WHY ELISSA SLOTKIN’S THREATS TO TRUMP STAFFERS ARE PROBABLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL:

Slotkin’s comments show a blatant disregard for the separation of powers. Congressional investigations meant to deter people from joining or working with a presidential administration would give Congress enormous power over the executive, empowering it to hold the executive branch hostage. That investigative power would have a chilling effect on the executive branch’s operations because individuals and companies would refuse to work with any presidential administration for fear of being subjected to a congressional investigation.

Mazars left many questions unanswered, and the full scope of Congress’s oversight powers remains undecided by the Supreme Court. But Slotkin’s statements not only crossed a line but also make it harder for Congress to defend its oversight powers before the Supreme Court.

Read the whole thing.

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HMM: It Appears That the AI Bubble Has Just Burst in China.

A report from Reuters suggests that the AI bubble in China “has already burst.” Or it might be more apt to say that it shriveled like a rapidly deflating balloon: over the past four months, Reuters notes, the country’s STAR50 index of AI and semiconductor companies collapsed by 40 percent, wiping out $480 billion in market value. That is not a typo.

“The stock market later evolved into a speculative crazy bull,” Beijing-based fund manager Dong Baozhen told Reuters. “And now we see the bubble bursting.”

Shares of Unitree, China’s buzzy robotics company, have halved since the company went public in a much-hyped IPO in August, the reporting noted. The chipmaker CXMT, meanwhile, has lost more than a quarter of its value over the past month.

The vicissitudes of the stock market haven’t completely dampened AI investors’ spirits, though. DeepSeek, one of China’s top AI companies, recently raised $15 billion in one of the largest funding rounds in the country’s history, Bloomberg reported. The outlet also noted that Huawei clinched a $2.3 billion loan from Chinese banks to spend on more AI chips.

Maybe less of a popped bubble and more of the inevitable shakeout finally taking place.

HE JUST THINKS IT’LL STOP PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THEM. Macron: Censorship Is the Answer to Riots.

A whiff of grapeshot is the answer. Ask Napoleon.

STACY MCCAIN: Bad Boys, Bad Drugs, and Other Addictions. “She had tremendous potential, and all that potential went to waste because of the extended adolescence of the party scene that LA tolerates as normal. Grown-ups acting like teenagers without adult supervision consider themselves the height of sophistication, and sneer at those of us out here in the ‘conservative hometown’ environment of the American heartland. We’re a bunch of rubes and hicks, and the Hollywood degenerates are The Smart People — or so they tell themselves.”

Smart is as smart does.

IN WHICH WASHINGTON NOT-SO-SUBTLY TELLS BEIJING THEY KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THINGS:

JUST IN: The Pentagon has published a remarkable image of China's secretive Shenlong spaceplane in orbit, captured by a Maxar satellite and featured in its newly released 2026 space threat assessment.

The reusable, uncrewed spacecraft launches aboard a rocket and returns to… pic.twitter.com/oihgAsMvSZ

— Outer Space Today (@outerspacetoday) October 27, 2026

“China has disclosed few details about the spacecraft’s missions or capabilities.”

To be fair, the Pentagon doesn’t say much about the X-37B, either.

MARTIN HACKWORTH: DataRepublican sees long, hard times to come.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME: Maine Absentee Ballot Envelopes Ended Up at a Soros-Tied Organization in Maryland.

BRAZIL IS NOW A COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP. IT NEEDS TO BE TOPPLED.

CRUCIAL FACTS ON THE FLAVIO BOLSONARO MATTER:

It's not just Flavio Bolsonaro who fled Brazil to escape the tyrannical persecution of Alexandre de Moraes and the pro-Lula wing of the Supreme Court. There are dozens of Brazilian exiles who have done the same: dissident… https://t.co/BitnM3fj3A

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 27, 2026

OPEN THREAD: Tuesday’s groovy.

I THING SPACEX’S ETHOS IS TRICKLING OVER: ‘More missions, more often’: NASA is overhauling how it selects science missions.

IS THE NEW YORK TIMES A LIBERAL NEWSPAPER? OF COURSE IT IS: A Week Before the USA’s Mid-Terms, the NY Times Gushes Over Lula’s Brazil Presidency Win, Handing a “Stunning Rebuke to the Right.”

FINALLY: Scientists Discovered an Amazing Practical Use For The World’s Leftover Coffee Grounds. Take that, Romans.

MY NEW YORK POST COLUMN: Wannabe tyrants fall to the ‘Streisand effect’ — because censors deserve our mockery.

FASTER, PLEASE: Scientists Reverse 60 Years of Aging in Human Cells, Turning 80-Year-Old Cells Into 20-Year-Olds.

BETTING ON THE FUTURE: AI researchers are so confident AI will cure cancer, they started smoking.

GOOD AND HARD, BUT IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE: Brazil has voted for economic chaos.

The shift to the right across South America has been stopped. One of President Trump’s key regional allies has been defeated. The global left, and most of the center, has been celebrating the victory of President Lula over Flávio Bolsonaro in a closely fought election this weekend. There is just one problem. As the brutal sell-off of financial assets demonstrated, Brazil has also voted for economic chaos. That rarely ends well.

While the left were toasting victory on Monday morning, investors were furiously dumping Brazilian equities and, more importantly, debt. On Monday the Bovespa – Brazil’s main stock market index – fell by over 15 percent. The Brazilian real lost as much as a tenth of its value, its worst trading day since 1999. Meanwhile, the ten-year local bond yield jumped from 13 percent to more than 15 percent in a single session. Amid the rout, the country canceled two debt auctions. It was ugly, and shows little sign of calming down any time soon.

In reality, the sell-off made perfect sense. Investors had anticipated a Bolsonaro victory, and were expecting lower taxes, controls on spending and pro-business reforms once their man took power. They had positioned their books accordingly, confidently expecting a post-election rally. After all, on the night before the election, the prediction markets, which are increasingly taken as gospel on Wall Street, gave the right an 80 percent chance of victory. As that prospect of that disappeared, they reversed all those trades as quickly as possible.

And speaking of reversing course: Wow! Flavio Bolsonaro Escapes Brazilian Regime with Family, Headed to FL as Trump Offers Protection.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS: “California Governor Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of being the ‘leading nationalist and socialist of our time’ in an appearance on the Pivot podcast,” Newsweek reported in August of last year.

But suddenly, Gavin’s pretty amenable to spreading plenty of socialism nationally himself!

10 years ago they mocked us for claiming Obama was a socialist. Now they are proudly proclaiming their allegiance to Communism.

All they ever do is lie. https://t.co/bQXOAOEo7Z

— The Drunk Republican (@DrunkRepub) October 26, 2026

Tweet continues:

“The DSA, the energy and the desire and demand for bold change, not incremental change, is very much going to be dominant. I mean, that’s going to be a mainstream Democratic movement. Absolutely. No question about that.”

That’s California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential candidate, speaking to an undercover journalist while campaigning in New Hampshire.

Asked by a “younger voter” who said “we don’t want Kamala Harris, we want more democratic socialist policies”:

“No one is arguing to manage the status quo and fail more efficiently.”

“You can’t play in the margins anymore. The system’s broken. It’s completely unbalanced, and we can’t manage the decline. We have to completely reimagine.”

Didn’t the left already Start From Zero in 2020? How many “reimagines” do they get in a decade?

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YOLO: Jay Z picks himself for Super Bowl half-time show.

Jay-Z has picked himself as next year’s Super Bowl half-time act.

The rapper’s company, Roc Nation, has partnered with the NFL since 2019 to advise on and produce the half-time show.

“From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl half-time stage, this has been a journey,” said the 56-year-old rapper in response to the announcement. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”

The show, one of the biggest events in the music calendar, will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Feb 14.

Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, said he had wanted Jay-Z to perform since they first partnered seven years ago.

“When we first reached an agreement with Roc Nation to produce the show, I had just one request: that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right to him,” Goodell said. “I couldn’t be more excited for fans around the world to experience the artistry, creativity and cultural impact he will bring to the Super Bowl stage.”

I doubt it’s his kind of music, but the ghost of Dick Cheney smiles at Jay-Z’s chutzpah: As Bush’s VP Vetter In 2000, Cheney ‘Sidestepped The Scrutiny He Imposed On Others.’

RUMORS TO THE CONTRARY, WE HAVE NOT YET REACHED PEAK ABSURDITY:

'Singer' in AI-generated Chinese pop band quits the group because she's 'pregnant' https://t.co/2V8KE5XLZD

— Evan Kirstel #B2B #TechFluencer (@EvanKirstel) October 27, 2026

UNLIKE THE MIURA, WHICH IS JUST TRYING TO KILL YOU: 2027 Lamborghini Revuelto SV First Drive: It’s a Friendly Monster.

DISPATCHES FROM THE WORKERS’ PARADISE: ‘Zero-energy companionship’: bizarre hobby takes seed among China’s stressed young adults.

“A REPUBLIC, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT,” IS LOSING OUT TO “MUH DEMOCRACY”:

Late-stage democracy is more descriptive than “end-stage capitalism.” What you’re seeing is a predictable failure mode of a system in which people can vote themselves more money. That’s not a failure of capitalism, that’s unrestrained democracy robbing capitalism. https://t.co/ZyMi0Yry8t

— Payton Alexander (@AlexanderPayton) October 27, 2026

Inevitable? I don’t know. But it’s certainly painful.

ICYMI: North Carolina Libertarian Candidate in Custody After Armed Standoff.