Monday, May 12, 2025

Why Be Shy About It?

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Call Me Crazy, But…

...I’m pretty sure this sarcasm. This isn’t. It’s just stupid. You can’t fix stupid. But you can identify it.
In 2024, Biden signed into law a $105 billion measure designed to end a shortfall in air traffic controllers.

In 2025, Trump came in and instead began firing hundreds of them.

So you can see how *clear* it is that Biden is to blame for the shortage now.
And the GOP Congress is cool with that because…who the hell in Congress flies out if Newark? Except Dems, I mean. Biden aged everything. Just by being old. Dear Leader is old, but still vigorous enough to ramble for over an hour at a signing ceremony, and then walk off and forget to sign the document. But he did the same thing in his firs term! He hasn’t changed!! This is not sarcasm, either. This is a guy who’s never taken responsibility for the used cars he bought.
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I Should Have Noted..:

 Trump is favoring white Afrikaners because…white;

That change has left refugees — including Christians fleeing religious persecution — without a clear path forward and forced the 10 refugee resettlement groups, seven of which are faith-based, to lay off scores of workers while still trying to support refugees who had recently arrived. Four of the faith groups have since filed two separate lawsuits, one of which recently resulted in a ruling that should have restarted the program. However, refugee groups have accused the government of “delaying compliance” with the court order.

A representative for Church World Service, which is among the groups currently suing the administration, said the organization “has agreed to support one family through remote services,” but pointed to an additional statement from last week that voiced ongoing frustration with the government’s actions.

“We are concerned that the U.S. Government has chosen to fast-track the admission of Afrikaners, while actively fighting court orders to provide life-saving resettlement to other refugee populations who are in desperate need of resettlement,” Rick Santos, head of Church World Service, one of the resettlement groups suing the government, said in a statement last week.

“By resettling this population, the Government is demonstrating that it still has the capacity to quickly screen, process, and depart refugees to the United States. It’s time for the Administration to honor our nation’s commitment to the thousands of refugee families it abandoned with its cruel and illegal executive order.”

Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, an evangelical Christian group that helps resettle refugees, said in an email that his group anticipates “serving a small number” of the arrivals who qualify for Office of Refugee Resettlement-funded services. But he said the situation is “complicated by the reality that the government is not bringing them to the US through the traditional State Department initial resettlement process, where World Relief has historically been one of the ten private agencies that implement this public-private partnership, because that process remains suspended.”

He added: “Our primary response to this situation is to continue to urge the administration to resume that initial resettlement process for a broad range of individuals who have fled persecution on account of their faith, political opinion, race or other reasons outlined under US law — and to highlight the support for doing so from the evangelical Christians who are World Relief’s core base of support, including some very conservative evangelicals who see refugee resettlement as a vital tool to protect those denied religious freedom abroad.”

White persons are more persecuted than others.

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Quid Pro-ing The Quo

Name where and when. And who they are being built for. Tesla doesn’t count. They just told their workers no to come back until June.

Many car companies who sell in the U.S. make cars here. See if Trump can name two of them.
A) It’s not free. Estimates are it would cost at least $60 million to make it fit for use as the Presidential plane.

B) It’s not for Trump; nor can he accept it on condition it goes to his library in 2029. It must be accepted as property of the U.S. government, and that must be done by act of Congress. Which is not going to give Trump a free plane after spending millions to make it fit for use, and then stripping it out again 2 years later.

Hell, Congress doesn’t even want to give Trump the budget bill he’s after.
Eric Lipton NYT wants us all to recognize this is proof there is no corruption evident in this deal. Clearly, it’s Boeing’s fault. How can it be corrupt if Boeing is taking too long? QED. Eric Lipton NYT would like to further point out that Sam Snead was not corrupt, so, there, social media! He’s run rings  ‘round you logically! Apparently Trump didn’t win a large block of Episcopal votes, because they disagree:
In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday (May 12) that it is terminating its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by President Donald Trump’s administration.

In a letter sent to members of the church, the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe — the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church — said that two weeks ago the government “informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees.”

The request, Rowe said, crossed a moral line for the Episcopal Church, which is part of the global Anglican Communion that boasts among its leaders the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a celebrated and vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa.

“In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,” Rowe wrote. “Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government.”
...
The stated reasons for (Trump’s actions) are claims of victimisation, violence and hateful rhetoric against white people in South Africa along with legislation providing for the expropriation of land without compensation,” read the letter from white South African religious leaders, which included among its four authors an Anglican priest. “As white South Africans in active leadership within the Christian community, representing diverse political and theological perspectives, we unanimously reject these claims.”
...
Rowe noted his announcement comes as the Trump administration has otherwise all but frozen the refugee program, with Afrikaners among the few — and possibly only — people granted entry as refugees since January. Shortly after he was sworn in, Trump signed an executive order that essentially halted the refugee program and stopped payments to organizations that assist with refugee resettlement — including, according to one group, payments for work already performed.
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Who Wouldn’t Want A Cybertruck?

 So Dad takes his 10 year old son to play in a baseball game. Dad drives son to the game in his Cybertruck. Dad puts son’s baseball gear in the frunk (front trunk; I am not making this up) of the Cybertruck. When they get to the game, Dad can’t open the frunk.

No problem, figures Dad. He can run home and bring son another glove (no report on whether son has 30, or just two). Au contraire. Because the latch on the frunk is disabled, the computer that actually is the “car” puts the “truck” into “Limp Mode.” (I solemnly swear I am not making this up.) Limp Mode means the vehicle will not exceed 15 mph until it is taken to Tesla for repairs. All Dad can do is call Tesla and get his “truck” towed. And repaired.

He had to get home via Uber. And his biggest complaint is that he looked bad in front of a baseball team of third graders (who thought the car was cool until the tow truck arrived).

Which I guess answers the question of who would want to own a car like this.

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It’s Always The Rich Getting Richer

He also wants to tax Americans buying European goods. Which he somehow thinks will bring jobs to America. To replace all the longshoremen and long haul truck drivers? And store employees? (Who’s going to rush to order from China if tariffs might shoot back up by the time container ships arrive? 30% is a big enough tax, but is it reliable in September?)
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Corruption Is Not Entirely In The Eye Of The Beholder

 Eric Lipton NYT is more Catholic than the Pope:

Corruption requires explict quid pro quo. It is not corrupt to take an action that aligns with the interest of a person who gives you a gift, unless the official action was in direct response to that gift--a bribe. Terms matter. Accuracy and fairness matters. Regardless of what social media wants.
Ashley Fairbanks with the best possible response:
it’s not corruption unless its grown in the corruption region of france, anything else is just sparkling bribery
💯 
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And It’s A “90 Day Pause”

Which means everything’s alright until Labor Day, right? Or actually, not that long. Baghdad Bob: “Are you fucking kidding me?”
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Slipping On A Bar Of Soap 🧼

 emptywheel:

It's a testament to the limited outcome of Chinese trade talks that Trump will stomp over Bessent's announcement of it tomorrow w/his unlawful effort to lower drug prices.

But this statement is ... interesting.

"Emergency over!!"

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/us-china-tariffs-trade-talks-switzerland-a3171637
WSJ:
Faced with pressure to undo the damage Trump did, Jamieson Greer has decided that the emergency no longer exists.

This may create the same legal problem for Trump his side hustle with Paul Weiss did, in which Trump said, "They've paid me now, the security risk they present is over."

The Paul, Weiss settlement has been key in the lawsuits from Perkins Coie, etc, bc they prove the arbitrary nature of Trump's orders, which is sole basis to do this.

The same may happen with tariffs more generally.
And all the while we’ve proved to China and the world that we can be rolled like a cheap drunk. SO MUCH WINNING!🏆 
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So We CAN Buy 30 Dolls At Xmas?

Tariffs on China will only be 30%. That’s not inflationary at all! And businesses can count on this because Trump’s not going to change his mind again, just like he said he wouldn’t!
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Sunday, May 11, 2025

This 🛩️ Just Gets Better And Better

Qatar was going to announce the “gift” when Trump was in country. Now? Not so much. So, anonymous sources: Mission Accomplished?

Or does Pam Bondi announce a criminal investigation in violation of DOJ policy again?

Three guesses, first two don’t count.

Of course, this whole Qatar thing could just be a distraction from the fact the sky is falling.
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This Is Your Nations Public Policy On Drugs 🍳

No, it’s not that important at all.
For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were SO MUCH HIGHER IN PRICE THAN THEY WERE IN ANY OTHER NATION, SOMETIMES BEING FIVE TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE SAME DRUG, MANUFACTURED IN THE EXACT SAME LABORATORY OR PLANT, BY THE SAME COMPANY??? It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer," Trump wrote. "The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the 'suckers' of America, ALONE."

He continued, saying, "Campaign Contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party. We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years."

"Therefore, I am pleased to announce that Tomorrow morning, in the White House, at 9:00 A.M., I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%," he added. "They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA! I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World. Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before. Additionally, on top of everything else, the United States will save TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Yeah, this is basically a turd in the Congressional punch bowl from Mr. Art of the Deal. And even though Trump’s executive order is as useless as this: Or this: Until more people realize the Emperor has no clothes, or the Congress finally decides to do its fucking job (not likely until 2027), we just have to plan like this:
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Jet, No Jet 🛩️

Politico:
“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” he said.

The aircraft in question is worth $400 million, ABC reported, and was set to be announced during Trump’s upcoming visit to the Middle East. A person familiar with the situation said no announcement is planned for Trump’s visit.
Just to be clear:
A U.S. official with direct knowledge of the plan confirmed there had been talks about the emir of Qatar gifting the plane to Trump to use as Air Force One. And a former U.S. official familiar with the situation said the talks involved the Qatari defense ministry and the Pentagon. Both were provided anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak about the issue, which is sensitive.
And then: The Constitution is just something the Democrats use to deny Trump what he is due as ruler of the world.

Something tells me Qatar is going to get cold feet: The attention today is a gift to Democrats.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:

“no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Seems pretty clear that a $400 million “air palace” from a foreign emir qualifies.

The corruption is brazen.
This has all the earmarks of another Trump debacle. Especially if it finally changes the narrative. Stay tuned.
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“…all levels of Confidence.”

 


Is this how he’s paying for the jet from Qatar? Or how he’s going to buy all the children 28 more dolls apiece at Xmas? Or fill the empty shelves this summer? And where is this money? In Scrooge McDuck’s vault? In Rich Uncle Pennybags’ Monopoly bank? Honestly, where is this money? And where is the record of this record number of jobs?

Does no one think to ask Congress members and Administration officials these questions? Because the President of the United States is talking like a man a big, tall tree just fell out of. He’s completely incoherent and talking fantasy and nonsense. All to keep his fragile ego, his narcissistic self, intact.

This is pathetic. And so far beyond “What if Biden said that?” it can’t see it in the rear view mirror.

No money is pouring into government coffers for the simple reason companies stopped buying goods from China because they knew they couldn’t pay the taxes (tariffs) at the port of entry. Which means that not only is money not flowing into the government, but money is going to fall off as jobs wither and die. No income, no income tax receipts.

Trump is too demented to be in charge of a lemonade stand on the sidewalk. He should be somewhere with a TV that’s on all day, and someone cuts his meat into tiny pieces so he doesn’t choke on it.
Hoping @wyden.senate.gov asks Scott Bessent whether Trump will be charged $40M tariff for the $400M jet he's importing from a foreign country subject to 10% tariffs.
And then ask him precisely where these “trillions of dollars” are. Please. I’m begging here. It’s past time to run this delusional shit to ground.
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It’s Laura from Loomer, So It Goes Off The Rails…

 


But it is pretty much my reaction (minus the slander on Islam, which is as foundational to Western culture as the Hebrews and the Greeks. And honestly, Muslims didn’t start the Crusades. But anyway…).

Gonna be pretty interesting to see who else reacts this way.
If Loomer isn’t your cup of tea, how about Norm Eisen?
Since I administered the WH emoluments rules, let me explain why this is forbidden

Trump expressed interest in it before it was offered

He is going to use & benefit from it a while in office

And he's going to keep using it after he leaves!

Functionally, it's a gift to him & so it's illegal
Of course, this raises another question:
could someone check with John Roberts whether accepting a $400 million plane for your personal use is a core executive power that congress may not constitutionally regulate or merely an action for which the president is presumptively immune from any accountability?
Inquiring minds want to know.

But there’s always an out:
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Profiles In Butter 🧈

So that’s a “Don’t ask me”?
The Constitution says that habeas corpus may not be suspended, quote, unless in cases of rebellion or invasion, would you vote to suspend habeas corpus since the power does ultimately lie with Congress?" Welker asked the Wyoming Republican.

"The president has said he will follow the law," Barrasso deflected. "The president says if he disagrees with the law, that he will appeal those things."

"And the president has now seen judges, district judges, radical district judges, using their courts to set national standards on making it harder for the president to deport individuals, criminals, and I stand with the president," he continued.

Welker pressed: "And yet, Senator, just to put a fine point on this, I want to know what you would do. Would you vote to suspend habeas corpus if this were brought before Congress? Ultimately, this power lies with Congress."

"The president said he is going to follow the law," Barrasso replied. "He was on with you last week. He said he has great respect for the Supreme Court. He said he expects the attorney general to do the right thing. And I expect that the president will."

"Can you just give me a yes or no?" Welker asked.

"I don't believe that this is going to come to Congress," Barrasso stated. "What I believe is [that] the president is going to follow the law. He has said it repeatedly."
The Senator doesn’t like “radical” judges who follow the law. Nor does he want to be forced between choosing to follow the law, or to follow Trump. But Trump demanding the suspension of habeas corpus would bring the issue to Congress. If Trump followed the law after the courts told him he couldn’t suspend it. 

Then again, will the Court tell him he can’t accept a jet from Qatar? Seeing as how he decided classified documents were his property, why would he leave the jet behind?
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Tariffs Tell The World: “ We Don’t Want To Buy Your Stuff”

 Ever been at a railroad crossing where a train has stopped? A really long one, lots cars. You can’t see the engine or the end (I almost said “caboose.” Showing my age.). It sits and it sits, and then finally  you can see some sign of forward motion. Put it still takes a while to clear.

That’s the metaphor for restarting the supply chain. As if we didn’t know, from Trump’s first term.

Appearing on "State of the Union," Lutnick launched extensive explanations about the upside of Trump's tariff threats, and butted heads with the CNN host, repeatedly replying," No, no, no," when she attempted to fact-check him.

In one exchange, he asserted, "Look, we published our rates on Liberation Day, negotiate with us, bring those rates down by opening your markets to Americans who can export. So what's going to happen is we're going to have imports. Of course, our ports, we are the consumer of the world! I mean, we consume $20 trillion worth of stuff. The world wants to sell us stuff."

"But it's not happening.right now because of the president's policies," Bash interrupted.

"No, no, no, it's only stopping," Lutnick protested.
I was pretty sure the point of 145% tariffs was so countries wouldn’t sell us stuff.
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DOGE Approved

Attorneys for the White House counsel's office and the Department of Justice were said to have drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that determined it would be "legally permissible" for the Department of Defense to accept the jet and later turn it over to the Trump Presidential Library.

"Sources told ABC News that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump's top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be 'legally permissible' for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump's presidential library before the end of his term, according to sources familiar with their determination," ABC reported.

The United States Air Force would take responsibility for modifying the aircraft to meet the needs of the president of the United States.

"According to aviation industry experts, the estimated value of the aircraft Trump will inherit is about $400 million, and that's without the additional communications security equipment the Air Force will need to add to properly secure and outfit the plane in order to safely transport the commander in chief," the report said.
The number of federal employees who had to lose their jobs to pay for this bribe gift was not disclosed.
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Everything Must Go!

The owner of “Trump Burger” is a Lebanese immigrant. I’m sure he’s a fine person (no, I won’t go there). But I think that information would give MAGA the whim-whams. 

I kinda doubt Trump would appreciate him using the name, come to think of it.
Pretty sure that’s NOT how gifts to the President are supposed to go, because of the emoluments clause. Especially the “goes to the Trump Library” part (he just wants to copy Reagan, because Trump has no use for libraries).  I’m sure this will make incumbents more likely to win re-election. The Rolls-Royce/Bentley owners and white South Africans will see us through! Besides, all incumbents get a free ride on the Qatar “Air Force One” that totally won’t have any suspicious hardware or software on it!
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Mother’s Day Wishes From Oklahoma

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Saturday, May 10, 2025

🌄

Reuters withdrew its report that the Chinese had walked out. The meeting was so private, that it occurred at all was known by circumstances, not announcements. But it did last all day.

That aside, trade deals require years, not hours; and have to be approved by the Senate. No announcement on social media or signed executive order makes them legally binding on the nation. Besides, Trump can announce an agreement on all terms, and next morning announced he’s raising tariffs on China to 200%. He’s certainly announced meetings with China which China has denied. He abandoned his own trade agreement (properly approved) with Canada and Mexico less than a month into his second term. The courts haven’t yet had the opportunity to review that declaration, or the tariffs he imposed. (My own opinion is that the President has no such legal authority, to suspend a trade agreement, or to impose tariffs; but government officials are taking a different point of view until the courts say otherwise.)  Whether he can do this or not, nations are reacting as if he can.

Trump hasn’t even made a trade deal with Britain. No terms have been agreed upon, no agreement has been approved by Congress.

Trump is really just shooting his mouth off about things he doesn’t understand and has no unilateral authority over. He’s creating cover to withdraw actions he had no power to take, but the consequences will be real anyway. And those consequences scare him witless. The container ships have stopped arriving, because orders stopped when Trump announced his fictional tariffs. Empty shelves are the inevitable result; as inevitable as sunrise.

And those are consequences I don’t relish, but that Trump can’t talk his way out of. Which may be why Congress is allowing hearings. The GOP may be trying to separate themselves from what they let Trump do.

Bonne chance.
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When Is An Outcry Not An Outcry

The host specifically asked Nichols why there hasn't been "greater outcry."

Nichols was asked, "Is it because of what you just talked about? Because of things that are being done, are being done under the facade of these democratic institutions? Is that why for some people, it's flying under the radar?"

He replied, "Well, there's actually a worse explanation for it. You know, part of the problem is that tens of millions of people think it's perfectly okay now to use the instruments of government against people you don't happen to like."

"A big part of the problem is that some of what Trump is doing is just popular with a certain amount of people who don't think that these things could ever be turned around and happen to them, if those instruments of government were used against them," he added. "But there's a bigger problem, which is that we live with a very high standard of living on our our day to day life. Everything works. You know, our gas tanks are full, the grocery stores, shelves are stocked... and people just say, well, how bad could it be? And it doesn't get bad until the day it happens. And then I think people find themselves surprised."
There have been three (or is it four?) organized nationwide protests. A large number of angry town halls in some of the reddest areas of the country. Trump’s approval ratings are in the toilet. Support for due process, even where non-citizens are concerned, is polling so high it makes one optimistic for the American experiment. And even the GOP controlled Congress is allowing witnesses to be grilled by Democrats, after 3 months of studied silence and long recesses. 

Should the outcry come from Congress?  The legislative body that, through the Senate, took 4 years to finally censure Tailgunner Joe, and then only after a lawyer asked McCarthy, “At long, have you no shame?” They’ve never been exemplars of courage. 

The courts are stopping Trump at every turn, and Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Sotomayor have spoken publicly, off the bench, about Trump’s threats to the Constitution. But that’s not enough outcry?

Do 300 million of us have to take up pitchforks and torches and surround the White House before it’s an “outcry”? Or will it only count when the “right” people are inconvenienced by supply chain disruptions? Well, wholesale destruction, actually. Until they speak out, are the trees falling in the forest not making a sound?

There are times when I remember Kissinger’s famous comment about Nixon’s “meatball mind.” Tens of millions of people in America always think it’s okay to use government power against someone else, and are always surprised when it comes ‘round to hurt them. The tale is as old as America’s original sin itself, the one that started with Columbus: slavery. And yet there is always an outcry from people who think we can do better.

And not being France, we really don’t have any history of torches and pitchforks or “Aux armes, citoyen,” to rally the overthrow of the government (more’s the pity, since French government to this day takes takes public displays of grievance far more seriously than we do.). So this is how it works, here. 

You’d expect an historian to have some grasp of it.
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And I Thought Rubio Was Having A Bad Day

 NBC News:

President Donald Trump’s special envoy broke with long-standing protocol by not employing his own interpreter during three high-level meetings with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, opting instead to rely on translators from the Kremlin, a U.S. official and two Western officials with knowledge of the talks told NBC News.

Steve Witkoff, who has been tasked with negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, met with Putin in Moscow for several hours on Feb. 11, on March 13, and in St. Petersburg on April 11, and “used their translators,” one of the Western officials said. “If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn’t know what they are saying,” the official added, referring to Putin and the interpreters.
IIRC, Witkoff’s qualifications were: he’s rich, and he made his money in New York real estate. So of course he can negotiate with Putin.
“In recent weeks, Trump has privately griped to advisers that Putin doesn’t want to end the war, and that both sides refuse to compromise. Trump has also asked advisers if they believe Putin has changed since Trump’s last time in office, and expressed surprise at some of Putin’s military moves, including bombing areas with children, according to people familiar with the remarks." the Journal is reporting.

War is hell. For Trump.

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😷

Maybe he was busy with the National Archives? Or distracted with directing national security? Or he’s been around Trump too long already? He seems to be contagious. 😷  I mean, Trump never knows what he’s talking about, either.
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Is Hell Freezing Over? 🥶

 


Because I agree with Liz Cheney. 💯 No notes.

And from JMM:

Pope says he picked “Leo” because of rerum novarum and in part because of the new challenges AI poses to “human dignity, justice and labor.”
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Fascist 🐂 💩

A reminder that debating Stephen Miller — who is not a lawyer and is not making legal arguments, he is spouting propaganda — is a win for him.
To point out that Stephen Miller is an ignorant Nazi so full of shit his eyes are brown is not to argue with him. Even if it’s stating the obvious, responding to his claims is to point out the Administration is doing all it can to go full Nazi.
Second, Miller is being slippery about the actual text of the Constitution (notwithstanding his claim that it is “clear”). The Suspension Clause does not say habeas can be suspended during any invasion; it says “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” This last part, with my emphasis, is not just window-dressing; again, the whole point is that the default is for judicial review except when there is a specific national security emergency in which judicial review could itself exacerbate the emergency. The emergency itself isn’t enough. Releasing someone like Rümeysa Öztürk from immigration detention poses no threat to public safety—all the more so when the release is predicated on a judicial determination that Ozturk … poses no threat to public safety.
I start with the Professor Vladeck’s second point because I want to cut to the chase. This passage includes the text of the suspension clause (Art. I, sec. 9, cl. 2), which is clearly relevant here. Because Miller is trying desperately to make an intellectual assault on due process and habeas corpus and the Constitution (by calling out the suspension clause). And when the courts tell him to get stuffed, we all need to cheer rather than wonder if Miller didn’t predict this dystopian turn of events. Remember, Miller is not arguing abstractions in a vacuum. He’s arguing we should declare a state of exception and suspend habeas corpus because a non-citizen legally present in our country…expressed an opinion the Administration doesn’t like. How many constitutional provisions are at play there, especially when the Administration and its minions want to sell the idea that non-citizens aren’t entitled to Constitutional protections?

Are we arguing with Stephen Miller, or are we arguing against these stupid and fascist ideas? Like Trump, Miller may like the attention. But just like Trump, the spotlight is revealing the vermin he really is.

Professor Vladeck has three further points:


B) that Congress has stripped Art. III courts of jurisdiction over immigration courts (this is a part of Miller’s argument that hasn’t gotten much attention, but the simple answer is: Miller is not a lawyer, and he may as well be discussing orbital velocity with no understanding of physics)

C) Miller goes full fascist in threatening the courts that if they don’t give him the outcome he (and the Administration) want, there will be consequences. For the life of me, I can’t understand standing silent when someone goes full fascist in a press conference.

(And what, you are wondering, was the professor’s first point, the one I skipped? That the very purpose of the suspension clause was, in my words , not his, was to give Congress (i.e., the people) the power to declare a “state of exception” in time of emergency. Even Rome didn’t give the diktator the power to declare himself diktator.)

To point out Miller is illiterate in matters of law is not to argue with Miller. It is to point out the clear and present danger of this Administration. Yes, Roberts and Sotomayor are pronouncing dark murmurings, but a more direct “THIS IS UTTER FASCIST BULLSHIT AND HERE’S WHY!” doesn’t hurt. Especially when the fascist bullshit is coming from inside the White House, publicly and unashamedly.
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Elmo, Meanwhile, Remains A Business Genius

With an average selling price hovering around $78,000, this stockpile [of cybertrucks] represents a big chunk of capital, potentially reaching close to $800 million worth of unsold Cybertrucks. Industry observers suggest that the growing inventory is more likely a consequence of sluggish sales rather than a sudden spike in production. In fact, there are indications that Tesla has deliberately reduced the Cybertruck production rate in recent months.

Adding to the challenge, a significant part of the current inventory consists of vehicles manufactured in 2024, meaning some units are already several months old. Even the "Foundation Series" Cybertrucks, the production of which ceased in October 2024, are still reportedly sitting in inventory.

Tesla's introduction of the rear-wheel-drive (RWD) Cybertruck variant, which now uses the same battery pack as the all-wheel-drive (AWD) version but with fewer features, could be seen as a strategic pivot. It suggests that the initial plans for offering multiple battery sizes for the RWD model were abandoned, possibly due to lower-than-expected production volumes. Tesla used a similar strategy with its Model S and Model X after the successful launches of the more mainstream Model 3 and Model Y EVs.

Considering the current inventory levels, which represent approximately two quarters' worth of sales, and the apparent production slowdown, the future of the Cybertruck program is uncertain. Despite initial projections of producing 250,000 units annually, it appears Tesla might struggle to sell even 20,000 Cybertrucks per year in the current market climate.

Some analysts speculate that Tesla might soon consider a more significant reduction, or even a temporary halt, in Cybertruck production as it grapples with the mounting inventory. Admitting that the Cybertruck program is facing trouble will be a difficult decision both for Tesla and Elon Musk.
And for everyone who thinks Elmo is an unassailable genius.
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Friday, May 09, 2025

Regarding The Detention of Ms. Ozturk

NEWS

Judge Sessions: “The court finds that Ms. Öztürk has sufficiently established all three factors" required for her release.
More:
Judge Sessions says the only evidence the government produced for the detention is the op-ed.

"That literally is the case. There is no evidence here as to the motivation absent the consideration of the op-ed."
And:
Sessions: "Her continued detention chills the speech of the millions and millions of people who are not citizens."

The court finds "her continued detention cannot stand."
Also:
Judge: "This is a woman who is just totally committed to her academic career," in a "caring" and "compassionate" way.

"There is no evidence that she has engaged in violence or advocated violence."
Final:
If the govt asked for a stay, it would be denied, he adds.

He'd like to know immediately when she's released.
Stephen Miller is working on suspending habeas corpus and due process (for good measure), on the grounds the judge is interfering with American foreign policy.
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Incongruous Assembled

Actually, tariff rates are up to Congress. Professor Vladeck:
The Suspension Clause:

1) Doesn't allow the President to unilaterally suspend habeas, especially when Congress is in session;

2) Applies only to cases of invasion or rebellion (this is quite clearly neither); and

3) *Even then,* applies on "when the public safety may require it." (It doesn't.)
A) Then the President can suspend Congress (the “Because I Said So” clause).

B) White America has been invaded by brown people (it’s too late to get rid of the blacks. Missed our chance to send them back to Africa. Jim Crow was supposed to be enough to make them self-deport.).

C) Clearly white public safety requires it. Anything less is unlawful discrimination against white people.

You think I’m exaggerating:
In order to save the country (for white people), we’ll have to destroy it.

Dear Roberts Court: What part of “unitary executive” did you not understand?

—Signed, DJT, Your Lord and Ruler
"WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CONGRESSPEOPLE?!” 

 LOC.gov:
The Library Collections & Services Group serves the Library's universal collections, which document the history and further the creativity of the American people and which record and contribute to the advancement of civilization and knowledge throughout the world. The group’s work includes acquiring, organizing, providing access to, maintaining, securing, and preserving these collections.

The Library Collections and Services Group includes the following divisions:

Discovery & Preservation Services Law Library

National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled

Researcher and Collections Services
The President’s agenda does not include nollij.
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Pope Watch

Schmoozing is a valuable skill anywhere. Trump will be POTUS for only the remainder of his four year term. Pope Leo XIV may well be Pope for 20 years. And every Christian should be a counterweight to Donald Trump. That’s call to discipleship. I am always cheered by anything that advances people over other concerns.

Things don’t matter. Ideas don’t matter. 

People matter.

People first; and the rest falls into its proper place.
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Fading, Fading, Fading….

Master negotiator. Unstoppable force. International Doofus.

Full text of US-UK "deal" confirms:

1. *Not* a "free trade" deal.

2. For UK, largely successful damage limitation: limiting US tariffs on cars/steel for not very much. But damage still done.

3. For Trump, pretty much complete climbdown. (1/3)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/681d327d43d6699b3c1d2a9d/US_UK_EPD_050825_FINAL_rev_v2.pdf
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MAGA Caliber Minds

Sean Duffy was born in 1971. But it seems he wants to be a Boomer.

Pizzagate conspiracist Jack Posobiec, meanwhile, was visibly irate over the tweets about Vance and immigrants before attempting to exert on-air pressure on Pope Leo XIV to openly support Trump.

“We need to see from the jump, from the absolute jump, whether or not Pope Leo is interested in working with President Trump or — as we can see from his Twitter feed — working against him,” he said during the broadcast of his Real America’s Voice show.

“As a representative of Catholics all around the world, perhaps he'll understand that it was Catholics who delivered the White House for President Trump,” he concluded. “And perhaps, just perhaps, the new pope will listen.”
I know, I know: who is this guy when he’s at home? “Pope Leo working with Trump”? Does he share Trump’s delusion that Trump is running the world? Or that tariffs apply to Vatican City?

Or that being the Vicar of Christ makes Leo antithetical to Trump? I know, trick question.

Or does he think, because the College of Cardinals selected the Pope by secret ballot, that the Pope is an elected official equal to any other elected head of state? And “we need to see…”? See what, Chuckles? How the world is bigger than your feeble grasp, and neither you nor Trump nor MAGA are at the center of it?

Trump has convinced these people that they are important. It’s sad, really. Even Trump is proving he’s not important.

This could almost be fun.
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Thursday, May 08, 2025

The Real Question Is…

... how does the Senate react?

A) “@$&#%!!”

B) “Well… 🤷🏻‍♂️…she’s not Ed Martin.”

Oh…interim. Well, that explains it.
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God: “Done”

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Any Of Those Parts Come From Foreign Suppliers?

Odds are.... I'd really rather ask: "Are we taking care of the poor? Or are we more focused on arms manufacturers?"
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🐓🍕

These are serious questions.
My late brother lived most of his adult life in Chicago. My sister-in-law still lives there. They were definitely Cubbies/Giordanos.

Ya gotta stick with family.
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Habemus Papam

We should be grateful to the Lord to now be blessed with having an American on the world stage who embodies good and not evil.
Amen.
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I Keep Thinking It Can’t Get Stupider

Imagine If Biden Said It, Dept. Try as hard as you want, you can’t make that make sense. "Sir, this is not a Wal-Mart.” (And what’s the logic here? That China lowers its prices by 145%?) Textbook megalomania. "I can connect/Nothing with nothing.”
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He’s Going To Blame Biden And Jerome Powell For Infl

Really curious to see who he blames for empty shelves.
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Popularity Rising

 


Trump’s political genius is AMAZEBALLS!

How does he do it? 🤔
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Wednesday, May 07, 2025

“You’ll Have To Ask Homeland Security.”

The Trump administration is moving to deport Asian nationals, including Cambodians, Filipinos, and Vietnamese, to Libya, a new legal complaint filed in a Massachusetts federal district court alleged.

The migrants have no ties to the country, which is notorious for human rights abuses, and detainees who refuse to sign the paperwork authorizing it are being thrown in solitary confinement, the lawsuit alleges.

 The question is:

Non-refoulement is a core principle of international human rights, refugee, humanitarian, and customary international law, and is codified in U.S. statutes. It prohibits States from transferring or removing any person from their jurisdiction or effective control when there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be at risk of certain serious human rights violations. The prohibition is enshrined in both customary international law and several treaties to which the United States is a party, as well as several U.S. domestic statutes. Specifically, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (FARRA), codified at 8 USC § 1231, states, “It shall be the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States.”
When are the crimes serious enough to justify impeachment and removal from office?

A) Never?

B) Half-past never?

C) Ten years after Hell freezes over.

Nixon would have been impeached and removed from office, had he not resigned. I never thought I’d say it, but Nixon was never this bad.

Just Security connects the law to CECOT and the American prisoners there are there under American authority and control. No need to speculate about transfers to Libya, who has announced (conveniently?) that they won’t accept any such transfer.

But still, the question remains: how long, O Congress, how long?  The answers above remain the most likely.
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Choosing The Wrong Pill

 This is gonna take a while:

NEW: In the Mahmoud Khalil case, Judge Farbiarz orders the government to give him a COMPLETE LIST of every time since 1975 it has invoked the secretary of state's power to deport someone for foreign-policy reasons—including a description of each case's facts and a copy of the official determination.
Why won’t the courts let Trump do what he wants to do?
BREAKING: Second Circuit panel, one day after arguments, unanimously rejects government's arguments and orders that Rumeysa Ozturk be transferred to Vermont no later than May 14.
I mean, really!
A victory for Rümeysa Öztürk! She will be transferred from Louisiana to Vermont while her case is heard—including a hearing for potential release on bail this Friday.

FULL OPINION: https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/71f184bf-df87-4656-a352-5cf664fdb0e2/1/doc/25-1019_opn.pdf#xml=https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/71f184bf-df87-4656-a352-5cf664fdb0e2/1/hilite/
Justice Sotomayor probably won’t reimpose the stay. I kind of doubt the full court will, either. This can go through the process first.
Last month, a Department of Government Efficiency aide at the nation’s consumer watchdog agency was told by ethics attorneys that he held stock in companies that employees are forbidden from owning — and was advised not to participate in any actions that could benefit him personally, according to a person familiar with the warning.

But days later, court records show, Gavin Kliger, a 25-year-old software engineer who has been detailed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since early March, went ahead and participated in mass layoffs at the agency anyway, including the firings of the ethics lawyers who had warned him.
We don' need no steenken' ethics lawyers!
Experts said that Kliger’s actions, which ProPublica first reported on last week, constitute a conflict of interest that could violate federal criminal ethics laws. Such measures are designed to ensure that federal employees serve the public interest and don’t use their government power to enrich themselves. At the CFPB, which regulates companies that provide financial services, there are strict prohibitions on the investments that employees can maintain.
If only we had a government agency that would prosecute federal criminal cases fairly, without fear or favor.

The United States and Israel have discussed the possibility of Washington leading a temporary post-war administration of Gaza, according to five people familiar with the matter.

The "high-level" consultations have centered around a transitional government headed by a U.S. official that would oversee Gaza until it had been demilitarized and stabilized, and a viable Palestinian administration had emerged, the sources said.
If Congress allows this…I give up. Not clear they will, though: Still:
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Choose Your Fighter

Trump: It's a shame. We just heard about it as we were walking in the doors of the oval. Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They've been fighting for a long time. They've been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you think about it. I hope it ends very quickly
Yeah, Russia’s full of shit. But Trump is a black hole of ignorance and haplessness.
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