February 17, 2026

ENDORSED: Nancy Mace proposes bill to make aliens deportable, inadmissible for animal cruelty.

The measure is called the “Illegal Alien Animal Abuser Removal Act of 2026.”

“If you come here illegally, you’re already a criminal. Add animal cruelty to the list and you’re on the next flight back to where you came from,” Mace said, according to a press release.

“We have a duty to protect the voiceless from torture and abuse. Animal cruelty is a proven red flag for violence against people. These criminals escalate. Our bill makes it crystal clear: commit these sick acts and you’re deported. Immediately. No second chances,” she added.

Previously: “John Wick is the moderate position on this issue.“

Posted at 9:37 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: GOP Will Hit the Lottery if AOC Is Dems’ 2028 Nominee. “Gavin Newsom has essentially been running for president for a year already, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been uncharacteristically coy thus far. Or maybe we’ve just been distracted because Jasmine Crockett didn’t shut up once during the first 10 1/2 months of 2025. AOC finally stepping out and dipping her pedicured toes in the test waters, and it’s not going well.”

Posted at 9:06 am by Stephen Green

HE’LL DO TO THE COUNTRY WHAT HE DID TO CALIFORNIA: Gavin Newsom goes global: why US voters should beware.

While the governor’s 2026 budget proposal attempts to frame the challenge as a “manageable” $2.9 billion shortfall, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has painted a far bleaker picture, projecting an $18 billion deficit.

This massive shortfall threatens essential services to those who need them most.

This is not just bad luck with the markets; it is the result of a governor who expanded permanent social programs using temporary, volatile tax windfalls.

Under Newsom, California is a place where only the ultra-wealthy or the heavily subsidized can afford to live.

The state has a cost-of-living crisis that drives the middle class away, thanks to factors including:

•Energy costs: Californians pay the highest electricity rates in the continental United States — nearly double the national average.

•Gas prices: Aggressive environmental taxes and regulatory premiums keep California’s gas prices much higher than in the rest of the country.

•The poverty paradox: Despite its vast wealth, California has the highest poverty rate in the nation when accounting for the cost of living. More than 7 million residents lack the resources to meet basic needs.

When Newsom boasts of “California values,” he speaks of a system that punishes middle class residents through high taxes and regulatory burdens, forcing them to flee to other states.

California’s neo-feudalism gone national leaves little room for escape.

Posted at 8:35 am by Stephen Green

OLD AND BUSTED: They’re Eating the Dogs!

The New Hotness?

 

 

Exit quote:

Posted at 8:22 am by Ed Driscoll

CHANGE:

Posted at 7:46 am by Glenn Reynolds

BIAS BY OMISSION:

Posted at 7:45 am by Ed Driscoll

MORE NUKES IS GOOD NUKES: US Airlifts New Nuclear Reactor Breakthrough.

The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense on Sunday for the first time transported a small nuclear reactor on a cargo plane from California to Utah to demonstrate the potential to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian use.

The agencies partnered with California-based Valar Atomics to fly one of the company’s Ward microreactors on a C-17 aircraft — without nuclear fuel — to Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey were on the C-17 flight with the reactor and its components, and hailed the event as a breakthrough for U.S. nuclear energy and military logistics.

“This gets us closer to deploy nuclear power when and where it is needed to give our nation’s warfighters the tools to win in battle,” Duffey said.

Why not deploy nuclear power almost everywhere?

Posted at 7:33 am by Stephen Green

FROM MARY CATELLI:  The Enchanted Princess Wakes.

Once upon a time, a princess was cursed at her christening — but not the one you heard of.

When the fairy decreed that Rosaleen would fall into an enchanted sleep, and how she would wake, the grand plans of kings, to unite kingdoms, failed. They sent her to an out-of-the-way castle in the mountains, in hopes the curse would do no harm to anyone else.

There, alone, Rosaleen lived and learned, and realized that she herself had to be ready to face the curse, and when it broke.

Posted at 7:31 am by Sarah Hoyt

WE KNOW THAT BLOOMBERG HAS CHOSEN ITS SIDE: The Ocasio-Cortez Disaster in Munich Gives a 2028 Election Primer As Bloomberg News Cleans Up Her Mess.

Not sure that the mess has been cleaned up, though.

UPDATE:

Posted at 7:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

NEWSOM’S ‘BRILLIANT’ COMMS TEAM REALLY STEPPING IN IT:

Biden was approaching 77 when DNC-MSM began running their “he’s got a stutter” stories in 2019. Newsom is 58. In 2026, that seems an awfully young age for his comms team to attempt to compete in the “oppression Olympics.” (Perhaps 58 seems incredibly old and infirm to the 20-somethings who are likely ghostwriting his tweets.

(Classical reference in headline.)

Posted at 7:14 am by Ed Driscoll

LOL, AOC:

Underlying article is here.

Posted at 7:13 am by Glenn Reynolds

IT NEVER FAILS: Leftist gun control enthusiasts have no idea of the existing law.

Posted at 7:06 am by Glenn Reynolds

FRAUD ALL THE WAY DOWN: Nick Shirley Just Took a Look at California Voter Rolls and OMG. “In his new 23-minute video in San Diego and Orange Counties — remember, the most ‘conservative’ areas in California — Shirley casts a bright light on how ‘Californians’ are registered to vote at illegal addresses such as office spaces, storage units, and PO Boxes throughout the state. These are all illegal residences.”

Posted at 7:02 am by Stephen Green

LYING HYPOCRITE-IN-CHIEF:

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds