Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[Kazinski]

3rd quarter GDP came out Tuesday, and was outstanding. Ok maybe that overstates it, it was just very good, but on top of 2nd quarter GDP, we are on a roll:

"Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025 (July, August, and September), according to the initial estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent."

https://www.bea.gov/news/2025/gross-domestic-product-3rd-quarter-2025-initial-estimate-and-corporate-profits

I will note that the 3rd quarter ended September 30th, and the next day the shutdown began. Its possible that the shutdown could affect 4th quarter GDP negatively, but I am skeptical. I am sure we all recall the exuberance, and sense of freedom and possibilities we all felt when a large section of government shut down. Of course there could be a little crashing of the sugar high at the last part of November when it reopened, but it was probably a wash.

[Commenter_XY]

Not to worry Kaz, all the economic geniuses who told us that POTUS Trump's policies would lead to economic ruin this year will be along shortly to 'splain things to us.

They're the same geniuses who can't figure out the difference btwn women and men.

[Kazinski]

I'm sure they'll tell us its because the tech sector and the billionaires are doing well, but that doesn't hold water when you dig down into the sector data.

[Commenter_XY]

For the 60/40 investor, it was a good year...~10% real return. That helps retirees, or near retirees very greatly. And pension funds.

[Frank Drackman]

I'm 95% into the S&P 500, which is up %17.48 for the year (but who's counting?) the other 5% is in an "Aggressive Growth" Fund, which as long as I've had it, has never beat the S&P) and my $100,000 in Gold Coins? (not so much, it's like 40 1 oz coins) Well they were $100,000 back in January, up 73% for the year.
What I'm really counting on is the 2 extra DJI Mini 4K drones I bought (new in box!!!)

Frank

[Joe_dallas]

fwiw - presidents get far too much credit and far too much blame for the economic cycles that have been around since the 1600's for which they have little or no control over.

The last three presidents whose policies can be attributed to poor economic cycle performance were Nixon, Carter and Roosevelt.

[hobie]

Leading the surge in GDP was spending on healthcare and prescription drugs. Not sure you want that to be the main cause.

I didn't see 'Spending to the Trump Family' as an industry group, though. If quantifiable, I'll bet it is in the top ten.

[Frank Drackman]

Actually I'd love to see you spending your Shekels on healthcare and prescription drugs.

[Michael P]

Look at this fan of death panels wanting to keep people from spending money on health care.

He can't even identify the biggest single contributor to the GDP increase (reduced importation of goods, not health care), much less distinguish between "the main cause" and "less than a fifth".

[David Nieporent]

Reducing imports does not increase GDP.

[Michael P]

Tell that to the BEA.

[David Nieporent]

I'm not sure there's anybody who'd be willing to work for Trump who understands economics, so that'd be a wasted effort.

[Kazinski]

Here's the quote from the BEA:
"The increase in consumer spending reflected increases in both services and goods. Within services, the leading contributors were health care and other services. Within goods, the leading contributors were recreational goods and vehicles as well as other nondurable goods."

"The increase in recreational goods and vehicles primarily reflected an increase in information processing equipment, based primarily on Census Bureau Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) data for all three months of the quarter.
The increase in other nondurable goods was mainly in prescription drugs reflecting Census Bureau MRTS data."

And what do you want to bet Wegovy and Zepbound and ozempic led.the prescription drug sales increase?

Drug Active Ingredient Q3 2025 Revenue (approx.) Manufacturer
Ozempic Semaglutide ~$4.7 billion Novo Nordisk
Wegovy Semaglutide ~$3.1 billion Novo Nordisk
Mounjar Tirzepatide (Triple-digit YoY growth) Eli Lilly
Zepboun Tirzepatide (Triple-digit YoY growth)

[BrotherMovesOn]

https://youtu.be/lCpXMy5GalI?si=GTrb3llZIrla-9pY

.

[Kazinski]

Judge Beryl Howell (D Obama) gave Trump a medium sized win Tuesday upholding the 100k H1b visa fee.

"Howell said Congress gave presidents authority “with a red ribbon on it” to block entry on foreign nationals, including the capacity to “impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions to be appropriate.”

“The lawfulness of the Proclamation and its implementation rests on a straightforward reading of congressional statutes giving the President broad authority to regulate entry into the United States for immigrants and nonimmigrants alike,” Howell, an appointee of Barack Obama, wrote in a 56-page decision.

She said she was compelled to rule in the administration’s favor due to how Congress had written two parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act: “Congress could have, but did not, impose the limit on presidential authority that plaintiffs’ urge.”"

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/23/judge-ruling-trump-h1b-visa-fee-00705670

I think the 100k visa fee is a good compromise, allowing corporations to bring in exceptional foreign workers, but not use the H1b system to bring in lower paid tech workers, with limited options for advancement or ability to accept employment from other firms, in an almost peonage system.

This will help too:
"Howell’s ruling came the same day that the Department of Homeland Security finalized a regulation that would overhaul the lottery system used to allocate H-1B visas when demand from employers exceeds the number available under the cap. The new process will be weighted toward higher earners in a given field, rather than granting each applicant the same odds."

[Dr. Ed 2]

I don't like the emphasis on bringing in teacher.

That will inherently mean BIPOC immigrants who maybe can *spell* "teacher", maybe even in English....

Latest scandal -- Mayor of Lawrence, MA can't speak English.

[Frank Drackman]

Mayor who can't speaka da Ing-lace??
Boy, Dr. Ed 2, talk about Glass Houses....
and did you mean bringing in "Teachers"???
or are you making an "It's a Wonderful Life" reference

"Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."
Tried to talk Mrs. Drackman into naming our older daughter "Zuzu", No Shirt, No Shoes, No Dice,
"Zuzu" and she'd be getting noticed, OK, maybe not in a good way, instead she became one of the millions of "Jennifer/Ashlee/Caitlins" of the 90's (not gonna tell you creeps her real name) and a few years later we had a "Zoe/Taylor/Hannah" to complete the set and make our small contribution against the decline of Judeo-Christian Amurica.

Frank

[Michael P]

Please won't anyone spare a moment of thought for all the Jadens, Aidens, Kaydens, Braedens and Haydons?

[Frank Drackman]

When they'd have "Slumber Parties" (Nice thing about being married with daughters, you can have a giggle of teen girls over at your house and it's legal) it was like that scene in "Goodfellas" with all the Italian girls named Maria,
"Let's see, there's Ashley, Ashlee, Britney, Brittany, Meghan and Megan, Amanda, Mandy, Andrea, and Courtney, and oh, there's the other Ashli (Black) and poor Ruth standing alone as usual"

Frank

[Dr. Ed 2]

"Teacher" is a job category and singular, "Teachers" are those who do it.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I am incensed -- Jeffery Epstein mails a letter two days after he is dead, and somehow manages to do so without putting his inmate number on it?!? And the handwriting doesn't match?

The FBI concludes its a hoax -- and releases it ANYWAY?

This is bullshyte -- unmitigated bullshyte -- and FiretrUCK the media.
They are nothing but fascist propagandists -- "punch a fascist" -- OK, PUNCH A REPORTER....

The New York Slimes did produce one interesting fact (without realizing it) -- If Epstein "needed" to have "three orgasms a day" then it is increasingly likely that he did (accidentally) hang himself. It's called auto-erotic asphyxiation and the oxygen starvation is supposed to increase the pleasure of masturbation.

I know about this because college kids die from it, and we have to then cover it up, but I digress. No sex in his cell, "needing" to do it 3 times a day, do the math....

And PUNCH A REPORTER.
Maybe that is what it will take....

[hobie]

This where lying about EVERYTHING is gonna backfire, Ed. How can we trust the DOJ when they say the letter is fake?

[Dr. Ed 2]

You can use your common sense -- if you have any.

Ever seen a dead man mail a letter?

Ever see BOP not be bureaucratic?

[hobie]

Perhaps the killer pocketed the note and slipped it into the mail when he got back to DC.

[windycityattorney]

Epstein was abusing the lawyer visitation rule to spend as much of his time in custody with them as possible. Maybe one of them smuggled it out and mailed it?

Letter does seem inherently suspicious; I don't think its real. But its theoretically possible it could be.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I think this was staged.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lnsapVkCU7o

[Kazinski]

No it looks real to me, but they used an AI editor to change the 350lbs woman to a 98lb girl.

Good choice.

[Frank Drackman]

You know what I'm pretty sure is "Staged" but still not really sure?
Those Ari Shaffir "Amazing Racist" Videos (still on the You-Tubes, amazingly)Lets see, there's the one where he (Ari's Jewish, Duh) takes his Klan Robes to a Dry Cleaners in Watts, the one where dressed as a 18th Century Plantation owner, he stands next to his Sloop (is that how you say it? "Sloop"??) with his Midget, offering "Free Boat Rides to Africa" (even has the Midget with a Chicken leg on a String to entice a Black woman onto the Sloop, and the one where he picks up a load of Mexicans in his Pick Up (a Jew driving a Pick Up is funniest of all), drops them off at the local ICE office,
Pretty sure they're all Actors, because IRL the Black Dry Cleaner guy would have just killed Ari on the spot, but I'm not certain.....

Frank

[BrotherMovesOn]

"I think this was staged."
O Dr. Ed!

[not guilty]

As I mentioned on yesterday's open thread, defense counsel for John Brennan, the former C.I.A. director, has disclosed that he has been formally advised by prosecutors of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida that Brennan is a target of a grand jury investigation in the Miami Division, which is examining the circumstances surrounding the production of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in the United States. https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2025-12/BrennanAltongaLetter12-22-25.pdf

According to defense counsel, on November 11, 2025, Mr. Brennan received a subpoena dated November 7, 2025, from that grand jury investigation requesting the production of materials from 2016-2017 "related to the preparation of, discussion of, creation of, or otherwise associated with the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment ("ICA") published on or about January 6, 2017, titled 'Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.'"

Why a grand jury in Florida is issuing subpoenas regarding events occurring eight to nine years ago in the District of Columbia (which Special Counsel John Durham has previously investigated) is a mystery. What is the nexus between Brennan's conduct and the Southern District of Florida? Apart from the question of venue, how would prosecution not be barred by 18 U.S.C. § 3282 as untimely?

There is a malodor about this investigation from topside to bottom.

[Riva]

Malodor was the manipulation of intelligence and abuse of government power to target the candidacy and presidency of president Trump, in both the 2016 and 2024 elections. Now, if you're confused about venue and limitations Not Guilty, ask yourself, where exactly is Mar a Lago located?

[Glaucomatose]

What does Mar a Lago have to do with the production of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in the United States?

[Riva]

Who was the primary victim and target this manipulation? Whose home was raided? Was this an ongoing conspiracy?

[not guilty]

"Who was the primary victim and target this manipulation? Whose home was raided? Was this an ongoing conspiracy?"

A conspiracy by whom, to do what, in arguable violation of what federal criminal statute(s), Riva?

The execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, issued by a United States Magistrate to search for evidence offenses which could not have occurred prior to January 2021, arguably furthers what real or imagined conspiratorial agreement that was extant in 2016 or 2017?

Go ahead and spitball here, Riva. Simply uttering the word "conspiracy" is not a magic elixir. Any conspiracy necessarily involves conspirators and a conspiratorial objective which the conspirators intend to accomplish. A federal criminal conspiracy necessarily involves a federal statute which prohibits such an agreement.

As the late Clara Peller said in the Wendy's commercials, Where's the beef? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1eTxAR4QI

"I don't think there's anybody there."

[Riva]

We're commenting on the warrant lacking probable cause? The one used to target the home of a former president and candidate for the presidency? Don't know about Clara Peller but Brennan is sure scared shitless about Judge Cannon.

[not guilty]

What connection between documents held by Brennan in regard to conduct in 2016-2017 and the execution of the search warrant (which the magistrate judge did find to be supported by probable cause) in August 2022 are you positing here, Riva?

Speaking of shitlessness, Riva, if you are ever given an enema, your remains likely will fit within a cigar box.

[Riva]

The implications are obvious

[not guilty]

No, Riva, the implications are not obvious at all. Your running away here is loathsome.

[Riva]

Go sealion somewhere else clown.

[David Nieporent]

Nobody. Nobody. And no. This has been yet another episode of Simple Answers to Stupid Questions.

[not guilty]

Riva, what on earth does John Brennan -- who according to his counsel has been identified here as a target -- have to do with Mar-a-Lago? How are documents held by Brennan related to events occurring eight or nine years ago, presumably in the District of Columbia and/or the Eastern District of Virginia where CIA headquarters is located, arguably germane to any criminal offense which may have occurred in the Southern District of Florida during the past five years?

I like a good non sequitur as well as the next fellow, but you (and the prosecutors in Florida) are being ridiculous here, Riva.

[Joe_dallas]

irrespective of the merits of the late attempt to prosecute Brennan, that guy should had his security clearance yanked 20 or so years ago.

[Riva]

I'll leave the DOJ to their own theories but their use of this Southern Florida grand jury suggests they may see the gross abuse of federal law enforcement and intelligence resources targeting a political opponent as part of an ongoing conspiracy, notwithstanding the rants of Brennan's lawyers. Assuming the facts support this and this is generally their theory, what evidence do you have conclusively proving otherwise? Maybe you should let the federal prosecutors know?

[Malika la Maize]

What faith in federal prosecutors!

[not guilty]

"I'll leave the DOJ to their own theories but their use of this Southern Florida grand jury suggests they may see the gross abuse of federal law enforcement and intelligence resources targeting a political opponent as part of an ongoing conspiracy, notwithstanding the rants of Brennan's lawyers."

"An ongoing conspiracy" by whom, to do what, which "conspiracy" is prohibited by what federal criminal statute(s)? And how is John Brennan, whose tenure as CIA director ended in January 2017, conceivably a target?

Where a conspiracy involves at least one overt act, the period of limitation begins to run when the last overt act in furtherance of the conspiratorial objective is committed by at least one conspirator. See, Grunewald v. United States, 353 U.S. 391 (1957):

The indictment in these cases was returned on October 25, 1954. It was therefore incumbent on the Government to prove that the conspiracy, as contemplated in the agreement as finally formulated, was still in existence on October 25, 1951, and that at least one overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy was performed after that date. For where substantiation of a conspiracy charge requires proof of an overt act, it must be shown both that the conspiracy still subsisted within the three years prior to the return of the indictment and that at least one overt act in furtherance of the conspiratorial agreement was performed within that period. Hence, in both of these aspects, the crucial question in determining whether the statute of limitations has run is the scope of the conspiratorial agreement, for it is that which determines both the duration of the conspiracy and whether the act relied on as an overt act may properly be regarded as in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Id., at 396-397 [footnotes omitted.]

The federal conspiracy statute most often prosecuted, 18 U.S.C. § 371 prohibiting conspiracy to commit an offense or to defraud the United States, does include an overt act requirement. It is accordingly incumbent on the government to identify who the alleged conspirators are -- commission of an overt act by a non-conspirator would not extend the limitation period. It is also necessary to show the scope and nature of the conspiratorial objective in order to determine whether an alleged overt act is actually in furtherance thereof.

When and by whom was a criminal conspiracy formed? What was the scope of the agreement? When was the conspiratorial objective achieved or the conspiracy abandoned? How did any alleged overt act by a conspirator in fact further the conspiratorial agreement?

Another federal criminal conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C. § 241, defines and punishes conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same. This statute includes no overt act requirement; the offense is complete upon formation of the conspiratorial agreement. If that statute is at issue regarding John Brennan here, the grand jury would have to find that Brennan, in the Southern District of Florida, conspired with at least one other person within five years prior to the finding of the indictment, or prosecution would be barred by 18 U.S.C. § 3238.

[Riva]

Just so you know, that’s not evidence. Just more bs like the letter from Brennan’s attorneys.

[not guilty]

I don't claim that it is evidence. It is legal analysis, which you would not recognize even if it bites you in the backside.

Indeed, I am positing the absence of evidence relevant to criminal conduct here.

[Riva]

And I am positing that there may be evidence of a broader continuing conspiracy and the fact that a Southern Florida grand jury is reviewing some evidence at least suggests that I’m right.

[not guilty]

"And I am positing that there may be evidence of a broader continuing conspiracy and the fact that a Southern Florida grand jury is reviewing some evidence at least suggests that I’m right."

Oh, really, Riva ?? Just like, as Bertrand Russell wrote in 1952:

Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense.

Just as Senator Lloyd Bentsen in 1988 said to then-Senator J. Danforth Quayle: Riva, you are no Bertrand Russell. Only one of you is able to recognize when one is talking nonsense.

[Riva]

Seems to be what you’re doing. Projection is a wonderful tool, isn’t it?

[not guilty]

A "boarder continuing conspiracy" by whom, to do what, contrary to what federal statute, Riva?

Whom do you posit that John Brennan conspired with?

When do you posit that the conspiracy was formed?

What do you posit is the scope of the conspiratorial agreement?

If it is a § 371 conspiracy, what do you posit is the intended fraud the United States or any agency thereof, or in the alternative, what do you posit is the federal offense which the conspirators intend(ed)?

If it is a § 371 conspiracy, what do you posit is an overt act in furtherance of the conspiratorial agreement occurring during the past five years?

What event(s) do you posit arguably creates venue in the Southern District of Florida?

[bernard11]

I thought Malador was a minor character in Lord of the Rings.

[Magister]

And behold! 'Tis near the liquor-store!"

[BrotherMovesOn]

Dr. Ed is 'incensed'. When is he not!
He does provide amusement, although I'm a little conflicted to just be amused at a seriously disturbed individual posting here. He's deranged but he just keeps coming with the crazy. Those women had it coming. They weren't virgins after all. All state social workers are against him. Shoot people crossing the border. Nuke Gaza. Many people forget, but ...
He would have been a top academic if UMass hadn't decided they had a duty to their students to keep him as far as possible from any teaching adjacent position. Apparently washed out as boiler room technician, he retreated back down east, and now we're the recipients of his ravings. You go Dr. Ed!

[Kazinski]

I want to know why the FBI and DOJ ignored an allegation in 1996 of Epstein possessing "child porn"*, and other possibly criminal behavior.

* The woman who made the allegations said she took artistic nude photos of her younger teen brother and sister, which Epstein appropriated, and wouldn't return. That's not exactly child porn, but it does seem a crime.
Yeah, I am not sure that's a federal case by itself. This is the same woman who accused Trump of looking at her legs when she was in her 20's wearing jogging shorts, in Epstein office.

[not guilty]

"I want to know why the FBI and DOJ ignored an allegation in 1996 of Epstein possessing 'child porn'*, and other possibly criminal behavior."

Supporting details, Kazinski? When and by whom was the report made to personnel of the FBI and/or DOJ, and how do you claim to know that such report was ignored?

[Kazinski]

I gave you the details NG, Google "1996 Epstien report to fbi ignored", and you will see several articles such as this headline from the NY Times;

Epstein Files Include 1996 Child Porn Complaint That F.B.I. Ignored

[hobie]

When your hire Fox News clowns to run the DOJ...

Turns out they redacted the Epstein files using Adobe Acrobat. All you have to do is open a file in Acrobat, then cut and paste the text to Word and, voila, no more redaction.

And what they are discovering is that the DOJ redacted so much inconsequential crap that it is approaching the ridiculous.

[Brett Bellmore]

When I found out about that I actually got to wondering if it was deliberate. Just another way of trolling.

"Whoo hoo! Now we'll be able to see all the bits where Trump is implicated!"

"Aw, man."

[Bwaaah]

Given how well known that weak redaction method is, my first thought was the same as yours. My second thought was that he really does have enough stooges in positions of management that such a mistake is plausible. (Like maybe he fired all the skilled Biden redactors when he came into office?)

But not to let down my guard, I'll stick to the trolling theory unless and until some provable, truly damaging dirt is exposed that way.

[Brett Bellmore]

I guess the way to tell would be to see if the same document sometimes had bits that were genuinely, not just cosmetically redacted. If some documents were hard redacted, and some soft, it could just be spotty incompetence or malicious compliance.

But if there are documents out there with parts hard redacted AND soft redacted, it's probably deliberate.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Or two sets of redactors.

That's the way I'd do it -- have a second reader look for the stuff the first missed.

[Life of Brian]

Two sets of eyes is SOP in most outfits of any size.

But that's for their own redactions. I don't know that many would be zealous enough to go back and test existing redactions on documents that have been on the public docket for years.

[ThePublius]

I'm putting my money on malicious compliance.

But, as they say, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." (Hanlon's Razor)

[Life of Brian]

Reality is not nearly so exciting or scandalous, unfortunately:

The glitch appears to affect only a tiny number of the hundreds of thousands of documents that the Justice Department has posted online this past week because of a new Epstein-related transparency law. And it appears this redacting error wasn’t committed by the Justice Department – but rather by the Virgin Islands’ attorney general’s office when it first posted the original court filing onto a public docket in 2021.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/politics/epstein-redactions-glitch-virgin-islands

[hobie]

Well that's not very exciting.

[Malika la Maize]

This Christmas Eve people all over the world will log on to the official Santa Tracker to follow his progress through U.S. military radar. This all started in 1955, with a misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command, now known as NORAD.

https://www.npr.org/2014/12/19/371647099/norads-santa-tracker-began-with-a-typo-and-a-good-sport

[Frank Drackman]

Queenie tugging those Heart Strings, remember listening to it in the late 1960's, they'd have an Air Farce Interceptor Pilot (Minot AFB ND had a F-106 Squadron (One of the most beautiful aircraft ever IMHO) The Pilots had 2 Lynx's (Lynxi??) as mascots, you could go by the Squadron HQ and see them in their cages),
Where was I, oh yeah, the Interceptor Pilot would say, "I have the Bogie in Sight.....it's a.... Sleigh??? pulled by .....Reindeer????"
F-106 "Delta Dagger" had 1 mission, fly at Mach 2 toward the Roosh-un Bombers we were convinced were a Breznef Shoe Pound away from attacking us, fire it's Missiles, and Ski-daddle (aviation term) back, to rearm, had 1 Turbojet Engine (none of those sissy fans to lessen the noise) 25,000lbs of Thrust on Full Burner and when a Section of them would take off it would literally rattle your fillings (all Kids had fillings back then)

Frank

[hobie]

Now Frankie, as you know tis the season to welcome your Lord and Savior Jeebus. So give that mezuzah a tap and repent to Jeebus your sinful ways.

[Krayt]

I'm suspicious any mechanical drone could follow this craft, ergo Santa must be making a live feed himself.

[Malika la Maize]

As a string ensemble played in the background, Donald Trump Jr. walked up with lobbyist Ches McDowell to chat with the president. Trump Jr. at one point pulled McDowell forward to shake the president’s hand, according to a livestream broadcast. After they went inside, McDowell took the president aside to discuss a pressing issue, according to people familiar with the matter: One of his clients was seeking a pardon.

The client was Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. That afternoon, the president agreed to sign Zhao’s pardon, the people said…

The president formally signed the pardon for Zhao a week later, setting off an uproar in Washington. Democrats—pointing to steps Binance has taken that boosted the cryptocurrency company that Trump Jr. co-founded along with his father and brothers, World Liberty Financial—said the move amounted to brazen corruption. Several Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Trump donor Joe Lonsdale, said they were alarmed by it. Trump ally Laura Loomer called it a “terrible Pardon idea.”

For Binance, it was the culmination of a nearly yearlong effort to pursue clemency for its founder. It had paid lobbyists around $800,000 to lobby for a pardon, U.S. policy changes and other matters, according to federal records. It also approached other lobbyists about a pardon, offering success fees of as much as $5 million if they could help secure one, according to people familiar with the outreach. The company pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering rules and paid a $4.3 billion fine, and Zhao served a four-month prison sentence on a related charge. A pardon could make it easier for the company to return to the U.S. market.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-presidential-pardon-process-dda97c15?st=Dgr8my&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

[hobie]

They overpaid for the pardon. All the Honduran drug lord had to do was employ the Jedi mind trick of Trump Whispering.

[jb]

LOL, remember when the MAGAs thought it was a big scandal for Hunter to put Joe on speakerphone and talk about the weather?

[Moderation4ever]

I am reading my morning newspaper, The Wisconsin State Journal, and I am seeing an article of a man charged in the death of three people. He was driving while intoxicated at speeds over 100 mph on a road with a listed 35 mph speed, missed a curve and killed his three companions. Next to the piece was a story about a person arrested for their 6th OWI. Now if an immigrant kills someone it get national attention, but the fact that we have intoxicated drivers on the road that nothing special. The amount of concern here seems misplaced. We not talking about closing all bars because three people are killed but we would halt all immigration because one immigrant kills some people.

[ThePublius]

You're conflating immigrant with illegal immigrant.

People don't want to halt all immigration, they want to halt illegal immigration and send the illegals back.

[hobie]

Dear AI, has the Trump Administration touted a reduction in legal immigration?

"Yes, Donald Trump and his administration have explicitly and repeatedly touted the reduction of both illegal and legal immigration as a policy goal and an accomplishment. A White House press secretary stated that the Trump administration has done "more to limit migration, both illegal and legal, than any administration in history".

[ThePublius]

I didn't say "Donald Trump and his administration," I said "people."

[Malika la Maize]

Hey, they might be garbage people but they’re still people.

[hobie]

Poor Publius, to wriggle out of his claim, he's had to define the administration as less than human. Sad.

[ThePublius]

You jerk, re-read what I wrote. I am not wriggling out of any claim, and I never mentioned the "Donald Trump and his administration."

[Malika la Maize]

ThePublius 3 hours ago
Flag Comment
Mute User
I didn't say "Donald Trump and his administration," I said "people."

Reply

[ThePublius]

So you have to be a garbage person to want to stop illegal immigration, and deport illegal immigrants? It's the law, after all.

[Malika la Maize]

ThePublius 1 hour ago
Flag Comment
Mute User
I didn't say "Donald Trump and his administration," I said "people."

[ThePublius]

Yes, indeed, I wasn't referring to DJT, that came from hobie.

You guys are either illiterate or trolls.

[Malika la Maize]

That’s a direct copy of your comment.

You said people don’t want to limit legal immigration.

He pointed out DJT and his administration does.

You replied as I just cut and paste.

I was just riffing off your unintentional implication that DJT and his administration are not people. FWIW I personally think one can be against legal immigration and not be a garbage person (though I don’t think that’s the case with DJT and much of his administration).

[ThePublius]

So what was the point of posting that? I know what I wrote, and others do, too.

You guys are such nit picking trolls, it's really too much.

[Malika la Maize]

What you wrote suggested that DJT and his administration are not in the class “people.” Kind of a Kinsey gaffe.

[ThePublius]

"What you wrote suggested that DJT and his administration are not in the class “people.” Kind of a Kinsey gaffe."

Not at all. I used the term "people" to refer to the general public. DJT's admin is a specific set that might well be included in the larger set, but I made no comment on that.

[Malika la Maize]

You said you weren’t aware referring to “people, not DJT and his administration.” As if they’re different things. My riff was on DJT’s “garbage people” comment.

[David Nieporent]

What you wrote suggested that DJT and his administration are not in the class “people.” Kind of a Kinsey gaffe.

Kinsley. Alfred Kinsey was very different.

[Brett Bellmore]

A Kinsey gaffe would be much kinkier.

[hobie]

Full disclosure: We are effectively trolling you this fine morning [fist bump, Malika]. Which isn't difficult considering we're dealing with hayseeds.

[Malika la Maize]

I don’t see it as trolling, joshing with is more correct.

[jb]

"People don't want to halt all immigration, they want to halt illegal immigration and send the illegals back."

This was a cute story when you weren't cheerleading all of Trump's efforts to deport people who were here legally and attempting to decrease the amount of legal immigration substantially.

[ThePublius]

That's a lie, I never cheerleaded efforts to deport people here legally, nor attempted to decrease the amount of immigration. You liar!

[jb]

Oh, cool. So you think it's bad that he's basically decreased the refugee target to zero and took away TPS/parole from a bunch of people who had entered legally so he could deport them?

[ThePublius]

I didn't say anything about the DJT admins actions or policies.

To answer your questions:
1. I don't know anything about the refugee target, I'll have to look into it;
2. TPS has been abused; there are some here on TPS for 18+ years. So, yes, time to go for many of them.

[David Nieporent]

People don't want to halt all immigration, they want to halt illegal immigration and send the illegals back.

MAGA want to halt all migration (except white South Africans for their troll value).

[ThePublius]

That's not true.

[CountmontyC]

D you think anyone on the right will defend these idiots? I guarantee that those on the right will be quite supportive of tossing the book at these people and giving them the maximum punishment regardless of their skin color. I would also point out that it is mostly those on the right who have been up in arms over the constant release of criminals who are multiple repeat offenders. We believe multiple repeat offenders should be locked up ( again regardless of race or national origin). Of course that leads to another point where we want aggravating factors to be included in how we punish criminals. Do you want to know one such aggravating factor is? Being in the USA illegally. You see we want people who break more of our laws punished more. Simple isn't it?

[Malika la Maize]

I think his point is why not a similar level of outrage and subsequent national effort to stop?

[Michael P]

I don't know about your side of the Potomac, but there are a LOT of anti-DUI programs south/west of it, including roadblocks at major intersections on holiday evenings, ads broadcast on the radio, rather ham-handed propaganda efforts in schools, and more. There are many more resources poured into both discouraging it and then catching offenders than are spent on immigration enforcement, it's just a diffuse expenditure across state, county and local budgets.

[Malika la Maize]

When I said national I meant federal, I should have been more clear. And that doesn’t address the outrage part.

[Dr. Ed 2]

The feds shouldn't be involved -- this is a STATE issue, as are barfights. Immigration is a Federal issue.

[Malika la Maize]

The Feds pushed BAC levels on the states.

[CountmontyC]

Well the simplest answer is how people perceive not only the scale of the problem but how they perceive how the problem is beng resolved. Drunk driving has been shrinking faces tough enforcement almost everywhere and is regularly part of advertising campaigns to get people not to drink and drive( watch a couple of hours of tv and you will almost be guaranteed to see ads encouraging people to avoid driving while intoxicated). In other words it is being deslt with.
With illegal immigration we hsd a recent maladministration that over a four year period allowed in more illegal aliens than most individual state's populations, we have a hue and cry by a large part of the citizenry to not enforce immigration laws ( even against murderers and rapists) and we even have the illegal aliens publicly demonstrating ( often while waving the flags of their ho.e nstions) demanding enforcement be stopped. This creates the perception ( rightly so imo) that the problem is out of co trolso.the average citizens are much more vocal about wanting the problem dealt with. So simple a Democrat should understand it.

[Dr. Ed 2]

If we addressed Illegal Immigration the way we addressed OUI, we wouldn't have people speaking Spanish in public.

1975 -- 1.5% was "drunk."
1985 -- 1.0% was "drunk."
1995 -- 0.8% is "drunk."

Someone with six OUIs now possibly wouldn't have any in 1975.

[David Nieporent]

Dr. continues his never-being-right streak to a 37th straight year.

It's .15%, .1%, and .08%, not 1.5%, 1.0%, and .8%.

[Life of Brian]

In addition to what Michael mentioned above, I think there's the simple issue that when you first start digging into a long-accumulating problem with an eye to trying to solve it, it's naturally going to be more noticeable than later on, after those initial efforts knock down the issue to more of a manageable level.

Viewed through that lens, what we're experiencing right now in the illegal immigration sphere is similar to the shock-and-awe phase following the rise of MADD back in the early 80s, as rather dramatically captured in graph (from Wisconsin, of all places).

We're now in the "still happens, but ~80% less than it did" phase of DUIs, and I suspect when we get there with illegal immigrants that'll become more of a background issue as well.

[Malika la Maize]

I thought this illegal migration thing had been going on for decades (remember the outrage over the Reagan “amnesty”).

[Life of Brian]

Yeah, that's the "when you first start digging into a long-accumulating problem with an eye to trying to solve it" part.

[Malika la Maize]

Ah, fair point.

[Dr. Ed 2]

A bar that routinely sent drunk drivers out on the road would be closed. I've seen it happen.

[CountmontyC]

A bar that overserved a patron who proceeds to get in an accident can be sued in many jursdictions.

[Bob from Ohio]

"we would halt all immigration because one immigrant kills some people"

Well, its not just "one".

We can prevent that one person from killing by keeping him out of the US. We are stuck with our domestic bad people, no reason to import any more.

As Michael P points out, we made a massive effort a while ago to stop drunk driving. Roadblocks, reduced drinking age, lower BAC levels, mandatory jail even for first offenses, ignition breath locks.

[Josh R]

Should we stop all immigration?

[Mr. Bumble]

Maybe for a short period of time until the backlog of those here illegally is cleared out including visa overstayers.

[Bob from Ohio]

What Bumble said.

[Josh R]

After our population is reduced by at least 10 million, then what? What is the right level of immigration?

[Bob from Ohio]

"our population is reduced by at least 10 million"

They are just visitors, not "our" population.

[Mr. Bumble]

The 10 million figure was the one used for years before the Biden flood. No one really knows how many are here illegally but maybe more like 15-20 million.

[Josh R]

OK to both Bob and Bumble. Now, what is the right level of immigration?

[CountmontyC]

That could change annually as I would set the standard as what helps the USA. Some years we might need a million or more whereas other years it could be zero. And even then I would make it primarily a merit based system so if we needed 50,000 new auto mechanics but zero dentists we would allow in 50,000 auto mechanics but zero dentists. It would not be just a simple number of people to let in but required skills.

[David Nieporent]

I continue to be astonished about the sort of people who rant about Marxism then arguing that the government can determine the right number of auto mechanics or dentists that the country needs.

You know what are really good at making those sorts of determinations? Markets.

[CountmontyC]

We are determining a reasonable limit on immigration. So how would you decide on who and how much immigration the USA should allow?

[David Nieporent]

"You know what are really good at making those sorts of determinations? Markets."

[Malika la Maize]

State psychiatric hospitals nationwide have largely lost the ability to treat patients before their mental health deteriorates and they are charged with crimes. Driving the problem is a meteoric rise in the share of patients with criminal cases who stay significantly longer, generally by court order...

In Ohio, the share of state hospital patients with criminal charges jumped from about half in 2002 to around 90% today.

The surge has coincided with a steep decline in total state psychiatric hospital patients served, down 50% in Ohio in the past decade, from 6,809 to 3,421, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. During that time, total patients served nationwide dropped about 17%, from 139,434 to 116,320, with state approaches varying widely, from adding community services and building more beds to closing hospitals...

The decline in capacity at state facilities unfurled as a spate of local hospitals across the country shuttered their psychiatric units, which disproportionately serve patients with Medicaid or who are uninsured. And the financial stability of local hospital mental health services is likely to deteriorate further after Congress passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which slashes nearly $1 trillion from the federal Medicaid budget over the next decade.

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5644745/serious-mental-illness-psychosis-psychiatric-hospital-schizophrenia-crime-prison-ohio

[Bwaaah]

Coming into the seventies, there were plenty of hell holes called "psychiatric hospitals" where you could disable insane people by drugging the shit out of them. If that didn't work, physical restraints up to and including chains would do the job.

But that was inhumane ("immoral"), and Geraldo Rivera showed the world what it looked like on the inside, and so began decades of "de-institutionalization." Where'd the crazies go? To the streets, and to the prisons.

But then, in the 2000s, the "decarceration" movement picked up steam (because jail is "inhumane" too) and they began mass-releasing prisoners including many mentally ill people. Where'd the crazies go? To the streets (and to the jails, and to the streets, ...) .

Let's look at where we are now. We have no predictably effective treatments for serious psychosis, and our laws have been crafted to try to keep insane people out of the inhumane jails and psychiatric hospitals.

Money isn't the answer, at least not in health care, because, as I said, there is no reliably effective treatment for psychosis.

So here's my latest idea: let's make prisons safe. Let's put the money into the staffing and training it would take to make prisons relatively safe for all the people who are held there against their will in the custody of the state. (And prison staff would benefit from improved safety as well.)

Let's make prisons humane, so we can improve our ability to safely restrain people who are a threat to others. State psychiatric hospitals should be similarly funded and staffed to safely handle the insane people who don't present as a threat to others.

[Malika la Maize]

A problem is funding for better prison conditions isn’t a great sell politically (even if one of the big proponents of it is the poor prison guards who have to work in terrible conditions).

[Bwaaah]

The poor conditions for prison guards feeds the problem of attracting more capable and humane staff there. That's also true in the psychiatric hospitals.

I'm hoping a Safe Prisons movement will, in time, sway the bleeding hearts away from their mythical "treatment for mental health" and toward more realistic handling of the problems, not just with respect to mentally ill people, but indeed for all people who are held in the custody of the state. But I'm not optimistic. It's all inconveniently ugly to "people who really care," and "improve our health care systems" always sounds as good as it can get.

None of this addresses the lust of those who want to "lock 'em all up and throw away the key." But that's its own faction.

[Malika la Maize]

How like you to focus on the first faction.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Stake, meet hammer.

[Mr. Bumble]

In case you missed it.

https://babylonbee.com/news/check-out-these-amazing-features-on-the-new-trump-class-battleship

[hobie]

Actually pretty funny from the Bee. I noticed that the actual proposed design has a yacht-esque low 'swim platform' in the aft. You know, for launching your Seadoos.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Or your SEAL team and it's boats.

[Joe_dallas]

I have not been following the battleship story (other than the babylonbee feature). That being said, battleships were shown to obsolete early in ww2, being defenseless against air attacks. With a few exceptions, it was only after air superiority was achieved that the battleships became effective as offshore artillery for the island campaigns. It raises the question as to whether aircraft carriers are near the point where they are likely obsolete with the advent of drones and cruise missiles. Hopefully we wont need to find out for several more decades.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Or, perhaps, the Defiant Class of Battleships are necessary to defend the carriers....

[DDHarriman]

Why did the Democrats in MN allow such widespread fraud by foreigners?

Is that just how they govern?

[ThePublius]

Well, there's two obvious answers:

1. they were taking a cut;
2. they were guaranteeing votes.

Of course, it could just have been incompetence, especially in the case of Walz.

[Malika la Maize]

People miss fraud, happens all the time (maybe we can get Rick Scott on the case). Heck some people even pardon it after the fact!

[Mr. Bumble]

In the case of government or government funded programs the default position should be that there is fraud occurring.

"Minnesota has been drowning in massive public-programs fraud since at least 2020. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has been conspicuous by his absence. In 2020, however, the Minnesota Department of Education began to figure out that something was funny was happening with the millions of meals being claimed by the large cast of Somali fraudsters sponsored by Feeding Our Future. Claiming racism, Feeding Our Future sued MDE for suspending the processing of new “site” applications in November 2020. The fraud could have been shut down in the course of that lawsuit. With Ellison as their lawyer, however, MDE caved. After MDE caved, another $100 million rolled out the door."
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/12/speaking-of-fraud-3.php

[Malika la Maize]

“The fraud could have been shut down in the course of that lawsuit. With Ellison as their lawyer, however, MDE caved. After MDE caved, another $100 million rolled out the door.”

There’s not a single link to sources in any of those sentences in the Powerline article.

[Mr. Bumble]

Powerline has been following this story for five years but I'm sure it is not a site you visit.
Try this linked from another article:
https://www.twincities.com/2021/04/28/despite-fraud-concerns-mn-wont-limit-free-summer-meals-for-kids/

[Joe_dallas]

like most woke leftists , he gets his information from those reputable news sources, the ones that cover up stories they dont like. News sources such as NBC NYT, CBS, NPR, etc. In this case, it included honest and accurate news sources such as the Star Tribune, WCCO all of which likely knew what was going on.

[Malika la Maize]

This from the guy who was wrong about the Kirk shooter here and the next day said he’d never heard of anyone making the claim he himself made in writing the day before!

[Joe_dallas]

I wasnt wrong about the Kirk shooter. You continue to lie about what I stated, in spite of my pointing out your lie, you continue to repeat it.

[Malika la Maize]

You said it was a trans person and then the next day you said you weren’t aware of anyone saying that.

[Joe_dallas]

Again - you continue to lie - 20th or 30th time with the same lie - You have absolutely never been honest or even attempted to be honest.

What I stated was :

Someone else stated that the shooter was trans. Someone else asked the question where the first person got that information. I simply stated that there were reports circulating that the shooter was trans. I did not state the shooter was trans, only that there were reports to that effect. You fail to note the distinct difference. Approximately 2 hours later, I posted that those reports were likely premature.

[Malika la Maize]

Just stop. You said its reported the shooter was trans and then the day after when people said people were claiming the shooter was trans you said you weren’t aware of anyone saying that.

[Joe_dallas]

Your response is a continuation of your lies. Multiple corrections of your lie and you continue with the lies.

Honesty has never been your forte.

[Malika la Maize]

“only that there were reports to that effect”

And the day after when others said people were claiming the shooter was trans you said you hadn’t seen anyone making that claim.

[jb]

The fact that Joe continues to lie in the face of direct quotes from him over and over here is remarkable.

It's okay to be wrong sometimes. Just yesterday I made a mistake in a comment and identified the wrong Dakota in a discussion about wind power. When you make a mistake you can just admit that you're wrong instead of doubling down on your incorrectness.

[Joe_dallas]

Now that you have been corrected on your multiple lies - How about addressing your denial of the extensive coverup of the massive MN fraud.

Can you actually deal with a substantive issue?

[Mr. Bumble]

Deflection, it's a Qualika go to.

[Joe_dallas]

He not only cant address the substance, he has now doubled down with a new version of his original lie

Ethics and honesty is void in his delusions.

[Michael P]

Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by retardation, or something.

[Malika la Maize]

No wonder this guy thought Trump’s Reiner comments were giggles. He likes that kind of Trump-talk.

[hobie]

I can't place my finger on why this scam perpetrated by black people is so diff...nevermind.

[Frank Drackman]

It's all fun & games until they eat your Dog.

[hobie]

"And the Lord did grin. And the Haitians did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats..."

[ThePublius]

Oh, so never mind about the $9B stolen, it's all about going after black people.

[Malika la Maize]

Is it 9 billion?

[David Nieporent]

No; the number is complete MAGA fiction.

[ThePublius]

No, it's not.

[David Nieporent]

It really is. Some rando Trump prosecutor "estimated" that "up to" half of the spending might be fraudulent. Not a shred of evidence presented for such a claim, of course.

[ThePublius]

Typical leftist/prog claim that "there's not evidence." Well, where theres's smoke their's fire, and I have no reason to not believe the prosecutor's estimate.

If it's not $9B, what is it, DN? What's your estimate? Or are you saying "no fraud here, go on your way?"

https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/12/18/u-s-attorney-fraud-likely-exceeds-9-billion-in-minnesota-run-medicaid-services/

[jb]

A lot of people are fine not knowing the answer until there's some evidence. So far I think there's about $1B in fraud substantiated. Maybe there's more than that; we'll see. But honestly half of all the spending across $18B in programs strains credulity.

[JohnSmith97]

Why bother with evidence, we all know how it works in the VC comment section:

(D) accused: There could be video proof of the (D) doing whatever they were accused of and it would not be good enough for the left in here.

(R) accused: guilty, guilty, guilty, soon to be followed with NG writing a multi page screed detailing everything that person did. All before an indictment drops. Based on reports from MSNBC, Democratic Underground, and some randos on twitter.

[David Nieporent]

and I have no reason to not believe the prosecutor's estimate.

Sure you do: there's been no evidence presented to support it. Indeed, this isn't even a "trust me" situation; the prosecutor didn't so much as claim to have seen such evidence but that he couldn't disclose the details. He just made up a number and said it could be true.

What's your estimate?

Why the fuck would I have an estimate without any factual basis? I'm convinced it's greater than zero both because some has been affirmatively identified (IIRC, around $1B) and because there is fraud in every program and organization bigger than a girl scout troop. Beyond that, I have no idea and thus wouldn't speculate.

[Longtobefree]

Democrats don't govern; democrats rule.

[Malika la Maize]

This from a supporter of a guy who has literally tweeted imagery of himself as a king.

[Michael P]

He was just showing what it would take for leftoids to accept his leadership. "No Kings! Unless you actually have a King, in which case we mean something else."

[Malika la Maize]

“He was just showing”

I thought you decried mind reading? And of such poor quality.

[hobie]

https://wck.org/

World Central Kitchen has a new fundraiser drive for Gaza. $30 can provide 20kg of beans, and $250 can provide 150 hot meals.

Could be a good idea for your Christmas giving this year

[Frank Drackman]

I've got a better idea Hobie, Rent a Gun, and buy a Bullet!!
I just picture you as Clark, in the Fambily Queen Truckster, asking the Homies in St. Lous for directions to the Interstate.

Frank "Kids, look at the Blight!!!"

[hobie]

You know who I always picture you as (and I mean this with affection)? The douchebag from Hot Tub Machine

[Frank Drackman]

Brad Pitt? People say that all the time, I guess there's a resemblance.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Yes, feed the rapists....
Christmas giving to those who kill Christians (and Jews).

Right.

Donations to the IDF come to mind.

[Frank Drackman]

"Kill a Hammie for Mammy"???
I like it,
Yes, I may have said you're an Idiot, a Dolt, a Poltroon, (an "Idioltroon")
but hey, Jobs and Wozniak, Lenin & McCartney, Ali and Frazier, they worked it out, so can we,
No Homo, I mean raising Shekels for the IDF, you know what I'd like to see used on Gaza? some old fashioned Napalm, it's like Karma, using the substance the A-rabs depend on for their very existence to end their existence,

Frank

[Malika la Maize]

If interested in a late Xmas gift, I just finished the historical graphic novel In The Shadow Of Stalin: The Story Of Mr. Jones by Andrea Chalupa and Ivan Rodriguez. It tells the true story of Welsh journalist Gilbert Jones who travelled to the USSR and at great risk broke the story of Stalin’s murderous Holodomor, sticking to telling the truth while perfidious “journalists” like Walter Duranty and Eugene Lyons collaborated with the Communist regime. Good story about an awful event that should not go forgotten.

[Mr. Bumble]

Wasn't this story made into a movie? Mr. Jones?

[hobie]

Yes it was.

[Frank Drackman]

Try Kurt Vonnegut's "Mother Night" (Nick Nolte did a pretty good job in the Movie version)
"Nick Nolte stars as Howard W. Campbell, Jr., an American who moves with his family to Germany after World War I and goes on to become a successful German-language playwright. As World War II looms, Campbell meets a man who claims to be from the United States Department of War, and is recruited to spy for the U.S., transmitting Nazi propaganda containing hidden messages that can only be decoded by Allied intelligence. After the war, Campbell relocates to New York City, where he attempts to live in obscurity. Since the U.S. government keeps his true wartime role a closely guarded secret, Campbell is forced to live under an assumed identity. The film is narrated by Campbell, through a series of flashbacks, as he sits in a jail cell in Israel, writing his memoirs, and awaiting trial for war crimes"

[loki13]

They lie (x3) updates!

1. Abrego Garcia (made up criminal case).
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622.281.0.pdf

It's an interesting order. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to see what the Court is doing- it's a "put up or shut up" Order. The DOJ has been hiding the ball and refusing to allow depositions and further discovery involving Blanche, McHenry, and Singh. So the Court is saying, "Fine. We will have an evidentiary hearing with your proffered witnesses that doesn't include them to see if you can rebut the prima facie case of vindicative prosecution. If you can't, the case is dismissed. If you do, then we will re-visit the issue of discovery and depositions of those individuals and have a full hearing afterwards."

Translated- the Court doesn't believe that the DOJ can rebut the prima facie case, and it will result in a dismissal (and moot the discovery issues). If the DOJ tries to pull a fast one, then there will be depositions and discovery of the senior leadership of the DOJ.

2. Richman litigation (the underlying Comey discovery)-
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982634/39/richman-v-united-states/

This is a fun order. If you haven't been following it, the Judge has been really unimpressed with the DOJ's ... numerous stalling tactics and misrepresentations. This Order basically denies everything the DOJ has been asking for, tells them to follow the dang order, and forces the return of the evidence they used against Comey to Richman (with a copy to be stored at E.D. Va.) ... all others at the DOJ to be destroyed.

Prediction- at some point in the not-too distant future, we will learn that the DOJ "oopsied" and kept additional copies. Because of course they will. These are the same people who, when the Judge enjoined them from making any copies ... immediately copied it.

[Frank Drackman]

Ok, OK, as long as Abrego Kill-more-Garcia's limits his killing to Garcia's I'm willing to cut him some slack. Maybe he could get some guys to resurface my Pool? These legal Hispanics want mucho Dinero...

[Life of Brian]

Hmmm... was the third lie the promise of three lies?

[Dan Schiavetta]

Today's movie review: "Scrooge", 1951 (from 2023)

This is a movie that’s better than the book, because of the material added to fill out the running time. Apparently it was not a big hit when it first came out. It was criticized as too dark — but this is a ghost story, and it all takes place during the darkest month (of various years). There are some things that one notices, viewing this as an adult.

First, Scrooge may be greedy, but he’s not dishonest. (“Scrooge was good for anything he chose to put his name to . . .”) Also one finds some sympathy with him when he says: “A man has enough to do with his own business without getting into other peoples’. Mine occupies me constantly.”

Fred may have not married for money, but he’s not poor; he and his wife can afford a reasonably nice dwelling with a piano in it and hire a (cute as a button) maid.

Why doesn’t Fezziwig agree to Jorkins’s “very large” buyout offer? He knows his business is doomed. It seems not like honor but stupidity.

Fanny’s death scene is a real tear-jerker. But why does she want Scrooge to take care of her boy? Is she unmarried??? (In Dickens, unwed mothers are victims of their own disgrace.) The (younger) Scrooge passes by a man one imagines to be her husband. Why does she place the responsibility on Scrooge and not him?

Speaking of death scenes, mothers dying while giving birth was unfortunately common in those days. In the movie we learn that Scrooge’s father is cruel to him because his mother died giving birth to him. This seems like too easy an explanation for why Scrooge is the way he is.

One of the best scenes is where Jorkins is found out as an embezzler. The outrage by Mr. Snedrig & Co. at the theft, and further outrage as they realize they have to agree to Scrooge and Marley taking over the company. (I’m amazed that a stenographer with a quill pen can take down all that fast talking — and obey the request to strike Jorkins’s speech from the record!)

Corny as Dickens often is, there are many fine touches. The scene where bells announce the approach of Marley’s ghost is scary even though all you see are still shots and sound effects. The coordinated slowness as the Cratchit children drink a toast to Scrooge’s health. The scene of the dead businessmen trying to throw their money at the homeless mother and child doesn’t quite work visually but one could imagine it done better with today’s technology. Bob Cratchit is a stock Dickens character, good-hearted, not very smart, put-upon, and his relationship with his wife (where she wants him to fight for his interests but he either can’t or doesn’t know how) is something I’m familiar with. And notice how the image of the Ghost of Christmas Past gets fainter as we approach the present day.

Also there are historical details from 1843 that British audiences in 1951 would probably have understood but we don’t. There are references to “the machines” and “the vested interests”. Dickens viewed the Industrial Revolution and capitalism as evil monsters, enabling greed and creating misery. Also at the end, when it looks to Mrs. Dilber that Scrooge has gone nuts, he says she doesn’t have to “call for the beadle”. A beadle was a minor church official whose job it was to maintain public order (this was before there were any police, in the sense that we understand the term). (In “Oliver Twist”, Mr. Bumble was a beadle.)

So many peripheral characters are fleshed out with only a line or two (for example, Fred’s friend Topper and the girl who fans herself while denying interest in him, the undertaker and the pawnbroker, the coughing girls in the background, the kid in the street who is asked to buy the turkey).

And when Alistair Sim gets “the Christmas spirit”, he really gets it. The audience shares in his giddiness.

[Mr. Bumble]

Happy Christmas Capt. Dan!

[Dan Schiavetta]

I unmuted, suspecting it was you. Happy Christmas!

[Mr. Bumble]

Will you be doing "The Seven Fishes" tonight?

[David Nieporent]

First, Scrooge may be greedy, but he’s not dishonest. (“Scrooge was good for anything he chose to put his name to . . .”) Also one finds some sympathy with him when he says: “A man has enough to do with his own business without getting into other peoples’. Mine occupies me constantly.”

I was reading a piece (on the original tale, not the movie) recently, and it pointed out that the common conception of Scrooge as greedy is misplaced. He was miserly, not greedy. He had lots of money because he practiced extreme self-denial, not because he went around cheating people. There was no lavish lifestyle; he lived the same hard existence as his workers. For instance, Dickens makes a point of showing that he barely heats the office, causing Cratchit to suffer — but he himself works under the same conditions.

[Zarniwoop]

We’ve currently got the Muppet Christmas Carol on the screen. Objectively the best version 🙂

[JoeFromtheBronx]

I re-watched The Princess Bride.

The Criterion Collection DVD has lots of extras (a whole separate DVD). One nifty extra is Rob Reiner reading from the book. He has a pleasant voice. He eventually looked like a happy old elf.

The conceit is that the book is an old tale with a bunch of stuff the father (in the book) skips over when reading it to his son. Wikipedia informs me that later editions of the book include additional material. There is also an extended joke about copyright issues.

(The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The "Good Parts" Version)

The film is quite enjoyable, partially because it isn't too long. It features a great cast, including Fred Savage (The Wonder Years) and Peter Falk as the grandfather. Some Taxi fans might recognize "Valerie," who is Miracle Max's wife [an extra shows how they did his makeup].

Some people highlight the friendship of Fezzik and Inigo Montoya. That is a touching duo. Will Fezzik later serve with Dread Pirate Roberts? A later edition of the book suggests Fezzik is Buttercup and Wesley's child's babysitter. That might not be canon, though.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

One complaint I have with the story is that Buttercup needs more complexity. I think a modern version would give her more to do, though she does show some spunk at times, especially when talking to the prince. I don't recall if she shows more initiative in the book.

[David Nieporent]

IMO, this is one of the less common situations where one should watch the movie first before reading the book for maximum enjoyment of both.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

A quick addition for the holiday

I also re-watched Love, Actually, a holiday favorite that some find a bit much. OTOH, like the winning song in the film, that is part of the charm. You should be able to find an update as part of a "Red Nose" charity event on YouTube.

The Christmas Carol was originally a novella. It will be familiar since the films generally loyally follow it. Of course, different versions add bits, including to fill the running time.

Charles Dickens did many public readings, and many people enjoyed them. The Muppet Christmas Carol (with Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Michael Caine as Scrooge) is an excellent version. It has the Muppet charm and humor, along with providing (significantly thanks to Caine) a perfectly respectable "straight" telling of the story. Of course, with Muppets touches.

[Frank Drackman]

John Denver did a great Christmas Album with the Muppets.

[Krayt]

I watched a video asking how accurate was the presentation of old London in the Muppets Christmas Special?

One of the best hours of life I ever spent!

The conclusion? Pretty good!

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Singing lobsters? I guess that makes sense -- Love, Actually includes a Nativity play with multiple lobsters.

[hobie]

Love Actually has grown on me over the years. I now consider it my favorite Christmas movie...over-the-top happy endings and all.

[Dr. Ed 2]

""Anyone who describes this as censorship is misrepresenting our constitutional system," it said in a statement. "The rules by which we want to live in the digital space in Germany and in Europe are not decided in Washington."

But the decision as to who is -- or is not -- permitted to enter the US *is* made in Washington.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/europe-slams-visa-bans-after-us-takes-fresh-swing-at-allies-over-censorship/ar-AA1SYsoW

Sucks to be you, Eurofacists...

[Michael P]

Did loki13 apologize for getting his dander up the other day over yet more fake news?

https://x.com/thejusticedept/status/2003563085437534227?s=46

[hobie]

As was opined above, this DOJ lies so much...so how do we know they're telling the truth this time?

[Michael P]

Hallucinating hater hobie thinks that Epstein mailed a letter from Virginia after he died.

This is probably not the craziest thing that hobie will claim in today's open thread.

[hobie]

You ever slip documents to your lawyer during jail visitation?

[Michael P]

"Jeffrey Epstein smuggled a letter in someone else's handwriting to his attorney so it could be mailed after Epstein's suicide" is, perhaps, more stupid than the theory that Epstein mailed that letter after his death.

[Bob from Ohio]

Where is our Dutch friend?

https://www.politico.eu/article/us-sanctions-former-eu-commissioner-thierry-breton-for-curbing-online-hate-speech/

[hobie]

So you don't like European censorship, eh?

- Removed scientific papers from FDA, NIH and HHS websites that regard vaccines, pregnancy, gender ideology and LGBT health issues.
- Deletion of the contributions of Black servicemen and women by the Department of Defense from DOD websites and military museums
- Removed some mention of black abolitionists and slavery from the Smithsonian
- Detained female Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk for co-authoring oped asking to end Gaza war.
- Pentagon only allowing press who will 'ask the right questions'
- Department of Defense schools pull books about black history, cancel Black History Month events and remove bulletin boards referencing Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
- 350+ words banned from all federal speech https://pen.org/banned-words-list/
- 23,000 books banned from public schools across the nation https://pen.org/book-bans/
- Ideological litmus test for tourists and visa applicants, to include 5 years of social media, to screen for those who "bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government [the current government], institutions, or founding principles"
- Withholding government access to law firms who represented clients hostile to Trump
- Withholding funds allocated by Congress/or threatening to withdraw the tax exempt status of universities that foster DEI or anti-Israel speech
- As part of its settlement, Columbia University forced to abolish its Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
- Defund NPR and PBS
- Threatened to remove press credentials of The Associate Press because they refused to acknowledge Gulf of America
- FCC has launched investigations into NBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, PBS, CNN and the Des Moines Register

[Sarcastr0]

Favorite Christmas movie:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Happened_on_5th_Avenue

[JoeFromtheBronx]

I didn't like it when Trump shot someone and got away with it.

[Mr. Bumble]

You just can't help yourself, can you?

[Mr. Bumble]

A more recent movie (2005) I stumbled across recently;
"The Family Stone".
An ensemble cast, including Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Luke Wilson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_Stone

[John F. Carr]

I encountered an interesting convergence between right and left today.

In the morning, I read National Review's When White’s Not Right about the exclusion of white men from writing. In the afternoon, an interview with a writer on NPR discussing the lack of young white male writers, especially straight white male writers, and how much the publishing industry is to blame.

[not guilty]

How far away from the Caucasus region is the Crimea River?