ROGER SIMON: RIP JOE HICKS—GREAT MAN OF HIS TIMES. “Joe was one of the most interesting guys I had the pleasure of working with at PJ Media and PJTV, where he was the host of The Hicks File. He had a fascinating history. A man of his times, he had been a Black Panther in his youth, but shifted right as he grew older, suffering the brickbats you might expect from old comrades even though he served as Greater Los Angeles director of Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Council.”

I enjoyed The Hicks File immensely and featured its audio on PJM’s Sirius-XM radio show as often as possible; and later was very happy to have met Joe in person one or two times while visiting the PJM mothership in Los Angeles. RIP, Joe Hicks, 75.

WAR ON COLLEGE MEN: ‘Toxic environment’ for sons accused of campus sex offenses turns mothers into militants. “There’s a sense of powerlessness, and it’s an accurate sense of powerlessness particularly at private schools. People have no idea how few rights you have, especially at private universities. … And they think ‘they can really do this? They can ruin my child’s future and there’s nothing we can do about it.’ It’s extremely isolating.”

JUSTICE: Ohio raises alcohol limit for beer this week.

In three days, you’ll have more choices if you like to drink beer brewed locally. It’s good news for breweries like Hoppin’ Frog Brewery & Tasting Room here in Akron.

In May, the legislature lifted Ohio’s 12 percent cap on beer brewed here. And this Wednesday, breweries can begin serving it to the public.

Lawmakers say the move levels the playing field and makes Ohio even more attractive to smaller breweries.

Maybe I’ve been too hard on Governor John Kasich, who signed the bill into law last spring.

SO “STEM” IS BEING TURNED INTO “STEAM.” What does “STEAM” stand for? Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. What’s the difference between “Arts” and the others? “Arts” don’t require math. Science, Technology, Engineering and, of course, Math, all require math. This makes me suspicious.

AT AMAZON, big savings on Office Supplies.

Plus, deals on Small Appliances.

YOU’RE NOT AGAINST EVOLUTION, ARE YOU? The Anthropocene epoch could inaugurate even more marvellous eras of evolution.

CONTACT? Alien Hunters Spot Freaky Radio Signal Coming From Nearby Star.

Looking at the signal, the researchers say that if it came from a multi-directional, isotropic radio beacon, it would have to be produced by a Kardashev Type II civilization, i.e. an alien civilization that has tapped into nearly 100 percent of its host star’s energy potential. If the signal was targeted directly at our solar system, then it would be of a power available to a Kardashev Type I civilization, i.e. an alien civilization capable of exploiting nearly all of its home planet’s energy potential.

Another possibility, of course, is that the signal is a natural anomaly, such as background noise. French astronomer Jean Schneider is considering the possibility that HD164595 is amplifying a background radio source through a process known as gravitational microlensing.

To move forward, scientists will need to confirm the quality and integrity of this signal and rule out other possibilities.

I hope they’re not transmitting a cookbook.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Can American Colleges Be Fixed?

The number of full-time faculty in the California State University system increased slightly between 1975 and 2008, from 11,614 to 12,019, while the number of administrators nearly quadrupled during the same period, from 3,800 to 12,183.

In short, American colleges are suffering from administrative bloat, which increases every year at the hand of career managers who value standardization and procedures above all else, and who already put a great deal of trust in technology and market solutions. If the relative reduction in the number of full-time faculty per students over the past 30 years did not lead to a more efficient and affordable college education, it’s unclear how further reducing it could.

Do tell.

SORRY, INSUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRAFT: Taiwan’s Social Safety Net Is the Street Market. “With a GDP per capita about half US levels — between Spain and Portugal — Taiwan has a tiny welfare state paired with regulations that are both light and lightly enforced. Result? An explosion in commerce, and apparently near-zero homelessness. Walk anywhere in a Taiwanese city and the streets are alive, all day and all night, with a rotating cast of pop-up businesses that employ mainly low-skill labor while making life a joy for consumers.”

Hey, if they’re not beggars, they’ll be harder to please.

PROGRESS? Cows the world over rejoice, pineapple leather is now a thing.

While in the Philippines, [Carmen Hijosa] discovered the traditional fabric Piña (meaning ‘pineapple’ in Spanish), made of stripped and woven pineapple leaves.

This inspired Hijosa to explore the possibilities of the natural product. After some experimentation, she discovered she could use the fibres from the leaves to create a non-woven textile, similar to the method of making felt, and developed Piñatex, a leather-like fibre created as a by-product of the pineapple harvest.

As far as a substitute for leather goes, Piñatex beats pleather by a country mile.

Based on tests by the International Standards Organisation, Piñatex meets international standards for strength, colour fastness, water, abrasion and cigarette-burn resistance, and flexibility.

To be fair, most anything is an improvement over pleather.

JOIN FIRE IN SAYING “THANK YOU” TO UCHICAGO FOR TAKING A STAND FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM – As Glenn posted about last week, the University of Chicago (UChicago) recently made waves when it sent a back-to-school letter to incoming students telling them not to expect “intellectual ‘safe spaces’” when they arrive on campus.

We at FIRE agree with UChicago that higher education should first and foremost be a marketplace of ideas. If you agree, you can join FIRE in saying “Thank You” to UChicago for taking this important stand.

MICHAEL WALSH: Brace Yourself, Bridget: ‘Single-Payer’ Health Care Is On Its Way.

I’M NOT SAYING THAT IT’S ALIENS. BUT IT’S ALIENS. ‘Strong signal’ stirs interest in hunt for alien life.

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: UAV Blasted With .20 Gauge Shotgun.

The Faquier Times reports that shooter is Jennifer Youngman. One of her neighbors in the rural county near the nation’s capital is actor Robert Duvall, who bought the property next to Youngman’s several years ago.

Youngman told the paper that she had been sitting on the front porch of her home cleaning a .410 gauge and the .20 gauge shotguns in mid-June when she noticed a black Range Rover SUV pull up in front of Duvall’s property, set up a card table, and launch the aircraft. Youngman said the cows were being disturbed from the aircraft. Then, she said, the aircraft got going a little too fast, the wind caught it, and it “went over my airspace,” Youngman said. That’s when she brought the .20 gauge into play, and the drone did not win that contest.

She said the men yelled at her, but when she threatened to call police, they got back in their vehicle and left.

Youngman said her only regret is that there are still drone parts in her pasture that have caused two flat tires on her tractor.

Don’t try this at home — at least not with a .410.

THE INSTA-WIFE: Should I Check Non-Binary? There’s a hexadecimal joke in here somewhere, but I don’t have the heart to make it.

THIS YEAR JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER: RIP the great Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka, The Producers and Blazing Saddles star, who passes away at age 83.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Our Caveman Politics: Economic policy based on 100,000-year-old emotions won’t fix healthcare, or anything else.

THAT’S NOT CREEPY AT ALL: James Lileks videotapes and interviews a wannabe Bane at this year’s Minnesota State Fair.

MY PAPER ON MILITARY COUPS is getting more timely by leaps and bounds:

Well, the military swears an oath to the Constitution, which justifies ignoring unconstitutional orders. But so long as a President meets the Constitution’s requirements for age, residency, etc. there’s no such thing as an unconstitutional President. Announcing — or even determining — that you wouldn’t follow orders from a particular person holding the office, rather than that you wouldn’t follow illegal or unconstitutional orders, really is a sort of coup. It’s certainly not a fulfillment of an oath to uphold the Constitution.

By the way, my coups paper is still #1 on SSRN, and I guess it’s easy to see why.

PRICE DISCRIMINATION ON STEROIDS: Maurice Stucke and Ariel Ezrachi: The Rise of Behavioural Discrimination.

I REMEMBER MINE: Everyone Remembers Their First Bike.

IT’S COME TO THIS: Mass evacuation at LAX caused by Zorro! Actor on way home from audition dressed as masked hero with plastic sword is arrested amid reports of an ‘active shooter’ grounding flights. “Video emerged Sunday night of the moment the he was approached by armed cops and can be heard shouting: ‘It’s a plastic sword’ as they surrounded him with their guns drawn.”

Here’s to being free and flying high — though not out of LAX:

GOSH, I HOPE SO!

Is your workplace white-sensitive?https://t.co/9n2Ysdw0ew

— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 29, 2016

One of the great advantages to working at home is never having to watch any actual workplace improvement videos.

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Iowa Professor Fears Fuzzy Hawkeye Mascot Could ‘Traumatize’ Delicate Students.

If you can be “traumatized” by a man running around the sidelines of a football game in a stinky polypropylene mascot head, you’re not mentally well enough to be in college.

THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING, THEY’LL PROBABLY BE USED TO MAKE YOU LOVE BIG BROTHER: Mind-controlled nanobots could release drugs inside your brain.