Daily Bafflements

• Today in Pure Coincidences, courtesy Mother Jones: a) A lot of bottled water comes from drought-parched California. b) In California, groundwater’s a property right; extraction is unregulated. (At least for now; stay tuned.)

• The living Latin movement lives on.

•  Making itself felt: the 1033 Program. Decommissioned military equipment is going to local police departments—so far, more than “tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft,” the Times reported back in June.

• Baffler contributor Jason Linkins on Meet the Press’s impending un-makeover: “Sunday show hosts promise softballs for access and brand-management opportunities for wealthy thought-havers. The most compelling and honest thing one can say about ‘Meet The Press’ is that a radical change will do it a lot of good. But I guess it’s Chuck Todd and a new deck chair configuration instead.” (Huffington Post)