Good morning, dear reader. Glad you’re with us today. Today is Friday, Jan. 2, 2026.
Today in History:
366: The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers and invade the Roman Empire.
1947: Mahatma Gandhi begins a march for peace in East Bengal.
1776: George Washington's army hoists the Grand Union Flag at Prospect Hill, Charlestown.
1788: Georgia is the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1839: French photographer Louis Daguerre takes the first photo of the Moon.
1903: President Theodore Roosevelt shuts down the post office in Indianola, Miss., for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black.
1906: Willis Carrier receives a U.S. patent for an "Apparatus for Treating Air," the world's first modern air conditioner.
1935: Bruno Hauptmann’s trial begins for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby.
1941: World War II: The U.S. government announces its Liberty Ship program.
1965: The New York Jets sign future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath to a $427,000 contract.
1974: President Nixon imposes a speed limit of 55 mph.
Birthdays today include Isaac Asimov, Larry Harmon (AKA Bozo the Clown), Dan Rostenkowski, Julius La Rosa, Roger Miller, Jim Bakker, and Dennis Hastert
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I want to start with a shout-out to Victor Davis Hanson, who is recovering from surgery at Stanford Medical Center. Stanford is among the best, so candidly, I feel a bit better about this already.
That said, the operation was a pretty serious one. . Apparently, he’s had problems for some months now, which the doctors been chasing. They came to a diagnosis just recently, hence the operation on Tuesday. I’m told that it’s a bit early yet to say if it was a complete success, so prayers and good thoughts will, I’m sure, be appreciated.
I have no doubt I speak for all my friends here at PJ Media when I wish him a speedy, smooth recovery.
Now, on with the show.
Now that Nick Shirley has shown the lamestream media how to conduct its affairs properly, there are a lot of folks following Rush Limbaugh's advice: "Follow the Money.” To that point, there was an interesting piece on Fox’s website yesterday morning:
President Donald Trump railed against alleged social services fraud in Minnesota during remarks at his New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday.
"Can you imagine they stole $18 billion," Trump said. "That's just what we're learning about. That's peanuts. And California is worse, Illinois is worse and sadly New York is worse."
Trump continued, "We're going to get to the bottom of all those. It was a giant scam."
I'm not going to pretend I’m surprised, not one bit. In fact, I’ve suggested all three of those states in private conversations the past few weeks were likely the next targets. I said, among other things, that it wouldn’t shock me if a huge part of the federal deficit was caused by this fraud, and by more than just Tim Walz’s Minnesota. Fixing that, after all, was something Trump ran on.
I’ll also point out again, as I did last week (last year?), that this is going to play heavily on the mid-term elections. How can it not?
An interesting wrinkle in all of this, from KSTP in Milwaukee via The Daily Press:
Staff of Nokomis Daycare Center say they discovered damage to their business on the 4000 block of Bloomington Avenue early Tuesday morning.
While the center was closed overnight, a burglar appeared to have broken through the back kitchen wall and proceeded to break a wall shared with the Family Dollar next door. The suspect also allegedly broke into their office and took documentation on employees and child enrollment while ripping checks from their checkbook.
We are supposed to believe that someone drilled through a cement wall and took nothing but the records from this daycare? Who does that?
I'll dare to make a guess: Someone who doesn't want those records made public. Matt's calling it "The Most Convenient 'Burglary' in History," a line I wish I'd written myself.
I mean, seriously, this is all going down at the exact moment Somali-run daycare centers in Minneapolis sit under a national microscope because of fraud allegations that could reach up to $1 billion across Minnesota’s public assistance programs, and we’re supposed to nod our heads and believe this at face value?
Regardless of our believing it or not, I'll guarantee you that's the Democrat/Somali story, and they're sticking to it.
Let’s think about this for a second. Since Shirley’s video went viral, not only has one suspected fraudulent daycare been burglarized of all records that could seemingly prove its legitimacy, but another daycare, the infamous “Quality Learing Center” was not only suddenly booming with activity, but also had its misspelled sign corrected.
This does stretch credulity to well beyond the level of a fairy tale.
Related: Jail Time for Timmy?
Looking ahead, regardless of any progress being made or not being made, this is no longer about Somalis, particularly, or Walz, Ilhan Omar, or even Keith Ellison. This is about the public's waning trust in Democrat-run governments. That's one thing they're not going to get over between now and the midterms.
It’s going to be hard for Democrats, whose approval ratings have already dipped into record low territory, to downplay the fact that the fraud under the microscope is centered on the very programs they were attempting to protect when they shut the government down. Indeed, as far as I can see, that's why they shut the government down — to keep the fraud gravy flowing. This is, in the end, about the betrayal of the people of these United States.
I'm hardly alone in this conclusion. I suppose the nasty optics won’t move Democrat loyalists. Indeed, I wonder what would, if anything. I halfway expect them to leap up to defend the fraudsters. We're all racist, ya know. </sarc>
Be that as it may, this story, even as it now stands, let alone as additional layers are peeled off this proverbial onion, will at least be a strong motivator for everyone outside the Democrat party, and possibly for some within it as well, out of sheer embarrassment. The situation certainly calls for it.
I know, I know — November is a bit far off to be making that kind of judgement call. The thing is, I think the American people have longer memories about the disaster the Democrats have been for the last decade. I can’t imagine Democrats doing well at the polls with this level of obvious incompetence (or perhaps more accurately, malfeasance) hanging over their heads.
The question is going to be in the minds of Joe and Jane Voter: Was the government shutdown all about protecting the healthcare and childcare systems, as they kept telling us, or was it about protecting the fraud therein? That's a question I'm hammering on if I'm Oversight Chair Jim Comer, as this stuff comes before his committee in the next few weeks.
Thought for the day: Harry Chapin once wrote, "It's got to be the going, not the getting there, that's good."
Find a way to enjoy every day on your journey. Remember that, absent the low points on the road, there are no high points. I'll see you tomorrow.
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