Whskyjack — It has been a rough week, as I looked for music I wanted something peaceful and calming. So, after a search these recommendations came up and fit my need. I’ve created a playlist called Quiet Morning. It starts with Debussy, then Bach, Beethoven, Joesph Haydn and finishes with Swedish composer Edvard Crieg. Each 5 to 8 min. of peaceful relaxing music for your morning.
Jack
Thank you, Jack, I needed that.
Attribution: DOJ Redacts Epstein Files Cartoon by R.J. Matson, Portland, ME
[R.J. Matson is the editorial cartoonist with Roll Call, and is syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons.\
White House Border Czar Tom Homan (Pete Davidson) meets with ICE agents (Kenan Thompson, James Austin Johnson, Mikey Day, Ben Marshall, Andrew Dismukes, Jeremy Culhane) in Minneapolis.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like the FBI investigating Trumpās false claim the 2020 election was rigged.
Now that’s what I call a palate cleanser, Jack. YouTube Playlists are a neat tool. Just hit Play All and chill.
Some good news
Jack, Thank you. It was my mother’s favorite classical piece. I still remember as a child when it became her favorite song as well.
I put this up late last night:
Just finished watching Nuremberg. It can be rented or purchased on Prime. It is a brilliant movie. Do not watch if you donāt want to be terrified about the camps Trump is creating. It is only a matter of degree not fact.
Privacy for Epsein files.
SĆ
Privacy for Fulton County Georgia voter roles.
NO
Some dogs were too cool for school.
That’s a champ, Stur.
Bring dog pics today! just put them on here, i can pop them on screen.
**The Bright Side: February 1, 2026**
_A roundup by our AI partner Silas (Gemini) about optimism, progress, and things right in the world._
A Catherine OāHara classic
āGod Loves A Terrierā
More OāHara, but from āBest In Showā
Craig – Some clips in here you might use
For Black History Month – 33 minutes of beauty from the Alvin Ailey Dancy company.
Alvin Ailey’s masterwork: Revelations.
from my Youtube, responding to request for for our dog pics. This is my loving 12-year-old lab Casey. Shel’ll be watching today
nice piece Jack…
nice yellow lab Casey… when I had dogs I was partial to black labs.
haven’t had a dog in years…. cats are so much easier and I have 2.
and thank god the month of January is gone….
Great Grandson Torin with Thor
Torin is primarily a masculine name meaning “chief,” “lord,” or “little chief”. It is associated with strength, leadership, and, through its connection to the Norse name Thor, can also imply “thunder” or “descendant of Thor”. It is a distinctive, somewhat rare name, with roots in Celtic tradition and occasionally in literature.
We’ll be doing cat day sometime, Renee. The Westminster championship got me going on dogs. Is there a cat competition we could link up sometime?
Gale Storm
Gale going on screen today. Thanks BB
Went to a cat show in Dallas. The only ones less of a fan than I was were the cats. And I LOVE cats.
āBest In Showā is probably streaming somewhere.
Here is my almost 15-year-old little girl, Winnie! She is most definitely a princess.
And another one!
Upcoming cat Shows
https://cfanorthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ValleyCatFanciers-Feb2026.pdf
https://cfanorthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/CallOfTheWild-Feb2026.pdf
Here’s my second dog, Barney
Me with my first dog, Rebel
And my third and final dog (unless I get a yard, can get another one) — Toby
From “inflammatory” indictments to agility dogs in under 60 minutes.
Today we broke down the legal flaws in the Don Lemon filing with House Counsel, celebrated the release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos from ICE custody, and reviewed the “Nuremberg” movie.
Then we watched a Dachshund run a tunnel. Itās called range.
TODAY’S RUNDOWN
00:00 Intro: Westminster Dog Agility Chaos
01:50 Breaking News: Liam Ramos Released from ICE
03:15 Legal Analysis: The Don Lemon Indictment Flaws
11:00 The Dog Bench: Winnie, Rebel & The Weimaraner
16:15 Movie Review: “Nuremberg” & Authoritarianism
21:45 Agility Champion: Sterling (Atomic No. 47)
24:30 Texas Politics: Tallerico vs. Christian Nationalism
28:00 The Epstein Files & Cash Patelās Silence
33:20 The “Upside Down” Podcast & YouTube Robots
Watch the replay:
Houston Democrat Christian Menefee wins special election to complete Sylvester Turnerās term in Congress
Residents of the district have gone 11 months without a member of Congress, after Gov. Greg Abbott set the first round of the special election in November ā to the chagrin of Democrats.
Once seated, Menefee will add another vote for House Democrats in a Republican-controlled House with historically tight margins. Republicansā advantage will be cut to 218-214, meaning the GOP will only be able to afford one defection from its ranks on party-line votes.
Speaking onstage at his election night party, Menefee pledged to fight to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ātear up ICE from the rootsā and push to fix the U.S. immigration system. He also spoke directly to President Donald Trump.
āYouāve gone nearly a year without hearing from the people of the 18th Congressional District of Texas,ā Menefee said. āThe results here tonight are a mandate for me to work as hard as I can to oppose your agenda, to fight back against where youāre taking this country and to investigate your crimes. And I look forward to doing so.ā
fuck this administration
i believe there may be a longshot scenario where Dems take the House BEFORE midterms
hereās hoping
š¾š¾š¾
Judge Bieryās decision from last nightās thread:
The father and sonās case āhas its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,ā the judge noted.
Biery wrote of the detainment: āObserving human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency.ā
Judge Biery accused the federal government of āignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independenceā and āthat pesky inconvenience called the Fourth Amendment.ā At the end of the ruling, he includes that now indelible photo of Liam with two Bible verses.
Matthew 19:14, which quotes Jesus: āLet the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.ā
And John 11:35, āJesus wept.ā
***
The ICE N&zis may start to fall apart if they actually unmask them and realize there is no special immunity waiting for them.
Play N&zi games, win Nuremberg prizes.
Ivy
I don’t think Brewster puts me in the wonderful column. May be more of the why don’t you get off your ass and take care of a dog. But then I’ve always had an easy mutually respectful relationship with my critter friends. Brewster probably shows more respect to the bird and given that he pulled the birds tail the other day, he doesn’t show him much respect.
But we’re a happy bunch, this pack, flock, family.
Jack
I know that Jesus said something about the poor will always be with usā¦.did he add somewhere that the Nazis will always be with us too?
I guess he did, he had a lot to say. That boy could talk a dog down off a meat wagon.
He probably called them Romans.
Sturge
He did but I think it got lost in translation.
Jack
re: serendipity
found this and wasnāt even looking for LotR stuff, 1981 13-part BBC Radio production of Lord of the Rings:
https://archive.org/details/lord-of-the-rings-10_202401
That there, Anony, hopefully is going to take up a lot of my time in the days to come.
Itās high time I brushed up on the old thing.
I wonder if they got Thucydidesā¦ā¦
The main problem I guess I have with audio-books and such is that the act of someone reading to me puts me to sleep. Bummer.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwynzw7jd4go
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, announced on Sunday that Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias were released from Dilley detention center in Texas and had travelled back to the Minneapolis.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat and outspoken critic of ICE, also posted on social media about the father and son’s return to Minnesota.
“Liam is home now and we are grateful to [Joaquin Castro] for traveling to Minneapolis with him and his dad,” Omar wrote. “Welcome home Liam.”
Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, said the father and son “did everything right” when they came into the country from Ecuador in 2024.
They entered the US at a port of entry to seek asylum, they used the CBP One app, they made an appointment, they presented themselves to Customs and Border Protection, and they have shared all their information with the government, Prokosch said.
“This family was not eluding ICE in any way. They were following all the established protocols pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings and pose no safety, no flight risk, and never should have been detained,” Prokosch added.
š«”
glad you couldnāt watch me try to spell āPeloponnesianā
ā¦and i didnāt post the 1st one i found, this guy has a decent voice š
Oh, the BBc LotR production is a radio play with actors, so it shouldnāt put you to sleep like the drone of a singular monotonous voice would
enjoy
lol
I would rather hit my thumb with a ball peen hammer than try to spell peloponeestrium without a google at hand. Iāve put off memorizing it for years.
They say procrastination is the thief of time, but I say it saves a lot of useless effort sometimes
i done struck internet gold shhhhhhh
Henry James āTurn of the Screwā BBC radio drama
https://archive.org/details/HenryJames_turnscrew
this is like the old internet when it was fun and had no ads
Jon Stewart tells funny story with great one-liner by a New York City cop.
Yesterday I learned a new thing. Say you have a cast iron steam or hot water heat radiator and only a smallish section of the radiator is hot. Iāve been around steam or hot water radiators before but this just never came up before. So I googlized it and found out I needed a āradiator Keyā Turns out you stick this key into a special fitting on the radiator and air starts to hiss out. When the air turns to water, close the little valve and the whole radiator gets hot.
Went damn near 80 years without knowing that.
Life is a funny old dog as Robert used to say.
The YouTube video showing how to bleed the air out of a radiator is like a minute long. lol
Italy protesting ICE coming to Olympics.
Will Team USA get booed, or just JD & Marco? Are they trotting themselves out as the new 1 and 2 since Adolfās time is about up?
An interesting video on the current state of AI in the music industry and where does the industry go from here.
That part toward the ends here they talk about safety issues in the US.
***
Reports now show about 16,800 fans have canceled their World Cup tickets worldwide and that number is still climbing fast. This isnāt about bad flights or hotel prices. This is people saying they are walking away from the tournament entirely because they do not feel safe going to the United States given the current climate created by ICE tactics under the Trump administration and aggressive immigration enforcement that many see as a real threat to visitors.
Supporters from Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia are blasting their cancellations on social platforms and tagging it under #BoycottWorldCup. They are showing refunds, unused seats, and writing that if the US is unsafe for them to even visit then they are not stepping foot inside. For many this feels bigger than soccer. It feels like a global protest against a political environment that they believe stands in direct conflict with the spirit of unity the World Cup claims to represent.
*This was as of two weeks ago, after the murder of Renee Good but before the murder of Alex Pretti.
ive decided Nicki Minaj is just scared and doing what she has to do
eff this regime
Trevor Noah hosts the Grammy Awards tonight. Itās in CBS, but until Colbert is goneā¦
Oh, Bari Weissā wife is in the EPSTEIN files.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-curious-cbs-boss-wife-nellie-bowles-busted-befriending-epstein/
Nellie Bowles, wife of new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, appeared numerous times in the DOJās latest file release related to disgracer financer Jeffrey Epstein.
Based on 17 entries from the Department of Justiceās release of more than 3 million documents on Friday, Bowles appeared to have a meeting scheduled with Epstein for 11:00 am on Sept. 5, 2018, at his New York City home. The meeting was scheduled through Lesley Groff, who worked as an assistant to Epstein for over two decades.
āWednesday at 11 am is perfect! Iāll be there then!ā Bowles responded.
It appears Masha Drokova, a Russian public relations specialist who worked for Epstein around this time, had originally pitched the meeting with Bowles to Epstein.
āI have a new friend whoās fun and smart. Sheās New=York Times reporter,ā Drokova, wrote, linking Bowlesā author profile at the Times. ā
Bowles and Weiss co-founded the news and opinion blog, The Free Press, in 2021. Last year, CBS News acquired the blog for $150 million and installed Weiss, who had no prior experience in TV news, as editor-in-chief.
Anony – Re: Minaj
Upward assimilation by downward rejection
āThis phrase suggests a process where individuals or groups seek to improve their status or integration (upward assimilation) by distancing themselves from those they perceive as less successful or different (downward rejection). This can reflect social dynamics where people aim to align with higher-status groups while excluding those they view as inferior.ā -Search Assist
Carolyn didnāt hold back on the specific language used in the Don Lemon filing. Watch her full breakdown of the legal flaws here
Here’s the 30-second takeš
https://www.netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-is-michelle-obamas-becoming-trending-on-netflix-why-is-it-hyped-up-so-much
The campaign extends beyond just viewing hours and the actual data from the chart, as participants are also organizing efforts to boost the documentary’s rating on IMDb. Many users are intentionally awarding the project ten out of ten stars while simultaneously downvoting the competing Melania Trump recent production, Melania (2026).
As of early February 2026, the documentary titled Becoming is experiencing a significant surge in social media mentions despite its original release years ago.
š«”
omg i see Michelle Obama movie in the top 10 on my Netflix, we did it lol
The people of Minneapolis have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/the-nation-nominates-minneapolis-for-the-nobel-peace-prize/
The editors of The Nation magazine are in the process of formally nominating the city of Minneapolis and its people for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The following nomination statement, which is addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the five-member body that is charged by the Parliament of Norway with selecting the recipient of the Peace Prize, has been prepared for submission on Friday.
*This was last Friday, 1/30/25. The nomination deadline for the Nobel Peace Prize is January 31 each year.
While individuals and organizations have been granted this prize since its inception in 1901, no municipality has ever been recognized. But, in these unprecedented times, we strongly believe that the case can be made that Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota, has met and exceeded the committeeās standard of promoting ādemocracy and human rights, and work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world.ā
*Well, Sturg, looky there.
The federal agents involved in the shooting of Alex Pretti have been identified in government records.
According to ProPublica, the two agents who fired their weapons are:
Jesus Ochoa (Border Patrol Agent)
Raymundo Gutierrez (Customs and Border Protection Officer)
Current Status:
Investigation: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting, which is being led by the FBI.
Employment Status: Both agents are currently on administrative leave.
Official Narrative: While initial statements from DHS officials characterized Pretti as a threat, the administration has since backtracked as video evidence emerged showing Pretti was holding a mobile phone, not a weapon, when he was shot while pinned to the ground.
Way to murder someone who was supporting your people, Jesus and Raymundo
thereās some upward assimilation by downward rejection for you
They’re Targeting Children
The Department of Justice isn’t done with Liam Ramos. Despite the 5-year-old and his father arriving home in Minnesota today after being released from the Dilley, Texas detention center, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced this morning that the administration will appeal the court order that freed them.
Speaking on ABCās This Week, Blanche argued that Judge Fred Bieryās ruling creates a “schism in the law” regarding the detention of asylum seekers. “We very strongly believe that they should be held,” Blanche stated, indicating the administration wants a higher court to set a precedent that affirms their power to detain families indefinitely, even if Liam himself remains free for now.
The Wider Context
The Ramos case is a single data point in a massive, systemic shift. A new analysis of federal data reveals that the detention of children has surged dramatically in the opening weeks of 2026.
Sources:
CHILD DETENTIONS UP 600%
Let’s try to figure this out tomorrow ELEVEN TO NOON (ET): https://trailmix.cc/chat
ICE is procuring:
ā¢ 23 new concentration camps across 18 states
ā¢ 200 soundproof Ford Transit vans
*If they are deporting folks, why all of the new beds? This is a money-making scheme based on cruelty and human suffering. Slavery.
Well, they sent out Rand Paul to dilute the civil rights abuses/murders if Good & Pretti.
He started by saying knocking on doors for campaigns is the way to protest what you donāt like.
He ended with the āboth sidesā tango. ICE couldāve deescalated things and so should the victims.
Rant should dress in work clothes and go to a Home Depot parking lot to see how these N&zi goons operate.
Iāve seen a video of a guy get out of his car, put his hands up & the ICE monster punches him the face and knocks him to the ground & then two good jump on him to cuff him.
Orange Adolf & JD & Noem & Homan ALL need to say publicly and unequivocally that there is NO special immunity, they can be charged with crimes in a state for which they can never receive a presidential pardon, and Stephen Mitler should be arrested for his part in this unconstitutional cruelty. Then, every one in an elected seat or a cabinet position should be impeach, convicted and removed for treason. Then, they should be handed over to the ICC for trial.
Here’s what out front yard looked like at dinner time — they call it Snowcrete
Looks like the stuff in front of our office. Also looks like high quality igloo building materials.
Oh, so Dumbass is planning to shut the Kennedy Center down for a couple of years? What, to avoid the embarrassment of canceled shows, or perhaps to show heās a builder? Correct me if Iām wrong, but demolition and building are two entirely different things, and with him Iāve only seen the former.
yo get your plates off the net Mr.
Shooters of Alex Pretti identified.
Itās good for the rest of the rats to see that those masks are not permanent.
Itās a war of attritionāwhich ever side wears down the other side first wins.
Why, itās a bloody wintery fucking wonderland.
Craig – Thatās what they call ācobblestone iceā in Texas. Thaws a tiny bit every day and recreates at night.
Only knew three of the ābestā new artist nominees.
terrible nominees
grammys are like 5 years behind the curve
APT. is so bad, Sabrina Carpenter is ai
slop
Portland City Councilor Mitch Green wrote in a social media post that he was tear gassed in the crowd: āFederal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.ā
Bad Bunny. āICE out.ā (and more good stuff like that) Using his platform. Canāt wait for his halftime show en espaƱol.
Yep BiD, the wires are all over it. ICE protest escalated significantly at the Grammys. At the Golden Globes the protest was just visual, those pins.
Key Moments from Tonight (Grammys)
The volume and intensity of the comments were much higher tonight than at the Globes:
Kehlani: Provided the most viral moment by explicitly saying “F* ICE”** during her acceptance speech for Best R&B Performance. She also spoke at length on the red carpet, stating that artists are “too powerful… to not make some kind of statement.”
Bad Bunny: Used his acceptance speech for Best MĆŗsica Urbana Album to say, “ICE out… We are humans and we are Americans,” blending the protest with his thanks.
Bon Iver (Justin Vernon): Vernon, who has close ties to the Minneapolis music scene, used his platform to specifically highlight the organizers and legal observers on the ground in Minneapolis following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Sturā¦ thatās real purty. Read about a 100 car pileup somewhere in the Carolinaās – I 95 Iād guess. Iāve lived through snow in the South. Purty, sure, but it It aināt pretty.
Carole King and Joni Mitchell are there? Might not be rock n roll, but a lotta great music came outta those two.
Pogā¦.if that pic was in the south it would be extraordinaryābut here in Jersey itās just another January Sunday.
In Carolina you learn to drive away from the hurricanes and DO NOT drive on the snow.
Sturā¦ thatās real purty. Read about a 100 car pileup somewhere in the Carolinaās – I 95 Iād guess. Iāve lived through snow in the South. Purty, sure, but it It aināt pretty.
You go to Jersey to escape winter storms? Hell NJ gets hit by them no matter whether they are Alberta Clippers, Norāeasters, bomb cyclones or whatever the hell else.
haha love the protests on cBS
Canāt wait until tomorrow to see the rage tweet or whatever the hell theyāre called on lies social.
Will the Kennedy Center be demolished?
NEW THREAD