Neo -- she of the blog that is always worth reading -- looks at blind auditions for symphony orchestras, and uses that as a metaphor to think well about what might change for the worse if current notions of "equity" (as opposed to "equality") remove the blindfold from Lady Justice.
"Equality" isn't the only word that's been put through the wringer lately, however. "Moderate" used to be roughly synonymous with "impartial" or "fair-minded," but it's not anymore.
Rush Limbaugh's death at age 70 from lung cancer was announced on his radio show yesterday morning by his wife, Kathryn.
Mark Steyn wrote what I think is the best of several very good obituaries for the talk radio pioneer, but Scott McKay does a fine job of putting Limbaugh's excellent work in context:
"He created an industry and fueled a movement that has won the modern American argument. Thanks in large measure to Rush Limbaugh, the Left doesn’t even bother trying to persuade anyone of their ideas; instead they invented cancel culture to stop the argument altogether.
They couldn’t cancel Rush, so they’re trying to cancel the rest of us.
We should honor him by continuing the fight. It will take all of us to paper over the void his passing leaves behind."
David Warren with some of the stuff you never hear from people like Greta Thunberg and her shameless handlers:
"I am on record speculating that God put the polar bears here for a reason: to warn migrants off. And then he gave us Justin Trudeau, in case anyone hadn’t got the message yet.
But He also put extraordinary quantities of “fossil fuels” under the ground, in case we insisted."
It's hard to blame the world's most famous virologist for being tone-deaf to the concerns of ordinary people when he hasn't seen actual patients since completing his internship more than 40 years ago. (Some context: That was before Woodstock, and before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the original moon landing).
I can't help but wonder, however, why Dr. Anthony Fauci is the highest-paid employee in the federal government, given his history of talking out of both sides of his mouth, bowing to Planned Parenthood, and greenlighting very questionable investments such as gain-of-function mutation research done overseas (away from American-style quality control and potentially pesky oversight).
He's not ignorant (and not alone), but he's a political animal who pretends to neutrality, and defends his own credibility in sanctimonious fashion. He was against quarantines before he was for them.
Like all politicians, Dr. Fauci has grown fond of the limelight. Accordingly, he cuts himself the benefit of doubt but makes no allowances for anyone who questions the narrative of choice.
He's more enthusiastic about serving the current administration than he was about being an oracle for "Operation Warp Speed" in the previous administration, and (since his new boss has no objection) he didn't waste any time appearing on Rachel Maddow's cable TV show to do bad impressions of gospel hymns like "Free at Last."
On the few occasions when news producers don't lead broadcasts with COVID death numbers or 20-second clips of things Dr. Fauci says, they run footage from the World Health Organization instead, and that, please note, is not a step up.
What's next? That's what Neo asked. She could as well have pondered more colorfully, along the lines of "What fresh hell is this?"
UPDATE: Peter Barry Chowka had Dr. Fauci's number a year ago.
