Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[bloocow2]

I'm waiting on some medical tests to do with bacterial infections, so that I can go back overseas to finish my volunteer assignment in PNG. It's a bit annoying, because I feel absolutely fine, but the medical providers (understandably) want to be as cautious as possible before letting me go back. But I don't like it either way, it's like being in limbo.

(sorry, there's no political aspect to this comment, it's just something that is vexing me currently)

[santamonica811]

I loved PNG...what sort of volunteering are you doing? I can give you some tips on getting vegetarian food (it was quite a challenge in some parts of the country...at least, for me it was, once I got out of the bigger cities and into the wilds). Hope you like root vegetables!!! 😉

[bloocow2]

I'm at a medical research institute, up in the highlands. Helping them with their library and research support, basically whatever they need.

It's been a fun time! Challenging, but I'm happy to be making some kind of difference.

[Frank Drackman]

So where is PNG? And please don’t say “in PNG”

[bloocow2]

Papua New Guinea

[Frank Drackman]

Oh wow, don't do something crazy and lose your head over there.

[bloocow2]

*golf clap*

[TwelveInchPianist]

PNG is where Biden's uncle got eaten by cannibals.

[hobie]

I wouldn't mention 'medical research institute' around these hayseeds. They get really twitchy about that subject.

[hobie]

santamonica, when bloocow first introduced himself and the town he was stationed in, I immediately searched Maps for the restaurants there and saw that one was serving chocolate ice cream on top of cucumbers. I asked bloocow WTF??? and I'm still waiting for him to explain it.

[Brett Bellmore]

They are technically a fruit, you know. Related to watermelons. And they're pretty good in a sour cream sauce. So I don't suppose it's any crazier than people who salt their watermelon.

[bernard11]

They are good with sour cream, but I don't recall ever running into chocolate sour cream.

[Frank Drackman]

Makes his flesh less tasty to the Natives.

[bloocow2]

I can't explain it. I honestly did try, but there's no combination of words that would suffice.

[Frank Drackman]

Yeah, I remember when I had Chlamydia, sucks.

[SRG2]

Do they still have kuru over there?

[santamonica811]

Was struck by the Bad Bunny Halftime performance. I don't particularly like his type of music (really, most mostly after Cat Stevens and the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc), but it was an excellent performance, and essentially no politics. Any show that has an actual frigging wedding in it...well, you can't get more "family values" than that. Nice job!

And, in the counter-programming performance put on by Turning Point...I was shocked by how good it was. Yes, loads of conservative messages, but essentially no politics as well. Even the song choices--with one exception only--were basically apolitical. It was quite nice. My only complaint was that Kid Rock lip-synced, rather than actually singing. But his performance was sort of centered on his dancing around, so it wasn't a particularly big sin.

I thought (feared??) that both shows would devolve into political spectacles, and America writ large would be the loser. Nope...didn't happen. Congrats to whomever was responsible for producing and controlling the two shows.

(re the actual game: I thought beforehand that the NFC was the real Super Bowl this year--that the Rams and the Seahawks would kill whatever AFC team made it through. Yup, 100% correct there. As an LA fan; I'm still disheartened to realize that the Rams were about 5 yards from winning the NFC game [and, inevitably, the Super Bowl] against the Seahawks. Ah well...I can still take comfort in the Dodgers' epic World Series win only 3+ months ago. Baseball Spring Training starts again in just a week or two. YAY!!!!)

[Dr. Ed 2]

No more political than Tranny Lite Beer and equally deserving of boycott— I need to know nor care who won as both teams lost. And maybe now it’s time to start asking serious questions about why the NFL is permitted to use taxpayers subsidized higher education as it’s farm team system

First and foremost, we’ve gone from the ugly American to the ugly Puerto Rican — all of the things that American tourist did in the 1950s and 60s to be offensive in Europe were reflected yesterday. It was wrong then, and it’s wrong now.

Second, if it’s wrong to glorify drugs (e.g. cocaine) song sung in English, why is it not equally wrong to glorify the same cocaine in songs sung in Spanish?

Third, the schmuck so hates the Gringo that he refuses to perform in Gringoland — except here.

Fuck him — and fuck the NFL as well.

Fuck the NFL as well…

[Frank Drackman]

I'd pay money to see you try to fuck a Football.

[Dr. Ed 2]

1: Put football on lawn.
2: Load 12 gauge shotgun.
3: Fire shotgun at football.
4: Shotgun is fucked….

[hobie]

Apparently Ed won't fuck a football, but will fuck his gun. Anyone surprised?

[Michael P]

4: Shotgun is fucked….

Is that what people mean by "gun fetish"?

[Malika la Maize]

Ammosexual?

[Dr. Ed 2]

OK folks, I will owe that error, which I must admit is funny.

[Martinned]

I love how Trumpists culture warriors have somehow made the NFL leftist. What's next? WWE and Nascar?

[Frank Drackman]

How about your Boring as Shit European "Football"?? Let me know when you routinely hear Race-ists chants at an NFL Game. Seriously, there's more action in one NFL Extra Point than in an entire Premier/Bundisliga Season.

Frank

[Dr. Ed 2]

Neither WWE nor NASCAR are subsidized by higher education.

[Estragon]

This was perhaps slightly less florid than I was anticipating but hit all the expected notes. It’s a difficult circle to square for the Trumpists: NFL owners trend Trump (and a few are big donors) and yet even they wanted Benito so as to reach the desired demographics. How your political movement attempts to navigate that reality, beginning later this year, will really be something to watch.

[Mr. Bumble]

If football's growth and survival now depends on the the Super Bowl halftime show then football is already dead.

[Bob from Ohio]

"yet even they wanted Benito"

You think owners choose Super Bowl performers?

It's the commissioner and his staff. Roger is very much a liberal.

[David Nieporent]

I think owners choose Super Bowl performers, and Roger Goodell, who is not "very much a liberal," answers to them.

[David Nieporent]

and yet even they wanted Benito so as to reach the desired demographics.

The target demo of that halftime show had to be about 95% non-overlapping with the target demo of the Super Bowl ads.

[David Nieporent]

No more political than Tranny Lite Beer

At least Dr. Ed doesn't pretend to be concerned about the well-being of people who consider themselves trans. Some here try to mask their hostility by saying that the people are mentally ill and need help rather than being enabled. But Dr. Ed just happily uses the slurs.

First and foremost, we’ve gone from the ugly American to the ugly Puerto Rican — all of the things that American tourist did in the 1950s and 60s to be offensive in Europe were reflected yesterday. It was wrong then, and it’s wrong now.

I have no idea what this even pretends to mean, but of course Puerto Ricans are Americans.

Second, if it’s wrong to glorify drugs (e.g. cocaine) song sung in English, why is it not equally wrong to glorify the same cocaine in songs sung in Spanish?

I didn't pay attention to the show (and don't speak Spanish anyway), but I assume that Dr. Ed is just making this up.

Third, the schmuck so hates the Gringo that he refuses to perform in Gringoland — except here.

I know Dr. Ed is making this up. Assuming that Dr. Ed is trying to make a hip reference to the U.S. mainland, Bad Bunny has performed here many times. In his current world tour — which includes many English and non-Spanish-speaking countries — he has said he is skipping the U.S. mainland because he is worried about ICE harassing his audience, not because he "hates the Gringo."

[LexAquilia]

I liked the part where all the POCs were field hands and picking cotton.

[Moderation4ever]

I believe that was sugarcane and yes the people who pick the cane are often POC. You might appreciate that when you have something sweet.

[Mr. Bumble]

You don't "pick" cane, you cut it.

[LexAquilia]

I need my grass cut and pool cleaned. Can you recommend a POC or two?

[Brett Bellmore]

My wife dragged me in to see some kind of important announcement by Trump that a chyron on the halftime show was saying was impending. We were speculating that it was about an attack on Iran.

Nope, she'd found some youtube channel that was free to watch the halftime show on, and the announcement was some crypto scam with a badly done AI fake of Trump announcing it.

I did mostly get through the evening avoiding any exposure to football, though. Other than that I was relaxing in another room with my kindle.

[Moderation4ever]

I have come to the understanding that the Superbowl halftime performances are not for me, but rather for the young people. I thought the show was good with lots of energy, typical of the halftime performances. Bad Bunny delivered, not for me but for the young people that watch and listen to him.

The game left me wanting a little bit more. It wasn't really until the fourth quarter that we really saw some play and that was likely due to both team's defense wearing down. Seattle may have been good but in the first three quarters they had four trips to the read zone that ended in field goals.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Seahawks emerged as the more complete team, as expected.

That said, I think Vrabel blundered by keeping the Patriot offensive line tightly bunched throughout most of 3 quarters. Had he gone with a shotgun offense, and spread the line wide, Maye could have seen the rush coming better. It would have taken outside rushers longer to get to him. And it would have opened more running opportunities for Maye.

The packed line with snaps under center all but took Maye's running threat out of the picture. Which in turn made defending against the Patriots pass attack easier. The Patriots were justly underdogs, and that made it worse.

Given the evident strength of the Patriots defense, I thought that remained a game the Patriots had a chance to win until it fell apart for them late. The Seahawks were lucky during the first 3 quarters, getting away with about 5 near interceptions.

The best team did win.

[David Nieporent]

The Seahawks defense deserves immense credit, and no portion of the Pats offense covered itself in glory, but Maye was either very poorly coached or just in over his head. Practically every play was a short drop in which he stood in the pocket forever looking for receivers that weren't open.

[SRG2]

AFAIC the sporting pinnacle of the day was Szoboszlai's free kick v. Man City. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L8D48u5NU8

[Martinned]

Or the sad end of Lindsey Vonn's sporting career...

[Mr. Bumble]

She has a back-up on Only Fans.

[Martinned]

Says the guy who definitely wouldn't race down a mountain on ski's at 130 kph.

Incidentally, you way want to be careful online too, because Vonn clearly doesn't mind telling idiots to shut up. https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3562733/lindsey-vonn-claps-back-at-lame-twitter-docs-who-are-attempting-to-minimize-a

[Mr. Bumble]

I doubt she reads the VC open Thread.

[Brett Bellmore]

Sad, but hardly surprising. It wasn't totally impossible for her to have successfully competed with a torn ACL, but the odds of it were horribly bad, absolutely everything would have had to have gone perfectly.

She basically staked the rest of her career on winning the Powerball.

[Mr. Bumble]

This was to be the cap stone of her skiing career. She had a 20 year run which was pretty amazing including just making the team at age 41. However, she should have pulled out after her injury and opened a spot for another individual.

[Brett Bellmore]

I agree.

[Martinned]

She completed two official trainings in the days before the race, so there was no question of her not being able to finish the race. In the 2nd training she placed 11th: https://live.fis-ski.com/lv-al5178.htm#/follow

The difference is that Vonn has always been willing to take a lot of risk, and that's obviously what she was going to do in the race as well. That's why she clipped the gate early on, and lost her balance.

[Brett Bellmore]

I said it was possible. She "just" needed to have perfect form, and nothing go wrong, so that her knee's stability wasn't challenged. The moment something went the least bit wrong it was all over.

[Ridgeway]

Was it just me, or did Trump's post about the Halftime Show sound exactly like something Ignatius J Reilly would have written?

[Dr. Ed 2]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/border-patrol-officer-is-fired-for-leaking-sensitive-information-that-could-put-agents-in-danger/ar-AA1VThuU

1: One or more Federal employees leaking sensitive if not classified information.

2: One ore more persons providing plate info in violation of Federal laws passed in the wake of the 1989 murder of Rebecca Schaefer.

3: Probable use of Interstate database linkages to look up out-of-state plates and driver info.

4: An Interstate conspiracy to interfere with Al law enforcement.

5: Which resulted in two deaths.

What are the legal implications if this is true? And what if there was Chinese money involved?

[Dr. Ed 2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_Privacy_Protection_Act

I didn’t realize the driver policy protection act included civil remedies for drivers whose information was illegally released. That would apparently include Icemen — would the 11th Amendment preclude their suing state officials under a Federal law?

[Martinned]

Isn't privacy great?

[LexAquilia]

Lol how would you know, you live in the Fascist UK

[Martinned]

Yesterday's post by prof. Somin made me wonder how, exactly, you'd go about writing the Unitary Executive out of the constitution. (Without, presumably, ditching the presidential system entirely or adopting an entirely new constitution.)

Much of what you would say to overturn the Supreme Court are things that are already in the Constitution. ("What part of "executive" do you not understand???)

So what exactly would you write in the amendment?

I will have a go, but I'd be curious if there are better solutions.

28th Amendment

1. Congress may make any law that is necessary and proper to determine the organisation of the executive department.

2. Congress may by law provide for the manner in which the President shall exercise his duties. The Congress may not do so in a manner that makes it effectively impossible for the President to carry out the duties expressly assigned to him by the Constitution.

3. Congress may by law provide that a particular officer of the United States may not be removed by the president, or may only be removed in specific circumstances.

4. The President may not withdraw from any Treaty made except with the advice and consent of a majority of the Senate.

5. The President may not grant a reprieve or pardon except through an order over his sign manual that is specific to an individual person who shall have been convicted for an offence against the United States.

[Frank Drackman]

Good luck passing that Bullshit.

[Michael P]

Subjects of a Parliament don't understand checks or balances, I see.

[SRG2]

There are no "subjects" of a Parliament.

[David Nieporent]

Setting that misunderstanding by Michael P aside, what Martinned proposed are checks and balances.

[Krayt]

While a freewheeling president may be over the top, I see nothing particularly holy in Congress specifying actions of the executive. They are dirty rats, all!

The only thing worse than the president speaking laws into existence (laws are the words you pay fines over, or go to jail for) under the sophistry it's implementing the meta laws Congress passed, is somebody, neither Congress nor the President, doing this. Someone not an elected person.

We love democracy!

Until we don't.

[Martinned]

Congress is in charge of what the law is, or should be. If Congress doesn't like what, say, the FTC is up to, it can adopt legislation to overrule the FTC.

[Mr. Bumble]

The chance of anything like your proposed amendment are slim to none. Really just none.

[Martinned]

Yes. For now Project 2025 reigns surpreme, and the US would be lucky if it ever had free and fair elections again. But that doesn't mean we can't think about what should be done once the forces of evil have been defeated.

[Mr. Bumble]

What the fuck do you mean "we". Planning to emigrate? Fix your own shit hole first.

[Martinned]

I live in one of the most prosperous and well-organised countries in the world. (Although you wouldn't think so, given how much people complain.)

But I'm a little confused by your suggestion that I, who has commented on this blog for about 20 years already, somehow can't discuss US constitutional law. What does that have to do with me emigrating?

[Mr. Bumble]

"(Although you wouldn't think so, given how much people complain.)"
...and why are they complaining?

[Martinned]

That's one of the great social psychology questions of our day. At a minimum, it's because we have a lot of people in politics and the media who make a living by explaining to people what they should be unhappy about, facts be damned.

[Bob from Ohio]

Your per capita GDP is 73,000 per IMF as per Google AI. That ties you for Arizona at 36th place if you were a US state.

So congrats. Maybe you can afford air conditioning and dryers one day.

[Malika la Maize]

Hey, Bob. Which states are lower than Arizona?

[Bob from Ohio]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP

[Bob from Ohio]

"can't discuss US constitutional law"

You can. Its that you should not.

Foreign guests here should not be rude like you are.

Carry on though

[William of Brooklyn]

Martinned, if you really think "Congress is in charge of what the law is, or should be," a statement with which I wholeheartedly agree, then the administrative agencies should prepare the Code of Federal Regulations for express passage by Congress before coming into effect, with perhaps an annual package of revisions going through the normal Committee process, rather than having a simple Notice and Comment period before unelected officials come up with something which has the force of law. But your proposal of a Congressional veto over something legislated by the administrative agency (the FTC, in your example) turns the Constitution on its head. And the Unitary Executive, which as you correctly accept is precisely what the Constitution envisages, would be far less dangerous if the Executive departments and agencies were not the ones actually writing the laws, but only 1) advising Congress; and 2) enforcing whatever laws Congress passes.

[Sarcastr0]

'in charge of' does not generally mean 'cannot delegate.' Rather the opposite, actually.

I'm a nondelegation doctrine fan myself, but no delegation of legislative powers at all is both impractical and nonoriginalist.

Congress very early on created a department to manage foreign trade, under it's commerce clause authority.

[SRG2]

Too complex and on occasion too ambiguous.

My amendment,

1. The president is an officer of the United States for all interpretative purposes in this Constitution and all laws passed thereunder. The president shall be immune from any laws or regulations passed by Congress only if that immunity is explicitly specified.

2. The power to hire or fire officials of any regulatory authority and the process for so doing, where specified in the legislation establishing or concerning that authority, cannot be overridden by the Executive without the majority approval of both Houses of Congress.

[Sarcastr0]

I like this one a lot. Tight and clear.

Though why are you adding a bicameral exception clause to #2? Functionally that's just the same as a law in this circumstance.

[Brett Bellmore]

"Functionally that's just the same as a law in this circumstance."

No, a law would invoke the presentiment clause, you'd have to overcome a veto. This way a simple majority vote of both chambers is sufficient.

I understood the goal to be overcoming the unitary executive theory, but this seems to go well past that. It seems to subject even powers that are explicitly granted the President, such as the pardon power, to statutory override or removal.

I agree that Presidents have accumulated way too much power, mostly as a result of Congress dodging responsibility, but I'm not sure this proposal doesn't exhibit a bit of overshoot.

In any event, if we're going to reform the Presidency, we should subject Congress to a bit of reform, too. Scotch the enrolled bill doctrine, and make the procedural demands the Constitution places on Congress enforceable again.

And get rid of voice votes, there's absolutely no need for them anymore, the members vote with wireless clickers. All they serve to do is avoid registering the absence of a quorum. And the power of Congress to conduct substantive business without a quorum has centralized a lot of the members' power in the leadership, destructively.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

I like this proposal. Like S., I'm somewhat confused about the wording "majority approval of both Houses of Congress." Seems redundant.

[Joe_dallas]

4. The President may not withdraw from any Treaty made except with the advice and consent of a majority of the Senate.

As opposed to treaties never ratified by the US Senate?
Paris climate agreement?
JCPOA?

[Martinned]

I intentionally wrote what I wrote. Treaties that the US didn't ratify don't bind the US in international law. It would be good if the US ratified more treaties, but that's not a problem that my proposed amendment seeks to solve. (Nor could it, I reckon.)

[John F. Carr]

You're mixing other things into abolition of the unitary executive.

Item 2 is too vauge and item 1 on its own not that important.

As far as presidential power is concerned item 3 is the important one. Taken to its limit it gives cabinet members authority to run their departments against the President's wishes, and so on down the chain of command. I remember the alleged scandal in Australia where the Prime Minister was secretly authorized to give direct orders to ministries. That's business as usual with a unitary executive.

If I had to propose an anti-unitary executive amendment I would try to move a lot of administrative law judges to the judicial branch. Important matters get a judge, less important matters get a magistrate, least important matters get an ALJ. All are not subject to supervision by the President. To pick an example that popped back into the news recently, if an alien says something that disagrees with America's foreign policy an executive official has to go to a judicial officer to get a warrant to detain her.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

The Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, struck down a national income tax in the 1890s.

The 16th Amendment made it clear that one was acceptable, though a few try to parse the language to make things more complicated than it should be along the edges.

Given my druthers, I would amend the Constitution to clearly authorize some aspects of the modern administrative state, including rules for the removal of officers, legislative vetoes, and other matters (line-item vetoes, for example, might be appropriate in some form). A 28th Amendment would be sensible.

Overturning Trump v. U.S. by amendment would also be suitable.

[I think most of this stuff is already allowed, but given SCOTUS rulings, and so on, an amendment is suitable.]

I would not try to do THAT much with it & separate the treaty (seems sensible) and pardon (I wouldn't phrase it that way -- put aside the masculine pronoun -- but tweaking is sensible) into other proposals.

[Martinned]

One good thing about the UK is that occasionally officials there do still resign in shame, a phenomenon entirely unknown in other countries I could mention. Here is Morgan McSweeney's resignation statement.

“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government.

“The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself. When asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice. In public life responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient. In the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.

“This has not been an easy decision. Much has been written and said about me over the years but my motivations have always been simple: I have worked every day to elect and support a government that puts the lives of ordinary people first and leads us to a better future for our great country. Only a Labour government will do that.

“I leave with pride in all we have achieved mixed with regret at the circumstances of my departure. But I have always believed there are moments when you must accept your responsibility and step aside for the bigger cause.

“As I leave I have two further reflections: firstly, and most importantly, we must remember the women and girls whose lives were ruined by Jeffrey Epstein and whose voices went unheard for far too long. Secondly, while I did not oversee the due diligence and vetting process, I believe that process must now be fundamentally overhauled. This cannot simply be a gesture but a safeguard for the future.

“I remain fully supportive of the prime minister. He is working every day to rebuild trust, restore standards and serve the country. I will continue to back that mission in whatever way I can. It has been the honour of my life to serve.”

Howard Lutnick is, of course, still the US Regime's point person for doing deals with Putin and, apparently, whoever else is willing to pay for the privilege.

[Michael P]

Yeah, Tim Walz should have resigned weeks ago, and Gavin Newsom during COVID. Keith Ellison should have never run in the first place.

[Krayt]

Robert Byrd should have resigned in shame after his change of heart. But people looked into his soul, and saw he had truly changed, and allowed that Man of The People to continue being the most powerful man in Congress.

[Malika la Maize]

I’ll take apologizing and changing one’s behavior over refusing to say you’ve ever been wrong any day.

[Martinned]

Today the PM's Director of Communications has also resigned, and the press in Scotland is reporting that Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, is going to call on Sir Keir Starmer himself to resign. Note that there is no allegation that any of these people have ever met Epstein.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25838402.anas-sarwar-call-keir-starmer-stand-prime-minister/

[Mr. Bumble]

Epstein, is there anything he can't do?
The power of this dead man is amazing.
(Note Epstein did not kill himself)

[Martinned]

So today we're back on the "nothing to see here, child abuse is no big deal" bandwagon?

[Mr. Bumble]

Not what I said.

[Martinned]

Separately interesting is that Anas Sarwar referred to "my country, Scotland" in his statement. Remember, he is a unionist. He does not support Scottish independence from England.

"I have to do what is right for my country, Scotland.

"It is not easy and not without pain, but my first priority and first loyalty is to my country...

"The distraction has to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change."

Incidentally, the Welsh Labour leader has now backed him. (And, unlike Sarwar, Morgan is actually the First Minister of her nation.)

[Bob from Ohio]

Advisors advise, they don't decide. Him betraying his boss at a vulnerable time is not honorable. Its selfish.

Over an ambassador pick! A trivial thing.

[Martinned]

One more news update, hot off the press:

Commission notifies Meta of possible interim measures to reverse exclusion of third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp

The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Meta, setting out its preliminary view that Meta breached EU antitrust rules by excluding third party Artificial Intelligence (‘AI') assistants from accessing and interacting with users on WhatsApp. Meta's conduct risks blocking competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants.

The Commission therefore intends to impose interim measures to prevent this policy change from causing serious and irreparable harm on the market, subject to Meta's reply and rights of defence.

Meta's flagship products are its social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, and consumer communication applications, such as WhatsApp and Messenger. It also operates online advertising services and virtual and augmented reality products. Meta provides a general-purpose AI assistant, Meta AI.

On 15 October 2025, Meta announced an update of its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, effectively banning third-party general-purpose AI assistants from the application. As a result, since 15 January 2026, the only AI assistant available on WhatsApp is Meta's own tool, Meta AI, while competitors have been excluded.

The Commission has informed Meta that this policy change appears at first sight to be in breach of EU competition rules.

The Commission preliminarily concludes that:

- Meta is likely to be dominant in the European Economic Area ('EEA') market for consumer communication applications, notably through WhatsApp.

- Meta is likely to be abusing this dominant position by refusing access to WhatsApp to other businesses, including third-party AI assistants. At this stage, the Commission considers that WhatsApp is an important entry point to enable general-purpose AI assistants reach consumers.

- There is an urgent need for protective measures due to the risk of serious and irreparable damage to competition. Meta's conduct risks raising barriers to entry and expansion, and irreparably marginalising smaller competitors on the market for general-purpose AI assistants.

The sending of a Statement of Objections on interim measures does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. Meta now has the possibility to reply to the Commission's concerns.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_310

[Michael P]

The EC unsurprisingly wants to destroy US companies through whatever excuse they can make up.

They claim to want user safety and data sovereignty. And also claim to want unfettered access for any random AI to access social media.

[Martinned]

You're right. Meta (and others) bribing Trump into inaction on the antitrust front is actually a good thing! You're lucky to live in such a corrupt country!

[John F. Carr]

Was the EU's approval of the WhatsApp purchase back in 2014 a mistake?

[Dr. Ed 2]

And in Maine:
https://www.themainewire.com/2026/02/editorial-the-ice-watch-signalgate-scandal-is-alive-and-well-in-maine/

[Riva]

But, of course, no one is organizing and funding the democrats’ Brownshirts because Signal is free, or something.

[Michael P]

https://nbc16.com/news/local/police-shooting-raleigh-northwest-14-overton-mike-benner-portland-gun-fire-incident-multnomah-county-oregon-officers-detectives

If the left were consistent, they would be more up in arms over this than over Alex Pretti. (If they were honest, they would admit that both committed suicide by cop.)

[Malika la Maize]

From the story:

“Police say they will investigate this shooting in a clear and transparent manner. The two involved officers are on paid administrative leave, which is standard bureau protocol in officer-involved shootings.”

Now, I may not be a Recently Disaffected or Classical Liberal, but seems to me that this is how lethal use of force by LEO’s should be handled as opposed to prejudging announcements by the executive and such.

[Martinned]

Sort of. In countries where killings by cops aren't very common the investigation of such cases tends to be handled by an entirely different police force. The US equivalent would be to have, for example, the Oregon state police automatically investigate any any cop-involved deaths by local PDs.

[Frank Drackman]

Your Euro-trashiness is showing, in most states the "State Police" (or "Highway Patrol", in Georgia it's the "State Patrol") mostly does Traffic Enforcement, oh they have Statewide Jurisdiction and usually are hard-asses, but they're not exactly Inspector Columbo.
Now most US States DO have "Bureaus of Investigation" in Georgia, we're original and call it the "Georgia Bureau of Investigation" and they DO investigate all Law Enforcement shootings.
So thanks for suggesting something that's already happening.
I've got a suggestion, why not move to West-France? it's about 50 Miles West of the French Coast. Bring your swim trunks.

Frank

[hobie]

Why should we be up in arms over a typical police raid?

[TwelveInchPianist]

Yup. No immigration law involved, white man down. it's not your turf.

[jb]

If there was video footage showing that he was disarmed on the ground when the police shot him and their story was that he was pointing a gun at them, I think "the left" would also be mad about this.

Seems like for now we probably have to wait for the results of the investigation to learn more, but as Malika notes since there actually will be an investigation that's a good starting point.

[Malika la Maize]

The Big 12 has fined Oklahoma State $50,000 over an anti-Mormon chant directed at BYUduring the teams' men's basketball game in Stillwater on Wednesday.

After the game, a 99-92 upset win for the Cowboys over the No. 16 Cougars, BYU coach Kevin Young shared his disappointment over hearing "some 'F The Mormons' chants tonight by the student section."

The Big 12 investigated the "inappropriate chants" and issued the second known fine over the past year toward a conference school for such remarks.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/47869045/oklahoma-state-fined-50k-anti-mormon-chant-byu

[Martinned]

I'm not sure what the Big 12 is, but is it in some way subsidiary to state universities and/or the first amendment?

[Malika la Maize]

Over here our minor leagues for sports are run by our universities and they form conferences (sort of like UEFA and CONMEBOL, etc.). The Big 12 is one of the five major of such conferences.

[Martinned]

Right. And those universities are (at least some of them) public universities that are bound by the first amendment, right? So presumably the Big 12 is too?

[Malika la Maize]

I think it has to do with the fact that the conferences are voluntary for the universities, if they don’t like the conference rules they can leave and there’s so much money in being in a conference they’d never challenge a fine like this outside of the conference system of appeals (here OSU declined immediately to appeal).

[Martinned]

Weird. Over here there's a string of cases from the ECtHR and the ECJ saying (simplifying) that in a sports setting the arbitrage clause is never agreed freely enough to count as a free waiver of constitutional rights, so that it must always be possible for the proper courts to safeguard athletes'/clubs' rights.

(These cases are usually about athletes or football clubs, though there has also been litigation about athletes' agents.)

[Bob from Ohio]

Nobody cares.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Jennifer Keaton versus Augusta State University. There was a lot more in that case then people realized, and if we still believed in the first amendment, people would’ve protested the decision.

[Frank Drackman]

Love the sophisticated Eurotrash who can’t Google “Big 12”, it’d be like me saying “Duhhhhh what’s this “Premier League”????”
That being said I don’t think they have 12 teams, sort of like the big 10, or how the Atlantic Coast Conference has teams in California and the Southeastern teams from the Southwest.

[Malika la Maize]

That’s all messed up now. The ACC especially, I mean the Big 10 could always change the number but squaring Cal and Stanford as Atlantic is quite the stretch.

[Frank Drackman]

Glad the NCAA has decided Pro's can play, can't wait for Auburn to sign Lebron, Carmelo, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And that's for the women's team, for the Men we'll get some younger players.

[LexAquilia]

I saw a report of a Desert Storm type buildup happening near Iran.

Here again Trump is MIGA/MIC over MAGA

[Malika la Maize]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a probe into ABC’s “The View” after the program held an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, according to multiple outlets.

Reuters reported Saturday that, per a source, the FCC began an investigation on whether “The View” broke rules for equal time when it comes to interviewing political candidates.

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5728540-equal-time-rule-fcc-the-view/

[Dr. Ed 2]

ITS ABOUT TIME

[Malika la Maize]

For attacking free speech?

[hobie]

European-style censorship for me, but not for thee.

[Sarcastr0]

It’s hilarious how much they hate The View in particular.

[Malika la Maize]

They’re uppity women.

[Mr. Bumble]

...more like harpies.

[Malika la Maize]

Which is what folks like you call that.

[Dr. Ed 2]

What’s often mistaken about the so-called duck pond on the Boston Common is that initially was called the dunking pond.

Scolding women were dealt with by putting on a board and dunked underwater two, three, four times — whatever it was felt to be appropriate.

We should bring back dunking, starting with the scolding women on the view.

[Malika la Maize]

Starting with effeminate angry incels maybe.

Learn to hold your breath if so.

[Martinned]

Yes, it would definitely be hilarious if Trumpist politicians agreed to be interviewed on The View or Kimmel.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/fcc-targets-the-view-late-night-new-equal-time-rules-1236480396/

But the more likely outcome is that Kimmel would be required to invite them, they would decline the invitation, and then Kimmel would make fun of them on TV. Presumably someone explained that to Brendan Carr too:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/fcc-chairman-responds-jimmy-kimmel-equal-time-rule-change-1236488623/

[Kazinski]

The true story of the 'maid of Dundee' is finally being taken seriously by prosecutors:

"A man and woman have appeared in court accused of assaulting two girls in Dundee.

Prosecutors allege Ilia Belov, 22, approached and followed four girls, who were aged between 12 and 14, and made sexual remarks to them before seizing one of the girls and pushing her to the ground.

His co-accused Nadjedzha Belova, 20, is accused of repeatedly seizing and pulling another of the girls by the hair, dragging her to the ground, and punching her on the head to her injury.

The case was continued without plea to a case management hearing on 6 March at Dundee Sheriff Court."

Self defense is still right out though too:
"The offences are alleged to have taken place in St Ann Lane, Lochee last August.

A 12-year-old girl has also been referred to the children's reporter in connection with an alleged offence."

https://x.com/i/status/2019910876573114605

[jb]

I don't remember the (supposed?) controversy about this one. Is there some reason the MAGA blogs wanted us to be mad about the original reporting?

It does seem timely to come back up in the news after that MAGA guy tried to beat up a bunch of high school girls recently, though.

[Michael P]

Yes, all The Right People -- who are consistently both leftist and wrong -- originally told us that the girls were terrible bigots and only reacted that way out of racism, that of course there was no reason that they should have been worried or afraid at all. See, for example, https://uk.news.yahoo.com/migrant-confronted-schoolgirl-12-wielding-104332586.html and https://metro.co.uk/2025/08/28/migrant-threatened-axe-wielding-12-year-old-girl-dundee-speaks-24022035/

[Sarcastr0]

Ah. The dusky hordes coming for our white children.

Of course.

[Mr. Bumble]

Fucking DINK. You have no children.

[Bob from Ohio]

"dusky hordes "

?? Aren't the suspects ethnic Bulgarians?

[jb]

Sorry, who are the Right People? The famously leftist local police department?

And did these Bulgarians sneak in by boat, or is this just the best story people in the UK have found linking crime to immigration in the last year?

[Sarcastr0]

I see Kaz has recovered from Bad Bunny’s assault on what he decided counted as our culture.

Now he’s sharing deep cut Australian stories from some twitter called The Grift Report.

What a trooper!

[Malika la Maize]

According to a recent Redfin study of pending sales data in the 50 most populated metropolitan areas, some 40,000 home purchase agreements were canceled in December, a 14.9 percent increase from the year before.

The cancellations equate to nearly 17 percent of properties that went under contract that month. Redfin also found that home sellers now outnumber buyers by a record margin.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/realestate/canceled-home-purchases-buyers-market.html

[Mr. Bumble]

Paywalled (as usual) so what's the take away from the story?

[Malika la Maize]

That lots more pending home sales were cancelled in 25 than in 24 and a record more people want to sell their home vs people who want to buy.

[Mr. Bumble]

Yes, but why? Poor economy, high mortgage rates...?

[Malika la Maize]

Since there are more sellers buyers feel they can more easily back out and try another buyer if the mortgage rates, estimated tax or utilities shocks them.

From the study: “High housing costs and rising inventory have made homebuyers more selective,”

[Mr. Bumble]

Thanks. "...estimated tax or utilities shocks them." and are showing no signs of slowing down.

[LexAquilia]

The Olympic rosters of France, Germany, Switzerland and other European winter sports nations look a lot like Sweden’s: overwhelmingly white and lacking the immigrant representation seen in their soccer or basketball teams.

https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-diversity-integration-5bfec64352581e0eacb8c15620c632ad

Notice how there are never articles about the reverse. Why are African Olympic teams so black? Or why are Asian teams so Asian?

It's always why are the Whites so White.
It's almost as if there were an agenda afoot. A Great agenda some might say.

[Malika la Maize]

Well, there’s only about a dozen athletes from the entire African continent competing so there’s that…

https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/africa-at-milano-cortina-2026-winter-olympics-who-are-the-continent-s-athletes-at-the-games-and-how-to-follow-them

[LexAquilia]

If LGBTQ people are born that way, why has LGBTQ identification collapsed in key demographics?

[Malika la Maize]

In other shocking news, the number of people who are born with a certain hair color but dye it another fluctuates at different times and in different demographics. Cultural, political, etc., factors matter in how people present themselves.

[Mr. Bumble]

You left out the cultural appropriation of straightening.

[Malika la Maize]

That’s not achieved by dyeing, so no I did not

[Mr. Bumble]

"Cultural, political, etc., factors matter in how people present themselves."

[Magister]

Bumble, are you arguing that straightening is part of that second sentence or not part of that second sentence?

[Malika la Maize]

I gave an example of a general thing, I don’t have to list every example of the latter. So it wasn’t “left out.”

[dwb68]

Midterms are going to be especially bad for Republicans. Bad Bunny wasn't a bad show. A lot of people like his music even though they don't understand the words (I don't understand the words of half the Rolling Stones songs on my playlist). He's an American success story—could he achieve worldwide top artist status anywhere else?

Midterms will be about the economy, the economy, the economy. Raging about culture wars won't cut it.

Hiring is at the lowest point since before covid. The job market is extremely soft. Is AI improving productivity or simply pushing up power prices? So far, it's just leading companies to curtail hiring on the hope and prayer that it will improve productivity and push up power prices.

[Frank Drackman]

Love how the Hispanics claim they're so oppressed when they're the descendants of the Spanish who killed all the Indians who were living in Puerto Rico, Central Amurica, South Amurica in the first place.

[Moderation4ever]

About a week ago Pete Buttigieg was on Fox news for an interview. Pete wanted to talk about what was happening in the economy and the country. The Fox News interviewer wanted to ask about trans-athletes. I definitely sense a disconnect. Someone needs to remind Fox that trans-athletes is history and just so 2024.

[Frank Drackman]

It's 2026 and it's your side that talks about it more than ever. Booty-Judge's only political gimmick is he's a Homo. I didn't even realize Scott Bessent was one too until I read it somewhere, and you know what? who gives a (Redacted) or if "45/47/(48?)" doesn't proofread every Post to make sure it doesn't offend anyone.
It's your side who has to explain why a Man with Testicles and a Penis gets to beat up women. Good luck with that.

Frank

[Dr. Ed 2]

Butt plug is not competent to talk about the economy and everyone knows it.

[hobie]

It has been heartening to see Trump lose both the black vote and the hispanic vote all in one month.

And since he's devoted all of MAGA's time on culture war grievances and foreign adventurism - with nary a nod to domestic economy nor tranquility - November should be a bloodbath.

[Frank Drackman]

He's got until November 2028 to win them back. And Like with Barry Hussein in 2010, sometimes it's better to have the opposition run the Congress, they'll spend so much time with Impeachment they won't be able to do anything really horrible.
I do worry about the Surpremes, but Elon's got that aging thing figured out, notice how Alito and Clarence don't look any older?

Frank

[Dr. Ed 2]

The economic issues are a factor of taxes and energy cost.

Taxes are largely a factor of the wholesale theft by illegal aliens, an energy cost are a factor of asinine mandates to rely on pixie dust, and unicorn flatulence. Throw in illegal aliens also holding jobs that Americans should have and you have an election ruled by pissed off white guys.

The only mistake Republicans could make Wood be listening to the RINOs and losing the midterms because the pissed off white men don’t go vote

[dwb68]

Right now, energy costs are largely driven by the need to generate and build power supplies for data centers. If all the planned data centers get built, the eastern region would need to double its power generation. Should be under serious consideration: data centers being forced to build the generation plant that powers them.

Long-term, the labor market will adjust to fewer immigrants; short-term, a lower labor supply pushes up construction prices and costs (which includes home prices). The midterms will happen years before the long-term kicks in, so voters will be voting on a tough labor market and higher costs due to tariffs and energy prices.

Spanberger beat Winsome Earle-Sears on exactly the "affordability" platform. Of course, now she's governing as a progressive, but that's a separate problem.

GOP won in 2024 because they focused on the economy while the Dems focused on trans issues

Dems will win 2026 because they will focus on the economy not woke issues.

The lesson for both sides will be: go (anti) woke, go broke.

[hobie]

Looks like you hayseeds have to love Budweiser again. It's Super Bowl ad was excellent. Frankly, it was beautiful. It also mainlined MAGA culture directly into your MAGA veins: Horse; Eagle; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Farming; Filthy White Heterosexual Men on the Porch. Nary a POC in sight. I think even the animals were Caucasian.

https://youtu.be/a_mh-v02-Tw?si=In9P0r-bCcwmrpfP

[Moderation4ever]

It was a very cute commercial.

[Frank Drackman]

Too bad their Beer tastes like piss.

[Mr. Bumble]

The secret ingredients, rice and Clydesdale piss.

[Frank Drackman]

I don't drink alot of Beer (have to watch my Girlish figure) I like my Alcohol like I like my women, Hard, Sweet and Brown, but when I do it's Dos Equis or Labatts.
Or Guinness if I can find an Irish Pub that gets it right.
If I'm in one of the metastasizing Brew Pubs I'll have a PBR, but just to be "Ironic"
Was in this Foo-Foo place, and everyone was ordering "Samplers" of the various IPA's 4 little 3 oz cups like it was frigging Champagne, that's when I'll get the PBR, in 2 Cans (Tallboys of course)

Frank

[Joe_dallas]

Rice is used because it is supposedly much easier and cheaper to make a uniform taste across all production runs which also explains why the quality is much less than most craft breweries and german wheat beers. .

[Dr. Ed 2]

Tranny piss…

Me ain’t coming back…

[dwb68]

My favorite was the singing hair, honestly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6AHftzTgIQ

[Mr. Bumble]

Real beer lovers don't love Bud.

[Moderation4ever]

I don't think Budweiser is marketing to beer lovers, they are marketing to beer drinkers. Their market is volume not quality.

[hobie]

At least that's honest refutation, Bumble. Be honest, did the beer get any better or worse just because a tranny drank it?

[Mr. Bumble]

It was always a shitty beer. I could care less who drinks it.
The only Bud product I ever drank was Michelob when it was imported (long ago and far away).

[Malika la Maize]

I dunno, for a second it looked like that horse was gonna present as a bird….

[hobie]

It's amazing what an Oscar-nominated director can do with material. Which, of course, harkens to the greatest Super Bowl ad of all time: Ridley Scott's '1984' for Apple.

[hobie]

Yesterday, Malika asked about the greatest rock song of all time and everyone agreed Led Zeppelin.

But really, what about Freebird?!

[Mr. Bumble]

Freebird doesn't even make this list and stairway is number 16.
Guess it depends on the metric.
https://toptunetales.com/top-rock-songs-of-all-time/

[Malika la Maize]

I’d say Guns ‘N Roses Welcome to the Jungle myself.

[Mr. Bumble]

Too much good music in the rock genre to choose just one.
Bigger question is will "rock and roll will always be" or will it just be history like ragtime or big band music?
FWIW "Johnny B. Good was on the golden records on Voyagers.

[Brett Bellmore]

What, not Sweet Child of Mine?

[Malika la Maize]

I like it too. Lots off that album could qualify.

[Malika la Maize]

Texas’ gain in population from people moving in from other states has sunk to its lowest level in two decades, according to estimates that the Census Bureau released this week.

Net domestic migration into Texas has fallen for three straight years, and totaled around 67,000 in the 12 months ending in June 2025, a level lower than any seen since early 2005. The comparable figure three years earlier was nearly 219,000…

After two years in the top spot, Texas fell to second place for net inward domestic migration, behind North Carolina, where people moving in exceeded people moving out by more than 84,000 in the 12 months ending in June 2025, the Census Bureau estimates.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/texas-population-growth-migration-census.html

[Martinned]

Fortunately ICE is about to import a whole bunch of new inhabitants... (Well, to Texas or elsewhere in the 5th circuit anyway.)

[apedad]

Kinda sad about this news since domestic migration into TX will help make it a blue state.

[hobie]

Of course. Texas is one of the most dangerous states for women to get pregnant in

[Frank Drackman]

It's all those Cacti.

[hobie]

It's all them Frankies.

[Frank Drackman]

I do like how the Super Bowl brings the American way of life to the rest of the World,
Gambling.
And yes, I took the Patriots and the over, if I'd bet real money I'd be upset.

Frank

[Armchair]

The Puerto Rico Problem.

Puerto Rico is a US territory. Technically a commonwealth. It is not a US State. It's never voted* to be a US State. (*Yes, you get votes that were boycotted by the entire opposition, so it looks like a vote for statehood. But....)

It's not independent. It's never voted to be independent.

Personally, I'm fine with either way. Or maintaining the current status. It's not really my choice. The one thing I will say is that it neeed to be the choice of the citizens of PR. Not some mainland-US politicians. But the citizens of PR need to actually choose. And to date...they've continually chosen the current status. There's a reason for that.

PR is in a trap that maintains their current status. You saw this with the Bad Bunny show. You saw the flag of Puerto Rico right next to the flag of the US. Many citizens of Puerto Rico see themselves as Puerto Ricans first, and Americans second. That cultural trap is what makes them vote against statehood. Because full US Statehood may erase that cultural identity. No more separate team at the Olympics. No more PR flag side by side with the US flag.

Most Americans view themselves as Americans first...and their statehood a distant second, if at all. Many Puerto Ricans don't want that. They want to be Puerto Ricans first.

So, that would lead to the other side of the coin. Independence. That would preserve PR cultural identity. But...that comes at a cost. The US provides a massive boost to the income of PR. PR's per capita GDP is nearly $40,000 a year...one of the top (if not the top) in the Carribean. PR doesn't have any special native capabilities, no massive oil reserves. What it has is the US. Eliminate that...and there's no reason to think PR wouldn't sink closer to the average GDP of the area...some place like Costa Rica (GDP per capita $19,000). Independence would preserve the culture, but make PR roughly 1/2 as rich. That's a high cost.

So, PR plays the game in the middle. Commonwealth status. They hold onto their culture, and they hold onto the fiscal benefits of being part of the US. Until they choose differently.

[Martinned]

No more PR flag side by side with the US flag.

Have you never been to Texas?

[Mr. Bumble]

Curious. Have you?

[Frank Drackman]

Texas Coast is 1900 miles from Puerto Rico. El Paso is 2,600 miles.
It's like saying Holland, France and Belgium should fly the Russian Flag since the closest Russian Troops are a little over 500 miles away in the Kaliningrad Oblast.

Frank

[hobie]

I'm in Cleveland. We have a sizeable Ukrainian population here. They fly their flag next to Old Glory day and night.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Texas IS REQUIRED TO honor my out-of-state CDL license.
Puerto Rico REFUSES TO Which is why all that hurricane aid was never delivered. American truck drivers couldn’t drive it out of the ports, and Puerto Rican ones didn’t want to.

[Sarcastr0]

I find your speculation about the thoughts and motives of Puerto Ricans to be…just that, speculative.

Was the half time show insufficiently America loving for you?

Did you even see it?

I didn’t other than some screenshots. But then I’m not pining about The Puerto Rican Problem.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Our national language is English damn it.

[Moderation4ever]

I suggest you not visit Miami, FL lost of Spanish spoken there.

[Martinned]

Spanish has been spoken in the US for longer than English has...

[SRG2]

Eliminate that...and there's no reason to think PR wouldn't sink closer to the average GDP of the area

I note that Singapore has no natural resources and did not have any obvious native capabilities, and is surrounded by countries with low GDP, so obviously after independence it slumped into squalour.

[Martinned]

Well, Singapore does have a massively strategic harbour. It managed to displace Malacca as the key port in the region after Malacca joined Malaysia and Singapore ultimately didn't.

[Malika la Maize]

“The one thing I will say is that it neeed to be the choice of the citizens of PR.”

Does that go for Greenland, too?

[Mr. Bumble]

Did the citizens of PR vote to become a US territory?

[Martinned]

No, it became a US territory during the US colonial era.

[Dr. Ed 2]

How about we trade Puerto Rico for Greenland.

Instead of a useless ice box, Denmark gets some nice sunny beaches, and all kinds of non-white people to import to Denmark.

[Martinned]

Today in "The Leopards Eating People's Faces Party comes for you fast":

People in Wilder, Idaho, didn't give much thought to the dusty horse track west of town known as La Catedral Arena, where, on Sundays in the summer and early fall, vendors sold horchata and tacos, announcers called race results in Spanish and immigrant families gathered for reasonably priced fun.

But when federal agents swarmed the track on Oct. 19 — weapons drawn, a helicopter overhead, unmarked S.U.V.s screeching in on dirt roads — they did more than crack an alleged gambling ring and increase deportation numbers. They shattered Wilder’s innocent belief that its out-of-the-way location and deep-red politics could isolate the town from the raids overtaking other parts of the country.
(...)
The F.B.I. arrived first on Oct. 19, Mr. Carter said. Agents pointed automatic rifles and set off flash-bang grenades as they arrested Mr. Tellez and searched several buildings. Other federal, state and local agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, showed up soon after, sending many in the crowd running into neighboring fields or hiding in their cars. The local sheriff rode through on horseback, and a black, military-style helicopter circled low in the sky.
(...)
Eventually, everyone there was herded to the end of the track. Most adults, including parents caring for toddlers, and many teenagers had their hands bound. Mr. Carter said he saw federal officers pointing guns at people simply for asking questions, and young teenagers being zip-tied, including Mr. Carter’s 14-year-old daughter.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and an F.B.I. spokesman initially dismissed reports of children being zip-tied and hit with rubber bullets as “completely false,” though the F.B.I. later amended its statement to say no “young children” were bound. Several hundred people were detained for four hours.

“They could have gone first thing in the day with a few F.B.I. agents and just arrested the people they had warrants for,” Mr. Carter said. “Instead, they went in at the busiest time with maximum force.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/us/politics/trump-deportation-idaho.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

[Stephen Lathrop]

Martinned — Give it time. That account smacks of cultural disorientation in the Department of Homeland Security.

Wilder sits at the northern edge of the North American reconquista—a vast territory destined shortly to fall further under Mexican cultural sway, and later to be subject to controversy over national allegiance. No point in fighting it.

Many non-hispanic inhabitants of that territory—in Idaho, Utah, and Arizona especially—are Mormons, who might welcome the change. Remember that Mitt Romney is descended from 19th century Mormon polygamists who sought refuge in Mexico.

You could probably get a pretty good goat meat taco at that Wilder festival. Boise seems destined to become one of the major cities along a redrawn U.S. – Mexican border. MAGAs would remain free to celebrate that as mass deportation, finally accomplished.

[Bob from Ohio]

"Wilder’s innocent belief that its out-of-the-way location and deep-red politics could isolate the town"

How do they know this?

One guy quoted in the excerpt. Who is he?

[Riva]

It is actually understandable that democrats avoid trying to make arguments in support of their issues snd instead jump from Epstein, to ICE, then race exploitation, sometimes some classic Russian collusion fraud, and then back to Epstein. There’s projection of course. But this is what happens when they try to explain themselves:

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/02/return-of-veep-thoughts.php

[Malika la Maize]

“and then back to Epstein. There’s projection of course”

There sure is! Who was it that went on about Epstein for years?

[Martinned]

I had missed this story originally, but yes, outside the US (and other countries with a famously poor human rights record), you can't just go around torturing people. Not even if they're really bad people.

The UK government has paid "substantial" compensation to a man who was tortured by the CIA and remains imprisoned without trial at Guantanamo Bay after almost 20 years, the BBC can reveal.

Abu Zubaydah was the first man subjected to the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" techniques after the 11 September 2001 attacks. It was claimed he was a senior al-Qaeda member. The US government later withdrew the allegation.

MI5 and MI6 passed questions to the CIA for use during Zubaydah's interrogations despite knowing of his extreme mistreatment.

He brought a legal claim against the UK on the basis that its intelligence services were "complicit" in his torture.
(...)
The exact amount Zubaydah will receive could not be publicly revealed for legal reasons, Duffy said. It was, however, a "substantial amount of money" and payment was under way.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2gelrxxr0o

[Mr. Bumble]

If he's still in Gitmo, what will he spend it on?

[Martinned]

So far he doesn't get access to it at all, because the US Regime is still detaining him without legal basis, as it has been doing for almost 25 years. Isn't it great when your government has to obey people's human rights?

[Swede425]

He's been taking classes on small engine repair so that he has a trade to fall back on if the whole terrorism thing doesn't pan out.
Maybe he can use that money to set himself up in business now that he's learned his lesson and is ready to walk the straight and narrow.

[Swede425]

That guy's commissary is set for life!
RAMEN FOR EVERYBODY!

[John F. Carr]

American judges are supposed to consider ability to pay when imposing fines. We're not at the "$50,000 speeding ticket" level, but wealth is still a consideration. If Zubaydah is ever convicted he will be able to afford to pay a substantial fine.

A few years ago a prisoner in a Connecticut prison won a federal civil rights case over abuse by guards. The state tried to take the money because technically prisoners owe rent and he hadn't paid. Last I heard a federal judge had paused the seizure because the net result of Connecticut's policy was to allow guards to abuse prisoners who can't afford to pay rent. Will the UK refuse to turn over money to its rightful owner because it would go to the American government? A judge can order Zubaydah to sign whatever documents are necessary to authorize the transfer. It's up to people in the UK to decide whether to act on them.

[Martinned]

technically prisoners owe rent

Imagine locking someone up against their will and then charging them rent.

A judge can order Zubaydah to sign whatever documents are necessary to authorize the transfer.

Well yes. American authorities can do lots of things to him. That's exactly the problem.

It's up to people in the UK to decide whether to act on them.

No. It's his money now, and UK law protects it the same way it protects everyone else's money.

[John F. Carr]

Will UK officials release the money if he was ordered to sign it over by an American judge under circumstances that the UK considers unjust or contrary to public policy?

[Swede425]

Depends on which UK officials you're talking about.
There've been so many changes recently in the current regime, with some even bigger one's likely to follow soon, that the answer to that question could change.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Imagine locking someone up against their will and then charging them rent.

A reminder that the person is being locked up because they were convicted of a crime. The state, because of the person's actions, has to spend money to detain them.

[Pre-conviction detention is more complicated and for 8th Amendment purposes should be narrowly applied.]

Let's grant that detention is necessary for public safety. Often, prison is not warranted.

The taxpayers largely pay the bill. A rapist, for instance, being charged rent here doesn't seem THAT horrible. They are getting room, board, and often various other programs.

Prisons are horrible places, and that's a problem in various ways, but again, they are there because they were convicted of crimes.

[Bob from Ohio]

UK wants to pay terrorists for no reason, up to them I guess.

[Malika la Maize]

For Bob torturing is no reason.

[John F. Carr]

Plaintiffs in a Colorado anti-ICE case allege that the government is violating a preliminary injunction.

In a 98-page amended complaint filed Wednesday, lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and two Denver law firms say immigration agents are still targeting and detaining people without first determining their immigration status or their flight risk, citing recent immigration raids near Vail, among others.

https://coloradosun.com/2026/02/05/ice-violating-court-order-warrantless-arrests-colorado-lawyers-say/

The government waited two months before appealing the preliminary injunction. From what I can see on the docket the government did not ask for a stay.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71592542/ramirez-ovando-v-noem/

While it's easy to believe that DHS is behaving badly, Orin Kerr has posted about the difficulty in getting injunctions against Fourth Amendment violations. I don't know if the injunction will hold up on appeal.

[hobie]

So were all you MAGA good little drones and watched the Beverly Hillbilly halftime show instead of Bad Bunny? Probably no one watched either. I know the kind of music you closeted hillbillies would like (This is actually one of my favorite remakes of Beloved's 'Sweet Harmony'):

https://youtu.be/NY5NxBO66tQ?si=cob87vgfnXBXsgZs

[JoeFromtheBronx]

The Japanese Bar Association is giving Justice Sotomayor a lifetime achievement award. Business/cocktail attire required.

https://www.jabaonline.org/2026-dinner

The attire link wasn't working, but see here:

https://suitshop.com/blogs/news/what-is-cocktail-attire/