And Tonight, Tennessee Will Execute A Man In A Death Eligible Case, Where The State FORCED Him To Trial WITHOUT COUNSEL.

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

This is… deplorable.

Moments ago, the Supremes (the five of them, anyway) refused to hear / look at Mr. Carruther’s emergency petition.

Later tonight, Tennessee will execute a man it never bothered to do DNA testing on, despite collecting DNA of the supposed killer, at the crime scene — and then relied on jailhouse informants. Some years later, his co-death eligible defendant won a new trial — and was released from jail, entirely — in 2015.

Finally, this man was forced to represent himself by the local Tennessee prosecutor and judge, in a death eligible case — in direct violation of Gideon v. Wainwright. Damn. This is… shameful. Out.

नमस्ते

The Fifth Cir. Is Clearly Wrong Here — But As To The Del Rio Texas Razor Wire Injury Cases, It Won’t Matter (Much).

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

I will only offer a shortish squib from the “opinion” on this, since (again!) the Fifth Circuit plays politics, rather than simply applying the well settled federal preemption law. It still applies nationwide, on the nation’s navigable waterways. So…

Whatever.

As I said last month, the actual bodily-injury cases are now headed to a forced mediation — down in Del Rio. Texas — and MAGA Gov. Abbott’s GOP mono-rule doesn’t want to compensate the people — and families of the deceased — that MAGA Gov. Abbott’s concertina wire barriers… maimed and drowned. Welp. That will no longer stand.

See the mediation orders. So this injunction, against conduct long ago completed — as vacated by the goofy Fifth — means almost nothing.

But you could tell from the first paragraph that it was mostly a political manifesto (riddled with half-truths, and outright lies) — not so much any reasoned legal opinion. It darkly references (by the euphemism “surge“)… as well as “an invasion“, directly.

The Supremes have repeatedly held that there is no “invasion” at all on the Southern borders. Damn. Nonsense, that:

…This case concerns whether the State of Texas, exercising its historic, sovereign police powers, can legislatively protect its citizens from a surge of illegal aliens in response to an unprecedented border crisis and a declared invasion [Hah!]. The district court judge and a divided panel held that it cannot. Because the Plaintiffs that are challenging the new statute lack standing, we vacate the preliminary injunction without addressing the merits of the pre-emption claim….

What a load of crap. [Another broad hint that this is BS… is offered by the page count. The Fifth panel took over 150 pages… to make no ruling at all.] None that wold matter to any real world outcome, that is.

So… Onward, resolutely — just the same.

नमस्ते

Well — I Agree With The CDC’s Assessment: This Andes-Virus H. Presents A High Enough Risk, To Enforce 21 Day Quarantine Orders… Still, IRONIC.

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

First things — first: this is the right public health approach. And if she is in fact the study abroad university educator I think she is, she well knows this is a risk of “Semesters at Sea” programs. And she should be mindful of her fellow… humans (to say nothing of her students).

That said, it is deliciously ironic — that after Tangerine’s campaign was based in some large measure on saying the COVID-19 lockdown was a violation of people’s civil rights… that now, he is in the position of having his acting CDC Director issue federal administrative arrest orders — should Ms. Perryman forcibly try to leave the Univ. of Nebraska quarantine facility in Omaha, before her 21 days have elapsed. That’s… fascinating.

In any event, here’s that story — and a bit:

…Angela Perryman, an American passenger exposed to the deadly hantavirus on a cruise ship this month, expected a short stay at a special quarantine facility in Nebraska after her arrival last week.

On Monday, after making plans to depart, she received a federal order requiring her to stay for at least two more weeks. Health officials said they would contact law enforcement if she tried to leave.

“They are requiring us to remain in a locked facility and threatening us,” said Ms. Perryman, 47, “and denying us the right to home quarantine.”

Federal health officials did not respond to requests for comment. But the order Ms. Perryman shared with The New York Times says officials believe she would “constitute a probable source of infection to other people” if she left the facility to travel to another state….

W I L D.

These are simply wild… times. Onward to bike rides, and after school / dinner / park picnics. Out.

नमस्ते

The Speed Of The Latest Bundibugyo / Ebola Spread… Is Deeply Disconcerting, In DRC and Uganda Now: Over 130 Dead; Over 530 Are Ill.

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Again — USAID’s early detection and arrest capabilities would have made all the difference here. Thus, these excess deaths are directly attributable to Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Damn.

To be certain, the wildly-difficult work here — of getting the “evil djin back in the bottle” is all the more daunting because it is not clear that any of the existing vaccine stock will be effective, against the rather rare — but presently circulating — Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. In about five elapsed days, the fatalities have… TRIPLED. Here’s the morning’s tough news — and a bit:

…At least 131 people are believed to have died and 531 suspected to have been infected, according to the Congolese Health Ministry. An American missionary was among those who tested positive for the deadly disease.

Global health experts are worried about the capacity of this outbreak to cause widespread illness and death in central Africa — not least because this rare strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, has no approved vaccine or treatment and a shortage of available tests.

The outbreak was also undetected for weeks, adding to the complexities in containing it. It has ripped through a region riven by civil war and conflict, while health officials said funding shortages were further hampering their ability to fight Ebola….

Several metric tonnes of protective gear and sanitary supplies arrived in Buni, Ituri’s capital city yesterday, from Doctors Without Borders. But that will only be a tiny child’s finger — in the now-bursting dyke.

So, let history record that it was MAGA fecklessness — and racism — that were the twin causes of this, the excess deaths now being recorded.

नमस्ते

CIDRAP Offers Some Very Sobering “Undiagnosed” Mpox Clade 1b Data… Yikes.

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

And again, we ought to look directly at the cuts to federal public health programs, engineered by DOGE / Musk / Tangerine 2.0 — when assessing blame for excess infections, debilitating life long conditions, and even… deaths.

I am sick and tired. . . “of being sick and tired. . .” of these deeply dangerous morons. In any event, here is the latest:

…Asymptomatic mpox infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) may be far more common than previously recognized and could be playing a role in ongoing transmission, according to a study published last week in Nature Communications. Researchers estimate that actual infections may outnumber diagnosed cases by 33 to one….

For the study, researchers led by teams at the University of California (UC) at Berkeley and Kaiser Permanente Southern California tested for mpox in MSM in Los Angeles during routine sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening from May to November 2024. Then they monitored the same group of MSM for clinically diagnosed mpox.

Among nearly 8,000 eligible participants, only 15 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases were identified through standard clinical testing. But when the team tested for mpox DNA in 1,190 specimens collected from the routine STI tests, they found infections in… men who never presented with mpox symptoms or received an mpox diagnosis….

Ominously, the authors estimate that undiagnosed infections account for between 33-40 percent of all transmitted cases, and, under more realistic modelling assumptions, potentially much more. Damnation.

नमस्ते

Odd. Hinderaker & Mirengoff: Utterly MUM, On Islamic Center Killings In San Diego Today.

May 18, 2026May 19, 2026 ~ condor ~ 2 Comments

Actually, it’s not very odd at all.

This is those good ole’ boys’ standard MO: they decry every bit of antisemitism, wherever they see it — and truly that is awful — but fall silent when any Islamaphobia takes automatic weapons and starts killing devout practitioners of otherwise peace-loving religious populace.

No, even taunting must be highlighted (if Jews are targeted), while mass murders are never mentioned (when Muslims are the victims).

Odd?

Not really — given the boys’ long standing religious bigotry.

Out.

While MAVEN May Be Lost/Dead Stick — Its Older Data Is Still Offering Us New Martian Insights…

May 18, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

This is excellent — file it under the heading of unexpected… new exo-planetary / space science learnings, from older spacecraft data — being re-mined.

This is NASA — multiple efficiencies; functioning on multiple levels. We now know that Mars experiences the same Zwan-Wolf effect we see in our own Earth-bound magnetosphere. Here’s all of that, from NASA:

…In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected — observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, scientists identified a phenomenon known to occur in Earth’s magnetosphere, where charged particles are squeezed like toothpaste coming out of a tube along magnetic structures called flux tubes. This so-called Zwan-Wolf effect aids in the deflection of solar wind around Earth and has been observed and studied there for decades. Now, a new study published in Nature Communications provides the first comprehensive observations of the same effect in Mars’ atmosphere….

Understanding the Zwan-Wolf effect at Mars will further our understanding of how space weather affects the planet and provides new insight into how this effect might occur at similar unmagnetized bodies, such as Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan. Observations like this also highlight the importance of knowing how large space weather events can lead to changes in the environment at and around the Red Planet and potentially affect assets on or near Mars.

“Knowing how space weather interacts with Mars is essential,” said Shannon Curry, the principal investigator of MAVEN and research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. “The MAVEN team continues making new discoveries with our datasets and finding these links between our host star and the Red Planet….”

[As a reminder, the] MAVEN spacecraft, in orbit around Mars, experienced a loss of signal with ground stations on Earth on Dec. 6, 2025. In Feb. 2026, NASA launched an anomaly review board to assess the probable current state of the spacecraft and the likelihood of its recovery….

And so, even well after loss of signal, it turns out the MAVEN’s data is still teaching us things we never knew — about Barsoom. Onward — but I doubt MAVEN will ever phone home again. She is lost to the stars, now. Sigh.

नमस्ते

Gee — It’s A Small [High Finance] World: Oracle & Merck Use The Same Four Main US Investment Bankers…

May 18, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this morning, we detailed the multi-tranche debt issuances being deployed by four of the most powerful investment banks on the planet — to help Merck set up the balance sheet proportions for the Terns acquitision — a modest $6.7 billion (by comparison to the ~$28 billion in 2022 Mr. Ellison needed to buy Cerner’s EHR businesses).

It always seems to be the same players — at the top of high finance, for investment grade borrowers. Fascinating:

…The initial $28.3 billion purchase of Cerner was primarily financed through a $15.7 billion bridge loan, which was later refinanced through term loans and a multi-part corporate bond sale.

The leading US banks involved in managing this multi-billion dollar debt and bond issuance included: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc….

Now you know. Onward — but I suspect Merck’s Terns acquisition will generate a better return over the long haul, than Mr. Ellison’s Cerner buy.

नमस्ते

Power Alley: To Finance The Terns Purchase, Merck Will Offer A Series Of Layered-Maturity Bonds, Under Existing SEC Shelf Registrations. Smart Finance, That, Mr. Davis.

May 18, 2026May 18, 2026 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

We are seriously looking at grabbing a few of the longer dated coupons, since this makes a nice low risk add — to the retirement draws. The interest will be taxable — but at around 5% a year, this is a nice add. And, Merck is smart to get the deal done before summer, when Tangerine 2.0’s “global calamity risk” looks to… rise.

What an odd… world. He is the opposite of what big business needs: stability. He offers… none [but he is finally dropping his $10 billion supposed (and preposterous) suit against the IRS today. Damn.] Existing Merck debt is trading in both deep, and liquid oceans — and this morning is yielding… Merck 4.90% (Due 05/17/2044): Trades around a 5.62% yield to maturity. Sweet.

In any event, while Barron’s reporting is incorrect that this is a “private” matter, the numerical details are accurate, as Rahway has this morning filed an SEC 424(b) red herring prospectus detailing the ~$6 billion offering of a series of debt securities.

…Merck is seeking to raise about $6 billion from an investment-grade bond sale to help finance its acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

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Merck is selling the notes in as many as seven parts, according to a separate person with knowledge of the matter. The longest portion of the offering, a 30-year security, may yield about 1.05 percentage points above Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private….

Nope. Not private — being very publicly offered at Wall & Broad this morning. And if the yields on any of these bonds approach 5%, they are great long term, low risk ways to enhance your annual retirement draw — at a risk level almost identical to US Treasuries. You heard it here first. Onward, smiling.

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