Sunday Reads...
- Greg McNeilly
- Oct 12
- 7 min read
An irregular roundup of thought-provoking reads. Most made me go “hmm…”
Quote of the Day:
“The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.” - Justice Neil Gorsuch in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
Big Lie Politics: 14 states providing tax-funded healthcare to undocumented immigrants mapped. You know that thing the “media” claimed wasn’t happening. After all, the Democrats promised to provide healthcare to illegal aliens. Then, of course, Congressional Democrats write into their legislation the whole “Alien Medicaid eligibility.” Even CNN notes that emergency rooms are another portal for illegal aliens to get tax-funded healthcare. Even while carrying water for the Democrats who have shut down the federal government to fund illegal alien healthcare, they have a backlog of stories noting, for instance, that in one hospital, 25% of the patients are migrants. Why hide the truth here? It is the Democrat Party’s position to give tax-funded healthcare to illegal aliens.
Good news! Illegal crossings at the southern border plummet to a 50-year low.
Are ObamaCare premiums doubling? Apparently not.
Failure: Research suggests that the Affordable Care Act has failed to live up to over a dozen promises that were made to enact it.
Barri Weiss’s first message to the CBS news team listing 10 timeless values for reporting (bravo!).
Shocker: Statewide Democrat candidate fantasizes about shooting political opponent with real bullets. Yet… not a single endorsing Democrat withdraws their endorsement.
Leading Democrat candidate chums around with foreign leaders who seek to jail gay people.
Most Americans don’t trust Democrats on crime, per their own polling.
Ugh: 20% of U.S. adults are illiterate, and 54% read below a 6th-grade level. Thanks to government schools its almost like self-government doesn’t have a chance.
While reading for pleasure plummeted in America, the percentage who read to children is unchanged. Put another way, inequality of condition is not a bug but a feature of freedom.
The rise of Left-wing terrorism gets noticed.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper skewers recently indicted Letitia James for her abuse of power.
GOP Governor opposes state’s Guard deployment.
Halloween costumes are still trending towards the Korean K-pop Demon Hunters.
Are bumper stickers making roads less safe? This research suggests that your need to virtue signal to fellow tribe members is unsafe.
A mediation on increasing personal agency.
The NYT pleads with Democrat cities not to engage in violent riots.
The 2026 federal tax brackets have been “unveiled.”
WaPo did a fascinating dissection on the math behind addiction – a.k.a – how the CCCP’s TikTok floods American brains with its trash. In fairness to the CCCP, this is also what Meta attempts to do, they are just less advanced.
Counter Narrative:
American billionaires pay more in taxes than you think.
The economic impact of slavery in building the 19th century U.S. economy is likely to be overestimated, according to the data. Slavery, was a drag on GDP.
New research unpacks why the Industrial Revolution occurred in the West and not the more technologically advanced East, one word: “Corporations.”
The totality of cultural strength likely drives technological advances, rather than innate brain power, suggests this new research.
Apparently, the more “education” you have, the more likely you are to support political violence out of intolerance for diversity of thought.
Pricing the privilege of intolerance: College students are willing to pay $2,000 to avoid interacting with people who hold different viewpoints.
More harm is done through suggestive coddling. New research suggests “trigger warnings” are more apt to prime triggering.
It is possible to enhance children’s “working memory” with positive spillover effects on academic gains, according to new research.
That book is “Dangerous!”
Academic leftists argued seven theses against diversity.
Reflections on skepticism, gullibility, and Bayesianism.
The WSJ unpacks one way China could conquer Taiwan.
Another Chinese attack on the U.S. infrastructure was documented.
Moral panics and political upheaval, plus violence, truly are a dark triad.
Overcoming the feminization of culture – watch here.
No, seriously, everyone can tell if you are a serious person! One tell: An unbalanced information diet.
Ouch, on the point narrative (and someone funded this research): People with more visible tattoos are more sexually promiscuous.
More craft breweries are closing than opening, a new trend as consumers pivot away from alcohol.
Is there another (Bill) Clinton scandal afoot?
The FBI was spying on the Article I branch, because, well, that’s what the FBI does, apparently.
“Worse than Watergate,” argue some, noting that the tracking of 8 Article I lawmakers by the Article II branch is a tremendous abuse of power.
COURTS:
No arson in the fire at South Carolina’s judge’s home, yet Drudge and Leftist et al seemed like they were hoping for it. Sad.
The would-be SCOTUS terrorist arrested was packing 200 explosives.
This would-be SCOTUS bomber was another anti-Semitic Leftist, apparently.
Would-be SCOTUS assassin receives a lenient sentence. During which the Judge departs from the sentencing guidelines while extolling the mental illness of the defendant.
Promising: Oral arguments do not predict judgments, but it’s a hopeful signal that the Court is skeptical of letting government regulate the speech of “counseling.”
A trumped-up “orginalist” argument for Trump’s tariffs.
Top Democrat still advocates Court-packing.
Meanwhile, sane Leftists note that Court-packing will destroy the legitimacy of the last Branch standing.
Former Justice Kennedy gives an interview ahead of the release of his memoir to the NYT.
Recalling failed U.S. Constitutional Amendments.
A citizen has created an online searchable Epstein database.
Gourd-O-Mighty! Pumpkins so big you can float inside them, plus the strange history of the pumpkin.
The MacArthur Awards continue their non-merit Critical Theory (a.k.a. “woke”) selection criteria.
Indy Power! A new survey indicates 44 percent of all Americans call themselves Independents, while only 28 percent identify as Republicans and 27 percent identify as Democrats.
The rise of the Third Parent: Pew drops some research on parental trends on deploying screen time with children.
Hopefully! Have we passed peak social media? Maybe.
Social media or "scrolling" even one-sided dopamine consumptoin has become an addiction. It get less attention (pun intended) because its not as sexy as a bender. This phenomenon remind me of this scene:
The Sims that game that people are still pinning for, here.
Fascinating variances: State-by-state how “middle class” changed over a decade.
The growing “kidadulting” economy.
Arthur Brooks advises us to lean into the “imposter syndrome.”
The ideological capture of the “LGBTQ” cabal shows itself again.
Director Ridley Scott dumps on Hollywood as trash and slop.
Nuts! Spanish priest found guilty of “hate” crime for speaking the Truth about Islam.
Higher levels of spending on “pets” correlate to lower fertility rates, research suggests.
Another example why the 501(c)3 section of the tax-code should be eliminated: Islamic nonprofit advocates for the vandalization of U.S. churches.
Where does oil come from? No, not the Flintstones. Learn here.
Government school “book bans,” which means tax dollars are not funding these for compulsory education populations, which is different from censorship.
Humanity: An extraordinary tale of a victim and a predator’s relative building a bond in the wake of tragedy.
What would America look like if Kamala Harris had won? Apparently, we already know.
A resource to help calculate when you will wake up feeling “refreshed.”
If you want to understand a truly toxic childhood – not just a term of whimpy complaining – check out this history lesson.
Does the American “right” have a free speech issue challenge? Here.
The nostalgia for old tech is all the rage with young(er) peeps, notes the WSJ.
What’s it like to operate a nuclear reactor? Check out this digital simulation.
What is the “max” number of “friends” a person can have? Science claims a definitive cap.
Rolling Stones creates a list of the 250 “best songs.”
A digital collection for all of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches.
The rise of “trunk and treat,” a.k.a., another way to make kids lazier and help devolve a sense of community.
Visualizing where the “$1” U.S dollar gets spent.
The robust intra-faith debate over the role and approach to politics unfolding within evangelical enclaves receives attention here.
Distrust of citizens fuels policymakers’ love of tariffs, argues this essay.
Universities producing the most billionaires.
The 2025 National Book finalists, here.
Awesome! Scientists have developed a new, stronger, and lighter process for producing aluminum alloys.
What do Super Agers (long life livers) have in common? Listen here.
Remembering when the federal government used the FCC to control dissenting voices, here.
AI:
TRAVEL:
Record-breaking landmarks across the USA that you can visit, here.
The most impressive bridge in each of our 50 states.
Have you ever wondered what is at co-ordinate 0° latitude and 0° longitude? Or how these co-ordinates were set in the first place? Well, wonder no more, take a look.
Why does Nevada have so many ghost towns? Watch here.
Pictures from inside Thailand’s Water Buffalo Festival.
Vacations are a relatively recent “cultural” habit. The word itself, first appeared (best we know) in the Canterbury Tales.
The 200-year-old history of Oktoberfest explained, here.
The tallest building in the U.S. will be built in… Oklahoma.
Watch the new Game of Thrones prequel trailer here.
A reflection on the Carhartt the Michigan clothing company.
WaPo outlines what gut biome scientists advocates for health.
Pheidippides the poem that immortalized the origin tale of the marathon as a race.
The unlikely history of Uno, the card game.
The Yooper burrito, yes the Pasty gets some attention.
Wikipedia is broken says both its founder and nearly everyone.
Is the Nobel corrupt? There is an investigation.
The backstories of Revolutionary War reenactors.
Grit - your superpower:
