Sunday Reads...

An irregular roundup of thought-provoking reads. Most made me go “hmm…”

Quote of the Day:

For the present stalks abroad

Like the past and its wronged again

Whimper and are ignored,

And the truth cannot be hid;

Somebody chose their pain,

What needn't have happened did.

Occurring this very night

By no established rule,

Some event may already have hurled

Its first little No at the right

Of the laws we accept to school

Our post-diluvian world:

But the stars burn on overhead,

Unconscious of final ends,

As I walk home to bed,

Asking what judgment waits

My person, all my friends,

And these United States.

 - From “A Walk After Dark,” by W.H. Auden       

CHARLIE KIRK

• The facts, as known.

• In the wake of Kirk’s assignation, Chinese and Russian bots push divisiveness amongst the U.S. screens.

• A tribute from the Vice President, here.

• Kirk was practicing politics the right way.

• Kirk, the happy warrior.

• RFK, an assassin’s orphan, pays homage to an assassinated Kirk.

• Free Speech was assassinated in Provo.

• Kirk was a titan because he engaged freely.

• Meanwhile, 34% of students think using violence to stop someone from speaking at campus is justified.

• Another survey reports “77% of Republicans think it is ‘always unacceptable’ for a person to be happy about the death of a public figure they oppose. Only 38% of Democrats feel the same way.”

• The National Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University found that 48% of left-of-center voters stated “it would be at least somewhat justified to murder” Elon Musk. That number rose to 55% for murdering Donald Trump.

• 55% of Democrats say people in the opposing party cannot be trusted, compared to 43% of Republicans.

• 27% of Democrats said the 2024 election damaged their friendships with Republicans, and only 10% of Republicans felt the same way.

• You need to be bored, here’s why.

• The WSJ notes that key formula to a successful start-up: Hard Work.

• Perception of college value plummets.

• Research into the legacy of 9/11 on American attitudes.

• Remembering “falling man” from 9/11.

• Vote on the top inventions that changed our human experiences, here.

• Inside the world’s largest animal migration – truly spectacular.

• How the Puritan faith gave rise to free government schools.

• Couples were found to have an increased likelihood of sharing mental disorder diagnoses across nine diseases studied.

• Charting the trust in the Federal Reserve over time.

Federal Reserve Trust Ratings

• Odd: Oliver North and Fawn Hall wed.

• The rise of homeschooling in modern America.

• The relatively short history of a “work-free” retirement is listed here.

• If you follow or subscribe to insight from your Zodiac, you’re not going to like this.  Those stars? As Shakespeare quipped, please don’t blame them!  NYT notes they are not what you think.

• The Girl Scouts are adding a new cookie.

• The “MAHA” health report can be downloaded.

• Unpacking why and how Roman law still forms two-thirds of global legal structures.

• How South Korean taxpayers fund KPop.

• The first direct evidence that Roman gladiators fought brown bears in the arena.

• A deep dive into the student loan landscape in the U.S.

• Malcom Gladwell talks about sports and the science of girls in boys’ sports.

• The polling data demonstrates the Democrat party is being radicalized.

• The prevalence of extreme views on social media is dissected.

• Ranking U.S. states by happiness.

• The history of the term “shrink” to reference a head doctor.

• Why is the media silent about Iryna Zarutska’s murder?

• Another climate study challenges orthodoxy.

• Gender roles correlated to biological sex are seeing a resurgence.

• Not good: Chicago Public Schools are rated “junk bond.”  Apparently, even governments need to pay their debts.

• The complex relation between fostering and prison is researched.

• The average 70-year-old brain is “smarter” than a 20-year-old brain, per the research.

• Legalizing sports betting has negative effects on vulnerable populations. Who could have seen this happening!

• Small business ownership has a significant impact on shifting people towards more conservative policy orientations.

• Some reflections on how to fight “spiraling.”

• Is social status more important than self-concepts?  The debate continues.

• The more online media you consume, the less you trust institutions, the research suggests.

• Learn about the first millennial Saint here.

• Speaking of Saints, here is a round-up of some of the more popular ones.

• SCOTUS: Justice Kavanagh lashes out at lower courts ignoring the law.  Dare we call it Judicial Fascism?

• Top Administration officials are misbehaving, according to this media report.

• Yikes!  A majority (65%) of self-identified Democrats have a positive view of socialism – that is, of a failed fascist economic policy that has killed 130 million people.

• Six Americans who helped create a better Republic through the free market.

• A government university launches a program to increase viewpoint diversity, Project Ordered Liberty.

• The Higher Ed challenge that is not the White House.

• Another study suggests that axing the government-mandated minimum wage would increase job opportunities for young  people.

• Reflecting on White House-authorized attacks.

• AI:

  • How often are people using ChatGPT?

  • When AI is used to preach, it apparently can.

  • The bubble that is AI.

• TRAVEL:

  • The top 50 restaurants in the country, as noted by the NYT.

  • Top baby names that double as U.S. city names.

  • 12 of the best fall foliage hikes in the U.S.

  • 15 cheapest cities in the U.S.

• An essay against “locking in.”

• MSNBC guest gets nuts, claims 11% of the military is White Supremacists.  In unrelated news, in a world with words without meaning, 97% of MSNBC guests are racists.

• For the calendar geeks or time nerds, there is a new resource: Library of Time.

• The eighth wonder of the world – compound interest.

• The best 2025 pictures of space, collected.

• Remembering leadership:

Sunday Reads