SALENA ZITO: How bourbon rose from a humble grain to embody American exceptionalism.

We talk about this history in my Distilled Spirits Law class.

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER, GOING LIVE ON THE 5TH:

FROM SARAH A. HOYT: Other Rhodes.

Lily Gilden has a half-crazed cyborg in her airlock who thinks he’s Nick Rhodes, a fictional 20th Century detective.  If she doesn’t report him for destruction, she’s guilty of a capital crime.

But with her husband missing,  she’ll use every clue the cyborg holds, and his detective abilities,  to solve the crime her husband was  investigating when he disappeared.

With the help of a journalist who is more than he seems, Lily will risk everything to plunge into the interstellar underworld and bring the love of her life home!

KAROL MARKOWICZ: Don’t let the left keep brainwashing our kids to fight their political wars.

THERE ARE VULTURES ALL AROUND, BUT THE EAGLE IS NOT DONE:  1776 – Hatching an Egg.

THE DIVIDED MIND OF THE LEFT:  Sounding the Tocsin.

YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER POST:  How fatuous and puerile is the left?

OH, LOOKEE MY SHOCKED FACE!  Racial grievance-monger Gwen Berry has a history of racist tweets.

DEMOCRATS, WE EXTEND TO YOU THE SAME OFFER WE MADE CLAIRE MCCASKILL:  Democrats Versus America’s Founding Documents.

Only we’ll give each of you your very own inner tube. We’re not monsters. Just tired of your nonsense.

CLAIRE MCCASKILL IS WORSE THAN BENEDICT ARNOLD:  Former Sen. Claire McCaskill: Capitol Hill Riot Worse Than Benghazi.

Hey, Claire, honey, wanna move to Cuba? We’ll help you pack. We’ll even give you a free inner tube and a bottle of shark repellent.

ABOLISH THE NEA, SALT THE EARTH:  National Education Association To Invest In Researching Groups Opposed To Critical Race Training.

DUH:  Cuomo Gets Backlash Over COVID Memorial.

DUH! YOU TURN ON THE LIGHT, THE COCKROACHES SCUTTLE:  SCOTUS Defends Election Integrity, Dems Panic.

THERE IS STILL AN AMERICA:  People Keep Asking Small Town Police Department if They Need a Fireworks Permit, Freedom-Loving Force Issues Perfect Response.

You are not alone!

IT IS OUR DUTY AND OUR VERY GREAT PRIVILEGE TO CARRY THE WORDS THAT REMIND MEN THEY’RE FREE INTO THE FUTURE:  READ IT AND BE BRAVE.

The difficulty of the task will only add to our glory.

VIDEO: Trump Live in Sarasota.

OPEN THREAD: When you’re tied to the graveyard shift, it’s hard to pass the time of day.

SPACE: Richard Branson to be onboard Virgin Galactic’s first fully crewed spaceflight. “Virgin Galactic announced Thursday it will launch its first fully crewed spaceflight on July 11 with founder Richard Branson onboard. . . . The flight would also place Branson in space before fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, who is set to be onboard the first passenger flight by his space company, Blue Origin, on July 20.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese Scientists Say They Have the Key to Building a Space Elevator.

ROBIN HANSON: UFOs – What The Hell? “Note that I’m not claiming this as fact; I’m saying it isn’t crazy. . . . First, note that our standard best scientific theories predict aliens. That is, they predict that life sometimes arises from simple dead matter, and can eventually evolve to make intelligent creatures like us. And this could happen most anywhere.”

FEMINISM: Male Soldiers Forced to March in High Heels. “On April 1, about 15 cadets from Temple University participated in a school-sponsored Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, during which men stumble through a pre-set route while sporting high heels as a way to raise awareness for sexual assault victims. Several cadets walked while wearing Army Combat Uniforms, as did the school’s professor of military science, Lt. Col. Greg Nardi, who runs Temple’s Red Diamond Brigade.”

ANTI-FEMINISM: Female Soldiers Forced to March in High Heels.

HELEN AND I WATCHED AN EPISODE OF THE CHOSEN AND IT WAS QUITE GOOD: Christian America’s Must-See TV Show. “Take it from a Christian and a critic: The Chosen is as well made and entertaining as many network dramas. But its relative invisibility to secular audiences is no surprise.”

Well, as a former cast member of the Smoky Mountain Passion Play*, I don’t know if I can claim as much expertise, but like I say, we thought it was good.

*Apostle Bartholomew, understudy for Thief On The Left (crucifixion, even fake, is no picnic) and Simon of Cyrene.

GOOD: Texas Lawyers Can’t Be Required to Join the Bar, Because It Engages in Ideological Activities Not “Germane” to Regulating Legal Profession.

Also: Fifth Circuit Enjoins Texas Integrated Bar From Requiring Plaintiffs To Pay Dues.

How many people will still belong, and pay dues, if they don’t have to? “What happens next? The Bar takes a risk by going to SCOTUS. After Janus, NIFLA, and AFP, this case is a 6-3 affirm. I think the Bar stops performing the ‘non-germane’ activities.”

WELL, THAT’S WHAT THEY PAY HER FOR: Robin DiAngelo Is Very Disappointed in the White People Making Her Rich.

Nowadays, when somebody talks about race and racism, I figure they’re probably either a grifter or a mark. It didn’t have to be that way, but there was a lot of money and attention in making it that way.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How to Reload a Handgun for Defensive Shooting.

DOESN’T SOUND VERY SCARY: “While we still have more to learn about the Delta variant, this emerging data is important because it shows us that what we might think of as just a mild winter cold – a runny nose and a sore throat – could be a case of COVID-19.”

If the symptoms are of a mild winter cold, what’s the worry? Everyone at high risk should have been vaccinated by now anyway, and much of the remaining population has already had Covid.