DL Open Thread: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

World War III Has Begun.  I think.  Weapons being moved around like pieces on a chessboard.  Want me to give you more? I will anyway.  Not to mention, the war in Ukraine has become a proxy for nations on both sides of the conflict.  We’ve even seen some wavering in Germany, perhaps here’s why.

College Board Waters Down African American Studies Curriculum–Because Rethugs.  Pathetic:

After heavy criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the College Board released on Wednesday an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies — stripped of much of the subject matter that had angered the governor and other conservatives.

The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism. It ushered out some politically fraught topics, like Black Lives Matter, from the formal curriculum.

And it added something new: “Black conservatism” is now offered as an idea for a research project.

When it announced the A.P. course in August, the College Board clearly believed it was providing a class whose time had come, and it was celebrated by eminent scholars like Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard as an affirmation of the importance of African American studies. But the coursequickly ran into a political buzz saw — first from conservatives after an early draft leaked to conservative publications like The Florida Standard and National Review. And then, once the curriculum was released on Wednesday, some academics and liberal groups protested the changes.

The dispute over the A.P. course is about more than just the content of a high school class. Education is the center of much vitriolic partisan debate, and the College Board’s decision to try to build a curriculum covering one of the most charged subjects in the country — the history of race in America — may have all but guaranteed controversy. If anything, the arguments over the curriculum underscore the fact that the United States is a country that cannot agree on its own story, especially the complex history of Black Americans.

Guess what? It won’t be good enough.  Because you can’t negotiate with terrorists.

‘Hunter Biden Strikes Back’.  No good will come of this.  Except a shot at ‘mutually-assured destruction’. Kinda like WW III.  Perhaps listening to this profound anti-war masterpiece will provide succor, or perhaps, suckitude, to your soul:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR_HKsJl4i0

Ginni Thomas Lowered The Bar, Jane Roberts Takes Advantage.  The Supreme Court’s absence of ethics rivals that of the Delaware State House Of Representatives:

Jane Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledges having represented a wide variety of public officials — including senior Justice Department officials and Cabinet members — as they transitioned to jobs in the private sector, according to testimony in an arbitration hearing to resolve a lawsuit filed by an ex-colleague against her former legal recruiting business.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, accuses the chief justice of failing to acknowledge the full extent of his wife’s work in his ethical disclosures, presenting her as a salaried employee of her firm rather than one who receives commissions from law firms, some of which have cases before the Supreme Court.

Jane Roberts’ placements included at least one firm with a prominent Supreme Court practice, according to the complaint, which also includes sworn testimony from Roberts herself, in which she notes the powerful officials — whose agencies have had frequent cases before her husband — for whom she has worked.

“A significant portion of my practice on the partner side is with senior government lawyers, ranging from U.S. attorneys, cabinet officials, former senators, chairmen of federal commissions, general counsel of federal commissions, and then senior political appointees within the ranks of various agencies, and I — they come to me looking to transition to the private sector,” Roberts said, according to a transcript of a 2015 arbitration hearing related to her former colleague’s termination.

In her testimony, Roberts also noted the benefit of working with senior government officials: “Successful people have successful friends.”

‘We’re Still Gonna Say No’: How United Healthcare Denies Health Coverage:

More than 200 million Americans are covered by private health insurance. But data from state and federal regulators shows that insurers reject about 1 in 7 claims for treatment. Many people, faced with fighting insurance companies, simply give up: One study found that Americans file formal appeals on only 0.1% of claims denied by insurers under the Affordable Care Act.

Insurers have wide discretion in crafting what is covered by their policies, beyond some basic services mandated by federal and state law. They often deny claims for services that they deem not “medically necessary.”

When United refused to pay for McNaughton’s treatment for that reason, his family did something unusual. They fought back with a lawsuit, which uncovered a trove of materials, including internal emails and tape-recorded exchanges among company employees. Those records offer an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at how one of America’s leading health care insurers relentlessly fought to reduce spending on care, even as its profits rose to record levels.

The only role these companies play is to act as middlemen, to take cuts out of health care dollars, and to often act as God.  In a just world, they would not exist.

Noblesse Oblige, Delaware Style.  Good news, I guess.  Although Chateau Country is the only part of Delaware that is sacrosanct:

Longwood Gardens is buying Granogue, the stunning 505-acre private estate near Centreville, Delaware, owned by the late Irénée du Pont Jr., and will keep the property as open space, Delaware Online/The News Journal has learned.

In exclusive interviews, Longwood officials said they would announce Wednesday that it has entered into a binding agreement with Granogue Reserve Ltd. LLC to buy and operate du Pont’s estate in northern New Castle County. GRLLC is the limited liability company that owns the 100-year-old Granogue property.

Irénée du Pont died on Jan. 16 at age 103. He was the great-great-grandson of DuPont Co. founder Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The acquisition continues a long history between Longwood Gardens and the du Pont family.

Gee, wonder how much the family will realize in tax breaks.  All in the name of altruism.

What do you want to talk about?