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A new TD Economics report warns Canada is quietly losing highly skilled workers, entrepreneurs and STEM graduates to the United States through work visas, tech recruitment and stronger economic opportunities.

BNN Bloomberg spoke with Francis Fong, managing director at TD Economics, about how Canada’s tax structure, productivity challenges and lack of business scale are contributing to the country’s ongoing talent retention problem.

In return, Canada can have as ,many Blue state celebrities as they can stomach. I suggest Barbra Streisand to start.

Lifehacker.

Jeff Somers, in addition to being a very handy fellow, is also a distinguished science fiction author. Highly recommended.

The Other McCain.

By early 2025, Kylie Brewer had developed a fairly large following on TikTok and Instagram, with an audience of tens of thousands for her short-form feminist videos. However, her audience as a drop in the bucket compared to the “Whatever” podcast, which has 4.5 million subscribers on YouTube. On her own TikTok/IG channels, Kylie occasionally had people leave rude comments, but these people were not skilled polemicists — knowledgeable and articulate, communications professionals capable of making persuasive arguments. As mentioned previously, I’ve been unable to find an online biography of Andrew Wilson, so I don’t know anything about his educational background or career experience, but it is obvious that he is highly skilled as a debater, and Kylie Brewer was not ready to meet such an antagonist.

She got embarrassed in front of an audience of millions, and it completely freaked her out. She had an episode of Bell’s palsy — partial paralysis of her facial muscles, almost certainly a stress response — and threatened a lawsuit against the “Whatever” podcast. That’s how she became notorious as “Crash Out Kylie,” and she’s been living with that notoriety ever since.

What happened to Kylie Brewer highlights what’s fundamentally wrong with contemporary elite education. A native of California, she was such a promising high school student that she was admitted to Brown University. Conservative faculty are extremely rare in Ivy League institutions. Studies have shown that academia, which was always tilted toward liberalism, has shifted even more leftward in the past 25 years.

If you’ve never watched the Whatever podcast, you might find it amusing; I certainly do.

Andrew Wilson is not only a skilled debater but an entertaining fellow. Highly recommended.

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The Army successfully hit its recruiting goal for the 2026 fiscal year, more than four months ahead of its deadline.

The Army announced on Saturday that it reached its goal of signing 61,500 people for active-duty contracts. It’s the third year in a row that the Army met its recruitment goal, after falling short in 2022 and 2023. It also is the second year in a row that it beat the deadline by roughly four months; in 2025 the Army hit the milestone in the first week of June. The fiscal year closes at the end of September.

According to the Army’s release on meeting its recruitment goal, the service credited “innovative outreach, enhanced career incentives, and a focus on critical technical skills” with helping to bring in the new soldiers, although the announcement was vague on what those moves were. However the service has continued several programs created over the past few years that have helped to bring in more recruits and assist them in meeting standards for military service.

The guy at the top makes all the difference.

The Existentialist Republic, obviously a Voice of the Crust.

Full disclosure: The founders of the Federalist Society—Lee Otis, Dave McIntosh, Steve Calabresi, and Gene Meyer—are friends of mine from Yale. It’s very gratifying to learn that they have the right enemies.

Read it.

Read it.

Garland Police says the suspect had crashed into two other vehicles before this all started. As you saw above, the man then tried to steal a few cars before finally being shot dead by an armed Texas man who was protecting his family.

You can thank Tatiana Starks, owner of Garland Smoke and Vape, for providing the video of those previous carjacking attempts. This happened in the parking lot of the strip mall her shop sits in. The rest was caught on surveillance cameras.

VA Viper (a Friend of the Blog)

This essentially reproduces a dish much enjoyed at the restaurant Da Gemma in Amalfi in April 2002. In Hazan’s recipe I have substituted fettuccine for spaghetti and added the beef extract to give a slightly meatier flavor. In fact, the extract can be omitted to yield an entirely vegetarian dish. An interesting discussion of the historical origins of Genovese sauce (La Genovese) is found in Naples at Table by Arthur Schwarz (1998).

I guess it’s time for dinner….

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Greater than Thomas Sowell? I think not. But he’s a strong number two.

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Moore literally took a bullet to the leg to stop a student who hoped to enact another Columbine-style mass shooting.

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A viral video circulating on X appears to show a young developer unveiling a 3D-printed proof-of-concept prototype of a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile system, or MANPADS, built for less than $100.

According to the project page on GitHub, the five-minute video showcases a “proof-of-concept prototype of a low-cost rocket launcher and guided rocket system built using consumer electronics and 3D-printed components.”

The project description says the system uses an onboard flight computer, inertial measurement hardware, and a sensor stack that includes GPS, compass, and barometric modules to determine orientation and transmit telemetry.

Q: Does a bear shit in the woods?
A: Apparently not.

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Researchers at Rockefeller University are reporting encouraging results from an early clinical trial of a redesigned cancer immunotherapy that is injected directly into tumors.

In the small study, six of 12 patients experienced tumor shrinkage, and two patients went into complete remission, according to findings published in the journal Cancer Cell.

And remarkably, the treatment not only affected the injected tumors but those located in other areas of the body shrank or were eliminated by immune cells.

Check it out.

If, of course, that’s what you want to do.

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Some good news, for a change.

Watch it.

designed this John Wick room/man cave for my friend who wanted to redo a part of his basement. Even got to get my hands dirty on this one, which I love. Modeled after Winston’s vault room in the Continental Hotel from the movie John Wick 3. Packed with guns (gun replicas), wall art, and a pool table, this is the quintessential man’s room.

Worth doing, I think. If I had a basement (which I don’t; Texas for some reason doesn’t do basements), I would certainly consider it.

The Foundry.

President Donald Trump’s military response to Iran’s decades-long war against the United States has already reaped massive dividends in its first week.

On America’s 250th anniversary, Trump isn’t just reshaping the Middle East—he’s reshaping the global balance of power and strengthening the United States’ position.

“Operation Epic Fury” has already yielded three massive victories in the first week.

Read it. And watch the video.

Marco Rubio appears for an interview with John Micklethwait of Bloomberg News. The interview was pre-scheduled as a follow up to the rather historic speech in Munich at the security conference. Within the interview {video and transcript below} Rubio expands on the baseline of the speech, the ‘why‘ is the U.S-EU alliance important.

Well worth your time.

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A new Trump-aligned nonprofit is launching to fill a gap in enforcement of the president’s election integrity executive order.

Nicole Kelly, senior counsel at Lex Politica, the law firm that represents Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and other Republicans, is the president of a new 501(c)4 called Save Election Day to lead the fight in battleground states to implement the initiatives identified by President Donald Trump’s executive order last March.

“President Trump’s executive order that came out last March that really sparked the initial idea here because this organization was founded for one single purpose,” Kelly told The Daily Signal, “which we believe is existential to the future of the United States democracy, which is to lead the fight in the states to implement the key initiatives that were identified and outlined by President Trump.”

Save Election Day is particularly aimed at implementing several policies nationwide: one single Election Day; requirements of photo ID to vote; elimination or reduction of mail-in balloting and early voting periods; elimination of post-Election Day ballot receipt periods; and bans on noncitizen voting.

Republicans are now rifling through the Democrat toolbox and stealing all the good stuff.

Read it. And watch the video.

This is a critically worded speech that is very important to listen to with great deliberation. Within his remarks Rubio is telling Europe that we want to remain allied in our interests, but we are no longer going to allow the system of “globalism” to destroy our uniquely American life.

The United States is separating from the madness; this is not up for debate. The only question is whether Europe is too far gone, or whether they will join us.

Rubio continues to impress. I still favor Vance for 2028, but if he’s not available Rubio will certainly do.

Ponder the quality of possible Republican candidates with the bare bench (except for random piles of poop) of the Democrats.

Read it.

A federal judge ruled against California’s prohibition on federal law enforcement wearing masks, a mandate aimed at Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents.

U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder, appointed by President Bill Clinton, ruled the state law discriminates against federal law enforcement, as it allowed state police to wear masks to conceal their identities while preventing federal law enforcement from doing the same.

However, she rejected the Trump administration’s argument that the ICE agents needed to wear masks to be protected from doxing, in a 30-page opinion Monday.

“The Act treats federal law enforcement officers differently than similarly situated state law enforcement officers,” Snyder concluded.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act in September 2025, only referencing federal, city, and county law enforcement, but not including state law enforcement.

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Saw this on Red State, and it seems like a pretty easy tactic to implement – mislead the ICE protestors into going to the wrong places, and just generally waste their time. It’s sort of an update on the old “let’s order twenty pizzas and have them delivered to our friend’s house” prank, without victimizing the poor pizza workers. The idea of sending a coven of screeching gelatinous broads and boys in the throes of soy-psychosis (is that a thing? Maybe not) to a biker bar is quite satisfying. And maybe, just maybe, with a few calculations and burned quantities of midnight oil, we can come up with even funnier scenarios.

One of the difficulties with crowd-sourcing an activity is that you’re not the only crowd out there.

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It’s difficult to reconcile the doom mongering over Venezuela becoming the “next Iraq or Afghanistan” when the Venezuelan populace is largely celebrating the capture of Nicolás Maduro. When one recognizes that Maduro stole the Venezuelan elections, that he’s not the true leader of the country and that his communist regime organized a reign of terror against the populace to eliminate political opposition, it’s easy to see why Donald Trump’s black-bag operation is being applauded by the people who actually matter.

Watch it.

An Impulse induction range runs about $7,000, and I really want one. But I can’t justify paying that much for a cooktop.

Maybe if I win the lottery….

As with most tech innovations, the market will initially be upper-income early adopters, but I’m hoping that it will eventually use economies of scale to reduce the price over time.

(CCOS: I was much saddened by the amount of vocal fry used by the people talking in the video. *sigh* California….)

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Garmin has confirmed the first emergency use of its Autoland system occurred on Saturday in Colorado. “Garmin can confirm that an emergency Autoland activation occurred at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado,” the company said in a statement Sunday. “The Autoland took place on Sat., Dec. 20, resulting in a successful landing. We look forward to sharing additional details at the appropriate time.” Social media posts from flight tracking hobbyists reported a King Air 200 squawked 7700 about 2 p.m. local time today. The Autoland system was initiated and landed the aircraft at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Denver. A recording from LiveATC’s feed of the airport’s tower frequency includes a robotic female voice declaring a pilot incapacitation and the intention to land on Runway 30. The tape is below and first mention of the incident by ATC is at about 5:00. The Autoland system announces its intentions at about 11:10. (The time stamps are approximate.) There is no word on the condition of the pilot but social media posts suggest all aboard were safe.

Read it.

Trump, speaking at a White House event on Dec. 3, expressed admiration for tiny cars after seeing them in Japan, comparing these models to the classic Volkswagen Beetle.

“They’re very small; they’re really cute,” Trump told reporters. “And everyone seems to think they’re good, but you’re not allowed to build them.”

He confirmed that he authorized Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to “immediately approve the production” of these smaller vehicles, which are common throughout Malaysia and South Korea.

“So, you’ll be able to buy [them],” the president said.

…

The federal government does not explicitly ban Japanese-style microcars. However, regulatory exclusions effectively prevented automakers from producing these types of vehicles, forcing them to manufacture larger, heavier cars.

ince the 1970s, the United States has implemented modern federal crash-safety and highway-safety standards under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. This includes airbags, crash-test performance, side-impact protection, and structural strength.

Kei cars—designed with small dimensions and engines—cannot comply with these standards without adding weight and size, ultimately undermining the very concept.

Speed the day. (As usual, government is the problem, not the solution.)

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On Thursday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Media Research Center founder and President Emeritus L. Brent Bozell III as U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, despite obstructionist tactics by Democrats.

By a 53-43 evening vote, the Senate approved Bozell to fill the post vacated by former ambassador Reuben Brigety, who resigned in January.

“I am honored to have this opportunity to advance America’s relationship with South Africa and deeply grateful for the faith President Trump has placed in my ability and commitment to do so,” Bozell said following Thursday’s vote. “I look forward to serving his administration and the nation in this important diplomatic mission,” the newly-confirmed ambassador added.

This is going to be very entertaining—like confirming William F. Buckley as ambassador to the Soviet Union.

Check it out.

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Watch it.

My wife pointed this out to me.

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a latke, but that’s an error I intend to correct.

CNBC, a Voice of the Crust.

Michael and Susan Dell announced Tuesday that they have committed $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for some 25 million American children.

The couple’s donation will be the largest ever devoted to American children, according to Invest America, a nonprofit advocacy group partnered with the Dells.

“It’s designed to help families feel supported from the start and encourage them to keep saving as their children grow,” Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies

, told CNBC in an interview. “We know that when children have accounts like this, they’re much more likely to graduate from high school, from college, buy a home, start a business and less likely to be incarcerated.”

The Dells’ commitment goes hand in hand with a new federal government program that allows parents to open tax-advantaged investment accounts for children under 18 with Social Security numbers. Under the federal program, U.S. citizens born from the beginning of 2025 through 2028 will receive a federal grant of $1,000 to seed those so-called Trump accounts. Parents will be able to open and contribute to these accounts starting on July 4, 2026, with IRS guidance yet to be issued.

Wally is my hero.

The Antiplanner.

Less than fifteen years ago, Harvard economist Edward Glaeser’s book, The Triumph of the City, argued that face-to-face communications were sill vital for finance and other industries, which was why dense cities and dense downtowns were still important. At the time, I wrote what was probably the most critical review of this book because it failed to recognize that continuing improvements in telecommunications (such as FaceTime) and transportation (such as interstate freeways) were making face-to-face meetings less relevant all the time.

Now, a recent article in the Economist observes that the share of New York City workers employed in the finance and insurance industry has fallen from 11.5 percent in 1990 to 7.7 percent in 2025. Although JPMorgan Chase occupies one of the two Midtown office towers taller than the Empire State Building, that bank has more employees in Texas than in New York.

Among the major reasons for this decline, argues the Economist, are high costs, high taxes, and increased government regulation. But if density were really an essential prerequisite for the success of the finance industry, it would overcome those obstacles. The reality is that the need for density has been declining since the development of electricity, telephones, and affordable automobiles, and new technologies since then, including microcomputers, Zoom calls, and autonomous vehicles, have simply continued this trend.

Believe me, they are VERY expensive.

Read it.

I suspect that it wasn’t George Soros.

Check it out.

Ever have the urge to see New York City or Los Angeles under water> Now’s your chance.