THAT’S DISAPPOINTING: In stunning defeat, House Republicans fail to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas over border. “GOP Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Ken Buck (R-CO) broke with their party and voted in defense of Mayorkas. All Democrats voted against the impeachment articles. The fourth GOP no, Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), came as a procedural move so the conference could bring the articles back for a vote at a later time.”

ARNOLD KLING: Boomer Nostalgia: Why we miss the culture we rebelled against.

You can be nostalgic for the rebellion, and still realize that the culture you rebelled against was, overall, better than the one you replaced it with. I believe that’s started to occur to some people, including those too young to be Boomers.

PRIORITIES: What Harvard Needs: Free Hair Care for Black Students.

ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Is Lip Balm Addiction Real?

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China allegedly dispatches ‘world first’ in-orbit AI commercial hypersatellite: The hypersatellite is allegedly an integrated sensing network satellite that contains a sixth-generation ‘brain system.’

I LIKE A STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING: Texas Homeowner Goes WWE on Armed Burglar, Kills Him with Defensive Choke Hold.

THEY’RE ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: New species of Jurassic pterosaur discovered on the Isle of Skye.

HMM: Are body temperature and depression linked? New study says, yes.

IF DRUGS MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO BE SLIM, WILL SKINNINESS LOSE ITS CACHET? Durable Weight Loss Follows Just a Few Injections of Novel Drug.

SPACE: Study: Large space reflectors could boost solar farms on Earth.

HEALTH: Obese people can lower blood pressure with weight-loss drug Zepbound.

“SMART DIPLOMACY:”

If Congress can’t muster the ability to renew these Compacts, Washington will jeopardize its own military posture in the Indo-Pacific. We’ll also imperil our credibility.

An entirely avoidable case of self-sabotage. Or at least, it should be. https://t.co/sktf2CZfnG

— Michael Sobolik (@michaelsobolik) February 5, 2024

China will take advantage, and may already be.

MARK JUDGE: Remember those corny anti-communist movies from the 1950s? They were right. “Starting in the 1960s with the rise of the New Left, it became sport for cool people and liberals to mock movies such as I Was a Communist for the FBI or My Son John. The excesses of Sen. Joe McCarthy had made red hunting suspect, even shameful. Yet McCarthy was more often right than wrong. There were communists in the government, and in Hollywood, who wanted to destroy America. In 2024, however, with the far Left not only alive after the collapse of the Soviet Union but thriving in Washington, these films from the 1950s seem prescient — and deadly serious rather than goofy.”

NEWS FROM THE NCLA: NCLA Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Injunction Against Government Social Media Censorship. “The New Civil Liberties Alliance has filed a brief for the respondents in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Murthy v. Missouri, urging the Justices to uphold a historic preliminary injunction granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The injunction would bar officials from the White House, CDC, FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Surgeon General’s office from coercing or significantly encouraging social media platforms to censor constitutionally protected speech. Representing individual plaintiffs Drs. Jayanta Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorff, and Aaron Kheriaty, and Ms. Jill Hines, NCLA eagerly anticipates presenting oral arguments to the Supreme Court on March 18, joining the Attorneys General of Louisiana and Missouri in defense of Americans’ First Amendment rights.”

Reminder/disclosure: I’m on the advisory board of the NCLA.

YES: Merit-based hiring needed to improve ‘diversity of thought’ at UMich: higher ed groups. Merit would certainly produce more diversity.

PUSHBACK WORKS: CUNY cancels ‘Globalize the Intifada!’ panel at anti-racism conference: ‘Not a podium for protest.’

JOHN LUCAS remembers Toby Keith.

AMERICA’S MILITARY SELF-DECEPTION:

Long post warning!

Admirals repeatedly claiming that European allies can make up for deficiencies in US Naval capacity has nothing to do with overestimating European capabilities.

They claim that Allies are strong because it’s a solid defense when congress (or the media)… https://t.co/3AanmEyEBf

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) February 3, 2024

IT WOULD TAKE A HEART OF STONE NOT TO LAUGH: CNN Makes Drastic Cut As Ratings Slump Takes Its Toll.

HUNTER BAKER ON El Salvador’s Bukele and the Essence of Government.

A FREE SPEECH VICTORY: ABA Gives Final Approval To Law School Free Speech Accreditation Standard. “The proposal follows protests that disrupted conservative speakers at Stanford Law School and Yale Law School and continuing tensions on campuses since Hamas attacked Israel last fall. Standard 208, however, forbids disruptive activities that hinder free expression or impede law school activities.”

HELEN DALE: Permission to Speak: Thoughts on the campaign to shut down Substack.

OPEN THREAD: Monday, Monday.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Inland spaceports seek ways to host orbital launches.

HMM: Replacing regular salt with potassium-enriched salt.