[U] Texas Dumps MAGA / Abbott & Paxton. Nation Gives Democrats Firm Control Of House & Senate… Woot!

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Updated: Deliciously, the sad and bitter John Hinderaker… is extra bitter tonight. He seems wholly-unaware that come January, Trump is on his way to jail.

Or at least being indicted and convicted again, without any prospect of anyone pardoning him. Certainly not for his newest state level crimes. End update.

Welp — this isn’t just a blue wave… it’s a tsunami.

Texas has been run by a Uni-party for over three decades. Now Texas is surfin’ — blue.

A Black woman will be the Governor of Georgia in the morning. Yeah, Keisha!

And the Senate may well break 55-45 for Democrats. That makes the unctious Federman largely irrelevant — out of Pennsylvania. And frankly who cares what Collins thinks any more — up in Maine? She’s… toast!

Thank the Goddesses! Here is the NYT, on it:

…Democratic candidates won races in Republican strongholds, flipping Senate seats in Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and even Texas — on a night shaping up as a Democratic tour-de-force….

Me? I will be grinning ear to ear as I fly to Colorado midday on Thursday — it is highly likely that Boebert is now just right back to the trailer trash she came out of — in that state.

नमस्ते

Trump Tells His Minions At EPA And DoE… To Essentially Ignore The Laws Congress Has Passed — To Favor Dirty Coal. Damn.

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This convoluted, but very low-intellectual-abilities Administration is purely… a bumbling crime syndicate.

Massey/Blankenship — despite killing literally hundreds of hard working coal miners, by ignoring their legal duty to provide a reasonably safe work-place — was and is a vast Trump donor.

And with the MAGA “federal regulatory capture” — he and his fellow aging coal barons… largely are able to do as they please. This, even though the base industry simply cannot be profitable, against Chinese coal suppliers, on the world stage. Damn.

Here is how the UK Guardian frames the corruption, tonight:

…It’s a good time to be a coal plant in the US. The Trump administration has given support to almost half of the nation’s coal plants, helping them to continue operating despite economic and regulatory headwinds, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund.

The analysis, which looked at the 184 operating coal plants that are connected to the grid, found that 90 received support from the Trump administration through “cash handouts, free passes to pollute, and inducements to stay online past their retirement dates”.

The administration provided $950m in taxpayer dollars to 24 coal plants and handed Clean Air Act exemptions from toxic pollution limits to 70 coal plants, according to the EDF analysis….

This alone should be grounds to see every MAGA candidate drubbed tonight at the polls. We shall see. Our skies are being polluted for an industry that should have died off, middle of the last century. Damn. Out.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker’s Idiocy, On Tangerine’s Added… Idiocy.

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Moments ago, John commented on Trump’s preposterous off-hand remark — to the effect that he was “ending all military aid” to Israel.

Of course, this is idiots’ salve, to try and sway the isolationists in the GOP.

All John will say about it is that “Congress has something to say” about that.

What a feckless putz. Most of all — it will be impotent.

The GOP is going down.

Bank on that.

Out.

No, John — You Liar. Locally Born Whyte Males Commit Most Of The Crimes In America.

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John tonight blatantly lies (again) about people without papers. He thinks this is a winning MAGA talking point at the Minneapolis area polling places, tomorrow.

As he preposterously attempts to demonize people without papers (using a universe of one), he makes a blatantly false statement.

Most crime in America is (and always has been) committed by whyte males who were born in America.

In fact, of the about 400,000 violent crimes committed for the last year that data is available (Trump has suppressed data for 2025 and 2026) in America, fully half of them were committed by whyte males born in America.

That is the truth.

Hinderaker is an odious — and disgustingly racist — liar.

But that is no news to anyone who’s been paying attention.

Here endeth the lesson.

Odd. In John’s Hinderaker’s “Historical Context” Post, I heard no mention of repeated, pattern felonious criminality.

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This afternoon, John tells us that the outcome of the elections tomorrow will be essentially a nothing burger.

He tells us “conservatives will get back to work“ — right away on the morning after.

Hinderaker — in addition to all his other faults — here again blinks right past the reality. This is not like Mr. Obama‘s midterms.

This is not like Bill Clinton’s midterms. Getting a blow job isn’t the same as being convicted of 34 felonies.

It is however a fair amount like John McCain running for president in 2008 though. More of the same being offered by the GOP/MAGA.

More lawlessness, more cruelty, and absolutely way more corruption.

So yes, I do think tomorrow will be a reputation of all things Donald Trump.

He’s yesterday‘s news and he smells like a whale rendering factory at low tide.

Onward. And recognize John, now — for what he is: a senile moron. If the GOP gets back to work on Wednesday, it will do so by affirmatively dismantling the endless corruption that Trump creates.

If it does not do that, it will never win another election on the national stage.

Out.

Fascinating. Mr. Shkreli’s NEW Lawyer, In The FTC Contempt Matter… Was A USDC Judge-Admonished Defense Counsel, In J6 Cases. YIKES!

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Look — I get that pretty much only the “bottom of the barrel” is now willing to risk both reputational, and financial harm… by choosing to represent one Martin Shkreli. [Almost all his prior, and competent counsels have eventually withdrawn, when he welshes on paying them. Or flat out runs out of funds — which seems to frequently transpire in these matters. I can document that list, if anyone cares / insists.]

But this morning, one Jonathan Gross — out of Maryland — filed his appearance to represent Martin in the FTC orders / violation / contempt matter.

He has previously said he has only ever practiced as a general civil attorney (primarily on First Amendment / religious freedoms cases), and has never handled a criminal case, of any kind. [This case presents the potential at least, to send Martin back inside, BTW. But oddly enough, Mr. Gross had signed on at DoJ, and then shortly after — resigned — as a special counsel for “DoJ civil rights” — under the odious Harmeet Dhillon.] Odd choice.

Moreover, as a practicing Orthodox Jew, he drew a sitting USDC Judge’s ire, a few years ago — in representing a J6 felony defendant (one with a well-known, previously scheduled weeks-long trial sitting) — by saying he would not appear at all, in court during the longish Passover holidays. That was after a capable criminal defense co-counsel had resigned, BTW.

Attorneys in felony matters well-know that when they sign on — for a case with a trial date already scheduled — it is their responsibility to be sure the client will be well-represented, even during the highest Orthodox holidays.

And that holds true — whether or not the client is paying at the moment.

So — if nothing else… this FTC matter could get… spicy. It likely morphs into a DoJ criminal matter, under Kiyo Matsumoto’s Brooklyn orders, re the SEC fraud convictions, as well — when Martin is found guilty of violating his prior (FTC) release orders.

Should be good… street theater, if nothing else.

Onward.

Since Last Week, Merck’s Stock’s Been Rising On NYSE — Due To Longer Keytruda Exclusivity Arc (Via Patenting Strategies) — And All Other R&D Hitting Targets…

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I’ve said so for quite a while, right here: Rahway has a plethora of paths to keep subcutaneous [or other versions] of pembrolizumab as the exclusive and preferred line of therapy… well into the mid-2030s. [There are quite a few Wall Streeters who are not fully-versed in patent extension tactics in the US.]

But it is really the continuing strength of all the rest of Merck’s formidable medicine cabinet. . . that is driving this multiple expansion, now underway on the NYSE. That, and high quality pharma being a safe-haven investment (with a fat quarterly cash dividend!), when Tangerine 2.0 lunacy makes oil a dangerous investment — and crypto / AI / chip tech face very choppy seas as well.

Here’s a bit on some of Merck’s other wins — in R&D (this one for people living with HIV positivity):

…Our goal is to bring forward oral options, including daily and once-weekly HIV treatment regimens, as well as a once-monthly HIV prevention pill. Because no single medicine works for every person, we are committed to expanding choices that may help address the diverse needs and preferences of people living with HIV or those who could benefit from PrEP.”

At HIV Glasgow, Merck will present Phase 3 subgroup analyses of once-daily IDVYNSO, including Week 48 resistance and weight analyses from Trial 53 comparing IDVYNSO to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF) in adults with HIV-1 who had not previously received antiretroviral treatment, as well as Week 96 patient-reported outcomes for IDVYNSO in adults with virologically suppressed HIV-1. Separately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted two supplemental New Drug Applications for IDVYNSO (doravirine and islatravir): one based on the Phase 3 Trial 053 in adults who had not previously received antiretroviral treatment and one based on the Phase 3 Trials 051 and 052 to include 96-week data in virologically suppressed adults. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) or target action date of April 22, 2027, for both applications….

Now you know. Onward, grinning — heading back into the High Rockies on Thursday mid-morning now. Smiling — a sorta’ sad smile, just the same.

नमस्ते

Tangerine 2.0 Is Churlishly Squandering Our US Scientific Leads, Across Many Areas… And At NASA, Selling Them Off, To Elon Musk — On The Cheap.

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I will leave Musk’s graft-laden NASA contracts for another day, as at the moment — the more immediate issue is Quantum research. China is eclipsing the US on research into building so-called quantum computers… ones that might be able, in a matter of minutes — to “pick” every electronic lock, break in — and steal. . . everything. Trump is apparently too senile to understand this threat. Or worse, he is accepting back door bribes to allow it — for privateers.

Here’s the broader weekend story from the NYT — do go read it all:

…The turmoil inside scientific research has extended beyond the Pentagon. The Energy Department, a key hub of nuclear and quantum research, has lost more than 1,000 scientists and technical staff. The National Science Foundation, for decades a primary backer of long-term, foundational research, has withheld more than $1 billion in funding. And at the National Institutes of Health, the biggest funder of medical research, officials delayed or canceled more than 2,000 grants to biomedical researchers focused on topics such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and other diseases.

Under Mr. Trump, the federal government is still spending roughly as much on research — about $200 billion this year — as the administrations that came before. Scientists across the country are still receiving grants; universities are still being funded.

But beneath the surface, the system of federally funded science that helped make the United States a global superpower is under intense strain from Trump policies, jeopardizing the nation’s advantages in defense, medicine and technology, a New York Times examination has found….

Do go vote. Vote to preserve America’s lead in the hard sciences. And to allow brilliant immigrants to come here — and thrive — and thus advance our scientific programs by orders of magnitude. Onward.

नमस्ते

What A Mind Bending Capture — Of A Reality Distortion Bubble (Ongoing) Nathan Fielder Has Made — For A24.

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Before we took the evening to staff a haunted house for the sweet lil’ kids, I saw Nathan Fielder’s “project” for A24 today. On the person at right.

Months and months ago, I wrote the below, right here — about her.

“. . .Actually, I suspect Billy is writing her replies.

And actually, I think they are going in for the Shkreli bad boy / online following / fascination thing. . . .”

And it is crystal clear — even though she belaborers it greatly in this film — that The New York Times reporter accurately portrayed the quotation she is so offended by now. Without giving away spoilers, I can only say that the contested quote came during an almost half hour long steadily-flowing conversation about the idea of creating “personas”… as they walked on the beach.

I will probably have to think for quite a while longer before I post anything more on this A24 project — it is one of the most deeply-layered profiles I have ever seen of a convicted felon. [And of the actress who’d portrayed her — in at least one of the dramatic treatment movies about her.]

Moreover, I don’t want to give away spoilers. I think everyone who’s interested in US healthcare policy and anything touching securities fraud should watch this, from top to tail.

Then, at some future point in time (when most of America has seen it — and it has been on cable for a few months), I will post what I think about it — having read literally every single word of every court filing about both the civil, and the criminal trials and appeals.

I’ll give away nothing by saying I am absolutely convinced that “for every garbage can, there is a lid” — and in this case, Billy Evans is the perfect garbage can. Or maybe he’s the perfect lid. Either way — they richly deserve each other.

Even though it runs over three hours in length — do go see it.

नमस्ते

You Know I’ve Been A Rock-Hound My Whole Life. So, I Love This Barsoomian Discovery, From 4.1 Billion Years Of “Time Out Of Mind”…

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This is just monumentally exciting — and is likely the oldest exo-planet rock ever encountered here on Jasoom.

Here’s the scoop, from NASA’s blog on all the topics related to… Mars:

…When a rose-colored meteorite was found in the Sahara Desert in 2022, no one knew how old it was or where it came from. Not until NASA-funded scientists age-dated its minerals did they realize the nearly 2-pound (800-gram) rock was a piece of Mars that formed more than 4.1 billion years ago, making it one of the oldest Martian meteorites ever found. Named Teghaza 001 after the salt plain in Mali where it was discovered, the meteorite is one of roughly 435 from the Red Planet.

In a paper published Thursday in Science, researchers offered an initial characterization of Teghaza 001, providing a rare snapshot of Mars’ ancient crust and formation. What scientists learn from future studies could help answer many questions, including how water and rocks interacted on ancient Mars. A separate paper published in Science Advances in June detailed the meteorite’s water content, offering a look at how water shaped the early planet’s surface.

“It was only after we started looking closely that we realized this meteorite is really unique,” said the paper’s lead author, Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “One of the paper’s reviewers called it a Rosetta Stone for Mars….”

This is indeed excellent exo-planet / geological / space science! Onward.

नमस्ते