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Rudy G. Says He’ll Quickly Appeal The Latest PA Loss To The Supremes — Where He Will… Lose, Again (Not Even Get A Hearing).

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I’ll just finish fleshing out the record here, on a couple of cases — as I sip my hot coffee over Sunday brunch. First one, Rudy says he “welcomes” (Hah!) the completely humiliating loss of last night, in federal court in Pennsylvania — as he can’t wait to get to the Supremes… erh, good luck with that, Mr. Kraken/Leaky-Head.

An additional thought on Rudy’s G.’s quixotic quest: it is not clear whether he’ll file first in the Third Circuit, in order to at least marginally increase the chances that he might get a hearing at the Supremes, or whether he’ll go straight to the Supremes, and be all but assured of a. . . summary order list (no opinion) denial. Either way, the ultimate outcome is entirely free from doubt.

He… loses.

Agent Orange loses. Full stop.

Yes, Mr. Biden is the 46th President-Elect.

Finally, and of at least slightly more substance, I’ve been meaning to link the full opinion in the Marland case, also out of Pennsylvania, now on appeal — it is the OTHER TikTok injunction against Agent Orange, and Wilbur Ross orders. We just haven’t covered it, as it largely duplicates the DC efforts — but both are in full force and effect, and prevent any action against TikTok. The old adage here applies: “Belts, suspenders… and then… staple your pants, to your hips [that is… always have a back up plan].”

Housekeeping note: later this afternoon, I’ll post an update on the space science front (a more joy-filled one, at that) — on the graceful, undulating deep purple and green “picket fence” structures… lately seen here up north, in auroras. Smile. Onward… ever, onward.

नमस्ते

In Which Team Rudy G — No Longer Furtively Tucking His Shirt — But Instead Bleeding, At The Ears, Some Dark Chestnut Ink… Gets Bounced Outta’ PA

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It must be said: all the boot black in America won’t make Rudy a lawyer able to win… any of these stupid suits. And — no surprise — he’s lost in a truly humiliating way, tonight, in federal court in Pennsylvania.

He made wild eyed assertions, along with Sidney Powell (Ex-Gen. Flynn’s lawyer), not two days ago at a cringe-worthy press conference… as shoe polish streaked down the sides of his face. Humiliating. Tonight, the able federal district court Judge Brann bounced him out, and told him his claims were so laughable, and his requested remedies so unsupportable — that he is not allowed back, for another (amended) try. Essentially, there is nothing he could now say or do, to make out a legally cognizable claim of the sort he suggested. Credibility is fragile, in a court of law — once lost… it rarely may be regained:

…Plaintiffs [Rudy and Trump] ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters. This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated. One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens.

That has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence. In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more. At bottom, Plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Therefore, I grant Defendants’ motions and dismiss Plaintiffs’ action with prejudice….

Leave to amend is denied. “Among the grounds that could justify a denial of leave to amend are undue delay, bad faith, dilatory motive, prejudice, and futility.”140 Given that: (1) Plaintiffs have already amended once as of right; (2) Plaintiffs seek to amend simply in order to effectively reinstate their initial complaint and claims; and (3) the deadline for counties in Pennsylvania to certify their election results to Secretary Boockvar is November 23, 2020, amendment would unduly delay resolution of the issues. This is especially true because the Court would need to implement a new briefing schedule, conduct a second oral argument, and then decide the issues. . . .

Unsurprising — that Rudy’s “drippy octopus ink temples“… don’t know much about any actual election-, or Constitutional- law, any longer. Onward, grinning, anew.

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The “Voice of America” Will Remain… Voice Of AMERICA (Not Of Trump): USDC (DC Dist) Judge Howell.

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

The outcome was always fully-expected (at least in these quarters — as the autocrats rang the bell, clear, loud and long — as an assault on the First Amendment free press clause).

But to see it in a black and white opinion and order is… reassuring. Our free-wheeling, open democracy, all as covered by a truly free press… will march on. And with this opinion, our executive branch’s nightmare of flirtation with autocracy… is now ending. 60 days — 60 days.

We haven’t mentioned this case before, but the occupant of 1600 Penn put a guy named Michael Pack (no actual NEWS media chops) in the lead, at Voice of America — a media outlet our tax dollars fully fund. [It had been a US-charter story, ever since 1942 — to combat Hilter’s propaganda, at the time.]

Enter Pack (at 45’s behuest), who utterly unlike any of his 80 years’ worth of predessors, tried to turn it into a full time Trump propaganda arm, globally. That nonsense has rightly been enjoined, in the federal courts, in DC — by the able Judge Howell — here’s her well-reasoned 78 page opinon, and a bit:

. . .In 1942, the first transmission made by Voice of America (“VOA”), the official, publicly funded news outlet of the U.S. government abroad, promised foreign VOA listeners: “The news may be good or bad; we shall tell you the truth….”

Together with his five co-defendants, who are individuals with no discernible journalism or broadcasting experience but nonetheless appointed by Pack to senior political leadership positions within USAGM, Pack has sought to interfere in the newsrooms of the USAGM networks, in violation of their eighty-year practice, enshrined in law, of journalistic autonomy, and has allegedly worked systematically to eliminate those USAGM employees and network journalists who both oppose his interference and produce journalistic content that, in Pack’s view, does not align with the political interests of [now departing] President Trump. In pursuit of this goal, Pack allegedly seeks to quash not only coverage that is insufficiently supportive of President Trump, but also any coverage, unless unfavorable, of President Trump’s political opponents.

As this Court has previously observed, “[w]idespread misgivings about Pack’s actions raise troubling concerns about the future of these great institutions designed to advance the values and interests of the United States by providing access to accurate news and information and supporting freedom of opinion and expression in parts of the world without a free press.” Open Tech. Fund v. Pack (“OTF”), No. 20-1710 (BAH), 2020 WL 3605935, at *2 (D.D.C. July 2, 2020), appeal filed, No. 20-5195 (D.C. Cir. July 6, 2020). Further steps taken by Pack and his appointees since that observation was made only deepen those misgivings and prompt plaintiffs’ challenge in the instant suit.

Plaintiffs, five senior management officials at USAGM and the Program Director for VOA, claim that defendants’ actions violate the First Amendment, U.S. Const. amend. I, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (“IBA”), as amended, 22 U.S.C. §§ 6201–16, the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq., and Pack’s fiduciary duties to USAGM as its CEO, and exceed Pack’s statutory authority, through their disregard for the statutory and regulatory “firewall” intended to protect the USAGM networks from Executive branch interference in their daily operations and journalistic endeavors. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 159–201, ECF No. 36. Plaintiffs seek an order preliminarily enjoining defendants’ “unlawful and unconstitutional conduct….”

Upon consideration of the briefing and exhibits submitted by the parties and amici curiae, as supplemented after a hearing on the pending motion for preliminary injunctive relief, the Court concludes that plaintiffs have made the requisite showings, including a likelihood of success on the merits of at least one of their claims, to obtain part of the extraordinary relief they seek. Consequently, as explained in more detail below, their motion is granted….

Very good news.

I am smiling, and smiling widely, as I know kiddos’ sweet Christmas photos with Santa will once again become a normal, maskless event — by this time next year, up here… in the great cold white north. With the vaccine nearly in our grasp… we must make it available to all, by this time next year. We must.

नमस्ते

Tell Me There Aren’t Two Justice Systems In Amerikkka: Kyle Gets A Corporate Sponsorship.

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Okay — I need to write separately about this.

Not even 24 hours after the indicted double murderer (with a third count of reckless homicide) made bail through the largess of the MyPillow guy and hard right former Hollywood guy Ricky Schroeder, young Kyle has a corporate sponsorship deal — for ongoing income. I’ll not name the product; but if you happen to see it anywhere — please boycott these dirt-bags.

Let’s sum up what I see as two separate justice systems in AmeriKKKa: consider one Bobby Shmurda, then a very young rap impresario, a black kid in NYC — picked up on handgun (not AR-15!) charges (no allegation he was involved in any shooting, let alone an unarmed victim’s murder). Bobby did almost five years on Rikers, at ages 16-21, without ever reaching trial because his bail was ALSO… $2 million. He took a plea deal, to a lesser included offense and won’t be free until December 2021 got out a few months ago, after seven five long years (he was denied early-release in NYC, in September 2020). [Martin Shkreli had famously promised to bail him out in 2017, but welshed on it, when Martin himself was arrested, in an unrelated matter.]

Now — Kyle: on video, shown ’round the world — shooting an unarmed man in the back, as the man ran away, with a semi-automatic assault rifle — an AR-15, while at a protest agitating, ignoring a specific order given to him to go home, with a weapon he was not lawfully allowed to carry as a minor… having earlier in the day put out an internet call for other “militia” members to join him in Kenosha, with their long rifles… two dead from his gun in under five minutes. Another maimed.

Not only is bail set at a very low number, for a double murderer — but no black double-murder indictee in the State of Wisconsin has ever been granted a bond amount below $10 million — all have been uniformly bound over for trial. Not once. Ever.

Now, not even a month after he was taken into custody in Kenosha (extradited from Lake County, Illinois)… he is free on bail — and making promotional materials, and being paid… by pro gun lobby coffee guys. [Side note: yes, I wore a full N95 mask the whole time I was walking the streets, at right. Hot and sweaty, but safe.]

This… this, is an entirely broken system.

If he subsequently flees on bail, to Canada (or beyond)… these people who supported him should have to pay the civil damages suits from the families of his victims. At a minimum, his endorsement money should be held in trust for the victims’ families.

F U G L Y.

[U] Kyle Rittenhouse — Kenosha Shooter — Sees Others Post $2 Million Cash Bail. Now Free, In Wisconsin.

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

He’s out. UPDATED: 11.21.2020 @ 9 AM EST — The two people who put the bail gofundme “over the top,” according to news sources were… the MyPillow tub of crap guy (a Tucker Carlson show advertiser, and Trump WH suck up speech-ifier), and the has-been actor from the 1970s, and now frothy right grump-ifier… Ricky Schroeder. Charming. End update.

A few observations: (i) the guy who sold the AR-15 to Kyle said Kyle paid for it with his $1,200 stimulus check, thus (ii) it is beyond dispute this is not family money — put up, as the $2 million.

That leads to (iii): which right wing / gun lobby pockets were tapped? Koch Brothers? Adelman? Oberwiess (third generation N. IL dairy family money; lost to incumbent Rep. Lauren Underwood (D), this cycle)? Or… The NRA? I’d bet the last, except that it is very short on cash, after a year of scandals.

In addition, it leads me to conclude that someone other than Kyle or his mom will be “deciders” — on his legal defense tactics.

It is more than occasionally true that the dark money will seek to make a point, at the expense of the indicted defendant… refusing to plea to lesser included offenses, and end up losing it all at trial — earning Kyle life without parole.

Finally… since it is not his, or his family’s money… he is a real flight risk.

From Kenosha, quietly — by car — or train.

I’m sure he’s wearing a monitor… but if it’s cut off and left behind, he has a four hour window to make Canada… and from there, Mexico — or well-beyond — by air (on false IDs, likely showing Canadian citizenship).

His bail should have been $10 million, minimum — perhaps $20 million. [We know this would be a no bail allowed case, had he been a 17 year old black or brown or indigenous kid. We also know the NRA would never bond such a person out, even if innocent.]

His crimes showed wanton disregard for innocent human life, as well as pre-meditated attempts to pick a fight.

I’m disgusted. But I’ll hope that he’s still in the US, when his trial date arrives.

Out.

Credit, Where Credit Is Due: John Hinderaker… At Least For Tonight.

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…Is loudly explaining that… Team Rudy G. is not just filing dubious affidavits, but is filing (perhaps only negligently) completely, obviously FALSE affidavits in the elections suits. [John must now know that Rudy may very well be disbarred.]

But we are getting ahead of the story. Here’s what John said tonight:

“…I got an email today from a Minnesota resident, a conservative and a smart guy who is the CEO of a company, and later talked with him on the phone. He has taken the trouble to read the filings that have been made so far by Trump’s lawyers. He directed my attention to an affidavit signed by Russell Ramsland, a Texas resident who is an expert on cyber security…. [He prepared affidavits that were filed in both Georgia and Michigan cases, in the past two days.]

Here’s the problem: the townships and precincts listed in paragraphs 11 and 17 of the affidavit are not in Michigan. They are in Minnesota. Monticello, Albertville, Lake Lillian, Houston, Brownsville, Runeberg, Wolf Lake, Height of Land, Detroit Lakes, Frazee, Kandiyohi–these are all towns in Minnesota. I haven’t checked them all, but I checked a lot of them, and all locations listed in paragraphs 11 and 17 that I looked up are in Minnesota, with no corresponding township in Michigan. This would have been obvious to someone from this state, but Mr. Ramsland is a Texan and the lawyers are probably not natives of either Minnesota or Michigan.

Evidently a researcher, either Mr. Ramsland or someone working for him, was working with a database and confused “MI” for Minnesota with “MI” for Michigan. (The postal code for Minnesota is MN, while Michigan is MI, so one can see how this might happen.) So the affidavit, which addresses “anomalies and red flags” in Michigan, is based largely, and mistakenly, on data from Minnesota.

This is a catastrophic error, the kind of thing that causes a legal position to crash and burn…. Credibility once lost is hard to regain. Possibly Trump’s lawyers have already discovered this appalling error, and have undertaken to correct it. But the Ramsland Affidavit was filed in Georgia just yesterday….”

In fact, these listed towns are reliably red Minnesota townships, so I guess… Rudy is proving GOP fraud in the election (in a state… Biden carried).

It is good that — however late arriving — John sees reality: Rugy G. of 2020 is in no manner the man who was a ruthless prosecutor and later mayor in NYC some three to four decades ago.

He is just a brainless… Trumpian.

The effort will fail — and fail likely, in spectacular fashion.

Thanks for telling the truth, Mr. Hinderaker.

[O/T Space Telescope / Radio Science] A Sad Close-Out, From Three Years, And Then Just Months Ago — At The Iconic Arecibo, Puerto Rico Dish…

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The facility was damaged in late 2017 — now three years ago, as we mentioned. But then it got worse.

We last mentioned this about three and half months ago. I was then hopeful the money could be found.

But between a series of major hurricanes hitting the island, and the ongoing pandemic — I can easily understand how strained resources are, globally — and for certain, feeding and sheltering children on the island should always come first. So I guess we bid farewell to a dear old friend:

…On Nov. 18, NASA was informed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that, after careful assessment and consideration, they have decided to decommission the 305m radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which recently sustained structural damage from failed cables. The planetary radar capability at Arecibo, funded by NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program, has served as one of two major planetary radar capabilities. It has allowed NASA to fully characterize the precise orbits, sizes, and shapes of some NEOs passing within radar range after they are discovered by wide-field optical telescope survey projects….

For decades, the facility has been an important emblem of Puerto Rico’s commitment to international science research and education, and the discoveries enabled by Arecibo’s 305m radio telescope will continue to inspire the next generation of explorers. While the 305m radio telescope is being decommissioned, the Arecibo facility and its STEM education and other assets will continue.

While NASA was not directly involved in the investigation of what led to the observatory’s damage in August, the NSF communicated with stakeholders, including NASA, as their investigation proceeded. NASA respects the National Science Foundation’s decision to put the safety of those who work, visit, and study at the historic observatory above all else….

Travel well… but do travel light — do not let this unfortunate turn of events slow your search for the Infinite in all of us… indeed. And perhaps one day, at least possibly, we might — with a much larger, gymbaling successor device, in China — hear a signal. One that might suggest we are not alone in this Universe. I firmly believe we are not — but as a scientist — I’d like even just a small hint, of some proof of that idea. Be excellent to one another — for at least for now — we are all we know we have.

नमस्ते

Status Update, On Bill Barr’s “Star Chamber” Police Commission Injunction Proceedings, In DC — NAACP LDF Killing ‘Em!

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The able Legal Defense Fund lawyers at the NAACP are eating Barr’s lunch (and thus, since Barr is acting as the personal lawyer of the occupant of 1600 Penn — eating his lunch, as well). Here is the overnight 17 page updating status report in full.

Preposterously, the government asserts that because it is “deciding” whether to appeal the limited use injunction, the NAACP ought to be required to tread water, on discovery related to the wilfull violations. Of course, this view is supported by no actual case or statutory authority. The able USDC Judge is likely to take a dim view of this nonsense, by Barr’s appointees.

The most likely outcome here is going to be that no report gets published before Barr is gone in January 2021. And the whole dispute will be mooted, as Mr. Biden will just ash can this malfeasance. But we will keep an eye on the DC federal district courthouse, just in case. Here’s some of the overnight back and forth:

…Defendants’ statement that the Solicitor General is considering an appeal from this Court’s November 2, 2020 order, see infra, is of no consequence. Until and unless an appeal is filed and a stay issued, mere indecision on Defendants’ part does not relieve them of the duty to follow FACA’s requirements and this Court’s order effectuating those requirements. To date, Defendants have not filed a notice of appeal or sought a stay. Nor have they provided any indication that this Court has abused its discretion. It is immaterial, therefore, that Defendants may eventually appeal, and they must now promptly comply with this Court’s order….

Defendants admit — for the first time — that they did not employ any procedures to prevent inappropriate influence on the Commission’s work [Ed. Note: from Barr or Trump, himself — who was present at one such meeting in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Septemberr 1, 2020 — I actually have video of that propaganda day, by the militarized Trump forces — and was just outside the high school where they met, as they met. It was also (of course!) closed to all press and/or observers]. They argue, however, that FACA imposes no substantive requirement that advisory committees be free of inappropriate influence.
This is wrong. Advisory committees must be substantively free of inappropriate influence, as courts interpreting FACA have long recognized. See, e.g., In re Cheney, 406 F.3d 723, 727 (D.C. Cir. 2005) (noting that FACA provides that “each such [advisory] committee… may not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest”)….

Is. It. January 21, 2021… Yet?! Geez… these guys are the worst crooks I’ve ever seen — both stupid and ineffectual. Out — glad we registered so many new voters, using that propaganda event by Barr and Voldemort, as contrasted with the real listening undertaken three days later, by Biden (by invitation!) — in Kenosha — to turn Wisconsin blue, anew. Smile….

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Exceedingly Good News! Moderna’s mRNA Vaccine Also Over 90% Effective: Preliminary Data

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We continue to think Moderna may actually file with the FDA within days, and thus get FDA approvals a bit ahead of Pfizer. But to be sure, both companies will sell every dose they can produce. And there will be room for multiple others.

Overall this is very good news, and the stock, which could be had at around $35 early this Spring… is now pre-market trading at over $100. Nice — and the reality is (despite 1600 Penn’s wilder statements), the dosing of the public is not likely before mid-March 2021.

And, in what may turn out to be the most important advantage for Moderna — its vaccine is stable, and may be stored at “regular” freezer temperatures (-2 degrees F) for up to 30 days, while the Pfizer candidate needs near liquid nitrogen temps storage and transport logistics, which only major metropolitan hospitals are equipped to support. All of which means the Moderna vaccine may be trucked into very remote areas, with just a regular refrigerator truck. That will make a very important difference in how accessible this is, for the rural US, and the rest of (less infrastructure developed) world. Yes, extremely good news, per the UK’s The Guardian:

. . .Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College, London, said the Moderna results were “tremendously exciting” and boosted optimism that a choice of good Covid vaccines would be available in the next few months.

He said the inclusion of high-risk and elderly people in the Moderna trial suggested the vaccine would protect those most vulnerable to the disease, while the reported side effects were “what we would expect with a vaccine that is working and inducing a good immune response”.

“Moderna have also announced that the vaccine can be kept in a conventional freezer at -20C for up to 6 months, and that once thawed the vaccine can be kept for up to 30 days at standard refrigerator temperatures of 2 to 8C. This makes the vaccine much easier to deliver,” he said.

“This announcement adds to the general feeling of optimism about vaccines for Covid-19. What we still don’t know is how long any protective immunity may last. For that, we will need to wait,” he added. . . .

I am feeling pretty sanguine about a next holiday season (2021) that might be relatively normal — at least mostly like “the before times“. Smile. . . still a lot of travel, between and through the dark, tangled woods, to be sure — but. . . better.

[Trivial footnotes department: BTW, Moderna was picked by Martin Shkreli, as one of his top shorts, in mid-2019. And that too is grin-worthy — as I repeatedly called it a great long term holding, over the prior three years.]

नमस्ते

[U: MI Lock-Down, Part II] Tomorrow At 9:30 AM Eastern, The Supremes Release Orders… The End Of PA GOP Election Challenges, Among Them?

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UPDATED — And here at 7 PM EST, on Sunday, it seems the spike has driven the able Michigan governor to lock down her state, to the same levels last seen in early April 2020. These are sadly, not unrelated matters, as she was threatened with a kidnapping plot by deranged hard right white separatists / lunatics / domestic terrorists, all who have indicated they were inspired by the occupant of 1600 Penn. BTW, Mr. Biden won by a 14 times greater number of votes in Michigan, than HRC lost by, in that state in 2016. End update. And on Pennsylvania, we shall see.

But it would not be at all surprising for the court, despite Alito’s earlier largely grandstanding order — putting in a purported pause — where one already plainly existed at the state court level… to find five Justices had voted to simply dismiss the whole mess (as series of them) as being… not (yet) ripe, for Supreme review.

Given that none of the relief requested could ever move Pennsylvania vote totals enough to shift it into the GOP’s column… this matter is likely to die shortly one way or the other.

Now you know — smiling, and feeling fairly sanguine. Sanguine, if sad, about having been at least third if not fourth fiddle (if thought of at all), for over two and a half years (never knowing any of that) — only to be re-met, when all three other options were DOA. So it goes — but that alone makes the idea it was to begin “atoning” — seem more a ruse, than anything else. Puzzling, indeed. Onward.

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