February 23, 2026

DATA REPUBLICAN THREAD:

More: “IRGC mouthpieces calling protesters Mossad agents is expected. What gets that narrative into Western discourse is a different layer: outlets that look like independent journalism but have documented financial ties to Iranian and Russian state media.”

Do read the whole thing.

Posted at 6:32 pm by Stephen Green

THAT’S A LOT TO UNPACK IN JUST THREE TWEETS:

I wonder why Axios or Politico or WaPo don’t seem to have asked similar questions*.

*I don’t actually wonder that.

Posted at 5:45 pm by Stephen Green

CHANGE: New Louisiana SNAP rules limit soda and candy purchases for 750,000 recipients.

Approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 4, 2025, the two-year pilot initiative removes soft drinks, energy drinks and candy from the list of items eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.

State health officials said making nutritious choices is essential to building healthier communities as rates of chronic disease rise. The project is intended to direct SNAP benefits toward nutritious foods to help reduce obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other diet-related health issues while enabling families to make healthier choices.

“This is a pivotal step toward a healthier Louisiana,” LDH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein said. “By focusing SNAP dollars on proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, we’re investing in the long-term health of Louisiana’s children and families, while reducing future health care costs. This decision ensures that nutritious choices are not only available — they’re the foundation of everyday life.”

“This waiver encourages Louisianans to put real food on the table — fresh produce, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, breads and cereals — as well as to learn to make healthier choices when reaching for a pre-prepared snack or meal,” Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Evelyn Griffin said. “Instead of picking up a soda and a candy bar on your way to work, you might opt for a bottle of water and a banana. Small changes can have a big impact on your health when you’re making them consistently. Moving the health outcomes needle for the better is what this waiver is all about.”

That’s a step forward, but if we have to have SNAP, purchases of most prepared foods should be limited.

Posted at 3:48 pm by Stephen Green

SOMETHIN’ AIN’T RIGHT IN TEXAS: Irving, Texas, former home of the Dallas Cowboys and to this day still the home of the University of Dallas, a superb, orthodox and conservative Catholic liberal arts university, today has two Sharia courts operating??? I spent three and a half great years at UD in Irving and I suspect there weren’t three people in the whole city who had ever heard of a Sharia court. Check out this post on X.

Posted at 2:52 pm by Mark Tapscott

WELL, YES: Drones ‘change everything’ about combined arms combat, US Army aviation chief says.

While Army aviators are no strangers to unmanned systems, drones being fielded today are immensely different from those developed over the last two decades, many of which tended to be larger and required more manpower to operate, Gill said.

“In the last five to 10 years I would say we have seen a complete shift in what drone technology is and how it can be used,” Gill said. The net result, he added, is that drones are “no longer just the purview of Army aviation.”

“I would argue now with the proliferation of small drones and how cheap and effective they can be that Army aviation is just one minor user now. … Everybody is going to have drones in the airspace to some degree.

“It’s going to change everything. The nature of war is the same. It’s always an endeavor of human conflict. But the character of war is just fundamentally different.”

Whoever figures out first how to use drones to enhance maneuver warfare instead of shutting it down (as in the Russo-Ukraine War), probably wins the next major war.

Posted at 2:46 pm by Stephen Green

TITANIA MCGRATH: The warmth of the collective.

Now that we’ve reached 2026, surely it’s time to try this system again. Our new era has already begun, with Zohran Mamdani taking over as Mayor of New York. For those who don’t know, Mamdani is a devout Muslim who has promised to make New York a “sanctuary city” for the LGBT+ community. It’s what the Prophet Mohammed would have wanted.

Some bigots have argued that homosexuality is incompatible with the Islamic faith. But in fact, homophobia is extremely rare in Muslim-majority countries. This is why there isn’t a single LGBT+ community centre in the whole of Afghanistan. Everyone is so tolerant that there is simply no need for them.

Since taking power, Mamdani has declared that “we will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism”. No sane person could possibly argue with this logic. If it’s a choice between being warm or frigid, I know which I’d prefer. Indeed, during Stalin’s time he built a range of holiday camps called “gulags”, where residents often slept shoulder-to-shoulder in crammed rooms. Just imagine how warm and non-frigid that was.

Heh, indeed. Though given how much global warming New York received today, perhaps hizzoner should dial back on that whole “warmth of collectivism” thing. No need to speed up the heating up of the planet and/or Fun City:

Posted at 2:35 pm by Ed Driscoll