Multi-award-winning writer/ex-prof. Books: The Newest Profession, SHAM, Deadly Blessing (filmed as Bed of Lies). Memoir (book/movie parlay) back on track
United States
Joined November 2008
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Are we really going to give the GOP a drubbing bc we're unhappy with $5 gas (or even Trump) and ignore that if we put enough Ds in power, they will—taking them at their own word—forge an America that's unrecognizable as America?
We're gonna commit cultural suicide over groceries?
🤖 Made with AI
Something else that bothers me about pix like this (which proliferate in lib circles). Yes, it's possible that such a cast was assembled via merit alone. Unlikely but possible. But no one is going to look at this and see MERIT. They'll see reverse-discrimination. That's a shame, and wholly the fault of DEI itself. I feel for the supremely qualified minority members who are stigmatized by such perceptions...but the perceptions are, in too many cases, valid. Right @Hebro_Steele ?
I’m proud to have the most talented, hardest-working cabinet in Virginia’s history. They are also the most diverse cabinet Virginia has ever seen.
Every single one of our cabinet secretaries were selected because they’re the best of the best in their respective fields. They also bring invaluable perspectives from across the Commonwealth — from Danville, Hampton Roads, Richmond, NOVA, and more.
I’m grateful to get to work with these incredibly dedicated, hard-working, and talented cabinet officials to serve the Commonwealth of Virginia.
richmond.com/opinion/column/…
In 2005's SHAM, I predicted the cultural entropy and homogenizing pursuit of anti-excellence that we're now seeing in all precincts of society. I got great reviews overall but some critics said my wider points were "overreach."
Still think so?
The self-esteem movement and other campaigns with origins in self-help-based thinking have been plainly disastrous for America...and also figure heavily in the "feminization" that's corrupting as it goes...
I am speechless. Thomas Aquinas College just dropped a study on the rigor of the new SAT.
It compares the 1980/87 test with 2026. The findings should terrify every parent and teacher...
Vocabulary has collapsed.
Old SAT: 70.6% of questions tested vocab.
New SAT: 15%.
The old test forced students to know a wide range of words through analogies, antonyms, and sentence completions. The new test abandoned that. Most vocab questions now just ask students to fill in one blank from context.
Reading passages also got radically shorter (average ~97 words vs 300–340).
The new test uses short expository passages and hands you the necessary background knowledge inside the text. The older tests leaned much more heavily on argumentative and persuasive writing, assumed far more historical, scientific, and cultural knowledge, and penalized students who lacked it.
This is a redefinition of what "college readiness" means.
If you believe that kids should develop rigorous vocabulary, be capable of sustained reading, and possess background knowledge, I have bad news for you. The SAT no longer measures these.
If you want a future where children can actually read difficult texts and construct complex arguments, the SAT must be replaced now.
This cannot go on.
A footnote-ish point that may seem almost tacky to make, but I've spent 40 years covering such writing minutiae, so...
One does not use a phrase like "in lieu of" in discussing someone's death from Lewy Body. Too close in intonation and thus groaner-ish. These are the occasions when close attention is most needed.
Sorry, Sir Patrick.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund
alzresearch.org/giving/
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources
alzfdn.org/donate/
Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia
If people/analytics are going to assume that a high incidence of em-dashes (—) is diagnostic for AI-generated copy, I'm in big trouble. Been (over)using 'em—and getting grief from editors for same—since my first published piece in 1982. And this is relatively mild usage, for me.
Steve Salerno ... ᴏɴᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ sʏᴄᴀᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀs ɢʟᴀᴅ retweeted
Justice Jackson put "lived experience" in a SCOTUS opinion. True story.
Could be worse. We have federal judges in both Florida and Alabama that made a finding of fact that "Gender identity is real".
That is a truly horrifying concept. But ACB is the dogma on the bench, right?👁️
Unless it's pure negotiating ploy, I don't understand this sort of disclosure/coverage.
Why tell people this? I've seen other stories that are specific about tactics/objectives.
Just do a Tehran Harbor, so to speak. Take out their largest city and THEN say, "want some more?"
(Screw Geneva etc.)
Two new books about "virtuous nonsense" and academia's drift away from "reality-based scholarship."
Think about that latter phrase, and the notion that reality and scholarship have become on oxymoron, surely at the Ivys! Somewhere Carlin is sighing.
news.fairforall.org/p/how-vi…
So frustrating that although my credit-card woes have mostly been resolved in my favor, my FICO still lolls ~40 points below where it was when this nonsense started. And my actual financial condition has remained stable throughout. I feel sabotaged. (sniffle) Thanks, @usbank.
For the record, @TaylorLorenz , Haidt is much more of an academic than you are a "journalist." Pulleez, girl...
Steve Salerno ... ᴏɴᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ sʏᴄᴀᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀs ɢʟᴀᴅ retweeted
As prophesied... I made a comment on a very touching post by someone who lost a dog...and now 6 of the first 10 stories on my feed involve dead pets.
That is not random, nothing like a "normal" day here, and it's unfortunate that the algos shape content in such a manner. I should not have to wade through so much death just to see the latest on X.
As prophesied... I made a comment on a very touching post by someone who lost a dog...and now 6 of the first 10 stories on my feed involve dead pets.
That is not random, nothing like a "normal" day here, and it's unfortunate that the algos shape content in such a manner. I should not have to wade through so much death just to see the latest on X.
This comment on the CBS report is terribly bigoted, obviously, but also one of the funnier punch lines I've read in a long time, despite all.
I can almost hear Key & Peele doing it.
I'm sorry but this was a stupid arrest. Most 14-year-old white and Asian kids have the maturity of a 25-year-old..... This was an unnecessary arrest.... I am sure 90% of the country would leave a 14-year-old in charge while they are not at home, especially those who work
This is not the same as Boonquisha leaving her 7, 2 and 8 month old to go on a cruise...
Steve Salerno ... ᴏɴᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ sʏᴄᴀᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀs ɢʟᴀᴅ retweeted
A small percentage of men are predatory. They are undeterred by rejection. MeToo was, in large part, a response to those men. But some of the advice that followed was directed at men in general: don’t approach women in public, be careful how you interact with them, and avoid making anyone uncomfortable.
The men most likely to take that advice may have been the ones who were already concerned about crossing a line. Some may have pulled back from approaching women altogether, turning instead to dating apps, where a match at least offers some indication of mutual attraction. Predatory men, meanwhile, may have been less inclined to change their behavior.
That raises the possibility of an unintended effect: advice meant to discourage predators may have done more to inhibit ordinary men.
Steve Salerno ... ᴏɴᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ sʏᴄᴀᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀs ɢʟᴀᴅ retweeted
Why were the Patriot missiles in Texas, Ana? (For testing at Fort Hood)
What is the range of a Patriot missile?
(Around 100 miles)
I know the idea is to convince brain-rotted maniacs to believe we’re leaving the US undefended to send missiles to the Jews, but it’s a bullshit narrative.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US military has taken our Patriot Missile Defense System out of Texas and sent it to Israel in preparation for a new round of combat operations against Iran after the midterms.
At the same time, the Intercept reports that "top defense officials are expressing increasing worry about the vulnerability of U.S. bases around the world and even within the United States..."
Links in thread.
I want to formally thank @Citi for considering my position regarding my account and then not only (1) addressing the situation but (2) sending a full explanation that was clearly customized to my circumstances, not some AI boilerplate. Drafted by actual people, too. Imagine that.