Monday Open Thread

What's on your mind?

Comments

[Stephen Lathrop]

Two days ago The Guardian published what I think is a major story which got little notice. The Guardian published what looks like proof that the Regents of the University of Michigan have been paying large sums for private undercover surveillance of students who support pro-Palestinian positions. FIRE is apparently also aware of the allegations, and the University seems to have acknowledged at least some of them. Some students have suffered disciplinary consequences. There are allegations that this was done with involvement by the FBI.

Here is a link to the story:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/michigan-university-gaza-surveillance

[Dr. Ed 2]

I really don’t see what the issue is — UMass Amherst was doing this to me 15 years ago.

The only difference is that (a) it’s the left’s ox that is now getting gored, and (b) the left isn’t being as meticulously careful to avoid doing *anything* that is a violation of any university rule.

And why shouldn’t those of us who subjected to this, without anyone caring, now enjoy schadenfreude?

And as to FIRE, I told FIRE that this was happening, and they didn’t seem to care. So why do they care now?

Why do terrorists have more rights than loyal Americans???

[Dr. Ed 2]

No, I’m going to say this: When they came after me for quoting the King James Bible, I pointed out that the Koran was a lot more bloodthirsty and, by their standards, they needed to stamp out Islam.

I am GLAD this is happening because maybe now questions will be asked about the underlying mentality involved.

[Magister]

While one can easily see why FIRE would not care, I am curious as to what Dr. Ed 2 quoted from the King James Bible and in what context that caused “them” to come after him. I expect it was one of the various passages that threaten rape, directed at the women Dr. Ed 2 hates so much.

[Brett Bellmore]

Seems a bit self-contradictory. Furtively intimidating people, how’s that work?

“Among those who say they are being regularly followed is Katarina Keating, part of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (Safe), a local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.”

Ah. So U of M is investigating students in groups associated with a Hamas front. OK, that actually makes sense to do.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Bellmore — On what basis—other than advocacy against Israeli attacks in Gaza—do you allege connection to Hamas? Are Students Allied for Freedom and Equality controlled by Hamas, trained by Hamas, funded by Hamas? I don’t know. Do you?

If that group is not materially a part of Hamas, how do you justify secret law-enforcement surveillance based only on its advocacy? Fifty years ago it was a big deal when the Church Committee brought stuff like that to light, and laws were passed to get rid of it.

Now you say, “Bring that all back?” You seem willing to advocate for domestic secret police action on principle, without even any cognizable justification except prohibited advocacy.

[bye]

Then just say ‘No demonstrations at school while you attend this school”

[Brett Bellmore]

Students for Justice in Palestine

Deliberately obscure funding. A history of organizing violent actions. Praises the October 7th atrocities by Hamas. Puts actual terrorists in organizational positions.

Gee, I wonder why affiliation with this group would suggest to a school administration that somebody was sketchy?

[ReaderY]

It’s been pretty well established that that the large numbers of tents and other supplies that student encampments set up shortly after Oct 7 were not funded by the students themselves, and the fact that they were all uniform was not a simple coincidence. It’s also pretty well established that the talking points were remarkably similar to ones Hamas’ propaganda division planned for them.

[Don Nico]

“On what basis…funded by Hamas? ”
Stephen, I think that is the correct question.
That question is not answered by following students, but by following the money.
While I have my suspicions, like you, I don’t know.

[bye]

My reading is : this is Univ of Michigan guilt acknowledged. Either you allow demonstrations or you don’t. Really, you should not. You don’t go to riots to do your math homework and you don’t go to school to riot. SImple but conforms to reality

[Supremacy Claus]

Steven supports Hamas, it seems.

[not guilty]

In Khalil Abrego Garcia’s habeas corpus action in Maryland, the Defendants have filed what purports to be a Notice of Compliance with Preliminary Injunction and Request for Stay of All Case Deadlines. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.181.0_3.pdf Counsel for Abrego Garcia have filed a response. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.186.0_1.pdf

This response states, “In its latest act of contempt, the Government arranged for Abrego Garcia’s return, not to Maryland in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive to “ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” but rather to Tennessee so that he could be charged with a crime in a case that the Government only developed while it was under threat of sanctions.” Quoting Noem v. Abrego Garcia, 145 S. Ct. 1017, 1018 (2025).

As SCOTUS has opined, “A court may make an adjudication of contempt and impose a contempt sanction even after the action in which the contempt arose has been terminated.” Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx, 496 U.S. 384, 396 (1990).

[Dr. Ed 2]

This is unmitigated bullshyte.

[Commenter_XY]

This is almost comical. St Abrego is coming back, in chains. Yes, the serial wife beating, human trafficking illegal alien gangbanger is making an encore appearance in the US court system.

A duly constituted TN jury will try his sorry M-13 terrorist ass, and convict him. Then St Abrego will be deported back home, in chains. Maybe Judge Boasberg can bring party favors to see him off.

What a judicially caused spectacle (aside from St Abrego being an illegal alien who should not be here), a complete waste of time and money.

[Drewski]

You’ve written the best part of a novel gloating over his illegal removal and now it’s very fun to watch you get incoherently mad over his return. You’re so upset you’re losing your fluency at English.

You won’t score any troll points with, “Abrego Garcia is going to face due process under the law, how do you like that, libs?” That just means my side won and yours lost.

[Supremacy Claus]

The return of Abrego will generate $10 million in lawyer jobs in trials, defenses, and appeals. Do you now understand due process? The lawyers is the Democrat Party. They want 20 million trials of illegals, including of the agents of China, of Venezuela, of Cuba, of Iran, defenses, and appeals. They keep the ballooning of census blue populations, their tax sucking parasites, and generate $billions in worthless lawyer make work jobs.

[not guilty]

The Supreme Court said of Judge Xinis’s April 4, 2025 order: “The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” Noem v. Abrego Garcia, 604 U. S. ___, 145 S. Ct. 1017, 1018 (2025). DOJ attorneys thereafter squealed like Bobby Trippe that procuring the Petitioner’s return was impossible because he was being held by a separate, independent sovereign.

The return of Abrego Garcia shows conclusively that counsel for the Defendants in the habeas corpus action were lying through their teeth. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign deserves to be disbarred by disciplinary authorities in Arizona for lying to Judge Xinis and to other courts.

The DOJ’s obduracy and contumacious conduct gave rise to harm and expense to Abrego Garcia and his habeas counsel. Remedies for civil contempt may include ordering the contemnor to reimburse the complainant for losses sustained and for reasonable attorney’s fees. In re General Motors Corp., 61 F.3d 256, 259 (4th Cir. 1995). That remains true even in light of Abrego Garcia’s return. As the Fourth Circuit opined in In re GMC, supra:

The nature of the contempt proceeding before the court is compensatory in nature, and unlike contempt proceedings that are coercive in nature, “the termination of the underlying action out of which the contempt hearing arose does not moot the contempt proceeding.” Petroleos Mexicanos v. Crawford Enterprises, Inc., 826 F.2d 392, 400 (5th Cir.1987). This critical distinction between coercive civil contempt proceedings and compensatory civil contempt proceedings “rests upon the fact that the harm or injury that gives rise to the need for compensation continues unredressed at the end of the underlying litigation while the need for getting a party to act in the underlying litigation necessarily terminates when that litigation ends.” Id.

61 F.3d at 259, n.3.

[Brett Bellmore]

All the DOJ has to do is say, “We were directed by the Court to ensure that his case was handled as it would have been if he hadn’t been sent to El Salvador. Indicting him for multiple crimes IS exactly that: Had we not deported him, we would have indicted him.”

[Armchair]

Moreover, the DOJ can say that there are few legal mechanisms to get a sovereign country to hand over one of its citizens to the United States. But one of those that is well precedented is extradition for crimes. So, the DOJ used that mechanism.

[Michael P]

I wonder what the court really expected when it ordered the government to use all available mechanisms to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

The bare fact of Garcia’s return is far from “conclusive evidence” that the DAAG “lied”, but it is evidence. It could have been coincidence, for example…

But we all know what the Trump Administration is doing, and why they are doing it. That’s really all that matters.

[TwelveInchPianist]

“The return of Abrego Garcia shows conclusively that counsel for the Defendants in the habeas corpus action were lying through their teeth.”

How so? Which statements were lies? What is the evidence that they were lies? Be specific.

[Frank Drackman]

St Abrego in Vincoli, great name for a Church

[Armchair]

There are few good reasons for one country to “demand” another country hand over that country’s citizens.

But of those good reasons is extradition for crimes committed. That would give the US the right to demand Garcia be handed over, via the treaties it has signed with El Salvador.

Such an extradition for criminal behavior “facilitates” his transfer to the US.

[Sarcastr0]

You, 2 months ago:

“This is an extremely dangerous separation of powers doctrine that Ilya appears to be proposing. In short, does he actually believe a district court judge can order…

1. The President of the United States to demand a foreign country release one of the foreign country’s own civilians from incarceration?

What else can the district court judge do?

Can the district court judge order sanctions be made against the foreign country if it it doesn’t agree? Can the district court judge order the US Military take direct action against the foreign country?

Ilya is correct here…much is at stake. But in the very much the wrong direction.”

Not a problem anymore, I guess.

That a tool.

[Armchair]

You’re missing the rest of that statement, where I mention criminal behavior.

Selectively quoting is a form of misdirection.

[Don Nico]

What else is new?

[Sarcastr0]

I quoted your entire comment.
You had one other comment on that post, on a different subject.

https://reason.com/volokh/2025/04/15/trump-takes-big-step-towards-defying-court-orders-in-garcia-abrego-case/?comments=true#comment-11005063

Did you think I didn’t have the receipts?

[Dr. Ed 2]

What Federal agency investigates voter fraud?

If one had absolute proof that Massachusetts was registering people who don’t exist to vote, whom would a civic-minded person report that to?

[A Japanese Student]

“What Federal agency investigates voter fraud?”

Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

“If one had absolute proof that Massachusetts was registering people who don’t exist to vote, whom would a civic-minded person report that to?”

Massachusetts authorities, or the Civil Rights Decision, or the courts (assuming you have standing). (That said, why would registration of “people who don’t exist” matter in practice? If they don’t exist, they cannot vote or request an absentee ballot anyway.)

[Dr. Ed 2]

Someone else can vote in their name — MA does not require voter ID.

[A Japanese Student]

Well, I’m not familiar with the exact process for voting there, so I’m not going to comment. Another person from Massachusetts can explain.

My view still hasn’t changed – photo ID and voter registration are both unnecessary. They can register at birth, and if people move, the records transfer as well. You can’t get a registration unless 1) you are just born or became a citizen, or 2) you show a certificate from your previous jurisdiction.

[Michael P]

US governments don’t have specific registries of where people in the US live, or of all citizens. The kind of registration you suggest simply doesn’t exist here.

[Mr. Bumble]

“The kind of registration you suggest simply doesn’t exist here.”
Yet.

[Krayt]

I moved to the Netherlands for a while decades back. It was interesting to have to go register at two different government agencies. It was my understanding it had nothing to do with being a foreign national.

[ducksalad]

Depends on the nature of your “absolute” proof.

If the proof is merely that you know about someone who died or moved and is still getting a registration card, just call your local election office. They’d probably appreciate the update. They have a standard procedure for checking, which they’ll follow.

If the proof is that you uncovered the secret documents proving a statewide conspiracy to load the voter rolls with fabricated names, then A Japanese Student had the ethically correct answer. But first consider two things: talking about real conspiracies puts a target on your back; while talking about non-existent conspiracies puts you in a behavioral center. As a practical matter it might be best to just not talk.

If the proof is that you did your own “test” by successfully registering a fake name, my advice is to burn any evidence you have. Handwrite (no computer files!) a polite letter to the local election office, using the fake name, saying you’ve moved out of MA. Drive to NH and drop it in a public mailbox. Lie low and hope it blows over.

IANAL.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Anyone see the live Broadway telecast of, Good Night, and Good Luck? Any reviews from the commenters?

[Dr. Ed 2]

What’s not mentioned about McCarthy is that he was a hopeless alcoholic, even by the standards of the 1950s when a couple of beers at lunch was expected of everyone.

He was drunk, if you look at his face in the movies of his rants, you can see it.

And there really were commies — we know this from both the Verona project and then the Soviet archives.

[Frank Drackman]

And you know this how? It’s like me saying you’re an Alcoholic because most of your posts sound like the ravings of intoxication rather than garden variety stupidity. He died from Hepatitis B, at the time most commonly acquired from blood transfusions(which were often given as a “pick me up” the beginning of blood doping) rather than IV drug use as it is today(or can you tell the Senator was an addict also?)

[Brett Bellmore]

The Death of ‘Tailgunner Joe’ McCarthy

You probably want to take issue with something less well documented, than Joseph McCarthy being an alcoholic.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Can Frank say “cause of death ~18 months later?”

[Frank Drackman]

What an hour long Circle-Jerk, Anderson Cooper was positively giddy over George Clooneys suits, the chick playing Wershba Was pretty hot though, about as historically accurate as Oliver Stone’s JFK

[SRG2]

My mother watched it in England and was very impressed

[A Japanese Student]

Supreme Court of Japan was supposed to decide cases asking whether pawnbrokers are subject to interest-rate regulation. Appellants are the plaintiff-borrowers, and the appellees are the defendant-pawnbrokers. However, some time ago, they cancelled the oral arguments. Lawyers are speculating if the pawnbrokers unilaterally settled the case (by agreeing to pay the sum requested) to avoid an unfavorable precedent.

Is this permissible in the US? That is, in jurisdictions where the plaintiff must plead a specific sum of money (assuming that exists in the US), can the defendant pay that sum and seek to dismiss the case? (Rule 68 doesn’t seem to cover this, because the plaintiff cannot decline this in Japan.)

[Frank Drackman]

As the “Silent Partner” in an ATL Pawn Shop (and we’re still “Pawn Shops” here, not “Short Term Loans” or some other crap) I can tell you Jaw-Jaw Law limits us to 25% (a month) for the first 3 months, then 12.5% a month after that, but as the Silent Partner, if you and Si work out something under the table…….
I mostly stick with the Jewelry, (Hey, I’m Jewish), and it’s the old story, I’m a frustrated Jeweler, our Jeweler’s a frustrated Doc… I really just enjoy looking through the Loupes.

Frank

[santamonica811]

Can the usual Trump defenders jump in, in regards to his push to rename battleships? What strikes me (well, what strikes all of us, of course) is the sheer pettiness of it all. To rename the Harvey Milk is just mean-spirited and small.

Hegseth is quoted as “committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief’s priorities, our nation’s history, and the warrior ethos.”

If so, I think a fitting new name for the ship might be “Bone Spur,” in honor of Donald Trump’s own personal warrior ethos.

Trump is apparently not satisfied with pissing on the name of perhaps the most well-known gay military figure in our nation’s history. He apparently is also gunning (pun intended) for the Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Harriet Tubman, the Cesar Chavez, the Thurgood Marshall, the Medgar Evans (and many others). It’s like he also is determined to tell his new black and Latino supporters, “Yeah, you really should have known I didn’t have a lot of respect for you and for your history. Psych!!!”

Yeah, it will probably delight his base to take these honors away from people of color and from this gay man’s legacy. But at what cost? And is this the best use of Hegseth’s time? Couldn’t Pete be using this time more productively–either binge drinking or sexually assaulting young women? (Or both, he’s probably learned to multi-task.)

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

Ships can be easily re-named, should the opportunity arise. Maybe it’s better that they do concentrate on reversible actions?

[Stephen Lathrop]

ObviouslyNotSpam — I get that you can maybe later reverse a gratuitous assault on a public reputation, and that if the target was already dead, maybe conclude no harm was done to the dead guy. But isn’t it obvious that this case is about publicly asserting government bias against a disfavored class? Even if you reverse that later, members of that class have suffered harms that will not be made whole.

[Mr. Bumble]

Change that to government bias for a favored class to explain the original naming.

[Kazinski]

I just wonder why they didn’t name the ship the Moscone. Who was Dan White’s primary target. White met with Moscone in the mayors office and when the mayor told him he wasn’t going to re-appoint him to the supervisors seat White had just resigned about a week earlier, then White shot Moscone. Then when nobody rushed into the mayor’s office, I guess he just figured he’d go over to the other side of the building and take out Milk too. In for a penny in for a pound.

White never testified about why he shot Milk too, He said he was depressed about his supervisors seat, ate a bunch of Twinkies, when into hypoglycemic shock and the rest was a blur.

White only served 5 years, then committed suicide a few years later.

Harvey Milk may have been just an afterthought for Dan White, but he did get a bigger riot after White’s sentence was announced.

[Brett Bellmore]

It’s like… He thinks war ships should be named after people known as a bad ass fighters.

“Hegseth is quoted as “committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief’s priorities, our nation’s history, and the warrior ethos.””

So, it’s exactly that.

[Commenter_XY]

Can you imagine being the communication officer, Brett? How intimidating does this sound?

Comm Ofc: Islamofascist terrorist firing on US ships, this is the USS Harvey Milk. Surrender your weapons.
Islamofascist terrorist: Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Have another missile fired up your ass.

Woke stupidity invites aggression.

[Malika the Maiz]

We’ve been naming ships after non-fighters for a long time (one was named after then Senator Buchanan’s niece in the 1850’s).

[Don Nico]

It is a stupid practice, best abandoned.

[bye]

Brett, you aren’t on the ship, it doesn’t affect you, he is within his rights.

[Brett Bellmore]

I’m not understanding the comment: Did you get the impression I objected? About the only name change I objected to was the Harriet Tubman one, because she was a genuine badass.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Exactly what? An attempt to write out of the historical record people Hegseth and Trump’s base wish had not won their way into it?

[SRG2]

Does this mean that all installations named for Confederate traitors woll be renamed for :US heroes and military leaders? PR that is they’re not renamed, one of Trump[‘s priorities is to commemorate Confederate traitors?

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

I guess there won’t be any warships named after Hegseth, then…or Trump.

[Malika the Maiz]

At least he’s not sending mixed Signals on this issue!

[Drewski]

At least it serves to undermine Trump’s wild claims that we’re being invaded and LA is occupied by enemy forces. If those things were true then the renaming project would be an awful lot like playing the fiddle while Rome burns.

Of course they aren’t true and it’s just Trump pissing on everything to mark his territory. It’s undignified and wastefully expensive, but it’s in his power and ultimately Donald Trump was elected to waste money and make America trashy. Nobody thought the man was responsible or mature.

[DaveM]

“I think a fitting new name for the ship might be “Bone Spur,” in honor of Donald Trump’s own personal warrior ethos.”

When accusing someone of pettiness, it’s generally a good idea to avoid it in your charge.

[Krayt]

I don’t know why they want to rename the Cesar Chavez — he was a proponent of stopping mass immigration because it threatened union man wages. So is Bernie.

He should be ripped from Democrats’ annual honor and installed as a nu-Republican hero. His name should be on a ship upgrade!

[Kazinski]

With the ongoing insurrection in LA I don’t think its too early for the DoJ to start keeping track of what public officials should be prosecuted for engaging, fomenting, aiding and abetting the insurrection.

And of course who will be disqualified as “Senator, Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State”, after having been duly convicted by a jury of their peers.

[Commenter_XY]

Governor Newsome just might make that list. Wouldn’t it be horrible if he became the leading Team D candidate for president, and was removed from the ballot by a few states….That would never happen here. Yet, it did.

It will really suck when the rules Team D made are enforced by Team R.

[Kazinski]

I haven’t seen any lines that Newsome has crossed, but I did see one LA Council woman exhorting the rioters to ‘escalate the fight’, or something similar.

Keep in in mind that when Trump told the crowd to ‘fight like hell’, it was in the very early stages of the Capitol breech, and he couldn’t have known there was actual violence, since he had been speaking for about an hour, at a venue 30 minutes from the capitol.

But telling the people to keep fighting when there has actual fighting and rock throwing and arson going on for over 24 hours, there isn’t much doubt they are encouraging insurrection not demonstration.

Newsome hasn’t done anything like that.

[Mr. Bumble]

“But telling the people to keep fighting when there has actual fighting and rock throwing and arson going on for over 24 hours, there isn’t much doubt they are encouraging insurrection not demonstration.”
…and saying nothing?

[ThePublius]

Newsom has spoken out AGAINST federal law enforcement, and done nothing to quell the riots.

[Kazinski]

I’ll share my theory about what precipitated the Musk-Trump blowup last week. My theory is that the Tesla accountants finished their analysis of what the impact of the House reconciliation package and the end of the EV mandate would be on Tesla’s sales and profits going forward if it passes the Senate too, around June-1-2.

The House passed the BBB bill on May 22, the Senate passed the EV mandate rollback May 22 too, and it had already passed the House. Of course he knew what was in it at least shortly after it passed, what he wouldn’t know is the projected impact to Tesla sales and revenues. Elon is an eternal optimist, and the accountants are professional pessimists.

The first real shot came from Musk, on June 3rd: “Tensions began rising on Tuesday, when Musk blasted what Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill” as a “disgusting abomination,” surprising Republican leaders.”

Musk knew he couldn’t attack the EV subsidy and mandate rollbacks.directly, not only because it would look to self serving but als because it he’s Ben calling for cutting everything else.

We should be able to see if I’m right because in the next month or so Tesla will release 2nd qtr earnings, and while those should remain unaffected they will also have to release their guidance on projections for future earnings and profit and any potential impacts to the Tesla’s prospects over the next few years.

If its a big hit, I think that will pretty much confirm my theory.

[Brett Bellmore]

And my theory would be that Musk is genuinely concerned about the future of his adopted country, and understands that we either get the deficit under control in a fairly short term, or we’re screwed.

The problem is, he doesn’t understand the political dynamics that led to the deficit getting so bad, and get in the way of reducing it. Those dynamics need to be changed, not just ignored.

So he thought Trump and the Republicans were deliberately driving the country off a cliff. Rather than understanding that turning the steering wheel without fixing the power steering is pointless.

I expect them to reconcile somewhat (But only somewhat, they’re bot prickly guys used to getting their way.) as the political realities are explained to him, and then revisit this issue in a more productive manner.

[Kazinski]

The problem with that is that there is very little new spending in the reconciliation bill, and that spending is devoted to ICE and DoD.

A reconciliation bill by the rules doesn’t allow cuts of discretionary spending, only entitlements, and they did make substantial cuts there. And they cut out almost all the IRA Green tax credits, which are not technically spending.

When they “score” the bill they take not only what was in the bill, but all other spending and taxes that are already authorized and project it out 10 years.

Extending the 2017 tax cuts cost 4 trillion, and the net cost of the bill was 2.4 Trillion, meaning there was 1.6 Trillion in cuts on the OBBB.

Go ahead look at what’s actually in the bill, and maybe you can tell us what new spending you object too. There are obviously some objectionable things like the SALT restoration, but its not a big list.

[Brett Bellmore]

Ah, when you’re driving towards a cliff, not turning the steering wheel IS the problem, so Musk isn’t wrong to be upset with this bill. Just being politically naive.

[Joe_dallas]

The SALT cap coupled with the increase in the AMT exemption and the increase in the standard deduction was for most everyone a non event.

[not guilty]

A state prosecuting attorney in West Virginia, Tom Truman, has said in an interview on CNN that women in West Virginia “might be” at risk of criminal prosecution if they miscarry a pregnancy. https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/Tv/video/cnn-sitroom-pamela-brown-tom-truman-attorney-miscarriages-west-virginia

To be fair, Mr. Truman was not advocating such a prosecution, but his words are chilling nevertheless.

[Michael P]

There’s a history of bad lawyers misinterpreting laws like that, leading to culpably substandard care for pregnant women who then die — and their deaths are blamed on the laws rather than on bad legal advice and bad medical care, both by people who are opposed to the laws.

[Brett Bellmore]

There’s a political theory of “worse is better”, where you deliberately make things as bad as possible to build the support for “fixing” them by radical change. Rather than trying to do things as well as possible under the existing system, thus preserving it. Standard tactic in radical left wing politics.

[Sarcastr0]

It’s you and debt.

[tylertusta]

I remember the shutdown during the Obama years where the White House deliberately tried to make the shutdown as painful as possible to give the administration as much political leverage as possible. Things that didn’t require staff, like statutes, were gated off and closed to the public.

[Malika the Maiz]

There’s a history of lawmakers rushing to write poorly worded and vague statutes leading to the justified fear of potential prosecutorial overreach causing fearful doctors to hesitate to give pregnant women proper care who later then die — and their deaths are blamed on bad legal advice and bad medical care rather than the writers of the laws.

[Malika the Maiz]

“The Trump White House has repeatedly sounded an alarm about visitors with ties to China’s Communist Party coming to the United States, arguing that they are a potential security threat.

But the administration appears to have literally left the door open to a member of a Chinese government group when it went along with a plan to give the biggest purchasers of President Trump’s digital currency access to the president and the White House.

Mr. Trump launched a so-called memecoin, a type of cryptocurrency, just days before his inauguration. To bolster sales, the president’s business partners created a contest in April, offering the coin’s top buyers a tour of the White House and a private dinner with Mr. Trump at his Virginia golf club.

One of those buyers was He Tianying, who is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, according to government documents in China examined by The New York Times.

That government group, referred to as the C.P.P.C.C., is an advisory body that seeks to broaden the Communist Party’s influence and solicit support from influential people in Chinese society.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/us/politics/trump-crypto-dinner-china-he-tianying.html

[Michael P]

The Black Panther comic book reportedly has a new main character — and this one is a dude with blond hair and white skin. Supposedly he’s the son of the last Black Panther, which would mean either he’s adopted or the Marvel people don’t understand how genetics works. Either way it seems kind of dumb; this race swapping isn’t better than any of the ones that came before.

[Brett Bellmore]

I think you can explain a lot of what Marvel does these days by just assuming the company has been taken over by people who actually hate comic books, and despise their readers, and want to burn the place to the ground.

[Malika the Maiz]

This is funny. Stan Lee actually despised comics, he wanted to write novels but got sucked into the business reluctantly. But he put on a good act boosting Marvel and I guess it’s the act some people need.

[Brett Bellmore]

I could easily believe he didn’t like comics, but he wasn’t out to deliberately offend his customer base. That’s the key thing here: The joint is now run by people who don’t mind offending their core customer base, even if it hurts the bottom line.

[Sarcastr0]

Brett knows the comics market better than Marvel.

[Brett Bellmore]

Marvel has been losing market share to DC for a while now, Sarcastr0.

[Malika the Maiz]

How long is that while? Wasn’t too long ago when DC was slipping relative to Marvel?

https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/57320/dcs-market-share-continues-decline

[Malika the Maiz]

Comic writers are much more likely to think of themselves as artists now and artists tend to push boundaries. But I’d guess what’s more likely going on is trying to reach younger, more diverse customers.

[Malika the Maiz]

The son is pretty clearly the son of the man who the mother left for T’Challa and was then raised as the latter’s child. But in a world where genes cause people to turn into icemen or control the weather him being his actual son would not be the wackiest thing involving genetics there.

[Malika the Maiz]

“Robert Keith Packer opted to wear a black hoodie with a large white Nazi SS skull design – and the words “Camp Auschwitz” emblazoned above it – when he joined in the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Underneath that were the words “WORK BRINGS FREEDOM” − an English translation of the slogan emblazoned on the front gates of Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps, “Arbeit macht frei.”

On Monday night, in his first official act as president, Donald Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people for criminal acts committed in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, including Packer, 59, and some other reputed Nazi supporters.“

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/01/22/camp-auschwitz-jan-6-rioter-trump-pardoned/77884230007/

[Armchair]

And?

The affidavit makes no mention of any violent behavior by Mr. Packer. No mention of any vandalism. No mention of any assault on any other person. No mention of any theft. He apparently peacefully entered the Capitol. Then left.

I don’t agree with his choice of apparel, nor his views. But this is a free country, with people able to freely express themselves. I see no reason to treat this individual differently, simply because he was wearing a sweatshirt I disagree with.

What about you? If someone is engaging in disorderly conduct as part of a crowd…do you selectively go after those people who have a message you disagree with? Target them for additional enforcement?

[Malika the Maiz]

What evidence is there they selectively went after him?

[Armchair]

“What evidence is there they selectively went after him?”

They did not. But you IMPLY that because of the apparel he was wearing, he should have been treated differently.

So, I’ll reiterate the question. “What about you? If someone is engaging in disorderly conduct as part of a crowd…do you selectively go after those people who have a message you disagree with? Target them for additional enforcement?”

Is that something you believe in? Or are you going to back away from what you so clearly implied.

[Malika the Maiz]

I’m not implying that, just noting that Trump’s sweepingly stupid general pardon assisted some pretty bad hombres.

[Brett Bellmore]

No argument there: I’ve said that Trump’s J-6 pardons were too in indiscriminant. And the prosecutions that led to the pardons were, too: They were going after everybody they could find who’d even been near the Capitol that day.

One wrong doesn’t excuse the other, of course. But I think that the J-6 prosecutions were excessive, and corrective mercy was in order. But there should have been a lot more commutations and fewer pardons.

[Martinned]

I assume it’s also perfectly normal that the White House had Terry Moran fired for tweeting something mean about Prime Minister Miller?

[Mr. Bumble]

I thought he was suspended by ABC, his employer.

[Malika the Maiz]

At the urging of the White House.

Did Obama or Biden push outlets to fire specific reporters whose speech they did not like?

[Michael P]

Martinned is acting like the people who defended Dan Rather from those “pajama wearing bloggers”: it doesn’t matter who is right, it matters which clan they belong to.

[Sarcastr0]

How so? He seems to be objecting based on what happened not who did it.

[Brett Bellmore]

He seems to be specifically focusing on who did it. But not bothering to prove that the White House dictated this.

Reporting staff have not caught up yet with the new reality, that management want them to stop going out of their way to antagonize politicians and take sides in political fights. Management has decided that going out of your way to piss off half your potential market wasn’t a good business move after all.

[Martinned]

Reporting staff have not caught up yet with the new reality, that management want them to stop going out of their way to antagonize politicians

For the record, this is you agreeing with me that the White House got this guy fired for saying something the White House didn’t like.

[Armchair]

I would like to congratulate President Trump on his quick thinking in sending the National Guard into LA.

Violent riots have a habit of spiraling out of control, causing death and destruction. This often happens when the local police are outnumbered and overwhelmed. Rioters see they have the advantage, and push it.

By sending in the Guard early, it provides the appearance of strength in numbers, and makes it much less likely for rioters to push and overwhelm. It’s one thing to attack an isolated cop or two. It’s another to attack a hundred Guardsman. Deterrence of violence is critical here.

[Michael P]

In this case, it happened because the local police hardly even tried to help — and the politicians in charge of LA and CA wanted the police to stand down and stand by. It took police two hours to show up when a building was under siege.

[Malika the Maiz]

“local police hardly even tried to help”

They arrested dozens of people Sunday alone, they’ve used flash bangs, they’ve used choppers with surveillance equipment broadcasting to rioters that they have them on film and will come to their house to arrest them, etc.

[Don Nico]

But they did nothing on Friday, when ICE was trapped in the federal building. Clearly that was unacceptable to Homan who called for help.
But by yesterday, the LAPD was on hand.
Mayor Bass and Gov. Newsom let one fire get out of control in LA this year. It was prudent not to give them a second chance to let this fire get out of control.

[tylertusta]

I understand that feckless Democratic governance is essentially a trope these days, but even then, the national guard was able to deploy faster than the state and local cops.

Someone mentioned Grey’s Law to me a little while ago, and I think it fits here:

Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.

[Michael P]

They are still able to enforce anti-building laws that keep people from replacing homes that were lost to fire and mudslides. But for some reason they are just unable to enforce laws against the riots trying to achieve the same outcomes they support.

[Malika the Maiz]

It’s almost like building code enforcement and riots might require different kinds, levels, etc., of responses.

[tylertusta]

It’s almost as if the state and local governments initially didn’t want to shut down the riots because they agree with the rioters.

[Joe_dallas]

The kicker: CHIRLA, the group behind the current rioting in LA, “received nearly $34 million in revenue from government contracts during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, with 96% of that funding from the State of CA.”

Taxpayer-funded insurrection.
Quote
Laura Powell
@LauraPowellEsq
·
Jun 7
EXCLUSIVE: Taxpayer-Funded Nonprofit Behind the Anti-ICE Riots in Los Angeles.

Over the past two days, ICE agents have conducted targeted operations across the Los Angeles region, detaining more than 40 suspected illegal aliens. These enforcement actions triggered large-scale
Show more

[Malika the Maiz]

Citation to evidence this group is “behind the current rioting?”

[Swede425]

Other than to poke Newsom in the eye, I don’t think Trump should have deployed the NG.
That should be Newsom’s job.
But only after Bass admitted that her resources weren’t enough to handle the rioting.
That’s how this system works.
Why should federal tax dollars be used to stop LA from burning itself down? I don’t care if they do that, but I do care about having to pay to protect idiots/rioters from themselves.

[ThePublius]

How about protecting the federal agents trying to do their jobs, without the support of Bass, Newsom, or the LAPD?

[Joe_dallas]

Along with the riots funded by CHIRLA which is funded primarily by CA taxpayers

[Sarcastr0]

You saw a tweet making an assertion and it’s off to the races.

Any evidence of funding actually occurring?

Or is it common sense again?

[Joe_dallas]

The tweat had links showing the funding sources with lots of detail

You could do some basic homework

[tylertusta]

Why should federal tax dollars be used to stop LA from burning itself down?

What about all of those regular people who didn’t riot and just want to go about their lives?

Do we wash our hands of the millions living in the LA metro area because the state and local governments would rather everything burn down?

[Michael P]

One of the supposed libertarians here keeps going on (and on and on) about the superiority of foot voting over throwing the bums out when it comes to the problems of people living in shitholes. So in the interests of a small-government solution, we should just make sure that there are no regulatory barriers that keep those non-violent migrants from moving to the United States.

Oh, wait, maybe that only applied for shithole countries, not for shithole counties.

[tylertusta]

Fortunately for me, I’m not a libertarian. I’m a conservative. We needn’t allow American states to collapse into anarchy because we’re too scared to actually enforce the law.

[Swede425]

At what point is anybody else responsible for the decision that people make for living where they live?
Are these riots shocking because they’re unprecedented in LA?
No.
What expectation should we have, then, for “regular” people to wake up and make some hard, but necessary, decisions? Any?
Your life is not more valuable to me than it is to you.
So why would I act like it is?

[ReaderY]

The head of the Tennessee US Attorney’s Office in Tennessee, Ben Schrader, resigned rather than comply with orders to prepare a prosecution of Garcia, because he concluded there was simply no or insufficient evidence to support the charges, and charging him was politically motivated and had no legitimate legal basis.

https://tennesseestar.com/news/former-nashville-federal-prosecutor-ben-schrader-resigned-over-political-nature-of-kilmar-abrego-garcias-indictment-report/khousler/2025/06/07/

[Mr. Bumble]

So, one man’s opinion.

[SRG2]

Not all opinions are equal. Schrader’s is likely to be well-informed. Yours are generally worthless.

[Mr. Bumble]

If you say so, but that’s your opinion which I hold to be generally worthless.

[Kazinski]

Don’t tell me that you’ve stooped to quoting the Tennessee Star?

Now you have completely lost any credibility.

Sarcastro will be along soon to drop a link to a bias report.

[Michael P]

Political operative resigns for political reasons. News at 11.

[ReaderY]

The President has no inherent authority to call out the national guard on his own say-so. The Constitution assigns Congress the specfic power to provide for calling forth the militia for federal matters, and federal troops can only be used to protect states from domestic violence at the request of the state government. In all cases, the President has no autuority to act on his own. He can only act pursuant to either an Act of Congress or the request of a state government.

The Framers of the Constitution intentionally did not assign the entirety of the decision to call forth troops to the sole discretion of one person. The President can act only if another body authorizes it. He has no unenumerated “inherent” or “structural” power whatsoever in these matters. The entirety of his power is clearly laid out in the text.

[ThePublius]

That is simply not so, you’re making stuff up.

[Michael P]

So where do you suppose that President Trump has exceeded the bounds of, say, Chapter 10 U.S. Code section 12406?

[PeteRR]

So the guys running around fighting state and federal LE, while waving the flag of Mexico. Not an invasion?

[Michael P]

Hey, they’re masked up, so it’s not obvious to tell whether they’re aliens or not! It could be an insurrection or rebellion instead of an invasion.

[Martinned]

None of that happened, and even if what you say did happen, it still wouldn’t be an invasion, because it would be US citizens doing the “fighting”.

Happy to help.

[Malika the Maiz]

Yes, because that’s not what an invasion is.

[SRG2]

Is wanting someone to be convicted before they’re sent to prison defending that person’s behaviour? Obviously not, yet it seems that the cultists haven’t grasped this basic point.

[Malika the Maiz]

Due process is only for billionaire Presidents, white collar criminals and people who shoot brown people and claim self-defense.

[Michael P]

So how’s that pocket ace parliamentarian working out for the DNC?

https://www.lifezette.com/2025/06/democrat-civil-war-explodes-dnc-chair-threatens-to-quit-over-david-hogg-watch/

[Sarcastr0]

This is an article that quotes a daily caller article about someone in the DNC reportedly considering stepping down.

Not even Hogg cares about every morsel of inside baseball speculation that mentions Hogg.

But there seems a cottage industry on the right. And you seem the audience.

[DaveM]

There’s an interesting thread over on X about the funding behind some of the organized members of the LA riots. I think the author goes too far in claiming that the riots themselves were funded and organized, but it clearly is the case that some of the participants were organized and paid.

Generally, that’s not a “scary” or bad thing. No one has ever been hurt by the fact that people are holding up pre-printed signs. I worked most of my career in downtown DC, and watched organized protesters unload from busses and walk down to the Mall in their matching T-shirts for decades.

But the fact that this author was able to trace the bulk of the funding back to a single billionaire (Neville Singham) who has some rather interesting connections to the communist party in the US and to protesters at Columbia University, and that even the federal government had given them grants was pretty eye-opening.

https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/1931508083127362024

[Michael P]

That’s what the left calls stochastic terrorism, right? Not necessarily planning a specific act of politically motivated violence, but engaging in speech that is calculated to significantly increase the risk of such violence?

[DaveM]

I think being evil is too much like work for most people.

[Michael P]

I think exceptionally few people view themselves as doing evil. People who are criticized for being evil generally act out of strong motivations for what they think are worthwhile outcomes; they are strongly invested in achieving those outcomes, whether as a vocation, an avocation or both. Even Satanists at least make excuses along those lines.

[Brett Bellmore]

It’s not clear to me that there’s this hard and fast line between funding and organizing the riots themselves, and funding and organizing key participants in the riots.

If you organize a protest and it quickly becomes a riot, and you don’t call off the protest, I think it presumptively becomes the case that you were actually organizing a riot.

And then you look at the character of the organizations that did the organizing, and, frankly, that they’d set out to organize a riot does not seem like much of a stretch. You expect organizing revolutionary violence out of a group like the PSL, which outright advocates violent revolution.

[Martinned]

O, and just checking, is Trumpland OK with the police shooting at a camera crew reporting on the news?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-09/los-angeles-protests-day-three-national-guard-trump-newsom/105395112#:~:text=The%20US%20Correspondent%20for%209News%20Australia%2C%20Lauren%20Tomasi%2C%20was%20hit%20by%20a%20rubber%20bullet%20fired%20by%20an%20LAPD%20officer%20while%20reporting%20live%20from%20the%20scene%20in%20downtown%20LA.

[Brett Bellmore]

Wow. Not “Standing next to people doing illegal stuff in front of police is risky.”? You’re going with pretending they were deliberately targeting the camera crew?

[Brett Bellmore]

Trump also trips on stairs Nice recovery, though. Last time I tripped on the stairs I tore a muscle catching myself.

Frankly, if I’m still above ground at Trump’s current age, let alone climbing stairs under my own power, I’ll be doing well. But people his age shouldn’t be running the country.

[Martinned]

If only someone had warned American voters that Trump wanted to send the army after them!

https://www.aol.com/harris-plays-trump-clips-rally-010404802.html

[LawTalkingGuy]

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/09/nx-s1-5382447/federal-judges-workplace-clerks

Forcing clerks to drink and be social with you and your judge buddies is such pathetic loser behavior it should be impeachable. These judges should spend time with their family or get some real friends. They’re not in their 20s and the clerks won’t think they’re cool because they want to party. If they’re actually an alcoholic, calling a clerk to pick themselves up while trashed should be rock bottom and a sign to get some help.