Saturday Miscellany

First, do you remember the Gaza pier, the Biden administration’s effort to feed the people of Gaza. Apparently, it is eminently forgettable.

Scott Jennings explained:

One of the biggest Biden embarrassments - the half baked Gaza Aid Pier. $230 million. 20 days in use. And now we find out it injured 60+ US soldiers. One soldier died! All to placate terrorists & their sympathizers in the Democratic Party. Insane scandal. 

Second, Libs of TikTok offers a summary of the mess:

Biden spent over $230 million to build a pier near Gaza which lasted about 20 days.

A new report shows 62 US troops were injured during the mission.

One service member was medically evacuated in critical condition and died 5 months later.

The pier also caused $31 million in damage to other equipment.

The Biden admin is responsible for this epic disaster.

Third, most children graduate from New York City’s public schools. The teachers’ union likes to tout this figure, forgetting to tell you that grade inflation makes the diplomas meaningless.

The New York Post reports:

In recent years, the Department of Education and many individual schools, have adopted “equity grading” practices intended to benefit disadvantaged students.

But by making it almost impossible for such students to fail, even when they don’t show up to class, our school system harms the less privileged by discouraging hard work and reliability.

Despite the demoralizing effect these policies have on teachers, the United Federation of Teachers, under the out-of-touch leadership of Michael Mulgrew, has failed to make this a public issue.

How bad is it? 

A culture shift is underway as attending class goes from being a widely understood responsibility to a mere lifestyle choice. Regularly absent students often ask me with complete sincerity how they might improve their grades. Some even request college recommendation letters.

As students offer ever weaker excuses for low attendance, it’s clear that these new policies are teaching them to surrender in the face of everyday challenges. At a formative time in their lives, our future workforce is losing its self-discipline, reliability, and resilience.

But the damage goes beyond work habits. Allowing students, especially those with weak academic skills, to miss vital classroom instruction denies them the full education they deserve.

In fact, in a recent examination of equity grading, the Fordham Institute, an education think tank, cites research showing “lenient grading leads to less learning.”

The scandal is that this is not a scandal. Parents who can afford it send their children to private schools. A lucky few gain admission to charter schools like Success Academies, where discipline prevails and where grades mean something.

Fourth, even the fortunate students who go to good high schools and who graduate into college have a problem. They do not know how to read or write.

So, professors bemoan the fact that many of them write their papers using ChatGPT and have never finished reading a book.

Of course, one does not need to spend too much time bemoaning this. The answer exists. Students should be required to take in-class exams, without using their computers, their phones or their notes.

There, that will solve the problem.

Fifth, just in case you think that I am biased against machines, and especially against the apps that pretend to do therapy, allow me to offer a story about a woman who seems to have profited from her encounter with AI.

The New York Post has the story:

One woman named Grace Carter claims AI helped save her relationship with her boyfriend, Lucas Martin.

Like many couples, Carter and Martin were constantly arguing, according to the Mirror.

The 34-year-old found herself on a constant spiral of venting to loved ones about her relationship quarrels, and she had had enough of it.

“I didn’t want to be that person constantly moaning about their boyfriend,” the 34-year-old said.

Gosh, I wonder where she got the idea that it was good to vent, to make a public spectacle of her emotions?

Funnily enough,, the AI therapist did not tell her to get in touch with her feelings. 

Familiar with ChatGPT, Carter thought it might be a smart idea to turn to the AI bot to see if she could get unbiased advice on her rocky relationship.

“It felt a bit mad at first, like confessing to a robot, but it was weirdly reassuring. I calmed down and we soon made up,” she admitted.

Her AI therapy sessions started to become a regular thing for Carter.

“It’s not so much telling me what to do,” she said. “It’s more about helping me word things better, understand his point of view, or suggest gentle ways to break a tense mood.”

Think about it: she needed to learn how better to word her thoughts. It’s an excellent idea and a slightly more difficult practice.

Sixth, the latest word about transmania, from the inimitable Charles Barkeley:

“I do not under any circumstances, zero, think that men should play sports against women...I’m done. I don’t wanna hear you try to explain it to me.”

Will that end the conversation? We should be so fortunate.

Seventh, it’s a dubious distinction, but it’s still a distinction. It turns out that the Bronx, that great New York borough, is the dementia capital of the nation. You might have guessed, but now we have proof.

The Daily Mail reports:

The Bronx has the highest rate of Alzheimer's disease in the nation, tied with Baltimore and Miami.

One in six adults over 65 in the New York City borough are diagnosed with Alzheimer's, compared to around one in 10 nationally.

Researchers believe the Bronx became an Alzheimer's hotspot due to its long history of poverty rates well above the national average and a large minority population that has historically been more likely to be struck by the disease.  

The area also has New York City's highest rate of food insecurity, leading residents to turn to ultraprocessed foods shown to induce harmful inflammation in the brain.

Healthcare providers in the Bronx have now launched a four-week pilot program to emulate Ikaria, Greece, a small island in the Aegean Sea.

Think about it: one of the culprits is ultraprocessed food. Where have I heard that before?

Seventh, via Victoria Taft on PJ Media, the latest from elite colleges about the fight against anti-Semitism:

On Wednesday, at a hearing on “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses,” several college presidents underwent congressional questioning about pro-Hamas activities on campus. But when it came to Haverford’s President, Wendy Raymond, it was clear that she was unable to answer a simple question, even with a cheat sheet — and even that didn’t help.

Haverford’s president carried a cheat sheet to remind her how to nebulously answer questions without answering questions. In fact, her answers followed the logic of those who offer non-apology apologies that go something like, “If you were offended, I’m sorry.” I'm surprised that phrase wasn't on the college president's sheet that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) shared on social media.

Stefanik explained:

The president of Haverford showed up to a congressional hearing on antisemitism with flashcards of pre-written answers.

Not convictions. Not moral clarity.

Flashcards.

This is what higher ed leadership looks like now—scripted, spineless, and coached to the bone.

Stefanik continued:

I asked the Haverford College president about a professor who celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre. Her response? It could be “perceived in many ways.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that celebrating mass terrorism is wrong. Just more of the same “depends on the context”…

As we have occasionally noted, universities have gotten into the bad habit of choosing members of a certain gender for president. Surely, they are just as competent and just as strong as any member of the other gender. 

But, why, when we read mealy mouth drool from a college president, the speaker is invariably of the distaff gender.

Go figure.

Finally, I have some free consulting hours in my life coaching practice. If you are interested, email me at StuartSchneiderman@gmail.com.