Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 9/15

[SVPete]

Wisconsin Is Suing Trump for Asking Immigrants to Support Themselves

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/09/14/wisconsin-is-suing-trump-for-asking-immigrants-to-support-themselves-n4957229

Wisconsin has joined 21 other states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration over a question that shouldn't be especially radical: If someone wants permanent residency in the United States, should the government be allowed to consider whether that person is likely to depend on taxpayers?

Apparently Wisconsin's answer is no.

The lawsuit filed Monday seeks to stop a new Department of Homeland Security public charge rule scheduled to take effect Friday.

When my grandparents and one of my uncles entered the US, they had to have sponsors who would guarantee they would not become dependent on their communities' charity. That was over a century ago.

[SVPete]

Oops, She Did It Again. Guess Who’s Big Mad at Sydney Sweeney Over Her Sports Ads.

https://pjmedia.com/tim-o-brien/2026/09/14/oops-she-did-it-again-guess-whos-big-mad-at-sydney-sweeney-over-her-nude-sports-ads-n4957235

I won’t keep you in suspense. The answer to the question is that it’s the mob of unlikable, unattractive Karens, “feminazis,” lesbian athletes, and all the other usual suspects any time Sydney Sweeney uses her sex appeal in ads to sell products and services.

The marketing formula for Sweeney is quite wonderful, actually, because once she does her part in making the ads, she’s almost sure to anger the mob, which generates tons of free publicity on social media and in the legacy media, further amplifying the ad campaign. In the PR business, we call this “earned media,” and when it comes to Sweeney, she’s a master of squeezing every last drop of value out of it.

The latest Sweeney campaign is for a company called Novig, and the campaign is called “Just Sports.” The creatives on the campaign apparently thought that if you cover a nude Sweeney with “just sports,” you might get some attention, and they were right.

The video of the ad is embedded in the article, .

[SVPete]

Virginia's Fairfax, Loudoun County School Districts Spend Millions, but the Kids Still Can't Read

https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2026/09/13/virginias-fairfax-and-loudon-county-school-districts-spend-millions-but-the-kids-still-cant-read-n2206874

The school districts of Fairfax County and Loudoun County, two of Virginia's most affluent and populated districts, have a serious problem. The tony school districts spend millions of dollars on administrators, DEI programming, and lawsuits, but their student bodies are failing in the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

This news was not revealed by these school districts, but by a parent. For the past four years, Stephanie Lundquist-Arora studied the district budgets, filed FOIA requests to gain the answers needed, and then published these depressing results.

Last week, the Virginia Department of Education released the results of the state’s Standards of Learning assessments. The results from two of Virginia’s most affluent counties are troubling. Students in Fairfax County Public Schools and Loudoun County Public Schools failed their SOL assessments at rates that should concern parents, taxpayers, and district leaders.
...
The contrast between overall student performance and the performance of economically disadvantaged students is particularly disconcerting. In both school divisions, economically disadvantaged students were roughly twice as likely to fail their reading, math, and science SOL assessments as the overall student population.

These results should prompt a serious examination of whether Fairfax and Loudoun are getting sufficient academic returns on their substantial education spending.

That question is particularly important because both school divisions have faced budget pressures even as their enrollments have declined and their budgets have continued to grow. When student enrollment falls but expenditures continue to rise, district leaders should be able to clearly demonstrate where the additional money is going—and, more importantly, whether it is improving student outcomes.

...
However, instead of focusing on educational quality AND results - i.e., students matriculate with the ability to read, spell, and do calculations equivalent to their grade level - FCPS and LCPS are hyper-focused on creating activism, controversy, and focusing on divisive, and ultimately costly endeavors, such as the minimization of the historic impact of 9/11, warning teachers with instructions on what and what not to do, and avoiding the creation of an emotionally stressful learning environment.