GOOD: Joel Kotkin: Class War Isn’t Working Out for the Democrats. “So why are Democrats, the putative party of the people, so disconnected from their historic base? One reason may be that, for many in their increasingly well-educated pool of support, things are going swimmingly. Pollster Scott Rasmussen has done a deep dive on ‘the one percent’—urban dwellers with post-graduate degrees and incomes over $150,000. These, by a four-to-one margin, support Joe Biden and his climate policies and progressive agenda. These professionals, particularly women, are increasingly the base of the Democratic Party.”

FLASHBACK: Rock band The Slants’ frontman, Simon Tam, knows more about free speech than CNN.

COLLUSION: RealClearInvestigations: ‘Sue and Settle’ Looks to Some Like Crony Democracy. And Under Biden’s Lawfaring Eco-Politics, It’s Back.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG: HSBC stock falling on $3B hit from China operations.

Also unimportant and unworthy of attention: China Bans Stock Selling At Market Open, Close; Limits Shorting.

OPEN THREAD: Hump Day.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese rocket engine startup Space Circling secures funding.

FIGHT THE POWER:

BREAKING: National Ms Society just released a statement backtracking on the entire story saying they were WRONG and APOLOGIZE to the 90-year-old volunteer who they forced to step down over pronouns.

“We realize now that we made a mistake.” “As an organization, we fell short.”… https://t.co/rhNSSPKQxo pic.twitter.com/5XJJjgdamm

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 21, 2024

UPDATE:

After doubling down a couple of times saying that they were correct, they apparently faced a massive backlash that threatened their revenue stream. So now they’re contrite.

This isn’t an apology. It’s a plea forget what they did so they can get back to business as usual.

It’s…

— Phillip Jackson (@PEJ1952) February 21, 2024

TAR, FEATHERS. MAYBE WORSE. Here We Go Again: US, China to Collaborate on Making Bird Flu More Infectious.

THEY’RE ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: Dwarf Planets at Our Solar System’s Frozen Edge Could Be Hiding Warm Oceans.

I THINK THEY MEAN “INHABITED,” NOT “HABITABLE.” Titan, Saturn’s Largest Moon, Most Likely Not Habitable. “A study led by Western astrobiologist Catherine Neish shows the subsurface ocean of Titan – the largest moon of Saturn – is most likely a non-habitable environment, meaning any hope of finding life in the icy world is dead in the water.”

MICROBIOME NEWS: “Gut Health” claims are exaggerated. Gut health is important, but “gut health” cookies are still cookies.

TRUTH: “But, as we know, the anti-gun movement isn’t after solutions. They’re after guns.”

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER PRICE DROP: Starting at $57,345, it’s a tremendous price drop from the last model back in 2021.

HMM: Israel’s Gaza War Compared to the 1991 US Gulf War.

WELL, GOOD: Blocking key protein may halt progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

THIS IS KIND OF COOL: Delta Airlines offers flight in path of April 8 solar eclipse. “To celebrate the next solar eclipse on April 8, Delta Air Lines is offering a flight from Austin, Texas, to Detroit to give passengers time in the path of totality.”

IT’S REAL: Experts raising awareness of anorexia in boys and men.

MARK PULLIAM REVIEWS ROGER SIMON’S NEW BOOK, American Refugees.

HOW ARE THINGS GOING? SHOT:

The strategic idea is apparently to support Ukraine at a level short of destabilizing victory over Russia, while making things as excruciating for the Kremlin as possible.https://t.co/IfOvFij4VI

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) February 19, 2024

Chaser:

History's "hold my beer" moment.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) February 18, 2024

Beer, prune juice, pudding cup, whatever.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH THOUGHTS: We Are Too Good for DEI: Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that portray Black Americans as perpetual victims aren’t doing us any favors.

SO HE’S DEMANDING THAT HAMAS SURRENDER? Prince William Goes Rogue: Calls for End of War in Gaza.

Of course not. Somehow that obvious solution is always left out.

RIGGED: Government-Backed Censors Who Rigged The 2020 Election Are Now Stealing 2024. “But this isn’t a thing of the past. All of the censorship infrastructure described above is still intact, still functioning, and is firing on all cylinders right now ahead of the 2024 election. If anything, the censorship-industrial complex is more robust than it was four years ago.”

NEW YORK’S WAR ON BUSINESS. The political winds shift unpredictably, and no one can know that they’re safe, or will be in a few years. The only winning move is not to play, and I expect a lot of businesses will make that move. “Engoron has also decreed that Trump is not allowed to ‘do business’ in New York, which includes borrowing from his previous lenders to pay the money for this bond. In other words, Engoron has both levied an excessive fine against Trump, while simultaneously forbidding him from obtaining enough in loans to pay for the bond to protest the excessive fine. . . . Ah, but don’t worry about New York going after all the other big businessmen who routinely evaluate their properties at the outer limits of plausibility — Kathy Hochul admits that this is a political prosecution directed at one single political enemy and will never be used against anyone else.”

Related: The Fix Is In: The $455M ‘Poison Pill’ in Trump Judgment.

THAT’S A GOOD WAY TO FOMENT AN INSURRECTION: Stop ‘insurrection’ threat with gun control: Johns Hopkins report.

HARVARD IS SUCH A CESSPIT OF ANTISEMITISM: Harvard faculty group backtracks after sharing ‘despicable’ anti-Semitic Instagram post.