Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
“On his recent trip to Beijing, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney praised the leadership of Xi Jinping and announced plans to bring 49,000 Chinese electric cars into Canada. In several ways that escaped notice, Carney was following in the footsteps of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. … In the late 1970s, Prime Minister Trudeau allowed the USSR to sell the Soviet-built Lada in Canada. Like all cars produced by Communist regimes, the Lada was an inferior vehicle that failed to catch on with Canadians in a significant way. The ‘plagiarized Fiat,’ as one reviewer called it, was built in the USSR, so the deal did not benefit Canadian auto workers, then struggling to compete with the surging Japanese.” (01/28/26)
“The time is ripe for The Golden Thread, James Hankins and Allen Guelzo’s ambitious two-volume history of Western civilization. Coming into a society that has passed its global obsession and is beginning to consider what being particularly rather than universally cultured means (and whether the latter is even possible without the former), there is a felt need for a project like theirs. In this vein, The Golden Thread forms part of a genre well-established in English-speaking popular culture, but one we’ve abandoned in recent decades. I hope its publication indicates revitalization.” (01/28/26)
“Robby Soave delivers radar on what he believes as a Republican hypocrisy on the second Amendment and on gun rights after the [murder] of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the weekend.” (01/28/26)
“‘Disguised and undercover,’ explains the O’Keefe Media Group article, ‘James O’Keefe embeds inside the World Economic Forum, slipping past armed security and exclusive guest lists to capture what the global climate elite say when they think no one is listening.’ The bad haircut? A goofy blond wig that Mr. O’Keefe (1984– ) donned to fool the European bigwigs (er, elites). He looked like Andy Warhol as a special guest on ‘Sprockets.’ What did this subterfuge accomplish? ‘Posing as an employee of a fictional climate engineering firm, O’Keefe and the OMG team are welcomed into late-night events, luxury hotels, and mountaintop forums where climate financiers openly discuss carbon taxes, geoengineering, and weather modification, commonly referred to as ‘chemtrails.’’ Yes, chemtrails!” (01/28/26)
“More Americans now support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) than keeping it. A January 13, 2026 Economist/YouGov poll found that 46 percent want to eliminate ICE, compared to 43 percent who support preserving it. It’s a trend that’s been growing since ICE agents have been running rampant in U.S. cities during President Donald Trump’s second term. … Senators who believe in compassion and human rights have a unique opportunity to pull back the agency’s powers by refusing to back an appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives. That bill, according to the ACLU, ’would renew ICE’s excessive budget, with no strings attached, adding to the over $170 billion in taxpayer funds already allocated for immigration enforcement in July 2025.'” (01/28/26)
“Hungarian prosecutors have charged Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony over his role in arranging last year’s gay pride march in the capital city, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people despite a ban. Prosecutors have ‘filed charges and seek a fine against the mayor of Budapest, who organised and led a public gathering despite a police ban,’ their office said in a statement announcing the case on Wednesday. … Since returning to power in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been tightening his grip over the country and has targeted groups advocating for human rights. Orban’s conservative government has also pushed for legislation promoting traditional family values and steadily rolled back LGBTQ rights. In 2025, his Fidesz party amended laws and the constitution to ban the annual pride march, drawing protests from critics and the European Union.” (01/28/26)
“David Brooks on moral collapse, the limits of politics, and what the neocons got right about America. Plus: Another ICE shooting in Minneapolis and Netflix’s Death by Lightning.” (01/28/26)
“Has America been made great again enough for you yet? I asked that question back in May of last year in a column titled The Godzilla Window. It didn’t go over very well at the time, at least not with my conservative readers. … And now, here we are, eight months later, just over one year into The Golden Age of America Made Great Again, and … well, you know what’s happening. … I’m not going to go on and on about all the details of the MAGA authoritarianism on display in the USA currently. It would take an entire column to do that, and you have access to the same news that I do. Instead, I want to urge you to step back from the intense political polarization of the moment and focus on the fundamental forces at play.” (01/28/26)
