BREAKING: Impeachment Inquiry Into Joe Biden May Be Imminent.

WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS YEARS AGO: We must end the experiment of science cooperation with China.

The Biden administration’s decision to request a six-month extension of the expiring U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (STA) follows a noisy campaign by U.S. scientists urging renewal of the landmark 1979 accord.

To hear the scientists tell it, the STA has contributed to nearly every significant scientific breakthrough over the last 40 years.

In reality, the agreement codifies the disadvantageous terms of the immediate post-recognition U.S.-China relationship, shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how China uses global science cooperation and sends a contradictory message about the seriousness with which the administration is approaching U.S.-China economic security issues.

Signed by the Carter administration as the first major bilateral agreement following U.S. diplomatic recognition of China, the STA reflects the geopolitical reality of the late 1970s. As scholars like Dr. Michael Pillsbury, writing in “The Hundred Year Marathon,” have noted, the U.S. provided extraordinary technological transfer, both civilian and military, to China in the years immediately following diplomatic recognition, with the goal of accelerating Chinese development as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.

Needless to say, the geopolitical dynamics of U.S.-China relations have dramatically altered in the decades since.

Indeed.

WELCOME TO THE PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY: Why Are California Schools STILL Canceling Games for COVID?

HMM: F-22 Raptor Destroyed An ‘Object’ Over The Great Lakes: Chinese Spy Balloon Or Something Else? “In February, headlines were made when a U.S. F-22 Raptor shot down a Chinese Spy Balloon off the coast of South Carolina. The 200-foot-long surveillance device had traced a path across Canada and most of the U.S. before being destroyed when it was safely out to sea. While this initial confrontation garnered much attention, less was given to follow on actions that same month. High altitude objects were detected in U.S. airspace and shot down three more times in February.”

Whatever just happened over the Great Lakes, that last line gives lie to early Administration excuses that we lacked the ability to shoot down high-altitude objects.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Sure Would Be Nice If We Had a President Who Was a Patriot. “Rumor has it that Biden’s puppet masters didn’t want to run the risk of having Sir Sniffsalot embarrass the nation while speaking at any prominent 9/11 ceremonies. In an effort to avoid that, they thought it best to dispatch the old boy to Vietnam to hang out with commies, because they’ve never heard of optics.”

YOU DON’T SAY: NASA Admits Space Launch System Costs Are Unsustainable.

NASA’s cost estimates at each stage have been very optimistic, and the GAO objects to the agency’s decision to monitor cost via the five-year production and operations cost estimate. The GAO report says these are poor tools to control costs, and NASA hasn’t even been consistent about updating the five-year estimates.

So far, NASA has spent $11.8 billion developing the SLS. The 2024 budget proposal includes another $11.2 billion to see the program through 2028. Will that be enough? The GAO says, no, probably not. A previous report by NASA’s inspector general suggested the $2 billion launch cost for each Artemis mission was unrealistic, and the real number was closer to $4.1 billion.

The Artemis program has suffered from numerous delays, and the report says that NASA has not been accounting for how these schedule changes affect costs. The SLS and Orion capsule contain components built all over the US (in a lot of influential congressional districts, naturally). Even minor changes cause logistical challenges and ballooning costs. However, the GAO says that at least one NASA official claimed additional SLS delays would not impact the bottom line, which seems hard to believe. On the other hand, NASA’s leadership did admit that the SLS is too expensive to support the lunar program as currently envisioned.

To be fair, NASA never wanted SLS. It’s a frankenrocket cobbled together by congresscritters eager to support existing jobs at existing contractors, and that was somehow supposed to save money by repurposing reusable Space Shuttle engines — designed five decades ago — into disposables ones.

FIGHT THE POWER: Trump Legal Team Makes a Big Move Against Judge in Federal Election Case.

THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE: Germany’s Stop-Start Economic Motor Is Probably in Reverse Again.

Germany’s industrial malaise is probably acute enough to have dragged the economy back into a contraction during the current quarter, forecasters say.

A monthly survey by Bloomberg shows gross domestic product is now anticipated to fall 0.1% in the three months through September before retracing that deterioration toward year-end.

Economists previously saw stagnation this quarter.

Such an outcome would further highlight how the tables have turned. The country that was formerly Europe’s motor now finds itself braking its growth, wincing from the headwinds of poor demand in China and a lingering energy crisis.

Lingering? It’s self-inflicted.

NOT A NICE ONE, THAT’S FOR SURE:What the Hell Kind of Country Does China Want to Be?

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: On 9/11 I Witnessed the Worst and Best of Humanity.

MGM NOT-SO-GRAND: Casinos Hit by MASSIVE Hacking Attack: Slots Down, Guests Locked Out of Rooms.

CATHERINE SALGADO: A Prayer From a 9/11 Hero and the Meaning of ‘Never Forget.’

BRIDGET PHETASY: Why women need to feel fear.

The message today’s young women are getting is that if their inner voice says it feels wrong when someone with a penis undresses in front of them, or is present when they undress, in a space designated for women, there is something wrong with them. Scanlan said in her testimony: “We, the women, were the problem, not the victims. We were expected to conform, to move over and shut up. Our feelings didn’t matter. The university was gaslighting and fearmongering women to validate the feelings and identity of a male.”

It appears that institutions, politicians and progressives are happy to sacrifice women at the altar of inclusivity. They demand we keep quiet when we feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Ironically, instead of teaching us to keep ourselves safe and fear violation, the women’s movement teaches us to fear being labelled as bigots. Paula Scanlan and collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines have been called transphobes for objecting to someone striding around with his penis on show in a locker room designated for women.

We are setting a dangerous precedent. Think about the young women watching the way that Scanlan and Gaines are being treated. They will surely conclude that they must suffer to accommodate the small handful of males that want to make everything about them. They are now being given access to female prisons, domestic abuse shelters, rape centres, locker rooms, spas and public toilets, as well as changing rooms.

The Left thrives on victimhood and they’re doing their damnedest to turn an entire generation of women into victims.

Also, do read the whole thing.

BY THE DEMOCRATS’ NEW RULES IT ABSOLUTELY IS: Insurrection? Activists Occupy Speaker McCarthy’s Office.

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT: The Fall in Home Prices May Already Be Over.

Scarcity is a big reason. High interest rates have prompted homeowners to stay put rather than buy new homes and take on more expensive mortgages, resulting in an unusually low inventory of homes for sale.

Many potential home buyers have given up their search because mortgage rates recently hit a two-decade high. But the homes that do list often still receive multiple bids, driving up the final sales price.

The result is a market in which the overall volume of transactions has fallen dramatically. Sales of previously owned homes are now down about 36% from January 2022. But prices are generally holding firm outside of a few trouble spots.

Related: You’re Paying More for Your Home. Yes, That’s Inflation.

THEY’RE NERVOUS AND THEY OUGHT TO BE: Democrats express frustration with Biden’s moribund poll numbers.

“You got to be concerned about those poll numbers, you just do,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said. “There’s plenty of time to get them back up. Whether he can or not, I just don’t know but you got to be concerned.”

One Democratic senator who requested anonymity said voters at home expressed deep apathy about Biden’s prospective reelection during constituent meetings over the August recess.

The senator said the polling data “reflect all the miscellaneous encounters I’m having all the time.”

“There’s just no enthusiasm,” the senator said. “It does pretty much come down to ‘Well, he’s done a pretty good job, but he’s just too old.’”

Mr. 81 Million Votes was no spring chicken in 2020 but it was much easier to hide his senescence when he was “campaigning” from his basement than it is now that he’s LARPing as POTUS.

9/11 TIMELINE: Where Were You When?

IT’S SO NICE HAVING THE GROWNUPS BACK IN CHARGE: Energy Secretary’s Electric Vehicle Roadtrip Devolves Into ‘Scene Out Of VEEP.’

The purpose of the trip was to “draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars,” but Domonoske, who joined the caravan for the ride, shared how the four-day venture was not a smooth ride all the way through.

“[B]etween stops, Granholm’s entourage at times had to grapple with the limitations of the present. Like when her caravan of EVs — including a luxury Cadillac Lyriq, a hefty Ford F-150 and an affordable Bolt electric utility vehicle — was planning to fast-charge in Grovetown, a suburb of Augusta, Georgia,” the report said.

“Her advance team realized there weren’t going to be enough plugs to go around. One of the station’s four chargers was broken, and others were occupied. So an Energy Department staffer tried parking a nonelectric vehicle by one of those working chargers to reserve a spot for the approaching secretary of energy,” the report continued. “That did not go down well: a regular gas-powered car blocking the only free spot for a charger?”

“In fact, a family that was boxed out — on a sweltering day, with a baby in the vehicle — was so upset they decided to get the authorities involved: They called the police,” the report added. “The sheriff’s office couldn’t do anything. It’s not illegal for a non-EV to claim a charging spot in Georgia. Energy Department staff scrambled to smooth over the situation, including sending other vehicles to slower chargers, until both the frustrated family and the secretary had room to charge.”

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.

I’VE BEEN SCANNING TWITTER ALL MORNING AND APPARENTLY, HE STILL HASN’T SAID ANYTHING: Joe Biden’s Shameful Silence on 9/11 Anniversary.

TWO CHINAS: Taiwan envoy sees ‘alarming’ signs in China’s economic slowdown. “Asked whether she is worried a slowing economy could push Chinese President Xi Jinping to move on Taiwan, either militarily or through an economic blockade, Hsiao said leaders in Taipei are carefully considering all possible scenarios, including the ‘worst case scenario.’ China claims sovereignty over the island.”

MAKE TEXAS BLUE AGAIN: Biden Move to Keep Illegals in Texas Is Part of the Democrat Long Game. “Ask yourself what’s really the endgame here. Well, what’s the endgame of every Democrat attempt to flood the nation with illegal immigrants? It’s the three As: Amnesty, Amnesty, and Amnesty. And what happens when illegals are forced to remain in Texas as they await asylum screening for who-knows-how-long? They’ll establish roots in the local community, and they’ll likely stay in Texas. That’s a great place for them to remain, as Democrats wait for their golden opportunity to grant illegal immigrants amnesty, with all the rights of citizenship — including the right to vote.”

Democrats are just taking cues from the UK Labour party (again): Labour wanted mass immigration to make UK more multicultural, says former adviser. “This Government has admitted three million immigrants for cynical political reasons concealed by dodgy economic camouflage.”

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Woman Goes To LAPD About Stolen Credit Card. One Of Them Stole It. “She’s fortunate that the bad cop was stupid enough to carry out his shopping spree in stores with security cameras.”

BUILDING PARALLEL INSTITUTIONS TO DISPLACE THE CORRUPTED ONES: Trail Life USA Celebrates 10 Years of Picking Up Where BSA Left Off. “Thanks to the foresight and organizational work of Trail Life USA’s founders, the old-school, all-American scouting experience lives on. And this year the plucky upstart is celebrating its 10th Anniversary.”

DECOUPLING: The West is Touting a New Trade Route That Bypasses China.

At the G20 summit in New Delhi this past weekend, global leaders voiced their support for a new ship, rail, and digital corridor that will connect India to the Middle East and Europe — and counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The proposed corridor, with backing from leaders including the US, India and Saudi Arabia, could be a momentous shift for the exchange of goods. “This is nothing less than historic,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping didn’t attend the summit, but something tells us he’s less than pleased. His country’s trillion-dollar-plus initiative to fund infrastructure projects in mostly developing countries was a bid to expand China’s economic reach. But it has courted controversy from some who see it as a predatory money pit: In 2018, for example, Sri Lanka couldn’t afford the payments on its strategic Hambantota port, so it was handed over to China.

Western leaders looking to mitigate China’s influence while also cooling tensions with the Middle East could view a new trade pact as a win-win.

Related:

BREAKING:

At the G20 summit in India, Meloni to the Chinese that Italy will be leaving China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Italy is the only G7 nation to be a member. Major blow to China’s foreign policy plans in Europe! pic.twitter.com/hyL8AA14o1

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 10, 2023

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Dems Aren’t Coming to Take Your Guns…Until They Are. “I guarantee you that Gov. Stalin Grisham will not be the last Democrat to use the COVID-inspired ‘public health’ nonsense as an excuse to oppress the good citizens of this country. They take to tyranny like ducks to water over there in Dem Land. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the Democratic National Committee has spun off a little think tank to ponder new ways to use public health panic to shred the Constitution.”