December 19, 2025

JOSH HAMMER: Chanukah Is Relevant for Everyone — But Not in the Way You Might Think. “Yet paradoxically, especially in light of tragic recent events, something occurred to me for the first time: This stridently particularist Jewish holiday does have broader — indeed, global — relevance. It’s just not the relevance liberal politicians have ascribed to Chanukah. Indeed, it’s the exact opposite.”

Posted at 11:13 am by Stephen Green

CHANGE: Trump signs order reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III drug. “Under the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule I drugs are defined as having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs – such as anabolic steroids, ketamine, and testosterone – are defined as having a moderate potential for abuse and accepted medical uses.”

Posted at 10:42 am by Stephen Green

ANALYSIS: TRUE.

How long ago was it that Glenn (at least I think it was Glenn) coined, “Credentialed, not educated?”

It certainly feels like a long time ago.

Posted at 10:26 am by Stephen Green

OSWALD SPENGLER, CALL YOUR OFFICE:

Related:

Posted at 10:22 am by Ed Driscoll

WELL, THERE’S NO WELL-OILED MEDIA/NONPROFIT/GOVERNMENTAL MACHINE OPERATING ON BEHALF OF WHITE GUYS:

Posted at 10:16 am by Glenn Reynolds

GOOD LORD: Half of $18B in federal funds for Minnesota-run programs may have been defrauded, official says.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said the scale of fraud puts services at risk for people who need them, including adults leaving addiction treatment centers who needed help finding a stable place to live and children with autism who were seeking one-on-one therapy.

While prosecutors typically see fraud manifest as providers overbilling, Thompson said during a news conference in Minneapolis that companies have been created to provide zero services while submitting claims to Medicaid and pocketing federal funds for international travel, luxury vehicles and lavish lifestyles.

“The magnitude cannot be overstated,” Thompson said. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”

Meanwhile: Tim Walz Pivots To Attacking White Men When Asked If Somalis Will Be Held Accountable For Fraud.

Posted at 9:40 am by Stephen Green

THE HEADLINE NUMBERS NEVER TELL THE WHOLE STORY:

There’s a shift from government employment to private sector employment, and from employing illegals to employing citizens.

So much winning.

Posted at 9:24 am by Stephen Green

ABOLISH THE IVY LEAGUE:

Related:

Posted at 9:15 am by Glenn Reynolds

TRUMP’S HARANGUE: Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated in the past decade that he hears the American people more accurately than any other major national political figure. So how to explain that tone-deaf 17-minute Oval Office diatribe? Bob Maistros, one of the sharp pens at the Issues & Insights shop, offers some on-point suggestions.

UPDATE: For the record, people, my problem with Trump’s speech was definitely not the factual content, but rather the delivery. He’s had an extraordinary first year of a second term and my view is the roaring economy in 2026 will make the mid-terms a GOP win, contrary to the conventional wisdom. 

Posted at 9:04 am by Mark Tapscott

CHRISTMAS IS A PAGAN HOLIDAY? It’s that time of year when you hear such claims, but as the latest “What Would You Say?” video from the Colson Center on HillFaith, the historical facts just don’t add up to such a conclusion.

Posted at 8:45 am by Mark Tapscott

WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODER AND HARDER? DOE orders WA coal plant to continue operating despite state ban.

The state’s last coal plant was scheduled to close at the end of this year and Puget Sound Energy, which had bought coal-fired electricity from the plant, had agreed to convert the plant to burn natural gas. The closure had been negotiated between the state, TransAlta and climate and energy advocates in an agreement first reached in 2011.

The order, which mirrors other efforts by the Department of Energy at other soon-to-retire coal plants across the country, sets the state and federal government up for a political fight, said Lauren McCloy, a utility and regulatory director of the NW Energy Coalition.

All Washington state utilities are required to stop using coal-fired electricity after this year, under the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act. The landmark climate law also calls for utilities to become greenhouse gas “neutral” by 2030 and have emission-free electricity by 2045 or risk steep fines.

More:

The federal order cites a report commissioned by the region’s largest utilities that has said the risk of rolling blackouts during extreme weather events like cold snaps and heat waves due to insufficient power generation is increasing across the Northwest.

In short, the Trump administration probably just saved Washington state residents from unnecessary rolling blackouts.

But maybe they shouldn’t have.

Posted at 8:38 am by Stephen Green

BRITAIN HAS BECOME A SAD, SELF-INFLICTED JOKE:

Posted at 8:33 am by Glenn Reynolds

THE “STOLEN ELECTION” REALLY WAS:

UPDATE:

Related: Fani Willis Goes Buckwild in Georgia Hearing. “During the hearing, Willis was shown an invoice from Wade on a projector. She admitted she had not seen the document before the hearing but claimed she allowed him to bill ‘160 hours a week,’ 23 hours per day. She later corrected herself, but the video quickly went viral.”

MORE:

Posted at 8:24 am by Glenn Reynolds

WE NEED A TOTAL AND COMPLETE SHUTDOWN OF AUSTRALIA UNTIL WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING ON:

I don’t think that kid will grow up to be the problem, mate.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN):

Posted at 8:22 am by Stephen Green

ATLAS MUGGED:

How It Started: Minneapolis City Council members intend to defund and dismantle the city’s police department.

—CNN, June 8th, 2020.

And: Farhad Manjoo writes a story about the Kia Boys without mentioning the Kia Boys.

As Manjoo sees it, the thefts and related problems (car crashes, armed robbery sprees, etc.) are entirely the fault of the manufacturers for making these cars so easy to steal. But he notes, ruefully, that another culprit is getting some of the blame. If you’re guessing he’s talking about the thieves, you guessed wrong. . . .

Not mentioned at all in these paragraphs or anywhere else in his column are the car thieves. All of the fault is placed on inanimate objects, i.e. the “theft-prone cars.” No responsibility is placed on the people driving this trend. This strikes me as pretty perfect encapsulation of everything that is wrong with progressive thinking on crime.

I think there’s a pretty clear reason why he’s leaving out the people responsible. Because the “Kia Boys,” as they’ve been described, are young teens, often black, who are stealing cars for fun and for social media cred. Contrary to what Manjoo claims, TikTok isn’t just providing dry information on how to steal the cars, it’s the platform where the “Kia Challenge” went viral. It’s where thieves post highlights of their joyrides in stolen cars to impress other kids. . . . In this clip, they admit they started stealing the cars because it was trending on TikTok. Watch and then tell me the responsibility should primarily fall on the car manufacturers. What about the kids doing this? What about their parents who seem to be completely absent? What about TikTok for making this into a social media game and a competition? Even the older men in the neighborhood point out that there is no accountability for these kids even when they are caught. So what about the courts and judges who give them a pass? If the car companies deserve blame that should come after a long line of other people involved.

—John Sexton, Hot Air, September 1st, 2023.

How It’s Going:

Posted at 8:22 am by Ed Driscoll