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The Perils of Overreach, Part III

The Perils of Overreach: From Warning to Wreckage In my columns earlier last week-"The Perils of Overreach" on November 6 and its sequel, "The Perils of Overreach, Part II," the following day-I issued a stark warning to Democrats amid the then-37th and 38th days of what was already shaping up to be a disastrous government shutdown. Drawing on Harold Macmillan's timeless quip-"Events, dear boy, events"-I cautioned that their stubborn demands for $1.5 trillion in permanent Obamacare subsidy extensions, fueled by favorable early polls and a premature "blue wave" in off-year elections, risked unraveling under the weight of unforeseen chaos. Thanksgiving travel…

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Fisking Wildfire Claims

Analysis: Wildfire Claims in Space.com and Earth System Science Data Part 1: Examining Space.com's "Wildfires Are Getting More Intense" Space.com presents a study claiming that wildfires are burning hotter, spreading faster, and growing larger on a global scale, with human-caused climate change identified as the primary driver. The following evaluates key claims using peer-reviewed observations and satellite records. Article Claim: "Wildfires are burning hotter, spreading faster and growing bigger around the world - and human-caused climate change is the main driver, a new study confirms." Analysis: The referenced study (Bowman et al., Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2025) interprets trends in fire…

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The Perils of Overreach, Part II

Election Wins Are No License for Shutdown Stubbornness In my previous column, "A Warning to Democrats on the Government Shutdown and ACA Subsidies," I cautioned the Democrat Party against the seductive trap of overreach during the ongoing government shutdown-now entering its 38th day. Drawing on historical precedents like the 1995-1996 and 2013 shutdowns, I argued that leveraging public blame against Republicans to demand permanent extensions of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies risks transforming a tactical advantage into a strategic disaster. The ACA's enhanced premium tax credits, set to expire at year's end due to Democrats' own sunset clauses in the 2022…

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The Perils of Overreach

A Warning to Democrats on the Government Shutdown and ACA Subsidies In the annals of political wisdom, few quotes capture the precarious nature of governance as succinctly as British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's reputed response to a question about what posed the greatest challenge to statesmen: "Events, dear boy, events." This adage underscores how unforeseen incidents can derail even the most calculated strategies, turning public opinion on a dime and exposing leaders to unforeseen vulnerabilities. As the United States grapples with the longest government shutdown in history-now entering its 37th day on November 6, 2025-Democrats find themselves in a position of…

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Republicans Can Win the Housing Battleground

Republicans Must Seize the Housing Crisis to Secure America's Future As we enter the second Trump era in November 2025, with Republicans holding the reins of power in Washington, the time for bold action on America's housing affordability crisis has never been more urgent. The data is damning: The median age of first-time homebuyers has hit a record 40, up from 38 last year, while first-time buyers now comprise just 21% of the market-the lowest since tracking began in 1981. Overall buyer age stands at 59, with repeat buyers at 62, and fewer than a quarter of buyers have children under…

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A Wake-Up Call for Republicans

Why the 2026 Midterms Are Still Ours to Win November 5, 2025 – Last night's off-year elections were a gut punch for the GOP. Democrats swept Virginia's top offices, with Abigail Spanberger cruising to the governorship by 15 points and Jay Jones claiming the attorney general spot amid his controversial texts fantasizing about political murder. In New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill trounced Jack Ciattarelli by 13 points. New York City elected 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani as mayor with 50.6% of the vote, a self-proclaimed Marxist who trampled Andrew Cuomo's political dynasty. Down-ballot disasters piled on: Democratic supermajorities in Virginia's House of Delegates and…

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Restore the Republican Soul of the Senate

Repeal the 17th Amendment and Raise the Filibuster Threshold In an era where the U.S. Senate resembles a perpetual partisan battlefield more than the deliberative body envisioned by the Founders, it's time for bold restoration. The chamber, once a bastion of federalism and compromise, has devolved into a populist arena dominated by national fundraising machines and agenda-driven elites. This transformation has not only amplified gridlock but also eroded the core principles of our constitutional republic, where power is balanced between the federal government and the states. To reclaim its republican essence-prioritizing states' sovereignty, minority protections, and thoughtful governance-we must repeal the…

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Acknowledging the Pivot

Thune's Masterstroke Beyond the Smashmouth Sequence Ah, the Smashmouth Sequence-that razor-sharp blueprint laid out October 27, envisioning a brutal, four-day gauntlet of Senate votes designed to hammer Democrats into submission one filibuster at a time. It was a thing of tactical beauty on paper: Tuesday (October 28): SNAP emergency funding Wednesday (October 29): Troop pay Thursday (October 30): FAA safety net Friday (October 31): Clean CR knockout Each step calibrated to peel off 7–15 Democratic defectors, turning the shutdown’s pain points-hunger for 42 million, empty military wallets, grounded flights-into unrelenting headlines that screamed "Dems vs. America." As the column framed it:…

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Democrats’ Shutdown Resistance Is Done

It's All Over But the Shouting The federal government has been shuttered for 28 days-longer than any closure since the 2018–19 standoff-and the consequences are no longer theoretical. SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans expire in five days. Air-traffic controllers are rationing shifts, working double and triple overtime just to keep planes in the sky. And the last Democratic senator who might have held the line on principle-Jon Tester, the plainspoken Montanan who once stared down Trump on rural healthcare-isn’t even in the building anymore. He lost in 2024. The resistance is not merely crumbling; it is already over. The only…

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The Smashmouth Sequence

The Shutdown Is Over. Democrats Just Haven’t Stopped Bleeding Yet. They’ve already lost. Now it’s just pain compliance. In four days, 42 million Americans-17 million of them children-will lose their food stamps. The USDA’s contingency fund is legally barred from covering November SNAP benefits, and states are already drafting emergency plans that will collapse under the weight of demand. That is the SNAP cliff, now 96 hours away. Meanwhile, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)-the largest union of federal workers, representing 820,000 veterans, caregivers, and essential personnel-delivered a stinging rebuke of the Democratic strategy yesterday: “Both political parties have made…

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