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The Benefits of Being Politically Correct By Anna North November 10, 2014 1:20 pm 30 Comments When people bring up political correctness, they’re often talking about how much they hate it. Unlike, say, “diversity” or “inclusion,” the term is perhaps most frequently used by those who object to what it stands for, who feel that calls to change the way they speak harm them or society in some way. These objections inspired Jack Goncalo, a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell, and his team to study the actual effects of political correctness. They’d heard “this idea that the effort to...

The Internal Revenue Service, which claims to be so understaffed that it can’t bother to collect unpaid taxes, or search backup tapes for Lois Lerner’s “missing” emails, apparently has plenty of time to read the comment threads on conservative blogs that have been critical of the agency (Hi there, IRS agents!). William Jacobson, one of the best-informed and most effective critics of the agency, writes on Legal Insurrection: Hey, remember the Reader Poll we did about whether it was okay to follow and try to interview Lois Lerner in her neighborhood? Do you approve of media confronting Lois Lerner in...

This year, several Russian lawmakers called for an investigation against Mr. Gorbachev, charging him with having caused the collapse of the Soviet Union. To accuse someone of having brought about the end of a state responsible for the murder of millions, the imprisonment of tens of millions and the oppression of hundreds of millions is a bit like accusing someone of having brought down Nazism. But the people who run post-Soviet Russia don’t see it that way. Mr. Putin saw a regime – the regime he served – unwilling to maintain power by force. Unlike the Chinese communists, who in...

".......Gruber’s comments have been much-remarked-upon, particularly on the right, not only for confirming what Obamacare critics have said for five years but also for capturing at least in part the ethos of modern progressive liberalism: smarter-than-thou zealotry masquerading as for-the-greater-good pragmatism. (That he did it at sound-bite length is simply an added perk.) But for a movement that touts its stratospheric intelligence, the response to Gruber’s comments from his longtime supporters, both on Capitol Hill and in the media, reminds observers of something else: that liberalism tends to handle its PR nightmares with an iron first. Consider what is happening...

“This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure CBO (Congressional Budget Office) did not score the mandate as taxes. If CBO scored the mandate as taxes, the bill dies. … So it’s written to do that,” Gruber said, suggesting “it would not have passed” if the law “made it explicit” that healthy people would “pay in” and the sick would get money. “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage,” Gruber continued. “Call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to get the thing to pass. I wish...

Via Newsbusters, after yesterday’s unpleasantness and the Halbig “speak-o” fiasco of a few months ago, I see Democrats (plus independents in name only like King) have finally reached the “Jon who?” stage of their Gruber problem. This is the game we’re playing now, eh? KILMEADE: They just lied about a health plan to the American people, called the stupidity of the American voter and bragged about the lack of transparency. KING: This is one guy. I don’t know who this guy was. All I know is that it’s important for people to have health insurance. And if you guys are...

The University of Pennsylvania which had originally posted this has now pulled down the video from their site. But this is an attempt on the part of Jonathan Gruber and company to pull their pants up after they got caught. I think it's comical that these people still believe they can say whatever they want in public, but then flip out if anyone quotes them. It also appears that the Snopes.com mafia has been called in to cast doubt upon the incident as conservatives have reported it. They call this claim a Mixture of true and false. Here's their lame...

This is liberalism at its finest. Get really angry with someone who holds views different from your own, and then berate that person with hyper-emotional drivel. In this case, the victim was Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who received sexually explicit questions from Dartmouth's student body regarding anal sex during a visit to the college. Perry is a social conservative. According to the Dartmouth, the student newspaper, Perry was there to discuss the midterms, border security, energy initiatives and foreign policy. There was a Q&A session–and that’s when things devolved. Both presidents of the College Democrats and Republicans condemned the actions of...

jimmy fallon @jimmyfallon Utah made history by electing Mia Love to Congress. She is a black female Republican Mormon. Even Unicorns said "Not buying it." #FallonMono

In the spring of 2006, midway through George W. Bush’s second presidential term, Princeton historian Sean Wilentz published a piece in Rolling Stone that posed a provocative question: Was Bush the worst president ever? He said the best-case scenario for Bush was "colossal historical disgrace’’ and added: "Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history." The Wilentz assessment was probably a bit premature. It is difficult to judge any president’s historical standing while he still sits in the Oval Office, when political passions of the day...

In a new campaign to reportedly raise awareness of "privilege," the University of San Francisco is handing out fliers telling anyone who is white, straight, Christian, or "able-bodied" that they are privileged and need to "check their privilege." The campaign was put together by three professors at the college and Student Life. The fliers also claim that if you believe that your gender identity and biological gender are the same (that is, if you consider yourself a male and you are biologically male), you are privileged as well. No matter who you are, no matter what your situation in life,...

A former CBS News reporter who quit the network over claims it kills stories that put President Obama in a bad light says she was spied on by a “government-related entity” that planted classified documents on her computer. In her new memoir, Sharyl Attkisson says a source who arranged to have her laptop checked for spyware in 2013 was “shocked” and “flabbergasted” at what the analysis revealed.

Former Secretary of Labor Bob Reich, on behalf of MoveOn, warns Democrats what will happen if Republicans take control of the Senate: they may use a “tricky, little-known maneuver” to “ram through” their “right-wing policies” with only 51 votes, instead of the 60 votes “usually required” in the Senate. Here he is:Reconciliation

When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives inhabit different worlds. There is little overlap in the news sources they turn to and trust. And whether discussing politics online or with friends, they are more likely than others to interact with like-minded individuals, according to a new Pew Research Center study.

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer’s super PAC, Next Gen Climate, wants to implement a “haircut strategy” against Republican campaigns in order to depress conservative turnout. “Our Republican Haircut Strategy — a precision focus on a specific harm in target Republican markets — we will seek to degrade Republican performance,” a memo from Steyer’s super PAC explains in a memo obtained by Politico that the RNC flagged as a “voter suppression” tactic. “The election results in many states may be as narrow as a few thousand votes, so we sought to determine whether we could have an impact at the margins of...

Men can and do make a difference — just ask former abortion workers. In particular, they’ve noticed that no-shows and cancellations go way up when a it’s a man in a Roman collar who’s joined the vigil. The staff knows right away it’s going to be a bad day for business. We are thankful for all the priests and ministers who have helped make more “bad days” possible! Many members of the clergy have led by example by praying at 40 Days for Life vigil sites these past three weeks. It takes courage … so thank them when you see...

To prove my point, I have compiled a list of yummy quotes from a website called What Liberals Say, highlighting the extreme intolerance of the “tolerant” left, beginning with Vice President Joe Biden. Do Biden’s racist remarks represent intolerance? Yes, considering what would happen if a Republican had said anything similar. Joe Biden’s racist statement about Obama: “I mean you’ve got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean that’s a storybook, man.”

Angelo Carusone is probably one of the most famous people you’ve never heard of. A prolific warrior for disaffected minorities and the underserved liberal masses, Carusone is the founder of Stop Rush. (As in Limbaugh.) He was also a guiding force behind the parallel Stop Beck effort. The recipient of massive financial support from George Soros, Carusone went on to become the Executive Vice President of Media Matters, acting as a tireless champion of both racial minorities and LGBT citizens and fighting the regressive, hateful conservative movement.In light of all this, it may turn out to be rather curious...

The Justice Department is claiming, in a little-noticed court filing, that a federal agent had the right to impersonate a young woman online by creating a Facebook page in her name without her knowledge. Government lawyers also are defending the agent’s right to scour the woman’s seized cellphone and to post photographs — including racy pictures of her and even one of her young son and niece — to the phony social media account, which the agent was using to communicate with suspected criminals. The woman, Sondra Arquiett, who then went by the name Sondra Prince, first learned her identity...

VINDICATED TOM DELAY CONSIDERS LAWSUIT, RETURN TO D.C. After court win charges 'Marxist' Democrats tried to destroy him By Jerome R. Corsi On 10/02/2014 In Front Page,Politics,U.S. Tom DeLay NEW YORK – After learning the overturning of his felony conviction had been upheld by an appeals court, former Majority Leader Tom DeLay told WND he is considering bringing charges against the Travis County District Attorney’s Office for prosecutorial misconduct and he might run again for political office. DeLay said the Democratic Party’s attempt to destroy him over the past 11 years because of his conservative political views is a direct...