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/
Source: Seattle Times
“Les Wexner’s long-time friendship with Jeffrey Epstein will be the subject of a closed-door congressional deposition in Ohio on Wednesday, where the billionaire retail magnate is expected to face questions about new revelations contained in the latest release of Justice Department documents related to the late sexual predator. Wexner, 88, the retired founder of L Brands, has said he plans to cooperate with a subpoena from Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As one of Epstein’s most prominent former friends, Wexner has already spent years answering for their decades-long association. In court documents, prominent Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Wexner was one of the men Epstein trafficked her to.” (02/17/26)
https://archive.is/Rb4HF
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Is a Deal with Iran Happening? Predicting the Primary Predictors (with Will Sattelberg).” (02/17/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/is-a-deal-with-iran-happening-predicting
Source: The UnPopulist
“How the Right and the Left Converged Against Capitalism: A Conversation With John Cassidy.” (02/17/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/how-the-right-and-the-left-converged
Source: The Intercept
by Natasha Lennard
“When Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, last week announced that ICE’s ‘surge’ in Minnesota would wind down, it marked a significant victory for the thousands of Minnesotans who have fought back against the federal forces terrorizing their state; resistance forced the Trump regime to change its plans. But nothing is ramping down when it comes to the deportation machine at large. When billions of dollars are spent to turn industrial spaces into detention camps, authoritarian desires meet market logic: The warehouses must be filled. Local communities are nonetheless pushing back, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable federal forces with unlimited funding, abetted by powerful private interests who stand to gain from this carceral build-out.” (02/17/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/17/warehouses-immigration-detention-camp-prisons-immigrants/
Source: Town Hall
by Star Parker
“Within the last six months, two friends, both pioneers and giants in the world of ideas in Washington, D.C., passed from this world. One, Ed Feulner, was the co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, which became the nation’s defining policy institute for conservative ideas. Now, last week, Ed Crane, the co-founder of the Cato Institute, passed away. Ed Crane built Cato to become the major presence in the nation’s capital for libertarian ideas and policy. My personal involvement with Cato began in 1996 when I was invited to join the national advisory board for Cato’s project to transform Social Security from a government tax and spend program to a program of individually owned personal retirement accounts. When I began working in the business of policy reform, a friend pointed out to me the words of futurist John Naisbitt, who observed, ‘Don’t get so far ahead of the parade that no one knows you’re in it.'” (02/18/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/2026/02/18/remembering-ed-crane-n2671468
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-founder, arrived at a California court on Wednesday where he is due to testify in a landmark legal case over whether social media is addictive to children. It will mark Zuckerberg’s first appearance before a jury after years of backlash against his company, Meta Platforms, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp. Lawyers for Meta have argued the lead plaintiff in this case, known by her initials K.G.M, was hurt by other things in her life and not by her use of Instagram. The Los Angeles trial, in which Google’s YouTube is also a defendant, is being closely watched for its implications for thousands of similar lawsuits facing social media giants. TikTok and Snapchat, which had also been named in the lawsuit, settled shortly before trial was scheduled to begin. Terms of the settlements were not disclosed.” (02/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y42znjnjvo
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“A US immigration judge has rejected efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to deport Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested last year following his participation in pro-Palestinian protests. Lawyers for Mahdawi detailed the immigration judge’s decision in a court filing on Tuesday with a federal appeals court in New York, which had been reviewing a ruling that led to his release from immigration custody in April. It was the latest case in which an immigration judge rejected a case brought as part of the broader effort by Trump’s administration to detain and deport non-citizen students with pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel views who engaged in campus activism.” (02/17/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/us-immigration-judge-reject-effort-deport-palestinian-student
Source: The Bulwark
“The Video That Blew Up ICE’s Story (w/ Andrew Weissmann).” (02/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hWW6UvN9Yk
Source: Glenn Greenwald
“The New York Times performs loyal stenography — masquerading as journalism — to protect AOC.” (02/17/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-new-york-times-performs-loyal
