America's passionate attachment to Ukraine

George Washington, in his Farewell Address, gave his fellow citizens some wise advice:

<Blockquote>In the execution of such a plan 

nothing is more essential than that <b>permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations 

and passionate attachments for others should be excluded</b>

and that in place of them 

just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. 

The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness 

is in some degree a slave. 

It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, 

either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. 

...

So likewise, 

<B>a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils.</b> 

Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, 

and infusing into one the enmities of the other, 

betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification.

</Blockquote>

Taiwan and Ukraine

<blockquote>Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi [said]

“Let me assure the audience that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory,”

 Wang told the conference when asked about Beijing’s designs on the self-governed island. 

Taiwan “has never been a country and it will never be a country in the future.”</blockquote>

2023-02-18

https://www.politico.eu/article/munich-security-conference-ukraine-russia-war-china-wang-yi-nato/

Misconduct in schools

That a 6-year-old shot his teacher has been widely reported.

Not so widely reported has been a detailed description of what preceded that shooting.

This account is really eye-opening:

https://apnews.com/article/education-teaching-newport-news-virginia-fd4938bb3097fdbf858f599fc53adc45

"A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, tried to whip students with his belt and once choked another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe,” according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.

...

Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly “slammed” Zwerner’s cellphone and broke it...

..."

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Meanwhile, some people are opposing uniform standards for discipline in schools,

on the grounds that such would, what else, disproportionately affect certain groups:

https://patch.com/virginia/arlington-va/uniform-punishment-disruptive-students-opposed-nova-groups

An excerpt from that article:

"In a letter to the Senate Education and Health Committee, the groups said the bill mandates student removal from class for subjective interpretations of "disruptive" or "violent" behavior without addressing the underlying cause of the behavior. The new mandate would create "a negative cycle that leads to learning loss and increased behavior problems which, in turn, have been proven to worsen outcomes for students," the groups said.

...

"Extreme punishments are already being inflicted upon students with disabilities whose behavior is not dangerous but rather is a form of attempted communication, dysregulation, or a manifestation of their disability," the groups said. "

------

KHarbaugh comment:

What these groups seem to ignore is how 

the disruptive behavior of one student can adversely affect the learning of all the other students in the class.

As so often happens these days, the well-being of the larger society is being ignored.

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Another shocking incident:

New Jersey student ends her life after months of bullying, video of school hallway beating circulates online

https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-jersey-student-ends-life-months-bullying-video-school-hallway-beating-circulates-online

The bias of John F. Harris

Consider

"Even in a polarized era, the modern presidency gives its occupants unmatched ability to define and hold 

<b>the political center.</b>

This might be easy to forget, after years in which Donald Trump — practicing 

<b>a politics of contempt aimed mostly at mobilizing supporters</b> — 

seemed indifferent to this reality."

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/08/republicans-props-biden-state-of-the-union-00081774

See what Harris did?

He defines Biden as occupying the center, 

while Trump merely played to "his supporters".

Well, Mr. Harris, so far as I am concerned, Trump has one foot firmly in the center.

The 2020 election was hardly a landslide against Trump.

Even with all the ballot-harvesting methods of the Democrats.