Happy Valentines Day!

 

Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Minneapolis

ICE Barbie and Her Boyfriend In a Mess Over at DHS

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem capriciously fired a pilot for an exceedingly petty reason but was forced to immediately reinstate him so she could fly home.

The Wall Street Journal took a deep dive into the chaos and dysfunction inside the Department of Homeland Security, where multiple sources complained on and off the record about Noem and her top adviser and purported romantic partner Corey Lewandowski.  "Lewandowski and Noem, who are both married, have publicly denied the reports of the affair, but people said they do little to hide their relationship inside the department," the newspaper reported.  "The pair have lately been using a luxury 737 MAX jet, with a private cabin in back, for their travel around the country, according to people familiar with the matter," the report added. "DHS is leasing the plane but is in the process of acquiring it for approximately $70 million"

Noem and Lewandowski frequently berate senior staffers, demand polygraph tests for employees they don't trust and routinely fire employees for dubious reasons – such as one incident where Lewandowski fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot after Noem’s blanket was left behind on a plane, according to sources familiar with that incident.  "In the blanket incident, Noem had to switch planes after a maintenance issue was discovered, but her blanket wasn’t moved to the second plane, according to the people familiar with the incident," the Journal reported. "The Coast Guard pilot was initially fired and told to take a commercial flight home when they reached their destination. They eventually reinstated the pilot because no one else was available to fly them home."

Lewandowski, who was Trump’s first campaign manager in the 2016 election, has also been illegally working as a special government employee well beyond the statutory 130-day limit and has an outsize presence in the department. "In an incident last year that rankled some senior staff at the agency, Lewandowski made it known to top ICE officials that he wanted to be issued a law-enforcement badge and a federally issued gun, according to people familiar with his push," the Journal reported. "Officials are typically only issued a badge and a gun after undergoing law-enforcement training."

Lewandowski passed over a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official for the top job in that agency after he declined to issue him a badge and gun, and an ICE lawyer was demoted and moved to the Federal Emergency Management Agency after he also declined to sign off.  "Lewandowski eventually persuaded other lawyers to sign off," the Journal reported. "The ICE director’s autopen was used to sign the paperwork, the people said."

 

Our Lady of Perpetual Pop

Meanwhile Back at the Office

A Very Powerful Super Bowl Halftime Show

The Olympics Are in Italy-- and of Course, There is Drama

The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway in Italy, after an opening ceremony that featured a strange performance from Mariah Carey.  Of course, there were many controversies overshadowing the run-up to the event.

To start with, it must be said that the 2026 Olympics are the most geographically widespread Games in history-- the first to span multiple regions and two host cities: Milan and Cortina, which are about 250 miles apart from each other by road.  The action is divided among four main clusters across northern Italy: Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme. Athletes will live in one of six Olympic Villages throughout the region: Milan, Cortina, Anterselva, Bormio, Livigno and Predazzo.  The competition venues span an area covering some 8,495 square miles. Getting between towns could take more than a few hours by car — especially on remote, wintery roads.  Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, says spectators hoping to attend events in person should be realistic about the time and distance required to get between venues and should plan accordingly.

In the lead-up to the games, Italian prosecutors investigated corruption, forgery, and abuse of public office in construction tenders, including the Olympic Village and other key infrastructure, leading to raids, arrests, and 74 individuals under scrutiny.

There are a couple of major venues whose completion are going down to the wire.  The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics sliding center and the ice hockey stadium are almost complete, but work is going down to the wire, so they can be ready in time for those events.