December 29, 2025

DISPATCHES FROM THE QUALITY LEARING CENTER: I found the dankest memes about Somali daycare fraud to tide you over while we wait for Republicans to DO SOMETHING.

Related:

UPDATE: Prelude to Republican Failure Theater?

Meanwhile, the Somali Pirates continue to expand their plundering:

 

Posted at 2:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

IT’S NICE TO SEE EUROPEAN NATO GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ITS DEFENSE AGAIN: Russia vs. NATO Video Roundup.

NATO is racing to build a multi-billion dollar 2,000 mile long defensive line that stretches across the entire European continent.”

“There are several names for the new fortification depending on the section you’re standing at. In the Baltics, it’s officially known as the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line, which is a 500 mile long network of bunkers and fortified border zones.”

“The Eastern Flank Deterrence Line is not mainly physical barriers, because the distance is far too great. Instead, it’s a network of computer sensors to fill these physical gaps. It’s not designed to completely defeat a potential Russian conventional advance. It’s made to slow down and channel the enemy’s forces into these predetermined kill zones.”

“The Army and NATO’s focusing their efforts at the places deemed most vulnerable in the Baltics. Here they’re deploying a layered modular barrier system that runs 30 miles deep.” First they hit sensors lines, then get a dose of HIMARS and artillery, then drone swarms in the air and on the ground. “Estimates are these methods will have to kill or wound 70% of the attacking force to be successful.”

The length of the entire defensive line is roughly the length of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump’s tough love is having the desired effect.

Posted at 1:44 pm by Stephen Green

NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU DESPISE THE MEDIA…:

Posted at 1:28 pm by Stephen Green

IT’S SCAMS ALL THE WAY DOWN:

Posted at 12:48 pm by Glenn Reynolds

HOW IT STARTED:

How It’s Going: Richard Hammond tried the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, Yangwang U9, and the Maextro S800 in Shanghai.

According to someone posting at the Pistonheads forum, “So this is essentially bootleg Top Gear. Videos made by a guy that started out by adding Chinese subs to official (but illegally downloaded) Top Gear episodes that were never officially available in China…Then all these years later Hammond is their guest star!”

I started watching this with raised eyebrows but they seemed like genuine car guys and were totally honest with RH when he asked about the habit of copying the west — and various other questions about the turning tide of car manufacturer supremacy..

I’m genuinely impressed that RH’s interest in cars was sufficient for him to do this, given that he’s getting driven around by the guys that illegally provided his Top Gear content to the entirety of China. The local car culture guys clearly adored Top Gear and to be fair there was no way they could have ever had it legally.

Got to admit, the cars are very impressive — despite being a bit bootleg, although it’s hard to argue with the lap times at the Nurburgring. Every last thing about this video is bootleg though, and RH seemed entirely at peace with that.

Bootlegging? The Chinese are extremely good at that:

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

WITHHOLDING: Bessent: Americans Should Get ‘Gigantic’ Tax Refunds in 2026. “I can see that we’re gonna have a gigantic refund year in the first quarter because working Americans did not change their withholdings. I think households could see, depending on the number of workers, $1,000- $2,000 refunds.”

Honestly, I’d rather owe a little.

Posted at 12:11 pm by Stephen Green

SOMEONE SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS:

Posted at 12:09 pm by Glenn Reynolds

FAIR QUESTION:

Posted at 11:24 am by Stephen Green

EVERGREEN: The Far-Left’s Talking Out of Both Sides of Its Mouth Again. “The CSPI ‘2025 Progress Report’ was mailed to my house last week in an effort to solicit a donation before the year’s end. Out of pure curiosity, I opened the 8-page newsletter and was appalled by the very first page. Before I was halfway through the product, I had a pen in my hand and made notes just to keep track of the lies, insinuations, and fear mongering.”

Posted at 11:09 am by Stephen Green

YOU’VE BEEN ROBBED:

But the media doesn’t want you to know:

And here’s some perspective from Elon Musk: “My lower bound guess for how much fraud there is nationally is ~20% of the Federal budget, which would mean $1.5 trillion per year. Probably much higher.”

When Democrats in government import huge numbers of fraudsters and Democrats in the media refuse to report on the resulting fraud, you have to assume that Democrats in both institutions are in on it.

EDIT: I also assume that many Republicans are effectively Democrats. Although that’s less of an assumption than a proven fact.

Related (From Ed): Rushing to Ilhan Omar’s Defense, New York Times Hides Somali Fraud Scheme from Readers.

The New York Times recently dedicated more than 1,500 words to President Trump’s “Anti-Somali attacks” — but somehow failed to mention the staggering fraud operation allegedly being run by Minnesota’s Somali community, which precipitated the attacks from Trump.

The piece centers on Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), who has “long been a target of racist insults by the president.”

And while Omar and the Somali community have undoubtedly faced inappropriate attacks from the president, it is journalistic malpractice that the Times fails to mention the elephant in the room: federal prosecutors said last week that the fraud scandal could end up costing taxpayers around $9 billion.

More than 90 people, the majority of whom belong to Minnesota’s Somali community, have been accused of defrauding public assistance programs.

Without mentioning the fraud as a major driving factor behind Trump’s criticisms and the immigration crackdown in the state, the Times allows Omar, who emigrated to the U.S. from Somalia when she was twelve, to reflect “on the latest cycle of dehumanizing personal attacks on her by the president.”

Evergreen:

Posted at 10:50 am by Stephen Green

GOOD LORD: Migrant With Deportation Order Suspected in Paris Metro Mass Stabbing.

An illegal migrant from Africa who had a deportation order is suspected of stabbing three women on the Paris metro on Friday in what appears to be another example of the French immigration system failing to protect the public.

A Malian migrant was arrested on Friday evening after three women were attacked on the number 3 line of the Parisian metro system between 4:15 and 4:45 pm local time.

Thankfully, the lives of the three victims are not in danger as their wounds were superficial. However, the 25-year-old African should not have been in the country had authorities performed their duty, reports indicate.

According to Le Figaro, citing sources from within the Paris prosecutor’s office, the illegal from Mali was previously imprisoned last year for aggravated theft and sexual assault.

He was released in July and was issued with a OQTF deportation orders, yet nearly half a year later, has still not been removed from the country.

Of course.

Posted at 10:38 am by Stephen Green