EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY:

This BRITISH woman trying to exit the bus is a metaphor for the entire West right now. pic.twitter.com/nSvJAublyX

— Don Keith (@RealDonKeith) February 18, 2026

WELL: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over ties to Epstein.

A friend writes: “Interesting. Does this mean they’re gonna start arresting all those Pakistani rape gangs, plus the police and other public officials who turned a blind eye to that?”

Don’t be silly. That would be racist or something. Also it would interfere with the leftist/Islamist takeover of Britain. Arresting (former) Prince Andrew weakens the royal family, and thus promotes that takeover. Not that King Charles has shown any sign of getting in the way, but just by existing the monarchy is a potential center of resistance.

UPDATE (From Ed):

Arresting the King’s brother while letting Pakistani rape gangs roam free is not justice but a cynical evasion of it. pic.twitter.com/HnWeCBJXSq

— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) February 19, 2026

More (From Ed):

🚨 BREAKING: A video is resurfacing of Donald Trump in 2015 CALLING OUT Prince Andrew — who has now been arrested

"That island was a cesspool. No question about it — just ask Prince Andrew. He'll tell you about it!"

Trump was EARLY to blow the whistle!pic.twitter.com/H6cznOg1E7

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 19, 2026

THOUGHTS ON War Without A Declaration of War.

OPEN THREAD: Make it special.

ROBERT HEINLEIN SMILES: Elon Musk wants to put a satellite catapult on the moon. It’s not a new idea. This story credits Gerard K. O’Neill, but Heinlein was there first with The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.

GOD FORBID:

AOC claims Republicans are “radicalizing young men by pushing them toward masculinity.”

This is really the Democrat’s top candidate. Yikes.
pic.twitter.com/AbP3enxoyU

— Jack (@jackunheard) February 19, 2026

GOODBYE, SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: UK PM Starmer Blocks Trump From Using RAF Bases to Strike Iran Amid Escalating Tensions: Report.

What’s funny is, while Britain carries water for the mullahs, plenty of other Islamic countries are happy to provide us with facilities to attack Iran.

UPDATE: It occurs to me that this might be Trump-inspired theater to make the mullahs drop their guard. More likely that it’s Starmer being a dick, but don’t entirely rule it out.

METFORMIN: Common Diabetes Drug Linked With ‘Exceptional Longevity’ in Women.

GOOD THING I DON’T DO THOSE THEN: Ultramarathons May Be Aging Your Blood Cells Faster Than You Think.

SEDUCTIVE AI: People prefer the empathy of humans, but rate ‘fake’ AI empathy higher.

UPDATE: From the comments:

This is going to be a problem. Already is starting to be. Truly skilled first-rate human flatterer/persuader/seducers are rare, and generally end up aimed at high payoff targets. Most people in their whole lives will never have rated more than passing attention from such, and thus will have little or no immunity.

And now that level of individually customized flatterer/persuader/seducer skills is being automated, and will soon be cheaply deployable against *everyone*. I foresee big trouble.

I address these very issues in my forthcoming Seductive AI.

I LIKE A V-12: Whoa: Toyota’s Rolls-Baiting Century SUV Might Have an 800-HP V-12.

OR MONEY LAUNDRIES FOR SUPPORTERS: ‘Violence Interruptor’ Programs Are Blue State Wishful Thinking, Not Crime Reduction.

I THINK WE’VE ACTUALLY KNOWN THIS FOR A WHILE: Menopausal hormone therapy not linked to increased risk of death, study shows.

THAT SEEMS REASONABLE: No First Amendment Right to Force Government to Provide Live Feed of Macaques in Government Lab.

CHECKS OUT.

Prince Andrew Joins UK Muslim Rape Gang So He Can Keep Abusing Young Girls https://t.co/1575p1aivL pic.twitter.com/6dakOSmvhX

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) February 19, 2026

More thoughts below.

GOOD: NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya will take over leadership of CDC temporarily.

MICROBIOME NEWS: Your gut microbes can be anti-aging – scientists are uncovering how to keep your microbiome youthful.

#JOURNALISM:

Here's how the @latimes described @bariweiss being canceled at UCLA because of threats: "CBS’s Bari Weiss pulls out of UCLA lecture." The thugs can threaten, and media will blame you. There's no accountability. Notably, lecture named for Daniel Pearl, murdered for being Jewish.

— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) February 19, 2026

MASSIVE RESISTANCE: DEI remains strong at UMich a year after president promised to gut it.

THIS IS EXPLAINED BELOW:

The UK: We’ve arrested the former prince

Everyone: what about the horde of Pakistani child rapists?

The UK: the what?

— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) February 19, 2026

UPDATE: From a friend:

England. Where royalty once could rape with impunity, that’s now the exclusive domain of third world migrants. #socialjustice #willwondersnevercease

Update the anthem: God Save the UK Teens. Srsly they must be having an Urdu laugh riot up in Rotherham.

Fascinating how the massively historic game-changing law enforcement virtue signal of arresting a royal for rape serves mainly to highlight the utter hypocrisy and disdain for the common people of British justice.
I suspect this one is going to bite them in the ass.

All that yapping over the last couple decades about rape culture. As a wise man of my acquaintance is given to saying, it’s always in the last place you look.

Or in the UK, the last place you choose to look.

Choose, indeed.

I REMEMBER WHEN HIGHER EDUCATION WAS SUPPOSED TO FOSTER CIVIL DISCOURSE: University of Houston student wishes paralysis and cancer on TPUSA chapter members and their families in profane outburst.

THE WARMTH OF COLLECTIVISM, GOOD AND HARD: Mamdani Abandons Key Leftist Policy As Homeless New Yorkers Freeze To Death.

HIGHER EDUCATION IS A MONEY LAUNDRY FOR THE LEFT THESE DAYS: The Resurrection of Liz Magill: Georgetown Law Search Committee That Tapped Disgraced Penn President As Dean Included 11 Democratic Donors and a Democratic Political Aide.

And the left, unlike the right, always takes care of its own.

ANOTHER NARRATIVE BUSTED: Police killed fewer Americans in 2025 under Trump than in Biden era 2023 or 2024.

New data shows that as Trump’s unprecedented surge of federal agents poured into neighborhoods across the country, 2025 saw fewer police killings nationwide than either of the last two years of Joe Biden’s term — exactly the opposite of what many feared. Progressive police reform group Campaign Zero publishes daily data at mappingpoliceviolence.org, including figures on killings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. In 2025, their data shows 1,314 police killings compared to 1,382 in 2024 and 1,362 in 2023. Indeed, in the month in which Pretti and Good were killed in 2026, police killings were down again compared to 2025. These facts complicate the political narrative that Trump has unleashed “violent and sometimes deadly tactics … by federal immigration officers in communities across the country.” If they are so violent, why did police kill 68 fewer people in 2025 than 2024? Certainly, that’s not what I expected to happen. I don’t think anyone did.

Oh, I think Trump probably did.

Plus: “We’ll see if anyone notices that police violence went down under Trump. I doubt it.”

Even if they notice, I doubt they’ll tell.

GOODER AND HARDER:

NYC public school teachers voted overwhelmingly for Mamdani.

The United Federation of Teachers, representing NYC public school teachers, endorsed Mamdani, with 64% of delegates voting for him.

He’s now raiding their pension fund.

— Bad Hombre (@Badhombre) February 18, 2026

You would need a heart of stone not to laugh.