The Morning Report — 2/7 /25

Good morning kids. One link in particular this morning made me think of famed wit Oscar Wilde's brilliant pearl of wisdom:

In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst, the last is the real tragedy.

And one of the toniest, most exclusive towns in America, if not the world, is getting it good and hard.

East Hampton government officials are trying to quell wealthy residents’ fears that local police could deport illegal migrants from the tony town — many of whom work as maids, landscapers, and nannies to support the luxurious lifestyles of the well-off locals. Village and town leaders held a special community meeting on Tuesday to assure citizens of Long Island’s exclusive nabe — where the median property value is $2 million — that their hired help are not on their radar when it comes to deportation.  East Hampton Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson stressed that local law enforcement do not have authority to enforce federal law — and won’t hold onto undocumented immigrants if given an ICE detainer. East Hampton government officials are trying to quell wealthy residents’ fears that local police could deport illegal migrants from the tony town — many of whom work as maids, landscapers, and nannies to support the luxurious lifestyles of the well-off locals.

Village and town leaders held a special community meeting on Tuesday to assure citizens of Long Island’s exclusive nabe — where the median property value is $2 million — that their hired help are not on their radar when it comes to deportation. 

East Hampton Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson stressed that local law enforcement do not have authority to enforce federal law — and won’t hold onto undocumented immigrants if given an ICE detainer. The sentiment was echoed by East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo at a separate meeting.

“Our level of participation and cooperation with ICE lies in criminal matters,” Sarlo told the town board at a meeting Tuesday.

“I haven’t seen an ICE agent in this town in I can’t tell you how long.”

“You see what I’m wearing here,” Sarlo said dramatically pointing to his firearm, “People who wear this and put this on don’t interfere with other people who wear this and put this on because then people die. You don’t step in front of an Immigration Enforcement officer in uniform with a gun and a badge who’s taking his action.”

“That’s for attorneys to get involved in and that is for policies and procedures through the state to get involved,” he added.Some East Hampton residents were grateful for the reassurance that their undocumented employees and neighbors will be able to avoid deportation.

“I think it’s a very good idea and very helpful considering we have a very large community here, and people rely on them,” Alex Lovett, of East Hampton, told News12.

“They’ve been a vital part of the community for a very long time,” she empathized.

The local officials said a major purpose for the small-scale messaging campaign is to assure undocumented residents that they can interact with police without fear of deportation.

“If they’re a victim of a crime, we don’t want them to fear the police, we want them to call us so we can protect them,” Erickson said in an interview to the local news station. . .

. . . Also on Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Board held a two-hour public hearing where members of the Latino community expressed their concerns over the Trump administration’s new immigration policies.

Sandra Melendez — an East Hampton Village trustee, immigration attorney, and Spanish speaker –addressed the community and stressed that they are not obligated to cooperate with ICE, the local paper reported.

At that town board hearing Councilwoman Cate Rogers stated that the well-heeled townies will remain vigilant as the federal government attempts to enforce immigration law. “The rules are being rewritten by the second,” the councilwoman said, according to the East Hampton Star. “I want to assure everyone that this is the beginning of a conversation. It’s not a one-and-done statement, ‘Okay we did our job let’s move on.’ We’re invested. We’re your neighbors, and we’re with you.” This resistance-style approach taken by the officials in East Hampton is a far cry from the actions taken by authorities elsewhere on Long Island.

Earlier this week, Nassau County police were granted authority to help ICE arrest criminal migrants under a new agreement with the Trump administration.

First of all, any elected official who is interfering with federal law enforcement agents from carrying out their duties is committing a felony and should be charged, tried, convicted and imprisoned. Tom Homan to his credit has stated he wil be going after anyone and everyone who does this. I hope he slaps cuffs on that fat barrel of goo and lipids JB Sitz-Pritzker and anyone else with a notion to "resist."

Like I said, good and hard! Beyond them, any citizen who employs an illegal alien is harboring a criminal and as such is committing a felony themselves! Fines, property seizures and imprisonment will focus minds good and hard, n'est ce pas?

Here's an idea. The big lie Lefties always belch up is how illegals are doing the jobs Americans refuse to do? What if Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and Latinos of other stripes (actual legal citizens) who live in shitholes like Spanish Harlem and the South Bronx decided to declare themselves as migrants and drift out to the Hamptons looking for sanctuary! Now that would be hilarious. Hey Hamptons lefties, I've got your nannies and maids and gardeners right here! (presupposes our native-born welfare queens and layabout victims of the Great Society want to actually work.) Then again, being on the beach in East Hampton is a damn shot nicer than dog crap, garbage and crack pipe strewn 125 street or Morris Avenue.

Round 'em up, ship 'em out and start with the Democrat Mayors and Governors. To Federal Prison.

And lastly, a quick shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.

Have a great weekend.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• An historical exposé of how exactly fascism insinuated itself into the American political system.
  When Democrats Were Called Fascists: Corporate Socialism and Roosevelt’s New Deal
  
• “I know you’re lashing out because DOGE is uncovering your family’s obscene grifting via USAID, but I won’t let you lie and distort facts,” the Transportation Secretary wrote on X. “The FAA administrator announced he resigned over a month before Trump took office, and the air traffic controllers were always exempt from Trump’s civil service buyouts.”
  Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy Accuses Hillary Clinton of Lying to Cover Up Family’s ‘Obscene Grifting via USAID’ [Lock her Up for realz? - jjs)
  
• Lloyd Billingsley: Nidal Hasan remains alive - while his victims are disrespected in life and death.
  Joe Biden and the Soldier of Allah

"BIDEN/HARRIS BORDER BLOODBATH," AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY
• Just moments after being sworn in as the 87th Attorney General of the United States, Bondi on Wednesday issued a memo that pauses federal grants administered by the DOJ to localities that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The move will likely foment a court battle between the Trump administration and major sanctuary cities like Chicago, Boston and New York City that prohibit assistance to deportation officers.
  AG Pam Bondi Immediately Pulls Funding For Sanctuary Cities
  
• Village and town leaders held a special community meeting on Tuesday to assure citizens of Long Island’s exclusive nabe — where the median property value is $2 million — that their hired help are not on their radar when it comes to deportation. East Hampton Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson stressed that local law enforcement do not have authority to enforce federal law — and won’t hold onto undocumented immigrants if given an ICE detainer. Arrest this miscreant, and strip the township of its charter. Then let Hochul be next when she does an Orval Faubus to interfere - jjs
  East Hampton officials reassure wealthy residents that officers won’t deport illegal migrant maids, landscapers and nannies [not manscapers and trannies? - jjs)

• Border Czar Tom Homan: “We’ve already identified how this operation got leaked. I’ll deal with that today.” (arrest the traitors and ship them to Gitmo - jjs)
  Suspected Leaks Led to Empty Apartments During ICE Colorado Raid

• "The Department of Justice will no longer stand by as state and local leaders obstruct federal law enforcement efforts." (Call me when Brandon Johnson and Sitz-Pritzker are perp walked to jail - jjs)
  Trump Admin Sues Chicago, State Of Illinois Over Illegal Alien Sanctuary Laws
  
• In addition to slashing illegal border crossings, the Trump administration has been moving to round up illegal aliens already present in the U.S. Homan, who has been helping to spearhead these efforts, says the authorities’ initial focus has been criminal aliens; however, he is stressing that anyone present in the country illegally falls within the purview of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
  Homan: Border Crossings Between Ports of Entry Down Almost 90 Percent.

• From Texas to California, the shelters that once counted on a steady flow of cash from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Food and Shelter Program and later by FEMA and Customs and Border Protection jointly under the Shelter and Services Program are no longer receiving released asylum-seeking migrants from the Department of Homeland Security. The released migrants, now the missing part of the equation necessary to receive millions of tax-payer dollars, are causing the rapid closures of shelters in Texas and Arizona in the first few weeks of the new administration.
  NGOs Shutter Migrant Shelters as Releases End and Money Dries Up
  
• ‘Learn how to identify undercover ICE vehicles that are used in ICE raids,’ Unión del Barrio wrote
  Left-Wing Militant Group Pushing Anti-ICE Protests in LA Teaches ‘Self-Defense’ Classes To Fend Off Deportation Raids
  
• The tide is turning.
  Long Island's Nassau County defies lawless agendas of sanctuary cities

  ISRAEL vs IRAN & GAZA/HAMAS . . . AND BIDEN

• Fred Fleitz: Trump’s radical Gaza plan—U.S. ownership, mass relocation, and a “Riviera” rebuild—forces the world to confront long-ignored Palestinian hypocrisies.
  Trump is Forcing the World to Face Its Hypocrisies on the Palestinians and Gaza

• "The Palestinians, people like Chuck Schumer, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities ..."
  Trump Elaborates On His Gaza Plan: ‘No Soldiers By The U.S. Would Be Needed’
  
• Although Biden reversed a Trump-era ban on funding in 2021, the ban was reinstated in 2023 after evidence emerged that UNRWA workers were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Intelligence reports later revealed that over 1,000 UNRWA employees had connections to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with some involved in the massacre. On top of that, UNRWA schools have been criticized for promoting curricula that glorify terrorism and martyrdom.
  Joe Biden Funded Terrorism to the Tune of $1.3 Billion
  
• “Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have leveled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” Katz declared on X, formerly Twitter. He argued that nations critical of Israel’s military operations against Hamas should bear responsibility for providing refuge to Palestinians who choose to leave the territory. Katz’s comments followed his directive to the Israeli army to develop a plan facilitating the “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s residents, including exit options via land crossings, sea, and air. The move aligns with President Trump’s controversial vision, announced a day earlier, to transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” under U.S. control, contingent on relocating Palestinians to “safer and more beautiful communities” in the region.
  Israel Says European Nations That Recognized ‘Palestine’ Must Accept Them as Migrants.
  
• The United States unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. The United States remains committed to accountability and to the peaceful cultivation of international order, but the ICC and parties to the Rome Statute must respect the decisions of the United States and other countries not to subject their personnel to the ICC’s jurisdiction, consistent with their respective sovereign prerogatives.
  Trump Slaps Sanctions Back on International Criminal Court

  WE-ALL-SLAM-FOR-I-SLAM

• Daniel Greenfield: Why USAID is a national security threat.
  USAID Sent Over $18 Billion to Islamic Terror States
  
• Robert Spencer: Hadi Matar finally went on trial Tuesday for attempting to murder the novelist Salman Rushdie back in Aug. 2022. There is little, if any, doubt about Matar’s guilt, even though he has pleaded not guilty, for he stabbed Rushdie multiple times in full view of a shocked crowd at the Chautauqua festival. Matar was supposed to have gone on trial in Jan. 2024, but Rushdie wrote a book about the attack, and Matar’s defense attorney, public defender Nathaniel Barone, received a delay in the trial so that he could review the book. It’s hard to fathom how what the victim thought about what happened might affect the guilt of his client, but nevertheless, Barone managed to delay the trial for over a year.
  A Critically Important Trial Has Just Begun, and No One Involved Will Speak About Motive

  OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY/LEFTIST-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

• Newly-minted Attorney General Pam Bondi will chair the 'Task Force to End the War on Christians'
  Trump Executive Order Will Establish Task Force To End Anti-Christian Government Activities
  
• Humans have the innate capacity to hate, but it must be cultivated—and progressives are cultivating antisemitism as hard as they can.
  Too many of America’s schoolchildren are being taught to hate Jews
  
• Trump’s executive order aims to combat rising workplace antisemitism, reinforcing civil rights protections while businesses adopt inclusive policies to foster religious tolerance.
  Trump’s Executive Order Takes Aim at Workplace Antisemitism

  CIVIL WAR 2.0: J-6 FBI+Pelosi-engineered FALSE FLAG "RIOT" & AFTERMATH, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION

• The U.S. Digital Service hired from the porn industry and a gender studies department, building a legion of queer activists. Now it's DOGE.
  A DOGE Origin Story: How Barack Obama Laid The Groundwork For Elon Musk

• Why holding unelected bureaucrats accountable is anathema to the Democrat elites.
  Cesspool USAID
  
• Accountability requires the power to remove. Without it, the president cannot control who wields his own executive power and how.
  The Constitution Vindicates Trump’s Firing Of 17 Inspectors General

• Because, while they hate our nation, they still expect us to fork over $50M in taxpayer money so Hamas can blow up condoms.
  'NO!' Protestors Just Can't Answer Why Taxpayers Should Fund USAID
  
• Douglas Murray: So it’s not like Anyone who follows Soros Jr. on social media will have noticed that he gets some pretty amazing photo opportunities. One day he’s posting a photo of himself with Nancy Pelosi. Next he’s standing next to Chuck Schumer. Another day he’s with Kamala or Tim Walz (remember him?). Still another day he’s with Pete Buttigieg or Elizabeth Warren. . . So it’s not like Schumer & co. care about non-elected people having any say in government. It’s just that they don’t like it — in fact they really hate it — when it isn’t their guys.
  Soros-funded Dems suddenly upset by billionaires in government

• Cheney, who received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden for whatever crimes she may have committed since 2014, reacted to a one-word xweet from Elon Musk. All Musk wrote was, “Interesting.” Musk was responding to a xweet that revealed Cheney basically began her government career with USAID, the government outlet currently under fire from Musk’s DOGE group for its reckless and unaccountable spending to the tune of billions of taxpayer dollars. “Liz Cheney, who led Trump’s impeachment and the mass imprisonment campaign against thousands of Trump supporters, was spawned out of USAID,” wrote Mike Benz, the executive director of Freedom Forum Online.
  Liz-ard Cheney Launches Xenophobic Attack on Elon Musk

  FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH

• "BBC Media Action has been affected by the temporary pause in US government funding, which amounts to about 8% of our income in 2023-24."
  BBC global charity justifies USAID contributions, says they 'deliver trusted information' globally
  
• Now that the full ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris is out, it’s more clear that the media were all in assisting her failed campaign.
  Unedited ‘60 Minutes’ Kamala Interview Proves Again The Democrat 2024 Campaign Was A Media-Driven Psyop
  
• Axing Bill Owens won’t magically restore CBS News’ reputation; Americans’ trust in mainstream media is at an all-time low for a lot of reasons. But ousting the shameless partisans from power is a necessary start.
  CBS must fix its lefty-propaganda problem: Start with ‘60 Minutes’ exec Bill Owens
  
• When an FBI guy and a media guy cry together on live TV about the possible elimination of the IRS, we’ve reached new heights of elite stupidity.
  Our Self-Important, Self-Deluding, Self-Unaware ‘Elites’
  
• Young sued after the fake news outlet lied about him operating a “black market” program to exploit Afghans desperate to get out of their country after former President Joe Biden abandoned them to the Taliban during his disastrous surrender. After the $5 million verdict, CNNLOL chose to settle the case with Young for an undisclosed amount before the jury of six could award punitive damages. Young likely settled because settled means “settled.” It puts an end to the case, forecloses any appeal process, and allows Young to go back to his normal life. CNN likely settled fearing a bombshell punitive award that would’ve further shattered the reputation of the disgraced outlet. Turns out that was a wise move…
  Jury Was Ready to Send CNN a Message with $100M in Punitive Damages

  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced legislation Wednesday to write into law one of President Donald Trump’s key campaign pledges, Breitbart News can exclusively reveal. Tuberville and Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act to stop the unjust double tax on Social Security benefits.
  Exclusive: Tommy Tuberville Bill Will End Taxes on Social Security Benefits, Delivering on Key Trump Pledge

• The political uncertainty that hung over the economy going into the election has lifted. It has been replaced by the highest level of confidence in nearly three years, Williamson said. The anticipation of a more business friendly environment—including tax cuts, tariffs, and deregulation—is the main driver of this improvement.
  The Blue Collar Boom Has Already Begun

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS, JUNK SCIENCE, LYSENKOISM

• High levels of cobalt exposure can cause asthma, pneumonia, and skin rashes
  California's Lithium Battery Fire Spread Dangerous Levels of Cobalt, Toxicologist Says. Health Officials Haven’t Issued Any Warnings.
  
• “Late last year the White Coat Waste Project exposed that more than $10 million dollars in taxpayer funds were spent creating transgender mice, rats, and monkeys,” Chairwoman Mace revealed, opening the “Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies: Oversight of Taxpayer Funded Animal Cruelty” hearing.
  Government Wasted Millions Creating Transgender Mice, Rats and Monkeys

  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• 'We will drain the government education swamp'
  The Department Of Education May Be On The Chopping Block. What Could That Look Like?
  
• The Supreme Court has a case before it that could strike another blow at ‘state establishment’ — not of monopoly in religion, but in America’s primary and secondary education.
  Supreme Court Could Put An End To Public School Monopolies 

  DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY

• These people are insufferable.
  The Degenerate Self-gassing Slithering Fistula known as Rep. Jamie Raskin: ‘Find Me Two Republicans, I’ll Go to Work on’ Trump Impeachment (Work on fucking yourself in the heart with a steak knife - jjs)
  
• “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America,” said state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia), who is openly bisexual. “I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate.”
  Michigan Democrat Says She ‘Opted for Voluntary Sterilization’ Because of Trump Presidency (Wouldst only every Democrat in he nation be inspired to do this!!!!!! - jjs)

• Former Rand Paul aide Brian Darling helps Chinese drone manufacturer, online retailer fight sanctions
  Meet the GOP Lobbyist Doing China's Bidding

  MORE CONFIRMATION HEARING MADNESS

• Shrill shrieking shrew Fauxcahontas' cloud of halitosis tinged obscenities shattered glass miles away - jjs
  Senate Confirms Russell Vought for Office of Management and Budget Despite Massive Democrat Pushback
  
• Democrats believe that the mild-mannered, self-described devout Christian nominee for budget director, Russell Vought, is "the most dangerous" Trump nominee. “Russell Vought was born to make corruption safe again,” said freshman Sen. Andy Kim, Democrat from New Jersey. Whenever a Democrat from New Jersey talks about "corruption," grab your wallet and lock up your wife and daughters.
  You Won't Believe Who Senate Democrats Say Is Trump's 'Most Dangerous Nominee'
  
• Gabbard made it clear in her opening remarks last week that she is entirely serious about bringing order to the chaos of the ODNI.
  Tulsi Gabbard is the intel director that America needs and deserves
  
• The committee’s chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), blasted Democrat members for the delaying tactic: “Democrats are establishing a double standard by forcing us to meet this morning,” the Judiciary Committee chairman said, noting in the last Congress, Republicans did not force the committee to meet in person just to hold over nominations. However, Grassley relented, acknowledging: “The minority as well as myself has exercised their right and my right under the committee rules to hold over the nomination of Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI. So that nomination is held over.”
  Democrats Delay Vote on Kash Patel’s FBI Director Nomination for ANOTHER Week.
  
•  This lie, however, is much more consequential in terms of policy impact:  “I don't take contributions from Big Pharma executives. I don't take any corporate PAC money,” Elizabeth Warren says in the Senate hallway when confronted over her smears of RFK Jr.
  Elizabeth Warren DESTROYED by X Community Notes Over Pharma Corruption

  POLITICS

• Trump knows how to keep them guessing.
  Trump 2.0: The First Month
  
• During the “outrage of the week” segment on his “Politics War Room” podcast, Carville expressed frustration with New York Democrats pushing for pet bereavement leave and with the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) gender rules discussed at its Saturday Winter Meeting. (RELATED: ‘I Am Naming Names’: DNC Chair Says He’s Going Scorched Earth On Party When Term Ends)
  ‘Level Of Jackassery’: James Carville Outraged At Dems Over 2 ‘Stunningly Stupid’ Moves
  
• Democrats said bye-bye to common sense long ago, leaving the field wide open for Trump and the Republican Party to claim it for good.
  Trump’s ‘Revolution Of Common Sense’ Brings Out The Worst In Democrats
  
• Donald Trump is ushering in a generation of new talent.
  The rise of Gen Z

• ‘This crucial election has national impacts and will require national support,’ said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
  Conservatives Can’t Allow Wisconsin’s Upcoming Supreme Court Race To Fall Through The Cracks
  
• Minnesota State House Republicans scored a major victory Thursday morning following an announcement that GOP lawmakers will take control of the state’s lower chamber for the next two years. GOP control of the state House is the product of a power sharing agreement negotiated between both parties, resulting in the election of Republican Minnesota State Rep. Lisa Demuth as House speaker and the creation of an oversight committee to probe the Walz administration.
  After Defeating Tim Walz At Ballot Box, GOP Deals Former VP Candidate Another Blow
  
• Democrat Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman cast doubt during a Thursday podcast about the Democrat Party’s ability to retrieve support from white male voters.
  ‘I’m Not Sure If That’s Possible’: John Fetterman Says Dems May Have Lost Key Demographic Forever

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• Costa Rica was the third stop on a tour of Central America and the Caribbean for Rubio, who made the Western Hemisphere trip the first of his tenure as America’s top diplomat. Rubio began the trip in Panama, where the government announced during his visit that it would allow a memorandum of understanding linking it to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a sovereignty-eroding predatory lending program, expire. The then traveled to El Salvador, where leader Nayib Bukele offered to take in deportation flights including nationals of all countries and suggested he would be willing to house U.S. citizen convicts in American prisons for a price.
  Marco Rubio Takes on Chinese Bullying, Cyberattack Crisis in Costa Rica
  
• Sanctions target individuals and entities in China, India, and the UAE
  'Maximum Economic Pressure': Trump Admin Unveils Sweeping Sanctions on International Network Behind Iran Oil Shipments
  
• Lord Peter Mandelson, who previously called President Trump a “danger to the world” and said he was “little short of a white nationalist and a racist,” was questioned about his relationship with Epstein by the Financial Times. He claimed he regretted ever meeting the pedophile financier or being introduced to him by Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison, snapping: “I’m not going to go into this. It’s an FT obsession and frankly you can all f** off. OK?”
  Presumptive UK Ambassador to USA Dodges Questions on Epstein Links: ‘You Can All F*ck Off.’
  
• “I will NOT attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg. South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI and climate change,” Sec. Rubio wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Trump administration’s chief diplomat continued: “My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.”
  Rubio Skipping G20 in Johannesburg: ‘South Africa Is Doing Very Bad Things.’

  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• America remains ill-prepared for Chinese hackers targeting critical infrastructure.
  We’re In for a Rude Awakening on Cybersecurity
  
• The memo ordered the cancellation of “all sections, meetings, events, and other activities associated with these clubs.” Among the clubs that were shut down were the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers Club, the Latin Cultural Club, and the Native American Heritage Forum.
  U.S. Military Academy Disbands Student Clubs Focused on Race, Gender

  DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE COURTS, WASTE/FRAUD/ABUSE

• Federal personnel were advised to submit resignations by emailing the word “resign” to their government accounts. OPM communicated to employees that while some agencies and military branches might experience workforce increases, most federal bodies are likely to downsize. This includes plans for restructuring, realignment, and potential reductions in force.
  40,000 Federal Bureaucrats Take Trump’s Buyout Offer Ahead of Midnight Deadline.
  
• U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole Jr. issued an order Thursday afternoon pausing the deadline for federal employees to accept a buyout authorized by President Donald Trump that would see them voluntarily resign in exchange for eight months of pay and benefits. The order comes just hours before the offer expires at midnight.The deadline pause will last until at least Monday when Judge O’Toole Jr. is set to hear arguments in a lawsuit brought by federal worker unions challenging the legality of the buyout. Should the Trump White House successfully defend the policy in court, the delay may prove beneficial. The National Pulse reported Thursday morning that approximately 40,000 federal employees had decided to take the buyout. However, by Thursday afternoon, that number had risen to 60,000.
  Judge Delays Deadline for President Trump’s Buyout Offer for Federal Employees.
  
• In response, the High Speed Rail Authority is telling everyone to “ignore the noise.”
  Trump Threatens Investigation Into California’s High-Speed Rail Boondoggle
  
• Trump Is On a Roll! Let’s keep it going.
  USAID Down, Now Let’s Get Rid of DRL

  DC AIRLINER/COPTER COLLISION, and Philly Air Crash AFTERMATH

  LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES

• When asked if the FHA would be helping victims who lost their homes with loans to rebuild, Turner said, “The FHA will do exactly what it’s called to do, and what it’s supposed to do, and you can count on that.” The southern California fires were officially declared fully contained 24 days after they first sparked in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and took at least 29 lives, the New York Times reported.
  HUD Sec. Turner on L.A. Fire Victims: FHA Will Do ‘What It’s Supposed to Do, You Can Count on That’

  HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE

• The Food & Drug Administration should not be a sacred cow. Trump can root out inefficiencies and overreach here, too.Trump is on a roll.
  DOGE for the FDA

  ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

• The withdrawal by SpaceX follows a post by Musk on his social media platform X that asked President Cyril Ramaphosa why the country has what he called “openly racist ownership laws”.
  SpaceX withdraws from process to bring Starlink to South Africa
  
• NASA can’t get it done but the competition to win contracts and make profits has these private companies scrambling to make things happen, quickly and cheaply.
  Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander gets commercial rover to replace NASA’s VIPER rover
  
• According to this British news report, Borosov was fired due to a “catastrophic reduction in the number of launches, as well as incidents and accidents with serious consequences”. Since 2022, the number of successful Russian launches has dropped from 21 to 19 to 17 (in 2024), and so far in 2025 it has only launched once, a classified military launch yesterday.
  Putin fires head of Roscosmos

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• “The excesses of generationalist claims-making may be waning.”
  The Toxic Legacy of Boomer-Blaming
  
• Christian Toto: No New Rom-Coms Greet Most Romantic Day on the Calendar
  Hollywood Strikes Out on Valentine’s Day?
  
• Warning: your kids’ toys are turning them heteronormative.
  Now LEGOs Are Anti-LGBTQ
  
• The furniture giant bows to the Religion of Peace.
  Islamizing IKEA (I-Keall-you! Flatpack decapitation chopping block with rusty hacksaw. Instruction sheet in Arabic, Pashtun, Farsi and Swedish- jjs)

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posted by J.J. Sefton at 07:37 AM

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