December 8, 2025

COLONIZATION, STRAIGHT UP:

Maybe sometime soon I’ll piss off all the right people with a Thursday Essay detailing how much better the world was run when Europeans were the colonizers.

Posted at 10:53 am by Stephen Green

YOU CAN HAVE ANY KIND OF COOKTOP YOU LIKE, SO LONG AS IT’S ELECTRIC: Colorado PUC targets natural gas in forced march to electrification.

So much of the state’s climate policy over the years has been obscured by regulatory jargon and euphemisms— “Clean Energy Plans,” “Clean Heat Plans,” “Beneficial Electrification,” etc. —so allow me to speak frankly about what the PUC just codified and what it means for ratepayers.

A 41 percent reduction in GHG emissions, let alone 100 percent, from the gas distribution network will necessarily require removing customers from the system. There’s simply no other way around it. Utilities like Xcel, Black Hills, and Atmos may be able to nibble around the edges of the target by relying on recovered methane, improved pipeline leak detection and repair, and other non-demand-destroying strategies, but such approaches will not be enough to comply with state law.

This all but guarantees that gas customers around the state will soon face higher utility bills to subsidize households into switching from gas to electric heating and appliances, particularly if the first tranche of Clean Heat Plan proceedings is any guide.

For instance, Black Hills Energy’s “Target Achievement” portfolio, submitted to the PUC to meet the initial 22 percent GHG reduction by 2030 target, was estimated to cost approximately $397 million per year, costs that would inevitably be recouped from captive ratepayers. Similarly, Xcel Energy reported that its modeling found that meeting its 2030 target would cost over $1 billion over five years, a total that well exceeded the 2.5 percent annual cost cap included in the initial clean heat plan statute.

Furthermore, aside from paying more on monthly bills to finance the utility incentive programs designed to encourage electrification, the new 2035 target will inevitably result in significant personal costs for homeowners who agree to make the switch.

I hope to be long gone from Colorado before the worst of the Democrats’ hare-brained schemes kick in. I suspect I wont be alone.

Posted at 10:38 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: New Member of Congress Shocked to Find She Has to Obey the Law. “This was a pathetic publicity stunt, of course. Grijalva knew exactly what would happen if she interfered with law enforcement, and made sure that she had someone there to video the whole thing. Her post was quickly followed by outraged responses from Kelly and the Democratic National Committee, who — golly gosh gee — just happened to be glued to X on a Friday night. All made sure that they included the “member of Congress” talking point. In fact, every X post (TWEET) in her defense has included the line, as if it’s a Hogwarts spell that sanitizes her potentially criminal behavior.”

Posted at 9:05 am by Stephen Green

OMAR DOESN’T GET THROWN OFF OF ROOFTOPS WHEN SHE VISITS BACK HOME, BECAUSE BACK HOME, EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS SHE’S PAVING THE WAY FOR ROOFTOP-THROWERS OVER HERE:

Posted at 8:49 am by Stephen Green

FASTER, PLEASE: Pentagon rushes to fix challenges in deterring China, including shortage of ships and missiles.

The Pentagon under War Secretary Pete Hegseth is focused on deterring China and strengthening America’s position in the Pacific, and it is working to rejuvenate the sclerotic U.S. defense sector, which cannot currently produce the number of munitions and ships that may be needed in a potential conflict with the Chinese.

President Donald Trump has issued numerous executive orders aimed at fixing the flawed defense industrial base (DIB), and Hegseth recently announced a new acquisitions strategy aimed at revitalizing the DIB, but for now the U.S. faces strains on its stockpiles of missiles and is significantly overmatched by China in terms of how many ships each nation can build.

“Significantly overmatched” is an understatement. We’re barely in the game any longer.

Posted at 8:34 am by Stephen Green

SORRY, EUROPE, YOU’RE GOING TO BE MOCKED AND BELITTLED BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT:

Posted at 8:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

2026 PREVIEW: Trump names Indiana state senators who ‘need encouragement’ on redistricting.

President Trump on Friday celebrated the latest redistricting moves in Indiana, while pressuring several state senators to support a new map that could offer the GOP two more seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Trump called the updated map “much fairer” and “improved,” and congratulated the Indiana General Assembly’s GOP leaders for passing a new set of congressional lines earlier Friday.

“It was my Honor to win Indiana six times, including Primaries, in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and this new Map would give the incredible people of Indiana the opportunity to elect TWO additional Republicans in the 2026 Midterm Elections,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“The Indiana Senate must now pass this Map, AS IS, and get it to Governor Mike Braun’s desk, ASAP, to deliver a gigantic Victory for Republicans in the “Hoosier State,” and across the Country,” Trump continued. “I am hearing that these nine Senators, some of whom are up for Re-Election in 2026, and some in 2028, need encouragement to make the right decision.”

The word of the day is “Fight.” Until further notice.

Posted at 7:32 am by Stephen Green

IT’S A GIANT MONEY LAUNDRY AND INFLUENCE FACTORY:

Posted at 7:19 am by Glenn Reynolds

HE’S RIGHT, AS USUAL:

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds