BOB MCMANUS: Gov. Hochul cowardly backpedals on criticizing Joe Biden’s border.

It’s not hard to imagine the blowback Hochul’s impertinence generated; the phone calls doubtless came fast and furious — the message being clear: “Nice incumbency you got there, guv. Be a pity if something happened to it.”

To which Hochul might have replied: “Go to hell. This is my state, and I’m going to do what I can — what I must — to protect it.”

What a glorious, liberating moment that would have been – both for Hochul and for the Empire State itself.

But she said no such thing.

Of course not.

PUHLEEZ: “Were you aware that trying to close the achievement gap between students of color and white students is an example of systemic racism?”

To be fair, what isn’t?

SO DO IT FOR YOUR HEALTH: Sexual activity and vaginal dilation associated with fewer side effects after cervical cancer treatment.

CATHERINE SALGADO: A U.S. Marine’s Story of Archangel Michael, the Korean War, and a Miracle.

FLASHBACK: Identity Politics Causes Prejudice.

Related: The Non-Conservation of Identity.

READER FAVORITE: MyPillow Premium Bed Pillow Queen, Medium. #CommissionEarned

THREAD: “One of the first indicators of Russia preparing for a full-scale turn into dictatorship and a global war was the mass production of books praising Stalin and Stalinism and welcoming upcoming war against the West. These books appeared on Russian bookshelves in early 2010s.”

THREAD Let's start a long thread about how Russian book market prepared Russians for a full-scale war against Ukraine, NATO, the West, and promoted stalinism and nazism, and how this was ignored by the West. Keep seat belts fasten, you will see a lot of nasty things here. 1/52 pic.twitter.com/uF1LvIuL3q

— Sergej Sumlenny, LL.M (@sumlenny) September 28, 2023

Politics is downstream from culture, a wise man once said, and much of popular culture is toxic — here and abroad.

ATHENA THORNE: Your Monday Polling Pick-Me-Up. “Polling data that showed voters’ preference for Democrats four years ago has been inverted as of now to reveal a country much more confident in the Republican Party’s competence to govern the United States.”

THE ALL-PURPOSE LEFTY EXCUSE FOR EVERYTHING: Jamaal Bowman: I Pulled the Fire Alarm Because…Republicans Are Nazis?

ANOTHER TRANSGENDER BATHROOM LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED:  Again, here is my simple step-by-step legal argument for why it is perfectly okay to require individuals to use the facilities set aside for their biological sex.  The argument can be easily adapted to fit Title VII.  More argument here.

NO THANKS: Mercedes-Benz’s First Hands-Free Driving System Requires You to Watch a Long Video.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Crippling Home Insurance Price Surges Squeeze American Homeowners.

YES. NEXT QUESTION? Is Biden Turning His Allies Into Immigration Hawks?

OF COURSE THEY ARE: Yes, they are coming for your gas furnaces too.

Granholm claims that these changes are designed to “save Americans money and deliver healthier communities.” Of course, as with almost everything coming out of the Biden administration, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Current regulations require gas furnaces to convert at least 80% of the natural gas they consume into heat. The new regulations would raise the bar to 95%.

The only furnaces that currently meet that requirement are the ones with condenser technology installed. Condensing furnaces work by incorporating a second heat exchanger that recycles the furnace’s exhaust fumes, burning the small amount of unspent fuel that would normally be released. So at least in theory, you would use a fractionally smaller volume of natural gas to heat your home to the same temperature. And an equally small amount of unspent gas would not go out the chimney.

However, high-efficiency condensing furnaces are not only far more expensive than non-condensing models, but they are physically larger due to the extra heat exchanger. That means that modifications may be required to fit the new furnace in where the old one is currently located, driving up installation costs in addition to the higher sale price. The difference for a typical 2,000-square-foot house can be as much as $8,000 dollars. And in most cases, you would be replacing a fully functional furnace that you might otherwise have gotten decades of service from. So even if you manage to drive your utility bill down by twenty or thirty dollars per month, it will be a very long time before you actually realize and sort of net savings.

Spoiler: You will not see any savings.

THAT’S WHO THEY ARE, THAT’S WHAT THEY DO: Google is quietly killing off another useful feature.

YOU CAN GUESS: Why Was a Violent, Gender Confused Boy Allowed to Stay in Portland School After Beating up Girls?

DEAL OF THE DAY: Famiworths Single Serve Coffee Maker for K Cup and Ground Coffee. #CommissionEarned

ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Does outer space end – or go on forever?

VIDEO: Scenes From San Francisco’s Decline. “In a deep blue city like San Francisco, when it comes to safety, I think you’re pretty much on your own.”

MICROBIOME NEWS: Hangry bacteria in your gut microbiome are linked to chronic disease – feeding them what they need could lead to happier cells and a healthier body.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: Here’s the Next Damn Way the Left Will Go After Your Car.

IT WON’T BE REALLY DIVERSE UNTIL THEY’RE ALL HEADED BY BLACK WOMEN: Lawrence Krauss argues that in their efforts to promote “diversity”, American universities are increasingly sidelining men. By way of example, he notes that six of the eight Ivy League colleges (Harvard, Brown, Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Columbia) now have female presidents, as do Berkeley and MIT.

FASTER, PLEASE: Study identifies new pathway to suppressing autoimmunity.

MALARIA: W.H.O. recommends second vaccine against malaria. “The World Health Organization on Monday recommended a new vaccine for malaria, the mosquito-borne disease, which continues to plague the African region and kills nearly 500,000 children annually. The recommendation adds the R21/Matrix-M to the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine that was recommended by the WHO in 2021 but faces high demand despite limited supply.”

WELL, THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG. Newsom’s ‘First Black Lesbian’ Senate Appointee Immediately Hit With Scandal, Cover-Up Underway. “Being a homeowner in a state does not make one a resident of that state. Given that she’s not even registered to vote in California, it’s fairly obvious that she does not live there and has no formal residency there. Where does she pay taxes? What state is her driver’s license from? Has she claimed California residency in the last two years? Hilariously, Butler even forgot to turn off her location data until after she was appointed. It’s all fixed now, though.”