Kerry: Climate Change 'Enormous Cloud Hanging Over All of Us'

    While the attention of much of the world Sunday was focused on the massive unity rally in France in response to the recent terror attacks in that country, Secretary of State John Kerry was in India for a "global business" summit where he spoke of, among other concerns, the "one enormous cloud hanging over all of us which requires responsibility from leaders. Global climate change[.]" Kerry said that climate change is "violently affecting communities" worldwide, but that the silver lining in his view is that responding to climate change offers an "unprecedented number of plusses, and frankly, almost no downside." His full remarks on the subject came during his speech at the opening ceremony of the summit [emphasis added]:

I am convinced, as we look to the relationship of the future though, just as Ban Ki-moon mentioned a few minutes ago, there is one enormous cloud hanging over all of us which requires responsibility from leaders. Global climate change is already violently affecting communities not just across India but around the world. It is disrupting commerce, development, and economic growth. It’s costing farmers crops. It’s costing insurance companies unbelievable payouts. It’s raising the cost of doing business, and believe me, if it continues down the current trend-line, we will see climate refugees fighting each other for water and seeking food and new opportunity. 

So this is a relationship between India and the United States where we believe very deeply that we could turn sustainable economic growth opportunities into a prosperity we have ever seen before. And it means one very [simple] thing: Unlike many problems in public life where you struggle sometimes between the plusses and minuses of a particular choice you make – and leaders here all know and business leaders all know what I’m talking about – the choices of climate change offer an unprecedented number of plusses, and frankly, almost no downside. If we make the choices that are staring us in the face, the fact is that a solution to climate change is already here. It’s called energy policy. Sustainable energy policy. And in a sustainable energy policy comes a whole set of benefits to our economy, something many countries of the world are screaming for today.

    While the bulk of Kerry's talk centered on economic and business issues, he did pay tribute to the rally in France:

We may all come from different walks of life, but we stand together this morning with the people of France as they march in tribute to the victims of last week’s murderous attack on the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. And we stand together not just in anger and outrage, but in solidarity and commitment to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause that extremists fear so much and that has always united our countries – freedom. We stand together in freedom and together we make it clear that no act of terror will ever stop the march of freedom. (Applause.)

    Kerry's complete remarks at the opening ceremony can be found here.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

Eric Holder: School Fights are "Relatively Minor Transgressions"

    Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder gave a speech at Frederick Douglas High School in Baltimore, MD.   I wrote about the announcement of the appearance at The Weekly Standard earlier in the day.  The event was billed as "Solutions to Enhance School Climate/Improve Discipline Policies and Practices".  Holder was there with Education Secretary Arne Duncan as part of President Obama's anti-gun violence initiative launched in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
    Part of the president's plan was to "disseminate best practices on school discipline policies and to help school districts develop and equitably implement their policies."  In fleshing out this proposal, Holder made a rather strange, even alarming, statement:

As it stands, far too many students across the country are diverted from the path to success by unnecessarily harsh discipline policies and practices that exclude them from school for minor infractions.  During critical years that are proven to impact a student’s later chances for success, alarming numbers of young people are suspended, expelled, or even arrested for relatively minor transgressions like school uniform violations, schoolyard fights, or showing “disrespect” by laughing in class.

    Holder's formulation conflates "schoolyard fights" with school uniforms violations and laughing in class, clearly a false equivalence.  While the latter two items might be characterized as "relatively minor transgressions," does a physical altercation really fit the bill?  Fights do not begin spontaneously - usually there is an aggressor, which probably indicates an assault and battery has occurred.  Certainly not all fighting in school rises to the level of arrest, but shouldn't suspensions or even expulsion be on the table?  And has anyone ever really been arrested, or even expelled, for a uniform violation or laughing in class?  Unlikely.
    Why would Holder muddy the waters in this way?  How does preventing violence in schools square with downplaying the seriousness of... violence in schools?  As I pointed out in my Weekly Standard post, the whole Baltimore event seemed predicated on the idea that unfair, discriminatory, and ineffective school discipline could lead to gun violence.  If Holder truly subscribes to that line of thinking, he should stop trying to get schools to go easy on violent offenders by comparing them to the merely disrespectful and dress code violators.

White House Cites Domestic Violence in Push for Immigration Reform

    The White House is ramping up a new push for the president's version of comprehensive immigration reform.  In an opening salvo, White House advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal wrote a blog entry entitled, "Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Survivors Can’t Afford to Wait", saying that "it’s up to Republicans in the House to decide whether to move forward with immigration reform."  Ms. Rosenthal framed the argument in the context of the just-ended Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October:

Domestic Violence Awareness Month has ended, but our work to end abuse continues. Today, in this country, women and children continue to suffer from unspeakable violence because they are afraid to seek help without legal status. When immigrant survivors of abuse without legal status are, according to one study, half as likely to call the police to seek the help they need, we must act.

Rosenthal goes on to say the federal law (Violence Against Women Act) already contains provisions to help immigrant victims of abuse, more needs to be done.

Since it was first signed into law in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act or VAWA has recognized the need for special protections for immigrant survivors of abuse, including self-petitions and categories of visas for victims of violent crimes and human trafficking. But while VAWA includes key provisions to help immigrant survivors, it is not enough. 

Rosenthal cites fear of deportation, potential homelessness, and economic dependence as reasons many immigrant women - documented or undocumented - do not seek help.  She noted that the Senate had passed legislation already, and asserted that "[u]nlike many other issues in Washington, immigration reform is one that both parties can agree on."


Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

HHS: Workplace Bullying Is Like Domestic Violence

    "Bullying doesn't just happen on the playground;" so begins an article in an online Health and Human Services (HHS) publication called Let's Talk.  The HHS's Federal Occupational Health agency cites a recent study finding that more than a third of Americans report being bullied at work, though only 15% report having observed bullying in the workplace.  The newsletter is illustrated with this graphic:

    The article defines bullying as "aggressive, inappropriate, and unreasonable behavior," and says that bullying "[h]as many of the same characteristics of domestic violence – the abuser uses intimidation and manipulation to get what he or she wants."  "Typical" behaviors by a workplace bully cited in the article include: threats, intimidation, humiliation, exclusion from your peer group, and harassment.

    Although the study referenced is not notated in the article, a CareerBuilder study from August 2012 reports the 35% figure.  That study reported that the most common forms of bullying were:

· Falsely accused of mistakes – 42 percent
· Ignored – 39 percent
· Used different standards/policies toward me than other workers – 36 percent
· Constantly criticized – 33 percent
· Someone didn’t perform certain duties, which negatively impacted my work – 31 percent
· Yelled at by boss in front of coworkers – 28 percent
· Belittling comments were made about my work during meetings – 24 percent
· Gossiped about – 26 percent
· Someone stole credit for my work – 19 percent
· Purposely excluded from projects or meetings – 18 percent
· Picked on for personal attributes – 15 percent

    Although the HHS article compared workplace bullying to domestic violence, neither actual violence  or threats of physical harm appeared on the list of reported behaviors.

    The newsletter offers these tips on "working it out yourself":

• If you are being bullied and you don’t feel physically threatened, you can assert yourself by:
• Telling the person how their behavior is negatively impacting your work
• Setting boundaries – telling the person what types of behavior you will no longer tolerate
• Warning the person that there will be consequences if his or her inappropriate behavior continues

    Recently, a high-up Democratic official was quoted by Politico's Mike Allen as saying about the GOP relative to its opposition to the president over the funding of Obamacare: "It's time to punch the bully in his nose."  This response to bullying is not specifically included on the list of tips from HHS.


Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

Chesterton the Pundit

    This comes under the heading of "nothing new under the sun."  Remember all the denunciations of "violent" imagery and rhetoric over the past few years?  Sarah Palin was called out for using "target" symbols on a campaign map... and then it turned out the Democrats had used similar graphics elsewhere.  After Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot by some lunatic, many media figures and politicians blamed the "right" for using language that inflamed passions to such a degree that things like this were bound to happen.  As it turned out, the lunatic was left-leaning if anything in his delusions, and on top of that, a little research showed that many of the denouncers used identical words and metaphors they were now decrying.  This even included President Obama with his infamous "if they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun" line.
    So it was quite funny to run across the following as I was reading G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Knew Too Much.  Horne Fisher, the hero of the stories, is visiting a political operative of Fisher's opponent in a contest for a seat in Parliament.  Mr. Gryce would be a familiar face on cable TV were he around today:

"Mr. Horne Fisher, I believe," said Mr. Gryce.  "Much honored by the call, of course. Can't pretend to congratulate you on entering the contest, I'm afraid; you won't expect that. Here we've been keeping the old flag flying for freedom and reform, and you come in and break the battle line."

For Mr. Elijah Gryce abounded in military metaphors and in denunciations of militarism. 

Could there be a more concise yet devastating blow against the political hypocrisy we witness today?  Chesterton wrote this in 1922.  I do not always share Chesterton's views, but I find his writing as sharp as Twain and Wodehouse.  And thanks to Project Gutenberg, the price can't be beat.