Suppose a study came out that showed that 40% of college faculties opposed hiring black people – the outrage would be huge.  Suppose a study came out that revealed that 25% of humanities professors think there should be a campaign to remove all female professors – there would be civil rights investigations, protests, and probably vandalism.  Yet apparently, being a Trump supporter is worthy of such prejudice and bigotry.. . .

Fauci’s diaries are a monument to self-absorbed arrogance.  His testimony this week, or lack thereof actually – particularly in his invoking the Fifth Amendment when questioned on the day of the week and color of his tie, was contemptuous beyond compare.  I have been harping all week that his display is a symptom, not the disease, but that does not change the fact that his display was breathtakingly awful.  It was also predictable – not because of who Fauci is, but because who Fauci is is an inevitable outcome of the direction our culture has been proceeding for some time now.. . .

Fauci had a point in his opening statement yesterday – it is a witch hunt.  It is a justifiable one, but it is a witch hunt nonetheless.  Fauci is guilty of all sorts of lying, prevaricating, misleading and megalomaniacal behavior.  Hence the witch hunt is justifiable.  But he was not alone – he was far from alone.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of state and local agencies joined him in this behavior.  Thousands upon thousands of people joined the chorus and grossly anti-social behavior became the norm.  Sure the media spotlight focused on the good doctor and he grabbed it with all the gusto he could muster, but

Astute California observers will recall the refrigerated meat storage facility that burned a few weeks ago in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.  It became a national story as LA fire officials refused to enter the facility and extinguish the fire due to circumstances never completely described to the public.  It burned for days creating a noxious plume of smoke and eventually burned itself out.  Now, here we are, weeks later, and the noxiousness continues.. . .

I’ve been on the road since last Friday.  Yesterday was a day long travel day so I had no time to write, just as the Fauci diaries broke.  I have had no time to read them, but I spent this morning reading reaction pieces, with major pull quotes and commentary.  Frankly, from what I have seen, I see nothing revelatory, but there is a lot of confirmation there.  I think Victor Davis Hanson summed up Fauci best, “The Fauci files reveal not just a sociopathic narcissist, but also a pathological schizophrenic.”  Framing this in term of mental pathology is useful in leading to the ultimate question – How did

It was disturbing reading the headlines this morning.  Jews are hated in NYC.  Apparently, Gays are hated in Berlin.  Unsurprisingly, conservatives are hated in California.  We have passed so-called “hate crime laws” to try and get a handle on things, but I think we miss the point.  I am not sure the problem is hate directly.. . .

Jim Geraghty chose yesterday to go on at some length about why superhero movies make a lot more money than opening weekend box office might indicate and to note that predictions of their demise just might be premature.  His primary point is that such movies produce a number of income streams not reflected in box office numbers, which is an excellent point.  I would hasten to add that these characters have survived for almost 100 years now in print indicating that they have far more life in them than one might expect.  Of course the cost of producing a comic book is such that you can absorb a failure and make adjustments –

…may just be our humanity.  The Boys is a comic book come Amazon Prime series in the superhero genre.  It is at once an exercise in licentiousness, seeing how much one can gross out an audience, and a deep and disturbing look at our natural tendencies.  Its essential question is, “What would happen if people gained superpowers without an Uncle Ben to teach them that ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ or  Pa Kent to imbue their adopted son with truth, justice and the American way.”  The answer is not at all pretty, and yet disturbingly realistic.. . .