Issues You May Know, 13 February 2026.
A list of things you might want to know about - or write your reps about.
Heron along South Branch Tunkhannock Creek.
Heron along South Branch Tunkhannock Creek at Lackawanna State Park in Pennsylvania. July 13, 2025. Photo by Chloe Kaczenski Humbert.
Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - About 40 anti-ICE activists are arrested at protest inside Target in South Philly No ICE Philly demanded that the company take a public stand against ICE enforcement actions at the company’s stores. by Michelle Myers and Robert Moran Updated Feb. 5, 2026, 8:13 p.m. ET | Published Feb. 5, 2026, 6:51 p.m. ET The zip-tied detainees were led by police out of the store one by one to cheers from other protesters outside. The demonstration and subsequent arrests did not deter shoppers from going about their business, entering and leaving the store. A man dressed in a bear costume and wearing an action camera harnessed to his chest showed up and yelled at the activists inside the store, calling them “weirdos.” Police intervened to prevent an escalation. Benita Dixon, 66, accompanied by her granddaughter, was at the store to buy a Valentine’s Day present for her daughter when the protest broke out. Dixon’s first reaction was to get a tighter grip on her granddaughter’s hand but when chanting began, the pair joined in dancing with protesters. “ICE has been going around killing people in Minnesota and that’s not right,” Dixon said. (emphasis added)
DHS employees are just as reckless and improper as ever in Minneapolis.
Some of the media may have eased off covering the DHS employees gone wild in Minnesota story, but the carnage and unconstitutional and inexplicably bad behaviour has continued by CBP and ICE.
Minneapolis protesters arrested during one-month anniversary of Renee Good’s death Several demonstrators taken into custody Saturday after marking killing of Minnesota woman by immigration officer Associated Press Sat 7 Feb 2026 18.55 EST “One person, as they appear to be placed in handcuffs, says: ‘I was here delivering pizza for the protesters. I had no idea that this was happening. I moved to the side of the curb when they started rushing everyone and now they’re arresting me.’”
My letter to reps:
DHS employees are just as reckless and improper as ever in Minneapolis. I saw a report where a pizza delivery person on the job was arrested for simply being in the vicinity of a vigil to deliver pizza. They rip people from their cars for making hand gestures. It’s all unconstitutional and may I emphasize some more that it’s very unAmerican. This is what we always heard as a warning of totalitarianism. And now DHS employees are creating havoc and disarray on purpose across the nation, and I want to know what you’re going to do to stop this lawless agency?
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
ICE Agents Allegedly Arrest Observers in Minnesota Who Point Finger Guns at Them - ICE agents allegedly detain Minnesota observers over ‘finger gun’ hand gestures By Catherine Armecin Martin Published 03 February 2026, 10:45 PM GMT International Business Times UK When questioned about the aggressive nature of the detention, the agent claimed the group had been ‘threatening us yesterday with handguns’. The confusion intensified when the observer clarified whether the agent meant literal weapons. ‘You mean like with hand symbols?’ one observer asked. The ICE agent confirmed that the observers were being identified specifically because they were ‘making assuming that we are going to do something’ and they allegedly attempted to ‘pull them out’ trying to ‘engage’ with them. The observer asked again, ‘Pulling out literal guns?’ The federal agent clarified it was not handguns, saying, ‘no’, and said that was the reason the individuals inside the vehicles were being ID’d. According to netizens, the agents were referring to finger guns, which were not actual threats. This on-the-ground footage has raised serious questions regarding the threshold for federal intervention and the definition of a credible threat.
DHS employees just smash cars, harass citizens, and then hand out numbers for taxpayer funded damage claims like candy.
My letter to reps:
So DHS employees are just going around smashing into cars and then handing out a number for people to get money from the government to claim for vehicle damage. This is a huge waste of taxpayer money and these DHS employees need to be held accountable, and lose their jobs because they’re going around just ramming people’s cars and costing taxpayers the money for the damages. This is waste fraud and abuse, on top of government overreach. This has been going on for months now with what I used to think was recklessness, but not it appears they’re doing the car wrecks on purpose and telling people it’s “standard procedure” to wreck cars and hand out a number for taxpayer funded damage & injury claims like candy. What are you doing to stop this harassment and waste of taxpayer money by federal employees under the Department of Homeland Security?
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
They literally told this couple in Minneapolis that this is standard procedure.
Pam Bondi is a loser and an ahole who is helping to protect people involved in child trafficking.
My letter to reps:
Pam Bondi’s embarrassing tantrum, incompetence, and gross display of disrespect toward elected representatives and the Americans they represent, in a congressional hearing, makes her unqualified to continue in the role she has. If the best that could be said is that she was causing a scene to continue protecting people involved in child trafficking, it’s a disgrace. She must be pushed to resign in shame. And her assertion that gains in the stock market should mean sex offenders get let off the hook is wholly deranged. She should be removed from the job.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Pam Bondi testifies on Epstein files at DOJ oversight hearing - Associated Press - Feb 11, 2026
I think even maga isn’t crazy about Pam Bondi’s performance, and it was a performance, mostly because it was very gendered and put Jamie Raskin in the position of the long suffering husband role with Pam Bondi snapping “I don’t know why you’re laughing”, shouting, and demanding an apology. All that is very gendered. I think for much of MAGA their sexism overrides their partisanship.
There were men in the Jeffrey Epstein files absolutely plotting against women they saw as threats to sex pests.
Women on podcasts dish on being mentioned by odious people in the Epstein files trying to stop “Me Too” and what had been called the “Times Up movement” against sexual harassment and sexual predators.
In Bed With The Right podcast - Episode 121 -- Moira’s in the Epstein Files. Feb 10, 2026
So I’m in the Epstein Files Rebecca Watson (Skepchick) Nov 19, 2025
And it sure seems looks like these men are still at it to this day, they have no self-awareness about how pathetic they look either.
My letter to reps:
I think we should start means testing lawfare. There should be a law prohibiting people of a certain level of net worth and income, perhaps anyone over 6 figures for example, making them not be eligible to bring (or fund for someone else) a lawsuit against a victim alleging sexual abuse or harassment, if that person is of lesser means. This era must end in which people with money can just silence people from reporting crimes or talking about having been harmed. Nondisclosure Agreements should be outlawed completely, except in very specific circumstances, and any NDA should null and void in relation to a crime of any type. If something serious has been alleged, then it should be investigated to determine if a crime has taken place, and lead to a proper legal process in a court. If we have any family values at all left in our society, the legal system needs to stop coddling criminally lewd rich men with sex problems who buy their way in and out of criminal acts against women and children.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Ugh, Dr. Oz sent Jeffrey Epstein a valentine.
The New Republic - Malcolm Ferguson / February 12, 2026 Dr. Oz Becomes the Latest Trump Official in the Epstein Files The Trump administration is full of people with ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In 2016, Dr. Mehmet Oz, now the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, invited Epstein over for a Valentine’s party—eight years after Epstein was registered as a sex offender.
Can we finally vindicate the people (like me) who criticized The Joe Biden White House pick of Ashish Jha?
Ashish K. Jha on Elon Musk’s social media website 8:51 PM · Feb 9, 2026 “People get mad at me for saying this but I think Dr Oz has done a very good job overseeing CMS Not just because he’s advocating for vaccines But because he’s running a complex bureaucracy efficiently, promoting smart policy choices, etc.I am thankful for his leadership Quote post by Frank Luntz · Feb 9 “Take the vaccine, please,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz as measles cases continue to rise in the U.S. “We have a solution for our problem.” link to abc news
Posting on social media is not activism, once more this time with feeling.
If you really want to post something online, write your reps about it, because that’s going to get the information to the people with their hands on the levers of power.
Glenn Kirschner, a lawyer, was on a podcast with Wajahat Ali and was telling people to go out and post and post and post to flood the zone demanding accountability. This is madness. Why do I too often hear lawyers always telling people to go out and post on social media and don’t seem to ever mention actually contacting your representatives directly, which is what is recommended by basically all activism and advocacy experts who understand how government works. It was just a year ago I was complaining about this in regards to Marc Elias and his faulty advice on civic engagement. I’m sure these people are very competent lawyers doing creditable work, and their expertise in law and courts and the judicial system may indeed be valuable. But they don’t seem to give ordinary people in their audiences very good advice. And unfortunately many influencers and science pundits abuse their audience by trying to trick people into thinking it’s activism when essentially they’re asking people to do free PR labor in boosting their content. It’s a waste of time to spin your wheels that way and waste your life on social media trying to compete with well paid and highly organized professional social media operations. And anyone trying to get you to spend more time on social media more is not offering you salubrious advice, as it’s widely understood that social media does not offer health benefits.
TV special on data centers on WVIA’s Keystone Edition program.
Data Centers: Deal or Dilemma? WVIA Keystone Edition.
Monday, February 16th at 7pm on WVIA TV
https://www.wvia.org/shows/keystone-edition/preview/data-centers-deal-or-dilemma-preview-ellg8v
If you use the PBS Passport streaming app anywhere in the country, you can access the WVIA local station programming by temporarily switching your location to Scranton Pennsylvania and changing your local station to WVIA station.
Former Dem lawmaker now a lobbyist for the AI tech industry including Oracle and OpenAI.
Lever Daily Feb 9, 2026 Do Not Pass “Go” Monopolies are driving down wages — but proper reform could boost your check by 30 percent. Veronica Riccobene A new “pro-growth” centrist Democrat dark money group — pushing for, you guessed it, deregulation — has turned up on Capitol Hill, and it’s being led by a former lawmaker-turned-lobbyist for OpenAI, the Big Tech behemoth behind ChatGPT. In 2025, former Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) also lobbied on behalf of Oracle, the computing giant led by MAGA megadonor Larry Ellison, and the Solana Policy Institute, a cryptocurrency advocacy group. Bustos will now serve as president of Next American Era, a nonprofit aligned with the anti-progressive Abundance movement to “[make] it easier to build and to generate opportunity” by cutting so-called red tape.
Data center moratoriums popular and gaining years. Some local governments have been considering plans for one year moratoriums.
Lackawanna County Pennsylvania Commissioner Bill Gaughan suggested a 2 year moratorium. Then New York lawmakers suggested a 3 year moratorium, and now Pennsylvania Senator Katie Muth has said she intends to propose a 3 year moratorium.
Can we get to a 5 year moratorium and a complete ban on hyperscalers? Allons y.
My letter to PA reps:
I want a 5 year moratorium on data centers, and a complete ban on hyperscalers, but I would want you to support the 3 year data center proposed by Senator Katie Muth.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.