THE HEALTHY ONES OUTNUMBER THE BAD ONES THREE TO ONE: 25 Reasons Red Wine Is Either Healthy or Horrible for You.

HANG TOGETHER, OR HANG SEPARATELY: Energy Producers Must Target Radical Environmentalists, Not Each Other.

THIS ISN’T THE 21st CENTURY I WAS PROMISED:

Shot:

The New York Times recently reported about A. J. Jackson’s travails in a Vermont high school. “There were practical issues,” Anemona Hartocollis writes. “When he had his period, he wondered if he should revert to the girls’ bathroom, because there was no place to throw away his used tampons.”

Now, one can have sympathy for the transgendered – I certainly do – while simultaneously holding to the scientific fact that boys do not menstruate. This is a fact far more settled than the very best climate science. Perhaps it’s rude to say so, but facts do not cease to be facts simply because they offend.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing to fine businesses that do not address customers by their “preferred name, pronoun and title (e.g., Ms./Mrs.) regardless of the individual’s sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individual’s identification.” The NYC Commission on Human Rights can penalize offenders up to $250,000.

―Jonah Goldberg, “Who Are the Real Deniers of Science? When denying science is a progressive moral imperative,” NRO, today.

Chaser: “Leave ‘corporate America’ and get a non-job as a diversity enforcement officer: that’s where the big bucks are.”

―Mark Steyn, After America: Get Ready for Armageddon.

Hangover: “Tattoos, piercings, skrillex haircuts, one night stands, double digit abortions, and neon hair dying are all on the rise. These types of behaviors have a hive-like incubation effect, which spreads rapidly to other women. These behaviors are signs of a future lifetime of severe mental illness starting in the woman’s 30s. The market for this will be huge, and the industry won’t have enough staff to take on all the new patients.”

—“5 Reasons You Should Become A Mental Health Worker,” Return of Kings, today.

SUCKER PUNCH ALERT: Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is so full of “Progressive” sucker punches, Christian Toto dubs it “MSNBC: The Movie.”

Though that headline sounds like it would make a great movie in and of itself. Too bad that no one will ever make a version of HBO’s The Late Shift, with comedy actors portraying the massive leftwing egos at MSNBC backstage bitching, Spinal Tap-style, about the catering, and insulting the cameramen and stagehands, as they pretend to be true champions of the working class. Imagine the moment where Olbermann tells the reporter about the network’s president “Phil thinks he’s my boss,” followed by the actor playing Sharpton dropping by the swank Grand Havana Room for four star dinner and a Davidoff. Now that would be fun to watch.

MICHAEL LOTUS: Here’s A Platform Donald Trump And Paul Ryan Can Agree On.

TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 1107.

YES. NEXT QUESTION? Was the 2008 Democratic primary battle as bitter as this one?

BUT HOW ELSE ARE SOCIAL-JUSTICE-WARRIOR TYPES TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES? I fought for civil rights. It is offensive to compare it with the transgender fight. “During the Jim Crow Era, we stared down the nozzle of firehoses, felt the piercing bite of police dogs, dangled from trees after being strung up by an angry mob, all because of the color of our skin. Our businesses were burned, churches bombed, communities destroyed, all because of the color of our skin. We had to drink at separate water fountains, shop at different stores and even had to sit at the back of the bus, all because of the color of our skin. All this and more took place after enduring 400 years of arguably the most heinous crime in history – slavery. In comparison, transgender individuals do not have to fight dogs, can shop anywhere and can use any water fountain. They are free to work, shop and ride the bus. And to my knowledge, they have not experienced 400 years of slavery and the ongoing fight for parity 151 years after emancipation.”

I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHEN DEMOCRATS TOLD PEOPLE WE NEEDED TO RESPECT DIVERSE CULTURES AND THEIR RELIGIONS: Democrats Chant ‘Shame Shame Shame!’ When LGBT Amendment Fails to Block Religious Freedom Protections.

FRANK CAGLE ON CHANGES IN TENNESSEE:

During the long years of Democratic rule, the Government Operations committees in the Legislature were boring exercises in routine housekeeping legislation. They were often stacked with some of the party’s less than stellar members, because you have to put them somewhere, and they rubber-stamped whatever the leadership wanted.

“Government Ops” under Republican rule has morphed into a very powerful operation, rivaling even the Rules Committee or Finance. The power to regulate state bureaucrats has always been there; it’s just not been exercised until now.

There has been a major revolution in the operation of state government that has occurred while everyone has been preoccupied with Bible bills, bathroom bills and other idiocy. State bureaucrats are no longer free to impose draconian regulations, increase fees or make rule changes without first getting a sign-off from the Legislature.

The House committee on Government Ops is led by state Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Newport. Faison is a rising star in the House, and he has had his committee reviewing with a view to eliminating or keeping 182 boards and commissions. He has also led the effort to get control of unelected bureaucrats imposing regulations at will. He is working in tandem with state Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville. New rules and regulations must now come to their committees for approval before they can be implemented. It turns the usual practice on its head. This has been met with horror by special interest groups that benefit from the status quo.

Hey, it’s not like those rules and regulations are there for the benefit of citizens.

ROGER SIMON ON EGYPTAIR 804 AND THE ELECTION OF 2016: If the crash is shown to be terrorism, lots of people will be having second thoughts about Hillary and Bernie Sanders, Roger posits.

Why? President Spock assures us that America can always “absorb” another attack and/or plane bombing.

RIGHT ANGLE: Just in time for the 2016 election, it’s everything you need to know about suspended animation.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Student Debt Grows Faster at Universities With Highest-Paid Leaders, Study Finds.

TED GALEN CARPENTER: The Creeping Militarization of American Culture.

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RIP, JOHN BERRY: Beastie Boys founding member dead at 52.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: The Neal Boortz Commencement Speech.

THERE’S NO HYPOCRISY LIKE DEMOCRATIC HYPOCRISY: Wisconsin senate candidate: Civility for me, but not for thee.

Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., loves to deliver lectures about “civility,” but he doesn’t appear to care much for the concept himself.

In mid-March, Feingold spoke to the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and was asked about civility in Congress. Feingold responded by explaining that civility begins at a young age, suggesting kids today are learning incivility from television.

“How people think and develop a view about how they should conduct themselves as adults begins at a young age. So I think it’s fair to say I always tried to be civil. I will be civil,” Feingold said. “And I think we should encourage others to do that as well.” . . .

But in 2015, Feingold apparently took a different approach to civility, by calling his Senate opponent Ron Johnson an “SOB.” During the Winnebago County Democratic Party’s Corn Roast event in late 2015, Chairwoman Marcia Steele recounted a story of Feingold telling her he wanted to beat Johnson in the election.

“And then he just said, ‘You know Marcia, I really need to beat that — and I swear to god, he said to me — that SOB in his own backyard,” Steele told a crowd.

After Steele’s remarks, a former communications advisor for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Max Croes, stood up and told the audience: “That story that was just told, that’s true.”

So much for civility, right?

Yeah.

HERE WE GO AGAIN? Credit-Card Debt Nears $1 Trillion as Banks Push Plastic.

That sum would come close to the all-time peak of $1.02 trillion set in July 2008, just before the financial crisis intensified, and could signal an easing of frugal habits ingrained by the recession.

The boom has been driven by steady economic conditions and an improving job market that have made creditworthy consumers less reluctant to take on debt. In addition, lenders have signed up millions of subprime consumers who previously weren’t able to get credit.

Everything sounds great right up until that last line. The story also notes that automobile loans are at an all-time high, fueled in part by subprime lending — with delinquency rates on the rise.

THINLY DISGUISED BY THE TSA’S SECURITY KABUKI: EgyptAir Still Missing; Former CIA Chief Warns of ‘Real Vulnerability’ at Airports.

Related: Here’s Why the TSA Is So Terrible.

CANADIAN CLOWN SHOW: After Body Check, Justin Trudeau’s Apology Tour Rolls On. “President Barack Obama’s North American BFF has now said he is sorry three times for body checking a female lawmaker on Wednesday during an altercation with another member of the country’s parliament.”

Prime Minister Zoolander.

ELECTIONS MATTER:

I voted Democratic in the Louisiana governor’s race last fall because the budget was a hellacious mess and I didn’t trust Republicans to fix it. Besides, the Democrat, John Bel Edwards, is a pro-life Catholic. How socially liberal could he be? At the time, my friend and neighbor, a fellow conservative, taunted me for voting D.

Today my neighbor forwarded me this e-mail he received back from the governor’s office, and taunted me even more heavily:

Thank you for contacting the office of Governor John Bel Edwards with your concern regarding the federal issued guidance on transgender access to school restrooms.

Governor Edwards is reviewing the guidance from the US Department of Justice and Department of Education. It appears that this guidance is simply clarifying current law under Title IX. The governor is working closely with the Louisianan [sic] Department of Education to meet our shared goal of fostering a safe, non-discriminatory environment for our children.

Your position has been forwarded to the governor’s policy team for notation. We appreciate your input as we work to meet the needs of our state.

Vote Democratic, roll out the welcome mat to girls with penises in your daughter’s locker room. So noted.

Say what you will about John McCain and Mitt Romney, but it’s a pretty safe bet their administrations wouldn’t have been declaring wars on school restrooms. Speaking of which, when is Hillary going to be asked her thoughts on this topic?

SANDERS CAMPAIGN: Millions Have ‘Growing Doubts’ About Clinton Campaign.

THE HILL: Sanders campaign manager: Election isn’t over until convention.

Bernie Sanders’s campaign manager Jeff Weaver suggested Thursday the Vermont senator would take the race for the nomination all the way to the Democratic National Convention in July.

Weaver said the nominating process isn’t over until superdelegates vote at the convention in Philadelphia, even though the last primary contest, in Washington D.C., takes place June 14.

“That’s not the end of the election frankly because there are a bunch of superdelegates at the convention who have to vote, so the election is not over when the primary-caucus voting is over,” Weaver said on MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes” Thursday evening.

Sanders hopes to close the gap in pledged delegates in California and New Jersey and sway superdelegates — party leaders who can back any candidate — to support him over Clinton.

Well, Obama swung the superdelegates. But Sanders isn’t black.