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Nov 23, 2024 | 
msn.com | Naomi Schaefer Riley |James Piereson
Continue reading More for You Continue reading More for You
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Nov 23, 2024 | 
nypost.com | Naomi Schaefer Riley |James Piereson
Higher education is taking a hit. According to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, first-year enrollment dropped by more than 5% this year, with enrollment by recent high school graduates dropping by more than 6%. While overall enrollment still grew, this was largely inflated by a sizable pandemic dip — many fewer students enrolled in 2020, and that class just graduated.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
manhattan.institute | James Piereson
On the poll’s sixteen-point mistake. The presidential election is now (thankfully) over, with Donald Trump winning a solid victory over Vice President Harris both in the popular vote (51 percent to 48 percent) and in the Electoral College (312 to 226). The various pollsters did their usual mediocre job in forecasting the ultimate outcome, with many predicting a deadlock in the popular vote or a slim victory for Vice President Harris.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |James Piereson |Theodore Dalrymple |Larry P. Arnn
Recent stories of note:“Remembering Frank Auerbach, one of the leading artists of his generation, who has died aged 93”Matthew Holman, The Art Newspaper“One of the many mysteries of art is how the Muse picks the most disparate people,” said the German British painter Frank Auerbach in an interview earlier this year. He cited the “hunchback dwarf” Alexander Pope and the “illiterate farm laborer” John Clare, but the muse seems to have singled out Auerbach, too.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |James Piereson |Theodore Dalrymple |Larry P. Arnn
“It’s a battle of the bands!” said the man behind me to his companion. She protested, “It’s not a battle.” “I know,” he said. They were settling in to a concert at Zankel Hall last night. Onstage would be two distinguished ensembles, two distinguished string quartets, playing together: the Belcea Quartet and the Quatuor Ébène. Their program consisted of the Mendelssohn and Enescu octets. I have written about each ensemble in the past (separately).
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |James Piereson |Theodore Dalrymple |Larry P. Arnn
The region of Hesse-Kassel is perhaps best known in the Western world as the home of the Hessian soldiers—those brutish mercenaries who were taken by surprise by George Washington and his army at the Battle of Trenton thanks to their Christmas festivities the night before. Similarly, a French account celebrating the rule of Jérôme Bonaparte in Westphalia characterized the average Hessian as “rustic” and “primitive,” “naturally a mere machine . . .
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |Larry P. Arnn |James Piereson |Theodore Dalrymple
The presidential election is now (thankfully) over, with Donald Trump winning a solid victory over Vice President Harris both in the popular vote (51 percent to 48 percent) and in the Electoral College (312 to 226). The various pollsters did their usual mediocre job in forecasting the ultimate outcome, with many predicting a deadlock in the popular vote or a slim victory for Vice President Harris.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |Larry P. Arnn |James Piereson |Theodore Dalrymple
Poetry:The Owl and the Nightingale: A New Verse Translation, by Simon Armitage (Princeton University Press): “Freak, why don’t you disappear?/ It sickens me to see you here.” So sweetly sings the nightingale of The Owl and the Nightingale, opening a heated exchange that lasts well over a hundred pages—the owl clearly does not heed the other bird’s words.
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Nov 10, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |Larry P. Arnn |Theodore Dalrymple |James Piereson
On Friday morning, the New York Philharmonic was conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali, a fabulous Finn—one of multitudes. Is every person in Finland a conductor? No, only every third person. Rouvali has a graceful conducting style, with balletic arms. He is clear in what he wants—you could follow him from the second balcony. And he has one helluva mop. (Hair is a perpetual issue in conducting.)Friday’s concert opened with Fountain of Youth, a piece written by Julia Wolfe, an American, in 2019.
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Nov 8, 2024 | 
newcriterion.com | Douglas Murray |Larry P. Arnn |Theodore Dalrymple |James Piereson
When a political party loses an election, its supporters typically respond in one of two ways. There is, first, a constructive response: let’s figure out what went wrong and try to fix it so that the next time around we can win back the voters we lost in this election. There is an alternative response—that is, to blame the voters for “letting us down” and for lacking the good sense to elect our team.
