STRATEGYPAGE INTEL UPDATE: Ukrainian Treasures.

The war in Ukraine has produced another bonanza of Russian weapons for the U.S. Air Force to scrutinize. For over half a century the U.S. Air Force has been on the lookout for Russian aircraft, missiles and electronic systems that were operational or could be made operational for testing. Ukraine is currently providing everything but aircraft to evaluate. That’s fine because Russia hasn’t produced any scary and mysterious combat aircraft since the Cold War ended. Electronics and missile systems are another matter.

The post has a short history lesson about U.S. efforts to obtain captured or stolen enemy aircraft and equipment

THE ENDLESS ECHOES OF BIDEN’S AFL-CIO SPEECH: Powerline’s Scott Johnson continues the deconstruction of Biden’s world disorder as he examines James Bovard’s New York Post debunking of Biden’s lies and a relevant Byron York column on Biden’s inflation and Jimmy Carter’s.

READER FAVORITE: Apple AirPods Pro. #CommissionEarned

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Two-Thirds of Americans Say Bidenflation Is Eating Through Their Savings.

SAME: Former Ed Secretary Betsy DeVos: ‘I don’t think the Department of Education should exist.’

HINT: IT ISN’T THE GOOFY UNARMED GUY IN THE VIKING HELMET. Who’s the Real Threat to Democracy?

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LOCKDOWN EDITION: COVID-19 lockdown resulted in lower grades, campus initiative finds.

SPACE: Has China found alien technosignatures from space? “The FAST telescope in Pingtang County, Guizhou, southwest China has a diameter of 1,600 feet and it’s been listening to many stars known to have exoplanets. This week, the researchers in charge of the project announced that somebody might be out there after all. They’ve detected ‘suspicious’ signals that may be technosignatures from an alien civilization beaming information out into the cosmos.”

HISTORY WITHOUT TEARS wouldn’t be very interesting.

DECLINING PUBLIC TRUST IN NON-PROFITS: Capital Research Center’s Michael Hartmann looks at new data showing a decline in confidence in the non-profit sector. Even among Democrats, significantly less than half, 44 percent, say they have confidence in non-profits, GOPers and the general public 10 points below that.

Among the frequently cited reasons for the declining trust is “inappropriate political agendas.” Since the non-profit sector — defined as tax-exempt foundations and corporate charitable giving units — is and long has been overwhelmingly liberal and Democrat, there’s a message here.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: LOL…Dem Fetish Boy Fauci Has the Wuhan Chinese Bat Flu. “I’m not really delighted that Fauci has the ‘rona, and I’m glad his symptoms are mild. Everybody who has whatever variant we’re on has mild symptoms though. That fact hasn’t prevented Fauci from banging the drum of gloom and insisting that death is still just around the corner, however.”

GOING UNWOKE: Crypto Exchange CEO Calls Employees ‘Triggered,’ Bans Calling Things ‘Racist’ at Work. “In one section, Kraken insists it is founded in ‘dangerous’ ideas: the ideas that free markets must reign supreme, that people must be free to say what they want, and a host of other libertarian beliefs that boil down to protection of private property, self-defense, and autonomy. ‘This should be no surprise to Americans as these rights can all be derived from the US constitution,’ Kraken’s manifesto explains at one point. ‘Our ability to drive crypto adoption in the world depends on these rights. Not everyone needs to personally hold these beliefs to enlist as a Krakenite but these beliefs are a core component of our culture.'”

IF YOU’RE AN AVERAGE AMERICAN, EVERYONE COUNTS MORE THAN YOU WITH DEMOCRATS, EVEN DOGS, CATS AND FLEAS: Democrats choose Fido and Muffy over inflation-shocked public.

At a time when many are looking for help on raging inflation and who to blame for record-high gas prices, oversight Democrats are turning to pet collars, drawing fire from frustrated Republicans.

On Wednesday, with gas at an all-time high of $5.014 a gallon and inflation at 8.6%, the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subcommittee charged with looking out for consumers will hold its first hearing of the year to discuss Seresto’s flea collar for dogs and cats. . . .

Republicans, meanwhile, are eager to focus on high gas prices and inflation, which Democrats and the Biden administration have failed to curb.

Flea collars? Someone needs to tell the Democrats that dog won’t hunt.

WELL, TO BE FAIR, THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S A COMMIE MORON: Piketty Calls For ‘Participatory Socialism’: $150,000/Person Universal Inheritance, ‘Confiscatory’ Income And Wealth Taxes.

I mean, look around: We’re seeing the results of lefty economic policies everywhere right now, and they suck. Back to Milton Friedman!

HELP WANTED: Institute for Free Speech Looking for Litigator (with 7+ Years of Experience).

#RESIST: Backlash Against NSBA Letter Accusing Parents of Being ‘Domestic Terrorists’ Continues.

IF YOU LIVE IN THIS WORLD, YOU’RE FEELING THE CHANGE OF THE GUARD: Here’s Why the South Texas Special Election Spells Doom for Dems in November: Republicans send first Mexican-born woman to Congress in Dem stronghold.

See, the “let’s import lots of Hispanics who’ll vote Democrat,” and the “let’s make Democrats the party of trans rights and grooming” strategies don’t sit well together.

Related:

DEAL OF THE DAY: trtl Pillow – Scientifically Proven Super Soft Neck Support Travel Pillow. #CommissionEarned

FLASHBACK: The ‘cabal’ that bragged of foisting Joe Biden on us must answer for his failed presidency.

THEY CAN’T WIN IF THEY CAN’T CHEAT: Why The Biden Admin Wants Censorship Of Renewable Energy Critics. “There is no question that social media companies including Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Twitter, and Alphabet (Google and YouTube) are well within their legal right to censor inaccurate and harmful information. But over the last two years, Big Tech has repeatedly censored individuals for communicating accurate information, including on covid and climate change.”

IT’S WEIRD THAT ALL THE CORPORATIONS GOT SO MUCH GREEDIER AFTER BIDEN TOOK OFFICE: Biden: I’m demanding more output from greedy refiners to fight inflation.

RANCID ANNIVERSARY: 60 Years Ago This Week: the Birth of the New Left.

JOEL KOTKIN: Forget College. Skilled Trades Are the Future of the U.S. Economy. “Students are getting the message: A survey taken in 2020 found that only a third of undergraduates see their educations as advancing their career goals, and barely one in five think the BA is worth the cost. The basic reality is this: The upfront investment is high (tuition fees for four-year public colleges have increased by an average of 213 percent in real terms between 1988 and 2017) but the return on investment seems to be failing.”

Do tell.

FROM DAVE FREER:  Boy’s Surface.  #CommissionEarned

She thought she just needed the latest and best of automated houses to be happy.
She’s about to find out that a technology that can give you everything you want, can take away everything you need.
An amusing short story of technological over-reach.
THIS WORK IS A SHORT STORY.

WELL, GOOD. ONE LESS THING TO WORRY ABOUT:  New research suggests Earth’s magnetic polarity isn’t reversing.