OPEN THREAD: Let’s see your best work tonight.
August 13, 2026
BAD IDEAS GET MUCH HARDER TO KILL ONCE THEY ACQUIRE CREDENTIALS. A shaky claim becomes a study, the study becomes a textbook lesson, and the lesson becomes conventional wisdom. Kitty Genovese and the Stanford Prison Experiment show why we need better ways to trace bad claims, broken citations, and everything built on top of them.
CRAZY:
I still think about the random utility truck driver who was fired because someone got him to do an "ok" symbol.
— Lefty's Cheap Hotel (@JrWannamaker) August 13, 2026
Related:
Tyler is obviously right and this is one meta irony that perpetually floats over academia for me:
So many academics think political activism is the most important thing.
Yet, academics are reliably the most incompetent political actors IRL, they lack the say they should have in… https://t.co/Jvk1Hkae9I
— Coddled Affluent Professional (@feelsdesperate) August 13, 2026
TADALAFIL AND GLAUCOMA: Popular Erectile Dysfunction Drug Linked to Vision-Threatening Eye Disease.
SUPPORT MUSCLE RECOVERY: Grass Fed Colostrum Powder. #CommissionEarned
WHAT CLIMATE CRISIS?
New data for Great Barrier Reef: Last five years best on record
Yet, media wrote its obituary in 2014
Research told us it would be almost gone in 2022
Not all scare stories are truehttps://t.co/siAvj2d0thhttps://t.co/hj58WrVihVhttps://t.co/Q0mNUoOOyt… pic.twitter.com/vFRTBNvpHo
— Bjorn Lomborg (@BjornLomborg) August 13, 2026
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Gas Is So Expensive In Britain That Fuel Theft Is Surging.
REP. ELISE STEFANIK, DESTROYER OF HIGHER ED WORLDS, HAS A NEW BOOK OUT. Say what you will about those Congressional hearings, they were a serious “the emperor has no clothes” moment.
WHO KNEW KICKING IN A DOOR AND CHOKING A GUY WAS AGAINST THE LAW? New Maine Dem Senate Nominee Hit With Domestic Violence Scandal.
SO JUST LIKE THE LAST DEMOCRAT ADMINISTRATION, BUT MORE FLAGRANT:
It’s very likely that the next Democratic administration will have a justice department that will refuse to investigate and prosecute antisemitic criminal activity from the left, and will refuse to enforce immigration laws banning supporters of terrorism from the country. pic.twitter.com/rpTrc5h8vY
— David Bernstein (@ProfDBernstein) August 13, 2026
DEMS ARE GOING QUIETLY TO WAR OVER ONE ANOTHER OVER THIS: Is Trump Pal David Ellison About to Get the Greenlight to Buy Warner?
GET RID OF PESTS: Dr. Killigan’s Premium Clothing Moth Traps with Pheromones. #CommissionEarned
WE KNOW WHAT IT SAYS; THE FUN IS IN WATCHING THEM STRUGGLE TO SAY IT:
What does it say when an organization has to call an all-hands meeting to define the word "woman"? Especially when the organization literally has that word in its title?
Woke Will Eat Itself, Chapter MCLXII …https://t.co/GURLwRqzvl
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) August 13, 2026
NOT FLORIDA WOMAN: Tacoma Democrat arrested in five-car DUI crash one week after winning House primary. “Though she was recognized as a House candidate, a source tells The Jason Rantz Show that she did not seek any special treatment, nor did she identify herself as a candidate.”
That’s actually refreshing.
FAKING IT ALL OVER AGAIN: Remember Hillary Clinton’s unbelievably fake Southern accent on the 2016 campaign trail? Well, putting up fake fronts is even more prevalent among Democrats these days, according to the Issues & Insights (I&I) crew.
“This week, to cite just the most recent example, a group of ‘Republicans for Talarico’ disbanded after it turned out that they were actually just a bunch of lifelong Democrats in disguise, but not before MS NOW gave them some free airtime,” I&I explains, referring to Texas Senate candidate James Talarico.
Then there is AOC, apparently so uninformed about Dixie susurration, that she’s now trying out her own Yankee-fied nonsense on the campaign trail. And don’t forget Michigan Democratic Senate aspirant Abdul El-Sayed, who has described himself as a “Dr.” despite having no such license. There are many more at I&I.
GET YOUR VITAMINS: Ensure Max Protein Milk Chocolate Shake. #CommissionEarned
THEY ENJOY SOMETHING OF A REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE ADVANTAGE: Ukrainian Drones Outmatch US Army in Exercise.
Ukrainian troops from the battle-tested 412th Regiment of Unmanned Systems Forces, known as Nemesis, effectively eliminated a U.S. armored brigade during the Combined Resolve exercise in April and May. Roughly 3,500 American personnel, primarily from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, participated.
Ukrainian reconnaissance drones quickly located American armored vehicles, whose movement kicked up dust and made them visible from above.
Explosive-dropping and first-person-view, or FPV, drones then moved in.
The Ukrainians were registering simulated kills so rapidly that American vehicles had to be returned to the battlefield, or “re-spawned,” to keep the exercise running, according to the Journal.
The Americans adapted during the two-week engagement, improving their use of dispersion, concealment, and electronic warfare.
Ukrainian operators eventually switched sides and helped U.S. forces employ drones offensively, where the Americans performed more effectively.
This is why we train — and in this case, we got to train with the best.
TWO OF THE MOST FAMOUS LESSONS ABOUT HUMAN NATURE WERE BUILT ON BULLSHIT. The Kitty Genovese story and the Stanford Prison Experiment helped teach generations to see people as more cowardly and cruel than the evidence justified. The Reality Test Project is about finding claims like these before they harden into “knowledge.”
