For those of you familiar with the taxa of clinical psychology, would the behavior of Meredith Raimondo and Camille Twillie Ambar be described as ‘sociopathic’ or ‘narcissitic’?
Note, under New York law, the board of trustees of a private institution can be deposed by court order for gross fiduciary failure. Is there such a law in Ohio? And if there is, for what are the authorities waiting?
Responding to Art Deco’s question, the correct answer is “yes”. You’re welcome.
Didn’t recognize you without the Granny Smith.
Re: Oberlin
Too bad Oberlin employees / officials were not PERSONALLY held liable ( in addition to the college) and forced to pay a real penalty (monetary or prison or both) for their abusive actions.
As it stands, the Oberlin individuals who engaged in this crap are getting away
scot-free.
What a fun photo! I’m sure your grandfather was proud!
Same lovely, thick, curly hair.
As it stands, the Oberlin individuals who engaged in this crap are getting away
scot-free.
Oglethorpe in Georgia has hired Meredith Raimondo for a comparable job. Note, she, the college president, and the general counsel at Oberline are (with the complicity of the board) responsible for this disaster. Why do you hire someone who bears 1/3 of the responsibility for a loss to your institution of $25 million in a judgment, $6.2 million in interest on that judgment, and seven figures in legal fees from ‘aggressively litigating’ when you had a lousy case? It’s because to the ambulatory manure who run American higher education, wokery which causes your institution to be out an eight figure sum of money is not a delict. Note, the tool in charge of Oglethorpe the last two years is a psychologist named Ladany, who says everything he does is filtered through a ‘diversity and inclusion’ lens. (Unlike most faculty psychologists, his research is in clinical psychology). The board who appointed him is composed of corporate types. One thing we’ve discovered is that much of corporate America is now run by devotees of a social-political fad-cult which is the fuel for ruining one institution after another.
Yes, what needs to happen is that Republican legislators need to amend corporation law and tort law to render corporate officers more vulnerable to suits. As long as it’s other people’s money, they’ll behave badly.
What a wonderful photo!
News from Germany on CNN Int. My husband watches CNN quite a bit, and I usually tell him what is wrong, but today was exceptional. They spent most of their time talking about the ceremony for the nuclear sub Delaware. It is a Virginia class sub (number 18 so far), but the Bidens will be in Wilmington for the ceremony, and CNN will show the whole thing. Apparently, the original ceremony was postponed because of Covid, so actually the sub must have
been in service for 2 years. This is just a formal chance for Biden and “Dr.” Jill to get some airtime without having to leave home.
This BS is probably why I need blood pressure pills.
Thanks for the picture, Neo. You were adorable.
I linked to this yesterday in the open thread but it may have got lost in mix so I will put it here too. This is a pretty troubling case.
I was just listening Warren Zevon’s immortal song:
____________________________
I went home with a waitress
The way I always do.
How was I to know
She was with the Russians too?
…
Send lawyers, guns and money.
Dad, get me out of this.
I notice Oberlin is hanging tough that the suit was strictly about freedom of speech, not libel.
“Rolling Stone,” not surprisingly, paints the story as “Republicans pounce” and schadenfreude. The author wears out his a, l, e, g, d, y keys typing “allegedly” at every turn. Even the Stone readers ratio the story severely in the comments.
They spent most of their time talking about the ceremony for the nuclear sub Delaware. It is a Virginia class sub (number 18 so far)
That’s a fast attack sub. Perfect for sinking Russian supply or troop ships. (joke) The other major type of sub is the boomer, or ballistic missile sub.
Fifty-five powerful and influential House Democrats are reportedly financially stiffing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), failing to pay the dues they owe because of the likelihood that Republicans will retake the chamber.
I had no idea that there was a dues quasi-requirement.
In the case of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow “Squad” members, this isn’t their first rodeo; they’ve been skipping out on their dues for years based on the Democrats’ “no-primary” policy for incumbents. So in the Squad’s case, they’re deadbeating the DCCC because they are deadbeats.
Wilfred Reilly posted this on twitter. Great advice.
The right should start referring to any legislation dealing with ‘gender identity’ as the “Don’t Say Woman Bill.”
I didn’t recognize you without the apple. 🙂
Ed Driscoll sums up the current conunmdrum regarding conservative optimism looking ahead to the upcoming midterm elections:
________________________________
You won’t hear about it from the important influencers, because the issue has become impolitic at this point. The thinking: We need to move on from whatever happened in 2020. Confidence in future outcomes must be projected, not the lingering doubt—many believe surety—that 2020 was stolen.
Alive and well in the comment sections, the watercooler talk, is the fear that the Democrats will rig their way out of this.
Cockiness, or just a damn good instinct about what is going to happen?
The big names in political commentary, O’Reilly, Hannity, Morris, and others, seem to be saying that there is no way the party of Biden, Harris, Schumer, and Pelosi can escape perdition.
I wouldn’t say cockiness is a problem for neo and most commenters here. I seem to be the only participant holding out for optimism.
I don’t say this to start a fight. My default position is curiosity when encountering different opinions.
The 2020 election was exceedingly cruel to conservatives. First the George Floyd death followed by his canonization and the subsequent BLN/Antifa riots aided and abetted Dem leadership in major blue cities. Then the ongoing Coivd pandemic used to beat populations into submission with lockdowns, masks and social distancing. Plus drive a stake through middle-class finances, while the ultra-rich got ultra-richer. Coivd was also used to weaken laws and procedues to protect voting integrity.
Then the horror of the 2020 election night when voting returns ceased for hours in several crucial states, after which Trump was suddenly behind and eventually lost the next day.
The first year of Biden’s presidency Democrats acted as though Biden’s victory was a vast mandate across the board. They were obscenely aggressive in pressing a hard left agenda — huge pork bills, efforts to pack the Supreme Court, to pass federal pro-fraud election laws, etc. — effectively intended to make the Democrats as dominant as the Mexican PRI party which held power in Mexico for most of the 20th Century.
Democrats came close to running the table. But just couldn’t quite push their big ticket items over the top. They have also presided over astonishing debacles — the Afghanistan bug-out and rampant inflation plus the incredible shrinking POTUS and Veep, whose poll numbers have collapsed in spite of all efforts of the mainstream media and social media to prop them up.
IMO the Democrat ship is leaking from too many holes to be fixed in time for the midterms. Their culture war has stalled and been beaten back. The economy isn’t suddenly going to recover and I just don’t believe they can rig that many Congressional elections without the cover of Covid and with Republicans on guard for fraud.
What say you?
huxley, I’m cautiously optimistic about the midterms. A lot of states have plugged election procedural holes, and unless the Democrats can come up with another dangerous virus in a hurry, pandemic measures can’t be used to obscure the cheating — in most places, anyhow. Democrats having largely caused the inflation, they can’t rapidly fix it. And parents continue to be angry about school matters. The decision of the left to openly advocate sexualization of small children in public schools is inexplicable.
The people who enthusiastically sold us the honesty of the “1619 Project” and morality of BLM are now trying to sell us the sophistication and sheer brilliance of having “no position on whether all people have certain unalienable Rights”…
Ted Cruz is gobsmacked:
‘This is stunning.
‘The Declaration of Independence proclaims:
‘“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights….”
‘KBJ says she has ”no position” on whether this is true.’— https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1510413031137759245
H/T Hans Mahncke twitter roll.
C’mon Ted! Of course, she has no position. What do you think she is? A jurist?
And it looks like we have “Biden”‘s first victim (keeping in mind that “inflation is only a problem for the rich”):
“Sri Lanka Cabinet Offers To Resign As Out-Of-Control Inflation Sparks Widespread Social Unrest”— https://www.zerohedge.com/political/social-unrest-erupts-sri-lanka-fx-crisis-triggers-out-control-inflation
No doubt Psaki will console them with an empathetic “Let them eat coconuts”… (though I can’t imagine that Sri Lanka is on “Biden”‘s map…or conscience for that matter—since “he”‘s far too busy at the moment trying to screw Ukraine and “his” Middle Eastern “allies”…as well as “his” own country…)
In any event, it looks like China well might pick up a bargain here…. (Assuming it doesn’t already own the place)….
Obama is CLEAN. CLEANER THAN CLEAN. How do we know? Because Joe Biden—AKA Mr. Big Clean, himself—told us so. Countless times…and the media agrees with Mr. Big Clean.
Nice try, George…
If Sri Lanka’s cabinet offered to resign, wonder what Germany’s cabinet will do?…
I wouldn’t say cockiness is a problem for neo and most commenters here. I seem to be the only participant holding out for optimism….What say you?
I would say like Kate, “cautiously optimistic”, at best. No way should we be overconfident, drop the pressure, or not vote because we think we can’t lose. Yes, the 2020 election was “fortified”, but how many said Trump couldn’t lose because the Dems allowed and encouraged thugs to trash scores of cities?
Are there enough voters who are not blinded by the fake media? Will Republican politicians fight for victory, or go along to get along?
And I do expect “events, dear boy, events.”
Re: Cautiously optimistic
Kate, Wesson:
I can go with that. I’m certainly not arguing for overconfidence.
Partly I’m checking to see whether I’ve missed something in my optimism over the coming elections. I do take cues from my sense that the culture has shifted since Afghanistan and multiple Dem failures.
I don’t believe Democrats have anywhere near the support they require to continue their “transformation of America.” So they’ve been relying on stealth, bullying, bluff and outright fascism to get the job done.
Which is fine, pragmatically speaking, except such efforts naturally spawn backlash so one has to get the job done before people become aware and organized. It doesn’t help when the likes of Biden and Harris are in top positions and executing execrably, while appeasing the Crazy Woke Wing of the Party.
I think Democrats have overreached terribly and are in the Wile E. Coyote stage, clutching an anvil while plummeting hundreds of feet to earth.
But yeah. Don’t get cocky.
Huxley,
I would also adopt a “cautiously optimistic” outlook, but rephrase part of your comment at 1:14pm to further emphasize “cautiously” because the Leftists were in charge from the beginning and have not been diminished locally yet at all: “… the Dem leadership in major blue cities aided and abetted the subsequent BLM/Antifa riots …”
A state or local leadership dedicated to maintaining the civil peace would have called out the state’s national guard, or perhaps even asked for federal assistance, so that no match was struck or brick stockpiled or thrown.
“…So they’ve been relying on stealth, bullying, bluff and outright fascism to get the job done.
“Which is fine, [my emphasis—BM] pragmatically speaking…”
Hmmm. “Man of Irony” alert(?)
Oh well…remember, you heard it HERE first!…I guess… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rinz9Avvq6A
File under: “Cry (‘Havoc!’, and let slip) the Beloved Country”….
R2L:
Thanks for correcting my misspelling of “BLM”!
Barry Meislin:
Irony, intended.
Also, though, I find it useful not to write off other people, especially opponents, as evil, stupid or crazy, but to consider them as semi-rational beings acting out of a worldview and self-interest.
On second thought, I would describe my attitude as “hope” rather than “cautious optimism.”
Leave a Reply
HTML tags allowed in your
comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/04/02/appellate-court-upholds-25-million-award-against-oberlin-in-mob-action-against-family-grocery/#more-186794
For those of you familiar with the taxa of clinical psychology, would the behavior of Meredith Raimondo and Camille Twillie Ambar be described as ‘sociopathic’ or ‘narcissitic’?
Note, under New York law, the board of trustees of a private institution can be deposed by court order for gross fiduciary failure. Is there such a law in Ohio? And if there is, for what are the authorities waiting?
Responding to Art Deco’s question, the correct answer is “yes”. You’re welcome.
Didn’t recognize you without the Granny Smith.
Re: Oberlin
Too bad Oberlin employees / officials were not PERSONALLY held liable ( in addition to the college) and forced to pay a real penalty (monetary or prison or both) for their abusive actions.
As it stands, the Oberlin individuals who engaged in this crap are getting away
scot-free.
What a fun photo! I’m sure your grandfather was proud!
Same lovely, thick, curly hair.
As it stands, the Oberlin individuals who engaged in this crap are getting away
scot-free.
Oglethorpe in Georgia has hired Meredith Raimondo for a comparable job. Note, she, the college president, and the general counsel at Oberline are (with the complicity of the board) responsible for this disaster. Why do you hire someone who bears 1/3 of the responsibility for a loss to your institution of $25 million in a judgment, $6.2 million in interest on that judgment, and seven figures in legal fees from ‘aggressively litigating’ when you had a lousy case? It’s because to the ambulatory manure who run American higher education, wokery which causes your institution to be out an eight figure sum of money is not a delict. Note, the tool in charge of Oglethorpe the last two years is a psychologist named Ladany, who says everything he does is filtered through a ‘diversity and inclusion’ lens. (Unlike most faculty psychologists, his research is in clinical psychology). The board who appointed him is composed of corporate types. One thing we’ve discovered is that much of corporate America is now run by devotees of a social-political fad-cult which is the fuel for ruining one institution after another.
Yes, what needs to happen is that Republican legislators need to amend corporation law and tort law to render corporate officers more vulnerable to suits. As long as it’s other people’s money, they’ll behave badly.
What a wonderful photo!
News from Germany on CNN Int. My husband watches CNN quite a bit, and I usually tell him what is wrong, but today was exceptional. They spent most of their time talking about the ceremony for the nuclear sub Delaware. It is a Virginia class sub (number 18 so far), but the Bidens will be in Wilmington for the ceremony, and CNN will show the whole thing. Apparently, the original ceremony was postponed because of Covid, so actually the sub must have
been in service for 2 years. This is just a formal chance for Biden and “Dr.” Jill to get some airtime without having to leave home.
This BS is probably why I need blood pressure pills.
Thanks for the picture, Neo. You were adorable.
I linked to this yesterday in the open thread but it may have got lost in mix so I will put it here too. This is a pretty troubling case.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/radonda-vaught-nurse-guilty-death-charlene-murphey-wrong-drug/
Dr Zuban Damania discusses the ramifications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NBtoKP2Geg
Art Deco: Amen. The Augean Stables need you!
Cappy stole my comment.
Re: Gibson’s Bakery v Oberlin
I was just listening Warren Zevon’s immortal song:
____________________________
I went home with a waitress
The way I always do.
How was I to know
She was with the Russians too?
…
Send lawyers, guns and money.
Dad, get me out of this.
–Lawyers, Guns and Money (2007 Remaster)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2HH7J-Sx80
____________________________
I notice Oberlin is hanging tough that the suit was strictly about freedom of speech, not libel.
“Rolling Stone,” not surprisingly, paints the story as “Republicans pounce” and schadenfreude. The author wears out his a, l, e, g, d, y keys typing “allegedly” at every turn. Even the Stone readers ratio the story severely in the comments.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/oberlin-gibson-bakery-protest-defamation-suit-controversy-culture-war-850404/
Wow, neo without the apple!
They spent most of their time talking about the ceremony for the nuclear sub Delaware. It is a Virginia class sub (number 18 so far)
That’s a fast attack sub. Perfect for sinking Russian supply or troop ships. (joke) The other major type of sub is the boomer, or ballistic missile sub.
Love the photo Neo.
This is interesting.
Fifty-five powerful and influential House Democrats are reportedly financially stiffing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), failing to pay the dues they owe because of the likelihood that Republicans will retake the chamber.
I had no idea that there was a dues quasi-requirement.
In the case of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow “Squad” members, this isn’t their first rodeo; they’ve been skipping out on their dues for years based on the Democrats’ “no-primary” policy for incumbents. So in the Squad’s case, they’re deadbeating the DCCC because they are deadbeats.
Oh, there’s a surprise.
I support the current thing.
https://twitter.com/aginnt/status/1510302697513107456
Griffen:
Re: nurse convicted for criminally negligent homicide for ACCIDENTALLY administering the wrong medication.
Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo, the former gov. of NY killed at least a few hundred people and nothing at all happens to him.
Welcome to the USSA; up next, the USSA invades Canada.
The new much more moderate mayor of New York.
https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1510037889547182090
That is a very sweet picture.
And a tad more “Uncontested Election” coverage…
“Election Watchdog Finds 137,500 Ballots Unlawfully Trafficked In Wisconsin”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/election-watchdog-finds-137500-ballots-unlawfully-trafficked-wisconsin
Looks like April 1st is becoming a 48-hour phenomenon:
Colin Kaepernick Expresses Fervent Desire to Return to Slavery—
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/colin-kaepernick-throw-nfl-scouts-michigan-spring-game
Wilfred Reilly posted this on twitter. Great advice.
I didn’t recognize you without the apple. 🙂
Ed Driscoll sums up the current conunmdrum regarding conservative optimism looking ahead to the upcoming midterm elections:
________________________________
You won’t hear about it from the important influencers, because the issue has become impolitic at this point. The thinking: We need to move on from whatever happened in 2020. Confidence in future outcomes must be projected, not the lingering doubt—many believe surety—that 2020 was stolen.
Alive and well in the comment sections, the watercooler talk, is the fear that the Democrats will rig their way out of this.
Cockiness, or just a damn good instinct about what is going to happen?
The big names in political commentary, O’Reilly, Hannity, Morris, and others, seem to be saying that there is no way the party of Biden, Harris, Schumer, and Pelosi can escape perdition.
https://pjmedia.com/columns/mark-ellis/2022/04/02/is-conservative-commentary-getting-too-cocky-about-the-midterms-n1586471
I wouldn’t say cockiness is a problem for neo and most commenters here. I seem to be the only participant holding out for optimism.
I don’t say this to start a fight. My default position is curiosity when encountering different opinions.
The 2020 election was exceedingly cruel to conservatives. First the George Floyd death followed by his canonization and the subsequent BLN/Antifa riots aided and abetted Dem leadership in major blue cities. Then the ongoing Coivd pandemic used to beat populations into submission with lockdowns, masks and social distancing. Plus drive a stake through middle-class finances, while the ultra-rich got ultra-richer. Coivd was also used to weaken laws and procedues to protect voting integrity.
Then the horror of the 2020 election night when voting returns ceased for hours in several crucial states, after which Trump was suddenly behind and eventually lost the next day.
The first year of Biden’s presidency Democrats acted as though Biden’s victory was a vast mandate across the board. They were obscenely aggressive in pressing a hard left agenda — huge pork bills, efforts to pack the Supreme Court, to pass federal pro-fraud election laws, etc. — effectively intended to make the Democrats as dominant as the Mexican PRI party which held power in Mexico for most of the 20th Century.
Democrats came close to running the table. But just couldn’t quite push their big ticket items over the top. They have also presided over astonishing debacles — the Afghanistan bug-out and rampant inflation plus the incredible shrinking POTUS and Veep, whose poll numbers have collapsed in spite of all efforts of the mainstream media and social media to prop them up.
IMO the Democrat ship is leaking from too many holes to be fixed in time for the midterms. Their culture war has stalled and been beaten back. The economy isn’t suddenly going to recover and I just don’t believe they can rig that many Congressional elections without the cover of Covid and with Republicans on guard for fraud.
What say you?
huxley, I’m cautiously optimistic about the midterms. A lot of states have plugged election procedural holes, and unless the Democrats can come up with another dangerous virus in a hurry, pandemic measures can’t be used to obscure the cheating — in most places, anyhow. Democrats having largely caused the inflation, they can’t rapidly fix it. And parents continue to be angry about school matters. The decision of the left to openly advocate sexualization of small children in public schools is inexplicable.
The people who enthusiastically sold us the honesty of the “1619 Project” and morality of BLM are now trying to sell us the sophistication and sheer brilliance of having “no position on whether all people have certain unalienable Rights”…
Ted Cruz is gobsmacked:
‘This is stunning.
‘The Declaration of Independence proclaims:
‘“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights….”
‘KBJ says she has ”no position” on whether this is true.’—
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1510413031137759245
H/T Hans Mahncke twitter roll.
C’mon Ted! Of course, she has no position. What do you think she is? A jurist?
And it looks like we have “Biden”‘s first victim (keeping in mind that “inflation is only a problem for the rich”):
“Sri Lanka Cabinet Offers To Resign As Out-Of-Control Inflation Sparks Widespread Social Unrest”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/social-unrest-erupts-sri-lanka-fx-crisis-triggers-out-control-inflation
No doubt Psaki will console them with an empathetic “Let them eat coconuts”… (though I can’t imagine that Sri Lanka is on “Biden”‘s map…or conscience for that matter—since “he”‘s far too busy at the moment trying to screw Ukraine and “his” Middle Eastern “allies”…as well as “his” own country…)
In any event, it looks like China well might pick up a bargain here…. (Assuming it doesn’t already own the place)….
And indeed, “Biden” IS busy!
“Biden Wants DOJ To Prosecute Trump Over January 6”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-wants-garland-prosecute-trump-over-january-6-riot
File under: “We have met the ENEMY; and he is…over half the country…”(?)
https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1510371838693724167
George! George! Lay off the ouzo….
“House Republicans Drag Obama White House Into Hunter Biden Scandal”—
https://conservativebrief.com/obama-scandal-61690/?utm_source=CB&utm_medium=539
Obama is CLEAN. CLEANER THAN CLEAN. How do we know? Because Joe Biden—AKA Mr. Big Clean, himself—told us so. Countless times…and the media agrees with Mr. Big Clean.
Nice try, George…
If Sri Lanka’s cabinet offered to resign, wonder what Germany’s cabinet will do?…
“German Retailers To Increase Food Prices By 20-50% On Monday”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/german-retailers-increase-food-prices-20-50-monday
huxley wrote:
I would say like Kate, “cautiously optimistic”, at best. No way should we be overconfident, drop the pressure, or not vote because we think we can’t lose. Yes, the 2020 election was “fortified”, but how many said Trump couldn’t lose because the Dems allowed and encouraged thugs to trash scores of cities?
Are there enough voters who are not blinded by the fake media? Will Republican politicians fight for victory, or go along to get along?
And I do expect “events, dear boy, events.”
Re: Cautiously optimistic
Kate, Wesson:
I can go with that. I’m certainly not arguing for overconfidence.
Partly I’m checking to see whether I’ve missed something in my optimism over the coming elections. I do take cues from my sense that the culture has shifted since Afghanistan and multiple Dem failures.
I don’t believe Democrats have anywhere near the support they require to continue their “transformation of America.” So they’ve been relying on stealth, bullying, bluff and outright fascism to get the job done.
Which is fine, pragmatically speaking, except such efforts naturally spawn backlash so one has to get the job done before people become aware and organized. It doesn’t help when the likes of Biden and Harris are in top positions and executing execrably, while appeasing the Crazy Woke Wing of the Party.
I think Democrats have overreached terribly and are in the Wile E. Coyote stage, clutching an anvil while plummeting hundreds of feet to earth.
But yeah. Don’t get cocky.
Huxley,
I would also adopt a “cautiously optimistic” outlook, but rephrase part of your comment at 1:14pm to further emphasize “cautiously” because the Leftists were in charge from the beginning and have not been diminished locally yet at all: “… the Dem leadership in major blue cities aided and abetted the subsequent BLM/Antifa riots …”
A state or local leadership dedicated to maintaining the civil peace would have called out the state’s national guard, or perhaps even asked for federal assistance, so that no match was struck or brick stockpiled or thrown.
“…So they’ve been relying on stealth, bullying, bluff and outright fascism to get the job done.
“Which is fine, [my emphasis—BM] pragmatically speaking…”
Hmmm. “Man of Irony” alert(?)
Oh well…remember, you heard it HERE first!…I guess…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rinz9Avvq6A
File under: “Cry (‘Havoc!’, and let slip) the Beloved Country”….
R2L:
Thanks for correcting my misspelling of “BLM”!
Barry Meislin:
Irony, intended.
Also, though, I find it useful not to write off other people, especially opponents, as evil, stupid or crazy, but to consider them as semi-rational beings acting out of a worldview and self-interest.
On second thought, I would describe my attitude as “hope” rather than “cautious optimism.”