Gay’s Harvard: DEI Must DIE

Serial plagiarist Claudine Gay will retain her $900,000 salary. [The Rude Awakening] January 03, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Gay’s Harvard: DEI Must DIE [Sean Ring] SEAN RING “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” I’ll always believe America’s political downfall started with that sentence. [When Bill “Slick Willie” Clinton uttered that phrase while he was being grilled over a particular White House intern]( I knew the game changed. I didn’t want to believe it, but it was plain as a pikestaff. That was the day Clinton signaled to the other elites there’s always a way out. There’s no honor nor outrage. And indeed, no apologies. Just ponder the meaning of words like “is” and see if a lawyer is clever enough to take apart your argument. No lawyer is. Because it’s not an argument, it’s a runaround. Really, it’s a steaming pile of bullshit. And to this day, I pat myself on the back for voting for Bob Dole in 1996. As I sit here in Italy, watching America’s slow-motion car crash from afar, few instances epitomize how far America has fallen than Claudine Gay’s testimony, plagiarism, and resignation. Will DEI DIE in 2024? When it was first introduced at large companies, the new “wing” of Human Resources departments was called “Diversity and Inclusion.” Then, “equity” became the next big buzzword. However, the initials of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity were DIE, which is what most people wanted it to do. So they changed it to “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” or DEI. Like all flawed ideas, there was a kernel of goodness in affirmative action. The idea was to get the right people in the right places, even if they didn’t have the “right” upbringing, connections, or education. The idea was to increase merit, not to decrease it. We wanted equality of opportunity, not outcome. Of course, the message of affirmative action got distorted over time. Now, it means “anyone non-white, except Asian-Americans, get ridiculously preferential treatment.” And as Thomas Sowell once said, "When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination." There is nothing more unAmerican than preferential treatment. [Rude] Credit: [@paulg]( [Critical Customer Service Notice]( [Click here to learn more]( Hi, this is Dustin Weisbecker, the Director of Customer Service for Jim Rickards. And I’m trying to reach readers about [a massive change we’ve just implemented to Strategic Intelligence.]( As a reader of Jim’s work, this change could have a direct impact on you and your subscription. What’s more, this change will be going into effect immediately – in fact, you may have already noticed it. To bring you up to speed, I just recorded a short video explaining all of the important details about this upgrade. [Click here now.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Harvard and Hiring I should’ve known something was up when I returned to New York to teach in 2022. I had been teaching in Asia for thirteen years and hadn’t seen the changes since 2009 when I left for Singapore. In 2007 and 2008, I used to shake before walking into a classroom. These kids, from schools like Harvard, Penn, Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne, University of Tokyo, Stanford, and MIT - the world’s finest - were incredibly bright, enthusiastic, and switched on. They knew finance theory inside out. Our classes were sometimes too basic for them. Fast forward to 2022, and the banks were no longer recruiting out of many of these schools. First, many of these kids left their mundane banking jobs after a year to go into tech, and the banks knew it. Second, the quality of the students dropped quite precipitously. Sure, I’d have a couple of superstars in the classroom, but not a classroom full of superstars. Very quietly, schools like Harvard not so much lost their cache but weren’t the places to find high-quality, long-term hires. And as the Generation X affirmative action kids grew up and got on television, it was easy to see why. We Know, Joy. We Know. Luckily, I had left the States before Joy Reid got famous. I knew she was a Harvard grad who talked nonsense on MSNBC. That’s all. Yawn. But then SCOTUS ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions processes violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. From [Reid herself]( I got into Harvard only because of affirmative action. I went to a school no one had ever heard of in Denver, Colorado, in a small suburb. I didn’t go to a prestigious high school like Exeter or Andover. I didn’t have college test prep. I just happened to be really nerdy and smart and have really good grades and good SAT scores. But someone came to Denver to look for me. A Harvard recruiter flew in, met me at a restaurant, and did a pre-interview to pull me into Harvard. I was pulled in — affirmatively. This was not the recruiter saying, "We’re going to take an unqualified person and put them in Harvard." Rather, they were saying, "We’re going to take a very qualified person who we would never know existed and put them in Harvard." My first reaction is that this is how the system was meant to work. Finding talent, wherever it is, and allowing it to flourish in the best possible places. Of course, [the internet reaction was, “Yes, Joy, we know.”]( And that’s because Joy Reid hasn’t done anything but spout gibberish on MSNBC. In other words, the game is up. The [Peter Principle]( is kicking in. Perhaps we’ve always known that a “Harvard education” isn’t the same for all Harvard students. Keep The Cash. We’ve Got Plenty! This brings us to Claudine Gay, the now-former President of Harvard. To catch you up, courtesy of [Breitbart]( Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned on Tuesday, following antisemitism scandals at the Ivy League university, a disastrous congressional testimony, and scores of plagiarism allegations being unearthed in recent months. Her six month tenure marks the shortest tenure in Harvard’s history. Gay’s resignation — just six months and two days into her presidency — makes her tenure as president the shortest in Harvard’s history, according to a report by the Harvard Crimson. One question: how can advocating the extermination of Jews not be a violation of a university’s Code of Conduct? A simple “yes” would have saved her and everyone looking through her scandalous academic resumé, which shows she plagiarized nearly fifty(!) times in the only eleven papers she ever published. Fine, she thinks Israel is committing a humanitarian catastrophe. But as an educator, how can you not commit to protecting all of your students? This alone warrants her firing. But her subpar output and her demonstrated serial plagiarism in a subject (African-American Studies) that doesn’t exactly tax the intellect, still got her the Harvard presidency. Still, Harvard has let her keep her job and salary, too, according to [The New York Post](. From The Post: House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik — a Harvard graduate who emerged as Gay’s chief critic — ripped the decision to allow her to remain on the faculty. Stefanik argued that Gay’s plagiarism charges are an indelible stain that mars the school’s legitimacy. “She’s not fit to be a faculty member,” Stefanik told The Post. “It’s unacceptable when you have students at Harvard who would be expelled for plagiarism to allow a faculty member who has nearly 50 examples of plagiarism in their very slim body of academic work. It’s absurd and everybody knows it. Harvard knows it, too.” Wrap Up Universities are overvalued by vast amounts. Really, they are Human Resource filters, so companies don’t have to do the actual work of vetting hires. Companies used to trust places like Harvard to do the vetting for them. But if the institution has become such a political animal, rather than a place of unblemished education, of what value is it? Unfortunately, just like Slick Willie, Gay got off with a slap on the wrist. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… Rip Roaring Rally Ends Year: December 2023 MACR [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy New Year! I hope Santa gave you everything you wanted. And I hope you gave your family and friends all the presents you wanted to give them. After all, that’s why we’re here, watching the red and green blips on the screen. Here’s to a magnificent 2024. I look forward to spending a lot of time together. As for the markets, what a staggering rally to end the year! The Nazzie and the Russell ran straight through my targets, as did Bitcoin. I’m glad gold and silver remained sane and calm. As you thumb through this report, you’ll see I think gold, silver, and crypto are good portfolio choices right now. And though equities are showing no reason to sell, I’m starting to get cautious. Everyone and his mother is back in tech stocks, and they’re severely overbought. I can easily see a correction coming there. I feel the same way about bonds. I don’t like bonds because the inflation story is far from over. I can see a correction coming there, as well. I’m not saying to sell stocks and bonds right now. I’m not. I’m merely saying it’s time to start watching for any sell-offs coming. Of course, it’s the first week of January, so that we may gain further. With that in mind, let’s get to the charts. S&P 500 [Rude Awakening] We nearly hit last month’s 4,800 target in under 20 trading days. And while there’s no technical reason for the market to come down, I’m concerned about the various intermarket relationships (see below). Nasdaq Composite [Rude Awakening] We flew through 14,400 and breached 15,000. The next level is 16,000. However, we’re starting to get severely overbought here. Let’s see what this week brings us. A pullback to 14,400 would be healthy. Russell 2000 (Small caps) [Rude Awakening] Ok, when the small caps fly through levels, you know monetary conditions are loose, not tight. I’ll write more about that tomorrow. We went through 197 fast, but now I’m unsure about the 207 level. That last candle may be a reversal candle. We’ll have to see. The US 10-Year Yield [Rude Awakening] The 10-year yield keeps declining. Much of the market is looking for a rate cut, though I think it’ll be disappointing before the mid-year. I am looking at 3.4% next. Dollar Index [Rude Awakening] I’m looking for a dollar rebound here. Not a big one; maybe to 103. But enough to get the dollar doomers quiet for a month or two. USG Bonds [Rude Awakening] Among other colleagues, Zach Scheidt hit it out of the park on this one. TLT ran straight through our target to 98.88. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reversal this month, just to cool it off. Investment Grade Bonds [Rude Awakening] We blasted through 109, but I’m hesitant to say we’ll go much higher. Let’s see if we get a reversal from the sharp rise this month. [Could You Spot These 2 AI Investing Traps?]( Here’s something no one else will tell you about artificial intelligence. Investing in AI… is BS. Almost every investor out there is falling into [2 AI investing traps](. And they’re going to lose their shirts. Before you spend one nickel on AI… [click here to see tech genius James Altucher’s urgent warning to investors]( [Click Here To Learn More]( High Yield Bonds [Rude Awakening] We hit our target of 78, but again, we could be reversing here. The uptrend got much steeper last month. I’m not sure that can last much longer. Real Estate [Rude Awakening] We didn’t get to 90-92 yet. But I’m also weary of a reversal from here. This two-month rally was insane, going from 70 to 88, an over 25% gain. Energy: West Texas Intermediate (Oil) [Rude Awakening] I thought we’d turn around, but that didn’t happen. However, I can’t see oil going much lower here. A reversion to 78 is on the cards. Base Metals: Copper [Rude Awakening] From last month: Though copper rallied, I’m not convinced. I am still keeping my downside targets of 3.60 and 3.30. The real economy is in bad shape. Precious Metals: Gold [Rude Awakening] From last month: Ok, we finally closed a month above $2,000. Allegedly, the sky’s the limit. But, we need to be cautiously optimistic. The new upside target in gold is $2,340. In my interview with Thorsten Polleit, he targeted $2,200 for year-end. Both can be correct. But we must see the new “line in the sand” to make more valid assumptions. Good hunting! Precious Metals: Silver [Rude Awakening] From last month: As Rick Rule says, fear drives gold. But once a gold rally is established, silver joins in as a greed trade. The upside target here is only $26.50. For now. Let gold get a head of steam going, and then silver will follow. It’ll take all your patience, but it’ll be worth it. Cryptos: Bitcoin [Rude Awakening] From last month: Ran straight through my target of $35,650. Next target: $47,000 or thereabouts. Cryptos: Ether [Rude Awakening] Straight through the $2,300 target, now looking for $3,300. Trade Asset Class Summary [Rude Awakening] From [stockcharts.com]( Intermarket Technical Analysis is the study of the relationships between the four major financial markets: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities, and Currencies. There are several key relationships that bind these four markets together. These relationships are: The INVERSE relationship between commodities and bonds The INVERSE relationship between bonds and stocks The POSITIVE relationship between stocks and commodities The INVERSE relationship between the US Dollar and commodities POSITIVE: When one goes up, the other goes up also. INVERSE: When one goes up, the other goes down. When these relationships occur, the markets are said to be acting "normally" and there is a good probability the current trends will continue. When one or more of these relationships break down, the markets should be watched carefully for signs of general trend reversals. Three of these four relationships are out-of-whack. That makes me think a reversal may be coming soon. Bonds led the way last month, as everyone is begging their 60/40 portfolio to return. Crypto Class Summary [Rude Awakening] Crypto logged another good month, with Bitcoin and Ether leading the way, up nearly 10% each. The only loser among the bigger coins this month is Monero. Wrap Up I’m still happy to be long gold, silver, and crypto. I can’t help but think a reversal is in the offing for stocks, bonds, and real estate. Finally, let’s take a moment, courtesy of the Twitterverse: [Rude Awakening] Credit: [@alifarhat79]( Have a great week! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from , feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at . This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, contact us here or call . 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