CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER: Amazon’s Tucker-Disappearing Act.

According to an August 16 press release by All Seasons Press, Amazon received 7,523 copies of Tucker. On the book’s publication date, August 1, Amazon listed it as “Sold Out” within minutes. And yet BookScan, a firm that tracks book sales, reported only 3,227 sales of Tucker during its first week. Which raises these questions, as bullet-pointed in All Seasons Press’s release:

Did Amazon sell out of their 7,523 units almost immediately?

If so, why weren’t those sales reported to BookScan?

If they did not sell out their 7,523 unit inventory, why did they announce that the book was sold out and unavailable for sale?

Some other twists: Amazon fulfilled post-publication orders before shipping books to customers who’d preordered Tucker. And after describing the book as “Sold Out,” Amazon didn’t order more copies from the publisher; on the contrary—and quite incredibly—it “emailed many preorder customers to ask if they wanted to cancel their orders,” and required them “to go on a desktop, not the app, and proactively confirm they still wanted the book or the order would automatically cancel.”

In other words, Amazon made it easy for customers to cancel their orders and made it difficult for them to confirm their orders. What merchant eager to sell a product behaves in such a way?

One who puts political interests above their own shareholders’ interests.

VIDEO: Plane Carrying Wagner Group Chief Who Rebelled Against Putin May Have Been Shot Down.

The video quality isn’t great but the plane appears to have been hit or maybe had a small bomb smuggled on board.

I HAVE A FRESH BATCH OF UNEXPECTEDLIES READY FOR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:

BREAKING: Seattle police and fire will no longer be answering to mental crisis calls.

“Crisis responders” or social workers, will be dispatched instead. They are not allowed to be armed 🧵 pic.twitter.com/toxYdekPbY

— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 22, 2023

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP [VIP]: I Know Hollywood’s Dirty Little Secret. “Maybe we got it backward: Hollywood is Washington for beautiful people. That’s the lead crazy on today’s Insanity Wrap, an entire week’s worth of the best bad news.”

Plus:

• Tales of terror and heroism from Maui.
• Transgender toddlers know things you don’t, apparently.
• Look at the shoplifters, but think of the children.

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

YOUR INBRED MEDIA-POLITICAL CLASS: The Washington Post’s New Hire Shows Media Will Never Hold Themselves Accountable.

The Washington Post just announced they hired Alexi McCammond to be a new opinion editor. Having any idea who Alexi McCammond is, much less caring about her, is exactly the kind of political inside baseball I don’t expect anyone to know. I do this stuff professionally, and the news business has been so dispiriting for so long that I don’t remember when my professional duty to keep up with developments in the news business started to resemble rubbernecking.

But if you’re looking for a tale of why the media establishment deserves every ounce of righteous anger you can muster — these stories are not in short supply, I know — it’s hard to top the continued professional failing upward of Alexi McCammond.

So here’s the whirlwind recap: McCammond arrived on everyone’s radar as a plucky young reporter covering Democrats for Axios. She started covering Biden’s presidential campaign, where she met Biden campaign press secretary T.J. Ducklo, and shortly after Ducklo was diagnosed with lung cancer in December of 2019, she was driving him to his treatments. “When TJ was diagnosed … I had a sense then how much he meant to me,” McCammond said.

The details of how and when the relationship that followed got started are hazy — McCammond was supposedly in a relationship in the beginning, Ducklo was not — but they told their respective bosses about their relationship in November of 2020, rather conveniently after the election. Had the two been public about a relationship before then, McCammond almost certainly would have been pulled off of covering the 2020 campaign. This would have been very bad for an ambitious young McCammond’s career. It wouldn’t have looked great for Biden either, but that depends on how willing the D.C. press corps is to criticize one of their own for being physically intimate with a Democratic campaign rather than just metaphorically so.

Then:

Since then, the media landscape hasn’t gotten any better. McCammond told her bosses all her reporting on the campaign was effectively compromised, and this time around her employer’s public response was “we stand behind her and her coverage,” and she was “a valued member of the Axios team.” Not only was she not fired, a few months later she participated in a gauzy PR campaign to make the relationship public. Said PR campaign was almost certainly coordinated with White House participation, or at least it appeared in the Biden White House’s favorite outlet for ludicrously obsequious news dumps: People magazine. Actual quote from Ducklo about their relationship: “We’re both really happy, and we wanted to do it the right way.”

Read the whole thing.

LINCOLN BROWN: How to Screw Up a Free Lunch. “Even kindergartners know when they are being conned. Welcome to the Democratic Party, kids. If I were you, I’d get used to it. This is about as good as it’s going to get.”

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Former SF Mayor Frank Jordan criticizes London Breed’s approach to solving homeless crisis.

“When you look at the homeless issue, we spent $2.8 billion in 7 years,” he said to California Insider. “We are averaging more than $700 million a year just on homeless. But when break that down, nobody seems to know if it’s 7,000 homeless or 17,000 homeless.”

Jordan criticized Mayor Breed’s efforts to put the homeless in local hotels for housing. He says 70% of the homeless have mental health, drug, and alcohol problems and need around-the-clock supervision.

“They start fighting with people in hallways or lighting fires in the room, so we have 30 of those 70 hotels that are now suing the city because of the damage that’s been caused in those hotels,” he said.

At the high-end estimate of 17,000 homeless, that’s an average of $41,176 spent per person. I’m curious how much of that is actually spent “helping,” and how much goes to administers.

MUSIC: Oliver Anthony Does It Again, This Time With ‘I Want To Go Home.’

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY (EURO EDITION): Economic data in Europe just went from bad to worse.

In terms of the breakdown between services and manufacturing, the former dropped to a 30-month low at 48.3 and the manufacturing PMI rose slightly from 42.7 in July to 43.7 this month.

“Considering the PMI figures in our GDP [growth] nowcast leads us to the conclusion that the euro zone will shrink by 0.2% in the third quarter,” Rubia added.

The euro zone, the region of 20 nations that share the same euro currency, grew by 0.3% in the second quarter, having grown by 0.1% in the first quarter. This lackluster growth shows the impact of higher interest rates and energy prices and subdued external demand.

However, it also masks sharp differences within the region. Germany, for example, reported the deepest contraction in business activity in August.

Of course they did. Germans are enjoying the results of Berlin’s mandated deindustrialization.

#RESIST: Trump Attorney Surrenders to Georgia DA, But Not Before a Scathing Lecture on the Constitution.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s Flash Warning Signs on U.S. Consumer Spending.

The sporting-goods chain slashed its profit targets for the year after missing Wall Street forecasts for the second quarter. Sales slowed after a pandemic-fueled surge for outdoor gear, leaving it with excess inventory. Executives said thefts of merchandise were also higher than they expected.

Macy’s reported declining sales in the June quarter and warned that more shoppers are late on their credit-card payments. Delinquencies are viewed as a proxy for consumer health, and missed payments endanger a key source of revenue for the department-store chain.

“We expect the pressures consumers are under to continue through the balance of the year,” said Macy’s Chief Executive Jeff Gennette, adding that additional challenges will come once students and graduates resume repaying their federal student loans. He added that international tourism has yet to return to prepandemic levels.

And: Top retail execs call out crime wave that has cut into earnings.

‘MERICA: Concealed Carry Hero Holds Onto His 6-Pack While Taking Down Armed Robber.

SOD OFF, SWAMPY: These 14 American Cities Have A ‘Target’ Of Banning Meat, Dairy, And Private Vehicles By 2030. “C40’s dystopian goals can be found in its ‘The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World’ report, which was published in 2019 and reportedly reemphasized in 2023. The organization is headed and largely funded by Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Nearly 100 cities across the world make up the organization, and its American members include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.”

I can’t wait to hear what “progressive” celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio will have to say about that.

Much more here from Kevin Downey Jr.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Maui Tragedy Makes a Strong Pro-Second Amendment Point. “Regarding today’s headline, I was thinking about the unquestioning faith that leftists have in the government’s ability to do the right and necessary things when the time comes. We have seen this really blossom in them since the beginning of the pandemic. If Anthony Fauci had told them to all stand outside naked until he gave the word to go back indoors and get dressed, they would have all shrieked, ‘BECAUSE SCIENCE!’ and done it.”

LET THE ELECTION YEAR COVID PANIC BEGIN IN FIVE… FOUR… THREE…: Biden admin buys more Covid ‘safety’ supplies in ramp up for new variants. “The revelations come amid speculation that the Biden White House will reinstate Covid mandates and lockdowns as health officials warn about a spike in cases and an alleged new Covid variant.”

Meanwhile: Atlanta college reinstates mask mandate for students, employees on campus.

LIFE IN THE BLUE ZONES: New York to Business Owners: The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves.

REALCLEARINVESTIGATIONS: The Progressive Benefactor Who Makes U.S. Barriers to Foreign Cash Look Like Swiss Cheese.

The Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has a profound interest in American politics. Over the years, he has pumped $475 million he has earned manufacturing medical devices into left-wing advocacy groups – $72 million in 2021 alone, according to a new report from the conservative watchdog group, Americans for Public Trust.

According to a biography of Wyss written by a sister, Wyss’ goal is not to bend laws to his business’s advantage but to “[re]interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.”

Although foreigners are prohibited from donating money directly to political causes, Wyss has donated lavishly to progressive political organizations. The New York Times reported in 2021 that these include the “Center for American Progress and Priorities USA, as well as organizations that ran voter registration and mobilization campaigns to increase Democratic turnout, built media outlets accused of slanting the news to favor Democrats, and sought to block Mr. Trump’s nominees, prove he colluded with Russia and push for his impeachment.” Since 2016, some $245 million of his spending on American politics has gone to Arabella Advisors, which controls a vast network of progressive nonprofits which, among other activities, has financed hundreds of smaller groups that campaign for specific issues and candidates. Arabella, which raised $1.6 billion in 2021, was dubbed by The Atlantic “The Massive Progressive Dark-Money Group You’ve Never Heard Of.”

Critics argue that Wyss’ largesse illuminates a gaping loophole in political finance that essentially allows wealthy foreigners to launder their contributions – one that has been exploited far more robustly by Democrats than Republicans.

Plus: “Almost every expert interviewed agrees that the House investigation will prove challenging. The opaque nature of 501(c)4 independent political expenditure groups makes it impossible to tell whose donations are spent on what.”

Well, yeah — money is fungible, and that’s the whole point of these donations.

CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN: Mesha Mainor Reflects on Her Brave Journey to the GOP — and Her Bright Future.

UPGRADES: USS Zumwalt Arrives in Mississippi for Hypersonic Weapon Installation.

“USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) arrived in Pascagoula, Miss., today to enter a modernization period and receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system,” reads a statement from the Navy provided to USNI News.

“The upgrades will ensure Zumwalt remains one of the most technologically advanced and lethal ships in the U.S. Navy.”

The ship arrived Saturday afternoon after leaving San Diego earlier this month.

“To the crew and families of the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), we would like to extend the warmest welcome to the newest members of our shipyard community. It is an honor for us to serve you and the Navy by doing this important work,” Ingalls president Kari Wilkinson said in a statement.

The 16,000-ton warship pulled into Ingalls Shipbuilding for the availability that will pop off the existing twin 155 mm Advanced Gun Systems and replace them with four 87-inch missile tubes.

The tubes will each hold three Common Hypersonic Glide Bodies (C-HGB) – hypersonic missiles being developed jointly between the U.S. Army and the Navy – for a total of 12 missiles on the ship.

It’s a good thing, too, since there’s no ammo for the ship’s fancy five-inch guns.

CHANGE: 40% of workers will have to reskill in the next three years due to AI, says IBM study.

“SUPER EMITTERS”: Richest 10% of households are responsible for 40% of emissions in the US.

The study is being used to push a carbon tax and — surprise! — carbon-based systemic racism. But what I take away from it is that the people most likely to tell me there’s a crisis still aren’t behaving as though there’s a crisis.

BUT CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN THAT TO THEM WITHOUT GETTING BLOWN UP? UK Muslim Prof Says Taliban Are Misunderstanding Islam.

NAH, TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRIFT: China’s Industrial Policy Is Failing. Will American Politicians Take Notice?

With the old model reaching its end, it would make sense for China to pursue another phase of liberalization, evolving toward a freer economy with a focus on consumer spending and service industries. But that clashes with President Xi Jinping’s vision. Instead, the government is scaling up another round of industrial policy focused on semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and direct government spending on cultural items such as sporting events.

“The leadership also worries that empowering individuals to make more decisions over how they spend their money could undermine state authority, without generating the kind of growth Beijing desires,” the Journal reports.

That line does a pretty great job of summing up what’s at stake in China. There’s no doubt that governmental stimulus spending can drive economic growth higher over the short term, but the bill eventually comes due in the form of higher debt and wasted resources. Sustainable, long-term economic growth doesn’t come from officials issuing edicts. It comes from the individuals’ power to pursue their own needs and desires in the marketplace—even if some of those desires aren’t aligned with what the government wants.

We watched Japan go through something similar in the ’90s — immediately following a decade of fear about “Japan, Inc.” surpassing the US. This time, though, Washington seems determined to relearn the lesson the hard way, if that.

BIDEN CRIME FAMILY UPDATE: Is This the Smoking Gun Proving That Biden Pressured Ukraine to Protect Himself?

YA THINK? Car Prices Might Be Unsustainable for Buyers.

For the average American, paying off a new car at current prices demands 42 weeks of income, according to data from Cox Automotive, up from around 33 before the pandemic.

Bargains have been hard to come by on the used-car lot as well, where the average vehicle listed for about $27,000—up more than 30% from prepandemic levels, according to Cox’s data.

Higher interest rates have made the situation more difficult for buyers. Today’s average new car loan has a monthly payment north of $750, with an interest rate of 9.5%. For used cars, the average rate is above 13.7%, according to Cox.

High interest rates are temporary, at least one hopes. But thanks to regulation, mandates, and decoupling (necessary but uncomfortable), high prices are here to stay — just like the housing market.

It’s almost as though someone wants to turn us into a nation of renters and bus-riders.