Vance Goes to Minnesota

Plus: Nurses on strike, Florida is full, the consumer revolution, and more...

Vance goes to Minnesota: "The guys behind me are doing an incredible job, and frankly, a lot of the media is lying about the job they do every single day," said Vice President J.D. Vance yesterday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "That doesn't mean that there aren't occasionally stories and videos out there that suggest they aren't doing everything right."

State and local politicians should "lower the temperature and lower the chaos" by cooperating with federal law enforcement, added Vance. "We don't need 3,000 ice agents in our streets—more than every local police department combined," countered Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, responding to the vice president's comments. "Take the show of force off the streets and partner with the state on targeted enforcement of violent offenders instead of random, aggressive confrontation."

If you can excuse the totally incompetent messenger, this is not altogether bad advice: Targeted enforcement of violent offenders first was, after all, what Vance had sold to voters on the campaign trail. "We gotta focus on the most hardened criminals," Vance said at a rally in Arizona back in 2024. "We've got 425,000 violent criminal illegal aliens in this country right now. We gotta get those people out of our country and we've gotta do it as quickly as humanly possible." Of course, the Trump administration sometimes enjoys creative accounting: They can do a lot of rhetorical twisting about what is encompassed by the term violent. (For example, do drug dealers count? Does anyone involved in the drug trade, no matter how low level, count?) But it's not wrong to say that the general public by and large supports deportation for those who menace and threaten the communities they've entered, but more leniency for those who are nonviolent; Vance, Walz, and the general public are actually all in agreement in terms of deportation prioritization.

The federal government's current approach is maximum showiness, not maximum efficacy. "Two men detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared in federal court hearings Wednesday, including the Venezuelan national who was shot in the leg by ICE agents last week in north Minneapolis," reports CBS News. "Both were granted conditional release, but the decision has been stayed until noon Thursday. They do have ICE detainers, so they will likely end up in ICE custody again."

And since the federal government is doubling down on making a spectacle of it all, this provides ample opportunity for local police and politicians to serve as foils.

"Minneapolis Police Department's been called on several situations that they have not responded," said Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino. "The presence of protestors alone is not sufficient reason for MPD to respond where ICE activity is occurring," responded a Minneapolis Police Department spokesman.

---

Scenes from New York: Now look, I'm gonna be very nice here because my second son is still in the neonatal intensive care unit, taken care of by wonderful (non-striking!) nurses every single day, but I will just say: This New York City nurses strike is going on mighty long, with contradictory narratives emerging as to whether the issue is pay or workplace safety.

"Since the start of the strike, nurses on the picket line and their union leaders have tended to minimize pay as a major reason for the labor action, instead highlighting other demands," reports The New York Times. (Of course they have! That's how this goes.)

The workplace safety issues they've flagged—incidents with violent and erratic patients, especially when working in emergency rooms—are valid concerns, but they're also most likely related to the fact that the city has allowed rampant mental illness to fester in public and the long-lingering effects of deinstitutionalization (which also came with plenty of problems). It's also not clear who exactly should be handling these types of patients. But keep this saga in mind the next time people on the left push for more city spending on social workers to intervene immediately after people commit acts of violence. How exactly will that go?

---

QUICK HITS

• "Florida is full," says MAGA-coded gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. "We are not a refugee camp for New Yorkers." But isn't that exactly what states should be? Maybe not refugee camps—people should pay their own way—but competitors, able to attract people who feel poorly served by their current government, who seek a better life full of cortaditos and croquetas and cigars and never needing to get a mid-winter spray tan ever again? (Fishback also, uh, may not stand much of a chance, per The Washington Free Beacon.)

As Florida Governor, I'll slap a $50,000 "Mamdani Tax" on any out-of-state buyer purchasing a single-family home.

No more New Yorkers pushing Floridians out of their own neighborhoods. pic.twitter.com/w0mnnzthUq

— James Fishback (@j_fishback) January 22, 2026

• Contradictory information is emerging about President Donald Trump's comments earlier this week on Greenland:

New: Danish officials tell me there have been no direct discussions between Denmark and the US about the possibility of granting the US sovereign parcels of land, and a NATO spokesperson said Rutte did not discuss it with Trump on Wednesday. https://t.co/PXbG4zvXtg

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 22, 2026

• Maryland lawmakers are going after dynamic pricing.
• "Abigail Spanberger, the former congresswoman turned governor of Virginia, won office in November largely because of who she was not," write the editors of National Review. Spanberger positioned herself as a moderate, someone concerned with kitchen-table issues over culture warring. Voters are in for a rude awakening: "With her opening act in office, Spanberger rescinded Governor Youngkin's Executive Order No. 47, requiring heightened cooperation with federal immigration authorities," continue the editors. And Democrats in the legislature, now that they have the firm upper hand, are "pushing a constitutional amendment that would create a 'fundamental right' to abortion that would pave the way for abortions in the third trimester if a physician rules it necessary for not just the life but the 'mental health' of the mother; the creation of a government-run childcare program; and a return to the draconian regional effort to cap carbon emissions," as well as raising taxes and limiting gun ownership. TLDR; under Spanberger, Virginia is looking bluer than ever.
• "The US named two-time Ambassador Laura Dogu as its new chargé d'affaires for Venezuela, signaling a rapid push to reestablish a formal diplomatic presence in Caracas," reports Bloomberg.
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D–Minn.) is trying to capitalize on her Minnesota connections during this ICE-y political moment, gearing up for a gubernatorial run (and possibly more?).
• Profoundly messed up:

These stories never fail to make my jaw drop. A CPS worker ruled this family neglected their son because they…let him ride his scooter a third of a mile away.

They're now living under a government "safety plan" for behavior that was normal just a few decades ago. https://t.co/7IKlMp2raJ

— Billy Binion (@billybinion) January 21, 2026

• Enough with the 3D-printed Starbucks eggs and the Soylent and the synthetic fibers and the living in the pods and the eating the bugs and the you'll-own-nothing-and-be-happy mindset. I've noticed more and more people craving a return to high-quality materials, good craftsmanship, repair over throwing away:

Little has been written about the consumer revolution of the post-COVID era. People want real fibers and real food, and companies are starting to pay attention. https://t.co/MBjP2Kie9p

— Maggie (@maggiemoda) January 22, 2026

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Vance goes to Minnesota...

I want a pic of him leaning against a chain link fence in a white pants suit weeping into his hand.

[Minadin]

How's this for imagery?

LMAO. Libs in Minneapolis are currently standing outside a hotel in -15 degree weather banging pots and playing instruments to keep JD Vance from sleeping inside his hotel.

Little do they know, JD Vance landed back in D.C. 5 hours ago.

https://x.com/_johnnymaga/status/2014541486038069578

[ML (now paying)]

Democrats gonna Democrat. Since when did reality have anything to do with their actions?

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Hey, man, don't you even post-modern? Reality is whatever I (and my cat) say it is.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Now they will be late to target to return salt.

[HorseConch]

Sheer brilliance.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Take the show of force off the streets and partner with the state on targeted enforcement of violent offenders instead of random, aggressive confrontation.

Wait, was that on offer?

[Longtobefree]

That is what was tried first, and totally ignored by the Emperor of Minnesota.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Currently the situation in 41 states without violent protesting.

[Mickey Rat]

Only if you completely ignore what the Democrat's policy has been at the State and local levels about Sanctuary Cities and such.

[mad.casual]

The state that is now full up on New Yorkers enthusiastically bought plane tickets for bunch of illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard.

Martha's Vineyard promptly relocated them to a nearby military base off the island/outside the community.

Once again, "All of a sudden..." and "For no particular reason at all..."

[GOD OF PENGUIN ISLAND]

I’m giving Liz some grace because of her son, but this stupidity is getting tiresome.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

All the media does is lie. Yesterday democrats and corporate media pushed a lie regarding a 5 year old detained. The reality? The father abandoned the child when he ran from ICE.

https://x.com/DrewHolden360/status/2014453346984161688

But the lies are effective on the intellectually lazy. We've seen it just this morning with sarc. We see it with sullum regarding Good.

The intellectual lazy spend more time finding ways to justify why they fell for the lies than they do in veing curious in the first place, see Sullum and the Good incident.

[Medulla Oblongata]

Probably 50 Facebook feeds I scrolled by yesterday pushed the same fake story.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

Sullum may be lazy, but it's primary motivation is evil

[Ra's al Gore]

British neurosurgeon laughs at past remarks about 'grannies... bullied into' suicide
https://www.liveaction.org/news/british-neurosurgeon-laughs-remarks-grannies-bullied-isuicide

During a recent Parliamentary committee hearing, Marsh was asked about his previous comments, in which he advocated for 'assisted dying.' Made in 2017, his remarks also insulted Christians, whom he blamed for fighting previous legislation to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. According to the Daily Mail, he told The Times:

The contributions from the anti-euthanasia people the last time it was debated in parliament were abysmal.

One bloody woman MP claimed the drugs were very unpleasant. That's a complete lie. So much of it is all bloody Christians.

They argue that grannies will be made to commit suicide. Even if a few grannies get bullied into it, isn't that a price worth paying for all the people who could die with dignity?

[Ra's al Gore]

Canadian Government Euthanizes ‘Young & Healthy’ 26-Year-Old for ‘Depression’
https://slaynews.com/news/canadian-government-euthanizes-young-healthy-26-year-old-depression/

Canada’s euthanasia regime has claimed yet another young life after a 26-year-old man suffering from depression was euthanized by the government’s assisted death program, despite previously being rejected for the lethal injection by a doctor who said he was too “young and healthy” to be killed.

The devastating revelation was shared by his mother, Margaret Marsilla, in a heartbreaking Facebook post, who accused the socialized healthcare system’s doctors of using a “loophole” to kill her son.

Marsilla announced that her son, Kiano, had been killed through the Canadian government’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) system.

After previous failed attempts to euthanize Kiano for diabetes and visual impairment, he was eventually killed for “depression,” which was classified as “mental illness,” according to his devastated mom.

[Ra's al Gore]

Guess where the above is heading......

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/professor-white-people-should-commit-suicide-as-an-ethical-act/

“White people should commit suicide as an ethical act,” says the top of a video presentation by professor Derek Hook at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, college.

Professor of Psychology at Duquesne University Derek Hook, defends the quote “white people should commit suicide as an ethical act” as an “opportunity” to “castrate whiteness”.

This is part of an “anti-racist” discussion on “nice white therapists” held by AAPCSW.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

This is all feeding into the conspiracy theory that covid was intentional to kill off the elderly.

[Ra's al Gore]

Remove expensive elderly so the state can buy the support of 3 or 4 younger people, and grab their $$ with death taxes.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

Through early morning fog I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see

[mad.casual]

So much of it is all bloody Christians.

Wow, uh, as a Christian; when you say Christians are the only ones who could possibly oppose systematic and/or state-sanctioned killings out loud, I'm pretty sure you've veered pretty far off of whatever script you're reading.

I'm pretty intimately familiar with the notion that lots of doctors have superiority, if not God, complexes, but yikes!

[Medulla Oblongata]

Because, of course, it's (D)ifferent.

https://civildeadline.com/manhattan-judge-issues-ruling-in-ny-house-seat/

Democrats secured a significant and revealing victory this week when a Manhattan judge ordered New York’s 11th Congressional District to be redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. On its surface, the ruling is framed as a routine enforcement of voting rights law.

In practice, it functions as a case study in how legal mechanisms, partisan timing, and judicial discretion can converge to alter electoral outcomes long after voters have already rendered their verdict.

The district in question, represented by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, encompasses all of Staten Island and portions of southern Brooklyn. It is not a competitive seat by any modern definition. Malliotakis won reelection by nearly 30 points in 2024, and the district voted decisively for Donald Trump that same year.

Despite this, Democratic-aligned attorneys argued that the map diluted minority voting strength, citing historical patterns of discrimination and statistical modeling to claim the district’s configuration continued to produce disenfranchisement.

The judge agreed, ordering the state’s independent redistricting commission to redraw the lines on an accelerated timeline. The logic of the decision rests on an expansive interpretation of causation: not that minority voters are prevented from voting, but that electoral outcomes they do not favor can themselves be evidence of structural harm. Once that standard is accepted, virtually any politically inconvenient district becomes vulnerable to litigation.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

My gerrymandering is speech; your gerrymandering is violence!

[Chuck P. (Now with less Sarc more snark)]

I think most people confuse gerrymandering with lollygagging and assume it is just politicians being called lazy. It certainly does not fall on the ear as something to take seriously.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Targeted enforcement of violent offenders first was, after all, what Vance had sold to voters on the campaign trail.

As I recall, all the public wanted was a simple moratorium on cat-eating.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Wait, can we still eat the violent criminal cats?

[Quicktown Brix]

That's all cats.

[Chuck P. (Now with less Sarc more snark)]

Bird killers, the lot of them.

And have you heard them go at it? Nothing sounds consensual in that cacophony.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Im sure this is a bad thing and authoritarian as trump withdraws from the WHO.

https://apnews.com/article/world-health-organization-trump-b6e0be566c7db9aece0334e987d516f1

Of course the WHO is claiming we owe them over 100M before we can.

[Ska]

Best we can do is 100M dicks in their mouths.

[mad.casual]

We could take back all the fruit from Operation Warp Speed.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

Drop 100M in bombs on their head quarters.

We just gave you $100e6 at a very rapid pace

[Fist of Etiquette]

"The presence of protestors alone is not sufficient reason for MPD to respond where ICE activity is occurring," responded a Minneapolis Police Department spokesman.

When seconds count in an encounter between trigger happy feds and SUV revving protesters, MPD is only minutes away.

[mad.casual]

"To make up excuses as to why we don't serve or protect or preserve the peace or uphold the law for anyone." doesn't look as good on the fenders of squad cars.

[HorseConch]

Well, it sounds like they've had enough of Frey and Walz, too.

https://x.com/CrimeWatchMpls/status/2014532085940167070

[MyPublicName]

I pay for Reason plus, just to get hyperlinked to news sites that are paywalled. Thanks Liz

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

You pay for reason plus?
And have you heard about the internet archive?

[Rick James]

This dude pays to comment here... So they do exist...

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

There's a bit if hilarity regarding Davos elites being scammed by fake tickets from scalpers.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/davos-elites-scammed-fake-vip-passes-exclusive-usa-house-venue

[Ra's al Gore]

Cancel the Midterms
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/opinion/cancel-the-midterms.html?emc=edit_ty_20141103&%23038=&nl=opinion&%23038=&nlid=62210646

But the two-year cycle isn’t just unnecessary; it’s harmful to American politics.

The main impact of the midterm election in the modern era has been to weaken the president, the only government official (other than the powerless vice president) elected by the entire nation. Since the end of World War II, the president’s party has on average lost 25 seats in the House and about 4 in the Senate as a result of the midterms. This is a bipartisan phenomenon — Democratic presidents have lost an average of 31 House seats and between 4 to 5 Senate seats in midterms; Republican presidents have lost 20 and 3 seats, respectively.

The realities of the modern election cycle are that we spend almost two years selecting a president with a well-developed agenda, but then, less than two years after the inauguration, the midterm election cripples that same president’s ability to advance that agenda.

...Another quirk is that, during midterm elections, the electorate has been whiter, wealthier, older and more educated than during presidential elections. Biennial elections require our representatives to take this into account, appealing to one set of voters for two years, then a very different electorate two years later.

[mad.casual]

Cancel the Midterms Fix or repeal the 17th (not even or just for this President in these upcoming midterms, or necessarily the next)

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

In the craziest ruling i think I've ever seen...

In a state that historically gerrymanders by race, NY judge declares one GOP voting district unconstitutional because of too many whites. Ironically the district is not far off with state demographics.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/davos-elites-scammed-fake-vip-passes-exclusive-usa-house-venue

No other districts, just the one GOP district designed by democrats.

[Ra's al Gore]

If they can smuggle that out.......what are they smuggling in?

https://instapundit.com/769869/

Okay DataRepublican, and I did some general numbers on the SomaliFraud cash going through Minneapolis airport.

According to reports, over 2 years, they moved roughly $700MM through the airport.

That means (if they used $100 bills) they moved 7.7 metric tons of cash, and keep…

— Walter Curt

Here’s the interesting bit:

WHY Minneapolis?

Well, after some quick discussing with regular travelers of the MN airports.

The Somalis run the airport.
They’re the ground crews.
They’re the airport staff.
They’re friggin TSA.

We have an airport in the United States of America run by pirates.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Biden administration knew and did nothing.

[Ra's al Gore]

They were in on it. They had 'refugees' running point on the scam so they could scream racist at anyone who objected.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Was Hunter on the airport board?

[InsaneTrollLogic (smarter than The Average Dude)]

Follow the fluffy white lines, and I don't mean contrails.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

Contrails are condensation that happens when an airplane flies through the air at neer dew point temp. The change in pressure due to the air foil causes the water in the air to become ice for a brief period of time.

I think you were look for the word Chem trails, which is the theory that governments were putting aerosols in the atmosphere to change earth. Which the subhuman trash at Davis confirmed is true this year

[Moonrocks]

TLDR; under Spanberger, Virginia is looking bluer than ever.

Nobody could have seen that coming. Nobody, I tell you!

[Longtobefree]

Vote for fascists, get fascism.
Every time.

PS. Democrats lie during political campaigns

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

Democrats lie
Ftfy

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Florida is full," says MAGA-coded gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. "We are not a refugee camp for New Yorkers."

Mister DeSantis, build up this wall!

[Longtobefree]

"MAGA-coded gubernatorial candidate"

What the hell is that even supposed to mean?

Just for the record, Liz, that bozo is polling between zero and five percent over 9 different polls

How about a few words from Byron Donalds, polling at 37 - 52 per cent?

[Mickey Rat]

Find the fringe candidates on the Right, promote their odd issues as what the mainstream Right believes, ignore evidence to the contrary.

[mad.casual]

What the hell is that even supposed to mean?

He's crypto-MAGA whereas Ron is proto-MAGA?

[GOD OF PENGUIN ISLAND]

Who's ultra-mega-maga again?

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Ripples.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/us-q3-gdp-revised-44-highest-two-years

[Medulla Oblongata]

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, responding to the vice president's comments. "Take the show of force off the streets and partner with the state on targeted enforcement of violent offenders instead of random, aggressive confrontation."

Pretty sure we tried that and you told ICE to pound sand, declared your state and cities Sanctuary, and rallied your AWFL shock troops to be martyred for the cause.

[mad.casual]

Gov. Walz, I'm going to need you to be very, *very* clear about what you mean when you say "partner with the state".

Specifically, when you follow it up by saying "targeted enforcement of violent offenders", it sounds like we should be ignoring the ongoing fraud that the state, if not facilitating, is not preventing.

We may not be able to enforce that law, but we will not be a party to it, even if only perpetrated against its own citizens. Partner with ICE in keeping your own violent offenders off the streets.

[Ra's al Gore]

Killers, rapists and paedophiles to be let out early within months in huge justice scandal
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2161456/Justice-scandal-police-Labour-crime-prisons-victims
Some 43,000 criminals will avoid jail altogether while many convicts will be out after spending just a third of their jail term in prison.

Killers, rapists, paedophiles and burglars will be able to walk out from prison early within months as Labour were accused of a “betrayal” of victims. The Ministry of Justice’s hugely controversial sentencing reforms received Royal Assent on Thursday, despite widespread concern from campaigners and families.

[Ra's al Gore]

Labour want 'Panopticon' to have 'eyes of the state on you at all times'
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/labour-want-panopticon-eyes-state-112106493.html
Shabana Mahmood revealed that she wanted a system where “the eyes of the state can be on you at all times” while invoking an enduringly controversial proposal by the 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

In comments reported on Monday by The Telegraph, Mahmood said she wanted to use artificial intelligence for surveillance, as she proposed “Minority Report-style” policing.

“AI and technology can be transformative to the whole of the law and order space,” said the Home Secretary in an interview with former prime minister Tony Blair last month.

“When I was in justice, my ultimate vision for that part of the criminal justice system was to achieve, by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his Panopticon. That is that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times.

[Ra's al Gore]

Councillor who called Rotherham grooming gang victims 'white trash' could keep seat for extra year after Labour election delay
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15474643/Councillor-Rotherham-grooming-gang-white-trash-Labour-election.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

[ML (now paying)]

They need to free up space for all the speech criminals they plan on arresting.
Never have governments hated their own countries and citizens more than what we're seeing in the West today.

[But SkyNet is a Private Company]

Hey, it’s not like they posted the wrong memes or anything…

[Ra's al Gore]

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM : " COVID-19 WAS A TEST IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY "
https://www.wwhisper.com/post/world-economic-forum-covid-19-was-a-test-in-social-responsibility

1. COVID-19 was a test in social responsibility - A huge number of unimaginable public health restrictions were adopted by billions of citizens around the world. There were numerous examples worldwide of maintaining social distance, wearing masks, mass vaccinations, and acceptance of contact detection applications for public health that demonstrated the core of individual social responsibility.

2. Technology breakthroughs of the fourth industrial revolution - Advances in emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain and digitization can enable personal carbon emissions tracking, awareness and also individual advice on low-carbon and ethical choices for consumption of products and services. The World Economic Forum's Scale 360 initiative shows the use of fourth industrial revolution technologies throughout the life cycle of products and services.

[ML (now paying)]

If there was some sort of libertarian magazine out there I bet it would be reporting on this kind of thing.

[Rick James]

*lol snort* Republicans, amirite? Jesus, Rand Paul, masks aren't mere talismans!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

But isn't that exactly what states should be? Maybe not refugee camps—people should pay their own way—but competitors...

Should be, yes. In practice, however, importing a bunch of people who voted themselves into a mess to repeat the practice in your state is a death wish.

[Ajsloss]

Idaho on line two.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Does Reason have any interest, any interest at all, regarding Jack Smith being exposed yet again as a corrupt prosecutor in his questioning regarding J6, Trump indictments, abuses of office? Seems like a good story to use to be against QI.

[Longtobefree]

Too local?

[I, Woodchipper]

J6 was 10,000 9-11s doncha know?

[HorseConch]

Don't forget to multiply that by Pearl Harbor to get the real answer.

[Rick James]

We're not about that kind of qualified immunity, thank you very much.

[Ra's al Gore]

Illegal immigrants rack up $1B-plus in Texas hospital costs in fiscal year 2025; total likely higher: report
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/illegal-immigrants-rack-up-1b-texas-hospital-costs-fy-2025-total-likely-higher-report

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Shut up and pay the bill citizen.

[Longtobefree]

All "free" health care should be provided by the National Guard units.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Or cat ladies and crystal healers.

[HorseConch]

Any emergency care provided by our tax dollars should be accompanied by deportation as soon as they're stable. If they're milking our ER dollars for a sore throat, they get a free plane ride with it.

[Ra's al Gore]

Demand for high-achiever visas fuels a pay-to-play industry for scientific research and accolades
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/high-achiever-eb-1a-visas-scientific-research-awards/

One individual running a visa "profile enhancement" Facebook page told software engineer Abhishek Bakare in May that for $500, he could list him as the fourth author on a computer science research paper, according to a recording of a phone call between the two that Bakare shared with CBS News.

Bakare, who developed an artificial intelligence tool to spot low-quality research, had feigned interest in making a purchase to gather information on the fraud, he told CBS News.

"Already I was working on this [paper] from the past four to five months," the seller told Bakare on the phone. "I'm adding you literally at the very last stage."

He later added that at the time, he had 55 clients, all of them Indian nationals and most aiming for EB-1A or similar employment-based visas.

"There are people, those who have paid, they have basically purchased a paper," the seller admitted, "which is not sort of ethical for EB-1."

[I, Woodchipper]

"not sort of ethical" lol. these fucking people.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Danish officials tell me there have been no direct discussions between Denmark and the US about the possibility of granting the US sovereign parcels of land, and a NATO spokesperson said Rutte did not discuss it with Trump on Wednesday.

I don't know that I'd go bragging about being out of the loop.

[mad.casual]

After providing leverage and beclowning themselves with "OMG! He's going to start WW-IX.2! Again!", just being out of the loop is a step up.

[Medulla Oblongata]

"Maybe not refugee camps—people should pay their own way—but competitors, able to attract people who feel poorly served by their current government,"

Hyperbole aside, I think the point is that if New Yorkers want to move to Florida to escape their current government, then don't try to make Florida be like the New York you left. If you move to Florida, embrace being a Floridian and stop trying to be a New Yorker who happens to be living in Florida complaining about how bad things suck in Florida.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

As I have said before, we need common sense voting laws, with a waiting period for newcomers. Say, 10 years.

[Rick James]

The Free State Project has entered the chat.

[Rick James]

Colorado has entered the chat.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

"Florida is full," says MAGA-coded gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. "We are not a refugee camp for New Yorkers." But isn't that exactly what states should be? Maybe not refugee camps—people should pay their own way—but competitors, able to attract people who feel poorly served by their current government, who seek a better life full of cortaditos and croquetas and cigars and never needing to get a mid-winter spray tan ever again? (Fishback also, uh, may not stand much of a chance, per The Washington Free Beacon.)

You mean the retarded left who flee the results of their voting desired and then male the same voting mistakes in areas that aren't failed?

[Ra's al Gore]

The real class war is against upper class leftists who are able to flee the results of their own stupidity and leave others holding the bag.

[I, Woodchipper]

oregon is a battleground for this.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Maryland lawmakers are going after dynamic pricing.

The markets are no match for government fuckwits in determining the needs of the consumer.

[Ra's al Gore]

Austrian President calls on all women to wear headscarves in solidarity with Muslims to fight 'rampant Islamophobia'
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/austrian-president-alexander-van-der-bellen-all-women-headscarves-hijab-veils-burqa-muslim-soldiarity-islamophobia-racism-a7707166.html

The President of Austria has called for all women to wear headscarves in solidarity with Muslims to fight “rampant Islamophobia”.

Alexander Van der Bellen, the left-wing former Green Party leader who narrowly beat a far-right candidate to take office in January, said freedom of expression was a fundamental right.

“It is every woman’s right to always dress how she wants, that is my opinion on the matter,” he told an audience of school pupils.

“And it is not only Muslim women, all women can wear a headscarf, and if this real and rampant Islamaphobia continues, there will come a day where we must ask all women to wear a headscarf – all – out of solidarity to those who do it for religious reasons.”

[Ajsloss]

all women can wear a headscarf

Culturally appropriate much?

[Moonrocks]

beat a far-right candidate

I still keep wondering what it takes for someone to qualify as a far-leftist.

[Mike Parsons]

“It is every woman’s right to always dress how she wants, that is my opinion on the matter,”

"And that is why we should mimic the women who are specifically not allowed to dress how they want at all!"

Seriously, the level of gas lighting retardation is getting off the charts with these people.

[I, Woodchipper]

you're scaring the hoes

[rswallen]

Has he chosen to undergo genital mutil- I mean, get circumcised in solidarity with Muslims too?

[Longtobefree]

Fun term, Islamophobia.
A phobia is an irrational fear.
I contend it is perfectly rational to fear a religion whose stated goal is to kill me.

[mad.casual]

Right.

Asking non-Muslim women to wear headscarves in solidarity with or support of the Muslims you are afraid will kill you is literally and figuratively deranged.

It would be one thing if there were a plainly stated ultimatum of "Put your women in headscarves or we'll kill you.", but that's not the case.

If you have to be more fashionable or clinical, it's probably closer to (formerly) Munchausen or Stockholm Syndrome.

[Rocinante]

The President of Austria has called for all men to fuck goats and young boys to combat Islamophobia.

[Medulla Oblongata]

"TLDR; under Spanberger, Virginia is looking bluer than ever."

Just like Reason wanted.

[InsaneTrollLogic (smarter than The Average Dude)]

Which is why KMW needs to be let go, and Reason needs to leave DC.

[Moonrocks]

competitors, able to attract people who feel poorly served by their current government, who seek a better life full of cortaditos and croquetas and cigars and never needing to get a mid-winter spray tan ever again?

That's all well and good until those refugees turn their new home into the one they fled from.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Hey Liz. Reason fell dor the spanberger lies as well. May want to mention that. Just lime you all fell for the Biden as a moderate lies. In fact reason has a long history of falling dor the lies.

May be a good article of this analysis. Maybe have reason admit to a few mistakes.

Or just keep using the NYT, Wapo. Atlantic, etc as your primary sources.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...under Spanberger, Virginia is looking bluer than ever.

Not a good day to be bordering Washington, DC.

[Longtobefree]

Before I became a refugee from Virginia, we used to refer to those northern counties around DC as "Baja Maryland".

[I, Woodchipper]

we call portland Cali del norte

[Fist of Etiquette]

The US named two-time Ambassador Laura Dogu as its new chargé d'affaires for Venezuela, signaling a rapid push to reestablish a formal diplomatic presence in Caracas...

She better be ready to lay down the law on that commie broad currently pretending to be president.

[Ra's al Gore]

The Environmentalists Making Forest Fires Worse
https://www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/the-environmentalists-making-forest
During the period that about a sixth of California’s forests were going up in flames, one single group was busy suing the USFS 24 times. That group, Conservation Congress, was responsible for just under two fifths of the USFS’s NEPA-related lawsuits that were decided in federal circuit or appeals courts in California from 2010 to 2024, and spent $2 million on those lawsuits and 5 more in other western States.

What’s most remarkable about Conservation Congress is not their ability to single-handedly hamstring dozens of USFS projects, but that they are, in fact, single-handed: the organization effectively is just one person: Denise Boggs of Great Falls, Montana.

[Longtobefree]

If you got the money, honey, the courts have the time - - - - - - - -

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D–Minn.) is trying to capitalize on her Minnesota connections during this ICE-y political moment, gearing up for a gubernatorial run...

She'll comb through the salad that is immigration enforcement!

[Ra's al Gore]

Apartment manager accused of voter fraud, using ballots of ex-renters in Pasco
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article314256778.html

[Fist of Etiquette]

A CPS worker ruled this family neglected their son because they…let him ride his scooter a third of a mile away.

"Worker ruled."

[Ra's al Gore]

But taking kids to anti ICE riots is just fine.

[Ra's al Gore]

The libs were right, Trump was elected and now trans people are going into camps.

‘No other option’: inside the refugee camp for trans Americans fleeing Trump
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/19/i-was-afraid-for-my-life-the-transgender-refugees-fleeing-trumps-america

[mad.casual]

So, when you're tallying up your population and projecting the growth of your nation's carbon footprint, running the calculations to ensure equality, do they count as 0, 1, or 2?

Fry: So let me get this straight. This planet is completely uninhabited?
Bender: No, it's inhabited by robots.
Fry: Oh, kinda like how a warehouse is inhabited by boxes.

[mad.casual]

"Two men detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared in federal court hearings Wednesday, including the Venezuelan national who was shot in the leg by ICE agents last week in north Minneapolis,"

The guy was shot in the leg after one officer tried to arrest to effect one arrest and the another effectively "unarrested" him until the shot was fired. Allegedly, with the help of others. Now, regardless of whether the one officer was attacked with brooms or shovels or one man tried to arrest another man and a third one showed up and "unarrested" the second guy, that's not a show of force. Specifically the opposite, it signifies to any given group of people, as long as the numbers are large enough, *they* can occupy a space by force as long as they don't carry membership cards.

[Marshal]

"Take the show of force off the streets and partner with the state on targeted enforcement of violent offenders instead of random, aggressive confrontation."

It's ridiculous the people who publicly refuse to work with the Feds later blame the Feds for not partnering with them. Similarly Waltz refers to Feds as the Gestapo and then whines that the Feds need to "tamp down the rhetoric". Left wingers are always escalating and whining that others are not simply accepting them. They're so used to complete control they think it is normal the rules they demand of others shouldn't apply to themselves.

[Ra's al Gore]

https://x.com/larryelder/status/2014243859812044968

Actress
@PamGrier
, on
@TheView
’s MLK Day show, said as a young girl growing up in Columbus, Ohio she witnessed a lynching victim “hanging from a tree” that “triggers” her to this day.

But the Black Holocaust Museum says there’s never been a lynching in Columbus.

As for the state of Ohio, the Black Holocaust Museum notes the last lynching in Ohio took place in 1911.

Assuming this is the lynching Grier recalls seeing, she looks FABULOUS for someone pushing 120 years old.

[Longtobefree]

OR
She is a lying lunatic.

[ML (now paying)]

Nutty as a fruitcake, but she was so hot with those enormous tits when she was young. Her b-tier blaxploitation movies predated me but I did watch many of them as a teenager on VHS, and was... inspired.

Now I'm off to Google her topless pics for... nostalgia.

[mad.casual]

76, somebody may need to read her a list of 5 words and ask her to recall them 5 min. later.

[Ra's al Gore]

https://x.com/RonDeSantis/status/2014500133971296434

The idea that the federal government would require auto manufacturers to equip cars with a “kill switch” that can be controlled by the government is something you’d expect in Orwell’s 1984, and yet…

[mad.casual]

Along those lines, makers are now, apparently, not wanted:
AN ACT Relating to preventing the unlawful manufacturing of firearms by requiring three-dimensional printers be equipped with certain blocking technologies;

For all the cries about age verification, facial recognition, and S230. This law is far more invasive and specifically on the lynchpin of "shall not be infringed". Imagine you have to pay a tax and get on a state and/or federal registry, otherwise the phone someone sold you or even potentially that you built yourself, won't let you look at porn (or guns or any other undesirable content) and if you do, you and/or whomever made and sold you the phone is potentially guilty of a felony.

[ML (now paying)]

I wonder if Trump will veto it. I hope so.

[mad.casual]

It's also not clear who exactly should be handling these types of patients.

If only we had a motivated group of fundamentally maternal, but not quite entirely docile... in fact motivated to take on problems unarmed groupwise... even to the point of stochastic martyrdom... who were willing to actually help address an actual social problem.

[Ra's al Gore]

https://x.com/realLizUSA/status/2014343180854898820

@Election_Adv
details how Georgia covered up the fact that none of the early votes in Fulton County in 2020 were certified

There were 148 early voting tabulators,
416 Election Day tabulators
There should be 1,128 opening and closing ballot scanner tapes

They turned over 173 — and none were signed

137 from early voting, 36 from Election Day

955 missing tapes — including ALL opening tapes from early voting and ALL
closing tapes from Election Day

They fabricated the results of 2020 and covered it up

This case was filed in March 2022, secretly investigated in early 2023, the State Election Board was not told and it wasn’t heard until almost 3 years later

“How could the Secretary of State monitor miss hundreds of unsigned uncertified ballot scanner tapes?”

“Who in the Secretary of State’s office received and ignored these unsigned and uncertified and missing ballot scanner tapes?”

“The tape is the returns…the auditable paper trail, the chain of custody, the prima facie evidence of the results in the ballot box.”

[Ra's al Gore]

https://x.com/Shilohmarx/status/2014403203375509545

Kamala Harris won New Jersey by 252,498 votes.

New Jersey processed 284,001 online voter registration applications.

None of the 284,001 online applications required proof of citizenship.

[Longtobefree]

Just one state, so not WIDESPREAD fraud.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Looking into voting irregularities is racist.

[InsaneTrollLogic (smarter than The Average Dude)]

These guys are rich, powerful, and retarded.

https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/2014548161352593551?s=20

When it comes to the World Economic Forum (WEF), there are two caricatures of the attendees – or “weffers” they like to call themselves.

In one version, they are mustache-twirling elites huddled in smoke-filled rooms, plotting a one-world government, mass surveillance, and “you will eat ze bugs!”

In the other, they are cast as saviors: the most powerful people on the planet convening in good faith to solve humanity’s biggest problems.

This week, @DataInterpretr and I spent quality time with the attendees. We took a different approach than most journalists – we did not ambush them with gotcha questions. Instead, we simply sat at tables, started conversations with staffers and speakers, and asked questions – lots of them.

What we got was neither caricature, but something much darker – a first-hand perspective of how tyranny is imposed from a ruling class that will swear up and down that they are not part of any ruling class–and that it controls nothing.

To understand how that dynamic works, we must enter the mind of a weffer.

First, nearly all of them are either extremely wealthy or employed by people who are. Hotels cost $25,000 a night. Gucci is the default for handbags. Coats fall to the floor, trimmed with mink. And despite the sustainability rhetoric, the menus advertise meat proudly, with few vegetarian options in sight.

They do not understand that they are perceived as hypocrites. They are aware that some people see them as evil, controlling overlords… and they laugh at the idea, because in their own minds it is absurd.

@DataInterpretr and I learned this firsthand. We made it a point to ask every weffer we could find what they actually did and what they actually believed. We spoke with senior WEF staffers working directly alongside co-host André Hoffmann, with philanthropy idealists, and with corporate employees.

First, they do not think in political terms.

That may seem odd, given the viral clips of figures like Newsom or Macron attacking Trump. But those moments are the exception, not the rule. Most of the people we spoke to do not experience the world as political at all.

They see the world as small and borderless. They do not think in terms of nations, elections, or sovereignty. They see humanity as a single, undifferentiated mass. And because they think this way, they fail to recognize how consequential their actions are downstream.

Second, they genuinely do not believe they are controlling anything.

That may seem implausible, given their infamous “eat the bugs” rhetoric. But in their own minds, they are not issuing directives. They see themselves as tossing ideas into a shared space, a platform where the world’s economic leaders gather to exchange thoughts and explore possibilities.

This is where the conspiracy theorists get it wrong. The power that flows out of the WEF is not centrally planned. It is emergent.
No one gives orders. No one needs to. A set of ideas is floated. The same language gets repeated across panels. The same concepts get picked up by consultants, NGOs, and corporate strategy teams. Eventually, those ideas harden into frameworks, metrics, and expectations that shape real-world behavior, without anyone ever feeling responsible for the result.

This is how tyranny looks in the modern world. It arrives dressed as dialogue, consensus, and expertise. It is imposed by people who sincerely believe they are doing nothing at all.

The real danger is not that they think they rule the world. It is that they do not realize they already rule it, and feel no responsibility for the effects. They float from topic to topic, from climate to AI to whatever comes next, leaving hardened systems in their wake, while insisting they were only ever talking.

No masterminds. Just a ruling class that refuses to see itself as one, and a system that converts its casual conversations into permanent constraints on everyone else.

And that, more than any mustache-twirling fantasy, is what should worry us.

[mad.casual]

They see humanity as a single, undifferentiated mass.

Right. Airport lounge globalism.

They don't want to see it as an ideologically diverse federation of Bohemian sovereignties all with ideas that are more or less equally good for themselves or the world. That makes it hard to know that they're right.

That may seem implausible, given their infamous “eat the bugs” rhetoric.

Totally plausible. That was their reply and they are who they say they are:
'We aren't going to force anyone to eat bugs. We're just saying that in the future everyone will eat bugs, own nothing, and like it.'

The worry is right, but not new. At best, moments of Newsom and Macron notwithstanding, they don't realize they're bulls in china shops or children stomping on ant hills.

[InsaneTrollLogic (smarter than The Average Dude)]

Want to have some fun with the anti-ICE dipshits?

https://x.com/bluelivesmtr/status/2014692696879755266?s=20

STOP what you're doing - we have a pretty huge update and confession about this whole "Report ICE activity hotline" situation.

By about 1am, we had reports come in from numerous states that there had been "incidents" at a number of biker bars last night.

It turns out that "report ICE activity hotlines" had received "tips" about "off-duty ICE agents" drinking at dozens of bars. Those bars just so happened to be biker bars owned or frequented by individuals who haven't always been on the right side of the law.

ICE protestors were alerted and given the addresses of these bars. According to friends of ours across the country, beta soy boy, gender-fluid communist Meal Team Sixers showed up with their "F-ICE" flags and tried barging into the bars.

Except... there were no ICE agents drinking there. As a wise man once said... "now you's can't leave".

To clarify, WE absolutely did NOT report those addresses to the "Report ICE activity hotlines". That's ridiculous, guys. What kind of people do you think we are?

Nah. We simply provided the "Report ICE activity hotlines" to the good ole' boys that DRINK at those bars and asked them if they wanted to have a fun night.

Hey leftists... we've been warning you... there would be a time when the people who just wanted to be left alone get off the sidelines.

Keep going, children. We're in this for the long haul... and we're really, really good at it.

If you have a phone or fingers to type... you can get in the fight and help protect ICE and law enforcement. Below you'll find the "report ICE activity" hotlines.

Have fun and blast this thing all over the internet.

Anti-ICE hotline numbers in the X post for your enjoyment.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Fucking. Hilarious.

[Marshal]

It's about time someone got creative.

[Mickey Rat]

"TLDR; under Spanberger, Virginia is looking bluer than ever."

This is "moderation" as Democrats mean it.

[I, Woodchipper]

she is an outright bolshevik.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

Who could have known! Besides most of us in the comments who dont fall for the bullshit corporate media narratives.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Kulak!

[I, Woodchipper]

Is Boem the one who went gay and left his wife or was that another fake liberterian reasoner?

[InsaneTrollLogic (smarter than The Average Dude)]

That's Robby.

[ML (now paying)]

Boehm was never straight, but Robbie is definitely bicurious.

[mad.casual]

Liz,

"No written document memorializes"
...
"Danish officials tell me there have been no direct discussions between Denmark and the US"
...
"Contradictory information"

Trump even pointed out previously that there's no documented claim to Greenland. I've been around for "pregnancy brain" and post partum sleep loss. It's not a permanent condition.

[Quicktown Brix]

Danish officials tell me there have been no direct discussions between Denmark and the US about the possibility of granting the US sovereign parcels of land, and a NATO spokesperson said Rutte did not discuss it with Trump on Wednesday.

Did you read his book? Apparently there's instructions for stuff like this.

[Marshal]

Spanberger positioned herself as a moderate, someone concerned with kitchen-table issues over culture warring

Did she? I don't recall her doing that, I recall the media (including Reason) claiming that on her behalf so they could continue to pretend there's a meaningful moderate wing in the Dem Party.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

'Of course, the Trump administration sometimes enjoys creative accounting: They can do a lot of rhetorical twisting about what is encompassed by the term violent.'

Oh for fucks sake. Whatever Trump might do to expand the concept of "violence" will never come close to the left. Last time I paid attention to their whining, progressive snowflakes claim mean words, unfair thoughts, and endless imaginary catastrophes are all violence. But their arson and assaults are not.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

'the city has allowed rampant mental illness to fester in public and the long-lingering effects of deinstitutionalization'

Isn't this the definition of modern urban living? That's what makes it so exciting and hip, right?

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

'"Florida is full," says MAGA-coded gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. "We are not a refugee camp for New Yorkers." But isn't that exactly what states should be?'

Maybe. But don't libertarians believe in personal responsibility, including consequences for actions? Perhaps Florida should admit people who did NOT vote for Democrats, and force leftists to return to the Blue paradise states they created.

[Eeyore]

I like my synthetic fibers and forever chemicals.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

'I've noticed more and more people craving a return to high-quality materials, good craftsmanship, repair over throwing away'

But no yuppie pretension, right?

[Ra's al Gore]

Who thinks the rest of the government is any better?

The $21 Trillion Question Washington Never Answers
Trillions Vanish. No One Goes to Jail. And We’re Supposed to Pretend That’s Normal.
https://tonyseruga.substack.com/p/the-21-trillion-question-washington

No serious analyst ever claimed that $21 trillion in cash was stuffed into duffel bags and carried out of the Pentagon.

That straw man was deliberately invented to make the subject laughable. What was documented were supposed unsupported accounting adjustments… entries made to force books to balance without underlying documentation.

In plain English: the government could not explain where the money went, where it came from, or why the numbers were altered.

[Rick James]

Spanberger positioned herself as a moderate, someone concerned with kitchen-table issues over culture warring. Voters are in for a rude awakening: "With her opening act in office, Spanberger rescinded Governor Youngkin's Executive Order No. 47, requiring heightened cooperation with federal immigration authorities," continue the editors.

That's because immigration is a kitchen-table issue, and she's concerned with that.