“The Trump administration is struggling in court, failing to secure indictments and convictions against a growing list of the president’s enemies. Most recently, against six members of Congress for making a video telling members of the military they do not have to follow illegal orders. It is embarrassing for our Department of Justice to sink resources into such obviously frivolous cases, and this only further contributes to the general sense that President Donald Trump’s administration has the wrong priorities. But that’s not the worst of it. Trump’s DOJ’s lackluster record when it comes to securing indictments and convictions is eroding the prestige of the Justice Department as a core American institution and only deepening the toxic cycle of lawfare in this country.” (02/18/26)
“For years the Food and Drug Administration has handed down shocking decision after shocking decision, always in the same direction: The approval of Alzheimer’s drugs that are balanced precariously on a mountain of fraudulent papers and that sometimes make your brain explode; the approval of OxyContin for 11-year-olds; the approval of COVID-19 booster shots in healthy young people in order to please the political science majors in the White House. But there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s made a lot of powerful enemies already reining in a lawless pharmaceutical industry.” (02/18/26)
“You’d never know it from the cavalcade of federally focused headlines this past year, but most public servants in the United States don’t work for the federal government. They work for states and localities, the ‘laboratories of democracy’ that staff our schools, maintain our roads, manage our prisons, and administer our social safety net. And yet when it comes to understanding how these governments work — how they hire, pay, evaluate, and retain the people who do this work — we all operate largely in the dark. The Niskanen Center partnered with the National Academy of Public Administration to change that and bring Americans closer to understanding their government.” (02/19/26)
“When Britain’s most notorious far-right agitator, Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), endorsed a Reform UK candidate late last month, it was yet another indicator of the growing ideological overlap between the nation’s most extreme anti-immigration elements and the right’s institutional organs. Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s insurgent right-wing populist party that has led the polls for over a year, disavowed Robinson—a predictable maneuver aimed at damage control. But it couldn’t obscure the real story: the collapse of any meaningful ideological daylight between Robinson’s street-level radicalism and right-wing electoral politics in Britain today.” (02/18/26)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“A lot of current writing is self-published, either online or in print or kindle. Much of it is fan fiction, stories set in a fictional world created by another author, often using his characters. Being a fan is seen as lower status than being an author, fan fiction as a low status literary activity. Quite a lot of what I read and enjoy is fan fiction, hence this essay. I will list what I believe are the main charges against it and try to show that they are for the most part mistaken.” (02/18/26)
‘It would be a mistake to view the protests across Iran that peaked on Jan. 7 and 8, and the subsequent brutal crackdown that killed at least 6,506 protesters, solely as a confrontation between state and society. Against a backdrop of economic hardship and political discontent, rival factions within the Islamic Republic have sought to steer, contain, or exploit unrest to advance their own agendas. The latest upheaval unfolded amid intense maneuvering inside the system, as competing power centers jockeyed over economic reform, foreign-policy direction, and control of the political field.” (02/19/26)
Source: Orange County Register
by Alexander Langlois
“One can be excused for wondering why the Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently beaten accusations of near-death since its inception in 1979. The regime in Tehran has held onto power through successive internal and external crises regardless of doomsday prophesizing in Washington or Tel Aviv. As the Iranian government faces one of the most difficult moments in its brief existence – both internally and externally — the question now, as the US sends a second aircraft carrier to the region is will this time be different?” (02/18/26)
“Distinguished Members of the Security Council, The President of the United States is issuing grave threats of force against the Islamic Republic of Iran if it does not accede to US demands. His actions risk a major regional war that would be devastating. Asked if he wanted regime change, he responded that it ‘seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.’ When asked why a second US aircraft carrier has been sent to the region, President Trump answered ’in case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it … if we need it, we’ll have it ready.’ These threats are in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which declares that ’All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.'” (02/19/26)
“Seth Ferranti was driving his Ford pickup on a southeastern Nebraska stretch of the interstate in November 2024 when law enforcement pulled him over, claiming that he had wobbled onto the hard shoulder. As the Seward County sheriff’s deputies questioned Ferranti, a filmmaker who had spent 21 years in prison for distributing LSD, they allegedly smelled cannabis. Declaring this probable cause for a search, they searched the vehicle and discovered more than 400 pounds of marijuana. But were those the actual reasons for the stop and search? When Ferranti went on trial, his attorneys presented a license plate reader report produced by the security communications company Motorola Solutions. It revealed Ferranti had been consistently monitored prior to his arrest, including by the local sheriff on the day he was apprehended.” (02/18/26)
