Brad Smith

This is a win for American families and businesses. Now Republicans need to find their spines and reclaim Congressional trade authority to stop whatever alternative scam Trump is cooking up to raise costs and settle personal scores.

Once again, I am promising Democrats there are literally thousands of former department of justice people who will crawl over broken glass to prosecute this administration given the chance

That Vance Day fella was considered to be a right wing nut job by establishment Republicans in 1992. Today he and his ilk ARE the establishment.
bsky.app/profile/seth...

“It is time to acknowledge what has become tragically obvious: the Trump administration is operating as a massive criminal enterprise.”

This absolutely captures it. Instead of "Trump Administration," we should say "Trump Syndicate."

#TrumpSyndicate

YouTube video by Lawyer Oyer Big wins for Pam Bondi’s brother, Brad

Ever since his sister became the Attorney General, business has been good for Brad Bondi, a white-collar defense lawyer. He has racked up an amazing set of wins for clients facing investigation and prosecution by Pam’s DOJ. But maybe it’s just a coincidence. youtube.com/shorts/9200i...

The Situation: Translating Rubio The secretary of state’s Munich speech in plain simple English

"American policy has changed. It is now wholly transactional and roots in no principles whatsoever."

@benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org translates Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference into plain simple English.

The question of our time is how do you artistically rebel — and win — against a totally flat cultural landscape? And before my readers, who I assume are all approximately 36 years old and very tired, say, “so what, who cares?” This does matter. I mean, just look around right now lol. You know things are bad when even OpenAI President Greg Brockman is posting stuff, like “Taste is a new core skill.” If people had taste, your company wouldn’t exist, Greg. But if everything is just attention now, and attention is completely commodified by algorithmic tech platforms, how can you push back against that? Well, I am slowly coming around to a theory on the new cool: You have to essentially pre-deplatform yourself. Culture right now is determined not by human teams of editors and producers picking and choosing what youth culture gets the spotlight, but, instead, by the unthinking algorithms that power YouTube and TikTok. Which means the only things that have the level of scarcity and danger required to be seen as cool by young people will, slowly, but surely, be whatever is unacceptable on those platforms.

A post so smart I'm almost afraid to share it.

www.garbageday.email/p/the-only-t...

The Situation: Translating Rubio The secretary of state’s Munich speech in plain simple English

The Situation, Feb. 18, 2026

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

My latest in @thebulwark.com

And of course US political reporters -- & editors & publishers -- would rather *die* than acknowledge straightforwardly that today's GOP is corrupt at a level that is unique in US history, wildly in contrast to Dems. They know it's true, but you couldn't force them to say it at gunpoint.

The Constitution is not a bargaining chip for a budget negotiation The Democrats demanded that Trump's immigration cops follow the law and the Constitution. The Republicans called those demands "nonstarters."

Radley Balko: The Democrats' demands to "reform" Trump's immigration thugs aren't reforms at all. They're already the law, the Constitution, and widely accepted police practices. And in a free society, they'd never be negotiable.

Part of me is deeply angry about this but part of me also knows every million she spends on a flying bidet is a million they don't have to spend on buying another detention center so...

Recommended.

Psst! L'il Marco Rubio? Don't Lecture Europe When You're One Face of a Chaotic Suicide Pact! - emptywheel Even as the grandson of an "illegal immigrant," Marco Rubio, attempted to lecture Europe that immigrants would destroy their shared civilization, the Secretary of State dodged his own role in the chao...

Psst! L'il Marco Rubio? Don't Lecture Europe When You're One Face of a Chaotic Suicide Pact!

emptywheel.net/psst-lil-mar...

Broadly speaking: reality tv is bad for democracy, influencers are bad for democracy, streamers are bad for democracy, YouTubers are bad for democracy.

Exceptions to all categories exist, but it’s astonishing how absolutely clogged our political and media ecosystems are with low-info narcissists

I note that the White House originally said it was the White House Historical Association that preserved items from the East Wing. Now it says the General Service Administration and the National Park Service did. Did they? Did anyone?

Haha 🤣

(around an image of a masked ICE agent holding a gun) Republicans "One Big Beautiful Bill' nearly tripled funding for ICE. That money came from your benefits: paid for by cuts to reproductive health care paid for by cuts to Medicare & Medicaid paid for by cuts to SNAP paid for by cuts to clean energy projects paid for by cuts to obesity prevention paid for by cuts to disaster response paid for by cuts to energy tax credits

“🇺🇸 agriculture is on the verge of widespread collapse… they’re asking for a rollback of virtually every policy Trump has introduced.”

As Republicans try to distance Trump policies from🧑‍🌾 farmer struggles, the truth is clear: www.facebook.com/share/v/17Up...

210. The President's Lack of Power Over Elections President Trump keeps insisting that he can unilaterally change the rules for voting in the midterms. It's not just that he's *wrong*; it's that there's no mechanism through which he could even *try.*

President Trump keeps threatening to unilaterally impose rules (like voter ID requirements) on upcoming elections.

Today's "One First" explains why, whether as a matter of constitutional law, existing federal statutes, or simple, practical logistics, his (ominous) threats are ultimately empty ones:

There are very few things I believe more strongly than this:

If you orient your politics around things that you know are not true, or don’t care if are true, whether because it sounds good, or you think it’ll impress people, or any other reason, you are planting the seeds of your own destruction.

"I never want to see a child run away from our own government ever again"

Gut punch writing:

"as context, working for the Justice Dept. used to be one of the most competitive, prestigious jobs you could get. Most people—even top law students —spent several years working for law firms before vying for highly coveted spots.

Now you send a DM on X to some guy named Chad.

2 Bend high schools land on national AP honor roll Two Bend high schools are getting national recognition. Summit and Caldera earned spots on the 2025 AP honor roll for expanding access to college-level courses.

Congratulations to Summit and Caldera High Schools for making the Advanced Placement 2025 Honor Roll!

You all make Oregon proud!

www.centraloregondaily.com/news/local/b...

I’m just going to leave this here

Partisan political speeches have no place on military bases to active duty troops. These soldiers have no choice - they are ordered to be there. No politician should ever make a speech like this to troops. The continued silence on this issue by Republicans is a disgrace. bsky.app/profile/atru...

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. admits he used to snort cocaine off toilet seats Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confessed to snorting cocaine off toilet seats during a chat with his old rehab buddy Theo Von.

What does it says that Americans put this man in charge of public health policy?

www.nydailynews.com/2026/02/12/r...

After nearly four years, Ukraine continues to resist Russia's unprovoked invasion. But we cannot forget the importance of this fight. Take a look at my deep-dive on my Substack page at the link in my reply.

The US deficit is approaching ww2 levels as a percent of GDP.

Because of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that GOP voted for.

We are spending more on INTEREST than on anything else including the military.

This is a time bomb, and the GOP is responsible. Fiscal conservative my ass