"The military’s legal corps exists to preserve the rule of law within the force....Treating it as a reservoir of compelled compliance undermines that role and risks normalizing the idea that when some professionals say 'no,' the answer is to find other professionals who cannot." 👇

"The danger here is not only to the justice system, but to civil-military relations." Read @markhertling.bsky.social on what's wrong with reassigning JAGs to serve as civilian prosecutors. www.thebulwark.com/p/jags-shoul...

NEW: Trump said nobody should mind that he's suing the federal government for $10 billion, since he'd "give it to charity." That's especially outrageous considering his killing off of USAID and his own long history of self-dealing "charitable" contributions. www.thebulwark.com/p/department...

Whoa, some really remarkable managing of expectations from Navarro here re: tomorrow's jobs report. (This is the jobs report that would normally have come out in January; it's late, which is why it's not coming out on a Friday, as jobs reports usually do.)

A #BlueskyLullaby for tonight: This summer marks the centennial of Tony Bennett's birth. I've been thinking about his duets with Lady Gaga in his final years, and how musically generous and humanly savvy she was in their collaborations as he sang on despite his Alzheimer's. See you around.

A #BlueskyLullaby for tonight: This summer marks the centennial of Tony Bennett's birth. I've been thinking about his duets with Lady Gaga in his final years, and how musically generous and humanly savvy she was in their collaborations as he sang on despite his Alzheimer's. See you around.

Jobs at The Bulwark, based in D.C.: deputy social media editor, director of finance, and events and communications associate. thebulwark.pinpointhq.com

the art of the paywall:

NEW: Read this and you'll learn some slang you don't know. (No guarantee you won't regret it.) www.thebulwark.com/p/clavicular...

Looks like someone forgot to give Gramps his meds again... "The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup." (h/t @jaredpoland.bsky.social)

lol www.youtube.com/shorts/-BMJm...

A deep dive: What sort of ties to Russia did Jeffrey Epstein actually have? How much was real and how much was just boastful lying? www.thebulwark.com/p/jeffrey-ep...

DISTURBING: "Trump has directed top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with his former campaign lawyer...Kurt Olsen—now a temporary government employee in the White House." www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Running for the hills - or running from the Hill. Like animals that take cover before a storm, congressional Republicans sense an electoral disaster coming. @cheetah.bsky.social talks congressional GOP retirements with @eggerdc.bsky.social:

My 6-year-old didn't want to talk to me on the car ride home today, but for the best reason: She was engrossed in 'A Wrinkle in Time.' (She did eventually talk to me, but just to quote funny bits.)

Thinking of starting a new Substack called "You Are Now a Paying Subscriber," just to watch the ensuing chaos.

Jobs at The Bulwark, based in D.C.: deputy social media editor, director of finance, and events and communications associate. thebulwark.pinpointhq.com

Maxwell's lawyer publicly offering a quid pro quo: She'll clear Trump of wrongdoing related to Epstein if granted clemency by Trump. This suggests that if Maxwell doesn't "clear" Trump, things will come out that will further implicate him. Otherwise, the offer makes no sense.

The White House just sent a "Don't Panic" email. That'll do it

This passage 👇 makes me deeply sad and angry. It reminds me of Jonathan Alter saying, during our Bulwark livestream on Election Night 2024, that he was prepared to hide immigrant families in his attic. Some people told me later that that was the moment Trump's re-election first felt real to them.

We are the publication where @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social praises Bad Bunny and calls for defunding ICE. Read today's Morning Shots newsletter, and join us: lnk.thebulwark.com/4rzXPTV

A #BlueskyLullaby for tonight: The Swedish jazz composer and musician Joel Danell puts out music under the name Sven Wunder. This track from 2020, "Komorebi"—a Japanese word for sunlight filtering through the trees—has a chill, end-of-the-day groove. See you around. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCNJ...

A #BlueskyLullaby for tonight: The Swedish jazz composer and musician Joel Danell puts out music under the name Sven Wunder. This track from 2020, "Komorebi"—a Japanese word for sunlight filtering through the trees—has a chill, end-of-the-day groove. See you around. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCNJ...

The Superbowl halftime show really one-upped Kendrick Lamar's 2025 performance- this time, they pissed off every pedophile in America.

Obviously Trump knows that the Kennedy Center was named for JFK. But in wanting to slap his own name on Dulles International Airport, does Trump know it was named for John Foster Dulles? And that Penn Station, which he also wants to rename, was named for the inimitable Jimbob Bobjim Station?

What an insane way of talking about a facility that's being described as a "megawarehouse" for human beings.

This passage 👇 makes me deeply sad and angry. It reminds me of Jonathan Alter saying, during our Bulwark livestream on Election Night 2024, that he was prepared to hide immigrant families in his attic. Some people told me later that that was the moment Trump's re-election first felt real to them.

"The [nursing home] director said many of her Jewish residents were distraught at the prospect of losing their Haitian caregivers—and asked if they could hide them, as some gentiles had done for Jews during the Holocaust." www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-atta...

Trying to start a new family tradition of ordering a big feast of Indian food on Super Bowl Sunday every year. (And then maybe again on Valentine's Day. And Washington's Birthday. And maybe again for the lunar new year, which happens this year to be Mardi Gras...)

How many of these had you heard of? And more importantly, what's missing from the list—what would you add? www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-seco...

… in which National Review inadvertently stumbles upon actual truth (for all the good it will do 😑) x.com/thepondering...

lol

NEW: "Trump’s portrayal of the Haitian community’s role in society is way off....It is difficult to imagine what care for seniors and people with disabilities would even look like without a large immigrant component." www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-atta...

A #BlueskyLullaby for tonight: From Olivia Dean—who last week won the Grammy for Best New Artist—here's her quiet song "Loud." See you around. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWDh...

A #BlueskyLullaby for tonight: From Olivia Dean—who last week won the Grammy for Best New Artist—here's her quiet song "Loud." See you around. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWDh...

The range of on-screen media consumption among my kiddos: 10yo: Finally allowed to see the 'Lord of the Rings' movies, last night watched 'Airport' (1970) with me 6yo: Sings 'KPop Demon Hunters' songs nonstop 4yo: Loves 'Daniel Tiger' and 'Spidey and His Amazing Friends' 1yo: Ms. Rachel or bust

too soon

heh www.reddit.com/r/Music/comm...

If you see something missing from this list, let us know...

NEW: Since Sen. Tim Scott said the Obamas-as-apes video was "the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House," we thought we'd help him out by ranking some of this administration's most memorably racist moments. www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-seco...

Kara Swisher at www.threads.com says Will Lewis was fired. Below that is his letter to the Post staff.

"Washington Post readers have rightly concluded that Bezos is no longer committed to the democratic ideals that he once professed to revere and that the newspaper has committed to defend....If ever the Post needed a new owner, it is now." www.thebulwark.com/p/jeff-bezos...

"Trump has promised to revive a host of brawny, blue-collar industries.…These tend to be predominantly male-dominated sectors.…But no matter how much money he throws at the old-timey 'he-conomy,' these sectors continue to fall behind—in part because Trump’s own economic agenda is hampering them."

"This is part of what makes Trump-brand Christianity as a cultural and political force so dangerous. Trump’s political project is seen by the MAGA faithful as utterly righteous...But he has broad license to transgress all moral boundaries as he does that work." www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-at-t...

Re-upping one last time for the weekend-evening gang:

The infomercial party: www.thebulwark.com/p/shamwow-gu...

Will Lewis—the loathsome stooge who just fired hundreds of people for Bezos at the Washington Post—announces his departure from the Post with the same thumping gracelessness that has characterized his whole miserable tenure.

"Apps that help consumers boycott American products, which began to launch in Canada way back in early 2025, are surging in places like Denmark and Sweden....Loathing is a powerful economic and geopolitical force....America is becoming synonymous with dangerous randomness."

Sh*t or get off the Post.

You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling. In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...