AMERICANS DIDN’T WANT WORLD WAR I EITHER BUT WOODROW WILSON GAVE IT TO THEM: Pollster John Zogby warns against a Biden war ‘people have said they don’t want.’ But to be fair Wilson was smart enough to wait until after the election.

ICYMI: MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Biden and the Border: Are we approaching a Civil War?

As always, if you like these essays please consider a paid subscription.

A NEW CONSENSUS FORMS?

Agreed https://t.co/IgoByJAmqm

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) February 3, 2024

INDIA: A Triumphant Modi Consolidates His Power: In the meantime, Rahul Gandhi continues to bring down Congress Party.

I’m reading Andrew Wareham’s latest book, set in India in World War Two, and Mountbatten is predicting that India will be independent after the war, and that without the British to keep the Hindus and Muslims from going at each other’s throats things will be dicey. It did pretty much turn out that way, even after the (also predicted) partition leading to the creation of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

JOHN LUCAS: True to Its Nature, CNN Continues to Lie About the Border.

WALL STREET JOURNAL axes its entire PRC coverage team. Well, the WSJ already has one reporter in jail in Russia, so maybe hard-hitting reporting in dictatorships isn’t working out for them.

So if China isn’t a place that can where you can do straight reporting, it’s probably not a good place to invest.

THE RULES ARE NOT FOR THE NOMENKLATURA AND ITS TOOLS: Ex-White House advisor Andy Slavitt is refusing to comply with a subpoena over questions about how he tried to censor me and others in 2021. “Ignoring a similar subpoena got Trump advisor Peter Navarro convicted of contempt of Congress; but Biden’s Justice Department says it won’t prosecute Slavitt. Rules are for thee, not for Andy.”

MEH. IT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT DISCIPLINE AND INTELLIGENCE, BUT I KNOW PLENTY OF SMART LAWYERS WHO TOOK MORE THAN ONE TRY TO PASS THE BAR. 69% Of America’s ‘Best Lawyers’ Question The Competency Of Any Lawyer Who Has Difficulty Passing The Bar Exam.

As Ben Barton has demonstrated, the bar exam was introduced mostly to protect existing lawyers from new competition.

OPEN THREAD: It’s Saturday night.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China launches 20 satellites on separate inland and sea rocket launches.

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL: Antifungal Creams Could Be Triggering a Wave of Superfungal Skin Infections.

PUBLIC HEALTH SUFFERS FROM LOST TRUST: Measles, once controlled through widespread vaccination, is resurging due to misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. “The UK was deemed measles-free in 2016 but lost its status just two years later. And now there are rising case numbers across England, with significant outbreaks in London and the west Midlands.”

NOW OUT FROM ANDREW WAREHAM: The Last Campaign (Innocents No More Book 7).

IF YOU’RE BUYING “GAS STATION HEROIN” ISN’T IT BASICALLY JUST EVOLUTION IN ACTION? Synthetic pot detected in samples of ‘gas station heroin’ Neptune’s Fix.

I mean, I guess it’s safer than gas station sushi . . . .

OUR FOREIGN POLICY ELITES: Bring Back Playground Psychology: American foreign policymakers would be more successful if they relied more often on a few simple rules of human nature.

WELL, DUH: Survey Shows Auto Dealers Still Annoyed With Biden EV Strategy.

WHEN YOU’RE BOTH VARIETIES OF HOMO SAPIENS, IT’S NOT BESTIALITY: Neanderthals and modern humans intermingled in Europe 45,000 years ago.

STICK IT TO THE MAN: A camera-based anti-facial recognition technique. This isn’t the sort of thing I’m looking for, though.

WELL, GOOD: High efficacy and good safety profile for the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine in African children.

NOW OUT FROM KURT SCHLICHTER: The Attack.

FIGHT THE POWER: Suspended ‘Jeremy’s Chocolates’ professor cleared, returns to classroom.

WHY ARE LEFTY MOVEMENTS SUCH CESSPITS OF HATE AND BIGOTRY? Columbia queer/non-binary student group ‘derecognized’ due to antisemitism, racism.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Biden and the Border: Are we approaching a Civil War?

As always, if you like these essays please consider a paid subscription.

HIGHER EDUCTION BUBBLE UPDATE: MA cuts college degree requirements for 90% of state jobs.

NOW OUT FROM ANDREW WAREHAM: The Last Campaign (Innocents No More Book 7).