My wife and I went for a hike in the woods at Sibley State Park yesterday.

From atop Mt. Tom, through the haze (more smoke from Canadian wildfires?) you can barely make out the town of Willmar, 13 miles (21 kilometers) away:

On two of the steeper sections of the trail there were these traction assist things that took away from a feeling of being out in the wilderness but did lessen the chances of taking a spill on the gravel:

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:

Elon Musk Rebrands Twitter to X, Spurring Scores of Wannabe Tokens

Unemployment Rate Near Record Lows in Half of States

Half of US states were experiencing record-low unemployment — or very close to it — in June, underscoring the strength of the nation’s labor market.
The unemployment rates in 25 states are currently at or within 0.1 percentage point of a record low, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Friday. New Hampshire and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates last month, at 1.8%.

Worldcoin token launch sparks response from Vitalik Buterin

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

New VCU Study suggests smell and taste loss no longer COVID-19 infection indicator

Florida Man:

About That Bizarre DeSantis Video Attacking Trump

One recent move that drew intense blowback, including from Republicans, was the campaign’s sharing of a bizarre video on Twitter that attacked Mr. Trump as too friendly to LGBTQ people and showed Mr. DeSantis with lasers coming out of his eyes. The video drew a range of denunciations, with some calling it homophobic and others homoerotic before it was deleted.
It turns out to be more of a self-inflicted wound than was previously known: A DeSantis campaign aide had originally produced the video internally, passing it off to an outside supporter to post it first and making it appear as if it was generated independently.

According to the only history textbook approved for Florida high schools by Ron DeSantis, the Civil War began when the North seceded from the Confederacy, the Union Army consisted entirely of homosexual vampires, and Southern slaves were so happy, they invented smiling.

— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) July 23, 2023

Politics:

The Logic of Donald Trump’s Campaign

A man is running to run the government he tried to overthrow while he was running it, even as he is running to stay ahead of the law.
That sounds loony, except in the topsy-turvy world of Donald Trump, where it has a grotesque logic…
Trump ultimately might not be charged with staging an insurrection or sedition. And that would be a shame. For the first time, a president who lost an election nakedly attempted to hold onto power and override the votes of millions of Americans.
If that isn’t sedition, it’s hard to figure what is.

That Sound You Hear Is Donald Trump Screaming, Crying, and Throwing Up in a Mar-a-Lago Bathroom

The GOP Primary Is All About Owning the Libs

The mesh trucker hats, ‘Bud Right’ koozies and ‘Abolish the FBI’ yard signs Republican presidential candidates are feverishly hawking are, on the surface, all about amassing enough small-dollar donors to qualify for the first debate.
But there’s something else revealing about the candidates’ emporiums of red meat. In the modern GOP, owning the libs is what sells.

Alabama governor suggests new map was intended to defy court order

Inconclusive Election Thrusts Spain Into Muddle

Spain was thrust into political uncertainty on Sunday after national elections left no party with enough support to form a government, most likely resulting in weeks of horse trading or potentially a new vote later this year.
Returns showed most votes were divided between the center right and center left. But neither the governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez nor his conservative opponents won enough ballots to govern alone in the 350-seat Parliament.
While the conservatives came out ahead, the allies they might have partnered with to form a government in the hard-right Vox party saw their support crater, as Spaniards rejected extremist parties.

The Republican War on College

Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the two GOP presidential frontrunners, have both promised a crackdown on colleges should they occupy the White House — a stark reflection of the right’s growing skepticism of higher education.
Between the lines: Some Republican complaints about colleges are related to broader concern about ‘wokeness’ and free speech. But others hint at deeper questions about the value of college, and how to ensure a degree comes with an appropriate economic return.

“That’s pretty remarkable that you’re not concerned about it given the fact that they wanted to hang you on January 6.” — Dana Bash to Mike Pence, after he claimed he’s not worried about Donald Trump’s rhetoric.

Serendipity:

Climate Collapse Could Happen Fast

As temperature and weather records fall, Earth may be nearing so-called tipping points.

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