Childish Media Games: How The SPD's "Germany Food Basket" Masks State-Driven Inflation

Submitted By Thomas Kolbe

Party politics today is essentially a mélange of media strategy, personality cult, and the constant struggle to expand one’s own sphere of power. At the Willy Brandt House, the Social Democrats’ command center, a two-track media strategy appears to have been agreed upon for this year: taking and giving.

From the wealthy, the party intends to take—by expanding inheritance taxes on corporate assets—what, according to the Social Democrats’ moral code, never truly belonged to them. To the citizen, meanwhile, they want to give a basket of cheap groceries. After years of steadily rising food prices, SPD strategists believe they have discovered the perfect marketing instrument—and behold: suddenly it’s about the purchasing power of “ordinary people.”

Of "Ordinary People" and the Emotionally Unstable

Yes, you heard that correctly. The ordinary man—that obscene phrase of left-wing salon arrogance, barely concealing its deep-seated contempt for real lives—is once again being invoked in a fight for survival. Lars Klingbeil and the self-appointed champions of social justice signal a return to their roots. After years spent cultivating the woke, emotionally unstable segment of society, attention now shifts back to the core voter: the worker.

Have the Social Democrats finally struck bedrock in their deep search for a solution to inflation and the impoverishment of the lower classes? Their idea: persuade major discount chains and food retailers, on a “voluntary” basis, to include a predefined basket of basic groceries at low and stable prices. It sounds childish—and it is.

Adding patriotic undertones to this piece of neo-feudal arrogance only makes the “Germany Basket” smell unmistakably like a product pulled straight from the SPD marketing kitchen.

Imagine its creation in practice: Lars Klingbeil, himself no stranger to calorie-dense cuisine, sits one weekend with his working group—“Germany Basket: The Ordinary Man Eats Healthy”—in front of the party’s position paper. With a mid-range Chianti and a juicy Pizza Tricolore (three-pack, Mediterranean Week) from the premium section of a well-stocked discounter, young socialists, union officials, and party grandees work their way, bite by bite, toward defining the basic provisions of the archetypal precarious household.

They are informed. They listen to the people. They are always close to the pulse of the times. Why not also at the breakfast table? Didn’t Germany’s minister of the heart, Robert Habeck, run his last campaign exactly this way—approachable, in a hemp sweater, sipping mate tea at kitchen tables across the republic? Perhaps the finance minister senses that elections are won as long as the pan is hot, the pizza is in the oven, and a cold beer doesn’t cut too deeply into the weekly budget.

One kilo of floury potatoes, gluten-free pasta for allergy sufferers, of course a non-alcoholic beer—sugary drinks excluded—a bit of greenery on top, maybe some long-life milk, plain yogurt, and a nostalgic nod to good old junk food, naturally soy-based. Thus it may soon take shape: the socially just, functionary-approved food basket, complete with the finance minister’s seal of approval.

Attention to Detail Required

Fine-tuning the Germany Basket forces the working group into excursions—reenacting life at the front lines of daily economic struggle, venturing into that terra incognita of the ordinary consumer’s harsh reality. They will advance to the places where elections are decided: the meat counters, the vegetable aisles with their astonishing variety, the endless freezer sections filled with goods from all corners of the world.

It would be instructive to attach to every product its pre-COVID price. Such an existential shock might spoil the soup for one or two party officials.

Everyone can participate in the Germany Basket—from the finance minister and the labor minister to union secretaries and representatives of food NGOs. After years of disagreement, a common denominator is quickly found—and lies just a few steps away, possibly already in the freezer of the SPD canteen.

Inflation and the World of Fables

How bewildering rising prices must seem in these circles, where inflation is imagined to be nothing more than the result of entrepreneurial greed and excessive profit-seeking.

That inflation might stem from an ever-growing state apparatus financing itself to a significant extent through the printing press would never occur to them. And that Germany’s energy crisis—the ban on importing cheap Russian gas, the nuclear phase-out, and the entire climate-regulation catalogue—might negatively affect agriculture and generate immense price pressure is likewise relegated to the realm of fairy tales.

Yet the surge in prices has been massive. Since before the lockdowns, food prices in Germany have risen by nearly 40 percent. Few households have been able to offset this increase through income gains. The problems cut deeply into household budgets. At the same time, open-border policies clog the housing market while regulation and rent controls systematically prevent new construction—creating an economic situation from which fewer and fewer households can escape.

In economics, one principle is well known: the cure for high prices is high prices. They signal investors to deploy capital and eliminate scarcity. That this does not happen is also the work of these culinary-minded Social Democrats. They cling desperately to price controls like rent caps and to the regulatory machinery of the climate complex. In the bureaucracy thus created—in a dictated framework that now extends even to the refrigerator—they find their power base.

Within SPD circles, they believe they have discovered yet another trump card in the attention economy. The Germany Basket is merely another media-political low point: tasteless, undignified, ineffective. The SPD is finished.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a German graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Tue, 01/20/2026 - 03:30

China's 200,000-Satellite Filing Sparks Fears Of An Orbital Power Grab

China has filed requests to reserve orbital slots for almost 200,000 satellites, prompting concerns it may be positioning itself to control large swathes of near-Earth space, according to the Daily Mail.

The applications, submitted on December 29 by the newly formed Institute of Radio Spectrum Utilisation and Technological Innovation, outline two constellations—CTC-1 and CTC-2—each with 96,714 satellites spread across thousands of orbits. If built, the system would dwarf SpaceX’s Starlink plans and could restrict access for rival operators.

Officials have offered little detail about the satellites’ role, fuelling speculation about military or security uses. According to China in Space, Nanjing University of Aeronautics says the network would support “Low-altitude electromagnetic space security, integrated security defence systems, electromagnetic space security assessment of airspace, and low-altitude airspace safety supervision services.” Analysts say this closely resembles SpaceX’s military-focused Starshield system.

The Daily Mail writes that the filings were made with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which allocates orbital spectrum. Once registered, other companies must prove their satellites will not interfere. While the spacecraft could have civilian uses, the move comes amid intensifying US-China competition in space.

Satellites now underpin modern warfare, forming part of the so-called “kill mesh.” The war in Ukraine has shown how vital satellite communications and jamming capabilities can be, and US officials have raised alarms about unusual manoeuvres by some Chinese satellites in geostationary orbit. One senior officer warned they are “sliding” across the GEO belt, behavior seen as inconsistent with normal communications missions.

China openly treats space as a strategic domain. President Xi Jinping has called it an “important strategic asset for the country that must be well managed and utilized and, more importantly, protected.” China’s satellite count has risen from about 40 in 2010 to roughly 1,000 today.

Despite the scale of the proposal, many experts doubt it will be realised. China would need to launch around 500 satellites every week for seven years—far beyond its current manufacturing and launch capacity. This has led analysts to suspect the move is an orbital “land grab,” reserving space for future use rather than signalling an imminent build-out.

As Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation put it, “It is possible they’re just trying to create some space for later on.” Even Chinese industry figures have played down the feasibility, with Spacety executive Yang Feng warning that “Leading in terms of filing applications does not mean surpassing in final execution,” citing major technical and capacity hurdles.

The move is notable given China’s recent criticism of SpaceX at the UN, where it argued that the unchecked spread of commercial satellite constellations “has given rise to pronounced safety and security challenges.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 01/20/2026 - 02:45

Much Defiance, No Strategy: Germany's Outrage At Trump's Greenland Policy

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

The defiant reaction of Germany’s business and political elite to Donald Trump’s tariff measures in the Greenland conflict reveals a remarkable denial of reality. It is increasingly clear that Brussels and Berlin are more willing to accept significant collateral damage in a dispute with the United States than to pursue rational solutions. It is high time to acknowledge their own weaknesses.

In the end, the dispute over Greenland’s strategic future unfolded as expected. In response to the deployment of a tiny contingent of European troops to the Danish-administered island, Washington wielded a substantial lever: trade tariffs. This now well-established tool is aimed at the eight nations participating in the action – including Germany, which contributed a mere 13 soldiers to this peculiar measure.

Starting February 1, an additional 10 percent tariff will take effect. If the situation remains unchanged, it will rise to 25 percent on June 1. Should the Greenland dispute escalate into a trade casus belli, it will directly impact the overall economy. Export-heavy economies like Germany could see up to 0.3 percent of their GDP wiped out.

Shipping Routes and Resources

What is this conflict really about? Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland’s strategic control is twofold. On one hand, Greenland’s rich natural resources – particularly rare earths – are crucial. On the other, it’s about controlling key Arctic shipping routes. Washington’s focus is on dominating the Northeast Passage along Russia and the Northwest Passage along Canada. These routes linking Europe, Asia, and North America could become strategically vital in the future. The Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada also plays a key role in the U.S. power game, providing access to significant resource zones. The North Atlantic region is generally considered essential for the U.S. government’s military security.

In recent days, Trump repeatedly emphasized that neither NATO nor the European Union had taken substantive political action in response to China’s and Russia’s growing influence in the region.

This raises the inevitable question: why is Europe suddenly so interested in Greenland? A clean resolution would undoubtedly be a referendum on the partially autonomous island. How this process will develop remains to be seen.

Defiance Instead of Strategy

Germany’s business and political responses indicate a willingness to escalate rhetorically. Representatives of German trade associations speak of a “U-turn” in U.S. policy. VDMA President Bertram Kawlath criticized the tariffs as politically motivated, calling the new demands absurd. Similarly, DIW President Marcel Fratzscher warned that Germany and Europe should no longer allow themselves to be extorted in the trade dispute with the U.S.

BGA President Dirk Jandura and VDA President Hildegard Müller labeled the announced tariffs grotesque. They would place an enormous burden on an already heavily affected European industry. Both called on Brussels to act decisively and strategically.

Notably, Fratzscher’s call for closer cooperation with China stands out. Yet only weeks ago, the rare earth supply dispute with Beijing nearly escalated – a player that enforces its interests just as ruthlessly using its resource leverage.

There is agreement that Brussels must now pick up the gauntlet thrown by the U.S. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced negotiations for a retaliatory tariff package, which could hit U.S. businesses in Europe with up to €93 billion. The signs point to a storm, but it remains unclear whether the U.S. administration will be impressed.

From a European perspective, two main options emerge: first, the long-discussed model of heavily taxing American tech companies – the so-called digital tax – could finally be implemented. Second, EU-proposed counter-tariffs could be used to apply pressure in upcoming negotiations with the U.S. administration.

The crucial question: how far can the EU play this power game before the economic costs become unbearable? Brussels has shown a tendency in conflicts like the Ukraine war to stick to maximalist demands while accepting significant collateral damage. The same dynamic now threatens in the trade dispute with the U.S.: European rhetoric is strong, but economic substance is vulnerable.

Much like in its standoff with Russia, the EU faces a visible power asymmetry against the U.S. economy, which grew at an annualized 5.5 percent in the last quarter while unemployment fell to 4.4 percent. Growth is driven primarily by private investment and a massive gain in productivity – the true measure of sustainable economic success.

By contrast, the EU – and Germany’s industrial heartlands in particular – are bleeding. Despite massive borrowing and extensive government stimulus programs, private investment and productivity gains remain elusive.

Power Asymmetry

Over the slowly escalating trade conflict hangs the Damocles sword of the Ukraine conflict and Germany’s associated energy crisis. The missed opportunity months ago to resolve a Gordian knot with U.S. mediation now exacts its toll. Step by step, the United States could adjust its security guarantees for Europe, exposing the EU’s economic and military vulnerabilities.

Washington’s new security strategy, released in December, makes it clear that the EU is no longer regarded as a strategic ally. Instead, the U.S. is prepared to pursue its own interests with an iron hand if necessary.

There is no denying it: under the current administration, realpolitik is back in the EU-U.S. relationship. Europe must recognize these new realities and approach them with a realistic assessment of its own position. And the current economic situation is anything but rosy.

Moral posturing over the supposed “Wild West methods” of the Americans is hypocritical. Was it not the EU Commission that, over many years, forced trade partners – most recently the Mercosur countries – under its climate-protectionist regime? Is it not at least equally problematic to drive one’s own population into economic hardship to enforce climate-socialist power fantasies and expand political control?

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a German graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Tue, 01/20/2026 - 02:00

Architecture Of Plunder: Why The Modern Democratic Party Is A Kleptocracy

Authored by Saggezza Eterna, 

In the lexicon of polite political discourse, we are told that "kleptocracy" is a phenomenon reserved for the decaying regimes of the third world—banana republics where dictators in gold-braided epaulets stuff suitcases with cash while their people starve. This is a comforting fiction. It allows the American mind to believe that corruption is something that happens over there, in places without marble capitols or Ivy League economists.

But this definition is archaic. It fails to capture the sophistication of the modern predator state. A true kleptocracy in the twenty-first century does not require a dictator with a Swiss bank account; it requires a bureaucracy with a grant-making authority. It does not steal with a gun; it steals with a regulation.

The modern Democrat Party is not merely a political coalition; it is a syndicalist engine of wealth extraction. It has evolved beyond the crude graft of Tammany Hall, where votes were bought with turkeys and beer, into a highly complex "NGO-industrial complex" that launders public treasury funds into private political power. They are not governing. They are looting. And they have built a moral fortress around their theft so that to question the robbery is to be branded a heretic.

"The modern kleptocrat does not break the law; he writes the law to make his theft mandatory."

'

To understand this, we must strip away the veneer of "public service" and look at the mechanics of the machine. We must observe how the Managerial Elite has perfected a system where the decline of the American middle class is not an accident of history, but the direct, mathematical result of their enrichment.

Part I: The Laundromat – The Non-Profit Industrial Complex

The genius of the Democrat kleptocracy lies in its ability to make the taxpayer fund their own political subjugation. In a traditional bribery scheme, a corporation gives money to a politician for a favor. This is illegal and risky. The modern Democrat machine has professionalized this by inserting a middleman: the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).

Consider the flow of money. The federal government, under Democrat stewardship, allocates billions in grants to "community organizations," "activist groups," and "non-profits" ostensibly for public welfare—voter education, green initiatives, or social justice programs. These entities are staffed almost exclusively by partisan operatives. The funds, stripped of their "public" designation, are then used to build voter rolls, organize protests, and push radical policy agendas that benefit the party that wrote the check.

It is a closed loop of money laundering. You pay taxes. The bureaucrats you did not elect send that money to an activist group you do not support. That activist group uses your money to campaign for the bureaucrat’s boss.

"They have not just seized the means of production; they have seized the means of distribution, turning the U.S. Treasury into a campaign war chest."

This is why the Left fiercely defends the bloated administrative state. It is not because they love efficiency; it is because the bureaucracy is their bank. Every new agency created is a new revenue stream for their client class. The teachers' unions are the archetype of this model. They compel dues from members, funnel those dues almost exclusively to Democrat campaigns, and in return, the party ensures the unions maintain a monopoly on education, free from the competition of school choice. It is a protection racket disguised as a labor movement.

The "Foreign Aid" grift operates on the same frequency. When billions are sent overseas to nebulous "democracy building" initiatives, we must ask: who are the contractors? Who are the consultants? Who sits on the boards of the NGOs administering this aid? Invariably, we find the children, siblings, and donors of the party elite. They are not exporting democracy; they are importing kickbacks.

Part II: The Regulatory Shakedown – Corporatism Disguised as Progress

If Part I is about stealing tax money, Part II is about stealing market share. The classic definition of fascism is the merger of state and corporate power. The modern Democrat party has achieved this synthesis under the banner of "saving the planet" and "equity."

The primary weapon here is the regulatory squeeze. When the government mandates "Green Energy" transitions or "ESG" (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores, they are not saving the polar bears. They are destroying small and medium-sized competitors who cannot afford compliance, while subsidizing the massive conglomerates that can.

"Regulation is the tax that time pays to power. It is the moat the elite dig to protect their castles from the competition of the peasantry."

Look at the "Green New Deal" infrastructure. It is a mechanism to transfer wealth from the productive energy sector (oil, gas, nuclear—industries that actually power civilization) to the speculative "green" sector—industries that exist only because of government subsidies. Who owns the solar startups and the wind farms? The same donor class that dines in Martha’s Vineyard. They use the power of the state to crush cheap, reliable energy, forcing the working class to pay higher prices, which effectively funnels wealth from the poor (who pay for energy) to the rich (who collect the subsidies).

This is why they despise the free market. The free market is unpredictable. A kleptocrat hates unpredictability. They want guaranteed returns. By using the regulatory agencies to pick winners and losers, they ensure that their portfolios outperform the S&P 500 by margins that would make a hedge fund manager blush. When a Speaker of the House can trade stocks in industries she regulates and beat the market with supernatural consistency, we are not looking at "public service." We are looking at insider trading legalized by the very people committing it.

The concept of "Stakeholder Capitalism" is the final nail in the coffin of free enterprise. It posits that corporations are not responsible to shareholders, but to "stakeholders"—a nebulous term that effectively means "political activists." It allows the party to extort corporations: adopt our cultural agenda, hire our consultants, donate to our causes, or face the wrath of the regulatory state. It is a shakedown, pure and simple.

Part III: The Cultural Smokescreen – Identity Politics as Camouflage

The most cunning trick of the modern kleptocrat is the use of "Woke" ideology as a distraction. While they are looting the treasury and rigging the economy, they need a smokescreen to keep the populace fighting each other rather than looking at the bank vault.

Identity politics is that smokescreen.

By obsessively focusing on race, gender, and sexuality, the Democrat elite creates a permanent state of cultural warfare. This serves two strategic purposes. First, it fragments the working class, preventing a unified coalition that might challenge their economic dominance. If the white mechanic and the black truck driver are at each other's throats over "privilege," they will not notice that the private equity firm has bought their houses and the government has devalued their wages. 

"Wokeism is not a moral awakening; it is the HR department of the kleptocracy. It is the shield they use to deflect scrutiny of their plunder."

Second, it provides a moral shield for their corruption. When you accuse them of theft, they accuse you of bigotry. When you point out that their policies have decimated the inner city, they call you a racist. They wrap their greed in the language of compassion. They are not destroying the energy grid to enrich their donors; they are doing it to "save the climate." They are not censoring the internet to protect their narratives; they are doing it to "stop hate speech."

This moral blackmail is the hallmark of the Machiavellian ruler. They claim the mantle of the oppressed while living like kings. They lecture the populace on "privilege" from inside gated communities funded by the very systems of inequality they claim to fight.

The result is a hollowed-out nation. The infrastructure crumbles while billions are spent on "consultants." The borders are erased to import a dependent underclass that reinforces their political hegemony. The currency is debased to pay for their patronage networks.

The Iron Law of Oligarchy

We are witnessing the "Iron Law of Oligarchy" in its final, terminal phase. The Democrat party is no longer a party of the people; it is a party of the managers, the academics, the bureaucrats, and the subsidized corporate elite. They have constructed a system where they can be wrong about everything—the economy, foreign policy, crime, the border—and yet never lose power, and never lose money.

To call them "kleptocrats" is not an insult; it is a precise taxonomic classification. They have privatized the state for their own benefit. They have turned the concept of "public good" into a private revenue stream.

The first step in dismantling this machine is to see it for what it is. Do not listen to their moralizing. Watch their hands. Watch where the money goes. And realize that the chaos, the decline, and the division we see around us are not accidents. They are the overhead costs of their business model.

*   *   *

Book Promo:

Saggezza Eterna and the material I write on this page, specifically about politics and power dynamics, is inspired by a book written in the 15th century called "The Prince" by a Florentine Philosopher named Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince" was banned by the Vatican in 1559 because its unflinching portrayal of pragmatic and often ruthless political strategies held a mirror to the hypocrisy of rulers, including Church leaders, exposing how power was truly wielded in contrast to professed ideals.

I highly recommend that anyone wishing to understand the true nature of politics and power dynamics read the book cover to cover. If you want to completely and utterly destroy any argument and increase your political savviness, "The Prince" will not disappoint. The attached link presents a translation from Italian into English that preserves the integrity of the book as it was originally written.

Check out the Hardcover by clicking here.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 23:30

China Flies Military Drone Into Taiwan Airspace For First Time

In the latest geopolitical escalation - because let's face it, all that's left now for the global geopolitical chaos to be complete is for Beijing to finally launch its much anticipated invasion of Taiwan - China sent a military drone into Taiwanese airspace for the first time, underscoring Beijing’s efforts to test the island's defenses.

The Chinese reconnaissance drone flew in the airspace of Pratas Island for about four minutes early Saturday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The islet is near the southern end of the strait, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Taiwan’s main island.

The unmanned aerial vehicle was a WZ-7 known as ‘Soaring Dragon’ according to a Taiwanese national security official. It flew at an “altitude outside the range of our air defence weapons and left following warnings Taipei broadcast via international radio channels”, Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the drone flew above the range of air defense weapons, adding that it left after warnings were broadcast over international radio frequencies. In 2022, Taiwan downed a Chinese civilian drone that flew near another one of its offshore outposts, Kinmen.

China’s military said on social media the aircraft conducted “legitimate and lawful” training.

According to the FT, analysts said the move highlighted Taiwan’s difficulties in countering China’s high-end drone capabilities and allowed Beijing to further undermine the country’s sovereignty.

“China has found another soft spot,” said Kitsch Liao, an associate director at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. “They can repeat this to demonstrate that they can enter Taiwan airspace with impunity. And what do you do if they start flying lower and lower? If you decide to shoot the drone down when it comes into range, China can blame Taiwan because it didn’t do anything before.”

Increasingly often China also harasses Taiwan’s outlying islands with its coastguard and maritime militia — armed fishing vessels that carry out paramilitary missions. Pratas has become a preferred target for those operations over the past year. On Wednesday, Taiwan’s coastguard published footage of two Chinese coastguard ships approaching the atoll. It is located about 420km from southern Taiwan, in waters both US and Chinese submarines would have to pass through in a potential future conflict.

The latest drone incident highlights China’s efforts to militarily intimidate Taiwan. Taipei rejects Beijing’s claims to its territory, and under President Lai Ching-te has stepped up efforts to bolster its defenses to deter any attack.

Last month, the People’s Liberation Army held live-fire drills around Taiwan after the US announced an $11 billion arms package for Taipei, one of the biggest ever. The PLA has in recent years held large-scale military exercises with the declared goal of intimidating Taiwan. It has also launched increasingly frequent naval and air patrols which are growing in scale and gradually moving closer to Taiwan. 

US and Taiwanese government officials believe that, while the US might help defend Taiwan in the case of a Chinese attack, it would not intervene over Pratas, which is part of Tapei’s disputed claim to sovereignty over the South China Sea as a legacy of the Republic of China.

Under US domestic law, Washington is required to provide Taiwan with the weapons needed to defend itself and to maintain the capacity of the US to resist any force or coercion that would jeopardise Taiwan’s security.

“China could severely weaken Taiwan’s morale and confidence in defending itself if it got away with seizing Pratas,” said a foreign military official in Asia.

Taiwan’s defense minister Wellington Koo told lawmakers in 2024 that the country’s armed forces would view the unauthorized entry of any Chinese military aircraft, ship or other asset into Taiwan’s territorial airspace or waters as a “first strike” against which Taiwan could order a counterstrike in self-defense. But according to Taiwan’s latest quadrennial defence review published last March, the military is still working on rules which would spell out under what circumstances frontline officers would be empowered to order such a move.

Two Taiwanese officials said Taipei would exercise “extreme caution” to avoid any incident at Pratas sparking a broader conflict. “We would consult with our ally,” one of the officials said, referring to the US.  

Also Saturday, the Chinese military said in a statement on social media that it tracked the USS John Finn, a guided-missile destroyer, and a US oceanographic survey vessel as they passed through the Taiwan Strait. The US usually sends warships through the busy shipping lane following major Chinese military maneuvers.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 23:00

Eric Swalwell's Bid For California Governor Hits Snag Over Residency Claims

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has a major hurdle to overcome in his bid to succeed California Governor Gavin Newsom - he has been accused of not living in the Golden State. 

California's constitution requires gubernatorial candidates to have resided in the state for the previous five years, however a new lawsuit from conservative activist and filmmaker Joel Gilbert claims that Swalwell's "home address" listed on his election paperwork is actually a lawyer's office. 

According to Gilbert, Swalwell actually lives in a $1.2 million, six-bedroom mansion in Washington DC with his wife Brittany Watts, who apparently didn't take his last name (how progressive!) and their three children. The couple listed the DC home as their 'principal residence' when they took out a mortgage on it in April 2022. 

According to Gilbert's complaint, Swalwell's property was listed as the couple's 'principal residence' when they took out a mortgage in April 2022

Swalwell doesn't appear to own any property in California at all, Gilbert claims in a five-page petition for writ of mandate filed against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber - accusing Swalwell of perjury, and imploring Weber to declare him ineligible to succeed Newsom in November's election, the Daily Mail reports.

Swalwell filed a California Form 501 – Candidate Intention Statement – on December 4 giving his address as a business suite in a Capitol Mall, Sacramento, high-rise.

'That address is not a residence. It is the office address of Swalwell's campaign attorneys,' Gilbert claims.

'Form 501 is signed under penalty of perjury, and the use of a non-residential address constitutes a material representation in a filing required to establish candidate qualifications,' he claimed

The suit asks Weber to 'fulfill her constitutional duty' by disqualifying Swalwell from a crowded field that includes Democrat Congresswoman Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and conservative commentator Steve Hilton.

Failing to do so would cause 'irreparable harm' to California voters and 'undermine ballot integrity.' -Daily Mail

"Eric Swalwell has no California address," Gilbert told the outlet. "So either he's guilty of mortgage fraud in Washington, DC, or he's ineligible to run for Governor of California, he can't have it both ways." 

Swalwell's Candidate Intention Statement on December 4 lists his address as a business suite in a Sacramento high-rise

Swalwell has represented the San Francisco Bay Area since 2012, and drew notable criticism over an alleged extramarital relationship with woman suspected of being a Chinese honeytrap spy, Christine Fang (Fang Fang), who came to the US as a college student before spending years cozying up to prominent California politicians. She reportedly worked on his 2014 re-election campaign before evaporating into thin air. 

Swalwell and Fang

The alleged affair cost Swalwell his spot on the House Intelligence Committee, however the Mail notes that no further action was taken after a two-year standards probe. 

Read the rest of the report here...

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 22:00

Socialism Is A Noun - A Synonym For Socialism Is Theft

Submitted by Mitchell Vexler,

socialism is defined as a political system advocating that the means of production and distribution are owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Words that you may have heard of being representative of socialism are collectivism, communalism, communism, leftism, progressivism, Marxism, Bolshevism, Leninism, Trotskyism, welfarism, Maoism, neo-Marxism, social democracy, consumer socialism, utopian socialism, classless society, collective ownership, public ownership, state ownership, Stalinism, Sovietism Marxism-Leninism, Eurocommunism, totalitarianism, radical socialism, state ownership, rule of the proletariat, and state socialism.

All of these synonyms can be replaced with 1 word, and that word is THEFT.

Theft of your money or theft of any person / victim who earns money and pays taxes, where those taxes go into pet projects which the victims did not vote for and or to cover the compound cumulative interest on the non-stop production of fraud created by the fraudsters (socialists).

It is no coincidence that the 2 largest purveyors of fraud in the U.S. are the Federal Reserve and the School Districts, which own the Central Appraisal Districts, both of which utilize the mantra of printing money. One, the Federal Reserve via its right hand, the U.S. Treasury, prints money, not backed by assets, at will. The other being the School Districts which print their money by committing accounting fraud and bond fraud, demanding continuous bond raises, delivering pre-determined budgets for their owned CAD to contrive additional property valuation fraud and thus over taxation for you the victim to pay for in perpetuity, and as a result the median household income (MHI) shrinks at an alarming rate.  In other words, the FED, School Districts, and CADs are socialist organizations that execute the plan socialism while simultaneously paying themselves which is again, transferring your money via fraud into their pockets.

This Article is now part of a series of recent important articles all of which should be read by every citizen in the U.S. & Canada, and any country across the world, to help people understand that socialism is the scourge of any society.

• Chain the Doors of the Federal Reserve

• The Federal Reserve is a Failure - Thesis & Fact Part 2

• I Don’t Know What They Think They Know, What I Do Know is This…

• We Live in the World of Fraud and Fraudsters – How to Protect Yourself

• Daily Affordability is Unobtainable - What can you do about it

• How to Audit Your School District & Central Appraisal District

The reason why these articles are so important is that our goal is to expose the fraud that touches the lives of every property owner and also, directly or indirectly, every single Citizen.

It has become clear in recent years that many people paid for an education that did not create a return on their investment. It is also clear that many so-called bastions of education have now been exposed as incubators for socialists. Isn’t it interesting, and not at all coincidental, that on average, across the U.S., property taxes account for 83% of local revenues for public schools, allocated in two components: operations and maintenance (O&M) and interest and sinking fund (I&S), both of which are now proven to be counterproductive to the education of students. We have shown conclusively how the theft of your money by the school districts occurs.  See School Districts and Accounting Fraud - Presentation to President Trump and Elon Musk and article, For the Kids.

The psychology of a socialist is detailed in “Chain the Doors of the Federal Reserve” linked above and further expanded below.

In this Article, an extension of Chain the Doors article and the writing of Thomas Pain presented in Thomas Paine - Quotes on Taxes & The Necessity of Taxation, I would like to dig deeper to show why socialism is the antithesis of capitalism and the U.S. Constitution and why socialism should be codified as illegal.

Without exception and without question, stealing private property is immoral and illegal. socialists via taxation, and as you are seeing play out in Minnesota, want to make this acceptable. 

To crystalize the thought, money is property. Physical assets are property. Businesses are property. Your mortgage is property from which over time the amortization on your mortgage being the principal reduction is property. Bank accounts are property. In all 5 instances, which in totality are your life, the socialists want to steal your money. 

Therefore, as socialists promote socialism (A) and socialism is theft (B) then socialists are thieves (C).

If A = B and B = C then A = C.

Not just theft of property, but theft of Constitutional Rights, and theft of the fabric of civilized society, being morals and respect for individual rights.

Could it be that the warped moral view of socialists is a direct result of an education system that does not teach how to survive and prosper in the real world thus making / brainwashing people to be dependent on the handouts from the government rather than participating in the only system that has worked for 5,000 years which is capitalism?

Are the students to blame, or are the teachers and politicians who are the preachers and screechers that create the fraud from which to take your tax dollars to support the fraud they created? Our goal is to explain to those who have been misled to at least consider the truth of socialism which is that it leads to death and destruction and no rational person would want that upon themselves or their families.

The legal view of a socialist, which is not legal under Constitutional law, is that preventing others from stealing your private property is somehow tyrannical. This is beyond rational thought and can only be the ramification of intentional brainwashing from which those in positions of power, regardless of political party affiliation, including the press, receive the benefit of profit and or perceived power. 

Organized retail theft rampant in the most socialist US cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Minneapolis is a ramification of socialist policies. The socialists make the argument that they are just the poor working class needing to prevent starvation and homelessness so stealing $5000 Louis Vuitton Bags is perfectly acceptable. This is beyond rational thought.

The need for socialists to support theft and immigration for votes (which costs the taxpayers roughly $1 Trillion per year - $64K per illegal immigrant), also conveys that socialists are not capable of building an economy, or products and services, from scratch.  Socialism has never, in the history of the planet, worked because it terminates when it runs out of other people’s money to steal.

The socialist mantra: "The capitalist is stealing from the worker under wage labor slavery and the worker is not receiving the full value of their labor by pocketing what worker created".

Proof of the idiocy of the socialist cult mantra:

• In truth, the worker and the capitalist employer voluntarily agree beforehand to wages and the work to be done, so it is not stealing.

• The Worker would not be able to produce any goods or service of value if they are not working for their employer.

• The worker can quit and engage in self-employment.

• Setting up a business, making agreements with suppliers, arranging financing, and setting up a pipeline for customers, which is often what capitalists do, is labor and is much harder than a worker being involved in just one component of the company.

• The worker can quit and join or start a coop if they believe that that type of work arrangement works better.

Society can’t fix what it can’t define and that is the main emphasis of these articles. In the furtherance of defining the issue, what was in the 1980’s and 1990’s a “democratic party” no longer exists. This is not to say there are not reasonable Democrats who would like to participate in a legitimate political party to voice their opinion. This is to say that reasonable Democrats have been cast aside and overshadowed by pure socialism and that means pure theft. The truth is laid bare in the finances of the DNC which are now negative.

Gustave Le Bon, in his work "The Psychology of Socialism," argues that socialism and radicalism function similarly to religious movements. He suggests that political controversies often stem from contrived emotional responses rather than rational deliberation.  This perspective highlights the role of psychology in shaping political ideologies and movements.

socialism as a cult involves extreme devotion to a leader or ideology, often characterized by manipulation and control over members' thoughts and behaviors. This can lead to a lack of critical thinking and a strong group identity, which may be reinforced through propaganda and social pressure.

Socialism cults often revolve around a charismatic leader who promotes a vision of a collective society. These groups may exhibit extreme devotion to their ideology and leader, which can lead to a strong sense of community among members. Key characteristics include beliefs that diverge significantly from mainstream society, use of manipulative techniques to maintain loyalty and control over members, and the focus is on communal ownership and the idea of working towards a common goal.

The psychology behind socialism cults can involve several factors including that members often find a sense of identity and purpose within the group, which can be appealing, especially in times of social uncertainty. A clear pattern of cognitive dissonance emerges as its members may experience discomfort when their beliefs are challenged, leading them to reinforce their commitment to the group via emotional outbursts, or violence. It is a combination of emotional outburst, violence, and non-willingness to participate in conversation which attempts to strip the rest of society from their first amendment rights of free speech. It goes one step deeper in that there are socialists working among government entities that undermine the purpose of the entities and knowingly, with intent, break the law to support the socialist cult. This is the prime example of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Charismatic leaders play a crucial role in socialism cults. They often create an idealized image where the Leaders are portrayed as heroic figures, which can enhance loyalty. Propaganda is used to manipulate and maintain a positive image of the leader and the ideology. The leaders may invoke nationalistic sentiments to strengthen group cohesion while simultaneously failing to provide one stitch of evidence against the simple fact that socialism dies when it runs out of other people’s money to steal, including the theft of money from its own members.

See if you can figure out where this brilliant quote came from…."They'd come on a fishing boat and gorged themselves on coconut. So how do you get rats off an island, hmm? My grandmother showed me. We buried an oil drum and hinged the lid. Then we wired coconut to the lid as bait. The rats would come for the coconut and they would fall into the drum. And after a month, you've trapped all the rats. But what did you do then? Throw the drum into the ocean? Burn it? No. You just leave it. And they begin to get hungry. Then one by one, they start eating each other, until there are only two left, the two survivors. And then what? Do you kill them? No. You take them and release them into the trees. Only now, they don't eat coconut anymore. Now they only eat rat. You have changed their nature."  This is the back story to Last Rat Standing and exactly what happens with socialism and socialists. 

We are proving the truth with irrefutable evidence, on just a few inter-linked issues with property tax at the nucleus, so that society, being rational thinking people, can deal with the fraud of the socialists and insist that the Republic of the United States stand strong under its Constitution. 

What we have discovered is very much applicable in Canada, and any other Country that claims to use Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, in which USPAP has been rendered meaningless by intent to defraud, which proves the policy is that of socialism executed by socialists.

The Constitution of the United States of America or socialism???

Over 100 million people have died due to socialist, Marxist, and communist regimes—not from war, but from their own governments' brutal policies.

Socialism is cloaked in promises of equality, justice, and “free” service including free education, healthcare, housing, and jobs. Its appeal is emotional, targeting the hopes of the marginalized and the frustrations of the working class.  Beneath the promises, lies the historical reality of oppression, economic collapse, and human suffering.

With Cuba and many others listed herein, socialism has consistently failed not just economically, but leaving behind a legacy of destroyed economies, starved populations, and crushed freedoms.

 The False Promise of Equality

socialism is all promise and no deliver because it is a con. It centralizes power into the hands of the few, creating the very hierarchy and inequality it claims to abolish.  The result is not a classless society, but a society where the government becomes the new elite, often ruled by a dictator, while the people suffer under authoritarian control and economic misery. socialism demands a revolution to tear everything down first, in order to create its new communist infrastructure and you can see this playing out live in Minnesota, Germany, European Union, the UK, and played out in our hemisphere, in Cuba. You can see a portion of my story in Cuba in an above linked Article.

After Castro took over in 1959, he nationalized 70 percent of farmland. The result? Between 1957-58, the period before Castro, and 1963-64, by which time the nationalization had been done, the production of beef, pork, poultry, eggs, milk, corn, rice, root vegetables malanga and yucca, and potatoes all fell by a double digit, and typically a high double-digit, percentage. Output of their biggest crop, sugar, fell by 35 percent. Why didn’t Cubans starve? The Soviet Union bailed them out. The CEA report notes that Puerto Rico and Cuba had relative equal national incomes in 1950 but, by 2000, Cuba’s national income relative to Puerto Rico’s had fallen by almost two thirds. I saw stores in Cuba where the locals go, and even basic toiletries were not available.

 The Soviet Union: Death by Utopia

The USSR was the first major experiment in socialism after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Under Stalin, the state controlled all means of production, abolished private property, and forced collectivization of farms. The result was beyond catastrophic:

• The Holodomor (1932–1933) – A man-made famine in Ukraine caused by forced collectivization. An estimated 3.9 million people starved to death.

• Stalin's purges, gulags, and mass arrests led to millions of deaths and imprisonments, often without trial.

• Shortages became the norm. Citizens stood in long lines for bread and toiletries. Just like

By the time it collapsed in 1991, the Soviet socialist system had claimed over 20 million lives through executions, famines, and forced labor.

Mao’s China: The Socialist Engine of Death

Under Chairman Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist Party unleashed two of the deadliest campaigns in human history:

• The Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) – Mao's forced collectivization and industrialization effort caused the deadliest famine in world history, killing an estimated 30–45 million people.

• The Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) – A purge of perceived “capitalist” elements, during which millions were tortured, killed, or driven to suicide, and priceless cultural heritage was destroyed.

All of this was carried out in the name of socialist ideology. The people were promised prosperity. What they received was death and devastation.

Venezuela: The Collapse in Real Time

Venezuela, once one of Latin America’s richest countries, embraced socialism under Hugo Chávez and continued under Nicolás Maduro. Promising to redistribute oil wealth and end poverty, the regime nationalized industries, restricted private property, and eliminated market competition.

The result?

• Inflation surpassed 1,000,000% in 2018, making its currency practically worthless.

• Food shortages became widespread.

• 90% of the population fell below the poverty line.

• Hospitals lacked basic medicine.

• Children died of malnutrition.

• Millions of Venezuelans fled the country, creating one of the largest refugee crises in the Western Hemisphere.

Far from bringing justice, socialism in Venezuela robbed an entire generation of hope.

Cuba and North Korea: Islands of Oppression

Both Cuba and North Korea remain socialist examples of totalitarian control:

• Cuba, under Fidel Castro, jailed dissidents, eliminated press freedom, and kept the population under tight surveillance. To this day, internet access is restricted, dissent is punished, and scarcity remains the norm.

• North Korea represents perhaps the most extreme example. Ruled by dictatorship, its citizens face starvation, public executions, and complete isolation. Meanwhile, the regime invests in nuclear weapons and luxury for the ruling class.

 Why socialism Always Fails

socialism destroys the incentive to innovate, produce, and excel by removing profit and competition. It replaces market decisions with bureaucratic ones, often by force. Worse, it concentrates immense power in the hands of the state and as we have seen that power that is almost always abused.

My Father taught me that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

socialism is a con, and in every case, without exception, it led to:

• Authoritarian control

• Economic collapse

• Suppression of dissent

• Loss of personal freedom

• Mass death

 The Human Toll: Over 100 Million Dead

According to The Black Book of Communism, a publication by European scholars, the death toll from socialist regimes in the 20th century exceeds 100 million. These are not deaths from war, but from starvation, executions, prison camps, and purges and all were committed in peacetime by governments against their own people.

To the socialists, it is ok if you disagree with your position in life or even this Article. However, if you are a rational thinking person, then ask yourself if there is anything in this Article that is not true. As it is true, then what does that say about you as a person wanting to put yourself, your family, and alleged friends in harms way of a horrific con that has ended in death?

To the alleged Republicans, it is time to look at the policies you created and if they were for socialist reasons and ended in socialist non-stop compound cumulative interest on fraudulent bond debt, then you either move immediately to destroy those polices (all property tax) or the only thing that separates you from the socialists in Minnesota is the violence. If any new policy is a socialist policy, that is, for the benefit of the government and not the citizens, then that attempted policy should never see the light of day or be approved.

We are now at the Supreme Court of Texas with the published statement that either the black letter of the law exists or it does not. See The Importance of the Vexler Case to Texas. The reason for this case is the refusal of the courts to deal with the legal dead zone they created and that is exactly for what the Supreme Courts exists. Either the law exists or it doesn’t. We are about to find out.

Conclusion:

socialism delivers control, coercion, and collapse.

socialism promises free, but the truth is... the world can’t afford free.

socialism must be codified into law as illegal. It is a cult. Call it what it is, and let’s deal with it.

Society, regardless of political affiliation (if any) should realize that a social policy is not socialism. A social policy could and should be a policy to eliminate hunger in the U.S. or a policy to eliminate cancer. These social policies are set forth and defined by the government but financially executed without government involvement. The market must do the lifting, not the government.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 21:30

Musk's Boring Company To Build Free 1-Mile Tunnel In "Tunnel Vision Challenge!"

In a new contest, Elon Musk's tunneling firm, The Boring Company, will build a 1-mile tunnel for free to the best idea submitted to the company. 

The Boring Company's Prufrock 5 tunneler (via X)

"Announcing the Tunnel Vision Challenge!" the company wrote on X. "Pitch us your best 1-mile tunnel idea (Loop, freight, pedestrian, utility, etc.), we’ll pick a winner, and build it…for free!"

Announcing the Tunnel Vision Challenge! Pitch us your best 1-mile tunnel idea (Loop, freight, pedestrian, utility, etc.), we'll pick a winner, and build it…for free!

Details:https://t.co/xRTmClRjVt

Criteria:
-Usefulness (good bang for the bore)
-Stakeholder Engagement (get…

— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) January 19, 2026

In an announcement on their website, the company said (emphasis ours): 

Do you have Tunnel Vision? 

You might if you often look around and wonder, wouldn’t it be a lot easier if I could get from Point A to Point B without the hassle of crossing busy roads, intersections, or other obstacles. Tunnels may be your answer!

The Boring Company (TBC) invites you to submit your proposal for a tunnel project up to 1 mile in length with a 12-foot inner diameter. TBC will select a winner from the proposals submitted and construct the tunnel free of charge. The tunnel can be a Loop tunnel, a freight tunnel, a pedestrian tunnel, a utility tunnel, a water tunnel, or any other use case where a tunnel would be useful. Prufrock is designed to construct mega-infrastructure projects in a matter of weeks instead of years - so let's build!

The deadline for submissions will be February 23, 2026, and a winner will be picked on March 23, 2026. 

As Tesla Oracle notes further; 

Musk founded The Boring Company in an effort to reduce tunneling costs. To achieve this, the diameter of the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) was reduced to 12 feet.

Following the same principle of constant improvement, The Boring Company continually upgrades its TBMs. The latest TBM is named Prufrock 5 (pictured above).

With the previous version (Prufrock 4), The Boring Company achieved a phenomenal tunneling cost efficiency of $27 million per mile. Musk’s company is aiming to achieve a cost of $10 million per mile of tunneling with Prufrock 5 and its future TBMs.

Compared to the US standard, boring a 1-mile tunnel costs a staggering $2.5 billion on average (see graph below). So, the Tunnel Vision Challenge is offering at least a $27 million value for free.

Prufrock-4 is our smartest, fastest and safest Tunnel Boring Machine. And the next iterations (5, 6, and 7) are already being built at The Boring Factory in Texas. Goal is Continuous Mining and Zero-People-in-Tunnel (ZPIT).

We are hiring exceptional ME, EE, and SWEs - join us! pic.twitter.com/oKntdUnOsf

— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) September 14, 2025

*  *  *

The outlet also notes that the Boring Company's Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (LVCC) is the best example of a finished tunnel, which carries Tesla vehicles around the strip as long as you have a Model S, 3, X, Y, or Cybertruck (so basically all of 'em). The company collaborated with the Las Vegas Airport and city officials to set up a service called Vegas Loop that helps visitors with airport dropoffs. 

Vegas Loop dropoff at the Airport!

Still in the early phases of the program, providing a small number of rides each day.

The ride includes both a tunnel portion and a long surface portion, with the latter shifting to subsurface when the 2.25 mile Airport Connector twin tunnels… https://t.co/uoqer0Jye5 pic.twitter.com/dMUAQUboAh

— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) December 30, 2025

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 21:00

Why California Is Bleeding Tech Jobs: Decline Is A Policy Choice

Authored by Vance Ginn via the American Institute for Economic Research,

For much of the past half-century, California benefited from a powerful first-mover advantage.

Dense networks of talent, capital, and research institutions allowed the state to absorb policy mistakes that would have crippled competitors. High spending and taxes, restrictive housing rules, and regulatory complexity were treated as nuisances rather than binding constraints, because growth could outstrip their costs.

That margin of error has narrowed dramatically.

What California is now experiencing is not a cyclical tech downturn or a post-COVID-19 pandemic anomaly. It is a measurable, policy-driven decline in relative competitiveness.

The most important evidence is not that tech employment has fallen in absolute terms, but that California’s share of national tech employment has been shrinking, while other states gain ground.

Markets are responding to incentives exactly as economic theory predicts.

Employment Share, Not Headlines, Tells the Story

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics data, California’s technology employment growth has underperformed national trends for several years, including during periods when tech hiring stabilized or rebounded elsewhere, and recently has been declining. California’s share of U.S. tech jobs is falling from roughly 19 percent pre-2020 to closer to 16 percent in recent years, a nontrivial shift for an industry this large.

This is a classic example of relative decline. California still employs more tech workers than any other state, but it is no longer where the marginal job is being created.

Commercial real estate data corroborate the employment figures. Office vacancy rates across Silicon Valley remain elevated well beyond what remote work alone would explain. Bay Area office markets have not recovered in the way peer regions have. Persistent vacancies signal not just a shift to hybrid work, but also geographic reallocation of firms and labor.

Migration as a Labor Market Signal

Labor mobility reinforces the same conclusion. U.S. Census state-to-state migration data show continued net domestic outmigration from California, particularly among working-age adults. While international immigration partially offsets population losses, domestic migration is more relevant for employer location decisions, especially in high-skill sectors.

Economic theory predicts that firms follow labor when relocation costs are low and regulatory frictions are high.

California now faces both: high regulatory frictions at home and increasingly credible substitutes elsewhere.

Founding Versus Scaling: A Crucial Distinction

California still dominates early-stage venture capital totals, as shown in venture investment data. This is often cited as evidence that concerns about the state’s competitiveness are overstated. That interpretation conflates firm formation with firm expansion.

Founding activity reflects legacy advantages such as universities, networks, and capital concentration. Scaling decisions reflect marginal costs. Increasingly, firms are choosing to incorporate or raise seed funding in California while expanding headcount in lower-cost, lower-regulation states.

From an economic standpoint, this is predictable. Scaling in California exposes firms to the nation’s highest marginal income tax rates, comparatively punitive capital gains taxation, rigid labor mandates, slow permitting processes, and volatile regulatory expectations. These costs rise nonlinearly as firms grow.

AI Regulation as a Binding Constraint

Artificial intelligence (AI) policy may become the clearest illustration of California’s regulatory overreach.

A recent CalMatters analysis documents how California lawmakers have pursued some of the most expansive state-level AI regulations in the country. These proposals extend liability, mandate preemptive risk assessments, and impose compliance obligations before alleged harms are empirically demonstrated or even defined.

From an economic perspective, this approach treats innovation as a presumptive externality rather than a productivity-enhancing input.

AI is widely understood as a general-purpose technology. Research shows that such technologies generate broad, economy-wide productivity gains, not sector-specific benefits. Overregulating AI therefore depresses expected returns not only in software, but also across health care, logistics, manufacturing, finance, and education.

California’s AI regulatory framework has drawn federal scrutiny, which is instructive. As noted in CalMatters, state-level AI mandates were referenced in President Donald Trump’s recent presidential executive order, citing concerns over fragmented and inconsistent state regulation. Regardless of political framing, the economic concern is straightforward: regulatory fragmentation raises fixed costs and discourages upscaling.

Regulation, Market Structure, and Incumbency

California’s regulatory posture also has implications for market structure. Extensive empirical literature shows that high fixed compliance costs reduce entry and increase concentration. The OECD’s work on regulation and competition consistently finds that heavier regulatory burdens favor large incumbents at the expense of startups and challengers.

This dynamic undermines the very competition that drives innovation. Europe’s experience with digital (over)regulation offers a cautionary parallel, acknowledged even in European Commission competitiveness reports. California risks reproducing that outcome domestically, exporting innovation to other states rather than other continents.

Costs Complete the Incentive Structure

AI regulation is best understood as the marginal constraint layered atop an already expensive environment. California has the highest top marginal income tax rate in the United States, and it taxes capital gains as income. Housing scarcity, documented extensively by the University of California–Berkeley’s Terner Center, raises labor costs without increasing real purchasing power. Energy prices remain among the nation’s highest, as shown by EIA electricity price data.

In combination, these policies alter the expected return on investment at the margin. States such as Texas and Florida offer credible alternatives: no personal income tax, faster permitting, lower housing costs, and a lighter regulatory touch.

Firms do not need ideological motivation to relocate. The incentive structure does the work.

Opportunity Costs and Distributional Effects

The economic cost of tech job relocation extends beyond headline employment figures. When tech employment relocates, these spillovers disappear as well.

The distributional consequences are regressive.

High-skill workers are mobile.

Lower-income workers tied to local economies are much less so.

Policies that suppress growth (even under the banner of equity) often hurt the poor most.

A Predictable Outcome

Unless California changes course, the trajectory is clear. AI firms will incorporate elsewhere. Venture capital will follow labor. Scaling will increasingly occur in states that treat innovation as an asset rather than a liability.

California will remain an important source of ideas. It will be a diminishing source of jobs. Markets are not ideological. They respond to incentives. On that front, the verdict is already in.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 20:30

Canada Weighs Token Troop Deployment To Greenland, But Fears Trump Wrath

The Canadian government is weighing whether to deploy a small contingent of troops to take part in training exercises in Greenland after several European and NATO member countries already sent in dozens of soldiers.

The discussions come as President Trump argues that the United States "needs" the Danish autonomous territory for national security reasons and has intensified his calls for Washington to take control of the island. The Europeans have clearly sent troops there for more than just "exercises" - but as a show of unity and "strength" in support of Denmark.

While no final decision has been made on a Canadian deployment, such an act would remain largely symbolic in nature - but Canadian leadership under the Carney government is likely very worried about needlessly provoking Trump's wrath.

Canada's armed forces file image

Trump is already preparing an additional 10% tariff for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland (starting Feb.1st) as a consequence of their defiance.

He specifically referenced their sending troops to Greenland in a weekend Truth Social post:

"Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

"This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable."

Given the large leading EU nation of Germany has only deployed roughly a dozen troops to the island, it's likely that any Canadian presence would be even smaller.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that Canada is "concerned" about what he has called US "escalation" - but again this is a bad moment for Canada to get 'noticed' by Trump for joining European 'defiance' of this future plans for Greenland.

Last Thursday in the early morning nighttime hours, a Danish military transport aircraft was the first to land in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, carrying Danish soldiers alongside members of the French armed forces.

Soon on the first plane's heels, another Danish Hercules aircraft touched down at Kangerlussuaq in western Greenland. Both planes reportedly flew with their transponders switched off.

Canada supports the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity universally, including as they apply to Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark. As we have consistently stated, the future of Greenland is for Greenland and Denmark alone to determine.

The security of the…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) January 18, 2026

If Canada too sends a contingent of troops, Carney would probably waiting on edge until the inevitable Truth Social post is issued by Trump slamming the Canadians and threatening new repercussion on America's northern neighbor.

The other reason NATO countries have sent their small deployments is to convince Trump to join the cooperative mission. The EU argues that this already satisfies the Washington desire to see a beefed up Western security presence in the region, with an eye on Russia and China.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 20:05

'We Must Pass The SAVE Act': Republicans Engage In Serious Push For Voter ID

House Republicans are going "full steam ahead" on a supercharged version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a GOP-sponsored bill to prevent non-citizen voting in federal elections. It would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require documentary proof of US citizenship (passport, birth certificate, or REAL ID=compliant driver's license) when registering to vote. 

The bill (H.R. 8281) was originally introduced in 2024 and was passed by the House in a 220-198 vote, however it stalled in the Senate under Democratic control. 

In early 2025, it was revived in the House as H.R. 22, and S. 128 in the Senate. In April, the House passed H.R. 22 in a 220-208 vote, where it was sent to the Senate and has once again stalled due to threat of filibuster or lack of bipartisan support. 

Now, Republican leadership is pushing a "turbocharged" version called SAVE Act Plus, which would enhance the original bill by adding photo ID requirements for registration and voting, which both House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise have begun aggressively pushing. 

"What we're looking at doing is passing an even better bill over to the Senate to give them even more incentive to go protect the sanctity of every American's vote, and that is the Save Act plus a picture ID requirement," Scalise told Fox News on Sunday. "Look, you can't even get on an airplane. You can't go to a bar tonight without showing a picture ID. Yet, there are people in many states where the states actually have laws saying you can't show ID, which is a recipe for fraud, for stealing your vote if you're voting legally so that somebody can come behind you illegally in another country and actually vote and steal your vote..."

We need massive momentum behind this

Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise are pushing to pass the SAVE Act Plus

Here’s why that’s a huge deal

- This mandates IN PERSON presentation
- Voters will must show documents directly to an election official or… pic.twitter.com/WkY4DdVKYi

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) January 19, 2026

On Friday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) amplified a post on X showing that 84% of Americans want voter ID - with Lee posting "We must pass the SAVE Act," adding "There are no good arguments against it." 

We must pass the SAVE Act

There are no good arguments against it

Pass it on if you agree https://t.co/ZjYQLCNTJb

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 16, 2026

In early December, Johnson said that the SAVE Act would be a "really important measure to eliminate fraud in elections." 

Elon Musk has been extremely vocal about this as well:

No ID and mailing in ballots make fraud trivial.

Both of those need to be fixed to restore democracy. https://t.co/edN9yTbDWG

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2026

GET IT DONE TO SAVE AMERICA https://t.co/hCIkDycXFe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2026

In January, the House Freedom Caucus wrote to Johnson urging him to push the SAVE Act as the top item on his agenda. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 19:15

Why People Feel The Economy Is Bad, When Data Show Improvement

Authored by Petr Svab via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. economy is either chugging along nicely or seriously struggling, depending on who is asked. The mismatch stems from perception and perspective.

While many of the macroeconomic data look benign, they don’t capture the pain experienced by a large segment of society, several experts told The Epoch Times.

At 4.4 percent, unemployment has been only slightly elevated and the median wage growth of 4 percent has more than kept up with 2.7 percent inflation, all according to December data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Yet a solid majority of Americans feel gloomy about the economy, polls indicate.

“I think there’s some element of a vibecession, where the vibes are worse than reality,” said Ben Zweig, labor economist and CEO of Revelio Labs.

It’s understandable that people would be upset about living expenses, even if the inflation rate has subsided, because the previous price increases remain baked-in, according to Zweig.

“People have a very unrealistic expectation that prices should fall to their pre-inflation spike levels, and that’s totally off the cards,” Zweig told The Epoch Times.

“I think people have this cumulative disgruntlement about the economy years ago, and that is very hard to overcome.”

At the same time, “there are some really troubling signs out there,” he said.

Tough Job Market

Excluding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, hiring hit a decade low in November 2025, when businesses hired less than 5.1 million people. It has struggled to take off since.

“People are not moving and there’s just historically low mobility,” Zweig said.

That hits young people, who are just entering the labor market, especially hard.

“Job posting volume is way down, and that is concentrated in younger workers, more entry level positions. So that is a real problem,” he said.

It was also around mid-2024 when wage growth for the lowest-paid workers started to lag, reversing a previous trend. The lowest paid 25 percent of workers enjoyed faster wage growth than the rest of the workforce consistently since mid-2015. But recently, that advantage has disappeared. For the past year and a half, these workers have seen their wages grow substantially slower than the rest, at a 3.5 percent rate in 2025, compared to the 4 percent overall average.

Even the slower wage growth exceeded inflation, but it’s important to understand the reality behind the data.

“Wage growth is not the same [as] individuals getting a raise,” said Ernan Haruvy, professor at McGill University and expert on economic and consumer behavior.

“To get a real pay raise, I have to change jobs. That’s how it works,” he told The Epoch Times.

Technological efficiencies, not exclusively related to artificial intelligence, have likely played a role, according to Zweig, again hitting the lowest-paid and entry-level jobs.

Technology “doesn’t automate jobs wholesale,” he noted.

“It automates little bits of tasks. And you can think of the tasks that people do as being in some hierarchy, from very small, granular micro tasks to very broad, abstract workflows. And it’s a lot easier to automate small and micro tasks, and it’s a lot harder to automate big, chunky workflows. So it happens to be that the highly skilled people are the ones that have the broadest responsibilities, and the lower tier workers are the ones that are doing the simplest work. So I think we do see more labor displacement of the most simple jobs.”

This dynamic is likely to create more income inequality, he estimated.

The economy has also been harsh to older people who find themselves with only a fraction of what they need to save in order to retire, especially with the looming Social Security insolvency, Scott Siff, founder and CEO of Pivoter, a job matching platform for people 55 and over, said.

“Those folks are feeling things like above-average inflation and higher prices for staples like groceries much more acutely,” he told The Epoch Times in a text message.

“That is only compounded by the fact that those same people face huge barriers finding jobs. With the average age of job-seekers on the online job boards only about 28–30 years old, employers have trouble hiring those folks even if they’re willing to.”

Haruvy doesn’t see the tough labor market going away.

“We'll just have to get used to the new reality, which is more competition, more skill updating, less certainty,” he said.

Financial Squeeze

Regardless of income growth, Americans are far from achieving financial health.

The savings rate dropped to 4 percent in September, the lowest since 2008, excluding 2022, which was distorted by pandemic stimulus payments.

Credit card debt exceeded $1.2 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, with more than $150 billion of that amount over 90 days delinquent.

“Right now, people are dipping into their savings,” Haruvy said.

Nearly half of Americans used savings to cover expenses last year, according to Resume Now’s 2026 Cost-of-Living Crunch report.

The same survey, however, also indicated some improvement.

While at the end of 2024, 36 percent of those surveyed said they couldn’t afford or struggled to cover basic expenses, at the end of 2025, only 24 percent said the same.

The debt data, too, show a positive trend, with the overall debt balance growth slowing down and even dropping a bit in November data, while delinquency rates have followed the same trajectory.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 18:50

"Decades Of Underinvestment": LA Firefighters Turn To Voters Amid Budget Crisis

Los Angeles firefighters say years of underfunding have pushed their department into crisis, forcing them to appeal directly to voters for money to cover what they describe as basic public safety needs—even as the city spends about $1 billion a year on homelessness programs, according to the NY Post.

This week, firefighters launched petition drives to place a half-cent sales tax increase on the November 2026 ballot. The measure would fund additional firefighters, new engines, and repairs to aging fire stations, which supporters describe as a last resort after repeated warnings to City Hall went unanswered.

“Due to decades of underinvestment, our fire department currently operates with the same number of firefighters as in the 1960s, six fewer stations, and five times the call load,” said Rich Ramirez, an LAFD paramedic. “The LAFD is half the size needed to keep LA safe, so your LAFD firefighters and paramedics are appealing directly to voters to provide funding for more personnel, equipment, and stations so that we can arrive on time to save lives and property when seconds can make the difference between life and death.”

The NY Post writes that call volume has soared. In 1960, LAFD responded to about 101,000 calls a year. Today, firefighters handle more than 514,000 calls annually, with staffing levels largely unchanged. Average response times now near eight minutes, almost double national standards, and the city has fewer than one firefighter per 1,000 residents.

City Councilmember Traci Park said the department’s condition reflects years of neglect. “We have million-dollar fire engines out of service with weeds growing around their tires,” she said. “I’ve been blowing the whistle on the lack of staffing, funding and resources at the fire department since I took office.”

Firefighters say homelessness has driven a significant share of the surge. Between 2018 and 2024, incidents tied to people experiencing homelessness made up roughly one-third of all LAFD fire calls, while trash fires jumped nearly 475% over the past decade.

Despite the increased demand, LAFD operates on about $923 million to protect nearly 3.9 million residents—about $238 per person—compared with more than $22,000 spent annually per unhoused individual.

If approved, the half-cent sales tax would raise an estimated $324 million in its first year. The funds would be restricted to core fire services, overseen by audits and a civilian commission, and supporters must gather 154,000 signatures within 180 days to qualify the measure for the ballot.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 18:25

This Could Be The Big One

Authored by weather observer Ryan Hall, 

There are winter storms, and then there are storms that come from a real pattern shift. The kind that don't just brush one region, but impact a big chunk of the country.

This upcoming setup is starting to look like the second type.

Over the last day or so, confidence has increased that we're heading into a legitimate winter storm window late this week into the weekend. The signal is becoming clearer across guidance, and the ingredients are lining up in a way that usually gets my attention.

The Big Picture

A strong Arctic high is pushing into the central and eastern United States. This isn't a quick shot of cold air. It's a deep, dense cold dome that sets up first and stays in place.

At the same time, a southern stream trough is expected to eject out of the Southwest. That system will pull moisture northward over the top of the cold air already in place at the surface.

That overrunning setup is one of the more efficient ways to produce widespread snow, sleet, and freezing rain across the South and East.

About the Analogs

You may see comparisons to past storms like January 1988 or February 2010 being mentioned. It's important to be careful with that.

No two storms are exactly alike, and analogs aren't about matching totals or impacts. Where they can be useful is in highlighting similar large-scale processes. In this case, things like a strong southwestern trough, deep cold air already in place, and a steady moisture feed overrunning the cold dome.

In some respects, this setup has more cold air to work with and a broader moisture source than those events did at similar lead times. That's why it stands out.

Days 4-5: Friday Focus

By Friday, attention shifts to the Southern Plains and the Lower Mississippi Valley.

Snow and mixed precipitation look increasingly likely from the Texas Panhandle through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and into parts of the Tennessee Valley. This part of the storm will likely feature a sharp gradient between snow, sleet, and freezing rain, especially near the southern edge of the cold air.

Small shifts in track or temperature profiles could have large impacts in this region.

Days 6-7: Weekend Evolution

As we head into Saturday and Sunday, the system is expected to move east across the Southeast, with the potential to turn northeast near the coast.

Cold air is already established well north of the system, which raises confidence that much of the precipitation will fall as wintry weather. The biggest question now is how far north the heavier precipitation shield extends and how much phasing occurs between northern and southern stream energy.

That will determine whether the highest impacts remain focused on the Mid-Atlantic or expand farther north.

What I'm Watching

• Strength and placement of the Arctic high

• Timing and amplitude of the southern stream trough

• How quickly the streams interact

• Placement of the rain-snow line

• Icing potential along the southern edge

These details should come into better focus over the next few days.

Bottom Line

This is shaping up to be a potentially high-impact winter storm affecting a large portion of the Southern and Eastern U.S.

It's still too early to lock in exact totals or specific cities. But it's early enough to say this is a system worth taking seriously.

If you live from the Southern Plains through the Tennessee Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic, this is one you should be planning around, not ignoring.

We'll keep refining the details as the data comes in. If the signal weakens, we'll say that. But right now, this setup has the look of a storm that could end up being memorable.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 18:00

Newsom Strains To Flip Script On California's Failures

Authored by Susan Crabtree via American Greatness,

It’s an odd predicament for a leading Democratic presidential contender.

Gavin Newsom’s biggest strength—political spin and performance come almost second nature to him—could also be his biggest liability as he strains to remake the tarnished image of the state he has governed for the last seven years.

Newsom, with his smooth-talking, rapid-fire responses and his attempt to out-Trump Trump on social media aggression, is everything Kamala Harris wasn’t in 2024. But neither Californian can easily shake the biggest millstone dragging down their White House ambitions. Their failed progressive policies have sullied the Golden State’s image, driving up prices, homelessness, and mismanagement. The failures have not only driven citizens away but are also likely to turn off voters in swing battleground districts as well.

California’s failures weren’t Harris’ biggest weakness in 2024—her word salads were. But the Golden State’s downward spiral was a close second.

As wildfire victims held vigils and prayer circles on the anniversary of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, Newsom on Thursday attempted to flip the script on California’s role as a GOP punchline.

In his final State of the State address after years of releasing videotaped remarks, Newsom cast Trump’s control of Washington as a “carnival of chaos” amid the Democratic furor over an ICE agent shooting and killing a woman in Minnesota. He then positioned California as a “beacon” of fairness and resistance to Trump’s heavy-handed rule.

Addressing the California legislature, which had just observed a moment of silence for the slain Minnesota woman, Renee Nicole Good, Newsom repeatedly pointed to Trump as a power-hungry threat to democracy who abused his power to call in the National Guard to quell unrest over ICE arrests and raids.

“The president believes that might makes right, that the courts are simply speed bumps, not stops. That democracy is a nuisance to be circumvented. Secret police, businesses being raided, windows smashed, citizens detained, citizens shot, masked men snatching people in broad daylight, people disappearing,” Newsom charged.

“None of this is normal,” he added.

After throwing out the red meat for the Democratic base, Newsom then set out to normalize California’s dizzying array of failures under his watch.

“The state is providing a different narrative—an operational model, a policy blueprint for others to follow,” he told state lawmakers.

Newsom’s defiant defense of his state as a shining example for others to emulate may come as a shock for those who haven’t been watching his reinvention as a social media agitator and leader of the national redistricting battle.

But Newsom’s attempt to go on offense on his biggest weakness—his policy failures—was his most audacious and sweeping thus far.

After mimicking Trump’s belligerent social media style, Newsom stole another Trump play, labeling the state’s critics as suffering from “California Derangement Syndrome,” a revision of the “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” which MAGA deploys to brush off condemnation.

“The declinists,” the pundits and conservative critics, simply don’t know the updated facts, Newsom asserted, arguing that they are working to “tear down, to try to attack all of our progress.”

Early data for 2025, he said, indicate a 9% decline in homelessness, the first drop after an explosion of unsheltered people in California. He failed to mention that from 2019 to 2024, under his watch, homelessness rose to 188,000, a net increase of 37,000, or 24%, even though the state spent roughly $24 billion trying to curb it.

“So, our investments paid off,” he claimed without an explanation.

Newsom acknowledged that the decline was “not good enough,” and more work needs to be done as long as big homeless encampments still exist in major cities around the state. He failed to mention the high number of homelessness deaths across the state that could be contributing to the 9% decline, as well as the danger of allowing any encampments to remain.

Just hours after the speech, a fire at a homeless camp in a Los Angeles suburb broke out, the second in the last two weeks.

Newsom also claimed credit for “double-digit decreases in crime” across California, without acknowledging that those figures are still higher than pre-pandemic levels in some areas and that property crime continues to plague major cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

While touting minor California successes, he often followed up by acknowledging that there is still “work to do” when it comes to bringing down housing costs, overall “affordability,” lowering crime rates, and improving fire insurance coverage.

Though he noted that he had debated whether or not to mention high-speed rail, another frequent target for fiscal conservative attacks, he hailed the $13.8 billion spent so far and progress on projects in the state’s agricultural Central Valley as one of the “great economic investments” in the region. Those lines, he said, “will make commute times shorter and make life more affordable.” He failed to mention that the project was launched in 2008, and more than 17 years later, no trains are running.

Newsom even touted California’s status as having the highest taxes of any state in the country, stressing that Democrats in the state had designed the most “progressive” system in the country, which he argued is far fairer for middle-class and low-wage earners.

“So, the question to all of you—who are the high-tax states? Just consider Texas. Just consider Florida, the two most regressive tax states in America,” Newsom said. “They’re hammering their low-income earners. They’re hammering them more than their wealthiest. Who are the high-tax states? California stands for fairness.”

California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin, responding to the address, cast Newsom as not only out of touch but also deranged.

“Governor Newsom told Californians that homelessness is down, crime is at record lows, schools are improving, and Los Angeles is recovering after the Palisades fires,” she said.

“Governor Newsom painted a picture of a California that exists in his imagination.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican representing parts of Sacramento in Congress, assailed the address as pure gaslighting.

“For once, Newsom is right,” he said.

“California has led the nation during his tenure in homelessness, unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, gas prices, electricity costs, debt, and outmigration. That is the true state of our state.”

Kiley also provided a preview of the conservative line of attack that could haunt the governor leading into the 2028 presidential race.

“California, also, of course, leads the nation in fraud … Minnesota’s fraud scandals have just ended Tim Walz’s political career,” Kiley said.

“California’s should likewise end Gavin Newsom’s.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 17:10

Kansas School Bans Students From Naming Kirk, Trump Or Jesus As Role Models

Yet another example of why American parents are increasingly pulling their kids out of public institutions and turning to home schooling.  Parents at an elementary school in Kansas are upset after students were reportedly told that they were not allowed to list President Donald Trump, late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and even Jesus Christ as their role models for an assignment. 

The incident at Marshall Elementary School in Eureka, Kansas occurred in October and only recently came to light because students were originally instructed not to tell their parents about what happened.  The American Center for Law & Justice, described as “a politically conservative, Christian-based legal organization,” has filed a formal civil rights complaint with the school.

The complaint accuses the district and Marshall Elementary School of religious discrimination, political or viewpoint discrimination, violation of free speech rights and retaliation.  Students say a school guidance counselor, Kacey Countryman, gave sixth-graders an assignment called “Find Your Voice” as part of their "Leader In Me" program.  They were asked to identify their role models, but conservative role models were apparently not allowed.  

“When a student identified Charlie Kirk as a role model, the guidance counselor got very uncomfortable and refused to allow this name to be written on the board, yelling that he was ‘not a hero,’ and that he was not a role model,” the complaint says.  When a student chose Trump as their role model, the guidance counselor reportedly had the same response.

Another parent says their child picked Jesus and was also denied.

Unreal. Sixth grade students at a Kansas public school were told they could not name Charlie Kirk as a role model for an assignment.

The assignment was called “Find Your Voice,” in which the students were asked to identify their role models.

“When a student identified Charlie… pic.twitter.com/S3yS39qBlW

— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) January 16, 2026

The complaint notes that “When a student selected President Donald J. Trump as a role model, the guidance counselor reiterated her prohibition even more angrily, stating that students could not write political or religious figures on the board, and in fact excluded political and religious topics altogether."

Reports note that children picking secular and potentially controversial figures did not receive the same backlash from the counselor.

The ACLJ has investigated a number of similar incidents in the past involving public school officials, including a recent controversy involving a Hawaiian school teacher who was punished by the district for allowing her students to talk about the assassination of Charlie Kirk during a Constitution Day discussion on free speech. 

Adminstrators placed a disciplinary memo in her file threatening future sanctions and told her she must immediately “shut down” any spontaneous student discussions on undefined “controversial issues.”

These kinds of censorious policies run completely contrary to the spirit of the First Amendment and basic civics once taught in US schools in previous generations.  The common conservative accusation that public schools have become poisonous indoctrination centers for the political left is proved correct weekly by similar stories of students being silenced for normal speech.  

The crackdown accelerated during the Biden Administration, along with the invasion of woke political propaganda into many taxpayer funded schools.  The agenda is clear:  Children are being bullied and extorted into abandoning conservative ideals.  They are forced to embrace progressive talking points as a way to keep peace in their academic lives.

There is no doubt that the rise of woke insanity in American society directly coincides with the decline of parental rights and participation in educational institutions.  School officials believe their job is not to simply teach basic academic mastery; they think their job is to program the next generation with far-left software.  Activist teachers and administrators believe their mission is to "correct" the principles instilled in children by their parents, and condition students to join the liberal hive mind.   

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 16:45

US Lender Newrez To Accept Crypto Holdings In Mortgage Approval

Authored by Nate Kostar via CoinTelegraph.com,

Newrez plans to treat eligible cryptocurrency holdings as qualifying assets in its mortgage underwriting process, a move that could broaden access to home loans for crypto holders.

The change is expected to take effect in February across the lender’s non-agency products, covering home purchases, refinancings and investment properties.

While borrowers can already use assets such as stocks and bonds in underwriting, crypto holders have typically been required to sell their positions.

At launch, Newrez said it will recognize Bitcoin, Ether, spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by those assets, and US dollar-backed stablecoins.

The crypto assets must be held with US-regulated crypto exchanges or fintech platforms, brokerages or nationally chartered banks, the company said.

Under the policy, cryptocurrency holdings considered in underwriting may have valuations adjusted to reflect market volatility, while borrowers would still be required to cover closing costs and make mortgage payments in US dollars.

Newrez chief commercial officer Leslie Gillin said about 45% of Gen Z and Millennial investors own cryptocurrency, adding that the policy is aimed at broadening access to homeownership among younger buyers.

US regulators weigh crypto’s role in mortgage underwriting

The move by Newrez follows policy discussions in the US over whether digital assets should be considered in mortgage risk assessments.

In June 2025, the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals examining how to consider cryptocurrencies as assets in single-family mortgage risk assessments without conversion to US dollars. 

Less than two months later, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the 21st Century Mortgage Act, which would codify the FHFA directive.

Lummis said the bill addresses housing affordability challenges for younger Americans, adding that “the American dream of homeownership is not a reality for many young people” and that the legislation reflects the growing number who hold digital assets.

The bill was read twice in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where it has not advanced further.

Although limited in scope, a market already exists for crypto-backed home financing, allowing borrowers to use BTC or ETH as collateral. 

Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of Ledn, told Cointelegraph in June that some Bitcoin holders have used their assets to finance real estate purchases without liquidating them.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 16:20

Minneapolis Police Face Mass Exodus As New Paid Leave Program Hits Amid Riots

Minneapolis faces a compounding crisis, as dozens of police officers are expected to tap into a new state paid leave program while the city grapples with anti-ICE riots and a staffing shortage that has stretched the department to its breaking point. 

Between 60 and 100 officers from the Minneapolis Police Department have applied for or plan to apply for the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, which took effect on January 1, according to multiple sources who spoke with Alpha News senior reporter Liz Collin and Crime Watch Minneapolis. The timing could hardly be worse for a city already reeling from violent protests following the shooting death of Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent after she attempted to run over a federal officer with her vehicle.

The PFML program was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz in 2023, which he promoted as a way to give workers time off for family or medical reasons, including up to 20 weeks of paid leave funded with public money. Many had lined up to use the 20-week paid leave window as soon as it opened on January 1. 

“The PFML program allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of medical leave or family leave per year. If someone decides to use a combination of family and medical leave, they can receive benefits for up to 20 weeks,” explains Alpha News. “During that leave, program recipients are paid between 55% and 90% of their regular wages. At present, weekly benefits cannot exceed $1,423 per week. The funding for the program comes from payroll taxes on employers and employees.”

The program also explicitly allows illegal immigrants to access the benefits that police officers use. 

The news of MPD officers applying for the program also comes following the acknowledgement in an email last week to officers from the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis that MPD morale is at an all-time low. The email detailed the “dangerously low” staffing levels causing stress and burnout, as well as political rhetoric and “inflammatory statements” from elected officials, which is emboldening hostility toward officers.

The department is already struggling daily to fill shifts, as was revealed this week in copies of emails obtained by Crime Watch showing shift sergeants desperately asking for officers to sign up for overtime to fill shifts.

Applications for the program surged quickly, with about 18,000 filed in the first week of the month and roughly 25,000 by last Monday. Initial projections estimated around 130,000 participants over the entire first year. Minneapolis declined to respond directly to Alpha News. Still, it acknowledged on social media that employees, including MPD officers, have requested leave, claiming most applicants were already on leave at the end of 2025 for reasons such as pregnancy, newborn bonding, or caring for a family member, while declining to dispute the reported number of officers involved.

A big problem with the program Walz created is that the statute sets no limit on how many employees from a single department, office, or employer can take leave at the same time, leaving entire units vulnerable to being depleted all at once with no built-in safeguard. Alpha News reports that officers planning to use PFML are required to give 30 days’ notice before going on leave, yet the clustering of applications from Minneapolis police as the program goes live raises serious questions about the timing. The department is now operating with roughly 600 officers, down about 300 from nearly 900 before the pandemic lockdowns and the death of George Floyd. Many officers retired or left the force after that disaster. This time, officers have effectively checked out by applying for paid leave under Walz’s program rather than resigning outright.

Between ongoing rioting, chronic understaffing, and a paid leave program with no guardrails against mass absences, Minneapolis is facing a perfect storm, and its political leaders are the ones to blame. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 15:55

NYC Mayor Mamdani Under Fire Not For Snubbing Black Appointees

Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,

Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s newly sworn-in mayor, is already facing criticism less than a month into his tenure. Not for his democratic socialist agenda, but for failing to appoint black and Hispanic officials. 

In New York City, the mayor relies heavily on deputy mayors, a group that functions much like a cabinet. Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams, filled his administration with black and Hispanic officials, a stark contrast to Mamdani’s approach. 

According to a New York Times report on Thursday, some black and Latino leaders “worry they are being denied access to power under Mayor Zohran Mamdani and that they may lose the ground they had gained under former Mayor Eric Adams.” 

So far, Mamdani has appointed five deputy mayors. None are black, and only one is Hispanic. 

The imbalance has drawn backlash. 

“He already doesn’t have the best relationship with the Black community,” said political consultant Tyquana Henderson-Rivers. “And it seems like he’s not interested in us because there’s no representation in his kitchen cabinet.” 

It must be so exhausting being a lib. https://t.co/xiZtutq8A5

— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) January 16, 2026

Arc of Justice President Kristen John Foy echoed that concern, warning that Mamdani’s staffing decisions undercut his pledge of diversity. 

“For someone who prides himself on being directly engaged with everyday New Yorkers, to be so tone deaf to the cries of Black and Latinos in the city for access to power is shocking,” Foy said.  

She added, “There are some very good people of color that have been appointed to some high-level positions, but those people are not at the center of the decision-making apparatus in this city.” 

In response, Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec dismissed the criticism, claiming that 18 of the administration’s 32 appointees are minorities. 

Mamdani was sworn into office on Jan. 1 after campaigning as a democratic socialist and vowing to enact some of the most radical left-wing policies in New York City history. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 15:30

Gold And Silver Explosion: Something Big Is Happening

Gold and silver prices, according to Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.com, are signaling stress under the surface of the economy. From shrinking physical inventories to record central bank buying, precious metals warn that the underlying issues aren’t resolved…

In early 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic hysteria I noted that the covid panic seemed to perfectly coincide with the Federal Reserve’s acceleration of interest rates and asset dumping. This trend, I argued, was a precursor to a Catch-22 scenario I have been warning about for some time.

Since the crash of 2008, the central bank has used stimulus measures and near-zero interest rates to protect “too big to fail” corporations while keeping debt afloat globally. Doing this required the digital printing of tens of trillions of fiat dollars and, inevitably, a sharp devaluation in the greenback.

I predicted that this would lead to stagflationary conditions (which finally hit in 2022), and the conundrum of inflation vs. deflation.

The Federal Reserve could continue to keep rates low and ignore inflationary pressures to avoid a collapse of debt.

Or, they could significantly raise interest rates, let the debt system take its medicine and tumble in price and squelch the effects of inflation by suppressing consumer demand.

Either choice could cause an economic crisis.

Maybe it’s understandable that the Fed decided not to choose.

Instead, they raised rates but not enough to reverse stagflation. They took the middle road and refused to allow the economy to take its much-needed medicine, postponing a reckoning for badly-priced malinvestments.

Essentially, kicking the can down the road for the next administration to deal with.

Consequences of the Fed’s too-little-too-late strategy

This means we are still stuck with the massive price increases we incurred during the Biden Administration.

Granted, the rate of inflation has slowed. But the cost of living is significantly higher than just five years ago. (Remember, above-zero inflation doesn’t mean prices fall – it means they keep rising, but more slowly.)

In 2020 I wrote an article titled Physical Gold Will Soon Break Free from the Paper Market in Spectacular Fashion, predicting skyrocketing precious metals values once this Catch-22 situation became apparent to investors. I predicted that buyers would increasingly drop financial derivatives (futures etc.) in favor of physical delivery of gold and silver, causing physical prices to go parabolic.

This is now happening.

Since I wrote that article, the price of gold per ounce jumped over 200%. Silver prices have exploded by 400%.

• Global inventories of physical metals have plunged

• London vaults are reportedly down 30% since 2022

• Refiners report 10-14 week delays for new bullion bars (vs. normal 2-4 weeks)

• Physical redemptions of commodities contracts have accelerated to historically unprecedented levels

Via Clive Thompson on LinkedIn. Thompson adds: “This marks a dramatic behavioral shift: historically less than 1% of COMEX contracts resulted in physical delivery, but in 2025, some months delivery notices reached 100%.”

Silver is sitting at an all time high of $90 an ounce as I write this. Gold is closing in on $4700 per ounce.

(Maybe large banks like JP Morgan are deliberately backing away from market manipulation for some reason?) Global central bank gold buying has reached historic levels every year since 2022, surpassing even the levels we saw in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis.

All that is background – what does it mean?

The economic singularity

It seems to me that we are witnessing an economic singularity – a moment of great change.

Or, at the very least, the warning signs of an imminent change.

Precious metals prices are trying to tell us something.

The problem is, that message is mostly being ignored, even by more conservative platforms. Not enough people are talking about what’s happening with precious metals and what it means for the economy as a whole.

Here’s what I think…

First, the rush to physical assets suggests that banking institutions, governments and the wealthiest 1% of investors are scrambling to hedge in preparation for a true crisis. (I’m specifying institutions and the very wealthy because a single COMEX gold delivery contract represents 100 oz. of gold, nearly half a million dollars at today’s prices – well outside the typical American family’s means.)

As I noted in 2020, when the banks start rushing to buy physical gold and silver, then the rest of us should do the same. They are likely acting to counteract losses in other assets. Or they are forecasting some kind of geopolitical earthquake that will send prices exploding.

It’s not hard to see the potential for geopolitical conflict right now. European governments have become increasingly hostile to the U.S. over tariffs. They keep trying to start World War III with Russia and so on.

Second, there are the domestic problems caused by protests against immigration enforcement. The deportation issue is merely a convenient excuse for wider conflict between the left and the right. )If ICE agents went home tomorrow and stopped their arrests, the left would find something else to riot about.)

Just as we witnessed in 2020, domestic chaos is a tool for political extortion. In the meantime, civil instability helps fuel the rise in metals.

Third, there are the tensions with Russia and China, who are not happy with the capture of communist dictator Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela’s oil exports have been vital to China’s industrial capacity. Though Venezuela’s supplies only made up around 4.5% of China’s imports, a loss of 4% or more in a volatile global market is unwelcome to say the least.

Venezuela has served as a launching point for military assets in the western hemisphere (including surveillance systems to watch the U.S.). Chinese and Russian weapons failed miserably against U.S. operations, which might lead to escalation going forward.

The larger effects of Maduro’s removal can’t be quantified yet, but they will be consequential.

Most Venezuelans seem overjoyed by their liberation from Maduro. The question is, can we avoid a long-term quagmire? Our military excels at blowing up enemies with precision, but we have a miserable track record at long-term military occupation.

Fourth, let’s not forget the protests in Iran and the potential for regime change there. I have no personal stake in terms of what happens in the Middle East. I think the U.S. should stay out of the mess as much as possible, but I have no illusions that Trump is going to quietly sit back and just watch. He’s proven to be a man of action.

I have to admit, his decisions on foreign policy have been surprisingly effective and welcomed by the populations involved – in most cases at least. That said, when geopolitical conditions shift so quickly, this inevitably sends shockwaves through the global economy. Even when the action is morally correct and strategically necessary, the consequences are unpredictable.

Finally, the Fed appears intent on cutting interest rates without ever addressing the original stagflationary problem. Consumer spending never went down. Debt accumulation, at the federal and the household level, continues to grow. Prices are still high on most goods compared to 2020. The U.S. has to suffer through at least a short-term deflationary period in order to correct for stagflation, and the banks have done everything in their power to avoid this.

In other words, if the Fed continues to cut rates then inflation will a comeback in 2026.

Here’s what happens next

I believe all the right factors are in play for a continued gold and silver run.

I would not be surprised to see silver close to the $200 per ounce mark by 2027. The combination of demand for all the various industrial uses of silver combined with the multi-year supply deficit, on top of the U.S. decision to declare silver a critical mineral – adding in China’s attempts to ban silver exporting PLUS the insatiable demand for silver as an investment? This is a combination of forces all but guaranteed to send price higher. And they aren’t any more “transitory” than the Covid-era inflation spike. I predict these forces will drive the gold/silver ratio to levels last seen during the spike of 2011 (35:1), which would put the price closer to $131 per ounce today.

I’m not seeing any indication that global pressures are going to slow down anytime soon. In fact, I think precious metals are telling us that things are about to get much more chaotic.

Today, maybe more than ever, owning physical gold and silver is a declaration of financial liberty. Of independence from the fiscal chaos of the Federal Reserve and federal government debt.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/19/2026 - 14:40