Harvard University recently hired as an instructor one of the graduates of its Divinity School, who was charged with assaulting an Israeli classmate in October 2023, just weeks after Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 Israelis.
Elom Tettley-Tamaklo was caught on camera at a protest accosting a first-year student, an Israeli man, who was then studying at Harvard Business School reported National Review. After the encounter, Tettley-Tamaklo was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. He was ordered by a judge to take an anger management course and complete 80 hours of community service as part of a pre-trial diversion agreement.
The National Review reported that Harvard Law School graduate Ibrahim Bharmal also participated in the October 2023 protest and was charged with assault for his involvement. Harvard also continued to support this student, and he was awarded a $65,000 Harvard Law Review fellowship.
No wonder these losers cling to their alma maters. Who else would hire them?
“I don’t doubt that if Jeffrey Dahmer were still alive, Harvard would hire him to lecture in their dietician school,” American Spectator writer and Tampa friend Larry Thornberry commented to me about the hiring in an email.
I responded to Larry suggesting that schools seeking interior decorators to recklessly rearrange pliable students’ mental furniture could add retired Navy Captain and Arizona Democrat Senator Mark Kelly to lecture on the Uniform Code of Military Justice; Texas Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crocket to teach logic, and Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson (D), who thinks islands will tip over if they are overpopulated, to head the Geology Department. There is no shortage of such candidates in the Democrat party.
There should be a notice posted above Harvard Yard’s Johnston Gate saying: “Enter at your own risk.”
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Speaking Of Nutty Professors: New York University professor Jeff Goodwin gave parents another reason to save money and assure their kids’ financial future by sending them to trade schools when he was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Monday, Dec. 1, about accused shooter Luigi Mangione, saying: “He had the chutzpah to actually do something spectacular, which people find attractive and courageous.”
The cowardly and vile weasel Mangione is accused of “allegedly” shooting and killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHeathcare. The murder was picked up by a security camera as Mangione shot the married father of two in the back as walked down a Manhattan street. This despicable NYU professor says Mangione’s murderous act was “attractive, courageous, and spectacular.”
Colleges and universities are becoming out of control breeding grounds for homicidal fruitcakes and as dangerous as the streets of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s lawless Chicago and Gavin Newsome’s San Francisco and Los Angeles..
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Trading Places: Trade schools don’t have this problem with their no-nonsense instructors. Their graduates are in extreme demand with eager employers waiting to offer generous pay packages and benefits.
Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley publicly lamented just a few weeks ago that his company can’t find enough qualified candidates to run his automobile plants. He said Ford can’t fill 5,000 auto mechanic jobs that pay $120,000 a year. Show me a gender studies or black history graduate that makes that much starting out or ever will.
The owners of an automobile repair company on Amelia Island told me the other day that they have a great deal of difficulty finding qualified mechanics. They blame the local school system that has ignored teaching trades.
Farley agrees saying the country is in trouble because schools aren’t providing what businesses need. He said, “We have over one million openings in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, and tradesmen. Ford is struggling to hire mechanics at salaries that Ivy League grads might envy.”
If Ford is suffering from the lack of mechanics then other car makers must be too. Why don’t they collude and create trade academies? Most of the Ivies are private and collect massive amounts of cash from alumni and corporations as well as government grants. Why should trade schools be any different?
Encouraging kids to go to college when trade school would be a much better fit and more economically beneficial is a huge mistake made by parents and high school guidance counselors.
Send junior to trade school and during the Christmas break he can come home and fix mom and dad’s car instead of embarrassing the family by parading around town protesting the local police departments and praising antisemitic Middle Eastern terrorists and other screwball notions he picked up on campus.
Mom and dad deserve a return on their investment not a kick in the rear from junior and sis.
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Sunshine State Schools Shine: Local high school students and their parents hereabouts seeking a top notch college or university need to look no further than their own back yard as the University of Florida was ranked number one in the country by the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal that ranked 100 U.S. colleges. An added bonus is that residents pay in-state tuition.
The schools were assessed on qualities such as free speech, the school’s approach to politics on campus, and students’ professional success after graduation. A vibrant and inclusive social life, ideological pluralism among faculty, and a tolerance for controversial speakers were also factors.
The rankings also factored in the strength of the general curriculum and whether the university is providing excellence and not just coasting on a fancy reputation.
Florida State ranked seventh.
Not a single Ivy League school made the top 10. Notre Dame (no. 5) and Purdue (no. 8) were the only schools outside of the South to make the top 10.
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Logical Local: Local logical thinker and polymath Dr. Jerry Decker stated here last week that one of the proposed solutions to tax increases and avoiding the despised paid parking proposal was to have Brett’s marina removal be paid for by a developer as part of the marina revitalization.
“Offer a long-term (intelligently designed) Brett’s lease to demolish, construct, and operate a new water-side restaurant”, suggested Decker. “Brett’s was much loved and a landmark. A new landmark is needed—not just trees and grass.”
It’s a solid idea, but I imagine a major stumbling block there would be paid parking advocate and City Commissioner Tim Poynter, who owns several downtown eateries and bars. Why would Poynter vote for a competitor to move in? Does he have a conflict of interest here? Maybe he should recuse himself from this whole nutty shebang.
Another simple solution is for the city to sell some of its nonperforming and untaxed real estate. If a private citizen or firm owned the millions of dollars’ worth of properties currently owned by the city, they would manage them to generated the highest return possible. The city is clueless. And Poynter will do everything he can to avoid providing the city incentives to attract competitors to his downtown enterprises.
The recall petition of Poynter and Minshew is a beginning. Getting rid of the potted plant called James Antun and tree-hugging extreme environmentalist Joyce Tuten, who is the hand puppet of former Commissioner Chip Ross, at the next election is the next step.
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Making The Same Mistake Twice: If parking meters are such a good idea why did the city rip them out.
Phil Hendrix, who was born in Fernandina, grew up here, and worked for the city and the county, recalls going downtown shopping with his mother in the 1960s and listening to her complain about having to drop dimes and quarters in meters.
As a kid, Phil acted as a spotter looking for empty spaces with unexpired meters.
One of the reasons Centre Street was reconfigured was to encourage tourism and generate more downtown visitors recalls Phil.
He said that after the meters were cut off with acetylene torches the city hired a “meter maid” whose job was to patrol downtown, marking car tires with chalk. If the cars overstayed their allotted posted times, they were ticketed.
Phil’s attitude today is the same as his mother’s was some 60 years ago. “Why would the city make people pay to go downtown and shop?”
To avoid competition, Poynter could rebuilt the new Brett’s and call it “Tim’s Watering Hole”…or somesuch….maybe even take over the marina to boot.
Glad you addressed this topic, Dave. It does seem like most colleges are not sufficiently useful to students or society in general, with low value degrees/curricula and incoming students not sufficiently prepared. Also, there has been too much emphasis on getting people into college, and not enough of preparation for careers as tradesmen.
As far as the paid parking fiasco, the Commission (except Darron) is definitely not listening to the public- BIG mistake. It was tried before- didn’t work. The city budget is out of control. I discussed it with a friend who is a former mayor of a California City of 250,000+. He was astounded to learn of the per capita budget- multiple higher than his. A former City manager dramatically upsized the budget/staffing and no one seems to have the vision or guts to review and pare it back down, Once again, this is not a revenue problem, it’s a spending problem. How do we forget that into the thick heads of Commissioners? The downtown area and parking are both physically too small for the ambitions of the city to put on big events and handle heavy seasonal tourist traffic.
Too bad that Poyntner won’t address this. He seems to be a very good businessman, making his businesses thrive and grow in spite of COVID, recessions, runaway inflation, labor shortages, etc. Minshew is no idiot either. I have heard several good ideas from her. But both their behavior is puzzling.
Dave, let’s start with a reality check. Yes, Harvard recently hired Elom Tettley-Tamaklo, who faced charges for an altercation at a protest. And yes, the university has stood by him. But to suggest that Harvard is descending into a moral abyss because of this hire, or to link it to a broader condemnation of higher education, misses the mark entirely.
First, let’s not pretend that Harvard is the only institution to attract controversy, or that it’s the place where only “losers” find refuge. If anything, it’s a magnet for some of the most ambitious minds across the globe, which should give it some credit. After all, Harvard’s diversity of thought—including views that might not align with your own—has been what has made it a beacon of intellectual exchange. Sure, there are outliers who make headlines, but lumping them all together as evidence of institutional decay is a cheap shot.
More concerning, however, is the way you seem to view this as part of a larger cultural war that pits “good old-fashioned values” against an allegedly out-of-control leftist agenda. It’s hard not to see echoes of the same rhetoric we’ve heard from Donald Trump and his other followers: that anyone who disagrees with them must be wrong, dangerous, or morally bankrupt. Trump himself has often used divisive language to dismiss anything that doesn’t fit his worldview. Whether it’s attacking entire swaths of society or downplaying clear instances of wrongdoing, like his role in the January 6th insurrection, Trump has built a political identity on outrage. So it’s a bit rich to hear lectures about “moral decay” coming from folks who have spent their careers stoking division.
As for Harvard’s supposed moral failures, let’s not forget that colleges, like any institution, are places of growth. Tettley-Tamaklo’s case was a specific incident, and as far as we know, he’s taken responsibility and is working toward rehabilitation. That hardly sounds like the type of reckless, unhinged behavior the author implies.
But the author’s piece goes even further, dragging in other unrelated figures to make sweeping generalizations. You write, “There is no shortage of such candidates in the Democrat party,” but let’s be clear—blaming all Democrats or liberal institutions for the actions of a few individuals is the exact same mistake right-wing pundits make when they scapegoat all liberals for the extreme views of a minority. If we’re going to toss people “under the bus,” let’s start with a serious look at those in power—like Donald Trump—whose words and actions have had a far more profound and harmful impact on this country than any Harvard hire ever could.
And then there’s the bizarre claim about trade schools being a “safer bet” than higher education. Sure, trade schools are valuable for some students, but to frame them as the panacea to everything that’s wrong with education shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what universities contribute. It’s not an either-or situation. A skilled tradesperson and a well-educated professional can both thrive in our economy. The reality is that many industries require a mix of both—people with specialized technical skills and people with advanced degrees in fields like engineering, science, law, and medicine.
Finally, the comparison between academics and trade workers falls flat. The argument that Ivy League grads can’t earn a good living in today’s economy is simply wrong. A significant percentage of college graduates land high-paying jobs immediately after school, even if they aren’t in fields like engineering or business. While trade school is a viable option for many, don’t conflate it with a failure of the college system at large. That’s like suggesting the entire medical profession is broken because one doctor gets caught in a scandal.
In the end, this type of thinking doesn’t solve anything—it just further entrenches political and cultural divides. Rather than focusing on vilifying Harvard, professors, or students, maybe it’s time to look in the mirror. It’s easy to point fingers, but the real conversation should be about how we engage with those who think differently from us without turning it into an existential crisis.
Let’s cut the crap. Fernandina Beach isn’t falling apart because of parking meters or a marina lease. It’s falling apart because we’ve inherited the toxic, soul-crushing rot that Trump left behind—paranoia, conspiracy, and the death of reason. What we’re seeing is just a local manifestation of a national nightmare. This isn’t politics. It’s self-destruction.
Handing over the marina to a developer isn’t progress, it’s a fire sale of your soul. It’s exactly what Trump did with public assets—sell everything for a quick buck and leave the wreckage behind. Developers don’t “revitalize”—they extract. This is desperation masquerading as strategy, and it’ll leave the city gutted, just like Trump’s bankrupt empire. But hey, enjoy that quick cash. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
The “conflict of interest” hysteria is just cheap political theater. Poynter’s a businessman, not a crook. You can’t disqualify every local official just because they actually care about the community. But no, this is Trump-era thinking—anyone with skin in the game must be corrupt. It’s a witch hunt, and it’s weak.
Selling off public land is the dumbest, most short-sighted thing you can do. It’s like selling your house to pay off a credit card—a move that ruins your future. Once that land’s gone, it’s gone forever. What happens when you’ve stripped the city bare? You’re left with nothing, just like Trump’s hollowed-out properties. This isn’t a fix; it’s a death sentence.
Recalls and smears aren’t about solving problems—they’re about destroying the system. This is Trumpism at the local level: insult, discredit, and tear it all down. It’s not about progress. It’s about creating chaos for chaos’ sake.
Want to watch this city burn? Keep feeding this hatred and watch your government crumble into oblivion.
The hysterics over parking meters are pathetic. Paid parking isn’t oppression—it’s survival. Cities need to manage their resources, or they fall apart. Want your downtown to rot and collapse? Then keep pretending everything should be “free.” Because that’s how you end up with nothing. Grow up.
This isn’t about parking meters. This isn’t about marina leases. This is about a poisonous mindset we inherited from Trump: the hatred of government, the destruction of reason, and the tearing down of everything.
Stop blaming everyone else. This city is drowning because we’ve forgotten how to fix things. We’re too busy fighting over petty grievances while the real problems mount. Wake up. Either we fix this together, or we burn it all to the ground.
Ah, Dave Scott—the ultra-MAGA herald of the American apocalypse—lamenting, as always, that the modern world has spiraled into chaos, driven by the dreadful rise of philosophy majors and gender studies graduates. This time, the lament comes courtesy of Mr. Jim Farley of Ford Motor Company, that corporate troubadour who decries the “lack of qualified mechanics,” as if the proletariat simply forgot how to swing a wrench overnight.
Let’s get this straight: the man who now sobs for mechanics is the same man who for decades has helped dismantle the very structures that produced skilled labor. Corporate giants like Ford outsourced, downsized, automated, and replaced skilled trades with cost-cutting seminars on “lean efficiency”—and now, when the bill comes due, they ask, “Why are there no mechanics?”
It’s as if you set fire to your house and then wonder why it’s so drafty inside.
And this absurd demand to “show me a gender studies or Black history graduate making $120,000” is the intellectual equivalent of a tantrum. Please, if we’re to pit salaries against disciplines, must we really elevate plumbers over philosophers, or theologians over orthodontists? Not all value can be measured in lucre. Some ideas—like justice, humanity, and history—are worth more than the paltry sums you seem to worship.
Your final flourish, Dave—this fear that college will turn children into protesters—reveals the true rot. You fear education not for its cost, but for its power to create thinkers who dare question the status quo. And, heaven forbid, those questions might touch on history or social issues that make the comfortable squirm.
Here’s the rub, my dear friend: The true embarrassment is not the student who questions the world, but the adult who mocks education and complains that children aren’t being funneled into corporate machinery fast enough.
In case you’ve missed it, Dave, a society that values nothing but earnings is a society destined for bankruptcy—in every sense that matters.
Trades are noble. Humanities are noble. The real tragedy is imagining that you must destroy one to elevate the other.