RICHARD FERNANDEZ: Without fanfare elements of a new cold war are being put into place by the Trump administration, the European Union and China. “Although the disconnected components separately make headlines, the underlying pattern is evident despite the carnival-like distractions of the Mueller investigation and the reluctance to declare the old order dead.”

Read the whole thing.

CHANGE: Voters Think Young Blacks Doing Better Under Trump Than Obama. “Even black voters are nearly twice as likely (28%) to say young black Americans are better off now than they were in the closing year of Obama’s presidency (15%).”

SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS ABOUT RECYCLING.

It has become an article of faith in the U.S. that recycling is a good thing. But evidence is piling up that recycling is a waste of time and money, and a bit of a fraud.

The New York Times recently reported that, unknown to most families who spend hours separating garbage into little recycling bins, much of the stuff ends up in a landfill anyway.

One big reason: China has essentially shut the door to U.S. recyclables.

The Times notes that about a third of recyclables gets shipped abroad, with China the biggest importer. But starting this year, China imposed strict rules on what it will accept, effectively banning most of it. That, the Times reports, has forced many recycling companies who can’t find other takers to dump recyclables into landfills.

One company, Oregon’s Rogue Disposal and Recycling, sent “all its recycling to landfills for the first few months of the year,” the Times reports.

The thing to remember is that recycling is fundamentally a religious ritual. Its actual impact doesn’t matter, but the hassles of sorting and binning are a sacrifice to the secular opinion gods.

“CHRISTMAS IS A BLOW TO OUR MUSLIMHOOD”:  Turkey is increasingly unsafe for its tiny Christian minority.

FROM MARTIN L. SHOEMAKER:  Blue Collar Space.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Elites Value Mellifluous Illegality over Crass Lawfulness: Obama defies the Constitution but sounds ‘presidential.’ Trump follows it but sounds like a loudmouth from Queens.

Yep. The elite preference for Obama over Trump is mostly about class markers.

WAIT, WHAT?  Too brown to win? That’s what Democrats actually told one of their own candidates.

THEY TOLD ME IF DONALD TRUMP WERE ELECTED, OPEN RACISM AND SEXISM WOULD BE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE. AND THEY WERE RIGHT! Melinda Gates Bashes ‘White Guys,’ Says She’ll Discriminate Against Them.

BOB MCMANUS: Changing The Subject: Mayor de Blasio would rather undermine merit at specialty high schools than address the city’s failure to prepare minority students for them.

YEAH, I’VE HAD A FEELING THE BUBBLE WAS REINFLATING:  Where housing goes, so goes the economy?

NEWS FROM THE CULT:  Today in Climate Follies.

WEIRD:  David Hogg’s Reaction To His Home Being SWATTED Is Very Odd.

THE WAY THE LEFT IS GOING, INVEST IN TIN FOIL BECAUSE THEY’RE GOING TO BUY ALL THE HATS:  Melania Trump Hosts Gold Star Families, Media Goes Full Gladys Kravitz Rutabaga.

WHAT HE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE EQUALS WHAT HE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT ECONOMICS, SO WHY ARE THESE OIL EXECS WASTING THEIR TIME?  Pope to meet with oil execs on climate change.

CAN MATT ROSENDALE DEFEAT INCUMBENT JON TESTER?:  Montana State Auditor Matt Rosendale has won the GOP primary for U.S. Senate.  This will be a race to watch.  Trump won Montana by 20 points.  Meanwhile, Tester has been a thorn in Trump’s side.

SELLING HAND-MADE POT HOLDERS ON E-BAY WON’T DO IT?  How to make $100K while working from home.

WHAT IF IT WAS JUST A SCOUT AND THEY THROW BIGGER ROCKS NEXT?   Asteroid headed straight for Earth burns up in sky.

NONE OF THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN IN THE USA:  Shocking photos show the horrible effects of pollution.

I KNOW SEVERAL PEOPLE OVER 30 FACING THE SAME RISK:  People under 30 risk going deaf from their headphones.

TUESDAY NIGHT FIGHTS: Tyler O’Neil has the results from Tuesday’s primaries at the PJM Live Blog.

SO I’VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT BLACK RIFLE COFFEE FOR QUITE A WHILE, and I finally got around to ordering some. Quite good, a bit smoother than the Barista Prima Italian Roast I usually get.

I’LL DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM WHEN I GET THERE: When Do You Stop Being An Early-Career Scholar?

AMONG THE UPPER CLASSES, POLITIC IS MORE ABOUT AESTHETICS THAN POLICY: “Elites Value Mellifluous Illegality over Crass Lawfulness.”

HYPOCRISY: “Anti-gun Father Michael Pfleger’s bodyguard got arrested for illegally carrying a gun. You legally carrying a firearm is not OK. His bodyguard illegally carrying one, totally cool.”

UPDATE (From Ed): Yes, that Father Pfleger:

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: Millennials In The Legal Academy: ‘Innovative Narcissists Lead The Way.’