Flotsam and Jetsam - DIY Done Come On Tuesday

Key Bridge Updates

Baltimore city accuses Dali owners of negligence in Key Bridge disaster
Companies behind cargo ship that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge seek exemption from legal liability – Baltimore Sun
Key Bridge collapse: Recreational boats to get another chance to use temporary channel on Sunday – Baltimore Sun
Statement on Tragic Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge - Waterkeepers Chesapeake

Biden Misdismal Administration

We're So Sorry, Uncle Bosie – HotAir
Biden Admin: You Must Hire Criminals or We Will Sue You – HotAir
Instapundit - VERY FINE PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES, WORRIED ABOUT MICHIGAN IN NOVEMBER EDITION: https://twitter.com/r
Despite Police Pushback, Biden Presses On With Visit To Syracuse After Two Cops Were Just Slain | The Daily Caller
In The Mailbox: 04.22.24 : The Other McCain

Trump Troubles 

Is New York City in 2024 Better or Worse Than Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692? : The Other McCain
Althouse: A puzzling criticism — in the NYT — of Trump's lawyer's building Trump up instead of "blasting" him.
Upside Down World: Avenatti Is Talking to Trump's Legal Team and Cohen Is Pitching a Show – HotAir
President Trump Delivers Remarks to Media Pool Following Day #1 of "Hush Money" Trial - The Last Refuge
Ace of Spades HQ - Opening Statement in Trump Persecution; Outside of Court, Trump Declares, "These are Biden Trials. Everyone knows it."
Judge rules against NY attorney general, says Trump's $175M judgment bond will stand - Fox News
Did Letitia James Accidentally Reveal the Real Reason for Her Trump Witch Hunt? – PJ Media
Rasmussen Poll: 51 Percent Doubt Fair NYC Trial for Trump - Newsmax.com

Elections and Politics as Usual

Trump Has Changed the Rules for How Republicans Win (and Lose) – PJ Media
'This Isn't a Tinder Date.' You Don't Have to Like Trump to Vote For Him – HotAir
Battleground Polls: Trump Favored on 'Trust to Do Better Job on the Economy' - Newsmax.com
The Morning Briefing: Here's an Idea — You Don't Have to Like Trump to Vote for Him – PJ MediaGotham Voters' Growing Discontent – HotAir
Who Cares? – HotAir
(20) Kyle Becker on X: "BREAKING.🚨 The Supreme Court has DISMISSED the Arizona Election Integrity Case without comment. The plaintiffs @KariLake and Mark Finchem has brought forth expert testimony to indicate that there were serious voting machine vulnerabilities, including the "placing of the master https://t.co/Dv3bXcdZhp" / X
(22) Leading Report on X: "BREAKING: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been accused of an alleged r*pe from 30 years ago by a user on X, whose name is Jennifer Guskin, and alleges it was videotaped as a form of blackmail. Guskin attempted to sue the government for these claims but failed to “allege a… https://t.co/LpxuwlVFQ9" / X
Katie Couric Insults Half the Country - The Stream

J6 and the Deep State

Proud Boys leader from Anne Arundel sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison
President Trump Notes the Double Standard of Protests - The Last Refuge
Supreme Court exposes Biden’s selective prosecution of political opponents - Washington Examiner
Althouse: "Did you hear Trump's take on the JFK assassination? Why he didn't release the files?"

The Great Culture War

The Intifada Comes to America. Now What? – HotAir
Pro-Palestinian Activists Dig In and Fan Out – HotAir
Liz Truss Warns US: Stop Appeasing Woke Orwellianism at Home and Totalitarianism Abroad – HotAir
‘Malmö Syndrome’ at Columbia: Leftist-Islamist Reign of Terror Intensifies With Open War Cries
Columbia rabbi tells Jewish students to go home for their own safety as pro-Hamas protests intensify 9 Just The News
Althouse: "Identifiably Jewish students found themselves surrounded and cornered by protest mobs."
Columbia Switches to Fully Remote Classes; UPDATE: Faculty Walkout in Support of Protesters – HotAir
Columbia anti-Semites Try Deploying Hands Across America...Against the Jews – HotAir
Columbia Deactivates Dissident Israeli-American Professor's ID – HotAir
Columbia's Anti-Semitism Is Nothing New. Believe Me, I Know. – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ - Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Pulls Funding From Columbia: "No Longer an Institution I Recognize"
Ilhan Omar's Daughter Brags About Being the 'PC Police' – HotAir
Rapaport Takes on Columbia University Protesters: Trump Will Win Because of You – HotAir
I Was Stabbed in the Eye at Yale – HotAir
More on the Yale Protest That Hospitalized Jewish Student – HotAir
Berkeley Progressives Shocked by Campus Anti-Semitism – HotAir
(20) The Real Mike Rowe on X: "For a guy who runs a foundation that sends young people to trade schools all over America – trade schools where I’m pleased to report, no one is calling for the extermination of Jews – today’s headlines are once again offering another excellent reason to consider redirecting" / X
(20) Chuck Callesto on X: "BREAKING NOW: ⚠️ Police have been ordered TO MOVE IN AND ARREST protesting students and facility at NYU encampment for Gaza. https://t.co/3oDptwSWCi" / X
Instapundit - WHERE WOKE POLITICS LEAD: https://twitter.com/AlanDersh/status/1782409183049945462 Plus: ht
Instapundit - NEW IVY LEAGUE RECRUITING COMMERCIAL JUST DROPPED: https://twitter.com/ShmuelReichman/status/1782
Now It's UCLA Med School That Has a Plagiarism Scandal – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ Surprise! Ph.D. Paper of UCLA Medical School's Top Political Officer for Diversity is Filled With, Get This, Plagiarism
Ace of Spades HQ Former Obama Counter-Terrorism Official Charged With Child Sex Crimes in the UK
Dr. Hillary Cass Warned to Stay Off Public Transport for Her Own Safety – HotAir
Equity in Action: Student With 100 GPA Gets Demoted to 72nd Percentile, Swatted From Her Dream School – RedState
Ace of Spades HQ Boy Bashes In Girl's Head Using a Stanley Thermos, Requiring the Girl to be Hospitalized after Having Her Scalp Sewn Back On; Media Hides The Fact That the Attacker is a Male Transgender Calling Himself "Melanie"
Prison Apologizes to Rapist for Misgendering Him – HotAir
Biden's New Title IX Rules Erase Due Process Protections in Campus Sexual Assault Cases

Some Tuesday Tanlines

YaHoo! Paris Hilton Wants to Create the Future of Self Tanning

Paris Hilton — the self-identified queen of self-tanning — has taken on a familiar category for her latest beauty collaboration.

The multihyphenate has teamed up with Tan-Luxe on a self tanner for body, called The Future, which debuts Sunday at Ulta Beauty and on the retail giant’s website for $49.

The Future includes Tan-Luxe’s new Triple Tan+ technology — a blend of glycerin and erythrulose, which boasts a claim of lasting at least 10 days from a single application — in addition to a peptide complex and a blend of humectants. It also includes a scent Hilton developed, called Pink Sands, which has notes of cassis, violet and white leather. 

She's always had a nose for a buck.

Get Ready for the PFAS Bill

 At the Virginia Mercury, Removing PFAS from public water will cost billions and take time

Chemists invented PFAS in the 1930s to make life easier: Nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant carpet were all made possible by PFAS. But in recent years, the growing number of health risks found to be connected to these chemicals has become increasingly alarming.

PFAS — perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are now either suspected or known to contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and cancer, among other health issues.

They can be found in the blood of most Americans and in many drinking water systems, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency in April 2024 finalized the first enforceable federal limits for six types of PFAS in drinking water systems. The limits – between 4 and 10 parts per trillion for PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA and GenX – are less than a drop of water in a thousand Olympic-sized swimming pools, which speaks to the chemicals’ toxicity. The sixth type, PFBS, is regulated as a mixture using what’s known as a hazard index.

Meeting these new limits won’t be easy or cheap. And there’s another problem: While PFAS can be filtered out of water, these “forever chemicals” are hard to destroy.

My team at the University of Notre Dame works on solving problems involving contaminants in water systems, including PFAS. We explore new technologies to remove PFAS from drinking water and to handle the PFAS waste. Here’s a glimpse of the magnitude of the challenge and ways you can reduce PFAS in your own drinking water.
Removing PFAS will cost billions per year

Every five years, the EPA is required to choose 30 unregulated contaminants to monitor in public drinking water systems. Right now, 29 of those 30 contaminants are PFAS. The tests provide a sense of just how widespread PFAS are in water systems and where.

The EPA has taken over 22,500 samples from about 3,800 of the 154,000 public drinking water systems in the U.S. In 22% of those water systems, its testing found at least one of the six newly regulated PFAS, and about 16% of the systems exceeded the new standards. East Coast states had the largest percentage of systems with PFAS levels exceeding the new standards in EPA tests conducted so far.

Under the new EPA rules, public water systems have until 2027 to complete monitoring for PFAS and provide publicly available data. If they find PFAS at concentrations that exceed the new limits, then they must install a treatment system by 2029.

Our local water system had PFAS analysis done in the last year, and none was found, which is not surprising, since our water comes from deep underground (300-400 ft)

How much that will cost public water systems, and ultimately their customers, is still a big unknown, but it won’t be cheap.

The EPA estimated the cost to the nation’s public drinking water systems to comply with the news rules at about US$1.5 billion per year. But other estimates suggest the total costs of testing and cleaning up PFAS contamination will be much higher. The American Water Works Association put the cost at over $3.8 billion per year for PFOS and PFOA alone.

There are more than 5,000 chemicals that are considered PFAS, yet only a few have been studied for their toxicity, and even fewer tested for in drinking water. The United States Geological Survey estimates that nearly half of all tap water is contaminated with PFAS.

An analytical chemists dream. So many compounds to be tested for, so much money! 

Some money for testing and cleanup will come from the federal government. Other funds will come from 3M and DuPont, the leading makers of PFAS. 3M agreed in a settlement to pay between $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion to help reimburse public water systems for some of their PFAS testing and treatment. But public water systems will still bear additional costs, and those costs will be passed on to residents. 

Another big question is how to dispose of the captured PFAS once they have been filtered out.

Landfills are being considered, but that just pushes the problem to the next generation. PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” for a reason – they are incredibly resilient and don’t break down naturally, so they are hard to destroy.

Studies have shown that PFAS can be broken down with energy-intensive technologies. But this comes with steep costs. Incinerators must reach over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 Celsius) to destroy PFAS, and the possibility of creating potentially harmful byproducts is not yet well understood. Other suggested techniques, such as supercritical water oxidation or plasma reactors, have the same drawbacks.

So who is responsible for managing PFAS waste? Ultimately the responsibility will likely fall on public drinking water systems, but the EPA has no waste regulations for PFAS.
Steps to protect your home from PFAS

Your first instinct might be to use bottled water to try to avoid PFAS exposures, but a recent study found that even bottled water can contain these chemicals. And bottled water is regulated by a different federal agency, the Food and Drug Administration, which has no standards for PFAS.

I can see push for that coming. 

Your best option is to rely on the same technologies that treatment facilities will be using:

• Activated carbon is similar to charcoal. Like a sponge, it will capture the PFAS, removing it from the water. This is the same technology in refrigerator filters and in some water pitcher filters, like Brita or PUR. Note that many refrigerator manufacture’s filters are not certified for PFAS, so don’t assume they will remove PFAS to safe levels.
• Ion exchange resin is the same technology found in many home water softeners. Like activated carbon, it captures PFAS from the water, and you can find this technology in many pitcher filter products. If you opt for a whole house treatment system, which a plumber can attach where the water enters the house, ion exchange resin is probably the best choice. But it is expensive.
• Reverse osmosis is a membrane technology that only allows water and select compounds to pass through the membrane, while PFAS are blocked. This is commonly installed at the kitchen sink and has been found to be very effective at removing most PFAS in water. It is not practical for whole house treatment, but it is likely to remove a lot of other contaminants as well.

If you have a private well instead of a public drinking water system, that doesn’t mean you’re safe from PFAS exposure. Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources estimates that 71% of shallow private wells in that state have some level of PFAS contamination. Using a certified laboratory to test well water for PFAS can run $300-$600 per sample, a cost barrier that will leave many private well owners in the dark.

As I've said before, I consider the PFAS scare to be the next big push by the regulatory state. The costs will far exceed the benefits.

Maryland, My Maryland

Andrea "Alex" Ye

 Hat Hair's Jazz Shaw, Aspiring Maryland Trans Shooter Thwarted

It's not that often that we have the chance to report on some legitimately good news these days, but since the opportunity presented itself this week we might as well take advantage of it. This is the story of yet another mass school shooting, but it's one that didn't wind up happening. The plot was unfolding in Montgomery County, Maryland, and in what seems to be part of a disturbing trend, the aspiring shooter is transgender. An 18-year-old high school girl named Andrea Ye went by the name of "Alex" and described herself as a male. Like others before her, she had written a massive manifesto detailing her dreams of "setting a record" for the most kills, preferably in an elementary school. The parallels to the Covenant School attack in Tennessee are too obvious to ignore, but she was detected and taken into custody before the plan could be put into effect. (National Review)

The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) arrested an 18-year-old transgender high-school student on Wednesday in connection with a plan to commit a school shooting.

Andrea Ye of Rockville, Maryland — who goes by the name “Alex” — authored a 129-page manifesto detailing her desire to attack an elementary school, writing that she wants to be famous and describing her strategy for carrying out the shooting, Montgomery County police announced in a Thursday press release. The statement of charges against Ye, which National Review obtained from the office of the Montgomery County state’s attorney, includes excerpts from her manifesto and glimpses into her internet history.

Several of Ye’s Google searches, in addition to instructions for making bombs and details about other school shootings, had to do with the March 2023 attack on the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, in which Audrey Hale — a biological woman identifying as a transgender man named “Aiden” — killed three nine-year-old children and three adults before being shot and killed by police.

Andrea Ye was clearly a fan of Audrey Hale and referenced her in her writings. She had been researching instructions for bombmaking and fantasized about murdering elementary school students because she "might get tackled" if she shot up a high school. This sounds like a textbook definition of a monster if I've ever heard one.

Plenty of outlets picked up the news of the arrest, but there was one curious commonality among many of them. The majority of headlines I came across completely failed to mention the fact that she was trans. The BBC only described the aspiring shooter as a "teen." The Independent similarly went with "teenager." WTOP News in Washington described Ye as a "Montgomery County Student." WHIO News in Ohio went with "Maryland Teen."

Put her in the men's prison. 

Flotsam and Jetsam - Back in the Saddle

We're back, after a nice, but somewhat hectic visit to Pennsylvania to visit kin. I apologize, a little, for dropping the ball, but first things first, after all.

At Am Think John Kudla wonders Is Biden’s Poll Surge for Real or is the media playing games to promote the horse race and boost Biden? From Fox, Reporter sounds alarm on 'troubling numbers' for President Biden in latest poll: 'A clear liability', "Trump leads Biden in the ability to handle a crisis and necessary mental and physical health, the poll found." At Hat Hair, John Sexton notices In Scranton, Joe Biden Made a Lot of False Claims, Tom Jackson questions Biden Ridin' to Tampa, Because ... Swifties? and Jazz Shaw hears a Catholic Bishop Calls Biden 'Stupid'.

Riley Gaines on X

At Am Spec, Shmuel Klatzkin From Chamberlain to Biden, Lessons in Appeasement "Our present-day appeasers have exhibited all the delusory smugness of Neville Chamberlain." Vijeta Uniyal at LI has a Report: Biden Admin Mulls Sanctions on Religious IDF Battalian Fighting Terrorists In West Bank and Gaza. "Prime Minister Netanyahu slams the move to sanction IDF servicemen while they fight Hamas terrorists in Gaza as ‘absurdity’ and a ‘moral low.’" Josh Hammer at Da Caller explains The Obama-Biden Doctrine: Punish America’s Allies In The Middle East And Reward Its Enemies.

'Becca Downs at TownHall hopes Schumer Getting Rid of Mayorkas Impeachment Could Affect Democrats in November and Beyond. Eddie Scarry at Da Fed fears Democrats Just Blew Off Impeachment Of Alejandro Mayorkas, And Republicans Will Do Nothing About It. At Bearing Arms, Hawley Lights a Fire Under Mayorkas, Leaves Him Sweating After Fiery Exchange. "
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met his match during this explosive exchange with Senator Josh Hawley on Capitol Hill this week." A pretty good video. A triple from TNP, MIGRANT CRIME ROUND-UP: Gangsters, Killers, and Pedophiles Victimize Public, Sap Public Resources. Bloodthirsty Gang Continues to Infiltrate America: ‘They Have No Rules’ and Biden Drops $300 Million (Of Your Cash) on Sanctuary Cities. Breitbart highlights a PHOTO: New York Home Depot Hires Guards with German Shepherd to Deter ‘Aggressive’ Migrants and Thieves. At Am Think, Al Bienenfeld thinks about The Middle Eastern War Being Waged Across America’s Southern Border.

From Da Signal, a Record-Breaking Flood of Comments Condemns Biden’s Latest Student Loan Scheme. At Da Caller, ‘Clear Violation Of The Law’: Biden’s Multi-Billion Dollar Broadband Plan Defies Congressional Mandate, Experts Say and Biden Vowed To Protect American Steel — But Another Effort Of His Could Destroy It. From the Pittsburgh PG, Salena Zito: 'Shrinkflation' means something different in the snack capital. TNP, Bidenomics: Home Sales See Biggest Dip in a Year, Mortgages Soar. Da Wire reports Biden Admin To Spend Over $2 Million To Diversify Marine Biology, Climate Science. No need, they're already over-represented. 

Jeff Reynold at Am Great sees  Biden Weaponizes the Federal Government for His Own Reelection Campaign "America's most radical president has hijacked every arm of the federal government to drag him across the finish line this November. And you're paying for it." The Free Bacon reports the Biden DOJ Enlists Kristen Clarke, Who Defended Black Nationalists Charged With Voter Intimidation, To Combat Voter Intimidation. From Am Think  Robert Arvay fears The losers will lose everything. Big laughs at Lannie Davis at Am Great, Time for a Bipartisan Presidency "There is an opportunity for Biden to win over Biden-skeptical anti-Trump voters. By committing to a bipartisan presidency in his second term if reelected." Lucy, football. Frank Sempa at Am Spec examines What the Elites Think of Trump Supporters "Today’s ruling class wants to maintain its power and privilege indefinitely." Who wouldn't?

PJM's Matt Margolis reports Trump Seeks Support from Another Reliably Democrat Voting Bloc, gays. Ryan King at NYPo hears Bill Barr says he’s backing Trump 2024 because ‘far left’ is a greater threat: ‘Heavy-handed bunch of thugs.’  

MD Kittle at Da Fed, wants you to Meet The Pennsylvania Lawmaker Leading The United States’ ‘Most Important Election Integrity Case’, anti-Zuckerbucks.  Andrea Widburg at Am Think reports Ted Lieu allegedly channeled campaign funds for personal use. 

Stacy McCain, Crazy People Are Dangerous (and Pennsylvania Democrats Are Crazy). At Front Page, Bob Spencer reports a Warrant is Out for Dem State Rep. Kevin Boyle. "Was there no way to tell that a Democrat politician was mentally ill?" Low and slow, over the plate.

Hat Hair's KT reports Trump's Manhattan Jury Has Been Seated. At Breitbart, Former National Enquirer Publisher David Pecker Reportedly First to Testify in Trump Trial. Matt Margolis, Trump's Fate Could Be Determined This Week, by the Supreme Court on Presidential immunity. Leading Report @LeadingReport "BREAKING: Former President Trump says if he’s convicted and does not have presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for his actions on January 6, then “Joe Biden does not have it either, and he would certainly be prosecuted for his many actual crimes.” Bob Spencer at PJM, Two Former High-Profile Trump Critics Now Admit It: His Foes Are the Real Threat to Democracy. TNP, Avenatti Blasts Trump Trials: ‘Politically Motivated, Atrocious, and Over the Top.’ Dan Chaitin at Da Wire, Michael Avenatti Claims He Is Willing To Testify In Trump Hush-Money Trial. Leading Report@LeadingReport "BREAKING: Former Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti says he has talked to Trump’s legal team and is willing to testify for the former president."

Sauron's Eye whines Democrats who investigated Trump say they expect to face arrest, retaliation if he wins presidency. Begee Welborn at Hat Hair, says Call a waahmbulance and KT notes Irony much? Hillary Clinton Says Trump Wants to do as Putin Does to Opponents. Dan Chaitin notes the projection, as Hillary Clinton Suggests Trump Wants To ‘Kill His Opposition’. Bob Spencer, Yes, They Want Him Dead: Dem. Rep. Introduces Bill to Make It Easier to Kill Trump, by withdrawing Secret Service protection if he's convicted of a felony. At Am Think Pete McArdle wonders What Won’t the Swamp Do to Stop Trump? and John Green observes ‘Conspiracy Theories’ Aren’t Theoretical Anymore. Nick Arama at RedState notes a Dem Candidate for Congress Wishes Death to MAGA, and the Internet Responds.

At HE, What about America's political prisoners? Mary Margaret Olohan at Da Signal, has an EXCLUSIVE: She Survived a Death Camp. Facing Biden DOJ Charges, She Is Prepared to Die in Prison for opposing abortion in Biden's America. "Charged by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, Edl faces up to 11 years in prison and $350,000 fines. She is about to turn 89 years old." Begee Welborn says Don't Tease: Glimmer of San Fran Sanity - Bridge Protestors Might Catch 'False Imprisonment' Charges?

Chris Rufo at CJ hears  Larry Sanger Speaks Out "The Wikipedia co-founder discusses Katherine Maher and the corruption of the Internet." At Breitbart, The Proliferation of ‘Disinformation’ Media and AI Puts More Bricks in the Wall. Buck Throckmorton at Da Pipeline, 'Covering Climate Now' and the Corrupt Corporate Media. CDB at Ace's thinks The Freedom Ratchet Only Goes One Way, And It's The Wrong Way. No Pasaran! remembers Paraphrasing Eisenhower, Richard Nixon warned against "the Media Élitist Complex"; "Sullivan vs New York Times is in effect a license to lie." John Sexton reports As TikTok BIll Gets Fast-Tracked, China Orders Apple to Remove US Apps from Store.

John Hinderacker at Power Line says It Isn’t About Israel. Mijal Bitton at Hat Hair, Columbia/Barnard Campus Rabbi Tells Jewish Students 'Go Home - They Can't Keep You Safe'. Kamel Amin Thaabet@K_AminThaabet, "Columbia is basically now Hamas with a bad football program." Sunny @sunnyright, "They didn't miss it. They helped foment it."Quote "Marc Caputo@MarcACaputo "With its top journalism school and journalism review, Columbia holds an esteemed place in media So how did @CJR, Columbia profs & the reporters it produces miss the formation of so much anti-Israel or ant-Semitic bias fostered at & around the school? How did NY media miss it? x.com/jaketapper/sta…
Show more" At NYPo, Privileged Columbia protester who ‘killed’ elderly couple in crash should be in jail, not on campus, furious family says. From the Free Bacon, Eric Holder Says Columbia’s Campus Agitators Have 'Legitimate Concerns.' His Law Firm, Covington & Burling, Said Their Behavior ‘Would Not Be Tolerated.’ Breitbart wants you to WATCH Anti-Israel Protesters at Yale Tear Down American Flag. Tony Badran at Tablet explains Why America’s Richest Universities Are Protecting Hate-Filled Foreign Students. Dan Greenfield at Front Page points out On Israel, Soros Funds the Protests and the Protested "What’s the real difference between Biden and Hamas supporters?" PJM's Rick Moran, Man Near Pro-Palestinian Protest Threatened With Arrest for Being 'Openly Jewish' in England. 

Jordan Boyd at Da Fed explains how Biden Admin’s Title IX Rewrite Obliterates Female Spaces, Free Speech, And Due Process. Eileen O'Connor at Am Great says Flouting Congressional Will, the Biden Administration Rescinds Women’s Rights. From mrcTV, GUTS: Teen Girls Refuse to Throw Shot Put Against Biological Male. At Hat Hair, Scientific™ American Goes All in on Trans Ideology. Beege Welborn comments Holy CRAP. Our subscription was allowed to expire years ago. Mia Cathell at TownHall claims We've Found the Most Insane Transgender Criminal Case Yet, a high bar, but they may have set it. Da Caller worries Military Could Hit Troops With Court-Martials For Refusing To Use Preferred Pronouns, Experts Say. mrcTV, Is This Utah School Letting Kids 'Identify' As Animals? Photos Raise Some Questions.

Althouse, Much as he hates to side with conservatives, Bill Maher worries about the sexualization of children in schools and entertainment media. Watch the whole thing to see what I mean:

Hat Hair's KT, Brutally Honest Bill Maher: "Ron DeSantis Wasn't Wrong."

Leslie Eastman at LI, LA Mayor Begs the Wealthy to Help Buy Housing for the Homeless. Karen Bass now frames socialism as an “unprecedented partnership”.

The Monday Morning Stimulus

AP, Your morning coffee may be more than a half million years old

That coffee you slurped this morning? It’s 600,000 years old. Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world’s most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as “arabica.”

The researchers, hoping to learn more about the plants to better protect them from pests and climate change, found that the species emerged around 600,000 years ago through natural crossbreeding of two other coffee species. “In other words, prior to any intervention from man,” said Victor Albert, a biologist at the University at Buffalo who co-led the study.

These wild coffee plants originated in Ethiopia but are thought to have been first roasted and brewed primarily in Yemen starting in the 1400s. In the 1600s, Indian monk Baba Budan is fabled to have smuggled seven raw coffee beans back to his homeland from Yemen, laying the foundation for coffee’s global takeover.

Arabica coffee, prized for its smooth and relatively sweet flavor, now makes up 60% - 70% of the global coffee market and is brewed by brands such as Starbucks, Tim Horton’s and Dunkin’. The rest is robusta, a stronger and more bitter coffee made from one of arabica’s parents, Coffea canephora.