Source: The Daily Economy
by Tahmineh Dehbozorgi
“ICE claims agents can enter private homes using their own paperwork — without asking a judge first. The Fourth Amendment was written for moments like this.” ()2/18/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/ices-warrant-shortcut-violates-the-constitution/
Source: Washington Monthly
by Alex Bronzini-Vender
“Depending on whom you ask, Donald Trump has either heroically or horrifyingly declared open season on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. During his first year back in office, the Department of Education launched at least 57 investigations into campus DEI initiatives it deemed illegal—and many more universities have preemptively complied by dismantling their own versions of such practices and policies. As such, it may come as a surprise that Trump and his underlings don’t want to get rid of DEI altogether. On some campuses, they’ve worked to preserve or even expand DEI programs. What they object to isn’t DEI itself, but who it’s for — which, until now, has been the ‘wrong’ kind of student.” (02/18/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/18/how-trump-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-dei/
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Shana Marshall
“Traditionally, weapons expos are about putting producers in contact with buyers, and they feature large scale sites where companies set up booths to showcase hardware capabilities and include simulations and even live-fire demonstrations. In these spec-ops safe-spaces, government procurement officials and top brass could brush elbows with warlords and mercenaries to take turns shouldering JAVELINs and downing batch bourbons. But with the introduction of more Silicon Valley tech firms into the MIC, many industry gatherings feature asset managers and investors from venture capital and private equity firms who care less about the specs than the ROI. Gone are the ‘booth babes’ of yesteryear, replaced by baby-faced billionaires in Patagonia quarter zips. Spurred on by the advent of ZIRP (zero-interest rate policy), allowing investors to borrow money essentially for free, and the decline of consumer-focused tech products, investors have turned their focus to military markets.” (02/18/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/defense-tech-silicon-valley/
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“On her European junket, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.-D) elicited chuckles over her comments on the arrest of Nicolás Maduro by means of a military incursion, mistakenly identifying Venezuela as ‘below the Equator.’ The country lies entirely north of the dividing line between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Was this her ‘Aleppo moment?’ Hardly. Darlings of the major parties get away with faux pas that minor party challengers cannot escape.”
Source: The American Prospect
by Jen Kirby
“The Friday nightcap session at the Munich Security Conference focused on ‘seismic shifts’ in U.S. foreign policy, and it featured a bit of an odd grouping: Matthew Whitaker, the current United States ambassador to NATO; Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan; and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive Democratic congresswoman from New York. The panelists sat in a circle at the center of the room, surrounded on both sides by the audience, all wearing lanyards around their neck, some sipping wine, and many reaching upward to take photos. The tilt of their iPhones gave away who they were all here to see.” (02/18/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/18/democrats-nato-europe-new-world-order-munich-security-conference/
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“Understanding the oligarchs’ power grab and the dire threat to American democracy.” (02/18/26)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Matt Wolfson
“The militarization of American cities by ICE is being addressed, or not addressed, around constitutional, moral, and practical questions familiar to Americans from sixty years of debates over ‘law and order.’ Does ICE’s deployment follow the law? What kind of deference is law enforcement due? Is the force deployed by ICE proportional to the threat? And, in general, is it appropriate to oppose the fact that a duly-elected president who was put into office on a promise of deporting illegal immigrants is actually fulfilling that promise? All of these are worthy questions on which reasonable people can disagree. But they are not the most relevant questions, and their relative irrelevance is why they have been embraced so enthusiastically by both political parties and their corporate media outlets.” (02/18/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/ice-expansion-and-the-architecture-of-a-security-state
Source: The Bulwark
by Gabriel Schoenfeld
“Thanks to Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes, there has been a Vesuvian eruption of antisemitism on the American right. Fierce controversy has ensued in and around Trump world over how to address it — and how to deal with the swelling segment of MAGA supporters, especially younger people, who go in for it. Especially fascinating is the MAGA subset1 of self-professed ‘national conservatives,’ not least because their impresario, Yoram Hazony, is himself Jewish. Crosswinds have been blowing him hither and thither. The trouble is that some of the closest allies of his aborning ideology of national conservatism have become America’s most prominent antisemitic voices.” (02/18/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/yoram-hazony-antisemitism-national-conservatism
Source: The American Conservative
by Dr. Anton Friesen
“After the end of the war in Ukraine, what would be the nature of a European order that included Russia instead of marginalizing it? What is the future for Europe in an increasingly multipolar world? How should such a European order be institutionalized so that peace, freedom, democracy, and effectiveness are ensured and Europe’s own identity is protected? These are questions that cannot wait to be asked until the guns finally fall silent in Ukraine. In the present context, these questions can only be outlined sketchily in the space of a few pages. Nevertheless, it is worth trying to find an alternative for Europe.” (02/18/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/a-proposal-for-a-new-european-order/
Source: Washington Monthly
by Jonathan Alter
“On the day after Trump’s efforts to censor Stephen Colbert blew up in his face, I have fresh reporting on why Netflix is not likely to be successful in taking over Warner Bros. Discovery, which opens the door to Paramount-SkyDance owning Warner. That would mean that Trump, Bari Weiss, and company would control not just CBS News but CNN, HBO, and other properties, and Trump would increase his stranglehold over old media. So let’s first talk about the cowardice of CBS executives.” (02/17/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/17/trump-media-control-paramount-warner-merger/