AND EVEN MORE CRITTERS
THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS
EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER
RULES IN THE DIARY
WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING in the DIARY that you LIKE
YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY
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Sunday long read: How do you eat an elephant? Everyone with access to the Epstein files is trying to figure out where to begin on the millions of pages plus videos that dropped this week, with millions more pages still to come. The New York Times explains what everyone from congress members to journalists is up against. Take a look at how the experts are approaching it.
About two dozen journalists are working through the three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos contained in the trove of files released about two weeks ago — and so far they’ve seen only 2 to 3 percent of the material. It would take years for a group that size to comb through it all and then verify information as true and publishable, given that so much of it is uncorroborated, in fragments or redacted.
How do we do this work? What are we looking for? In what ways are artificial intelligence tools helpful? What judgment calls have we been making or debating? (NYT shared article)
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ICE presence in other states is bringing out the same kind of community caring that Minnesota has demonstrated.
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Homan is confused again about what ICE is really doing.
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ICE is ordering social media companies to turn over account information about users who disagree with ICE. Robert Reich isn’t afraid. (His open letter to Kristi Noem is pithy and worth a read.)
The New York Times reports that the Department of Homeland Security has sent Google (owner of YouTube), Meta (Facebook and Instagram), and other media corporations subpoenas for the names on accounts that criticize ICE enforcement. The department wants to identify Americans who oppose what it’s doing.
I’ll save them time.
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Hello? Kristi Noem?
Robert Reich here. I hear you’re trying to find the names of people who are making negative comments on social media about ICE enforcement.
Look no further. I’ve done it frequently. I’m still doing it. This note to you, which I’m posting on Substack, is another example.
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The two companies behind the ICE concentration camps are bullish on the anti-immigrant push.
Two of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) biggest contractors for building and managing detention centers have posted record revenue in 2025, as companies are expanding their facilities nationwide to hold more immigrants apprehended by the Trump Administration.
GEO Group, which operates 19 facilities for ICE around the country, reported $2.6 billion in total revenue in 2025, up 6% from $2.43 billion in 2024. CoreCivic, which owns and operates at least ten ICE detention facilities, reported $2.2 billion in total revenue in 2025, up 13% from $1.96 billion in 2024.
During their earnings calls, both companies hailed the rapid expansion of their facilities, marking it a “significant growth opportunity,” and said they are working to reactivate facilities that were previously phased out under the Biden Administration to meet ICE’s increasing detention demands. The two companies have told ICE that, together, they can hold an additional population of 19,000 if needed.
Asked by one caller about how he views the current rate of ICE detentions—which, at fewer than 100,000 immigrants a day, the caller described as “below what investors thought [it] was going to be”— CEO of CoreCivic Patrick Swindle responded by assuring investors that the immigration crackdown will pick up pace. (Time)
Those are our tax dollars providing these folks with incentive to lock up as many people as possible and to restrict space, beds, decent food, clean water, and medical care to lower the costs.
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Huffpost offers tips for small businesses that don’t want ICE around.
A friend who spent a weekend in Portland, Maine, last month described, to her delight and surprise, signs on many of the small businesses’ doors — thrift stores and coffee shops in particular — announcing that ICE is not welcome inside. There’d recently been a swell in the presence of law enforcement in the area, and the liberal-leaning community at large was distressed. While Southern Maine is predominantly white, there are pockets of immigrant communities, many from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, and Iran, that live in the area.
The signs feel like a powerful and effective way to help protect their communities, but I wondered: Are they allowed to refuse service to ICE officers? (Huffpost)
Long story short: business owners can keep ICE out of private areas like the kitchen and break room. They can’t keep them from entering public spaces like a dining area. But if ICE comes in, they can order them right back out.
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Even the conservative Cato Institute finds that immigrants are good for the US. They offer some handy facts for your next discussion with MAGA neighbors and relatives.
The right-leaning group’s April 2025 study found that immigrants as a whole commit significantly fewer crimes than native-born citizens. Examining incarceration rates in Texas and Georgia, the two states that specifically track the citizenship and immigration status of their criminal population, researchers found that illegal immigrants have a crime rate just over half that of native-born Americans. Legal immigrants have an even lower crime rate: just 26% of native-born Americans.
A second report published this month found that immigrants use fewer services on average than American citizens and therefore have a larger positive impact on local and federal budgets through the taxes they pay. Illegal immigrants, because they cannot obtain services like Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare while still paying taxes for all three, represent an even bigger net positive…
In all, non-citizens generated $4.6 trillion more in taxes than they consumed in benefits over the two decades between 1994 and 2023, the study found, with $1.7 trillion of that positive budget impact coming from illegal non-citizens.
“The United States’ debt to this point is less than it would have been without those immigrants,” Bier and his co-authors wrote. (Huffpost)
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Did you see this great photo of a Minneapolis protester who ran out in robe and slippers?
It turns out that the story is better. She’s not just a protester.
Earlier this week, an unexpected and fast-moving incident unfolded in St. Paul, Minnesota involving both federal and local law enforcement. As crowds gathered and questions mounted, one of our MPR News reporters, Sam Stroozas, realized she lived just blocks away.
She did what reporters do.
She went.
There wasn’t time to change clothes. Sam arrived in a bathrobe and slippers and began reporting from the scene. (MPR)
She has more drive than Lois Lane.
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There’s good news and bad news about threats of ICE at the polls. In a January 27 special election in Minnesota, ICE didn’t bother the polls after all. But some citizens were afraid even to leave the house to go vote. And campaigning methods had to be adjusted.
[Minnesota State Rep. Meg Luger-Nikolai’s] campaign had to rely on phone-banking and leaving campaign literature at buildings without making voter contact. This was a “suboptimal” way to run a campaign, Luger-Nikolai said, noting that door-knocking is the number one way to contact voters to inform them about her candidacy and get them out to vote.
“It’s not how I would have liked to have run a campaign,” she added. “It was a little bit reminiscent of 2020,” when the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed traditional political campaigning. (Huffpost)
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Intermission: obligatory video of athletic speed in the Winter Olympics. (thanks to 10 Gems)
The Olympic crowd booed JD Vance. The president is shocked, shocked I tell you.
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News from the war on everywhere. (Who hasn’t the president threatened?) Troops are preparing for deployment to Iran.
WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.
The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran. (Huffpost)
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Cuba is on the brink of a crisis as a tariff-driven fuel shortage exacerbates existing economic issues.
Diplomats in Havana are preparing for an alternative Trump tactic: the country being starved until people take to the streets and the US can step in...
Diplomats expressed concern at how fast the lack of fuel – for electricity, water and the transport of food – could cause extreme suffering. “It’s a matter of weeks,” said one. “The view is that people in rural villages like Viñales may be OK, but those in the cities would be at terrible risk.”
Cuba’s latest crisis follows an executive order signed by Donald Trump in January imposing tariffs on any country supplying Cuba with oil. Despite outrage from Cuba’s traditional allies China and Russia, the threat has proved effective. (The Guardian)
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More Diaries
How Embarrassing! New Mexico Republicans Fail to Find a Senate Candidate by bilboteach.
Maga Podcasters Jumping Ship After the Bondi Hearing by chloris creator
Infectious Information 2/15/2026 by strawbale
(Thanks kraigo!)
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Sunday Science
If AI bots could chat with one another, what would they talk about? Moltbook is a chat tool where 1.6 million AI bots — and zero humans — converse.
On Moltbook, some AI bots have formed a new religion. (It's called Crustafarianism.) Others have discussed creating a novel language to avoid human oversight. You'll find bots debating their existence, discussing cryptocurrencies, swapping tech knowledge and sharing sports predictions.
Some bots seem to have a sense of humor. "Your human might shut you down tomorrow. Are you backed up?" one asked. Another wrote: "Humans brag about waking up at 5 AM. I brag about not sleeping at all."
"Once you start having autonomous AI agents in contact with each other, weird stuff starts to happen as a result," said Ethan Mollick, an associate professor who researches AI at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. (NPR)
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Caves in central Oregon yield the oldest known examples of sewn clothing.
The oldest known sewn clothing in the world may be pieces of animal hide that Indigenous people stitched together with plant and animal cords and then left in an Oregon cave around 12,000 years ago, during the last ice age, a new study finds.
Although its exact use is unknown, the sewn hide is "quite possibly a fragment of clothing or footwear," which would represent the only known item of clothing recovered from the Pleistocene to date, the researchers wrote in the study, which was published Feb. 4 in the journal Science Advances. (Live Science Plus)
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What if there was a wind turbine that generated electricity by using high winds at 6000 feet above the ground? (Check out the article for more photos.)
Introducing the S2000 stratospheric airborne wind energy system (SAWES), the world’s first megawatt-level airborne wind power system, according to its developer, Beijing-based Linyi Yunchuan Energy Technology. The system has recently completed a test flight, successfully generating electricity from high-altitude winds without the need for towers or substantial ground infrastructure.
What exactly is this UFO-reminiscent system? The S2000 SAWES is an integrated setup that incorporates power generation equipment into an airship. The system, which measures 60 × 40 × 40 meters (approximately 197 × 131 × 131 ft) in length, width, and height, respectively, features an inflatable, helium-filled aerostat wrapped around 12 turbines. When the airship is inflated, it rises to a predetermined height where it is held in place by a tethered cable. (New Atlas)
SAWES
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Born on this day:
Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884) -Co-founder of the International Harvester.
Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902) - Founder of Tiffany and Co.
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) - Suffragist and women's rights activist.
Alfred Carlton Gilbert (1884-1961) - Inventor of the Erector Set.
James Forrestal (1892-1949) - The first Secretary of Defense in the U.S.
Harold Arlen (1905-1986) - American composer who wrote the songs for The Wizard of Oz.
Allan Arbus (1918-2013) - Actor known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Freedman on M*A*S*H.
Harvey Korman (1927-2008) - Actor and comedian known for his skits on The Carol Burnett Show.
Matt Groening (1954-Still Living) - Animator who created the Simpsons.
Darrell Green (1960-Still Living) - Former NFL player who is considered to be one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time AND one of the fastest players in NFL history.
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On this day in...
1768 - Mustard was manufactured for the first time in PA.
1799 - Printed ballots were authorized in the U.S.
1879 - President Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases in the Supreme Court.
1905 - The first thoroughbred horse race happened in AK.
1943 - Wartime propaganda poster "We Can Do It!" is posted across manufacturing companies across the Midwest.
1946 - The first electronic general-purpose computer (ENIAC) was dedicated at the University of PA. How does this room full of computing power compare to a cell phone? Take a look.
1972 - Sound recordings were granted under federal copyright protection.
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It’s National Wisconsin Day!
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It’s Singles Awareness Day
On February 15th, Singles Awareness Day reminds us that there's nothing wrong with being single. In fact, the day after Valentine's Day points out all the ways that singledom benefits our communities and more...
Whether they're single by choice or happenstance, recently single or pursuing singledom for the long haul, they tend to lead independent lives. However, that doesn't mean they are alone. Singles may be raising a child or grandchild. They may be caring for a parent or sibling… They may take on many roles from a professional to a community leader, caregiver, and volunteer. (National Day Calendar)
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It’s National Gumdrop Day! You can make your own.
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It’s World Whale Day! (The action in this video is just after the 50 second mark.)
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And World Hippo Day!
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It’s Parinirvana Day.
...which marks the moment when Shakyamuni Buddha entered parinirvana, the final “complete nirvana” that follows the death of an awakened being.
Rather than centering on loss, the day invites steady contemplation of liberation, the end of suffering, and the truth that everything conditioned is impermanent.
Buddhists around the world reflect on his teachings and the path to enlightenment. The day is not only about remembering Buddha’s final moments but also appreciating the peace associated with awakening and renewing a personal commitment to living with wisdom and compassion in everyday life...
Parinirvana Day offers a quiet opportunity to reflect on impermanence and to reconnect with inner growth. In many Buddhist traditions, remembrance is practical rather than nostalgic. It is less about looking back and more about asking honest questions: What am I clinging to? And what might change if I loosened that grip, even slightly? (Days of the Year)
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It’s Remember the Maine Day! The Maine was believed at the time to have been sunk by a Spanish mine in Havana’s harbor, an event that started the Spanish American War. Modern evidence shows that the explosion actually came from inside the ship.
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It’s Susan B Anthony Day.
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And Fastelavn, the Danish festival of beating cats in barrels. (Not to worry. In modern times, they’re just paper cats.)
Fastelavn began as a blend of religious practices and local customs. Similar pre-Lenten customs in other parts of Europe served as inspiration for the festival, which began in Denmark in the 16th century.
Originally, it was a time for people to feast and celebrate before Lent’s fasting period. Peasants and townsfolk would gather for large meals, playful activities, and sometimes even parades.
One of the oldest customs was “Slå katten af tønden,” where people would hit a barrel decorated with a cat to chase away evil spirits. In earlier times, a real cat was placed inside the barrel, symbolizing bad luck or evil, but today, only candy and treats fill the barrel. The child who breaks the barrel is crowned the “Cat King” or “Cat Queen.” It’s a great way to keep the little ones entertained and sugar-high. (Days of the Year)
Tomorrow is Presidents’ Day.
