What a photo from the Freep

CBS News is convulsing as Larry Ellison tries to please Trump | Margaret Sullivan Recent incidents involving Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert suggest things are not well at the network after the acquisition financed by Trump supporter Larry Ellison

Sharp media analysis from @sulliview.bsky.social — these underlying political-economic relationships explain so much of what’s driving today’s constant media failures.

the old sack and pillage trade

Maybe she works in a hair salon?

Community meme: I CAN EXCUSE FASCISM. BUTI DRAW THE LINE AT MERCANTILISM.

The Supreme Court:

elmo from sesame street is on fire with his arms in the air . ALT: elmo from sesame street is on fire with his arms in the air .

Companies already announcing they will sue to recover tariff payments.

It’s going to rain class action lawsuits.

CBS can try to obey in advance by pressuring Stephen Colbert to silence his interview with James Talarico, the gifted communicate running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, but people can see what’s happening—& can listen to the convo on YouTube. Brendan Carr & the FCC’s free speech attack will backfire.

Cam Girl Has Ash On Forehead

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

The Colbert interview Paramount, Ellison, Trump & GOP don't want you to see:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ...

CBS News’s Bari Weiss is set to lose one of her network’s biggest stars.

Anderson Cooper has declined a contract renewal with CBS and will leave 60 Minutes ahead of the fall season.
www.thedailybeast.com//maga-curiou...

France correctly approaching the exposure of an international pedophile ring as a prosecutorial problem; not taking the American route of doing damage control for the elite.

The Clash of Civilizations Was an Inside Job After 9/11, Samuel P. Huntington’s big idea was everywhere. But he missed the coming war within.

In “The Clash of Civilizations,” Samuel P. Huntington predicted that great civilizations—not states—would clash after the demise of Communism. But three decades later, Huntington’s predictions “have begun to wobble,” Josef Joffe argues:

We are entering the “falling out of windows” phase.

Opinion | Sen. Mark Kelly's legal win over Pete Hegseth is a First Amendment victory for all military veterans Retired Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham: Hegseth’s campaign against Kelly is extraordinary, and Judge Leon outlined its breathtaking consequences for all of us who have served our nation in uniform.

Pete Hegseth’s campaign against Mark Kelly is extraordinary. And this federal judge noticed.

Judge Leon's ruling outlined the threat that Hegseth's efforts could pose to the constitutional liberties of all who have served our nation in uniform.

‘Horsefeathers!’: Judge blasts Hegseth’s attempt to demote Sen. Kelly over video to U.S. troops The fiery decision against Hegseth included 15 exclamation points.

Read the full story below👇

From the court’s opinion today blocking Hegseth’s attempt to discipline Mark Kelly: “As Bob Dylan once famously said, ‘You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.’ Our retired vets deserve more respect from our govt, and our Constitution demands they receive it!”

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MARK KELLY, Plaintiff, Civil Case No. 26-81 (RJL) V. PETE HEGSETH, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION February 12, 2026 [Dkt. #2] United States Senator Mark Kelly, a retired naval officer, has been censured by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for voicing certain opinions on military actions and policy. In addition, he has been subjected to proceedings to possibly reduce his retirement rank and pay and threatened with criminal prosecution if he continues to speak out on these issues. Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces. Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!

Worse still, Secretary Hegseth contends that this Court is not yet competent to decide the issues in this case. He and his fellow Defendants argue that military personnel 1 Case 1:26-cv-00081-RJL Document 37 Filed 02/12/26 Page 2 of 29 decisions are exempt from judicial review and, in any event, that Senator Kelly should first be required to go through the military appeals process so the military can have the first crack at adjudicating his First Amendment rights. I disagree. This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it! Senator Kelly's First Amendment claim is not only justiciable; he is likely to succeed on the merits. He has also shown irreparable harm, and the balance of the equities fall decidedly in his favor. As such, his motion for a preliminary injunction on his First Amendment claim is hereby GRANTED.

BREAKING: Judge blocks Hegseth effort to punish Sen. Kelly.

"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."

Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...

He literally says in this clip that ICE will keep in Minnesota “quick reaction forces” — a military term — to go after “agitators.” Remember that those on the ground in MPLS have spent more than a week trying to tell everyone that Trump’s prior “deescalation” was a ruse and ICE is still operational

Hard to think of a reason other than capitulation

Front page of this month’s edition of The Onion.

We now have data from Trump's first full year in office. Let's review the performance of Trump and the two parties since 1989 and a new age of globalization began.

However you cut the data Trump continues to have worst jobs record of last six Presidents. 1/

Is this why the White House was putting out all this “don’t panic!” releases?

GOP Strategist Reminds Legislators There’s No Bad Ideas For Suppressing Black Vote

GOP Strategist Reminds Legislators There’s No Bad Ideas For Suppressing Black Vote https://theonion.com/gop-strategist-reminds-legislators-there-s-no-bad-ideas-1846449362/

Bad Bunny Embodies the American Dream Ten years ago, he was bagging groceries. Now he's on top of the world.

Bad Bunny Embodies the American Dream... the smartest take you will read open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

The New Laser That Can Take Down Aircraft Russian strikes have forced Ukraine to build high-tech air defense on the cheap.

Ukraine has learned to mass-produce cheap, brutally efficient weapons—but it may have opened a Pandora’s box, Simon Shuster reports:

ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

NEW: ICE is leasing offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation

A reminder that, while some of the damage that Trump & GOP are doing might seems temporary, the damage they're doing to the planet is permanent:
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...