Author Archive: Ed Driscoll

December 4, 2025

IT’S COME TO THIS: Tim Walz Says Trump’s Slur Is Inspiring Others To Scream It Outside His House.

Tim Walz called it a slur that should never be repeated. Now, he hears it all day.

The Minnesota governor, on Thursday, Dec. 4, said people have been driving by his home and screaming the r-slur — a word used to malign those with intellectual disabilities — since President Donald Trump called him that in a social media post last week.

“This creates danger,” the embattled governor said, discussing Republican rhetoric. “… I’ve never seen this before: people driving by my house and using the R-word in front of people. This is shameful, and I have yet to see an elected official — a Republican elected official — say you’re right, that’s shameful.”

Walz said he believes it’s a slippery slope from name-calling to something more serious.

“We know how these things go,” he said. “It starts with taunts; they turn to violence.”

Are people burning rubber as they speed away after shouting “Retard?” Mrs. Walz at least would enjoy the piquant scent of well-heated Michelins.

Posted at 8:45 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 4th, 2025

THE CRITICAL DRINKER: Production Hell — Cats. 

 

Posted at 8:30 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 4th, 2025

HALLE BERRY VS. ERIKA KIRK:

Berry ripped into California Governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom for not supporting a Menopause Care Equity Act in California. “With the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be the next president,” Berry said. She said that menopause and perimenopause are staggering health problems that affect the entire national economy, causing one of six women to leave the workforce. If men “had a medical condition that disrupted their sleep, brain function and sex life, we’d be calling that a health crisis on par with Covid, and the whole world would shut down.”

“I need every woman in this country to fight with me,” Berry said. “But the truth is, the fight isn’t just for us women. We need men too. We need all of the leaders, every single one of you in this room – this fight needs you.”

Newsom himself appeared at the DealBook summit, but spent his headline-making moment by claiming that if Hakeem Jeffries somehow doesn’t become Speaker of the House just over a year from now, the United States will descend into permanent autocracy – with show elections like the ones in Russia. Newsom urged the people in the crowd, most of whom were Democrats, to wake up from their stupor and elect Democrats, the only way to save America. This seemed like a bit of an exaggeration, a reach, and a fear tactic, Gavin Newsom specialties, given that he has his own authoritarian tendencies.

And some rather unique tendencies when seated: Hot Takes: Internet Has a Ball Mocking Newsom’s Eyebrow-Raising Sitting Pose.

Posted at 6:45 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 4th, 2025

I’M SO OLD, I CAN REMEMBER WHEN THE LEFT CLAIMED TO BE PRO-CHOICE:

Posted at 6:30 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 4th, 2025

THE FAILING EXPERIMENT OF SELF-CHECKOUTS AT THE GROCERY STORE:

Self-checkouts were introduced as a multi-purpose solution to labour shortages, rising wage pressures, and consumers’ appetite for speed. In theory, they would modernize the grocery experience while reducing operating costs. In practice, they have become a source of irritation for many Canadians — and a growing liability for retailers.

Our recent survey shows that more than 60% of Canadians choose self-checkout when purchasing fewer than 20 items, especially Millennials and Gen X consumers. Boomers, however, remain resistant; many avoid self-checkout entirely. This behavioural split matters, because it illustrates a broader truth: technology adoption is not merely about efficiency, but about trust.

What was meant to streamline the transaction has, paradoxically, produced friction. The now-ubiquitous “wait for assistance” message has become a symbol of failure in the grocery aisle. And beyond frustration, a more worrisome trend is emerging: self-checkouts appear to be driving up theft, both accidental and intentional.

Read the whole thing.

(Via SDA.)

Posted at 5:44 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 4th, 2025

TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE?

Posted at 5:17 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 4th, 2025

December 3, 2025

THIS IS THE WAY:

Posted at 9:22 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025

FEDERAL LAW, HOW DOES IT WORK?

Related: Byron York on immigration law: Federal government has enforcement authority.

Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York said that, despite what Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass think, state and local governments do not have the authority to enforce immigration laws — only the federal government does.

Bass defended her resistance to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement on CNN’s The Situation Room, where she responded to the network’s new poll finding that 54% of people approve of the administration’s program to deport illegal immigrants. However, Bass said she does not believe this poll is accurate and that federal agents were “overstepping,” taking away power from the state.

In response, York clarified that the federal government has the sole authority to enforce immigration law.

York recalled the Obama administration, when Arizona officials told former President Barack Obama, “You are not enforcing immigration laws, so we’ll do it.” Obama said no, the issue went to court, and the president won.

“The ruling is the federal government has the sole authority to do this,” York said Tuesday on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “So when Karen Bass says, ‘It is like the federal government is coming in and taking our state and local authority,’ no, they don’t have any state and local authority.”

Beyond the Supreme Court, what is this about “calling 911?” I thought that such calls were rendered déclassé and infra dig in uber-woke Minnesota during 2020’s Summer of Love:

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Sounds like Brian O’Hara just gave rise to a criminal conspiracy case against the police department and him.

Posted at 8:45 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025

HUGE WIN FOR FANS OF GAS-GUZZLERS AS TRUMP KILLS OFF HATED BIDEN-ERA RULE:

President Donald Trump is trying to tear up America’s fuel-economy roadmap — again.

On Wednesday, Trump said he’s rolling back the Biden administration’s mileage standards, pitching it as a way to make cars cheaper.

But critics say it’ll do the opposite, leaving drivers to burn more gas and spend more cash.

Trump’s move unwinds the federal CAFE rules — the fuel-economy standards that require automakers to build cars that travel farther on less fuel.

Those rules are the reason hybrids exist at scale. Automakers developed them to meet rising efficiency targets long before EVs took off.

Gavin Newsom hardest hit: Senate votes to block California’s rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The resolution will now head to the White House, where President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.

Posted at 8:30 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025

IN NEW YORK, SCRAPPY LOCAL NEWSPAPER STRUGGLES FOR SURVIVAL:

Given that the Times has to keep its leftist subscriber base as coddled as possible, these gaping news gaps just keep happening there. As Byron York wrote on September 24th of 2008, “Today is a red-letter day for the New York Times. For the first time, the paper has reported in its news section that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright once uttered the phrase ‘God damn America.’” Flashforward to the middle of 2021:

Scott Bessent reminds Andrew Sorkin, about another minor story the Gray Lady memory holed from 2020 until the summer of 2024:

…”I actually don’t read the New York Times anymore,” Bessent tells Sorkin. “Occasionally people send me articles and there’s just this fever swamp. You had what was one of the greatest scandals of all time… Joe Biden’s diminished capacity and the cover-up. Where was the New York Times?”

To be fair, we know where the New York Times was:

Just think of the Times’ staffers as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.

(Classical reference in headline.)

Posted at 6:49 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025

GREAT MOMENTS IN REPUBLICAN FAILURE THEATER:

 

Posted at 6:14 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025

MILE MARKERS ON THE ROAD TO DETROIT: With Shake Shack’s exit, SF’s most troubled mall is down to one restaurant.

One of the last remaining strongholds of San Francisco Centre near Union Square is closing its doors for good.

Shake Shack, the burger joint located in the basement food court at 845 Market St., is closing permanently on Dec. 18, according to a Nov. 25 WARN filing to state labor officials.

The closure eliminates 26 jobs and leaves just one remaining restaurant — Panda Express — inside what was once San Francisco’s biggest and most lucrative mall. San Francisco Centre has been hemorrhaging tenants since the summer, which saw the departure of at least six food vendors.

According to the notice, the closure was prompted by the sale of the building and the new owner’s requirement that all tenants vacate the premises. All 26 employees impacted by the closure have been offered continued employment with no break in service, the same title, and the same rate of pay at nearby Shake Shack locations, the notice stated.

Shake Shack’s exit comes on the heels of a rough few years for the beleaguered, 1.5 million-square-foot mall, which has seen a steady decline in foot traffic post-pandemic with the departures of anchor tenants Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. It is currently at 9% occupancy.

Oh, and speaking of Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom in San Francisco Centre: Truth behind death spiral in state’s most famous mall after Nordstrom & Bloomingdale’s closures.

Some famous and notable locations, like the San Francisco Centre in California, have been in turmoil for some time now.

At least 93% of the San Francisco Centre is now vacant, according to Trepp real estate data obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

It’s a nine-level complex that’s losing millions of dollars every year due to struggles with rampant shoplifting, drug use, and homelessness in the surrounding area.

TRAGIC DOWNFALL

These factors have lead many top retailers to leave, with the pandemic dealing a fatal blow after being closed off and on for seven months.

Some, like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s held on for longer, but eventually left in the past two years.

The two department store giants held at least 40% of the mall’s space, with slightly smaller tenants like Zara and John Varvatos leaving after.

It was even reported recently that, during one weekday afternoon, security guards, clerks, and janitorial staff outnumbered shoppers.

Gooder and harder, San Fran.

Posted at 5:30 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025

OH, THAT GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY: Or, how to make James Carville’s 40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation a reality.

Posted at 4:14 pm by Ed Driscoll on Dec 3rd, 2025
« Previous Entries

InstaPundit is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.