SIGNPOSTS ON THE ROAD TO DETROIT:

Reminder: the year Fidel Castro took power, Cuba had the same GDP as Greece. The year he died, Cuba had the same GDP as Sudan. In other words: Socialism. Fails. Every. Time. https://t.co/oXrbQ7UTNl

— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) July 15, 2026

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): When you realize its goal is to cement losers into power, it never fails. The purpose of a system is what it does.

GLEICHSCHALTUNG:

Needs to change. https://t.co/dZdE0Hv5ua

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2026

UPDATE (From Ed): How racist is Gone with the Wind? So racist that Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award, for..Gone with the Wind:

ICYMI: Here’s What’s Riding on Thursday’s Starship Flight Test.

SAY IT LOUD AND PROUD: The West Is a Superior Civilization (And I Don’t Care If That Offends You). “The West has experienced wars, harbored atrocious dictatorships, and served as the birthplace of a great many foolish ideas, including the wokism that ravaged civilization in this century. But what has made this civilization great is its ability to recognize those deviations and try to correct them, or at the very least condemn them. Many of the misguided ideas the West has produced are themselves products of freedom. And freedom is, for us, an unquestionable good. We embrace it knowing exactly what it exposes us to, and we prefer it that way. That is one of the greatest distinctions between the West and other civilizations and cultures.”

NICE WORK, FELLAS:

Update: Another mysteriously nonfunctional X embed, so you get a screencap and this handy link.

TAX THE RICH: A How-To Guide to Crippling a State.

SCHLICHTER: James Talarico Has Got a Secret.

I don’t know what that blasphemous little imp’s secret is, but he’s got one. Don’t be fooled by that creepy smile on his creepy face; there’s something wrong with James Talarico. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I don’t ever want to see his browser history, and I’d sooner have somebody from The Lincoln Project babysit my kid. It’s just a vibe, but there are rumors out there, and unfortunately, no one has shared the specifics with me. I don’t know exactly what they are, but we have no moral obligation to default to a presumption of normality regarding Democrat Senate candidates this cycle. After all, we just lived through Der Platnerdämmerung.

Is it related to his gender ambiguity? He’s already famous for apologizing for his white male identity. Well, let’s just say we can be pretty confident that Talarico has never beaten up or assaulted one of the many ex-girlfriends he’s tried to convince us were his girlfriends. This is because, to the extent they actually ever were his girlfriends, they all look like they can kick his butt. And he looks like he might dig that.

Let’s call out the pink donkey in the room. There’s widespread speculation that the guy is in the closet, and anybody who’s lived a few years has known guys in the closet, and well, this dude gives off vibes like he’s in the closet. I don’t know if he’s in the closet. I do know that if he is in the closet, he should have come out and been honest about who he was. If he’s lying about that, what else is he lying about?

Indeed.

And I don’t know whether this was intentional or not — but great callback, Kurt.

DON’T TRUST CHINA. CHINA IS ASSHOE:

Elite Pakistani bomb disposal squad operator killed while defusing IED, after Chinese bomb defusal kit turned out be fake.

— WLVN (@TheLegateIN) July 14, 2026

WHICH WILL BE PURCHASED IN BULK BY WELL-HEELED SUPPORTERS AND NGOS, AND VIRTUALLY NOBODY ELSE: Joe Biden Slurs His Way Through Video Announcing New Memoir.

JON CALDARA: A glimpse into Colorado’s future with Weiser at the helm.

The national media is focused on the anti-Semitic socialist who won the Democratic primary to replace [Democrat Rep.] Diana DeGette. More important to Colorado’s future, though, is what happened in the legislative primaries.

Several Democratic lawmakers lost to candidates even further to the left. Even if Democrats don’t gain a single legislative seat this fall, the legislature itself is going to become more progressive.

Given the anti-president environment that usually accompanies a midterm election, and the hefty anti-Trump hate in Colorado, don’t be surprised if Democrats expand their legislative seats to a veto-proof majority.

We’ll likely have a progressive academic as governor paired with the most left-leaning legislature in Colorado history.

And you’ll find yourself casually browsing real estate listings in Texas.

Much more at the link, none of it good.

DISPATCHES FROM THE OCCUPIED ZONES:

The end result of social transformation without representation. https://t.co/FdUzCJxZDr

— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) July 15, 2026

OH MY: Federal Judge Makes Unprecedented Move In Maduro Torture Case. “On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami awarded $314 million in damages to three U.S. citizens who were imprisoned and tortured by Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela before being freed in a 2023 prisoner swap.”

CHANGE: Putin Was Xi’s Role Model. Now He’s the Junior Partner. “Four years of war and economic isolation have reduced the Russian president to a supplicant in a relationship growing more imbalanced.”

Beijing has kept Russia’s war economy running: buying its oil at a discount, supplying the components its defense industry needs and providing the financial infrastructure that allows Moscow to weather Western sanctions. U.S. and European officials have called on Beijing to pressure Moscow to end the war, to little effect.

Xi appears to understand the lesson from the 1960s, when Soviet heavy-handedness toward China as the “younger brother” helped fracture that earlier alliance. For now, Xi is careful to treat Putin with respect in public even as he seeks to extract concessions in private.

Still, the May visit couldn’t be more different from the two men’s first meeting in 2013, when Xi chose Moscow for his first foreign trip as Chinese leader. Xi expressed his admiration for the Russian leader, calling him his “role model,” according to people with knowledge of the conversation.

What Xi admired, the people said, was Putin’s ability to command a seat at the world’s top table despite running an economy highly dependent on oil and gas—rather than a diversified one like those of the U.S. and China.

Now, Putin’s Ukraine war didn’t just bog down Russia. It handed Xi the leverage to finish a structural power shift that was already underway, turning what was once a partnership of near equals into a relationship China now dominates in almost every dimension.

Many of us had hoped 20 years ago or longer for a Russia free and strong enough to serve as a bulwark against China.

Putin delivered this instead.

SCENES FROM YEAR FIVE OF THE SEVEN-DAY SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION:

Russian Novosibirsk. The line to buy fuel is huge.

The person filming says he's driving about 60 km/hour, so you can imagine how long the line is.

There are reports that fuel is only available at some gas stations in the city. pic.twitter.com/Gt62t74gIu

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 14, 2026

Lines like that, and they aren’t even communist anymore.

I’M EXPECTING A CONTROLLED EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: Here’s What’s Riding on Thursday’s Starship Flight Test. “There is so much more riding on Starship Flight Test 13 than the first 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites, which are designed to deliver fiber-like internet speeds anywhere on land, air, or sea.”

THAT WOULD SAVE RELOAD TIME, I SUPPOSE: Paranoid or Prudent: Why Carry Extra Ammo When You Can Carry Another Gun? “My initial thought was, if you’re going to dedicate an entire pocket to holding a few rounds of spare ammo, why not just slip a second gun in there and call it good?”

I DUNNO, I’D BE TAKING MY KID TO SCHOOL BEFORE FULL SUNRISE FOR ALMOST THREE MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR: The House Finally Sees the Light on Daylight Saving Time. “The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would keep the U.S. on daylight saving time. H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act, passed by an impressive margin for legislation these days.”

MATT YGLESIAS, LOL:

Matthew Yglesias apparently has no idea how AI works and where it gets its “views” from. https://t.co/bTEJzWXViI

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) July 14, 2026

UH-HUH: U. Nebraska internal review finds ‘no evidence’ of DEI — experts say it doesn’t add up.

In an interview with The College Fix, Manhattan Institute Research Associate Forest Romm flagged the fact that neither the school nor the law firm provided the criteria they used to determine whether DEI was still present.

“If the public doesn’t know how the construct was operationalized, it can’t assess whether it was accurately measured,” he said.

He added that administrators at other universities, such as the University of Alabama, have acknowledged that DEI remains even after the schools have claimed to eliminate it.

Because of this, “it seems fair that the burden of proof should shift to the schools. In this case, I don’t believe that burden has been met,” Romm said.

The higher education expert also told The Fix there are a few ways to tell whether a school has removed DEI “in name only.”

“First and foremost, if a school eliminates its central DEI office but continues to employ all or most of its staff in roles that have either similar or ambiguous responsibilities, those employees are likely functioning as de facto DEI personnel at the school,” he said.

“This is especially true if they are kept on in positions that are quietly created around the same time, or shortly after, the DEI office is suspended,” he said.

Personnel is policy.

RESHAPING THE MIDDLE EAST, THE MAGA WAY:

"Massive new oil partnerships with Iraq."

That is how Trump teased what is coming out of today's meetings with Iraq's prime minister.

Behind the phrase: Chevron negotiating to take over oilfield assets previously run by Russia's Lukoil, HKN Energy targeting 140,000 barrels a… pic.twitter.com/YZlnGf230p

— Jack Prandelli (@jackprandelli) July 14, 2026

More:

Behind the phrase: Chevron negotiating to take over oilfield assets previously run by Russia’s Lukoil, HKN Energy targeting 140,000 barrels a day at the Hamrin field, and Halliburton managing the Bin Omar and Sinbad fields in the south.

The stated reason: diversify away from Hormuz risk and away from Chinese and Russian dominance in Iraqi energy, with new pipeline routes planned through Turkey to the Mediterranean.

This is the American energy leverage thesis playing out in crude and infrastructure now, not just gas.

The spice oil must flow.

THE WOKE WARS STAGGER ON: Man Says Louisiana Chili’s Fired Him for Not Calling a Woman ‘They/Them.’

COLORADO IS ONE OF THE HEALTHIEST STATES IN THE UNION: Commission examines Colorado’s runaway health care spending.

The most recent Commission meeting raised questions about the government’s priorities in addressing Medicaid and the state budget.

A recurring theme of discussion —nothing new, yet one that actually exacerbates the very problem the Commission is attempting to address — is the idea that the health care funding deficit could be solved by Colorado improving its ability to draw down federal dollars.

However, as previously explained, the system of drawing down more federal matching money for health care creates a self-perpetuating loop of increasing costs in pursuit of increased federal funding.

If the Commission’s focus is on increasing federal funding, it suggests that the exorbitant cost increases will continue.

During witness testimony, it was claimed that Colorado is the number one destination for Americans with disabilities in the country, and that is often because of how quickly they can access state benefits.

While many progressive legislators are sure to feel proud of the ease and speed of providing benefits to new residents, what they may miss is how this drives unsustainable spending and potential abuse.

Legislators must reconcile their desire to offer everything to anyone with the reality of the state’s fiscal situation.

That sure looks like a recipe for fraud.

I’d also add that while Colorado still ranks in the top tier for overall health, we’ve dropped from around #5–#8 ten years ago to #12 today.

LEFTISM AS A MENTAL ILLNESS, EXHIBIT 1,000,006:

I can't believe this is real.

The Chancellor of UC San Francisco testified under oath that a "vast majority of pregnancies are in women." Implying some pregnancies occur in men.

When asked directly whether a non-biological woman has ever had a baby, he refused to answer. This… pic.twitter.com/mNk8f1eCDa

— Jenn Pellegrino 🇺🇸 (@JennPellegrino) July 14, 2026

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Gavin Newsom Really Doesn’t Want to Be President. “California has suffered so much under Newsom’s rule because no politician in America embraced the opportunity to become a tyrant during the pandemic like he did. Once he got a taste for it, he never let up. The supermajority Democrats in Sacramento are merely puppets who do his bidding.”

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Frontier joins airlines betting on Starlink to lure travelers.

Airlines are increasingly turning to ⁠premium amenities to differentiate themselves from competitors. Frontier’s ​Starlink rollout follows the airline’s introduction of first-class seating ​and loyalty program changes aimed at winning over higher spenders.

“We’re continuing to invest in the products and services that matter most ​to our customers,” Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Dempsey said ​in a statement.

The carrier did not disclose the terms of the ‌deal. ⁠Installing Starlink can require a substantial investment, running into the hundreds of millions of dollars for large fleets.

Frontier is among five Indigo Partners portfolio airlines that expect to ​install Starlink on ​more than ⁠1,000 aircraft.

Inflight wifi is almost base-level service now — I just wish airlines would do more to speed up the login and purchase process.