Category: Uncategorized

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

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

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…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

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

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

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.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

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

Rahway Poised To Compete With AZ/Sanofi’s Monoclonal Antibody Therapy For RSV Virus, By Year End — With MK-1654 | Clesrovimab

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

At the moment, the AZ/Sanofi monoclonal antibody therapy sold under the Beyfortus trademark is far and away the market leader. Many may recall that Merck returned a different RSV therapeutic candidate to Moderna, which subsequently brought it to market — with mixed results. Merck chose wisely to focus on MK-1654, and now a Phase 2b/3 trial has validated that bet.

Rahway said this week it hopes to have fully-scaled stock available for the Spring 2025 RSV infections “season”. And we should note that both GSK and Pfizer now offer approved vaccines for RSV — so the uptake on the therapy may “only” reach around $700 million a year, at peak sales — in a few years’ time, for Merck. Still, it is very good news — per Fierce Biotech’s reporting:

. . .Three months after revealing that its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) preventive antibody clesrovimab had passed muster in a phase 2b/3 trial, Merck is putting numbers to the claim.

Clesrovimab, also known as MK-1654, scored on multiple trial endpoints, demonstrating its ability to protect infants against the virus in their first RSV season.

With the results, which were presented Thursday in Los Angeles during IDWeek 2024, Merck said it hopes to bring clesrovimab to the market for the 2025-26 RSV season. . . .

Clesrovimab achieved its primary objective by reducing the incidence of RSV-associated medically attended lower respiratory infections requiring at least one indicator of lower respiratory infection by 60% versus placebo through the first five months after dosing, the company said.

The drug also reduced RSV-related hospitalizations (secondary endpoint) and RSV-related lower respiratory infection hospitalizations (tertiary endpoint) by 84% and 91%, respectively, versus placebo through five months….

Now you know — and onward, to a Buff win tomorrow afternoon, in the Arizona desert heat. Grin….

नमस्ते

Still Cause For Concern: Now Over 1,100 Mpox Deaths — In Africa — This Time ‘Round…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Adolescents are now approved to be vaccinated, on an emergency basis — as more and more palletized shipments of the highly-effective vaccine arrive in airports, across the continent. But again, the challenge is getting them to where the afflicted patients’ contacts live — in often remote, mountainous, difficult terrain.

Still the rate of expansion is now moderating — and there is every reason to believe the ring vaccinations are working — just as they have in prior Ebola flare ups. Here’s the latest, from ABC.com:

…KAMPALA, Uganda — The number of mpox -related deaths in Africa has surpassed 1,000, the head of the continent’s top public health agency said Thursday, warning of the continuing threat of cross-border contamination and a lack of rapid test kits.

There were 50 mpox-related deaths in the past week, bringing the total to 1,100, indicating that authorities face a challenge in stemming outbreaks currently affecting 18 of the continent’s 55 nations, said Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We are still fighting with this outbreak,” Kaseya said. “We don’t want to see all African countries affected….”

Now you know. Be excellent to one another — always. Onward.

नमस्ते

In Which Mirengoff Dons His KKK-Hood… Yet Again. YAWN.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Here is some richly ironic racism — in which Paul Mirengoff admits (nay, celebrates!) that he regularly demonizes various Jewish groups for what he calls “slavish” support of Democratic candidates and policies.

But in an immediately prior paragraph (and the main point of his post, no less!) he calls Mr. Obama’s similar exhortations to Black men (not to allow sexism to dictate that they won’t vote for a woman!)… as “racist”. [All while he recites widely debunked falsehoods — about crime rates, and out of wedlock birth trends, in America.]

Wow. Just… wow.

Let’s just assume (though he doesn’t make this explicit in his burpings) that Paul thinks because he is Jewish, that he cannot be considered as racist, or bigoted against Jews who don’t think of only themselves first (supporters of GOP/MAGA).

While I may disagree with that premise — even that won’t support his attacking Mr. Obama for speaking to fellow Black men candidly, and perhaps even scolding them — not to let their own prior bad experiences with OTHER women (i.e., not Kamala) prevent them from voting in their own enlightened self interest.

This is a wholly tangled, incoherent, and largely indefensible ball of… mess, from Paul.

That’s the sum up.

Onward.

We May Be In Highly-Active Solar Flare Storms — Through Mid-2025: Experts From NCAR, NASA And NOAA Say…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

As we mentioned last week, NASA yesterday hosted a teleconference with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the international Solar Cycle Prediction Panel at which the various experts opined that our Sol has reached “solar maximum”. Even so, the experts’ consensus is that the strong geo-magnetic storms we see from it… could continue — into mid 2025.

The Sun goes through an approximately 11 year cycle, transitioning between low and high magnetic activity. Thus, about every 11 years, at the height of the solar cycle, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip — here on Earth, that would be like the North and South poles swapping places every decade — and the Sun transitions from being calm to a very active and explosive mode.

Here is the full NASA run-down — on the press conference — but we should expect a few more events like that of October 3-4 (which reached Earth around October 10-11), yet in this cycle:

“…This announcement doesn’t mean that this is the peak of solar activity we’ll see this solar cycle,” said Elsayed Talaat, director of space weather operations at NOAA. “While the Sun has reached the solar maximum period, the month that solar activity peaks on the Sun will not be identified for months or years.”

Scientists will not be able to determine the exact peak of this solar maximum period for many months because it’s only identifiable after they’ve tracked a consistent decline in solar activity after that peak. However, scientists have identified that the last two years on the Sun have been part of this active phase of the solar cycle, due to the consistently high number of sunspots during this period. Scientists anticipate that the maximum phase will last another year or so before the Sun enters the declining phase, which leads back to solar minimum. Since 1989, the Solar Cycle Prediction Panel — an international panel of experts sponsored by NASA and NOAA — has worked together to make their prediction for the next solar cycle….

“Solar Cycle 25 sunspot activity has slightly exceeded expectations,” said Lisa Upton, co-chair of the Solar Cycle Prediction Panel and lead scientist at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “However, despite seeing a few large storms, they aren’t larger than what we might expect during the maximum phase of the cycle.”

The most powerful flare of the solar cycle so far was an X9.0 on Oct. 3 (X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength).

NOAA anticipates additional solar and geomagnetic storms during the current solar maximum period, leading to opportunities to spot auroras over the next several months, as well as potential technology impacts. Additionally, though less frequent, scientists often see fairly significant storms during the declining phase of the solar cycle….

[And as we’ve mentioned before, essentially all Suns are born as pairs, with one either being flung off, or consumed in the first million or so years of their joint lives. That’s my second, slightly poetic-licensed… graphic’s teaching.]

Now you know — and… do go cheer for the Buffs Saturday, all you NOAA and NCAR Boulder based fans!

नमस्ते