Just about perfect.

The ‘MAGA Supreme Court’ Doesn’t Exist - WSJ Opinion

Democrats denounce the Supreme Court for making the Presidency too powerful, while they also denounce the Justices for stopping Mr. Biden’s unilateral regulatory actions, including his effort to forgive $430 billion of student loans without Congress. Who really thinks he’s king? The Justices are keeping each branch in its constitutional lane, and those decisions will apply to President Trump, if he wins, the same as they do to President Biden.

Biden Aides Wrote Questions for Radio Hosts Who Interviewed Him - WSJ

Biden’s aides, grappling with the biggest political crisis of Biden’s career, sought to exert control over the Wednesday interview. “I was sent eight questions to choose from,” Lawful-Sanders told The Wall Street Journal.

The purpose of a free press is to hold leaders to account, not to lob scripted softballs at them while pretending it’s an “interview.”

Publishing is the best part of writing.

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Exploring new rails 🚉

Humans make progress and prosper when they learn new things.¹

I entered the workforce in the golden age of online leadership tutorials. It was 2014 and voices like Michael Hyatt, Jon Acuff, and Jeff Goins were breathing new life into business blogging and podcasting. They synthesized their collective knowledge and shared it openly. Although their voices have quieted since then, those lessons shaped me professionally.

One of the primary lessons that these teachers shared was that, “Leaders are readers; readers are leaders.” Most adults don’t read. My son is a voracious consumer of books, and brings them up to the adults he encounters in his day. I took him to get a haircut earlier this month, and he launched into an explainer on his latest book with the barber. I sat in my chair, in pain, as the middle-aged barber told him that they didn’t read; they preferred movies. The reality is, although the total knowledge of the world is contained in books, most adults haven’t cracked one since they were last required to in school.

This juxtaposition caused a simmering curiosity in my mind for the last decade. What is it about the simple act of reading that turns someone into a leader? How can 5, 10, or 12 books a year take an individual from average to great? As I read the quote above from Arthur Books, it clicked.

The act of reading itself is unassuming; you, on a couch, holding a bunch of paper and ink bound together. That’s not what transforms the reader. Reading ignites the brain; it enables the brain to do what it was made to do. Our minds are like sponges, soaking up whatever information they can. When you feed your brain knowledge, rather than empty consumption, it pulls the mind closer to its fullest potential. It stores that knowledge, cross-references it with previously learned facts, and creates new synergies. New ideas are created, and energy is released that propels you forward, improving your productivity and performance and making you a de facto leader in your life.

Movies are great, and so is napping by the pool and taking it easy. When there is time for leisue, choose its highest form: reading. It will always leave you satisified.

Elderly Surgeon Assures Patients He’s Still Lucid Between 10 A.M. And 4 P.M. - Babylon Bee

Despite the sudden calls from nursing staff for Dr. Williams to retire due to his mental decline, he has thus far steadfastly refused. “Nothing but the Lord Almighty could make me stop operating on people,” said Dr. Williams. “I know my mind and my surgical skills aren’t so good anymore. Heck, I know I hallucinate in the OR and forget where I am. That’s not going to stop me from cutting on people, not after all I did to claw my way to the top of the surgical department. I can still do this. They will have to pry the scalpel out of my cold, dead hands.”

At publishing time, the hospital had decided to just let Dr. Williams keep butchering patients as he had brought in a lot of donations to the hospital and it would be a lot of hassle to make him quit.

The chaos of logbooks is always irritating to me. When I’m done, though, the sense of accomplishment is always very real.

JPMorgan Warns Customers: Prepare to Pay for Checking Accounts - WSJ

Lake said Chase is planning to pass on the costs of higher regulation and charge customers for a number of now-free services, including checking accounts and wealth-management tools, if the rules become law in their current form.

Chase charges a variable APR on their personal credit cards of 20.49% - 29.24%.

But yeah, they’re going broke on your free checking account, which pays 0% interest and also generates interchange revenue.

Biden and Democrats Have Truly Worked to ‘Beat Medicare’ - WSJ Opinion

Joe Biden’s history of seeking to abolish Medicare goes all the way back to 1975. That year, the then-freshman senator introduced so-called “sunset” legislation to terminate within six years “all provisions of law in effect . . . which authorize new budget authority for an unspecified number of fiscal years”—and to limit all new laws to authorize only four years of spending. Budget experts have confirmed that, as written and without further congressional action, the bill would have sunset the Medicare and Social Security programs, which is exactly what now-President Biden has alleged Republicans want to do.

4th of July carry.

Biden’s Frailty Isn’t Breaking News - WSJ Opinion

In the run-up to the South Carolina primary that set Mr. Biden on a path to the nomination, I saw him at several events. At a small community center in North Charleston, S.C., Mr. Biden was scheduled to speak on his housing plan at—if memory serves—10 a.m. He was an hour late. When he arrived and began speaking, he looked and sounded so enervated that—this is not an exaggeration—I thought he might be dying.

He moved slowly, slurred his words badly, repeatedly said “North Carolina” when he meant North Charleston, and plainly had no idea why he was there or what his housing plan was. I found this alarming, but everybody else in the room—supporters and other reporters—evidently didn’t.

It’s easy to forget the 2020 cycle, it was so long ago. But there was a reason the Biden campaign kept him in the house and it wasn’t just COVID. He did what hid things best: scripted events and interviews. The gaffs were just the folksy Joe being Joe.

Now we know all about the Emperor’s new clothes.

Special guest on today’s podcast: Mary, the Mother of God

My absolute favorite time of day is in late afternoon, when everyone naturally and simultaneously trends towards rest.

The busy, noisy, loud house reverts to the stillness of early morning, and all is quiet.

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Happy Birthday, America!

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Summer nights

Man Successfully Corrects Someone’s Grammar But Oh No! Now He Doesn’t Have Any Friends! - Babylon Bee

What, was I supposed to just let it slide and keep going with the conversation? Here I stand — my conscience is bound by the Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar and it is neither safe nor right to go against good grammar!

Its okay their, buddy!

That escalated quickly. How is it July already?

Hanging above my desk, just above my line of sight, hangs my degree in Philosophy. It’s been more than a decade since I walked across that stage, and though it is always before me, it more or less blends into the scenery of my office.

I use my degree in almost every moment of every day. In a very real sense, it shaped how I perceive the world. Yet, philosophy is not the sort of hard skill that you consciously apply during your working hours. Rather, it’s the framework through which every bit of information passes through.

In my years on campus, I read dozens of dense philosophy books each semester. With the passage of time, I find myself wondering, as an adult, why I persisted through that workload. Unpacking the most complex thoughts of the brightest minds to have walked the planet, and paying for the privilege, seems to be nothing more than drudgery.

Two weeks ago, I came across the work of Arthur C. Brooks. Although he styles himself as a happiness scientist, and he’s a Harvard professor who lectures on the science of happiness, he is much more than that. He’s studied music professionally, is a trained economist, philosopher, and now a popular social scientist. Add to that fascinating academic background is the fact that he’s a convert to Catholicism, whose conversion was sparked by seeing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I picked up one of his books, signed up for his newsletter, and have listened to several extended interviews he’s done with various podcasts. Going through his work, and unpacking his ideas, I feel spots of my brain lighting up again. I’m instantly taken back to fall on campus, sitting in my room with the windows open, exploring life with the world’s great thinkers.

Philosophy is a wonderful thing to study professionally; it’s a field of study so ubiquitous that it finds its application at work, at home, at play, and at rest.

Top Democrats Urge Party to Stand Behind Biden - WSJ

Pelosi said Biden had a bad night but that he remains sharp and his record paints a contrast with a potential second Trump term. “We see Joe Biden up close. We know how attuned he is to the issues, how informed he is,” she said on CNN. 

This argument absolutely vaporizes the second the tape rolls.

Arthur Brooks, writing in his book, Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier

The macronutirents of happiness are enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose.

The first is enjoyment. This might sound like pleasure-“feeling good.” However, this isn’t correct. Pleasure is animal; enjoyment is completely human…Enjoyment takes an urge for pleasure and adds two important things: communication and consciousness…Pleasure is easier than enjoyment, but it is a mistake to settle for it, because it is fleeting and solitary. All addictions involve pleasure, not enjoyment.

To be happier, you should never settle for pleasure, but rather make it into enjoyment. Of course, that involves a certain cost. Enjoyment requires an investment of time and effort. It means forgoing an easy, effortless thrill. It often means saying no to cravings and temptations. Sometimes, getting enjoyment is hard.

pages 9–10

Cheerful contrast.