Category: Uncategorized

[U: Polls!] Flu Edition: Guest Post — By Rigby!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Sorry to see that you’re not feeling well. Since you’re sick, allow me to pick up the baton and run with a couple of things:

1) John Hinderaker’s post, Meat Is Back!

Good! I hope this means we’ll be seeing fewer posts from John about how the Democrats are going to force us all to eat bugs.

2) William Otis’s post, High minded blather impersonating Deep Thought

This one is rich. Bill complains about David Brooks’s column condemning Trump’s authoritarian lawlessness, writing:

What Brooks and the Left can’t get over is that Trump won. For them, respecting the results of a free election and all that jazz is soooooooooo yesterday.

Riiiiiight. Because objecting to a president’s policies (as Bill certainly did under Biden and Obama) is exactly the same as falsely proclaiming that the election was rigged, and instigating a violent (but deeply stupid) insurrection attempt.

After bleating on and on about Brooks’s supposedly hyperbolic wailing, Bill finally concedes something:

I get it that the Left has gone over the edge about Trump. In truth, there are reasons for this, some of them serious and quite worrisome. Paul and I have not been shy about discussing them and we will not be shy about discussing them in the future. But that the editors at the once-august New York Times allow Brooks’ brand of eighth grade “civilization-is-at-stake” emoting into print is, if nothing else, depressing (not to mention one more reason that respect for journalism has cratered).

So, in other words, Brooks’s concerns are completely valid, but there’s a correct way to object to the administration’s lawlessness, and Paul and Bill have been demonstrating it every day by mildly murmuring their mild concerns about the blatant Constitutional violations we’ve been seeing from this administration on a regular basis.

Be sure to keep that up, Paul and Bill. It’s sure to make an impact any day now.

Update, Friday morning — Condor sees that at least Bill and Paul admit reality, about Trump’s vast unpopularity (unlike Glahn/Hinderaker’s ongoing delusions). They know he’s going to cause a blue tsunami (again!) in 2026 — just as in 2018. They even post similar charts, to the one I posted earlier this week. So reality is setting in for at least those two boys. Silver linings, indeed:

[U: More Nonsense!] Hinderaker: Utterly Delusional, Thinks Universities Must Act More Scrupulously Than… Trump?!

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

Updated Sat. Night, 04.26.25 — Hinderaker (again, clutching at straws) tries to offer tonight… some now decade-old anecdote, for the proposition that academia at Harvard is rampant with fraud and false evidence planting. This wild eyed conjecture / conclusion he reaches because the then Dean of Harvard’s law school didn’t personally respond to him — about his dubious skepticism during the spate of racist incidents — at the law school that year (2015). Wow.

How utterly narcissistic do you have to be to believe that people with busy lives owe you a specific response, when (I am certain) you don’t donate a penny to your alma mater(?). End trivial update. Monday’s status hearing ought to be a Corker, in Boston!

Not that that isn’t a very low bar to clear, but the point is since I have handled the defense of more than a few federal whistleblower / False Claim Act cases… the idea that Tangerine 2.0 might successfully assert that Harvard and the others have made the kind of lies that would be actionable under the False Claim Act, all while directly lying from the White House himself about all manner of things, but especially what DE&I does… do, and doesn’t do… is simply preposterous.

At bottom, those actions are equitable in nature… And the whistleblower must show that he or she was scrupulously truthful while the party charged was willfully lying, to the detriment of the purse-strings of the federal government.

Here, the federal government itself is willfully lying about the universities. And sum, there’s no sensible federal judge who would ever let Trump prevail in an action like that.

But very nice lil’ clutch at silly straws there Johnny boy… never mind that everything the university is doing is first amendment protected. And thus beyond the reach of the False Claims Act. Onward.

More Evidence — That Mr. Khalil Is None Of The Moronic Things Trump Claims He Is…

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This afternnon, his lawyers filed in New Jersey the supplemental materials they have made available in immigration court — to show that this graduate student was nothing but a good candidate to be an American permanent resident.

There are letters of support from members of the Jewish community, faculty members at Columbia, and people he worked with at various nonprofits. It turns out that the one claim Noem made — about him working for what she felt was a “subversive” organization (without evidence, or any impartial hearing!)… Was actually an internship that he was required to take as part of a Columbia U. graduate course credit. These Trumpers are both incompetent and malignant:

…Mr. Mahmoud Khalil served as an intern at the UNRWA Representative Office in New York, on a full-time basis from 7 June to 31 August 2023 and on a part-time basis from 1 September to 30 November 2023 to allow for the continuation of his studies at Columbia University….

Now you know.

[And I may take to simply posting links to documents rather than summarizing them for a few days because (completely uncharacteristically) I’ve come down with some goofy flu and fever.

I tested and it’s not Covid but it may take me a few days to bounce back… So keep it spinning in good karma while I’m gone. Out.]

नमस्ते

There Will Be A Status Conference, Monday Morning, In Boston — To Discuss The Govt. Agents’ Preservation And Delivery Of Title VI Records, And Deliberations — And Set Depo. Dates…

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The entire premise of this witch-hunt is utterly preposterous. It is highly likely that it all flowed from the say-so, of two of Tangerine’s mega donors, Elon Musk — and Bill Ackman (a hedgie). There is almost certainly no concrete basis for the government to discriminate against Harvard (a free expression / free association / private educational institution) — and single out Harvard alone, in this way. [On “viewpoints-discrimination”, even if you accept that the below is Harvard’s viewpoint. The view alone, would never be unlawful.]

But now Sean Keveney (the guy who wrote the main BS letter!), along with many others, will have to “show his/their cards” — what concrete documents and stats did they/he rely on — to come to these preposterously mistaken conclusions? We will soon see — and I expect the answer will mostly be. . . “well, we just made it up (i.e., assumed it was happening), but Elon Musk, and Bill Ackman say it is happening”. Ugh. And in these cases, a lack of a rational documentary basis for the actions, PRIOR to taking them. . . is almost always fatal.

Here’s what’s teed up, for Monday, next (from Harvard’s very capable counsel):

…I represent Harvard University in the above-titled case. As you are aware, Harvard has filed suit against the government to challenge the unlawful “freeze” of over $2.2 billion in federal funding to the University.

With the filing of the Complaint, the government is required to preserve all evidence relevant to this matter, including the documents that would be produced in any administrative record. To avoid potential spoliation concerns, and to limit disputes over the scope of the record, I write to outline Harvard’s understanding of what documents the administrative record should contain. We expect the government to begin preparing the record expeditiously.

The record, as you know, should include any and all documents or other information that the government directly or indirectly considered in arriving at its decision to freeze over $2.2 billion in grants to and contracts with Harvard University. In the period leading to the announcement of its decision, the government provided two bases for its action: (1) to enforce the anti-discrimination provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., and (2) to correct “ideological capture” at Harvard.

The first basis for decision, Harvard’s purported violation of Title VI, requires the government to compile the documents it relied upon to reach its decision to allege a statutory violation and halt funding on that ground. This naturally would include materials considered to conclude there was a Title VI violation, and materials considered in concluding that the government action taken—a funding “freeze”—was the appropriate, legally-justified action in response. Harvard expects to see all such documents in the certified administrative record.

The government’s second basis for its action, Harvard’s supposed “ideological capture,” likewise requires the government to compile for the record the materials considered in concluding there was such “capture,” and materials considered in determining, again, that a “freeze” was the appropriate and lawful response.

It should be noted that while the government has cited alleged Title VI violations and “ideological capture” as its grounds for action, there is an additional, closely-related ground: Harvard’s rejection of the government’s offer to continue the funding if Harvard agreed to certain conditions. Naturally the materials considered in presenting the demands and conditions the government did, and in proceeding with the freeze when Harvard declined the conditions, are part of the record. [Ed. Note: all that sounded like… blackmail, by the Trump controlled govt.]

Finally, and as noted, since the government’s announcement of its “freeze,” it has begun issuing grant and contract-specific notices to Harvard. All materials considered in arriving at those notices are also part of the record….

Well, this will be… a hoot! Tangerine is dead in the water, on these grounds — Harvard will walk away with far more money than it started with, the day before Tangerine was inaugurated for a second time. All from our taxpayer pockets. Charming.

नमस्ते

Power Alley: Merck Q1 ’25 Solidly Beats — But Tangerine’s Tariff Threats Cause $200 Million In Reduced EPS Guidance; Gardasil Still Sluggish In China.

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While Rahway is chugging along solidly, on an organic basis with Keytruda still expanding its sales, globally — the uncertainty around Trump’s flip-flops on tariffs against China — and President Xi’s counter-moves… make it impossible to guess exactly where Merck will end in Q4 2025, on the EPS line. [But $200 million is immaterial to Merck, on a full year basis, to be clear. And all pharma will see similar charges — across the board. Ugh.]

Moreover, because Trump has threatened separate tariffs on inbound pharma products (like those Merck makes in Ireland), but hasn’t given even a whiff of what that might look like [if he ever even does any version of it — as you may recall that he tucked tail (in 2017-18) on this issue, first time around — after he was “angry” at Ken Frazier, for calling out racism by its name(!)], Merck will not set a reserve for a charge (yet) on that score.

Businesses… need to be able to see a stable path to what their government-imposed / regulatory costs are going to be. They hate uncertainty. And that is all Trump ever is — the only certainty… is he will be wildly all-over-the-map, and chaotic. So, yes — Trump is ruining a good Q1 for many a large public company. Charming. Here’s the latest, from CNBC:

…Merck on Thursday lowered its full-year profit guidance, citing $200 million in estimated costs for tariffs and a charge tied to a recent deal.

The company now expects its 2025 adjusted earnings to come in between $8.82 and $8.97, down slightly from a previous outlook of $8.88 to $9.03 per share.

The company said the expected tariff charge primarily reflects levies between the U.S. and China, and Canada and Mexico to a lesser degree. Merck has built a robust presence in China, which is considered one of the company’s most important markets and is home to some of its partners and manufacturing and research and development sites.

Merck noted that the new outlook does not account for President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S., which is prompting some drugmakers to bolster their U.S. manufacturing footprints.

That includes Merck, which has invested $12 billion in U.S. manufacturing and research and development and expects to put more than $9 billion more into the country by the end of 2028….

Sure thing, what a “very stable genius”. Who voted for this BS?! Oh — and Halozyme’s patent suit on injectible Keytruda will be… immaterial to Merck, as well (it will settle, or perhaps even exonerate Merck). Out.

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Yes. Kristi Noem — And Her Crew(s) — Have Always (Even In The Dakotas) Been Incompetent. But This Seems Purposefully… Evil; Not A[nother] “Screw Up.”

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There are federal civ. pro. rules, about redacting home addresses of non-public figures in court filings.

DHS not only didn’t bother with that — but posted the underlying 2021 document directly to X, as a pdf file — making it available to every MAGA nut out there — and every whyte supremacist. [But I repeat myself.] Here’s the press coverage tonight:

…Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura said she began fearing for her safety and the safety of her three children after the Department of Homeland Security shared a protective order from 2021 that prominently featured her address to the department’s 2.4 million followers on X.

“I don’t feel safe when the government posts my address, the house where my family lives, for everyone to see, especially when this case has gone viral and people have all sorts of opinions,” she told The Washington Post. “So, this is definitely a bit terrifying. I’m scared for my kids.”

“Look, Kilmar is not perfect — nobody is,” [his esposa told] The Washington Post. “Day by day, you grow. Every day, you learn. And he was trying his best for me, for our kids, for our future….”

Honestly, now I am rooting for the kind and gentle Irish, or Canadians to offer them sanctuary, and passage — and a new life. This America is just a too-hateful place, at the moment — under Noem, Rubio and Tangerine 2.0. Who are these deplorable a-holes?! They have toddlers — and now they are forced by Noem into… hiding?! Damn. Out.

नमस्ते

[U: Settled?!] Rubio / Noem / Trump Have Moved To Stay Judge Xinis’ Orders In Maryland, Related To Discovery.

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Updated @ 8:15 PM EDT: It is all under seal at the moment, but stay tuned, because I expect she will rule later tonight — denying all stays. and although the actual pleadings are sealed, it seems a fair inference now, given an agreed by all parties stay… to guess that either the government is in the process of returning Mr. Abrego Garcia to the Maryland area, or the United States (at least), or has negotiated a settlement with him — that allows for him to be safely transported to some other nation that will host him (France, Canada, Mexico or… Ireland?!). We shall see.

I make this guess because there is no sworn Mazzaro status update tonight — as to his particulars (it was due at 5 PM).

That would at least arguably imply that inside the sealed motions is a discussion of the steps that are being taken either to get him home here — or on, to another friendly country.

Still, a man is being wrongly held in a foreign land, and the government well-knows it is able (and ordered by the Supremes!) to bring him back here. But it is — to this moment, defying Supreme Court orders, now. This simply will NOT do.

…The Court has reviewed Defendants’ Motion to Stay (ECF No. 101) and Plaintiffs’ Response (ECF No. 102).

With the agreement of the parties, the Court hereby ORDERS that discovery shall be stayed (ECF Nos. 61 & 79) until April 30, 2025, at 5:00 PM….

[More, as it becomes available.]

Onward — but that’s seven days’ reprieve — to get him stateside.

नमस्ते

[U: Status.] We Will Know Much More — By 4 PM EDT Tonight, On Mr. Khalil’s Status, At Down In The Private Prison In Jena Louisiana…

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UPDATE: The 4 PM letter reads — in pertinent part — thus:

..In response to the Court’s text order from today, ECF 208, Petitioner respectfully states
the following:

a. There are no future hearings currently scheduled before the immigration judge in Louisiana and Petitioner cannot predict if or when the immigration judge will schedule any future hearings. In an ordinary case, Petitioner’s counsel would expect one or two additional hearings to be scheduled regarding the government’s alleged second ground of removability and, subsequently, regarding Petitioner’s applications for immigration relief.

b. Petitioner is unable to hazard a guess as to the timing of the immigration judge’s decision on the government’s alleged second ground of removability. At the April 11 hearing, the immigration judge granted the government additional time, until today, April 23, to submit any additional evidence in support of its alleged second ground of removability and for Petitioner to submit any evidence related to the second charge and any applications for relief he may be seeking. Immigration Hearing (Apr. 11, 2025), audio at 01:38:20. When the immigration judge acts on that evidence, and whether or when she might order any additional hearings, is within the immigration judge’s discretion….

End update.

Overall, this is good news — the admin. law judge is not rushing any additional removability hearings — down in Jena. But Mr. Khalil remains in custody without being granted any real, on the merits hearing — on any detention-eligible charges.

Check back here after 5 PM Central [I’m off-grid for a bit, now] as we will post the update (due at 4 PM Eastern), here.

…TEXT ORDER:

The Petitioner [Counsel for Mr. Khalil] shall file a succinct letter before 4:00pm today.

It shall provide the Court with an update as to

(a) when the Petitioner has his next appearance before the immigration judge and

(b) the earliest moment when, in the Petitioner’s judgment, the immigration judge may make a decision as to the second ground of removability.

Tomorrow, before noon, the parties shall file a joint letter that attaches all immigration court filings that have not previously been conveyed to the Court.

So Ordered by Judge Michael E. Farbiarz on 4/23/2025….

Now you know. This is what effective judicial oversight of executive overreaching looks like. Thank you, judiciary branch!

नमस्ते

GAVI, And Ireland, Have Each Made Vaccine Donations, To Sierra Leone — For Mpox Clade 1b Arrest / Abatement…

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This is all very good mpox relief news — as front line health workers are among those most at risk, in any viral outbreak.

And. . . yet and still — it reminds us that — with USAID still sidelined, the outbreak will last longer, and be more lethal… as a direct consequence, than if we were there, shoulder to shoulder with the people in Freetown. Here’s the story:

…In late March, 61,300 eagerly-awaited mpox vaccines began to roll out in Sierra Leone in a vaccine drive that would prioritise health workers and contacts of mpox patients, and offer a dose of protection to the country’s most exposed.

The viral infection has killed three and sickened more than 477 since Sierra Leone’s mpox emergency was declared in January. The 26-bed mpox ward at 34 Military Hospital, a cutting-edge infectious disease facility on Freetown’s Wilberforce Military Base with a record of successfully tackling hard-hitters like Ebola, COVID-19 and Lassa Fever, has been operating at capacity for weeks.

For the nurses and doctors staffing the unit, that has meant working under the constant risk of infection. But the arrival of the vaccines – 58,300 of which were sent by Gavi, with the remainder donated by the Republic of Ireland – brought a measure of relief. On the hospital’s campus one recent morning, more than 100 health workers dressed in nurse’s scrubs and military uniforms lined up to receive the jab….

Now, the 34 Military Hospital is the focal point for testing and treating Sierra Leone’s mounting tally of mpox patients. Thirty-eight of them have so far recovered and been released, but with the epidemic still growing, and beds on the mpox ward limited in number, more and more patients have needed to be passed on to the newly-established Police and Jui treatment centres….

Now you know — with much more ahead, yet this afternoon — on the various “No human is illegal” fronts — in federal courtrooms dotting the nation.

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