Making English Our National Language Is One Step Toward A More Unified Country
Democrats Have Become The ‘No You Can’t’ Party
[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-07-at-4.22.37 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-07-at-4.22.37%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]In the battle between the 'you can just do things' and the 'you can't do thats,' whose side do you want to be on?
Vivek Ramaswamy exposes ‘right fragility’ with culture truth bomb
If Vivek Ramaswamy continues discussing immigration on X, some of his former supporters might urge the incoming Trump administration to assign him to manage the White House 7-Eleven, a scenario humorously predicted by the Babylon Bee earlier this year.
The biotech entrepreneur sparked a firestorm with a lengthy post about immigration and the economy. In his opening paragraph, he wrote:
The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers over "native" Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy and wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture.
The former GOP presidential candidate and Trump surrogate argued that American culture has emphasized mediocrity over excellence long before young people reach college. His comments drew sharp criticism from conservatives who support stricter limits on both illegal and legal immigration. Critics argued that institutions should prioritize American workers, address skills gaps, and avoid outsourcing high-paying jobs to other countries.
I believe every country’s policies should prioritize its citizens over foreign nationals. I understand the frustration felt by STEM graduates who struggle to find jobs in their fields, especially when they see companies hiring workers from India, China, and other parts of Asia. But strong leaders must prioritize hard truths over convenient lies.
Unfortunately, too many conservatives default to 'right fragility' whenever the culture police come knocking.
Anyone who has criticized participation trophy culture in youth sports, grade inflation in high schools, or emotionally fragile college students knows there is some truth in Ramaswamy’s argument. His point about how social norms influence social outcomes deserves discussion, not dismissal.
Unfortunately, many conservatives reacted emotionally, interpreting his comments as a claim that Asians — specifically Indians — are superior to Americans — specifically white people. This simple observation about cultural norms inadvertently exposed the “right fragility” increasingly evident among conservative social commentators.
I found the reactions to Vivek’s comments fascinating because white conservatives often invoke “culture” to explain why black Americans struggle to gain admission to elite universities or remain underrepresented in the tech industry. They cite factors such as family structure, study habits, media consumption, values, priorities, drive, and grit as alternatives to the progressive explanation of systemic racism. Some so-called racial realists take it further, claiming that low IQs account for the educational and economic disparities between black and white Americans.
Vivek’s remarks, however, revealed a closely guarded political secret: The socioeconomic gaps between Asians and whites are as significant as those between whites and blacks. For instance, the difference in SAT math scores between Asian students (626) and white students (532) exceeds the gap between white and black students (441). Similar disparities exist in the average number of hours high school students spend on homework and the percentage who complete it five or more days a week.
Even smaller achievement gaps can significantly affect outcomes. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 64% of Asian eighth-grade students are proficient in math, compared to 44% of white students. A similar disparity exists in reading proficiency. Conservatives often cite family stability as a factor contributing to the “achievement gap” between black and white students. While Ramaswamy didn’t address these factors in his cultural analysis, he easily could have. Asian-Americans have higher marriage rates and lower divorce rates, and they are far less likely to have children out of wedlock.
Discussing culture, rather than genetics, is valuable because a society’s norms, values, and priorities can change over time. No country or ethnic group has a monopoly on hard work, determination, or innovation. The dominance of students of Indian descent in the Scripps National Spelling Bee has little to do with the H-1B visa program. In many cases, these children likely speak English as a second — or even third — language at home.
Excelling in math and science at the highest levels requires tremendous discipline and dedication, much like the commitment needed to become an elite athlete. The makeup of the robotics club and basketball team at the University of North Carolina reflects the students who are willing to put in the hard work necessary to compete at the highest levels in their respective fields. Complaints about discrimination will not change that reality.
Educator Jawanza Kunjufu once appealed to young black men by saying, “That that you do most will be that that you do best.” His call to foster a culture of excellence in the classroom should resonate with conservatives who acknowledge the challenges in the K-12 education system and seek to improve economic opportunities for American citizens. Unfortunately, too many conservatives default to “right fragility” whenever the culture police come knocking.
If Kamala Harris Loses The Election, It Won’t Mean The Country Is Sexist
Avoider-In-Chief Biden Treats Deadly Hurricane Disaster As An Inconvenience
Beaver: America's other red meat?
In America, we love poultry and beef.
Ninety percent of us consume chicken, averaging about 90 pounds per person annually. Beef is a bit less popular but still substantial. Americans eat around 60 pounds per person per year.
'To be completely honest, if you want the taste of a beaver, go outside, grab some tree bark and yard clippings, cover them in BBQ sauce, and take a bite.'
By contrast, only 25% of us regularly indulge in lamb — just one pound per person per year of this nutrient-dense meat. And if you narrow that group further, you’ll find the rare breed of super-carnivores who eat beaver.
Skin your own
Andy Hickman, a seasoned trapper, offers this perspective: “I have no idea why people don’t eat beaver meat more often. Trappers often give it away in big buckets, sometimes for free, and trapping seasons and bag limits are generous in many states. It’s tremendously nutritious and tasty — at pennies on the dollar.”
I reached out to Hickman, who is working on an article about beaver meat. He suggested I “spend some time trapping beavers, or at least with some trappers,” adding that “by skinning and cooking a beaver yourself, and tasting the meat, you’d learn all you need to know for your assignment.”
The idea was unappealing — not because I shy away from unusual food. I’ve tried alligator in onion-ring form and tasted a range of alternative cuisines during my stint as an English teacher in Spain: blood sausage (delicious), pig’s feet (gross), bull’s tail (like pot roast), tripe stew (good for hangovers), and lamb intestines (very chewy).
My hesitation lies in the hunting aspect. I should hunt, given my prolific meat-eating, but I find myself unable to.
Still, if a beaver were to attack one of my kids, I’d certainly fire up the grill. But there’s another question: Aren’t beavers supposed to be laid-back and cool?
Trapper keepers
Beaver meat holds deep historical significance in North America. For Native Americans, beavers were a crucial food source, providing both meat and fur. Their reverence for the animal dates back to at least the 1400s.
As European settlers moved westward, beaver meat gained new appreciation. The beaver population dwindled as the animals were trapped out of the East Coast, with settlers pursuing them farther west. In the 1800s, Lewis and Clark detailed beavers in their journals, including a recipe for beaver bait and preparation instructions.
The Catholic Church even weighed in on the dietary status of beavers. In the 17th century, it classified beavers as “aquatic mammals,” allowing Catholics to consume their meat during Lent and Fridays when they abstained from land-based meat. This classification led to a spike in beaver meat consumption.
Tail to testicle
Despite its history, finding someone who has eaten beaver meat is surprisingly difficult. Even among my most dedicated hunter friends, there are few who have tasted it.
One friend mentioned that while he’s killed beavers, he’s never eaten them. He noted that “mountain man writings always said beaver tail was the best meat around,” though he added that a beaver is "basically a rat that eats bark.”
Quora users offer mixed reviews: “To be completely honest, if you want the taste of a beaver, go outside, grab some tree bark and yard clippings, cover them in BBQ sauce, and take a bite. It seriously tasted like a tree with BBQ sauce. I would say to try it just to say you’ve tried it, but it’s nasty. It was tough, oily, and just nasty.”
The oldest edition of "The Joy of Cooking" included a beaver recipe. Beaver tail, once a delicacy, was praised for its fattiness, likened to pork or fatty beef cuts.
Historically, beaver meat was versatile, featured in stews, roasts, and smoked dishes, with its richness best showcased through slow cooking.
Today it's a rare find in mainstream markets but remains a delicacy in certain regions, particularly among trappers and in rural communities across Canada and the U.S. Specialty game markets and wild game dinners occasionally feature it.
Beaver is definitely on the menu at Exotic Meat Market, a California-based company that sells a wide range of exotic meats: emu, yak, raccoon, camel, shark, armadillo, rattlesnake, bobcat, antelope, iguana, possum, reindeer, turtle, and guinea pig.
Beaver-wise, the company offers everything from tail to testicles.
Perhaps beaver is due for a comeback. Might Michelin-star restaurants one day include roasted beaver tail on their menus? If beaver were more than just a historical curiosity and became a staple in our diet, could it reshape our culinary landscape? For now, the beaver remains an enigma — an intriguing symbol of history and taste, just a dam away from our everyday dining.
Will Biden’s latest gaffe cost Americans $40 billion?
Biden’s supporters may claim his age isn’t affecting the country, but his gaffes are clearly starting to get worse.
In his latest speech with the Cook Islands leader, Biden not only promised $40 billion to the Pacific Islands but botched the Pacific Islands acronym and then went on a rant that he and the prime minister of the Cook Islands, Mark Brown, are both from Baltimore.
“And that’s why the United States is formally establishing diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands. The real reason is we’re both from Baltimore, that’s a long story,” Biden said in his speech.
Unfortunately, no one is surprised.
“Yeah, it’s a long story in that it’s not true,” Pat Gray says, unfazed. “He’s not from Baltimore, and neither is the prime minister of the Cook Islands.”
“It’s complicated,” Gray says, mocking the president. “Yeah, and the complication is that neither one of you have anything to do with Baltimore and yet you said you were both from there. That does complicate it, doesn’t it?”
Biden also announced to the world that America is giving $40 billion to the Pacific Islands, which is completely untrue. Or at least it better not be true.
“So, today, I’m pleased to announce we’re working with Congress to invest $40 billion in our Pacific Islands Infrastructure Initiative. We call it the PG — PI — anyway, it doesn’t matter what we call it, but that’s what it is,” Biden said.
The actual number is $40 million.
“He can’t get numbers right, no matter what. It’s right there in front of his stupid face; he still can’t get it,” Gray says.
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