FASTER, PLEASE: ULA’s Interim Leader Focused on Increasing Launch Rate in 2026.
Author Archive: Stephen Green
February 12, 2026
THE SHOW MUST GO ON: Activist Investor Slams WBD For Rushing Into ‘Flawed’ Netflix Deal, Tells Board To Engage With Paramount As Temperature Rises.
Activist investor and Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder Ancora Holdings threatened to vote ‘no’ on the Netflix deal and launch its own proxy fight if the WBD board does not engage with Paramount.
The David Ellison company Tuesday sweetened its hostile takeover offer for Warner in its latest attempt to derail the company’s agreement with Netflix.
The WBD board “now has no choice but to deem Paramount’s amended offer as one that could reasonably be expected to result in a Superior Proposal, given Netflix’s presently inferior proposal and unaddressed regulatory issues. Once that happens, the Board could then engage in good faith with Paramount to maximize shareholder value, paving the way for WBD to secure an even higher offer. If the WBD Board refuses to do this, Ancora will vote “NO” on the inferior Netflix deal and seek to hold the WBD Board accountable at the 2026,” the firm said in a presentation posted on its website.
“The WBD Board opted to rush into a flawed deal with Netflix rather than earnestly pursue a superior offer from Paramount – in line with the directors’ fiduciary duties,” it said. Ancora, a nearly $11 billion firm, said it has an approximately $200 million economic interest in Warner Bros. Discovery.
Stay tuned.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Marco Rubio Would Make a Splendid Territorial Governor of Cuba. “Hey, if we can pick up the island on the cheap, Secretary of State Marco Rubio might want to don a seersucker suit and start a new gig as the territorial governor and enjoy presiding over a revitalized Havana.”
THE ENEMY WITHIN: State Department finds Code Pink, People’s Forum linked to Chinese influence operations.
“Organizations like Code Pink and the People’s Forum denigrate the United States, whitewash the violence of Marxist regimes, and run cover for China while enjoying an influx of cash from a donor network with connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
Rogers also said: “The State Department will pursue complete transparency for the donor and NGO networks that lobby for our adversaries and seek to weaken the resolve of the United States,” Rogers also said.
According to the report, “Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference,” China allegedly “spreads propaganda through influence campaigns run by nonprofit organizations like Code Pink, the People’s Forum and groups linked with the notorious Singham network.”
Anyone surprised?
IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: What in the Actual Hell Is Going on in Russia? “Let’s get this out of the way right at the start: I have questions but no answers. But, dang, are the questions head-scratchingly fascinating for what they very nearly almost reveal about wartime life in Russia and on the frontlines of the Russo-Ukraine War. It all started, as so many things do these days, with a popular messaging platform.”
TRUMP MUST BE POLLING REALLY WELL: Gallup Ends Presidential Approval Polling.
Gallup said Wednesday it will stop tracking and publishing presidential job approval and political figure favorability ratings this year, ending a public opinion yardstick it helped define for nearly nine decades.
A Gallup spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the company will cease publishing individual politicians’ favorability and approval ratings, adding that this decision “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership.”
Gallup is among the best-known names in U.S. polling, having pioneered systematic presidential job approval polling as a way to gauge public satisfaction with how presidents were performing their duties.
Why the sudden change?
IT SURE WAS NICE WHEN PUBLIC EDUCATION WAS ABOUT EDUCATING THE PUBLIC: Trump Administration Improves School Experience “These simple acts of closing the borders and deporting folks who tried to jump the line are having a direct impact on public schools. Numbers are down and teachers unions are throwing tantrums disguised as ‘but what about the children!’ when it’s really ‘but what about my pension!’ Pet projects, niche staff positions, and all of the work they’ve done to sugar-coat teenagers not being able to read at grade level are all for naught thanks to President Donald J. Trump.”
February 11, 2026
MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: No More Illegal Alien Buyers For Colony Ridge. “Remember Colony Ridge, the housing development northeast of Houston evidently pitched to illegal aliens that boasted such ‘features’ as high crime rates and substandard infrastructure? A settlement between the state and the developer means no more home sales to illegal aliens there.”
KEEP CUTTING:
This is insane…
The number of federal government employees is now at it’s lowest level in 50+ years.
Dropped off a cliff after Trump was elected. pic.twitter.com/zZu2jzUC8S
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) February 11, 2026
HOW ARE THOSE TALKS GOING? LIKE SO: F-35s Deploy Closer to Middle East After US Talks with Iran.
More stealthy U.S. fighter jets moved closer to the Middle East on Feb. 9, with a half dozen F–35A Lightning II fifth-generation planes landing at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., after crossing the Atlantic, flight tracking data and air traffic control communications show.
The U.S. has bolstered airpower and air defenses in the Middle East and Europe as the Trump administration has threatened to strike Iran if a deal constraining its nuclear program is not reached.
The F–35s from Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing departed Burlington Air National Guard base on the morning of Feb. 9 using the callsigns “Tabor 41” through “Tabor 46.”
The F–35s were accompanied by three KC–135 Stratotankers refueling aircraft that departed from Bangor Air National Guard Base, Maine, using the callsigns “Gold 81,” “Gold 82,” and “Gold 83.” Those tankers landed at RAF Mildenhall, a base near Lakenheath, flight tracking data shows.
The jets add to six other F–35s from the squadron, which have made their way to Spain.
Talking softly is always the first, best option, but it helps to keep the big stick in plain sight.
PUSH HARDER: GOP lawmakers pushing 3 federal election security bills.
All three pieces of legislation being considered – the SAVE Act, the SAVE America Act, and the MEGA Act – would mandate that states require photo ID and verify the citizenship status of potential voters.
“I think we can trust the outcome of the election, but what I will tell you is that there is still a great concern that in certain pockets of the country, that there’s not strict enforcement of the laws,” U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday.
He praised the SAVE America Act, a bill mirroring the House-passed SAVE Act which requires Americans to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote, necessitates in-person voter registration for federal elections, and requires states to remove all noncitizens from their voter rolls.
Since the Senate still hasn’t taken up the SAVE Act after 300 days – despite Republican pressure to do so – House members will vote on the SAVE America Act on Wednesday. The bills are identical except that the latter would also require people to display a valid ID to vote in federal elections.
With valid ID necessary for everything from applying for a job to renting a hotel room, the legislation is “common sense,” Johnson argued.
“There’s only one logical reason that Democrats are opposed to this – they want the people to participate in elections who are not supposed to,” he added. “So the fact that they’re so vehemently opposing this is very telling about their agenda and their motivation.”
So why is the GOP-held Senate effectively opposed, too?
SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE IS IN REMISSION: Watchdog Says Fulton County Had More Votes Without Ballots Than Biden’s ‘Win.’
HEY, BIG SPENDER: Paramount Skydance Says It Will Pay Warner Bros. Discovery an Extra $650 Million per Quarter if Its WBD Takeover Isn’t Completed by End of 2026.
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is adding some additional financial promises to its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery as it continues to try to kill Netflix’s deal for WB.
Paramount on Tuesday said it will add an “incremental cash consideration” to WBD shareholders of 25 cents per share, equivalent to approximately $650 million cash value each quarter, for every quarter the proposed Paramount acquisition is not closed beyond Dec. 31, 2026.
That extra “ticking fee” reflects the confidence of Ellison and his team that a Paramount-WBD deal will have a smoother path to regulatory approval than Netflix’s merger with Warner Bros. Paramount (and others) have alleged that Netflix, if it owns HBO Max, would have a virtual monopoly on subscription streaming in multiple markets; Netflix has dismissed this, claiming that even with HBO Max its share of U.S. TV viewing would be 10%, still behind YouTube.
In addition, as part of Paramount’s sweetened deal terms for Warner Bros. Discovery, the company said it would pay the $2.8 billion breakup fee due to Netflix with the termination of the Netflix agreement if WBD shareholders accept Paramount’s $30-per-share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery in its entirety.
I’d much rather see Warner Bros. in Ellison’s hands than the wokesters’ at Netflix, but either way, it’s likely the end of Warner as it’s been known for more than a century.
RABBI MICHAEL BARCLAY: New York’s Winter Shows That Mamdani Is Not a Socialist, but a Devout Muslim
Six of one…
GOOD QUESTION: Commonly Owned: Why Do Media Outlets Understate the Number of AR-15s Americans Own?
If you ran a simple Google search of “how many Americans own AR-15s?”, the results would be woefully lacking. The Google AI tool gives an immediate answer of “approximately 16 million to 24.6 million” Americans who own an AR-15 or similarly styled semiautomatic rifle. Google’s high-end estimate is more than 20 percent off from the most current industry estimates.
The top articles referenced and provided as citation are all far out-of-date. The top article provided, from Georgetown University, is a republish of The Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard writing about AR-15 popularity — from 2022 — also pegged at 24 million.
The second-highest-placed article — from Stephen Gutowski’s The Reload — is also from 2022 and puts MSR ownership at 24.4 million.
Next is a Washington Post article from 2023, suggesting there are only “20 million AR-15s in circulation.”
NBC News included the figure 24.4 million as well in 2020 in an article titled, “What makes the AR-15 so beloved and so reviled.”
All these publications could use a refresh on their research if they’re going to cover the popularity of the MSR and state legislation being proposed to ban their possession, use and sale.
Maybe the thinking is that it’s easier to get the majority to go along with persecuting an even tinier minority.
BLUE STATE BLUES: California’s Wealth Streams For The Exits. “Add Facebook/meta head Mark Zuckerberg to the list of billionaires fleeing ahead of enactment of the state’s wealth tax.”
OH, NO… ANYWAY: Bill Maher: Jimmy Kimmel Ended Our Friendship Over Politics.
COLORADO: Vacancy tax gimmick won’t make housing ‘affordable.’
Leave it to government to try to improve quality of life by proposing a law that would actually degrade it. Democrats don’t have a monopoly on this sort of legislation, but their philosophy of scarcity, especially artificial scarcity, makes them especially susceptible to its charms.
Rep. Brianna Titone (D-Arvada) and Rep. Elizabeth Velasco (D-New Castle) are seeking to extract money from out-of-town property owners to subsidize “affordable” housing with House Bill 26-1036. The bill would allow municipalities to tax residential properties that they define as vacant, based on the number of days of physical occupancy by their owners. Short-term rentals would be excluded.
The bill would also allow local governments to band together to form special taxing districts for this purpose, even if they were in different counties, as long as they had shared or contiguous boundaries.
How awful is this bill? Let us count the ways.
First, it’s an assault on property rights. Yes, according to the US Census, a couple of Colorado counties – Summit and Eagle – have a substantial number of vacant dwellings. But this isn’t the Soviet Union during Dr. Zhivago. You can’t simply tell people that their houses are nice, but they could be used for so many more people.
I dunno about that because you can’t tell a Colorado Democrat anything.
ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: FCC Chair to Newsom: Hey, Where’d the $450 Million Go?
K-12 IMPROVEMENT UPDATE: These Three Red States Are the Best Hope in Schooling.
Louisiana ranks No. 1 in the country in recovery from pandemic losses in reading, while Alabama ranks No. 1 in math recovery.
The state with the lowest chronic absenteeism in schools is Alabama, according to a tracker with data from 40 states.
Once an educational laughingstock, Mississippi now ranks ninth in the country in fourth-grade reading levels — and after adjusting for demographics such as poverty and race, Mississippi ranks No. 1, while Louisiana ranks No. 2, according to calculations by the Urban Institute. Using the same demographic adjustment, Mississippi also ranks No. 1 in America in both fourth-grade and eighth-grade math.
Black fourth graders in Mississippi are on average better readers than those in Massachusetts, which is often thought to have the best public school system in the country (and one that spends twice as much per pupil).
How is this possible when southern states are governed by racist Republicans, and Massachusetts is run by enlightened progressives?
MAKE CONQUISTADORS GREAT AGAIN:
Spanish is not a language of resistance.
It's literally the language of your European colonizers who colonized you so hard you forgot what you were speaking before them.
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) February 10, 2026
Who am I kidding? Conquistadors were always great.