OPEN THREAD: Tuesday’s groovy.
December 10, 2024
ADMIRAL BYNG TO THE WHITE COURTESY PHONE — UH, NEVER MIND: We Need to Ritually Sacrifice a Squish GOP Senator to Encourage the Others.
WELL, MAKE IT MARCH, WE’RE MINUS ON MINUTES: Blue Origin says first New Glenn launch still scheduled for 2024.
PARTY OF YOUTH UPDATE: Bernie Sanders says this is likely his last term. “I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here. You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes.”
THIS IS CNN: Radical activists have terrified these ‘trans kids,’ and CNN is encouraging it.
“I’m afraid I’m going to be murdered” isn’t something you hear a 10-year-old say every day. However, that’s the message a child named Violet delivered during a shocking CNN segment featuring multiple transgender children and their parents.
“[I’m worried that] one day I’m going to be walking down the street, and someone is going to come up and like shoot me or something,” Violet said somberly in the opening exchange.
“That’s a really scary thing to be worrying about at 10 years old,” the CNN reporter replied, affirming this bizarre paranoia as if it were justified.
It is not.
While the debate over the medical transitioning of gender-confused minors, currently before the Supreme Court, is intense, often heated, and sometimes toxic, no one is randomly murdering 10-year-olds who identify as transgender. The other children on the CNN panel similarly indicated that they falsely fear their “lives” and “existence” are at stake throughout the shocking six-minute segment. This is just an extension of the false narrative, routinely propagated by so-called LGBT activists, that transgender people are frequently murdered for their identity when, in fact, their murder rates are below average.
Earlier: Annette Bening Says The Quiet Part Out Loud About Having a “Trans Child.”
DON’T WORRY, THE NEXT ELECTION ISN’T FOR FOUR YEARS: A Single Mutation Could Bring Bird Flu a Critical Step Closer to a New Pandemic.
THAT WASN’T ME, IT WAS THE COUCH: New Research Reveals That Your Couch Could Be Emitting Toxic Vapors.
IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO? Keto diet might increase effectiveness of certain cancer treatment.
ROGER KIMBALL: The reason Americans fear for Britain.
Following the summer’s violent riots after the Southport attack, a House of Commons Committee on Science and Technology announced that it wanted to call Elon Musk, who owns X (formerly Twitter) to give evidence on “social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms.” Musk responded that the committee members “will be summoned to the United States of America to explain their censorship and threats to American citizens.” Good for him.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, noted that police officers would be “scouring social media” to identify and arrest people who had the temerity to write things the Crown Prosecution Service deemed “insulting or abusive which is intended to or likely to start racial hatred.” Several people, including a fifty-five-year-old woman, have been arrested for reposting words that fell afoul of Britain’s new censors. A woman in Newcastle, meanwhile, was arrested for standing quietly on the street while holding a sign that read “Fight The Government Not Each Other.”
How about the people distributing notices in Jewish neighborhoods with the legend, written in Hebrew, “Every Zionist needs to leave Britain or be Slaughtered”? The police are apparently too busy with other threats to pay much attention. Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force, threatened to extradite foreign citizens who violated Britain’s speech codes. “Whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” he said. Good luck with that, Mark.
It looks as if you might have to be awfully careful about what you say or write in Britain. The latest wheeze is the possibility of instituting blasphemy laws. Speaking in the House of Commons recently, Labour member of parliament Tahir Ali asked: “Will the prime minister commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions?” Starmer did not indicate that he opposed it.
Earlier this year, vice-president-elect J.D. Vance speculated that “the first truly Islamist country” to get a nuclear weapon might not be Iran or Pakistan but Britain under the Labour leadership of Keir Starmer. James Murray, the Treasury minister, responded that “in Britain, we’re very proud of our diversity.” Noted. How about the substance of your history and your civilization? Are you proud of that, too?
The rest of Europe is suffering from similar self-inflicted wounds: European civilization is in freefall.
The collapse of the French government this week is just the latest episode in a long-running drama of dysfunction. Emmanuel Macron, for all his pretensions of being Europe’s reformist saviour, has been reduced to a lame-duck president, thwarted by a fractured and hostile parliament. Germany, once deemed to be the economic powerhouse of the EU, finds itself in a similar bind, heading for early elections while its economy is battered by crippling energy policies. At a time when strong leadership is desperately needed, Europe’s elites are playing at committee politics and virtue-signalling, oblivious to the storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
Enter Trump 2.0, the antithesis of Europe’s managed decline. His bold, unapologetic vision for America is a direct challenge to the wrong-headedness and complacency of Europe’s leaders. They see his brashness as a threat, when it is precisely what the West needs – a common sense American president unafraid to confront uncomfortable truths and act decisively on the world stage.
Consider Trump’s approach to Nato. Unlike Europe’s feckless leaders, who have treated the alliance as a free ride on America’s dime, Trump demands accountability. By insisting that member states pay their fair share, he not only strengthens Nato but exposes the hypocrisy of Europeans who lecture on “shared values” while shirking their responsibilities.
On energy, the contrast is equally stark. While the UK and much of Europe cripples itself with net zero dogma, Trump is promising to unleash America’s energy sector, in an attempt to secure both economic stability and strategic autonomy. His policies, rooted in pragmatism, recognise that energy independence is achievable without sacrificing growth or security. Europe’s energy crisis is no accident; it is the direct result of leaders who prioritise green ideology over common sense.
Exit quote: “The choice before Europe is stark: continue down the path of ruin, or follow Trump’s lead and reclaim its destiny. His vision, with its emphasis on strength, self-determination, and unflinching realism, offers a lifeline to a continent on the brink. Whether Europe seizes it or squanders it will define the future of the West.”
E.V.: 2025 Lucid Gravity First Drive: Goes Over 400 Miles and Feels Awesome Doing So: Lucid’s first SUV seems like a worthy sequel to the Air sedan—but will it sell? The 450 mile range, however, is “estimated.” I’d like to see some real-world performance reports.
IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO? 2 extra years of life: Drinking coffee daily shows benefits for aging.
Researchers from Portugal have uncovered compelling evidence that drinking coffee isn’t just a pleasant ritual, but potentially a powerful tool for maintaining health as we get older. The study, published in Ageing Research Reviews, reveals that moderate coffee drinking could be a simple yet effective way to support healthy aging.
The global population is getting older rapidly. By 2050, people 65 and older are expected to make up 16% of the world’s population, up from 10% in 2022. This demographic shift makes understanding ways to maintain health in later years increasingly critical.
The review analyzed over 50 scientific studies, focusing specifically on how coffee impacts human health and aging. The most striking finding? Regular coffee consumption can add an average of 1.8 years to a person’s healthy life expectancy — and this benefit appears to be equally powerful for both men and women.
Between coffee and scotch, I’m hoping to come out even.
SAY A PRAYER FOR TAXPROF PAUL CARON AND HIS STUDENTS: Franklin Fire in Malibu erupts near Pepperdine University, prompting evacuations.
MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: 2024: A Damn Close-Run Thing.
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I’VE SEEN THE LOCKDOWNS AND THE DAMAGE DONE: New Test Scores Show 4th and 8th Graders Falling Further Behind in Math.
READER FAVORITE: Kitchen Academy Induction Cookware Sets. #CommissionEarned
RULES ARE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: House Staffer Caught Up In Mags For Me, But Not For Thee Arrest.
COLORADO GETS WEIRDER: Colorado Announces Start Date for Psychedelic Business Applications.
According to the NMD, which is part of the Colorado Department of Revenue, the state will begin accepting applications for psychedelic healing centers, cultivations and testing labs on Tuesday, December 31.
The NMD was created by the state legislature after Colorado voters passed a law that decriminalizes certain natural psychedelics and legalizes the clinical and therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms. The same 2023 law that created the NMD also mandated that the new agency craft rules for would-be psilocybin operators by October and be ready for applications by December 31 of this year.
Prospective psychedelic business owners must undergo background checks, and all licensees must be located 1,000 feet from a school or child-care facility and comply with local time, place and manner regulations.
I certainly hope they mean all licensees must be located no closer than 1,000 feet from schools.
TO BE FAIR, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO FAIL: The Mainstream Media FINALLY Admits Obamacare Is a Failure.
READER FAVORITE: Amazon Essentials Men’s Flannel Pajama Pant (Available in Big & Tall). #CommissionEarned
IMPRESSIVE:
President Nayib Bukele revealed that El Salvador has discovered up to $3 TRILLION in unmined gold, and he is now moving quickly to repeal the mining ban regulation so that miners can get to work.
"We've also found gallium, tantalum, tin, and many other materials needed for the… pic.twitter.com/i8ddYPPayz
— George (@BehizyTweets) December 6, 2024
It’s amazing what you have the time and resources to look for, once criminal drug gangs aren’t running the country.
TAYLOR SWIFT ENDS ERAS TOUR WITH RECORD $2B IN TICKET SALES, HANDS OUT $200M BONUSES TO CREW:
Previously, the highest-earning tour was Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour, which started in 2022 and is ongoing. That has earned just over $1 billion so far. In third place is Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour (2018-2023), which earned $939 million.
Swift’s first stop on the Eras Tour was in Glendale, Arizona, in March 2023. She closed out the tour in Vancouver, Canada, at the BC Place Stadium on Sunday, telling fans, “We have toured the entire world. We have had so many adventures. It has been the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense, most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”
Right before playing her last song, “Karma,” and leaving the stage, the 14-time Grammy Award winner said to the crowd, “I want to thank every single one of you for being a part of the most thrilling chapter of my entire life to date — my beloved Eras Tour.”
According to a report from People, Swift gave out $197 million worth of bonuses to her tour crew, which included truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, the merch team, lighting and sound, production staff and assistants, carpenters, dancers, a band, security, choreographers, pyrotechnics, riggers, hair, makeup, wardrobe, physical therapists, and the video team.
Exit question: The Eras Tour has a huge carbon footprint. What’s a green Taylor Swift fan to do?
Can an environmentally minded fan enjoy Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as its long trail of carbon footprints strides into Vancouver this weekend?
The megastar’s Eras Tour has included almost 150 shows on five continents in front of millions of fans — and generated millions of kilograms of fossil-fuel emissions. Swift’s estimated jet emissions alone are equal to that of driving an average gas-powered vehicle more than 2.1 million kilometres — about the same as flying between Vancouver and Halifax 475 times.
Or to put the disparity between the leftist environ-mental and Swift in visual terms:
AT LEAST WE CAN’T BE DETECTED THAT WAY: A technosignature that could detect an extraterrestrial civilization’s reliance on nuclear fusion.
THE END OF LOW INTEREST RATES? Could a Fed rate cut in December be the last of this cycle?
The U.S. labor market continues to show signs of a persistent slowdown. At the same time, inflation data is mixed, with core inflation exceeding expectations while headline inflation continued to moderate. Accelerating producer prices suggest that inflation may be more stubborn than previously anticipated.
Previously anticipated by whom? You don’t need to be Milton Friedman (although it probably helps) to know that Congress can’t conjure a trillion dollars out of thin air two or three times a year without higher inflation.
And the longer interest rates stay high, the bigger a problem this becomes: Average American household has more than $10,000 in credit card debt. “Early results for the fourth quarter of the year show preliminary data for October at a new record high for credit card debt in the month, in absolute terms.”
Bidenomics is working, except for people who buy things or borrow money.
