LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: “Who says technology doesn’t create jobs? In addition to learning to code, here are a couple other jobs in our current bleak cyberpunk dystopia that only William Gibson could have foreseen.”

JOHN MCWHORTER: Jussie Smollett story reveals a peculiar aspect of 21st-century America: victimhood chic.

Did it not occur to Smollett that if this blew up in his face, he would be tarring by association actual and legitimate claims of racist and homophobic abuse? As someone seeking to be seen as a concerned activist in the vein of his mother and Angela Davis, could Smollett really not understand that a stunt all about making himself more famous was not exactly the wokest approach?

But that’s just it—Smollett, if the latest reporting is true, was an eager puppy, jumping with joyous inattention into American social politics as he has encountered it coming of age in the 21st century. He would have known that in this moment, very important people would find him more interesting for having been hurt on the basis of his identity than for his fine performance on an interesting hit television show. He would have known this so well that it didn’t even occur to him that his story would have to be more credible than the dopey one he threw together about being jumped in near-Arctic temperatures by the only two white bullies in America with a mysterious fondness for a black soap hip-hopera. (Yet again, I’m assuming the latest reporting is accurate.)

Only in an America in which matters of race are not as utterly irredeemable as we are often told could things get to the point that someone would pretend to be tortured in this way, acting oppression rather than suffering it, seeking to play a prophet out of a sense that playing a singer on television is not as glamorous as getting beaten up by white guys. That anyone could feel this way and act on it in the public sphere is, in a twisted way, a kind of privilege, and a sign that we have come further on race than we are often comfortable admitting.

Read the whole thing.

Related: CBS Chicago: Smollett Wrote The Hate-Crime Letter Too. “But wait — there’s more! Since the letter contained the crushed [aspirin] as a hoax chemical/biological attack in itself, that violates 18 US Code 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes. That could add another five years to a potential sentence, although it would likely run concurrently rather than consecutively. Smollett’s next gig could be Club Fed, and for more than a season.”

OLYMPIC BOOGALOO: Breakdancing tipped for inclusion at Paris 2024 Olympics.

A 276 HORSEPOWER FORD FOCUS? Because why not? But not in America.

HEALTH? PGA’s John Daly does burger curls, drinks beer in ‘intense’ workout.

GOOD: US says Alabama woman who joined Islamic State can’t return.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says an Alabama woman who left home to join the Islamic State group in Syria is not a U.S. citizen and will not be allowed to return to the United States.

Pompeo says Hoda Muthana does not have a U.S. passport or any legal basis to enter the country.

He said on Wednesday in a statement that she “will not be admitted to the United States.”

The 24-year old who joined the Islamic State after becoming radicalized says she regrets aligning herself with the terrorist organization and wants to return to the United States with her 18-month-old son.

What a shame she was stupid enough to bring a child into a terrorist brigand-state, but she was also stupid enough to become a “citizen” of it, and ought to be treated as such.

JOHN ELLIS: To Leftists Dragging John Wayne’s Dead Body Through the Streets: Now Do Che Guevara. “You want to see an example of pure, unadulterated racism? Then look no farther than Comrade Guevara.”

But Che was so dreamy.

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Japan Just Shot a Fake Asteroid with a Space Bullet … for Science.

AT AMAZON, save in Arts Crafts and Sewing.

Plus, Post-Valentine’s deals on Bestselling Jewelry.

VIDEO: Gowdy Doesn’t Believe McCabe’s Claim That He Told ‘Gang of Eight’ About Second FBI Probe. “Rep. Jim Jordan doesn’t believe it either.“

IS YOUR FAVORITE GOOGLE SERVICE GOING AWAY? With the upcoming demise of Google+ — not that it was anyone’s actual favorite — it’s worth keeping an eye on Did Google Shutdown ___ Yet?

PRIVACY: The Nest Secure has a hidden microphone, and Google didn’t tell owners for 18 months.

WELL, GOOD: Vitamin D may have even more benefits than previously known.

IS IT SAFE TO ASSUME THAT THE REMAINING HUGE MAJORITY IS OK WITH IT? Seven MPs quit Labour Party over anti-Semitism.

I HOPE IT PANS OUT: New pill to halt agony of arthritis: Revolutionary tablet may stop pain for millions.

STRYKER MOBILE GUN SYSTEM IN ACTION: This 2nd Armored Cavalry M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) is conducting gunnery training at Grafenwoehr, Germany. The vehicle is armed with a 105 mm main gun, a modified version of the 105 mm mounted on my old M60A1 (1975). Technically the Stryker MGS is a fire support vehicle — it is definitely not a main battle tank. This report from 2006 describes the MGS vehicle and why the U.S. Army bought it to complement the Stryker M1126 infantry carrier.

Here’s another photo of a Stryker MGS taken in February 2008 in Iraq.

STACY MCCAIN: The Media ‘Think They’re Living in a Cartoon and White Men Are the Villains.’ “Over the years, the MSM has fallen for hundreds of hate crime hoaxes, reporting on them as if they were confirmed facts, rather than mere allegations. By the time the story is proven to be a hoax, the media has already moved on to the next manufactured outrage. This phenomenon has only increased since the election of President Trump. Yet people still expressed shock and surprise when it became obvious that Smollett had staged his own hate crime.”

They feel cheated. But if you just keep in mind that you can’t cheat an honest man, it all makes sense.

MICHAEL WALSH: If These Stones Could Talk. “A stunning archaeological find from the Neolithic period in Scotland helps us understand the way we were.”

WELL, SO FAR ANYWAY: FDA: Taking blood from young donors not clinically proven to fight disease.

HARSH, BUT FAIR:

WELL-HEELED: Sanders campaign reports raising $4M in less than a day.

Sanders raised the money from almost 150,000 individual donors in all 50 states, the campaign said in a press release. The average donation amounted to $27, mirroring that of the 2016 campaign.

The haul more than doubles Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) gains of $1.5 million in the first 24 hours after she announced her own presidential campaign.

Is it misogyny or racism which drives Sanders to practically steal donors from a woman of color?

AT LAST! Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Grapes Spark in the Microwave.

CALIFORNIA CAN’T EVEN GET POT SALES RIGHT: California made $345 million, not predicted $1 billion, on legal cannabis in 2018.

But the black marketeers are still making out like bandits under legalization (if you can call it that), proving just how deeply dysfunctional California’s business climate is.

CYBERSECURITY: Why Russia doesn’t allow its military to use smartphones.