INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: When It Comes To The Environment, These Are The Good Ol’ Days.

From 1970 to 2017, the six major pollutants monitored by the EPA plunged by 73%. By comparison, during that time the U.S.’ economy grew 262% and its population by 60%.

The decline in pollution is steep. Carbon monoxide, down 77%. Lead, 80%. Nitrogen oxide, 56%. Ozone, 22%. Particle pollution, off an average 38%. Sulfur dioxide, 88%.

Not included in the report, but equally if not more significant, is the fact that CO2 — the main greenhouse gas — overall has plunged 29% since peaking in 2007. That’s been the relentless focus of global warming activists and the left-leaning power elites from their policy perches at think tanks, NGOs, and global government organizations such as the U.N.

Meanwhile, Europe, despite all the sanctimony, is making no such progress.

RICHARD FERNANDEZ: “One of the most puzzling things about the Trump presidency is the inability of the liberal establishment to make public opinion headway against him despite his attack on everything they held sacred. Though several explanations can be advanced perhaps the most plausible is that the establishment’s revealed behavior shattered the trust once reposed in them.”

AS SURELY AS NIGHT FOLLOWS DAY: Venezuelan opposition leaders warn of government crackdown after blast targets Maduro.

It was a pretty lame assignation attempt — desperate amateurs or false flag?

DEVAL PATRICK: My Bain Capital Isn’t Icky Like Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital Because Reasons. “The purpose of this interview seemed to be to position Patrick as a 2020 presidential candidate.”

ANALYSIS: TRUE. ‘Both Parties Share the Blame’ for $1 Trillion Projected Deficit.

THREE QUESTIONS CNN’S JIM ACOSTA WON’T DARE ASK ROBERT MUELLER: This trio of seemingly obvious questions should have been asked and answered a long time ago and if they had been the Mueller probe likely would not still be active.

But to be honest, I’m not holding my breath waiting for Acosta to start acting like a real journalist for a change. If I seem a tad angry about this, I am because people like Acosta have taken a profession I treasure and honor and turned it into a tool for ideological grandstanding.

NEVER TRUST A “MALE FEMINIST,” ESPECIALLY ONE WHO GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO DENIGRATE MEN: “Today, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that feminist activist, gender expert, and renowned sociologist Michael Kimmel was accused of sexual harassment. Kimmel, who is one of the most famous sociologists, has been an advocate for women and challenged men to confront a culture of gender-based violence.”

Related: “Of course, whether Kimmel did it or not is now beside the point. He’s been accused. In the world Michael Kimmel worked feverishly to create, that is no different than a guilty verdict in a court of law. This is the moment that destroys him. Notwithstanding that, the proper thing to do here is to point out that the charges are not proven (and they aren’t), that Kimmel is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence (which he is) and that despite his longstanding professional efforts to minimize the problem of false allegations, they are a very real thing (and they are). It is proper, also, to question the very foundation of the accusation’s weight; whether asking another adult to sleep with you, if it even happened, is harassment.”

Plus: “Enjoy the schadenfreude. We know of no one else who deserves the unfair disgrace, the stigma of accusation and its ruinous effects on their lives than this lowlife academic fraud.” Ouch.

A TOXIC ACADEMIC STEW: The New Racism, Part I: How ‘Race and Ethnic Studies’ Made Color Blindness a Bad Thing.

Plus, The New Racism, Part II: The Sociologist’s Toolkit: Justifying Racism Through Language.

These are not good people who just got a little overexcited. These are bad people who know exactly what they’re doing.