Free Republic

Originally, we were seeing the usual list of subjects being attacked, mostly in the form of Confederate Civil War monuments. But since then, it’s spread to everything from bronze images of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln to Spanish Conquistadors. Tearing down a sizable, heavy monument can be hard work, however, and potentially dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Stepping into the breach this week is the magazine Popular Mechanics. Author James Stout offers up some “helpful” advice on how to understand all of the physics involved and the most efficient way to accomplish the task. The title seems...

We’ve finally found somebody more pathetic than sports journalists who won’t stick to sports: science journalists who won’t stick to science. Okay, okay, you can argue that they haven’t done that since they got climate change religion. And you’d be right. But now Popular Mechanics is aiding and abetting vandalism. On June 15, it published “How to Topple a Statue Using Science.” Really. Actually, the title of the browser tab is “How to Remove a Racist Statue.” The distinction is a good idea. You don’t want our fine young Year Zero-ers accidentally erasing, say, an abolitionist. According to PM’s James...