Category: Education

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Chinese Students: Pipeline to the CCP

[Open Letter to the President of Purdue University]

Dr. Mung Chiang
President
Purdue University
Hovde Hall – Rm 200
610 Purdue Mall
West Lafayette IN 47907-2040

President Chiang:

I have enclosed a copy of part of the front page of The Epoch Times, Jan 14-20 issue. The page one top headline says, “Behind the Group That Controls Chinese Students in US”. The long, comprehensive article continues on page A6. I hope you are aware of the article or, if not, will seek it out.

I have been aware the largest student organization on the Purdue campus is the Chinese Student and Scholars Association. At least that is what has been reported. If what the article reports is accurate, I believe Purdue has a real problem.

Early in the article, Dr. Frank Xie Tian, who teaches an MBA program at the University of South Carolina now, is mentioned. I will quote a part of the article….

“Xie arrived in the United States in 1986 as a doctoral student in chemistry at Purdue University in Indiana. He joined the local CSSA, appreciating it for much-needed services such as apartment hunting, airport pickup, and grocery carpooling. But soon, he learned that the Chinese Consulate had hand-picked the CSSA president and paid him a small stipend while he monitored his peers and reported back to officials.”

I cannot believe there has been any change favorable to the United States since 1986; maybe it is even worse and under tighter control from China. This means Chinese students are in a position to copy and steal all sorts of intellectual property involving research being carried on at Purdue.

I realize there are millions of dollars flowing to Purdue and to the West Lafayette community from Chinese students. But I must wonder if it is in the best interest of the USA. I don’t think so.

I was a middle-aged grad student at Purdue in 1989 at the time of Tiananmen Square. There was a Chinese grad student in the same research group I was in. He remained in the United States permanently. I believe he was given asylum at the time. So, issues with Communist China have continued for years.

At one point somewhat recently, there was to be a Congressional Committee to investigate the presence of Chinese students in our research universities and companies. I don’t know if that ever happened, but certainly Purdue is among the top research universities in the country. It should not be in a position of being a funnel of information back to China which it appears the Chinese Student and Scholars Association is.

Again, I think Purdue has a big problem.

Sincerely,
Kent H Blacklidge Ph.D.

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Transgender: Oxymoron

On January 13th the Supreme Court of the United States spent hours hearing from attorneys about so-called transgender athletes in sports. This was a total waste of the Court’s time and money. When the day was done, we learned any judgment would be forthcoming in June. So, it will take 5 months for these learned Justices to make a decision about whether what is being called “transgender girls” can play in women’s sports. What a total travesty.

In the first place, the word “transgender” is a fictitious word with no meaning. It is an oxymoron. The parts of that word, “Trans” and “Gender”, simply do not go together under any circumstances. Impossible. Gender cannot be changed and is fixed at conception.
So, the issue is whether genetic boys can participate in genetic girls’ sports. It is biologically certain to be able to determine a boy (male) from a girl (woman). There are two terms used in genetics: phenotype and genotype. The former is the outward appearance of a organism and the latter is the genetic makeup of the same organism.

In the case of human beings, the genotype, I repeat, is determined at the moment of conception and cannot be changed, ever. A simple look at the chromosomes of an individual tells the tale. There are 46 chromosomes in humans: 23 are from the father and 23 from the mother. The chromosomes indicating gender are in fact called the gender or sex chromosomes. A male has one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. A female has two X chromosomes and no Y chromosome. Easy, don’t you think. And that cannot be changed. The chromosomes can be seen easily with a simple laboratory procedure called karyotyping.

About every cell in one’s body contains a full set of genes. There are a few exceptions of cells that carry no genes like red blood cells. No chemical (drug) treatment or surgery can change the underlying genotype. One is either male or female. No switch is possible. A person can adopt behavior of one gender or another. One can dress however one wants. One can get drug (hormone) treatments until the cows come home. One can get body modification surgery galore. Nothing changes the genotype. Nothing changes gender. I repeat again, it is fixed at conception.

And the fact is there are significant biological differences between a genetic male and a genetic female. The differences that would affect athletic performance are huge. A genetic male has more muscle mass, more bone mass, endurance difference, and more. All of which give genetic males an advantage when participating in genetic female athletics.

So, it should take the Supreme Court about 5 minutes to come forth with a decision, if that long. Boys (males) — call them what you would like — should never be allowed to compete in girls (female) sports. It is ridiculous no ruling will be available until June.

The entire Court hearing was a joke. Even the advocates of transgender athletes could not say what a woman is.

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Islamic Danger

If you did not listen to or read the text of the speech given by Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence of the United States of America, given at the December 20th gathering of the Turning Point USA’s America Fest, you must. The message she delivered should shake our nation to its very core.

In her speech, she said, “…there is a threat to our freedom that is not often talked about enough, and it is the greatest near and long term threat to both our freedom and our security, and that is the threat of ISLAMIST IDEAOLOGY. It is propagated by people who not only do not believe in freedom, their fundamental ideology is antithetical to the foundation that we find in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, which is that our Creator endowed upon us inalienable rights, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Gabbard does not specifically say the very foundation of United States of America is in Christianity, but it is. It is, as is the foundation of all Western European countries.

Gabbard did go on to say that “when we talk about this Islamist ideology, it is the ideology that fuels terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS and Hamas and Boko Haram and others, and they must be defeated militarily…… but this Islamist ideology is a direct threat to our freedom because at its core it is a political ideology that seeks to create a global caliphate that governs us here in America, threatening Western civilization, governance by Sharia law, governance by what they are calling Islamic principles. And if you fail to comply, if you fail to adhere to this ideology, if you dare to exercise your God given right to free speech, censorship is not what we face. They will use violence or any means they deem as necessary to silence us”.

We have seen around the globe this means decapitation and death. We have seen Christians slaughtered for their beliefs. We have seen terrorists attacks and murders in the United States. It goes on and on.

We are seeing overt actions escalate within our own country to promote Islam. Most recently, the Council of American Islamic Relations issued a call to action to use American legal and political systems to implement Sharia law, a religious/political body of law based upon the teachings of the Quran. Sharia law must be banned from all US governing systems including US courts.

We are seeing in Europe what happens if guard is lowered. Millions of illegal Islam believing immigrants have flooded into what are Christian foundation countries. The result has been chaos, violence, and even the loss of culture and beliefs once based in Judeo-Christian tenants. Europe is losing.

Gabbard said, “The bottom line is this. When we talk about the threat of Islamism, this political ideology, there is no such thing as individual freedom or liberty. Islamism (or Islam) is fundamentally incompatible with our nation’s foundation of freedom.”

And if you think this gradual invasion of the USA by Islamism is not occurring, just think about Dearborn, Michigan; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and most recently Patterson, New Jersey, who calls itself the first Muslim city. Think, too, about Kokomo, Indiana, where an Islamic Center was established not that many years ago. Think about the fact the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library was the site of a “What does the Quran Say..” gathering in December. Think about the fact an Indiana University Kokomo chemistry professor as long ago as 26 years taught Islam in university facilities in violation of university rules.

It is time to carefully vet all believers in Islam in the United States to determine where loyalty is rooted. Is it in the Constitution and Bill of Rights of the United States of America or is it in the Quran? It is time to deport all Islamists who are not US citizens including many who are among the hoard of illegal aliens that have invaded our country. There is no time to waste.

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Never Again

Democrats and the Democrat Party must never again be allowed power. That Party must be squashed to the point of being only an irrelevant whimper. The Democrat Party and too many of its leaders and followers have become advocates of deadly violence. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is only the latest.

The Democrat Party far left wing has taken over. It tolerates…. no, embraces…. Communists and communism, Islamists, abortion to birth, transgender insanity, no-cash bail, defund the police, gun bans, illegal aliens by the millions, sanctuary cities, no voter ID, and more. I could go on and on. It has become the Anti-American Party wanting to bring down this nation.

Joe Biden et.al. in their four years almost got the job done. I cannot even bring myself to call him “President”. He and those around him proved themselves to be evil and traitors. Somehow, accountability must come.

Now, we learn of the firing from employment of many who made cruel and disparaging remarks about the killing of Charlie Kirk. They cheered his death. My hope is every one of them is sent into obscurity in self-imposed exile for the rest of their lives.

Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA stood and stands for the highest ideals of the United States of America. Charlie stood for peace with disagreement about all sorts of issues, but debate; not violence. He reached out specifically to the young who had been and are being propagandized by far left college professors. He embraced debate.

Charlie Kirk’s killing will not stop the people of the United States from fully taking back their country. The Turning Point message will only get louder and louder. Already, we learn that thousands have made inquiry about starting new Turning Point chapters. Charlie’s voice has been amplified thousands of times over.

The evil doers, the Democrat Party and its leaders and followers, must and will be sent into exile. The United States of America will again become the light on the hill for personal freedom, freedom of speech, and respect for one another. Charlie Kirk led the way. We all should thank God for Charlie Kirk having walked among us.

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The Chinese are Here

According to the Institute of International Education and Statista, in the 2023-2024 academic year there were 277,398 Chinese national students studying in the United States. And as of Spring 2025, there were 2,043 Chinese national students at Purdue University with 1,340 of them being graduate students. Indiana University had over 1,000 Chinese national students over the same periods.

There is a big issue. This has been going on for years. These students are in a position to steal all sorts of intellectual property and be involved in cutting edge technology, the life blood of the United States of America. Congress has told us over and over that billions of dollars of intellectual property are stolen each year and fed back to Communist China. I have to suspect part of it sources at Purdue.

And what is the big draw for universities? Money! Tuition and fees money are in the tens of millions of dollars yearly. Then there are room and board fees for students as well. More millions. Another word for this may be greed.

Purdue is one of the top national research universities in the country. Indiana University not so much. The largest on-campus student organization at the Purdue campus is the “Chinese Students and Scholar’s Association”. Even this suggests something is amiss.

It is not without note that the current President of Purdue University is Dr. Mung Chiang, a naturalized American citizen of about 20 years but from China. And the acting department head of the Forestry and Natural Resource Department for a time was Dr. Zhao Ma who was born in China and whose undergraduate education was in Beijing, China. She is now the head of the Human Dimensions Lab in the FNR department. I do not know if she is a naturalized US citizen. So, the presence on the Purdue campus of people either Chinese citizens or former Chinese and now US citizens is substantial.

There is more. Foreign entities own a total of 40 million acres of US farmland and China has bought up nearly 347,000 acres, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. We are well aware, too, that Smithfield Foods, an icon of the American food industry, was purchased by the Chinese in 2013 for $7.1 billion. More inroads into our food supply.

It seems the Chinese Communists are finding ways to infiltrate the US economy and society more and more with each passing day. They have been selling more product into our country than any other foreign country. And they have control of the precursor materials for literally all of our prescription medicines.

Fortunately, very recently it was announced that the Select Committee on the Communist Party in the US Congress is pursuing investigation about the presence and research activities of students from Communist China at Purdue University and several other universities. That has been needed for years.

The entanglement with and gradual encroachment of China into the United States cannot go on if we want to have a viable and vibrant Constitutional Republic. President Trump is well aware of this and is trying to take corrective measures. Democrats and RINOs are road blocking whenever possible. That must stop.

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Tax $$ and NPR/PBS

It is long past time for taxpayer dollars from the federal government to be sent off to the Public Broadcasting System and the National Public Radio. We are not talking a few dollars but hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting takes federal tax dollars north of $500 million a year. Time for it to come to a screeching halt.

As one who drives a lot for business, I do a good deal of radio listening. An Indianapolis PBS station is one I frequent from time to time. I finally had to give it up. The reason was I became irritated with the politically left Democrat messages that came through either explicitly or subtlety in even the words or the slant of reports much too often.

Then I did a bit of research. I ran into an OpenSecrets report that 100% of political donations from PBS employees went to Democrats during the 2024 political cycle. And since 1996, going back nearly 30 years and more than $85,000 in donations, according to OpenSecrets data, there has only been one cycle (2004) in which Republicans received more in campaign contributions than Democrats from PBS employees.

Among NPR employees, the imbalance is even worse. OpenSecets NPR data of nearly $60,000 in donations goes back 33 years to 1992. There has never been an election in that period in which NPR employees donated more to Republicans than Democrats. OpenSecrets states in fact, in those 16 political cycles, Republicans only received any funding at all in just two cycles, and that includes a paltry $1 — yes, one buck — last year to then GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum.

Do you think something is amiss? NPR/PBS are Democrat political propaganda arms and have been forever.

I come from a journalism background in newspapers. I don’t think any newspapers ever were supported with tax dollars from the government — state or federal. Newspapers in their day were supported by subscription dollars and dollars from advertisers. The lived by being relevant to their subscriber readers. Their time passed for several reasons, which I intend to write about in the future, and new media, primarily electronic, means are and have been emerging.

It is long past time, again, for tax dollars to stop going to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR, and PBS. If they are to live, they must earn the support of listeners and advertisers. If enough want the kind of biased news and messages they broadcast and will pay for it, they will prosper. If not, they will fold up and fade away.

Our nation is in a financial crisis and this funding is certainly one that is no longer justified, if it ever was. And this is not over. The next look needs to be at the “Voice of America” which received over $250 million in 2023. It needs to be axed as well.

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The Penalty of Leadership

In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity.

Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work.

In art, in literature, in music, in industry; the reward and the punishment are always the same.

The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction.

When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be merely mediocre, he will be left severely alone — if he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a-wagging.

Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting.

Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build; no one will strive to surpass or to slander you, unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius.

Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious continue to cry out that it cannot be done.

Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountebank, long after the big world had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius.

Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all.

The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by.

The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership.

Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy — but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant.

There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as the human passions — envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass.

And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains — the leader.

Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman; each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages.

That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial.
That which deserves to live — lives.

[From an advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post, January 2nd, 1915, by the Cadillac Motor Car Company]

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The Fourth Estate

In the early 1800’s, the term, “The Fourth Estate”, was coined in reference to a free and unfettered press. The first three “Estates” are the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the government. The Fourth Estate was seen as the last of the four cornerstones that uphold a free and democratic society. The recognition of the vital need to have and guarantee a free press was written into the Constitution by our country’s Founders.

Axiomatic to the exercise of a free press must be the reciprocal element of responsibility to the people. The public’s right to know is to be carried out by that free press. This principle has stood the test of time from the beginning of our Republic until the present day; but not without periods of failure.

In New York City over 100 years ago, the term “Yellow Journalism” came into being as a result of the battle between the New York Journal and the New York World for increased circulation. Critics attacked both newspapers for building circulation based upon sex, violence and crime sprinkled with emotionalism, inaccuracies, and exaggerations.

We seem to be in a period of resurgence of yellow journalism. Today’s yellow journalism finds fertile ground in would-be or pseudo journalists whose motives have little to do with social conscience, disclosure of injustice, uncovering wrong doing or giving voice to the voiceless. Rather these journalists-in-name only are self-seekers whose motives involve pride, profit, power and a practice of abusing the standards of journalism. Today’s journalists, particularly those of the electronic media, are becoming entertainers, celebrities and spokespersons for the rich and powerful. In short, they have failed the people.
The firewall that used to exist between news and editorials has either faded or completely broken down. Whatever the medium, what distinguishes the best from the rest is the quality of objectivity and completeness in covering news combined with a clear, sharp line between news and opinion. In television, the distinction has disappeared completely. Advocacy reporting has become the norm. Ratings have become supreme.

The print media, newspapers and magazines, have not faired much better. The consolidation of ownership from many thousands of independently owned publications to fewer and fewer media groups or giants has made the profit motive supreme; not the telling of thoughtful, deep, complete, and accurate stories upon which the public depends.

Too many contemporary journalists, in a rush to be first in print or on air that has to do more with personal prestige than with informing the public, have overlooked two basic journalistic rules: 1) find a second, confirming source, and 2) check, check, and then recheck…. Then give the whole story as objectively as humanly possible to the public. The media owes the public an abiding sense of fairness and responsibility. A free press is only as good, and as durable, as its performance.

We are now in the early years of a new era: that of the Internet dissemination of news. Traditional media have an increasing presence there, but the real ground swell is from thousands who have chosen to communicate with their fellows what their own eyes have seen and ears have heard. They have as well chosen to express their own opinions about what they have seen and heard. We have another chance now to try to get it right. A free society feeds on an informed citizenry, not on talking or blogging heads broadcasting an undifferentiated mix of news and opinion.

Real, professional journalism is the effort to help the reader know the difference between fact and fiction. This requires a pledge to follow established practices of good journalism. This requires a pledge to state as clearly as possible what is believed to be verified fact verses a writer’s opinion or information that cannot be independently confirmed

We know the notion that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; and surely that will continue to be true where information freedom is concerned. The formal press and now the one person who transmits information to others must stand responsible — which is to say professional, conscientious, discreet, fair, and accurate. The health of our nation depends upon an accurately informed public. The right of the people to know must be a sacred pledge.

(The above largely from USFEVA.ORG; an organization no longer existing.)

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A Vote for Trump

A Substack writer, Kevin Sorbo, posted what follows when asked why he is voting for Trump. He says he is not voting just for Trump, but for……..

I’m voting for the First Amendment and freedom of speech.
I’m voting for the Second Amendment and my right to defend my life and my family.
I’m voting for the next Supreme Court Justice(s) to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I’m voting for the continued growth of my retirement and reducing inflation.
I’m voting for a return of our troops from foreign countries and the end to America’s involvement in foreign conflicts.
I’m voting for the Electoral College and for the Republic in which we live.
I’m voting for the Police to be respected once again and to ensure Law & Order. I am tired of all the criminals having a revolving door and being put back on the street.
I’m voting for the continued appointment of Federal Judges who respect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I’m voting for keeping our jobs to remain in America and not be outsourced all over the world — to China, Mexico and other foreign countries. I want USA made.
I’m voting for secure borders and have legal immigration. I can’t believe we have actually flown 380,000 illegal immigrants into our country. I am voting for doing away with all of the freebies given to all of the illegals and not look after the needs of the American citizens.
I’m voting for the Military & the Veterans who fought for this country to give the American people their freedoms.
I’m voting for the unborn babies that have the right to live.
I’m voting for peace progress in the Middle East.
I’m voting to fight against human/child trafficking.
I’m voting for Freedom of Religion.
I’m voting for the right to speak my opinion and not be censored.
I’m voting for the return of teaching math, history, and science instead of indoctrination of our children and pronouns.
I’m not just voting for one person. I’m voting for the future of my Country.
I’m voting for my children and my grandchildren to ensure their freedoms and their future.”

I say…… AMEN! and add…..

I’m voting for keeping men out of women’s sports.
I’m voting for ending the transgender fiasco. Can’t biologically happen.
I’m voting for the return of all illegal aliens to their countries of origin.

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Budget Shock

Indiana State Representative Mike Karickhoff does a good job of keeping his constituents informed about state government. He deserves our thanks. This week brought into my mailbox Karickhoff’s most recent update and with it a SHOCK!

There is a graphic that shows clearly where Indiana citizens tax dollars actually go. I have included it so you will see for yourselves.

For the fiscal year 2024-2025, Indiana will spend 47% of all tax dollars on K-12 education and another 10% on higher education. That means over half, 57%, of all tax dollars go to education of Indiana citizens, largely children.

The Indiana Department of Education reports 82% of third graders can read at grade level which means 18% (about 14,000 students) cannot. It also reports Indiana’s literacy rates have been declining for a decade, well before the pandemic. Somewhat similar performance occurs in math proficiency. All of this in spite of the fact it is reported the USA spends more per student on education than all other advanced countries of the world except for tiny country Luxembourg.

And according to the National Literacy Institute, on average 79% of US adults nationwide are literate in 2024. Further, it reports the US ranks 36th in literacy among countries. Something is amiss.

I have to wonder. My impression is that we are spending an inordinate amount of money and energy on school athletics and marching bands and not enough on academics. A good example is the multi-million dollar girls softball field at Kokomo High School. And take a look at the football stadium for KHS. It rivals many at the collegiate level. Then there is the marching band facility and even the architectural horns and whistles on any new building construction.

Too, I wonder about how many hours of classroom instruction per year take place in schools. I read that in Indiana 180 days of instruction in an academic year are required at minimum for elementary and secondary schools; that is less than half the days in a year. I see school buses leaving schools with students a little after 2:00 in the afternoon. Indiana requires a minimum of 5 hours per day for grades 1 through 5 and 6 hours for grades 7-12. These don’t count any recesses or lunch periods.

From past experience, I know that a significant percentage of students who sought admission to Indiana University Kokomo could not pass the English or the math proficiency requirement. Remediation courses were required.

Given the taxpayer funds spent on Indiana education from grade one through state supported university levels, maybe it is time to rethink a few things.