Author Archive: Stephen Green

GUNS FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE:

WILD:

“HISTORY IS ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER,” BUT MAYBE ESPECIALLY NOW:

MAKE AMERICA’S SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL GREAT AGAIN (FOR THE FIRST TIME): Trump Unveils ‘Freedom 250’ for US Semiquincentennial. “According to the Trump administration, the initiative will focus on national events, storytelling, and civic engagement meant to honor the country’s history while looking ahead to what Trump has called the next 250 years of American leadership and opportunity.”

REAL POLICE-STATE STUFF:

KEEP DRIVING DOWN THOSE COSTS: A Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was launched from the flight deck of littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara while operating in the Persian Gulf. “The ability to deploy effectors like LUCAS without the need for more permanent launch systems, like the Mark 41 vertical launch system (VLS), will allow deployment from a wider range of warships and even auxiliaries, as well as employment from austere locations on land.”

IT’S FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: The Grinch Who Stole a Needy Family’s Christmas. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news, and this week, we’ll learn how to punish the worst person in the world, where not to take your one-day rental two months after it was due back, and all about South Carolina’s Old Bay smuggling operation.”

SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE IS ENJOYING A LITTLE RECOIL THERAPY: Giffords’ Gun Control-Based State Scorecard Grades Doesn’t Hold Up to Closer Examination.

For 15 years, the annual Giffords “Gun Law Scorecard” has been promoted as a definitive ranking of states doing the most to keep their citizens safe from criminal misuse of firearms. Legislators cite these scores during hearings. Activists use them as “proof” of policy successes and media outlets dutifully repeat the grades ad nauseam without a second thought.

For example, while Giffords gives New York an A, that didn’t stop a number of high-profile criminal attacks this year including the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the shooting of Jets cornerback Kris Boyd, 7 people from being shot on Thanksgiving eve or six shot at a Sweet 16 Party just this week in New York City.

But the scorecards aren’t a measure of crime trends, public safety outcomes, or even the effectiveness of firearm regulations. It’s a grading system built to reward gun control laws on the books and shame states that defend lawful firearm ownership.

Of course.

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™: 58 Reasons Why Blue Cities Are Circling the Drain

Washington State is underwater again with rainfall from what they used to call the Pineapple Express, but which has been given a far more interesting moniker of an “Atmospheric River.” That river is flooding the lowlands of the state…again.

We learn anew why Gavin Newsom is the worst governor California has ever had — and that’s pretty bad, considering the list, including the notorious Gray Davis.

And Oregon leads us off because the City of Roses has just shown the country what it looks like when criminals run the criminal “justice” system.

So much more at the link.

LIKE MOWING THE GRASS, THIS HAS TO BE DONE REGULARLY: Trump counterterrorism chief: U.S. has eliminated nearly 450 terrorists, warns of ISIS resurgence.

“As of this morning, we are at 449 jihadis who have been terminated since the President was sworn back in again,” the Senior Director for Counterterrorism, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, told the Just the News, No Noise TV show on Thursday. “That is excluding the Houthi campaign, excluding the cartel drug boats.”

Gorka said the administration has zeroed in on the resurgence of terrorist groups like ISIS in the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal and lax border enforcement during the Biden administration.

In his first term, “the President declared war on the ISIS caliphate, and within a matter of weeks, the physical caliphate that had been established by the jihadi threat group in Syria in Iraq was gone. However, there are always survivors,” Gorka said.

Gorka said because the Biden administration shifted terrorism focus to domestic terrorism, which earned the administration significant criticism, it gave space for Islamic terrorists to recover from the defeat of the caliphate in Syria.

“As a result, a breathing space was afforded jihadis, and they reconciled, reconstituted themselves, especially in Africa,” Gorka said.

Whenever you think Trump might be moving too slowly on this or that, remember how many messes the Biden cabal left behind.

GOODER AND HARDER HAS ESCALATED TO GOODERER AND HARDERER: Ten Dollar Gasoline: Coming Soon to California. “Studies based on California’s own data suggest they’re headed for between $8 and 1$0 dollars a gallon by the end of 2026. Sacramento responded to this report with vitriol and an attempt to discredit those doing the study. There was no attempt to dispute the data. Just denial, and an attempt to shut down the people who did the study.”

Meanwhile, in America: Gas prices forecast to drop to $2.79 per gallon on Christmas, lowest since 2020.

LET THE PUNCHING BACK TWICE AS HARD BEGIN: White men urged to report DEI-related discrimination to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

A report from Compact Magazine titled “The Lost Generation,” speaking about the job market between the mid-2010s and 2024, stated, “In industry after industry, gatekeepers promised extra consideration to anyone who wasn’t a white man—and then provided just that.” It drew on examples from the TV-writer industry, where in 2011, “white men were 48 percent of lower-level TV writers,” and that dropped to just below 12 percent by 2024. In a number of other examples, the report showed that the percentage of white men employed in white collar professions dropped off.

The move from the Trump administration builds on its message to eliminate DEI and discriminatory practices based on race. Some on X replied to Lucas, asking if they would be able to qualify for claims of discrimination.

One user said, “They made me sign a document saying I can’t sue them if I wanted my severance. I think a lot of people won’t be eligible.”

“If that document barred you from participating in the EEOC process, it is illegal. You may have waived your right to money, but you still have the right to blow the whistle and participate in the EEOC process—and EEOC can sue on behalf of a class,” Lucas responded.

Much more to come, I hope.

JOSH HAMMER: Chanukah Is Relevant for Everyone — But Not in the Way You Might Think. “Yet paradoxically, especially in light of tragic recent events, something occurred to me for the first time: This stridently particularist Jewish holiday does have broader — indeed, global — relevance. It’s just not the relevance liberal politicians have ascribed to Chanukah. Indeed, it’s the exact opposite.”

CHANGE: Trump signs order reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III drug. “Under the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule I drugs are defined as having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs – such as anabolic steroids, ketamine, and testosterone – are defined as having a moderate potential for abuse and accepted medical uses.”

ANALYSIS: TRUE.

How long ago was it that Glenn (at least I think it was Glenn) coined, “Credentialed, not educated?”

It certainly feels like a long time ago.

GOOD LORD: Half of $18B in federal funds for Minnesota-run programs may have been defrauded, official says.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said the scale of fraud puts services at risk for people who need them, including adults leaving addiction treatment centers who needed help finding a stable place to live and children with autism who were seeking one-on-one therapy.

While prosecutors typically see fraud manifest as providers overbilling, Thompson said during a news conference in Minneapolis that companies have been created to provide zero services while submitting claims to Medicaid and pocketing federal funds for international travel, luxury vehicles and lavish lifestyles.

“The magnitude cannot be overstated,” Thompson said. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”

Meanwhile: Tim Walz Pivots To Attacking White Men When Asked If Somalis Will Be Held Accountable For Fraud.

THE HEADLINE NUMBERS NEVER TELL THE WHOLE STORY:

There’s a shift from government employment to private sector employment, and from employing illegals to employing citizens.

So much winning.

WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODER AND HARDER? DOE orders WA coal plant to continue operating despite state ban.

The state’s last coal plant was scheduled to close at the end of this year and Puget Sound Energy, which had bought coal-fired electricity from the plant, had agreed to convert the plant to burn natural gas. The closure had been negotiated between the state, TransAlta and climate and energy advocates in an agreement first reached in 2011.

The order, which mirrors other efforts by the Department of Energy at other soon-to-retire coal plants across the country, sets the state and federal government up for a political fight, said Lauren McCloy, a utility and regulatory director of the NW Energy Coalition.

All Washington state utilities are required to stop using coal-fired electricity after this year, under the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act. The landmark climate law also calls for utilities to become greenhouse gas “neutral” by 2030 and have emission-free electricity by 2045 or risk steep fines.

More:

The federal order cites a report commissioned by the region’s largest utilities that has said the risk of rolling blackouts during extreme weather events like cold snaps and heat waves due to insufficient power generation is increasing across the Northwest.

In short, the Trump administration probably just saved Washington state residents from unnecessary rolling blackouts.

But maybe they shouldn’t have.