Lisa Fung
@lisafung.bsky.social
I write about public policy issues for Blueprint magazine. Former Arts & Entertainment Editor at LA Times, Executive Editor at The Wrap. Founding editor of Culture Monster. Teach arts reporting at USC.
‘The fact that there is a Republican-vs.-Democrat divide on accountability for sex abuse reveals a national moral crisis. When the abuse of children is viewed through a partisan lens, how else can one describe this period in America?’
Via @lzgranderson.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Via @lzgranderson.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Column: There should be no partisan divide about naming Epstein's fellow abusers
Shielding sex traffickers of children is not politics as usual. It reveals a moral crisis.
www.latimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:21 PM
‘The fact that there is a Republican-vs.-Democrat divide on accountability for sex abuse reveals a national moral crisis. When the abuse of children is viewed through a partisan lens, how else can one describe this period in America?’
Via @lzgranderson.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Via @lzgranderson.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
What happened to trust in the media?
This is a great (and perhaps cautionary) read from @polgreen.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
This is a great (and perhaps cautionary) read from @polgreen.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
Opinion | I Trusted Jeff Bezos. The Joke’s on Me.
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:16 PM
What happened to trust in the media?
This is a great (and perhaps cautionary) read from @polgreen.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
This is a great (and perhaps cautionary) read from @polgreen.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
NY Times editorial: ‘Ms. Bondi’s performance was more than just political theater. It was a final indignity in a process that has victimized Mr. Epstein’s victims all over again.’
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
Opinion | Bondi’s Incompetence Is the Latest Insult for Epstein’s Victims
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:25 PM
NY Times editorial: ‘Ms. Bondi’s performance was more than just political theater. It was a final indignity in a process that has victimized Mr. Epstein’s victims all over again.’
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
Reposted by Lisa Fung
Don Lemon: “I will not be intimidated. I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges. And I will not be silenced.”
February 13, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Don Lemon: “I will not be intimidated. I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges. And I will not be silenced.”
‘The repeal of the Endangerment Finding does not alter the central unambiguous scientific conclusion: The climate change that people are causing threatens human lives and well-being.’
@ametsoc.org:
* The impacts of climate change are harmful to people and nature, including to the people of the United States and the nation itself.
* A stable and primarily beneficial climate is a foundation of life as we know it.
www.ametsoc.org/ams/about-am...
* The impacts of climate change are harmful to people and nature, including to the people of the United States and the nation itself.
* A stable and primarily beneficial climate is a foundation of life as we know it.
www.ametsoc.org/ams/about-am...
A Response to the Decision to Rescind EPA's 2009 Endangerment Finding
The AMS is a global community committed to advancing weather, water, and climate science and service.
www.ametsoc.org
February 13, 2026 at 8:11 PM
‘The repeal of the Endangerment Finding does not alter the central unambiguous scientific conclusion: The climate change that people are causing threatens human lives and well-being.’
‘The White House Office of Management and Budget, which Vought oversees, is allocating $15 million from what remains of USAID operating expenses to pay the US. Marshals Service to protect the political appointee through the end of 2026’
Meanwhile, millions of children lost food and nutrition aid
Meanwhile, millions of children lost food and nutrition aid
Russell Vought raided USAID budgets he helped gut to pay for his own security
Russell Vought raided USAID budgets he helped gut to pay for his own security
The Project 2025 guy reportedly set aside $15 million of remaining funds to protect Vought through 2026, according to Reuters.
www.motherjones.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:59 PM
‘The White House Office of Management and Budget, which Vought oversees, is allocating $15 million from what remains of USAID operating expenses to pay the US. Marshals Service to protect the political appointee through the end of 2026’
Meanwhile, millions of children lost food and nutrition aid
Meanwhile, millions of children lost food and nutrition aid
‘Pam Bondi acts like she fears absolutely no consequences. Not politically; or legally. Not historically. She behaves like someone who believes power will never change hands again.’
Via @johnfugelsang.bsky.social
johnfugelsang.substack.com/p/the-attorn...
Via @johnfugelsang.bsky.social
johnfugelsang.substack.com/p/the-attorn...
The Attorney General Who Thought "The Stock Market" Was A Defense Against Sex Trafficking
Future Law School Case Study, Pam Bondi
johnfugelsang.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:40 PM
‘Pam Bondi acts like she fears absolutely no consequences. Not politically; or legally. Not historically. She behaves like someone who believes power will never change hands again.’
Via @johnfugelsang.bsky.social
johnfugelsang.substack.com/p/the-attorn...
Via @johnfugelsang.bsky.social
johnfugelsang.substack.com/p/the-attorn...
And this is something to brag about?
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. on Theo Von's podcast:
"I'm not scared of a germ. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats."
"I'm not scared of a germ. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats."
February 13, 2026 at 4:52 PM
And this is something to brag about?
‘The only crime here is like the $18 strawberry at Erewhon’
Bondi Suggests Culver City Has a Crime Problem. Culver City Has a Problem With That
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
Bondi Suggests Culver City Has a Crime Problem. Culver City Has a Problem With That
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
Bondi Suggests Culver City Has a Crime Problem. Culver City Has a Problem With That.
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:40 PM
‘The only crime here is like the $18 strawberry at Erewhon’
Bondi Suggests Culver City Has a Crime Problem. Culver City Has a Problem With That
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
Bondi Suggests Culver City Has a Crime Problem. Culver City Has a Problem With That
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
‘If “SNL” does decide to spin a sketch out of the most unprofessional testimony ever by a U.S. attorney general, how can it ever top the show we just saw?’
@lorraineali.bsky.social on the unintended hilarity of Pam Bondi’s finger-wagging testimony
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
@lorraineali.bsky.social on the unintended hilarity of Pam Bondi’s finger-wagging testimony
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Commentary: The unintended hilarity of Pam Bondi's finger-wagging testimony
Poor "SNL." Attorney General Pam Bondi’s unwittingly hilarious performance Wednesday before a House Judiciary Committee will be hard to top.
www.latimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM
‘If “SNL” does decide to spin a sketch out of the most unprofessional testimony ever by a U.S. attorney general, how can it ever top the show we just saw?’
@lorraineali.bsky.social on the unintended hilarity of Pam Bondi’s finger-wagging testimony
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
@lorraineali.bsky.social on the unintended hilarity of Pam Bondi’s finger-wagging testimony
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Lisa Fung
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
A must-read story (and thread👇)
What a story:
“Lewandowski and Noem, both married, have denied the reports of the affair, but people said they do little to hide their relationship.
“The pair have been using a luxury 737 MAX jet, with a private cabin in back, for their travel around the country”
1/
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
“Lewandowski and Noem, both married, have denied the reports of the affair, but people said they do little to hide their relationship.
“The pair have been using a luxury 737 MAX jet, with a private cabin in back, for their travel around the country”
1/
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS
Secretary faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style; White House to wind down Minnesota operations.
www.wsj.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:26 AM
A must-read story (and thread👇)
Reposted by Lisa Fung
Breaking WSJ:
The highly classified whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The highly classified whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Gabbard Whistleblower Complaint Based on Intercepted Conversation About Jared Kushner
The substance of the conversation, which covered in part issues related to Iran, isn’t known.
www.wsj.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Breaking WSJ:
The highly classified whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The highly classified whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
‘Wow. When you can do something like that in Congress, but when I do it in a Chili’s I get banned for life’
Give Pam Bondi a break: you'd be in a bad mood too if you spent the last month redacting images of old-man genitals
February 12, 2026 at 10:04 PM
‘Wow. When you can do something like that in Congress, but when I do it in a Chili’s I get banned for life’
Reposted by Lisa Fung
Judge orders Trump administration to help dozens of deportees return to the US
Judge orders Trump administration to help dozens of deportees return to the US
The judge said the hasty deportation process has violated migrants’ constitutional rights.
dlvr.it
February 12, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Judge orders Trump administration to help dozens of deportees return to the US
Reposted by Lisa Fung
BREAKING: Judge blocks Hegseth effort to punish Sen. Kelly.
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
![UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
MARK KELLY,
Plaintiff,
Civil Case No. 26-81 (RJL)
V.
PETE HEGSETH, et al.,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
February 12, 2026 [Dkt. #2]
United States Senator Mark Kelly, a retired naval officer, has been censured by
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for voicing certain opinions on military actions and
policy. In addition, he has been subjected to proceedings to possibly reduce his retirement
rank and pay and threatened with criminal prosecution if he continues to speak out on these
issues.
Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military
servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental
obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces. Unfortunately for Secretary
Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over
the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreiclbgaenrhgnor6zvmnfql4d3olwzqp7zikm3maum5ylc4m6epys4@jpeg)
February 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
BREAKING: Judge blocks Hegseth effort to punish Sen. Kelly.
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
‘We want our communities to be treated fairly, and we want our communities to be treated humanely. Are they being treated that way right now? They’re not.’
Via @gustavoarellano.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Via @gustavoarellano.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Commentary: Trump's deportations are losing him the 'Mexican Beverly Hills'
Carlos Aranibar is a former Downey public works commissioner and remains involved in local Democratic politics.
www.latimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:08 PM
‘We want our communities to be treated fairly, and we want our communities to be treated humanely. Are they being treated that way right now? They’re not.’
Via @gustavoarellano.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Via @gustavoarellano.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/california/s...
‘How is it… that kids can get into such trouble for their behavior, accept responsibility and make amends, but the president of the United States does not and will not?’
Via @jackiecalmes.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Via @jackiecalmes.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Column: If he had any other job, Trump would have been fired by now
We’re stuck with a president who daily models behavior that we don’t accept in our schools and workplaces.
www.latimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM
‘How is it… that kids can get into such trouble for their behavior, accept responsibility and make amends, but the president of the United States does not and will not?’
Via @jackiecalmes.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Via @jackiecalmes.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
‘If there is justice in the world, the photograph of Bondi looking straight ahead as a row of women raises their hands behind her will haunt her for the rest of her career.’
Via @michaelsteele.bsky.social
www.ms.now/opinion/pam-...
Via @michaelsteele.bsky.social
www.ms.now/opinion/pam-...
February 12, 2026 at 2:34 PM
‘If there is justice in the world, the photograph of Bondi looking straight ahead as a row of women raises their hands behind her will haunt her for the rest of her career.’
Via @michaelsteele.bsky.social
www.ms.now/opinion/pam-...
Via @michaelsteele.bsky.social
www.ms.now/opinion/pam-...
‘It is puzzling why Ju Ae, a daughter, would be selected as the heir above an older son in North Korea's deeply patriarchal society.’
According to South Korean intelligence, Kim Jong Un has anointed his 13-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae to succeed him as dictator someday. She's now essentially being treated as the second-in-command.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Kim Ju Ae: North Korea leader Kim Jong Un chooses daughter as heir, Seoul says
South Korea's spy agency says Ki Ju Ae's prominent public presence indicates she is the chosen heir.
www.bbc.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:28 PM
‘It is puzzling why Ju Ae, a daughter, would be selected as the heir above an older son in North Korea's deeply patriarchal society.’
Reposted by Lisa Fung
Reposted by Lisa Fung
Throwback to Pam Bondi’s campaign ad for Florida AG:
“I’ll fight to put human trafficking monsters where they belong. Behind bars.”
The ad aged. The internet remembers.
“I’ll fight to put human trafficking monsters where they belong. Behind bars.”
The ad aged. The internet remembers.
February 12, 2026 at 3:26 AM
Throwback to Pam Bondi’s campaign ad for Florida AG:
“I’ll fight to put human trafficking monsters where they belong. Behind bars.”
The ad aged. The internet remembers.
“I’ll fight to put human trafficking monsters where they belong. Behind bars.”
The ad aged. The internet remembers.
Oh, my: Tom Llamas or someone at @nbcnews.com should know that DaVinci is not Leonardo DaVinci’s surname. In second reference the artist should be referred to as ‘Leonardo.’ DaVinci refers to the city where he is from.
www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...
www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...
The secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpieces in Milan
The cauldrons for the 2026 Winter Olympics are inspired by the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. NBC News’ Tom Llamas visits one of his masterpieces in Milan, the Last Supper.
www.nbcnews.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Oh, my: Tom Llamas or someone at @nbcnews.com should know that DaVinci is not Leonardo DaVinci’s surname. In second reference the artist should be referred to as ‘Leonardo.’ DaVinci refers to the city where he is from.
www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...
www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...
Reposted by Lisa Fung
Reposted by Lisa Fung
one thing that comes across in these clips is that bondi is totally out of her depth. just an absolute lightweight. barely sentient.
holy shit -- Bondi's new tactic is refusing to answer Democratic questions, then using time during the next Republican questioner to smear the previous Democratic member and accuse them of being complicit in violence crimes
February 11, 2026 at 7:07 PM
one thing that comes across in these clips is that bondi is totally out of her depth. just an absolute lightweight. barely sentient.