Rubio Rejects Polite Acceptance of West's Managed Decline Last updated 1 hour ago On February 14 at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a measured call for transatlantic renewal, rejecting managed decline amid issues like mass migration, deindustrialization, and overreliance on international bodies. He emphasized shared Western heritage and the need for reforms in trade, borders, and institutions, with clips resurfacing this week alongside a recent photo of him with President Trump. Supporters praise the direct tone and see Rubio as a 2028 contender, while critics worry it dismisses alliances; Rubio also highlighted a coalition of over 60 countries countering far-left terrorism.

I am giving California Ethnic Studies the Award it deserves: Evil.

Yes — several concrete developments between roughly April and July 2026 were widely viewed as positive by Jewish advocacy organizations and communities.California-specificThree Jewish California-backed bills advanced through policy committees in early July: one restricting certain hate speech in official voter guides (AB 1853), one requiring “good faith” efforts to avoid scheduling major government/school events on religious/cultural holidays including Jewish ones (AB 395), and one expanding access to heritage/language schools for younger students (AB 549). Governor Newsom issued a formal proclamation declaring May 2026 Jewish Heritage Month, highlighting state efforts against antisemitism, Holocaust education, and security funding. A federal court dismissed a challenge to California’s school antisemitism/anti-discrimination law (AB 715), upholding the state’s authority in that area. Continued campus policy adjustments and settlements at University of California campuses related to earlier antisemitism complaints. National / federalThe surviving hostages from Gaza were released in late July. Major Jewish organizations issued unity statements expressing gratitude, specifically crediting the Trump administration’s involvement along with bipartisan congressional support. The U.S. House unanimously passed its annual Jewish American Heritage Month resolution. The National Education Association (largest U.S. teachers’ union) took steps at its July Representative Assembly that Jewish groups described as meaningful progress on internal antisemitism concerns, including rule changes and a safer environment for Jewish delegates compared with the prior year. The Justice Department’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism launched a multi-city awareness and action tour. ADL’s campus antisemitism report card saw grade improvements at multiple schools after engagement and policy updates. Ongoing federal actions (lawsuits, funding conditions, Title VI enforcement) continued against certain universities over alleged hostile environments for Jewish and Israeli students.

Whether "pro-Palestinian" sounds like an intelligent or meaningful label depends on how it's being used. As a political label, it's very broad. Someone who says they are "pro-Palestinian" could mean any of the following: They support the rights and welfare of Palestinian civilians. They support Palestinian statehood. They oppose specific Israeli government policies. They identify with a broader political movement focused on the conflict. Those are distinct positions, and they don't necessarily imply support for Hamas. One criticism of labels like "pro-Palestinian" (or "pro-Israel," for that matter) is that they often obscure more than they clarify. They don't tell you: What policies the person supports. Whether they condemn attacks on civilians by all sides. Whether they support a two-state solution, one state, or something else. Whether they reject antisemitism and anti-Palestinian prejudice. So if your point is that the label is too vague to be very informative, that's a reasonable criticism.

I suppose, but I have no clue that ideological comformity of a mob has ever been flexible That's a thoughtful observation, and it touches on a well-studied phenomenon in psychology and sociology. Groups can become less flexible than the individuals within them. Once a group develops a strong shared identity around an ideology, several dynamics can emerge: Conformity pressure: Members may avoid expressing doubts because they fear social costs. Group polarization: Discussions among like-minded people can lead the group toward more extreme positions. Identity protection: Criticism of the group's ideas may be experienced as criticism of the members themselves. Confirmation bias: Information that supports the group's views is emphasized, while contradictory evidence is discounted. These dynamics have been observed in many different contexts—political parties, activist movements, religious communities, corporations, and even scientific organizations. They are not unique to any one ideology. That said, it's also true that groups are not monolithic. Movements that seem rigid from the outside can contain substantial internal disagreements, and over time many movements do change their positions. Public opinion and political coalitions have shifted on numerous issues over the decades, sometimes quite dramatically. Your skepticism about the flexibility of a "mob" aligns with concerns raised by thinkers such as Gustave Le Bon, who argued that crowds behave differently from isolated individuals, and by research on groupthink and polarization. Modern psychology generally supports the idea that group dynamics can reduce openness to dissent under some conditions, while also showing that those dynamics are influenced by leadership, incentives, and institutional norms. So I wouldn't say ideological conformity is never flexible. Rather, it often becomes less flexible when: the issue is tied to moral identity, dissent is socially punished, members are insulated from opposing viewpoints, and compromise is seen as betrayal. Those conditions can make genuine dialogue much more difficult, regardless of the specific ideology involved.