IT’S A BIG BOOST TO PUTIN: In Pathetic POTATUS Pander, WH Pulls LNG Football Just Before Winning Kick. “This neat little maneuver has boned both our own fossil fuel industry and our European allies – a twofer.”

Remember when they told us that Trump would alienate our allies with self-centered, bullying diplomacy?

Related:

We may be having the greatest Constitutional crisis in 160 years, as 26 states face off against the Feds – but there is an effective news blackout, outside of X. Why?

1. Confirmation this is a factional dispute.
2. Confirmation the "media" is pure propaganda, not news.

1/ pic.twitter.com/YvAb1jjEZ6

— Labrador Skeptic (@SaysSimulation) January 26, 2024

A friend comments about the above: “Here is an interesting thread that posits there is no media narrative (or media) around these events in part because relevant elites aren’t on the same page. So there aren’t orders to take. This is on top of the normal explanation that this is bad for Biden’s election and it’s bad for the regime generally to magnify state powers and sovereignty. It would be interesting if the GOP Govs can make another move that 1) doesn’t remove Biden’s requirement to make a decision about the border, but which 2) places a new complication or wrinkle right before the regime is able to hit its border decision point.”

And another observes: “The Biden White House is not sure what to do. They correctly perceive themselves as having few clean options, and choosing one will mean adjudication of disputes among irreconcilable factions within their coalition: the identity radicals, the open-borders ideologues, the big-city mayors, and/or the actual general-election voters they require. Tough calls. Very analogous to their dilemma with Israel: when you have no real core principles, coalition management can paralyze if you’re bad at it. I think they’ll thread the needle with selective prosecutions.”

That does seem to be their go-to.

BOB MCMANUS: Andrew Cuomo plots comeback with border attacks on Biden.

SKYNET SMILES: Scientists Develop Artificial Muscle Device That Produces Force 34 Times Its Weight. “Artificial muscles imitate human muscles and provide flexible and natural movements compared to traditional motors.”

MAYBE IT’S ALL THE LYING? JUST SPITBALLING HERE. Why 21st-century Science is failing the public’s trust. Answer: self-inflicted wounds. The problems are fixable, but public trust will continue to erode until science cleans up its act. Let’s discuss.

Related: The Suicide of Expertise.

HMM: CDC: More American women dying after Dominican Republic cosmetic surgery. “Traveling to other countries for cosmetic surgery is increasingly common due to the lower costs and shorter wait times.”

Missing: Any comparison of U.S. and Dominican Republic complication rates.

I’VE BEEN BLOGGING ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS: Donating blood is good for your health. Here’s why.

THE ENEMY WITHIN: U.N. Aid Agency Investigates Claim That Some Workers Were Involved in Oct. 7 Attack: The United States temporarily cut off aid to UNRWA, the agency that aids Palestinians, citing allegations that 12 of its workers were involved in the Hamas-led assault.

WOW: Consumer Reports Absolutely Shreds New Chevy Blazer EV In Negative Review.

SWATTING IS A TECH PROBLEM THAT COULD BE SOLVED IF PEOPLE CARED. MAYBE WITH STUFF LIKE THIS THEY’LL START TO CARE. Election cybersecurity director was a victim of a ‘swatting’ attack in her home.

I notice that the press seems to care more now that it’s Democrats getting hit with this.

MAKE THEM PAY: Law prof who bashed the DEI ‘hive mind’ sues Ohio Northern University, saying he was humiliated and sacked at sham hearing for ‘not bending the knee to diversity.’

GOOD: Single dose typhoid conjugate vaccine found to provide lasting efficacy in children.

RACISM IS EVERYWHERE: Alcoholics Anonymous more likely to benefit White Americans.

MATT TAIBBI: Is the Electoral Fix Already In? The 2024 presidential race increasingly looks like it will be decided by lawyers, not voters, as Democrats unveil plans for America’s first lawfare election.

As they continue with their game of Civilizational Jenga, the ruling class seems excessively convinced that the populace will just go along.

GOOD QUESTION: Can anything save Boeing from its management?

One of the big lessons of recent years is how much damage bad management can do, and how fast it can do it. And that even basic competence cannot be taken for granted, even (especially?) among people with accepted credentials.

CHANGE: Florida drops sociology from gen ed courses, bans DEI spending.

WHY IS HIGHER ED SUCH A CESSPIT OF HYPOCRISY AND HATE? Harvard prof who signed letter accusing Israel of running ‘regime of apartheid’ appointed to anti-Semitism task force.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Navigating the Collapse of Credentialism: No wonder people don’t trust the experts.

Flashback: The Suicide of Expertise.

BILL ACKMAN WEIGHS IN ON THE BORDER:

Please read the below letter. I find the @FBI agents’ message irrefutable and extremely concerning.

It is shocking that @POTUS is fighting Texas’ attempt to protect our southern border.

Why aren’t Federal agents protecting our border rather than fighting to keep the border… https://t.co/y2flahOqA6

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) January 26, 2024

Related: Don Surber: A World War, Not a Civil War. The gatekeepers opened the gate and divided Western nations.

ELECTIONS: Voters: ‘Bidenomics’ a loser, will help Trump win.

DEMOCRATS FOMENTING ANTISEMITISM: Jamaal Bowman Accused Israel of Genocide. Now, Vandals Are Defacing Jewish Businesses in His District With the Same Message.

PARASITES TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE HOST: Government Workers Are Trying to Take Over Congress Now.

AT 91, PAUL EHRLICH IS STILL ALIVE DESPITE HIS EXPRESSED FEARS OF A POPULATION EXPLOSION: Fewer and faster: Global fertility isn’t just declining, it’s quickly collapsing.

ANOTHER LEFTY BRAND SELF-DESTRUCTS: TED Fellows Resign after Bill Ackman, Bari Weiss Invited to Speak at Conference.

Five participants in the TED fellows program, which supports and promotes emerging voices in a variety of fields across the globe, resigned Wednesday after the public-speaking organization invited hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman and journalist Bari Weiss to speak at its 2024 flagship conference in Vancouver. The five fellows — self-described inventor Ayah Bdeir, filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky, cosmologist Renée Hlozek, artist Sarah Sandman, and astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz — sent a letter to TED leader Chris Anderson and fellows program director Lily James Olds. Titled “TED Fellows refuse to be associated with genocide apologists,” the letter accused TED of choosing “not only to align itself with enablers and supporters of genocide, but to amplify their racist propaganda.”

They can’t even use words correctly. No loss.

JOHN LUCAS: The Press Misleads – The Supreme Court has not Eliminated Texas’ Right to Defend Its Property. “The Court’s order vacated an injunction previously entered by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that had prohibited the Government from damaging or destroying Texas’ wire. The Supreme Court’s order has been the subject of widespread and sometimes fiery commentary. However, the press and commentators are misanalysing the order. Governor Abbott and Texas are still free to prevent the feds from cutting their wire. The Supreme Court’s order does not forbid that. The press is misleading you. . . . The reason that the press and other commentators and critics are incorrect is that they apparently fail to understand the limited effect of vacating an injunction. After the Supreme Court’s order vacating the injunction, the status quo was the same as it was prior to the TRO ever being entered: There is no court order prohibiting the Government from taking down the wire AND there likewise is no Supreme Court order or opinion saying that the Government had a right to take down the wire. Nor is there an order by any court that Texas cannot protect its own property, namely the concertina wire.”

I believe he’s right about that. One small correction: The Texas State Guard (not to be confused with the Texas National Guard) is indeed immune to federal control, but it is not a “state militia.” It is better understood as troops raised with the consent of Congress under Article I section 10 of the Constitution.

UPDATE: Andrew McCarthy: It Is Not Texas That’s Defying the Law — It’s Biden. “When it is said that the states must comply with federal law, that means statutory law, not the whims of the executive branch. Biden’s policy is not federal law. Federal law, which the president refuses to faithfully execute, calls for detention. As I have explained before, Biden’s actions are in gross violation of the law.”

HEH: Will You Aliens Please Continue to Hold the Real Fetterman? His Doppleganger Is Based AF.