GROSS: Netflix CEO Says ‘Cuties’ Is Misunderstood, but ‘Speaks for Itself.’

The movie revels in what it purports to condemn.

WELL, YES:

They got one fair-to-middlin’ debate performance out of Biden — why take chances?

ANALYSIS: TRUE. The Founders Wanted You to Own an AR-15. “Not one Founder mentioned anything about ‘hunting’ or ‘skeet shooting’ during the debates over the drafting of the Constitution.”

AEROSMITH-APPROVED: ACB Hearing Actually Makes Some News: Judge Amy’s Got a Gun.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: Blitzer vs Pelosi in CNN Battle Royale.

Insanity Wrap needs to know: Who put the mega-dose of testosterone in Wolf Blitzer’s Wheaties yesterday?

Answer: Seriously. We’d like to buy them a drink.

Before we get to the sordid details, a quick preview of today’s Wrap.

• Reintroducing Amy Coney Barrett, Meme-Queen
• We might not know art, but we know that’s not it.
• Nikole Hannah-Jones has lost her mind. Or is it loster?

And so much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

COLD WAR II: Chinese Increasing Nuclear Submarine Shipyard Capacity. “Just how many nuclear submarines China will build over the next ten years is a hot topic. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) recently forecast China’s submarine fleet to grow by six nuclear-powered attack submarines by 2030. Other observers, such as retired Capt. James Fanell who was Director of Intelligence and Information Operations for the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, place their estimates even higher. What seems clear is that the number of nuclear submarines will increase.”

One of the few bright spots in the US Navy’s procurement effort is the Virginia-class nuclear attack subs. They’re great hunter-killer boats, and they’re being commissioned at a rate of almost two per year, and they haven’t blown through cost estimates.

But:

The Navy’s force-level goal for SSNs is to achieve and maintain a force of 66 boats. The Navy’s SSN force included 50 boats at the end of FY2019. From the mid-2020s through the early 2030s, the number of SSNs is projected to experience a valley or trough, reaching a minimum of 42 boats in FY2027-FY2028. Some observers are concerned that this projected valley could lead to a period of heightened operational strain for the SSN force, and perhaps a period of weakened conventional deterrence against potential adversaries such as China. The projected SSN valley was first identified by CRS in 1995 and has been discussed in CRS reports and testimony every year since then. The Navy’s FY2020 30-year shipbuilding plan projects that, after reaching its projected 42-boat minimum, the SSN force will increase to 66 boats by FY2048.

2048 is a long way off.

OH: Billionaire Leon Black Allegedly Bankrolled Jeffrey Epstein Even After Disgraced Financier Was Convicted Of Soliciting Sex From A Teen.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: So Much for Hoping That Democrats Wouldn’t Be Awful Filth During the ACB Hearings. “By the way, Kennedy’s turn at the mic was beyond epic. Made an Animal House reference and referred to Boston University’s Ibram X. Kendi as “some butt head professor” for calling Barrett a “white colonizer” because she adopted children of color. The GOP could use ten more of him.”

SMART: Dropbox Makes Remote Work Permanent in ‘Virtual First’ Shift.

Dropbox acknowledged that all those back-to-back video conferences can be overwhelming and said isolation from peers can sometimes lead to miscommunication. To help address this, the company plans to facilitate in-person collaboration with existing real-estate or other flexible spaces it’s calling “Dropbox Studios.”

“We’ll have Studios in all locations we currently have offices—whether they’re dedicated spaces in places we currently have long-term leases and a high concentration of employees, the company said, adding that it would allow some employees the flexibility to relocate to locations where it currently does not have offices. “We expect Dropbox to become more geographically distributed over time.”

Every red state needs to get serious about Glenn’s “welcome wagon” idea.

CHANGE? Clarence Thomas thinks it’s time to rein in Section 230.

In a statement on Tuesday, the powerful conservative justice said he thinks the high court should weigh in soon on the sweeping interpretations of Section 230 emerging from lower courts. He argued the courts have interpreted the statute too broadly, allowing internet companies to shirk any responsibility for the content posted on their platforms.

“Extending §230 immunity beyond the natural reading of the text can have serious consequences,” Thomas wrote, in response to a Section 230 case before the court, Malwarebytes, Inc. v. Enigma Software. He agreed with his fellow justices that Malwarebytes is not the right case to take on. But he added, “in an appropriate case, it behooves us to do so.”

“Adopting the too-common practice of reading extra immunity into statutes where it does not belong, courts have relied on policy and purpose arguments to grant sweeping protection to Internet platforms,” Thomas wrote.

Stay tuned…

WHERE DO I APPLY TO GET MOVED TO A DIFFERENT SERVER? Columbia Professor: There’s a 50% Chance We’re Living in a Simulation.

THE LEFT ACCUSED MITT OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS AND GIVING WOMEN CANCER: Romney decries state of America’s ‘vile, vituperative, hate-filled’ politics, puts blame largely on Trump.

OUCH: Ted Cruz Eviscerates Sheldon Whitehouse on Citizens United and Dark Money.

WATCH: The Iconic Moment ACB Demonstrated Her Brilliance Without Saying a Word.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. The Left Will Find Any Excuse to Compare Amy Coney Barrett to The Handmaid’s Tale.

It isn’t a good novel, and I think the Left would be much happier if they’d read a second, better book. Almost anything, really.

THAT PENNSYLVANIA IS A SWING STATE SPEAKS WELL OF THE ENERGY TRUMP BROUGHT TO THE GOP’S MORIBUND PRESIDENTIAL EFFORTS: ‘Forgotten’ Pennsylvania region holds key to Trump’s fate.

JOANNE JACOBS: Keeping schools closed risks kids’ futures. “Keeping schools closed risks children’s futures. Schools aren’t spreading Covid, data show. And remote ed isn’t working for most kids.”

MORE FROM BATTLESWARM BLOG: China Invading Taiwan Follow-Up: From Nukes to Knives.

TYLER O’NEIL: Amy Coney Barrett Sends a Strong Message to Young Conservative Women of Faith.

NO. DOJ formalizes request for encryption back-doors.

TRAILER FOR A RUSSIAGATE DOCUMENTARY: The Plot Against The President. “This is a bombshell documentary and essential viewing for anyone who gives a damn about the US.”

The full film is due out later this month.

END THE LOCKDOWNS: Deaths in Colorado rose 20% during first 6 months of pandemic, reflecting COVID-19’s broader toll on health. “COVID-19 is now state’s fourth leading cause of death, but fatalities caused by ODs, heart disease and more also rose.”

HE’S LOSING IT: Gaffe-O-Matic: In One Day, Joe Biden Rolls Out Three Laughable Blunders.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: ‘Antifa Is Just an Idea’ Myth, Obliterated.

Insanity Wrap needs to know: Is a Joe Biden rally still a Joe Biden rally when Donald Trump protestors outnumber the Joe Biden supporters at the Joe Biden rally?

Answer: We aren’t sure, but it sure is fun watching the clip.

Before we get to the sordid details, a quick preview of today’s Wrap.

• It isn’t that Claire McCaskill lies, it’s that she’s so bad at it.
• Ignorant wokescolds take over your weather app.
• The Biden Snapchat filter no woman can go without, even if she doesn’t want it.

And so much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

MARK STEYN: When Woke Puts You to Sleep.

The non-homicidal side of wokeness is, alas, incredibly boring. Even as the hospitality industry collapses around the western world, a new hotel has opened in Washington, DC to “celebrate female empowerment”. Is that what you’re looking for on your next business trip? The hotel restaurant (see top right) is dominated by “a massive pointillist portrait of late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that’s made out of 20,000 hand-painted tampons (the release notes organic tampon company CORA donated them all).”

I’m relieved by that parenthesis. Don’t you hate it when you go out for dinner and the floor-to-ceiling portrait of a recently deceased judge is made of non-organic tampons?

Does anyone on the planet still get excited by this butt-numbingly tedious crapola? Is there anything more sleep-inducing than corporate wokeness?

Nope.