Asians and Education

          When my wife and I lived in Michigan in what seems like ages ago, she spent time tutoring two elementary school students in Spanish after school.  The boy and the girl were children of Chinese immigrants who were committed to giving their children the best and broadest education.  The kids spoke Chinese at home, English in school, and Spanish with my wife.  In the evenings the girl practiced the violin for two hours and the boy piano.  By now I imagine they have completed high school and college, and are well on their way to being productive members of society.

          My neighbors Primo and Rose Viray survived the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, went to school to earn degrees in nursing, and then emigrated to the United States.  They raised seven daughters and managed to scrape up enough money to send them to college.  All seven now enjoy distinguished careers.
          I thought about both of these examples of parents who were determined to see their children succeed, when I came across some stunning statistics.  High school graduation rates for blacks is 62%, for Hispanics 68%, for whites 80%, and for Asians 90%, with some Asian sub-groups as high as 96%.  Some 50% of Asian-Americans also have bachelor’s degrees, and 21% advanced degrees.  No other ethnic group comes even close.
          When we look at family income by race, we see the same kind of disparity.  Asians earn an average of $68,636, whites $57,009, Hispanics $39,005, and blacks $33,321.  It would be difficult to deny that there is a direct correlation between education and income levels. 
          Race hustlers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would have us believe that the playing field is tilted against blacks because of discrimination.  Perhaps it is to some degree.  Yet other blacks like Bill Cosby, Thomas Sowell, and Dr. Ben Carson point to fatherless families, the high rate of births to unwed mothers, and the influence of drugs, gangs, and street violence as causing the deterioration of family values.  For them it’s not a racial issue, but a social issue.  At the same time they point to education as the salvation for these kids who have such a difficult struggle against the odds.  Education is not a “white thing,” they say.  It is the secret to success. 
          Ask any Asian family.        

Ferguson Bias

          Would anyone be surprised if our left-leaning media continues to obsess about the Ferguson incident until the November elections?  Why not?  Time needed to cover a white on black killing is a perfect excuse for not digging into the Administration’s multiple domestic scandals and its failures in Ukraine and the Middle East.

           In the same weekend as Ferguson we had 26 shootings in Chicago.  Did Al Sharpton rush to Chicago?  Of course not.  Chicago has blacks killing blacks, but Sharpton’s eyes can only focus on Ferguson, because it has a white police officer “murdering” a gentle and unarmed black teenager with his hands up.  As Jason Riley (who happens to be black) of the Wall Street Journal said, “Al Sharpton didn’t head to Chicago.  He headed to St. Louis because he has an entirely different agenda, which is to continue to blame whites.”           
          What was CNN’s Andrea Mitchell’s response to Riley?  “That is not actually his agenda, because he’s actually there on a peace mission today.”  How ridiculous a response is that?  But how typical of biased media?
          Let’s face it.  Too many journalists are just as bad as the race hustlers.  They give us round-the-clock coverage of looters and haters, but have little interest in peacemakers and those who cry out for the truth.  When the governor of Missouri demands a vigorous prosecution before the facts are known, and Eric Holder, a racist in a class by himself, is fanning the flames of racial injustice, reporters on the scene give them full coverage, while studio talking heads wallow in their prejudice.
          Meanwhile, black teenagers are dying by the dozens in Chicago, but nobody goes there.  After all, it’s only blacks shooting blacks.

Re-inventing Hillary

          It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Hillary Clinton.  Her history before and during her husband’s occupancy of the White House is less than flattering; her reported vulgar treatment of the Secret Service and people in uniform is especially troubling.  We also have to recognize that her record of accomplishments as U.S. Senator and Secretary of State is rather thin.  But now that she is running for high office in 2016, she is trying very hard to put on a new face.  I think we are seeing the re-invention of Hillary Clinton.

          I am pleased to see Mrs. Clinton take a hawkish stance on foreign affairs.  She mocks the President on his minimalist policies, while advocating a stronger stance against terrorism in Syria and Iraq, getting tough on Iran, supporting Israel, and taking pride in America’s universal values.  All these positions are in sharp contrast with Obama’s and signal Hillary’s decision to distance herself from her former boss.  But is her latest metamorphosis genuine?
          As Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal has said, “The political opportunist always lacks the courage of his, or her, convictions.  That’s not necessarily because there aren’t any convictions.  It’s because the convictions are always subordinated to the needs of ambition and ingratiation.” 
          That last word—ingratiation--rings true.  The mainstream media is flooding us with images of Hillary smiling and waving as she strides to a podium or to a seat next to yet another late show host.  Book signings and interviews with left-leaning reporters are all meant to erase the public’s memory of her defiant testimony before Congress (“What difference, after all, does it make?”) and enhance her new phony image as a warm, affable, all-loving woman.  Even President Obama, whom she has never forgiven for denying her the presidency in 2008, gets hugs from her now.
          For those of us who see her as a power-hungry politician we have one wish: Will the real Hillary Clinton please stand up!