THESE PEOPLE ARE BARELY LITERATE OR NUMERATE:  Michigan Gov. Whitmer: Hoisted by her own pipeline petard!

They keep telling us they love science, but they only say that hoping to get it into bed.

BELIEVING ANYTHING THE HEINZ-FLAVORED-GIGOLO SAYS IS INDEED SUICIDE:  John Kerry: Climate Inaction is a “Mutual Suicide Pact”.

I’d say he threw his brain over the fence with his someone else’s medals, but there’s no reason to believe he ever had a brain.

ITHACA MAYOR IS DUMBER THAN THE DECORATIVE ROCKS IN MY GARDEN:  Ithaca (NY) Mayor Calls for Abolishing Police Dept, Replacing With ‘Community Solution Workers’.

I’d say shame on the voters who elected him, but as we know in 2021, there’s no reason to believe those were real.

SURE. EXCEPT RIOTERS IS A MISNOMER:  Still More DOJ Charging Documents Show Facebook — Not Parler — Most Used By Capitol Hill Rioters.

I’M SURE THE REPLACEMENT WILL BE JUST AS BAD:  Neera Tanden Confirmation Vote Postponed Indefinitely.

THERE’S A LOT OF BLAME TO GO AROUND:  ERCOT Board Members Exit After Texas Outages.

SO HE’S DUMBER THAN YOUR AVERAGE ROCK:  CIA Director Nominee Worked On Obama/Biden Iran Deal.

And more malevolent than your average wounded pig.

THE LEFT RUINS EVERYTHING IT CONTROLS:  COVID, THE ARTS, AND OUR SKIN SUIT WEARING ESTABLISHMENT.

READ THIS IF YOU LIVE WITH SOME WHO’S GOT SOME INTERESTING MILEAGE:  On Post Traumatic Stress, marriages, and two truly awesome books.

WE NEED TO GET BACK TO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW:  The Second Set of Books.

All else is a greased slide into tyranny.

THERE IS ONLY ONE REASON TO DEFEND SPEECH, EVER. BECAUSE IT OFFENDS SOMEONE:  Freedom of Speech by LawDog.

I’M OKAY WITH THAT: Will Ex-Sen. Perdue’s Exit Mean Sen. Herschel Walker, R-Ga.?

GETTING THE STUPIDITY AND VICIOUSNESS OF WOKE ACADEMIC CULTURE RIGHT: NY Times Covers The Real Story Of False Accusations And Identity Politics At Smith College. “Today the NY Times published a story about what’s going on at Smith College and, surprisingly, it’s not particularly kind to the school or the environment there.”

Plus: “The Times deserves credit for writing this belated but accurate account of what happened at Smith College. It’s a shame someone didn’t do that in the first place.”

WELL, YES. Ross Douthat: The Covid Emergency Must End.

To be fair, the actual emergency is long gone, and never justified most of the response. It’s just the response that needs to end now.

SO I GUESS THE MACHINE HAS DECIDED TO GET RID OF HIM: Ex-Aide Details Sexual Harassment Claims Against Gov. Cuomo. “Mr. Cuomo’s administration, already reeling from a controversy over his handling of nursing homes, denied Ms. Boylan’s accusations.”

It’s not just the emergence of the story right now that’s the tell, it’s how the NYT is playing it, as the above extract illustrates.

THE PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW: Congressional Republicans request FBI briefing on Swalwell’s connections to Chinese spy: Swalwell remains seated on several committees that are regularly briefed on top secret information pertaining to American national security. “In December, it was revealed that, several years ago, a Chinese national named Christine Fang (or Fang Fang) had targeted and successfully infiltrated the circles of up-and-coming politicians including Swalwell, of California. Fang interacted with Swalwell for years and placed at least one intern in his office.”

Plus:

Heh.

OPEN THREAD: What will it be? Some soothing herb tea?

I’M NOT SURE IF IT’S A “SONG THAT CHANGED MUSIC,” BUT IT’S A HECKUVA SONG. Songs that Changed Music: Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” (video).

“WHEN SECONDS COUNT, A SOCIAL WORKER IS ONLY MINUTES AWAY:” Ithaca (NY) Mayor Calls for Abolishing Police Dept, Replacing With ‘Community Solution Workers.’

When even Minneapolis has (sorta-kinda) learned its lesson, I thought “defunding the police” was strictly a summer of 2020 fad for the libertine left. When does upstate New York get the memo?

AD ASTRA PER ARDUA: SpaceX fires up SN10 Starship prototype for 1st time to prep for test flight.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: GOP to open community centers to reach out to Black voters in battleground states.

Trump brought over significant numbers of black voters, and there’s room to bring over a lot more — so long as the GOP messaging resonates with them, as the message of cruise-ship conservatism never did.

ARE WE SEEING A SOFT SECESSION? As the effective “legalization” of marijuana indicates, when states go their own way, the feds are often hard pressed to do much.

TWO REASONS: CORRUPTION AND GRAFT. Why Is the Government Wasting $83M Distributing Masks That Are Already Widely Available?

Also, it will play well in next year’s campaign spots.

POOR GUY: Experts: Tiger Woods may need months to resume walking.

JUDITH CURRY: Assigning Blame for the Blackouts in Texas.