Society's ChildS


House

Stacey Abrams $100M Georgia campaign splurged on 'swag truck,' TikTok house

Mark Moore
New York Post
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 14:21 UTC
vote for stacey abrams
© APStacey Abrams’ campaign spent funds on a house — which rents at $12,500 a month — for TikTok creators.
Democrat Stacey Abrams frittered away funds on renting a house for TikTok creators and a "swag truck" to distribute campaign merchandise during her second unsuccessful run for governor in Georgia, according to a report.

The lavish spending by the campaign, which raised more than $100 million, backfired — and by the end of Abrams' failed attempt to defeat Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, staffers' benefits were slashed and crucial TV airtime was cut, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.​

The revelations come in the wake of Abrams' campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, telling Axios that the campaign owes vendors more than $1 million.

Comment: See also:

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Toys

How extreme has the dumbing down of America become?

Michael Snyder
Economic Collapse Blog
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 22:29 UTC
sesame stree character the count
© Children's Television Production/PBS
You might want to brace yourself for this one

Everyone knows that the quality of education in our public schools is declining. We continue to fall behind the rest of the world, and this is particularly true in science and in math. Personally, I am a product of the public schools. I attended public schools all the way through high school, and I earned three degrees at public universities. And I have to admit that the quality of the education that I received was terrible. If I had not spent a great deal of time and effort educating myself, I would not be able to do what I do today. Sadly, things have gotten even worse in recent decades. Today, a large proportion of our young people are not even equipped to function on a very basic level in our society once they graduate from high school, and that has huge implications for the future of our country.

When I was growing up, kids would start learning algebra before they even got to high school.
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NPC

Christmas carol rewritten to be more 'inclusive' pushes 'woke, unbiblical agenda'

Gabriella Swerling,
The Telegraph
Tue, 20 Dec 2022 22:26 UTC
christmas carol
© TelegraphThe lyrics of the classic carol were rewritten to say: 'God rest you also, women'
A Christmas carol rewritten to be more "inclusive" to women and queer people has prompted a row within the Church of England, after critics said the move was an attempt to "push political ideology".

The traditional 17th century carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen features lyrics about Jesus's birth and the joy of the shepherds and Mary.

However, at carol service on Monday, an alternate version of the lyrics was printed in the order of service to feature "new inclusive words for a traditional hymn".

All Saints with Holy Trinity in Loughborough used the carol with updated lyrics that removed reference to Christ as saviour and to Satan, instead referring to "queer and questioning" and "women, who by men have been erased".
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Megaphone

National FOP president blames 'pandering prosecutors' and 'cynical politicians' for increased violence against police

Elizabeth Pritchett
Fox News
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 22:23 UTC
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies
© Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesLos Angeles County Sheriff's deputies joined hundreds of law enforcement personnel for a memorial service held for El Monte police officers Sgt. Michael Paredes, and officer Joseph Santana, both fatally shot in the line of duty, June 30, 2022
The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) released a report Wednesday morning compiling the attacks on law enforcement over the past year.

With 10 days left in 2022, the National FOP reports 323 officers have been shot in the line of duty this year. Of those shot, 60 have died. Those statistics do not include the situations where officers were shot at, but not injured.

In response to the report, National FOP President Patrick Yoes labeled this past year as "one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement in recent history."

Yoes said the uptick in violence toward police officers, and the crime crisis in general, is a result of criminals feeling emboldened by the "failed policies of pandering prosecutors and cynical politicians."
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Eye 2

Ex-NYU admin siphoned $3.5M in grants and blew cash on herself — including an $80K pool: prosecutors

Elizabeth Rosner
NY Post
Mon, 19 Dec 2022 22:16 UTC
Cindy Tappe
© Steven HirschCindy Tappe, 57, was charged with diverting funds.
A former New York University director of finance allegedly siphoned $3.5 million in state funding and blew a chunk of the cash on herself — including on an $80,000 pool for her Connecticut home, prosecutors said Monday.

Cindy Tappe, 57, was charged with diverting funds from New York State Education Department grants into shell companies over a six-year scheme that was discovered in 2018, when she left NYU, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Some of the embezzled money went to expenses related to the grants or reimbursements for NYU employees — but at least $660,000 ended up in Tappe's own pockets, according to the indictment.

She allegedly spent the dough on personal expenses, such as the pool and renovations on her home in Westport, Connecticut.
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Footprints

Up to 200,000 Poles to be called up for military training next year

Alicja Ptak
NFP
Fri, 09 Dec 2022 00:00 UTC
soldiers
© Master Sgt. Artur Zakrzewski/Poland
Up to 200,000 people can be called up for military exercises in Poland next year, including some who have never put their name forward for service but are deemed to have "useful skills". However, a senior military official has explained that only a "minimal" number will actually be summoned.

The exercises can last up to 90 days, and failure to attend is punishable by jail or a fine. During that period, reservists receive an army salary, which would in many cases be a private's pay of 117.13 zloty (around €25) per day.

The pool of people who can be called up are those aged 55 and under who have been through so-called military qualification, which is compulsory for all men turning 19 and during which the candidate's health category and fitness for military service are determined.

Under a homeland defence law adopted earlier this year, the qualification obligation also applies to women graduating from medical and veterinary schools, as well as from psychology courses.
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Heart - Black

Eyes wide shut on the Balenciaga scandal

Matthieu Buge
RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 19:57 UTC
Balenciaga
© Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Gettyimages.ru
The scandal provoked by Balenciaga's latest advertisement campaigns can be seen as superfluous or understandable, but the real scandal may lie in the way some media outlets have been covering it.

In November 2022, Balenciaga posted an ad campaign on Instagram that featured children holding teddy bears dressed in BDSM gear, and another one in which a bag sits amongst papers that include a text from a Supreme Court opinion in the Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition case. The case examined whether laws banning the promotion of child pornography were in line with the First Amendment. The French luxury company apologized, deleted the posts together with its entire Instagram account and took legal action against the set designer, arguing that he was solely responsible. They have, however, already dropped it.

The scandal was as intense as it was brief. People got into analyzing the pictures more closely, even spotting what they interpreted as a drawing of the devil, the name of Baal and a "Satanic cult" cloak. Others focused on social media posts by Balenciaga designer Lotta Volkova, which apparently include imagery reminiscent of the controversial teddy bear ads, as well as gore and other questionable content (Volkova has since stated she hasn't worked with Balenciaga since 2017 and condemns child abuse in any form). Even Kim Kardashian got emotional, though she didn't go as far as to cut her own ties with Balenciaga. Like with the Epstein-Maxwell case, all the elements are in place for the concerned public to loudly denounce child abuse by powerful people.
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Family

Georgia's Stacey Abrams flamed by ex-staffers, media over cutting pay to campaign team right after loss: 'it was messed up'

Jeffrey Clark
Fox News
Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:48 UTC
stacy abrams
© Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesStacey Abrams speaks during a campaign event in Reynolds, Georgia, on June 4, 2022. Abrams lost her second bid for governor in November.
'People have told me they have no idea how they're going to pay their rent in January,' one staffer told Axios

Democrat Stacey Abrams, who raised more than $100 million in her second failed attempt to become governor of Georgia, seems to have left more than a few disgruntled staffers in her wake.

Multiple staffers told Axios that they stopped receiving pay one week after Abrams lost to Gov. Brian Kemp, R., with some staffers telling the outlet that they were struggling to even make rent on time.

"People have told me they have no idea how they're going to pay their rent in January," one former staffer told Axios. "It was more than unfortunate. It was messed up."

Axios reported that "money became so tight that most of the 180 full-time staffers were given an abrupt paycheck cutoff date — just a week after the November election."

Comment: Abrams' two failed bids for the Georgia governorship have been embarrassing circuses. Enough already.

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Bullseye

'Wokeness smothers creativity': An interview with John Cleese

Nick Gillespie
Reason
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 19:09 UTC
John Cleese
© James D. Morgan/GettyComedian emeritus John Cleese
The Monty Python legend on giving offense and getting laughs

In a career that has spanned seven decades — and included such classic shows and movies as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, Life of Brian, and A Fish Called Wanda — the comedian John Cleese has relentlessly satirized politics and religion while stretching the boundaries of decorum and good taste.

Now 83, Cleese — who studied law at the University of Cambridge — has set his sights on political correctness, which he says is the enemy not only of humor but of creative thinking in all areas of human activity. "There are people sitting there who are deliberately waiting for the thrill of being offended," he says, emphasizing the importance of paying attention to context, without which irony and sarcasm can't be properly understood.

Reason's Nick Gillespie caught up with Cleese at FreedomFest, an annual July gathering in Las Vegas. Cleese was the keynote speaker, there to discuss creativity, which was the subject of his 2020 book of the same name. It's a myth "that creativity is something you have to be born with," he argues, contending that "you can teach people how to create circumstances in which they will become creative."
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Attention

Medication shortage: Walgreens, CVS and others limiting purchases of children's pain relief medicine as respiratory illnesses rise

Paul Best
Fox Business
Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:23 UTC
medication shortages
© Cindy Krischer Goodman/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty ImagesA surge in flu and respiratory illnesses are creating medication shortages, including this South Florida pharmacy with no children's Tylenol in stock on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.
Pharmacies are limiting purchases of children's pain relief medication as respiratory illnesses continue spreading throughout the United States, including the flu, RSV, and COVID-19.

CVS Pharmacy put a two-product limit on purchases of all children's pain relief products in stores and online.

"We're committed to meeting our customers' needs and are working with our suppliers to ensure continued access to these items," a CVS spokesperson told Fox Business.
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