HIS RULE HAS NOT BEEN NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL:

When you look at Putin and his entourage in China, you just see a broken servant who asks for another bowl from his master. It is pathetic in so many ways. Russia, which was once calling the shots in East Asia and subverted and stole from Qing-China when dictating the Treaty of… pic.twitter.com/aH8eLtvrSC

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) May 17, 2024

THE SCORPION IS STILL A SCORPION AND A FROG IS STILL A FROG: No, left-leaning bully Andrew Cuomo hasn’t suddenly changed his spots.

WHY WOULD THEY DEPRIVE PEOPLE OF TIKTOK’S WISDOM?

@didyousayjenn #stitch with @Jordon Bearb #tiktok #mri #wtf #hilarious ♬ original sound – DidyousayJenn

OPEN THREAD: Happy Friday.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Blue Origin will launch these 6 passengers May 19, on its 1st crewed mission since 2022.

SO BY BANNING MENTHOL CIGARETTES, BIDEN IS CONDEMNING BLACK PEOPLE TO DEMENTIA: Unexpected Connection Between Menthol And Alzheimer’s Discovered in Mice. “It seems the chemical compound can stop some of the damage done to the brain that’s usually associated with the disease.”

IS THERE ANYTHING AI CAN’T DO? AI-Powered Fusion: The Key to Limitless Clean Energy.

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: Plant-based meat alternatives are trying to exit the culture wars – an impossible task?

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE: ‘Doctor Who’ Actor Tells Viewers To ‘Turn Off The TV’ If They Don’t Like Him – Viewership Drops By 50%.

Get woke, go broke. But they never learn.

WHEEL TO WHEEL: Rematch! Tesla Cybertruck vs. Porsche 911 Drag Race! (This Time It’s Not Rigged). The Tesla is towing a Porsche 911 while racing another Porsche 911.

STILL A FEW BUGS IN THE SELF-DRIVING SYSTEM: NHTSA Investigating Waymo for Collisions With Stationary Objects and Unsafe Driving.

THE VALUE OF EXERCISE: Consistent exercise changes how saturated fat is used by the body, study finds.

I’M EXPECTING A SPACE-SHATTERING KABOOM: ‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ exploding star expected to be visible before October.

WELL, GOOD: Roche’s experimental obesity drug shows promising early stage results.

THERE’LL BE A LOT OF REBRANDING GOING ON: ‘Pour Souls’ – Rebranding Bitter Clingers and Deplorables for the 2024 Election Cycle.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Harrison Butker, Harbinger?

UPDATE: Via a lefty friend’s Facebook page, here’s the full text of the speech, which my friend comments is much less objectionable than the press accounts. Yeah, go figure. He comments: “I don’t agree with it in its entirety, but I think that overall it’s splendid. And I think it’s a pretty good bet that of all the commencement speeches that will be given this year, this is the only one that will be remembered next year, and for quite a few years to come.”

WELL, BYE: ‘Hundreds’ of Columbia faculty to go on strike if police not removed from campus.

PSYCHO: Masked pro-Hamas activists show up at UMich regents’ homes in middle of the night, lay ‘fake corpses’ on lawn: Anti-Israel occupiers at the University of Michigan showed up at the homes of several regents early Wednesday morning and “staged protests,” by setting up an encampment on their lawn.

WHY IS HARVARD SUCH A CESSPIT OF ANTISEMITISM? BECAUSE IT CHOOSES TO BE. Harvard Ignored Its In-House Anti-Semitism Panel and Failed To Address Student Harassment, Congressional Report Finds: Incidents of anti-Semitic harassment on Harvard campus were elevated to school’s top brass but left unaddressed.

FLIGHT FROM REALITY: Scottish Green Party Expels 13 Members for Saying ‘Sex Is a Biological Reality.’ Somewhere, the Gods of the Copybook Headings frown and nod. “Denial of objective truth is one of the signs of a society’s downfall.”

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Inside Bob Casey’s Troubling Relationship with Erdogan’s Best Friend in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “Murat Güzel, a prolific Democratic donor, credits Bob Casey with helping him get a start in politics. Casey’s wife, Terese, recently thanked Güzel for a $100,000 donation to another Pennsylvania committee.”

DON SURBER: The Summer of Correction: The political pendulum swings back like Miley Cyrus on a Wrecking Ball.

FASTER PLEASE: ‘Insubordination’: College President Suspended for Agreeing to Protesters.’

WELL, HE IS, OR AT LEAST THE PEOPLE BEHIND HIM ARE: Chaos Candidate: Voters increasingly view Joe Biden as the source of America’s unraveling. “Biden’s immigration and inflation policies have hit the working class hard. Poorer communities are less able to insulate themselves from the disruptions caused by mass migration, and inflation cuts deeper when you’re barely making ends meet. The polarizing identity politics favored by the administration serves as a signaling mechanism for the college-educated elite but alienates many blue-collar families.”

ELECTION INTERFERENCE AND DISINFORMATION: “The nation was largely denied information about the Biden family business in 2020, thanks to a compliant press corps, the censorship of social media, and a partisan cabal of former intelligence officials.”