Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy, 08/27

[SVPete]

The Smear Campaign Against Trump’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Nominee E.J. Antoni

https://pjmedia.com/christian-adams/2025/08/26/the-smear-campaign-against-trumps-bureau-of-labor-statistics-nominee-ej-antoni-n4943066

Antoni has been pushing for refinements to the system from his perch at the Heritage Foundation, where he is the chief economist.

Did I say Heritage Foundation? Indeed, and thus we arrive at another triggering event for the hatred of Antoni. He comes from the premier conservative think tank, not the halls of Harvard.

To sink Antoni’s nomination, his foes have turned to a ninety-year-old ship.

Full disclosure. When I was a child, I built plastic model airplanes. My models included the ME-109, the iconic fighter in the Luftwaffe, as well as the RAF Spitfire. These two planes dueled over the skies of southern England to decide the fate of Western civilization. I even built models of the stubby, ridiculous-looking ME-163 Komet. You could buy the plastic model kits at the mall toy store for about $5. I don't remember if they included the authentic swastika decals or if I threw them out. Even more damaging for my career, I displayed the models on my bookcase!

What does this have to do with Antoni, a naval history enthusiast?

Apparently, everything to the Times of Israel, which suggested Antoni is a Nazi sympathizer because a Zoom interview featured the battleship "Bismarck" in the background. Friends say he frequently rotates paintings and photos of historic ships—American and otherwise—behind his desk for media appearances. His social media features the "U.S.S. Texas" and other historic ships. And it hardly gets more historic than the "Bismarck."
...
The next target for Antoni’s foes is his Catholic faith.

Enter the reliably caustic Daily Beast with a grave warning: “On Antoni’s desk sits a Pieta — a sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary cradling Jesus — and possibly a rosary.”

Antoni is interested in WW2 naval history? How Nazi of him (I'm sure faithful Progs will find a way to paint USS Texas as Nazi, the anachronism notwithstanding). As for the Pieta, have Progs descended yet to bandying about epithets like "Papist"?

IRL (True time). WW2 naval history is among my interests, though more the Pacific than the Atlantic or Med. Does that make me a Japanese Imperialist? Also, several of my coworkers have included religious figures among the personalizations in their cubicles - crucifixes, pictures of Buddha or Hindu gods. It takes a special kind of bigotry to bogeymanize someone for their religious views.

Obviously, Antoni's three sins are being nominated by Trump, threatening to prevent Dems' fudging employment stats for political purposes, and being nominated by Trump, .

[SVPete]

DNC Chair Withdraws Resolution Recognizing Israel’s Right to Exist

https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/08/dnc-chair-withdraws-resolution-recognizing-israels-right-to-exist/

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin withdrew his Israel-Gaza resolution from consideration after the members punted on a more extreme resolution.

The Democrats are in disarray.

Martin’s resolution demanded the release of all hostages, a two-state solution, and a ceasefire.

Martin said:

So today, I introduced a resolution, resolution three, which was focused on finding common ground in our party on a very heartbreaking humanitarian issue, and it’s aligned with our party platform. This crisis in Gaza is urgent, and my resolution is focused on that humanitarian crisis, and makes it clear that it must be addressed as the emergency that it is.

Now I know that there are some who are interested in making changes today, but as we’ve seen, there’s divide in our party on this issue.

This is a moment that calls for shared dialogue. It calls for shared advocacy, and that’s why I’ve decided today, at this moment, listening to the testimony and listening to people in our party, to withdraw my amendment and resolution to allow us to move forward on a conversation on this as a party.

As the article author said, Martin caved to the Dem Party's antisemite wing. What he probably does not realize - or does not want to - is that placation like that generates aggression.

[SVPete]

Judge strikes down Minnesota ban on conservative religious colleges in reimbursement program

https://justthenews.com/nation/religion/judge-strikes-down-minnesota-ban-conservative-religious-colleges-reimbursement

Minnesota has incentivized high school students for four decades to enroll in post-secondary courses, paying for their tuition and textbooks at public and private colleges.

But the Land of 10,000 Lakes may have to sink the entire "postsecondary enrollment option" (PSEO) and start over based on its micromanagement of which religious colleges are eligible.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel, nominated by President Donald Trump, issued a stunning rebuke to the Minnesota Department of Education by striking down the whole 2023 law that bans colleges from the program if they require students to submit "faith statements" or follow lifestyle expectations on sexuality and gender identity.

"The Faith Statement Ban is unconstitutional under the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution and the Freedom of Conscience Clause of the Minnesota Constitution," and it's "inseverable" from the nondiscrimination clause, which may yet be constitutional if it weren't "essentially and inseparably connected" to the faith statement ban, Brasel ruled.

In plainer language (ASSuming I understand this decision correctly), the law setting up MN's "postsecondary enrollment option", in which high school students could enroll in colleges and take courses for credit, included private colleges. However, the law forbade such colleges to require students to agree to statements of faith or agreements to follow certain moral principles, which the judge ruled unconstitutionally discriminated against such religious colleges. The problem with the law is that it is missing the very common severability clause, which stipulates that specific portions of the law could be overturned, severed, without overturning the entire law. It appears that the anti-religious bigots who crafted this law were in such haste to embed their bigotry that they forgot to include the almost de rigueur severability clause and now will have to rewrite and pass the law from scratch.

Back when my homeschooled munchkins were in "high school" they took "concurrent enrollment" classes at our local JC. There were limits on the number of credit hours, so eventually we graduated our youngest early so she could take more college classes. California now calls this "dual enrollment".

[Ptarmigan]

2nd night of riots in Switzerland after Swiss-Congolese teen dies, right-wing politician targeted in lynching attack
https://rmx.news/article/2nd-night-of-riots-in-switzerland-after-swiss-congolese-teen-dies-right-wing-politician-targeted-in-lynching-attack/

Quiet and prosperous Switzerland also now has its migrant riots to contend with. In the Swiss city of Lausanne, riots have now broken out for a second night after a 17-year-old Congolese youth died during a police chase. During the first night of unrest, a right-wing politician was targeted by a large group of youths, who nearly lynched him.

At 10:00 p.m. last night., approximately 150 to 200 people set up roadblocks and began burning containers and garbage cans. They also severely damaged a bus.

Officers were hit with Molotov cocktails, paving stones, and construction fences, along with other objects, according to police.

Lausanne has a riot after a 17-year-old Congolese died after a police chase.