The Laffer curve wins again

Washington Post editorial: "Little to gain by raising taxes on the rich - New research shows the current top federal income tax rate is close to revenue-maximizing."

The study cited found that a top tax rate between 30% and 45% would generate about the same revenue over the long term and above 45% would reduce revenues.

And yet I am not stunned

Nor a little surprised: "Stunning number of California voters back wealth tax but admit it will kill jobs: poll."

No kidding: people want free money?  You could knock me over with a wrecking ball.

Extra - Powerline: "The adage holds that if you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul." 

Melania Derangement Syndrome

Sasha Stone: "The Critics Embarass Themselves With Their Melania "Reviews"."

Paragraph 19

LA Times: "‘Finally, a renter’s market’: L.A. rent prices drop to four-year low."  After telling us it's a classic economic case of supply and demand, we get this tidbit buried way down in the article:

In addition to supply and demand, Luna credits a few factors for the changing market. Last year, communities targeted by immigration officers, such as Long Beach and East L.A., saw a jump in vacancies.

Oh.  Must be a coincidence.

Extra - All of mainstream media is baffled by cause-and-effect:

"Time to move on to your next fake martyr"

Jim Treacher on Don Lemon: "Don Lemon Arrested for Breaking the Law"

The only people whose First Amendment rights have been infringed here are the congregants at the church Don Lemon invaded. He was part of the planning, he trespassed and refused to leave, and he called those churchgoers “white supremacists.” To make matters worse, he’s even profiting from his crimes. And we know everything he did because he was stupid enough to record it the whole time.

Don Lemon’s desperation for relevance is not a pass to break the law. A microphone is not a shield against the consequences of his actions.

If you disagree, why don’t you give us your home address so we can do the same to you?

No? Well, why do you hate journalism?

Next time, try this stunt at a mosque Donny.

Extra - NY Post: "Activist Don Lemon is not the journalism hill for the liberal media to die on."

Welcome to Sarah Lawrence

The tolerant Left at it again: "The Left Eating Its Own: Ezra Klein Shut Down at Sarah Lawrence College for Being a Nazi." 

But good intentions

Twitchy: "'Warmth of Collectivism' Fails: 10 Dead After Mamdani Orders End to Homeless Encampment Removals." 

That's (D)ifferent

Bruce Springsteen: man of principle.

Lemon squeezed

NY Post: "Ex-CNN host Don Lemon arrested for Minnesota church invasion." 

I don't know how people live in California

Red State: "From Pilot to Policy: California’s Quiet March Toward a Vehicle Mileage Tax."

There's a reason why California is expected to lose four Congressional seats in the 2030 census.

Don't know much about history

Dan McLaughlin: "Read a history book, Tim Walz"

If Walz knew his history, he’d see clearly that he’s not Abe Lincoln in this scenario, he’s Francis Pickens, the South Carolina governor who led the first state out of the Union and precipitated the crisis by demanding that federal authorities evacuate his state. Pickens and his supporters and allies, much like Walz and Frey and theirs, cited John Brown’s raid in order to insist that they were not the ones firing the first shot. Major Robert Anderson, like Tom Homan and Greg Bovino today, was left besieged by an infuriated and radicalized state.

...

But then as now, it came down to the fact that they couldn’t tolerate a Republican president controlling the executive branch and enforcing the same laws in their state that applied throughout the nation.

The axiom that the federal government controls federal immigration enforcement was re-affirmed by the Biden administration when they tore down barbed wire set up by Texas at the southern border.

That news isn't fit to print

The Corner: "The New York Times Edited and Buried Video of Pretti’s Earlier Confrontation with Federal Agents."

Journalists reporting on an event have an obligation to provide their readers with as many facts as they can muster and communicate. The Times has once again shown itself, through the sin of omission, to be more interested in narrative than in the truth. Despicable.

I don't think the hive mind at the Times thinks it is biased; instead it simply decides something is "not newsworthy" and the collective conscious is wiped clean. 

Regime change?

I'm skeptical. PJ Media: "The Iranian Regime Is in Worse Shape Than Previously Thought." 

I saw it live

PJ Media: "40 Years Ago Today, the Space Shuttle 'Challenger' Exploded 73 Seconds After Liftoff."

I was a senior in high school (yes I'm old) and my physics teacher gathered us in the school library to watch the space shuttle launch.  At first I didn't know what was going on but the jittery camera angles searching the sky coupled with the uneven commentary from NASA control revealed that something was very wrong.

I can't remember the rest of the day.  I think there was a general announcement to the student body.

One other thing I remember from the aftermath: some engineers were testifying in front of a select science committee on the flexibility of the solid-rocket booster O-rings in cold weather.  On the committee was famed scientist Richard Feynman who simply took one of the O-rings, dumped it into an ice water pitcher on the committee table, and then applied a clamp.  The O-ring was not flexible under those conditions, disproving in real time the testimony of the engineers present.

Debunked it right in front of the guy:

People without jobs are going on strike

Twitchy: "Liberal Alerts Us to Nationwide General Strike on Friday, Like Last Friday's."

Remember how the economy was driven to its knees last week?  Neither do I.

Couldn't make it a month

New York mayoral candidate Mamdani: "Free stuff for everybody!"

New York mayor Mamdani: "Never mind.  We're broke." 

This makes no sense

And it only diminishes the nomination process.  NY Post: "NFL world completely taken aback by Bill Belichick failing to make Hall of Fame: ‘WTF’."

In other news, our long sports drought is over:

Incentives matter

Yahoo Finance: "Before California, France tried a wealth tax. Macron repealed it after rich people fled the country instead of paying." 

This headline makes me so happy

Ace: "Stephen Colbert's Ratings Hit New All-Time Low

Update: Washington Post Braces for a FIFTY PERCENT Cut in Jobs."

I think these "comedy" shows and newspapers should talk about Trump more.

The theater kids are out in force

OMG, the drama in this Boston Globe opinion piece: "ICE brought fear to Minneapolis. Now we are standing up for ourselves."

After ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good, 37, a poet and mother of three, my son called me at work. ICE had been at his high school, and he didn’t feel safe walking home. He didn’t feel safe walking in his own neighborhood. And this was before Saturday’s killing by federal agents of Alex Pretti, a US citizen. My son, who was born in Minnesota, checks to see whether ICE agents are in the neighborhood before leaving school. He can go to his friends’ houses but must stay inside. His friends recently asked him to go sledding, but he declined because federal agents can be anywhere.

This is child abuse.  Grow up.

Mobocracy in Minnesota

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.  Jonathan Turley: "Mobocracy: Democratic Politicians Compete in Race to the Bottom Over ICE Shooting."

At this point, it may not matter. Only the mob matters.  Minneapolis Brian O’Hara explained: “even if there is an investigation that ultimately proves that at the time of the shooting it was legally justified, I don’t think that even matters at this point, because there just- there is so much outrage and concern around what is happening in the city.”

Walz has demonstrated politics of the lowest kind, stoking anger as citizens and officers alike are injured. Walz is pledging to go to court to stop further operations—a lawsuit that would be another frivolous filing. Previously, the state, including Attorney General Keith Ellison, filed to prevent the federal government from increasing forces to investigate fraud and immigration violations.

Walz, Maye, and others are following a long line of demagogues who sought to use social unrest to advance their political careers. For Walz, sending people into the streets has the benefit of not having them at home watching and reading about the growing fraud scandal in his state.

It is not a defense of democracy, but mobocracy in Minnesota.

I had no idea there was a "people are upset" loophole to enforcing the law.  This is not merely non-compliance with the enforcement of federal law - this is obstruction with Minnesota government officials urging their pawns to "put their bodies on the line."  

Extra - Hot Air: "Minneapolis Police Chief: Yes, the Mob Should Rule."  What a cuck.

More - I watched this video this morning and it's an excellent review of immigration law.  Bookmark it.

Democrats are going to shut down the government again

Townhall: "The Minnesota Shooting Involving Border Patrol Is Going to Lead to a Government Shutdown." 

Insurrection act

Townhall: "Armed Suspect Reportedly Shot and Killed During Struggle With Border Patrol." 

Hope you're happy, Tim Walz.

Can't sugarcoat it

The Wrap: "Washington Post Cancels On-Site Winter Olympics Coverage Ahead of Expected Layoffs - Managing Editor Kimi Yoshino says the decision to not send reporters to the Milano Cortina 2026 Games comes after assessing financial priorities for the year."

Flashback to one of my favorite moments:

“We are going to turn this thing around, but let’s not sugarcoat it: it needs turning around,” he said. “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience is halved. People are not reading your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”

Democracy dies in cancelled subscriptions.