Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 7/15

[SVPete]

WHY ARE SO MANY AMERICANS “DISABLED”?

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/07/why-are-so-many-americans-disabled.php

Through pretty much all of human history, if you wanted to survive you had to work. Of course, there have always been people who were truly disabled and needed to be cared for by others, but their numbers were small. In recent years, that has changed. Now, there is a virtual army of people who to all appearances are able-bodied, but who for some reason have successfully claimed to be totally disabled. Failed Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is a good instance of this phenomenon.

The numbers of the allegedly disabled are skyrocketing. The Unleash Prosperity Hotline displays the trend graphically:

embedded graph

Looking at the chart, one is tempted to say that covid marked a weird and entirely negative turning point in American life. I would offer a different interpretation: the Biden administration marked a weird and entirely negative turning point in American life. Why did millions of Americans, including a great many young men, suddenly decide that they were “disabled”? Because there was money in it. The Biden administration unleashed a torrent of trillions of dollars in unearned income, which just about anyone could qualify for by, among other things, being “disabled.”

DUpipo were pioneers!  

[SVPete]

Hilarious: Ro Khanna's Stunt Not Enough for Pro-Hamas Crowd

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2026/07/15/hilarious-ro-khannas-stunt-not-enough-for-pro-hamas-crowd-n3816948

Ro Khanna can't catch a break.

The man calls himself a "long shot candidate for president," and he has that description about right. While always left-leaning, his rapid rise in Democratic politics was fueled by representing the tech bros of Silicon Valley in Congress. It's been a very good deal for him; he has managed to dramatically increase his wealth by becoming the most prolific stock trader in Congress, cement relationships with money people who could fund his run for the presidency, and present himself to the Democratic Party oligarchs as a guy they could do business with.
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So now he has become Israel's #1 enemy among the potential presidential candidates, doing his own Pallywood production in the West Bank and attacking Israel for "detaining" a US Congressman.

Now that's the ticket, right? All Democrats can agree that the Joos are the root of all evil.
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Only...the most vocal activists in the Democratic Party and the "progressive" movement don't just want Israel destroyed. They want blood, and are willing to defend Hamas as legitimate resistance.

Khanna went on the podcast of the highly disreputable Drop Site News, which makes Glenn Greenwald almost look Israel-friendly, and all he got for his troubles was a talking-to. Actually, a yelling at.

Mere anti-Israel theater is insufficiently Prog, comrade!

[SVPete]

Mexican Government Sends Lawyers to Block ICE Deportations

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/07/14/mexican-government-sends-lawyers-to-block-ice-deportations/

The Mexican government is using lawyers to block ICE’s repatriation of migrant Mexicans back to Mexico, according to Reuters.

Mexico has begun filing criminal complaints with state prosecutors in the United States over the deaths of its citizens in U.S. immigration custody and during enforcement operations, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Mexico’s government has also sent cease-and-desist letters to U.S. detention centers where Mexican nationals have died, the ministry added in a statement.

“I don’t think this situation appears acceptable to anyone,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday. “This is an issue for all Mexicans,” she said, portraying the legal intervention as a nationalist cause for Mexicans.

Mexico’s government is also asking the United Nations to investigate U.S. deportation operations following the recent deaths of 17 Mexicans during the deportation process.

I guess it's easier and cheaper to make bombastic pronouncements and pay lawyers to obstruct enforcement of US law than to make Mexico a nation whose citizens no longer flee.

[SVPete]

Middle East allies rushing new pipelines, port to bypass Iran’s grip on Strait of Hormuz

https://nypost.com/2026/07/14/world-news/middle-east-allies-rushing-new-pipelines-port-to-bypass-irans-grip-on-strait-of-hormuz/

Oil producers in the Persian Gulf are making plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz with new pipelines and a new port after Iran has repeatedly attacked ships and blocked traffic.

The idea is to minimize Tehran’s leverage on the waterway that once saw 20% of the world’s oil pass through it as the war stretches into its fifth month.

Iran has already insisted that it will impose tolls on the strait, which could cost tens of billions of dollars. And in some cases, it is extracting millions of dollars of protection money per oil tanker.

Two such projects are already underway in the United Arab Emirates and Iraq — with Saudi Arabia eyeing its own and Dubai also seeking to establish a new port to further reduce dependence on the strait.

Why this took so long, I do not understand, but this is a side benefit of Trump's effort to end Iran's 47-year war on the US.

[SVPete]

More on Ro Khanna's anti-Israel theater:

Ro Khanna's claims of being 'detained' in West Bank unravel as details come to light

https://thepostmillennial.com/ro-khannas-claims-of-being-detained-in-west-bank-unravel-as-details-come-to-light#google_vignette

Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) claimed he was detained by armed Israeli settlers during a recent visit to the West Bank, alleging Israeli soldiers sided with the civilians before using the encounter to accuse Israel of "genocide" and "apartheid."

But Israeli officials say the congressman's account omits critical facts, accusing Khanna of refusing repeated offers to coordinate his trip, entering what was believed to be a closed military zone without authorization, and then exploiting the incident for political and fundraising purposes.
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According to Israeli Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter, Khanna repeatedly declined offers to coordinate his visit with Israeli authorities, bypassed the US Embassy in Jerusalem, entered what soldiers believed was a closed military zone without authorization, and was briefly stopped only because security forces had no advance notice of his presence. Once his identity was confirmed, he and his entourage were immediately allowed to continue.

A LIEden or Kammie ambassador would have stayed silent to aid his stunt.