<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/us/lake-city-army-ammunition-plant-missouri-mexico.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share"><strong>NY Times</strong></a></p><p>Government doesn’t want undocumented immigrants in the country, but they are more than happy to sell non-citizen cartel members high caliber ammunition.</p>

<div class="kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-accent"><div class="kg-callout-text"><b><strong style="white-space:pre-wrap">Semi-Sequiturs </strong></b>is our newest subscriber-only monthly column from Nicholas De Marino. We have two other monthly columnists coming soon to join <i><em class="italic" style="white-space:pre-wrap">Semi-Sequiturs</em></i> and the <i><em class="italic" style="white-space:pre-wrap">Little Letter of Nonsense</em></i>.</div></div><div class="gh-paid-content-notice"><h3>This post is for subscribers only</h3><p>Become a member to get access to all content</p><a class="gh-paid-content-cta" href="https://tiv.today/walden-annotated/#/portal/signup">Subscribe now</a></div>

<p><a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/47826210/cristiano-ronaldo-boycott-second-al-nassr-game-protest-pif-sources"><strong>ESPN</strong></a></p><blockquote>Sources told ESPN that Ronaldo tried to block the transfer of French star Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad to Al Hilal on Monday because he felt the move was unfair and indicated that PIF wanted to pave the way for Al Hilal to win the title.</blockquote><p>Who would’ve thought the fake soccer league that controls the purse strings of every team and overpaid a bunch of old players would do things “unfairly?” Not to mention Ronaldo’s team is stacked still with João Felix, Kingsley Coman, and Sadio Mané—plus a couple young Brazilians.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/05/minnesota-prosecutor-ice-sidelining-priorities-00766733"><strong>Politico</strong></a></p><p>Actual criminals are absolutely loving what’s happening right now. ICE isn’t going after the (extremely small population of) undocumented immigrants that are in gangs because those people would actually fight back and have criminal attorneys on retainer and the idiot goons of ICE want nothing to do with that. Instead they go after people with disabilities, children, and people at court houses “doing it the right way” so they can hit their outrageous quotas. Not only that, local police and prosecutors are now jammed up with all of this nonsense and dedicating less time to going after and building cases against actual criminals and fraud.</p>

<figure class="kg-card kg-video-card kg-width-regular"> <div class="kg-video-container"> <video src="https://tiv.today/content/media/2026/02/threadsdownloader.com_3bf64d.mp4" poster="https://img.spacergif.org/v1/1080x594/0a/spacer.png" width="1080" height="594" preload="metadata" style="background:transparent url('https://tiv.today/content/images/2026/02/tiv-post-testimony.png') 50% 50% / cover no-repeat"></video> <div class="kg-video-overlay"> <button class="kg-video-large-play-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 24 24"> <path d="M23.14 10.608 2.253.164A1.559 1.559 0 0 0 0 1.557v20.887a1.558 1.558 0 0 0 2.253 1.392L23.14 13.393a1.557 1.557 0 0 0 0-2.785Z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> <div class="kg-video-player-container"> <div class="kg-video-player"> <button class="kg-video-play-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 24 24"> <path d="M23.14 10.608 2.253.164A1.559 1.559 0 0 0 0 1.557v20.887a1.558 1.558 0 0 0 2.253 1.392L23.14 13.393a1.557 1.557 0 0 0 0-2.785Z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="kg-video-pause-icon kg-video-hide"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 24 24"> <rect x="3" y="1" width="7" height="22" rx="1.5" ry="1.5"></rect> <rect x="14" y="1" width="7" height="22" rx="1.5" ry="1.5"></rect> </svg> </button> <span class="kg-video-current-time">0:00</span> <div class="kg-video-time"> /<span class="kg-video-duration">6:45</span> </div> <input type="range" class="kg-video-seek-slider" max="100" value="0" /> <button class="kg-video-playback-rate">1×</button> <button class="kg-video-unmute-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 24 24"> <path d="M15.189 2.021a9.728 9.728 0 0 0-7.924 4.85.249.249 0 0 1-.221.133H5.25a3 3 0 0 0-3 3v2a3 3 0 0 0 3 3h1.794a.249.249 0 0 1 .221.133 9.73 9.73 0 0 0 7.924 4.85h.06a1 1 0 0 0 1-1V3.02a1 1 0 0 0-1.06-.998Z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="kg-video-mute-icon kg-video-hide"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 24 24"> <path d="M16.177 4.3a.248.248 0 0 0 .073-.176v-1.1a1 1 0 0 0-1.061-1 9.728 9.728 0 0 0-7.924 4.85.249.249 0 0 1-.221.133H5.25a3 3 0 0 0-3 3v2a3 3 0 0 0 3 3h.114a.251.251 0 0 0 .177-.073ZM23.707 1.706A1 1 0 0 0 22.293.292l-22 22a1 1 0 0 0 0 1.414l.009.009a1 1 0 0 0 1.405-.009l6.63-6.631A.251.251 0 0 1 8.515 17a.245.245 0 0 1 .177.075 10.081 10.081 0 0 0 6.5 2.92 1 1 0 0 0 1.061-1V9.266a.247.247 0 0 1 .073-.176Z"></path> </svg> </button> <input type="range" class="kg-video-volume-slider" max="100" value="100" /> </div> </div> </div> </figure><p>It’s absolutely devastating to watch this. I’d love to echo the sentiment I’ve seen on social media and say, “how could anyone watch this and <strong>not</strong> be devastated?” But I’ve become too jaded. The people doing and celebrating this terrible shit are the people who tortured their pets like Sid from <em>Toy Story</em> as kids. This is exactly what the “anti-woke” folks want—they want to be able to laugh at people with disabilities after they illegally arrest them without reading them their rights or giving them their phone call. </p><p>There is no empathy from these people. </p><p>I started thinking, “When did this country lose all of its empathy?” But the truth is—and it’s a truth we all know—there never was any empathy to begin with in this country, and we continue to show our true colors as a country more and more every day.</p><p>We aren’t a democracy or a republic; we aren’t capitalists or socialists; we live in a corporatocracy, and no action or decision is made based on the will of the people or what’s good for the people—only what provides corporations the most profits. </p><p>Because if America actually cared about people—even just a little bit—this shit wouldn’t happen to anyone, citizen or otherwise. Instead, we are a barbaric, third-world, fascist corporatocracy. And we pray to one god.</p><p>💸</p>

<p><a href="https://www.aninfinitemind.org/healing-together-conference-1"><strong>An Infinite Mind</strong></a></p><p>I love “Fight Club,” “Shutter Island,” and “American Psycho.” (The movie and comic adaptations, too, for that matter.) Unreliable narrators are sublime. I don’t begrudge authors or filmmakers playing fast and loose with complex, poorly understood mental issues for the sake of a good story.</p><p>Having said that, Dissociative Identity Disorder — i.e. “multiple personalities” — isn’t nearly so bombastic. The real thing looks and feels different. And it’s really challenging.</p><p>Rant aside, here’s a conference about DID this weekend that’s got some interesting speakers and topics.</p><p>It’s probably too late to get a scholarship, but most of the sessions are taped for review and available online for a few months. The website’s got some good general info, too.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com/"><strong>Link</strong></a></p><p>Good list/resource for things you can do around various giant conglomerates who have influence over the administration and/or are enablers of ICE. I think my Apple One subscription is the only place I’m still subscribed—and I had a lifelong vendetta against FedEx—but Spotify is suspiciously absent from this list… While the ad campaign ended at the end of last year, it doesn’t sound like it was Spotify’s choice to stop taking the money from ICE and Ek is still heavily invested in Helsing…</p>

<p><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u1XHd5rIvmY"><strong>YouTube</strong></a></p><p>This is one to keep an eye on when it premiers March 1 on HBO. It stars Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini, but more importantly, it comes from writer and creator, Steve Conrad who is also the mind behind the fantastic <em>Patriot</em> as well as my favorite <em>Perpetual Grace Ltd.</em></p>

<p><a href="https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/1/14/d75n33jjsmqktggl9us0sydot0x5w1"><strong>World of Reel</strong></a></p><blockquote>Originally, the film would jump ahead to the 1980s for its ending, with Marty having made the shoe store he works at in the beginning of the film into a massively successful franchise. Now a rich man (but not a ping pong legend like he imagined), Marty would take his granddaughter to a Tears for Fears concert in 1987, reflecting on his life as they performed “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” He would then run into O’Leary’s Milton Rockwell for a final time.</blockquote><p>Honestly, I’d be fine with this. If you were to drop two or three little, tiny hints throughout that there were a bit of a surreal nature to this story, it’d be fun. Although, the wackiness from just the above probably would’ve been enough to take Timmy out of Oscar contention.</p>

<p><a href="https://moontype.de/onigiri"><strong>Moontype Foundry</strong></a></p><p>An absolutely stunning and delightful typeface. Instant buy for me.</p>

<p><a href="https://apple.news/ARhpTvhCXSNyCxdnVsuJLRA"><strong>Vanity Fair</strong></a></p><blockquote>“This is not the first time that Ye has tried to apologize. In December 2023, he posted a brief apology on Instagram, written in Hebrew and directed to “the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions.” People questioned the timing; his album Vultures 1 was about to be released in February. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change,” he wrote, asserting that he is “not antisemitic.””</blockquote><p>I used to be one of the biggest Kanye fans growing up outside of Chicago just as he started to take off with The Workout Plan and Jesus Walks. I still think <em>MBDTF</em> is probably the greatest hip-hop album ever made, but I haven’t listened to a single song from him since 2019. An apology right before a new album drops means absolutely nothing to me. I’ll check back in in three years and see if he’s actually putting his money where his mouth is or if he goes off the rails again. And I get the brain trauma stuff, but the shit he did—and the people around him who enabled him—does not deserve anyone’s forgiveness. Not a chance in hell I’m putting a penny in his pocket.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7002742/2026/01/27/bill-belichick-patriots-hall-of-fame-snub/?source=user_shared_article"><strong>NY Times</strong></a></p><p>Dude has six super bowls as a head coach and two as a defensive coordinator. I hate the Patriots dynasty as much as the next guy (so help me god it doesn’t happen again…), but what else do you need to do to get into the HoF?!</p>

<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/world/europe/italy-ice-olympics.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share"><strong>NY Times</strong></a></p><blockquote>Mr. Sala [the Mayor of Milan] added: “Bringing to Milan a militia which distinguished itself — this is not my opinion — with criminal acts, which kills, which enters in the homes of American citizens without authorization, I do not think that that is a good idea.”</blockquote><p>This is insane. The Olympic Committee and Italian government should ban America from the Olympic Games—and other countries should boycott the World Cup in North America (as should the US team). An untrained and unlawful unit of thugs and murderers shouldn’t be welcome anywhere. And we <em>know</em> they are untrained because they are <a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/01/19/laura-jedeed-reporter-hired-ice/">hiring people based on six-minute interviews and without background checks</a>—not to mention the evidence we can see with our eyes as they escalate situations and are overly trigger happy.</p>

**NYT** “Appear to Contradict” really?! The videos flat out prove the government is lying. You can clearly see him holding a phone before he’s taken to the ground by a group of gestapo. Then one of the thugs pulls the gun away from Alex Jeffrey Pretti’s holster and runs away with it while he continues to be beaten on by the others, moments before they murder him—while he’s on the ground, defenseless— in cold blood. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK ALL OF THIS. I’m at a loss for words at this point. There are just too many hypocritical contradictions and lies and travesties happening every single day. If you’re not livid and losing your mind right now, if you’re okay with people dying so the rich can get tax breaks and the poor can lose their food stamps and they can kick a few brown people out of the country, then you can go fuck yourself. Why is it this country has deported millions of people over the years, but now it requires warrantless searches, requiring people to have their papers, kidnapping children, deporting citizens, and murder to do the job now?

**One Word at a Time** If you know anything about me, you know I love a good story—so much so I started my own short fiction litmag, but that’s neither here nor there. Michael Staniforth is doing a review of a different short story every day of the year and it’s been a joy to follow along.

**NY Times** > “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace” This is pure insanity. What a childish, insecure, petty old man. The narcissism and selfishness to try to take over a country for what you think is a personal slight is next level. And as every sane person knows, it wasn’t a slight because he doesn’t deserve jack shit; this only goes to prove that even more, along with every other action he’s taken in the last decade.

**World of Reel** > When Sandler digs deep into a performance, like the one in “Punch-Drunk Love,” there’s an eccentricity to it that most mainstream movie stars simply don’t have. He taps into something that I can best describe as wounded, awkward, and —quietly?— explosive — a kind of emotional instability that feels authentic. You have to endure the disposable comedies so that, every once in a while, Sandler can reach this type of performance out of the bag. It’s wild that Sandler wasn’t nominated for _Uncut Gems_. I thought he was going to have a chance to win it that year, and to not even get nominated was a tragedy. When I see him show up in something that’s not a slapstick Happy Madison production, I’m always thrilled. He’s never bad, and often times surprises delightfully.

**Z1NZ0L1N** > As long as colour electronic paper is as grainy as Kaleido and as slow as Gallery, you should stick with black-and-white E Ink displays (or go with colour LCD/OLED). If and when colour e-paper improves enough to be worth it, you’ll still have to think long and hard about how and why you’ll use your device, and choose its size and shape accordingly. This was interesting and informative. I’ve been looking at another e-ink device since my Kindle seemed to go kaput last week. I use it more for reading longer submissions to Foofaraw as I’m all-in on print again, but haven’t figured out what device would work best for that and reading articles.

**NY Times** How insecure and petty do you have to be to have the name Kennedy blocked out with black tape until they can add your name. Last Trump news for the day, I promise/hope…

**NY Times** > In 2021, a convicted fraudster named Adriana Camberos was freed from prison when President Trump commuted her sentence. Rather than taking advantage of that second chance, prosecutors said, Ms. Camberos returned to crime. She and her brother were convicted in 2024 in an unrelated fraud. Imaginary fraud for 100 bucks by poor people: straight to jail. Real fraud for millions of dollars by people in power: come on in, the water’s lovely. Oh wait, I forgot, they are _“eliminating fraud and waste.”_ Weird.

**THR** > It is not clear what the executive order will say, or what legal mechanism there is to enforce an exclusive broadcast window. FCC chairman Brendan Carr reposted Trump on Sunday, which is suggestive of the order being directed at his agency, which regulates broadcast TV stations. So much for the free market. We already have state run media with Fox and CBS, might as well tell us what we can and can’t watch at this point.

**ProPublica** > She wouldn’t. In a region that had legislated its commitment to life, she would spend her final days struggling to find anyone to save hers. I admit, I’m a bit heated right now, and there are obviously a lot of parties at fault in the way this all went down, but if you voted for Donald Trump, you voted for a system that allowed/caused Ciji Graham and women like her to die. Deaths that would be preventable in any country without barbaric laws that control women’s bodies. It feels like these people would rather let both the woman and fetus die than save the life of the woman. It’s fucked up.

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Little Letter of Nonsense

Kottke Umm… so this happened… the godfather of linkblogging somehow came across this silly little site and linked to it… bringing over 4,000+ visitors… I don’t ever go into the Ghost dashboard, so I had no idea until just now as I was getting ready to send out the first Little Letter of Nonsense this year (late as usual…)