The Coalition must follow Trump’s lead

Wokeism is collapsing. The most putrid ideology to ever inflict liberal democracies is finally crashing. The perpetrators, those silvertails who ponce about with their virtues offered to all and sundry as leading lights, have been exposed as the frauds they always were.

This includes the Teals, the Greens, the communist left of the Labor Party, and the most sickening of all, the left of the Liberal Party who are effectively traitors to Menzies’ forgotten people.

In America, Trump and Vance are emerging as Menzian in their outlook. What I mean by this is they are offering a more pragmatic policy platform that is not driven purely by ideology. The Coalition must follow Trump’s lead as it is only a matter of time before the reversal of the Woke trends in America hits our shores.

The rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia have upset the globalisation apple cart. While global free trade promised to end wars and global poverty, the return to nationalism is a reaction to those who hate the very idea of freedom. But freedom is something that must be learnt through the patient study of philosophy and the great books or what the late Harold Bloom referred to as the Western Canon.

Bloom was no leftie and he referred to those on the left who insist on hating all that is good about Western thought and the liberal tradition as the School of Resentment. Synonymous with this school are the Wokerati.

Freedom, or more appropriately, liberty, is a concept that relies on an educated populace. The Wokerati have been hell-bent on destroying education to become not a system for critical thinking and debate, but an orthodoxy of Wokeness. In the words of Milton in his Areopagitica:

Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.

The Wokerati have used our education system to stifle debate, silence critics, cancel writers they don’t like, and package their opinions as facts. This is exactly what dictators, who are antithetical to liberty, attempt to do. It may well explain why global free trade was unable to achieve the universal benefits it promised. Which brings me back to pragmatism.

Trump and Vance have captured the nationalist spirit and with it, America’s forgotten people. These are the people JD Vance speaks of in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. The similarities between Vance’s people and my own are remarkable. You may have to leave the big cities to find them, but they are the salt of the earth and the heart and soul of Australia.

Unlike big-city Millennials, the forgotten people would defend Australia with their last breath. The 98-year-old American second world war veteran who said that with Trump as commander in chief, he would ‘re-enlist and storm any beach America needs me to’ represents that spirit.

Trump is often referred to as a ‘populist’. This is not an endearing term but one that the Wokerati use to refer to ‘far right’ politicians (read: everyone right of socialism). Populism refers to a leader who represents the ‘forgotten people’ against the elites who are taking the piss out of the common people. The Wokerati in the US and Australia are these elites. Trump and Vance are taking up the challenge, and it is time the Coalition did, too.

While Australia and America are different political beasts, our politics are necessarily intertwined. Trump is already talking about 10 per cent tariffs on all imported goods and making America’s allies share the burden of the cost of defence. Trump is an expert negotiator so this might just be the starting point, but it does signal what will probably be in store for Australia after November.

The Albanese government has been all over the place and the hits just keep on coming. Albo has been weak on defence and weak in his support of the alliance with America. He has made Australia a leaner not a lifter in the security partnership with our most important ally.

The Coalition need to engage with the Trump-Vance team now. Pragmatism must be the aim and not ideology. I have argued elsewhere that Dutton’s nuclear policy will require a big government approach. Rather than seeing this as ‘unnatural’ for the Liberals, they have to go back to their Menzian roots and reinvent Menzies’ approach to the post-globalisation world we now live in.

This means capturing the hearts and minds of Australia’s forgotten people once more. Who would have thought two years ago that the Teals would prove such a failure, that the Albanese government would likely become a one-term government, or that Trump would be looking at becoming America’s 47th President?

The Wokerati are on the ropes, and Australians are fed up with our self-inflicted cost of living crisis and an education system producing uncritical, Woke automatons.

To win, the Coalition needs to develop a credible defence policy as a bargaining chip for Trump. We need this too, so it is no skin off our nose. But the Coalition also needs to develop a trade policy that will work with an isolationist America, as an insider rather than an outsider. This will be essential to our survival in the decades to come.

Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his running mate, as opposed to Trump’s security detail, is no diversity pick. Trump is not chasing Teals but America’s working class (read: the forgotten people).

The Teamster’s leader speaking at the Republican National Convention suggests there is tension in the labour ranks. Australia’s labour movement is in a similar position and these voters are screaming for political representation.

But most importantly, the Coalition needs to excise the Wokerati from their ranks. Chasing Teals is a waste of time. Winning the hearts and minds of the contemporary forgotten people, in Australia as in America, is the way to victory and an end to Woke nonsense.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/07/the-coalition-must-follow-trumps-lead/

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Reforms failed on maths teaching, says new report

Students’ falling maths scores can be stemmed and reversed by focusing on teacher effectiveness instead of dedicating resources to measures such as increasing teacher-to-student ratios or lifting funding for disadvantaged groups, a new report claims.

“There has been limited interaction with the science of learning with key domains, particularly mathematics and mathematical cognition and learning,” according to the report from the Centre for Independent Studies.

Siobhan Merlo, author of The Science of Maths and how to Apply it, said she hoped the report “gives teachers the tools that they need to understand how learning works and what the implications are for the way they teach”.

She contrasted Australia’s faltering performance in international scores compared to peer countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.

“I feel like in Australia … we have instructional casualties,” she said, adding the reasons were “multifaceted” including the country was not producing enough maths teachers.

“Teachers generally don’t go into maths teaching as much as they go into other subjects, so we definitely don’t have enough maths teachers. We have a lot of out-of-subject teachers teaching maths in Australia.”

She said focusing on measures such as teacher-to-student ratios and directing funding to disadvantaged students – measures of the kind that had been proposed in the Gonski review – had not worked.

“If these things they did target had worked, we wouldn’t see the results we’ve got now,” she said. “Despite this funding and despite these best efforts, we’re seeing that decline or stagnation. Teacher effectiveness has not been properly addressed in the Gonski review.”

On the topic of teaching effectiveness, Dr Merlo’s report advocates for thinking about it in a “measurable-effectiveness focused” way.

This school of thought focuses on “explicit instruction and developing mathematical competency”, the report states.

“Engagement happens via building competency and setting students up for success, not via relaxing requirements on correctness of answers or refraining from using timed tests.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/education/gonski-failed-on-maths-teaching-saysnew-report/news-story/d23a4a987ec3bec11522fd5ccc1226df

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Jacinta Nampijinpa Price lists the benefits of colonisation - as she warns Indigenous prosperity is being held back by victimhood culture

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has sensationally claimed that 'no one is disadvantaged because they are Indigenous' - as she lists how Australia has benefited from colonisation.

Sharing her views in an opinion piece for The Australian, the controversial Liberal Senator argued it was inevitable that the country would be colonised and it was only a question of 'by whom and when'.

The Opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman said British settlement afforded Australia a common law legal system, democracy, freedom and prosperity - things that were not previously known to Indigenous people.

Ms Price admitted Australian history is 'not perfect' and there are 'shameful chapters' but claimed the country is now a 'modern success story'.

'Crimes were committed, violence and injustice perpetrated by bad actors, but I don't think it should be controversial to say that both black and white Australia were making the best of things by the standards of the times,' she wrote.

'This is demonstrated by the fact that, out of these decades of disruption, something resembling a nation emerged.

'So much so that when duty called our first Anzacs to serve in the Great War, more than a thousand Indigenous Australians signed up to fight. Many of these heroes went above and beyond.'

Ms Price also claimed Indigenous prosperity was being held back by a victimhood culture - which she argued was creating division.

She said Indigenous culture prior to British settlement was marked by violent conflicts and if we continue along a 'separatist road' negative parts of Indigenous culture will be left alone to 'grow and fester' - such as arranged marriage, violent cultural payback and attributing tragedies to 'sorcery'.

She said the 'progressive left' put too much focus on the 'less than savoury' aspects of Indigenous history, rather than celebrating the events that led to the nation's 'great prosperity, security and success'.

She said it is not commonly acknowledged that British rulers ordered settlers to maintain friendly relations with the native people - although the instructions were often ignored.

She also noted that Europeans and Aboriginals were viewed equally before the law, and settlers who killed Indigenous people were sentenced to death - citing the Myall Creek massacre, where seven white men were found guilty and hanged.

She also claimed that many descendants of the Stolen Generations' now enjoy greater prosperity and success than those generations who were simply neglected and left to live in poverty and squalor' and argued the best way forward for the nation was for everyone to view themselves as modern Australians.

'The simple fact is that no one is disadvantaged just because they are Indigenous. But those who are disadvantaged will remain so if we don't learn the lessons of our past and move forward together,' she wrote.

'Last year, in my address to the National Press Club – at the height of the voice referendum debate – I made more than a few headlines when I highlighted positive impacts of colonisation on Indigenous Australians, instead of merely regurgitating the standard deficit narrative peddled by those seeking to maintain the victim mentality.

'I stand by that view, because when you take an honest, even-handed position on our nation’s history, it’s obviously true.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13649279/Jacinta-Nampijinpa-Price-lists-benefits-colonisation-warns-Indigenous-prosperity-held-victimhood-culture.html

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Stakeholders Disconnected from Corporate ESG Efforts: Research

‘While corporate activism may appeal to a small, vocal minority, it risks alienating a broader base of stakeholders, including consumers,’ said Emilie Dye.

In light of corporations increasingly engaging in social activism, new research has found that many shareholders, employees, and customers disagree with their companies’ social and political activities.

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) has released a report (pdf) shedding light on stakeholders opinions on corporate advocacy and activism.

The study, which surveyed 2,500 Australians (1,000 consumers, 1,000 employees, and 500 shareholders), found that most stakeholders were unaware of their companies’ social and political activities.

Specifically, 58 percent of the employees, 66 percent of the shareholders, and 44 percent of consumers did not follow their companies’ advocacy for social causes.

The figures were even higher for political causes, with 83 percent, 74 percent, and 65 percent reporting a lack of engagement.

Corporate Social Activism Misaligns With Stakeholders
According to the report’s co-author Emilie Dye, over 60 percent of employees and 41 percent of shareholders felt that corporate support for political causes did not align with their personal convictions.

“Among consumers, 60 percent say the corporate political advocacy rarely or never aligns with their views,” she added.

“In fact, 6 percent of employees say they have left a job because of their employer’s activism.

“The results suggested that far from being a mass movement, driven from the ground up, these activism initiatives are considered peripheral—if not largely ignored—by most shareholders and employees.”

While younger generations increasingly wanted businesses to intervene in contentious public debates, Ms. Dye said two-thirds of Gen Z respondents (born between 1997 and 2012) preferred companies to focus on providing good service and high returns, and stay out of public debates.

The report also found that consumers were twice as likely to avoid purchasing from a company they disagreed with, compared to those who would choose a company they agreed with.

When asked why companies engaged in social activism, 24 percent of respondents believed it was to increase profits, followed by fear of public backlash (22 percent) and gaining favour with the public and politicians (20 percent).

“The data suggest that while corporate activism may appeal to a small, vocal minority, it risks alienating a broader base of stakeholders, including consumers,” Ms. Dye said.

Echoing the sentiment, Simon Cowan, another co-author, said there was a “critical misalignment” between corporate activism and stakeholder values.

“This report should give strength to managers who feel bullied into taking a public position on contentious social issues, and make those who have been convinced to do so take pause,” he said.

The CIS report comes as companies in Australia and around the globe are increasingly engaging in political, environmental, and social issues.

During The Voice movement, an initiative by the Labor government to embed an Indigenous advisory body into the Australian Constitution, it was reported that 14 of the 20 top ASX companies supported the Yes campaign.
Despite the top companies donating millions of dollars to support the movement, it was overwhelmingly voted down by Australian voters.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/corporate-activism-risks-alienating-stakeholders-research-5688909

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All my main blogs below:

http://jonjayray.com/covidwatch.html (COVID WATCH)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

http://jonjayray.com/short/short.html (Subject index to my blog posts)

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