Author: condor

Here’s A Nice Summary, Of Why Harvard Will Likely Win Out On Summary Judgment In Mass. Fed. Court: These Are Truly Loco Trumpian Attacks On It…

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Anyone who ever saw Tangerine as a free speech absolutist (in like 2015-16-ish) must now admit: he is the opposite of it.

He’s a stupidly malign oppressor, exclusively — one who wants HIS (and only his) version of a Musk-controlled federal government to invade your classrooms, your bedrooms (whom you may love; and how they may refer to themselves) and yes, your basic science / research labs. He wants to dictate what may be read, and studied — and thus… what you are allowed… to think.

Obviously he will lose in this quest. Here’s the latest, in the form of a very well-put memo (from the lawyers for Harvard) to support the bouncing of Trump, out of court, summarily:

…Since Harvard’s founding nearly 400 years ago, its students, faculty, and researchers have worked to identify and solve some of society’s most pressing problems. They have developed novel drugs to fight Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, engineered nanofibers to protect American military servicemembers and first responders, supported American astronauts in space, and designed an artificial intelligence system that can be used to diagnose and treat cancer. These pathbreaking and life-saving advancements are due in part to the longstanding collaboration between the Government and research universities such as Harvard. Generations of Americans are healthier and safer as a result.

Over the last two months, the Government has abruptly — without any process or reasoned explanation — ended that longstanding partnership in a manner that flagrantly violates the First Amendment multiple times over. On April 11, 2025, citing concerns about alleged antisemitism and ideological bias at Harvard, the Government identified a list of “conditions” that Harvard must satisfy to continue receiving federal funding. . . .

All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard was clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your viewpoints and your academic institution or jeopardize your ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions.

Because Harvard would not allow itself to be taken over by the Government, Harvard rejected the Government’s demands on April 14, 2025….

The [Tangerine 2.0] Government’s actions are unlawful for multiple reasons. First, the Government’s actions violate the First Amendment. They are unconstitutional retaliation against Harvard for exercising its First Amendment rights to decide what to teach, to express certain views, and to petition the courts to defend itself.
The Government’s actions also impose unconstitutional conditions that seek to “interfere with private actors’ speech to advance [the Government’s] own vision of ideological balance,” Moody v. NetChoice, 603 U.S. 707, 741 (2024), and “‘to achieve the suppression’ of disfavored speech,” Nat’l Rifle Ass’n v. Vullo, 602 U.S. 175, 189 (2024) (citation omitted).

The Government’s content- and viewpoint-based attempt to coerce and control Harvard is blatantly unconstitutional….

So at least here — for readers of this property — it will be no surprise when Harvard wins, hands down. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Power Alley Returns; Rumor Edition: Is Mr. Davis Interested In Immuno-Oncology Candidate Sonelokimab?

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As ever, the caveats, first — as always: even though this has been very widely reported since early last weekend, there is no independent confirmation that any talks have restarted, or even that talks occurred. But MoonLake stock has surged almost 38 per cent on the NASDAQ, since the published reports of these rumors.

True, as a follow on to the Keytruda® franchise — at some point in time, likely in the mid-2030s — Merck might favor this lead MoonLake candidate called sonelokimab.

And I suppose ~$3 billion (on a discounted for probability of FDA clearance basis) is as good a guess as any — as to what might be a fair price today, for something that might one day be a $20 billion a year franchise. The best story to keep these breathless rumors in context was offered yesterday by Fierce (naturally!):

…The Financial Times reports Merck submitted a nonbinding offer that valued MoonLake at more than $3 billion earlier this year. The offer was rejected, but talks could be revived, the Financial Times said. MoonLake’s market cap was $2.6 billion when trading stopped yesterday [Friday] but climbed on news of Merck’s interest, with the stock rising almost 18% in premarket trading to send the biotech’s share price up to $48.50.

Buying MoonLake would give Merck ownership of sonelokimab, a molecule that could provide a source of revenue growth to help offset the anticipated emergence of biosimilar copies of Keytruda in 2028. [Condor’s nota bene: the date will be more like 2032, though. Just watch the wrangling — under the US patent laws.] The biotech is aiming to report primary endpoint data from phase 3 trials of sonelokimab in September….

The MLTX symbol traded as high as $49-something yesterday, when it was at about $34-something as recently as last Thursday, before the rumors started swirling. We shall see, but it would be true that both AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb would be likely potential suitors, as well. Onward — for a gloriously warm bike ride by the lake, now… smile. [One and all — be excellent to your mothers; your time with them is precious… and surprisingly fleeting, at least with their full faculties, as the decades roll on.]

नमस्ते

A Nice Summary Of Why Tangerine 2.0 Will Lose On His IEEPA Tariff Authority Claims — On Appeal, Once The Dust Settles.

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A brief just filed tonight (after hours) sets forth why the CIT was correct to throw out Trump’s tariff claims.

It is very likely to be adopted verbatim by the upper panel as well, since Trump is appealing his complete loss. The appellate level court had issued a temporary stay while I was off grid, in order for it to look over at the decision below. That will very soon be dissolved, and in any event, Trump’s claims about the harm to him, and his chaos trade “policy” in court in New York… have now been CONTRADICTED in public, by… Trump, himself. He is going to lose. Here’s that, and a bit:

…Defendants’ stay motion is principally based on claims about the effects of this Court’s ruling on national security and diplomatic relations. Immediately after that motion was filed, the Administration publicly contradicted those claims by saying — repeatedly and forcefully — that negotiations with foreign trading partners were unaffected by this Court’s decision. Top Administration officials explained that other countries recognized the underlying threat of tariffs remained through other mechanisms that remain untouched by the Court’s ruling. For that reason, the Administration has reported, foreign nations have continued to press forward with trade negotiations.

That alone is reason to deny a stay pending appeal. But even if defendants’ representations here were credited over their more recent public statements, a stay pending appeal still would not be warranted. The role of this Court is to decide the law, not to intercede in policy debates or diplomatic negotiations. And, in any event, a stay would not restore the credibility of tariff threats under IEEPA. As this Court held, IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs that exceed the limits in other tariff statutes or the statutory restrictions in IEEPA itself….

Now you know. These guys (and they are mostly all… guys!) are idiots. Evil… idiots.

नमस्ते

While I Was Gone, US Rep. McIver Was Released With Essentially No Conditions, On The Strength Of Her Own Word.

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Again, while I was MIA, we got a clear sense of how little the able federal NJ judge thinks of Alina Haba’s purported criminal case, against a sitting member of Congress, while she was conducting oversight of mistreatment of human beings (via ICE and DHS actions) at a contract prison. She has been set essentially completely free, with no bond — just her signature — that she will return.

She is free to travel the US — without any restriction. Should she have official duties that take her out of the country, she should notify pretrial services and the court. That is all. What a weak sauce pile of purported felonies / BS Ms. Haba has cooked up. [And the able judge knows it.]

Other than the notice before heading to the EU — she is free to go.

And over the weekend, in another unrelated case, the for profit private prison company running that Newark (detention of undocumented people) facility where she was arrested… has motioned a judge, to be called (preposterously!) a derivative “sovereign” — like a quasi-governmental entity — so it may avoid suits for violating the rights of people who are un-, or under-documented. In fact, the owner of the GEO Group is a huge Tangerine donor, and he wants the “immunity” Tangerine enjoys, directly. And this is all after Trump awarded him a highly profitable federal contract to house ICE and DHS detainees. Damn.

That will NEVER happen. These goons assaulted the Mayor of Newark, after refusing to accept a notice of non-compliance, as a private for profit business, inside the Mayor’s city. Then they arrested the Congresswoman for defending the Mayor’s rights, before the contract rent-a-cops. That CEO is going to pay out large damage awards — for interfering with the Mayor’s duties (and Congressional oversight).

These guys (at least pretend to) understand almost nothing of the bedrock laws, over the last three-quarters of a century. Just… Damn — out, and onward — resolutely.

नमस्ते

Tangent: Mr. Mulleady’s Next Miami Dade Felony Hearing / Presentment Will Be On October 6, 2025.

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While I was off-grid in the high Colorado Rockies, apparently a May 30 hearing was held — down in the Miami/Dade felony courts. [My prior backgrounder here, as I am now back in the saddle — in full — in the City of Big Shoulders.]

Again, the Miami/Dade records are not as internet accessible as in the federal criminal system, but it seems that he’s been granted some sort of house arrest / ankle monitor set up, after posting bail/bond.

And it seems he’s going to provide alibi evidence, and plead not guilty.

It does seem that it was more than just old Mr. Martin Shkreli he had threatened.

I’ll refrain from speculating any further, but clearly his cheese must have slid off his cracker.

Throwing your life away, to make “mafioso” threats against former business partners… just isn’t a good look.

To be certain, no one ever looks their best in a felony booking photo, but the two images at above right sure look like he’s had some sort of mental breakdown.

I don’t discount that that he might also be a very evil person — but he looks pretty wild-eyed, after being caught either in email or on voicemails… (allegedly) making credible threats of violence against former business associates and (supposed) friends.

So… in any event, mark October 6 as the next date on your calendar, for an update — on this admittedly crazy potential epilogue.

Onward.

नमस्ते

Told Ya’! Tangerine Is No King; Take A Seat, Son.

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I am mostly off-grid, but had to laugh here, that a panel of federal judges just tonight ruled Tangerine 2.0’s highest tariffs are wildly outside his authority to act alone, without comprehensive new Acts of Congress. Ones he will never secure.

Just as we said two weeks ago. Stick a fork in him; he’s done:

…Congress [has] reformed the President’s emergency powers. As part of this reform, Congress cabined the President’s powers under TWEA to wartime. See Amendments to the Trading with the Enemy Act, Pub. L. No. 95-223, § 101-03, 91 Stat. 1625, 1625-26 (1977) (“[TWEA] is amended by striking out ‘or during any other period of national emergency declared by the President’ in the text preceding subparagraph (A).”). Congress also enacted a new statute, IEEPA, to confer “upon the President a new set of authorities for use in time of national emergency which are both more limited in scope than those of [TWEA] and subject to more procedural limitations, including those of the National Emergencies Act.” Comm. on Int’l Rels., Trading with the Enemy Act Reform Legislation, H.R. Rep. No. 95-459, at 2 (1977); see also International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Pub. L. No. 95-223, § 201-08, 91 Stat. 1625, 1626-29 (1977) (codified as amended at 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-10). Congress drew much of the relevant language in IEEPA from TWEA, including language authorizing the President to “regulate. . . importation. . . of. . . any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest by any person… subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. . .” 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a)(I)(B)….

The court concludes. . . that the question of the scope of § 1701 is (1) a justiciable question of statutory construction that (2) resolves in favor of Plaintiffs’ contention that the Trafficking Tariff Orders do not “deal with an unusual and extraordinary threat.” 50 U.S.C. § 1701(b). Those Orders thus lie outside the bounds of Congress’s delegation of authority to the executive branch….

Geez — what an incompetently malignant yutz. Onward — he has appealed will appeal — and will lose. The law is crystal clear, since the time of Nixon.

नमस्ते

Starship 9: Sorry Elon, Mars Is TWO Decades Away, Now…

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Just a quick blurb, here from the mountains:

These repeated catastrophic malfunctions push any crewed Mars mission out two decades, minimum, in our opinion.

…Starship’s two stages separated as planned on Flight 9, and the upper stage even reached space, which was an improvement over the giant vehicle’s most recent two flights. But SpaceX ended up losing both stages before they could accomplish their full flight goals.

“Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on social media after the flight.

“Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase….

In fact the capsule spun into the Indian Ocean in a fireball and was a total loss. This does not inspire confidence — for the idea of a crewed Barsoom mission.

नमस्ते

As I Write This — Tangerine/Rubio/Noem Continue To Defy The Plain English Order Of Supremes To Bring Abrego Garcia Home To Maryland…

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I just genuinely wonder… what will it take, for people of good will — who might have voted for Tangerine in 2024… to realize that this is not what they meant, by making the nation “great”?

A guy who, on Memorial Day ’25, claimed credit for war wins he never had a hand in, and calls federal judges “monsters” — for ruling against his lawlessness. And is planning to throw a $45 million military parade birthday party, for himself? Here’s the latest, on his polling weaknesses (only 42% of Americans approve of the job he is doing, while 53% disapprove):

…A new Marquette University Law School Poll has revealed that 79 percent of Americans believe presidents must obey federal court rulings, with even stronger support — 84 percent — for compliance with Supreme Court decisions.

The national survey, conducted May 5-15, 2025, interviewed 1,004 adults with a margin of error of +/-3.6 percentage points. The poll gains heightened significance after President Donald Trump’s Memorial Day attack on federal judges, whom he called “monsters” who want the United States “to go to hell….”

The poll also found that 70 percent of respondents oppose impeaching judges for ruling against presidential actions, despite escalating rhetoric from the Trump administration following a series of unfavorable court decisions on immigration policies….

Now you know — onward. In the high mountains for six days now — blogging may be light to non-existent. But the (very late) Spring snows call, as well as an aging but graceful mother… of nine. Always… smiling.

नमस्ते

Malawi Reports Three New Mpox Clade 1b Cases — Eleven Overall, Since April 2025…

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The drumbeat is… disheartening — but we must pay it heed: people are dying in Africa, due to Trumpian fecklessness.

This time it is Malawi — and involves young people — truly avoidable, with proper resources. We have a working vaccine — but Trump has hamstrug USAID. Dammit. Here’s The UK Guardian on it all:

…Malawi’s ministry of health has announced three new cases of mpox in the capital, Lilongwe, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 11 since the country’s first was reported in April.

Malawi is one of 16 countries in Africa reporting mpox outbreaks as health officials battle with vaccine shortages as well as limited testing and hospital capacity.

The Public Health Institute of Malawi said the patients were aged between 17 and 41. “Investigations are under way to establish the possible source of infection and trace contacts,” the department said in a statement last week.

The first cases in Malawi come after US government aid cuts to healthcare, including HIV programmes, badly hit the country and raised fears of an escalation of infectious diseases. HIV medication programmes have been severely depleted by the cuts….

It is candidly a struggle here, to avoid getting discouraged, by the loss of moral vision, in the US — when looking at our fellow world citizens. But onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

Monday’s Space Story Morning — What Will Dragonfly… Find, On Titan — Around 2030?!

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This is another (in a series of) palette cleansers — but please do keep our veterans’ sacrifices in your meditations today, and always. Thank you.

Here’s the latest on a second NASA engineered off-world chopper mission. . . almost a full blown mega-drone, at that. Do read on:

…“Dragonfly isn’t a mission to detect life — it’s a mission to investigate the chemistry that came before biology here on Earth,” said Zibi Turtle, principal investigator for Dragonfly and a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “On Titan, we can explore the chemical processes that may have led to life on Earth without life complicating the picture.”

On Earth, life has reshaped nearly everything, burying its chemical forebears beneath eons of evolution. Even today’s microbes rely on a slew of reactions to keep squirming.

“You need to have gone from simple to complex chemistry before jumping to biology, but we don’t know all the steps,” Turtle said. “Titan allows us to uncover some of them.”

Titan is an untouched chemical laboratory where all the ingredients for known life — organics, liquid water and an energy source — have interacted in the past. What Dragonfly uncovers will illuminate a past since erased on Earth and refine our understanding of habitability and whether the chemistry that sparked life here is a universal rule — or a wondrous cosmic fluke….

Onward. Now you know. Grin — and thanks, to all the service-people we meet everyday, and never acknowledge.

नमस्ते