November 8, 2026

WE WILL EMBRACE NO NEW TECHNOLOGY BEFORE ITS TIME: FAA says air traffic control will phase out floppy disks in the next two years.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it will ‌replace by the end of 2028 the outdated floppy disks used for weather and other critical information at more than 400 air traffic control facilities across the country.

The Enterprise Information Display System will replace four systems dating back to the 1980s and will put important operational ​information in one place so controllers can quickly see air traffic updates …

‘We’re moving away from outdated, manual processes ​and replacing technology that once relied on floppy disks with a modern system that allows controllers to instantly share critical flight alerts, restricted airspace schedules and pilot reports,’ FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.

When the New Yorker did a cover in 2013 parodying the launch of Obamacare with Barry holding Gordon Gekko’s huge 1980s-era brick cell phone and Kathleen Sebelius crossing her fingers in front of a 1990s-era computer with a CRT monitor and a floppy disk drive, they likely had no idea how antiquated government systems could be.

QED: No word yet when the FAA will also phase out vacuum tubes as well.

Posted at 1:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

GREAT MOMENTS IN SOCIALIST RHETORIC:

Related: “It’s All Elon’s Fault,” James Lileks writes. “After the midterm elections, there were many tweets from people rolling up their sleeves and announcing it was time to do the work of the people. Meaning, investigations, lawsuits, jail, drawings and quarterings, heads on pikes — and, of course, taking all of Elon Musk’s businesses away. Boils down to this: Thank goodness we’ve defeated fascism! Now we must use the power of the state to nationalize private industry.”

Posted at 12:45 pm by Ed Driscoll

WHAT I AM READING NOW: From DataRepublican, Unelected. #CommissionEarned This is a long and detailed book but worth your time. I am still wading through it but skipped to the last chapter on “How to be a Sovereign Individual.” I already do much of what she suggests like become self-employed (been that my whole life basically) or stop using legacy media as I am sure many of you have. Overall, great book.

Posted at 12:24 pm by Helen Smith

ROGER KIMBALL: Lust for Revenge Could Fuel the Next America First Resurgence.

There have been many reasons adduced for the large-scale of the GOP loss in the midterms. In addition to higher prices (“affordability”), there is the war in Iran. Last spring, Newt Gingrich said that the war would need to wrap up by July 4, or the administration would be for it in the midterms. It looks like he was right. Then there are the charges of corruption in Trump’s circle. The commentator John Fund thinks it was a critical issue. Maybe it was.

But the throes of ecstasy rippling through the madding crowd of the unstable coalition of commie, socialist, Islamic, gender-questioning, pasty-faced, mouth-breathing NeverTrump sorority might well be poised to repeat its earlier mistake by overplaying its hand.  Writing elsewhere about the ghastly losses in the midterms, I noted that the GOP loss of about 30 seats was average for an incumbent party. Obama, I noted, lost 63 House seats in 2010; Bill Clinton lost 54 in 1994. But another friend wrote to point out some differences between then and now. Perhaps those earlier losses provide useful context, he noted. “But you can’t make a one-to-one comparison,” he said, “because [Obama] faced pathetic, spineless, low-testosterone GOP enemies, whereas Trump faces Robespierres with guillotines.”

This is true. But, while dangerous, it is also likely to contain the silver lining that extreme behavior often brings its own reprisal. The insanity of the Democrats and their lunatic NeverTrump fringe transformed Trump from a pariah into a victim. That metamorphosis, we can see now with hindsight, was the prerequisite to his victory in 2024. Extreme behavior by the crazies is likely to contain not only the seeds of its own defeat but also the seeds of MAGA longevity.

In closing, in case you think the Left is not really unhinged, consider the performance of Scott Galloway, an anti-Trump entrepreneur and professor at NYU. In front of a live audience recently, Galloway called Elon Musk “a traitor to the West.” What do we do with traitors? Galloway didn’t flinch. He noted that the Rosenbergs, Julius and Ethel, were “lined up against a wall,” i.e., executed. Musk, he said, deserved no less. The audience, I note, applauded. Amazing. Yes, such aspiring Robespierres might do some damage. They really are insane, power-hungry totalitarians in waiting. But their insanity will eventually call forth a salubrious counterrevolution. “Eventually.” I note that Senate terms are six years. That is a sobering thought. But it is also precisely the reason that everyone with the good of the country at heart must rally round and push back. I believe they will.

Related: What Commentary’s Tod Lindberg dubbed “The Assassination Fan Base” a year ago continues to grow amongst the left: Sick: Dave Chapelle Under Fire for Saying He Feels Better Since Charlie Kirk Was Murdered (Watch).

Posted at 12:00 pm by Ed Driscoll

A QUICK IRAN SIEGE UPDATE:

“Amateurs study tactics. Professionals study logistics.”

SEE ALSO:

Posted at 10:47 am by Charlie Martin

PARTY OF HATE:

Posted at 9:42 am by Glenn Reynolds

BE NOT AFRAID:

Posted at 7:55 am by Glenn Reynolds

GOODER AND HARDER, FUN CITY:

 

Posted at 7:45 am by Ed Driscoll

SHAKEDOWN BACKFIRES:

Earlier: The EU exists to shakedown American tech companies, and has been doing so for decades.

Posted at 7:14 am by Ed Driscoll

SOME OF US HAVE BEEN TELLING THE GOP THIS FOR A WHILE:

Posted at 7:04 am by Glenn Reynolds

PETE HEGSETH AND A COUP:

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

A LOSS FOR THE COUNTRY:  I am sorry to see Harmeet Dhillon leave the Department of Justice.  She’s been a tough and tireless defender of civil rights.  Thank you, Harmeet!  I’m sure it wasn’t always a picnic.

Yesterday, there were a couple of posts on X accusing Harmeet, who practices the Sikh faith, of being a “demon worshipper”  and stating that there is no room in the Republican Party for such such persons. Ordinarily, I might chalk it up to some jerk in some sh*t hole country just trying to stir things up.  But these posts purported to be from the Notre Dame College Republicans and the University of Georgia College Republicans and were coming from within the United States, so I feel obligated to tell them to drop dead.

Posted at 6:01 am by Gail Heriot

November 7, 2026

AND THEY COMPLAIN ABOUT TRUMP’S LANGUAGE:

Posted at 10:55 pm by Glenn Reynolds

OPEN THREAD: It’s Saturday Night.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds