Texas’ floating barrier to stop migrants draws recurring concerns from Mexico, US official says (Associated Press) Because it’s effective, and Mexico wants an open border.

Federal judge hears arguments over Texas’ floating barrier on Rio Grande (PBS)

Judge to consider if Texas can keep border buoys as migrant crisis continues (CBS)

If Biden can’t stop Gov. Abbott’s barbaric buoys on the Rio Grande, Mexico should (Arizona Central)

The abortion pill faces its most disturbing attack yet (L.A.Times)

Andy Ngo Awarded $300,000 In Antifa Attack Lawsuit

Crying Covenant School Parents Booted From Tennessee Special Session (Daily Beast)

Ramaswamy Took Soros Money Then Tried to Hide Truth (NewsMax)

Why does only right-wing funding count as “dark money”?

Liberal Projection: Historic USA Today Anti-Florida Hit: Dems Face ‘Ridicule, Discrimination,’ Maybe Violence  Which is precisely what they seek to inflict on others.

All male South Carolina Supreme Court upholds ‘fetal heartbeat’ abortion ban (The Hill) All male! (Bias? What bias?)

Why do Republicans disproportionately believe health misinformation? (Washington Post) Philip Bump can’t figure out why people don’t buy the Narrative lies.

A third of adults believe COVID-19 vaccines caused thousands of sudden deaths: poll (The Hill)

Many Americans still struggle with health misinformation, new poll finds (CNN)

Poll Shows Who Americans Trust (and Don’t Trust) for Health News (US News & World Report)

In Wuhan, doctors knew the truth. They were told to keep quiet

Secret Letter To CDC: Top Epidemiologist Suggests Agency Misrepresented Scientific Data To Support Mask Narrative

CNN Considers Bringing Back Masks: ‘We’re At An Inflection Point’

New COVID Variant More Likely to Infect Vaccinated

It may be time to break out the masks against Covid, some experts say (CNN)

Atlanta College Bringing Back Mask Mandates, Canceling Parties, Despite Zero Covid Cases

Experts Concerned Biden Could Die From COVID-19 Before Election  That would be convenient.

DOJ Charges Hundreds for Alleged COVID-19 Fraud

Rand Paul On Return Of COVID Measures: “These People Have No Shame”

Zeihan.

Four big things have helped Texas climb to the top. Thanks to a low cost of living, Texans have been popping out babies left and right, contributing to strong demographic growth. Their proximity to Mexico has bolstered the Texan economy, trade, and manufacturing sector. Texas is a red state with blue cities, so residents can enjoy the perfect regulatory mix. And lastly, Texas has been able to attract businesses from other struggling states.

ZMan peers behind the curtain.

Whether anyone likes it or not, the 2024 election kicks off officially tonight with a debate in Tiny Town between eight midgets vying for the Republican nomination. According to the strict standards for selecting the performers for this show, the cast will be Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott. These eight campaigns claim to have met the requirements set forth by the producers of the show.

This will be the first time anyone has seen Doug Burgum, whose name is often pronounced “bugman” by less scrupulous commentators. He is the current governor of North Dakota, a place few Americans can find on a map. Similarly, Asa Hutchinson will be introducing himself to the world, despite having spent the last half century in politics, mostly in Washington. He is the former governor of Arkansas and the man who championed the mutilation of children.

There used to be a time when the pundits would handicap these things in terms of what each candidate must do to help themselves in the debate. The game was to pretend all of them had an equal chance, so if they took the advice of the pundits, then they could become more equal than the others. For political people, this used to be a fun part of the process, but now that we know our elections are like professional wrestling, normal people have no interest in pretending otherwise.

Each run by Democrats.

The Antiplanner.

The news media is discovering something that the Antiplanner has been saying for years: so-called affordable housing isn’t affordable. The federal, state, and local governments spend tens of billions of dollars a year subsidizing supposedly affordable housing, yet few people who need such housing get into the projects and many of those who do can’t afford the rents that are charged.

As a recent article in the LAist points out, more than 450,000 households in Los Angeles have incomes low enough to qualify for affordable housing, yet fewer than 50,000 such units have been built. One project that opened in 2022 received 7,500 applications for just 65 apartments.

Moreover, developers that receive subsidies to build affordable housing are only required to provide that housing at affordable rates for 30 to 40 years, depending on the subsidy program. Since these programs began in the 1980s, many of the new housing projects that are built are simply replacing older projects that are now being rented for market rates, thus not increasing the supply.

Gates of Vienna.

The one-year anniversary of the September 16, 2022 arrest and murder of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini by Iran’s so-called ‘morality police’ is coming up. Her killing, supposedly for allowing her hijab to slip from completely covering her hair (while inside her family’s personal vehicle), set off months of street protests against the Iranian regime. These protests focus especially on the complete lack of women’s rights under the Islamic Republic of Iran’s draconian sharia regime. Despite a brutal crackdown by the regime against the protesters, those demonstrations continue today, often under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”.

Major movie studio reinstates mask mandates ‘effective immediately’ (Fox)

Lionsgate Reinstates Mask Mandate In Parts Of Santa Monica Office Following Covid Outbreak (Deadline)

FDA Approves Maternal RSV Vaccine to Protect Babies

Many long-covid symptoms linger even after two years, new study shows (Washington Post)

New Novavax Vaccine Effective Against ‘Eris’ Variant

Why a highly mutated coronavirus variant has scientists on alert

It’s Really Happening: Mask Mandates, Contact-Tracing Re-Implemented At Colleges, Offices

Insurers must cover injectable HIV prevention drug — unless courts void mandate (NBC)

DISCUSS: Are they prepping for Plandemic 2.0?

US Awards $1.4B for New COVID Therapies, Vaccines

Covid 19: mRNA vs. modRNA — Does It Matter?

Trump Will Surrender At Georgia Jail Thursday — Here’s What To Expect As He May Get First Mug Shot (Forbes)

Trump says he will surrender Thursday on Georgia charges (MSNBC)

Trump plans to turn himself in Thursday at Fulton County jail (CNN)

The dog that didn’t bark: Trump’s calls for massive protests go unanswered (MSNBC) Dunh dunh DUNHHHHH….

Justice Dept. pushes back against Trump’s bid for a 2026 trial in D.C. (Washington Post)

Media organizations seek release of more court filings linked to special counsel Jack Smith’s search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account (CNN)

Fox News Bans Trump Surrogates From Debate Spin Room

Trump indictments boost MSNBC primetime ratings (Axios)

Incoming Ga. Commission Could Punish DA Willis

Majority of likely Iowa GOP caucusgoers believe Trump won the 2020 election

Trump attorneys guided false electors in Georgia, GOP chair says (Politico)

Biden uses minor fire at his house to claim he knows what it’s like to lose a home while visiting Maui (Fox)

Open floodgates at Arizona border allow thousands of migrants to walk into the country (N.Y. Post)

House Panels Subpoena IRS, FBI Officials Over Weiss Meeting (NewsMax)

House Republicans subpoena DHS Secretary Mayorkas (The Hill)

Bidens May Be Renting Steyer’s $18M Tahoe Home Illegally

More Than Half Of Small Businesses Believe The US Is Already In Recession

Has Biden Been ‘Told’ He’s Not Running in 2024?  Scott Adams thinks so.

CBS Declares Border Crisis ‘Out of Control,’ Hurting ‘Big Cities’ Now

Siena Poll: 46% of New Yorkers Say Migrants a Burden

Report: Biden Allies, Dem Donors Fill Weiss’ Office

‘Corrupt Ukrainian Prosecutor’ Biden Had Quid-Pro-Fired Was Praised By US Govt Months Before

Biden’s Hostage Deal Would Boost Iran’s Threats

Biden Tells Fire Victims He Sympathizes Because One Time He Walked On The Beach Without Sandals And The Sand Was Really Hot  (Babylon Bee)

REMINDER: Biden Still Hasn’t Visited GOP-Voting Ohio Town Ravaged by Toxic Spill  Blue Hawaii good, Red Ohio bad.

WATCH: ‘F— You!’ Biden’s Belated Maui Visit Goes Off the Rails

Biden Returns to Luxury Lake Tahoe Vacation After 6-Hour Jaunt to Devastated Maui

Biden Pushes These 4 Woke Military Officers for Promotion as Sen. Tuberville Holds Firm

‘Broken’ solar panels manufactured to deter criminals in South Africa The elephant in the room is the number of African countries that demonstrate beyond the shadow of a doubt what happens when you put Africans in charge of running a country.

With Church Salary, Raphael Warnock Blew Past Senate’s Outside Income Limit In 2022

Conservative activist sues law firms for ‘racially discriminating’ against fellowship candidates (Washington Examiner)

Grieving Governor’s Moderate Gun Proposal Is Spurned by G.O.P. Allies (N.Y. Times)

Inflation Labeled A “Right-Wing Talking Point” In Response To Hit Working-Class Song

Republican Jewish Group Pushes Back on Ramaswamy’s Stance Against Israel Aid

Maddow Spreads Fake News About Arkansas History Standards

Woke row erupts after ‘Fat Bottom Girls’ cut from Queen’s greatest hits  Unconscionable.

US businessman is wannabe ‘warlord’ of secretive far-right men’s network (The Guardian) I can’t say that I would blame him.

Madness! American Satirist C.J.Hopkins Sentenced In German Speech Case

Vivek Ramaswamy condemned for 9/11 and Jan 6 conspiracy theory remarks (The Guardian) Which he didn’t actually make … but, like other far-left propaganda mills, the Guardian never hesitates just to make stuff up.

DNC to troll GOP debate by flying anti-MAGA banner (The Hill) Arrested adolescents on parade. (Climate Crisis Watch: Here’s How Much Carbon the DNC Is Emitting To Troll Republicans at GOP Debate)

“Too Many Old, White Male” College Presidents, American Council On Education Says

Ramaswamy faces scrutiny over suggesting government involvement in 9/11 (Politico) Which he never did. They’re just making shit up in order to have a rhetorical stick to beat him with.

Read it.

My selections are doing worse than usual in Biden Bingo.  How are yours doing?

Read it.

When Wu began his surgical career in the late 1990s, most of his patients were in their sixties or seventies. But in the mid-2000s, he started to notice a troubling change. The people on his operating table kept getting younger. In 2016, Wu performed a scleral buckle surgery—fastening a belt around the eye to fix the retina into place—on a 14-year-old girl, a student at an elite high school in Kaohsiung. Another patient, a prominent programmer who had worked for Yahoo, suffered two severe retinal detachments and was blind in both eyes by age 29. Both of these cases are part of a wider problem that’s been growing across Asia for decades and is rapidly becoming an issue in the West too: an explosion of myopia.

I spent most of my life with myopia–I cannot remember a time when I didn’t wear glasses. When RK became available, I jumped on it (although I now wish I’d waited; Lasik doesn’t leave the same scars in its wake). That gave me about ten years of glorious life without glasses, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

For economies to continuously expand, education had to become central, and as this happened, the rates of myopia started to climb.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that education and myopia have a causal relationship, but it certainly seems suspicious. Of the three of us children to survived to adulthood, the two who were compulsive readers and eventually college graduates were extremely myopic, and the other–first born, in 1944–was never a heavy reader and never went to college.

HERE IS A non-exhaustive list of things that have been blamed for nearsightedness: pregnancy, pipe smoking, brown hair, long heads, bulging eyes, too much fluid in the eyes, not enough fluid in the eyes, muscle spasms, social class. “Any ophthalmologist who experienced a night of insomnia arose in the morning with a new and usually more bizarre theory,” wrote Brian Curtin in an influential 1985 book about myopia.

…

Morgan and his team also surveyed the participants about their daily routines and hobbies and discovered a surprising relationship. The more time kids spent outside, the less likely they were to have myopia.

Read it.

I spend a lot of time in prayer, both alone and in a quorum (a minyan) of men. Prayer is a form of quasi-meditation, once likened by Rabbi Sachs to focusing on micro-adjusting a shortwave radio dial to tune into a very faint and elusive signal. The “still small voice” might be our souls, or it might be the voice of the divine, or it might just be our imagination. I think it might, at times, be none of them, or all three together.

The point of prayer, like that of almost every religious practice, is to focus the mind of the participant on what is important from the aspect of that particular religion.

The American Mind.

In any event, and for the purposes of what is relevant in Jack Smith’s two indictments, the factual grounds on which President Trump allegedly committed crime(s) within his official duties as president have already been twice considered by the House of Representatives, for which the president—in conformance with Article II, Sec. 4—was acquitted both times by the Senate. Because the Senate voted not to convict President Trump of his alleged crimes, any and every remedial measure afforded by the constitutional process has already been exhausted. Therefore, to continue to bring charges against the president for the asserted crimes on which he has already been prosecuted is by definition an abuse of the judicial power and an expressed violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment: “…nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb…”

Democrats: “Constitution? We don’t need no stinkin’ Constitution!”

Steven Hayward at Power Line.

It has been observed that the demand for racism outstrips the supply, and hence the need for defining racism down to sweep up any observable disparity between racial groups or “microaggression,” or the proliferation of outright race hoaxes, such as racist graffiti on college campuses, etc. Academia and the media are driving this trend. Zach Goldberg a while ago charted out the rise in mentions of race and racism in the major media, but worth repeating here.

The American Mind.

In August 1966, communist leader Mao Zedong commenced “Red August,” a campaign amidst the wider Cultural Revolution to wipe away the “Four Olds” of Chinese society: old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. He infamously used university students, and other younger children, as foot soldiers to carry out mass beatings and destroy important cultural and historical institutions.

The outsized rule of juveniles and young adults in the subsequent massacres perpetrated by the Red Guards was not at all unique. In Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, children were also enlisted as foot soldiers, prison guards, and executors of public shaming of non-compliant adults. The weaponization of children and adolescents is a marked feature of left-wing movements across the globe.

The American Left has ensured that children occupy an increasingly active role in our country’s political and culture wars. Childhood no longer exists outside the realm of conflicts between adults. If anything, children are now being told that they must take center stage as the voice of moral righteousness on the most controversial issues of the day. Look no further than Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan remarking that “when our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and to believe them.” In Flanagan’s reality, the immature should lead adults in determining cures to societal ills.

Biden’s key immigration policy allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter US faces trial this week (Fox)

Biden quietly sells off border wall parts to thwart GOP push to use them (N.Y. Post)

‘Punch in the Gut,’ Afghanistan Veteran Says About Seeing Taliban Takeover

Biden’s Maui Trip Is ‘Damage Control’ to Seem ‘More Engaged’

The Cost Of Soup Is About To Soar Even Higher; Thank President Biden

Joe and Hunter Biden Vacation at Billionaire Climate Activist’s Lake Tahoe Mansion

Playbook: Harris fights her biggest foe: Washington’s view of her (Politico) Not to mention the rest of the country.

Report: Gun Safety Groups Reluctantly Endorse Biden

Report: Hunter Biden Prosecutor Was Ready To Drop Investigation Before Whistleblowers Came Forward

WATCH: Biden FEMA Chief Can’t Explain 1,000 Missing People After Maui Wildfires

Biden’s infrastructure building boom is missing one thing: Workers (NBC)

‘I can’t get into people’s heads’: Kamala Harris tries to reshape her public image ahead of 2024 (Politico)

WATCH: Biden DHS Chief Brags Maui Wildfires Response Involves Cultural Sensitivity Experts

Actually, Joe, All Your “Objectives” Were Failures

‘He is scared’: Psaki on unusual signs of fear from Trump after new indictment (MSNBC) I think not.

Rep. Gaetz Introduces Bill To Censure, Investigate Judge In Trump 2020 Election Case Politics is a game that two can play.

Trump confirms he will skip the first GOP debate — and maybe future ones, as well (NBC)

MSNBC Pundit Revels In Trump Seeing a ‘Really Dirty, Dangerous’ Jail, Hopes He’s ‘Freaked Out’  As the Mafia have demonstrated, jails can be a cushy place … if you’ve got the money.

TV’s Distorted GOP Primary Race: Three-Fourths Trump, 90% Negative

How the DOJ Outsourced Trump’s Indictment to House Dems

If Republicans Narrow the Field, We Will Beat Trump (N.Y. Times) Look for a prominent op-ed by a prominent Democrat tendering advice on how Democrats can beat Biden. You won’t find one. (RINOs gotta RINO)

Pence Undercuts Trump’s Defense in Classified Documents Case (N.Y. Times)

The Disqualification Of Donald Trump And Other Legal Urban Legends

Scoop: Inside Trump’s new plan to limit immigration (Axios) The notion that anyone writing for Axios has any kind of ‘scoop’ about Trump’s plan for anything is risible.

Trump’s legal woes are part of his quasi-religious mythology of martyrdom (The Guardian) Sidney Blumenthal, Hillary’s sock-puppet, looks in the mirror and calls it MAGAroni.

Trump and his allies double down on election lies after indictments for trying to undo 2020 results (Associated Press) Bias? What bias?

Watch: MSNBC Talking Head Delights At Thought Of Trump In A “Really Dirty, Dangerous, Scary” Jail  Except that the vast majority of those who wind up in a ‘really dirty, dangerous scary jail’ vote Democrat.

Ankle Biter: CNN Cheers Trump Hurting Fox News By Skipping GOP Debate

Storeowner shot to death right in front of her shop after dispute over LGBTQ+ pride flag, authorities say (CBS) I love that phrase: ‘a blended family’

This quirky Portland hardware store says its 48th year could be its last (Oregon Live)

Court Docs Suggests Reason for Kansas Paper Raid (NewsMax)

If Trump, Biden Nominees, No Labels Will Launch Bid (NewsMax)

County Attorney in Texas Switches to GOP (NewsMax)

These Are The Dirtiest Cities In America  All run by Democrats.

Uniparty’s Plan To Save “Our Democracy” Unfolds

US ‘Rent-A-Womb’ Industry Thrives Due To Demand From Parents In China: Researcher  And thus are birth-right citizens.

Portland School District Workshops ‘Equitable Grading Practices’ That Outlaw Zeros for Cheating, Missing Work

Feminist UCSF School Of Medicine Professor Says Children Can Be “Gender Minotaurs”

Districts Quietly Putting Police Back in Schools

‘Luxury’ Migrant Smugglers Arrested in Italy

From Press Room Raids to Indictments, Anything Goes When the Government Piles On

Sen. Ted Cruz Demands Anheuser-Busch Hand Over Dylan Mulvaney Information  Ted Cruz is starting to make my ass tired.

Paid to Strike: California Dems Push Unemployment Benefits for Striking Workers

EXCLUSIVE: St. Louis University Pushes Ideological Transgender ‘Toolkit’ on Med Students (The Foundry)

Struggling Police Forces Look to Hire Noncitizens (NewsMax)

New York and California Each Lost $1T When Financial Firms Moved South

St. Louis University Pushes Trans Ideology on Med Students

When Trans Activism Becomes Government Policy

Progressive Insurance Sued Over ‘Patently Unlawful’ Racism For $25K Black-Only Business Grants

Freeform’s Racist Comedy ‘grown-ish’ Vilifies Black Conservatives Candace Owens and Herschel Walker

British Media: English Women’s Soccer Team is Too White

Freethink.

Fortunately, a recent study in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces reports a new nanoparticles treatment that whitens teeth without damaging them, and also protects them by removing cavity-forming bacteria.

By the time you can buy it without a prescription and doctor supervision, you won’t have any teeth left. Enjoy.

Read it.

I recently had occasion to take the “White Privilege Test” endorsed by the black Lives Matter movement, and was thunderstruck, but not surprised, to find that none of the questions, not a single one, had anything to do with anything that could honestly be called a privilege.

This leads to a serious conundrum. What is White Privilege?

An even more serious question is this: How can anyone take such a silly question seriously?

Washington Free Beacon.

An Israeli woman was killed in a suspected Palestinian shooting attack near the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday, the Israeli military said.
Israel’s ambulance service said an Israeli man who was also seriously wounded in the incident was transferred to hospital and that a six-year-old who was in the car was “miraculously unharmed.”
The military said in a statement it had set up roadblocks and was searching for the suspects, who it said fired from a passing vehicle.
A spokesperson for the Islamist Hamas group that governs blockaded Gaza, Hazem Qassem, praised the attack and said it was a response to Israel’s ongoing assaults on Palestinians.
Israeli forces were already hunting for a Palestinian suspected of shooting and killing two Israelis on Saturday.

Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.
Especially when
You might be a Jew.

Read it.

Low-level clashes occurred in Wallonia following the shooting death of a man by police in the French-speaking town of Liège over the past weekend. The unrest spread to the nearby city of Herstal Saturday and Sunday night.

The shooting occurred in the migrant suburb of Oupeye near Liège city centre late Friday afternoon, August 18th, when a man on a quad bike failed to comply with an order to stop and instead proceeded to run a police officer over. The officer, who was subsequently hospitalised, opened fire on the man who was pronounced dead at the scene.

ZMan peers behind the curtain.

Over the last several years, a group of academics and intellectuals have formed what is now called post-liberalism. The members of this group do not agree on many things, but they agree on one important thing and that is what they call liberalism has run its course and it is time for something new. Patrick Deneen, one of the key members of the post-liberals, has a new book out called Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future, in which he sets out to describe what should replace liberalism.

This is the third book from Deneen on the subject. In 2016, Deneen published Conserving America?, which was a collection of essays on the current social and moral troubles of this age. After that he published Why Liberalism Failed, which was a book length analysis of what he calls liberalism. This latest book is supposed to build on that second book and lay out a vision for how to put an end to the liberal order and provide a sketch for what should replace it.

Regime Change has been met with mostly negative reviews. A good example is from Charles Haywood at Worthy House, who was enthusiastically positive about Deneen’s prior book on the subject. It is also fair to say that Haywood is positively disposed to the broad concept of post-liberalism. He makes the point that despite the title, Deneen is not actually suggesting we change the regime. Instead, he offers up the usual list of reforms that have no chance of being considered.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism.

German an Dutch security officers arrested nine Islamic State members on July 7 in a major sweep operation in both countries. Seven of the arrested were allegedly in Germany planning a new wave of terrorist attacks in the country. The German federal prosecutors charged the group with forming a “domestic terrorist group” and with supporting the Islamic State.

Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.

Zimbabwe to take 30% of carbon credit revenue (Reuters)

Ecuador prepares for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ vote to stop oil drilling (The Guardian)

Will Ecuador voters set a precedent on oil drilling in the Amazon? (Al Jezeera)

Just stop oil? In Ecuador we have the opportunity to do just that (The Guardian)

How to maximize energy efficiency when using a mini-split heat pump (Washington Post)

Farmer shows path forward as California composting law goes into effect (CBS Bay Area)

Peninsula farmer works to prop up agriculture in San Mateo County (KPIX)

US Southwest on High Alert as Hurricane Hilary Climbs Mexico Coast

Sweden Goes Nuclear

No, THE WEEK, Antarctica is Not a ‘Bellwether’ for Climate Change

Cows for the Climate? Canada Breeds ‘Emission-Friendly’ Bovines

Amazon lists book on Maui wildfires that was published days after fires started

Ukraine running out of options to retake significant territory (Washington Post)

China Stages War Games in ‘Stern Warning’ to Taiwan (NewsMax)

US urges China to cease military pressure against Taiwan (Reauters) “They may have won all the battles …but we had all the good songs!”

Rare Earth Elements And National Security: Reclaiming US Control Amid China’s Monopoly

North Korean Hackers Target US-South Korea Military Drills, Police Say  My, what a surprise.

Scholz Says Germany Will ‘Never’ Send Troops To Ukraine As Public Turns Against Escalation

US Intelligence Deems Ukraine’s Counteroffensive A Failure

New study warns against risks of ‘time-traveling pathogens’ (CNN)

COVID-19: New BA.2.86 Variant With 30 Mutations Leads To Rapid Reaction From CDC, WHO (Nassau Daily Voice)

CDC tracking new COVID variant BA.2.86 after highly mutated strain reported in Michigan (WWMT-TV)

Eris, BA.2.86: Do I need to worry about COVID again? (Reuters)

WHO, US health authorities tracking new COVID-19 variant (The Korea Times)

A Chinese Bioweapons Lab in Reedley, California?

Is This The Real Reason “Eris” Cases Are Spiking?

Flash mobs invade luxury L.A. retailers with brute force, overwhelming numbers

The growing movement against noise pollution (NPR)

Businesses in downtown Portland struggle through slow summer season (ABC)

These 14 American Cities Have A ‘Target’ Of Banning Meat, Dairy, And Private Vehicles By 2030 (The Federalist)

New York State’s governor joins President Biden in making it clear to New York City: you’re on your own. (City Journal)

First Amendment lawsuits challenge state’s DEI rules for community colleges (S.F. Chronicle)

Transgender Powerlifter Smashes Women’s World Record By More Than 440 Pounds

Understanding The Parasitic Cooperation Between Globalists And Leftists

Dependency On The State Is The Core Of The Takeover Plot Of Humanity

Legalise Euthanasia, or Risk Falling Behind, Warns Finnish Doctor

France Stops Fewer Migrants, Despite Brits Footing the Bill

Wikipedia donations used for politics, not for running Wikipedia

Hawaii State Government Attempts Information Blackout On Maui Fire – Refuses Media Access

‘Not How An Innocent Person Acts’: Scarborough Slimes Trump on Trial Delay Requests (NewsBusters) How would Joe Scarborough know how an innocent person acts?

How G.O.P. Views of Biden Are Helping Trump in the Republican Primary (N.Y. Times)

Trump May Skip Some G.O.P. Debates, but Advisers See a Biden Face-Off as Key (N.Y. Times) Nobody at the NYT has any idea what Trump’s advisors believe or don’t believe. They’re just making shit up.

CBS News poll finds Trump’s big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss indictments (CBS)

Todd Crows Over Biden & GOP Not Attacking Trump: Danger to Democracy!

GOP senator says Trump should drop out and calls classified documents case ‘almost a slam dunk’ (CNN) Cassidy is a doctor, not a lawyer, and if a lawyer tried to express an opinion on a medical matter CNN would be the first to laugh.

Weiss wasn’t going to charge Hunter Biden until whistleblowers came forward: report (N.Y. Post)

Jake Tapper admits ‘Trump was right,’ ‘Biden was wrong’ about Hunter Biden in 2020 presidential debate (Fox)

In talks with prosecutors, Hunter Biden’s lawyers vowed to put the president on the stand (Politico)

Brace Yourselves, Because What They Have Planned Is Going To Absolutely Devastate The US Economy

Biden’s green agenda pokes a big hole in America’s social safety net

Before investigating Hunter Biden, prosecutor worked with brother Beau (Washington Post) Corruption? What corruption?

Inside the Collapse of Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal (N.Y. Times)

Three More Hunter Biden Attorneys Quit, Bringing Total To Five

What A Steel: Biden Scrambles To Sell Off Trump’s Uninstalled Border Wall Before ‘Finish It Act’ Passes  The Real Mafia call this a ‘bustout’.

Freeberg nails it.

When I emerged into adulthood, something that happened quite awhile ago by now, I quickly learned that pairing yourself up with a female wasn’t at all like casual dating in high school. It was a rite of passage back in these olden days. Wounded, incomplete, damaged and/or spoiled and anti-social females would sprout and then grow their trails of wreckage of failed & dysfunctional relationships with both men and women, romantic & otherwise, with this leitmotif of “I don’t take any crap and they can’t handle a strong woman.”

A particularly keen and disciplined observer might have noticed that whether these women thought of themselves as leaders or not, they weren’t running very much of anything, and were leading no one. Truth was, they just never learned to share an endeavor, or life itself, with another person. Or share nothing and just enjoy spending time with another. They were too broken and too damaged.

We quickly learned to run in the opposite direction when we heard the words “strong woman,” or “men are intimidated by me.” It’s a little disconcerting to see the negative energy from all those years ago, radiated yet again by someone who was so far away from even being conceived. It means something is sustaining this rot, keeping it infected and putrid. Something that packs a lot of influence.

Read it.

The reductio ad absurdum notwithstanding, one need only visit a major European city to see how moot this point really is. London has earned a reputation for high crimes, yet Britain has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Apparently, criminals find other ways to do harm to innocent people.

For many years now, Sweden has been plagued by a high rate of gun violence, despite it being practically impossible for law-abiding citizens to buy a firearm.

American states and cities with strict gun laws are also the ones with the highest rate of gun-related crimes. New York is a notorious example, but so is Baltimore in Maryland. California, which boasts some of the toughest gun laws in America, is home to endemic urban decay, including out-of-control crime.

The city of Washington, D.C., forces you to meet 23 different criteria in order to obtain a concealed carry permit, presumably to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Yet that very same city is a cesspool of armed robberies, carjackings, and other gun violence.

Read it.

There is a tendency in the world of ideas to divide thinkers into saints and witches. Some are singled out for a hagiographic treatment. When others discover issues with their thoughts or lives, the switch is flipped and they become worthy of being burned. They are either valorized or demonized. This has happened to countless intellectuals: Voltaire, Jefferson, Darwin, Marx, Freud, Heidegger, and thousands more.

It’s all quite infantile. The better approach is one born of maturity. Read everything and everyone and learn what you can and toss out what’s wrong. Of course this requires work and thought. In fact, the saint/witch dichotomy is merely a mask for laziness. It’s a way of finding a fast track to truth that dispenses with the arduous task of actual research.

Few have been victimized by this habit as much as the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. People might encounter her work in high school and decide to adopt it as a personal credo, only to find out later in life that the world is more complicated than she describes and they turn against her.

Mostly she got right that the majority of people are selfish shits regardless of what they say.

NewsMax.

Pakistani Christians held services on Sunday at churches that were vandalized and torched by a vigilante mob last week after two Christian brothers were accused of desecrating the Koran.

The services at a handful of churches in the city of Jaranwala in eastern Pakistan were led by the bishop of the diocese, Christian community leader Akmal Bhatti said. He attended one of the services, which drew hundreds of Christians whose homes were partly or completely destroyed when the mob burnt and looted them on Wednesday.

The pastors later distributed food rations to those affected, Bhatti said.

Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.

Read it.

Ever since the Brexit-cum-Trump dual shock of 2016, most of the international press has resorted to labeling candidates and causes to the right of establishment liberal-conservatism as “far-right,” “fringe,” or even “extreme.” To the extent these national-populist leaders have challenged entrenched orthodoxies on free trade and relatively free migration, this media hysteria is partly warranted. But what happens when the shock comes not from a conservative populist like Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, or Jair Bolsonaro but from a dyed-in-the-wool libertarian? Someone who, taken at his word, wants not to bury but to revive a more radical version of the same neoliberal dogmas of yore about a limited state and the rejection of protectionism?

Gates of Vienna.

The Koran, Islam’s book, is “dripping with murderous levels of hatred”, as a critic put it. “Kill them,” it commands, of non-Muslims, kafirs, “Kill them wherever you find them.” (2:191, 9:5) “Between us [Muslims] and you enmity and hatred forever.” (60:4) “When you meet the kafirs strike the necks.” (47:4) Kafirs are “filthy” (9:28), “the vilest of beasts” (8:55), “a clear enemy to you” (4:101): “Do not take them as allies.” (4:89) “Let them find harshness in you” (9:123); “Fight the unbelievers until they pay the jizya [extortion tax] … in a state of subjection.” (9:29) Muslims are “the best of peoples raised up for mankind” (3:110), “merciful to each other, ruthless to the kafir.” (48:29)

These are not quaint Old-Testament-type exhortations from their historical time, like “Slaughter the Amalekites and Hittites.” The Koran, all of it, forms part of Islamic law. These are current instructions of Islamic law. “Muslims must kill kafirs wherever they are unless they convert.” said Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt. “Islam says: kill all of the kafirs. Jihad stands for killing all kafirs. Prophet had sword to kill people,” thundered Ayatollah Khomeini. “Enmity and hate shall forever reign between us,” wrote Osama bin Laden. “Jews and Christians are filthy. Their lives and property can be taken by the Muslims in jihad,” preached Yasir Qadhi in Tennessee. “Allah, strike the Jews and… the Christians, Allah, count them and kill them to the last one” — Al-Aqsa TV (palwatch.org 2010-12-03).

Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.

John Hinderaker at Power Line.

This video made me laugh. Riley Gaines munches on breakfast cereal with a deadpan expression while watching a lib’s self-absorbed TikTok video. The funny thing, as Riley notes, is that TikTok banned the video even though Riley does not utter a single word. Her only commentary is “poor cat,” which you will understand if you watch the lib woman’s litany….

Biden Defers to DOJ on Hunter Biden Probe (NewsMax) Plausible deniability.

Illegal Crossings on US-Mexico Border Rose 33 Percent in July (NewsMax)

Top Texas Land Official Calls Out Biden Mussel Move (NewsMax)

“This Is Unacceptable”: Biden’s DOJ Attempts To Silence Journalist In Firearms Case

WATCH: Joe Biden’s Senior Moment of the Week (Vol. 56) (Washington Free Beacon)

The Shameless Media Partisans Who Praised Biden’s Afghan Debacle (NewsBusters)

Biden campaign expects GOP candidates to ‘out-MAGA each other’ during first debate (NBC News) ‘MAGA’ is the New Nigger.

Buying Second-Hand Is Gaining Popularity  In the Biden economy, who can afford new?

PBS: Democrats Should Be More ‘Grateful’ Biden Is Their ’24 Candidate  Good luck with that.

Unused Border Wall Material Being Auctioned Off  Does that include ten percent for the Big Guy?

“Trump Was Right”: Jake Tapper Admits Biden Lied About Hunter ‘Making Fortune In Ukraine, China, Moscow’

5th Circuit Slaps Down FDA Again for Illegally Dropping Abortion Pill’s Safety Rules (Daily Signal)

Planned Parenthood Appeals Ruling That Let Neb. Abortion Ban Stand

Sen. Kaine: ‘Frustrated’ GOP Will Stop Tuberville Protest

After Years In The Wilderness, Conservative Christian Education Is Being Born Again Post-Pandemic

Math For Dummies

Christie Calls for Federal RICO Investigation of Antifa Rioters  Took him long enough.

“Leave Neutrality Behind”: Soros-Backed UT Austin Initiative Embraces Advocacy Journalism

Californians Hoping Hurricane Will Wash All Poop Off Sidewalks (Babylon Bee)

Suit Claims Progressive Insurance Racially Biased

Inside Trump’s Decision to Skip the G.O.P. Debate (N.Y. Times) Of course, the notion that anybody writing for the NYT could possibly fathom what’s ‘inside Trump’s decision’ to go to the bathroom, much less skip the GOP debate, is ludicrous.

Why Trump might regret passing on the first debate (Politico) I’m betting that he shows up at the last minute, says something like “I thought I was going to get indicted today, but I didn’t, so I decided to show up here”, and turn over the game board. The press would go nuts, and would pay no attention to the other candidates.

The Constitution Prohibits Trump From Ever Being President Again (The Atlantic) Luttig and Tribe are the Crazy Uncles of the Deep State, the legal equivalent of Bernie Sanders.

Christie: Trump Canceled Election Fraud Press Conference Because ‘He’s Scared’ Of Jail (Huffington Post) The odds of Christie knowing anything about why Trump does something are less than zero.

Christie hits Trump on foreign policy: ‘I don’t want to be the apple of Vladimir Putin’s eye’ (The Hill) Apple? Watermelon, I think.

Top Ukraine War Lessons From USAF’s Commander In Europe

At Camp David, US, South Korea and Japan condemn China, agree to deepen military ties (Reuters)

Paraguay’s New President Presents Strategic Cooperation Opportunities for US (The Foundry)

Pentagon ill-prepared for bio warfare attacks from adversaries such as China, Russia

Watch: Alarming Video Shows Chinese Troops Rehearsing For Taiwan Invasion

Total Ukraine War Troop Deaths, Injuries Approaching 500,000: US Officials

“The End Is Nearing” – Seymour Hersh Slams The White House’s “Wishful Approach” To Ukraine War

Germany Reverses Course On Pledge To Meet NATO Military Spending Target  Of course. Why should they spend that kind of money when the neocons in the American ruling class will spend it for them?

Warmongering Neocons To Spend $2 Million On Ads For Ukraine War