Daily Wire co-founder and editor emeritus <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Shapiro</a> rejected the idea that the United States has no foreign policy interest in assisting Israel in its war against Hamas during a Wednesday conversation with Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk.
&#8220;I&#8217;m very much in favor of America following her own foreign policy interests,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;But I think that there&#8217;s a category error that&#8217;s been made by some members of the Right that the ridiculous belief that America has a moral duty to intervene in every conflict on the basis of morality — obviously that&#8217;s silly.&#8221;
Shapiro appeared on &#8220;<a href="https://rumble.com/v3oka54-israel-what-now-who-rfk-hurts-the-crime-of-noticing-shapiro-raichik-sailer-.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Charlie Kirk Show</a>,&#8221; where Kirk asked his guests and audience how American conservatives should respond to the latest war in the Middle East after decades of U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts that have left many feeling apathetic toward deploying American troops overseas to fight against Hamas.
But with the West&#8217;s deeply sympathetic views toward Israel, Shapiro said the “converse belief that America never has a duty to provide even moral support when an ally is being attacked is similarly absurd.&#8221;
&#8220;Israel, by the way, is by far the most pro-America, American ally there is,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I mean by polling data, Israelis love America. Not only do they love America, they provide extraordinary levels of intelligence and support military technology to the United States. They’re a powerful economy in the region. They’re a powerful intelligence asset in the region — that&#8217;s just on a pure realist level, putting aside all of the sort of moral coincidence that exists between the State of Israel and the United States.&#8221;
As Israel entered its fifth day of battle against the terrorist organization, officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-dept-confirms-at-least-22-americans-killed-in-hamas-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the death toll jumped again late on Tuesday night to more than 1,200 Israelis killed and nearly 3,000 injured from the attacks.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of defense Benny Gantz, his chief opposition leader who heads the National Unity party, have agreed to form an emergency unity government &#8220;needed to lead to victory in the war.&#8221;
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The number of Americans killed in Hamas&#8217; deadly invasion increased to 22, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. The White House later reportedly said 17 Americans were still missing.
The U.S. military <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/top-us-general-no-indications-other-israeli-adversaries-join-war-2023-10-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they have not seen any sign as of Wednesday that other Israeli adversaries — including Iran — have signaled joining Hamas in its fight against Israel.
Although the Biden administration has pledged U.S. support for Israel with additional military aid and ammunition, Shapiro reported that Israel had not asked the U.S. to get directly involved in the conflict, specifically with Iran.
&#8220;I know there&#8217;s that strawman that&#8217;s been set up by some people — that&#8217;s ridiculous,&#8221; Shapiro said.
&#8220;Again, there can be arguments to be made and had over what America&#8217;s foreign policy commitments ought to be, how much money we spend on foreign aid, and all the rest,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;But the notion that there shouldn&#8217;t be any sort of baseline care when Islamic murderers run through a border and start murdering Western civilized babies — I find that hard to imagine. And I also think that many of the people who are making that sort of argument would not be making that sort of argument if you&#8217;re talking about Islamists running through a border in France and then simply murdering babies in a preschool.&#8221;

Ben Shapiro Talks The Conservative Response To Hamas’ Deadly Attack On Israel

Ben Shapiro Weighs In On The Conservative Response To Hamas' Deadly Invasion On Israel

Ben Shapiro

Charlie Kirk

Hamas

Israel

Terrorism

World

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/turning-point-usa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turning Point USA’s BLEXIT</a> was forced to secure a new location for their Liberation Tour event after their original venue, the Music Hall of Williamsburg, canceled the rental agreement, citing “hate speech and “homophobia.”
The Music Hall of Williamsburg canceled the rental contract just days before the event — featuring Candace Owens, Brandon Tatum, and other speakers — was set to take place.
The venue condemned BLEXIT in a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CteRSmeO6sd/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=3308fd83-fcc8-4874-98a2-9eac9600d144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, remarking “It has become abundantly clear to us that in actuality this organization provides a platform for hate speech and homophobia, which The Bowery Presents will not tolerate, and we have canceled their rental contract.”
“This event will not take place in our venue,” the statement concluded.
BLEXIT shot back in a statement of its own, asserting, “The Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York has caved to the woke mob and disallowed BLEXIT and Turning Point USA to use their venue for an upcoming ‘Liberation Tour’ event this Saturday.”
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NYC BLEXIT LIVE Liberation Show Update ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/2RTgeGYPQd">pic.twitter.com/2RTgeGYPQd</a>
&mdash; BLEXIT (@BLEXIT) <a href="https://twitter.com/BLEXIT/status/1669482571657363457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“Publicly, they claim their decision is about making a stand against ‘hate speech.’ They are liars,” the statement contends before going on to say, “Privately the venue claimed their staff were getting doxxed, that protests were planned, and that they feared for their safety.” The statement added, “this is disgraceful, cowardly behavior.”
Turning Point USA Founder and CEO Charlie Kirk <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1669832070632468480?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clarified</a>, “Our event will go on AS PLANNED at a new venue. We will not let the radical left terrorize us and win. We&#8217;ll see you in NYC tomorrow.”
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-36700">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
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WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED. See you Saturday, New York! <a href="https://t.co/1RNfJ93Fyg">pic.twitter.com/1RNfJ93Fyg</a>
&mdash; BLEXIT (@BLEXIT) <a href="https://twitter.com/BLEXIT/status/1669549203847094274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I&#8217;m shocked that the Music Hall of Williamsburg, despite claiming to value diverse voices, would cancel a group primarily composed of Black Americans, simply because we have differing perspectives on how Black people should think,” Director of BLEXIT Pierre Wilson remarked in a statement.
He went on to say, “Cancelling this event is the real example of hate and intolerance. We welcome all people at BLEXIT. This action represents a troubling example of cancel culture at its worst.”

Candace Owens Speaking

New York Venue Cancels BLEXIT Event Contract Over ‘Hate Speech,’ ‘Homophobia’

New York Venue Cancels BLEXIT Event Contract Over 'Hate Speech,' 'Homophobia'

Candace Owens

Social Issues

Turning Point USA

U.S.

Two people were arrested and one police officer was injured Tuesday night after a mix of protesters and black-clad rioters clashed with authorities and damaged property at the University of California, Davis, in protest of a Turning Point USA event featuring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/charlie-kirk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charlie Kirk</a>.
Kirk, who founded the nationwide conservative organization of 250,000 student members, spoke to approximately 500 attendees at the left-leaning university about American values.
However, before the audience could access the venue, about 100 protesters and some rioters blocked the main entrance and pathway, UC Davis officials said.
&#8220;Outside the UCUC, about 100 protesters gathered and for brief times blocked the main event entrance and the pathway to the entrance,&#8221; the school told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/elon-musk-respond-protesters-smash-windows-hurl-eggs-charlie-kirk-event-college-campus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. &#8220;One officer sustained an injury when he was jumped on from behind and pushed to the ground, and two people were arrested and taken to Yolo County Jail for allegedly painting graffiti on an exterior wall of the University Credit Union Center, or UCUC, where the event was held.&#8221;
Videos posted to social media show some rioters kicking in glass windows at the venue, while other <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11862789/Elon-Musk-slams-Antifa-goons-violent-protest-Charlie-Kirk-invited-talk-UC-Davis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> show the group throwing eggs and other objects. Officials also noted that crowd members were pepper spraying attendees trying to enter the building.
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🚨BREAKING: Antifa is attempting to overrun the venue hosting Charlie Kirk at UC Davis. They have begun violently smashing through the windows in an attempt to shut down the voice of those they oppose <a href="https://t.co/2EXQprQAZJ">pic.twitter.com/2EXQprQAZJ</a>
&mdash; Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA/status/1635823755548319750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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UC Davis: at approx 18:05 the mob of far-left radical conspiracy theorists surrounded the main entrance of the event screaming at event attendees and preventing them from attending the event. At one point they call me out by name. <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@charliekirk11</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TPUSA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FrontlinesShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FrontlinesShow</a> <a href="https://t.co/7hSGtIb0nw">pic.twitter.com/7hSGtIb0nw</a>
&mdash; Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) <a href="https://twitter.com/fromkalen/status/1635854682714423297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Aside from these pepper spray reports, no major physical injuries were reported and no one requested treatment for injuries,&#8221; UC Davis officials <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/2-arrested-building-vandalized-uc-davis-event-conservative-activist/43326784" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Kirk later referred to the rioters, who reportedly broke ten glass window panes, as &#8220;terrorists&#8221; to the audience.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not going to put up with force of trying to shut down people you don&#8217;t like &#8230; and tonight is a statement to them that they&#8217;re the losers,&#8221; Kirk said.
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Riot police clashing with Antifa (and their umbrellas) on UC Davis campus outside <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TPUSA</a> event <a href="https://t.co/4aLURAYhwf">pic.twitter.com/4aLURAYhwf</a>
&mdash; Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) <a href="https://twitter.com/RebsBrannon/status/1635834270974623745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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UC Davis officials told Fox News that the unidentified person taken into custody by authorities was not affiliated with the university.
Most agitators held signs supporting the “LGBTQIA2S+” community, covering their identity with umbrellas.
UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May shared a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz3k-FnPpJM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> on YouTube in which he referred to the Turning Point USA founder as &#8220;a well-documented proponent of misinformation and hate and who has advocated for violence against transgender individuals.&#8221;
May said that while he &#8220;abhors the inflammatory speech&#8221; of Kirk, the university did not invite or sponsor him to speak on the campus.
He said the university abides by the policy that allows registered student organizations, such as Turning Point USA, to reserve campus facilities to host speakers of their choice, &#8220;even if the speaker&#8217;s intended speech is loathsome and hurtful to me and to others in our campus community.&#8221;
&#8220;As a campus that is committed to our principles of community,&#8221; May said. “UC Davis stands with our transgender and non-binary Aggies in opposition to the hateful and divisive messaging.&#8221;
The rhetoric from the university&#8217;s chancellor echoed similar sentiments from an op-ed with the California-based news outlet Sacramento Bee, which called for UC Davis to cancel the event and falsely accused Kirk of advocating for the &#8220;lynching&#8221; of transgender-identifying people.
&#8220;Charlie Kirk has called for the lynching of trans people, a comment that should warrant the cancelation of his speaking engagement at UC Davis,&#8221; the outlet said in a since-deleted tweet.
Kirk denied the inflammatory headline and article and threatened to sue the outlet, which removed the article from its site and reposted it, referring to Kirk as a &#8220;far-right&#8221; leader.
&#8220;Sacbee reporter has deleted previous tweet parroting the ‘lynching trans’ lie,&#8221; Kirk said in a tweet. &#8220;I hope no one was hurt over a complete fabrication of something I NEVER said but was nevertheless originally spread by a trans activist and liar.&#8221;
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Sacbee reporter has deleted previous tweet parroting the “lynching trans” lie. I hope no one was hurt over a complete fabrication of something I NEVER said but was nevertheless originally spread by a trans activist and liar <a href="https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ErinInTheMorn</a> <a href="https://t.co/NO0icuC2xj">https://t.co/NO0icuC2xj</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1635857072775647233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro At Power Of The People Event

Two Arrested, One Officer Injured As Protesters Damage Property Ahead Of Charlie Kirk Event At California University

 Two Arrested, One Officer Injured As Protesters Damage California University Property Ahead Of Charlie Kirk Event

Antifa

General

Leftists

University of California

Readers of The Daily Wire will be pleased to learn that not every university professor supports suppressing the speech of those who challenge political orthodoxy on campus. A letter from some of our colleagues at Arizona State University, addressed to one of the college deans, has widely circulated internally in recent days, condemning an upcoming campus event on February 8 featuring Dennis Prager with additional remarks from Charlie Kirk. We emphatically disagree with the sentiments contained in that letter.
One of the many things that distinguishes ASU from other top universities is our administration’s embrace of intellectual diversity. ASU President Michael Crow has been especially vocal on this issue, <a href="https://president.asu.edu/statements/statement-from-asu-president-michael-m-crow-on-free-speech-civil-discourse-and-student" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urging</a> that “we can and should learn from perspectives different from our own.” In 2018, under President Crow’s leadership, ASU <a href="https://provost.asu.edu/adoption-chicago-statement-freedom-expression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">formally adopted</a> the Chicago Statement of Freedom of Expression, which states that “it is not the proper role of the University to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.” “[W]ithout a vibrant commitment to free and open inquiry,” the statement concludes, “a university ceases to be a university.”
President Crow’s commitment to intellectual diversity at ASU has been longstanding, including last year’s establishment of the Center for American Institutions, whose mission is fostering and renewing the nation’s political, economic, and social institutions, including religion and the family. Our speaker series in 2023 includes Katie Pavlich, Matt Walsh, Rosalind Ross (writer and director of &#8220;Father Stu&#8221;), Dr. Peter McCullough, Thomas Edsall, and Kimberley Strassel. Last year, we hosted Douglas Murray, James A. Lindsay, and Bret Weinstein.
Moreover, six years ago, President Crow launched the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, which allowed for the appointment of faculty committed to a curriculum focused on the founding principles of American democracy and constitutionalism. He supported also the establishment of the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development, which is hosting the event now in question.
Though some ASU faculty have objected to these programs, students and Arizonans welcome hearing diverse views at a public university supported by their tuition fees and tax dollars. University students should rigorously and openly examine a variety of viewpoints. Yet <a href="https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/partisan-registration-and-contributions-of-faculty-in-flagship-colleges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> after <a href="https://econjwatch.org/File+download/944/LangbertQuainKleinSept2016.pdf?mimetype=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> shows that the political and ideological affiliation of faculty nationwide does not bear even a close resemblance to those of the American public writ large. 
Faculty letters like the one condemning Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk reinforce campus conformity and function as a not-so-subtle way to intimidate and silence would-be dissenters among the faculty and student body. Many choose to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/opinion/campus-speech-cancel-culture.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-censor</a> out of fear of ostracization and even retribution. This is extraordinarily destructive to the free and open exchange of ideas.
The letter wildly describes Prager and Kirk as “two white nationalist provocateurs.” “Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk are purveyors of hate who have publicly attacked women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, as well as the institutions of our democracy, including our public institutions of higher education,” the letter reads. “By platforming and legitimating their extreme anti-intellectual and anti-democratic views, [the college] will not be furthering the cause of democratic exchange at ASU, but undermining it in ways that could further marginalize the most vulnerable members of our community.”
In addition, while the letter states that students should “encounter a broad diversity of voices and viewpoints,” it is clear that among the ideas that are not to be tolerated are many mainline conservative or centrist viewpoints, including opinions supported by a majority of Americans.
The letter implies that any of the following views would render one unfit for speaking at a university:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dissenting from radical gender ideology</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Questioning the official lockdown narrative during COVID</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Questioning the soundness and efficacy of Big Pharma research and shots</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Thinking that a mother and father in the home is ideal for a child</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Encouraging young people to get married and have children</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Objecting to the methods and solutions of the BLM organization</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Questioning the hyper-racialist ideology of “anti-racism”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Questioning the handling of particular elections (unless the wrong candidate wins, then it’s ok)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Objecting to the exploitation and sacralization of January 6</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Challenging the presumption that in order to be happy and successful you MUST go to college</li>
</ul>
Such views, according to the letter, are “bigoted,” “anti-intellectual,” and “extreme.” The irony, of course, is that the most anti-intellectual position one could take is to demand a captive mind and universal conformity to a rigid and suffocating set of dogmatic precepts, and then to throw a fit if someone dare utter a contrary view. One need not agree with all or most of what Prager and Kirk believe in order to defend their opportunity to speak at a public institution and the opportunity of others to hear what they have to say.
“If liberty means anything at all,” said George Orwell, “it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
We are proud to research, teach, and serve at a university that champions free speech and open inquiry on campus, and we encourage ASU faculty of all views to publicly affirm their commitment to these cherished principles.
Lastly, a common strategy of anti-intellectuals is to label their opponents as having a phobia rather than dealing with the truth or falsity of their beliefs. Public debate allows both sides to be exposed to the light of reason. Those who oppose having heterodox speakers at ASU should be willing to defend their position in public debate. Professor <a href="https://search.asu.edu/profile/843137" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Owen Anderson</a>, philosophy, is putting out an open challenge for public debate about the necessity of a variety of viewpoints and values in the university.
Jonathan Barth is an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and Associate Director of the Center for American Institutions. He&#8217;s the author of &#8220;The Currency of Empire: Money and Power in English America in the Seventeenth Century&#8221; (Cornell University Press, 2021). His History of Money lecture series, as well as other educational content, is freely available on <a id="m_6417704316512544768LPNoLPOWALinkPreview" title="https://www.youtube.com/@professorbarth" href="https://www.youtube.com/@professorbarth" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/@professorbarth&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675534614999000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3hn687eVdiR5edP2DQswtE">YouTube</a>.
Donald Critchlow is a Professor of History at Arizona State University and Director of the Center for American Institutions. He&#8217;s the author of twelve books, including &#8220;In Defense of Populism: Protest and American Democracy&#8221; (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020) and &#8220;Republican Character: From Nixon to Reagan&#8221; (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018).
Owen Anderson is a Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. He has published books with Cambridge University Press about natural law, the American Founding, and the First Amendment. His other books include &#8220;The Clarity of God&#8217;s Existence.&#8221; He pastors the Historic Christian Church of Phoenix, a Reformed Church, and maintains an educational <a id="m_6417704316512544768LPNoLPOWALinkPreview_1" title="https://www.youtube.com/@DrOwenAnderson" href="https://www.youtube.com/@DrOwenAnderson" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/@DrOwenAnderson&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675534614999000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1byxiAWZvu5nbGiEtyJK_6">YouTube</a> channel.

Charlie Kirk, Dennis Prager

Professors Stand Up For Free Speech As Liberal Colleagues Seek Boycott Of Dennis Prager And Charlie Kirk

Professors Stand Up For Free Speech As Liberal Colleagues Seek Boycott of Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk

Arizona State University

Cancel Culture

Dennis Prager

Education

Free Speech

What do <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jokes-aside-bill-maher-may-be-the-most-rational-voice-in-american-politics">Bill Maher</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSJP0P9cSMM">Charlie Kirk</a> have in common?
Not much, it’s true. But in one important regard they agree completely. Both Maher and Kirk believe that college is a scam. How many of us can agree? Not many, given the size of academia. But after reading Kirk’s new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/College-Scam-Universities-Bankrupting-Brainwashing/dp/1735503738">The College Scam</a>: How America’s Universities are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America’s Youth, readers will find it hard to disagree.
I opened the book—his ten counts against college—with some trepidation. Not because I thought I would disagree, I don’t, but because I thought I would agree—I was predisposed to agree because of what I have seen and heard. Yet, because I have spent the bulk of my career working in higher education, it is not easy to say that I have been participating in a scam. 
In some ways, anyone who works in academia, despite her own teaching practices, is complicit. Kirk has written a damning book for a college professor to read.
Among Kirk’s ten counts, the most troubling for me are the following: Count 4: “Colleges Do Not Educate Anymore”; Count 5: “College Ruins the Ability to Think and Reason”; and Count 6: “College Indoctrinates Students and Represses Speech”—the heart of his case. 
Of course, running throughout the book is his indictment that college costs too much money for what you don’t get. No one today would argue with those claims. But the others? Colleges teach students to hate; they teach violence. They teach woke ideology. Even those few of us college professors who try every day to fight against these realities must admit, after reading Kirk’s book, that we are fighting a losing battle. What can one or two professors on a campus do to teach students to think, to teach them facts, to lead them to wisdom, to maintain high standards, to allow free speech? How do we hold out against the rest of a faculty who rejects these as the purpose of a college education? Or fight the woke culture on nearly every college and university campus? Every day we hear of yet another tenured professor who could not do it.
Kirk lays out his case chapter by chapter. Does he overstate his case? Let’s look at Counts 4-6 to get an idea of the claims, evidence, and analysis Kirk uses—the standard academic formula. Under Count 4, Kirk cites the shrinking number of days students must attend college for their degree; the lack of challenging courses; and the number of students who “attend” phantom classes and receive phantom grades, as has happened at the academically “elite” universities, such as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (see pages 66-68), among others. He quotes one student as saying, “we just watched videos and documentaries… it wasn’t all that challenging” (71).
Far too many students make no progress in learning after two years; Kirk cites a University of Chicago Study, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” (68) and reinforces it with a 2017 story in The Wall Street Journal that cites similar results. Kirk also cites the views of several CEOs who claim they can no longer find recent graduates to recruit because “they can’t do the job” (67).
Kirk does admit that certain professions, like those in STEM, require a college degree and most likely graduate work. Though, needing higher education can also be true for those in the humanities, which is something Kirk doesn’t consider. I asked a former student who just graduated from Medill School of Journalism if college was worth the cost, and she said “Yes. I wouldn’t have gotten into Medill without my degree.” Another student who graduated with her said, “Yes and no… No, because not enough professors pushed us to think outside” the cultural narratives. And a third said, categorically, “No. It was not worth it.” All are currently working.
Now let’s turn to Count 5, the chapter Kirk entitles “The Lunacy of College.” Do colleges teach students to think and reason? If we believe my students cited above, the answer is no. Most professors today are driven by ideology, not curiosity. Kirk claims that “no idea is too radical, irrational, or downright insane for academia to disseminate” (82). In support, he retells the story of fake, peer-reviewed journal articles that made preposterous arguments—accepted for publication, but utter nonsense. Later in the chapter, he cites an actual peer-reviewed article that argued against American apple pie, in the academic’s view a symbol of racism and oppression.
Kirk talks about biology and science generally trying to deny the difference between men and women and the danger to premed students and future patients this holds. Kirk cites the following medical differences: “in kidney function… in heart attacks… In other words, biological sex is a hugely important factor in knowing what ails patients and how to properly treat them” (87).
Kirk also cites the kinds of classes universities and colleges offer today (and I would add their reading lists, or lack thereof, along with the number of writing assignments). You can find a partial list in the section, “A Lunatic Course Catalog” (94-97). I agree with his list, with one exception—a course from the University of Wisconsin at Madison called “Elvish,” J.R.R. Tolkien’s language. To study Elvish is to study Norse languages, Old English, and how languages function—indeed, challenging. Sometimes it pays to have a graduate degree in Applied Linguistics; Tolkien was a philologist and the best translator still of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56954260-sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight-pearl-and-sir-orfeo?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_23">Gawain and the Green Knight</a>. Students would indeed have to be able to think and reason and write and read in order to succeed in such a course.
Count 6, “How They Try to Shut Us Up,” considers our First Amendment right of free speech. Kirk offers a list of faculty with free speech violations, among other evidence, and, as I have covered this issue elsewhere for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/free-speech-on-college-campuses-may-no-longer-be-free">The Daily Wire</a>, I won’t go into further detail. Of all the counts in Kirk’s book, this subject has received some of the most media coverage. (Witness Newt Gingrich’s recent podcast, “Newt’s World,” on the free speech problems confronting legal scholar and Penn professor, Amy Wax.) Hardly a week goes by without yet another tenured, popular, and accomplished professor being hounded by students and administration for some alleged free speech infraction.
Once Kirk concludes his first ten chapters, he then turns to the practical: what to do if a student decides against college—from “build your skills,” which involves taking classes from a variety of venues, to “find a mentor” and “volunteer” or “get on a payroll.” He also provides numerous famous examples of those who succeeded without a college degree; he himself is an example. And he values what he calls “the muscular class.”
Lest anyone misunderstand, Charlie Kirk is not against education. He’s against the traditional way of getting one for many people. For instance, Kirk has enrolled in almost all of Hillsdale College’s online courses &#8211; a college he recommends without reservation. As I’ve written elsewhere, you do not need to go to college to become educated; you just need to become a reader. Kirk investigates; he reads. Make curiosity your middle name, as it is his. Kirk also claims that the greatest skill anyone can learn is how to write. Kirk believes that if you know how to write you can always get a job. As a writing teacher, I agree.
Kirk’s advice is not for everyone, and, to be selfish, if fewer and fewer students refuse to attend college, I’d be out of the job I love. But as I’ve written, many college students would have been better off following Kirk. Is College a scam? Not always. But often? Yes, which makes Charlie Kirk’s book a welcome antidote.
Cheryl Forbes is Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. She is the author of eight books on theology, philosophy, science, and  memoir.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

v2 Forbes – Book Review – The College Scam

Charlie Kirk: You Don’t Need College To Become Educated

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In a marriage of one of the nation&#8217;s oldest conservative publications to one of its newest, the venerable <a href="https://humanevents.com">Human Events</a> has snapped up <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com">The Post Millennial</a>.
The Washington, D.C.-based Human Events, which was established in 1944 and which President Ronald Reagan often cited as his favorite magazine, bought the upstart Post Millennial in a bid to &#8220;disrupt the political media landscape,&#8221; the companies said in a joint news release.
“I am thrilled with the incredibly deep and diverse platform this combination creates,” said Human Events Publisher Jeff Webb. “Our talent lineup is second to none. This is a new media powerhouse that will constructively influence the political dialogue in this country while simultaneously challenging some of the largest, most-established publications. We are positioned to grow, and to grow fast.”
The merger will put a powerful lineup of journalists and commentators under one banner, including Jack Posobiec, Charlie Kirk, Andy Ngo, Katie Daviscourt, Ari Hoffman, Brent Hamachek, and Chris Barron.
“We are building a media enterprise that reaches the entire spectrum of the conservative world, in all demographics, and across all platforms,” Webb said. “The Post Millennial is a critical part of this effort because it reaches an important younger demographic and can break stories faster than any newsroom I’ve come across.”
The Post Millennial Editor-in-Chief Libby Emmons said her Montreal-based site, which was founded in 2017, has been a leader in calling out woke social trends, and will continue to do so with the added muscle of the Human Events resources.

Media merger: Human Events and The Post Millennial

Human Events, The Post Millennial Join Forces In Conservative Media Merger

Andy Ngo

Conservative Media

Twitter has suspended TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk for stating that a biological man who identifies as a transgender woman was a man.
&#8220;Truth is banned from Twitter,&#8221; Kirk told The Daily Wire on Tuesday afternoon. &#8220;They believe they are the arbiters of truth regarding society’s most controversial topics.&#8221;
&#8220;Rather than allowing Americans to have these debates, they punish defiance, demand that you delete the tweet, and if you do, they get to say, &#8216;see, we are nice, reasonable tyrants,'&#8221; he added. &#8220;They want submission. We must not give them what they want.&#8221;
Kirk had tweeted about Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine.
&#8220;Rachel Levine spent 54 years of his life as a man,&#8221; tweeted Kirk on March 15. &#8220;He had a wife and a family. He &#8216;transitioned&#8217; to being a woman in 2011. Joe Biden appointed Levine to be a 4-Star Admiral and now USA Today has named &#8216;Rachel&#8217; Levine as a &#8216;Woman of the Year.'&#8221;
&#8220;Where are the feminists,&#8221; queried Kirk.
<div id="attachment_358457" style="width: 574px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-358457" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-358457 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMAGE-2022-03-22-085624-564x576.jpeg" alt="" width="564" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/03/IMAGE-2022-03-22-085624-564x576.jpeg 564w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/03/IMAGE-2022-03-22-085624-294x300.jpeg 294w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/03/IMAGE-2022-03-22-085624-768x784.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/03/IMAGE-2022-03-22-085624.jpeg 1254w" sizes="(max-width: 564px) 100vw, 564px" />Screenshot courtesy of Charlie Kirk.</div>
A Twitter spokesman told The Daily Wire that Kirk&#8217;s tweet violated its rules against &#8220;hateful conduct.&#8221;
&#8220;The account owner will be required to delete the violative Tweet and spend 12 hours in read-only mode before regaining full access to their account,&#8221; the Twitter spokesman said.
The spokesman pointed The Daily Wire to the company&#8217;s &#8220;hateful conduct&#8221; policy, which states that Twitter prohibits &#8220;targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category.&#8221;
&#8220;This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,&#8221; the statement said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
But wait. Both these tweets are true. <a href="https://t.co/5ollFRUUJO">pic.twitter.com/5ollFRUUJO</a>
&mdash; Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href="https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1506300057745862665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Twitter&#8217;s message to Kirk encourages the prominent conservative commentator to delete his tweet in order to be allowed back on Twitter. By deleting the tweet, Kirk acknowledges that his tweet violates Twitter&#8217;s rules.
Twitter has repeatedly been censoring users that commented mockingly on USA Today&#8217;s declaration of Levine as &#8220;Woman of the Year.&#8221;
The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-locks-out-babylon-bee-over-rachel-levine-tweet-the-bee-responds-truth-is-not-hate-speech">announced</a> Saturday that Twitter had censored The Babylon Bee for “hateful conduct.” The account was locked over a Babylon Bee <a href="https://babylonbee.com/news/the-babylon-bees-man-of-the-year-is-rachel-levine">piece</a> jokingly naming Levine as “Man of the Year.”
Twitter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-ag-flagged-on-twitter-for-hateful-conduct-after-calling-biologically-male-rachel-levine-a-man">also took action</a> against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who also referred to Levine as a man. Though Twitter flagged the tweet as  hateful, the platform allowed Paxton&#8217;s tweet to remain, stating, “This tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the tweet to remain accessible.”
In a statement, Paxton deeply criticized Twitter for censoring accounts for stating &#8220;an irrefutable scientific fact:&#8221;
<blockquote>Yesterday I stated an irrefutable scientific fact: Rachel Levine is a man. I pointed this out after USA Today named him a “Woman” of the Year. But Levine is not a woman. He has one X and one Y chromosome and other male-sex characteristics. I just follow the science.
For simply saying this matter-of-factly, Twitter blocked it as “hateful.” Users can now only access my statement through a trigger-warning filter. And even then, users can neither like it nor comment on it. At the same time, hundreds of other verified accounts saying the exact same thing remain untouched and unfiltered.
This whole insane episode represents a two-pronged attack from the left — both of which I’m vigorously fighting against. First is the left’s war against human biology, and especially against women. Second is their weaponization of Big Tech against conservative voices.
But Big Tech is not only anti-conservative and anti-Republican. It is now apparently anti-truth and anti-science. I will continue to use all my power to hold them accountable. Even now, I’m exploring legal options to stop their one-sided censorship.</blockquote>

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Twitter Suspends Charlie Kirk For Saying A Biological Man Is A Man

Rachel Levine

Transgender

Twitter

Speaking to conservative podcast host Charlie Kirk, Kyle Rittenhouse this week revealed what was on his mind during the trial as he sat expressionless like a “potted plant.”
“Believe it or not, I’m freaking out behind the scenes, because you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” the teenager <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-charlie-kirk-show/the-rittenhouse-interview-a-charlie-kirk-show-excl">told</a> Kirk, describing how he dealt with the trial and public spectacle.
Rittenhouse credited his support group, including his three attorneys, for helping him “stay calm.”
“What I’m thinking when I’m just the blank-faced, potted plant in court, I’m just saying in my head, ‘Is this guy serious?,’ referring to ‘Lunchbox’ and Binger, also known as ‘Little Finger,’” said Rittenhouse.
The name “Lunchbox” is a reference to Assistant District Attorney James Kraus, who was dubbed the nickname by some online commentators, perhaps due to his weight. “Little Finger” and “Little Binger” were common nicknames for Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger.
Kraus and Binger led the prosecution against Rittenhouse, who was facing life in prison without the chance of parole. Last month, the teen was found not guilty by a jury on all counts.
Appearing in a teaser clip for a documentary from Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Rittenhouse said after the acquittal that the jury “reached the right verdict.”
“Self-defense is not illegal, and I believe they came to the correct verdict, and I’m glad that everything went well.”
“It’s been a rough journey, but we made it through it,” the 18-year-old said. “We made it through the hard part.”
The special follows the teenager through the last year after he fatally shot two men and injured a third while defending himself against attackers during a Black Lives Matter protest that devolved into a riot.
“It’s the stuff that keeps you up at night, like once you do get to sleep, your dreams are about what happened and you’re waking up in a dark cold sweat,” the teenager revealed to Carlson’s crew.
Rittenhouse revealed that he has dreams about the deadly night “every single day.”
“It’s quite scary actually, because the dreams feel so real. And they’re not the same at all, they’re all different. They’re the different scenarios that run through your head during the day, like, what could have happened,” he detailed.
“I’m alive, but what could have happened, like what if I wasn’t alive, or what if I did let Mr. Rosenbaum steal my gun? It’s those types of dreams … almost every outcome is me getting seriously injured or hurt or dead. Those are the dreams I have on a daily basis.”
It was revealed during the trial by Rittenhouse’s defense attorney Mark Richards that the teenager is in therapy for the PTSD he suffers from, stemming from the night of August 25, 2020.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/prosecutors-laptop-had-video-compression-software-handbrake-rittenhouse-links-to-withheld-evidence">Prosecutor’s Laptop Had Video Compression Software Handbrake, Rittenhouse Links To Withheld Evidence</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kyle-rittenhouse-demonized-by-press-worked-as-janitor-fry-cook-to-help-support-mom-sisters">Kyle Rittenhouse, Demonized By Press, Worked As Janitor, Fry Cook To Help Support Mom, Sisters</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kyle-rittenhouse-describes-his-time-in-jail-a-month-longer-i-probably-would-have-been-in-a-hospital">Kyle Rittenhouse Describes His Time In Jail: ‘A Month Longer I Probably Would’ve Been In A Hospital’</a>

Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Continues In Kenosha, WI

Rittenhouse Reveals What Was On His Mind As Prosecutors ‘Lunchbox’ And ‘Little Finger’ Made Outrageous Claims

Kenosha

Kyle Rittenhouse

Tucker Carlson

On Thursday’s episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro joined the host to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-shapiro-unfiltered/id1460600818?i=1000464782339">provide</a> the audience an “unfiltered take on the state of the alt-right, common good conservatives, and the troubling ascension of big government on the left&#8230;and the right.”
Kirk kicks off the conversation by describing Shapiro and himself as “Public Enemy #1 and #2 of the Alt-Right,” to which Shapiro jokes, “Welcome to the party, pal.”
Asked by Kirk about his response to the Alt-Right’s targeting of conservatives, Shapiro notes that, for him, it’s been going on for a long time. “They’ve been targeting me since 2015, 2016,” says Shapiro, who was the biggest target of the movement in 2016. What has been somewhat “surprising,” says Shapiro, is the movement’s resurgence in recent months.
“What it demonstrates are a couple of things,” Shapiro suggests. “One, there are a group of people who feel as though their questions are not being answered in mainstream fashion. And I think that because those questions are not being answered in mainstream fashion, they are looking for people to answer them in the worst possible ways.”
“That’s a point [prominent psychologist] Steven Pinker has made before,” Shapiro notes. “I think it’s exactly right. I think that it’s incumbent on people in politics to give answers to questions, even if the questions happen to be based on bad ideas.”
What’s most concerning, says Shapiro, is that some “pretend that opposition to the Alt-Right is somehow opposition to restrictions on immigration, or that opposition to the Alt-Right is somehow based on opposition to social conservatism.”
“That’s a lie,” Shapiro underscores. “These are very, very distinct causes and very distinct philosophies and ideologies. And the fact that the Alt-Right is masquerading as sort of a mainstream/Paleocon movement, as opposed to what they are – which is pretty overtly a white separatist, white majoritarian movement – the fact that people are willing to buy that is foolishness, obviously.”
Discussing the coordinated efforts by Alt-Righters to disrupt conservative events, including both Kirk’s and Shapiro’s past events, Shapiro says the disruption campaign “collapsed when it saw the light of day,” as evidenced at his speech at Stanford in November.
As The Daily Wire reported, Shapiro tackled the movement head on in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-shapiro-dismantles-the-alt-right-and-radical-lefts-dangerous-game">speech at Stanford</a> that followed a series of coordinated disruption attempts by the Alt-Right. In the speech, Shapiro addressed the “dangerous game” being played by both the Alt-Right and radical Left, arguing that both groups are actually “feed[ing] off one another.”
“The radical Left and the Alt-Right need each other,” said Shapiro. “And they’re playing a game, in which the radical Left seeks to delegitimize anyone who isn’t radically Left by lumping them in with the despicable Alt-Right — and in which the Alt-Right seeks to make common cause with anyone ‘cancelled’ by the radical Left, specifically with the supporters of President Trump who have been maligned falsely as evil by the radical Left, in order to artificially boost their numbers. These two goals are mutually reinforcing.”
Shapiro and Kirk go on to discuss the differences between “common good” conservatives vs. natural rights and limited government conservatives, as well as &#8220;the fate of neoliberalism.&#8221; <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-shapiro-unfiltered/id1460600818?i=1000464782339">Listen to the full episode here</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-ben-shapiro-protesters-at-stanford-asked-why-exactly-theyre-protesting-him">WATCH: Ben Shapiro Protesters At Stanford Asked Why Exactly They’re Protesting Him</a>
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LISTEN: Shapiro, Kirk Discuss The Alt-Right, ‘Common Good’ Conservatives, And The Fate Of Neoliberalism

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