The Philadelphia Inquirer “Letter to the Editor”   Published on December 13,  2023

By Joseph Batory

The recent Congressional inquisition of university leaders was yet another cleverly calculated episode of  political posturing and manipulation.

It would have been much more appropriate for these elected representatives to hold a hearing on the massive dysfunction and ideologically driven partisanship of their own Congress of the United States.

Instead, these elected officials opted to pillory university leaders with carefully crafted explosive questions designed to solicit sound bites that would stir up different constituencies and the news media.  And no matter how the respondents responded, they would be found guilty.

The scam worked perfectly!!!

Predictably, this Congressional indictment inspired powerful vigilantes inside the university (especially wealthy donors) and via more elected officials to immediately rise up and make demands, carrying hanging ropes and torches of righteousness, and basically taking control of a university.

This political dynamic followed the first rule of elected officials: distract the public from your own incompetence and ineffectiveness and invent new enemies of the people. 

Fascism lives. It is time to build more gallows in the USA.  The Salem Witch Trials Have Returned!!!