Above the Fold

First half of Feb 2026

We had breaking news from all across the political spectrum and the globe this month

1. Supreme Court strikes down Trump Tariffs *

2. US Sends Fighter Jets to the Middle East *

3. Administration repeals Endangerment Finding *

4. Prediction Markets *

5. Racial insult in soccer

6. US DOJ Epstein documents, JMAIL and Epstein Fallout

7. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies in the House

8. Goldman shuns DEI

9. Amazon Prime and Melania documentary

10. Colbert returns fire against CBS

11. AOC fumbles in Munich

12. Obama talks about common-sense policymaking

* Definitely to possibly, market moving

Comedy Cellar in West Village, Manhattan, New York City

1. Supreme Court Rules Trump tariffs to be Illegal : On Friday morning (2/20), Supreme Court voted 6-3 and found Trump tariffs to be illegal. The decision said that tariffs were implemented unilaterally without any authorization from Congress

2. US and Iran : US has sent significant number of F-35 and F-22 fighter jets to the middle east. The diplomacy talks with Iran are currently ongoing, but if they collapse, then the US might attack Iran and its nuclear sites, by as soon as this weekend

   Complete credit for video : The Wall Street Journal, and Shelby Holliday (Senior Video and National Security Correspondent, WSJ)

3. Administration repeals Endangerment Finding : In 2009, US EPA determined that six greenhouse gases including CO2 and methane were a threat to public health and welfare, under the Clean Air Act. This finding (the Endangerment Finding) is what gave the EPA the authority to enforce GHG emission limits for motor vehicles within the US. On 2/12, the administration rescinded this finding, which means the EPA cannot regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act

4. Don Junior’s Involvement in Prediction Markets : Don Junior’s venture capital firm has invested in Polymarket, and he is also a strategic adviser for Kalshi (both are prediction markets). As we speak, both platforms are in the process of trying to bypass state rights within the US, and want to operate on a national level (without much or any oversight)

   

5. Racial Insult in UEFA Champions League : The soccer world cup comes to North America in less than four months (06/2026). In what is a truly devastating event, the Real Madrid forward Vini Junior was allegedly called a word that I can’t even repeat here, and if true, FIFA President Infantino needs to address this in ways that goes well beyond PR statements and vapid messages of equality. Here is Thierry Henry talking about it

6. US DOJ Epstein Documents : You can search every email based on a name here - https://www.justice.gov/epstein

   JMAIL : Riley and Luke, two awesome software engineers from SFO created a search-able GMAIL interface where you can search for any name - and can see emails. Its called JMAIL - https://jmail.world

   Epstein Files Fallout : As of 2/19, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested in the UK, and Bill Gates cancels his trip to India

   

   

7. Attorney General Pam Bondi Testifies about Epstein Files : In what was a truly explosive event, Pam Bondi testifies in front of the House Judiciary Committee, regarding the handling of Epstein files

8. Goldman Shuns DEI : Goldman Sachs plans to remove DEI considerations when the board’s governance committee hires new directors (considerations include, race, gender, sexual orientation etc)

9. Amazon Prime and Melania : Prime paid $ 40 M for the documentary and the documentary grossed around $ 7 M. So, it was a really bad investment, but none of us really believe that Amazon invested because they were passionate about telling the first lady’s story do we ?

10. Colbert returns Fire against CBS : CBS’s internal lawyers said Colbert cannot have Texas Democrat James Talarico on the show, or if he does, he needs to provide equal time to other candidates in the race as well. Representative Talarico is one of the leading contenders in the senate primary in Texas. Colbert went ahead with the interview and uploaded it on YouTube

11. AOC in Munich : AOC is probably work-shopping for a run in 2028, and she was at the Munich Security conference. Answering questions about US Foreign Policy is hard, simply because I don’t think we have a coherent through-line, and it is very much on a case by case basis. Her trip got a mixed response, is probably the most generous way of saying it. The problem is, I do not really know what she is trying to say here in terms of exceptions, pre and post world order below, and I listened to it multiple times

    

12. Obama Talks about Common Sense Policymaking : Obama was on Brian Tyler Cohen. I read and consume news from all across the political spectrum. Here, Obama spoke about common sense policymaking. It’s a terrific interview and you can find it on YouTube, below here is a snippet of it. Cohen is an excellent example of why we need independent media, such as podcasts, substack and YouTube. At times, it is more honest than legacy media, because there is no outsized corporate sponsor and all the strings that come attached with it (such as for Colbert, above)

    And here it is, your moment of zen

    — Deepak Sivaraman PhD (Axe), adeadcatbounce@gmail.com

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