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Oh… “Marsha, Marsha… Marsha!” See, How This Works Is… If You’re Nominated — You Attend The Ceremony. Damn.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

To be clear, KBJ was at the Grammys primarily because… her spoken word recording was… yep, nominated.

It would be positively rude NOT to attend, if by chance she had ended up winning. [She did not win — but was there for the fine music.] But ’twas a fun night, just the same.

Now . . the “MAGA Eva Braun” of Tennessee (who happens to be an early candidate to be that state’s Governor) wants a Supreme Court Justice investigated — for attending an awards ceremony. That notion is self-deflating. Amendment No. One.

This was not a Proud Boys- or KKK-rally, or even a Federalist Society fund-raising dinner (which Alito, Thomas and before them, Scalia had all attended). [The Federalist Society is an overtly political, and largely far-right… organization.]

This is a music industry / business / artistic academy. The notion that most great artists skew liberal… should be shocking to no one with a working fore-brain. And that some of them would offer Amendment No. One views (as Bad Bunny and Billie Ilish did) is… deeply AMERICAN. Take a seat, old Marsha:

…“While it is by no means unheard of or unusual for a Supreme Court justice to attend a public function, very rarely — if ever — have justices of our nation’s highest Court been present at an event at which attendees have amplified such far-left rhetoric,” Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote in a Thursday letter to Roberts….

She wrote on X: “Instead of taking the time to learn what a woman is, Ketanji Brown Jackson was at the Grammy’s [sic] [Ed. Note: I’ve replaced a lie (redacted), instead offering the more accurate word — it would be… “hearing”] anti-ICE rhetoric. How can Americans trust her to be impartial on the highest court in the land?….”

The idea that a Harvard educated, preeminent lawyer and deeply experienced jurist would be… unduly tainted… by hearing… musicians’ thoughts… is facially… preposterous.

Clearly the wheels are comin’ off — and these MAGAts are getting positively… desperate. How will she earn a living — after November 2026? That is all Marsha is focusing on. Becoming a Faux talking head. Yikes. Malignantly… idiotic. Out.

नमस्ते

Two New Orders Against The Noemites, In Long Running Asylee-Class Action — Before USDC Judge Dana Sabraw In San Diego…

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In the first order, after hearings, the able USDC Judge has ruled that the Noemites / Miller-istas cannot lawfully impose a $500 fee on class members who’ve won the right to remain in the US under the class settlement. [A provision of the (odious) “Big Beautiful Bill” signed last year purported to nullify prior class action settlement orders. That it cannot do.]

The second order is more sweeping — and requires the Miller-istas to provide more information about both people in custody at present, and those already wrongfully removed, where the government had reason to know the people were protected by the 2018 Ms. L. class settlement orders. Here’s a bit of that one:

…Defendants do not dispute any of these facts. They simply state “[t]here are no records of ERO removal for these individuals.” (Decl. of Byoung C. Park in Supp. of Defs.’ Resp. to Mots. ¶ 4, ECF 919-1.)

Given the evidence set out above and the corroborating evidence set out in S.M.B.C.’s Supplemental Declaration, (see Supp. Decl. of S.M.B.C. in Supp. of Reply, ECF 920-1), Plaintiffs have shown S.M.B.C. and her family did not voluntarily depart the United States. Rather, the evidence reflects they were removed despite having been granted parole and in violation of this Court’s June 27, 2025 order staying the removal of Class Members and QAFMs. Accordingly, Defendants must return S.M.B.C. and her children to the United States….

[T]he undisputed circumstances are as follows: ICE officers instructed three mothers to bring their children to their check-in appointments. One of those mothers was a Ms. L. Class Member. One was a QAFM. Each of them had been granted parole through 2027, and each of them had at least one child who was a U.S. citizen. One of those mothers had been forcibly separated from her daughter in 2018 pursuant to the first Trump Administration’s family separation policy. The third mother was not a Class Member or a QAFM, but one of her children was a Class Member due to his separation from his father in 2018. At their respective check-in appointments, ICE officers told the mothers they had deportation or removal orders for each of them despite two of them having parole status. The officers also told the mothers to bring their passports and their childrens’ passports to their appointments. With the mothers, children, and passports in hand, the officers then transported these families to a hotel or motel, and later boarded them onto an aircraft and removed them from the United States.

Given these circumstances, and in particular, the Class Member or QAFM status of the family members, the parole status of two of the family members, and that the removal of one family occurred after this Court ordered a stay of removals of Class Members and QAFMs, the Court finds Defendants should bear the expense of returning these family units to the United States. Each of the removals was unlawful, and absent the removals, these families would still be in the United States and have access to the benefits and resources they are entitled to under the Settlement Agreement. Although the Settlement Agreement does not prohibit Defendants from enforcing the laws of the United States, the removals at issue here clearly violated the spirit of the Agreement, which was to effect and support reunification in the United States of families that had been separated pursuant to the family separation policy.

Defendants’ decision to remove these families rendered the benefits of the Settlement Agreement illusory for these families, and the manner in which each of these removals was affected, in addition to being unlawful, involved lies, deception, and coercion. For these reasons, and to enforce the terms of the Settlement Agreement as to these families, (see Settlement Agreement § VII.D), Defendants shall bear the cost of returning these family units to the United States….

The level of intentional thwarting of federal court orders (and lying in court under oath about it!) — day in, and day out — by the Noemites… is appalling. Time to run the lot of them out of office, methinks — and in 2028, obtain federal indictments, and prosecute the lot of them.

Actually, several states are moving right now through their legislatures (in Colorado, California, Illinois, New York and Minnesota) to enact state level laws that would allow for charging federal agents with state level felonies for violating the Constitutional rights of people they detain. This would obviously allow for separate jailings, under state law — and could easily begin even later this year, once the local legislative packages pass. ICE would be wise to stay out of those states, entirely.

Onward, resolutely. Get ready to play hard-ball — and break some noses.

नमस्ते

Odd. I Did NOT Hear Bill Otis To Say… Elian Gonzalez JUSTIFIES Liam Ramos’ Abduction. Did You?!

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But bloviate onward — you malign putz.

The false equivalencies are… staggering.

I too disagreed with how Elian was treated, back in the day (I was a partner at a law firm — by then). But equating a 25 year old case, involving boat people from Cuba — to grabbing a 5 year old at a bus stop in below zero weather, to flush out his father… yeah — that does seem… worse. Damn, son.

And [as I’ve repeatedly said] I disagree with what the Noemites did to five year old Liam Ramos, two weeks ago. [They shipped him to dusty West Texas in a heartbeat.]

Do you have the courage to say the same, Billy-boy?!

Do you?

Crickets. No surprise. Out.

TrumpRx.gov: A Second “Launch” — And Yet Another Flop, With Website Code “Appropriated” From GoodRx.com?! Yikes.

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The level of incompetence and misunderstanding of the US prescription drug marketplace (by Trump minions) is… well, staggering. And so, they apparently just plagarized a commercial US pharma-pricing aggregator website’s code — and called it “revolutionary“. It is nothing of the sort.

To be clear — I don’t agree with even most of what the CATO Institute regularly puts out, but the authors are right about this incompetent government abomination. All it will do. . . is drive up what people without insurance in the US must pay:

…This evening… President Trump announced the launch of TrumpRx, the government-run direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug purchasing platform. Essentially, TrumpRx will act less as a pharmacy and more as a portal directing patients to manufacturers’ cash-price sales platforms negotiated by the administration….

The problem isn’t the DTC model. It’s the assumption that the federal government needs to run it. A growing private marketplace already exists, including platforms such as Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company, Amazon Pharmacy, and GoodRx, as well as pharmaceutical manufacturers that sell directly to patients through their own websites….

Injecting government into this space risks crowding out private innovation and inviting the familiar problems of political favoritism, coercion, and regulatory corruption. Some lawmakers are raising concerns about conflicts of interest, transparency, and whether the platform’s structure could violate federal anti-kickback rules—especially given its reliance on partnerships with drugmakers and its connections to existing online pharmacy and telehealth fulfillment channels….

Now you know — and how is it, exactly — that the federal government has been “gifted” the GoodRx.com source code for this supposedly “.gov” website? How, indeed — Mr. Trump?!

नमस्ते

This Is Black Letter Federal Free Speech Law (Ex-Military Edition)…

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Yep. Senators have free speech rights — not abridged by long prior — and distinguished — service in the armed forces. Full stop. [Just ask Byron “Whizzer” White. Ooops — sorry. You can’t. He’s long dead, and gone from the Supremes.]

The able USDC Judge Leon (sitting on appeal) is clearly… correct:

…U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said on Tuesday “that he knows of no U.S. Supreme Court precedent to justify the Pentagon’s censuring of a sitting U.S. senator who joined a videotaped plea for troops to resist unlawful orders from the Trump administration,” according to the Associated Press.

Leon is considering Sen. Mark Kelly’s claim “that Pentagon officials violated his First Amendment free speech rights.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, a government attorney “argued that Congress decided that retired military service members are subject to the same Uniform Code of Military Justice that applies to active-duty troops,” while Kelly’s lawyers said that “they aren’t aware of any ruling to support the notion that military retirees have ‘diminished speech rights….’”

Veterans, perhaps more than any regular citizen — should enjoy the right to seek redress of grievances, against future administrations, after serving with distinction.

Now you chumps at Powerline [Hinderaker], and Ringside know. Suck it.

As NPR Indicates, The Abrego Matter Is NOT A “One-Off” — It Is Increasingly An “S.O.P.” — By Miller, Noemites & Tangerine… Damn.

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The precedents being set — by Mr. Abrego Garcia’s cases — will be very useful, in the future, for us pro bono lawyers — to be certain.

That said — it is deplorable that TrumpWorld continues (and accelerates) its pattern lawlessness. Here’s the latest, from National Public Radio, reporting:

…”We really thought this was going to be one of a kind,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia’s lawyers. “If anything, it was just the tip of the spear. There have been countless illegal deportation cases since then. If anything, the problem is getting worse and not better….”

Sandoval-Moshenberg said he alone has a dozen other plaintiffs like Abrego Garcia. It’s impossible to quantify how many such mistaken deportations are happening — as only a small subset of immigrants have lawyers to argue for their return. But judges have stepped in with other cases.

For example, last April — the same month a Maryland judge told the government to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. — another judge in the state asked for the return of Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan man, identified in court documents as “Cristian”….

And in July, a New York appeals panel ordered immigration officials to return Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, a 31-year-old Salvadoran.

All three were held at a notorious prison in El Salvador that has since been described by detainees as unsanitary and violent. Judges said that these removals violated court orders….

This is what Kristi Noem and Tangerine 2.0 are doing… in your name. Damn.

नमस्ते

So The Rumbling Continues — On The Islands In The Nearby Indian Ocean, Off To The East Of The African Continent…

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This, as my graphic suggests… is exactly how an epidemic gets out of hand. It starts as an outbreak… but life (as ever) finds a way… to cross borders, and sail waters.

Then, eventually, without proactive highly effective vaccinations / interventions… whole chains of islands are… afflicted. Here’s the latest, from ReliefWeb, quoting UNICEF:

…The Government of the Union of the Comoros declared an mpox outbreak on 23 January 2026, with seven confirmed cases reported to date, including two locally transmitted cases. No deaths have been reported, with four patients recovered and three currently under care in designated treatment facilities.

Cross-border transmission risk remains high, linked to population movements with Madagascar and Mayotte, where mpox cases have also been reported.

National response activated, including enhanced surveillance at points of entry, contact tracing, and local PCR diagnostic capacity.

UNICEF is supporting the Government-led response, focusing on risk communication and community engagement, community-based surveillance and strengthening infection prevention and control across health facilities. . . .

These epidemics — all preventable — will be the enduring legacy of Trump’s wrong-headed cuts to USAID. Damn.

नमस्ते

Bill Glahn Is Unaware That Over ~5/8ths Of All Detainees Are Likely To Be Released On Habeas. Dumb Yutz.

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Tonight, whiny young Bill is crowing about how many ICE claims to have “grabbed off the streets” in and around Minneapolis. The claim is nearly 4,000 people.

I doubt the real figure is that high — as this is a “Noem-eyes only” number — and so likely inflated, for her agit-prop purposes.

Even so, we can count the number of habeas petitions, as it is undisputed that almost all these people (likely fewer than 3,000) were grabbed without any judicial warrant — and no probable cause.

So — there are are now well over 1,800 covered by either a (i) putative class action, or (ii) individual habeas petitions. It is my experienced opinion that most of these will ultimately… succeed. The kidnapped people will be set free.

All of this was just a goddamn dumb show — strictly for Tangerine campaign videos. No actual lasting effect.

So Bill — do sit your John Brown hindparts down, and let the adults handle this. Your Constitution is at work. Thank the goddesses.

[And… A Tangential Confidential Note To Hinderaker: we wish you “good luck” in using “in-the-tank” for GOP polling — to convince your hard core MAGAts to keep doubling down on the wipe-out immigration cruelty, through the mid-terms. Blue Tsunami, inbound.

O U T.

The GOP Just Found Out That Gerrymandering For Partisan Advantage Will LOSE Them Seats… Hilarious!

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Look — in a perfect world… none of this would take place. People would vote in groups naturally formed by communities… of very long standing. [This is no perfect world, any longer.]

And so, in the time of Tangerine 2.0, where Texas and Florida and other red states try to (and in a few cases, have succeeded in) diluting low-income, and brown and Black and Democratic voting blocs, this will become an ongoing jousting match.

But it is “jousting” the GOP is destined to lose, on a nationwide basis — where it matters most — in national elections for the House and Senate (and obviously, 1600 Penn.).

That is so, because there are simply far more lower income, brown and Black and Democratic men and women voters nationwide than there are rich, whyte land-owning GOP voters [millions upon millions of them — regardless of papers v. no papers].

So, if MAGA/Texas is able to pick up one seat, for the GOP, by torturing its electoral maps (as Justice Alito himself opined in December 2025), California may effortlessly pick up. . . FIVE, for the Democratic Party. There are so many more Democrats in California, Illinois, Colorado, New York, and Wisconsin — to draw from. Stupid GOP. Here’s the latest order, and below it — a bit from Amy Howe at SCOTUSBlog, this afternoon:

…WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2026 | ORDER IN PENDING CASE
25-A-839 | TANGIPA, DAVID, ET AL. V. NEWSOM, GOV. OF CA, ET AL.

The application for writ of injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied….

[Amy Howe:] The [GOP] challengers came to the Supreme Court on Jan. 20, asking the justices to step in. They argued that the state’s goal all along had been “offsetting a perceived racial gerrymander in Texas.” Moreover, they added, the lower court should have given more weight to the testimony by the private consultant, Paul Mitchell, who drew the new map – and who “boasted publicly and on social media,” they said, that the new map “would maintain, if not expand, Latino voting power in California.” They asked the court to act by Feb. 9, when the window for congressional candidates to file paperwork declaring their candidacies opens in California.

The state countered that the lower court considered statements by the private consultant and state legislators, but it had nonetheless concluded that the new map was not racially motivated. More broadly, it contended, the [GOP] challengers were “asking the Court to treat California’s map differently from how it treated Texas’s map, thereby allowing a Republican-led State to engage in partisan gerrymandering while forbidding a Democratic-led State from responding in kind….”

Ah… Thank you, Justice Alito — “what’s good for the goose — is good for the gander, too“. Lovely — and being decades in Chicago, we well know you cannot afford to bring a knife — to a gun fight. That’s the Chicago way.

I don’t love it — but I do respect it. Play hard ball — and break some noses.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker: Malignant And Feckless Old Fogie. Has No Clue About… Fort Sumter.

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Hinderaker… goes all cuew-kooie tonight.

What an overwrought — idiotic — and intentionally-misleading recitation that is, by him.

In other words, it’s… just a Tuesday night. Par for the course — for the doddering old coot John “the trump-licker” Hinderaker has devolved into.

About every two or three years now, he warns us that Democrats want a civil war, and that they want to play the part of the slave owners in it.

Pretty much the opposite of that… is a fact. It is the billionaires and Trump cronies, including John, who want to control all property… Demonize all people who are brown or black and leave them in a position where they have to do whatever the rich whyte people tell them in order to avoid starving to death.

That is both Trump‘s, and John’s endgame. Both of them have recited it repeatedly since 2016.

Sorry kids — I’m not buying it. You guys are losers.

We the people have the “right to petition our government for the regress of our grievances”. That is all that’s going on here.

So keep your shirt on, sister.

Out.