about:

More than half (59%) of Gen Zers either want an open or a polyamorous relationship, according to a recent study from Ashley Madison.

Sixty-five percent believe those types of relationships provide fuller sexual and romantic life experiences, while nearly half admit that one sexual partner simply can’t fulfill their sexual needs.

While it should be noted that the results of the study are slightly skewed as the people polled were all users of Ashley Madison — a dating site for married people that encourages affairs — experts agree that Gen Z is more accepting of open relationships than previous generations.

“In the past, people couldn’t wrap their head around polygamy not being tied to infidelity,” New York licensed social worker and life coach Francesa Maximé told The Post.

But as every generation does, Gen Z is breaking the mold of everything from workplace etiquette to relationship norms.

“There is certainly a new perspective in terms of how we look at relationships and what it means to be in a committed one. Open relationships are nothing new, although our willingness to openly talk about them is a fairly recent trend,” psychologist Dr. Michele Leno told The Post.

And Gen Z specifically appears to be more willing to discuss and engage in open relationships for a multitude of reasons.

Seventh, speaking of GenZ, they are apparently incapable of contributing to business productivity, so they want everyone to believe that they should be hired for their ebullient, scintillating personalities. The New York Post has the story:

Forget the resume — Gen Z thinks you should hire them for their personalities.

According to the youngest generation in the workforce, their humor and wit provides a certain vibrance older employees apparently lack.

They’ve even invented a term — “personality hire” — to describe their self-perceived function in a corporate setting: to provide all the jokes, banter and playfulness needed in order to “set the vibes.”

Eighth, surely you are against all forms of authoritarian government and favor democracy. Fair enough.

But, have you ever considered what happens in society when we fail to respect authority, whether the authority of the police or the authority of classroom teachers.

Elizabeth Grace Matthew offers an interesting hypothesis in the Deseret News:

Unfortunately, many educators at every level today appear both personally and ideologically opposed to authority. 

As a result, rampant disorder, violence toward students and teachers, abysmal test scores and a truancy problem are just some of the issues facing schools across the nation. Even if we had both the resolve and the resources to fix these issues that have become ever more prevalent since the ill-advised school shutdowns that teachers unions demanded in 2020, doing so would prove both costly and difficult. But it could be done. 

However, without an accurate understanding of the real issue undergirding this descent into chaos, even resolve and resources would get us nowhere. It is the abdication of parental, institutional and societal authority that has wrought this exponential growth in violence, mediocrity and insubordination. 

Ninth, Gerard Baker sums up the cultural rot in once-Great Britain, for the Wall Street Journal:

In Britain, you can be arrested for silently saying a prayer within a few hundred yards of an abortion clinic, but you can call for the destruction of Israel and praise Adolf Hitler and the boys in blue will ensure you’re allowed to scream your bile unimpeded.

Tenth, Dr. Eli David remarks that the BBC has called itself out for its anti-Israeli bias:

Wow, @BBCNews is admitting that Israel was right all along: Hamas' terror tunnels are under Shifa hospital, and the hospital was used for keeping hostages. Even BBC can no longer lie in the face of evidence!

Eleventh, interviewed by Mark Levin, Alan Dershowitz debunked the moral equivalence between anti-Semitism and Islamophobia:

I’ve got news for you. There is no Islamophobia at any university in the United States. It’s a fake. It’s virtue parading. Oh, we have to fight anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Let me tell you who the anti-Semites are. They are largely, not completely, the radical Muslims who claim to be victims of Islamophobia. This is a one-sided issue.

Twelfth, Seth Dillon offers this sobering thought on Twitter:

If you believe the Hamas-loving Left is genuinely concerned about antisemitic content on X, you are an idiot.

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