September 9, 2026

CONSEQUENCES: U.S. Destroys Five More IRGC Tankers After Iran Targets Navy Warship.

U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers Tuesday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days, according to U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM said the warship successfully evaded both attacks and continued its patrol. No American personnel were injured.

In response, U.S. forces struck the Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, along with the Deryanear Iran’s Kharg Island. CENTCOM said crews were ordered to abandon the vessels before they were struck and rendered inoperable.

The strikes bring to eight the number of Iranian tankers attacked by U.S. forces since Sept. 5.

Do those seem like rookie numbers?

Posted at 12:44 pm by Stephen Green

WELL, THE SELECTION PRESSURE IS PRETTY INTENSE:

Posted at 12:42 pm by Glenn Reynolds

THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS IS COMING TO IMAX 70MM THEATERS IN 2027:

70mm IMAX film is very special and requires purpose-built projectors and huge screens. The 15-perforation 70mm film is in a tall 1.43:1 aspect ratio, very different from the more standard cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio of many movies.

It will be interesting to see how Disney handles Star Wars: A New Hope in 70mm, since the original theatrical release was shot on 35mm film with anamorphic lenses to achieve a wide aspect ratio of 2.35:1. That’s very far from 1.43:1.

Presumably, the original 35mm film will go through IMAX’s proprietary Digital Media Remastering (DMR) process, a sophisticated form of upscaling and image processing that ensures movies filmed on non-IMAX formats still look great on the big screen.

That sounds like a lot of digital processing to upscale a 35mm film to the 70mm Imax format. If there’s a 70mm Imax theater near you, certainly go for it. But I suspect the original 1977 Star Wars will still look awfully impressive in a digital Imax theater, and they’re far more ubiquitous. As the above linked article notes, there are about 400 Imax theaters in the US and Canada, but “Relatively few theaters worldwide can project IMAX 70mm film prints. Per DFIrentals, there are only about 41 of them, which is less than 3% of all IMAX-certified theaters. Roughly 30 of these 70mm theaters are in the United States.”

 

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

THIS IS A GREAT IDEA:

From the linked article: “Between the two bills, Rep. Davidson’s bill is the more detailed and the more aggressive. Its private cause of action – its ‘sword’ – includes damages language and would, if enacted, have greater deterrent effect than a declaration-only bill. Much of what Rulli’s bill implies is, in Davidson’s proposal, made express.”

Having nearly outlawed innovation, the EU now squeezes American tech firms for all they can, while trying to muzzle Americans’ free speech.

Time to put the squeeze on Brussels until they stop.

Posted at 12:25 pm by Stephen Green

SHE GOT THE MOON IN HER EYES:

For 50+ years society has rewarded women for being kooky, and sheltered them from the consequences. That has had consequences for society.

UPDATE:

Flashback:

Posted at 12:13 pm by Glenn Reynolds

THINK OF IT AS AN ECONOMIC MONROE DOCTRINE:

Posted at 11:26 am by Stephen Green

DON’T TRUST CHINA… YOU KNOW THE REST: China’s $5.6 Million AI Miracle Just Got a Lot Less Miraculous. “For nearly two years, DeepSeek’s $5.6 million number has helped sell one of the most dazzling stories in artificial intelligence. The Chinese company appeared to have built a frontier-level model for a fraction of what American firms were spending. A new federal cybersecurity advisory says the bargain came with a rather large missing bill.”

Related: US accuses Chinese AI firms of ‘malicious’ copying of AI technology.

Posted at 11:11 am by Stephen Green

LAWRENCE KUDLOW: The Boom They Never Saw Coming.

Secretary [Bessent] pointed out that President Biden’s big government socialism has been restructured since Mr. Trump took office, nearly 400,000 government jobs have been eliminated, while more than 900,000 private jobs have been added. This is part of the economic boom story.

What’s more, we tried big government socialism under Biden, and it produced a 21 percent cumulative inflation rate. And to a large extent, we are still suffering the hangover from that inflation even today.

I asked Mr. Bessent about how “we’re seeing free enterprise move through this hemisphere. Very interesting. A lot of overturning of the left and socialism moving back towards free market economics.”

The headline employments figures haven’t looked great, largely because under Trump, we’re shedding government jobs at almost half the rate we’re gaining private-sector jobs.

But the latter are productive while the former… not so much.

Daniel McCarthy had related thoughts yesterday.

Posted at 10:40 am by Stephen Green

“REPEAL THE 19TH” STARTED OUT AS A JOKE, I THOUGHT:

Previously: The Lindsay Clancy Trial Set Women Back Decades. “A significant number of liberal women have at least one diagnosed mental illness. Having such diagnoses can, and should, limit the types of employment you can have. We don’t want someone who is mentally unstable being a surgeon or working with children, for example. But let’s just think through the logical implications of what the defense and Lindsay’s supporters are arguing here.”

And that was before certain female jurors went public.

More from Sal:

If you have an easy time getting off the fact that the woman on trial viciously killed her children, maybe you need to rethink a few things.

Posted at 10:24 am by Stephen Green

THE MEDIA LIES:

Posted at 9:53 am by Stephen Green

GOOD NAME: The Air Force Wants to Retire the A-10. The ‘BRRRRT Act’ Would Keep 126 Flying.

The name stands for the Bolstering Recognition, Resurgence, Retention, and Remembrance of the Thunderbolt Act. It also imitates the unmistakable noise produced when the A-10 fires its 30 mm cannon.
…
The proposal would require the Air Force to retain at least 126 A-10s in its total inventory beginning in fiscal 2027 and maintain enough aircraft, units, pilots, testing and support to keep the fleet viable through fiscal 2033.

It would also give the service 90 days after enactment to explain how it would restore depot maintenance, pilot training, weapons instruction, flight testing and other support programs previously reduced in anticipation of retirement.

The bill would prevent additional retirements until the defense secretary certifies that an aircraft or combination of systems has entered service, become fully operational, and can perform the A-10’s missions.

They’re old airframes, getting more expensive to fly and maintain, and probably not survivable against even a near-peer rival. But as we saw earlier this year, they haven’t run out of missions.

Posted at 9:38 am by Stephen Green

THAT SEEMS LIKE OVERKILL FOR THE HOOD OF THE CAR:

But it might do nicely for the roof of the house.

Posted at 9:22 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: The Kids Are Fine — Old Commie Hippies Are the Real Problem. “Young people value authenticity. The elders of the Democratic Party village are all B.S. and artifice, which doesn’t go over well with Gen Z. When President Trump shows up to speak in public, everyone knows he’s not putting on an act. He says what’s on his mind, rather than what he thinks a politician should say. The stuff that makes the older ‘Harumph!’ Republicans uneasy makes younger voters cheer louder.”

Posted at 9:07 am by Stephen Green