March 14, 2026

WHEN BILL MAHER IS THE VOICE OF SANITY:

That puts Maher one up on David Letterman:

In now a famous “You Tube” moment, Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News Channel, went on Letterman to be the recipient of the host’s rude and sophomoric antics. As the segment shifted into high gear, O’Reilly asked Letterman a pointed and direct question: “Do you want the United States to win in Iraq?”

To the surprise of no one but his sycophants, Letterman could not or would not answer the question. When pressed by O’Reilly to answer, the best he could do was to play to his mostly left-leaning audience for cheap debating points and say, “It’s not easy for me because I’m thoughtful.”

As I asked back then, how thoughtful do you need to be? it’s an A or B question: Do you want the US to win, or Al Qaeda, the Baathists, and Iran? Letterman, who, [40] years ago, was once the master of postmodern irony, became its unintentional victim as he unwittingly echoed Jack Benny’s classic gag when he retorted to a fictional mugger shouting ‘Your money or life, pal!’ on his old radio show: ‘I’m thinking it over!’”

Posted at 2:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

RIOT ACT, READ:

Posted at 1:25 pm by Stephen Green

THIS IS WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY DO:

Posted at 12:54 pm by Stephen Green

20 YEARS LATER: The Long Shadow of a Lie: The Duke Lacrosse Rape Hoax.

Nifong had been in the job less than a year, appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to fill the job after the governor picked the previous DA to fill a vacant judicial seat on the state’s superior court. In March 2006, Nifong was a candidate for his first shot at being elected as district attorney, and the Democratic primary was just two months away. North Carolina was then, as now, a “swing” state. Although George W. Bush in his 2004 reelection had carried North Carolina by a comfortable 12-point margin statewide, Durham County went more than 2-to-1 for Bush’s Democratic opponent, John Kerry, who got 68 percent of the vote in the county. In other words, if Nifong won the Democratic primary, he was practically guaranteed to be elected district attorney in this liberal bastion, but Nifong was opposed by one of his own assistants, Freda Black, in the primary. Nifong’s job was very much at stake when the rape accusation against the Duke lacrosse players landed in his lap.

Meanwhile, word of the case had spread across town and was reported in the March 24 edition of the Raleigh News and Observer. The same day, it was announced that Duke’s lacrosse team would forfeit its next two games. University President Richard Broadhead issued a statement saying that the players were “presumed innocent until proven guilty,” but added that it was “already clear that many students acted in a manner inappropriate to a Duke team member.” The next day, despite the scheduled lacrosse game against Georgetown being canceled, some protesters showed up at the stadium waving signs that read “Real Men Don’t Protect Rapists,” and one of the protesters told a reporter for the student paper: “I am fully aware a crime was committed by someone. It is too bad the rest of the team won’t fess up.” That night, “more than 175 incensed community members gathered for a candlelight vigil” in front of the house on North Buchanan Boulevard where the incident had allegedly happened.

Already, a narrative had begun to develop — the lacrosse players were protecting their guilty teammates, and the university wasn’t doing enough.

Why should the press investigate the truth, when there’s a convenient and self-serving narrative to push?

Posted at 12:31 pm by Stephen Green

THE ESTABLISHMENT IS VICIOUS WHEN CORNERED:

Posted at 8:56 am by Glenn Reynolds

OH, CANADA:

Posted at 8:43 am by Glenn Reynolds

OOPS: Flu vaccines didn’t work that well in the US, officials find. “This season’s vaccines were around 25% to 30% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital, according to a CDC report this week. Children who were vaccinated were about 40% less likely to get treatment at a doctor’s office or hospital. Officials generally are pleased if a flu vaccine is 40% to 60% effective. Judging from past CDC research, this season saw one of the lowest effectiveness rates in the last two decades.”

Posted at 8:32 am by Glenn Reynolds

CHANGE: Havana is expected to allow Cubans in Miami, elsewhere to own businesses on the island.

The Cuban government is expected to announce as early as next week economic reforms to allow Cuban Americans living in South Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world to invest and own private businesses on the island, the Miami Herald has learned.

The economic opening comes amid unprecedented pressure by the Trump administration, which has cut off oil supplies to the Cuban government, and ongoing talks between the two countries acknowledged by Cuban leaders for the first time on Friday.

“The return of the Cuban diaspora is imminent,” said one source who is knowledgeable about the expected measures and who asked not to be identified to speak of the sensitive matter. According to the source, the Cuban government is likely to allow Cubans living abroad to own private enterprises the Cuban government has labeled mipymes — pronounced mee-PEE-mes —the Spanish acronym for micro, small and medium enterprises.

As Glenn asked last month on his Substack, “Will Cuba be Libre soon, and if so what happens next? And after that?”

Posted at 8:14 am by Ed Driscoll