Instapundit

July 14, 2026

HEH: CNBC’s Woke ‘Worst States’ List Accidentally Makes Red America Look Great. “Other than crime rates, which most often occur in red-state cities, which are the bluest areas of said states, the criteria for ‘quality of life’ that CNBC uses are woke as a joke. Environmentalism, free healthcare, unions, and prioritizing the rainbow are what CNBC looked at.”

I miss living in a red state — and I didn’t even move.

I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF LINDSEY GRAHAM AS SOMETHING OF A SQUISH, BUT I GUESS IF DEMOCRATS AND THINK SUSAN COLLINS IS WORSE THAN HITLER . . . St. Bonaventure professor celebrates Lindsey Graham’s death, deletes post less than 12 hours later.

WHERE’D SHE GET THE BOOKS FOR HER BANNED BOOKS LIBRARY?

Dropping this again to remind people that literally 0 shitlib books are banned. https://t.co/3O0bppvv0y pic.twitter.com/2E7QsRm1vC

— Reddit Lies (@reddit_lies) July 13, 2026

IT BOGGLES THE MIND THAT THEY EVER COULD BORROW MONEY: Trump regulators move to curtail lending to undocumented immigrants.

In new guidance, regulators said that undocumented immigrants may present an “elevated credit risk” and warned banks to account for the risk that they may lose their job or be deported as they underwrite new loans.

Financial institutions, the guidance says, should take into account that a customer’s status as an unauthorized immigrant may pose a risk to their ability to repay credit cards, mortgages, auto loans or other loans.

The guidance also says that financial institutions “might consider” requiring customers to provide “evidence of continuing work authorization,” among other documentation, as part of their assessment of a customer’s ability to repay a loan.

How about, “You aren’t here legally, no money.”

THE NEEDS OF THE PARTY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, COMRADE:

Democrats went from “Believe all women”

to

“Depends on what you define as ‘rape’, really”

in record time. https://t.co/F3dfH4iEP0

— Amy Curtis (@RantyAmyCurtis) July 13, 2026

I guess Whoopi’s distinction between “rape” and “rape-rape” is out of favor. Until it’s needed again, of course.

PUNISH THE BAD DECISION, NOT THE TOOL. New laws regulating AI in hiring and health care may sound sensible. But when government singles out AI for warnings, audits, and design mandates, it risks burdening protected speech and information gathering.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Mamdani Bum-Rushes NYC Voters Into Their ‘FO’ Phase. “A commie infused with and fueled by ignorant youthful zeal is the worst kind of commie. Zohran Mamdani is the worst kind of commie. He’s not keeping it a secret, either. There are days that I swear he’s determined to prove that conservatives were right about him as quickly as he can.”

THE PEOPLE BLATHERING ABOUT “MUH DEMOCRACY” ARE THE SAME ONES CREATING UNWANTED LITTLE SOMALIAS ALL OVER THE PLACE:

At some point were Americans asked, would you like to turn the most prosperous, most secure, freest society humanity has ever known into an oppressive third world shithole?

I mean, technically, every two to four years, that's exactly what Americans are being asked. Just not in… https://t.co/VeUFkeOP9V

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) July 14, 2026

THESE GUYS SAY A LOT OF THINGS: Former Iranian commander says Tehran could target Trump inside the White House.

A former senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued an unusual direct threat against US President Donald Trump, saying the Islamic Republic is capable of harming him even inside the White House.

Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, a former IRGC commander, told the Iranian news website Fararu: “If the goal is to assassinate Trump, the Islamic Republic can easily do so in the White House. Whenever necessary, we are capable of doing that.”

Alongside the threat, Kanani Moghaddam also commented on talks between Tehran and Washington, saying that, from Iran’s perspective, the negotiations are not aimed at reaching a peace agreement.

You’d think they’d have done it by now.

And nobody has seen or heard Emergency Backup Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in public since the fighting began on Feb. 28.

FLASHBACK: Some Poolside Thoughts: About teens, responsibility, and mental health.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES:

OPINION: Washington sees 48% more retail theft than you’d expect from a state our size. That’s the Forbes Advisor analysis that ranked us worst in the country.

Worst. Ahead of every other state.https://t.co/PDlKMBLsMF

— MyNorthwest (@Mynorthwest) July 13, 2026

From the article:

Shame has worked for as long as people have lived next to each other. The neighbor who saw you do it and told your mother. The coach who sat you on the bench in front of the whole team. The look on your mom’s face when the store manager walked you back to the register. It wasn’t the jail cell that kept most people honest. It was the idea that the people around you would know, and that knowing would cost you something you couldn’t buy back.

We decided that was cruel, at least in Washington. And now we lead the nation in shoplifting.

But a 33-officer police department in Bonney Lake decided to stop just accepting it. What they’re doing costs nothing, it’s working, and almost nobody else in the state is bothering.

It isn’t as though what works is any great mystery.

ICYMI: Ukraine’s New Naval Strategy Is Brilliantly Simple.

IT’S ALWAYS THE SAME WITH THESE PEOPLE:

LOL.

LMAO even. pic.twitter.com/e91BtUVkYR

— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) July 13, 2026

READER FAVORITE: Carhartt Men’s Iconic K87 Pocket T-Shirt. #CommissionEarned

FILL’ER UP: China’s Looming Oil Import Rebound Threatens to Jolt a Market Already Rattled by Hormuz. “Supertanker tracking data indicates China is poised to significantly boost crude imports, with 65 VLCCs bound for its ports over the next 90 days, the highest count since mid-May. This demand rebound threatens to collide with a structurally constrained supply picture as the Strait of Hormuz remains far from normal operations following U.S.-Iran military exchanges. Brent crude surged 3.5% above $78 on renewed strait tensions, while analysts warn that depleted strategic reserves in both the U.S. and China leave little buffer against a simultaneous supply shock and demand surge. Experts anticipate Chinese refiners, enjoying strong margins, will restart idled capacity by late August, potentially pushing prices toward $90 a barrel and complicating the Trump administration’s efforts to keep fuel costs low before the November midterm elections.”

Meanwhile: Trump says US will blockade Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and charge ships for safe passage.