I have a feeling the Texas gerrymander is going to blow up in the GOP's face.

'Yuan, Crypto or Stay Out’ — Iran’s New Toll System Emerges in Hormuz Iran has reportedly set up an IRGC-controlled toll system in the Strait of Hormuz. Ships are said to pay in Chinese yuan or stablecoins to ...

@jvl.bsky.social In case you'd not seen this, seems relevant:

www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Rep. Buddy Carter on a teacher who was killed when ICE got into a high-speed chase with a man who had no criminal record: "She is a victim of Jon Ossoff, Chuck Schumer, and the Democrats ... they've got blood on their hands"

Smart questions by Sen. Paul; yet ICE seems to be violating these 1st A rights repeatedly, with at times deadly consequences.

Laughing ICE Goons Seize Dad Who Fled Ukraine War at Walmart Dmytro Kulyk is facing deportation as refugees become the Trump administration’s latest target.

“I explained to the ICE officers that the war was killing people, that it was violence, terrorism which we had escaped from but one of them began to laugh,” Kulyk told The Daily Beast. “I asked why he was laughing and I was told that he was pro-Russian, wanted Russia to win the war.”

Yeah. I thought of Ken because he has discussed this phenomenon many times.

It's hard to describe the sinking feeling you immediately get the moment the judge says something especially nice as he is about to deliver his ruling

Yeah, basically

There's nothing much more to tell. It wasn't a disaster but I did not get the result I had sought. But I pretty much knew that the moment the judge started to say nice things.

@kenwhite.bsky.social Thought of you this morning as I appeared in court and the judge began the reading of his memorandum of decision by effusively praising my brief. He said it was well written and addressed every issue thoroughly and in detail.

"Uh-oh" I thought. "That's not good!"

It wasn't.

Says I have to pay to read it all, but my revealed preference is that I don’t care enough to do that. #economics

“One young girl who kept coming up to me, a little girl who was hugging my leg, asking us to help get her out of there.” - Rep. Joaquin Castro

Regarding the UAE bribing Trump to secure a deal for AI chips that our intelligence worried might flow to China:

patterico.com/2026/02/03/y...

Parthenon Huxley, RIP Above: Parthenon Huxley in 2021 I was on Facebook tonight and received the absolutely devastating news that one of my favorite musical artists, Parthenon Huxley, died peacefully in his sleep this…

Parthenon Huxley, RIP

patterico.com/2026/01/30/p...

“Stop saying mean things about ICE because when you do that, they murder you”

Every time I post about AI unforgivably fucking up very basic facts I get the same response: "it's 'cause you don't use a good AI like I use"

Law enforcement officers have always been unmasked in this country until ICE started wearing them last year.

*That* is the departure from norms. *That* is the step too far.

Then shut down the government over it

If police being doxed is an issue if people can see their faces, why don’t the many thousands of state/local police officers wear masks? Why do they typically wear their names and badge numbers in a visible location? ICE/BP just wants to hide from misconduct accountability. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Last night Capitol Police said they would work with "federal partners" to ensure the attacker is punished.

Seeking federal charges instead of state charges will put the fate of Omar's attacker in the hands of this man.

Only state law enforcement is reliable these days.

186. When Can States Prosecute Federal Officers? Stephen Miller claims that ICE officers have "immunity" for anything they do while enforcing immigration law. Even as an argument about *state* criminal prosecutions, that claim is overstated at best.

I learned about the *accurate* standard, and the Supreme Court case that articulated it, from @stevevladeck.bsky.social's excellent newsletter where he addressed this issue specifically.

www.stevevladeck.com/p/186-when-c...

In a podcast with @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social, Sarah Isgur said Supremacy Clause immunity asks whether an agent's acts are “egregiously unconstitutional outside...federal duties."

No. It's whether he "did no more than what was necessary and proper" for those duties.

tile.loc.gov/storage-serv...

No masks is non-negotiable. Masks contribute to the sense of impunity, encourage distrust, and are symbolic of fascism.

If "no masks" is part of what is meant by "IDs" then we're closer. Still need clear methods of enforcement and clear penalties when (not if) the administration defies the law.

Imagine if Derek Chauvin had knelt on George Floyd's neck and murdered him, while employed as a masked federal agent.

Noem would declare him a hero. Bovino would return him to work.

You'd never learn who he was. He would never be tried.

And you couldn't do a thing about it.

If you see someone trying to pull that stunt, ask them how a use of force can be objectively unnecessary and yet objectively reasonable.

I have yet to see a single one of these pundits answer that question, though I have asked it over and over with respect to the Renee Good shooting.

If mainstream pundits repeat their arguments from the Renee Good shooting where they tell us the shooting was unnecessary but legal--an opinion generally offered with zero discussion of the law, which requires use of deadly force to be objectively reasonable--I may lose my mind.

For the next three years at least, any time the federal government tells you *anything*—anything!—you would be wise to assume it’s a lie until the contrary is proved by clear independent evidence.

The gun was removed by agents from his waistband - he was never pointing it at them. He was already disarmed when they fired "defensive shots," killing the man. They then fired several shots at his lifeless body.