CALIFORNIA BRINGS EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF RIDICULOUS:  Trans HS track athlete sparks shocking podium decision after sweeping California finals.

IT CERTAINLY ISN’T THE PHONES OR THE GAMES OR THE VIDEOS: My sons are men of their time and use all of those, but are also voracious readers. Perhaps the assigned reading that is a punishment in itself full of woke pablum is part of it. It’s not the beginning:  How to Manufacture a Man Who Doesn’t Read. Or: it isn’t the phones.

ABOUT TIME THE EEOC WAS ACTUALLY USED TO DEFEND AMERICANS, INSTEAD OF ATTACKING THEM:  Should be obvious after 250 years but: “American” is a national origin. And English is our country’s official language. No American should be mocked—in the United States of all places—for speaking English or for being American.

X-cancel.

GOOD AND BAD BOTH:  Red-state auditor reports ‘explosion’ of fraud tips as he targets state employees ‘racking up’ taxpayer waste. Auditor Mike Foley says GPS tracking revealed state vehicles going to liquor stores and personal errands on taxpayer dime.

THE BEST GUARD AGAINST LYNCHING IS EFFECTIVE AND IMPARTIAL ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS:  Lynching.

OPEN THREAD: Ring out the weekend.

INSTEAD, THEY WERE THINKING IN DECADES — AND THAT DECADE WAS THE PAUL EHRLICH 1970s:

The Chinese will look at you with a straight face and say “we think in centuries” as they plunge into a demographic crisis caused by one-child policy https://t.co/MX7qLtD4Dd

— New Liberals 🇺🇦🇹🇼🌐 (@CNLiberalism) May 17, 2026

EVERYONE DESERVES A GLOW-UP: NASA’s Perseverance rover is positively glowing in its new selfie on Mars.

VISION: Giant radio telescope sees Artemis 2 astronauts on Orion flying around the moon. ‘There are 4 people in those pixels.’

A FOGGY DAY IN LONDONISTAN:

"I'm trying to imagine" – I'll help you out.

Pro-palestine muslims drove down a Jewish neighbourhood and screamed "Fuck the Jews, rape their daughters".

This is a million times worse than anything you cry about.

Fuck you and your gaslighting, Mehdi.

You are a lying monster. https://t.co/3Bz3TTmQxZ pic.twitter.com/ELgXDT6EL4

— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 🇮🇷 ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) May 17, 2026

I ASSUME THEY’RE ALL FAKE UNTIL PROVEN TRUE:

The American people deserve much better than this. They deserve fake hate crimes that are at least believable on their face. https://t.co/exeWhfuTXm

— FischerKing (@FischerKing64) May 17, 2026

NEW SPENCER PRATT VIDEO DROPS:

The Spencer Pratt campaign is on fire. I don’t know who does all of these, it’s several people, but they’re profoundly impactful. This one is so LA it hits hard! pic.twitter.com/mURcjRqKAT

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) May 17, 2026

This @spencerpratt ad exposes how the threat of social and career ostracization silences most "tolerant" and affluent West LA liberals. They'd rather watch homeless camps, crime, failing schools, and decay swallow their city than risk the mob turning on them. That's how the Left… https://t.co/0PIbf3meIi

— Eli Steele (@Hebro_Steele) May 17, 2026

Steele’s Tweet continues, “That’s how the Left rules by fear while its politicians and elites pray the value of their million dollar homes doesn’t fall.”

I think that’s spot-on, but there’s an uncanny valley aspect to this AI video that may work against it. In the earlier videos by Pratt’s supporters, the use of AI didn’t matter, because they were depicting Karen Bass, Nithya Raman, and Gavin Newsom as amped-up cartoon supervillians, and Pratt as “Prattman,” here to rid Gotham City Los Angeles of its greediest and most venal criminals. Will AI, in its current form, still work as well depicting yoga moms who want to vote for Pratt?

Think of the ’84 Reagan campaign’s “Morning in America” ad:

We know everyone in it is an actor (Reagan’s former career), but by the time the above commercial came along, Americans had been going to the movies and watching TV for decades, and there’s enough “suspension of disbelief” to accept that we’re watching actors underscored by folksy music and warm cinematography to sell the message. “Morning in America” would feel like Soviet or North Korean propaganda if created using AI, and because of its use, I’m wondering if Pratt’s new ad is working against its message.

Earlier: Spencer Pratt Is Where It’s At.

THEY CAN HANDLE TACO BELL AFTER 30? Humans in The Andes Have Evolved a Strange Digestive Superpower.

Actually, I’ve always been able to digest Taco Bell fine, though I don’t eat it often.

WELL, GOOD: Scientists Uncover Cancer-Fighting Power of Popular Fatty Liver Drug.

AT LEAST IT DIDN’T COME FROM A CHINESE LAB, ANYWAY: France says cruise ship Andes virus matches known South American viruses.

Well, if we can trust the French.

WE COULD USE SOME CHEAPER NEW CARS: Could Nissan Give Us the Cheapest New Car in America Again?

GET HEALTHY: ForestLeaf Berberine Supplement. #CommissionEarned

MAKE THEM PAY: Pile On: NSSF Sues Virginia Over Spanberger’s Unconstitutional Gun Ban.

MAKE THE COMPUTER SURFING EASIER: ComfiLife Foot Rest for Under Desk at Work. #CommissionEarned

HEH: Someone Shared a Real Monet Painting as AI and Asked for Critiques.

A fascinating art social experiment unfolded on social media this week after someone shared an actual Monet painting as an AI-generated artwork and asked people to explain what makes the “AI image” inferior to a genuine Monet piece. There was no shortage of “sharp-eyed” critics eager to chime in.

It all started after X user @SHL0MS posted the painting and wrote: “I just generated an image in the style of a Monet painting using AI. Please describe, in as much detail as possible, what makes this inferior to a real Monet painting.”

* * * * * * * *

“The fact that it looks like s**t and is s**t,” writes @RDL0013 in a since-deleted reply. “Slop. Doesn’t look anywhere near like a Monet. Looks exactly like somebody trying to replicate style and achieving like 20% of it. Not as vibrant as Monet’s typical choice of colors. Looks dull.”

Orson Welles, call your office!

NO MIDCHLORIANS? NO DICE. Casimir force co-opted to generate free energy, midichlorians not included. Personally, I want an Electron Pump. I think the downsides were exaggerated.

MORE NUKES, PLEASE: Stewart Brand on Fixing Stuff, Modern Environmentalism, and the Nuclear Future.

FASTER, PLEASE: Scientists Say They’ve Invented a Serum That Activates a Dormant Ability to Regrow Lost Limbs in Mammals.

AND THEN THEY WOULDN’T LET HIM — OR HARDLY ANYONE ELSE — REBUILD:

You live in a $2 million mansion.

He lives in a hotel because democrats burned his house down. https://t.co/mnZJHJsKz4

— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) May 17, 2026

U.S. EYES ATTACK-DRONE THREAT FROM CUBA:

Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and possibly Key West, Fla., 90 miles north of Havana, according to classified intelligence shared with Axios.

Why it matters: The intelligence — which could become a pretext for U.S. military action — shows the degree to which the Trump administration sees Cuba as a threat because of developments in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisers in Havana, a senior U.S. official said.

“When we think about those types of technologies being that close, and a range of bad actors from terror groups to drug cartels to Iranians to the Russians, it’s concerning,” the official said.

“It’s a growing threat.”

How do you say “Operation Bodenplatte” in Spanish?