DISPATCHES FROM THE FINAL FRONTIER. How Star Trek Became A Tribal Battleground Of PC Art: Why is it ‘weird’ for Ted Cruz to be a Star Trek fan? Because the left is using PC didacticism to mark off parts of the culture as their tribal territory.

It has become commonplace to lament that we don’t have a common culture any more—a repertoire of art that we can all enjoy regardless of our political loyalties. Well, maybe it’s because we have a lot of people trying to mark off parts of the culture as their tribal territory, off-limits to partisan enemies.

I thought of this when someone sent me a link to a recent podcast for science-fiction fans, in which political commenter Ana Marie Cox puzzles over the fact that Ted Cruz is a big Star Trek fan. (To save you some trouble, it’s about 28 minutes in.) Why is this such a mystery? “The original Star Trek universe, for its time even, was pretty social justice warrior-y.”

Try not to spit out your coffee. To paraphrase Dr. Carol Marcus, Jim Kirk was many things, but he was never a social justice warrior.

Meanwhile, in a galaxy far, far away, Ace of Spades is dunking on the new Solo spinoff’s box office misfire as only he can: “Soylo: A Soy Wars Soyry Will Be Disney’s Lowest-Earning Soy Wars Entry Yet.”