“…who wears anything for eight hours in a row?…”

• For the first time, the Trumps are learning what life’s like for the rest of us who have to follow the laws and can’t buy our way out of charges.
• The parents who are crying about CRT being taught in their schools were the kids too fragile to watch ABC Afterschool Specials as children.
• Whatever the fuck is going to happen in Ukraine will be a circus.  On the off chance Putin doesn’t invade this weekend, he’ll leave sufficient forces along the border to keep everyone on edge indefinitely.  He’s working to destabilize the West, and he’s got all the time in the world.  
• One thing about Biden:  He’s repaired much of the damage Trump did with our NATO allies.  The entire alliance stands united against Russian aggression.  Kudos there.
  Read More ▶ “Random thoughts Friday, Volume LVII”

Former Guy: “The National Archives did not ‘find’ anything, they were given, upon request, Presidential Records in an ordinary and routine process to ensure the preservation of my legacy and in accordance with the Presidential Records Act. If this was anyone but ‘Trump,’ there would be no story here. Instead, the Democrats are in search of their next Scam. The Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax turned out to be a Democrat inspired fake story to help Crooked Hillary Clinton. Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, has all been a Hoax. The Fake News is making it seem like me, as the President of the United States, was working in a filing room. No, I was busy destroying ISIS, building the greatest economy America had ever seen” and blah blah blah…

None of this is confirmed as genuine – as in whether or not they genuinely happened, not whether or not the Friday attacks in the rebel Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine being blamed on Ukrainian military forces were actually perpetrated by them. We already know they’re false flags, but the level to which they were staged is up in the air. Here they are, listed by their true flag:

?? Car bomb detonated outside Donetsk Government Headquarters: “A massive explosion in the center of Donetsk on Friday evening was the work of a car bomb that detonated outside the government headquarters, the authorities in the breakaway region in eastern Ukraine have said,” English language Russian state-sponsored propaganda outlet RT reports.

?? Pipeline explosion in Luhansk: Another load of shit from RT, who write “Two explosions rocked the city of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine late on Friday, a Sputnik news agency correspondent has reported. Local media have also confirmed that the first blast affected a pipeline in the area, resulting in a major fire. The second one reportedly took place at a gas station.”

?? Metadata from videos of evacuations from Luhansk and Donetsk shows they were filmed Wednesday, while Russian media and separarist leadership claim the exodus was on Friday: Radio Free Europe’s Mark Krutov shows the proof that Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin is full of shit on the timing of the “evacuation”. Who knows if these people are even still alive or if they’ve been filmed being gunned down by Russian troops dressed in Ukrainian uniforms.

A federal judge has denied bail to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes while he awaits trial on charges of seditious conspiracy over his plan for the Capitol riot, CBS’s Scott MacFarlane reports.

The ruling from Judge Amit Mehta in the combined lawsuits from Rep Eric Swalwell, Rep Bennie Thompson, and Capitol cops James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby against Trump, Rudy, Don Jr, Mo Brooks The Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers is a mixed bag, some claims were dismissed and others upheld. Basically Rudy and Don Jr get to walk, but the rest are still on the hook. Key line from the judge: “It is reasonable to infer that the President would have understood the impact of his tweet, since he had told rally-goers earlier that, in effect, the Vice President was the last line of defense against a stolen election outcome,” which is not a good sign for the Orange Tyrant.

My parents saw President TRUMP at Mar-a-Lago and he gave them a note for me. THANK YOU ! pic.twitter.com/JAEW5KjJvJ

— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) February 18, 2022

US intelligence community officials told Foreign Policy on Friday the Russian military have a hit list of pro-Western Ukrainian politicians, anti-corruption activists, and Russian and Belarusian dissidents living in exile in Ukraine to be targeted for arrest or summary execution if and when the invasion force takes over the country. “As we’ve seen in the past, we expect Russia will try to force cooperation through intimidation and repression. These acts, which in past Russian operations have included targeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, detentions, and the use of torture, would likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons,” a US official said on condition of anonymity.

National Archives chief David Ferreiro confirmed in a letter Thursday to House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney that among the documents Trump stole and took to Mar-a-Lago were a number clearly marked “TOP SECRET” and his staff have informed the Department of Justice, the New York Times reports. “Because NARA identified classified information in the boxes, NARA staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice,” Ferreiro wrote.

The “Trump stealing classified shit from the White House” storyline got pushed out of the news cycle somewhat by the crises in Ukraine and Canada in recent weeks, but this is a pretty big deal, especially given the maelstrom of hypocrisy over Hillary Clinton’s alleged mishandling of classified information. Perfect timing too, as he’s currently on another jihad against her over “spying”.

In what is likely their false flag operation to justify an invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry has claimed there is an extensive “genocide by Kiev” going on in Donbas, Ragip Soylu, the Turkey-based reporter for Middle East Eye, reports via Twitter.  This follows a statement by the Russian Duma that the United States and Western allies are covering up the genocide of Russians in Ukraine, something that hasn’t happened.  As a sign of the panic of Russians in Ukraine, Russian-owned state television network RT, a favorite of Fox and OAN correspondents, broadcast buses transporting people out of Donbas, with local Russian-sponsored separatists claiming they will evacuate 700,000 people from the region.

NBC’s Peter Alexander reports the Biden Administration is wary of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plans to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris in Munich this weekend as the Russians could take advantage of his absence to attack. Alexander then follows up with a statement from a Zelensky spokesman: “I cannot comment on leaks and rumors, only official information. As of this morning, President Zelensky was planning to attend the Munich Security Conference. Now we are observing the situation, which is getting more and more dramatic. The final decision will be made in the next hours or so. We still have time before departure. The president is scheduled to depart tomorrow morning. If there is a dramatic escalation or some worrying messages then he might change his mind. As of now, we are still waiting to see what is going to happen.”

“Supporting children is not, and should never be, part of a political agenda… Those who attack my initiatives and create the appearance of impropriety are quite literally dream killers They have canceled the hopes and dreams of children by trying to cancel me” says Melania Trump in response to reports her NFT scam is an actual literal scam where she pockets money for charitable causes.

Or the “Dream Killers” could be the state of Florida’s Consumer Services Division. Last week the New York Times reported Melania’s planned April “High Tea” event at Mar-a-Lago is under investigation by the agency for failing to register with them as required of every non-profit venture. “Consumer Services Division is currently investigating whether this event involves an entity operating in violation of Chapter 496, Florida Statutes,” agency spokeswoman Erin M. Moffet told the Times. That Ron DeSantis is such a sneaky little socialist bastard for allowing his dirty cops to harass the Trumps like this and trying to cancel Melania’s vision for children or whatever.

Kim Potter, the Former Brooklyn, Minnesota cop who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she shot Daunte Wright was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday, less than state guidelines for the manslaughter charge on which she was convicted in December, the AP reports.

“Question: Does adding ivermectin, an inexpensive and widely available antiparasitic drug, to the standard of care reduce the risk of severe disease in patients with COVID-19 and comorbidities? Findings: In this open-label randomized clinical trial of high-risk patients with COVID-19 in Malaysia, a 5-day course of oral ivermectin administered during the first week of illness did not reduce the risk of developing severe disease compared with standard of care alone. Meaning: The study findings do not support the use of ivermectin for patients with COVID-19″ – JAMA report.

Former Trump Campaign spokesworm and Jan 6, 2021 Ellipse rally planner Katrina Pierson, answered questions from the House January 6th Select Committee, Politico reports. Pierson, who as the organizer of the rally that preceded the attack would obviously be an important witness, had been subpoenaed by the committee back in September along with 11 other people key to the planning. A source told Politico that Pierson did not plead the fifth at any time during the interview.

Pierson herself had spoken at the rally, telling the crowd of MAGA cultists “I mean, come on, nobody really believes this crap. But hey, there’s something going on in the Capitol today,” she said, “And I don’t think they can hear you! And even if they think for a second that they’re gonna get away with it today, they’ve got another thing coming,” which sounds an awful lot like incitement. “You better believe, the next two years, we are watching today, we are taking names today,” Pierson continued in her rant on stage. “And I don’t know, are you guys going to forget? Because today moving forward, we have hundreds of days for them to hear from us, for them to see us, and for them – to work on replacing them one by one if we have to.”

Minnesota Republican Congressman Jim Hagedorn died Thursday night at age 59, his wife, disgraced former Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan announced on Facebook Friday.

Major scandal in Trump Land! A blockbuster report in the Huffington Post on Friday revealed that former President Trump may be personally profiting from political donations by renting space in a building that he owns to his PAC – space that the PAC doesn’t even actually use! Sources told the Huffington Post that the former President – whose fans consider him to be a paragon of integrity and virtue so these allegations should be deeply shocking – that the 7,000 square foot space in the Trump Tower in New York City has been rented for $37,500 per month since 2017, first by his reelection campaign, then by the Make America Great Again political action committee.

Neither entity had more than one person working there regularly, and now there are zero employees based in the office space. In the 10-month period since the Make America Great Again PAC took over the lease, the $375,417 total it paid in rent to the Trump Tower is $24,917 more than the $350,500 the PAC spent on supporting Republican campaigns. What a huge scandal!

Russian-backed Ukrainian rebel leader Denish Pushilin, the head of the Russian-backed Donetsk puppet state, announced Friday that civilians will be evacuated from the region into Russia, the AP reports. The exodus comes as artillery volleys between Donetsk – along with its allied puppet state, the Luhansk People’s Republic – and Ukrainian military forces have escalated in recent days. Western military officials fear this could be among the very last actions before a full-scale invasion.

Canadian lawmakers have been told by Parliament security officials to stay home on Friday while Ottawa cops launch a sweep aimed at expelling the anti-vax clustertruckers who have paralyzed the nation’s capital for weeks, the CBC reports. “As per the Parliamentary Protective Service’s (PPS) most recent email notification, a police operation is expected to take place on Wellington Street and other locations in the downtown core of Ottawa. Should you be already in the precinct, please remain in the building and await further instructions from PPS officers,” said an email sent to members of Parliament. Lawmakers had been scheduled to debate the current activation of the Emergencies Act on Friday from 7 AM to midnight and throughout the weekend. Here’s hoping the debate’s been mooted and the assholes are long gone by the time they can reconvene.