Category: Uncategorized

Scott Johnson?! “Who Dat?!” Now Do Your Own MAGA Crime Family, Son.

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As predictable as the sunrise (but even before it!), Scott claims the pardon overnight proves all the MAGA fever dreams were… real threats.

That Mr. Biden’s is “a crime family”.

Y A W N.

Sure — sure… cool story, bro.

I’ll stipulate to that — if he will stipulate that all 15 of Trump’s “friends and family” pardons — from Bannon to Flynn to Stone and Kushner Sr., and all in between… were motivated by covering his own ass, from righteous prosecution.

There is a key difference here though: Trump is now proposing to install “his” CONVICTED felons… in his new (old) “government” — come 2025. Insane. [Hunter Biden has never held any office — at any level. He’s a private citizen, with a former drug problem, that MAGA/GOP targeted… simply because they could. There has never been a shred of proof that he benefited Mr. Biden — in fact, his struggles… only ever caused 46… heartache — both public and well-documented.]

No — this is not how America is supposed to work, Scott — but you malign codgers have made lawlessness (and conflicted pardons) the ”new normal” — with Tangerine threatening everyone who disagrees with his running of that 19th Century insane asylum (which is actually run by… the inmates).

So, do shut your goofy pie-hole.

Out.

No — This Is Not The Way It Is Supposed To Work. But I Understand The Argument: These Are Very Odd Times, Indeed…

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Welp. Letting the process work would have been preferable, in my view. Even if “the system” were to get it wrong. [BTW, here’s what actually went down, in fact — according to Hunter’s lawyers.]

But that view is tempered by the truly wild-eyed ravings emanating from Tangerine for over three years now, that he is personally bent on revenge — when he moves into 1600 Penn. [I still think what Hunter did was wrong — but… just as what Senior Kushner did was wrong (Trump pardoned), as was what Roger Stone did (Trump pardoned), and what Flyyn did (Trump pardoned) and Steve Bannon (Trump pardoned) and literally… dozens of others… Trump pardoned last time around… ALL that too — was wrong.]

If Tangerine does get Bondi as his AG, it is possible — likely even — that she will look for new crimes to charge, based on old predicate acts. [And over this same weekend, Trump has said he will name two relatives to high posts, each of which “owe” him. And the purported head of the DEA’s father in law was also a beneficiary of a Trump pardon. These MAGA quid pro quos are… sickening.]

So, Mr. Biden has this evening pardoned all federal crimes Hunter might be charged for, on any conduct from the dawn of time — through to tonight. While that leaves state level crimes to the side, I don’t imagine Hunter will spend time in Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama or Mississippi — so as not to be indict-able by any local authority, on state or local law charges, there — as MAGA / Tangerine might hold sway adequate over local prosecutors — in those ruby red states.

So it goes.

Overall, a sad time for our nation. [We will recycle our 2022 Dark Brandon graphic to utilitarian effect, tonight.] Out.

नमस्ते

An “Insurrection” Is Only Possible Against An Already-Seated Government, John. Damn.

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More loony Hinderaker nonsense again tonight.

It seems Denver’s Mayor said he’d allow Colorado police to “protect” people without documents — from lawless (post January 2025) Trump incursions on their rights.

Let’s put to the side the idea that the local police will break no law, even if we come to late January, with Tangerine making good on deportations without due process of law. [That (denial of due process) — of itself — violates federal law quite explicitly. That’s Tangerine. Period.]

John now (twice in a week) cannot seem to understand that Mr. Biden — not Trump — is President, still.

Actions and showings that Mr. Biden authorizes (like this!) cannot ever be labeled as “insurrection” — no matter how much Hinderaker whines about it.

They just can’t.

That John tries to make a straight faced argument that surrounding the Capitol, attacking the local police, injuring dozens, while threatening to kill the Veep, to prevent certification of a peaceful transfer of power… one voted on by the people — is the same as the police protecting people from violations of their right to peaceably move without “showing their papers”… is a sad testament to Hinderaker’s advancing dementia.

We know he’s slipping into senility — but his decay is… accelerating.

Out.

Scott Johnson No Longer Cares… About Any Real Pretense Of Governing…

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There was a time when Scott actually thought the way the founders built our system was… wise.

Plainly, he no longer thinks so.

He, and the rest of the Poweliners live only to lick the boots of the Tangerine Dotard.

To say Kash Patel should lead the FBI is to admit that all you want… any longer, is to cheer Trump’s endless grievance parade as it rumbles through town.

And adding an ex-con (family member) “in-law / outlaw” as Ambassador to France — again, simply admitting that this is all just revenge-touring, not governing, in any meaningful sense of that word, as the founders understood it.

Tangerine has forever loathed the French: as they are — to a person — more sophisticated, more pleasant and more… intelligent, that he.

So (as we said last night) he sends them his daughter’s “outlaw” father in law… as his Ambassador.

Charming.

Out — you guys are… irrelevant now.

ESA And India Will Partner Up, For A Space-Coast Launch This Coming Wednesday — To Conduct New Studies, Of Our Sun’s Corona…

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So, esa.int and the Indian Space Agency will partner to throw this massive pair of spacecrafts aloft, this Wednesday, on the Eastern coast of India — north of Chennai.

It will mark yet another milestone, in the cooperative efforts of these nations — largely without need for NASA input. Messrs. Tangerine, and Musk, should take heed. The world is going to leave them behind, if they insist on being “top dawg” in every discussion. But I applaud the cooperative work of science experts, across the globe — for largely ignoring artificial political lines on one map some General drew, now over a half-century ago. Here’s the latest, from ESA’s Paris HQ:

…Satellite separation is due to take place about 18 minutes after liftoff, with the first acquisition of signal by the flight control team at ESA’s ESEC establishment in Redu, Belgium, anticipated around a quarter of an hour later.

The latest member of ESA’s family of in-orbit demonstration missions, Proba-3 is in fact two spacecraft being launched together, which in orbit will separate to begin performing precise formation flying, precise to a single millimetre, about the thickness of an average fingernail.

By blocking out the fiery disc of the Sun, Proba-3’s ‘Occulter’ spacecraft will mimic a terrestrial total solar eclipse, to open up views of the Sun’s faint surrounding atmosphere, or ‘corona’, which is a million times fainter than its parent star. Proba-3’s second ‘Coronagraph’ spacecraft hosts the optical instrument that will observe the solar corona.

On Earth, total solar eclipses only occur every 18 months on average, and last just for a few minutes. Solar scientists have to travel all over the world to take advantage of them. Proba-3 will be able to create solar eclipses on demand, observing closer to the edge of the Sun than any previous Earth- or space-based instrument, down to just 1.1 solar radii. And it will do so for six hours per 19-hour 36-minute orbit. [Do see the YouTube explainer, immediately below]….

Do check back Wednesday, for a live feed of / window on the launch, here. Grin.

नमस्ते

So — He Was A Felon — In Jail, For Tax Frauds. But He’s An “In-Law / Outlaw” — So He’ll Be The Ambassador To France?! Damn.

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The French people should uniformly treat him like an undocumented immigrant is treated in the USA (by MAGA, at least), every time they see him in the street in Paris — which won’t be very often, BTW.

The French should be deeply insulted — that a Trumpy family member — to whom Trump owes vast 2016 and 2020 and 2024 campaign contributions/debts… and, a guy who went to jail for tax fraud, who Tangerine then pardoned in 2020 (as it was “only” the same kind of commercial real estate fraud that Trump himself regularly commits… and it was his daughter’s father in law!)… is going to be their US Ambassador.

The guy cannot even “crook”… competently (per the Beeb):

…Mr Kushner is a real-estate developer and the father of Jared Kushner, husband of his daughter Ivanka Trump. Trump pardoned Mr Kushner during his first term, waving away a federal conviction in 2020….

The nomination appears to be the first administration position that Trump has formally offered to a relative since his re-election….

The first relative?! Of course it would be… a felon. Amazing.

What a hugely fetid swamp these jamokes are assembling, and soon… running. Damn.

Out.

Now A Fifth UK Case Of Mpox Clade 1b, This Time Out In Leeds — Away From The Original Four…

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This was an independent origin point for the viral load. A traveler in this case returned from Uganda, to Leeds, recently. The prior four were all from a single household in London. [Our prior backgrounder, on Mpox in England may be found here.]

All close contacts of the Leeds case are being traced by UK health authorities, but the risk to the British population is extremely low. The Beeb has all the latest, here — on our long holiday weekend, stateside (with youngest son already jetted back to the Northwest last night):

…A new case of a strain of mpox spreading in some parts of central and east Africa has been confirmed in Leeds.

The infected person had recently returned from Uganda where Clade 1b mpox, which used to be known as monkeypox, has been found.
This is the fifth person in England to be confirmed with this disease in recent weeks — the other four lived in the same household in London and have all recovered.

The [fifth] individual infected is being treated at a hospital in Sheffield….

Now you know. CU needs a lil’ help today — the Buffs need at least two of these three to lose today: ASU, BYU and/or Iowa State (Kinda’ a tall order, indeed). That outcome would let the Buffs play for the Big 12 championship next weekend. Smile. Either way, Travis is a shoo-in for the Heisman, and the team will get a major bowl bid, now.

नमस्ते

Travis Hunter, This Afternoon: Simply Superhuman!

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The line? Well, he had a drive killing interception, and barely missed picking off two more. Several solo tackles, and only allowed one completion of eleven yards. So, that was his defensive (game changing) effort.

On offense?

He caught three TD passes.

Amassed over 110 yards for the tenth time this season. Buffs win 53-0, to end the regular season. Now we watch ASU, BYU and Iowa State tomorrow. But I now think Travis might share his Heisman with Shedeur Sanders, his QB!

नमस्ते

It Is Likely The Supremes Will Agree With The Dissent, In The Fifth Circuit, On The Shelby Park Land Razor Wire Barrier Case

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I am headed out for our traditional “day after” Dim Sum roundtable… so this will be short.

On Wednesday night, the Fifth Circuit decided to reinstate a premlinary injunction against the US Border Patrol being able to cut land based Texas razor wire. But the exceptions in it — they are several truckloads wide. The decision specifically set the injunction only where US Border Patrol has immediate alternate routes of access, to asylum seekers there arriving, and never at any time, when life or limb are in jeopardy (on either side of the razor wire). See this, at the bottom of page three, specifically — and a bit of the dissent:

…Because Texas has not met its burden to show a waiver of sovereign immunity or a likelihood of success on the merits, I respectfully dissent….

Texas’s challenge appears to be directed at internal “communications between lower- and higher-ranking [Department of Homeland Security] officers regarding wire-cutting in the Del Rio Sector.” These emails, according to Texas, constitute the Policy.37 Texas alleges that the emails at issue are “changeable agency action authorizing line-level officers to tamper with Texas’s property,” memorializing Defendants’ alleged “policy, pattern, or practice of intermeddling with [Texas]’s concertina wire” along the border.

But in fact, these emails discuss federal agents’ responsibilities in apprehending, processing, and inspecting noncitizens,38 as well as the agents’ corresponding authority when doing so. They set forth informal field guidance for agents for when they encounter physical objects impeding their ability to apprehend, process, and inspect noncitizens. This guidance appears deliberately open ended, as it provides different advice depending on the circumstances. And even when the guidance runs out, i.e., when a “supervisor is not available” and “anyone is in distress,” the communications advise agents to “use their judgment regarding how best to proceed.” They never require cutting through or lifting fencing or other obstacles.

The emails, i.e., the Policy, are “more like a tentative recommendation than a final and binding determination.” Franklin v. Massachusetts, 505 U.S. 788, 798 (1992)….

Yep. USDC Judge Ramirez, sitting as a panel member, has the most cogent dissent. The Supremes will see it her way. Onward.

नमस्ते

In Which Hinderaker (And Sen. Cotton) Don’t Understand That Tangerine Is NOT Preznit (Yet).

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I get that Tangerine wants to obviate all future elections. That he hates the system of ordered liberty and checks and balances we’ve honored for 240 years.

And I get that Tangerine thinks he’s American royalty.

But he’s not. Cotton knows it, too.

So his letter, and Hinderaker’s parroting of it… are the only despicable things I see this Thanksgiving night.

No John — Gen. Austin doesn’t answer to Tangerine. He serves at Mr. Biden’s pleasure, only. And following only lawful orders is the hallmark of our way of governing, again — for almost 240 years.

So, do sit down and shut up, you frothy and malign idiots.

We haven’t transferred power chuckleheads — no matter how badly you boys are pining for it.

Out.