March 31, 2026

I DUNNO, THE “JUST STOP OIL” PEOPLE SEEM IMMUNE TO LEARNING:

Posted at 9:21 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Fun Thought Experiment — Vance and Rubio as ‘Co-Presidents.’ “When Rubio and Vance are out there leading the charge for the president, they’re in complete command of all the facts, which none of their foes on the left ever are. Stephanopoulos and his ilk aren’t just liars, they’re ignorant liars too. Pre-Trump, most Republican politicians would just roll over and play dead for any combination of lies and ignorance thrown at them. This crew isn’t playing that game.”

Posted at 9:06 am by Stephen Green

BURN, HOLLYWOOD, BURN — NOT EVEN AN ALAN SMITHEE FILM: See How Hollywood’s Job Market Is Collapsing.

Most big-budget movies and a growing number of TV series now shoot overseas to take advantage of those tax credits. Some are shooting in non-English-speaking countries like Hungary, where labor and construction costs are particularly cheap.

California last year more than doubled the size of its state tax incentive, though experts say it still isn’t as attractive as those in New Jersey, New York or Georgia. Studios, labor unions and soundstage owners have all been lobbying the Trump administration and Congress to support a federal incentive of around 15%. When combined with state incentives that typically range from 20% to 40%, backers believe it would be enough to bring most Hollywood productions back to the U.S.

Repatriating production would be only a partial solution. The other reason entertainment workers are struggling is economic incentives have driven their employers to produce less.

The early 2020s marked the apex of a production boom known as “peak TV,” during which streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max tried to add subscribers as fast as possible.

By the time strikes by actors and writers ended in 2023, Wall Street was demanding that streaming services give priority to profits over growth. The easiest way to get into the black was to cut production spending.

Meanwhile, Netflix — which probably contributed to this trend more than any other single production house — keeps raising prices for algorithm-chasing “second screen” slop meant for people to kinda-sorta watch on the living room TV while they scroll X or Instagram on their phones.

Previously: Who Killed Hollywood? Or Did it Kill Itself?

Posted at 8:35 am by Stephen Green

#JOURNALISM:

Posted at 8:33 am by Glenn Reynolds

TRUE AND REVEALING:

Posted at 8:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

THE ENEMY WITHIN:

“Western civilization may never win another war” is the entire point, because we’re so damn good at it — or at least used to be.

Posted at 8:19 am by Stephen Green

ICYMI: IT’S ALL ABOUT WHO IT HELPS AND HURTS:

Posted at 8:06 am by Glenn Reynolds

IT DOES MAKE THEM SEEM LESS RELEVANT:

Related:

UPDATE: Gallup Poll: Americans Largely Unbothered by Gas Spike from Iran War.

Posted at 8:02 am by Glenn Reynolds

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Newsom Is Murdering California’s Energy Industry.

The toll on everyday Californians I’ve talked to has been costly. Gas prices in California exceed the national average by nearly two dollars, and electricity rates are almost double those in states like Wyoming. Working-class families and small businesses are being squeezed by energy costs that barely register for the wealthy donors and coastal elites whose priorities seem to drive Newsom’s agenda. These are results that the rest of the country don’t want to see in our states.

And it’s only getting worse. Two refinery closures are about to nix 20% of the state’s refining capacity. This is occurring while California already imports over 60% of its crude oil from foreign countries instead of producing its own. They’ve even resorted to shipping in large quantities of gasoline from the Bahamas.

The Trump administration, trying to help, just directed offshore oil production that could provide real relief today and for years to come. Unsurprisingly, California’s politicians are fighting to prevent American oil from reaching their own constituents. Californians and other nearby states are stuck paying foreign prices at the pump because Newsom and his allies decided that far-left politics matters more than the people they represent.

To be fair, California voters keep getting what they vote for, good and hard. And when they no longer have Trump to blame, maybe they’ll just find a new scapegoat instead of changing their voting habits.

Posted at 7:33 am by Stephen Green

FROM NATHAN C. BRINDLE:  I’m The Beautiful But Evil Space Princess Who Rules A Galactic Empire But Really Wants To Leave People Ruthlessly Alone!

Alice is the Imperial Princess Regnant of the Galactic Empire. At 22, she has been thrust into power after her father (the Emperor) and her two older brothers have all died in various ways. Her Imperial Chancellor, Lord Rupert, does everything he can to support her, but has somewhat different ideas about how the Empire should be run than did his late Emperor.

Alice has one major problem: She cannot be crowned Empress Regnant until she marries and produces an heir.

But Alice, being kept busy three days a week by interminable audiences with petitioners, and the rest of the week with what she terms “mostly busy work”, has no real way to meet young men — well, reasonably eligible young men, anyway, and of her own age — with whom she might eventually take up and form a household. And she chafes at the necessity of trying to rule, hands-on, an Empire so huge it cannot be truly ruled by any one person to begin with.

She just wants to leave people alone, as her father and his predecessors did for centuries.

Then, into her life walks the Crown Prince of a planet many, many parsecs away from the Capital Planet…and her life begins to take on a life of its own…

Posted at 7:30 am by Sarah Hoyt

SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE, ERIC:

Posted at 7:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

FOG OF WAR:

Posted at 7:17 am by Stephen Green

YES, MEMORIES OF THE IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS REMAIN RATHER GALVANIZING:

More details here:

Posted at 7:14 am by Ed Driscoll

THIS SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT:

Posted at 7:09 am by Glenn Reynolds

IT’S ALL ONE BIG CON: Powerful human rights chief who led San Francisco defund the cops push has spectacular fall from grace. “A disgraced San Francisco human rights chief and her longtime beau have been arrested for allegedly grifting taxpayer funds for personal use through a city program intended to help the city’s black communities. Sheryl Davis, former heard of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, and her nonprofit boss partner James Spingola were taken into custody Monday on suspicion of multiple felony counts of misappropriating public funds and conflicts of interest.”

Posted at 7:03 am by Glenn Reynolds