February 19, 2026

THERE’S A LOT OF THAT: ‘Violence Interruptor’ Programs Are Blue State Wishful Thinking, Not Crime Reduction.

After Pritzker touted his meetings with “community violence interventionists” and state-funded “peacekeepers,” praising these “trusted messengers” whose “genuine relationships with the community are crucial to mitigating violence,” some uncomfortable information emerged. As first described by CWB Chicago, one of the “peacekeepers” Pritzker was photographed one-on-one with was apparently wanted on outstanding criminal warrants in four states; worse still, six days after the photo-op, the man was allegedly involved in a high-value commercial burglary culminating in a car crash that killed an innocent motorist.

The awkward photo showing Pritzker grinning alongside the “peacekeeper” has now been removed from the governor’s website. Seeking transparency on how (or even whether) the participants in taxpayer-funded violence intervention programs are vetted, the activist group Judicial Watch initiated a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information from the governor’s office on vetting, background or other checks, and selection criteria both generally and specifically with respect to the “peacekeeper” in the photo-op, including knowledge of his criminal history and warrants. Judicial Watch claims the governor’s office has all but ignored the request, leading to a lawsuit being brought this month seeking to compel disclosure.

There’s clearly no shortage of poor judgment when it comes to these questionable violence interruption programs, even at the nation’s capital.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 1:47 pm by Stephen Green

EVERGREEN HEADLINE: Affluent White Female Liberals Are Living In A Made-Up World.

In a recent viral video, an angry mob (composed almost entirely of white women) hurled expletives at the staff of a Minneapolis CorePower yoga studio, berating them because they reportedly removed anti-ICE signage. While their verbal onslaught apparently worked in this case, these females revealed just how many women live in a Land of Make Believe where everyone magically bends to their will.

This tiny glimpse into the world of make-believe perpetuated by Affluent, White, Female, Liberals (AWFL) has been a long time in coming; many are waking up to the saccharine dream where the AWFLs can do whatever they want, unscathed, while the rest of us must conform and then clean up their messes. For decades the West has built itself around the ideal life for these women, requiring very little by way of sacrifice, inconvenience, earnest effort, or real scrutiny. In today’s world, it is good to be a victim. It is a made-up world that most of us have grown used to believing is real.

As a famous — albeit — fictional law enforcement official famously said, let’s be careful out there:

UPDATE: And then there are the people who only get their news from their iPhone or iPad: Apple News ‘inflames political polarization’ as it excludes conservative outlets from ‘top stories:’ bombshell study.

Posted at 1:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

RUN TO DAYLIGHT: Chicago Bears are ‘committed’ to Indiana move. Here’s what would need to happen.

There is now a “shared commitment” to bring the Chicago Bears to Indiana.

Indiana lawmakers announced Feb. 19 that they’ve struck a deal to potentially locate the football team’s new stadium in northwest Indiana, pending the passage of a bill that provides the framework for a financial package and any due diligence at the proposed Hammond site. This comes nearly two months to the day from the team president’s fateful letter that sparked breathless negotiations.

“It represents a transformational investment for northwest Indiana and our state,” House Speaker Todd Huston told the House ways and means committee, sharing that the Chicago Bears are willing to invest $2 billion in a stadium site in the region.

Indiana lawmakers, too, in the form of Senate Bill 27, have outlined a set of investment promises from the state, Lake and Porter counties to bring the stadium to fruition.

“The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date,” the Bears said in a statement. “We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana.”

Presumably, the Bears will keep their Chicago moniker, in the same way that the Jets and Giants are considered “New York” teams, despite playing in a stadium in New Jersey, and the Cowboys have always been the Dallas Cowboys, despite playing outside of the city since 1971, in first Irving, and then Arlington, Texas.

In any case, will the last person to flee the Second City please turn out the lights?

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

#JOURNALISM:

Posted at 12:49 pm by Glenn Reynolds

JOANNE JACOBS: Parents say: Bring back pencil and paper.

A small but growing number of parents are opting their children out of using school-issued Chromebooks and IPads, writes Tyler Kingkade for NBC News. They cite “concerns about distractions and access to inappropriate content.”

Parents “point to research showing that students who used computers at school performed worse academically and that information is better retained when read on paper,” he writes. They don’t believe using today’s devices will prepare students to use future technology.

“I want them to be taught through humans,” said Julie Frumin, who lives in a Los Angeles suburb. “I want the teachers to teach my kids — I think they know best.”

After some resistance, the school agreed. Her children get print-outs of assignments, writes Kingkade. ” Instead of playing games on their laptops during free time, they read books.”

“Computers are now ubiquitous in K-12 education,” he writes. Nearly 9 in 10 public schools provide a device for each middle and high school student, as do more than 4 in 5 elementary schools.

Students spend too much time on screens, says David Stein, a math teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland. It’s time to think what’s essential and what isn’t.

Indeed:

Posted at 12:45 pm by Stephen Green

ED MARKEY: TRANS ALL THE KIDS!

Presumably, in 2026, Markey isn’t too concerned with any long term consequences to kids having surgery at a young age, because at this point, they only have a few years left:

Related:

Posted at 12:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT PLANTS LIKE PLANT FOOD?

Posted at 12:29 pm by Stephen Green

HERE IT COMES: Mamdani poised to ‘freeze the rent’ after stacking NYC board with likeminded lefty appointees.

Most of Mamdani’s picks appeared to fall right in his ideological wheelhouse.

Three were “public members:” Self described “disruptive” labor union leader and staunch anti-Israel activist Brandon Mancilla; nonprofit advocacy economist Lauren Melodia, who has authored studies arguing against interest rate increases; and new board chair Chantella Mitchell, a former city housing official with a history of work in affordable housing nonprofits.

Mamdani also appointed one of two landlord representatives, Maksim Wynn, also city Department of Homeless Services official who went on to manage affordable housing for a private developer.

Current tenant representative Adán Soltren, a housing attorney and lecturer, was re-appointed to his position after a history of being vocally anti-rent increase.

Made up of mayoral appointees — five public members, two tenant advocates and two landlord advocates — the board is meant to analyze data regarding both landlords and tenants in a non-partisan way.

All data indicate we must stick it to The Man, comrades!

Posted at 11:43 am by Stephen Green

DECLINE IS A CHOICE:

Posted at 11:27 am by Stephen Green

SARAH ANDERSON: A Surprise High-Level U.S. Visitor Lands in Venezuela. “It’s hard to put into words just how historic this is, but it’s yet another win for the Trump administration. I just Googled it to see if the MSM is reporting on it — so far, it looks like just a few outlets, like the Jerusalem Post and Reuters, are the only others mentioning it. That could change tomorrow, but the media does not like to celebrate these wins. I will.”

Posted at 11:12 am by Stephen Green

I TAKE THIS TO MEAN THAT HARVARD STUDENTS AREN’T NEARLY AS LEFT-WING AS THE HARVARD FACULTY OR STAFF — NOT EVEN AFTER FOUR YEARS AT HARVARD:

Posted at 10:52 am by Stephen Green

PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Hassett says authors of New York Fed tariff study should be disciplined: ‘Worst paper I’ve ever seen.’

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Wednesday that the authors of a recent New York Federal Reserve paper that found U.S. companies and consumers are shouldering most of the tariff burden should be “disciplined.”

In a CNBC interview, the National Economic Council director ripped the report, saying that central bank researchers ignored key aspects of how the duties worked and instead simply focused on prices. Hassett said the research also should have included the upward impact on wages and benefits that U.S. companies see by bringing more production onshore.

“I mean, the paper is an embarrassment,” Hassett said during the “Squawk Box” interview. “It’s, I think, the worst paper I’ve ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve system. The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined, because what they’ve done is they’ve put out a conclusion which has created a lot of news that’s highly partisan based on analysis that wouldn’t be accepted in a first-semester econ class.”

As long as wage increases continue to outpace price increases — which they generally did in 2025, and one helluva quick turnaround from the Bidenflation years — Trump’s policies are working as intended, no matter what the Fed says.

Posted at 10:41 am by Stephen Green

THIS IS EXPLAINED BELOW:

UPDATE: From a friend:

England. Where royalty once could rape with impunity, that’s now the exclusive domain of third world migrants. #socialjustice #willwondersnevercease

Update the anthem: God Save the UK Teens. Srsly they must be having an Urdu laugh riot up in Rotherham.

Fascinating how the massively historic game-changing law enforcement virtue signal of arresting a royal for rape serves mainly to highlight the utter hypocrisy and disdain for the common people of British justice.
I suspect this one is going to bite them in the ass.

All that yapping over the last couple decades about rape culture. As a wise man of my acquaintance is given to saying, it’s always in the last place you look.

Or in the UK, the last place you choose to look.

Choose, indeed.

Posted at 10:27 am by Glenn Reynolds