Author: condor

[U: Mirengoff Too.] Funny / Ironic: Hinderaker Doesn’t Believe In The Right To Counsel In Felony Matters. Here’s Someone He Respects… Who DOES.

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Tonight — ever the feckless dolt, Hinderaker pretends not to understand why the abduction to rural Louisiana, of a Columbia U. grad student with a green card (and an eight months pregnant US citizen wife) is an important issue — regardless of the ultimate merits hearing to come.

But someone he has lavished praise upon, on the far right — understands. The right to counsel… matters — in felony criminal proceedings.

In fact, there was a time, in about 2019, when she was actually serving as his… frontal lobe.

[Updated — near Midnight Eastern: Mirengoff also blows past the obvious access to counsel issue, and “makes up” a scenario where the man directly engaged in violence — to get to his protected speech suppressing result.]

This is not just a “liberals’ issue“. This is not “a bad cause“, John.

This is a question of whether a Nouveau Reich will rule us, or whether we still have the right to peacefully protest for the redress of grievances — and then the right to counsel, when detained. This should concern Hinderaker.

But it doesn’t — because at bottom, he doesn’t support our robust system of ordered liberty.

He wants an authoritarian dictatorship. An orange one.

Charming. I’m here to see to it that he won’t ever get it.

Out.

Wise USDC Judge Chutkan In DC Grants New Mexico (And Other States) Expedited Discovery Against DOGE — And Musk. Another Win, On Prelim. Inj.

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Not surprising, but (if one believes the Musk/Tangerine mantra) the sooner the DOGE-ers show their homework, the sooner this may all be over. And since we know that they are swearing that “the dog ATE their homework…” we get why they don’t want to produce anything, any time soon.

But Judge Chutkan just put them on front street: in under 21 days, we will see whether there is any evidentiary record to support what they did (as being lawful) in real time. Excellent; here’s a bit of the 14 pager just entered:

…The court concludes that granting expedited discovery is in the best interest of all parties. Plaintiffs’ discovery requests target information necessary to resolve their forthcoming preliminary injunction motion. The court recognizes that discovery into the Executive, particularly the White House and Senior Advisors, imposes a heightened burden….

Accordingly, the court does not authorize all the discovery that Plaintiffs request, imposes several additional restrictions on the scope, and extends Defendants’ time to respond. With those adjustments, the court finds expedited discovery is reasonable and necessary to evaluate Plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief. In addition, to avoid prejudice to Defendants and expeditiously resolve this case, the court will exercise its discretion to consolidate the motion for a preliminary injunction with the merits under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(a)(2)….

[The documentary] requests target information relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims for injunctive relief, with a few adjustments. Plaintiffs’ document requests seek information regarding DOGE’s and Musk’s involvement in (1) eliminating or reducing the size of federal agencies; (2) terminating or placing federal employees on leave; (3) cancelling, freezing, or pausing federal contracts, grants, or other federal funding; and (4) obtaining access, using, or making changes to federal databases or data management systems. Id. at 5–7.

Evidence that Defendants eliminated agencies that work with Plaintiffs, terminated employees responsible for managing programs with Plaintiffs, or cancelled contracts with Plaintiffs is relevant to whether Defendants exceeded their statutory and constitutional authority. Warner Bros. Recs. Inc. v. Does 1–6, 527 F. Supp. 2d 1, 2 (D.D.C. 2007) (granting expedited discovery where “Plaintiffs have made a showing of good cause for the discovery they seek, as the information is not only relevant but crucial to the prosecution of plaintiffs’ claims.”)….

Now you know — and we are scrubbed for tonight (hydraulics issue) for the under an hour away in the crewed count-down, headed up to the ISS from the Cape Kennedy complex 39A. Maybe tomorrow evening. Keeping a good thought here. Onward.

नमस्ते

While Musk’s SpaceX (Crewed) Rocket Sits Through A Hold, At The Cape — Due To Hydraulics Issue With A Clamp On The Tower… We Look At Deep Space Carbon60…

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The issue may be such that the team cannot trust the gantry will safely be out of the way, come launch time… so this may result in a scrub for tonight.

But the four crew members are loaded; the hatch has been sealed… and we await a “go/no go” to fuel the beast, with liquid oxygen and chemically modified kerosene. I’ll just take this moment though, to re-run a favorite graphic… and note that when we do finally send a crew beyond the heliosphere, that crew ought to be looking for rouge planets, ones without stars — because most may very well have the complex carbon chains from which life (we believe) arises. That is a pursuit worth. . . pursuing, indeed:

[From a Hubble release in 2019, then:] …[T]his is the first time an electrically charged (ionized) version has been confirmed to be present in the diffuse ISM. The C60 gets ionized when ultraviolet light from stars tears off an electron from the molecule, giving the C60 a positive charge (C60+). “The diffuse ISM was historically considered too harsh and tenuous an environment for appreciable abundances of large molecules to occur,” said Cordiner. “Prior to the detection of C60, the largest known molecules in space were only 12 atoms in size. Our confirmation of C60+ shows just how complex astrochemistry can get, even in the lowest density, most strongly ultraviolet-irradiated environments in the Galaxy….”

Life as we know it is based on carbon-bearing molecules, and this discovery shows complex carbon molecules can form and survive in the harsh environment of interstellar space. “In some ways, life can be thought of as the ultimate in chemical complexity,” said Cordiner. “The presence of C60 unequivocally demonstrates a high level of chemical complexity intrinsic to space environments, and points toward a strong likelihood for other extremely complex, carbon-bearing molecules arising spontaneously in space….”

Here’s to hoping, in any event, that this crew gets safely to orbit, and on to the ISS — later tonight — as that in turn “paves the way” for a ride home, for Suni and Butch, nearer to St. Patrick’s Day ’25. Onward, smiling.

नमस्ते

In Which We Laugh — At Hinderaker’s Bitter Whining. BTW — Did They Ever Find The Guys Who Burnt Your Leased Office Space, Man?

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Well, for a host of reasons — not least of which is John’s abidingly stupid, and falsely racist, assertions in this morning’s post — we will politely dissent from his claims.

He is wrong about reparations. It is working well here, with over 120 families now having received the aid authorized by a city council order.

That leaves about 320 families to go.

It is the county and city’s local tax, on legal weed — that generates the revenue to pay out these funds — now @ $25,000 per family.

The grant money must go into improving the family home, which must be inside our town. And the family must prove that they or their direct parents and/or grandparents lived in town (on or prior to 1969, and were African Americans) and that the current generations of the famil(ies) now live in the city — in property capable of being improved, by the $25,000 grant in aid.

[There is a separate low interest, not due until sale loan program (which I helped design) for double that amount if a budget, and architectural plans — for renovations is approved by the city, in the same dwelling — so… up to $75,000 in total funding. But the last $50,000 of it becomes a “due on sale” deferred lending.]

We as taxpayers have voted to improve our housing stock. It is that simple, son. And as a bonus — it has had the knock on effect of giving local women- and minority-owned construction contractors all sorts of new, high pay, guaranteed work — which they then re-spend in our shops and restaurants. [That’s the money-multiplier Keynesians all proved, in the 1960s bud.]

It works — so do take a seat, John. Or maybe you should seek reparations, for the actions at right, huh? Just a thought — can you prove it was “viewpoint discrimination”? The mind… boggles.

[U: Waving, At Kristi Noem] Judge Furman Specifically Admonished Noem’s DHS Lawyers — That “Moving Detainees To Secret Them from Counsel, And Abridge Their Rights”… Is A Felony.

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UPDATED at 1:56 PM EDT — the boys at Homeland Security are looking in on us. We just had several visits in the last 20 or so minutes. Gee — I wonder why that might be.

Exit Time: 12 Mar 2025 1:56:17 PM EDT
Resolution:
1920×1080
System:
Edge 133.0
Win11
Total Sessions:
[Redacted]
Location:
United States
ISP / IP Address:
Department Of Homeland Security (216.81.81.82)….

In any event, this is — and remains — a free nation. And I have proudly been a patriot my whole life long (no associations with terroristic groups — right or left)… so rest easy, boys. End of update.

Again, InnerCityPress has the minute by minute here. Excellent work inside Judge Furman’s courtroom, in Foley Square, man!

Probably the most important moments this morning were: (i) granting the green card holder daily privileged legal calls, from Jena, Louisiana; (ii) the speed of the next hearing — one day; and (iii) the specific on the record hint from the bench / admonition that the writ of habeas corpus defeats government efforts to “secret” a detainee away from his counsel — and that attempt itself may rise to an independent felony — by Kristi Noem’s DHS team.

These DHS idjits… are risking their law licenses now.

…Judge Furman: [To Noem’s lawyers:] Your papers should address Justice Kennedy’s concurrence in Rumsfeld v. Padilla [542 U.S. 426], about moving petitioners to evade jurisdiction.

Petitioner’s lawyer: Courts have also looked to identify the field office that was responsible [That is a broad hint that this may have constituted a felony by the DHS field agents]….

So — we now wait for 9 PM EDT filings tonight. And the docket is unsealed as of now. Thank you, Judge Furman!

नमस्ते

Power Alley: The Bellwether Cases Against Gardasil® Have All Failed; There Will Likely Be No New LA Trial Against Merck… But Beware RFK, Jr.!

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In an era not so completely ruled by odd-ball cult(s) of personality, the summary judment Merck just won would likely be the end of the line for all the putative Gardasil® vaccine claimants in the US.

But do recall that the current Sec’y. of Health and Human Services personally recruited some of these Gardasil plaintiffs for his law firm (and was to receive large contingent fee payments). Well, a large bolus of these claims were effectively dismissed yesterday, in North Carolina’s federal courts for the Western District, when the able judge ruled the plaintiffs injuries didn’t seem to be caused by the vaccine. Excellent for Rahway — the maker of Gardasil.

But sadly, who knows what the CURRENT Secy. of HHS might dream up (to ease his way around a final federal court order)? The prior one (see below pull quote) believed there was no cause-effect link between the plaintiffs’ maladies and Merck’s Gardasil.

In any event, this is all sure to be good (or at least, better) news for Merck — but we will have to wait a bit to see whether RFK, Jr. honors (or welshes on) his pledge / promise to the Senate that (if confirmed) he’d stay out of this, in his role at HHS:

…The Bellwether Plaintiffs (vaccinated at various dates from 2012 to January 2021) allege that Gardasil caused them to develop POTS or POI. They further allege that Merck should have added a POTS warning to Gardasil’s FDA regulated labeling in 2011 and a POI warning in 2013.

Merck responds that there is no evidence that Gardasil causes either POTS or POI, and the FDA has approved numerous Gardasil labels without any such warnings (as well as promoted the safety and efficacy of HPV vaccines, including with respect to POTS). As discussed in more detail below, all Parties have made lengthy scientific submissions which they contend support or argue against the need for Plaintiffs’ requested warnings. Gardasil is a childhood vaccine covered by the Vaccine Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1, et seq.

As explained by the Supreme Court in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, 562 U.S. 223, 228–30 (2011), Congress enacted the Vaccine Act to “[t]o stabilize the vaccine market and facilitate compensation” to putative plaintiffs by establishing a no-fault compensation program “designed to work faster and with greater ease than the civil tort system.” Shalala v. Whitecotton, 514 U.S. 268, 269 (1995). The program requires a person who claims to have been injured by a vaccine, or their legal guardian, to file a petition for compensation against the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) in the United States Court of Federal Claims prior to filing a civil action in State or Federal court. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa–11, 12. Each of the Bellwether Plaintiffs filed claims in the Vaccine Court.

In its oppositions, HHS (which oversees both the FDA and CDC) argued against Plaintiffs’ claimed association between HPV vaccination and POTS or POI….

Now you know. We await news out of USDC Judge Furman’s court in Manhattan — on whether the First Amendment still means what it says. We expect that it does, and the green card holder will be released shortly. And… SPHEREx is conducting solar science now, overhead. So things are literally… looking up. Grin.

नमस्ते

[Updated] Q.: Why Were Tangerine 2.0 Appointees Burning And Shredding Documents Today At USAID Offices?

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Updated: Hinderaker seems unaware that humanitarian aid operations (in certain geographies) might lead to useful local contacts — for tradecraft opportunities – in shaping policy on the ground. Not spying per se — but rather “influencing”: toward democracy as opposed to socialism or oligarchy. As such, there might be sensitivity to letting such info out widely. John implies that the shredding was to hide graft. If that were so, Trump would be crowing. He is not — in fact he’s running the wood chipper, John. That seems… swampy — in a word. End update.

I am pretty sure all these appointees would have received broad “litigation hold” notices, due to the lawless way USAID has been dealt with since late January 2025.

And it is particularly odd that the White House spokesperson was trying to down-play it, as having any import — saying it was “only” three dozen people, doing the buring and shredding. None of that is reassuring — given that Trump/Musk people are running the effort. We will wait to see where it all lands, since we all know other / back-up copies of all this stuff are likely in other agencies’ safes, in any event. Here’s the weird story, out of Politico:

…The materials earmarked for destruction include contents of the agency’s “classified safes and personnel documents” at the Ronald Reagan Building, said an email sent by USAID’s acting executive director, Erica Carr, and obtained by POLITICO….

Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the White House, downplayed [any] concerns in a social media post late Tuesday. “This was sent to roughly three dozen employees,” Kelly wrote. “The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems….”

She might not be the most credible source here — jes’ sayin’. So, just when you thought it couldn’t get any… stranger. Wow. G’night.

नमस्ते

[U, X2: Banger Of A Hearing Tomorrow @ 11:30 AM!] The Man’s Privacy Interests Are Important Here — But Shortly, A Free Press Should Be Allowed To See Kristi Noem’s Purported Basis, For Revoking A Green Card.

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Updated: Relying on fine “sneakers on the tiles” reporting at Foley Square by Matthew Russell Lee, at InnerCityPress, we’ve been able to read screen-caps of the letter — on terminals, at Foley Square.

There we learn that Noem proposes to argue tomorrow to dismiss for lack of appropriate venue. But a venue challenge cannot defeat “the great writ” (habeas corpus), without more. So it is likely that tomorrow Judge Furman will order the return of the green card holder, and his release. It is clear that Ms. Noem has not had him flown back to Manhattan (yet), from her lawyers’ two page letter.

Second Update — 03.12.2025: This morning, a second letter appeared, but not pdf-ed to the docket. It is a free expression group’s request that the able USDC Judge honor our First Amendment’s admonitions, and under the case law, make specific on the record findings, BEFORE he closes the docket to public view. That hasn’t happened here yet. Here’s that note: “LETTER addressed to Judge Jesse M. Furman from Robert J. Tolchin, Esq. dated 3-12-25 re: seeking review of public access restrictions for documents filed in this proceeding. Document filed by Shurat Hadin — Israel Law Center (Tolchin, Robert)….End updates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The parties in the matter at right owed the able USDC Judge Furman, in Manhattan, a joint letter by 5 PM EDT today, indicating whether a hearing would be needed (at all).

By that he meant to ask whether / would the Tangerine 2.0 minion, Kristi Noem (a former MAGA Gov., in the Dakotas) admit that she had wholly-failed to follow the law, in this “snatch and grab” — and immediately return this green card holder — from rural Louisiana (where she black-sited him), to the court where his habeas petition would be heard.

The letter is now on file, but like the habeas corpus petition itself, it remains sealed — available to only the parties (and their lawyers) for inspection and copying.

That state of affairs will not persist, as Davis, Wright and Tremaine (on behalf of news gathering agencies) are likely to move as early as tomorrow to have the whole of the docket available to “We, the People” — under the covenants embedded in our First Amendment. So, until then — the public will have to show up tomorrow at 11:30 AM EDT, to Foley Square, to find out whether the gentleman/green card holder has been returned — and whether argument will be needed, for his immediate release into the city streets. Here’s the only bit visible at the moment (in full text):

…LETTER addressed to Judge Jesse M. Furman from Baher Azmy dated 3/11/25 re: Joint Letter.

Document filed by M.K., William P. Joyce, Caleb Vitello, Kristi Noem, Pamela Bondi….

We may now safely assume that this is not a sensitive Homeland Security claim by Noem, otherwise it would have been on a sealed docket, in an entirely separate courthouse. And she would not argue simply inconvenient venue here — she’d argue that a national security / Homeland Security / Patriot Act statute permitted her “snatch & grab“. She didn’t.

So… we await her admission that she acted rashly, and unlawfully — entitling the man at right to presumed monetary damages, under our federal law. Onward.

नमस्ते

Now, The First CONFIRMED Clade 1b Mpox Case… In Sao Paulo, Brazil — Out Of DRC…

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Back in August 2024, we mentioned that there had been a report of the then-current Mpox viral transmission into Brazil, but it was never confirmed as being Clade 1b. That mile marker has now been passed: a relative of a woman in Sao Paulo apparently passed the Clade 1b virus to her — after returning (unaware no doubt), from a visit to DRC.

And… this is how viral epidemics keep on rolling: without the resources to choke them off, at the point of origin. Thanks, RFK, Jr., Tangerine 2.0 and Musk. Dammit. Here’s the latest from the U. of Minn.’s excellent CIDRAP outlet:

…Brazil has reported its first clade 1b mpox case, per a notice from the national Health Ministry.

According to media reports, the patient is a 29 year-old woman from Sao Paulo, whose relative had recently returned from travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Currently the DRC is in the middle of a large mpox outbreak, with thousands of cases caused by clade 1b, a more transmissible strain of the virus.

So far this year Brazil has reported 52 cases of mpox, but all were clade 2, the strain that caused a global outbreak of the virus in 2022 and 2023, primarily among men who have sex with men.

Health Ministry officials said there are no other clade 1b cases in Brazil at this time….

[And my girl made it home without bringing any in — from Sao Paulo.] Meanwhile, that very stable genius just doubled his tariffs on Canadian steel. That already has tanked the Dow — again, in under six hours. Who are these clowns? These Nineteenth Century economic and ultra-protectionist trade theories are… dead, for a reason, boys. Buy a textbook, please. And read it. Out — will we see a SPHEREx launch tonight, or will weather be a scrub on the California space-coast?

नमस्ते

USDC Judge Cooper (In DC): FOIA Means What It Says — Musk And DOGE Are Required To Answer To The Electorate — Transparently, And Promptly.

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I think Team Trump/Musk is now batting about 0.095 — or about 3 “temporary” wins — out of over 33 losses.

And I must say: the preposterous argument that DOGE is not any part of our government… is particularly galling.

These malign idiots renamed an existing branch of the government — and now want to say it is above and beyond any federal transparency law or rule. Ahem, Mr. Musk — that is not how FOIA works, son. Here’s the excellent — well reasoned, 37 pager of an overnight opinion, out of the CREW lawsuit in DC — and a bit:

…“The Supreme Court has observed that a public informed about its government’s actions is ‘a structural necessity in a real democracy.’” Brennan Ctr., 498 F. Supp. 3d at 101 (quoting Nat’l Archives & Recs. Admin. v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157, 172 (2004)). Timely awareness is equally necessary because “stale information is of little value.” Payne Enters. v. United States, 837 F.2d 486, 494 (D.C. Cir. 1988). Thus, “in a few rare FOIA cases” involving “ongoing proceedings of national importance,” courts in this district “have concluded that a delay in processing of a FOIA request would cause irreparable harm.” Brennan Ctr., 498 F. Supp. 3d at 101 (D.D.C. 2020) (citing Ctr. for Public Integrity, 411 F. Supp. 3d at 11–13 (collecting cases)).

If the Court does not grant preliminary relief to CREW, records responsive to the USDS request will not be released anytime soon, if ever. As the government stated at oral argument, USDS is not currently processing CREW’s request because it does not believe itself to be an agency. [Ed. Note: WTAH?!?] Rough Tr. 4:1–4. The time it would take to litigate that question on the merits and thereafter begin processing would likely result in a substantial delay of years, for all practical purposes imposing an indefinite delay. By that time, the Court suspects that the information may indeed be “stale,” or at least, significantly less useful than it once was. Accordingly, “the potential for irreparable harm under these circumstances exists because ongoing public and congressional debates about issues of vital national importance cannot be restarted or wound back.” Protect Democracy Proj., 263 F. Supp. 3d at 301….

“Moreover, absent an expedited response to Plaintiff’s FOIA request, it is not clear to the Court that the public” or Congress “would otherwise have access to this relevant information.” Ctr. for Pub. Integrity, 411 F. Supp. 3d at 13. Congressional subpoenas for Musk to testify about USDS’s work have already been blocked, and the Court sees no reason to think they will ever succeed. Ivan Pereira & Jay O’Brien, Republicans Block Musk from Congressional Subpoena as DOGE Continues to Access Government Data, ABC News (Feb. 5, 2025)…. To be sure, this indicates that not all Members of Congress, nor even a majority, desire access to the requested documents. But that does not change CREW’s and the public’s important interest in obtaining these records and discussing them with the Members that do….

As set forth in the accompanying Order, the Court will direct USDS to process CREW’s request on an expedited basis but will stop short of ordering production of either the USDS or OMB Requests by March 10, 2025. In accordance with its supervisory role, however, the Court will direct the government to file a status report by March 20, 2025, including the estimated number of documents responsive to CREW’s three requests. The Court will further order the parties to meet and confer regarding a proposed processing and production timeline and to file by March 27 a joint status report proposing a schedule for expedited processing and rolling production of responsive records….

So — bit by bit — sanity is making a comeback, in the face of a lawless onslaught from Musk and Tangerine 2.0. Thank you, USDC Judge Cooper! Onward.

नमस्ते