RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
June 15 to June 21 Featured Investigation: The blurring lines between opposition to Israel and antisemitism is creating common ground among far-left activists and far-right Neo-Nazis and white supremacists. David Swindle reports for RealClearInvestigations that extremists from opposite ends of the political spectrum are adopting each other's rhetoric and tactics in what experts describe as a dangerous mainstreaming of antisemitic sentiment. Far-right figures like Nick Fuentes and David Duke now advocate for Palestinian causes, viewing Hamas as allies against what they claim is Jewish global control. This represents a strategic shift from traditional neo-Nazi messaging to exploiting current anti-Israel sentiment. Combat Antisemitism Movement reports a 107% global spike in antisemitic incidents in 2024, with over two-thirds driven by far-left sources often disguised as anti-Zionist activism. The convergence has created unlikely bedfellows, with figures like Jackson Hinkle—a self-described "Maoist and Stalinist" with 3 million social media followers—echoing far-right conspiracy theories while promoting anti-American terrorist groups. Both extremes share core antisemitic tropes about Jewish global control, though they frame them differently. Far-right groups invoke classical conspiracies like "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," while far-left activists describe Israel as the "spearhead of imperialism." This rhetorical borrowing has made antisemitism more socially acceptable. Far-right influencers adopt leftist language about colonialism and BDS [the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement], while some far-left figures use traditionally far-right terms like "Zionist Occupied Government." The alliance appears purely opportunistic, with neo-Nazis acknowledging they care nothing for Palestinians but support anyone "actively fighting the Jews." Experts warn this convergence is spreading antisemitic ideas from fringe movements into mainstream institutions including universities, unions, and media outlets under the guise of human rights activism, creating unprecedented risks for Jewish communities worldwide. Featured Investigation: In RealClearInvestigations, Vince Bielski reports on a critical struggle over education reform in Massachusetts, the state with the nation's historically best public schools, as progressive forces clash with traditional academic reformers: The conflict centers on overhauling high school graduation requirements after teachers' unions successfully eliminated the MCAS exit exams in November, leaving Massachusetts with no meaningful statewide graduation standards – what the state board chair called a "hades-esque" limbo. Progressive teachers' unions and administrators are pushing for multiple pathways to graduation that emphasize soft skills like teamwork and cultural awareness, career training, and social-emotional learning, arguing this will better engage disadvantaged students who have been left behind. Reform architects from the successful 1990s Massachusetts Education Reform Act warn that diminishing focus on core academics – English, math, and science – will hurt disadvantaged students most by lowering standards and sacrificing the state's top national ranking. The battle reflects a broader national divide, with southern states like Mississippi and Louisiana embracing the traditional academic rigor that Massachusetts is now considering abandoning, achieving remarkable success in lifting student proficiency through testing and accountability. Gov. Maura Healey's graduation council is considering New York's pathways model, which defines seven new proficiencies including "global citizen" and "social-emotional competence" while de-emphasizing traditional subjects, raising concerns that academics will become just another ingredient in the learning mix. The original 1993 reforms created the nation's highest standards, robust accountability through MCAS testing, and massive funding increases, propelling Massachusetts to become the first state to rank #1 nationally in both reading and math for 4th and 8th grades by 2005, with dramatic improvements in college attendance rates, particularly for low-income students. Critics argue the pathway approach amounts to "condescension" that diverts attention from schools' primary academic mission, while supporters contend performance-based assessments better prepare students for real-world challenges and social justice advocacy. The outcome will determine whether Massachusetts maintains its educational excellence or joins states that have weakened academic standards in pursuit of equity, with implications for the broader national education reform movement. The political momentum, driven by teachers' unions and an estimated $15 million campaign, is moving toward multiple pathways despite opposition from the governor and legislative leaders who supported maintaining graduation tests. Waste of the Day by Jeremy Portnoy, Open the Books Unused Covid Quarantine Pods, RCI $140 For Taxi Ride Across Parking Lot, RCI Still No Medical Marijuana in Alabama, RCI Throwback Thursday: Foreign Aid, RCI Covid Fraud Was “Readily Preventable”, RCI Trump 2.0 and the Beltway Arrest Quotas Are ‘Killing Morale’ at ICE, Insiders Say, New York Post FBI Tried to Hide China's Alleged Pro-Biden Efforts in 2020, National Review Writing Books a Lucrative Side Hustle for SCOTUS Justices, NBC Namesake Crypto, Bibles and Guitars Drive Trump's Income, NBC How Columbia University Got Off Trump’s Hot Seat, New York Times How Amy Coney Barrett Is Confounding the Right and the Left, New York Times Other Noteworthy Articles and Series As the Trump administration has dramatically reduced illegal crossings on the southern border, smugglers are sending migrants on risky and remote pathways with only a cellphone to guide them. This article reports that law enforcement is finding people in the desert by themselves. They're dehydrated, dressed in camouflage and with pieces of carpet stuck to the soles of their shoes in an attempt to hide their tracks on the sand. The clothing is part of a crossing package that coyotes sell them, the Border Patrol agent said. “If you don’t buy that kit, they won’t let you cross. It comes with camouflage, with those mats you put under your shoes, and a backpack with supplies, whether it’s water, IV drip, tortillas, or canned food. And that also includes your cellphone,” [Border Patrol agent Jesus] Vasavilbaso explained. This article reports that Trump’s crackdown is deterring migrants from many countries, including Honduras, Guatemala and Venezuela. In April 2024 and 2023, migrants from Mexico accounted for one-third of all apprehensions; in April this year they accounted for 73%. In a separate article, Politico reports on the difficult and often dangerous journeys thousands of West African migrants are making by boat to the Canary Islands where they hope to gain asylum in Spain. This article focuses on one trip “in which four migrants were allegedly murdered by fellow passengers and thrown overboard. In late December, seven suspects were arrested.” Washington Post Public schools are tasked with many responsibilities outside teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. In addition to feeding children and letting them play, they also deliver health care. But, this article reports, a nursing shortage is making that harder. As the number of students with medical needs in schools has grown, the number of nurses has plummeted. Some retired or left the field during the coronavirus pandemic. Competition for remaining licensed health-care professionals has made it harder for the public sector to attract nurses, who can earn more working in hospitals. Nationally, only about two-thirds of public schools have access to a full-time school nurse, such as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, according to a 2021 study from the National Association of School Nurses. Urban schools in the Northeast and the South are generally better staffed than rural schools in the Midwest and the West, data shows. This article reports that “government salaries are also far lower than what nurses can earn elsewhere. Only about a third of registered nurses working in schools earn more than $60,000, compared with about 70 percent of RNs in the workforce as a whole.” Daily Caller Something unexpected happened after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022: the number of abortions in the United States increased. Much of this is explained by the fact that women do not need to go to the doctor’s office to terminate their pregnancies. In as little as five minutes, this article reports, the Daily Caller News Foundation was able to easily order abortion pills opponents argue are unsafe without a doctor adequately verifying key eligibility requirements. The FDA removed in 2021 a requirement that providers distribute mifepristone in person and enabled prescribers to send the pill directly to women in the mail. Now, without speaking to a physician or confirming a pregnancy, a woman can order prescription abortion pills to her home “just in case” she needs them in the future. Minutes after filling out a brief online form, she’ll have her request approved. Days after payment, the pills will arrive on her doorstep. The package might include a handwritten note saying, “You are brave,” but no doctor will physically be there to warn her that mifepristone is not “safer than tylenol” as its advocates claim or that the danger of complications is likely higher than the drug’s label indicates. Although the FDA prescriber agreement form requires being able to “assess the duration” of a pregnancy and “diagnose ectopic pregnancies,” this article reports that the online pill distributors it reviewed made no effort to do so. James G. Martin Center The College Board keeps making the Scholastic Aptitude Test easier. This article reports that recent changes include shortening the test to give students more time per question. To make this happen in the new “Reading and Writing” section of the test, they shortened reading passages from 500-750 words all the way down to 25-150 words, or the length of a social-media post, with one question per passage. Their explanation is that this model “operates more efficiently when choices about what test content to deliver are made in small rather than larger units.” … [On the math section the] College Board now serves test-takers fewer questions but did not reduce the amount of time for the section correspondingly. Students taking the post-2024 SAT now have 1.6 minutes per question, compared to 1.3 minutes on the 2015-2024 SAT. This article reports that “as test-optional college-admission policies have proliferated, the College Board and ACT seem to have reacted with a bit of panic. Rather than offer a consistent standard of academic excellence, these companies are competing to offer the least unpleasant product to 17-year-olds.” In a separate article, City Journal reports that claims that climate change is an existential threat that could doom civilization has sparked anxiety among young people. In response, professionals have created a growing number of resources to address climate anxiety in schools. CASEL, a nonprofit that pushes social-emotional learning – commercially available wellness curricula – has created resources to address climate anxiety and promote “climate justice.” The Climate Mental Health Network offers a “Climate Emotions Wheel” for the “important” purpose of “naming your climate emotions.” New Yorker Turns out finding the cancer is the relatively easy part – figuring out if and when it might kill us is a much tougher challenges. This article reports, We have become adept at locating cancer’s physical presence, this article reports, but remain largely blind to its character, its behavior, its future. Despite our best efforts, many early-stage tumors remain biologically ambiguous. They might be the kind of early cancers that surgery can cure. They might be slow-growing and unlikely to cause harm. Or, most concerning, they might already have metastasized, rendering local intervention moot. Three possibilities – yet we often cannot tell which we’re confronting. … In 2021, according to one estimate, the United States spent more than forty billion dollars on cancer screening. On average, a year’s worth of screenings yields nine million positive results – of which 8.8 million are false. Millions endure follow-up scans, biopsies, and anxiety so that just over two hundred thousand true positives can be found, of which an even smaller fraction can be cured by local treatment, like excision. The rest is noise mistaken for signal, harm mistaken for help. This fascinating article by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee – whose books include “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” – describes various efforts to “build tools that can not only detect cancer’s presence but predict its course [but] … For now, we dwell in a liminal space between promise and proof. It’s a space where hope still outpaces certainty and the holy grail of perfect screening remains just out of reach.” |
