joeldwright

Dr. Oz: “We have shut down just in the last ten weeks 221 hospices.” Bret: “Wait, over 220 in the state of California?” Dr. Oz: “Yes, in Los Angeles alone.”

@StateDept @LauraLoomer This seems like such an obvious measure to take that it doesn’t deserve a press release and should have been done long ago. This definitely would have never happened under Biden or Kamala.

Secretary Rubio Revokes Green Cards of Foreign Nationals with Ties to Iranian Terror Regime state.gov/releases/offic…

@MichaelARothman @NancyRPearcey @VoteTrevorLee

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐃’𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐘 — 𝐒𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 Robert Putnam is not a conservative. He’s not a Republican operative. He’s not a Fox News commentator. He’s a 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, a past president of the 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, a recipient of the 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥 — awarded to him personally by 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑 — and the author of 𝘉𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, one of the most cited books in modern political science. He is, by any measure, a pillar of the liberal academic establishment. And in 2001, he completed the 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 — nearly 𝟑𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 across 𝟒𝟏 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 nationwide — and the results destroyed the central premise of the diversity industry. What did he find? In the most diverse communities, 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 as they do in homogeneous settings. The greater the diversity, the 𝐟𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞. The less they 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫. The less they 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 and work on community projects. 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 — trust, cooperation, friendship, community engagement — were 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 in more diverse settings (Putnam, 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 2007). And here’s the part nobody mentions: the distrust wasn’t just between different racial groups. Trust declined 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. Diversity didn’t just erode inter-group cohesion — it eroded 𝐚𝐥𝐥 cohesion. People in diverse communities didn’t just distrust their neighbors of other races. They distrusted 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞. Putnam called it “𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯” — withdrawing from collective life entirely. So what did Putnam do with these findings? He 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. He told the 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 in 2006 that he delayed publication until he could “𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺” — in other words, he wouldn’t release the data until he could attach a politically acceptable spin. He later admitted he feared his work would be “twisted” and used in the immigration debate. He worried about facing the same attacks that destroyed Daniel Patrick Moynihan after his 1965 report on the breakdown of the black family — another set of inconvenient data that was suppressed for decades because it didn’t fit the narrative. The 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 covered it once. In 2007. The headline: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺.” Then it vanished. No follow-up investigations. No Congressional hearings. No policy reconsiderations. The largest empirical study on civic engagement in American history — and the political class treated it like it never happened. Ask yourself why. A 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 with 𝐎𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐚’𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟 produced peer-reviewed data from 𝟑𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 showing that forced diversity corrodes the social fabric — and the institutions that worship diversity as a religion decided the data was too dangerous to discuss. They didn’t refute it. They didn’t replicate it and find different results. They just 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. Because the findings don’t threaten a policy. They threaten an 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

@MELANIATRUMP They told us the same thing 25 years ago about the Internet and a screen for every child. How did that go? Was Baron educated by the Internet or a real person?

Artificial Intelligence Delivers World-Class Education to Every Child. This is About Opportunity, Not Replacing Humans. Do not dismiss the power of AI - open your mind to its potential and educate yourself. foxnews.com/opinion/first-…

@KSLcom SAY HIS NAME

A man who sexually assaulted a woman he offered a ride to, whose arrest was delayed due to the backlog of rape kits and the pandemic, was sentenced to prison Thursday. ow.ly/BiKE50YE2NU

The ultimate status symbol in 2026 is carrying a real book around with you that you are reading and can talk about with enthusiasm.

The Hidden Cost Of Never Slowing Down

Naval is right. It reminds me of my favorite parenting quote: Legendary surfer Laird Hamilton came home one day and found his wife, Gabby, in tears. She was struggling with one of their daughters. Gabby said, “I’ve failed as a parent.” Laird’s response: “You love them and you’re here. The rest is details.”

⚠️ Safety Warning from UTA Train Operator Whistleblower on Rampant Crime Committed by Mentally Ill Homeless on Utah TRAX⚠️ “I saw your message on Facebook. I cannot comment because I work for UTA and they could go after me. Anonymity is key when employed with UTA. I am a train operator and we deal with crime on the trains daily. Most crime is committed by the homeless. I've gotten to know many of our homeless riders and very few of them are a threat in our system. We bring the homeless to Daybreak all day. Personally, I tell them to stay on the train and go back to SLC. There's a few bad eggs that's loiter the stations up here. There's a few real sketchy characters looking for trouble. They like to hang out at the library and the 7-11 Gas Station. There's also an area the kids up here named Little Moab that you can find encampments in sometimes until the police punch them out. Definitely look into what UTA will do about the homeless in Daybreak because they will get worse up here. I know they are people too but most of them are looking for ways to steal and a new territory to bring crime and drugs into Homelessness is not a simple wayward life for most. They are just looking for the next opportunity; NOT a way out of their lifestyle. We have UTA police but they aren't a big force. Most of the crime that happens is NOT televised! I was once pulling a train into the Daybreak station and I had a rider approach me telling me he was just robbed. After speaking with him I found out the suspect was on the first car of my train. I walked unnoticed to the train cab and watched the suspect as I was waiting for police. The suspect had a gun under his shirt and he was pacing up and down the train car. I was terrified. The suspect took off from the train into the housing development to the East of the train station. The police was able to locate the suspect and make an arrest. I'm sure you never heard though as it was never a story in the news. We operators have to deal with this level of crime every single day and UTA doesn't do anything until someone actually gets hurt. A few years ago a passenger stabbed an operator in the back of the neck at Ballpark but that wasn't in the news either. I am just telling you this so you can get an understanding about how UTA handles awareness about crime in the system. The mental health of some of the homeless are off the charts and isn't being handled properly due to lack of funding and resources. I hope you can find a way to work with UTA about these issues and prevent a lot of what will come up from SLC to Daybreak. I'm know exactly what's coming to Daybreak if this isn't nipped in the bud now. These homeless passengers are 100% a threat to the beautiful environment of the community. I will not gaslight anyone into thinking otherwise like others do on Facebook. I have a heart but I don't have a heart for trouble and pretending it's not a problem isn’t an option.” Via @RepubliKate Facebook Page Take public transportation at your own risk!

This matters. Thank you.

We strapped 3 men to a rocket in 1969 with a computer that had 74 KB of memory. Your Apple Watch has roughly 1M times the computing power of everything NASA used to get them there. Now ask yourself what the next 30 years look like? Humanity doesn't have a ceiling. It never did.

Over half of college students (57%) use artificial intelligence in their coursework on a daily or weekly basis, while just 13% say they never use it. Full insights from Lumina Foundation and Gallup: on.gallup.com/4lSop9l

STUNNING🚨: Artemis II crew captured a stunning image of Earth this morning from 41,000 miles away. The first time since 1972 that humans have seen a crescent Earth in full.

The diamond engagement ring was invented by an ad agency in 1947. Before that, only 1 in 10 American brides got one. The company behind it, De Beers, was worth $9.2 billion three years ago. Today that number is $2.3 billion, and its owner is trying to find a buyer. In 1940, diamonds were a luxury for the rich. Nobody proposed with one unless they had serious money. De Beers had a warehouse full of diamonds and no customers, so they hired NW Ayer, an ad firm out of Philadelphia. A copywriter named Frances Gerety came up with four words: “A Diamond is Forever.” NW Ayer paid Hollywood studios to write diamond proposals into movie scripts. They planted stories in gossip columns about which rock some actress just got. They invented the “two months’ salary” rule, the idea that a man should spend two months of income on a ring. None of that existed before. It was all marketing. By the 1990s, 8 out of 10 American brides wore diamond engagement rings. Then De Beers did it again in Japan, going from 5% to 60% in 14 years. Advertising Age called it the greatest advertising slogan of the 20th century. They were right. The whole business ran on one trick: make diamonds seem rare. De Beers controlled most of the world’s supply but only released a small amount each year. That artificial shortage kept prices sky-high. And the “forever” in the slogan had a second job: if nobody resells their diamond, supply stays tight and prices stay up. Lab-grown diamonds blew that apart. You can now grow a diamond in a lab that is the same thing, atom for atom, as one pulled out of the ground. Costs 80–85% less. In 2019, only 6% of engagement rings in America had a lab-grown stone. By 2025, that number was 61%. That’s from The Knot’s annual survey of 10,000+ newlywed couples. People are buying bigger rings (1.9 carats on average, compared to 1.6 for mined) and keeping the savings. De Beers saw this coming. In 2018, they launched their own lab-grown jewelry brand called Lightbox, priced at $800 per carat. The idea was to make lab-grown look like cheap costume jewelry so people would still pay a premium for “real” diamonds. Prices tanked 90% anyway. By 2025, American grocery stores were selling lab-grown diamond rings for $200. De Beers shut Lightbox down last May. Since 2023, De Beers has lost nearly $7 billion in value. It lost over $500 million in 2025 alone and has about $2 billion in diamonds sitting in storage that nobody is buying. Its parent company, Anglo American, is now in what they’re calling “advanced discussions” to sell off the whole thing. A 137-year-old company, dumped. The greatest ad campaign ever made convinced a planet that a common carbon crystal was worth two months of your salary. The product that’s killing it just proved you can grow the same crystal in a factory for pocket change.

.@PalmerLuckey: “You can’t tell kids to follow their dreams when their dreams suck.” “Do you know what the #1 dream was for kids in 1971? Astronaut. We’d just gone to the moon. That’s a great dream.” “You know what the #1 job that kids most want today is? It’s social media influencer, professional gamer, YouTuber.” “The problem is—you can’t tell kids to follow their dreams, when their dreams suck.”

I *wish* this were an April Fool's joke

FACT: only 17% of American families are traditional families. This is why America is failing...

Bernie Sanders in 2015: "Open borders? … That's a right-wing proposal which says essentially there is no US. It would make everybody in America poorer… What rightwing people in this country would love is an open-border policy… I don't believe in that."

It is clear to me that @kalshi is going down the same path as Juul, and if they don’t pull back it is going to have the same conclusion. For those that don’t remember, Juul was one of a number of the main vaping brands in the 2010s. It took a product that had a social good (helping smokers quit) but then aggressively pushed it into a new market, non smokers and particularly kids. (See the similarity?) The backlash took time to build but when it did it was devastating for the company. I’ve worked in the online gaming industry for over 25 years, all over the world. This type of marketing is actually extremely rare in real money gaming. Firstly and most importantly it is rare because operators view it as highly unethical. It might surprise you that a lot of people in the gaming industry do actually care about things like underage and problem gambling. Secondly it is also rare because it doesn’t work. Do you think the teenagers in these ads are going to keep playing when they lose all their rent money? The only other company I can think of that pushed this type of advertising was Skillz who aggressively pushed the “second income” line. Check out their share price if want to see how that worked out for them.

Around the Moon and Back in Ten Days There is a rocket on Launch Pad 39B in Florida. 98 meters tall. 2.6 million kilograms. It leaves the ground April 1st with four people aboard. They will fly around the Moon and be home in ten days. No human has done anything like it since December 1972. Victor Glover will be the first person of color beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch the first woman. Jeremy Hansen the first non-American to reach the Moon’s vicinity. Commander Reid Wiseman, a single father, told his daughters: four people on Earth get to fly around the Moon right now. He could not say no. On April 6 they circle the Moon at 6,000 miles. It will look like a basketball held at arm’s length. On the way home they hit 25,000 miles per hour. Farthest. Fastest. Ever. They will not land. That comes later. Apollo 8 first, then Apollo 11. Same logic. Prove the capsule. Trust the capsule. Then trust your life to it on the surface. Four people. Ten days. No landing. The most important test flight since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. It leaves the pad Wednesday. Gandalv / @Microinteracti1