February 19, 2026

HERE IT COMES: Mamdani poised to ‘freeze the rent’ after stacking NYC board with likeminded lefty appointees.

Most of Mamdani’s picks appeared to fall right in his ideological wheelhouse.

Three were “public members:” Self described “disruptive” labor union leader and staunch anti-Israel activist Brandon Mancilla; nonprofit advocacy economist Lauren Melodia, who has authored studies arguing against interest rate increases; and new board chair Chantella Mitchell, a former city housing official with a history of work in affordable housing nonprofits.

Mamdani also appointed one of two landlord representatives, Maksim Wynn, also city Department of Homeless Services official who went on to manage affordable housing for a private developer.

Current tenant representative Adán Soltren, a housing attorney and lecturer, was re-appointed to his position after a history of being vocally anti-rent increase.

Made up of mayoral appointees — five public members, two tenant advocates and two landlord advocates — the board is meant to analyze data regarding both landlords and tenants in a non-partisan way.

All data indicate we must stick it to The Man, comrades!

Posted at 11:43 am by Stephen Green

DECLINE IS A CHOICE:

Posted at 11:27 am by Stephen Green

SARAH ANDERSON: A Surprise High-Level U.S. Visitor Lands in Venezuela. “It’s hard to put into words just how historic this is, but it’s yet another win for the Trump administration. I just Googled it to see if the MSM is reporting on it — so far, it looks like just a few outlets, like the Jerusalem Post and Reuters, are the only others mentioning it. That could change tomorrow, but the media does not like to celebrate these wins. I will.”

Posted at 11:12 am by Stephen Green

I TAKE THIS TO MEAN THAT HARVARD STUDENTS AREN’T NEARLY AS LEFT-WING AS THE HARVARD FACULTY OR STAFF — NOT EVEN AFTER FOUR YEARS AT HARVARD:

Posted at 10:52 am by Stephen Green

PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Hassett says authors of New York Fed tariff study should be disciplined: ‘Worst paper I’ve ever seen.’

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Wednesday that the authors of a recent New York Federal Reserve paper that found U.S. companies and consumers are shouldering most of the tariff burden should be “disciplined.”

In a CNBC interview, the National Economic Council director ripped the report, saying that central bank researchers ignored key aspects of how the duties worked and instead simply focused on prices. Hassett said the research also should have included the upward impact on wages and benefits that U.S. companies see by bringing more production onshore.

“I mean, the paper is an embarrassment,” Hassett said during the “Squawk Box” interview. “It’s, I think, the worst paper I’ve ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve system. The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined, because what they’ve done is they’ve put out a conclusion which has created a lot of news that’s highly partisan based on analysis that wouldn’t be accepted in a first-semester econ class.”

As long as wage increases continue to outpace price increases — which they generally did in 2025, and one helluva quick turnaround from the Bidenflation years — Trump’s policies are working as intended, no matter what the Fed says.

Posted at 10:41 am by Stephen Green

THIS IS EXPLAINED BELOW:

Posted at 10:27 am by Glenn Reynolds

PROOF THE PETER PRINCIPLE IS POSITIVELY PANGLOSSIAN:

Posted at 10:25 am by Stephen Green

EVERGREEN HEADLINE: Affluent White Female Liberals Are Living In A Made-Up World.

In a recent viral video, an angry mob (composed almost entirely of white women) hurled expletives at the staff of a Minneapolis CorePower yoga studio, berating them because they reportedly removed anti-ICE signage. While their verbal onslaught apparently worked in this case, these females revealed just how many women live in a Land of Make Believe where everyone magically bends to their will.

This tiny glimpse into the world of make-believe perpetuated by Affluent, White, Female, Liberals (AWFL) has been a long time in coming; many are waking up to the saccharine dream where the AWFLs can do whatever they want, unscathed, while the rest of us must conform and then clean up their messes. For decades the West has built itself around the ideal life for these women, requiring very little by way of sacrifice, inconvenience, earnest effort, or real scrutiny. In today’s world, it is good to be a victim. It is a made-up world that most of us have grown used to believing is real.

As a famous — albeit — fictional law enforcement official famously said, let’s be careful out there:

Posted at 10:22 am by Ed Driscoll

THIS IS WHO DEMS TRY TO PROTECT: ICE nabs Iranian national with rape, sodomy convictions after Virginia Democrats move to curb cooperation.

The Washington, D.C., office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of an illegal immigrant and Iranian national who had a criminal history that included multiple charges relating to sodomy.

The arrest comes weeks after Gov. Abigail Spanberger reversed by executive order her predecessor Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) agreement with DHS that allowed the commonwealth’s law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities to share resources and information to help apprehend illegal immigrants and criminals.

Virginia State Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Dunn Loring, also crafted a bill to bar Virginia law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE in most instances. The Democratic-controlled chamber passed the measure 21-19.

Gooder and harder, Virginia.

Posted at 10:10 am by Stephen Green

IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC, EVERYONE’S A BILLIONAIRE!

Next week, trillionaires.

Posted at 9:54 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Karoline Leavitt’s Continued Manhandling of the Press Is Pure Poetry. “Right off the bat, I would like to say how grateful I am to be on the side where we can say that a woman is ‘manhandling’ someone and not have to deal with a gaggle of male feminist professors getting their gender neutral undergarments in a wad. Yeah, they’re still out there, but conservatives aren’t obligated to participate in the leftist manufactured outrage delusion.”

Posted at 9:08 am by Stephen Green

ULTIMATE ENGINEERING: That’s the title of a new book out this week by Brit Stuart Burgess that makes a tremendously compelling case for the proposition that the human body is chock full of illustrations of a level of engineering expertise and knowledge that far exceeds the capabilities of evolutionary natural selection.

If you’ve ever been told your wrist, knee or ankle are examples of bad design, this book will demonstrate why from the perspective of one of the world’d top-flight biomechanical engineers that claim is the opposite of the reality. Here’s my review for The Washington Stand.

Posted at 9:06 am by Mark Tapscott

WELL: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over ties to Epstein.

A friend writes: “Interesting. Does this mean they’re gonna start arresting all those Pakistani rape gangs, plus the police and other public officials who turned a blind eye to that?”

Don’t be silly. That would be racist or something. Also it would interfere with the leftist/Islamist takeover of Britain. Arresting (former) Prince Andrew weakens the royal family, and thus promotes that takeover. Not that King Charles has shown any sign of getting in the way, but just by existing the monarchy is a potential center of resistance.

UPDATE (From Ed):

Posted at 8:41 am by Glenn Reynolds

HOW ARE THOSE NUCLEAR TALKS GOING? Trump has discussed timeline for Iran strikes — including as soon as this weekend — but no decision yet.

Top national security officials have told President Trump the military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, but the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend, sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News.

Mr. Trump has not yet made a final decision about whether to strike, said the officials, who spoke under condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national matters.

The conversations have been described as fluid and ongoing, as the White House weighs the risks of escalation and the political and military consequences of restraint.

Over the next three days, the Pentagon is moving some personnel temporarily out of the Middle East region — primarily to Europe or back to the United States — ahead of potential action or counterattacks by Iran if the U.S. were to move ahead with its operation, according to multiple officials.

Stay tuned.

Posted at 8:37 am by Stephen Green

WORST. HITLER. EVER: 

Posted at 8:35 am by Ed Driscoll

LAW AND ORDER:

Tweet continues, “I don’t want to hear nothing you have to say about that racist stuff. And don’t be hating on me because I’m standing up for somebody that deserves to be stood up for. Get off the man’s back. Let him do his job!”

Posted at 8:22 am by Ed Driscoll