December 29, 2025

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Is It Over for Tim Walz?

With the incompetence (or worse) of Tim Walz’s administration being the number one news story in the country, my non-Minnesota friends ask me: “Tim Walz couldn’t possibly be re-elected. Could he?”

Let’s first dispose of any criminal issue. Elon Musk, in the tweet embedded above, urges that Walz be prosecuted. But there is no evidence that he, or other members of his administration, have committed crimes. Rather, they have perpetrated the dodge that has been a mainstay of the Democratic Party for going on 100 years: buying votes with other people’s money. They have pumped billions of dollars into Minnesota’s relatively small (100,000-150,000) and insular Somali community, and by doing so have created a solid and reliable voting bloc that has helped to swing one election after another their way. Why should they care if half or more of those billions of dollars were fraudulent? Criminal or not, the spending bought votes.

Did Tim Walz know the frauds were going on? Of course. Even Walz isn’t that stupid. But absent taking bribes, of which there is zero evidence, he has not committed a crime.

That said, Walz’s standing with Minnesota voters is teetering on the edge. Conventional polling has shown him around even in approval/disapproval, with approval a little under 50%. Not great, but not hopeless. I think the most meaningful poll is the one that was conducted for American Experiment by Meeting Street Insights and published here. We found a very high level of awareness of the frauds among Minnesota voters, and also a high level of concern: 68% said that fraud would play a role in their vote for governor in 2026, with 50% saying it would play a major role.

Walz ought to resign in disgrace and drop forever out of public life, but we know that will never happen.

Posted at 3:48 pm by Stephen Green

PEARL HARBOR II, AT SAN DIEGO AND BY REMOTE CONTROL: Chinese Forces Fielding Intercontinental Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles Capable of Reaching U.S. West Coast, Pentagon Says. “While China has not revealed the system’s existence, The Washington Post covered the Pentagon’s assessment of the DF-27’s supposed anti-ship capabilities following Pentagon leaks in 2023. The Defense Department’s 2021 China military report to Congress also acknowledged its development, but did not claim that the missile could conduct maritime strike missions.”

Posted at 2:46 pm by Stephen Green

DISPATCHES FROM THE QUALITY LEARING CENTER: I found the dankest memes about Somali daycare fraud to tide you over while we wait for Republicans to DO SOMETHING.

Related:

UPDATE: Prelude to Republican Failure Theater?

Meanwhile, the Somali Pirates continue to expand their plundering:

 

Posted at 2:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

IT’S NICE TO SEE EUROPEAN NATO GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ITS DEFENSE AGAIN: Russia vs. NATO Video Roundup.

NATO is racing to build a multi-billion dollar 2,000 mile long defensive line that stretches across the entire European continent.”

“There are several names for the new fortification depending on the section you’re standing at. In the Baltics, it’s officially known as the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line, which is a 500 mile long network of bunkers and fortified border zones.”

“The Eastern Flank Deterrence Line is not mainly physical barriers, because the distance is far too great. Instead, it’s a network of computer sensors to fill these physical gaps. It’s not designed to completely defeat a potential Russian conventional advance. It’s made to slow down and channel the enemy’s forces into these predetermined kill zones.”

“The Army and NATO’s focusing their efforts at the places deemed most vulnerable in the Baltics. Here they’re deploying a layered modular barrier system that runs 30 miles deep.” First they hit sensors lines, then get a dose of HIMARS and artillery, then drone swarms in the air and on the ground. “Estimates are these methods will have to kill or wound 70% of the attacking force to be successful.”

The length of the entire defensive line is roughly the length of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump’s tough love is having the desired effect.

Posted at 1:44 pm by Stephen Green

NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU DESPISE THE MEDIA…:

Posted at 1:28 pm by Stephen Green

IT’S SCAMS ALL THE WAY DOWN:

Posted at 12:48 pm by Glenn Reynolds

HOW IT STARTED:

How It’s Going: Richard Hammond tried the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, Yangwang U9, and the Maextro S800 in Shanghai.

According to someone posting at the Pistonheads forum, “So this is essentially bootleg Top Gear. Videos made by a guy that started out by adding Chinese subs to official (but illegally downloaded) Top Gear episodes that were never officially available in China…Then all these years later Hammond is their guest star!”

I started watching this with raised eyebrows but they seemed like genuine car guys and were totally honest with RH when he asked about the habit of copying the west — and various other questions about the turning tide of car manufacturer supremacy..

I’m genuinely impressed that RH’s interest in cars was sufficient for him to do this, given that he’s getting driven around by the guys that illegally provided his Top Gear content to the entirety of China. The local car culture guys clearly adored Top Gear and to be fair there was no way they could have ever had it legally.

Got to admit, the cars are very impressive — despite being a bit bootleg, although it’s hard to argue with the lap times at the Nurburgring. Every last thing about this video is bootleg though, and RH seemed entirely at peace with that.

Bootlegging? The Chinese are extremely good at that:

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

WITHHOLDING: Bessent: Americans Should Get ‘Gigantic’ Tax Refunds in 2026. “I can see that we’re gonna have a gigantic refund year in the first quarter because working Americans did not change their withholdings. I think households could see, depending on the number of workers, $1,000- $2,000 refunds.”

Honestly, I’d rather owe a little.

Posted at 12:11 pm by Stephen Green

SOMEONE SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS:

Posted at 12:09 pm by Glenn Reynolds