IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: Slipping Off America’s Leash.

Ukraine may have found a new internet tool for targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure. That’s good news for people who like punishing aggressors, and bad news for people who hate expensive diesel and inflation.

I am both of those people — real life is messy like that.

War is even worse, so let’s take a look at what’s going on over there, even though this week’s essay isn’t really about the Russo-Ukraine War. But it’s a good place to start.

Tons more at the link.

THERE WAS A LOT OF BLACKPILLING ON GUN RIGHTS IN THE 1990s, FOLLOWED BY VICTORY: The Peaceful Second Amendment Revolution: How the right was restored from its nadir half a century ago.

LIGHTNING DEAL: FEIERDUN DS2 Adjustable Dumbbells. #CommissionEarned

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Anduril says its first satellite can see adversaries maneuver in orbital night.

Funded with Anduril’s internal capital, the company’s oven-sized satellite launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission in July with a package of tech demo payloads: an edge-compute processor, a power-management system adaptable to different mission types, and a long-wave infrared space sensor capable of detecting other objects in orbit.

Anduril reported on the success of the tech demo mission Tuesday. The company’s satellite, named Anduril-216, flies about 590 km (366 mi) above Earth, spending about one-third of each orbit in darkness. Anduril-216’s night passes allow its infrared imager to shine.

“This is a unique sensor that allows us to take imagery in long-wave [infrared],” said Gokul Subramanian, Anduril’s senior vice president of engineering. “What’s unique about that is it’s got a huge dynamic range. It has very low solar exclusion, so we’re blocked by the Sun very rarely, and we can see things in full dark.”

I wonder what Subramanian isn’t telling us…

WELL, TO BE FAIR, THEY’RE MORONS: Ronald Dworkin: The Childlike Innocence of the American Protester.

And tools of bad people.

GODSPEED:

Starship Super Heavy rocket booster moved to launch pad https://t.co/Sn5VN93bww

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2026

Earlier: So Who Wants to Watch the World Change Again on Friday?

THIS IS NO TIME TO GO WOBBLY: Trump’s Iran Strategy Could Be a War Winner if He Sticks to It.

R.I.P. RICHARD POSNER.

OPEN THREAD: Hump Day.

HISTORY: Were there ‘lost cosmonauts’ in the early Soviet space program?

WISHING HIM WELL: ESPN says that “Actor and race car driver Frankie Muniz was hospitalized Wednesday following a practice lap crash at Daytona International Speedway, according to his racing team.”

Normally when TV stars or business celebs get into racing it’s egotistical gibberish  but a pal who raced small formula cars against Munoz says he’s the real deal. Not a young Jackie Stewart, mind you, but when one racer refers to another saying “oh yeah, he’s quick” that’s a sign of mad props.

Get well soon, Frankie!

SEE THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE STUDENT SPACE TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION TEST FIRE ITS “BIG LIQUID” ROCKET ENGINE:

LONGEVITY: 5 Different Anti-Aging Treatments Have One Surprising Thing in Common.

ALIENS: Scientists Discover a Strange Form of Iron on the Moon That Shouldn’t Be There.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: 7 habits proven to make you more likeable, according to science.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Pop Culture Proves It: The Left Loves Political Violence.

Sam Morril created an entire bit around a dead baby.

The comic found bleak humor in the reaction to an alligator killing an infant. He focused more on a comedy club patron’s outrage, expanding the bit in the process.

Dark? Yes. Funny? For some.

Morril wasn’t gleeful that a child had died, but he used it to explore the boundaries of humor and why we get outraged by select jokes and not others. Plus, black comedy allows us to process grief. It’s called gallows humor.

Dave Chappelle’s latest rant is different. And, sadly, it suggest a cultural rot that cannot be ignored.

The Left, not center-Left souls or classical liberals, crave political violence. Sound hyperbolic? Consider the evidence. There’s too much of it now to ignore.

The Left has always loved political violence, but it’s a big tell when open admission of it goes mainstream.

TESTED: 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid Is More Electric Than Gas.

AI WAR: PLA-linked Chinese university bought Nvidia H200 chips despite US blacklist, records show. “The findings come as Nvidia and its CEO Jensen Huang face mounting scrutiny in ‌Washington over his lobbying for looser restrictions on sales of AI chips to China, following reports alleging he was targeted by a Chinese spying operation.”

THOSE NARRATIVES DON’T MAINTAIN THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW:

Hamas & Islamic Jihad have now themselves, in their own martyr notices, admitted that SIXTY-TWO "innocent Gazan journalists" were in fact combatants killed in action. Despite obsessive interest in the Gaza war, not one major mainstream media outlet has covered this story. https://t.co/bhPXr6sJ78

— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) November 11, 2026

ICYMI: French Author Risks a Year in Prison for Comments About Muslims.

UPGRADE YOUR PILLOW: C CUSHION LAB Deep Sleep Pillow. #CommissionEarned

RIGHT’S 119TH HAIL MARY: House Freedom Caucus (HFC) members delivered three clear messages during a Capitol Hill news conference earlier today that featured a frankness and candor one almost never encounters in Congress.

WHEN SECONDS COUNT, THE POLICE ARE ONLY HOURS AWAY: Chicago PD: Four-Hour Response To Multiple Home Invasion & Sexual Assault 911 Calls.

WELL, COMMIES STICK TOGETHER: NPR Celebrates Activist Whose Data Center Campaign had Ties to China-Linked Socialist Group. “The release aligns with my assessments that China is gutting our artificial intelligence infrastructure using our own environmental law. Reports say 21 PSL campaigns in 14 states blocked $23.6B in AI investment.”

HEY, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AFFORDABILITY ELECTION?

NEW: Washington gears up for a new era of congressional investigations with the White House adding 15 staff to its counsel’s office as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress

https://t.co/JIAdZi1V0C

— Katherine Doyle (@katiadoyl) November 11, 2026

Run on affordability, govern on TDS and socialism.