I’ve been offline for awhile, but just saw that he had chocolate today. Sadly, know from experience what that means. I’m so sorry. 💔

This kind of thing at Substack (including their Nazi problem and trans hate problem) are why my newsletter is at Ghost.org and always has been. Andrew Tate is a spectacularly vile human being accused of numerous violent crimes against women and hugely corrosive for young male minds.

I am proud to say that Democracy Docket does not publish on Substack. www.democracydocket.com

I genuinely believe that people don't appreciate just how much of all the bad vibes right now are still largely a COVID hangover. It was a profoundly traumatizing event for American society, on the order of the civil war or the great depression and we've largely decided to just pretend

This

A Challenge for ‘No Kings’ Protests, the Third Time Around

The NY Times saves its harshest skepticism for progressives. Instead of being impressed by 3,000+ coordinated protests, NYT dismisses the value of “hitting a number” and asks if No Kings will be “a primal scream that fades into a whimper.”
F off, NY Times. We'll defeat fascism w/o you. (Gift link)

Social movement scholar here to comment on No King again. a 🧵:

These protests are important b/c:

1.) as sustained image events, protests offer evidence of continued disapproval of the direction the country is going and disavowal of the country's leadership.

Social movement scholar here again. So, why protest?

Nihilists were out yesterday arguing that "protests don't do anything."

A short 🧵:

Library

Bar chart showing the change in the number of providers — social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists — from the third quarter of 2023 to the end of 2025 on the x-axis and the number of providers from negative 400 to 800 on the y-axis. The trend starts with a peak of about 700 social workers and around 200 psychologists added in the third quarter of 2023, followed by a steady decline across all groups, dropping below zero by the first quarter of 2025 with social worker losses eventually dipping around 400.

The VA lost about 700 social workers and 500 psychologists and psychiatrists over the course of 2025 — a significant change for an agency that was adding mental health staffers nearly every month leading up to Trump’s return to office.

Read more: https://propub.li/4rBUJOV

Reminder: gas prices spiked under Biden because Russia invaded Ukraine. Gas prices spiked under Trump because Trump launched an attack on Iran. These two things are not the same.

They either didn't know Iran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz or they knew and didn't have a plan.

Either way - just totally clear they don't give a damn about what this war means for hardworking Americans.

I keep seeing people ask about the 25th Amendment.

Guys. His entire Cabinet is walking around in shoes that don’t fit because they’re scared to take them off.

The 25th is never happening.

The Trump administration could really restore confidence by getting the entire Cabinet to ride a tanker through the Straits of Hormuz to show everyone how safe and easy it is now.

They could bring along a lot of MAGA influencers and Fox News hosts to broadcast it all live!

Do I Have the Right to Film ICE? Despite government attacks against protesters and the press, documenting interactions with law enforcement and federal agents is protected by the First Amendment. Here’s what you need to know.

Yes.

ICE agents don't get to carve out a First Amendment exception for themselves.

Social media created this nonsense idea that not exposing yourself to hatred is isolationist. Choosing to not spend your free time with bigots isn’t living in a bubble. I don’t need to know what’s going on at X. I won’t be smarter or more knowledgeable or empathic by being there. Neither will you.

Another forever war because people can’t bring themselves to vote for women…

Then what happened?

Why Carmel beats Muncie for jobs — and what it means for cities | Opinion There are a lot of Muncies around the Midwest. That's why economic growth has been so sluggish across the Great Lakes states.

What would your city do differently if simply making neighborhoods nice places to live — with good schools, low crime and walkable streets — was a better economic development strategy than tax incentives and industrial policy?

www.indystar.com/story/opinio...

Oppose Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Casey Means to serve as U.S. Surgeon General on Wednesday, February 25th. While we were hoping this nomination was dead, i...

"We must speak loudly and clearly: Casey Means is totally unqualified to serve as U.S. Surgeon General and must be rejected by the Senate. She is a “health influencer,” not board certified in any specialty and not licensed to practice medicine."

Sign on here:
actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...

Former ICE lawyer Ryan Schwank: “I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution.”

I'm told that some leftist bro on another site claimed that Millennials and Gen Z hardly use public libraries anymore. Based on what data? NO DATA.

In actuality, a survey from 2022 found that 54% of Gen Z & Millennials had visited a physical public library in the past year.

kind of amazing that everything trump does can be understood through the lens of narcissism and it's related needs (e.g., self aggrandizement, revenge, domination, grievance validation). i don't think any character has been so one-dimensional, not even wile e coyote or scrooge mcduck

February 16, 2026 On February 13 and 14, President Donald J.

February 16, 2026

If Your Vaccine Works, Why Do You Care If I Get One? My vaccinated kids are protected. But “protected” and “invincible” aren’t the same thing.

If your kids are vaccinated, take a breath. They have strong protection.

But understand that their protection works best when the people around them are also protected. Unfortunately, that layer is thinning. And it’s worth talking to others, gently, about why this is not just a personal choice.

Just got off the phone with the President of Antifa. They said they have a cell in Florida that set up a fake tailoring shop, where they created this custom garment to humiliate Michael Flynn.

I will. He’s the overwhelming favorite in the primary. The general looks like it’s neck and neck against Dr. Amy Acton, the physician who led the OH Dept of Health in the early months of the pandemic. OH had a pretty sound COVID-19 response for a red state, so a ton of MAGA crazies still hate her.

Not totally out of the public sphere. Running for Gov in OH. Has Trump’s endorsement.

I’m a psychiatrist and have never heard them called welly Bs. Love that!