Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Quick Hits: Volume CDXXIV

- National Republicans are likely to get shellacked this election cycle. Given the party had a trifecta in D.C. (President, House and Senate) for 21 months, they'll be made to pay for the affordability crisis they ran on in the 2024 campaigns but seemed to make worse once elected. And while Democrats are rightly pointing out that gas prices are spinning out of control due to the direct actions of President Trump (i.e. waging war in Iran), have they indicated how they plan to mitigate the issue? No, they haven't, simply because they see high fuel prices as a feature, not a bug. 


Erick Erickson lays it out. 


Democrats want higher gas prices. They want smaller cars. They want you out of your car and into public transportation. You may be unhappy about gas prices, but remember Democrats want them even higher so that you are forced to give up your SUV. They want farmers driving battery powered combines too heavy for fields. They want truckers to drive battery powered 18-wheelers.

Gas prices will come down, but not if the Democrats get power back. Just remember that.


Another thing to remember: the government makes a significant amount of money in tax revenue on gasoline. They could literally slow the proverbial bleeding almost immediately. But they don't. Now ask yourself why. 



- A scary scene aboard a passenger flight in the Middle East skies. 


• Disaster averted: A pilot on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight has been arrested after he stabbed the other pilot in the cockpit during an apparent attempt to crash the plane, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

• Heroism on board: Despite being wounded, the attacked pilot — identified as Captain Smit Machchhar — fought back and “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster,” Netanyahu told CNN. A passenger described how he put the alleged assailant in a chokehold before grabbing the plane’s controls to stabilize the flight. But it is unclear who ultimately landed the plane.

• Terrifying moments: The incident caused the aircraft to plummet 17,400 feet in less than two minutes, according to flight tracking data. The plane was diverted to Saudi Arabia and passengers have since returned safely to Israel. Flydubai has launched an investigation into the incident, an airline spokesperson said.


Let's call this what it is: an act of terrorism. Israeli citizens have lived under the threat of death for decades now, and even more so over the past three years. 


Here's what took place upon the flight making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. 





Has anyone pondered if this kind of relationship (i.e. the Saudis collaborating with Israelis) would have even been possible without the first Trump presidential term mediating the Abraham Accords? We can certainly bank on approximately zero media outlets broaching that possibility. 



- In late April 2024, the podcast Purple Daily hosted a Vikings watch party on the first night of the NFL draft. The excitement was palatable as the team was looking to draft a franchise QB, something which hadn't been done successfully since arguably 1999 when they drafted Daunte Culpepper. 


So when the Vikings made their selection that April evening in '24, the roof practically came off The Fillmore in Minneapolis. 






A mere 29 months later, the Vikings are, once again, back at square one. 





This news didn't surprise me in the least given how McCarthy and head coach Kevin O'Connell have seemed to have developed a rift over the past year. However, I admit to being disgusted at this franchise's continued ineptitude at successfully developing a quarterback they acquire via the draft. 


Whenever the Vikings have jettisoned a player in the past, my hope was that player would bust so as not to make my favorite squad look bad. However, in this instance, it is my sincere desire that McCarthy has a long, productive career. The Vikings organization deserves to have this be the proverbial exploding cigar in the face. But if indeed it's determined that McCarthy is not even a serviceable NFL quarterback, this is still a blemish on O'Connell given this would turn out to be a wasted top 10 draft pick, a selection which the head coach was all in on. Yeah, I have no tolerance for those hellbent on throwing former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah under the bus for actually calling in the pick. No way did he usurp the so-called "quarterback whisperer."


Of course, O'Connell can redeem himself if he actually tailors an offense to the skill set of his current starting QB Kyler Murray, thus increasing his chances of succeeding. That, along with a top tier defense, would go a long way to helping the Vikes win their first playoff game since January 2020. But if they once again go one-and-done in the postseason or miss it altogether? I'm guessing KOC will, at minimum, be on double secret probation going into 2027. 


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