Category: Children / Kids / Minors / Teens / Family
Trump says he’s been exonerated after release of Epstein files; House Dem says opposite is true
The gaslighting and the lying are getting so over the top it has become mind numbing. Does tRump really think people believe what he claims just because he says it? Do people really deny what they see and hear just because tRump says the opposite? Hugs
Update-It’s Tonight! TV Alert For Black History
Start TV to premiere award-winning documentary, ”Who in the Hell is Regina Jones?” in February
By: Start TV Staff Posted: January 14, 2026, 1:17PM
Start TV is set to premiere the award-winning documentary, Who in the Hell is Regina Jones?, on Monday, February 16 at 8P | 7C with a special encore immediately after at 10P | 9C.
The stellar production from Weigel Productions Corp. shines a light on legendary journalist Regina Jones. The documentary, which won the Outstanding Documentary Feature Award at the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, turns a lens on Jones’ historical journey – the invisible labor, turmoil, struggle, and joy of a modern-day Black woman, who emerged as publisher and founder of the groundbreaking SOUL newspaper. On this nationwide platform, Black artists could get coverage long before other publications entered the arena.
Pregnant and married at 15, Regina Jones experienced the Watts Rebellion of 1965, raised five children, stepped into places where she was not wanted, and navigated a world that offered her no favors. SOUL was the first publication devoted specifically to Black musicians and perspectives in music, published from 1966 to 1982. During its run, the publication profiled some of the era’s most prominent Black artists, including Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder.
Who in the Hell is Regina Jones? was produced by Weigel Productions Corp and directed by Soraya Sélène and Billy Miossi, edited by Nancy Novack A.C.E., co-edited by Alisa Selman, produced by Alissa Shapiro, and executive produced by Academy Award nominee Sam Pollard.
A President’s Day Post
from John Lustig, whose email helped me make up my mind what to post to acknowledge the day, and did a far better post than I would have done.
| About Today’s Comic |
| The ellipses in today’s comic are where I abridged the quotes to make them a little more readable. (In general, I try to keep text as brief as possible in every Last Kiss comic.) Below are the full quotes. Donald Trump (on Fox News, Oct. 18, 2024, answering a 10-year-old boy who asked Trump who his favorite president was when he was “little.” Trump initially said that Reagan was his favorite. (Note: Trump was 34 when Reagan first took office, and 42 when he left.) So next Trump mentioned Lincoln as a possibility. “Great presidents?” Trump said. “Lincoln was probably a great president, although I’ve always said, why wasn’t that settled? You know, I’m a guy that—it doesn’t make sense we had a Civil War….You’d almost say, like, why wasn’t that [settled]? As an example, Ukraine would have never happened, and Russia, if I were president. Israel would have never happened; October 7 would have never happened, as you know.” Abraham Lincoln. This Jan. 11, 1837 quote from our 16th president can be found on the website for his presidential website here: “In one faculty, at least, there can be no dispute of the gentleman’s superiority over me, and most other men; and that is, the faculty of entangling a subject, so that neither himself, or any other man, can find head or tail to it.” |
New Jersey elementary school students run from ICE
Frightened little kids who are U.S. citizens are running from agents of their own government because their skin color is brown instead of white. My childhood was full of fear. It is horrifying and in the case of these children it is complete bigotry and racism directed by Nazi wannabe Stephen Miller.
What is wrong in this country where adults think terrorizing little kids because of their skin color is acceptable? I cannot accept this. I cannot accept terrified children running from adults just because of skin color! What are we, apartheid South Africa? This video is horrific! Only racists could like seeing this. Hugs
From W. Kamau Bell In Minneapolis:
Listen, read, or both; click through to hear it.
ICE Created a Restaurant That is 100% Free (And They Aren’t Allowed to Eat There)
Episode 4 of I SPENT THREE DAYS IN MINNEAPOLIS!
In the days after federal agents killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti (only days after other federal agents killed Renee Good), I saw a video of a haggard Minneapolis restaurant owner saying that he was going to give food away until the federal government’s occupation of Minnesota ends. His restaurant, Modern Times Cafe, was going to be 100% free… for everyone. It wasn’t just going to be free for people who proved they needed free food or for folks who asked for free food. It was going to be FREE. FOR. EVERYONE. Dylan Alverson, owner of the now-renamed Post Modern Times Cafe, was mad as hell, and he was not going to charge for pancakes anymore!
(Full Instagram bit on the page; above is a photo)
Actor and singer Mandy Patinkin’s son Gideon had shared Dylan’s video with me. Gideon runs Mandy’s verified Instagram account. The Patinkins’ IG page is filled with hopeful political messages, righteous leftist anger, and—most importantly—ways to help. At some point our Internet paths crossed, and we have tagged each other in posts ever since. Seeing Dylan’s video was yet another battery in my back that gave me the juice to go to Minneapolis. I saw the video on Monday, January 26, and by that Thursday, January 29 I was on a Zoom with the McKnight Foundation to figure out how we could work together to get me to the Twin Cities. Once we decided that I would go, I quickly put a visit to Post Modern Times on the agenda. I didn’t go there for McKnight. I went there for me. I really wanted to meet Dylan. He reminded me of people I met in Berkeley, back in the day. True believers who are more than excited to go against the grain. Luckily, Dylan was down to talk. As we discuss in the episode, he is not one for attention. He just wants to help his neighbors. I also found out that since he shared that initial video, he has decided that having a free restaurant feels so good that he wants to keep Post Modern Times Cafe free, even after Trump’s government leaves (which they finally announced they are going to do).
(Snip)
Dylan plans to turn his restaurant into a nonprofit organization. This just shows, yet again, that the effect this occupation has had on Minnesota is permanent. It doesn’t matter if the feds leave today, they have:
- killed two people,
- shot at least one more,
- made schoolchildren afraid to go to school,
- made some people (especially Latino restaurant workers) afraid to go to work,
- hurt local business across Minnesota, because consumers are afraid to shop (or are too broke shop because they aren’t working), and
- generally traumatized the state.
None of that gets erased, fixed, or healed just because the goons get gone. I truly hope that more people are able to sue the federal government like the teachers union, Education Minnesota, did. The only thing that has stopped the people of the Twin Cities and beyond from folding completely is that there are many, many, MANY people like Dylan Alverson who are committed to community. Like Dylan, they are committed above and beyond their own self-interest… or even their own commonsense.
While Dylan’s free restaurant may seem like a gimmick or a naive idea, Dylan sees it as part of a larger way to fight back against our authoritarian government. Dylan put it best in our interview:
“The world is watching, and they should. This could be the start of a revolution. We don’t know. But to me, it feels like it. And I’m willing to go as far as I need to if I can make that happen.”
Post Modern Times will only be able to keep up its anti-capitalistic “gamble” (gamble is Dylan’s word for what they are doing) if they also have community support. If you can, donate or spread the word about Post Modern Times Cafe’s bold plan.
(snip-MORE, including a podcast with Mandy Patinkin & Katherine Grody, helping MN teachers, and yet more!)
How Cool Is This?
Chart Shows Widespread Side Effect to Bad Bunny Performing in Spanish
By Melissa Fleur Afshar Life and Trends Reporter
Duolingo saw a sharp rise in Spanish learners following Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, according to a post shared by the language-learning app on social media.
“Duolingo saw a 35 percent increase in Spanish learners last night. Better late than never,” the company wrote on Threads on February 9, under its official account, @duolingo. The post, which included a graph showing a clear spike in Spanish lessons, has been liked more than 7,500 times to date.
The surge followed Bad Bunny’s history‑making performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where he became the first artist to sing primarily in Spanish during the most-watched sporting event in the U.S. Duolingo’s official Threads account shared the data shortly after the night ended, highlighting the immediate impact the performance appeared to have on language learning behavior.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl appearance came months after he used a Spanish-language monologue on Saturday Night Live (SNL) to tell audiences they had “four months to learn” Spanish ahead of the game. Despite online backlash from some commentators at the time, the data shared by Duolingo suggests many viewers embraced the message, with interest in learning Spanish rising sharply during the Halftime Show.
Snip-MORE
Joy
His wife joins him during this dance.
Ohio Bill Would Overturn Local Ex-Gay Torture Bans
Again it is a fundamentalist / evangelical Christian who wants to force everyone to follow their church doctrines by enshrining them in the civil laws. Their hate seems to drive them far more than Jesus’s love. All studies ahve show that not only does conversion therapy not work it is very harmful to those that experience it. These people don’t care because they want the LGBTQ+ gone, erased from society. When will they learn it is inherent and can’t be changed by outside forces or because a person wants it to? I like to ask people who believe in it if they could be converted to gay or trans and the response is always no that would be crazy. Then why try to convert LGBTQ+ kids / people. Because they see it as a choice and a sin, and nothing on can say will change their minds. Horrible people doing horrible things. Hugs
Ohio Bill Would Overturn Local Ex-Gay Torture Bans
February 13, 2026
The Ohio Capital Journal reports:
Ohio Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that would punish state agencies and local governments for being too supportive of LGBTQ+ youth. Among a slew of provisions, conversion therapy would be reinstated where it has been banned, teachers may be prevented from using a student’s preferred pronouns, and parents wouldn’t be able to lose custody due to refusing to support their child’s gender identity.
“State institutions, government institutions cannot promote that woke ideology,” state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, said in an interview Tuesday. Click believes government agencies have been overly affirming of LGBTQ+ children, which he claims has hurt parents. “It is not conversion therapy to help children discover their identity and who they are biologically,” Click said. Click has focused significant time in the legislature targeting LGBTQ+ people.
Read the full article.
Click, a former pastor, last appeared here in December 2025 when he introduced the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act,” which would mandate teaching public school students about “the positive influence of Christianity on American culture.”
He first appeared here in 2018 when he led the invocation at Trump rally by asking Jesus to protect Trump from “wicked jungle journalism.”
In 2023, Click appeared here when he convened a hearing against transgender rights during which his invited guest testified that non-Christian lawmakers are “possessed by demons.”
Click is a regular on Tony Perkins’ podcast.
Kansas Gov Vetoes Anti-Trans Bathroom Bounty Bill
Why is the most intense bigotry always seem to be pushed by Christians? I don’t understand the hate because no one is walking around nude in bathrooms, and women’s bathrooms do not have urinals just enclosed stalls. No one can see in the stalls. All the talk of protecting little girls is BS because if a man ws going to hurt a child he wouldn’t have to pretend to be trans, he would just walk in and do it. Nope this is all about making trans lives miserable and keeping them out of the public / society. This is all about forcing their religious views on everyone else. There church doctrines don’t accept trans people so no one can accept trans people or be trans in public according to them. They see no problem forcing their religious views on everyone else but scream to their highest heaven when they are told they have to respect other people’s views. Hugs
February 13, 2026
First, the backstory about the bill:
Just last week, the Kansas legislature passed some of the most far-reaching measures to push trans and gender-nonconforming people out of public life to date. Bathroom bans that bar trans people from restrooms aligned with their gender identity have become grimly common; over 20 states have such a law on the books. But Kansas’s new anti-trans bathroom bill adds a dangerous twist: a bounty hunter provision.
The law would permit private citizens to sue and seek monetary reward based on claiming to encounter a trans person in the bathroom. That’s on top of some of the harshest punishments of any existing bathroom bans, such as criminal charges, steep fines and even jail time.
The language of the bill, while vague, says that any person who alleges to be “aggrieved” by the presence of a trans person they encounter in a restroom facility can file a civil suit against that individual for “damages” of at least $1,000. Kansas Republicans rushed through the bathroom ban, skirting public comment by essentially sneaking the bill into another piece of legislation aimed at denying trans people correct government IDs.
Just in via press release:
The following veto message is from Governor Kelly regarding her veto of House Substitute for Senate Bill 244:
“This poorly drafted bill will have numerous and significant consequences far beyond the intent to limit the right for trans people to use the appropriate bathroom. Under this bill: If your grandfather is in a nursing home in a shared room, as a granddaughter, you would not be able to visit him. If your wife is in a shared hospital room, as a husband, you would not be able to visit her.
“If your sister is living in a dorm at K-State, as a brother, you would not be able to visit her in her room. If you feel you have to accompany your nine-year-old daughter to the restroom at a sporting event, as a father, you would have to either enter the women’s restroom with her or let her use the restroom alone.
“I believe the Legislature should stay out of the business of telling Kansans how to go to the bathroom and instead stay focused on how to make life more affordable for Kansans. “Therefore, under Article 2, Section 14(a) of the Constitution, I hereby veto House Substitute for Senate Bill 244.”
The bill passed with a veto-proof majority in both chambers, so an override is probably likely. The bill’s author is GOP Rep. Susan Humphries, whose bio notes that she is a graduate of Texas Christian University. Humphries last appeared here in 2024 for her bill that would somehow ban minors from visiting any website that mentions LGBTQs.
Scottie's Playtime 