HAVE YOU NO SENSE OF DECENCY? NO DECENCY AT ALL? WATCH: ‘Why should I condemn anything?’ – Students for Justice in Palestine president refuses to condemn Hamas.

I SUPPOSE IT’S TOO MUCH TO HOPE THAT THEY’LL JUST DO AWAY WITH QUALIFIED IMMUNITY: “The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider what kind of evidence is needed to defeat a qualified immunity claim by government officials accused of engineering the retaliatory arrest of a new city council member who criticized the city manager. . . . Gonzalez is represented by the Institute for Justice. One of the group’s attorneys, Anya Bidwell, said in the press release Castle Hill, Texas, officials should not be allowed to use criminal laws “to launder First Amendment violations and create backdoor censorship.”

OUR INSTITUTIONS ARE RUN BY GARBAGE PEOPLE: American Federation of Teachers Affiliate Endorses Violence Against Israel.

THIS PREDICTION WAS SPOT-ON:

Also, worth keeping in mind that the "they-only-beheaded-some-of-the-babies" crowd will be quick to cite the death toll of Gazans with no "verification" other than from reports by the Gaza Health Ministry, an arm of Hamas.

— Adam Rubenstein (@RubensteinAdam) October 11, 2023

BECAUSE THEY’RE GARBAGE PEOPLE? How the educated elites became Hamas apologists: America’s top universities are consumed by Israel Derangement Syndrome.

WELL, THAT’S BECAUSE IT IS: Most say terror threat up under Biden.

HE’S NOT WRONG: GOP Rep Calls Rashida Tlaib ‘Disgusting Person’ Who ‘Has No Business Serving’ in Congress.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: The Historic Hamas-BLM Connection.

Related: Inside Black Lives Matter’s Long History With Hamas-Friendly Activists.

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER: Vows: The Modern Genius of an Ancient Rite.

OPEN THREAD: Express yourself.

SPACE: Launch industry asks Congress for regulatory reforms. “Industry officials used a Senate hearing to request reforms to the Federal Aviation Administration’s launch licensing process, warning of dire commercial and geopolitical implications if changes aren’t made.”

MICROBIOME NEWS: In a Huge First, Scientists Transfer Alzheimer’s to Healthy Young Animals. “The study also revealed specific bacteria in the gut are directly linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients. This highlights the gut microbiome as a key area of research for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and that could lead to new ways to treat the disease.”

THE TRUTH GETS ITS BOOTS ON: Video shows rocket fired from Gaza make sharp turn back before blast seen at hospital.

SOME PEOPLE DON’T LIKE THE NEW ADS. Sorry, the problem is that InstaPundit has been demonetized by Google, for unspecified “dangerous” content. Between the overall trend of ad revenue decline — which hits everyone — and the trend of cutting advertising to right-leaning sites, and now this, ad revenue is down about 90% from its high, I’d estimate, and it may get worse. (The Amazon revenue, which we’ve been phasing out anyway, is similar). At some point I’ll probably have to go to some sort of subscription model — maybe one that lets you buy out of the ads — or a purely donation-supported model.

In the meantime, if you’d like to support the blog you can donate via Stripe or subscribe (preferably paid!) to my Substack. It’s all much appreciated. (Bumped).

BREAKING: “Saint” Benitez Declares California “Assault Weapons” Ban Unconstitutional.

COLOR ME SKEPTICAL: New Research: The World May Have Crossed a Solar “Tipping Point.”

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE JOE’S ABILITY TO F*CK THINGS UP:

NEW: White House apologizes after Instagram post revealed the faces of Special Ops forces during Biden’s visit to Israel

“As soon as this was brought to our attention, we immediately deleted the photo. We regret the error and any issues this may have caused.” pic.twitter.com/RR2gHFl0DO

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 19, 2023

KURT SCHLICHTER: Academia Needs to Go Extinct. “Crises clarify what is true, and what is indisputably true during this crisis is that academia, as currently constituted, is a poisonous cancer infecting our society. Like many other institutions, academia has gone from respect to contempt in the eyes of normal people, if not our garbage ruling class. But its latest series of public disgraces may wake up even the most obstinate cheerleaders for pretending that nothing fundamental has changed.”

Plus:

But there was another aspect to this, one that is even more likely to change minds and hearts in the direction of reality. It is the realization by the people with an antiquated view of the universities that their kids are likely to never see the inside of a big name campus. Oh, the very richest kids’ spawn will. They will have no problem getting into the Harvards and Yales because daddy has $1 billion and just paid for the new wing of the Social Justice and Decolonization Department building. But regular folks, whose children aren’t able to check multiple boxes on the intersectionality form are out of luck. The big lie is that if you work hard enough and show merit, your kid can get in too. But your kid can’t. These are exclusive clubs, and your kid better stay outside the velvet rope because your kid is not on the VIP list.

Everyone recently saw that story of the A+ graduate with near perfect SATs who actually started his own company, and yet couldn’t get admitted into any of the top universities. He made the mistake of being Asian, which is a mistake on par with being some white kid from the suburbs. The colleges have decreed, and the awful wine women inhabiting their admissions departments concur, that if you were those things you don’t get a shot. Merit is dead for the designated undiverse. And when people realize that their kids are out of luck if they don’t have some bizarre gender identity or something else that makes them thrill the hearts of the Chardonnay-swillers who pick and choose the Ivy student bodies, these voters are going to say “Oh, hell no!” next time they are asked to subsidize academia both with tax money and respect.

We need a higher education sector that Looks Like America.

ANOTHER REASON WHY ALL BOND VILLAINS ARE EUROPEANS:

You know, besides the obvious one. That Ian Fleming was British and every supervillain of the 21st Century had a vaguely German accent.

But there’s another. It’s that these guys are really maniacal control freaks and creepy AF in real life. Fleming wouldn’t have to imagine a Le Chiffre or an Auric Goldfinger.

They get off private jets at every Davos meeting and congratulate each other for surviving another year, while being surrounded by people determined to stymie all their best intentions. Like, say, for instance, the middle class.

Yes.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Self-Checkout is a Failed Experiment.

YOU SHOULD HAVE AN INSURANCE PLAN WITH LAWYERS ON CALL, OR YOUR OWN LAWYER TO CALL: Personal Defense Tip: Don’t Just Ask For An Attorney In the Aftermath of a Defensive Gun Use.

BRAD THOMPSON: Order From Chaos.

HISTORY: Why societies experience cycles of violence and peace.

EAT YOUR WHEAT GERM: Spermidine found to rejuvenate oocyte quality by improving mitophagy during female reproductive aging.

THE GREAT EV BACKING-OFF CONTINUES: Proof the Next-Gen Dodge Charger Won’t Only Be Electric? A triplet of surreptitious factory floor photos show an apparently internal-combustion Charger variant.