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Epilogue: Long Time Govt. Lawyer Sarah Fabian (Under Tangerine 1.0)… Has Left The Building. She Was The Advocate For NOT Giving Kids A Blanket Or Soap Or Bedding Or A Toothbrush — Under Tangerine 1.0.

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Well — in the long-running Ms. L. class litigation, in San Diego (before the able and considerate USDC Judge Dana Sabraw), it is surprising (to me, at least) that Sarah Fabian is not going to stick around for Tangerine 2.0.

She also once argued that she couldn’t come to an emergency hearing for kids detained in cages in sweltering heat… because she had agreed to walk a friend’s dog over the weekend. A dog. I. cannot. even.

Moreover, I watched her argue — in the Ninth Circuit (falsely) — that no law requires any of the federal agencies to provide children (they’ve forcibly separated from their parents, and) then detained — in large drafty 60 degree windowless concrete caverns (in winter), so much as a blanket, a toothbrush or soap. [I will append the link to that videotape, below — if I can find it, now deep in my archives. As the able Ninth Circuit Judges asked: “Surely Ms. Fabian, you aren’t going to tell us that not having these things complies with the requirements of ‘safe, and sanitary’ housing for children?!?“]

When pressed as to whether she felt that hers was an unreasonable position to take, as to children alone, in jails, in a country where they mostly do not even understand the language. . . she doubled down to the effect that “the four corners of the decree do not say anything about ‘sleeping‘, your honor”.

Obviously, our treaties (and the consent decree) and the Joint Convention on Asylum Seekers were directly violated by Tangerine 1.0, and the Ninth Circuit, and then the Supremes — so held. Here’s her departing motion. See ‘ya, sister:

…PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Sarah B. Fabian hereby respectfully moves to withdraw as counsel of record for Defendants-Respondents in the above-captioned case on the grounds that her employment with the U.S. Department of Justice will end on January 25, 2025. Defendants will continue to be represented by all remaining counsel of record for Defendants.

Dated this January 21, 2025….

ORDER Granting Motion to Withdraw as Attorney, Sarah B. Fabian [758] Motion to Withdraw as Attorney. Attorney Sarah B. Fabian terminated.

Signed by Chief District Judge Dana M. Sabraw on 1/22/2025….

Onward. And good riddance. Out, now — but why leave now, Ms. Fabian? Was it that you just loafed through four years of the Biden Administration? I genuinely want to know.

नमस्ते

Pfizer’s Q4 2024 Lobby Spend — Compared To Prior Three Years — Is Down Quite A Bit…

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While Amgen has also been a large spender in the last four years, overall — it has been Pfizer (partly due to larger market cap) that led the pack for the last decade among pharma majors.

This year though, Pfizer decided to mostly sit out the election year, making Merck the runaway leader (for the full year). At least for 2024. It seems highly likely Pfizer will spend heavily in 2025 to blunt the Kennedy Jr. effect. All of Tangerine 2.0’s talk about being a populist, and seeking lower drug prices, for consumers… is just that: idle talk. He will do as PhRMA tells him — but Kennedy is a bit of a wild card, at least as to vaccines. Should be entertaining. Here’s Pfizer’s Q4 2024:

▲…Inflation Reduction Act (IRA); HR 7174 – Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act; Medicare Price Setting; Drug Shortages; Global Access to Medicines; Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR); March-in Framework Guidance and Policies; S 79/ HR 1717 – Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act of 2023; S 142 – Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act; HR 6986 – To address patent thickets; S 150 – Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023; S 2780/ HR 5429 – Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act; Antimicrobial Resistance; PBM Transparency and Reform; S 1542 – Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act; S 3430 – Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs and Extenders Act; S 2973 – Modernizing and Ensuring PMB Accountability Act; 340B Reform; HR 8574 – 340B Affording Care for Communities and Ensuring a Strong Safety-net (ACCESS) Act….

▲ S 723/HR 1458 – Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act; HR 8816 – American Medical Innovation and Investment Act of 2024….

▲ Comprehensive Corporate Tax Reform; Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA); VICP Reform and Excise Tax; Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund; VICP Transition; Comprehensive Federal Tax Reform….

▲ International Supply Chain; HR 4307/S 2115 – Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act….

Now you know — and I may ignore Lilly this time around, as it only spent $190,000 in the whole fourth quarter. It was always spending less than the peers — but it just. . . disappeared, in Q4. I suspect the plan is a new push on insulins, and on the weight loss meds… here in the new year 2025. We shall see, but maybe they think they don’t need the spend with Tangerine 2.0 in office. If that is the view in Indy… it is an… unwise one, in my experienced opinion. Onward.

नमस्ते

We Will First Look At Just Q4 ’24 Lobby Spend, Then Full Year Trends — First Up? Merck.

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For the bulk of 2024, Pfizer had radically dropped its lobby spend in the election year — but here in Q4, post the election — it has jumped back up to the top of the leader board, essentially dead even with Amgen.

As a consequence, Merck (which outspent all during the first three quarters) had now fallen back to a more normal $1.7 million spend per quarter. We will have a series of these, on each name below — and then at the end, compare the lot of them to Amazon’s health related lobby spending. [Hint: it dwarfs these.] Here’s Merck — to start us off:

…▲ H.R. 3, (117th Cong.) Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act; H.R. 19, (117th Cong.) Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021; H.R. 830, Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act; H.R. 1503/S. 2916, Prescription Information Modernization Act of 2023; H.R. 2679, Pharmacy Benefits Manager Accountability Act; H.R. 2691, Transparent Prices Required to Inform Consumer and Employers (Transparent PRICE) Act; H.R. 2816, Pharmacy Benefit Manager Sunshine and Accountability Act; H.R. 2880, Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act; H.R. 2940/S. 1355, Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance Act (PASTEUR) Act of 2023; H.R. 3290, To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to ensure transparency and oversight of the 340B drug discount program; H.R. 3285, Fairness for Patient Medications Act; H.R. 3633, PREVENT HPV Cancers Act of 2023; H.R. 4368/S. 2131, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024; H.R. 4895, Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act; H.R. 5376/S. 2474, Share the Savings with Seniors Act; H.R. 6283, Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act; H.R. 7174, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to equalize the negotiation period between small-molecule and biologic candidates under the Drug Price Negotiation Program; H.R. 7635, The 340B PATIENTS Act of 2024; H.R. 8467, Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024; S. 150, Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023; S. 1339, Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act; S. 1895 (116th Congress) Lower Health Care Costs Act; S. 2333, Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Act; S. 2543 (116th Congress) Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019; S. 4229, Reducing Drug Prices for Seniors Act….

▲ Issues relating to… 340B program integrity; 340B of the Public Health Services Act; 340B issues; 340B drug pricing program; Drug pricing; Drug pricing and reimbursement issues; Anti-microbial Resistance; Cost and value of medicines; Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) immunization; Vaccines catch up; Vaccines issues; Package inserts, labeling issues, and E-Labeling authorization legislation; Pharmaceutical Supply Channel issues; Drug shortage issues; Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), issues relating to drug pricing provisions; Issues related to the Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (PL 96-517); FY-2024 Budget and Appropriations Legislation; Intellectual property protection and trade issues; WTO IP Waiver for COVID therapeutics; Animal Health; Animal Health Technology Issues; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights; Animal Health Policy Issues: ADUFA & Funding for Electronic Animal Traceability; One Health Issues; General pharmaceutical issues; Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP); Diversity in clinical trials; Accelerated approval reform; Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) policy issues; Pharmacy Benefit Manager reforms; Food and Drug Administration issues; Public Health Issues….

▲ H.R. 1613, Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act of 2023; H.R. 2666, Medicaid VBPs for Patients (MVP) Act; H.R. 7174, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to equalize the negotiation period between small-molecule and biologic candidates under the Drug Price Negotiation Program; H.R. 7635, The 340B PATIENTS Act of 2024….

▲ Issues relating to… Medicare; Medicare Part B and D drug pricing issues; 340B program integrity; 340B of the Public Health Services Act; 340B drug pricing program; Drug pricing; Drug pricing and reimbursement issues; FY-2024 Budget and Appropriations Legislation; Medicaid drug rebate program (MDRP); Medicare coverage of COVID antiviral medicines….

▲ Issues relating to… Tax reform and tax policy, generally; Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97); Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), provisions relating to budget reconciliation and taxes….

Now you know — next installment due out this afternoon, if I find the time over lunch. But it is clear that these majors, especially those making vaccines — will need to work on Kennedy Jr. day and night — to avoid his inadvertently causing some vast losses — of human lives.

Ugly, but true.

Onward.

नमस्ते

[U] In The Land Of The Blind… This Guy Is Not A King. Not Even… A Fully-Functioning Adult.

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So… in his first move toward greater “efficiency in government“, Tangerine 2.0 proposes to pay federal workers… to NOT come to work.

But only if they are DEI employees.

Many of them have what amounts to full property rights in these federal jobs (that is, are immune from being demoted or fired, without a specific performance related issue — well documented), and so, many will sue — saying that targeting them alone, over all others is plainly a “suspect classification“, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [BTW, Tangerine cannot change Acts of Congress, via his silly black Sharpies.] Most of them are likely to win. That is, they will get both back- and front-pay, be reinstated and maybe even win some punitive damages — for Tangerine 2.0’s targeting of them. Yes — that sure sounds… “efficient”. Not.

On top of that, he attempts to “mandate” that each federal agency “identify” investigative targets for the DoJ, where it is suspected that private employers are… valuing people of diverse backgrounds. Putting aside that no one knows what that might mean, none of those terms appear anywhere in any of these agencies’ grants of authority from the Congress. That is, this directive exceeds the charter the agencies hold, by statute. That will be enjoined in a matter of months if not weeks, from now. But here it is:

…As a part of this plan, each agency shall identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars….

Well… Scott Johnson seems blissfully unaware that Tangerine’s Sharpie only wrote a “dead letter” here.

He — and the low information voters who chose this guy… are already getting just exactly the expensive, silly chaos he promised. Charming.

[And in his signature “law and order” move, he’s pardoned or commuted several hundred people who violently assaulted police officers on J6.] Charming, indeed. Onward — to lobbying trends for Q4 2024 (just released), in life sciences / pharma — up next.

नमस्ते

New Sworn Statement Alleges Pete Hegseth Is A Serial Abuser — Of Both His Ex-Wives…

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This is the guy is who Tangerine 2.0 wants to lead the Department of Defense.

And as to skill-set, there is no doubt that he has never led any organization of even one one hundred thousandth that size. He bankrupted a charity he ran, with only about 100 employees.

Then, as to “character and integrity” — he’s admitted that he WILL (probably!) stop drinking, if/when he is confirmed as Secretary of Defense.

On that dimension, a new sworn statement has appeared at the Senate hearings, in which the second ex-wife’s sister in law (who has since divorced Pete’s brother) alleges he was so abusive that Pete’s second ex- had a “safe-routine” all mapped — for escapes, and that she had, on occasion locked herself in the closet to avoid his abuse.

Here’s the scoop:

…Senators received an affidavit Tuesday from the former sister-in-law of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth in which she says his behavior caused his second wife to fear for her safety. The receipt of the affidavit comes after Senate Armed Services Committee staffers were in contact with Hegseth’s former sister-in-law for several days….

And sadly, this is exactly the kind of guy with whom Tangerine 2.0 works best — false bravado, around weaker foes — but will always fold — in a battle of equals, or against his betters.

In fact, he had no business being on air for Faux, we now are learning.

But this is who Trump wants to lead hundreds of thousands of able, fierce, hard working courageous women soldiers?!

Damn. And of course the Powerline boys are mum — because some of them call him their drinking buddy.

But also “don’t offend the Dotard” — is their continuing mantra.

Y I K E S.

[U] Instead Of Tangerine’s Lunacy — He Thinks He Can Amend The 14th Amendment, Solo — I’ll Offer… What Is The Best Of America, From a Few Years Back.

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Updated 01.22.25 @ 9 PM: Hinderaker tries, a day and night later, to claim the Fourteenth Amendment’s plain meaning doesn’t apply to Tangerine 2.0’s burp. Hilarious. [If people without papers “are not subject to US jurisdiction”, as John claims — then we have no jurisdiction to deport them, or to regulate them in any manner. That alone points out Hinderaker’s obvious and likely intentional “error” in analysis.] End update.

Just click the video. You will thank me for it. As overnight, Tangerine 2.0 signed a meaningless scribble that purported to remove birthright citizenship. He has no such power — and he never will garner such power. So, click this, instead:

To be sure — we won’t list all the ways ALL of what he proposes — on each order — is defective, but this you may count on: about 95% of all of these “orders” are facially defective. Full stop:

…”The Constitution of the United States says that if you are born on our soil, and you are not the child of an ambassador, you are an American citizen. Simply put, if you are born here, you belong here,” Meyerson said. “That’s been the rule from the 14th Amendment right after the Civil War. Supreme Court confirmed that in the 1890s, so the president wants to issue an order saying, ‘I don’t like this. I want to get, get rid of all these kids born here if their parents weren’t citizens,’ and the president has no power to do that….”

And one more video — to remind you — America is much bigger than one vain, degenerate 78 year old felon:

नमस्ते

Mirengoff Gets This One… Right.

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I’ll just say it: he is finally willing to call a spade… a spade.

Here’s his take on it all:

…This is what things have come to in America. A former president and then-current presidential candidate makes unprecedented statements that raise the prospect of using the criminal justice system to prosecute his political enemies. A sitting president and local partisan prosecutors use the criminal justice against that candidate.

Then, on his way out the door, that president issues a series of unprecedented and problematic preemptive pardons — and, ironically, thereby spares the once-and-future president from shooting itself in the foot.

And then, once that president is installed, he immediately starts a new cycle of disrespect for law and order by pardoning his shock troops for committing violent crimes in the same building where he has just been sworn in as chief enforcer of our laws…

Very good. Now DO something about it — inside your own party, man.

Courtesy Of Anon. — A Metallic Rock, On The Ocean Floor… Is Producing Oxygen — By Electrolysis?!

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This is some seriously baffling underwater geological science. Could this finding mean that even in the deepest oceans under Europa’s thick water ice crust — oxygen is produced by similar metallic rocks — at its own rocky core? The mind boggles, as to what that means for the prospect for life… off of Earth.

Here’s the story from CNN this morning:

…A startling discovery made public in July that metallic rocks were apparently producing oxygen on the Pacific Ocean’s seabed, where no light can penetrate, was a scientific bombshell.

Initial research suggested potato-size nodules rich in metals, predominantly found 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) below the surface in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, released an electrical charge, splitting seawater into oxygen and hydrogen through electrolysis. The unprecedented natural phenomenon challenges the idea that oxygen can only be made from sunlight via photosynthesis….

The daily firehose of science advancing… is almost more than us amateurs can keep up with. Who knew all this was happening in deep, dark, cold ocean trenches?! Great find, Anon. — nope, hadn’t seen it! Onward, grinning!

नमस्ते

[U: Johnson’s Reaction] Who Is Pardoned/Commuted?! Stewart Rhodes?! J6 Leader? Disbarred Lawyer?! Damn.

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Updated: 01.21.2025 — Scott Johnson (speaking of Rhodes’ commutation) — says it was “a great day” — and that “some discrimination is warranted”. This, immediately after decrying Mr. Biden’s pardons of Dr. Fauci — who has never even been credibly investigated for even a misdemeanor — as “shameful, on King Day”. He feels it’s wrong to help people who are innocent avoid Tangerine 2.0’s promised revenge tour — but it’s cool to free violent seditionists, who’ve served 2 years of an 18 year multi-felony convicted sentence.

He’s what’s wrong with America. He’s… soulless. End, update.

And well… I’ll brook no complaints about Mr. Biden’s pardon portfolio.

The vile, evil man at right tried to violently overthrow a peaceful US transfer of power. He was doing 18 years for his crimes. Here’s a reliable source, on it:

…In spirit of “national reconciliation,” Trump offers clemency to all Jan. 6 defendants and commutes sentence of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes….

We will discuss tomorrow how most of his executive orders on immigration and border matters have already been held by multiple appellate courts (in Tangerine 1.0) to violate the United States Constitution, and our treaties.

नमस्ते