OPEN THREAD: Ring out the weekend.
May 17, 2026
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.
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.
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 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.
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?
TRIM YOUR NAILS: Ergonomic Long Handle Toenail Clippers with Catcher. #CommissionEarned
USEFUL AT TIMES, BUT OFTEN OVERPRESCRIBED: Antidepressants are in the hot seat. Are we getting them all wrong?
QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED, Or Where Does Old Blighty Stand After a Half-Century of Oikophobia?
Because he speaks for millions of voters also treated as marginal cranks by arrogant liberals (who have learnt zero humility in the meantime). https://t.co/95vsIDtlqJ
— David Quinn (@DavQuinn) May 16, 2026
Farage was never a marginal crank. If you compare positions he held with the opinions of the British people as shown in polls & attitude surveys, he was comfortably in the mainstream. The same surveys showed both Labour and Tory MPs were BOTH to the left of their supporters. https://t.co/AGXqfLnrV8
— John O'Sullivan (@JohnOSullivanNR) May 17, 2026
Even John Cleese (quite a dedicated oikaphobic himself in his younger days) now (sometimes) gets it:
I read everywhere about the 'hard right'
This the term used to describe people who are
Islamosceptic – that is, people who are doubtful about the merits of a religion that demands child marriage, the beating of women, and death to all who oppose itPerhaps 'sensible right'…
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 17, 2026
Tweet concludes, “Perhaps ‘sensible right’ would be a better description.”
Related:
🚨 JUST IN: Islamists and leftists are FURIOUS after Tommy Robinson gave the perfect answer
Q: What would happen if you become a prime minister tomorrow?
ROBINSON: "I would STOP Islam, I'd END foreign funding in this country. All the migrants would be taken out the hotels and… pic.twitter.com/XfmaAXemg1
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 17, 2026
YES:
A thought on Cassidy’s defeat. Donald Trump’s philosophy of practicing politics is simple: “If you hit me, I’ll hit you back 10 times harder.” This is his way of imposing discipline so he can get things done. Many Republicans mistake this for childish petulance. The ironic…
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) May 17, 2026
This is the keeper: “The ironic thing is that when these oh-so-high-minded Republicans (Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Thom Tillis, etc.) get their comeuppance, they are the ones who react with truly childish petulance.”
