OPEN THREAD: Hump Day.

I REALLY ENJOY THE LACK OF RESPECT FOR PUFFED-UP ESTABLISHMENT FIGURES:

Hi dickweed, remember when your boss launched a year long unilateral war in Libya? https://t.co/xPAVxUwizq

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) February 18, 2026

DID THEY SPRAY ENOUGH OF THAT FLEX-SEAL STUFF ON IT? NASA will fuel up its Artemis 2 moon rocket for the 2nd time on Feb. 19. Will it leak again?

No joke, in our old house we had a leaky skylight. Roofing guys couldn’t fix it. Finally I got on the roof and sprayed two cans of that flex-seal stuff that’s advertised on late-night TV all around it. No more leaks. Granted, there were no cryogenics involved, but still. If there are more problems tomorrow, maybe it’s worth a try. I mean, it can turn a screen door into a boat . . . .

TEACH WOMEN NOT TO RAPE! (CONT’D): School secretary, 31, accused of having sex with two students after husband catches her with one of them . “Hughes was transported to Randolph County Jail, where she is being held on a $25,000 cash-only bond.”

PROBLEM?

The problem is that a class action lawsuit of this kind that encompassed even a small fraction of those for whom this is true would create sufficient liability to end public schooling in America https://t.co/rzdvMWikC8

— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) February 18, 2026

LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY:

So many people in the comments are pointing out flaws and completely missing the point, which is the rate of change here.

2 years ago AI couldn’t generate a simple video of Will Smith eating spaghetti without it looking like a horrific DMT trip. Now it’s on the verge of… pic.twitter.com/z4C8TGxZSB

— Cognitive Dissident (@STP48315) February 17, 2026

Flashback: Backyard Filmmakers Are Hollywood’s Greatest Fear.

Backyards now optional. (I thought I’d posted this yesterday, but I was wrong.)

NEWS YOU CAN USE: The Best Cars That Still Offer a Manual Transmission in 2026, Ranked.

WHY SO MANY NASTY BIGOTS IN HEALTHCARE? California Botox Nurse says Jews Pray at “Synagogue of Satan”, Claims “Nazis didn’t execute real Jews.” “Not only are Jews unsafe in her care, but it calls into question the judgment of those who employ her” says Physicans Against Antisemitsm (PAA).

MEN AREN’T WOMEN, WOMEN AREN’T MEN, ANIMALS AREN’T PEOPLE: Annals of Animal Rights Lawfare: Judge – Again – Rejects Claim That Elephants Are People. “This was not a criminal animal-cruelty case or an agency enforcement action. It was an attempt to rewrite personhood through the courts.”

HOWARD WOLOWITZ SMILES: Robot hand approaches human-like dexterity with new visual-tactile training.

I’VE NEVER TRUSTED PASSWORD MANAGERS: Password managers’ promise that they can’t see your vaults isn’t always true.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Erection pills may have major benefits — for more than just sex: ‘Too many men are missing out’.

Viagra and other common erectile dysfunction medications are known as PDE5 inhibitors, meaning they block an enzyme that restricts blood flow by tightening muscles and narrowing blood vessels.

These medications relax the blood vessels, which increases blood flow throughout the body, including to the penis.

Researchers saw a link between medication use and better heart health, noting that the blood flow and relaxed muscles could play a role in cardiovascular benefits. The improved circulation and vascular function could also reduce the risk of strokes. . . .

Previous research has also found that taking erectile dysfunction medications could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Well, there you are.

THE FLOW: Palantir Shifts HQ to Miami From Denver After Protests.

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE:

Lewiston shooting incidents 2019-2025

Lewiston shooting incidents post-ICE surge https://t.co/DEBsF7aPg9 pic.twitter.com/Zf2KNJW2a5

— Steve Robinson (@SteveRob) February 18, 2026

JEFFREY SINGER: A good place to start Trump’s new health care plan: More drugs over the counter.

Watching a TV commercial for Primatene Mist — the over-the-counter inhaler that uses epinephrine (adrenaline) to treat asthma attacks — I found myself wondering why people with asthma can buy that drug but not albuterol. It’s a question that goes straight to the heart of President Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan.”

Epinephrine is a blunt instrument. It stimulates the heart and blood vessels and can raise blood pressure and heart rate. Albuterol, in contrast, is more targeted. It acts mainly on the bronchial system and has fewer effects elsewhere in the body.

Yet in the U.S., the cruder drug is available over the counter, whereas the cleaner one is locked behind a prescription. In much of the world — including Australia, South Africa and large parts of Latin America — patients can buy albuterol without a prescription.

Just one example of many. BTW, Epinephrine is good for severe allergic reactions. I used to keep some Primatene Mist in my first aid kit for that reason, but they took it off the market for a while because its propellant depleted ozone (no, really) and I didn’t put it back when it returned because I just didn’t get around to it.

OUR LEADING INSTITUTIONS, AND THOSE WHO LEAD THEM, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE OVERWHELMINGY DEPRAVED AND CORRUPT: The Chomsky Moment And The Cracks In Cultural Hegemony.

FIGHTING BIGOTRY: Former UCSB student government president sues school alleging antisemitic harassment.

SIDES: Harvard undergrads prepare asylum claims, law students fight deportations of illegal aliens in court.

“WELL KIDS, I’VE GOT TO DO IT AGAIN.” Lara Trump reveals Trump’s unexpected reaction to leaving White House in 2021 on ‘Pod Force One.’

Like Gandalf after the Balrog, he came back stronger and better.

IS THAT EVEN ALLOWED? Rubio’s Muscular Defense Of Western Civilization.

DON SURBER: The Ironic Curtain: Europeans who lived under communism hate it. Those spared pursue it.

NATIONAL SUICIDE FOR PUTIN’S EGO: Russia’s Middle-Aged Poor to the Grinder. “What the data we do have show is that Russia will fight Ukraine to its last poverty stricken middle-aged man before pushing the papered urbanites in Moscow and St. Petersburg—or the flinty TicTok warriors of Chechnya—into the trenches.”

WE’RE LIVING IN A PARODY:

DC Water's Manager David Gadis:
"We had too many white men in charge"
"The executives should reflect the city"

DC just had the largest sewage spill in US history: 240 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 gallons in one month FLOODING the Potomac pic.twitter.com/shQ9rZfWJV

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 18, 2026

The Chair of @dcwater board isn’t an engineer, or city planner

Dr. Unique N. Morris-Hughes is a DEI bureaucrat, non profit “educator”, grant disperser of taxpayer money, & former asst head of a boys charter school

She’s now head of the largest raw sewage spill in US history https://t.co/q443ILBfHk pic.twitter.com/Ak4nkE7TWB

— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) February 18, 2026

SURE LOOKS LIKE IT: Is Giving Cross-Sex Drugs to Mentally Ill People Resulting in Trans Killers?

UPDATE: Karol Markowicz: The rise in transgender killers proves that we have a major mental health crisis unfolding.

THE WEST IS IN TROUBLE:

The New Zealand Defence Force spent 2025 training soldiers to take out a fictional Christian terrorist group — on a map of their own country.

None of NZ's 23 listed terrorist orgs are Christian.

They say no offence was intended.

Here's what the documents actually show 🧵 pic.twitter.com/SOCEpPfWTy

— Kurt Mahlburg (@k_mahlburg) February 17, 2026