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Stealing, And Then Trying To Sell, A Private Diary — Is Unlawful. FBI Search Warrants Against People Admitting To Have Possessed It, And Tried To Sell It… Are Normal And Appropriate.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Do read all of this — to the end. Project Veritas has there admitted that it had possession of what purported to be someone’s private diary, taken from an interior room of a home, or hotel.

It admits it cannot verify the authenticity of the author; it admits it was in discussions about selling it to another third party, knowing the above two facts, from their own “investigation“.

That is all that matters.

Regardless of whether they claim to be “journalists” (preposterous on its face), or a political spying organization, the FBI certainly has probable cause to search for evidence related to the admitted felonies above.

Trying to sell such stolen property is a felony — as you KNOW Veritas wanted over $5,000 for the item. 18 U.S. Code § 2315.

That is the end of the story, despite the BS Ms. Candace Owens-Farmer is now pedaling, after the fact.

Now you know. You’re welcome.

Some “Florida Man” Insanity Is Ending — But Much… Remains.

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That goofy-looking, upside-down mask (mostly not-) wearing former Yale baseball team meathead (admitted as an athletic / legacy name, I’m reliably informed) from the early 1990s. . . has been inadvertently schooled this week in US Constitutional law, by the ACLU and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP — and his betters. But I repeat myself. [Prior backgrounder here.]

Here is NPR on the latest:

. . .The university’s earlier decision, which was revealed last week through documents filed in federal court, was widely criticized as an infringement of the professors’ First Amendment rights.

The case was particularly under scrutiny because the lawsuit targeted legislation, supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that inhibited access to the ballot — and the school has strong ties to the governor.

University of Florida President Kent Fuchs said in a letter released Friday that he had asked the university’s conflict of interest office to reverse the decision and “approve the requests regardless of personal compensation, assuming the activity is on their own time without using university resources. . . .”

UF professors Daniel Smith, Sharon Austin and Michael McDonald were originally denied the opportunity to testify; they are all experts on voting rights and elections. Their lawyers say that since the university’s original decision to bar them from testifying is still a violation of their First Amendment rights, the professors are still considering their legal options.

“The fact remains that the University curtailed their First Amendment rights and academic freedoms, and as long as the University’s policy remains, those rights and freedoms are at risk,” David A. O’Neil and Paul Donnelly, lawyers for the professors, said in a statement. . . .

Now you know — baby steps forward, in Florida, it seems. Ugh.

नमस्ते

Hmm. Twitter Seems To Think Telling Someone They Will Eventually “Die, Of Something Or Another, Eventually”… Is Targeted Harassment.

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Um….

Whatever.

Eye-roll. Candace Owens Farmer yesterday tweeted that “the hill” she “would [be willing to] die on” was… wait for it — being forced to get vaccinated for COVID-19 [though she’s clearly been vaccinated to attend Connecticut’s public schools, in the past].

I replied that she should “be my guest“, to do so — and that we all die of something or another. I also said — in the mean time, she would soon be permanently barred from entering England, to visit her in-laws, and her young son would never visit his grandparents there, if she stuck to this silly “dying hill” remark.

This, my friends at Twitter deemed… unacceptable speech. I guess because I suggested we are all… mortal. Whatever. I run my own property — so I could care less; it will remain here, for eternity, friends.

Seriously… I don’t care, Tweet mods — but I post this here — just to preserve the FACTUAL record. I also posted on that tweet-reply of mine (see at lower left) a link to the outcome of her specious (and now dismissed) Delaware suit alleging she was defamed by Zuck, and Facebook (as well as claiming that the same tortiously-interfered with her “contractual rights” — to receive payments for clicks at Facebook, due to her limited account / temporary suspension).

Hilarious.

Well… she lost on all of that back in July 2021. Yet she still has a web site seeking donations for legal fees, on the case — where the last update is February 2021, and the “still awaiting a decision” from the judge lie… is told, even tonight — November 5, 2021.

The able judge dumped her claims, at a summary stage, as completely unsupported by evidence.

Now you know. [Use your mouse to highlight below this line, and see more. Cheers.]

…USA Today and another media organization, Lead Stories LLC, got a Delaware judge to throw out defamation, tortious interference, and unfair competition claims challenging their fact-checking of coronavirus-related Facebook posts by conservative political commentator Candace Owens.

Judge Craig A. Karsnitz dismissed the case from Delaware Superior Court, finding that the posts by Owens contained falsehoods and misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic, not the fact-checking articles.

Because Owens is a public figure, First Amendment principles required her to show that statements about her in the news stories were false, disparaging, and made with “actual malice,” meaning without any effort to determine whether the statements were factual or not….

If We Are Going To Be Honest, The Term “White Backlash” Should Be Called… Racism.

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The Guardian (UK) is right to call this out [and…. it takes an ocean of distance to find this perspective, and print it, it would seem, sadly]. A political analyst — commenting on the tight Virginia race, with voting underway today — calls the potential for a GOP upset… “white backlash” against CRT, a theory not taught in Virginia public schools, at present.

I still think that McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate will win there, but it will be close.

I write primarily though, to note that any “white backlash” — against a theory that is not being taught at all in the local public schools… ought to be called by its proper name: RACISM. Quoting, now:

…“The operative word is not critical,” Sabato said. “And it’s not theory. It’s race. What a shock, huh? Race. That is what matters. And that’s why it’s sticks.

“There’s a lot of, we can call it white backlash, white resistance, whatever you want to call it. It has to do with race. And so we live in a post-factual era… It doesn’t matter that [CRT] isn’t taught in Virginia schools. It’s this generalised attitude that whites are being put upon and we’ve got to do something about it. We being white voters….”

And, ironically, the fact that at least some white people prefer to refer to this sort of irrational fear-mongering as ‘white backlash’ is itself a fairly strong proof… that CRT has it down, just about right.

White people, or at least some of them, are unable (and in fact unwilling) to see themselves as anything other than long-suffering saints and heroes. And these greivance peddling pro-Tangerine altra-right white GOP candidates will be the death of our fragile Union, I fear. Wake up, people — on to a win, in Virginia (though it may take weeks until the results are know with certainty).

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[U: Looks Bad, For Texas.] In About An Hour, The Supremes Will Hear Texas SB-8 Arguments…

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Update — I listened to all three hours — I think Texas loses here. End update.

It’s been almost a half century. [Listen here.]

And still, certain people (in Texas) refuse to accept the settled law of the land. So, using an ultra-conservative but ill-informed lawyer, Texas passed a law to make a procedural mess so complex and disgusting (by authorizing private vigilantes — like the idiot at right), most abortion providers (Texas hoped) would simply close rather than duke it out. I expect that gambit will fail, since it prevents the federal courts from saying what is — and is not– the law.

Starting today, we should get the sense that even Chief Justice Roberts feels this is well-beyond the pale. [The Supremes did enjoin local officials in Kentucky from thwarting the right of people to get marriage licenses to marry anyone they love, just three terms ago — so I expect the same, here.]

Here is Merrick Garland’s reply brief, and a bit:

. . .S.B. 8 is an affront to this Court’s constitutionally assigned role as the final arbiter of the rights the Constitution secures to the people of this Nation. Rather than forthrightly advocating for its preferred constitutional rule, Texas has nullified a right long recognized by this Court and attempted to prevent judicial review through the mechanisms Congress and this Court have deemed vital to protecting constitutional rights. That attack on the supremacy of federal law is why the United States has authority to bring this suit.

Texas’s assertion that this Court is powerless to stop the State’s ongoing nullification rests on a series of formalisms. The State says that S.B. 8’s unprecedented enforcement actions must be treated like ordinary private tort suits. It declares that it cannot be sued or enjoined because it claims to have no responsibility for the actions of the S.B. 8 plaintiffs it has empowered and incentivized to enforce its unconstitutional law. . . .

To be sure, no State has ever attacked the supremacy of federal law through this mechanism before. But the novelty of Texas’s unprecedented scheme does not render the federal courts powerless to redress the State’s ongoing violation of the Constitution. . . .

The Court has repeatedly reaffirmed a woman’s right “to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the State.” Planned Parenthood of Se. Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 846 (1992). In direct contravention of those precedents, S.B. 8 “prohibit[s]” abortion months before viability. . . . And the law has had its intended effect: S.B. 8 has eliminated access to abortions after six weeks of pregnancy throughout the State, nullifying a constitutional right. . . .

I expect Texas will lose, and even Roberts and Gorsuch will say this is an affront to the rule of law, not men. Onward, grinning. Just three days now to go. . . .

नमस्ते

Do Go Read Marcy Wheeler / “EmptyWheel” This Morning, Filing From Ireland — She’s On Fire…

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I won’t steal too much of her thunder, other than to introduce her topic:

She explains this morning why it is jaw-slacking. . . that Tangerine is trying to hide all the 1600 Penn evidence — from the January 6 investigations.

…[Tangerine’s] attempt to claim privilege over White House records pertaining to January 6 is not, just, an obvious attempt by [Tangerine] to cover up his own crimes. It’s not just an attempt to hide how, in contrast to his predecessors, he did nothing as the nation’s capital was attacked. It’s also an attempt to hide whether Trump invited the terrorists [like Mr. Enrique Tarrio] inside the White House to plot the event….

Because the committee request asks for communications referring to the Proud Boys’ and election results and includes Enrique Tarrio on a list of enumerated individuals covered by the request, the response from NARA might reveal whether the Proud Boys’ leader was telling the truth when he claimed to visit the White House on December 12, or whether the White House truthfully reported that he had simply joined a tour of the building….

This will not end well for Baby-T, predicts… Condor.

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On Voting, Now (And Likely COVID Soon), DeSantis In Florida Tries (Vainly, It Will Turn Out) To Muzzle U. of F. ‘Gator Professors…

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This doesn’t just ring in as a shocking First Amendment violation by a state actor. No, this rings in as. . . positively. . . Orwellian.

The governor (intentionally-small “g”) of Florida is claiming that the state universities’ professors cannot take paid work that conflicts with his views. They, in sum, cannot testify as private expert witnesses, on voting [or soon, on COVID-19 science]. The ACLU is on the case — and those lawyers WILL prevail. Here’s the NYT, this morning — and, I am quoting most of it, as it is so. . . other-worldly. . . Halloween-ey, even (did Floridians just wake up in Putin’s Russia?):

. . .Three University of Florida professors have been barred from assisting plaintiffs in a lawsuit to overturn the state’s new law restricting voting rights, lawyers said in a federal court filing on Friday. The ban is an extraordinary limit on speech that raises questions of academic freedom and First Amendment rights.

University officials told the three that because the school was a state institution, participating in a lawsuit against the state “is adverse to U.F.’s interests” and could not be permitted. In their filing, the lawyers sought to question Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, on whether he was involved in the decision.

Mr. DeSantis has resisted questioning, arguing that all of his communications about the law are protected from disclosure because discussions about legislation are privileged. In their filing on Friday, lawyers for the plaintiffs said the federal questions in the case — including whether the law discriminates against minority groups — override any state protections.

Leading experts on academic freedom said they knew of no similar restrictions on professors’ speech and testimony and said the action was probably unconstitutional. . . .

One of the professors in the latest filing, Daniel A. Smith, testified with the University of Florida’s permission in two voting rights lawsuits against Florida’s Republican-led government in 2018. One suit forced the state to provide Spanish-language ballots for Hispanic voters. The other overturned a state-imposed ban on early-voting polling places on Florida university campuses.

But university officials reversed course after a coalition of advocacy and voting rights groups sued in May to block restrictions on voting enacted this year by the Republican-controlled State Legislature. Among other provisions, the new law sharply limits the use of ballot drop boxes, makes it harder to obtain absentee ballots and places new requirements on voter registration drives.

Among other claims, the plaintiffs argue that the law disproportionately limits the ability of Black and Hispanic voters to cast ballots.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs sought to hire three University of Florida political scientists as expert witnesses: Dr. Smith, the chair of the university’s political science department; Michael McDonald, a nationally recognized elections scholar; and Sharon Wright Austin, who studies African American political behavior.

In rejecting Dr. Smith’s request, the dean of the university’s college of arts and sciences, David E. Richardson, wrote that “outside activities that may pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the state of Florida create a conflict for the University of Florida.” A university vice president overseeing conflicts of interest issued the other two rejections.

One lawyer for the plaintiffs in the case, Kira Romero-Craft, said that reasoning “goes against the core of what the University of Florida should stand for in terms of academic freedom.”

“It seems reasonable for us to understand whether the executive office of the governor had any role in participating in that decision,” she said.

An author of two books on academic freedom, Henry Reichman, called the state’s new restrictions “crazy.”

“The whole purpose of a university and academic freedom is to allow scholars free rein to conduct research,” said Mr. Reichman, a professor emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay. “The ultimate logic of this is that you can be an expert in the United States, except in the state where you’re actually working and being paid by the state.”

Robert C. Post, a Yale Law School professor and expert on academic freedom and the First Amendment, said he knew of no other case in which a university had imposed prior restraint on a professor’s ability to speak.

“The university does not exist to protect the governor,” he said. “It exists to serve the public. It is an independent institution to serve the public good, and nothing could be more to the public good than a professor telling the truth to the public under oath.”

Why the university reversed its position is unclear, but the professors’ demand to question Governor DeSantis appears aimed at discovering whether the school’s administrators acted under pressure. . . .

Mr. DeSantis has close allies at the University of Florida. The head of the school’s board of trustees, Morteza Hosseini, is a major Republican Party donor and DeSantis adviser who co-chaired a transition team formed after the governor’s victory in 2018.

The two men made headlines this week when The Gainesville Sun reported that Mr. Hosseini, who is known as Mori, had arranged this fall for the University of Florida to hire and grant tenure to a controversial U.C.L.A. professor, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, in only two weeks. Mr. DeSantis quickly named Dr. Ladapo as the state’s surgeon general.

Dr. Ladapo’s views on Covid-19 protections such as vaccinations and masking are in line with Mr. DeSantis’s but sharply at odds with federal guidelines. His first act in the post was to ban Florida schools from quarantining students exposed to Covid-19 as long as they show no symptoms of illness.

In an Oct. 13 letter to university officials, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Florida branch noted that Mr. DeSantis had signed legislation this year requiring universities to annually assess the state of academic freedom and ensure that students hear a variety of viewpoints, including those they disagree with.

Barring the professors’ testimony goes against those very tenets, the letter stated, adding that the university “simply should not be looking to Governor DeSantis to decide which speech activities it will engage in. That is precisely the opposite of the values that universities are thought to stand for. . . .”

Wait — does the governor’s office actually own the state universities, in Florida? I think not. These are not private for profit employees. If they testify under their own name, on their own time. . . this man loses — and loses, badly. They will win massive “prior restraint” damages, and their attorneys’ fees, in full. Out.

नमस्ते

Paul Mirengoff: Slavery Denial-ist, Extraordinaire…

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There are many, many logical fallacies in his reasoning, especially in his writings on race, over the nearly two decades I’ve been keeping tabs on him, and John Hinderaker. It is often futile, or at least hard… to know where to begin. [And at a more spiritual level, his empathy is… essentially non-existent.]

And so, for this moment, I will choose to begin at the end (i.e., what he wrote this evening): Paul M. tonight would now tell us that most colorism is NOT the fault of “Whitey“. I guess he just wants that to be true.

In any event, here’s his quote (last two paragraphs) in context:

“…I don’t know whether, or to what extent, it [colorism] exists today. However, if we’re going to have a “racial reckoning,” brown-on-black discrimination should be a part of it (and “Whitey” shouldn’t take most of the blame)….”

Who was it that brought enslaved peoples to America in the first place, Paul? Who was it that used colorism to divide field hands from house servants? Who used it as a means of social control on plantations, and in city streets, first, Paul?

Yes, it was always… white domestic terrorists (but no one called them by that name, then — or even ten years ago), here in the New World.

Mirengoff offers this to assuage his own guilt for not doing much — to change things, here in the present day. So… he deflects. [I’ve also included an earlier gem-stone, which dribbled off his stupid keyboard, last year — in the archive image at right above.]

How very sadly… white of him.

Out.

[Tangent: Power Alley] Update, On Pricing Of Merck’s Molnupiravir, In Developing-World Nations…

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This is just as we’ve previously predicted (repeatedly).

Here — for the record — is the proof of it.

Indeed, it is the right thing to do… in over 100 less developed nations, the COVID-19 pill will be available at very low cost.

But I’ll offer little/no fanfare — as there is much more to do, to reform the way the world distributes vital medicines (like this one — and the vaccines). Onward, smiling just the same….

नमस्ते

[Tangent:] Elizabeth Holmes’ Felonies Trial — A Side-Show, Now Half-Over…

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I’ll link to the more complete diary of this trial — compiled at another of my properties, if anyone has any deeper or abiding interest — in following her travails.

And I’ll note this nice summation — of the trial, so far — from The Wall Street Journal, this morning

. . .Roughly halfway into a trial scheduled to run until mid-December, jurors have heard from a patient who said Theranos blood tests incorrectly led her to believe she was miscarrying [and another, who was falsely told she had AIDS], an investor who was swayed to give $5 million by the false claim that Theranos devices would help save soldiers’ lives, and a former government official and a supermarket chief executive officer who lost confidence in an entrepreneur they had once enthusiastically backed (with over $600 million in cash). . . .

Now you know — onward, ever grinning. Overnight, tap-dancing and. . . grinning

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