THE SCIENCE IS UNSETTLED: The link between pot and mass shootings may be closer than we think.

Earlier: Second Thoughts On Pot.

“DESPITE?” China keeps door open to September talks in Washington, despite trade war escalation.

MARK RIPPETOE: Strength And Its Derivatives.

ON HEADLINE APOLOGY TOUR, NY TIMES EDITOR BOWS IN ‘DEEP RESPECT’ FOR HARD-LEFT NATION MAGAZINE:

[New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet] tried to put today’s conflicts in historical context, then made a point to bow in respect to a hard-left magazine:

….The New York Times has a strong view about its role. We are not The Nation, even though I have deep respect for them….

That’s pretty revealing in itself; one can’t see a New York Times editor expressing “deep respect” for the conservative National Review.

“Is the New York Times a Liberal Newspaper? Of Course It Is.”

ARE YOU THREATENING ME? Rep. Castro Warns Potential Trump Donors They’d Better ‘Think Twice’ Before Supporting the President.

AT LONG LAST HAVE THEY NO DECENCY? NO DECENCY AT ALL? Baltimore Sun Attacks Trump Supporter Who Organized Massive City Clean Up.

For the writers at the Baltimore Sun, Presler’s visit simply “reinforces the tired image of our failing urban cores. That the poor people in this dilapidated city can’t take care of their own neighborhoods and all the public officials around them have failed as well.”

“The bureaucratic, all-talk Democrats strike again. If a crowd of volunteers could clean up 12 tons of trash in 12 hours, how incompetent and helpless must Baltimoreans be if they can’t manage it in decades, right?”

One would point out to the editorial board that this isn’t just a “tired image” but a reality of the fact that Democratic policies and politicians have failed.

And the Baltimore Sun is running cover for those policies and politicians. Well, think of them as Democratic operatives with bylines and you’ll realize that they neither possess nor desire decency. It might get in the way of their job.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: Is the GOP Gearing up to Cave on Gun Control? It Sure Seems Like it. “Not a whole lot of sense is being made here, which is typical for lawmakers responding to a crisis. And while red flag laws have been passed in 17 states and the District of Columbia, how effective — or Constitutional — are they?”

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): A cave on gun-rights could make Trump a one-termer, the way caving on taxes did for George H.W. Bush. Democrats and the media know this, which is why they’re trying to get him to cave.

AT AMAZON, affordable fashion for men.

#JOURNALISM: The Washington Post in Full Clown Mode.

PETER INGEMI OF DATECHGUY BLOG IS ASKING FOR DONATIONS FOR A SITE UPGRADE. I kicked in a hundred bucks. Of course, it was kinda selfish on my part, since I’m hoping that after the upgrade I’ll be able to link to his site without killing it.

BIG, IF TRUE: Woman says meth found hidden inside vagina is not hers.

OPEN THREAD: Show me what you got.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. America Is Drowning in the Left’s Lies About Trump.

SISTER TOLDJAH: Baltimore Sun Treats Conservative Activist’s Cleanup Efforts Like Garbage Because He Made Democrats Look Bad.

JEFF DUNETZ: If Trump’s Rhetoric Caused El Paso Shooting, Obama’s Rhetoric Caused Synagogue Shootings.

COSSETED NEW YORKERS HORRIFIED TO BE ENSNARED BY THE RED (STATE) MENACE: Billionaire boss of Equinox, SoulCycle blasted for hosting Trump fundraiser.

On the other hand, Trump is a uniter, not a divider! This is the first Michael Moore joke that actually caused me to laugh:

DAVID FRENCH: What Critics Don’t Understand About Gun Culture: I carry a weapon—and it’s tied me closer to my community.

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Plus, deals in Beauty and Grooming.

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING: Six Trump donors Joaquin Castro tried to shame also gave to him and brother Julián.

WISH FULFILLMENT: Hollywood Film Depicts Trump Supporters Being Hunted for Sport by Liberals.

The same ones who are now telling Trump supporters to give up their guns. Hmm. . . .

Plus: “In the past few days we’ve been hearing a lot about how Donald Trump’s rhetoric is apparently to blame for the El Paso shooting, yet Hollywood apparently lacked the foresight to think that a movie promoting violence against ‘deplorables’ might be in bad taste until after the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, as only now is Universal rethinking their promotional strategy for the film.”

Leftists think that rhetoric leads to violence. That’s why they use that rhetoric themselves, and why they try to silence it in their opponents. Once you realize it’s not about decency, but about brutality in service of power, it all makes sense.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: A letter to our subscribers from the New York Times, as told to the London Spectator’s Chadwick Moore.

As some of you are aware, we failed in our commitment to ferociously guard the sanctity of your echo chamber this week. A headline appeared on our front page suggesting Orange Man spoke against racism. While the headline was factual, it was a flagrant betrayal of the service you expect us to provide and we literally stopped the presses to fix it.

We listened to our readers on how to proceed from there. The headline writer was an elderly holdover from the days when we were a newspaper. But today’s lovepaper business is different. Inspired by the Texas revolutionary Joaquin Castro, our editorial board decided to take out a full page ad in our own paper to publish his home address and pictures of his family. Then we mobilized our 52,247 interns to brigade his employer, us, with phone calls to report that we have a racist in our ranks. The writer was immediately fired. Our interns, known as TimesHelpers, chucked milkshakes at him as he sadly strolled through the lobby with his little NPR tote bag full of desktop knick knacks. Just as he reached the door we unchained Sarah Jeong and watched gleefully as she dismembered and ate him alive.

Our customers’ pomposity and fragility are important to us. We don’t use words like ‘neurotic’ and ‘repellant’ to describe our readers the way shopkeepers, waiters, and dry-cleaners might. We think your quirkiness is the natural byproduct of the cosmopolitan, emotionally lavish life that you lead.

Heh. Read the whole thing.

WHEN THEY’RE DONE, CAN WE GO TO GOAT TACOS? Kudzu-eating goats cleaning up campus.

TOM KNIGHTON: The Racially-Motivated Attack The National Mainstream Media Is Ignoring.

If it can’t be used to make Trump look bad, is it really a crime?

WHOA: Mueller Might Have Committed Perjury In Congressional Testimony. “Did Robert Mueller lie to Congress and mislead them about his intent in holding a May press conference? Under normal circumstances, the answer to this question would be no. Using the standards applied by the special counsel himself to several individuals charged with making false statements to investigators, however, Robert Mueller might have found himself in serious legal jeopardy.”

More from Ed Morrissey at the link.

WELL, GOOD: The 2020 CT6-V Is a Car Cadillac Should Be Proud Of. We live in a golden age of muscle.