Cancel Culture

I had written and filed a column about Harvard and its president, Claudine Gay, when news of her resignation broke on Tuesday afternoon after fresh allegations of plagiarism in her published work. I’d like to record what I wrote: “Cancel culture is always ugly and usually a mistake. If Gay is to go, let it be after more deliberation, with more decorum, and when pundits like me aren’t writing about her.” Oh, well.

In a few years, no one will remember ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay’s plagiarism kerfuffle. 

All we’ll remember is that that she angered some rich pro-Israel donors, as well as opportunistic activists and politicians, and they got her fired.

That should be chilling.

It’s hardly a shock that Claudine Gay finally walked the plank at Harvard.

In a head-spinning series of developments, she had been exposed as indifferent to antisemitism, an academic fraud and a symbol of everything wrong with American higher education. 

Because there was no legitimate case for keeping her on the job, her departure was only a matter of time.

I predicted the end would come during the Christmas-New Year break, when the campus is quiet and most students and faculty are away. 

Days after University of Pennsylvania president Elizabeth Magill’s much maligned remarks at a congressional hearing on antisemitism cost the Ivy League school a $100 million donation, the board of Penn’s Wharton school of business is calling on Magill to step down with “immediate effect.”

If you are one of the last people on earth who still requires proof that the press is full of objectively evil people, I come bearing gifts. 

The story starts with a young Kansas City Chiefs fan. I don't know what his name is, and I wouldn't share it if I did because it's irrelevant. What's relevant is that the sports and political commentary site Deadspin decided they needed to destroy him. 

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley backtracked Wednesday after her proposal to require social media platforms to verify users' identities appeared to touch a third rail of right-wing politics.

Citing national security concerns, Haley told multiple outlets on Tuesday that she thought social platforms should be required to verify all their users by name, because countries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea use anonymous accounts to sow chaos and division in U.S. politics. (She’s right on this point, FYI).

Spain’s highest court which deals with issues related to sports law on Friday decided football federation President Luis Rubiales’ forced kiss with forward Jenni Hermoso did not constitute a “very grave” violation of Spanish law.

A Spanish court on Friday agreed to open a case against Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales for kissing a women’s soccer player at the World Cup final, but the court said it only considered the potential offense “serious” as opposed to “very serious” — a setback for the Spanish government, which now cannot immediately suspend Rubiales, according to multiple outlets.

The Spanish government suffered a setback in its case against Luis Rubiales, the embattled president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, on Friday.

The government cannot suspend Rubiales amid a case into his post-World Cup kiss with player Jenni Hermoso after a court rejected the argument that the charges against him were “very serious.”

Country music star Jason Aldean has been the subject of controversy in recent days for a song that critics claim promotes gun violence and for its video that was filmed at the site of a lynching.

The song, "Try That in a Small Town," drew little negative reaction when it was released in May. That changed with the July 14 release of the video, which resulted in a debate about the song's lyrics and the imagery.