In Further Defiance February 21, 2026 Frogs — The Portland Frogs who drove Trump crazy (the costume-clad protesters he called “insurrectionists”) are coming to DC for his State of the Union (60 seconds). Watch them Tuesday night. Sign up — free! — for The State of the Swamp with Robert DeNiro. Republicans — Republican Governor stands up to Trump. The Court — Two of Trump’s three appointees, Gorsuch and Barrett, seem actually to have read what the Constitution says about tariffs. The plaudits they’re surely receiving from law school classmates and conservatives they respect may encourage and embolden them for future rulings. MAGAns — One Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA by Rich Logis. This book is a public apology. I am profoundly sorry for the damage I caused during the seven years I was in the MAGA movement. I contributed to the assault on our democracy. I exacerbated the harm caused to others in MAGA. Now I am holding myself accountable by working to make amends. Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Joe Walsh calls this brand new book: “A blueprint for those in MAGA who can no longer justify the lies of Donald Trump.” (He switched parties last year.) A gift sent with love to any MAGAns you know? Dashiell Wolf Brandt — Takes on Piers Morgan — and a whole lot more — in 3 oh-so-powerful, sobering minutes Instagram makes it almost impossible to share. I think this link will work* (if not, to go to his Instagram page and click on the one headlined COMPARE & CONTRAST) . . . but reliably finding Instagram “permalinks” has stumped both me and my A.I., which has “authoritatively” confirmed permalinks that turn out to take you someplace completely different. (If one of you can unlock the secret of Instagram permalinks for me, I will extend your subscription by a full year, no charge.) THIS IS HOW DICTATORS DO IT Giant banners with their faces hung everywhere. Big brother is watching you — you’d better behave. Stalin did it. Trump’s doing it, most recently, as you may have seen in this New York Times photo, on the facade of the Justice Department . . . which itself has become a facade. He’s also just named the Palm Beach airport after himself, having first secured ownership of the trademark for this and any other airport he gets named after himself. There is no intention to profit from that trademark, we are assured, but would it surprise anyone if he tried to? Have a great weekend.