Author Archives: whyevolutionistrue

Princeton hoist with its own petard: Admits systemic racism, investigated for it by the Department of Education, and then denies it

September 18, 2020 – 9:00 am

I have to say that I find this pretty amusing. After Princeton’s President (like officials of many other colleges) wrote a letter flagellating himself and his University for systemic racism, the U.S. Department of Education has begun investigating Princeton for violating Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The charge is taking federal […]

Posted in Colleges acting badly, colleges and universities, race, racism | Comments (50)

Readers’ wildlife photos

September 18, 2020 – 7:45 am

I importune, implore, and beseech you to send in your good wildlife photos, as my tank is inexorably running dry. But today we have some gorgeous photos of wasps taken by Alan Clark from Liverpool. His caption (there’s just the introduction) is indented. Here are some photos of German Wasps, Vespula germanica. They were photographed […]

Posted in insects, photography, Readers' wildlife | Comments (27)

Friday: Hili dialogue

September 18, 2020 – 6:30 am

It’s the end of the “work” week: Friday, September 18, 2020, and National Cheeseburger Day (no Coke, Pepsi!). It’s also Rice Krispies Treats Day (I have to admit that I love them), International Grenache Day, International Read an eBook Day (I’ve never read one),World Water Monitoring Day, and National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day. Here’s a […]

Posted in Hili Dialogue | Comments (47)

Is the “self canceling” of the Columbia University Marching Band a big joke?

September 17, 2020 – 1:15 pm

The Columbia University Marching Band (CUMB) is a group of latter-day Merry Pranksters, always up to hijinks, often with behavior so irritating to the University administration that the band isn’t allowed to perform at sports events. Read the sections on “Miscellaneous instruments” and “Controversies” on the Band’s Wikipedia page.  Here’s one: After being allowed to […]

Posted in parody | Comments (19)

More violations of my University’s principle of political neutrality

September 17, 2020 – 11:30 am

I hope you’ve kept up at least minimally with what I’ve written about the University of Chicago and the Kalven Report—the 1967 document that set the tone for University discourse by declaring that the school would remain neutral on all issues of morality, ideology, and politics, with a few rare exceptions having to do with […]

Posted in colleges and universities, race, racism, wokeness | Comments (20)

J. K. Rowling again demonized on bogus grounds

September 17, 2020 – 9:00 am

There is no middle ground on J. K. Rowling; you consider her either an unrepentant transphobe or a feminist who, while accepting transgendered women’s self-identification in most respects, doesn’t think that they should always be treated the same as biological women. I hold the latter point of view, as I’ve read her explanation for the […]

Posted in books, Cancel Culture, sex and gender issues, wokeness, women's rights | Comments (82)

Readers’ wildlife photos

September 17, 2020 – 7:30 am

Please send your good wildlife (or people) photos in, folks; I am getting a bit nervous. Yes, that’s my default state, but I do need photos. We have three contributors today, the first being from Joshua Lincoln, who contributes a lovely fly: I was looking for dragonflies and butterflies by the Otter Creek near Middlebury, […]

Posted in birds, insects, photography, Readers' wildlife, spiders, sports | Comments (7)

Thursday: Hili dialogue

September 17, 2020 – 6:30 am

Good morning on Thursday, September 17, 2020, National Apple Dumpling Day. (I like mine with cream or vanilla ice cream: is that a meme that’s parasitized my mind?) If you’re near a Moe’s restaurant, it’s Free Queso Day: they’re giving out six ounces of queso to thank their customers.  It’s also National Monte Cristo Day—not […]

Posted in Hili Dialogue, Szaron | Comments (50)

Earliest Joni Mitchell tape found

September 16, 2020 – 2:45 pm

Knowing of my great affection for the work of Joni Mitchell, reader Mark sent me a link to this CBC article about a lost recording found 57 years later. Click on the screenshot to read: An excerpt: When Victoria resident Barry Bowman heard the first few chords of that baritone ukulele, he knew he had finally […]

Posted in music | Comments (28)

Americans abysmally ignorant about the Holocaust

September 16, 2020 – 12:45 pm

There are two articles this year reporting surveys of Americans’ knowledge of the Holocaust. The first is in the Guardian (click on screenshot below), the second is a Pew survey (click on second screenshot). Both give the same results: compared to what you might think, and certainly to readers here, most Americans don’t know all […]

Posted in history, Uncategorized | Comments (69)