April 17, 2025

EVERYONE IN THE FIELD KNOWS THIS. THEY DEMONETIZED ME OVER POLITICS, TOO.

When do I file for damages?

Posted at 1:01 pm by Glenn Reynolds 10

WHAT IS A WOMAN? JK ROWLING IS A WOMAN, A GENUINELY TOUGH WOMAN:

Posted at 12:45 pm by Stephen Green 55

BURGMENTUM, BABY: Burgum Takes the Wind Out of the Empire State’s Plans. “As much as I cracked on Doug Burgum as a presidential candidate, he is going gangbusters as Interior Secretary and is proving to be another of Trump’s inspired picks. All I can say is molto well done to him. As for the offshore waters South of Long Island, I hope the folks really enjoy them now. Things are always better savored when you realize what you almost lost.”

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll 19

IMPRESSIVE: High School Student Discovers 1.5 Million Potential New Astronomical Objects by Developing an A.I. Algorithm. “Matteo Paz from Pasadena, California, recently won the first place prize of $250,000 in the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search for combining machine learning with astronomy. Self-described as the nation’s ‘oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors,’ the contest recognized Paz for developing his A.I. algorithm. The young scientist’s tool processed 200 billion data entries from NASA’s now-retired Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) telescope. His model revealed 1.5 million previously unknown potential celestial bodies.”

Posted at 11:43 am by Stephen Green 57

CHANGE? Meet the Man Who Murdered the Democratic Party. “A pair of earthshattering, history-altering, Chris Christie-sized stories broke this week, but they’ve (mostly) skated beneath the political periphery. That’s because you can’t grasp the sheer enormity of the consequences until you connect them together.”

Posted at 11:12 am by Stephen Green 172

I’VE HAD SIMILAR THOUGHTS: Is It August 1941 Again? If So Is There A Chinese Operation Z In The Works?

For many years before the United States entered World War II, tensions between the United States and Japan escalated. In the months prior to December 7, 1941, those tensions reached the breaking point. Responding to the Japanese occupation of airfields in French Indochina, the U.S. froze all Japanese assets on July 26, 1941. On August 1st, it imposed an embargo on oil and gasoline exports to Japan. Without those exports, the Japanese economy and military would grind to a halt.

The Japanese were faced with a clear choice. The sanctions imposed by the United States were a fatal blow to Japan’s economy. Tokyo could knuckle under, or it could strike first.

That didn’t work out very well.

Posted at 10:41 am by Stephen Green 330

21st CENTURY HEADLINES: James May reviews a fully driverless car (video).

The video goes on quite a bit too long, but for longtime Top Gear viewers, the punchline is a hoot.

It does make me slightly less apprehensive about riding in a self-driving car though: Lyft plans to launch robotaxi service in Dallas in 2026. “The ride-sharing company Lyft said Monday it plans to roll out a full self-driving robotaxi service in Dallas next year. The announcement comes as rival Uber plans to launch its self-driving taxi service with Google’s Waymo cars in Austin, Texas, next month.”

Posted at 10:35 am by Ed Driscoll 35

THE DEMOCRATS’ APPEAL IS BECOMING MORE SELECTIVE: Politico: Guess Where Voters Are Getting Tired of La Résistance? “Voters, on the other hand, have had enough … even in California. According to Politico’s new poll, Golden State voters have no real interest in going to war with Donald Trump. Instead, they seem less enthused than ever about the state’s one-party rule and the fruits it has borne.”

Fruits of a poisonous tree.

Posted at 9:49 am by Glenn Reynolds 68

JOYLESS GUARDIAN WRITER SAYS: The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism.

This lede is just too precious for writer Moira Donegan’s utter lack of self-awareness while decrying our lack of self-awareness: “There are some spectacles of US decadence and decline that almost seem too on the nose – the sort of orgies of vulgar provocation or fantastic lack of self-awareness that exceed the limits of parody, so that if they were in a novel, you’d think the writer was laying it on a little thick.”

Say what you will about the merits of Blue Origin’s all-female passenger flight but those women touched the edge of space on an American-built joyride that you can’t get in Britain at any price.

If that’s decadence and decline, then what do you call Britain’s ongoing dewesternization?

Posted at 9:39 am by Stephen Green 142

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Loading Up on Popcorn to Watch Trump Break Harvard. “No one on the Right has even taken a brief, easy run at the grifters in Academia before. President Trump is going after them and their money hard. There’s a lot at stake here. The rot in Academia is so deep that getting rid of it without burning it all down (a guy can dream) can’t be done with halfhearted measures.”

Posted at 9:08 am by Stephen Green 52

UNEXPECTEDLY! David Hogg Turning Out to Be a Terrific Pick for DNC Vice Chair.

It has been a busy spring since winning a Democratic National Committee Vice Chair post [Beege adds: 1 of 5 VCs], an event I can only attribute to the current state of Democratic Party upheaval and disarray, and, evidently, the overwhelming lack of a single, sane member.

Hogg’s ascension was the lunatic cherry on top of the DNC Crazy Town sundae – we all know who’s in charge of the asylum now.

It didn’t take the twee lad long to exercise his tremendous powers of persuasion. Two weeks after winning, DNC members were already being persuaded that this attention Hogg was a big mistake.
…
Some were questioning the wisdom of elevating a media-made creature of so little accomplishment, particularly at a time when the party was being held in so little regard.

When you’re considered too young and callow for the party currently going all-in on AOC as the party’s future…

Posted at 8:37 am by Stephen Green 65