Saint Renee Good of Minneapolis

Ten days after Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent for — depending on your news diet — either peacefully honking her horn or attempting to kill a federal agent, the NYT has anointed her a martyr, with five front page stories yesterday morning analyzing every detail of her death nearly two weeks later. And that obsessive coverage got me wondering… why didn’t Ashli Babbitt get this treatment? Obviously, J6 rioters are evil according to your average lib, most of whom don’t even know Ashli Babbitt existed, and genuinely believe the only people killed that day (dozens) were police officers (the good kind). It’s another blind spot, courtesy of our fragmented media landscape. But ftr I’ve openly argued for years that Ashli’s shooting, while tragic, was justified. Call me a fascist for my common sense positions on law and order, but at least I’m consistent. Can the same be said for the failing NYT?

Happy Monday, everything is worse

Spotify is hiking the subscription price to $12.99/month, and it’s time for an epic rant. Everyone settle more deeply into your commodes. Ahem: everything is getting more expensive and worse. Laundry machines. The Wendy’s Biggie Bag. Air travel. Clothes. Buildings. Airbnbs. Subway sandwiches. Stranger Things. DoorDash: objectively more expensive; only worse depending on your personal feelings toward an imported labor shadow class. So: how has this happened? According to my kooky trad Catholic aunt, “safety” (your laundry machine sucks because of “safety”), globalization, and the devaluation of the currency, in no particular order. Not that long ago, a family in Nowheresville, Maine, living on 1 income from shipbuilding, used to be able to afford: not just a home, but also servants. And servants’ quarters. The point here is don’t blame companies when those GD subscriptions balloon to half your (diluted) monthly income. It’s the government’s fault.

Diversity, [Redacted], and Inclusion

After San Francisco school officials killed a controversial “Grading for Equity” proposal last year following backlash, Bay Area schools are now pushing to revive the grading system with a major revision to counter potential opposition: literally just removing the word “equity.” Several East Bay school districts have either already rolled out or are currently considering core tenets of the “Grading for Equity” proposal — including allowing multiple retakes on tests, reducing how often students are given zeros, and eliminating extra credit — all while removing any mention of the dreaded “E” word that makes competent people nervous and Kamala Harris horny. Impressive! Just one small critique, guys: this wasn’t exactly an issue of branding… it was more an issue of raising an entire generation of coddled idiots, all just to make poor-performing students feel better. You can remove the word “cake” from “cheesecake” all you want, eating 7 slices a night still makes you a fatass.

Pirate Wires

No, I'm Not Tipping You

Jack Kubinec · Jan 16, 2026

in 2013, square released an ipad-based point-of-sale product that effectively replaced the conventional tip jar with a tip screen. since then, tipping culture in america has gone off the rails, with customers being guilt tripped into tipping at wedding dress shops, airport self-checkout kiosks (who are we tipping exactly? the airplane?), and even medical offices. jack kubinec takes you through the history of tipping before sharing a tip of his own: do your part to stop this madness by telling the ipad “no thanks”

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Pirate Wires

Police Bodycams: The Left's Biggest Self-Own

Lou Perez · Jan 13, 2026

in the aftermath of renee good’s death in minneapolis, many on the left were quick to frame the incident as an obvious act of state murder. as more video emerged, however, the narrative of “good as innocent bystander” grew more complicated. this tracks with a larger pattern when it comes to law enforcement and bodycam footage — perps who otherwise might have been perceived as perfectly “innocent” often turn out... not so innocent after all. lou perez on how police bodycams have gone from left-wing priority to brutal self-own

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Mike Solana

California's Tech Industry Kill Switch

Mike Solana · Jan 13, 2026

late last year, the architects of california’s “billionaire wealth tax” quietly amended language in their proposal which, if successful, would permanently end the concept of founder-controlled startups in the state — a technology industry kill switch. instead of reporting on this, the media has helpfully framed the story as a question of “billionaire greed,” with a teen bop-esque focus on famous men speaking to each other in group chats... thankfully, solana is here to put the ballot prop into perspective, explaining how it will only lead to the tech industry as we know it being forced out of california (neat group chat story tho, really cool)

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