Monday, February 09, 2026

The end of The Eagles

A huge band is gearing up for the end.  Kevin Zelman (KOMO NEWS) reports:


The Eagles are disbanding in 2026 after a lengthy farewell tour.

The "Hotel California" group formed in 1971 and has been playing shows on The Long Goodbye tour since 2023, and they are currently performing a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which is set to continue until the end of February.

But frontman Don Henley has now insisted the band is on the verge of parting ways for good. In an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, he was asked if The Eagles are finally going to quit, and he explained, "You know, I think this year will probably be it. And I’ve said things like that before, but I feel like we’re getting toward the end ... And that will be fine too."


David Cifarelli (MASS LIVE) adds:


“You know, I think this year will probably be it,” Henley, 78, said in the interview, according to a clip posted on Facebook. “I’ve said things like that before, but I feel like we’re getting toward the end, and that will be fine too.”

When asked to be more specific, Henley said 2026 was likely to be the end of the Eagles.

“I think so, yeah. And I’m OK with that,” the rock legend said.

“I would like to spend more time with my family and I would like to spend more time growing vegetables,” Henley said. “I have four kids and a grandchild and there’s just lots of other things to do.”

The Eagles currently have eight shows on their agenda this year at the Sphere in Las Vegas, continuing their residency at the $2.3 billion concert venue in February and March. Four of those shows, set for March 20, 21, 27 and 28, are listed as the band’s “final 2026 shows” at the Sphere on the Eagles website. The Eagles also have confirmed an appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 2.


The Eagles had a long run -- their GREATEST HITS album is the best selling album in the US.  They've had dozens of hits -- "Life In The Fast Lane," "Best of My Love," "Hotel California," "Take It Easy," "One of These Nights," "Lying Eyes," "Witchy Woman," "Take It To The Limit," "Heartache Tonight," "The Long Run," "New Kid In Town," "I Can't Tell You Why," "Already Gone" . . . -- and they've gone their separate ways before.  But this does really feel like the end. 

Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Monday, February 9, 2026.  Chump remains out of step with the country -- on the Super Bowl half-time show, on ICE, on the economy, on tariffs, on everything. 


Lauren Waters (THE LIST) notes the sad alternative to the Super Bowl half-time show:


Back in December, Spotify Wrapped crowned Bad Bunny the most-streamed artist of 2025. So, for many, he seemed like the perfect pick for a halftime performer. Donald Trump, on the other hand, went on a bit of a rant about the choice, and (as usual) others followed suit. So, for those who couldn't bear to watch the 2026 Grammy winner for Album of the Year, they could instead turn their attention to homogenous performances from the similarly named Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, plus, of course, the tragically dated Kid Rock.

Sure — this alternative halftime show didn't have the big production, crowds of performers, popularity, credibility, or celeb cameos of the actual halftime show, but it did have a fog machine! Who are we to argue with their creative decisions? After all, art is subjective. Apparently, in some folks' opinion, nothing says "Super Bowl Halftime Show" like a 55-year-old Kid Rock seemingly lip-syncing to a song from 1999 while wearing shorts and a fedora.

Let's face it: there was no version of Turning Point USA's "All-American Halftime Show" that wasn't going to have MAGA folks fawning all over social media, no matter how pathetic it actually was. Of course, the evening's performances inspired exactly that, yet it also earned plenty of criticism. "BREAKING: The TPUSA "All American Halftime Show" is complete a**," political commentator Dean Withers wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a crying emoji alongside a clip from the show.

"You can tell it's s*** cause they won't show that crowd at all lmfao," another person commented on the clip. One simply wrote, "Snooze fest USA," while another added, "Wow. Low energy and no artistry. Despite not knowing Spanish, I enjoyed Bad Bunny... I could see it was celebratory and more about unification rather than division."


Most of the country watched Bad Bunny's half-time show.




As a few million people opted to flip to Kid Rock’s halftime extravaganza on Turning Point USA’s YouTube channel, exponentially more well-adjusted Americans watched what proved to be an incredible halftime performance by Bad Bunny that will go down in Super Bowl history.

The show exceeded expectations in almost every way. The choreography? Superb. Vocals? Crisp. Guest stars? Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin! The set design? Amazing. And the messaging? That was what set the show apart.

Without even directly addressing the political flashpoints of the day, Bad Bunny sent a message by celebrating Latin American identity on the world’s biggest stage. The symbolism began from the moment Bad Bunny stepped on the field, with depictions of Latin culture around every corner he turned in his sugar cane-inspired set. The performance ended with a parade of flags featuring numerous Latin American countries and Bad Bunny shouting out nations as far south as Argentina and as far north as Canada.

The official NFL account sent a direct message after the performance: “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate is Love.”


133 million watched Bad Bunny's half-time performance.  

Convicted Felon Donald Chump is yet again out of step with the country.  

It's a regular position for him, being out of step with the rest of the country.  Sam Stevenson (NEWSWEEK) knocks that point home:


A trio of new national polls released over the past week paint a worrying picture for President Donald Trump.

These polls underscore sustained headwinds on Trump’s overall job approval as voters weigh immigration enforcement issues and economic perceptions ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Responding to recent polling, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Newsweek: “The Trump administration remains laser-focused on continuing to cool inflation, accelerate economic growth, secure our border, and mass deport criminal illegal aliens.”

Each survey captures something slightly different: a softening in overall approval, a shift among independents, and signs that even pollsters that are traditionally favorable to the president are beginning to record new lows. 

Taken together, they form a negative trend for a White House preparing for a bruising midterm environment.

Quinnipiac’s new national poll of registered voters found 37 percent approve and 56 percent disapprove of Trump’s job performance, compared with 40 percent who approve and 54 percent who disapprove in both mid-January and October, widening the net negative from 14 points in October and January to 19 points now.

The February 2026 reading marks Trump’s lowest net score in the Quinnipiac series this term.


A break has taken place.  Chump has lost significant support and it's because the American people see with their own eyes.  They see his ICE goons murdering US citizens.  They see the prices at the grocery store not going down.  They see through his lies.  Lies that include his claims on tariffs.   Trevor Jennewine (THE MOTLEY FOOL) notes Chump's lies:


President Trump has repeatedly argued that foreign exporters will pay his tariffs for the privilege of doing business in America. He went further last month in an editorial published by The Wall Street Journal, claiming foreign companies were "paying at least 80% of tariff costs." He even linked a study from the Harvard Business School to validate his claim.

What's the problem? The study Trump linked made no such claim. In fact, the researchers arrived at the opposite conclusion. The report states, "Our results suggest that U.S. consumers paid up to 43% of the tariff burden, with the rest absorbed by U.S. firms."

Those results roughly align with research from other institutions. Goldman Sachs economists report that U.S. companies and consumers collectively paid 84% of tariffs in October 2025. And they estimate consumers alone will bear 67% of the burden by July 2026.

Similarly, the Kiel Institute examined shipments totaling $4 trillion between January 2024 and November 2025, and the researchers concluded, "Foreign exporters absorb only about 4% of the tariff burden." The other 96% is passed along to U.S. importers and consumers.

Trump's tariffs are effectively a tax on consumption, which means they reduce buying power for consumers and raise input costs for businesses. That's a problem because consumer spending and business investments account for approximately 85% of GDP. By siphoning money away from consumers and businesses, tariffs threaten to slow economic growth.


His lies never end.  That includes his lies for ICE.  His gestapo needs to be dismantled.  It cannot be reformed at this point.  They have terrorized too many people.  They have been allowed to get away with every broken law.  They have bullied and shoved people.  They've broken windows and broken into homes -- and broken homes without warrants.  Last month, two Americans were killed by these goons: Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.  

Saturday, Ernesto Londono (NEW YORK TIMES) reported:


Hours after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good inside her S.U.V. on a Minneapolis street last month, a senior federal prosecutor in Minnesota sought a warrant to search the vehicle for evidence in what he expected would be a standard civil rights investigation into the agent’s use of force.

The prosecutor, Joseph H. Thompson, wrote in an email to colleagues that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a state agency that specializes in investigating police shootings, would team up with the F.B.I. to determine whether the shooting had been justified and lawful or had violated Ms. Good’s civil rights.

But later that week, as F.B.I. agents equipped with a signed warrant prepared to document blood spatter and bullet holes in Ms. Good’s S.U.V., they received orders to stop, according to several people with knowledge of the events who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The orders, they said, came from senior officials, including Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, several of whom worried that pursuing a civil rights investigation — by using a warrant obtained on that basis — would contradict President Trump’s claim that Ms. Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer” who fired at her as she drove her vehicle.

Over the next few days, top Department of Justice officials presented alternative approaches. First, they suggested prosecutors ask a judge to sign a new search warrant for the vehicle, predicated on a criminal investigation into whether the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot Ms. Good, Jonathan Ross, had been assaulted by her. Later, they urged the prosecutors to instead investigate Ms. Good’s partner, who had been with Ms. Good on the morning of the shooting, confronting immigration agents in their Minneapolis neighborhood.

Several of the career federal prosecutors in Minnesota, including Mr. Thompson, balked at the new approach, which they viewed as legally dubious and incendiary in a state where anger over a federal immigration crackdown was already boiling over. Mr. Thompson and five others left the office in protest, setting off a broader wave of resignations that has left Minnesota’s U.S. attorney’s office severely understaffed and in crisis. Officials have not said whether they ultimately obtained a new warrant to search the vehicle.

From an office of about 25 criminal litigators, gone are the top prosecutors who had overseen a sprawling, yearslong investigation into fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs, which the White House months ago cited as a reason for the immigration crackdown in the state. 


This is not an administration that earns praise. It's one to be condemned.  And that's only made more clear in Mica Rosenberg's report for PRO-PUBLICA this morning:


Fourteen-year-old Ariana Velasquez had been held at the immigrant detention center in Dilley, Texas, with her mother for some 45 days when I managed to get inside to meet her. The staff brought everyone in the visiting room a boxed lunch from the cafeteria: a cup of yellowish stew and a hamburger patty in a plain bun. Ariana’s long black curls hung loosely around her face and she was wearing a government-issued gray sweatsuit. At first, she sat looking blankly down at the table. She poked at her food with a plastic fork and let her mother do most of the talking.

She perked up when I asked about home: Hicksville, New York. She and her mother had moved there from Honduras when she was 7. Her mother, Stephanie Valladares, had applied for asylum, married a neighbor from back home who was already living in the U.S., and had two more kids. Ariana took care of them after school. She was a freshman at Hicksville High, and being detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center meant that she was falling behind in her classes. She told me how much she missed her favorite sign language teacher, but most of all she missed her siblings.

I had previously met them in Hicksville: Gianna, a toddler who everyone calls Gigi, and Jacob, a kindergartener with wide brown eyes. I told Ariana that they missed her too. Jacob had shown me a security camera that their mom had installed in the kitchen so she could peek in on them from her job, sometimes saying “Hello” through the speaker. I told Ariana that Jacob tried talking to the camera, hoping his mom would answer.

Stephanie burst into tears. So did Ariana. After my visit, Ariana wrote me a letter.

“My younger siblings haven’t been able to see their mom in more than a month,” she wrote. “They are very young and you need both of your parents when you are growing up.” Then, referring to Dilley, she added, “Since I got to this Center all you will feel is sadness and mostly depression.”

Dilley, run by private prison firm CoreCivic, is located some 72 miles south of San Antonio and nearly 2,000 miles away from Ariana’s home. It is a sprawling collection of trailers and dormitories, almost the same color as the dusty landscape, surrounded by a tall fence. It first opened during the Obama administration to hold an influx of families crossing the border. Former President Joe Biden stopped holding families there in 2021, arguing America shouldn’t be in the business of detaining children.

But quickly after returning to office, President Donald Trump resumed family detentions as part of his mass deportation campaign. Federal courts and overwhelming public outrage had put an end to Trump’s first-term policy of separating children from parents when immigrant families were detained crossing the border. Trump officials said Dilley was a place where immigrant families would be detained together.

As the second Trump administration’s crackdown both slowed border crossings to record lows and ramped up a blitz of immigration arrests all across the country, the population inside Dilley shifted. The administration began sending parents and children who had been living in the country long enough to lay down roots and to build networks of relatives, friends and supporters willing to speak up against their detention.

If the administration believed that putting children in Dilley wouldn’t stir the same outcry as separating them from their parents, it was mistaken. The photo of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from Ecuador, who was detained with his father in Minneapolis while wearing a Spider-Man backpack and a blue bunny hat, went viral on social media and triggered widespread condemnation and a protest by the detainees.

Weeks before that, I had begun speaking to parents and children at Dilley, along with their relatives on the outside. I also spoke to people who worked inside the center or visited it regularly to give religious or legal services. I had asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for permission to visit but got a range of responses. One spokesperson denied my request, another said he doubted I could get formal approval and suggested I could try showing up there as a visitor. So I did.

Since early December, I’ve spoken, in person and via phone and video calls, to more than two dozen detainees, half of them kids detained at Dilley — all of whose parents gave me their’ consent. I asked parents whether their children would be open to writing to me about their experiences. More than three dozen kids responded; some just drew pictures, others wrote in perfect cursive. Some letters were full of age-appropriate misspellings. 


Read the report in full. 

Meanwhile Malcolm Ferguson (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports on an incident I had not heard of until this morning:


The U.S. Marshals Service is defending a federal agent after a video of him violently kicking a small dog made waves on Friday morning.

The agent, part of the Memphis Safe Task Force that the Trump administration unleashed on the city last summer, can be seen in the video kicking the dog after it runs up barking at the agents’ K-9.

The dog is tiny, harmless, and really not doing anything to stop the agents from doing their jobs. Nevertheless, the U.S. Marshals played the victim.

“A woman at the apartment complex recorded the incident on her cell phone and posted the video to social media. While the appearance of the incident is unfortunate, the deputy marshal’s action was not done with malice,” they wrote in a statement. “It was a last-resort, split-second action taken by a law enforcement officer to control the environment and mitigate a dangerous situation. An uncontrolled, aggressive animal can hinder official duties and threaten safety.”

Just not Chump's morning.  And he's still not able to pull away from his racist antics on Friday.  Hafiz Rashid (THE NEW REPUBLIC) explains:


Republicans suddenly seemed shocked that President Trump is capable of racism after he posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes Thursday night. 

On Friday morning, longest-serving Black Senator Tim Scott called the video “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”—spurring other GOP senators and representatives to miraculously realize that Trump’s post was indeed racist. 

Representative Mike Lawler, who represents a swing district in New York, called out the president shortly thereafter, saying on X, “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive—whether intentional or a mistake—and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”

After Trump took down the video, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, whose Pennsylvania district voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, posted, “Racism and hatred have no place in our country—ever. They divide our people and weaken the foundations of our democracy.

“Whether intentional or careless, this post is a grave failure of judgment and is absolutely unacceptable from anyone—most especially from the President of the United States. A clear and unequivocal apology is owed,” Fitzpatrick added. 

“ICE and CBP’s… disregard for child welfare undermines the government’s core child-protection obligations. Yet your agency does not appear to be taking any action to speak out against or investigate the impacts of the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda on children.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), along with Representative Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), led over 55 colleagues in pressing Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on children’s exposure to ICE’s escalating violence in American communities, which threatens to leave them with lasting physical and psychological trauma.

“ICE and CBP operations that treat children like collateral damage threaten their physical and mental health and wellbeing… This disregard for child welfare undermines the government’s core child-protection obligations,” wrote the lawmakers. “Yet your agency does not appear to be taking any action to speak out against or investigate the impacts of the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda on children.”

Under the Trump administration, children — both U.S. citizens and noncitizens — have been exposed to increasingly violent and intense immigration enforcement operations. After Donald Trump rescinded ICE’s sensitive locations policy on Day One, ICE has carried out raids at schools, day care centers — and even a child’s birthday party. ICE has also become more violent, employing military-style techniques in communities across the country. Even when children are not the direct target, their exposure to this violence can create lasting trauma.

“(ICE and CBP’s) practices have triggered national outrage and risk traumatizing children and depriving them of access to education and basic services, with lasting consequences for their behavioral, physical, academic, and emotional wellbeing,” wrote the lawmakers.

Five-year-old Minnesota resident Liam Ramos was detained for more than a week in a Texas facility after reportedly being used as “bait” to capture his father. Liam’s father said Liam was not eating well, was sleeping a lot, and was asking about his mother and classmates.

In Massachusetts, a man suffered an apparent seizure while ICE agents attempted to detain his wife as their toddler cried within arm’s reach. Witnesses allege agents pushed him, struck him, and pressed on his neck while the child remained trapped between the adults.

In Illinois, ICE agents forcibly detained a day care teacher in front of her students. In another incident, masked agents deployed tear gas near an elementary school in Chicago, sending children running and teachers scrambling for cover. In Texas, ICE agents stormed a five-year-old child’s birthday party, where state and federal officers conducted an operation that resulted in the apprehension of 47 people, including nine minors — one of whom was just three years old.

“Children’s exposure to traumatic ICE raids occurring in their communities across America can have lasting effects on their long-term health and development, including their behavioral and psychological wellbeing,” wrote the lawmakers.

ICE operations are also hurting children’s academic and social development. In districts where ICE raids have occurred, schools are reporting declining student attendance and performance; in some schools, nearly half of students have been absent following school-based ICE raids. Early childhood providers have reported attrition from day care, after-school programs, and other community programs that typically serve as spaces for positive socialization, mental health counseling, and other forms of support.

Immigration enforcement actions are also impacting children’s access to health care. Most health care workers report significant or moderate decreases in patient visits since January 2025; for the children who do continue to visit the doctor, they reportedly have declining physical and mental health. One doctor observed “abnormal weight gain trajectories” in children not getting exercise outdoors due to “fear of encountering ICE,” and another pediatrician reported that “minors (are) constantly crying during their well-child checks, expressing their fear for themselves and their families.”

“Given HHS’s responsibility for the health and wellbeing of children in the United States, we request any data your department has collected regarding the impact of immigration operations on children’s health and development,” wrote the lawmakers.

The lawmakers noted HHS’s various programs, offices, and agencies that research and provide for children’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, and requested that Secretary Kennedy share any information HHS has regarding the impact of ICE and CBP operations on children’s mental health and development.

Other signers include: Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Al Green (D-Texas), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), André Carson (D-Ind.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Johnny Olszewski, Jr. (D-Md.), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), George Latimer (D-N.Y.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Chuy García (D-Ill.), James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.).

###




The following sites updated:

  •  

    Saturday, February 07, 2026

    Shinedown and Creed exit Kid Rock tour

    Kid Rock's attempt to divide the nation is not going well.  Grace Galante (PARADE) reports:


    Shinedown will no longer be participating in the Rock the Country music festival.

    The rock band shared their decision via Instagram on Friday, Feb. 6.

    "SHINEDOWN is everyone's band. We feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together through the power of music and song," the message began. "We have one BOSS, and it is everyone in the audience. Our band's purpose is to unite, not divide. With that in mind, we have made the decision that we will not be playing the Rock The Country Festival."

     "We know this decision will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division," the band continued. "And to our fans, thank you for supporting and believing in us. We love and appreciate you always."

    [. . .]

    Shinedown is now the fourth artist to pull out of the controversial festival following Ludacris, Morgan Wade, and Carter Faith.


    And Creed's out too.  Bernadette Giacomazzo (COMPLEX) reports:


    The Kid Rock–backed Rock the Country festival is no longer moving forward in South Carolina, after a wave of artist withdrawals effectively collapsed one of its scheduled tour stops.

    Anderson County, South Carolina, officials confirmed to The Post & Courier that the two-day concert planned for July 25–26, 2026, at the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center has been canceled. 

    The festival was part of a larger, eight-date summer series launched by Kid Rock, with additional headline support from Jason Aldean and other major acts.

    While the Anderson, SC, stop has been removed entirely, several other cities remain listed on the tour schedule, including Ocala, Florida; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Hamburg, New York.

    The cancellation follows a rapid series of artist exits.

    [. . .]

    Creed, which had been promoted as a featured act at the Anderson date, was also removed from the festival's website ahead of the cancellation announcement.

     


    Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


    Friday, February 6, 2026.  Chump posts racist content portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys in an effort to distract from (a) the economy, (b) ICE and Kristi Noem and (c) his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein which includes Epstein hanging out with him as late as 2016, and much more.


    They need to answer some basic questions.  Who raped these underage girls from working-class families? What did they see? What did they know? What did they participate in? The American people are frustrated with the rich and powerful getting a different set of justice.

    SCRIPPS NEWS GROUP quotes US House Rep Ro Khanna making those remarks on the floor of the House and he's referring to those "who exchanged e-mails with [Jeffrey] Epstein: 

    Khanna said he remains concerned about communications that remain partially redacted by the Justice Department. Some emails suggest Epstein offered to connect men with women, though it is unclear whether the recipients knew that some of the women Epstein trafficked were underage.


    Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficked children and young adults.  They preyed on them.  They lied and tried to pretend they were respectable and yet they were sex traffickers and pedophiles.  Epstein died behind bars -- an apparent suicide.  Maxwell went on the lam and was finally discovered and put in prison.  Real prison.  Last July, she played footsie with Chump's Deputy AG Todd Blanche and got herself a sweetheart deal which has landed her in Club Fed -- a cushy prison that she doesn't qualify for.  

    She remains there.  

    Even though her conviction on sex crimes means she can't be there.  She remains there. 

    And Todd Blanche wants us to believe now that she's there for her own safety.

    Is Todd trying to say Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself?  

    Is that what Todd's doing?

    Because to claim that her life depends upon her remaining at Camp Bryan seems to suggest that the Justice Dept is not capable of protecting people in prisons.  If that's the case, then every prisoner should be moved to Bryan, Texas for the facility there.  

    Donald Chump has put her in Bryan, Texas.

    That's reality.

    He wants her there.

    Chump wants her there.  

    And that begs the question of what she's hiding.

    That's not me suggesting that we would find out what she's hiding by asking her.  She's a known liar.  

    But Chump can pretend all he wants that he's innocent of any wrong doing with regards to Epstein; however, when he has Maxwell in a cushy prison that she doesn't qualify to be in and the best excuse Blanche can offer is that there are threats against Maxwell?  Chump's own actions confess to questionable behavior.  

    And questions can be asked.  And should be.  And maybe officially will be after the November mid-terms.  Pedro Camacho (LATIN TIMES) notes

    Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said his party would seek to interview President Trump as part of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation if they regain control of the House after the midterm elections, according to a post published Wednesday by CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes citing remarks Garcia made to Manu Raju.

    According to Holmes, Garcia said Democrats would pursue an interview with the president in connection with the Epstein files probe if the party wins back the House majority, which would give them subpoena and investigative authority through the committee.
    In a separate interview published Thursday by Politico, Garcia said Democrats believe the Justice Department has not fully complied with disclosure requirements tied to Epstein records and described the investigation as ongoing. "The DOJ thinks this investigation is over. We think it's just getting started," Garcia said. He also said, "There is a subpoena that's been in place since the summer. They have been unresponsive."


    Maybe Donald's worried about something simple coming out?  A little lie like his claiming that he cut off contact with Epstein years ago?  Tom Latchem (DAILY BEAST) notes:


    Jeffrey Epstein told a friend he was in Palm Beach with “all the trump boys” on Christmas Day 2016—a month after Donald Trump won his first U.S. election, a newly released email shows.

    In a message sent on December 25 that year, following Trump’s victory in the November election, the convicted child sex offender wrote to Bill Gates’ advisor Boris Nikolic: “im in palm with all the trump boys. . = fun.”

    A reply from Nikolic in the early hours of Dec. 26 reads: “Have fun!!”

    Epstein did not spell out what “palm” means—although both he and Trump, 79, owned luxury homes in Palm Beach, Florida—or who exactly the wealthy financier was referring to when he said “the trump boys.”

    It is also unknown whether the meet-up ever happened, or whether the president—who this week continued to try to shift media attention away from the files—was expected to be there himself.


    2016?  At THE AMERICAN PROPSECT, Ryan Cooper noted Epstein and Chump together in 2016 back in November:


  • 2003: As part of an incredibly revolting book celebrating Epstein’s 50th birthday, Trump sends a birthday note with a hand-drawn note of a pubescent, nude female form, and a poem reading in part: “Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that? … A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
  • 2008: Epstein is finally investigated for sexual abuse of minors. Then-U.S. attorney Alex Acosta grants Epstein one of the most bizarre sweetheart deals in American legal history, in which Epstein not only secretly pled to a much lesser charge of soliciting an underage prostitute, but also got all his unnamed accomplices immunized forever.
  • 2011: Epstein sends the above email.
  • 2016: Epstein claims in another email that he is hanging out in Trump Tower a week after the election.
  • 2017: Trump nominates Acosta, who has no relevant experience, to run the Department of Labor, which he does until 2019.

  • So November and December of 2016 found Epstein and Chump together again.  

    Over a month ago.  The efforts to deny the public the truth and answers is telling.  And we can't even get answers as to why the Justice Dept took so long to release what they have and about the 3 million pages still unreleased.  Alexand Bolton (THE HILL) notes that Senator Chuck Schumer tried to get answers:

    Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (Wyo.) on Thursday objected to a Democratic request to initiate legal action against the Department of Justice for not releasing all files and records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) rose on the Senate floor to ask for unanimous consent to agree to a resolution directing the Senate to sue the Trump administration for violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed overwhelmingly last year. The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, directed the Justice Department to make public all its files related to Epstein by Dec. 19.

    “The question before the Senate Republicans today is simple. Will they enforce the law that they helped pass or object and keep the Epstein files hidden?” Schumer asked.


    What are Chump, Bondi, Blanche and the rest hiding?






    Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have requested a meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche seeking answers about why the names of some people listed in email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein are redacted in files released by the Justice Department.
    “@RepThomasMassie and I have requested a meeting with @DAGToddBlanche to ask why the senders of these emails have been redacted,” Khanna wrote in a Thursday post on the social platform X. 

    “Concealing the reputations of these powerful men is a blatant violation of the Epstein Transparency Act we passed,” he added.

    Khanna included an image of one email in his post where the sender of a message to Epstein was blacked out. The March 2014 email said “Thank you for a fun night” and “Your littlest girl was a little naughty.”


    What are they hiding?  And why do they keep covering for those who stand in the shadows, for those who justice apparently cannot touch?  



    And, on that, we need to return to the topic of Ghislaine Maxwell.

    Why is Chump and his DOJ working so hard to give her special privileges?  She's a convicted sex trafficker.  

    Yet Donald Chump has moved her to a cushy prison.  

    Now he has so many friends who are pedos -- we noted one just yesterday one of his 'spiritual advisors'  Robert Morris -- so maybe he's just extra fond of them?  He really needs to answer as to when Ghislaine is going back to the prison her conviction demands she serve out her sentence in?  Again, if they're telling us that Ghislaine will only be protected at Camp Bryan, that's an alarming reality that needs to be the subject of Congressional hearings -- 'Chump proclaims Maxwell can't be protected in the prisons she belongs in!!!!'

    He's acting awful guilty. 



     



    With all of this and so much more kicking Chump in his saggy ass, his crazy and his evil came out last night.  As Ben notes on this morning's MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Chump's late night posting included posting a video of Barack and Michelle Obama's heads on monkeys bodies.  Yeah, that is a vile act of racism.  




    Chump's in a panic because he's loathed.  Because the public's caught on to him and all of his hypocrisy and lies.  Epstein, the economy, you name it.  Harry Thompson (DAILY BEAST) notes:

    Despite President Trump’s claims about a miraculous economy, planned layoffs reached their highest level for January since the Great Recession.

    New data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released on Thursday revealed that last month saw more job-cut announcements than in any January since 2009.

    The outplacement firm said that the 108,435 announcements made were up 205 percent compared to December 2025. That’s also 118 percent higher than January 2025.


    Layoffs are at a record high?  Well thank goodness Chump's policies have led to an increase in job creation, right?  Oh.  Wait.  They haven't.  In fact, Sam Sutton (POLITICO) reports


    The Labor Department reported on Thursday that job openings in December unexpectedly dropped to their lowest level since mid-2020, during the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a sign that companies have cooled on hiring despite an economic expansion that the White House has framed as the dawn of a new Golden Age.
    [. . .]
    A new poll from The Economist/YouGov found that Trump is 14 percentage points underwater on his handling of jobs and the economy, and a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that consumer expectations have deteriorated with regard to wage growth and finding new work.


    Well he wrecked the economy and after years of talking about Epstein and the need to hold people like Epstein accountable he backed off on that and, with Maxwell, proved he had no desire to hold them accountble.  Remember, he did tell former US House Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene that he had to protect his friends from being exposed.  At least he can point to pride in how he's conducted his war on immigrants and -- Woops.  That's a failure as well.  Sarah Rumpf (MEDIAITE) reports:

     
    Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL ) referenced President Donald Trump’s previous role on The Apprentice during a congressional hearing Wednesday to advocate for the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

    The tactics used during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown have been loudly criticized and sparked nationwide protests and multiple court challenges, especially after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis: Renee Good on Jan. 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
    Recently, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino was removed from overseeing the operations in Minnesota and sent back to California, with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan sent to replace him. Noem’s announcement Monday that her agency would be “deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis…[e]ffective immediately” satisfied a key demand from protesters and Democratic members of Congress, but has failed to quell the ongoing anger and frustration at the administration’s immigration policies.


    And it's not just elected Democrats who have a problem with Kristi Noem.  Sarah Ewall-Wice (DAILY BEAST) reports:

    Republican Senator Roger Wicker is urging the Department of Homeland Security to take its plans for a massive immigration detention center elsewhere as he slaps down having the facility in his state.

    The powerful Mississippi lawmaker wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday rejecting the plan to buy a warehouse to convert it to hold immigrants in the deep red state.

    It's not just a Republican senator facing the reality of Kristi Noem, it's the whole country.  Dace Potas (USA TODAY) reports:

    From Hegseth’s leaks of military operations to the press, RFK Jr.’s disastrous vaccine overhauls to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s botched handling of the two fatal Minneapolis shootings, Trump has suffered plenty of political consequences due to his poor Cabinet choices. 

    Not only did Senate Republicans let down Americans by yielding to Trump's poor impulses on his nominations, but they have also left the party vulnerable heading into the midterm elections.

    In the cases of RFK Jr. and Hegseth, their incompetence and incompatibility were clear from day one. Americans were skeptical of RFK Jr. at the time, and few had strong feelings on Hegseth. Americans have since soured on both Hegseth and Noem just one year into Trump's term, and trust in federal health authorities has fallen further under RFK Jr.

    According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Jan. 14, 50% of registered voters disapprove of RFK Jr. And nearly half – 49% – disapprove of the way Hegseth is doing his job. As for Noem, 58% of voters think she should be removed from office, according to a separate Quinnipiac poll published Feb. 4.


    58%.  It's almost a supermajority (60%).  A majority of Americans want to see Kristi removed from office. And Panties Hegseth and Junior aren't very far behind.  Chump's a loser and he picked losers for his cabinet.

    Let's wind down with this from Senator Alex Padilla's office:

     
    WATCH: Padilla hears from Martin Daniel Rascon, a U.S. Citizen from California who was unlawfully stopped and shot at by CBP

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, joined a bicameral spotlight forum to denounce Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents’ violent tactics and disproportionate use of force as they enact President Trump’s mass deportation agenda in American cities.

    U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, convened the forum to hear testimony from U.S. citizens who have been victims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents’ violent abuse of power. Martin Daniel Rascon, a U.S. citizen and resident of San Bernardino, California, was among the witnesses who testified, recounting his experience when ICE and CBP agents unlawfully stopped him and his family last August before a CBP agent fired on their car multiple times.

    Padilla slammed the out-of-control Trump Administration’s reckless, indiscriminate immigration enforcement campaign that has terrorized American communities, starting with Los Angeles. He condemned ICE and CBP’s cruel and unlawful violence against immigrants, peaceful protesters, bystanders, and U.S. citizens alike.

    Padilla demanded meaningful reforms and accountability for DHS’ rogue violence after ICE and CBP’s violent killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti last month in Minneapolis. After Good’s brothers and her family’s lawyer offered powerful testimony at the forum, Padilla expressed his deep condolences to Good’s family and warned that more lives could be lost if ICE and CBP continue their violent operations in Minneapolis and in other cities across the country. Padilla also criticized his Republican colleagues for refusing to hold DHS accountable and blasted the Administration for villainizing victims of the violent actions of ICE and CBP agents before any unbiased, independent investigations take place.

    In addition to Mr. Rascon, the following witness offered testimony:

    • Marimar Martinez: A U.S. citizen and resident of Chicago, Illinois. In October, she was shot five times by CBP agents. After being shot by the Border Patrol Agent, Ms. Martinez was later charged with assaulting the agents who shot her. All charges were dropped by the U.S. Attorney’s Office six weeks later.
    • Aliya Rahman: A U.S. citizen and resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is also a person with autism and a traumatic brain injury. In January, she was violently dragged from her car by immigration agents after telling them she had a disability; she was then detained without immediate access to medical care or accommodations.
    • Luke and Brent Ganger: The brothers of Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen and resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in January.
    • Seth Stoughton: A former police officer and Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he is the Faculty Director of the Excellence in Policing & Public Safety (EPPS) Program.

    Key Excerpts:

    • Let’s not let our Republican colleagues off the hook, because under normal circumstances, regardless of who’s in the majority, when tragedies like this happen, Congressional committees convene to conduct our job to provide that oversight, but our Republican colleagues refuse to. Not at the House, not at the Senate, not at the full committee, and not even the subcommittee level. But at least we are here doing what we can to bring this information to light.
    • We’ve seen the masks, the unmarked cars, the agents who refuse to identify themselves. We’ve seen the agents coming out of helicopters, rappelling onto an apartment building in Chicago, kicking in doors indiscriminately, all for purposes of making a promotional video for themselves. We’ve heard and seen about the tear gas. We’ve seen the shootings of cars like Mr. Rascon’s experience and others.
    • Instead of proceeding with the best practices of an independent investigation, what do we hear from the Administration, all the way to the top? “No, these officers have complete immunity.” Number one, that’s not true, it’s wrong. Number two, it’s the opposite message, the wrong message to send to the agents in the field.
    • So as heartbroken as I am, I’m not shocked that less than three weeks later, Mr. Pretti was shot. 10 times. In the back. All for what? Because Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti were exercising their First Amendment rights? They’re speaking up on behalf of their neighbors. That’s so core to our democracy, freedom of speech.
    • Under normal circumstances, we turn to the Department of Justice and the Civil Rights Division to oversee a credible, independent investigation and bring forth consequences and accountability when warranted. But sadly, we’re not living in normal times. And so we do need to exercise any leverage point we can for the important reforms and restraints of what’s happening on the streets, for the safety of our communities and our constituents.
    • Ms. Martinez deserves justice. Ms. Rahman deserves justice. Mr. Rascon deserves justice. The people of our country deserve better.

    Video of Padilla’s remarks is available here.

    Today’s event was the second public forum Padilla joined as part of an ongoing inquiry into the lawless and abusive tactics used by federal immigration agents. In December, Padilla heard testimony from five U.S. citizens, including three Californians, whom DHS agents have violently arrested and detained. Padilla and Senator Blumenthal also introduced the Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act that month to allow individuals — regardless of citizenship — the right to sue federal law enforcement officers and agencies in civil court for violations of their civil and constitutional rights.

    Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump’s cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda, including against his unprecedentedillegal militarization of Los Angeles and other American cities like Minneapolis. Last week, Padilla spoke on the Senate floor to hold the line against any additional funding for President Trump’s DHS after the brutal killings of Good and Pretti by ICE and CBP officers and agents. He also voted “no” against funding ICE and CBP’s cruelty. Additionally, Padilla and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and every Senate Judiciary Democrat in urging the Department of Justice to heed the calls of career prosecutors and open a civil rights investigation into the death of Renee Nicole Good. Last month, Padilla joined leading immigration advocates and interfaith leaders at an “ICE Out for Good” rally and vigil to condemn the Trump Administration’s abuses against American communities and to demand ICE and CBP leave Minnesota after Good’s killing. 

    ###


    And the new edition of THE BLACK COMMENTATOR is out:

    BlackCommentator.com February 5, 2026 - Issue 1073: Black History Month Cover Story - Four Hundred Souls and the Need To Teach Black History 24/7- Color of Law By David A. Love, JD, BC Executive Editor
     


    The following sites updated: