Music Mania

Music still matters:

The state-funded University of North Texas went after Prof. Timothy Jackson, and the case eventually involved TX Attorney General Ken Paxton and former state Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell. The case ended with a joint stipulation of dismissal, as Jackson agreed to accept a settlement of $725,000, according to Just the News. It is unfortunate that many academics these days are so obsessed with politics and race-baiting that they try to make everything about those topics, which is what Jackson found out, to his cost. In this case, Jackson reportedly claimed that an accusation of racism against his journal’s namesake was antisemitic. But leftist academia encourages antisemitism; that’s not considered racism or harmful prejudice. From Just the News: UNT kicked Jackson out of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies, named after German music theorist Heinrich Schenker, and put it on ice for five years after Jackson published an issue responding to a black peer's claims that the Jewish Schenker was an "ardent racist." Jackson's critique in volume 12 said Hunter College professor Phillip Ewell peddled a "conspiracy theory" that is “part and parcel of the much broader current of Black anti-semitism." He also said musical tastes argued why few black people are music theorists, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle, which saw volume 12 before UNT pulled it. But with the new settlement, Jackson once more has control over his music theory journal and also has a reduced workload.

Keep on listening to the music...

Pen Games

More bad news for Biden:

The Times claims internal emails “show that the Biden White House had a process to establish that Mr. Biden had orally made decisions in meetings before the staff secretary, Stefanie Feldman, who managed use of the autopen, would have clemency records put through the signing device.” But then comes the line that seemingly undercuts the entire narrative being peddled by The Times: “Mr. Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people, he and aides confirmed. Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, he signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence,” The Times’ Charlie Savage and Tyler Pager wrote. According to the report citing an aide, however, “small changes to the list” kept occurring after Biden “signed off,” and so, “Rather than ask Mr. Biden to keep signing revised versions, his staff waited and then ran the final version through the autopen, which they saw as a routine procedure.”

He didn't sign on the dotted line...

Man Thing

That might be a man, baby:

The pair had originally been convicted for spreading false information before the Paris appeals court on Thursday overturned the verdict. The initial ruling ordered the two women to pay $9,300 in damages to Brigitte Macron, and $5,800 to her brother. BRIGITTE MACRON TO INTERNET TROLLS: "SEE YOU IN TOP COURT" France's First Lady is done with wild online rumors claiming she's secretly her own brother named Jean-Michel. She's suing the two women who started it, and after a lower court let them slide, she's now taking it to… https://t.co/1xZsAdodaQ pic.twitter.com/VPOPWujeDj — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 14, 2025 France24 reports: "Brigitte Macron filed a libel complaint against the two women after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021, alleging she had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux – who is actually Brigitte Macron's brother. "In the video, defendant Amandine Roy, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium, interviewed Natacha Rey, a self-described independent journalist, for four hours on her YouTube channel. "Rey spoke about the 'state lie' and 'scam' she claimed to have uncovered that Jean-Michel Trogneux had changed gender to become Brigitte, and then married the future president."

Who do you really love...

Firing Lines

Trump can still fire them:

The decision temporarily pauses an order by a lower court judge that had reinstated roughly 1,400 employees at the Education Department. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid off half of the department's workforce as part of the Trump administration's broader reduction in force efforts. Later that month, Trump announced in an executive order that he planned to shutter the department altogether. The Supreme Court's order arose from two lawsuits, including one brought by 20 Democratic-led states that challenged the Education Department's layoffs and planned closure. The plaintiffs argued to the high court that the Trump administration's "record abundantly reveals" that its "true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute." The Trump administration responded that the layoffs did not prove the department was being shuttered and that the department plans to carry out its legally required functions. Congress would need to approve a full shutdown of the department's functions.

Kind of like a dying patient...

Love Disconnection

There's no love lost between AI and Generation Z:

A new Bloomberg Intelligence survey has found that Generation Z, broadly defined as those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, is less comfortable with AI-powered features in dating apps compared to their millennial counterparts. The survey, which polled nearly 1,000 US respondents between May 15 and 29, 2025, was conducted by Attest on behalf of Bloomberg Intelligence. The findings suggest that Gen Z users are more wary of using AI to draft profile prompts, respond to messages, or modify profile pictures than millennials. This hesitancy could spell trouble for dating app companies that have made sizable investments in AI technology to attract and retain younger users. Bloomberg Intelligence technology analyst Nicole D’Souza, who authored the report, noted that these AI features might be unnecessary for many users. The survey revealed that nearly half of the respondents had no issues creating their profiles without AI assistance and that most did not struggle with conversations with potential matches. The survey results highlight the challenges faced by dating app companies like Match Group and Bumble as they heavily invest in AI to appeal to younger users who have different social norms and dating preferences compared to other generations. Gen Z, in particular, is more likely to abstain from dating or prefer long-term relationships over casual ones, a shift that may have been influenced by pandemic-era isolation and a preference for in-person interactions. This shift in dating habits has led to eight consecutive quarters of subscriber declines at Match, which owns popular brands such as Tinder, Hinge, Match.com, and OkCupid. Competitor Bumble has also struggled with revenue and paid-user slumps in recent quarters. Match CEO Spencer Rascoff, who assumed the role in February, acknowledged that the company failed to “recognize and respond to changes in the younger demographic” as millennials aged.

Old fashioned romance is not dead...

Pen Problems

Biden isn't exactly helping his case:

Biden sent mixed signals to the Times about his supposed involvement in the issuance of a record number of pardons and commutations in the final days of his presidency. "I made every single one of those," Biden said regarding the clemency decisions late in his term. "And — including the categories, when we set this up to begin with. And so — but I understand why Trump would think that, because obviously, I guess, he doesn't focus much. Anyway, so — yes, I made every decision." Despite attributing the clemency decisions to himself, Biden also indicated that his fingerprints might not be on any of them. In addition to telling the Times that he orally communicated his decisions to aides — a possible tell that there might be a lack of papered evidence showing that he directly approved the last-minute pardons — Biden noted both that the autopen was used liberally because there were "a whole lot of people" and that he did not personally approve every individual categorical clemency.

He still wasn't there...

Mothers Talk

Just tell them the truth: