NEWS YOU CAN USE: You should save those silica gel packets that come with your purchases. Here’s why.

SOUNDS LIKE A CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION: New Jersey AG Weaponizing the State’s New Nuisance Law Skirt the PLCAA and Attack Gun Makers.

Gun makers should refuse to sell any products to state agencies in states that do this sort of thing.

UNRELIABLE ENERGY SOURCES ARE UNRELIABLE:

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? Fed hikes interest rates by 0.75 percentage point for second consecutive time to fight inflation.

READER FAVORITE: Apple AirPods Pro Wireless Earbuds with MagSafe Charging Case. #CommissionEarned

HMM: DARPA’s new missile hints at truly game-changing technology. “This propulsion system, known as a rotation detonation engine (RDE), has the potential to be lighter than existing jet engines while offering a significant boost in power output, range, and fuel efficiency.”

STATE-RUN MEDIA: Biden White House talking points redefining recession quickly embraced by media outlets.

THE 21st CENTURY IS NOT TURNING OUT AS I HAD HOPED: Democrats bring woman who is a witch and a furry as witness for abortion hearing.

BEST STRATEGY: KILL THE ENEMY BEFORE THEY CAN FIRE THEM. Why it’s so hard to defend against cruise missiles.

I’M SO OLD, I CAN REMEMBER WHEN SPORTS WAS AN ESCAPE FROM POLITICS: Colts GM Spends First Press Conference Of Season Focused On Guns And Politics. “It’s also worth mentioning that [general manager Chris] Ballard incorrectly identified the gun used by the shooter. The weapon was an AR-15, not an AK-15 as Ballard said. He also failed to mention that the right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment of the Constitution. But he wasn’t finished, as he moved on to praising media darling and left-wing extremist, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.”

PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Biden Admin Sued for Holding School Lunch Money Hostage Over Transgender Policies.

SHOCKER: Elevated tween screen time linked to disruptive behavior disorders.

TWO AP’S IN ONE!

Shot:

Chaser:

A recession is a falling-off of economic activity that may be a temporary phenomenon or could continue into a depression. A common definition is two straight quarters of economic contraction. A more official determination is made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which considers a range of indicators in declaring a recession. The bureau’s determination is typically made well after a recession has begun and sometimes after it has ended.

—The Associated Press Stylebook, June 13, 2022.

And as Steve spotted earlier today:

As Steve asked in his exit question, “If you ever doubted that the AP had become a government mouthpiece, do you still?”

UPDATE:

Then vs. now: What is a "recession?"

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."

We are living in a George Orwell novel. pic.twitter.com/Woa3i9evNn

— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) July 26, 2022

PRODUCTION IS DOWN, RESERVES ARE DOWN — WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? Biden Administration to Sell 20 Million More Barrels of Oil From Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

JUST NBC THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES! Chris Hayes Suggests Zeldin Colluded With NY DA to Release His Attacker Without Bail.

A MARS-SHATTERING KABOOM: Volcanic eruption created extremely rare mineral found on Mars.

TURNING POINT USA ISSUES CEASE AND DESIST TO ABC NEWS OVER ‘DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS’ ON THE VIEW.

UPDATE: As a wise community organizer advises, get in their faces, and punch back twice as hard: The View apologizes for wrongly linking neo-Nazi protestors to Turning Point USA.

The View managed to make TP USA sympathetic. I guess that's what threat of legal action does. https://t.co/fRGDYmY2iM

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 27, 2022

UPDATE: “That’s a half-baked apology of the ‘we’re sorry you didn’t grasp our brilliance’ variety, but it’s probably sufficient from a legal point of view. We’ll see if this satisfies TPUSA or its attorneys,” Ed Morrissey writes.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: McDonald’s and Chipotle say customers are trading down, visiting less often as inflation hits budgets.

Plus: Pending home sales fell 20% in June versus a year earlier as mortgage rates soared.

And: China’s property sales are set to plunge 30% — worse than in 2008, S&P says. “China’s property sales will likely drop by about 30% this year — nearly two times worse than their prior forecast, S&P Global Ratings said, citing a growing number of Chinese homebuyers suspending their mortgage payments.”

But there’s a bright spot amid the gloom: Vox Media cuts staff, slows down hiring as recession fears grow.

UPDATE: I should mention another example — I opened a can of corned beef hash (premium stuff — Mary Kitchen!) and I noticed the potato-to-meat ratio had shifted drastically in favor of potato. A disguised form of shrinkflation!

IF YOU HAVE TO PAY PEOPLE TO BUY SOMETHING AND THEY STILL WON’T…:EVs are Big in Colorado; But Are They Really?

As of Apr 1, Colorado has 51,645 EVs. With total state vehicle registrations near 2 million for the state, that’s approaching 3%. Keep in mind, though, that even in 2016, 17,155 EVs in Colorado were publicly owned: many were bought by the government. That’s about one-third of all EVs. As an artificial indication of widespread popularity, that shows a problem.

EVs can curb carbon pollution output. The level of cost, the level of planning, the level of extensive, highly detailed legislation, and public lobbying involved are not matching the public’s interest. Even the Colorado Sun noted as much. “These things won’t sell themselves, according to a new series of public-private partnerships that say retiring gas vehicles to stop climate change can’t be left to the free market.”

Conservation is impossible without trade-offs. Apocalyptic climate predictions and changes in temperature have long been leveraged as ways to end the debate over trade-offs. That strategy’s effectiveness has been mixed. Looking closely at EVs, at Colorado drivers’ needs, the state’s weather, and the real-world money calculus, electric cars are a hard sell. Most citizens are, with reason, not springing for an electric vehicle even with a slightly better local infrastructure to support it.

Lots of hard data in this article. Worth your time.

BORIS JOHNSON TIPPED TO BECOME NEXT SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATO.

GET A NEW SHIRT: Carhartt Men’s Loose Fit Heavyweight Short-Sleeve Pocket T-Shirt. #CommissionEarned

SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING A COMMITTEE OF LAW PROFESSORS WOULD COME UP WITH: UC-Hastings Committee Unveils Proposal For New Name: ‘College Of The Law, San Francisco.’

WELL, NOT YET: White House Says The Economy Is Great Because We’re Not Like Other Places ‘Facing Famine.’

JOANNE JACOBS: Why teachers quit. “Very few said pressure from parents on curriculum or teaching was a major reason for leaving their jobs.”

LINCOLN BROWN: Tramps Like Bruce… “I think about Springsteen now as I see the small businesses that have closed and the growing number of people concerned about how they are going to live, now that his party is in power. I am sure he sleeps soundly at night knowing that the deplorables about whom he used to sing will pay the freight for the Left’s brave new world. No doubt, the struggles of the dispossessed do not reach his ears. After all, they are racist lowlifes. They deserve what they get for not being him.”