this is the chaplain btw. wonder why he was fired.

Calhoun’s theories have made a dramatic comeback with Trump, whose policies are guided by an unmistakable racial determinism. Trump warns that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” and that many immigrants have “bad genes,” telling a white Fox News host that “they are not exactly your genetic.” Trump has focused his ire on immigrants from “third world” countries. He has virtually reimposed the eugenics-inspired immigration restrictions of the early 20th century, while instituting a Jim Crow–style system for refugees that prioritizes white South Africans. Trump’s reasoning for what he called a “permanent pause” in “third-world migration” was that instead of people from countries such as Norway or Sweden, we “always take people from Somalia,” which he called “disgusting.” The Democrats of Calhoun’s day, similarly, were not anti-immigrant, so long as only white people could naturalize. After all, the protection of slavery required white men, even those born in Dublin or Berlin. In January, the Trump adviser Stephen Miller posted something even more revealing on X: “Plenty of countries in history have experimented with importing a foreign labor class. The West is the first and only civilization to import a foreign labor class that is granted full political rights.” Miller’s disgust here is not with the “importing” of a “foreign labor class.” It is with such a class having the same rights as he does.

The birthright citizenship case shows how Trump-era Republicans have embraced the convictions of the proslavery Senator John C Calhoun, who believed America was a “white man’s government” and the integration of nonwhites onto the polity would destroy the country www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

So much this. Also, the tech bro mafia doesn't really like reading. They don't *appreciate* reading. So just because *they* can't spot the difference between good writing and bad writing, they think most people can't either.

I think the reason AI propagandists are so flustered by the fact that no real writer wants to use their idiotic tools is that they themselves don't enjoy writing. They see it as a boring arduous chore to be avoided, while real writers actually enjoy writing and actually care about the quality of it.

“Imagine being so entitled that when the marketplace rejects your offering, you insist that it must be an antitrust attack on your rights to their money?”

I was a Pirates fan who thought Eric Davis, when he played for the Reds, was cooler than Barry Bonds.

NYT on Feb. 13, 2026: The visit also demonstrated the relative foreign policy inexperience of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who has made a few overseas trips since taking office but does not sit on any House committees devoted primarily to world affairs. She struggled at times to formulate succinct answers at a nighttime panel session, during which she was asked probing and specific questions about how to respond to international crises. Questioned about whether the United States should send troops to defend Taiwan if China invaded the island, she stalled for roughly 20 seconds before offering a substantive response. “I think that, uh, this is such a, a — you know, I think that — this is a, um — this is of course, a, uh, a very longstanding, um, policy of the United States,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said, before saying that the country should try to avoid reaching that point with China in the first place.

NYT on March 16, 2026: On Monday, Mr. Trump claimed that “numerous countries have told me they’re on the way,” noting that President Emmanuel Macron of France would most likely help in the Strait of Hormuz and was an eight out of 10. “Not perfect, but it’s France,” he said. Others are not demonstrating sufficient enthusiasm for his demands, he said.

Last month the NYT said AOC "struggled" to give an answer on Taiwan and quoted her with "uhs" and "ums" to make her look stupid

Yesterday talking about Hormuz Trump claimed he's heard from "numerous countries" and said "uh" four times. The NYT deleted the "uhs" and paraphrased him to look smarter:

A tax season reminder that Intuit TurboTax lobbied the government for years to block free public tax-filing.

Trump then terminated the free IRS Direct File program established under Biden, just a year after the tax prep giant gave his inauguration fund $1M.

Do you see how this works?

Yes, you do.

Encyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI over AI training Encyclopedia Britannica and its Merriam-Webster subsidiary have sued OpenAI in Manhattan federal court for allegedly ​misusing their reference materials to train its artificial intelligence ‌models.

Encyclopedia Britannica and its Merriam-Webster subsidiary have sued OpenAI in Manhattan federal court for allegedly misusing their reference materials to train its artificial intelligence models.

Inadvertently makes a case here for why we need to keep the humanities in school

Fort Necessity. George Washington getting his ass kicked so he’d know what not to do later.

State officials won’t answer questions about ICE partnership after judges rule arrests violated the Constitution - Mountain State Spotlight State agencies have worked alongside immigration officers to make unconstitutional arrests. Elected officials wouldn’t answer questions about it.

The West Virginia State Police is helping ICE arrest immigrants, who are often held in state jails for weeks without a hearing. Judges say this violates the Constitution.

buff.ly/hqCbSRt

"Jews don't belong in American society."

Imagine a sitting member of Congress tweeting that. You can't. Thankfully, it'd never happen. And *if* it did, it'd be the end of their career and the biggest story in America.

But Ogles can say this about Muslims without any censure.

By this logic, the US has been at war with Iran since 1953, when the CIA overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh to ensure that western oil companies, and not the Iranian people, controlled Iranian oil. It’s brutal puppet the Shah tortured & killed for 25 years. That’s why they chanted DEATH TO AMERICA in 1979

Underground...stations, if you will, perhaps connected to a means of transportation that became popular in the 19th century.

this is what they said it would be like under socialism

Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump.

An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump. n.pr/4qTItsU

MEMORANDUM OPINION February 16, 2026 “All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place.” George Orwell, 1984' As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, with its motto "Ignorance is Strength," this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims—to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not. The President's House is a component of Independence National Historical Park that commemorates the site of the first official presidential residence and the people who lived there, including people enslaved by President George Washington. On January 22, 2026, the National Park Service ("NPS") removed panels, displays, and video exhibits that referenced slavery and information about the individuals enslaved at the President's House. Plaintiff City of Philadelphia ("the City" filed this lawsuit under the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA") against the Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum…

CONCLUsION For the reasons stated above, the Motion for Preliminary Injunction will be granted. The preliminary injunction will remain in place pending further litigation in this matter. There can b no prejudice to Defendants' restoration of the status quo as of January 21, 2026, which requires that Defendants reinstall all panels, displays, and video exhibits that were previously in place. Defendants shall further prevent any additions, removals, destruction, or further changes of any kind to the President's House site, except in the event that a mutual written agreement is reachec between Defendants and the City of Philadelphia. An order will be entered.

Federal court orders Trump administration to restore historical panel exhibits at President’s House in Philadelphia.

Happy Presidents Day.

If you want to understand why rich guys are turning back to eugenics and recreating the rhetoric and theology of slavery, it’s because they know on some level this level of wealth inequality is unjustifiable bsky.app/profile/marl...

Once you see it you’ll never not see it again

“Truly, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” -Voltaire

This is great.

You know what they’re going to store in those warehouses?

People

The central political divide today in the U.S. is not between two sides offering slightly varying iterations of the same underlying political bargain but between a tradition affirming the historic liberal-constitutional order and one that enthusiastically strips rights from ideological opponents.

Catherine O'Hara Dead at 71 Catherine O'Hara -- famous for her work in "Schitt's Creek," "Home Alone," and "Best In Show" -- is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Fuck this!

RIP, legend.

www.tmz.com/2026/01/30/c...

Protesters carried a giant rendition of the U.S. Constitution through downtown Minneapolis on Friday, chanting "ICE out now."

📷️: Kyeland Jackson

The Trump Administration Arrested Don Lemon Like He Was a Fugitive Slave Lemon’s arrest is not only a clear violation of the First Amendment but also a blatant throwback to the Constitution’s long-discarded Fugitive Slave Clause.

Last night, Trump’s DOJ arrested Don Lemon in a clear violation of the First Amendment. It was also a blatant throwback to the Constitution’s long-discarded Fugitive Slave Clause. Here, @elienyc.bsky.social explains why the arrest is even worse than you think. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

This is why I have real fucking problem with blithe criticisms of "polarization" or "congressional dysfunction." We have a Republican member blaming his colleague for being attacked.

The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.

Relevant question. The answer is, "Bet your ass!"