ABOUT THOSE EMPTY SHELVES: Folks at Issues & Insight are wondering if maybe none of this is accidental or incidental. Are the empty shelves, the spiraling prices, growing prospect of unheated homes this winter and so on and so on purposeful? Good question.

WHEN LARRY KUDLOW STARTS SOUNDING PESSIMISTIC: Before Thanksgiving’s Optimism, A Helping of Economic Reality. “A number of important leading indicators are pointing to recession.”

THE HUMAN COST OF GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP: Mention government censorship and the first thing that comes to mind for most of us will likely be the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech. Protecting the First Amendment is a top priority concern of HillFaith.

The creation of art, religious and otherwise, is a form of speech, too, and that means when the government decides what art can be created and what can’t be, then freedom of speech is dying. Too often these days, the human cost of injury to freedom of speech includes having to endure threats of harm from those who disagree with your art.

Lorie Smith of 303 Creative, a graphic arts firm near Denver, knows all about that kind of fear. She will soon be in the Supreme Court seeking affirmation of her right to express her religious belief through her art — and to not be compelled to use her artistic talents to express beliefs she does not share.

This is a Supreme Court case that should be of interest to all of us who are concerned about individual liberty. Smith is being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has previously won multiple landmark cases in this arena.

There will be a rally in support of Lorie Smith and every American’s artistic freedom on December 5 on the steps of the Supreme Court in the nation’s Capital. The rally begins at 8 am and will continue through noon.

Instapunditeers who live in or near the Washington, D.C. region are invited to join in the rally. I’ll be there and it would be great to meet many of you in person. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!

REALITY HAS A WAY OF DOING THAT: The Ukraine War Is Crushing Germany’s Green Energy Delusions. “The combination of pretending to transition to a green energy future combined with dependence on Russian gas and the fallout of the Russo-Ukrainian War has Germany looking at some very tough choices.”

THE PROCESS IS THE PUNISHMENT: Marjorie Taylor Greene says her legal bill is $700,000. “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) reelection was such a sure thing that she was projected the winner as polls closed on Election Day, but that didn’t stop liberal groups from challenging her right to be on the ballot. In addition to facing a well-financed upstart challenger in a race she won 66%-34%, she faced a challenge to having her name on the ballot by a group that labeled her an insurrectionist for defending some of those jailed in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.”

Democrats need to get the same treatment. Tit for tat/mutual assured destruction is the only way they’ll learn.

THE PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY OF THE FTX CRASH: Was SBF Using A Medication That Can Cause Overspending And Compulsive Gambling As A Side Effect? “Probably yes, and maybe it could have had some small effect, but probably not as much as the people discussing it on Twitter think.”

AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE MEMORY HOLE OPENS UP: Colorado club shooting suspect is non-binary, attorneys say. Adding that “their client is non-binary and they use they/them pronouns.” (Bumped, by Glenn).

CRISIS BY DESIGN: As Title 42 Comes to an End, ICE Nabs 138 Sex Offenders.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Warnock Steered $16 Million to Project That Benefited Co-Owner of Church’s Controversial Apartment Complex.

BILL HENDERSON ON YALE’S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE U.S. NEWS RANKINGS: “By staying in the USN game, Dean Gerken had to accept legitimate growing criticism for perpetuating a terrible system while also running the risk of being the infamous dean on the day Yale tumbled to #2.”

Much more on Yale, law school finances, and the rankings game at the link.

Plus: “It’s plausible that the T-14 could form a new league, or bracket, of elite law schools. Yet, these schools are very far from being equally rich. What Yale can do through its endowment resources, other elite schools can only afford by charging tuition. Further, both students and employers are going to want, and search for, an ‘Eiffel Tower’ to coordinate their movements and order their preferences—vanity and status-seeking are endemic to the human condition. A school that last ranked at #8 or #12 is not going to be satisfied with a status that is frozen in time. Only a school that last ranked #1 is going to be fully content with the new order, thus making any T-14 bracket inherently unstable. But much more problematic is the fact that any explicit coordination to wall off the market and create sharing rules is going to raise federal antitrust issues, something that antitrust scholars are already mulling over.”

WHO ARE THEY SO DESPERATE TO PROTECT, AND WHY? Chaos erupts at the White House press briefing as KJP shuts down questions about COVID origins.

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: TradaFor Vegetable Knife. #CommissionEarned

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Chaos Erupts in White House Briefing As Fauci Delivers His ‘Final Message.’

Related: Fauci Says He Will ‘Cooperate Fully’ With Republican Oversight Hearings.

FALLOUT: FTX User Sues Golden State Warriors For Promoting Crypto Platform.

PRIORITIES: New York City DA Ignores Skyrocketing Crime, Reopens Stormy Daniels Case.

FAIL: Maryland AG Defends “Assault Weapon” Ban, Cites 1800s Bowie Ban.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG: With Duke And Northwestern, Nine Of T14 Refuse To Participate In U.S. News Law School Rankings.

And: One-Third Of The Way Through The Fall 2023 Law School Admissions Season: Applicants Are Down -7.5%, With Biggest Decline (-21%) In The 165-169 LSAT Band.

ON SALE FROM FRANK J. FLEMING:  Hellbender.

#COMMISSIONEARNED

Doug wasn’t sure whether he should trust Satan. The red flag was that he said he was Satan. But the deal was good: Listen to Satan’s story in exchange for some donuts. And Doug only half-fulfilled his part of the bargain. But maybe he should have listened better, because during his friend Bryce’s next scheme (theft with light to moderate treason—the usual), Doug and the rest of his friends—Lulu (the fun one) and Charlene (the not fun one)—end up with a powerful artifact, a small metal cube with world-ending power that Lulu decorated with bunnies. And now everyone wants the bunny cube, which means Doug, Bryce, Lulu, and Charlene are being pursued by an insane supermodel general, an army of sadists, a vast criminal organization, a smaller, more-in-startup-mode criminal organization, and an unstoppable killing machine—the worst kind of killing machine. Doug and his friends may be a bunch of losers who aren’t particularly smart or good at anything, but they have one thing going for them: a really cool name for their mercenary group. And now it’s up to Hellbender to save the world—well, what’s left of it. It’s pretty ruined and war-torn already. But, you know, they live there, so they kind of need it. It’s a mess, but that’s what you get for listening to Satan. Or half-listening.

NEEDED PUSHBACK:  Pushback: Court rules against college’s attempt to censor students.

YOU’LL WANT THESE FOR WHEN THE TALK AROUND THE TURKEY DAY TABLE TURNS POLITICAL:  Thanksgiving history: Traditions and origins, where did it begin?

THIS COLONIALIST ENDEAVOR MUST BE SUBJECT TO STRICT DEI STANDARDS:  Astronauts will soon live and work on the moon: NASA.

WHOSE CHILDREN DO THOSE PARENTS THINK THOSE KIDS ARE?  Parents slam school’s ‘sick’ Satan Club for children as young as 5: ‘Disgusting’.

ABOUT TIME FOR SOME PUSHBACK:  AZ state asst. AG refuses to certify election until questions answered.

OR, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE EYES:  Child Grooming Isn’t Happening AND You’re a Hateful Bigot If You Notice It.

EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS:  UPDATED: Son of Brazil’s former president Bolsonaro says Brazil’s election stolen ‘pretty much the same way’ as America’s.