December 19, 2025

MAKE AMERICA’S SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL GREAT AGAIN (FOR THE FIRST TIME): Trump Unveils ‘Freedom 250’ for US Semiquincentennial. “According to the Trump administration, the initiative will focus on national events, storytelling, and civic engagement meant to honor the country’s history while looking ahead to what Trump has called the next 250 years of American leadership and opportunity.”

Posted at 4:54 pm by Stephen Green

REAL POLICE-STATE STUFF:

Posted at 4:52 pm by Stephen Green

Flounder (from Animal House) put it best:
“Oh boy is this great!”

Just the News reporting that “Justice Department releases first batch of Epstein files.”

Posted at 4:32 pm by Charles Glasser

KEEP DRIVING DOWN THOSE COSTS: A Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was launched from the flight deck of littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara while operating in the Persian Gulf. “The ability to deploy effectors like LUCAS without the need for more permanent launch systems, like the Mark 41 vertical launch system (VLS), will allow deployment from a wider range of warships and even auxiliaries, as well as employment from austere locations on land.”

Posted at 3:52 pm by Stephen Green

IT’S FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: The Grinch Who Stole a Needy Family’s Christmas. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news, and this week, we’ll learn how to punish the worst person in the world, where not to take your one-day rental two months after it was due back, and all about South Carolina’s Old Bay smuggling operation.”

Posted at 3:21 pm by Stephen Green

SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE IS ENJOYING A LITTLE RECOIL THERAPY: Giffords’ Gun Control-Based State Scorecard Grades Doesn’t Hold Up to Closer Examination.

For 15 years, the annual Giffords “Gun Law Scorecard” has been promoted as a definitive ranking of states doing the most to keep their citizens safe from criminal misuse of firearms. Legislators cite these scores during hearings. Activists use them as “proof” of policy successes and media outlets dutifully repeat the grades ad nauseam without a second thought.

For example, while Giffords gives New York an A, that didn’t stop a number of high-profile criminal attacks this year including the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the shooting of Jets cornerback Kris Boyd, 7 people from being shot on Thanksgiving eve or six shot at a Sweet 16 Party just this week in New York City.

But the scorecards aren’t a measure of crime trends, public safety outcomes, or even the effectiveness of firearm regulations. It’s a grading system built to reward gun control laws on the books and shame states that defend lawful firearm ownership.

Of course.

Posted at 1:48 pm by Stephen Green

CHANGE: Explainer-What will change with the US reclassification of marijuana? “U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order demanding a speedy reclassification of marijuana that would ease federal restrictions on research that could lead to new medical marijuana products. Here is what you need to know.”

Posted at 1:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

THE DEARTH OF STALIN: Rich Lowry: Bernie Sanders’ poisonously stupid anti-AI crusade would doom America’s future.

Most people welcome economic growth, but Bernie Sanders hates it.

As they say, there’s no accounting for taste.

The Vermont socialist has come out against data centers, the mass computing facilities essential to the development of artificial intelligence.

There are all sorts of NIMBY-type reasons for local residents to oppose data centers near them — they use a lot of energy and water, they’re noisy and unsightly — but Sanders is against them on principle.

If he can stop the creation of new data centers, he can squeeze AI research to a standstill and supposedly save American jobs while giving Congress more time to regulate the new industry.

Perhaps Bernie will be fighting Big Golf as well:

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™: 58 Reasons Why Blue Cities Are Circling the Drain

Washington State is underwater again with rainfall from what they used to call the Pineapple Express, but which has been given a far more interesting moniker of an “Atmospheric River.” That river is flooding the lowlands of the state…again.

We learn anew why Gavin Newsom is the worst governor California has ever had — and that’s pretty bad, considering the list, including the notorious Gray Davis.

And Oregon leads us off because the City of Roses has just shown the country what it looks like when criminals run the criminal “justice” system.

So much more at the link.

Posted at 1:17 pm by Stephen Green

LIKE MOWING THE GRASS, THIS HAS TO BE DONE REGULARLY: Trump counterterrorism chief: U.S. has eliminated nearly 450 terrorists, warns of ISIS resurgence.

“As of this morning, we are at 449 jihadis who have been terminated since the President was sworn back in again,” the Senior Director for Counterterrorism, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, told the Just the News, No Noise TV show on Thursday. “That is excluding the Houthi campaign, excluding the cartel drug boats.”

Gorka said the administration has zeroed in on the resurgence of terrorist groups like ISIS in the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal and lax border enforcement during the Biden administration.

In his first term, “the President declared war on the ISIS caliphate, and within a matter of weeks, the physical caliphate that had been established by the jihadi threat group in Syria in Iraq was gone. However, there are always survivors,” Gorka said.

Gorka said because the Biden administration shifted terrorism focus to domestic terrorism, which earned the administration significant criticism, it gave space for Islamic terrorists to recover from the defeat of the caliphate in Syria.

“As a result, a breathing space was afforded jihadis, and they reconciled, reconstituted themselves, especially in Africa,” Gorka said.

Whenever you think Trump might be moving too slowly on this or that, remember how many messes the Biden cabal left behind.

Posted at 12:46 pm by Stephen Green

OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND: We need more people ready to fight, military chief says.

The UK needs “more people being ready to fight for their country” as the nation seeks to deter a potential confrontation with Russia, the head of the military has said.

Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said “a whole-of-society response” was needed, including an increase in regular forces, cadets and reserves.

He also called for more school leavers and graduates to join the defence industry.

While the chief of the defence staff suggested there was only a remote chance of a direct Russian attack on the UK, he told an event at the Royal United Services Institute that so-called hybrid attacks showed the threat was worsening.

Sir Richard said: “Sons and daughters. Colleagues. Veterans will all have a role to play. To build. To serve. And if necessary, to fight.

“And more families will know what sacrifice for our nation means.”

To be fair, they’re busy sacrificing for the nation by being locked up for writing spicy tweets: Police make 30 arrests a day for offensive online messages.

The police are making more than 30 arrests a day over offensive posts on social media and other platforms.

Thousands of people are being detained and questioned for sending messages that cause “annoyance”, “inconvenience” or “anxiety” to others via the internet, telephone or mail.

Custody data obtained by The [London] Times shows that officers are making about 12,000 arrests a year under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

As Kurt Schlichter tweets:

This notion that young British men — specifically the working class ones — are going to sign up to go fight Russia for Ukraine is hilarious. This applies to other countries too, but let’s focus on the Brits. It’s a lesson in how the left skin-suits an institution, demands respect, and finds that it receives none.

These are the same young men who have been told they, their country, and their culture are garbage for the last 20 years. Racist, sexist, transphobic — you know the score. When they dare complain about their communities being changed without their consent, they get slandered. When foreign invaders rape their sisters and wives, the ruling class covers it up. If they take action, or even speak about it, they will be jailed. Yeah, I bet they’re just chomping at the bit to go get killed at the behest of their tormentors.

Of course, Old Blighty’s newfound saber rattling could simply be Labour’s version of Obama’s “stray voltage” mechanism to ride out a particularly bad news cycle:

UPDATE: Oceania has never been at war with Oceania:

Airstrip One has certainly done an exceptional job in recent years preparing its young men to fight for their nation:

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll