DISPATCHES FROM THE STAR WARS CANTINA:

Related:

ICYMI: I Just Saw the Future in a Phone Call. “‘It’s been another milestone year for SpaceX so far,’ founder and CEO Elon Musk told investors on the company’s first-ever quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, but his forward guidance was absolutely jaw-dropping.”

SUICIDAL EMPATHY:

GOOD QUESTION: Is Schumer on the Ropes Amid Far-Left Romp in Democrat Primaries?

The latest and perhaps biggest blow to Schumer & Co. came on Tuesday night in Michigan, where progressive upstart Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democrat Senate primary.

It is difficult to overstate how much of a disaster the contest was for the Democrat establishment and for Schumer personally. Schumer effectively endorsed Stevens and rallied his allies to sink nearly $65 million into her campaign. Stevens also had the endorsement of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and outgoing Democrat Senator Gary Peters.

El-Sayed won anyway, and if he wins in November (by no means a sure thing, but still plausible), Schumer will have another major detractor in the Senate. El-Sayed has made no effort to hide the fact that he’s not a fan of the 75-year-old New Yorker and would like to see new leadership atop the caucus.

“If you’re Chuck Schumer, I’m pretty damn dangerous,” El-Sayed declared during a campaign event late last month. On another occasion, El-Sayed promised that he would not vote for Schumer for leader and has indicated that he plans to back progressive Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Following El-Sayed’s victory, Schumer attempted to extend the olive branch and project unity ahead of the general election. “We are a big tent party,” Schumer told reporters when asked about the race. But that cordiality is unlikely to last if El-Sayed ever makes it to the Senate.

Schumer’s fecklessness only encourages them.

WELL, YES, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE A STUPID TWAT:

WELL SAID:

WHEN YOU’RE A LEFTY WHO’S LOST THE GRAUNIAD AND NOW THE ATLANTIC: 

Tweet concludes, “His stunts exposed how deeply wokeness still corrupts parts of the academy.”

It’s like, how much more woke could this be? And the answer is none. None more woke: “‘Hilary Cremin, the head of Cambridge University’s Faculty of Education, could not stop smiling as she welcomed Prof Jason Arday to her department. ‘We are so lucky to have you,’ she beamed. ‘You are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do.’”

OPEN THREAD: Be here now.

A FRIEND WRITES:

There has never been a time where the asymmetries of risk so favor living for the moment. Either AI will bring a Golden Age, in which case all your planning, preparing for and worrying about the future will be pointless. Or it will bring doom, in which case all your planning, preparing for and worrying about the future will be pointless.

There’s very, very little chance of something in between. There’s very, very little chance that all your planning, preparing and worrying about the future will make a difference. Live for now for once, without guilt for doing so. Work less. Save less. Plan less. Enjoy family and friends and nature more. Focus on relationships. Focus on shadow work. Focus on love.

I kinda like this, but I’m not convinced the future — at least the next two or three decades — is as binary as all that. People almost always overestimate the short term impact of technological revolutions and underestimate the long-term impact. The crowd that thinks that jobs will disappear by 2030 or 2035 is, I think, in the former category.

GREAT MOVIE, BUT IT WAS ONLY A MOVIE:

Make Asylums Great Again.

GREAT MOMENTS IN FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: