Sunday, February 15, 2026

Maryland, My Maryland

 Balmer Sun, Sheriffs vow to keep working with ICE even after Moore signs bill banning 287(g)

Even after Gov. Wes Moore signs a bill banning official agreements between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across Maryland, as he’s expected to do, many local sheriffs say they will continue to work with ICE in whatever informal, legal capacity they can. “No politician or legislative body is going to tell me that I can’t communicate with another law enforcement agency on matters of public safety in my community,” Carroll County Sheriff James T. “Jim” DeWees said. “I’m not going to stop.”

The bill banning 287(g) agreements, passed by the Maryland General Assembly Thursday, is set to take effect immediately after Moore signs it. Sheriffs in the nine jurisdictions with 287(g) agreements said they would comply with the bill and end their agreements, but emphasized they would continue to communicate and work with ICE in a legal capacity, and also explore legal challenges to the bill.

“This is all political,” said Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins. “You can put any lipstick you want on it; it’s all political. The Democrats don’t want any cooperation with ICE. They don’t want any enforcement whatsoever.” Jenkins and DeWees are both Republicans; Moore is a Democrat. All three are running for reelection this year.

The 287(g) agreements give ICE authority over state and local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement duties. Nine Maryland counties have agreements with ICE: Frederick, Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, St. Mary’s, Washington and Wicomico.

Cecil, Frederick and Harford operate under a “jail model,” which authorizes correctional officers to screen detainees for immigration status and contact ICE. The other six counties use the “warrant model,” under which officers cooperate with ICE only when there is an active Department of Homeland Security warrant.

The sheriffs warn that once ICE agreements are ended, an increased ICE presence in communities and street apprehensions will become the norm.

Jenkins, who said he has the longest-running 287(g) program in the country, said he expects more “criminal elements” to enter and operate in Maryland as a result of this bill’s approval. “There will be protections here for them, so I think you’re going to see an influx of criminals, people with criminal intent, maybe criminal gangs, transnational criminal gangs,” Jenkins said.

DeWees, who entered into a 287(g) agreement about a year ago, said no deputy or police officer in Carroll County “runs around and helps with immigration enforcement.” County policy prohibits it.  Once the agreement is void, he predicts “public safety chaos, like we’re seeing in Minneapolis.” “ICE is going to be up here searching for them in the community,” DeWees said.

Notable here is that the counties mentioned are all in the more rural pink areas of Maryland. I'm a bit surprised (and disappointed) that Calvert County, also pink, is not mentioned. The blue urban counties, Balmer, Monkey and PG, are all content to allow illegal aliens to commit crimes against their legal residents.  

Flotsam and Jetsam - Sunday in the Meme Mines

At Hat Hair, Steve Moore calls Dow 50,000: A Supply-Side Miracle. Roger Kimball at The Spec notes Trumponomics is working. Daniel Baldwin @baldwin_daniel_, "On days like today, I like calling back to this headline from June 2024: "Trump would make America’s inflation crisis worse, 16 Nobel economists warn" CPI is at 2.4% YoY in January as gasoline declined 7.5%. The "Nobel economists" were dead wrong." Funny that a working businessman understands the economy better than a bunch of college professors. The I&I ed board thinks the Latest Jobs Report Explains Why Dems Hate Trump So Much. "In January, the economy added 172,000 private sector jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which was better than economists had expected (which seems to be a running theme in the Trump administration). And the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3%. So, what’s the bad news for Democrats? The number of federal government jobs shrank by 32,000. Worse still, this is on top of a string of monthly government job losses since President Donald Trump took office."

On the Epstein files, John Sexton at Hat Hair Ro Khanna Faceplants Again. Rep. Ro Khanna @RepRoKhanna, "@RepThomasMassie and I forced last night the DOJ to disclose the identities of 6 men: Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, Nicola Caputo, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and billionaire businessman Leslie Wexner. I share details of what more we learned to hold the Epstein class accountable." Then Rep. Ro Khanna @RepRoKhanna, "I appreciate JSweetLI’s reporting confirming today that Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonid Leonov, and Nicola Caputo were just part of a photo line up and are not connected to Epstein's crimes. I wish DOJ had provided that explanation earlier instead of redacting then unredacting their names. They have failed to protect survivors, created confusion for innocent men, and have protected rich and powerful abusers. We must have full transparency and the truth. Joe Chalfant at TownHall hears DOJ Officials Claim Thomas Massie Just Made an Unbelievable Error. Sundance at CTH, Thomas Massie Accuses Four Random, Innocent Men of Being Pedophiles and Sex Traffickers, Because Their Names Appeared in Epstein Files. Bonchie @bonchieredstate "On the one hand, you have four random guys who had nothing to do with Epstein. On the other hand, you have your billionaire donor, Reid Hoffman, who visited Epstein's island and ranch and was working to help him as late as 2018. Really weird that you never mention the latter." Quote Rep. Ro Khanna @RepRoKhanna Replying to @RepRoKhanna, "I appreciate @JSweetLI’s reporting confirming today that Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonid Leonov, and Nicola Caputo were just part of a photo line up and are not connected to Epstein's crimes." At Breitbart, Media Actively Cover Up Obama Lawyer’s Chummy Ties to Epstein.

Joe Chalfant again, GOP Secures Votes Needed to Pass the SAVE Act. "Senate Republicans have secured the needed votes to pass the SAVE Act after Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) confirmed that she would sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill late Friday afternoon." Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "BREAKING: SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME) is a YEA on the SAVE America Act, a HUGE victory! We are now at 50 GUARANTEED VOTES — with JD Vance, that's enough to PASS it after a talking filibuster! Collins was previously unsure. THIS IS MASSIVE! Get it done, save the republic!" Nicki Minaj @NICKIMINAJ, "Wow. This made me so happy. Barbz, update the hashtag with #SaveAmericaAct beginning now & going forward. I’ll do a poll for you guys to choose if you’d like a new look or a new Spaces tonight." Quote Officer Lew @officer_Lew "BREAKING Alaska's Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), the 49th Senator, has just thrown his full support behind the SAVE America Act! Huge win for election integrity—proof of citizenship to register & secure our votes. Momentum is building fast!" DC_Draino @DC_Draino, "I find it fascinating that 75% of Democrat voters want Voter ID laws, but 100% of Democrat elites are against it. The elites know the entire system is rigged, but Democrat voters actually think they’re winning these elections. Going to be a rude awakening when they realize only about 35% of the country aligns with their views, not 50%."


So "the government" is shut down again. Or rather, a rather small part of it, as Democrats will not agree to continues funding of DHS. Unfortunately, for Democrats, ICE will not be affected because it's funding was already included in the BBB. But it will affect the FEMA and TSA (another agency I'd like to see curtailed quite a bit, let the airlines bear the cost of screening. I'll bet they do it better.) A Hat Hair video, Democrats Shutdown The Government For Political Sideshow.

At Am Think J Bob Smith thinks about The Blue States’ Doom Loop "Annually and increasingly, tens of thousands of people are leaving blue states because of politics." Hat Hair's John Stossel looks at Fraud Nation. "Americans want to help people in need, but when government does that, about 500 billion taxpayer dollars get stolen. It's how the system is designed, says the United Council on Welfare Fraud's Andrew McClenahan in this new video. "You're measuring success by the amount of money you put out."" Stacey Matthews at LI, Alleged NYC Antisemitic Stabbing Suspect Out on Bail as Incidents Rise 182% Under Mamdani. “The most disturbing thing about this: It’s no longer a shock to read such a headline.” At least they got bail! At Shooting News Week, Virginia is What Happens When Gun Owners Lose Elections. Auron MacIntyre @AuronMacintyre, "Gentle reminder that after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and the attempted assassination of ICE agents it was revealed that the Dem AG candidate in Virginia wanted to kill Republicans and their children The Dems continued to support him and he won the election No price was every paid and the news cycle just moved on, so the lesson is that political violence has zero cost. I 'm sure there won't be any consequences in the future for failing to punish the left." Althouse finds deep thinking, "... Clavicular said he would vote for Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, over Vice President JD Vance because he preferred Mr. Newsom’s looks to Mr. Vance’s. " ""'It wasn’t, like, a political statement at all,' Clavicular said later of his criticism of Mr. Vance. 'I was just saying he’s fat.'"

MD Kettle at Da Fed sees Unsealed Court Docs Show The FBI Probing Possible Election Crimes In Fulton County. Democrats: "Don't do that! We stole that election fair and square." Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "The Bondi-led DOJ has obtained a wildly successful string of huge victories in the courts at the appellate and Supreme Court levels that have advanced the Trump Administration agenda across a broad range of issues that will be consequential for decades to come. If the Epstein hysteria was to evaporate tomorrow never to be heard about again, by far the biggest losses will be the revenue now being realized by all the online influencers who are relying on it for income." Quote reason @reason ""They've been utterly incompetent. Incompetent to the point that it almost seems like you'd have to be doing this on purpose to be this incompetent," says Massie on the DOJ's Epstein files release." Ryan Lovelace at Racket reports EXCLUSIVE: FBI Gathered Intel On 1,000 Journalists, Politicians, Religious Organizations On Flimsy Grounds 'The FBI can gather a dossier on anyone they choose.' I mean, who among us doesn't have a secret FBI dossier? It's a mark of importance!

John Sexton at Hat Hair reports Federal Agents Suspended Amid Claims They Lied to Investigators,. regarding the non-fatal shooting of a illegal alien sought by ICE in Minneapolis. “Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements,” Mr. Lyons said. “Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation.” Not good.

Gerry Callahan @GerryCallahan, "This is perfect. ICE agent: “If you cared, you would care about the child who got raped and the person who got murdered by the guy we’re looking for. “ Awful, ugly white lady: “I don’t care.” The entire insane national debate encapsulated in 20 sec." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn explores the Annals of AWFL Excess: If It's ICEy, Burn It Down MORE. At RedState Nick Arama wants you to Watch: Viral Video of Woman's Off the Rails Remarks to Deputy - Best Part Was the Sheriff's Response. Twitchy has CBS Austin: Teen Says She Was Threatened With a Taser During Anti-ICE Walkout. Maybe she deserved it? Tim Young @TimRunsHisMouth, "Here’s the video of Greenlee getting in the face of cops and making contact with them… You conveniently left that out of your reporting. It took me 90 seconds to find it…. You’re intentionally trying to make her look like a victim when she isn’t." At BA Tom Knighton finds a Portland Anti-ICE Activist who Illustrates a Fantastic Way to Get Shot.


juicystar1908 @juicystar1908, "If you are an H-1B landlord in Maricopa County, you should pack your bags and look at one-way flights to go home. I have read every single classified ad on http://azindia.com to find a deportable individual who listed a rental property. I found over 50 landlords and over 60 addresses in Maricopa County alone. I would love to praise the work of @MCAssessor and @AssessorEddie for building a very user-friendly website that makes it easy to find property ownership information. The information was sent to the fraud team of the State Department on 02/09/2026." Quote Tyler Bowyer @tylerbowyer "There are approximately 5 counties that could send America into Despotism for a generation. Maricopa County is one of them. . . . "

TownHall's Kurt Schlichter insists It Is Right and Proper to Laugh at the Suffering of Journalists. Althouse Trump sought to influence Bill Maher and he's now going to complain that he didn't get as much favorable press/comedy as he thinks — or pretends to think — he deserves. ""Sometimes in life you waste time! T.V. Host Bill Maher asked to have dinner with me through one of his friends, also a friend of mine, and I agreed," said Trump (at Truth Social). . . . Trump seems to enjoy diminishing Maher, but I suspect Maher adopted this "little me" pose to disarm Trump. Obviously, Maher was bullshitting. There's no one who has never been scared. It's a joke. He's a comedian. And so is Trump."

From Campus Reform, White student sues after Albany Law School protects professor who allegedly went on racist rant. "Rowland Rupp, a student at Albany Law School, has filed a lawsuit after he says Anthony Farley, a black professor, shut off the classroom’s recording equipment and went on a tirade in class aimed at whites and conservatives. The lawsuit alleges that the school did not investigate Rupp’s complaint, but rather aggressively pursued a retaliatory complaint filed by the professor."


Power Line: The Week in Pictures: Bugs Bunny Halftime Edition

Palm Sunday

Times of Malta, Palm tree destroyed by Storm Harry inspires tree-planting initiative. "Almost every single day, Carabott captured in sunset photos the tree he, his father and his grandfather grew up with." 

I suppose there are worse multigenerational obsessions. 

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Early Saturday Morning DIY

Got to go so this is the only way. But, very briefly, as I was getting ready to go to bed, the cops were raiding a house in Tucson, taking at least one person into custody. 

Nancy Guthrie Update: SWAT Team Conducts Operation at Tucson Home

Trump and the Republicans
Main Street economy catches fire with January jobs report as expert credits Trump's tax certainty 9 Fox Business
BLS Report - January Inflation from Tariffs Non-Existent, Core Inflation Lowest Since 2021 - The Last Refuge
Affordability: Inflation 'Unexpectedly' Keeps Dropping in January – HotAir
Hmmm. As Welfare Money Dries Up, Luxury Goods Prices Suddenly Drop – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ Unexpectedly, Inflation Comes In Below "Expert" Expectations
Hell Has Frozen Over: The Washington Post Discovers the Limits of the EPA – Watts Up With That?
A Reply to Trump is Wrong to Abolish the Endangerment Finding – Watts Up With That?
Ace of Spades HQ - Trump Ends Obama Executive Order Giving the EPA the Power to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Without Any Congressional Authorization
Obama White House Counsel ❤️ Jeffrey Epstein [Updated] - Power Line
As Democrats Keep Dropping Like Flies From Epstein Ties, They Keep Calling Trump a 'Pedophile' – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ - Obama White House Counsel and Epstein Fixer Katherine Ruemmler Resigns from Top Post at Democrat Law Firm Due to Increasing Revelations About Her Close Personal Friendship with Democrat Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein
The hypocrisy of the Epstein panic - UnHerd
Don't Tell Me Pizzagate Is Real... – HotAir
How Will Jimmy Kimmel Spin This Trump-Epstein Revelation?
Instapundit - THE HYPOCRISY OF THE EPSTEIN PANIC: Conspiracy theorists ignore a bleaker truth.
Elites Versus Ordinary Americans on Voter ID - Chronicles
The Real Reason Murkowski Is Undermining Election Integrity – PJ Media
Sean Davis on X: "McConnell’s heel turn on election security is worse than spite. It’s about money and power. Trump blew up the system, and especially the foreign policy, that allowed McConnell and his idiot staffers and all their lobbyist friends to get rich. They have to get rid of Trump
BRO, That's NOT How It Works: Jessica Reidl's Tantrum Over Women's Birth Certificates BACKFIRES – Twitchy
House Dem Says the Quiet Part Out Loud About the DHS Funding Fight
Rapid Report on X: "BREAKING: Massive FIRE erupts at one of Cuba’s largest oil refineries, Ñico López in Havana, amid severe fuel shortages and US embargo; cause unknown
Cuban American Members of Congress Ask Trump to Indict Raul Castro – HotAir
The Coming Revolution Down South - by Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Iran – This Time is Different - RealClearDefense
Poland’s mass-army turn is reshaping NATO’s eastern flank - The Strategist
In The Mailbox: 02.13.26 (Evening Edition) : The Other McCain
In The Mailbox: 02.13.26 (Afternoon Edition) : The Other McCain

The Disloyal Opposition
Free Stuff Isn't FREE? WHO KNEW?! Zohran Mamdani Reverses Course on Yet ANOTHER of His Campaign Promises – Twitchy
Commie Mamdani's Pick Raises a Question: How Many Voter Registrations Does a Schizophrenic Get? – HotAir
Even CNN Admits That Democrats Are in Big Trouble – PJ Media
CNN Pollster: Dems Truly Are Going Socialist – And Voters Are Noticing – HotAir
X Babylon Bee just dropped the most savage infomercial roast of 2026 😂 “Freezing in your selfish capitalist isolation? Warm up with the loving arms of collectivism!”
Jon Levine on X: "NEW from me I am now going to post a series of X posts from Mathis E. Roy Vigne — a Democratic Socialist and advance man for Zohran Mamdani complaining about airline service Please keep your seatbelt fastened
Excuse Me, but California Dems Stole How Much Again? – PJ Media
When Compensated College Athletes Get a State Tax Bill Next Year, They Can Blame California – HotAir
Governor Spanberger With the Latest Democrat Bar-B-Q Disaster, and It May Curtail People From Eating Meat – RedState
Minnesota Insurrection Proves 'Blue State Model' Has Failed
Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 on X: "AOC is asked about the US committing troops to Taiwan. Her brain completely short-circuits.
HHS and DOGE Release Medicaid Dataset to Expose Fraud
Why doesn’t the CDC care about Chinese biolabs in America?

Just Us System

A Federal Court Fired and Replaced a Trump Appointee; He Lasted Four Hours Before the Hammer Came Down – RedState
The Subject was Kushner - More Details Surface About Subject of Intel Gossip Underneath Ridiculous Whistleblower Claim Against DNI - The Last Refuge

Immigration, Legal and Otherwise

Fifth Circuit Greenlights Mandatory Detention for All Illegal Entrants
SCOTUS Should Ban Illegals From The Census
Instapundit - RAND PAUL CALLS OUT KATIE COURIC’S ‘LESS THAN 14%’ MIGRANT CRIME DEFENSE, GIVES HER A REALITY
Spartacus Is SHOCKED! Cory Booker Feigns Outrage When Called Out on Dems' Immigration Policy – Twitchy
The Arrogance of Migrants Is Something to Behold – HotAir
Georgia Is Trying to Prevent a 'Renee Good' Situation in the State. It Will Make Libs Go Bananas.
Ace of Spades HQ - That Nice Irish Man That Is Wasting Away in Detention? Yeah, There's a Reason He Won't Just Leave the Country and Go Back Home
The Sob Stories Always Fall Apart – HotAir
Voluntary departures hit record high as detained immigrants lose hope of getting released or winning in court - CBS News
CBS News: A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Border ... Again – HotAir
Trucking has become a hot spot for illegal labor — with lethal results

The Media Matters


It's the Culture Stupid

Ace of Spades HQ - Propganda Media and Propaganda Tech Monopolices Conspire to Cover-Up Newest Trans Mass Murderer's Trans Identity and Deny There's Any Kind of an Epidemic of Trans Mass Violence
The Part of the Breakdown We're Not Supposed to Mention – HotAir
Andy Beshear Invokes God to Defend Gender Surgery for Children - Victory Girls Blog
The end of college racial quotas is already making America more just

Rule 5 Saturday - Jamie Lee Kendall

West Coat Leather has an Interview with model Jamie Lee Kendall 
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing model Jamie Lee Kendall who has been our Social Media Director and Publicist for the past four years. Interview is below the photo gallery.

Instagram: Jamie Lee Kendall (@jamieleekendall) • Instagram photos and videos
Facebook: Jamie Lee Kendall | Facebook
IMDb link: Jamie Lee Kendall - IMDb

Playboy France Playmate of the Day Photo - by Philipe Hernandez (NSFW)
Skip: So, tell us a little bit about yourself, Jamie.

Jamie: My background was in commercial real estate. I worked in commercial real estate for 13 years, starting in Manhattan and then coming back to San Francisco, but I fell into modeling four years ago. I was discovered by somebody who was a casting director and then primarily by you, Skip, and you really launched my modeling career and helped me blossom and you offered me a job here working for you not just as a model but as a social media manager and then director. I was able to really explore my passion for fashion and my passion for writing and modeling.

Skip: Cool. So, I guess that's kind of some of your highlights. Were there any highlights in modeling besides taking over the feature film and then also being in the short film? Were there any more photoshoots for brands? I know you’ve worked with some really interesting brands. I saw some different lingerie and sportswear. What were the highlights of the ones outside of West Coast Leather?

Jamie: I did shoot and became Playmate of the Day for Playboy France with another photographer whose name is also Philipe. His full name is Philipe Hernandez. I also shot a commercial for Paypal.