Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Welcome to CaturSaturday, August 1, 2026, and the new month is on us! Soon it will be Back to School Time, a time that always filled me with great dread when I was a child.
Here are the famous “Four Yorkshiremen” from Monty Python:
Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the August 1 Wikipedia page.
Da Nooz:
*Thousands of Moroccans have suddenly decided to enter Spain via Ceuta, a Spanish city on the African mainland.
Spanish officials said on Friday that tens of thousands of migrants had entered Ceuta, the small Spanish territory in North Africa where a surge of people crossing the border from Morocco has left nearly three dozen people dead and created a political crisis for Spain’s pro-immigration government.
Some 60,000 people were estimated to have entered the territory since Thursday, said Juan Jesús Vivas, the head of Ceuta’s government. He called the situation “absolutely unsustainable” in a territory with about 83,000 residents. In the fast-moving situation, Spain’s interior ministry had a somewhat lower estimate, saying that about 50,000 people had entered the territory.
Many of them have since returned to Morocco. The interior ministry said on Friday afternoon that more than 25,000 of those who entered Ceuta in the surge had left.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, arrived in Ceuta on Friday to address what his conservative opponents have called an invasion of Spanish soil. At a border crossing, he condemned “mafias involved in human trafficking that deceive many young people, many of whom ultimately lose their lives.”
Mr. Sánchez has developed an image as a pro-immigration liberal and Europe’s most prominent critic of the Trump administration’s hard line against migrants. He made global headlines this year by allowing more than a million migrants to apply to formalize their status.
Migrants began crossing into Ceuta (pronounced say-YOU-tah), a six-mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s coast that Spain has governed for centuries, in large numbers on Thursday. They climbed over border fences or swam, sometimes for hours, to its shores. At least 34 people died trying to enter Ceuta, Mr. Vivas said on Friday.
On Friday, hundreds if not thousands of young men were lingering on the beach in Ceuta, some carrying satchels and plastic bags. “You ask why everyone came — because there’s no work in Morocco,” said Ajoub el-Arrot, 24, a Moroccan arrival.
Several people said they had been encouraged to enter Ceuta by the Moroccan authorities. “They just kept saying, ‘Go that way, go that way,’” said Youssef Alaoui, 26, referring to police officers who he said pointed them in the right direction. He ultimately swam across the maritime border, he said, encountering several dead bodies in the water.
In recent years, as Morocco became a key staging ground for migrants seeking to reach Europe, Spain has depended on Moroccan border guards to stem the flow of arrivals. Tensions have spiked in the past when Morocco appeared to let more migrants move toward Ceuta, to exert political pressure on Spain. In 2021, more than 10,000 people crossed into Ceuta in two days.
UPDATE from the NYT: most have returned to Morocco but there were quite a few deaths:
An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 migrants entered a small Spanish territory alongside Morocco on Thursday and Friday, according to Spanish authorities. Although at least 48,300 had returned to Morocco by Friday afternoon, the mass crossing prompted an immediate backlash from far-right politicians in Europe that seemed poised to linger.
Scenes of chaos in Ceuta (pronounced say-YOU-tah), the North African exclave that Spain has held for centuries, splashed across news networks and social media. Juan Jesús Vivas, the head of Ceuta’s government called the situation “absolutely unsustainable” in a territory with about 83,000 residents. At least 60 people died trying to enter the area, according to local officials.
Local authorities said they would not feed or shelter migrants who remained in Ceuta. Many said they hadn’t eaten in nearly two days.
On Thursday, shocking footage spread online of droves of primarily young male Moroccans storming Ceuta, a small Spanish territory on the North African coast. Thousands of them swam around breakwaters and climbed fences to enter the tiny enclave. An estimated 60,000 people are believed to have arrived in Ceuta—where the permanent population is 84,000—in 24 hours. Eighteen immigrants have died during the crossings. Meanwhile, local bars and shops are closed for fear of looting. The chaos has caused the leader of Ceuta to appeal to Madrid to send in the army.
The Spanish government has done so, but it should never have come to this. It was bound to, though, because Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, a Socialist, oversees one of Europe’s most permissive migration regimes. In January, Sánchez announced a blanket amnesty program to regularize the immigration status of half a million migrants living illegally in Spain. In a New York Times op-ed published in February, Sánchez characterized the move as both humane and economically necessary, and contrasted his policy to the restrictive ones of “MAGA-style leaders” (read: Hungary’s former prime minister Viktor Orbán).
Here’s a tweet from Luana, who tells me an asylum seeker who enters any part of Spain is entitled to a hearing, which can take two years or more. If this continues, the situation will be a big crisis, if it isn’t already. English translation:
“Thousands of Moroccans arrived in trucks and buses at the Ceuta border. It’s not a migration crisis; it’s a Green March orchestrated by Mohamed VI.”
Miles de marroquíes llegaron en camiones y autobuses a la frontera de Ceuta.
It’s Friday, July 31, and “I will tell them no.” That’s what Netanyahu reportedly told his ministers days before flying to Washington, in response to reported U.S. pressure for a “series of withdrawals” across Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. He later denied the issue even came up in the meeting—a denial that now appears to have been a lie.
Yesterday the Board of Peace published its plan. Under the roadmap, Hamas surrenders everything it holds—weapons, light and heavy, tunnels, depots and production facilities. The handover runs in stages beginning within weeks: police weapons first, then the heavy arms and tunnels are decommissioned under the International Stabilization Force, stored in designated sites and taken out of use, while personal weapons fall “under Palestinian law.” None of it goes to Israel. At the end, only the Palestinian technocratic committee administering Gaza holds any authority over arms.
In the board’s words: “At the end of the process, Hamas will have no governing role in Gaza, neither openly nor behind the scenes, and the Gaza Administration Committee will hold full authority in accordance with the principle of one authority, one law, and one weapon.”
And, as is inevitably the case with Trump’s deals, the other side reads it differently. Hamas has claimed: “We will not take any steps regarding disarmament before Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip.” Don’t take that at face value—they are almost certainly preparing to give up some portion of their arsenal. Expecting Islamists to publicly announce the end of armed resistance is unreasonable, even once they’ve agreed to it in practice, but don’t read their rhetoric as entirely empty either. Israel has told envoy Tony Blair that the reported 15-point document does not adequately address its demands. Translation: There is a withdrawal somewhere in the agreement before disarmament is completed. Though I doubt it’s total.
More likely this is a fight over symbolism. Hamas will not want a photograph of its men handing weapons to Israel—hence the international forces. Meanwhile, a single foot is 12 inches more than Netanyahu is willing to give back before elections.
My Take: they won’t get every weapon. But so long as Israel doesn’t have to withdraw completely and keeps the freedom to go back in when it needs to, 20,000 disabled rifles are worth entertaining the process.
It’s hard for me to believe that Hamas is going to surrender its weapons, but, as Segal says, there’s no guarantee they’re giving up all their weapons, nor is there a guarantee that Israel will withdraw completely from Gaza. Still, this looks like a step forward.
*You can read the full text of the Gaza “deal” at the AP site. Here are a few of the 15 stipulations:
2. Israel shall fully complete, without delay, all remaining commitments under Sharm Sheikh Protocol, particularly the cessation of military operations as detailed in annex (1). Hamas and the Palestinian factions shall complete the cessation of all military operations in accordance with Sharm Sheikh Protocol and the Peace Plan. In parallel, the timetable and implementation mechanisms of this Roadmap (“Implementation of Phase 2”) shall be prepared within 14 days after all parties approve the Roadmap, which could be extended by a decision by the International Verification Committee (IVC). Upon the completion of the timetable and implementation mechanisms, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) shall enter the Strip and start to assume its responsibilities. The IVC, that shall be established by the Board of Peace (BoP), comprising representatives from the guarantors, BoP and the International Stabilization Force (ISF), shall certify that both parties fulfill their commitments under the Roadmap before proceeding to the implementation of Phase 2.
3. Progression from one phase to the following one shall be contingent on the verified completion of the commitments of the previous phase. This verification shall be done by the IVC, which shall also observe any violations by either party through an enhanced monitoring mechanism.
4. Hamas and other factions agree that all civilian governance and security functions in Gaza shall be handed over to NCAG in accordance with President Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan in Gaza. They also assert that NCAG shall enjoy full independence in carrying out its responsibilities and that the factions shall not interfere in NCAG affairs during the transitional period, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2803 (2025).\
. . . 6. Gaza shall be governed according to the principle of One Authority, One Law, One Weapon. NCAG shall operate in accordance with Palestinian laws, relevant international standards and the principles of good governance.
. . . 8. A process to decommission and store heavy weapons, military production sites, depots of weapons, and tunnels, shall begin after completing the remaining commitments under Sharm Sheikh Protocol, the entry of NCAG and deployment of ISF. This process shall be administered and implemented by NCAG in a gradual, sequential and time-bound manner according to an implementation timetable that shall be completed within 14 days after all parties approve the Roadmap, which could be extended by a decision by IVC. This process shall be linked to an Israeli withdrawal, in phases, from the areas under its control in Gaza and the decommissioning of armed militias in accordance with article 10 of this Roadmap. This process shall be monitored and verified by IVC and supported by ISF. The Palestinian factions shall take part in this process, and no weapons shall be transferred or handed to Israel or non-Palestinian parties. At the end of the process mentioned in articles 7 – 10 of this Roadmap, only NCAG shall hold, store or control weapons in Gaza. The implementation of this Roadmap, including the issue of weapons and other articles of the comprehensive peace plan, shall create appropriate conditions for a credible pathway towards achieving Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
This all sounds good, but of course if there is governance in Gaza, it must eventually be Palestinian, and Palestinian moderates who can govern are thin on the ground. Without weapons, Hamas will be toothless as a terrorist organization, but what would prevent them from getting more weapons.
→ HRH Fauci!: Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, kept a journal. A diary filled with love notes to himself. Which I’ve literally never heard of a man doing, but that’s beside the point. I guess he also did it on his work computer, because Senator Rand Paul obtained and released it. I’m not sure where to begin. First, let’s get a sense of the tone. He carefully documents all the glitzy celebrations of himself, lists all the “movie stars and athletes” he has a Zoom call with, and carefully logs all the celebratory news stories about himself. It’s like an Excel spreadsheet of compliments. For a sense, here’s Anthony Fauci on Anthony Fauci:
Big front page article abut me appeared in the Washington Post. Very flattering. The situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable. It is not hyoperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable peson in the world. (Countless profiles on me in multiple media. I cannot even read all the things that are written abuyt me since I am so busy . . . seriously. POTUS seems to be enamored of me even though I am taking the spotlight away from him. We are developing a very unique and interesting relationship. The entire secret service corps is coming over to me and chatting. They let me into the first gate without even checking ID. Everyone is worried about my health and welfare, probably because it is all over the place that I am almost 80 years old.
He loved being a celebrity. The thing about it is, he really was being worshipped! There was a cult of Fauci. People were getting Fauci tattoos and dancing with images of Fauci. He really was on the cover of every magazine, which, if you think about it, was weird! If millions of Americans suddenly made me their cult leader, and I had previously just been an unknown short man in the back of an HIV press conference, I would go insane with power too. So would you. And when you see lockdowns in the context of a power-drunk elf getting turned on by the idea of canceling Easter—he’s typing so fast he can barely keep up—you can understand better what we all lived through. For him, the pleasure was canceling things, especially things he felt gave power to the right (sports, family gatherings, religious events). We can never forget the freaks who gain power in a centrally controlled system. Also: no diaries, ever, certainly none in Google Docs. I write my grocery lists on Signal, and you should too. Love letters via email have been forbidden until further notice. I will be dragged up in front of Congress one of these days, but so help me God, they aren’t going to know about one brunch I attended. Next up, the lab leak. . .
→ The DNC is in big trouble: The Democratic National Committee is broke. They’ve made their whole thing about hating rich people, and now they want some of those rich people to help them out. Like a temperamental kid who runs away from home with four dollars and a guinea pig, now they’re broke and they’re hungry. The DNC is asking vendors not to send invoices until after the midterms. And the DNC chair was described throwing his phone at a staffer’s desk. “As Democrats, the only solution is to acknowledge the problem and fix it,” writes longtime DNC fundraiser Rufus Gifford. But can they articulate the problem? No one seems able to. Top Dems are doing promotional videos outside rich people’s homes being like, we hate this specific family, whose names are Todd, Kat, and Blake. And then they get confused why Todd’s not writing a big fat check this year.
→ And how is the progressive New York publishing world? Well, here is Simon & Schuster’s star author. (Her first two books are getting reissued in September, yay!)
Just in case you didn’t know what she was implying . . .Susan is commenting here on Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who went on a podcast and said that if his family hadn’t left Germany, he’d be a lampshade. Anyway, Susan decided to weigh in a totally normal way: “First of all, he’d be more useful to humanity as a lampshade. Second, how long do we have to keep listening to this nonsense?” She adds: “Or a bar of soap. I forgot to add that perfect utility for Alex Karp, mass-murdering demon.” It’s probably not relevant, but New York’s First Lady, Rama Duwaji, illustrated one of Susan’s essays. They’re artistic collaborators. How special is that?
Zios!!!!! You can read about Abulhawa here, and here’s an excerpt from her Wikipedia bio (note that even Mamdani criticized her!):
Abulhawa has referred to Israelis as “rootless, soulless ghouls” in her writing, as well as describing the October 7, 2023 attacks as a “spectacular moment that shocked the world”.[16] She described the Gaza war as a “Jewish supremacist slaughter”, writing, “these sons of Satan will taste what they meted to us”.[17] New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized her comments as “reprehensible” and “patently unacceptable”.[17][16] Mamdani was criticised by some of his supporters for “reinforcing harmful narratives that conflate support for Palestinians with anti-Jewish sentiment”. Abulhawa said that her comments were not antisemitic or anti-Jewish and that she was responding “to a Zionist power structure and its proponents from the perspective of a Palestinian who has experienced the ravages of that system”.
*Both the NYT and the WaPo have weekly religion-and-faith newsletters; the former is called “Believing,” the latter “Awakenings.” That alone would make you think that the answer to the query in the latest WaPo column, “Is America becoming more religious?”, would be “yes.” But it ain’t so. The proportion of religious people in America is not rising, but the importance of religion to those who already embrace faith is increasing. I’ll quote:
The idea that the United States is becoming more religious has come to be widely accepted, particularly in conservative media. But the statistical measures of American religiosity don’t actually point toward a significant uptick in religious belief and practice. Instead, a number of data points seem to support the notion that what the U.S. is experiencing is a vibes revival. The public’s sense that religion is roaring back is completely disconnected from what’s actually happening in America’s pews.
The Pew Research Center has been asking respondents if religion has been gaining or losing influence in American life for more than 20 years. In 2024, only 18 percent said its influence was growing — the lowest number the survey has recorded. But in just over two years, that share doubled to 37 percent, while the share saying that religion is losing influence fell from 80 percent to 61 percent.
The graph below shows a rise in perception but not religion itself:
. . . In April, Gallup released new polling data about the religiosity of America’s young adults. One finding dominated headlines: Among young men, the share who said that religion was very important in their lives was 28 percent in 2022-23 but rose to 42 percent in 2024-25. That’s a 50 percent increase in two years. (Among young women, there was a modest decline, with the share saying that religion is very important in their lives falling from 32 percent to 29 percent.)
Notice that the “surge” is only among young men, and not young women:
But the report’s other findings received less attention, even as they undermined the conclusions being drawn from the most widely discussed finding. According to that Gallup survey, the share of young men who identified with any religious group in 2022-23 was 61 percent. In the most recent data, it was 63 percent. That shift is statistically insignificant. Data about monthly religious attendance shows a seven-point gain among young men, compared with a 14-point jump in religious importance — twice the size.
When social scientists measure American religion, they often talk about it in three dimensions: behavior, belief and belonging. The most widely regarded datasets that track American religion do not point to a significant increase in the religiosity of young adults — in fact, it’s just the opposite. When it comes to religious behavior, the General Social Survey reports that 38 percent of Gen Z never attends religious services. That’s seven points higher than millennials and 19 points higher than Gen X when they were 18-29. Gen Z is also six percentage points less likely to report weekly attendance compared with baby boomers (19 percent versus 25 percent).
. . . When it comes to religious beliefs, 18 percent of Gen Z expressed an atheist or agnostic view of God, and 40 percent said that they believed in God without a doubt, according to the General Social Survey. For comparison, 15 percent of millennials were atheist or agnostic, and 48 percent were certain believers. And when it comes to religious belonging, the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Survey reports that about 44 percent of people born in 1990 or later claim no religious affiliation. Young adults are more than twice as likely to be nonreligious as those born in the 1960s.
So religion is “having its moment.” But why? Don’t ask me! Perhaps you can weight in below. (One might say that present circumstances have led to people having a “god-shaped hole” in their heart, but what is drilling that hole?) But what’s happening is clear: people think that religion is increasing in influence and number of believers, but it isn’t happening. In fact, young people are getting less religious as “nones” are on the rise. There may have been a slowdown in that rise, but people are mistaking a pause for an increase.
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili’s making wisecracks about progressives again:
Hili: Apples are falling, which means gravity is still in effect. Andrzej: Were you ever in doubt?
Hili: I visited some progressive students’ websites. They give the impression that they’re constantly levitating.
In Polish:
Hili: Jabłka spadają, czyli grawitacja nadal działa.
Ja: Miałaś wątpliwości?
Hili: Zaglądałam na strony postępowych studentów, sprawiają wrażenie jakby cały czas lewitowali.
Masih has to be accompanied by the Berlin police to the site of an Islamist killing:
Did the Muslim community and Pro Palestine activists, took to the streets to show their solidarity and condemn the Islamist terror in Berlin that has killed a mother.
Thanks you to the Berlin Police for accompanying me to the site of the attack, where an Islamist screaming… pic.twitter.com/h5fwScZXWD
I checked J. K. Rowling for juicy tweets, but got a page full of levitating balloons. Why? Because this was at the top. THEIR????? Is that her way of joking?
One from my feed; I wonder if it really is a brand-new puzzle:
The crow solved a brand new three-step puzzle in 30 seconds to get a bedtime snack! He even had time to make sure he didn’t miss any cashews. That’s really amazing! 🐦⬛👏 pic.twitter.com/scPn2mZfre
— Nature is Phenomenal (@AnimalGeoLife) July 31, 2026
One I retweeted from the Auschwitz Memorial:
This Dutch Jewish girl, arrested while trying to escape to Spain, was gassed to death as soon as her transport reached Auschwitz. She was ten years old. https://t.co/VTDWwsO1o4
And two from Doctor Cobb. First, the only taxidermied blue whale in existence, now off limits because of two salacious people (I don’t blame them):
The only taxidermied blue whale in the world, 1865 CE, now housed at the Natural History Museum in Sweden. The public was allowed to enter the whale up until a couple was found having sex inside it.Now the whale’s jaws are opened only for special occasions, such as Swedish election days.
There have been constant small scale attempts by North Africans to gain access to Europe by climbing the fence to Ceuta, the tiny Spanish outpost. Realistically this is hardly surprising. Some people wonder if this is an organized attempt to seize the territory. I suppose it’s possible.
Bari Weiss has hired religious conservative Ross Douthat to work at “60 Minutes.” He has no experience in TV or reporting.
Just because more people believe that religion is on the rise doesn’t make it so. The fact that the media seems to be cheering religion on may give people the impression that religion is on the rise, when it’s just their claptrap about religion that is on the upswing. I read the claims that religion is a actually making a comeback with skepticism.
“Soon it will be Back to School Time, a time that always filled me with great dread when I was a child.”
I continue to dread the start of the school year and the return to classes. Something about my own insecurities as a university teacher (the students are terrific but I worry that I am not). That anxiety is now so ingrained that I can’t imagine a career whose annual ebb and flow isn’t tied to the seasons of the school year. Am working on a plan to exorcise that demon on the first day of my retirement.
Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Washington University and perhaps the leading expert on trends in religion, says the current popular claims about the growth of religion and religiosity are just “vibes” and that the data does not back them up. Burge isn’t anti-religion. In fact, he’s a practicing Christian and was a Protestant pastor. Rather, he’s a data-driven person who reports the facts.
For those interested in these subjects, I recommend his twice-weekly Substack. He will provide you with more data and objective analysis than you can shake a stick at.
Hili: Jabłka spadają, czyli grawitacja nadal działa.
Ja: Miałaś wątpliwości?
Hili: Zaglądałam na strony postępowych studentów, sprawiają wrażenie jakby cały czas lewitowali.
I once read of somebody’s theory that there was an evolving species of apple trees that produced gravity-defying apples. The species existed for a time, but because eventually no apple seeds reached the ground to germinate, it went extinct.
I find it odd that socialists favor open borders. Increasing mass migration leads to an increase in the supply of people looking for work, driving wages down, and an increase in the demand of people looking for homes, driving housing prices up. These are at odds with the socialist vision of high wages and low cost housing.
Thinking about who might have a motive to lower labor rates and drive up housing costs, especially of rental housing, it sure looks like the beneficiaries of any open border policy are the very same big bad corporations that socialists claim to hate. They have been fooled into believing that having empathy for illegal immigrants is more important than providing good jobs and affordable housing for our own residents, and the landlords and corporatists are laughing all the way to the bank.
It is readily apparent to anyone actually thinking abut these issues that the proclaimed socialist goals are mutually incompatible. Unlimited immigration is not compatible with higher wages, low-priced housing, and healthcare for all. The economy will simply not be able to support all of the above, even with all the good intentions in the world.
I am not sure if the rank-and-file leftists supporting free or low priced (insert the benefit here)—those who basically got Mamdani elected, have bothered looking beyond their slogans, and actually thought about the algorithms necessary to implement the benefits that they propose. But the socialist leadership—the people running the DSA, for example, have certainly done so. They understand full well that that the implementations of their policies are anti-liberal (by which I refer to the original meaning of the word liberal), and if completed, would necessitate the end of the liberal democratic society that defines America.
Piker says that the problem for progressives is winning the primary, not the general election, clearly implying that the latter would be an easier victory. Right…
I think this guy is truly delusional. I have voted for Democratic candidates almost exclusively for my whole life, and I don’t skip elections, but if the choice is between a MAGA Republican and a progressive fanatic, I will abstain. And I am not the only “traditional liberal” or moderate Democrat who would do so. It’s not a course of action I generally approve of, but I don’t feel that I would have any choice.
If this “aids” the Republicans, so be it. It will be on the heads of these progressives, not mine. I will not lend my vote to empower these people. If the progressives are counting on people like me to support them in a general election, they have a rude awakening ahead.
Piker is an Islamist apologist. And he does not limit himself to praising Islamic authoritarianism, he is also an enthusiastic supporter of People’s Republic of China, and praises Chairman Mao to the skies. In normal times, such a person would be regarded as outside the political spectrum in the US. These days, he is courted by Democratic candidates for national office, some of whom openly agree with him on many issues. And the worrisome thing is that some of those candidates may well win.
Of course, such views do not play well in mainstream America, or so I hope. And of course the Democratic Party needs to get its act together, and nominate candidates who are more mainstream. (Note that some of these yo-yos, once nominated, are pretending that they did not hold extremist views, while others are more honest.) But I think that Republicans should get their act together as well. Some of these national offices are considered “safe seats” for Democrats, so these extremists are almost guaranteed to win. In some cases, the Republicans don’t even offer a candidate. It seems to me that a moderate Republican ought to be able to beat a candidate like Darializa whatsername. People who like politicians like Susan Collins (hated by the right wing of her own party) are not that rare. The Republican Party ought not to give up on such seats. That won’t happen as long as Trump is leading the party—I don’t think that he would allow party support for such candidates, but further up along the road….
One of my friends is a Democrat from birth. He has worked tirelessly for Democratic candidates, even taking a year off from law school to do grassroots organizing. Like many people here, he is disgusted by the party these days, especially because of their tolerance for antisemitism. He lives in Denver, in a district that just nominate a far-left candidate for the House. I don’t know if he will sit the election out, or vote Republican, but he feels betrayed by the party to which he seriously dedicated much of his life.
There have been constant small scale attempts by North Africans to gain access to Europe by climbing the fence to Ceuta, the tiny Spanish outpost. Realistically this is hardly surprising. Some people wonder if this is an organized attempt to seize the territory. I suppose it’s possible.
Bari Weiss has hired religious conservative Ross Douthat to work at “60 Minutes.” He has no experience in TV or reporting.
A curious thing about the owners of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. They have always been politically active, as part of their brand, but they are now in a battle with their parent company over ONE issue. Guess what it is. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/31/ben-jerrys-ice-cream-magnum-boycott?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ten_tabs&utm_campaign=&position=2&category=fascinating_stories&scheduled_corpus_item_id=8d4aec86-7fd5-4ad1-8a92-bd371a61fa13&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2026%2Fjul%2F31%2Fben-jerrys-ice-cream-magnum-boycott
Putting my own feelings aside, I don’t think that promoting a position that splits the country is a good business move.
I wonder why the pontiff hasn’t said anything about the crisis in Ceuta yet. Isn’t “support for migrants a central theme of his papacy” (BBC)?
Just because more people believe that religion is on the rise doesn’t make it so. The fact that the media seems to be cheering religion on may give people the impression that religion is on the rise, when it’s just their claptrap about religion that is on the upswing. I read the claims that religion is a actually making a comeback with skepticism.
“Soon it will be Back to School Time, a time that always filled me with great dread when I was a child.”
I continue to dread the start of the school year and the return to classes. Something about my own insecurities as a university teacher (the students are terrific but I worry that I am not). That anxiety is now so ingrained that I can’t imagine a career whose annual ebb and flow isn’t tied to the seasons of the school year. Am working on a plan to exorcise that demon on the first day of my retirement.
Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Washington University and perhaps the leading expert on trends in religion, says the current popular claims about the growth of religion and religiosity are just “vibes” and that the data does not back them up. Burge isn’t anti-religion. In fact, he’s a practicing Christian and was a Protestant pastor. Rather, he’s a data-driven person who reports the facts.
For those interested in these subjects, I recommend his twice-weekly Substack. He will provide you with more data and objective analysis than you can shake a stick at.
Thx other David, I’ll look him up later today.
best
D.A.
NYC
That blue whale is incredible!
Interesting to hear Segal on the disarmament business. I’d be curious to hear what Starwolf makes of it all..
I once read of somebody’s theory that there was an evolving species of apple trees that produced gravity-defying apples. The species existed for a time, but because eventually no apple seeds reached the ground to germinate, it went extinct.
Ha! Neat.
What would we do without the ground? Not be here for one…upside down smiley emoji inserted here
I find it odd that socialists favor open borders. Increasing mass migration leads to an increase in the supply of people looking for work, driving wages down, and an increase in the demand of people looking for homes, driving housing prices up. These are at odds with the socialist vision of high wages and low cost housing.
Thinking about who might have a motive to lower labor rates and drive up housing costs, especially of rental housing, it sure looks like the beneficiaries of any open border policy are the very same big bad corporations that socialists claim to hate. They have been fooled into believing that having empathy for illegal immigrants is more important than providing good jobs and affordable housing for our own residents, and the landlords and corporatists are laughing all the way to the bank.
It is readily apparent to anyone actually thinking abut these issues that the proclaimed socialist goals are mutually incompatible. Unlimited immigration is not compatible with higher wages, low-priced housing, and healthcare for all. The economy will simply not be able to support all of the above, even with all the good intentions in the world.
I am not sure if the rank-and-file leftists supporting free or low priced (insert the benefit here)—those who basically got Mamdani elected, have bothered looking beyond their slogans, and actually thought about the algorithms necessary to implement the benefits that they propose. But the socialist leadership—the people running the DSA, for example, have certainly done so. They understand full well that that the implementations of their policies are anti-liberal (by which I refer to the original meaning of the word liberal), and if completed, would necessitate the end of the liberal democratic society that defines America.
Piker says that the problem for progressives is winning the primary, not the general election, clearly implying that the latter would be an easier victory. Right…
I think this guy is truly delusional. I have voted for Democratic candidates almost exclusively for my whole life, and I don’t skip elections, but if the choice is between a MAGA Republican and a progressive fanatic, I will abstain. And I am not the only “traditional liberal” or moderate Democrat who would do so. It’s not a course of action I generally approve of, but I don’t feel that I would have any choice.
If this “aids” the Republicans, so be it. It will be on the heads of these progressives, not mine. I will not lend my vote to empower these people. If the progressives are counting on people like me to support them in a general election, they have a rude awakening ahead.
Piker is an Islamist apologist. And he does not limit himself to praising Islamic authoritarianism, he is also an enthusiastic supporter of People’s Republic of China, and praises Chairman Mao to the skies. In normal times, such a person would be regarded as outside the political spectrum in the US. These days, he is courted by Democratic candidates for national office, some of whom openly agree with him on many issues. And the worrisome thing is that some of those candidates may well win.
Of course, such views do not play well in mainstream America, or so I hope. And of course the Democratic Party needs to get its act together, and nominate candidates who are more mainstream. (Note that some of these yo-yos, once nominated, are pretending that they did not hold extremist views, while others are more honest.) But I think that Republicans should get their act together as well. Some of these national offices are considered “safe seats” for Democrats, so these extremists are almost guaranteed to win. In some cases, the Republicans don’t even offer a candidate. It seems to me that a moderate Republican ought to be able to beat a candidate like Darializa whatsername. People who like politicians like Susan Collins (hated by the right wing of her own party) are not that rare. The Republican Party ought not to give up on such seats. That won’t happen as long as Trump is leading the party—I don’t think that he would allow party support for such candidates, but further up along the road….
One of my friends is a Democrat from birth. He has worked tirelessly for Democratic candidates, even taking a year off from law school to do grassroots organizing. Like many people here, he is disgusted by the party these days, especially because of their tolerance for antisemitism. He lives in Denver, in a district that just nominate a far-left candidate for the House. I don’t know if he will sit the election out, or vote Republican, but he feels betrayed by the party to which he seriously dedicated much of his life.
“The public was allowed to enter the whale up until a couple was found having sex inside it.”
Would have been better if it was a Sperm Whale.
I’ll get my coat…
Well they used to call porn “blue movies” so maybe not!