Trump Openly Feels Africa Should NOT Matter — To The USA?!

April 20, 2025April 20, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Well, it is Easter Sunday morning, in the year 2025. But from the looks of the newest initiatives at Tangerine 2.0 HQ’s “brain trust”, one might think it was 1825 — or prior.

It seems the crew of very stable geniuses has issued a draft executive order for the dotard to eventually sign, one that would have the US State Department pretend that Africa is no longer anywhere on the maps, around the world. It would also end democracy- and human rights- support, and various humanitarian relief efforts — at the United States Department of State. Charming — here’s the latest:

…A Trump administration draft order calls for drastic overhaul of State Department…

President Trump’s draft executive order would eliminate Africa operations and shut down bureaus working on democracy, human rights and refugee issues….

If I were in a better mood, I might quip that this all begins to feel a bit like the workings of some secret lair of a super villain — from one of those 1960s James Bond movie blaxploitation junkers — the ones after Sean Connery departed the franchise. Sadly though — this is not bad fiction — it is America, in 2025. Damnation.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker’s Support Of MAGA: A Mental Illness?!

April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Tonight, John returns to his familiar theme of calling liberalism a mental illness.

What he really means is that he disagrees with their values.

And since he wants to go down that road, I just have to laugh and note that the tariffs he supports are… suicidal: wildly inflationary, and economy killing — his demonization of brown people means solely that his lawn will never be cut professionally again, and probably… he will never get good service in most restaurants ever again.

Building and paying for ~50 miles of wall, that is utterly open at both ends, on over 800 miles of borderline… yep… that’s… irrational.

His alma mater, Harvard is likely to fall from being one of the premier research institutions in the world… To being only an “also ran” due to some goofy lawyer that works for RFK, Jr. firing off a letter before he had permission (or so they now claim).

But yes — this is all the expressly stated standard fare of being a MAGA-adherent — or “MAGA-at”, for short.

To my eye… knowingly supporting the above, looks an awful lot like a mental illness.

Your mileage may vary.

“Facilitate” Means MUCH MORE… Than Just Read The Newspapers, Mr. Mazzaro. Damn.

April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Tonight — almost an hour late, Mr. Mazzano filed another obstruction-laden sworn statement, before USDC Judge Xinis.

In tonight’s one page of sophistry, he allows that he might have read a newspaper, or seen a TV newscast, since last night — about his charge. But that’s all. Damn:

…I am aware of public reporting suggesting that Mr. Abrego Garcia may no longer be at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Otherwise, there is still nothing further to report….

He’s supposed to FIND OUT where he is, and take steps to bring him home. The Supremes were clear, a week ago — and even more clear after midnight last night — in a nearly unprecedented 1 AM EDT opinion on the Venezuela matter — issued, to the press — without waiting for Alito’s usual nonsense dissent.

[Alito will have to file his turgid belching separately — on Sunday or Monday.]

Me? I think it is good that this Mazzaro joker was once a US Marine — he’s reputedly “double tough” — so he’ll get along fine in the now approaching federal lockup — in Baltimore. Out.

नमस्ते

Now, Of Note: The State Level AGs Are Stepping Up — Where The Voids — Of “Federal Regulatory Capture” Seem To Have Occured…

April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Well… just when Brian Armstrong and Jesse Powell and Saylor and the rest of the lot… including Jason Les, thought they had secured a regulatory capture — at the federal level — by buying off Trump and Musk… along come the courageous and correct State level AGs to bring suit.

In this case, it is Oregon correctly pointing out that it too has jurisdiction (at least as to potential purchasers who might reside in Oregon), under its own “Blue Sky” laws, for offerings of securities that do not adequately disclose risks — especially to people the issuer cannot prove is a net worth millionaire (exclusive of their homes’ net value), or makes over $320,000 a year over the past three years, minimum.

That is, there is concurrent jurisdiction over securities offerings, at the state and federal levels — since 1933.

And Coinbase has run afoul of responsible investing disclosures, according to the securities administrator in the Sasquatch state.

Here’s the latest, from local reporting:

…The lawsuit was filed roughly two months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a similar case, which Rayfield’s office characterized as showing the “enforcement vacuum” being created under the Trump administration.

Liz Tippet, a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, said it’s “suboptimal” for states to try to address nationwide issues.

“Our consumer protection division is fantastic,” she said. “They do sophisticated litigation on behalf of Oregonians. But it’s no substitute for sophisticated federal regulation and enforcement….”

We will keep you informed, but Trump’s coins (run by his fail-sons) may yet also be the subject of Oregon enforcement actions, for poor disclosure practices. Hilarious!

And… onward!

Mirengoff “Was Agin’ Govt. Intervention” In Education — Until It Became “WhiteWashers'” Intervention!

April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Here this morning, Mirengoff opines that as between self-flagellating history, and a mythology that teaches “white is always right”… he prefers the latter. He explicitly closes his piece of dung by saying so.

That deserves no thoughtful response, really. It is too stupidly malignant for any additional words.

He’s more comfortable in a world where the myths he was taught in the 1950s remain as “faux-gospels” of white power and supremacy. That’s all this is — and it is what Trump feels, too — obviously.

And he’s fine with brown kids thinking that they are less than, solely because by accident of genetics, they were not born… white.

What a completely lost set of souls, he and the Powerline boys are.

I’ll just stop there. He’s a… putz.

The Supremes Are Going To Agree With USDC Judges Sweeney And Boasberg — Noem’s And Trump’s “Theories” Are… Bunk.

April 19, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

After midnight last night, the US Supreme Court agreed with the ACLU in Texas.

Trump/Noem/Rubio cannot fly people — snatched and grabbed — to Venezuela, not without full due process. Here’s that order — which pauses everything until the Fifth Circuit and the Supremes have reviewed the matter in full merits hearings.

…A.A.R.P., ET AL. V. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL.

There is before the Court an application on behalf of a putative class of detainees seeking an injunction against their removal under the Alien Enemies Act. The matter is currently pending before the Fifth Circuit. Upon action by the Fifth Circuit, the Solicitor General is invited to file a response to the application before this Court as soon as possible. The Government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court. See 28 U. S. C. §1651(a)….

Thomas and Alito are writing their dissents now — they won’t be available until Monday, given the Easter Holiday, in all likelihood — and I will not link them in any event. They will certainly misstate the law. Onward — smiling.

नमस्ते

Tangerine 2.0 ONLY NOW Claims The Person Who Kicked Off The Insane Harvard Fight… Didn’t Have Authority To Speak For Him. R-i-i-i-i-ight.

April 18, 2025April 21, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Of course, the 90% probability is that he and his minions have realized this is not only patently unlawful, but a political fight now, in which he cannot possibly prevail.

So now he says, on a dead news Good Friday night, late… that he was “just kidding”. Sheesh. Here’s how the NYT has it:

…The April 11 letter from the White House’s task force on antisemitism, this official told Harvard, should not have been sent and was “unauthorized,” two people familiar with the matter said.

The letter was sent by the acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services [RFK], Sean Keveney, according to three other people, who were briefed on the matter. Mr. Keveney is a member of the antisemitism task force….

The letter arrived when Harvard officials believed they could still avert a confrontation with President Trump. Over the previous two weeks, Harvard and the task force had engaged in a dialogue. But the letter’s demands were so extreme that Harvard concluded that a deal would ultimately be impossible….

Damn. This is clearly — top to bottom — the “gang that can’t shoot straight“, no matter how the MSM has it.

Trump is manifestly unfit — and patently incompetent. And “Veritas” will… prevail.

नमस्ते

[U: More Criminal Contempt Hearings, Monday!] Last Minute Zoom Call / Hearing — Ordered By Judge Boasberg — Listening In Now…

April 18, 2025April 18, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

This is likely going to be to deny the government’s motion to put a hold on his orders.

This is late into the evening (Eastern), on Good Friday night. Indeed. So after this, it is on to the appeals.

…MINUTE ORDER:

Having reviewed Plaintiffs’ [85] Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and [90] Emergency Motion to Expedite, the Court ORDERS that the parties shall appear for a Zoom hearing on April 18, 2025, at 6:15 p.m. The hearing will proceed by videoconference for the parties and by telephone for members of the public. Toll free number: 833-990-9400. Meeting ID: 049550816.

So ORDERED by Chief Judge James E. Boasberg on April 18, 2025….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Orders, Updated On The Above Zoom Call:]

…Defendants’ arguments rely on a misconstruction of the Court’s directive. Having found probable cause that they committed criminal contempt, the Court required Defendants to choose one of two paths. See Order at 1. First, they can opt to purge their probable contempt and explain to the Court how they will do so. Id. In its Opinion, the Court observed that the “most obvious way” for them to do so would be by choosing to “assert[] custody of the individuals who were removed in violation of the Court’s classwide TRO so that they might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability through a habeas proceeding.” Op. at 43–44. In offering the Government a chance to voluntarily assert custody of the people it placed in a foreign prison, then, the Order did not “forc[e] the government to successfully execute foreign diplomacy” in violation of the separation of powers. See Mot. Br. at 11. The Court expressly allowed, moreover, that Defendants could “propose other methods of coming into compliance.” Op. at 44. Whether to purge the likely contempt, and whether to do so by voluntarily asserting custody of those individuals in Salvadoran jail, is entirely up to Defendants.

If they do not want to “make what was wrong, right,” Abrego Garcia v. Noem, 2025 WL 1135112, at *1 (4th Cir. Apr. 17, 2025), they can choose the second path: identify the individual(s) whose conduct caused the noncompliance. See Order at 1. Although the Opinion noted that the Court might eventually refer this matter for prosecution, see Op. at 44 (citing Fed. R. Crim. P. 42(a)(2)), we are not at that juncture. Their separation-of-powers arguments concerning any future prosecution(s), see Mot. Br. at 8–11, are therefore premature and misplaced.

For the foregoing reasons, the Court ORDERS that Defendants’ [88] Emergency Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal is DENIED….

Separately, it now is clear that Mr. Mazzaro lied in his sworn status reports — as to Abrego Garcia, in front of Judge Xinis.

A Maryland US Senator who met with him yesterday in a hotel in El Salvador said he’d been moved (almost nine days ago!) out of the “terrorists’ prison” to a separate local one, where he’s being held in isolation. Expect Judge Xinis to hold an emergency hearing on that prevarication, as early as Monday morning.

Shockingly, again at about 6 PM Eastern time tonight, Mazzaro filed another FALSE sworn declaration — even after the Senator’s report was in newspapers all over the world. He again said there is “no update” — but to this moment has never told Judge Xinis that Abrego Garcia had been moved to a separate prison (despite a standing and very clear federal court order to do so).

That is willful obstruction of justice. Out.

नमस्ते

Let’s Put Rigby’s Fine Take Down — On The Front Page! It Applies To Scott Johnson And John Hinderaker, Now.

April 18, 2025April 18, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

In all seriousness, though, Hinderaker’s post is astonishingly dishonest, even for him. Red meat for his readers, I know, but still chock-full of falsehoods and mischaracterizations.

No one disputes that he was in the U.S. illegally.

This is a lie. Garcia was granted this work permit in 2019 by the Department of Homeland Security, and was employed as a sheet metal apprentice. He had been granted a withholding of removal status, which allowed him to legally work and live in the U.S. This has been well documented. John is lying.

Therefore–it follows–he should be deported to his home country.

Garcia wasn’t deported. He was sent to an El Salvador prison at the American government’s behest, and U.S. taxpayers are funding his incarceration. He’s essentially a prisoner under the American justice system, but being held in a foreign prison — all without any charges being filed against him in either country. This is ridiculous.

…because he could be threatened by a rival gang.

Nope. He wasn’t threatened by a rival gang. Garcia never, ever used that term. His story hasn’t changed: He and his brother were threatened by a gang trying to recruit them, which they both refused to do, and both fled to America. This has been well documented. John is lying.

a reliable informant told police that Garcia was “an active member of MS-13”

This anonymous informant (who has never been identified) allegedly told police the arresting officer that Garcia was an active gang member in New York, a place Garcia has never lived. The officer, Ivan Mendez, was suspended days later for leaking confidential police information to a street walker, who was also his mistress. Not exactly an unimpeachable source. As far as I know, his assertion that “a Chicago Bulls jacket and hoodie” was known MS-13 attire has never been substantiated, but even if it has, this “evidence” is very thin gruel. And that’s literally all the evidence that’s been presented to support the MS-13 accusation. The immigration judge who granted the stay found Garcia, who denied any gang affiliation, credible.

Garcia is also a domestic abuser

Garcia has never been convicted (or even charged) with this crime. Even his wife denounces that characterization. In a statement, she said she did seek a civil protective order in 2021 after a disagreement with Garcia, but noted that she had survived a previous relationship that included domestic violence, which triggered her fear. She did not appear at the court hearing, and the matter did not proceed. She has further commented

“Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process,” she said in the statement. “We were able to work through this situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling. Our marriage only grew stronger in the years that followed. No one is perfect, and no marriage is perfect.”

Is domestic violence a problem? Absolutely? Do some victims stand by their abusers, out of fear or loyalty? Again, yes. But last time I checked (which was right now), Garcia has never, ever been charged with a crime in either the United States or El Salvador, and the punishment for an uncompleted restraining order is not life in a brutal concentration camp. This has all been well documented. John is, at best, mischaracterizing the facts here.

But even if you dismiss all of the above, John is ignoring the Constitution. I assume he didn’t miss Fifth Amendment day in law school. The Fifth Amendment reads (in part):

No person… shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

Notice how it says “person” and not “citizen”? The evidence that Garcia is a person is pretty compelling, and yet he’s been deprived of liberty without due process of law. This is black-letter-law illegal.

But if that doesn’t convince you, let’s now peruse the Fourteenth Amendment:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Notice how it says “citizens” in the first part of the sentence and “person” in the second part of the sentence? That seems pretty important. Maybe John missed Fourteenth Amendment day.

So, even if Garcia is MS-13 (which hasn’t been definitively established in any way, shape or form), his capture and imprisonment is still unconstitutional.

If he were brought back to the U.S., and definitively proven in court, following the rules of evidence, to be a member of MS-13, then by all means deport him and let El Salvador do what they wish, and I won’t shed a single tear for him. But until then, his imprisonment is quite plainly illegal.

John went to law school. He should absolutely know this. But he’s gotta keep throwing that red meat, I guess.