Category: Uncategorized

Tucker May Have… Just Killed Twitter.

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For months and months, Twitter — under the direct order of Elon Musk — has refused to pay anything to license the hundreds of thousands of copyrighted songs and compositions that get played, full length, on the site.

Well, just days after Tucker posted his second installment of his odious brand of hater-aid there, Twitter and Musk were sued for a minimum of $250 million (representing a tripling — for willful infringement) by the music publishing clearinghouses.

Given the extreme levels of debt Twitter is carrying post buyout, that amount — or anything approaching it — could easily force it into a chapter.

In that case, the creditors could seize control from Elon.

And viola! End the hate show.

I’ll bet a buck that is where this is ultimately headed. [Unless Musk is willing to throw many hundreds of millions more into the sewer, effectively.]

Cheers, Hinderaker, Candace and Tucker.

Out.

An Update, To One Of Our Mid-2015 Narratives: Bridion® Patent Extended, To At Least Mid-2026…

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We’ve long-followed the tortured seven years’ delayed path legacy Schering-Plough (under “Fast” Fed Hassan) inflicted upon itself (see this, as one of dozens of our prior entries, on it) to get legacy sugammadex (since branded as Bridion®) through FDA approval. It has grown to be about a $1.4 billion per year franchise, in the OR. So — bit by bit, it is making back the hundreds of millions spent to get it to market (though it remains unclear, on the available peer-reviewed clinical trial data, whether it actually improves clinical outcomes, coming out of surgery).

But overnight, Merck’s been able — that now owns the franchise (since 2010) — to secure an additional three years of patent protection in federal court in New Jersey, to mid-2026 minimum (which is a feature of law that Congress passed, ostensibly to deal with occasionally very long lead times to secure FDA approvals — for some drugs, for example, when the drug is shown safe — but the clinical data is inconclusive, as to efficacy).

I do think this the right result, as Merck should be able to try to recoup what it and Schering-Plough spent to bring it to market — so long as surgeons and anesthesiologists feel it is useful in the OR… (even though I do wonder whether it is the best use of limited insurance and public pay dollars). Here’s Merck’s presser — and a bit from it:

…[T]he U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled in favor of the company and found that Merck correctly calculated the Patent Term Extension period for the primary patent related to Bridion® (sugammadex). Patent Term Extension is designed to restore some of the patent life lost during the regulatory review process for new drugs….

“Merck’s science and technology was used to develop and launch Bridion, and we’re pleased that the Court recognized the validity of our full patent extension period granted by the Patent Office,” said Jennifer Zachary, executive vice president and general counsel, Merck….

Now you know — and that’s it, for the power alley, today.

Grinning — be excellent to one another… for we are all we’ve got.

And, a great throwback, too — for Thursday:

नमस्ते

Earlier This Afternoon, Hayward Printed A Racists’ Lying Stat Chart, About Chicago…

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Yawn. So… that’s just a usual Tuesday, for Steve.

What makes it remarkable, is that not even five hours later, he has the temerity to lament that people don’t tell the truth much, anymore — here in the 2020s.

That would be hilarious if it weren’t so darn… sad.

He’s met the enemy. It is… him. [That’s a Pogo reference, kids.]

[The racist charts he displays (by design!) don’t even compare fish to bicycles — they compare tadpoles to… space shuttles. They ignore percentages of populations, and thus ignore relative risks.] Yes, they come from the poison pen of that dyed in the wool race-baiter on crime, Heather Mac Donald. We’ve laughed at her non-science before.

Or, as Steve says (later this evening): her “truth” is only her own “social construct”.

Hers is in no manner reflective of any objective reality (search her name, we’ve deconstructed hers dozens of times right here before). Except I suppose the objective reality that some whyte losers will do and say anything to demonize people of color, and falsely make themselves feel… adequate if not superior.

Sheesh. So racial invective will be the Powerliners’ main distraction tactic, on Tangerine crime news/court dates, fellas?

Charming.

Out.

Hey Hinderaker: Maybe — I Dunno — Because Most People Don’t Actually WANT… Cruelty?!

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This evening, John asks why states with clear “red” majorities aren’t “redder” (by that he means more directly… punitive, against non-conformity to a whyte x-tain nationalist world-view).

He seems to think that only wanton, intentional cruelty (against anyone who won’t toe the repressive / GOP, profit-at-all-costs line) is the defining characteristic of the hard right red GOP.

While I won’t spend a lot of time on it… John is old enough to know that there was a time when at least some in power in the GOP wished to offer compassion as a virtue.

No longer — for at least 20 years.

Good luck — you’ll win no more national elections, son.

Cheers.

I Think Old Bitsy Means… IM-ploding — Not “Exploding”.

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Again, anything the Powerliners can do, to take the focus off of the perp-walked former purported leader of the free world… they will now do.

So it is, that this afternoon, Betsy Stauffer seeks to clutch her pearls and whisper, through her dramatically clenched New England teeth, that some obscure guy’s FBI investigation reports will soon be… huge news. YUGE, in fact — she assures.

Y A W N.

KK — good luck with all that, mademoiselle.

These goofs are truly… pathetic. And we see her frother audience intoning that Aileen Cannon will dismiss the 37 counts on “prosecutorial misconduct” grounds. Sure sure.

In point of fact, Jack Smith will not ask Trump to waive the speedy trial laws, which means Trump cannot even delay now, it more than about 70 days — all that cha cha, last year, over the search warrant is resolved — and in any event, it was in civil court; this is a district court sitting on a felony matter (the statutes here are very clear, and largely inflexible).

In sum, the Special Counsel is locked, loaded and ready to go.

This in turn severely limits any delaying influence Cannon might have on the arc of the proceedings. She’s a… nullity, mostly.

It is all documentary evidence — most from Trump’s own mouth, and from his own lawyers.

He’s going to jail.

Cheers, Bits.

In Which We May Safely Surmise Steve Has Never Had A Blue Collar Job — In His Life.

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This is ultimately… trivial, on a day when his boy is being perp walked for espionage related felonies. His [formerly, purported] leader of the “free” world, that is.

But Steve Hayward this noontime goes after U. Wash. grad students on strike — and goes after a federal agency head (who decided not to cross a lawful picket line).

And after… the undergrads who joined the picket lines, after their ceremony.

Clearly Steve (simply a bully) has never worked a job where a union saved employees’ lives (I literally have — in the hard rock mines, of my youth, in the high mountains astride the Continental Divide).

Or kept their families housed, and fed.

In sum — Hayward sneers at honest pay for honest labor.

That is all.

As I say — what an utterly churlish tool this embittered old sack of dung is.

Out.

“Verily…” Voltaire Was Spot-On: A Reply To Scott Johnson’s Nonsense, This Morning…

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Scott’s of the early morning requires no considered response (as it treads no new ground) — I mark it here simply to note that he still thinks this is only a political matter. I think it is about holding felons… to the rule of law — the self-same law — we all, as citizens must follow.

And so, we will use that as the jumping off point for a Guardian (UK) story on all the lawyers who’ve already decided NOT to work with Tangerine, on the espionage felonies cases:

…[After Kise agreed to appear tomorrow, as a one-off] Blanche and Kise had dinner with Trump and other advisers on Monday at the BLT Prime restaurant at the Doral.

Among the Florida lawyers who turned down Trump was Howard Srebnick, who had expressed an interest the former president at trial as early as last week in part due to the high fees involved, but ultimately was not allowed to after conferring with his law partners, the person said.

The other prominent lawyer who declined to work with Trump was David Markus, who recently defended the Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum against charges that he lied to the FBI and funnelled campaign contributions into his personal accounts, the person said.

Trump and his team have interviewed the corruption attorney Benedict Kuehne, who was indicted in 2008 for money laundering before the charges were dropped, the person said. But he has his own baggage as he faces disbarment for contempt of court in a recent civil suit he lost.

The other interviews are understood to have been with William Barzee, as well as Bruce Zimet, the former chief assistant US attorney in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach….

Now you know. And to be clear, it is my opinion that Scott, John, Steve and Bitsy are traitors to our nation — for refusing to say the law should apply to all of us (without fear or favor). Out.

[U: Mr. Kise Retained.] Tangerine’s Perp Walk May NOT Happen Tuesday: He Doesn’t Have Any Local Miami Counsel, Anymore.

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Updated: Here on Tuesday morning, Mr. Kise (who is admitted in Florida) has agreed to act as “sponsor” for Mr. Blanche (admitted only in NY), to allow the latter’s pro hac vice appearance at the arraignment. So — it will go forward today, after all. All of the below still applies, though, in spades. Grin — end update.

This is all a direct consequence of lying to a wide array of his lawyers, in felony matters: good lawyers won’t want to risk their Florida license for him.

He has a NY lawyer for tomorrow, but local Florida federal bar rules require a Florida admitted lawyer sign on to all filings.

None has yet agreed to so serve, apparently, as of 11 pm Eastern on June 12, 2023.

So he may not be arraigned tomorrow — it may slide for a few days [though technically, he can be arrested, finger-printed, mug shot and released — all without local counsel, if the Special Counsel and AUSAs (prosecutors) so consent].

What a tangled web he’s spun himself up into.

How very… droll. The purported former leader of the free world… cannot find a lawyer.

It would seem Voltaire was right: “verily, a man may be by his lawyer, known — the sharp employ the sharp…”

And — obviously, here — the converse also applies.

Out.

Various Social Activist Shareholders — At Merck — Do Not Love Mr. Davis’s Suit Against HHS And CMS: FiercePharma Report.

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Well… this is entirely unsurprising: social responsibility driven institutional shareholders’ groups are complaining that Merck is acting against the interests of limited means seniors here — on drug pricing.

And the groups are correct, as a factual matter.

As a political matter, there are certainly large Wall Street firms who will champion the idea of gouging seniors for gargantuan profits — as has been the state of affairs for now over a half century. Who will win out? I would not bet against big pharma here, as to the politics — even if it loses on the law. Here’s the story:

…Investors at the ICCR are in favor of the pricing measures Merck is challenging. Its members of the group have “long advocated” for Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices, the group said in a recent statement.

“The IRA seeks to install fair and transparent guardrails… that will dismantle monopolies and make drugs more affordable for our seniors,” ICCR member Christina Dorett said in the group’s statement.

Under the IRA, the federal government will begin negotiating prices on certain drugs in 2026. The new law also enables the government to dish out penalties for price hikes that outpace inflation.

But the ICCR shareholders are looking to turn the company’s argument on its heels [as set out in Merck’s presser materials on the topic]…. In Merck’s own Access to Health Principles, the company states that it “develops, tests and implements innovative solutions that address barriers to access and affordability….”

We shall wait and see about that last bit.

I think Mr. Davis has bitten off more than he can chew here (at least in the federal district courthouse in DC).

Out, now… grinning, with my baby girl home for a few weeks.

नमस्ते

Note How Mirengoff “Pulled In His Horns” — But The Powerline Boys STILL Refuse… To Face Reality.

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I want to contrast the “after review from the replay booth” thinking of Paul Mirengoff (updated here on Monday, to echo Lawfare’s correct take), with that — this very morning — of Scott Johnson.

Here on Monday, Johnson largely echoes the nonsense seditionist crap Hinderaker spewed on Aussie Tee-Vee, and in posts over the weekend: both of them continue to bleat on and on — about truly loony non-sequiturs.

Primarily that (somehow!) having immediately returned documents found inadvertently in personal residences, along with certifications that no others exist — are equal in culpability to (i) lying about having them; (ii) willfully moving them (after almost 18 months of denying they exist) to hide them from your own lawyers, AFTER being served a subpoena; (iii) resisting a search warrant, and using a partisan judge to delay things for nine months, only to see her rulings utterly blown out of the water on appeal; (iv) taking an indeterminate number of them on a flight to Bedminster, never to be seen again — in defiance of the subpoena and a search warrant; (v) bragging about Top Secret battle plans, likely with Saudis in the room, on audiotape — and saying both he never declassified them, and that he cannot show them — but then describing their contents, all to settle/vindicate a grudge with a retired US General.

And now, over the weekend, (vi) he’s seen his two lead lawyers quit, over being obviously and repeatedly lied to (and subjected to the Walt Nauta document-hiding “Three Card Monte” shuffle of boxes), by their own client — the former CoC.

By Saturday afternoon, past, Paul Mirengoff had directly said (in an abrupt about-face) this is a proper 37 count speaking indictment, and a series of convictions, on felonies are highly likely. That is a purely pragmatic reality, now. Even if the Powerliners cannot accept it — and even if Paul says it in far gentler terms. [Again — he had long been a little bit more of a realist — about Tangerine.]

Yet and still, Johnson (backed by Hinderaker) continues to FALSELY claim [see (i) through (vi), above] that this is (somehow?!) an unfair, two-tiered criminal selective prosecution being run by Mr. Biden (not an independent Special Counsel).

If anything, the process has been too deferential to Tangerine — for nearly 24 months — given how clearly, jaw-slackingly egregious… his espionage has been. But that time has ended.

And yes, all of these boys are right about this much — Tangerine will fight to the bitter end, and will ultimately run third party, when he doesn’t get the nomination outright.

The only way the overall scenario improves for the GOP, is if Trump’s addiction to fast-food sends him to his Maker before the GOP convention — only if he is already six feet under will he not seek the White House again in 2024. Should he die, holding the nomination, no doubt whomever his running mate is — will be the nominee, by rule. And there is no scenario where that will be any competent human.

Look for Candace Owens, there, as the Veep on Trump-World’s third party ticket.

Again… game / set / match, boys.

H I L A R I O U S.

[Except that the Powerliners, to a person now (and still) openly betray any commitment to law and order.]

D A M N.