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Prairie Gates

Prairie Gates's Journal
Prairie Gates's Journal
February 6, 2026

Is Susie Wiles the Most Incompetent WH Chief of Staff in modern history?

There's a bizarre consensus among the establishment press that goes something like this: Susie Wiles, Trump's second term Chief of Staff, is a serious and competent person who runs a tight ship; she's the traditional conservative face of the MAGA movement, well respected across Washington, etc. etc. The plaudits go on. The New York Times features glowing nonsense about her every few months. It's like an article of faith among the press that she's doing a bang up job.

Trump's latest insanity - reposting an amateur-hour MAGA video that depicts President Obama and First Lady Michele Obama as apes - points to the obvious counternarrative: in all aspects of a Chief of Staff's job, Susie Wiles has been singularly incompetent.

She has zero control over Trump, obviously, and no seeming ability to keep him on track or prevent him from his weekly rake-stepping activities.

She has zero control over Stephen Miller or Steven Cheung, both of whom should be walking around in terror of her. Some might say, no, they're doing what they do at her instruction, but that's unlikely and would spell even more incompetence if true.

She managed to shepherd through one piece of signature legislation with majorities in both chambers, but there's nothing on the horizon, and she has the longest shutdown in history on her resume as well. If polls are to be believed, her party may even have to spend to defend a Texas Senate seat. The Congressional operation out of 1600 seems nonexistent.

So, what does Susie Wiles actually DO?

February 5, 2026

Brad Karp Resigns as Paul Weiss Chairman Amid Epstein Fallout

Source: The New York Times

Brad Karp, the longtime chairman of Paul Weiss, one of the nation’s top corporate law firms, suddenly resigned on Wednesday evening after a series of embarrassing emails between him and Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier, became public in recent days.

The law firm’s statement announcing Mr. Karp’s resignation gave no explanation for his decision. But it included a quote from him saying, “Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.”

In recent weeks, a number of top business executives, academics and politicians have faced negative attention stemming from email and text conversations they had with Mr. Epstein long after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor girl and registered as a sex offender.

Mr. Karp had been under intense scrutiny within the broader legal community after Paul Weiss reached a deal last year with President Trump to resolve an executive order that could have harmed its business. He had appeared to weather the storm.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/business/brad-karp-paul-weiss-resigns-epstein.html



This schiffoso sold out his whole firm to Trump, probably under threat of blackmail, and then the blackmail came out anyway and he's now gotta resign. I love that for him.

Fuck Brad Karp.
February 3, 2026

Trump Drops Demand for Cash From Harvard After Stiff Resistance

Source: The New York Times

President Trump has backtracked on a major point in negotiations with Harvard, dropping his administration’s demand for a $200 million payment to the government in hopes of finally resolving the administration’s conflicts with the university, according to four people briefed on the matter.

Harvard has been the top target in Mr. Trump’s sweeping campaign to exert more control over higher education. Hard-liners in his administration had wanted Harvard to write a check to the U.S. Treasury as part of a deal to address claims that university officials mishandled antisemitism, The New York Times previously reported. But Harvard, wary of backlash from liberal students and faculty, has rejected the idea.

Trump administration officials have indicated in recent days that the president no longer expects such a payment, according to the Harvard and Trump officials briefed on the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/trump-harvard-payment.html



Honestly, how can anybody on the Columbia University Board keep their position? All they had to do was say No and give $10 million to the lawyers instead of paying Trump the $200 million. These people were not looking out for the long-term interest of the university. They have failed in their fundamental role.
January 29, 2026

Senate Democrats and White House Reach Spending Deal

Senate Democrats have struck a deal with Republicans and the White House to pass five spending bills to fund a large portion of the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, as well as a stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks while they continue negotiating guardrails to rein in immigration agents. Republicans had pushed to fund the department for several weeks, but Democrats insisted on a shorter-term measure. It is unclear how quickly the House can and will process those funding bills after the Senate passes them. The shutdown deadline is midnight on Friday.


Even when we have leverage, we don't.

FUCK'S SAKE.
January 29, 2026

Senate Democrats and White House Reach Spending Deal

Source: The New York Times

Senate Democrats have struck a deal with Republicans and the White House to pass five spending bills to fund a large portion of the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, as well as a stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks while they continue negotiating guardrails to rein in immigration agents.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/29/us/trump-news



Un-fucking-real
January 29, 2026

What company sells ICE the pepper spray canisters?

They've obviously been told to always have one out and to use it freely. While this tactic was obvious before, they definitely ramped it up in Minneapolis.

Needless to say, the company that sells chemical pain-compliance products to the state is not going to respond much to "boycotts" or other consumer pressure themselves.

But are they owned by a conglomerate? Can we pressure investment funds to divest from these pain-compliance companies? Can we put these motherfuckers on blast?

Who is making and selling these canisters?

Contact your House and Senate reps for budget information about where DHS is sourcing pepper spray!

On Edit: Thank you to SSJVegeta for the Forbes article. Here's the preview:

Safariland, owned by billionaire Warren Kanders, remains the number one supplier of pepper spray and tear gas to ICE and CBP, via a large federal distributor run by a MAGA-aligned former Marine.


Quantico Tactical, a weapons and armor distributor based in Aberdeen, North Carolina, is by far the biggest supplier of chemical weapons to ICE and CBP during Trump’s second term, per contracting records. Founded by North Carolina-based David Hensley, a former Marine Corps major, it has sold $4.7 million of tear gas and pepper spray to the agencies since January 2025, nearly triple its $1.7 million in sales the previous year. It has also provided more traditional munitions to ICE; its biggest contract with the agency was for $10 million in “firearms and magazines” in September last year.
January 24, 2026

LIVESTREAM: Minneapolis shooting site now

Federal agents shooting tear gas and rubber bullets in the shooting scene. Crowds off camera growing.

January 20, 2026

New ICE tactic (read: lie) in Minnesota: everyone they're supposedly after is a "sex offender"

I've seen at least four or five videos taken yesterday or today in which an ICE agent says "You know who we're here for? A sex offender! Why are you protecting a sex offender? Do you know who you're defending?"

These were videos of different ICE agents engaging a member of the public who is recording them / citizen observers. They appear to be in completely different locations and at different times.

Conclusion: This is obviously a talking point that these shitheads have been given to use with people questioning them. In one ase, the ICE agent wanted to arrest the observer for using a whistle! When she challenged him, he went into the whole "You're protecting a sex offender" bit. Noem was emphasizing sex offenders on the talkies this weekend as well.

In at least two videos, the person recorded turned it around on them: Why don't you go arrest your President, then.

December 18, 2025

Live Updates: Authorities Search for a New Person of Interest in the Shooting at Brown

Source: The New York Times

The authorities on Thursday identified a person of interest in the shooting at Brown University and are investigating whether there is a possible connection to the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, according to two people briefed on the matter not authorized to speak about the investigation.

Investigators are searching for the individual and a car that the person is believed to have rented, one official said. The authorities have not publicly identified a suspect in either case.

The authorities believe the rented vehicle is the same make and model of a car identified in connection with the shooting of the M.I.T. professor in Brookline, Mass., the official said.


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/18/us/brown-shooting-suspect



Closer to linking the Brown and MIT shootings now. Sounds like they might have a name and a car, in which case, set a timer.
December 18, 2025

Authorities now seriously investigating links between Brown and MIT shootings: NY Times

The authorities on Thursday identified a person of interest in the shooting at Brown University and are investigating whether there is a possible connection to the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, according to two people briefed on the matter not authorized to speak about the investigation.

The authorities believe the rented vehicle is the same make and model of a car identified in connection with the shooting of the M.I.T. professor in Brookline, Mass., the official said.


https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/18/us/brown-shooting-suspect

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm guessing they have new video from Brookline that they can connect with some video from Providence.

Curiouser and curiouser, anyway.

As I said the other day, we might have a mix between Andrew Cunanan and Ted Kaczynski on our hands here. Head on a swivel, New England.

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