The Week of February 18, 2026

Jesse Jackson, Jr. looks out unto the crowd during a speech. 

Care

1. Jesse Jackson Jr. Goes to Jail

This Wednesday, former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., son of civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, pleaded guilty to charges that he used campaign funds for personal expenses. Along with his wife, former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, he used campaign funds to pay for everything from elk heads to groceries. It looks likely that both will receive jail time for their crimes. The former Congressman’s defense team is claiming that mental illness was a major factor in Jackson's decision making, and that he was thus not entirely in control of his actions.

Jackson once had a promising career in the Democratic Party. However, he disappeared from public view last summer, cranking up the rumor mill over what exactly was happening to the Representative. At the time he was facing a Congressional ethics probe over the possibility that he offered to raise $6 million for now-incarcerated Rod Blagojevich's gubernatorial campaign if he was given Barack Obama's former Senate seat. The person who made that offer to Blagojevich was arrested two days after Jackson disappeared from view. Unknown to the public and media, the FBI was also investigating Jackson over campaign fund misuse. Even with all the scandals surrounding the Congressman, he was easily reelected in November, but soon thereafter resigned.

What happens next to Jackson's seat is uncertain. It will almost certainly remain Democratic, so next week's special Democratic primary will likely determine the election’s ultimate victor. Those hoping for a cleaner style of Chicago politics may feel conflicted, as one of the major issues in the campaign is Michael Bloomberg's SuperPAC spending more than $2 million dollars in ads to attack a candidate who stands against anti-gun control.

2. China Places Tax on Carbon Emissions

On February 19th, an official in China's Ministry of Finance wrote a statement on the need for "environmental tax reform." The government hopes to set up an ad valorem tax on coal and include carbon emissions in the calculation of an "ecotax" that penalizes the use of pollutants. But when Xinhua, China's state news agency, reported on the statement, the news instead became that China will introduce a carbon tax. With this edgier headline, the news spread through the English press. However, the optimism may be overdue; the proposed carbon surcharge cited in the Xinhua article is $1.5 a ton, far below any other country's scheme.

China, now the world's biggest carbon polluter and coal consumer, has been hit with enough smog, water pollution and drought for its leaders to worry about environmental harm. Previous attempts at charging fees against polluters just meant local officials would protect their corporate friends from paying anything. Therefore, the conversion of fees into tax mainly sends a message that such corruption is criminal. With the tax expected to increase over time, the government would also like to put upward pressure on prices for carbon-intensive goods without driving into an inflation spiral. Tax revenues will also go to provinces rather than the central government, which is an incentive for the provinces to implement the program.

At the same time, this could be seen as an international move. This example of China's political system conquering legislative paralysis on environmental issues could be viewed as a critique of America. China is also likely sending a message that they are not to blame for the impasse in global climate regulations, and are apparently willing to act decisively on climate change.

3. Medicare Shift Unfolds in Florida

With the 2014 Gubernatorial elections looming, Rick Scott of Florida has attempted to situate himself more to the center. This is bigger news than a governor simply changing his stand on an issue, however. Scott, who has consistently been an outspoken opponent of the Affordable Care Act, recently came out in support of Medicaid expansion. This is an incredibly controversial move amongst Scott’s Tea Party support base, since a large part of his 2010 campaign rested on anti-Obamacare rhetoric. He originally went so far as to say that he would not “lift a finger” to help the federal government implement these new healthcare expansions. Governor Scott credits his new stance on the issues to his mother’s passing in 2012.

Beyond Governor Scott’s aspirations for re-election, this position shift could also have a national effect. Some analysts are willing to go so far as describing Scott’s decision as a “victory for the White House.” If it is a victory, it is certainly a qualified one, as Governor Scott has only promised to support the expansion as long as the federal government pays for the entirety of it. He also received federal approval for temporary waivers to aid his attempt to privatize the program. While it may be too early to determine the true winner here, it is clear that 2014 will provide more contentious elections than expected. Many other Tea Party Congressmen who ran similar campaigns in 2010 will now have to decide whether to move more towards the center or continue to take a staunch conservative view. Some Tea Partiers are quite distraught by what they view as a betrayal and have already begun to get waivers. Other right-wing governors who oppose Medicaid will pay close attention to how this situation plays out, with the reversal likely to have political implications on a national scale.

4. Protests in Bulgaria Oust Prime Minister

Protests roiled Bulgaria this week in response to the poor economic situation of the country (the poorest in the European Union), the harsh austerity measures enacted by the government, and price gouging electric companies that have not been punished by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov. Energy prices rose by 13 percent last July, but this hike was not felt until winter when the demand for heating rose. In an effort to curb protests over corruption and economic inefficacy, Borisov sacked his finance minister, Simeon Djankov, but on the same day the protests turned violent when a short battle with the police left 14 injured.

In response to the violence, Borisov announced on Wednesday that he and his government would step down. Parliament accepted the resignation in a 209-5 vote.  The president of Bulgaria will select an interim cabinet and elections will soon follow. Although Wednesday’s turn of events eased protests, many are not sure whether it truly benefited Bulgaria. Similar downfalls have occurred throughout Europe as the Great Recession ravaged the continent, most notably the resignation of Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc in 2012. It remains to be seen, however, if the creation of a new government will be able to appease the Bulgarian people and solve the country’s most pressing issues.

5. United Arab Emirates and United States Complete Arms Deal

At a recent industrial arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi, defense officials for the United Arab Emirates announced $1.4 billion in new military contracts. The largest sale was a $380 million purchase of 750 mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP), all-terrain vehicles produced by Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corp. Perhapsmore significantly, the Gulf nation has agreed to buy $200 million in drones built by General Atomics Aeronautics. GAA is the most advanced drone manufacturer in the world, and is the creator of the US military’s Predator and Reaper drones. Unlike those used by the US, the Predator drones sold to the UAE do not have the capacity to be armed, and therefore can only be used for “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.”

This is the first deal to provide a non-NATO country with American-made drones. Though demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has been strong for years—according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, the UAE was among several states to have asked US officials for armed drones—tight export restrictions had prevented sales from US firms. However, it appears that the GAA’s assurances that the Predators intended for UAE are impossible to arm, and US concerns over regional instability, have somewhat opened possibilities for UAV sales to non-US states. In particular, the Associated Press has suggested that the agreement may be a way “to boost surveillance capabilities to match claims by rival Iran of growing drone technology.”

Others, however, have argued that different motives may be behind the deal. Even before the drone purchase, the UAE had very advanced arms capabilities and the largest per capita military expenditure in the world. So rather than a weapons agreement, this has been seen by some as a political deal. One spokesperson for the Emirates Centre for Human Rights said that “the United Arab Emirates know that their international trade is too valuable for there to be any global outcry over their human rights transgressions;” this recent deal may be another reinforcement of that military economic buffer.

Don’t Care

0. Senatorial Sex Scandals Sensationalize  

Political sex scandals seem to be a staple in American news these days. This week saw two congressmen shamed by the discovery of their illegitimate children-- the Democrat representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee and the Republican ex-senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico. Cohen was found to be the father of college student Victoria Brink during the State of the Union Address when tweets the two sent each other were noticed and publicized. The never-married Cohen only found out that he had a daughter three years ago. Domenici, on the other hand, revealed his paternity in an attempt to prevent a smear campaign. Domenici’s son, Adam Laxalt, is a 34-year old lawyer and the grandson of a former co-worker of Domenici, ex-Senator Paul Laxalt, a good friend of Ronald Reagan. Laxalt’s daughter, Michelle, was a Republican activist who met and had an affair with Domenici in the 1970s. Domenici had long-campaigned on promises of supporting family values, and he supported the impeachment of President Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The list of powerful names wrecked by sex scandals is long, including Clinton, David Petraeus, John Edwards, and many others; yet many Americans wonder, is it reasonable to tear down so many public figures for private faults? Sex scandals in politics are not a particularly new thing, but reporting on them seems to be much less taboo than 20 years ago. It is especially ironic how many politicians campaign on family values when time and time again stories like these continue to come to light.