OH, GLORIOUS DAY! U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Tennessee liquor retail regulations.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): I wrote a column about this case earlier this year. Note that it’s another Institute For Justice win in the Supreme Court.

THAT JUST PROVES HOW MUCH BETTER THEY ARE THAN YOU AND ME: Ted Cruz Presses: Google Witness Can’t Name a Single Senior Exec Who Voted For Trump.

YES: There is an Existential Threat to the Very Idea of American Citizenship and Democrats are Leading the Charge.

OK, CHIEF: Warren Calls for Decriminalizing Illegal Border Crossing.

I DID ENJOY IT: Enjoy this video of a screaming Antifa protester being detained for assault.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Mueller Agrees to Resuscitate Dying RUSSIA-Collusion Hoax. “Why? Well, the politically expedient RUSSIA-collusion hoax is fading from the news cycle. The late night court jesters are short on unfunny material to quack out. Current and former subpoenaed WH administration officials are not providing the ammunition information for show trial hearings and their contested appearances are going to be held up while the Democrats’ demands work their way through the legal system. How to keep this story alive? Let’s get Mueller to testify! Mueller always plays ball.”

Indeed.

VIDEO: IL Sen. Taunts Gun Owner: Forget The Fine, Maybe We’ll Just Take Your Firearms.

The concerned gun owner pointed to SB107 and said the purpose of it was “to take away [his] semiautomatic firearms.”

Morrison then interjected that the purpose was not to take them, but to prevent any future sales.

The gun owner responded by pointing out that the ban on future sales included a fine for current owners who did not hand their guns over. He said, “You want me to turn them over to the state police unless I pay a fine for each firearm and register them, then I get to keep them.”

Morrison concurred, saying, “Okay.”

The gun owner then asked, “If I get to keep it–if I pay a fine and register it–then, how dangerous is it in the first place and why do you need to ban it all?”

People in attendance applauded the gun owner’s point and once applause died Morrison said, “Well, you just maybe changed my mind. Maybe we won’t have a fine at all, maybe it’ll just be a confiscation and we won’t have to worry about paying the fine.”

Charming.

I’M EXPECTING A SHIP-SHATTERING KABOOM: Navy’s Railgun Now Undergoing Tests In New Mexico, Could Deploy On Ship In Northwest.

“The installation of the railgun began earlier this year and required a large effort for the mount, gun, power controls, displays, and functional ties into the range,” Site Manager John Winstead said in an official statement. “The object of the test was essentially a shakedown of the newly-installed mount with accompanying power containers, controls, and a fully functional execution team.”

At least one live-fire test occurred on May 15, 2019, according to the Navy. This involved the firing four rounds for diagnostic and verification purposes.

“Initial estimated test dates were reduced from three to two days due to the success of the firings,” an official news item explained. “The tests were very successful and alleviated the need to have further installation and check-out testing required for verification,” Winstead added.

Impressive. Most impressive.

LESS THAN ZERO: Iran to abandon more nuclear deal commitments after slamming U.S. sanctions.

YES: Consumers Are Becoming Wise to Your Nudge.

I’m interviewing Chris, a 52-year-old man living a small coastal town, for the second time. We’ve been exploring the new checkout process for a client’s redesigned website. The new site isn’t performing as well as the company thought it would, so I’m exploring why and seeing what we can learn from competitors.

“Only 2 rooms left? They don’t expect me to believe that do they? You see that everywhere.”

I leave with a wry smile. The client won’t be happy, but at least the project findings are becoming clear. Companies in certain sectors use the same behavioral interventions repeatedly. Hotel booking websites are one example. Their sustained, repetitive use of scarcity (e.g., “Only two rooms left!”) and social proof (“16 other people viewed this room”) messaging is apparent even to a casual browser.

For Chris the implication was clear: this “scarcity” was just a sales ploy, not to be taken seriously.

Much more at the link.

AND STILL DO NOTHING TO REDUCE COSTS: Bernie’s College Debt Plan Would Erase Debt, Even for the Wealthy, By Taxing Investments.

OH: Parkland survivor David Hogg says he’s been target of 7 ‘assassination attempts.’ “The vocal supporter of gun-control legislation detailed his experiences throughout the last 18 months as he went from regular high school student to one of the faces of the school safety movement in an interview with the Washington Post published Tuesday. He was not asked for further details about the threats.”

The original Washington Post story was written by KK Otteson, who seems strangely incurious for a reporter.

Democracy dies in darkness or whatevs.

HMM:

Video at the link.

VIDEO: Reporter Asks Bill Gates if He Will Donate to Treasury in Absence of Tax Hikes.

UM: Trump Sexual Assault Accuser: Most People Think of Rape as ‘Sexy.’

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT: How William Gibson’s long-lost ‘Alien 3’ script became 2019’s most intriguing audio drama.

DAVID MARCUS: Why Trump’s Cyber Attack On Iran Was The Right Move. “Cyber attacks are the future of warfare. By launching one against Iran, Trump has increased the threat to Iran without plunging the United States into war.”

IT’S ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: Mysterious freshwater reservoir found hidden beneath the ocean.

PRAGER: Clarity About Nationalism. “Nationalism is beautiful when it involves commitment to an essentially decent nation and when it welcomes other people’s commitment to their nations. Nationalism is evil when it is used to celebrate an evil regime, when it celebrates a nation as inherently superior to all others and when it denigrates all other national commitments.”

WHO IS THIS ‘WE,’ KEMOSABE? We thought Pete Buttigieg was qualified to be president. Then a shooting showed how mistaken we were.

HMM: The Boomers Ruined Everything. “In a variety of different areas, the Baby Boom generation created, advanced, or preserved policies that made American institutions less dynamic. In a recent report for the American Enterprise Institute, I looked at issues including housing, work rules, higher education, law enforcement, and public budgeting, and found a consistent pattern: The political ascendancy of the Boomers brought with it tightening control and stricter regulation, making it harder to succeed in America. This lack of dynamism largely hasn’t hurt Boomers, but the mistakes of the past are fast becoming a crisis for younger Americans.”

ANDREW MALCOLM: With 20 candidates vying for airtime, will this week’s Democratic debates matter?

If lucky, each candidate might get a total of maybe 10 minutes on camera, not much to describe their biography, positions on select hot-button topics, offer rebuttals and, since this is TV, likely offer a memorable zinger to stand out from the crowd.

Each will have an individual strategy. Frontrunner Joe Biden, for instance, must stay verbally disciplined and look presidential. He’s been doing this stuff for seven years longer than Pete Buttigieg has been alive.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is an old pro too, literally. The one-time mayor turns 78 this fall. He’s trailed Biden badly in polls and sees Sen. Elizabeth Warren closing in quickly. Sanders will stand next to Biden the second night and is the most likely to go after the ex-vice president, perhaps over Biden’s recent abortion flip.

Others may snip at each other or draw stark contrasts, but history suggests such early TV opportunities are best used to make your own introductory points — and mention your website at least once. A good impression can help immensely with fundraising in these crucial closing days of the second quarter.

These debates are quite tense and tiring affairs, as they should be testing wannabe commanders-in-chief. All will have prepared, rehearsed with staff throwing unexpected questions and insults, memorized a few key lines to utter as if they just came to mind.

He’s too kind.

WINNING: Mexico Sends 15,000 Troops to Border ‘to Curve Migration Flow.’

NEW SOCIALIST “IT” GIRL CONTINUES TO PAY DIVIDENDS: Ocasio-Cortez Backtracks On Concentration Camp Remark, Blames Liz Cheney.

THE TREASURY WILL BE HAPPY TO ACCEPT THEIR CHECKS IN ANY AMOUNT, NO NEW LAWMAKING REQUIRED: A group of US billionaires is calling for a wealth tax.

Signatories include investor George Soros, Facebook’s co-founder Chris Hughes, and Molly Munger, daughter of billionaire Charlie Munger.

The group said they were non-partisan and not endorsing any candidate.

The open letter said: “A wealth tax could help address the climate crisis, improve the economy, improve health outcomes, fairly create opportunity, and strengthen our democratic freedoms. Instituting a wealth tax is in the interest of our republic.”

Among the 18 were a descendant of Walt Disney and the owners of the Hyatt hotel chain. Many in the group have been associated with progressive initiatives on issues such as climate change and the growing wealth gap.

Go on and write 18 checks, for whatever amount will ease your consciences. Maybe add another hundred million or two, just to be extra-assuaged.