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By what standard do we evaluate a social system? Do we accept a system based on its theoretical structure, its promised outcome, a majority vote or is it by some other means that a system should be judged?

Concerning the system of socialism, most of its proponents seem to be taken in by its theory, not its merit. This is no insult to the socialists intelligence many of the brightest minds fall under its spell. Its a matter of perspective. The socialist tends toward rationalism. I say rationalism in the philosophical sense, meaning the socialist places higher trust in reason than in experience. On paper, this is only logical, but in practice, not all rational arguments unfold with such precision.

On the other hand, the capitalist tends toward empiricism, observing the system and formulating a judgment based on its applied effects. It is no secret that mankinds standard of living and political freedom have rapidly accelerated after the birth of capitalism. Its also no secret that the more society advances socialist doctrines, the more impoverished and enslaved they become.

This is not to say that free markets dont have their own shortcomings nor should it be said that the intentions of socialism are valueless. It isnt perfection that the capitalist seeks, rather effectiveness. It isnt that the capitalist is opposed to social justice, equality and economic freedom, rather that the methods by which the socialist proposes to achieve these ends have proven destructive.

Common ground between these two opposing camps may very well be found in empiricism. To bring about stronger cohesion and a unified political direction, socialists dont have to abandon their goals, only their methods.

Tanner Cook lives in Fargo.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

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Letter: The common ground between socialism and capitalism - INFORUM

Deals are rarely smooth, and an anomaly with Discoverys share price dovetailed with the negotiations. Discoverys stock began to inexplicably rocket in February and March to $75 from $45 because of a convoluted trading scandal involving Archegos, a little-known private investment firm that bet big on Discovery and other companies via derivatives using billions in borrowed money.

With banks forced to buy shares to hedge their spiraling exposure to Archegos, Discoverys market value jumped nearly 60 percent, for no obvious reason to outsiders. But by May, the stock had returned to where it was during Mr. Zaslavs initial approach, and the two sides ultimately forged a deal that gave 71 percent of the new company to AT&T shareholders and 29 percent to Discovery.

Now, the trick was closing it before word could leak out.

One awkward conversation awaiting Mr. Stankey was with Jason Kilar, the former chief of Hulu tapped by AT&T, with great fanfare, just a year earlier to lead WarnerMedia. To mark the occasion of his first anniversary on the job, Mr. Kilar had agreed with AT&Ts blessing to be profiled by The Wall Street Journal. He invited a reporter in late April to interview him on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., unaware that across the country, his colleagues were feverishly working to close the deal.

At some point during the week of May 3, Mr. Stankey dropped the bomb: He informed Mr. Kilar that the company would soon change hands, and it was unclear what Mr. Kilars role might be. The 2,600-word Journal profile of Mr. Kilar, which included a quote from Mr. Stankey, was published on May 14, three days before the deal was announced.

Usually a cheerful presence on Twitter, Mr. Kilar didnt bother sharing the article with his 37,000 followers. By the weekend, Mr. Kilar had retained the entertainment power lawyer Allen Grubman to start negotiating his exit.

A little after 7 a.m. on Sunday, Mr. Zaslav boarded a corporate jet at a small airport on the East End of Long Island, not far from his home, to head to AT&Ts Dallas headquarters to put the finishing touches on the deal. But just over an hour into the flight, word got out through Bloombergs black-and-orange terminal screens: AT&T is in talks to combine content assets with Discovery.

Continued here:
Discovery and AT&T: How a Huge Media Deal Was Done - The New York Times

Regarding Lance Morrows Can Freedom Survive the Narratives? (op-ed, May 17): Mr. Morrow worries that the corrosive narratives pedaled by the left may lead us into a sinister autocracy. He views race as a pretext for moving toward a post-capitalism era in which individual liberties are sacrificed for a common good. Marxists dreamed of Americas collectivist transformation, but class warfare couldn't overcome institutional obstacles and general prosperity. However, race-related unfairness and inequality can serve as a backdoor to a similar outcome.

Systemic racism is, in effect, a Trojan horse for rooting out what remains of Americas systemic conservatism. Individual responsibility, traditional values and Judeo-Christian faith are impediments to a communal, progressive utopia. In a classic and brilliant bait and switch, the lefts rooting out of racism yanks open the door to statism (i.e., a much more powerful and active federal government) that can remove conservative barriers to progress and force collectivism for a greater good. Legacy media and social media are exposing and canceling conservative heretics who are deemed racists, science deniers and liars.

When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America in 1831, he marveled at its success and potential but warned that its great vulnerability was the surrender of freedom without a struggle. If despotism surfaced in a democracy, Tocqueville thought it would be so pervasive as to entirely relieve citizens of the trouble of thinking and all the cares of living. Our systemic-racism exorcism in which systemic conservatism is the real target paves the way for statism. Leftist elites then can take care of us and relieve us of having to think, as long as we surrender some of our freedom. Mr. Morrow is channeling Tocqueville.

Ryan Graham

Melbourne, Fla.

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Narrative May Work Where Socialism Failed - The Wall Street Journal

Dominic Cummings has laid bare the surreal chaos in Downing Street in March last year as the government grappled with the Covid pandemic, portraying the prime minister as obsessed with the media and making constant U-turns, like a shopping trolley smashing from one side of the aisle to the other.

During an extraordinary evidence session to MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, Boris Johnsons former chief aide targeted the prime minister for personal criticism, accusing him of being unfit for the job.

He claimed that Johnson regretted the first lockdown and held out against imposing later restrictions, despite the advice of many people inside Downing Street, and that overall, tens of thousands of people died who didnt need to die.

Cummings told MPs the prime minister had repeatedly said in respect of the first lockdown, I should have been the mayor of Jaws and kept the beaches open, and confirmed reports that in October, Johnson said he would see bodies pile high rather than order a third lockdown.

The general situation in Downing Street was described as an out-of-control movie and, in particularly incendiary claims about Matt Hancock, Cummings said the health secretary had lied to the public and fellow ministers, arguing that amounted to criminal behaviour.

He said that in January and February 2020, as news of the pandemic emerged from Wuhan, ministers and senior officials fell victim to what he described as literally a classic historical example of groupthink in action.

He said the prime minister himself had repeatedly played down the seriousness of the disease, calling it a scare story and comparing it to swine flu. Cummings even claimed officials had deliberately kept Johnson out of emergency Cobra meetings.

Certainly, the view of various officials inside No 10 was if we have the PM chair Cobra meetings, and he just tells everyone, Dont worry about it, Im going to get [Englands chief medical officer] Chris Whitty to inject me live on TV with coronavirus, so everyone realises its nothing to be frightened of, that would not help, actually, serious planning.

He claimed that only in mid-March was an initial plan to pursue herd immunity, by allowing the virus to spread but delaying the peak of the outbreak, belatedly abandoned. Herd immunity was the whole logic of all the discussions in January and February and early March, Cummings told the committee.

In later evidence, Cummings said criticism for poor government communications was largely a factor of bad policy and blamed Johnson for this.

It doesnt matter if youve got great people doing communications if the prime minister changes his mind 10 times a day, and then calls up the media and contradicts his own policy, day after day after day, he said.

After the first lockdown, Cummings said, he and Johnson disagreed fundamentally about the response to Covid, with the prime minister wanting to reopen the economy, a stance Cummings called completely mad.

Many others inside No 10, as well as the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, sided with Cummings, he said, but the PM just wouldnt do what we advised.

He added: Nobody could find a way around the problem of the prime minister, just like a shopping trolley, smashing from one side of the aisle to the other.

He was especially damning about the prime ministers refusal to order a second lockdown in September in the face of firm scientific advice. Cummings said the cabinet was not consulted, and instead of learning the lessons of March, Johnson had continued to rail against the first lockdown.

He didnt think in July, or September, Thank goodness we did the first lockdown, it was obviously the right thing to do. His argument then was, we shouldnt have done the first lockdown and Im not going to make the same mistake again, he said.

Cummings called for the promised public inquiry into the handling of Covid to take place as soon as possible. He said: Tens of thousands of people died who didnt need to die. Theres absolutely no excuse for delaying that. A lot of the reasons for why that happened are still in place.

Discussing the initial response, Cummings described what he called a surreal day on 12 March 2020, as he tried to press the prime minister to change course.

Johnson was repeatedly distracted from Covid matters, Cummings claimed, including by security meetings about whether to join US bombing raids in the Middle East and his partner, Carrie Symonds, going completely crackers over a newspaper story about her dog, Dilyn.

On the evening of the following day, Cummings said the deputy cabinet secretary, Helen MacNamara, walked into the prime ministers office to say: Ive come through here to tell you all, I think we are absolutely fucked. I think this country is heading for disaster. I think were going to kill thousands of people.

He said No 10 had been told of the herd immunity approach and said: We dont even have a plan for burying the bodies.

Cummings was repeatedly dismissive of his former boss Johnson, whom he helped into Downing Street. Fundamentally, I regarded him as unfit for the job, and I was trying to create a structure around him to try and stop what I thought were extremely bad decisions, and push other things through against his wishes, he said.

Asked why he had not resigned when he believed the governments response was failing, Cummings said he had told the prime minister at the end of July that he would leave by 18 December.

He claimed to have told Johnson: This whole situation is chaos; this building is chaos. You know perfectly well that I can get great teams together and manage them, but you are more frightened of me having the power to stop the chaos than you are of the chaos and this is a completely unsustainable position to be in.

He said that, in response, the prime minister had laughingly agreed, saying: Chaos means that everyone has to look to me to see whos in charge.

Originally posted here:
Dominic Cummings says Boris Johnson unfit for job of PM amid Covid crisis - The Guardian

Jane Timken| Guest Columnist

Note from Dispatch Opinion and Community Engagement Editor Amelia Robinson: This guest column was submitted byJane Timken, a candidate for the United States Senate in Ohio.

As a mom, the well-being and education of our children are top concerns.

Even before the pandemic, our schools were falling behind.Now, weve seen a troubling pattern where Washington politics and special interest groups are placed above the needs of students.

More: Opinion: Biden's infrastructure is bad. President and allies are on a reckless path of tax-and-spend policies.

An entire generation of children lost a year of in-person learning. Weve seenproofthat teachers unions are in bed with the Biden administration, colluding to keep schools closed. And more and more, were seeing the left push their radical agenda through critical race theory which is seeping into school systems and turning schools into centers of leftist indoctrination.

Instead of teaching the facts of history good and bad critical race theory promotes a slanted view of America through a racial and ideological lens. While we must certainly teach empathy and how we can learn and grow as a nation, critical race theory seeks to stoke racial flames by creating a state of perpetual division between neighbors, friends, and communities.

More: Teaching kids to hate America? Republicans want critical race theory out of schools

As Im traveling Ohio, I hear from moms and dads with children of all ages that this woke education agenda is a top concern.

Ive heard from moms who are upset that their second grader is being forced to draw themselves as a different race and take classes on how to protest.

Ive heard from parents who are furious that their school district implemented gender-neutral bathrooms without even a message from their school board.

More: Opinion: Hypocrisy means the wrong things are too often canceled in our culture

Ive heard from moms who were dismayed that a non-credentialed teacher hosted a weeks-long seminar on racial and transgender issues to their elementary children, without ever notifying the parents. And all across Ohio, Im hearing from conservative college students who say they must suppress their opinions or they will receive a bad grade from their liberal professors.

President Donald Trump was right when he said there was a left-wing cultural revolution happening in our schools, and he rightly issued an executive order banning critical race theory.

Unfortunately, President Joe Biden rescinded this orderon his first day in office and hasproposed a rulethat would update all American history curricula to include the 1619 project.

More: Black lives matter is a statement of human rights

The 1619 Project and critical race theory are attempts by the radical left to inject socialism into every aspect of our lives. I believe moms, dads, and teachers know what is best for our kids in the classroom not partisan propagandists pushing a political agenda.

We should be educating and preparing the next generation of astronauts, manufacturers, and engineers not using taxpayer dollars to train the next generation of social justice activists. This is exactly what China wants to have our schools focusing on woke political correctness rather than teaching math and science.

Change starts from the grassroots, which is why I launched a listening tour across Ohio on this important issue to hear from concerned parents about what is happening behind classroom doors. Already, parents are fighting back against this liberal agenda by running for their school board, using public records requests, and demanding transparency. One thing is for sure - never underestimate the power of fired up moms and dads.

I believe America is the greatest country in the world that allows people of all race, color, and creed to achieve their own American Dream. That is the America I want to teach our children, and the America I will fight for in the United States Senate.

Jane Timken is a candidate for the United States Senate in Ohio. She was formerly Chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party.

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Opinion: 'Radical left' using 'race theory' to inject socialism into every aspect of life - The Columbus Dispatch