Monday, February 02, 2026 |
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TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS |
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A striking number of rank-and-file Republicans are losing faith in the president. No wonder he's responding to polls in increasingly hysterical ways. |
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| By any fair measure, 2025 was rough for Speaker Mike Johnson. There are reasons to believe 2026 will be worse. |
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By any fair measure, 2025 was rough for Speaker Mike Johnson. There are reasons to believe 2026 will be worse. |
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| The president insisted that he wasn't "involved" in a special election in the Fort Worth area. Reality suggests otherwise. |
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The president insisted that he wasn't "involved" in a special election in the Fort Worth area. Reality suggests otherwise. |
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| The latest revelations led one Democratic senator to argue, "Foreign countries are bribing our president to sell out the American people." |
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The latest revelations led one Democratic senator to argue, "Foreign countries are bribing our president to sell out the American people." |
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WHAT'S ON RACHEL'S BLUESKY RADAR? |
- 📣📣📣 TONIGHT!!
7pm George Howard Building in Ellicott City.
ICE is trying to open another facility in MD, this time in Elkridge. Come out to EC and tell them we want #iceout of our neighborhoods.
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(Lynn Stahl)
- I know you've heard that a federal judge ordered the release of 5 year old Liam Conejo Arias and his father, and that they're now home.
But did you look at the judge's order?
It's less than 2.5 pages and well worth a minute. "Jesus wept."
Link to pdf.
(Rachel)
- The arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a danger to all Americans
(The Guardian)
- "Quite the contrast:
In one part of the Epstein files, DOJ published unredacted nude images of women and potentially minors.
In another part, officials redacted President Trump's face from a news image that was shared in a text exchange."
(Mike Baker shares NYTimes)
- "Four hours after his arrest, he was taken to a hospital emergency room in Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding. A CT scan revealed at least eight skull fractures and life-threatening hemorrhages in at least five areas of his brain..."
ICE claim that a man shattered his skull running into wall triggers tension at a Minnesota hospital
(Associated Press)
- 'Unsubscribe' and 'opt out': A new Big Tech boycott to protest ICE has begun
(Business Insider)
- "The two dined together frequently and Epstein offered Bannon the use of a Paris apartment, Palm Beach house and other accommodations, as well as his plane on multiple occasions. When Epstein helped coordinate other travel for Bannon, the two joked that Epstein was working as Bannon's assistant and the "most highly paid travel agent in history." In one instance, Epstein added: "Massages. Not included."
Bannon, meanwhile, provided media training to Epstein as the two worked on a documentary, advice that extended so far as to counsel him how long to keep his beard. Bannon also coached Epstein as he navigated increasing media scrutiny in the winter of 2019."
(Politico)
- "The Fulton County raid is a test run for messing with election administrators and the counting of ballots in the midterm elections in 2026..."
...
"So what can be done about all of this? To begin with, state and local election officials need to be ready to go to federal court to seek injunctions barring the government from seizing voting machines or otherwise interfering with the process of tabulating ballots. Trump might even try to send troops to seize ballots without a search warrant, and if that threat is real, proactive judicial action is necessary. These threats are most likely to materialize in those areas around the country with contested congressional races. Particular targets may be in those states, such as California and Arizona, where the tabulation of ballots takes a long time, so there i smore time for Trump and his allies to act."
(Slate)
- "Among the hires at CBS News announced by Weiss is a doctor who claims he reduced his biological age by 20 years with cold plunges; that cod liver oil treats autism; and that Alzheimer's and dementia can be reversed with supplements he sells on his online store."
skip to 7:06 to see him sitting down with a self-proclaimed shaman to explain how we can all just grow new bodies and new brains.
cbs news! hello!
(Rachel shares a link to The Guardian and a YouTube clip)
- Here's the Company That Sold DHS ICE's Notorious Face Recognition App
(Wired)
- "Ratner, director of the newly released "Melania" documentary, told The Wall Street Journal in 2023 that he didn't know Epstein and had never met him. A spokeswoman for Ratner declined to comment on Saturday."
The Famous Names in the Latest Release of Epstein Files
(Wall Street Journal with photo from the Epstein Files)
- "At the time of the investment, World Liberty had no products..."
'Spy Sheikh' Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company
(Wall Street Journal)
- "She sustained a torn rotator cuff, concussion and bruised ribs during the incident and received medical treatment at a hospital..."
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"The vehicle pulled in front of her and stopped, while another parked behind her. Three men and a woman exited the vehicles wearing vests saying "police," and one "banged on her window, demanding that she show them "papers." SEIU said.
"When Maria did not immediately respond, the agents shattered her car window, forcibly removed her from the vehicle and threw her to the ground, causing numerous injuries," the statement said.
As she was on the ground, the agents dumped out her purse, found her U.S. passport and left the scene, according to SEIU.
"She had been carrying (her passport) because her daughter had told her to carry her passport everywhere she goes, advice her daughter learned at a Know Your Rights training," a GoFundMe set up by SEIU for her said."
(Salem Reporter)
- "Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack."
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(Joaquin Castro)
- "4 federal agents pull over an elderly US citizen for the suspected crime of being brown, break her car window, throw her to the ground, then drive off after they find her US Passport in her purse. The Salem Police, when called, say there's nothing they can do."
(Seth Cotlar shares The Salem Reporter)
- Haitian-owned business faces closure as immigrants flee Springfield
(The Springfield News-Sun)
- "It was literally two days ago that he used his social media platform to endorse her, calling her a "phenomenal Candidate" and "incredible supporter of our Movement" while urging "America First Patriots" to "GET OUT AND VOTE""
(Justin Baragona compares Trump's January 30th tweet against his February 1st statement in which he denies knowing anything about the thing he tweeted about two days earlier)
- Ethnic Cleansing in Ohio?
Nazi Lies in Vance's America
(Timothy Snyder's substack)
- granular, practical, well organized info here:
How to film ICE
(Wired)
- "Later Friday, protesters marched peacefully through downtown Minneapolis, chanting and toting signs that said "Please stop killing us.''
"Everybody needs to see that there are this many people'' opposing the federal operation, said Michael Sweet, a 37-year-old teacher.
In other cities across the country, crowds answered the call to protest. Marches unfolded outside schools and universities from Rhode Island to Texas, and teacher absences led to school cancellations in Colorado and Arizona.
In Washington, about 1,000 people filled the intersection of H and 7th streets NW, chanting and waving anti-ICE signs. Among them was Elyssa McNeil, a Howard University freshman who said she was attending her first protest. "I have been somewhat complacent," McNeil said. Pretti's killing "was a breaking point for me."
In Chicago, at least a thousand people braved below-freezing temperatures to gather in Daley Plaza amid the evening rush hour. Cara Benoit, 52, who is Japanese American, said she has been particularly alarmed by federal agents' tactics in Minnesota in light of her family's history: Her grandparents were sent to internment camps during World War II. "To me, this feels like federal overreach all over again," she said."
(Washington Post)
- Expecting Dozens, Pasadena Church Sees 800 Pack Sanctuary for Immigration Defense Training
Lines stretched down Union Street as residents sought guidance on responding to ICE encounters in their nighborhoods
(Pasadena Now)
- "Trying to go back to a phony-baloney corporate job of filing trademarks and talking about profit shares versus incentives and other just horse s--- is just so ultimately meaningless," Young said. "I'll figure something else out. But right now, my city needs me.'"
How daily life in Minneapolis has transformed since federal agents flooded the streets
(NBC News)
- There is no world, no scenario, no imaginable or unimaginable turn of events under which the Trump Administration will not end up regretting this stupefyingly idiotic arrest.
Don Lemon today: "I will not stop now, I will not stop ever."
"Don Lemon speaks outside of the courtroom after release: "I have spent my entire life covering the news. I will not stop now ... I will not be silenced.""
(Rachel shares Phil Lewis's video of Don Lemon's statement)
- "We're born and raised here," she said. "The cold doesn't bother us."
As the students marched, passing motorists honked car horns to encourage the already energetic marchers. A few pulled to the sides of snow-clogged streets to watch and shout words of support."
(Portland Press Herald)
- Whoa!
- Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday.
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
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(Portland Press Herald)
- How Kansas Citians protested ICE as part of national day of action
(The Kansas City Star)
- Brutal column in the Kansas City Star about a local real estate company trying to avoid public scrutiny for selling ICE a property for a massive prison camp:
"I suspect the Anderson brothers have seen the social media outrage about the sale of their property and feel they're being unfairly cast as villains by a liberal, emotional city looking for someone to blame.
I suspect they are telling themselves a story about this that goes something like: We're businesspeople, not politicians; we didn't make the laws; deals are deals; America runs on this stuff.
But I also think, deep down, they wish they hadn't done this.
So, here's my advice: Drop the deal. Eat the embarrassment. Find another buyer. Make a clean break and say, plainly, that you don't want your legacy tied to masked men hauling people out of their homes and into warehouses on the edge of town.
The alternative is a lifetime of being whispered about behind your backs everywhere from church fundraisers to the Crown seats at the Royals game."
(The Kansas City Star)
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(Washington Post)
- "New survey from Pew 🧵
Trump's approval is down to 37. He's 24 points underwater.
Only 27% of Americans support most/all of Trump's policies.
By two-to-one margins, Americans say the Trump administration has made their life worse, not better."
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(Sarah Longwell with a thread)
- "Our communities will not be steamrolled," she said. "We will organize. We will show up. We will speak out. We will sue."
ICE Now Owns a Hagerstown Warehouse. A Plan to Design It Is in Shambles.
(Project Salt Box)
- "Last month, a DHS official wrote to Oklahoma City's planning department of its intent "to purchase, occupy and rehabilitate a 26.8-acre warehouse property" into an ICE processing center. The agency said renovations may include the construction of holding spaces, offices, visitor areas, cafeterias, bathrooms and medical units, according to the letter, which was first reported by the Oklahoman.
On Thursday, following pushback from residents, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in a Facebook post that he had spoken with the building's owners, who told him they are no longer in talks to sell the building to the federal government."
(Washington Post)
- Colorado advocacy group says ICE agents left 'death cards' in vehicles after people detained
(9News)
- "High school students marching against ICE this afternoon in Detroit, Michigan"
(Brendan Gutenschwager with video)
- "Jim Pattison Developments says it won't sell a warehouse in Virginia to U.S. Homeland Security to be used by its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency as a detention centre.
In an email Friday, the company said "the transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia, will not be proceeding." The company did not comment further about why that decision had been made.
The company, owned by B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison, earlier said when it agreed to sell the building to the U.S. government it did not know it was to be used as an ICE detention centre."
(Vancouver Sun)
- "Students, businesses and others across the U.S. are protesting President Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement."
(AZ Central)
- "OK, so Musk was planning to go to Epstein's island, but it's not like he went there with the intent to go to a wild party or something, it was probably just some business. Excuse me, an email just came in.
*Reads:* "What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?" "
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229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036 |
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