The Week In Woke

Some housekeeping: I posted a video of a professor cancelling a class because of the important news that Taylor Swift got engaged. It turns out it was a "skit." He's some kind of gay-ass "professor of social media" and this was an exercise to... do something. I don't know. It's stupid, who cares.

Note that he's an expert on social media but I, on the other hand, am not.

The woke Stasi loses again: American Eagle stock up 25% after Sydney Sweeney "white supremacy" ad.

American Eagle stock surged 25% after its earnings report Wednesday, with its CEO thanking the controversial Sydney Sweeney "Good Jeans" ad campaign for boosting brand awareness and profit.

"The fall season is off to a positive start. Fueled by stronger product offerings and the success of recent marketing campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, we have seen an uptick in customer awareness, engagement and comparable sales," American Eagle Outfitters CEO Jay Schottenstein said on Wednesday in an earnings release statement.

...

The company said in its earnings call on Wednesday that Sweeney's jean collaborations with the company "sold out within a week" and that some of those items had sold out within a day.

"(Sweeney) is a winner, and in just six weeks, the campaign has generated unprecedented new customer acquisition," chief marketing officer Craig Brommers said during the earnings call.

A Catholic university sent psychology students to intern at a trans clinic for five year olds.

A Catholic university in California is facing criticism for its partnership with the County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Gender Affirming Care Clinic, which offers transgender services to children as young as 5 years old.

Naomi Best, a former counseling graduate student at Santa Clara University, brought attention to the partnership between the private, Catholic school and the clinic in a post recently on X.

"Just confirmed: Santa Clara U trains therapy students to give 'gender-affirming' counseling to kids as young as 5 at a state-funded clinic that hands out free binders and does affirming garment fittings with no parent consent required," Best wrote.

"Most 5-year-olds are learning to tie shoes, print letters, and ride a bike without training wheels. This is modern therapy training," she wrote. Best didn't respond to The College Fix's requests for comment.

Blue cities are losing hundreds of millions to scam lawsuits which they are unwilling to fight.

One of the underlying narratives of this year's Los Angeles wildfires is that just before the flames broke out, the city had cut fire department funding during a budget crunch. What drove that fiscal emergency? Hundreds of millions in unexpected legal payouts. This year alone, lawsuit liabilities will cost the city more than the wildfires themselves.

But Los Angeles isn't alone. A wave of litigation--unleashed by bad legislation, unfavorable court rulings, and officials' eagerness to settle--is driving liability costs sky-high in cities across the country. New York City paid out nearly $2 billion in claims last fiscal year, a one-year jump of almost $500 million. Chicago's payouts are nearly double what the city budgeted for settlements and judgments. Because most cities are self-insured, it's taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill.

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In Chicago, officials estimate the city will pay around $160 million in judgments this fiscal year, nearly double the $82 million it has budgeted. Some critics say the administration is its own worst enemy, frequently settling lawsuits on generous terms rather than choosing to litigate. In one case, the city paid $5 million to a woman who developed frostbite after being locked out of her apartment, even though police said she had refused their help. "We have to learn that some situations, while tragic, are not our fault," said Alderman Raymond Lopez. "They are not the responsibility of taxpayers."

They're all eager to spend millions to fight Trump, of course.

Ohio State University has done a great thing: they've banned "land acknowledgements" at most (though not all) official university functions.

Ohio State University has banned the widespread use of land acknowledgements, citing a relatively new state law that cracks down on diversity, equity and inclusion. The only caveat is if the land acknowledgement has a direct tie to the subject of a course, the policy states.

"Land acknowledgements are considered statements on behalf of an issue or cause and cannot be issued on behalf of a unit, college, department, etc., used at university-sponsored events (virtual or in person) or placed on any university channel or resource such as websites, social media, signage, meeting or event agendas, event programs, etc.," according to the new policy, announced in late August.

"Land acknowledgements should not be used in written class materials or stated verbally unless there is a direct tie to the subject of the course," the policy states. "Ohio State respects the history of the state and university and will continue to engage in research, academic scholarship, conversations and opportunities to honor this history, but will not issue statements taking a position on, endorsing, opposing or engaging in advocacy or calls to action around this."

The DOJ is suing blue states over lower tuition for illegal aliens, discriminating against US citizens to favor foreigners.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the state of Illinois for providing in-state tuition rates to illegal alien students, marking the first time the administration has targeted a blue state for the practice.

Illinois became the fifth state targeted by the administration over tuition benefits for noncitizens, joining Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. Unlike the others, Illinois stands out as the first Democratic stronghold to be targeted.

In each case, the DOJ argues that offering reduced tuition rates to non-citizens violates federal immigration law, discriminates against American citizens, and incentivizes further illegal immigration.

Last month, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 460 into law, granting illegal aliens "access to taxpayer-funded scholarships, grants and stipends."

"Illinois has an apparent desire to win a 'race to the bottom' as the country's leading sanctuary state. Its misguided approach mandating in-state tuition, scholarships, and financial aid to illegal aliens plainly violates federal law," U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois wrote in the press release.

Two Virginia school districts are suing the Department of Education, determined to continue allowing boys in girls' bathrooms and girls' sports, despite Trump's perfectly-legal redefinition of "sex" back to, you know, its actual definition.

On Friday, Fairfax County and Arlington County schools sued the Trump administration after being warned their policies on bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports violated federal civil rights law. The Washington Post reports that both districts allow students to access facilities based on gender identity rather than biological sex, a practice the Department of Education says strips protection from girls and directly conflicts with Title IX.

The Department announced on August 19 that both districts had been given a "high-risk" status, meaning nearly $200 million in federal aid could be on the line. That money supports free meals, counseling, and special education services, but McMahon says the real issue is whether schools can take taxpayer dollars while openly ignoring federal law.

In a Friday X post, McMahon accused the districts of prioritizing ideology over academics and vowed to defend protections for girls in bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletics.

"It's disturbing that these Virginia school division leaders are fighting harder to keep boys in girls' sports and bathrooms than they are to improve outcomes for students," McMahon wrote in the post, telling the districts "See you in Court."

A truly vile transgender teacher in Colorado. Content warning, it's disgusting.

posted by Ace at 06:24 PM

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