I remember how it was -- JR
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Professors forced into retraction on 'false' research accusing employer of pervasive racism
University of Minnesota academics were forced to retract an article they wrote about "structural racism" at the institution because its claims were "inaccurate, misleading, or false," according to a note on the withdrawn article.
The article in question was written in the journal of Health Services Research by UM employees with doctoral degrees who focus on racial equity: Stuart Grande, a senior lecturer, Janette Dill, an associate professor, and Tongtan Chantarat, a research scientist.
Retraction Watch, a blog that reports on retractions of scientific papers, first reported that the piece was withdrawn months after the original publishing date.
The research probed into the university's diversity, equity and inclusion policies (DEI) at the Division of Health Policy and Management that were implemented after George Floyd's death at the hands of police in 2020.
The paper labeled some of their employer's efforts as simply "performative."
"An important theme … is that current DEI work within … departments is often ‘tokenistic’ or performative rather than substantive or aimed at structural change [to combat racism]," the article said.
"Performative DEI work is identified as planning activities, committee work, task force initiatives that are not backed by meaningful actions," the article continued. "Many of these activities are disingenuous, such as … website placement of photos of racialized faculty, students, or staff, or sweeping claims about commitment to racial justice."
The authors solicited feedback from staff and students at the university, some who said they were exhausted with the DEI initiatives and others who said there was pervasive racism at the University of Minnesota.
"This communication provided specific experiences of racist behaviors by faculty, staff, and students, and widespread systemic and structural racism within our institution," the research paper said. "Structural racism is structuring opportunity and assigning value within an institution based on race, unfairly disadvantaging some individuals and groups while advantaging others."
Months after the article was originally published, a note said, "The… article… has been retracted by agreement between the authors [and] the journal's Editor-in-Chief."
"The retraction has been agreed following concerns raised by the authors following publication that their characterisation (sic) of specific data (personal narratives and experiences) was either inaccurate, misleading, or false. The final submitted manuscript unintentionally contained content that mischaracterised (sic) the authenticity of experiences represented, and the authors have requested retraction."
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Uniformed School Resource Officers Aren't the Solution to Stop Mass Public Shootings
With six murdered at the Covenant School in Nashville at the end of March, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee proposed over $200 million in new measures to protect schools and prevent more such attacks. One of his proposals is to put “an armed security guard in every school in Tennessee.” Both Republican Senators from Tennessee have offered similar legislation in the form of the federal Safe Schools Act.
Governor Lee understandably wants to do something to prevent this type of violence from ever happening again. But allowing teachers to carry firearms in their classrooms is a much more effective and less costly solution. A bill advanced by a Tennessee state House committee last week would do just that.
Having an armed ally in a school could stop attacks. but identifiable officers are easily targeted.
“A deputy in uniform has an extremely difficult job in stopping these attacks,” noted Sarasota County, Florida, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. “These terrorists have huge strategic advantages in determining the time and place of attacks. They can wait for a deputy to leave the area or pick an undefended location. Even when police or deputies are in the right place at the right time, those in uniform who can be readily identified as guards may as well be holding up neon signs saying, ‘Shoot me first.’ My deputies know that we cannot be everywhere.”
There's a good reason air marshals on planes don't wear uniforms.
If you have an armed officer in a school, don’t put him in uniform and make him readily identifiable. Give him a staff position in the school so it won’t be obvious that he is the one person with a gun.
The prospect of armed resistance deterred the Covenant School shooter from choosing another target. “There was another location that was mentioned, but because of a threat assessment by the suspect of too much security, they decided not to,” said Nashville Police Chief John Drake.
Unfortunately, no one at the Covenant school had a gun to fight back with.
These murderers count on gun-free zones to ensure they will be the only armed person. Last year, the Buffalo, NY shooter wrote in his manifesto: “Areas where CCW permits are outlawed or prohibited may be good areas of attack.”
Unfortunately, national media refuses to report such explicit statements by attackers. Nor do they report that 94% of mass public shootings occur in places where civilians are banned from having guns.
Violating gun-free school zones in Tennessee means a six-year prison term. While that is a severe penalty for law-abiding citizens, an additional six years for someone such as the Covenant school mass murderer is irrelevant, even if they had lived. The murderer would already be facing six life sentences or the death penalty.
Twenty states already allow teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns. Any teacher with a concealed handgun permit can carry in Utah and New Hampshire. In other states, school boards or superintendents decide the policy.
In the thousands of schools where teachers are permitted to carry, no one has been wounded or killed in an attack during school hours. Only at schools where guns are banned have people been hurt or killed in school shootings.
Other common concerns about allowing teachers to carry guns — such as students getting a hold of the weapons or teachers losing their tempers — have never actually occurred.
Surveys show that criminologists and economists strongly support abolishing gun-free zones in places such as schools.
President Biden is right that we shouldn't impose security measures which make schools resemble prisons. There is another alternative. Instead of posting gun-free zone signs in front of schools, let’s post signs which warn attackers that there are teachers with concealed handguns.
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Christian university blocks Maoist China survivor from speaking over anti-woke views: 'Extra concerning'
The student government at Whitworth University denied a Republican group's request to invite Xi Van Fleet, a survivor of Maoist China, to speak on campus, citing her criticism of "woke culture" and her comparisons of the ideology to her experience under communist rule.
The student government at Whitworth University, a private Christian university in Spokane, Washington, voted 9-4 to reject the Turning Point USA chapter’s request to host Van Fleet during a meeting on April 12, arguing that her positions, represented by her tweets critical of woke culture, could be deemed "hurtful or offensive," Campus Reform reported.
The Virginia mother, who endured Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution before immigrating to the U.S., has emerged as an outspoken opponent of critical race theory and frequently warns about similarities she sees between the "woke revolution" and her experience living under Mayo Zedong's Chinese Cultural Revolution, including the suppression of opposing viewpoints.
Grace Stiger, president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Whitworth University said she wanted Van Fleet to "tell her story," and provide students with a unique perspective as a survivor under Zedong's rule. But the student government objected to Stiger's request, citing Van Fleet's anti-woke tweets, which they said targets diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Black Lives Matter, the LGBTQ community and "environmental justice" among other social justice initiatives, Campus Reform reported.
Van Fleet denounced the student government's decision to block her from speaking in an interview with the website, calling it "extra concerning that this happened [at] a Christian college, which is supposedly more conservative."
"What are they afraid of?" she asked. "Those people who believe in lived experience, then they are going to get the lived experience from me because I’m not talking about an idea that I read or researched or studied."
Van Fleet said that while she is "not surprised at all" and is "very familiar with what’s happening on American campuses," she hopes students will learn from the history of China's Cultural Revolution.
"When you cancel people now," she said, "you have to be prepared to be canceled later."
Stiger told Campus Reform that while speakers are regularly requested, her Republican group is subject to more pushback and opposing votes "than any other club." The student government has voted down previous proposals from conservative groups, including a 2019 request from Young America’s Foundation (YAF) to host Ben Shapiro, the website reported.
On its website, Whitworth writes that it seeks to affirm "freedom of expression for its students, staff and faculty" through faith.
"Our commitment to free expression is grounded in our faith in the triune God who creates and redeems a good world for flourishing through his life-giving Word, Jesus Christ.[1] We take Jesus Christ as the model for engagement in public discourse and for exploration and expression of ideas," the website reads.
"We affirm free expression because it is essential to exploration," the statement continues. "We believe every aspect of God's creation is worthy of study because God's creation reflects God's glory and is bound together by the life-giving Word, Jesus Christ
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My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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