When the other shoe drops

California legislators recently passed a "Stop Nick Shirley Act" to keep "unauthorized" reporters from reporting fraud by, say, illegal immigrants.

Shirley is fighting back.

Meanwhile, he is reporting on fraud related to California's High-speed rail project. Including, right now, unauthorized travel and entertainment expenses.

There is only a little overlap with issues of illegal immigration. There is more overlap with the issue of fraud as Shirley's second shoe is dropping. Others are also dropping a few shoes.

California's High-Speed Rail Authority paid nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel reimbursements to outside consultants while keeping a poor record to justify them, a state investigation found.

Greenland

Clayton S. Wood, yesterday on FB

This guy is pretty sensible. Does his take align with yours?

Denmark just gave Trump permanent security control over Greenland.

Today the United States signed what Trump is calling an "Infinite Life" Agreement with Denmark and Greenland. Permanent US control over Greenland's security. No adversary base, presence, or sensitive investment allowed there without US approval, ever. A large American military buildup starting immediately. And according to Trump, at no cost to the United States.

Rewind to January. Trump was floating outright annexation and refusing to rule out military force. Denmark's prime minister called the idea "completely absurd" and reminded everyone that Greenland was covered by NATO's collective defense guarantee. Eighty five percent of Greenlanders opposed joining the United States. Thousands marched in Copenhagen and Nuuk in the largest protest in Greenland's history. Every serious voice in Europe said this would never happen, that Trump was embarrassing himself, that Denmark would never fold.

Nine months later, the United States has what it wanted. Not annexation but something arguably more useful: permanent security control, indefinite basing rights, and a guarantee that no rival power ever gets a foothold on the most strategically located island on the planet, all without having to govern eighty thousand Greenlanders or fight a NATO ally over sovereignty.

The White House has not published the actual text yet, so how "permanent" is worked out with a future administration is a fair question. But the shape of what just happened is not in dispute. A goal that was universally mocked as fantasy in January is a signed agreement in September. Imagine that we move fast on rare earths and military presence, the outcry if a subsequent administration tried to help Russia and/or China by leaving would be immense.

This is not an isolated story. It is part of a pattern.

Tomorrow morning I am posting a longer piece walking through everything this administration has actually accomplished in foreign policy over the last two years. Panama. The Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Malacca. Venezuela. Cuba. Greenland. Different chokepoints and flashpoints around the world, outcomes that critics called impossible when Trump first mentioned them, all wins now sitting on the board.

If you still think none of this matters, you are not making a serious argument. You are just unable to admit something good happened.

Stephen Green posted this:

“Trump’s new deal with Greenland is exactly the same as the old one!”

Not true at all. Key new details:

Duration: The 1951 deal lasted only as long as NATO existed and Greenland remained part of NATO. Trump’s 2026 deal lasts indefinitely, even if NATO implodes or Greenland…

— Matt Morse (@MattMorseTV) September 18, 2026

Things will probably develop some during the day today.

250 Years Ago

September 18, 1776

Patriot Haym Salomon is arrested by the British as a spy.

Salomon, a rich businessman from New York, is a primary financier of the Continental Army.

He died in 1785 with significant personal debt.

WEEKEND

The Week In Pictures: Sydney Sweeney Goes AI Edition This was one of those weeks when a lot of the main stories–the meme stories, anyway–are holdovers. The Lindsay Clancy trial continued to reverberate. The 9/11 commemoration, and liberal responses thereto, went on. Canada remained in the news by proposing to become an associate member of the European Union. Which makes sense, given that Canada has heretofore been an associate member of the Western Hemisphere.

But some stories were new: Sydney Sweeney came under attack because she took off her clothes in service of a marketing campaign, something apparently never before seen in the world of advertising. An anti-AI campaign materialized out of nowhere, much like the COVID panic and global warming. Many were suspicious.

Beyond that, is was, for memesters, bombs away on liberalism, as usual. So here goes: The Week In Pictures, Sydney Sweeney goes AI Edition:

What will you miss as Hollywood goes under?

Hollywood has not been kind to James Woods lately, but he remembers better times:

The greatest detective character created for television, cast with an actor so perfect, so charming, so subtly powerful in the role, it can never be "reimagined."

Thank God.

Peter Falk was born today in 1927. Here's his statue on Falk Miksa Street in Budapest. pic.twitter.com/3VoDbVcgED

— Pulp Librarian (@PulpLibrarian) September 16, 2026

Here are some examples of Colombo in action:

Who are your old Hollywood favorites?

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Last week's thread, A War for Civilization

Think of any more enticing poems for the younger folk?

Notable comment:

98 'Civics' was replaced by 'Sociology'

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at September 12, 2026 12:55 PM

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 11:21 AM

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