Saturday Miscellany

First, you would think that the Democrats would be all over this story-- like a rash. And yet, the story of the institutional dereliction about anti-Semitism on and off campus was told by the Republican Congress.

After all, when Columbia University was overrun with Hamas supporters, making it dangerous for Jewish students to go to class, House Speaker Mike Johnson led a group of legislators to the school, to show solidarity.

Democrats did not.

Now, the House has come out with a report, via the New York Post:

The Biden administration, top universities and medical institutions utterly failed to crack down on antisemitism that exploded in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, according to a scathing House Republican report released Thursday, which laid bare “systemic” and “astounding” shortcomings.

Six GOP-led House committees declared in a joint report that “antisemitism has been allowed to fester unchecked” due to “a disturbing pattern of defensiveness and denial,” according to a copy exclusively obtained by The Post.

“Across the nation, Jewish Americans have been harassed, assaulted, intimidated, and subjected to hostile environments — violations that stand in stark contrast to America’s fundamental values, including a foundational commitment to religious freedom for all,” the 42-page report says.

As I said, you would think that Democrats would be up in arms about the return of a virulent form of anti-Semitism. They are not.

The report focuses heavily on Columbia University and its recommendations urge federal agencies to use money to incentivize more stringent anti-discrimination policies — and also proposes potential legislation to that effect.

“The executive branch should aggressively enforce Title VI [anti-discrimination rules] and hold schools accountable for their failures to protect students. Universities that fail to fulfill the obligations upon which their federal funding is predicated or whose actions make clear they are unfit stewards of taxpayer
dollars should be treated accordingly,” the Republican panels said.

The Ivy League school, which was the site of a large encampment that featured on its fringes multiple documented instances of anti-Jewish remarks against pro-Israel activists and Jewish students, also reneged on a vow to punish students accused of breaking the rules to protest against Israel.

“Columbia said the 22 students arrested for the criminal takeover of Hamilton Hall would face expulsion. Instead, the University lifted the students’ interim suspensions after pushback from radical faculty, allowing 7 to graduate, restoring 11 to good standing, and leaving 3 with preexisting sanctions suspended and 1 on probation,” the report said.

“Despite dozens of students being arrested for conduct related to Hamilton Hall and the encampment, or having faced discipline for other egregious antisemitic incidents; Columbia failed to expel students and issued final suspensions to only four students.”

Incoming president Trump-- you know, the one that Democrats keep calling Hitler-- has promised to tamp down these protests. Time will tell if he keeps his word.

Second, Mario Nawfal brings us up to date on the progress of Argentinian president Javier Milei-- fast becoming a culture hero to the libertarian right around the world.

MILEI DELIVERS: ARGENTINA’S POVERTY PLUMMETS UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP Big win for @JMilei as Argentina’s poverty rate drops to 38.9% in Q3, a dramatic improvement from 54.8% in Q1 and 51% in Q2, according to INDEC.

Indigence has also taken a nosedive, falling to 8.6% from 20.2% earlier this year. These results showcase the power of Milei’s bold economic reforms, proving skeptics wrong and reigniting hope for Argentina’s economy.

Third, maybe Disney just got tired of losing money with woke productions. Newsmax explains that the company removed a transgender story line from a new series:

Disney has cut a transgender storyline from its upcoming animated series "Win or Lose," a decision that has left the 18-year-old transgender actor who voiced the highlighted character "very disheartened."

The new Disney-owned Pixar animated series, set to premiere on Disney+ Feb. 19, follows a coed middle school softball team called the Pickles as they prepare for their championship game, according to CNN. Each of the eight episodes will focus on a different member of the team.

However, a storyline involving gender identity has been removed from the series. According to a source familiar with the matter, the character will remain in the show, but the decision to exclude the plot point was made several months ago. The changes go beyond script adjustments, as the character's dialogue had already been recorded.

Fourth, as you know, the Netherlands has produced some of the worst studies of transmania. These studies are the basis for the problems that more than a few people suffer.

But, that’s not all folks. The Netherlands is also leading the world in euthanasia-- assisted suicide for people who are especially depressed.

The Guardian has published a long and detailed account of the case of Zoe, a young woman who found her suffering unbearable, to the point where she persuaded her physicians and therapists to put her to death. The story was written by Stephanie Bakker.

Naturally, the Dutch practice revolts. Giving up seems never to be a good option. And it cannot help patients when their licensed professional caregivers discuss it as a viable option.

Zoe’s case compels because, at the last minute, after she had arranged for her death and said all of her goodbyes, she changed her mind. She decided against death, at the risk of disappointing her therapists.

On the verge of death, she wrote this:

Dear all, I changed my mind at the last minute and won’t be dying today. My apologies for any panic that I may have caused.

The case study is certainly compelling. Bakker writes:

Zoë had wanted to die because she was unable and unwilling to live with the consequences of childhood traumas. Everyday things such as showering, brushing her teeth, getting dressed and sleeping in her own bed were triggers that brought back the most awful memories, which she then would relive all over again. The nightmares made it all but impossible to sleep and there were times when she lived on fluids because she couldn’t bear solid food in her mouth.

Dare we say that she had been diagnosed and treated by an army of therapists and psychiatrists:

She was bullied in school and given a whole raft of diagnoses by mental health practitioners. Anxiety disorder, anorexia, depression, borderline personality disorder, you name it. These were eventually whittled down to a single diagnosis: complex post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by severe childhood trauma.

One cannot vouch for the quality of the treatment on offer in the Netherlands, but Zoef seems to have suffered through every variety:

All Zoë’s other symptoms stemmed from this [childhood trauma], but that hadn’t stopped her from receiving treatment for them for 10 years: cognitive behavioural therapy, creative therapy, schema therapy, family therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), exercises to improve her self-image, eight different antidepressants and 21 rounds of electroshock therapy.

She felt like the loser who didn’t respond to treatment, the girl who hadn’t tried hard enough to get better. For fear of disappointing or being disappointed, she pushed away anyone who showed her any kindness. She was lonely.

By all accounts, she had become a professional patient. She did not have a life. She had been removed from her life, from the chance to make friends, to go do school, you name it. Her traumas had defined her. And her therapists seemed to believe that they ought to define her.

Of course, once you tell a patient that suicide is a viable option, she will start thinking that it is perhaps the only way she can be a really good patient. By killing herself she would have been saying that they did not fail her, that she was a hopeless case.

She explained what had happened with Bakker:

“Everybody was angry when I didn’t die, or else they went away, on holiday,” she told me when I visited her at the clinic in mid-July. “Now I feel more strongly than ever that I have to die, because otherwise everybody will be annoyed.”

Strikingly, aside from an army of therapists and a family that seems rather useless, Zoe seems to have one friend in the world. That is, journalist Stephanie Bakker.

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