October 22, 2026

MUSTN’T GET THE HOI POLLOI ALL RILED UP AND RUINING A PERFECTLY GOOD GRIFT:

Posted at 12:03 pm by Stephen Green

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Forget LA to SF: California Democrats Can’t Even Build A 2.25 Mile Rail System. “I’m skipping over all the various physical defects (including electric arcing) the system has experienced. Third rail electric systems have only been around since the late 19th century, so you’d think this would be a solved problem by now.”

That’s the best I could do for an excerpt, since it’s a long post with one unbelievable failure stacked up on another.

Posted at 11:43 am by Stephen Green

GETTING TO FIFTYPLUSONE IS SO MUCH EASIER WHEN THEY SPOT YOU FIVE:

Like the media, so much polling is now just an op.

Posted at 11:27 am by Stephen Green

ELECTING FORMER SPOOKS TURNS OUT TO BE A BAD IDEA*:

*See also: Abigail Spanberger.

Posted at 10:56 am by Stephen Green

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Socialism Isn’t Just Deadly — It’s Soul-Crushing.

Far-left political influencer Hasan Piker was recently grilled on a satirical internet show—and the clips it generated were gold.

“Now, Karl Marx said, ‘To each according to his needs.’ You live in a $2.7 million house,” the host said. “Why are your needs more important than 90% of other Californians?”

Piker appeared uncomfortable as he answered—and it wasn’t because he was fully decked out in a Mao suit.

To put it simply, proudly sporting the uniform of a regime that took the lives of an estimated 80 million people, all while enjoying the prosperity of a $2.7 million house and invitations to Oscar parties, isn’t a good look.

But of the socialist states Piker views favorably, former Yugoslavia arguably ranks among the highest. He once published a video titled “Yugoslavia Was Awesome!” in which he praised aspects of the former socialist country, including its living standards.

That idea might seem laughable to survivors like Slavenka Drakulic—literally.

Talk about soul-crushing — ever get behind the wheel of a Yugo?

Posted at 10:41 am by Stephen Green

ELON HAS HIGH-LEVEL ACCESS TO PALANTIR AND, I SUSPECT, AN EXTRA-STRENGTH VERSION OF GROK.

Posted at 10:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

WEIRD, EH?

Posted at 10:25 am by Stephen Green

GOODER AND HARDER, FUN CITY:

Tweet continues, “She gave Chad a dirtier look than the guy who literally spit on her. Everyone just walked away. NYC is a sitcom.”

As Mamdani works tirelessly to return New York City to its Death Wish/Taking of Pelham One Two Three Bad Old Days, i.e., Detroit by the Hudson, it’s worth remembering what Jay Nordlinger once wrote about the Motor City’s own death wish. “If people are voting a certain way — maybe it’s because they want to. Maybe they know full well what they’re doing. Sometimes you have to take no — such as ‘no to Republicanism’ — for an answer.”

Posted at 10:22 am by Ed Driscoll

SCHLICHTER: Dem Hack Drops the Mask and Lets Her Fascism Freak Flag Fly.

The sour, bitter face of our enemy is the face of the chubby girl who always tried to get between you and her hot roommate — except instead of a double-bagger trying to block your shot, she’s now a Democrat trying to condemn you to serfdom. It’s the same face you see worn by malignant amphibians like Elissa Slotkin (D-CIA), a particularly loathsome creature who trumpets her time at the Central Intelligence Agency to establish her phony USA! USA! bona fides. This comes at the same time she supports a Jew-hating communist to be her co-senator who is, at minimum, a slobbering affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood. Whether her flex is calculated or stupid is a puzzlement; does she think she’s exploiting him instead of being exploited herself? It is useful to remember how the Iranian mullahs took power and then immediately shot all their erstwhile leftist allies. Regardless, they deserve each other; we don’t deserve either.

When fascism comes to America, it will come from the left, because the left is where fascism comes from. It will come in the form of a Democrat, a Democrat who pretends to be patriotic and points to her résumé as if it’s proof. And it will be dressed like an HR director at a mid-tier company in a second-tier town.

Read the whole thing, I probably don’t have to say.

Posted at 9:39 am by Stephen Green

RASMUSSEN IS USALLY PRETTY SOLID, TOO:

Posted at 9:23 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Fraud Sure Is Easy to Find When It’s Being Looked For. “The Dems wouldn’t look at SNAP for anything untoward because of reasons and feelings and stuff. The intent of the program is all that matters to them. Never mind the unconscionable fact that this hiccup came at the expense of those the lefties claim to care about.:

Posted at 9:08 am by Stephen Green

THE ANACONDA STRATEGY CONTINUES TO SQUEEZE: Iran’s Fleet of Shadow Tankers Has Run Out of Oil After Monthslong U.S. Blockade: Tehran had millions of barrels of crude in tankers in Asian waters that gave it a steady flow of cash. Now, that oil has dried up.

For most of the war, Iran had an invaluable cushion: dozens of oil tankers holding millions of barrels of crude sitting safely in waters in Asia. Tehran steadily sold the oil to China, bringing in billions of much-needed cash.

Now, that floating storage is gone. By mid-October, the reserves were fully depleted, according to analysts at Kpler, as a U.S. naval blockade prevented Iran from replacing the crude it normally sells to Chinese refineries.

“There’s no more oil to discharge to China anymore,” said Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude-oil analysis at Kpler.

The drop in oil revenue is a further blow to Iran’s struggling economy, already facing runaway inflation and widespread shortages. U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East, said Saturday that the blockade has denied Tehran at least $25 billion worth of oil revenue, which will, in turn, constrict Iran’s ability to replace destroyed factories and weapons.

U.S. actions have “imposed devastating costs on Iran’s security apparatus,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command.

Even as the U.S. pressure has choked off Iranian exports, oil from elsewhere in the Middle East is flowing, recently exceeding prewar levels, as U.S. protection helps secure the passage of non-Iranian oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

The plan is working, though you wouldn’t know it from most press coverage.

Posted at 8:52 am by Glenn Reynolds

EVERY TIME WITHOUT FAIL: There’s Nothing Like a Tragedy to Expose Anti-Gunners and Politicians for the Ghouls They Are. “One of the very first public statements to be released by an elected official came from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who’s been in the Senate in Washington, D.C., since 1996. Sen. Wyden wasted no time to post a statement on social media calling for more gun control laws and disgustingly laying the blame at Republican lawmakers’ feet.”

Posted at 8:37 am by Stephen Green

THE RETALIATOR STRATEGY:

Posted at 8:35 am by Ed Driscoll