Today is the day the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s tariffs are illegal. Much consternation is about the land.<\/p>\n
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A bunch of short items today, which I don’t need to quote from or comment about very much.<\/p>\n
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- Slate, Richard L. Revesz, 20 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Trump\u2019s Move to Demolish Greenhouse Gas Standards Is Based on a Lie<\/a><\/li>\n
- It’s rather technical, but the repeal “relies on three key Supreme Court climate change cases to support its action but mischaracterizes each of them.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- NY Times, 20 Feb 2026<\/strong>: 11 Million Visitors Short: Inside America\u2019s Continuing Tourism Slump<\/a>, subtitled “Last year, the U.S. was the only major destination to see a decline in international travelers. With increased scrutiny at the border, ICE violence and unpredictable policies, the new year isn\u2019t looking better.’ (gift link via JMG)<\/li>\n
- There was another story recently about business losses in Minneapolis, because ICE. So much for…<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- NY Times, 19 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Letters: Trump\u2019s \u2018Cartoonish\u2019 Monuments to Himself<\/a><\/li>\n
- Letter-writer David Hingston writes:
\nWe Americans simply must come to grips with the fact that a potentially decisive percentage of our fellow citizens has determined that evidence of a candidate\u2019s personal integrity and other qualities generally associated with good character (for example, honesty, generosity, patience, humility) does not matter when electing a leader.<\/p>\n
That this is the case is, I believe, the real story. We can\u2019t be trusted \u2014 shouldn\u2019t be, in fact. When people here and abroad talk about no longer trusting America, I don\u2019t think they\u2019re talking only about this particular president. Rather, I think they\u2019re talking about American voters generally.<\/p>\n
Have we decided that character doesn\u2019t count? I believe that to a very troubling degree, it appears we have.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Similarly:<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Donald-Trump-2201139117.jpg\")
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- Salon, Chauncey DeVega, 20 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Trump continues to make his own voters suffer<\/a>, subtitled “The president\u2019s policies are hurting his working-class MAGA followers. But will they ever leave him?”<\/li>\n
- Quote: “Many of the president\u2019s voters supported him because he promised to break the rules and punish groups they dislike and even hate \u2014 Democrats, liberals, Black and brown people, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, feminists and others. Now the same policies they supported have boomeranged on them.”<\/li>\n
- But the short answer to the subtitle: No.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Salon, Heather Digby Parton, 17 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Trump\u2019s \u201cMission Accomplished\u201d moment gives Democrats an opening<\/a>, subtitled “The president falsely claimed he ‘fixed’ the affordability crisis. He and the GOP will pay in the November midterms”<\/li>\n
- How do we know Trump fixed the crisis? Because he said so!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- JMG, 17 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Florida Republicans Block Bill To Keep Trump From Profiting From Renaming Of Palm Beach Intl Airport<\/a><\/li>\n
- It’s about megalomania, yes, but it’s also, always, about making money.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Right Wing Watch, Kyle Mantyla, 11 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Sean Feucht Announces Partnership With Federal Government To Hold Nationwide Christian Nationalist Worship Services<\/a><\/li>\n
- Trivial example, but does this guy know how much long hair on men was considered blasphemous (by Christians) as recently as the 1960s? So much for eternal truths.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Washington Post, 13 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Trump tells soldiers to vote GOP in campaign-style rally at Fort Bragg<\/a>, subtitled “Army policy prohibits partisan displays, and most service members refrained from cheering.”<\/li>\n
- Can you imagine any Democrat tells soldiers to vote their way? They would condemned, by the GOP, of election interference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Washington Post, 19 Feb 2026<\/strong>: After blasting WHO costs, Trump officials propose more expensive alternative<\/a>, subtitled “HHS proposes spending $2 billion a year to re-create systems the U.S. accessed through the WHO at a fraction of the cost, according to officials briefed on the matter.”<\/li>\n
- What are they thinking??<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Vox, Dylan Scott, 19 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Why have Americans turned against this lifesaving medication?<\/a>, subtitled “Statin hysteria has made it hard to convince people that this effective drug is actually very safe.”<\/li>\n
- Now they’re against statins? On what grounds? Kneejerk rejection of anything due to modern science?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, 19 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Trust in clergy members hits record low, Gallup finds<\/a>, subtitled “Only 27% of Americans see religious leaders as ethical. It’s not hard to imagine why.”<\/li>\n
- At the same time, trust in most<\/em> professions has dropped over the past 50 years. This is a sign of our fracturing culture. The only professions who’ve maintained their trust are nurses and medical doctors. Yet the clergy does show a dramatic drop, a greater drop than any of the 20 professions charted here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- The New Republic, 18 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Trump\u2019s Sons Say Their Open Corruption Is Our Fault<\/a>, subtitled “Instead of denying the corruption accusations, Donald Jr. and Eric tried to shift the blame.”<\/li>\n
- Their argument seems to be: since the law wouldn’t let us do what we wanted to do, we did it anyway, and accusing us of corruption is the law’s fault. Or the banks’ fault.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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This is somewhat similar. Whatever he can get away with.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.peoplefor.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/article_full\/public\/images\/Hegseth%20and%20Wilson%20at%20Pentagon.jpg.webp?h=ae1281eb&itok=JQvApXDS\")
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- Right Wing Watch, 18 Feb 2026<\/strong>: Hegseth Invites Christian Nationalist Extremist Doug Wilson to Lead Pentagon Worship Service<\/a><\/li>\n
- Yet again: Christians don’t actually believe in Constitutional principles; they feel entitled, and privileged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Short items today Trump’s move to demolish greenhouse gas standards is based on a (admittedly technical) lie; America is experiencing a tourism slump (because… one guess); About Trump’s “cartoonish” monuments to himself; How Trump makes his own voters suffer; How … Continue reading
- Yet again: Christians don’t actually believe in Constitutional principles; they feel entitled, and privileged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
- Their argument seems to be: since the law wouldn’t let us do what we wanted to do, we did it anyway, and accusing us of corruption is the law’s fault. Or the banks’ fault.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- At the same time, trust in most<\/em> professions has dropped over the past 50 years. This is a sign of our fracturing culture. The only professions who’ve maintained their trust are nurses and medical doctors. Yet the clergy does show a dramatic drop, a greater drop than any of the 20 professions charted here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Now they’re against statins? On what grounds? Kneejerk rejection of anything due to modern science?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- What are they thinking??<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Can you imagine any Democrat tells soldiers to vote their way? They would condemned, by the GOP, of election interference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Trivial example, but does this guy know how much long hair on men was considered blasphemous (by Christians) as recently as the 1960s? So much for eternal truths.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- It’s about megalomania, yes, but it’s also, always, about making money.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- How do we know Trump fixed the crisis? Because he said so!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Letter-writer David Hingston writes:
- There was another story recently about business losses in Minneapolis, because ICE. So much for…<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- It’s rather technical, but the repeal “relies on three key Supreme Court climate change cases to support its action but mischaracterizes each of them.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n