TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2024But why did the goers do that? In what way is the NFL like our electoral process?Consider what happened last weekend: The NFL presents a brilliant product all through its regular season. Then its playoff season begins, with teams suddenly forced to play i … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2024Snowstorm blankets Baltimore: Actually, the snowstorm isn't part of today's situation. But we won't be posting until later today.Regular service resumes tomorrow. Snowstorm? Maybe five inches. | Continue reading

MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024Our blue tribe sometimes isn't: For our money, the inexplicable moral giant of this nation's history is its sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.We track that judgment to his second inaugural address. We regard it as the least explicable moral statement in … | Continue reading

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2024Greg Gutfeld's pathetic reaction: With apologies, a great deal more could be said about Kristen Welker's treatment of Elise Stefanik on last Sunday's Meet the Press.The softballs were general over the set. At the point where yesterday's report left off, … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2024...Stefanik steamrolled her good: First, the president of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down from her post. Weeks later, the president of Harvard followed suit.This carnage followed an incoherent pseudo-discussion which took place on December 5 at … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024Do siloes rule the world? A front-page report in today's New York Times describes a certain type of Trump supporter. We were struck by an early element in the report. Principal headline included, the news report starts like this:Trump Is Connecting With … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024Stefanik cuffed her aside: The world will little note, nor long remember, last Sunday's Meet the Press.Back on December 5, Elise Stefanik had rocked the world when she questioned, or at least seemed to question, the presidents of three elite universities … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2024Watters circles the drain: We'll admit it:In recent months, we've become fascinated by the somewhat surprising drift of the Fox News Channel's prime-time programs.Rather, we've become fascinated by the drift of the channel's programming—by its unmistaka … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2024But was she right on the facts? Is Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) really "an odious demagogue?"Stating the obvious, that's a matter of judgment. For the record, that's the way one of her colleagues, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), described her in the aftermath … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024Professor Hanson speaks: As far as we know, Victor Davis Hanson is well regarded as a scholar. The leading authority on his life and times thumbnails him as shown:Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is an American classicist, military historian, f … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024Blue elites vanquished again: What she did on December 5 produced a general uproar.We refer to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who a colleague described as "an odious demagogue" in the wake of her performance. In the course of that performance, Stefanik had sa … | Continue reading

MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2024Jugglers and clowns win again: This morning, Joe Scarborough returned to Morning Joe. It was his first appearance on the program this year.In his program's opening segment, Scarborough fumed in familiar fashion. More precisely, he complained about an opinio … | Continue reading

SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2024Elite presidents meet jugglers and clowns: "I Hear America Singing?"It started out as a poem by Walt Whitman. The great rail-splitter was still alive. The poem started like this:I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,Those of mechanics, each one … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2024A failure to adjust: A front-page report in the New York Times carried some welcome news.The report appeared on Saturday morning, December 30. It reported a sharp decline in murders during this past year.Arango and Robertson did the reporting. Headline incl … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2024The professional wrestler's tale: On last evening's Gutfeld!, the program's host—the Serra High graduate known as Greg Gutfeld—launched his panel's second discussion in the manner shown:GUTFELD (1/5/24): Joe Biden released his first 2024 re-election ad. Fra … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2024So far, it remains undescribed: We're rarely happy to hear that someone has lost her job. So it is in the case of Claudine Gay, who has now stepped down as Harvard's president.We don't know why Gay was hired in the first place. We don't know what her acad … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2024You can't run a nation on this: In fairness, let's be fair.Last week's broadcasts of The Five involved some holiday casting. As of yesterday afternoon, several regulars had returned to the cast. According to TV Newser, The Five was the most watched surviv … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024Part of his Christmas Day message: Late last week, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) wrote a guest essay for the New York Times. The essay appeared in yesterday's print editions. It concerned the Christmas message of former President Donald J. Trump.Dingell' … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024One news org is willing to try: How well has the electric vehicle industry been faring of late?That isn't the sort of thing we normally keep track of. Recently, we were inspired to try.It isn't easy to get the answer to that question, or to any other. Ev … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2024The start of a dangerous year: It was one of the Everly Brothers' biggest hits. Its lyrics started like this:Problems, problems, problems all day longWill my problems work out right or wrong?As it turned out, the Everly Brothers' problems were romantic in … | Continue reading

MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 2024The New York Times gets it right: Four days ago, it appeared online. Yesterday morning, it topped the front page of the print edition of the Sunday New York Times. It's a profoundly important news report. With apologies, and with respect for the dead and th … | Continue reading

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2023Not that such facts get reported: What happens in American schools is important.In part, that's true because of the acquisition of skills and knowledge. It's also true with respect to the personal happiness of the kids who attend our schools.It's import … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2023We'll conclude these reports on the morrow: How well did American kids do in math on the 2022 PISA?Also, how were the new PISA scores reported in the Washington Post and in the New York Times? We're speaking about the scores in all three "domains"—in read … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2023Clown shows to the right: Full disclosure, in the form of a confession:Long ago and far away, there may have been a time when we wouldn't have been able to identify this latest collection of words as an example of fuzzy language.The collection of words to … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2023But also, what happened to Finland? Yesterday, we showed you how American students performed on one part of the 2022 PISA.The PISA administers tests in three subject areas: Reading Literacy, Science Literacy, Math Literacy. Here are some of the scores w … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2023Along with the Tootsie Roll fortune: We have a great niece who's heading off to Columbia as a freshman next fall.For ourselves, we feel a bit sorry for the kids who have to navigate the problems which may exist at These Elite Schools Today. In truth, we … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2023PISA, 2022: As we noted yesterday, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is one of two (2) high-profile international public school testing programs. Here's the overview offered by the leading authority on the PISA:The Programme for … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2023A failure to adjust: According to its own web site, it's "the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere."As far as we know, that assertion is accurate. We're referring to the Harvard Corporation, a group which, by its own account, "exercises fiducia … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2023Also, what does the public get told? Do smartphones make students dumber?Back on December 19, Derek Thompson discussed that persistent allegation in an essay for The Atlantic.He seems to think the answer is yes. That won't be the focus of what we're disc … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2023Questions unasked, unanswered: Harvard College is the undergraduate arm of Harvard University. At least on the national stage, that world-famous institution suddenly finds itself in a world of hurt.So many alumni, so little time! Let's touch on one famou … | Continue reading

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2023Plus, Drum delivers the mail: We hadn't planned to post today. We'll do so for two reasons:The Times disappears Justice Thomas: First, there they go again! In print editions, these are the headlines which sit atop the featured front-page news report in to … | Continue reading

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2023The decision in Maine? Maybe not! In the past two days, we've disputed the notion that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is written in "simple language"—that it involves a "plain text."It's easy to see why many smart people have mistakenly thought that Se … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023Red tribe, blue comedy style: What did we see on red tribe "cable news" last night?It's depressing to tell you about it! At 10 p.m., we saw Greg Gutfeld go to work. First, though, a brief aside:We almost share the old school system tie with the "cable new … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023The 14th amendment doesn't: Later today, we'll show you part of what you missed on the Fox News Channel last night.Here's a spoiler alert:Our journalistic culture is thoroughly broken when the material in question can appear as part of a prime time show o … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2023The online Post doesn't seem to care: It's been a while since we chronicled the difference between the hard-copy Washington Post and its pitiful online edition.The hard-copy Washington Post is still an actual newspaper. Online, the story is different. C … | Continue reading

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2023We're sorry, but no—it doesn't: Borrowing from sacred Chekhov, though only in translation:"The appearance on the front of a new arrival...became the topic of general conversation."That new arrival appeared on the scene on Tuesday afternoon. We refer to … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023Could a "news show" get dumber than this? For what it's worth, we'll pass this along:"Actor and comedian Jamie Lissow is currently a regular weekly guest on the #1 rated late night talk show, Gutfeld! on Fox."We don't offer that description to single L … | Continue reading

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023Red and blue headed for war: "This whole trial is out of order," Al Pacino famously said.The same could be said, perhaps hyperbolically, of our flailing nation's political / journalistic order. This morning, we'll walk you through a pair of examples. T … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2023Or is that an over-reaction? Has Fort Sumter been fired upon again? Would that be an over-reaction?We do know this:Candidate Trump is speaking in Iowa tonight. It will be very, very, very easy to compose his fiery speech. We do suspect that this is true: … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2023The New York Times' latest survey: We were off for medical treatment today. For that reason, we'll interrupt the progress of this week's reports until tomorrow.For today, we'll direct you to a front-page report in this morning's New York Times—a front-pa … | Continue reading

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2023Possibly on the brighter side: We'll be posting then. | Continue reading

MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2023We voters have our reasons: In this morning's report, we quoted some of the unusual statements made by Candidate Donald J. Trump in New Hampshire this weekend.In this A.P. news report, Ramer and Barrow offer a somewhat bowdlerized account of Trump's unusu … | Continue reading

MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2023Red and blue far, far apart: We thought this morning of two favorite scenes from a pair of Bronze Age epics.The first scene occurs in Book IX of The Iliad, the great epic poem of war. The great commander Agamemnon is threatening to abandon the ten-year ef … | Continue reading

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2023Fox & Friends does it again: Yesterday, we cited the way Fox & Friends bungled those Seattle homicide numbers.Statistics can be extremely hard. This morning, it happened again!There we sat, listening to Rachel Campos-Duffy. She was griping about the nat … | Continue reading

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2023Red and blue far, far apart: At one time, it was aspirational:Black and white together.Today, the colors are slightly different. Within the realm of American news, our discourse is increasingly driven by this configuration:Red and blue far, far apart.Fo … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2023Jesse Watters runs dumber and dumber: Yesterday, we mentioned a type of devolution at the new, somewhat reinvented Fox News Channel. The placement of Jesse Watters in the 8 p.m. slot forms one key part of this movement. Last night, Watters burned away a c … | Continue reading

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2023...and a loud, dumb song sung red: We start with an important question:What the heck is actually happening on those elite college campuses?For reasons which ought to be blindingly obvious, we regard that as a very important question. We refer to MIT, Harv … | Continue reading