March 13, 2025

OPEN THREAD: Make me proud.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds 1363

NECROTWEETING:

Posted at 7:59 pm by Glenn Reynolds 65

TOUGH WEEK:

Posted at 6:59 pm by Glenn Reynolds 95

HUH:

Posted at 6:46 pm by Stephen Green 131

RIP: Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva dead at 77. “Grijalva, D-Ariz., died of lung cancer-related issues on Thursday morning, his office announced in a statement. In Congress, the southern Arizona Democrat was most known for his work on the House Natural Resources committee.”

Posted at 5:54 pm by Ed Driscoll 117

COVID FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY: There’s Plenty of Toilet Paper in the U.S. So Why Are People Hoarding It?

Australia has also suffered from panic buying of toilet paper despite plentiful domestic supply. A risk expert in the country explained it this way: “Stocking up on toilet paper is … a relatively cheap action, and people like to think that they are ‘doing something’ when they feel at risk.”

This is an example of “zero risk bias,” in which people prefer to try to eliminate one type of possibly superficial risk entirely rather than do something that would reduce their total risk by a greater amount.

* * * * * * * * *

Americans aren’t alone in panic buying to ensure they have plenty of squares to spare. Venezuelans hoarded the commodity in 2013 as a result of a drop in production, leading the government to seize a toilet paper factory in an effort to ensure more supply. It failed to do the trick.

Unexpectedly — but as America’s Newspaper of Record “reported” five years ago today: Bernie Sanders: ‘We Must Seize The Means Of Toilet Paper Production!’

Posted at 5:14 pm by Ed Driscoll 161

BARACK OBAMA HURT MOST: Iran Could Lose Iraq.

Iraq’s politicians also seem more eager than usual to appease the United States. Iraq’s government is led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and his Coordination Framework, a coalition closely allied with Iran. But Sudani’s team made three compromises with U.S. officials in late January: removing an arrest warrant on U.S. President Donald Trump for ordering the killing of terrorists in Baghdad during his last administration; agreeing to release the Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who has been held hostage by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia; and passing a vital budget amendment that has long been sought by Iraq’s Kurds, the segment of Iraqi society that has the closest ties to Trump. These compromises indicate that Iran’s allies in Iraq are feeling vulnerable.

Washington should take advantage of this moment to permanently reduce the level of Iranian control in Iraq. It should do so not through wide-scale military action but with tough diplomacy, the threat of sanctions, and intelligence operations. Such measures would deprive Iran of a vital source of funding and give the United States leverage in any negotiations with the regime’s leaders. Most important, it would lead to better governance for Iraqis, who have suffered for too long under Iran’s thumb.

Stay tuned — and keep an eye on Marco Rubio.

Posted at 3:51 pm by Stephen Green 105

SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE WAS LEAST SEEN SIPPING MIMOSAS AT BRUNCH: Gavin Newsom Is a Bust. “They claim that Newsom fundraised to help buy the bust of himself. Newsom, whose reputation as an F-5 level blowhard forced the dictionary to expand room for its definition of self-aggrandizement, was told by his political team that he should look embarrassed by this resurgent revelation while denying it at the same time.”

Much more at the link.

Posted at 2:18 pm by Stephen Green 66