IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN THEY DO IT — SO SHUT UP, INSURGENT:

They rioted at the Trump inauguration, too.

GERMAN PRODUCER PRICES POST SURPRISE RECORD JUMP IN AUGUST:

German producer prices rose in August at their strongest rate since records began both in annual and monthly terms, driven mainly by soaring energy prices, raising the chances that headline inflation will surge even higher.

Producer prices of industrial products increased by 45.8% on the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Tuesday. Compared to July 2022, prices rose 7.9%, it added.

You went full Weimar, man. Never go full Weimar.

WHISTLEBLOWER: FBI Manipulating J6 Cases to Support Biden Narrative of a National Crisis of Extremism.

LAWRENCE PERSON: China’s Chip Industry is Doomed. “Without a continued stream of machines, spare parts and technical know-how from those five semiconductor giants, China’s semiconductor industry is doomed. China’s domestic semiconductor equipment industry is essentially garbage, and they’re so far behind in so many areas that they can’t even steal their way to parity. The knowledge gulf is just too vast.”

Also: “Money seems to have a strong corruptive power over CCP officials that they can’t resist. Like China’s real estate industry, China’s semiconductor industry is also plagued with corruption, over-construction, and highly leveraged capital maneuvers.”

Plus: “China correctly identified semiconductors and semiconductor equipment as key technologies for truly becoming the world’s preeminent technological manufacturing giant. Unfortunately for them (and fortunately for us), the CCP’s endemic culture of corruption and their top-down command economy are antithetical to the onrush of capitalist technological innovation that powers Moore’s Law.”

Well, I certainly hope so.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: When did we start experiencing a surge in STDs? But give them credit for not glossing over the facts:

One of the remarkable things about the linked report is the way that the AP (and presumably the CDC) call out a specific community for being a primary driver of these increases. They first note that monkeypox (or whatever we’re supposed to call it this week) “is being spread mainly between men who have sex with other men.” They later note that the rise in syphilis cases starting in 2002 was seen “largely among gay and bisexual men,” going on to say that the highest rates are currently seen “among Black and Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.” Even assuming that’s true, it was previously considered “homophobic” or “racist” to point such things out.

I should note, though, that it’s not just that “most guys don’t like condoms.” Most women don’t, either.

THE SPIN: US consumer spending rose in August as gas prices fell.

THE REALITY: Americans Drowning In Long-Term Credit Card Debt. “According to an Aug. 30 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, credit card balances increased by $46 billion from last year, becoming the second-biggest source of overall debt last quarter.”

We’re spending more, getting less, and racking up unsustainable credit card balances in the process.

GET WOKE, LOSE WARS: Unexpectedly, the USAF Finds Itself With a Critical Shortage of Pilots While It Says It Has Too Many White Officers.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): From the comments:

US Government: “You need to have F-15 to take on the Government”.
Also US Government: “We need people who can fly F-15s…”

Heh.

YUGE: Court Upholds Texas Ban on Big Tech Censorship.

NOW OUT FROM WALTER JON WILLIAMS: Imperium Restored: A Novel of the Praxis. I’ve enjoyed the Praxis novels.

DEAL OF THE DAY: Shower Head with Extension Arm. #CommissionEarned

TWILIO ANNOUNCES 11% OF EMPLOYEES WILL LOSE JOBS IN ‘ANTI-RACIST’ LAYOFFS. So what you’re saying is that you laid off people based on their skin color. Awesome tactic there. Employment lawyers should be rubbing their hands with glee.

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Martha’s Vineyard Builds Planned Parenthood To Combat Rising Population Of Minorities.

No word yet if the island will rebrand as Margaret Sanger’s Vineyard.

UNFIT TO SERVE: Basketball coach who fell for BYU-Duke race hoax stands by decision to cancel games. “Others who rushed to condemn the incident before any video had emerged backtracked on their statements.”

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: Even if DOJ can convict Trump of something, it won’t disqualify him as President.

This same question of disqualification arose in advance of the 2016 presidential election in relation to Hillary Clinton’s alleged mishandling of official emails and classified information while she was secretary of state.

However, the majority view, then and now, is that Section 2071 can bar a convicted defendant from holding appointed federal office, but it cannot bar a convicted defendant from running for or holding any elected federal positions. This interpretation follows from the Supreme Court’s decision in Powell v. McCormack (1969), which held that the Constitution’s express textual qualifications (for instance, age, residence, and citizenship) for elected federal positions (that is, members of Congress) are exclusive, and those qualifications cannot be expanded by Congress. In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995), the Supreme Court extended the scope of the Powell principle: States are also precluded from expanding the Constitution’s express textual qualifications for elected federal positions.

Lower federal courts have held that the reasoning in Powell and U.S. Term Limits, which, on their facts, applied to congressional positions, also applies to the presidency.

But they might try to accomplish this via a plea bargain, though that’s iffy too, as Tillman notes. All of this is not normal. I continue to marvel at just how afraid they are of another Trump term.

REALCLEARINVESTIGATIONS: The ‘Freedom of Information’ Bureaucrats Have Our Number: Catch-22.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP: ‘Beyond Meat’ Exec Tastes the OTHER Other White Meat. “That ain’t vegetable matter, Doug, no matter how you slice it.”

Plus:

• ‘Save Water, Shower with a Friend’ no longer just a naughty joke
• The real reason Joe Biden had to sit in the cheap seats at Elizabeth’s funeral
• The Nancy Pelosi photoshop you’ll hate me for

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

SHOCKER: Green energy policies lead to power outage, California college cancels its classes.

FASTER, PLEASE: Supply-Chain Decoupling From China Gets Sharper Teeth.

Two proposed laws in Europe are the latest case in point. The European Union proposed a ban on products made using forced labor last Wednesday. It doesn’t name China but alleged forced labor in the country’s Xinjiang region is clearly a main target. A few United Nations reports have added impetus in recent weeks. A U.N. expert published a report saying it is “reasonable to conclude” that forced labor has taken place in Xinjiang. And the U.N. human-rights agency said China has committed crimes against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. China denies such claims.

The proposed law looks less harsh than its U.S. equivalent. The U.S. legislation puts the onus on importers to prove that products from Xinjiang aren’t made with forced labor—an incredibly high bar. The EU proposal doesn’t. Products would only be blocked at the conclusion of an investigation. That, however, could change as the proposal needs approval from the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

It could be years before the proposal becomes law—but it will nonetheless add pressure for companies to reassess supply chains now, especially since the U.S. law is already in effect.

Plus: “All of this follows similar moves in the U.S. The healthcare, climate and tax law passed in August provides incentives for domestic manufacturing of clean-energy products such as batteries and solar panels. Washington is also implementing policies to encourage the onshoring of semiconductors and biotechnology.”

What we don’t need is more grift- and graft-filled federal “incentives” that never seem to do much but line pockets. What we need is serious deregulation, tax cuts, and a return to sound currency.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: It’s Like Biden Is Trying to Be the Dems’ November Albatross. “The Democrats’ late-summer flashes of optimism are now yielding to the harshest reality they’ll have to face this fall: their candidates can’t run away from Joe Biden.”

OF COURSE IT DOES: NY Times blames the collapse of the Women’s March on Russian trolls (not the co-chair’s fondness for Louis Farrakhan).

GIVEN THE SORRY PERFORMANCE OF THE “EDUCATED” CLASSES I DON’T BLAME THEM: From Sweden to the U.S.: Folks getting tired of being told they’re too “undereducated” to wipe their own noses.

The only claim of a technocracy to legitimacy is that the technocrats are smart and competent. Well . . .

IT’S DANGEROUS MISINFORMATION: The American Media’s Racism Fantasy.

Unchecked power on the part of the Gentry Class is justified on the ground that the great mass of Americans is bigoted and ignorant. That narrative must be maintained even though it’s transparently false.

BECAUSE THEY AREN’T NEEDED FOR KIDS AND DON’T DO MUCH ANYWAY: Not a Single US State Is Requiring Kids to Get Vaccinated to Attend Public School. Why? “While a few US cities continue to push vaccine mandates to attend, Pew Charitable Trusts pointed out earlier this year that states have been surprisingly wary of mandating Covid shots for children.”

Previously: Denmark Ends Covid Vaccine for Nearly Everyone Under 50.

PROGRESS: SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy rocket just fired up 7 engines for the 1st time (video).

YES, IT’S IN COMMON USE: Georgetown professor: AR-15 ‘commonly owned’ and ‘incredibly popular.’

On the gun ban side, led by President Joe Biden, the rifle is an “assault weapon” used to kill people. On the gun fan side, led by the National Rifle Association, it’s a tool for hunting and plinking just like every other rifle.

But the truth is, there has been little scholarly study of it and other firearms since 1994, the year the so-called “assault weapon” ban was put into place by President Bill Clinton, which lapsed 10 years later.

Enter political economist and assistant professor William English of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Long interested in issues surrounding guns, he just headed a massive survey of nearly 17,000 firearms users to come up with the most detailed portrait of today’s owners, users, and their firearms.

The bottom line from his “National Firearms Survey” is that gun-owning is common, the AR-15 really is the most popular firearm in America, and its club of owners is incredibly diverse.

Color me unsurprised.