A WIN FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: Court Prohibits California Regulators from Enforcing Private Investigator Licensing Law Against Anti-Spam Crusader.
Author Archive: Glenn Reynolds
July 12, 2024
MISCEGENATION ‘R’ US: ‘A history of contact’: Geneticists are rewriting the narrative of Neanderthals and other ancient humans. “This is the first time that geneticists have identified multiple waves of modern human-Neanderthal admixture.”
AREN’T “UNREALISTIC” STANDARDS THE WHOLE POINT OF AI-GENERATED IMAGERY? First “Miss AI” contest sparks ire for pushing unrealistic beauty standards: Influencer platform’s controversial contest awarded prizes to three nonexistent people.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA to strengthen ties with Japan, South Korea during week of meetings.
IF ONLY THERE WERE SOME WAY TO BRING THEM TOGETHER: Survey shows more than 1 in 5 people experience loneliness.
I AGREE:
post industrial society is a lie https://t.co/1xYF9YFeFE
— Aaron Slodov (@aphysicist) July 12, 2024
But finance is easier and less messy than manufacturing, or at least it seems to be.
TO BE FAIR, THE POINT OF THE MONEY ISN’T EDUCATING STUDENTS, IT’S GRIFT AND GRAFT AND VOTE-BUYING, AND THAT PART HAS SUCCEEDED BRILLIANTLY: Chicago Teachers Union fails to turn $68K per student into even 1 academic win. “Douglass Academy High School spends the most per student compared to any other school in CPS, according to the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2023 Report Card. With that kind of spending, one would expect academic proficiency to soar, but that’s not the case. The most recent test data available shows no 11th grade students could read or perform math at grade level on the SAT in the 2021-2022 school year, and 86% of tested students scored in the lowest proficiency level for reading.”
SOME PARTS OF AMERICA STILL WORK:
Falcon 9’s first stage lands on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, completing our 70th mission of the year! pic.twitter.com/PKxveAEju5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2024
BYRON YORK: What Youngkin would bring to a Trump ticket.
LOL: Dems, Media Begin Captain Louis Renault Award Contest Over Declinin’ Biden.
Related: A Short History of the Coverup. “I have been pounding the drum on what I think is the most important thing to focus on right now, and it’s not the decline of the president. Everybody knows that, can see it, and it is baked into the cake. What conservatives need to do is open everybody’s eyes to the real villains in this story, and that is the mainstream media.”
Plus:
Forget Hijacking Air Force One. The president was in a sense, missing.https://t.co/w8KJdQvVfU
— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) July 12, 2024
UPDATE: A friend writes:
Big boy. What are these people thinking?
OK, let me rephrase that. Big boy. What are these people…
No, that’s all I got.
Are they out of their fucking minds?
Imagine the flaming media cyclone if Trump ever billed anything “big boy.”
Like, before you get to how drool-cup/bring out your dead that looks to actual Americans?
“Are they out of their fucking minds?” was rhetorical, btw.
Woke politics makes you stupid.
#JOURNALISM: New: WI Radio Station Edited Biden Interview After White House Intervention.
Think of them as Democratic Party operatives who follow orders and you won’t be far wrong.
TO BE FAIR, THAT’S THE GOAL: Excessive Calls for Recusal Threaten Judicial Independence. “In this latest trend of coordinated recusal attacks, however, I see a much more malicious and dangerous long-term objective. These unfounded attacks are ultimately aimed at undermining the independence of the federal judiciary as a whole. . . . This is a well-financed and coordinated effort to lay the foundation for calls for court packing and other reform measures that would destroy the judiciary’s independence.”
EXPERT THINKS J.D. VANCE IS THE VP PICK:
The three reported finalists for vice presidential nominee are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, North Dakoka Gov. Doug Burgum and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
Christopher Devine, an associate political science professor at the University of Dayton, has written two books on the impact running mates have on a ticket.
Devine said vice presidential candidates can influence voters by providing a boost based on geography or demographics. For instance, a running mate night help deliver their home state, while a woman or candidate of color might rally voters who see themselves in the V.P. nominee.
However, Devine said those affects tend to be minimal. A more significant impression the running mate leaves is as a reflection of the presidential candidate’s judgement.
“Who they pick tells you something about their priorities in politics,” Devine said. “It tells you about how serious they are in terms of the decisions that they make.”
Devine said a V.P. nominee is most impactful when the presidential candidate isn’t particularly well-known, pointing to the 2008 campaign when voters who didn’t closely follow politics probably didn’t know much about either Barack Obama or John McCain.
He said polling showed voters thought less of McCain’s judgement after he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin, and her series of speaking gaffes, contrasted with Obama’s running mate, then-longtime Senator Joe Biden.
Well, that’s not a mark in favor of voters’ judgment.
REMAIN CALM. ALL IS WELL! PepsiCo, After Years of Price Hikes, Sounds an Alarm on Consumer Spending: Frito-Lay North America reports 4% drop in sales volume, warns that consumers are looking for more deals.
Inflation-weary shoppers are finally cutting back on potato chips.
For the past few years as prices soared, many consumers kept buying affordable treats like Doritos and Lay’s in lieu of bigger-ticket splurges such as restaurants, concerts or travel. But now, they are limiting their spending in all areas, said Jamie Caulfield, PepsiCo’s chief financial officer. . . .
Inflation in the U.S. is moderating but consumers are feeling the cumulative impact of years of steep price hikes, particularly in their grocery bills. Consumers in recent months have been pulling away from big brands like Starbucks, Chips Ahoy and McDonald’s.
Shares of Conagra Brands declined in Thursday trading after the maker of Slim Jim meat snacks and Vlasic pickles reported lower sales for its latest quarter and issued a disappointing profit outlook for its current fiscal year. . . . Shoppers are now less interested in buy-one-get-one-free promotions and want lower price points for single items, Caulfield added.
Everything is going swimmingly.
July 11, 2024
I’M WITH ELON: Thermonuclear Blasts and New Species: Inside Elon Musk’s Plan to Colonize Mars.
As Robert Heinlein (PBUH) said, Earth is too fragile a basket to hold all of humanity’s eggs.
Flashback: The urgency of space colonization.
Also: James Fallows: The Coming Age of Space Colonization. Now that Elon is a Designated Party Enemy, The Atlantic probably wouldn’t give this topic such a sympathetic treatment, but this was in 2013.
OPEN THREAD: Yo, baby, yo. Good to go.
LOL, JEN RUBIN:
How is she a real person?
— D.E. (@tkdylan) July 12, 2024
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese commercial rocket firm suffers 4th launch failure.
It’s okay to blow up rockets, so long as you learn from each failure.
HERE WE GO: House Oversight Subpoenas Biden’s Handlers.
RUNNING VS. WALKING: Does Walking to Work Burn The Same Calories as Running? Here’s The Science.