Category: Uncategorized

[U] Well… Except That Tangerine Got Flipped-Off, And The McD’s Was Closed. Staged. Hilarious, Scott.

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

These guys are so precious. They think it a “come back” / or “burn” — for a MAGA McD’s franchisee to close his Pittsburg outlet, and stage a commercial — in response to the FACT that Kamala ACTUALLY worked a summer job 45 years ago… at McD’s?! This is desperate, and silly.

But I’ll note that later last night, MAGA ran a video, that “thanked Pittsburg” for being so supportive of Tangerine at the NFL game against the Jets there. The footage it used of the crowd however (unedited!) clearly shows several NFL fans flipping Trump the two handed “birds up” salute — telling his team to.. “F*ck off!”

Yep — that’s just about as telling/persuasive… as a multimillionaire staging a five minute video in a closed McD’s franchise, as he stands in front of the fry oil, holding an empty basket.

Here is some truly insipid commentary from Scott “Delusional” Johnson’s keyboard.

Scott thinks these videos will help Tangerine — with undecided Middle America. [Updated —- so much so, he’s belched about it a second time, here three days later. What an idiot. End update.]

Me? I think we see… yet again… a low-brow con-man, and [un-]reality TV… actor.

And… a FELON. One who commented on the deceased Arnold Palmer’s “schlong” being huge. Or should I say… “Y-Y-Y-Y-U-U-U-U-UGE”?

Cheers, boys.

Gilead And Merck Announce Encouraging New Findings, In Treating Longer Term HIV Infections…

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This is good news, to be certain. But it is unlikely to be material, near term — for either company, as so many are already on this therapy combo. [We’ve covered the victories in HIV treatments, since 2012 — and here is one of our 2021-era backgrounders, on the progress for this combo therapy.]

There was a time — which persisted for nearly three decades (from 1980 onward) — when an HIV+ diagnosis was… nearly certainly, a death sentence. And more often that not, a slow, painful, debilitating spiral-down — into a walking skeleton (as anyone of that age can attest, as to friends and loved ones).

But that time has ended. We are very lucky to be alive in the era of engineered human protein / monoclonal antibody therapies — now increasingly tailored to individuals’ unique disease manifestation factors, and other ailments profiles. Here’s the latest, from Yahoo! news:

…At 48 weeks, the novel investigational combination maintained a high rate (n=49; 94.2%) of viral suppression (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL) in virologically suppressed adults, a secondary endpoint of the study. Zero participants had a viral load of ≥50 copies/mL at Week 48. Week 24 results, including the study’s primary endpoint, were previously presented at the 31st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)….

“The future of HIV treatment is person-centered, with long-acting options tailored to help meet the needs and preferences of people affected by HIV,” said Jared Baeten, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Virology Therapeutic Area Head, Gilead Sciences. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach….

The complexities of HIV care require putting people first in the development of biomedical innovations as we keep striving to offer options for all those living with HIV. These data presented at IDWeek demonstrate our commitment to continuous scientific discovery aimed at further transforming the HIV treatment landscape….”

Treatment-related-adverse events (TRAEs), as attributed by study investigator, were experienced by 19.2% of participants (n=10/52) in the ISL + LEN group and the most common were dry mouth (n=2/52; 3.8%) and nausea (n=2/52; 3.8%)….

The side effects can still be daunting, but people live long, happy and productive lives now — decades and decades after diagnosis. The magnitude of this leap forward in bio-science cannot be overstated.

Onward, smiling — with the Oregon Ducks to be the No. 1 team in the nation, when they host the Illini in Eugene, this weekend. And Buffs now go back home, to meet a potentially dangerous Cincy team, in Boulder Saturday night. Grin.

नमस्ते

Sunday Trivia: What’s Old — Is New, Again?! Penn State “Speaking” Nonsense Shkreli / Milo Y. Tour Oct. 28, 2024…

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Back in 2017, a much-earlier (pre-federal-prison) iteration of this event was cancelled — and at a second “stop” on this “speaking tour”, a student threw dog feces in Shkreli’s face (I think that was at UC Davis, if memory serves). Hilarious, and well-deserved.

But as Milo’s 15 minutes are ending, he seeks to renew his brand as a hate-provocateur… with a speaking gig at Penn State. The rumor is that Martin will tag along, have his flight paid for, but will not be paid to speak [since that money should first go to his fraud victims].

Here’s that goofy news item, overnight:

…Shkreli, according to Uncensored America’s release, spent five years in prison “after making a joke about Hillary Clinton.” [Ed. Note: Obviously, this is a lie. He was convicted of felony wire fraud, for deceiving his investors, repeatedly, over many years.] Shkreli was charged with securities fraud in 2015, sentenced to seven years in jail in 2017, and was released in 2022. [That’s the truth of it.]

According to University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) minutes, Uncensored America was given $15,990.26 by UPAC to fund the event. The fee covered Yiannopoulos’ flight and speaker fees and Shkreli’s flight fees….

I think Martin still needs BoP permission to leave Queens County. So, that may or may not happen — but it is hilarious that these two are trying to re-energize the nonsense that died out in the 2016 election cycle. For his part, Milo is no longer working on MAGA Marjorie Taylor-Green’s political operations — he’s jobless; as is Martin. But Martin is also broke, and a decade out of date, on life science politics and policies.

Pretty sure there will be nothing even remotely interesting said, here.

That is, assuming the LGBTQ+ community at Penn State doesn’t protest / shout them down — with the “hecklers’ veto“…

…or the “Bag of Hot Dog Poop” — in their faces (as obtained at Harvard
or UC Davis — I forget which — in the Winter of 2017).

We shall see.

Charming.

[U] Paul Got A Small Bit Right, Tonight…

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Modern, cell enabled polling is something Paul knows nuthin’ about.

This is what he gets right — in blue. But the rest… he’s (woefully) mistaken about:

…Trump claimed he won the election but never proved that he did. Trump called on supporters to come to Washington and attempt to prevent the certification of his defeat. Trump improperly possessed classified documents and gave federal agents the runaround (and in my view obstructed justice) when they tried to retrieve them. Trump was convicted of [34] felonies….

If voters have been reluctant to admit an intention to vote for Trump in the past, there’s still plenty of reason — arguably more than before — for the reluctance….

Paul hopes that pollsters have undercounted Tangerine support — thrice.

I’ll bet they have haven’t. Occam’s Razor here applies.

Meanwhile, Hinderaker preposterously thinks that two former pro athletes (each of whom suffered numerous concussions, no less!) who were last really top shelf some 40 years ago… because they are “macho” — give Tangerine… meaningful boosts/street cred?

I’m unconvinced. John is… like Tangerine — senile.

Cheers.

Saturday Life Sciences: Of Ancient DNA — And What It Can Tell Us… Of The Origin Stories — Of Essentially All Modern Humans…

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We have spoken before of the ancient African Nama people. Their genetic makeup appears to have been the “parent DNA” of essentially all modern humans. And it has long been known that the Jomon peoples, of about 35,000 years ago, were related to Africans, genetically — and inhabited much of what is the modern Korean peninsula.

This new genetic sequencing confirms that what became the modern Japanese peoples also show significant admixtures of Jomon, which of course traces right back to Africa between 50,000 — and 100,000 years ago. No one knows if the Africans travelled by foot to these peninsulas, or if they might have sailed from what becomes Eastern India, to reach the Japanese islands — but it is clear that they were (in some measure) the progenitors of modern Japan.

Here’s the latest:

…A research team led by Jonghyun Kim and Jun Ohashi from the University of Tokyo has found that during the Yayoi and Kofun periods (300 BCE to 538 CE), the majority of immigrants to the Japanese Archipelago came from the Korean Peninsula.

Their study analyzed the complete genome of a “Yayoi” individual and found that, among the non-Japanese populations, the results showed the genetic makeup most closely resembled that of Korean populations.

Although it is widely accepted that modern Japanese populations have a dual ancestry, the discovery provides insight into the details of immigration patterns to the archipelago that had previously puzzled researchers. The findings were published today (October 14) in the Journal of Human Genetics….

I mention it all… because with the outbreaks of Marburg, and Mpox we now see in Africa… we are reminded… we are all our brothers’ — and sisters’… keepers. Onward.

नमस्ते

No Hinderaker — DeSantis Seeks To Suppress Lawful Votes, In Florida — We Oppose That.

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As ever, Hinderaker would have an Orwellian / 1984 style spin, on what is the DoJ’s intent, here. DoJ has joined a suit, to prevent MAGA GOP DeSantis, from disenfranchising lawful voters in Florida.

To be clear, I still expect that Tangerine will carry Florida (Kamala doesn’t need it to win the Presidency), but it is getting much closer to a toss-up, there. [That’s why DeSantis is suddenly using “lawfare” — to try and reduce the voting rolls. Heavy turnout always tends to skew Democratic, in the south.]

Should Kamala win there in Florida, or in Pennsylvania — or even Georgia… in each of those single outcomes — Trump is flat out of runway. He will have no math. He must run the table on all three — to have a realistic shot at 271 on the electoral college meter.

Now you know. And as you’ve long known — Hinderaker is a lying sack of dung.

Boeing’s Starliner Is Benched, Until At Least Late 2025 — Recertification For Safe Flight Operations Needed: NASA…

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Well — it is always going to be safety first. And in truth, even on uncrewed missions, the multiple leaks seen — on Sunni and Butch’s uphill ride (delaying by over two hours their arrival at the ISS)… was a clear sign that more needs to be done, in terms of uncrewed shake-down flights.

And now that is all firmly inked into NASA’s upcoming launch calendars. It means other vendors will fly at least the next two missions to the ISS. Here’s that story, from the Orlando Sentinel’s space science desk (subs. req. — keeps current on all things Cape Canaveral):

…NASA has officially given SpaceX the next two missions to the International Space Station under its Commercial Crew Program with Boeing’s Starliner still potentially available for a late visit in 2025 if it achieves certification.

NASA announced updated crew rotation plans Tuesday including a crew assignment for Crew-10, the program’s next flight up to the station targeting February….

That summer target launch for Crew-11 still opens the door for Boeing’s beleaguered spacecraft to slot in at the end of the year, but NASA has to find a path forward to certify Starliner for regular missions working with what ended up being an incomplete Crew Flight Test mission this summer.

“The timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established,” NASA posted on its website. “This determination will include considerations for incorporating Crew Flight Test lessons learned, approvals of final certification products, and operational readiness….”

Space… is indeed… hard. Onward.

नमस्ते

I Hate Hayward’s Endless Misinformation — On Taxes Wealthy People DON’T Feel, At All…

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

This probably amounts to the 600th post I’ve read in the last two decades — from Steve Hayward — about how “unfair” it is that the wealthy pay so much in income taxes.

Of course, this is a crock of shit. He always talks absolute dollars paid, rather than percentages, or even what those percentages might mean in terms of what the truly rich might notice in disposable income.

Not once in those 600 or so posts, did Steve Hayward ever indicate what percentage of the disposable income of the top two or higher percent of American taxpayers actually pay.

On the other hand, he obscures the fact that the lowest one-third (by disposable income) of Americans pay out something like 48% of their overall available income in various taxes. [Think here of gas taxes, food taxes, sales tax generally, state income taxes, and even tollway payments.]

For the very wealthy, no matter how much tax they pay, they will never notice it in their day-to-day living. This is true because they pay under 10% and typically under 3%, for longer term capital appreciated assets as they sell them, through the various carried interest rules.

That is to say, that while they may pay up to a nominal 39% (in corporate income taxes, or dividend taxes) — with capable tax planning, services which they can clearly afford — by far, most of the truly wealthy’s disposable income comes from capital gains rate taxed assets. So their “fair share“ amounts to well under 5% of the liquidity they tap each year.

That is what most people mean when they say the ultra wealthy, don’t pay their fair share, but ride on the backs of the lower one third… Who end up paying close to half of their disposable income out each year in obligatory taxes of one kind or another.

Of course Steve knows all of this, but he’s just a churlish cad, or if you prefer — a malevolent a-hole.

Done.

Perhaps Due To Evidence Being Disclosed (About Tangerine’s Felonies), Tonight — Mirengoff Burps Up Some BS About Kamala… At Lunch

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Welp. Not surprising… but ugly, just the same.

Paul (again) bangs the “she’s a [reverse-]racist” gong — to scant effect today.

It is of no moment, because Kamala has repeatedly said she will follow the law — and let the courts decide. That is what prudent stewardship (regardless of personal politics) requires.

Note in this regard, that Tangerine has directly, recently, repeatedly and steadfastly refused to say he will respect the law, as to the election — coming in 19 days, now.

Paul would tell us that because he holds a very-personal animus — about the color of her skin (see above, right), as a brown woman from a high end law school, prosecutor, California AG, US Senator and now US Vice President… he will claim that her promise to follow the law… is a lie.

What an insufferable ass he is.

Please explain, Paul, why you’d DIS-believe Trump — when he says he will openly seek “bloodshed“, if he loses — but you won’t believe Kamala when she says she will follow the law, as she’s done for 40 years in public service, honoring her oath as a member of the bar.

DAMNATION… dude. Get a life.

O U T.

[U] Stay Tuned: Later This Evening, In DC — The Redacted Felonies Exhibits, From The J6 Insurrection, And SC Jack Smith — Will Be Available As Public Documents.

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The able USDC Judge Tanya Chutkan, in DC just entered two orders: one denying Tangerine’s (renewed) motion to stay, and the other — ordering the Clerk of Court to file on the public docket documents 261-1, 261-2, 261-3 and 261-4.

These are the actual exhibits, documenting Tangerine’s felonious acts, which will be introduced at trial.

Since this is a felony case, and since the grand jury-indicted crimes include interfering with the electoral process (by Tangerine), it is critical that the people know of the evidence (subject to appropriate redactions, of course), before we vote. . . again.

Updated, late on Friday aft.: I am not going to cover the over 1,100 pages in any detail, but on page 557 of the first appendix (docket no. 261-1), we see the following:

”…The Speaker of the House told me I might be getting a call from The President of the United States and advised me that my display on my phone would say, “Spam risk Egypt.” That was my notification for the fact that it might be him.”

I don’t know who it was, but they said they were surprised they may get a call and more surprised about the Egypt bit….

Trump had a burner phone — in the White House, while he was still President?!? And it was sourced from Egypt… do recall that he (in 2016!) made a giant stink about the Sec. of State having a personal phone, while she was Sec. of State.

This is a great moment to mention that he violated several felony statutes, while preznit, by not keeping all his communications on secure lines — and the Presidential Records Act, by not logging every call and text, when made from the White House — on this illicit burner phone.

Equally obviously — at this point, this is like catching Capone on failure to file his IRS 1040s, but the point here is… that in these 1,100 or so pages… there is likely ample proof that he knew he lost, and he told his minions (Giuliani and Powell) to manufacture the votes would need, in at least four states (to claim an illicit “win”) — and then (as we’ve already seen in Jack Smith’s last filing unsealed!) when told that Mike Pence was being threatened with death, by the mob, on J6. . . he specifically replied “So what?”. Damn. End, updated portion — you may see all four volumes at EmptyWheel.net now — they’ve been filed on the public docket. Happy hunting — out.

There is simply no right to seal such felony evidence — we the people are entitled to it, as a matter of long standing law (see, US v. Nixon).

So, while we are pretty sure they won’t show up until late on Friday night — do watch this space.

We will have them — with some analysis — around midnight, after our evening obligations are concluded. Onward.

नमस्ते