One of the Trump administration’s most vocal defenders of its aggressive immigration crackdown is leaving as public opinion sours against the hardline approach, according to two DHS officials familiar with the move.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Don't Let The Door...
Maybe Dean Cain is up for the job.
We Do Love The Troops
This is the kind of thing which causes Democrats to moan about media imbalance - fairly! - without (usually) stepping up to play their necessary role. Yes, if a Democrat did this, the howls of rage would reverberate for weeks, with Lindsey Graham on 7 channels simultaneously, and Jake "Troop Defender" Tapper would never stop talking about it. But someone has to be "Lindsey Graham" here.
The tension between some Coast Guard officials and Noem began after a 23-year-old Coast Guardsman went overboard into the Pacific Ocean from the cutter Waesche on Feb. 4 last year, shortly after the Senate confirmed Noem into her role, according to the two U.S. officials, the Coast Guard official and the former Coast Guard official.
The Coast Guard had surged ships and aircraft to the Pacific to find the guardsman. Hours into the search, Noem learned that a Coast Guard C-130 that was supposed to fly detained migrants from California to Texas was among the aircraft over the Pacific looking for the missing guardsman, and she intervened, according to the two U.S. officials and the Coast Guard official.
Noem verbally instructed the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin Lunday, to pull the plane off the search and rescue mission so it would not miss the immigrant flight as part of the DHS’ so-called Alien Expulsion Operations, according to the two U.S. officials and the Coast Guard official. Lunday notified the National Command Center, which ordered the C-130 to fly to San Diego while other aircraft and ships involved in the search continued, according to one of the U.S. officials and the current Coast Guard official.
This Reminds Me Of The Time A Student Mildly Complained About The Banh Mi In The College Cafeteria
Though much less worrying.
The FCC‘s proposed changes to the equal time rules for TV talk shows is officially taking its toll on late night.One can even be in favor of some version of an Equal Time rule while fully understanding it is not being deployed consistently. Or, I suppose, fully understanding that it is being deployed consistently, just not as one imagines it should be.
CBS‘ Late Show host Stephen Colbert says that lawyers for the network blocked him from interviewing Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico, citing the FCC’s new guidance for political candidates on talk shows.
Colbert opened his show Monday by explaining the situation. “You know who is not one of my guests tonight: That’s Texas State Representative James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert told the audience. “Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on, and because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
The Epstein Class
As much as this has been news, I don't think "we're" really mad enough that there is a vast network of rich people trafficking in children to rape, and vaster network of bootlickers who were perfectly fine with - and in fact groveling and deferential to - those people.
On June 5, 2015, Kathy Ruemmler, then a corporate lawyer for Latham & Watkins but just one year removed from her stint as White House counsel for Barack Obama, emailed her good friend Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler, who was once under consideration to become Obama’s attorney general, wrote, “I am working on a PR strategy for MJ White v. Elizabeth Warren.” Epstein responded, “Good[.] mj is good.” And Ruemmler followed on in a response, “Yes, and EW is the worst.”This is the perfect Jeffrey Epstein email, with as much explanatory power about this man, and more important the world he associated with and cultivated, than anything to do with child sex abuse. It shows that there is in fact an Epstein class, which not only believes in their own personal impunity, but seeks to protect their fellow travelers as well. And that ultimately lines up with a political and economic vision that favors corporate domination over the public interest.But you have to unravel all the backstory to best understand it.
...
This is the Epstein class in all its glory. It’s an elite that schemes to remain as unaccountable for sexual crimes as it does for corporate crimes. It has its own hierarchy of friends and foes, and it will defend those friends no matter what they do, while the spoils of privilege flow. Its instinct is to protect and preserve money and power, with the concerns of anybody without a corporate jet tangential at best. And once you set those ground rules, once you build a wall around a certain class so they don’t have to pay any price for their actions, it’s inevitable that the actions will get darker and darker.
Click through and read the rest
Whatever Your Politics, I Think We Can All Agree That I'm Correct
I saw someone joke (forget who) that this was Bari's basic worldview. Similarly, "some people might not love Bari" is almost impossible for her to comprehend.
RIP Jesse Jackson
I went back and read a few things from that era (just a few, I'm a lazy blogger), and I was struck by the regular and casual use of the term "ghettos." I'm old enough to remember that, of course, but it is very jarring now.
A high school friend had a relative who had some important job in state politics, so he scored some tickets and I attended this.
Monday, February 16, 2026
Seems Bad
Big Pharma isn't perfect, of course, but it is bad if they stop doing the actual potentially useful things they sometimes do.
Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut JobsFederal policies under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that are hostile to vaccines have “sent a chill through the entire industry,” one scientist said.
Where's Kash
I don't have access to the panopticon, but for awhile it seemed like that dude was always rushing to a camera. Not lately (?).
Good Bunny
One bias in media coverage is the tendency to treat the latest conservative culture nonsense as a winner for them. Even the headline admits it: Poll Surprise.
On the question “Who better represents America?,” the split between 42% for Bad Bunny versus 39% for Trump had the performer ahead by three points — and left 20% who answered “not sure,” making it a closer call between those two than it was in the lopsided contest between the Seahawks and Patriots.
Asked for their overall opinion of Bad Bunny, 43% of those polled said they had a favorable take on the artist, while 36% said it was unfavorable.
There was a similar result when those surveyed were asked whether they approved or disapproved of Bad Bunny as the halftime pick. The yay vote was 44%, while 35% disapproved of the NFL’s choice.
Rattled Broadsides
Comparing NYT coverage of China vs. the US is pretty entertaining. US (from November)
Hegseth Is Purging Military Leaders With Little Explanation
The moves to fire or sideline generals and admirals are without precedent in recent decades and have rattled the top brass.
In Xi’s Purge of the Military, a Search for Absolute Loyalty
By reaching back to Maoist tactics of “rectification,” the Chinese leader is signaling that control over the gun requires a state of perpetual cleansing.
...
Like Mao, Mr. Xi is pursuing a kind of spiritual renewal of the party and the military he commands, what he calls constant “self revolution.” And like Mao, that has taken the form of constant purging of enemies, associates and now, those in his inner circle, too. It is a new level of ruthlessness for a man who has already concentrated power in himself to a degree not seen since Mao.
Over the past three years, Mr. Xi has essentially ousted five of the six generals in China’s top military body, the Central Military Commission, which controls China’s armed forces. Only two members are left: Mr. Xi himself and a vice chairman who has overseen Mr. Xi’s purges.
...
The sudden removal of senior officials with no explanation has become a hallmark of Mr. Xi’s rule, inspiring uncertainty and fear among Chinese officials in what analysts say is either a sign of his increasing paranoia or a tactic to keep the leader’s enemies, as well as his allies, guessing.
US, a couple of days ago:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the Defense Department would sever its academic ties with Harvard University, the latest broadside by the Trump administration in its pressure campaign to force the university to cut a deal with the government.
China, today:
When Mr. Xi talks about the spirit of Yan’an, he glosses over details of the purging of thousands of party members at Yan’an through psychologically brutal sessions of self-criticism that led some to suicide. Mr. Xi uses some of those methods of political indoctrination, including mandating study sessions of his personalized doctrine, Xi Jinping Thought, and encouraging the reporting of one’s peers or superiors for violating Mr. Xi’s edicts, according to Wen-Hsuan Tsai, a scholar of elite Chinese politics at the Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica in Taiwan.
“It turns the whole party into a trial of mutual reporting, so no one can be trusted — not your parents, not your superiors, no one,” Dr. Tsai said.
“His type of regime needs constant enemies and purges to maintain fear,” he said.
Cars Are Expensive
I don't think I've done a smug "I haven't owned a car in 22 years" post in awhile. I really don't know how people afford these things.
That level of density also makes driving/parking maddening. It isn't suburban paradise, either. Parking is always an issue. You can't drive anywhere and expect finding parking to be easy. This adds time to any trip.
I had a rental for a few days and was without one for a few. LA's bus system (plus some rail) is actually pretty good. I get amused by locals who will ride transit anywhere but their own city (the reverse of New Yorkers, who will seemingly only ride transit in NYC*). $1.75 to get to the airport beats the $60+ taxi ride.
Record-high car prices coupled with high interest rates are leading to huge monthly car payments for many Americans. A record share of Americans — more than 20% — agreed to pay more than $1,000 per month for a new car loan at the end of the year, according to car sales site Edmunds.Los Angeles (where I was recently) is such a maddening place. Everywhere (almost) is built almost-but-not-quite-dense-enough such that walking is unpleasant even when feasible. Distance is distance and anything longer than about 3/4 a mile anywhere pushes people to driving or transit, but in LA, even those half mile (10 minuteish) walks are often just... not especially pleasant for various reasons.
That level of density also makes driving/parking maddening. It isn't suburban paradise, either. Parking is always an issue. You can't drive anywhere and expect finding parking to be easy. This adds time to any trip.
I had a rental for a few days and was without one for a few. LA's bus system (plus some rail) is actually pretty good. I get amused by locals who will ride transit anywhere but their own city (the reverse of New Yorkers, who will seemingly only ride transit in NYC*). $1.75 to get to the airport beats the $60+ taxi ride.
*#notallnewyorkers of course
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Picky Eaters
I don't have kids, but my observation of the children of Other People (limited by definition, but an outside perspective has value) is that younger children have no problem eating, or at least trying, whatever is offered to them, generally, if the parents raise them on a varied diet and encourage them to be open. But even those kids often hit a picky early teenager phase, which they then grow out of.
It might be tempting to buy marketers’ claims that once children got personalized food, they finally got to eat what they actually liked. But exploding choice fostered comparison and discontent. Within just a few decades, all sorts of foods that kids used to love — from briny shellfish to bitter marmalade — came to be unthinkable as kids’ foods. Preferences were increasingly understood in relation to aversions, and the beating heart of modern children’s food became displeasure.Generalizing away from food, teach your kids that disliking things is not actually a personality. Teach your adults that, too.
Parents today hear grim warnings about the dangers of fighting pickiness. We’ve been told that urging kids to eat any particular dish can cause lasting aversions and dysfunctional relationships with food. At the same time, many parents quietly anguish over children’s highly processed diets, rising obesity rates and the stresses that stalk picky eaters in daily life. There’s a lot of cognitive dissonance, and it’s contributing to immense frustration, anxiety and undeserved guilt around mealtimes.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Before the days of Froot Loops and Lunchables, generations of American children learned to relish foods of all textures, flavors and colors, while obesity and eating disorders were both rare. The children of the past show us a happier, healthier and more delicious path forward. Parents can warmly encourage children to eat family foods and avoid offering alternatives. They can also counter corporate marketing with their own enthusiastic messages about the foods they love to eat, whether it’s a crunchy salad or slippery green olives.
Working With The Pedophile To Bring Down The Pope For Tolerating Homosexuality
A perfectly consistent worldview, but it isn't one the people who are paid to write about politics acknowledge.
Also Bannon is a great source.
Also Bannon is a great source.
No One Can Object To Bipartisan Commonsense Reforms
That's just common sense, Jake!
I know some will say that Chuck (and Dems) use this kind of rhetoric knowing that it is bullshit but thinking it is effective. It is not effective! It makes you look like a chump!Schumer on DHS reforms: "I believe Republicans will have no choice but to go along with us because it's so common sense"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 15, 2026 at 2:15 PM
[image or embed]
Believing Their Own Bullshit
One of my stray thoughts that I didn't have a chance to BLOG while I was busy last week was that the whole "El Paso Party Balloon" saga rests on their deep belief in some elaborate DRUG CARTEL DRONE NETWORK which is doing... something... flying around... doing drone stuff...
It probably originated in some right wing conspiracy theory, which an intelligence guy was tasked to "prove" so he wrote some report confirming it. It then gets "leaked" to the newspapers, which never question what the CIACOPTROOPS tell them. From there it goes back to the idiots in charge who decide they must FIND AND DESTROY THESE DRONES. So we close airspace to destroy some party balloons.
I don't know if it happened exactly that way, of course, but the information pipelines being filled with sewage and then blessed by our greatest newspapers is the explanation for a lot of the last 25 years. We've just replaced Colin Powell and his vial of sand with Youtuber HitlerWasRight, twitter OPSEC expert CATTURD2, and Whiskey Pete Hegseth.
Related: whatever happened to the Great New Jersey Drone Invasion of the Winter of 2024?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)