January 18, 2026
Greenland, NATO, The EU...The Clownshow Continues
President's Trump's saber rattling with respect to "taking Greenland" is entirely unnecessary, and could have been neatly avoided by playing up the miserable living conditions of the people of Greenland, and the equally miserable way they have been treated by the Danes. America could have been their knight in shining armor, bringing equality and prosperity to their shores. Making some offer to purchase or in some other way take possession of Greenland as a reasonable transaction between allies would have disarmed the reflexive nationalism that is bubbling up in Denmark and Greenland. Is the President's threat of military action a serious one? I doubt it. It is more of his unpredictability, which serves him quite well in many ways. But with Greenland I think it is bolstering the enemies of America. On the other side of the equation, the idea that the EU will rush in with military force to protect Greenland is clownish in the extreme. Force projection is a joke in the EU. They can barely keep their few planes flying, much less maintain any sort of heavy lift capability. In fact, in a recent military exercise, Germany sent 13 soldiers to Greenland, and they had to use a Polish airline to get them there. And less than two days later they were ordered out, presumably because of President Trump's comments. And the ridiculousness doesn't end there. Threats to throw America out of Europe if we take Greenland? Sure...that would mean an almost instant Russian victory in Ukraine, the loss of many billions of dollars of American spending in Europe, and the very real threat of an expansionist Russia, because there is simply no real military on the continent. So...everyone calm down. Greeenlanders? Take nice big checks written by America, and maybe some good high-paying jobs in our expanding military infrastructure and mining efforts. Denmark? Smile, cash the check, and relax now that you don't have to deal with Greenland. And the EU? Just sit down and shut up. Nobody cares what you think.
Whether Greenland is a vitally important strategic island that absolutely requires American possession is a question for the ages, but it is a militarily-important bulwark in the North Atlantic. It is an excellent point from which to defend the Atlantic from the Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea. Does it have enough rare earth elements and other resources to make it even more important? Yeah...probably not. We have plenty of that sort of stuff in America, it's just that we have an insane regulatory state that makes using our own resources a massive undertaking.
Because it is a territory of Denmark, the few people who live there are treated as vassals, when they are treated at all. That is entirely unsurprising, because the track record of European colonialism is mixed at best. Greenlanders Blast Danish Rule: 'They Stole Our Future'This shouldn't be taken as a sign that Greenland natives are anxious to come over to the United States. Denmark is trying to make amends to the natives who were thusly mistreated, to the tune of roughly $46,000 each in reparations. That's just; unlike the calls for reparations in the United States, these payments are being made to the living people who suffered under an unjust policy, which is quite a different kettle of fish. Many Greenland natives would rather the island be an independent nation. But that's not a tenable solution, especially in today's tense geopolitical atmosphere, where the Arctic is increasingly a vital strategic area, with all the major nations - the United States, Russia, and China in particular - looking to that region's resources. Greenland has to be under someone's defensive envelope, and even as a Danish possession, they fall under the protection of NATO, as it would as a possession of the United States.
President's Trump's saber rattling with respect to "taking Greenland" is entirely unnecessary, and could have been neatly avoided by playing up the miserable living conditions of the people of Greenland, and the equally miserable way they have been treated by the Danes. America could have been their knight in shining armor, bringing equality and prosperity to their shores. Making some offer to purchase or in some other way take possession of Greenland as a reasonable transaction between allies would have disarmed the reflexive nationalism that is bubbling up in Denmark and Greenland. Is the President's threat of military action a serious one? I doubt it. It is more of his unpredictability, which serves him quite well in many ways. But with Greenland I think it is bolstering the enemies of America. On the other side of the equation, the idea that the EU will rush in with military force to protect Greenland is clownish in the extreme. Force projection is a joke in the EU. They can barely keep their few planes flying, much less maintain any sort of heavy lift capability. In fact, in a recent military exercise, Germany sent 13 soldiers to Greenland, and they had to use a Polish airline to get them there. And less than two days later they were ordered out, presumably because of President Trump's comments. And the ridiculousness doesn't end there. Threats to throw America out of Europe if we take Greenland? Sure...that would mean an almost instant Russian victory in Ukraine, the loss of many billions of dollars of American spending in Europe, and the very real threat of an expansionist Russia, because there is simply no real military on the continent. So...everyone calm down. Greeenlanders? Take nice big checks written by America, and maybe some good high-paying jobs in our expanding military infrastructure and mining efforts. Denmark? Smile, cash the check, and relax now that you don't have to deal with Greenland. And the EU? Just sit down and shut up. Nobody cares what you think.
Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (222) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Sunday Morning Book Thread - 1-18-2026 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]
(HT: OrangeEnt)
(HT: OrangeEnt)
Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...
So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?
Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (294) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Daily Tech News 18 January 2026
Top Story
- Same: Elon Musk wants $134 billion in his OpenAI lawsuit. (Tech Crunch)
The figure comes from expert witness C. Paul Wazzan, a financial economist whose bio says he has been deposed nearly 100 times and testified at trial more than a dozen times in complex commercial litigation cases.
I have acted as an expert witness once. You couldn't pay me enough to do it again... Though $134 billion would be tempting.Wazzan, who specializes in valuation and damages calculations in high-stakes disputes, determined that Musk is entitled to a hefty portion of OpenAI's current $500 billion valuation based on his $38 million seed donation when he co-founded the startup in 2015.
Much of the article is devoted to ad-hominem attacks by the partisan lunatics at Tech Crunch, who think fraud is okay against people for whom they feel irrational hatred.
- Better be quick, Elon because an analysis of OpenAI's finances suggests they could run out of money as soon as 2027. (Tom's Hardware)
If you're wondering why the beancounters at the big memory manufacturers are being wary of rapid expansion in the face of unprecedented demand, well, it's because they are able to read a spreadsheet and they do not like what they see.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:05 AM | Comments (173) | Trackbacks (Suck)
January 17, 2026
Saturday Night Club ONT - January 17, 2026 [Double Play]
Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (335) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Saturday Evening Movie Post [with moviegique]: Dr. Zhivago
We enter the bleakest time of the year for dedicated moviegoers, what Red Letter Media used to call "F--- You, It's January." I think later they rebranded it as something like "F--- You, It's Forever" when looking at the dismal line up of...2019? I don't precisely recall, but it is hard to look at the slate of major releases with a sense of optimism.
We saw a good quasi-documentary about Storks called "The Tale of Silyan," which tells a true-ish story while featuring gorgeous images of storks and landscape, from National Geographic. Then there's "The Plague," an odd '90s coming-of-age story with strong horror elements. But, you know, junior high is already a horror story. It was solid. Joel Edgerton stars as the world's most clueless gym coach. We ventured out to a classic L.A. theater tp see the delightful 1958 Jacques Tati film, "Mon Oncle". I can't recommend it strongly enough. It's partly translated from French but partly not because the dialogue isn't that important. It's almost a silent cartoon comedy, very gentle, and at this point, painfully poignant, as this is a France which, even mocked, shall nevermore be. Speaking of painfully poignant, however, I went on the the 30th or 31st to see Dr. Zhivago. I nearly wept for the artistry, and realizing this is another thing that will not be created in the future. The beauty, the scope, the blocking, the set design--I mean, turning 1960s Spain in the summer into 1915 Russia in the winter. And the story itself is delicate. Nobody saves the cat. It's the 60th anniversary, so I thought I'd re-up the 50th anniversary review I wrote. I'm pretty much in accord with myself on this latest viewing (not always the case), but I liked it even more this time. I still find the elision of Lara and her abusive customer's relationship jarring. It's there but we have to do some heavy inferring. Sharif had to tape his eyes back to look less Egyptian. Can you imagine? It didn't do my heart good to watch tiny, dimwitted tyrants telling people what they should and shouldn't be allowed to have, and I despaired that those people are still running around, still thinking they should run things. Nonetheless, I will be surprised to see a better movie this year, unless I go see "Lawrence of Arabia".Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:30 PM | Comments (283) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Hobby Thread - January 17, 2026 [TRex].jpg)
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) a spin it landed on sea glass.
[Top photo: Glass Beach, Kauai, Hawaii]Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (136) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Ace of Spades Pet Thread, January 17
Courtesy Michael Johnson* * *
Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals. Would you like a treat? Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.
Courtesy Michael Johnson
Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals. Would you like a treat? Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.
Posted by: K.T. at 03:03 PM | Comments (60) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, Jan 17
I hope you are doing well. Our first daffodil bloomed! Such a happy flower. NorCal Sierra Foothills Lurker
Posted by: K.T. at 01:16 PM | Comments (30) | Trackbacks (Suck)
People who keep us thinking past artificial intelligence 
*
Scott Adams Quotes
Which is your favorite? Do you recall the context of your favorite?
Scott Adams never lost the ability to surprise me with his ideas and observations. He could comment on the same event or situation everyone else was looking at and reveal a new angle or a whole new world. My brain grew every time I heard his voice. What a loss. What a figure.
Walter Kirn
Posted by: K.T. at 11:11 AM | Comments (242) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
*****
Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Minnehoeplis.)
1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice. And yes those are real banhammers.
3) Running with sharp objects will result in severe sanctions. Run accordingly.
4) And finally. Have a nice weekend!
[Poetry H/T: Doof]
2) Be kind, be nice. And yes those are real banhammers.
3) Running with sharp objects will result in severe sanctions. Run accordingly.
4) And finally. Have a nice weekend!
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 08:00 AM | Comments (365) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Daily Tech News 17 January 2026
Top Story
- Taiwan has reached an agreement with the US for a $500 billion investment project in return for a tariff reduction from 20% to 15% and tariff waivers during the construction of new factories. (Tom's Hardware)
That amount includes $250 billion of direct investment and $250 billion of credit guarantees by Taiwan's government, but it also includes $100 billion of already-planned investment by TSMC.
If you're throwing literally hundreds of billions of dollars around for Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers setting up in the US, maybe earmark a few billion for Nanya to expand consumer DRAM production.
- Because Samsung sure ain't doing it. (WCCFTech)
Samsung is expecting a 5% increase in DRAM production in 2026 - and that's in the face of unprecedented shortages and a projected additional 30% increase in demand over the course of this year.
The Big Three are just begging for Taiwan or West Taiwan to eat their lunch.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (67) | Trackbacks (Suck)
January 16, 2026
World's Largest Ball Of ONT
Hello everyone. Welcome to Friday night. I know it's early in the season, but I'd like to propose a trade:
Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (291) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Fri-Yay! Cafe
Scottish highlands
via wandertravel
Scottish highlands
via wandertravel
Posted by: Ace at 07:10 PM | Comments (200) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Trump Proposes Rule to Make Big Pharma Sell Its Drugs to Americans at Same Price They Sell It To Europeans, Reducing Drug Costs by Up to 90%
Plus: More Quick Hits
Eh. I dislike the price discrimination, I like the potential of paying less, but I'm not in love with the government intervention into the economy. I'm also not animated about it. Big Pharma has revealed itself as mercenary and anti-freedom. Update:
Harvard is Super Elite you guys.
Plus: More Quick Hits
The era of big government is... continuing.
He also proposed some small-bore changes to Obamacare.
President Trump on Thursday rolled out what he's calling the Great Healthcare Plan, a sweeping proposal aimed at doing what Washington has failed to accomplish for decades: driving down healthcare costs by breaking the grip of insurers, drug companies, and middlemen while putting patients back in control. "I am thrilled to announce my plan to lower healthcare prices for all Americans and truly make healthcare affordable again," Trump said from the White House. "We're doing things that nobody's ever been able to do." At the center of the proposal is a call for Congress to codify Trump's Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing policy, which would require Americans to pay no more for prescription drugs than the lowest prices paid by other developed countries. Trump said the policy would lock in massive discounts already being achieved through voluntary negotiations with HHS and CMS, while grandfathering in those existing deals. He argued the policy would push drug prices down "80, 90% in some cases," adding that some medications would see reductions of "300, 400, even 500%," figures he said Americans have "never heard of before."
A major structural shift in the Great Healthcare Plan involves insurance subsidies. Instead of continuing to route billions of taxpayer dollars through insurance companies, Trump is proposing that eligible Americans receive that money directly, allowing them to purchase the health insurance of their choice. "The government is going to pay the money directly to you," Trump said. "The big insurance companies lose and the people of our country win." The plan would also fully fund the Cost Sharing Reduction program, which the administration says would save taxpayers at least $36 billion and reduce premiums on the most common Obamacare plans by more than 10%, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. Trump did not shy away from attacking Obamacare itself, arguing it was "designed to make insurance companies rich." He pointed to billions in subsidies and what he described as skyrocketing stock prices for insurers while premiums climbed year after year for consumers. "I want to end this flagrant scam and put extra money straight into the healthcare savings account in your name," Trump said, arguing that consumer choice--not government mandates--should drive healthcare decisions. The proposal also takes direct aim at pharmacy benefit managers and large brokerage middlemen, pledging to end kickbacks that Trump says artificially inflate insurance costs.
Eh. I dislike the price discrimination, I like the potential of paying less, but I'm not in love with the government intervention into the economy. I'm also not animated about it. Big Pharma has revealed itself as mercenary and anti-freedom. Update:
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv 30m JUST IN - DOJ investigating Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for conspiracy to impede immigration agents -- CBS
Harvard is Super Elite you guys.
A "queer ethnography" professor who goes by the name "LaWhore Vagistan" when in drag has been invited to Harvard University to give a special lecture on Kamala Harris. Harvard last year hired Kareem Khubchandani, an associate professor of Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Studies at Tufts University, as a visiting professor. Now, the wacko who spends his free time dressing up like a female caricature and performing gross sexual routines is back, not only to continue teaching classes, but to host a special and especially disgusting political lecture. The drag queen professor is still set to teach "Queer Ethnography" and "RuPaulitics Queer Ethnography" for Harvard's Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Department. But on Feb. 10, he will host the 2025-2026 Matthiessen Lecture at the woke Ivy League university called "Auntologies: Queer Aesthetics and South Asian Aunties." It is going to feature discussions of two high-profile Democrat politicians -- Zohran Mamdani and Kamala Harris.Kristen Sinema is accused of being a homewrecker, of carrying on an affair with her married Senate bodyguard.
The ex-wife of Kyrsten Sinema's bodyguard is suing the former Arizona senator for allegedly breaking up their marriage. Matthew and Heather Ammel had "a good and loving marriage" with "genuine love and affection" before Sinema pursued Matthew Ammel, despite knowing he was married, Heather Ammel alleged in her lawsuit against the former senator, according to the Associated Press. Sinema's head of security hired Ammel after he retired from the Army in 2022, according to the lawsuit, which also states he accompanied the then-senator on her travels to destinations such as Napa Valley, Calif., Las Vegas, and Saudi Arabia. Ammel's wife in 2024 discovered "romantic and lascivious" messages he had allegedly exchanged with Sinema over the Signal messaging app. Then, in the summer, he stopped wearing his wedding ring, and Sinema gave him a job as a national security fellow in her Senate office while he continued to work for her campaign as a bodyguard, the lawsuit alleges.Stop me if you heard this one before -- Hunter Biden is facing possible jailtime for failing to pay child support.
The mother of Hunter Biden daughter Navy Joan Roberts is asking a court to arrest him for failing to uphold his part of their child support agreement. Lunden Roberts, mother to the 7-year-old, urged an Arkansas judge on Tuesday to reopen the long-running child support case and arrest him until he complies with the agreement they settled on in 2023, according to court records, The New York Post reported. Biden has five children including three daughters. "[T]he defendant only tends to act in this case when he has to do so. As such, this court should motivate the defendant and incarcerate him in the Independence County Detention Center as a civil penalty until he purges his contempt by complying with this court's orders. In the alternative, this court should sanction the defendant as it deems appropriate and just," Roberts' motion reads.A DC transgender activist turns out to be, get this, a fraudster who thinks the world owes him a living.
A foreign fraudster stealing Americans' money? Well now I've heard everything.
DC transgender activist gets 3 years in prison, ordered to repay $956K for COVID relief fraud FBI agents arrested the activist, Ruby Corado, also the founder of the nonprofit Casa Ruby, in 2024 when Corado unexpectedly returned to the U.S. from native El Salvador.
The founder of a nonprofit that provided LGBTQ+ services in the Washington, D.C. area was sentenced Tuesday to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $956,215 in restitution for diverting federal COVID-19 relief funds. The founder, transgender activist Ruby Corado, was also ordered to be under two years of supervised release after the prison sentence, if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn't move to deport Corado, Judge Trevor McFadden said in the sentencing hearing. McFadden in announcing the sentence said Corado "found an opportunity to defraud U.S. Americans," instead of helping them, according DCNewsNow.com.
Posted by: Ace at 06:10 PM | Comments (243) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Quick Hits
In 2016, under Obama, CNN road along with an Obama propaganda effort to show he was really cracking down on illegal aliens. Because the political imperative at the time was to prove that Obama was the "Deporter in Chief" -- and that that was a good thing -- CNN filed a very positive report on DHS arresting illegals.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's controversial pick for tenant advocate, Cea Weaver, once admitted that pushing for rent control was just the "first step" in her plan to destroy the free housing market and move toward "full social housing."Candace Owens is going to spin another conspiracy theory to explain this away -- a family member of Tyler Robinson's gay furry lover admits that xir's gay boyfriend killed Charlie Kirk.
Advertisement Videos of Weaver's past statements have gone viral on social media since Mamdani chose the 37-year-old to lead the city's Office to Protect Tenants. "We decided that fighting for rent control was a strategic and critical first step in the fight for full social housing," she said in a newly surfaced clip. "So, a lot of times people ask, 'Why are we fighting for rent control when we have NYCHA? We should be fighting to save public housing.' We decided that through a program like rent control, we are able to directly challenge the logic of unfettered profit in the real estate market. Umm, and we are able to directly challenge housing as a wealth-building tool and, through regulation, strike a blow to the entire real estate industry at once." She continued, "And so, the beauty of rent stabilization and rent control is that it weakens the speculative value of the real estate asset. The value is no longer based on what the landlord is able to get, but rather it's based on a state public board deciding how much rent is going up. And yes, that board is controlled by the real estate industry, and yes, there could be a better way to regulate it. But the idea is that we could weaken the entire industry at once through a strong rent control campaign, and that would strengthen our ability to do things, like fight for social housing."
The assassination of Charlie Kirk in September has generated a lot of conspiracy theories from the left. They range from claiming that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, is a MAGA supporter, a far-right "Groyper," and even not the actual assassin, and he's being framed.No Egyptian planes, no Israeli assassins, no Mormon Bee Cultists, no betrayal by TPUSA staffers and Erika Kirk, scheming to murder her husband -- just the gay furry who left his fingerprints and DNA on the murder weapon. But, but, but -- Candace Owens told me she had a dream in which Charlie Kirk came to her and told her that his friend and business partner Andrew Kolvet had "betrayed" him. And of course the near-retard malignant narcissist Candace Owens' dreams are never wrong! The demonic hangar-nostriled narcissist is now using Erika Kirk pleading for her to stop accusing her of murdering her husband as a "funny" meme. Do you remember Soy Actor Timothy Busfield? You'll probably recognize him. He was one of those Soy-Based Life Forms Hollywood pushed on us in the early 80s, seeking the next Alan Alda-type Sensitive Man. I always despised him. I just don't like Soy. Never did. He was in Thirtsomething playing a character named, I assume, Cuck Softcock. Below, a picture from Field of Dreams, in which he played Professor "Stubby" Tinymeat. I mean, probably. I only saw it once and never got the big deal.
NewsNation's Brian Entin interviewed a family member of Lance Twiggs, Robinson's transgender identifying lover, and she put to rest one of the key conspiracy theories. She revealed quite a bit about the pair in the interview, but what stood out most was how quickly and confidently she shut down the swirling conspiracy theories. When asked directly whether police had the right suspect, she showed no hesitation at all. "100%. They, they have the right guy."
Earlier this week, I wrote about how actor-director Timothy Busfield is facing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, according to an arrest warrant issued by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). He also appeared to be missing for a time, which led to the United States Marshals getting involved in the search. They initially went to the home in New York's Catskill Mountains that Busfield shares with his wife, Melissa Gilbert, and, of course, no one was there. People magazine reports that there were concerns that he may have "done something to himself." The Marshals also set up a team to watch in case Busfield returned. Now we know that the actor was actually on a little cross-country road trip to New Mexico, and he turned himself in to the police on Tuesday, claiming "I did not do anything to those little boys" and that he will "confront the lies." The "little boys" in question are 11-year-old child actors who appeared on the show The Cleaning Lady, which Busfield directed. Busfield and Gilbert reportedly grew super close with the boys and their parents, which the APD called part of his "grooming" process, and allegations range from "tickling" to lying in bed together watching TV to rubbing one of the boys' genitals. Busfield didn't deny being close with the boys and even confessed that he would often pick up a third little boy on the set and make him "giggle" to get ready for his scenes. However, he claims the twins' parents just wanted "revenge" because another child replaced them on the show at some point.Fake allegations do happen. But he's been accused before:
In 2001, he was accused of assaulting a 16-year-old girl. According to the girl's father, his daughter "was auditioning for Busfield at B Street Theatre -- a nonprofit the actor founded in Sacramento -- when the actor kissed her, put his hands down her pants and touched her private parts. Busfield later allegedly begged the family not to report the allegations as long as he received therapy."
Posted by: Ace at 05:00 PM | Comments (376) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Mortgate Rates Fall to Lowest Level In Three Years As CNN Grieves
Before that: Last week, Trump proposed banning large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes, which they've been doing for years, contributing to the high cost of home ownership.
You will own nothing and love it, they promised.Via Larry O'Connor, mortgage rates have fallen to a three-year low from the highs they reached under Biden, making buying houses affordable for many more people.
President Trump on Wednesday said he's "taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes," linking the move to housing affordability. Why it matters: Real estate investors -- including both large and small-scale operations -- bought about 1 in 3 single-family homes sold in the second quarter of 2025, according to a report by market intelligence firm C.J. Patrick using BatchData figures. "People live in homes, not corporations," Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. The impact: Shares of home-owning companies fell sharply Wednesday after Trump's statement. OpenDoor, an online platform that buys and sells residential real estate, was trading down 11.5%. ... Friction point: Critics say the trend contributes to rising home prices and rent hikes.
DeVory Darkins
@devorydarkins CNN ADMITS Trump's housing affordability plan is working. "So let's just say you're buying a $500,000 home. You're putting 20% down. A year ago, your monthly payments were almost $2,700 for principal and interest. Now they're around $2,400. Now, that might not sound like that much. It's about $260 difference, but over the course of a year, you're talking about $3,000 less in interest over the course of a loan, it's over $90,000. So that's huge, right? That's less money going to the bank, more for everything else in life. Now, all of this comes after the White House has really started to focus more on this issue of housing affordability."
Posted by: Ace at 03:50 PM | Comments (293) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Trump Again Warns Walz and Frey: Start Enforcing the Law, Or Federal Troops Are Coming
I don't hear Democrats taunting "Trump Always Chickens Out now.
"In Minnesota, the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals. The Governor and Mayor don't know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS!" Trump posted on Truth Social. "If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!"
... The 1807 Insurrection Act allows the president to use the military to enforce civil law and disperse demonstrators "[w]henever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings."
Posted by: Ace at 02:40 PM | Comments (368) | Trackbacks (Suck)
For Some Reason AP and ABC "News" Cannot Even Guess At, Overdose Deaths In the US Plummeted in 2025
I wonder what could have caused this.
US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveals U.S. overdose deaths fell through the most of last year, suggesting a lasting improvement in an epidemic that had been worsening for decades NEW YORK -- U.S. overdose deaths fell through most of last year, suggesting a lasting improvement in an epidemic that had been worsening for decades. Federal data released Wednesday showed that overdose deaths have been falling for more than two years -- the longest drop in decades -- but also that the decline was slowing. And the monthly death toll is still not back to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, let alone where it was before the current overdose epidemic struck decades ago, said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends. "Overall I think this continues to be encouraging, especially since we're seeing declines almost across the nation," he said. Overdose deaths began steadily climbing in the 1990s with overdoses involving opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths from heroin and -- more recently -- illicit fentanyl. Deaths peaked nearly 110,000 in 2022, fell a little in 2023 and then plummeted 27% in 2024, to around 80,000. That was the largest one-year decline ever recorded.Apparently it's just impossible that stopping fentanyl imports and deporting Tren de Aragua drug-dealers contributed to the decline. It's not even worth a mention. By the way, note that overdoses shot up during Fauci's (and Tucker Carlson's) shutdowns. More deaths that can be laid at their feet.
...
Researchers cannot yet say with confidence why deaths have gone down. Experts have offered multiple possible explanations: increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, shifts in how people use drugs, and the growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.
Oh, so it is possible that US government action is responsible for part of the decline -- but only those steps taken by Biden. Another mystery: Why did US serious crime rates fallen by unprecedented levels in 2025? Must be something Biden did.
Two other theories recently joined the list.... In a paper published last week in the journal Science, University of Maryland researchers point to the drug supply. They say regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. Their argument is based partly on information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which last year reported that the purity -- and dangerous potency -- of fentanyl rose early in the COVID-19 pandemic but fell after 2022. It suggests it became harder to make fentanyl and its potency was diluted. One piece of evidence for that: More U.S.-based Reddit users reported a fentanyl "drought" in 2023. The authors connect that to signs that the Chinese government -- at the urging of U.S. officials -- took steps in 2023 to clamp down on the selling of substances used to make drugs. Information is limited on exactly what the Chinese government did, and the paper is a bit speculative, but "we thought we could make a case," said Peter Reuter, one of the authors.
The U.S. is on pace for the largest one-year drop in murders the nation has ever recorded, according to an analysis by crime stats expert Jeff Asher. The big picture: The decline in killings is part of a broader decrease in violent crime following the COVID-era spike. Mass killings in the U.S. also fell in 2025, reaching their lowest level since 2006. The Real-Time Crime Index, which compiles data from 570 law enforcement agencies, shows a nearly a 20% decline in murders this year compared with the same period in 2024.LOL, sure. Definitely cite the fake FBI crime figures -- which do not include most blue cities crimes, because they refuse to report them. And we know blue cities routinely cook their crime figures. Also note the deceptiveness of this statement. Crime didn't just decline in 2025 -- it plunged by 20%. So the fact that it's been (allegedly) merely "declining" for a few years does nothing to explain the huge fall we saw in one year, when Trump took office again. But Experts!
The database, which Asher used in his analysis, does not consider manslaughter, self-defense, negligence, or "accidental killings" for the statistics, according to its online glossary.
The database's statistics are currently available through October. The FBI will not release official 2025 violent crime data until sometime next year, though RTCI estimates have historically tracked closely with federal figures.
Other major crime categories measured by the index were also down nationwide and across locations of all population sizes, including motor vehicle thefts (23.2%), aggravated assaults (7.5%) and robbery (18.3%). By the numbers: New York City and Memphis recorded nearly a 20% drop in murders compared with 2024, and Chicago saw them fall almost 28%. New Orleans saw a decline of 7.5%, while Los Angeles County recorded murders dropping by nearly 19%. ... State of play: President Trump has prioritized cracking down on violent crime in his second term, though there is no clear evidence linking his policies to the decline. Crime rates have been declining since 2021, according to data from both the RTCI and FBI.
Posted by: Ace at 01:30 PM | Comments (349) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Thwarted True Venezuelan President Presents Her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump
Trump finally receives his Peace Prize.
She had previously dedicated the Prize to Trump when she was awarded it.Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told reporters on Thursday that she had presented her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump when the pair met at the White House. Machado dedicated the prize to Trump when she first received it. The U.S. president has long lobbied for the award and has received multiple nominations for his role in ending myriad global conflicts. "I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize," she told reporters. She further recounted a historical episode in which Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette presented Simon Bolivar with a medal bearing the face of Washington.
Posted by: Ace at 12:27 PM | Comments (392) | Trackbacks (Suck)
As SCOTUS Debates "Trans Women" Competing in Girls Sports, the World's 671st Ranked Male Tennis Player Easily Beats the Woman Ranked #1; also, Remembering Scott Adams and Dilbert
scientifically illiterate not a biologist and is unaware of any differences between men and women. But I certainly hope that there is not “wide agreement” among the other eight justices that men do not have a proven competitive advantage over women.
Meanwhile, a tennis “battle of the sexes” just took place a couple weeks ago, matching Nick Kyrgios against Aryna Sabalenka. Mr. Kyrgios is ranked 671st among male professional tennis players. He has played just six tour-level matches in the past three years. Ms. Sabalenka has won four women’s grand slam tournaments, and is currently ranked #1 in the world among professional female tennis players.
Because the tennis world understands that women and men are not equal, Ms. Sabalenka’s side of the court was 9% smaller, meaning that she had less ground to cover compared to Kyrgios, and that he had a smaller in-bounds area in which he could place his shots than she did.
Mr. Kyrgios won easily in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
This is also an appropriate moment to remember that back in 2017 a soccer team of under-15 year old boys whipped the US Women’s National Soccer Team.
“FC Dallas under-15 boys squad beat the U.S. Women's National Team in a scrimmage” [CBS – 04/04/2017]
*****
GM Pivoting its Focus from One Tesla Niche to Another Tesla Niche
My latest piece at The American Spectator, “EVs and Autonomous Vehicles: General Motors’ Doomed Focus on Unprofitable Boutique Products” has been published.
General Motors’ heir-apparent to the CEO office was hired just eight months ago from an autonomous vehicle start-up company that has lost billions of dollars and has less than 10 vehicles on the road.
In preparation for two upcoming friendlies against Russia, the U.S. women’s national team played the FC Dallas U-15 boys academy team on Sunday and fell 5-2, according to FC Dallas’ official website.Circling back to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Ace documented this amazing question of hers from the bench this week, "Is treating someone transgender, but does not have, because of the medical interventions and the things that have been done, who does not have, uh, the same, uh, threat to physical competition and safety and all the reasons the state puts forward - that's actually a different class, says this individual. So you're not treating the class the same. And how do you respond to that?" Yes, how do you respond to that? KBJ is an orator for the ages. We may have to start referring to her as Ketanji Wendell Holmes.
Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (330) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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