MEET THE B-17 OF BUGS: It’s the Bombardier Beetle and it has a swiveling “turret” of two rapid-fire machine “guns” like the famous Fortress of WWII. That turret also has something to say about Intelligent Design. I’m looking forward to the appearance of G model, with the chin turret!

ACCESS TO JOE WAS PART OF HUNTER’S INVESTMENT PITCH TO CHINA: No surprise in the headline, actually, because that access was the heart of the whole enterprise.

CONSTRUCTION OF TRUMP’S WALL PROCEEDS APACE: The Lid’s Michael Cantrell reports from Western Arizona.

ARE YOU A WHITE SUPREMACIST? One Minute Apologist Bobby Conway says we really ought to do a little defining of terms before throwing around such terms. One has to wonder if, however, in view of Stephen Green’s preceding post on the violence of the Left, there isn’t much time left for civil discussion (Lord, help us, please).

THESE APPOINTEES ARE OUT IF TRUMP STAYS IN: The silly season has already begun as Washington assesses the aftermath of next Tuesday.

NO, AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURISM IS NOT DYING: Check out the data, courtesy of Catalyst.

THE ECONOMIST AND FILTHY (CHINESE) LUCRE: There was a time when the British magazine, The Economist, was dependably solid and credible. But then along came Huawei.

ARE MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z DOOM FOR THE GOP? Earlier in the 21st Century, the demographic silver bullet for Democrats was the “Rising Electorate” of Blacks, Hispanics and other “voters of color.” Now, Ronald Brownstein says the silver bullet is the Millennial and Gen Z generations.

And why do these younger voters — who will soon make up the largest generational voting block — represent the end of the line for Republicans? Here’s Brownstein’s governing assumption: “Given that the younger generations align much more closely with Democratic ideological views on almost all policy questions …”

But is that “given” actually a given? What if Trump wins another four years, gets the economy expanding again, as it was just prior to the pandemic lockdown, and continues the trends of increasing household income, record low-unemployment among Blacks, women, Hispanics and young people, and new-job creation?

Where will Democrats find a new silver bullet?

TWITTER ALSO CENSORING REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Just tried to tweet RCP’s link to new Biden revelations from Peter Schweizer and Seamus Bruner in The New York Post. Check out the result (giving it another shot produces the same result, over and over):

UPDATE (Charlie): Here’s a link to the story: Hunter’s Emails Confirm Claims of Biden Corruption.

MATERIAL SUCCESS/RELATIONAL FAILURE ON A GLOBAL SCALE: If that sounds like a prescription for civilizational failure, it is. Dr. Patrick Fagan of MARRI looks at the social science data in an around-the-world assessment.

HANDY MEDIA GUIDE FOR COVERING (UP) DEMOCRATIC SCANDALS: Leave it to the crew at Issues & Insights to distill the present chaos into an understandable guide to how the MSM downplays/ignores/flat-out lies about scandals such the Big Guy’s plan to “make millions on China.”

DIDN’T LENIN SAY SOMETHING ABOUT ‘THE LAST CAPITALIST … LAST ROPE?’ Guess who’s funding these two Democratic strategists using three nominally non-partisan foundations to mail millions of mail-in voting registration applications?

WHO MEMO WARNED AGAINST LOCKDOWNS’ ‘CULTURE OF FEAR’ IN 2011: More from inside the World Health Organization (WHO) by Jeffrey Tucker at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER).

THANK THE TEACHERS UNIONS, HEALTH ‘EXPERTS,’ AND THE MSM: For the “Scarred Generation” of kids being held out of the classroom because of Covid. The Guardian looks at the situation in the UK, but there’s every reason to think the same applies here and elsewhere. HT: Dr. Scott Atlas.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC SENATE DARLING TRAINED TURKISH LOBBYISTS: Well now, how is the Sainted Jaime Harrison going to explain leading training sessions in Istanbul in 2015, teaching such topics as “the five key characteristics of a successful lobbyist”? The Washington Free Beacon’s Collin Anderson is asking the right questions. Will South Carolina voters?

BIDEN PREPARING RINO REWARDS: Citing a Politico report, Daily Caller News Foundation’s Thomas Catenacci reports Joe Biden’s handlers are assessing former Sen. Jeff Flake, former Gov. John Kasich and other Republican Anti-Trumpers for possible cabinet slots. Clearly, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, as well as broad and bipartisan.

WORRIED ABOUT NOV. 3? There’s a lot to worry about, depending on what happens on and after Election Day 2020, to be sure. The most famous sermon in history shows the way to dealing with such worry, according to retired financial investment strategist Kurt Brouwer.

FIVE THINGS WE’LL LEARN ABOUT BIDEN AFTER THE ELECTION: How many can you guess before reading Issues & Insights?

IT’S NOT ABOUT HUNTER, IT’S ABOUT JOE: That’s according to Margot Cleveland, writing at The Federalist. Among other things, influence-peddling relatives are easy avenues for bribery by foreign interests.

TOOK TEAM OF 35 EXPERTS SEVEN DAYS TO WAR-GAME THE 2020 ELECTION: The “79 Days Report” team was made up of scholars and analysts with the Claremont Institute and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Three basic scenarios were considered, according to The Federalist:

• A clear victory for President Trump, winning 32 states and 322 Electoral College votes, better than the 304 Trump won in 2016, but, due to the massive use of mail-in ballots, especially in the six states in which counting cannot commence until Election Day, victory likely won’t be formally declared until days or weeks after Election Day, as Trump would only have 248 electoral votes known for certainty.
• A clear victory for Vice President Biden, winning 26 states and D.C. for a total of 342 Electoral College votes. Again, because of the six states that cannot count mail-in ballots until Election Day, even in this scenario, victory won’t be known for certain, as Biden may only have 268 electoral votes late into election night.
• An ambiguous result, with the final election results of several states delayed and subject to intense court fights resulting in a struggle right up to the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress where the ballots of the electors are unsealed. Uncertainty could extend even beyond this as decisions for both the presidency and vice presidency are battled out in Congress and before the U.S. Supreme Court.

They seem to have all the bases covered, so you gotta read this one.

WHAT ABOUT SLAVERY AND CHRISTIANITY: It’s only a quick take, but my core point when asked about it by Bill Walton is a fundamental challenge to the Howard Zinns of the world – Get honest about who did what and why, including, I might add, Southern Christians who got it wrong about the Bible and slavery in the years leading to the Civil War.

BTW, if you aren’t already familiar with The Bill Walton Show and you appreciate civil, interesting discussion on important issues, then you’re in for a treat. Very smart guy who also happens to have a knack for encouraging conversations that enlighten and encourage. And Lord knows we need all the enlightenment and encouragement we can get these days.

A CONVERSATION ON EQUALITY BETWEEN THOMAS JEFFERSON AND MLK JR: As conceived by Bret Bernhardt, who knows a thing or three about these matters after years on Capitol Hill as chief of staff to former senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Don Nickles (R-OK).

This might be the start of a whole series of such conversations among historic figures: George Washington and George III, Honest Abe and Jefferson Davis, Teddy Roosevelt and FDR, and so on and so on and …

And speaking of the legacy of slavery in America, Thomas Sowell’s wisdom on this issue is unsurpassed. HT: Thom McKee and The Daily Gouge.

ONE PICTURE SAYS IT ALL ON PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION: No, it’s not grisly, but it is graphic. And Frank Turek puts it in proper context.

THE PRICE OF PANIC: Dr. Jay Richards of Catholic University sits down with Bill Walton to discuss the horrendous costs of and ludicrous justifications for the Great Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown. Did you know we have actually endured two pandemics?

DO THE RICH BACK THE LEFT OR RIGHT? Some interesting back-of-an-envelope calculations by Capital Research Center’s Michael Hartmann.