This young lady is cosplaying Juliet Starling from the video game Lollipop Chainsaw, in which Ms. Starling is a cheerleader/zombie hunter dealing with a zombie outbreak at her high school on her birthday. Evidently a pretty good game if you like chopping up zombies with chainsaws. Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley et Hamas delendam sunt.
Just an amazing week to be a Senators fan. First we swept the Cubs at Wrigley behind Carl Morton and Joe Coleman, with Charlie Hough picking up Game #2 in relief of Spaceman Lee, then we came home to face the troublesome A’s, and took the first two games behind Jim Kaat and Steve Foucault, who came in from the bullpen and held off the A’s long enough for Dave Kingman to hit a sayonara homer (his 28th) in the bottom of the 13th with two on to pull out a 9-6 win after Blue Moon Odom and Charlie Hough blew a 6-2 lead in the 7th. Game #3 saw a memorable implosion by Spaceman Lee, who blew a seven-run lead in the 5th, and we wound up losing that slugfest 12-8. Still, we’re 53-59, half a game behind the Twins, who we’ll face on Tuesday, hopefully turning them into dog food on our way to the playoffs and (maybe) a .500 record. Silicon Valley et Hamas delenda sunt.
When Teddy Baseball is happy, everybody’s happy! Have a Moxie!
MADISON, Wisconsin
As mentioned previously (“God and Man at UW-Madison”), a distinct #resistance attitude prevails among faculty here, and yesterday’s law school commencement ceremony included several expressions of unmistakably progressive sentiments, uttered with an apparent certainty that everyone in attendance shared these feelings. Amid such provocations, I maintained my composure, and probably no one noticed that I wasn’t applauding enthusiastically for speakers who expected to be cheered for mouthing clichéd “social justice” platitudes.
The occasion of my son Jefferson obtaining a law degree was something I wasn’t going to let be spoiled by politics, no matter how hard the faculty tried. At a Thursday reception for the graduates, my wife and I had a wonderful conversation with the law school dean, a friendly and cheerful fellow, and the thought occurred to me during Friday’s ceremony — two-and-a-half hours, giving me plenty of silent thinking time — that perhaps I could write the dean a letter, reminding him that (a) Donald Trump was elected with a margin of 2 million votes last year, carrying Wisconsin with a 30,000-vote margin, (b) probably at least 40% of the parents in attendance at UW graduation events are Republican voters, and therefore (c) perhaps it would be wise to avoid turning commencement ceremonies into progressive tent-revival sermons. Even if there is a near-zero representation of Republicans on the university faculty — clear evidence of a discriminatory hiring policy — it might be a mistake for state university administrators to “let your freak flags fly” at graduation, less the Republican-controlled legislature take notice. But I digress . . .
Making his Mama proudThe Journalistic Father and His Legalistic Son
Never mind the politics. Law school is a crucible, and Wisconsin is consistently ranked among the nation’s best (#28 in the latest U.S. News rankings), so Jefferson’s achievement is remarkable. We are very proud of him, and hopeful for his future. Way to go, kid.
Usual weekend deadlines for the usual weekend posts. Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley et Hamas delendam sunt. Via Small Dead Animals: Half in Alberta & Saskatchewan Call For Vote On Independence
MADISON, Wisconsin
Today is the big day for son Jefferson and, because of what’s called “diploma privilege,” his graduation from the University of Wisconsin Law School means he automatically qualifies for the state bar, without having to pass a bar exam. However, he plans to practice in another state, so he’ll still be going through the bar-exam ordeal there. Yet, qualifying for the Wisconsin bar means that he gets to call himself an attorney right away, which counts for something as these things are reckoned.
Inside the ornate Wisconsin State CapitolLooking up State Street toward the Capitol
After careful consideration (see “A Happy Week for the Family”), we decided against the toll-free route through Chicago, and instead paid a toll to avoid the new Pope’s hometown. The revised route was also shorter, and we were checked into our hotel by 1:30 Central time. Jefferson was busy taking his last exam, so we met up with his girlfriend and walked from our hotel over to the Capitol, a splendid and impressive bit of Beaux-Arts architecture. After gawking at the elaborate wonder of it all, we then walked down State Street toward the UW campus. If you’ve never been to Madison, let me tell you that State Street is one of America’s great party zones. There are dozens of bars, plus restaurants and boutiques of various kinds. It was a pleasant walk on a sunny spring day, and then we got down to the campus and waited until Jefferson could join us, whereupon we went to eat at a Mediterranean restaurant.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professors have joined their colleagues at Big Ten schools to formally say they’re frustrated by the Trump administration’s cuts to research funding and efforts to dictate policy on campus.
This week the university’s Faculty Senate, a group of more than 2,200 professors on campus, voted to approve a “Mutual Defense Compact.” The vote followed similar efforts by faculty on other Big Ten campuses.
The resolution urges Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to help establish a “Mutual Academic Defense Compact.” Under the compact, all participants would “commit meaningful funding to a shared or distributed defense fund.”
The money would provide support to any member under direct political or legal infringement. . . .
On April 22, Mnookin was one of about 300 college and university presidents to sign a letter opposing “the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.” . . .
Last month, UW-Madison and several of the other Big Ten universities were included in a letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights warning that there would be potential action concerning alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
Talk about “climbing up on the cross”! So eager are these academics to be seen as martyrs of “government overreach and political interference” that they’ve joined a “Mutual Defense Compact” to defend against a threat that would seem to be entirely hypothetical, if not indeed imaginary. Has the Trump administration so far taken even a nickel of federal funding away from UW-Madison? And if UW-Madison is not tolerating “antisemitic harassment and discrimination,” what have they got to worry about? It’s just a symbolic “resistance” gesture.
It is worth noting that Trump carried Wisconsin by a margin of 30,000 votes last November, winning 59 of the state’s 72 counties. Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature. Why can’t the faculty at UW-Madison read the writing on the political wall? Don’t they care about democracy? Do the faculty imagine that making left-wing “resistance” gestures will encourage the state’s voters to repent their Trump-leaning tendencies? Because I suspect such gestures will have the opposite effect. As left-leaning as Madison itself may be (Kamala Harris got 75% of the vote in Dane County), most of the state is a lot more Republican and, if you look at the trends, Wisconsin may be following such other Midwest states as Iowa, Missouri and Ohio in going from battleground “purple” to solid GOP “red.” For the faculty of the state university to be spewing Trump hatred is likely to accelerate such a trend. I’m only in town for a graduation ceremony, but nonetheless feel obligated to warn UW-Madison against committing political seppuku.
As usual, Thursday is the day when I finally get caught up on all the linkagery.
What time is it, boys & girls? That’s right! Time for another Based Books Sale, this time concentrating on North American fantasy! All books 99 cents or less! Give money to authors who don’t hate you! Silicon Valley et Hamas delenda sunt.
