The smug flippancy and false equivalence of people like Scalise who know better. Who know damn well this is an anti-democratic attempt to deny certain people their vote. That this is a systematic erosion of our democratic principles, the right to a vote, the right to representative government.

If I'm denied a beer, no big deal. I'll have a soda. If I'm denied my vote, democracy erodes. Multiply that by millions and democracy dies. They're not the same.

Record high temperature of 83 today. I refuse to turn on the air conditioner. Too soon. It'll be 72 tomorrow and 67 on Sunday.

good news. kristi noem has already found eight new jobs

I get very cynical and irritated with social media sometimes, but nothing encapsulates the inherent superficiality of "social" media like seeing people on Facebook posting "Happy birthday, hope you're having a great day" to someone who died three years ago. Logging off now. 😒

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred Gov DeSantis from designating CAIR as a terrorist organization and punish those who associate with the group. “Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Judge Walker writes. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

“In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive...[T]he trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man." -- James Madison www.theunpopulist.net/p/trumps-una...

General Dan Caine holding a press conference this morning talking about plans to escalate a war with Iran that Congress has not authorized. I guess the legitimacy of the Constitution is reliant on those on power acknowledging it. It has no enforcement mechanism of its own. 😔

Trump says he "felt" Iran was going to attack America (even though they don't have the capability) so he decided to attack them first. This is why the Constitution requires a declaration from Congress to go to war. The heavy consequences require deliberation beyond one man's gut feelings. 🙄😡

In light of Kristi Noem’s testimony, I’m re-upping this piece about the murder of Renee Good. I proudly wore a badge for almost my entire adult life; I’m not someone unsympathetic to law enforcement, to say the least. Consider what it means, then, when I support this sentiment: Abolish ICE.

Tillis to Noem: "A 14 month old dog is basically a teenager in dog years. You decided to kill that dog bc you hadn't invested the appropriate training, then you have the audacity to write a book & say it's a leadership lesson! ... Those are bad decisions not unlike what happened in Minneapolis"

This attack on Iran is deja vu all over again. The emphatic rationale that America was under imminent threat if we didn't attack first is the same specious BS we heard in 2003/Iraq/WMDs. It's the same playbook. Go to war because you want to, create a rationale, denigrate those who ask questions.

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints. One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

Trump in 2011: “Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective.”

The Iranian regime is a wicked dictatorship that fuels terror and instability while brutalizing its own citizens. But that reality does not absolve any president of the duty to secure Congressional authorization, state a clear strategy, and define an exit plan. The public deserves answers.

Australian photographer Matty Smith has been named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026 for his image of a pair of southern elephant seal pups in a rockpool on the Falkland Islands. See more photos from the competition here: https://cnn.it/4s6iMpK

Thank you to all the media people and pundits watching the SOTU tonight so I don't have to. I'll catch the recaps afterwards.

You can almost see why private equity/private credit was so anxious to expand their investor base — to your 401(k). #$OWL

"In Chicago, of 92 people arrested for assaulting or impeding officers last fall, 74 cases have resulted in no charges; in 13 cases, charges were filed and dismissed; and five charged cases were still pending. . . there have been no convictions. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

You see these psychopathic bills proposed in red statehouses regularly. It's important to remember that while they're mainly stunts to appease the base, their authors wouldn't mind if they passed. You know -- like the SAVE Act. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Next time you go to vote, think about having a government that prioritizes services people rely on, not one that inflicts maximum inconvenience on people as leverage so they can violate the Constitution. wapo.st/4aw9RZ2

GORSUCH: “.. if history is any guide, .. the day will come when those disappointed in today’s result will appreciate the legislative process for the bulwark of liberty it is.” 🔥

👀The federal judges in West Virginia, where ICE has been pulling over and detaining people on the freeway, are literally screaming about ICE's tactics. "It is an assault on the constitutional order," Judge Goodwin says. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

What problem is Trump's new global 10% tariff meant to solve? If it's about leverage, ask: How much leverage do you get from a tariff that disappears in 150 days? If it's onshoring: Who builds new factories based on tariff that disappear before the factory is built? It's a tax. That's all it is.

Trump said he's ashamed of the Supreme Court. SCOTUS is a separate co-equal branch of government. They are not your servants. Finally a sensible, logical, and constitutional decision from SCOTUS.

I have to give Gorsuch credit for his opinion in the tariffs ruling. He reiterated that the Constitution gives taxing authority only to Congress, rightly so, as the representative of the people. Not to one man who changes his mind more often than he changes his underwear.

The Supreme Court strikes down Trump's emergency tariff power on a 6-3 vote. The opinion, at least on first read, looks to be *very bad* for the president. The White House Plan B was to try and invoke other authority to do the same tariffs, but the Court's language seems to say that won't fly.

The Supreme Court decides the Constitution does matter after all, striking down Trump's illegal and mercurial misuse of tariffs. Kavanaugh in his dissent argues that since Trump has made a total mess of this already he should be allowed to continue making a mess. 🤔

Trump's big wet kiss to the fossil fuel campaign donors. www.wuot.org/news/2026-02...

👀 Ex REPUBLICAN Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander in the Tennessean: “Is being a one-party state good for the state? I doubt it.” www.tennessean.com/story/news/p...

You need to know about the SAVE Act, which recently passed in the House. So here's a crash course from reporter Ari Berman on how the sweeping voter restriction bill could disenfranchise millions of Americans

Do you think it's coincidental that Trump and Republicans are pushing hard for the so called SAVE Act that would require many people to get a passport in order to vote? 🤔 apnews.com/article/pass...

Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."

Is it starting to feel like fascism yet? "DHS is expanding its efforts to identify Americans who oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement by sending tech companies legal requests for the names, email addresses, telephone numbers and other identifying data" www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

Dismantling American leadership, abandoning good government, step by step.

At least some judges are willing to see this for what it is. www.cnn.com/2026/02/12/p...

I'm not much of a celebrity pop culture follower, but had been following the details of James Van Der Beek in his struggle with cancer. I was also diagnosed with cancer in my 40s so it felt more personal. I am sorry to read this news today. I thought he would beat this.

Bondi is an utter psychopath. Completely without conscience. What kind of brain damage has caused this?

We have a federal government stocked with insanely grievance ridden conspiracy theorists and Pam Bondi is the distilled essence of that. Her performance before Congress shows how much snide contempt this administration has for the American people. What a total travesty. That was disgraceful.

Here's what DHS doesn't want you to know: Working for ICE is one of the safest jobs in America — and last year was the second-safest year for the agency on record. And the doxxing? It hasn't actually happened even once. The masks are justified by a lie. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...

Obtaining a judicial warrant is not discretionary. It's what the Constitution requires. Let's not accede that violating the Constitution is negotiable. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...