There is no doubt that Trump is on a mission to censor his opponents and exert media control. There is also a burgeoning industry of collaborators who are looking to cash in by going along with his efforts. This past week’s The Late Show we got exactly this.
Colbert was told in no uncertain terms that he was banned from interviewing Dem candidate James Talarico on air, and that he was banned from even mentioning that he had been banned from having him on the show.
CBS really don’t know Colbert do they?
So here is what was broadcast – Colbert explains that he has been banned from even mentioning that Talarico was banned …
Below is the actual Talarico interview that was banned, but was made available via YouTube because the FCC “rules” used to justify this censorship do not apply there. It has been viewed over 8 million times, so hey CBS, welcome to the Streisand Effect …
Here is a follow up with Colbert explaining a bit more …
Why did CBS do this?
CBS has been working hard to curry favor with Trump through hirings, firings, settlements and softball interviews. In exchange, they expect Trump to continue to smile on their corporate mergers that need government approval.
This is all about money being used to manipulate.
Here is a quick reminder regarding something …
“A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
—The Declaration of Independence
Putting the FFS in Tariffs
Well yes, something happened regarding Tariffs, and I’m building up to that, so yes, that’s where this is going.
Some of us could see from day 1 that his reference to a Golden Age was really all about him grifting as much wealth as possible …
What has also been clear from day 1 has been his economic literacy, or to be a tad more accurate, a total lack of any understanding, he really is a complete idiot.
The evidence is in (see below), he has destroyed the economy and everyone now knows it (if they are prepared to listen).
Whatever he or his voters would like to believe about what he did, the numbers do not lie. We are seeing the worst job growth in over two decades and it is explicitly tied to the utterly crazy decisions he made and then lied about. Not only is he pathetic, but those that enabled this are pathetic, as are those that continue to support him in the face of this.
So finally we get to it, one of the big items from the past week, and it really is good news, some on SCOTUS stood up to him. This is perhaps the biggest legal loss so far for his seconds administration of chaos and tyranny …
- Link to the above CNN article here, but of course there are plenty more sources.
- As I’m sure you are also aware, 3 of the 9 still sided with the orange tyrant. It was the 3 you could guess, the most corrupt who have been bought and paid for – Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
What now happens to the more than $130 billion in tariffs that has already been collected?
SCOTUS remained silent regarding that.
You also know him and can guess what probably happens next. He will of course ignore the ruling, throw a tantrum, and just keep doing tariffs …
So is he still being totally delusional and completely incompetent regarding tariffs?
Need you really ask, we all know the answer …
Meanwhile MAGA nuts do the usual. Take for example MAGA cultist Shane Vaughn who desperately tried to frame the decision as a win for Trump.
- You can think of that as narrative control.
- Such stances reflects a broader pattern within the MAGA ecosystem: reframing setbacks as strategic victories in order to preserve the image of strength and inevitability.
- In tightly aligned political movements, maintaining morale and reinforcing loyalty can matter more than accurately describing what just happened.
One further insight, and a rather important one, is that the ruling was not just about tariffs. The actual decision is that Trump cannot take core powers that the Constitution gives Congress. Instead, Congress must delegate any such power clearly and unambiguously to him, and for many of his actions that has not happened.
- War with Iran? It really is not his decision, only Congress can declare war.
- Impounding money such as foreign aid, FEMA, Head Start, Harvard and Columbia universities, and public health. Again, not his decision, yet he does it anyway because the Republican led Congress has no spine to stop all this.
We are way beyond constitutional norms now and into a tyranny.
It was Roberts who previously ruled that a president has immunity for actions taken within his core constitutional powers. It is now Roberts who has drawn a line in the sand that clarifies the actual scope of that previous ruling with this latest one – a president has no authority to take core powers that the Constitution gives to Congress.
You know what comes next of course. Trump will be currently re-writing his State of the Union speech for next week – it will be basically a rant against SCOTUS interlaced with how wonderful he is and how rich the Tariffs make us all.
Daniel Boris – SCOTUS: Tariffs Are Illegal.
Clay Jones – Your call is very important to us… just keep holding. #TrumpTariffs #IllegalTariffs #Trump #SCOTUS #TariffRefund
Epstein Updates
Well guess what …
- Link to article here
- Quote regarding Ken Starr (Yes “that” Ken Starr): “Starr, who died in 2022, was a close personal friend and professional contact of Epstein, and was the key lawyer who helped Epstein clinch a plea agreement in 2008, which is how Epstein avoided federal sex-trafficking charges and served a reduced sentence.“
- FYI: Starr was famous for going after Clinton for nearly six years of his presidency, and was eventually revealed to be a raging hypocrite who, despite all his moralizing, had carried on his own extramarital affair, with Judi Hershman (this link is Judi telling you about on Medium in 2021)
- The very tiny vertical one
Clay Jones – You can’t spell Andrew without “ew.” #PrinceAndrew #JeffreyEpstein #Trump #PamBondi #EpsteinFiles #London
- As best as I understand it, it was not the sex trafficking, the issue is that when he was a Trade Envoy (whatever that means), he shared highly confidential government documents with Epstein, and this has now been exposed via the release of all those documents.
- If it goes to trial in the UK, I guess it will be The Crown vs Andrew (which is basically big bother vs little brother).
Minnesota Murder Coverup continues
UPDATE: “FBI formally notified Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on it will not provide the BCA with access to any information or evidence that it has collected in the 1/24 shooting death of Alex Pretti.” A lawless regime. Abolish ICE. dps.mn.gov/news/bca/sta…
Republican Hypocrisy
This …
Trump’s Golden Age … for Billionaires only
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.“
Justice Louis Brandeis Words spoken many years ago that are just as relevant today. We must continue the fight to get big money out of politics. The chart below illustrates what the 2010 Citizens United ruling did …
- Meanwhile, the maximum donation to a political candidate or party in Canada is $1,775. The max a candidate can spend on a campaign is about $120,000 total.
- “selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests” – FDR
The very blatant corruption not only continues, it is being ramped up even more
His Board of Peace is nothing more than an organized crime syndicate …
- Trump couldn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize—as all he does is start wars, loot our treasury, and aid and abet child sex trafficking—so he made himself “Chairman of the Board of Peace” as a consolation. Now he’ll use that perch to start wars, loot many nations, and continue abetting Child Rape.
Oh, and let’s not forget that your tax dollars are hard at work funding this …
Dennis Goris – The Branch manager
Multiple layers of Lunacy and utter incompetence
DOD this year got a massive and unprecedented increase in their budget for a country not at war. Now Trump and Hegseth want even more so they can play war with new toys. The defense budget should not be increased by another penny, let alone an absurd $500 billion.
I think those are all requirements now to win Republican nominations. quorumreport.com//quorum_repo…
Rigging The Midterms
An expanded federal tool for identifying noncitizens on voter rolls is making persistent mistakes, particularly in assessing citizenship for people born outside the U.S.
DAN RATHER on The SAVE Act Trump trying to subvert the election: “This election is shaping up to be one of the most consequential of my lifetime. The very foundation of our constitutional republic, based on principles of freedom & democracy, is at stake.” open.substack.com/pub/steady/p…
Mike Luckovich – House Republicans passed the SAVE Act to “protect” against voter fraud but their bill is nothing more than an infringement on voters’ rights. Trump and his MAGA/GOP are the true threat to free and fair elections. #VoterID #Trump #GOP #JimCrow #Racism #Elections2026 #Congress
ICE Gestapo updates
If you support Trump, then this (and much much more) is what you are endorsing …
History should tell you how this plays out. Just like the Nazis, Trump and his fascists have started with the people they think no one will miss, relate to or speak up for. They’re wrong about that. But it must *also* be said that they’re coming for all of us eventually—anyone who doesn’t get in line and bow their heads.
GEORGIA — “beloved teacher” Dr. Linda Davis killed in a car crash as ICE chased a man through the streets: www.wtoc.com/2026/02/16/s… Even the ICE release (which blames Dems) says his only crime was being undocumented: www.ice.gov/news/release…
There was also this …
Know your rights …
MAHA – Alternative “Science”
RFK Jr/MAHA disciples, you got PLAYED. And everyone else saw it coming except you.
Clay Jones – Ya mean we shouldn’t take health advice from the guy who used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats? #Measles #Trump #Outbreak #RFKJunior #WHO #ToiletSeatCocaine
Rob Rogers – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is encouraging Americans to avoid ultra-processed foods while at the same time continuing to promote anti-vax conspiracies in the midst of a measles outbreak. #CDC #RFKJr #AntiVax #vaccine #measles #ultraprocessed #Measles #Conspiracy
EPA Lunacy
Actions really do have consequences
MAGA Christian Cranks
The nuttier right-wing religious fanatics within the MAGA cult are as always doing their thing, and so here are this week’s samples.
The play is obvious – they are sticking the word “Christian” into far right fascism and decorating it with religious rhetoric. The idea is tp made it digestible and socially acceptable. What you have is not Christianity, but rather a political cult that is driven by fear, insecurity, intolerance, and blatant racism.
We have always had, and always will have religious cranks who take an extremist stance. The key concern is the degree of influence they have gained …
You can think of it as Diet Christianity: – all the hypocrisy with none of the actual teachings of Jesus.
Let’s now cover some samples from the past week and use them to understand what they are really all about, and the strategy they use to manipulate.
- Wow, so even Glen is playing the Divine mandate card now. The play is this, “If you disagree with anything that I say or do, then you are opposing god“. There was once a guy who asserted his divine right as king to rule. You might perhaps assume that we rejected all that in 1776, but hey, here we are, awash with many now attempting to claim the divine right card.
- Meanwhile, God has recently advised me that I was born to expose these charlatans, and yes, my actual “divine” authority for making this claim is exactly the same as his.
- The problem with claiming divine appointment is that everybody can do it. The moment we allow “God told me” to settle political or cultural debates, we’ve left reasoned discussion behind. In public life, authority comes from reasoned arguments and actions, not from alleged supernatural revelations.
Dale Partridge decried immigration, calling on Christian Americans to “rise up and recover our home.“
- Let’s start with the obvious: The US is not a church; it is a constitutional republic. Citizenship is not conditioned on religious identity, and ownership of the country does not belong to any faith tradition.
- The Irony: The bible he leans upon repeatedly commands hospitality to the foreigner and protection for the stranger.
- When he says “godly terror“, what he means is the Medieval mindset of – Kill them all; Let God sort them out.
- Note that his framing delegitimises political opponents by calling them “traitors” rather than fellow citizens, and also wraps his candidate in divine sanction, implying opposition is opposition to God. He also encourages fear and intimidation (“terror”) as a desirable political outcome.
- Democracy is not a holy war, and so “sanctified” intimidation plays no role and needs to called out for what it really is – religious fascism.
Jim Garlow is outraged that Sen. Chuck Schumer introduced legislation to protect the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument, fuming that Schumer “desecrates all that is sacred, be it God’s declaration of male & female (by ‘trans’), joining them in marriage (by same sex so called ‘marriage’), and procreating offspring (by murderous abortion). And he calls America’s sodomous beginnings ‘sacred ground.’ Blasphemy.”
- When rhetoric like this appears, it’s doing more than expressing disagreement over public policy. It is reframing a civic act, legislation concerning a national monument, as a theological crime.
- His language assumes a particular theological interpretation of gender, marriage, and abortion, then treats deviation from that interpretation as “blasphemy.” That presumes the state must reflect one religious doctrine.
- What he fails to grasp is this: we have a system that protects pluralism for everyone. Once the state starts enforcing theology, it will not always enforce his. Garlow risks loosing his religious liberty if he proceeds down this path.
Samuel Rodriguez did not like the Super Bowl halftime show: “Stop trying to shove your woke, cancel culture, anti-Judeo-Christian value worldview full of relativism, decadence, and perversion down our throats.“
- The Obvious: A Super Bowl halftime show is not a sermon, nor is it a government mandate. It is commercial entertainment product in a religiously diverse nation. The presence of themes, identities, or artistic expressions that differ from one theological tradition does not constitute persecution of that tradition. In a pluralistic society, public culture will reflect many worldviews, not just his.
- The Lunacy in Play: Calling something “anti-Judeo-Christian” simply because it does not conform to his beliefs assumes that Christianity is entitled to define the boundaries of national culture. That assumption is precisely what the Constitution rejects. Religious freedom protects Christians’ right to live by their values … but, once again to state the obvious … it also protects everybody else in exactly the same way.
- The Very Easy Solution: Watching the Halftime show is not mandatory, nobody is forcing him to watch, he can simply change the channel.
- Here is what makes this an interesting example – What Wallnau is doing here is reframing a factual question (What were the ties? What do they mean?) into a character referendum (Is he on our side?). That move is common in highly polarised movements: criticism from outside the tribe is treated as inherently suspect, and internal figures are granted moral credit in advance.
- It also amplifies hypocrisy. Those who demand immediate condemnation for political opponents suddenly advocate patience, nuance, and presumption of innocence when the scrutiny touches their own camp. That inconsistency undermines claims of moral seriousness. It’s not just Wallnau, this is a very common GOP wide strategy.
- If we believe in justice, we can’t make it partisan. Either associations with Epstein matter, or they don’t. If we’ve demanded answers when Democrats were connected to him, then we should demand the same standards for Republicans. “He’s a good guy” isn’t a standard—it’s a sentiment.
Tony Perkins claims that the Founding Fathers saw the Bible “as the blueprint to build a nation.”
- This is a familiar lie that is repeated Ad nauseam. The repetition does not make it factual in any manner. Also, the willingness to continuously lie about it exposes an astonishing degree of moral bankruptcy.
- If the Bible were the blueprint, we would see it named in the Constitution, and we would see biblical authority embedded in the structure of government. Instead, we see Enlightenment political theory and explicit protections against religious establishment. America protects faith, it was not founded as a theocracy.
Jackson Lahmeyer is a proud Christian nationalist and declares that people who use that term as a pejorative do so “because they hate God and they hate America.“
- The Obvious Play: Instead of acknowledging that people may have constitutional, historical, or theological objections to Christian nationalism, it portrays all critics as enemies of faith and country. By implying that rejecting Christian nationalism equals hating God and America, it blurs the distinction between personal faith and political ideology.
- The Reality: Many devout Christians reject Christian nationalism precisely because they value religious freedom and believe faith should not depend on state power. Likewise, many patriots believe America’s strength comes from protecting liberty of conscience for everyone — Christians included.
Seth Gruber warns that “if the West dies, it will be because we bowed down and refused to speak out against the idols of Ashtoreth and Baal—baby killing and sex cults.“
- By invoking Ashtoreth and Baal, ancient Canaanite deities condemned in the Old Testament, he casts contemporary moral disagreements as literal idol worship. He uses this language because for Christians, biblical language is powerful. But what he is doing is abusing it.
- Apocalyptic framing is powerful because it simplifies complex issues and taps into emotions instead of reason. Strip in down to the bones and what you really have is blatant manipulation that strives to get more of the religious to embrace his fascist beliefs.
Even More Political Cartoons from the past week
As always, there are many excellent cartoons.
Clay Bennett
Rob Rogers – Attorney General Pam Bondi is a reprehensible human being. At a congressional hearing last week, she treated Epstein’s victims with complete disdain while showing exceeding compassion for Trump. #Trump #PamBondi #EpsteinFiles #EpsteinTrumpCoverUp #Epstein #DOJ #AttorneyGeneral
In Name Only – Presidents Day 2026
She nails their expressions wonderfully.
Be ready for the 2026 Primaries
Clapping back
Finally
Since we opened with Colbert, let’s also finish with him as well.
Kristi Noem: A Boss With Benefits | Obama’s Alien Coverup | How Not To Eat Your Food
2,489,326 views 17 Feb 2026 #Colbert #Comedy #Monologue
The alleged affair between DHS Sec. Kristi Noem and her advisor Corey Lewandowski is reportedly making life hell for their staffers, President Obama backpedaled after telling a podcaster that aliens are real, and you should think twice before taking nutrition advice from the chatbot on the new HHS website. #Colbert #Comedy #Monologue #KristiNoem #CoreyLewandowski #PresidentObama #Aliens #NBAAllStarGame #MikeTyson #HHS #Grok #StephenColbert
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