A COOL AND LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BICYCLE MENACE: Trek FX 1 Disc, the First Bicycle of the United States, explains “Why I Busted Joe Biden’s Elderly Ass on Father’s Day Weekend.”

First of all, I want to thank the Washington Free Beacon for reaching out. It was the only respectable media outlet to express concern and show any interest in telling my side of the story. It is a story the American public deserves to hear.

The incident that took place on June 18, 2022 in Rehoboth Beach was no accident. I accept full responsibility for my role in deliberately causing President Joe Biden to bust his elderly ass on the pavement in front of a gawking mob. My actions, which I do not regret, were motivated by years of festering resentment and an overwhelming sense of moral outrage. I took the geezer down to send a message.

This is my truth: I hate being Joe Biden’s bicycle. I am routinely forced to provide Sleepy Joe with conveyance, exercise, and entertainment during his many vacations. In return I am subjected to hours upon hours of deranged, incomprehensible anecdotes about the Suez Crisis or the Cuyahoga River fires or the trucker strike of 1973-4. His brain is as warped and rusted as my crankset.

Pedal on over, and read the whole, err, bike.

Related: Joe Biden’s Bike Fall Checks the Final Item on the Jimmy Carter Narrative List.

(Classical reference in headline.)

OPEN THREAD: You know how.

THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE AREN’T VERY BRIGHT PEOPLE, AND THEY AREN’T GOOD PEOPLE:

But especially, they aren’t very bright.

GREAT NEWS FOR AMERICA, AWFUL NEWS FOR AMERICA:

They don’t pray that Biden goes back to his basement to save America from Biden’s awful presidency. They pray that Biden ends his awful presidency after one term because his lousy approval ratings are damaging their approval levels.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has announced she will not be running in 2024:.

Clinton used an interview with the Financial Times to rule out a strike for high public office. “No, out of the question,” she told the newspaper, pointing to Biden’s professed desire to run for reelection.

“No, out of the question,” Clinton told the outlet. “First of all, I expect Biden to run. He certainly intends to run. It would be very disruptive to challenge that.”

There you have it. Hillary announcing she won’t run for president again is great news for the future of America. Joe Biden has been an incredibly awful president, but the fact that he’s announced he will run for reelection is awful news.

As Jeff Dunetz writes, “Some people may believe another Biden run for the White House will give the advantage in the 2024 election to any Republican presidential candidate. But folks, this is politics–politics and logic are mutually exclusive terms. Those who don’t want a second Biden term should be working against it right now.”

LIA THOMAS BANNED AS FINA VOTES TO RESTRICT TRANSGENDER WOMEN FROM COMPETITIONS.

NOT SURPRISINGLY, JACOBIN MAGAZINE IS PRO-BERLIN WALL:  Why the East Germans Lost.

The Wall was ugly, menacing, and, for many citizens, no doubt heartbreaking. But the economic and geopolitical stability it ensured also gave the GDR the chance to build a society that was broadly characterized by modest prosperity and social equality between classes and genders. Workers were guaranteed employment, housing, and all-day childcare, while basic foodstuffs and other goods were heavily subsidized. Though wages were only half of what they were in the West, adjusted for prices in relation to earnings, GDR workers’ actual purchasing power was more or less the same. This fact, combined with the chronic lack of certain consumer goods, taught citizens to rely on each other and help each other out in times of need — a reality that still resonates today in polls showing that Easterners are considerably more sensitive to social inequality and the importance of solidarity.

(Emphasis mine.) Near the end of The Lives of Others, after the Berlin Wall has fallen, the fictitious former East German Culture Minister Bruno Hempf (played by Thomas Thieme) tells playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) that he isn’t surprised that he’s had a case of writer’s block. “What is there to write about in this new Germany? Nothing to believe in, nothing to rebel against. Life was good in our little Republic! Many people only realize that now.”

Always fascinating to discover someone who must have watched that scene and thought, “Well, he’s got a very good point there.”

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER FROM STEPHEN HUNTER: The Bullet Garden: An Earl Swagger Novel.

That’s right, not Bob Lee Swagger but his dad, Earl. Hence the Father’s Day mention.

SPACE: Getting Space Situational Awareness Off The Ground.

MAP OF RICHES: Astronomers Unveil The Most Detailed Map of The Metal Asteroid Psyche Yet.

INTERPLANETARY BACON? NASA’s Perseverance rover investigates ‘bacon strip’ on Mars.

THERE’S NOT MUCH EVIDENCE THAT VACCINATING YOUNG CHILDREN HAS ANY BENEFIT: COVID-19 kids’ vaccines available in Florida, but Gov. Desantis won’t create state program.

A SOCIETY THAT REQUIRES THIS SORT OF THING IS A SOCIETY THAT NEEDS THERAPY ITSELF: Will Your “Smart” Devices and AI Apps Have a Legal Duty to Report on You?

Flashback: The Lawyer in the Box.

LIFE IN THE BIDEN ERA: Treachery! White House Moves to Strangle U.S. Ammunition Supply.

READER FAVORITE: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. #CommissionEarned

SKYNET FRIES: A technique to teach bimanual robots stir-fry cooking.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: A “socialist high school teacher” from Hawaii said anti-grooming Republicans want to “show kids porn.” What happened next is … well, I guess it’s not surprising.

3RD CAVALRY REGIMENT ON A STARRY NIGHT AT FORT IRWIN: I should have put this photo up several days ago. A machine gunner spins a light with the Milky Way above. The staff sergeant who took it has a fine eye with a sci-fi feel.

I QUESTION WHETHER THIS IS SUPPORTED BY SCIENCE. Children ages 6 months through 5 years can now get the COVID vaccine, CDC announces.

RUSSIAN NAVY VIOLATES DANISH TERRITORIAL WATERS: And of course denies it. This report is from Reuters:

A Russian warship early on Friday twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior officials and business people was taking place, the Danish Armed Forces said.

Denmark called the action an unacceptable provocation. The Russian embassy in Copenhagen said the Danes provided no evidence.

The report has more details but this factoid deserves attention: “Ukraine’s defence minister said last month that Ukraine had started receiving Harpoon missiles from Denmark…” The report also notes two Harpoon missiles struck a Russian tug in the Black Sea.

For historical context, review my 2015 column The Bluff Attack On Bornholm: Kremlin Tests NATO Solidarity. The column discusses a mid-June 2014 “bluff” attack on Bornholm by Russian aircraft armed with live missiles.

The Bornholm faux-attack reprised Soviet Cold War “tests” of Danish defenses and is but one of a score of serious Russian military probes since 2008 designed to rattle Northern Europe.

Fake attack by armed Russian aircraft in mid-June 2014, sea violations by a Russian warship in mid-June 2022. An island folk festival was occurring in 2014; this year Denmark billed it as a folk festival celebrating democracy. A festival insures there’ll lots of civilians to frighten and extra media as well.

The 2015 column noted: “…Putin-era Kremlin belligerence has sparked a sea change in Sweden. When regional powers make political demands, smaller nations always react. Often they accommodate, perhaps appease. However, when a regional power actually pulls its sabers — and especially when the bully makes territorial threats — good golly, sometimes the small nations don’t cower.”

Putin has become more vicious — and Sweden and Finland want to join NATO.

More on Bornholm’s location and importance: “Located in the Baltic Sea east of peninsular Denmark, north of Poland’s coast and to the rear of what was East Germany, Bornholm gave the Free World [an] outpost north of and behind Warsaw Pact lines.”

UPDATE: The Mirror has a picture of the Russian naval vessel off Bornholm.

BYRON YORK: The 39.9% president. “Yes, it’s entirely possible that the president’s rating will nose above 40% — it has done that before when he briefly dipped into the 30s — but Biden seems mired in a world in which about 40% or less of voters approve of the job he is doing and about 55% of voters disapprove. How could it be otherwise? With prices rising 8.6% on an annualized basis in May — the price of groceries up 11.9%, gas up 48.7%, used cars up 16.1% — voters by far say that inflation is the most serious problem facing the nation today. And now the Federal Reserve, in a bid to bring inflation under control, has raised interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point, the biggest increase in almost 30 years, which greatly increases the risk of a recession.”

SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Grief after death of spouse can lead to major health problems, death.

WHEW, THAT’S A RELIEF! Yellen says recession not ‘inevitable,’ despite ‘unacceptably high’ inflation.

HISTORY: Inside the vanished world of SoCal’s cruising scene when Camaros and Corvettes roared down Van Nuys Boulevard, gas was 33 cents, and barefoot blondes and brunettes sat on hoods during the summer of ’72. Lit by the dying embers of the Golden Quarter-Century.

“IT’S HIS FAULT, PERIOD:” Joe Biden’s tampon shortage.

WELCOME BACK, CARTER! Joe Biden’s Bike Fall Checks the Final Item on the Jimmy Carter Narrative List.