THIS DOESN’T SOUND GOOD: 13 Illegal Immigrants Arrested in California Wearing U.S. Marine Uniforms. But where do poor, starving children get U.S. Marine uniforms?

THE END TIMES ARE HERE: Mystery Animal Roams the Streets in California.

THE FUTURE OF SPYING: Algorithm recovers speech from vibrations of potato-chip bag filmed through soundproof glass. “In other experiments, they extracted useful audio signals from videos of aluminum foil, the surface of a glass of water, and even the leaves of a potted plant.”

AT AMAZON, fresh deals on Bestselling Products, updated hourly.

Also, up to 60% off in Movies & TV.

And, for just a few hours more: $20 off the Kindle Paperwhite. I love mine.

OUT: REPUBLICANS ARE DEMOGRAPHICALLY DOOMED BECAUSE THEY RELY ON WHITE VOTERS. In: Hey, you know, there are actually a lot of white people out there voting. “Given that whites still make up about three-quarters of the voters in the nation and will likely be the clear majority for decades to come, there is every reason to believe that whites will have a real say in who governs.” Democrats’ crude racial appeals to minorities may even encourage whites to vote with more race-consciousness than in the recent past.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: How The Bureaucracy Punishes Whistleblowers.

Pedene, 56, is the former chief spokeswoman for this VA hospital. Now, she is living in a bureaucrat’s urban legend. After complaining to higher-ups about mismanagement at this hospital, she has been reassigned — indefinitely — to a desk in the basement.

In the Phoenix case, investigators are still trying to determine whether Pedene was punished because of her earlier complaints. If she is, that would make her part of a long, ugly tradition in the federal bureaucracy — workers sent to a cubicle in exile.

In the past, whistleblowers have had their desks moved to break rooms, broom closets and basements. It’s a clever punishment, good-government activists say, that exploits a gray area in the law.

And its prevalence illustrates the fundamentally corrupt nature of the bureaucracy.

CHANGE: The Long, Slow March Toward Gun Rights In The Courts. “But in the end, the courts seem to be coming slowly into alignment, and the consensus is that private ownership for the purpose of self defense, both in the home and in the public square, is in keeping with the founders’ intentions.”

DIRTY TRICKS: Democratic activists were behind controversial Klan ads in Mississippi.

HELEN AND I TEST-DROVE A Q7 A FEW YEARS AGO AND THE INTERIOR WAS GORGEOUS BUT IT WAS KIND OF POKEY: 2016 Audi Q7: Here’s Everything We Know About the Next-Gen SUV.

AT AMAZON, Up To 30% Off Select Diamondback Bikes.

Plus, new music releases on CD & vinyl.

And please remember: InstaPundit is an Amazon affiliate. When you do your shopping through the Amazon links on this page, including the “Shop Amazon” tab at the top or the searchbox in the right sidebar, you support this blog at no cost to yourself. Just click on the Amazon link, then shop as usual. I very much appreciate it when you do.

ACADEMIA AND THE Kardashian Index.

I’LL WANT THAT IN A RUN-FLAT: This is how you test a wheel that will go 1100 mph: 10,429 revolutions per minute is the magic number.

FORGET DRONES: These tethered blimps can spy on cities below.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE “GENDER PAY GAP.”

DEMOCRATS LAUNCH RACIAL ATTACKS IN KENTUCKY: “Apparently, in the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, it is incredibly important to point out that Mitch McConnell’s wife, former labor secretary Elaine Chao, is ‘Asian,’ and therefore, allegedly, ‘not from’ Kentucky.”

Related: Liberal Political Hack Launches Into Racist Tirade Against McConnell’s Wife.

Also: Dem tries to hide tracks after anti-Asian race-baiting in Kentucky Senate race.

You know, between this and all the affirmative-action stuff, I’m beginning to think that Democrats don’t much like Asians.

POPULAR MECHANICS: What if a Solar Flare Hit the Earth?

WHAT HAPPENS TO OIL PRICES when ISIS takes Baghdad? “As of today it is at least theoretically possible to scenarize a world oil shock at least equal to the so-called ‘Arab oil embargo’ of 1973-74 in terms of oil export supply cuts from several key regions and producer states – Russia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and possibly the GCC Arab Gulf exporters.” Whether you buy this or not, it’s certainly an argument to push domestic production as quickly as possible. I suppose opening federal lands for exploration is out of the question, though . . . .

And anyway, we’ve got Smart Diplomacy^TM on the job, so no worries!

UPDATE: Richard Fernandez asks: “Whose side is Obama on?”

ANOTHER UPDATE: ISIS Advances As Kurds Run Out Of Ammunition.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN FOR TODAY IS ON THE CIA AND THE IRS: Public Servants Acting As Public Masters.