Mark Coatney

The latest from YouGov (n ~ 1.6k adults):

Approval of Iran strikes: -10
Approval of Trump's handling of Iran: -15
Should Congress approve wars first: Yes +31
Will intervention make Iran better/worse off: Worse off +20

yougov.com/en-us/search...

Is this a DoD DDoS?

Trump’s Reckless Decision to Pursue Regime Change in Iran And the risks Democrats face if they fail to strongly oppose his war.

"There are multiple arguments that Democrats need to be making, including the fact that he’s acting illegally, and the fact that he’s acting strategically stupidly. So make all of those arguments. Don’t just ask for a briefing," says @mattduss.bsky.social. www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

It astounds me that Dem consultants don't get this. One reason Trump won in 2016 was he was promising big change, and Hillary was saying 'I can't fix healthcare, but I can maybe get a 5% reduction in premiums for some of you', which, while maybe honest, doesn't inspire voters

Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers More citizens are replanting overseas, drawn by a quality of life made easily affordable by the U.S.’s enviable salaries.

Before this past year, “The last time more people left the U.S. than moved in, according to Census historical statistics, it was 1935 and the destination of choice was the Soviet Union.” www.wsj.com/us-news/amer...

Tonight's a good night for every new org to confirm that the DOJ covered up accusations of child rape against the man currently speaking.

The Supreme Court has finally announced that Donald Trump’s stupid, illegal tariffs were, in fact, stupid and illegal. Now every company in America is lining up to get a big fat tariff refund from the federal government. But who actually paid those tariffs? YOU did, because America’s big retailers marked everything up. So shouldn’t YOU get the refund? Not a bunch of corporate dipshits and douchebags? Cards Against Humanity thinks so. That’s why we are giving 100% of our tariff refund back to all of you, our customers. Sign up now at GetYourFuckingMoneyBack.com.

GetYourFuckingMoneyBack.com

I mean, when Jason Willick can tell me how Biden's debt cancellation or vaccine mandate facilitated full-scale bribery of the president, I'm all ears.

If only every question before the Supreme Court could be framed in terms of "How will this affect your 401k, John Roberts?"

Paging Gavin Newsome....

One project I've always wanted to do was to ask every member of the U.S. Senate to tell me their favorite joke; I think it tells so much about the person to hear what they pick and how they deliver it.

Anyway, I just asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude....

The Minneapolis Resistance Will Do Your Laundry From free airline miles to washing clothes, Minnesotans are keeping each other safe from ICE—and leaving a blueprint for the rest of us.

I hadn't cried about how much I love Minneapolis in a few days, so this was a good one to read:

"Minnesotans will continue to keep Minnesotans safe until we rid the state of the federal occupation, just like lake ice is weakened by springtime sunshine and subsumed by the water below."

Went on a first (and last) date with a girl in college. We saw ‘Raising Arizona’. Halfway through she stood up and announced ‘There is nothing funny about kidnapping babies’ and marched out. I stayed and enjoyed the film….

Trump is very underwater on immigration.

There is no reason for Dems to cave on ICE funding.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

To be fair, Bari has been lecturing us all about future of journalism for free for the past 5 years....

This is damning, of course, but it also is such a wrong view of what deters crime and keeps neighborhoods safe. Everyone sitting isolated inside their houses spying on their neighbors isn't safety. Everyone outside and knowing their neighbors is safety.

NEW: DOJ told a judge in New Jersey that it had violated court orders about 54 times between Dec. 5 and this week — the latest accounting of a phenomenon that used to be rare and is now rampant. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Jesse Jackson Jr. also had an under appreciated sense of comedic timing. Watch his fake sermon on SNL.😂

Ok, this is a little too real @mcsweeneys.net

When Jesse Jackson Came to ‘Sesame Street’: ‘I Am! Somebody!’

I wrote about the time Jesse Jackson brought the movement to Sesame Street. [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...

Congratulations!

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislatu…

Colbert and Talarico ended up talking at length about Freedom of Religion in the interview that Brendan Carr censored.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ...

Wow.

I dunno some of my rewrite editors seemed pretty inhuman

Operation Metro Surge cost Minneapolis at least $203 million, city officials say Minneapolis officials have released an estimated tab on what Operation Metro Surge has cost city residents so far.

So far it looks like Trump, Noem, and operation metro surge drained Minneapolis alone—not yet counting St. Paul, Bloomington, etc.— $203 million. This was a MAGA Trump assault on an American blue city. Nothing more. Start seeing it.

www.fox9.com/news/operati...

YouTube video by NYC Mayor's Office Welcome The Stranger

This city is home to people of countless faiths. But no matter what you believe, one thing unites us: we are all New Yorkers. We will not allow ICE to terrorize our neighbors.

youtu.be/uoU9Img_B40

Among 18-29 Year Old Men - "Which of the following do you blame for the increased cost of groceries?" (Pick 2)

Trump's Tariffs: 49%
Corrupt Politics: 39%
Corporate Food Manufacturers: 38%
Grocery Stores: 18%
Other: 11%

HIT Strategies / Dec 2025 - (Released Recently)

The official ICE account of what transpired was an obvious lie from the outset. News outlets like the NYT reported it just the same without noting its obvious untruthfulness. Is there a lesson here for NYT?

A newly unsealed FBI interview shows an entire Deutsche Bank staff team internally tried to cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein in 2015, after seeing wires to young women. One compliance officer says she was later pushed out and fired after raising the issue. Management kept the accounts open.

Everyone in the world comes to get married at the NYC Marriage Bureau. Last week, the Mayor stopped by to officiate a few of those ceremonies. 
 
Thank you to all the couples who shared their joy with us. Happy Valentine's Day, New York. 
 
 Watch the full video at Youtube.com/nycmayorsoffice