⭐David Nakamura & Sarah Blaskey of the Washington Post: “A former instructor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday accused the agency of dramatically slashing training standards for new officers and lying to Congress about it.... Ryan Schwank, who resigned from his job at an ICE academy in Georgia last week, told congressional Democrats at a hearing that the agency eliminated 240 hours of 'vital classes' from a mandatory 580-hour training program, including instruction about the legal boundaries for the use of force, how to safely handle firearms, and the proper way to detain and arrest immigrants.... He ... said that a two-hour class on the rights of protesters was shortened into 10 minutes of discussion.... Ahead of the hearing, Schwank provided a joint panel of House and Senate Democrats copies of internal ICE documents that he said show the extent of the cuts....
“During his testimony in the House on Feb. 10, [Acting Ice Director Todd] Lyons ... [said the agency] has not reduced the 'meat of the training.'... On his first day [as an instructor, Schwank] said, he was asked to review an internal memo, signed by Lyons, that said ICE officers are authorized to use administrative warrants, approved by senior ICE officials, to enter private residences. That marked a shift from the federal government’s long-standing position that officers must obtain judicial warrants signed by federal judges.... Schwank said he was ... told he could not talk about [Lyon's memo] publicly or even take notes [on it].... 'ICE is teaching cadets to violate the Constitution and attempting to cloak it in secrecy by demanding I lie about it,' he said.”
John Hudson & Tara Copp of the Washington Post: “As the Trump administration weighs an attack on Iran, the Pentagon’s top general has cautioned ... Donald Trump and other officials that shortfalls in critical munitions and a lack of support from allies will add significant risk to the operation and to U.S. personnel.... Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed his concerns at a White House meeting last week with Trump and his top aides ... cautioning that any major operation against Iran will face challenges because the U.S. munitions stockpile has been significantly depleted by Washington’s ongoing defense of Israel and support for Ukraine.... Separately, in Pentagon meetings this month, Caine also has raised concerns about the scale of any Iran campaign, its inherent complexity and the possibility of U.S. casualties, one person said. The general has said that any operation would be made all the more difficult by a lack of allied support....”
Scott Nover & Daniel Gilbert of the Washington Post: “Peter Attia, a physician and prominent longevity influencer, is stepping down from his role as a CBS News contributor after the Justice Department released hundreds of previously undisclosed emails between him and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to two people.... Attia was part of a new slate of contributors announced in January, amid editor in chief Bari Weiss’s plans to remake the network. But Attia never appeared on the network in that capacity.... The Hollywood Reporter first reported on Attia’s decision Monday.... 'You [know] the biggest problem with becoming friends with you?' Attia wrote to Epstein in an email on June 24, 2015. 'The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul …' In another email dated Feb. 19, 2016, Attia used vulgar language referring to women’s genitals. 'P---y is, indeed, low carb,' he wrote. “Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Special congrats to Bari Weiss for her excellent judgment.
All of his adult life, Donald Trump has insulted and belittled women, openly, publicly, tape rolling, and often without consequence. These young women said "Enough": ~~~
~~~ Betsy Klein of CNN: “The gold medal-winning US Olympic women’s hockey team has declined an invitation to ... Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, citing scheduling issues. The invite came after Trump regaled the US men’s team by phone Sunday as the players celebrated their historic Olympic victory, even offering to send a military plane to bring them to Washington, DC.... Trump added: 'I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that.' If they weren’t invited, the president said, ''I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?' Members of the team laughed.... [Trump spoke] over a speakerphone held by FBI Director Kash Patel in the locker room.... The moment — and the players’ response —prompted significant backlash on social media.... It is not clear whether the male athletes will follow through on the plans, but the women have declined the invitation.” Thanks to RAS for the link.
Guardian: “Peter Mandelson has been arrested by detectives investigating claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Video footage showed him being driven away from his home in an unmarked car shortly after being escorted from his home by officers. The Metropolitan police have been investigating the alleged leaking by Mandelson of Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to Epstein.”
The Cape Cod Times is updating blizzard info for the Cape & the Islands. Here are live updates for Massachusetts by NBC News Boston.
Alanna Richer & Eric Tucker of the AP: “A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into ... Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the president to keep under wraps the report on an investigation alleging Trump stored sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House following his first term and obstructed government efforts to get them back. Smith and his team produced a two-volume report on the classified documents investigation and a separate probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.... Both investigations produced indictments that were abandoned by Smith’s team after Trump’s November 2024 election win in light of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi had already determined that the report was “an internal deliberative communication that is privileged and confidential and should not be released.'... Cannon’s order, however, blocking the release also applies to Bondi’s successors at the Justice Department.... A First Amendment group and watchdog organization that have been pressing for the report’s release could presumably continue to fight in higher courts for it become public.” Thanks to RAS for the link. As RAS comments, “Somebody is buffing up their resume for Alito's possible retirement.”
Poppy Wood, et al., of the Telegraph: “Jeffrey Epstein hid computers and photographs from United States authorities in secret storage lockers across the country.... He leased at least one unit from 2003, when he was part of a Florida social set that included Donald Trump. Credit card receipts obtained by The Telegraph show regular storage payments continued until 2019, the year of his death. Search warrants reviewed by The Telegraph suggest US authorities never raided the lockers, raising the possibility that they may contain unseen evidence relating to Epstein and his associates.... While Epstein has long been suspected of collecting compromising material on his associates, relatively few such photographs or videos have emerged.... The FBI had previously said there was no evidence Epstein was storing compromising material.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: So is this just remarkably incompetent investigating by an agency that has "investigation" in its name? OR, is RAS right? -- "The more I read the more I come to the conclusion that the authorities didn't want to know about Epstein." It sure seems prudent to share RAS's suspicions.
To Akhilleus & Ken W.: Here's a concurring opinion (see today's Comments): ~~~
~~~ Liz Dye on Substack: “You Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Gotta Hand It To Chief Justice Roberts. Ditto for Barrett and Gorsuch.... Adam Liptak, chief legal affairs correspondent at the New York Times called it 'a declaration of independence,' congratulating the 'controlled, cerebral chief justice' for staring down 'the biting, brazen president.' Times opinion columnist David French ... [gushed] 'On this day the presidency is stuffed back into its box. On this day the separation of powers prevails. And on this day the Constitution holds.'.... Trump’s claim that he can shout 'Emergency!' and steal Congress’s tariff power was stupid a year ago when the first challenges were filed.
“It was stupid in May, when a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade declared them unlawful, for the exact same reasons just reached by the Supreme Court. It was stupid in August when the Federal Circuit agreed, but sent it back to the trial court to figure out what the hell to do after SCOTUS blew up nationwide injunctions in Trump v. CASA. And it was stupid in September when the Supreme Court granted cert, effectively staying the CIT’s injunction and allowing Trump to collect the illegal levies. At any point, the justices could have put a stop to this nonsense. But ... Chief Justice Roberts said, 'Eh, let’s go with door number two. Seems like the safer option.' American taxpayers footed the bill for this fecklessness....”
~~~~~~~~~~
Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump has told advisers that if diplomacy or any initial targeted U.S. attack does not lead Iran to give in to his demands that it give up its nuclear program, he will consider a much bigger attack in coming months intended to drive that country’s leaders from power, people briefed on internal administration deliberations said. Negotiators from the United States and Iran are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Thursday for what appears to be last-ditch negotiations to avoid a military conflict. But Mr. Trump has been weighing options for U.S. action if the negotiations fail. Though no final decisions have been made, advisers said, Mr. Trump has been leaning toward conducting an initial strike in coming days intended to demonstrate to Iran’s leaders that they must be willing to agree to give up the ability to make a nuclear weapon.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Erica Solomon, et al., of the New York Times: “A second day of antigovernment protests erupted on university campuses in Iran’s two largest cities..., despite a deadly state crackdown on unrest. The protests took place on at least seven university campuses in Tehran, the capital, and in the northeastern city of Mashhad, according to accounts from student groups. They come as Iran’s clerical leaders struggle to manage uprisings at home and a looming risk of war with Washington.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Michele Price of the AP: “The U.S. Secret Service announced Sunday that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago.... Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House during this incident. First lady Melania Trump was also with the president. The name of the person who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was 'observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.' The incident took place at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.” A New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Sonia Rao & Christina Morales of the New York Times: “The 21-year-old man who was shot and killed after entering Mar-a-Lago with a weapon was a recent high school graduate who started an artwork company last year that specialized in handmade drawings of golf courses. The man, Austin Tucker Martin, of Cameron, N.C., was confronted by the Secret Service and officers from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office inside the north gate of Mar-a-Lago.... Mr. Martin was carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel canister. Officers told him to drop the items, but he put down only the canister and was shot and killed after raising the shotgun to a 'shooting position,' the authorities said.... Family members of Mr. Martin, including his mother, Melissa Martin, had posted on Facebook throughout the weekend that he was missing.” ~~~
~~~ TMZ: "The armed man shot and killed by Secret Service agents outside ... Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property Sunday had grown increasingly obsessed with the Epstein files and was also a vocal supporter of Trump.... Sources who worked with Austin at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina tell TMZ ... he became fixated on Epstein following the latest release of information tied to the files. Co-workers tell us he was deeply disturbed by what he believed was a government cover-up and often talked about powerful people 'getting away with it.'"
Ali Watkins & Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times: “Denmark’s defense minister on Sunday rejected a plan by ... [Donald] Trump to send a 'great hospital boat' to Greenland, the Arctic island and semiautonomous territory of Denmark that Mr. Trump has long sought to acquire.... Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish defense minister, told Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, that his government had not been made aware the plan. He said that there was 'no need for special health care efforts' in Greenland. It was not clear why Mr. Trump planned to assist Greenland with its health care. Greenlanders have the right to health care that is free at the point of use, including prescription medications, according to the Nordic regional body.” The Guardian's story is here. These stories update a story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
“Courtney R. Baker, a professor at the University of California, Riverside..., noted that Mr. Trump’s conception of Black friends revolves around celebrity and fame, and what Black people can do for him. 'His understanding of friendship and association with Black people is so thoroughly saturated in investment and trading and commodity,' Dr. Baker said, 'which is so particularly messed up if we think about Black people in this country having actually been traded, commodified, invested in.'”
Well, well, "John Barron" is back, this time to knock the Supremes for declaring unconstitutional the tariffs imposed by Barron's alter-ego. Also, "Barron" insults Hakeem Jeffries & Chuck Schumer. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) The Huffington Post story is here.
Alexandra Stevenson & River Davis of the New York Times on the fate of trade deals other countries have made with the U.S. to avoid his punishing tariffs. “In Asia, where most of the world’s goods are made, governments had raced to do deals with Mr. Trump. The goal was to negotiate lower tariffs for their export-dependent industries. Many government leaders who brokered deals and made significant pledges faced political recrimination at home, accused of giving away too much and, at times, even sacrificing national sovereignty.... So far, China has kept Mr. Trump at a standstill in trade negotiations and could end up with a better deal than its neighbors and American allies. Now, after the court decision constraining Mr. Trump’s trade cudgel, countries throughout Asia were left wondering if they had made a mistake in quickly finalizing deals with Mr. Trump and whether existing agreements would stand.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Edith Olmstead of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News (February 20): "If Donald Trump’s administration really wants to find evidence of foreign interference in Georgia’s elections, then they need look no further than the president’s old friend Elon Musk and his shady super PAC. Members of the Georgia State Elections Board voted Wednesday to issue a formal letter of reprimand to Musk’s America PAC over the billionaire technocrat’s illegal scheme to get Trump elected.... In October 2024, the Georgia secretary of state’s office launched an investigation after receiving numerous reports from residents across several counties saying they’d received partially prefilled absentee ballot applications from Musk’s America PAC, according to John Fervier, the State Elections Board’s chairman. There was evidence to suggest America PAC had violated a state law that prohibits any person or entity, other than an authorized relative, to send an elector an absentee ballot application prefilled with the elector’s required information...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: “The F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, criticized for blurring the lines between personal recreation and professional responsibility, spent Sunday celebrating the American hockey team’s Olympic victory in Milan as the bureau grappled with multiple, fast-developing crises at home.... [A] video clip showed Mr. Patel chugging most of a beer and splashing the remnants into the air as the hockey players around him cheered. Then one of players, the video showed, draped a gold medal around his neck and he raised his arms in triumph.... When news broke of his trip a few days ago, Mr. Patel’s aides ... said it was a coincidence that the Games overlapped with security consultations he had planned months ago with European counterparts.... F.B.I. directors must fly on government aircraft for their travel because of required access to secure communications equipment. But using government jets for business trips requires significant planning and coordination with others, including the director’s security team.” The link appears to be a gift link. A Raw Story report is here. ~~~
~~~ Your tax dollars partying in Milan: ~~~
~~~ Ken Dilanian & Carol Leonnig of MS NOW: "FBI Director Kash Patel, during what his spokesman said was an official trip to Milan for security meetings, was filmed guzzling from a beer bottle and celebrating in the locker room with U.S. Olympic hockey players Sunday after they won the gold-medal game.... Eight former FBI and Justice Department officials sent MS NOW a copy of the video, which they said was drawing outrage as it rocketed around FBI and DOJ circles.... Patel flew to Milan on the FBI’s private jet, and his spokesman denounced reporting by MS NOW and other outlets that he was flying to Milan to watch the men’s hockey games at the Olympics." ~~~
~~~ We should not, however, let that irresponsible POS ruin what was a spectacular closing ceremony, held in the ancient Roman amphitheater in Verona's city center. MB: It leaves me awestruck to realize that the people who watched the ceremony were sitting on the same stone benches where tens of thousands of ancient Veronese set their bums down to watch gladiator "games." ~~~
AP: “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is suspending the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs as a partial government shutdown continues. The programs are designed to help speed registered travelers through security lines.... Democrats on the House Committee on Homeland Security criticized the decision about airport security. They said on social media that the administration was 'kneecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure' and accused them of 'ruining your travel on purpose.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. They Really Don't Know WTF They're Doing. Madeleine Ngo & Yan Zhuang of the “The Department of Homeland Security said on Sunday that T.S.A. PreCheck, a program that allows travelers to move through airport security more quickly, would remain available, hours after announcing that it would be suspended.... Some Democratic lawmakers had questioned how the suspension of the priority security screening services would help the department manage the shutdown. 'T.S.A. PreCheck and Global Entry REDUCE airport lines and ease the burden on D.H.S. staff,' Representative Bennie G. Thompson, the party’s top member of the Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement. He accused the Trump administration of 'purposely punishing the American people.'” CNBC's story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mexico. Samantha Schmidt & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: “Mexico’s most powerful drug kingpin, the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed by Mexican security forces on Sunday, Mexican defense officials said. The killing of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as 'El Mencho,' represents a major show of force by the country’s military as President Donald Trump continues to pressure the United States’ southern neighbor to do more to fight its drug trafficking organizations. The cartel leader’s killing set off a wave of violence in areas controlled by the cartel, with reports of burning cars blocking roads. In Guadalajara, the capital city of the western state of Jalisco and one of the host cities of the upcoming World Cup, businesses were shut down, sirens and helicopters could be heard in the city center, and residents were warned to stay inside.” An AP story is here.
Ukraine/Russia, et al. Paul Krugman: "Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2002. Putin expected a quick Russian triumph.... The three-day war is about to enter its fifth year.... And now we have a U.S. president who clearly wants to see a Russian victory. He’s unwilling or unable to openly throw America’s weight behind Putin, but he has effectively cut off all U.S. aid to Ukraine.... While Trump may have thought that he could discreetly hand Ukraine over to Putin, it turns out that he didn’t have the cards.... Shame on America, for betraying a valiant ally."
20 comments:
Should have posted this yesterday, but there's been so much to say about the Supines' dissing of the Fat Fascist's recently deceased tariffs (well, some of them) I just put it off.
But the New Yawk Times wants everyone to know, 'specially you lefties who think you're soooooo superior now that--for once--Little Johnny Roberts and two other supines have told whiny baby boy NO, that Democrats, notably, Joe Biden are just as bad as Fat Hitler.
Harrumph!
Yup. So don't go gettin' all high and mighty.
David French, long connected to Christian rights groups, who once declared that LGBTQ+ types were horrible, no-good, and not at all consistent with Christian values (he has since decided they can live after all) has a lengthy analysis of the tariff ruling which is, to say the least, um...informative?
A lot to unpack....
So up front, Dave sez it was a good thing cuz he's all about libertarian stuff. He wasn't cool with Fatty tariffing this and tariffing that and that this decision has saved the republic because this particular Trump power grab was just as bad and evil as -- wait for it -- Biden's debt forgiveness program, the Covid vaccine mandate, and any evil liberal attempt to make sure we have clean air and water.
Because some kind of both-sides assertion must be recognized if there's gonna be any bad things to say about the right. Never mind that Biden's plans--relieving millions of students of crushing debt, saving lives through a vaccine mandate, and ensuring that air is clean enough to breathe and a glass of water doesn't contain enough crap to fill in half of the periodic table--all had to do with making life better for everyone, while Trump's tariffs are all about his attempt to upend world economies to demonstrate his power as well as improve his ability to encourage bribery from countries trying to avoid crushing economic turmoil, thereby increasing his power and personal wealth.
So there's that. Now to the decision itself.
continued...
Part the second
French correctly points out that there were two paths to deciding to put the kibosh on Fatty's temper tantrum tariffs. The first, and most logical, clear, and persuasive, is the constitution itself which gives tariff control to Congress, and the law, which makes it clear that IEEP Act requires some kind of national emergency, which does not exist. This is the route selected by the liberal justices. French brushes this aside quickly cuz, well, liberal.
He is most enamored of the route chosen by the Traitor justices, the so-called "Major Questions Doctrine" (a completely bullshit "doctrine" whipped up in order to support right-wing wish lists limiting what government can do and, most recently, to step on that awful Joe Biden). French describes the opinion put forward by Neil (Die for Your Corporate Masters) Gorsuch, as "masterful". Gorsuch barely mentions the Constitution but makes sure to point out that Congress's input in "major questions" limits a president's abilities, in this case, to impose broad tariffs.
Well enough. But the further problem here is that because of the differing rationale for arriving at the correct decision, lower courts have been given no real guidance as to how to handle such problems in the future. This is a classic outcome of decisions in the Roberts era. Keep everything as narrow as possible in order to allow for loads of ways to wiggle out of things in the future.
It bears pointing out that French has been a longtime critic of Trump. He hates the guy, so his schadenfreude about this decision is not all because the rule of law has been reasserted.
French goes on to decry the public's cynicism about government in general and the Court in particular without ever indicating that this cynicism has been the right's favorite tool for tilting everything their way. "Oh isn't it terrible?" Yeah. And you fucking guys did it!
He suggests that this decision restores faith in the Court and the principles of judicial integrity. Seriously, Dave? When we have a Justice Department that operates like a bunch of Mafia consiglieres? When this court has laid down again and again to serve the needs of authoritarianism, of white supremacy and of Christian hegemony? Everything is A-OK now?
And don't forget. Democrats are just as bad.
Thanks for nothin'.
Tom Nichols, for The Atlantic, on Republican Party Nazi Problem
"By this, I mean that some Republicans are deploying Nazi imagery and rhetoric, and espouse ideas associated with the Nazi Party during its rise to power in the early 1930s. A few recent examples: An ICE lawyer linked to a white-supremacist social-media account that praised Hitler was apparently allowed to return to federal court. Members of the national Young Republicans organization were caught in a group chat laughing about their love for Hitler. Vice President J. D. Vance shrugged off that controversy, instead of condemning the growing influence of anti-Semites in his party. (In December, at Turning Point USA’s conference, Vance said, “I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform.”)
Even federal agencies are modeling Nazi phrasing. The Department of Homeland Security used an anthem beloved by neo-Nazi groups, “By God We’ll Have Our Home Again,” in a recruitment ad. The Labor Department hung a giant banner of Donald Trump’s face from its headquarters, as if Washington were Berlin in 1936, ..."
How much will you bet me that the MAGA media outlets, Fox, et al, will never mention that the guy who was shot trying to get onto the grounds at Marred a Lardo is a "vocal Trump supporter". He'll be held up as some loony lefty Trump hater.
Brendan Carr, arguably the Trumpiest of Trump appointees, demands that for the 250th Trump Birthday--oops, America's birthday celebration, everyone be wicked positive and be all kinds of pro-America.
Okay, Bren. Here's my suggestion for the best way to be positive about America. Let's not shove everything you guys hate down the memory hole, like slavery, for instance.
The best way to encourage a positive outlook is not to pretend that certain things never happened, but to hold those things up--a Civil War over slavery (not states' rights), the fight for women's suffrage, for Civil Rights, for unions, for better health and welfare, for Social Security as an indication that the country has faced a lot of problems and has worked to make things better (until Republicans were elected). A person with mental health or physical problems never gets better by pretending those things aren't present. The best way to get better is to deal with the problems.
But that's not what this administration does. So, Happy Fake Birthday, America.
Reuters reports "Activists from anti-billionaire campaign group "Everyone Hates Elon" on Sunday (February 22) went to the Louvre museum in Paris where they hung a framed photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, taken by a Reuters photographer on February 19, whilst he sat in the back of a car leaving a police station on the day of his arrest."
the former prince Andrew's photo in the Louvre
Akhilleus,
Read French, whom I do read regularly, yesterday and concluded much the same. French is mostly rational when he doesn't mount his arguments on the slippery slope of his Christianity. But that "major questions" thingy? It's no more than the Right's new-found magic lantern they can shine on anything they don't like so they can see what they want. It's a created thing with no firm foundation in Constitutional law.
Saying it doesn't apply when it doesn't, doesn't make you a hypocrite. It makes you a perceptive jurist, and is certainly no basis for French's assertion of both-siderism.
Denmark sends it's own medical ships to help the US
We'll stop the crimes when we feel like it
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it will halt collections of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday, more than three days after the U.S. Supreme Court declared the duties illegal. The agency said in a message to shippers, opens new tab on its Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) that it will de-activate all tariff codes associated with Trump’s prior IEEPA-related orders as of Tuesday." *emphasis mine
The administration can't even spell quid pro quo so this should all be fine.
"In a document quietly filed with the Federal Election Commission on Friday night, MAGA Inc., the primary Super PAC supporting President Trump, revealed that it received a $5 million donation from Crypto.com on January 23, 2026. The donation was made in the name of Crypto.com’s parent company, Foris Dax, Inc.
25 days later, on February 17, the Trump administration’s Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), intervened on Crypto.com’s behalf in high-stakes lawsuit in federal court.
Last year, Crypto.com sued the Nevada Gaming Control Board, arguing that it has the right to offer “prediction markets” on the outcome of sporting events without obtaining a Nevada gaming license. In October 2025, a federal court denied Crypto.com an injunction, and the company is now appealing the decision."
Somebody is buffing up their resume for Alito's possible retirement.
"A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the Republican president to keep under wraps the report on a criminal investigation once seen as posing significant legal peril to Trump."
The more I read the more I come to the conclusion that the authorities didn't want to know about Epstein.
The Telegraph
"Jeffrey Epstein hid computers and photographs from United States authorities in secret storage lockers across the country, The Telegraph can reveal. Documents uncovered by this newspaper show the paedophile paid private detectives to remove equipment from his Florida home in an apparent attempt to prevent investigators from finding it.
The documents also show that he rented six storage units across the US and used them to house items from his properties, including computers from Little Saint James, his private island in the Caribbean. He leased at least one unit from 2003, when he was part of a Florida social set that included Donald Trump. Credit card receipts obtained by The Telegraph show regular storage payments continued until 2019, the year of his death.
Search warrants reviewed by The Telegraph suggest US authorities never raided the lockers, raising the possibility that they may contain unseen evidence relating to Epstein and his associates, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson."
How the brain fixes things.
Reading Wendy's post about the obsession MAGA lackeys, white supremacists, and Fat Hitler fans (on a Venn diagram, almost a perfect circle), have for the good old days of Nazi control in Europe, I got to this line "The Labor Department hung a giant banner of Donald Trump’s face from its headquarters, as if Washington were Berlin in 1936..." and in a moment of squintiness, thought I saw "...hung a huge banner of Donald Trump's face from its hindquarters..." Which my brain seems to think a much more appropriate location.
Marie,
RE: the Liz Dye piece you linked. Allowing tariffs, the illegality and unconstitutionality of which has been glaringly visible like a black eye, broken nose and dislocated jaw, from the get go was (and is) the height of reckless and feckless indolence. Whether it was an attempt to give Fatty a chance to figure out some other way to upend world economies and jigger trade practices into so much sour cream, or whether they just didn't know what the fuck to do, the Roberts Court has hung a huge repayment bill on American taxpayers. We can't know how much the federal government pulled in, illegally, on this scheme, but it has to be eye watering. And of course the current abomination of an administration won't have to worry about repayment, that will fall to the next Democratic president to figure out, and the TAXPAYERS. Can you imagine having to raise taxes to pay back companies and countries bilked by this fat fuck? So we get screwed twice. First, having to pay the additional cost for goods imposed by Fatty's temper tantrum tariffs, and second, by having to pay everything back. But WE won't get a red cent.
And this all could have been prevented if John Roberts had a molecule's worth of testicular tissue.
He is a disgrace as a chief justice and a threat to the economic well being of the nation, as well as its future as a functioning democracy.
Back in 1972, the Boston Bruins came home with the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl trophy of professional hockey. Like a few thousand other fans, myself and several high school buddies went to the airport to meet the plane at about 1:00 AM. Two of us figured a way to get down onto the runway (it's a long story) and up the stairway onto the plane with the team, most of whom were spraying each other with champagne. We were only there for a minute before someone saw us and chased us away, but you could say that we got to party with the winning Stanley Cup team (sort of). But I was 17 at the time and I wasn't running the FBI.
But here's Kash and Carry chugging beers and whooping it up--in MILAN--while back home we have craziness erupting from the killing of a Mexican drug lord which caused an immense and violent reaction from cartel nuts, some of whom are located in American cities. Also, we are on the verge of war with Iran, and there's the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's poor mom, a case Kash said he personally was overseeing night and day, not to mention all the other things the FBI is supposedly involved in (other than blacking out references to Donald Trump in the Epstein Files). So where is this nincompoop? Four thousand miles away partying hardy in a foreign country.
Incompetence is one thing. Irresponsibility is another. But the slaphappy, willful laziness and recklessness of the most public faces of this regime are beyond anything imaginable. Seriously, if you tried to come up with a more pathetic look for the chief law enforcement official of the country, you'd think "Nah...getting drunk with hockey players in another country and hopping around like a moron is just too stupid."
And if you want more stoopid, here's Drunk Pete who is posting yet ANOTHER video of himself being a Manly Man, working out in a gym, lifting weights. Does this fucking guy do any actual work? I mean, he's only the SECRETARY OF DEFENSE! And here's the other thing about this video. He has his kid spotting him, and you might say, okay, that's fine, but no, it's not. Anyone who has ever lifted weights understands that when you're trying to do a really heavy lift, especially a big weight for a single rep, you need someone spotting you who can actually accommodate that weight if you can't make the press. Otherwise, you end up with 300 pounds dropping on your chest. Drunk Pete's kid doesn't look like he could lift half that weight. Nothing against the kid, but here's a guy who is all about spit and polish, and no this and no that, and everything by the book, and he posts a video like this.
The Stoopid, it is strong in this regime. Both of these frauds should go do some actual work for a change. And this time, try it sober.
Akhilleus,
And as been pointed out elsewhere, Kash is posting his irresponsiblity for everyone to see at the same time FBI spokespeople are lying and admonishing reporters for publicizing his abuse of tax payer dollars.
And because they can't to anything that is not hypocritical,
"Kash Patel in 2023: “I’m just saying Chris Wray doesn’t need a government funded G5 jet to go to vacations. Maybe we ground that plane. $15,000 every time it takes off. Just a thought.”"
Retirement Plan, lol
US Hockey
"House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he was “trying to work out logistics” after President Donald Trump invited the men’s U.S. Hockey team to the State of the Union following their gold medal win against Canada on Sunday.
Fox News’s Chad Pergram reported Monday, “Johnson says he expects both the men’s and women’s gold medal winning hockey teams to attend State of the Union tomorroe [sic] night.”"
One less thing for Johnson to worry about.
"I've got a thing that night. Whatever night you are talking about."
"The gold medal-winning US Olympic women’s hockey team has declined an invitation to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, citing scheduling issues. The invite came after Trump regaled the US men’s team by phone Sunday as the players celebrated their historic Olympic victory, even offering to send a military plane to bring them to Washington, DC.
Trump added: “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that.” If they weren’t invited, the president said, “I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?”"
Of course the women are just an afterthought for Fat Hitler.
Pardoning a terrorist financer. Everything has a price.
"Internal warnings about the Iranian transactions surfaced last year, in the months before President Trump granted a pardon to Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao
A group of internal investigators at the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance made a series of startling discoveries last year. People in Iran had gained access to more than 1,500 accounts on the Binance platform over the previous year. About $1.7 billion had flowed from two Binance accounts to Iranian entities with links to terrorist groups, a possible violation of global sanctions. And one of those accounts belonged to a Binance vendor."
I have to agree: the idea that we, the taxpayers may have to pay back the companies that got the evil tariffs and in turn raised prices of goods from wherever else makes me see red. We do get screwed twice. And hanging on that, the shitweasel invented it all and the high court, Roberts the ruler, sat there all year and let it happen. I said yesterday that I am not at all sure this decision was not a positive for the shitweasel. He has been saved from his stupidity, for now, and everyone will just forget it ever happened. They will all get paid back, and we will NEVER have enough money to offer sensible health care, care for the planet, drink safe water or anything else that costs a zillion bucks.
So the idiot heading up the FBI thinks it's cute to spend a million bucks to take the special plane to the hockey game in Milan, then whoop it up like a high school group throwing beer around and wearing someone else's gold medal-- can anyone be more stoopid?? And Kegsbreath spends money like it is his own, pushing his own brainless religion, and constantly showing himself off. Does he know that he makes every woman in this country nauseous with his tight suits and greasy hair? And no, he does not work, as none of them do. (Harken to Bondi flipping through her notebooks and arriving on "THE DOOOOWWW" to support the Fascist in the White House.) And not to be outdone, Crazy Kennedy exercising with (ulp) (vomit) "Kid" Rock all shirtless and swimming in his jeans. These people are utterly revolting.
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