IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: What’s in a Name, Virginia?
My preferred headline was “Introducing Uncle Sam’s Big-Ass Missile Huts,” but it didn’t pass Standards & Practices.
Author Archive: Stephen Green
August 20, 2026
UNSUSTAINABLE: US national debt hits $40 trillion milestone for first time ever. “America’s national debt is growing rapidly due to surging interest costs, which are rising because of a larger debt burden and higher interest rates, as well as growth in federal spending on Social Security and Medicare amid the aging of the U.S. population.”
SADLY, PEOPLE LIKE VINDMAN NEVER TAKE THE HINT AND GO AWAY:
Vindman should have been prosecuted for abusing his position in government to make things up and launch a lawfare operation against a sitting president. Hopefully we will never hear from him again, although that is probably asking too much.
And while his operation ultimately… https://t.co/awv7mimiFW
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) August 19, 2026
I ALWAYS THOUGHT SO: ‘Illegal’ Trial of George Floyd ‘Murderer’ Derek Chauvin Was Complete and Utter Garbage. “I haven’t seen such a recklessly steered case since the McMartin family was sent to prison based on emotion and politics instead of logic, reason, and evidence. And now, finally, a Minnesota judge will mete out a little justice in the case of Derek Chauvin, the cop who is alleged to have purposely killed George Floyd.”
August 19, 2026
CHRISTIAN TOTO: It’s Bill Maher vs. Jon Stewart for Democrats’ Soul. “The contrast between the two late-night legends is clear. So are the stakes. These high-profile comics are battling to shape the Democratic Party to their liking.”
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN: Anti-Trump ‘Resistance’ Members Get Clobbered at the Polls.
21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Amazon to expand drone service to nearly 500 cities after targeting 1 million deliveries this year. “Amazon in 2024 received a critical greenlight from regulators to conduct long-range drone deliveries, and over the past year has expanded beyond initial markets near Dallas and Phoenix to 11 metro areas, with six other locations coming online soon. Residents in some of those markets continue to raise concerns about drone noise and privacy and how those issues could hurt property values.”
Very cool, but someday I’ll miss the nice driver who always brings treats for my dogs and asks how they’re doing.
I HAD NO IDEA THEY WERE STILL AROUND: Pour Out a Penny: Columbia House Is Finally Calling It Quits.
LIKELY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG: Over 24,000 noncitizens voted in 2020 general election, Census Bureau brief says. “California had the highest number of noncitizens voting, with 4,300 votes, according to the analysis, followed by Texas, with 2,500.”
Related: California Admits It Doesn’t Track Noncitizens On Voter Rolls As Federal Law Requires.
IT’S NICE TO BE BACK, OR EVEN JUST ON THE WAY: The MASSIVE Move to Level Up Navy Shipbuilding Is Making Us Feel Like America’s BACK.
BEEGE WELBORN: Totally Into the Way the Trump Cabinet Dogs Each Other, Even Over Cats.
I am absolutely bonkers for the way the Trump cabinet, every last one of them, is so comfortable in their own accomplished skins, and are such naturally good-humored, confident people that they can bang away at each other in public like long-lost brothers, yet no one dissolves into a snit fit, or leaks enraged texts to Nicholas Kristof about abuse.
They are flat-out hilarious in their own right.
Witness Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (WOOF – gimme a moment here) as he effortlessly bodies churlish imp Robert Reich on X the other day.
Beege is having way too much fun today.
“CIVILIZATIONAL SEPPUKU VIA SUICIDAL EMPATHY,” INDEED:
Noble People: We will rape your daughters. We will f**k your civilization. We will erase your history. We will force you to submit to our religion. If not, we will kill you and all of you disgusting non-believers.
American lawyers: Woah! That's illegal.
Noble People:…
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) August 19, 2026
SCHRÖDINGER’S STRAIT: The Strait of Hormuz Is Open. Also Closed. It’s Complicated.
SCIENCE! ‘Sex is neither binary nor a spectrum’: U. Oklahoma professor. “Berkowitz argued that sex should be understood as a ‘mosaic’ of traits rather than a single binary category or a single spectrum position.”
NEPO-CANDIDATE: Darline Graham’s Senate Campaign Is Now in a Death Spiral.
She seems like a lovely person, but that doesn’t make her a prepared candidate.
HEINLEIN UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF SPACE AS A RELEASE VALVE FROM NANNY-STATERS DECADES AGO:
The opposition to terrestrial data centers will lower the return hurdles for space-based systems (assuming the technical challenges are solved).
So: Activists who oppose data centers now are setting up conditions that will make Elon even wealthier.
He'll deserve to be.
— TheHistoryOfTheAmericans (@TheHistoryOfTh2) August 19, 2026
GET OFF MY CAR: When the State Determines What Rubber Meets the Road – Tired in California.
As purely an interested but unaffected and unassociated bystander watching from afar – and, lemme add, a truly horrified one at that – I find myself doubting that there ever will come a time that the majority of the state will willingly throw off the authoritarian bonds that are now constricting the very lifeblood that used to pulse through, arguably, one of the most vibrant, unfettered places to live in the country.
From Sacramento to the various commissions and agencies throughout the state, there are so many levels of unelected and enabled satraps who, at the stroke of a pen, can issue edicts affecting the way tens of millions of citizens live their lives. Citizens who have little recourse, in fact, often have little warning that some bureaucrat is once again fixin’ to rock their world with a regulation concerning something as mundane, but essentially a right-to-choose, as what replacement tire you prefer and can afford when you have a blow-out or the whole set goes old baldy.
And yet, God bless their pointy little bureaucratic, Big Brotherish heads. That’s exactly where we are.
The California Energy Commission has voted to phase out the sale of replacement tires that do not meet its desired energy-efficiency threshold.
Perhaps as much as 70% of tires currently sold.
WELL, WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT…:
You literally let a bunch of Somalis who have been in America 10 minutes steal billions of tax dollars while actual citizens have to go to work to pay the bill. https://t.co/o5zK4dTw8S
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) August 19, 2026
ENTITLED, LOW-CHARISMA CARPETBAGGER:
Seeing too many hot takes from the DC punditocracy who claim that Angie Nixon defeated Alex Vindman because socialism is so popular nowadays. Well I'm sure it is in some states, but NOT in Florida.
Vindman lost because he is a deep state establishment plant who carpetbagged… pic.twitter.com/SUhwu51ggh
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) August 19, 2026
COMING SOON: AI MODELS THAT SLAP EACH OTHER WITH CARRYON BAGS. Google is buying all of Spirit Airlines’ data to feed its AI models. “The data has been stripped of anything that would allow individuals to be identified, according to the court filing. But it is still a massive amount of useful intelligence.”
MAYBE NOT QUITE A MOON-SHATTERING KABOOM, BUT STILL IMPRESSIVE:
Spotted: Falcon 9 impact site
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured images of a new crater on the Moon. The crater formed on Aug. 5, 2026, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the lunar surface. https://t.co/aqduBYwpmg pic.twitter.com/hE83yvzmIk
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) August 18, 2026
CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Judge Rules Biden ‘Ghost Gun’ Rule Unconstitutional.
ABOLISH PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS: Teacher unions dedicate money to political activism, lobbying.
Some teachers raise questions about whether union dues are being used to advance causes the instructors actually support.
Todd Loeffler, a California elementary public school teacher for over 25 years, said the cost of joining the union and some of their political tactics turned him off.
“Knowing that our union dues were primarily going to Democratic candidates, it was very difficult,” he told The Center Square.
Another issue was the cost. He initially declined to join his union when he began teaching because the dues were too expensive.
“When I was just hired as a new teacher, I was asked to join the union along with all the other new teachers,” Loeffler said. “We discussed joining the union, but we agreed it was too expensive, and our salary was very low.”