DON SURBER: California regulates spare tires: It is just another bureaucratic power grab in the name of saving the planet.

HIS VICTORIES TEND NOT TO GET SUNG A LOT: The Most Unsung Victory of Trump’s Administration. “The Trump administration’s decision to end the political persecution of a South Dakota farming and ranching family didn’t receive major attention. So far, it isn’t a top story for news sites and shows amid a busy week of conversation around President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in his second term. It should be.”

SHUT UP, THEY EXPLAINED: Russian court jails Kremlin critic for 11 years for opposing the war in Ukraine.

A Russian court on Monday convicted a prominent opposition politician for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 11 years and one month in prison in the latest crackdown leading up to next month’s parliamentary election.

The verdict against Lev Shlosberg, a senior member of the Yabloko party, was another step by the Kremlin to stifle dissent since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. Yabloko is the only official political party overtly opposing the war.

In a separate ruling Monday, Russia’s Supreme Court upheld its earlier decision to bar Yabloko from the ballot in the Sept. 18-20 parliamentary vote, denying an appeal by the party.

The moves against Shlosberg and Yabloko highlight the Kremlin’s intolerance toward any criticism of the war, now in its fifth year.

Stalin required just 14 months to clear the Ukraine SSR of Nazi troops, and the Ukraine military in 2022 wasn’t exactly the Wehrmacht.

GREAT MOMENTS IN IDENTITY POLITICS:

Correction

Abdul El Sayed's ancestors sold Africans as slaves https://t.co/aHNOY6fehj

— Daniel Greenfield – "Hang Together or Separately" (@Sultanknish) August 19, 2026

EVERYTHING IS BROKEN: Hasan Piker’s Wingman Brother Is Space Engineer With Security Clearances Who’s Worked on Air Force One and Nuclear ‘Doomsday Plane’ for Boeing: Murat Piker, who muses on the nature of ‘incels’ on his brother’s livestream, has worked on major military projects including jets and undersea drones.

XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT! Lawmakers Warn China May Be Fueling US Data Center Backlash as Local Bans Spread.

On one hand, data centers use insignificant amount of water. On the other hand, they cure cancer. So who’s to say if they’re good or bad. https://t.co/iNn1i05aG7

— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) August 20, 2026

THEY’RE JUST CAUGHT AND RELEASED TO DO THE JOGGER-STABBINGS AMERICANS WON’T DO:

BREAKING: I'm told by federal source that the suspect arrested in Fairfax County, VA for the stabbing murder of a mother near a jogging trail in Great Falls, VA is a Salvadoran illegal alien who was caught and released at the border by the Biden admin in El Paso, TX in April… pic.twitter.com/I3WJ0dcDzR

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 19, 2026

IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: What’s in a Name, Virginia?

My preferred headline was “Introducing Uncle Sam’s Big-Ass Missile Huts,” but it didn’t pass Standards & Practices.

IT’S ALMOST LIKE PUBLIC POLLS TEND TO BE DISINFORMATION.

Really interesting work from Patrick Ruffini. Across 3,312 Senate polls over four cycles, he finds a D+3.7 average error, with 73% overstating Democrats. Even more interesting is that the error peaks around D+5.9 in late July before narrowing toward Election Day.

That adds an… https://t.co/c1nC4baSiU pic.twitter.com/CIIWLgNFj3

— Quantus Insights (@QuantusInsights) August 18, 2026

HOW TO GET MEMORY HOLED:

Boomers on the hellsite Nextdoor were saying we shouldn't care about the murder in Virginia because "most crime is committed by white men." I posted the actual names and immigration status of EVERY murder in Fairfax, without further comment. It was deleted for "discrimination." pic.twitter.com/eUED1BjWqj

— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) August 19, 2026

LIMITED TIME DEAL: roborock 2026 New Qrevo 2 Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop. #CommissionEarned

UNSUSTAINABLE: US national debt hits $40 trillion milestone for first time ever. “America’s national debt is growing rapidly due to surging interest costs, which are rising because of a larger debt burden and higher interest rates, as well as growth in federal spending on Social Security and Medicare amid the aging of the U.S. population.”

THE WNBA IS A DUMPSTER FIRE: They Didn’t Need a Memo: WNBA security already knew which shirts to censor. The league’s non-apology, the Dream’s distancing, and ESPN’s convenient extra fan don’t change what actually happened. “These institutions are so thoroughly captured that security and camera guys wouldn’t even need explicit orders. They already know which messages are forbidden. Which t-shirt to censor. Which people to skip in the broadcast. Because let’s be clear — they showed a woman in a ‘Trans kids belong in sports’ shirt repeatedly on the national broadcast. This didn’t go both ways, as some are now claiming (I’ll get to that).”

SADLY, PEOPLE LIKE VINDMAN NEVER TAKE THE HINT AND GO AWAY:

Vindman should have been prosecuted for abusing his position in government to make things up and launch a lawfare operation against a sitting president. Hopefully we will never hear from him again, although that is probably asking too much.

And while his operation ultimately… https://t.co/awv7mimiFW

— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) August 19, 2026

KRAUTHAMMER’S LAW IN ACTION:

Republicans generally have religious beliefs that are separate and distinct from politics.

Democrats = Politics IS religion

— ⤴️ The_Pseudapigraphist (@FissileFinance) August 19, 2026

Or to put it in visual terms:

There’s nothing more insufferable than being with a group of liberals who assumes you share their politics. https://t.co/kFllpYS9P5

— (Formerly) Brooklyn Mom (@graciefacelove) August 15, 2026

Classical reference in headline: “To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil,” Charles Krauthammer wrote in 2002. And viewing someone of a differing ideology as being evil is a very different stance than viewing him as simply uninformed or otherwise somehow misguided.

I ALWAYS THOUGHT SO: ‘Illegal’ Trial of George Floyd ‘Murderer’ Derek Chauvin Was Complete and Utter Garbage. “I haven’t seen such a recklessly steered case since the McMartin family was sent to prison based on emotion and politics instead of logic, reason, and evidence. And now, finally, a Minnesota judge will mete out a little justice in the case of Derek Chauvin, the cop who is alleged to have purposely killed George Floyd.”

SHE THOUGHT WELL OF IT:  Review: The Timeless by Richard Paolinelli and Gibson Buffa.

PERSONNEL IS POLICY:

TLDR maybe but I’m so glad you brought this up! Here’s why we can’t have iconoclast generals in the U.S. anymore:

1947: Officer Personnel Act. We standardized “up-or-out.” Officers increasingly advanced through centralized boards and prescribed career timing instead of being… https://t.co/Og5M2Zk2jG

— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) August 19, 2026

CULTURES ARE NOT THE SAME!  Still More Tales of the Base Tour Guide – Host Nation Sensitivities.

THE AD SHOWS THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE DRIVING A PICKUP TRUCK, KLANSMEN DROVE PICKUP TRUCKS, SO YES, IT’S JUST LIKE THAT:  El-Sayed Staffer Just Compared This Campaign Ad to the KKK.

SHE’S A DEMOCRAT; DEMOCRATS DON’T MATH:  Democrat Mary Peltola’s Economic Math Ain’t Mathing.

IT WAS TIME:  America Sanctions ICC President and Trial Lawyer.

HIS GUEST SAID THE BIBLE AND QURAN ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME BOOK, JUST IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES?  Bill Maher Shut Down a Muslim Comedian When the Conversation Veered Into This Topic.

MOSTLY BY STEALING WHAT WORKS:  China today finally succeeds in vertically soft-landing a first stage.

I SWEAR THAT’S THE ENTIRE PURPOSE. KEEPING THE “PEASANTS” FROM DRIVING:  California’s New Tire Mandate Could Drive Up Costs.