The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (No. 87)

Untimely Thoughts on a World in Transition

THE GOOD

READ OF THE WEEK: Why Modern Institutions Expand Forever. The internal logic of big, rich institutions that slowly takes over politics, science, and culture.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT IF DEPRESSING READ: Can the Dark Ages Return? History suggests civilizations fall when complacency, debt, and tribalism replace unity, discipline, and reform—prompting fears the West may be nearing a familiar decline.

EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS ESSAY: The Lost Generation.

• Related: DEI hollowed out a generation — and sapped America’s promise.

LIVE FREE OR DIE: Which American state is the freest? The latest results are in

SCIENCE ROUND-UP:

• This supermassive black hole flung out matter at 134 million mph: ‘On a scale almost too big to imagine.’

• Ridley: Are we finally about to crack fusion energy?

• James Webb Telescope Unveils A Dazzling Map Of The Early Universe.

FREEDOM IS GOOD, BUT WE NEED A LOT MORE OF IT: Freedom! Republicans erased record number of Biden regulations in 2025

MEDICINE/HEALTH ROUND-UP

• Cancer researchers find tattoos protect against melanoma.

• Scientists unveil breakthrough eye drops that restore close-up vision without surgery

• Older adults can bounce back to thriving health, study finds.

• Common vitamin may slash skin cancer risk when taken at specific time

• Brain imaging method reveals hidden vascular changes with aging.

THE ALWAYS GREAT MATT RIDLEY ON THE DISASTER THAT IS GOVERNMENT SCIENCE:

• Matt Ridley: Why Science Lost Its Way Even Before COVID.

• “The Largest Funder of Al-Shabaab Is the Minnesota Taxpayer”

THIS IS KIND OF COOL: A pilot turned an old plane into a two-bedroom apartment. Jon Kotwicki jokes that converting an aluminum plane in Alaska is the “worst idea that a person could possibly have.”

ARCHEOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY ROUND UP:

• Female gladiators shocked the ancient Roman world — but not for the reason you think.

• This 3.4 Million-Year-Old Foot Changes the Story of Human Origins.

• Archaeologists find preserved slave meals in Pompeii — and they beat what free Romans ate

WONDER OF WONDERS. I don’t remember the Founders creating a fourth branch of government:

• Supreme Court Poised to Restore Constitution?

• Supreme Court Seems Likely To Rule That the President Has Control Over, Get This, the Executive Branch.

• Supreme Court seems likely to give Trump more power over agencies.

THREE CHEERS FOR THE BILLIONARIES. I SUPPORT BILLIONARIES SPENDING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO LIVE LONGER. One day it will be available for all people. This is not rocket science folks: The billionaire war against death: What happens to the rest of us when the rich stop planning to die?

THE BAD

IRON LAW OF POLITICS: WHERE THERE IS A WELFARE STATE THERE WILL BE CORRUPTION: Fraud report: Fake people, phony SSNs had 100% success getting Obamacare subsidy

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GOVERNMENT-ASSISTED SUICIDE? Canada reports record number of euthanasia deaths.

LEVIATHAN: Teaching ferrets to binge drink: Rand Paul’s annual Festivus report finds $1.6 TRILLION in government waste

THE WELFARE STATE, BY DEFINITION, GUARANTEES FRAUD ON A MASSIVE LEVEL:

• GAO Bombshell Reveals Obamacare Fraud on a Massive Scale.

• Damning Watchdog Report Reveals ‘Large-Scale Systemic Failures’ Leading to Obamacare Subsidy Fraud.

• THE SOMALI WELFARE FRAUD SCANDAL IS EVEN WORSE THAN YOU THINK

• Stephen Miller calls billion-dollar Minnesota welfare scam ‘single greatest theft of taxpayer dollars’ with dozens of Somali migrants convicted.

RACING TOWARD NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY: Washington’s Spending Train Is ‘Unstoppable.’

ARE DEMOGRAPHICS DESTINY? Birth rates are plummeting in Europe and in the United States. Do you think population collapse is a threat to civilization?

PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN: Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation.

CULTURAL SUICIDE OR TREASON?

• Mamdani’s DSA Party pushing China propaganda in new monthly ‘political education’ seminars.

• Ex-New York State official accused of spying for China called Hochul ‘more obedient’ than Cuomo, trial reveals.

THE COVID CZARS DID THIS: ‘May be worse than anything we dare to imagine’: Redeeming the most troubled generation in American history

SUICIDAL EMPATHY IS A REAL THING: Yes, Europe’s civilization is being erased.

SURELY THE TIME HAS COME TO RETHINK THE WELFARE STATE:

• Welfare Fraud In Blue Cities: How Pervasive Is The Kleptocracy?

• Ga. Dem Representative Charged With Pandemic Fraud

• Maine becomes second Democrat-run state hit by accusations of widespread Somali fraud... with woke lawmaker giving vile answer to voter who asked him about it

• Two Georgia Men Sentenced In $17M Pandemic Scam

THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, REACTION? Preschool Propaganda: Study Finds 41% of Netflix Kids Shows Include LGBT Themes

CHINA WATCH:

• Re-orient your map to understand China’s view of the world.

• Chinese billionaires using US surrogates ‘to create mega-families with 100 children’.

• China Is The Most Free Market Economy On The Planet. For a given meaning of “free market” of course.

• Department Of Energy Inadvertently ‘Funding The Military Rise’ Of China: Report

WELFARE IS A RIGHT, OR DIDN’T YA KNOW? SNAP recipient goes viral: “What’s the point of food stamps if it’s just for real food?”

AND YOU WONDER WHY GEN Z AND LATE STAGE MILLENNIAL MEN ARE LEAVING MAINSTREAM POLITICAL PARTIES: Bombshell report: Companies did everything they could to avoid hiring “white millennial men” over the last decade.

UK WATCH:

• Just How Dystopian Can Starmer’s Britain Become?

• Just How Dystopian Can Starmer’s Britain Become? (Part 2)

• Family of Somalian ISIS Leader Living in Taxpayer-Funded Flat in Britain.

• If Britain’s political leadership were trying to destroy the country, what would they have done differently?

THE REAL CRIME IS THE CREATION OF THE WELFARE STATE THAT ALLOWED THIS SCAM TO HAPPEN: Alleged Minnesota fraud ringleader described as ‘a God’ in Somali-linked scam

THE UGLY

THE TRUTH IS STARTING TO EMERGE, AND IT SHOWS GREAT BRITAIN’S MORAL COLLAPSE: The evil of the grooming gangs is finally being exposed.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS? More Than 200 House Dems Vote Against Bill Criminalizing Transgender Surgery For Minors

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME, PLEASE: 18,000 Known Terrorists Released Into US Under Biden: House Report

PLAYING GOD WITH CHILDREN . . . Puberty blocking is an act of neurological vandalism.

. . . AND THE BEAUTIFUL

MUST THE BEAUTIFUL BRING JOY, OR CAN THE BEAUTIFUL INCLUDE THE PAINFULLY SAD?

Here is the world premiere of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings (1936) conducted by Arturo Toscanini and played by the NBC Symphony orchestra, which I think demonstrates that the latter is possible:

***HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!