April 20, 2026

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE:

Posted at 10:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

HMM, WITH A CHICAGO TWIST:

Posted at 9:51 am by Stephen Green

HEY, BIG SPENDER: Massachusetts paid out $1 billion in improper SNAP payments while 75% of able-bodied recipients didn’t work, new report finds.

The report, released Thursday and authored by visiting policy analyst Hayden Dublois, found that the Commonwealth now carries a SNAP error rate of 14.1 percent — significantly higher than the national average of roughly 11 percent, and the worst of any state in New England. New Hampshire, by contrast, ranks among the best in the country.

SNAP enrollment in Massachusetts has surged 40 percent over the past decade, climbing from just under 785,000 recipients in 2015 to more than 1.1 million in 2024. The study found that between 65 and 75 percent of able-bodied recipients are not working, while state policies continue to allow individuals to bypass federal asset limits and remain eligible for benefits regardless of accumulated wealth.

A whistleblower cited in the report described fraud within the system as “rampant” and “unabated,” along with a workplace culture that actively discourages basic verification of eligibility.

If the workplace culture “actively discourages basic verification of eligibility,” then fraud is the desired result.

Posted at 9:36 am by Stephen Green

SOME OF US WERE SAYING THIS BEFORE HE WAS SWORN IN:

Posted at 9:20 am by Stephen Green

GOOD QUESTION:

On a wide range of issues, the long tail of East Bloc Cold War propaganda has much more of a foothold in American politics, both left and even more surprisingly, right (I’m looking at you, Tucker Carlson), than it ever had during the Cold War.

Two reasons come to mind, though they are at best partial explanations. One is our elite universities, which have long been home to domestic radicals, but now also house a large contingent of Third World Communists and Islamists, such as Mamdani’s father. A second is the popularity of Bernie Sanders, who had a long career as a Communist fellow traveler before pretending to moderate to become a Vermont senator, and whose increasingly radical rhetoric on everything from greedy bankers to “Palestine” is right out of the wrong side of the Cold War playbook.

Posted at 9:16 am by David Bernstein

COLD CIVIL WAR:

Posted at 9:05 am by Glenn Reynolds

TRUE:

And from the replies: “The poverty line in America is top 5% in the world. Hell the UK just realized it would be the 51st poorest state if they became a state.”

Posted at 8:49 am by Stephen Green

SPEAKING OF THE GEN Z AWAKENING: We are hearing a lot these days about the growing interest among Gen Zers, and especially the guys, in Christ, Bible reading and church attendance. But when was the last time you encountered someone who says it was a book on Quantum Physics that led him to faith?

Posted at 8:48 am by Mark Tapscott

MY FORTHCOMING NEW YORK POST COLUMN IS ON THIS TOPIC: Your Local College Is Running Out of Cash.

Though fortunately the University of Tennessee is flush with cash. That’s in no small part because enrollment is booming, with students coming here from all over to experience a normal, non-PC college life.

Posted at 8:41 am by Glenn Reynolds

ALMOST EVERYTHING CALIFORNIA DOES NOW IS CONCERNING: Why California’s ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ Should Worry Gun Owners. “What should concern everyone is what will likely follow AB 2624—what industry California Democrats will decide next needs a shield from public scrutiny, and what states will follow with their own similar legislation.”

Posted at 8:34 am by Stephen Green

PROBABLY:

Posted at 8:18 am by Stephen Green

ICYMI: SALENA ZITO: Dr. Helen Smith’s newest book His Side is a fresh look at male alienation. “Noted forensic psychologist Dr. Helen Smith’s newest book, His Side: Men Speak Out on Dating, Marriage and Life in America, is a provocative look at the male experience. Smith uses interviews to examine how straight men are forced to navigate shattered norms in a turbulent society. Smith, who has long studied the human experience, takes the conversation outside of clinical data and brings the reader into the living rooms, workplaces, and communities of everyday men. There she uncovers the cultural fraying of the male experience in this country, one that has often been narrowed, stereotyped, and viewed with hostility. She uncovers a deep-seated ‘connective tissue’ that has been unraveled by a culture that often views the male experience through a narrow, and sometimes hostile, lens. . . . Smith’s book is a central guide for both men and women who are eager to understand navigating our modern world. The book offers great insights into men’s needs and a perspective that is clear-eyed and useful for both genders.”

You can read the book here.

Posted at 7:48 am by Glenn Reynolds

ACTUAL SMART DIPLOMACY:

Posted at 7:46 am by Glenn Reynolds

BLOCKADE HARDER THEN:

Posted at 7:45 am by Stephen Green