Bernie’s Weekly Q&A (11/10)

Antisemitism in academia, Nikki Haley, Michelle Obama, and more!

Welcome to this week’s Premium Q&A session for paying subscribers. I appreciate you all signing up and joining me.

Let’s get started:

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I am totally in favor of supporting Israel with everything but ground troops. However (and I do not pretend to know the answer to this), when does it become a time to consider that more civilians than terrorists are being killed by the push against Hamas? P. S. I do believe the premise that people who support Hamas, would have supported the Nazis back in the day. — Raymond S.

World opinion — at least liberal world opinion — has already turned against Israel … and the more dead civilians in Gaza the more hatred will be aimed at Israel. But journalists need to point out — not just parenthetically, in passing — that Hamas hides behind civilians — and had Hamas not slaughtered Israelis on October 7, Israel wouldn’t be in Gaza. It’s called “context” — which is in short supply.

Bernie, Ted Cruz has predicted Michele Obama will be the D’s nominee when they toss Joe Biden overboard. What are your thoughts on that possibility? — lensattic

First, “they” — as you put it — may in fact sometime soon “toss Joe Biden overboard.” But Joe will have a say in that and I’m not sure he wants to be tossed over the side. But if he goes, I don’t think Michelle Obama would have any interest running for or even being president. She lived with a guy for 8 years who was president — and I’m guessing she saw a lot that wouldn’t draw her to the job. That said, if she ran, she’d win the Democratic nomination … and I think she’d probably win the White House. But as I say, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Sir Bernie & Sir John, We have all noticed so much anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Jewish/Israel/“Zionist” rhetoric coming from university campuses. What I’m asking may be more of a historical query but here it goes: when & why did academia become so anti-America, western, Jewish, etc? Yeah the left has always felt that they should always “support the underdog” but did college and university faculty and administrators truly intend to turn the halls of higher education into such hateful communistic indoctrination centers? Or is this an unintended consequence of liberal pride & foolishness that the academics never intended and never saw coming so they continue to push this nonsense rather than admit that they had it wrong all this time? —“Oh NO! The Road To Hell Really IS Paved With LIBERALS’ Good Intentions!” regards from The Emperor

From John: Hi Emperor. I'm not enough of an academic-history buff to offer an answer I'd be confident with, at least regarding the time frame. I suspect the origins of the sentiment you describe probably came and still come from the tendency of a lot of over-educated intellectuals to pull at the strings of conventional wisdom, including American and Western exceptionalism.

From Bernie: I’m not a historian either but I think it started in the 1960s. Some protestors weren’t simply anti-war … they were anti-America. Many were Marxists-in-training. And guess what a lot of them did when they grew up. Correct … they became college professors and their hard-left ideology flowed through the bloodstream of the academy. Why didn’t university presidents do something about this early on? Because a lot of them shared the view of their radical professors — and when they didn’t, they simply did nothing, fearing the backlash that would come. If you’re looking for profiles in courage, Emperor, there are better places to look than on a college campus.

Bernie, I know I'm being horribly unfair (to you) and presumptuous but I think it needs to be said. There's a great battle going on right now for America's survival; just as important as any in our past: Saratoga, Gettysburg, and Midway. It's location: American college campuses. I ask -- NO implore -- you to add your enormous talents to those already on the front lines: men like Dershowitz, Shapiro, Knowles, (VD)Hanson. Let these ridiculous, pathetic, a__holes who call themselves 'students', get on their hind legs and take potshots at you, and then shove their arrogance and stupidity back down their f_____g throats. Just recently Ben Shapiro was at the Oxford Union -- THE OXFORD UNION -- and after receiving the incoming from each 'student', he calmly and clearly explained to each, in turn how incorrect he/she/it/whatever was and not to despair. It's quite understandable when one has dog s__t for brains. There's just no other way to say this. Please consider these thoughts. —Andrew M.