Marie: Sorry for my tardiness today. Update: I have to go out for awhile until late afternoon. There are already what appear to be excellent links in today's Comments.
⭐Doug Palmer, et al., of Politico: “The Supreme Court on Friday struck down ... Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs — a major repudiation of a core piece of Trump’s economic program. The 6-3 decision is a rare instance of the conservative-led court reining in Trump’s expansive use of executive power. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch joined the court’s three liberals in the majority. 'The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,' Roberts wrote, declaring that the 1977 law Trump cited to justify the import duties 'falls short' of the Congressional approval that would be needed.
“The ruling wipes out the 10 percent tariff Trump imposed on nearly every country in the world, as well as specific, higher tariffs on some of the top U.S. trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, China, the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Several of those countries have entered trade agreements with the U.S. — and before the ruling indicated that they would continue to honor those agreements. That is because the victory for the 12 Democratic-run states and small businesses that challenged Trump’s tariffs is expected to be short lived. The White House has signaled it will attempt to use other authorities to keep similar duties in place.”
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging the Court's decision. The liveblog has lots of background reminders. MB: This story might be titled, "Supremes Try to Save Trump from Himself." If they have failed, it's because Trump will swiftly find a way around Friday's ruling. ~~~
~~~ Here's the decision, concurring opinions & dissents, via the Court. ~~~
~~~ From CNN live updates: “... Donald Trump received news of the Supreme Court ruling striking down his tariffs via a note while hosting a White House breakfast with governors and called it 'a disgrace,' according to people familiar with his remarks. He told those gathered that he has a backup plan in mind, according to one of those people. Another person familiar with his remarks said Trump became enraged at the breakfast and started attacking the court — at one point saying 'these f**king courts.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I heard Josh Dawsey, now of the Wall Street Journal, say on NPR, that when an aide handed Trump a note about the Court's ruling, Trump said, "so, it's a loss, then?" So either the note was ambiguous or Trump can't understand, "The Supreme Court ruled your tariffs are illegal."
~~~ Justin Jouvenal, et al., of the Washington Post: “Trump, who has largely been deferential to the high court’s previous decisions, lashed out at the justices in unprecedented terms a few hours after the ruling. At a White House news conference, he called the justices who sided against him a 'disgrace to our nation.'... The ruling is the most significant check to date on Trump’s bid to vastly expand executive authority in his second term and his most consequential setback before a Supreme Court that over the last year has given a green light to most of his policies in a series of emergency rulings. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who wrote the majority opinion, was unsparing in dismissing most of the administration’s key arguments. The ruling was striking in its timing, landing just days before some of the justices are scheduled to attend Trump’s State of the Union address.... The stakes of the ruling are enormous: The tariffs affect trillions of dollars in trade, and the government collected nearly $134 billion in levies through Dec. 14 under the authority challenged in the case. The majority did not offer clarity, however, on whether the administration will have to enact a massive refund of the funds collected to date.” ~~~
~~~ Ari Hawkins of Politico: “That likely leaves the U.S. Court of International Trade responsible for sorting out a thicket of legal issues related to possible repayments; under customs law, tariff refund claims are typically handled through that trade-focused, New York-based court and processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.... In a dissenting opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh warned the refund process will be a “mess” — echoing Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s description during oral arguments. Barrett, nonetheless, joined the majority ruling against Trump’s duties. 'The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers,' Kavanaugh wrote, adding that 'refunds of billions of dollars would have significant consequences for the U.S. Treasury.'” (See Krugman, linked below.) ~~~
~~~ Aaron Pellish & Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “Trump sought to cast the ruling, which rejected the president’s ability to implement tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as a decision that 'made a president’s ability to both regulate trade and impose tariffs more powerful and more crystal clear, rather than less.' He appeared dismissive of requirements to get congressional approval for any new tariffs — a point of potential friction among Republican tariff skeptics who sided with Democrats earlier this month in overturning Trump’s tariffs against Canada. Asked about whether he plans to seek congressional authority to implement tariffs, Trump said 'I don’t need to, it’s already been approved.'” (Again, see Krugman.) ~~~
~~~ From the NBC News liveblog: "Trump accused the Supreme Court justices responsible for striking down his power to impose sweeping tariffs as being 'swayed by foreign interests.' 'It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think,' Trump said, addressing reporters in a briefing today. 'It’s a small movement.'... Trump again, without evidence, claimed that foreign interests influenced the court's decision. 'I think that foreign interests are represented by people that I believe have undue influence,' he said. 'They have a lot of influence over the Supreme Court, whether it’s through fear or respect or friendships, I don’t know.... But I know some of the people that were involved on the other side, and I don’t like them,' Trump added. 'I think they’re real slimeballs.'" (You'll have to scroll down to find these entries.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump didn't make clear who these malevolent “foreign interests” were. Aaron Parnas speculated that this claim was a dogwhistle, and that “the foreign interests” were represented by the attorney for the plaintiffs, Neal Katyal, who is a “brown person” (and I just heard Katyal say on teevee that he is a son of immigrants). I'm not convinced Parnas is right inasmuch as “foreign” nations all over the globe have an “interest” in eliminating Trump's punitive tariffs. However, one data point that backs up Parnas's theory is this from a Politico story, also linked above: “'Evil, American hating Forces are fighting us at the United States Supreme Court,' [Trump] wrote in November on Truth Social. the only “evil, American hating Forces fighting [Trump] at the Supreme Court” were, uh, Neal Katyal. ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman: "In his press conference Trump ... asserted both that the Court’s ruling against his tariffs was disastrous and that the Court had affirmed his right to do whatever he wants on tariffs. Not sure where the second part came from. The ruling was in fact scathing and said clearly that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was a usurpation of taxation authority that belongs to Congress[.]... In that press conference Trump announced that he would immediately use another little-known legal route — Section 122 — to impose immediate 10 percent tariffs across the board. Section 122 tariffs can only last 150 days, but he claimed that during that stretch he would find ways to use other authorities to maintain high tariffs. And it’s just possible that this will be enough to keep average tariffs and tariff revenue where they would have been if the Supremes had ruled in his favor. I don’t see, by the way, how such alternatives would obviate the need to refund the tariffs already collected. If you seized money without constitutional authority, finding other revenue sources going forward doesn’t make the original seizure legal.” MB: That last bit was my assumption. too. That doesn't mean I think you and I will be getting refunds. We won't. ~~~
~~~ Nicolle Wallace of MSNBC describes Trump's press conference as a person going through the seven stages of grief on-air.
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Tyler Pager of the New York Times: Donald “Trump started the day on Thursday by celebrating peace in the Middle East while also threatening to launch a new, all-out attack in the region. Shortly thereafter, he celebrated that his handpicked arts commission had approved his $400 million White House ballroom project. By the day’s end, Mr. Trump was speaking to a crowd in northwest Georgia, where he was supposed to focus on the economy and jobs but spent much of the time on wild tangents: railing against the Supreme Court, making false claims of voter fraud and calling himself a 'schmuckfor donating his presidential salary. The president’s head-spinning day came as Republicans look to Mr. Trump to lock down a message that will resonate ahead of the midterms, when the party could face big losses. They want him to stay focused on an economic message to help his party keep control of Congress in November’s midterm elections — but Mr. Trump is never one to stay on message.” ~~~
~~~ Pocketa-Pocketa. Charna Flam of People: “... Donald Trump wanted to give himself the Congressional Medal of Honor, he revealed. The president, 79, appeared in Rome, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 19, where he recalled his December 2018 surprise visit to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Force Base in Iraq's Anbar province. 'I decided to go to Iraq. I was extremely brave. So brave in fact that I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor,' Trump told the Georgia crowd, per footage published by ABC News 4. 'I said to my people, “Am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?”’” Trump said, “You know, I'm having fun.” MB: Having fun? I think he's gone full Walter Mitty. See reactions from Akhilleus & RAS in yesterday's Comments.
David Sanger of the New York Times: “When President George W. Bush began preparing the country for the invasion of Iraq, he traveled the country making the case that Saddam Hussein’s government, and its weapons, posed an unacceptable threat to the United States.... Most of Mr. Bush’s arguments turned out to be fanciful, based on selective intelligence and in some cases outright false claims.... But if Mr. Bush made a false case..., [Donald] Trump, facing a decision about whether to unleash a second major military assault on Iran in less than a year, has made almost no case at all.... He is [threatening an attack] without providing assessments about the urgency of the threat or any explanation of why he needs to strike again after claiming the nuclear sites he targeted had been 'obliterated.'... The president has given no speeches preparing the American public for a strike on a country of about 90 million people, and sought no approval from Congress. He has not explained why he has chosen this moment to confront Iran instead of, for example, North Korea, which in the years after Mr. Trump’s failed negotiations in the first term has expanded its nuclear arsenal to 60 or more warheads, by U.S. intelligence estimates, and is working to demonstrate they can reach the United States.” The link appears to be a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: George W. Bush's “mendacious campaign [to prepare the country for the Iraq war] was shameful and despicable, and helped create today’s national atmosphere of corrosive cynicism and nihilistic paranoia. But it was, in retrospect, a tacit acknowledgment that public opinion mattered, that a president couldn’t start a war without convincing Americans it was necessary. It was a manipulation of democratic deliberation rather than a negation of it.... The [Trump] administration has not bothered to explain, either to Congress or the American people, why it might bomb Iran or what it hopes to achieve.... This is how an autocracy goes to war, without even a pretense that the consent of the governed matters.... Trump isn’t trying to persuade the country that war is in their interests. All that matters is whether he thinks it’s in his.” The link appears to be a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Hans Nichols & Kate Sanaliz of Axios: "Barring a surprise, Congress and its elected leaders are on track to give ... [Donald] Trump the equivalent of a green light ahead of a potential major war in the Middle East.... War Powers Act resolutions, including one that Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) intends to force next week, are meant to restrain the president. But House Democrats appear short of the Republican support they would need to pass a symbolic resolution against Trump. An early defeat of one in either chamber could make it easier for Trump to let slip the dogs of war."
Raquel Uribe of NBC News: “... Donald Trump said Thursday that he was directing agencies to release files pertaining to 'alien and extraterrestrial life.'... Trump’s announcement comes after former President Barack Obama said in a podcast interview that aliens were real, later clarifying that he meant 'the odds are good there’s life out there.' Obama added in his clarification that he had seen 'no evidence' of alien existence during his time in office.... Trump, asked by a reporter about Obama’s remarks Thursday, said Obama had given classified information.”
It's Official. Convicted Felon Is Now Political Director of Department of Justice. Ashley Ahn of the New York Times: “A long blue banner with Mr. Trump’s visage was draped on the exterior of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, making it the latest federal building to have a banner with the president’s face. The banner’s lower border says 'Make America Safe Again' in capital letters. The signage is a strikingly prominent indication of how Mr. Trump has eroded the separation that has long existed between the Justice Department and the White House to protect the department from political influence. That careful distance has been dissolving since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s second term. He has installed allies at the top ranks of the department to oversee a retribution campaign and investigate perceived political enemies. Hundreds of agency lawyers have since been fired, and thousands more have resigned.... Similar banners were installed at other federal buildings last year, including the Agriculture Department and Labor Department.
“The banners follow a string of efforts by the administration to emblazon the president’s name and face on everything from coins to national park passes. Such displays are more often a feature of countries run by dictators, not democratically elected leaders.” An NBC News story is here. MB: So that there's no mistake that Our Dictator controls the DOJ, the top of the banner (over what looks like Trump's mugshot) says, “Department of Justice.”
Michael Shear & Megan Specia of the New York Times: “Early Thursday morning, the idyllic [Sandringham E]state [north of London] was swarmed by unmarked police cars as officers arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the king’s brother, amid allegations that he shared confidential government information with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender. Later in the night, he would return to Sandringham, slinking low in the back seat of a black sport utility vehicle, with news cameras craning to capture his release. The scenes of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, already stripped of his title and kicked out of his longtime home, could be seen as an unmistakable message about the end of an era. Not since King Charles I was arrested and tried for treason nearly four centuries ago, in January 1649, has a British royal been detained.... The arrest represents the ultimate collision of police and pageantry, upending fierce efforts by Buckingham Palace to distance itself from the accusations against the former prince.... If charges are filed, by law and tradition, they will be formally brought in the king’s name: King Charles III v. his brother....
“The king tried on Thursday to address the simmering anger about his family’s handling of his brother’s case, issuing a statement addressed to the British people and signed simply 'Charles R.,' the 'R' referring to Rex, or king. In it, he vowed not to interfere in the country’s criminal justice system and pledged to assist in the investigation as needed.... News of the former prince’s arrest underscored the striking lack of similar actions [in the United States] against people connected to Mr. Epstein....”
~~~ Marie: While Charles, Andrew's own brother, was expressing "the deepest concern ... about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office" and urging "full and wholehearted support and co-operation" with law enforcement, let's see what our President* was saying: ~~~
~~~ Julia Manchester of the Hill: “'I think it’s a shame,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One while en route to Georgia. 'I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family.' The president went on to praise ... King Charles III as 'fantastic,' noting that the British monarch will be visiting the U.S. very soon.” As Lawrence O'Donnell (I think it was) pointed out yesterday, Trump has expressed a lot of sympathy for the perps, but none for the victims of Epstein and his friends like Andrew. ~~~
~~~ Stephen Castle of the New York Times: “The British police on Friday were searching a mansion occupied until recently by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince, a day after his stunning arrest over links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was questioned until late Thursday at a police station in Norfolk over allegations of misconduct in public life. A photograph of him leaving the building, looking shellshocked in the back of a vehicle, dominated the front pages of British newspapers on Friday. The arrest plunged the British monarchy into one of its biggest crises in decades. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor ... turned 66 on Thursday....”
"The publication of 3.5 million documents linked to the sprawling case involving sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has confronted the French justice system with an unprecedented situation and a Herculean task.... On Wednesday, February 18, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced the opening of two investigations entrusted to five magistrates. One will focus on 'human trafficking,' covering what is commonly called solicitation or recruitment, and the other on 'financial offenses of money laundering, breaches of probity, or tax fraud.'" This story is subscriber-firewalled, but you can read this much of it & a bit more. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Again, I find it a-mazing that the English can actually put Prince Andrew in the can (as opposed to the old joke about tinned loose tobacco, "Do you have Prince Albert is a can?"), the Norwegians can bring charges against a former prime minister, and the French can launch two investigations -- yet Pam Bondi can't find a single clue leading to a single crime in all those 3 million -- or however many -- pages. ~~~
~~~ Steve M.: "I think it's only a matter of time before American pundits begin arguing that America's utter lack of legal accountability for elites is a good thing, actually. They'll say that instead of succumbing to moral panics, 'wokeness,' and guilt by association, American law enforcement is right not to define dynamic, capable, accomplished people by their worst moments. We should be pleased! Societies with a culture of shame are weaker!... Maybe we'll hear this from the Atlantic writer [-- Gilad Edelman --] who told us that the recently releases Epstein files 'bolster the case that although terrible crimes were committed, there never was a larger conspiracy to begin with.'..."
Reid Epstein & Megan Specia of the New York Times: “For years, the American statesman George J. Mitchell has been revered in Northern Ireland for negotiating a peace agreement that brought an end to the decades-long Troubles there. But following the release last month of millions of files by the Justice Department, Mr. Mitchell, a former Senate majority leader, has faced a reckoning for his long association with Jeffrey Epstein.... In Northern Ireland, Queen’s University Belfast took down a bronze bust of his likeness. And, separately, the US-Ireland Alliance, a nonprofit that administered a prestigious exchange scholarship in his name, announced that it would be calling the award something else.... In his native Maine, a scholarship program named for Mr. Mitchell, now 92, is considering a name change, and in Waterville, where Mr. Mitchell was born, parents of students at George Mitchell Elementary School have called for the building to be rebranded.... ... Documents [among the Epstein files] chronicle flight logs and invitations from Mr. Epstein to attend meetings and events, as well as phone and email messages passed between the two men from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s.”
Vimal Patel of the New York Times: “Bard College said Thursday that it had opened an 'independent review' of its president’s connections to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after emails recently revealed by the Department of Justice showed the two had a closer relationship than previously known. The board of trustees at Bard said in a statement on Thursday that it had retained an outside law firm, WilmerHale, to look into the ties between its president, Leon Botstein, and Mr. Epstein. Dr. Botstein, who has led the liberal-arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., since 1975, has said for years that his sole interest in Mr. Epstein was to coax a major donation out of him for the financially precarious college. But a trove of Justice Department emails released late last month showed that Dr. Botstein had a warmer relationship with Mr. Epstein than previously known. In one message, Dr. Botstein wrote that he cherished his 'new friendship' with Mr. Epstein, and he signed off another in 2013 with, 'Miss you.' Dr. Botstein visited Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan town home numerous times, and Mr. Epstein would fly his helicopter along the Hudson River and land on Bard’s campus, with women in tow at least once.”
Julia Wong of the Guardian: “Federal investigators examined Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer who worked at the St Thomas airport to which Epstein regularly flew on his private planes..., newly released documents reveal. As part of that investigation, which did not result in any charges, investigators also issued subpoenas related to three additional CBP officers working at the Cyril E King airport (STT) on St Thomas.... The Guardian also identified two other CBP officers on St Thomas and in Florida who were in contact with Epstein.... It does not appear the FBI ever investigated those two officers. The FBI in New York opened a preliminary investigation in October 2019 after receiving a report that a long-serving CBP agricultural inspector 'had ongoing friendship with Mr Epstein … while working for CBP Pre-Clearance in Saint Thomas for over 7 years'. The email establishing the investigation into the agricultural inspector, Timothy 'Bill' Routch, is among the millions of files related to Epstein’s crimes that were released ... this month.... US Customs and Border Protection ... claims to be 'uniquely situated to deter and disrupt human trafficking', and is one of the four primary US agencies tasked with enforcing federal anti-trafficking law.”
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| Sen. Katie Britt delivers SOTU response. No, wait. That's Scarlett Johansson parodying Katie Britt delivering SOTU response. |
Up, Up & Away. Your Tax Dollars Entertaining the FBI Director. Carol Leonnig & Ken Dilanian of MS NOW: "FBI Director Kash Patel flew [Thursday] on the FBI’s Gulfstream jet bound for a trip to the winter Olympics in Italy to watch one of his favorite sports: men’s ice hockey.... Patel, an avid hockey player and fan, will be at the Olympic festivities and plans to attend the bronze medal competition in men’s ice hockey on Saturday and the competition for the gold medal on Sunday.... Government accounts estimate it costs U.S. taxpayers at least $5,000 per flight hour for the FBI Gulfstream to fly, meaning Patel’s trip to Milan is likely to cost as much as $75,000." ~~~
~~~ Immigrants to Be Deported in Style! (Or Maybe ICE Barbie Is Lying.) Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "An executive jet the Department of Homeland Security has told the White House’s Office of Management and Budget it needs for immigrant deportation flights and Cabinet officials’ travel features a bedroom with a queen bed, showers, a kitchen, four large flat-screen TVs and even a bar, according to images of the aircraft obtained by NBC News. DHS recently began leasing the Boeing 737 Max 8, which DHS officials have described as a luxury jet, but now Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking approval from OMB to purchase it for $70 million, according to two DHS officials involved in the request. ICE told OMB that it would be used for deportations and travel for Cabinet officials, the two officials said." ~~~
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “The police in St. Paul, Minn., say they are investigating an immigration arrest last month that left a man with a fractured skull and bleeding in his brain. Immigration agents have claimed the injuries were a result of the man running into a wall, but he has said that the agents beat him. The arrest of Alberto Castañeda Mondragón on Jan. 8 left him with severe head injuries, according to a federal judge, who concluded that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents had 'largely refused to provide information' about how Mr. Castañeda Mondragón had been injured. The judge, Donovan W. Frank, who ordered Mr. Castañeda Mondragón to be freed from detention last month, said in his ruling that the agents had suggested that the injured man ran headfirst into a brick wall.... The Associated Press reported last month that hospital employees quickly doubted descriptions by ICE agents about how he had gotten hurt, and this week reported that the F.B.I. was investigating the arrest, as were the St. Paul police.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: We bear in mind that immigration agents are violent brutes and that everyone from the top down associated with their enforcement efforts is a congenital liar. So "hospital employees" were just being realistic when they assessed the real cause of Mr. Castañeda Mondragón's injuries.
Ben Beaumont-Thomas of the Guardian: “U2 have released their first collection of new music since 2017 – a politically charged EP entitled Days of Ash, which focuses on a series of high-profile global deaths including the killing of Renee Good by ICE agents.... In an extensive interview in a fanzine accompanying the six-song release..., Bono characterised Good as 'a woman committed to nonviolent civil disobedience'. He said he was deeply troubled by her being dubbed a domestic terrorist by Kristi Noem, head of the US Department of Homeland Security. 'This was an attempt to assassinate meaning itself, the meaning of words, the meaning of truth,' Bono said. 'If you let people [get] away with that, you can kiss your democracy goodbye.' He called for an independent inquiry into Good’s death.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Video of the song "American Obituary" is on yesterday's page.
Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: “The Department of Veterans Affairs has halted plans to enforce a controversial rule that would have cut disability compensation for veterans making claims. The decision follows a backlash from veterans groups, which had criticized the rule’s impact on benefits. VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins posted on X on Thursday that the agency will not enforce the rule but will continue to collect public comments. The department had initially issued the rule Monday, saying it would take immediate effect. The new policy was set to require that examiners take into consideration the effects of medication, essentially making it easier for the agency to consider veterans less disabled if their medicine effectively treats their disability.”
Evan Gorelick & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: “The husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them, according to people familiar with the decision and a police report obtained by The New York Times. The women said Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Department’s building on Constitution Avenue. One of the incidents, during working hours on the morning of Dec. 18, was recorded on office security cameras.... The video showed Dr. DeRemer giving one of the women an extended embrace, and was reviewed as part of a criminal investigation, one of the people said. In January, the women’s concerns about Dr. DeRemer, 57, were raised as part of an internal investigation by the department’s inspector general into alleged misconduct by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her senior staff....” Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm going to guess that this is the first time in U.S. history that a Cabinet secretary AND her spouse are in the news because of separate credible sexual abuse allegations against each of them. But, to put these allegations in context, such aberrations are to be expected in an administration headed by a man who constantly signals that "the little people" have no rights.
John Koblin & Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: “... the Trump administration has effectively removed the exemption [for late-night talk shows of the equal-time rule], with the newly aggressive F.C.C. making it clear last month that it would use the rule against late-night talk show hosts, who have been among the most relentless critics of ... [Donald] Trump. The shift could reshape the political landscape of late-night television, where most shows overwhelmingly book Democrats over Republicans. It has also raised questions about whether a rule created in 1927 to ensure that then-powerful radio networks would not have undue influence in American elections should be applied now, when there are so many avenues for political candidates to promote themselves in a vastly expanded media landscape.... [Attorney Andrew] Schwartzman, a veteran of major media regulatory battles, added that the networks had traditionally protested this sort of action from the F.C.C., and he said he was struck at how silent they were being now.... Anna M. Gomez, the F.C.C.’s lone Democratic commissioner, said at a news conference on Wednesday that she was concerned the shift would cause networks to 'self-censor.'” MB: Uh, CBS just did self-censor, despite the network's laughable pretense that i was just reminding Colbert he could book other guests if he wished to.
Let's See How Fascistic We Can Get. Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: “Applicants hoping to win a federal museum or library grant this year were told to consider how their projects align with Trump administration priorities, including an emphasis on offering 'uplifting and positive narratives of our shared American experience.' The guidance appeared in a cover letter introducing new funding opportunities offered through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent agency that distributes grants to libraries and museums. The notice cited several of ... Donald Trump’s executive orders, such as March 2025’s 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which called for purging the Smithsonian of 'improper ideology' and federal historic sites of 'divisive narratives,' and which has formed the basis for a Trump-led content review at the Smithsonian, as well as the recent removal of an exhibit on slavery [in] Philadelphia.... Aside from the cover letter, IMLS has used the same template and much of the same language that accompanied 2025 grant notices, but with a glaring alteration: The agency appears to have removed every instance of the words 'inclusive,' 'equity' and 'diverse' or 'diversity.'” Ah, we have arrived: full fascist!
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Florida. Andrew Atterbury of Politico: “Florida lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to legislation that would rename Palm Beach International Airport after ... Donald Trump. The proposal will now arrive on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, as the Legislature works out how much it wants to spend — possibly upward of $5.5 million — on a massive rebranding at the airport mere minutes away from Mar-a-Lago.” MB: I hope this means that no larger airport can be named “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” such as a hub airport like Atlanta or Dallas/Fort Worth.
Texas. U.T. Goes Fascist, Too! Jessica Priest of the Texas Tribune: “The University of Texas System’s Board of Regents unanimously approved Thursday a rule requiring its universities to ensure students can graduate without studying 'unnecessary controversial subjects,' despite warnings it could leave them less prepared for the real world. The rule also requires faculty to disclose in their syllabi the topics they plan to cover and adhere to the plan, and says that when courses include controversial issues, instructors must ensure a 'broad and balanced approach' to the discussion. The policy does not define what qualifies as 'controversial' or what constitutes a 'broad and balanced approach.' Opponents warned that leaving those terms undefined would force administrators to interpret them case by case, pressuring professors to avoid difficult material rather than risk complaints.”
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Cuba. Jack Nicas & Christiaan Triebert of the New York Times: “Cuba is confronting the United States’ first effective blockade since the Cuban Missile Crisis and running out of fuel fast, pushing the nation toward a humanitarian crisis and its government to the edge of collapse, according to a New York Times analysis of shipping data and satellite images. Cuban tankers have hardly left the island’s shores for months. Oil-rich allies have halted shipments or declined to come to the rescue. The U.S. military has seized ships that have supported Cuba. And in recent days, vessels roaming the Caribbean Sea in search of fuel for Cuba have come up empty or been intercepted by the U.S. authorities.... Mr. Trump signed an executive order last month threatening to impose tariffs on countries that provide oil to Cuba. That has succeeded at scaring other nations, like Mexico, into sitting on the sidelines despite their desire to help Cuba. At the same time, the largest U.S. military presence in the Caribbean in decades is policing the waters around the island, fresh off its work blocking oil shipments to and from Venezuela ahead of the U.S. capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, last month. And, according to a U.S. official..., the Coast Guard’s interception of [a] tanker headed to Cuba last week was part of a blockade that the Trump administration has not yet announced.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm just going to guess this is really Little Marco's project. So for those of us who might have speculated that Marco's problem was that he was so power-hungry, he capitulated to Trump, well, no. He is naturally just as cruel as Trump. Having severe character flaws is a requirement of joining the Trump administration.
22 comments:
When I checked in this morning and there were no Feb 20 entries, I thought
that I should do a 'wellness check' but of course, I didn't have an address to
give the local sheriff. Anyhoo, glad you're O.K. and wasn't detained by ICE.
I see that Alex Padilla will be giving the Spanish response to Fat Hitler's Lies of the State jibber-jabber. I'd be careful I were he. If he comes out with anything but glowing encomiums about ICE and the DHS fascist disaster of terror and murder, Klaus Barbie (aka the Gnome) might have her goons tackle and handcuff him on camera. Snowflakes melt easily under the hot sun of truth.
I am wondering if our fascist Congress is planning to even ASK why we are bombing Iran. Do the fascists plan to bomb various countries in turn until they give medals to the CRAZY MAD KING? Since there are no given reasons, I guess we can bomb with impunity. After all, it works with open boats supposedly transporting drugs to whoever... no one has told the military to stop...I guess also there is no stop mechanism with the Court of Pigs? We really are well and truly f***ed. I am planning to write our two "senators" and the "congresspig Smucker" but of course, none of that is of any use whatsoever. The two are 1. one GOP and 2. Fetterman.
Here's my application for a federal library grant:
Dear Godlike President Trump, greatest leader in world history and way better than any darkie named Hussein or a sleepy type guy who was a dementia person.
To wit: 'Merica is the best it's ever been under you and I want everyone to know how lucky we are that we've never had any slavery or stuff like that because you went back in time and straightened all that out. The darkies all had jobs and a nice place to live and free food, so what's the problem? White Christians were Sooooooo generous and I think they should all get compensation for having to listen to lies about how they weren't nice to all those dark skinned people who we brought here from their shithole countries so they could have a better life. Like Randy Newman said
In America you get food to eat
Won't have to run through the jungle
And scuff up your feet
You just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day
It's great to be an American
And I want everyone to know that you deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and any other big name prize that usually go to undeserving liberal Hollywood types who hate America, and also the Congressional Medal of Honor, for being so brave to NOT go to Vietnam. Lots of people went but it took REAL courage to stay home and bang stewardesses and grab pussies.
Also, I will create a gold monument to your ability to make money for you and your family because otherwise you wouldn't have food to eat or a nice place to sleep, and no billion dollar jet aeroplanes and stuff.. It will be a thousand foot tall gold dollar sign with your face on it and I will order that everyone worship at this Trump Money Monument and put their paychecks into Trump Admiration Box.
How's that? Do I get my money?
Union!
Try as they might, the goons and thugs and Fat Hitler billionaires can't crush the spirit to organize for a better life.
"Yesterday, we learned that despite Trump’s war on unions, which included canceling the government’s contracts with unions representing one million federal workers, the number and share of union members actually grew in 2025 for the first time in many years...The gains in union membership weren’t huge, but that there were any gains at all following decades of decline was news in itself. Union membership grew by 463,000 in 2025, which boosted the overall share of union members in the American workforce from 9.9 percent to 10.0 percent, while the unionized share of private-sector workers stayed steady at 5.9 percent. Most of the gain came among public-sector workers, whose unionized ranks increased in the local, state, and even federal government workforces."
At least some Americans have finally decided that they've listened to lies and bullshit long enough and have decided, as the old song goes that "You Can't Scare Me, I'm Stickin' With the Union".
I think Steve M. is right that the media will soon be telling us all to move on from the Epstein Files. When that happens I hope their readers start sending those writers all the disgusting details that have come out with the first half of the files. There is a reason that even callus Republicans changed their tune after viewing parts of the files. I DO NOT recommend Tom Sullivan's highlighted disturbing details from yesterday on the Epstein Files. But they have pictures of these perpetrators in the files and yet none of them were ever held to account. And any people calling for moving on are helping these monsters continue to get away with it.
"DOGE Bro’s Grant Review Process Was Literally Just Asking ChatGPT ‘Is This DEI?’"
"Third American Death Linked to ICE Uncovered by Newsweek
Federal agents shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Texas last year, but initial reports did not reveal their involvement, with the details now coming to light through internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records.
Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was shot by an ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer in South Padre Island, Texas, on March 15, 2025, after what ICE described as a failure to follow law enforcement instructions during a traffic incident as agents worked with local police on immigration enforcement."
"New Mexico probes allegation of bodies buried near Epstein ranch
New Mexico's Department of Justice said on Wednesday the state was investigating an allegation, which emerged from documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ordered the bodies of two foreign girls buried outside his remote New Mexico ranch."
A political message that we can all get behind.
Evan Hurst
"God, Team USA is amazing.
“They hate to see two woke bitches winning,” said US figure skater Amber Glenn, who got death threats from America’s least important humans when she dared speak her mind about the vile regime running the United States right now.
The word I want you to keep in mind for this entire post is winning, because winning is the word that differentiates Olympians from the vile MAGA pieces of shit who have spent over a week now BITCHING and MOANING and CRYING and COMPLAINING and BELLYACHING and WHINING and WHINING and WHINING, all because a number of our finest athletes have met their Olympic moments by saying Hey, you know what? I’m proud to be here, but it’s not that easy right now to embrace everything this flag currently represents."
I see the three justices who dissented from the Court's tariff decision that was released this AM were worried that rescinding them would provoke chaos. Pretty funny, since with their presidential immunity decision they removed the guardrails from Mr. Chaos himself and encouraged his increasingly lunatic behavior
What nonsense emerges from their so-called solemn decisions. Who coulda seen it coming?
The other day I posted a story about a little town in Georgia where ICE has purchased a giant black box warehouse to turn into another Trump Concentration Camp. The town is not happy largely because number one, they're not thrilled about being a prison town, and more importantly, the influx of 10,000 immigrant prisoners who will be held there without due process will triple the town's population making enormous demands on town infrastructure and services, especially their water supply, which at peak capacity, can serve only 5,000.
But here's something I didn't know. The Fat Hitler Department of (inflicting) Human Suffering is paying $129 million for this big empty box. And guess who is making out? This property was purchased only two years ago by a Russian who bought it then for $29 million, so, with no oversight or due diligence to using taxpayer money, ICE is handing a shady Russian a $100 million bonus. Why? Cui bono? And this isn't the only shady purchase.
All over the country, ICE is overpaying massively for empty warehouses they plan to turn into Trump Concentration Camps, in some cases over 300% more than the assessed value of the properties.
Why?
No answers from the Gnome or Fat Hitler or any of the other Nazi fucks doling out taxpayer money like it was their own.
This is more Trump corruption on a massive scale all across the country.
But they're getting away with it.
It will be so depressing if the story Akhilleus linked above ^^ never penetrates the maga-sphere. Wouldn't anybody (even the most invested cult members) question t****'s business skills and honesty with numbers like that?
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Rogé Karma, in The Atlantic writes that the SC decision will not impact tariffs - t**** has a plan b Get Ready for Zombie Tariffs
"...even as it insisted that the law was on its side, the administration spent much of the past year preparing a backup plan to rebuild Trump’s tariff wall in case the courts ruled against them. Because, as the president observed on Truth Social a few hours after the ruling, “the Supreme Court did not overrule TARIFFS, they merely overruled a particular use of IEEPA TARIFFS.”"
As seen on BlueSky, Lawrence O'Donnell reads the headlines from The New York Daily News The Most Powerful Crime Syndicate in History
Wendy,
Your Atlantic posting is spot on. Typically, the Supine Court traitors, when they want to help Fatty, jump like bugs on a hot plate. It takes them, in some cases, only a few days to respond favorably to some authoritarian wet dream of the Fat Fascist. This time they delayed their response in order to help him. And themselves.
Probably recognizing the ludicrous claims that Trump’s temper tantrum tariffs were imposed to respond to some national security emergency, rather than the foot stomping of a colicky infant couldn’t pass muster under the loosest possible interpretations, they took a different tack. And doing so, they also discovered that with a little time, Fat Hitler’s econo-hacks could presto-change-o some other ways to keep most of those economy busting tariffs. This strategy also allows them to pretend to be a real Supreme Court interested in actual law and Justice. A two-fer.
Even better, the businesses lining up for a rebate will be kept in court for years by Fatty’s Injustice Department which means the administration of the next Democratic president will be on the hook for repayment of this clown’s huge mistake.
They fuck us six ways from Sunday.
And if the executive had all these other means to impose tariffs willy-nilly any time it wished, why didn't the stable genius use them in the first place?
Anti-DEI exported. Maybe Canada could impose tariffs on dumb ideas.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/world/americas/bc-university-dei-lawsuit-indigenous-canada.html
The article does make a nice distinction between the university's recommendations and requirements, something too nuanced for the libertarian absolutists to grasp.
I really agree-- with the point that perhaps the Supines were giving him an out, saving him from himself, not saving the country from anything. He's still in power, saying right out loud that he can do whatever the hell he wants and screw the rest of you. We have become so accustomed to losing every battle involving the weasels on the court, we can't tell truth from fiction. I would trust Neil, though-- he is a thoroughly good guy and I'm glad he got another win. I did not listen to his insane rant and I plan to not listen to his SOTU-- I'm sure anything he says from now on will be gibberish and bile. Hey, that is what we are now used to...
The Supines were influenced by foreign interests, the founding fathers were British subjects when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and started planning a new government. Not that Fat Hitler knows that.
Not sure if Jesse Welles has been featured here but he is writing and performing some protest songs like this one on BlueSky: Whirlwind
TPM thur LGM
"A friend mentioned to me over the weekend that he’d heard about Wall Streeters buying up the rights to tariff refunds from big corporate importers. So the idea is that a Wall Street firm goes to an importer and says, you’ve now paid $10 million in tariffs. I’ll pay you $2 million right now for the right to collect the refund if courts ever end up deciding the tariffs were illegal. My friend had also heard that one of the most aggressive buyers was Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm until recently headed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and now run by Lutnick’s sons. Twenty-something Brandon Lutnick, pictured above on the left in a 2016 photo, is the current chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald
Lutnick can’t be certain what’s in a judge’s mind any more than Trump can. But he’ll have lots of visibility into what the government’s lawyers think, how they rate their odds of success, what their arguments will be. On top of that, given the immense corruption of the current Supreme Court, I would say there’s at least a 50%-50% shot that Trump and thus Lutnick will gets signals from one or more of the justices about how the Court will rule. Any way you look at this it’s corrupt as hell. And on a more metaphoric level it typifies the heads-I-win-tails-you-lose rules that the billionaire class and their sub-billionaire toadies live by."
The legal corruption is out of control.
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