Westenberg’s How to Destroy a Generation:

When every feeling becomes a guiding star, resilience takes a back seat. Minor setbacks start to feel like existential crises, and any challenge to your perspective feels like a personal attack. Soon enough, you have a population that’s constantly on edge, unable to handle adversity, and primed to overreact to the smallest discomfort.

China tightens control of rare earth minerals — what’s the plan here?

At least Steve Ballmer is trying to reinforce the “twin pillars” of democracy and capitalism through his continued investment in USAFacts.org. What good it does is up to news organizations and government, fortunately/unfortunately — prime example:

Ballmer has taken his just-the-facts pitch to Capitol Hill, trying to convince Congress to ground its legislation in facts and to sign a document saying it believes in government data. “I don’t feel like I got much traction,” he admitted.

A lot of eyes on Minnesota over the past few days, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the country awash in midwestern banter. Also proud to see a representative from our state on the presidential ticket — Tim Walz is a tremendous, well-engineered asset and temperament on the national stage.