Friday, June 30, 2023

Justice Jackson’s emotional dissent relied on an objectively flawed study

Check out this Article from AmericanThinker https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/06/justice_jacksons_emotional_dissent_relied_on_an_objectively_flawed_study.html

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Wednesday, June 28, 2023

DeSantis and Trump Both Vow to End Birthright Citizenship. Can They Do That?

DeSantis and Trump Both Vow to End Birthright Citizenship. Can They Do That? https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/athena-thorne/2023/06/27/desantis-and-trump-both-vow-to-end-birthright-citizenship-can-they-do-that-n1706418

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Sunday, June 25, 2023

Herald-Tribune E-Edition Article

thevanx@gmail.com sent you this article.

Comment:

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Memo to the critics of New College's DeSantis overhaul: Shut up, already

Critics of change at New College of Florida repeatedly state that Gov. Ron DeSantis does not recognize excellence. They point to the storied past of the college as evidence of its supposedly lofty academic standing.

The truth is these critics are delusional. The facts prove it.

When I applied to New College in 1973, it had the third-highest SAT averages in the country. I know this because my first work-study job at New College was in the public relations department ? and before graduation I worked for a year in the admissions department.

When I came to New College in 1974, it was still private. But before the academic year ended, New College was part of Florida's state university system. Though the transition did not affect those of us enrolled at the time, there began an inexorable decline in New College's standards for admissions and, over time, in the average academic credentials of faculty as well. My professors had doctorates from Harvard, Columbia, Penn and Oxford. Unfortunately, however, that is not a common occurrence at New College today, though admittedly there are plenty of exceptions.

A steady decline

After New College, I was accepted into a joint degree program in law and theology at Notre Dame. I was elected to the Board of Trustees of the New College Foundation by the graduating class for a term of three years. And it was during a board meeting that I saw the data that made one fact very clear: student admissions standards were declining.

We were no longer meeting the criteria for "most competitive" colleges in the nation ? an elite group comprised of 25 to 30 colleges and universities. Yes, New College was still a great school, but it was no longer what it had been. The decline was slow, but even an annual 1% drop eventually becomes devastating.

For all the supposed excellence noted by critics of Gov. DeSantis and New College Interim President Richard Corcoran, here is a reality: While Yale has dropped one spot ? to No. 4 ? in the annual "Niche Guide to Best Colleges in America" during the 50 years since I arrived in Sarasota, New College has dropped to No. 405.

Let that sink in: No. 405. For reference, USF Sarasota-Manatee is currently listed at No. 141 and the University of Florida is No. 41.

A message to the critics

So to the critics ? and particularly to the New College alumni and faculty members who assail the changes at the school as an attack on excellence ? I say this: Shut up, already. You've done enough harm. It is delusional to live in the past, and you do a disservice to the students of Florida, Sarasota and New College when you pretend everything was OK before change came to New College of Florida.

It wasn't. It was a disaster.

New College had to change

Only the ignorant believe that without a change New College had any chance for survival as an independent college. An effort to merge the school into another unit of the state university system was blocked in 2020 by then-Senate President Bill Galvano, a Republican from Bradenton who, as New College's current legal counsel, remains incredibly dedicated to helping the institution survive.

By the time Gov. DeSantis intervened, the Florida Legislature's patience had run out. Using the metrics of the Florida Board of Governors, which is responsible for administering higher education in the state, New College was clearly a failing institution. The Band-Aid applied in 2020 was about to peel off and, like it or not, a new one was not going to be applied. The Legislature had had enough.

Why? Maybe because the Legislature didn't like seeing the state pay three times per student what it paid at other Florida universities and colleges to support alleged "excellence" when the reality was that the average student at New College was taking more than six years to graduate ? and that was if they hadn't transferred or dropped out beforehand.

Or maybe the Legislature was alarmed by the fact that the average starting salary of a New College of

See NEW COLLEGE, Page 23A

Members of the audience turn their backs and hold up "Protect Academic Freedom" signs after the Board of Trustees of New College of Florida denied early tenure to five professors at a meeting in April.

MIKE LANG/HERALD-TRIBUNE FILE

Your Turn

Robert Allen Jr. Guest columnist

New College

Continued from Page 22A

Florida graduate was less than $28,000.

Or maybe it was because the New College Foundation's endowment hadn't increased by a dime throughout the previous decade and was actually losing money. Indeed, almost no one ? outside of a few nostalgic New College alumni ? could be bothered to contribute anything beyond minimal amounts. Meanwhile, others would offer non-binding promises to make donations, decades down the line, from their estates.

DeSantis wants excellence

So let's be clear about this: Gov De-Santis does recognize what excellence looks like, and excellence is what he wants for New College. Equally important, the governor also recognizes what failure looks like ? as we all should, especially when it is right in front of us.

We have to face the facts: The faculty and past administrations of New College, regardless of their best intentions, took the school on a long and winding road to mediocrity that almost led it to the verge of extinction. That doesn't mean we haven't had great students and graduates who have recognized the value of New College's unique educational model, which emphasizes personal attention and independent study. In fact, New College is still a very solid choice for an exceptionally self-motivated student.

But that doesn't change the fact that Gov. DeSantis saved New College. He did so by bringing in a uniquely qualified problem solver ? Richard Corcoran ? whose goal is to make New College the best liberal arts college in the nation. And the governor also saved the college by appointing board trustees who will be unrelenting in their quest for excellence.

By the way, no one wants to turn New College into Hillsdale College ? but we do believe that we can learn from Hillsdale's decision to integrate a classical core curriculum and apply those lessons to New College's academic model. This core curriculum does not stifle "academic freedom," as has been alleged. It is, in fact, a very similar curriculum to what New College used when it was founded ? and when it had one of the most elite student bodies not only in America, but in the world. This won't happen again overnight, but it can and will happen again.

When it comes to the future of New College of Florida, we should not be governed by nostalgic delusion. We should instead be governed by informed hope, and by a sense of determination to work together to help New College truly fulfill its promise as an institution of higher learning.

Robert Allen Jr. is a 1978 graduate of New College of Florida and a past member of the New College Board of Trustees. He is a corporate international lawyer in South Florida and chairman of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute.

NEWfrom page A22 to A23

Get Out of My Class and Leave America

Get Out of My Class and Leave America https://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2023/06/25/get-out-of-my-class-and-leave-america-n2624395

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Wilmington: The Next Netflix Series?

Check out this Article from AmericanThinker https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/06/emwilmingtonem_the_next_netflix_series.html

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Wind Turbines Are Blowing In A Green Disaster That Is Just The Beginning

Wind Turbines Are Blowing In A Green Disaster That Is Just The Beginning: Wind Turbines Are Blowing In A Green Disaster That Is Just The Beginning, The left loves to use terms like, clean, sustainable, and green, but there is nothing green, clean, or sustainable about any of this, Government continues to pump sunshine up American citizens asses and money into their own and selected other’s pockets, the green energy Ponzi scheme marches on

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Transgender Lawsuits Reveal Horrors of Procedures

Check out this Article from AmericanThinker https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/06/transgender_lawsuits_reveal_horrors_of_procedures.html

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Friday, June 23, 2023

Snopes Tries to Pin Titanic Sub Disaster on Elon Musk, But a Basic Science Fact Makes Their Ruling Impossible

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

What accounts for America’s life expectancy gap?

What accounts for America’s life expectancy gap?: "A large portion of the gap (but not all of it) is due to unique features of American life that are unrelated to health care services." ~ Vincent Geloso

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Timothy Van Eck invites you to read the WSJ article: How the Worst Drought in a Century Is Changing the Panama Canal

How the Worst Drought in a Century Is Changing the Panama Canal

By Costas Paris

Authorities seek to preserve business with lowest rainfall since waterway opened in 1914

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Want a Job That Pays $200,000? See How Much the Biggest Companies Pay

Opinion | Why Barack Obama Attacks Tim Scott

Monday, June 19, 2023

Why Did the Democratic South Become Republican?

‘Unavoidably Unsafe’: RFK Jr. Reveals the Untold Truth Why Vaccines Have Liability Protections

https://open.substack.com/pub/vigilantfox/p/unavoidably-unsafe-rfk-jr-reveals?r=j8bxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Sunday, June 18, 2023

The Southern Poverty Law Center releases its annual “Year in Hate and Extremism” report, beclowning itself

Check out this Article from AmericanThinker https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/06/the_southern_poverty_law_center_releases_its_annual_year_in_hate_and_extremism_report_beclowning_itself_.html

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Friday, June 16, 2023

Trump Indictment a Violation of Federal Law

Check out this Article from AmericanThinker https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/06/trump_indictment_a_violation_of_federal_law.html

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New evidence shows the Pulse nightclub shooting wasn’t about anti-LGBTQ hate

The trial of the Pulse nightclub shooter's wife dramatically changed the narrative about the deadly attack.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/5/17202026/pulse-shooting-lgbtq-trump-terror-hate

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Thursday, June 15, 2023

If You’re Going To Use The Word ‘Fascism,’ Learn What It Means – Issues & Insights

If You’re Going To Use The Word ‘Fascism,’ Learn What It Means – Issues & Insights: In our Humpty Dumpty politics, words mean just what their users choose them to mean — neither more nor less.

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Timothy Van Eck invites you to read the WSJ article: Trump’s Boxes and Clinton’s Sock Drawer

Trump's Boxes and Clinton's Sock Drawer

By Michael Bekesha

A president chooses what records to return or keep and the National Archives can't do anything about it.

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The 'Taxi Prince' Is Taking on Uber—and Winning

Opinion | Nevertheless, She Persisted

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren Goes Scorched Earth in Effort to Push Southern Baptists Down the Slippery Woke Slope

Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren Goes Scorched Earth in Effort to Push Southern Baptists Down the Slippery Woke Slope https://pjmedia.com/columns/paula-bolyard/2023/06/12/megachurch-pastor-rick-warren-goes-scorched-earth-in-effort-to-push-southern-baptists-down-the-slippery-woke-slope-n1701104

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