WHAT, THEY DON’T TRUST LETTY JAMES TO DEDICATE THE SAME INTENSITY AS SHE DID TO TRUMP?  GOP lawmakers demand Gov. Hochul root out Minnesota-style fraud with independent audit.

ALL THE STRANGE DOINGS:  Another Merry Minnesota Walz.

PERSPECTIVE FROM ACROSS THE POND (AND FURTHER DOWN THE RED RATHOLE):  Understanding the battle for America’s soul.

DEFEAT IS NOT AN OPTION (ADVICE FROM THE PHILOSOPHERS):  Victory is all that matters.

WASHINGTON AG DOESN’T WANT ACTUAL JOURNALISM IN HIS STATE:  Democrat Prosecutor Receives Massive Blowback After Statement on Reports of Somali Fraud.

LUNCHEON IS BEING SERVED AT THE AUTOPHAGOUS BUFFET:  The Minnesota Congressional Delegation Is Demanding Answers and Accountability From Tim Walz.

WELCOME TO THE NEWYORKALYPSE:  Mamdani Touts Warmth of ‘Collectivism,’ Revokes Pro-Israel Policies.

WELL, GOOD:  Finnish Police Detain Russian Crew After Suspected Sabotage of Baltic Undersea Cable.

NEVER MIND THAT CALIFORNIA WAS NEVER A SLAVE STATE:  San Francisco Mayor Signs Reparations Bill, Admits There’s No Money to Pay Them.

IF I EVER GET A TIME MACHINE, ROUSSEAU WILL BE MY FIRST MURDER VICTIM:  From Rousseau to Marx, Hegel to Gramsci.

THE EU IS AN UNCONVINCING LEGAL FICTION:  American Legal Sovereignty Threatened by Greenpeace’s Retaliatory EU Lawsuit.

I HAVE A STRONG DISAGREEMENT WITH THIS ARTICLE:  “You had to be unacceptably racist in 1993 to predict where South Africa would be in thirty years”.

The population is NOT exploding in the third world. It’s crashing everywhere. It’s just that the third world lies more impunely and brazenly. I’m sorry it takes a very smart person to fall for the stupid idea that the third world countries conduct reliable censuses. Or even attempt them, for that matter. Ridiculous. they just pretend to larger population because they get more “aid” money.

FOR AN EXAMPLE OF HOW BAD THIS COULD BE, SEE SPAIN LAST YEAR:   America’s ‘Green’ Power Grid Has A Red China Problem.

NOTE COUNTER-PROPAGANDA IS STILL PROPAGANDA:  This is an excellent primer on how the Shirley video *could* be disinformation without ever affirming the core assumption that it actually *is.* The author knows her topic well. As counter-propaganda goes, this is top-notch.

And for the x cancelled.

BEHOLD, MY SHOCKED FACE:  Deadly Oklahoma weed shootings expose network tied to New York money and China: report.

RIGHT. IT’S NOT EVEN THE PERFECT BEING THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD: It’s committing suicide if we can’t have perfect. Right now the democrats are death: for the economy, the country and potentially civilization.  There are two major flaws with the idea of having the Republican Party lose so that we get something better as an end result. The first major problem with this is you will allow a Democrat landslide victory who will proceed to import and provide amnesty to as many people as possible to increase their pool of voters, also use every aspect of the regime to destroy you, and will guaranteed have by pure numbers enough votes to rule till the end of time. The other major flaw is that this doesn’t account for the fact that the Republican Party as it exists now is perceived as an undergoing radical, insurgent change against the previous conservative order Pre-Trump. Those who existed prior to Trump still hold very large amounts of power, money, and sway over institutions. A major sweeping loss of the Republican Party now will have you contending with all of these people, who will propose the following counter narrative: Trump and the MAGA movement moved too far into identity politics, were too offensive, too racist, too radical, and we need to return to a party of respectable conservative, small government, family values and fiscal responsibility. And if that happens, if there is a major destruction, mark my words, that side would win in reforming the Republican Party, and making it a more gay, more immigrant friendly, more controlled opposition, beautiful loser Conservative Party than it ever was before in history.

AND FOR THE CANCELLED OF X:  Here.

NOT QUITE A CASE OF TRUMP WALKING ON WATER AND BEING REPORTED AS NOT KNOWING HOW TO SWIM:  DAILY ART FIX: Sweet Jesus—Trump auctions off a Christ painting made in ten minutes.

The real headline, Trump raises millions for a children’s hospital.

I MEAN, IT’S A GOOD QUESTION:  CNN Panel Goes Off the Rails When Scott Jennings Asks Why MN Democrats Cater to Somalis.

OPEN THREAD: How’s your new year going so far?

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: Babylon Bee Editor Thanks Snopes for Debunking This Believable Story About Tim Walz’s $8 Billion Grant.

Snopes feels the need to "debunk" precisely because the satire is so believable. https://t.co/4AwLu2gs2I

— Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) January 2, 2026

Flashback to Trump’s first term, when a “fact checking” Website was obsessed with a — deliberately — satiric one: The Babylon Bee Satirizes the Absurdities of American Politics. Snopes Doesn’t Seem to Get the Joke.

I HAVE A PAIR, AND I WOULD SAY “MEH.” Are image-stabilized binoculars good for stargazing? I mean, they’re certainly better than non-stabilized binoculars.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: UBI For Me But Not For Thee? When a nation is colonized from the inside out.

As always, if you like these essays, please take out a paid subscription. I will thank you, and my family will thank you.

SIX DEGREES OF SOMALI SEPARATION:

Step 5: Republicans are the real problem. https://t.co/wTBMFsgPls

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 3, 2026

And Step 6, where Politico journalists apparently think they had it coming if they’re shot while attempting to uncover fraud:

Babe wake up new entry on the It’s Not Happening meme just dropped https://t.co/PctgfxI3Uw pic.twitter.com/7LkSXRnXC2

— Jarvis (@jarvis_best) December 30, 2025

THREAD:

Are we to assume, @bariweiss, that there was a backlog of left-wing anti-Trump stories like this “in the pipeline,” so to speak, before you took over? https://t.co/1xtaLsetLz

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) January 2, 2026

UPDATE (From Ed): This must be part of the “backlog:”  Why? CBS Evening News Pushes Young Adults Pondering Climate Doom Before Having Kids.

Do CBS newsreaders not understand that we can find videos of their past scare campaigns, such as this classic from 1982, when Dan Rather handed his broadcast over to colleague who exclaimed with a straight face, “If these scientists are correct, about 25% of Florida would be flooded along with low-lying areas all over the world.” While I know that Gov. DeSantis has a lot to worry about, I’m pretty sure that isn’t at the top of his concerns in 2026:

CBS has been doing climate doomsdaying for well over half a century, since the first “Earth Day” in 1970. When do they get to the end of the backlog?

MOVIE THEATERS – THEY WERE FUN WHILE THEY LASTED: Netflix Reportedly Wants to Keep Movies in Theaters for Just 17 Days After It Buys Warner Bros.

In a report from Deadline on the Stranger Thing Season 5 finale, which made $25 million in theaters after it released at the same time theatrically as it did on Netflix, Hollywood was said to be worried about what the streamer considers to be “industry-standard windows” before movies are made available on its platform.

And then the bombshell:

Sources have told Deadline that Netflix have been proponents of a 17-day window which would steamroll the theatrical business, while circuits such as AMC believe the line needs to be held around 45 days.

It’s worth noting this isn’t confirmation that Netflix will settle on a 17-day window for Warner Bros. movies if and when its deal is approved. The theater companies may end up negotiating a lengthy window, perhaps somewhere between 45 days and the 17 days Netflix reportedly is a fan of. But what’s clear is that there will be a great deal of tension within Hollywood as this is all worked out, with Netflix’s priority — as you’d expect — bolstering streaming.

Earlier: The Year Hollywood Died.