OPEN THREAD: How are you?

IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING: U.S. intelligence report predicts heightened space competition between U.S. and China.

ANALYSIS: TRUE.

THE ANSWER IS, WHATEVER THE RULING CLASS NEEDS IT TO BE AT THE MOMENT: IS RACE DISCRIMINATION LEGAL, OR NOT? Neither consistency, nor the actual statutes, matter in a post-rule-of-law society.

HMM: US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations. Or maybe it was something like this:

“He died of natural causes.”

“He jumped out of a window!”

“Gravity is natural.”

“I’ll just put down Covid-19.”

EXPECTING AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: St. Vincent on red alert for ‘imminent’ volcanic eruption.

RIP: A tribute to Prince Philip, 1921-2021.

CRISIS BY DESIGN: Biden ‘border czar’ Roberta Jacobson stepping down amid migrant crisis.

NEWS YOU CAN USE. Gorillas don’t lie: Chest beats provide reliable information about a male’s size. “To communicate their dominance to potential female mates and rival males, gorillas use cupped hands to rapidly drum their chests. The beating sound can be heard from more than half-a-mile away. . . . ‘Our previous study showed that larger males are more dominant and have a higher reproductive success than smaller males.'”

BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY DO: Now CNN Thinks Fonts Are Racist.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Wokeness is a Weapon of Privilege. “Wokeness is not really about fairness for minorities, the oppressed and the poor, past or present. It is mostly a self-confessional cult of anointed bullies, and hypocrites of all races and genders, who seek to flex, and increase, their own privilege and power. Period.”

Yes. Wokeness is the state religion of the oligarchs. Wokeness is not about taking power from The Man. Wokeness is The Man’s way of securing his power over the rest of us.

NOT SO MUCH THE DISEASE AS THE RESPONSE THERETO: COVID-19 has worsened inequalities in U.S., across the Americas, report says.

MEET THE OPPRESSED: The cofounder of BLM just bought a $1.4 million L.A. “compound” in a rich, largely white neighborhood.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: British Columbia elementary school teacher was suspended this week after showing her students the 1962 American drama To Kill A Mockingbird.

Flashback: Atticus Finch: American literature’s most celebrated rape apologist.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS: Biden2005 denounces Biden2021’s exploration of court-packing as being ‘corrupted by power’ video).

To borrow from Jim Geraghty’s recurring phrase during the Obama years, all of Joe Biden’s promises come with expiration dates.

DISPARATE IMPACT: The poisonous doctrine that disparate impact based on race is the legal and moral equivalent of actual race discrimination is everywhere these days.   This article explains how supposedly conservative Chief Justice Warren Burger got us there.

BOB ZUBRIN: Build a Robot Base on Mars.

FAIL, BRITANNIA: Brits At Pubs Will Have To Register On Government Tracking App, Hand Over Phones.

SPEAKING AGAINST VIOLENCE IS VIOLENCE: Anti-Free Speech Muslim Group Sues Facebook for Not Removing Sites Opposing Jihad Violence.

MICROBIOME NEWS: “The skin and the gut are actually closely connected.”

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Nevada company plans space station with inflatable pods.

YOU CAN BE WOKE OR YOU CAN BE READY BUT YOU CAN’T BE BOTH: GAO report sees U.S. military readiness slipping.

HIDE THE DECLINE: Joe Biden Makes Another Embarrassing Verbal Slip During His Gun Control Speech.

FIRE THEM. FIRE THEM ALL: Chicago Teachers Union blocks reopening… again.

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Justice Clarence Thomas signaled camaraderie Monday with those who would check corporate power.