It’s a blustery day in Washington. My neighbors have had their siding blown off, and our dog has determined he is aerodynamic. The federal government shut down, schools are closed, and a large swath of flights to and from the swamp are being canceled. Therefore, I will try and make today’s links a breeze.

Bron gonna Bron. The remade Cleveland Cavaliers will probably win the East again, and lose in the NBA Finals. But LeBron James is still coming up with gems.

What’s in the current issue? There are a lot of great items in this week’s magazine, and you should definitely check out. I highly recommend Rachael Larimore’s argument for paying NCAA players.

Purge the bots! I wanted to write a more substantive item on this earlier in the week, but time got away from me. Senator Amy Klobuchar went on Meet The Press with Chuck Todd and suggested she’d love to fine social media companies if they don’t dispense with robot accounts in a timely manner. There are lots of constitutional questions about such a proposal, but from Klobuchar, she is aloof to the fact that she is a bit of a hypocrite. The same senator who expects social media companies to verify their users quickly or face consequences also pushed for an extension on REAL-ID compliance for her own state. REAL-ID was passed 13 years ago.

The Washington Senators. Contributing editor Matt Continetti has a worthwhile read at his Claremont Review of Books website about the books our current Congress Creatures in the Senate are churning out. Do be sure to read the whole thing.

The Tide Pod Bandit! If things weren’t bad enough already, with kids eating Tide Pods and all, now they’re stealing them in my neighborhood. Probably will be hard to make a clean getaway.

Instant Pot wine? The #DIWhy movement gets another contender, as people are using their Instant Pots to make wine. You know at Aldi or Trader Joe’s you can buy it for $2.98 a bottle, right?

Save the date! Join us at the 2018 Weekly Standard Summit. This May 17-20 at the historic Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, join Stephen F. Hayes, Fred Barnes, and Michael Warren and special guests Bret Baier and A.B. Stoddard as they discuss the future of American politics. Book your tickets now.

—Jim Swift, deputy online editor.

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