Patterico's Pontifications

5/16/2025

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:41 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Supreme Court and birthright citizenship question:

concerns about allowing President Donald Trump’s radical reinterpretation of the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship to go into effect while litigation continues.

In an unusual move, the court heard oral arguments on a series of Trump administration emergency requests seeking to limit the scope of nationwide injunctions that blocked the plan almost as soon as it was announced in January.

. . .

“Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the ‘SUCKERS’ that we are!” Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday morning.

. . .

The administration’s argument is that federal judges simply do not have the authority to issue broad rulings that affect people other than the litigants appearing before them.

In response, the challengers say that on an issue like birthright citizenship, a nationwide injunction is appropriate in part because it is vital to have uniformity on such a fundamental right.

Second news item

More on immigration crackdown:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested 20,000 National Guard troops to help with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. . .

It is unknown what role National Guard members would take in the immigration crackdown, such as whether they would be involved in rounding up and arresting people for deportation or just transportation or security.

. . .

“Not only does this undermine readiness and our national security, it also means Trump is testing the limits of how he can misuse our military against the American people,” [Sen. Tammy] Duckworth added. “No one should believe that he will stop at immigrants if this plan moves forward.”

She’s got a point. It would be foolish to think otherwise.

Third news item

When it comes to the war in Ukraine, and the Russian ghoul who brings terror and death wherever he goes, the man knows what he’s talking about::

Putin rejects his own peace proposal, then Trump and Europe reject their own deadlines to punish him for it.

The talks in Turkey have resulted in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia: 1,000 for 1,000.

But there was also this, which apparently, is not unusual for Russian representatives:

And another quote attributed to Medinsky: “Maybe some of those sitting here at this table will lose more of their loved ones. Russia is prepared to fight forever.”

Also:

This from Ru delegation head Medinsky says it all: “We don’t want war, but we’re ready to fight for a year, two, three—however long it takes. We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?”

Fourth news item

We live in the dumbest of times:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI Director James Comey that she and other Republicans suggest is a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

In an Instagram post, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”

Numerous Trump administration officials, including Noem, said Comey was advocating for the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. “DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately,” Noem wrote.

Additionally:

And here is Trump’s reaction to the Comey post:

Fifth news item

To our shame:

[T]his year, the Trump administration cut more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance around the world.

. . .

Globally, 50% of the therapeutic foods for treating malnutrition in children were funded by USAID, and 40% of the supplies were produced in the U.S., according to Shawn Baker, chief program officer at Helen Keller Intl and former chief nutritionist at USAID.

He said the consequence could be 1 million children not receiving treatment for severe malnutrition, resulting in 163,500 additional deaths per year. For Helen Keller Intl, its programs in Bangladesh, Nepal and Nigeria have been terminated.

Have a good weekend.

—Dana

764 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (1f6b16) — 5/16/2025 @ 8:42 am

  2. What the media isn’t telling you and what no one’s talking to you about is this same 747 has been in negotiations for a year, The Biden administration is the one that started these conversations.

    It didn’t start in the Trump administration. Why? Because we need a backup for Air Force One. Because right now, the President of the United States is flying around on a 40-year-old plane and there is no backup for it.

    No one is discussing that part. They’re discussing that the deal ended with President Trump, Maybe the media doesn’t know.

    US Senator vs Jake Tapper

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 8:50 am

  3. “We live in the dumbest of times”

    We know what the reaction would be if Trump tweeted 8646. It would be a total “bloodbath.”

    lloyd (2d4db8) — 5/16/2025 @ 8:56 am

  4. BTW, did we ever find the militias motivated by Trump’s rhetoric who threatened FEMA?

    lloyd (2d4db8) — 5/16/2025 @ 8:57 am

  5. First Item: Call the Supreme Court skeptical:

    ………..
    .Representing the Trump administration, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that Trump’s executive order “reflects the original meaning of the 14th Amendment,” which, he argued, was only intended to apply to the children of former enslaved persons. Universal injunctions, he contended, are a “bipartisan problem that has now spanned the last five” presidential administrations and create a variety of practical issues: They prevent “novel legal questions” from percolating in the lower courts, they allow plaintiffs to shop for a favorable forum, they require courts to act too quickly, they circumvent the more stringent rules governing class actions, and they create an “ongoing risk of conflicting judgments.”

    ………. The executive order, (Jeremy Feigenbaum, the solicitor general of New Jersey, represented the states challenging the executive order) emphasized, would allow citizenship to hinge on where someone was born or whether someone crossed state lines. ………
    ……….
    Justice Clarence Thomas appeared sympathetic to the Trump administration, suggesting that they lack any real historical analogue. “We survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions,” Thomas observed. Justice Sonia Sotomayor later countered this point with a longer view of the relevant history.

    Chief Justice John Roberts also seemed to downplay the possible implications of eliminating universal injunctions. ……..

    Justice Neil Gorsuch, who has been one of the more vocal opponents of universal injunctions on the court, noted that certifying a class action takes time and requires the members of the class to overcome various hurdles, while the injury from the government’s conduct is immediate and ongoing.

    Justice Elena Kagan queried whether individual challengers would even be able to have a class certified, which would allow a group of plaintiffs to obtain collective relief. She pressed Sauer on whether the government would later argue that the birthright citizenship case was not an appropriate one for a class action, eventually telling him that his answer “does not fill me with great confidence.”

    For his part, Justice Samuel Alito also questioned whether class actions would address all of the practical problems that Sauer contends result from universal injunctions. If they won’t, Alito asked Sauer, “what is the point” of using them instead of universal injunctions?

    Justice Amy Coney Barrett followed up on this point later, asking Sauer whether there would be any difference between a successful class action and a universal injunction.
    …………
    Sauer ran into hot water with Barrett a few minutes later, when she pressed him on whether the Trump administration would follow a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in the case of an individual plaintiff when it came to others challenging the executive order. Sauer responded that the Department of Justice would “generally” – but not always – follow the court of appeals’ decision.

    During his time at the lectern, Feigenbaum noted that states cannot use class actions. If the justices are inclined to narrow the circumstances in which courts can issue universal injunctions, he suggested, one way to do so would be to allow such injunctions when alternative remedies are not legally or practically workable – as in the case of the states here.

    Feigenbaum explained that it would not be an adequate remedy for a court to simply bar the Trump administration from enforcing the executive order in New Jersey, because the state would also have to verify citizenship for babies who are born in other states and then move to New Jersey. It would cause “chaos on the ground,” Feigenbaum warned the justices, if “people’s citizenship turns on and off when you cross state lines.”
    ………..
    Justice Brett Kavanaugh also focused on the practical points of a ruling in the government’s favor. If you win, he asked Sauer, what will hospitals and states do? When Sauer responded that parents would need documents showing that they were legally in the United States to establish their children’s citizenship, Kavanaugh shot back, “For all the newborns? Is that how it’s going work?
    ……….
    ……….(Justice Sonia Sotomayor) told Sauer that although the executive order violates a line of Supreme Court cases, the Trump administration’s argument boils down to a suggestion that the Supreme Court and the lower courts can’t issue a ruling to stop it. She suggested that the court should go ahead and grant review on the birthright citizenship question now, without waiting for the lower courts to weigh in on the merits.

    Kagan echoed that concern, telling Sauer to assume “you’re dead wrong” on the question of whether Trump’s executive order is legal. That could mean, she cautioned, that without a universal injunction, for several years there could be an “untold number of people” who wouldn’t get U.S. citizenship even though Supreme Court precedent says that they are entitled to it.
    ………..
    Notably………there was no support voiced by the (conservative) justices for Sauer’s contention that (Trump’s birthright executive order) does not (violate the Constitution.) The only real question was when, not if, the justices will reach that question.
    ……….

    Thomas is incorrect about how recent the phenomenon of nationwide injunctions are; they date back to 1913.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 8:58 am

  6. Speaker Mike Johnson @SpeakerJohnson
    President Trump has already survived TWO assassination attempts.

    Now, former disgraced FBI director James Comey is either threatening to kill Donald Trump or suggesting someone should. This is as outrageous as it is dangerous.

    Grateful @Sec_Noem and @FBIDirectorKash are looking into this.

    And yes, Comey knew exactly what he’s advocating. So edgy.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/16/2025 @ 9:26 am

  7. Huh…

    The QATAR plane thingy discussion was started in the Biden administration.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 9:31 am

  8. Thomas is incorrect about how recent the phenomenon of nationwide injunctions are; they date back to 1913.

    Thomas’s concurrence in Trump v Hawaii was talking about district courts and their nationwide injunctions. That a nationwide court(SCOTUS) did something nationally in 1913 is of no consequence to what Thomas was discussing in the most recent hearing.

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 9:47 am

  9. whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 9:31 am

    There is almost zero bias the way that story was headlined and written. LOL

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 9:53 am

  10. Good.

    FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday announced plans to move the bureau out of its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

    As part of the plan to vacate its headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the bureau will transfer 1,500 employees to varying locations nationwide. The building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, has served as the FBI’s headquarters since 1975.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 9:56 am

  11. Barron Trump was born on March 19, 2006.

    Melania Trump was not naturalized until July 27, 2006.

    With his birthright citizenship stripped away by dear old dad, should Barron receive a one-way ticket to CECOT?

    I’m just asking questions.

    Dave (49a1b4) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:07 am

  12. @11 Dave (49a1b4) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:07 am
    Is Dave purposely showing his arse to the world?

    I’m just asking questions…

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:11 am

  13. There are many times in law —- perhaps most times — where there can be a good-faith difference of opinion about how the law applies. This is not one of those times. There is no honest or good-faith argument that this is a true threat.

    https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social/post/3lpciesxkok2f

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:13 am

  14. BuDuh and Whembly:

    Sen Mullin says on TV that the US had been talking about that plane for a year. Can you find anything backing that up? I just tried to google it and I don’t see any other source for that assertiion.

    Also, the problem is that the plane will pass to the Trump library after January 2029. There’s now way that’s not corrupt (or that this was part of any negotiations prior to DJT taking over)

    Appalled (ae6eca) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:23 am

  15. We’ve now 86’d:

    McCarthy
    McDaniel
    McConnell

    Better days are ahead for the Republican Party.

    https://x.com/mattgaetz/status/1762892328941879457

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:31 am

  16. Can you find anything backing that up?

    I don’t plan on trying. If a Senator is lying I am certain the bastion of truth Jake Tapper will sort it out.

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:38 am

  17. Fourth news item:

    Even if Comey arranged the shells himself, that would have not represented a “true threat” to President Trump’s life:

    ………….
    In Watts v. United States 394 US 705 (1969, per curiam), however, the Court held that only true threats are outside ordinary First Amendment protections. The defendant in Watts expressed his opposition to the military draft at a public rally, saying, If they ever make me carry a rifle, the first man I want to get in my sights is L.B.J. He was convicted of violating a federal statute that prohibited any threat to take the life of or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States.

    The Supreme Court reversed. Interpreting the statute with the commands of the First Amendment clearly in mind, the Court found that the defendant had not made a true ‘threat,’ but had indulged in mere political hyperbole.
    ……….
    In a 2023 decision, Counterman v. Colorado, the Supreme Court held that, to convict a person of making true threats, a state must show that the speaker had a subjective understanding as to whether the person to whom his words were directed would perceive them as threatening.

    The Court explained the mens rea or mental state of recklessness would suffice for this showing, adding that, A person acts recklessly in the most common formulations, when he ‘consciously disregard[s] a substantial [and unjustifiable] risk that the conduct will cause harm to another.’
    …………

    Paragraph breaks added. A big nothingburger.

    Rip Murdock (094267) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:39 am

  18. Was the plane going to go to Biden’s presidential library a year ago?

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:44 am

  19. a state must show that the speaker had a subjective understanding as to whether the person to whom his words were directed would perceive them as threatening.

    IOW, people who have had multiple assassination attempts them jest need to get a thicker skin and not feel so threatened.

    This is some quality legalese.

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:47 am

  20. Was the plane going to go to Biden’s presidential library a year ago?

    Is the plane going to Trump’s presidential library? This is verified?

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:49 am

  21. … against them just need..

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:50 am

  22. FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday announced plans to move the bureau out of its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

    Two points::

    Patel will need Congressional approval for his plan, and

    submit a budget to Congress for the FBI.

    Rip Murdock (094267) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:52 am

  23. Comey has become a blithering idiot, but this kerfuffle about reading his idiotic Instagram post (there is a special place in hell for people who profane Istagram with political posts) as a death threat is way over the top.

    JVW (4e1a52) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:53 am

  24. Monday morning, Trump defended the plan to accept the jet, describing it as a “contribution” and saying he would be a “stupid person” if he turned down a free jet.

    Trump added that the plane will “go directly” to his presidential library after he leaves office.

    “I wouldn’t be using it,” he said.

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/politics/qatar-jet-gift-trump

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:54 am

  25. JVW (4e1a52) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:53 am

    I agree.

    I do wonder about Comey’s apology where he said “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.” It is pathetic enough that I really don’t mind him getting an extraordinary amount of grief over his self inflicted wound.

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 11:00 am

  26. So… He wants it to go to his library.

    BuDuh (01b791) — 5/16/2025 @ 11:07 am

  27. Who’s gonna tell him no?

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/16/2025 @ 11:18 am

  28. Belly flop:

    The GOP-led House Budget Committee voted to reject a sweeping package for President Donald Trump’s agenda on Friday, dealing an embarrassing setback to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republican leaders.

    The vote in the Budget Committee was 16-21, with a band of conservative hard-liners who are pushing for steeper spending cuts joining all Democrats in voting against the multitrillion-dollar legislation, leaving its fate uncertain.
    ………
    During the hearing, Roy fired a warning shot at Republican leaders, saying he opposes the bill as written because it will increase the deficit.

    “I have to now admonish my colleagues on this side of the aisle. This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” (said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas). “That’s the truth. Deficits will go up in the first half of the 10-year budget window and we all know it’s true. And we shouldn’t do that. We shouldn’t say that we’re doing something we’re not doing.”

    “This bill has back-loaded savings and has front-loaded spending,” Roy added. ……..
    ……….
    Friday’s delay means that it will now be more difficult for Johnson to meet his self-imposed Memorial Day deadline to pass what Trump has called his “big, beautiful bill” and send it to the Senate.
    …………
    The failed vote came just hours after Trump took to Truth Social to admonish GOP “grandstanders” and urge Republicans to get behind the bill.

    “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’” Trump wrote.

    “We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!” he added.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (094267) — 5/16/2025 @ 11:38 am

  29. Comey has become a blithering idiot, but this kerfuffle about reading his idiotic Instagram post (there is a special place in hell for people who profane Istagram with political posts) as a death threat is way over the top.
    JVW (4e1a52) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:53 am

    That’s fine, but I don’t think the only issue is whether the post is an intentional and bona fide death threat. The issue is why Nevertrump and Democrats can’t seem to simply condemn it and the person who put it out there. Directly and unequivocally.

    The approach seems to be either 1) crickets or 2) focus on condemning the administration’s response. It’s just the usual hypocrisy.

    lloyd (f1f7c2) — 5/16/2025 @ 12:26 pm

  30. Davethulhu (468890) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:54 am

    Case in point.

    “It’s the argument of people who do not respect the rule of law and don’t deserve its protection.”

    Wow.

    lloyd (f1f7c2) — 5/16/2025 @ 12:35 pm

  31. lloyd:

    The reason there is no unequivocal denunciation is that there is no real threat. This is like the time the media got all hot and bothered that Sarah Palin talked about targeting Congresscritters in a fundraising e-mail and that’s why Gabby Giffords got shot. Balderdash!

    Comey is tedious and his social media is famously tedious. (People stopped caring about it maybe two-three years into Trump’s term, as his so what pictures of Iowa highways were so friggin’ boring.)

    One of the less productive political disputations is the one that goes “x must denounce y about his racist/sexist/offensive/norm shattering post or I’m upset and will start pouting and attacking x and his political tendency.”

    Appalled (ae6eca) — 5/16/2025 @ 12:42 pm

  32. If the Attorney General ordered Jeanne Pirro to prosecute Comey, it would be a good test of Pirro’s loyalty.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 12:43 pm

  33. @31 “The reason there is no unequivocal denunciation is that there is no real threat.”

    Appalled, the comp is Trump, not Palin fourteen years ago.

    “bloodbath”

    “they’re not human beings”

    militias attacking FEMA

    Liz and a firing squad

    Nevertrump went apoplectic over these snippets taken out of context. If you and other Nevertrumpers ever appealed to a more restrained reaction, as you’re suddenly doing now, I must’ve missed it.

    Even if we accept the most charitable interpretation of 86, it’s a former head of the FBI directing ambiguous nonsense to a duly elected president who has faced two assassination attempts. FFS

    lloyd (f1f7c2) — 5/16/2025 @ 12:56 pm

  34. We just had conniption fits about Trump firing two Nevertrump intelligence subordinates. Yeah, they could hate Trump and not let it interfere with their duties. Yeah, just like Comey. Fire them all.

    lloyd (f1f7c2) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:00 pm

  35. > they’re not human beings

    what’s the context that you think makes it acceptable to say, of other people, that they aren’t human beings?

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:05 pm

  36. Who knew Trump followed Comey’s Instagram account.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:17 pm

  37. @14

    BuDuh and Whembly:

    Sen Mullin says on TV that the US had been talking about that plane for a year. Can you find anything backing that up? I just tried to google it and I don’t see any other source for that assertiion.

    Also, the problem is that the plane will pass to the Trump library after January 2029. There’s now way that’s not corrupt (or that this was part of any negotiations prior to DJT taking over)

    Appalled (ae6eca) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:23 am

    I’m not seeing anyone contesting Sen Mullin’s premise.

    Also, the problem is that the plane will pass to the Trump library after January 2029. There’s now way that’s not corrupt (or that this was part of any negotiations prior to DJT taking over)

    No, that’s not the problem.

    Here’s the thing about Qatar: They’re buying US’ influence. They’re ALWAYS buying US’ influence.

    They fund billions to US universties.

    They fund billions to US NGOs.

    They fund billions to

    They fund billions to US military… that military base at Qatar that they built and gave to the US, was obviously done to build a “trip wire” to help Qatar fend off their larger neighbors (namely Iran and Saudi Arabia).

    …and now, according to Sen Mullin, the Qatar-gives-plane-to-US-military started under the Biden administration. Because, I’m assuming, even then they were worried about Boeing’s ability to deliver the new planes timely.

    Qatar is, and has been, buying our good will. They want our protection AND to be the mid-East’s “Switzerland”.

    The issue here, imo, is whether or not it’s a good idea to allow Qatar to buy that much influences in the US. There are some in the Qatari government whom are avid Muslim Brotherhoods. But, then again, Turkey is also a Muslim Brother entity and they’re in NATO.

    In short, it appears that the bruhaha over allegations that Trump is corruptly accepting the Qatari plane has fallen flat.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:27 pm

  38. @22

    Two points::

    Patel will need Congressional approval for his plan, and

    submit a budget to Congress for the FBI.

    Rip Murdock (094267) — 5/16/2025 @ 10:52 am

    I’m not seeing anywhere that Congress mandated the FBI HQ must be in DC.

    As for a budget to Congress, sure.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:30 pm

  39. whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:27 pm

    Qatar also provides the Hamas leadership with a safe refuge. Not our friend.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:30 pm

  40. whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:30 pm

    Congress will need to provide funding (through the General Services Administration) for the move, so they can block it.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:34 pm

  41. Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:30 pm

    Qatar also provides the Hamas leadership with a safe refuge. Not our friend

    If you want Hamas to surrender, you’ll need to provide a safe refuge. Qatar doesn’t seem interested. Releasing all their hostages would be a death warrant for them. Even Israel getting rid of them by military force is a death warrant.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:38 pm

  42. @40

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:30 pm

    Congress will need to provide funding (through the General Services Administration) for the move, so they can block it.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:34 pm

    Sure, if they put in riders against the move.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:41 pm

  43. whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:30 pm

    The FBI is already planning to move to Greenbelt, MD. Any change from that will reopen the debate in Congress. If the House flips less than years from now (and assuming Patel is still the Director) his plan may be mooted.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:42 pm

  44. Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America

    If he is talking about transients giving birth here, then promptly returning home, he may have a point. It is in the grey area of “was not a question in 1865, but is now” like extending the speech right to the internet.

    Two things are in his favor. One, the parents intend to remain subjects of their home government, so they are not subject to our laws except briefly. Two, they are not immigrants or residents and have no domicile here (a hotel room does not count).

    That could even be extended to temporary workers — such as seasonal agricultural laborers who leave after a few months — although that’s more of a push as they probably DO have a domicile.

    But the core of the birthright is that children born to people who live here cannot be denied for any reason. It does not matter if their parents a new immigrants, or if they are felons (the whole “doesn’t obey our laws” thing gets very pointed here), or if they owe back taxes, or are Communists, or they are the wrong color or have the wrong religion.

    And for all their possible faults, illegal immigrants are fundamentally immigrants — they want to be here and make a life here.

    At best Trump can whittle around the edges with the transients, which does rise to an abuse. Let them buy a $5 million Gold visa if they want a bolthole.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:49 pm

  45. Dhs is planning a reality show where aliens compete for citizenship! (DU) In other news only 1/3 of democrats have positive view of democrat parties future.

    asset (55845f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:49 pm

  46. If it’s good press Trump did it; if it’s bad press it was some other guy.

    To Trumper is to lie; no exceptions unless it’s obfuscations.

    nk (a96504) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:51 pm

  47. what’s the context that you think makes it acceptable to say, of other people, that they aren’t human beings?
    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:05 pm

    I think I’d rather be called “not a human being” than “rapist” or “murderer”, which is who the comment was directed at. But YMMV. I’m sure their feelings were hurt, aphrael.

    lloyd (f1f7c2) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:51 pm

  48. I will point out that Wong Kim Ark makes a point that his parents had a domicile here. That is a colorable difference to having a child at LAX.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:51 pm

  49. Supreme Court extends block on Trump’s deportation bid under Alien Enemies Act
    …………
    The court emphasized that the men — whom the Trump administration has labeled “alien enemies” — are entitled to more due process than the administration has so far provided. That means advance notice of their deportations and a meaningful opportunity to challenge the deportations in court, the justices wrote in an unsigned opinion.

    In particular, the justices faulted the administration for its attempt last month to carry out swift deportations just one day after providing a bare-bones deportation notice to the detainees. ……..
    ##########

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:52 pm

  50. Dhs is planning a reality show where aliens compete for citizenship!

    “What do we have as a parting gift for our runners-up, Johnny?”

    “A free plane flight on Con Air”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:53 pm

  51. whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:27 pm

    In short, it appears that the bruhaha over allegations that Trump is corruptly accepting the Qatari plane has fallen flat.

    It’s completely legal. The rule for accepting gifts is that if a foreign country offers a U.S. president a gift, it goes to the government but the president can keep it if he pays market price.
    The same thing would be if they offered Trump a desk, or a special computer.

    Now Trump’s plan to eventually acquire it for his library when it is decommissioned may be stretching things but this is black letter law.

    There’s no way to avoid this kind of problem.

    Qatar could also affect Trump personally by recommending a cook. And that can have the effect of affecting his judgement.

    https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0125.htm

    ז וַיִּגְדְּלוּ, הַנְּעָרִים, וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד, אִישׁ שָׂדֶה; וְיַעֲקֹב אִישׁ תָּם, יֹשֵׁב אֹהָלִים. 27 And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.
    כח וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת-עֵשָׂו, כִּי-צַיִד בְּפִיו; וְרִבְקָה, אֹהֶבֶת אֶת-יַעֲקֹב. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob.

    Meanwhile there’s a worse problem with Qatar and Trump. Cryptocurrency and other business deals. That’s also been cleared by the ethics people.

    And one reason Qatar may be anxious to get rid of that plane: It used to be owned by a Qatari official who was involved in helping terrorists/

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:54 pm

  52. And for all their possible faults, illegal immigrants are fundamentally immigrants — they want to be here and make a life here.

    So what? That shouldn’t shield them from deportation (except for their citizen children; they should stay.)

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:56 pm

  53. For those who work so hard to render the Deep State as some goofy conspiracy theory, I’d condemn Comey’s 86 nonsense just for making your job a lot harder.

    But, it looks like that isn’t even enough reason.

    lloyd (f1f7c2) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:56 pm

  54. @51

    Meanwhile there’s a worse problem with Qatar and Trump. Cryptocurrency and other business deals. That’s also been cleared by the ethics people.

    And one reason Qatar may be anxious to get rid of that plane: It used to be owned by a Qatari official who was involved in helping terrorists/

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:54 pm

    Yes, I’m more bothered by the Trump’s crytocurrency venture than this stupid plane.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:58 pm

  55. She’s got a point. It would be foolish to think otherwise.

    Were Trump to use the military to round up citizens on vague charges, it would be the “too far” I’ve mentioned. One of the reasons why conflating impeachment and “crimes” is a bad idea. Horrific behavior is impeachable, even it there is no statute to point o.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:58 pm

  56. “86” means toss out or refuse service. Any bartender and most alcoholics know that one.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:01 pm

  57. [T]his year, the Trump administration cut more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance around the world.

    I understand that the Gates Foundation is stepping up its efforts.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:02 pm

  58. most alcoholics know that one.

    One wonders why Trump’s cabinet does not.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:03 pm

  59. Great news, Dave Yost is out of the GOP field, leaving Vivek as the GOP option…

    Great news, Jim Tressel is eying a run because, see above.

    Oh, Amy Acton is running to lose in the democratic party, but the news that Vivek was the front runner jumped her in the betting markets.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:29 pm

  60. Dhs is planning a reality show where aliens compete for citizenship!

    At Auschwitz, they made detainees (not “prisoners”, you understand) fight to the death for extra rations if they won.

    This is an administration of very sick puppies.

    nk (a96504) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:34 pm

  61. Don’t worry nk, the competition will be conducted in Afrikaans.

    To keep it fair.

    Dave (49a1b4) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:45 pm

  62. https://www.foxnews.com/us/progressive-prosecutor-lets-illegal-immigrant-teen-easy-horror-crash-killed-24-year-old-woman

    Just a statistic for a leftist prosecutor.

    NJRob (7cd8c8) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:49 pm

  63. @60 nk (a96504) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:34 pm
    Sorry, can’t give credence to people who vote for Democrats who allows unfettered illegal immigrations that cause untold disasters.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:50 pm

  64. Dissenting from a decision to extend an injunction preventing the removal of alleged TdA members to El Salvador until a court can figure out what notice requirements are required, Justices Alito and Thomas say that _class actions cannot be used in habeas cases_.

    So if we combine that theory with the theory that nationwide injunctions are illegal, then we end up with:

    * each person the government wants to remove must individually file a case *before they are removed* because otherwise, once they are removed, the government maintains it cannot return them.

    The good news is that the government’s refusal to return Albrego has been *noticed* by the 7 member court majority, and they are *clearly* not happy about it.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:50 pm

  65. @NJRob…

    JINX!

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:50 pm

  66. Moody’s downgrades America’s credit rating:

    “We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration.”

    Are we great again yet?

    Dave (49a1b4) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:50 pm

  67. > this is black letter law.

    Assuming he actually buys it from the US Government for face value.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:53 pm

  68. What country did Ethan Couch sneak in from?

    nk (a96504) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:54 pm

  69. > > And for all their possible faults, illegal immigrants are fundamentally immigrants — they want to be here and make a life here.

    > So what? That shouldn’t shield them from deportation (except for their citizen children; they should stay

    I think the argument is this:

    (a) there’s a colorable legal argument that the children of transients (tourists, etc) are not eligible for birthright citizenship because the transients are not domiciled here.

    (b) but even if that argument is correct as to the children of transients, it’s not correct as to the children of illegal immigrants, because the illegal immigrants *are* domiciled here.

    I don’t read Kevin as saying that the domicile of illegal immigrants immunizes them from deportation, I see him as saying that the domicile of illegal immigrants means their children are citizens.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:55 pm

  70. If you want Hamas to surrender, you’ll need to provide a safe refuge. Qatar doesn’t seem interested. Releasing all their hostages would be a death warrant for them. Even Israel getting rid of them by military force is a death warrant.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:38 pm

    I don’t want to see Hamas surrender. I want to see them all dead.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:56 pm

  71. @68

    What country did Ethan Couch sneak in from?

    nk (a96504) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:54 pm

    Sorry, not sorry… can’t care enough from someone who’d rather Democrats runs the government and allows unfettered illegal immigration.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:58 pm

  72. @70

    I don’t want to see Hamas surrender. I want to see them all dead.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:56 pm

    Oh, Israel is going to destroy them.

    It’s just a matter of when.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:59 pm

  73. > Just a statistic for a leftist prosecutor.

    What’s the standard punishment for vehicular homicide by 15 year olds in Colorado?

    From what i’m seeing, it’s a class 4 felony normally punishable by 2-6 years in prison and/or a fine of $2-500K.

    but the problem is that vehicular homicide requires that the prosecutor prove that the driver *consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk*, and that it isn’t enough to merely *fail to perceive a risk that you should have perceived*.

    My bet is that if prosecuted, this case falls down to negligent homicide — and probation seems like a normal punishment for negligent homicide for a teenager.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:02 pm

  74. I don’t read Kevin as saying that the domicile of illegal immigrants immunizes them from deportation, I see him as saying that the domicile of illegal immigrants means their children are citizens.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:55 pm

    Assumes facts not in evidence. Not to speak for Kevin, but I believe he has made the distinction between illegal aliens who have committed crimes, either in their home country or here; and long term, “law abiding” (except for that illegal entry thing) illegal aliens.

    For me, there is no distinction, except that citizen children should remain in America.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:03 pm

  75. >Not to speak for Kevin, but I believe he has made the distinction between illegal aliens who have committed crimes, either in their home country or here; and long term, “law abiding” (except for that illegal entry thing) illegal aliens.

    What does that have to do with the argument he is making here?

    If you go back and look at comments 44 and 48, he’s clearly talking about the implications of domicile for birthright citizenship.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:05 pm

  76. Oh, Israel is going to destroy (Hamas).

    It’s just a matter of when.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:59 pm

    Israel has taken way too long. This war should have been over in six months.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:07 pm

  77. @73

    > Just a statistic for a leftist prosecutor.

    What’s the standard punishment for vehicular homicide by 15 year olds in Colorado?

    From what i’m seeing, it’s a class 4 felony normally punishable by 2-6 years in prison and/or a fine of $2-500K.

    but the problem is that vehicular homicide requires that the prosecutor prove that the driver *consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk*, and that it isn’t enough to merely *fail to perceive a risk that you should have perceived*.

    My bet is that if prosecuted, this case falls down to negligent homicide — and probation seems like a normal punishment for negligent homicide for a teenager.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:02 pm

    Bruh… the kid was driving in excess of 90 mph at the accident. That is absolutely consciously disregarding risk.

    That warrants more than just probation, and not be treated as “oops, my bad”.

    whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:10 pm

  78. aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:05 pm

    I was responding to his general statement about illegal immigrants which had nothing to do with their domicile ; but more about the character of illegal immigrants, which should nothing to do with their deportable status:

    And for all their possible faults, illegal immigrants are fundamentally immigrants — they want to be here and make a life here.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:18 pm

  79. >That is absolutely consciously disregarding risk.

    Depends. Pretty much everyone on I-5 through the central valley, I-40 through Arizona, or I-70 through Utah is driving in excess of 90 MPH.

    Doing it in a residential neighborhood is definitely disregarding risk, but for a fifteen year old I think there’s a real question if that’s “he knew the risk and ignored it” or “he was a dumb***k who didn’t understand the risk”.

    Since the state has to *prove* knowledge and not mere dumfu**ery, it’s not in a great position to win that case.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:26 pm

  80. The teen was racing his Jeep with other kids at speeds of 90 mph in a residential neighborhood in the Denver suburb of Aurora when he T-boned Weaver’s vehicle at an intersection, her father said.

    Prove what? Careless and reckless disregard.

    Slam dunk.

    But it’s a leftist supporting an illegal and those are higher on your victim hierarchy than the actual victim that was murdered.

    NJRob (7cd8c8) — 5/16/2025 @ 3:55 pm

  81. > Prove what? Careless and reckless disregard.

    Prove that he knew the risk and disregarded it.

    At 18, this is probably easy.

    At 9, this is also easy, in a different way.

    At 15, it’s hard.

    > But it’s a leftist supporting an illegal and those are higher on your victim hierarchy than the actual victim that was murdered.

    Oh, bull—t.

    I don’t care what the status of the perpetrator is, here. He should be treated just like a natural born citizen teen who did the same thing.

    My strong suspicion is he *was*.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:12 pm

  82. Yeah, yeah, blame a fifteen-year old kid and not the corporate greed that flooded the world with murder machines poisoning the air we breathe even when they are not killing and maiming people on the roads, all so that car company and oil company executives can pocket more than an average worker’s annual salary each every day of the year.

    nk (9364c3) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:36 pm

  83. *each AND every day of the year.

    nk (9364c3) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:43 pm

  84. More on Comey:

    Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed by US Secret Service agents at their Washington, DC, field office on Friday afternoon, according to law enforcement sources.
    ……….
    Comey was not in custody and appeared voluntarily, a source said.
    …………
    It was expected that Comey will be asked if he intended the message as a threat, or to inspire others who might consider an act of violence against Trump, the source said. Ultimately, a decision on whether the case is chargeable as a threat against the president may lie with the US attorney in Washington.
    …………
    A Secret Service source familiar with the investigation told CNN that under normal circumstances, such a post wouldn’t warrant a full-fledged investigation but under the current political climate will likely get more attention. Such an investigation, the source said, would serve as a distraction for agents in an organization already stretched thin.
    #########

    Related:

    ………..
    One source with knowledge of the Secret Service investigation told CNN that the investigation likely “ends” with Comey receiving a stern talking-to from law enforcement.
    ………..
    A Supreme Court decision from two years ago makes it even less likely that federal prosecutors could bring a successful case against Comey.

    The 2023 decision (Counterman v. Colorado), authored by Justice Elena Kagan, held that prosecutors must show that a person has “some subjective understanding of the threatening nature of his statements” to bring a winning case that doesn’t run afoul of First Amendment protections of speech.
    …………
    ……….. In its 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that standard was too low. Instead, the court said, prosecutors must demonstrate that a person making a statement has some awareness that their words could be understood as a threat – a much higher hurdle to clear.
    ………..
    In a statement Friday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a First Amendment legal advocacy organization, said the post from Comey fell within political speech protected by the Constitution.

    “It neither constitutes a true threat nor merits federal investigation. 86 has a lot of possible meanings, and the idea that spelling it out in seashells and posting it to Instagram is a true threat is quite a stretch,” the organization said. “The administration should drop any investigation of Mr. Comey because it’s an unconstitutional waste of time.”
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:48 pm

  85. See, this is just what happens when you let males immigrate. So many stories about men/boys committing crimes.

    Nic (120c94) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:48 pm

  86. You’re lying. But that’s to be expected.

    NJRob (7cd8c8) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:49 pm

  87. Post 84-Everything between the link and “Related” should have been blockquoted.

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:50 pm

  88. whembly (8d0c45) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:58 pm

    Fact check: Democrats do not allow unfettered illegal immigration.

    Dave (057f35) — 5/16/2025 @ 5:03 pm

  89. Dave’s taking comedy classes. Needs more work.

    NJRob (7cd8c8) — 5/16/2025 @ 5:17 pm

  90. Nope, Dave is debunking bald-faced lies with facts. As usual.

    “Unfettered” means “unrestrained or uninhibited”.

    Saying illegal immigration was unfettered is an insult to the brave men and women of the Border Patrol, who intercepted 74% of the people attempting to enter the country illegally (the same percentage as during Trump’s administration).

    In FY2024, ICE carried out orders of removal on over 270,000 illegal immigrants – a rate of 742 per day. That is a higher rate than the current administration.

    Overall, between 2021 and 2024, the Biden administration repatriated 4,629,120 illegal immigrants. That’s more than twice as many as in the previous four years under Trump. (Source: ICE Barbie)

    When 4.6M were deported, how could any honest person claim illegal immigration was “unfettered”?

    There are honest ways to criticize Biden’s policies, but Trump’s cultists insist on creating a fantasy world that bears no resemblance to reality.

    Dave (057f35) — 5/16/2025 @ 5:55 pm

  91. Dave is full of it as usual.

    But it makes sense as a leftist he’d want to Cloward-Piven our nation and destroy it.

    NJRob (7cd8c8) — 5/16/2025 @ 6:28 pm

  92. https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/05/federal-grand-jury-indicts-wisconsin-judge-who-allegedly-helped-illegal-try-to-evade-ice/

    A small bit of good news for those who don’t believe that corrupt judges should be above the law.

    NJRob (7cd8c8) — 5/16/2025 @ 6:36 pm

  93. @90

    In FY2024, ICE carried out orders of removal on over 270,000 illegal immigrants – a rate of 742 per day. That is a higher rate than the current administration.

    How to Lie with Statistics

    Great book. A classic.

    Removals go down when encounters go down, and encounters are down drastically because Trump did something about it, and Biden’s unfettered immigration policy did nothing.

    Two boats, one leaks a little and one leaks a lot. The fact that one is bailing out much more water than the other doesn’t mean its captain is maintaining a better boat, but Dave is claiming exactly that.

    lloyd (6ce648) — 5/16/2025 @ 6:36 pm

  94. @84

    LOL

    The investigation of Flynn was a waste of time. Great to hear that under Trump’s leadership unnamed FBI personnel are focused on making best use of resources. DOGE has had an impact!

    For Comey’s sake, let’s hope he got all dates correct and knows the exact source of the shells. Lying to the FBI could result in some serious charges, but he already knows this.

    lloyd (6ce648) — 5/16/2025 @ 6:49 pm

  95. Dave is claiming exactly that.

    I made no such claim.

    I said that if 74% of illegal entrants are intercepted, and 4.6 million people are deported, it is a shameless lie to claim illegal immigration was “unfettered”.

    And it is.

    Dave (057f35) — 5/16/2025 @ 7:46 pm

  96. Biggest coverup in American history: finding out who ran the country the previous 4 years.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:59 am

  97. Better a dotard than a psycho dotard.

    nk (d6e3af) — 5/17/2025 @ 6:14 am

  98. And I’ll take Biden’s surrogates a thousand times over Trump’s array of filth buckets.

    nk (d6e3af) — 5/17/2025 @ 6:15 am

  99. I don’t care what the status of the perpetrator is, here. He should be treated just like a natural born citizen teen who did the same thing.

    My strong suspicion is he *was*.

    aphrael (c59e2e) — 5/16/2025 @ 4:12 pm

    Those here illegally *are* treated differently by the justice system, just not in the way you’re implying.

    Many illegals who were convicted of serious crimes were pardoned by Newsom specifically to aid them in any deportation proceedings. Students here on visas involved with campus protests were shielded from suspension and any charges as that would cause their visas to be pulled.

    A more serious charge against the teen is going to have direct ramifications on his asylum application, which the judge is fully aware of.

    lloyd (6ce648) — 5/17/2025 @ 7:56 am

  100. The Nevertrump takes on Comey’s 8647 are hilarious. Apparently, all that matters is whether it was legal. These are the same folks incessantly lecturing us that character matters.

    lloyd (6ce648) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:02 am

  101. #100 No more comic than the MAGA hyperventilation. But it makes a convenient distraction from yet another defeat of Trump’s emergency deportation scheme.

    Appalled (36ad6a) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:17 am

  102. Does Trump still have his New Jersey liquor licenses at his golf clubs, even though the law there is that a felon convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison is not eligible for one?

    nk (acad5a) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:30 am

  103. @101 Appalled who just a few days ago hyperventilated about something that Noem said but didn’t say.

    lloyd (6ce648) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:31 am

  104. If a bartender “eighty-sixes” a customer when he cuts off his liquor, what is it when the liquor commission cuts off the liquor to the bar?

    nk (acad5a) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:34 am

  105. nk, have you grammed 8647 with firecrackers yet?

    lloyd (6ce648) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:43 am

  106. The rule for accepting gifts is that if a foreign country offers a U.S. president a gift, it goes to the government but the president can keep it if he pays market price.

    The same thing would be if they offered Trump a desk, or a special computer.

    Now Trump’s plan to eventually acquire it for his library when it is decommissioned may be stretching things but this is black letter law.
    ………….
    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:54 pm

    Untrue. Personal gifts from foreign governments and foreign officials without the consent of Congress are forbidden by the Constitution (U.S. Const., art. I, §9, cl. 8):

    No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And 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.

    That is black letter constitutional law.

    More:

    …………..
    ………….. The Congress has consented generally, in the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, to the acceptance of gifts of “minimal value” from foreign governments offered as souvenirs or marks of courtesy, and the acceptance of other gifts when a refusal of the gift may cause “offense or embarrassment” or otherwise harm the foreign relations of the United States. A tangible gift of more than minimal value accepted for reasons of protocol or courtesy may not be kept as a personal gift, however, but is considered accepted on behalf of and property of the United States, and in the case of such a gift for the President or the President’s family, is handled by the National Archives and Records Administration.

    Footnotes omitted.

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:45 am

  107. Comey’s character may be tarnished, but it still measures up against Trump’s character the ways his hands measure up against Trump’s hands.

    nk (acad5a) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:48 am

  108. The constitutional problem can be solved by having Congress vote to accept the aircraft on behalf of the United States.

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:50 am

  109. T he Nevertrump takes on Comey’s 8647 are hilarious. Apparently, all that matters is whether it was legal. These are the same folks incessantly lecturing us that character matters.

    Comey’s character (what’s left of it) would matter if he was still a government official. He is unlikely to become one again in any administration; in fact, legislation has been introduced in the House to ban Comey from federal employment

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 10:10 am

  110. @109 Comey’s partisanship and character is a reflection on FBI career officials that remain. And, it puts all the “independent” investigations of Trump in their proper light.

    Leaders claiming their public service was independent and guided by non partisanship are best advised to not undermine it in their private life.

    lloyd (cb0830) — 5/17/2025 @ 10:33 am

  111. Tarifflation :

    Retail goliath Walmart on Thursday said it plans to raise prices this month and early this summer, when tariff-affected merchandise hits its store shelves. Some prices already have increased.

    “The magnitude and speed at which these prices are coming to us is somewhat unprecedented in history,” Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said in an interview.

    Walmart, which counts 90% of Americans as customers, is the biggest company so far to signal that tariff-related price increases on everyday goods are coming. Other companies also have announced price increases. Ford Motor last week said it would raise prices on three of its popular vehicles. Birkin handbag maker Hermès said prices in the U.S. would rise. Next week, Target, Lowe’s and Home Depot are set to report earnings and discuss their financial forecasts.
    …………
    But Walmart didn’t share a profit forecast for the current quarter, in part because the company may absorb some tariff costs to keep prices lower than competitors, Rainey said.
    ………..
    Walmart and other retailers will likely be strategic about which items to price higher so they can maintain competitive prices while keeping an eye on overall profits. In some cases, products that aren’t subject to tariffs could become more expensive, while prices on tariffed items could stay relatively steady. ……..
    ………….
    …………..Walmart executives Thursday warned that their business could suffer large disruptions if tariffs revert to higher levels. And a 30% tariff on Chinese goods would still lead to meaningful price increases for most consumers, they said.
    …………

    President Trump wasn’t amused :

    ………….
    Trump said Walmart shouldn’t blame its price increases on tariffs.

    “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year,” he wrote in a post Saturday on Truth Social. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

    Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon last month was among a small group of retail CEOs who met with Trump and warned him that tariffs would result in higher prices for American consumers, according to people familiar with the meeting.

    On Thursday, the warning proved correct, when Walmart said it planned to raise prices this month and early this summer as tariff-affected merchandise hits its store shelves. Walmart disclosed its price-increase plans and anticipated tariff costs as part of an explanation of its decision not to share a profit forecast for the current quarter.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 10:50 am

  112. Thank you, President Trump, for suddenly making it safe to talk about inflation after the past four years.

    lloyd (cb0830) — 5/17/2025 @ 10:55 am

  113. ‘This Sh*t Is Happening Every Day’

    At the Republican National Lawyers Association’s annual policy conference on Friday, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan recounted the recent rescue of a 14-year-old girl who had been trafficked and was found pregnant.

    “We just found one two days ago. A 14-year-old little girl. Living with two adult males. Who trafficked her,” he said.

    “We found her, she’s pregnant. From trafficking being forced into prostitution. 14 years old. We are taking care of her. Both physically and mentally.”

    Homan said he’s committed to combating human trafficking. “That shlt is happening every day. We are going to put an end to it. Everything we can do.”

    The Department of Homeland Security reports a 93% drop in daily encounters, a 95% reduction in gotaways — those who sneak in undetected and pose the greatest threat to public safety — and an astonishing 99.99% decrease in illegal migrant crossings. These numbers represent a complete reversal from the Biden administration’s record-setting failure, which saw nearly 11 million encounters over four years, including record levels of deadly fentanyl pouring across the southern border.

    lloyd (cb0830) — 5/17/2025 @ 10:59 am

  114. Going down, down, down:

    ……….
    The University of Michigan said Friday its preliminary index of consumer sentiment for May was 50.8, down about 3% from a final reading of 52.2 in April.

    Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected consumer sentiment to rise to 53.5 in May.

    The preliminary number represents the second-lowest level on record. The index hit its lowest ever reading of 50.0 in June 2022 when soaring inflation and rising interest rates fueled fears of a recession.

    Consumer sentiment dropped for the fifth straight month and is now down about 30% since December. Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from almost 60% in April.

    The decline came as a surprise to economists. ……..
    …………
    The preliminary survey period closed before Walmart announced Thursday that it plans to raise prices because of tariffs.………
    ………….
    Respondents said they expect prices to surge 7.3% over the next year, compared with expectations in April for a 6.5% increase. It was the highest reading since 1981, with both Democrats and Republicans expecting a rise.

    Longer-run inflation expectations also rose, reflecting a particularly large monthly jump among Republicans, the survey said.
    …………
    Friday’s release is another reminder of the growing divergence between “hard” and “soft” measures of the economy.

    Hard economic data has held up well this year. The labor market is still steadily adding jobs, and inflation is relatively mild.

    But people and businesses are telling surveys that they don’t feel good about where the economy is headed—and when it comes to the economy, feelings can matter.……….
    ………….
    A separate index also from the Michigan survey measures consumers’ expectations for the future. It fell to 46.5 in May, its lowest since 1980.
    ………….
    Republican sentiment for May fell to 84.2. Though that was still significantly higher than the Democratic level, it was the lowest Republican reading since November. Republicans’ 90.2 reading in April had been the highest since the end of Trump’s last presidential term.
    #########

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:18 am

  115. Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!

    Thank you comrade Trump.

    Davethulhu (3e9c70) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:21 am

  116. Moody’s downgrades America’s credit rating

    In 2011 S&P downgraded from AAA to AA+. Moody’s and Fitch placed their ratings on a negative watch. Egan-Jones followed with a cut to AA+

    In 2012 Egan-Jones cut twice, to AA then to AA-

    In 2013 Dagong Global (Chinese) cut from A to A-

    In 2014 Fitch removed US debt from their negative watch.

    In 2023 Fitch downgraded from AAA to AA+, the second of the big 3 to downgrade.

    All the above happened under Democrat administrations.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:26 am

  117. I don’t read Kevin as saying that the domicile of illegal immigrants immunizes them from deportation, I see him as saying that the domicile of illegal immigrants means their children are citizens.

    More exactly it seems to more exactly match the case of Wong Kim Ark, at least in the case of those legally present. Ark does not seem to line up all that well with illegal immigrants though and without having clear intent of living under our laws, such as a residence, they answers are grey.

    I do not buy the line that the fact of illegal immigration means that they reject US jurisdiction. If I did, I’d ask if felons also reject US jurisdiction. People who come here to live permanently do accept our legal jurisdiction even if they do not obey all our laws. Heck, I have trouble with speed limits, but accept that the police might cite me for it.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:35 am

  118. Shorter:

    To me, one accepts the jurisdiction of the United States by coming here to live, or in the language of Wong Kim Ark, being “domiciled” here. That acceptance does not require total adherence to every single law, just an acceptance that the laws apply to them, as evidenced by voluntary residence.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:48 am

  119. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:26 am

    The downgrades may have occurred during Democratic administrations, but the increasing national debt is bipartisan.

    Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill will do nothing to stop it.

    The Senate’s April 5 amendment adds reconciliation instructions for the Senate that require only $4 billion in gross deficit reductions and allow a $5.8 trillion net deficit increase, while the House instructions require $2 trillion in gross deficit reductions and allow a $2.8 trillion net deficit increase.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:51 am

  120. Trump seems to realize that his rejection of birthright citizenship, as it is normally thought of, is unlikely to succeed. So he is now emphasizing the tourist thing, which he may well have some traction on.

    Given that international tourism wasn’t really a thing in 1865, there is room to create new law there and the Wong Kim Ark formulation of “being domiciled” provides the colorable difference.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:52 am

  121. The downgrades may have occurred during Democratic administrations, but the increasing national debt is bipartisan.

    Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill will do nothing to stop it.

    I have no argument here. The post you reference was simply a response to Dave’s cherry picking.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:53 am

  122. ‘EAT THE TARIFFS’

    No, Mr President, you eat them.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:55 am

  123. in fact, legislation has been introduced in the House to ban Comey from federal employment

    Seems like a bill of attainder to me.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:57 am

  124. My original response (in post 52) to Kevin’s comment (in post 44) still stands:

    And for all their possible faults, illegal immigrants are fundamentally immigrants — they want to be here and make a life here.

    So what? That shouldn’t shield them from deportation (except for their citizen children; they should stay.)

    Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:56 pm

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:58 am

  125. The Nevertrump takes on Comey’s 8647 are hilarious

    All it means is 47 should be thrown out. That could be by impeachment, Ben Franklin’s preferred alternative to assassination.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:01 pm

  126. So what? That shouldn’t shield them from deportation (except for their citizen children; they should stay.)

    Did I say anything different? There are other matters of equity that might shield them in some common-law sense, but having a child here is not one of them.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:05 pm

  127. Seems like a bill of attainder to me.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:57 am

    It’s not, if you read the article I linked to. Also, bills of attainder need to impose a punishment for a crime:

    Supreme Court cases have given broad and generous meaning to the constitutional protection against bills of attainder by interpreting it to ban not only legislation imposing a death sentence, as the term was used at English common law, but also legislation that imposes other forms of punishment on specific persons without trial. ………. Another key feature of a bill of attainder is that it applies retroactively: the Supreme Court has held that the Bill of Attainder Clause does not apply to legislation that is intended to prevent future action rather than to punish past action.

    Preventing Comey’s future employment by the federal government isn’t punishment for a crime without trial.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:08 pm

  128. There are other matters of equity that might shield (illegal immigrants from deportation) in some common-law sense……..

    One would think that the ACLU et. al. would have raised that as a defense if it existed. The ability to remove those who are illegally in the US (or any other country) is essential to their sovereignty.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:14 pm

  129. Trump seems to realize that his rejection of birthright citizenship, as it is normally thought of, is unlikely to succeed. So he is now emphasizing the tourist thing, which he may well have some traction on.

    Trump still doesn’t have the authority to redefine citizenship by executive order. At a minimum it requires a bill to pass Congress; at maximum it requires a constitutional amendment.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:21 pm

  130. I don’t care what the status of the perpetrator is, here. He should be treated just like a natural born citizen teen who did the same thing.

    I very much doubt that any uninsured, unlicensed 15yo who drives 90mph in a residential area and somehow t-bones a stationary vehicle, killing the occupant, is going to get probation. Sometimes they get tried as adults, and sometimes they are sentenced to a youth authority for a period of time,

    Here’s an example of a different outcome:

    [15yo] Teen sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatal crash that killed 3 women in 2024    .

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:31 pm

  131. Trump still doesn’t have the authority to redefine citizenship by executive order. At a minimum it requires a bill to pass Congress; at maximum it requires a constitutional amendment.

    If it is within the constitutional language, it only needs a bill. But yeah. Although he would not be the first president to use EOs to write new law.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  132. If it is within the constitutional language, it only needs a bill.

    Or a court to agree.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  133. Preventing Comey’s future employment by the federal government isn’t punishment for a crime without trial.

    It affects his liberty interests, so it is a punishment.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:35 pm

  134. If it is within the constitutional language, it only needs a bill. But yeah. Although he would not be the first president to use EOs to write new law.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:33 pm

    Section 5 of the 14th Amendment states:

    The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

    Congress can define re-define birthright citizenship right now, since they have majorities in the House and Senate. It would be better than the court challenges against Trump’s EO.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:45 pm

  135. Preventing Comey’s future employment by the federal government isn’t punishment for a crime without trial.

    It affects his liberty interests, so it is a punishment.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:35 pm

    Not according to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the bill of attainder clause.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:47 pm

  136. Too bad the seashells weren’t 18746, then the MAGA pearl-clutchers would’ve really had something to clutch about.

    The irony of course is that Trump and the MAGAs should be forever grateful to Comey, for his July 2016 statement about Hillary and October 2016 letter to Congress about Hillary (and all the while being completely silent about the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign that started in August or September 2016).

    But instead he’s vilified because he didn’t bend the knee to the orange-makeup’d fraud in the White House.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:48 pm

  137. Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:45 pm

    That doesn’t make sense. Section 5 said “enforce”, not reinterpret or change the meaning.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:51 pm

  138. BTW, I heard no MAGA objections to this. One standard.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:53 pm

  139. That doesn’t make sense. Section 5 said “enforce”, not reinterpret or change the meaning.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:51 pm

    I think you are right, the only way redefine how someone becomes a citizen and overturn Wong Kim Ark (and all the other cases that support it) would require a constitutional amendment to change the wording of Section 1.

    Rip Murdock (6e6cc2) — 5/17/2025 @ 1:07 pm

  140. BTW, I heard no MAGA objections to this. One standard.
    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 12:53 pm

    You mean Joe wasn’t bound, gagged and shoved in the basement the past four years?

    lloyd (cb0830) — 5/17/2025 @ 1:10 pm

  141. You mean Joe wasn’t bound, gagged and shoved in the basement the past four years?

    Nor was Trump 86’d, in either of his terms, defined by Oxford as…

    1. eject or bar (someone) from a restaurant, bar, etc.
    2. reject, discard, or cancel.

    McConnell had the chance to 86 Trump from getting elected in 2024, but he took the coward’s way out.
    There was also no objection or kerfuffle regarding these folks selling 8646 T-shirts.

    Bottom line, I think FIRE has it right regarding all pearl clutching going on.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 2:55 pm

  142. Terrorist attack, it appears, in Palm Springs, CA, outside American Reproductive Centers. One confirmed dead.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 3:13 pm

  143. @141 Paul, if Comey wants to fess up to being a partisan hack who can’t separate his politics from his duties, like some hack t-shirt slogan writer, I would welcome it and I doubt anyone would care what moronic thing he wants to post. Glad you’re acknowledging it.

    In your world, I guess there’s no difference between a t-shirt that puts a bullseye on Trump and a president who says “put a bullseye on Trump.”

    lloyd (2eaa96) — 5/17/2025 @ 3:21 pm

  144. His “duties”? What duties? He’s retired, forced out by Orange Voldemort.

    This is as silly as the bullseye Palin used, that one that the Left exploited to blame her for a shooting by a psychopath.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 4:03 pm

  145. No, Mr President, you eat them.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:55 am

    Tariffs are potentially toxic.

    ALERT THE FBI, KEVIN JUST CALLED FOR TRUMP’S ASSASSINATION!

    Dave (751db2) — 5/17/2025 @ 4:04 pm

  146. …….. if Comey wants to fess up to being a partisan hack who can’t separate his politics from his duties………

    What duties?

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 4:49 pm

  147. I think you are right, the only way redefine how someone becomes a citizen and overturn Wong Kim Ark

    Suppose Congress asserted there was an ambiguity and found a way to resolve it that followed Wong Kim Ark? Any reasonable definition of “subject to the laws thereof” could pass muster. Currently, it is defined as “subject to the laws, in the instant of birth” making a child born on a United flight sitting on the LAX tarmac, about to take off for Japan, a citizen.

    This is a bit unkind to the child as it now owes US income tax for the rest of its life.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/17/2025 @ 4:57 pm

  148. Suppose Congress asserted there was an ambiguity and found a way to resolve it that followed Wong Kim Ark? Any reasonable definition of “subject to the laws thereof” could pass muster.

    Assumes facts not in evidence, that “any reasonable definition of “subject to the laws thereof” could pass muster.”

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:07 pm

  149. …….. if Comey wants to fess up to being a partisan hack who can’t separate his politics from his duties………

    What duties?

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 4:49 pm

    Right, he was never FBI Director. Keep playing dumb.

    lloyd (be5171) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:12 pm

  150. @142 A terrorist attack on a reproductive clinic? Not ruling it out, but what’s the motive? Maybe wait for the facts.

    lloyd (be5171) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:16 pm

  151. …….. if Comey wants to fess up to being a partisan hack who can’t separate his politics from his duties………

    What duties?

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 4:49 pm

    Right, he was never FBI Director. Keep playing dumb.

    lloyd (be5171) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:12 pm

    Your statement, quoted above, implies that Comey has a current position where he can’t “separate his politics from his duties”. He hasn’t been FBI Director for eight years.

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:37 pm

  152. You probably should have used “couldn’t” instead of “can’t.”

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 5:40 pm

  153. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg3_kUaYFJA

    maybe comey was providing a public service

    Davethulhu (3e9c70) — 5/17/2025 @ 6:16 pm

  154. The irony here is that DNI Gabbard accused an analyst (Michael Collins) of politicizing intelligence while her underling, Joe Kent, attempted to politize an intelligence assessment by requesting that Collins “rethink” said assessment.

    Funny thing was, hard-right extremist Joe Kent* was curiously amenable to the revised “rethought” report, which didn’t change their conclusions about Maduro and TdA, it just explained more. Nevertheless, the release of the report to the media via FOIA request was made possible when Mr. Kent declassified it, and Ms. Gabbard then sacked Collins and his underling, perhaps at the urging of another right-wing whackjob, Laura Loomer.

    Bottom line, the FBI gave a minor dissent which the majority regarded as not credible, with the NIC concluding that TdA is not affiliated with the Maduro regime, therefore not part of “any foreign nation or government” under the AEA, therefore Trump’s invocation of the AEA has no basis, which was obvious to me during the campaign when his people first trotted out this nonsense. It’s yet under fraud perpetrated by this president with a long record of confirmed fraud.

    * I’m a little familiar with Mr. Kent because he twice ran for Congress in WA State and lost in 2022 and 2024 to the same hyphenated liberal Democrat in a district that was winnable for the GOP. He’s another right-wing whackjob and member of Cult Orange Jesus for his election-denying history but, in this case, he was just a loyal factotum taking orders from above. However, Gabbard is the political Putin-worshipping animal who made the sacking Collins & Associate happen.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 7:17 pm

  155. The Mexican Navy invasion of Brooklyn failed spectacularly.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 7:32 pm

  156. The Palm Springs bomber appears to be a left-wing loo loo, self-described as a “promortalist”.

    Google AI describes his Efilism as “spelled LIFE’ backwards, is a philosophy that promotes sentio-centric and sensory-centric anti-natalism and pro-mortalism. It argues that DNA life is a mere replication script with no inherent logical reason for existence. Essentially, efilism suggests that the universe would be better off without sentient beings, advocating for the eradication of all life.”

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:30 pm

  157. What a sicko, Paul. So many hurt; some critically. But Har-har lets laugh about a horrendous accident.

    Disgusting.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:47 pm

  158. ………. a horrendous accident.

    ?

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:58 pm

  159. And Mexico will pay for it.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 8:59 pm

  160. Paul’s LOL 7:32, Rip.

    https://nypost.com/2025/05/17/us-news/ship-carrying-200-people-hits-the-brooklyn-bridge-as-search-and-rescue-operation-underway/

    I see he has more “jokes.”

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:07 pm

  161. …LOL at 7:32…

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:07 pm

  162. Link

    277 people were on board the ship that struck Brooklyn Bridge. Contrary to multiple reports, nobody fell into the water and there are no critical injuries. Ship had a mechanical failure.

    In the chyron, CNN reported 19 injured, four “seriously”.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:10 pm

  163. “Seriously” vs “critically” is where you are hanging your gleeful hat? Why else with the stupid quotes?

    The Post does say critically if that helps you with your jollies.

    Really a weird dude…

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:14 pm

  164. The MAGA pearl-clutching is in full flux today.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:15 pm

  165. Sure, Paul. That is the issue. Nothing to do with your heartless comments.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:19 pm

  166. Oh, so now you’re concerned about brown-skinned people.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:20 pm

  167. I do love how you connect the concern for Mexican Nationals to MAGA to have your way after writing something doltish. Apparently MAGA likes brown people now? Make up your mind.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:22 pm

  168. Hahahahaha hahahahaha!!!!

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:22 pm

  169. Clutch those pearls harder.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:24 pm

  170. Do you drink heavily? This is a crazy way to act.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:24 pm

  171. Okay, now it’s a tragedy. Two dead.
    There will be questions such as, what was the tugboat doing or not doing, and what was the deal with the ship’s engines.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:35 pm

  172. Was it ever not horrendous? Or was that perspective only visible by MAGA pearl clutchers?

    Very sad overall.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:40 pm

  173. Brooklyn Bridge clearance:127 feet

    Tallest mast on Cuauhtémoc: 160 feet

    Rip Murdock (35ff00) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:50 pm

  174. Oh, so now you’re concerned about brown-skinned people.
    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:20 pm

    Sounds like Paul is compensating for something.

    lloyd (7e9691) — 5/17/2025 @ 9:53 pm

  175. Was it ever not horrendous?

    When the facts change, so do opinions. You should try it some time.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/17/2025 @ 10:24 pm

  176. Idiot Trump is raging at Walmart to “eat the tariffs”.

    If the purpose of tariffs isn’t to make imported goods more expensive, what is the purpose?

    If American businesses “eat the tariffs”, making it a business tax, how will that lower our trade deficits?

    And what incentive would foreign countries have to do anything, if American businesses subsidize their exports to the US?

    The layers of stupidity on display here are fathomless…

    Dave (751db2) — 5/17/2025 @ 11:26 pm

  177. If only Dave showed any such concern over Biden raising costs through his energy policies.

    Thou dost protest too much.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:07 am

  178. https://www.westernjournal.com/6-illegal-immigrants-charged-mothers-brutal-murder-defies-sense-decency/

    Another murder and blood on the hands of the open borders crowd.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:28 am

  179. The layers of stupidity on display here are fathomless…

    We can estimate.

    A fathom is six feet.

    Trump got 77,302,580 votes.

    At an average cerebral cortex thickness of one micron per Trump voter that comes to just over 42 fathoms 1 foot 7 inches.

    nk (929ccc) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:06 am

  180. Trump knows his yo-yos.

    The importers and retailers had better start talking to people and letting them know what tariffs are and how they work.

    And even then, there will still be a dangerously large core of morons who will blame them for not cutting their own throats.

    nk (929ccc) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:13 am

  181. Who controls the present controls the past.
    Who controls the past controls the future.

    Dave (9bf4aa) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:40 am

  182. If only Dave showed any such concern over Biden raising costs through his energy policies.

    I’m afraid you’ve missed the point again, Rob.

    I wasn’t expressing concern over price levels.

    Dave (9bf4aa) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:43 am

  183. But since you brought it up, US energy production increased sharply during every year of the Biden administration, reaching all-time highs in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

    https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/

    Dave (9bf4aa) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:50 am

  184. The Cuauhtemoc under full sail.

    nk (929ccc) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:43 am

  185. Dave and Biden need to find a room.

    lloyd (7e9691) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:44 am

  186. Sorry, no, not full sail. Under partial sail.

    nk (929ccc) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:47 am

  187. Hi, lloyd! Welcome to “You Bet Your Bippy”! Say the secret word and you get a free fried egg with your grits.

    nk (929ccc) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:49 am

  188. Is it “firecracker”?

    lloyd (ee75a5) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:55 am

  189. where’s my egg?

    lloyd (7e9691) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:56 am

  190. Amazing: James Comey Finds Natural Rock Formation Spelling Out ‘EXPLODE TRUMP’S HEAD WITH A BOOMERANG’.

    lloyd (7e9691) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:59 am

  191. Is it “firecracker”?

    No, try again. It’s a common word, something you pick every day.

    nk (929ccc) — 5/18/2025 @ 7:11 am

  192. No more “drill, baby, drill”:

    ………..
    The U.S. is on track to see crude oil production modestly increase in 2025—in part because of growth in fields offshore—before declining next year by 1% to 13.33 million barrels a day, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. That would mark the first year-on-year decrease in roughly a decade, outside the Covid-19 pandemic.
    …………..
    …………..(T)he upheaval in the global economy induced by his tariffs, coupled with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies’ decision to pump more oil, have likely compressed that timeline, crude-oil CEOs say. The disruption has been most notable in the Permian Basin, the country’s biggest oil field.

    Oil prices have fallen to $62.49 a barrel, down about 13% since Trump’s early April tariff blitz. That price is roughly equivalent to about $45 in 2015 dollars—below the average price that sent the oil industry into a painful downturn that year.

    “On an inflation-adjusted basis, current prices are at amongst the lowest they’ve ever been,” Paul McKinney, CEO of Permian driller Ring Energy, said in an interview. Prices should be around $85 a barrel to encourage companies to drill, he said.

    ………….. Because shale wells taper off quickly, any meaningful drop in production would be hard to reverse, as doing so would funnel cash out of shareholders’ pockets and into the field.

    “The amount of capital required to get back to 13 million barrels a day or 6 million barrels a day in the Permian might be an untenable lift for the business model that we put in place,” (Travis Stice, chief executive of Permian driller Diamondback) told analysts.

    ………….(S)igns that the era of shale dominance is coming to an end have multiplied.

    Production growth in the Permian is slowing. The region’s output grew by fewer than 200,000 barrels a day over the past 12 months, compared with average annual growth of more than 630,000 barrels a day since it started booming in 2017, according to the Energy Information Administration.

    The next two largest onshore U.S. oil fields, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, never fully recovered after the 2020 pandemic. Production there has flatlined for years.
    …………..
    One reason for the slowdown in activity is that companies are reluctant to drill through low prices when their inventory of premium wells is shrinking.
    …………..
    Houston-based EOG Resources, which unlocked troves of natural gas in South Texas 15 years ago, is one of the companies looking abroad as U.S. shale regions age. It recently signed an agreement with Bahrain’s Bapco Energies to evaluate a gas exploration prospect in that country.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/18/2025 @ 8:22 am

  193. I read that the Mexican ship lost power. I wonder if it was sailing by the bridge but drifted under it when it lost power? If so, perhaps they knew the heights but never intended to go under the bridge.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/18/2025 @ 8:27 am

  194. Here’s a history of Moody’s credit downgrades for the US over the last century. Kill the Trump tax cuts and tariffs. Pretty please.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 8:48 am

  195. Some information can be found here, DRJ:

    https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2025/05/18/update-on-tall-ship-disaster-n2189237

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 8:53 am

  196. CNN says “mechanical issues” and that “Cuauhtémoc’s captain said he lost steering of the vessel after the rudder stopped working”.

    nk (392652) — 5/18/2025 @ 8:55 am

  197. Hopefully Yashir Ali is reposting the actual facts now. That hopefully will help those who use him as a primary source.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:01 am

  198. Oil prices have fallen to $62.49a barrel, down about 13% since Trump’s early April tariff blitz. That price is roughly equivalent to about $45 in 2015 dollar

    The 10 year loss of value of the dollar seems to be a story in and of itself.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:06 am

  199. The media seems to have lost all interest in the Palm Springs terrorist attack. I wonder why.

    lloyd (7e9691) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:18 am

  200. Thank you, BuDuh.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:36 am

  201. This is interesting. There’s the theory that a devalued dollar would help improve American exports. That’s one of the driving philosophies of the current flavor of GOP. It makes American’s life generally worse, by making our products cheaper globally, but making of the global products we want more expensive. To achieve this one of the key things is you need to blow a big enough hole in the American economy to ensure that the dollar can float more freely in a world without the dollar as the reserve currency.

    The incoming US President has often said that he would like a weaker dollar. In his view, that will help ‘Make America Great Again’. It is possible, however, for a country’s exchange rate to be a result of its fortunes, not a cause of them, and that is how we see today’s strong dollar. With its relatively strong growth, reserve currency status, outperforming stock market and technological leadership, the US is already viewed pretty positively by investors. If the dollar is to fall significantly, they may need to be convinced, paradoxically, that America isn’t great.

    Of course, what Trump has in mind in this context is one specific element of economic performance only, namely America’s trade deficit and associated loss of manufacturing market share, and the plausible possibility that this has something to do with the US’s ‘competitiveness’. Get the over-valued dollar to fall, and the trade deficit will go away.

    The piece below addresses i) the main issues around Trump’s thinking on trade deficits and competitiveness; ii) the drivers of exchange rate fluctuations and the stronger dollar; and iii) the feasibility of devaluing the greenback.

    The US is still competitive

    To start with, it is not at all clear that the US’s trade deficit is a reflection of its competitiveness. Other things equal, if the US consumer spends more freely than those elsewhere, America will be likely to import more than it exports: the sheer scale of US household spending makes the US consumer customer number one for Global Inc. And many of the products exported to the US may differ from those available from home, leading much of US consumer demand to be sourced by imports, irrespective of their cheapness. If a consumption-driven slump were to occur, then the US trade deficit might narrow, but that would hardly be indicative of economic success.

    Meanwhile, despite this trade deficit, the US is home to more innovative and profitable big companies than any other country. If US Inc is uncompetitive, nobody seems to have told Amazon, Apple or Microsoft.

    Relative prices are not just driven by exchange rates anyway: productivity matters. The tendency for workers to gradually move up the learning curve and innovate over time, has helped to produce more with less. For example, Taiwan’s monopoly in producing the world’s most advanced semiconductors was not built overnight – and there is no guarantee either that the construction of semiconductor fabrication plants elsewhere will be able to match the price (and quality) of its chips. The fact that the Taiwanese currency has been relatively resilient against the dollar over the past decade may have partly been due to its semiconductor-related success.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:32 am

  202. The media seems to have lost all interest in the Palm Springs terrorist attack. I wonder why.

    lloyd (7e9691) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:18 am

    There seems to be plenty of media coverage. It’s out there if you look for it.

    The suspected bomber, was identified as 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus, was the one killed. He even left the required manifesto.

    “I figured I would just make a recording explaining why I’ve decided to bomb an IVF building, or clinic. Basically, it just comes down to I’m angry that I exist and that, you know, nobody got my consent to bring me here,” he said in the recording.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:35 am

  203. Suppose Congress asserted there was an ambiguity and found a way to resolve it that followed Wong Kim Ark? Any reasonable definition of “subject to the laws thereof” could pass muster.

    Assumes facts not in evidence, that “any reasonable definition of “subject to the laws thereof” could pass muster.”

    I wonder what that word “suppose” means.

    Kevin M (bf5e8e) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:49 am

  204. lloyd (7e9691) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:18 am

    Here’s a photo of Bartkus. Incel.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:50 am

  205. I wonder what that word “suppose” means.

    Kevin M (bf5e8e) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:49 am

    An outlandish idea?

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:51 am

  206. The irony here is that DNI Gabbard accused an analyst (Michael Collins) of politicizing intelligence while her underling, Joe Kent, attempted to politize an intelligence assessment by requesting that Collins “rethink” said assessment.

    Clearly you don’t understand. Kent and Gabbard have the True Facts, as handed down by the Orange One, and so any “analysis” that fails to regurgitate those Facts is obviously Wokist propaganda.

    Kevin M (bf5e8e) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:52 am

  207. Seems like the Palm Springs bombing was well covered.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:54 am

  208. Also, the dollar hasn’t “declined” in value in the last decade. It’s been variable but flat in effective exchange rate.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/18/2025 @ 10:59 am

  209. Idiot Trump is raging at Walmart to “eat the tariffs”.

    Walmart should leave prices the same, but warn that the Trump Tax on each item would be added at checkout.

    Kevin M (bf5e8e) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:00 am

  210. There’s the theory that a devalued dollar would help improve American exports. That’s one of the driving philosophies of the current flavor of GOP.

    That’s hardly a new theory, and it happens to be well-proven. Yes, it makes imports more expensive, which is hard on the upper classes, but exporting firms hire more workers. Importing firms are mostly jobbers who can change products with little job loss.

    Ask yourself why the British pound isn’t $4.80 any more

    Kevin M (bf5e8e) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:09 am

  211. One of the problems with government wanting a weaker dollar is that government has no direct control over exchange rates. If the object is to increase exports, why go to such lengths to piss off all our trading partners with these meshuggener tariffs.

    Kevin M (bf5e8e) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:15 am

  212. That’s hardly a new theory, and it happens to be well-proven. Yes, it makes imports more expensive, which is hard on the upper classes, but exporting firms hire more workers. Importing firms are mostly jobbers who can change products with little job loss.

    I think you should think about that. It does exactly the opposite, the people most impacted would be the working poor. The thing about the rich, they’re rich, so the price of a BMW SUV (made in SC) going up $20k is a bummer. The medicine manufactured in Ireland going from $50->$100 is vastly more impactful.

    The “hardly a new theory” is so old that it’s been proven to be a failed theory in the modern world.

    During the days of sail power (Mercantilism), it was true, once the US became a post industrial economy, assuming you can still leverage the same tools just means you don’t understand the changes to the world in the post the 80’s.

    We know all this, so why punch yourself in the dink? Not productive, in 3 years we will have to spend the next 30 years fixing this oopsie.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:23 am

  213. boo, s-h-i-t-e is now a bad word. I mean it always was a stand-in.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:29 am

  214. Today is the 45th anniversary of the big eruption of Mt. Helens: “The May 18, 1980, event was the most deadly and economically destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the contiguous United States.[9] About 57 people were killed directly from the blast, and 200 houses, 47 bridges, 15 mi (24 km) of railways, and 185 mi (298 km) of highway were destroyed; two people were killed indirectly in accidents that resulted from poor visibility, and two more suffered fatal heart attacks from shoveling ash.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens

    It was more deadly than expected because the blast went sideways, instead of straight up.

    It cooled a large area east of the blast — during the day — and warmed the same area during the night: https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/05/what-were-local-weather-impacts-of.html

    (For the record: I’ve hiked up Mount Saint Helens twice since the blast.)

    Jim Miller (0880e3) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:40 am

  215. Judge Dismisses ‘Trespassing’ Charges Promoted by Trump in Border ‘Defense Area’

    A federal judge this week dismissed charges against nearly 100 migrants detained under a Trump administration effort to arrest undocumented migrants for trespassing on a newly declared “national defense” zone along New Mexico’s border with Mexico.

    The order from a federal magistrate judge, Gregory B. Wormuth, added to the confusion and legal turmoil that have gripped New Mexico in the month since President Trump declared a ribbon of land along the 180-mile length of the state’s southern border to be an Army base.

    Around 400 migrants had been charged with willfully violating security regulations — misdemeanor charges that can carry up to a year in jail. ………
    …………
    Judge Wormuth, a former federal prosecutor, said the federal government had failed to show that the migrants actually knew they were unlawfully entering a restricted military area. He has dismissed charges against 98 migrants so far as he works through the docket.

    “The United States provides no facts from which one could reasonably conclude that the Defendant knew he was entering” the New Mexico National Defense Area, the newly declared military installation, Judge Wormuth ruled.
    ………….
    …………. Nearly identical charges against hundreds of other migrants could also soon be thrown out, given what the judge described as the prosecution’s “cut-and-paste approach to factual allegations.”

    On Thursday, Judge Wormuth took the bench in Las Cruces to consider military trespassing charges against a new group of 22 migrants who were waiting for their first hearing. Over the objections of prosecutors, he said he did not find probable cause — a basic legal hurdle.

    The migrants in these cases still face misdemeanor charges of entering the United States illegally, and are likely to face deportation. They are all being held without bond. Federal prosecutors also have the option of appealing the judge’s dismissal or filing the charges again, with additional facts to make a case that the migrants had willfully trespassed when they crossed the border and stepped onto a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land known as the Roosevelt Reservation.
    ………..
    While active-duty troops have the power to detain migrants on military land, they have largely been providing support and surveillance to help Border Patrol agents make arrests.

    Maj. Geoffrey A. Carmichael, a spokesman for the Joint Task Force Southern Border, said military personnel had not detained anyone so far in the administration’s newly declared “national defense areas” along the southern border. He said they had helped detect more than 150 “unauthorized trespassers.” In response to the case dismissals of migrants the military helped apprehend, Major Carmichael said that the task force’s authority ends “where the U.S. Border Patrol’s law enforcement responsibilities begin,” and that adjudication was the responsibility of the Department of Justice, not the Department of Defense.
    ………….
    The Bureau of Land Management has said it would work with the Army to allow miners or farmers with grazing leases to continue using the land. But Major Carmichael said that recreational users like hunters and hikers were no longer allowed, and humanitarian aid groups could not operate without permission.
    ………….

    I’m not sure what the point is to declare a military reservation and then arrest illegal immigrants for violating it, making the taxpayer to pay for their incarceration. Why not just arrest and deport them back to Mexico?

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:45 am

  216. I saw the plume from Lake Washington that day.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:47 am

  217. DOJ gives Boeing a break:

    Boeing won’t face prosecution in connection with two plane crashes that left 346 dead under a tentative deal with the Justice Department that would allow the U.S.’s biggest exporter to avoid a felony conviction, people familiar with the matter said.

    The aerospace company would receive a nonprosecution agreement instead of having to plead guilty, which it had agreed to do toward the end of the Biden administration, the people said. The reversal would be one of the most stark examples of how the Trump administration has taken a less aggressive approach to enforcing the law against big companies.

    The criminal case stems from Boeing’s admission that former employees deceived air-safety regulators before two deadly crashes of 737 MAX jets in 2018 and 2019. Boeing resolved the criminal investigation in January 2021 and was placed on a form of corporate probation. But prosecutors said last year that Boeing violated that settlement, which had required it to improve its antifraud compliance program.

    The government’s finding exposed Boeing to the possibility that it would be prosecuted, similar to how individuals can face a tougher sentence if they violate their probation. ……….
    ………..
    Attorneys for the families objected to the new agreement, with some calling it a terrible deal that is designed to protect Boeing from accountability, the people said. An attorney for some of them later said they would formally object to a nonprosecution agreement.

    “Dismissing the case would dishonor the memories of 346 victims, who Boeing killed through its callous lies,” Paul Cassell, an attorney for some of the families, said Friday.
    ………..
    Under the new pact, Boeing would pay more compensation—$444 million—to the families of passengers killed in the crashes. That would be on top of what the company agreed to four years ago, when it set aside $500 million to compensate the families of the victims.
    ………….
    Lawyers for the families have repeatedly said they want Boeing to admit that it caused the deaths of victims. Every family member told the government they don’t want more money from Boeing and instead want to see the company prosecuted, Cassell said.
    ………….
    The new deal also would allow Boeing to not worry about the collateral consequences of a guilty plea, which include suspension as a government contractor. Boeing could have sought a waiver from being debarred as a contractor.
    ########

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:57 am

  218. Why not just arrest and deport them back to Mexico?

    Because not every one of them is from Mexico.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 12:26 pm

  219. You are very welcome, DRJ.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 12:27 pm

  220. Why not just arrest and deport them back to Mexico?

    Because not every one of them is from Mexico.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 12:26 pm

    Then deport them back to their country of origin. There is no need to convict them of trespassing onto a military reservation and have the taxpayer pay for their incarceration.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 12:45 pm

  221. Absent the trespassing charge,Do you want them incarcerated until they are deported?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:03 pm

  222. And if the country of origin doesn’t want them, do you want them incarcerated[for illegal entry only] until their situation Is resolved?

    BuDuh (cf0d31) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:06 pm

  223. @220 “Then deport them back to their country of origin.”

    LOL

    lloyd (d1917f) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:14 pm

  224. Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:45 am

    Obama judge

    lloyd (d1917f) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:20 pm

  225. 8646

    Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was diagnosed Friday with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, a spokesman said on Sunday.

    Dave (d6d368) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:21 pm

  226. Absent the trespassing charge,Do you want them incarcerated until they are deported?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:03 pm

    And if the country of origin doesn’t want them, do you want them incarcerated[for illegal entry only] until their situation Is resolved?

    BuDuh (cf0d31) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:06 pm

    The law won’t allow imprisonment “until their situation is resolved”; the trespassing charge is only a misdemeanor (as is illegally crossing the border), so at most they will be jailed six months to a year.

    Consistent with the Constitution, illegal immigrants could be held in camps; the federal government owns vast amounts of vacant land in the west.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:28 pm

  227. Obama judge

    lloyd (d1917f) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:20 pm

    Actually he’s a magistrate judge, appointed by the New Mexico District Court.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:31 pm

  228. SNL cold-open on Trump in Middle-east:

    Trump: But, I’ve had a great trip here in the Middle-east; it was very much a boys’ trip – I don’t think I saw a single woman. [aside to MBS] What’s up with that, huh?

    Trump: All the time just walkin’ into a room full of boys – “Hi boys!” Boys again. The women are all hiding – it’s like a nation of Melanias…

    Dave (d6d368) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:41 pm

  229. Obama judge

    lloyd (d1917f) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:20 pm

    Actually he’s a magistrate judge, appointed by the New Mexico District Court.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:31 pm

    More:

    By majority vote of the U.S. district judges of the court, magistrate judges are appointed for a renewable term of eight years. In addition, there are a small number of part-time magistrate judges who serve four-year terms.

    Judge Gregory Wormuth’s term ends today.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:42 pm

  230. @228 So much incel resentment directed at Trump.

    lloyd (d1917f) — 5/18/2025 @ 1:52 pm

  231. Dave, is that the SNL Trump who shot and killed someone? Or. is it a new one who hasn’t shot anyone yet.

    lloyd (d1917f) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:01 pm

  232. MBS: Donnie, if you divorce Melania so I can marry her, I will give you her weight in gold.

    Donnie: Okay, but you will have to wait six months.

    MBS: Why? Does an American divorce take that long?

    Donnie: It can, but that’s not the reason. I want to fatten her up as much as I can before we weigh her.

    nk (34c6b2) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:12 pm

  233. Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 2:56 pm

    I don’t want to see Hamas surrender. I want to see them all dead.

    All three Sinwar brothers are now probably dead , two in the last few days.

    Maybe the end is getting closer.

    In the end you would want the lower ranking people to surrender.

    Trump wants to evacuate half of Gaza’s population to Libya,.

    Sammy Finkelman (71f615) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:19 pm

  234. Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 11:45 am

    Why not just arrest and deport them back to Mexico?

    Because they are not Mexican citizens. Mexico has to agree to take any non-Mexicans. Mexico has immigration laws too.

    Sammy Finkelman (71f615) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:23 pm

  235. Is incarceration for “six months to a year” preferable? Or do you not want the taxpayer to pay for any jail time whatsoever?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:23 pm

  236. Romania and the West win, and Putin loses.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:45 pm

  237. The Civil Rights Act of (April 9) 1866 said

    All persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.

    In the 14th amendment

    not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed

    was changed to

    subject to the jurisdiction thereof

    Obviously this eliminated the possible exclusion of British subjects 9who could not even renounce that – remember the cause of the War of 1812? – and the like, and made the applicability of U.S. law to them the test.

    The 14th amendment sets a floor not a ceiling.

    Sammy Finkelman (6c73a8) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:50 pm

  238. Former President Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, said to have spread to the bones.

    This was always a possibility.

    Sammy Finkelman (6c73a8) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:52 pm

  239. Is incarceration for “six months to a year” preferable? Or do you not want the taxpayer to pay for any jail time whatsoever?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 2:23 pm

    The only place illegal immigrants should be detained prior to deportation would be immigration camps located somewhere on federal lands in the middle of nowhere

    Why spend the money on court time, trials, jails, and prisons for such minor offenses? Give them their immigration hearings and then deport or send to an immigration camp.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:11 pm

  240. In the end you would want the lower ranking people to surrender.

    No I don’t.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:12 pm

  241. Prostate cancer, Will he use the same doctor Jimmy Carter did, some years ago? He cured him.

    Biden used a more standard doctor for his son Beau.

    Sammy Finkelman (6c73a8) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:13 pm

  242. So much incel resentment directed at Trump.

    I would say Colin Jost is the luckiest man alive. 😉

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:15 pm

  243. Why spend the money on court time, trials, jails, and prisons for such minor offenses?

    My guess is it was an attempt to make sure they have a criminal record that doesn’t get the dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin treatment that both getting caught breaking into this country as well as being caught unlawfully present somewhere well inside this country. “Yeah they are here illegally but they have no criminal record…” type of garbage thinking.

    I think it is creative but slightly sloppy in the execution. I don’t blame them for trying.

    Do you have any idea how much more this is costing than the dollar amount you think taxpayers should be paying for standard immigration hearings and immigration camps? Just curious what breaks the bank.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:23 pm

  244. > Yes, it makes imports more expensive, which is hard on the upper classes

    It’s harder on the lower classes, because when the cheap things you buy on temu double in price, your spending power goes down dramatically.

    And that’s *even before* we get into questions like imported drugs and *cell phones*.

    The day when the only imports were luxury goods is *long* past.

    aphrael (95a9ac) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:27 pm

  245. The “hardly a new theory” is so old that it’s been proven to be a failed theory in the modern world.

    Klink, you’re just wrong here.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:29 pm

  246. There are significant economic consequences for the country that devalues its currency to address its economic problems. A devaluation in the exchange rate lowers the value of the domestic currency in relation to all other countries, most significantly with its major trading partners.

    It can assist the domestic economy by making exports less expensive, enabling exporters to more easily compete in the foreign markets. It also makes imports more expensive, providing a disincentive for domestic consumers to purchase imported goods, leading to lower levels of imports (which can benefit domestic producers), but which reduces the real income of consumers.

    Devaluation tends to improve a country’s balance of trade (exports minus imports) by improving the competitiveness of domestic goods in foreign markets while making foreign goods less competitive in the domestic market by becoming more expensive.

    There are drawbacks, of course, like potential inflation, depending on the residual demand for higher priced imports and domestic manufacturers’ reduced pressure from those imports.

    But this was the given reason for any number of previous devaluations, here and abroad. It’s not actually possible to do today as exchange rates float.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devaluation

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:35 pm

  247. it’s like a nation of Melanias…

    I’m so old I remember when cheap shots at First Ladies were beyond the pale.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:38 pm

  248. It’s harder on the lower classes, because when the cheap things you buy on temu double in price, your spending power goes down dramatically.

    We’re talking “devaluation” not tariffs. Devaluation (which isn’t actually possible in a floating currency market) is usually a small drop in exchange rates, and mostly effects higher-priced items. The cheap stuff’s cost is mostly shipping and handling.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:46 pm

  249. The only place illegal immigrants should be detained prior to deportation would be immigration camps located somewhere on federal lands in the middle of nowhere

    There’s a lot of that here in New Mexico. So much that they were able to explode an atom bomb in secret.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:48 pm

  250. Former President Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, said to have spread to the bones.

    How did they miss that earlier?

    Once it gets into the pelvis, the prognosis is poor. It’s a slow and painful way to go. There are a few life-prolonging things that can be done when it is hormone-driven like this one. But it’s all pretty bad.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:52 pm

  251. BTW, it’s prostate cancer. One of the easiest ones to test for.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:53 pm

  252. OH. WAIT. They knew about it a while ago. They just lied about this, too.

    Kevin M (f32511) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:02 pm

  253. Praying for Biden. I read that his cancer responds to the therapy very well. I hope that is true.

    This clip has been making the rounds: A 2022 clip of Joe Biden saying he “had cancer” is going viral after today’s announcement of his real diagnosis.

    I have not found the transcript of this speech to verify of the tape has been altered.

    The media probably heavily investigated this at the time. Maybe Snopes knows?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:19 pm

  254. https://www.newsweek.com/biden-blames-delaware-oil-slicks-his-cancer-so-damn-many-others-1726552

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:28 pm

  255. Apparently he was talking about his skin cancer.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:28 pm

  256. It’s Trump’s Fault

    He missed the boat on this one.

    Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Sunday bizarrely suggested that DOGE cuts to the US Coast Guard could have been partly to blame for a Mexican tall ship’s deadly collision with the Brooklyn Bridge.

    “We know there has been meddling by the Trump administration into USCG staffing, and we need to know how this might have impacted the events of last night — from a command, communication and local coordination level,” the embattled Dem said in a press release.

    “There are indications that this service [Vehicle Traffic System] may not be fully or adequately functional in light of a hiring freeze,” he said — referring to what he described as the Coast Guard’s “FAA-like traffic control operation.”

    “If this were the case, the Brooklyn Bridge accident would be a national harbinger, demanding immediate attention,” the pol said.

    But there were no reports of any other ship being involved in any way in Saturday’s tragedy.

    lloyd (88c8bb) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:30 pm

  257. Paul, would you please instruct NeverTrump Schumer to follow the facts? Much appreciated.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:35 pm

  258. I’m so old I remember when cheap shots at First Ladies were beyond the pale.

    Not old enough, apparently.

    Dave (d6d368) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:05 pm

  259. BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 4:35 pm

    Troll.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:24 pm

  260. Dr. Steven Quay….

    Prostate cancer is the easiest cancer to diagnose when it first starts and to watch it progress to bone metastases. The PSA blood test shows the rate of cancer cell growth. For even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes metastatic.

    Meaning, it would be malpractice for this patient to show up and be first diagnosed with metastatic disease in May 2025.

    It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:33 pm

  261. Too bad you didn’t get your wish to vote for Biden. “If only I lived in a swing state! 😍❤️“

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:35 pm

  262. CNN Investigates…

    Biden’s doctor says there are no new concerns with the president’s health and he remains fit to serve

    President Joe Biden is fit for duty, his doctor reported Wednesday following the president’s annual physical, in what is expected to be the last update on Biden’s health before November’s election.

    Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a memo there are “no new concerns” with the president’s health revealed by this year’s physical. The White House said earlier Wednesday that no cognitive test was administered as O’Connor did not find it necessary.

    “The President feels well and this year’s physical identified no new concerns. He continues to be fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations,” O’Connor wrote.

    He added, “President Biden is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief.”

    Good thing Jake Tapper pushed back hard on this at the time…

    lloyd (88c8bb) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:43 pm

  263. There’s a lot of that here in New Mexico. So much that they were able to explode an atom bomb in secret.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:48 pm

    Not to the Russians.

    Rip Murdock (20f298) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:54 pm

  264. Not to the Russians.

    No, but not because they could see it from their house.

    Kevin M (eb73d6) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:55 pm

  265. Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:33 pm

    Indeed. His PSA should have been double digits. Kind of a clue to health professionals. But what is REAL malpractice is that it was never treated. A prostatectomy is often a complete cure. But they lied instead.

    Kevin M (eb73d6) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:00 pm

  266. BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 5:35 pm

    Noted, you’re still too dense to comprehend Schumer is a Democrat, not NeverTrump, even though you been shown the links. It’s that, or you’re a troll. Take your pick.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:06 pm

  267. If they say that they never thought to get PSA numbers for a 70+ yo man, they are really really bad doctors.

    Kevin M (eb73d6) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:10 pm

  268. -I was asked about some of the details surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There’s no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise. I’m not asking you to believe me, or not. I’m telling you what exists, and what doesn’t. If new evidence surfaces I’m happy to reevaluate.

    https://x.com/FBIDDBongino/status/1924115672021241991

    Welcome to the Deep State, Dan.

    Davethulhu (fec6c5) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:15 pm

  269. Man, if only someone might have known about the enlarged prostate 6 years ago.

    Oh, wait.

    Biden has also been treated for “Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia BPH” otherwise known as an enlarged prostate, but has never had prostate cancer.

    That it was known and communicated at the time was obvious. That as soon as he was in, the blackout started.

    He was always going to die of something.

    I’m 20 years younger than Biden, but my doctor said that after 70 you don’t cut, it’s radiation and over 80, conservative palliative care.

    Biden would have an unlimited budget for medical care but realistically treatment today or five years ago wouldn’t have extended his life more than days weeks or months definitely not years.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (222ddc) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:45 pm

  270. My guess from dealkng with cancer doctors is that Biden was previously diagnosed with a high PSA/prostate cancer. That’s why they can say “the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.” It takes time to do testing that shows how to treat cancer, although with prostate cancer they usually start with hormone therapy and see if it works. (It typically takes months to do the treatments and see if it brings down the PSA.)

    IMO, the “new” diagnosis is that it has spread to his bones.

    But I am not a doctor and will never have prostate cancer, so this is total speculation.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:46 pm

  271. The question is whether he also has brain metastasis. Either way, my sympathy to him and his family. It’s a rough disease at this stage.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:49 pm

  272. Noted,

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:06 pm

    Is this the secret word? Does Paul win the egg?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/18/2025 @ 6:59 pm

  273. @217 DOJ Gives Boeing a Break

    Boeing got all the heat. The airlines and the FAA got off the hook.

    After the crash of Lion Air flight 610 and prior to the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, The FAA and the airlines knew everything they needed to know about MCAS. In early November 2018 The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive and Boeing issued a service bulletin notifying pilots of the indications and effects and instructions on what to do in the event of erroneous MCAS Activation. The FAA like Boeing, assumed pilots could handle it.

    Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2018-23-51 is sent to owners and operators of The
    Boeing Company Model 737-8 and -9 airplanes.
    Background

    This emergency AD was prompted by analysis performed by the manufacturer showing that if
    an erroneously high single angle of attack (AOA) sensor input is received by the flight control
    system, there is a potential for repeated nose-down trim commands of the horizontal stabilizer. This
    condition, if not addressed, could cause the flight crew to have difficulty controlling the airplane, and
    lead to excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain.

    FAA’s Determination

    We are issuing this AD because we evaluated all the relevant information and determined the
    unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type
    design. Due to the need to correct an urgent safety of flight situation, good cause exists to make this
    AD effective in less than 30 days.

    AD Requirements

    This AD requires revising certificate limitations and operating procedures of the airplane
    flight manual (AFM) to provide the flight crew with runaway horizontal stabilizer trim procedures to
    follow under certain conditions.

    US Comments on Draft Aircraft Accident Investigation Report
    Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302

    2. OPERATIONAL AND HUMAN FACTORS ASPECTS

    Flight crew performance played a critical role in the accident sequence; however, a discussion of the accident
    flight crew’s performance (including CRM) was not sufficiently developed in the EAIB draft report, which
    continues to focus heavily on system design issues. The absence of flight crew performance information limits
    the opportunity to address broader and equally important safety issues. Further, evaluation of the crew’s
    performance would not have been particularly difficult because the relevant data were readily available in the
    CVR, FDR, airline manuals/procedures, crew training records, and postaccident interviews.
    As we have reiterated throughout the investigation, design mitigation must adequately account for expected
    human behavior to be successful, and a thorough understanding of the flight crew’s performance in this
    accident is required not only for robust design mitigations but also for operational and training safety
    improvements necessary to achieve multiple layers of safety barriers to trap human errors and prevent
    accidents.

    2.3 The EAIB draft report incorrectly states (in several locations) that the MCAS made control of the airplane
    “impossible” but neglects to state that, if the crew had manually reduced thrust and appropriately used
    the manual electric trim, the airplane would have remained controllable despite uncommanded MCAS
    input.

    https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/ASR1901.pdf

    purplehaze (7148ae) — 5/18/2025 @ 7:32 pm

  274. Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2018-23-51

    What really brought down the Boeing 737 max? Malfunctions caused two deadly crashes. But an industry that puts unprepared pilots in the cockpit is just as guilty.

    According to the official narrative, which — discounting its omissions — seems to be mostly true, when a fresh crew arrived to take the next run, a night flight 600 miles west to Jakarta, a technician showed the new captain the maintenance log and explained that the angle-of-attack sensor on the left side had been replaced. The captain informed the co-pilot and said that he himself would do the flying. They would have a hitchhiker in the cockpit, sitting on the jump seat just behind them. He was an off-duty pilot and, according to one Indonesian pilot I spoke to, a 737 Max captain for a Lion Air subsidiary. For mysterious reasons, this man was not mentioned in subsequent Indonesian accounts. When I asked a senior investigator about the omission, he explained that it was because the investigators had been busy. Only recently and reluctantly have the Indonesians acknowledged the third pilot’s presence, though, as it happened, he played an important role.
    None of the Bali crew have been named, and access to them has been blocked. The airplane took off at 10:20 p.m. with 189 people aboard, or 190 if the ghost in the cockpit is included. Immediately after liftoff, the captain’s airspeed indication failed, airspeed- disagreement and altitude-disagreement warnings appeared on his flight display and his stick shaker began to rattle the controls in warning of an imminent stall.
    The Bali captain was enough of an airman to realize that he was dealing with an information failure only — not an actual stall. No direct mention has been made of this, but he must have immediately identified the replacement angle-of-attack vane on his side as the likely culprit. The co-pilot’s stick shaker had not activated. The second angle-of-attack sensor was functioning correctly. The captain held the airplane steady in the climb, confirmed that the right-side indications crosschecked with the standby instruments and transferred the flying to the co-pilot with instructions to follow a regular schedule of flap retractions and retrim the airplane as normal. The handoff was well done. The stick shaker continued to rattle, but that was merely an annoyance.
    But then there was a change. What had been an information failure suddenly turned into a flight-control one. Soon after the flaps were retracted, the airplane developed a mind of its own and rolled in a fast burst of nose-down trim. Apparently, this caused such a lurch that back in the cabin some passengers started praying. It was just the MCAS kicking in, because the three conditions necessary to trigger it had
    combined: The flaps were up, the autopilot was off and the captain’s angle-of-attack sensor was showing a stall.
    MCAS trimming can be thwarted and even overpowered by counter-trimming with the sustained use of the thumb switches on the control yokes, but in the confusion of the encounter in Bali, the counter-trimming went only so far. After three MCAS impulses, the co-pilot said that his control column had grown so heavy that he could hardly hold the nose up. They were about six minutes into the flight and still on the runway heading. The captain formally declared a condition of urgency by making a “pan-pan” call to air- traffic control. He reported an instrument failure and asked to continue flying straight ahead. The controller approved the request and asked if the crew wanted to return to the airport. The captain answered, “Stand by.” Over the next two minutes, while the co-pilot fought to maintain control of the airplane, the captain went wandering through the checklists trying to figure out what to do.
    Finally the ghost in the jump seat intervened. It is impossible to know if he was a better airman than the pilots in the front or simply had the advantage of an overview. Either way, he recommended the obvious — shutting off the electric trim by flipping the cutout switches. The captain flipped the switches, the trim stopped running away and the MCAS was disabled. It was that easy.
    With the captain’s stick shaker continuing to rattle and the trim switches set to the off (cutout) position, the crew flew to Jakarta without further issue, adjusting trim as sometimes necessary by use of the manual trim wheels mounted on both sides of the central pedestal, and landed just before midnight. Investigators do not seem to have explored why the pilots required nearly five minutes to handle what normally might have been a 30-second adventure, or why they required a cockpit guest to provide the solution. Such questions were overshadowed by the subsequent failures of the accident crew on Flight 610.
    After pulling up to the gate in Jakarta, the Bali captain informed a company mechanic about “the aircraft problem” and in the maintenance log noted only three anomalies — the captain’s airspeed and altitude indication errors and the illumination of a warning light related to a system known as Feel Differential Pressure. That was it. Apparently the captain noted nothing about the failure of the newly installed angle-of-attack sensor, or the activation of the stick shaker, or the runaway trim, or the current position of the trim cutout switches. If true, it was hard to conclude anything other than that this was severe and grotesque negligence. Dave Carbaugh, the former Boeing test pilot, had the most charitable view of the matter. “I suspect that the pilot wrote what you see in the log, and he verbally told maintenance that, ‘Hey, the trim was running down, and we had to use the stabilizer cutout switches, and we flew the airplane back manually,’ ” he said. “And maintenance took no action on that, because the airplane had made it back to Jakarta. They just checked the fault messages and cleared them and called it a day. That’s my best guess. They were just hellbent to release that airplane.”
    The Lion Air 610 accident crew — Capt. Bhavye Suneja and his co- pilot, First Officer Harvino — arrived at the airport before dawn to prepare for the flight. Each had been through pro forma runaway- trim training in Lion Air simulators (hint: watch for it in Sim Ride No. 3), but they had never heard of the MCAS and had no way of guessing from the maintenance log that none of the airplane’s recent failures had been resolved, that some of the entries might have been fraudulent, that serious failures had occurred on the previous flight that had not been recorded or addressed or that the angle-of-attack sensor on the captain’s side was a slapped-on unit from Cockroach Corner that was 20 degrees out of whack. Instead, they thought they had a healthy airplane, and a nice new one, too.
    Everything seemed fine during the takeoff roll, but as soon as he hauled back on his control column and the airplane lifted off, the angle-of-attack sensor went haywire, the stick shaker began to rattle the left-side controls and Suneja lost reliable indications of airspeed and altitude on his flight display. In other words, the airplane misbehaved exactly as it had the night before. Once again, everything was fine on the co-pilot’s side. Suneja, however, did not turn the flying over to Harvino but retained it for himself, despite the vibrations of the controls in his hands.
    With the stick shaker sounding off, Suneja might have chosen to discontinue the trip and immediately return for a landing. Instead, two minutes after takeoff, Harvino asked air-traffic control for clearance to proceed to “some holding point” where he and Suneja could figure things out. The mood in the cockpit was calm. When Harvino mentioned a “flight-control problem,” he was wrong. They had a stick shaker sounding off and some unreliable indications, but the still-unknown MCAS had not yet engaged because the wing flaps remained extended. As the airplane climbed through 2,150 feet, Harvino retracted the wing flaps, and the MCAS kicked in for the first time, ambushing Suneja with its 10 seconds of double-fast nose-down trim and resulting in the 700-foot plunge seen on radar by the controller. Suneja countered by using his thumb switch to apply a burst of nose-up trim as he hauled back on the control column and returned the airplane to its climb.

    Adding to the workload, the controller chose this moment to issue the first needless turn and to formally clear the flight to 5,000 feet. Harvino dutifully responded. Suneja then ordered him to put the wing flaps back down to where they had been. It was the best move of the morning and seems to have been based on a rule of thumb that if you do something in a cockpit and are rewarded by some unwanted event, do not waste time wondering what the connection is — undo that something you just did.
    Suneja knew they had experienced some kind of runaway trim, but now with the flaps extended (and therefore with the unknown MCAS neutralized) it did not happen again. This would have been a good time to quit and go home. Instead, Suneja leveled at 5,000 and 30 seconds later ordered the flaps retracted. He may have made that choice because the airplane was flying at aerodynamic speeds in excess of 300 knots, which is not only fast for that altitude but also at least 50 knots faster than the maximum flap speed and enough to generate a loud overspeed clacker in the cockpit. He did not know about the MCAS, it’s true, but he had just experienced a violent runaway trim after flap retraction, and you might think he would have had the wherewithal to leave the flaps alone and throttle back to slow or, alternatively, pull into a climb to achieve the same result while also buying time. But no, he stuck obediently to 5,000 feet, left the throttles forward and retracted the flaps.

    This time he was ready when the MCAS engaged, and he managed to avoid a dive by counter-trimming and hanging tight. The surprise was that after the assault ended, the MCAS paused and came at him again and again. In the right seat, Harvino was fumbling through checklists with increasing desperation, trying to figure out which one might apply. Over in the left seat, Suneja was confronting a rabid dog. The MCAS was fast and relentless. Suneja could have disabled it at any time with the flip of the two trim cutout switches, but this apparently never came to mind, and he had no ghost in the jump seat to offer the advice. The fight continued for the next five minutes, during which time the MCAS mounted more than 20 attacks and began to prevail.
    As a reminder, the horizontal stabilizer is the large tail surface that can be angled down or up by the trimming mechanisms to change the airplane’s pitch; the “elevators” are the hinged control surfaces mounted behind it and are manipulated by the use of primary controls to adjust the pitch. Normally, these two movable surfaces function in agreement to the same end — nose-up elevator, nose-up trim; nose-down elevator, nose-down trim. But the relationship reverses with a runaway. In the unusual case in which a pilot does not switch off the electric trim, the elevator has to be used against the runaway stabilizer to keep an airplane from getting out of control. By certification standards, the elevator will succeed at this at all aerodynamic speeds up to the maximum, which, again, is approximately 340 knots in the 737. The catch is that as the airspeed increases, so does the power of the stabilizer in relation to the elevators. The slope becomes slippery toward the end. If an inattentive crew allows a runaway trim to drop the nose too far below the horizon and the crew reacts with full up elevator, the nose will rise as certification standards require, but it may remain below the horizon for a period sufficient to allow the airspeed to continue to increase and bust right through the maximum speed, at which point recovery becomes impossible if you don’t lay into the electric trim.
    The story is complicated because the counter-trim that Suneja had been thumbing to beat back the dog was working, and with greater effect at higher speeds, to the point that full nose-down trim would have been avoidable even if the cutout switches were not thrown, so long as the pilots stayed in the fight. But panic was growing in the cockpit. What little the Indonesian investigators have said about the voice recordings, they have described that much. The air-traffic control record shows the same. Suddenly it was the captain, Suneja, who was on the radio, and his transmissions made little sense. Apparently he had taken over the desperate search through the checklists and handed the flying to Harvino. This was a mistake, because Harvino was in no condition to fend off the MCAS attacks. He gave a few feeble inputs of nose-up trim with his thumb switch and began calling on God for a miracle. The MCAS ignored his entreaties and pitched the airplane into a steepening dive at airspeeds that quickly exceeded the engineered limits. Harvino stopped even trying to thumb the trim. Suneja hauled his control column all the way back, giving full up elevator to no avail. The nose dropped farther as the stabilizer prevailed. The crew of an offshore oil platform saw the airplane in a nearly vertical dive before it hit the water.

    purplehaze (7148ae) — 5/18/2025 @ 7:43 pm

  275. Biden would have an unlimited budget for medical care but realistically treatment today or five years ago wouldn’t have extended his life more than days weeks or months definitely not years.

    If he had treatment the moment they found an enlarged prostate, then did a PSA and biopsy, he could have been completely cured. If it had gone past the prostate, but not to the bone, there was still plenty to do and the 5-year survival rate is over 99%.

    The reason they don’t do a prostatectomy with a Gleason 3+3 is because there is plenty of time still before it is a problem, if ever. For anyone who gets a regular checkup, they will catch it at that point.

    But it seems like he kept putting it off and ignoring his doctor’s advice. He wanted to be President so very badly.

    *****

    I was diagnosed with prostate cancer over ten years ago, confirmed on three biopsies over the next few years. But my PSA has never been over 1 (checked every 6 months) and the biopsies all showed rare, localized and highly differentiated cancers. 3+3 on the Gleason scale. Stage I, if that much. It’s not changed in 10 years.

    So, don’t give me this death sentence bullsh1t.

    Kevin M (bed143) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:02 pm

  276. Shorter: I have had prostate cancer since 2014. My doctors now tell me I will probably never have to treat it.

    Kevin M (bed143) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:04 pm

  277. Either way, my sympathy to him and his family. It’s a rough disease at this stage.

    Indeed. A friend of 50 years, my best friend once, recently died of just this metastasis. He had opted for a non-surgical path when the told him it was time to deal with it. Probably not the best choice, but some men just don’t want to let go of that prostate.

    It’s an awful, painful and debilitating way to go. I had been willing to offer “extra help” but he chose not.

    Kevin M (bed143) — 5/18/2025 @ 9:08 pm

  278. So, don’t give me this death sentence bullsh1t.

    I wasn’t talking about Biden’s cancer, I’m talking about Biden’s life.

    You have a death sentence. I have a death sentence, he has a death sentence, he’s 82, he was always going to die soon of something. As Hubbard said, “Please do not take life quite so seriously—you surely will never get out of it alive.”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:11 am

  279. The 86 47 nonsense from Trump and his supporters is a great example of why their complaints about persecution, or ‘lawfare’, aren’t worth tacking seriously as a legitimate source of grievance. ‘86’ such and such has been a short hand for ‘get rid of’ for years with no violent connotation.

    But given the opportunity to dishonestly complain that Comey was calling for violence against Trump they lean into it completely.

    If it looks like an unjust or improper use of government power it should be investigated appropriately. But there’s no point in taking their compliant seriously beyond that or giving consideration to the mere fact their complaints exist until they demonstrate the character to differentiate between legitimate complaints and these type of nonsense gripes. Because if they don’t have any legitimate complaints they’ll just make something up.

    You can’t work with people who have the morality of toddlers by treating their unreasonable complaints seriously. There’s no reasonable position they’re advocating for. What they say is just a pretext to get what they want, which is always ‘more’.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:35 am

  280. Do you think that my complaint about Paul mocking the horrendous shipwreck was legitimate or was I just making stuff up, Time?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:02 am

  281. I didn’t read your conversation with him.

    Time123 (40c1b2) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:16 am

  282. If you want to help me out by telling me what comment numbers I need to go look at I have no objection to skimming it and sharing my opinion.

    Time123 (40c1b2) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:17 am

  283. Start at 7:32pm Saturday night, Time. Thank you for your interest.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:20 am

  284. Should be comment 155, but sometimes the numbers aren’t the same for everyone.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:24 am

  285. The Fifth Avenue Filth Brigade is diverse, if not equitable and inclusive.

    Sure, the shills are phony and manipulative.

    But the yo-yos are incapable of anything other than being bounced up and down on their strings.

    And the psychopaths have more sensitivities than a leper with sunburn.

    nk (7cfd5b) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:26 am

  286. Prior to the deaths Paul’s jokes were crass, funny, but crass and tasteless. After the deaths they were even more tasteless.

    You’d hate Anthony Jeslenik’s stand up btw. Would not recommend that you watch him.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:29 am

  287. So they were funny while the crew members were dying? Good to know the standards.

    Thanks Time. I think I get it now. Where do Tim Walz’s comments on ICE being “Trump’s Gestapo” sit in differentiations between legitimate complaints and nonsense gripes?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:34 am

  288. @201, Klink, have you done much reading on how the Dollar’s status as the world reserve currency artificially increases it’s value above the level that free trade would dictate and therefor reduces are ability to export while increasing our ability to import?

    It’s an interesting topic and I can share some links later when I get the chance.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:35 am

  289. It was bad seamanship.

    The captain cast off without steerageway. That simple.

    Elsewhere, the ship would have drifted out to sea or grounded on shoals. In Brooklyn, it ran into the Brooklyn Bridge.

    In retrospect, but only in retrospect after learning of the deaths and injuries, it can be thought that the incident deserved serious criticism and not mere derision.

    nk (7cfd5b) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:40 am

  290. @287 You’re aware that a thing can be tasteless, offensive, inappropriate, hurtful, and funny all at the same time? That humor in part comes from the subversion of our expectations about what will happen next? We call it a ‘cheap laugh’ when some one cracks a joke about a tragic event for a reason.

    You asked for my opinion and I gave it. It was a crass and tasteless and funny when the human impact of the tragedy was unknown. Once it became known it was even more tasteless.

    If you, or someone else here, was personally impacted by the tragedy they should tell Paul and he should apologize for causing pain, funny doesn’t excuse cruelty.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:41 am

  291. Where do Tim Walz’s comments on ICE being “Trump’s Gestapo” sit in differentiations between legitimate complaints and nonsense gripes?

    Obnoxious hyperbole by a politician trying to feed red meat to his base. I didn’t pay any attention to it as a it’s not really worth any. Lots of examples of hyperbole that’s not really worth attention.

    the 8647 seems to be different as people with influence appear to be asking that it be taken seriously as a threat against Trump’s life.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:44 am

  292. When Paul posted the stand-up comedy routine it was already known that there were injuries. Even the video he posted showed the devastation including young cadets clinging onto ropes high in the air.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:48 am

  293. Also, it’s a been theme in this comment section (whembly articulates it well but is far from the only person to voice it) that the grievances of Trump’s base deserve to be taken seriously as an issue on their own, independent of the validity of any specific compliant.

    The 8647 hullabaloo does a great job illustrating why that’s pointless.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:48 am

  294. @279

    But given the opportunity to dishonestly complain that Comey was calling for violence against Trump they lean into it completely.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:35 am

    Time, I’m going to level with you here.

    You need to stop reflectively defending every anti-Trump sentiment… because that is what it looks like you do all the time.

    Don’t forget, that Comey was a career FBI agent, who climbed the ladder to be the Director of that institution.

    Do you know what the FBI HRT (SWAT) command leader’s confirmation when their sniper is confirming a kill shot?

    “86”

    You telling me the former Director of the FBI didn’t know what he was doing?

    He’s the darling of the NeverTrumpers who’s getting ready to hock a new book.

    He’s either ginnying up interest for his new book…by talking like they do.

    Or…

    He’s subliminally calling for an assassination.

    Either way, it’s not a good look bucko.

    So, when you sprout out this crap:

    You can’t work with people who have the morality of toddlers by treating their unreasonable complaints seriously. There’s no reasonable position they’re advocating for.

    Please, for the love of the Holy Terra Emperor*, pick up a mirror!

    Story time…

    * The “tragic fall of the Emperor” in the Warhammer 40,000 universe refers to the events surrounding the Horus Heresy, a galaxy-shattering civil war that led to the Emperor of Mankind’s mortal wounding and internment on the Golden Throne. Here’s a concise synopsis:

    The Emperor, a near-godlike figure who unified humanity and forged the Imperium of Man, sought to elevate mankind through the Great Crusade in the 31st millennium. He created 20 genetically engineered Primarchs, each leading a Space Marine Legion, to conquer the galaxy. However, the Chaos Gods, malevolent entities of the Warp, scattered the Primarchs and later corrupted several through manipulation and temptation.

    Horus Lupercal, the Emperor’s most favored Primarch and Warmaster of the Great Crusade, was seduced by Chaos, particularly after being wounded and exposed to their influence on the planet Davin. Promised power and convinced the Emperor sought godhood at humanity’s expense, Horus rebelled, turning half the Primarchs and their Legions against the Imperium in a devastating civil war known as the Horus Heresy.

    The war culminated in the Siege of Terra, where Horus laid siege to the Emperor’s palace. In a desperate gambit, the Emperor confronted Horus aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. Despite his psychic and physical might, the Emperor initially hesitated to destroy his beloved son, allowing Horus to mortally wound him. Realizing Horus was irredeemable, the Emperor unleashed his full psychic power, obliterating Horus’s soul to prevent Chaos from reclaiming it.

    The Emperor’s body was left broken, and to sustain his life and psychic presence, his loyalists placed him on the Golden Throne, a life-sustaining psychic amplifier. For 10,000 years, he has lingered in a decaying state, neither fully alive nor dead, his mind anchoring the Imperium’s warp travel and holding back Chaos. The Imperium venerates him as a god, though it stagnates under the weight of his dream’s collapse, a tragic irony given his secular vision.

    This fall—from a visionary leader to a near-mythical, suffering figurehead—is central to Warhammer 40,000’s grimdark tone, embodying themes of betrayal, sacrifice, and the cost of hubris.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:50 am

  295. BuDuh, I’ve already said it was crass and tasteless on his part, and if someone is emotionally harmed by his joke that he should apologize.

    A crass and tasteless joke at 7:30PM (PST, it would be later if he lives east of PST) on a semi-anonymous internet comment section about an incident he likely has no personally connection to may not be the best example of human behavior he’s able to providing, but it’s not wholly uncommon in modern culture.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:53 am

  296. You’re aware that a thing can be tasteless, offensive, inappropriate, hurtful, and funny all at the same time?

    Indeed I am.

    Are you aware that “86” can actually legitimately mean something different to different people?

    People can be subjective in opinions of certain things without having cast objectivity to the wind. You found humor it Paul’s comments. I did not. We are both right and that is where “disagree to agree” actually works. The same goes for the term “86.” Like it or not.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:53 am

  297. Don’t forget, that Comey was a career FBI agent, who climbed the ladder to be the Director of that institution.

    No, he wasn’t. Director was his first and only job in the FBI.

    Trump and the MAGAs have to be the biggest ingrates about Comey, the guy who twice damaged the Hillary campaign, first with his July 2016 public statement and then with his October 2016 letter to Congress (all the while staying completely silent about the FBI’s ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign), all because Trump couldn’t stand it that Comey wouldn’t stand down. It’s irrational and, yes, absurd.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:57 am

  298. @250

    How did they miss that earlier?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/18/2025 @ 3:52 pm

    They didn’t.

    People knew it too.

    We lived through a movie called “Dave”, practically.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:00 am

  299. Whembly, some of the people saying that this is a legitimate call for Trump’s assassination have used ‘86’ in the recent past.

    Spin it all you want. It’s a better example of why it’s pointless to take these clowns seriously than it is anything else.

    Also, i can’t remember the last time I saw anyone (right or left) say anything positive about James Comey. So I’m not sure he’s anyone’s ‘darling’. I know I have a very low opinion of the man and have for many years.

    Here’s Matt Gaetz using it. He’s called for an investigation.
    Here’s Jack Posobiec who wants Comey in prison.

    No one sane thought they were calling for political murder. But now the Head of DHS and Tulsi Gabbard want Comey’s dumb post treated as a true threat.

    Even if I accept your premise that he was calling for political violence to sell a book (and I don’t. I think you’ve been conned) The reaction from MAGA leadership still supports my point.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:06 am

  300. @297

    Don’t forget, that Comey was a career FBI agent, who climbed the ladder to be the Director of that institution.

    No, he wasn’t. Director was his first and only job in the FBI.

    Yup, I stand corrected, he was a career prosecutor at the SDNY.

    My overarching point stands.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:07 am

  301. People can be subjective in opinions of certain things without having cast objectivity to the wind. You found humor it Paul’s comments. I did not. We are both right and that is where “disagree to agree” actually works. The same goes for the term “86.” Like it or not.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:53 am

    Knowing what you do about James Comey, the multiple meanings of 86. The fact that it has been commonly used in the recent past to mean ‘get rid of’. Do you feel that it is reasonable to assume that he was making a true threat and literal call for actual violence?

    Couple follow up questions after that if you’re willing.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:10 am

  302. If you, or someone else here, was personally impacted by the tragedy they should tell Paul and he should apologize for causing pain, funny doesn’t excuse cruelty.

    I always take pain, suffering, and loss of life in a personal manner. Maybe that is a fault of mine, but I do think we all deserve better treatment than we may get at times. So even though I do not have a direct connection with those affected, I don’t think they should be mocked during the worst of times for them.

    As far as anything that is directly personal to me, should I have been associated with “MAGA pearl clutching” for expressing my concern for the affected? Should I have been subjected to not so veiled claims that I am a person that does not care for “brown-skinned people?”

    This type of truly personal attack never gets caught by the moderates here. Somehow it is always glossed over.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:13 am

  303. My overarching point stands.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:07 am

    Do you feel he made a legitimate threat against the life the the president and that the Department Of Homeland Security should open an investigation?

    Or is that a stupid over reach? Hyperbole for a base that has been indoctrinated to believe outlandish theories or their tribe’s persecution?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:16 am

  304. I have to run, Time, but my quick answer is knowing what I believe to know about a man who had multiple assassination attempts against him, I would not fault him, or those charged with protecting him, for at least wondering what a former top law enforcement official would ever use a term that has the slightest ambiguity.

    NeverTrump Schumer comments led to a threat on the life of a SCOTUS Justice. High profile people need to chill out on their comments, IMO.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:17 am

  305. The folks dismissing Comey’s dog whistle were the same folks with their hair on fire about Trump’s rhetoric inciting a coup. For four years. LMAO

    lloyd (b90d47) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:18 am

  306. @299

    Even if I accept your premise that he was calling for political violence to sell a book (and I don’t. I think you’ve been conned) The reaction from MAGA leadership still supports my point.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:06 am

    It’s either:
    a) a post whereby Comey ingrates himself to his likely readers by talking like them.
    b) a post whereby Comey ambiguously calls for an assassination, after Trump survived two attempts. At best, he’s ambiguous enough to deflect… at worst, he’s signaling to his readership that “he’s one of them”.

    Not sure which one is worst.

    Maybe it was simply a crass moment by Comey, that he really didn’t think it through.

    But, hey, you think it’s an overreaction, just like I think your overreaction over J6.

    So, it’s a push.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:18 am

  307. @303

    Do you feel he made a legitimate threat against the life the the president and that the Department Of Homeland Security should open an investigation?

    Or is that a stupid over reach? Hyperbole for a base that has been indoctrinated to believe outlandish theories or their tribe’s persecution?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:16 am

    Hey.

    Whatever threshold that was used to open up Crossfire Hurricane.

    Us that here.

    Is there enough to open up an investigation?

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:19 am

  308. *Use that here.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:20 am

  309. BuDuh, If that was your intent I missed it. I just thought you were smacking Paul around for being impolite because you and he usually are at odds and you saw a chance. I’m sorry If I misread your intent. But you do make a lot of snarky comments so I don’t usually attribute this level of empathy or kindness to you.

    If Filipe (May he rest in peach) had said something similarly I would have read it differently.

    I don’t intend this to be an insult, I’m just trying to explain. I don’t think there are many commenters here who I would assume are calling for empathy unless they took some effort to explain where they were coming from. Even Filipe would take some time to explain why he was asking someone (often me) to be better.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:21 am

  310. @307. You have eloquently proven my point for me. Thank you.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:22 am

  311. BuDuh, thank you for answering. But I can’t tell if *you* think it was an actual threat or not.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:24 am

  312. Wembley, I note you also didn’t answer my question on if you felt he was actually calling for violence or not.

    Lloyd, same question for you do you think call me was actually calling for Trump‘s assassination

    Time123 (3c9dd4) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:35 am

  313. Lloyd, same question for you do you think call me was actually calling for Trump‘s assassination
    Time123 (3c9dd4) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:35 am

    Dumb question. Dumb, because as if that matters.

    Do you think Trump was calling for violence against FEMA? Do you think Trump wanted to put Liz in front of a actual firing squad? Do you think Trump was calling for an actual bloodbath? Do you think Congressional Republicans incited the Buffalo massacre? All points advanced here. It would be interesting to see if you ever called those out at the time.

    But just so you won’t say I refused to answer: My honest answer is I don’t know. How about answering mine?

    lloyd (b90d47) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:47 am

  314. no, yes, no, IDK what you’re talking about.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:51 am

  315. Whatever threshold that was used to open up Crossfire Hurricane.

    Pretty high bar.

    On Jun 3, 2016, at 10:36 AM, Rob Goldstone wrote:

    Good morning

    Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting.

    The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

    This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump – helped along by Aras and Emin.

    What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?

    I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.

    Best

    Rob Goldstone

    On Jun 3, 2016, at 10:53, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

    Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back?

    Best,

    Don

    Dave (2ce7be) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:51 am

  316. Lloyd, thank you for trying to answer my question. I appreciate the effort on your part and thought your response was great. 😀

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:52 am

  317. @315, I thought it was also predicated on statements made by a Trump staffer about how they were getting support from the Russian government?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:53 am

  318. no, yes, no, IDK what you’re talking about.
    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:51 am

    LOL I guess you have “the morality of a toddler” on the Cheney hullabaloo.

    As for the IDK, for your reference.

    I see you didn’t call it out then. Want to call it out now, or support it?

    lloyd (b90d47) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:04 am

  319. Like we don’t know Roy Cohn’s apprentice.

    He did not invent lawfare, but he sure learned it real good, as he has demonstrated in thousands of cases. (And I know how many is thousands.)

    He has Lewandowski’s Milbank Mama harassing Comey just because she can, and it’s paid for by the taxpayers anyway.

    And his shills, yo-yos and psychos know it, too, and appreciate that very fact, that it’s harassment of an “enemy” for harassment’s sake, more than any normal human being can.

    nk (7cfd5b) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:17 am

  320. Jealous much.

    HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO??? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment. In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic “entertainers,” this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:31 am

  321. HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?

    No, idiot, if she *hadn’t* paid him it would have been an illegal campaign contribution…

    Dave (2ce7be) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:36 am

  322. Every accusation is an admission.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:44 am

  323. LOL I guess you have “the morality of a toddler” on the Cheney hullabaloo.

    You misunderstood my point.

    I’ll try again.

    The argument that we need to take MAGA’s grievances about disparate treatment seriously and offer them compromise is faulty. Their complaints are similar to a toddler who feels wronged when they see a child in another car with a lollipop and want their own lollipop. Like the toddler it’s pointless to try and explain why the situation is different. Neither MAGA nor the toddler cares. The Toddler doesn’t care if the other child just got a shot at the Dr. Office, was a big boy, and got a lollipop as a reward. Their anger isn’t justified based on facts. Their anger is based on they want it and they don’t have it.

    Similarly it’s pointless to explain the differences between a violent riot of hundreds of Republicans that was fueled by months of lies about election fraud, injured over 100 police officers, attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power2 and culminated with Congress and VP fleeing the US capital in fear for their safety and Comey marking a post on instagram that said “8647” in sea shells to MAGA.

    Does that make the Toddler comment clearer for you?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:46 am

  324. Re: Biden’s cancer announcement:

    I have never understood why politicians and celebrities think the public are interested (or care) about their health issues. It seems pretty morbid.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:46 am

  325. What would have made it illegal?

    I don’t know the FEC limits for volunteers.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:48 am

  326. It is the public which is morbid, and it sells dog food and toilet paper for the media.

    nk (7cfd5b) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:49 am

  327. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:46 am

    How many death notices have you posted here?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:49 am

  328. Time, you didn’t answer my question about the Buffalo shooting post.

    lloyd (1b09b4) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:53 am

  329. As for the IDK, for your reference.

    I see you didn’t call it out then. Want to call it out now, or support it?

    lloyd (b90d47) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:04 am

    I apologize for not calling it out. This was a horrible tragedy and while it was 3 years ago I’m sure people who were injured or lost loved once’s are still recovering. I’ll pray for God to help them and i hope they’re all ok.

    The shooter was a sick, evil, and racist scum bag.

    I don’t see where the OP you linked blamed congressional republicans for the shooing. They did point out some overlap between some ppl in GOP believing in and advocating white replacement theory and this violent racist being motivated by anger at White replacement theory.

    But that’s not what you originally stated.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:55 am

  330. @328 patience Lloyd. I Needed to read the information at the link.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:56 am

  331. No, idiot, if she *hadn’t* paid him it would have been an illegal campaign contribution…

    You know that, and I know that, but his yoyos don’t know that, and his shills and psychos only care that the yoyos never learn it.

    nk (7cfd5b) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:59 am

  332. What would have made it illegal?

    I don’t know the FEC limits for volunteers.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:48 am

    From my understanding, a “free” concert would constitute an in-kind contribution to a campaign by the artist, and the “usual and normal charge” counts against the the contribution limits ($3,500 per individual) as if it was a cash donation. I’m sure Springsteen’s usual concert fee is more than $3,500.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:06 am

  333. Where do Tim Walz’s comments on ICE being “Trump’s Gestapo” sit in differentiations between legitimate complaints and nonsense gripes?

    Have you MET this guy named Trump?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:09 am

  334. What would have made it illegal?

    I don’t know the FEC limits for volunteers.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:48 am

    Seems like it might be an in kind contribution? But I expect this will be something that involves some nuance.

    One thing I wonder is where the line is between “I’ll endorse you but I a charge for media appearances./ you have to pay my travel costs” and paying for endorsements outright.

    My guess is that it’s invisible unless the people involved are very bufoonsish.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:15 am

  335. Was Obama’s speech also paid for at the rally? I find this topic interesting.

    Thanks Rip and Time.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:19 am

  336. @333 Similar to my comment about not taking MAGA’s complaints about disparate treatment seriously, the similarity in rhetoric about Romney and Trump makes it almost pointless to take the lefts complaints about Racism / Authoritarianism seriously.

    I would say it’s fortunate that so many people who aren’t part f the left have identified these issues as well. But rather than motivate MAGA to take them seriously it’s just created a new definition of leftist that includes Liz Chaney and MIT Romney.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:19 am

  337. @335, Not sure.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:20 am

  338. Kevin,

    My experience with family is that prostate cancer can be treated for years, even decades, with hormone therapy (as long as it works). There seem to be few side effects during that stage.

    But the prognosis and side effects are different/worse when it metastisizes. That can result in falling (due to weakened bones from bone metastisis, especially in the hips and back) and dementia-like symptoms (when it spreads to the brain). That’s exactly what we saw with Biden in recent years. I am seriously wondering if his problems weren’t due to age but to cancer.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:20 am

  339. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:46 am

    How many death notices have you posted here?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:49 am

    .

    Apples and oranges; that’s not an explanation as to why politicians or celebrities make a public display of the health issues.

    The obituaries that I posted are those of either military heroes (those that earned the Medal of Honor, for example) or cultural icons (those that defined a generation, particularly through film or music work.) One has nothing to do with the other.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:21 am

  340. I have never understood why politicians and celebrities think the public are interested (or care) about their health issues. It seems pretty morbid.

    The health of someone asking for election to the presidency is of great interest, and should be. Hiding a debilitating condition seems like fraud.

    Taxes pay for the president’s medical exams and medical care. Is the WH physician the president’s doctor or the people’s doctor? The WH counsel is not the president’s lawyer. Should he have a duty to the electorate to be truthful and complete in his report?

    This really is not about Biden — he’s no longer in office — but the current occupant is at least as likely to lie about his health. I would like there to be discussion and maybe hearings on the duties of WH medical staff to report relevant conditions and significant changes in the president’s health.

    There are clear indications that President Trump’s mental state is not what it once was. As we found out with Biden, and belatedly with Reagan, older people’s health can deteriorate quickly. That should not be a state secret.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:22 am

  341. BuDuh,

    I think the FEC treats entertainment at campaign events different than endorsements. It makes sense to pay for entertainment. You wouldn’t want to pay for an endorsement.

    So Bruce Springsteen would not get paid if he came on stage to give a speech endorsing a candidate, but he should get paid for entertaining at an event. If he wants to waive a fee or donate it to charity, the campaign would still have to report the value of his donation.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:24 am

  342. The health of someone asking for election to the presidency is of great interest, and should be. Hiding a debilitating condition seems like fraud.

    This!

    With the caveat that it might not be criminal/legal fraud but as a citizen I feel like I have a right to know.

    Similar to when his Sec Def hid that he was going in for surgery Biden’s actions here are /wrong/ and unacceptable.

    Again, I’m not saying it was criminal but it was TERRIBLE leadership.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:26 am

  343. Was Obama’s speech also paid for at the rally? I find this topic interesting.

    Thanks Rip and Time.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:19 am

    Since Obama’s speech was in the form of an endorsement, it may or may not have considered an in-kind contribution. There is nothing in the Harris campaign’s FEC records that show a payment to former President Obama directly, but it may have been made to another entity whose name is unknown.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:32 am

  344. If he wants to waive a fee or donate it to charity, the campaign would still have to report the value of his donation.

    I have always thought that to be true so I didn’t necessarily believe that Harris would have had to pay him to avoid an “illegal” contribution. Reporting it would be enough. But apparently he would be limited to $3500?

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:33 am

  345. What was the payment to Springsteen.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:35 am

  346. Kevin,

    One of Pattericos points on his Substack is that Trump has been laser-focused on changing the rules so that the Executive branch personnel owe loyalty solely to Trump, not the country. Undermining the oath to protect the Constitution is one way he does that.

    Further, Trump is also focused on stopping the courts from intervening as he does this. That includes no more injunctions, no interference with “foreign policy” and immigration due process. The overarching goal is to insulate Trump from any legal constraints on his power.

    The public interest that was once such an important part of our system is now considered woke.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:35 am

  347. This is why they hire a bunch of lawyers for national campaigns and still end up paying fines because they messed things up.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:36 am

  348. I have never understood why politicians and celebrities think the public are interested (or care) about their health issues. It seems pretty morbid.

    The health of someone asking for election to the presidency is of great interest, and should be. Hiding a debilitating condition seems like fraud.

    I agree; but that is not the question I asked. I am asking why, in general, politicians and celebrities make these sort of announcements. Biden is no longer President, so his health status is irrelevant. As I said, it seems pretty morbid, as if they are asking for sympathy.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:37 am

  349. My experience with family is that prostate cancer can be treated for years, even decades, with hormone therapy

    It can be (and often is) treated with NOTHING, as in my case. Many cancers are very slow-growing, but need to be watched just in case, typically by PSA and biopsies when indicated.

    I have done a LOT of research on what treatment might be needed; thankfully, my doctors tell me not to worry. What I’ve found, or been advised by MDs:

    Aggressive cancer is generally treated with radical prostatectomy (preferred) or radiation. In many cases that deals with it forever.

    If, after prostatectomy, PSA is much above zero (there should not be any), then you start talking about hormone therapy or other methods to decrease testosterone or fight the cancer (assumed to have spread to nearby tissue) more directly. Those treated with radiation may go to hormone therapy immediately. This can indeed be successful in taking the patient until death-by-something-else.

    Once it gets into the pelvis, though, the prognosis is poor.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:38 am

  350. BuDuh,

    I font know what (if anythkng) was paid yo Springsteen or his company. The Harris campaign typically paid production company fees for events.

    You might be able to find details or itemization in the FEC database. I don’t have time but it is interesting to look at campaign reports. Candidates file their reports with the FEC and I think they are available online.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:43 am

  351. I also wonder what Obama’s normal speaking fee is and how much in excess of $3500?

    Later.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:44 am

  352. Biden is no longer President, so his health status is irrelevant. As I said, it seems pretty morbid, as if they are asking for sympathy.

    While in Biden’s case you might be right, given his other issues, it explains to people why his activity will decrease. It can also bring some awareness about the malady to the public, and can be helpful there.

    Reagan’s announcement circa 1990 that he had developed Alzheimer’s symptoms moth explained why he was retiring from public life and brought some new awareness to the disease.

    It may be morbid to some, and it may be political to some others (Reagan’s detractors latched onto it with vigor), but there are positive reasons for these announcements, too.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:45 am

  353. Thanks, DRJ.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:45 am

  354. I don’t think Biden wants sympathy, at least not exclusively. I think he wants people to know why he was so feeble and impaired. I think his ego wants us to know it was an illness, not age.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:45 am

  355. BuDuh,

    I don’t know if this is correct buy I found a video that said it is legal to psy for endorsements. I don’t know the FEC rules but it makes more sense yo me that campaigns can pay for expenses associated with endorsements (travel, hotels, security, etc.) but not payments for endorsements.

    The FEC rules govern all that, which is why even local candidates need professional help.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:48 am

  356. I also wonder what Obama’s normal speaking fee is and how much in excess of $3500?

    I’m not sure that it’s relevant. Obama speaking at a fellow Democrat’s campaign event is part of the general political process, as is an endorsement or call-out at a separate event. The band is not, nor are the caterers or the venue or the balloon providers.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:49 am

  357. I don’t think Biden wants sympathy, at least not exclusively. I think he wants people to know why he was so feeble and impaired. I think his ego wants us to know it was an illness, not age.

    Still, he hid it. That he is STILL coming clean about it does not improve the situation.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:51 am

  358. I also wonder what Obama’s normal speaking fee is and how much in excess of $3500?

    Later.

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:44 am

    Reportedly, it is around $400K, depending on the audience.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:52 am

  359. He did hide it. This is a common ailment for men, but it makes it worse for his staff and doctors to be complicit in a specific health coverup as opposed to an age-related decline. That’s why I think this was about ego. He is selling out everyone that protected him by going public with this.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:54 am

  360. Michelle Obama reportedly earned nearly $750,000 for a 2023 one hour speech in Germany, according to unidentified sources.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:57 am

  361. @360 I’d love for Congress to find a way to curtail this crap under the emoluments clause.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:58 am

  362. The reason I think entertainment should be different than personal endorsements is that a campaign can hire anyone to entertain, but endorsements are personal. Asking Obama to endorse a Democrat means more than asking the local mayor to endorse.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:58 am

  363. Obama speaking at a fellow Democrat’s campaign event is part of the general political process, as is an endorsement or call-out at a separate event. The band is not,,

    You may want to check out about 1 hour and 10 minutes into this video:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wkcmqpgnSQI&pp=ygUgaGFycmlzIHJhbGx5IGF0bGFudGEgc3ByaW5nc3RlZW4%3D

    Gotta go now. Later for reals

    BuDuh (c85533) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:01 am

  364. As long as Springsteen and Ted Nugent are treated the same by the campaign for performing at campaign events, then not an issue.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:10 am

  365. FBI director Kash Patel told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo Sunday night that he reviewed the entire Jeffrey Epstein case file and concluded that the notorious sex trafficker “killed himself” and that “there’s no evidence in the case file suggesting otherwise.”

    https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2025/05/19/epstein-suicide-confirmed-by-kash-patel-and-frankie-five-angels-n4939932

    Interesting…

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:13 am

  366. Sadly, no information regarding one in three of the men could be found online. Maybe no one in their families knows they are missing, or maybe they are too afraid to speak up. For 48 percent of the 174 about whom we have some information, we have no information about their method of crossing into the United States. For many, the only information is Facebook or Instagram posts from their mothers pleading for information about their children. About 100 relatives also signed a letter to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, but it contains no case-specific information.

    The government calls them all “illegal aliens.” But of the 90 cases where the method of crossing is known, 50 men report that they came legally to the United States, with advanced US government permission, at an official border crossing point. A Reuters survey of 50 men also placed the proportion of those who entered legally at about half. This isn’t surprising because about half of all the Venezuelans who have immigrated over the past two years came legally as well—either as refugees, parolees, or visa holders. The proportion isn’t what matters the most: the astounding absolute numbers are. Dozens of legal immigrants were stripped of their status and imprisoned in El Salvador.

    https://www.cato.org/blog/50-venezuelans-imprisoned-el-salvador-came-us-legally-never-violated-immigration-law

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:22 am

  367. @360 I’d love for Congress to find a way to curtail this crap under the emoluments clause.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:58 am

    The emoluments clause doesn’t cover ex-Presidents or federal officials.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:30 am

  368. @360 I’d love for Congress to find a way to curtail this crap under the emoluments clause.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:58 am

    The emoluments clause doesn’t cover ex-Presidents or federal officials.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:30 am

    Any regulation would violate the First Amendment.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:31 am

  369. FBI director Kash Patel told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo Sunday night that he reviewed the entire Jeffrey Epstein case file and concluded that the notorious sex trafficker “killed himself” and that “there’s no evidence in the case file suggesting otherwi

    se.”
    ……..
    Interesting…

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:13 am

    Joining the Deep State……

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:35 am

  370. @368 Why? I don’t mind that she’s speaking. I mind the habit of paying ppl huge sums of money after they leave office.

    1A isn’t impacted if they’re not allowed to take the money. Or if doing so opened them up for potential prosecution for bribery or something.

    I don’t have a great solution….the status quo just annoys me.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:38 am

  371. @368 Why? I don’t mind that she’s speaking. I mind the habit of paying ppl huge sums of money after they leave office.

    1A isn’t impacted if they’re not allowed to take the money. Or if doing so opened them up for potential prosecution for bribery or something.

    I don’t have a great solution….the status quo just annoys me.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:38 am

    Ex-presidents (and ex-first ladies and other ex-government officials) are private citizens, and have a right to earn whatever the market will pay them. How would “doing so opened them up for potential prosecution for bribery or something” since they are out of office without any governmental authority?

    I don’t see any basis for banning fees paid to private citizens, especially since ex-members of Congress may wish to also make paid speeches.

    You may just need to stay annoyed.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:46 am

  372. @310

    @307. You have eloquently proven my point for me. Thank you.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:22 am

    Cool, since the bar is so low, then you shouldn’t have a problem with the DOJ opening up an investigation.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:19 am

  373. High-level former federal employees have a one-year “cooling-off” period before they can work on matters related to their former agency. Further, former Senators are prohibited from lobbying Congress for two years after leaving office, while former House Representatives have a one-year prohibition.

    With that, speeches aren’t lobbying, though it frequently smells a bit like influence peddling. Of course, it’s in the mind’s eye as to the value of the insights and observations…especially with changes to an administration. Would Biden insights be in high demand right now? Probably not. It’s also not clear what else former Presidents do except write books and give speeches. They tend not to join academia or run companies as both would seem like a step down in many ways.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:19 am

  374. @312

    Wembley, I note you also didn’t answer my question on if you felt he was actually calling for violence or not.

    Time123 (3c9dd4) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:35 am

    What *I* think doesn’t matter.

    What *I* want is the same rules being applied.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:20 am

  375. @338

    That’s exactly what we saw with Biden in recent years. I am seriously wondering if his problems weren’t due to age but to cancer.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:20 am

    Yup, that’s my take too.

    And this was hidden to the public.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:25 am

  376. High-level former federal employees have a one-year “cooling-off” period before they can work on matters related to their former agency. Further, former Senators are prohibited from lobbying Congress for two years after leaving office, while former House Representatives have a one-year prohibition.

    Which if challenged could be declared unconstitutional.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:36 am

  377. @365

    https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2025/05/19/epstein-suicide-confirmed-by-kash-patel-and-frankie-five-angels-n4939932

    Interesting…

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 10:13 am

    That should earn them some credibility, as being truth-tellers, even when its inconvenient.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:37 am

  378. @374, Whembly, I think you won’t answer the question because you won’t lie and say you think it was a threat.

    Which is an important point. Because if the rule is that the government should investigate when there is a reasonable belief that a crime was committed saying you don’t think one was kind of undercuts your ‘same rules’ thing.

    Because a lot of people (like me) did think some of the legal proceedings against Trump had merit.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:38 am

  379. With that, speeches aren’t lobbying, though it frequently smells a bit like influence peddling.

    Influence peddling would entail the ex-officials contact an agency; which after the “cooling off” period would be allowed, as long as they registered as lobbyists.

    Talking about world affairs or public policy isn’t influence peddling.

    It’s also not clear what else former Presidents do except write books and give speeches. They tend not to join academia or run companies as both would seem like a step down in many ways.

    They have foundations to burnish their legacies; former President Obama established a media company, Higher Ground Productions. It signed deals with Audible and Netflix. Higher Ground won a best documentary Oscar in 2020 for American Factory and a number of award nominations for the feature film Rustin; as well as other film and television projects.

    I don’t know what other ex-Presidents have done; but you’re right, they mainly write books, give speeches, sit on corporate boards, and paint.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:51 am

  380. @377, the clinically insane (see the comments section) would appear to disagree with you.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:54 am

  381. @378

    @374, Whembly, I think you won’t answer the question because you won’t lie and say you think it was a threat.

    Which is an important point. Because if the rule is that the government should investigate when there is a reasonable belief that a crime was committed saying you don’t think one was kind of undercuts your ‘same rules’ thing.

    Because a lot of people (like me) did think some of the legal proceedings against Trump had merit.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:38 am

    How would *I* know Time?

    How would *you* know?

    Maybe an investigation is warranted, maybe not.

    But the current President survived 2 assassination plot. I think w/o those event, you’re probably right.

    Now? I have zero F’n clue.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:59 am

  382. That should earn (Kash Patel and Dan Bongino concluding Epstein killed himself) some credibility, as being truth-tellers, even when its inconvenient.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:37 am

    Uhhh….no; at least among the MAGA true believers. It just means Patel and Bongino have become part of the coverup.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:59 am

  383. Rip, I would be open to a law that stated that Juries could draw unfavorable conclusions about decisions reached in office based on money paid after the elected official, or their staff, was no longer elected or employed by the government. I would also be willing to say that this pieces immunity claims for the purpose of influence peddling charges.

    Money paid could be speaking fees, board seats, cushy jobs, use of a ex-officials firm or businesses etc.

    I’d also extend it to siblings, children, parents, nieces or nephews, and first cousins.

    Haven’t spent much time on this so it might be a horrible idea.

    Also I know that it has no chance of passing.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:00 pm

  384. It’s a simple question that calls for a conclusion that could obviously be changed if new facts emerge.

    Do you think Comey intended his message to be an actual call from Trump to be killed?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:02 pm

  385. Rip, I would be open to a law that stated that Juries could draw unfavorable conclusions about decisions reached in office based on money paid after the elected official, or their staff, was no longer elected or employed by the government. I would also be willing to say that this pieces immunity claims for the purpose of influence peddling charges.

    I don’t see a problem now if there is evidence of decisions made in office in exchange for post-government payments; the difficulty is finding the proof. Ex-presidents would be immune from prosecution.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:05 pm

  386. I’d also extend it to siblings, children, parents, nieces or nephews, and first cousins.

    You really want to deny a lot of people the freedom to earn whatever living they choose. Wow.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:06 pm

  387. Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:00 pm

    Your solution is in search of a problem.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:06 pm

  388. Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:00 pm

    I would also be willing to say that this pieces immunity claims for the purpose of influence peddling charges.

    Should be pierces immunity?

    The problem is it might not be intended in advance.

    Another problem is it might be a known fact tht anyone who was favorable to a certain entity got job offers etc.

    And sometimes a relative has trouble making money and sometimes not and sometimes the person is on god terms with the other person and sometimes not/

    You could maybe forbid the acceptance of money, the way being paid for lobbying is forbidden.

    We need to think some more.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:10 pm

  389. @384

    It’s a simple question that calls for a conclusion that could obviously be changed if new facts emerge.

    Do you think Comey intended his message to be an actual call from Trump to be killed?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:02 pm

    It think he was purposely ambiguous in order to “signal” to NeverTrumpers that he’s one of them in order to gin up interest in his book.

    While, at the same time, any accusations that he called for Trump to be killed can be denied, even if he meant it.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:11 pm

  390. @387, we can agree to disagree both about the unintended consequences as a well as if this is a problem.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:12 pm

  391. @398, So you don’t think he was actually calling for Trump to be killed? Do I have that correct?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:14 pm

  392. Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:02 pm

    Do you think Comey intended his message to be an actual call from Trump to be killed?

    He couldn’t have, and anyway, as soon as the question was raised, he withdrew the post. Who was expected to read it? I don’t think he was encouraging somebody else to attack Trump. (and then we have that some MAGA people did the same with Biden in the past but then it could have referred to the coming election)

    https://www.amazon.com/8645-Anti-Trump-President-T-Shirt/dp/B08G6BYSMV

    It was one of many pictures he put on Instagram. Maybe he found it funny, because it communicated its message (whatever it exactly was) in such a cryptic way.

    He claims or claimed he stumbled across it, although some people thought he arranged the sea shells himself and the idea of charges

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:18 pm

  393. Whembly, Different topic, what do you think about my idea WRT to influence peddling?

    I know you’ve been passionate about this in the past.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:18 pm

  394. @391

    @398, So you don’t think he was actually calling for Trump to be killed? Do I have that correct?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:14 pm

    I. Don’t. Know.

    And neither do you.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:19 pm

  395. Juries could draw unfavorable conclusions about decisions reached in office based on money paid after the elected official, or their staff, was no longer elected or employed by the government.

    That’s fair enough – but you need some evidence that something was done or not done for corrupt motives.

    This bribe is most likely to work when and if this reward is a well-oiled machine.

    Prince Bandar bin Sultan once openly claimed that’s what he did, which means that any effect was really much ore direct.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:22 pm

  396. He is selling out everyone that protected him by going public with this.

    Indeed. But what did they expect would happen? It’s not like it was going to go away and eventually it would get acknowledged. Still, we haven’t been electing stand-up guys lately.

    Kevin M (388465) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:25 pm

  397. I’m pretty confident that murder wasn’t his intended message. I could be wrong. But I doubt it and will be very surprised if any compelling information emerged to the contrary.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:30 pm

  398. @396 It’s been least bad Choices since Romney/Ryan IMO.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:32 pm

  399. Sammy, 100% agree that my idea isn’t a fully fleshed out one. I’m just irked at princlings and hangers on cashing in like this.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  400. @398, So you don’t think he was actually calling for Trump to be killed? Do I have that correct?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:14 pm

    I. Don’t. Know.

    And neither do you.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:19 pm

    The best way to find out is for AG Bondi to order the US Attorney for the District of Columbia to indict Comey.

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  401. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:45 am

    Reagan’s announcement circa 1990 that he had developed Alzheimer’s symptoms

    It was four years later! Right before the 1994 election. (although people looked back and found evidences of it going a few years back, but not really back to the time he was president.

    https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/reagans-letter-announcing-his-alzheimers-diagnosis

    It must have taken him some effort to compose this letter.

    He never commented on public events again.

    By the way, the airplane that was Reagan’s Air AForce One was used from December 1972 by Nixon to August 2001 by George W. Bush.

    https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010829-7.html

    It was donated to the Reagan library in 2005, or at least opened to the public then, because this 2001 post indicates an intention to do so, by which time Ronald Reagan was not only out of it due to Alzheimer’s but dead.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  402. I don’t have a great solution….the status quo just annoys me.

    It’s been going on for some time. Reagan reportedly got $2 million for a series of speeches to Japanese businessmen after leaving office. Nixon, Carter and Ford were not as much of a draw.

    Kevin M (388465) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  403. I don’t see where the OP you linked blamed congressional republicans for the shooing. They did point out some overlap between some ppl in GOP believing in and advocating white replacement theory and this violent racist being motivated by anger at White replacement theory.

    But that’s not what you originally stated.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:55 am

    You’re being ridiculous.

    The shooter was motivated by replacement theory, and congressional Republicans (specifically Stefanik, cuz here’s a Liz tweet) pushed replacement theory, but hey not saying they’re related. Just wanted to stick them in the same post to save pixels. LOL

    lloyd (9cb9ed) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:34 pm

  404. @393

    Whembly, Different topic, what do you think about my idea WRT to influence peddling?

    I know you’ve been passionate about this in the past.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:18 pm

    I think trying to criminalize icky political behaviors is why we’re seeing increases of “Lawfare” allegations/accusations.

    Just because something is politically icky, or corrupt or “whatever” political outrage, doesn’t mean it should be criminal.

    Here’s a better idea, and it may be paradoxical and completely insane for me to advocate this.

    Why do you think people go into politics? You don’t have to answer me, I just want you to think about the reasons why people go into politics.

    Now, whatever those reasons are… consider this: Our politicians are thrust into a world of luxury and credentialed respect, that outside of politics you’d only get if you’re wealthy.

    How do you reduce influence peddling?

    Pay them enough so that traditional influence peddling is an inconvenience.

    I would certainly advocate for a ban on any stock/bond trading by Congressional critters AND give congress critters a sizable increase in salary (as well as staff getting massive salary increases as well).

    What’s the “pay them enough” amount? I dunno… maybe start with $1 million dollars a year, with an extra 100,000k per senority position? (I think the speakers would be at 1.8 or 2million).

    Same thing for POTUS, give them 3million per year and each Secretary positions a nice salary bump.

    Not sure what that would do to their pensions, but that should be generous. At least almost to a “F U” money stage and certainly enough money for the immediate family.

    That way, you remove the incentive, somewhat, to accept influence peddling situations.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:34 pm

  405. Worth study: This Washington Post article on the effects of the Trump/Musk cuts to PEPFAR, in one small nation.

    SIDVOKODVO, Eswatini — When American taxpayer money started flowing here 18 years ago, this country was the epicenter of the global HIV/AIDS crisis, with the world’s highest prevalence rate, and so much death that 1 in 10 households was headed by a child.

    Since the program began, the life expectancy there has risen by 10 years.

    The US has been transferring control and some of the costs to Eswatini — as we should. But this sudden cut may sabotage that effort.

    Jim Miller (9279a7) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:36 pm

  406. I think the idea of charges against Comey comes from the idea that he not only took the picture and posted it on Instagram, but that he was really the one who arranged the sea shells that way.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:36 pm

  407. @400

    The best way to find out is for AG Bondi to order the US Attorney for the District of Columbia to indict Comey.

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:33 pm

    My only stake in this, is that I simply want the same standard applied.

    If it doesn’t merit an investigation under the same standard when Crossfire Hurricane was initiated, cool.

    Just apply it the same way.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:36 pm

  408. Sammy, 100% agree that my idea isn’t a fully fleshed out one. I’m just irked at princlings and hangers on cashing in like this.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:33 pm

    “Cashing in,” whether by politicians, hangers on, or celebrities who are “famous for being famous” is as American as apple pie.

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:38 pm

  409. That’s exactly what we saw with Biden in recent years. I am seriously wondering if his problems weren’t due to age but to cancer.

    Not a great explanation, but maybe better than this

    Kevin M (388465) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:39 pm

  410. whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:34 pm

    What’s the “pay them enough” amount? I dunno… maybe start with $1 million dollars a year, with an extra 100,000k per seniority position?

    In the 1980s Reagan wanted to pay members of his administration more , to stop them from quitting in the middle of an Administration. (the premise wasn’t corruption because they had a wide variety of choice of jobs)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:39 pm

  411. Which if challenged could be declared unconstitutional.

    The House and Senate have exclusive control of their Rules.

    Kevin M (388465) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:40 pm

  412. the clinically insane (see the comments section) would appear to disagree with you.

    I like the reference to Frankie Five Angels.

    Kevin M (388465) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:42 pm

  413. Reagan’s (and other presidents) Air Force One

    https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/air-force-one-pavilion

    rump said he doesn’t expect to fly on it after he leaves office.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:44 pm

  414. The shooter was motivated by replacement theory, and congressional Republicans (specifically Stefanik, cuz here’s a Liz tweet) pushed replacement theory, but hey not saying they’re related. Just wanted to stick them in the same post to save pixels. LOL

    lloyd (9cb9ed) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:34 pm

    Related != Blame

    Try to stay consistent with your own comments.

    Stefanik and Tucker both push the same noxious racism that motivated the murderer. They should stop that. Not because it caused a mass murder, but because it’s a dumb, noxious, racist, conspiracy theory.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:46 pm

  415. Possible other issues with the gift of a plane:

    1) Bugs possibly well concealed ones (but one with no easily detectable signs would also not be able easily to give the information away.)

    2) Defenses against missiles etc..

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:46 pm

  416. That should earn them some credibility, as being truth-tellers, even when its inconvenient.
    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 11:37 am

    That theory will be tested.

    In the same interview, Patel said he had evidence pertaining to the Russiagate nonsense and wants to present it to the public unredacted, which he’s seeking approvals for.

    I suspect the usuals here will go back to dismissive mode.

    lloyd (9cb9ed) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:49 pm

  417. @416 Trump appointed a special counsel to investigate that in his fist term. And there was an IG report. The SC only got convictions that were based on the IG investigation. The rest of his stuff didn’t go far in court.

    I’m skeptical that there’s anything very interesting that hasn’t already been shared.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:52 pm

  418. Lloyd, Are the new files coming before or after the Epstein client list?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:53 pm

  419. Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:46 pm

    Yeah Time, when Trump was an inch away from having his head blown off, folks were just saying Biden’s “bullseye” rhetoric was related, but not blaming him at all. I think I read that here. Actually no, the take here was that it was neither related nor cause for blame. Totally irrelevant. Funny!

    lloyd (9cb9ed) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:56 pm

  420. Lloyd, Are the new files coming before or after the Epstein client list?
    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:53 pm

    Odd that you’re discrediting an interview you specifically posted about. But, not unexpected.

    lloyd (9cb9ed) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:00 pm

  421. It think (Comey) was purposely ambiguous in order to “signal” to NeverTrumpers that he’s one of them in order to gin up interest in his book.

    While, at the same time, any accusations that he called for Trump to be killed can be denied, even if he meant it.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:11 pm

    Another reason to indict Comey.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:17 pm

  422. (T)rump said he doesn’t expect to fly on it after he leaves office.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:44 pm

    That’s what he says now.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:18 pm

  423. Trump’s library wouldn’t even necessarily get it right after he leaves office.

    It would be up to the next president, or the president after that, and presumably wouldn’t happen until after the plane Boeing is building is delivered.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:29 pm

  424. The DOJ and FBI will be busy:

    President Donald Trump on Monday launched a new attack on rock legend Bruce Springsteen along with several other major celebrities during a middle-of-the-night rant on his Truth Social website.

    “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?” he wrote in all caps. “WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?”

    He also attacked Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and Bono, claiming without evidence they were all paid to endorse Harris during last year’s presidential election.

    “I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,” he wrote shortly after 1:30 am ET…….
    ……….
    Winfrey, for example, said she was “not paid a dime” and that the $1 million paid to her Harpo Productions was the cost of production for the event, including equipment and workers.

    The Harris campaign told Variety that they are legally required to pay for all such costs and services.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:32 pm

  425. Lloyd, Are the new files coming before or after the Epstein client list?
    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:53 pm

    Odd that you’re discrediting an interview you specifically posted about. But, not unexpected.

    lloyd (9cb9ed) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:00 pm

    This is partly conjecture on my part so feel free to draw your own conclusions about why they’re teasing something unrelated to the Epstein theories in an interview where the big news was that they believe he committed suicide. A firm date on when the Epstein files will be released would have been great, and very appropriate in that interview.

    Instead they changed the subject to the Trump Russia investigation.

    The IG report was very thorough.
    The SC that Trump appointed took everything he could prove (mostly from the IG report) and piled on a bunch of stuff he couldn’t prove.

    I don’t think Patel and Bongnino are bringing any great investigative skills to their jobs so i don’t expect they will find anything new.

    So when they claim to have something here I become suspicious that they’re full of it and trying to change the subject from their walking back a Popular MAGA conspiracy theory.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:34 pm

  426. @424 100% focused on the business of the people as always.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:35 pm

  427. Biden was diagnosed on Friday.

    The sequence of events is this:

    Biden had been having increasing urinary problems.

    He was examined this month (May, 2025) and a module was discovered.

    And removed.

    Ad examined.

    It was rated 9 on this Gleason scale, and is Stage 4.

    Diagnosis: Friday, May 16, 2025. It was determined to be hormone sensitive, which means a possible treatment is stopping all production of testosterone and/or neutralizing it. It is considered incurable, but can be “managed” and he might live with this for five, seven or even ten years.

    The question s: While it is slow growing it had likely been going on for years. There isa PSA test.

    Why wasn’t it detected?

    He most likely declined the test (and protocol calls for it to be voluntary at his age because doctors will overreact instead of engaging in watchful waiting) because if it is positive, it could leak out and affect his re-election chances.

    Bien simply gambled on there not being a difference if he did nothing.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:39 pm

  428. Sammy, could be. But I don’t trust them and would need to see some more proof to believe it.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:41 pm

  429. @422

    That’s what he says now.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:18 pm

    Those 747s are insanely expensive to operate.

    He already has a pimped out 757.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:42 pm

  430. 424. More accurately, Oprah Winfrey denied makinga profit. And the Harris campaign said they had to pay for costs to do the event or else it would have amounted to an over-the-limit campaign contribution by Oprah Winfrey because the proceeds were going to the campaign and not a PAC.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:44 pm

  431. Trump Threatens ABC ‘SleazeBags’ Over Qatari Plane Coverage

    President Donald Trump is threatening legal action against ABC News—again—over a report that has become late-night fodder and social media satire across the country: the apparent $400 million “free plane” souvenir he picked up on his recent trip to Qatar.

    “I give these SleazeBags fair warning!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday night, directing his late-night fury at Disney CEO Bob Iger, who oversees ABC News. “Why doesn’t Chairman Bob Iger do something about ABC Fake News, especially since I just won $16,000,000 based on the Fake and Defamatory reporting of Liddle’ George Slopadopolus.”
    ………
    In a warning shot fired at the national news organization, Trump appears to resent the characterization of the Qatari “free plane” gift as some sort of personal favor.

    “Everyone, including their lawyers, has been told that ABC must not say that Qatar is giving ME a FREE Boeing 747 Airplane, because they are not,” Trump wrote. “This highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME.”
    ………
    “The wonderful country of Qatar, after agreeing to invest more than 1.4 Trillion Dollars in the United States of America, deserves much better than Misleading (Fake!) News,” he continued.

    The supposed “free plane” has become a running joke on late-night talk shows this week, with Bill Maher joining in the fun by describing it as “Allah Force One” on Friday. Stephen Colbert suggested Trump went around Saudi Arabia with a bag, asking if they could top the “bribe” Qatar dropped in it.
    ……….

    Sometimes the jokes write themselves. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:44 pm

  432. Allah force one!? That’s awesome. Thank you for sharing.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:47 pm

  433. Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:41 pm

    But I don’t trust them and would need to see some more proof to believe it

    I don’t really trust them either, but:

    The spread of the disease means it must have been around for some time.

    A PSA test would have detected a problem.

    Given the lack of alarm, and the fact there is no mention of a PSA test this year, he probably did not take a PSA test in 2024 and earlier, and the biggest reason would be that the results could not be counted on to be kept secret.

    He might have done a very private secret privately paid for PSA test while he was president, but the sequence of events detailed fits better with none havin been taken.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:49 pm

  434. Sammy that’s a reasonable point.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:52 pm

  435. Those 747s are insanely expensive to operate.

    He already has a pimped out 757.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:42 pm

    Given the billions (an estimated $2.9B) Trump and his family have earned over the last six months, he can afford it.

    You probably should have chosen a different phrase than “pimped out.” 😉

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:52 pm

  436. Qatar also built and gifted to the United States the Air Force now in Qatar.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Udeid_Air_Base

    …. In 1996, Qatar built Al Udeid Air Base at the cost of more than $1 billion.

    “If you build it, they will come.”

    The U.S. first used the then-secret base in late September 2001, when the Air Force needed to get aircraft in position for its operations in Afghanistan.

    .

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:56 pm

  437. You probably should have chosen a different phrase than “pimped out.” 😉

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:52 pm

    Rip, are you insulting Trump for being a sex offender or implying that he’s a been a Hoe to foreign powers?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:59 pm

  438. Rip, are you insulting Trump for being a sex offender or implying that he’s a been a Hoe to foreign powers?

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:59 pm

    Whembly implied that, not me. 😉

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:02 pm

  439. https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0324.htm

    Leviticus 24:22

    “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for the home-born; for I am the LORD your God.”

    This is a model law.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:11 pm

  440. 436. Qatar also built and gifted to the United States the Air Force >b> base now in Qatar.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:12 pm

  441. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/health/gene-editing-personalized-rare-disorders.html

    But KJ’s treatment — which built on decades of federally funded research — offers a new path for companies to develop personalized treatments without going through years of expensive development and testing.

    Regulations and the refusal of insurance companies to pay for experimental or unapproved treatment will prevent this from being commonly used. Some things need to change.

    (And I also know that this method could also be sued to give someone a disease, although it would be incredibly expensive and would be much simpler to poison someone some other way and it will take years till someone like Vladimir Putin would be confident enough in this to try.)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:18 pm

  442. @435

    You probably should have chosen a different phrase than “pimped out.” 😉

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 1:52 pm

    Bruh… if we can’t use the word “pimped out”, in a sense to describe opulence of both the Trump plane and the Qatar plane… then, we can retire that phrase.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:27 pm

  443. Jumped up bellboy using the United States Air Force to launder his tips.

    nk (629b50) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:27 pm

  444. Rip Murdock (28384f) — 5/16/2025 @ 1:52 pm

    Steve Vladeck on last Friday’s Supreme Court’s Alien Enemies Act ruling:

    ………
    There’s a lot of technical stuff in the eight-page, unsigned majority opinion. What’s especially important are, by my count, three different holdings:

    First, that the Fifth Circuit did have jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs’ appeal of the district court’s refusal to block their removal (the Fifth Circuit had concluded otherwise). Second, that the plaintiffs were entitled to more notice than they had received as of April 18. And third—and this is the quiet bombshell in the ruling—that “this Court may properly issue temporary injunctive relief to the putative class in order to preserve our jurisdiction pending appeal,” even without resolving whether full class certification is likely. In other words, a majority of the Supreme Court held that, when issuing preliminary relief, it (and lower federal courts) can recognize a “putative” (or “provisional”) class of plaintiffs for purposes of temporary relief even before a class has been properly certified in the district court—and perhaps even without regard to whether it will be. …….

    The immediate effect of the ruling is to extend the pause that had already been in place of any removals under the AEA from the Northern District of Texas. But the Court also treated the ACLU’s emergency application as a petition for certiorari, granted it, vacated the Fifth Circuit’s decision, and remanded with specific instructions to the court of appeals: to “address (1) all the normal preliminary injunction factors, including likelihood of success on the merits, as to the named plaintiffs’ underlying habeas claims that the AEA does not authorize their removal pursuant to the President’s March 14, 2025, Proclamation, and (2) the issue of what notice is due, as to the putative class’s due process claims against summary removal.” That’s a pretty … specific … remand—one that sure seems designed to prevent the Fifth Circuit from finding some other basis for ruling against the plaintiffs………Thus, this case will move forward in the Fifth Circuit (quickly) on both the facial validity of President Trump’s invocation of the AEA and how much process is due to individuals before they can be removed under it.

    There are numerous passages in which the majority openly seems to be expressing … frustration—with the government; with the lower courts; and even with Justice Alito (who wrote a dissenting opinion that was joined by Justice Thomas).

    On page 2, the majority goes into detail about the slippery language the government used on April 18 re: whether any removals under the AEA were imminent, then notes that “evidence now in the record” appears to be inconsistent with the government’s representations…….. This is quite a subtle but significant dig at the government for the shell games it’s been playing with AEA detainees, especially for a majority opinion.

    The Court takes a rather healthy shot at the Fifth Circuit for not taking the gravity of the plaintiffs’ claims (and the district court’s delay in ruling on them) seriously enough—correcting the record in the process………More generally, the opinion is all-but dripping with exasperation that the lower courts didn’t think these cases were serious enough, or that the plaintiffs’ allegations of imminent harm were plausible enough, to justify moving faster.

    Finally, in a portion of the opinion devoted entirely to responding to Justice Alito’s dissent, the majority begins by “reject[ing] the dissent’s characterization of the events that transpired on April 18.” That may seem tame by the standards of contemporary public discourse; it’s a pretty sharp elbow in a majority opinion by the Supreme Court. And, again, it appears to reflect real concern on the part of the justices in the majority that the dissenting justices seem so un-troubled by how events appeared to be transpiring back in April.
    ………..
    Here’s where things get especially interesting: Justice Kavanaugh added three paragraphs of his own—the first two of which are mostly just restating things that already followed from the majority opinion. But in the third paragraph, Kavanaugh writes that he “would prefer not to remand to the lower courts and further put off this Court’s final resolution of the critical legal issues.” Instead, he would “grant certiorari, order prompt briefing, hold oral argument soon thereafter, and then resolve the legal issues.” I find this passage telling in two respects: First, whether to take the merits now or have the Fifth Circuit decide them first was clearly a debate among the justices in the majority, and one Kavanaugh lost. ………..
    ……….
    ……….For me, there are three reasons why (this ruling is a big deal):

    Indefinitely Freezing AEA Removals: Although this ruling is limited to individuals held within the Northern District of Texas, it makes abundantly clear to lower courts (and, insofar as it’s listening, the government), that there aren’t going to be any removals under the AEA until the facial validity and due process questions are answered—almost certainly by the justices after the Fifth Circuit issues its ruling, presumably later this summer…….The AEA as a basis for removal is dead—at least for the time being, and until the Supreme Court specifically says otherwise.

    The Provisional Class Certification Holding: I know it’s wonky, but the majority’s holding that plaintiff classes can be provisionally certified by district courts for purposes of providing temporary relief even without resolving the likelihood of full class certification is going to have an impact in lots of cases—well beyond the AEA. That impact may well help to mitigate the damage caused by a ruling in the birthright citizenship cases that does away with, or even narrows, nationwide injunctions……….

    The Broader Refusal to Accept the Government’s Good Faith: I continue to be fascinated by the eroding “presumption of regularity,” and where it is (and isn’t) showing up in Supreme Court decisions in Trump-related cases. That erosion shows up in A.A.R.P. II in spades. Indeed, although the majority never quite brings itself to say the quiet part out loud, the point animating most of its disagreement with the dissent is its unwillingness to rest its analysis on the government’s representations rather than on the plaintiffs’ allegations. We’ll see if this skepticism remains limited to the removal context, or whether it starts showing up in rulings in other, non-due-process-centric Trump-related cases. But it’s clearly the elephant in the room here.
    …………

    Section headings and footnotes omitted. Emphasis in the original.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:30 pm

  445. Bruh… if we can’t use the word “pimped out”, in a sense to describe opulence of both the Trump plane and the Qatar plane… then, we can retire that phrase.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:27 pm

    Or it can be inferred as Time did above.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:31 pm

  446. @445

    Or it can be inferred as Time did above.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:31 pm

    …and *I* got chastitized for calling VP Harris, VP Dome.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:35 pm

  447. It’s clear as day that Comey’s 86 post was a dog whistle to the left to show he’s on the side of the radicals that think murdering the President is acceptable.

    NCRI conducted a non-probability based nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults, weighted to reflect national census demographics. The findings were stark: Some 38% of respondents said it would be at least “somewhat justified” to murder Donald Trump, and 31% said the same about Elon Musk.

    When counting only left-leaning respondents, justification for killing Trump rose to 55% and Musk to 48%.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-bombshell-study-reveals-assassination-culture-spreading-left-under-president-trump

    NJRob (19b7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:39 pm

  448. The House and Senate have exclusive control of their Rules.

    Kevin M (388465) — 5/19/2025 @ 12:40 pm

    True, but the House and Senate rules only apply to members, not former members. The House and Senate bans on lobbying former colleagues are statutory (see 18 USC 207(e)), which also includes committee and leadership staffers.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 3:17 pm

  449. ALL ROADS LEAD TO OBAMA… RETRUTH IF YOU WANT PUBLIC MILITARY TRIBUNALS.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (98cca9) — 5/19/2025 @ 3:18 pm

  450. …and *I* got chastitized for calling VP Harris, VP Dome.

    whembly (69f7d6) — 5/19/2025 @ 2:35 pm

    Anyone who accuses President Trump (or VP Vance) of committing a sexual act should also be condemned.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 3:19 pm

  451. Troubling, if true:

    At least 50 Venezuelan men who were sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison by the Trump administration had immigrated to the U.S. legally, a review by the Libertarian Cato Institute found.

    The Monday report reviewed data for just a fraction of the men sent to the prison for whom immigration records are available.

    And it probably is.

    (Here’s the report.)

    Jim Miller (d7fad8) — 5/19/2025 @ 3:27 pm

  452. The Abrego Garcia Boomerang at the Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court heard two hours of arguments Thursday on whether to stay the “universal” injunctions that lower judges have issued to block President Trump’s order reinterpreting birthright citizenship. Echoing through the debate was uneasiness that Mr. Trump might try to game the legal system. After the Abrego Garcia fiasco, it’s hard to blame the Justices for wondering.

    The federal government is asking the High Court to pare the injunctions so they protect only the parties who sued. But the Administration reserves the right to deny birthright citizenship to other U.S.-born children of aliens covered by Mr. Trump’s policy. If an appeals court rules the order illegal, Justice Elena Kagan asked, would Mr. Trump keep enforcing it against everyone else in the same circuit?

    “I can’t answer, because it would depend on what the lower decision said,” replied Solicitor General John Sauer. “There are circumstances, as I was suggesting, where we think that we want to continue to litigate that in other district courts in the same circuit.”

    What if the government keeps losing all the individual cases but refuses to appeal the merits of the birthright citizenship question to the Supreme Court, which could settle it for good? Justice Kagan suggested that would still let Mr. Trump enforce his order against everyone who can’t get to court personally.

    Mr. Sauer responded that a class-action lawsuit could protect such people—but he also resisted the idea that the case at hand might meet what he called “the rigorous criteria of class certification.”
    ………..
    This is what we were warning about when we said that Mr. Trump might soon regret toying with the judiciary. The Administration told the courts it erroneously deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. It was ordered to try to “facilitate” Mr. Abrego Garcia’s return. But Mr. Trump seems to think it’s a good political show to pretend that he’s powerless, while also telling journalists that if he wanted to, he could ask for the man back.

    The Justices now sound attuned to the risk that he might game the system for four years on birthright citizenship. Is it any wonder?
    #######

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:04 pm

  453. NCRI conducted a non-probability based nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults, weighted to reflect national census demographics. The findings were stark: Some 38% of respondents said it would be at least “somewhat justified” to murder Donald Trump, and 31% said the same about Elon Musk.

    When counting only left-leaning respondents, justification for killing Trump rose to 55% and Musk to 48%.

    If you read the actual report, the questions were basically designed to produce an apparently shocking result.

    They asked people to say – on a scale from 1 to 7 – whether they thought certain acts of political violence were justified.

    Any response except “1” was counted as “at least somewhat justified” in their “stark” findings:

    To assess support for political violence, we surveyed 1264 U.S. residents, balanced to reflect Census data on race/ethnicity, gender, age, and education. Respondents were asked demographic information, political identity, several political and psychological scales, and questions concerning their acceptance of specific forms of political violence. A score of 1 meant that the respondent considered political violence completely unjustified. Scores from 2 to 7 indicated that they believed there was at least some justification for political violence, and, in the case of those choosing 7, that it was completely justified.

    So basically, you had to answer “1” to every question to be non-violent.

    They also say they started with 2651 respondents, and “cleaned” it down to a final dataset of 1264. So they threw away over half their data.

    It’s also extremely suspicious that they didn’t apply their methodology to questions about violence against any left-wing figures. If they had, they might well have found the same or greater level of tolerance.

    Dave (2ce7be) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:26 pm

  454. On a scale of 1 to 7 with one being “not pregnant,” please rate the level of pregnancy you are at.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:32 pm

  455. “On a scale of 1 to 7 with one being “not pregnant,” please rate the level of pregnancy you are at.”

    Why would you use a scale of 1 to 7 for that?

    Davethulhu (468890) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:35 pm

  456. somewhat
    2 of 2
    adverb
    : in some degree or measure : SLIGHTLY

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:37 pm

  457. Just to test Dave to see if one can be somewhat pregnant.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:39 pm

  458. Should the somewhat violent J6ers have just been left alone by law enforcement? Like the 2s and 3s? Obviously the 6s and 7s needed to be dealt with, but come on man.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:43 pm

  459. ALL ROADS LEAD TO OBAMA… RETRUTH IF YOU WANT PUBLIC MILITARY TRIBUNALS.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (98cca9) — 5/19/2025 @ 3:18 pm

    The sty must have its slops.

    nk (629b50) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:46 pm

  460. The survey also apparently asked whether an indescript “someone” would be justified in committing the violent act.

    Supposing the hypothetical target was known to have raped and sexually abused a number of women, and preyed on some as young as 14, bragged about it publicly and taunted the victims with impunity, one could perhaps believe that the victims’ fathers or husbands, or the victims themselves, would be “somewhat” justified in taking revenge if they were able to.

    The question asked was *not* “would *you* be justified?”.

    Dave (2ce7be) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:52 pm

  461. Dave, you’re saying that after Rob declared something was clean as day the day he linked to support his assertion was bogus?

    Yeah, that’s on brand.

    Time123 (1dfd5c) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:01 pm

  462. On a scale of 1 to 7 with one being “not pregnant,” please rate the level of pregnancy you are at.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 4:32 pm

    Where does “condom broke” fall on the list?

    Time123 (1dfd5c) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:14 pm

  463. Scary news for Israel. They’re under an official maritime blockade.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:30 pm

  464. Darn, we almost got that trade deal with Russia. We really need all of the things that they provide. They do have a larger economy than Lichtenstein though.

    All of these, definitely not retards, still think it’s a good idea to trade dollars for 10 pennies because it weighs more.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:47 pm

  465. Interesting…….

    Four Supreme Court justices recused themselves from a decision over whether to hear a case involving the parent company of their book publisher Monday, the most significant action of its kind since the court adopted a new ethics code in 2023.

    As is customary with recusals, the justices did not explain their reasoning. But a longtime expert in court ethics said it was probably because a German conglomerate that is a party in the case owns Penguin Random House, which has paid the justices millions in advances and royalties for their published works.

    Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Neil M. Gorsuch declined to participate in the decision of whether to take up a lawsuit by a writer who alleges the best-selling author Ta-Nehisi Coates and others lifted passages from a book he wrote. All four justices have books published or soon-to-be-published by Penguin.

    Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., whose sole book was not published by Penguin, also recused himself from the case without offering a reason.

    The recusals left the court in the rare position of not having a six-judge quorum to make a decision on considering the lawsuit, in which Bertelsmann, which owns Penguin, is a named party.

    That means an appeals court ruling upholding the dismissal of the case against Coates will be the final word. That court did not find similarities between the work of Ralph W. Baker and Coates.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:54 pm

  466. The Shmeckelrs Veto.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:25 pm

  467. Our Commander in Chief spent two hours on the phone today…

    … with Donald Trump.

    Dave (678b2d) — 5/19/2025 @ 6:34 pm

  468. Democrat Congresswoman Charged With Assaulting Law Enforcement In Stunt At ICE Center

    Federal prosecutors have charged Democratic New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver on Monday with assaulting law enforcement officers during a political stunt at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark, N.J., earlier in May.

    U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the charges, saying McIver “assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement” in violation of federal law during a confrontation at Delaney Hall Detention Facility. The charges stem from what authorities say was an orchestrated attempt by McIver to disrupt operations at the ICE center under the guise of a congressional oversight visit.

    “I have persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Representative McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined,” Habba said in an official statement. “No one is above the law — politicians or otherwise.”

    lloyd (e1b410) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:12 pm

  469. Dave,

    where are you on the 1 to 7 scale when it comes to murdering the President?

    Same question to you Time.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:17 pm

  470. Karine Jean-Pierre Insists Joe Biden Is Cancer-Free.

    lloyd (e1b410) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:23 pm

  471. The House and Senate bans on lobbying former colleagues are statutory (see 18 USC 207(e)), which also includes committee and leadership staffers.

    If pressed they could make it a Rules thing, about who could lobby their members.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 7:58 pm

  472. if it is positive, it could leak out and affect his re-election chances.

    This. But guess what? Doctors DON’T overreact to PSA numbers. At worst they do a biopsy which is not all that involved. Even if they find cancer they don’t react if it’s 3+3 — there are too many side-effects to a prostatectomy. If it was 9 however, they’d do the surgery and correctly so.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:04 pm

  473. At least 50 Venezuelan men who were sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison by the Trump administration had immigrated to the U.S. legally, a review by the Libertarian Cato Institute found.

    The flip side: Biden’s careful vetting of the folks he let in on parole wasn’t all that careful. You will not that CATO does not argue they were law-abiding family men.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:10 pm

  474. As a democrat progressive (radical) I don’t have to support the party line that we shouldn’t talk about hur report or tapper’s book because the biden’s just found out friday that joe has cancer. Even though doctors say he would have had it for years to be at this stage. Even the doctors on msDNC and cnn say it is to far advanced to be recent(within a year) They were saving this for hur report as a red herring. Schumer is down 20 points to AOC and latest poll only 1/3 of democrats think party has a future because of stuff like this! The donor’s money may buy attack ads ;but not respect. Even DU is fund raising to pay the bills.

    asset (4d8dd6) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:45 pm

  475. Hey, Bob sold us a faulty door to the house.

    Larry burned the house down, but both did a thing, so they must be the same thing.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/19/2025 @ 9:23 pm

  476. NJ Rob, Murder is wrong, I’d score it as a 1.

    Time123 (ca4903) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:42 am

  477. We doan need no steenkin sore veys. Just count the guns.

    If you got a gun, you’re not a 1.

    nk (a7d671) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:14 am

  478. Every time Trump fouls up, which is about every time the clock ticks, his shills find a squirrel to let loose.

    Yesterday’s major TFU was Putin waving his pinky and telling him to go peddle his meme coin.

    So Steven Cheung rushed to draft the Obama military tribunal tweet, while Alina Habba drafted a criminal complaint against LaMonica McIver for hitting some suit’s fist with her face.

    nk (a7d671) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:27 am

  479. Trump: Putin takes his spurs off before he gets into bed.

    nk (a7d671) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:23 am

  480. The flip side: Biden’s careful vetting of the folks he let in on parole wasn’t all that careful. You will not that CATO does not argue they were law-abiding family men.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/19/2025 @ 8:10 pm

    Kevin, if we were talking about deportations I’d completely agree with you. But we sent these men to an el Salvadoran prison for an indeterminant length of time. The standard for that should be high and all persons have a right to due process before being imprisoned.

    The fact that a large number of them appear to have broken no US law is horrific.

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:31 am

  481. Turns out Trump didn’t “accept” a $400 million luxury airliner gift from the Qataris, Trump initiated the deal and asked that they give it to him.

    After the Pentagon’s initial engagement with the company, Boeing provided US defense officials with a list of other Boeing clients around the world with planes that could work in the meantime, three of the sources said.

    “And Qatar was one of the clients,” the second source familiar with the discussions said, adding the Pentagon “offered to buy the plane” and Qatar indicated it was willing to sell it.

    The Pentagon had launched the discussions with Qatar after learning that the White House supported the idea, the third source familiar said, and Witkoff helped facilitated the initial conversations, the White House official said.

    The third source recalled that the initial discussions were about leasing the plane, rather than buying it outright.

    But Trump has repeatedly described the potential deal as a “gesture” or “contribution” from Qatar’s royal family. A “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE,” he wrote on his social media site Truth Social. He said it would be a temporary replacement for Air Force One and given to his presidential library after he leaves office but denied he would fly in the plane then.

    The corruption is even more undistilled. We also know a little more about what Witkoff was up to, expanding his portfolio from real estate lawyer to luxury jet broker, when he’s not sucking Putin’s ass.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:38 am

  482. Lock and load!! Here is a messenger(or two) that needs to be shot:

    Domiciled?

    I’m interested on discussing the merits, if possible.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:09 am

  483. Buddha, sort of related question. If being born here isn’t enough what documents would I need to prove my citizenship?

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:33 am

  484. @482

    Buddha, sort of related question. If being born here isn’t enough what documents would I need to prove my citizenship?

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:33 am

    What state do you live in?

    During the Obama administration, I had to prove to my employer that I’m a US resident by showing my SSN card, birth certificate and driver’s license to a 3rd party company that validates those records to prove I’m a US Citizen.

    The RealID driver’s license is about the same process, w/o the 3rd party confirming the records.

    It’s not that hard to prove it.

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:51 am

  485. Did you listen to the entire YouTube? I believe an answer can be garnered from it. I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t finished the video.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:52 am

  486. I’m not able to watch the video right now.

    Whembly, None of that proves I’m descended from a US citizen. I was thinking about this recently and I’m certain I can’t prove citizenship on my mom’s side. I might on my dads side, but it it’s iffy that I can find any paperwork that would show they legally came to the US.

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:57 am

  487. My Maternal GP immigrated prior to WW2 and my grandfather didn’t think he was a citizen prior to being drafted. But any paperwork for that is long gone.

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:59 am

  488. Their immigration records should still be available as well as any of his service records. Probably some census records as well.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:21 am

  489. Also, I’m not arguing the legal correctness of this. SCOTUS is good at this sort of thing. I’m just thinking about the logistics if being born here doesn’t confer citizenship.

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:21 am

  490. The case has already been briefed and argued by DOJ lawyers (such as they are these days) before the United States Supreme Court (such as it is these days) which will render its decision in due course.

    What? Do they think they can “influence” the Court with YouTube videos?

    nk (a7d671) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:22 am

  491. @487

    My Maternal GP immigrated prior to WW2 and my grandfather didn’t think he was a citizen prior to being drafted. But any paperwork for that is long gone.

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 7:59 am

    Right now, if you have a birth certificate. You’re a Citizen. The exceptions if you parents are invading the US (nope, not that) or if ONE of your parent was a diplomat of a foreign country.

    If you don’t have the certificate, there are ways to find out if you were born here. (and yes, you should have a paper copy of this certificate).

    You don’t need to go all family tree sherlock holmes.

    Current precedent is that if you’re born here, you are a citizen.

    *IF* SCOTUS overturns that precedent for offsprings of illegal aliens or temporary travel visas, that does not mean that everyone needs to play family tree sherlock holmes due to anti-retroactivity principle in law governed by stare decisis and limitations on ex post facto laws.

    In short: While the government can change laws and legal precedents, the changes generally apply prospectively, meaning they do not affect benefits that were already earned or granted under the previous law. It is a line in the sand from that point forward, the new precedent would apply.

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:23 am

  492. I haven’t watched your link, BuDuh, but it is based on John Eastman’s SCOTUS brief regarding birthright citizenship. In general, his argument is that it is not enough to be born in the US. One must also be “subject to the jurisdiction.”

    Some think that simply being here subjects one to US jurisdiction. Eastman and other legal scholars argue that is not the original meaning. It involves owing allegiance to the US, such as by having a parent that is legally in the US and not a citizen if another country. (That is why native American and foreign diplomat children were not citizens.)

    There is more to the argument. It’s very interesting. If you want more, see the writings by Prof Lino Graglia who testified before Congress about this at least 10 years ago.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:26 am

  493. I agree with whembly. A decision will not be retroactive, and there cannot be any criminal law consequences because of the Ex Post Facto Clause.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:30 am

  494. I prefer the opinions of lawyers who weren’t disbarred.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:32 am

  495. The YouTube is detailing an Amicus that was presented to the court, Time and Whembly. It is noted in the Amicus that the court was not asked about the merits of birthright citizenship but, rather, the impact of nationwide injunctions. The Amicus was offered anyways should the court want to explore an issue that isn’t presently before them.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:32 am

  496. I doubt Trump would agree with my last comment but I think I am right.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:33 am

  497. Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:32 am

    Messenger shot!

    Noted..

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:34 am

  498. It’s a serious and interesting constitutional question, Paul, and there are other legal scholars who have addressed it. It may be a politically jot topic but it isn’t new. I remember it discussing it in law school 40 years ago.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:37 am

  499. Hot topic.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:37 am

  500. It is an interesting video, DRJ. The lawyer presenting it has obviously bias, but who doesn’t anymore. One of the more interesting things is Eastman’s detailing of the very specific question before the Wong Kim Ark court. I tend to agree that it genuinely narrows the reach of that particular holding.

    (This is a big hint to your earlier question, Time)

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:38 am

  501. But I don’t think Eastman is the best advocate. There are better scholars to read on this topic.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:39 am

  502. Here is a link to Lino Graglia’s House testimony. It is a PDF.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:41 am

  503. @Time123 Genuinely curious as to my proposal to reduce the incentives to engage in influence peddling @404…

    Care to continue this conversation?

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:41 am

  504. Whembly, that makes sense. So if the change takes place anyone born here before the decision would still have birthright citizenship.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:42 am

  505. @503, Yes. Let me think about it.

    Time (f01ef1) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:44 am

  506. @502

    Here is a link to Lino Graglia’s House testimony. It is a PDF.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:41 am

    This, right here is absolutely compelling.

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:46 am

  507. Time, I don’t want to come across as a tease. Here is the specific question that was before the WKA court:

    The question presented by the record is whether a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China, but have a permanent domicil and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business, and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the Emperor of China, becomes at the time of his birth a citizen of the United States by virtue of the first clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution,

    If you make a Venn diagram of each of the attributes of the type of individual needing adjudication, it is obvious how narrow the application of this holding becomes.

    ✅ child born in the United States,

    ✅ of parents of Chinese descent,

    ✅ who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China,

    ✅ but have a permanent domicil and residence in the United States,

    ✅ and are there carrying on business,

    ✅ and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the Emperor of China

    All of this needed to apply.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:53 am

  508. In short: While the government can change laws and legal precedents, the changes generally apply prospectively, meaning they do not affect benefits that were already earned or granted under the previous law. It is a line in the sand from that point forward, the new precedent would apply.

    Sort of a “Living Constitution”, then?

    Dave (8207fc) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:04 am

  509. The case has already been briefed and argued by DOJ lawyers (such as they are these days) before the United States Supreme Court (such as it is these days) which will render its decision in due course.

    What? Do they think they can “influence” the Court with YouTube videos?

    nk (a7d671) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:22 am

    Actually, the merits of Trump’s birthright citizenship EO have not been “briefed and argued” by DOJ lawyers. Last week’s hearing was an emergency appeal by the government on the use of nationwide injunctions.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:05 am

  510. What’s interesting about last week’s SC hearing is that none of the conservative justices supported the merits of the EO, while the liberal wing attacked it.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:07 am

  511. Thank you for the link, DRJ. Of all things, Eastman made it to a footnote in that pdf. 🙂

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:08 am

  512. Eastman , Graglia, and others testified on this subject. This is not a new legal topic, nor is it new for them to be saying this. But I think Eastman is prone to extravagant statements that don’t help on this subject.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:15 am

  513. Robert VerBruggen at National Review published an article on this in 2018. The author decided birthright citizenship was not limited but reviewed the scholars arguing for the restricted view. There were several:

    I personally believe that birthright citizenship is required, and I won’t hesitate to evaluate evidence instead of just reporting it. But I have done my best to include the key pieces of support for both views — drawing on extensive writings by (among others) Lino A. Graglia, John C. Eastman, Peter H. Schuck and Rogers M. Smith, Garrett Epps, Gerard N. Magliocca, and James Ho.

    Eastman has aligned with Trump on several issues, including J6, but this legal topic is not about Trump (even if he has appropriated it).

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:26 am

  514. Dave,

    If the courts have been wrong about birthright citizenship, they should fix it.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:29 am

  515. Plus a core American legal principle is that laws can’t be imposed retroactively. People would have no notice of a future law and no way to comply.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:32 am

  516. @508

    Sort of a “Living Constitution”, then?

    Dave (8207fc) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:04 am

    That’s not proponents of a “Living Constitution” meant when using that phrase.

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:45 am

  517. There were 29 amici briefs filed with the Supreme Court regarding the Trump birthright citizenship argument, so it is easy to cherry pick one to support their position.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:48 am

  518. But, apparently, it is too cumbersome to thoughtfully discuss the “cherry-picked” Amicus.

    Great data point otherwise, Rip.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:50 am

  519. Buddha, I didn’t think you were ‘being a tease’ and I thank your for your comment.

    Time (5a7be9) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:52 am

  520. Somehow the “s” word replaced the word “shut” and threw my comment into moderation. What a lousy autofcomplete to allow that language to happen. Hopefully this corrected comment appears:

    You bet, Time. I just didn’t want to have it appear as though any conversation was going to be shut down until you met a demand to watch a YouTube. But I do think the YouTube is valuable for anyone trying to get a more full perspective of the actual argument being presented.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:58 am

  521. … autofcomplete…

    Lousy indeed. LOL

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:58 am

  522. But, apparently, it is too cumbersome to thoughtfully discuss the “cherry-picked” Amicus.

    Great data point otherwise, Rip.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:50 am

    What makes you think that Eastman’s (or Ed Meese’s amici brief, which takes the same position) will carry the day in the Supreme Court?

    In any event, it is unlikely that the Supreme Court will reach the merits of the birthright citizenship EO, as it wasn’t briefed by the named parties in the case. In fact, Solicitor General Saur specifically said the merits of the EO were not an issue during last week’s argument.

    The only issue at the hearing was the use of national injunctions. There’s going to be a lot of disappointed people when the opinion is issued in June or July.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:05 am

  523. Here is a link to the argument’s transcript and audio.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:17 am

  524. Are we going on about birthright citizenship again?

    The thing I wish the Eastman fans would acknowledge is that, even if the guy is right, Trump’s EO likely violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the current Immigration law in effect. APA would require notice and comment for a change in the rules to go into effect. The Immigration legislation was written under a presumption of birthright citizenship and reflects that interpretation of the Constitution.

    The Courts are unlikely to reach the Constitutional question, given there are ample reasons to avoid this.

    (And Rip is right, by the way. The only reason the Courts would rule on birthright citizenship in June/July is to shut all this nonsense down, in the wake of a decision to also shut down or severely limit nationwide injunctions.)

    Appalled (07d3c9) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:21 am

  525. What makes you think that Eastman’s (or Ed Meese’s amici brief, which takes the same position) will carry the day in the Supreme Court?

    I don’t.

    The only issue at the hearing was the use of national injunctions.

    Yes, as I noted above.

    Do you want a friendly amateur legal discussion on the Amicus I picked? Or is your goal to silence the conversation with a mostly unrelated pixel barrage?

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:29 am

  526. Are we going on about birthright citizenship again?

    You don’t have to be part of “we.”

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:31 am

  527. You bet, Time. I just didn’t want to have it appear as though any conversation was going to be shut down until you met a demand to watch a YouTube. But I do think the YouTube is valuable for anyone trying to get a more full perspective of the actual argument being presented.

    I can see why I might have taken it that way. But I didn’t. Sometimes we have more time to comment than others.

    Time (63a290) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:33 am

  528. Hey everyone, BuDuh has a topic that in the swim lane of this blog that he’s trying to talk about respectfully. He doesn’t seem to be looking for either an echo chamber or a chance to trade snarky one liners.

    If you want to debate the legal Merits you should do so. Seems like a hot topic for a lot of you so give him a chance.

    My take is that I think the law supports birthright citizenship. But I admit I could be wrong on that. If the SC chooses to engage with that I’ll take their decision as “What do these words from the past mean” is something they’re good at.

    I also think it’s a better policy then the alternative because I think he ‘melting pot’ is a useful goal and BC is necessary for that.

    Time (63a290) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:38 am

  529. Do you want a friendly amateur legal discussion on the Amicus I picked? Or is your goal to silence the conversation with a mostly unrelated pixel barrage?

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:29 am

    I prefer to deal with what will realistically happen.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:40 am

  530. Then stick to that.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:41 am

  531. Kevin, if we were talking about deportations I’d completely agree with you.

    No country will take them back. This is a problem when we bring in hundreds of thousands of people without much caring who they are. Clearly the law requiring case-by-case evaluation was not followed all that well. The Mariel boatlift cubed.

    So what to do? Do we actually wait until they rob someone, or worse? The public won’t be happy. If they are actually gang members, with tattoos down to their toes that identify them as such (surely there are people who can differentiate these), our choices are limited.

    If they come from El Salvador, and El Salvador will take them back, we should send them there. It is not on us how El Salvador’s justice system works; they are a sovereign country. The gangs there had challenged the state and the state decided they’d had enough. I don’t blame them.

    If they come from somewhere else that won’t take them back (d’oh) none of our choices are good, but our worst choice is allowing them to prey on our citizens. We have the soft power to force their repatriation, but we do not have the right to demand what happens after.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:41 am

  532. I’m interested on discussing the merits, if possible.

    John Eastman? The guy who planned Trump’s Keystone Kops Koup?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:45 am

  533. Shooting the dead messenger!! What a skillfully crafted argument.. Too bad Paul beat you to it.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:47 am

  534. My Maternal GP immigrated prior to WW2 and my grandfather didn’t think he was a citizen prior to being drafted. But any paperwork for that is long gone.

    The whole “you’re not a citizen if your parents were not” thing is EXACTLY why they wrote that 14th Amendment. The former Confederacy tried that grandfather law, based on the former slaves not having citizen parents. Later they tried the same thing with state voting rights.

    This is how people got to the “Obama is not a citizen” thing.

    Eastman is a crank.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:51 am

  535. I think it is interesting in the question before the WKA court that they noted only one important condition of the child; that he was born on US soil, but they noted five important conditions of the parents. They sure put a lot of thought into the parents for some reason.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:58 am

  536. Eastman is a crank.

    Possibly true. But what is for sure is that you have zero understanding of his argument in the Amicus. Zero.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:00 am

  537. It involves owing allegiance to the US, such as by having a parent that is legally in the US and not a citizen if another country. (That is why native American and foreign diplomat children were not citizens.)

    Not quite. I agree that the argument makes citizenship tourism very questionable, as people here temporarily intend to return to their country of citizenship and maintain that loyalty. This could even affect seasonal workers who go home between seasons. Possibly people who have overstayed a visa as well.

    Foreign diplomats intend to leave and are legally not subject to US law anyway. Indians who remained on the reservation were somewhat immune as well.

    But once someone ABANDONS their former nation to live here permanently, they have accepted US jurisdiction and laws. They would accept it formally, if we would let them. That they break one law is immaterial — we have a felon as President after all.

    I think I’ve argued this point before.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:04 am

  538. @537

    But once someone ABANDONS their former nation to live here permanently.

    Stop.

    Don’t care.

    There are formalities that must be observed if you want to ABANDON your former nation.

    Simply showing up and demanding rights is really no different that squatting in your living room and demanding domicile rights.

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:12 am

  539. Do you want a friendly amateur legal discussion on the Amicus I picked? Or is your goal to silence the conversation with a mostly unrelated pixel barrage?

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:29 am

    What does “a mostly unrelated pixel barrage” mean?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:14 am

  540. Possibly true. But what is for sure is that you have zero understanding of his argument in the Amicus. Zero.

    Well, golly, why do you make everyone watch a slanted video instead of posting Eastman’s summary as text. I refuse to watch videos for critical information because it does not allow me the ability to return to previous points and to reflect, nor does it give me any assurance to weak parts of the argument aren’t glossed over.

    I’ve actually posted, several times, the links to all the amicus briefs. Here;s the link to Eastman’s. But OK, here is the brief, which have read at least part of.

    Here is his basic argument:

    A. This Court has never held that the children born on U.S porary visitors or illegal aliens are automatic citizens

    Contrary to the assertions of Respondents and the lower courts, this Court has never held that the Fourteenth Amendment compels the grant of citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are merely temporary visitors or unlawfully present. Both the District Court for the District of Maryland and the District Court for the Western District of Washington, as well as Respondents, treat the matter as definitively settled, primarily relying on an expansive reading of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), and subsequent dicta. This reliance is flawed.

    As described more fully below, the actual holding in Wong Kim Ark was narrow, resolving only the specific question presented: the citizenship of a child born in the United States to parents who were subjects of a foreign sovereign but who had established a “permanent domicil[e] and residence in the United States.” Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. at 653. Any language in that opinion suggesting a broader rule applicable to children of non-domiciled parents constitutes non-binding dicta. See Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) 264, 399 (1821).

    Furthermore, the subsequent cases cited by Respondents and the lower courts do not contain holdings on this constitutional question. See Resp’ts Br. 9-10; Appx. 49a-50a. As demonstrated below, infra Section II.E, the statements regarding citizenship in those cases were either dicta unnecessary to the decisions or mere background assumptions made without any analysis of the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirements. Such unexamined assumptions cannot establish binding precedent. See Webster v. Fall, 266 U.S. 507, 511 (1925).

    Because this Court has never squarely held that the children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens are citizens by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment, the question remains open for determination based on the Amendment’s original public meaning.

    B. The Only Question Presented and Decided in Wong Kim Ark Was Whether Children Born to Parents Who Were Permanently Domiciled In the United States Were Citizens; Everything Else Is Dicta. Both the lower courts and Respondents fundamentally misconstrue the scope of the holding of this Court’s decision in Wong Kim Ark. They treat the case as conclusively establishing that virtually all persons born on U.S. soil, regardless of parental status, are automatically citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment, subject only to the few narrow exceptions of children born to diplomats or soldiers in occupying armies. See, e.g., App’x 11a-14a, 35a-44a; Resp’ts Br. 8–9. In doing so, they dismiss the critical fact of Wong Kim Ark’s parents’ lawful and permanent domicile as merely incidental. Resp’ts Br. 9; see also App’x at 44a-45a. This characterization is untenable.

    The Wong Kim Ark Court explicitly described the “question presented” as concerning a child born in the United States to parents “who have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business.” Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. at 653 (emphasis added). This fact was not incidental—it was foundational to the District Court’s certified question, the stipulated record, and the Court’s entire analysis. Id. at 650–53. The terms “domicile,” “domiciled,” “permanent domicile,” and “domiciled residents” appear nearly thirty times throughout the majority
    and dissenting opinions, underscoring the centrality of lawful, permanent residence to the Court’s reasoning. See generally id.; Eastman, “Domicile”, supra, at 304-05.

    The legal significance of “domicile” cannot be overstated. It is not mere physical presence, but the lawful establishment of a “permanent home” with an intent to remain indefinitely—something fundamentally distinct from the transient presence of sojourners. See, Eastman, “Domicile”, supra, at 305-06. Accordingly, the actual holding of Wong Kim Ark—the binding legal determination answering the specific question presented—is limited to the citizenship status of children born in the United States to parents who were lawfully and permanently domiciled in the country. Statements in the opinion suggesting a broader application based solely on birth within the territory exceed the factual predicate of the case and constitute non-binding dicta. As Chief Justice Marshall explained in Cohens, “general expressions … taken in connection with the case” but extending “beyond the case … may be respected, but ought not to control the judgment in a subsequent suit when the very point is presented for
    decision.” Cohens, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) at 399, quoted in Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. at 679

    To the degree that he discusses “visitors” he is undoubtedly correct. But he conflates these with people who have been here, without leave, for long periods and have no intention to return to their former nation. He attempts to say they are not domiciled purely by their non-legal status, as though making a home here and raising a family here is mere eyewash, easily retconned.

    In that he is assuredly wrong.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:23 am

  541. Foreign diplomats intend to leave and are legally not subject to US law anyway. Indians who remained on the reservation were somewhat immune as well.

    Foreign diplomats owe their allegiance to a foreign government, not the United States; and Native Americans were considered members of a foreign country with which the US had bilateral treaties. They didn’t receive full citizenship until 1924.

    I don’t think it mattered whether they were on a reservation or not.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:24 am

  542. The following above should be bolded as a section heading

    B. The Only Question Presented and Decided in Wong Kim Ark Was Whether Children Born to Parents Who Were Permanently Domiciled In the United States Were Citizens; Everything Else Is Dicta.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:24 am

  543. I actually think you can figure this one out, Rip. Start with my first comment on the subject today. Follow my all the way down to your indignant “What makes you think…” interrogation. Then ask yourself a)”did I make myself aware of what BuDuh was saying before jumping in?” And b)”since I was completely wrong about what he was saying, does that make my dissertation ‘mostly unrelated?’”

    (For the record, I think we are now both wasting pixels trying to make you whole)

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:26 am

  544. There are formalities that must be observed if you want to ABANDON your former nation.

    Such as? Before someone can become a US citizen they need to live in this country for five years as a permanent resident (three years if married to a US citizen.)

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:27 am

  545. I don’t think it mattered whether they were on a reservation or not.

    There were intense, possible inhumane, efforts to get them to come off the rez and assimilate, and possibly marry into white society. You may be right, but those efforts would seem at odds.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:28 am

  546. I actually think you can figure this one out, Rip. Start with my first comment on the subject today. Follow my all the way down to your indignant “What makes you think…” interrogation. Then ask yourself a)”did I make myself aware of what BuDuh was saying before jumping in?” And b)”since I was completely wrong about what he was saying, does that make my dissertation ‘mostly unrelated?’”

    (For the record, I think we are now both wasting pixels trying to make you whole)

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:26 am

    As this an open thread, I will post what I want.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:29 am

  547. There are formalities that must be observed if you want to ABANDON your former nation.

    At the time the 14th Amendment was written there were few, if any. Sure, if you came to New York by boat there were some forms (almost everyone was let in), but here in New Mexico people walked in all the time and built a house and lived. And that doesn’t count those who had the US dropped on them in 1848.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:33 am

  548. From Kevin’s John Eastman link:

    A. Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
    Perhaps the clearest legislative example that the political branches of government did not read Wong Kim Ark or the 14th Amendment itself as conferring citizen- ship based on birth alone is the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, ch. 233, 43 Stat. 253 (codified as amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1401(b)). This Act declared that “all noncitizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.” Id.

    The very necessity of this Act demon- strates that Congress did not believe the Fourteenth Amendment had automatically conferred citizenship upon all Native Americans born within the United States after 1868, or that Wong Kim Ark had done so, either. If the broad interpretation of the Citizenship Clause advanced by Respond- ents—equating “subject to the jurisdiction” with mere territorial presence—were cor- rect, the 1924 Act would have been entirely superfluous.

    Those individuals whom it purported to make citizens would have already been citizens by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment itself. However, Congress understood, consistent with this Court’s decision in Elk, 112 U.S. at 102, that Native Americans born into tribal alle- giance were not automatically “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States in the complete political sense required by the Amendment. The 1924 Act was thus a legis- lative grant of citizenship under Congress’s Article I naturalization power, enacted precisely because the Fourteenth Amendment’s constitutional grant did not reach all Native Americans born within U.S. territory. Lash, supra, at 26. This congressional action, nearly 60 years after the Fourteenth Amendment’s ratification, powerfully confirms that the Amendment’s scope was understood to be limited by allegiance, not defined solely by birthplace.

    Ipso facto, then, children born to parents who continued to owe allegiance to their home countries—foreign powers—are necessarily not “subject to the jurisdic- tion” of the United States in the full, complete sense intended by that clause. The Indian tribes were, after all, considered at the time to be “domestic dependent na- tions” “in a state of pupilage.” Cherokee Nation v. State of Ga., 30 U.S. 1, 17 (1831); see also, e.g., Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren, 584 U.S. 554, 572 (2018) (“Tribes are ‘domestic dependent nations’”). If anything, children born to members of Indian tribes had a stronger claim to being “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States than children born to foreign subjects temporarily in the United States be- cause the tribes themselves, unlike foreign nations, were “completely under the sov- ereignty and dominion of the United States.” Elk, 112 U.S. at 122. Yet this Court held even that did not qualify for automatic citizenship

    Thank you, Kevin. Very informative!

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:34 am

  549. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:29 am

    Appalled is not going to like hearing this.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:36 am

  550. But we knew that Indians-not-taxed were not considered citizens. You will note the term

    “all noncitizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.”

    implies there already were some Indian citizens. What did they do to abandon their prior loyalty to their tribe? How about they left the rez permanently.

    Again, he ignores the fact that few if any of the people who have come here to live retain loyalty to the mother country, any more than I maintain loyalty to California. Sure, I have contacts there, but I am a citizen of New Mexico and (thank god) immune from taxation by the great state of California.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:41 am

  551. Ipso facto, then, children born to parents who continued to owe allegiance to their home countries …

    And what is his argument that they do? That they are merely visitors, intending to go home? I have no argument with that, but it does not mean diddly about the children of permanent immigrants, regardless of legal status.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:45 am

  552. But we knew that Indians-not-taxed were not considered citizens. You will note the term

    “all noncitizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.”

    implies there already were some Indian citizens. What did they do to abandon their prior loyalty to their tribe? How about they left the rez permanently.

    Assumes facts that require further proof.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:45 am

  553. And that doesn’t count those who had the US dropped on them in 1848.

    Which is another interesting argument. Those Mexican citizens who live in the area of the Mexican cession (California, Utah, Colorado, parts of Texas and points south and west) became US citizens as part of the settlement.

    But most of them had strong loyalties to Mexico, not to the conquerors. Were they, in Eastman’s logic, in the jurisdiction of the United States? If you follow his logic, they were citizens by law, but their children were not.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:50 am

  554. few if any of the people who have come here to live retain loyalty to the mother country

    Should the people who have come here to live, whom state that they do not retain loyalty to their mother country, be eligible to be President?

    If not, then why not? Reciting the eligibility clause isn’t a real answer, IMO. Explaining the reasoning behind it is.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:50 am

  555. Assumes facts that require further proof.

    The did not have to qualify “Indians” if there were no Indian citizens.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:51 am

  556. Should the people who have come here to live, whom state that they do not retain loyalty to their mother country, be eligible to be President?

    No. Just as those who take the citizenship oath, explicitly renouncing any such ties, are not eligible.

    But their children are.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:52 am

  557. If the courts have been wrong about birthright citizenship, they should fix it.

    They aren’t, haven’t been, and no one was serious about it being an issue, until sH.

    (1) It’s the most straightforward amendment, minus the 21st (greatest) amendment.

    (2) It’s not a serious question, never has been. Just because a bunch of idiots are making mouth noises, doesn’t make it serious, it makes it urgent.

    (3) It’s not very interesting, see (1).

    As in everything with these people, unserious, with little knowledge, less common sense, but infinite confidence.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:52 am

  558. As an academic what if scenario, it might be a novel conversation, but still not serious.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:53 am

  559. How did we get to children’s citizenship to Presidential eligibility? You may see the dots, but they seem pretty vague to me.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:54 am

  560. Klink, I’ll take the other side for a moment.

    Do you believe that a child born in a plane on the LAX tarmac, waiting to take mom back to her home in Japan, is a US citizen?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 11:56 am

  561. No. Just as those who take the citizenship oath, explicitly renouncing any such ties, are not eligible.

    This makes that case that simply saying you are domiciled here doesn’t really make it so. The scrutiny put towards the non-eligibility of naturalized citizens can only be that of allegiance. Why is the group of oath takers less trustworthy to head the government? People who don’t even take an oath have to be less so.

    How did we get to children’s citizenship to Presidential eligibility

    Because it is a clause that defines different levels of citizenship and what is afforded people on those separate levels. I think the distinction between the two types of citizenship is of the same cloth as the distinction of a lawfully domiciled resident alien and an illegal alien resident that, other than him saying the contrary, is legally domiciled in another sovereign nation.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:05 pm

  562. Kevin, here is the WKA punch list:

    ✅ child born in the United States,

    ✅ of parents of Chinese descent,

    ✅ who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China,

    ✅ but have a permanent domicil and residence in the United States,

    ✅ and are there carrying on business,

    ✅ and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the Emperor of China

    Which items were unnecessary for the court to include in their statement of “the question presented by the record?”

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:10 pm

  563. Yes, technically. But I’ve spent the last hour reading studies that claim to have data of tourist births, but the reality is the data doesn’t exist.

    Now, I think there may be a legal opportunity to have hospitals/airport medic… add a tourist box to check on the form. Then, we’d at least know if it was an actual problem. Now we just know 800k babies are born a year to non-citizens. It’s been roughly flat for a decade, down under Clinton, up under Bush, down then up under Obama, up then down for Trump, down then up for Biden, and that data is only up to 2023.

    So the constitution exists, the 14th is explicit. I’d like maybe to understand the size of the problem, and what the remedies might be so we could look at the impact.

    But that requires care, and detailed planning, so nope, set fire to the constitution because fire is cool.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:12 pm

  564. BuDuh — since the 14th amendment doesn’t allow differentiation based on race, the fact that their parents were of Chinese descent and subject to the emperor of China, specifically, is irrelevant. What matters is that they were of non-American descent and subject to a foreign power, the *specific* foreign power is not an issue.

    So the WKA checklist is really:

    * child born in the US
    * of alien parents who are subjects of or citizens of a foreign state
    * whose parents are not employed in a diplomatic or official capacity under the foreign state
    * but who are domiciled in the United States

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:19 pm

  565. Anchor babies was always an invented problem. Those that choose to stay, are doing the thing we want them to and would be productive members of the American experiment. If they leave with their parents and don’t come back, then it’s not a problem.

    I’m sure we could invent a scenario that might feel like it’s important, but reality says that families coming across the desert are a bit more of a problem than a Japanese lady popping a child out on the tarmac of LAX.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:20 pm

  566. Chinese descent and subject to the emperor of China, specifically, is irrelevant.

    You might want to read WKA in its entirety.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:21 pm

  567. Sorry, that was too aggressive. My apologies. Please read WKA and see how The Chinese Exclusionary acts came into play in the specific circumstances they were adjudicating.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:26 pm

  568. You can change the requirements for a minor US citizen to sponsor their parents, I’m fine with making it more explicit, but that’s not actually a birthright citizenship question.

    And that’s the point, most of the noise isn’t actually about birthright citizens, it’s about their parents.

    So the problem isn’t a constitutional one, so why it insert it as one? The answer is of course that the real problem is brown babies may be citizens. We all know that is the *not even unspoken* truth, everything else is the squirrel.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:26 pm

  569. Which items were unnecessary for the court to include in their statement of “the question presented by the record?”

    ✅ but have a permanent domicil and residence in the United States,

    This is the one he plays three-card monte with. He simply claims that to be “domiciled” means being legally resident, as if that was a prerequisite. Pretty sure you can rent an apartment in Los Angeles without being legally resident.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:26 pm

  570. So the constitution exists, the 14th is explicit. I’d like maybe to understand the size of the problem, and what the remedies might be so we could look at the impact.

    I think it is possible to argue that the lady in the plan on the tarmac is not “domiciled” here, nor is she subject to US taxation on her income which is a cheap outside bound on the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:29 pm

  571. The court said “a permanent domicile and residence in the United States” and you only mentioned domicile. What do think the difference is between a domicile and a residence and why did the court want both?

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:29 pm

  572. DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:37 am

    Eastman brought this up five years ago when he asserted that Kamala wasn’t natural born, and pushback ensued.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:29 pm

  573. Again, the 14th is explicit, and simple.

    SCOTUS should just not review it. WKA exists, sH’s attorney’s have lost every time so far, so if SCOTUS just chooses to not review, the failure would be complete.

    Unserious question, that is unworthy of the Supreme’s to talk about it, much less SCOTUS.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:29 pm

  574. That question was for aphrael.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:31 pm

  575. Chinese descent and subject to the emperor of China, specifically, is irrelevant.

    The claim that the parents, who have never returned to China, are subject to the emperor of China is really really weak. Not to mention a tad racist.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:31 pm

  576. What do think the difference is between a domicile and a residence and why did the court want both?

    They were being paid by the word.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:31 pm

  577. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:31 pm

    More errors of a blossoming nation, but the court still had to deal with the legislation that congress and the executive put in place.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:33 pm

  578. The Chinese Exclusionary acts

    I am almost certain that those would be considered unconstitutional today, and make a weak basis for any argument. Ignoring them as a question would make Wong Ark Kim’s case stronger. It was assuredly not a point in his favor.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:35 pm

  579. This is an interesting conversation to listen to

    Time (63a290) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:36 pm

  580. I agree Time.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:38 pm

  581. Here’s the real reason that Eastman’s argument will fail, at least as far as illegal immigrants: it’s hair-splitting and reading meaning into ambiguities that can be read, and will be read, differently.

    He does make a strong case about visitors. My suggestion would be that if they are not here long enough to be subject to federal income tax, they are not here long enough.

    I would also point out that the IRS expects all US citizens to report and pay tax on income, even if they have never spent more than their early infancy in the United States. A bit unfair and can cause them great difficulty getting financial accounts. But they usually don’t report, and renouncing their citizenship later usually makes them ineligible to enter the country. Also unfair.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:42 pm

  582. I think “domiciled” should mean “living somewhere permanently, with no intent to leave.” So not a hotel, not a college dorm, not a cabin in the woods you visit hunting season.

    Time (63a290) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:47 pm

  583. I agree, Time. And the government has a way of recognizing that through proper immigration. Improperly immigrating is not the fault of the country in which you seek a permanent residence. It is nothing more than squatting no matter the intention.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:51 pm

  584. > I think “domiciled” should mean “living somewhere permanently, with no intent to leave.” So not a hotel, not a college dorm, not a cabin in the woods you visit hunting season.

    This is basically what it means.

    Your *residence* is *where you happen to live at the moment* and so includes college dorms or the temporary housing for deployed military personnel.

    Your *domicile* is the place you consider your permanent home.

    So illegal immigrants who are planning to stay here until they die, their domicile is here. But illegal immigrants who plan to return to their country of origin after a few seasons, their domicile is their country of origin.

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 12:55 pm

  585. > The court said “a permanent domicile and residence in the United States” and you only mentioned domicile. What do think the difference is between a domicile and a residence and why did the court want both?

    Domicile == permanent home.

    Residence == current home.

    For most people, most of the time, they’re the same. But sometimes they aren’t; when my brother was deployed in Afghanistan, his *residence* was the base he was attached to, but his *domicile* was North Carolina.

    The court wants *residence* because that’s indicative of presence in the US, and it wants *domicile* because the common law rule that the rule was derived from depended on domicile.

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:00 pm

  586. So illegal immigrants who are planning to stay here until they die, their domicile is here.

    Which shouldn’t protect them from deportation, as they entered their new “domicile” illegally.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:01 pm

  587. The domicile/residence distinction is incredibly important for tax law.

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:01 pm

  588. I agree that is a sensible change.

    It’s not something any of these discussions actually addresses, it only requires a simple tweak to the Constitution, and there’s a process for that, not this one, but it’s almost like the founders explicitly knew that the Constitution might evolve with…amendments.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:03 pm

  589. > Which shouldn’t protect them from deportation, as they entered their new “domicile” illegally.

    Nobody is arguing that an illegal immigrant domiciled here is immune to deportation.

    We are arguing that the *child of an illegal immigrant domiciled here* is a citizen.

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:03 pm

  590. BuDuh, If Albert came across the boarder from Canada as child, thought he was a NY resident. Married a woman from an Indian Tribe or some other non-citizen, and they had a kid, I think that Kid should be a US citizen.

    I’m not saying this is the law. I’m saying it’s good policy

    Time (63a290) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:08 pm

  591. Messenger shot!

    No, Eastman’s credibility shot, by Eastman himself.
    I give more credence to the Scalia originalist approach.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:11 pm

  592. Ah. More birthright citizenship. So many words. So many arguments. None addressing the real question:

    By what right does Trump reverse the standing law of 125 years with an Executive Order? He didn’t bother to try to make a regulation (that would require publishing a proposed notice soliciting public comment and WAITING). He didn’t try to pass a law (that would require Congress and hearings and Democrats). He issued a decree and expects obedience.

    The remaining chatter is the stuff of dorm rooms scented with bong water.

    Appalled (07d3c9) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:28 pm

  593. BuDuh:

    Since you have read Eastman’s amici brief, how does he respond to Appalled’s question regarding Trump’s authority to issue an EO to redefine citizenship?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:32 pm

  594. BuhDuh:

    Since you have read Eastman’s amici brief, how does he respond to Appalled’s question regarding Trump’s authority to issue an EO to redefine citizenship?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:32 pm

    That is certainly the threshold question before considering if WKA is incorrectly decided.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:35 pm

  595. This just in:

    F.D.A. Poised to Restrict Access to Covid Vaccines

    T

    he Food and Drug Administration will permit use of Covid vaccines by adults over 65 and those with certain medical conditions in the fall, but may require additional studies before approving the shots for healthy Americans younger than 65, agency officials said on Tuesday.

    At this point, the additional doses offer “uncertain” benefits to many young and middle-aged people who have already been vaccinated or have had Covid, Dr. Vinay Prasad, the F.D.A.’s vaccine division chief, and Dr. Martin Makary, the agency’s commissioner, wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine.

    “The F.D.A. will approve vaccines for high-risk persons and, at the same time, demand robust, gold-standard data on persons at low risk,” the officials wrote.

    So, we go from YOU MUST to YOU MAY to YOU CANNOT. How do those that championed choice at the outset of the pandemic feel about being legally unable to get a shot? It really doesn’t matter if you want one or not, your choice is again removed.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:36 pm

  596. Is it a question of redefining citizenship or simply “correctly” defining citizenship?

    The executive believes that it has been misinterpreted.

    As far as Eastman’s take. I’ll let you do your own homework, Rip. (Turnabout is fair play)

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:41 pm

  597. That is certainly the threshold question before considering if WKA is incorrectly decided.

    1. Such an EO must conform to a plain reading of WKA. It cannot override the Supreme Court’s established precedent.

    2. Even if so, it must conform to current statutes, as the government cannot be ordered to act illegally.

    The current EO does not pass the first test. An EO restricted to children born to those with valid tourist visas might pass muster, as those parents have asserted their determination to return home.

    I have no idea if that would conform to current statutes however.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:42 pm

  598. Ouch!

    ……….
    When asked at a Senate hearing Tuesday by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) to define habeas corpus — the right of due process to challenge a person’s detention by the government — Noem described the term as “a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

    Hassan, a staunch critic of President Donald Trump, quickly fired back at Noem, calling her definition “incorrect.”

    “Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people,” Hassan said. “If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason.”

    Hassan then pressed Noem on whether she supports the legal principle, but the secretary didn’t back down.

    “I support habeas corpus — I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not,” Noem said.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:43 pm

  599. That is certainly the threshold question before considering if WKA is incorrectly decided.

    Who is worried about that??

    The correctly decided WKA makes the case that you need something more than just being born here.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:43 pm

  600. Is it a question of redefining citizenship or simply “correctly” defining citizenship?

    The executive believes that it has been misinterpreted.

    Under what authority does a president have to overrule (or reinterpret) a Supreme Court decision?

    I’ll do your homework for you-none.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:45 pm

  601. Let’s start by asking the right question…

    I think however you answer this, all subsequent conversations are colored by this answer.

    Can anyone become a Citizen without the nation’s consent?

    whembly (0e67fd) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:46 pm

  602. Which shouldn’t protect them from deportation, as they entered their new “domicile” illegally.

    Again, all the folks defending the birthright citizenship being pulled, continue to be arguing about what color the truck is, while the subject is the correct amount of milk in a latte.

    All of this is about the parents. Was the child born on US soil, yes/no.

    The parents don’t confer citizenship based on either their domicile or residents, it’s literally what country was the baby born, period. The one and only exception is diplomat, they wouldn’t fit with “Indian”.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:46 pm

  603. What part of the EO is directly contrary the the holding in WKA, Rip? Or do you have no intention to defend your position?

    Here is the EO: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/

    Good luck.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:48 pm

  604. Here’s another amicus brief objecting to the E.O. as such, not so much as to its content but its intent.

    The heart of the argument:

    III. The President Cannot Issue Unlawful Executive Orders to Manufacture
    Litigation to Amend the Constitution Through Judicial Review

    An evaluation of the substantive arguments presented by the President is
    likely unnecessary in this matter because the only issue that needs clarification at
    this time is whether an unconstitutional Executive Order, that appears to attempt to
    usurp Judicial and Legislative authority is an appropriate vehicle to amend the U.S.
    Constitution, notwithstanding the existence of Article V’s Amendment procedures. In
    the instant case, it appears that the President may have issued the subject Executive
    Order to manufacture a case or controversy for the respondents, who would initiate
    litigation against the President, so the President could attempt to obligate this Court
    revisit its holding in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), to advance
    the President’s political objectives of limiting the Fourteenth Amendment’s
    Birthright Citizenship clause.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:50 pm

  605. What part of the EO is directly contrary the the holding in WKA, Rip?

    It defines “domiciled” to a very narrow range of meanings, then puts long-term residents who are here illegally in the “not domiciled” category. Or at least Eastman’s argument does. Not sure I would say that Trump’s E.O is an “argument.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:54 pm

  606. The parents don’t confer citizenship based on either their domicile or residents, it’s literally what country was the baby born, period

    You may be right about that, but WKA does make a distinction there. If WKA’s parents had been, say, factors for a Chinese importer and left their son here with guardians after they went home, WKA would have been argued differently.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:58 pm

  607. Side question: Is subjecting US citizens living overseas to the US income tax constitutional? No other country does this, save Eritrea.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:02 pm

  608. Domicile has nothing to do with anything. Chinese already established as citizens could leave and come back. What’s more they could marry in China and have a son or said he did, and that son would be a citizen.

    There arose therefore the issue of “paper sons” where someone claimed to be the son of a U.S. citizen. They were interrogated but many passed. (DNA and even imperfect blood tests did not exist)

    They were eventually legalized. They were not fanatical about “enforcing the law” sixty years ago.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_sons

    …In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake caused a huge fire that destroyed public birth documents. Suddenly a new opportunity for citizenship arose: Chinese men who were already in the United States could claim that they were born in the United States. Other Chinese men would travel back to China as United States citizens and report that their wives had given birth to a son. Consequently, this made the child eligible to be a United States citizen, for which they would receive a document. These documents could then be used for their actual sons, or sold to friends, neighbors, and strangers.[10] This was termed as a “slot” and would then be available for purchase to men who had no blood relationships in the United States in order to be eligible to enter the United States. Merchant brokers often acted as middlemen to handle the sale of slots.[11]

    To enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act, officials at an immigration station (located in Angel Island in 1910) questioned and interrogated immigrants coming from 84 different countries with the majority of immigrants being Asian and Chinese. Since official records were often non-existent, an interrogation process was created to determine if the immigrants were related as they had claimed. Between 1882 and 1943, approximately 300,000 Chinese immigrants entered the United States. Historians estimate that over ninety percent of them used false identities and documents commonly through the paper son system to circumvent exclusionary laws. These identities often required careful memorization of family trees and village histories to survive lengthy interrogations. [12] On average an interrogation process could take up to 2–3 weeks, but some immigrants were interrogated for months. [13]

    Applicants were sometimes asked between 200 and 1,000 questions over the course of multiple days. Even minor inconsistencies could lead to detention, deportation, and permanent separation from families. Immigration officials often doubted testimony from Chinese witnesses and expressed preference for “old white persons” to verify claims, reflecting the racially biased nature of the process.[12] These questions had been anticipated and thus, irrespective of the true nature of the relationship to their sponsor, the applicant had prepared months in advance by committing these details to memory. Their witnesses—usually other family members living in the United States—would be called forward to corroborate these answers. Any deviation from the testimony would prolong questioning or throw the entire case into doubt and put the applicant at risk of deportation, and possibly everyone else in the family connected to the applicant as well.
    A detention center was in operation for thirty years; however, there were many concerns about the sanitation and safety of the immigrants at Angel Island, which proved to be true in 1940 when the administration building burned down. As a result, all the immigrants were relocated to another facility. The Chinese Exclusion Act was eventually repealed in 1943.[14]

    A very low quota of 100 replaced that.

    …Life for paper sons after immigrating to the United States was shaped by fear, secrecy, and resilience. Although they succeeded in entering the country often by impersonating the sons of U.S. citizens using fraudulent documents, their lives remained unpredictable due to the constant threat of exposure and deportation. Many maintained complex identities, which isolated them socially . Community networks within Chinatowns provided some protection, but also reinforced their separation from mainstream American society. In the 1950s, the U.S. government launched a campaign to expose illegal entries, culminating in the Chinese Confession Program, which pressured paper sons to admit their false identities in exchange for potential legal status.[22] While many gained legal residency through this process, others were left vulnerable, denied benefits, or subjected to prosecution especially those with suspected leftist ties. Despite these challenges, the paper sons’ confessions ultimately helped many Chinese American families reconnect and laid the groundwork for expanded immigration under the 1965 reform laws.

    The state of California formally apologized to thousands of Chinese immigrants who helped build the state while facing persistent racism and debilitating laws targeting them in 2009.[23]

    In Canada amnesty was provided by the Chinese Adjustment Statement Program starting in 1960.[24]

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:13 pm

  609. Canada had had a different system. They registered Chinese including those born in Canada. Immigrants had had to pay ahead tax to be legal..

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:16 pm

  610. Bye George. George Wendt passed away.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:17 pm

  611. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:58 pm

    . If WKA’s parents had been, say, factors for a Chinese importer and left their son here with guardians after they went home, WKA would have been argued differently

    No.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:17 pm

  612. https://www.newser.com/story/368965/comey-86-47-post-was-totally-innocent.html

    Comey said he and his wife were walking on the beach and came across the numbers, puzzling over them. His wife first thought they might be an address, and also remembered from her waitressing days that “86” meant to delete a menu item. [when it or an ingredient was not available] Comey said he remembered “86” being slang when he was a kid for leaving a boring place, per the AP.

    Later in the interview, however, Comey suggests he did know the message was political. “I thought it was a clever way to express a political viewpoint, and actually I still think it is,” he said, but adding, “I don’t see it the way some people are still saying it is.”

    If somebody had left it on a beach, it couldn’t be athreat, because nobody would see it.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:21 pm

  613. Jackson Hinkle is the Anwar al-Awlaki of the 2020s, being pro-Russian terrorism, pro-Hamas terrorism, pro-Houthi terrorism, pro-Hezbollah terrorism, etc.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:27 pm

  614. Side question: Is subjecting US citizens living overseas to the US income tax constitutional? No other country does this, save Eritrea.

    Constitutional, yes, I think so. Appropriate in the modern world? Nope.

    That’s why the constitutional amendment process shouldn’t be something that has been abandoned. We can see the modern problems with some of these ancient rules.

    Strict Textualism is fine, the text says you can change it, there’s a process. It’s very difficult, but if we all agree that there are some changes to the 14th that we want, we should follow the text.

    That’s one of the many reason’s that the 21st is the best, watermelon wheat actually.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:27 pm

  615. How is Hinkle different than Tulsi? Other than the obvious, 80085.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:30 pm

  616. Here’s a little context to the Caitlan Clark foul on Angel Reese.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:33 pm

  617. What part of the EO is directly contrary the the holding in WKA, Rip? Or do you have no intention to defend your position?

    Neither the EO (or Eastman’s amicus brief) cite any constitutional or statutory authority that allows a President to reinterpret a Supreme Court decision, so the Administration should just on those grounds. but to play your game; from the EO:

    Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.

    All children born to any of the categories listed above are currently considered citizens of the United States under WKA and its judicial progeny.

    Outside of the narrow exceptions it recognized , the Wong Kim Ark Court reasoned that the guarantee of the Citizenship Clause “in clear words and in manifest intent, includes the children born within the territory of the United States of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States.” “To hold that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution excludes from citizenship the children born in the United States of citizens or subjects of other countries,” the Court concluded, “would be to deny citizenship to thousands of persons of English, Scotch, Irish, German, or other European parentage, who have always been considered and treated as citizens of the United States.” Accordingly, the Court held that Wong Kim Ark had acquired citizenship at birth despite his parents’ alienage and despite the bar on their naturalization.

    Source

    Even before the 14th Amendment and the WKA decision, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which recognized that citizenship extended to all who were born in the United States.

    The Civil Rights Act of 1866 declared that “all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States……….During the debates on the act, Senator Trumbull of Illinois, chairman of the committee that reported the civil rights bill, moved to amend the bill so that the first sentence read, “All persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States without distinction of color.” Senator Cowan of Pennsylvania, who opposed both the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, asked “whether it will not have the effect of naturalizing the children of Chinese and Gypsies born in this country?” Senator Trumbull replied, “Undoubtedly.” ……… Cowan raised the specter of unfettered Chinese immigration to California, resulting effectively in something tantamount to a takeover of California by the Chinese empire, if the proposed language were adopted. Trumbull asked Cowan whether the children born in Pennsylvania to German parents were not U.S. citizens, to which Cowan replied that Germans were not Chinese, Australians or Hottentots or the like. Trumbull replied that the law made no distinction between the children of Germans and Asiatics “and the child of an Asiatic is just as much a citizen as the child of a European.”

    US v. Wong Kim Ark itself contains a detailed history of the English common law and relevant cases in US courts that support birthright citizenship.

    The foregoing considerations and authorities irresistibly lead us to these conclusions: The fourteenth amendment affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory, in the allegiance and under the protection of the country, including all children here born of resident aliens, with the exceptions or qualifications (as old as the rule itself) of children of foreign sovereigns or their ministers, or born on foreign public ships, or of enemies within and during a hostile occupation of part of our territory, and with the single additional exception of children of members of the Indian tribes owing direct allegiance to their several tribes. The amendment, in clear words and in manifest intent, includes the children born within the territory of the United States of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States. Every citizen or subject of another country, while domiciled here, is within the allegiance and the protection, and consequently subject to the jurisdiction, of the United States. His allegiance to the United States is direct and immediate, and, although but local and temporary, continuing only so long as he remains within our territory, is yet, in the words of Lord Coke in Calvin’s Case, 7 Coke, 6a, ‘strong enough to make a natural subject, for, if he hath issue here, that issue is a natural-born subject’; and his child, as said by Mr. Binney in his essay before quoted, ‘If born in the country, is as much a citizen as the natural-born child of a citizen, and by operation of the same principle.’ It can hardly be denied that an alien is completely subject to the political jurisdiction of the country in which he resides, seeing that, as said by Mr. Webster, when secretary of state, in his report to the president on Thrasher’s case in 1851, and since repeated by this court: ‘Independently of a residence with intention to continue such residence; independently of any domiciliation; independently of the taking of any oath of allegiance, or of renouncing any former allegiance,—it is well known that by the public law an alien, or a stranger born, for so long a time as he continues within the dominions of a foreign government, owes obedience to the laws of that government, and may be punished for treason or other crimes as a native-born subject might be, unless his case is varied by some treaty stipulations.’

    My emphasis.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:36 pm

  618. Correction to post 617:

    …….so the Administration should just lose on those grounds. but to play your game; from the EO:

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:38 pm

  619. Trump Announces Missile Shield For U.S., Concedes Nobody Asked For It

    Trump announced plans Tuesday to build a missile shield in the style of the “Golden Dome” that intercepts projectiles aimed at Israel, saying he was making good on a campaign promise — even as he conceded the U.S. military didn’t ask for it.

    Asked how he would respond to critics who say the $175 billion system is prohibitively expensive, ineffective and could trigger an arms race in space, Trump had no specifics to offer.

    “Well, they’re wrong,” he said. “It’s about as close to perfect as you can have.”

    Asked if military commanders had requested a system like this, specifically, Trump said it’s being built entirely at his suggestion.

    “I suggested it, and they all said, ‘We love the idea, sir,’” he said.

    Trump paused amid the announcement to point out portraits of past presidents he’s hung around the Oval Office, including Thomas Jefferson, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and “Monroe from the Monroe document.”

    What is the key word that identifies that no one in the DoD has even heard about this?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:41 pm

  620. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:50 pm

    I agree. If the merits ever reach the Supreme Court, the Administration should lose based on the lack of constitutional authority to issue an EO. It’s entirely possible that there won’t be a circuit split on the merits, so the SC may bail on taking the appeal.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:41 pm

  621. Oof, the Kristi Noem Habeas answer was painful.

    She’s putting in the effort to be the dumbest cabinet official, it’s a tough competition, but she’s definitely in the upper right quadrant.

    If you’re a college dropout and head of DHS, the thing you shouldn’t be doing is relying on the vast educational and legal experience you have in lieu of buckling down and doing your homework.

    But we live in the age of sH, where expertise is a liability, and arrogance isn’t.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:57 pm

  622. Maybe breaking news.

    Immigration authorities appear to have begun deporting migrants from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan, attorneys for the migrants said in court documents filed Tuesday.

    Those removals would violate a court order against deporting people to countries other than their homelands without an opportunity to file court challenges, they argued.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:59 pm

  623. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:36 pm

    A lot of importance on “domiciled.”

    Is there a Supreme Court opinion on what constitutes the domicile of parents who, unlike WKA’s legally present parents, are illegally present?

    Or are you suggesting that WKA defined the wide latitude that you, and others, are giving to the term “domiciled?”

    I don’t see that in the narrow WKA holding.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:00 pm

  624. Just look at where he’s sending these people. If they’re deportable, deport them. Sending them to Sudan is…not something the good guys do. Heck, it would be cheaper and more defensible just handing them $10k, and a first class ticket.

    But that doesn’t scare the brown people enough.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:03 pm

  625. Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 2:27 pm

    Jackson Hinkle is the Anwar al-Awlaki of the 2020s, being pro-Russian terrorism, pro-Hamas terrorism, pro-Houthi terrorism, pro-Hezbollah terrorism, etc.

    Also Pakistan and China.

    Jackson Hinkle could be a sort of Rosetta Stone that reveals connections.

    https://nypost.com/2025/05/19/world-news/us-social-media-influencer-spreads-anti-western-propaganda

    Hinkle also gives a platform to terror group Hamas and interviewed Basem Naim, an official for the organization who is a former Minister of Health for Gaza.

    Hinkle is also allegedly helping Pakistani intelligence spread “false flag” narratives against India following a terrorist attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir last month that left 26 dead.

    Claiming that he attack was really done by India.

    The revelations come from a new study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a New Jersey-based non-profit that tracks social media-inspired violence and hate.

    “Jackson Hinkle has engaged in activities that raise concerns regarding his affiliations and potential alignment with foreign interests,” the NCRI study says.

    “He has publicly stated that he has been vetted by Russian and Chinese intelligence and maintains close ties with both governments… His public statements and affiliations warrant further scrutiny to assess the extent of his alignment with foreign interests.”

    A week following Hinkle’s interview with Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on his program “Legitimate Targets,” he accused India of conducting a false flag operation against Pakistan in Kashmir. This was propaganda spread by Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s primary intelligence agency, the NCRI study claims.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:23 pm

  626. Citizenship was only important for voting and government jobs if someone was already in the United States so in 1898 it only mattered to Chinese. If someone was returning

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:44 pm

  627. The Civil Rights Act of (April 9) 1866 said:

    All persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.

    In the 14th amendment:

    not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed

    was changed to:

    subject to the jurisdiction thereof

    They probably didn’t apply it to more Indians than they should have.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:45 pm

  628. Biden must have had it for five yeas or even ten. He can be expected to go on for 1 or 2 years if untreated. If treated 2-4. It’s a question if he will live to what would have been the end of his second term. Paul Tsongas didn’t quite make it. He died January 18, 1997.

    37^ of those diagnosed with prostrate cancer (which means all stages of the disease) lie for at least years more for those diagnosed in the USA between 2014 and 2020.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:50 pm

  629. Heh, prostrate. I do that all the time…

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:57 pm

  630. Hmm…The “Golden Shower” seems like a less than fully thought out thing. Shocking I know.

    Again, the $175B single program is kinda a big deal, especially as the math says that would just be a drop in the bucket. If the budget was 5X as much, it would still probably not be enough. America is BIG, that’s why protecting all of it with a “Golden Shower” just isn’t a real thing. Energy shields are in Star Trek, it’s a TV Show not reality.

    Do these people think The Avengers is a documentary?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:04 pm

  631. The (in)correctly decided WKA makes the case that you need something more than just being born here.

    BuDuh (cb81a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 1:43 pm

    FIFY 😉

    I don’ know how “domiciled” was defined in the 19th century, its meaning may be different now. I see as it as a synomym for “live” as in

    The (14th) amendment, in clear words and in manifest intent, includes the children born within the territory of the United States of all other persons, of whatever race or color, (living) within the United States…….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:10 pm

  632. Mr. Trump said the project should be “fully operational before the end of my term,” which would be before January 2029. The president said the system will be built in states including Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Indiana, and involve multiple, yet-to-be-selected American defense and technology companies.

    A thing he pulled out of his arse today, that hasn’t even been invented yet, will also be complete in 3.5 years, it will be deployed. It’s kind of like the actual new AF1’s being in process to be completed in 27, but if sH get’s his personal jet, those will be paused, this one will be inserted in the program, and all will be delayed beyond 2030, and add a few billion, but again, cutting waste and abuse was always fiction, it’s was shifting it to sH and his buddies’ pocket.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:12 pm

  633. ‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams says he has the same prostate cancer as Biden

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:16 pm

  634. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:16 pm

    More:

    ………..
    “I’ve decided that today’s the day that I’m going to take the opportunity, since a lot of you are here, to make an announcement of my own,” Adams said during his podcast. “Some of you have already guessed, so this won’t surprise you all. But I have the same cancer that Joe Biden has.”

    “But I’ve had it longer than he’s had it. Well, longer than he’s admitted having it,” Adams added. “So my life expectancy is maybe this summer. I expect to be checking out from this domain sometime this summer.”

    Adams told viewers that he had been using a walker for months due to a tumor near his spine and was in near-constant pain, describing the condition as “intolerable.”

    “Every day is a nightmare, and evening is even worse,” he said.

    Adams said he wasn’t going to delve into the treatments he had undergone, but mentioned that he did try using anti-parasitic medications including ivermectin and fenbendazole, to no effect.

    He also indicated that since he lives in California, he plans to take advantage of aid-in-dying drugs after he settles his affairs.
    ………..
    “I’d like to extend my respect and compassion and sympathy for the ex-president and his family, because they’re going to be going through an especially tough time,” he said.

    Adams also said it was “hard to watch” Biden’s online critics show him no sympathy, and suggested he expected to face the same treatment from his own critics.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:25 pm

  635. Hey, Vietnam is now negotiating with the US on a trade deal…after they offered Eric Trump a $1.5B resort in Vietnam. Just the management contract, so only a few hundred mill.

    Man, Hunter and the Biden’s were just amateurs. They settled for a few million when they could have shaken down folks for billions.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:26 pm

  636. Immigration authorities appear to have begun deporting migrants from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan, attorneys for the migrants said in court documents filed Tuesday

    Why? What the F does he thing he’s doing. Make America White Again? Vietnamese immigrants are rock-ribbed Republicans for the most part, given who the think lost Vietnam.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:27 pm

  637. Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:12 pm

    This will be another one of those projects that will be cancelled when the money runs out, and before they have to show anything works.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:31 pm

  638. Vietnamese immigrants are rock-ribbed Republicans for the most part, given who the think lost Vietnam.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:27 pm

    I doubt that Vietnamese immigrants who are citizens are being deported; only those that are illegal.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:32 pm

  639. #631: does this help at all?

    https://www.attorneyatlaw.com/the-difference-between-your-residency-and-domicile-and-why-it-matters

    ColoComment (0ac984) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:34 pm

  640. They aren’t being deported, they are being sent to one of the worst possible countries on the planet to be on. I’m pretty sure the Vietnamese and Myanmar…uh..ians, don’t speak any of the languages there.

    But like CECOT, this isn’t a prison, it’s a death camp. If their government is stating that they don’t release people from these camps, ever, then we are, in reality, killing these people.

    Again, this is the actions of an authoritarian junta, not the shining city on the hill.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:39 pm

  641. #631: does this help at all?

    No

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:40 pm

  642. Hmm…The “Golden Shower” seems like a less than fully thought out thing. Shocking I know.

    Putin only feeds him a little at a time.

    Dave (2e7645) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:45 pm

  643. Damn, Klink, I wasn’t sure if you were joking about the Vietnamese bribe.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:24 pm

  644. So, it was confirmed, but it’s worse than sending them to Sudan, they sent them to South Sudan.

    The Trump administration has deported at least two immigrants to war-torn South Sudan in defiance of a federal court order, according to attorneys for the immigrants.

    The two men are originally from Myanmar and Vietnam and were being held in U.S. immigration custody. Their lawyers say they learned of the deportation plan after receiving an abrupt notice Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, the men were already on a plane along with as many as 10 other deportees, the lawyers said.

    The lawyers revealed these details in an emergency motion to a federal judge in Boston who has already forbidden the Trump administration from sending foreign nationals to so-called “third-party countries,” rather than their country of origin, without providing “meaningful” notice and a chance to raise concern about torture.

    That judge, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, has already intervened once before when the Trump administration seemed poised to deport people to Libya, a country that, like South Sudan, is mired in a humanitarian crisis. Murphy declared that summary deportations to Libya would “clearly” violate his earlier order.

    Lawyers for the Burmese man, identified by the initials N.M. in court papers, say he was originally slated to be on one of those flights to Libya, which they say were aborted amid national media and legal scrutiny. They also say the notice to N.M. about the deportation to South Sudan was provided only in English, apparently violating another requirement of Murphy’s order because N.M. has limited English proficiency.

    The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    South Sudan, a landlocked country in East Africa, gained independence from Sudan in 2011. It is the world’s newest widely recognized sovereign state. The country descended into civil war in 2013, causing tens of thousands of deaths and displacing millions of people. According to the CIA, the country remains plagued by ethnic violence and is facing a food crisis, with nearly two-thirds of the country’s 11 million citizens in need of humanitarian assistance.

    A March 2025 advisory from the U.S. State Department recommends that Americans not travel to South Sudan due to a high risk of violent crime and weak human rights.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:27 pm

  645. Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:27 pm

    Possibly related: The Big, Beautiful Bill has a provision to prevent courts from enforcing contempt citations.

    [I]n light of dozens of federal courts finding actions by President Donald Trump to be unconstitutional, some House Republicans are trying to do exactly that. A provision in the proposed spending bill would restrict the authority of federal courts to hold government officials in contempt when they violate court orders. Without the contempt power, judicial orders are meaningless and can be ignored.

    Dave (8207fc) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:38 pm

  646. Again, this is the actions of an authoritarian junta, not the shining city on the hill.

    I probably disagree with Klink 87% of the time, but I think we agree on this: Recovering the meaning of America from the aftermath of Trumpism is going to be a long road. Every single thing he does seems vetted for “most ugly.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:44 pm

  647. Sounds like a great 60 Minutes segment: the arrival of deportees to South Sudan. Assuming that any 60 Minutes people would go there.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:47 pm

  648. #631: does this help at all?

    No. Most immigrants don’t have a vacation home.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:48 pm

  649. This is just a pure blizzard of ploo. Everything is corrupt, every single thing, not a single policy, idea, proposal, is 100% designed to skim cash for sH and co.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 5:59 pm

  650. > Domicile has nothing to do with anything.

    Domicile was the necessary prerequisite to being a subject of the King in colonial times, and WKA uses that rule (that anyone domiciled in Britain was a subject of the king) as the basis for its interpretation of the birthright citizenship clause.

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:05 pm

  651. > Is there a Supreme Court opinion on what constitutes the domicile of parents who, unlike WKA’s legally present parents, are illegally present?

    “illegal entry into the country would not, under traditional criteria, bar a person from obtaining domicile within a State”, Plyer v Doe, 457 UA 202, 227. Plyer relies on a treatise, _Exclusion and Expulsion of Aliens in the United States_, which was published in 1912.

    This was a key point in the reasoning behind the precedent, although it’s a fair point that this precedent may no longer be valid or supported by the court.

    aphrael (0acbc5) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:12 pm

  652. Biden Did Not Get Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Before Last Week, Spokesman Says

    Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had never received a diagnosis of prostate cancer before last week, his spokesman said on Tuesday, pushing back against speculation that there had been some sort of coverup around the illness.

    The spokesman, Chris Meagher, also said Mr. Biden’s last-known prostate-specific antigen test, the most common way to screen for prostate cancer, was in 2014. Mr. Biden would have been 71 or 72 years old at the time.

    The new details help provide some clarity about Mr. Biden’s health records, but they still do not directly give an answer on why Mr. Biden was not regularly screened for prostate cancer throughout his presidency.

    Mr. Meagher did not respond to that question, and Kevin O’Connor, Mr. Biden’s doctor in the White House, did not respond to inquiries. But allies of Mr. Biden, 82, and medical experts point to guidelines that advise against P.S.A. screening for men over the age of 70. The guidelines vary slightly across different medical organizations, but doctors generally agree that men of an advanced age should not automatically be screened for prostate cancer.

    More:

    “It doesn’t surprise me that he wasn’t being screened because honestly the data don’t really support screening in someone that age,” Dr. David Penson, the chair of urologic oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the secretary of the American Urological Association, said about Mr. Biden.

    “Some people they worry and they have regrets and they’ll ask their doctor to do it and a lot of doctors will do it just because it makes the patients feel better,” he added. “But sometimes you find something that you didn’t need to find because they weren’t going to die of it anyway.”

    Dave (1c6f3d) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:35 pm

  653. Just look at where he’s sending these people. If they’re deportable, deport them. Sending them to Sudan is…not something the good guys do. Heck, it would be cheaper and more defensible just handing them $10k, and a first class ticket.

    But that doesn’t scare the brown people enough.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 3:03 pm

    Letting them in the US isn’t what good guys do. Excusing the policies that put them here isn’t what good guys do. Finding judges who will keep them here isn’t what good guys do.

    But, deport them. (LOL Where?) Hand them money and a ticket. (LOL To where?) What utter nonsense. Keep sipping your slurpee.

    lloyd (1cfb85) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:50 pm

  654. Dave (1c6f3d) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:35 pm

    LMAO

    Total BS

    lloyd (4ba9b5) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:51 pm

  655. Why? What the F does he thing he’s doing. Make America White Again? Vietnamese immigrants are rock-ribbed Republicans for the most part, given who the think lost Vietnam.
    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/20/2025 @ 4:27 pm

    It’s not 1975 anymore. Many Vietnamese who have arrived here in the past twenty years or so are from the North, and they think just like North Vietnamese. And the rock-ribbed Republican Vietnamese generally don’t like them.

    lloyd (4ba9b5) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:57 pm

  656. Everything is corrupt, every single thing, ̶n̶o̶t̶ a single policy, idea, proposal, is 100% designed to skim cash for sH and co.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:58 pm

  657. ‘You Seemed To Be Running Cover For The President’

    “Do you want to apologize to Laura Trump now?” Kelly asked.

    “I’ve already apologized to her,” Tapper said. “I called her months ago.”

    Since announcing his new book about Biden, Tapper has slowly begun to call out Democrats and admitted that conservatives were correct about Biden’s mental fitness. Tapper’s and Thompson’s book said that at one point the former president’s health deteriorated so badly that aides discussed putting him in a wheelchair.

    “She was totally right,” Kelly said. “When I watch that clip and I’m giving voice to what a lot of people watching the show are feeling, Jake, I feel angry because she was right. And not only did you not allow her to make her comments, but you seem to try to humiliate her.”

    “You had a hostility toward the position. But she was totally right. And then you lecture her on how she was in no position to diagnose cognitive decline, which you guys do at length, including on page four of your book. You describe at length his cognitive decline, which is all she tried to do with you,” Kelly added. “But you had such a visceral reaction to her. My feeling is that’s because you didn’t want to hear it.”

    And now he’s making money off it.

    lloyd (6276dc) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:29 pm

  658. Since North Korean refugees began coming to the United States in 2006, only 220 have resettled in the United States. In the last four years, the number of arrivals in the United States has declined. It is unlikely that the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration are much of a factor, because the number of North Koreans coming to the U.S. is quite small. The number arriving in the last four fiscal years is as follows:

    FY 2020: 2
    FY 2019: 1
    FY 2018: 5
    FY 2017: 12

    https://www.csis.org/analysis/number-north-korean-defectors-drops-lowest-level-two-decades

    Davethulhu (d3c86f) — 5/20/2025 @ 8:31 pm

  659. Joe Biden was not for Open Borders, he never talked about Open Borders, where criminals of all kinds, shapes, and sizes, can flow into our Country at will. It wasn’t his idea to Open the Border, and almost destroy our Country, and cost us Hundreds of Billions of Dollars to get criminals out of our Country, and go through the process we are going through now. It was the people that knew he was cognitively impaired, and that took over the Autopen. They stole the Presidency of the United States, and put us in Great Danger. This is TREASON at the Highest Level! They did it to destroy our Country. The Joe Biden that everybody knew would never allow drug dealers, gang members, and the mentally insane to come into our Country totally unchecked and unvetted. All anyone has to do is look up his record. Something very severe should happen to these Treasonous Thugs that wanted to destroy our Country, but couldn’t, because I came along. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

    Davethulhu (d3c86f) — 5/20/2025 @ 9:45 pm

  660. Dave (1c6f3d) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:35 pm

    So if a government official says something, it must be true? Or just Democrats. You know, like how Janet Yellen promised that Biden’s stimulus would not be inflationary.

    Kevin M (f62afc) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:00 pm

  661. Joe Biden was not for Open Borders, he never talked about Open Borders, where criminals of all kinds, shapes, and sizes, can flow into our Country at will.

    Donald Trump channels … me?

    Dave (85c1a7) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:04 pm

  662. abc, cbs and nbc parent companies cave to trump for $$$ Also wapo and la times soon many more. This is actually good as people will no longer believe in unbiased news media and see their crony capitalism in action! Russian saying Their is no isvetia in pravda and no pravda in isvetia! What they don’t want you to know is news and what they want you to know is propaganda!

    asset (7b70bd) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:12 pm

  663. So if a government official says something, it must be true? Or just Democrats. You know, like how Janet Yellen promised that Biden’s stimulus would not be inflationary.

    Where did I say “it must be true”?

    And do I really have to point out the obvious difference between a factual question about someone’s past medical tests, and an economic prediction about the future.

    There’s no evidence that Biden’s stimulus generated significant inflation, either. In early 2021, there was much greater concern about a possible recession.

    Dave (85c1a7) — 5/20/2025 @ 10:15 pm

  664. Many Vietnamese who have arrived here in the past twenty years or so are from the North, and they think just like North Vietnamese. And the rock-ribbed Republican Vietnamese generally don’t like them.

    lloyd (4ba9b5) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:57 pm

    Source?

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/21/2025 @ 6:15 am

  665. Source?

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/21/2025 @ 6:15 am

    The best source. Direct personal experience.

    But, all Vietnamese are the same? Tell us more, Rip.

    lloyd (b3697d) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:20 am

  666. Steve Hayes on Tapper-Thompson on Biden…

    In an interview last week, Joe Biden’s national security adviser claimed he was stunned to see his boss’ disastrous debate performance in June 2024. “What happened in that debate was a shock to me,” Jake Sullivan said. “I think it was a shock to everybody.”

    Seeing the president incapable of completing sentences and lost in a tangle of words may have been shocking for someone who routinely avoids the news. But it wasn’t surprising to anyone paying even casual attention to Biden over the past several years. And it certainly wasn’t a surprise to Jake Sullivan.

    On December 9, 2022, more than 18 months before the debate that would end his political career, Biden forgot the names of two White House senior officials. One of them was Jake Sullivan.

    Standing in the Outer Oval with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Kate Bedingfield, his communications director, he couldn’t come up with either of their names, according to one witness. “Steve …” he said to Sullivan. “Steve …” he continued, obviously struggling to recall Jake’s name. He turned to Bedingfield. “Press,” he called her, as he beckoned them into the Oval Office.

    I’m glad Hayes stuck it to Sullivan, the architect of that administration’s ridiculous “escalation management” policy with Ukraine. Tapper owned up to his lack of diligence, which is commendable, but there are too many in MSM who aren’t owning up. Instead, many are attacking Tapper.
    Granted, there’ve been the kiss-and-tell books from Trump’s first go-round, but I expect there will also be a reckoning from right-wing media in glossing over Trump’s diminished acuity and incurable malignant narcissism.

    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:28 am

  667. Granted, there’ve been the kiss-and-tell books from Trump’s first go-round, but I expect there will also be a reckoning from right-wing media in glossing over Trump’s diminished acuity and incurable malignant narcissism.
    Paul Montagu (2808d2) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:28 am

    LOL Paul. To find news accounts of “Trump’s diminished acuity and incurable malignant narcissism” requires that you just pick up your phone or step outside your front door. What the Biden cover-up showed us is that what right-wing media says or doesn’t say hardly matters to the chattering classes. But, keep hoping for that reckoning.

    lloyd (b3697d) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:38 am

  668. @665

    The best source. Direct personal experience.

    But, all Vietnamese are the same? Tell us more, Rip.

    lloyd (b3697d) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:20 am

    Anecdotally, all Vietnamese I’ve met absolutely adores the US. (makes sense, as they’re traveling here).

    But, they do say there’s a difference in personality from those who lived in the north vs the south. The further north you go, you *feel* more of the Communist remnants left behind the closer you go to China.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:39 am

  669. Many from the North are here because they have money, and they have money because they have government connections. Generally speaking. They are not pro US, generally. Again, my personal experience which I happen to have a lot of.

    lloyd (b3697d) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:47 am

  670. What is bestial and un-American is not whether the people are South Vietnamese or North Vietnamese.

    And neither is it whether they were sent to South Sudan or North Sudan or the French Riviera, really.

    What is bestial and un-American is the thinking that got them sent there.

    nk (ad712e) — 5/21/2025 @ 8:17 am

  671. Half-smart/all-nasty, the Trump government in a nutshell.

    nk (ad712e) — 5/21/2025 @ 8:21 am

  672. So, when does the NRA start judge-shopping district court judges to get federal injunctions against various portions of the National Firearms Act of 1934 and various similarly unconstitutional antecedents?

    Randolph Carter (977cef) — 5/21/2025 @ 8:47 am

  673. Many Vietnamese who have arrived here in the past twenty years or so are from the North, and they think just like North Vietnamese. And the rock-ribbed Republican Vietnamese generally don’t like them.

    lloyd (4ba9b5) — 5/20/2025 @ 6:57 pm

    Source?

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/21/2025 @ 6:15 am

    The best source. Direct personal experience.
    ……..
    lloyd (b3697d) — 5/21/2025 @ 7:20 am

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:00 am

  674. In other words, an unverifiable assertion.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:01 am

  675. @672

    So, when does the NRA start judge-shopping district court judges to get federal injunctions against various portions of the National Firearms Act of 1934 and various similarly unconstitutional antecedents?

    Randolph Carter (977cef) — 5/21/2025 @ 8:47 am

    Oh, it’s coming if SCOTUS doesn’t tamp down on this practice.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:04 am

  676. So, when does the NRA start judge-shopping district court judges to get federal injunctions against various portions of the National Firearms Act of 1934 and various similarly unconstitutional antecedents?

    Randolph Carter (977cef) — 5/21/2025 @ 8:47 am

    Oh, it’s coming if SCOTUS doesn’t tamp down on this practice.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:04 am

    Why would national injunctions against the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968 be a bad thing?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:09 am

  677. Reaping what they have sowed:

    ………..
    (FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino) set the record straight during an exclusive joint interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo over the weekend: Jeffrey Epstein, disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, had committed suicide.
    ………..
    Since the interview on “Sunday Morning Futures” aired, both Patel and Bongino have found themselves under fire by many in MAGA world who are not sold on the explanation. In a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday, Bongino had even appeared to indirectly address the heat from his personal account.

    “Always speak the truth, and you’ll never be burdened by the pressure of having to remember your web of lies,” he wrote in the early morning.
    ………..
    Shawn Ryan, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, said he wasn’t convinced by Patel and Bongino’s comments, explaining to ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he “dug into that and it’s just so spooky.”

    “I thought we could all sleep well at night now knowing that Epstein legitimately killed himself, right?” Ryan, host of the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast, joked.

    Emerald Robinson, a former Newsmax and One America News Network correspondent, said in a post on X on Tuesday that Bongino had become “soft” in his role at the FBI: “Now he’s telling us that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself! Blink twice, Dan, during your next Fox News interview & we will send a hostage rescue team.”
    …………
    One user on X posted that Bongino had “spent years spinning Epstein theories for clicks”: Now he reads one FBI file and suddenly it’s ‘case closed.’ Just a reminder: these people will lie to you for attention, invent conspiracies without evidence, and then fold like a cheap napkin the moment it hurts their current grift. It was never about truth, it was about selling you the outrage.”

    Another user published side-by-side videos of Bongino speculating about Epstein and urging people to “keep the heat on this case” to his Fox News remarks, asking “What do you think really happened to Dan Bongino?”

    And a different user posted: “I don’t think Kash Patel and Dan Bongino believe Kash Patel and Dan Bongino.”
    ………..

    The rank and file members of MAGAWorld™️aren’t convinced.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:26 am

  678. @676

    Why would national injunctions against the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968 be a bad thing?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:09 am

    Because forum/judge shopping for the express purpose for this…is chaos.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:10 am

  679. Why would national injunctions against the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968 be a bad thing?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:09 am

    Because forum/judge shopping for the express purpose for this…is chaos.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:10 am

    Obtaining national injunctions against these laws would be the greater good. Forum shopping would still occur whether national injunctions existed or not.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:28 am

  680. In other words, an unverifiable assertion.
    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:01 am

    LOL Rip, you really need to get out more. Your media sources aren’t verification of anything. See Jake Tapper.

    lloyd (fa0b9b) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:45 am

  681. @679

    Obtaining national injunctions against these laws would be the greater good. Forum shopping would still occur whether national injunctions existed or not.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:28 am

    I would love for those laws to be overturned.

    But, national injuctions are abused these days, such that I don’t want SCOTUS to tactically approve current status quos.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:51 am

  682. Pew Research:

    About half of Vietnamese American registered voters are Republicans or lean to the GOP – the highest share across the five largest Asian origin groups in the United States.

    Overall, about six-in-ten Asian American registered voters (62%) identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, and 34% are Republicans or GOP leaners, according to a Pew Research Center survey of Asian adults conducted from July 2022 to January 2023.

    DRJ (a84ee2) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:58 am

  683. Your media sources aren’t verification of anything. See Jake Tapper.

    lloyd (fa0b9b) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:45 am

    I have never cited Jake Tapper as a source, nor do I care.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:59 am

  684. I would love for (the National Firearms Act and the 1968 Gun Control Act) to be overturned.

    But, national injuctions are abused these days, such that I don’t want SCOTUS to tactically approve current status quos.

    whembly (26603f) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:51 am

    I’d take the risk.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 11:16 am

  685. Update to post 683:

    Your media sources aren’t verification of anything. See Jake Tapper.

    lloyd (fa0b9b) — 5/21/2025 @ 10:45 am

    I have never cited Jake Tapper as a source, nor do I care to. He’s a talking head and not a source on anything.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 11:18 am

  686. “Because forum/judge shopping for the express purpose for this…is chaos.”

    Randomize the forum by lottery (or create a random 3-judge panel). I heard this suggested elsewhere. Also, direct lower courts to tailor their injunctions narrowly to grant relief that is necessary but no more than that. Some cases should also go the class-action route.

    But let’s be frank. The problem is that Congress spent a century encouraging presidents to act as the nation’s lawmaker-in-chief. Now we have Presidents asserting unconstrained power with spurious claims of emergency (Biden with Covid and now Trump with the border). Heck, we have an administration that does not want the mess of a constitutional amendment or even a Congressional law but wants to unilaterally end birthright citizenship for millions of people.

    It’s awful in our Constitutional design that judges are deciding as much as they are….but our electorate appears content in neutering Congress…out of fear of political backlash…..and want a king as chief executive. The people ought to want better before they will get better….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/21/2025 @ 11:38 am

  687. I have never cited Jake Tapper as a source, nor do I care to. He’s a talking head and not a source on anything.
    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 11:18 am

    Source?

    lloyd (c45540) — 5/21/2025 @ 12:13 pm

  688. Randomize the forum by lottery (or create a random 3-judge panel)

    Pick a judge, any judge, in Seattle or San Francisco or NYC or …
    Or West Texas or Mississippi or Arkansas or …

    Kevin M (eec730) — 5/21/2025 @ 12:24 pm

  689. spurious claims of emergency (Biden with Covid and now Trump with the border)

    Covid WAS an emergency, at least when Trump was still in office. The actions government took may have been overbroad, but a million Americans actually died. You could argue that Biden milked it, but claiming it was a false emergency (as Trump does with the trade deficit [but not the actual deficit] -ed) is unsupportable.

    Kevin M (eec730) — 5/21/2025 @ 12:28 pm

  690. I have never cited Jake Tapper as a source, nor do I care to. He’s a talking head and not a source on anything.
    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 11:18 am

    Source?

    lloyd (c45540) — 5/21/2025 @ 12:13 pm

    Search my posts and you won’t find any links to Jake Tapper.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 1:03 pm

  691. Ouch!

    A federal judge on Wednesday scolded federal prosecutors and announced he will dismiss trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka related to a standoff at a migrant detention center.

    Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced earlier this week she would drop charges against Baraka (but at the same time announced new charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver stemming from a scuffle during Baraka’s arrest). Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa reprimanded the federal prosecutors for more than five minutes, calling the retraction of the charges “embarrassing.”

    “The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrying misstep by your office,” Espinosa said. “An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence.”
    ………..
    During Wednesday’s hearing, Baraka left the speaking to his attorneys, but he has maintained the charges against him were politically motivated and baseless. He released video footage last week that showed Delaney Hall officials allowing the mayor into the gates of the facility. The mayor said he left the center when asked minutes later, and photographs from the Jersey Vindicator appear to confirm that timeline………
    ………..
    “Federal prosecutors serve a single paramount client: justice itself,” Espinosa said. “Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas. Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth, and to the upholding of due process for all.”

    (Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich) said the office had conducted a thorough investigation and said they had decided to dismiss the case in an effort to “move forward.”
    ………..
    The reprimands did not go unnoticed. Baraka, on a hot mic after the hearing’s conclusion, reacted: “Jesus, he tore these people a new a–hole. Good grief.”
    ##########

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 1:12 pm

  692. Source?

    lloyd (c45540) — 5/21/2025 @ 12:13 pm

    Search my posts and you won’t find any links to Jake Tapper.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 1:03 pm

    You can start here.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 1:17 pm

  693. The plane’s new call sign is “Air Pimp One.”

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 1:31 pm

  694. Wrong thread.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 1:32 pm

  695. To find news accounts of “Trump’s diminished acuity and incurable malignant narcissism” requires that you just pick up your phone or step outside your front door.

    Way to miss the point. I was talking about your right-wing MAGA media owning up.

    Paul Montagu (619e39) — 5/21/2025 @ 2:24 pm

  696. United health paid nursing homes to NOT send sick patients to hospitals to increase profits. DU.

    asset (10e4e5) — 5/21/2025 @ 2:26 pm

  697. At first, the United States wanted to buy the plane. It was not clear to the New York Times how and why that became a gift. Qatar had been trying to dispose of the plane for several years. Some time back, they gave its twin to Erdogan.

    This is not really going to be cost free (inspection, retrofitting and how much it will cost depends on how much they do) and it won’t be ready till much before the planes bought directly from Boeing will be ready.

    Sammy Finkelman (f20799) — 5/21/2025 @ 2:37 pm

  698. The major stock market indexes fell more than 1% today:

    ………..
    A weak auction for 20-year bonds exacerbated worries about rising deficits in Washington and drove sharp declines for stocks and bonds, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 800 points and the 30-year Treasury bond yield to the highest level since 2023.

    Many investors have grown increasingly concerned about the Treasury issuance that could follow President Trump’s multitrillion-dollar fiscal package. On Friday, Moody’s Ratings stripped U.S. debt of its triple-A rating, citing the government’s towering pile of debt and kicking off a stretch of selling in Treasurys.

    Higher government deficits mean potentially elevated government bond issuance to fund the gap between spending and revenue, making some investors uneasy about how much of Washington’s debt Wall Street can absorb.

    The yield on 30-year Treasurys rose to 5.089%, the highest level since October 2023. Yields on 10-year government bonds rose to 4.595%.

    The S&P 500 fell 1.6% (-96 points), while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4% (-270 points). The Dow shed 1.9%, or 817 points. The declines were broad-based, with 10 out of 11 of the S&P 500’s groups notching declines.

    Yields have been edging higher recently because of fears of deficits and higher inflation, rather than a strong economy.

    “Rates are rising for the wrong reasons,” said Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James.
    ……….
    Bond yields have been climbing recently not just in the U.S. but also in Japan and Europe, two other markets where investors are anticipating wider deficits. That has added to the pressure on U.S. bonds. The rise in yields then gained momentum in the afternoon when the $16 billion auction of 20-year Treasury bonds attracted relatively soft demand from investors, selling at a higher yield than traders had anticipated.

    Demand for 20-year bonds has always been a bit soft relative to other Treasurys since they were introduced toward the end of Trump’s first term. That is reflected in their yields, which have consistently exceeded those of 30-year bonds.

    Any auction, though, is still seen on Wall Street as an important gauge of demand. And the disappointing results Wednesday reinforced concerns about appetite for longer-term Treasurys in particular.
    ……….

    In addition to the losses in the DJIA, S&P 500, and NASDAQ, the Russell 2000 fell 59 points, or -2.80%.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/21/2025 @ 2:53 pm

  699. Those dirty dems who attacked those poor ICE who were minding their own business violating the constitution left and right, shoving some old ladies in the back. Poor babies

    “The apparent rush in this case, culminating today in the embarrassing retraction of charges, suggests a failure to adequately investigate,” Espinosa said. “Your office must operate with a higher standard than that.”

    While charges against Baraka have been dropped, Habba has charged Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) with assaulting two ICE agents during the May 9 clash outside the detention center. Federal prosecutors argue that McIver attempted to stop Baraka’s arrest by pushing and grabbing Homeland Security and ICE agents. McIver has denied the charges.

    The charges against McIver will be dropped as well.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/21/2025 @ 6:36 pm

  700. Two dead in shooting targeting Israeli embassy staffers outside Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C.

    Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon confirmed the victims of Wednesday night’s attack, a man and a woman, were Israeli government employees.

    He said: ‘The shooting outside the event at the Jewish Museum in Washington – in which Israeli embassy employees were also injured – is a criminal act of anti-Semitic terrorism.’

    It is understood the suspected shooter shouted ‘Free Palestine’ as he was arrested, which is now being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

    ‘We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act,’ Danon said. ‘Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives – everywhere in the world.’

    lloyd (4e2c45) — 5/21/2025 @ 9:20 pm

  701. Justice dept. investigating accusation by high up democratic official whistleblower in biden adm. That family and inner circle were paid for access and to use auto pen for pardons. fox news.

    asset (5247f4) — 5/22/2025 @ 12:29 am

  702. Home Grown Left Wing Terrorist

    A pro-Palestinian gunman suspected of shooting a young Jewish diplomatic couple dead was filmed manically screaming ‘Free Palestine’ as he was hauled into custody.

    Footage emerged overnight of 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez as he was taken into custody after two Israeli embassy staffers were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC. Yaron Lischinsky and his girlfriend Sarah Milgrim were identified as the victims in the vile attack that was condemned by President Donald Trump. The couple, who were set to get engaged next week, had attended a Young Diplomats event before they were shot.

    In one image, Rodriguez is seen sitting calmly at a bench with one leg crossed over the other, while separate footage captures the moment he is hysterically hauled away while shouting.

    ‘Free, free Palestine,’ he shouts repeatedly as he squirms against the officers’ grip.

    The haunting pictures and images surfaced as witnesses described seeing Rodriguez ‘pacing back and forth’ outside the museum cocktail reception. He then approached a group of people that included Lischinsky and Milgrim and then shot them at ‘close range’ with a handgun, the Israeli Embassy said.

    Details emerged of the suspect’s background and political affiliations overnight on Thursday, including his reported membership of a far-left group.

    He’s believed to have been involved in activism with the Part for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and Black Lives Matter.

    In 2017, he participated in a protest outside the residence of then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel against the city’s bid to host an Amazon headquarters. The demonstration was on the anniversary of Laquan McDonald’s slaying by cops in the city.

    Rodriguez argued that Chicago’s effort to bring in the retail giant and the shooting represented systematic and racial inequality.

    Sounds like your typical lefty. Is he handsome like Luigi?

    lloyd (4e2c45) — 5/22/2025 @ 6:06 am

  703. I haven’t the time to aggregate all the stories about how horrible it is that law enforcement is wearing masks to arrest these lunatics. The left claims that it is part of the tyranny and now anyone can wear a mask and arrest anyone and steal underwear and profit, etc.

    The administration claims it is to protect the agents from nutjobs. Congressional Democrats aren’t convinced as evidenced by their comments in the recent hearings.

    Maybe Jake Tapper will get to the bottom of this

    BuDuh (599ae3) — 5/22/2025 @ 6:31 am

  704. What is it about leftism that promotes assassinations?

    NJRob (e2bb35) — 5/22/2025 @ 7:09 am

  705. The Butler, PA shooter was a registered Republican.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 7:17 am

  706. Paul, Shh you’ll confused him facts.

    Time123 (0412d8) — 5/22/2025 @ 7:30 am

  707. The Butler, PA shooter was a registered Republican.
    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 7:17 am

    Paul and Time, what was the Butler assassin’s motive?

    lloyd (180daa) — 5/22/2025 @ 7:36 am

  708. Registered doesn’t mean squat. You claim to be a Republican.

    By their actions ye shall know them.

    NJRob (e2bb35) — 5/22/2025 @ 7:48 am

  709. Lloyd, you have google, feel free to research the shooter.

    Time (7a50d4) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:05 am

  710. @708, I used to be a republican, donated time and money, voted for them by default unless there was a good reason not to. Now I’m just a small government, church going conservative who’s taking his son to the range tomorrow to shoot .22 who has no political party to represent me.

    NJRob, you, and people like you have convinced me that it’s not just my objections to Trumpism, but that the average GOP voter doesn’t want me in their party anymore. Small government, fiscal discipline, and family values aren’t primary objectives of the modern Republican Party. They’re secondary at best.

    Time (7a50d4) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:15 am

  711. You don’t believe in small government or family values. You support the leftist establishment of their values on society and pushing those evils at the force of law.

    Carry on with your foolish games and supporting leftist politicians while pretending otherwise.

    Your virtue signaling is noted.

    NJRob (e2bb35) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:18 am

  712. https://www.campusreform.org/article/students-reportedly-pelted-feces-riley-gaines-event-university-washington/27971

    University of Washington protestors reportedly threw “literal human feces” at a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) students as they were checking in attendees for an event featuring conservative activist Riley Gaines.

    95 participants attended the May 6 event, called “The Fight is Far From Over,” and more than 90 others protested the session outside, according to Daily UW.

    Gaines posted on X later that day that protesters at the university were chanting “God is trans,” later updating her post to allege that demonstrators had thrown “[l]iteral human feces” at students checking participants into the event.

    More dehumanizing treatment from leftists. Ignore the trend at your own peril.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:29 am

  713. Registered doesn’t mean squat. You claim to be a Republican.

    Your denial that you right-wingers are incapable of committing politically-motivated murder is consistent with the rest of your whacked and delusional right-wing anti-conservative dogma.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:42 am

  714. NJRob’s on a quest to ensure that only True Scotsman are in his political party.

    Time123 (0412d8) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:51 am

  715. Lloyd, you have google, feel free to research the shooter.
    Time (7a50d4) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:05 am

    LMAO

    Anything to avoid answering.

    Anyway, google says he contributed to ActBlue the day Biden was inaugurated. Sounds like someone motivated by his Republicanism. As usual, you and Paul are in total command of the facts.

    lloyd (0ae0cf) — 5/22/2025 @ 8:58 am

  716. https://freebeacon.com/campus/from-million-dollar-homes-to-radical-activism-these-posh-private-school-alumni-were-among-the-arrested-columbia-and-barnard-students/

    Rich kids indoctrinated into leftist lies that then cause terror on campus.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:01 am

  717. I didn’t say incapable moron, you did.

    It’s clear that most of the violence today comes from the left and it’s increasing exponentially. Ignore the truth at your peril.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:02 am

  718. Rob, you wouldn’t know truth if it smacked your ass with a banjo. All you do is silo right-wing talking points and engage in stupidly gross hyperbole.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:06 am

  719. Lloyd, your ability to thoroughly research, weave together various facts ans arrive at a likely conclusion well supported by evidence is a sight to behold. In the face of your natural ability, I doubt any information I provide will help increase your understanding.

    Time123 (0412d8) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:12 am

  720. Paul, go easy on him. I get a strong impression that most of his understanding of the world around him comes from these sites.

    Time123 (0412d8) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:14 am

  721. From the ADL…

    All the extremist-related murders in 2024 were committed by right-wing extremists of various kinds, with eight of the 13 killings involving white supremacists and the remaining five having connections to far-right anti-government extremists. This is the third year in a row that right-wing extremists have been connected to all identified extremist-related killings. This trend has also been interrupted by the New Orleans attack.

    And also interrupted by last night’s attack.
    We’re all human beings, so we’re all capable of great achievements and also of committing unspeakable acts, and the right-wing is not exempt. All this whining and grievance-airing is really tiresome, especially since the Trump GOP now runs the show.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:16 am

  722. Time123 (0412d8) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:12 am

    LOL

    There is no leftist talking point you won’t reflexively defend.

    lloyd (f466af) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:25 am

  723. Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:16 am

    No Paul, the right wing is not exempt. As for the left wing, it’s only exempt here, mostly by you and Time123.

    Rob and I call out the left after the lated 86’ing, and you and Time jump to defend. LOL

    lloyd (f466af) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:29 am

  724. whatabout, whatabout, whatabout

    lloyd (f466af) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:31 am

  725. It’s just their shtick lloyd. They moby for mobying sake. Paulie used to do it on other sites under other names and I’m sure he still does. Time probably does the same. It’s how they get their jollies. But everyone knows what they are. If it wasn’t them it’d be another group of trolls.

    They are on the same level as the Lincoln Project. But the Lincoln Project gets paid for their lies.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:39 am

  726. Could’ve sworn Luigi’s extremist murder was in 2024. Somehow that was missed. Guess when you have to lie you need to exclude the truth.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:44 am

  727. Lloyd, what do you think I was defending? I’m not trying to pick on you, I genuinely curious what you thought my point was.

    Time (7a50d4) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:44 am

  728. Lloyd, what do you think I was defending?

    Try googling it.

    lloyd (0429a2) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:01 am

  729. Failure to launch (Sad!):

    ………
    During a launching event at the northeastern port of Chongjin (in North Korea) on Wednesday, the newly built 5,000-ton-class destroyer became unbalanced and was punctured in its bottom sections after a transport cradle on the stern section slid off first and became stuck, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. KCNA didn’t provide details on what caused the problem, the severity of the damage or whether anyone was injured.

    According to KCNA, Kim, who was present at the ceremony, blamed military officials, scientists and shipyard operators for a “serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism.” Kim called for a ruling Workers’ Party meeting slated for late June to address their “irresponsible errors.”

    “It’s a shameful thing. But the reason why North Korea disclosed the incident is it wants to show it’s speeding up the modernization of its navy forces and expresses its confidence that it can eventually build” a greater navy, said Moon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University.

    Moon suspected the incident likely happened because North Korean workers aren’t yet familiar with such a large warship and were rushed to put it in the water.
    ……….
    State media described that ship as designed to carry weapons systems including nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. Kim said the ship was expected to enter active duty early next year and later supervised test-firings of missiles from the warship.

    Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the damaged vessel was likely equipped with similar systems and remains toppled over in the sea. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC appeared to show the vessel rolled onto its side, positioned diagonally from the dock, with most of its hull submerged and draped in blue covers.
    ………..
    A report by the North Korea-focused 38 North website assessed last week that the destroyer in Chongjin was being prepared to be launched sideways from the quay, a method that has been rarely used in North Korea. The report said the previous destroyer launched at the western shipyard of Nampo, in contrast, used a floating dry dock.
    ………..
    Kim has framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the United States and South Korea, which have been expanding joint military exercises in response to the North’s advancing nuclear program. In April, the U.S. military flew long-range B-1B bombers over the Korean Peninsula in joint exercise with the South, in a show of force against North Korea days after Kim’s powerful sister vowed to resist a U.S.-led push to eliminate the Pyongyang’s nuclear program

    He says the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine would be his next big step in strengthening the North Korean navy.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:03 am

  730. Ah well. If google might work I would have. Wanted to understand what you were thinking better. But you’re under no obligation answer my question.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:03 am

  731. Yeah Time123, I wanted to understand your thinking as well. Too bad you weren’t up for it, and actually chose to be an ass about it.

    lloyd (0429a2) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:07 am

  732. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/19/2025 @ 5:54 pm

    More recusals at the Supreme Court:

    The Supreme Court on Thursday morning left in place a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejecting an effort by a Catholic virtual charter school to become the country’s first religious charter school. In an unsigned one-sentence order, the justices indicated that, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused from the case, they had divided 4-4. The order did not indicate how any of the justices voted. That tie means the state supreme court’s opinion remains good law, although it is binding only in Oklahoma and does not have nationwide effect.

    Barrett did not state why she did not participate in the case. But the charter school was represented at the Supreme Court by the religious liberty clinic at Notre Dame’s law school, where Barrett taught for 15 years before becoming a federal judge and later a justice. And Nicole Stelle Garnett, who is a law professor at Notre Dame and a leading advocate for allowing the use of public funds at religious schools, is a close friend of Barrett’s. Barrett is godmother to one of Garnett’s children.

    The dispute began in 2023, when Oklahoma’s charter school board approved an application by the archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the diocese of Tulsa to create a virtual Catholic charter school, St. Isidore of Seville, named after the patron saint of the internet. The school was intended to be an explicitly religious one that would participate in “the evangelizing mission of the church.” The school’s contract with the charter school board specifically allowed the school to freely exercise its religious beliefs.

    Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general, went to the state supreme court, asking it to invalidate the charter school board’s contract with St. Isidore.

    The state supreme court granted that request. Because St. Isidore is a public school, it concluded, state laws require it to be non-sectarian. That mandate, it added, is consistent with both the state and federal constitution, which bar the state from “using public money for the establishment of a religious institution.”

    The school and the charter school board came to the Supreme Court last fall, asking the justices to take up their case and reverse the state court’s ruling.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:14 am

  733. @731, my thinking was that attributing his attack on trump to partisan motivation was a stupid conclusion given the known facts, but that arguing about it as this point is a complete waste of time. So I suggested you research what was now about his motivations. You found a fact that supported your priors and stopped.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:19 am

  734. The Senate passed a resolution of disapproval today, regarding the EPA waiver that allowed CA and other states to impose EV mandates. Opponents were painting this as voting to overturn those mandates, but it was really overturning the waiver, which is a federal regulatory act.

    Good so far. Now, if the GOP really wants to make inroads into California, strike down the waiver that allows CA to use an alternative fuel to the federal Reformulated Gasoline standard that the Clean Air Act requires smoggy areas to use. In Chicago and NYC it sells for $1.50/gallong less than in L.A.

    Drop CA gas prices and a LOT of voters will thank them.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/22/2025 @ 10:32 am

  735. White House purges transcripts of Trump’s remarks from its website

    WASHINGTON — The White House has removed official transcripts of President Donald Trump’s public remarks from its government website, replacing them with selected videos of his public appearances.

    As recently as Sunday, transcripts of Trump’s speeches and comments were still showing up in the “Remarks” section of WhiteHouse.gov. The next day, they were gone, snapshots of the site from an internet archive show. The only transcript appearing now is of Trump’s inaugural address on Jan. 20.

    Government stenographers are still recording and transcribing Trump’s remarks, a White House official said. But in an internal policy change in recent days, the White House took down the transcripts in favor of audio and video of his appearances.

    Advertisement
    The idea behind the move is that people will get a fuller and more accurate sense of Trump by watching and listening to him as opposed to reading a transcript, which they may not be inclined to do anyway, the official said. Purging the transcripts and switching to audio and video of Trump’s remarks was intended to create “consistency” across the website, the official said.

    “In an effort to maintain consistency, previous transcripts that were available have been removed and replaced with the audio and visual components of that transcript,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The White House continues to work to upload the multitude of public engagements that the president has done and will continue to make sure that the website consists of a full and complete representation of the president’s public comments.”

    In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The president’s remarks are live on the website for every person in the world, including journalists, to access and watch for themselves. The Trump White House is the most transparent in history.”

    Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance’s office continues to make public transcripts of his remarks, sending them out to the media. Since last month, Vance’s office has shared eight transcripts with reporters, including his comments at a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a speech he gave about U.S. manufacturing and another one that involved the war between Russia and Ukraine.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (9dbb75) — 5/22/2025 @ 11:10 am

  736. “All you do is silo right-wing talking points and engage in stupidly gross hyperbole.”

    “I doubt any information I provide will help increase your understanding.”

    It’s almost as if interaction is pointless. There needs to be more respect and shared understanding of the world for good faith discussions. The whole point of “some” here is to trigger and annoy. It’s sad really…..

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/22/2025 @ 11:12 am

  737. Did you see my attempt to discuss legal matters based off of the merits of the arguments presented to SCOTUS, AJ?

    I really tried for civil engagement but some here were not going to have that.

    It is sad.

    BuDuh (599ae3) — 5/22/2025 @ 11:36 am

  738. BuDuh did exactly that and didn’t get a much engagement

    AJ, I’m guilty here. I don’t have much respect for Lloyd and I should probably just ignore him rather than egg him on.

    I enjoy talking with Rob, it’s a useful window into the way a large chunk of the republican base thinks.

    Thank you for calling me out on my rudeness.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 12:04 pm

  739. BuDuh, Your comment wasn’t ignored, it just didn’t get as much engagement as you’d like, or entirely the kind that you wanted. But it did spark some conversation that was polite and productive. I’d encourage you to keep trying

    You can throw some sharp elbows, and it’s likely that some of the regulars here will interpret things you say in that context. So they may be looking less to engage with your idea than to engage with you by trading barbs and insults, and jokes, that they can argue don’t *quite* violate the site rules.

    So please keep up the new approach. I enjoy it more than the previous, even if your most recent conversation starter wasn’t one I had much to add to.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 12:16 pm

  740. Did you see my attempt to discuss legal matters based off of the merits of the arguments presented to SCOTUS, AJ?

    The merits of Trump’s birthright can EO were never briefed ((or discussed) by the principal litigants in the case. Outside parties may have discussed the merits, but for the most part they will be ignored.

    Rip Murdock (86e39a) — 5/22/2025 @ 12:30 pm

  741. As for the left wing, it’s only exempt here, mostly by you and Time123.

    lloyd, you already lost the argument. There’s no point resorting to lying.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 12:58 pm

  742. It’s a long read, but a well-supported one, on the distinctions between traditional conservatism and the Trumpist Right-Wing, which Jonah calls the latter “the New Right”, which decidedly isn’t conservative, not when the Reagan Three-Legged Stool is chopped up for firewood by this “New Right”.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:03 pm

  743. Your comment wasn’t ignored

    Who said it was ignored?

    BuDuh (599ae3) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:25 pm

  744. Thanks Time for the suggestions. I also would like to applaud you for actually taking the time to read what I write so incorrect assumptions don’t cloud the conversations anymore. The think your new approach is just as helpful. 👍

    BuDuh (599ae3) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:28 pm

  745. BuDuh My request for a new start was sincere. I appreciate that you’re taking what I say with a presumption of good intent.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:33 pm

  746. @742, sounds good but I don’t have a subscription.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:34 pm

  747. ICE Barbie sent Harvard a letter today, revoking the university’s ability to enroll international students.

    Any existing foreign students will have to transfer to different universities or have their visas revoked.

    One of the ridiculous demands made by the Palestinian demonstrators at my university last year was that the university should stop admitting students from Israel. Apparently the Trump administration will force Harvard to accede to that demand.

    Dave (2e7645) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:46 pm

  748. Time (cf931f) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:34 pm

    I thought this one wasn’t behind a paywall. About half of their stuff is free access.

    Paul Montagu (109343) — 5/22/2025 @ 1:47 pm

  749. With AllahNick, Kevin Williamson, and Jonah, plus lots of other great stuff, The Dispatch is amazing.

    Practically the last conservative site on the web (along with Patterico’s Dana’s Pontifications, of course).

    Dave (f8355e) — 5/22/2025 @ 2:12 pm

  750. Dana. Doesn’t pontificate. She deliberates.

    Time123 (bcbfbb) — 5/22/2025 @ 2:36 pm

  751. Vox Dana, Vox Dei

    Dave (f8355e) — 5/22/2025 @ 2:47 pm

  752. Murdered Israeli couple were attending event to promote Israeli palestinian cooperation on getting aid to children of Gaza.

    asset (3a06e2) — 5/22/2025 @ 3:02 pm

  753. For those who missed it, the May 21st oral argument in the US Court of International Trade in the case Oregon et. al. v. Trump, challenging the Administration’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/22/2025 @ 3:22 pm

  754. So apparently to Boomer in Chief used a picture of corpses that were over 1000 miles away in his discussion with the South African President. What a freaking embarrassment to our county.

    https://apple.news/AmFMGTJ4aQNKMHH-AKAbrHg

    U.S. President Donald Trump showed a screenshot of Reuters video taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of what he falsely presented on Wednesday as evidence of mass killings of white South Africans.
    “These are all white farmers that are being buried,” said Trump, holding up a print-out of an article accompanied by the picture during a contentious Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

    In fact, the video, published by Reuters on February 3 and subsequently verified by the news agency’s fact check team, showed humanitarian workers lifting body bags in the Congolese city of Goma. The image was pulled from Reuters footage shot following deadly battles with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
    The blog post showed to Ramaphosa by Trump during the White House meeting was published by American Thinker, a conservative online magazine, about conflict and racial tensions in South Africa and Congo.
    The post did not caption the image but identified it as a “YouTube screen grab” with a link to a video news report about Congo on YouTube, which credited Reuters.

    Time123 (0b86f6) — 5/22/2025 @ 4:54 pm

  755. This is a Trump EO that I can support.

    BREAKING: President Trump is set to sign executive orders boosting NUCLEAR POWER in the USA, easing regulations on approvals for new reactors, possibly tomorrow.

    He will do so by invoking the COLD WAR-era Defense Production Act, declaring an emergency over our reliance on Russia and China for nuclear deployment and to streamline processes to get them built – Reuters

    This is big.

    Paul Montagu (dfc26f) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:01 pm

  756. This is all the more tragic…

    8 years ago, a then 17-year old Sarah Milgrim was interviewed by local news after antisemitic graffiti was discovered at her high school in Kansas.

    She said she was already afraid going to her synagogue.

    Y-day, she was shot dead by a communist terrorist in D.C. for being Jewish.

    Paul Montagu (dfc26f) — 5/22/2025 @ 9:41 pm

  757. LEAVITT: Yamiche, what is unsubstantiated about the video? The video shows crosses that represent the dead bodies of people who are racially persecuted by their government. In fact, the Associated Press of all places, has a picture of that very monument and the caption from the Associated Press is, “Each cross marks a white farmer who has been killed in a farm murder.” So, it is substantiated not just by the video and the physical evidence that everybody saw on display in the Oval Office but by another outlet in this room, the Associated Press. So you should take it up with them if you believe the claim is unsubstantiated. And that’s a ridiculous line of questioning.

    Paul and Yamiche have a lot in common. Both try to muddy the waters and distract from the truth.

    Why is that?

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/23/2025 @ 5:03 am

  758. Colonial chickens with no place to roost.

    The black majority has been far kinder to them since liberation than they ever were during more than three centuries of looting, pillaging and destruction of the land, and enslavement, oppression, and murder of the native people.

    nk (802206) — 5/23/2025 @ 5:30 am

  759. NJRob, because the picture in question wasn’t from South Africa. It would be similar to asking the governor of Colorado what they were doing about violence in Mexico City.

    If the “truth about what’s happening in South Africa” is the point a video from over 1000 miles away, in a country SA doesnt’ boarder isn’t relevant, and trying to pretend that is is deceptive.

    Do you not get that? Or are you being dishonest on purpose?

    Time (cf931f) — 5/23/2025 @ 6:23 am

  760. Also I see Trump is making more empty threats about tariffs on Apple and the EU. Probably a good time to buy.

    Time (cf931f) — 5/23/2025 @ 6:29 am

  761. @755, I agree with Paul on this EO eventhough the means remain a bit sketchy. Still, the effective moratorium on building nuclear plants ought to end.

    AJ_Liberty (5af5e3) — 5/23/2025 @ 7:23 am

  762. Nk,

    your racism is showing. The Afrikaners living now are innocent victims.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/23/2025 @ 8:40 am

  763. Paul and Yamiche have a lot in common. Both try to muddy the waters and distract from the truth.

    The irony is that Leavitt was trying to muddy the waters, avoiding Trump’s lie about “burial sites” and spinning it into something else. She also added her own lie, that the dead white-skinned farmers were “racially persecuted by their government”. The land seizure law was enacted last January, so there is no connection (and certainly none established by Trump) between dead white bodies over the last 30 years and governmental racial persecution.

    Leavitt also referenced an AP photo, but Trump never presented such a thing to Ramaphoso. Instead, he showed a photo of violence in the Congo, not South Africa. The AP photo Leavitt talked about wasn’t the crosses along that highway but of a different place, known as the Witkruis Monument, where each cross represents the deaths of white and black farmers (totaling just under 3,000 in 2023), but Trump didn’t show that picture. Leavitt’s dishonesty goes from the tips of herperoxide hair all the down to the bottoms of her spike heels.

    I’ll also note that you conveniently left out Ms. Yamiche’s question…

    The president played a video that he said showed more than 1,000 burial sites of white South Africans that he said was murdered. We know that’s not true. Why did he show it?

    She paraphrased Trump’s comments accurately. It wasn’t a burial site, therefore there weren’t “over a thousand of white farmers” buried there.

    Paul Montagu (dfc26f) — 5/23/2025 @ 11:15 am

  764. Paul, what’s really sad is how badly constructed the lies are and how easily they’ve been disproven. I would have hoped after he won the White House he’d have more professionally fabricated disinformation. This is on par with his “THEY’RE EATING THE CATS AND DOGS” thing from the debate.

    Time (536aaa) — 5/23/2025 @ 11:22 am


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