Category: Uncategorized

And Again, The Feds Have A Far Better (Law of The Case) Answer To Texas’s Latest Foray, In Floating Razor Wire Cases…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

As Anon. indicated earlier this week (in comments), the fairest, “Occam’s Razor” inference here, as to these Texas state officials, is that they are just throwing endless stacks of meaningless paper up, over the transom, into the District Court, in the hope of delaying a final outcome — past the November election (and a vain hope that Tangerine will applaud their torturous floating razor wire in the Rio Grande, and dismiss the federal suit). Erh… good luck with all that.

Overnight, the US border patrol authorities answered Texas’s latest nonsense thus — do go read it all:

…Texas’s “invasion” defense, like its counterclaim, seeks to reinject a legal argument into these proceedings that the Court has already considered and squarely rejected twice.

Texas offers no good reason why the Court should reconsider its prior rulings on the meaning of the U.S. Constitution’s State War Clause, U.S. Const. art. I, § 10, cl. 3, or that clause’s effect on the present case. Instead, Texas’s response brief merely confirms that the State intends to consume the Court’s and the parties’ time at trial by presenting evidence addressing whether Texas has been “actually invaded” under the State War Clause. ECF 150 at 9 (arguing “Texas should be permitted to introduce evidence of terrorist incursions and paramilitary forces crossing the border”); see also ECF 125 (discussing fact and expert witnesses Texas has disclosed whose testimony will focus on “invasion” arguments).

The Court should strike this defense and prevent the needless and distracting expenditure of time and resources on this issue at trial….

Every court to consider Gov. Abbott’s and AG Paxton’s claims that Texas gets “magical, mystical” special rights of some sort, simply by alleging — but never proving — that it is being “invaded” by some hostile foreign military force… has laughed them out of court.

So it will be here, as well. Onward.

नमस्ते

Joe Biden Will Win By 3%… Hinderaker Knows It.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

We told you so.

When (as now) the dust settles, immediately after Tangerine fatuously claims over and over that he doesn’t know anything about the Heritage Foundation’s “America 2025” plan — despite over 140 of his high level associates from 2016 to 2020 having signed on for it…

Americans realize a sociopath is not what they want.

Joe may be grandfatherly — but he is no mobster / felon with designs on being a king. Again.

Don’t believe me? Then believe John Hinderaker, tonight:

…The NPR/PBS News/Marist College national poll released Friday found 50% of registered voters nationwide support the Biden 2024 candidacy, while 48% back Trump in a head-to-head matchup. Just 2% remain undecided….

It’s actually a wider lead for Mr. Biden than that, as we showed earlier this week — via Nate Silver.

John knows it. Sure it’s one poll… but the trend here is what matters: rational, truly patriotic American people will choose just about… anyone — head to head, over Trump.

Hilarious. Yep. Game… over — and Tangerine will be sentenced four weeks before Election Day.

Now you know.

Why Would Elon Leave Starlink Sats Where They Could Rain Back Down On Earthlings?! Missions Go Awry, But This Seems Irresponsible.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Late last night, Musk wrote on X-itter that the Falcoln-9’s upper stage engine suffered a “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly“. In plainer English, the engine exploded, after a leak in the seals on the liquid oxygen assembly caused large “oxygen ice” chunks to form — on the outside nozzle of the Merlin Vacuum upper stage engine. That likely was the cause of the explosion.

Sure — space is hard. Missions go awry. And in general, Musk’s SpaceX program has been the most reliable private hauling workhorse around. But who made the decision to throw 20 Starlink satellites into an unsafe, very low-Earth orbit? That’s what I want to know. Here’s the story — do go read it all:

…After departing Vandenberg to begin SpaceX’s Starlink 9-3 mission, the rocket’s reusable first stage booster propelled the Starlink satellites into the upper atmosphere, then returned to Earth for an on-target landing on a recovery ship parked in the Pacific Ocean. A single Merlin Vacuum engine on the rocket’s second stage fired for about six minutes to reach a preliminary orbit.

A few minutes after liftoff of SpaceX’s Starlink 9-3 mission, veteran observers of SpaceX launches noticed an unusual build-up of ice around the top of the Merlin Vacuum engine, which consumes a propellant mixture of super-chilled kerosene and cryogenic liquid oxygen. The liquid oxygen is stored at a temperature of several hundred degrees below zero.

Numerous chunks of ice fell away from the rocket as the upper stage engine powered into orbit, but the Merlin Vacuum, or M-Vac, engine appeared to complete its first burn as planned. A leak in the oxidizer system or a problem with insulation could lead to ice accumulation, although the exact cause, and its possible link to the engine malfunction later in flight, will be the focus of SpaceX’s investigation into the failure. . . .

Telemetry from the Falcon 9 rocket indicated it released the Starlink satellites into an orbit with a perigee just 86 miles (138 kilometers) above Earth, roughly 100 miles (150 kilometers) lower than expected, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and trusted tracker of spaceflight activity….

[As the graphic at lower right indicates, this is the second recent stage two rocket failure Musk has seen on Falcon 9 — we noted the earlier one, in March 2024, here.]

And, I would be willing to bet my last dollar that the decision to deploy the 20 satellites despite the failure to reach a correct orbit… was not made without Mr. Musk’s final say-so. Onward… but that is emblematic of his decision-making in the last eight or so years. Baffling. Out.

नमस्ते

From The Hilarious Files: Texans’ SB-4 Sparring, In Fifth Cir. — The Feds Win This One. [And All The Other Ones, Too.]

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Just as in 2012 in Arizona, this measure is DOA — and we’ve said so from the start.

It is unconstitutional… on its face. The Supremes said so, in essentially identical circumstances in 2012. But today, AG Paxton sought to tell the Fifth Circuit that an unrelated case decided this term by the Supremes, on facial challenges meant the Fifth got it wrong, and Texas state troopers, and city cops, alone — of all the 50 states — may demand that every brown person (and. . . only the brown people!) “show their papers” — even if they are just out to buy groceries (for example). Here’s the able US Attorneys’ office response:

…Texas’s June 25 Rule 28(j) letter references the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915 (Jun. 21, 2024). That decision does not advance Texas’s cause.

In Rahimi, the Supreme Court applied settled law to evaluate a facial challenge to the constitutionality of a statute. See Slip Op. 8 (quoting United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987)). As this Court recognized at the stay stage, SB 4 is facially invalid because there is “no set of circumstances” under which SB4 could be enforced consistent with federal law. See United States v. Texas, 97 F.4th 268, 294 (5th Cir. 2024) (quoting Salerno, 481 U.S. at 745). The district court therefore did not err in enjoining enforcement of SB 4. See ROA.542–73….

Now you know. Texas has elected a governor (and an attorney general) that plainly either (i) do not understand the US Constitution [and federalism, after US v. Arizona, 567 U.S. 387 (2012)], or (more likely) (ii) simply have decided to ignore it all, and pretend that they too [like Tangerine] are monarchs over a kingdom they call… Texas.

And so… it may be time to hand all that land back to Mexico — and say… Go ahead: “feel free to take whatever isn’t nailed down“….

These lawless jamokes no longer want to live under our federal wings (of protection), we graciously provide? Fine.

Fair enough, I’d say. Maybe it is time to just let the rest of the world… have at ’em…. /SNARK

नमस्ते

Things That Will Not… Last: Powerline-loons ’24 Edition

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

The “wall to wall“, for the next few days there will be all about purported “disarray” in the ranks of the Democratic party. For this proposition, the thoughts of George Clooney will be front and center. [Burping along the same lines, will be the fired / alum there, Paul Mirengoff, as well. UPDATED — and Stevie.]

Okay. Enjoy the moment boys. This too, shall pass. Mr. Clooney is certainly entitled to his opinions, and he may move his donations to whomever and wherever… he pleases.

Candidly, though his are heartfelt, I am not deeply swayed… that he possesses the foreign relations chops to understand the import of his own remarks. That’s okay. We are a pluralistic society. We will sort his, and all others’ views… in due course.

Whether we see what will be the first woman of color — as President in 2024, or our current leader — make no mistake: Tangerine will never hold that office again.

And every day that no one writes about Trump’s manifest unfitness — on the dimensions of competence, morality — and selfless judgment of characters he hires (and fires)… is a good day for the Powerline boys.

But yes, son… this, too… shall pass.

Out.

Hinderaker Tonight Touts Polls That Oversample GOP Households. Yawn.

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

In the last four cycles, the polls Hinderaker most often cited… (cough, Rasmussen!)… were ultimately (and, wildly)… wrong — after Election Day results were known.

In fact, Mr. Biden won 2020 by much larger margins than John had in mind / said (he in fact predicted, with Rasmussen, a Tangerine win).

Didn’t happen.

Same thing, but more pronounced, in 2022 mid-terms: the GOP significantly underperformed their polling. Yawn.

So we’ll just chuckle, and/or yawn… at Hinderaker tonight.

He’s just bloviating (again).

Indeed, Nate Silver, at the far more accurate 538 (because it recognizes modern problems in poll numbers, and adjusts for the biases old school hard line poll numbers now have embedded in them)… rates Mr. Biden likely to win by 3 points. That is, after the news cycles, the June debate hasn’t changed things much.

Read all of his latest — and a bit:

…[T]he 538 election model puts a healthy amount of weight on non-polling factors such as economic growth and political indicators. Today these indicators suggest an outcome closer to a 3-point Biden win — clear in the opposite direction of national polls.

538’s focus on uncertainty partially explains why our election forecast has not moved much in reaction to new national polls showing Trump gaining on Biden. In effect, we are hedging our bets, putting more weight on the so-called “fundamentals” because we believe the campaign could be volatile or polls could be biased.

The other big factor explaining our model’s relative stability is the flurry of swing-state polls that were published over the weekend, most good for Biden. The average swing-state poll published since July 6 has Trump leading Biden by 1 point, compared to his 2.2-point lead in national polls today…

Now you know. Bub-bye John. Out.

The Chick Who Stole The Diary; Drove It To NY… And Went MIA, Last Weekend — Was Picked Up With Open Liquor In Coastal GA…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

There are some forms of MAGA. . . that just couldn’t be any… dumber. [She transported a private Biden family diary she knew was stolen… to NY, for Project Veritas (now bankrupted).]

She’d been sentenced to one month of jail, in the USDC in SDNY. She was to surrender by noon on July 9 (somewhere, as federal correctional inmate No. 18244-510). She was not only not in Florida — or NY, but was arrested in McIntosh County (rural sea-side country) in Georgia, while driving with open liquor, and no valid driver’s license, and reportedly… a container of cannabis, on Monday afternoon. She was immediately jailed, and is still in state custody.

But — good news! — it turns out the jail there is ALSO a federal facility (but clearly is no “club fed”!)… so she will do her time… right there. Her credit for voluntary surrender will be out the window, though… so we wait to see if she has to do the full six months stint now, in a tough jail in rural Georgia. Hilarious (Hat tip, to InnerCityPress, on this!). Here’s the AUSAs’ update, of this very morning (all as subsequently “so ordered” — by the able NYSD USDC Judge Swain):

…Re: United States v. Aimee Harris, 22 Cr. 457 (LTS)

Dear Chief Judge Swain:

The Government respectfully submits this letter to update the Court regarding defendant Aimee Harris’s scheduled surrender to the Bureau of Prisons, which the Court previously ordered to occur by July 9, 2024 at 12 p.m. As the Government informed the Court, in its letter dated July 9, 2024, the Government was informed by United States Pretrial Services that the defendant was arrested on July 8, 2024 in McIntosh County, Georgia and was being held in state custody. [Based on information that Pretrial Services received from the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office, the Government understands that the defendant was charged with multiple offenses, including driving with a suspended license, speeding, possession of an open container, possession of marijuana, and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.]

Pretrial Services has further informed the Government that the defendant emailed her supervising officer on July 7, 2024 that she was going on a “one day road trip up to SC” on July 8, 2024 and would return Monday night. . . .

On July 9, 2024, the Government sought a warrant from the Court so that the defendant could immediately be taken into federal custody by the United States Marshals Service, which was executed by the Court.

The Government was informed today that the United States Marshals Service for the Southern District of Georgia has transferred the defendant to BOP custody, since the state facility where the defendant is being held is also utilized as a federal holding facility. The United States Marshals Service therefore requests that the Court vacate the July 9 arrest warrant so that the defendant can be designated and commence service of her sentence….

Respectfully submitted,

DAMIAN WILLIAMS
United States Attorney

By: /s/

Jacqueline Kelly
Robert B. Sobelman
Mitzi Steiner
Assistant United States Attorneys….

As I say… hilariously stupid MAGA clowns — all around. And no doubt, the Georgia authorities will prosecute on the driving offenses, and that jail sentence will be added on to the end of her federal stint. Couldn’t happen to a nicer… MAGAt.

Out.

Also Immaterial, But Rahway Has Closed The Elanco/Aqua Acquisition… First Announced February 2024.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

We first mentioned this $1.3 billion deal in February. Having now cleared all antitrust baffles, it is closed.

Here is the latest, from Yahoo! Biz reporting:

…Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside of the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA, today announced the completion of its acquisition of the aqua business of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated. The completion of this acquisition bolsters Merck Animal Health’s position in the aqua industry with a comprehensive approach to promote fish health, welfare and sustainability in aquaculture, conservation, and fisheries….

As a result of the acquisition, Merck Animal Health now owns innovative products such as CLYNAV®, a new generation DNA-based vaccine that protects Atlantic salmon against pancreas disease and IMVIXA®, an anti-parasitic sea lice treatment and water treatment products for warm water production, complementing Merck Animal Health’s vaccine portfolio….

Now you know — smile. [Just for fun, here is some deep 2014 history, on the Elanco name, when Lilly owned its cattle fattener asset, called Optaflexx® (and Merck’s Zilmax® hit a deeply unfortunate ditch in the road) — all courtesy of yours truly. Grin.]

And Ariane 6 is safely in orbit. Well done, ESA! Onward.

नमस्ते

Immaterial, But… Another 1,000 Purported Zostavax® Suits, Against Merck Have Been Dismissed.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Please forgive the dated (2018-era) graphic, but the early 2018 efficacy beat, by GSK’s Shingrix® offering remains at least as important as the fact of the recent Third Circuit dismissal.

That is, Merck’s offering was likely not as effective as other competitors’. Even so, it is immaterial good news for Rahway, that these purported “vaccine injury” suits are likely at an end [A Supremes appeal would be pure-folly at this point.] Here’s Fierce on it all (as of yesterday):

…After a drawn-out litigation process, Merck & Co. seems to have finally washed its hands of more than a thousand lawsuits tied to its shingles vaccine Zostavax.

Late last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit tossed an appeal to resurrect certain lawsuits claiming Merck’s popular shot caused patients to develop shingles.

The appeals court made its decision after the plaintiffs filed a voluntary dismissal some two years after logging a loss in Pennsylvania, court documents show….

Not likely to change NYSE trading ranges at all… but now you know. Onward to tonight, off the coast of South America, and a fireball lighting up the inky Atlantic Ocean’s sky. Grin.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker… Sows Insurrection, Across The Pond This Morning — With Lies, About How Governance There Works.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Clearly, Hinderaker’s musings are solidly imbued with racist and bigoted… lies, about England (he simply parrots the awfully hard right Telegraph coverage there). And how its coalitions form, or fall apart.

But make no mistake — his real target is his loony MAGA readership. He knows he can sway these low information / poorly educated ‘Muricans… by appealing to the “evil foreign mud people” trope.

And that is just what he does. He suggests there will be a “Muslim front” that will take over American politics. Poppycock.

We are not a “coalitions focused” country (any longer — not since about 1998). So all he says, in lying about Britain… is a nullity here.

Whatever John — the choice here (as we said overnight) is… simply, and starkly: Fascism… or the opposite of it.

Cheers.