March 24, 2025

CHANGE OF THE GUARD:

Posted at 12:14 pm by Glenn Reynolds 26

OZEMPIC: BIG TROUBLE FOR THE BOOZE INDUSTRY. “In the US, the sector’s most important market, alcohol consumption per person fell 3 per cent last year in the biggest drop since the prohibition era a century ago, according to research by Bernstein. Drinking is now languishing at its lowest level since 1962, down 20 per cent on its 1980s peak. . . . Studies show that weight-loss and diabetes drugs, such as Wegovy and Ozempic, could cut opioid and alcohol abuse up to half. . . . He added that social media was making young people more focused on how they look and behave, which acted as a further deterrent to heavy drinking because of its weight-gain effects.”

With my distilled spirits class on a field trip to a liquor distributor, our host said that they’re really feeling the “Ozempic effect.” Though he also echoed this statement: “We suspect Gen Z’s relatively low absolute spend on alcohol has more to do with the group’s lower earnings profile.”

This article does miss that many players in the industry are also turning to cannabis products in the hopes of future growth; I don’t know how that will work out for them.

Posted at 12:08 pm by Glenn Reynolds 10

GOT WOKE, WENT…: As Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Performed Even Worse Than Predicted, Some Curious Data Is Found in the Details.

Looking at past averages in those conservative-versus-liberal locations it was found that “Snow White” actually performed slightly better than historical levels in those red areas against those traditional percentages.

Family and animated movies’ ticket sales come from 63% Blue counties and 37% Red counties while their attendance stems from 60% Blue counties and 40% Red counties. That means that Snow White with 40% ticket sales and 43.5% admissions from Red county-based cinemas overindexed in such locations.

What this revealing detail means is that the studio has lost its ability to spin this as a social backlash. Disney cannot dismiss this as an intolerant reaction when its film performed below expectations with its dependable blue locations. Coupled with the diminished interest in international territories, this is a sign that the product quality was the issue. Anti-woke backlash is no longer an excuse when the avoidance by audiences was across the spectrum.

What Disney is facing with this performance is that it had a functionally flawed film. Numerous misfires in the approach to the product and with casting led to a result that few had an interest in. Instead of focusing on the quality of the material, the studio looked to generate a new version with contemporary virtue signaling, making a progressive spin on a classic property.

The result was not creating a new fusion offering; instead, it ended up serving up a dish that most found unpalatable. The box office shows data points that indicate the woke tendency at Disney is a losing proposition. Looking over its recent hits – “Deadpool 3”, “Inside Out 2”, and “Moana 2” – lays out the obvious facts for the executives. When you do not force feed woke content, the audiences reward you with interest and ticket purchases. “Snow White” should serve as the object lesson for future considerations on projects they greenlight. It remains to be seen that Disney is learning from these misfires.

Related: Someone Set the Comments Section Under Snow White to Music and We Can’t … Stop … Laughing!

At 5:30, it goes on for about three minutes more than necessary, but kudos to whoever did the AI vocals.

Finally, on Saturday, the day after its debut, IMDB’s readers gave Snow White 2.4 out of ten. It’s currently:

Posted at 12:00 pm by Ed Driscoll 34

MOVE ALONG, NOTHING TO SEE: China unveils a powerful deep-sea cable cutter that could reset the world order.

A compact, deep-sea, cable-cutting device, capable of severing the world’s most fortified underwater communication or power lines, has been unveiled by China – and it could shake up global maritime power dynamics.

The revelation marks the first time any country has officially disclosed that it has such an asset, capable of disrupting critical undersea networks.

The tool, which is able to cut lines at depths of up to 4,000 metres (13,123 feet) – twice the maximum operational range of existing subsea communication infrastructure – has been designed specifically for integration with China’s advanced crewed and uncrewed submersibles like the Fendouzhe, or Striver, and the Haidou series.

World War III will be fought pretty much everywhere.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): The more vulnerable undersea cables are, the more powerful Starlink becomes.

Posted at 11:40 am by Stephen Green 82

SCHLICHTER: The Agony of John Roberts.

Pity poor John Roberts. No, he’s not corrupt or compromised. He is simply a man who has found himself at a pivotal time and place in a position of great responsibility for which he is utterly unsuited. He’s not a dumb man. He is, in fact, a very smart man – Hugh Hewitt knew him personally in the Reagan administration and testifies to that. I have no doubt it’s true. I know many smart people who have similar flaws. As objectively intelligent as John Roberts is, he is unwise, and he is endangering the institution he wants to preserve because he does not understand human nature or the times he finds himself in.

Frankly, I’ll take wisdom over raw intellect any day of the week.

If he had the capacity to lead that he so manifestly lacks, John Roberts could save his institution with decisive and bold action. But that’s not who he is. Understand what John Roberts wants. He is an institutionalist who has always wanted to protect the judiciary branch. He wants it to be a fully co-equal branch that is respected by all. But the very actions he has chosen to take – or not to take – in response to the current crisis of out-of-control subordinate courts are guaranteeing that it will fall.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 10:50 am by Stephen Green 202

DON’T GET COCKY: We Dug Into the Polls. Democrats in Congress Should Be Very Afraid.

Congressional Democrats have typically enjoyed higher popularity with their voting base than their Republican counterparts. But the trauma of the 2024 presidential election defeat appears to have ruptured that relationship. A review of Quinnipiac University’s annual first-quarter congressional polling reveals that, for the first time in the poll’s history, congressional Democrats are now underwater with their own voters in approval ratings.

Just 40 percent of Democrats approve of the job performance of congressional Democrats, compared to 49 percent who disapprove. That’s a dramatic change from this time last year, when 75 percent of Democrats approved compared to just 21 percent who disapproved. The Democratic base’s disillusionment runs so deep that it’s eerily reminiscent of Republican grassroots sentiment in the period leading up to Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party.

The numbers are clear: No longer satisfied with the status quo in their party, Democrats are on the verge of a Tea Party-style, intra-party revolt.

The party could use a good shaking up but I’d rather it didn’t happen until after the midterms — at the soonest.

Posted at 10:38 am by Stephen Green 154

THANKS TO ALL THE BIBLES & BISCUITS GUYS: Just got back last night from four great days in Richmond, Va., visiting my son, Marcus, and his wonderful family — wife Morgan, First Grandson Tyler, Second Grandson Brooks, First Granddaughter Beckett, Gundy the Chocolate Lab and Boone the Yellow Lab.

But that’s not all. I was also honored to join the “Bibles & Biscuits” Men’s Group Saturday breakfast in nearby Rockville, Va., where I spoke to a group of 70-some great guys about HillFaith and my journey with Jesus Christ. Lots of laughs, great fellowship and tremendous encouragement.

Bibles & Biscuits is hosted by 3wide.org, the men’s fellowship ministry of Rocky Marrins. It’s not just in Richmond and it’s not your typical men’s group. These guys know what it means to fail and to succeed. They also really know how to laugh, so I posted this on HillFaith today with them in mind (and Instapunditeers as well!).

Posted at 10:33 am by Mark Tapscott 8

DON’T GET COCKY BUT DO ENJOY THE MOMENT: Dems Admit They’re in ‘Deepest Hole in Nearly 50 Years’ and Is it Too Early for Champagne? “Is it supposed to be the icing on their crap cake that Americans are just as anti-Democrat as they are pro-Trump? Trump has less than four years left in his political career. If ‘At least we still aren’t Trump!’ is still the best they’ve got in 2026 or ’28, the party’s prospects are even worse than I’d dared to dream.”

Posted at 10:07 am by Stephen Green 116

THERE’S A LESSON HERE: The Dumbest Investment in the World Was Better Than Owning Safe Treasurys: Argentina’s century bond defaulted but ended up a winner, an important lesson for investors.

Investors who bought Argentina’s 100-year dollar bond were laughed at in 2017 for their naiveté in buying such a long bond from a serial defaulter. Sure enough, the country failed to pay after just three years.

But investors who stuck with the country are having the last laugh. The bonds they were given in the default, plus the fat coupons on the original century bond, are now worth more than the original investment. Not just that: They are worth far more than if the dollars had been invested in “safe” U.S. Treasurys.

The turnaround in the Argentina bonds was due to President Javier Milei taking a chain saw to the bloated Argentine state, while managing to maintain his popularity.

People always said that such deep cuts were politically impossible. But the impossibility was due to ruling-class satraps protecting their rice bowls, not to what the actual voters actually wanted.

Posted at 9:47 am by Glenn Reynolds 45

BLUE ON BLUE: Chuck Schumer rejects calls to step down as Senate Democratic leader.

It’s up to Democratic senators to choose their leader, and none of them have called on Schumer to quit a post that he has held for more than eight years. But some have entertained questions about whether it’s time for a re-examination. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., told a constituent at a town hall last week that “we’re going to have future conversations about all the Democratic leadership.”

Schumer also rejected comparisons to then-President Joe Biden’s refusal to step down as the 2024 nominee, in response to a question about whether he’s making the same mistake.
…
NBC News has reported that some Democrats hope progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., launches a primary bid against Schumer in 2028 if he decides to seek re-election.

Corn, popped.

Posted at 9:36 am by Stephen Green 88

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Monday, Fun Day — Let’s Barter Some Blue States for Canada and Greenland. “Canada is a different story. If it didn’t have the United States on one side and Santa’s elves on the other, it would have been invaded and occupied by a country a third of its size long ago. At the rate it’s going right now, an ambitious Girl Scout troop could use its cookie money to take over Canada.”

Posted at 9:05 am by Stephen Green 123

XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT: U.S. intel says China’s Xi Jinping holds $1 billion in hidden wealth through family.

The report stated that as many as 65% of all government officials in China receive unofficial income through bribery or graft — despite more than a decade of anti-corruption efforts that have ensnared over 5 million Chinese Communist Party officials.

“Corruption is an endemic feature of and challenge for China, enabled by a political system with power highly centralized in the hands of the CCP, a CCP-centric concept of the rule of law, a lack of independent checks on public officials, and limited transparency,” the report said.

The report suggests that Mr. Xi’s high-profile 13-year campaign as president to stamp out corruption has been a failure.

The report suggests no such thing. It suggests Xi has been quite successful in making sure the graft goes to the right people.

Posted at 8:34 am by Stephen Green 97

THEY BECAME MORE BRAZEN ABOUT IT WITH OBAMA, OUR FIRST RED-DIAPER BABY PRESIDENT:

Is this all they’ve got? For the time being, it’s this and obstruction on Capitol Hill and in the courts, yes.

Posted at 8:28 am by Stephen Green 47

GRIFTERS GONNA GRIFT:

Posted at 8:09 am by Glenn Reynolds 55