September 28, 2026

STOP VOTING FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE YOU II:

Posted at 2:29 pm by Stephen Green

ROD STEWART, 81, CONFIRMS FINAL TOUR AFTER HEART PROCEDURE AND HEALTH SCARES:

Rod Stewart is ready for one final encore.

The rock legend announced “The Final Encore Tour” Monday, revealing that next year will mark his last-ever tour after facing a series of health issues.

“Well, here we go… one last time!” Stewart wrote on Instagram. “Come and see me on my The Final Encore Tour for one more round of rock ’n’ roll. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Stewart opened up about his decision to make the tour his last in an emotional video message.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after much deliberation and sadness, I have to announce next year will be my last tour ever, ever, ever,” he told fans.

“I’m not retiring, but this will be the last rock and roll tour,” he clarified.

“I wanna thank you for everything you’ve given me, and hopefully I’ve given you something in return,” Stewart said before singing, “Please come out and see me on the tour. It’s gonna be great!”

In 2021, Damon Linker wrote: What Rock Fans Don’t Want to Admit.

The recent death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts at the age of 80 is just the latest rude reminder of what all of us know in our bones but nonetheless choose to ignore most days: The classic rock era is nearly dead and buried — and so are its greatest icons.

I wrote about this two years ago, and, inevitably, things are looking even bleaker now. Bob Dylan is 80. Paul McCartney and Paul Simon are 79. And not far behind them are a host of rock stars well into their 70s: Brian Wilson, Carole King, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Ray Davies, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Debbie Harry, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Bryan Ferry, Elton John, and Don Henley. James Taylor and Jackson Browne just completed a tour together; the former is 73, the latter 72. The baby of the bunch, Bruce Springsteen, currently wrapping up another residency on Broadway, turns 72 next month.

Over the next decade, most of these superstars are going to die, and the remaining holdouts soon after. On one level, this will be a terrible loss. These are people we care about deeply, who write and perform music that means the world to us.

But if we’re honest, we also have to admit that the loss is largely a function of nostalgia, of feelings attached to sounds and sights from long ago. Yes, many of these legends still take to the road to play live. Some produce new music from time to time. But none of these artists — not one — is doing work to rival the quality of what they produced at their peak. And in every case, that high point was decades ago.

And after they’re gone, sadly comes what Kyle Smith dubbed in 2019, The Great Forgetting:

As the Who suit up for what I suppose will be their final tour (“Who’s Left”?), Chuck Klosterman points out in his book But What if We’re Wrong? that whole forms die out. He compares rock to 19th-century marching music: nothing left of the latter except John Philip Sousa. That’s it. And Sousa himself is barely remembered. In 100 years rock might be gone too, Klosterman guesses. Maybe we’ll remember one rock act. Who will it be? Maybe none of the obvious answers. It certainly wasn’t obvious at the time of Fitzgerald’s death that The Great Gatsby would be the best-remembered novel he or anyone else wrote in the first half of the 20th century. As for the novels of the second half of the 20th century, the clock is ticking on them. The Catcher in the Rye is moribund. Generation X was the last to revere that book. Teaching it to young people today would get you ridiculed. To Kill a Mockingbird? It had a good run but it’s now being labeled a “white savior” story by the grandchildren of those who revered it. Soon schools and teachers will be shunning it.

To Kill a Mockingbird? Atticus Finch is literature’s most celebrated rape apologist!

Posted at 2:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

POSITIVELY SOVIETESQUE: China broadens travel curbs to encompass family of top AI talent.

That marks a broadening of existing curbs on the freedom of movement of China’s most influential tech talent — a category that encompasses entrepreneurs, researchers and executives. While not an outright ban on travel, the new requirement is likely to exert a further chilling effect on a tech sector already facing unprecedented curbs. China has restricted foreign travel for top AI professionals in private firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and DeepSeek since earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported in May, reflecting Beijing’s determination to safeguard its technology as it makes big strides in AI and chipmaking.

It’s unclear whether all those people’s families need to follow the new strictures, the people said. China is also separately implementing rules, which became effective Sept 15, for enforcing exit bans in cases ranging from criminal investigations to potential violations of the country’s industrial and technological security.

Beijing’s plan is to add relevant individuals to the list as time goes by, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. Government departments have already notified several people of the need to clear family travel, two of the people said.

But why would anyone ever want to leave the workers’ paradise?

Posted at 1:44 pm by Stephen Green

HOW IT STARTED: MSNBC Goes Full Racist, Attacking Sydney Sweeney Ad Campaign.

Remember how, in recent years, nearly every high-profile “racist incident” that dominated the headlines eventually turned out to be a false flag or outright hoax? Well, nothing’s changed. The outrage-obsessed left has apparently run out of real things to be angry about, so now they’re inventing reasons to keep the mob frothing.

Case in point: the latest American Eagle ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. According to some perpetually offended leftists, it’s somehow Nazi propaganda*. Yes, really.

 

—Matt Margolis, PJ Media.com, July 29th, 2025.

How it’s going: Sydney Sweeney converting to Judaism? Rosh Hashanah outing fuels rumors.

Sydney Sweeney is at the center of fresh conversion rumors after reportedly attending Rosh Hashanah services with boyfriend Scooter Braun, as their relationship grows increasingly serious.

Celebrity gossip account Deuxmoi reported that the 29-year-old “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” star is considering converting to Judaism. The speculation intensified after she was reportedly spotted attending synagogue with Braun, 45, during the Jewish High Holidays.

—Ynet, today.

Like Trump, Worst. Nazi. Ever.

* I’m so old, I can remember the last days of Obama’s second term, when they media was seeing the Reich Stuff coded into Taylor Swift’s image.

Posted at 1:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

OR THE LAST TWO YEARS OF TRUMP 45 FOR THAT MATTER:

Posted at 1:28 pm by Stephen Green

WELL, THIS IS THE 21st CENTURY, YOU KNOW:

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

THIS IS MORE LIKE THE 21ST CENTURY I WAS PROMISED:

Posted at 12:36 pm by Glenn Reynolds

EXACTLY:

Posted at 12:26 pm by Stephen Green

GOSH, THAT WAS FAST: RAF base terror suspects released on bail.

Five men arrested over a suspected bomb plot targeting RAF Fairford have been released on bail.

The men, who are all British nationals aged 23 to 25, were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences, after three vans were discovered 400m from the Gloucestershire air base.

The suspects are from the London areas of Camden, Westminster and Willesden, police confirmed on Monday.

Laurence Taylor, the Met Police’s assistant commissioner for special operations, said: “I can confirm that, following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.

“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”

Police are understood to be investigating a possible Iranian link to the alleged plot. However, the Iranian embassy “categorically rejected” it had any involvement.

Unexpectedly! Regarding that “British nationals” reference, at Hot Air, Beege Welborn responds: RAF Fairford Plot, Day 2: Public Demanding Answers — Officials, Media Channel Norm MacDonald.

The government just released a teaser on the suspects – all ‘British nationals,’ which settles everything.

So shut up already.

 

People are pointing out how worthless that ‘British national’ statement is.

All it means is someone has a British passport, which any old terrorist can get.

Ebola’s been sending me some hilarious memes that have been appearing on his former Cirencester/Gloucestershire neighborhood Facebook message boards. I thought I’d share a couple that nearly had me ruining my monitor this morning.

The first should be an addition to the recent handouts the British government created so their incoming asylum-seeking boat hordes understood that, like, rape, knifeyness, etc., are not considered cultural enhancements in England.

Don’t blow RAF bases up:

And some Sharpe’s Rifles is always appropriate.

Nahh – it’s just those exuberant “British nationalists” once again. Move along, nothing to see here.

Posted at 12:00 pm by Ed Driscoll

FIGHT THE POWER:

Posted at 11:55 am by Glenn Reynolds

LOL:

Related:

Posted at 11:50 am by Glenn Reynolds

HEY, BIG SPENDER: How Kathy Hochul’s admin handed firm a $1B Medicaid contract without competitive bidding.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Department of Health had initially handed Deloitte Consulting a $177 million contract in 2023 to centralize a part of the Medicaid application process that was still being handled by counties into one statewide portal.

But the contract ballooned well beyond that as the administration amended the deal by $866 million in August — a move watchdogs say should have triggered a public bidding process.
…
“Once it is complete, this platform will save state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while allowing us to strengthen the program and reduce the potential for waste, fraud and abuse,” the DOH spokesperson said.

That’s what they always say.

Posted at 11:40 am by Stephen Green

THE NEW SPACE RACE HAS SECURITY PARAMETERS THAT SIMPLY DIDN’T EXIST DURING THE FIRST ONE:

Posted at 11:24 am by Stephen Green