Category: Uncategorized

In The “Hands Off Chicago!” Federal Class Action Litigation, We Move Forward — To A Permanent Ruling Against Trump/Noem/Bovino…

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You’ll likely recall that at the end of last year, the US Supremes ruled that Tangerine 2.0 cannot invade states, without consent — by using other states’ national guard forces — not, at least, under these circumstances. That is binding precedent — for LA, Portland and all other cities (except DC — a federal possession, and so, a special case). [And, that’s why the National Guard is not in Minneapolis.]

Now the Chicago class members who brought the suit want permanent relief — an order that the troops may never return, without an invitation from the Mayor and/or Governor. Here’s the overnight status of the discussions in the trial court — and the salient bits:

…The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago, based on the operative documents and the December 23, 2025 decision of the Supreme Court in this matter, consider defendants’ liability on Count I, the ultra vires claim for a violation of 10 U.S.C. § 12406, clear as a matter of law. As favorable resolution of that claim will afford the plaintiffs the declaratory and injunctive relief they seek in this action, plaintiffs intend to move for partial summary judgment as to liability on Count I. While defendants have stated the view that their planned motion to dismiss (discussed below) should be resolved prior to the summary judgment motion, a motion for summary judgment may be brought at this time. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(b).

Plaintiffs (i.e., the people of Chicago) propose the following schedule for their partial summary judgment briefing: summary judgment motion and supporting papers due February 27; opposition papers due March 27; and reply papers due April 10, 2026….

[The Noemites / Bovino] Defendants continue to believe that the most efficient approach — one that would conserve party and judicial resources — is for the parties to settle this case without further litigation, Defendants understand that the parties are presently at an impasse in their discussions….

[The Noemites / Bovino] do not believe that summary judgment briefing on 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3) is the appropriate next step for two reasons. First, Defendants believe that this case is moot. It is undisputed that all Illinois National Guardsmen have been de-federalized and that there are no other Guardsmen from any other State deployed in Illinois….

So, dispositive motion briefs are up next, in the Dirksen Building before the able USDC Judge Perry. It is pure poppycock to suggest that just because Noem / Tangerine 2.0 tucked tail and ran, that the case is over. That never establishes mootness — he could come back… tomorrow, and the plaintiffs would be required to start all over.

What a wasteful bunch of putzes. Damn.

नमस्ते

In About A Month, Juno Will Make Its 81st Close Dip Into Jupiter’s Polar Magnetic Storms… Amazing.

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And there is new data, about how thick the ice is on/under the surface of Europa.

The new estimate is around 18 miles — which is over 30% thicker than prior estimates. And it makes any “transport life” theorem less likely, to be sure.

Here’s the latest, from JPL — over 15 years of twisty, copper-colored, unwasted grace:

…Juno will carry out its 81st flyby of Jupiter on Feb. 25….

[And it seems less likely that any organics from the surface could have been transported to the sub-ocean, to facilitate any micro-organism(s) under the ice.] MWR data. . . provides. . . insights into the makeup of the ice just below Europa’s surface. The instrument revealed the presence of “scatterers” — irregularities in the near-surface ice such as cracks, pores, and voids that scatter the instrument’s microwaves reflecting off the ice (similar to how visible light is scattered in ice cubes).

These scatterers are estimated to be no bigger than a few inches in diameter and appear to extend to depths of hundreds of feet below Europa’s surface….

The small size and shallow depth of these features, as modeled in this study, suggest they are unlikely to be a significant pathway for oxygen and nutrients to travel from Europa’s surface to its salty ocean….

Fascinating — onward.

नमस्ते

Trump’s Loss In Minneapolis — Now, Up On Appeal At Eighth Cir. — Will Be Argued Expeditiously…

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While I was off-grid in the snowy mountains, the Eighth Circuit panel decided to expedite a hearing on the prelim. inj. case (Trump had appealed his complete loss, on the ICE tactics) — and now the schedule is set, in Appeal 26-1105.

In the mean time, we would note that ICE’s own long-standing internal handbook / rules of engagement prohibit the use of tear gas, unless an officer’s life is in danger — and always prohibit rubber bullets, unless fired upon, first — in protest situations.

[The applicability of those internal rules have been affirmed in injunctions granted in Chicago and Portland, in late in 2025.] Here’s where the dates shake out, but there should be oral argument about a week after all the briefs are in:

…[Eighth Circuit] CLERK’S ORDER:

Pursuant to the Court’s Opinion filed January 26, 2026, the parties are directed to comply with the following expedited briefing deadlines:

[Noemites’ / Bovino’s] brief and appendix are due February 6, 2026.

[People of Minneapolis] Appellees’ brief is due February 17, 2026.

[Noemites’ / Bovino’s] reply brief is due February 24, 2026….

Now you know… onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Moderna Chief Bancel Doesn’t Currently Plan To “Invest” — For New US Vaccines: Due To Tangerine 2.0 Anti-Science Stances. Ugh.

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This is wildly unfortunate — utterly avoidable; but understandable — given that RFK, Jr. is… irrationally hostile to modern mRNA vaccines. He is killing the American life-sciences… dream.

What an upside-down world it is, of late. Here are the details, via CIDRAP, then:

…Moderna chief executive officer Stephane Bancel said the company does not plan to invest in new late-stage vaccine trials because of growing opposition to immunizations from health officials in the United States.

His comments were made last week during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“You cannot make a return on investment if you don’t have access to the U.S. market,” Bancel told Bloomberg TV. He said the vaccine market in the United States is much smaller as more anti-vaccine guidelines have become the norm….

I agree, Mr. Bancel — if RFK is going to rig the US market against new vaccines, there is not enough revenue available — rest of world — to make it worthwhile, as a business. [Yep. Trump and his minions are a pack of feckless, malign idiots.] Out.

नमस्ते

“I Don’t Let Bullies Win”: US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., MN) — Kudos. Trump Is… A PIG.

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Tell me again, now — who is it, that encourages… violence? Making cruel jokes about serious attacks should be beneath the dignity of 1600 Penn. And it encourages others, by implication.

To be certain, she is brave. She is resolute. And she cannot be… intimidated. Per The Beeb:

…Minnesota congress- woman Ilhan Omar was attacked at an event she was hosting on Tuesday, when an audience member used a syringe to spray liquid at her, Minneapolis police said.

Omar was uninjured and continued to speak. “I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win,” she later wrote on X….

Onward, resolutely — but it seems that Trump’s comment may be “an inadvertent tell” — about his ketchup on the ear moment in Butler, PA. Heh.

नमस्ते

Heh. We Barely Knew Ya’ — You Pocket-Sized Goebbels, You.

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First, it was Renee Good — may she rest in power. Then several more unjustified shootings… and then… Alex Pretti. May he rest in power.

How many senseless, wanton, lawless, unjustified deaths — until this all ends? Well, it seems (once again, in small steps of progress) Greg Bovino — the cretin in charge on the ground, through all of the Minnesota Mayhem — is being run out of town, in Minneapolis. Just as eventually obtained in Chicago. And LA. Don’t let the gate smack your tiny flat butt, as you wander back to El Centro (CA), with no new assigned duties (other than desk duty).

Here’s the all the latest, from The Guardian (UK):

…Gregory Bovino, the commander of the Border Patrol, is expected to leave Minneapolis today following the weekend killing of Alex Pretti, the second civilian to be fatally gunned down in the streets by federal immigration agents this month.

Bovino, an aggressive promoter of Donald Trump’s deportation agenda, has become the public face of the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota – and a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats and civil liberties activists.

An unnamed source told Reuters that Bovino had been stripped of his specially created title of “commander at large” of the Border Patrol….

Bit by bit. Day by day. We will reclaim… sanity. Trust that. Onward — with no new Abrego date yet scheduled.

नमस्ते

USDC Judges, Inundated With Habeas Cases, In MN — Are Bluntly Calling Out These Lawless ICE Tactics/Agents. And Promptly Releasing Hundreds Of Detainees. Excellent!

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ICE cannot lawfully pick up people in the street — just based on skin color, or accented English. It cannot grab people without a full judicial warrant, unless it sees (for example) a bank robbery in progress (i.e., not likely). So it is that (as was true in Chicago this summer when I was doing this same sort of appearances work) the vast majority of those grabbed are being set free, on individual habeas petitions, in and around Minneapolis.

Homan won’t change a thing. The Constitution is a constant bed-rock. If you are present on US soil, with or without papers, you may invoke its protections. Stand for your rights — always (and kudos to the many dozens of pro bono lawyers surging into Minnesota, to help out at the ACLU!). Here’s a taste of all this:

…The Trump administration’s current deportation push in Minneapolis has led to “hundreds of emergency lawsuits from immigrants targeted by ICE,” according to Politico. As a result, federal judges in the area have been “working weekends to manage the backlog and juggling a crush of individual cases….

And in all but a handful of cases, those judges have ruled that the Trump administration violated the law, sometimes flagrantly.” These cases are part of a broader wave of lawsuits over “the Trump administration’s bid to lock up nearly everyone it is targeting for deportation,” rather than only “those deemed dangerous or likely to flee.” Politico noted that the “emergency nature of the cases has so far stymied efforts to get appeals courts or the Supreme Court to weigh in on the policy….”

Onward — gratified to see the people, rising up, to protect their brothers and sisters — from a repressive megalomaniac. Out.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker Ignores That The Supremes Held State Laws Like MN’s Must Be Respected.

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This is a refresher for the morons in the back: by which I mean, John Hinderaker.

In Tangerine 1.0, a statute that is the nearly identical twin statute — to Minneapolis’s — that was and is in force in Illinois and in Chicago (a so-called sanctuary city ordinance), was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, 6-3, as being perfectly Constitutional, and a local law that the federal government was and is duty bound to obey, as well.

Tonight, the idiot John Hinderaker simply pretends that history does not exist. He says “almost all other” states are cooperating with these blitzkrieg operations. That is false. Texas cooperates, but it has seen no surge in activity. Parts of Louisiana cooperated when it saw a small surge. There have been surges in almost no red states / districts. And it is crystal clear that California, New York and Illinois all actively enforced their sanctuary measures. They did not cooperate — and ensuing litigation prevented Noem / Bovino from doing further harm.

So again, John lies.

He tells his followers that Trump has the right to tell the mayor of Minneapolis and the governor of Minnesota… That he will bring hellfire down on them, for simply complying with the constitutional law.

Surprising no one, John continues to simply lie about things that he doesn’t like.

But make no mistake — Bovino and Noem may both be headed toward contempt hearings in Minnesota or Chicago, either or both of which could lead to jail time for them.

We increasingly see Trump as a lame duck, and perhaps even a delusional one — as he loses his former grip on practically every level of government that he once enjoyed sway over.

And I am here for all of it. But I’m especially here for watching John Hinderaker be made out to be a fool — again. And again.

Out.

USDC Judge Menendez Is Absolutely… Cooking… Bovino And Noem Now.

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The best sign of the weekend is captured in my graphic, at right. Were we a just society (reflective of international opinions, at least) — that would be in the cards for Bovino, and Noem.

Until that day, though — these rulings will have to suffice. Here’s the latest, out of Minneapolis:

…To ensure that the Court has provided all parties a full opportunity to be heard on the issues raised in connection with Plaintiffs’ motion for temporary injunctive relief (Dkt. 5), the Court instructs [Noem / Bovino / Trump] Defendants to file a supplemental memorandum.

In the supplemental memorandum, Defendants shall address Plaintiffs’ assertion that the purpose of Operation Metro Surge is to punish Plaintiffs for adopting sanctuary laws and policies; coerce Plaintiffs into changing state and local law; compel Plaintiffs to direct state and local resources to facilitate information sharing to aid federal immigration enforcement; and cause Plaintiffs to direct more state and local resources towards holding immigration targets in detention for longer periods of time than otherwise allowed. (See Dkt. 60 at 9– 13; see also id. at 16–19.) The Court finds that additional briefing on this issue is necessary because it was explored most clearly in the Reply, in light of recent factual developments….

Defendants’ supplemental memorandum shall address the factual basis for Plaintiffs’ assertion and discuss their impact on the legal analysis relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT Defendants shall file a supplemental brief not to exceed 3,000 words, on or before Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., addressing the issues identified….

Onward, to Nashville, tomorrow evening — resolutely.

नमस्ते