August 26, 2026

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD:

Posted at 2:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

THE GAME IS RIGGED:

Posted at 2:32 pm by Stephen Green

AMERICAN MEDINAS: Turning US Cities Into ‘Beachheads’ for Islam.

In June 2023, Paterson [NJ] Mayor Andre Sayegh signed a sister city agreement with the mayor of Ramallah, a city in the West Bank and the seat of power of the Palestinian Authority, which officially celebrates the killing of Israelis. And last year during a ceremony kicking off Ramadan, he declared his city the “capital of Palestine in the United States of America” and the “fourth-holiest city” in Islam. “We are 100% halal!” Sayegh gushed, meaning pure and lawful under Islam. The mayor even agreed to hang a sign at the city entrance that reads: “Welcome to Little Palestine.”

Paterson is just one of several American cities – which also includes Hamtramck and Dearborn in Michigan – now controlled by Muslims; followers of Islam also exert outsized influence in some larger cities such as Minneapolis and New York.

To varying degrees, the actions of Muslims in these communities echo those of immigrant groups who came before them – creating thriving communities that can feel more foreign than American, supporting one another to gain office and influence, renaming streets after their own heroes, giving recognition to their own holidays. But critics warn that communities such as Paterson also reflect the different challenges posed by Islam, which is now the nation’s fastest-growing religion.

As is also the case in Western Europe, assimilation is demonstrably rare in U.S. municipalities with heavy concentrations of Muslim migrants. In these areas, large influxes of Muslims from abroad have changed not only the complexion, culture, values and traditions of cities, but also the demographic makeup of city councils, school boards, police departments and courts. Muslim officials, in turn, have changed laws or how existing laws are enforced to conform to the tenets of Islam – an unwelcome trend for many non-Muslims and particularly Jews threatened by their militantly anti-Israel rhetoric and positions.

“Our number one and top priority is to protect and defend our community, it is not to assimilate,” asserted Linda Sarsour, a renowned Palestinian activist who lives in the Paterson area and has helped transform the city.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

DON’T LEAVE OUT THEIR RINO ENABLERS:

If the GOP loses the Senate in November, it will be in no small part because just enough members cling to the 20% of the 80/20 SAVE America Act.

Posted at 12:59 pm by Stephen Green

JUST IN CASE YOU WANTED ANOTHER REMINDER OF WHY EVERYONE LOVED DOLLY:

Posted at 12:28 pm by Stephen Green

MORE DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: State spins shockingly bad Colorado education testing data.

Any of the following would be perfectly accurate and appropriate headlines for testing data released August 19 from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success:

“Most students grades 3–8 behind in all subjects according to state testing.”

“State testing shows overall low student scores increase in just over half of categories by grade and subject.”

“Nearly two-thirds of Colorado students struggle in math despite small testing gains.”

“Large majority of Black and Hispanic students continue to struggle in language and math.”

Here is an actual headline from the Denver Post that’s reasonable: “2026 CMAS results show Colorado students making gains in math, falling behind in reading.”

A comparable headline from Chalkbeat, posted May 29 based on preliminary data, reads: “Student math proficiency rises but literacy results are mixed, preliminary Colorado test scores show.”

Spin, spin, spin.

Posted at 10:40 am by Stephen Green

WHAT COMES AFTER GIGA?

More:

The production site is over 2km long, and the Starfactory alone has a floor space of over 7.6 million square feet (629,000 sq m). The Gigabay (if, it is still called that!) is over four times the area of the existing Gigabay design.

The whole site measures over 12 miles (20km) in length and takes up an area of roughly 14,000 acres.

Starbase, Lousiana is set to begin construction next year, with the first launch in 2029.

“Impressive” doesn’t begin to cover it.

Posted at 10:24 am by Stephen Green

VIRGINIA POSTREL: In the Land of AI and Bamboo Forks.

You know you are in a different world when you go to the (one person, non-gendered) bathroom at Anthropic. Next to the sink, there is a lavish display of items you might need, just in case. I am old enough to be impressed by bathrooms with free tampons instead of machines that may or may not work, may or may not be filled, and will definitely require exact change. Anthropic has tampons and pads, as is now the norm. It also has razors and shaving cream. It has little lint rollers and tiny deodorants so adorable I swiped one. It has toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, and dental picks. The toothpaste is Tom’s and the toothbrushes are, according to their brown paper packaging, made of bamboo.

For a place that prides itself on tolerating—and making billions from—the peculiarities of the “neurodiverse,” San Francisco is remarkably determined to make you stick bamboo in your mouth. Uncoated wood hitting my teeth makes my skin crawl. It is an involuntary response and horrible—a reaction that is not unique to me.1 I spent my days in San Francisco slurping yogurt off bamboo spoons and trying to get lettuce off bamboo forks without letting the bamboo hit my teeth. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

San Francisco’s rage for bamboo cutlery seems to be a result of a 2019 ordinance combined with local mores. It’s a signal that the city is culturally removed from normal life. This is a place that worships the “natural” (hence the Tom’s) while exploring new frontiers in artifice. It is a very specific cultural bubble. Cultural bubbles aren’t bad per se, but you need to be aware that you’re living in one.

Read the whole thing. As James Lileks once wrote, “You realize: no one in a dystopia probably thinks they’re living in a dystopia.”

Posted at 10:22 am by Ed Driscoll