MATT TAIBBI: Embracing the Joy: With new Russiagate charges and raids all around, learning to love police, paranoia, and surveillance is the new self-help program.

OPEN THREAD: Because I love you and want you to be happy.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China’s secretive reusable spaceplane lands after 267 days in orbit.

FASTER, PLEASE: Human Defenses Against Viruses First Evolved Billions of Years Ago, Study Suggests.

SKYNET STIRS: Scientists Combine Quantum Internet With Conventional Internet in Landmark Discovery.

SENSORY DEPRIVATION: Study of older patients suggests 1 in 5 cases of dementia may be attributable to vision impairment. “Prior research has found that there may be a connection between hearing loss in aging people and the onset of dementia. In a new study, a team of health care researchers and geriatric specialists affiliated with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Michigan and the Duke University School of Medicine surveyed patient health care records and reported that approximately 1 in 5 cases of dementia could also be attributable to vision impairment in community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 71 years or older.”

A SHORT RANGE VEHICLE IS A GOOD USE OF EV TECHNOLOGY: First Drive: The Electric Moke Is a Cracking Good Time.

REMEMBER, ONLY TRAINED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS CAN BE TRUSTED WITH GUNS: Florida Deputy’s Sig P320 Sold For $40 On Cash App After Being Found In Restroom.

What, is he trying to join the Capitol Police?

WOEING: Why the return of Boeing’s Starliner is a hollow victory for crisis-hit company: There is a wider culture problem at Boeing, with staff leaving in droves for the likes of SpaceX and Blue Origin, experts say.

When you take a company that’s about engineering, and turn it over to accountants and MBAs, things go badly.

UNHEEDED WARNINGS: Mother of Mass Shooting Suspect Called High School with Warning.

KEEP KILLING HAMAS UNTIL IT HAPPENS. Hundreds of thousands march across Israel to demand return of hostages.

Unconditional surrender, baby, just like in WWII and the American Civil War.

HAVE YOU NOTICED THEY NEVER CALL NON-WESTERNERS WAR CRIMINALS? Anti-Israel Harvard students condemn new vice president: ‘War criminals not welcome.’

TO BE FAIR, IT’S MEANT TO: Stanford profs condemn DEI at school, say it can lead to anti-Semitism: ‘Rather than correcting stereotypes, diversity training too often reinforces them and breeds resentment,’ the professors wrote. “A DEI official at Stanford had allegedly condemned Jews as possessing ‘immense power and privilege.’”

LULA IS A CRIMINAL AND A DICTATOR: Brazilians Take to Streets to Protest Ban on Elon Musk’s X.

Tens of thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets of Brazil’s biggest city Saturday on the country’s Independence Day to rally against the government and protest the Supreme Court’s ban of Elon Musk’s social-media platform X.

Scores of conservative politicians joined the demonstrations, many accusing the court of trying to censor the right-leaning opposition ahead of municipal elections on Oct. 6, when voters will pick mayors and local representatives in thousands of cities and towns.

The protest served as something of an indicator on whether Bolsonaro, whose term ended 20 months ago, still has the ability to draw support as the opposition prepares for the coming vote and future elections.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes banned X on Aug. 30 after a monthslong battle with Musk over the tech mogul’s refusal to take down accounts by conservatives that the judge accused of spreading hate speech and misinformation online.

As always, “spreading hate speech and disinformation” basically means “telling the truth about the regime.”

TO BE FAIR, IT NEVER HAS: Democrats’ rule of law rhetoric doesn’t match reality.

THIS IS SUCH A MORONIC CLAIM IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE ANYONE TAKES IT SERIOUSLY: No, Churchill Was Not the Villain.

JEFFREY CARTER: Sovereign Wealth Funds: A Dumb Idea. “Trump and the Democrats have come up with the idea that America should have a sovereign wealth fund. Plenty of other countries have them. However, just because plenty of other countries have them doesn’t mean America should have one. It’s a dumb idea.”

SILENCE OF THE KAMS: Axios: Gee, Mainstream Media Sure Isn’t Demanding Answers from Kamala, Huh?

OPEN THREAD: Have a nice Saturday night.

PROGRESS: SpaceX satellites with Tesat terminals achieve first laser data exchange for U.S. military.

SPACE: NASA Deploys Sail of Experimental Spacecraft Propelled Purely by Light.

PROBABLY NOT A SIGN OF SOCIETAL HEALTH: The Great Escape: How Adults Are Turning to Psychedelics and Pot at Record Levels.

YES, I HAVE TO GET ONE WITH A LARGE CUFF: Cuffs on at-home blood pressure monitors might not fit properly. “Use of an incorrect arm cuff size is one of the more important sources of predictable error during blood pressure measurement.”

JOHN LUCAS: Kamala Harris has claimed that her “values have not changed.” Let’s take a look at that.

AMERICA: August Gun Sales Up Almost 6% Over 2023 As the Election Nears.