AT THE TIME NO ONE WAS REALLY PAYING ATTENTION: Diversity by diktat: An obscure 1977 OMB memo forms the basis for today’s affirmative-action programs. I don’t mention it in this op-ed, but to give you an idea of how ridiculously arbitrary the classifications are, the government literally got three volunteers, a Cuban American, a Mexican American, and a Puerto Rican, and asked them to come up with a name for people of Spanish-speaking ancestry, and to define the scope of the relevant classification. One of the volunteers vociferously advocated for “Hispanic,” which includes everyone with Spanish-speaking ancestry, and she wore the others down until they agreed. But the classification just as easily have been Latino (added in 1997), Spanish surname, Spanish-speaking household, Hispano, Mestizo, or Chicano/other Spanish-heritage, among other classifications floating around at the time. And the main reason Cubans were included with Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, despite having much higher socio-economic success and mostly perceiving themselves and being perceived by others as “white immigrants” rather than members of a minority group is that Richard Nixon had insisted on including them because they vote Republican. He wanted to make sure they were also eligible for affirmative action programs that were ramping up and included Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. More details can be found in my new book.

SPACE JUNK, BETTER PUT UP MY UMBRELLA: International Space Station maneuvers to avoid debris.

THE CASE FOR A 600 SHIP NAVY.

BUT ARE PEOPLE FEELING MORE PAIN? Dosages of opioid prescriptions after surgery drop in Canada.

PLENTY OF GRAFT, WHICH WAS ALWAYS THE POINT: What has all that investment in renewables actually bought us?

RIP, KILLER: Multiple news organizations are reporting the death of Jerry Lee Lewis, age 87.

UPDATE…And multiple news organizations, and the source of the headline, got it wrong: “TMZ is retracting their report that infamous rock ‘n’ roller Jerry Lee Lewis died,” CBS Sacramento reports.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: You can now get an MBA in Diversity & Inclusion at Wharton.

BE PREPARED: Mr. Heater MH9BX-Massachusetts/Canada approved portable Propane Heater. #CommissionEarned

THAT’S OKAY, SO LONG AS MY MAGAZINES CAN HOLD 20 ROUNDS: Biden: My Legislation Says There Can Be No More Than 8 Bullets in a Round.

NARCO-STATE: Cartels Buying Weapons From Mexican Military. “A massive security breach of the Mexican government unveiled documents from the Mexico Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena). The leaked documents, published online by a group called Guacamaya, reveal that the Mexican military has been supplying cartels with weapons.”

GEORGE KORDA: If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s the governor’s office not calling.

IRAN: 15 Reported Dead at Holy Site Shooting, Anti-Regime Protests Continue Countrywide. “Add yet another wrinkle to the country’s anti-regime actions that have been going on for weeks around the Mullah’s religious dictatorship.”

READER FAVORITE: Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Cloud Pillow for Sleeping. #CommissionEarned

BREAKING: It’s (Not) Official: Twitter Has a New ‘Chief Twit.’

Update: Had been paywalled by mistake. It’s back out now.

BLOOD CLOTTING IS AMAZING: It’s easy to take for granted the system in virtually every human being ever born that prompts clotting and thus stops bleeding from a minor wound. But, as biochemist Michael Behe explains on HillFaith, the human body’s clotting capability is something remarkable indeed.

BEN WEINGARTEN: The War Over ‘Transgender’ Kids: A Pre-Election Battlefield Update.

In an inhospitable election year for the left, Democrats, far from being on the back foot, have pushed ahead on this front, including this fall in California, New York, and Virginia with moves to curb parental rights.

Days from the election, President Biden made clear the party’s broader position, telling a transgender activist that no state should be able to bar “gender-affirming healthcare” for kids.

That can include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries to remove or replace breasts and genitalia. Promoting such treatment for the growing number of kids identifying as transgender are, on one side, the Biden administration; blue state governments; much, though not all, of the medical establishment; educators; and activists. Opposing them are red state governments acting on behalf of outraged or concerned parents and other constituents, and buoyed by dissenting doctors.

Divisions have deepened despite, as Reuters recently reported, a lack of “strong evidence of the efficacy” of the treatments at issue and despite their possible long-term consequences. Here is a timeline of major developments this year.

The Left has found a novel and cruel way to destroy families, and they won’t stop until it becomes too painful to continue.

EVERY INSTITUTION HAS BEEN CORRUPTED: Jennifer-Ruth Green’s sexual assault records released by the Air Force to an oppo research firm.

JEFF GOLDSTEIN ON THE FETTERMAN DEBACLE: Fetter(my good God), man!

THAT’S BECAUSE “SCIENCE” SHOWS AN INCREASINGLY PARTISAN SLANT: US public’s trust in science shows growing partisan gap.

KINSLEY GAFFE: NY Gov. Hochul Doesn’t Know Why Putting Criminals in Jail is ‘So Important’ to Challenger Lee Zeldin.

“FEMINISM”: We Need to Talk About Democrat Political Wives. “They will stand by their man long past the point at which it does their husbands, themselves, their party, or the institution of marriage any good.”

WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE BUDDY. WAIT, WHAT? I was rejected from a job because my penis is too big.

THEY JUST NEED TO PUSH HIM PAST THE FINISH LINE SO THAT HE CAN BE REPLACED: Allowing John Fetterman To Run For Senate Is Just Abusive. “On Tuesday, after early voting led tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents to cast their ballots already, Fetterman’s presence on the debate stage turned from an apparent act of political courage by a recent stroke survivor into an episode of abusive political malpractice.”

WILL GOP USE THESE SIX INVESTIGATIVE WEAPONS? The Founders made Congress the first article of the Constitution for a reason – our system is designed as a legislative supremacy government — and they gave senators and representatives a multitude of constitutional weapons to win any fight with either of the other two branches,

The question at hand, however, is even if voters overwhelmingly give Republicans control of Congress on November 8, will the new GOP Hill majorities have the cojones to carry the fight to Biden and the Democrats. If they do, here are six of those constitutional weapons they will need.

AS ALWAYS, 2022 IS FAR TOO STRANGE FOR EVEN THE BABYLON BEE TO SATIRE: Could Witchcraft Make You A Better Parent? Real Witches Say ‘Yes’