Six common themes unite the Jussie Smollett and college admissions scandals

March 13, 2019
Six common themes unite the Jussie Smollett and college admissions scandals
By Thomas Lifson
A
https://www.americanthinker.com/blo...smollett_and_college_admissions_scandals.html

Hollywood elites are, by definition, in the business of concocting fictional stories. Is it any surprise that they apply these skill sets beyond screen and stage entertainment, where the fiction is acknowledged, and use them to achieve their objectives in realms affecting their personal and political lives?

In both the college admissions scandal and the alleged hate crime fraud masterminded (I use the term very loosely) by Jussie Smollett, I five other common points in addition to the first point of employing fiction:

Two: Powerful people from powerful families with no concern for issues of right and wrong, tried to accomplish their goals “by any means necessary.” Religion -- the notion the God watches over us and knows when we sin – is regarded as a quaint vestige of the past, and a hindrance to achieving necessary ends, both personal and political.

Three: Wealth enables payoffs. Most people cannot conceive of lavishing thousands of dollars, much less hundreds of thousands or even millions, on bribes because they earn their money through hard work. But such are the rewards of stardom or business success that once liberated from concerns over morality (see point one), there is no problem in offering whatever it takes ($3500 for a couple of Nigerian brothers, or millions to a college official to get the desired behavior.

Four: The notion that “laws are for the little people” is widespread, from Hillary Clinton’s exoneration by James Comey (and according to the recently-released testimony of Lisa Page, the Department of Justice), to state and local level officials who escape mundane concerns such as speed limits.

Five: Utter indifference to the victims of their fraud. Jussie Smollett remained silent as the Chicago Police investigated possible miscreants, who could well have had their lives ruined if prosecuted for the phony hate crime. I suspect that most of the parents and children admitted to elite schools never once thought about the hard-working kids who did not get the longed-for acceptance letters they got through fraud. They matter so little that they don’t ever merit consideration when planning the crimes.

Six: Despite all of the above, virtue-signaling remains a favorite pastime. Smollett’s now-infamous interview with Robin Roberts was a non-stop festival of moral preening (as a victim), while at least some of the Hollywood and business elites implicated in the college admissions scandal used their wealth for “donations” to a tax-deductible foundation established by the consultant, while others donated directly to the universities.

I suspect there are other similarities between the two scandals, because they both reveal that our ruling class is far more corrupt and cynical than most Americans ever realized.

Note: I am indebted to my friend Mike Nadler for originally pointing out the compariosn between the two scandals. But repsonsibiity for any inadequacies and errors rests solely with me.





Winter for the Ruling Class (Yale University - photo credit Maxpixel)

March 13, 2019
College admissions scandal: Now we know for sure that elites do not know the difference between right and wrong
By Patricia McCarthy
A
https://www.americanthinker.com/blo...w_the_difference_between_right_and_wrong.html

We are all suddenly privy to how the very rich operate thanks to the breaking news of the widespread cheating by very, very wealthy people, some of them Hollywood celebrities, to get their children into the best colleges, not on merit but by bribery. Most people have long known that the political elite pulled strings to get sub-par students into good schools; the Kennedy family comes to mind. So does the Gore family and the rest of the self-appointed best.

Those folks take their privilege for granted. They can pull those strings because they are entitled by virtue of their position. And probably sixty per cent of those who reach those levels of power got there by similar means: nepotism, money, the social connections made while at Ivy league universities and incumbency.

Such is the character of a great number of the people who run our government and our financial institutions. Like those indicted yesterday in the admissions scandal, they are rich, so that empowers them to whatever they want, even if they have to cheat to get it. The two actresses were front and center because they are familiar faces, but the rest of those involved are every bit as shameless, every bit as corrupt.

The rub is that they will never grasp the fact that what they've done is wrong. In their world, it is how things are done among special people. Their kids will go to the right schools and meet the right people. They were already set for life. With a bought and paid-for leg up to the right school, they will be among the privileged elite all of their lives.

The fact is that this level of fraud is rampant and has been for years and years. There are psychologists, probably in every major city, who for the big bucks will write letters on behalf of normal kids of wealthy parents saying they need extra time for tests, that they have learning disabilities. This is especially true at the toniest of private schools.

The parents who send their kids to expensive pre-schools for what college used to cost will stop at nothing to ensure their children's success. Purchasing it is the most natural thing in the world to them. That they are buying unearned places in a university that may be depriving a lower-income, hard-working, talented student or athlete of a place will never occur to them. They are entitled, as Hillary was entitled to the presidency so all her cheating was justified. It was a miracle she did not succeed, for she is as guilty of fraud as everyone involved in the admissions scandal

Will these advantaged kids be happy? Of course, their parents believe. They will have everything, and to this crowd, having everything is what matters. They will meet and marry the right partner from an equally privileged family and fortunes may be expanded. Clearly these parents have no clue about character-building, letting their kids fail so they will try again to succeed on their own. Judging from the video of one the young girls who benefitted from her parents' largesse, she has no sense at all of the value of education or the extent of her own good fortune. Like so many young people today, she has not an iota of gratitude for all the trappings of wealth she takes for granted.

The news reports suggest that the children who were the subjects of their parents' scheme did not know of it. Of course, that is ridiculous. All kids know in their bones what their skills are; they know they did not earn those extra four-hundred points on their SAT.

Will all those admitted under false pretenses be kicked out of those prestigious schools? Probably not. The Ivies do not like to admit they made mistakes in admitting any student. They will carry them, graduate them, even if they are second- or third-rate students. The stunningly ignorant Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has a degree from Boston University in economics and political science and the woman cannot put a grammatically-correct sentence together let alone knowledgably discuss any relevant issue.

What was exposed today is a sign of such terrible rot in our body politic. While it is clear that the two actresses involved are leftists, no one yet knows the politics of the other thirty-six parents charged with a variety of crimes, all of whom paid to get their kids into fancy schools under false pretenses. While it is tempting to assume they are all leftists, that is not a safe bet since the establishment denizens of the DC swamp tend to share a similar and astonishing lack of American values once held dear and taken for granted by their constituents. Let us hope and pray that shining a light on this despicable practice will bring it to an end but old habits die hard. The rich are not likely to give up their access to power and privilege without a fight.


Doheney Library, University of Southern California (photo credit)

Just in, Elizabeth Warren Has no sympathy for people involved in fraudulent entry into colleges.

So says the woman who lied about her native American heritage to get into a college.

The hypocrisy of the left is staggering and mind blowing.