I could watch this all day.
Open thread.
Update: another option? (she typed hopefully)
The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is LovePost + Comments (90)
Epstein, Epstein, Epstein!
Munira sent me this article, and it’s well worth sharing. I wanted to answer the final question below: Plus, what happened to American CEOs? But I couldn’t come up with anything that wasn’t filled with anger, disgust, and invective. Feel free to give it a try yourself.
The Epstein Class, with Anand Giridharadas by Terry Moran
The more Epstein files come to light, the darker the story gets.
With the release of more than 3 million new documents, videos and other artifacts of the shadow empire that Jeffrey Epstein created, a dizzying chasm opens wide across the world, and one stands struck dumb—not from shock, but from terror.
The dystopia is real, and the conspiracy theories do not do it justice. Jeffrey Epstein abused and raped girls and women (hundreds? thousands?), but he seduced the rich and powerful. So much so that it appears no field of human endeavor—politics, finance, law, commerce, medicine, the arts, sports and on and on—escaped his malignity, no country his reach. His was the real dark web.
How to make sense of such wickedness, cruelty, and corruption? In this as in so many of the biggest stories of our time, Anand Giridharadas makes an essential contribution. He is a great reporter on power, morality, and the elite networks that shape American life, and the lives of countless millions around the world.
How does elite impunity work? Why do normal consequences so rarely attach to power? When did our leaders discard the ordinary boundaries of human decency? What can we do to repair the frayed civic morality of our country?
Anand has reported deeply on these issues, and thought long and hard about them. This conversation, which moves on from Epstein to the shocking abandonment of democratic values in the second Trump term by the richest, once-most-progressive CEOs in American life. Did they mean not a word of their commitments?
We end with a much-needed word of optimism about America. Anand gets this country—her failings, her strengths, her hope—like few other journalists I know.
Even if you don’t take the time to watch the video, I’d like to see us discuss some of the questions raised above.
How does elite impunity work?
Why do normal consequences so rarely attach to power?
When did our leaders discard the ordinary boundaries of human decency?
What can we do to repair the frayed civic morality of our country?
Dan Pfeiffer on the Recent NJ Primary to Replace Mikie Sherrill
Really interesting (and hopeful!) take from Dan Pfeiffer on the recent primary to fill Mikie Sherrill’s seat.
Premise
I want to start by saying this plainly: the New Jersey special Democratic primary to replace Mikie Sherrill is going to send shockwaves through the Democratic establishment. This is the most consequential Democratic primary result since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Joe Crowley in 2018.
About the NJ-11 Race and Primary Candidates
Seriously.
Eleven Democrats ran in the special election to complete Sherrill’s term. (There will still be a regular primary in June, and the winner of that race will be on the ballot in November for the full term beginning next year.)
The major contenders were former congressman Tom Malinowski, progressive organizer Analilia Mejia, former lieutenant governor Tahesha Way, and longtime New Jersey political operative Brendan Gill.
Malinowski was widely viewed as the early frontrunner. The long-entrenched New Jersey political machine lined up behind Gill. AIPAC backed Way. Mejia, meanwhile, was endorsed by Bernie Sanders, AOC, and a number of prominent progressive leaders.
As of this writing, not all votes have been counted, and most outlets have not formally called the race. But Mejia is leading by roughly 600 votes. Almost no one expected her to finish first. Most observers assumed she would place fourth.
Even if Malinowski ultimately ekes out a narrow win, the underlying signal remains unchanged. This election represents a fundamental shift in the Democratic political landscape.
Three Takeways
First, Democratic voters remain deeply angry at the Democratic establishment.
People describing this as a “Democratic Tea Party” miss what the Tea Party actually was. But one thing is now unmistakable: being the establishment candidate—with establishment money and endorsements—is a liability in a Democratic primary.
Mejia ran on the slogan, “Same old blue won’t do.” That message landed. And it should make a number of sitting Democrats very nervous. The vulnerability for incumbents is not that they are insufficiently moderate—it is that they are seen as part of a political establishment that voters no longer trust.
Second, Democratic voters want fighters who push bold, progressive ideas—especially on affordability.
This is what powered Zohran Mamdani in New York City last year, and it is what powered Mejia this week.
Mejia called for a $25 minimum wage. Most primary voters understand that Congress is not going to more than triple the federal minimum wage tomorrow. But the point of the proposal is not legislative realism—it is signaling. It tells voters she is willing to fight for them and is not calibrating her positions around donor comfort. The endorsements from Sanders and AOC reinforced that signal.
Third, ICE has become politically radioactive.
In a deeply misguided attempt to help their preferred candidate, AIPAC spent more than $2 million attacking Malinowski for voting to fund ICE in 2019.
The attack itself is misleading—it implies Malinowski supports what ICE is doing today. But politically, it worked. Any perception that a Democrat is anything less than a full-throated opponent of Trump’s masked ICE operations is now a major vulnerability in a primary.
So what does this mean?
In the short term, it makes a Department of Homeland Security shutdown significantly more likely. After what just happened in New Jersey, Democrats will be far more reluctant to agree to any funding deal that does not include meaningful and enforceable guardrails on ICE.
There is always a risk of over-interpreting a multi-candidate special election shaped by unique local dynamics. But the longer-term implications are real. We are watching the erosion of the old political order in real time. The advantages of incumbency, institutional backing, and large fundraising networks are being eclipsed by a more grassroots, attention-driven politics that rewards candidates who challenge elites and generate genuine excitement.
This does not mean the furthest-left candidate will always win. But in this moment, candidates who are clearly outside the establishment—and who are bold, interesting, and focused on affordability—have a powerful advantage.
The consulting playbook Democrats have relied on for a generation no longer fits the political environment.
The only real question is whether the party’s professional class figures that out before more of its candidates do.
I think we’ve heard more about NJ this year than ever before, probably because their being elections are in the off year, and we are most definitely paying attention.
Anyway, Dan’s take on this leaves me hopeful. What do you guys think?
Dan Pfeiffer on the Recent NJ Primary to Replace Mikie SherrillPost + Comments (121)
Monday Morning Open Thread
It doesn’t get any more American than this. Unity and love over division and hate.
Thank you Bad Bunny for reminding us who we are.— Rep. Jim McGovern (@repmcgovern.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Green Day performs "American Idiot" at the 60th Super Bowl.
— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Don’t wanna be an American idiot
Don’t want a nation under the new mania
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mindfuck America
A couple invited Bad Bunny to their wedding. He suggested they be part of his halftime show instead.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) February 8, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Coco Jones, a 28-year-old singer-songwriter and actor from Columbia, South Carolina, wore a white gown and was backed by a string octet as she performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing" at the Super Bowl. bit.ly/3Mk2N8j
Photo by Adam Hunger/AP Content Services for NFL— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) February 8, 2026 at 6:22 PM
#BadBunny's performers continued to dance and party outside the stadium after the #SuperBowl #HalftimeShow
— WCVB NewsCenter 5, Boston (@wcvb5.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Between Green Day singing American Idiot, Brandi Carlile singing America The Beautiful, and Bad Bunny at halftime, maybe the Super Bowl is actually the America I believe in???
— Jodie Troutman (@longtalljodie.com) February 8, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Remember when "America has many groups of people in it and that's good and makes us strong" was an uncontroversial – even cliched – viewpoint that was universally endorsed across the political spectrum?
We can go back! We just have to get rid of the tiny handful of bitter, angry men in the way.— Will Stancil (@whstancil.bsky.social) February 9, 2026 at 1:59 AM
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On The Road – Albatrossity – Fishy birds II
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IMAGE
Albatrossity
More birds, more fish! Lots of diversity this week.
Near Manhattan KSAugust 2, 2025
The Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) feasts almost entirely on fish, but will opportunistically take insects, crayfish, frogs, or even lizards! There are a remarkable 117 species in the kingfisher family (mostly in the Old World), and some of them (like the Kookaburras) eat very few fish. All of them are gorgeous. This one should actually be called a Queenfisher; that rust-colored necklace marks her as an adult female. These birds need clear water to forage, since they need to see the fish before diving headfirst into the water to snag their prey. Click here for larger image.
On The Road – Albatrossity – Fishy birds IIPost + Comments (13)
Lasagne Update
For those who wondered, what she does is mandoline the zucchini, then she layers it with a towel in between each layer and then puts two plates on top and drains out all the natural juices.
It’s always delicious.
War for Ukraine Day 1,445: A Brief Sunday Night Update
I know a lot of you are watching the Super Bowl an since I’m still fried, I’m going to just run through the basics tonight.
OTD in 2022 I gave Emmanuel Macron my personal assurances that I would not invade Ukraine.
So you can trust any promise we make now.
— Darth Putin (@darthputinkgb.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 4:21 AM
Turned out to be worth as much as the assurances we gave Ukraine in 1994 that we wouldn’t ever invade them.
This was a shock to such scholars of Russia as Mearsheimer, Hitchens and dipshitbunchofnumbershammerandsickle
— Darth Putin (@darthputinkgb.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 4:21 AM
Zelenskyy:
“We [Ukraine] do not have to choose – whether we strike a military target or energy. He [Putin] sells this energy. He sells oil. So is it energy, or is it a military target? Honestly, it’s the same thing. He sells oil, takes the money, invests it in weapons. And with those weapons,
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 10:59 AM
he kills Ukrainians.
What is a Ukrainian supposed to do? There are two ways. We either build weapons and strike their weapons. Or we strike the source where their money is generated and multiplied. And that source is their energy sector. That is what is happening.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 10:59 AM
All of this is a legitimate target for us
And who else could have done this to the Russians before us? No one!”
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 10:59 AM
More from that Q&A after the jump.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
War for Ukraine Day 1,445: A Brief Sunday Night UpdatePost + Comments (15)