polecat news and views

Saturday, February 14, 2026

For a year, Democrats have been smearing President Donald Trump, trying to link him to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. But their efforts blew up in their faces after newly unsealed Department of Justice documents revealed that Trump did the exact opposite of what they’ve been claiming.

He actually called the cops on Epstein back in July 2006.

The documents include an FBI interview summary from 2019 with former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter. Trump reached out to Reiter right after Epstein’s criminal sex investigation became public.

Palm Beach Country Club is a Jewish country club. A lot of wealthy people are there and they flock together. Mar-A-Lago is a mixture of everyone. DONALD TRUMP told [REDACTED] that he threw EPSTEIN out of his club. TRUMP called the PBPD to tell him "thank goodness you' re stopping him, everyone has known he's been doing this". TRUMP told him people in New York knew EPSTEIN was disgusting. TRUMP said MAXWELL was EPSTEIN's operative, “she is evil and to focus on her". TRUMP told [REDACTED] that he was around EPSTEIN once when teenagers were present and TRUMP "got the hell out of there". TRUMP was one of the very first people to call when people found out that they were investigating EPSTEIN.

Reiter’s name is what is redacted in the document.

As ABC News reports, “The account of Trump’s alleged call to Reiter, as summarized in the FBI document, has not previously been reported.”

It’s also devastating to the Democrats’ smear campaign against Trump. Democrats spent months pushing a narrative that Trump was somehow complicit in Epstein’s crimes. Now we learn that Trump was one of the very first people to call the police when the investigation became public. While it’s clear that he’s not fully aware of Epstein’s crimes, he warned them that Epstein was disgusting and told them to focus on Maxwell. It also supports Trump’s earlier statements that he banned Epstein from his club. If Democrats were looking for someone who tried to stop Epstein, they just found him. And it’s the guy they’ve been smearing for a year.

This revelation comes as Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify before the House Oversight Committee during a closed-door virtual deposition on Monday.

"I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence," she said in response to a question about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. "I would like to answer your question, but on the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer this question and any related questions. My habeas petition is pending in the Southern District of New York. I therefore invoke my right to silence under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

Her lawyer declared she would “speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” and that she would testify that “both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing.”

Will the newly released documents matter to the left? Of course not. It's too invested in the lie to back down now. But the smear has backfired on them spectacularly.

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/02/10/the-democrats-trump-epstein-smear-campaign-just-collapsed-n4949324

Los Angeles Teachers’ Union Caught Implementing Anti-ICE ‘Resistance’

Los Angeles Teachers’ Union Caught Implementing Anti-ICE ‘Resistance’

Catherine Salgado

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

A major Los Angeles teachers union is reportedly choosing to brainwash students into hating federal immigration officers instead of educating them, possibly even directly encouraging illegal behavior.

Defending Education released a report on Tuesday, February 10, exposing United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) planning documents and materials that seemingly lobby for using school resources as part of a campaign to demonize and interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arresting illegal alien criminals. The union argued that the school resources can be a “form of resistance” against ICE when they are used to help “engag[e] students in community self-defense.” The union even wanted to offer “service learning hours” for borderline or outright illegal protest activities.

When UTLA referred to “community self-defense,” what it really meant was defying ICE. By the way, ICE is not raiding schools. If any children are deported, it is almost certainly because their parents are being deported, and illegal alien parents can choose to have their children come with them. The documents do acknowledge the possibility of school staff being arrested, which seems to indicate they have hired illegal aliens. Notably, EdSource states that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) average for proficiency in math is about 36% and 46% in English.

But UTLA seems to have convinced itself that the ignorance of its students isn’t a priority and that ICE officers have nothing better to do than lurk in school doorways to “kidnap” innocent kids. The “School Safety Plan: Responding to Immigration Enforcement” tells staff to take specific steps if an officer aims to “interview, to detain a student or staff; or if a federal agency demands student information.” a bullet point list on a parent workshop describes how UTLA teachers and staff will train illegal alien parents and even provide virtual check-ins, using the aliens’ preferred language.

Teachers were supposed to lead “discussions with students” and provide “know your rights” training, a deceptively titled set of propaganda points that falsely assert illegal aliens have constitutional rights. UTLA planned to bring in unnamed agencies to discuss how to protect illegal aliens and how to organize to support aliens already arrested.

Defending Education explained:

Captured images of planning notes seem to advocate for the use of professional development time to “make door hanger immigration kits: w/ pro bono lawyers, affidavits, KYR, etc – distribute,” “engaging students in community self-defense – offer service learning hours,” using school budgets to “buy bullhorns, whistles,” using “security cameras to monitor” for ICE agents, and the use of “phone trees – rapid response/ communication at the school level” such as the “Signal App” to alert to ICE presence.

Should officers try to make an arrest, UTLA urged that activists surround the school and invite the media.

UTLA transformed the “Local School Leadership Council” into a forum for anti-ICE “resistance.” And the union declared “the buildings and grounds of LAUSD (including pick-up and drop-off sites at all entries and exits) are sanctuary spaces for all students, parents, administrators, bargaining unit members, and community members at the school for school-related business and jointly committed to defend the right to a free and safe learning environment to the extent permitted by law.”

And that’s the ironic part, because 18 U.S. Code § 111 makes it a federal crime to interfere with or resist immigration officers in the execution of their duties. The whole point of this activist campaign is to violate the law.

https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/02/10/los-angeles-teachers-union-caught-implementing-anti-ice-resistance-n4949342

Scott Jennings: Democrats Are Losing the Voter ID Argument

Scott Jennings: Democrats Are Losing the Voter ID Argument

Amy Curtis

The Democrats are losing on Voter ID. Not only is the concept popular among voters in general, but even 71 percent of Democrats also support making people prove who they are and that they have the right to vote before casting ballots in our elections. But, as Sen. Eric Schmitt pointed out yesterday, Democrats have a vested interest in making sure our elections are not secure.

Salem Radio host and CNN contributor Scott Jennings took the Democrats to task for opposing the will of the people on Voter ID.

"I want to talk about something today that should not be controversial in a healthy democracy, and that is who gets to vote in American elections," Jennings said. "Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation called the SAVE America Act...it safeguards American voting eligibility by requiring voter ID and proof of citizenship to register in federal elections."

"That's it. There's no tricks here, no suppression. Just verification. And for supporting this common-sense idea," Jennings continued, "Democrats are completely melting down."

He then played a video of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on CNN, and how he kept calling the SAVE America Act "voter suppression."

"None of them will answer the simplest question imaginable: should only U.S. citizens vote in U.S. elections?" Jennings added. "Because once you say yes, their argument collapses. Here's the reality that Democrats don't want to admit: Voter ID is overwhelmingly popular with the American people. Republicans, independents, Democrats, Black voters, Hispanic voters, White voters, men, women. Everybody is for it. 83 percent of Americans want Voter ID."

Republicans have been under pressure to bring the SAVE America Act to a vote in Congress.

We will see when, and if, the bill comes up for a vote.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/02/10/jennings-dems-are-losing-the-voter-id-argument-n2671037?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-ExQUsMfBXP&_nlid=ExQUsMfBXP&_nhids=nclznsdDtLyqls

Friday, February 13, 2026

Trump Frees America from Climate Shackles

Trump Frees America from Climate Shackles

David Manney

President Donald Trump is moving to unwind one of the most consequential regulatory decisions in the modern era by advancing the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, the rule that declared carbon dioxide a dangerous pollutant, opening the door to sweeping federal climate mandates.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has led the effort, calling the rule both a legal and scientific stretch that turned into a bureaucrat's dream and a nightmare for ordinary Americans.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the action as the largest deregulatory move in American history, with a senior White House official confirming the action would be taken within days.

How Carbon Dioxide Became the Villain

Carbon dioxide (CO2) isn't a bit player in the scheme of things: it sustains life and is a critical part of the photosynthetic process. Crops, forests, and grasses depend on it, yet federal regulators transformed that same compound into the Dark Side of the Force using regulatory language that treated correlation as causation.

Climate patterns have continually shifted over the centuries due to solar cycles, ocean currents, and volcanic activity, forces that have existed long before SUVs or power plants.

Zeldin argues that any endangerment findings elevate models over measurable outcomes, ignoring the limits of human influence on global systems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding and repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines established under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 202(a) since 2010.
EPA's primary rationale is that CAA Section 202(a) does not authorize the agency to regulate GHG emissions based on global climate change concerns, asserting that the CAA was designed to address air pollutants that contribute to dangerous air pollution "through local or regional exposures" rather than global atmospheric effects.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright reinforced that position, citing energy reliability and security, and warned that forcing any transition would weaken both.

The Cost of Mandates on Families and Workers

That regulatory framework, built on the endangerment finding, imposed trillion-dollar compliance costs across transportation, manufacturing, and energy. Electric vehicle mandates pushed automakers away from consumer demand while increasing sticker prices.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita have cited job losses tied to those mandates, especially in energy-producing regions.

U.S. Rep. Jim Baird emphasized that Americans should choose their vehicles based on needs, not federal pressure, while Indiana Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski supported a repeal as a step toward affordability and mobility.

While accomplishing EPA’s core mission of protecting the environment, the agency is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, lower cost of living for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.
“Today is the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen. We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin.
“Alongside President Trump, we are living up to our promises to unleash American energy, lower costs for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, and work hand-in-hand with our state partners to advance our shared mission,” added EPA Administrator Zeldin.
These historic actions will roll back trillions in regulatory costs and hidden “taxes” on U.S. families. As a result of these announcements, the cost of living for American families will decrease. It will be more affordable to purchase a car, heat homes, and operate a business. It will be more affordable to bring manufacturing into local communities while individuals widely benefit from the tangible economic impacts.

Ending those mandates is projected to save American households about $54 billion each year.

The Environmental Toll of Green Technology

Wind turbines kill birds in large numbers through blade strikes, including raptors that are protected under federal law, with estimates placing an annual number of bird deaths in the hundreds of thousands.

Offshore wind construction introduces intense underwater noise, disrupting whale migration and feeding behavior. Adding further stress to marine mammals is the noise and pressure from pile driving and increased vessel traffic.

Solar technology carries its own footprint. Mining for silicon, silver, copper, and rare-earth minerals leaves terrible open-pit scars and toxic tailings. There's tremendous reliance on manufacturers of hydrofluoric acid and heavy metals, yet when solar panels have run their course, they often end up in landfills, where cadmium and lead leach into soil and groundwater.

Law, Power, and a Course Correction

The original endangerment finding leaned on a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that allowed greenhouse gases to be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Trump's team hasn't disputed the ruling, but they've challenged how far regulators have stretched it. U.S. emissions represent a quickly shrinking share of global output, while competitors expand production with restraint.

Critics like Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund and the climate G.O.A.T. himself, Michael Mann, argue the repeal risks public health. States, such as Oregon, claim environmental harm, yet the Trump administration counters with three points: energy independence, prosperity, and the view that realistic policy better protects people than mandates written to scare them.

“What they came in with wasn’t a road map, it was a wrecking ball,” said Miles Keogh, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. “They got a lot done, but what they got done was taking stuff down, breaking stuff. You can do a lot of that fast.”
Next year will begin to reveal if the rules that rise from Trump’s regulatory demolition in 2025 survive judicial review.
By front-loading proposals in his first year, the president tried to position his administration for an aggressive defense of each new rule — all the way to the Supreme Court. If they’re upheld, it could be very difficult for future presidents to introduce similar standards without new action from Congress.
“Our deregulatory agenda is historic, and will deliver historic results for the American people, unlike the Biden administration’s half-baked rules that strangled the economy and drove up costs while failing to achieve real environmental progress,” said Brigit Hirsch, the EPA press secretary.

Final Thoughts

Along with death and taxes, climate and politics change. Only one of those responds to evidence and accountability. Trump’s move restores balance by separating environmental stewardship from ideological enforcement.

Freedom, not coercion, is the driving force behind the innovation that America thrives on when science serves truth instead of budget.

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/02/10/trump-frees-america-from-climate-shackles-n4949341?utm_source=pjmediavip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm

Dems Move to Kill Trump’s Western Hemisphere Policy, Replace It with Something Far Worse

Dems Move to Kill Trump’s Western Hemisphere Policy, Replace It with Something Far Worse

Sarah Anderson

AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis

A major part of Donald Trump's national security plan is to focus on the Western Hemisphere, making the United States and the entire region safer and more prosperous, stopping mass migration and the flow of drugs, cracking down on organized crime, and keeping our adversaries, especially China and Russia, from setting up a home base in our own backyard.

It's common sense — something we should have been doing for years for the better of our country, and in just his first year, Trump has been wildly successful. Our border is closed, which means no bad actors are crossing into our country. We've blown up narco-boats and are working to stop drug trafficking via land. Countries like Ecuador and Costa Rica are working closely with our military to combat the cartels. We took out Nicolás Maduro, one of the biggest threats to the hemisphere, and we're working on another in Cuba. We've made major advancement in trade and economic partnerships with countries like Argentina and El Salvador. Newly elected right-wing leaders in Central and South America are practically begging us to work with them again, and even the leftist holdovers, like Mexico and Colombia, are falling in line with everyone else in the region to some extent. Heck, even Nicaragua is currently cracking down on migration and doing things to appease the United States.

Trump’s popularity in Latin America is off the charts, and since the post-Maduro raid, his approval ratings among Latino and Hispanic voters have been pretty high in recent months.

But guess who doesn't like any of it? Democrats.

On Tuesday, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution to "leave the Monroe Doctrine to the dustbin of history." It calls "for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and the development of a 'New Good Neighbor' policy in order to foster improved relations and deeper, more effective cooperation between the United States and our Latin American and Caribbean neighbors."

It's a lengthy resolution, so let me see if I can sum it up.

The bill paints the United States as a hemispheric villain, a corporate puppet that commits genocide, plots numerous coups, and drives migration, poverty, and instability. It even attacks Ronald Reagan's Cold War policy, calling it criminal. It aims to terminate sanctions, including the embargo on Cuba, and it doesn't mention China, Russia, or any of the Communist regimes in the region at all. It's anti-free trade and anti-capitalism, and it contains lots of identity-driven language. Worst of all, it hands a blank U.S. taxpayer-funded check to other countries in the form of things like climate finance grants.

Ultimately, it hands the whole hemisphere over to China and other communist regimes while we roll over on our backs and toss money out the window.

"The Trump administration’s dangerous return to gunboat diplomacy in our hemisphere makes this resolution more urgent than ever," Velázquez told The Hill. "From drug trafficking to mass migration to climate change, the United States and Latin America face huge, shared challenge. These can only be solved through cooperation and partnership, not domination and coercion. It’s long past time to leave the Monroe Doctrine in the dustbin of history and finally build a foreign policy based on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared prosperity."

The resolution isn't new. Velázquez first introduced it in 2023 timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the original Monroe Doctrine, but nothing ever came of it. However, it kind of just sat there and didn't do anything, so I guess she saw all the success Trump is having in 2026 and decided it was time to bring it back... because anything to make the president look bad, country be damned.

So far, its co-sponsors include some of the most progressive members of the Democrat Party: Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), and Greg Casar (D-Texas).

It's highly unlikely this resolution will even make it to the House floor for a vote, but some are calling it an "early draft of the blueprint for a progressive Democrat foreign policy that would counter Trump’s foreign policy vision for the Hemisphere."

In other words, if these lunatics win in 2026 and 2028, we're all gonna be speaking Mandarin and living in neighborhoods held hostage by cartels.

https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/02/10/dems-move-to-kneecap-trump-in-latin-america-send-monroe-doctrine-to-dustbin-of-history-n4949338?utm_source=pjmediavip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm

Find Someone Who Looks at You the Way Dems Look at Violent Criminals

Find Someone Who Looks at You the Way Dems Look at Violent Criminals

Stephen Kruiser

Top O' the Briefing

Happy Wednesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. (It's the final two weeks of preparation for the whirlwind book tour, and the Sine Qua Non Sequitur is seeing what Hamburger Helper might be able to do for shellfish.)

Something that gets discussed a lot in conservative political circles these days is the fact that Democrats here in the Year of our Lord 2026 bear little, if any, resemblance to the Democrats of 40 or 50 years ago. It was easy to believe that the late 20th-century Dems at least loved the United States of America. Their politics were still irritating, but they weren't always subversive or openly seditious.

As we head towards the all-important midterm elections, the Democrats are putting all of their efforts into being the champions of murderers, rapists, and thieves who are in this country illegally. OK, that's not fair — they are also doing what they can to help out violent criminals who are U.S. citizens. This is from Kevin:

A diversity judge just cut a sexual deviant's sentence from 65 years down to 30. Why? Because Marxism.
A Jefferson County, Ky., judge, Tracy Davis, decided to cut the sentence of convicted rapist Christopher Davis by 35 years because, despite his heinous crime, he is just a poor lad who "fell through the cracks" and "experienced this society." In other words, systemic racism made him don a mask, point a gun at a woman, kidnap her, sexually assault her, rob her, and sexually assault her again — all because his brain hasn't fully developed yet.

Leftists would no doubt make the case that 30 years is still a harsh punishment. Leftists also believe that Hamas terrorists are misunderstood. Why give a vile rapist any leniency at all?

In the past, Democrats would always have one or two violent criminals they took on as pet projects — convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal comes to mind — but now they just reflexively throw in with most of the dregs of humanity. It's like an addiction for them. Dem sugar daddy George Soros has gotten a lot of district attorneys elected who really aren't on the side of the law at all.

Incurable Trump Derangement Syndrome has them rallying around all illegal immigrants with a ferocity not seen in earlier open borders Dem generations. That's right, there was a time when it was acceptable for Democrats to be anti-murder and anti-rape in all cases. Not so anymore if the murderer or rapist came here from another country illegally.

Catherine wrote yesterday about the State of West Virginia actually working with ICE, and the benefits of sane government officials doing that. In her post, she links to this press release from the Department of Homeland Security:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) once again calls on Governor Newsom to honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest detainers, requests for state and local jurisdictions to turn criminal illegal aliens in their custody over to ICE.
ICE has 33,179 active detainers for criminal illegal aliens in California’s local, state, and federal prisons. Across the state of California, 4,561 criminal illegal aliens have had detainers not honored and been RELEASED from jails into California communities since January 20, 2025. The crimes of these aliens include 31 homicides, 661 assaults, 574 burglaries, 184 robberies, 1,489 dangerous drugs offenses, 379 weapons offenses, and 234 sexual predatory offenses.

Gavin Newsom and his fellow Golden State Democrats let illegal alien murderers and sexual predators roam freely among law-abiding citizens because it sticks it to President Trump or something. Not all Democrats are this insane, but the ones who run the party and get all of the media attention are.

This should make the overall GOP strategy for the midterms clear: we're for upholding the law and keeping people safe; the Democrats don't think rapists and murderers should be punished. Variations on that theme featuring selected rap sheets of illegals who were detained and set free to become repeat offenders should be in every Republican candidate's ad campaign.

I would say that I'm willing to do some pro bono consulting for campaigns to get them to stay on that message, but I have expensive tastes in beer and gaming computers.

It would be nice to think that this strategy is obvious to the higher-ups at the Republican National Committee, but we're all familiar with the party's tendency to shoot itself in the foot, enjoy it a little bit, then shoot the other foot. Well, the old GOP was like that. Thanks to President Trump, the Republicans have changed a lot, too.

https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2026/02/11/the-morning-briefing-find-someone-who-looks-at-you-the-way-dems-look-at-violent-criminals-n4949329/?utm_campaign=nl_pm&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pjmediambvip

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Disappearing foreign-born workforce

Disappearing foreign-born workforce

by Bill Glahn in Economy, Immigration

More good news from today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly report. In the past 12 months (January 2025 to January 2026) there are fewer foreign-born workers employed and more native-born workers in jobs. The time period roughly corresponds to the first year of Pres. Trump’s second term.

The tale of the tape:

Foreign-born population (age 16+) -707,000
Foreign-born in jobs: -97,000
American-born population (age 16+) +3,004,000
American-born in jobs: +840,000

Of course, illegal aliens aren’t the most reliable respondents to government surveys, and these figures don’t line up with reported numbers of voluntary departures and deportations, but the trend is what is encouraging.

The BLS report is another data point reinforcing the conclusion that the foreign-born population fell in 2025, for the first time in a least a half century.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/02/disappearing-foreign-born-workforce.php

CBP and ICE Chiefs Faced Off Against Unhinged Dems...and One Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

CBP and ICE Chiefs Faced Off Against Unhinged Dems...and One Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

Matt Vespa

Today, the chiefs of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rodney Scott and Todd Lyons, faced off against a horde of deranged House Democrats before the Homeland Security Committee. These men and their respective staffs had to have known this was going to be a circus, and their assumptions were proven correct.

Lyons and Scott were subjected to smear attacks, even threats from House Democrats for enforcing federal immigration law, the latest public policy item that’s now anathema to liberal America. Lyons would prefer his agents be unmasked, but he supported his rank-and-file over the threats they’re facing from white, unhinged progressives, notably those in Minneapolis, who are also calling black ICE agents the n-word and throwing sex toys at federal vehicles. Some even broke into FBI vans, stole documents, and stole AR-15 rifles. The hearing was one absurd moment after the next, but it also showed that the Democratic Party’s brain trust is no better than a yam.

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) threatened to prosecute these men once Trump leaves office. That should be cut and used for ads, though subtitles will be needed since I can’t understand this clown. But that's also the grand plan post-Trump, which is to abolish ICE and prosecute top officials and agents for doing their job. It's lunacy.

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) acted like a typical Jersey Democrat—what the hell is this question, lady? McIver also assaulted an ICE agent last year.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) said the two men and their agencies were worse than the KKK and slave patrols, while Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) peddled the hoax that Liam Ramos was used as bait after being abandoned by his illegal alien father.