Why Vietnam Gave Up On Communism

Posted on June 6, 2026 by Lawrence Person

Here’s a short video on why the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party gave up on Communism. Short answer: It didn’t work.

  • “Why did communists in Vietnam end up adopting the economic system of the country they spent 20 years fighting a war against?
  • “After the fall of South Vietnam’s capital of Saigon in April 1975, they finally got their wish. The result was a disaster.”
  • “After taking over the country, the communists collectivized the farms. Farmers didn’t get paid based on how much they grew, but rather how many days they showed up, and because there was no connection between effort and reward, the collective farming campaign ended in total failure. Famine swept the country whenever harvests were poor.” Just like what happened in the Soviet Union and Communist China when they tried collectivizing agriculture.
  • “Throughout the 1980s, Vietnamese families were given ration cards that determined how much food they were allowed to eat. People lined up for hours, sometimes overnight, at government food distribution centers.”
  • “In less than a generation, the entire country’s economy had collapsed. Nearly 80% of the population lived in poverty, while annual inflation exceeded 100%. By the end of the 1980s, Vietnam was one of the poorest countries on Earth.”
  • “Now, contrast that with the Vietnam of today. It’s one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with less than 2% of the population still living in extreme poverty. What’s more, a famine hasn’t happened in over 40 years, and Vietnam is now a net exporter of rice.”
  • “Turns out the ruling party didn’t fix Vietnam by successfully implementing Marxism Leninism. Vietnam was saved because the Communist Party actually abandoned Marxism.”
  • “With the country facing total collapse, the VCP did something that is incredibly rare in politics. They admitted they were wrong.”
  • “At the Sixth Party Conference in 1986, the VCP itself declared, ‘The reasons for the current situation are to be sought above all in mistakes and errors of leadership and direction by the Party and the State.”
  • “In a desperate bid to pull the country out of an economic depression, a series of radical reforms was proposed and adopted. The Vietnamese called it ‘Renewal,’ but in many ways it was revolutionary.”
  • “Businesses that had previously operated on the black market were allowed to open up and hire workers. The state’s monopoly on foreign trade was dissolved. Internal customs checkpoints were dismantled. Almost all subsidies and price controls were lifted. Land and businesses that had been nationalized in the 1970s were returned to their former owners, or their relatives, and foreign investment was welcomed into the country for the first time since the war.”
  • “And when you look at the history of Vietnam’s GDP per capita, you can see the exact moment that Renewal took place.”

  • “The result has been an economic miracle. GDP grew at nearly 8% a year through the 1990s. Inflation fell from 100% to less than 10% and poverty rates plummeted for more than 30 years straight.”
  • “Now, this doesn’t mean that Vietnam is a paradise. The country is still a long way off from being as wealthy as other East Asian nations like South Korea or Japan. Corruption is still a major problem and it’s still an authoritarian single party state.”
  • “But ironically, the story of Vietnam’s economic collapse and the miracle that happened next is perhaps best summarized by what the Vietnamese Communist Party admitted at their own Party congress in 1986 when a delegate stood up and told the room what nobody in the Party had ever said out loud before. ‘The people have lost faith in the Party.'”
  • “And the only thing that can save it was abandoning everything the Party stood for.”

    • Capitalism works. Communism doesn’t.

    It’s really that simple.

    Posted in Communism, Economics | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

    LinkSwarm For June 5, 2026

    Posted on June 5, 2026 by Lawrence Person

    Conflicting economic signals, more Democrat fraud uncovered, more criminal illegal aliens deported, Ukraine sinks more Russian ships and ignites more Russian oil refineries, more Winning, more media companies still try to cling to woke (but Victoria’s Secret wises up), and videos that will break your brain. It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!

    Personally, it’s been an eventful week. I opened an IRA to move money into from a 401K so I can move some of it to my checking, but it always takes longer than they promise. And my dog managed to catch a skunk, who seemed to spray directly into his mouth from the way he was frothing. So I bought some carpet stuff to get the second-hand Eue de Skunk out of my carpets. (From the description of other people whose dogs have been skunked, I don’t think he got much of a dose except in his mouth and on his head, so I suspect I haven’t had it as bad as some people.)

  • “US job market notches third straight month of solid growth.”

    The closely watched employment report from the Labor Department on Friday ‌painted an upbeat picture of the jobs market. The economy added 93,000 more jobs in March and April than previously estimated and the unemployment rate held at 4.3% for a third consecutive month.

  • But: “Tech job cuts surge, hitting a nearly two-year high. Big Tech in May announced the most job cuts in almost two years — more than 38,000 in total, according to new data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The tech sector has announced 123,653 cuts in 2026, a 65% increase over the same period last year.” So the economy is doing great! Except for the part of it that could hire me…
  • “Trump admin overhauls with strict new rules about who gets the money.”

    Russ Vought at OMB has just overhauled $1 TRILLION in federal grants by adding: Strict E-Verify requirements, English-language rules, and political appointee oversight to ensure taxpayer dollars go to American citizens first.

    Vought’s new proposal replaces automatic payouts with “pay for performance” standards. Grants can now be terminated for waste, fraud, underperformance, or pushing anti-American priorities like DEI, gender ideology, or Green New Scam programs.

    No more blank checks and fraud complaints go STRAIGHT to inspectors general and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro within 10 days.

    Sounds like a great start, but the fact that the federal government is handing out $1 trillion in grants seems like a problem in and of itself…

  • “EPA boss made criminal referrals alleging Democrats ‘self-dealing’ in lucrative green energy grants. Lee Zeldin alleges that eight nonprofit ‘cutouts’ were used to route billions to former Obama-Biden cronies.”

    Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin says he has made several criminal referrals after uncovering a major political enrichment scandal that routed billions in Biden-era green energy grants to Democrat cronies. “It’s about self-dealing,” Zeldin tells Just the News.

    Zeldin said he has canceled or stopped about $29 billion in EPA grants – including one for $2 billion to a nonprofit tied to longtime Georgia Democrat election activist and failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams – after unmasking a series of pass-through groups used to route taxpayer monies to the politically connected.

    “As you look through all of these pass-through entities, you’re seeing so many connections to former Obama and Biden administration officials and Democratic donors, people who were former Cabinet members, other high-ranking administration officials,” he said during a wide-ranging interview Monday on the John Solomon Reports podcast.
    Zeldin: “Blatant waste and abuse.”

    Zeldin said he has referred several of the transactions to the EPA inspector general, the agency’s chief watchdog, and the Justice Department for possible prosecution or further investigation. “Those referrals have been made,” he said.

    Zeldin said some of the allegations have their roots in legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, when Congress and the White House were all in Democrat hands. “They included all of this funding in this so-called Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. And then they would work with these different agencies of the Biden administration to get it out to their unqualified friends. The whole thing just feels criminal,” he said. “[…] This is clearly something that falls into the category of blatant waste and abuse.”

    Zeldin has repeatedly singled out the Biden administration’s $2 billion grant to Power Forward Communities, a nonprofit tied to the former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abrams. The funds were awarded in 2024 to finance “residential decarbonization,” which was an effort to replace gas furnaces and other appliances with electric ones.

    Abrams reportedly “played a pivotal role” in establishing the group, according to Fox News.

    The award came under scrutiny after it was revealed Power Forward Communities had reported only $100 the year before the award. The Trump administration’s EPA announced in February 2025 it was taking measures to get the money back as part of an overall effort to claw back funding rushed out the door in the final days of the Biden administration.

    There doesn’t seem to be a single federal agency the Democrat Party didn’t treat as a giant bag of graft.

  • “SCOTUS Allows Alabama Congressional Map Likely to Net GOP House Seat. Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, is now widely viewed as a likely Republican pickup.”

    The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 on Tuesday night that Alabama may use a congressional map drawn in 2023 for this year’s elections, reversing a lower federal court’s decision that the plan unlawfully diluted the voting power of black residents.

    This ruling reduces the number of majority-black congressional districts in the state from two to one and is widely expected to give Republicans one additional House seat in the upcoming midterm elections.

    The Democrat-filed Petteway v. Galveston County is the gift that keeps giving…

  • “Superseding Indictment Alleges SPLC Funded ‘Ku Klux Klan garments’ and ‘Cross-Burning Events.’ Asserts wide-ranging wire and bank fraud ‘to disguise the true nature, source, ownership, and control of the fraudulently obtained donated money the SPLC paid’ to extremist group members SPLC supposedly was fighting.”

    From the Introduction to the Superseding Indictment:

    The Southern Poverty Law Center’s (“SPLC”) stated mission included the dismantling of white supremacy and confronting hate across the country. However, unbeknownst to donors, some of their donated money was being used to fund the leaders and organizers of racist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, and the National Alliance. The SPLC’s paid informants (“field sources”) engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website. The SPLC also had a field source who was a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 “Unite the Right” event in Charlottesville, Virginia. That field source made racist postings under the supervision of the SPLC and helped coordinate transportation to the event for several attendees. In order to covertly pay its field sources, the SPLC opened bank accounts connected to a series of fictitious entities. The covert nature of the accounts allowed the SPLC to disguise the true nature, source, ownership, and control of the fraudulently obtained donated money the SPLC paid the field sources. In order to keep the scheme going, the SPLC made a series of false statements related to the operation of the accounts.

    The Superseding Indictment summarizes the structure of SPLC’s alleged fraudulent operation:

    10. Starting in the 1980s, the SPLC began operating a covert network of individuals who were either associated with violent extremist organizations or who had infiltrated such organizations at the SPLC’s direction. These individuals were referred to by some high-level employees within the SPLC as the “field sources” or the “Fs.” Upon entering into an agreement with an F, the SPLC assigned each F a unique number. The SPLC assigned these numbers in chronological order. The SPLC then paid the Fs with donor money.

    11. Between in or about 2010 through in or about 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled approximately $4.1 million dollars in tax-exempt donor funds to a series of fictitious accounts described hereinafter. The general purpose of these fictious accounts was to pay Fs who were either leading or affiliated with multiple violent extremist organizations. Fs used the money donors gave to the SPLC to, among other things:

    a. Attend extremist group rallies across the country;
    b. Host extremist group rallies throughout the country;
    c. Grow existing chapters of extremist groups;
    d. Create new chapters of extremist groups;
    e. Recruit new individuals into extremist groups;
    f. Make donations to extremist group leaders;
    g. Purchase materials for cross burnings;
    h. Purchase materials to make Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods;
    1. Create racist paraphernalia that extremist groups sold at rallies;
    J. Publish extremist literature used in the recruiting of more members; and
    k. Pay everyday living expenses, which allowed the Fs to focus on their extremistgroups rather than seeking other employment.

    12. Certain SPLC employees knew that Fs used donors’ money to actively recruit new members and grow their violent extremist organizations.

    There allegedly were fictitious entities set up to conceal what SPLC was doing:

    15. To secretly funnel donors’ money to the Fs, employees at the SPLC, including a person who would become the SPLC’s Chief Financial Officer (“Employee-I”) and the person who would become Director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project (“Employee-2”) among others, opened and/or modified a series of bank accounts at Bank-I and Bank-2 in the name of various fictitious entities, including the following:

    a. Center Investigative Agency (“CIA”);
    b. Fox Photography;
    c. North West Technologies (“North West Tech”);
    d. Tech Writers Group (“Tech Writers”);
    e. Rare Books Warehouse (“Rare Books”);
    f. Imagery Ink;
    g. J&J Electronics;
    h. Kelly ‘s Marine; and
    1. Turner Personnel

    16. These fictitious entities were never incorporated, had no bonafide employees, and conducted no legitimate business.

    More at the link. But it certainly sounds like they were breaking a whole host of laws, including deceptive trade practices, and possibly tax fraud.

  • I should have a link in here about all the latest Graham Platner revelations, but I just can’t keep up. Last week brought news that he had an account on the “predator friendly” app Kik, but this week an ex-girlfriend revealed he was a scumbag, but the New York Times deliberately omitted accusations that he physically abused women? Can someone point me to a handy tracking page for the latest Platner scandal revelations?
  • “St. Petersburg Hit Hard By Drones: At Least FOUR Strikes on Oil Export Terminal.”
  • Followup to the above: “Satellite Imagery of Russian Corvette Hit in St. Petersburg: Significant Damage Caused.”
  • “Huge Drone Strike on Saratov Oil Refinery: Burning Heavily.”
  • “Another Russian Oil Refinery Hit: Ilsky Refinery Burns After Drone Strike!”
  • “Multiple Drone Strikes on ST-68 Radars, Pantsir SAM System and Big Logistics Hub.” There have been a lot of reports about how Ukrainian attacks are wrecking logistics well back of the front lines, and I should probably do a separate post on that when I have the time.
  • “Another Russian Ship Hit: Project 10410 Svetlyak-class Patrol Boat Near Kerch Bridge.”
  • “Project 1454 Rescue Tug Hit and Pantsir Destroyed (Nice Ammo Cookoff) in Crimea.”
  • “Mala Tokmachka. Here, Ukrainians completely broke Russian forces who have now spent a historically long time trying to capture a tiny village.” “These repetitive assaults have been producing mounting casualties for more than four years now.” “The battle for the tiny Mala Tokmachka has turned into the longest battle in history, even exceeding the Siege of the major town of Leningrad in the Second World War, which lasted eight hundred and seventy-two days and was an important turning point and a win for the Soviets.”
  • “Latest ICE roundup nabs pedophiles, violent criminals. Under the Trump administration, DHS has sought to implement the president’s mass deportation agenda to remove as many as 22 million illegal aliens from the U.S.”

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday unveiled the latest alien criminals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, which included pedophiles and persons convicted of violent crimes.

    Snip.

    • Topping the list was Carlos Sanchez-Benitez of El Salvador, who was convicted for second-degree vehicular manslaughter.
    • Lauro Javier Miron-Tapia of Mexico was convicted for lewd acts with a minor child under 14 years old.
    • Daniel Alexis Casasola-Rivera of Mexico was convicted for a lewd act with a child under 14 years old.
    • Nun Hawi Tuam of Myanmar was convicted for aggravated sexual battery.
    • Franklin William Orellana-Maya of Honduras was convicted for sexual assault.
    • Yermy Hernandez-Castro of Honduras was convicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
    • Geovanny Gonzalez-Gonzalez of Nicaragua was convicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery by strangulation.
    • Ivan Jayasi of Mexico was convicted for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
    • Mario Zendejas-Gomez of Mexico was convicted for fourth-degree assault, obstructing law enforcement, and no contact order violation.
    • Miguel Sosa of Cuba was convicted for cocaine trafficking.
    • Oriol Mora-Arroyo of Mexico was convicted for attempted trafficking of a schedule II-controlled substance and carrying a concealed gun.
    • Juan Flores-Archaga of Honduras was convicted for third-degree burglary: illegal entry with intent to commit a crime.
    • Jhonathan Perla-Bonilla of Honduras was convicted for strongarm robbery and burglary of occupied conveyance.
    • Alexei Marti-Martinez of Cuba was convicted for grand theft.
    • Pedro Wladimir Contreras-Perez of Ecuador was convicted for larceny and licensing violation.
    • All of the UK seems furious over the death of Henry Nowak from stab wounds in police custody after his attacker accused his victim of being racist. “Police handcuffed Nowak, who had been stabbed by Sikh immigrant Vickrum Digwa, believing the Sikh man’s claim that Nowak had made a racist remark. Nowak told police he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe, but officers simply left him on the ground as he lost consciousness and died.” So just like George Floyd, except Nowak was a real victim rather than a career criminal high on fentanyl.
    • “House panel says it uncovered new funding links between Biden admin and anti-Netanyahu, left-wing groups.

      The House Judiciary Committee said that it has uncovered new funding links between the Biden administration and left-wing groups that oppose the Israeli government, as well as groups with ties to terrorist organizations

      A May 29 committee memorandum, which JNS obtained exclusively and which was addressed to committee members from the Republican-led committee staff, addresses “new information about the Biden-Harris administration helping to fund protests against the Netanyahu government.”

      It alleges that U.S.-based organizations, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Tides Network, “provided over $5 million to groups that funded radical anti-Israel protests in the U.S. and Israel, and supported multiple terrorist-linked NGOs.”

      Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the committee, told JNS that the funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department and other federal agencies raised questions about the misuse of federal dollars.

      “You’re taking taxpayer money, you’re supposed to be doing good work,” the congressman said. “Why in the heck is it going to groups that are pro-Hamas?”

      “Our government is sending American tax dollars to NGOs that are undermining our ally—our best ally—the State of Israel,” he told JNS. “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

      The memo provides new details, after the committee released the initial findings of its investigation in 2025.

      It describes a web of financial connections, in which the Biden administration “provided grant funds to groups that contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government.”

      “Documents suggest that the Jewish Communal Fund, and its grantees, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and PEF Israel Endowment Funds, may have violated their tax-exempt status by funding groups engaged in radical anti-government campaigns in Israel,” the memo says.

      “Another U.S. government grantee, Abraham Initiatives, similarly led anti-government protests in Israel and, according to a 2023 audit, the organization failed to comply with anti-terrorism procedures in a USAID-funded program,” per the memo.

      Between 2016 and 2022, the Tides Network received $30 million from USAID, while Abraham Initiatives received about $2.05 million in government funds between 2018 and 2021.

      Some of the money that the Biden administration provided to these groups was intended for projects unrelated to Israel.

      In the case of Tides, the $30 million went to “a civil development program in regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.”

      The report argues that money intended for one project freed these organizations to fund activism in Israel to oppose the judicial reform efforts of the Netanyahu government.

      “Money is fungible,” Jordan told JNS. “It’s tough to track exactly, but it looks like some of this money was also then being run through one or two NGOs, winding up on college campuses to promote all the crazy antisemitic, anti-Israel stuff on campuses.”

      “Even worse yet, it looks like some of it maybe even funded organizations that had links to terrorism,” he said.

      In one example, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) “received millions of dollars in grants from the Biden-Harris Administration’s USAID, State Department and Department of Defense,” the committee memo says.

      RPA then donated $557,000 to its “affiliate and partner,” the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), per the memo.

      RBF, in turn, has “donated $190,000 to Defense for Children International Palestine, an Israel-designated terrorist organization with ties to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,” according to the memo.

      RBF has also made donations to Jewish Voice for Peace, one of the main organizers of anti-Israel demonstrations in the United States, and to Alliance for Global Justice, a U.S.-based non-profit that the committee alleges has provided funding to the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

      The Biden administration designated Samidoun as a front for the PFLP in 2024.

      (Hat tip: Director Blue.)

    • NYC’s Commie-in-Chief floats his plan to seize private property and redistribute it to favored cronies.

      New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled his administration’s new housing initiative on Tuesday to considerable fanfare. The plan, titled “Block by Block,” aims to build 200,000 new affordable housing units and preserve or stabilize another 200,000 over the next decade.

      The administration’s website describes “Block by Block” as “a sweeping blueprint to tackle New York City’s deepening housing crisis with the urgency and scale the moment demands. Spanning the full breadth of housing policy, from new construction to tenant protections to public housing, homeownership and worker protections, the plan lays out a comprehensive strategy to make New York City more affordable for working people.”

      The reality is that this plan would significantly expand the power and protections afforded to renters, fulfilling a promise Mamdani made repeatedly on the campaign trail.

      It would also impose steep penalties on landlords who allow their buildings to fall into disrepair and, in some cases, even transfer ownership of neglected properties.

      The mayor smiled broadly as he announced his administration’s astounding plan to seize and redistribute properties owned by neglectful landlords — a proposal taken right out of the Marxist playbook.

      “Through our new citywide campaign, Fix the City, we will focus on the worst landlords in New York City,” the mayor said, to much applause. “When necessary we will take aggressive legal action to remove negligent owners and property managers.”

      He continued, “And for buildings that have suffered chronic neglect, we will work to transfer ownership to responsible stewards – stewards that include community land trusts, nonprofits or even the tenants themselves.”

      If you’re wondering how low the administration might actually set the bar for “neglect,” and what new regulations and/or coercive tax measures it may impose on current property owners to achieve its goals, you’re not alone.

      And how much of this “neglected” property belongs to his political enemies?

    • “House Democrats Overwhelmingly Vote Against Resolution Honoring Law Enforcement Officers.” Of course they did.

      173 House Democrats vote against resolution honoring police amid rising attacks

      House Democrats split over a resolution backing law enforcement as assaults on officers surged last year.

      Just 29 House Democrats on Wednesday voted for a GOP-authored measure paying tribute to the “extraordinary sacrifice” law enforcement officers make and criticizing the defund the police movement for jeopardizing public safety.

      Meanwhile, 173 Democrats voted with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., against the resolution, while every GOP lawmaker present supported it.

    • This is your criminal justice system on Democrats: “Virginia: Illegal alien charged with rape released back into public then sexually assaulted another woman.”

      7News confirmed that a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the stairwell of an Arlington parking garage is in the country illegally.

      U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told 7News Reporter Nick Minock that Cristobal Liobardo Vasquez-Sanchez is from El Salvador and had prior charges for rape, sexual assault, property damage, drug possession, and larceny.

      Sounds like a good candidate for deportation back to El Salvador’s notoriously fun gang prison.

    • Speaking of tattooed Democrat lunatics, “Dem congressional candidate charged with terrorist threats after pulling gun on government officials.” “Kirill Basin, 40, allegedly threatened two Maui County workers during the terrifying incident at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday before fleeing the building in Wailuku, Civil Beat reported. The longshot candidate for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District was arrested at his home around 12:30 p.m. on a terrorist threatening in the first degree charge.”
    • Talafreakco.exe: “I’ve never seen a politician memorize his lines like James Talarico and it’s creepy as heck.”

      This guy thinks God is non-binary and loves abortion and transing the kids in the name of Jesus, but this right here is the creepy cherry on top of the leftwing cake:

      There’s being a robot, and then there’s … this. Do you think Talarico plugs himself into his charging unit at night, or does someone do it for him?

      And the cherry on top is you know that he’s absolutely lying about those random “I’m not a Democrat” voters coming up to him…

    • Disgraced Ex-California Dem Rep. Eric Swalwell is so sleazy that he’s even involved in secondhand sleaze: “Rep. Jimmy Gomez’s mystery makeout IDed as Eric Swalwell’s chief of staff.”

      The mystery woman Rep. Jimmy Gomez admitted to making “mistakes” with is his best buddy Eric Swalwell’s former chief of staff, The Post can reveal.

      The married California Democrat had an 11-month-old child at home when he was caught in a moment of passion with Swalwell’s minxy congressional aide Yardena Wolf three years ago.

      Gomez, the founder of the Dads Caucus in Congress, confessed Tuesday in a statement that he cheated on his wife after The Post’s reporting on the encounter with Wolf, which kicked off a House Ethics Committee investigation, yielding fresh tips on his conduct.

      Wolf, at the time 29, and Gomez, then 48, were spotted having an intimate moment against a car outside a party at Swalwell’s home north of the Capitol in the summer of 2023 — about two years into her tenure as Swalwell’s top staffer.

      There’s also this: “[Wolf] co-founded an AI fundraising company with Swalwell in 2024.” That’s evidently Findraiser.AI. “Findraiser uses AI to search your donor database so you don’t have to.” Creating a tag for it now so I’ll have it ready when the inevitable scandal hits… (Hat tip: Dwight, in comments.)

    • A rebuke for the media types who accuse Republican voters of mindlessly doing Trump’s bidding: “Zach Lahn, who went viral for confronting Obama in 2009, beat Trump’s pick for Iowa governor.”

      Lahn took down multiple established GOP politicians, including Randy Feenstra, who had the coveted Trump endorsement. Lahn had an endorsement from TPUSA and MAHA Action, but was not expected to win. He also won the coveted … Steak ‘n Shake endorsement?

      Lahn strongly promoted the message of “Iowa First,” with a focus on agricultural pesticides, health, and Chinese influence. He also rejected outside funding (the internet is noting in particular that he rejected funding from AIPAC).

      I wouldn’t necessarily count AIPAC backing as pro or con, save for the fact that they’ve backed some real squishy moderate Republicans lately (Dan Crenshaw and Tony Gonzales come to mind).

    • This is bad news: A confirmed case of New World Screwworm in south Texas.

      U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says a single confirmed case of New World screwworm is contained, as state and federal officials move quickly to quarantine the area.

      During a Thursday press call, Rollins reported that the single screwworm case was confirmed in a three-week-old beef calf on Wednesday in La Pryor, south of Uvalde. The U.S. Department of Agriculture immediately created a unified incident command team with the Texas Animal Health Commission and deployed the USDA Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service to the area.

      A 20-kilometer control zone was established around the detection site, and an expedited, targeted release of 4 million sterile New World screwworm flies a week is planned for the immediate area.

      Texas State Veterinarian Dr. Lewis Dinges told the press that his staff have reported that the infested calf is improving and they have not found any other infested animals on the premises. There has also been no recent movement of animals onto or off the premises.

      Dinges encouraged Texans to monitor their animals as often as possible and keep a close eye on any open wounds.

      A quarantine has been issued on all warm-blooded animals within the control zone.

      “Animals will still be able to move,” said Dinges. “We just need to make sure that they are moving safely and not moving the screwworm with it.”

      It’s a nasty, nasty critter, and extreme measures are justified in keeping it from spreading.

    • Turbulant times down south: “Bolivia’s defense minister resigns as anti-government protests intensify.”
    • Samsung is moving it’s U.S. Headquarters from New Jersey to Plano, Texas. “The relocation lands just eight months after Samsung hosted a grand opening at its new Englewood Cliffs campus on September 22, 2025.”

      The departure triggered immediate criticism of New Jersey’s tax and regulatory environment. Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, called the announcement “not surprising, but it is no less sad.” Siekerka pointed to New Jersey’s 11.5% corporate tax rate — the highest in the nation, confirmed by the Tax Foundation’s 2026 state comparison — and noted that the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in New Jersey has declined from 22 in 2018 to 15 in 2025.

      “These are the results of decades of anti-business policies in the state,” Siekerka said. “These are not accidents, nor are they coincidences.”

      Assemblyman John Azzariti, a Republican representing the 39th District, was more pointed: “Texas didn’t win Samsung by accident. They won because they have spent years creating an environment where businesses want to invest, grow and create jobs. Meanwhile, New Jersey continues to raise costs, add regulations and send the message that employers are little more than a revenue source for government.”

      Azzariti cited a pattern: in addition to Samsung, Mercedes-Benz USA, Honeywell, Hertz, and Sealed Air have all departed the state.

    • Speaking of relocating to Texas: “ExxonMobil Receives Shareholder Approval for Texas Move

. The approval comes after Attorney General Paxton filed a lawsuit against a shareholder advisory firm that attempted to discourage the move.”
    • “Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed teen daughter’s rapist.” No jury in the world…well, at least outside California and London. “The case against Aaron Spencer was dismissed by a judge on Thursday afternoon after law enforcement lost a dash camera memory card that may have captured the fatal October 2024 shooting of 67-year-old Michael Fosler.” (Hat tip: Dwight.)
    • “Bipartisan Group Introduces Bill to Protect Private Citizens’ 4th Amendment Email Privacy.”

      Two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives are co-sponsoring proposed legislation designed to protect the Fourth Amendment’s bar of warrantless government searches and seizures of private citizens’ email content.

      “The Fourth Amendment is clear: the government must get a warrant before searching an individual’s private property, including written communications. As today’s world has grown increasingly digital, that principle should apply just as strongly to an email inbox as it does to a desk drawer or file cabinet,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said in a jointly issued June 2 statement.

      “That’s exactly why I’m proud to cosponsor the Email Privacy Act — to ensure our freedoms carry into the digital world and that all communications are protected as the Founders intended. Congress must pass this commonsense legislation, so Americans’ rights are fully respected in the 21st century,” Davidson added.

      Under current statutes, law enforcement authorities such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) are able to acquire email content that is at least 180 days old, thanks to the now-outdated storage capacity limits in force when Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act in 1986 and in subsequent amendments….

      Joining the Ohio Republican in the House in co-sponsoring the Email Privacy Act are Rep. Suzan Delbene (D-Wash.), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

      Usually when the Evil Party and the Stupid Party get together to pass a bill, it’s both Evil and Stupid, but this sound like the rare case where they’re working on something that’s actually needed.

    • Heh:

      (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)

    • More true than not:

      (Hat tip: Sarah Hoyt.)

    • Shocker: Victoria’s Secret dumps fat models and suddenly they’re successful again.
    • “Things From Another World — the cult-favorite comic and collectibles chain owned by Dark Horse Comics — is shutting down all of its stores after 46 years in business.” Unmentioned in the article is that Dark Horse was bought by Swedish gaming company Embracer Group in 2022, and they’re busy Borging Dark Horse with a bunch of other media companies for an anticipated spinoff called “Fellowship Entertainment” with a bunch of Lord of the Rings licensed companies.
    • Winning: “NPR closes Climate Desk, fires climate reporters.”
    • Fellow SF writer Ted Chiang observes that “No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious.”

      Should we seriously consider the possibility that Claude, or any large language model, might be conscious? And if it has feelings, is it capable of receiving moral instruction?

      No. Absolutely not. Generative AI is harmful enough when we understand it as a conventional technology, but if we confuse fluency at generating text with consciousness or moral agency, we’re at risk of assigning responsibility to entirely the wrong parties whenever anyone uses a chatbot.

      Ted (who is a very smart cookie) then goes into great detail why they’re not conscious.

    • Rick Beato on the Fender disaster. “If you were to go to any music store, Guitar Center, and pull a Fender Strat off the shelf and go play it at a gig, well, I wouldn’t recommend it, because the chances of it playing well are extremely low. That’s why there are so many other companies like Sire, PRS, Charvel, tons of companies that make Strat style guitars that are far better than normal Fenders that you buy at your local Guitar Center.”
    • Daily Dose of Internet: “Videos that Broke My Brain.”
    • Critical Drinker really liked The Backrooms.
    • Amazon cancelled a new Stargate TV series because the showrunner refused to turn it into woke garbage.
    • “Meet DC’s new Transgender Wonder Woman!” No, I don’t think I will…
    • “Newsom Designates California Sanctuary State For Fraud.”
    • “Nation Shocked As Candidate With Nazi Tattoo Turns Out To Be Total Scumbag.”
    • “Attack Ad Against Republican Convinces Man To Vote For Republican.”
    • Boom! “Pride Parade Forced To Change Direction After Route Takes It Within 200 Yards Of School.”
    • “California Announces They Have Finished Counting The Votes, Ronald Reagan Has Won The 1966 Governor’s Race.”
    • “Disney Attempts To Win Star Wars Fans Back With New Jar Jar Binks Trilogy.”
    • “John Bolton Pleads Guilty, Sentenced To 5-Year Imprisonment At SeaWorld.”
    • Enjoy some Dusty In Here content:

      (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

    • Bonus dog content: Grooming four ambulatory potatoes Teddy Roosevelt Terriers.

      • I’m still between jobs. Feel free to hit the tip jar if you’re so inclined.





      Posted in Border Control, Budget, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Economics, Elections, Foreign Policy, Global Warming, Media Watch, Social Justice Warriors, Supreme Court, Technology, Texas, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

      Katie Porter Whacked Eric Swalwell To Come In 5th

      Posted on June 4, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      Everyone and their dog has gone over the results of the California election (pending of course, however many “mail in ballots” Democrats need to “find” to push their preferred candidates over the line), so I’m not going to rehash them here.

      But remember when California Democrat Rep. Katie Porter stuck the shiv in leading Democrat Eric Swalwell over being a sex pest? (Which I’m not complaining about. Subsequent evidence showed that Swalwell was every bit the sleazy scumbag the Porter-backed hit piece accused him of being.)

      But now the jungle primary results have come in, with the top two candidates in the race moving on to the general election. How did Katie Porter do?

      Would you believe fifth?

      These are preliminary figures, and “ballots” will continue to trickle-in under the states “Democrat fraud friendly” mail-in voting rules. But for now they are:

      1. Steve Hilton (GOP), 1,421,466, 27.6%
      2. Xavier Becerra (DEM), 1,318,536, 25.6%
      3. Tom Steyer (DEM), 1,019,332, 19.8%
      4. Chad Bianco (GOP), 580,389, 11.3%
      5. Katie Porter (DEM), 237,569, 4.6%

      That’s right, Katie Porter, who we were told was the Democrat insider’s choice for governor, and the reason then-leading Democrat Swalwell had to be shived, garnered less than 5% of the vote, coming in behind Republicans Steve Hilton (who is moving on to the general election unless Democrats crank up their fraud machine to ludicrous proportions) and Chad Bianco, Biden cabinet retread Xavier Becerra (also moving on to the general election) and charisma-free billionaire and 2020 presidential race flameout Tom Steyer (“Steyer spent $253,718,074 to get zero delegates”).

      Why Lumpy Gravy Batgirl was ever considered a “favorite” for the race is beyond me, unless it’s just feminists thinking “any woman is preferable to any man.” But she left a safe congressional seat to careen off into a ditch of irrelevance.

      Though shoving the odious Swalwell off the political stage does give her one noteworthy political accomplishment for 2026…

      Posted in Democrats, Elections, Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

      Bill Gates: Sex Machine

      Posted on June 3, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      I hadn’t intended to do another Microsoft story today, but I couldn’t find anything else I felt like writing about, and this story is too funny. I don’t think anyone had Bill Gates, sex machine on their 2026 bingo card. Or any other year’s bingo card.

      Bill Gates was accused of having more than 20 extramarital affairs in the fallout from his divorce from ex-wife Melinda, the billionaire told Gates Foundation staffers during a sullen town meeting earlier this year, according to a new report.

      Twenty. The mind boggles.

      While Gates, 70, owned up to having two affairs with Russian women referenced in the Epstein files during the February gathering, the Microsoft co-founder left employees stunned when he revealed that allegations related to more than 20 affairs had come up during the 2021 divorce proceedings, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

      “Affairs” in the sense that “someone paid these women to have sex with me.” That’s certainly cheating on your wife, but not really an “affair.” And Gates only admitted to that because he was named in federal documentation. If not for that, he’d no doubt still be claiming that he was as faithful as Windows is buggy*.

      While little is known about the affair allegations, Gates admitted to having sex with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova and a former employee at his nuclear power company, TerraPower.

      I wouldn’t think there would be much money in competitive bridge, and indeed the annoying Google AI answer informs us “In competitive bridge, you generally cannot make a living by winning tournament prize money, as most top-tier events do not offer cash payouts. Instead, top professionals earn money by being hired to play with and coach wealthy patrons.” Well, Gates certainly qualifies as “wealthy.” I think this arrangement should be classified as “Patron With Benefits.”

      Gates met Antonova in 2010 at a tournament, while the Russian met Epstein seeking financial backers for a bridge academy. Epstein later paid for Antonova to attend software coding school.

      “Learn to code” is presumably less insulting than “Learn to feign enthusiasm for doing the nasty with schlubby sexagenarian billionaires.”**

      The other woman, who has not been publicly identified, was referred to by Gates as a “Russian nuclear physicist” who he met “through business activities” and worked for two years at TerraPower, according to the Journal.

      Concerned employees were reportedly told that the woman actually worked for their parent company, which only left the staffers confused.

      Employees were confused because her org chart entry didn’t read “Boss’s Sidepiece.” And I bet “concerned employees” were very quickly told not to be concerned if they didn’t want to lose their job to an H1-B from Hyderabad.

      The real revelation here is that there are 18 other women, presumably not paid by Jeffrey Epstein, who look at sexual dynamo that is Grandpa Gates…

      …and went “Oh yeah, I want to great freaky with that!”

      Eau De Billionaire must be a helluva drug…

      And to help get that image out of your head, here’s late, great funk legend James Brown performing “Sex Machine” from 1971.

      (Hat tip: Director Blue.)

      *I originally had “as Windows is full of security holes,” but parallelism demands that a single word adjective demands a single word adjective as its simile.
      **If this actually happened in 2010, he was only a schlubby quinquagenarian at the time.

      Posted in Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

      Microsoft Devs Hate Eating Own AI Slop Dog Food

      Posted on June 2, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      There’s a phrase in enterprise software: “Eat your own dog food.” It means you should be using the software you’re developing internally, because you find bugs more quickly that way.

      Evidently Microsoft developers prefer the taste of Anthropic’s Claude over their own Copilot AI slop.

      Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that the company writes up to 30% of its code using generative AI. As it now happens, Microsoft is reportedly planning to reduce the use of Anthropic’s Claude Code — a move designed to push its employees toward GitHub Copilot CLI.

      For context, The Verge’s Tom Warren reported that Microsoft started opening access to Claude Code for its employees in December, including developers, project managers, and designers, allowing them to interact and experiment with the AI-coding assistant directly in their workflows.

      Warren reports that Claude Code gained vast popularity among Microsoft employees over the past six months, which has seemingly led to a pullback on its Claude Code push in favor of its own GitHub Copilot CLI. “While Claude Code has been a popular addition, it has also undermined Microsoft’s new GitHub Copilot CLI coding tool,” Warren explained.

      According to Warren’s sources, Microsoft’s Experiences + Devices division, which includes teams working on Windows, Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, and Surface, is supposed to stop using Claude Code by the end of June. These teams are expected to transition their workflows to GitHub Copilot CLI over the next few weeks.

      The report reveals that the decision isn’t centered on Microsoft pushing its staffers towards its own offering — there are some financial implications at play, too. Microsoft’s financial year is expected to end on June 30, which means canceling Claude Code licenses for its employees could cut its operational costs as it transitions into a new financial year.

      While speaking to The Verge, Microsoft’s VP of experiences and devices group, Rajesh Jha, indicated:

      “When we began offering both Copilot CLI and Claude Code, our goal was to learn quickly, benchmark the tools in real engineering workflows, and understand what best supported our teams. Claude Code was an important part of that learning… at the same time, Copilot CLI has given us something especially important: a product we can help shape directly with GitHub for Microsoft’s repos, workflows, security expectations, and engineering needs.”

      It’ll be interesting to see how the transition from Claude Code to GitHub Copilot CLI is received, especially since the vast majority seems to favor the former. The company’s initial plan was to have its engineers use both offerings concurrently, to compare their capabilities, and to provide feedback.

      Interestingly, Microsoft staffers have seemingly preferred Claude Cove over GitHub Copilot over the past few months, primarily because of the feature disparity between the two products.

      I wondered if “Claude Cove” was a typo, but no, it’s apparently a real thing.

      An opportunity for a really obscure meme.

      These sorts of stories pop up again and again: Everyone who is forced to use Copilot seems to hate it. Claude doesn’t seem to generate the same level of loathing, maybe because Anthropic doesn’t have the same opportunities Microsoft does to shove it down the throats of its existing users.

      Now we know that Microsoft’s Devs, just like its users, seem to prefer the taste of other people’s dog food over Microsoft’s…

      (Hat tip: Clownfish TV.)

      Posted in Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

      The Talafreakco Menace

      Posted on June 1, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      Now that Ken Paxton is officially the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, we can finally turn our full attention to the absolute freakshow the Democrats have selected to run against him.

      In case you hadn’t noticed, James Talarico is an cringey weirdo who is deeply out of step with the state he wants to represent. So here’s a roundup.

    • Don’t be fooled by desperate attempts to spin Talarico as a moderate.

      After cruising to the Democrat nomination for U.S. Senate in March, James Talarico now appears focused on a different challenge: convincing Texas general election voters he is more moderate than the progressive activist Republicans have spent years watching online.

      Republicans are already framing the effort as a “moderate media makeover” ahead of what is expected to become the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history.

      During an interview with CBS News the day after Paxton won the Republican Senate runoff, officially setting the general-election matchup, Talarico was asked about his assertion that there are six sexes and a 2021 statement in which he said, “God is non-binary.”

      “What did you mean by that?” the interviewer asked. “Do you regret describing it that way?”

      “God can’t be defined by human categories,” replied Talarico. “There are some statements I’ve made that I regret. Ken Paxton is intentionally clipping my cringey comments.”

      Yeah, because he said them. Why are they cringey? Because they reflect Talarico’s empty-headed, far-left social justice warrior blatherings. If he didn’t mean them, why did he say them? Was he lying then, or is he lying now? Or is he, like so many Democrat politicians, simply “post-truth” and willing to say anything he thinks people want to hear?

      In one recent appearance on the Texas Take podcast, Talarico attempted to downplay his past support for gun control measures, insisting that “I’m not interested in taking anyone’s guns.”

      I seem to remember a lot of similar statements from Colorado and Virginia Democrats who, after getting elected, immediately started trying to take people’s guns.

      Republicans quickly pointed to prior comments and legislation they argue tell a different story.

      In a 2020 appearance as a surrogate for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, Talarico said it “encourages violence against black sons and daughters” when President Donald Trump allows “weapons of war on our streets and in our classrooms.”

      Republicans have also highlighted legislation backed by Talarico that sought additional restrictions on handgun sales and concealed carry permitting requirements.

      Among the measures Republicans pointed to were proposals that would have imposed additional regulatory burdens related to handgun licensing, mirroring states like California and New York.

      You know, the same measures the Supreme Court has said are unconstitutional.

      Talarico has similarly attempted to dismiss Republican attacks over his past climate activism.

      On the Texas Take podcast appearance, Talarico argued Republicans fabricated claims that he was vegan.

      However, in a 2022 campaign video Talarico announced his campaign would “go vegan” as part of efforts to combat what he described as an “existential climate crisis.”

      I would wager that veganism is even a pander too far for most Texas Democrats. It’s like Talarico is trying to run for California State Rep from Big Sur or the Castro District.

      The issue intersects with another difficult political vulnerability for Democrats in Texas: oil and gas policy.

      In another recent podcast appearance with Democrat congressional candidate Bobby Pulido, Talarico attempted to position himself as supportive of the Texas energy industry.

      “The idea that politicians in Washington think they can eliminate this industry is something we had to fight against, something we have to fight against in our own party,” said Talarico.

      Republicans quickly countered by resurfacing climate proposals and activist rhetoric previously associated with Talarico, including legislation aimed at dramatically reducing statewide emissions and past activism promoting climate change curriculum mandates in public schools.

      Conservatives online also circulated previous comments from Talarico discussing efforts to inspire a “new generation of climate activists,” as well as his participation in demonstrations inspired by activist Greta Thunberg.

      He’s just a grab bag of every bad idea to ooze out of the radical left over the past half-century. Like Pete Buttigieg or Gavin Newsom, one gets the impression that Talarico is an empty vessel with no actual personality beyond plasticity to conform to whatever leftwing activist nonsense is the current Will of the Party.

    • Democrats are trying desperately to pretend that Soy Boy Talarico is some kind of moderate, and its not working.

      For most of the 21st century, the Great White Whale in the Democrats’ fever dream has been their “Turn Texas Blue” fantasy. In recent memory, this has given us such luminaries as Wendy Davis and the fakest fake Latino in the history of fake Latinos, Beto O’Rourke.

      On the one hand, I am usually a big fan of these efforts because they’re such monumental wastes of money for the Democrats. The Texas races become national affairs, and Dem donors from all over the country hemorrhage cash that could be spent on winnable contests elsewhere.

      On the other hand, I know how good the Democrats are at playing the long game. I never rule out the possibility of them eventually getting what they want, no matter how long it takes.

      This year’s Turn Texas Blue drama star is James Talarico. Talarico has positioned himself as a throwback Dem moderate, a departure from the present-day Dem craziness. It’s completely disingenuous, but the Democrats’ flying monkeys in the mainstream media are dutifully playing along with the charade.

      Here are some examples of this wingnut’s lunacy from a post that my HotAir colleague Beege Welborn wrote:

      Let me pull out these genuine nuggets of Talarico weirdness so we have them down in text form.

      • “Jesus Christ himself was a radical feminist.”
      • “The American flag is such a complicated symbol for most of us.”
      • “God is non-binary.”
      • “You can’t call yourself a Christian and reject the stranger seeking asylum at our southern border.”
      • “Our trans community needs abortion care too.”
      • “Modern science recognizes that there are many more than two sexes. In fact, there are six.”
      • “Prophetic voices like Jesus have helped me reckon with my own whiteness.” I’m no theologian, but I’m pretty sure that a fundamental tenant of Christianity is there there are no “prophetic voices like Jesus.” As the singular Redeemer of mankind, he is not comparable to “other prophets,” even those of the Old Testament, because other prophets are not the Light and the Way.

      There are a couple more, but I think you get the idea. It’s like he heard the most cringey social justice pandering from all the failed 2020 Democratic presidential candidates and went “Hey, I want to try that in Texas!” Hence the Babylon Bee headline “Democrats Denounce ‘Dirty Trick’ Of Playing Videos Of James Talarico Saying Things.”

    • Talarico’s embrace of every bad leftwing activist cause ever includes trying to trans your kids.

      I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, but the “theology expert” running for the U.S. Senate in Texas may be a huge weirdo.

      Sure, you knew he called God non-binary, he daydreams about trans kids, and he’s David French’s ideal of a Christian in the public square, but that’s not all of James Talarico’s problems.

      Yes, if your school has banned pornography for kids don’t worry, Talarico stocks it in his church’s library right between Left Behind Kids and Jesus Calling. Oh, and Talarico was raised in this church, has preached there several times, and remains closely associated with it.

      Yeah, anyone who checked out this book from this church should have their hard drive checked immediately.

      Here’s the Daily Wire with the treasure trove of oppo research:

      Books found in the St. Andrew’s catalog include the book ‘Gender Queer,’ which includes illustrations of oral sex and masturbation, and the book ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue,’ which discusses anal rape and incest.

      ‘This Book Is Gay,’ has a chapter on the ‘ins and outs of gay sex,’ while the book ‘Becoming Nicole’ tells the story of a gender-confused teen boy who identifies as a girl with the support of his family. In ‘The Courage to Be Queer,’ the author claims that ‘God is queer.’

      Other books in the church catalog include ‘This Book is Gay,’ ‘Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth,’ ‘Called OUT: The Voices and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Presbyterians,’ ‘The Courage to Be Queer,’ and ‘Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family.’

    • Yeah, about Talarico’s church:

      James Talarico believes that Christians are called to embrace progressive social views on everything from abortion to gender.

      The Texas Senate candidate’s conception of Christian moral teaching, which he tirelessly promotes as the foundation of his campaign, seems to have been shaped by the church he has attended since childhood, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas.

      The minister of St. Andrew’s, the Reverend Jim Rigby, often brings politics into his sermons, frequently criticizing the Trump administration from the pulpit. His April 26 sermon, delivered a day after the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, is a striking example. “There was an assassination attempt,” he told his congregation, “and I know a lot of people have mixed feelings” — he paused, and laughter rippled across the congregation — “but it’s really, really important if we’re going to be the healing agents of the world, to recognize that violence isn’t going to get rid of the problem that we have.”

      St. Andrew’s church leadership passed an official resolution against Christian nationalism on Tuesday, shunning the narrative that America has a Christian founding. The leaders promote the idea that the United States has fundamentally corrupt roots, primarily in the unjust acquisition of Native American lands and enslavement of black Americans.

      Advertised as Sunday school classes in St. Andrew’s news bulletin, the church’s summer “adult education” sessions are used to promote these ideas. The May 15–21 bulletin introduces one such class: “Christianity today, especially the American version, has discovered some interesting ways to ignore the message of Jesus,” it reads. The study aims to answer financial, political, ethical, and legal questions about Christopher Columbus and is rooted in sources like “art, Bible, Church documents, guest speakers, U.S. federal law, and the U.S. Supreme Court.”

      Snip.

      Throughout its studies and sermons, the church refuses to use terms for God that its members call “feudal” — words such as “Lord” or “King.” They have also rewritten hymns to be “inclusive” and read from the “Inclusive Bible” during services. During a Scripture reading from Galatians 5, for example, St. Andrew’s PowerPoint slide clarifies that “the word ‘kindom,’ often used by mujerista theologian Ada Maria Isasi–Diaz, replaces ‘kingdom’ because it represents an egalitarian realm and emphasizes our familial relationship with each other.”

      Another primary feature of this so-called inclusivity is the omission of any gendered language about God. On the church’s “Inclusive Language” web page, the church’s leaders connect what they call “sexist theology” to a culture of rape, and the leaders are specifically perturbed by the thought of little girls perceiving God as a “he” because they believe God is higher than gender. Talarico, a seminary student and Texas state legislator, has himself promoted this “genderless” conception of God on the floor of the Texas state house, calling God “nonbinary” during a debate.

      Now we know where the “cringe” first took root.

      Children’s education at St. Andrew’s takes the form of “inclusive” Sunday school curriculum and an expansive library of “banned books.” Members of the church insist that St. Andrew’s library collects these so-called banned books, a term they use to refer to texts that have been barred from school libraries because they promote a particular political view or deal with sensitive topics such as sexuality. Beyond the books already on its shelves, the church has a wish list through Bookshop.org with a range of shocking titles.

      Two of these books, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement, celebrate Palestinian activism.

      Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth suggests that the history of the Alamo was blown out of proportion to create “a historic Anglo narrative” that distracted Americans from the so-called true origin of this conflict: Mexico’s efforts to abolish slavery.

      Another one of these books, The Moral Circle: Who Matters, What Matters, and Why, criticizes the concept of human exceptionalism and advocates for nonhuman rights — including the rights of animals and artificial intelligence.

      There are also several books that discuss transgenderism and even one, Marley’s Pride, advertised for its “glossary of terms to help adults answer kids’ questions about the LGBTQ+ community.”

      The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

    • Speaking of Talarico’s religion, this Not The Bee piece literally popped into my Inbox while I was already proofing this.

      Texas state Rep. James Talarico opened a legislative session with a heretic prayer, invoked old Communist-adjacent phrase h/t @reddit_lies who spotted it on Reddit; I tracked down the original video.

      The prayer addresses God as ‘holy mystery’ with ‘so many names’ — Torah, Quran, Gita, Dharma — treating all religious traditions as equally valid expressions of the same God.

      Jesus is described as ‘a barefoot rabbi’ who ‘expressed’ God’s love… one expression among many implied.

      The closing line: ‘build a new world in the shell of the old.’

      That phrase has a specific origin. It comes from the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Preamble, written in 1905. It’s syndicalist labor movement language. Not explicitly Communist – but they wanted to abolish capitalism and the state all the same.

      Yeah, I didn’t have “Channeling the Wobblies” on my 2026 Senate Race checklist.

    • “The Democrats’ Greatest Fear: The GOP Will Turn James Talarico Into a Creepy, Unmanly Weirdo.” I’m omitting the opening segment on how Democrats institutionally hate men and children.

      The Dems can’t win elections without a loyal army of unmarried women — and they can’t drive ’em to the polls without selling ’em juicy red meat on the campaign trail.

      Yet the same red meat that motivates unmarried women will further alienate married men, married women, AND unmarried Gen Z men.

      So the Democrats settled on a novel strategy: They’ll still cater to unmarried women… but deliver their message via an “avatar” who cosplays as a macho dude.

      That’s the holy grail for the Dems: A man who thinks and behaves exactly like a radical feminist, yet looks and sounds like a rough-and-tumble Alpha male.

      It’s the strategy behind Graham Platner’s senatorial bid in Maine. (‘Cause what could be more manly than a Nazi tattoo?) It was the strategy behind Kamala Harris’ V.P. selection of “America’s coach,” Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.). And it’s the strategy behind their latest scheme to turn Texas blue, the Senate campaign of the Dems’ current “it boy,” James Talarico. There’s a lot riding on Talarico’s unique brand of masculinity.

      But the Dems are already fretting about Talarico’s masculinity being (ahem) neutered.

      From The 19th: “Republicans Want to Make the Texas Senate Race About Manliness”

      Republicans are focusing on one question in one of November’s top races: Is the Democrat a real man?

      Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who clinched the GOP’s nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, released a new ad Wednesday — his first of the general election — accusing his opponent, state Sen. James Talarico, of being too “low-T for Texas.” “Low-T” is a reference to testosterone levels and often used as an insult by influencers in the so-called manosphere, who say low testosterone makes someone weaker.

      Talarico has all the manly testosterone of Boy George wearing a frilly mini-dress to a Village People karaoke night at a Fire Island cabaret during Pridefest.

      White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and one of his top advisers, picked up on a similar line of attack, posting on the social media platform X on Wednesday that Democrats had nominated the “their first transgender senate candidate.” Talarico is cisgender and identifies as an LGBTQ+ ally; he is in a relationship with a woman.

      “She’s from Canada! You wouldn’t know her.”

      According to this report, “Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s mysterious beau is a vegan political lobbyist who previously worked as his chief of staff, The Post has learned. Brianna Menard, 30, describes herself as a “committed vegan,” yoga buff and cat mom who likes “dancing the night away” at local gay bar Cheer Up Charlies in Austin.”

      Oh, a girlfriend who just happens to like hanging out at a gay bar.

      (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

    • It’s hard to think of a list of candidate traits and positions less likely to appeal to Texas voters at large. But team Talarico is evidently embracing the freakshow reputation. “Talarico Campaign Embraces ‘Talafreako’ Nickname Tied to Far-Left Positions. Paxton coined the nickname while criticizing Talarico’s progressive positions. The Democrat’s campaign is now selling it on T-shirts.”

      As Republicans seek to highlight Democrat James Talarico’s record on transgender issues, immigration, and other progressive causes ahead of November’s U.S. Senate election, the lawmaker’s campaign is embracing one of the nicknames those positions have earned him.

      The Talarico campaign recently began selling merchandise bearing the phrase “I’m a Talafreako,” a reference to a nickname used by Republican nominee Ken Paxton during his runoff victory speech.

      “He goes by a few names that you may all have heard of,” Paxton told supporters. “Some people know him as Tofu Talarico, some people call him Six Gender Jimmy. I’ve even heard some people call him James Talafreako.”

      Paxton then explained the reasoning behind the nickname, pointing to Talarico’s positions on immigration and transgender issues.

      “He wants open borders, and even said a welcome mat should be at our southern border,” said Paxton. “He’s a threat to our children. He wants boys in girls’ sports, gender mutilation surgery performed on kids.”

      Paxton also referenced a comment from Talarico in which the Democrat said “trans kids” were among the things he loved most outside his family and friends.

      Now the campaign’s online store features apparel prominently displaying the nickname.

      There are times and places where this sort of “embrace the label” jujitsu might work, but I rather doubt that a statewide election in Texas is one of them.

    • Let’s end with two more Babylon Bee pieces: “Democrats Hopeful Average Texas Voter Wants To Ban Steak And Thinks God Is Gay.”
    • “James Talarico Taking ‘Not Acting Gay’ Lessons from Tim Walz.”

      • “Beto, but gayer” or “Tim Walz, but weirder” strike me as very poor personas to get elected just about anywhere or any time, but especially not Texas in 2026.

      Posted in Austin, Elections, Global Warming, Guns, Social Justice Warriors, Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

      Cammo-Clad ChiComs Caught Crossing Into Texas

      Posted on May 31, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      Remember how a couple of years ago we mentioned how military age Chinese men were among those flooding in during the Biden’s open borders fiasco?

      It’s still happening.

      Texas authorities arrested six Chinese nationals dressed in camouflage who were allegedly attempting to evade capture after crossing the border illegally into the United States, officials said, describing them as “special interest aliens.”

      Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), said on May 27 that the Chinese nationals were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents on a private ranch in Maverick County near the Texas-Mexico border.

      The six Chinese nationals were among a group of 12 illegal immigrants apprehended during the late-night operation, Olivarez said in a post on X. All six were dressed in camouflage clothing.

      The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines a special interest alien as someone “who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.”

      The apprehension was the second operation carried out in Maverick County on the night of May 26 involving illegal immigrants allegedly attempting to avoid detection.

      Olivarez said that tracking K-9 Bona and her handler assisted Border Patrol agents in tracking and apprehending seven illegal immigrants on another private ranch in the county. The group included nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, India, Ecuador, and Cuba.

      “These apprehensions highlight the ongoing efforts in deterring criminal activity along the southern border and the critical partnership between Texas DPS and our federal partners under Operation Lone Star,” Olivarez said in a statement. “Border security is national security.”

      Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a post on X that “Operation Lone Star continues nonstop to arrest illegal immigrants along our border.”

      Operation Lone Star, launched in 2021, is a Texas-led border security initiative involving multiple law enforcement agencies aimed at curbing illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and other cross-border criminal activity.

      Texas authorities have reported several similar incidents in recent months involving Chinese nationals apprehended after illegally crossing the southern border, with some also allegedly wearing camouflage clothing.

      In February, Texas DPS said troopers stopped a vehicle in Maverick County and discovered four people smuggled inside, all dressed in camouflage. One of the passengers was identified as Beibei Liu, 34, a Chinese national classified as a special interest alien.

      In another case earlier this month, a DPS Brush Team working alongside U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended six people during multiple encounters near Roma in Starr County. Olivarez later said one of the individuals was a Chinese national designated as a special interest alien.

      Authorities said all six individuals arrested in the Starr County operation were wearing colored wristbands commonly used by transnational criminal organizations to indicate payment status and coordinate movement along cartel-controlled smuggling routes.

      This seems like the sort of thing we should be paying closer attention to. How many military-age Chinese national men are already here, and how much of the anti-border control networks funded by Shanghai-based Neville Roy Singham are designed to to keep ICE from deporting them?

      Posted in Border Control, Communism, Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

      Two Videos About Death Rays

      Posted on May 30, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      Occasionally when wasting time on YouTube searching for content to post here, I come across videos that make an obvious pairing. Today’s topic: Death Rays!

      First up: Simon Whistler on the U.S. military’s Songbow Laser Cannon:

    • “Lasers are not just a sci-fi prop anymore. They are at the heart of a global race to develop the most powerful and precise directed energy weapons. China, Russia, Israel, and the UK are all in on the game. But with Songbow, the US Navy’s new laser cannon, America probably thinks it’s won.”
    • “Songbow will feature a 400 kilowatt laser. That is a major step up from its older sibling, the 60 kilowatt Helios. This extra energy will allow it to hit bigger, tougher targets faster and from further away. As modern warfare evolves, it’s the weapons surface vessels need to counter serious aerial threats like drone swarms and incoming missiles. And where traditional interceptors can cost millions, a shot from a song bow could be as cheap as a dollar.”
    • “There’s been mounting concern in recent years about the survivability of the US Navy’s vessels. Countries like China are now armed with large numbers of drones and anti-ship missiles. The modernizing of China’s navy has been steadily underway for decades with the result that it’s now a formidable foe.” Sort of. They have a lot of ships, but they still don’t have a deep water navy, and none of their current aircraft carriers are nuclear powered.
    • “There’s been debate over whether America’s surface vessels might need to stay beyond the range of these weapons in future conflicts. And of course, China is no longer the only threat.”
    • “Up until now, there have been two key limitations affecting the US Navy in this arena. First, there’s the finite depth of its magazines. In response to airborne threats, surface ships are limited to how many surface-to-air missiles they can carry. And secondly, there’s the wildly disproportionate cost to kill. An unmanned aerial vehicle, also known as a drone, can be made very little, but it can cost literally a fortune to take it down.”
    • “Needless to say, these problems are not unique to the US Navy, and the solution to them isn’t either. It’s the same solution being explored by governments the world over: Lasers. Or to give them their full designation, high-powered directed energy weapons.”
    • “The US Navy has been investing in laser technology for a while now. Its interest goes right back to the days of Ronald Reagan’s strategic defense initiative. Publicly launched in 1983, this was the plan to pioneer a space-based missile defense system which would include a network of lasers to protect America from nuclear attack. The press nicknamed it Star Wars.”
    • “It was the start of a long flirtation with the possibilities of laser weapons. In the late 1990s, the US and Israel came up with the tactical high energy laser for military use, also known as Nautilus. This used a chemical laser, one that takes its energy from a chemical reaction.” That didn’t work.
    • “A much better solution seemed to lie in electricity. A beam would instead be generated and amplified through thin glass fibers. As an alternative to chemicals, fiber lasers are smaller, safer, and better suited to mobile applications. They might not have the raw power of chemical lasers, but in theory, they’re much easier to deploy. Think less death ray, and more laser pointer kind of. The main challenge was generating enough power with a fiber laser. So, in the late 2000s and early 2010s, researchers began creating combined beams and array systems using the collective power of several smaller lasers.”
    • “And this is where the technological leaps are now being made. But whatever has gone before, Songbow has the potential to eclipse its predecessors. It’s been designed in direct response to increasing aerial threats like drones, projectiles, and hypersonic missiles. It follows on from the Navy’s Helios, a high energy laser weapon that’s now been deployed on the Arleigh Burke class destroyer. But where Helios can fire at around 60 kW, Songbow will pack a much stronger punch at around 400 KW. It does this by combining multiple 50 kW fiber laser modules to form one beam.”
    • “It’s hoped that the power density of a 400 kW class beam will be able to do this to bigger targets at longer ranges. Songbow’s key function will be as a drone and missile defense system, but its pulseed fiber lasers will also assist with remote sensing and target illumination.”
    • “It’s expected to be installed on naval surface vessels, but could also be deployed on land, making it really rather versatile.”
    • “The Pentagon is directing billions of dollars into directed energy weapons. The US Navy, Army, Air Force, and Missile Defense Agency are all channeling money into high energy lasers, microwave systems, and battlefield power systems. In April this year, the Department of Defense unveiled a $ 1.5 trillion budget proposal for the fiscal year 2027, described as the most expensive military outlay in modern history. Because as more and more US adversaries and potential adversaries invest in their own capabilities, maintaining dominance is now a spending priority. Jules Hurst III, President Trump’s Under Secretary for War and chief financial officer, has hailed it as a generational investment in the United States military.”
    • “The US Navy has invested almost $30 million into the [Songbow] project, with funding coming from the US Office of Naval Research. In June 2025, it announced that the contract had been awarded to Coherent Aerospace and Defense in Moretta, California. Not long after, the division was sold to the private investor Advent International. Now renamed Atalon, the company is focused on this growing industry, precision optics and laser systems for aerospace and defense.”
    • “Beyond all the marketing speak, there are some real advantages to Songbow compared to other solutions. Let’s look at what makes the list of pros. We’ve already talked about that 400 kW beam. Achieving this higher power would mean a drastically increased range and destructive capability. It could even have the ability to eliminate threats that other systems can’t. These might include hypersonic glide vehicles, which move too quickly for traditional interceptors, and hardened cruise missiles, which can’t be beaten by less powerful lasers. It’s estimated that at least 300 kW are needed to burn through the structure of a cruise missile in flight, making a Songbow laser comfortably capable. Now, this is yet to be proved. It’s all aspirational, but it’s what we’ve got to go on.”
    • “Next up, there’s its cost effectiveness. Wars are cripplingly expensive, as you probably know…The Navy spent an estimated $2 billion in munitions while countering Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aiden. Most galling of all of this is that the threats they’re countering can be really cheap. In the Russia Ukraine war, drones costing a few hundred dollars have successfully taken out multi-million dollar combat systems. Even the more expensive drone options require a huge spend to neutralize. An Iranian one-way attack drone like the Shahead can cost between $20,000 and $50,000. But the interceptor missiles needed to take it down will set the US back millions. And it’s here that the Songbow and other laser weapons could make all the difference. Directed energy is much much cheaper per shot compared to traditional interceptors. Songbow costs somewhere between $1 and $10 for every shot because it’s only ammo is electricity.”
    • “This energy source also lends it another advantage. As long as a ship’s power supply lasts, it can keep going. With an unlimited magazine depth, there’s no fear of missile stocks running low. Logistically, it’s a lot easier. In contrast, a Patriot missile battery, for instance, typically contains between six and eight launching stations, each capable of holding 16 PAC3 missiles or four PAC2s. At most, it’s got 128 missiles ready to fire, depending on its configuration.”
    • “And of course, at sea, space is at a premium. A surface vessel can only carry so many interceptors. Running low on ammunition is also known as ‘going Winchester.’ Ships equipped with the Aegis combat system, the US Navy’s long-standing shield of the fleet, typically carry up to 96 missiles. This might sound like a lot, but it’s a known limitation. When they’re gone, they’re gone.”
    • “And there’s another thing in Songbow’s favor, too. In the face of threats, laser weapons are fast. Where missiles or bullets take seconds to reach their targets, the Songbow is instantaneous. As soon as it’s fired, it’s arrived. And unlike conventional weapons, you can go again and again. No reloading, no waiting around. This is obviously very handy if you’ve got multiple incoming projectiles and want to move straight onto the next one.”
    • “Modern warfare is often dictated by quantity rather than quality. Launching a large swarm of drones, decoys, or projectiles is an effective way of completely overwhelming defenses. These are what strategists call saturation attacks. There are just too many targets to handle all at once. There’s not enough time to reload and refocus, and missile stocks simply run out. But in theory, as long as electrical power lasts, directed energy weapons could keep going.”
    • “We need to be very wary of overhyping this, though. A high energy laser still needs time to disable a target and move on. So, there’s still a limit to what could be achieved in a large enough saturation attack. But with more than one laser weapon, the advantage would be pretty sizable.”
    • “Directed energy weapons can also stay on target continuously. They can follow a threat and maintain their beam while it’s maneuvering.”
    • “It’s even rumored that Songbow will be able to defeat hypersonic missiles. These, you see, are a real fly in the ointment for defenders like the US. Hypersonic missiles are able to fly at speeds exceeding Mach 5 and change course unpredictably, making them notoriously tricky to take down. Contrast this with an inbound ballistic missile. In this case, conventional air defense systems can track it and calculate its future flight path. It tends to be fairly predictable. They’ll then launch an interceptor to meet it where it’s likely to end up. Hypersonic missiles, though, don’t play by these rules. They’re faster and they change course mid-flight, making it much harder to calculate their flight path. In theory, Songbow’s winning combination of high power, speed of light engagement, and capacity for continuous firing could see it win the day.” Set aside for a moment that Russia and China’s “hypersonic” missiles are more hype than sonic.
    • “However cool and futuristic it sounds, Songbow still has its limitations and its critics.”
    • “One of the main obstacles to any laser weapon is nature herself. Atmospheric conditions like mist, fog, and rain can all absorb and scatter light, diffusing a laser’s beam. And the same goes for things like smoke, salt particles, and if it’s used on land, dust and sand. So, this is not an all-weather solution. And in time, seaborne enemy craft could even be fitted with devices that create smoke or other obscurants to protect themselves. This would be a very easy way to counter a laser. Extreme sea conditions will also pose a problem. Lasers follow a straight line of sight, which isn’t always possible on a constantly shifting terrain like water. Rough seas and swells can easily disrupt a beam, especially over longer distances.” With modern gyro-stabilization, I suspect this is largely a solved problem.
    • “Even a ship’s vibration can cause difficulties. High energy lasers rely on precision, but the general operation of a ship is pretty unstable. As well as waves and the motion of the ocean, you’ve got the vibrations from engines and onboard machinery. Maintaining a stable lock while taking all of these things into account is going to be really quite hard.”
    • “And in practical terms, the sky, or rather the horizon line, is the limit here. A laser is clever, but it can’t magically arc over the horizon. It’s a definite physical limitation compared to a combat system like Aegis.”
    • “Another downside to high-energy laser systems comes in the form of thermal blooming. This is basically when a continuously firing laser beam heats up the air around it, causing it to defocus and become less effective. It’s a bigger issue when the targets are coming head-on in a straight line, known as a down-throat shot. At times like this, the beam has to sustain itself in one direction for a long time. The more powerful a laser weapon, the more troublesome this is. So, it could be a real problem for the 400 kW Songbow.”
    • “Operationally, all that power is something of a double-edged sword. We talked about the advantages of a weapon that can run from a ship’s electrical supply. Said earlier, as long as a ship’s power supply lasts, it can keep going. High power lasers, you see, need a hefty electrical supply and advanced cooling capabilities. A large amount of the energy they generate is just lost as heat, which needs to be dissipated. If it isn’t, the weapon will ultimately become damaged and will stop working.”
    • “Managing the temperature of a directed energy weapon is crucial. This means a specialized cooling system, and this is asking a lot of shipboard power systems, especially when they’re already prioritizing output for things like radar and propulsion. As journalist Charles Mitchell has written, quote, ‘The challenge is to cause a warship to act as a stable power plant and a heatsink at the same time as it is operating high demand sensors, combat systems, hotel loads, and other auxiliaries.” End quote. He argues that the laser fight won’t so much be limited by a ship’s fuel tank, but by its electrical and thermal headroom. If a laser is continuously being shot, its effectiveness is going to come down to how quickly its ongoing heat buildup can be carried off. But according to one naval industry report, even the Navy believes the Arleigh Burke class fleet of destroyers has quote reached the limits of its growth capacity. This raises serious questions about how easily older ships like these would be able to take on the Songbow’s enormous electrical and cooling demands. And this seems to be a challenge the US Navy is well aware of.”
    • “Already next generation surface vessels are in the works with designs for expanded power generation that will accommodate directed energy weapons. In December 2025, Donald Trump announced the Navy’s plan to develop a new class of ‘largest we have ever built’ battleships. It’s hoped that the first, the USS Defiant, will be ready in the early 2030s. According to plans, the Defiant will be nuclear powered to provide the Navy’s fleet with quote a significant increase in combat power by longer endurance, higher speed, and advanced weapon systems required for modern wars.” This is also the reason the Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers is powered by two nuclear reactors.
    • “Among these same plans, the Trump class battleship seems to include two 300 or 600 kW shipborne lasers and other laser systems for optical dazzling and sensor disruption.”
    • “Commentators have described directed energy weapons as central to the Trump class ship’s design, but this form of weaponry has always had its hurdles. Hurdles that have plagued the development of laser weapons since the 1980s. Even a Congressional Research Service report acknowledges the old saying, quoting again, “Lasers are X years in the future and always will be.”
    • “Only last year, one of the Navy’s top fleet commanders, Admiral Daryl Caudle, said the service should be embarrassed by its slow progress with the technology. Because although the theory behind their application carries weight, he believes the US still isn’t ready for prime time. Lasers might promise a lot, but they’re not yet a viable way to take out a missile. And at a symposium in 2024, Rear Admiral Fred Pyle told attendees the Navy had quote a tendency to overpromise and underdeliver.”
    • Skipping over the failure of the Army’s 300 kW Valkyrie laser system, which seemingly couldn’t hit milestones and was mothballed. “The Army decided the prototype would not be fielded to units. Instead, it’ll be used to inform the new joint laser weapon system. This laser initiative is a collaboration between the US Army and the US Navy. In theory, it’ll allow them to pull their research from past efforts to create a 150 kW system that could potentially be scaled up.”
    • “Similarly, in 2024, the US Air Force shut down its much vaunted SHIELD program, which had set out to introduce pod-mounted high energy lasers to fighter aircraft.”
    • “SHIELD had apparently been hit by many of these issues that we’ve already talked about. Technical difficulties, heat generation, harsh environments, all leading to claims that the technology still wasn’t developed enough for real world use. Of course, this doesn’t mean the whole concept of laser weaponry is being scrapped.”
    • “Despite the troublesome quirks of laser weapons, they’re in motion all over the world. The United States definitely isn’t the only global power taking part in this futuristic race.”
    • “You might remember our video about the UK’s Dragonfire laser. Like Songbow, Dragonfire has been designed to counter drones, missiles, and projectiles. And also like Songbow, it uses solid state fiber laser technology. The development of Dragonfire has been funded to the tune of million pounds.”
    • “In 2024, it successfully engaged an airborne target during an exercise. There at the Hebrides range in Scotland, the weapon took drones flying at 650 km/h down. Dragonfire is due to be fitted to a Royal Navy type 45 destroyer in 2027. Because of this, its exact range is still classified, but we do know that according to the official descriptions, the level of precision it offers is the equivalent of hitting a one pound coin that’s about the same size as a euro or a US quarter from a kilometer away. It’s capable of manifesting 50 kW of power.”
    • “And it’s a similar story with Israel’s Iron Beam, otherwise known as the laser dome, pioneered by the defense technology company Raphael. This is a 100 kilowatt high energy laser system. In Raphael’s glossy marketing, it claims that Iron Beam redefines modern warfare. And I mean, yeah, maybe it does. Reportedly, the Iron Beam is able to overcome the atmospheric challenges faced by other laser weapons. With lasers, the larger the beam, the more atmospheric interference you’re likely to face. The Iron Beam gets around this by shooting hundreds of small coinsized beams instead of one. These all converge on a target until it’s damaged or destroyed. It claims almost zero cost per interception, whatever that is. And significantly, it’s now up and running. In December 2025, the Iron Beam was officially deployed to the IDF after more than a decade in development. And in March 2026, social media footage seemed to show it in action intercepting a Hezbollah drone.”
    • “Israel may be the first, but it won’t be the last. Also hot on their heels are South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, India, and Japan. All are developing variations on the theme. And last year, China unveiled its own shipbourne weapon, the LY-1, a high energy laser weapon said to be an advanced testing.” China’s weapon systems seem to be long on hype and short on performance.
    • “Reading about high energy lasers, the term layered defense comes up a lot. At least for the time being, and probably for a long time to come, laser weaponry can’t be a one-stop shop solution. There’s simply too much to it and too many limitations to consider. And so, it will literally become just one weapon in a country’s arsenal. Systems like Songbow will sit alongside more proven interceptors so that if, for instance, sea conditions become rough, there’s still something a crew can do to deal with that pesky incoming drone.”
    • “Traditional projectiles might be fishily expensive, but they’re probably here to stay in some capacity.”
    • “As well as working alongside other defensive weapons, Songbow will also sit within the Navy’s laser family. If it’s successfully deployed, it’ll act as the big gun. But there are other smaller siblings there, too. Take ODIN, for example. It stands for Optical Dazzling Interdictor Navy. And at the time we’re writing this, there are seven ODIN systems on Navy ships. They’re there specifically to emit an infrared light that will scramble the optical sensors of a drone. Rather than shooting it down, they can effectively make it lose its way and crash.”
    • Helios, another laser defense system already deployed on the Arleigh Burke-class USS Prebel, successfully shot down Iranian drones this year.
    • “The global race to field directed energy systems is well and truly on, leading some to call this the age of laser weapons. It echoes past scrambles around stealth aircraft and precision missiles. Now, the question isn’t so much whether lasers will reach the maritime sphere, but how quickly countries can overcome the many hurdles to making this a success.”

      • Now the second death ray video. In my Black Friday/Prepper roundups, I’ve been including links for the IMALENT MS18, an insanely powerful flashlight that I don’t have a use case for, but which some people (say, ranchers or security guards for large complexes) might. Well, someone took its big brother, the IMALENT MS32, put a magnifier on it, and turned it into a death ray.

      Now, as a death ray it’s inferior to a gun as a self-defense weapon, and about 1/100th as cost effective for lighting a fire than a cheap electric lighter. But it’s still pretty cool. Err, pretty hot, that is…

      Posted in Military, Technology, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

      LinkSwarm For May 29, 2026

      Posted on May 29, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      More Blue State welfare fraud uncovered, some of which gets shipped overseas, more Russian oil refineries knocked out of action, a CIA operative with a fortune in gold, and trouble at a Texas dam. Plus: Puppies!

      It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!

    • “Food Stamp Fraud Pipeline Exposed: U.S. Taxpayer-Funded Groceries Shipped Overseas And Sold For Profit.”

      Food stamps and food pantries are intended to keep struggling Americans fed.

      What we found is that, in some communities, that food never reaches an American table. Instead, it gets shipped overseas and sold for profit.

      The scheme works like this. Residents in cities like Lawrence, Massachusetts collect food through two channels: purchasing it at local markets using EBT cards, and picking it up for free from food banks and churches. That food is then packed into large blue barrels, dropped off at shipping companies, and sent by container ship to the Dominican Republic. Once it arrives, it is sold for profit in local stores. The people doing this see nothing wrong with it. In many cases, they do it openly.

      According to a local that assisted us with this story, this fraud has been happening for over a decade.

      Over the course of several weeks, Muckraker Foundation traced the full pipeline from food pantry lines in Lawrence, Massachusetts, through shipping warehouses in New York, to store shelves in Santo Domingo. This is what we found.

      Lawrence is a small city about 30 miles north of Boston. It has the highest concentration of Dominican immigrants of any city in Massachusetts, and the highest rate of SNAP enrollment in the state.

      John has been delivering goods in Lawrence for over 11 years, six days a week, 35 stops a day. He knows the community intimately.

      “I’ve been witnessing the Dominican residents going to food bank lines and collecting non-perishable goods,” he told us, “and then packing it in barrels and in boxes, and then they ship it back to the Dominican Republic.”

    • “California Assembly passes “Stop Nick Shirley Act” to prevent people from uncovering fraud.”

      If the bill passes the state senate, “it would become criminal to film and reveal information on taxpayer-funded immigration services like healthcare, which would include daycare, and hospices; it also covers counseling services, translation services, and immigration legal services.”

      How is this not prima facia evidence that collecting fraud and graft is the highest priority of the Democrat Party?

    • And speaking of Democrats protecting fraud: “Seattle socialist mayor will NOT investigate fraud at Somali-run daycare centers, calls it attack on immigrants.”

      Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said the city has no intention of investigating fraud claims in taxpayer-funded social programs, claiming the concerns are an effort to target immigrant communities rather than address legitimate financial irregularities.

      In an interview with KOMO News, Wilson was asked if she had authorized the Seattle Police Department or the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to investigate fraud charges involving daycare providers, particularly those in Somali and other immigrant communities. The mayor responded: “No.”

      “This whole issue is not really about fraud,” said Wilson. “It’s about dividing and conquering.”

      Translation: We can’t let people investigate fraud as long as Democrats are the ones raking off the graft. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

    • “SBA Chief: Biden Admin Tried to ‘Hide,’ ‘Forgive’ $200 Billion in Fraudulent PPP Loans. ‘Think about it. At the SBA, we found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide and forgive and sweep under the rug.'”

      During a Wednesday cabinet meeting, Small Business Administration Chief Kelly Loeffler accused the Biden administration of concealing a staggering amount of fraud tied to the federal government’s pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program. She claimed that rather than aggressively working to recover the funds, officials tried “to hide and forgive and sweep under the rug” roughly $200 billion in “fraudulent PPP loans.” The explosive allegation, if substantiated, would represent one of the largest fraud scandals in government history.

      Loeffler told colleagues that small business owners are “hit particularly hard by fraud because they’re some of our biggest taxpayers in the country.” She continued:

      Think about it. At the SBA, we found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide and forgive and sweep under the rug.
      We’ve turned the first $22 billion of that over to Treasury for collection and to DOJ for prosecution. Our inspector general is already announcing that people are going to jail.
      …

      We’ve announced that 140,000 people have been barred from ever getting SBA loans again — defrauding the government of about $9 billion. So we are going to continue our work under the great leadership of Vice President Vance and appreciate the partnership because it’s really accelerated our ability to get the job done.

      She later posted a video of her remarks on X along with the following statement: “During the Biden Admin, PPP and EIDL [the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program] became some of THE MOST defrauded federal programs in U.S. history – robbing honest small business owners and taxpayers of vital pandemic relief, to the tune of $200 billion. … Under the leadership of @POTUS, the SBA is delivering long-awaited accountability for every criminal fraudster that the last Administration tried to forgive or sweep under the rug.”

      If you subtracted fraud, madness and spite from social justice and the Democrat Party, you’d have almost nothing left.

    • “CENTCOM: Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Kuwait ‘egregious ceasefire violation.'” Ya think?
    • U.S. seizes over $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency.
    • “Ryzan & Yaroslavl Oil Refineries Both Hit Hard By Ukraine.” It really got hit hard.

      Three oil tanks hit which were in between the units. Then hits on the connecting pipelines and the loading cranes as well surrounding the unit. Additionally, two additional oil tanks here were hit as well. So this was a pretty massive strike. As a result of this, it’s been estimated that between 90 to even 100% of the refinery’s processing capacity is out.

    • “Big Drone Strike Hits Novorossiysk Oil Depot.”
    • “Black Sea Fleet Attacked! Bora-Class Corvette Hit and Burning at Novorossiysk.”
    • “Storm Shadow Hits Taganrog Air Base: Repair Plant Hit!”
    • “Buyan Corvette Confirmed Destroyed In Caspian Sea.”
    • “Russian Shahed Hits Apartment in Romania.”
    • “Is Russia Losing the War in Ukraine?”

      A war that looked like it was a grinding stalemate being fought to the last Russian or Ukrainian is looking increasingly like one that Ukraine is actually winning.

      Ukraine’s tactical victories on the battlefield, as impressive as they are, won’t ensure victory. And as fascinating and gruesome as the videos of first-person drones on the battlefield are, those only explain why Ukraine is able to hold Russian advances back, and the modest gains on the battlefield Ukraine has made in retaking small bits of occupied territory.

      Ukraine has mastered drone warfare on the battlefield, and even more importantly, has built an incredibly resilient and innovative system that adjusts hardware, software, and tactics at a blistering pace that Russia could not hope to achieve with its clunky and corrupt procurement and training systems. That explains Ukraine’s increasingly solid tactical position; unpredictably, Ukraine is now its own most important weapons supplier, and is now teaching the rest of the world how modern warfare is conducted on the ground.

      But Russia can take a punch in the same way that Andre the Giant could. Ukraine needs strategic victories, and until, ironically, Trump weaned them off the teat of the West to the extent they were dependent completely on the West, all Ukraine could do was fight at the tactical level, guaranteeing a stalemate.

      At the same time that Trump reduced American aid, he also allowed Ukraine to take the gloves off and to put Russian assets in Russia at risk, and the results are stunning. Not only have the tactical battle lines extended into Russia, making logistics infinitely harder, but Ukraine is now systematically dismantling key parts of Russia’s economic engine and weapons production facilities.

      Virtually all major oil refineries in central Russia ‌have been forced to halt or scale back fuel output following Ukrainian drone attacks in recent days, according to official data and sources.

      The combined capacity of refineries that have fully or partially halted operations exceeds 83 million metric ⁠tons per year, or around 238,000 tons per day. That accounts for around one quarter of Russia’s total refining capacity, according to data and sources who spoke on condition of anonymity…

      One of Russia’s largest refineries, Kirishi, with capacity of 20 million metric tons per year, has been fully shut since May 5, according to the ⁠sources.”

      If you regularly read the LinkSwarm, most of this will be familiar to you. (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)

    • Swatting attempt on Justice Amy Coney Barrett?
    • Here’s a strange story with some disturbing implications: “FBI arrests former CIA official over $40 million worth of gold bars stashed at Virginia home.”

      The FBI arrested a former CIA official last week after investigators discovered hundreds of gold bars hidden at his home in Virginia, according to court documents reported by NBC News on Wednesday.

      The official, identified as David Rush, was charged with criminal theft of public money in a complaint filed last week in the Eastern District of Virginia. He has also been accused of lying to employers about his background for nearly two decades.

      The CIA and FBI confirmed Rush’s arrest to the outlet in a joint statement and said CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Rush for a criminal investigation.

      “After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” the statement said. “The FBI is working closely with our partners at the CIA and the Department of Justice as we continue to investigate this matter fully. We are committed to following the facts, ensuring accountability, and pursuing justice in accordance with the law.”

      The arrest comes after the FBI raided Rush’s home in Virginia on May 18, where law enforcement officers found more than 300 gold bars, which are estimated to be worth more than $40 million combined, according to the New York Times.

      The court papers do not indicate why Rush kept so much gold, but it comes after he requested and received “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” which the CIA was later unable to locate.

      “Work-related expenses.” What sort of “work-related expenses” involve tens of millions of dollars in gold bars? Bribing officials? Buying cocaine?

    • Faster, please. “US Probe of Embattled UN Gaza Relief Agency Expands to 1,500 Staffers Suspected of Hamas Ties: UNRWA Could Soon Be Labeled a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.'” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
    • Is the Texas Supreme Court finally going to kill Austin’s toy train?

      Texas’ Supreme Court has ordered a Travis County judge to quit avoiding a critical question in the fight over Austin’s troubled rail construction plan, known as Project Connect.

      In a May 22 ruling, the Court said trial courts can’t simply refuse to rule on jurisdictional challenges to avoid triggering appeals. Chief Justice James Blacklock didn’t mince words, writing that “nothing about this scenario is as it should be.”

      The ruling clarifies that courts may not ignore jurisdictional challenges while proceeding to trial, something that will be relevant to a similar case in which the City of McKinney is suing its own citizens to expeditiously validate its airport expansion bonds.

      In 2020, Austin voters approved Proposition A, which authorized a property tax increase to fund Project Connect. The original plan promised 20.2 miles of light rail, subway, rapid bus routes, and connections to the airport.

      The City of Austin formed a corporation called Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) to implement the project and issue the bonds.

      However, the project was significantly scaled back by 2022.

      What remained was a 9.8-mile surface line with no subway and no airport link. Community members argued the new plan constituted a “bait and switch,” since voters never approved the scaled-down version.

      This led a group of taxpayers to file a lawsuit in 2023 to stop ATP’s bond issuance.

      In response, the City of Austin and ATP filed a lawsuit against its own citizens under the Texas Expedited Declaratory Judgement Act (EDJA), seeking to validate the bonds and throw out any legal challenges they may face—including the pending taxpayer lawsuit.

      This little-known law allows bond issuers—including cities—to file an expedited declaratory bond-validation lawsuit against a very broad group of defendants, including all taxpayers, property owners, or residents whose rights might be affected by the bonds.

      The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is automatically served in EDJA cases and is tasked with informing the court whether the bonds comply with Texas law.

      “Issuing authority” details snipped.

      Last week, Texas’ Supreme Court ruled in the OAG’s favor, finding that a jurisdictional challenge must always be addressed before proceeding to the merits.

      “Proceeding to trial without first resolving the State’s challenge to the court’s authority to do so was an abuse of the district court’s otherwise broad discretion to manage the progress of the case,” reads the opinion.

      Chief Justice James Blacklock did not hold back in writing the opinion of the Court.

      “Nothing about this scenario is as it should be,” wrote Blacklock. “A court may not withhold a ruling on the government’s properly presented plea to the jurisdiction in order to prevent the government from appealing. And the government may not appeal from an interlocutory order that does not exist.”

      The Court therefore construed the OAG’s petition for review as a petition for writ of mandamus that would order the lower court to issue a ruling on the jurisdictional challenge.

      “The writ will issue only if the court does not do so. The judgment of the court of appeals is undisturbed,” wrote Blacklock.

      Now, the trial court must rule on the OAG’s jurisdictional challenge. If the court denies the plea, the OAG gets an automatic appeal that pauses everything. If the court grants it, ATP’s bond validation suit gets tossed.

    • “Maricopa board of supervisors, recorder now feuding over ballot boxes, amid ongoing legal battle. The county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution outlining the locations of drop boxes for the upcoming early voting period without consulting Recorder Justin Heap.”

      The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution outlining the locations of drop boxes for the upcoming early-voting period without consulting Recorder Justin Heap.

      The board approved the resolution while it continues to deal with an ongoing lawsuit with Heap about who runs specific election functions.

      In April, a judge ruled in favor of Heap, saying the board members need to hand over control of specific election functions to his office.

      The board sought a stay of the motion, but the Arizona Superior Court denied it. The board then announced it was appealing the lower court’s decision.

      Snip.

      Heap said he was not consulted before the board approved the resolution Wednesday on drop-box locations.

      “The law is not optional,” he said. “The court has already ruled that the Board does not possess unlimited authority over election administration, yet the Board continues attempting to exercise powers Arizona law assigns to the recorder.”

      He also said: “Voters deserve lawful, professional election administration, not political gamesmanship and last-minute public ambushes.”

      How are they supposed to manufacture votes for Democrats at the last minute without controlling the boxes?

    • “MSNOW Senior Washington Correspondent [Eugene Daniels] Thinks Abortion and Trans Kids Are ‘Kitchen Table Issues.’ ‘When you talk about whether or not people can have access to healthy abortions—safe abortions, that is a kitchen table issue, right?'”
    • Michigan Democrat house candidate says to stop thanking the troops on Memorial Day.

      Shelby Campbell…is a candidate in Michigan’s Democratic primary for the 13th Congressional District, which includes portions of Detroit and some of its suburbs.

      She has built her campaign around provocation — relying on edgy rhetoric, inflammatory stunts, and degrading online content to attract attention. Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, she released a new video urging voters to “quit thanking the troops for sacrificing their lives” for their country.

      Snip.

      I don’t want to thank these men and women who join the military because they had no other option. Like, they didn’t want to go to school. They didn’t have the resources. They don’t have the knowledge. They don’t have people to like, love them. And, [yawning] they go into the military. Military preys on more rural populations.

      She evidently learned nothing from John Kerry’s presidential campaign…

    • Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is now pressure-washing ads into dirty LA sidewalks.
    • Did Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey honor America’s fallen warriors on Memorial Day? No. He honored George Floyd.
    • “Come meet the all Native American ICE troop ‘The Shadow Wolves.'” “ICE apparently has an all American Indian squadron who patrol the Mexican border in the Sonoran Desert. Their job is primarily to use native tactics to track down and stop narcos and human traffickers on the southern border.”
    • “Texas woman says she was arrested for making Facebook posts about town’s water quality.” “Jennifer Combs says she would complain on Facebook about the brown water coming out of her faucet in Trinidad, Texas, and then every time the police would show up afterwards. Eventually, she says, she was arrested.” Sounds like a clear First Amendment violation.
    • Chicago: “39 people shot, 5 cops seriously injured at black teen ‘takeovers’ during Memorial Day weekend.”
    • “26-year-old man arrested over bomb and death threats targeting Erika Kirk.” “Jacob Wenske, 26, was arrested Wednesday night in San Antonio…Wenske was charged with two third-degree felony counts of making a terroristic threat with the intent to impair public service, create public fear of serious bodily injury and influence government conduct, legal filings revealed.”
    • Livingston Dam in Texas, where Houston gets most of its drinking water, is deteriorating.
    • Brandon Herrera demonstrates why you shouldn’t use a Vulcan .50.
    • Finally: “YouTube Announces Plans to Crack Down on AI Slop.”
    • Contractors who repair dilapidated homes in Detroit disgusted by how much Section 8 public housing voucher family trashed the home they were living in.
    • The BBC social justiced Dr. Who so hard that no one wants to play The Doctor.  
    • Things that ruin your life but take five seconds to fix. I don’t have any streaming service and I don’t lose my keys (night table organizer), but I’ll give the “no caffeine for 90 minutes after you wake up” thing a try.
    • A food emergency: “Some of Texas’s oldest barbecue joints close as meat prices skyrocket Even the state’s most celebrated restaurants are struggling to remain open as costs climb, with no relief in sight.”
    • Speaking of food: BeardMeatsFood takes on a 4KG Danish food challenge.
    • “Trump Surprises Don Jr. With Beautiful Wedding Gift Of Cuba.”
    • “Multiple Trump Assassins Accidentally Shoot Each Other.”
    • “Platner Smooths Things Over With Democrats By Covering Nazi Tattoo With Hammer & Sickle.”
    • “Elizabeth Warren Vows New Tax On Puppies.”
    • Speaking of puppies:

      (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

      • I’m still between jobs. Feel free to hit the tip jar if you’re so inclined.





      Posted in Austin, Border Control, Budget, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Guns, Jihad, Military, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

      Cornyn’s Slaughter: A Postmortem

      Posted on May 28, 2026 by Lawrence Person

      It’s pretty rare that a four term incumbent senator gets primaried out of office. Indeed, I think you’d have to go back to Alfonse D’Amato defeating Jacob Javits in 1980 for the last time it happened, back when New York was still capable of electing Republicans statewide. So it’s worth taking a deeper look at why John Cornyn got slaughtered by Ken Paxton in Tuesday’s runoff.

      And a slaughter it was. Cornyn lost by 384,000 votes, or 27% of people voting. Nor was it a geographical narrow victory for Paxton. Cornyn lost everywhere:

      Cornyn won two counties: Liberal, politics-obsessed Travis County, where Cornyn won by just over 2,000 votes, and (as commenter FM noted) rural coastal Kenedy County, the third least populous county in the state with 350 people, where Cornyn won by all of 6 votes to 2. If there’s ever been such a geographically dominant statewide victory in a runoff, I can’t remember it. (Dan Patrick walloped David Dewhurst by a slightly larger margin in the 2014 Lt. Governor runoff, but Dewhurst still won more counties than Cornyn did.)

      Some national media has gotten a key fact about the race wrong. No, it was not a dead heat until President Trump endorsed Paxton; polls throughout the runoff constantly showed Paxton ahead by substantial margins. Indeed, between Paxton, Wesley Hunt, and longshot Sara Canady, fully 58% of Republican primary voters cast their ballots against longtime incumbent Cornyn, which should have been a big warning sign.

      And if money was truly the only thing that mattered in politics, Cronyn should have mopped the floor with Paxton. Cornyn’s own campaign and allied Super PACs poured more than $100 million into Cornyn’s campaign to no visible effect.

      No, the reason that Cornyn lost was because Texas Republicans were finally well and truly tired of him. Cornyn’s playing footsie with illegal alien amnesty while claiming he was against amnesty was one of the biggest reasons voters rejected him.

      There’s being rejected by voters, then there’s being absolutely embarrassed.

      That’s what we saw in Texas last night. John Cornyn, who outspent his opponent Texas AG Ken Paxton 10-1, was absolutely wrecked at the polls.

      No incumbent senator has done worse than Cornyn in half a century, and no other election in U.S. history has seen two incumbent senators voted out in the same election.

      Cornyn’s holdout on the SAVE Act, his pro-amnesty leanings, and his refusal to push Trump’s agenda, along with Ken Paxton’s statewide popularity and effectiveness totally sealed the deal.

      Funny, Cornyn is a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act, but didn’t make himself conspicuous by trying to get the senate to actually pass it.

      The GOP is WILDLY out of step with its voters, who keep trying to send the establishment a message.

      Moreover, Paxton did better among Hispanic than white voters.

      The population of Hidalgo County, Texas, is almost 100% Hispanic. Like many other similar counties, it had heavy support for Paxton.

      While the number of Hispanics who voted in this primary was only in the tens of thousands, the fact that they supported the pro-deportation candidate even more than white voters is an important data point.

      If you spend any time with Hispanic Americans, you will know that they hate people who cheat the system with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. I am told this makes them racist.

      John Cornyn has become the poster boy for someone who votes right the overwhelming majority of the time, but still manages to be out of touch with the base on their biggest priorities.

      In a not-so different time and age, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) would still be considered one of the good guys: As a pro-life conservative who voted with President Donald Trump 99.2% of the time, just a generation earlier, he would’ve been lauded as one of our most staunchly conservative, reliably Republican senators.

      And not just reliably Republican: He’s reliably a winner, too. Sen. Cornyn hadn’t lost an election in 42 years.

      Yet last night, this four-term senator with a 42-year winning streak was smooshed like a bug, winning just 36% of the vote in his Republican primary runoff. Nearly two-thirds of his constituents rejected him!

      Just like that, his political career is over. No second acts, no chance for redemption.

      GOP politicians beware: The rules for Republican Party membership ain’t what they once were. Violate the new rules at your own peril.

      But don’t look to the mainstream media to explain the new rules. Reductive, knee-jerk journalists can’t see beyond the Great Orange Monster, interpreting Cornyn’s fate — as well as Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and a slew of Indiana state senators — as the umpteenth sign that Trump is a dictator/fascist/authoritarian.

      Examples snipped.

      The mainstream media defines “bipartisanship” as Republicans crossing the aisle to help Democrats. But when Democrats cross the aisle to help Republicans, they’re sellouts and traitors.

      Case in point: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.). Because he’ll occasionally side with Republicans, he’s a Judas to the Donkeys.

      Snip.

      Today, we expect a Republican district will send a loyal, dependable Republican representative to Washington. Helping our GOP “team” is considered part of the job. And given how narrow the margins are, we’re unwilling to sacrifice a roster spot for someone who refuses to play ball.

      It’s a luxury we can no longer afford.

      Congressmen and senators aren’t simply judged by how much pork they can peddle. Not anymore — that’s as out-of-fashion as parachute pants, Wham! records, and the mullet. Instead, they’re judged by how effectively they help their “team” advance the national football.

      That’s because the Democratic Party has changed. Until the Obama years, it was a coalition party: liberals, unions, Catholics, environmentalists, blue-collar workers, minorities, and women. Post-Obama, it became a vehicle for left-wing radicalism — and this alone became its North Star.

      Not compromise. Not meeting in the middle. Its stated goal was “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

      Which made conservative compromise an impossibility.

      The Republican Party and the Democratic Party have evolved to address each other’s deficiencies. It was probably inevitable: The political marketplace demanded it, because they’re competing products.

      So, when one party changes, so must the other:

      As the Democrats have embraced socialism, Wokeism, and trans/LGBTQ policies, Republican voters have recoiled in horror. We want our party to protect us from their madness.

      And that’s an all-hands-on-deck challenge.

      The Democratic Party nationalized state elections in 2008 with Barack Obama. It ceased to consist of free-wheeling, locally attuned legislators who represented different segments of the Democratic coalition and became a unified, unapologetic, left-wing movement that placed ideology first.

      The Democrats’ goal wasn’t compromise. It was victory.

      And during the Obama years, the Democrats won a lot.

      The MAGA movement responded by nationalizing elections on the Republican side, too. It’s one of Donald Trump’s most significant legacies, because pre-Trump, we were a party of John Fettermans — always ready to swing a deal and compromise — and the best we could hope for was electing the occasional John Cornyn, who’d sway his GOP colleagues a little to the right.

      It was an age when the Republican Party AND the Democratic Party were moving to the left. The only difference was, the Republicans moved slightly slower than the Democrats.

      The Trump revolution wasn’t just a response to Democratic Party excesses. It was also a stinging rebuke to the GOP establishment — and to Republican politicians who’d cosplay as senior statesmen, earning mainstream media “kudos” for (repeatedly) bending their knee before their Democratic masters.

      Snip.

      Under the old rules, “conservative” senators like John Cornyn were incentivized to move to the middle, because their Republican seats were safe. Nobody dared primary a sitting GOP senator; therefore, his only real threat was being too “extreme” and angering the left.

      As such, many conservative states and conservative districts had wishy-washy RINOs representing them in Congress. (Many were there for decades at a time.)

      It was inefficient. We were squandering precious resources.

      Not anymore. Now, on a national level, we expect more from conservative states and conservative districts — not less — and we’ll vote you out of office if you don’t deliver.

      Like it or not, there are no local federal elections anymore. Everything is national. For better or worse, politics has become the ultimate team sport.

      And the team that maximizes its resources is the one that will win.

      If you want a bright future in today’s Republican Party, the path is clear: Be an asset to your team. Become indispensable. Listen to your coach, know your role, and do it well.

      And let’s score some frickin’ points!

      (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)

      Finally, it wasn’t all about Cornyn’s manifest deficiencies. Ken Paxton, despite being grossly outspent, was simply the more conservative candidate. Hell, Paxton even tried to unseat Joe Straus for speaker back when he was in the Texas House. He was the most conservative candidate when he first ran for Attorney General. He started fighting the radical dictates of the Obama administration and social justice initiatives here in the state in his first term. As I’ve said many a time before, I say about Paxton what Abraham Lincoln said about Ulysses S. Grant: “I cannot spare this man. He fights.”

      For all the money backing him, Cornyn was a weak candidate who’d grown out of touch with the base and state he represented. But Ken Paxton got the nod to be the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Texas the old fashioned way: He earned it.

      Posted in Austin, Border Control, Elections, Republicans, Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments