CLAIRE BERLINSKI: “This seems a relevant moment to remind readers that dissolving NATO was precisely what Russia demanded in its ultimatum before it invaded Ukraine. It did not demand that Ukraine abstain from joining NATO, as many seem to think. “

Plus:

It is not whatsoever in the US interest for Europe to become an imperial Russian suzerainty. If you’re trying to understand what Russia wishes to accomplish, the Kremlin-aligned Russian media is the best place to start, and I commend to our readers’ attention, particularly, this article, “The Resolution of the Ukraine Question.” (“The Ukraine Question,” my God!) It was mistakenly published in the Kremlin-aligned media on the morning of February 26. It celebrates Russia’s victory and the collapse of the Ukrainian state within the anticipated two days.

It was, of course, swiftly taken down, but it’s archived, here. This is what Putin had in mind and what his state media was prepared to announce. It’s worth reading in full, so I’ll reproduce it all; the emphasis is mine.

Read the whole thing. Plus: “I’ve written before that the division of the West is suicide. Neither the US, alone, nor Europe, alone, have the wealth, the military might, nor the population to counter the world’s authoritarian powers.”

REGULATE SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE TOBACCO: Time on social media associated with onset of tic disorders in teens.

HEH. You know it’s true.

IT’S WISE TO SHORTEN SUPPLY CHAINS: Russia-Ukraine War Adding to Supply Problems, Auto Industry Reinventing Itself.

A WEAPONIZED NARRATIVE: Russian Oligarchs Must Choose Between Their Money And Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin — he’s crazy and delusional…

…It’s an insistent topic, one with characteristics of a weaponized narrative employed in “narrative warfare.” A weaponized narrative can create psychological vulnerabilities in an adversary’s population. We’ve seen Putin weaponize narratives.

But can a weaponized narrative create vulnerabilities in a specific adversary?

Cheeky? I write and link, you read and decide. FWIW, I wrote this yesterday morning but it just now hit the web.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Here’s How One Brazilian Artist Stared Down Cancel Culture.

PUTIN’S PARTYING LIKE IT’S 1939: Russian bombs damage Kyiv’s Babi Yar Holocaust memorial site.

SEGREGATION NOW, SEGREGATION TOMORROW, SEGREGATION FOREVER! Video: Seattle-Area School Board Defends Segregating Meetings by Skin Color.

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: NRA Asks Supreme Court to Strike California’s Magazine Ban.

BY CHOICE, OR DID HIS OWN PARTY EXILE HIM THERE? Sen. Joe Manchin sits with Republicans during State of the Union.

I’ve never thought Manchin would switch parties, mostly because he’s a survivor and knows he could probably never win a primary race in West Virginia as a Republican.

But after these last few days, who knows?

IT’S NEVER ENOUGH: Squad Member Rep. Tlaib Gives the Radical State of the Union: $6 Trillion Isn’t Enough.

BE PREPARED: Kidde Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide Detector, AC-Plug-In with Battery Backup, Digital Display. #CommissionEarned

KATHERINE MANGU-WARD: Why Can’t We Build Anything?

The issue has never been a lack of funds for infrastructure; it’s that the money flows unpredictably from multiple sources and then frequently ends up getting spent on something else via a heavily politicized decision-making process.

There’s also the question of why building anything, but especially infrastructure, in the United States costs so much and takes so long. The U.S. is the sixth-most expensive country in the world to build rapid-rail transit infrastructure like the New York City subway or the Washington, D.C., metro system.

Part of the reason is just plain waste and corruption. The federal infrastructure bill has created massive incentives for rent-seeking while ballooning the municipal lobbying sector. Like contestants on a game show, states and localities are scrambling for dollars, correctly understanding that this might be the only major windfall in this area for a decade or more—again, largely due to Congress’ inability to do its job in a predictable way in concert with a chief executive who can set clear achievable policy priorities.

We’re governed by grifters and dullards.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

Shot: Biden’s ‘fund the police’ comment draws backlash from some BLM activists, support from others.

—USA Today, err, today.

Chaser: Biden says some funding should ‘absolutely’ be redirected from police.

—Fox News, July 8^th, 2020.

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE: 3G’s Sunset Takes Aging Cars and Medical Devices With It.

WORSE THAN THE PREPARED TEXT? This Ad Lib During Biden’s SOTU Speech Went Horribly Wrong.

NUKES: A closer look at Russia’s nuclear arsenal—and the rest of the world’s: There are an estimated 12,700 nuclear warheads on Earth. Here’s which countries have them, and what it means for Russia to have put their nuclear forces on high alert.

KILL THE WHITE PEOPLE: UC Berkeley professor under fire for ‘abolish white people’ comments. “That’s why I am coming up with this recent understanding that to abolish whiteness is to abolish white people. That’s very uncomfortable perhaps, but it asks about our definitions of what race is and what racial justice might mean.”

Enough talk from the Left about genocide, and eventually people will start taking it seriously.

THE GRIFTERS: Report: Biden Admin Cut Line from SOTU Speech Endorsing Ban on Congress Trading Stocks.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: D.C. Schools: Screw the CDC. The masks stay on in schools.