Archive for 2025

November 10, 2025

KEN BURNS, TRAPPED IN 1967:

Note that Burns is being interviewed by John Avlon, who for years was a commentator on CNN, which debuted in 1980, the first of numerous American cable news and opinion channels producing content for a variety of ideologies from left to right. His tweet was published by the Bulwark, one of many never-Trump Websites that sprouted up since 2016. It’s on Twitter, where anyone can sign up and publish anything they want. It’s on a medium called the Internet, where anyone can launch a Website, Weblog, or upload audio and video and cater to every ideology imaginable.

I’m glad to see that Burns, age 72, has finally ditched his long-running Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles coiffure, but why does he still act like it’s 1967 when there still only three commercial television networks, when LBJ signed the Public Broadcasting Act?

UPDATE (FROM GLENN):

Posted at 12:00 pm by Ed Driscoll on Nov 10th, 2025

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China breaks annual launch record with VLEO Chutian and Shiyan technology test launches. “The pair of launches were China’s 69th and 70th orbital launches of 2025, meaning the country surpassed its previous record for launch attempts in a calendar year of 68, set in 2024, with nearly two months remaining in the year.”

So about half of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 orbital launches for 2025.

Posted at 11:40 am by Stephen Green on Nov 10th, 2025

FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS:

Posted at 10:53 am by Stephen Green on Nov 10th, 2025

SO NOW THEY TELL US: Now It Can Be Told: Mamdani’s Plans Are Going to Be Wildly Expensive. “Zohran Mamdani won his race to become the next mayor of New York City on Tuesday. On Thursday the NY Times published a story explaining just how expensive his plans for the city will be.”

Let’s start with free child care:

The biggest plan, by far, is free universal child care. The city already offers free preschool for all 4-year-olds and many 3-year-olds.

Expanding child care to infants and to toddlers under 3 would be a major challenge. Mr. Mamdani’s administration would have to create new day care facilities and hire scores of child care workers.

Mr. Mamdani’s campaign estimated that this could cost $6 billion annually.

The Mamdani estimate is roughly equal to the annual cost of the NYPD, the largest police department in the United States. But it’s important to note that no one really knows what this will cost. One left-wing group has estimated the cost for NYC could be as little as $2.5 billion per year but other estimates of the cost of expanding a program like his to the entire state come in at $12.7 billion to $20 billion per year. Just shy of half the state’s population lives in New York City so the cost of Mamdani’s plan could range from $6 billion up to $9 billion per year. Again, no one knows because the cost is dependent on a lot of factors including the wages paid to the caretakers.

Much more at the link, including this gem: “His new tax will make taxes from the city and state about as high as federal taxes.”

Posted at 10:38 am by Stephen Green on Nov 10th, 2025

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: The Chatbot Diaries: How AI Sex Is Getting Mainstreamed.

[OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] added that he wanted to loosen restrictions to allow more sexual content.

If everything goes according to that plan, ChatGPT will allow “erotica” for “verified users” in the coming months.

“In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” Altman said.

The company in charge of the most popular AI chatbot in the world is not only endorsing AI’s leap into sex — it’s actively seeking ways to ensure that “verified users” can engage with sexual content on its platform.

Currently, ChatGPT does not interact erotically with users. When asked if the chatbot could generate an erotic story, ChatGPT replied, “I can’t create explicit erotic content. However, if you’re writing a story and need help with romantic tension, character development, emotional intimacy, or sensual atmosphere — without crossing into explicit territory — I can help with that.”

ChatGPT also would not engage in any type of “romantic” or “flirtatious” conversations. But it appears that those guidelines are about to get tossed out the window, at least for “verified users.”

To boldly go where Scarlett Johansson has gone before: 2013’s Her: Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson Go Twenty Minutes Into the Future of AI.

Posted at 10:35 am by Ed Driscoll on Nov 10th, 2025

BLUE CITY BLUES: NYPD already losing officers with morale plunging as anti-cop Zohran Mamdani prepares to take reins.

The NYPD saw a 35% hike in cops of all ranks leaving in October – 245 police officers compared to 181 in the same month last year, according to Police Pension Fund data.

“Morale is down because everyone is concerned about the policies Mamdani wants to put in place,” said Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro.

“You have a person who is supposed to be running New York City that does not believe in law enforcement,” said Munro, a police officer for more than three decades. “What’s coming out of everyone’s mouth is, ‘We’re in trouble.’”

Whether more cops leave in the coming months will depend on the “Tisch factor,” a police union source said.

“If she leaves it may result in an uptick,” the source said. “If she stays, maybe not.”

The Police Benevolent Association, which will have to negotiate a new contract with Mamdani, bemoaned that the number of cops leaving could get worse.

“Every single month, we’re losing enough cops to staff an entire precinct,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said.

Gooder and harder, New York.

Posted at 9:36 am by Stephen Green on Nov 10th, 2025

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Schumer’s Shutdown Did Not Go Well for Him. “The Chuckster doesn’t play hardball as well as some of his predecessors in Senate leadership. Over on the House side of things, Hakeem Jefferies isn’t any sharper. The Democrats rushed into this shutdown driving a clown car with no brakes.”

Posted at 9:05 am by Stephen Green on Nov 10th, 2025

TRUE:

Posted at 9:00 am by Glenn Reynolds on Nov 10th, 2025

INFILTRATION:

Posted at 8:49 am by Glenn Reynolds on Nov 10th, 2025

BELIEVE IN SOMETHING. EVEN IF IT MEANS SACRIFICING RATIONALITY:

Posted at 8:35 am by Ed Driscoll on Nov 10th, 2025

NO THANK YOU: Trump considering shake-up to housing market by offering 50-year mortgages and not just 30-year terms. “The 50-year mortgage could be a boon to families looking to buy with soaring housing costs. It would lower their monthly payments significantly – but would make payments for two decades longer than the standard 30-year term.”

How about we build more houses?

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): 50 year mortgages are not what we need. I asked Grok the difference in interest between a 30 year and 50 year mortgage on a $400,000 house at 6.25 percent. Answer:

Of course people won’t keep a house for 50 years usually, but this is basically something close to an interest-only mortgage. That’s not the solution.

Posted at 8:34 am by Stephen Green on Nov 10th, 2025

THE HOMELESS ARE WHY THOSE SPACES WERE ABANDONED IN THE FIRST PLACE:

Related:

UPDATE: Tweet from DC Draino deleted as it appears to be fake.

Posted at 8:31 am by Glenn Reynolds on Nov 10th, 2025

HE’S NOT WRONG: Josh Hammer: It’s Still the Economy, Stupid. “If the GOP wants to regain the public’s trust, it must present a compelling vision of what a sound conservative economic stewardship entails in the 21st century.”

More than a vision, it needs to produce results: Lower mortgage rates, higher wages, etc.

Posted at 8:30 am by Glenn Reynolds on Nov 10th, 2025

POLITICS AND POWER UBER ALLES:

Posted at 8:26 am by Glenn Reynolds on Nov 10th, 2025

OCEANIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST SNAP BENEFITS:

UPDATE (FROM GLENN):

Posted at 8:22 am by Ed Driscoll on Nov 10th, 2025

DON SURBER: Trump taught Republicans how to win.

Chuck Schumer handed his head on a plate to President Trump last night as he surrendered on shutting down the government. After 40 days of slithering to the microphone each day with a new rant to an increasingly bored media about our favorite president, Chuck realized the futility of shutting down the government because all he did was anger the Democrat Party’s key constituent—welfare recipients—and leave helpless airline passengers stranded in city after city.

Trump meanwhile went about his life as usual, savoring every minute of his final presidency. He went to Asia and signed historic peace and trade agreements. He declared Columbus Day to be Columbus Day. He brought Big Pharma officials in to announce they are cutting prices. He golfed. He threw a big dinner at Mar-a-Lago. He paid the troops despite the shutdown.

Oh, and he kept putting sombreros on the head of Hakeem Jeffries in pictures and videos. Hakeem denounced the videos as racist and the media went out of its way to condemn it as deepfake.

Everyone else laughed and had a good time at the expense of the Dollar Store Obama. . . .

The reported ended, “According to a White House spokesperson, the ‘sombreros will continue until the Democrats reopen the government.’”

So Axios warned of a backlash from across the aisle.

What backlash? The Democrats have no power. They are a bunch of hapless fossils and children who cannot take a joke. In other words, they’re losers.

Oh, they won elections in blue states last Tuesday. Big Fat Deal. They are still losers and Trump showed them for who they are. Nothings.

Plus: “Trump gave Senate Republicans a tutorial on winning. They sat back and watched and took notes. With the exception of the preening Rand Paul, the senators hung together and showed the power of patience.” I’ve always been a fan of Rand Paul, but he seems to be joining the crowd of Republicans I once admired who can’t handle so much winning.

Related:

Posted at 8:13 am by Glenn Reynolds on Nov 10th, 2025
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