Too Woke To Win? February 12, 2022February 12, 2022 But first . . . Eugene Robinson recalls: Remember when Donald Trump ranted about how “people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times,” and nobody knew what on earth he was talking about? Maybe he was referring to personal difficulties in trying to flush away official White House documents. . . . . . . Clinton was indeed careless [in her handling of emails, which resulted in years of Congressional investigations]. But Trump appears to have been both deliberate and persistent in his unlawful destruction of documents. [So might that not warrant Congressional investigation, too?] Thomas Edison remarks: “We are like tenant farmers, chopping down the fence around our house for fuel, when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy—sun, wind, and tide. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” Judge Albright reschedules: At the request of both parties, PRKR’s patent suits against Intel have been pushed to October 24 and May 29 . . . to make room, I believe, for the much bigger Qualcomm trial, which could be scheduled for the summer. And so . . . bromides to mix with your morning tea: “Good things come to those who wait.” “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.” “Patience, Jackass, patience.” A bromide that gives me special hope — because it is patently (ahem) false — “A watched pot never boils.” We’ve been watching this pot for a long time. Just because it’s not yet boiled doesn’t mean it won’t. (For those seeking more than bromides, I’ve stumbled on this little discussion group.) And now . . . We all agree people should be treated fairly, with kindness and respect. We all know it doesn’t always happen — indeed, we ourselves sometimes fall short. So sensitizing people to others’ feelings and advancing the cause of equal rights are important things to do. And yet it’s becoming ever more clear that in pursuit of perfection the pendulum can swing too far. Read this story, out of the University of Illinois, and tell me there can’t be such a thing as too woke. Or recall Al Franken’s sophomoric behavior before he was elected to the Senate. Are we sure an apology shouldn’t have sufficed? Or . . . well, by now, the examples are endless. I’m not saying I agree with everything in Douglas Murray’s The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity — not least because I’m barely past the Introduction. But I do think we’ll make more progress toward equality if we don’t scare — or look down on — the sensible center. Otherwise, we’ll needlessly hand the G.O.P. seats as we did in 2020 with “defund the police.” The goal was right — better policing, accountability, mental health resources, criminal justice reform — but the framing was suicidal. And this time, it could mean a Republican controlled Senate and a vengeful, unhinged former president sitting as Speaker of the House.