"Whatever Happened To Woolworths?" (opens in separate window)

women running (and ruining) museums

saturday, august 1st, 2026

In 2023, the New York Times ran an article entitled, “Increasingly, Women Are Running the World’s Great Museums.” Some of the museums mentioned were the Louvre, the Vatican Museum, and the National Gallery of Art.

[FULL TITLE: "Women Are Running the World’s Great Museums Into The Ground"]

But it’s not only museums where women dominate. Other arts and cultural institutions seem to be on a permanent trajectory to hire women as CEOs. On the surface, this shouldn’t be a problem. Qualified women should certainly take their place at the top if they are the best candidates for the job.

But….

There seems to be a troubling common denominator here. The vast majority of the women in these positions fit a certain mold. They come pre-stamped and processed. They are monochrome, feminist, left-leaning women schooled in the progressive agenda.

That agenda might be summed up this way: they are the products of left-leaning universities where life is seen through a lens of oppressor and the oppressed. Feminist and gender ideology is also a big part of the mix, and so suddenly you have heretofore great cultural institutions like the Athenaeum of Philadelphia bowing before the latest left-wing craze to come down the pike.

The Athenaeum used to be a unique place. Once an institution of great cultural impact, it has now been “democratized” in a weedy grassroots way — thanks to the death of many of the classically educated old white men on the board and the institution’s takeover by a board of political progressives, all inspired by female leadership.

What happened to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia reminds me very much of what the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has turned into: a museum too focused on “oppressors and the oppressed.”

The Athenaeum’s cultural offerings — lectures and receptions — has a largely woke focus. An author like Lionel Shriver, who wrote “A Better Life,” a novel about migrants who destroy a New York American family, would never be invited to speak there. That’s because there’s an ideological test every author and speaker must pass before being given the chance to appear before an audience there. This is cancel culture hiding behind a polite female smile; it’s censorship in the name of programming.

One Athenaeum offering slated for December is a talk by Bench Ansfield, an Assistant History Professor at Temple University who uses “they” pronouns. On videos Ansfield appears to be of indeterminate sex — the slanted little bun on the top of “they’s” head and “they’s” choice of intricately designed shirts suggest female, but the voice suggests otherwise.

Now, I am no enemy of androgyny. The hyper-masculine male culture in the 1970s needed a huge dose of David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Lou Reed theatricality, but that’s not what is happening today. Today, the fun theater of Bowie has been exchanged for gender polemics as serious as Marxism.

By leftist standards, I’m sure the quality of Ansfield’s work is noteworthy. (Ansfield’s book won the Athenaeum’s Literary Award for Nonfiction.)

One must not forget that these prize-winning works are all judged by leftist literary standards, so if you are on the wrong editorial page, you’ll never be on their list to win an award.

(Ansfield’s area of expertise in “their” latest book, “Born in Flames,” is a look into “late-twentieth-century transformations in race and capitalism.”)

While progressive, white liberal women are having their moment in the sun, the damage they often do in the institutions they control has negative consequences.

This brings us to the 162-page report issued on July 4 by the White House Domestic Policy Council, which accused the Smithsonian museum of being “subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.”

The council faulted the National Museum of American History with downplaying the Founding Fathers and early colonial and Revolutionary history. It also charged that the museum engaged in “anti-white,” “illegal alien,” and transgender activism, and accused the museum of trying to “indoctrinate” teachers and students through its exhibitions, programming, and teaching resources.

This is what progressive museums under the direction of leftist female academicians do, and it should come as no surprise to anybody.

During a heated House DOGE subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. Nancy Mace pressed Smithsonian Director Dr. Anthea Hartig on whether men can become women, what defines a woman, and how many genders there are.

Like most progressive women when they are asked such questions, Hartig refused to answer Mace when pressed on these questions. Throughout it all, Hartig was amazingly poker-faced and kept repeating the all-too familiar lie that the Smithsonian is a non-partisan institution, while neglecting to explain why a 2020–2023 exhibit there included a diary from a 13-year-old girl exploring issues including gender identity.

Gender identity, along with ICE and immigration, are the two chandelier issues of the left. For her part, Hartig seemed to have no knowledge of the gender exhibit and stated that she’d have to check into that.

Shortly after the Capitol Hill hearing, the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, wrote a letter in support of Hartig:

We stand with Dr. Hartig…. The Berks remain steadfast in its commitment to inclusive feminist historical scholarship and the collaborative networks that make this work possible.

If only it were possible to bring the House DOGE subcommittee hearings on Capitol Hill to Philadelphia to get institutions like the Athenaeum of Philadelphia to answer a few questions.

© 7.25.2026 by Thom Nickels, "American Thinker".

A Day In The Life.

Up at 5a on Saturday, a sunny, deep blue sky -- no haze, so far -- nice 66°F, nice breeze, I made coffee, reset the AC to 73°, fired-up the Win-7 Pentium HP Desktop to let its 32 million lines of code load, skipped breakfast, had a couple smokes in the garage and checked the leftover errands list. Just one, but I'll do it Monday. I had lower and upper back pain, but scanned the weather and the breaking news websites. I went nback to sleep on the LR couch, and woke back up at 10a.

I tuned into a past week's "CP Show" Podcast 12-3p, on local WSBA-910, on Saturdays, and relaxed for the day. I still had some tenderness in my left foot from Thursday night and yesterday, and I kept the leg elevated as much as possible. Sucks to be me.

Another beautiful day, but the deep blue skies turned milky white with Canadian wildfire smoke by early afternoon, and I could smell "campfires", in the prevailing winds. After lunch, I did a couple small 'condo chores', then kept my left leg elevated in the afternoon, and fell asleep on the LR couch. Heh. I watched the 6p news, switched to some other programs -- can't remember any of them -- and called it quits early, at 11:30p.

Awake and up at 5a on Sunday, I started coffee, had a couple smokes and took another 3hrs on the LR couch. Another nice day, but Canadian wildfire, milky white skies and just 59°, but more humid than yesterday. Email was working OK today, and I did some weeding on the back patio, while having a few smokes. By 12 noon, the skies looked like a t-storm was overspreading the area -- forecast for later in the afternoon -- so I headed upstairs to shave, shower and get ready for the day.

I had 2 loads of laundry to do, some 'fridge re-arranging and a few other minor condo chores to get done, but I kept scanning the AccuWeather.com website for the forecast t-storms, so I could get things secured on the back patio, if before it blew thru the area. Another bunch of big nothingburgers. No storms. OK by me.

I had dinner, watched some news and switched to History's "World War II" until 1a, and unplugged.

Up at 8a on Monday, a sunny, windless, milky white sky, humid, warm 51° morning. I made Kona Coffee, scanned the news and weather on my trusty ol' HP Desktop, and tuned into the "CP Show", with another sub-host. Crap. I had breakfast, checked the day's errand list. and left early around 12noon, for the usual 3-4 errand Monday trip.

Traffic was heavy, but I made decent time on the R/T. Back at 1:15p, I unloaded, had lunch, short nap on the LR couch, and checked the news and weather sites, again. By 6p, I watched the evening news, then switched to History's "World War II" until 12:30a, and bagged it for the night.

Up at 5a on Tuesday, an overcast, very humid 74°, with severe t-storms and flooding rains forecast thru the entire day, I made coffee, and hit the LR couch for 4hrs. The Weis Grocery delivery was scheduled for a 10a-12noon window, and the light rain arrived -- no t-storm -- around 11:30, as I was putting out old, soft grapes out for the birds. The massive, blinding t-storm hit around 4p, and it was a "gully washer". ***Severe Thunderstorm Warning*** warnings were all over the media, and I haven't seen downpours like that, in years.

I watched the evening news, had dinner, and switched to History's "Mystery of Skinwalker Ranch" until 1a. Lights out.

Up at 8:30a on Wednesday, a sunny, another milky white sky, 69°, humid morning. Only minor pain today. I tuned into the "CP Show" at 9, and another sub-host was on; some jerk who talks so fast that his tongue gets out ahead of his pea-sized brain. Awful. By 12noon, it was over, and I was listening to to some US Congressional Hearings with the rat bastard Fauci scumbag. SPJNK.

Sherry would be here around 1:30-2p, after a morning app't, so I got ready for the day, and had lunch. She arrived close to 2p, and we had a great time together for 5hrs. She's got a new vehicle coming in the next 2-3 days, and will stop by to show it to me. The weather kept us inside for the afternoon, but we'll get out walking very soon. After she left, I made dinner, watch the evening news, and switched to "Expedition Unknown" until midnight, and unplugged.

Up at 5:30a on Thursday, a high overcast, mostly sunny, humid, 69°, I started coffee, had a couple smokes in the garage, and hit the LR couch for "a few minutes", waking up 5hrs later at 10:15a. Heh; Nice little "nap". I tuned into the "CP Show", with a "chirpy" (woman) sub-host I could listen to, for a while.

I got ready for the day,had a late breakfast and left at 1:30; for Weis Pharmacy, to p?u several waiting Rxs. There were 2 other local stops, so I did those, too. Back home by 3p, I unloaded, had lunch and took a short nap. By 6, I talked to Sherry, she'll be here Saturday with her new car/SUV, watched the 6p evening news, then switched to History's "Ancient Aliens" until 1a. Lights out.

Up at 8:30a on Friday, a sunny, warm 74°, humid, beautiful blue sky (no Canadian Wildfire Smoke!), forecast to hit 90°, made Kona Coffee (as usual), and scanned the news and weather websites. Same "shirpy woman sub-host on the "CP Show", so I didn't stay long. I had R/S pain again, but a 250mg Bayer Aspirin helped with that.

After an early lunch, I did 2 errands locally, since Sherry would be here tomorrow with her new car/SUV, and the errands would be done. I got some computer work done, nodding-off only occasionally, and the evening news was on. I switched to History's "The3 UnXplained" and "Mysteries From Above", until 11p. Lights out.

Today starts a new week, here in the "Journal", and it's a clear one for me.I can't believe it's August, already, so the Dr app'ts will be starting next month.

Is Zohran Mamdani Mentally Ill?

Surprisingly, New York City’s Marxist Muslim Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted that the man who stabbed two people on the Upper West Side on Thursday “yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ during both attacks.” This was not, however, an indication that the mayor was ready to acknowledge the reality of Islamic jihad terrorism. Almost immediately after noting that the perpetrator screamed the jihadi war cry, Mamdani added: “The NYPD’s initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.”

Ah, of course. Claiming that obvious Islamic jihadis are mentally ill is the common practice of authorities in Europe, and we have seen it in the U.S. as well. Officials don’t want to acknowledge the reality of Islamic jihad, as that would raise uncomfortable questions about why they’re doing so little (if anything) to stop the jihadis, and so they pretend that each and every violent Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” is mentally ill.

This may exonerate Islam for the crimes done in its name and in accord with its teachings, but it creates new problems of its own: Why do only Muslims seem to contract this particular mental illness? Why does it so often result in their being violent toward non-Muslims, rather than toward their fellow Muslims? With jihadis filling up mental hospitals, are the genuinely mentally ill people safe there?

And in this particular case, it raises more problems for Zohran Mamdani himself, for the attacker has not one, but two belief systems in common with the boy mayor. Is Mamdani mentally ill, too? The mind reels.

The New York Post revealed Saturday that “the madman who screamed ‘Allahu Akbar’ while stabbing an Asian and Jewish man in separate harrowing hate attacks on the Upper West Side was a fan of Karl Marx, with police finding one of the communist author’s books inside his apartment.” Cops searching the apartment of Raul Morales found Marx’s writings, along with “two Qurans, a Jehovah’s Witness Bible, and a book on Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.”

The Jehovah’s Witness Bible aside, the Qur’ans and the Commie writings make it sound as if the police got lost, and ended up searching Gracie Mansion instead of Raul Morales’ place. For despite his denials, Mamdani is most certainly a Marxist. In late Feb. 2021, Mamdani was a featured speaker at the online Winter Outreach Conference of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, and reminded his audience of “the end goal of seizing the means of production.” That is a quintessential Marxist imperative; Mamdani, amid all his claims that he is not actually a communist, has never retracted this statement, or addressed it at all.

Then there are the Qur’ans. What sect Raul Morales belongs to has not been revealed, but Mamdani is a Twelver Shi’ite, an adherent of the official religion of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamic Republic has for 47 years now made no secret of its intention to make its oft-repeated chant of “Death to Israel” a reality, and the Qur’an that both Mamdani and Morales revere as the perfect and eternal word of Allah states: “You will find the Jews and the idolaters the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe.” (5:82)

Related: Mamdani’s Rhetoric Gets Results: Muslim Screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ Stabs Two, Including a Jewish Man

Of course, not every Marxist or every Muslim is mentally ill, and sane and insane people can hold the same beliefs. Nevertheless, if the shoe were on the other foot, the media would be slavering to destroy Mamdani’s political career. Skeptical? Don’t be. Imagine if Mamdani and Raul Morales were both Christians and registered Republicans, and Morales had screamed “Jesus is Lord!” while stabbing people. Don’t you think the media would be spending all its days since that attack demanding that Mamdani condemn the attack in stronger terms and explain what he plans to do in order to stop Christian and Republican violence?

To ask such a question is to answer it. Yet in the present case, no journalist, not one, will dare to ask Mamdani if he is going to call on the mosques in New York City to start teaching against antisemitism and violent jihad. The very idea would be “Islamophobic,” and hence inconceivable. For the media, Morales’ alleged mental illness ipso facto means that Islam has nothing whatsoever to do with his screaming “Allahu akbar” while stabbing a Jewish man who was coming out of Jewish services. So what if he and Mamdani have the same beliefs? That doesn’t mean that Mamdani is insane, too.

Of course it doesn’t. And most likely, Morales isn’t, either.

© 7.25.2026 by Robert Spencer, "pjmedia.com".