Russian standup comic sentenced to almost six years for anti-war jokes

Source: United Press International

“A Moscow court sentenced Russian stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin to five years and nine months in prison and a $4,000 fine after finding him guilty of telling jokes that incited hatred of Ukraine war veterans with life-changing injuries and insulted Christians’ faith. Ostanin was sentenced on Wednesday for on-stage routines alleged to have included gags featuring a ‘legless skateboarder’ in connection with the war in Ukraine and an imagined conversation with Jesus Christ in which Jesus relates a story that effectively states he was crucified for exposing the truth. The prosecution alleged the slurs, which were allegedly made during two shows in early 2025, were part of a systematic effort and that Ostanin had formed an “organized criminal group” for the express purpose of writing and performing the material.” (02/05/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/02/05/comedian-jailed-for-alleged-war-jokes/8061770297814/

Thomas L. Knapp

Could Donald Trump Save the Federal Reserve?

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mani Basharzad

“Few macroeconomists have been as influential over the past half century as Robert Lucas. He won the Nobel Prize in economics, and his famous Lucas critique reshaped macroeconomic thinking. In his Presidential Address to the American Economic Association, he declared that the ‘central problem of depression prevention has been solved.’ Five years later, the 2008 financial crisis struck. For a long time, many economists believed that double-digit inflation belonged to history. The Covid era proved them wrong. Recessions and high inflation remain real dangers, not relics of the past. That is precisely why Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chair, is exactly what the Fed needs. He understands how the system works and, more importantly, what is fundamentally wrong with it.” (02/05/26)

https://fee.org/articles/could-donald-trump-save-the-federal-reserve/

Thomas L. Knapp

Slotkin rejects DOJ request for interview on Democrats’ video about illegal orders

Source: SFGate

“Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to voluntarily comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video she organized urging U.S. military members to resist ‘illegal orders’ — escalating a dispute that President Donald Trump has publicly pushed. In letters first obtained by The Associated Press, Slotkin’s lawyer informed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro that the senator would not agree to a voluntary interview about the video. Slotkin’s legal team also requested that Pirro preserve all documents related to the matter for ‘anticipated litigation.’ Slotkin’s lawyer separately wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, declining to sit for an FBI interview about the video and urging her to immediately terminate any inquiry.” (02/05/25)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/slotkin-rejects-justice-department-request-for-21335243.php

Steve Trinward

Mass Deportation: Who Was More “Inhumane,” Obama or Trump?

Source: Town Hall
by Larry Elder

“Those who claim President Barack Obama deported illegal aliens more ‘humanely’ make the following assertions: a) ICE didn’t go into the streets under Obama; b) there were no street activists/protesters/agitators; c) ICE only deported those with criminal records beyond illegal entry or illegally overstaying; d) Obama’s deportation numbers largely include ‘returns’ or those deported at the border; e) the Obama administration did not engage in ‘lawlessness;’ and f) ICE and/or Customs and Border Patrol arrested only illegal aliens after first securing a judicial warrant. As for a), under Obama, ICE did go into the streets, including into the interior and into ‘sanctuary’ cities like Chicago. Watch ‘Lost in Detention,’ a 2011 episode of the PBS ‘Frontline’ program, where, for example, an illegal alien mother stopped in Illinois for making an illegal lane change was ultimately deported back to Mexico.” [editor’s note: I’m not sure who Elder is arguing with here. I’ve never heard any immigration freedom advocated defend Obama on the subject – TLK] (02/05/25)

https://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2026/02/05/mass-deportation-who-was-more-inhumane-obama-or-trump-n2670704

Steve Trinward

CA: Judge denies trial delay for killer deputy who cited “political climate” after Minnesota shootings

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

“A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a former San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a fleeing detainee in 2020 must stand trial later this month, denying a defense request that sought to delay the civil rights trial because of the ‘current political climate’ following two recent fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis. Aaron Richard Russell is scheduled to go on trial beginning Feb. 17 in U.S. District Court in San Diego on charges related to the May 2020 shooting death of Nicholas Bils, who had escaped from custody, was unarmed and was running away from law enforcement outside the downtown Central Jail when Russell shot him at least four times.” (02/05/26)

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/04/judge-denies-trial-delay-for-ex-san-diego-deputy-who-cited-political-climate-after-minnesota-shootings/

Thomas L. Knapp

The Presidency as Protection Racket

Source: The Dispatch
by Dan Greenberg

“Making threats is risky. Threats strain relationships and often result in retaliation, which is why threats from operators of protection rackets often rely on ambiguity. Such threats are sometimes euphemistic, but when stripped of the veneer of plausible deniability, their message ultimately translates to, ‘Give me what I want, and I won’t hurt you.’ Protection rackets are especially dangerous when conjoined with government power, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish Donald Trump’s efforts to force the governor of Colorado to pardon Tina Peters from a protection racket.” (02/05/26)

https://archive.is/5KVu2

Thomas L. Knapp