IT’S ALWAYS A CRIME NOT TO COMPLY WITH THE DEMANDS OF TYRANTS:

Notice that nobody is citing any actual lies that Twitter is alleged to have spread in Brazil. The offense vs Elon is now "obstruction of justice".https://t.co/7o97Phz2pj

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) April 12, 2024

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: TOP MEN? US Navy Deletes Tweet of USS McCain Captain Shooting Backwards Scoped AR.

Related: Now-Deleted Navy Photo Is So Bad Even the Space Force Called It Out.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Japan and NASA plan a historic lunar RV roadtrip together: It would be the first time a non-American lands on the moon.

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: Prestigious cancer research institute has retracted 7 studies amid controversy over errors.

BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: Toxicologist, nutritionist on what to know about potential health risks of Lunchables.

WHERE COULD ALL THOSE NEW CASES BE COMING FROM? CDC: Surge in U.S. measles cases threatens elimination status.

GOOD: House Republicans Move to Terminate ‘Rotten’ DEI Programs.

WHY IS HIGHER EDUCATION SUCH A CESSPIT OF BIGOTRY? Quinnipiac Law scholarship excludes heterosexual males, faces Title IX complaint. “‘A law school should know better than to discriminate on the basis of sex,’ scholar responds.” Ya think? Someone should talk to the accreditors.

CRISIS BY DESIGN: The Collapse in Law Enforcement: As Arrest Rates Plummet, People Have Been Less Willing to Report Crime.

VANITY FAIR: Inside the Terrifyingly Competent Trump 2024 Campaign.

Don Surber: Trump has them on the run. “It helps having a campaign manager who isn’t married to the man who most wants Trump to lose.”

HIM AND BARACK OBAMA: OJ Simpson’s terrible legacy is the shameless way he weaponized race.

Related: “I think in the barbershops today, Black people are saying, ‘he got away with it, but the police got away with killing a lot more of us.’ That’s the mentality.”

HE’S NOT WRONG: Georgia lieutenant governor slams Fani Willis as new prosecutor enters fray: ‘Mockery of this legal process.’

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: As Bob Casey Distances Himself From Summer Lee’s Anti-Israel Rhetoric, She Boasts His Endorsement.

DAVID LAT ON THE BERKELEY PROTEST:

So at the end of the day, after the UVA and UC Berkeley protests, I’m left with this question: what’s the purpose of protest?

Is it about public persuasion, winning over the hearts and minds of the undecided people on any given issue? If so, then a UVA-style protest is the way to go. Most outside observers would read about what happened at the Chemerinsky home, identify with the Chemerinskys, and think less of both the protesters and any cause they’re pushing. This is especially true in the legal profession, which is culturally conservative, i.e., more focused on rules and decorum than many other fields.

I have similar concerns about the effectiveness of pro-Palestine protests that blocked the Holland Tunnel in New York and the Bay Bridge in San Francisco for hours, causing hours of traffic delays. If I’m a commuter—perhaps a working-class commuter, who might be docked pay or fired for being late to my job—will protests like that persuade me that the pro-Palestinian cause is just? Or are they just going to make me angry at the protesters?

But in the year 2024 on a university campus, maybe protest isn’t about public persuasion, but performance. And that performativity is for the benefit not of the public, but of the protesters—who get to congratulate themselves on how they took bold action to bring attention to serious injustice.

It’s about harassment and intimidation, not about persuasion. “No justice, no peace” isn’t a request, any more than “your money or your life.”

Related: Students Don’t Have a Right to Use Public University Social Events for Their Own Political Orations, whether at administrators’ homes or in law school classrooms.

For Erwin Chemerinsky, welcome to the party, pal. You were warned.

JUST LET IT DIE: House GOP considers backup FISA plan to sunset spy tool after stunning floor defeat.

IS ANYONE SURPRISED? The Fed Worked to Take Down Trump?

JAMES PETHOKOUKIS: My chat (+transcript) with Steve Obenschain of LaserFusionX on laser fusion.

GOOD FOR HER: JK Rowling to Radcliffe, Watson: Go Stuff Yourselves. “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”

BUT IF YOU’RE STILL A NEVER TRUMPER ARE YOU CAPABLE OF THOUGHT? Kurt Schlichter: Time to Rethink Your Never-Trumpism. “This is getting real. This is life and death. Not just for cops and soldiers, but maybe even for you and your family.”

Plus: “Now, this column isn’t directed towards the professional Never Trumper dorks, the treacherous weirdos who make a living off of going on MSNBC and selling out their former allies. This is for the Republicans who have thought about it and have a real problem with Donald Trump. I get it, even if I don’t agree. I would not particularly like voting for somebody who I don’t like. However, I like Donald Trump and will eagerly support him following his victory over my primary candidate, Ron DeSantis. But sometimes you need to do things you would rather not do. You have to let go of the anger. Even the governor got on board and endorsed the president once the primary results became clear.”

JEFFREY CARTER: The Withering and Shrinking Middle Class: It’s Why Trump Has Traction, And Why Biden Wants to Crush Them.

Flashback: Why Team Biden might be purposefully grinding down the middle class.

OPEN THREAD: So get to work.

GOOD: FAA: no current plans to tax commercial space launches.

PERSONALLY, I THINK THE “GREAT FILTER” IS SEX, BUT THAT’S NOT INCONSISTENT: AI Could Explain Why We’re Not Meeting Any Aliens, Wild Study Proposes.

HMM. EVEN IF SO, BIDEN IS NO LINCOLN. On Abortion, Donald Trump Goes The Way Of Stephen A. Douglas.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Anti-Israel students walk out to demand the right to disrupt others’ education: ‘We’ll disrupt till you divest!’

That’s basically a terroristic threat, you know. It’s not about persuasion, but intimidation. Punish them for their disruptions until they do better.