YES. NEXT QUESTION? I was late for my job interview — is that such a big deal?

NAH. HE KNEW WHAT THE BOSS WANTED. April Ryan Says Bodyguard ‘Overreacted’ In Alleged Assault On Local Reporter.

THESE 2005 THOUGHTS ON THE SUPREME COURT BY the late Bill Stuntz seem to have held up: “Odds are, George W. Bush will soon appoint a new Chief Justice. More Supreme Court appointments will follow, along with hundreds of lower-court judges. The federal judiciary will soon be Bush Country, a fact that could have larger long-term effects than Social Security reform and the war in Iraq. Unless something changes, the effects will be bad. Not because Bush’s judges and Justices will be too conservative, but because they won’t be conservative enough.”

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AS ALREADY DISCUSSED HERE, OF COURSE HE DOES: Kudlow: Trump Has Authority To Block Companies From Investing In China.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: You’re a Mao, I’m a Mao, Everyone’s a Mao Mao! “Shortly after Bri-Bri was implicitly agreeing that that current President of the United States was, in fact, one of history’s greatest mass murderers, The New York Times ran an article expressing its horror that a few Trump supporters are going to hold the paper accountable for the hateful bias it and other MSM outlets regurgitate into the universe every day.”

THIS IS WHY CALIFORNIA CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS: “The members of the Wall family never imagined their attempt to build a pool and spa at their isolated home in Hollister Ranch, California, would end them up in court. But as many Pacific Legal Foundation clients have discovered, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) has a long history of giving landowners no other option… Last year, the Walls applied for a permit to build a swimming pool on their property for their large family and grandchildren to enjoy. The county approved the request, but before they could begin construction, the CCC overruled the permit. The reason? The CCC refused to issue a permit until the Walls granted public access to Hollister Ranch beaches. Here’s the problem: The Walls’ property is nearly a mile from the shoreline, and they have no ability to donate any land along the coast. But the CCC appears to be making an example of the Walls. The agency has a long-running property rights dispute with Hollister Ranch about public access to the coast. In an act of pettiness, the CCC is punishing the Walls to send a message to the rest of the Ranch owners: submit to public beach access or get no permits at all.”

(Via Shoshana Weissmann.)

SLAVERY IN HISTORY: Thomas Sowell:

Everyone hated the idea of being a slave but few had any qualms about enslaving others. Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders, until the 18th century – and then it was an issue only in Western civilization. Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and other American leaders. You could research all of the 18th century Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there. But who is singled out for scathing criticism today? American leaders of the 18th century.

Deciding that slavery was wrong was much easier than deciding what to do with millions of people from another continent, of another race, and without any historical preparation for living as free citizens in a society like that of the United States, where they were 20 percent of the population.

It is clear from the private correspondence of Washington, Jefferson, and many others that their moral rejection of slavery was unambiguous, but the practical question of what to do now had them baffled. That would remain so for more than half a century.

Most of the people loudly criticizing western civilization over race today would happily have been slaveowners themselves.

CHANGE: China announces it seeks ‘calm’ end to trade war, as markets tank and currency hits 11-year flatline.

NICE: US Shale Natural Gas: Lowering Global Prices and CO2 Emissions.

Indeed, natural gas this year will supply nearly 40% of U.S. power, about double what it provided before the shale revolution. Gas is also the backup fuel to compensate for the natural intermittency of wind and solar power: gas is needed for when “the wind is blowing” and “the sun isn’t shining.” The U.S. is now reducing its CO2 emissions faster than any country on Earth: “Thanks to Natural Gas, US CO2 Emissions Lowest Since 1985.”

Looking forward, a rapidly expanding U.S. natural gas export business (via LNG) will offer more affordable, more flexible, more reliable, and cleaner natural gas to a too slowly developing world that requires all the modern energy that it can get. Today, some 85% of the world’s population lives in still developing nations, only dreaming of the access to energy and high living standards that we Americans have enjoyed for many decades.

American capitalists are doing the planet-saving work environmentalists can’t do — and they’re saving us money and expanding human activity, rather than costing huge sums and imposing new restrictions.

AMAZING HOW LITTLE ATTENTION THIS GETS, EVEN FROM THE POPE: Shocking Report: ‘Persecution of Christians Worldwide Close to Genocide.’

DAN MARKEL UPDATE: Justice For Dan Markel FB Group Urges Protest Of Wendi Adelson’s Appearance At Miami Book Event.

METAPHOR ALERT: New blood-sucking leech identified in DC-area swamps.

ANY STAGE SOCIALISM: ‘You can’t fight the state’: How Cuba taught Venezuela to crack down on its own military.

RUSSIA STILL TRYING TO explain away its alliance with Hitler.

DISPATCHES FROM AIRSTRIP ONE: UK Parliament Committee Wants to Ban All Private Cars and Trucks by 2050.

The committee report says that, starting in 2035, the government should start banning the sale of all conventionally powered cars and trucks, including hybrids, “at the latest.” That, however, won’t be enough. The committee adds, “The Government should not aim to achieve emissions reductions simply by replacing existing vehicles with lower-emissions versions.”

That means that even pure battery powered EVs have got to go.

It’s quite simple, at least in the eyes of the select committee. You see, the manufacture of even zero-emission vehicles itself produces “substantial” carbon emissions as well engaging in other environmentally harmful practices. The only way to eliminate carbon emissions associated with the manufacture of private automobiles is to eliminate the manufacture, sale, and ownership of those private vehicles.

Mostly I think this is about reducing traffic congestion for the convenience of the wealthy and powerful, who would no doubt continue to enjoy some kind of private transportation.

WELL, YES: The Atlantic: Every American Should Hope Trump Prevails Against China. “China’s response to U.S. trade actions appears to reflect a cynicism about the efficacy of democracy. Beijing’s strategy appears calibrated to exploit the fact that the American people elect the head of their government, by attempting to influence how the American people will vote. In effect, it seems to be gambling on its ability to turn American democracy against itself.”

VIDEO: Smart lamppost toppled to ground by Hong Kong demonstrators over Chinese surveillance fears.

PAUL KRUGMAN PREDICTS IMMINENT CRASH OF DOLLAR, HIGH INTEREST RATES — in 2003. To be fair, I have predicted 7 of the last 3 recessions myself.

SOCIALISM MAKES A LOT OF THINGS (AND PEOPLE) DISAPPEAR: ‘Monopoly: Socialism’ Game Disappears From Target’s Website.

ROGER KIMBALL: Andrew McCabe’s Unjust Deserts: The disgraced former FBI deputy director has a cushy new job at CNN. He should be elsewhere. “There really is not enough contempt to go around for these creeps.”

THINK OF THEM AS DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVES AT A MEXICAN-FUNDED MEDIA OUTLET AND YOU WON’T GO FAR WRONG: The New York Times admits ‘it wants to get Trump.’