In perhaps one of the strangest applications of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in curriculums I’ve ever seen, the University of Arizona now incorporates a class in which students are told to “live like a bug” in order to understand “marginalized” groups. According to a new report from Timothy Minella at the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based think tank, students who enroll in an entomology course at the University of Arizona are directed to “reflect in personal writing assignments on the assumptions that inform popular attitudes towards insects, identifying ways that attitudes of othering interfere with self-identity and foster systems of privilege or oppression/marginalization.” I’ve heard some wacky and nonsensical analogies and metaphors during the countless equity trainings we were forced to slog through in the Indianapolis Public Schools, but I never had the opportunity to imagine being a bug so I could understand how my “privilege” affected a nonbinary unicorn.  Can you imagine spending $140,000 for your kid to sit through that lecture? Mind you, I’ve only taught units on insects to middle- and high-school students, though I have taken a graduate course on entomology. I searched through old course documents and didn’t find a single place where students would academically benefit by making tissue-paper wings and pretending to be blind, for example, as a way to spend some time with one of one’s “senses disabled.” How that cures racism or some other bad word with “-ism” or “-phobia” at the end, I’m not sure, but I only have two education master’s degrees. Apparently, you have to have a Ph.D. in education to come up with things that stupid. Other course syllabi at the University of Arizona aren’t as overtly cartoonish, but are just as nonsensical. Minella’s report includes courses with extra credit for participating in “ally training” provided by the campus LGBTQ center, curriculum that promotes the debunked claim that U.S. institutions are “deeply embedded” with racism, the dubious assertion that not every American citizen has equal access to the “American dream,” and social guidance for students accused of saying “problematic” things.  If someone accuses a student of saying something deemed problematic, the course syllabus for one anthropology course encourages students to “resist the temptation to become defensive. Instead, apologize, self-reflect, learn, and do better next time.” Of course, nothing is said about verifying whether any statement is objectively problematic, but strict objectivity apparently isn’t something lauded at the University of Arizona. Professors openly present and praise one political perspective and set of policy prescriptions, while decrying all others, such as calling for black author-activist Ta-Nehisi Coates’ racial reparations and assigning students to “share your favorite quote from the article.” As of 2022, the University of Arizona changed the core curriculum required for all students to include 32 credit hours, 21 of which must come from classes described as “Exploring Perspectives” and “Building Connections.” You’ve likely already guessed which attributes the University of Arizona requires in order to be considered a class that fits under one of those, but in case you haven’t, “Diversity & Equity” is at the top of the list. By 2026, all students will be required to take at least two of these diversity and equity courses in order to graduate at all. “When you require classes to view everything through this ‘diversity and equity’ lens like [University of Arizona] has,” Minella told The Daily Signal, “everything is going to be warped—even the science courses, as we see here.” None of the programs at the University of Arizona include required courses on American history, government, citizenship, or the U.S. Constitution. That defies a 2019 requirement by the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body for Arizona’s three public universities. According to a 2021 policy revision, the Arizona Board of Regents mandates that all public universities require students to complete courses that include: (I) how the history of the United States continues to shape the present; (II) the basic principles of American constitutional democracy and how they are applied under a republican form of government; (III) the United States Constitution and major American constitutional debates and developments; (IV) the essential founding documents and how they have shaped the nature and functions of American Institutions of self-governance; (V) landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped law and society; (VI) the civic actions necessary for effective citizenship and civic participation in a self-governing society—for example civil dialog and civil disagreement; and (VII) basic economic knowledge to critically assess public policy options and to inform professional and personal decisions.The University of Arizona did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on its “Diversity & Equity” courses or confirmation that their programs lacked the requirements by the Arizona Board of Regents. The post Empathize With Insects? University of Arizona DEI Urges Students to Treat Bugs Like ‘Marginalized’ Groups. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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Should the upcoming debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump focus on policy or personality questions? For former CNN media correspondent and current Vanity Fair special correspondent Brian Stelter, the answer depends on who is attacking whom. On Thursday’s CNN News Central, Stelter claimed the debate poses a great opportunity for Biden to attack Trump’s “controversies and scandals,” but lamented that Trump will probably be “cruel” to Biden instead of talking policy. Host Boris Sanchez asked Stelter to give advice to both camps on how to go viral at the debate, “So if you're in either camp, what's the approach to seeking out a moment at the debate for virality?”     Stelter began by declaring that Biden is aware that most people aren’t as well informed as CNN viewers allegedly are, “Well, you know, number one, I think these candidates, especially Biden, are going to come into this, assuming that people have not been paying attention because, yes, there are probably 10 or 20 million Americans who are news junkies, CNN fans who are up to speed on all the latest developments, they know about all of Trump's temper tantrums. They know about all of his claims, his talk about being a dictator.” He further claimed that “Biden is also aware and his aides are aware that many Americans have not heard about all of this. They've not been tuned in, so for Biden, especially it's a chance to raise the salience of Trump controversies and scandals and bring those home to Americans. Those are the moments I think Biden is going to want to create to try to clip.” On the other hand, “For Trump, you know, it's anyone's guess, right? He's claiming he's not going to be prepping the way Biden is, so it's anyone's guess.” However, Stelter did claim that, “I've been interviewing some former debate moderators for Vanity Fair. They say they want to always focus on policy, that was the goal in the past. Policy questions, substance questions, I think the danger or the fear with this debate is that Donald Trump's going to try to make it much more about personality and personal issues. Just to boil it down, how cruel is Trump going to be, right? How cruel will he be to Biden? Those actually-- those moments might really become viral in ways that could be positive or negative and no one knows for sure.” Going after Trump personally is part of voter education, but going after Biden personally is “cruel.” This is CNN. Here is a transcript for the June 20 show: CNN News Central 6/20/2024 2:07 PM ET BORIS SANCHEZ: So if you're in either camp, what's the approach to seeking out a moment at the debate for virality? BRIAN STELTER: Well, you know, number one, I think these candidates, especially Biden, are going to come into this, assuming that people have not been paying attention because, yes, there are probably 10 or 20 million Americans who are news junkies, CNN fans who are up to speed on all the latest developments, they know about all of Trump's temper tantrums. They know about all of his claims, his talk about being a dictator. But Biden is also aware and his aides are aware that many Americans have not heard about all of this. They've not been tuned in, so for Biden, especially it's a chance to raise the salience of Trump controversies and scandals and bring those home to Americans. Those are the moments I think Biden is going to want to create to try to clip.  For Trump, you know, it's anyone's guess, right? He's claiming he's not going to be prepping the way Biden is, so it's anyone's guess, but I've been interviewing some former debate moderators for Vanity Fair. They say they want to always focus on policy, that was the goal in the past. Policy questions, substance questions, I think the danger or the fear with this debate is that Donald Trump's going to try to make it much more about personality and personal issues. Just to boil it down, how cruel is Trump going to be, right? How cruel will he be to Biden? Those actually-- those moments might really become viral in ways that could be positive or negative and no one knows for sure.

All you need to know about the objectivity of retired Admiral and MSNBC analyst James Stavridis is apparent from two statements he made on today's Morning Joe regarding a video Bibi Netanyahu put out calling on the US to stop holding up arms deliveries to Israel. First, Mika Brezinski teed up Stavridis to attack Bibi, asking, "Is Benjamin Netanyahu a good partner in this?" Stavridis answered: "Clearly he's not." Then in the same breath, Stavridis added, "My good friend Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, his head must be exploding this morning." So, Bibi's a bad partner, and Biden's security adviser is your "good friend." Gotcha, Admiral! Stavridis was outraged that, by putting out the video in English, Netanyahu was, allegedly, "blatantly trying to insert himself into the U.S. election." Stavridis fumed that Bibi's action was "wildly inappropriate," and "shocks the conscience of diplomacy between the two nations." So, it's "wildly inappropriate" for the leader of one country to get involved in an election in another country? And specifically regarding the US-Israel relationship, such involvement "shocks the conscience?" Ya mean, like when Barack Obama's administration: "paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayers grants to an Israeli group that used the money to build a campaign to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in [2015's] Israeli parliamentary elections"? That kind of involvement, Admiral?  Anyone remember Stavridis/MSNBC condemning as "wildly inappropriate" and shocking to the conscience, Obama's attempt to bump off Bibi -- politically speaking? Neither do I. But then, Stavridis was vetted as a potential Hillary Clinton veep pick in 2016. And as for Karine Jean-Pierre saying "we genuinely don't know what [Netanyahu's] talking about." Yeah, she and Biden have a lot of trouble comprehending what other people say. Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 6/20/24 6:12 am EDT MIKA BRZEZINSKI: There is also new tension between the U.S. and Israel this morning, after the Biden administration rejected claims that the White House has been withholding weapons. NBC News senior White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell reports. KELLY O'DONNELL: A new and very public breach in a pivotal partnership over the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leveled a stinging accusation, posting a video, notably spoken in English, for an American audience. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: It's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel. Israel, America's closest ally. O'DONNELL: Israel says it must defeat Hamas and secure the release of hostages. NETANYAHU: During World War II, Churchill told the United States, give us the tools, we'll do the job. And I say, give us the tools and we'll finish the job a lot faster.  O'DONNELL: But his charge has been met with surprise at the White House. KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: We genuinely do not know what he's talking about. O'DONNELL: The fall-out was swift. A meeting expected with Israeli officials in Washington is off, for now. That session, to discuss threats from Iran, is described as postponed. U.S. officials say they will not reward Israel with such a meeting in response to the Netanyahu video. In May, the Biden administration publicly acknowledged it paused delivery to Israel of a shipment with 2,000-pound bombs.  Responding to Netanyahu's message, Secretary Blinken disputed the Prime Minister's complaint, and said that one arms shipment is being evaluated. ANTONY BLINKEN: Because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah. That remains under review, but everything else is moving as it normally would move. MIKA: Ah, Admiral Stavridis, I'll start with you. "We genuinely don't know what they're talking about" is a pretty strong statement. JAMES STAVRIDIS: Wow. MIKA: Is Benjamin Netanyahu a good partner in this? What happened here? JAMES STAVRIDIS: Clearly he's not. And I would really draw a line under him cutting that commentary in English -- really? It's blatantly trying to insert himself into the U.S. election cycle from all that I can see. It's wildly inappropriate to go over the head of the administration and try to speak directly to Americans. Not his role, not his place. He is a frustrating partner. My good friend Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser. His head must be exploding this morning.  I think about what he and Tony Blinken and Lloyd Austin have tried to do for Israel. Indeed, what we have done for Israel for decades. And to be treated in that manner by a prime minister really shocks the conscience of diplomacy between the two nations.

After teasing it was a while ago, ABC’s The View finally had Dr. Anthony Fauci on the show to help him hawk his new book. The much-reviled public health official received copious amounts of praise from the liberal ladies and no questions about how the policies he pushed harmed a generation of children and infringed on individual liberties. Instead, he got a platform to lash out at those who opposed him, calling them “bastards.” Moderator Whoopi Goldberg led off the questioning, teeing him up to attack those looking to hold abusive government bureaucrats to account. “You say empathy has always guided you as a physician and a public servant but there's also a Latin phrase that has consistently come up for you…” she said. Recalling his high school education, Fauci took a swipe at his critics: “And one of the things that they mentioned to us when things got down and you felt that the world was caving in on you was illegitimi non carborundum which means ‘don't let the bastards wear you down.’” Goldberg swooped for Fauci, stumbling over her words as she bestowed her greatest honor unto him… waving her dreadlocks at him (pictured above): GOLDBERG: Well, you know – you – look -- You are probably one of the classiest people I've ever watched move around in Washington, D.C. [Applause] FAUCI: Thank you. GOLDBERG: So and -- you know – it’s – I can’t – I just want to raise my dreads to you.     Things took a dark turn when staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners) reiterated that she blamed former President Trump for the deaths of her in-laws who were killed by the virus from China. She asked Fauci to go off on Trump for refusing to wear a mask: We remember those pandemic briefings. I remember the injection of bleach, perhaps, the hydroxychloroquine, dangerous recommendations. You were disturbed, I read, by his refusal to wear the mask. What was this time like for you having to contradict the president of the United States? And what should everyone know about how he handled the crisis, because I blame him for my in-laws' death. Fauci lamented that Trump “missed an opportunity” to “use the bully pulpit of the presidency” to get his “millions and millions of followers who are very loyal to him” to obey the masking mandates. “All he had to do was say ‘The CDC is recommending masks we know it's going to save lives, do it.’ And he missed an opportunity,” he huffed. Faux-conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin claimed she once tried to convince Trump to wear a mask by telling him he “looked cool” in it. They refused to press Fauci on how closing schools hurt the educational and social development of millions of children, but they did allow him to end the three-segment long interview by suggesting the real problem during the pandemic was that people who were not obeying government bureaucrats. “The thing that really was an impediment during the last one was the profound degree of divisiveness, where we had a common enemy, which was the virus, and we were fighting with each other in this country. We’ve to put that aside,” he decried. During the pandemic, The View cast was all for lockdowns but made excuses for why they should be allowed to go to the swanky White House Correspondents Dinner. They were also a big source of misinformation about the virus and fear mongered. There was also the time they decried the president of the United States getting cutting-edge treatment when he contracted it. And it wasn’t until this year that they seemed to admit that COVID didn’t originate in America. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View June 20, 2024 11:16:57 a.m. Eastern (…) WHOOPI GOLDBERG: You say empathy has always guided you as a physician and a public servant but there's also a Latin phrase that has consistently come up for you and I'd love you to share it and tell everybody what it means. DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Well, when I was getting my education in high school, Latin and Greek was an important part of our classical training. It was actually at Regis High School a few blocks from here, it was a Jesuit school. And one of the things that they mentioned to us when things got down and you felt that the world was caving in on you was illegitimi non carborundum which means “don't let the bastards wear you down.” [Laughter] And boy does that hold true. GOLDBERG: Well, you know – you – look -- You are probably one of the classiest people I've ever watched move around in Washington, D.C. [Applause] FAUCI: Thank you. GOLDBERG: So and -- you know – it’s – I can’t – I just want to raise my dreads to you. [Laughter] But I don't want to take up too much time. (…) 11:21:45 a.m. Eastern SUNNY HOSTIN: My husband lost both parents; two doctors within three days of each other. FAUCI: I’m sorry. HOSITN: From the pandemic. Thank you. We remember those pandemic briefings. I remember the injection of bleach, perhaps, the hydroxychloroquine, dangerous recommendations. You were disturbed, I read, by his refusal to wear the mask. What was this time like for you having to contradict the president of the United States? And what should everyone know about how he handled the crisis, because I blame him for my in-laws' death. FAUCI: Well, you know, the people who became angry with me among his staff, people like Peter Navarro – ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Who’s currently in jail, but go on. FAUCI: -- and Mark Meadows [Laughter] -and others thought I was doing that because I had some sort of antipathy to the president, which I did not. And I just – It was very painful for me. I have a great deal of respect for the presidency of the United States of America. I’ve served seven presidents. So, it wasn't like, ‘Isn't this cool? I'm contradicting the president.” It was very, very painful but I had to do it. With regard to the masks, the thing that was a problem, is that when the CDC came out and made the recommendation that when you’re indoors we should wearing masks; that was when the infections were going like that [gestures and upward angle]. And when he got up and said ‘Well, it's recommendation, but I'm not going to do it. I choose not to do it.’ I consider that a missed opportunity to use the bully pulpit of the presidency to get people to do things that was for their own safety. You know, he has millions and millions of followers who are very loyal to him. All he had to do was say ‘the CDC is recommending masks we know it's going to save lives, do it.’ And he missed an opportunity. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: I remember telling him he looked cool in the masks because I thought that might appeal to him, and he might be like, ‘Okay, fine. I’ll wear it.’ It didn’t work though FAUCI: I remember. Nice try, Alyssa. (…) 11:39:39 a.m. Eastern GOLDBERG: Thank you for everything you did. Because – [Applause] JOY BEHAR: That was one of the worst times for people. Just awful and the way they died was horrible, too, it was not an easy death. But you know, you call yourself a cautious optimist. I'm wondering, what keeps you up now? FAUCI: Well, there are two things. There are health things that keep me up because I still think we need to be better prepared for the inevitability of another pandemic. If you look at history, pandemics go before recorded history, 1918 pandemic flu, all of the things and now we've experienced one of the worth. It may happen a year from now or it may happen 50 years from now but we have to be prepared for it. BEHAR: Are we? FAUCI: Well, you know, in some respects we are scientifically; from a public health standpoint we have a ways to go and we have to do better. The thing that really was an impediment during the last one was the profound degree of divisiveness, were we had a common enemy, which was the virus, and we were fighting with each other in this country. We’ve to put that aside (…)

The fungal parasite Massospora cicadina not only cohabits and transmogrifies the bodies of its hosts, but bends their will to its purposes, spreading death, destruction, and spores along the way. While this might sound like some sort of a demonic possession, scientists have characterized the process by which such Entomophthoralean fungi — an order of fungi that takes its name from the ancient Greek words for "insect" and "destruction" — subvert host structures and behaviors for their own aims as the modification of host phenotypes. Whereas Entomophthoralean fungi largely kill their hosts in order to disseminate its spores, Massospora cicadina keeps its host alive. There are two types of Massospora cicadina infections. Cicadas with stage one infections produce spores capable of infecting other adult cicadas. Cicadas with stage two infections lay fungal traps for the next generation of cicadas that will emerge from the soil some 13 or 17 years later. Up to 10% of both a 13-year brood and a 17-year brood will face the possibility of becoming "zombie insects" this year. The University of Connecticut's Biodiversity Research Collections Periodical Cicada Information website indicated that for the first time since 2015, a 13-year brood will emerge in the same year as a 17-year brood. A study published in the peer-reviewed Nature journal Scientific Reports noted that infections cause "distention and loss of the terminal abdominal segments, genitalia included, in both sexes; the breached abdomen exposes infective spores and allows their dispersal." One of the study's authors, Dr. John Cooley, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, Hartford, recently told CNN that when it comes to this fungal parasite, "the truth is actually much stranger than science fiction." After an infected cicada's genitals and rear fall off, a white fungal plug bulges out in their place. Matt Kasson, an associate professor of mycology and forest pathology at West Virginia University, told CNN, "It looks like there's a gumdrop that's been dropped in chalk dust, glued to the backside of these cicadas." Some scientists have observed cicadas with stage one infections flying less often and opting instead to drag around their spore-laden abdomens, spreading spores and looking for potential victims. Cicadas with stage two infections apparently spend more time flying around, bombing spores from their corrupted abdomens. Both sexes with stage one infections apparently become hypersexual in an effort to serve the parasite's purposes. 'So when they pull apart, guess what happens? Rip.' Infected males try to maximize the victim coverage, exhibiting the wing-flick signaling-behavior "normally seen only in sexually receptive female cicadas" in an effort to trick other males into thinking they are females keen on copulating. By the time male victims realize their mate is not as advertised, it's often too late as the spores spread easily in close proximity. Female cicadas are apparently incapable of identifying and avoiding infected males, so they too are at risk. Cooley's study noted that "Massospora functions at least partly as a sexually transmitted disease and the novel behaviors of infected males are complex manipulations instigated by the fungus for its own benefit." Deception is not the only way the infection is spread. "Periodical cicadas have interlocking genitalia. So when they pull apart, guess what happens? Rip. And then there's a cicada walking around with someone else's genitals stuck to them," said Cooley. "And now the cicada that's infected is busted open." Once "busted open," infected cicadas become what Kasson and others refer to as "saltshakers of death." They fly around, flaking brown spores that threaten to infect the next brood. Kasson and other scientists determined that infected cicadas are likely able to keep moving and mating despite their injuries because the fungus produces psychoactive compounds during infection. The first is a type of amphetamine, cathinone. The second is psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, in infected cicadas. Cooley has, however, expressed uncertainty whether such drugs would affect the bugs in a similar manner as they do vertebrates. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The House Judiciary Committee opened an investigation Thursday into a Biden administration program that allows United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor so-called refugees, according to a letter obtained by the Federalist.The letter to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration was authored by committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement chairman Tom McClintock (R-California).'Undermine both national security and the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.'The chairmen wrote, "The Committee on the Judiciary continues to conduct oversight of the Biden Administration's enforcement of federal immigration law. Despite allowing more than 7 million illegal aliens into the United States since January 2021, the Biden Administration continues to create avenues to fast track additional aliens into the country."According to the committee, the administration's "Welcome Corps" program, announced by the State Department in 2023, had already received more than 15,000 private sponsorship applications as of May 1, 2024."Working in groups of at least five people, sponsors come together to help refugees transition to life in their new community, all along the way supported by tools and resources from the Welcome Corps as well as ongoing guidance from resettlement experts," the program's website explains.Sponsors help "with things like finding and furnishing an apartment, getting a job, enrolling kids in school, and accessing community services." "Your group can be matched with an individual/family or you can apply to sponsor someone you know," the website states.The letter noted that the department had already admitted during a previous briefing that "such a massive resettlement program is vulnerable to fraud and exploitation," it read.The program has reportedly warned American citizens and lawful permanent residents to "beware of scams and anyone who asks for or offers payment or services to complete an application."The committee expressed concerns that the administration's program could be vulnerable to "potential abuses" that might "undermine both national security and the integrity of the U.S. immigration system."The chairmen requested that the State Department provide the committee with additional information about Welcome Corps, including the total number of applications, the number of applications with indicators of fraudulent activity, and the number of applications that have been ruled as fraudulent. In addition, the committee requested "all documents and communications" regarding how the department reviews applications for potential fraud and any investigation into fraudulent activity.Center for Immigration Studies executive director Mark Krikorian recently posted on X warning that pro-Hamas students protesting against Israel could use the Welcome Corps program to bring Palestinians to the U.S.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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