The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (No. 91)

Untimely Thoughts on a World in Transition

THE GOOD

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO RECOMMEND THE NEW SUBSTACK JUST LAUNCHED BY MY GOOD FRIEND, ROGER KIMBALL. Roger is one of the best thinkers and writers of our time. Agree or disagree with some of his views, Rogers essays are always top-shelf:

LET’S GO! A researcher may have found a shortcut to Mars as NASA eyes red planet. Here’s what to know about the newly found possible shorter trajectory to Mars, and what it could mean ahead of future missions to Earth’s planetary neighbor.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY CAPITALISM:

IN MY EXPERIENCE, THIS IS TRUE, BUT THERE IS, OF COURSE, A THIRD OPTION THAT PROMISES EVEN GREATER HAPPINESS: Why are conservatives so much happier (and less neurotic) than liberals?

MUST READ. Good essay on a bad topic: Don’t Lose Your Nerve: Free Societies Facing Ideological Violence.

• Related: The Destructive Impulse of Liberalism: Where is ‘progress’ leading? And other questions you should never ask.

• Related: The bougie nihilism that is killing America

BECAUSE MODERN LIBERALISM IS GROUNDED IN HATE AND PERPETUAL HATRED IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY UNSUSTAINABLE: Why are conservatives so much happier (and less neurotic) than liberals?

MEDICINE/HEALTH ROUND UP

• ‘Weight loss’ drug helps heart regardless of amount of weight lost.

• ‘Earth-shattering’ discovery reveals why some 80-year-olds have superior memories

• Living tumor-on-a-chip exposes how cancers block immune attacks.

• New research from the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute suggests that a capsule containing healthy gut bacteria could potentially change the future of obesity treatment.

• New research uncovers how the brain’s activity, energy use, and blood flow change as people fall asleep.

I’M NOT CONVINCED THAT IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, BUT WE’RE ON THE RIGHT ROAD: How the left ‘lost’ the DEI wars

• Related: Staffers at UNT, UT-Arlington ‘no longer employed’ after undercover videos detail DEI practices despite ban.

THE HARVEY C. MANSFIELD EDITION. Two new books this year at age 94. Looks to me like his career is about to take off:

• Harvard’s ‘Annoying Socratic Gadfly’ Takes a Victory Lap

• Harvey C. Mansfield’s honorable quest to educate Harvard

YOU CAN’T RESPECT MELEI ENOUGH! When Argentine President Javier Milei met with Pope Leo XIV, he gave him a copy of Friedrich Hayek’s 1988 book, The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism. Let’s hope the Pope did his homework.

ARCHEOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY ROUND UP:

• Under the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Archeologists Found What Could Be the Tomb of Jesus.

• Archeologist thinks new tech could reveal where the Lost Ark is hidden at last.

• Archaeologists crack ‘Spanish Roanoke’ mystery with haunting find from doomed colony

• Archaeologists Found 115,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Where They Shouldn’t Be.

• Bronze and Iron Age Settlement Discovery in Georgia Rewrites Ancient History.

LEFT-WING CORRUPTION IS BOTTOMLESS: ‘MASSIVE!’ Feds indict SPLC for using donor money to pay white supremacists to stage ‘hate crimes’

POWER UP: Appalachia Lithium Cache Could Power U.S. for Centuries

THIS IS GOING TO GET INTERESTING:

• Alberta separatists say they have enough signatures to trigger independence referendum

• Oil-rich province could hold vote on leaving Canada as early as October

SCIENCE ROUND UP:

• The Genesis revitalizing U.S. scientific research

• 24,000-year-old zombie worm gets thawed, immediately starts reproducing.

• An Unknown State of Matter Could Be Hiding in Our Solar System.

• Physicists just found a tiny flaw in time itself.

• A tiny world beyond Neptune has an atmosphere that shouldn’t exist.

I DON’T THINK THIS IS QUITE RIGHT, BUT IT’S AN INTERESTING ENCAPSULATION OF A THEORY OF CIVILIZATIONAL DECLINE AND FALL. What do you think? Please leave a comment below.

I SURE HOPE SO: Is America on the Verge of a Nuclear Renaissance?

CLEANING UP THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH: Good gut bacteria may be the secret to longevity — how to get it, including the strain that boosts your natural GLP-1.

THE BAD

THIS IS NOT A SOMALI THING; IT’S A WELFARE THING: DOJ says it has prosecuted $500 million in healthcare, COVID fraud claims in 3 states

STEP #1: STOP REPRODUCING. Step #2: Make up for Step #1 by inviting your enemies to do just the opposite. Step #3: die slowly: US Birthrate Hits Record Low In 2025

WHAT CAN’T GO ON FOREVER, WON’T: Queer advocacy group pauses $500 yoga allowances for immigrants in Boston

ALAS, I STRONGLY SUSPECT THIS IS TRUE: The scourge of left-wing violence isn’t new. It’s only going to get worse.

NO: Can Our Civilization Survive Its Betrayal By Elites?

CHINA WATCH:

• Mayor admits she secretly pushed Chinese propaganda at Beijing’s command: feds

CONSERVATIVES AND LIBERTARIANS NEED TO REDISCOVER THE IMMORALITY OF THE WELFARE STATE: Medicaid Millionaires: How The Feds Pay Immigrants Billions To Hang Out With Their Families

WHAT CAN’T GO ONE FOREVER, WON’T: U.S. deficit projected to hit $2 trillion, double fiscal target.

END THE WELFARE STATE: Ohio gov candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sounds alarm about Medicaid fraud — after 288 companies found registered to same address.

THE UGLY

I’M SPEECHLESS! This is worst piece of news that I’ve seen in years: 600 groups with $2B in revenue mobilize 3,000 May Day protests in a ‘red-blue’ alliance

WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE RECKONING? There Must Be a Reckoning for Gender Transitioners Who Destroyed the Lives of Thousands of Children.

VERY SAD: I De-transitioned. My Body Will Never Be the Same.

NEXT LEVEL EVIL: Redefined evil’: New report reveals ‘almost unimaginable horrors’ by Hamas during Oct. 7 war against Israel

. . . and THE BEAUTIFUL

DON’T YOU JUST LOVE AMERICA! Route 163 Through Monument Valley in Arizona. I’ve done this drive. It’s fabulous. Highly recommended.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!