NEWS YOU CAN USE: God Protects Those Who Prepare: Church Security Shouldn’t Be Controversial.

WELL, THAT’S A RELIEF: Our galaxy’s supermassive black hole actually doesn’t devour everything.

THAT’S THE LEAST OF CALIFORNIA’S WORRIES: Earthquake predictor who warned of deadly Colombia tremor issues dire California forecast.

WELL, THAT MAKES THE WHOLE COVID THING LOOK WORSE: Study links sanitizer and disinfectant chemicals to birth defects and infertility.

TOO WELL. JEEZ, GRAMMAR. ‘I brush my teeth too good’: Kelly Ripa’s gum surgery highlights a surprisingly common dental mistake.

IT MAY BE LATER THAN YOU THINK:

One of the more interesting comments I ever read was from a guy who had survived the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

He said the collapse of social order, happens several months before you notice it.

Makes me wonder. Is it months, years or decades before you notice the collapse of…

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) August 13, 2026

STEPHEN HALBROOK: Second Amendment Roundup: The Militia of the Sea: The Marque and Reprisal Clause as Textual Proof of Private Heavy-Arms Ownership at the Founding. “Under Article I, the only power over private armed force at sea that Congress received was power over the commissioning of that private force on behalf of the United States. Congress did not give permission for the ship owner to arm the ship with cannon. The Founders who ratified the Constitution’s Article I in 1788 and the Second Amendment three years later in 1791 did not appear troubled that private parties owned heavily armed ships. Indeed, they took the widespread ownership of such heavily armed ships as a given, so much so that Congress principally concerned itself not with the private ownership of significant armaments, but rather with the transformation of that private ownership into a lawful use on behalf of the federal government itself.”

THIS WILL BE MY NEXT FAST FOOD BURGER REVIEW: America’s burger wars have crowned a new fast-food favorite — while the loser’s popularity is in freefall. I’ve always liked a good Whopper — the qualification being that BK’s quality control is uneven, though not as badly as Hardees — and I suspect this will be better than the not-awful Big Arch.

But how will it compare to the Big Glenn?

And a while back I did recommend that McDonalds get a CEO who actually likes burgers. BK has learned the lesson: “BK president Tom Curtis appeared in Whopper’s relaunch ad, along with another clip depicting him gleefully devouring a Whopper in an apparent at McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s cringeworthy attempt at eating a Big Arch this past Spring.”

More free advice for Mickey D’s: Bring back the Beef Tallow Fries. They were the best thing you had and you got rid of them in the face of bullying from food activists.

FAUCI’S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Fauci’s ‘pay-to-play scheme’ both ‘unlawful’ and ‘unethical,’ Rutgers expert says.

ANTI-GENDER? Hobart and William Smith course scrutinizes ‘anti-gender’ backlash.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: In Which I am Replaced by a Robot. Maybe.

CDR SALAMANDER: The Small Warship We Should Have Had: They’re right here. “Most are familiar with the rolling train wreck of missed opportunities, bad theory, wasted hundreds of billions of dollars, and destroyed careers that the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) left in its wake…and still does. Many of us remember the mission set it was supposed to meet compared to the shambolic grabassery it transmogrified into. . . . Yes, there are those who argue that the U.S. Navy has no use for such small ships. Frankly, I’m tired of arguing with them. They are wrong.”

Flashback: Is it time for a big fleet of small ships?

UPDATE: First link was wrong before. Fixed now, sorry! One day I will master cut and paste, but today is not that day.

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: You’re not laughing now.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Victor Davis Hanson: The WNBA’s Treatment of Sophie Cunningham Has Been Anything but ‘Privilege.’

KNOXVILLE’S OWN: Dale Dickey Is Finally an Emmy Nominee. Now She Needs a Dress.

DOG BITES MAN: Photos Show Grinning Abdul El-Sayed Buddying Up With Nation of Islam Ministers Who Railed Against ‘the Jews,’ Defended Farrakhan: A key Nation of Islam figure was backstage at El-Sayed election night watch party.

MATT MARGOLIS: Election Night Chaos in Wisconsin Raises Some Uncomfortable F-Word Questions.

Paper ballots, cast on election day, counted immediately and publicly at the polling place.

TURNING ON THE DSA:

Excellent job, maybe one of my center-left followers is interested. https://t.co/q402jsm97x

— David Bernstein (@ProfDBernstein) August 13, 2026

POLLS THESE DAYS ARE EQUAL PARTS INEPTITUDE AND PROPAGANDA:

All of the Wisconsin polls were horribly, catastrophically wrong but the polls for other stuff are all surely correct. Polling is a science! https://t.co/3rGMuYuw39

— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) August 12, 2026

Okay, maybe not equal parts.

CHANGE: Iran Is Losing Hormuz. New York Is Losing Wall Street. Texas Wins From Both.

HARSH, BUT NOT UNFAIR:

The Party of College Educated White Folks Craving Swarthy Foreign Guys — it’s not really about health care policy or “affordability” or whatever. @TheDemocrats are now a BDSM cult organized around some kind of weird masochistic Mandingo fetish. https://t.co/N9wYA1fF8W

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) August 12, 2026

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: In Which I am Replaced by a Robot. Maybe.

OPEN THREAD: Hump Day.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: ‘Launching anywhere, anytime and without compromise’: Rocket Lab unveils new ‘GHOST’ portable spaceport system: “We’ve mastered the art of building launch sites. Now we’re making them deployable worldwide.”

WELL, GOOD: Engineers Create Superglue That Bonds in 10 Seconds, Holds For Years And Gets Stronger Underwater.