Author: condor

Hinderaker: Yep — He’s Indeed “Chosen A Weird Hill To Die On…”

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John thinks himself a master of rhetorical misdirection. But he only so imagines.

This evening, he falsely claims that liberal progressives have chosen child gender care surgeries as their “hill to die on” (his words).

What he is trying (impotently) to avoid saying is… that he and his frothy hard right… are the ones making two human cases — in a decade — in Florida… their “litmus test” / their OWN hill to die on.

So as is often the case, John tells one giant lie, in order to hide a hideous truth — under his own cloak. [He’s a bigot.]

John and Bitsy and Steve have repeatedly lied about the facts related to these cases, the studies (all on vanishingly small sample sizes), and about… what resides below the surface for these loons: open hatred of all things that are different than they (or so they imagine).

I will leave him, and them, to their hateful lies — they are unworthy of detailed replies.

But the Powerline crew is deluding themselves if they think any set of lies on these topics will sway the 2024 election cycle.

The facts will win out. This is less than 0.7% of the population; and America knows it. Voting America that is.

Bub-bye John. Update: in similar fashion, later this evening, he has mis-stated the Democratic positions on reparations. Y A W N.

Dumb (and losing, for the GOP) gambit, Hinderaker. Out.

Well — This Is… Preposterous! The Tenn. AG Johnathan Skrmetti Just Claimed On Air, That All Federal Court Jurisdiction Is Limited To Shelby County, In The State.

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Just a dose of reality, here: that is a federal court order, entered after midnight last night.

F E D E R A L.

These are not-not-not… mere county courts — of limited jurisdiction, as to county borders. The AEA “law” was held unconstitutional on its face, by a federal judge. It happens he’s a Tangerine appointee, too — but his ruling applies, per force, statewide.

The AEA is unenforceable, anywhere inside the Volunteer State (that is the limit of the state legislature’s prior reach), all as the AG will find out Monday morning — if not before, when he tries to appeal. But don’t be conned by these would-be brown-shirts. [We all now know the doors of all the Alabama public universities were opened — state wide, not just in Tuscaloosa, folks — despite what Geo. Wallace said. Same here.]

नमस्ते

Decrepit Old John Hinderaker (Preciously!) Says… He’s “Saving” Minnesota, From Itself. Hah!

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He makes some rather grandiose claims this Saturday afternoon — so much so, that I suspect he’s more than three whiskeys in already — at three pm Central.

He tells us that since 2015, he’s “devoted his life”… to saving Minnesota from the godless liberals. Or something.

And (wait for it!) he’s ACTUALLY selling… tee shirts, to prove it.

If I were to write this all up as a parody… it would write itself.

Sadly, it is not.

And equally sadly — about the only thing Hinderaker actually pushes for, is dis-union, and a return to the days when the Minnesota KKK regularly hung people from rural bridges in the prairie land.

John is an impotent, embittered, old whyte racist.

Nuthin’ more. What a… loser — but soon enough, he and his fellow travelers will be dead — of old age.

O U T.

How The NLRB Staff Lawyers See Amazon Lawyers’ Foot Dragging, And Condoning Unfair Labor Practices… At DYY6/JFK8: Post Hearing Briefs.

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Time for our once a month check-in, on all the bone-headed things Amazon’s HR lawyers regularly do and say. [The below pull-quote is just a tip of the iceberg — do go read the full filing, here.]

Here’s the full document, filed at the end of last month — and a bit:

…Palmer testified that shortly after Wojhan confiscated literature from him in the breakroom, after Palmer had returned to his workstation, Operations Manager Ariana Ovadia asked to meet with him alone in a satellite breakroom. During this one-on-one meeting, Ovadia reiterated the message just given by Wojahn — that Palmer could not distribute Union literature in the breakroom. In this regard, after telling Palmer that she was aware of the confiscation by Wojahn, Palmer told Ovadia that he went to the HR office to find out who had instructed Wojahn to take the literature.

Instead of responding directly to this comment, Ovadia told Palmer that she had “many lawyer friends” and that “they all said” that Respondent was allowed to remove Union literature. Ovadia followed this commentary with an unsolicited question to Palmer regarding why he “hated Amazon?” Palmer testified that by connecting the confiscation of his Union literature with Palmer allegedly “hating” Amazon, it made it seem as if Ovadia believed Palmer disliked his employer because he was distributing Union literature.

As discussed above, it is a violation of Section 8(a)(1) to prohibit employees from distributing union literature on non-work time in non-work areas. See e.g. Stoddard-Quirk Manufacturing Co., 138 NLRB 615 (1962); Republic Aviation Corp. v. NLRB, 324 U.S. 793 (1954)….

Amazon is going to lose here — without a reasonable doubt. Out, now — for a toasty, sunny mountain bike ride by the lake, and then some hand turned ice cream with cherries! Woot!

नमस्ते

[U X2] The Formal End — Of Tennessee’s Lawless Ban On Only Males Dancing In Makeup… Arrived Overnight.

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Updated @ 3 pm CDT: Seems the Tennessee AG, one Johnathan Skrmetti, thinks he’s some form of a latter day Geo. Wallace. He isn’t. He’s just an impotent old… loon. End update.

As expected, Tennessee cannot so restrict freedoms of speech and expression. So says this 70 page legal opinion.

This is an able federal court judge doing his level best to explain to hard right supposed “X-tians” in plain English why what they attempted is… deeply Un-American.

…Freedom of speech is not just about speech. It is also about the right to debate with fellow citizens on self-government, to discover the truth in the marketplace of ideas, to express one’s identity, and to realize self-fulfillment in a free society.

That freedom is of first importance to many Americans such that the United States Supreme Court has relaxed procedural requirements for citizens to vindicate their right to freedom of speech, while making it harder for the government to regulate it [footnotes omitted]….

…“It is… well established that speech may not be prohibited because it concerns subjects affecting our sensibilities….”; Reno v. A.C.L.U., 521 U.S. 844, 874 (1997) (reaffirming that the First Amendment protects sexual expression which is indecent but not obscene)….

After considering the briefs and evidence presented at trial, the Court finds that — despite Tennessee’s compelling interest in protecting the psychological and physical wellbeing of children — the Adult Entertainment Act (“AEA”) is an UNCONSTITUTIONAL restriction on the freedom of speech and PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendant Steven Mulroy from enforcing the unconstitutional statute….

Exactly. Onward, grinning into the sunshine. People are again freed, here in this fragile experiment with ordered liberty, to dance in any costume they please, regardless of the largely accidental shape of their genitalia at birth.

Updated: In an ironic footnote, the Powerline boys are actively promoting and supporting (as is their right, in my America) a media project from DailyWire that pushes the agenda that there are only two genders, and the same are immutably assigned at birth by some “god”. This, they say, is a vital issue of free speech — to have a platform for this supposed divinely ordained message. Yet these same chuckleheads will never rise to oppose laws that purport to restrict very much the same sort of discussions on the other side of the question (like the now dead TN AEA). I might ask: What are they so deathly afraid of? That people might express themselves in ways that make these old geezers… sexually excited — even though they are… dudes, underneath?! Is that all, boys? How is that… dangerous, to you?

In any event… Color me… unsurprised.

Smile….

नमस्ते

Hinderaker — Lying His Dumb A$$ Off, Again! Friday Night Edition.

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John — once again — mis-states what a small Swedish study found. It found, based on a very small sample size, that there were no better outcomes patients, post-op, after a sex-change. Not at least in terms of overall all cause mortality.

That is all the study concluded. It did not examine overall mental health, in any sense. But John just flat out lies about this — saying it was worse than a non-op co-hort.

There was no such “control group”.

He’s a dumb ass liar.

But in the end, Hinderaker is writing about two cases, in Florida, in a decade.

What a waste of skin he is.

Out.

PS: He also wrote some BS about teachers wanting guns in schools. They. Do. Not. 4 out of 5 do not. That’s according to the very “study” he cites.

Damn liar.

Insurer United Healthcare’s View On Whether To Remand The Zetia® Class Action Now, Or Later — For Separate Trials Of “Opt-Out” Cases…

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We told you we would keep an eye out — for whether, and when — any subsequent non-settling plaintiffs might try their cases for antitrust (treble) damages on the Zetia® class litigation, against Merck and or Glenmark.

Tonight, we have some news. One of the non-settling insurers, United Healthcare, has offered the view that it will either accept remand now, to its home district in Minnesota’s federal courts, or it is happy to await a couple more finer clarifying decisions, from the MDL court in Norfolk, Virginia, before going to trial on remand.

It truly doesn’t care — because it knows it has the tiger by the tail, now — with a prior $600 million settlement already on the books. In any event, here is tonight’s full four page letter from counsel, and a bit:

…Pursuant to the Court’s May 26, 2023 Order, I write on behalf of Plaintiff United HealthCare Services, Inc. (“United”) to clarify United’s position on “whether it formally opposes remand at this juncture.” Order, ECF No. 2143 (May 26, 2023). United does not oppose remand at this juncture.

As United stated in its May 22 letter, some issues common to the cases of the “Opt Out Plaintiffs” (including United) remain unresolved. ECF No. 2130. Those issues are: (1) whether Plaintiffs suffered antitrust injuries as a result of Defendants’ unlawful delay of generic ezetimibe in the form of overcharges for Vytorin, which was Merck’s branded medication consisting of a fixed dose of branded Zetia and a generic statin; (2) whether Plaintiffs have adequately pled certain state law consumer protection and unjust enrichment claims; and (3) the potential for discovery relating to those claims. The Vytorin issue was first raised in motions to dismiss United’s complaint. ECF Nos. 1282-84, 1302, 1311. The Court referred those motions to the Hon. Douglas E. Miller and it was argued on January 27, 2022. ECF No. 1489.

At Judge Miller’s request, counsel for Kaiser, Humana, and Centene attended the hearing to answer questions so that he would not have to decide the issue multiple times. Id. at 7. Counsel for those Plaintiffs told Judge Miller that they had pled an additional Vytorin theory than the one alleged by United. Id. at 7-8. Judge Miller ruled that he would allow United to amend its complaint to allege certain additional facts specific to United’s argument that, if generic ezetimibe were available, it would have used the tools at its disposal (such as formulary changes, adding step therapy requirements, or excluding coverage of Vytorin) to shift coverage from Vytorin to its two generic components, ezetimibe and a statin, at far lower prices.

The Vytorin issue raises certain common issues of fact and law, such as whether Merck priced Vytorin by reference to Zetia at supracompetitive prices (Zetia comprised 95% of Vytorin’s raw material cost). See ECF No. 1531 at 4-5. Other issues, however, are unique to each Plaintiff; for example, how that Plaintiff would have responded to the availability of generic ezetimibe. In United’s case, it had internally decided that Vytorin was “therapeutically equivalent to the combination of Zetia and simvastatin” in 2009, which means that United could have excluded coverage of Vytorin had generic ezetimibe been available….

Now you know — and it seems certain that Merck and Glenmark are far from done paying for this overreach by Fred Hassan. Now, off to get some hand turned vanilla ice cream, with real, fresh dark Michigan cherries scraped into it, on a flawless evening. Yum!

नमस्ते

Two For One Friday Trivia! Hinderaker And Stauffer: Strange Little Trolls.

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The more meaningful one will go… second.

But first, Ole’ Bitsy thinks this idiot making fun of 46’s stumble is… endearing. Personally, I remember when 45 stumbled at the Navy graduation, and blamed the ramp. I also remember when he nearly fell off the stage sideways while trying to “dance” at his rally warmup. Hilarious. But most of all, I remember him leaving Melania without an umbrella in the rain at the bottom of the tarmac, as he hustled into AF One.

He’s a pure a-hole, and also unsteady on his feet — and most alarmingly… in his cerebral cortex. [What exactly does he imagine is… his “big red button“, Bits?! Do tell.] Also — howza’ ’bout that tape of him admitting to 20 year felonies on the classified documents? No comment, right, Betsy? Betsy… Bueller… Bueller…?

Second, Hinderaker “celebrates” that Musk allowed a free screening of a hard right, anti-gay video on the blue bird site. [Remember, that place where Hinderaker says he’s departed, due to lack of free speech — even post Musk’s takeover?! Yep. That place.]

Hinder-faker claims this is somehow a victory for “free speech”.

Whatever, loser/boomer. No one of any note… cares.

This is just more paranoid and sad… deluded old whyte guy claptrap, Johnnie.

Your time is up. Go eat your codger meal. It is getting cold(er).

Out.

Boeing Will Miss Its July Launch Window For Crewed Starliner Test. That’s The Good News.

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The object lesson here is… never be shy about outright calling things off, when human safety at launch (or in space) would be any sort of an elevated issue. Any sort of issue that might be favorably addressed on the ground, first.

This is exactly how it is supposed to work. But after that earlier uncrewed Starliner failed to reach orbit in later December of 2019… I has a feeling there would be some more issues to vet, on the master Gant chart, before any crew would ride this capsule model into space. In fact, several issues remain open — per this latest press briefing, from NASA and Boeing:

…Engineers also are working to evaluate any elevated risk from a specific type of tape used on the spacecraft to protect wires from chafing. Although the tape is commonly used in spaceflight, the adhesive properties of the tape could present a flammability risk under certain conditions. NASA and Boeing are evaluating this material and the system’s overall wiring protection to confirm it is acceptable for crewed flight.

Those efforts are ongoing and are expected to complete before Boeing begins fueling operations on the spacecraft….

So — now they will stand down, and likely rewire the whole shebang. And that is the right decision, before humans sign on to hop the ride. Onward, smiling.

नमस्ते

Finally! All Clear In Tanzania, From 2023 Marburg Outbreak…

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This is decidedly good news, especially since there is no vaccine for the virus.

As we mentioned, a couple of weeks ago Guinea was able to arrest its outbreak, as well. That means there are no known active Ebola or Marburg flare-ups in all of Africa for the moment. Here is the latest:

…DAR ES SALAAM, June 2 (Reuters) – Tanzania has declared the end of its first-ever outbreak of Marburg, a deadly Ebola-like virus with a fatality rate of up to 88%, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.

Nine cases, including six deaths, were recorded in the outbreak, which was declared in March in the northwest Kagera region, WHO said….

While there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for Marburg, WHO said timely intervention by its local office along with government efforts helped prevent the disease from spreading.

“Tanzania has been able to end this outbreak and limit the potentially devastating impacts of a highly infectious disease,” said Matshidiso Moeti, its director for Africa.

Rapid human development and resulting deforestation has pushed people deeper into the habitats of bats that transmit Marburg, Ebola and other viruses, amplifying the risk of global pandemics, scientists say….

Now you know — though sadly, we should likely be prepared for re-emergences of both Ebola and Marburg, given the above. Onward, nonetheless, into the sunshine….

नमस्ते