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[U: Mr. Garcia’s Counsel’s Answer Is A Day Early!] Chief Justice Roberts Says He Needs A Few Days To Review — And Mr. Garcia’s Lawyers Will Answer By Tomorrow At 5 PM EDT…

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UPDATED @ 5 PM EDT: Mr. Garcia’s lawyer has answered a full 24 hours early, and within minutes of the Chief’s largely showy order. Here it is, and it is a banger! End update, but this puts the pressure back on Justice Roberts: if this man is hurt or killed — because Roberts decides to watch the March Madness Final tonight, rather than authoring a very clear opinion before midnight — that will be his to explain in front of St. Pete, at the gates (assuming he ever makes it that far).

We must remark: here the ultimate outcome is not going to be in any serious doubt — Noem MUST have this man returned — and tout de suite.

Unless… of course, he dies in Salvadoran captivity, first. The Chief Justice might want to bear that in mind: all who’ve looked at it agree — Noem had no right to do this. And he is in peril. No one has been able to speak to him since he left Texas, over a week ago, for El Salvador. Not his family; not his lawyers. John Roberts is personally gambling with this man’s life — for no real point or purpose. Here’s the latest:

…UPON CONSIDERATION of the application of counsel for the applicants….

IT IS ORDERED that the April 4, 2025 order of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, case No. 8:25-cv-951, is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court. It is further ordered that a response to the application be filed on or before Tuesday, April 8th, 2025, by 5 p.m. (EDT)….

Stay tuned. Disappointing, but onward resolutely, just the same. Justice will come.

नमस्ते

[U, At Noon. Appeal Failed.] Noem And Tangerine 2.0 Correctly Denied Any Stay, In Garcia Case In Maryland. He Should Be On A Flight Home, Already.

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Updated at Noon — the Fourth Circuit (see Appeal no. 25-1345) has denied Tangerine any stay of the order to put him on a flight home by tonight. That is clearly correct. End update.

Welp — once again, the hubris and malignancy of Kristi Noem was in high dungeon, this past week/weekend. As was that of Pam Bondi.

Bondi (likely on orders from Stephen Miller, Noem and Tangerine 2.0) has now effectively fired two layers of US Attorneys (who, in her view… “let” this order get entered). That is, she fired them for not engaging in what would have been a fraud upon the court, after her own agents publicly admitted they grabbed the wrong guy, and without so much as a cursory march past any judge, dumped him in the worst hell-hole in the Western Hemisphere. Damn.

And so, from the able USDC Judge’s 22 page opinion (a PDF) — denying Tangerine 2.0 / Noem any stay, as published yesterday (on a Sunday):

…In 2019, an immigration judge — acting under the authority delegated by the United States Attorney General and pursuant to powers vested by Congress [Ed. Note: Thus he was granted relief DURING Trump’s first term!] — granted Plaintiff Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia (“Abrego Garcia”) withholding of removal, thereby protecting him from return to his native country, El Salvador. ECF No. 1 ¶ 41; ECF No. 1-1. Such protection bars the United States from sending a noncitizen to a country where, more likely than not, he would face persecution that risks his “life or freedom.” See Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A); see also 8 C.F.R. §§ 208.16–.18 & .24 (setting forth the standard for withholding of removal and the procedures required for its termination).

Six years later, without notice, legal justification, or due process, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), a subagency of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), put him on a plane bound for the Terrorism Confinement Center (“CECOT”) in El Salvador. ECF No. 1¶ 59.

Neither the United States nor El Salvador have told anyone why he was returned to the very country to which he cannot return, or why he is detained at CECOT. See Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, 25: 13–14 (Mr. Reuveni: “We have nothing to say on the merits. We concede he should not have been removed to El Salvador.”); see Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, 34:25–35:5 (The Court: “[W]hat basis is he held? Why is he [in CECOT] of all places?…” Mr. Reuveni: “I don’t know. That information has not been given to me. I don’t know.”).

That silence is telling. As Defendants acknowledge, they had no legal authority to arrest him, no justification to detain him, and no grounds to send him to El Salvador — let alone deliver him into one of the most dangerous prisons in the Western Hemisphere….

Having confessed grievous error, the Defendants now argue that this Court lacks the power to hear this case, and they lack the power to order Abrego Garcia’s return. ECF No. 11 at 3. For the following reasons, their jurisdictional arguments fail as a matter of law.

Further, to avoid clear irreparable harm, and because equity and justice compels it, the Court grants the narrowest, daresay only, relief warranted: to order that Defendants return Abrego Garcia to the United States….

Under her orders, then — he is due back here stateside by midnight tonight.

What sort of a monster must Noem be, if she instructed her AUSAs to argue that — once dumped in the hell-hole, BY these same ICE agents, and thus the US Government — that same US Government was powerless to right the known wrong?!?

नमस्ते

We Will Watch The Launch Live, In The Wee Hours Tomorrow, US Time — To The ISS, For Jonny Kim, And The Cosmonauts — On a Soyuz Rocket…

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NASA+ TV streaming promises to have the whole she-bang, come tomorrow.

See the below. And assuming Jonny Kim’s time at ISS is uneventful (from a health / space fitness perspective), he is presently slated to ride the first 21st Century crewed ship to the Moon, for NASA. Here’s the latest:

…NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to the International Space Station, accompanied by cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, where they will join the Expedition 72/73 crew in advancing scientific research.

Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky will lift off at 1:47 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 8 (10:47 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Watch live launch and docking coverage on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms.

After a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory to the station, the spacecraft will dock automatically to the station’s Prichal module at approximately 5:03 a.m. Shortly after, hatches will open between Soyuz and the space station….

Now you know — but in truth I’ll watch (the launch, at least) from my bed, on the iPhone. Heh.

नमस्ते

Mr. Abrego Garcia Should Already Be On His Way To An Airstrip — Protected By US Guards, Inside El Salvador… Right Now.

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“This case is certainly important to Abrego Garcia and his family,” the judge said. “In recognition of that, I feel like I can’t wait on giving my order….”

Updated — but now, we have the formal written order; and he is due back in the USA by midnight tonight, April 7, 2025:

…Defendants are hereby ORDERED to facilitate and effectuate the return of Plaintiff Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States by no later than 11:59 PM on Monday, April 7, 2025….

This preliminary relief is issued to restore the status quo and to preserve Abrego Garcia’s access to due process in accordance with the Constitution and governing immigration statutes….

Indeed, it must be said — when ~4.5 million Americans march nationwide, many in cold, windy weather — to chant “Hands Off!” — Ms. Noem, you and your tangerine handler should… take heed — and take care, that you hear the will of… the people, here.

He better be on a government secured flight — headed home, by 7 pm Eastern Daylight time, tonight, Mademoiselle.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker Pretends The GOP Didn’t Just Slam Americans With The Largest Instant Tax Increase In A Century!

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Hey knucklehead. Uh, John…

Your boy calls them tariffs… But they are in fact instant, non-legislated, tax hikes. Tax hikes on ordinary working Americans — on what they have to pay for everyday goods.

The GOP is now the highest “taxing-est” party in one year — in over a century.

So our slogan — “hands off” means just what it says, hands off our money, hands off women’s bodies, hands off real science, and hands off people who have papers to be here, that you are snatching and putting in Salvadoran hell holes.

And yes, they were very well attended (well over 1.2 million nationwide).

The MAGA trade… is now dead.

Of its own stupidity — and hubris.

And so, you should be ready to get slaughtered in 2026 — at the midterms.

Cheers, chucklehead.

The Idiot Pam Bondi Places AUSA In Maryland On Leave, For Failing To “Zealously Advocate” A Patently Unlawful Course, In That Grabbed Dad Case… OMG!

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Well — at least the lawyer will get full pay indefinitely, now — and not have to go to the office.

And… they will have preserved their… integrity. They will be snapped up by any number of great law firms. Law firms that still respect the rule of law, in America. Here’s that story. In any other era, this would be considered “Twilight Zone” stuff. In the time of Tangerine 2.0, it is… a regular Friday:

…Sources said Erez Reuveni, the acting deputy director for the Office of Immigration Litigation, was told by officials at the DOJ that he was being placed on leave over a “failure to zealously advocate” for the government’s interests.

“At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on Saturday. “Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences….”

Since when does the “government interest” include KNOWINGLY dumping the WRONG MAN in a hell-hole Salvadoran prison without so much as a due process hearing?! Since… it embarrassed Kristi Noem and her $50,000 gold and diamond encrusted Rolex, in front of lots of shirtless prisoners — on her prison porn tour, in El Salvador last week. Damn.

Heh — old Pammy’s gonna find out that these [nationwide] AUSAs are not just political hacks [in Ruby-red Florida districts] any more. They are in the main — a much higher caliber of counsel. Ones who will not traffick in their integrity.

Buckle up, butter-cup.

नमस्ते

[U] With Duke’s Loss, Both 44 And I Are Done Scoring. I Win 118 to 107.

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Update: I’ve won the women’s bracket too, as UConn takes down the favored Gamecocks. Woot! End, update.

So… I get one. Finally. But in the women’s brackets, Mr. Obama bests me if South Carolina wins it all.

In any other women’s outcome… I beat him, even though my ultimate pick for the national champion, UCLA, is already out.

In truth, am pretty far ahead now, but I’d say the Gamecocks… are likely to be the women’s champ — giving BHO44 that crown. We shall see.

G’night, one and all — I am hearing there were probably 200,000 people marching in the Chi today — and maybe nearly a million, nationwide. Excellent.

नमस्ते

USW Local 10-86 President: Merck Offering “Worst Set of Proposals Ever” During Collective Bargaining…

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It is a highly uncertain time, for unionized labor, in general — with attacks from Trumpians, on all sides. This is then a “knock-on effect” story, as big businesses are no longer sure of their profit margins, under this insanely chaotic tax/tariff regime. So they “pull back” — in labor cost projections.

And so too, it seems, are large pharma concerns (and their CEOs) — via tough bargaining stances, with union workforces. In this case, at WestPoint, PA. Here’s the latest, locally:

…More than 200 members of the United Steelworkers Union Local 10-86 at Merck & Co. rallied outside Building 53 near Gate 1 at the Upper Gwynedd pharmaceutical giant Wednesday afternoon in support of its collective bargaining team, who are in middle of negotiations with the company on a five-year contract, which, according to the union president, has been “one of the worst set of proposals ever put across the table….”

“In light of the company’s insulting, one-sided proposals, it’s time we made our position loud and clear,” said the flyer. “We’re calling on every union member to stand together and show our strength.”

Local 10-86 President Kevin McCafferty said the rally is part of the action items the union does with every contract to show support…

“We’re at a midway point, with little to no movement on either side,” McCafferty said. “I’m in my fifth contract negotiation, and this is the worst set of proposals ever put across the table….

[T]he announcement of the impending closure of the Cherokee plant in Danville, PA, which will affect 163 employees starting next month, is on the minds of Local 10-86 as well. McCafferty said the Upper Gwynedd location continues to expand and build more facilities.

“The Cherokee plant in Danville was sold and bought back and closed,” he said. “A lot of the same proposals we are getting now, they were given as well….”

Now you know — back from a protest at Daley Plaza here, at noon — marched south. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

[U: Hinderaker, Too] Meanwhile, The Otis/Mirengoff’s “Penguin Update” — For What Is Only “Tariff Day Two”, Here On Friday…

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Updated: Hinderaker revels in having intentionally voted for a man bereft of even a fifth grader’s understanding of economics. Classy. End update.

This is so far beyond maddening… I don’t even know what to say. “These f-in’ goise….”

D A M N.

Again, we must point out that with each passing post, Mirengoff, Otis, Johnson and Hinderaker are openly bleating to the world that they CHOSE to elect a moron — a guy who can’t read above a fifth grade level — and who would have failed out of Wharton’s Macro-Econ. 101 if his sister hadn’t ghost written all his exams.

They think we should feel sorry for THEM?! Because these A-holes intentionally elected a reprobate?! Nope and nope.

That said — they are finally being honest here, that Trump will kill the shining Camelot that Kennedy largely created by himself, in 1962. As Otis’s buddies (unnamed) put it:

…Trump’s action can be looked upon as one more component of his forfeiture of American leadership in world. Discounting or leaving NATO? Letting Putin have his way with Ukraine (and then what else)? Making the complaint that America has been “taken advantage of”? That might well be true, but is that what a leader says? To lead is, in a sense, by nature to be “taken advantage of”: You have to be strong while others, weaker or poorer or merely less courageous, get the advantage of your being in front — in front where it’s at a minimum costly, often dangerous, and sometimes mortally dangerous….

But that is the America that saved the world. It saved it first by beating the Nazis and then the Soviets…. And we didn’t ask how much.

Did the country really elect Trump to so casually say goodbye to that America?….

Apparently the feckless rich whyte boys who write blogs… did.

Out.

Ms. Chung Is About To Show The World That Kristi Noem Had No Plausible Basis To Grab Her Off The Streets Of Manhattan…

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We’ve all seen it, on video, via TikTok and YouTube and the legacy TV-news stations — a broad daylight snatch and grab — by ICE and DHS. Yunseo Chung’s a lawful resident student at Columbia, for chrissakes. Tonight, her lawyers have filed to get a look at the (largely bogus) documents ICE says it was relying on, for a warrant to detain her, and search her residence.

This should concern every person in America who believes we all have the right to peaceably oppose the policies of our government. Here’s that filing, and a bit:

…[We] respectfully request that the Court: (1) unseal the rider, supporting affidavit, application, and any other materials underlying the warrant issued on March 13, 2025, authorizing federal law enforcement to search for and seize documents from Ms. Chung’s Columbia University-owned residence (“the Warrant”); (2) provide those materials to the parties for 24 hours so that the parties may propose limited redactions; and (3) after reviewing and deciding any request for limited redactions, order the release of the materials to the public….

[The Warrant was executed] at Ms. Chung’s Columbia-owned residence, ostensibly seeking documents including any occupancy or lease agreements, travel records, and immigration records. The Warrant cited only one law that had supposedly been violated, 8 U.S.C. § 1324. This provision, known as the “harboring” statute, criminalizes the harboring of persons unlawfully present in the country.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche then publicly stated that Columbia University is under investigation for “harboring and concealing illegal aliens on its campus.” The Warrant would only have been properly supported factually if the materials submitted to the issuing Magistrate Judge, including under oath, stated that Ms. Chung was unlawfully present in the United States. But Ms. Chung is a lawful permanent resident, see Compl. ¶ 23, and Secretary Rubio does not have the unilateral authority to revoke her status, see id. ¶¶ 91-92, 153-75. Ms. Chung remains a lawful permanent resident unless an immigration judge rules otherwise, and a final order of removal ensues.

Until then, Ms. Chung, a lawful permanent resident, cannot be “harbored,” and the statute in question could not have been properly cited to support a warrant to search her residence.

Therefore, it is difficult to imagine how a warrant could have been lawfully obtained to authorize the search of Ms. Chung’s residence in connection with an ostensible investigation into Columbia’s supposed violation of the harboring statute.

The materials underlying the Warrant will supply much needed clarity to Ms. Chung and the public….

Democracy… dies… in darkness. Let us see them. These are our courts, and our streets, afterall. Onward.

नमस्ते