A Forum for Vigorous Debate, Cornerstone of Democracy

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A FORUM FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND VIGOROUS DEBATE, CORNERSTONES OF DEMOCRACY
[For the journal--guidelines, focus, etc.--go to www.theamericandissident.org. If you have questions, please contact me at todslone@hotmail.com. Comments are NOT moderated (i.e., CENSORED)!]
Encouraged censorship and self-censorship seem to have become popular in America today. Those who censor others, not just self, tend to favor the term "moderate," as opposed to "censor" and "moderation" to "censorship." But that doesn't change what they do. They still act as Little Caesars or Big Brother protectors of the thin-skinned. Democracy, however, demands a tough populace, not so easily offended. On this blog, and to buck the trend of censorship, banning, and ostracizing, comments are NEVER "moderated." Rarely (almost NEVER) do the targets of these blog entries respond in an effort to defend themselves with cogent counter-argumentation. This blog is testimony to how little academics, poets, critics, newspaper editors, cartoonists, political hacks, cultural council apparatchiks, librarians et al appreciate VIGOROUS DEBATE, cornerstone of democracy. Clearly, far too many of them could likely prosper just fine in places like communist China and Cuba or Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Russia, not to mention Sweden, England, and Austria.
ISSUE #45 PUBLISHED MAY 2023. NOW SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR ISSUE #46.

More P. Maudit cartoons (and essays) at Global Free Press: http://www.globalfreepress.org

Sunday, December 10, 2023

Poets & Writers

 

The following counter-editorial was written in 2020.  

I, Poet Apostate

A Critique of a Sad, Highly Predictable Editorial

In lockstep is the evident modus operandi of Poets & Writers magazine.  If in lockstep, you might get published/promoted/publicized in that periodical.  Out of lockstep, like me, and you will likely be blacklisted by it.  As an obvious arm of the academic/literary establishment, Poets & Writers encourages groupthink, certainly not individualthink!  

Poets & Writers Stands in Solidarity With the Black Community," the editorial in question, is an unoriginal echo of those afflicted with white-guilt and successfully indoctrinated in the black good/white bad narrative.  Was George Floyd really a heroic figure, who had cleaned up his criminal past to lead an honorable present?  For a factual analysis regarding the BLM martyr meme, examine www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/06/candace-owens-video-i-do-not-support-george-floyd-frontpagemagcom/.  

Elliot Figman, Executive Director, and Amy Berkower, President of the Board of Directors, both white, wrote the vapid, virtue-signaling editorial.  Regarding the title of the editorial, did they discuss whether or not to use “take a knee” instead of “stand in”?  Clearly, they and their magazine serve one purpose:  the monetization—cooptation and castration—of poetry and writing.  In essence, they and their magazine serve as an ideologically-driven Pravda for the poetry and writing industry.  They are not courageous individuals; they are cowardly conformists.  Is that what poets and writers should be today?  Apparently so.  Poets and writers must think CAREER, not bold TRUTH-TELLING—the two can never go together.  To do that, they must conform to the reigning ideology in much the same way that poet Gorky, who praised the gulags, had done in the former Soviet Union.  

In their editorial, the authors, unoriginally, call for “an end to systemic racism.”  But is there really “systemic racism” in America today, or is that simply a mindless talking point of the indoctrinated?  Has not Affirmative Action accorded blacks privilege over whites?  Why is the accusation of “systemic racism” rarely, if ever at all, supported with factual evidence and statistics?  Are inconvenient facts and statistics now simply (simple-mindedly) dismissed as right-wing, Nazi, racist, white nationalist talking points?  ALL the evidence should be examined, not just evidence that supports the narrative!  “The Truth about Interracial Violent Crime” and "The Truth About Police Violence and Race" present some rather inconvenient (i.e., against the narrative) statistics.  

“These killings come during a pandemic that disproportionately afflicts communities of color,” state the authors.  Again, no statistics needed when in lockstep with the narrative.  The authors do not even address precisely how the virus is somehow in cahoots with “systemic racism.”  Are black rioters and looters not social distancing, while somehow white rioters and looters are?  Many possible reasons likely exist if indeed blacks are afflicted more than whites.  Proclaiming “systemic racism” does not explain everything, and yet for those making the proclamation somehow it does, especially in the Age of Ideology, which has evidently replaced the Age of Reason.  

“That members of these same communities [i.e., POC communities] are disproportionately risking their lives as essential workers only adds to the outrage,” argue the authors again without an iota of statistical support to back the assertion!  Perhaps we have now also entered the Age of Groupthink Writing.  “At Poets & Writers, we are reflecting on how to respond to these injustices. This begins with the acknowledgement that, although we have a diverse staff, most of our leaders and Board members are white,” state the authors.  But why should the right skin color be more important  than courageous truth telling, black or white-skinned?  Rare truth-tellers, black or white-skinned, who question and challenge those of the in-lockstep herd, are far more interested in speaking the “rude truth” than holding on to their writing careers.  “I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions,” declared Ralph Waldo Emerson.  “Every decent and well-spoken individual affects and sways me more than is right. I ought to go upright and vital, and speak the rude truth in all ways.”  Well, clearly Poets & Writers is one of those “dead institutions” and definitely “capitulates to badges and names”!  

“Our silence [regarding alleged racism] has compromised our mission,” state the authors.  “We serve writers because they help us understand ourselves and our times, deepen our capacity for empathy, and imagine a better future.”  And yet the writers they tend to publish serve them and their writing industry.  “A better future”?  A future of what?  More groupthink?  More groupchant?  More in lockstep?  More white-shaming and more black victimization?  Sounds like a nightmare!  

“To accomplish our mission, we must heighten our understanding of the unique struggles that Black writers face in the publishing industry and literary world due to racism and implicit bias,” argue the authors.  And yet always there are black-skinned writers featured in Poets & Writers magazine.  Never are there counter-narrative rude truth-telling writers!  How does that constitute “unique struggles” by black writers “in the publishing industry and literary world”?  America has had black poet laureates, black prize-winning writers, and black university writing professor racists.  Cite laureates Rita Dove, Maya Angelou, Robert Hayden, Joy Harjo, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Derek Walcott, etc.   But then there’s the confession: “most of our leaders and Board members are white.”

So, why then haven’t the two white authors, Figman and Berkower, volunteered to step down, so that two black-skinned people, competent or incompetent (“What difference does it make?”), can take their places?  Money!  

“Poets & Writers is committed to becoming an anti-racist organization that models the principles of equity and inclusion,” contend the two authors.  Sadly, equity in today’s PC-Orwellian world means inequity, while inclusion means exclusion.  Certainly, I have been excluded from commenting by the P&W equity and inclusion censors!  Ah, but I am white, therefore insignificant in the new age of skin-color is more important than anything else.  Nevertheless, I, poet apostate, dare choose TRUTH over career, TRUTH over skin-color predilection, and TRUTH over publication in Poets & Writers magazine.  Now, would the latter publish this counter op-ed as an opportunity for debate?  Will it even respond to it?  The likelihood of that is close to nil… and that in a nutshell is the crux of the P&W problem, not a paucity of correct skin color on its Board of Directors…

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From: George Slone

Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2020 7:09 PM

To: elliot@pw.org <elliot@pw.org>; aberkower@writershouse.com <aberkower@writershouse.com>

Cc: editor@pw.org <editor@pw.org>

Subject: Your astonishing editorial

 

To Executive Director Elliot Figman and President of the Board of Directors Amy Berkower, as well as Editor in Chief Kevin Larimer, Senior Editor Melissa Faliveno, Assoc. Ed. Dana Isokawa, Poets & Writers Inc.:  


Below is my counter-essay vis-a-vis your astonishing editorial.  Please publish it in the next issue of Poets & Writers.  If not, then I shall try other literary brick walls.  Please do let me know of your decision.  Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely, 


G. Tod Slone (PhD—Université de Nantes, FR), aka P. Maudit, Founding Editor (1998)
The American Dissident, a 501c3 Nonprofit Journal of Literature, Democracy, and Dissidence
www.theamericandissident.org
wwwtheamericandissidentorg.blogspot.com   
todslone@hotmail.com
217 Commerce Rd.
Barnstable, MA 02630


NO RESPONSE!

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Fostering Students' Free Expression


Below is the front cover and editorial of the latest issue of The American Dissident, Issue #46, inspired by The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Both were sent to the editors, depicted on the cover.  Unsurprisingly, not one of them deigned to respond...  


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Editorial

Censorship Now!

Freedom of Expression… in Higher Ed

Unfortunately, tenure has led to the ossification of American education.  The hiring, promotion, and tenure system has institutionalized sycophancy toward those in power.  

—Camille Paglia, Tenured Professor, University of the Arts

 

The rise of hate speech threatens… or so they say. But what is hate speech?… or so they don’t say.  Well, criticism is/can be hate speech.  So, I say, let hate speech rise!  Banning it is an act of censorship and a violation of the First Amendment. Banning serves to kill inconvenient truths, hurtful to hacks with thin skin, haters themselves who hate freedom of expression.  “Censorship now!” would be a slogan too truthful, too transparent.  And so the haters supplant it with calls to remove disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation… 

        Searching for some grist, I came across an ad (see store.chronicle.com/products/fostering-students-free-expression?variant=42345778348229?cid=cs-che-cdp-2022-section-front-footer-11) in the Chronicle of Higher Education for a book written and published by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The front cover of this issue, “The Chronicle of Higher Indoctrination,” thus resulted.  Since the author of the book description was not indicated, I depicted the top honchos of the publication, Editor-in-Chief Michael G. Riley, as well as a few of the other editors and managers (see www.chronicle.com/page/contact-us).  

    How not to question the very title, Fostering Students’ Free Expression.  A thinking individual might actually wonder how college professors and administrators might serve to foster that when they themselves have an overwhelming tendency to self-censor.  In fact, how might the very editors of the Chronicle do that when no doubt their rise to the top demanded turning a blind eye and team playing, certainly not individual rude-truth telling. Career success (climbing the ladder), in general, depends on such behavior. Evidently, speaking truth and career success do not make good partners.  

        The book in question is digital and contains 74 pages and was published in September 2023 and also does not list an author.  It costs a mind-boggling $179.  Might that really be for only one digital copy? The Chronicle states:  “Learn more about digital licensing options and request a quote. For group purchases of fewer than 100 users, please refer to our bulk pricing."  

n any case, according to the anonymous ad writer, “The pandemic made students feel more isolated and vulnerable. Unending political turmoil has left them frustrated.” Well, how about the profs and administrators? “Many professors say that students are reluctant to tackle tough questions in classroom discussions, and a 2022 survey by Heterodox Academy found that the majority of students who are timid when it comes to sharing opinions in class said they worried about the reactions they might get from peers.”  Couldn’t one say the same for the profs and administrators, and if not, why not?  After all, conformity is a synonym for team playing, which tends to be  obligatory in higher ed.  

          The description praises professors as “cultivating an environment that encourages discussion of difficult topics—and how administrators can support faculty members who do this work.”  Difficult topics, eh?  Might they include the higher ed ambiance that encourages team playing at the expense of truth telling and the reality of general professorial apathy to freedom of expression when ideology (e.g., DEI and CRT) demands it? Well, I sent this editorial and the front cover image to the editor/managers in question and asked them to consider publishing both as an example of their purported support for freedom of expression.  No response was ever received. 

    The back cover of this issue, “The Business of Writing,” depicts two GrubStreet leaders, Artistic Director Dariel Suarez and Founder/Executive Director Eve Bridburg. Waiting for my car inspection, I went through the magazines, leafed through Bostonia, the Alumni Magazine of Boston University.  “Big Moves at GrubStreet,” written by Grub publicist Joel Brown, grabbed my attention. It focused on Grub's “gleaming new home on the Seaport.” Of course, everything in alumni magazines tends to be glowing wonderment.  “GrubStreet always had a sense of inclusion from the very beginning [in 1997],” noted Bridburg, “and we’re trying to create something that is more welcoming, less paternalistic, and more inclusive.” How original!  Inclusion!  But, of course, NOT inclusion regarding criticism of GrubStreet!  “It isn’t just about bringing people in, ‘this is gonna step up our numbers.’  It’s about following through, even in the growth of our staff,” stated Suarez.  But perhaps writing should be about truth and free expression, not about increasing numbers. GrubStreet’s website echoes the overwhelming business/money and identity politics aspects of the writing industry today (see grubstreet.org/). 

        final comment: The hate-speech attack on free speech has become an establishment weapon of the ruling oligarchy to further We, the In-Lockstep People. Biden failed to embed his Orwellian Disinformation Governance Board into the bureaucracy. But CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency) has existed since 2018. 

CISA defines mis-, dis-, and malinformation (MDM) as “information activities.” This type of content is referred to as either domestic or foreign influence depending on where it originates.

• Misinformation is false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm.

• Disinformation is deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, social group, organization, or country.

• Malinformation is based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.

     And so, facts must be destroyed if they harm.  P. Maudit cartoons are clear examples of malinformation because they openly seek to harm, via facts and logic, buffered cogs of the establishment. How many more terms will be created by Big Gov/Academe in an effort to kill truth and free expression and further control We, the People?  Sadly, America is following the European Union in that oligarchic endeavor.  Democracy—freedom of speech—is dying, which is why I continue to speak/write rudely and openly.  Inevitably, one day in the near future, in America, a journal like The American Dissident will not simply be ostracized—excluded from library shelves and listings of journals (NewPages and P&W)—, but will be strictly prohibited and forced into the realm of samizdat… 























 

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Jeffrey Sachs

 


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From: George Slone

Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 8:00 AM

To: jeffrey.sachs@acadiau.ca <jeffrey.sachs@acadiau.ca>

Subject: Your FIRE article

 

To Jeffrey Sachs, Professor of Politics, Acadia University:

Well, I spent most of my working life as a failed academic… and I’d have it no other way.  In each institution employing me, I spoke rude truth openly.  And of course each institution eliminated me for doing so.  FIRE never did help me in my diverse higher ed battles.  Hell, I even battle way back when with its founder.  


In any case, your FIRE criticism, “Everyone’s Wrong About FIRE," was interesting and perhaps unusual too. Keep in mind that the Chronicle of Higher Education is itself an organization that censors unwanted opinions.  It certainly will NOT publish anything I send it.  Yes, I have been openly critical of its editors. 




Anyhow, I would add to your FIRE critique several thoughts.



If a college has a green light FIRE designation, that is essentially de jura.  The de facto reality might of course be quite different.  Another FIRE problem is that the organization does not address criticism with its regard.  It certainly has not addressed my criticisms (see attached cartoons, for example).  


For your chuckle, I attach my CM.  Imagine if I’d sent it to your university, for example.  The fundamental problem with academics is quite simple:  Career vs. Truth.


Anyhow, I enjoyed visiting Grand Pre on several different occasions and visit NS several times per year on my way to NL. 


Au plaisir,



G. Tod Slone (PhD—Université de Nantes, FR), aka P. Maudit, Founding Editor (1998)

The American Dissident, a 501c3 Nonprofit Journal of Literature, Democracy, and Dissidence

www.theamericandissident.org

wwwtheamericandissidentorg.blogspot.com    

todslone@hotmail.com

217 Commerce Rd.

Barnstable, MA 02630


{No Response]




From: George Slone

Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 8:00 AM

To: jeffrey.sachs@acadiau.ca <jeffrey.sachs@acadiau.ca>

Subject: Your FIRE article

 

To Jeffrey Sachs, Professor of Politics, Acadia University:

Well, I spent most of my working life as a failed academic… and I’d have it no other way.  In each institution employing me, I spoke rude truth openly.  And of course each institution eliminated me for doing so.  FIRE never did help me in my diverse higher ed battles.  Hell, I even battle way back when with its founder.  


In any case, your FIRE criticism, “Everyone’s Wrong About FIRE," was interesting and perhaps unusual too. Keep in mind that the Chronicle of Higher Education is itself an organization that censors unwanted opinions.  It certainly will NOT publish anything I send it.  Yes, I have been openly critical of its editors. 




Anyhow, I would add to your FIRE critique several thoughts.



If a college has a green light FIRE designation, that is essentially de jura.  The de facto reality might of course be quite different.  Another FIRE problem is that the organization does not address criticism with its regard.  It certainly has not addressed my criticisms (see attached cartoons, for example).  


For your chuckle, I attach my CM.  Imagine if I’d sent it to your university, for example.  The fundamental problem with academics is quite simple:  Career vs. Truth.


Anyhow, I enjoyed visiting Grand Pre on several different occasions and visit NS several times per year on my way to NL. 


Au plaisir,



G. Tod Slone (PhD—Université de Nantes, FR), aka P. Maudit, Founding Editor (1998)

The American Dissident, a 501c3 Nonprofit Journal of Literature, Democracy, and Dissidence

www.theamericandissident.org

wwwtheamericandissidentorg.blogspot.com    

todslone@hotmail.com

217 Commerce Rd.

Barnstable, MA 02630


[No response]



Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Poet Laureate Ada Limon

Below is the front cover of the latest issue of The American Dissident, #45, published/distributed in May 2023.  Per usual, I sent it to those targeted in the sketch.   Normally, silence is golden for those (cogs of the establishment) who hate debate (i.e., democracy).  Surprisingly, I received one response, though it was not an intelligent one.  For the brief correspondence, see below.

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May 13, 2023, 7:05 AM

To Rigoberto Gonzalez,

Attached is a satirical aquarelle front cover depicting you and a few others.  Why not expose your students to it?  Hell, if you did that you wouldn't be a typical academic hack...

Au plaisir,

G. Tod Slone (PhD—Université de Nantes, FR), aka P. Maudit, Founding Editor (1998)

The American Dissident, a 501c3 Nonprofit Journal of Literature, Democracy, and Dissidence

www.theamericandissident.org

wwwtheamericandissidentorg.blogspot.com

todslone@hotmail.com

217 Commerce Rd.

Barnstable, MA 02630



May 23, 2023, 3:43 PM

Sorry it’s taken me a bit to respond. I’m on leave. Anyway, where can I get a good print of this? I’d frame it and hang it in my office. 


Regards,

Rigoberto


Rigoberto González [rigonzal@newark.rutgers.edu]

Distinguished Professor of English

Director, Rutgers-Newark MFA Program in Creative Writing

43 Bleeker St.

Newark, NJ 07102



May 25, 2023, 7:50 PM

Hola Rigoberto,

Thanks for the response.  It is extremely rare for a professor to respond to my criticism.  That has been my decades-long experience.  Now, I have to wonder if you're joking, And if you're not, then perhaps you did not understand the aquarelle image.  

Au plaisir, 

G. Tod


[No further response]