December 18, 2025

Sunrise — 7:17.

IMG_5331

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

95 comments:

Ronald J. Ward said...

I read where Donald Trump is going to remand The San Andreas Fault to Joe Bidens Fault.

James K said...

Apparently the Providence Keystone Kops have identified a suspect and are hot on his trail! If it's that Lebanese guy everyone's been talking about, he's probably already safely back in Beirut.

There's also some talk of a link with the shooting of that MIT Prof in Brookline. Israel is reportedly investigating an Iranian connection.

Clyde said...

Clyde's Top 15 Favorite "New" Songs of 2025 - Part 4 of 16
#13 - The Moody Blues - "Gemini Dream" - Long Distance Voyager (1981)

Another song that I found via Susan's ELOish playlist. I had heard the song "The Voice" from the same album played on the radio, back in the day, but I don't remember hearing this one. Like Electric Light Orchestra, The Moody Blues were from Birmingham, England, and both bands influenced each other. When Long Distance Voyager came out, the music critics noted how much it sounded like ELO. In my opinion, that isn't a bad thing. I've listened to the whole album several times this year and enjoyed it.

https://youtu.be/j3QLFFVFpp0?si=SMSQJZbqSrB7e9nU

jim5301 said...

The kennedy center is now the Trump-Kennedy center according to its website. I predict the Washington Monument is next.

Ronald J. Ward said...

Move over Abe, next up is the Trump & Lincoln Memorial.

rehajm said...

…An early Festivus airing of the grievances- I got a lotta problems with the poor quality of the posts here lately. I’ve grown to expect the redistribution of NYT garbage. The worst, except for all the others. Try to improve…

FullMoon said...

Oh boy, just got the stoner vote.

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug.

“Marijuana can be legitimate in terms of medical applications when carefully administered,” President Trump said in the Oval Office.

rehajm said...

Duuuuude!

narciso said...

thats a great selection

narciso said...

as Triumph the insult dog would say 'for me to poop on'

its rather uninteresting, drivel the Times pushes up,
they could hire richard north patterson, or other potboilers for new takes,

narciso said...

for the Moody Blues

narciso said...

remember that short submission contest they ran when they thought the Russian hoax was real,

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starting to think the NYT may a a slight bias against Trump and conservatives. I think Althouse has been trying to slowly break the news to us because she sometimes seems to be a little skeptical of some of their articles.

Achilles said...

FullMoon said...

Oh boy, just got the stoner vote.

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug.


Marijuana is far less dangerous than porn.

narciso said...

marijuana seems to have effects between mere lethargy and maniac psychosis,

MadTownGuy said...

Carrier owner says cheap labor, CDL fraud tilt trucking’s playing field

"Small fleet owner Steve Troyer says compliant carriers are losing a fight against low-cost, non-domiciled CDL drivers

For more than three years, Steve Troyer says his family-owned trucking company has been forced to compete against carriers using low-cost, non-domiciled CDL drivers — allowing freight to move well below operating costs.

“The last three years have been brutal”,” Troyer said in an interview with FreightWaves, describing a freight market where many loads have consistently moved below operating costs since mid-2022.

Troyer, president of California Midwest Xpress, said downturns are nothing new in trucking, but the current cycle is unprecedented in both its length and severity. For much of the past three and a half years, he said, brokered freight moving more than 500 miles has routinely paid 25 to 75 cents per mile below his company’s operating costs.

“That just can’t go on forever,” Troyer said. “You eventually run out of working capital, you run out of equity in your equipment, and you’re forced to consider taking on debt to finance operations – a gut wrenching decision after years of losses & no clear turnaround in sight.”

Troyer’s account adds to a growing body of evidence across the trucking industry suggesting the current downturn is not simply cyclical, but a structural shift driven by labor arbitrage, fraudulent CDLs and uneven enforcement.

His experience echoes warnings previously raised by industry executives and former carriers who say non-domiciled CDL drivers and weak oversight have distorted freight pricing, rewarded noncompliance and placed compliant fleets at a severe disadvantage — with implications extending beyond rates to safety and long-term capacity.

OTR Solutions COO Grace Maher and former carrier owner Cliff Bates previously told FreightWaves that labor arbitrage, CDL fraud and lax enforcement are reshaping trucking and squeezing compliant fleets out of the market.

Maher said the industry is being undercut by transient, non-domiciled drivers who “run hard, undercut rates, don’t speak English very well, and then go back home before coming back and doing it all over again,” adding that American truckers “cannot make a living if those carriers continue to take the freight because they just want to get loaded.”

...

"Troyer said the solution is not more rules, but consistent enforcement of the laws already on the books.

“Whether it’s safety, labor or licensing — enforce it aggressively,” he said. “Make us all obey the same laws. Let everybody play on a level playing field.”

More at the link.

john mosby said...

Fullmoon: “ Oh boy, just got the stoner vote.”

Dude, where’s my ballot!? CC, JSM

Big Mike said...

I’ve been loosely tracking the Judge Dugan trial. Her entire defense took less than one hour and seemed irrelevant to whether she was guilty or innocent of attempting to obstruct law enforcement. But Wisconsin is an evil state where evil people live, so she’ll probably go free.

Achilles said...

john mosby said...

Fullmoon: “ Oh boy, just got the stoner vote.”

Dude, where’s my ballot!? CC, JSM

It is in the mail.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

So now we have to expect a bunch of stoners to get off their asses and remember to fill out and mail in a ballot. Or even worse, try to remember what date and place to vote.

It ain’t gonna happen.

Big Mike said...

According to local Minneapolis-St. Paul TV station KSTP, Medicare-Medicaid fraud runs deep in Minnesota:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on Thursday said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pulled claims for 14 programs identified by Minnesota officials as being particularly vulnerable to fraud and found $18 billion in Medicaid billing since 2018.*

While not all of those payments were illegitimate, Thompson estimated “half or more” of the $18 billion was received through fraudulent means, though he said prosecutors are still working to find the exact number.

“The magnitude of fraud in Minnesota cannot be overstated. It’s staggering amounts of money that’s been lost,” Thompson said.


_____________________
* Which is the year Tim Walz was elected. Coincidence?

FullMoon said...

"Achilles said...
.Marijuana is far less dangerous than porn."

Moderation is key. And, depends on who's watching and who's smoking.

12/18/25, 5:08 PM

boatbuilder said...

Decriminalizing cannabis seems like an 80/20 issue. When at least half the states in the country have "legalized" cannabis sale, possession and use, does it make sense to treat it, on a criminal basis, like heroin, cocaine, oxycontin and methamphetamine?
I suspect that there are very few voters under 40 who oppose Trump's executive order.

boatbuilder said...

The Dems have successfully timed legalization initiatives and referenda to boost the younger vote.

FullMoon said...

"narciso said...
marijuana seems to have effects between mere lethargy and maniac psychosis,"

Many different varieties and consistent results. Like drinking different types of alcohol apparently.

Big Mike said...

Speaking of ballots, Fulton County, Georgia, now admits that in 2020 it included more than 315,000 voted thst were not properly certified. “Honest election” my left buttock.

rehajm said...

But Wisconsin is an evil state where evil people live, so she’ll probably go free

…and go right back to her job. Not a peep from the bar. Nothing…

narciso said...

https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2001729866773745727

narciso said...

wisconsin seems to largely red with some blue clusters,
we have them in red states as well, but they don't overwhelm the rest of the populace,

narciso said...

that was thomas franks complaint, till they got a democratic governor in kansas, then surprisingly that went away,

narciso said...

https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/trump-announces-full-naval-blockade
here's where things could get interesting, the sanctions were imposed back before the trump presidency was innagurated

Mason G said...

"“Honest election” my left buttock."

- Most transparent election ever.
- Allegations of voting irregularities unfounded.
- Procedure lawsuits have all been dismissed.
- Isolated incidences found, but widespread fraud unlikely.
- The election was stolen. <- You are here.

Achilles said...

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

So now we have to expect a bunch of stoners to get off their asses and remember to fill out and mail in a ballot. Or even worse, try to remember what date and place to vote.

It ain’t gonna happen.


Most mail in ballots are not filled out by the person who's name it on it.

Them not knowing what happened is the point.

Kakistocracy said...

Trump to be added to name of Washington’s Kennedy Center ~ FT

"Performing arts centre’s board votes to rename events hub the Trump-Kennedy Center"

Once he’s gone, there will be a lot of work for sign makers removing his graffiti.

James K said...

Supposedly the Brown shooter is cornered in Salem, NH. Rumors that he killed himself.

rehajm said...

Tax free Salem NH…

Jupiter said...

Oh, Please! Don't twist this!

Peachy said...

Jealous of the cold and the snow.
It's cold now - but our heatwave is returning and the wind is too. I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas... just like the dust bowl bla bla bla...

narciso said...

ot the first of the frieda mcfadden soupy dramas, the house maid is premiering, with sensible sydney sweeney, and the silly woke amanda seyfreid,

narciso said...

guess who they make the hero of the story,

narciso said...

well sort of,

Peachy said...

Jupiter.
Satisfying!

Original Mike said...

"But Wisconsin is an evil state where evil people live, so she’ll probably go free."

You voted in Jay Jones.

Mary Beth said...

Oh boy, just got the stoner vote.

I think the benefit is bigger for the industry than for the consumers. Dispensaries will be able to use banks and will be able to start taking credit/debit cards. They'll be able to deduct business expenses on their taxes. Also, research will be easier.

Michael McNeil said...

Oh, I'll vote for Trump all right—but I was planning to anyway—and it will get to the ballot box.

FullMoon said...

WTF? Trump has challenged Biden to MMA match on whitehouse front lawn, Vance vs Newsome as well?

Probably not true.

Ann Althouse said...

“ Person of Interest in Brown Shooting Is Found Dead in New Hampshire/The authorities found the man’s body in a storage unit in Salem, N.H., two law enforcement officials said. They added that they believe he was also connected to the killing of an M.I.T. professor this week.”

NYT

Convenient.

Crimso said...

48 yo Brown student, Portuguese national

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I’m glad they finally found the Providence, Australia shooter.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

Convenient for whom?

FullMoon said...

48 yo Brown student, Portuguese national.

Close to graduation.

FullMoon said...

"Original Mike said...
Convenient for whom?"

For whom the bell tolls..

Dr Weevil said...

I understand that they may not want to identify the killer until they check for possible coconspirators, and maybe notify the next-of-kin, but that leaves an obvious question:

If the actual shooter has been identified, and he's dead, and it was totally unfair that so many people thought Brown student Mustapha Kharbouch did it, why haven't they come out and announced "The killer is not Mustapha Kharbouch"? If that's true, there is no reason not to say so, and very good reasons to say so: if innocent, Mustapha surely wants to clear his name as soon as possible. Why don't they do that?

Dr Weevil said...

I see from the latest comments that it's a 48-year-old Portugues, so not Kharbouch. Why can't they say so?

Prof. M. Drout said...

This all seems very squirrelly. Why was a 48-year-old Portuguese national a student at Brown but living in Florida?
48 is very old even for a PhD student. And what possible connection could the MIT plasma-physics professor have with the head of the college republicans at Brown?
It seemed to me that Brown was acting like they were covering something up because they were covering something up, but I just do not believe that they would be covering up the murderer. So what was it? Illegals on campus doesn't seem like enough to justify them making themselves look so bad.

Prof. M. Drout said...

It also seems like this guy's social media has been scrubbed already, though I am not great at the Wayback machine.

FullMoon said...

Daily Mail says:
Claudio Neves Valente

Peachy said...

"48 yo Brown student, Portuguese national."

what the? already sounds very odd.

Prof. M. Drout said...

The majority of the faculty where I teach live in Providence, so I have 28 years worth of stories about how crazily corrupt the city is. The mayor got sent to jail for assault, did time and was released, won re-election, then when to jail again for racketeering and corruption, served time and got out, and almost won re-election again!
Prostitution was legal in Providence from 1980 until 2009! Supposedly language banning indoor prostitution was "accidentally" left out of a "reform" bill and no one noticed until 2003.

Peachy said...

convenient indeed.

Gospace said...

Ann Althouse said...
...
Convenient.


Currently one of the most frequent comments on several other sites.

Can't wait to see the explanation for two seemingly entire different victims. Where's that connection?

chuck said...

Brown Ph'D student in Physics in 2001, also attended the same Portuguese university as the MIT physics professor, they were one year apart in age. The loose end is why Ella Cook was targeted, if indeed she was.

FullMoon said...

"President Donald Trump shared that he was both “surprised” and “honored” after the Kennedy Center board voted to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/12/18/trump-surprised-honored-by-renaming-of-trump-kennedy-center/

Peachy said...

always a happy coincidence that conservatives are slain.

Gospace said...

And in surprising news, Judge Hannah Dugan has actually been convicted by a Wisconsin jury. That didn't take long.

Peachy said...

Hot Air is disgusted by the useless tongue-bath leftist authorities.

"I'm sorry, you all. This is the most worthless, uninformative, cover-your-ass press conference I have ever seen in my entire life. It's a complete abortion.

8:58 CST 'This shows what Providence law enforcement is capable of" OMG

And now the university, $3.1M girl?

I'm out of here.

Maybe tomorrow there will be some kind of information, but this is simply disgusting. Let me amend that - it's revolting.

I've never seen a display like this in all my years. It's like watching the Grammys.

Oh, had to share this. Of course, the weaponized autistics at Reddit were on it long before the Providence coppers."

Peachy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim at said...

Dispensaries will be able to use banks and will be able to start taking credit/debit cards.

Which will make it much safter for the employees/owners as there won't be thousands and thousands of dollars on site ... including ATMs.

Not a week goes by where some dispensary doesn't get their front doors/walls caved in - stolen vehicle, of course - and the ATM dragged out.

Achilles said...


Ann Althouse said...

“ Person of Interest in Brown Shooting Is Found Dead in New Hampshire/The authorities found the man’s body in a storage unit in Salem, N.H., two law enforcement officials said. They added that they believe he was also connected to the killing of an M.I.T. professor this week.”

NYT

Convenient.


I have total confidence in Kash Patel to run a thorough investigation with the FBI and release a detailed report on what happened to the public.

Because he did such a bang up job with Crossfire Hurricane.

And the Epstein Files.

Most transparent FBI ever.

James K said...

Can't wait to see the explanation for two seemingly entire different victims. Where's that connection?

I hope we find out. The Providence press conference was a big circle jerk of everyone congratulating and praising each other, and acting as if their work is done. It should be just beginning. Who the hell was this guy? What was he doing the last 25 years? What was his motive? No one at the press conference seemed concerned with that.

Christopher B said...

Regarding the connection between the Brown and MIT shootings.

I found this by asking Google which building the Brown University shooting took place in

Officials were questioned about the lack of sufficient security cameras in the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building ...

I recall the room was being used by an econ class taught by that Jewish Professor but IIRC it was a final exam review/study session, not a regular lecture. Since the shooter appears to have attended Brown, and I would expect since he knew the MIT professor that he was studying physics, I would not be surprised if the cops finally figure out he simply went to one of the physics buildings under the assumption that only physics classes met there, or possibly he simply targeted the first class he found in the building he was most familiar with.

Dr Weevil said...

James K.:
Three entirely different victims, probably more. Besides the white Christian conservative woman from Alabama, a plump Uzbek immigrant male from northern Virigina with a history of overcoming serious medical problems was also murdered at Brown. Perhaps just hit by a stray bullet aimed at the woman, perhaps not. Nine students were wounded, and it's weird we don't know anything about them: if he was (e.g.) shooting mostly women, or mostly Asians, that might be significant.

Big Mike said...

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of a felony count of obstructing federal agents seeking to make an immigration arrest outside her courtroom, but, strangely enough, not guilty of the misdemeanor charge of concealing the fugitive. Perhaps tomorrow someone can explain. It’s midnight here in Virginia and I’ve had a long day.

rhhardin said...

I suspect Hillary's involvement

Mr. T. said...

Crooked, entitled brat democrat, soon-to-be-ex-judge found GUILTY.

No one is above the law.

But leftists think they are.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

"Not a week goes by where some dispensary doesn't get their front doors/walls caved in - stolen vehicle, of course - and the ATM dragged out."

That exact scenario happened to the dispensary my ex worked at in Los Angeles. The owner bought a big, tall safe, wardrobe cabinet sized to put all the pot in at night, and within a week some guys backed a truck up to a window, kicked it in, hooked up a chain to the safe and dragged it right through the wall where the window was. No one got caught. Same place, cops used to come in periodically and shake the guy down for cash, said they were collecting taxes or fees or some shit. Shady business, owner was shady as hell too. Good riddance to all of them. Scumbums.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Comment from Reddit about the dead shooter: “I’m guessing an extensively detailed manifesto that he carried in his backpack at all times as well as engravings on everything he owned will come out any day now.”

Mr. T. said...

All of Kak/Richsockpuppet/paidActbluetroll and his garbage takes, gaslighting, and legal fictions on corrupt, convicted leftist felon, Hannah Dugan, can be read here, where they are currently aging like fine limburger: https://althouse.blogspot.com/2025/04/so-shes-like-they-went-that-way-and.html#comment-form

john mosby said...

Drout: "Prostitution was legal in Providence from 1980 until 2009!"

Dammit, I knew I should have gone to Brown! They didn't cover that on the prospect tour....CC, JSM

john mosby said...

Weevil: "why haven't they come out and announced "The killer is not Mustapha Kharbouch"?"

Because then for the rest of his life, searches for his name will turn up "Brown U mass shooter" as the first hit. And most people won't read the actual articles.

AI products will probably even say he IS the shooter. I have had them give me answers 180 degrees out from the truth on very simple yes/no or numerical questions. CC, JSM

Breezy said...

That trucking industry info exemplifies the huge economic pain Biden inflicted on our country via letting illegals run rampant. Mayor Pete never said a word about it. He was so out to lunch. Democrats don’t care at all about us citizens.

john mosby said...

Ref MJ: I just hope we can get to a point where it's treated like booze and tobacco. To include laws and norms that discourage public smoking of it. In DC and Manhattan, there are almost literally clouds of the stuff you have to walk thru.

Just eat the gummies, dude. And you can glide blissfully through the public spaces all you want. Probably will improve law and order. But that smoke is just inhalable broken windows. CC, JSM

Ronald J. Ward said...

“It’s the right idea to talk about the economy more, but the execution was abysmal,” said one Republican operative who served in the first Trump administration and, like others interviewed for this story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly without fear of retribution. “He’s a very effective salesman when his heart is in it or when he’s on the attack. But the ‘I feel your pain’ speech — he just doesn’t have that club in his bag.”

Kakistocracy said...

I don't understand why Jim Jordan seems so afraid to let Jack Smith testify in public before his committee. Smith supposedly weaponized the federal government against Donald J. Trump and his allies. Why won't they bring that scoundrel—who abused his power—before the American people?

narciso said...

Because his lips move when he lies which is why he has been reversed 3 times at the Supreme Court

TwoAndAHalfCents said...

‘Inhalable broken windows’ - nice phrase, JSM! And I totally agree - the constant smell makes otherwise normal parts of the city feel sketchy.
Or perhaps a new breed of skunk has invaded all of our major metro areas.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Very interesting that Z now says he was told explicitly by Biden that Ukraine "would not be in NATO," yet publicly Biden kept insisting it was an open question, in order to provoke Russia.

https://x.com/mjbwolf/status/2002028852630229028

Kakistocracy said...

I don't blame Trump for the failings of his administration. He has been betrayed by the alcoholics, drug addicts, conspiracy theorists, religious zealots, and neo-Nazis that he put in charge of the government.

Ann Althouse said...

I said "convenient" because they have a dead body and they say this is the murderer from 2 separate incidents for whom they'd been searching for days. They have seemed incompetent for numerous reasons, and now, this corpse ties everything up with a bow.

Original Mike said...

"I said "convenient" because …"

Ahh. Thank you.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

temps up to 86 today, life is so much better in the warmth rather than the freezing weather I grew up in. Much better for age related muscle, bone and physical situations that cold weather exacerbates, Getting real tree in my t shirt is the joint!!

Leland said...

I agree with Althouse at 9:28am.

These people are slapping their own backs in breaking a crime, but what we have seen is incompetence over 5 days and then suddenly not just a breakthrough in solving the case, but it is over. Three separate events (the mass shooting at Brown, the murder at MIT, and dead body in New Hampshire) are solved and closed thanks to the testimony of a homeless savant posting on reddit and a rental car. Everybody is safe now.

If this was a movie, would you buy a ticket for that story?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Well the NYT must have choked when they wrote that they had looked and looked but "has found no evidence implicating Mr. Trump in Mr. Epstein's abuse and trafficking of minors."

https://x.com/Pro__Trading/status/2001780380337320075

Poor lefties and all their walls closing in! dreams!

Rusty said...

"We got these two bodies at Brown and another one at the MIT campus and no clues as to who did it."

" I know!" We blame it on the dead guy in the storage locker in New Hampshire !"

"Case closed!"

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